RUN 107 - Tooting Bec Common, London

Only 5 days before my first Coastal Trail Marathon in The Gower, South Wales, I've been tapering off my training, missed this weekends last 'long run' but I'm not too worried about that, i've cut back my mileage in this way before and am always amazed how much benefit there is to be found in not running! The hard work has been done, my 21+ mile long run before the taper went great, simulating underfoot conditions as much as possible using the equipment ill be running with, i just need to take my time in the race and find my own pace, finishing in 4 hours would be nice, but I'm not sure what to expect of the terrain, so I'll be happy to complete this first race and then look towards the next one. Since moving back to the UK from Chicago my wife and i have done a lot of cross country traveling, away from our 'home base' which makes working in my running quite difficult, but gives me opportunities to explore many different parts of the country. Having a place to record these runs in this blog as they progress is really enjoyable. [4.93m - 39:42 - 08:03/m]

[Tooting Bec Common]

RUN 106 - Lion Gorge, Chafford Gorge nature reserve

I'm into my usual 2 week taper before the race on Saturday December 5th, its a strange time for me as a runner, i take a lot of confidence from the training which has come before, but its also frustrating to cut back the mileage, and change my daily/weekly routine so much. However it is nice to rest and focus on saving energy for the race. I discovered a small nature reserve today, although i made a 'wrong' turn and only ran through the small half, which is ok, i can save that portion for another run. [6.05m 48:43 - 08:04/m]

[Lion Gorge, Thurrock]

RUN 105 - Thornbury, England

Today was a difficult run, i just didn't feel strong and my stomach was causing some discomfort. While i always run light, careful to maintain a freeflowing natural form, the simple act of placing one foot in front of another over and over; for 16 miles in this case, churns you up inside sometimes. The terrain, destination and the knowledge that i will eventually make it with patience is always enough to keep me going. I headed towards Thornbury, England today, along the A38 road to Gloucester. Thornbury is a small village over a 1000 years old, with a Castle to prove it (which is now a Hotel) My pace was slower than usual, but im less concerned with pace and more endurance and stamina, which i think will serve me better in the upcomming Coastal Marathons around Great Britian. [16.12m - 02:25:04 - 09:00/m]

[Sunrise over an English farm yard]

RUN 104 - Three Brooks nature reserve

There is a small nature reserve nearby called The Three Brooks Nature Reserve, which I've run through a few times already, but today i decided to explore a little more. The reserve centers around the Bradley, Patchway and Stoke brooks. I had an 8 mile run scheduled which would need me to cover the nature reserve several times, which was ideal to run without thinking, turning randomly through the forests, trails, up hill, over rivers and bridges. The terrain was perfect, and while i didn't feel particularly strong as the start, i felt really energised by the end, its amazing how some days the same distance can feel short and others long. I'm feeling strong and i know I'm running faster then more efficiently than i have before, my race in a little over two weeks is still a big challenge, especially as the next race is only about 6 weeks later. My trail training pace has been quite consistent, especially over my recent 21miler, but i still don't know exactly how the race will go, ill be happy to finish, and then think about improving in the next race. [8.18m - 01:11:09 - 08:41/mi]

[Three Brooks nature preserve]

RUN 103 - Almondsbury Recovery Run

Sometimes the recovery runs are the best, all the hard work is done already, there is no pressure, the distance and pace are easy. England has many roads of varying sizes, widths, with pavements, without, grassy verges, gravel tracks, muddy footpaths, hedge lined... being able to turn any given direction and be faced with an entirely new running environment is really interesting and challenging. It varies the nature of the training and presents a surprising view around every corner. [4.77m - 39:10 - 08:12/m]

[A public driveway to a few small houses]

RUN 102 - Severn Way; [Severn beach to Oldbury via Wales]

