Running - Maria Runs

A muddy parkrun and keeping my fingers crossed

This week’s parkrun of choice was Ellenbrook Fields. With the recent bit of rain, both Ellenbrook and Panshanger are muddy ones, but Ellenbrook is much flatter and probably the less muddier of the two as it is generally wider, so easier to find a less muddy route.

I was planning on running a mile beforehand to warm up (half a mile from the car park to the start, and then up and down the taxi-way until the start) but I ended up seeing an OH lady (she was chip scanning) so we chatted for a bit instead. It was so cold- I’d taken my long sleeved top with me at the last minute, to wear at the end, but I ended up keeping it on the whole time. Some of the puddles had big bits of ice in them- I wasn’t expecting that as this week has been fairly mild.

I saw another runner (Denise- our OH runner of the year) – she is usually a bit faster than me so I decided to try and keep her in sight and see how fast I could go.

It was very muddy- I was trying to dodge the puddles but after about a mile ended up putting my whole foot in (ankle deep)- cold wet feet for the rest of the run!

I had no idea how fast I was going as I had left my watch on from the warm up (I prefer to leave it running rather than stop-start it, as then Strava takes out all the still bits, plus my watch is a bit ropey now and does not always save things properly if I fiddle about), but as we ran through the cow field (about half way, or a mile to go possibly) I overtook Denise. I did wonder if I was going too fast, but I felt OK so pushed on. After the cow field there is the “water feature”, which is where the track narrows (between fences) and dips down- it’s really boggy there, and then afterwards you run slightly uphill, and it lulls you into a false sense of security as you think the mud and bogs are behind you, but then you realise that what looks like a rutted field is actually more bog. (It’s also where I fell over on the Sweatshop run years ago and gave myself a black eye and scraped all the skin off my shoulder).

At this stage you then run past heaps of gravel (?) from the old quarry, and again the path was basically a giant puddle with smaller and more boggy puddles around the edge. By this point I had given up avoiding the water and was just trying to not slip over. I passed the final marshal (with a tambourine- I love that they have instruments here!) and then onto the taxiway. I think it’s about half a mile from there to the finish, and you can sort of see it as it’s so straight. I glanced at my watch then and saw 8.08- then I spent some time wondering if I had selected current or average pace, and then I tried to pick up my pace a bit. I ended up counting to 100 in my head, and then again (I think I got up to 40).

A few runners who had finished were walking the other way and cheering us along, and there is always a big crowd of marshals at the finish- last week they slightly changed the finish so it’s straight on instead of a sharp right turn, so they were all shouting to keep going to the end of the line and not stop where the flags were as that was just showing the way. It felt good to stop!

Even when I finished I didn’t know how fast I had gone- it felt fast but also the mud makes it hard, and your legs feel tired so it’s hard to gauge.

After getting my token scanned I jogged the long way around back to the car, so in the end I did about 4.5 miles. I had taken shoes with me to change into for the drive home, but I should have also packed spare socks- they were so soggy.

I think I need to get some dark coloured running socks, as the mud never seems to properly come out of them either.

When I plugged in my Garmin, it told me I had achieved a segment “PR” for the parkrun course, but I had to wait and see for the official results!

4 segment PR’s including 27.03 for the parkrun course (my previous pb was 27.16 which I got at the start of August). The email came through a bit later telling me I had a new shiny pb of 27.06! Hooray! My all time 5k pb is 26.29, but from St Albans in 2013, so I didn’t know if I could get close to that With less mud, I think I can! I’ve looked at my results and I think that is my fourth fastest time, as I also ran 26.50 and 27.05 at St Albans. (In fact, it is, as I just worked out you can sort by time on your parkrun table. I also have run 27.12 three times and 27.16 twice, and then my eyes went funny looking at all the numbers and I had to stop).

When I was looking through the results, I saw this running club name- Derek Zoolander school for kids who can’t run good. Best running club name! (Also seen- Pirate ship of fools, and 5K fairweather runner support group). A few runners were wearing the cow cowl, adding Ellenbrook to their tourist list.

I had a lot of work to get through, and then I went for a back and shoulder massage (my incentive to get it all done)- this was very much needed! Later my dad and brother picked me up and we visited my sister, as she had just had a baby on Friday (Mum had been with her for most of the day)- I don’t think I have ever held a baby so young before. I am so used to seeing our niece (on Andy’s side) who is coming up to a year old now, so it was strange holding someone so teeny and fragile (with such a floppy head). So lovely though, and my dad was of course over the moon (as she is his first grandchild).

