23.8 miles on the South Downs Way
oops.
Slightly further than the intended 22 miler, but they had shut a bridge at St Botolph’s for 6 months, so I had to divert via some horrible A roads. I also got lost in Brighton in some woods, and ended up running down the A270 Lewes Road for a couple of miles - that really hurt right. My OS map dated from about 1987 when they hadn’t built half of Brighton. But otherwise, a really fantastic hilly run from Chanctonbury Ring to Ditchling Beacon then downhill to the town. 1200 foot ascent, but undulating all the way.
I started out at 8.30ish from a little car park near Washington, climbing up quickly to Chanctonbury Ring to stunning views over the plains and valleys layered with mist. Past a couple of other morning runners but pretty much no-one else until I got to Devil’s Dyke, a torment of ups and downs. I tried to take the uphills easy, as there were so many of them, but stopping myself falling over on the steep descents was still hard work. I was still feeling good by the time I reached Ditchling Beacon, but the downhill trek through the woods really took it out of me. Once I’d got well and truly lost, I was getting cross and tired, so resorted to Joy Division on the MP3. After that great cheering up, I found the wonderful Lewes Road dual carriageway, and plodded along that for a couple of miles until I could stop and soak my legs in Bob’s cold bath. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Foot condition: great - the Saucony Jazz shoes holding up well again.
Leg condition: slightly sore quads from the downhill batterings, but otherwise v.g.
Pace: - rubbish, but I had to stop for horses, map reading, photo sessions and traffic lights, so I’m not too worried about that.
That’s almost it now - taper down to 18 miles next weekend, then 12 after that, then the big day!
Tags: fantastic-runs, hills, long-run, lost