Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

Please, sing along if you would like. If you do not like, I apologise for putting the song in your head.

So on Friday after work we had dinner at home before getting the train down to Brighton. Originally we were going to go on Saturday, but there were rail replacement buses and we decided that once (Sunday) would be enough.

2014-11-15 10.49.22On Saturday we went out for breakfast (pancakes from Bill’s) and then had a wander around the shops in the rain. Then it brightened up so we had a nice long walk by the seafront.

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Some of the stones and seaweed had washed up all over the promenade- crazy!

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We did some shopping, had some tea and cake, and generally enjoyed wandering about.

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I got some super cute t-shirts in New Look!

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We went for a fairly early dinner (Pizza Express) before heading back to the hotel for some TV (Strictly and 8/10 Cats does Countdown)- good to rest the legs before the race.

2014-11-15 21.47.01I shall be very easy to spot in my luminous t-shirt.

Staying over before the race is such a luxury. The race started at 9.30am, so we got up at 8, had a clif bar for breakfast, and then took our time getting ready. We left at just after 9, and we were at the start 5 minutes later. Amazing.

This race is great- last year we ran it together and I got my first ever sub hour 10K. This year Andy was aiming for a faster time, so we arranged to meet at the end. The run begins near the big ferris wheel- you run east for 1.5k, turn, come back to the start and run west towards Hove, and then at 6.5k turn back along the seafront again to the finish. Super flat, nice scenery the whole way, and considering it is a fairly small field for a city race (I think 3500 runners) lots of crowd support too.

I had no idea about my pacing- I have been either running 5k’s at parkrun and Sweatshop, or much longer runs for my 10 mile race. My time last year was 56.14, so I wanted to beat that but didn’t know how my fitness compared. Plus last year I had Andy pacing me, which really helped. This year I was going to have to do it by myself.

I looked on the lucozade pacing calculator- to run 56 flat I would have to do 9.01 miles, and for 55 I would need to do 8.51. Those paces sounded quick, but the parkrun I have been doing recently is not flat, and is a huge range of terrain, so it is much tougher than a pancake-flat road run. So I decided to try and keep as close to 9 minute miles as I could, and see how long I could hang on for.

I kept glancing at my watch and was generally seeing 9.03. After about 3k I think ( I like miles, so really had no idea) it went up a bit of a hill and I dropped to 9.13, but I picked up the pace again pretty quickly. This year the course was moved to the road to help with congestion, but I don’t think it helped much as I was still weaving past people a fair bit. But no matter. Just before the 6.5k turning point I saw Andy going in the other direction- he was still looking happy which was good (he often sets off way too fast and the struggles), and after the turn I was seeing a few 8.xx’s on my watch. Soon enough the ferris wheel was in my sights, and a marshal was shouting “one kilometre to go” so I decided to push it a bit. I was on my watch that I was going to make a pb, but then the finish line seemed to far away- I ended up counting to myself (one count for every 4 steps seemed to work) and willing myself to push hard. I overtook a few people, but some people rocketed past me- I have no finish kick at all.
I was so chuffed when I saw my watch!
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My official time was 55.23- and my splits went 9.03, 9.02, 9.02, 8.59, 8.57, 8.39 and then 7.45 for the final .2. So another royal flush negative split 🙂 I think it is catching on!
Something that Andy pointed out to me as well was that compared to last year I recovered so much quicker- last year I was a bit shaky and Andy was a bit worried about me (my breathing while we were running- I did explain that was just what I sounded like, but also I was pretty shattered after)- whereas this year although I was very tired (and my legs still ache today) I was much better, sooner after the race. Also, pacing myself was harder than having someone else do it for me so I am really pleased with my time.
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Hooray! I had some water and a bit of banana (they were a bit brown for me) and then we headed back to the hotel for showers (what a luxury again) before going for lunch. This time we went to Wai Kika Moo Kau as last time we visited it was too busy.
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I had a pitta with hummus and falafels and Andy had a wrap filled with chilli and served with nachos and dips. So good. I could not resist an almond hot chocolate from Iydea either.

Another wander around the shops, and then we had the joy of the rail replacement buses. At least we had podcasts to listen to- we both caught up with the radio 5 film podcasts (and I may have had a little nap on the train too).

