The Woldingham Marathon, 25.08.2019

Today was the hottest I think I have ever been. Even than in Australia. Even than in a sauna. Even than a sauna in Australia.

I wasn't on fine form this morning. I think I got pretty dehydrated yesterday and couldn't sleep much because of a headache. I didn't wee for hours, and when I did, it was red. I think that might have been the beetroot sandwiches I had at the end of the run, but it sounds quite exciting, so I'm going to say it anyway. I hadn't eaten much, and felt a bit sick. Then I forgot to take my headache tablets with me to the run. What a twit.

But anyway! Today was the Woldingham Marathon, by 1m2go Events, so time to stop moaning, and get on with it. I didn't know if anyone I knew would be there, but of course, there were loads of people there, and it seemed a pretty big event, with the half and full marathons taking place.

The half was one lap, and the marathon two. It started and finished at Woldingham School, which is a Catholic Girls School, which is kind of an odd place to have a marathon, but there you go. It's nice and near Woldingham station, so easy to get to from London.

The route was basically a big loop around Woldingham, with an extra bit across the middle, taking in parts of the North Downs Way and the Vanguard Way too. 

It was a pretty route, very hilly, about 3600 feet of up, I think, on the marathon. And some very steep ones, including the dreaded verticle hill up from the M25. Twice. Going up it the second time, that was the hottest I've ever been, definitely. The weather was something else today!

It was a good event, and I enjoyed it. The marshals were fantastic. My favourite point was at the first water stop on the second lap, a mile or two after The Dreaded Hill, and I was hotter than a hot thing on a hot day in a desert, and about to expire, then and there. A delivery of extra coke had just arrived at the checkpoint! I drank a cup in one gulp. "You need more!" and the cup was filled again! "Now take off your sunglasses, and close your eyes!". Um, OK....being too knackered to ask about why, I did, and was sprayed with water from a plant waterer! A little bit of heaven on a hot day. Thanks marshals! 

It was kind of like the apocalypse out there today, people lying on the ground knackered from the heat, and dehydration. I stopped to try to help the ones I saw, and I hope they all made it back OK. It was pretty tough out there today! I found it really hard going. I don't think I've ever drunk so much on a run, must have  and been litres and litres of water, electrolytes, and coke. I think I must be made of 100% water now. And I'm still thirsty. Although my wee is no longer red, which sounds like progress.

I did 5.55, and I was just glad to make it round, and get back in one piece, to be honest. I have never wanted so much to stop at the half way point before, running past it took all my willpower! I really want to do 52 in 52, and not finishing the full today would have messed it up. #46 today, and three more double marathon weekends to go (but not till after a holiday, I feel like I need a bit of a break from work/back to back events for a couple of weeks).

And now time for the travel bulletin. I got there fine, and almost back fine....until the LAST stop on the overground, where the train has had a fault, and terminated! Ha! At least I can walk from here!

The White Cliffs Challenge, 32 miles, 24.08.2019

Today was hot! Really very hot. But it was a good day. 

I love the Kent LDWA events. I did another of their events, the Andredsweald Circuit, a few weeks ago and had the best time, so I was excited to be doing another one. I wasn't quite so excited at 05.30 this morning, when my alarm went off and I thought I had to go to work, but when I realised I didn't (which took a while, for my brain to kick in at that time of day), I was excited again!

In very exciting and unusual news, and everyone will be happy that I'm not going to have another rant, I made it all the way there on public transport, on time, and was even an hour early. Which left lots of time for chatting to everyone, which was nice, as there were lots of familiar faces to catch up with.

The route was lovely, starting at Margaret at Cliffe, and heading west along the cliffs towards Dover and the first checkpoint....

Then it carried on out to Folkstone to another checkpoint. This part included climbing a lot of steps, 65 at one point, which had been helpfully numbered...

And some good sitting opportunities...

It went above Samphire Hoe, scene of many a race!

It was so beautiful up on the cliffs, running along the North Downs Way...

...after arriving in Folkstone, the route headed back towards Dover. And there was a Spitfire (I think) circling above...

Some of this was the same as the Cinque Ports Hundred route (which I didn't do, but I'm just mentioning it to make it sound like I did, although I did reccee 70 miles of it, so I'm not completely lying, only a bit). It includes some parts through The Warren, which is notorious for being a place to get lost in, but some helpful arrows on the ground made made it much easier, and soon it was out to the sea wall for a mile or two...

