Running - Maria Runs

Parkrun tourism, a windy weekend and a windy race!

Hey peeps!

I had a brilliant weekend in Brighton! We got the train late on Friday, and our hotel was right by the station so we headed straight there.

On Saturday morning I jogged the 1.5 miles to the start of the Hove Promenade parkrun (which is a fairly new one- this was event number 17). I left way too much time, so ended up hanging around for a while before the start, sheltering from the wind by standing between some beach huts.

The team were welcoming, and the new run briefing explained the course; two laps of the promenade section, starting in the middle. It was so windy, and we starting off running into the wind which was just so tough. But I think that was the better way, as you then had the long section with the wind behind you, one long section into the wind (and as you ran past the start/finish the timer person was calling out times which was a nice touch), another long section with the wind behind you, and then the final half length back into the wind again. It started raining gently after about 10 minutes, but as I finished this got heavier to I quickly scanned by chip and headed back to the hotel. The national results were down, so I didn’t get my time through until the afternoon, and I had no idea because I had started my watch on the run down there. Anyway, I ended up position 64/108, 27.39, which is my fastest parkrun time this year! I was impressed with that! On a side note, I wore my 50 top for the first time and love it- it’s lovely and long, the neck is a bit wide so the bra straps show, but it is so comfy and the fabric is lovely and soft.

Anyway, on my way home it started bucketing it down. I had worn a top on the way, which I tied around my waist when running, but even with that I was getting very cold, and I was near a Pret, so I popped in for a bottle of water and a hot chocolate, and then had to get the courage to go the final half mile back to the hotel. Our room only had 2 towels, so when I got back I asked for another one and the lady behind reception looked very shocked and got me 2- I was dripping all over the place!

After a shower we headed out to Cafe Coho for breakfast, and then spent the day wandering around Brighton. We had booked for dinner at Food for Friends, which was fantastic. We shared a started of tahini dips, I had the most amazing salad of sweet potato, avocado, quinoa, tomatoes, green beans, hazelnuts and feta, and Andy had a portabello burger (and lots of my feta as I am not a huge fan of that and there was loads), and then we shared sticky toffee pudding- we were so full after that and attempted a walk along the seafront but it was so windy that we changed our minds!

In the morning the alarm didn’t go off, so I woke up at 8.20- the race started at 9.30! Thankfully we had enough time to eat our Clif bar, get dressed and head down to the start. I took my long sleeved top with me to wear before and after. It was still so windy! Argh! This year the route was the same as previous years, but in reverse, so instead of heading east at the start, where it was narrow, to ease congestion we would head west towards Hove, as they use the road at that point. That made sense, but it also meant that everyone was arriving from the west, and then having to battle past the start line, bag drop and tents to then face the other way in the start pens. I think we got there with 5 minutes to spare!

I had looked up pacing for 55 minutes, as last year I managed 55.23- it is a flat course, and in Bournemouth earlier I managed 56.07 with stomach ache (it was after lunch). This time meant 8.51 minutes for each mile, but because it was raining on and off I left the actual mile split times in my pocket as the ink would just run, and decided to try and use the km markers instead. We started off running into the wind, heading west on the road towards Hove. This was tough, but I felt OK. I looked at my watch at the km markers, but for each one I was about 10 seconds behind the 5.30 per k that I would need to get 55 minutes. But seeing as that was into the wind I was not too bothered and just wanted to get as close to it as possible. It did seem less congested than previous years, and I didn’t ever feel like I got stuck behind people (although with the wind, that would be a good thing!). At around 3km, we turned around to come back in the other direction but along the promenade instead of the road, and I tried to pick up my speed as the wind was really blowing me along (and kept smacking my pony-tail into my face). I overtook a lot of people between that and the 5k mark, where the path narrowed (as they are building the big sky tower)- again though I didn’t feel like I got stuck at all because by then the field was more spread out. At the 7k point we ran past the finish, and the speedy ones were already done- I saw a few ladies but mainly men at that point- very impressive in that weather. That next section was not so enjoyable as I had got used to the wind blowing behind so I didn’t feel like I was getting such a boost, and the final turn-around point seemed to take a while to come. I occupied myself by looking at the runners going the other way- I saw Andy heading back towards the finish. Then, the dreaded turn around point. Honestly, you think the wind has died down, and then you turn, and realise how hard it is still blowing! But at least it was only 1.5km to go. At this point I looked at my watch and realised that I had a chance to break 55 minutes, so I really dug in, and pictured my lovely run leader geeing me along, made sure I pumped my arms to help me keep going. I told myself I would try to speed up when my watch beeped for the 6 miles, but then I could not see the finish line (I was looking for an inflatable arch, which they have had in previous years, but I think maybe because of the wind they didn’t have it), so it was only when I saw the finish chute fence that I really sped up.

