Stuff I love! - Maria Runs

Late to the speed camera challenge train

My fave parkrun podcast, With Me Now, signposted me to a new -to-me running podcast, Running is BS, (one of the hosts was interviewed on there) and I have been quite enjoying it. Clearly I love running, but the hosts talk about the things that annoy them (for example, female runners being told to run in groups so they won’t get attacked- victim blaming anyone?).

Anyway, recently they talked about the speed camera challenge, which coincidentally my running club had done on one of their runs (I don’t go because it’s yoga night, but I’d seen the photos on our closed facebook group page). Basically you run past one of those smiley/sad face cameras and try to take a photo as it shows your speed. I did this in the Hitchin 10k last year while I was running as the constant stream of runners meant it was always showing a number (6 or 7 mph) and a smiley face. The week before last, when looking for the other Panshanger entrance, I found one of them on a road near me, so to add some fun to my run I was trying to take a photo of the number as I ran past. Ideally someone else takes the picture I think, as then you are in it too, but still..

On Tuesday I went that way and took a few photos, but when I got home and looked none of them showed anything, not even a smiley! Ah well, when I got back I did a bit more weeding in the garden- it’s so lovely that it is light so late now, as then you can get outside more.

Wednesday was yoga and we had a big focus on breathing, holding poses for longer and doing some de-stressing breathing- I quite liked the 3,4,5 breathing (or maybe 4,5,6, where you inhale for 3, hold for 4, then exhale for 5-nice and calming). Soon we will be able to do some yoga outside which is always wonderful.

On Thursday when I went back to the same place and took photos, I was very excited to see that I got a smiley and a number 7 both captured on film!

The patio was looking a right mess after all our weeding and planting, so to cool down I did a lot of sweeping and putting things away (before-after)- very satisfying.

I won’t try and take photos again, but it does amuse me when I run past it now to see the number. The highest I’ve got is a 7 but it is right before a side road joins, so it isn’t really safe to do a full on sprint.

Have you ever tried the speed camera challenge?

Kew Gardens and Manic Street Preachers

As I mentioned in the last post, we were off to London on Saturday afternoon. For my birthday Andy had got us tickets to see the Manic Street Preachers, and we decided to head to Kew Gardens for the afternoon, as we would be in West London. We parked in the Westfield shopping centre, picked up a few bits for a lunch and then got the train out to Kew.

After a lovely long walk around we shared some lemon cake in the tea room (which was ridiculously expensive at £4 for a little loaf cake..).

Look at the size of those hibiscus flowers! It’s like being in Hawaii!

It was a bit different seeing it in the light of day- we went at Christmas for the lights, and we have been but years ago, and I think in the autumn, so it was good to see the gardens so alive.

We went up to the tree canopy walk (not so keen on that as it was a bit wobbly, but it did have some interesting facts carved into it) and in lots of the greenhouses.

There was a sculpture exhibition on (called something like Reflections of Nature, which just reminded me of the Epcot Illuminations, Reflections of Earth, they shall be sadly missed)- some amazing glass structures around the park.

After a good few hours of walking we got the train back, had a quick dinner in Leon and then headed to the concert. We’ve been to see them for the last few years, as they have been touring playing complete albums (I think 20 years after they were first released or something like that- making me feel old!). This was the This is my Truth Tell me Yours tour, although they did change the order of the songs a little. It was great hearing them play live, but the actual venue was really crowded. Somehow I always managed to have the tallest men stood in front of me, and this time we had a group of men behind us, one of whom kept jumping around and bashing his beer belly into my back. During one of the songs he managed to pour loads of his (2 pints- they were doing beer in 2 pint glasses) all over me. Urgh. I tried inching forwards whenever anyone else moved around, but it was a real squash and not easy. Thankfully he moved away at one point and didn’t come back and we could enjoy the excellent live music. It was great, but we both said after how crowded it felt compared to other gigs we’ve been to.

We got back pretty late so I didn’t set an alarm the next morning, and as I got up fairly late I did a shorter 7 miles faster than my usual long run pace.

My post-run red face made a return! I ran past these roses which smell amazing- they are next to a roundabout on council ground (not in front gardens) and they have such a summery perfume to them.

