Category: Photos

Sat comfortably in a deep chair, immersed in a book on creativity and with the remnants of Hurricane Bertha en route across the country, it was easy to forget the idea of running today.  Kim was of a like mind which meant that the magic carpet was available to use but, after my outside runs over the last couple of months, that didn’t really appeal.

Mark had suggested a run with him and Mach 2 up on the Downs, but Bertha had caused him to choose a more local route, which is what I ultimately decided to do.  I know where the mile markers are on my pavement run and I thought I could easily do an out & back run of 6 miles without getting my feet muddy.

I set out into the rain, turned left to follow the pavement and then turned around and ran the other way… in large part due to the prospect of running along a pavement having water blown directly into my face.  Maybe the muddy route, protected by trees, was a better bet!

Inspired by the reverse route I did the other week, I took paths that were not deep with stingers and headed around my short circuit in the other direction to normal.

The going was firm but the surface was muddy and strewn with puddles… certain that my runners were going to be wet through in any case, I didn’t even bother to try to avoid them.

How was I feeling?  Spectacular!

As the rain came down and I splashed noisily through puddles, I gurgled and laughed, really pleased with my choice of route!

Twenty-five minutes into the run, when I was about as far from home as I was going to be, there was a torrent of super-heavy rain, like a swollen waterfall from the tall trees above me, followed by a vivid flash of lightning.

I habitually count to see how far away lightning is… one thousand and one, one th-BOOM!  The earth shook, though it was probably my legs turning to jelly at the though of running through a wood with a thunderstorm sparking liberally at my heels!

Fortunately, though the torrent of rain continued to drench me to the bone through my ageing but much loved Gore jacket (probably as much sweat as anything, as it wasn’t really cold enough for a jacket!), the lightning abated and the next few booms were considerably further off.

I touched the edge of Wivelsfield and continue the circuit, the rain ebbing and flowing like waves on the beach and the ground below my feet more puddle than path.

Back onto the pavement and within easy reach of the house I picked up my (wet) skirts and sprinted for a hundred metres, before slowing to catch my breath before I reached the end.

5.75 miles in 55 minutes is an average of 6.25 mph… not bad considering that I didn’t really feel like running.

Kim meanwhile had made good use of the running machine in my absence, notching up 5 miles herself.  She had paused only to close the sliding door when the super-heavy rain had flooded the floor and instead had opened the kitchen windows a couple of inches for air… if it was too warm for a jacket, it was certainly too warm to be running inside on the machine!  I’m not saying that the rain was particularly heavy or anyfink, but by the time I arrived home the kitchen windowsill and floor was also flooded with water…!

I didn’t particularly feel like running so I thought I would take a short route somewhere, possibly sticking to the pavements.  That’s not exactly how it turned out.

I did start by running down through one of the new estates and found myself on Folders Lane, but then I was stumped as to where to go.  Years ago my short route wove down in the space between town/railway line and the road across the Common and this was where I found myself running.

So much for avoiding tall stinging nettles and other scratchy plants… the path is clearly not so well travelled at the moment.

At the far end I emerged onto Janes Lane and ran towards the town for a short distance before being lured off to the right towards Great Ote Hall and on towards Wivelsfield church.

Here I was caught up by another runner who was clearly on better form than me.  Richard suggested that I join Burgess Hill Runners… advice I may well take in the autumn.

I continued on across the fields to the far end of Theobalds Lane, which is still delightfully stuck in a 1950’s time warp… it’s a narrow road with a grass verge in the middle!

I ran back along the lane to the present time and then found my way past my old house… the hedge having been allowed to grow half way across the pavement!

So much for my short run… once again it was about 6 miles, completed in 70 minutes… the average of 5.1 mph reflecting my general reluctance!

With a three-hour project management exam looming large on the horizon tomorrow I felt it was important to get out for a run, despite the fact that the weather was really warm and very close… my notes (I’m writing this, ahem, three weeks later!) say that it was almost raining!

I decided to run the normal short route, with a few tweaks to miss the stinging nettles that I have been wading through lately.  The major tweak was that I ran the route in the opposite direction… something that I cannot remember doing before, thought I find that hard to believe after all these years!

Inevitably my feet were drawn to different tracks and I found myself out on Hundred Acre Lane and then running down a path to the middle of Wivelsfield.

Those of you who have followed my blog over the long-term will know that I have a Jekyll & Hyde approach to mud.  In the summer I tend to avoid it, going to great lengths to keep my runners dry, but in the winter I relish running through the thick of it.

Thus, in the midst of my summer run, with dry trainers, my first thought when I came upon a big muddy patch across the path was to run round it.  However there were two couples carefully picking their way around the margins, one on each side.

The opportunity to play to the crowd was far too appealing and I splashing noisily through the worst of the puddle, leaving big smiles on both sides in my wake!

One of the couples took a short-cut across the fields and I caught them up again on the other side having run the long way around.  Curious about the other characters I’d just passed by the side of the road I stopped to chat… it was the village day yesterday and I learned that there were 20 or more different people represented around the area.

My serotonin levels refreshed I returned home.  The run was 6 miles, completed in 65 minutes… 5.5 mph average.  And muddy runners!

I had worked on my hidden shed on Saturday and though I don’t seem to have taken any ‘before’ photos, it looked like this by the time I parked it.

I was feeling a little brighter so I upped the pace around same circuit as last week, the 5.2 miles taking only 52 minutes, an average of 5.75 mph.  That was not bad bearing in mind that the undergrowth was encroaching on the path in may places… mainly stinging nettles and brambles, but also 5-foot tall ferns in one place, which I had to wade through!

Every couple of years or so our neighbours grant us a little more afternoon light by having their vast eucalyptus tree trimmed back.  This year I was amazed when the tree surgeons carried on until they got to ground level!

I thought I would at least get outside, even if I didn’t run very far or very fast.  It was a glorious day and I just pottered along the short loop route to Wivelsfield, taking photos along the way.

5.2 miles took me 59 minutes, an average of about 5.2 mph.

I’ve been laid low with illness for the last couple of weeks and am only just starting to get back on my feet.

However on the 18th May, just before I started spiralling downhill, I managed to choose a beautiful day for a run in the woods… which I hope the pictures below convey.

6.2 miles in an hour (from memory).