On Sunday morning I had a shorter run in the fog- I did an out and back for 7 miles. Around half way my leg started to feel stiff- I got this in the Brighton 10 miles and during a few long runs since then- all that seems to help is stopping and stretching. I did a lot of yoga stretches when I got home to try and help.

While we were having breakfast we saw that the fox had come back in to our garden again (right in the middle at the back of the garden). Seeing them in the middle of the day is a bit weird- I was thinking about how I would react if I saw one up close when I was running- I’ve seen them from a bit of a way away, but as someone who is nervous of dogs, a wild fox would rather terrify me if it came close.

Later today we are off to the cinema- the perfect activity for a cold and cloudy day.

What is the best running club name you have seen? Do you have some times that you keep on getting at parkrun? Do you mind the mud? I don’t, but I really should pack a towel in my car to sit on for the drive home!

On why chips are not the best pre long run dinner

So for a long time now I have my long run on a Sunday morning, before breakfast. I know some people like to eat before they run, and I used to (unless it was 3 miles), but I really hate the feeling of food in my stomach as I run, and so I gradually started running a little further before breakfast. When marathon training I got up to around 15 miles before I started eating before, and this was mainly to practise for race day.

I do have a few meals that I find work well for my Saturday evening meal- I have found that pasta is not the best (possibly too little protein when I have it), but sharing a pizza with a salad, or if we are away somewhere having a big salad works well for me. Sometimes we have had a veggie burger with salad (and avocado if we have one at home) and that has been fine too.

On Saturday we ended up having takeaway chips- we hardly ever have any sort of takeaway (I am not keen on Chinese or Indian, or anything spicy like that, and although pizza is OK, I prefer the thin based ones which the takeaways don’t tend to have). I didn’t really think about what I had eaten, but then I am not really following a training plan, and was just going to run as far as I felt like in the morning.

I did think it was going to be raining, but in fact it was frosty (really slippery pavements in places)- along here I had to run on the grass as the path was really icy. I was feeling fairly tired and after about 4 miles I started to feel very hungry and thirsty, which is not like me. Probably the chips were saltier than food I usually have, and of course no protein (because I refuse to even look at the pickled eggs, not sure who on earth would ever eat one of those).

I thought about heading home to make it 8 miles, but then I felt OK, and it wasn’t raining, so I carried on. I reasoned that next weekend I would rather have a cut back week, because the following week at work is very busy, and if I didn’t run so far this week I would feel like I should run further next weekend. It made sense in my mind.

I ran to Panshanger park again, and this time wandered around the fields for a bit (I was going to run across to the bottom of the hill, but there were some massive dogs running freely in the field, so I took a detour into the Dragonfly Trail to avoid them).

The water was still frozen solid.

I wandered about looking at the new signs that were up since I had last run through the valley, and then ran out to the farmhouse (dogs in the distance) and back.

I admired the cycle rack (Panshanger’s second birthday present) before heading back the way I had come.

I saw a fox crossing the road ahead of my on my way back- it was huge! The frost had all melted and it was getting much more mild which slowed me down a bit.

If I had totally re-traced my steps it would have been 12 miles, but in the end I took a slight short cut back home again, so I did something like 11.3 miles. I’m not going for a specific time in the Brighton half this year (not like my sub 2 hours last year) but I know that if I don’t keep the long runs fairly long I will mentally struggle a bit after around 9 miles. I’m happy with that distance today, but in training over the next couple of weeks I will go a bit longer (although probably not the 15 that I did last year in training).

I was so thirsty and hungry when I got home- I got some grapes out and ate those while I was waiting for the electrolyte tab to fizz away in my water. After a shower I felt better, and had breakfast plus a massive mug of tea- the caffeine seems to help after a long run (does it help the sugar get into your blood stream faster maybe?). Anyway, lesson learned! No chips before a long run.

The rest of Sunday was spent doing a few jobs (sorting my tyre pressure, buying ingredients for cooking at work, sorting some clothes for the charity shop) and some nicer things (making peanut butter crispy squares for work- from the Pip and Nut book), catching up on a bit of TV.

Do you eat before a run or not?

A late night, a parkrun, and writing the run report

On Friday night it was time for the OH awards evening. Thankfully my windscreen was finally replaced on Friday, so there was some good news. The cream was cleaning up my eye, and although I still had a little cough, I wasn’t losing my voice any more- I had wondered about just staying at home, but I am glad I persuaded myself to go in the end.

It was being held at a local golf club, just around the corner from where I live (well a couple of miles away, and partly down a lane with no pavements, so I wasn’t running there).