The finish area was very busy- I had to stop as soon as I crossed the line because of people being in front of me. We kept being told to keep moving, but there was no-where to go. I think this was the downside of the reversed course, but also we had to turn left around a van, collect our banana, water and medal, and then were out onto a narrow section of pavement. In previous years with the finish area going in the other direction it is much longer and so did not jam up. I was very excited to see my Garmin time, but had to wait ages (until the evening- the text result didn’t come through and the website would not load for ages) before I got my official chip time- 54.53! Wooohoo! A sub 55!

Andy took my photo (see how windy it is- the medal ribbon was flying everywhere and my ponytail was being flicked up behind me!) and then I put my top on over my vest. Then it started raining so we didn’t hang around, stopping to get a tea on the way back as we were both very cold. Andy was aiming for sub 50 and managed 48 something so it was pb’s all round! Not at all expected in that weather.

After a shower, we checked out and went to Bill’s for lunch, did a bit more shopping and the got the train home- listening to the radio 5 film podcast.

I bought a slice of bakewell cake for us to share in the evening, but the icing fell off on our journey home! It was still tasty!

Another successful running trip to Brighton, and my final race of the year (apart from virtual runner ones) finishing with a pb!

I am sure I will be back again another year! Are there races you do again and again? What did you get up to at the weekend?

Hooray for Tribesports!

So a few weeks ago I did my 50th parkrun, and was emailed right away to be welcomed into the 50 club. I didn’t order my t-shirt right away, because we were going away. Then when we got home, I clicked on the link (it takes you to Wiggle as they stock them now) but the size I wanted was out of stock. Anyway, they emailed once it was back in, and as you have to either order something else, or pay a few pounds for postage, I got myself some winter running gloves (at the moment I have one blue and one black, one medium and one small, given to me from a warehouse clearance). Anyway, it arrived this week!

It’s fab! All technical, plus it seems like a nice cut.

Plus, how amazing is it that Tribesports make these (and the volunteer 25 t-shirt, and the 100 t-shirt, and the 250 t-shirt, and the 500 t-shirt….) and send them out for free to parkrunners around the world? It’s a great reminder of all those enjoyable parkruns.

I am hoping to go to the Hove Promenade parkrun tomorrow (as we are travelling down this evening ready for the 10K on Sunday), so it shall have it’s first outing!

When I went to order it the first time, an offer popped up for Tribesports (£10 off I think) so I bought a couple of long sleeved tops. Although it has been too warm to wear them yet.

I ordered the long sleeved tops in a medium, but the parkrun top in a small, as all the reviews said they were roomy. When I compared them, they are the same size- it did say the Tribesports tops are fitted, but that is good for when it is a bit colder. I was also sent a link to share for £10 off (the link is here) if anyone is interested.

Also, I made my first ever cake in a mug! I used a recipe that Laura (Wholeheartedly Healthy) posted, using pumpkin, but I realised too late that I didn’t have coconut flour. I used regular flour but there was a bit too much liquid I think- I ended up cooking it for about 4 minutes. Tasty though.

What are your weekend plans? I am very excited for a weekend of parkrun, walking around Brighton, a tea latte from Bluebird, a 10k race on Sunday and just generally getting lots of fresh air. Hooray!

A lovely weekend of running

So last weekend we were home for once, and as my dad and brother were also home, they were heading to Panshanger parkrun, hooray! It has been ages since all three of us ran together as my dad has had to rest his knee for bit, and they have been away cycling. It was a Halloween theme, but as I have mentioned before, I am not a dressing up fan, and all I had was a witch hat, which was at school (locked at the weekend)- a good excuse to wear normal bits!

