Maria Runs - Maria Runs

Heading up to Manchester

Last weekend we were off to Manchester. We had originally looked at driving up most of the way on Friday, and then doing some parkrun tourism before driving the rest of the way, but we could not find anywhere suitable (eg a parkrun close by to a hotel) on the way, and didn’t really fancy that drive, so we booked train tickets instead.

It meant I headed to Panshanger parkrun- now it’s very local to me and took me 6 minutes to drive there! I think it’s about 5 miles away so potentially I could run one way (and get a lift back if my dad is going) but the only way I know is on dual carriageways with no pavements, so I need to look into that. Anyway, I was still aching after body pump, so I started at the back, although this ended up being very stop-start as it’s very narrow. I enjoyed it though. 31.20 (my 72nd one).

Then it was a bit of a rush to get showered, finish packing and drive to the train station (Milton Keynes)- we stopped on the way to get some lunch for the train. We had a bit of a panic in the car park, as it was pay and display (honestly, what a stupid idea for a train car park- what if the train is delayed…), and the machine would only do one day tickets, not the weekend rates as advertised. I tried to call them but got no answer, and I didn’t want to miss our train so I took photos of the signs and then rushed to the platform. (I called them later and they were not worried and said we could buy a new ticket online after midnight).

Anyway, the train journey was lovely- we had seats in the quiet carriage so we listened to the film podcast and looked out of the window.

After checking in to our hotel (this took about 30 minutes- Disney has shorter queues!) we headed out for a little wander and to find some dinner- in the end we went to Northern Soul for an epic grilled cheese sandwich- they are so massive we easily could have shared.

Then we walked out to the city stadium to see The Stone Roses.

First up were Public Enemy, which was just very confusing- a lot of shouting the names of people in the group- I don’t think Flava Flave even knew what day let alone what time it was (and yes, he still had his massive clock on).

It was lovely as the sun was going down – a bit like a festival.

Then the main event- they were awesome although there were lots of idiots in the crowd letting off flares the whole time. Ian Brown even had a go at some of them- they are really dangerous, but people still kept doing it. It was so weird though as so many people were getting up and going to get more drinks the whole time- seeing drunk people try to negotiate steps carrying four pints was amusing at first, and then got annoying as I was right by the steps so kept having to move so I would not get soaked. Plus even though they claimed it was a non-smoking venue (even electronic ones) but so many people were blatantly ignoring it. We saw one person told to stop, even though the same marshal was watching the whole time. Anyway, the band were great- my ears were ringing after.

We walked back to the centre as the trams were totally rammed.

The next morning we went to Bill’s for breakfast- I was very sad to see they don’t do the peanut butter French toast any more, but they still did the pancakes and they were super.

We then checked out of our hotel and had a few hours wandering around the shops before getting the train home- another good journey with podcast listening.

Do you like train journeys? It is so much easier than driving, plus you get right to the city centre.

3 Things All New Bike Riders Should Do*

Hello, I have a collaborative post for you today from Ellie Jo. There have been a few posts on my running club website all about a new local cycling group. Now, it’s not for me, but it does seem to be having a bit of a boom at the moment, so read on if you are interested:

There is no better way to travel during the summer than on a bike. Not only is it fun, but it’s also a fantastic way of boosting your fitness levels and burning calories. It’s also considered one of the most environmentally friendly forms of transportation. So you can exercise and travel, while still being kind to the environment. With benefits such as these, it’s not hard to see why so many people are getting back on their bikes. If you haven’t ridden a bike since you were a child, you’ll naturally be excited to start pedalling. But you need to do these three things before taking your new bike for a test run.

Get your bike insured

Whether you want to use it for leisurely rides or competitions, you need to get your bike insured. It’s no secret that new bikes can often be expensive. This makes them an appealing targets for thieves. So if you’re uninsured, and your bike is stolen, you can’t get a replacement or money back. This also applies if your bike is damaged accidentally during a fall or crash. These are more likely to occur when you’re just starting out. So it’s crucial that you have insurance cover before taking your bike out for the first time. Look at bike insurance comparison sites online to see which package offers the best protection at an affordable price.