Then we did a lot more gardening- my parents bought me a lovely silver birch tree for my birthday (although the bark isn’t silver yet) so we planted that, and I did a ton of weeding.

Not quite Kew Gardens, but relaxing just the same. (The new tree is in front of the brown shed- but that shed is going once our bike shed turns up so there will be more space for the tree).

We were going to see Andy’s parents later in the day, so I made some cookie bars, basically this recipe but with chocolate chips and coconut in place of the mini eggs. They were very well received!

Our treat in the evening was a delicious marzipan truffle bar thing- we had these when we went to Copenhagen last summer, so when I saw that there was a Danish bakery in Westfield and they did the marzipan truffles of course I could not resist getting a takeaway for later!

Have you been to Kew Gardens? Do you need a lot of personal space? Do you like seeing bands play live? I love watching people play instruments- it’s such an amazing skill, so anything like orchestras or bands I find so fascinating and impressive. I could see the band at times if I stood on tip toes and if the people in front moved a little, so I would have liked a big screen to be able to see it all of the time.

Running and tea drinking- standard fare

The Sunday after my Ellenbrook parkrun pb, I was off on a long run. At that point I had no other races booked, but since then I have booked the Ware 10 (mile this time, not k) and I quite like to keep my Sunday long run at around 10 miles so that when I start half marathon training it isn’t such a big jump.

I had heard there was a different way to run to Panshanger park, so I did a bit of exploring, running to a new-to-me park, around the boundary trying to find the cycle path, before carrying on with my normal long run route. This meant I did 11 miles in the end- I was happy with that. I wore my Bristol 10k top as the colour was nice and summery, and I thought as it was loose it might be good for summer, but the fabric really rubbed under my arms- I’ve never had chafing there before so it’s now going to be consigned to the gardening and decorating clothing section!

I’d not made French toast for ages, but found some pieces of brioche in the freezer so I had a lovely relaxed brunch after a shower.

I was very excited that the Bird&Blend tea election votes were in and Peach Cobbler (one of my favourite teas) won a permanent place on their tea wall (they have lots of seasonal blends)- along with Eton Mess which is a lovely fruity tea and perfect for iced tea. Coincidentally before the results were out, I had cold brewed some Peach Cobbler in almond milk to have after my run, and also brewed up a batch of Eton Mess to be cooled and had as iced tea later.

I got on with a fair amount of weeding, and then opened my Easter Egg to have some with some tea in the afternoon.

Monday was a rest day, with the excitement of my May tea club arriving- all the teas are perfect blends for being iced so perfect timing with the weather.

Strawberry & Pomegranate, Lemon & Raspberry, Peach & Orange

On Tuesday I had a 4 and a bit mile run and got very very warm- the weather seemed to be really hotting up. I wandered around the garden when I got home to cool down a bit and stretch.

Yoga on Wednesday had a focus on twists which really felt good, although it was warm and felt quite hard at times too. On Thursday I did another 4 and a bit miles after work. On Friday I was meant to be meeting a friend at The Waffle House but we had to postpone, so it was an evening at home with some TV.

My new With Me Now (my favourite parkrun podcast- all about parkrun and tourism with interviews from ED’s etc) hoodie arrived, and as we were heading into London on Saturday I popped to Panshanger to test it out at parkrun. It was overcast and cool, but once I finished my warm up I was boiling!

At about 1.5k I heard a “hi Maria”, and turned to see Milena, a friend from my running club, running alongside me. I hadn’t seen her in ages as she had moved house, so we ran together, catching up about things. (She was the one who persuaded me to do the Ware 10 miles as she’s only done the 10k before but was tempted by the 10 miles). We were just chatting about how parkrun could be so many things to so many people- a fast pb attempt, a chance to visit other places, bumping into people- when a runner from Sweatshop (Tom) ran past and said hi, perfectly illustrating our point!

Do you like iced tea? Have you tried cold brew tea? (This is even easier than iced tea because you just leave the tea leaves in for 8-12 hours so the flavour slowly develops and it’s already cold).

