Here we go again then, time for a bit of “Marathon A Month Madness”. But haven’t you already done May's Marathon I hear you ask? And you would be correct in asking, because yes, I have. However, having besmirched the fact that there’s been no organised running for what seemed like forever and having had time to peruse the lists of upcoming runs, there are loads that have caught my eye. So “in for a penny, in for a pound”, or whatever the saying is, let’s do my bit for getting the economy back up and running by spending all my hard-earned pennies on having fun. Staying close to home for a change, this week’s stupidity took place around the picturesque Queen Elizabeth Country Park on the edge of the South Downs and if there’s one thing that my previous blathering on should have told you, it’s that the Down’s tend to be a bit hilly (hence their name). This week’s route consisted of 2 laps, run entirely within the confines of the park and billed as having over 1000m (that’s roughly 3300 feet for the old folk) of elevation gain over the entire course. That should give the old legs something to think about and give the old ticker a good work out then. Throw in a bit of mud as a result of the never-ending winter and a bit of forecasted heavy rain, coupled with strong winds and we should be in for a right old fun day out! In common with other recent events, communication from the run organisers in the weeks proceeding the event had been excellent. With requests for runners to arrive ready to go, be self-supporting, and advising that the start would be staggered, with runners departing as they were ready (faster runners first) to avoid bunching and maintain the continued social distancing. All of which, are in my opinion sensible precautions to be taking to ensure everyone’s safety. It was good to see everyone at the start being sensible too and keeping their distance. I really hope that we can continue in the same vein and see an eventual end to all the precautions, but in the meantime, if this is what it takes to carry on participating in organised sport then I’m all for it. With the weather forecast predicting a steady downturn (as if can get much worse) as the morning wore on, an early start time seemed like a sensible idea. So, having had a comfy night in the van I was ready and just about raring to go for 08:30. Now, I don’t know why, but as I stood waiting for the off, my mind just wasn’t in it and I just couldn’t decide if I was actually looking forward to this one or not. But I was there now so I might as well crack on and at least make a start. 08:30 then, and on the nod of the starter I was off. It’s straight into the climbing from the off and a pretty steep start it was too. Within seconds my heart rate had gone from it’s normal slow resting tick over, to trying to hammer its way out of my rib cage and my cold leg muscles were protesting at their rude awakening. We’re going up her though, whether you like it or not, so you might as well get used to the idea legs, and as for you heart, there’s another 4 hours of this to come so you might as well stop complaining too! A couple of minutes of hard graft later, by which time I’d thoroughly warmed up, and it’s over the top for the first descent, followed by a second longer climb and another descent and …… Well, I’m sure you get the idea. It was going to be one of those runs, a never-ending series of climb and descend. Looking at it on the map, it doesn’t look too bad, but believe you me, there’s quite a bit of gradient change going on there, each meter of which must be gained by leg power alone. Zig Zagging through the Beech trees, fresh with their vibrant green leaves, skipping round the puddles and working my way through the damp woods I should have been in my element. But, for some reason, whilst my legs felt Ok, my mind just wasn’t in it for those first few miles. Normally I can slip away into my thoughts, daydreaming, whilst watching the world go by, enjoying the moments for what they are and getting pleasure from living in the moment. Sunday morning though, it just wasn’t happening, and every mile gained seemed to be taking forever. Those first uphill stretches seemed like hard work, the downhills offered no respite and whilst I knew that I was going fairly well, my mind was saying, lets just do this first loop and knock it on the head! With the staggered start, it’s hard to know how well your doing and I don’t think that helped with the mind games. If there’s people around you running at the same pace, you can see that your all suffering, or all having an easy time and push on. When there’s no one in front, or those that are, are only doing the Half Marathon, it’s difficult to know how well you’re going and that tends to play tricks with your mind. Am I chasing down a Half Marathon runner and pushing too hard? Why is there no one in front, have I gone the wrong way? Am I too slow and taking it too easy? Am I pushing to hard? Arrgggh, shut up brain, let’s just run, enjoy it and see what happens! As 10 miles came and went, so the rain came down. Typically, having