SVN Winter Seaside Series....Days 1-5....

Got the week off with Andrew. Booked a "cosy wooden chalet" in Kingsdown for a festive winter break. Kingsdown (near Dover) might sound an odd place for a winter break, but it is near to Samphire Hoe, where the SVN Winter Seaside Series 10 in 10 events are going on. Booked the first three events, then thought it would sound nice to have a few days relaxing doing tourist type things, and relaxing in the cozy wooden cabin, then booked three events at the end of the 10 in 10 too.

Cozy wooden cabin is nice, for the summer. Right now it is like a cold shed. All the castles and tourist places are shut during the week, as it is winter.... so holiday plan seems to have changed slightly....eeek.

Day 1: The Black Knight Challenge, Friday 26.11.21

First day, and Monty Python theme with plenty of coconuts! Love the medal, which seems topical considering for the amount of time I have recently spent acquainted with the floor during runs. 4 x 6.55 mile laps around Samphire Hoe, through the tunnel, and up on the cliffs. Love this route the most! Ran a marathon today. Andrew started his extra challenge of having an ice cream from the cafe after each event (Eton Mess today). Went to M+S and the Dover retail park afterwards. Checked into the cold shed. Decided it was too cold, and went to the pub down the road (The Rising Sun) on Sam's advice, for dinner, and to warm up.

Day 2: The Fudgeathon, Saturday 27.11.21

More folk around today, it being the weekend and all, including Storm Arwen. The weather kept setting off the car alarm, so for the first few laps, we had to keep checking it.

Amazing Jackie had made a huge selection of fudge flavours for the annual race celebrating fudge! Thanks Jackie!! Smaller laps today, around Samphire Hoe and along the sea wall, which was all very lovely, apart from Storm Arwen's presence. Very cold and wet, windy and hail storms! Wore two running jackets, plus my other layers! Went through three pairs of gloves attempting to keep my hands above freezing, but none worked, so eating and drinking were mostly impossible for most of the day. Going east on the sea wall was the worst part, with the rain/hail horizontal in the face. It was a tough day, but I still loved it, and seeing everyone, still smiling though the rain from underneath various extra layers of clothing! The weather was so horrid, that I joked to myself, that if it stopped raining by my last lap (as if it would ever stop raining!) for the marathon (lap 8) then I would do an ultra. Oddly enough, it did stop raining, so I had to keep my promise, and did 50km today (9.5 laps). Once my hands warmed up, I sampled some delicious fudge flavours (including, biscoff, peanut butter,  and chocolate orange). Enjoyed warming up and drying off with coffee and hot cross buns by the radiator in the warm room afterwards with Andrew and Richard! Cold shed still too cold to warm up in, so went to another pub down by the sea (The Zeatland Arms) which was toasty warm.

Day 3: The Bobble Hobble, Sunday 28.11.21

Weather better! Same route as yesterday. Loads of people running today, at the popular Bobble Hobble, where everyone gets an SVN Bobble hat at registration! Everyone looked fabulous all day running around in the colourful bobble hats! Sarah and Jon came, so that was great fun, running with Sarah for the first half, then we joined up with Andrew and Jon. 

Did another 50km. Tried some more fudge flavours! Thank you Sarah for my new detangling hairbrush! Beautiful weather today, you would never guess how different it was yesterday! Had a deadline to be back for a table booking at the Zetland Arms at 4.30, which was a good incentive to get ready quickly and out of the cold shed without faffing. They ran out of veggie roasts, but still had a delicious meal. Also had some red wine, and accidently entered tomorrow's marathon, even though Andrew has hurt his knee.....

Day 4: The Dragon Run, Monday 29.11.21

....Andrew has fashioned a knee support out of his 40th birthday sock. Quieter again today now it's Monday.  The route was back up on the 6.55 mile cliff loop, so 4 laps and another marathon day. 

Andrew's sock support seems effective!

Absolutely amazing day up on the cliffs, like being on top of the world in the sunshine! Was almost getting too hot, but still not quite warm enough to take off the double jackets yet. 

Saw Baywatch the pony (bleach blonde mane and tail) and his friends up on the cliffs. 

New sheep in the Hoe (think we saw them arriving yesterday) and the cows were on form (including donkey cow and the little cows). 