Buy two locks

Buying two bike locks may seem excessive. But the protection and peace of mind they provide makes them a worthwhile purchase. If thieves see that your bike has multiple locks, they will be deterred from attempting to steal it. Many bike insurance companies will require that you have a secure locking system too. There are many different styles of bike lock to choose from, many of which claim to be the best. Narrow down your options by reading reviews online and by asking other cyclists for their recommendations. Choose two bike locks and learn how to attach them before setting off. Ideally, they should wrap around the wheels, frame and the object you are attaching it to. Never lock your bike onto old posts and fences which could be easily dismantled. While it might seem time consuming, a bike theft only takes seconds to occur. So always take the time to do it.

Be prepared

If you’re planning on cycling through towns and cities, you need to prepare yourself for these busy surroundings. Cars and lorries will overtake you and pedestrians will step out in front of you. You might also come across other more experienced cyclists who disregard the rules of the road. This can make cycling stressful and less enjoyable if you aren’t fully prepared. If you’re feeling anxious about cycling on the roads for the first time, you might benefit from taking a cycling course. This will give you the skills and confidence you need to be a safe and competent cyclist. Look for courses in your local area and join up as soon as possible.

Once you’ve completed these important things, you can head out on your first biking adventure.

What tips do you have to add about cycling? I used to cycle to and from the bus stop when I went to uni, and always used to make sure the lock went through the frame and the wheel, but I saw lots of bikes get stolen (wheels left behind), and Andy had his saddle stolen once. If I were to get my bike out I would take it to a shop and have the brakes checked out, as I don’t think they would be safe at the moment. I also would add a helmet is a must.

Muggy runs

So, suddenly after getting back from holiday, it seemed like summer had arrived. Well, the warmth anyway. We arrived home on Sunday morning (I will get around to a recap of the safari because it was pretty special, but that may take a while)- our flight got in around 5am so we were home by 6.30. Because there is only one hour of time difference, there isn’t any jet lag, which after a 12 hour flight was new to me. We had a very efficient day doing lots of unpacking, but I didn’t really fancy a run that day.

My running since then has picked up:

Monday- A loop that turned out to be 4 miles- it was so hot I had to keep on stopping to cool down, as a lot of it wasn’t in shade.

Tuesday- Club run- we had the most awful violent thunderstorm at work, so I thought that our planned 8 mile route would be changed to something shorter, but over this way there was no thunder so we did a hilly 8.3 mile route (normally reserved for a Sunday morning longer run)- it was so sticky and sweaty, and we all had flies stuck to us by the end. Good, but super tough.

Wednesday- Walk after work.

Thursday- Attempted a different route which I thought would be shorter than my Monday route- turned out to be 4.3 miles so a bit longer! Again, very hot.

Friday- After work I did a lot of unpacking, collected post from our old place, popped to town to spend my birthday vouchers (got a Sonos for my office), caught up on work, and all before Gogglebox!

Saturday- A mile run from town, a mainly walk with sprinting thrown in tail run at parkrun, and a walk into town later on.

Sunday- 9 miles in the rain. I tried to use mapometer to sort out a route, but as I went off road around the lakes for a bit, it got confused, so in the end I had to loop around a bit more to get the miles in. I have a 10 mile race in a few weeks time so wanted to make sure I was OK doing that distance still. The rain was refreshing and luckily didn’t get too heavy. We did a bit more unpacking and were pretty much done! Not too bad at all.

Monday- Little walk to the shops after work, avoiding the showers.

Tuesday- Shorter club run. This was fantastic- we were allowed to run in the grounds of Hatfield House as most of the people had passes, and it was lovely to be off road and away from the traffic. The scenery was stunning too- the sun came out and at some points you are running through woodland, but other times it is huge fields of wheat, almost shimmering in the sunlight.

Wednesday- I finally found a loop that is just over 3 miles long! That is the minimum distance that I think is worth a hair wash, and I am not really keen on out and back routes (plus they look so boring on Strava) so I was keen to find a loop. Although I do enjoy running, sometimes if I am tired after work or have lots to do, the temptation is to cut it short, whereas on a loop, once I am on it I keep going (even though I know I could turn around). It doesn’t quite make sense, but I prefer it. Anyway, it was sunny and hot when I left, and as I turned one corner I could see the most enormous black cloud- luckily I was home before it emptied!

Today I have booked onto body pump- this is the first time since I fell over in the half marathon and hurt my back. It has seemed fine, so I am hoping it will be alright although I am going to use very light weights. Fingers crossed!

