Photos – Page 38 – Foster Runs

July 6, 2008

Wind at Mark two

This morning dawned windy and Kim decided that she would run/walk along the top of the Downs to break in her new shoes… and start to get back into the swing of things since hurting her knee skiing earlier in the year. Despite new shoes, I wasn’t really in the mood, but she kicked me out into the ferocious wind at Jack and Jill anyway and off I ran.

The first thing to report about the new shoes is that they feel pretty much like the last ones… which is a good thing. They really are extra light and super comfortable bearing in mind the range of nasty surfaces I run on. My right shoe grazed my left heel a few times and I started to think the soles were spread more than before, until I realised it was the southerly wind blowing my foot across… it really was blowy up there. I had fortunately opted for my Gore jacket this morning and iQ beanie and I really needed both!

I reached Ditchling Beacon in 15 minutes (I’m sure that we used to take 20) and continued east at a good pace. The rain was sporadic at first, but every drop was supercharged by the wind and really stung my bare legs. There was some kind of Horse event on, but it must have been organised by the queen from Alice in Wonderland as they were all going in different directions.

Having reached the Beacon so quickly, my plan was to head for Blackcap so that I could see just how much I had improved… progress certainly felt good. I was busily tromping along, thinking that my pace was now strong enough that I should call Mark Johnson to arrange a long-overdue second run… when there he was, running towards me. SO bizarre!

Deciding that Blackcap could wait for another day, I turned round and headed back towards the Beacon with Mark. We passed Kim on the way, who was still heading out towards Blackcap, and the conversation helped to lessen the impact of the rain, which was starting to increase… or it might have been that Mark was running on the windward side of me! We parted at the Beacon, agreeing to organise another run.

From here I ran down the track underneath the road and despite the stony conditions and exposed roots, I let the brakes off. My normal speed is around 6 or 7mph, but the average for that one kilometer section was 9.375mph… I reckon some of my more intrepid peers could have run down quicker still, but not without being on the raggedy edge!

I dropped into Ditchling and climbed back out up to Oldlands Windmill. I feel really sorry for these guys. They had an open day a couple of months back but it was a glorious day without a hint of wind to turn the sails. The people attending the one today were all huddled in the marquee out of the rain and wind… too much wind to allow the sails to turn!

Heading back towards home, I had to pass a dog-walker with her hood up… I was hoping that she or the dog would notice me approaching from behind as I didn’t want to just run past her in such a narrow space. As it was, neither did and my spoken warning caused her to jump… visibly! Very sorry ‘n all Miss!

The rest of the route home was as uneventful as it was windy and wet, but I finished at an acceptable pace and quickly jumped into the shower before I got cold. The morning’s exertions had netted me 10.5 miles in one hour 35 minutes and had elegantly taken the shine of the new runners, shown below with Kim’s colour co-ordinated and equally wet & mud-splattered pair.

July 6, 2008

New splodge

I still have some old posts to catch up on, but I thought that I’d get some new ones down while they are fresh in my ailing memory! Yesterday was a red letter day, as, after threatening for some time, we finally made it down to the Run Shop. It was a great choice of day to go as both Kurt and Fred were in there.

I spend a lot of time talking to my clients about good strategy and I’m going to write a short piece on my other site about this place, as it’s such a great example.

Suffice to say that the range, though not vast, is carefully selected from the perspective of runners and the guys engage with each customer to find out what they really need… and quite simply help them buy it. No pressure sales here, just good old fashioned, quality service!

Kim’s shoes, though not high mileage, were getting on a bit, having seen life before the Berlin marathon in 2004. My runners, though only bought last October, have been used extensively right through the winter mud, have probably clocked up over 600 miles and have not been kept in pristine condition (especially in comparison to the Bok’s shoes) and have thus deteriorated… that’s my finger sticking through the webbing above and the other shoe has the same damage.

So, after five short runs around the block in different pairs of shoes we came away with some lovely Run shopping bags.

Imagine my surprise however, when I looked at what I had bought.

Okay, so I bought two pairs… and the other pair has an orange right shoe, before you start to worry.

