Maria Runs

I was really looking forward to seeing some funny signs at this race, but, alas, there were none to be seen.

On the plus side, it was a great race, with the added bonus of the race entry fee including admission to the zoo, so it was a proper day out.

Luckily it was not too far away, so after getting up at 7.15 and having some toast, I could take my time to get ready. I had taped the timer chip to my shoes, as it was one of the plastic strips that is meant to slot together, but in reality will come off fairly easily. I am still loving the event clips for numbers, instead of safety pins, too. We left at around 8.15, and arrived ready to park at 8.45. A small gripe is that spectators were meant to be able to buy tickets at a discounted price, in advance, but yesterday when we tried to book a ticket for Andy the discount code wouldn’t work.

Anyway, having a race somewhere like this meant ample real toilet blocks, and no queues either.

While we were waiting we looked at some of the photographs from a wildlife photography exhibition, and also watched the muntjac deer resting in the sun.

The race had a jazzercise warm up (no, I didn’t partake- I just kept my top on until the last possible moment as it was a bit chilly in the breeze), and then we were asked to line up by approximate finish times. I went for 55-60, as yesterday I did parkrun in 29.59, so thought that would be realistic. Promptly we were walked to the start line, and then we were off. I was glad I had read the instructions- it was a three lap course, and I didn’t hear the megaphone that clearly so I am not sure if they reminded everyone. Although to be fair there was a marshal at the end point asking you to keep right for laps 1 and 2, and turn left for lap 3.

The course was around the main loop of the park. After a few minutes a lady screeched and jumped out the way as a little deer came running in the other direction! I enjoyed spotting the animals as I ran past the paddocks. Although I was so busy craning my neck to look at antelope I almost ran into a photographer crouched in the middle of the runners!

Probably 1k in you had lovely sweeping views across the Dunstable downs. It was almost like a trail run, but run on tarmac if that makes sense!

In my mind I thought I knew the course, but in fact the last time we went to Whipsnade was March last year, and so where I thought was half way around the loop was more like a quarter or a third. The road was a bit undulating, but nothing steep, although towards the end of each lap was a slight hill where you were running into the wind, which did make it feel tough. There was a water station (with cups- I approve) but even though it was getting warm, I didn’t stop.

At the end of the first lap I saw Andy and gave him a wave, and headed off on the second loop. I was still enjoying the views and the animals- some sort of antelope were galloping about which was entertaining for a bit. I also saw a bear (un-escaped), and lots of other herds of deer and things. The fastest runners lapped me at this point, but there were huge gaps between them, and I think probably only a handful went past.

The km markers were very clear, although number 4 surprised me as I hadn’t seen number 3 (it was there, I was it on a later lap)- it was a bit strange reaching the 7km mark before the 1km marker, but it seemed to make them come faster too.

The third lap was a bit tougher- I have not run that far in a few weeks, and I think my legs were feeling it a bit. Plus the sun was getting stronger. Some of the route was shaded, but some of it was right in the blazing sun and my hair was starting to get all wet from the sweat on my back- I hate it when that happens. I saw Andy further around, so that gave me a bit of a boost. I had glanced at my watch a few times, but I didn’t really have much of an idea, apart from to keep under 10 min miles, and each time I had looked it had said 9-something, so I thought I was OK.

After the 9k marker I was trying to pick up my pace, but I was just struggling a bit- my heart felt like it was going as fast as it was going to thank you very much- and I was overtaken by loads of people sprinting for the finish.

The very helpful marshal who was directing runners was shouting “you can get in under the hour if you shift it” so I tried!

My watch said 59.19, and I am very happy with that. I think my 4th 10K to finish under the hour. The official results have not been published yet. (Edited to add- chip timing was 59.19)

 

The finish area was well organised too- people were waiting to hand out medals, and more people were handing out bottles of water. I had packed a nuun tab in my pocket, so I added that to my bottle right away. There were tent with boxes of bananas, and Eat Natural cereal bars for you to help yourself too. (I much prefer this to a goody bag- I could at least choose the flavour I liked the sound of, plus no annoying leaflets for things I don’t want to know about).

I met up with Andy, and had my banana sitting in the sun.

I then went to change and make use of the baby wipes I had packed, and then we headed off for another, more leisurely lap of the park!

The annoying chip.

Penguins!

After this I bought a cup of tea too- even though it is sunny, it gets pretty windy right by the Downs so it was fairly chilly.

Pygmy hippos! (There was a baby one inside but I didn’t take a photo)

Giraffes! We sat here for a bit while I had some lunch- I had bought a lovely butternut squash salad thing from M&S yesterday as I knew I would get hungry.

Zebras.

Spot the red panda (right in the middle).

Elephants! And a baby one!

After a few hours we had completed a leisurely lap, so headed back to the car.

After a shower at home, we had some tea and lemon cake.

