A runner’s dilemma

Posted on September 4, 2011 by admin

As far as running goes this year can be summed up in a single word for me, Dilemma.

The dictionary defines a dilemma as a situation necessitating a choice between two equal, or equally undesirable alternatives to a problem that seems incapable of solution.
You may think i’m being a bit melodramatic when I say that the word dilemma sums up my year, or be wondering what sort of dilemma I could possibly have faced as a runner.

The first set of dilemmas I have faced have all been based around a single race, the Lakeland. This started with a relatively small dilemma, do I sign up at all and if I do I sign up to the 50 or the 10 (the longest race i’d ran at that point being 32 miles). Encouraged my Iryna a friend that i’d ran with in India last year, I opted to enter the 100 and we agreed to run together. As time went on it became obvious that I was putting in far more training than Iryna, I faced another little dilemma, should I say something to her, should I question her commitment or her ability, should I suggest that we not run together after all, even though she’d told me that she couldn’t navigate, so I knew if I said I wouldn’t run with her, I might as well be saying the race was over for her. In the end I didn’t say anything and in late July we stood together on the starting line with a 100 mile run infront of us. By the first checkpoint we were in last place and it was becoming more and more obvious that I was facing my biggest dilemma yet, do I stay with my friend and face both of us timing out or do I leave her at the back of the field, in ever darkening surroundings with a very real risk of her getting lost. In the end I guess there was no dilemma at all, safety was always going to come first and I got Iryna got checkpoint 3 where she dropped out. At this point we were 2 hours behind the last runner and very close to the cut off time at the next check point with 7 miles yet to go, so I faced yet another dilemma, do I retire or do I push on alone in the dark with a huge gap to make up. Not being a quitter I pushed on and managed to catch James an american that had been in front, but with only seconds to spare a small navigation error ended up putting an end to my 100 dream.

The other big dilemma that I faced this year (which I guess is probably fairly common amongst runners) was that of, whether to run on an injury and risk making it worse or to take time out to recover and risk not being fit enough to complete the race. In my case this was in the form of a ham string pull sustained during the Blaydon race just six weeks before the Lakeland, meaning i’d miss the peak of my training and go into an extended tapper.

In addition to the big dilemma’s i’m beginning to learnt that running these longer ultras involves facing a series of mini dilemmas; Do you invest your time in travelling to somewhere hilly to train or do you simply run further on flatter ground closer to home, Do you take a little extra kit just in case you need it or do you take the bare minimum to keep your pack as light as possible? Do you push yourself harder that you ought to, to keep the runner in front in sight where navigation may be difficult? Do you follow the runner in front trusting they’re on the right track or do you take the extra time to check the map yourself? Do you go the longer way around to avoid a steeper track? Do you keep running down a track when you’re not 100% sure it the right track ?

At the end of the day, I guess we will always have tough decisions to make, but it’s the way in which we respond to these choices that teaches us the most about ourselves and out priorities, and they allow us to learn from our mistakes and to grow as individuals.

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The First Northumberland Ultra

Posted on August 30, 2011 by admin

This August bank holiday saturday, saw the first ever running of the Northumberland Ultra a 100km (62 mile) run around the stunning Northumbrian hills. The race followed a circular route starting from Wooler and going as far South as Alwinton before looping North again, taking in sections of the Cheviots, the Pennine Way and St. Cuthbert’s Way trails.

At around 6.30 a group of about 30 runners sheltered in the little white tent that served as race HQ, to receive the pre race briefing from AdvertureHub, the organisers.

Half an hour later briefing over, we were heading out into the rain, climbing the gentle slope into Wooler. It was a month since my disappointment in Lakeland 100 (officially timing out at 36 miles, but then unofficially running the 50 later that day). I was just a little worried that with such small number of competitors that I might find myself in danger of running a lot of the course alone and at the back again. There seemed a reluctance for anyone to lead on this one, with most of us seeming happier chatting to fellow runners than competing for places (which is generally my kind of race).

As we descended to the first checkpoint after seven miles one of the runner had broken off and was a little way ahead of the leading group, but to my surprise I still found myself in amongst that leading group. There were around 6 or 7 of us, that would generally stay together for most of the day, we all had our own strengths and weaknesses and were constantly passing each other throughout the run. I got to chat to pretty much all of them at one point or another, and very much enjoyed their company.

