Round the Island

 

This morning I had a plan to get up early and do a lap of Mersea Island. It comes in at just over 13 miles but add on the run to the shop to grab a lucozade and the bit down to the beach from mum and dads house and then back from the beach and it goes nearly to 15. I love running around the island. It is home to mum and dad and I have lost count as to how many runs around it I have done. 

I opted for light train shoes today and was a bit of a regret. Pyfleet Channel in the 1.5 miles before the Strood was like the Somme. After this section, a full on 35 mile an hour wind in the face but enjoyed every minute of solitude. I didn't see a soul for the first 7 miles and then it was head down and into the wind and plenty of sand running for the last 4 miles. Love the island. Love going back. 

SDW run in a 60 mile an hour wind

 This was a bit of fun.....Drove down to the Tigers Inn at East Dean for a dawn run. Looked at the weather forecast and did not clock the wind. I saw it as 10mph. I missed it as FORCE10!! So we ran into a headwind that turned into a side wind of 60 ish MPH. Funny was not a word to describe it....being blown off the cliffs was our biggest concern.

and then we got pelted by stones that the wind had picked up and peppered us over the top of Seaford head. 

Lovely 21 mile run finished off with a pint at the Tigers Inn with the amazing Andy Eames

So I've not blogged in a while.........

Nearly 5 years ago I stopped blogging......Family, a recent house move and renovation and lots to do at work. 

So i need to get back into it and catch up.

I'm up to ultramarathon/marathon#114 right now. I've got a few things to update.

Race #114 - Gatliff Marathon - well this was crazy as Karl and I followed the GPX and we ended up running the whole course backwards as our brains were turned off after 2 miles. We had no CPs open for 19 miles so were knocking on doors for water. Finished in a respectable 17th after having to leave the course to find houses!

Race #113 - High Weald Challenge. Such a lovely race in the local area. Ran to the start. Loved the whole race, never looked at the instructions once and the .GPX was hardly looked at apart from the crazy bit across the Commons by Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall at the end. 28 miles of loveliness. Local boy and top ultra Runner Jamie Smith wins the race and little old me, 10 years his senior comes in a respectable 2nd place after putting in a shift between CP2/CP3 and the finish. 

Race #112 3FM 27.2 miles. A brutal race on the SDW with good old friend Robert Cameron Wood. Started sunny and warm and ended up cold, wet, slippy and horizontal rain into the face for the last 8 miles. 3450ft of hard slippy chalky climb but loved it as always. The crew at 3FM put on a superb race and never an expensive one. I am 15 years older than when I first blasted round this in 3.40 so now know that the front of the pack top 10 placing here (I think I came 7th that year) is now 'front of middle of the pack obscurity'!

Aside from that I've been doing all sorts of lovely challenges. Updates to follow

Coronavirus update

So it's been a while. I have been doing a lot of running but around work and looking after the kids during lockdown but I have done some of the virtual challenges and some personal challenges too.

1. Centurion 100. 17 hours 19 mins and 59 seconds.

A huge amount of hills and new terrain on this event. I had the opportunity to do this over school half term.....all in the morning before 9am as that's when Sue started work from home each day. Audrey cycled on a couple of days while I ran. A nice explore over to Rotherfield and Crowborough and some new trail over on Eridge Park public footpaths.

2. Tunbridge Wells Circular. 28.5 mile route.

We were going to aim for an FKT but it turns out that as I was posting it, some geezer did the same 10 mins faster. We did this as a very social run with Any Eames and Richard Carter from Tunbridge Wells Harriers, meeting family along the way at 4 stops for 10 mins per stop. 5 hrs 49 mins. I was doing this fresh off the back of  the 100 and was compromised. I had a tight hamstring. It was a slow run for me. This needs a good repeat as with some work we can get this down by an hour and 20. Too many are doing FKTs right now!!!

3. ONE UP

Another Centurion event. 90 miles. 16000ft. I found some new found resolve with the hills after hill reps in 24 degree heat. Lots of lovely folk running for altitude only. I did not want to do stairs like many folk. So it was finding hills like the lovely Nunnery Lane. Oh how I love that 20% hill for 400m. Wow. Calves like a Trojan!!

Trail Shoe Dilemmas. A sort of shoe review.

I've not been able to find a decent pair of trail shoes that I get on with for the wettest and muddiest conditions. Being a size 12 and wide fitting 80kg runner who is about 50-70% on trail, I need something robust and hardwearing, aggressive lugs, neutral and well cushioned.

Having opted for the Inov8 ultra 290s, these are still in the shoe rack. They are great for short very muddy runs but are not comfortable on the longer runs, especially when the trails are harder or there are extended road sections. I use these in the extreme wet weather but not all of the time.

Then I went for the Hoka ATR Challenger 4. Hmmm. Very very comfortable. The wide fit was wide enough.......

They ripped after 200 miles. After a replacement https://twitter.com/ultrabobban/status/1154833779019718658 was sent out, the ATR 5 (bottom left) managed 250 miles and split at the ball of the foot on both sides, on both shoes. They had been gently cleaned of the mud and dried sensibly, not too hot. https://twitter.com/ultrabobban/status/1160120104899792896 shows them after 2 races.

Then it was the turn of Altra Olympus 3.0 https://twitter.com/ultrabobban/status/1115967473935892480 . These were certainly comfortable and very wide, although the toe went after about 350 miles and the vibram lugged soles were almost none existent after 400 miles. I've still got these and occasionally go out in the dry trail as they are so comfy.

Back to Hoka and with my wife in America, i asked her to pick up a pair of Speedgoat 3s. I thought this was the ONE! Fresh out of the box, they were comfortable, grippy and responsive, whilst not picking up the claggy mud for 5kg shoes in the valleys.

Alas......250 miles later and they were totally trashed. Splitting as all Hokas do, at the ball of the foot. I still run in these, when it is wet roads and light trail. But they are trashed.

My twitter account shows the extent https://twitter.com/ultrabobban/status/1210543888173281280

Now, I'm in La Sportiva. They fit fine and are very protective but just don't feel right after 10-15 miles. I'm going to try them out for the Lenham Cross trail marathon this weekend so we shall see.

I'd like a hybrid shoe with the longevity of an Inov8, along with the luggy grip, but with the cushioning and responsiveness of the Speedgoat 3 and the toebox of the Altra. Help me please!!!

Gatliff Marathon

Marathon #104 was a long time coming. August to November was a bit of non-starter for the longer races. It had been so wet....and as I write rather belatedly, it continues to rain. It has been as wet as I can remember. The water table is so high that every time it rains heavily, it floods.

I had been winter training with Andy from the Running Club and also dad of one of Audrey's good friends in year 1 at school. He is younger, faster, lighter and fitter than me....which provides me with a challenge to keep up. Nevertheless, I seemed to have coerced him into running a self-nav trail ultra. What an inaugural ultra...the one and only Gatliff.

After a good start it was mud central. Passchendale or The Somme were regularly mentioned. It was only dry underfoot on the well-drained trails of the Ashdown. 33.9 miles of wet and muddy trail were pounded, slid and slopped through.

We motored through the course, only being overtaken by a couple of runners and coming through just inside the top ten, well 10th actually. It's hard to work out where you are in the field with a staggered start. I'd done most of the nav until Andy cracked on in the last 7/8 miles. I then slipped and fell flat on my face in the mud with a mile to go! The joys and the perils of Gatliff. Directions were as ever, awful, navigation was OK but he made it through his first ultra and then a few pints in the Red Lion in front of the fire in the village near home. I think that is my 6th Gatliff.