Of course, I couldn't do a whole event without getting lost, as that would be most out of character. I missed a turn and ended up the wrong side of the railway, which was a bit of a problem, especially as it is the big high speed line with massive fences all around it, but happily I could spot the bridge I was meant to have gone over in the distance, and headed back. 

Back on track, it was time to climb the massive cliffs, which is a real lung buster. And everything else buster too, for that matter. But being up high means good views, and the views were amazing today!

Then it was more inland, and east back past St Margaret at Cliffe for a loop in the eastwards direction towards Deal, but not quite that far, and then back to St Margaret at Cliffe.

It was really scorching today, I think 30 degrees, and there wasn't too much shade, but it was such a treat to be down by the sea on a day like today! There was also a heap of climbing, I think I heard someone said 7000 feet. They may, or may not, have been talking about this event, or something else entirely, but I'm going to call it about that anyway, because it felt like it. So all in all, it was a tough run, but absolutely first class, I really loved it. Thank you Kent LDWA for another splendid event! And the beetroot and cream cheese sandwiches at the end (inspired)! 

I remembered about an hour before I finished that there was only one train every hour back to London. I had a quick check on the times, and of course, based on my current pace, I was just going to miss one. So I pushed on, and managed to finish, get changed, have some beetroot and cream cheese sandwiches, and then leg it 1.5 miles back to the station, with 8 minutes to spare.....and guess what's coming....yes! Ha! The train was delayed! Much like getting lost, there also couldn't be a whole days public transport without some problem for me to moan about! 

So all in all, 32 miles of event, plus 5 miles of walking and a 3 mile cycle to get there and back. I'm so glad I can rest in the sun tomorrow.....and not need to run the Woldingham Marathon in 30 degrees.....

Looking forward to that 5:30 feeling again!

The Lahrig Ghru

As has become my recent habit, I am writing my blog from being stuck on public transport. This time, it is a plane, which I have been sat on at Inverness airport for about an hour. As much as I like sitting on planes, I was hoping at some point this one might move somewhere, back to London, say, but alas so far, it seems firmly grounded.

Hey ho. I'm only going back for work. I'm not in any rush, come to think of it. In fact, maybe the plane will become so delayed it won't be able to go, and I will be stuck in the Highlands indefinitely.

Because the running here is great! Up on a social trip, so no races this weekend, but got to do a great run along the Lahrig Ghru, so had to  say something about it, because it is a dramatic and bewitching place! 

The Lahrig Ghru is a mountain pass that goes through the Cairngorms, from Speyside on the one side to Deeside on the other, passing under the shadow of Britain's second highest mountain, Ben MacDui. My main experience of it so far, has been to gaze at its moody hights from afar, during holidays in Aviemore. Most of the time, it seems to be covered in swirling clouds, every so often clearing to reveal a long passage stretching up into the mountains, framed by dark and forbidding peaks, only to be covered in clouds a moment later. It fills me with awe and fear! I did brave it and do some of it once with Andrew, and it was his birthday wish (I'm not allowed to say which birthday, not even mention it, woops, haha!) to return and run the whole thing. And when it's your birthday, your wishes come true! 

So it was, that we found ourselves on an early train from Inverness to Aviemore. After a quick stop at a petrol station to fuel up (alas, to fuel us, not a car) we set off to run a couple of miles along a nice mountain bike track through forests to reach Coylumbridge, and then turned right off up towards the Lahrig Ghru.

I like this bit. It's uphill, but along red soil tracks, through pine forests and heather. I was trying to enjoy the moment, and ignore the Lahrig Ghru ahead, where the clouds were gathering....

We climbed higher and the weather stayed good for a bit longer.  

But as tempestuous as the weather is in the Scottish mountains, it turned in second, and the rain poured down. We rounded a corner, which had turned out to be sheltering us from the full force if the wind down the valley, and boom! I stared back through the cloud, and saw Aviemore in a little pool of sunlight far below. Oh, to be running happily through those pine forests! But no. Birthday wishes and all! We pressed on up the boulder field, and as we reached the highest point below Ben MacDui, it started to hail. It was really quite cold. I was regretting not bringing more hardcore mountain gear. I had a sudden premonition that this was going to be like an episode of that 999 programme with Micheal Burke narrating. Motivated to not to become a headline story, we pressed on, running through rivers, picking over boulders, which wasn't always successful, and I made a short diversion to land upside down in some heather....