The white ones are the updated version of the Saucony shoe I’ve been wearing since October (in fact, my last three pairs have been Saucony) and they are very light and yet sufficiently splodgy for the off-road terrain I favour.

The orange ones are going to sit and wait for the return of the autumn mud and a quick glance at the soles will explain why!

If you recall, yesterday was a beautiful day and I wondered idly how long it would take me to take the shine off the new purchases. I guess that I needn’t have worried.

July 4, 2008

Hair piece

Those of you who have seen me in the last few weeks, either in Seattle or at London Business School, might have wondered whether I was deliberately flaunting a rather full (and still completely naturally dark) head of hair. It’s been fun, trying to pass myself off as a Beatle, but the real reason was not having visited the maestro, Patrick Swan, for some considerable time.

And then, as you can see above from earlier today, I did!

What was left over was probably sufficient to make a decent hairpiece for one of the current trend of re-forming boy-bands. Maybe I should start paying into a hair bank in advance of the inevitable grey day.

Even Gordon Brown might find the interest in that difficult to tax.

June 15, 2008

Nettled!

I knew it was a mistake to tell Clive about the recent article I had read, which said that being stung by stinging nettles cures hayfever.

Anyway, it is fair to say that after the late night before, there was a groggy start to the morning after. Still, despite the forecast of rain for the weekend, it was a beautiful & sunny day, so after the usual banana and quadruple espresso, I donned my ailing runners and got with it.

Aware that it was the day of the London to Brighton Bike Ride, I had devised a rough route that would enable me to enjoy the day, see the cyclists and get back without any real drama. Thus I headed out to Oldlands Mill and down towards Ditchling, hooking a right before I got there and dropping down to Keymer. From there I went straight across the fields to Clayton, arriving by a different path and thus discovering a new way up to the windmills.

Having run up the hill the whole way without stopping, I allowed myself a break to walk through the car park, before resuming my run up the track towards the Beacon. There were lots of walkers, but it was so far just another Sunday. I reached the Beacon in about one hour fifteen and the view was so beautiful that I stopped to take this video.

beacon-view

The London to Brighton Bike Ride crew had set up camp in the car park so I availed myself of the facilities before standing to watch the cyclists mount the last rise. I have a video of this too, but I can’t upload it.

I then set off down the track that I normally come up. An unusual noise alerted me to a cyclist coming down fast behind me and I stood out of the way to let him pass (he wouldn’t have been able to stop at the speed he was going!) and then I loosed off the brakes myself and hammered down. Suprisingly I caught him at the bottom where he had paused momentarily and we had a drag race up the road – I think we were both surprised how hearty my challenge was, although he kept accelerating when I had reached ‘sprint’.

Then it was down to Sporting Cars of Brighton, up East End Lane and north along the Sussex Border Path… where the conversation with Clive came back to haunt me. Waist high stinging nettles mixed with slippery mud and tricky styles soon had whatever hayfever I had left on the run… my legs are still itchy, but it’s not so bad really Clive. You should try it again!

I should mention that last night he recounted a tale of being flung, wearing only shorts, into a large nettle patch when he was young… ugh!

The Border Path is a really tiresome stretch, with its myriad gates and styles and as the two-hour marker passed my energy suddenly waned, like a light going out. I found myself thinking about not peanut butter on toast, but peanut butter and jam sandwiches… serious sugar craving!

I walked, then ran, walked then ran, walked then ran, each time getting nearer to home. I crossed the stream of cyclists again, feeling pretty sorry for these folk who had several miles to go before they even reached the bottom of the killer Beacon hill!

Then I was across the Common and crashing through the front door snarling for food! Not a spectacular time, but the distance was a whiff over a half marathon and out of the two hours 25 minutes, I had spent at least some time looking at the view and watching the cyclists.

The run did take its toll though. Having eaten and quenched my thirst, I fell asleep in a chair for a couple of hours and now, having washed the car (the only other thing I’ve managed to do all day), I’m ready for an early night.

June 15, 2008

An Adams Family Gathering

Kim, Cliff and I squeezed into the car and hotfooted it down to Southampton last night for Nicky’s 40th celebration (well, one of them, anyway). We quickly realised that Andy had omitted to tell us it was a hat party, but that was probably a good thing!

