Two & a half years ago in the summer of 2020, I fell in love with the South West Coast Path.
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Category: Long Run
The Vanguard Way
The Vanguard Way (VGW) was where I discovered trail running in 2016. Before the Vanguard, I was a road runner pounding the pavements of Croydon day after day. I knew no different.
One evening early in the summer, the club run took us off the roads & onto the trails of Croydon. I entered a whole new mystical world. Over those summer months with Striders, I discovered a wonderful side to Croydon that I never knew existed; woods, forests, fields, tracks & trails. I started to fall in love. One evening we ran a few miles along the Vanguard Way. I saw signs around the woods, my curiosity was piqued.
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The Inaugural South Norwood Marathon
It was never about the race, the city, the medal or the other runners.
It was just about me.
A challenge.
Was I capable?
Could I do it?
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Running Toronto
One of the things I love about travelling is running to explore. I have to admit I’ve not done as much of it as I would like – I didn’t really run when I visited exciting places like Havana & Mexico City – but now, one of the first things I do is pour over a map looking for good running routes!
I know Toronto reasonably well & until Brighton this year Toronto held my marathon PB from 2014. I’d run the marathon but had never really ‘run’ Toronto. I was excited to get out & see some of the city.
One week, five runs, 44 miles but only a tiny percentage of the city! Continue reading
NDW Caterham to Wrotham, AKA mile 38 onwards…
22 miles, 4:11:42, 11:26 min/mile, 2,400 ft elevation gain
When it’s the hottest day of the year so far what’s the best thing to do…? I’d like to say 22 miles on the NDW & whilst I enjoyed it, 30+ degrees was just a little too warm!
At 6:30am I jumped on the first train outta Norwood Junction that headed to towards the Downs. Arriving in Caterham at 7:01 I hot footed it up the A22 to the Caterham Viewpoint, or as I now like to refer to it ‘Mile 38’. I walked rather than ran to my start line to stretch my legs a little, my right quad was feeling a bit tight & I wanted to stretch it out before I started running. Continue reading
NDW50 Wk 25: NDW50 T-5 Days (wc 01.05.17)
As I write this post it is five days until race day. FIVE DAYS! How the f**k did that happen?
My training is effectively done. I can do no more A few easy miles over the next few days to keep the legs moving & the mind happy but the main priority for the coming week is rest & recovery & preparing myself physically & mentally to run 50 miles next weekend.
It only seems a few weeks since I signed up for the race, since I started my training & now here we are.
How do I feel? Continue reading
NDW50 Wk 24: The finish line is in sight (wc 24.04.17)
Like most things following a bank holiday I’m running late, but that’s ok because my runs are a day late too so this week’s post is a little off kilter with an extra day thrown in!
Banstead Woods parkrun: running in the bluebells
5km, 23:39, 7:44 min/mile, 141ft elevation gain
I still don’t quite believe it when I run a 23:39 5km, especially when I feel as if I could have run harder. It was May last year that I first dipped under 24 minutes with 23:51 on the flattest, smoothest road parkrun I could find & here I am now running faster on a much harder course. It just shows how much my running has improved over the past 12 months.
NDW50 Wk 22: Bad training runs happen to stop bad race days (wc 10.04.17)
After the high of Brighton…
13 miles, 2:05:50, 9:41 min/mile, 1000ft elevation gain
I shared my NDW50 adventures on Instagram this week & then promptly had the worst run of the training cycle which made me wish I had kept quiet & I could just ignore the whole thing.
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NDW50 Wk 20: Back in the Game! (wc 27.03.17)
Chasing sunset not sunrise
9 miles, 1:23:21, 9:16 min/mile, 272ft elevation gain
I did not want to run.
Sunday’s long-run had not quite gone to plan due to tiredness. I was still tired, I was worried about my knee & I had serious DOMS. I had been dreading it all day to the extent that I delayed running for 12 hours & rather than my usual 6am run time, I didn’t hit the pavements until 6pm.
This is most unlike me.
NDW50 Wk 19: Thames Path Twenty (wc 20.03.17)
AKA Insomnia stole my sleep
20 miles, 3:01:09, 9:03 min/mile, 95ft elevation gain
The start of British summer time, the clocks go forward an hour so we loose an hour’s sleep & insomnia stole the rest… I remembered this about mid-way through when this run started to feel really, really hard. Note to self, a long run after less than two hours sleep is not going to be easy!
Having been lying awake for hours, I jumped on the first London bound train out of Norwood Junction on Sunday morning to find somewhere more exciting than the streets of Croydon for my long-run. I don’t know how I managed to train for a marathon in previous years doing the same old loops round Croydon for almost every session. Continue reading
Photo Girl Runs 
