Running Wild

It’s so hot here, the sky is mute grey and there’s not a breath of wind. I ran with the dog over Bushey heath and got swallowed up by the entanglement of hawthorn, oak and hazel at Merry Hill. We followed trails that lead us deeper and deeper into the maze, twisting and weaving until we found the cairn-like structure that marks the centre. The air was humming with insects and the sound of jet engines, electicity lines crackled and crows cawed.

We only ran 5 miles but I was drenched in sweat by the time I got back.

I’ve moved out of my little house in Farnham now and into this strange suburb just outside London. It’s a weird place, on the one hand there are these almost offensive looking mansions surrounded by dark, manicured lawns, each driveway hosting at least two Rangerovers. Yet just down the road, there are crumbling sky rise flats, deserted highstreets, burnt out cars and swathes of litter that blow around like tumbleweeds.

There are a lot of people living in the area, yet you hardly see any of them, the suburbs are usually quiet places, emphasised by the roar of jet engines circling above heathrow. I’ve been running twice since moving here and both times were a struggle. I put this down to a feeling of being worn out that I’ve had for quite some time now. (hence the abscence on the blog)

I don’t know. i just feel run down at the moment, my diet went out the window a while ago and it’s been a mess since then and, consequently i have had colds and headaches and cramps as well as getting grumpy for really stupid reasons. I have 16 days till the marathon. I know i can do it but right now I am in need of some serios tlc.

Just ran 24 miles, my furthest ever and probably the furthest I will go before the Marathon in 6 weeks time. between now and then I have plenty of time to focus on getting stronger overall and cutting down times on some of my shorter distances befroe tapering the week before the race. I’m kinda nervous about the hills in Dorset as I know they are probably a lot meaner than the ones I have been training on in Surrey but with the right amount of cross training and core strength I don’t see why I can’t do them.

Today’s run had its own heartbeat. I often like to think of running as dancing with the trail, following its lead. Today’s partner was very romantic, in the woods there were bluebells and lilly of the valley so the whole forest smelt bitter and sweet at the same time. I saw a fox cub charging through a field of dandylions and there were buzzards calling in over the heathland. It was hot today and I ran without a shirt, got stung by a bee and scratched by gorse.

At about mile 21 I was in a considerable amount of pain. I was completing a loop at the end of the run and the psycological effects of being nearly home but turning round and doing another loop are actually really painful. So there I was, grimacing in the road when the most incredible thing happened. I was listening to Mars, Brinnger of War by Holst when all of a sudden I snapped out of all pain and flew all the way home.