Category: Stuff I love!

So after running with Dad at Jersey Farm parkrun on the Saturday, I decided to have a 6 or 7 mile run, as the following week I was doing a 10K race so thought a medium run at a slightly faster pace would be more sensible than a long plodding run.  Despite just getting new shoes, I opted for my old ones as I didn’t think I would be wearing new ones for a race, just in case.

In the end I did 7 miles, and then after a shower was ready to watch the London marathon on TV (I taped it so I didn’t need to rush back and could fast forward the bits I wasn’t so fussed about). Annoyingly when I pressed play, the women’s race had started but the start hadn’t been recorded (not sure if it started before the coverage started?) but I really enjoyed watching the races, especially Charlotte Purdue and Callum Hawkins. I still wouldn’t want to run it myself though- those crowds make it look so noisy and stressful.

Later in the afternoon we met Andy’s parents at the garden centre and picked up a few bargains for the garden.

Monday was the usual rest day and so we had a walk after school, and then Tuesday I went out on a 4 mile run in my new shoes- feeling comfy but I needed to fiddle with the laces as they weren’t feeling quite right.

On Wednesday when I got home I remembered that as it was my birthday the next day, I needed to bake something for work- not sure how that had slipped my mind! I walked around to Morrison’s to pick up a few ingredients, started making brownies, headed to yoga (a good focus on hips which is always much needed) and then finished baking when I got home. I think I finished baking them at about 11pm! Work were happy anyway- one batch of pb&j brownies, and one batch of chocolate orange brownies.

Someone at work baked me some peanut butter brownies- how amazing and thoughtful! 

I actually get a bit anxious on my birthday when I have to go to work because I don’t like people making a fuss (when we got married I sent a quick message before I drove to work, the plan being that people could get over the excitement and then be normal once I arrived… who was I kidding?). The people I work with are lovely, and I was given some lovely flowers and gifts, including the book of Totoro (one of my favourite films)- I’ve been reading it and it is such a lovely change from the usual detective books. We went to Starbucks for lunch which is always a treat too.

When I got home Andy was at the cinema (this has been arranged and he knew I’d want to have a run) and it turned out I needed to pick up a parcel from the Post Office, so I headed out on a run, with a bag so I could put my parcel in it on the run home.

It turned out to be a parcel from Bird and Blend tea co – I’d won a mug and some carrot cake tea on Instagram! What perfect timing! (I had a cup of tea along with a little chocolate lamb I’d been given).

They had included some samples too (they usually do if you order online). They always include little handwritten notes which is such a personal touch. As a side point if you order online there is a space for comments, and I usually say something related to their tea- last time I asked about their rooibos matcha honey, as they used to sell it and it was gorgeous, but they don’t stock it any more. They replied in my last order to say that they might bring it back. These little touches help make them such a great company (and I’m not sponsored by them or anything, I just love them!).

Anyway, once home (and dried off as it rained a lot on my run)  it turned out I had a bit of a Totoro theme as Andy had got me an amazing silhouette card and a cushion, plus tickets to see the Manic Street Preachers in a few weeks time.

On Friday we were heading to Bristol after dinner for the long weekend, and as I’d had a busy week I hadn’t packed anything. I left work fairly early, and when I checked the traffic it told me 45 mins to home (it should be 30-35 mins really during rush hour)- there was clearly an awful crash somewhere as everywhere was gridlocked- I put the satnav on my phone as it keeps updating with the quickest route- I finally got home 2 and a half hours after leaving work. Not good! Thankfully Andy was driving to Bristol so I sort of snoozed in the car as we didn’t arrive at our hotel until about 11.30pm.

I shall save my Bristol recap for another day.

How do you like to celebrate your birthday?  Do you like watching races on TV? 

We got back from Wales on the Sunday, so I had Easter Monday as a bonus weekend day, so I treated it like a Sunday and headed out on a long run. I’d seen on social media that Bill’s had hidden golden Easter eggs around various towns with vouchers inside, so I went the long way around to town, and then spent a while meandering around the fountain and flower beds seeing if I could spot one, but no luck. It was a beautiful day, so I made sure to put on suncream and wear my visor. In the end my run was 11 miles- I like to run longish before the weather gets too hot.

Once home, showered and breakfasted, we went out on a long walk and I pottered around in the garden for a bit later in the evening- the lighter evenings are perfect for this.

Tuesday was a back to work day, and I usually love my Tuesday evening runs as I have a couple of meetings and need to clear my mind a little, but my legs knew they had run the day before. Some runs you start off a little tired but then you get into it and it’s OK, but this run was a slog the whole time. And then Strava has the cheek to tell me it was easier than my usual effort- I can tell you it wasn’t!

