On the nature of mud

There’s a rumour that the eskimos have a whole collection of words to describe the different types of snow, here in West Dorset I think we should be developing an equivalent lexicon for mud.

I went out for my scheduled short run around Langdon Hill yesterday morning earlier than normal. With a weather front closing in, and light rain already starting I decided to get my gear on, drop the kids at school and head straight off. With a temperature around four degrees and rain increasing decided to wear my Brookes waterproof jacket for the first time and cap too. It was an unpleasant, but necessary run. By the end it was a mixture of rain, sleet and snow.

At the southern end of the loop there’s a wet patch, and the rain of the last few days has just made it worse. The track must have a fairly hard base somewhere, so the mud is not too deep but it holds the water and is very sloppy. It starts off brown and gritty, dark water standing in the footholes. The sort of mud that splashes half-way up your legs as you jog through it. Then it starts to get stickier, the clay base starting to turn the water yellow. The sort of mud that would be at home on The Somme. This is a bit thicker, it grabs at your trainers threatening to yank them off at any moment. The only recourse is to walk through it, step by sucking step, or try to edge along the side of the path scraping past the brambles. You have no idea how much I’m looking forward to the summer.

I’ll be out again on Friday. I’m hoping that the weather dries out a bit but not holding out much hope. The muddy chute awaits . . .

12 days to Southbourne 10

13 days until we move (consider this official notice Sis)

19 days to the first grand prix

Four and a half months to Charmouth Challenge 2010

Please make the mud go away

Didn’t run mid-week, wanted to give my right calf a bit of extra time to recover. Seems ok for now.

Usual 9km loop today, but after the heavy rain of the last few days, and what with the warmer weather thawing out the last of the ice, it was a tad muddy out there. There’s a narrow bit that heads downhill between two fields on the way back along the coast. No idea how I stayed on my feet, it was like a muddy chute.

For what it’s worth I did it in just over 1hr 6m, but when conditions are so sticky there’s not much point in trying to time it. I lose time trying to walk round the mud or through the least deep bit, but also running through the mud must sap my energy too. On the plus side it means I have to work harder, so maybe there’s a benefit somewhere in the long run. I’m still enjoying it, I like the hills, but I also need to find somewhere nearby that’s relatively flat and dry to get some speedwork in before Southbourne, otherwise I’ll never be able to run at the pace I need.

Did come across a good samaritan today! I was running round the lanes heading toward Langdon Hill car-park, when I turned a corner to find the lane flooded. No way round it and about eight inches deep. Now I don’t mind a bit of mud, but there’s no way I want water in my trainers thank you very much even if that makes me a wuss. (I try to avoid races with names like Grim, Grizzly and Full Death Experience) Anyway, so I’m stood there thinking ok how far do I back-track, when the hourly car that you get on this lane just happens by. Very kind lady offered to drive me across the lake. Result. Run resumed. So thank you lady wherever you are.

Should manage a short run mid-week.

The best laid plans of mice and men . . .

. . . oft go awry.

Or in other words things didn’t quite go to plan today. I was supposed to be repeating Monday’s run, but this time taking the Orbana energy drink before I set off to see if it improved performance.

Unfortunately, it had been raining all night and all morning. It eased off slightly around 10:30 so decided to knock back the drink and head out, suitably attired for the weather of course. By the time I got to the far end of Stonebarrow car park it was so misty that I could only see about 30 yards! What the heck. Set off anyway, but after about 10 yards of the first field I was up to my ankles in water . . . and this is at the top of the hill. So there was no way I could do any sort of normal route. The comparison run will have to wait for next week. Sorry Annabel.

Decided to just run back down the length of the car park, down Stonebarrow Lane, then turn round and come back. 5km in all, so a short run with a big hill. Total run took 32m 10s, but the important kilometer up Stonebarrow Lane took 8m 58s with 123m of climb. On the last occasion that I tried that climb it took 9m 55s. So am I getting better, or was it the Orbana. Impossible to say when I’m comparing two runs that are three months apart. And that’s why I need to do a repeat of Monday’s 9km route as soon as possible. Looks like maybe next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Just over six weeks to Southbourne 10k.

The Return of the Mud

Too warm for the forecast snow, temperatures here now around three degrees so we just had a bit of drizzle most of the night. The rising temperatures have thawed out most of the mud, so pretty mucky today especially near the end of my run. Still a bit of ice here and there, so mud is likely to get worse before it gets better.

6.96 km, 47m 50s, 6m 52s per k average, 312m of climb. All pretty average, but glad to have got out. Basically just did a loop from Stonebarrow, will do much the same at the weekend but include the loop round Langdon Hill and the climb up Golden Cap.

Would have been fun to have had some snow, but being right on the coast in West Dorset we’re pretty sheltered so it’s unusual to get more than a dusting, although to be fair we did get a few inches last March. It did get cold enough for the river Char to freeze over this time, there’s some photos of it on Facebook on the Charmouth Appreciation Society page if you’re interested.

It must be Winter . . .

. . . as today was the first time this year I have put away the shorts and gone for something longer. It was about 6 degrees C, so wore my Ronhill Tracksters for the first time. They’re kind of lightweight, slightly stretchy, running legging things. Bought them on Ebay for tuppance ha’penny a few months back. (I guess it’s like coal, winter running gear is cheaper in the summer?).

