Mersea Island Hash House Harriers Polstead

Out Hashing again

Helen drove Becci and I to the pretty village of Polstead in the Suffolk countryside on a wet summer evening.

We were meeting at The Cock Inn for another evening of Hashing through field and lane.

The umbrellas were up as we sheltered before the start of the run
outside the pub

The rain stopped just after we set off through some of the loveliest fields and lanes.

Some Harriers disappearing down the lane searching for
the right trail

However, it was incredibly humid and every time we stopped we were plagued by insects but, fortunately, they didn't seem to be the biting kind.  Still, everything looked so green and there was that wonderful aroma of hot dry earth just after the rain had fallen.

Almost traffic free lanes make for lovely running

Steep woodland paths but very soft and comfortable underfoot

Sue about to disappear into the green

Our route took us through woodland tracks and along the edges of fields where wild flowers were in full bloom. Runners of all abilities and ages enjoying the summer evening in companionable silence or light banter.

Helen and Sue enjoying the evening 

These two were very excited to see a lot of Hash House Harriers

There were some gorgeous houses in the village

Next time you are walking in the countryside and see some
sawdust you will be just as wise as I am as to
what it might mean

The rain made everything look bathed in technicolour gloriousness

The advantage of wet roads is electrolytes which help you run better

Running in all directions

The fields were huge in this part of Suffolk

A lovely farm house with a crenellated doorway

Some, but not all, took advantage of this
downhill and ran flat out

Sadly The Cock Inn pub was not open on a Monday evening but we headed off to The Anchor in Stoke by Nayland a nearby village where about twenty of us quenched our thirst out on the gorgeous terrace. It was very posh as I had a packet of Gressingham Duck with Hoisin Sauce crisps with my Lime & Soda!

Memorable quotes of the evening:

"I've been wearing shorts this year - wonderfully liberating!" 

"There's ten points for anyone who limber dances under that" (referring to fallen  tree that we had to crouch to get under, causing much moaning and groaning)

"If I'd brought a horse then this would be much easier"

The  usual stats

Another wonderful summer evening hash.

All Terrain Round The Island 2014 Race

Becci looking suitably disgusted at the thought
of running on the sand!

Race Report

The first thing I want to say about this is that I was definitely not going to treat it as a race. My intention was to get round the course and worry about time only if I were to be getting left totally behind.

• The Start
• Mile by Mile
• At the Finish
• Final thoughts

The Start

Me in a hat! It must be serious

It was extremely warm as predicted and I decided to wear a cap to keep the sun  off the top of my head. I also slavered lots of sun cream on and took some in case I needed to refresh it en route. 

I wore my trail shoes and a new belt which could take two small water bottles and some nutrition in a small pouch. 

I also wore my Garmin sports watch and my Vívofit watch (only because it is something you wear all the time). I also had my iPhone in an arm pouch.

Can you see the motivational ice-cream van at the start!

I arrived just gone 9.30am and picked up my race number - 99 (another motivation as it is the name of an ice-cream here in the UK). Then had a chance to say hello to fellow 100% Fitness girls, The Commando Runners as well as Joan who was selling the tee shirts and who I do voluntary work with and lots of other local people I bumped into (none of whom were running - mmmm).

A beautiful day for a run

It was soon time to get down to the sandy beach for the start.

Is it my imagination or do they look a bit
reluctant to make their way to a
beach start

All pictures taken and Garmin's set it was time for the Klaxon to set us all off on our run.

Mile One

Along the beach was not too bad but we were grateful to reach the boardwalk and to get up onto the road for a short while before joining the seawall leading round to the Strood.

Unfortunately, one of our Commando Runners had dropped her iPhone after taking a photo and was trying to call it to locate it. We stopped to commiserate and had a quick look but decided to carry on as it looked as if someone must have picked it up. (Sure enough this is what happened and Kerry was able to pick it up from a Marshal but luck was still not on her side as she ricked her ankle shortly after and only managed five miles before giving up).

Mile Two

We had stopped at the water station before the Strood and were soon on the other side of the road and running beneath the sea wall through the fields. It was very warm down there but this was where the grass had been cut and it was easier to run on than through the long grass above us on the wall. 

Mile Three, Four and Five

We got back up on to the seawall as the gate was closed and from then on the sea wall grass had been cropped low by sheep and cattle.

Although it was a long slog we had the beautiful view of the water and farmland and Becci and I were happily chatting away to each other and some of the other runners. We passed Mark and cheered him on (another Commando Running pal).

