Category: Short run

Last weekend I decided that, having not run yet this year, I should at least get one run in before the end of January. I’m sure that I could have chosen a nicer day, but it was the 31st, so needs must. As you can see from the photos below, it was a mirky day, but at least it stopped raining before I started out.

I ran from my folks place down to Rottingdean the muddy way and then ran back up the road.

According to Strava I ran 5.9 miles in 61 minutes

After a day of unseasonal grass-cutting yesterday, I felt as if I had already done enough exercise for the weekend.  Sadly that’s not how this running-blog thing works, so still I had to go out for a run.

The forecast had been for rain (hence the grass cutting yesterday), but there was obviously a change in plan and it was warm (like early October) when I left the house… though the sky was still very dark to the north.  Still expecting rain, I had my longs, a hat and a jacket on… all were superfluous and I could easily have run in shorts and a t-shirt.  In fact, by the time I got back I was wearing just the t-shirt… the other two layers tied around my waist.

The mud underfoot was much more seasonal (apart from being far from frozen) with some firm going and some squidgy, sploshy, slippery stuff… I was quickly splattered from ankles to neck (including the phone in my hand).  It was really lovely out there though, such that I would have stayed longer if I’d had more energy.

As it was, I took the shortest variant of the local loops… according to Strava I completed 6 miles in 60 minutes… an average of, er, 6 mph.

I was going to say that it seems unlikely the grass will need cutting again this year, but having just glanced at the forecast it seems that we are in for at least another couple of weeks of relatively mild (though wet) weather… maybe there is still time for a shorts & t-shirt run before Christmas!

Really lovely run with Daren, on a day that looked like it might be very wet.  Actually, looking at his face as I drew up next to his car, I thought it might be a good day for a cup of tea rather than a run!

As we ran so we watched dark cumulonimbus clouds drenching the area just to the north of us, but these missed us and had soon blown away into a lovely morning.

We completed our normal loop with our normal depth of conversation (delightfully  d e e p) and even found it easier than last time to keep running up the tank tracks.

According to Strava is was 6.5 miles in 71 minutes, 5.5 mph.

I didn’t find time to run last weekend and even though it was only ten days since my run with Daren, I still didn’t feel on form this morning.

However, it was warm enough for me to sit outside with my quadspresso and it seemed a shame not to get out and complete at least a short functional run.  I ran out towards Wivelsfield on the normal short route, but then turned right into West Wood rather than putting the recent additional loop on.

As I ran past Ditchling Common Industrial Estate so my foot caught a root and I came down heavily on my hands… not particularly painful, but it did wake me up a bit!

Then it was back down the Magical Path before again taking the more direct path home.

No loops meant that I completed only 5.7 miles in 55 minutes (route shown here on Strava), an average of 6.2 mph.

I’m not sure that it gets much better than this…

I met Daren upstairs at Jack & Jill ten minutes after sunrise… the view was spectacular, as you can probably see from the photos above.

We did our normal loop up to Wolstonbury, down to Clayton and up the tank tracks to Home Hill, deep in conversation the whole way round… although it did lapse towards the top of the tank tracks as we were both struggling to not stop!

Our delightful run was 6.4 miles, completed in 72 minutes (route shown here on Strava), an average of 5.3 mph.

I awoke to yet another glorious day, though the passing of the autumn equinox means that the nights and early mornings are starting to get demonstrably colder.  I sat in the teahouse contemplating to the sound of the waterfall while I supped my quadspresso, then got out into the warming day for a run.

I had a clear sense of my route for a change, with one particular path through the woods in mind.

Compared to last week’s lack of energy, today I felt invigorated as I trotted off merrily down the road… it’s October and I’m still wearing shorts and t-shirt.  It was lovely to see evidence of good land stewardship on the fringes of Ditchling Common, neglected for years.  It must have involved considerable hard work (WELL DONE to whoever undertook it!) and it suggests that locals will be able to make use of a huge additional area that was previously impenetrable scrub.

I ran out to the fringes of Wivelsfield and along through West Wood on the path I had been thinking about.  It was a simple pleasure.  At the far end of the wood is a nice sharp hill and then I ran on along Hundred Acre Lane and back across farmland to Ditchling Common.

