New Year's resolutions? Yeah, I’m one of those people and can’t even remember when I wasn’t. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always set myself goals to achieve at the end of a year, for the following year. It usually involves a lot of the same things too. Lose weight, run a certain race, eat healthier etc.. They’re never really big goals, just something to give me a bit of focus for the year and something look forward to. And this year is no different. I had decided after a year of 5k, 10k and half marathon pb’s that I would like to run some longer distances. Back to the ultras maybe? We’ll see…
A few goals that I do have written down are to “lose the tummy fat”. I have been living off junk food the last few months. I seemed to have done a lot of comfort eating in the evenings even during the summer months.
I want to cook more homemade meals rather than buying packaged foods. I would like to “eat vegetables at least 3 times a Week”.
I would like to “build up more weekly mileage”. 50 miles a week is a good target for me I think. Lots more easier runs as well.
I want to strengthen my core and abs. A few little goals like a “10 second handstand” and a “2 minute deadhang” would be fab too.
“More climbing and running with my lovely girlfriend”
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“10 new parkrun locations throughout the year” for a bit of sightseeing.
“Catch up with more Friends”. Make time for them and hang out, whether it be running, climbing, just coffee or breakfast.
I would also like to “Write more” and “Read more”. It would be nice to write a blogpost once a week or once a month?
I think I would like to “run a couple of marathons” and possibly an ultra this year too. Not necessarily fast times, just good times.
I would like to “visit or revisit a few places” too. “Back to Devon and Cornwall to catch up with friends. Back to the Cotswolds. The Malvern hills. Germany would be nice. Exeter, Gloucester, Wales etc..
I would also like to “cut my hours at work” but we’ll see how that one goes..
So there, you have it. Pretty basic stuff really. Now, onto my year so far…
New Year’s day saw Clare and myself say “Sod it” to doing parkrun in the wind and rain. We had a nice lie-in and walked a 5k for breakfast later in the day instead. I don’t think I’ll be the parkrun obsessive that I have been for the last couple of years, but we’ll see..
Thursday and Friday I was back at work and I ran in and out of there both days. It sure was cold but I had enough layers on. I seem to be running a lot slower lately due to having Piriformis syndrome. It is literally a pain in the arse. The sciatic nerve gets trapped and causes pain all down one side of my left leg. It moves around a lot too. I’m hoping it’ll just get bored and leave me one day, just like my mum did.
I’m over that now though..lol.
Finally managed to get my mate Fast Kev some Adidas Pro 4’s from work. It’s been ages trying to get them out of there! He was doing his 300th Parkrun at Southampton this Saturday but I couldn’t face that horrible congested start when I wasn’t going for a faster time. The plan was to run to Itchen Valley and meet Clare for a slow trot around in my new Adidas Speed Pro SG’s that I haven’t worn yet. Not even sure why I bought them I have way too many pairs of running shoes at the moment!
Things came up and Itchen Valley got cancelled due to the icy conditions anyway. I drank coffee after coffee while I read my Arnie book. It was still dark and very frosty from my bedroom window. I’ll just do a long run to Winchester to pick up my race number for the Romsey 5 I thought. This would mean running to a running shop in Badger Farm. It was only when I got there that I realised it’s called “Badger Farm” and not “Badger’s Farm”.
I messaged Clare to see if she fancied meeting me in Chandlers Ford for a coffee. I sure drink a lot of coffee! It was a bit last minute really. I estimated that it was about 7 miles and would take me about an hour to get there. I decided to swap from my shorts to a pair of running tights that I haven’t worn for ages. It really did feel very cold. Clare will tell you how cold it gets in my bedroom, if you ask her nicely. There is never any heating on. If you want to get warm, you do push-ups. This is what I should have done, push-ups. I packed my rucksack with spare apparel. Long sleeve T, Gloves, Hat, Socks etc..
A start of the Coros pace 3 and I was off with my limpy sciatic leg. Off towards Lordshill, past Sainos and into Rownhams. The first couple of miles climb until you get near North Baddesley and then you have a lovely descent. The North Baddesley Sign is exactly 5k from my house, which is 3.12.5 miles for us oldies.
It was great running weather and not too slippery out so far. More downhill into Valley Park. I decided not to do the cycle path as there are usually quite a lot of dog walkers out. Lots of friendly folks out this morning though. Multiple greetings and smiles from everyone. I got to Chandlers Ford station and then the climb up the hill to meet Clare. Something I had very much been looking forward to. I could stop running and enjoy a coffee as well. I put at ETA of 10.45 out to Clare. I got there a bit early and there was no sign of her. I checked my phone and noticed that she hadn’t read my WhatsApp messages. Maybe she had gone for a run or back to bed?