There was another water station at mile five and I took advantage of it having a rubbish bin to take an energy gel washed down with water.

Miles Six, Seven, Eight and Nine

Yes those pesky heifers were still loose on the cut by the sea wall and yes, they are eyeing us up as if they remembered us. Thankfully the number of people running by must have scared them. Revenge I believe is a dish taken on a very warm day running through the fields of Mersea.

These miles took us round the Country Park where a water station was manned by the Mersea Island Hash House Harriers who wished us good luck and we called back that we would look forward to seeing them at Monday's Hash. I know we are totally insane.

After a detour, which I think was designed to help stop a bottleneck, we were down onto the beach and it was quite slow going in the heat.

As you can see it is not only the sand but the camber
that is difficult to cope with

By mile nine we were at the start of the detour which was to turn this twelve mile run into a half marathon. We left the beach and seawall because large holes had been created by the sea in the winter storms and there is not enough money to get them repaired yet. 

There was a friendly face at the water station at mile nine - Vivienne - who did not recognise me until I took my sunglasses off. "Oh it's you - you are doing brilliantly" she encouraged us but we just moaned back that we thought whoever had measured the course was fibbing and that we had much more than four more miles left to go.

We got on with it though and were soon at the top of the uphill slope leading to the Church and then turned left and met Rewsalls Lane for another water station  before a lovely downhill trot and through the Outdoor Centre and back down onto the beach.

Mile ten, eleven, twelve and thirteen

I was really beginning to flag by the end of the race and was so grateful to see the brightly coloured beach huts and this unusual view of them from behind as we were allowed to get off the beach and run along Victoria Esplanade back to the finish at Willoughby Car Park.

At the finish

A final push saw Becci catch hold of my hand and sprint us to the finish line where I was thankfully still able to stand!

Come in Number 24 your time is up
Brilliant job Becci!

Then it was a case of just rewards and I followed Kerry's example and tucked in to a lovely cool ice-cream.

Ooo that does look good Kerry
I just had to have one myself!

Final thoughts

I have always wanted this on my Garmin Connect page - a complete run around the Island. Slow but sure on difficult terrain in very warm conditions but with fantastic company. My time was about ten or more minutes slower than the Colchester Half earlier this year - not bad. All in all a run to be proud of.

Life Gets In The Way

A Week of theatre visits and no cross training

Last week I celebrated my thirty-fourth wedding anniversary on Tuesday and as a treat we decided to go to London to see The Vikings exhibition at The British Museum followed by supper and a show.

Of course, we had started out by thinking we would go to our usual 'spinning' class in the morning but when the day dawned we thought better of it and cancelled. Just as well as we managed to walk a total of about ten miles that day and were thoroughly worn out. There is nothing quite as tiring as the kind of shuffling round galleries and on pavements you do on a day out.

First though we stopped for some lunch in a very trendy corner café Fernandez and Wells on Denmark Street before tackling the shopping.

First, my very lovely husband, David, decided he would like to buy me something special for our anniversary. So I asked if he would mind if we went to Jo Malone to browse the perfumes.

I had a hand massage and tried Peony and Blush Suede body cream and perfume combined with the limited edition summer scent Silk Blossom - so beautiful. What a treat!

I love all the razz matazz as much as the perfume itself! 

Then it was off to the British Museum for The Vikings exhibition. I have to say that this was really a bit of a disappointment. There were lots of things that you can generally see around the museum for free and it was disappointing that lots of items were from the Vikings influence in countries such as Russia. There was a terrible droning voice being played by the long ship which began to grate. I thought the Sutton Hoo exhibition much better and for a large London museum charging quite a lot it ought to have been more enjoyable and innovative. Oh well, I did get to see the Lewis Chessmen which I adore for their mysterious history and their wonderful characteristics.

The world's most expensive lemonade and a disappointing
Vikings exhibition (felt like the chess piece above left!)

Onwards then to have supper at one of the restaurants that came with the theatre and supper deal. We chose 'Porters' which caters for tourists wanting to have an English eating experience. 

It was just as we expected and a decent enough supper - I had steak and kidney pudding and an Eton Mess washed down with a glass of Prosecco.

A very English supper

We left Covent Garden and strolled back down to the Savoy Theatre where we had tickets to see "Dirty Rotten Scounrels" starring Robert Lindsay, Rufus Hound, Katherine Kingsley, Samantha Bond, John Marquez and Lizzy Connolly. It was based on the Michael Caine and Steve Martin film. It was a musical and quite zany but enjoyable. Lots of beautiful dresses and slapstick humour.

