Christmas Eve and Christmas day parkruns

Normally I would run a parkrun on a Saturday, and have a longer run on Sunday. As Christmas was on a Sunday this year, I decided to swap them over, so I would have my longer run first. Last weekend (on Sunday) I ran to and from the start of Ellenbrook parkrun, to see how long it would take. I went slightly different ways there and back, and the quickest way was just under 5 miles, so I decided that running there, doing parkrun, and running home would be a good long run. I also signed up to the Strava December half marathon, so that was in the back of my mind.

The run was fine, and the next morning I was off to Panshanger (a 10 minute drive away) for the Christmas day parkrun.

img_20161225_084844094

When I got there, at about 8.40, it wasn’t too busy, but it soon got very full indeed. It was great to see so many people in Santa hats, and everyone was in a great mood.

img_20161225_095923805

My other festive leggings were chosen, along with my red 50 top (although I kept my long sleeved top on over it for most of it as it was chilly), plus tinsel on my trail shoes.

img_20161224_114158169

They were quite muddy after!

The run was good- I felt tired after running 13 miles the day before (I normally have a rest day after a long run and this reminded me why)- I started near the back as I didn’t want to hold anyone up, and as it’s narrow at the start I did walk a bit. I then picked up the pace a bit and ended up overtaking a lot of people, but still ran fairly slowly for me. The atmosphere was great- all the marshals were so cheerful, and I saw a guy running around with a carrier bag- he was stopping at each marshal point and getting out cakes to hand to them- I love seeing this sort of thing and you seem to get more of it at parkrun than anywhere else.

Even with the big number of people (337) the chip scanners were not busy, and I had enough time to treat myself to a chai latte from the coffee van before heading home for a shower, breakfast and presents. My time was 34.09, one of my slower, but it was great to get some fresh air, to add miles onto my target, and to notch up another parkrun (that was my 89th).

Christmas and Boxing Day was great- time at my parents and Andy’s parents, visiting my Auntie, having a walk outside and generally relaxing.

How was your Christmas? Do you tend to run on consecutive days? Did you do any festive runs or parkruns?

 

Festive Five 2016 and a trip down memory lane

A few weekends ago was another busy time; marshaling at parkrun, going out for breakfast after, walking into town later before heading into London for the evening. We went to The Roundhouse to see Ash (a band I have loved since my teenage years) do a 20th anniversary tour for their first album (well, first proper length one), 1977. (Because they love Star Wars, if you realise that the maths doesn’t work).

img_20161210_211052100

It was brilliant. They played the whole album, and then did a collection of songs including some I have not seen live before (Petrol, one of my favourites, from their first release), and even played a few Star Wars tunes as they were excited about the new film. I loved it, but it made me feel so old! I can’t believe it was 20 years ago.

img_20161211_083617148

I had decided to run to and from the race the next morning, as it was about 2 miles away, parking might be busy, and I wanted as many miles as possible. I was very excited to add antlers to the Christmas leggings!

I ran there fairly gently, and after putting on my number I had about 10 minutes, so I ran up and down the road just to keep myself warm, as well as adding to the mileage.

img_20161211_092432737_hdr

It was a lovely day- blue skies but freezing cold, and I was glad of the long sleeves. I did this race last year too and really enjoyed it- there are lot of marshals out in festive gear, as well as plenty of runners dressed up.

It’s a two lap route, and for the first lap I stuck behind a couple of girls and ran pretty much at their pace. One marshal told me he liked my antlers, and a few runners commented on my leggings- I think Tikaboo would have sold a few pairs that day!

