Janathon - day 5

Today, me and Becca decided to tackle some of the Roach Valley Way.  It's a route we have been looking at for a while as a good "long trail run" option but we have never been quite sure how to choose a section or known how well it would be signposted.

We needed to do this long run today as we have entered the Benfleet 15 in a few week's time which, according to pretty much every review we have ever heard or read is "horribly hilly and muddy". Entering this was one of the more stupid of our many stupid plans. Becca has never run further than a very flat half, we have both never run further than today off road and we haven't run more than 10 miles even on roads since ... I don't even want to work out how long actually, probably about 9 months.

When talking to about the 15, we heard some of the Flyers (our local running group) talk about the Roach Valley Relay as a similar type run.  We were helpfully signposted to the website of Benfleet Running Club where Mike had provided maps and written brilliant directions. 

I drove my car to the finish point, Becca gave me a lift to the start and then we got going. It had rained all night and until about 8:30am but by the time we started around 10:30am it had stopped and brightened up quite considerably. 

Up to Canewdon Church (home of Essex witches) - wish this photo did this hill justice. It was so long and steep.  And muddy. My poor lovely, new shoes!

From this point, it got a bit easier for a while. Some lovely downhill sections until we got to another field full of mud, rabbit holes and maybe a bull!

Luckily we didn't see the bull but the sea wall at the end was a very welcome sight as it was, for a few miles at least, flat and fairly easy to run on.

A few miles along here were a very welcome rest but after a while, when we got even more tired it did become a little repetitive. There was nothing to see other than river/marshes/fields in any direction and we had to run much further than we could even see which made it mentally difficult.  

We pretty much gave up running at 9.5 miles as we had expected to be back by then and were exhausted but eventually we made it back.  A very emotional moment when Becca spotted my car and said how she had never been so happy to see it. Followed by an equally emotional moment when I realised that my car keys were still in Becca's car! After a few moments of persuading her that no, I wasn't joking, Becca remembered exactly what I had done with my keys and kindly admitted joint responsibility for my stupidness for not thinking that I should bring them with me!  In defence of my (our!) stupidity, we usually run circular routes and leave one set of keys behind so we don't have to both carry them. Despite the whole purpose of today being a point to point run, and the fact we left my car at the end hours ago, neither of us had realised!

Luckily we ended at a lovely pub so we had a drink while waiting for a taxi (no public transport in the middle of nowhere! ) to take us back to Becca's car - so we could get again make our way back to my car!

An eventful run, both brilliant and terrible in places but always, full of lots of chats and laughs as well as bit of swearing! Not sure if it has made me more or less optimistic about our chances at the 15 but we'll give it a go.

Day 5 - 10.42 miles 

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1004331141