The rain eased off as the day went on and while the sun didn’t exactly shine, we were treated to some spectacular views as the cloud lifted. Northumberland hasn’t quite got the drama of the Lake district, but it does have a rugged charm of its own, and the route planners seemed to find a course that took in a wide variety of terrains including everything from long exposed climbs to wooded sections, with a wide variety of river crossings and long sections of stone pavement and duckboards. [side note: I'm not sure its really politically correct to admit this, but I especially enjoyed running on the sections of stone pavement that have been put in to protect the path, there is something very satisfying about running over those slaps of rough hued rock that I just loved.]

The ground remained wet most of the day and our feet never really got a chance to dry, and as we left the last check point the sky started to darken, both with the return of the rain and the coming of nightfall.  Leaving that final checkpoint it came as a pleasant change to have a section of road to run along at least for a while and as we past a large marque in one of the little villages along the way a couple celebrated their wedding, I can’t tell you how tempting it would have been to have stopped for a pint, but had to soldier on into the dark.

The route was well marked and while navigation hadn’t been bad during the day, (especially with Peter’s expert local knowledge to guide us a lot of the time), it became a little harder in the dark and Peter, Martin and I decided to stay together for the final stage, which I was very glad of especially at the point where we lost St. Cuthberts Way and had to cross a little bit of open fell to get back on course. In fact it was only the last mile or so that Peter and Martin pushed on ahead that I found myself alone for the first time in the day, but by that point I had a magical trail of glow sticks guiding me in through the woods.

Despite the Lakeland being further and probably having more climbing in total, I think I actually found the Northumberland Ultra a more challenging event, whether it was because the checkpoints were further part, because of the terrain or simply the weather, I’m not quite sure, but it was the toughest run i’ve done to date.

Thank you to the Organisers for their support and for putting on a fantastic event in Northumberland, and to Peter, Borris, Martin and the 2 Irish lads (who’s names I unfortunately never did get), all of your company was very much appreciated. I’m sorry that I didn’t get a chance to speak to Nick, Frances, Maxine or Sean as much as i would have liked all of your posts on facebook persuaded me to sign up in the first place so thanks for that.

[side note: I hope that Borris wasn't in too much trouble with his wife for being in late and that they made it over to the Lake District to meet their friends for the rest of the weekend]

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Lakeland 100

Posted on July 29, 2011 by admin

Its 8.30 in the morning on the 29th of July, a day that I have been preparing for for the last 7 months. I have butterflies in my stomach just thinking about what lies ahead of me. In 9 hours time I will set out from Coniston with the single aim of getting around the 100 miles of hilly land standing between me and the finish. I have 40 hour to complete the run, and at this stage i’m not even sure i’ve got what it takes to go the distance, but i’m ready to give it my best try.

While ultimately your on your own running for such a long way in such harsh conditions, and i know that the greatest struggles may be ran in my mind, I hope that on the longest hills and in the darkest parts of the nights ahead that I will find inner strength from the support, love and best wishes I have received from my friends and family.

[Side note:I found out about this race from Paul, with whom I shared a room my Himilayan adventure last year, sadly it fell during his summer vacation so he couldn't make it, but Iryna and Dianne persuaded me to enter anyway. Unfortunately Dianne also has had to pull out, leaving myself and Iryna the only competitors from team India. I'm sure that much of the 40 hours in the hills we'll be thinking of all the runs and races that got us to this point and the friendships we made along the way and again i'm hoping that they will lend me some of their strength to get me through.]

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Experiencing my first Sports Massage

Posted on June 29, 2011 by admin

It might be because I’m getting older, or because I’m training more and resting less or even because I’m running further and faster than I’ve ever ran, but I’m currently carrying several injuries, and they just don’t seem to be getting any better.

In fact, having rested for nearly 3 weeks and with a 33 mile run planned for this weekend, followed by the Lakeland 100 three weeks later, its got to the extend that i’m having to consider more drastic measures…

To be honest, I’ve always been a bit old fashioned when it comes to doctors and medical stuff, avoiding doing anything about injuries until they becomes pretty unbearable. When I suffer an injury, I tend to adopt one of two approaches, either grin and bear it, hoping to ‘run through it’ or opt for ‘complete rest’,  avoiding any running altogether for a couple of weeks.