As I had not run for 10 days, I stayed a bit further back at the start, and it was great. I was cold at the beginning, having chosen to wear my vest (the weather said it would be 16, but I think they meant later on…) but anyway, after a mile I warmed up. I passed one of the OH ladies trying to get a sub 30 (she managed it! Hooray!) and I did think about my parkrun style. I don’t tend to go for a pb or even go flat out. I am always struggling to breathe at the end because of the final hill to the finish (it’s very steep) but then of course that is not what it is all about. I really enjoy the scenery, and waving and saying “thanks” to the marshals, and just being out in the fresh air. I could run a bit faster, but then I would not enjoy the whole run, just the split second when the text comes through. I am trying to stay under 30 mins for this course (I think I did 29.24 or something) but really I don’t mind.

That’s how you feel after the finish hill… (from their facebook page)

Anyway after that it was home for a shower and breakfast, a walk into town to return our Iceland guide book and a few other bits, soaking the fruits for the Christmas cakes…

(And you can all remember what happened with that last Sunday…)

Onto Sunday morning, and I was off on a club run. They usually meet at 8am on a Sunday, but I don’t tend to run with them because either I want to run a specific distance, or I want to not set an alarm (even though I often wake up around 8, or just before, it would not give me enough time to get there). Anyway, we did an 8.4 mile route, with some big hills. It was very foggy, so at points I could not see the runners ahead. The route is mainly through country roads and tracks, and we all wait (well, they all waited for me) at the top of each of the three biggest hills for everyone to catch their breath. Near the end we had to cross a dual carriageway and even though it was still foggy, so many cars had no lights on, so it was hard to see them. Scary. It was an enjoyable run, nice to chat with others, and lovely to run through the countryside- I would have got lost if I had tried it on my own.

I had pumpkin pancakes, maple butter and blueberries to warm up when I got home.

Later, I popped to town, in my massive hoody and coat (because I was cold after that run)- well, it was so hot out!

Sainsbury’s were doing 25% off clothes and I could not resist this cute penguin jumper!

As well as the Christmas cake baking, I made a gingerbread cake for work, although I don’t remember which recipe I used now. Sadly the tin fell over in the car (up-side down) so it looked more of a mess when it finally got to work!

I do like going away (especially for a race) but a weekend of parkrun and then a relaxed long run on Sunday is such a lovely way to spend a weekend.

Sherwood Pines 10K recap, mud, medal and a missed mile.

Years ago (in 2011) we went to Nottingham to do a 10K trail run through the Sherwood Pines forest and I loved it. The recap is here if anyone is interested.

For the last few years we have not been free on the weekend of the race, but this year we were, so booked it again. Although this time it was on Saturday, originally at 11, then 1, and then moved to 12.30pm.

Anyway, we drove up on Friday night after dinner, and stayed in the centre of Nottingham. The race was about an hour’s drive away, so after a breakfast in the hotel (a hot cross bun for me, yes a bit random, but that is what Andy had bought) we headed out there. The setting is lovely, and a new parkrun has just started there too, but I thought that would be a bit much (plus a lot of hanging around in between). They have some cycle events on the same day, and a duathlon, and although it had rained a bit, we saw some cyclists covered head to toe in mud (and I do not exaggerate- completely covered faces and everything). We were hoping that was just because of the speed bikes go at that they flick the mud up.

The blue sky appeared after we went to the bag drop.

Anyway, after collecting our numbers we still had nearly an hour to wait, so we sat in the car for a bit as it was raining. I don’t normally use the toilets before a race, but here there is a proper building with real toilets, so I headed there, only to get caught in a burst of torrential rain. I was dripping all over, not good because under my coat all I had on was my vest, and I had to leave my coat in the car. Just after 12 we headed to the bag drop and waited around for the start.

You can see the darker colour of my capris where they got soaked! I was very cold here! Although it was 16 degrees so not cold at all- I saw some people in woolly hats and long sleeved tops and loads of layers.

