Running - Maria Runs

Things I’ve been loving lately including parkrun number 150!

First- a recap of the week:

A four day week is always confusing because Tuesday feels like Monday and so on, and this was made more confusing by yoga being on Tuesday instead of Wednesday this week (the hall was booked for Wednesday)- I had no idea which day we were on! We had to lock up earlier than usual on Tuesday and as I had worked solidly through lunch I thought I’d have a walk after work.

Andy met me at the lakes and we had a lovely walk before heading home. Yoga was great- as it was so warm we had a short warm up inside and then took our mats outside to the grass and did most of the class outside. We did loads of rounds of sun salutations- there is something quite hypnotic about doing them, especially outside when you can feel the softer ground under your feet. We also practised hand stands in pairs- my shoulders aren’t strong enough to hold me up, but it was fun to have a go. I had to rescue a worm off someone else’s mat, and then later on someone else put a big spider outside as there was one when we went back in. All the bugs are coming out at this time of year.

On Wednesday I went for a run- I decided to go down the old railway line for a bit and go up and down a hill a few times. I’d got home later than planned so I didn’t do too many, but it is always good to do some hills.

I’ve started trying this after my runs to replace the nuun tabs. I do like the nuun tabs and they are portable, but they do contain artificial sweeteners- as it’s the only thing I have with them, it’s not too bad but they are also pretty expensive. I tried this liquid in plain water and it does taste a little salty, but in coconut water I can’t taste it at all.

On Thursday it was yoga at work- we did work on backs which was very helpful as my shoulder had been bothering me since the weekend. We also practised sitting, which sounds so easy but was the hardest thing we did- sitting on the floor with a straight back and legs out straight in front.

On Friday at lunch we went to Starbucks, and after seeing they had fruit toast I was sold (I was going to have it last week when we went for my birthday, but they had none). Then after work I had a lovely 4 mile run, working out a new route which I should be able to do in the winter too. As we are at the top of a hill I get a bit fed up with finishing on certain hills, so going in a different direction helped with the finish.

Onto things I’ve been loving:

I’ve been loving my new tea cup this week!

I’ve also been having some matcha in the mornings. A while ago I bought a sample back from Bluebird (now Bird & Blend). The winner for me so far is the cocoa matcha, which is just matcha blended with cocoa, but mixed with a little milk really tastes like chocolate milk. Even though I use a whisk, I still get little lumps though.

Coconut Collaborative also make the most amazing little dessert pots- the mini chocolate ganache pots are just so good, and I found this week double pots, which are basically two layers (one of mousse and one of ganache)- such a good treat.

Onto parkrun!

Because I was doing a race on Sunday I’d volunteered to tail walk at parkrun on the Saturday. It is one of the most popular roles so I had to get in early!

I realised a few weeks ago that all being well, it would coincide with my 150th parkrun- what a way to celebrate.

Even though it’s an unofficial milestone (e.g. no t-shirt), they still gave me a mention in the briefing which was nice. There was also someone doing their 250th- very impressive. They mentioned that a calf had just been born so the cow gates might be closed (they weren’t) as there are heritage breeds in one of the fields that you run through. I think one was born last summer on their 1st birthday too.

The weather was a bit overcast, but not too cold, and although I’d worn a top over my t-shirt, I took off one layer after the first loop. I was going alongside a lovely lady who is a regular at parkrun- she was going to be running for 10 mins and walking for one, but in fact we ended up chatting and she ran for 20 mins before her first walk break. I really enjoy tail walking as you get to complete the whole course (the woods were so green this week) and see all of the marshals on the way around. I have been trying to persuade some people at work to come along to one, as I really think they would enjoy it and get a lot out of it, but no-one believes me when I say that you can walk the whole way. I finished in just under an hour, but I have taken longer than that before and it’s all good. I’ll keep trying anyway. Tail walking is a good way to stretch the legs before a race too.

What are you loving lately? Which roles at your parkrun are the most popular?