So yesterday it felt a bit out of character, to find myself in the reception of Physio Plus in High Heaton asking to see a lady by the name of Kate. Kate is a Sports and Remedial Massage Therapist, with a whole stack of letters after her name, that I’m assume means she is something of an expert in the field.

As I stood filling in a forms authorising them to perform whatever treatment might be required, I really wasn’t at all sure what to expect or how quickly I’d see any results, but Kate seemed quite nice and she looked like she knew what she was doing as she led the way to a treatment room.

We briefly sat down and discussed what sort of sports I did, and the problems I’d been having as Kate scribbled down some notes, I watched as the page started to fill up and it began to dawn on me that this treatment might be just a little overdue.

When the talking was done, Kate asked me to take off my shoes, socks and trousers and to lie on the table. After applying some cream that felt a lot like sun tan cream, Kate initially checked the overall condition of my muscles, before moving on to concentrating on my calfs. She trace the outlines of individual muscle that I hadn’t previously even been able to distinguish a difference between, first moving her hands one way then another. At times it seemed that the there was no order at all in the mass of muscles in my lower legs, but as I lay face down on the treatment table and Kate continued to manipulate each of these tiny little areas, I could start to feel the direction of the different muscle fibres, like grain in wood and it began to make sense.

Different pressure was applied. in different ways, to different areas, each stroke evoking different feelings,  some were quite relaxing while other were a little less comfortable,  quite a few lot of which involved feelings of heat or burning. Some of this heat was friction caused by the movement, but some of it was caused by blood flowing deep within the muscles. Kate told me that some of what she was doing was deliberately causing inflammation, in order to encourage blood flow not only to aid repair to the muscles but also to take away some of the toxins that had build up there.

After concentrating most of the session on the right calf that had been causing most of my problems, I turned over and Kate worked on my quads for a bit, as they were also apparently a little tight. I could still feel were my calfs had been worked, and I half expected that when I stood up  to leave, I was going to end up a jelly legged mess on the floor. To my relief I did manage to make it to my feet after the session, though it feel more like I’d ran a marathon than i’d spent an hour lying around. It wasn’t until i’d got half way down the street outside that I realised that by achilles was moving smoothly and fluidly without the slightest bit of discomfort or tightness, something it hadn’t done for a quite a while.

It’s a little early to say just how effective my first sports massage has been, or how long the results might last, but I think the chances are I’ll be back for more, and at this stage I can’t recommend Kate or Physio Plus highly enough, for those of you that are interested they are based in High Heaton, charge £35 an hour, and can be contacted on 0191 281 2021.

www.physioplusclinic.co.uk
Physioplus on facebook

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Allendale 2011

Posted on April 14, 2011 by admin

Saturday morning saw me standing in glorious sunshine in Allendale Square, Northumberland ready to start my 4th Allendale Challenge with a collection of about a hundred runners.

The ‘Allendale Challenge’ is a 40km run over the North Peninnes, covering conditions from stunning hill climbs to  some of the finest peat bogs in England.

As we left Allendale town and followed the raod up toward the chimney, I was still in site of the lead runners, not a position i’m normally in, especially having ran over 30 miles already this week.

Allendale challenge 2011

As we got up onto the open moor the field started to spread out and following the descent to Nine Bank and the long climb back up to Hard Rigg I found myself pretty much running on my own, only occasionally catching or being caught by one of the other runners.

By Black Hill and going up onto Kilhope Law we’d caught the main body of walkers that had started 2 hours before us. At ths point we were picking our way through the labyrinth of peat bogs, a tricky task no matter how light footed a runner you may think you are. Even seasoned runners like the runner from Durham fell runners i’d been following for a mile or so, managed to sink up to his waist in one bogs, luckily I was on hand to give him a hand getting out.

Once out of the peat bogs, the track got a bit better underfoot as it headed down towards Spartylea, I still half expected to be over taken by big group of runners that I knew were still somewhere behind me.

Then we turned uphill once again on to  ’The Drag’ the last long climb of the day, I could see a couple of runners up ahead, and I slowly began to close the gap between us.

By the time we reached the top of the last climb, i knew we only had 20 minutes or so to go, and I could see i was in for a great time if i just kept going. At this point the guy from DFR that i’d helped out of the bog was hot on my heals and we kept pushing each other right up to the finish line, running over the line together in 4 hours at 37 minutes,coming in in 18th place of 79 finishers, 45 minutes faster than my previous pb.