There were kids races going on so we watched those come in and then the 5k and 10k runners were called to the starting funnel. It was so muddy there- ankle deep puddles and thick squelchy mud. The guy starting said something like “the quicker you run, the faster you’ll warm up” as I think everyone looked cold after the rain shower.

Thankfully the rain didn’t start again, so I could enjoy the scenic route (instead of peering through wet glasses). It was really busy at the start, and everyone was trying to avoid most of the puddles as some of them were huge- this was hard when the person in front was so close- sometimes you saw the puddle in time, other times you didn’t. I heard a lot of people say it would thin out on the second lap due to the 5k runners finishing, but that made me wonder if anyone was doing the 5k! The route was undulating, mainly on forest tracks but at some points there were rivers of water running down the tracks. I didn’t have a time goal (not sure if this helped or hindered in the end though)- I hadn’t looked up my previous time but I knew it was over an hour as the first time I did that was in Brighton. I thought anything close to an hour would be good, especially with all the mud avoiding.

During the first lap I was overtaken by a really really smelly guy. It was like he had not had a shower for days, it was horrible, and even when I was a good few metres behind him I could still smell it. It was making me feel queasy, and I could not face another lap like that, but he didn’t seem to move any further ahead of me, so when we got to a hill and he slowed, I decided to power past him. That was good, but then for the next section every time I could hear a person coming up behind me, I panicked that it was him, and tried to speed up, and then gave myself a stitch. The overtaking on the uphill, and all the jumping to avoid the biggest puddles really took it out of my legs too- they were tiring quickly.

When we got to near the finish area, there was a marshal shouting at everyone “5k runners turn right to the finish, 10k runners straight on for the second lap”, which I did wonder about because I remember last time running through the start/finish area in the middle. I had mentioned it to Andy because last time they read your name out as you went by which gave me a bit of a boost, and also on the start line I was thinking about the awful mud and how we would have to run through that patch again. But anyway, I was focused on the smelly man more, so didn’t think that much.

It did really thin out on the second lap, but even with the same number of runners it would do I suppose. I really wanted to stop and take some photos as the sun was getting stronger and the trees looked fab in the late autumn sunlight, but then the man…. Anyway, he overtook me once again but I was too tired to try again, so instead eased off so he was further ahead. At the 9K mark my watch had only beeped for 5 miles, so I did think it was a bit off, but did I mention I was tired? I wasn’t too bothered! The finish area is up a hill, on a muddy used-to-be-grass field which made it tough, and then the finish straight was just a slippery slidey muddy mess. But there it was, and again the announcer was reading out names (and Old Hatfield Ladies got a mention! Woo!). I was handed a medal and a cup of water before I went to meet Andy.

Not so cold any more!

It’s a lovely medal, but I was expecting a t-shirt- I really liked the one from last time- it was cotton but a good fit, not a big baggy one, and had a nice logo on it, and I do still wear it now.

I saw a few things on their facebook page about the route- some said it was shortened due to health and safety, and some due to a marshal error. Whatever it was, I don’t mind, but I would be disappointed if I was going for a pb, or of it was my first 10K or first race. They had made a big deal this year that the distance was UKA certified, which makes it worse really, as normally trail runs I don’t think are the most accurate.

57.27 is my official time, but that was about 5.7 miles I think so half a mile short.

OK so I don’t look that muddy here, but when I had to peel my socks off they were totally brown! These trail shoes are not waterproof like my old ones, and I had mud all up the back of my legs. We had packed jumpers and tracksuit bottoms to put on over our clothes (well, I took my capris off as they were soaked) as we had the drive back to Nottingham. Anyway, I was so hungry when we finished (it was around 1.30pm by this point) and there was a cafe right there, so we went for tea, and shared a slice of almond and cherry tray bake. Then we changed and headed back. After a shower and a banana (we had packed some) I felt so much better, so we headed out for a wander around the shops. We had booked dinner for 5.30pm, so it was too late for lunch.

After a bit of walking we had a drink and shared a gingerbread muffin (amazing)- we normally share cake but as we had not had lunch, sharing two cakes = 1 cake each which isn’t too bad.