On the second lap a lady overtook me, and I was feeling OK so I tried to keep up with her, going past the two I was following. The route is fairly flat- near the end of each loop it sloped up a bit, but then you had a nice downhill bit towards the half way point finish line. As I approached the finish line, one of the marshals was shouting “less than 200m to go, come on, sprint” so I sped up a bit. I went past the lady I had followed, and she told me “great running” followed by “catch that dog” (there was a person running with their dog) so I pushed on and managed to overtake the dog with about 25m to go. As soon as I finished I turned around to cheer the lady in, and thank her for her words as I would not have pushed harder if she hadn’t said anything.

festive-five

I was given the “festive treat” (a tube of maltesers) and after chatting to a few runners I headed home. There was a coffee van, and cakes on offer but I didn’t think I would manage the run home after eating or drinking.

img_20161211_105600481

My time was texted through a few seconds after I had given my chip in- 45.55- no pb (and no course pb either- last year was 45.12) but not bad in the middle of a long run.

img_20161211_160310745

Later that day I was off for afternoon tea (this is happening a lot recently!)- we saw a lovely sunset from the building.

img_20161211_160938319

I loved the decoration on the fireplace- I’d like to get something similar for our banisters going up the stairs. It was good to catch up with my friends.

img_20161211_163439000

Unfortunately, the service was appalling- I was given salmon in my vegetarian sandwiches (so fed up of explaining to someone who works with food why fish is not vegetarian), no-one came over to ask if everything was OK with our food (so I could not even say about the fish), we were not offered even a top up of hot water, one friend who requested gluten free scones wanted to complain because they tasted awful, and in the end was sent to see the Receptionist (who didn’t know why she had been sent there), no-one was about when we wanted to pay, and when we asked for boxes to take the leftovers home, all the food was scrunched up into one lump of silver foil. Sigh. Anyway, I have complained and we have been offered a re-visit in the summer when they have apparently improved, so we shall see.

img_20161221_180043475

When I got home we put up the decorations- our living room is not sorted yet (the furniture does not really fit it) but the tree fit nicely in one of the alcoves so that was OK.

img_20161212_202807531

We don’t have a window ledge in the living room (we have porch doors) but there are covers over the radiators so at least there was space for the candle holders and reindeer.

img_20161211_202319865

My favourite decoration is now on the dining room window sill- I love how it looks all lit up.

What types of decorations do you have? Do you like the same kind of music that you enjoyed when you were a teenager? Do you complain if you have bad service? I prefer to mention things at the time in the hope they will be sorted, but that didn’t work in this case!

My favourite Christmas movies/ shows, plus December running latest

So, Christmas is well and truly here. Since finishing work on Wednesday I have been getting into the spirit- icing the Christmas cakes, getting my hair cut (not so festive, but very much needed as my last cut was in July), wrapping presents, buying a few last minute bits, treating myself to a gingerbread steamer (basically the latte minus the coffee) making maple-roasted nuts and Christmas brownies to take to my parents tomorrow.

img_20161222_143543374

Decorating made a big mess!

img_20161222_150234647

So, the running. I had planned a long run of 10 miles on Thursday morning (in the light!!!)- originally I was going to run with some ladies from the club, but a couple dropped out, and on Wednesday my back and then hips (or whatever it is, I don’t really know) were quite stiff and not feeling great. I messaged my friend saying I would rather run alone as I didn’t want to hold her up but also I knew I would be tempted to speed up and push myself a bit too much.  I headed out gently (it was freezing) and tried a new route, which I thought would work well as then I would not be able to compare times to other routes.

img_20161222_092439258

This horrible hill was in the middle- it’s 120ft from bottom to top, and it;s very steep. I walked a couple of times as it was just horrible.

img_20161222_092447113

Why doesn’t it ever look as steep in real life? Anyway, I stopped quite a few times as I got lost (sort of- I had to check my phone a few times and wasn’t quite where I thought I would be..), I bumped into a friend who was out walking her dog, and then I went into the bank to pay in a cheque. This was good though as it meant I was going slowly and not pushing at all. I did some freestyle yoga (making it up as I go along) when I got back- the downward dog after a run is lovely.

img_20161222_111249856_burst000_cover_top

This is my “I should have worn a buff” face- it doesn’t show up that well but the skin on my neck and chest went all blotchy from being so cold- this happens to me a lot in the winter and is very annoying.

