Blog – Saturday 5th
September
Its been another lazy,
quiet day today. Joannes been really exhausted today and even after a
sleep in had to return to bed after lunch. She looked dreadful and I
cant wait to get her some help and get her moving on the right track.
Ive been a lot less stressed over the last couple of days, its been
hard for me to accept doing nothing when my life is normally 100
miles an hour. Ive played with Oliver, completed a few rounds of
solitaire, read a book and edited the video footage from this week.
My body and mind now feel so much better than they did a few days
ago.
We ate out again tonight as its our last night. We had no food left
in the fridge anyway! After we returned from dinner I managed to
sneak out for an absolutely cracking run. Read my “review” below. I had a bit of time to write it!
Running: 7.14 miles 8.14/mi avg 58.47 min Coastal Run to Humphrey Head
I set out this evening
with a hopeful mind. Id seen Humphrey Head jutting out from the
coastline a couple of miles away. From our caravan site it looked
runnable from the sea side but I had no idea if it was. (Humphrey
Head is a large outcropping of rock and cliffs sticking out into
Morecambe Bay between Flookburgh and Grange). By the main road I
reckoned it was 4 – 5miles but along the coast I thought it would
be nearer. I had told Joanne and Oliver that I would be gone 1 hour
(it causes much stress and anxiety if I'm a minute late) so the clock
was ticking. The sun was shining in the early evening sky, warming
and energising me as I started my run.
 |
| Humphrey Head looking at it from the sea where I made my ascent (Picture from Google) |
I softly ran across
the defences, scattering the rabbits that had peacefully gathered to
bask in the evening sun. Looking to my right, the Salt Marshes that
grow along this side of the coast were teeming with life, the grazing
sheep (whose meat is amazingly tasty from eating the salty grass) ran
aimlessly in all directions as I approached, a mighty Heron stretched
out its magnificent wings and took to flight, soaring effortlessly
across the grassland, native seabirds chirped and warbled their
evening song. What a place to run, what a way to experience life and
nature. I love running, it takes me to all these amazing places and
lets me experience so much Ive never done or seen before.
About 2 miles in I
came to the end of the sea defences and was faced with a choice: do I
cross a field full of cows and what I though were Bullocks, or do I
explore around the coastline off the beaten track. Not one to flirt
with danger or animals bigger than me, I decided on the coastal
option and was greatly rewarded with an excellent piece of trail and
rock running. It was exhilarating leaping from rocky outcropping to
another, lightly jumping across gaps and pre-empting difficult,
uneven landings. It was great off road training for my forthcoming
Ultra. The coastline soon merged with a rock lined sea defence again
and I found myself bouldering, bounding from jagged boulder to
another, some moving underfoot, all part of the experience. That why
I keep my steps light, so Im always in motion, moving and shifting my
weight from foot to foot, anticipating movement and variants in the
ground. It was trail running in its purest form and it was awesome.
The gnarled cliffs of
Humphrey Head towered above me. I glanced at my Garmin, 25 minutes
gone and about 3.5 miles in, I still had time to see if I could get
to the foot of the hill. It looked like the slope ran into the sea at
the end where I could safely make my ascent. I ran onto the beach at
the foot of the cliffs, into soft sand, leaving deep footprints in my
wake. The tide wasn't in so I ran further out, looking for a way up
the massive rock. There it was, like a giant half buried stone, the
outcropping met with the sands of Morecambe bay and pushed off, up
above the cliffs. I had time? Didn't I?
I climbed onto the
rocky hill and attacked the steep incline, my heart pumped faster as
I ascended, I pushed harder and harder, stepping from rock to rock,
bounding across the grassy hillside as I climbed, my breath short,
laboured, but still I pushed onwards. I wanted the top and wouldnt
stop until I reached it. A square obelisk marked the high point in
front of me. I kept going, reaching for every breath, digging deeper
and deeper into my energy. I felt amazing, as I always do when Im
close to the edge, my blood raging through my veins, powering the
muscles deep within my skin, energizing me, uplifting and exciting. I
reached the top, my lungs screamed for oxygen, my heart racing in my
ears. I took a moment to gather myself and calm my breathing.
As I looked around,
the vista opened up giving me some very special views from Blackpool
Tower and Heysham Power Station of the Lancashire Coast Line all the
way round to the high fells and peaks of the Eastern Lake District. I
could clearly make out the Fairfield Horseshoe above Ambleside, it
looked every bit as steep as I remembered it. I would have to descend
this in October for my race. The south end of Walney was just visible
in the dusky haze as was the unmistakable silhouette of Piel Castle,
nestled off the coast of Barrow. The view blew me away and I
instantly regretted leaving my camera behind.
A quick glance at my
watch reminded me of my time limit and I set off in search of path
down the other side. An educated guess, because Humphrey Head is sign
posted from the road and is a Nature Reserve, had me thinking there
was a path down to the road that ran along the base of the cliffs. I
was correct and made my way to the bottom. I could see the sea wall I
had ran along from the road side and decided to cut across a field to
it. It was a good choice and only required me to vault two fences,
dodge 200 cow pats and to scare the poor sheep on the other side of
the wall. I climbed back to the grassy mound that defended the land
from the mighty seas and only had about 18 mins to get back. I put my
foot down so to speak and pushed a quicker pace on my return.
A small passenger
aircraft took off from Flookburgh airfield and I easily could make
out the pilot sat in the cockpit, so I offered a half wave, half
salute to him. He circled around behind me, rising in the bright sky
until I heard his engine slow. He was at the correct altitude to part
with his payload. From the fuselage dropped 3 shapes. They plummeted,
gravity pulling at their forms, I could hear the wind resistance
buffeting them as they fell towards the earth. With a sharp snap,
three colourful parachutes billowed into existence, immediately
slowing the fall, transforming the death defying free fall into a
graceful pirouette. I watched on, enviously of the view they must
have, of an amazing ultra runner far below...only joking, of the
entire lake district and the coast line around them. What a perfect
evening for a parachute jump (I must try that one day.. dont tell the
Mrs!!).
I carried on towards
the Caravan park, enjoying the last of the suns rays and watching m
very own personal aerial display high above. My pace quickened
slightly as I reached the harder packed gravel path that lined the
parks Nature reserve. I pushed for home, now 57mins on the clock. I
was well within the time as I came to the bottom of “Eskdale Close”
where our caravan was located. I slowed to a jog and let my heart
rate get back to normal, my breathing steadied as I thought about the
run. What an evening, perhaps one of my best. I was greeted by the
warm and loving smiles of my family as I opened the door, I grabbed
some water and went back outside to cool down.“Im going to enjoy
writing about it tonight” I said silently to myself as I stretched
my tired legs on the caravan steps.
This
is why I run!
Strength and core
workout all done, unbroken with 3 minutes plank.
I feel totally amazing, strong and re-energized
Food Diary:
Breakfast:
Mini Shredded Wheat
with Blueberries and Skimmed Milk
Lunch:
Goats Cheese, pepper,
olive and tomato omelette (a leftover special!)
Fat Free Greek youghurt
with Blueberries, topped with nuts and sunflower seeds
Dinner at the Park
Bar/Resturant
Chicken, Pea and
Asparagus Risotto with 2 slices of focaccia bread.Drinks:
Orange juice, water,
coffee
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