Last year it was a sit down meal, but this year was a buffet and then a disco. It was lovely catching up with everyone, and seeing people with normal clothes (and hair) instead of running gear. I had a very delicious chocolate tart, and everyone had personalised glass tags with our initials on them (and OH on the back)- such a lovely touch.

Mine even had a non-alcoholic drink ready with it (as it included a drink upon arrival- they are very sweet to remember that I don’t drink).

After a few hours of chatting (and some people dancing) they gave out the awards- it was lovely to see the reaction from the winners, especially those not expecting to win. The runner of the year wasn’t there, so they said to keep it quiet and they would give it to her at parkrun as she was volunteering in the morning.

As it rained a bit overnight, I wore my trail shoes as I was heading to Ellenbrook- clean soles at the start!

Dad was going to run there, run parkrun, and then I was going to take him home, as he is doing some longer runs before a half marathon in the spring. I got there a bit early and it was cold, so I ran up and down the old taxi-way a bit (a straight concrete strip in the field). I saw a green woodpecker (but I had left my phone in the car so couldn’t even try to photograph it), and then was stopped by someone walking her dog, asking where she could go to avoid the runners. Now, I am not great with directions, and of course the par has no road names, so after I try to explain it to her (do you know the field with the cows? Well instead of turning left and going through the field, carry on straight…) I ended up saying that there were signs out, so if the sign said turn left, she could carry on straight instead. (I also did say that we didn’t have that many runners and they would be spread out, but she said her dog got a bit excited and would bark a lot so she wanted to steer clear).

As she walked away I then saw my dad running towards me, and shortly after my brother cycled along, so we headed to the start line together.

I’d opted for a t-shirt, and left my jacket on the fence, but the wind and drizzle picked up a bit during the briefing and I had begun to regret my choice of clothes. Once we started I was OK though. We had a good catch up, and finished together (along the trial straight ahead instead of a right-angled turn on slippery mud) in 29.49- we were aiming for under 30 minutes so Dad’s 10K came in under the hour so we were pleased with that. It started to rain a lot harder and the wind picked up so we didn’t hang about for long before heading to the car.

Very dirty soles at the end, although this was taken on Sunday.

I had offered to do the run report as our RD is not keen on that job, so I spent a bit of time coming up with that- it’s here if you fancy a read and a sing along. We also walked into town, and then spent the evening around Andy’s brother’s house, watching the football and eating takeaway chips (a nice treat, but maybe not the best pre long run meal..).

Does your running club have awards? We have awards for perseverance, most improved, best newcomer, and runner of the year, as well as the fastest times, although they always precede the fastest times awards with a lot of conflicted views on whether they should be awarded or not! Do you see a lot of non-parkrunners at your local parkrun? Both Panshanger and Ellenbrook are a bit out of the way, and are used by dog walkers but that’s about it. St Albans is full of people out walking, kids on bikes and people feeding the ducks so it is a bit busier in that respect.

A gorgeous frosty morning

I was so very happy when I checked the weather on Friday- the 10 day forecast was basically the same every day- sunny and frosty, highs of around 5, and lows of -3. I love these days, there have been some amazing sunrises on my way to work, and everywhere just looks so pretty when it is covered in sparkling frost.

On Sunday morning this was the view from our window, so it made me look forward to my run even more. I took ages to get ready because working out what to wear is so hard- too many layers = not good, but on a longer and slower run I feel like I am more likely to get cold. In the end I went for tights, long sleeved top, jacket, buff, ear warmers and gloves. I hadn’t planned a route, but had vague ideas of going along the old railway line and then trying to work out how to get out to Panshanger (where the parkrun is)- I had seen on Strava that it could be done but I could not quite work it out.

I kept on stopping as there were so many pretty views.

I saw hardly anyone out though- for the last few weeks I saw a fair few runners and lots of cyclists. There were a few races going on locally (the Fred Hughes 10 in St Albans, and the Essendon 10k and 5k nearby) so I wonder if lots of the local runners were there.

I had to stop a few times to check maps on my phone too, so it was a very stop-start run, but that is fine with me.

At first I went along the old railway line, and then I ended up running along country roads (which luckily turned out to have pavements).

I was very pleased when I came out of a village and could see Panshanger park along the road from where I was- made it!

I ran along the parkrun route for a bit, of course stopping for more photos. I saw a lot of people walking their dogs in the park, and a couple of very cheery runners- I love it when people say “morning” back.

The ground was so icy in places- puddles were very much frozen solid.

