Brighton-ing up my life

[Yesletsgo]

I've had a busy few weeks, lots of sailing, a fair amount of walking, a lot of food and some very memorable places visited. Yesterday we flew home.

There's only so much travel a person can take in a day. A 2 hour car journey in the evening just didn't seem sensible or at all appealing after being up at 4.30 (UK time) and spending 13 hours in total getting from Stansted to Brighton, so we found a hotel for the night there instead.

This morning I woke up at 6.30am, still on Greek time. I had my running gear in my suitcase. It's been the best part of 4 weeks since I've had a run, no excuses available to day -here I was, by the sea with a perfect sunny summer morning. I just had to get out there.

The sunshine was warmer than I expected, maybe 21C but compared to the 30+ I've had for the last week or so it felt really pleasant. I wasn't sure I'd still be able to run at all after a 4 week rest . We set off towards the pier at a brisk walk, then ran.

A few days ago my phone fell out of my pocket and broke so there was no music or NRC this morning, just me, my watch, Mr Y, the seaside and the sunshine. It felt a bit odd but it's funny how quickly you get used to it.

The first 10 minutes was tough, Toxic 10 indeed. I suggested that maybe we should just do a km there and back but was told 'no, we should do 3k as planned'. I decided not to argue, I knew I was being a wimp and that it was just taking a while to remember what to do (as you can probably tell from the photo😂) . Then that familiar miracle happened, suddenly you realise it's no longer as tough.

A km or so after the pier you can cross over the Volks railway line. This is one of those Victorian mini railways along the seafront. Next to it there's a boardwalk which is a really good surface to run on, not hard, almost bounces you back, one of my favourite places. At 1.5km Mr Y wanted to turn back to the hotel but I was just getting going. I told him I was going to run to the end of the path before returning. Oh, I was having fun.

The path ended as I hit 2km so I turned back. The wind was in my face rather than behind me now. It felt like someone had switched on the perfect fan. The third km seemed to pass quickly but by the 4th I was almost wishing I'd stopped at 3. I slowed down to a stop to read some signboards then sped up slightly. I completed the run at 4km, just past the pier.

It was pretty slow but that was fine. I felt very pleased with myself as I ran further today than I managed in the whole of last month Only downside is that I have no phone to check my stats or upload the run to Strava. That's a very small blip in an otherwise perfect little run.

It's good to be back home (though I wouldn't have minded staying in Brighton a bit longer)

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate10]

Great run for you, sorry about your phone.

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to AlMorr]

Thanks, it was quite old but the inconvenience of not having one...

First world problems, eh?

[cheekychipmunks Graduate10]

What a win that was YLG! Great willpower to keep going, and it paid off. No tech either - that would have been the deciding factor for me I’m ashamed to say! Bet you felt great for that run. 😀

Really well done! 👏👏👏👏

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Thanks. Normally I record the whole run including warm up and cooldown on the Garmin, then just the run on NRC so I can keep a log of the distance actually run rather than walking as well. It nearly stopped me but I just couldn't wait to get out there and it was such a beautiful morning

[Dendev75 Graduate10]

well done, sounds like a lovely run except for the no Strava part 🙈👏🏻

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10]

Thanks, at least I had my Garmin watch! Hoping everything will go on to Strava once I get a new phone 😂

[MissUnderstanding Administrator Graduate10]

Oh no! Your poor phone…what a pain! Hopefully it’s not too hard to find a new one and get all your old familiars like strava up and running. It’s brilliant you were up and running! Sounds like an absolutely wonderful run. That feeling when you fall into a rhythm and are really running well for the first time in ages is golden.

Hope you’re back on GB time soon, and welcome home!!

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to MissUnderstanding]

Hi MissUnderstanding we got home on Thursday, it's lovely to be back. Still not quite over the 2 hour time difference, I was up at 6.45 today when I'm really not a morning person!

It's lovely being away but let's face it, our cooler climate is way nicer for running

[MissUnderstanding Administrator Graduate10 in reply to Yesletsgo]

I (grudgingly) have to agree! My one Greek run almost ended in me coming to an undignified stop in a pile of sweat and lactate because of the heat and that was at 7am. I’ll take the British weather in all its “glory” for running any day!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate10]

Welcome home and very well done you! Phone replacement time? Xxx

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to Oldfloss]

Thanks, the new one should be here on Monday 🤞🤞🤞

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate]

That's a great run, oh dear your poor phone though

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to SueAppleRun]

Thanks, the phone was a few years old and the screen was cracked before this. I'd dropped it several times before and it was fine (protective cover) but I was climbing up a ladder so maybe it hit the floor a bit harder than usual. It's just so inconvenient - can't use online banking, book train tickets, surreptitiously check this site when I'm bored....😂

[drl212 Graduate10]

I've always thought that Brighton would be a great place to run!! And it looks and sounds like it was!!

WooHoo!!

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to drl212]

It really is lovely. There is so much to look at while you run, and as I say, the boardwalk bit between the pier and the marina is my favourite surface ever