After all my prep Andy painted the tiles in the kitchen (top right shows the old weird beige colour)- they look so much better, but now it just makes the floor look worse! It’s so much fresher and brighter in there and the paint went on the tiles really well (I was sceptical about how well it would take).

Wednesday was a day for a walk and then yoga- we’d not been for a few weeks as they don’t run classes in the holidays, so we did a “yoga MOT” where we worked gently on each area (sometimes our classes have more of a focus such as hips or shoulders or breathing).

On Thursday I was still fairly tired so just had a 3 mile run and that was plenty. I did get to try out my new shoes- I’d ordered some online (I know you aren’t meant to, but these were in the sale and the updated version of my current favourites, and although with Vitality I can get 50% off a pair, we are no-where near a store so will wait for my next Brighton trip to get some).  I had a discount voucher from good old Wiggle so I bought a new pair of trail shoes too (the bottom pair) as mine have seen better days and even though I do wash them in the garden, they are all crunchy and stiff.

On Friday we watched Saving Mr Banks, which I totally love- even with the tough flashbacks to her early life, it’s a real feel good film.

On Saturday I’d arranged to meet with Dad and walk to Jersey Farm parkrun- it was their first time on their summer course this year which is a larger and smaller lap as opposed to the two identical laps of the winter course. I really enjoyed it- the first lap followed similar paths to the  winter route on bridle-paths and through woods, but then the second lap went out onto the fields so you had views across the park and countryside. There is a bit of a hill towards the finish line so it’s not the easiest, and Dad had been running at a good pace. I can never keep up with him at the end, but when I try I finish faster usually, and I ended up with a course pb with a 29:31.

There was a photographer on the course who actually got some nice photos (so often when I see pictures of me running I am appalled by how wonky my body goes as my hips just seem to collapse to one side).

Then it was a walk back home for pancakes cooked by my mum, and a long time chatting with my family as my sister and my niece came over too. Good times!

Do you buy shoes online? Do you usually have the same rest day? How many days in a row can you run for? I think my limit is 3, any more and I just feel like I am running through treacle.

 

Or, to give it the full name, Millennium Country parkrun, Forest of Marston Vale.

I fancied heading there this weekend as it was event number 4 (I needed a 4 for my Wilson Index…) but it was around 45 mins from St Albans, so getting up early in the holidays isn’t as bad as after a week at work. My dad and brother decided to come too, and we offered to have them back here for breakfast after, so I prepped the baked French toast the night before (brioche loaf spread with peanut butter, a mixture of eggs and almond milk to soak in, and sprinkled with blueberries). I gave our ETA to Andy so he knew when to put the oven on.

I drove to St Albans, then Dad drove us up from there. Millenium Country parkrun is between Milton Keynes and Bedford, and not far off the M1, so most of the journey was very easy.  It is made up of woodlands, grasslands, meadows and a wetlands nature reserve, with a car park (pay and display- £1 for the hour) and visitor centre (with toilets and cafe) right by the start.

The welcome centre had a lovely circular skylight above the entrance hall, as well as information boards about the various birds and animals that had been seen in the park.

As it was fairly new (this was the 4th event) the new runners briefing was for people new to parkrun- the RD explained the course to everyone at the main briefing. It was super simple- out and back next to the water- we just had to remember to keep left because of runners coming the other way.

Dad was taking it gently as he was coming back from a little calf strain, and my brother hadn’t run a parkrun for a few weeks, so we ran together and chatted, while Dad ran behind (so he wasn’t tempted to go faster). I really loved this parkrun- I love running by water and the out and back is good as you see people going the other way. The gorgeous sunny weather helped too! It was super flat, and the paths are fairly wide (not like the narrow one of Maidstone which is flat but isn’t good for pb potential) so I think it would be a very fast one if you wanted to go for a super fast time.

I took a few photos as we ran and they came out pretty well. Although we ran by the water, often we were running next to trees and every now and then it would clear and you would see the lovely lake.  At the turnaround point we began to look out for Dad, but saw the tail walker and we hadn’t seen him, so we did wonder if his leg had meant he had to pull out, but we crossed the finish line, got our tokens scanned and then Dad appeared in the finish funnel- my time was 30:24, and he finished in 31:05 so he must have been right behind us at the turn around! It was Dad’s 150th parkrun, and my 60th different event, so it was nice to have some (arbitrary) milestones to celebrate together.

