Monday 28 May 2012

Bike, Sun, Run, Mum...

Well that was a week of fantastic summer weather. Of course we Brits have all been out trying to make the most of it, because you never know how long it will last. I absolutely love a sunny day, but I must admit, I have been struggling a bit with running in the heat.

I'm trying to gradually up my mileage at the moment, and on Monday I went for an 8-miler. It was pretty hot, and I spent most of the run trying to find shade, but there wasn't much. Thankfully it was a bit windy, which helped keep me slightly cooler.

On Tuesday I couldn't wait to get out on my bike. It was glorious, and I cycled to the nearest bit of coast to our town. It was almost 6 miles there, and I could ride right up to the beach. Most people were at work or school so it was really quiet. It was lovely.


The only drawback was, I only had about 5 mins to soak it up before turning around and heading back, to pick Emma up from nursery! Later that evening, I discovered I had red, sore arms, and a distinct line where my t-shirt sleeves were. Nice.

I ran early on Wednesday morning, but it was still too hot even at 6.30am, and on Friday I attempted to run up a hill, which was a bit silly.

At the weekend, we had friends staying over on Saturday night, so I knew that it would be tough to get up and run on Sunday morning. On Saturday though, Pete was away all day, and took the car with him. Initially I thought it would have to be a rest day, but then I decided to take the kids out on their bikes, and I would run along with them. Emma is only on a balance bike still (with no pedals), so she can't go too fast, and Robbie just has to wait for us to catch up every so often.

Getting ready to go

We drank some water, went to the loo, applied loads of suncream and set off. We headed for the cuckoo trail - a long, flat, traffic-free cycle path - only to find it was closed off for maintenance to sewer pipes. How dare they do that on a sunny day?!

So I improvised and went another way. It was very difficult running. We were constantly stopping and starting, Emma couldn't keep up, Robbie stopped if anyone came the other way, they both kept moaning about injuries or tiredness and I ran about half a mile in 15 minutes.

Then I had a better idea. We went down a dusty track, into a field, over 2 stiles, and eventually found ourselves in the local park. There was a play area for the kids, and while they entertained themselves there, I ran round and round the park. They were happy, I was happy to be running faster and without stopping, and I could keep an eye on them too. It worked out really well, although I only got to 2.7 miles, as I didn't want to leave them for too long, and the sun was getting hotter.

We dragged ourselves and the bikes home to get some ice-cream. And I didn't have to run on Sunday! So altogether last week I ran 20.1 miles, and cycled 12m.


Sure enough the temperature is forecast to drop this week, but I'm actually quite happy with this. I can sacrifice a bit of sunbathing in the garden if it makes my long runs more comfortable!

6 comments:

  1. It's amazing what we do to get our runs in. Glad you found a solutions. That bike ride does look glorious.

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  2. Tough run with the kids. It makes me so glad that I don't have to think about mine any more. I remember training a few years back now (okay, more like 15) and taking my #2 with me on his bike. He was a speed demon and I couldn't keep up. We were on a path next to the river and it freaked me out that he'd fall in and I'd never know.

    I hope the weather cools a bit for you soon.

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  3. Robbie looks so much older in the bottom picture!

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    1. I see what you mean! He's just a baby in the previous picture. The truth is somewhere inbetween!

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  4. Hasn't the weather been wonderful? And you sound to have been getting yourself organised to make the most of it. A lot of my runs start off up Castle Hill, a rise of 250ft in one mile which I use as a warm-up. Then, just lately in the heat, I've been dropping down to do my four woods route to take advantage of shade under the trees. I've still got sunburnt, but I'm not complaining!

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  5. I find it hard getting used to the hot weather too. Our Julys and Augusts are usually hot, but the rest of the time it's cool or cold. It always takes me a couple of weeks to adjust.
    Love your cute kid pics!

    Barbara
    My Running Shortz

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