Luckily, as we'd passed the highest point and started coming down the other side, the weather cleared up, and as it was so windy, we dried out pretty quick. 

It even cleared up enough to see some wildlife, and Andrew spotted a haggis running along the mountain...

The views coming down the other side were out of this world! The sun even came out as we came down towards the Forest of Mar. I absolutely loved this part! It was so nice to feel warm after being so freezing, and so nice to feel content after feeling so anxious up in the mountains. Pictures speak much better than words sometimes....

Soon enough, we made it to the Linn of Dee (which means, the waterfall of Dee) and the end of the run, and 22 miles of adventure! 

Marathon #128 - Forrest Run, 11.08.2019

Run Forrest, run!

Today was another lapped course, this time with Saturn Running, along the River Thames near to Reading, where you can do as many 5km laps as you like within 7 hours. It was a Forrest Gump themed run, and I LOVE Forrest Gump.

I felt alright when I woke up after yesterday's hilly marathon, which was a suprise. I had another running nightmare in the night (something about being chased around a vineyard by Gollum waving a wine bottle about, and shouting that if I didn't run up the hill ALL the way, then Gandalf would put a spell on the grapes, and there would be no more wine, and it would all be my fault, and everyone would hate me). So I woke up at 4.30, so I was early and everything was going well, I even navigated around all the drunk people in Shoreditch, who were running in the road and bursting balloons in front of cars and screaming at people. I thought, if I can get through this, I can do anything! The train left, and got to Ealing. And then it just stayed at Ealing, because it broke (the doors got locked shut). I think it was the same train guard from last night, but he'd moved up in a level of stress, and was now even walking up and down the train, calling out "This train is a pain in the BACKSIDE! I'm SO sorry! I know this is a TERRIBLE start to your day" over and over and over. It was quite similar to last night, in that there were the same two types of people stuck on the train, really angry people, or really drunk people. Only now all the drunk people were asleep, and the angry people were REALLY angry, as they were trying to get to work. I was somewhere in the middle (asleep, not drunk, of course, and not angry, but upset, so nothing like everyone else, so I'm not even sure why I said that at all), so I dealt with that by joining in with train guard, and having a breakdown too. I cried, which at least got that over with early today, had a tantrum like a three year old, and was about to storm off the train, before I realised 1) the doors were locked shut, 2) I might be over reacting a touch, and 3) the driver somehow managed to fix the doors, and the train started moving.   

I felt knackered right from the start today. I love this course, it's a nice mix of meadows, and towpaths, woods, and a lock (and even though I thought it couldn't get any better, now it has a pizza boat at the far end of the course), and I love the aid station, but today every lap felt like a mountain! On my second lap, one magpie flew in front of me and sat down on the path. I always think of "one for sorrow, two for joy, blah, blah, blah...." when I see magpies. I know it's daft because it's just a magpie, but it was definitely doing it on purpose. It kept flying up and then back down at me, and staring me in the eye. I told it, it could bloody well do one, but it didn't. Then I saw another bird join in, so I thought, ha! Two for joy! I've won, move over magpie! Then I realised the other bird was a pigeon. Then a dog, called Bert, ran up to me and tried to knock me over, and then started licking me. Did Forrest have to deal with these things? Yes, he probably did, and just got on with it. And he'd have said "that's all I have to say about that", instead of going on and on and on. I need to be more like Forrest. 

I made it through a few more laps, and was finding it hard, so was thinking of more Forrest's words of wisdom to distract myself:

1) Sometimes there just aren't enough rocks. Well, that's not something I thought of today at any point. My feet are a disaster, I've got three blisters and only 9 toenails left, and my favourite running shoes have had it. This is awful and now what will I do? Somewhere along this train of thought, which was going on a bit to be honest, and wasn't overly helpful given the circumstances, I became aware of Forrest whispering....that's all I have to say about that....so, moving on...

2) When I got tired, I slept. When I got hungry, I ate. When I had to go, you know, I went. When it comes down to it, that's running I guess. If I could just stop thinking all these negative thoughts all the time, I'm sure this would be a lot easier.

3) What's normal anyways? Now, there's a question, that not even 8 laps of thinking can answer...

