So last week was a big one. The day after the time trial we went down to the New Forest to stay with Chris' family. It was too good an opportunity to miss running part of the course, so my plan was to do a two hour long run over as much of it as I could manage. The only drawback was that, yes, my right foot really hurt, my left foot was a bit tender too, and I had aching ankles to boot. Bloody typical. For the last 3 years my main problems running have been back related. Now my back is hardly giving a twinge, but my feet are giving me gyp and since feet are so important in running it is a bit of a worry. But I wanted to get to 2 hours solid running under my belt before resting them, so it was time for some drugs. I don't like taking ibuprofen too much, but needs must and with that, swimming in the sea, and the old ankle support, I got to Saturday morning with feet that seemed willing to go the distance.
Jonathan woke me bright and early at 6.30, so I had enough time to eat a good breakfast and doze on the sofa before setting off at 9am. It was already hot and sunny, and I was glad of Beth's hat, my sunglasses, and the fact that I'd slapped on the sun-tan lotion before I started. I ran slowly out of New Milton, the start of the race, dreading what had looked like an awful hill in the car. But miraculously it wasn't too bad, long but not too steep; and before I knew it I was a mile out of town on the road to Bashley. Here I hit a snag that stayed with me throughout the run, lovely tree lined roads but very few pavements. Fine when you are on the straight and narrow and see the cars coming but a bit nervewracking when coming round corners. Most cars were nice enough to give me a wide berth, but it seemed that the larger ones thought they owned the road and one or two had me scuttling to the sides of the verges cursing them. One lorry drove past leaving a long trail of horse manure for me to circumnavigate for about half a mile - at least it didn't spray any over me.
Still when the cars weren't attacking me, there were plenty of trees to keep me cool and I soon arrived at my turning point, on the edge of the forest, at a nice looking pub. The main route for the run went further before turning, but I didn't think I'd manage the full 13 at this pace, so I was happy to take a short cut. This involved me running on lovely moorland grass for a bit, and though there was plenty more horse manure to dance across, it was a welcome change from the road. I ran along here for about twenty minutes before turning back to the road to Tiptoe. As I did so I found myself facing a large herd of cows grazing. They seemed pretty placid and unlikely to come near me, but I've had a couple of scary encounters with cows before so I gave them a wide berth and made for the road. It being the New Forest, I then literally ran into a herd of horses, that were beginning to cross in front of me. Because of the wonderful local bye-laws, the animals of the New Forest live in impunity. Run one down and you are in big trouble - so they get everywhere and when they are in the road, everything stops for them. These horses were magnificent animals, a range of russet and dark browns, and like the cows, possessed of a calm temperament. I slowed down as the leader came to the middle of the road, not wanting to alarm him/her. But the horse looked at me as if to say "you go on then" and let me slowly jog past before moving on across to the bracken on the other side.
The encounter made me smile and kept me going for another half a mile, before I began to flag. It seemed to be taking me an age to get to Tiptoe, which didn't look too far according to my map, but now I was out of the shade, and the heat and the distance I had come were beginning to take effect. It was time for some sports drink, and it's amazing how even a little sip, seemed to have an instant impact on me and I began to feel better. When I finally made it to Tiptoe, the first house I came across was advertising free horse manure and had kindly left bags out in the road, I guess there are a LOT of horses in the New Forest! I met a fairly grizzled fellow runner going the opposite way, he looked at least 20 years older than me but was going at a fair lick. But that's the levelling thing about running, it is not age, or size that matters, it's about personal fitness and your body's ability to move fast (or not in my case!)
Once I was through Tiptoe, I turned back onto a familiar road, thankfully nice and cool because now it was past 10 o'clock, but busier than the road I had been on, and again no pavements. I found this pretty hair raising, lots more bends, and lots more cars. It seemed as though everyone was suddenly on the move, I guess people were going home after a holiday by the sea. Whatever the reason, I was exceedingly glad when I finally reached the roundabout I had left behind me an hour and a half before, and knew I was close to the end. I upped the pace at this bit, with an intent to see if I could run to the finish in about 20 minutes. I was pleased to see that my body responded positively to the increasing tempo, though my feet were feeling pretty sore.
After the beauties of the forest, the remainder of the run was pretty grim. Bashley Cross Road was another exercise in car dodging, and Stem Lane ran down the side of an ugly industrial estate, although at least I finally managed to get some pavement. It was baking hot by this time, my head was ringed with sweat and I took to pouring water over myself to cool me down. The turn into the final road, Gore Road took forever, and I thought I would never reach the school where the race ends. When I did eventually get there I'd run the last two miles in about 22 minutes, a bit slower than I hope to run the race, but respectable given that I was still recovering from the time trial. It was enough to satisfy me as I slowly jogged back home arriving back exactly 2 hours after I had left. And it was very worthwhile doing as I now know what 2/3 of the route looks like - it's always particularly helpful to know where the finish is when you are on your last legs.
I got quite distracted on this run, by the cars, the heat and jumping out of the way of traffic. But there was one beatitude that kept going through my head, mainly because it was the only one I could remember without looking, "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in Heaven" It made me think of Archbishop Pius Ncube an outspoken critic of President Mugabe's Zimbabwean government for many years. This year he has called for the people of Zimbabwe to overthrow their government nonviolently. It is no surprise that since then he has been accused of committing adultery in a law suit that threatens to destroy his reputation. I also thought of Netsai Mushonga, a member of FoR Zimbabwe, who like me is a mother, a feminist and a social worker with people with disabilities. But unlike me, she has had to live with violence against women in her family, in her society and during the war of the 1970's. Netsai is another activist who has responded to violence in her country by developing nonviolent alternatives. She has set up a programme challenging gender based violence, and when President Mugabe cleared "illegal" homes and businesses in urban areas last year ("Operation Clean Up Rubbish"), she worked with communities looking at how to respond nonviolently. As with the other projects supported by the International Peacemakers Fund, the work of FoR Zimbabwe is critical if the cycle of violence is ever to be broken in the country.
If you want to help FoR Zimbabwe or any of the other projects I have mentioned on this blog, it couldn't be easier, please visit . http://www.for.org.uk/peacerunner for more details.
Since last week I've been resting my feet, but tomorrow I am going for my last really long run. I'm pleased to see that I have finished the first page of my training and have only four weeks left to go. And next time I run in the New Forest, it will only be me, the wildlife and a few thousand runners to contend with, that's a nice thought.
The countdown begins.........
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment