Running On Empty

Just a quick post to confirm that I didn’t make it to the orienteering at Newburn this last Sunday . As expected, I was still testing positive for COVID, even if I got my first negative LFT the very next day. Regardless, daughter #2 had tested positive on the Saturday too, and The Wife was also in the thick of it. Reality is that it was never on. Bummer. 😔 Still, my subsequent negative test does at least mean I’m free to rejoin the parkrunning ranks somewhere this coming weekend… provided no other plague befalls this house.

So, despite the negative test on Saturday before heading to Morpeth, a further test on the Monday showed that I have the dreaded COVID after all. Tuesday and Wednesday were rough and, while I've improved a lot since then, running has been the last thing on my mind. Anyway, this is just a quick post to say I will get back to it, but don't yet know how soon. I'm actually booked in for my first proper orienteering for months  this coming Sunday, but unless I (and my family) suddenly turn the corner, that's unlikely to happen now. Right now, I'm thinking more about a parkrun in a week and a bit's time. Fingers crossed... 🤞

I promised this post a while back, so what is it with me and my feet (and my moaning about my feet)? In short, neither has been diagnosed by a doctor, but I'd swear to god I suffer from both Raynaud's phenomenon and Morton's neuroma . I've had 15-20 years of symptoms of both of these things, which feels like plenty of time to figure it out. The former, Raynaud's, is fairly unmistakeable. It's not just a foot thing, but my extremities get painfully cold very easily, especially in winter. All it takes is for me to carry a bag of frozen peas from a shopping bag and put it into the freezer for it to kick in. Or I can expose my face to the cold in winter and suddenly my fingers and toes are white, cold and painful. Gloves — even special Raynaud's gloves — and thick socks don't help either; instead I just find they restrict the blood flow further. As for how this affects my running, I really need to be warmed up before... well, before I start to warm up (i...

Today nearly wasn't a parkrun day. It was nearly a can't-be-bothered-to-get-out-of-bed day. But I'm really glad I hauled my carcass out in the end. 🙂 Last night, I put all of my local(ish) parkruns into a spreadsheet and used Google Maps to fill in a "Driving time" column. The two closest to me that I'd not yet done were Windy Nook and Carlisle Park (the latter in Morpeth). After watching a video of the Windy Nook course , I decided against it on grounds of it looking a bit stony underfoot. Maybe I'll do Windy Nook when I've replaced my running shoes with more cushioned ones, but for now... Morpeth it was. Ended up leaving it a bit late to set off today, as I remembered at the last minute that I needed to do a COVID test first (Daughter the 1st has it at the moment). One negative test later and I was racing up the A1. Despite being in a town, Carlisle Park has to be one of the nicest venues I've been to so far. I do love a good riverside and the...

I'll be honest, I'm getting bored of running in Newcastle. I'm running out of interesting places I can go. (Everywhere I've already been is, by definition, not interesting.) Today, I decided to take a closer look at Trinity Square in Gateshead. Despite it being just over the river, I've not actually been there since the place was built on the site of the old Get Carter car park — and that was NINE YEARS ago. In the end, in terms of exploration, this was another ultimately unrewarding run. I crossed the High Level bridge to start and headed up the hill toward Gateshead town centre. Passing the town hall — once a temporary home for the Tyneside Cinema during the its renovation — I soon found myself frustrated by not being able to spot what I assumed would be obvious streets between the tall... apartment blocks ? Whatever they are. Trinity Square, as seen from above (blatantly stolen from the ED&P page linked above) I did a quick loop around the back, passing booki...

Today felt like my first midweek run in absolutely ages. To be fair, it probably was. I had no real plan other than to do a steady but not too fast 5K and to head in the direction of The Biscuit Tin Studios and City Stadium (which, curiously, has no stadium). I'll be honest, I just wasn't feeling it today, so this will be brief. Crossing the Swan House roundabout and passing the Holy Jesus Hospital & Soup Kitchen to head down Melbourne Street made a very familiar start as it's the route I used to take to work. It's hardly eye candy, mind. Maybe that didn't help my feeling of... not quite loving it. Turning up toward the Biscuit Factory , a local art gallery owned by the same person as the Biscuit Tin, progress was hindered by trying to cross the super-busy New Bridge Street. And so began a series of meanders that ultimately led to a feeling of aimlessness. I eventually made it to City Stadium (the green bit on the map) and discovered that the runn...