More shopping, then dinner (lovely Prezzo salad) and then to the cinema to see Spectre. Which was alright (I don’t think I have any spoilers but skip if you are worried!). I just don’t get all the raving though. I mean, it’s OK, but it’s not Bourne even though it really wants to be, and I don’t even think it’s as good as Mission Impossible- at least they know they are tongue in cheek. I won’t go on but I really feel like Bond needs to get into the 21st Century now- one second women are saying they won’t be seduced by him, and the next minute they are in bed together. I mean, I just sighed through a lot of it. And rolled my eyes. Sure, the action stuff is fun, and there were humorous moments, but it was a bit Austin Powers in places (I’m not going to kill you, I’m going to set some sort of trap that you can’t possibly escape from… oh, wait…), plus every time I see Daniel Craig pouting at the camera all I can think of is Alec Baldwin in 30 Rock saying “Haven’t you seen how blue my eyes are Lemon?“. Such a cheeseball! Anyway, nice to sit down after all that running and walking.

This morning we went out for breakfast, and had another wander around the town centre before driving home. Last time the run was on the Sunday so we had to drive home in our running kit- not quite as nice! I still enjoyed the run, but I would have preferred a t-shirt over a medal (because the t-shirt was unique and a good fit), and also we didn’t get anything apart from water at the finish line, whereas last time we got a banana and a little goody bag. I might have to hunt for some better trail shoes though- I got them on holiday back in May, and have worn them a few times but nothing as muddy as this. My lovely Panshanger parkrun does get to be a bit of a mudbath in the winter, so proper ones will get some use this winter.

Are you a fan of muddy runs? I don’t mind this sort of mud, but I don’t want to wade knee deep through anything!

Bond fan? Give me Bourne any day of the week!

Earth miles goodies, a trip to London and a chilly run

Hey peeps, I hope you are all well.

The weekend before last we went into London for a belated birthday visit to The Shard (for Andy). We had a lovely walk around Hyde park (and got to see all the sign-age being put up for the Royal Parks half), before heading to The Shard.

Even though it was cloudy, we had good views- Tower Bridge looked fab all lit up, and we could see the Olympic Park.

We then went to dinner in an Italian restaurant- the salads came in bowls made of pizza dough! (There is some salad under all that cheese, tomato and avocado)- it looked amazing but really you could only eat the edge because the bottom was all soggy from the dressing.

The next morning I woke up early so went out for a run- it was just beautiful weather, so I stopped to take a few photos. I did just over 8 miles- I wanted to do about that distance as I hadn’t signed up for the Brighton 10 miles at that point as I wanted to check I would be OK with the distance.

Amazing. It was cold though- I think I had on a t-shirt and capris but I wished for gloves for the first couple of miles. I got home, had a drink and a shower, but I could not warm up so ended up getting back into bed to try and warm up. Since then (apart from the race) I have been choosing running tights.

Once I had warmed up I made pancakes with blueberries, and nutella. Mmmm.

Onto the Earth Miles. I have read about the app on a few blogs, but because the website is just a link to get the app, I didn’t really do anything about it for ages. But basically if you do exercise (and I think it links to either Garmin or Strava- it must be one of those as that is what I have) you earn miles, which you can redeem against rewards. It’s not as good as Bounts, where you earn free vouchers, but you can use your points to buy discounts and offers. I used some (not many compared to how many I have earned) to get a 15% discount from the Pulsin’ store, and this week my order arrived. I got mini mint ones, normal vanilla ones and normal maca ones (good for stress I think!).

I also used some other miles to buy a Tribe box for £1 (instead of £6 I think)- it came with three lots of seeds/ trail mix things, and two nakd-style bars. They do have some weird offers on there (cro-bars, which have crickets or some other insects in them- not for me!) but there is no cost to the app so you don’t have anything to lose by signing up I don’t think. And they seem to be generally health oriented products like coconut water and whatnot.

Also, how cool is this medal????

It glows in the dark!!!!! Glows! Amazing! It was a virtual run (of course)- the October 5K so I did that at parkrun for my 50th.

Right, I have two more days of work (including one more parents evening) and then I am off to Iceland! The country, not the shop! This is so exciting!!! Although we checked the weather and it is going to be freezing. Or maybe 1 degree. Better dig out the thermals!