The Cross, the Crow, the Laces and the Ice-cream Man

I thought that I should see if I was actually up to running something like the South Downs Marathon (considering my performance (lack of) in the 3 Peaks and it's only two weeks away) so I took myself off for a long steady run over the Chilterns yesterday. I went over four Chilterns ridges (not massive but a total ascent of 725m) to Whiteleaf Cross above Princes Risborough and back again.

On the way out I was running through a corn field on a path just wide enough to put one foot in front of the other when I saw some creature running along the path in front of me. It turned out to be a crow. The path was so narrow between the corn stalks that the crow couldn't extend it's wings enough to take off. In the end I went around it through the corn and left it to sort itself out.

Coming back I followed the Ridgeway path past Chequers (don't think Gordon was in) then up Coombe Hill. There was the usual ice-cream van in the car park, so having brought some money with me I decide to get myself an ice lolly. Ten minutes later after searching in vain in the six million pockets in my Camelbak bag for enough money the ice-cream man, who was clearly a fellow endurance type wearing his cycling top and hat as he was, let me have the lolly and then, bless him, stuck a bottle of water in my bag as well. Running whilst eating an ice lolly was a new but not unpleasant experience for me. The water was a life saver too as my Camelbak was nearly empty and I still had a few miles to go.

Ten minutes after the ice cream van my laces snapped (again). These are the thin Kevlar laces that come with the Salomon shoes. My Polar speed pod clip chews them to pieces and unlike ordinary laces they are a pain to try and rethread. This cost me about ten minutes.

In the end I was out for 3h 45m and covered something like 34km (not exactly sure as my speed pod decided to turn itself off twice during the run. Considering the muddy conditions and the few delays I had I'm fairly pleased with that.

I seemed to have got the nutrition and hydration right. I decided not to over-indulge in the gels and drink for the first hour (having loaded up with an energy drink before setting off). In all I had 1.5 litres of isotonic drink in my Camelbak (plus 500ml of water from the ice-cream man and some rehydration salts I happened to have with me), two bananas and three SIS gels. There was no sign of cramp (maybe due to the potasium in the bananas). After the 3 Peaks cock-up I made sure the Isotonic drink was at 6% solution. That extra 2% makes so much difference. The weather was warm but bearable, overcast with the sun threatening to break through. I lost 5lb in weight during the run but have no doubt put it back on already.

So, overall a bit of confidence restored and looking forward to the South Downs.

The Sun Has Got His Hat On...

At last it’s stopped raining. As much as I like running in the rain you can get too much of a good thing.

Had a glorious evening run with the dog on Friday. The sun was out, the tracks were dry(ish) and no-one was out at that time of day. I think the vegetation has liked this weather. I nearly lost the dog at one point in the long grass. Came across a small herd of Roe deer. It was a fantastic sight. The sun was streaming through the trees, in that sort of hazy way it only does in the early morning or evenings, backlighting the deer. Wish I’d had my camera to hand. I tried taking a photo on the phone but they’d disappeared by the time I was ready to snap. I noticed on this run that my achilles felt swollen and a tiny bit sore on it’s outside edge but it didn’t seem to affect my running.

On Saturday went into London to get myself a decent travel bag for my upcoming trips (Venice and Rome in July (silver wedding anniversary), training week in Interlaken in August, long weekend for the Jungfrau Marathon in September). It’s about time I had some time off. I only had two weeks off in the last two years for various reasons. While I was there the Tour de France just happened to be taking place so I went and had a look. Very impressive set up. They’d taken over the centre of London. It was the prologue time trial. They finished in the Mall then kept going through Admiralty Arch then round into Whitehall where all the cars and crew were waiting. All the side streets were full of French cars and vans. I went down the Mall and into Green Park. Along the Mall the fences were covered in advertising hoardings and as each rider came in the crowd would bang the hoardings making a massive wave of noise tracking the rider for the last kilometer. Green Park was full of picnicers watching the big screen in the sunshine. It could have been oh so different if it had been a week earlier.

