A cinema trip, multipurpose cool downs and 100 mile update

Last week, after the 10 mile race on Sunday, Monday was a rest day for me. We decided to walk into town and try out our new local cinema (new because we have moved here, not because it is new) to see Ghostbusters.2016-07-11 19.13.21

I was very pleased to see this sign in the foyer- they are clearly fans of Wittertainment! The film itself was good fun- a few laughs and of course everyone was bobbing their heads along to the music. It was still so warm when we walked back afterwards too.

I am steadily getting my miles up for the 100 July total. Last week on Tuesday I had a lovely run with the club- we went into the grounds of Hatfield House, and all the time it looked like it would rain, but was fairly cool- lovely running weather. At one point some deer stood on the path in front of us, and later we saw more deer running through the woods. It was fantastic. When we left the grounds we were up to 5.8 miles, so we did some laps of the car park to make it up to 6!

On Wednesday I went out after work for 4.5 miles, and then on Thursday I tried to book on to pump but could not, so I went out for a shorter 3 mile run- I found quite a good route of one big loop, and then the first part of the loop again (there is a cut through after a mile to come to the back of my road).

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After my runs I have been going into our back garden (this is still novel to me- our old house had a garden but you had to go through the garage to get to it, so we didn’t use it as much) to have a cool down, and to water the plants at the same time. I can stretch while the watering can fills, and then move about while I water the pots so my legs don’t get too stiff. Perfect! And it saves us a job later in the evening. Although I didn’t run on Friday (I went to the Waffle House with a friend, and we had a walk when I got home) so we both forgot the water the plants that day!

On Saturday I was marshalling at Ellenbrook parkrun, so again I got there early (in fact earlier as the marshals are needed earlier than the new run briefing people), but again the car park was out of use! It meant I cut my run a bit short again as it took a little time to find a parking space. Also rather horrifically I saw a dead deer on the pavement- it made me jump as I just did not expect to see it. There was a huge puddle of blood coming out of it’s head- it must have been hit by a car. As I ran up to it, a man crossed the road, picked it up and threw it into the bushes. A bit later I turned and ran back and although I was glad I could not see it any more, the big puddle of blood was there. Poor thing.

I was given the marshal point in the cow field and told to call the RD if I saw any cows- my fingers were crossed the whole time!

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I used the cords to tie back both gates – one seemed more secure so I waited by the other as I was told I could choose which gate I stood by.

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I could hear a cow, but I could not see any so I thought I would be safe. According to my map, the 2 mile point was in the middle of the field (between the two gates) so I had a bit of time before the front runners came through. I amused myself by taking photos of the ever-changing clouds, the thunder bugs crawling all over me, and myself, and also doing some squats and lunges so I would not get too stiff.

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It was so overcast at the start.

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Then these cool swirly clouds came over and the blue sky came out!

I saw lots of OH ladies, and my dad, a friend from work and some runners I knew from tail running! It was good fun. One guy even high fived me on the way past! A few people were telling each other “you can do this” and they were very happy when I told them they only had a mile to go- the hardest bit was done! At one point I could see a cow in the distance, but it then went out of sight and thankfully didn’t wander any closer.

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Happy to cheer but worried about the cows!

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I tried to take a picture of the bugs but it wasn’t easy- there are hardly any in the picture but there was loads all over me and the vest!

After the tail runner came through, I shut the gates and ran back, and my Garmin said 4 miles, but in fact when I downloaded it later, the start point was wrong so I had actually only done 3.7- I would have added a bit on but I didn’t realise until later.

Then after a quick change I was off to my parents for pancakes- it turned out that was my brother’s 50th parkrun, and I got my official 25 club email too! A morning for celebrations!

I finished the week on 70 miles for the month, which was great as I still had a couple of weeks to go.

What sort of films do you like to see at the cinema? Do you like spending time outdoors/ in a garden?

Ware 10 miles 2016- still all about the cake

I love this race. Even though it is now held in July, right in the middle of summer (it used to be in the autumn which was much better), I still signed up for the 10 miles this year. Partly I did this because I am doing a half marathon in September, so need to keep my long runs at a fair distance during the summer- without a race I would be more likely to cut them a bit shorter. Mainly though I signed up because it is such a friendly event, the route is very pretty, plus at the finish you can buy tea and cake for £1. Bargain.

It didn’t start until 10am, so I didn’t have a particularly early start.I had some toast for breakfast, drove there and had my number by around 9.30. I knew a couple of other runners so we chatted for a bit before it started.

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There was a warm up but I didn’t join in, I wasn’t planning on going fast so the first mile would be my warm up. I left my bag in the drop (although the car park is close by) because I wanted to put my jumper on right after- it was a drizzling, and although it was humid, I thought I might get cold soon after stopping (plus I needed my money for the cake!).