Choosing to postpone yesterdays long run to today turned out to be an excellent decision, 21 miles along the River Severn following the 'Severn Way' was simply beautiful! beautiful & muddy!. I planned the route to include crossing over the 1 mile river Severn suspension bridge to neighbouring Wales, back across again and then continuing north along the public bridal way to Oldbury on Severn. Saturday brought the first big storm of the autumn/winter with heavy rain and winds gusting to 75mph, not ideal conditions for a 20+ mile and i really wanted to include the crossing over the River Severn, which wouldn't have been possible in those winds. Sunday was perfect though, sunny to start with, the wind behind my back and a really varied interesting terrain which changed constantly, keeping me focused on each step forward. The mud was thick and deep in parts which made keeping a planned 9min/mile pace difficult, plus i had to navigate a little too and contend with fences and sty's along the bridal way, but thanks to the detailed maps South Gloucester provide on their website; and a kind old fella who showed me the way to the Severn Bridge pedestrian crossing, I was able to plan the Severn Way route quite easily and didn't make a mistake. My first coastal series marathon of the winter/spring season is coming up on December 5th, and this was an important training run to do my best to simulate conditions and see how I'm able to translate my road running experience. I ran a little long and finished 20.97m in 3:03:13 for a 8:44min/mile pace which was tough towards the end including a 400ft assent, a headwind and a boggy field I'm pretty happy with that result, its a massive confidence boost before the race, which I've said before is key to success, maintaining confidence is everything. My wife and parents were kind enough to endure the windy weather and met me at several points along todays route, having that support and seeing my wifes pride especially means the world to me, she's been there for me in every major race so far, and on the long runs its the thought of her patiently waiting which drives me to keep putting one foot in front of the other. [20.97m - 03:03:13 - 08:44/m]

[Severn Beach, the river & the Bridge, mile 3]

[Severn Bridge, miles 5-8]

[Severn Way, Oldbury in the distance, mile 10 & 17]

[The Severn Way; muddy from heavy rains the day before]

RUN 101 - Almondsbury Right of Way & Bridalways

I'm beginning to figure out how to plan my running routes in the rural parts of the English countryside surrounding the area im living in currently in Sout Gloucester. The countryside is covered in a network of footpaths and bridalways, most of which are hundreds of years old. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act allows people to travel on foot in all cases across private property where these rights of way exist, the local authorities are required to maintain records of these rights of way, which are published in Ordanance Survey maps, and on their websites. Using these maps i can plot new running routes across country, through fields, over hills, down lanes, giving me access to some very challenging runs in some beautiful parts of the world. We had some quite heavy rain today too, which i was excited to get out and run in to try out my clothing options for the Coastal Trail Series coming up next month! [5.14m - 41:55 - 09:09/m]

[Public footpath through Almondsbury, England]

RUN 100 - Almondsbury, England

Being back in England and running i have many many places in my mental list to run. The little village of Almondsbury was one of them. he best part about it is the chance to finally do some serious hill training! From the A38 into Almondsbury there are a number of routes, on roads, pavements and through a wood on a gravelly track. I incorporated all of these into today's run and repeated and weaved my way through the village and up and down hills for about an hour. I forgot to change my Garmin, so i was running based on time alone, including the hills probably between 6 & 8 miles today, building up for Saturdays 20+ miler which I'm hoping to run across the Severn bridge and into Wales. With a church from 1140AD and a pub which became licensed in 1550, Almondsbury is certainly a typically quaint little English Village.

[St Mary the Virgin, built by Monks 1140AD]

RUN 99 - Grays Morning

Getting out to run each and every day i've scheduled myself to run is really important to my mental preparations. Especially days like today which I knew i'd be spending the entire day on my feet walking around London, my schedule calls for a 8 mile run, which i cut to a 2 mile jog to save time and leave me the energy to do everything else i needed to do today. Recofnising that run/life balance and how to adjust the give and take is really important to me, and to the success of both sides of my life. Other runners my deal with that in other ways, make more or less of a sacrifice, this attitude so far is working well for me. [1.63m - 14:05 - 08:39/m]