Had a trip to the retail park to buy some new jumpers for wearing in the cold shed. Got one from Next which makes me look like a giant sheep, but it is so warm and toasty, that I don't care how I look! That, plus another purchase of a base layer and a scarf, and it's almost warm in the cold shed! Went to Nandos and got the spicy sauce in another attempt to warm up, but might have overdone it, and it was too spicy to eat much. Entered tomorrow's run whilst trying not to cough too much from the chilli, and incur the acusing glares that you get these days if you so much as clear your throat.

My cold came back overnight, so I couldn't sleep for some of it, and was up drinking hot drinks in my sheep jumper. Got back to sleep eventually, and felt better by morning. 

Day 5: St Andrew's Day Challenge, Tuesday 30.11.21

Fabulous day! 3 x 8.8 mile loops for a marathon, though the Hoe, along the sea wall, all the way to the cliff, back again, through waste land, up the tunnel and along the cliffs and back. 

The day went by so quickly - sunny, much warmer, amd loved the big laps! Some waves came over the sea wall! The man in the Samphire Hoe cafe knows our finishing order now (lattes and crumpets - not pikelets, Andy!) and that Andrew will have an ice cream each day (classic vanilla today - yellow, not white, as proper Cornish ice cream). Happy St Andrew's Day to Andrew and all my Scottish friends! Some great Scottish themed outfits out on course today. Tunnocks teacakes and wafers and shortbread at the aid station. Fish and chips at The Sea View in Deal afterwards!

Super proud of Andrew, who says he can never do a 10 in 10, but has now done 5 marathons in 5 days, and looks to be getting stronger! Have entered tomorrow....... 

Thank you Traviss, Rachel and Team SVN 😀

Phoenix Running weekend: Squid Run 29.5 miles (13.11.21) and Remembrance Day Marathon (14.11.21)

Saturday 13.11.2021 - Squid Run 29.5 miles (#178)

Following a slight dip in form and mo-jo since the Halloween 100, I was a bit unsure of myself and my ability to hold it together this weekend! Turns out I needn't have worried - too many friends there to have anything but an amazing weekend!

Andrew's first runs back since having Covid - super proud of him for knocking out two solid marathons back to back!

Saturday was Rob's 150th marathon - superstar! Absolutely loved being there on the special day, and sharing some miles and smiles on the towpath. Some more miles with Andrew, and some with Richard (thank you for filling me in on the rules of the Squid Games!) plus many more chats made the miles fly by. There were a couple of hairy encounters with some of the more "assertive" swans near Walton Bridge. Saw the cockerel out for a walk with his owner (this is a thing, yes). He had an almost fight with a small dog, who was approximately the same size as him, but after a couple of enthusiastic and self-assured run ups, the small dog took note of the cockerel's crowing and wing flapping, and beat a shame-faced retreat back to his owner. 

We got two medals today, which was very exciting. First, the Squid Games one. After some further education on the Squid Games when discussing the medal with the barmaid in the Weir afterwards, I learnt it has a triangle on, because it is the symbol that armed guards wear on their masks, and that there are also circle ones (normal workers) and squares (managers).

The other medal was a pick and mix medal, and I love it as a whimsical reminder of Covid lockdown rules (not that we all need reminding).

I ran 9 laps, 29.5 miles, in 4:56, which is a PB for me for that distance, and I'm pleased about that, and it has helped build my mo-jo back a bit! 

After completing the runs, I spent the afternoon in the Weir pub with Andrew, Rob and Annabel, drinking hot drinks, eating chips/crisps/soup/Andrew's giant meal, and some fruity cider (watermelon and lime!) and discussing all manner of things, including but not limited to, celebrating a 150th marathon, Maleficent and Disney costumes, Las Vegas, the pointlessness of spiders and flies, wasp stings versus bee stings, the dangers of open water, 100 milers, and dogs. Such a fun afternoon - thank you guys!

We caught a lift with Rob over the river, and stayed at the Holiday Inn. I was very excited by this, as it had a swimming pool, with a jacuzzi and sauna, and I hadn't been in a swimming pool since before Covid! Great way to stretch out and relax after a run, plus a delicious meal with the nicest waiter in the world, and it was the perfect day.

Sunday 14.11.2021 - Remembrance Day Marathon (#179)

I tried a porridge pot of coconut and chia seed porridge this morning for breakfast. It wasn't nice. Fortunately, I had brought emergency hot cross buns (hot cross buns are always great in an emergency situation), so breakfast was saved. After a short confrontation between Andrew and the hotel receptionist over the taxi, we were soon on our way in said taxi to pick up Rob and head back to the Excel Centre in Walton for the Remembrance Day Marathon. There were about 400 runners there today I think, and it was such a brilliant day. Saw so many people I haven't seen for ages, since before Covid in some cases I think.  It felt like old times (BC - Before Covid). Such a buzz. Had an amazing day, thank you everyone! Huge congratulations to David and Peter on your #99 Flake Marathons!! 