I had worn my new white jacket again, and I was very glad of it- it kept me warm but not too hot- there are lots of vents. Although when I stopped running I really heated up. I kept my gloves on until about half a mile from home too- it really was so cold. After doing an out and back mile (two miles? One out and one back anyway) in the park, I retraced my steps and didn’t get lost once! Awesome! I think this one is about 4 miles from home, so marginally closer than the 5 miles to Ellenbrook- it’s even closer as the crow flies but of course I can’t run there in a straight line. As I left the park I think my watch said just over 7 miles, and in total I ran just over 11, so it would be a great option if I needed to do my long run on a Saturday and still wanted to do parkrun.

While I was stopping my watch and podcast outside, I scraped the ice off my car to survey the giant crack- it doesn’t seem so bad from the outside but from the inside it is pretty huge and very distracting. I then headed inside for a warm shower- I stayed in so long that the hot water ran out!

We had some bits left over from the breakfast with my parents, so I had a bit of a random breakfast- some fruit smoothie, tea (of course), some cooked blueberries (I needed warm food) and a croissant that I spread with peanut butter and then added a few chocolate chips to, before heating it in the microwave.

I then had a bit of a pottering day- a bit of work, a bit of housework (washing and sorting), some baking (the banana bread from the Pip and Nut book)- I even cleaned my trainers!

OK I should perhaps have taken a “before” photo, but the pink ones especially were basically caked in mud, and the trail ones on the bottom right were brown and not blue.

How was your weekend? Are you enjoying this wintery weather? Do you have a lot of friendly runners/cyclists near you?

Local parkrun tourism and baking book decisions

After the parkrun celebration evening on Tuesday, the week has been fairly normal- I went to yoga on Wednesday and had another attempt at the wheel (or crab as someone else called it)- annoyingly my hair kept getting in the way when I was trying to put my head on the floor, and I don’t feel quite strong enough in my arms, but I got most of the way there. I am still really loving it- the class is challenging and I feel aches the next day, but there is a lot of relaxation during it too, and this week when we were covered in a soft blanket and given a drop of geranium oil during the final relaxation, it was just bliss.

On Thursday after work I did a 4 mile run- I was feeling fairly tired (a lot of people have been off ill at work which means the days are busier than usual) and didn’t want to be out too late. I did the route in reverse and I think I prefer it that way.

I have been totally rocking my leg warmers because my thermal tights are not quite ankle length (not sure why). I also finally tried out the “new” trainers that I may even have bought before we moved house- or maybe July. Anyway, a long time ago. They seemed pretty comfy luckily!

We have been trying some new dinners recently- a few weeks ago we tried this warm cauliflower and pomegranate salad (although I have since seen some similar versions where the caluiflower is roasted, and that may be better for winter), and on Thursday we had this delicious courgette, tomato and mozzerella bake (it was from the Waitrose magazine too, but I can’t find it on their website just yet)- the strips of courgette were griddled first, you made a sauce with onions, garlic and tomatoes, and then layered it in a dish along with the courgettes, cheese and breadcrumbs- it was so tasty and warming on a chilly evening.

On Saturday Dad picked me up, and along with my brother and mum, we headed off to Stevenage parkrun. It started back in May, and it is only up the road from where I live (a 20 minute drive up the A1M) but we have just not managed to get around to visiting it. Seeing the very frosty start meant I spent a lot of the morning checking the list of parkruns that are cancelled, and the Stevenage parkrun facebook page, but nothing appeared.

When we arrived at the car park, we sat in the car for a bit as it was so cold. Once we got out (at 8.50am) we realised that we had parked in the second car park (there are two listed on the course page) which apparently was a 10 minute walk from the start- oops. We then walked fairly quickly, but runners were still parking and walking behind us. We knew we should go to the new runners briefing, but we knew it was a two lap course and nothing complicated (and we will always be following someone in front). We could see a big crowd of people in the distance so guessed that was the start line, and it only looked to be 5 minutes away. I happened to say “I wonder how many runners they get” and a guy walking past started chatting, saying they got over 200 fairly regularly. He then headed off into a tiny car park, and we followed him (luckily as the route we were heading along turned out to end at a little boat marina thing).

Normally you would see the finish funnel and a lot of high viz jackets,and we were looking for the RD in the white and blue tabbard, but we couldn’t see anyone. My mum has never been to one before so we were saying it may have given her a bit of a strange impression as it didn’t seem as organised as normal. My guess was that their storage locker had frozen shut (I don’t know if they have one, but we do at Ellenbrook and I could imagine it happening- our shed lock froze at school this week). At 9am a guy ran past shouting “new runners, follow me”, so we did, along with maybe around 30 people. He gave the briefing and explained that they didn’t have access to something right then, so there were no signs on the course, and no finish funnel at that moment. The paths were icy in places, and he said there would be marshals warning of particularly slippery places.