I think this race is great. I love the smaller races, and this has all the pro’s of one- you don’t have to get there hours before, the marshals are all fab, the start/ finish area is nice and small so meeting up is easy. There are no goody bags, just a medal, banana and water when you finish, but you get chip timing, and there is lots of crowd support. Plus, it’s in Brighton and I never need an excuse to head down there for the weekend. Even with the bus replacing some of the train our journey took about 3 hours, so we didn’t have to spend the whole day travelling.

Brighton, I will be back for more!

The Sock Mine (review) and other running ramblings

Hey peeps,

How are you all??

2014-11-01 11.14.39First up, I was sent some socks from The Sock Mine. They make a range of technical socks for different sports including running, hiking and even snow sports. They kindly sent me a pair of their Cool Runner with Coolmax ladies socks. First up, I love that they have the L and R marked on each sock.

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I decided to wear these on Tuesday night, when I went for a trial at a local running club. They were comfy, but they are fairly thin, so I think they will be perfect for warmer weather. I like the ankle style sock too (no gaps between my leggings and socks) but they do trainer liner style ones too if that is more your thing. The price is reasonable too- £10 for these socks, which is pretty similar to other technical socks out there.

So, the running trial. I decided to go this week as I had a course (which finished at 4) so it would not be a rush to get there after work. Well, I chose a pretty miserable day to do it- it was pouring with rain and pretty cold. I parked up about ten minutes before we were due to meet, and sat in the car for a bit but then didn’t want to be late! Only two people turned up (including the group leader). After we did a little warm up we started running and after a few minutes I was asked to run ahead of the group leader so she could assess me. Straight away she talked about trying to relax my shoulders- I know I am terrible at this but it was so interesting that she picked up on it right away!

After about a mile of gentle jogging we did a section of intervals/ fartlek running- we used lamp posts to walk to one, jog to the next and sprint to the final one- repeated several times. Those sprints were tough! Then we ran steadily back- I was a bit faster than the other person who came, so I was then told to run ahead two lamp-posts, turn around and come back. At one point I saw a baby hedgehog too- made it all worth it!

We finished with stretches (luckily the rain had eased) and I really felt a warm glow by that point. I think I am going to join anyway- how exciting!

I went to Sweatshop on Wednesday as usual- lots of fireworks were going off while we ran which was quite fun. Normally I am nearer the back, but a friend and I were right at the front – she is a bit faster than me so eased ahead at the very end, but I was pleased I kept up with her for that time, and even managed one mile beginning with an 8- not too shabby!

In half term I made some caramel shortcakes for work:

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I didn’t have enough of the round cases, so I made a few in little loaf cases too. On Thursday night I went to pump- last week I upped my squats weight and my legs were so sore over the weekend. I was going to wimp out, but once I was there I decided to go for it again- I reasoned that after a break the first week is always the toughest, so probably it would be the same with upping weights.

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It was super tough, and I enjoyed a cake when I got home. At least at the moment my legs are not as bad as they were last weekend.

This morning I went to parkrun- I tried to keep up with my dad for as long as possible, but at around 4k he went ahead. It was so muddy and squelchy- I was glad of my trail shoes but at times I was slipping a bit. My Garmin said 29.07 (which I think is quite accurate as I pressed “start” as they said it and not as I went over the start line) which would have been a course pb, but alas the timer malfunctioned so I got 59.59 as my official time. Ah well, it was a great morning for it- cool but before the rain. I even met someone from Sweatshop there (and another couple were marshaling).

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Then I had a go at making pumpkin french toast- an egg, a blob of pumpkin, cinnamon and a splash of almond milk with some brioche.

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Apples cooked in coconut oil.

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Then the toast (although I think maybe it would be better to cook the apples after).

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Oh yes. I think the recipe needs a little less pumpkin as it didn’t soak into the bread as much, but it was good all the same.

How has your week been? If you are in a running club, what do you like about it? Do you like ankle socks or trainer liner socks? (And do you like the L/R markings?)