Bad news for me, as it meant I had to keep running. I had to take off my Jacket, gloves and hat. While doing so I was checking out the menu in the window of a new cafe that had opened up. They had a “Vegan breakfast” on there. I must visit/revisit. The place is called “Brunchin Brasserie”. The listings weren’t very clear though as there was just a Green V for both vegetarian and vegan stuffs. You’d think this shit would be basic enough for a menu! This somehow still happens a lot at many places I have been to. They seem to struggle to differentiate from Vegan and Vegetarian and the staff usually haven’t got a clue either. I’m quite used to this now though. Ignorance is bliss right?
Anyways, on I trotted up another hill and towards Otterbourne. I saw this other running dude in front of me. I wasn’t far behind him and we ran down the big hill. He kept on looking around as if he had the lead in a race. I had my music blasting out in my ear buds. This wasn’t a race for me.. or was it? I looked at my watch and realised I was almost running at sub 7 pace. “Shit! Slow it down dude”. After about 15 more look backs from the dude in front, he had almost disappeared out of sight. I climbed another hill just past Compton. I hate that hill but told myself it was good for training or something along those lines. “Be Positive, Dean”.
After all, I was just trying to shift some weight right? I am currently at my heaviest in a while of 82.4 kgs. In the summer I was around 79 kgs. I used to weight myself in Stones and Ounces but I gradually changed for some reason. I still can’t see me converting to Kilometres over Miles though.
Now, I had a plan to get to Badger Farm. I was originally going to run through Hursley but have you ever run through Ladwell just before it? It has no pavement and is a very fast road. It scares the hell out of me. I decided on a different route. I would cross the Motorway bridge just past Shawford and go onto the trails of Compton Down. I’m not sure why I thought this would be a good idea in a pair of Adidas Pro 3’s. It has been a long time since I had run these trails and I usually came from the other direction at Oliver’s Battery via Port Lane. Something told me that I needed to climb, and climb I did. Then a downhill would come. The trails were muddy here and I had very little control. I decided to slow my pace as this wasn’t a race right? I was wobbling all over the place like a drunken mess in a pair of stilettos on a Saturday night. Luckily those days are far behind me now.
I bumped into a couple walking their dog and asked for directions. For some reason I told them I was trying to get to Oliver’s Battery and not Badger Farm. The two places are pretty much next to each other anyway right?
They were both enthusiastic with their directions and kept on interrupting one another. I think the woman was starting to get a bit annoyed by her husband/boyfriend/Tinder date.
From what I could make out, they said to go right, stick to the right, follow the path around. From previous times here it didn’t look right to go right. I swear I need to climb more I thought, and so I did. This doesn’t look right I thought. I tried to look at google maps but I didn’t have my glasses on and I couldn’t be bothered to retrieve them from my jacket pocket inside my backpack.
I’ll just keep running, not long after, the trail looked familiar again. I knew I was running towards Winchester at least.
Another runner came by and I asked for directions as I’d reached a crossroads but not really a crossroads, just 4 different directions to choose from and travel in. It was his first time on the trails but he seemed to google it ok and didn’t need glasses. As soon as he mentioned a Starbucks I was all over it. I knew that this wasn’t where the Running shop was but I had had no breakfast or water and I had done 12 miles already. What happened to running fast 20 milers with no food or water like I did last winter? It was very humbling to plod up all these long hills too. Something that this road runner was no longer used to.
I crossed a very icy bridge and followed a concrete path down to the Sainos. I had found civilisation again. Sadly no Gingerbread latte with vegan whipped cream. There seems to be a nationwide shortage of Gingerbread syrup. Ask any Starbucks or Costa you visit! I settled on an Americano with oat milk and a “No chicken fiery wrap” thing, which I love. So much for the healthier food right?
I had done a half marathon, I could eat what I wanted right? This was the type of thinking that made me put on more weight after marathons rather than lose it in the past! I had this crazy notion in Starbucks that I could possibly run to Romsey and catch a bus home from there. A half marathon felt pretty easy. I was in no rush. I still hadn’t heard from my so called girlfriend Clare. Why did she hate me so much?
Anyway, the running shop was only 0.62.5 miles away.. or one kilometre.
I got there, had a brief look around, not much to see. A small shop with not a lot in it really. I suppose I see millions of items at work on a daily basis though..lol.
I collected my number. The name on it reads “Dea” they had missed off the “n”, or I missed it off when I filled in my race details. They said they’d change it on the system but the numbers were already printed so I would have to black marker my own “n” in there. No real harm done.
