Stability Through Motion

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!

Wow! What a run - truly fantastic. Even my blisters survived, though my thighs are burning a bit today after that 1 mile plunge downhill to the finishing point.

The gory details: Since I ended up running on my own this time, I slightly re-jigged the route, shortening it a bit to 17 miles but including a steep ascent at the start, some of which I tried to run

Thereafter it was a cool down on an amazing ridge run for 6 miles or so before hitting the mist in the heights. Down steeply from Twmpa to the Gospel Pass road (which goes from Abergavenny via Llanthony Priory to Hay on Wye) and up again to Hay Bluff and back into the mist.

The path here joins the Offa’s Dyke route for another 5 miles or so, which I foolishly thought would make for a better surface but it turned out to be a nightmare of stone slabs over peat and loose rocks. If you loose concentration here for a minute you’ll twist your ankle. Lots more walkers here (none of the first ridge at all) all offering their useful advice - “you’re late” and “speed up!“. Thanks guys. Finally spotted a discrete wooden sign for Llanthony and plunged headlong 1,000 ft downhill to the Priory, showers and coffee in Abergavenny. Next time I really will stop at the Priory for a pint.

Today I have a new word for you: DOMS or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. This is a result of the downhill plunge and is what I was aiming at on Tuesday with the downhill training, but just couldn’t achieve on the feeble Oxford hills.

Just a reminder that there’s always another level to this running idea: it seems I’ve just run the very very final part of the complete South Wales Traverse: 72 miles and 17,000 feet of ascent in 24 hours.

Oh, and the shoes? The same guilty culprits from Tuesday’s blister event - the Wave Harrier’s - but no escalation from the blisters, and really nice light grippy things they are too.