Bristol weekend part 2- Bristol 10K

I got my number ready the night before, but totally forgot until the morning that I usually paint my nails- I had packed the nail varnish and everything- so I decided that if I got ready super quickly I could paint my nails before we left for the bus. We had to get the bus at just after 8am, as they were only every 40 mins on a Sunday, and the next busy wouldn’t get me to the centre in time. By the end the bus driver wasn’t letting people on as it was so full, so I think we were lucky that our stop was a long way out.

We had a wander around the race village and then I made my way to the start pen. I had a very precise start time (9:41 I think) and I had to be in the pen by 9.30. It was chilly so I left my top with Andy at the last possible moment, but then I couldn’t get into the pen because all of the entry points seemed to be closed. There was no way I could jump over a fence like some people were doing, but thankfully someone had opened one of the fences so I could get in. I was a bit confused as the warm up was at the opposite end to the start, so half the people were facing a different way. Jo Pavey was on the stage starting the race, which was exciting!

The race started like clockwork- I was very impressed as often the big events get delayed for one reason or another.

I really enjoyed this race- a lot more than I expected to. I am not always a big fan of the big races- I find the crowds stressful and I would rather have nice scenery than run through a load of streets. The route took us quickly through the city and along a gorge next to a river, with beautiful views. There were loads of bands en route, and I just felt immensely happy as I was running- some cheesy thoughts running through my head but happy that I am healthy enough to run, happy that even though Andy didn’t want to run it with me, he knew I’d enjoy it and suggested it for my birthday weekend, happy that so many people were out enjoying the run and enjoying spectating.

The route doubled back along the gorge at about 2.5 miles, and then at around 4 miles we were back in the city again. We passed a water station in the out and back bit, but I didn’t need to stop. Side point- they were using plastic bottles and the number of runners that just took one sip and then flung the bottle to the side was ridiculous- it’s not only a waste of water and plastic, but think of all the fuel used to transport this heavy water around- it’s so bad for the environment on so many levels. I just don’t understand why races don’t use cups as not many people will be drinking 500ml water while running a 10k. Rant over.

I wasn’t aiming for a time and I had no idea it was actually flat, and I was feeling good with a couple of miles to go so decided to increase my pace a little. I didn’t quite manage the royal flush negative split- my mile splits were 9.33, 9.11, 9.03, 9.06, 8.55 and 8.46, with the final bit at 7.52. Not too shabby!

I was waiting for a text to come through, but in the end I had to look up my time on the internet- 56:40. This is a little bit of a shame as it must be so easy to do- so many times now you get a text almost as you cross the line, and this race wasn’t cheap. They did have a fantastic way to get pedestrians to cross the race route- the run route was split in half with fencing, and marshals would hold up tape and direct runners to one side only, and then the pedestrians would cross to half way, and then they would move the tape to the other side, directing runners to the other side of the track- very clever.

The finish area was packed- I picked up my finisher pack and enjoyed some water, before picking up my t-shirt. Mini rant alert- the smallest size available was a unisex small- it’s massive and there are plenty of runners slimmer than me. It’s such a nice colour but it feels so lazy to just have unisex sizing. Plus if I wore it on a run it’s a free advert for the race- I am not likely to wear it much when it’s so big.

I met Andy at Bill’s where we had breakfast, and then popped to Bird&Blend for an Earl Grey latte.

The t-shirt that is way too flappy to run in- not so good for the expensive entry fee

We then got the bus back to the hotel, had a shower and headed over to Bath for the afternoon- another one of my favourite places to visit.

Of course we stopped for tea and cake after a bit of a wander (we shared some delicious carrot cake) and then in the evening headed to the cinema to see Long Shot. I’d not been to the cinema for ages- we only get free tickets every two weeks now, as Vitality have changed the rules, and Andy has been using them for all the comic/ Marvel films recently, but they don’t interest me so I’ve not been. I took some sweets as a snack (the peach fizz Candy Kittens which are gelatin-free are so tasty), and really enjoyed the film. I’m not a huge rom-com fan, but it was funny enough without being all soppy.

On Monday we made our way back home via a couple of National Trust places. I tried my medal out on a wooden squirrel, and of course we visited a tearoom. All in all a lovely weekend.

Do you prefer big city races or smaller events? Did you enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend?