Clive and Nat, on the other hand, arrived in their excellent hats to a dark & empty house, A&N having moved from it some five or six years ago! That may not have been such an issue had they not walked there from the hotel at the bottom of the road that the party was in… Nat was in an evil mood, as you can clearly see.

Kim & Nat sat under the patio heater all night as the party goers ebbed and flowed to them, while the boys took up residence in the kitchen doing much the same, albeit much nearer to the pavlova, strawberry cheesecake and chocolate tart.

An excellent evening had by all, rounded off by a post-midnight drive back along the coast… with Cliff trumping that by driving onwards from our place at about 2am!

Thanks Andy & Nicky!

June 1, 2008

Splatter calves

I had a lovely lunch with Cliff the other day and he mentioned that it was the Seaford Half Marathon today… and that you could enter on the day. I don’t suppose he will be surprised that I wasn’t there though. It’s not the fact that it takes £10 of fuel and 1000 carbon airmiles just to start my car. Nor that it would be two 45 minute journeys for a two-hour run. Only that I’m finding it hard to get out of bed at the moment. It’s like my head is full of iron… and my pillow has a magnet in it. Kim eventually successfully threatened me with an origami move.

Once perpendicular (great pictionary word) I downed a banana and a double espresso and headed out the door. It had rained overnight, but was now warm enough for shorts & t-shirt and my goal was to run about a half marathon distance, so that Cliff could only call me a lazy git, rather than a full-blown wuss.

As I ran through to Ditchling Common I realised from the surface mud that the rain must have been heavy and knowing that the route I had considered is tres muddy at the best of times, I went a different way… down Spatham Lane and right into Ditchling.

At the assembled MX5’s of Sporting Cars of Brighton I hung a left and ran up a little stream of water to the base of the Downs… and then upward. A walker that I passed kindly pointed out that there were slower ways for me to reach to top, but though my retort was ‘and easier’, I was actually rather enjoying it. I was reminded of the uphills in the Via Marenca Half… this scarp slope is a small step against that staircase of a climb and if I want to return to make a substantial dent in my previous time, I had better keep going now.

I reached the top of the Beacon almost exactly on the hour mark, not bad for just over six miles, but I was hot and tired. As I stood there, so a rather lively and nervous horse passed by on the path and not wanting to spook it further, I ran the other way towards Clayton. I quickly realised that I was following another runner… game on! Alas, this runner was going at my pace and I didn’t have the energy to close the gap. Eventually she paused to close a gate and I caught up, running on with her for a mile or so to Jack & Jill.

Working for the Health Trust in East Grinstead, she had recently finished her PhD in Pharmacology (or some such) and was training back to fitness… and for a 10k run from Clayton on Wednesday. Rudely, I forgot to ask her name, but good luck with that first hill if you ever read this!

As I left her in the car park, I ran easily down that hill and then opted for the dryer route back… along the pavement! Alas, it’s a long pavement, but eventually it brought me to the outskirts of Burgess Hill where I hung a right to the railway and then took the muddy path to the Station.

Almost home, I had to push hard to keep the time under two hours, but when I got here, there was one minute to spare. I might have finished in under 2 hours, but I had also missed the half marathon distance by 750m, having covered just 12.65 miles. Hey ho! At least I felt better than I have done after the last couple of runs, although I rather think that my legs needed a wash.

May 25, 2008

Cliff top run

Oh boy! I really do have a tough time with technology sometimes. I recently upgraded my various sites to WordPress 2.5, which completely wiped out one of them, which I then had to painstakingly re-create. This is the first time I’ve tried to post with a photograph and talk about rubbish… it is so not intuitive. I’ve actually given up!

Cliff and I set out this morning on a day that promised rain, but delivered increasingly warm sunshine. We hit the hill, making the top in 24 minutes, which, bearing in mind it’s 500 feet of height gain in 2.45 miles, is pretty good going.

We then headed along the ridge, past Firle Beacon (just over 4 miles in 40 minutes) all the way to… well, I actually have no idea as I went off my map again… this time to the right! Getting to be a bit of a habit these days!

