Murph and I ran another 6 miles yesterday – He loves it, puts me to shame, when im flagging and he gambols off into the distance its a good feeling though as I know he’s not even really putting any effort into it and clearly enjoys the whole thing. Today we just walked 4 as the ankle still plays up a bit. Its good to be able to do either as I feel. So yeah … lifes good!
Taking a breakChecking out the way aheadNew rockfall – right where I warned the “geologist” to get from under the cliffs a few months ago. Would take a bit of digging to get him out from under thereChilling in the fields
I believe in karma. Or essentially what goes around comes around. It works both ways, bad and good karma. Learned the hard way and seen it happen thankfully to others who deserved it (Yes I have a mean streak a mile wide)
So yesterday I had to go out mid morning and decided to fit in a quick 4 mile or so run to the Barrow mound on the cliffs as the tide was in. When I got there it was beautiful and sunny.
Like this kinda sunny
So I headed back and passed coming the other way a group of kids doing their Duke of Edinburgh type stuff, all with their packs on etc I met one group at a stile and the first two kids just ignored me stood there dripping with sweat and breathing hard and then a girl at the back said “wait everyone let the person through” (Im not sure that they knew what gender I was due to the long hair) and so I hopped over and thanked them and ran on.
A mile or so later I got to the beach and found one of them had dropped their sleeping mat. So what do you do? I was in a rush as I had an appointment to keep, I had already run 3 or 4 miles hard pace and they were headed in the opposite direction and all uphill. You know what – the tipping point of making me grab it and run as hard as I could to catch them (they move fast these damn kids) over 2 miles or so at 6-7 minute uphill pace (good training hey) was that the girl had called out to let me through and they did.
So I caught them eventually utterly fucked and they were I think amazed that I had done that for one of them – all I could gasp was “Its a bastard sleeping out without a mat” and trotted off – thankfully downhill and home. Ok so I was a little late. So what – And thats karma. Just the little things can come back to you. And maybe those kids saw a small gesture from a stranger and might just try it themselves.
Should have nicked it for myself it was a nice one too (Joking of course)
Hill sprints yesterday at Cwm Nash. I never quite know how many I’ve done so I used nature to help me count. Sprint up, jog down and pick a buttercup on the way, drop it in a pile at the bottom of the climb, I think it’s 20 its kinda hard to tell. Whatever the exact it’s almost inconceivable that I can run around 20 of these, 2 or 3 used to kill me not so long ago. Plus I ran back home at pretty much full beans. Feeling good. Please body hold out a month like this :p
Carefully laid on Trumps toupeeThere are worse places to train!
Kids do it naturally as do animals so why do adult humans prfer to walk? Just one of those “while im out running thoughts” I had while another 9 miles flew past yesterday in the sun (and then the clouds came in but hey)
Check out this little dude, can only have been a few days old and giving it full beans!
Is it possible to feel too good? Some days I just want to fly and I know if I fly I can break. It’s at the point now where 8 or 9 miles after work (Gotta love BST) feel compltely fine and natural and keep my head in such a good place. I can go faster but I know I dont actually need to go faster. It’s just a matter of having to put the brakes on and it’s hard to drop pace, I naturally keep dropping pace to around 8 to 8.30 minute miles which over that terrain is ridiculous and unsustainable for my body but it just feels so good to fly.
Tides inFeisty little bugger on the left saw me off!Hard not to fly on days like these
I was torn on sunday about whether to run until I saw the weather and then figured my fankles (new word covering my feet and ankles) would survive one more push. The last few runs I’ve been trialing a thin ankle support and it seems to be making a difference. Plus I wanted to get used to running on tired legs and so another longish run was the order of the day.
A further 12 miles with as much climbing as I could get in (going all the way up Witches Point as hard as I could go after 7 or 8 miles surprised me)
I also had some sad news on saturday night – Master Robert had died. He was a lovely old guy who lived in the big house at the Cwm and owned the Bruce Estate. He loved the beach and area as much as I do and was always picking up litter. Guess I’m the only one left doing that now.
Will be odd to run past here knowing he isn’t around. Often used to stop to chat with him.Still – life goes on and so does the run. Racing the tides todayJust the perfect morning to be out before the trippersI found a map! Still exploring the Dunraven end of my runBadly focused cookie – Best thing about long distances – I eat what i feel like out thereTide racing – Tide won – Still the odd rock scramble never hurt anyoneAlways worth it
So in the last 4 days I covered 37 miles of pretty hard going terrain. The fankle, although aching a little is holding up. I’m just utterly knackered. Few days off I think
I can’t help it, I meant to take it kinda easy as tide was in so cliffs were only option and legs were a little sore I’m guessing from the hill repeats. And as I hit top of the cliffs and stopped to watch the surfers I realised there was a runner behind me. No problem he can pass me easy enough but he didn’t. So I figured if I wanted space I’d have to make it. Which I did at 6-7 min/mile pace along the cliffs which actually felt fantastic to put the hammer down and fly without stopping. Yeah ok maybe not sensible but it felt good to breathe hard but not blow up and the cwm’s were so much fun to fly up and down (well the first was a 200ft mudslide but hey its all foward motion right)
By Witches Point I was expecting to be half dead but I still had it in the legs to do the climb to the top. Recovery was fast and so I decided on the longer extremely wet and muddy route home.
Not so much a path as a streamThe gatehouse thingy at Derval WoodsAwwwwwww – They were playing together like you’d expect puppies to do. It’s easy to forget they just want to have fun too. STOP EATING THEMThe usual. I never get bored of the usualFuelling strategy – The school I worked in that afternoon had just gone through inspection so the staffroom was full of shit food! I love shit food but rarely eat it these days so when I get the chance … So kids if you want to run far and fast eat shit food when the sun shines!
Wednesday was literally to the beach and back on a grey day – even the beach looked meh. Not gonna lie I dont know why I didnt take a rest day when I had chance, I think the head was saying for christs sake run after work.
Look at it – meh or what
Thursday was better, the sun came out a bit and although the tide was in I did some more hill repeats barefoot, I’m really enjoying that and it feels so much easier to climb that way. Plus I get to see this at the top every time…
Reward for each repeat
Theere were surfers about too to keep me company. I can cope with company when theres zero chance it can talk to me
Headed to the beach to check out the latest snow conditions.
Had to pick my way over the stream to startSpot the birdie? There are tonnes of lapwings down there sheltering at the moment, they are all slow and lethargic and don’t shift until you get really close – like this oneCliffs still looking coolMoider scene! I omitted the gory photos here but this was the scene of a massacre – at least a dozen dead birds which at first I thought was a case of being frozen to death. Then I notcied that some were decapitated and I dont know of any Siberian wind that rips birds head off.Evidence! I found the tracks of the culprit but how the hell did a fox get onto the beach here?Aha! The cunning git used the old smugglers path which is hard enough to climb in summerHe would have climbed down here to catch the little frozen birdies. Ah well it aint moider after all its just natureUsual photo from Witches Point with added snowUp onto the cliffs – and time to start the wading through driftsLuckily the snow was pretty hardpacked by the wind so didn’t sink too deepI’m on his trail!Hmmm ok i’ll just jump the wallOut onto the road – that way is home if I was in the car – and work wondered why I was worried about getting back? I know it out here – when it snows it drifts and we get cut off. Took me ages to convince themUm yeah and thats the other way outAnd thats the road to the rest of the village – Its lucky I can run everywhere these days
Ah well sometimes you just need to run even if conditions aren’t right. I squeaked the tide by a few minutes, in fact for some of it I ran in the sea for some I ran on the bigger pebbles. I made it out is what counts.