After the run (I then had 29 miles left before the end of the year) I felt OK, but I ended up sitting down for a bit (catching up on emails and TV) and got fairly stiff. I had my haircut that evening and walked around town for a bit first, but on Friday I was still a bit stiff. We walked into town and then when we got back I tried a new app that Andy got for the TV (maybe called Flow? I can’t remember)- anyway, it had loads of videos of yoga sessions on there, including a whole section for yoga for runners. I put on the lights on the tree, lit a candle (Bluebird Tea mulled wine candle that smells like mince pies mixed with orange zest). I ended up doing about 40 minutes (I think I did a 5 minute one to see if I would like it, then a 15 min one, then 20), and at the end once I was warmed up I did a little headstand practise. At first I could only get one leg onto one arm, but I regrouped and had another go, and managed it for a bit.

img_20161223_155016966

At first I could not manage the pigeon pose on one side, but by the end I had another go and it really helped- the hips is where the tension seems to lie.

I was worrying a lot (I have some paranoia around this) as I was planning on running to and from parkrun on Christmas Eve, but thankfully the yoga worked wonders and all was fine. I was treated to this gorgeous sunrise just before 8am today:

img_20161224_075021488

I then headed off slowly and steadily, and made it to parkrun just fine.

img_20161224_085403738

It had such a festive feel- baubles in the trees, fairy lights on the fences,

img_20161224_085613612

Santa set us off (instead of 3,2,1,go, he said ho, ho, ho go), and there was an inflatable snowman handing out the finish tokens!

img_20161224_093311552_hdr

I ran with my dad – he was taking it gently as he had not been running for a couple of weeks, and had cycled to the start. We finished in 29.39- pleased to be under 30 minutes as it was very muddy and slippery.

img_20161224_103824526

Trail shoes were certainly needed -it was very slippery and muddy out there. (Added tinsel for the festive feel)

After a quick chat we parted ways as we were all getting cold, and by the time I got home I’d run a half marathon, and my legs were still feeling fine. Phew. 16 miles to go now.

img_20161224_112003616

I was so hungry after my shower- we had some almond croissants in the freezer (one each for us), and then I found a left over pain au chocolate, so decided to have both along with some grapes.

We walked into town in the afternoon (leg still going well)- so hopefully I shall be alright for a Christmas morning parkrun tomorrow.

So, onto the Christmas films/ TV shows.

Already this year we have watched Home Alone and the Gavin and Stacy Christmas episode (Midge Ure cheddar…). Tonight we have penciled in It’s a Wonderful Life (a Christmas Eve tradition), and we need to find time for The Snowman, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Christmas episode, Community Christmas special, Home Alone 2 and The Muppets Christmas Carol. Andy also likes Die Hard but we shall see if we have enough time.

What are your favourite Christmas TV shows / films? Did you have a festive parkrun this weekend?

Have a lovely Christmas! x

PS- It was my debut as run report writer this week, and I was a bit inspired by The Snowman- check out my report if you fancy it.

November Poppy Challenge 2016

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t like the run every day challenges, but I do like a distance challenge- this year I have completed a couple of 100 miles a month challenges, and they are always good. I can get stuck in a bit of a routine, especially with my midweek runs. I always think 3 miles is the minimum (no point in running for so little that it takes me longer to get changed and shower than it does to actually run). But by joining a challenge I add a little to that- I have found a few 5 mile routes- still the run is less than an hour and still manageable after work. Where it is best, is parkrun, because it means I do a little warm up run first, which makes the actual parkrun feel so much easier. The temptation to leave home later and arrive just before gets higher the longer the term goes on for.

november-2015I did the Virtual Runner poppy challenge last year and did 76 miles- I was pleased with this, but decided I wanted to beat it this year.

nov-2016

This year I managed 93- loads more! It helped that I noticed I was closer to 1000 miles for the year, so added on a few extra here and there. I am not sure I would have noticed if it wasn’t for this challenge as I don’t usually look at the monthly miles unless I am doing something like this.

The month included some parkrun tourism (Preston parkrun in Brighton, and Lydiard parkrun in Swindon, on the way to the Bath Christmas markets). It also included a cancelled race (Brighton 10K) where I ran around the town a bit instead, and an unexpected pb for the Hatfield 5.

img_20161215_173817495

It also included a lot of Christmas light spotting- this house had a projector- the snowflakes were moving all over the place.