There is a 10K event too, so those runners set off  a couple of minutes before the 10 milers. The 10 mile route is two laps, and the 10K seemed to do a little extra at the start before rejoining the 10 milers and doing one lap.

I set off steadily and made sure I looked at the scenery. It is very pretty, and I noticed a few changes to the route from previous years, which had cut out one of the tough hill sections. After a couple of miles I was glad of my vest- it was really muggy as well as raining gently, so the sun-cream, sweat and rain were all mixing on my face and skin. As in previous years, the first half of the loop was hilly, and the second half lovely and flat along a tow path. They had a photographer there this year but the ground was very uneven at that point so I was looking very closely at the ground as I didn’t want to fall in the canal! The marshals as always were brilliant, and on the second lap lots of them told me I looked comfortable or in control (and of course one said “think about the cake”!).

I kept an eye on my watch but I wasn’t aiming for a time- I thought under 1.40 would be good, and in the end I finished just a few seconds under, in 1.39.24. It’s all miles towards the 100 too.

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Of course after collecting my bag I went straight to the tent for some cake (lemon drizzle) and tea. I also bought a bottle of water and put a nuun tab in it from my bag- it was quite a sweaty day.

I hung around a bit as they were giving out awards to the winners of both races, and then drove home.

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After a shower I was getting hungry so I had some hummus on ryvita, an apple and a lovely smoothie.

Then I had an efficient (and tiring) afternoon with so many jobs- getting some bits at the shops, making a cake for work, ordering end of year presents for people, trimming one of our hedges, planting some seeds, filing paperwork, doing washing….

I suppose one year I should try to beat my course pb, but this year I was very happy to run it and enjoy it, without being so exhausted afterwards.

Do you normally run races for time or for fun?

Park-tail-running, parking panic, pancakes and anti-decorating

Last Saturday, for the second week in a row I had signed up to do the new runners briefing and then tail run at Ellenbrook fields parkrun- I was going to do one but as they were short of volunteers and I can do both, it made sense. Just like last week I planned on getting there early and running a couple of miles, to get the total up to 5 miles. However when I got to the car park it was coned off (we have permission to use a University car park on Saturday mornings). As there were no cars I thought they had been left out, so I got out of my car to move one, and got shouted at by a man at the other end of the car park. Personally I felt he was quite rude- I explained that the runners have permission and he told me he was here to stop people moving the cones, so I would have to go to reception- he pointed but in fact when I drove around the corner it was in fact a dead end. Helpful. So I put a message on the parkrun facebook page, hoping that the RD would see it, and then I drove off, and as I knew the area I found a residential street to park in. This all took time, so in the end my leisurely two miles was rather frantic as I wanted to get my breath back before doing the briefing!

I called everyone over at around ten to 9, like I was asked to do last week. I had only tourists, no new parkrunners, which made it easier. Then the RD waved at me, I gave her the thumbs up and she announced I was about to do the briefing- I had to shout that I had already done it! I thought she was waving to check it had gone OK! I then had one new runner come over, which was probably good for them as she could ask me questions about the course and timings. It’s nice doing both jobs as I could reassure her that I would be at the back- it seems to be the main worry of most people.

This time there was a girl running at the back who I chatted to- she had only been running since January and had run a couple of 10k’s, so we chatted a lot about races. It was all very enjoyable, and very speedy for a tail run- a few of the marshals told us we were very quick, and I think we got in around 42 minutes- very impressive! My watch beeped for 5 miles just as we finished which was perfect as that was what I was aiming for. I walked back to my car, changed into a t-shirt and then drove to my mum’s house. Mum was making pancakes for breakfast which is my absolute favourite, so we had a lovely breakfast and catch up, before they lent me their wallpaper steamer.

After a quick shower at home, we started with the wall paper stripping (what do you call it? Because we aren’t decorating. we are anti-decorating…). The steamer could only be used for 80 minutes as then it would overheat, so we left it for a bit and watched some tennis.

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Mum had told me that Dad was down to do the ladies final at Wimbledon (he does the line judging there) and so I was trying to spot him- he was at the end opposite to the main cameras but I did catch a glimpse of him at a couple of points, and when they give the trophy they all line up at the end.

We only managed to strip two walls as in the afternoon we were off to see Andy’s brothers, but we are in no rush and will carry on next weekend.

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I was looking at my parkrun profile later on, and I am sure I have earned my purple shirt, but I have not had the email yet. Ah well. This weekend I am marshalling so I might borrow something from work again- not sure it will be a tambourine again. Any suggestions?

Midsummer 5 mile series round 1

Some of the event team at Panshanger parkrun launched a midsummer series of two 5 mile races on Thursday evenings. The first one was last Thursday, in the ground of Hatfield House.