How have you been coping in this muggy weather? Are you good at finding new walking, cycling or running routes or do you stick to the same ones?

Tail running around the lake

So this weekend my car was being serviced (over in St Albans) so when I booked the date I had offered to tail run, as I had to drop it off at 8.30am, a mile from the parkrun start. Perfect. I thought I would potter around in town after (partly why I thought I would tail run as I didn’t fancy wandering around town all sweaty) but it turned out my parents were back from holiday the day before, so Dad said he would do that parkrun, the drive me home for breakfast at theirs. Even better.

It was a rather sticky morning, and by the time I arrived at the start my glasses were fogging up from the warmth- not sure why that happens as they are fine when I run, but as soon as I stop they fog up. Anyway, I collected my fitbit tail runner vest (more like a dress, you’ll see) and chatted to one of the scanners who I work with. Then over her shoulder I saw my dad- they had been in Namibia for over 3 weeks (before our house move) so it was great to see him. My brother had also come along for the run, so we had a chat before the run started. There was another tail runner (tomorrow is the St Albans half marathon so I think they had a lot of offers for volunteers)- I quite like that, it’s happened at Panshanger before and means you can chat and not impose on the last few runners as some of them don’t like you hovering behind them.

There was a big turnout (343 runners) including this person wearing a full on lion costume (in support of the remain campaign). Much respect in that heat!

From their facebook page.

As we started it occurred to me that it was going to be a bit harder, because this route goes along the path to the lake, three laps of the lake, then back along the park. I’ve only even done it at Panshanger which is one big loop. Keeping track of the back runners would be more challenging. One guy told us he had MS and that if he overheated his legs would go numb, so we were not to worry if he was on the ground so long as he was talking. Another guy (who is one of the RD’s) was coming back from a knee operation so wanted to walk it in under 50 minutes. He thought he would be with us for the whole time, but in fact he went a long way ahead as there was a lady with her eight year old son (we learnt he was eight as she was shouting at him after a few hundred metres things like “you are so unfit for an 8 year old, you should be able to run more than 100m/ if you don’t do any exercise you’ll get fat… later someone heard her say “no pudding for a week”- that poor boy is not going to have fond memories of running…)- he was struggling and kept stopping, so we had to stop a bit of a way back because it was a little awkward.

We chatted to the marshals briefly on our way past (it was strange thinking “we will see you twice more”)- one guy was great and cheered on “the fitbits” each time we walked past!

On our first lap my dad and brother went past on their second (or possibly third). I did think then that perhaps a one lap course has advantages. It was nice to look around the lake and see a stream of runners, but as we started our second most of the runners were peeling off for the home straight. On the second lap we came across the guy with MS, who was sat down. He was worried he was at the back, but we reassured him we were only on our second, and soon after he overtook us and headed to the finish. Then the lady and her son decided to stop, so then we had to find the next final runner- he was right at the other end of the lake so in our final lap we had a bit of a speedy run to catch him up. We walked the rest of the way together, and he was very pleased to finish with 49.08- well under his 50 minute target.

See! Look at my vest- more like a dress!

After that we headed home for pancakes cooked by my mum (Andy drove around to meet us there), and a look at their amazing safari photos before I went to collect my car.

I was having a look and the last time I ran at St Albans was March 2015, when I was marathon training- Dad picked me up, we ran parkrun and then I ran home from there. It was the first parkrun I did, and it was my only one until Panshanger started up, so it was good to go back there. I think I should go in the autumn sometime and see if I can get close to my pb, as it is a faster course, but most weeks my local ones are going to win out I think.

(That was run number 71 for me, 21st time of volunteering)

Did you like exercising when you were a child? Do you have a junior parkrun near you? Apparently there is a group of people keen to set one up, but because of all the parks being used for football on Sunday mornings they are finding it hard to find a suitable location.

The house move

The house move feels like it has been in the works for so long. Before Christmas we said that in the new year we would talk about moving house, and at the start of January we put our house up for sale to see if it would sell, and go from there. It turned out that the housing market was very competitive (good for us as sellers, not so good for us as buyers). We sold very quickly, and then began the painful process of trying to find somewhere to buy. Around here all the estate agents host open house sessions (we did for our sale, as that was what they all said they would do)- a couple of hours, 15 minute slots, as many buyers in that time. Once we were looking, it turned out that often the slots would be full on the day of the house going on the market. After a few open houses, one rejected offer, a day seeing lots of houses and none of them being quite what we were after, we struck lucky. In half term a house came up which looked perfect. We rang up and the owners weren’t doing an open house, and even better we could see it on the Friday- if it had not been half term I would not have been able to go. It was perfect, we put in our offer at about 2pm and then had a very nervous few hours before the call at 6.30 confirmed that our offer had been accepted!