The Savoy Theatre is an Art Deco masterpiece designed by C I Phipps and decorated by Collinson & Locke and is now owned by the Ambassador Theatre Group.

I had a glass of champagne in the interval and just as well because when we got back to Liverpool Street Station I needed to be as relaxed as possible because all the trains were delayed.

We finally got home and into bed at two thirty in the morning - what an anniversary!

Thursday Evening 100% Fitness Running

Having spent the whole of Wednesday and the daytime Thursday recovering from tiredness and lack of sleep I went out with the girls for a run on Thursday evening.

I found it very hard to get going. I struggled to get my breathing right and I think it is definitely down to hay fever which is very bad in this country at the moment. Still we managed five or so miles and now it will be rest until Sunday's Round the Island Half Marathon.

I don't usually put my Heart Rate but you can see how difficult it was as the training effect was 4.0 which is quite hard work. It was also very warm and humid but it kept me keen for Sunday.

Yet another trip to the Theatre

This time it was to see "You Can Always Hand Them Back" which is one of the six or seven on our season ticket.

Click here for a Daily Mail review

I immediately wondered what I'd let myself in for when one of the cast (of two with a pianist) said to the audience "well, you would't be here if you weren't Grandparents". Well we are not yet and so I felt a bit uncomfortable and it got worse as the whole evening was a wry look at ageing and the strains of being at the beck and call of children and grandchildren.

At the end of the evening I had enjoyed some of the songs and humour but did not think it warranted as grand a billing and ought to have been a vignette as part of a better written and more story led play.

Oh well, some you win some you loose. And that was the theme for the week I think.

Next up on Through The Fields of Mersea....All Terrain Round The Island Half Marathon Report.

Bread and Sugar Detox Review

RUnladylike Seven Day Detox

Cleanse:  bread and sugar excesses

How many days: seven 

What was I hoping to achieve?

I was hoping that I would undo all the damage overloading on bread and sweet things had done lately and get back to my usual no bread with yeast or too many sugary foods eating habits.

What did the detox involve?

Jesica had provided her readers with a few guidelines and I followed these as best I could. You can find them on the blog here, a few pages back.

It would involve eating no bread and cutting down on sugary items such as fruit and dried fruits. Soft drinks and sugary alcohol was out too.

How did the detox feel at the beginning:

I had a flatbread the first day as I had one needing to be used up but after that it was easy to do without as I usually don't eat most breads. 

I did feel the sugar low mid-morning and afternoon difficult to deal with as I would usually be heading for the nuts and dried fruit but decided to eat treats such as celery and peanut butter especially on exercise days.

How did the detox feel at day four:

It was a very strange experience out shopping today. Just about everything I would usually put in my basket seemed to have some sort of bread or sugar element. That made me sit up and think.

I felt much better at this stage and the sugar highs and lows were less disruptive and my energy was improving.

I found that making an almond milkshake with my two fruits for the day was very tasty and satisfying. It even set when I left some in the fridge and became a pudding for that evening.

How did the detox feel on the last day:

It had been a difficult week to stick to the detox as I had a lot of social occasions when I would usually have bread and perhaps a glass of wine. I was determined to keep to the detox and tried to think outside the box when eating out.

One of the nicest treats I had was a vanilla flavoured tea which was a gift to me from a friend in America and I found it easily satisfied my craving for a sweet treat in the afternoons.

Would I recommend this detox

This is a great detox for a few days to give your system a rest from particular foods. On the whole I think it is better if you don't get into the habit of over-indulging on foods generally so that you need to detox. This is not easy, of course, especially around holidays such as Christmas so a quick detox would be useful then.

Did I achieve what I hoped for?

Oh yes, and it was especially good to be able to join in with Jesica and keep in contact with her via Twitter so that I had some accountability and also it was fun to know that I wasn't going it alone.

Jesica has an excellent Sugar Detox Results report here and a huge well done to her for such good results.

Afterthoughts

I had an almighty crash a couple of days after the detox for reasons I don't seem to be able to explain to myself and I really went mad eating biscuits (cookies) and white bread rolls (which I never eat!). It pulled me up really sharp and the following day I resolved not to waste the detox by falling back by the wayside and am happy to report that all is now under control and I am feeling the benefits of lowering bread and sugar intakes. 

I managed to loose a couple of pounds that had crept on recently too so that was an added and unexpected bonus.

Thanks Jesica for inviting us to join you in your detox.