I thought I knew where I was as I recognised part of the Winchester half marathon route. I just needed to find Port lane. Again, this was usually done from the other directon when I previously ran or cycled it. I got there eventually, it was just further down the road than I had thought. I’ve always loved Port lane. I ran up it a lot but now I got to run down it. A couple of miles of country lane. There were fallow deer in the fields, A red kite was hovering above me and I saw a gracefully poised collared dove at the top of a tree. A few cars came, so I stopped to the side and let them pass. It was blissfully peaceful.
I was trying to make a decision now. Home or Romsey? Home or Romsey? I already mentioned the horrible Ladwell road. I didn’t fancy cutting through the school in Hursley to do the Ampfield trails in my Pro 3’s. I decided to turn right and head past IBM. There is a field to cut through but it would be muddy. I was in luck though as there was a pavement beside the busy road. I couldn’t remember the pavement being there, so it was an added bonus and there were more fallow deer in the field to my left.
As I turned off, I remembered this massive hill. I had to walk up some of it. Memories came back to me of how scary it was to cycle down. Brakes hard pressed and leaning backwards behind my saddle. When I reached the top I saw a makeshft memorial there. Probably a cyclist whose life had been taken. So sad to see but the sadness didn’t last long as I saw a Dad and young son approach in the opposite direction. I first heard the squeeky brakes from the child’s bike. “Yes, you want make sure that your brakes are working before you go down this one” I said cheerily. The Dad laughed and agreed with me. This made me smile along with the thought of a nice descent coming into Slackstead. Just country lanes until Braishfeild now. I saw another red kite in Pucknall and avoided some more ice. Some of these country lanes have water running down one side and you can’t quite work out if it’s water or ice until you get there. Better tread carefully!
21 miles to Braishfield. I stopped at a bench and drank some water that I bought from Starbucks and ate a cereal bar thing that I got from the Sainos in Badger Farm. At last, a message from my lovely girlfriend. Her phone had be doing updates (or so she tells me). I wouldn’t get to see her today but was very much excited about seeing her tomorrow. You sure get to think a lot on these long, slow runs and she was in my thoughts a lot. I sure am a lucky man.
I may as well do a marathon now right? I reckon it’s only 3 miles from Braishfield to Romsey. I know you can run either a 2 or a 3 mile route from Ganger farm parkrun which I would be passing. I decided to do a loop of Braishfield taking in Newport lane as if I was doing the Romsey Beer race. That would add on a mile at least and then up the hill to Hillier’s garden centre and near Ganger farm. I chose to run via Belbins and past Lemon and Jinga. I did think about stopping there for food.. Mmm, cinnamon swirls.
Onwards I went, a nice downhill and a right turn past Fishlake meadows. Not far now but I was absolutely spent despite feeling fine at 21 miles. A couple of miles later and my arms were really aching. I was starting to feel dizzy and my vision was starting to distort. Would I collapse before the 26.25? Those last 2 miles were so hard but then they would be wouldn’t they? I had done no long distance running for a year and my last marathon was 2 years ago!
As I shuffled into town and weaving among people like a zombie apocalypse, all I could think about was the “Red ambulance”. For anyone who hasn’t read the Allie Bailey book “There is no wall” it is simply a reference to a can of coke.
I made it to Co-op and went one better. A Huel chocolate protein shake and some salty crisps. I then realised that I had sweated quite a lot and was getting cold quickly.
Josie’s was rammed as always. I was going to get food from Costa but they had no use of a microwave for 20 minutes for some reason. I was too tired to ask. I ended up at “That little tea-shop”. Was I even that hungry? I think I just wanted to sit down with a coffee in the warm. I had 30 minutes until the place closed. I’ve been there quite a few times and love that they have a Vegan menu. The food is very basic and the place looks like you’ve stepped into the 1970’s with the decor. Heating? What heating. But what you do get is very nice and good value for money food, along with very accommodating and friendly staff. A proper independent cafe with lovely coffee too and Vegan scones that I’m yet to try. I put on a few layers of clothing from my rucksack and forced down my lovely garlic mushroom cheesy baguette and salad. Healthier food on Monday I promise.
I checked my bus times and off I went to get the number 4 home. It was a very uncomfortable journey home with the sciatic nerve pain returning. I had to try and sit with my left leg straight to ease the pain. I was surprised that my legs didn’t ache at all despite running a marathon on no training. And I think that’s where my level of fitness comes in. I am in pretty good shape and not carrying too much excess weight really. It definitely makes the difference.
Now, do I take a free Manchester marathon place at work next week?
Anyways, that was my first week of 2025. I’ll probably have a rest day today as I’ve done 65 miles for the week already.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far. I hope you weren’t nodding off like me on that bus journey home. Xx
P.S I think a monthly update will suffice.
This month I have Romsey 5 if I can be bothered to turn up for it and I’m working at the Run Show in Birmingham. No other plans yet.