A weekend in Bristol- round 1, Eastville parkrun

We were staying in a Village hotel (which turned out to be a carbon copy of the Portsmouth one, complete with transparent bathroom doors- I don’t get it!) and I’d looked up the nearest parkrun, obviously (Eastville- we were actually very close to where Little Stoke used to be). Anyway, I am not sure if I used the postcode for the car park, or something else, but when I looked it up it was 3 miles away, which didn’t seem too bad for walking there, running the parkrun and running back. Thankfully I left a load of time, as when I left the hotel it told me it was 5 miles, but then it wanted me to go up the road and double back on myself (I am not sure if the maps knew where the pavements were) so it would have been shorter, although me being confused looking at my phone meant that I did a complete circuit of the roads around the hotel (adding on nearly half a mile) before getting to the road and getting on my way.

And even though the route was basically go straight for a couple of miles, turn left and then run until you see the Shell garage, I’d not taken elevation into consideration and it turns out Bristol is quite hilly!

The way back would have been worse but I had decided at that point that I’d be getting an uber back to the hotel! I only just got to the parkrun in time- at about 8.52- I asked a marshal where the start was as some people were going clockwise and some anticlockwise from the park entrance, and he helpfully pointed out the start where I could see the new runner briefing just ending- gah! No matter, I know I can follow the person in front, and I had read the course description so I knew it was one small lap, one big lap and one small lap.

It was May the 4th, so a few people were dressed up as Star Wars characters. I could not hear the main briefing though because people near me kept talking. This drives me mad- it is so rude to all the volunteers, inconsiderate to those around you who want to hear, and also dangerous because even if this is your regular parkrun, there can be important safety announcements about course changes and so on. Grrr.

Anyway, we were soon off and around the park- the small lap meant running down, along the bottom, up a hill and then back past the start/finish area. There were handily placed signs with arrows for first, second and third laps, so no chance of going wrong. The second lap was lovely as it went around a lake- I did wonder why it wasn’t just two laps of that, but I suppose with narrow paths it isn’t easy with the big number of runners (477 on the day I ran it). There was a short steep section to get away from the lake and then you were back on the uphill again, and then the third lap went around the top section of the park (to avoid the start/finish area I imagine) before going down and up that hill for a third time. I didn’t feel the hill was too bad, but if it was my local perhaps I’d feel differently! I was running slowly too, conscious of my race the next day as well as the fact I’d just run 5 miles already. I finished in 31:20 and then wandered about trying to find a car park or somewhere that an uber could pick me up from- in the end I went to the petrol station opposite.

Once back at the hotel I was very happy to see that Andy had made me a cup of tea and popped to the Starbucks in the hotel lobby and got us cinnamon rolls for breakfast- I was feeling fairly hungry by that time.

Then it was time to head into Bristol. We had got a travel app which meant we could get an all day bus pass for £4, as the bus stop was right by our hotel, and the park and ride car parks were all on the other side of the city.

We had a lovely day wandering around the shops (stopping for lunch in Pret), walking out to the docks and then up to a park. I was very excited to visit my fave tea shop, Bird and Blend- for a chai latte.

Later in the afternoon we left in need of a cake break, and came across Pinkmans Bakery which promised a whole host of goodies including sourdough doughnuts. Neither of us are huge doughnut fans, but it seemed rude to not try their speciality, so we shared a honeycomb doughnut (filled with some sort of custard thing) along with some much-needed tea. It was pretty tasty.

For dinner we went out for a pizza (no idea which restaurant but it was a traditional Italian place with a wood-fired oven)- I had a vegan one in the end as I wan’t sure if their cheese was suitable for veggies and it was really delicious.

After an “interesting” bus journey back (first up was a lovely drunk lady shouting at everyone, but we would have had her back in exchange for the 3 guys who sat in front of us eating kebabs and sharing their drugs amongst themselves- especially as one kept turning around and staring at me but he clearly couldn’t even focus his eyes properly) we decided we were in need of some light relief and attempted to watch the Baywatch film. Not even the charisma of The Rock could save this film and I think we didn’t even last an hour. Dire.

Then it was time to get my number ready on my vest and set the alarm for the morning.

Have you been to Bristol? When is the latest that you have arrived for a parkrun? Are you a doughnut fan?