At a certain point we headed South and down into a charming little village called Norton, which quite honestly must be a beautiful place to live. I’d show you what it looks like, but I’d probably self destruct trying to upload the photos again.

As we dropped down into the village (around 8 miles in 1 hour 15 mins) we stopped running to amble and gawp at the houses… there was no need to do this ‘leg-wise’, yet when we started to run again my legs felt like they had been turned to lead. Heavy to the point of having to stop to walk every five or ten minutes. Very strange.

I blamed it on Cliff each time, of course… seeing as how he’s a whole lot older than me an’ all. Poor old dear, kept needing to walk. I had to keep him company, of course!

Anyways, eventually we arrived back at Chez Canine, where I gasped and groaned but eventually made it across the threshold and into a chair! Just over 11 miles in 110 minutes is 6mph, but bearing in mind the terrain and the number of times we walked on the homeward stretch, that’s pretty good going.

Cliff had no Hepworths (I need to write a separate post about the fact that it is now accepted that runners should drink Hepworths Blonde organic beer to recover from a run) in the fridge so we made do with Twinings Earl Grey Tea and Bread Pudding.

PS The weather only improved as the day progressed, which is why I spent the whole afternoon sunning myself in the garden with Kim and Karen. Wonnerful!

May 11, 2008

Blisteringly hot new paths

I’m hoping that by sitting in the cool of my office, writing, my energy will return. For two hours now I have been walking slowly about the house, shallow breath, eating gently, spending a long time in the shower. The latter because I had too little energy to lift the soap.

It has been a beautiful morning, certainly ever since I rose at 7.30am. This may have been a trifle early for a sunday but it gave me a chance to sit supping espresso in the garden, reading at my leisure.

I had made a mistake yesterday, twice walking into town in a pair of old boat shoes and creating, then destroying, the blisters that quickly formed on both heels. I scoured the house for Compeed to no avail, but found some this morning in my depleted first aid kit. What would we do without Compeed?

I set out with one of my vague notions to visit the Beacon, or at least notgo north off the map again! My nose went south along Keymer Road, branching off left towards Oldland Mill and I dutifully followed. I was merrily hoofing along on firm ground when my feet disappeared into a heavily disguised puddle of almost liquid mud and I had to stop to take the picture above.

Once past the mill, I dropped down towards Ditchling but skirted right and across to Keymer. Here I aimed for Clayton and a very kind dog-walker pointed me in the direction of a boggy wood (with the delightful name of Lag Wood) at the point where I thought I was lost. This turned out to be quite beautiful, with a stream meandering its way through and though I initially scoffed at the use of the word boggy, I did indeed manage to find a stretch of deeper mud to splosh through.

Somewhere along the way I passed a glorious house with a statue of a traveller sitting by a pond. Overall quite idyllic.

Once through Clayton, there is a really (really!) steep path to Jack and Jill and I put my legs in low gear and made myself run the whole way…

… and then past and on to the very top of the hill. I took the next photo because you can just see the bright white Oldland Mill facing the Downs, almost in the middle of the shot. I thought it might give a sense of how far I had run. Especially bearing in mind that I was really feeling it by this stage.

From the Beacon, I dropped directly down into Ditchling and back up the lane to Oldland Mill again, where a chap kindly explained the presence of a marquee and assorted paraphernalia. It’s an open day today, so if you act fast, you might still be able to get there while the food lasts. And if the wind blows, which seems remotely possible, they will be letting the sails turn.

The stretch home from there was hard work, but I just kept the legs going, avoiding the odd squishy puddle and then avoiding the cars on Keymer Road. As I stood gasping for air and stretching my muscles out at the front door, so my neighbour emerged, probably to take his family off somewhere for lunch dressed in their summer clothes. They must have thought I was certifiable, standing there in my muddy trainers and shorts… and the recently removed and sweaty t-shirt that I had the dignity to put back on when they emerged!

Overall, it was just shy of a half marathon distance, at 20.5km or 12.8 miles, but I would have won no prizes for the two hours thirteen that it had taken me to complete. Set against the slow pace (5.78mph or 10.4 minutes per mile) was the fact that I explored a whole new set of paths through some very pretty places, did a small chunk of the South Downs Way with its stunning views, had no pain whatsoever from my busted blisters and managed to keep going without the need to walk.