The Remembrance Runs are really lovely, they are built around the 2 minute silence at 11:00 - there are marshals out on course with airhorns signalling the start and end, and everyone stops for the 2 minutes.

Ran the whole way with Sarah and Andrew, and had another chat-athon/ laugh-athon. We covered a range of topics, almost as varied as on 100 chats, including; which houseboat we might have/ if you could get sea-sick on a house boat/ if Rik could get a Phoenix houseboat, soup, gorillas on the Thames, bellringing and half-muffled bells, sad dog stories and Andrew's favourite dog joke, and the seafood section of the aid station and how foam shrimps must not be too cold. During lulls in the conversation, we spotted house boats with faces. Surprised houseboat.....

And melancholy houseboat....

Saw so many friends that it's impossible to capture all the moments I will remember with a smile from today, but here are some! 

Beautiful medal!

And thank you Sarah for my cute pin for my Halloween medal! 

Thank you Rik and Phoenix Team for an absolutely first class weekend!

SVN Halloween 100 Miles - 30.10.2021

Back to Samphire Hoe for another spooky Halloween 100 weekend with the fabulous SVN! 

I did this last year, and it was probably one of my favourite events ever. I was so adamant that I didn't want to ruin my memories of it, by going back and trying it again and maybe having a bad experience, that I didn't enter it until a few weeks ago. But I couldn't stop thinking of everyone who was going to be there, having such adventures, and that I would miss out, so I entered. And of course, I am glad that I did!

Being Samphire Hoe, the weather was bound to be bad, so no surprise that the sea wall was shut because the sea was too rough. So there was the added extra bonus of doing the extra 2 laps up the cliffs instead! So it was the same route as last year; 7 x 6.55 miles on the big route (around Samphire Hoe, up through the tunnel, up the cliffs, along and up and down the top of the cliffs and back, down through the tunnel, through Wasteland, and back to base) plus 16.5 x 3.28 miles on the little route (all in Samphire Hoe). 

The weather was wild! The wind wasn't quite as bad as last year (only 62 MPH gusts rather than 74 MPH - thanks Traviss for the stats!) but I would still say, that it felt quite windy! The rain came and went as it pleased, and when it came, it threw it down. Jackets on, off, on again, off again, too hot, too cold, so many outfit changes! 

The clouds and the sky, and the wind on the sea, made for some beautiful views during the day.

The late afternoon up on the cliffs was actually beautiful weather, and even vest weather for a couple of hours!

I ran the whole 100 miles with Sarah, and we had so many catch ups with so many friends on the way round as well, it was brilliant. Thank you to everyone out there for the chats, hugs, smiles and encouragement. It was so good to see you all, and it's such a great feeling to be in something epic all together.

The sunset was marvellous!

I quite like having the two sets of different laps, as by the time you have finished the 7 big cliff laps, you are almost at 50 miles, so then it almost feels like another event when you start off on the little Samphire laps for the second half. At the end of the 7th cliff lap, we came down the tunnel (aka, the wind tunnel) for our last parachute practice of the day (the wind was blowing up the tunnel!) and back into Samphire Hoe for Halloween night! 

As we finished our 7 big laps, we got to switch our tally cards over to a new one. We celebrated this notable moment with a wee (in the posh loos which were still open), a snack, an outfit change for warmer night time gear (alas, no PJs tonight), and got our headtorches out. Because of where the car park was, we could use our cars as giant drop bags, which was quite fun! Despite arranging everything carefully in the boot at the start, so that I would be able to find things easily, of course, in the middle of the night I was completely unable to find any of the things I wanted. 

We got a lap or two of the little laps in before the sun disappeared....

....and Halloween Night began!

I managed I think 3 full little laps before having a fall. Thank you Sarah for picking me up and putting up with my mini-meltdown! And thank you to the First Aiders back at base who cleaned me up, and stuck me back together. It's a shame. After my recent run of falls (3 in a month!) my knees were just about looking like something that might pass as normal, and my future dream career as a knee model was looking more promising again. Alas, the dream is crushed once more.

