Tag: ammonites

Fields & cwms & ladders & rocks = fun

So sunday was a recovery run, why I seem to be posting every run a day late I have no idea. But still I was out there doing a slowish 5 miles.  I had to reverse a route starting with a hill up a road as I’d managed to leave the house without a key but luckily as I am used to doing this I have keys stashed with various friends and family all over the place. So I trotted to my friends house, gave his dog a cuddle which got it so excited it peed on the floor and then headed off to the beach via Wick ladders for once.

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The beach is yonder! Past the distant sheep
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Down the cwm – Welsh for valley
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Now to get to the beach – Note the way the tides leave depressions in the pebbles – It does this a lot, I need to find out why!
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Ladder one plus easy scramble down
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View halfway up the cliff
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Ladder two – Its easier going up these than down – note rusty securing bolts 😉

This reminds me, on saturdays run I passed 3 walkers at Monknash beach, by the time I had been round Witches etc they were stood on the beach near the ladders and flagged me down as they were panicing that this was the only way off the beach.  Ever the helpful I directed them the mile or so to the path up Witches point which they might stand a better chance at …. maybe. As I left with a cheery wave the lady called “and congratulations” which was odd, congratulations on not breaking any limbs maybe? Weird thing to say indeed.

Anyway I digress!  Back to sunday. As it was a recovery day I went looking for some fossils and found these two.  Enamoured with my finds I ran home with them – workout for the arms too!

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More ammonites!

Altogether a 5 mile easy run and best of all had a lot of fun.  Who knew there was so much free entertainment just lying in wait out there – go find some!

 

 

6 metres and falling

Saturday morning and a new training cycle begins (yes I’m still calling it that as it sounds like I know what I’m doing) so a wait for the tides and off out again for a 10 miler along the coast. I’ve worked out (It’s only taken me 20 years of visiting this beach) that I can get out to run the whole thing if the tide is lower than 6 metres give or take.

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6 Metres and the sand appears

It was a misty and cold which meant I had the beach to myself whch is the way I like it. Everything seemed to be ticking over nicely as far as the running went and I had great fun on the rocks pounding my legs. I know that doing this leads to fatigue around mile 7 or so. It’s got me to wondering when fatigue would kick in if I didn’t run on the rocks at all. But that would mean …. roads. Nahhhh i’ll keep wondering.

I notcied that at the point between Nash and Wick beaches that there are numerous quartz veins amongst the rocks. I’ve never really paid much notice before but noticed today how cool they are.

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Quartz veins

Many of the rocks split along these veins.

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More quartz

Sometimes it appears in very random patterns

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No wait – Thats seagull shit!

After investigating the quartz and guano it was up and over Witches Point and around Southerndown

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More ammonites for the fossil crew

Right on cue the legs started hurting around mile 7 so I switched into my run all day pace which means dropping the pace and expend less energy covering the rocks, picking lower lines and not leaping around like a fool.

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Running across these takes it out of the legs but is so so fun – Until you fall

I planned around 10 miles and it was spot on. Let the cycle run on!