After some stretches in the car park (next to someone sitting with their car engine on idling away and polluting the air- why do people think it is OK to sit and have their engine idling away???) we hopped back in the car, drove back to St Albans where we picked up Mum and then headed home for breakfast.

Strava told me off though, saying that my run was easier than usual- I need a button to say “yes,  I was chatting and I’m fine with that”. My 10 mile run on Sunday, although slower, was apparently harder than my usual effort. I’ve not noticed this feature on Strava before, not sure if it’s trying to get me to upgrade to the premium one, but I really just like tracking the routes and my monthly mileage.

Anyone else got these messages on Strava? I’ve not had one yet telling me it’s the same as my usual effort…

Which parkrun course do you think is the fastest that you’ve run, and where have you run your fastest time? 

After going to QE parkrun on the Saturday, we headed into Southampton to see Andy’s grandma, and then into the town centre for a wander around the shops. It was really cold, so we popped into Caffe Nero for a chai latte to warm up. We had to get some bits in IKEA, and then went for dinner at Bill’s- I had a really good salad with beetroot and lentils and falafels and all sorts of tasty things.

We then headed to Sprinkled for dessert- I’d seen they did baked cookie dough,  so we shared one with peanut butter ice cream. It was really tasty- not as good as The Pudding Stop cookie dough, but still pretty tasty and perfectly gooey in the middle.

In the morning we headed to Chichester for a wander and brunch (we went to Boston Tea Party where I had some lovely blueberry pancakes), and then stopped off at Uppark National Trust Gardens for a walk around, and of course I could not resist a scone in the tearoom (shared with Andy).

It was a beautiful day, but very hazy, so we couldn’t see all the way across the Downs.

As I didn’t run on Sunday, I had a nice long run on Monday morning instead- 10 miles mostly avoiding the drizzle and forecast heavy rain.  The tulips looked beautiful with big drops of water on them.

I had an almond croissant in the freezer for a post long run breakfast, and decided to turn it into a chocolate almond croissant (the king of all pastries) by adding some chocolate buttons before heating it in the oven- the buttons melted a bit and it was rather heavenly.

Refuelled I then spent a couple of hours in the garden. Thankfully the rain meant that the ground was soft so weeding was pretty easy, although all that crouching gave me rather sore legs later on!  I saw an advert for this podcast- Paradise- about a couple who were murdered in the 70’s and the one suspect being arrested 38 years later. I listened to a few podcasts and the time flew by.

I made some hot cross bun dough, ready to prove in the fridge overnight, as we were having visitors on Tuesday.

I headed out on a quick walk first thing and then my sister-in-law visited with my niece and nephew. We headed to the local park but the rain just got harder so in the end we retreated to home for hot cross buns and tea. After they left we headed into town as we were meeting Andy’s parents for lunch (it was Andy’s birthday).  While Andy was working I decorated his birthday cake (it’s a Christmas cake as he loves fruit cake, so I just make an extra and then hide it somewhere- honestly this year I had a hard time finding it and did have to consider making a new one!). After a big lunch we had a long walk in the  evening.

On Wednesday I had a 7 mile run first thing, then I was in the zone, ticking loads off my list. I managed to clean the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, clean the hard floors and vacuum everywhere (even moving the mattress and cleaning out the floor under the bed which you can’t normally get to because it has a solid frame with drawers).  I had to pop and get some petrol and then pick up my mum to take her for a hospital appointment, and when I got home I started report writing.

On Thursday morning I did a 5 mile run, had to wait in for a delivery (which meant I couldn’t dry my hair until the parcel had come as I wouldn’t hear the knock at the door over the noise of the hairdryer)  and then headed to visit a friend and her new baby. I got home early afternoon and got on with yet more reports.

On Friday morning I drove over to St Albans and walked into to the town centre as I had booked a massage. As always it was very relaxing (and the lovely masseuse actually commented that apart from my left shoulder I actually wasn’t too bad! Progress!) and then I wandered into town for some breakfast (tea and almond croissant).

I won some Sweaty Betty vouchers via The Scientist Runs, so I popped in there to try on some leggings- I’ve only had their running bras (which I love) and I think a vest from there before, so wasn’t sure on sizing or fit. I found a pair of glasses in the changing room- that’s the second pair of glasses I’ve found this year.

I ended up buying two pairs of leggings- one cropped (power leggings) and one slightly longer. They both have big zipped pockets which I love, as so many leggings don’t have pockets. I could fit my phone in the zipped pocket which is an added bonus, and the cropped pair also have a side pocket in one of the legs. You can never have too many pockets!