I’m feeling better already!

April 27, 2008

The mud in Goodwood

On account of my fencing yesterday (I had particularly tight shoulders and, er, butt-cheeks for some reason!), I didn’t feel like running this morning. So despite the thunderstorms, we took a drive out to visit the Sculpture Estate at Goodwood.

This is a 26 acre wood, filled with over 70 outdoor sculptures that have been commissioned by the Foundation. It’s a beautiful, peaceful place to wander around is the perfect place to showcase the pieces, more magical today with the wood steaming from the last rain shower. As well as a slightly soft layer of mud, so I felt right at home.

The sculptures are all for sale, but with prices up to £290,000 (although there were a couple of £POA’s, from which you can draw your own conclusions!) it’s fun to just look! The one pictured above (Sunday Sport by Paul Day) is a cool £45,000, but it is amazing!

We decided to go back to the little visitor centre at the end and timed it perfectly with a really heavy downpour.

Entry to the Estate costs £10 per person but that’s a very small price to pay for the tranquility and the magnificent views north across Sussex.

We did think it was a shame that they did not have a small cafe to get a cup of tea though… until we followed their suggestion and drove down to the Goodwood Park Hotel. This is a four star hotel with real manners and though we only wanted tea and cake, they treated us like royalty.

Even to the extent that someone went to the other side of the hotel to find some cake, which a chef then iced especially for us! It was the most delicious coffee cake I’ve tasted in a long time. They then found us some newspapers so we could sit in the supremely comfortable leather chairs and read. I braced myself for the price of our simple afternoon tea… £6.90, all in.

We’ll be back!

April 27, 2008

Fencing in shorts

Yesterday morning was beautiful and as we sat outside eating breakfast I wondered exactly how I would spend the day relaxing.

Last year I removed the fence between us and our neighbours on one side, with the intention of replacing it with something more sightly. With the fence gone though, all agreed that it not being there was a marked improvement and it had stayed that way ever since, allowing the afternoon sun to filter gently through the leaves.

One downside however, was that as the honeysuckle and roses died back in the winter, so it became a little too open for my taste, so some time ago I conceptualised a cunning modesty panel. I use the word conceptualised quite deliberately, as I had no idea how I was going to do it. The panel would abut the wall and sit gracefully across the end of a gazebo, but this was too wide for a stock item. So, as an insight into how my mind works, I approached the problem thus:

First, I worked out where the post would go and drove a steel post holder into the ground… back in November! It was in a tricky place to swing the sledgehammer and there are some tenuous roots at that point, so inevitably it went in slightly skewed… and that’s how it stayed.

Next, early in April, I bought a stack of wood. And last weekend, a roll of bamboo screening.

So, yesterday morning, because it was sunny and I couldn’t think of the best way to relax… and because our neighbours went out (I hate an audience when I think I’m going to make a fool of myself!) I put on my shorts and worked out how I could fix a post neatly around the back corner of the garage. And then, having cut, drilled the pieces and assembled them, fixed it in place.

Next, I consulted my craftsman friend Andrew regarding the twisted post holder and he suggested the judicious use of a five-foot iron bar (which I just happened to have laying about!) to twist it into the right place. With some ingenuity (using a bar-size drill-bit and a couple of 2×4 offcuts) I coaxed the holder into the right place and dropped the post neatly in.

Now the tricky bit. Who knows how to construct a fence panel? Not I, as I had been more than aware for several months! Helpfully, I still have a few fence panels around the garden so I had an excellent template… and I scribbled down how mine would work for good order.

I first measured the space between posts, then cut and laid out two simple frames sandwiching two layers of bamboo screen, pretty side out. And firmly screwed it all together… which actually wasn’t that difficult. With the help of my excellent assistant, who had been weeding, cutting edges and generally catching the sun, we lifted it snugly into place and I screwed it home.

Et voila, there was a modesty panel. Not exactly what I had in mind for the day, but at least the legs came out as promised!

Redirecting the garden lights created a pleasing tableau and I now can’t wait for the weather to be warm enough to sit out in the evening!