With the stile at the end of Janes Lane now negotiable (I’ve always thought it odd that it was there at all, given that there was no way through the sharp & matted stuff on the other side) it seemed rude not to use it and I ran through the newly cleared area with a smile on my face.

Then it was back to base with energy to spare.

According to Strava, the 6.8 mile run was completed in under 62 minutes, which I think is the fastest I’ve run this particular loop to date.  At an average of 6.58 mph, it was only marginally slower than my run with the Bok at the beginning of August!

It was a beautiful day, so I drove down to my folks place, ran the lawnmower around the garden and then ran down to the sea.

But first I met lovely new neighbours who, out of a world of choice (they moved from Shanghai) had chosen this place to bring up their child.  I reflected on this as I ran.

I knew before I had even reached the ridge path that I was low on energy compared to normal… it was tough going even three minutes into the run!  But the views were glorious.

I ran down to the bottom of the Ovingdean valley and then along the Undercliff Walk to Rottingdean.  Exhausted, with only the downhill and level bit completed, I then had to fight hard to make my way back up the hills without stopping.

As I ran back up the ridge path an unusual thought occurred to me, prompted by my conversation with the new neighbours.  I’ve seen lots of beautiful villages, towns and cities in this country and around the world, but as places to come from (I was actually born in my parents house), this really is a rather lovely one.

According to Strava my 5.9 mile run took me 1 hour, the slowest time to date… though bizarrely the fastest time is only 2.5 minutes less.

Of course, when I got back home later, the first thing I did was not to sit & recover, but rather to get the lawnmower out and cut the grass and the green… doing my bit to keep the area lovely for those people who come from (or simply live) here.

It was a flat grey morning and I decided it would be a good day to drop in on my folks and run from there.  Sunny days are lovely on the coast, but there’s something about a grey sky and flat water that really appeals to me.

I ran down the ridge path from Woodingdean to Ovingdean and then down to the valley floor and out to the seafront.  At the top of the steps to the Undercliff Walk there’s a real vantage point, so I paused momentarily to take in the view.

Then I went down the stairs and along to Rottingdean, pausing to take photos each time something caught my eye.

From Rottingdean I headed back to Ovingdean past the windmill.

And then, having got all the really steep climbs out of the way (and got a hearty ‘Well Done!’ from a lady who lives on the steepest section), I took the ridge path back to Woodingdean.

Despite the grey, it was a really lovely run and warm enough to be comfortable in t-shirt & shorts.  According to Strava, I completed 5.9 miles in 58 minutes, an average of 6.1 mph.  I’ve run this same route four times now with Strava since January and there is surprisingly little difference in the times… 30 seconds faster, 3 seconds faster and 69 seconds slower.

Big man Daren and I had agreed to meet at Jack & Jill windmills this morning for a run and it’s fair to say that the weather was very kind to us indeed!  It was a glorious day, with a slight mist making the place look nicely atmospheric and (since I’d forgotten my sunnies) usefully taking the edge off the bright sun.

Our runs together are infrequent enough that we tend to run the same route each time… but it’s a good one!  From Jack & Jill it drops down into Pyecombe ahead of a long slog up to the top of Wolstonbury, with it’s amazing views.

Then there’s a big downhill to Clayton that has a steep vertical kink (a bank that is almost too steep to run up) in the middle… today this left me gasping for air!  Towards the bottom end of this path is a section that is notoriously muddy, even in summer, but not today… workmen had laid a new section of path which we ran down, despite it not yet being officially open.

The mist provided us with a nice view of the Windmills on the hill from Clayton Rec.

The route then takes us along Underhill Lane to the bottom of a section we call the Tank Tracks… the path goes directly up the scarp slope to the top of Home Hill.  We have a rule that pausing is not permitted, so we have to run the whole way and I really suffered on this today!  We’re never speedy, but I note that on Strava this section took us 11.25, putting us way down the leaderboard compared to the ‘course record’ of 6.16!

At the top we did pause!

Then there’s a gentle run back down to the Windmills.  Our run was 6.4 miles and according to Strava, our running time was 71 minutes, giving an average of 5.4 mph… not bad considering the 1082 feet height gain and the fact that we were deep in conversation the whole way round, even on the steepest sections..

For all the challenges that we each face, I think it’s fair to say that (especially on a day like today) life is good!