RUN 98 - River Thames, Essex

Sometimes not knowing where you're running makes for the most interesting and rewarding experiences. I've run in this area of Essex before, but not near the river; i know enough landmarks and pubs to get me back towards where i came from, which gives me enough confidence to just blindly run without thinking about a route. I started by following the river Thames for a mile or so which brought me to the Wharf pictured below, an easy interesting run past fishermen, dog walkers, through the riverside residential apartment buildings centered around the Wharf. Then I essentially ran north east uphill until reaching half distance, running back to the start again; out and back, is almost fool proof, today i got a little confused in the one way system, which added an additional half mile to my overall distance. Making it back to a familiar gives a small feeling like the end of a race when you know the finish line is approaching, you might not be able to see it yet, but you know its there and you've almost completed another successful run. [6.06m - 49:08 - 08:06/m]

[Grays Wharf, flood gates]

RUN 97 - Duchess Estate & Purdown

I planned today's run out quite carefully, from home south and west through two villages towards the river Frome valley. We used to play and explore along the river all the time when my sister and I were kids; over the fields from my nans house and into Snuff Mills. That's where I planned to connect with and run along the river bank. It almost worked, not quite, I made it to the river 5 miles into the run, and followed it through mud trees rocks and thorns until I met a wall which I climbed over and tried to push through without luck, doubling back I weaved my way through over fields avoiding cows, cow pats and electric fences, again without luck. Eventually I connected with a road I knew and made it to the duchess estate which was my second goal to run some challenging terrain, which I definitely found. I made up a new route home and just came shirt of the 16m goal distance, although with all the navigation I needed to do there was an extra 1.5m which my Garmin recorded as rest time. This was a really challenging run, the like of which I haven't had a chance to run before in Chicago, I'm feeling like I'm really starting to prepare for the Coastal Series now. Leaving this morning was hard, I wanted to spend time with my wife who I hadn't seen for a couple of days, but she knows me well enough to tell me to go run, that's why I love her, having her there at the end to give her a sweaty kiss is always a strong motivator. [15.38m - 2:09:56 - 08:26/m]

[The Duchess Estate & Dower House beyond]

RUN 96 - Severn Beach, England

I took a short drive before todays run to continue varying the terrain of each run. The river Severn separates England from Wales and is crossed by two bridges, the Severn has the second highest tidal range in the world; something like 20 feet I think. The river is lined by some small old and new villages, the tidal wall for which provides an ideal running track. Varied in terrain from concrete to gravel to grass and mud, it's flat but very exposed to the coastal winds, which is just the kind of environment I like to train in. The more challenging the training runs, the easier it is to face up to the challenge if racing. [4.01m - 32:12 - 08:17/m]

[River Severn, Bridge crossing & Wales beyond]

RUN 95 - Grays, Essex

Staying away from home, or from the places you're used to is a wonderful opportunity to explore the world. Running gives me an excuse to explore and soak in the places around me. Today I'm in Grays in Essex just outside London. I took my morning run around this small town as its residents were going about their normal routines, commuting to work, walking to the train, most of them heading into central London. Being in an unfamiliar place does require a little navigation so you have to be patient with the run, i deviated a little today, but it wasn't an issue. My iphone is invaluable not only for these photos but also navigation. Hopefully i won't need that part of it on my first coastal trail marathon next month! [5.26m - 42:16 - 08:02/m]

[Grays, Essex, Just outside London]

RUN 96 - A38 & Rolls Royce

I had planned another rural country route for today's run, but i decided to just pick a road I knew i could run straight through for half the distance out and back. Its strange that Bristol, England is a more rural smaller city than Chicago, but living by Lake Michigan afforded me many quiet road free runs without any effort. Here where I'm living in Bristol currently the English Countryside is quite close but planning the routes needs a little more effort. Today i ran along a road called the A38, its a straight long road that runs entirely across the city, but the portion near me is dual carriageway for 3-4 miles, perfect for a 7 mile run! which i ran out and back. The route took me past Filton Airfield, and the old Rolls Royce factories which have recently been demolished and a new facility built. Long straight runs are an important part of my training, they give me an opportunity to really get my head down and run, without having to think about directions, i can focus entirely on my pace rhythm and form. [7:15m - 57:23 - 08:01/m]

[The site of what was the Rolls Royce factory]