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Taking the rough with the smooth

Posted on February 20, 2011 by admin

Over the past year, my running has improved dramatically, I’ve moved on from coming in the last few places at most of my races to finishing towards the middle of the pack. My 5k time is under 20 minutes and I recently completed my first 50 miler.

The increased performance is largely due to the fact that I’m training more than I ever have.  Previously I only really ran at weekends, holidays and races, but I’m now clocking up 40 miles or more a week and running every other day.

But the all this training has come at a price, I’ve never had so many injuries. Last year I lost around 9 weeks training with 3 separate hamstring strains. This year the problems have moved down a bit. I injured my right achilles tendon at the start of January, its still a little painful when I start off a run and seems to mainly affect lateral stability. It’s possibly Achilles tendonitis. Then on Thursday running home from work I suddenly felt an extreme pain in my left shin, luckily it was only ½ a mile from home, so I was able to hobble the rest of the way home. Regular ice applications, rest, elevation and ibruprofens have brought the swelling right down, although I didn’t risk running on it at today’s Kielder Borderer.  A little searching on the internet seem to suggest it’s probably a strained tibialis anterior muscle (possibly a micro tear),  it’s also sometimes called shin splints.

my injuries

The cause of all these injuries is apparently could be over use or over training, possibly related to running on hard surfaces, deteriation in arch strength or poor shoes. Although I wasn’t wearing the five fingers when I injured the tibialis I was trying out compression socks and i had done a hard run in the Vibrams on the previous Saturday. Generally running in Vibrams seems fine while i’m running, by arches had been a littl sore the following day.

The treatments seem to involve resting until they go away. Which for me could be 3 to 4 weeks. The problem then becomes, if I don’t train for four weeks, firstly all the hard work over the past few months will go to waste as I’ll loose condition before I get better enough to pick up training again and secondly I’m likely to put a bit of weight on, going from 50 miles a week to no miles.

So the dilemma is do I continue to run with minor injuries and risk them turning into major injuries before July, or do I rest now and hope the injuries get better and I still have time to get race fit in time for July.

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Racking up my first fifty

Posted on February 6, 2011 by admin

With only 6 months to get myself ready for the challenges of a 100 mile trail race, I decided that it might be an idea to test the water and see what my fitness level were like with a really long run.

The plan was simple to fill the car with a decent supply of drinks, cereal bars and jelly babies, then park up and run as many laps of a 10 mile circuit around the river as I could, stopping to refuel after each lap.

I wasn’t quite sure how far I could go. The furthest I’d ran up until this point was around 32 miles. I told myself I’d be happy with 50k but secretly I was hoping for 50 miles.

Things didn’t look good on the morning of the big day, I got up to dark skies and the sound of rain pounding against the window. I tried not to let the rain put me off as I  got up, dressed and made breakfast before heading out into the cold and whatever miles lay before me.

I threw a couple of extra training tops and a few pairs of socks into my bag before I left, I’d resolved myself to getting wet, but it wouldn’t hurt to dry off between laps at least a little.

Despite the rain, the first couple of laps went really quickly. I’d ran this course many times before, and was very familiar with its easy rhythms, following the steep undulations of the rivers banks to begin with, then chris crossing the many bridges, before following the gentle decent as it flows down towards the final bridge and the turn around, and then climbing back up to complete the loop.

By the end of the second lap the battery on my ipod was down to a few percent. So I headed out into the rain for the third lap, I didn’t have the reassuring sound of those familiar tunes following through my head, but by this time I was confident that I would complete at least 50k, and  was beginning to let myself think I might actually make 50 miles.

Going into the fourth lap, my ipod was back to full charge, and despite the continued rain, my spirits were high. According to my Gps each lap was closer to 11 miles that 10, meaning that I would have ran 44 miles by the end of the circuit.  This brought the question should I run a fifth lap or simply make up the 6 miles to get me to 50, with the rain still pouring down and the now sun starting to set , I decided to make up this my last lap.

Without the focus of the familiar track and now running in the dark, those last 6 miles seemed to go on for ever, but then a little after 6pm it was over. I’d ran further than I’d ever ran before, and I’d been out for longer, covering the 50 miles in around 9 hours.

There is still 6 months before the Lakeland 100, but I will have to run twice the distance and i’ll be running through the night not once but twice, but that will be another adventure, for now I am content with having ran my first 50.


