19 Wet beach

 

Ours was the only vehicle on the parking place for the beach entrance.  I'd pulled my running clothes on this morning but was prepared to abort the run if the rain got too bad.  It was drizzly by the time we got to the car park and I thought we'd at least run up the dyke to get a glimpse of the sea.  By the time we were there it was as good as dry so we ran along the sea shore till the next exit and back along the bike path in the 'hills' back to the van.  Got a bit wet on the way back but nothing too terrible.  

18

 

Uneventful run.  Wind against me on the way home but warmer that it's been lately and I felt sufficiently warmed up to do some sprinty bits in between shouting for the dog to catch up.  

17 Frozen Sea

 

Freezing east wind meant that despite the sun and the just under freezing temperature the edges of the sea had a layer of slushy ice on it.  I noticed some crows pecking at a fresh bird carcass and clambered down the dyke to have a closer look. Very slight squeaking from my lungs on the homeward straight as the combination of the cold and the length of time since my morning asthma drugs started to take hold but nothing too drastic.   

16

In the background a group of swimmers are about to go into the water.  It was just above freezing but no wind so felt less cold than it's been recently.  

 

15

 

Less wind today so the chill factor wasn't so fierce and my hands warmed up enough to take my gloves off on the home run.  Did a couple of speeded-up-from-plod-mode stretches.  (I hesitate to dignify them with the word 'sprint'...) 

14

 

Very low tide with the east wind pushing all the water from our wee cove out into the North Sea.  Gentle plod down to the Kuitje and back.   Much more mudflat visible than usual.  Luckily Ragnar is never keen on getting his feet wet and stays mostly on the higher drier grassier part of the shoreline where he can read all the weemail other dogs have left behind and post the occasional no doubt well-considered reply himself.  

13

  I'm glad I postponed my run today as the dawn was dull and grey and when I went down to the canal with the dog and my first coffee there was a stilletto sharp east wind coming off it (the canal, not my coffee! tssk) and rather than spending a few minutes watching the cormorants and ducks like I usually do I turned around before even reaching the water. Few hours later there was at least some more light in the sky (even if the actual sun didn't put in more than a few short token appearances) and we got our run down to the sea and back done. In hindsight I should have had my winterweight running breeks on as the chill factor of the wind was high and my thighs and bum never did really get warm. Also kept my thickish gloves on for the whole way there and back and was glad I'd remembered to put some vaseline on my cheeks and lips. Because of the lack of any sort of feeling of my major muscles having warmed up significantly on the way out I didn't try any speedier bits on the way home.

I've upped my frequency for February from every 3 days to alternating 2 and 3 day gaps. (So 2 runs in every 5 days.)

12

 

 The sun was well on its way up and when I checked my phone at the half way/turnaround mark when I took a photo it was a heady 8 degrees! I even had my gloves off. On the way out I was overtaken by a man in a speedy wee electric wheelchair and we met him again on his way back and he stopped for a chat as he wanted to pat the dog.

11

 

Ragnar and I were down on the beach 3 and a half km away before the sun was properly over the horizon this morning. Great run in the freezing, windstill dawn. White ripe on the grass but the cycle path I was running on wasn't slippy at all. It's quite unusual to have no wind at all here so I was enjoying its absence. I quickened my strides slightly on the way home and was pleased to note that I did indeed have negative splits. (Faster second half of a run.) Not that it was really much of a 'challenge' as my pace was even slower than usual as I took care to let my muscles warm up slowly in the cold. 38 min there, 34 minutes back. Roughly. And I only know this as I took my phone out of its pocket to take the photo at the furthest point and saw how much of the programme I was listening to was left. And there are various unscheduled stops and turn arounds to clip the dog onto the lead if I spot a car or bike.

run 10

 

Windy run

9th run today. Same out and back to the sea that I can do from home, about 6k if I turn around at first seaglimpse, further if I go right down and along to the end. Short version today as I knew I'd have the wind against me on the way back. Running about doubles the distance of our main dog walk of the day, which I normally do at a much slower pace in wellies. Ragnar is still young and fit enough to do this distance and we both enjoy it as he can be off the lead for most of it, though I clip him on if I see a cyclist in the distance. He doesn't chase them but I know that some find big dogs running loose a bit scary so I like to avoid any unneccessary angst.

run 8

 8th run of this year today.

Again down to 't Kuitje and back

Wind behind me on the way out, against me on the way back. Other way round would have been better but hey ho, no complaints.

(No photos.  Forgot.) 

Wet wet wet

Same run down to the sea and back that's becoming my staple route now that I know that both Ragnar and I can do the distance. He can run loose most of the time, if I see walkers or cyclists approaching I clip him onto my belt. I can add a little bit every time - today we went down onto the beach rather than turning back at the first glimpse of the sea from the top of the dyke. Next time I might run a bit further along to the marine base fence which stops us going any further along the coast.

I'm pleased at how easily I seem to have got back into the running habit again. I can barely imagine how last year there was a time when I could hardly get down to the next corner without my lungs squeaking their objections.

Mist

I kept postponing my run this morning because the mist was so thick and cold and there was a vague promise of the sun breaking through on the local weather app. But ach, I had to go out with the dog anyway and I already had my running kit on so I decided 'just to do a short run' and once I was out I kept going down to the sea. (Still no sign of any sun whatsoever.) Even managed to pick my feet up a bit higher than the absolute minimum of being on that border between running and walking that I've been doing so far. As always, I'm glad I got out and did the run, even though I wasn't bursting with enthusiasm beforehand.

Kuitje 2

 

Kuitje

 

Beach run

 

2nd run

 

Ragnar Run

Back again after abandoning this blog for years.

Some of my running in the intervening time is reported in here:

I'm happy to report that Ragnar and I are just back from our first run of 2025. I'm not really one for NY resolutions but am tentatively thinking of aiming for 2 runs a week, without beating myself up if I only manage one sometimes. (Or none if injury or sickness should intervene.)

I had to hunt a bit to find my running belt (stuffed behind the sink in the van). And the right lead with a clip at both ends. And what to wear? In the end I seemed to get it just right - a single shell cotton windproof bodywarmer over the t-shirt and thin sweatshirt I was wearing indoors. Leggings. Woolen gloves and a buff over my ears.
Took it really easy, reminding myself to slow down (not that I was going at any speed to start with) as much as possible. Slow running is different from fast walking in that you lift your full bodyweight off the ground at every step. So even if your progress may well be slower, the benefits are still there.

Ragnar soon got over his astonishment at this new mode of movement and stopped jumping up and down in front of me to settle into his position a couple of metres ahead till we got to the bits where I could let him run loose. No breathing problems. No complaints from my legs. 

Down past the NAM and back.