Here we go again then. We're well into April and that can only mean one thing. It's time for a bit of Marathon A Month Madness. It seems unbelievable that it was 12 months ago that we we're just starting off on the lockdown journey and with it the need for social distancing and all that it entails. lockdowns and social distancing, which have resulted in there being no organised sport for such a long time. Not for much longer though, with things slowly freeing up again, fingers crossed, this will be the last socially distanced marathon for a while! Last April's Marathon effort involved a loop around home, keeping it local and just trying to keep the miles coming in. With the gradual relaxing of restrictions it seemed acceptable to take this months efforts a bit further from home though, and as such I decided on a revisit to the route of the punchbowl marathon. I'd previously run this route back in August 2020 on what was one of the hottest days of the year and I'm quite happy to admit that not only did it seem to be one of the hardest routes that I'd run, but that I'd really struggled on that occasion. If I think back to all my long running endeavours, this was probably the closest that I'd come to having to give up. Not that that was an option, as I had no other way of getting back to the van, but the thought was in my mind for quite a while! It's a complicated route with numerous twists and turns, hidden, un-signposted footpaths, rough and sandy surfaces, long, often steep climbs and no real options to quit if things are going wrong. But, on the plus side, it's a beautiful route, with great views, crossing some spectacular countryside and not only is it a marathon, but it's 30 miles, resulting in even more time to enjoy the fun! I took the van down Friday night and found a quiet spot for the night on the outskirts of Elstead and was up and ready to go by 08:00. I'd normally say "Raring" to go, but I must admit that my heart wasn't in it Saturday morning. My legs felt heavy and I seemed to be lacking my usual enthusiasm. I was there now though, so I might as well crack on and see how things felt once I got going. With any luck as I started to run the stiffness out of my legs and get warmed up a bit things would improve, and if they didn't? Well, lets not go there! Running the route counter clockwise, I crossed the River Wey for the first time and set off into the deserted countryside, past massive, secluded houses which mark this part of the Surrey commuter belt, their occupants still slumbering after a hard week in the city at this still early hour. Past the numerous ponds fed by small streams running off the surrounding hills, where I'd thrown refreshing cold water over my head on that scorching August day last year and onwards, North across the sandy soil which marks this part of the world. Once my legs had warmed up and my early reticence wore off, I made steady progress. Today was never going to be about fast times, more a gentle day out in the countryside and I set a pace aiming for 5 hours for the planned 30 miles. As the 10 mile mark came and went I was spot on time wise and running well. I knew from my previous exploits in this neck of the woods that the hardest part was still to come though, with the long, leg sapping climb up to the A quick pause to grab a snack from my bag as I crossed the River Wey for the second time and off across the sand of Hankley Common. Past the golfers at Hankley Common Golf Club, like many, returning to their sport for the first time since the freeing of lockdown restrictions, and onto the start of the climb up to the It's a long old uphill slog this one, uphill all the way from the common to the top, with no respite! The majority of it's runnable though, provided you don't go too hard and take it steady. Slowly upwards, the miles gradually ticking off and the numbers of walkers and mountain bikers steadily increasing as you near the top and the car parking facilities on offer. Gradually, almost imperceptibly, the path flattens off and the views to the North, back the way you've come, open out to an outstanding panorama back across the Surrey countryside. Another quick breather and a hot cross bun (still the running food of champions, along with marmalade sandwiches, as far as I'm concerned) and then it's off along the ridgeline and down the other side to cross under the A3 as it exits the tunnel at Hindhead. I'm well though the 20 mile mark now and counting down the miles left to run. Maybe a touch of complacency, or maybe I'm getting tired, but I somehow miss a turn and before I know it I'm off route and struggling to work out how to get back on. The GPS seems to show that if I pick up another path to my right and then a short road section I'll intersect my planned route further on, so that's what I do. 2 and 1/2 miles later, I get spat out back where I was before I went wrong! Bugger, that's a lot of wasted energy and somewhat annoying. Oh well, at least I know where I went wrong. I easily spot my mistake the second time round and pick up where I left off. Frustrating, but not the end of the world, it's not a race and the extra couple of miles wont kill me! The leg from Wormley back towards the final crossing of the A3 seems to take an age, but I must still be moving fairly well, as I manage to keep pace with another runner who appears out of the trees, as if by magic, from another path off to the side. Slowly the miles continue to tick down and as I cross the A3 and start the final leg across Thursley Common my watch beeps to signify the 30 mile mark and 5 hours since I set off. Bang on planned pace, but still a couple of miles to go due to my earlier mistake. The final 3 miles seem to take forever. Over distance, I'm demoralised and find it a struggle to keep running. I should have been done by now, but there's still no end in sight! Eventually though, after what seems like a lifetime, the van comes into view. Sweet, blessed relief and the chance for a brew and take my shoes off! As with my previous efforts on this route, I'm not going to try and hide the fact that it's a hard one. As I said at the start, the terrains hilly for this part of the country, the routes twisting with numerous turns and little paths. But, and most importantly, it's a great day out, with great views, varied terrain and it's a lot of fun. 5:33 for a touch under 33 miles then. Certainly not fast by any stretch of the imagination, even by my standards, but considering that's 60 running miles I've put into my legs this week, (more of which later) it's a time that I'm happy with, an most importantly, I've had fun doing it! As I mentioned briefly above, I've managed to get in some decent miles over the past week or so. If we count the 8 days between April 2nd (Good Friday) and Saturday 10th April I've managed to walk and run just over 120 miles and cycle another 66 miles. Sometimes I wonder why my legs hurt, maybe it's not that I'm getting old, just that I'm kicking the arse out of it! April 2nd - Hiking - 24 Miles - Home to Overnight Bivvy. April 3rd - Hiking - 28 Miles - Overnight Bivvy to Overnight Bivvy. April 4th - Hiking - 11 Miles - Overnight Bivvy to Home. April 5th - Run - 7.8 Miles (South Downs) April 6th - Cycle commute to work - 22 Miles. April 7th - Cycle to work 11 Miles, Run home 10 Miles. April 8th - Run to work 10 Miles, Cycle home 11 Miles. April 9th - Cycle commute to work -22 Miles. April 10th - Run Just shy of 32.9 miles. That works out as average of 15 miles walking or running per day for the 8 days, and I wonder why my legs are in bits! After Saturdays efforts I thought an easy day was called for on Sunday. If I was going to be at home I might as well make good use of the time though, so I headed up to the allotment after a leisurely breakfast. First job of the day was to get the roof netting back onto the fruit cage. It's been rolled away since the start of November to stop it getting damaged if it snowed. Being pretty sure that there's not much chance of snow now, I thought I'd take a chance (and the opportunity whilst I had the time) and get it back on. A couple of hours in the sun, unrolling the net and cable tying it back on and bugger me if just as I finished it didn't start snowing! I'll grant you it was only a few light flurries and the sun came back out about 2 minutes later, but I ask you, what are the chances of that! A couple of hours digging and a bit of pottering around chatting and sitting in the sun drinking brews, pretty much wrapped up the day, although I did get the grass cut at home for the first time this year when I popped home for lunch. Fairly productive for an easy day then and my legs are certainly thanking me for the break. Back in January I wasted a couple of hours making Bird Boxes. The plan at the time had been to put them all up at home, but when push came to shove there just wasn't space for all of them, so I took a couple up to the allotment.
The chief piss taker ("The Emma") told me when I made them that there was about as much chance of birds moving in as there was of it not snowing in April (see above). Imagine my joy then as I sat quietly on the allotment on Sunday morning watching a pair of Blue Tits making one of the boxes home. They spent the day back and forth, fetching and carrying nesting materials, keeping a good look out as they went in to the box, and peeking out a couple of times to check the coast was clear before coming back out again. Between them and the Robins flitting around calling to each other, the Blackbirds coming down searching for insects in the bark chippings and a pair of Magpies nest building in the higher branches of the hedge, there's quite a community going on up on the plot!
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Paul PerrattOld enough to know better, young enough to still feel invincible, stupid enough to keep on trying the same thing again and again. Cyclist, Gardener, Runner, Hiker, Cook, Woodworker, Engineer, Jack of all trades and master of none, Anti social old git and all round miserable bugger. Archives
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