What a difference a week makes!

Last Sunday:

I managed to avoid the rain, having a run along the old railway line in drizzle and cold. Compare that to the glorious sunshine of this Sunday- just in time for the bank holiday weekend.

On Tuesday I had one of these (new to me) bars from Aldi- they are the closest thing I’ve had to the Larabars that I’ve bought in America before. I didn’t get home in time for the club run, so I headed out for just over 4 miles.

The skies were so dark the whole time and it was really windy- I wished I’d worn gloves as my hands were cold at the start too.

It was my birthday on Wednesday so I hadn’t booked onto yoga- instead I met Andy in town and we shared a piece of cake, before having a little walk around. His parents came over later in the evening. Check out the cup he got for me- it’s the perfect tea size too.

On Thursday I had yoga at work and then rushed back as we were heading into London to see Gomez at the Royal Albert Hall. They were brilliant, and we had great seats almost next to the stage. I love seeing live music, and each member of the band seemed to play about 3 instruments so it was fascinating to watch them (one song, play bass, next song, play lead guitar, then keyboards). It was a great evening, but by the time we’d dropped off Andy’s brother and sister-in-law and then driven home, it was way past midnight.

On Friday evening we packed and drove down to Kent. We were staying right by Maidstone parkrun, so I headed there again on Saturday morning.

As I’d only been there once, a while ago, I went to the new runners briefing- the lady was brilliant, really enthusiastic and gave a lot of detail.

It was really busy (463) and didn’t start til about 9.15. They do the main briefing outside a building, and then move the runners onto the road (I think it’s a road) just before the start. They asked that the front 5 rows were for sub 18/sub 20 min runners, but then after that it was every runner for himself. I tried to place myself in the middle, but we kept on being told to step back as more people were flooding in from the sides. It’s not a great course for that many runners, as you run along a canal path, which at times is only wide enough for one or two people. You have to keep left the whole time, as you go over a bridge, around a playground and then back along the path. After a mile, the fastest runners were heading back in the other direction. I ended up feeling pretty frustrated- I don’t mind about the time, but I just could not get into a rhythm as I kept getting stuck behind people walking, or run/walking, and it wasn’t easy to get past. At times it went to a complete standstill as only one person at a time could file over a narrow bridge/ through sections of the path.

I was overtaking people the whole run, so I know I didn’t place myself correctly at the start. The thing is, they could easily have up signs for sub 20, sub 23, sub 26 etc, to give people a better idea. I’ve seen this at other parkruns and it seems to work a bit better than just the fastest people having the priority and everyone else just muck in. My time was 29.45, which was fine, but had I placed myself better I think I could have beaten my previous time of 29:31 (I did get some strava segment PR’s so all was not lost!). Anyway, it was a beautiful day and a lot of the route was shaded which was good.

After a shower and quick breakfast we were off to Brighton for the day.

It was gorgeous. We parked near to Preston Park and then walked in, and of course I then realised I had forgotten to pack any suncream. We went to a few shops (I needed to get a refill of perfume from the lovely Eden perfume shop, and of course we visited Bird and Blend- formerly Bluebird Tea co, for iced teas) and then walked along the seafront to Hove. There is a new statue along the seafront with things linked to Hove, like a seagull, beach hut and so on. Of course we stopped for tea and cake (the weekend had a bit of a cake theme)- we share carrot cake from FlowerPot Bakery and it was delicious.

What wasn’t so good was that I decided to wear new shoes- these are skechers and usually those are fine for me, and they felt comfy, but when I took them off I had rubbed the back of the skin raw on one foot. I totalled over 30,000 steps- not the best day to wear new shoes.

We went for dinner at Food For Friends- we shared a chickpea trio to start (which was basically some different types of hummus), and then I had a middle eastern style salad with sweet potato, pomegranate seeds and lots of other tasty bits.