Then the RD gave the main briefing (apologising for his lack of megaphone- that was obviously with the other bits that they couldn’t get to), and again warning of ice- “don’t sacrifice your health for a pb” was a good piece of advice.

We started off fairly slowly (well, my dad and I- my brother usually sets off quicker) and we had a nice chatty run. I really enjoyed the route and I wasn’t expecting to. I didn’t know the park at all, and of course the frosty morning helped to make it more beautiful. It was pretty flat, going around the lake and then through a wooded area. It was so cold though- my toes warmed up on the second lap. I totally lost my bearings and I happened to glance at my watch at 145 miles, and commented to Dad “we’re half way” and then he pointed out he could see the start area from where we were! We waved at mum on our way past and told her we were half way.

None of the marshals had high viz jackets so we just thanked anyone who was stood about- I am sure at least one of them just happened to be in the park, but you know, we are a friendly bunch! On the second lap, some of them did, and by the time we got to the finish it was all set up, so it seemed their problem was sorted.

The finish was up a short incline, and as we were coming towards it we overtook someone and so were just behind my brother, so we decided to try and catch him and finish 1,2,3 but then he overtook a guy ahead of him and I told Dad to push up the hill to try and catch him, but he didn’t manage it, so he ended up stopping a bit short of the finish line and let me cross it first.

We had a good negative split of 10.23, 9.14 and 8.50, and both of us had the same time of 29.04, with my brother being just ahead at 28.48.

Mum had found someone to chat to (the wife of the person who started Stevenage parkrun) who had pointed out that the finish was not quite in the same place, and as we were having our chips scanned she walked over to us. We had the obligatory photo of course, before heading back to the car.

Then we headed back home, where we had hot drinks and warm croissants- such a lovely start to the weekend. It was so nice to share parkrun with mum too- she is always happy to make us breakfast after, but it was good for her to see how it all works and why we all love it so much.

(That was my 93rd parkrun, my 15th course, and 14th UK course)- on a side note Stevenage was very male- dominated- I was in position 112, but was only the 14th female- not sure if that is a big jump but it seems it- normally it seems to me that there is about a 1:2 ratio, but that’s more like 1:10.

I’ve bought two new baking books this week- I finally bought the Puddings cookbook by the people who run The Pudding Stop in St Albans (mainly for their amazing peanut butter and salted caramel brownie recipe), and then this nut butter cook book.

I love the Pip and Nut butters- proper drippy peanut butter, and delicious varieties like crunchy maple peanut butter, and when I saw this on Amazon and “looked inside” it was right up my street. For one, there is a section on toast, and if Andy didn’t do our cooking I would probably end up living off toast (I do like other things, but I get carried away with work in the evenings, and then it gets late, and I am hungry and can’t be bothered to cook), and it also had so many other amazing sounding recipes including almond butter banana bread, and a wonderful looking baked brioche French toast. I don’t know where to begin!

At the end of last year we saw Moana in the cinema, and I absolutely loved it- I do love Disney but I am not a big princess fan, I prefer their other stories. This was beautiful, and the songs are fantastic (although “You’re welcome” sounds a lot like the song from the Community Christmas special about the glee club, and the bit where she sings “I am Moana” sounds a bit like “I am a Mormon”, plus when the crab sings at times he sounds like the Flight of the Conchords Bowie impressions- and yes I do know it’s him singing)- since seeing it pretty much every time I have been in the kitchen I have played the soundtrack. So imagine my delight when this (and I can’t work out how to embed) popped up on DYRT on facebook- I love the parkrun versions of songs, and mixing Moana with parkrun is just genius. I love it. Or for some more traditional songs you can see the St Albans parkrun band performing “Oh Eight Fifty Nine” at the volunteer night. They always have such funny lyric adaptations on their facebook page, and to see one being performed is a treat, and possibly a total ear worm. Although the one that played after was them playing the Ghostbusters song (on Halloween) and I was a bit disappointed as it seems like they should have shouted “parkrunners” instead of “Ghostbusters”…

I am doing the run report next weekend, so I may need to think of some inspiration in the week too!

How has your weekend been? Are you loving this gorgeous frosty weather? (Apart from de-frosting the car first thing of course). What have you seen in the cinema recently? We are off to La La Land next week.