Camels, fish and chips and giant bees

I know I don't have a hard life, but just recently I've been feeling a bit like I need a holiday. Work has been very busy and at times has left me feeling a bit frazzled. I just notice I'm doing things like misreading instructions, missing obvious things, forgetting things, and having poor concentration. It's been manic. Or perhaps I am just getting old.

You may have heard me refer to my friend in the Lake District. She is an example of how good things can happen to good people. She has a magnificent house in the Lakes where she currently lives and works - her job basically involves walking around the Lake District all day (nice in summer, not so great in Jan/Feb). Many years ago whilst a farm worker, she purchased a dilapidated barn which she gradually built in to her home whilst living in a caravan in the garden. Of course with property prices being as they are up there, this house has become more and more valuable over the years, and sometimes her work colleagues visit and in a slightly looking down their nose tone ask "how have *you* managed to get a house like this?". Her reply simply is: "I BUILT IT MYSELF". Part of her plan in life was always to move to Cornwall where she goes on holiday a lot already (there are a lot of dog friendly places for her 3 dogs there). The past few years whilst down in the area she has been actively looking for her dream house, and in 2012 she found it - with it being "the one" she had to move quick - with some financial wizarding, she managed to buy it but is not moving in full time for a couple of years. Of course the move from up "there" to down "here" is a big one, and as friends and family and her go down to stay in the Cornwall house, they take bits and pieces with them - saves a bit on moving costs and hassle.

So this week it has been my turn. I've wanted to do the Duchy 20 for a while but it was logistics that stopped me with it being so far away, so I arranged to go down to the new house for this weekend and a few days either side. I was about to type I've never been to Cornwall. I have, but not in a leisure capacity; I spent the 10th and 11th September there 2001 when I was working for the South West RDA. Why do I remember this, well obviously that was *the* September 11th - my boss and I were driving back from the Truro SWRDA office to Birmingham and had been chatting all the way until one of the chaps in our team rung me at about 5pm when we were still only as far as Taunton. That is my memory of Sept 11th - being oblivious in the bubble of the car, then turning the radio on to listen to the events of the day as they had unfolded, open mouthed, speechless and close to tears at the sheer horribleness of it all.

Wednesday I was working in Bristol, and I had packed up the car at 6am that morning so I could carry on the trip from there after work. I did a bit of lunch time speed work on Weds, a 6 mile run that included 4 miles at Half Marathon Pace effort (since I've got a Half in just over a week I thought I'd better see what was what). After getting a virtual ticking off by Gobi for not being arsed to get a new Heart Rate Monitor for 9 months I've also started wearing one again. Well it went ok - I managed a faster pace than I thought for what I *think* is HMP (according to HR is was HMP). We will see. My attitude has changed. I think I can do the pace I want to do at a half, and I'm prepared to die trying. Go hard or go home. I've changed as a runner - it catches me unawares sometimes but mentally I have a really different attitude to a couple of years ago.

V's instructions were perfect and I managed to get to her house and in to the house with no issues by 7pm, unloaded the stuff and I was sat down relaxing by 8.30. I'm a bit sad but part of the fun for me of going somewhere new is planning different places to go and do my runs and what to do and see. It sounds terribly toursity, I opted to go to Padstow and run some of the Camel trail (along the river Camel) because of easy navigation and a town at halfway. So that was decided Weds night. I switched off the lights to see lights twinkling on the horizon from the kitchen windows and went to bed.

When I got up in the morning, the following sight greeted me:

Rooms with a view

Magnificent. This house is the wrong way round, bedrooms downstairs and kitchen / sitting rooms upstairs, but you can see why. All the living area looks out over the estuary to Falmouth.

I got to Padstow and parked up, and started running along the trail. To anyone local I suppose it might not be very special, and it's probably not the most spectacular scenery that Cornwall has to offer, but looking at the sand, the seaweed covered rocks, the little birds with long legs and long bills probing around in the mud for their lunch is really different for me and it was very relaxing running. I ran over bridges, past massive piles of what looked like slate (?) and towards and through the little town of Wadebridge. Then, simply put I turned round and ran back. If there had been any sort of reliable bus / train service I might have carried on to Bodmin and done the whole thing one way, but hey I can save the Bodmin bit for another day I guess. This run was going to be 12 miles in total, by 10 miles it was lunchtime and I could hear the sound of my own stomach growling for the last 2 miles, so popped some warm clothes on and went in search of food. Camel trail half run, I saw no camels.

I don't know what Padstow used to be like, I'm guessing Mr Rick Stein has put it on "the map" and it has probably changed a lot. As far as I could see it is full of gift and tourist shops selling sweets / shells / surf clothing and then a few bistros. Being a low maintenance girl, I homed in on a chippy. I knew it was going to be nice when I walked in the door and fish lady asked me for my order so they could cook it fresh rather than taking a piece of dry fish from under the heat lamps. Yes I was hungry, but it really was lovely. Then it started to rain, so I stood in the chippy eating this gorgeous grub listening to the owner talk to some of the locals about this and that, so-and so's-pneumonia and tutting at the stupid tourists trying to drive down a one way street. As the rain died off, I did have a little wander around. Probably not the best place to do any shopping, but I got a few bits for presents etc and I have to say in Padstow it is really easy to blow an enormous amount of money on rubbish if you are not careful. And you can't sit down on a bench or anything without being harassed by birds!

Cue Jaws music

Walking round the quay, I managed to find an ice cream parlour, so that was pudding sorted. As I was asking for my double chocolate cone, the same locals who had been in the chip shop came in. I just looked at them ice cream in hand, and said "I'm having a healthy day today". I explained (I desperately volunteered the information trying to justify why they had seen me in both of those establishments) that I'd just run 12 miles, and I was doing the Duchy 20 at the weekend. The old man said he did that every week. I told him I'd see him on Sunday then ;)

This run incidentally was the first proper test of my HRM - I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at the HR vs the pace, e.g. I seem to have a much lower HR for a given pace than I used to.

After my gastronomic blow out, I decided to have a little walk around, and came across "The national lobster hatchery" which thought I'd have a look at whilst I was there (thank god they weren't selling lobsters I'd have probably eaten one of those too). Quite interesting learning about all the beasties and how they are looked after. "Goliath" was quite impressive, as were the teeny little baby lobsters. I also love the way they are trying to make lobsters cool - "Adopt a lobster for your wedding guests" etc and surprise gift ideas. Careful opening your mail folks - if I send you a rubber lobster it means I like you :)

Surprise!

Today I ran from the house towards the King Harry ferry and back, it was a question of time. Places in Cornwall seem to be not many miles away, but a long time away. Not that it bothers me I'm in no real hurry, but I wanted to make the most of the planned visit to the Eden project. Another very low HR run.

I wasn't sure what to expect of the Eden project. My degree was in biology, and I definitely had a leaning towards the plant/biochemistry/microbiology side. The only animals I was interested in were insects largely because of their relationship with plants. The place is amazing. It seems so well structured and thought out, and interesting at every turn. They say it is all environmentally friendly and organic and stuff but the insects seem to appear to be genetically modified:

Pass the Jungle Formula

Tomorrow, if I can get out of bed at an ungodly hour for a Saturday, I plan to drive to the nearest park run  which is a long way away. I'm not going to say how far because it is insanity to go that for a 5K, but there you go, I've never claimed to be normal.