Decent run, but felt a bit short on energy as I’ve not been running as much as I should these last couple of weeks due to various niggling pains. Ok today though, did 6.97 km in 53m 29s with no discomfort from calf, hamstring or knee. 383m of ascent, including Golden Cap which for the first time I nearly made it all the way to the top before I had to walk. So have to be pleased with that, even though it was probably because I took it so easy on the way up. Heart rate did reach 180bpm when I gave up, not sure that’s healthy. Average of 7m 40s per km was pretty abysmal, but it was seriously muddy in places, so quite a few walky bits.

Still painting in Honiton this week (I’m not a professional so it takes me twice as long), so not sure when I’ll get out again. Will definitely make an effort to get out for something, somewhere mid-week, followed by a longer run at the weekend.

Recovery Run

Must have been trying pretty hard last Sunday, as it’s taken all week to recover. Didn’t bother with the mid-week run as I was still pretty sore in the calves and ankles, particularly my right calf which was still a bit tender this morning.

Decided to go for a short run anyway over my normal ‘short’ training run course. Quickly remembered why I decided to take a different route over the winter months as it was a bit of a mudfest. Reduced to walking round the worst bits at least three times. (That’s each bit once, not the same bit three times . . . ) Even with the enforced breaks, still found it hard work. Temperature was about 8 degrees C, but felt a lot less when I turned into the wind. I think when it gets below 5 degrees I’ll ditch the shorts and go with the Ronhill Tracksters that I picked up on Ebay.

In an effort to get really fit over the winter, decided to take on the one hundred push-ups challenge. Day one was last Monday, but after doing the initial test and just squeaking into the top set of three for Day 1, I completed the task but strained everything to the point of not being able to do push-ups again until today! So I’m going to re-start next Monday with the medium level set. At some point hope to do the sit-ups and squats challenges too.

Meanwhile, the official Boscombe 10k results are out and I came 247th out of 436. Dang, still below halfway.

Wednesday. Run. Tick.

5.75km, 39m 16s, average 6m 50s per kilometer. Muddy and slippery.

Not much more to say really. Will be varying routes depending on quantity of mud encountered for the next few months, so average time will be a better indication of how things are going. But even that will vary depending on which hills I tackle and how far I run. Maybe I should think about just staying on the lanes in and around Charmouth. Not so scenic, but better conditions.

Quite cold day with strong wind, so put on a second layer for the first time. Seemed to go ok, but probably didn’t put enough effort in as it was a job to push heart rate past 170 bpm.

Plan to get out again Saturday morning, depending on the weather.

Endurancelife hits Charmouth

So there I was, trotting along minding my own business, enjoying the sunshine and trying to avoid the muddy bits, when a stream of seriously fit blokes came bounding past.  Polite to a man (person?) they all said ‘Good Morning’ or the like. Turns out it’s part of the Endurancelife Coastal Trail Series. I did come across the details a while back when I was looking for local races, but since then it slipped my mind. The reason that I didn’t enter it was that it was £30 to run in the 10k race! There’s also a half-marathon for £40, or the full banana for £50. Not sure what you get for the money apart from mud and sore legs. I mean the glorious scenary is free. When I drove back down into the village I spotted their base. The competitor car park was the field they normally use for the open-air market, and it was full of cars! Must have been 200 to 300 maybe. So that’s 250ish x £40ish which equals £10,000ish. Hmm, maybe I should be looking into this.

Oh well, I managed a decent medium length run of 7.28km in 52m 11s including two decent sized hills. Total ascent 332m. I was looking for a less muddy route (NB. Mud-free is impossible round here), and did ok until the final few hundred yards when it got to that point where you’re creeping along the thin grass verge with one hand clinging onto the barbed-wire fence. Try and cut that bit out next time. If anyone’s interested, I’ve put it on Garmin Connect. Personally I wouldn’t bother.

Boscombe 10k in two weeks, aim to beat the 53m from last week. No more races after that for a while, but in the new year might do the Southbourne 10k on 7th March (described as fast and flat), and the Portland ‘Round the Rock’ 10k on 2nd May. We’ll see.

Recovery Day

Legs were still a bit tight from Sunday’s race, so decided to take it easy today. Went for a Jog as opposed to a Run. Left the garmin at home, which after becoming obsessed with training PB’s was surprisingly liberating.

I need to find some routes with a bit less mud, unfortunately today’s choice contained a bit more rather than a bit less. So that one’s off my list. I’ve got a few ideas for the weekend route, but it will be a bit of a suck it and see approach.

Finally got round to hooking up with Garmin Connect. Check out my Ilminster 10k run here.

Also found a pic of me crossing the line on the Ilminster Lions website. Thanks for the good organisation on the day guys.

Summer’s here?

18 degrees C, sunny, hardly a breeze. Must be summer? Nope it’s the last week in October, Halloween and Bonfire Night are just round the corner. Hard to believe, but true. Got really hot on the way back up the hill today, sweat making my eyes sting. It’s global warming you know.

Took it easy to start, tip-toed through the muddy bits halfway round, then attacked the hill on the way back. So first 2k was slowish, next muddy k was very slow, but then having saved a bit of strength climb back up the hill was probably quickest yet. Total time 33:05 for 5.13km.

Next run is Ilminster 10k on Sunday. Weather looks wet for Saturday night, hopefully will have blown through by Sunday morning. Still want to do about 55 mins, but depends on how hilly it is. Major concern is will I get back in time for the Grand Prix, or should I just find a pub in Ilminster with a TV? Decisions, decisions. Probably depends on whether or not the family come with me.