Devil's Dyke

It was such a gorgeous day today, a cloudless, warm autumn day. I decided to run from Jack & Jill windmills to Ditchling Beacon and back - a trail which I think is about four or five miles in total, with some good undulations. Got all my gear together and went over to mum and dad's for some pre-run scoff and a cup of tea. About 3pm I went to get changed and ... I'd forgotten my sports bra... arrrggggh I was SO PISSED OFF. This might seem like a minor thing but believe me it's not. I couldn't believe I'd gone all that way and forgotten such a fundamental thing. Felt like I was never going to get a decent cross-country run in before the race... and only one more weekend to go.

In the end I had to compromise ... got a lift back home, rushed in and got properly attired, then Dad dropped me off at Devil's Dyke instead. I ran out from behind the back of the car park where there's a trail but it came to an end after about half a mile (I don't really know this area very well) so I came back the same way and found another path. It led up onto the top of the Dyke and then followed the road all the way back. In fact, I ended up running all the way back to my flat. The trail was great - totally exposed with amazing views all around. There were a few other runners and lots of mountain bikers using it, but it wasn't crowded. The only annoying thing was that it was pretty much a gentle downhill all the way, save for a couple of smallish hills. Next weekend I will do it in the opposite direction. My quads ache a bit tonight. I really enjoyed this run though. Although I did have a watch on, I didn't really care about time today. I'm not absolutely sure of the distance but I think it was somewhere between 5.25 and 5.5 miles.

Sunday:

5.25 - 5.5 mile run - 57 mins.

Saturday:

10 x mins crosstrainer
5k run: 32.09
40 mins weights