On the Sunday we went to an NT place with a castle, moat, gardens and (most importantly) a tearoom. That is a peanut butter scone, so yes, we had to try it, plus some almond cherry cake.

Then we drove to Knole, another NT place with huge grounds. We’d been there before but I wanted to go again as you could just walk around the grounds for ages, and there were loads of deer to look at as you walked around.

Monday was a day for a long run (I don’t like how out and back routes look on Strava, and I finally worked out how to get to the old railway line the other way so it is a bit of a loop), gardening, and then going to see my parents and enjoying a delicious lemon cake that Mum had made, whilst sitting in their garden. Lovely.

How was your long weekend? How have you been enjoying the warmer weather? Do you get many blisters?

Black Park parkrun and introducing newbies!

A while back one of my friends mentioned she had started running, and wanted me to message her every now and then to keep her going with it. She joined in with a virtual run (and got a very nice medal), and as well as messaging her every now and then to encourage her, I’d mentioned parkrun as a way for her to keep her motivation going.

Last Saturday I found myself with a gap in my parkrun diary (I’d been to Ellenbrook for the last few weeks and Dad was away, so I could potentially head somewhere else), so I messaged her and said I would be up for any combination of running and walking. She was happy to join me with her baby in his buggy, so I looked into where to go. She lives near to Upton Court, so of course going there and getting a U would be great, but she had also mentioned Black Park being around the corner from her, and after a message on the lovely parkrun tourist facebook page it seemed that Black Park would be a better option for a buggy.

It wasn’t the best day to begin at parkrun (although my first parkrun was in pouring rain but I still loved it)- I did say things could only get better from then! I parked at 8.30am (the journey went around the M25 and then on either the M4 or M40, so I like to leave a lot of time just in case). It was a big pay and display car park, with parking being slightly cheaper before 9am, but it meant my ticket was only valid until 10.30 which scuppered things slightly later.

This sign somewhat terrified me as I am not the best at remembering routes, and it didn’t look that easy! I had seen that there were no marshals on the excellent Blog 7t, but as it was from many years ago I had thought that perhaps they would have changed it by now and put marshals out there (what if someone falls over or something?).

Anyway, I waited around and could see the signs for the start and finish area. I had a little jog up and down one of the paths to keep warm, as it was fairly chilly, but I didn’t want to go too far as I wanted to be there when my friend arrived. In they end they turned up at 8.59! Cutting it fine!

The start was a bit strange- I didn’t hear anything about a new runner briefing, and then the main briefing talked a bit about the barcodes, but it was hard to hear (partly because of there being 500+ people and us being at the back, but also due to the fact that they blew a whistle to get everyone’s attention which then set off a load of dogs barking and yapping all the way through the briefing). I was glad my friends hadn’t turned up on a different day because I think for a first timer, new to parkrun, it would have been a bit daunting and confusing. I didn’t see a tail walker but in looking at the results there was one, as the final runner was credited with a volunteer role.

Anyway, we set off (my friend’s wife also came along)- they took turns pushing the buggy, and we did a bit of running and a bit of walking. It was good to chat while we headed around the course.

My worries about the route were unfounded as it was well-marked. At one of the cross over points a speedy runner sped by the crossing but as the people around us were fairly spread out that didn’t cause any problems.

I wasn’t sure what to wear in the morning as it was so rainy. In the end I had gone for leggings, t-shirt, jacket and then my coat for the car, but it was so cold that I kept my coat on the whole time and should have really worn a running jacket (and gloves) as it was so cold.

As we neared the end we saw a person with a big camera, so we decided to do a big wave, and I shouted “it’s their first ever parkrun!”- as you can see in the photo I look rather excited.

(photo from the Black Park facebook page)

The finish funnel was a long one- they seem to get 500-600 runners each week, and when we got there (49:16) the scanner was at the end of the funnel so you had to get scanned (although my friend’s wife didn’t get a barcode as she only decided to come last minute) before exiting the funnel meaning hopefully no tokens would go missing.