* I was sent the socks in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Perfect start to the weekend

So, half time finally rolled around. What with extra meetings, parents evenings and other things, I was pretty shattered by the time it arrived. I was just imagining laying in bed all day (something I never do, but I sometimes like the idea of it) when I got a message from my dad asking me if I fancied parkrun in the morning. Well, I couldn’t refuse!

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Andy got me some flowers for Friday evening as the last week had been so manic.

He picked me up as we chose the newer one (I am on the way to that one, whereas I drove to the other one as I passed their house on the the way). This time I brought gloves with me, as it was a chilly morning. You have to park a little way from the start (7 min walk for us) so I wore my jacket and we left them in carrier bags near the start as we knew we would get cold on the walk back.

My dad got me into parkruns last year, but this year has had a knee injury (apparently at 60 he is too old for the op…) and over the summer had the OK to start running again. October was his parkrun target and we went a few weeks ago to the first Panshanger one, although he ran a bit ahead of me that time. This time we ran together – it was lovely to have a catch up and chat, and enjoy the beautiful views. He kept doing little spurts to overtake people, and I would catch up, but in the final half k he put on a great spurt and I could not keep up. The course is undulating, but finishes with a very steep climb, so I knew I could not catch him. There were less people at the start than the time we went before, but I was still surprised to have finisher token 81- normally I am in the high hundreds- my first ever one I finished number 82 but the weather that day was shocking so not many people came!

Dad had finished 3 places ahead, so we queued to have our chips scanned and then headed back to the car. It was just such a great start to the day- I am really pleased for my dad that he is back running again- he is not competative at all, but he really enjoyed doing parkruns and when he first got his injury that was what he wanted to get back to doing. I didn’t get a pb overall, but I did get a pb for the course (I didn’t realise that the parkrun stats keep the different courses separate to each other)- 29.32, which was still pleasing.

Ages ago I mentioned to Andy that I wanted to do 25 by Christmas. He took this to mean a sub- 25!  I don’t think I could manage that (especially not on this course as it is more hilly and not on roads) – I meant doing 25 runs. Well, this weekend was my 23rd, so you would think I am well on track. But, we have a few weekends away (including a trip to Brighton for the 10k race there), and I am marshaling on one free weekend, so I think I only have 2 Saturday’s left between now and the end of the year! We shall have to see if I make the target or not.

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I made myself caramel apple french toast for brunch- I have not had this in a few weeks! I made the french toast as usual, then chopped an apple and cooked it in the pan, and then drizzled with a little toffee sauce (from the Lake District). Delish.

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Then I put on some music and spent a few hours cleaning and tidying- when work gets busy our house slowly turns into a tip so it was very therapeutic to return it to a livable state.

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Someone at work gave me some beautiful flowers after our very busy week.

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I even tidied my nail varnish collection!

A little later I went out to the shops.

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The fountain in Welwyn is always dyed pink in October for Breast Cancer awareness, and it looked rather pretty in the autumn sunlight.

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I had parked a bit of a way from the town centre, so I got a chai latte to drink on the walk back to the car, and enjoyed crunching all the leaves.

When I got home I got on with some work while I waited for Andy to get back from football- it was such a great start to the weekend as I felt like I achieved a lot, but also relaxed and had some good “me” time.

How have you been enjoying this wonderful weather? I am at a wedding tomorrow, but I am not sure that the lovely weather is going to last until then.

Poppy Run 2014

So whilst on a run last year I had run past Stanborough lakes in Welwyn and seen a sign saying “Poppy Run“- I had no money with me so no chance of entering, but I filed it away in my brain and this year signed up in advance.

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The route started less than 2 miles from home, at 11am, and it was the day the clocks went back, so I had been up for a long time. I had porridge for breakfast, as although usually I don’t eat before I run, it was going to be a long time. Then I jogged down there for a gentle warm up.

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It was a lovely low key event- you queued up at the gazebo in the car park to collect your number and t-shirt (this was taken at the end!), and the start was right next to it. The t-shirt was cotton, and I don’t normally like to run in them, but I didn’t want to be “that person”- anyway I had on a long sleeved breathable top, so it went over the top of that just fine. I was wearing a jacket on the way, but it was way too warm for 3 layers so left my top in the gazebo while I ran- so much easier than a bag drop!

