Northumberland Coast run

I'm "training" for the Edinburgh marathon on the 26th of May. I say "training", but to be honest I'm not very good at that. I prefer to run and see what comes of it.
That said, after having a few leg problemsI thought, with 4 weeks to go, I'd better actually think about this and I pulled a plan from the marathon website. Yesterday's run was to be 4 mile at pace. What did I do? 4 miles of technical trail with my dogs ! Very hard going but not exactly pacey. Todays run was to be 12 miles.
If you've read any of my blogs, you will know that I dont really road run. I prefer anything off road, be that trail, hill, bog or beach. Of course the Edinburgh marathon is a road race ! I did do a 10 mile road run a few weeks ago. I didnt enjoy it but as it was a 10 mile PB I figured that off road training would be fine !
Today's run: the Northumberland coast. A very cool place indeed in my opinion. I love it here and its only 30 minutes from home.
I parked up at Cocklawburn beach just south of Berwick and headed south along Cheswick sands. The tide was quite far out and going out so I decided to run along the water line. This lent itself to some decent paced running as I was going downwind too. I was geting quite near Holy Island when I remembered a conversation with someone who knows the area well. He told me that its possible to walk from Goswick to Holy Island at low tide on the sand bar. However during and after WW11 several bombs were detonated there which created pockets of quicksand.
I had not intended to run to Holy Island anyway, but I seemed to heading that way. With the quicksand in mind I decided to head back to land. I was about a mile out at this stage and guess what ? Yes, as soon as I headed towards land I ran into some very soft areas ! Whether or not this was the pockets of quicksand or not, I dont know but I was beginning to worry a bit.
After I cleared this area, all I could see between me and land was water. Oh shit! I reasoned that, as the tide was out, the water must be shallow. It was, mostly only a few inches deep and I was able to run through it quite easily except for the fact that I'd now turned back into the wind. I must admit to being quite happy to join the sheep on the salt marsh!
I realised now that if I turned north my run would be around 10 miles rather than 12 as stated on the "plan". Who needs plans anyway so I decided to make up for the lack of distance by working harder. I ran back north through the sand dunes, into the wind at a decent pace. The last mile saw me back on the beach pumping the legs and breathing hard. I stopped at 10 miles, waded into the sea and then walked the half mile back to my van (now sporting photos of my girls on the back windows!)

I didnt take my camera today, but the photo at the top is what I'm looking at as I write this. You can just pick out Lindisfarne on the left and Bamburgh Castle on the right.
According to my "plan" thats my last double figure run prior to the Edinburgh marathon. Hmm, who needs plans !
I feel duty bound to add that I'm running Edinburgh in aid of Chest Heart Stroke Scotland dressed as a clown. You can guess whats next:-) If you could support me via www.justgiving.com/dunsrunner then there'd be lots of winners. Thank you

Hawkshead Trail run

Sorry folks but as I was running hard today I took no photos. They would have been beautiful had i done so, but I didnt !
Today I ran the Hawkshead 17k challenge race, which is part of the Lakeland Trails series. My marathon debut last year was part of this series and I've been hooked since. The one drawback for me is the distance. Todays round trip was 280 miles and a lot of time behind the wheel. My drive/run ratio isnt too good !
No matter as I just love these races as each one is unique. I never know what to expect in terms of running surface, the amount of ascent to be expected, the steepness of the descents, the weather etc etc.
I arrived in Hawkshead after my Sat Nav had had its usual piss take, taking me some very suspect route, to find the place heaving and the car park closed as it was full and wet. If I'd got in there, I'd probably still be there now. I parked on the verge of a very narrow road and headed off to registration.
Now a novelty for me and these races: the sun was shining and it was a pleasant 8 degrees, with little or no wind, making ideal running conditions.
I missed the call to the start area so was a little further back than I'd've liked, but I decided to just play it cool, run as I felt and see what unfolded. I came into this with an injury niggle. I've had problems with my left leg, which haven't really been diagnosed accurately. So this was very much a trial run to see how this went, as in 4 weeks I intend to run the Edinburgh marathon for Chest Heart Stroke Scotland (www.justgiving.com/dunsrunner).
The start section is flat and tarmac. When I checked my watch at about a half mile I was running under 8 minute mile pace which I considered too fast but I went with it as I felt comfortable. As we left the road and started trail running properly, we started to climb quite quickly. As everyone around me tried to run every hill, I walked them. Soon I wasnt the only one!
The trails were in good condition and easy to run on, lots of stones to be negotiated but very little energy sapping boggy bits. I settled into my run, working hard both running and on the walking bits too. I began to feel I was not doing too well and was not "race fit" which I accepted. My leg was fine though so I was pleased with that. However having since viewed the data from my Garmin, I think it was more a case that I was running quite fast by my standards !
Around the 7 mile mark (sorry I just dont get Kms !) we entered a section called the "coffin trail". In short this is about 1 mile pretty much straight up from the shore of Windermere. I walked all of it as I was as fast doing that as trying to run it. I definitely lost a few places here, although I managed to pick off some on the descent and run in.
Once we had reached the summit of the "coffin trail" we had some wonderful downhill trail running. I get satisfaction having managed a climb, but I really love trying to run fast down technical trails. And boy, did this ever fit the bill !  Lots of sections were bare rocks and stones that obviously carry a lot of water after heavy rain and I run these with "dancing" in mind. I have to plan very carefully where each foot step is landing, with a nano second thinking time for each one. I try to keep my knees high as I'm aware that a trip here would lead to a very nasty fall. Add in a tiredness factor too and its maximum concentration all the way. I think of these foot steps as my "dancing" (I can't do any other dancing anyway). I would never criticise road runners outright, but I cant help feeling that they dont know what they're missing. I must confess to doing the "aeroplane" down one grassy slope as I was having so much fun:-)
So how did I do? Well as I mentioned earlier my Garmin tells me a story. I was happy to have run 10 trailies without my leg going "ouch", but I felt my performance wasnt that good. My Garmin tells me I ran 10 miles, climbing 2000 ft, at an average pace of 9.10 minute miles. Well I dont mind saying, that will do me. Thank you very much. Thrilled, if I'm honest.
PS If you are reading this and havent run trails, I'd say give it a try. Whats the harm?
Thanks for reading

Blowing a hoolie on Holy Island

I took my 3 kids and 2 dogs to Holy Island today. The warm weather had at last arrived. Along with it came the wind ! It was quite amazing watching the landscape change, literally, before our eyes as the sand shifted. Some pics

A day on the Northumberland Coast. Probably my favourite place on earth

I headed to the Northumberland coast this morning, hoping to nurse my poorly leg through two 8 milers. I managed the first one OK, but my leg gave up rapidly after 3 miles of run #2. Still I took some photos. As usual, the order is "random"! Lindisfarne first up

Looking back towards the village                        

The harbour                                                         

The castle is just so imposing and impressive     

Nope, no idea either!                                            

Windswept and unspoiled                                    

I loved the colours                                                

Beautiful stones and then sand. Contrasts           

Weird little construction. Missed this on previous visit

There are always patterns on the sand that please me

Keep Left!  OK and I did                                     

Possibly the best piece of driftwood I've ever seen

A very expensive holiday cottage (believe me!)  

Fabulous woodland trails to finish                       

I'd recommend it :-) Thanks for looking