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Choosing my next big challenge.

Posted on February 1, 2011 by admin

Last year I went from running the odd marathon to tackling something altogether bigger, the Himalayan 100, a 100 mile multi day stage race at altitude. But what could I do to follow an event like that?

Well for me it meant looking at Ultra Marathons. The furthest  I’d run up until this stage has around 30 miles (and that was largely downhill). An Ultra then will be something of a new challenge.

There is no real definition of what an ultra marathon is, other than being longer than a regular marathon.  Common distances can be 50k, 50miles, 52 miles (double marathon), 100km or 100miles.

Ultras like marathons are becoming increasingly popular. There are over 125 Ultras here in the UK many of which can be found on ultramarathonrunning.com or a variety of other website.  There are also some great online communities of ultra runners on sites like dailymile.com where you can get information on gear, training schedules and fueling stratergies.

While we tend to think of all of these distances as simply ultras,  each ultra has a unique character of its own, with different terrains, with different levels of ascent and decent, taking part at different times of year and with different levels of support.

So the question is with so many different Ultra’s to pick from which would I choose as my first . Should I start small and work my way up. Should I go for something relatively flat or something a bit more challenging with more hills. Should I choose something nearby or make a break of it and go further afield.

In the end the choice was simple, as I didn’t really have to make it.

My roommate from the Himalayian 100, Paul Stoneley sent me an email saying that he’d been looking at a race called the Lakeland 50, a 50 mile race across the Lake District in Late July that you could run individually or as a team of two, and did I fancy running it. I didn’t even have to thing about it, the answer right away was yes. A couple of days later Paul realized that it was during his summer holidays and he couldn’t in fact make it, but my this time it was too late the idea was in my head, and I was going to run.

Over the next couple of weeks, I spoke to a few of the other runners that I’d ran with in India and both Iryna and Dianne said that they were interested in running the Lakeland, but they were more interested in the 100 miler than the 50.

Last year only 20 in 100 of those setting out on the Lakeland 100 made it to the finish line, but Iryna and Diane made the argument that with 14 checkpoints over the 100 miles, I could drop out at any point and I still would have ran further than I had ever ran before.

Its a completely crazy idea, not only to  choose a 100 miler for my first ultra, but to choose one ran over grueling conditions and that will see us running through the night twice, if we stay the distance.

But for better or worse the choice for my first ultra has been made…and in July i’m running the Lakeland 100.

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Reflecting on a year’s running

Posted on January 4, 2011 by admin

Looking back on 2010, its been a very mixed year, I’ve ran faster, further and higher than ever before, but I’ve also ran fewer races and suffered more injuries than in previous years.

The highpoint of the year of course had to be the Himalayan adventure, travelling to India, spending a week with an outstanding group of atheletes (and some of the friendliest people you’d ever wish to meet), running over 100 miles in spectacular scenery, experiencing high altitude for the first time and seeing the sunrise slowly illuminate 4 of the 5 highest peaks in the world….words really can’t do it justice.

Running in the Himalayas was a dream come true, even if my journey to those breathtaking heights was a rather serendipitous one, starting with a crazy idea in an Egyptian desert, that turned into a race entry for a race that never happened and ending with a leap of faith, transferring the race fee to a bank in India with little more than a promise that someone would meet me at an airport in Bagdogra, northern India.

It was actually my wife Lucinda, that found the Himalayan race on the internet in the end. She also gave me the push I needed to enter it, for which I am eternally grateful.  I have never really wanted to take on the challenge of Everest itself for all kinds of reason, but at the same time I’ve always liked the idea of exploring the foothill of the Himalayas and seeing the people of Nepal. To that end the trip was all I could have ever wished it to be, and due to the kindness and generosity of our friends and family we also raised £2700 for two very good causes.

Training to run in India has meant that for the first time in 30 years of running I’ve been training regularly.  I’m still not terribly good at coming up with training plans, or sticking to them, but I was at least I’ve been getting out 3-4 times a week and learning to push myself harder in training.

Most of my training in 2010 was just me and my ipod, but I also enjoyed some training runs with friends this year. It is always a pleasure to run with the likes of Phil Green, Will Horsley and Mark Allison, and I really appreciated the company and route advice of Martin Walsh again this year in the lakes, as did I appreciate the conversations with Iryna Kennedy in India, it was also fantastic to run with people like Dougie Nisbet and Andrew Callcott and not forgetting the motivation of the online community where I had great support from runners like Desiree, Mab13, Billn and Ultrarailchick. I should also really thank all of the organisers, marshalls and supported that made all of these runs possible, especially with the extreme weather that this year has brought.