They didn’t have a warm up (thankfully) but they did have a man from the British Legion talking about their events, and the fundraising. The local MP (Grant Shapps) was there to start the race, and he told us all he was going to run it, but would take a short cut to ensure that he was back to give out the medals to all the finishers.

The route was around the lake- two laps of the lake, and then two shorter laps (there is a bridge that cut the lake in half so you did that for lap 3 and 4).

It was an interesting mix of people; lots of families and small children (including one with a very small child on a scooter- good plan!), but some club runners too. One lady was wearing a Yorkshire marathon finisher’s t-shirt, which did seem a bit like overkill for a 5k that was not even timed. One guy was running in shorts, club vest and a massive bobble hat. It was quite a cold morning!

We counted down from 10, and then we were off. I tried to stay fairly near the front, as the paths are fairly narrow and I didn’t want to get stuck behind people walking it. The runners thinned out fairly soon, and I got into a good rhythm. It is a small lake, but quite pretty, and I enjoyed the route. The MP overtook me on my second lap, and I didn’t see him again- I think that he may have had to finish to be there in time for the speediest runners.

I glanced at my watch a few times to see 9 something which was good, and all of a sudden it was my final lap and I was heading over the little bridge to the finish straight. As I stopped my hand was shaken, I was presented with a medal and told “15th finisher, well done”- that took me by surprise! Of course it was not a competitive race (no clock or chips etc) but there were quite a few club t-shirts and “serious” runners at the start, so I didn’t expect to be that high up!

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The finish straight- Grant Shapps in his t-shirt and shorts handing out the medals.

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I asked someone to take my picture (she had already done so for someone else!) and then picked up my jacket. My face matches the poppies!

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I attempted another selfie to show that the running tights were finally out of the drawer- sad times.

I texted Andy as he said he would come and pick me up- I could have run the 2 miles home, but we had afternoon plans (well, tea and cake at John Lewis….) so didn’t want to get home too late. Although he couldn’t get to the car park so I ended up running a bit of the way home. It was only when I got in the car that I realised my Garmin was still going- whoops!

2014-10-26 11.46.23The goody bag was also really good- as well as snacks- nature valley bar, ritz biscuits, sweets, peanut butter, it had a poppy wrist band and pin.

2014-10-26 12.44.06The medal was good too. The t-shirt is cotton, so no good for running in really, but I have seen on their website that they have started making technical t-shirts too, so I wonder if next year they will up the entry fee (it was only £10, plus a booking fee, although you could donate more) and include one of those instead.

At some point I will try and work out my time, but really that was not what the run was about at all. I really enjoyed it and think that the event would be great for a first “race”, and equally would be enjoyed by seasoned runners. I am sure I will be back next year too, which is always the biggest test.

 Are your running tights out yet? I though they were out for good, but on Tuesday morning I went for a run in capris and a vest as it was so warm!

15k with deer and parrots

Yep, you read that correctly!

Ages ago I signed up to this race, when it was the Wholefoods breakfast race. There was a choice of 5, 10 or 15k, so I went for the latter thinking that I was doing a 10 mile race the week before, so would be fine for that distance.

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The t-shirt I ordered when I booked it still said Wholefoods

But at some point it changed over to Breast Cancer Care run, and I think possibly the route changed too as I was expecting to run along by the Thames. Originally I was going to drive down there, but this week the email said that the roads and car park would shut by 9am (my 15k wave didn’t go until 10.20) and I didn’t fancy getting up too early for a 90+ min drive on my own. So we booked a hotel, drove down after dinner on Friday, and then this morning Andy dropped me off at the park before he was off to Southampton.

The website was rather vague, saying that there were train stations but the start was quite a distance, but didn’t specify anything. The walk I did turned out to be 2k.

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I saw a stag sitting in the ferns on the way up. I had my bag with me (the website said there was a bag drop) but when I got there someone came up and snatched my bag out of my hands and snapped at me “you missed it”- I felt really bad as I didn’t realise it had a closing time. I arrived at 10.10 so only just in time. There was a warm up, and I am not making this up, they did static stretches and at one point the lady said “if it’s not hurting you are not stretching enough”. What now???

