Coast to Canvas, Summits and Stars

In the past seven days I've been to the coast and the forest, slept under canvas and under stars, eaten in pubs and on hilltops. Somehow, in amongst all that, I've managed to do a reasonable bit of training:
Saturday: "Rest day"
Sunday: 8 mile walk
Monday: Rest Day
Tuesday: 5 mile run
Wednesday: 8 mile run
Thursday: microadventure
Friday: 3+3 mile run

Fun antics on Saturday

It all started with a day out in Brighton on Saturday. My good friends Tim and Becky had been planning this for a while and I had been kept completely in the dark about what was in store, save for the fact that I was being collected at 8am. You'll notice that I have labelled this as a rest day in inverted commas... although I wasn't doing any formal exercise it was a long day with lots of walking. We had a picnic breakfast on Devil's Dyke, watching the para gliders circle serenely. A stroll along the windswept hilltop and we were off to visit a castle, the little town of Steyning then had a pit stop for tea and biscuits at Becky's family home. Then it was into Brighton proper for a delicious lunch, a bit of wandering in the lanes, a visit to the pavilion and exploration of some lesser-known (to me) parts of the city. We finished, naturally, with chips on the beach and arcades on the pier.

Never too old for swings

Bed by 1am and up again at 7am to hot foot it to the New Forest to meet up with my cousin and pregnant wife plus friends/family/dogs for a spot of camping. Sunday's weather was kind to us, allowing for a glorious walk and a ploughman's lunch followed by ice cream. Over the evening's BBQ and fire pit we started planning some time away next year once the littl'un is born... hopefully a cottage rental in Yorkshire for some good walking. Clothes full of woodsmoke, we retired under canvas just as the rain started.

Monday was somewhat wet around the edges. We wanted to make the most of the time we had together so managed a lazy, HOT breakfast with lashings of tea then picked somewhere arbitrary to drive to for a wander and a pub lunch. We ended up deciding against the walk in nearly horizontal rain but had the most magnificent macaroni cheese and chips before saying our goodbyes.

Raindrops keep falling in my tea...

All my running has been very well timed this week. I've managed to find the dry windows in a week of rain. Although a twilight yoga session I'd been looking forward to on Wednesday got cancelled due to the weather I managed a dry 8 miles so no harm done. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for other yoga and SUP sessions I can make before it gets too autumnal.

Rain on the horizon... didn't come our way... 

5pm on Thursday was a special time because it meant that I got to leave the office and head out to Wendover for another micro adventure with McNuff and friends. In the group of ten I only knew Anna when we met up but by the time we said our farewells at 6:45am I considered them all friends. It's one of the things I love about doing micro adventures this way... I get to meet so many cool and interesting people. Architects, charity workers, web designers, astrophysicists who run, cycle, explore and generally make the most of life, it's really awesome. We headed up to Coombe Hill, eyeing the rain filled horizon with suspicion along the way, and ate and drank in sight of the monument as the sun set. As darkness closed in we did some star gazing until the cold wind made our sleeping bags seem very attractive. Despite a deflating thermarest I got some sleep, all be it interspersed with more periods of stargazing. It was just too pretty.

Coombe Hill Monument

This is how I look at 6:15am after sleeping on a windy hilltop

Sunrise

Today's early start and double run has probably put me in fairly good stead for Equinox24 which is now just three weeks away! Running on little sleep and tired legs will be the theme for that particular weekend, yet I'm oddly excited about it all. Of course it will be a wonderful experience but I will have extra motivation because this is the first event I will be running in aid of Hospiscare, the charity that helped my family so much earlier this year. I'm hoping to raise £1,000 but the end of April next year and I would be so grateful if you would sponsor me. You can read more about the charity, my events and how the money will be used on my Just Giving page, where you can also make a donation. Thank you in advance.

What's been the best part of your week this week? Are you in training for any Autumn events?

Really cool snail we found on our way back to the station.