During the Haltwhistle marathon I learned a very different kind of lesson. Learning what a torn hamstring feels like, at the time I thought it was cramp (never having torn a hamstring before) but in the morning when I got up barely able to walk and with a black strip the length of my thigh I soon realised just what I’d done (after a quick search on the internet that is!). It however didn’t stop me shuffling around the rest of the course eventually coming in,  in tenth place – my highest placing in a race to date.

In one way or another 2010 has given me plenty to write about and while I might have started the blog simply to support my fundraising for the Eve Appeal, its something that I really enjoyed doing and its grown from there. I’ve been writing a tech column for the local paper for a couple of years and have a couple of tech blogs, but this blog is far more personal and its been amazing to share my feelings with you on a whole range of subjects, and having just entered the Lakeland 100 for 2011, I should have plenty of new material to blog about in 2011.

So all that remains is for me to say a huge thank you for your help in making 2010 such a great year, and to wish you a happy and injury free years running in 2011!

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Barefoot in the snow

Posted on December 31, 2010 by admin

I’ve never been the kind of person to keep new toys in their boxes for long.  So its hardly surprising that after receiving a new pair of trainers for Christmas, that snow or no snow, by boxing day I was itching to get them on and get out for a run.

five finger sprint

The trainers in question were Vertram Five Finger Sprints. These strange looking shoes are a little bit special, they’re regarded as a barefoot trainer, which means the’re pretty minimal, consisting of a thin rubber sole, an individual pockets for each toe, a couple of velcro fastenings and very little else.

I first heard of ‘five fingers’, when I read the book ‘born to run’ and I have to admit I was pretty intrigued, sceptical, but intrigued none the less. I mean surely my feet couldn’t take the kind of hammering they’d get on the open fells, with uneven surfaces, rough tracks and razor sharp rocks without at least a little protection.

born to run book cover

I wasn’t quite intrigued enough to buy a pair straight away, but after reading Desiree’s posts on Dailymile about running in her five fingers I was giving it serious consideration, I guess it was talking to Henda on our trip to India that finally convinced me to go out and buy a pair though. When I say, going out and buying a pair, what I actually mean is I bought a pair online… they are still not that popular in the UK that I could find a local stockists.

As I set off into the snow, on that first run, I wasn’t all all sure that I was going to get much further than the end of the street before having to turn back. Not least because I thought my toes might freeze, or my feet be battered and bleeding after running on those harsh roads with so little cushioning. Much to my surprise though, my feet didn’t feel cold at all and while I could feel in the ground under my feet in an entirely new way it wasn’t at all painful. Running in the five fingers actually came quite naturally and I’d go as far as saying that the felt strangely comfortable.

The sensation was not dissimilar to running in inov8 xtalons, which have a relatively little protection with their 6mm soles.  You can feel the ground beneath your feet far more clearly than ordinary trainers, in my case the squigginess of the snow, the roughness of the trail, and the toughness of the roads, in a strange sort of way this gives you a grounding in your surroundings that you don’t normally feel, yet its not as hard on your feet as you might expect.

As I ran, I found myself running far more lightly, gripping a little with my toes, but not putting as much weight on my heels. Normally I struggle on the uphill sections, but in the five fingers I seemed to have a new energy, on the downhills on the other hand where I normally fly I seemed a little slower, pull back more than normal  especially on the roads.

The idea of running in barefeet is that its a far more natural way of running and that it helps to strengthen your arches and improve your running style. But I guess that any change in style, requires some sort of learning curve and time to build up new muscles.

All in all I  really enjoyed my first run in five fingers. I’m not saying that they are for everyone, or that I will run in them all the time, but they certainly will have a place along side my Asics and my inov8s and I look forward to running in them many more times over the coming months and getting used to a new style of running.

[Side note: Some of my own earliest memories are of running around in bare feet at my parents caravan near Pooley Bridge, in the Lake district. We would spend much of the summer there, running around and playing outdoors and I seem to recall taking my shoes off at the first opportunity and not wanting to put them back on. To this day I still take my shoes and socks off as soon as I get into the house and quite often drive in barefeet.]

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