I do like to be beside the seaside

I am at the flat in Lyme doing renovations for a week and so have bought the bike with me. This morning I ventured into new territory. Lyme is all hills so after getting the bike from the car it was either down the hill or up. Since down would have lead me to the sea very quickly I went up the very steep hill (on the road on the road to Exeter), this was the pattern for the next 60 minutes. Very steep climbs followed by sharp descents. It was a cool, windy and sometimes rainy morning, but what a ride!!! Nearing the half way mark I descended down a hill that seemed to go on forever, not knowing the twisting turning road I was braking most of the way down, thinking to myself “I am going to have to come back up this in a minute”. The climb back up though tiring was great, on the smallest ring on the front biggest on the back out of the saddle I ground my way up feeling more and more confident. I felt very alive despite my thighs shouting at me. Back to the flat dead on the hour feeling great.

This evening it was a 75 minute run. In the past when running around Lyme I have simply headed out of town and stuck to the roads, but today I decide to hit the coastal path. My goodness it was more like an assault course. The path climbs and drops, and is a matrix of tree roots polished by the boots of hundreds of ramblers that threaten to trip you up or twist your ankle. In some places there are steep steps made up of logs and in others the path deteriorates into a boggy mess. All in all it was great fun but a little alarming since a wrong foot would have bought to an end training for a few crucial weeks. Once the ground became too threatening I turned back and headed towards Lyme and out onto the Cobb (the harbour wall) and back, then back into the town following the river Lyme upstream. This was a beautiful part of the run, along a valley floor climbing gradually alongside the river. It passes hidden cottages that look like they could have come from the Shires in The Lord of the Rings. Eventually the path comes out into Uplyme and I was able to drop back down the main road to the flat. Achy legs and tired but delighted to have managed to complete a solid weeks training having hit every session.