It didn’t start until 7.30, but I didn’t want to have dinner before. We had sports day at work and then went out for lunch, but I didn’t fancy any of the vegetarian options (a brie panini- I don’t like brie, or a cheddar baguette, which didn’t sound that exciting) so I had a huge iced bun instead, and some tea. I didn’t get home from work until nearly 6pm, so I had a few nakd nibbles, a couple of crackers and some coconut water, before changing and heading out.

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As it was so local, lots of the club were running and supporting. They also had a kids race which is always a nice addition.

I had not really thought about time at all, and I was chatting to my running buddy Elaine when the race started- we were right at the back but I think that is always best, especially when it is chip timed.

I had looked at the map but as I have only run in the grounds a handful of times, I didn’t really know the route at all. It started off uphill towards the house, then down, parallel to the start. Then the route went through some fields, gently uphill for the first mile. Then came a bigger hill- it was only when I got to the top that I realised it was a hill that we ran down on our Tuesday night club run- I a glad I didn’t know at the beginning as I think psychologically it would have been tough knowing how long it went on for. As I had started right at the back I was steadily catching up with some of my club mates- it is lovely to know faces at events like this and gasp a quick “hi” between breaths.

After the longer hill (which I think finished around the 2 mile point) it was a flat path through woodlands- it was a very scenic place to run, with foxgloves towering over the ferns and shrubs in the woods- some of them were well over 2 metres tall! I was smiling all the way through! I had managed to keep Elaine in my sights (she is normally much quicker, but has been training to swim a relay of the channel so has not done as much running recently) and eventually caught up with her.  We had some lovey downhill sections too, although I did feel like I was being cautious and was overtaken by quite a few people here- I think I am still worried about falling. The loop finished on a track through more fields (more lovely scenery) and then we re-traced our steps for the final mile- an uphill section to the front of the house, and then a lovely downhill to the finish. On the uphill I was really gasping, and running alongside me were some other girls who were equally noisy! On the downhill I could see the cheer squad and so I tried to really push on and I felt like I was sprinting- the photos may suggest otherwise!

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At the finish someone cut the chip from my shoe, and then I got a bottle of water and a banana (hooray!)- Elaine finished around the same time as me (I can’t remember which was we finished) so we had a little chat and a photo (of course). I got my print out right away- 45.25 was my chip time, so in fact I think that was only 40 seconds off my 5 mile pb (which was from a very flat course)- not too shabby!

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I then wandered over to the club cheer squad where I was given the most amazing flapjack- it had caramel sauce, cranberries, pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate chips on the top. So good.

So it seems like the iced bun was a good option in the end! The next one is in two weeks time, at Panshanger, so I think it is likely to be a bit more hilly…

By the time I got home and had a shower, it was gone half 9, so I had some toast and watermelon- it felt very late to be eating though. I don’t think I have ever done an evening race before- the Bournemouth 10K was at 4pm I think, so a bit too close to lunch time. This was better being later, although personally 6.30 or 7 would have been preferable.

Have you ever raced in the evening?

A summery salad

A while ago I was contacted by Sainsbury’s to see if I could make a visually stunning salad, as they have teamed up with food artist Amber Locke to encourage people to be more creative with their salads.

At the moment we have been enjoying halloumi cheese, often grilled with a salad and some quinoa. Then on Sunday after the 10K we went to Bill’s and I had one of their specials which was a salad with grilled honey peaches and halloumi. The sweet fruit and salty cheese went so well together, so we decided to make a similar version at home.

Halloumi and Watermelon Salad

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For two servings we used:

Watermelon, cubed (we bought a whole one, but had loads left over)

One pouch of Merchant Gourmet red and white quinoa (for extra colour although it is more black than red)

One pack of salad leaves

Half a pack of halloumi

A sprig of mint leaves

It was very quick to prepare:

Slice the cheese and put in a pan, Heat for a few minutes on either side.

Heat the pouch of quinoa in the microwave.

Slice the watermelon.

Tear the mint leaves.

Assemble on the plate.

Enjoy.

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I loved it and we both agreed that it is something we would make again. The watermelon and cheese just went perfectly together- I think the texture of the watermelon was even better than the peaches at Bill’s. It was also good to have a mixture of warm (quinoa and cheese) and cold (salad and watermelon). I don’t normally think to add herbs to salads either, but the mint just went so well and I am glad we used it. Andy did comment that we should have bought some blueberries too, and then it could have been a 4th of July salad (we had it on Monday) but we were eating it by then- maybe next time!

Do you like cheese and fruit in salads? Or salads with warm and cold ingredients?

*I was sent a voucher from Sainsbury’s to cover the cost of the ingredients. All opinions are my own.