We were then going to get a cup of tea in the cafe, but the one by the car park was busy, and the one further away was probably too far to get to and back before my parking ticket ran out (and I did offer to put more money on my ticket but after 9am it was more expensive)- so in the end I went back to theirs for a lovely cup of tea, before driving home.

So all in all, a successful visit to a parkrun and I have introduced two (or three if you count their baby) to the wonders of parkrun. I am hoping that they go back another time. The actual course was lovely- I do like a one lap course, and it was fairly flat, shaded and really scenic. I am not sure about there being no marshals though- they aren’t just there in case you get lost (I think, anyway). I also think that it was a shame there was no new runners briefing- as a tourist it’s just useful to hear about the course, but as a new runner it explains all sorts of things like the barcode, results and general rules, and is good reassurance for people who might be a bit nervous.

Have you introduced people to parkrun? My Dad’s cousin went along for the first time a year or so ago as we had arranged to meet him at his local one, and since then he’s gone pretty regularly (40-something times) and is now volunteering as he is injured. Every now and then I get an email from him and he really does love the community side of it, so that makes me very happy too. Do you know of courses without marshals?

Hertfordshire parkrun volunteer celebration evening 2018

Last Monday I had to head out pretty quikly after getting home from work, as I was off to the second Hertfordshire parkrun Celebration of Volunteers.

It was a free event held at the uni in Hatfield, and anyone who has ever volunteered (or who is interested in volunteering I think) could get a ticket and attend. The evening began in an atrium, with the St Albans parkrun band playing and a buffet available (although I’d had dinner and only just got there in time so didn’t have any of that), and then we all went into the auditorium for some talks and presentations. While we all filed in, there was a photo montage by Bruce Li (he seems to be a sort of unofficial parkrun photographer – he was the one at Northala Fields the other week, and I noticed that he was credited in this article about how parkrun makes you happier)- he takes fantastic photos of people running, laughing, smiling, and just captures the spirit of parkrun perfectly.

There was a talk from Nick Pearson, the chief executive of parkrun. He was interesting as he talked a lot about the change of direction for parkrun- it used to be more about having parkruns where people wanted them, and now they are trying to help create a happier, healthier planet so they need to try and target areas and groups where people are less active. He took a few questions from the audience too.

I liked the facts on the back of the flyer- last January (the last evening for parkrun in Herts) there were 11 parkruns in Hertfordshire and now there are 21, and apparently with more planned (athough I didn’t find out where just yet- I’ll need to visit them to keep my Queen of Herts status). 3000 children take part in junior parkruns which is fantastic as they are all relatively new ones. 14% of runs are by people aged over 55.

Later there were talks from people about project PROVE. One guy talked about his experience with heart disease (he was a runner, and had a check up and was told that he had had a heart attack but didn’t realise), and was now supporting others with heart disease to take part in parkrun. One woman talked about trying to encourage obese people to take part (and they praised Bruce Li here for taking positive pictures of overweight people instead of the usual media focus of people eating pies or sitting on a sofa). Sadly a lot of people would register but not go, or drive to a parkrun further away so they would not bump into anyone they knew. The final woman talked about supporting people with learning difficulties and/or autism. What I thought was poignant here was that you cannot always see a disability, so if someone behaves in a certain way (refusing to take a finish token) don’t assume they are just being awkward. They had all set up facebook groups and Strava groups for people to join, and had recommended things like speaking to the event team beforehand so they could support in any way. You can find all of the various support groups (for example the facebook groups) here.

After that, awards were given out to the parkrun teams, before we headed back into the foyer for tea/coffee and cake (of course). It was such an interesting evening, and just reminded me how brilliant parkrun is.

What do you think puts people off going to a parkrun?

Hot and cold weather, gardens and bluebells

The last couple of weeks have flown by- I feel like I’ve hardly stopped to take a breath.