Our old house

Then of course came all the boring legal and logistical bits. Our chain was short (our buyers were first time buyers moving from home, and the people we were buying from were moving to an empty property) but of course things were not simple. Originally our moving date was the 12th of May (so we could then book our South Africa trip) but it got pushed back a few times. Anyway, it’s all done now!

As I mentioned before, I found Mary’s blog post very helpful. We had been given some boxes so we packed a lot of things away and left them in Andy’s parent’s spare room. I had a notebook to record what was in each box. We sorted out the internet so we knew we would be having only a few days without it, changed addresses on some things, and set up the mail re-direct (although I didn’t realise it took 5 working days, and only set it up the weekend before so a few things slipped through). We had hired a moving company, so they had given us many more boxes and we ended up stacking them in the garage (and me parking outside) because in our old house once a few boxes were packed there was no way to get around them.

The movers were meant to arrive “from 8am”- so of course we had a late night and an early start frantically doing the last few things (including finding late on Monday night that the plumber who had fixed a small issue with the heating the previous week had knocked all of the Christmas decorations our of reach in the little attic space- we only have a small ladder so in the end had to move a chest of drawers for Andy to stand on so he could get up there and reach them down), but then they actually turned up at 9am. They were really good- they had to carry all the furniture downstairs, plus any boxes we had left up there. They took apart the bed but somehow managed to keep our wardrobe together and got it down the stairs without any of them falling to their deaths- there were some tense moments!). I hovered about with the hoover- I was shocked at how much dust there was behind some of our furniture! Once it was all in the van we had to hang about a bit as they were ready but we could not collect the keys straight away. We headed off to get the keys and they met us at our new house- when we arrived they had already unloaded the plants which was very efficient.

Then the fun of deciding where things were to go started. We had decided all boxes for downstairs could go in the dining room, and all the upstairs boxes went into one of the spare rooms. The movers put the bed back together which was brilliant- when we moved into our first place we had a lot of Ikea furniture to build and one of my main memories of that day was us building the bed late at night so we had somewhere to sleep. At one point Andy was sorting the garden and I was just waiting, so I went around and checked that all the lights worked (another Mary tip)- I found that 1- they love their colour changing bulbs, and 2- there was no switch for the bathroom (and we hunted high and low, in the hall, in the airing cupboard…). It turned out that the bathroom has a sensor, only activated when it is dark, which is rather annoying as it switches off after a couple of minutes- not great when you are having a shower and not near the sensor! The bathroom lights are also multicoloured and colour changing- something we will change quite soon.

Our dining room- looking much better now as most of the boxes are behind and at least we can sit at the table.

The movers finally left at 4pm- we had not stopped all day so had a break for some belated lunch, before trying to unpack the essentials. I had sorted an “open first” box but then with the movers unloading everything it took us a while to find it! I had packed some teabags to last us the first few days, and I am very glad I did as we didn’t find the tea straight away. We went out for dinner later, as we did not fancy cooking!

Our back garden! It’s been lovely to come back from a run and cool down here- our old place had a garden but you had to go through the garage so we didn’t use it much.

The next couple of days were not very productive as I had meetings after work both days, and then we were off on holiday, but the Sunday when we came home was brilliant (only one hour time difference so no jet lag)- we unpacked so many boxes, put the Christmas decorations in the loft, emptied our suitcases, set up my desk in my office and arranged the kitchen. I’ve been ticking off the boxes as we unpack them (I get huge satisfaction from ticking off lists) but we sometimes do forget.

There are many boxes still to unpack here too, but at least I can get to my desk now.

I love the willow tree in our garden. But we also have two (including one massive) leylandii trees which will need to go as they block out so much light.

I now have a whole host of new running routes too, but that is for another post!

How many times have to had to move house? We moved once when I was 12, then when Andy and I moved in together we moved out of our parents homes so that was fairly easy. I lived at home during uni so I really did not have much experience of it.