The medal is beautiful too.

img_20161222_115302213

And they raised £7600 for the British Legion, which I think is fantastic.

Do you warm up before a run? Or just have the first mile as the warm up?

A weekend for feeling festive

This weekend I was fully in the festive spirit. Friday was Christmas jumper day:
img_20161210_161558819

Thanks Not on the High Street- it was that or Mince Pies before Guys, which made me laugh so much, but the cute whale just won it for me.

On Friday night we had a team evening out with a meal at Pizza Express, and then a visit to The Pudding Stop.

img_20161217_085203211

On Saturday morning I drove to Ellenbrook parkrun- on the Tuesday a few of the girls from the club said they would be going, and when I looked at my results I realised I had only run there a handful of times- I’ve volunteered a lot but I have run a lot more at Panshanger. It’s easy to do a run beforehand there as it’s close to the business park- wide pavements, fairly flat, and as that was right where we used to live I know exactly how far a mile is and so on.

I got to the start line with about 10 minutes to go, so I ended up running up and down the runway (in the above picture) to keep warm. It was so foggy you couldn’t even see the start line from the end of the runway. When I was getting out of my car, a guy drove past and rolled down his window and asked me if I knew where parkrun was. I explained it, telling him to go through the gap in the hedge (it is a real path) and then turn right, saying something like “you’ll see all the high viz volunteers”- well, you couldn’t see them as it was so foggy! I had’t slept well and my hip was feeling sore, and as I changed into my trail shoes in the car park one side felt a bit too stretched, but I pulled my knee into my chest and that seemed to sort it- I ran fairly slowly and cautiously but everything seemed alright.

parkrun1

I’d said to some of the runners at the start that I wasn’t going to go too fast, as my focus is miles and not time, and I didn’t look at my watch at all. At one point I had to take my top layer off, although I was then too cold- can’t get it right! Anyway, turns out I finished in position 39, first in my age category, with 27.37, which was my second fastest time there. It seems that a warm up is good for running- who knew?

img_20161217_100354032

I had been meaning to get my car washed for ages, and decided that as I drive past the big Tesco on the way home, I would see how busy it was. It was fairly quiet (I thought it would be manic with only a week until Christmas), so I left my car and wandered around the shops. I didn’t see anything and there’s a cafe there, so I went for a hot drink.

img_20161217_105621151

When I got home it was time for the Christmas bowl! I got this in Disney in September, but I was waiting until December to use it.

I had a whole list of things to do, and managed to get them all ticked off- making more Christmas pudding fudge for gifts for people at work, putting marzipan on the Christmas cakes, work (not festive but it had to be done). The tyre pressure light in my car has been on for a while, and last time I tried to sort it out myself I ran out of 20p’s and managed to deflate my front tyre. Not good. Andy needed to collect some things from work, so I drove and then we stopped off to get that sorted on the way home.

Later we walked into town, in the fog- in fact the fog was worse on the way home- it was so grey and wintery.

On Sunday morning I was off on a long run- I decided to run to and from Ellenbrook parkrun, as on Christmas Eve I would quite like to do that, and also run parkrun. I went there and back slightly different ways, but each way is around 5 miles- I’ll have to be organised that morning so I’m not late, but it should be doable.

img_20161218_104131214

Christmas leggings are being well used this month!

img_20161218_142113574

In the afternoon I went for afternoon tea with Andy’s mum and my sister in laws- it was such a lovely afternoon, and I always approve of places where you can get more sandwiches (I didn’t, but you can). The cakes were actually Christmassy ones- the fruit cake looked like Rudolph. There was a log fire burning, and a live singer. It was perfect. We took a lot home with us, as we were also given mini mince pies and chocolate covered cherries.

Later that evening I wrapped all the present for work, cut up and bagged the fudge and wrote cards. A very festive weekend indeed.

Do you have many Christmas jobs left? I have a bit of wrapping to do, and I need to ice and decorate the Christmas cakes. Did your work take part in the Christmas jumper day?