When I got home I also found that my tea club for April had arrived- hooray! They are holding a tea election to find out which of their specials should become a permanent member- I am keeping my fingers crossed for peach cobbler tea because it is delicious.

More report writing happened in the afternoon, and then we had a walk in the evening before watching The Dawn Wall which was another fantastic documentary about climbing in Yosemite (like Free Solo)- I’ve no interest in climbing at all (I don’t do heights) but these films are so inspiring, and the scenery is just beautiful.

Do you like documentaries?

Pockets in clothes- yay or nay?

Any good podcast recommendations? I quite like series like these.

Last year I got more into parkrun tourism, and with that came all the little extra challenges that go alongside it. I was keeping half an eye on the alphabet, noticing that I was gradually ticking a few off, but not really actively chasing any letters. Then last Easter I fancied visiting a new parkrun and decided to look into the letters that were close by. I ticked off O at Oak Hill, and then N at Northala Fields. Handily on our trip up to Scotland last year we came home via York (on the Friday night) so I ticked off the Y, and then in the summer we had a weekend booked in London (to see The Muppets) and so I went to Valentine’s (it was going to be Victoria Dock as we were staying close by, but they had to cancel the event that week). I also made the trip around the M25 to Upton Court and got my D at Dinton Pastures on the way to the Bath Christmas markets.  Jersey Farm started in St Albans, so I’ve been there a few times, ticking off the hard-to-get J. As I have ticked more letters off, I’ve paid more attention to other letters, although of course it could happen more naturally (Dunstable Downs started more recently, so I now have two D’s).

I’d planned a trip to Queen Elizabeth parkrun over a year ago, but it turned out where we were staying was right by Portsmouth Lakeside parkrun, and it seemed a little silly to get up and drive when I could just run around the corner (plus the check out was 11 so it was less time to get back after and shower etc). We then thought I could go on the weekend of the New Forest 10k, but that didn’t work out in the end. Anyway, I finally managed to tick it off last weekend!

I drove us down to Portsmouth on the Friday night, and then on the Saturday morning I drove up to the park. I did have a brief moment where I considered whether what I was doing was entirely sane or sensible, because the Portsmouth Lakeside parkrun route was right next to where I was, but it was only a 20 min drive (if that) so it wasn’t too far.

I had followed the postcode given on the course page, but then followed the brown signs once I got close, and inadvertently ended up parking in a different car park (I didn’t realise there was more than one). A few other runners were wandering about, asking where the start was. The directions said something about 100m along the gravel path from the corner of the car park, so we found a path and wandered along it.  After walking 1/3 of a mile (and slightly worrying that I’d miss the start) I saw the actual car park with the little path going from it up to the start area. Phew!

I was still a bit full of cold, so wasn’t going to go fast at all and was standing near the back of the runners so as not to get in anyone’s way. I saw someone who looked like one of the RD’s from Panshanger, and then at the run briefing it turned out it was him because some of the Panshanger core team were cycling the South Down Way and visiting the parkrun on their way. They are all super speedy and I was starting at the back so I didn’t get a chance to chat, but it was a bit of a coincidence.

I couldn’t hear the briefing that well down to a few barking dogs (even though the RD asked the noisy ones to go up the hill and wait at the start) and my ears were still a bit blocked. I heard words such as “hill”, “steep”, “loose ground”, “hill again”, “second lap”. I just follow the person in front and I knew it was vaguely two laps. The route we did started up a hill ( a bit like Heartwood Forest), along forest-lined tracks, down to the start area, up the hill again and then on a slightly bigger loop, so it could be like Ellenbrook Fields in that respect with a small then larger loop.

I kept having to slow down to get more tissues out of my pocket, and on the second go of the hill I stopped to take a few photos as the views were so pretty, even though it was fairly overcast. It reminded me of Wendover Woods in that respect.

From their facebook page- somehow they won’t rotate!

Although you can see from the Strava elevation profile that it goes up a fair bit, the final mile is fairly downhill (but with a bit of uneven ground here and there) and I did manage a speedier final mile, before heading back to the car.

There was a little mix up with results so although I had token 90 I ended up with position 89 and a time of 32:59.

It was then time to head back to the hotel- Andy  had been to the Starbucks in the lobby for a cinnamon roll- what good service!

If you are interested you can see the page with all my parkrun tourist visits here. I now only need I and K in this country, plus the Z- not quite sure how I can wrangle that just yet!

I’m enjoying all the various challenges available- I only need one time to complete stopwatch bingo, and if I visit two more C’s I’ll become a pirate. If only there was more than one Saturday each week!

Are you tempted by any of the parkrun challenges?