I didn't think I was going to make it very far today. But so many friends were there, that each time I kicked another rock, or a magpie blocked my path, and I thought that that was it, I wasn't good enough to be here, and I should go home and stop taking up space on the towpath, someone smiled/waved/hugged, and I thought, no! I will stay! Forrest said, "I ain't a smart man, but I know what love is." And I know that I love running (although, sometimes, quite deep down), and I (always) love my running friends! There will be peaks and troughs, and right now I'm in a trough, but soon there will be a peak, and I'm not giving up! Soon after that Craig lapped me, and because he's the best, he stayed with me in the trough, and ran with me till he finished. I know I am lucky to be surrounded by people who are there always, not just at the good times. Forrest has something to say on this matter, too! "If you do not like my family and friends, I do not want to hear anything about it. They may mean nothing to you, but they mean everything to me."

Then, I had one lap left, so I went back to thinking about Forrest. He said, "some people think miracles don't happen - well, they do." So maybe I could finish a marathon today, after all! And I did, so Forrest is right. I knew it.

Thank you Charlotte, George, and Saturn and the marshals for another brilliant event. I love Saturn, it's always nice and chilled out, and always a good day full of support and cheer, and a lovely medal. 

And so, to finish on my favourite current Forrest thought. I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we just be floating about accidental like on the breeze, but I, I think maybe it's both. Which I have been wondering about lately, but maybe it is a bit deep for the evening at the end of a double marathon weekend, and a dinner of a pint of cider, watermelon sweets and mashed potato (I've got to sort myself out) so maybe I'll change it to this one.

 "There's an awful lot you can tell about a person by their shoes". 

Which might not be so philosophical, but has reminded me, I need new running shoes....

Marathon #127 - One Run To Find Them All, 10.08.2019

This was a Lord of the Rings themed run by Phoenix Running, in a new location, at the Denbies Wine Estate. If that's not a good place to have a run in, then I don't know what is.

That's what I'm Tolkein about!

I wasn't sure whether to go today. I wasn't well in the week, and the week was total absolute rubbish, and everything felt a bit beyond me right now, and I kind of wanted to hide from everything. But it was laps (each one 5km) today, and the good things about laps is you can finish whenever you want. So I thought, I probably won't feel any worse for going, in fact, I'll probably feel better for seeing everyone, so I'll just go along and see how it goes. I'm so glad I did, because I do feel much better!

The route was so pretty. It was really hilly and quite tough, but I loved it. It's very green, with lines and lines of vines stretching out towards beautiful views of the hills in every direction. Due to the weather, I didn't take any photos, as my bag was sheltering from the rain, deep inside the bag tent, but some views don't need a photo to remember them by.

For the first time in ages, I felt still inside. I know that sounds silly, because when running you are anything but still, but that's how it felt, running alongside the vines, and looking at the views. It even got sunny towards the end.

I think it is one of my favourite routes, and I wish I was still there, really. 

So many friends there, thanks a million for all for the chats and hugs! Witnessed lots of celebrations today too, and congratulations Alan on your 100th Marathon!

The only bad thing about today is that I'm right now stuck on a train home, somewhere near Wimbledon, because someone is trespassing on the railway. The train is full of a mixture of people who are either a) really angry, or b) totally trollied. A couple are having an arguement over "what is a trespasser" which quickly escalated to them getting off early and her shouting "if this makes us more late, I'M GONNA BE SO ANGRY WITH YOU!!!" Someone just spilt a bottle of wine everywhere. Her friend is trying to work out how long it's going to take to get back to London, based on us going at half speed, but is being corrected by the wine lady, who, (and I'm quite impressed by this given how much wine is slugging around the carriage right now), has pointed out that that won't work, AS WE AREN'T MOVING. 

I think the train guard is having a breakdown because every two minutes he keeps making an announcement to say he is so sorry for the delay and he knows this is the worst thing ever to happen, and just in case anyone missed it, he'll tell us what's happening again. How could anyone have missed it?? No one has got on it off for half an hour, because WE HAVENT MOVED! 

Did I say that already? Sorry. Still not moving. 

I'm wondering whether I should just crack open the wine from Denbies, and just join in with it all. 

Thanks Rik and lovely Phoenix Marshals for a fab run, and thanks to all my running friends today for being so amazing - love you guys big time!

There is the obvious problem that of the trilogy of races, I only have one. Yet I am encouraged that my ring is the Ring To Find Them...so I think that this is the most useful, as if you can find things, you can find the other two, right? Plus, being able to find things might help with my navigation....