Tag: bourne woods

Saturday run…complete with obstacles…

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 6 Comments

Yesterday's run, with next Saturday's Rat Race in mind, was a leisurely jog around the woods. Although I was very aware of the impending 200 obstacles that are approaching very fast. In fact, they are approaching faster than the need to get out of the front room when the new episode of A Game of Thrones is on when you are still plowing through the first season. 200 obstacles!? I feel I need to say that again: 200 obstacles. All in the space of 20 miles. Yes, 20 miles. Let me just recap: 200 obstacles, 20 miles. So with that in mind I attempted to throw in a few obstacles into my 'leisurely jog'.

First up, a fallen tree across the path, not exactly an 'obstacle' in the whole Rat Race sense of an obstacle, but an obstacle all the same….

My second obstacle was unplanned. Picking up speed downhill through a particularly overgrown path I got snagged on some rather aggressive brambles. Resulting in me performing a 360 deg pirouette whilst trying to avoid getting pulled into said brambles.

Third obstacle: a run of fallen trees. Please note the dangerous looking spikes, making this a life or death obstacle…

Next up was the biggest test to date: a log stack. You could argue that it actually isn't a 'stack', although the forestry commission sign located close by stated: 'Do not climb on the log stacks'. Suffice to say I did climb on the log stack, nearly breaking both ankles in the process. PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS.

The final obstacle of the run was a dangerous over hanging branch that required me to slightly duck under. Done.

So, five 'massive' obstacles completed during the 5 mile run. I'm ready!

 

Long Slow Run….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 2 Comments

With the prospect of completing 20 miles and 200 obstacles less than a month away I decided that I needed to get some miles under my belt. So this morning I ran 16.3 miles. It was a lovely morning. I was even feeling strong up to about 14 miles but the last couple were a struggle. A simple stile at mile 15 felt like a mountain and even kerbs were requiring a big effort. Not sure how I'm going to cope with 200 obstacles.

But I'm glad I've completed a nice long run. Plan is to complete 18 or so miles next weekend, with a few days at the gym in between.

 

Only 68 days….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 4 Comments

….until the Rat Race Dirty Weekend at Burghley House in Stamford. Just to remind you, actually it may be just to remind myself: 20 miles. 200 obstacles. You did indeed read that right. 20 miles. 200 obstacles. Apparently, “It's bigger, bolder and badder than ever!” I think the time has come to put in a bit extra work.

Since Janathon I've been taking it a bit easy. Completed about a dozen runs, the longest around 10 miles. So with the spectre of the Rat Race Dirty Weekend on the horizon, plus the Newton's Fraction Half-Marathon just round the corner, tonight's run was to include obstacles. When I say obstacles, I actually mean just one obstacle. It may not look like much, but it's an obstacle all the same…

You may look at it and say: call that an obstacle? Granted, it is only 2 feet high, and when I approached it for the first time I sailed over it like a salmon swimming upstream on it's impossibly long migration to its spawning grounds. However, after 4 miles of trail running through the woods at a pretty brisk pace, when I reached it for the second time, it looked more like this….

Suffice to say I cleared it. I'm ready.

 

Clock Watching

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 7 Comments

It was a day of watching the rain and watching the clock.

9am. I dragged myself out of bed, looked out the window, and it wasn't raining. I should have gone running. I didn't.

10am. Breakfast and coffee. I looked out the window. It was raining. Run was therefore put on hold for a little bit longer. Shower number 1.

11am. Still raining. FaceTime with Gracie my beautiful niece. She gave me a couple of renditions of 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' before I gave her a virtual tour of the house.

Noon. Still raining. Did some marking.

1pm. Still raining. More marking.

2pm. Still raining. Cheese and coleslaw sandwiches followed by a couple of doughnuts.

3pm. It had stopped raining and a blue sky could be seen. Perfect opportunity to go for a run. I didn't. I had promised myself a couple of hours on the sofa watching the football. After the game it was the draw for the fifth round of the cup. AND, believe it or not, the mighty Charlton Athletic were in the hat. The fifth round draw normally throws up some classic encounters. We were not to be disappointed: Sheffield Wednesday vs Charlton Athletic. I sense a place in the quarter finals for my boys.

6pm. Headed for the woods for a run in the dark. Tonight's highlights:

  • I encountered a man. It was very dark. He was standing and pointing a high powered torch at me in a Nazi interrogation style. As I ran towards him he said something that I couldn't quite understand, I did have my earphones in with music blaring, for all I know it could have been 'Ve have vays of making you talk'. I just smiled and waved.
  • I banished the demons. Following last weeks falling over debacle, I ran through the very same car park, only this time I managed to stay upright.
  • I was also using a new app to track my run: Nike+. After seeing the beautiful map on Sophiebee's Blog I decided to give it go, just for a change. The voice you hear that gives you feedback on the run is an American lady. She sounds a bit more American than I'm used to with RunKeeper, also slightly more relaxed about everything. I like her.

7pm. Shower number 2. Have I mentioned that as well as Janathon I seem to be taking part in Showerathon. Dinner was jacket spuds.

8pm. I now sit here writing this blog. It is Sunday night, so the rest of the night will go something like this…

9pm. Finish marking*.

10pm. Iron shirt and trousers for the morning**.

11pm. Early night in preparation for the week ahead***.

Total Janathon mileage = 85.74

* this will probably not happen.

** this will probably not happen.

*** this will probably not happen.

 

I feel like Superman!

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 11 Comments

Janathon Day 25

Only six days to go; the plan is not to end with a whimper, Superman definitely wouldn't. 6 miles this morning around the woods in the mud. And it was very muddy.

I wrote a post at the beginning of the month about the eclectic mix of 'lost' items that I discovered when out on a run. Today I have another item to throw into the mix….

There are various reasons as to how it became abandoned in the woods: the little girl that this bike belonged to was fed up of pedalling it around the woods; or her Dad got fed up of her whinging and moaning that she was tired and threw it in the bushes; or, more likely, a group of drunk teenagers stole it and went for a late night spin on it around the woods. Either way it made for a strange sight this morning.

The rest of the day included driving through the eye of the storm on the way back from shopping. I felt like an American storm chaser. Woah man! Awesome dude! It was dope!

On safe arrival at home, Superman 3 was on TV. Cue anecdote of the day….

I remember being about 8 or 9 years old and going to the Science Museum (or somewhere like that) and laying on a table in front of a green screen and pretending to be Superman flying over Metropolis.

Tomorrow is the last Sunday of Janathon, and with the whole 'not going out with a whimper' idea and my memories of being Superman I plan to do a long run.

Today's mileage = 6.14

Total Janathon mileage = 81.01

 

#janathon Disco Dog

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 7 Comments

Today I bought the dog a treat: a flashing LED light dog tag collar pendant. For the princely sum of £1.99.

So tonight we headed to the woods to give it a go. It is very funny, it flashes red and blue constantly. I think it may have freaked the dog out a bit, but he was soon taking no notice of it. Not that he had a choice. It's for dogs that tend to run off. My dog doesn't run off, just wanted to make him look stupid. I did attempt to take a photo, but it's not the best…..

So it was another two and half miles round the woods. I think it's about time I did a bit of a longer run. Tomorrow may be that day.

Total Janathon mileage = 54.97