been hidden amongst the trees for the majority of the proceeding time this also marked the most exposed point of the course. The forecast had been dry until lunchtime, so the drenching came as a bit of a surprise, but did pass the time for a while, as I debated whether to stop and get my rain jacket on or just keep going and hope that it stopped before I froze to death! As the halfway point approached, I was debating whether to push on for the second lap or just quit. Quitting’s not in my nature though, and I haven’t got where I am today by giving up (granted I’ve not got far but you’ve got to love a trier). Quit, whatever, I’m made of stronger stuff than that. I was sorely tempted for a while though, when I was struggling along getting rained on and cold! Luckily, as I started that steep climb from the start for the second time, everything just seemed to slip into place. Gone were the self-doubts and general feeling of malaise that had plagued the first 13 miles, to be replaced with the more familiar feeling of satisfaction and enjoyment. It took a little while to realise that I was starting to enjoy myself again, that I was noticing things that I hadn’t seen on the first lap, and that actually, I don’t know what I was worrying about earlier. With my mind freed and my legs doing what their supposed to do, the miles started flying along. 14, 16, 18, 20 all passed in a flash. I hardly noticed climbs that had seemed almost insurmountable on the first lap, and downhills that seemed to drag on forever first time around, were over in seconds. Running through the wooded sections, I noticed the fresh green leaves, the squirrels going about their business and the birds busily searching out food for their young, hidden safe in their nests, high in the tree canopy. As the miles continued to build, so I started catching the back markers from the half marathon, each and every one of them putting in their own sterling effort, fighting their own battle for personal glory. Words of encouragement back and forth as we passed, a shared joke and brief laugh. “Keep going, It’s all downhill from here” - “Really?” – “No”, and past I go, sights set on catching the next one. The last few miles ticked steadily along, another rain shower in exactly the same point as lap one ensured I stayed wet, but I didn’t care this time. I was finally having fun and I knew I was nearly done. Watching the time creep around I can see I’m doing OK but it still comes as a surprise when I cross the line in 3:50:09. The even bigger shock comes once the results start coming in though, and I discover that my 3:50 was good enough for 4th place from the 98 starters. Not the positioning I was expecting whilst struggling round the first half, and just goes to prove that I should trust myself, that maybe I do know what I’m doing when it comes to this running lark, and that maybe, just enjoying the day and the run for what it is, is the most important part. It also makes me wonder what I could be capable of if I took this lark a bit more seriously, actually focused my training and efforts, and tried a bit harder, instead of just doing whatever I feel like or catches my imagination. But then again where’s the fun in that? I’ll settle for 4th place and a bit of fun any day thank you very much! In other news, it’s been a busy weekend on the pottering around catching up on odd jobs front. Having been away for the past few weekends seeing “the old cheese” a weekend at home was very much called for and despite the weather doing its best to put a stop to gardening I’ve got a load done. Whilst hiding from the rain, I’ve sorted the greenhouse out and planted the Tomatoes into the beds. Potted on Cabbages, Broccoli, Kale and Sprouts and sown Basil, Chard and Lettuce seeds. Outside the Beans (French and Runner), Sweet Peas, greenhouse germinated Sweetcorn and summer Cabbages have been planted out, and at home I’ve put together some hanging baskets and sorted out the borders ready for the summer bedding to go in over the next couple of weeks. Beetroot, Carrots, Parsnips and Peas are all finally starting to germinate on the allotment and the fruit bushes and Strawberries all have the first signs of fruit starting to grow. In less favorable news the rose bushes at home have been devastated by last weeks gales and the Pear tree (which never seems to do very well, but that’s ok as it looks quite pretty and I don’t like pears) has been absolutely battered, with most of it’s leaves now missing and any fruit that had set now long gone! But the best bit of news, was having radishes, freshly picked from the allotment with my sandwiches Saturday lunchtime. That’s the first sign that things are on the up and that the winter fruit and vegetable drought is starting to come to an end. Give it another few week’s and if we ever get any sunshine we’ll be into Lettuce, Broad beans and Rhubarb. Oh, I just can’t wait!
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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
March 2024
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