Yesterday (Sunday) went for a big run again. My plan is to make a 20 mile run seem normal. I was in two minds to start with as my achilles was niggling again. So I went on the treadmill for a few minutes to test it out. It didn’t seem too bad so, having made sure someone would be able to come and rescue me in the car if needs be, I set off in the sunshine. I decided to go off-road after my red wee episode a couple of weeks ago. Soon forgot about the achilles and settled into a nice steady run up the hills and through the trees following the Ridgeway footpath towards Princes Risborough. Went past Chequers but it didn’t look like Gordon was in.

Having tried the homemade drink and energy food on my previous long run I thought I’d try the more scientific (and expensive) approach on this run. I took 1.5l of isotonic drink (at 6% solution, 30g carbs per 500ml), three gels (22g carbs each) and three energy bars (46g carbs each). The plan was to take in 500ml of fluids and a total of 75g carbs per hour. It’s difficult to compare the two runs: the first was a rainy road run and yesterday’s was a sunny off-roader but I can make a few observations. Firstly 500ml of fluid per hour is not enough in hot weather. Should have been nearer 700ml. Second, my banana, honey and maple syrup sandwiches where a lot more palatable than the energy bars. I did feel more tired on yesterday’s run than I did on the previous run but it’s difficult to point the finger at any one thing. More fluids might have helped, energy intake should have been OK, there was more ascent (620m) on the second run and my achilles might have been a factor.

I’d noticed that I seemed to be over-pronating even more than usual on my right foot. I wondered if this was some subconsious effort to relieve the achilles. Eventually, I developed what I think is a referred pain on the outside of my right knee. This was getting worse so I played it safe and phoned home for a lift rather than run the last 4 or so miles. This took some doing on my part as I hate not finishing things that I set out to do but having invested all this time on training the last thing I need now is an injury. I’ll have to look at my options regarding the achilles problem. I don’t think it is going to go away on its own.

Had an interesting run on the wildlife front yesterday. While up on the tops there were a couple of Red Kites (birds not playthings) doing a spectacular arial display just above me. On the way back I was running down a track when a stick just in front of me moved off the path. Turned out to be an adder a good 18 inches long or more (couldn’t see all of it in the undergrowth). That could have given me a nasty bite if I’d trodden on it. Then finally, on a path bordered by two fences a stupid sheep had escaped from the field and couldn’t get back in. Its friends were bleating for it but it kept running away from me down the path. If it had kept that up it would have been miles from where it belonged but I eventually managed to get it to come past me. That slowed me down a bit.

In the end I did 20 miles in three hours fairly comfortably apart for a couple of energy lows towards the end. Think I’ll be going back to the banana butties next time.

Global Wetting

Not to let a simple thing like a gale stop me from going out I decided to get serious and go out for a longer than usual run yesterday. It was mostly off road but I left the dog at home as I didn't want to get half way round to find she'd had enough. At about 6 degrees centigrade it was borderline leggings weather but I opted for shorts (coupled with thermal top and waterproof jacket). As it turned out it was just about right. I overheat very easily. The route took me over the Chilterns highest point (a whole 900 ft), down through Wendover then up Coombe Hill (top left in photo, a massive 850 ft) then down and round the back of Chequers (prime minister's country retreat, see photo). Tony didn't seem to be in. I once ran past there under the watchfull eye of a shades wearing security man sat in his Range Rover in the middle of the field in the foreground of the photo. I guess Tony was in that day. The post and rail fence around that field is made from old railway lines and steel bars. Up over Dunsmore Ridge then back down to Wendover to pick up the Ridgeway path back home. There were leaves, branches and fallen trees all over the place. The trees around here fall over at the slightest excuse. I reckon their roots are shallow as the top soil is any a few inches thick on top of the underlying chalk. I took a Camelbak rucksac with 1 litre of fluids, a banana and two biscuit bars for sustenance. Felt commfortable all the way round but was glad to finish. According to my trusty Polar I did 34.2 km (about 21-22 miles) in 3h 20 mins. Well worth a road marathon considering conditions underfoot. Legs don't feel too bad today which is encouraging.