I’ll try to do a quick recap of the last couple of weeks:

After my little parkrun adventure to Northala Fields, on the Sunday I decided to run along Cole Green Lane, which is the old railway line near me. It was my first run of the year along that way, and I thought it might be muddy but it wasn’t too bad. I did an out and back route for just over 7 miles.

When I got home I had a cheat’s version of Cafe Coho’s pancakes- pancakes topped with Koko yoghurt and defrosted summer berries.

Monday- more chopping up trees in the garden after work

Tuesday- only just made it to running club where I wished I’d worn a vest and not a t-shirt as it was so warm (it was 26C at 7pm!).

Wednesday- lovely yoga of course.

Thursday- a yoga session at work (someone has started coming in for the staff which is brilliant). As I don’t like to run for 3 days in a row (and like to run on Saturday and Sunday) I tend to do a 4th run on a Thursday, so I stopped on my way home for a short run around the lakes. It was so hot (28C) and I rushed home for a shower as then we were off to see Grease at the cinema.

Grease was great, although it started 5 mins after the show time (as opposed to the normal 25 mins of adverts)- this caught a load of people out. Also, it was not a singalong version but that did not stop the people behind us wailing like strangled cats…

Friday- I stopped off to see my parents on my way home from work as it had been my mum’s birthday- we sat out in their garden for ages and it was just lovely.

Saturday- I met Dad at Ellenbrook Fields. We ran together and until the final mile I was managing to chat to him. I finished in 27.12 which matched my first ever parkrun time at St Albans. When I mentioned this to Dad he told me that I really should have run more slowly at the start to give myself a chance of getting more pbs!

After pancakes at theirs, Dad offered to help clear some of the junk from behind our shed (left by the previous people), so we spent a while in the garden clearing out so much rubbish (old incinerator bins with no bottom, lumps of concrete, bits of old trellis and broken bird feeder tables…). Andy’s parents then came over, bringing us some plants they had kept in their garden for us. We all headed off to Crews Hill for the garden centre (it is basically a road with garden centres lining it). Once we got home we had to spend another hour or so planting everything. After having our new fence put in the other week, we can now actually start to plant close to it now. We’ve got a couple of little crab apple trees, and bought a few other plants (some gorgeous blue ones) to go on that side by the blue shed.

One the other side we had a few gaps, so got some pink plants to go on that side, as we have a pink magnolia and a little apple tree with pink blossom.

On Sunday morning I went for a run to Panshanger park- our clump of bluebells had started to flower in the garden, so I thought they might be out in the park- I was right!

It was such a beautiful morning, and the bluebells looked amazing, but again it was really hot and I felt pretty thirsty by the time I got home. I’d only run 9 miles (compared to the poor people running the London marathon). I’d taped the race so after a shower and breakfast I sat down to watch it while I got on with my work. It was pretty exciting, but I don’t envy the runners at all.

Once the work was finished, I went into the garden with the aim of weeding a little area at the back. There were (or so I thought) a few lumps of concrete, but it turned out that the entire bed was made up of concrete lumps covered with a thin layer of soil. I managed to lift most of them, but some I could only flip over.

(Flower bed and lumps of concrete, plus the newly cleaned area behind the shed).

What I thought would be a quick job took me 90 minutes- who needs a gym?

This week has been just as busy- on Monday evening I was out at the Herts parkrun volunteer evening (which I’ll do a separate post about).

On Tuesday our club run was aiming to be 3.7 miles for the runner who died 3.7 miles from the end of the London marathon (you can donate to his Just Giving Page here). We did an out and back to try and get the distance right, and it was pretty chilly each time we stopped to regroup- such a change from the previous week. One of the people out running had run London on the Sunday and was telling us about it- it seems that so many people started too fast (for the heat) and she had not seen that many people collapsing before.

Wednesday was yoga, and Thursday was yoga, run and cinema (Rampage= questionable CGI but totally relaxing as it was just silly).

Where has the spring gone? Do you have summer and winter running routes?