The run briefing on the start line was a bit worrying as the guy was telling us “turn right at the first split point, remember to turn right, then later turn left, the repeat this bit”- I was very confused but luckily the course turned out to be well sign posted. Anyway, we had tags for shoes but there was no mat to cross at the start line. I hung back a bit as most of the 15k group looked pretty hardcore!

The course was lovely- it looped down to where I had come in (the stag was still there) and then up alongside more beautiful parkland. There was a large herd of deer further along- I was pretty happy spotting them while I ran. We ran the 5k route first, so at 4k people were cheering “not long to go”- er, not long until 1/3 of the way! The marshals on the route were great too, all cheering and chatting to the runners, and the photographers were shouting out “smile” before they took the photos.

Just before the 5k mark another runner started chatting to me, and we ran together until the 10k point when she picked up the pace a bit. At the 5k point we had to run past the finish line and then started a loop with 5-10 and 11-15k markers (we ran it twice). This loop was pretty (more herds of deer) but it was fairly undulating, with a few out and back parts which can feel a bit disheartening when you can see everyone on the “back” bit. Also the final 2k of each loop was uphill and into the wind- tough! I saw that at the 10k point (again right by the finish- very jealous of all the 10k runners at that point) at 58 minutes, so I was pretty pleased with my pace. At one point I thought I saw parrots- several birds flew across my path and they were bright green- I did wonder if they were woodpeckers, but they were too big and had such long tails.

I was very relieved when I reached the 14k marker, but that final k seemed to go on for ages (did I mention it was uphill?).

I crossed the finish line and felt really dizzy for a moment, and a marshal handed me a handful of powergel fruit puree things, and then someone else gave me some coconut water. I was after my bag, but it turned out that the finish area was different to the start area, and as I had missed the van (I didn’t know there was a van) so I had to walk back. The weather was OK- quite humid and it didn’t rain, but I was getting quite cold so the way back. I also saw more deer, but my phone was in my bag so I couldn’t take a photo.

I finally reached my bag and put my hoodie on.

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I also took time to admire my medal!

Then it was time to try and get home. Rater naively I thought that seeing as the race was in London, public transport would be fine. I asked a marshal where I could get a taxi from, and she pointed me to another gate, so I walked down that way. A deer ran across the road, and I saw the parrots.

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One was right in the knot of that tree but flew away as I took the picture.

There were some public toilets so I popped in to change before heading out of the park. It turned out the road was a red route, so no chance of hailing a cab. I found a couple of bus stops but they weren’t going to Wimbledon (where I needed to get to) so I walked to a parade of shops and called a taxi (my phone battery was going at this point so I was rather nervous). The taxi cost £20! Oh my goodness me! There was a sign saying 3 miles to Wimbledon common, but I didn’t think the station was that close so I didn’t fancy walking it.

Then, I got to the station, had 2 mins to get a ticket and catch a train (phew- also I was planning on listening to some podcasts, but could not because of my phone battery- had a free magazine in the goody bag which I held out hopes for, but it turned out to be Grazia- what a load of rubbish that magazine is) but then that train cancelled itself at Kings Cross, so I had to get off and wait….. urgh by this point I was so tired. I had not had lunch (I had one of the powergel fruit things, a mini bag of popchips and some water) and just wanted a shower. My mum picked me up from the station and took me home- I think I got home at half 3! Not ideal! I mentioned the parrots to my mum, who said what they were (some sort of parakeet or something) and said that they had one in their garden once. At least I wasn’t hallucinating!

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Random goody bag including mission deli wraps, Bear cereal and more poweraid fruit puree stuff.

2014-10-18 15.22.00But I do love the medal!

Anyway, 15k done. Beautiful scenic route, loved seeing the deer, but think I should have thought it all through a bit better! Think local races are more my thing!

Now I just have to wait and see if I get an official time 🙂

EDIT- I didn’t get the text in the end, but just looked it up and I finished in 1:30.41- I am pleased with that as I think it compares to my 10 mile time.

Although a rather spectacular positive split- my 5k’s went 27.58, 30.32 and 32.11! (And in fact I think I did the first 5k even quicker as there were no mats on the start for the chips so I think everyone “started” at the same time, whereas at the 5, 10 and 15k points there were mats).