And then fell asleep watching Have I Got News For You- all that fresh air I think!

All in all, it was a really enjoyable race. It was well organised, and the scenery was lovely too. It was a bonus being able to go around the zoo afterwards too.

Where is the most unusual place you have raced?

 

The weekend before we went away, I decided to volunteer at parkrun. I had seen they had new roles that allowed you to run, including a tail runner. I liked the sound of it, as I love encouraging people.

The weather was lovely- a bit breezy so clouds kept on rolling over, but mainly sunny and not too hot. I had worn a long sleeved top but tied it around my waist.

The start was interesting- obviously I had to start at the back, but probably even 5 minutes after they had started, people were still running into the car park and up to the starting corner. I think I ran quite fast for the first bit, because the last few people were pretty speedy. But soon I caught up with a couple of families with young children (two were 5 or 6, and one child was probably about 3 I think)- they were doing pretty much a walk (and the little one was having piggy back rides for most of it), so I hung back and gave them a bit of space. (I did try to cheer them on a bit, but they seemed fairly shy and I think it didn’t help, which is why I stayed further back after that).

I had been asked to pick up any signs along the way, and hand them to the marshals as I passed them. I got to the second marshal point (at nearly 2k in) and another person overtook me- they shouted something like “this is what happens when your alarm doesn’t go off!”

At the top there are some beautiful fields, so I took a few pictures, and let the families go ahead, before running fast to catch up.

I could never tire of the views from this place.

The first few marshals were heading off back the way I had come, but after half way they walked the route of the end of the course, so we walked together, collected signs and chatted. I think I even managed to recruit a new member to OH ladies, because the lady (who runs for another club in Welwyn) had a neighbour who was interested in any Hatfield based clubs. Nice work!

As we were heading up to the finish (a good 50 minutes after the start) just behind the families with little children, another runner appeared and headed up the hill! We could not believe it- she either started very late, or got lost although we are not sure how.

My dad (who had picked me up, and then run it in 25 minutes) was waiting for me at the top, and shouted “don’t get a token as it will mess up your average time”, and then as the last runner appeared we all started chatting about it. I was going to ask if I could get a token as it was my 40th run, but I got distracted and so didn’t. So although my 40th parkrun, it didn’t count towards my total.

It was very enjoyable to tail run, although I must admit I thought I would do a little more running. Of course it depends on the week- sometimes the final finisher is at around 40 minutes, but you never know who will come along. I had a 12 mile run the next day, so I didn’t want to run hard on the Saturday anyway, so it was perfect timing for me. I did miss the anticipation of the results text and email, although you get a text as a volunteer too, thanking you, which is always nice, and unexpected.

I did consider a quick run when I got home, but by the time Dad dropped me off it was about 10.30, and I was so hungry, and had a big pile of work to start on, so opted for breakfast instead.

I think on balance I prefer marshaling, because then you can cheer on everyone. Plus I wasn’t quite sure what to wear because I didn’t know how fast I would be going. I got to walk/ run the whole course though, so that was a bonus.

I love that there is a tail runner, because then no-one is the last finisher. It is something that will encourage people to join if they are worried about being last.

Anyway, parkruns are basically brilliant. A free timed run every week, run by volunteers, in a beautiful park setting. What more could you want?

Which roles do you like to do when volunteering? I like doing the barcode scanning too, as you get to see everyone, but the thought of being a timekeeper is very stressful indeed!

Howdy peeps!

I am back from a week in sunny Florida (more on that another day)- it was fab, but I didn’t take my running things with me as I knew I would not have the time while I was there. This has meant a bit of a shock to the system this week!

The week before we went, on the Tuesday I was home too late for the club run, so went out on my own for 4 miles.  On the Wednesday I didn’t do Sweatshop as didn’t want to be back that late, so I did 3 wet and windy miles on my own. On Thursday we had to pop to the shops to get a few bits, and also pack as we were going straight after work on the Friday.

(Skip past the holiday for now)

We landed at lunch time on Sunday, and of course Monday was back to work- tough with the jet lag. So it is really no surprise that for the club run yesterday I felt pretty tired. I ran with another girl and we chatted on the way around which was lovely, but after those 3 miles I felt shattered!

Today my legs were really stiff, so instead of risking a longer and probably faster SRC, I went out on my own, again for 3 miles. By the end I was willing the road to turn into a conveyor belt so I could get home sooner!

I am hoping that after this weekend I will be back in the swing of things. I have 10K this Sunday, but it is strictly for fun, no pb chasing here (it’s around the grounds of an animal park), so I am not worried about that. But the week after is a half marathon and although I did 12 miles the weekend before I went away, that will be 4 weeks before the day of the half- probably can’t count as a long taper! So the plan is to do a medium run (8-ish miles) one evening next week, so give me a bit of confidence.