Marathons #163, #164 and #165

A triple marathon weekend - trying to get back into back to backs, and been missing the marathon circuit over lockdowns! Fortunately, in time for this quest, the forecast was for wall to wall sunshine, and beautiful sunny weather. Oh wait, no, that would be a crazy idea, what with it being August and all. It was more along the lines of, how shall we say; bucketing it down/ it never rains but it pours/ tipping it down/ lovely weather for ducks, etc etc.....

Saturn, Midweek Chasing Numbers - Practically Perfect in Every Run, 06.08.2021

 

First one down in Egham, 6 x 4.4 mile laps with Alice and Craig along the Thames. On the train on the way there, there were two policeman in my carriage. 

Policeman 1 to Policeman 2: "I've cancelled my CAT"

Lady sat near to policemen: "I wish my cat would die."

Policeman 1: "What?"

Lady: "My cat, I wish it would die."

Policeman 1: "Oh, I was talking about cancelling my leave" (and followed an explanation about the acronym of CAT and annual leave) "But, do you you not like your cat?"

Lady: "No, I love my cat. It's just it's very tying, having to be back all the time to feed it, you know, you can't just go out and change your plans, and when you go on holiday......." etc etc, and so followed a long conversation about cats and dogs....

Which was topical, as it had been raining cats and dogs. Escaped the worst of it though while we were running, and it was pretty much dry the whole way. Felt good, and it felt comfortable doing 4:18.

Saturn, The Runners' Memorial Run, 08.08.2021

 

Loved this event and the idea for it. Saturn Running put on a run that was free to enter, and all donations for entering went to charities that were nominated to remember runners and runners friends/family who have passed away recently, and there were signs up all along the course with those peoples names. At 11:00 the air horns went off, and wherever you were on the course, we had a minute to reflect and celebrate those people. I think starting again after that minute and remembering how many people used to be around and who aren't any longer, made it even more special to be surrounded by friends. Ran with Andrew, and had plenty of other catch ups with friends along the way. Got wet a few times, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I love this part of the Thames, running east from Staines, 6 x 4.4 mile laps for a marathon, it felt nice and comfortable in 4:32, and got to catch up with lots of friends along the way. Thank you Saturn Running for a brilliant idea and a lovely day. Off to the pub with Dave and Andrew afterwards, eating giant chips and skinny chips, and discussing the Jersey trip, halloumi, and the exchange rate in fresh fish of a painted canvas.  

Phoenix, The Solar Series Uranus Morning Run, 09.08.2021

Today didn't go entirely according to what my plan for it was, but then, that is not unusual! Been fighting with migraines the last couple of weeks, on and off, and it had decided to almost come back, so my double marathon I was planning for today was in jeopardy! I almost didn't go this morning (looking at heavy rain pouring outside at 6am has the effect of making a migraine worse), but I'm glad that I did, because even if Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, if you're Singin' In The Rain with your friends, it turns out that every cloud has a silver lining.

Today's run was in Harlow in Essex, which is quite easy to get to from my house, so I decided I didn't really have an excuse not to at least go and see what happened. Got soaked on the way there, but Craig was starting his 3rd lap when I started my 1st, so we ran the next 6 together, and even though the weather was a bit "temperamental" it was fun, chatting away the laps. Thanks Craig! The route was pretty tough underfoot - loops along the River Stort, so the towpath side was quite nice, but the other side through the woods was like a very long and very deep bog. I made it to lap 8 before falling into the bog. I was so muddy that members of the public actually pointed at me and said "look at that!". Thanks very much for the support. At the end, I had to hose myself down with the hosepipe at the rowing club. I only did the morning marathon in the end, as my head was starting to hurt, it was peeing it down again, I was covered in mud, and I felt that the phrase "don't rain on my parade" was a bit redundant in this situation. 

But, it was the perfect day to be feeling under the weather, as never was there a day when it was so obvious that we are, always, underneath whatever the weather decides to do. Which of late, is rain. A lot. But there's nowt we can do about that. So we should think of rain as being just confetti from the clouds, so let's dance in the rain, and let a smile be our umbrella!

Thanks Rik for a great event, and for making my Garmin watch make a coffee! Good luck to all the people doing the 10 in 10 or 20 in 10 - you are all amazing and I hope the weather gets better, and the mud dries out!