But, this was no time to be sentimental. There were still around 40 miles to do! Running with Sarah is always so much fun, and we seem to talk away all the miles, which makes them go by quickly! The topics covered did, I suppose, fall in quality as the time went on. We started with sensible things, catching up on a whole 3 weeks of news. Via an assortment of subjects, we eventually, during the night, happened upon the question of do sheep sleep? None of the ones at Samphire did, they seemed to be eating all night.

And if they do sleep, do sheep count humans, if they can't get to sleep? And then how long would they be asleep for?

And what about cows? Where do the Samphire cows go at night? They had all completely disappeared, apart from this one cow, who randomly appeared to eat the grass right on the path at about 3am.

The cows had left some helpful "cow pat markers" along the course, which helped with navigation. Big Cow Pat, was followed by Flattened Cow Pat a bit further down the hill, and finally Third Cow Pat was right at the bottom by the fence where you turned to go up the other hill. This worked well for keeping track of our place on the course, until someone, late into the night, kicked the Big Cow Pat off the course, which completely confused us for the next few laps. 

Quite late into the run, whilst running through Wasteland, conversation turned to concrete, which is an under visited topic of conversation. Wasteland is filled with concrete. All different patches. This makes for interesting shadows and shapes, which in the dark, may turn out to be just a shadow, or may be a surprisingly deep and cold puddle. I think some of the brambles have been cleared since last year, so it seemed a little easier to navigate around - through the gap, round the lake, through second gap, 10 cones, turn round - etc etc! Wasteland is also full of cones to help mark the way. Some of the cones were missing their reflective covering, and so became known as The Naked Cones. We also saw a tiny mouse in Wasteland, who looked very shocked to be caught in 4 headtorches all at once and didn't know what to do, and I felt very bad about. Hope he found a peaceful spot for the night away from us all, the poor wee thing.

It was a dark night, and the moon was hiding behind clouds, and the white cliffs reflected what light there was, making the surrounding darkness seem even denser. There were plenty of ships in the channel (including one that was entirely lit up, and looked like the boat from Blackpool Illuminations), their lights twinkling away, and the lights of Dover at one end and Folkstone at the other end of the course added to the light show.

After filling out our new tally card with 10 clippity-clips for 10 laps, we got our new, and final tally cards, and were down to the last 6.5 laps (less than a marathon!). I refuse to let myself think of the end of a 100 miler during it, as I think that's the start of a slippery slope; 100 miles is a long way to be on your feet, and letting thoughts of the times and distance left to do into your head is likely to stress you out! But, it was getting close now, and if we completed it today, Sarah would have done 13 x 100 milers (that's a conveniently spooky number for Halloween!) and I would have done 8 x 100 milers (and 8 looks like a ghost wearing a belt, maybe)! So we started to get excited, and in our "hundred mile" (crocky) voices, we allowed ourselves to let out the odd squeal. 

Right before we finished, there was the most beautiful sunrise. We had survived Halloween night!! We'd seen a few ghosts, but on closer inspection, mostly these were patterns on the wet paths, cows pats, or sheep eyes, so nothing to be concerned about.  

The finish is always exciting! So happy to have completed another 100 miles and to have enjoyed it! I think it's fair to say it was tough, but then again, if it wasn't, would it be as good? We finished in 24:36, so pleased as punch!

Thank you so much to Traviss, Rachel, Karen and all the SVN Team for yet another superb event and for taking care of us all. I don't know how you stay awake yourselves for so long, keep track of where everyone is up to, and stay so happy and supportive! And thank you to the First Aid team, who were amazing! 

Thank you Sarah for putting up with me for the whole time, and for staying side by side even when I do stupid things like tripping over nothing and throwing myself down a concrete hill and hold us up for ages. It's always the best fun to run with you, and I hope we will have more 100 mile chat-athons! Well done to Jon on your 50, super proud of you! And well done to everyone who ran - it was a tough thing we did there, and you are all awesome! 

Note: questions cannot go unanswered, and Google is helpful:

1. Sheep do sleep, but only for around 4 hours per day. The RSPCA website does not have any information on how sheep get to sleep, or if they count humans in order to. 

2. Cows also need about 4 hours sleep per day, and they can doze lightly on their feet (because they have special ligaments and tendons that mean they need minimal muscular effort to stay standing up), but they have to lie down to sleep deeply. 

3. There are three grades of concrete, which sounds like the start of another 100 conversation......