Euterpe, the muse of music, provided the inspiration for Sunday's run. This was my last Sunday morning in Eastbourne, as my daughter's dance rehearsals ended with participation in the Eastbourne Music and Arts Festival in the afternoon.
Snow, deep in places, lay on the higher ground and I had only an hour to spare for running, so I set off towards Jevington, taking the route of the Beachy Head Marathon. The gradients and the snowy surfaces slowed me down and it was one of my slowest runs ever, but a run is a run.
As for music, I have never listened to music while running. If I ran indoors on a treadmill, I might, to alleviate the monotony. I have not run on a treadmill for many years, not since I worked in Westminster and used a gym. There I watched the television news as I ran; I went there one September lunchtime in 2001 and saw the first reports of 9/11 come in.
Since I am able to run over the Sussex downs and cliff-tops, I feel I would be missing something if I stuck earphones in my ear. I am an keen though ignorant lover of bird-life, and the sound of a lark heard up on Beddingham Hill is one of the finest things I have ever experienced. One day I will hear the distinctive cry of a Great Auk, or the thud as the ground shakes underneath a Giant Moa's footfall.
I do however sing as I run, to myself or out loud if alone, to keep my spirits up and my rhythm going. A favourite, for no clear reason, is The Pogues' Streams of Whisky.
Some brief notes on other matters:
- I have created an iCal calendar for the events that make up the 2010 Sussex Grand Prix. If you use iCal, or Google Calendar, or another iCal-based system, subscribe at: webcal://ical.me.com/tomroper/Sussex%20Grand%20Prix%202010.ics
- In the Chichester 10K on 7 February the first man was Toby Lambert of Winchester & District AC in 29:32 and the first woman Amber Moran in 34:48. The first Seaford Strider home was Gary Hatcher in 37:24.
- There's now five weeks till the Hastings Half Marathon
