No longer a tourist?

This post originally started life on Saturday. I'd given it a full update earlier in the week only for the Blogger android app to bin it! Better late than never......

Today brought an unexpected visit to parkrun. Our house is in the midst of building work at the moment & we made a last minute decision to stay at Paula's folks for the night & get away from the dust & disruption. To show just how last minute, I was texting through the running kit & overnight stuff I needed on my train home whilst Paula was putting a bag together before coming to collect me!
The only forgotten items were a toothbrush & a fresh pair of socks for after the run. This meant a parkrun debut for my Garmin. We didn't want to overstay our welcome so an early start & a trip to parkrun made sense. We were only 25 minutes away from Chelmsford but I still consulted the map to see if any other events were worth a visit. Basildon looked interesting, it doesn't start until April 5th though so that would have led to a bemused & lonely run around a park on my own! I was surprised to see Sudbury now has an event, but with the travel time close to an hour we decided to park that idea for another week.
With other events ruled out we headed to Chelmsford with plenty of time to make the start. Mrs H couldn't be persuaded to run, but was willing to stand in the cold & take photos of me as I trudged round. Before starting the run I even took part in the organised warm up, whether it was beneficial for today I have no idea, but hopefully it will assist tomorrow.

The Run

The start at Chelmsford can be a bit chaotic, you walk to the front, so then everyone has to turn round & gauge where should line up. Of course some are better than others at this & thankfully a wide course at the start allows space for everyone & a natural order starts to be established after a kilometre.
I had no idea what to expect this morning, this was an unplanned run. 24 hours before a half marathon & here I was lining up for a parkrun. I decided to see how it went, settle into a comfortable pace, ideally be under 26:00 & not do any damage ahead of the Brentwood Half. I found myself going through the first & second kilometre markers at 5:00/km pace, pushing, but not feeling like this was a bad idea!
I was still strong through three kilometres as the course features it's only (and really rather modest) climb. A slightly slower fourth kilometre led me to having words with myself! The bollocking worked as I was soon back on track, pushing the 25:00 mark through the final km. Rather than a great sprint finish, I moved through the gears instead and increased my pace throughout the end of the race.

The Conclusion

24:47

Was this a good idea? The result is great, under 25 for the first time since November, confirmation that everything is starting to click again. Should I have been more conservative though? Would a mid 26 have left me with less recovery needed in the 24 hours before the Brentwood Half?
I couldn't really dwell on this until I'd faced the half marathon so I stretched out and went on with the day. The eat isn't even worth discussing in length, a disappointing chocolate milkshake (thickshake machine not working) from Starburger in Chelmo.
Perhaps it is also time to recognise that I seem to have found a regular parkrun. As much as I like being a tourist, I no longer feel like one at Chelmsford. Four appearances this year suggest I'm becoming a regular. The event is now joint with Pymmes as my most attended. It might be time to change my home run, it might even be time to do some volunteering.

A bit tight

With a few days left before the Brentwood Half I headed out this morning for some kind of tempo run. I hadn't consulted my plan so the idea was just to head out and see how I felt.

The Run

A slow first kilometre is par for the course as I took on the Stansted loop from south to north. I then seemed to hit a brick wall. No matter what I tried I seemed unable to push my pace lower than 5:45/km. My quads and glutes felt tight, the sixteen clicks from Monday still making their presence felt.
I realised that it was just one of those days. No point trying to fight it, just worth trying to gut it out and get home. I finished around the 41 minute mark and immediately started stretching out.

The Conclusion

Not a great run, but a reminder that I need to manage my recovery better. I'm hoping to include a parkrun before the half marathon so the need to stretch will be important.

Starting the week the easy way

The need for sleep and a rest for my knee meant my usual Sunday run was deferred until this morning. I'm starting work later this week, allowing me to get a long run in beforehand.
For some reason my body decided to wake 20 minutes before my usual 0535 alarm! After snoozing for a while I was out of the door before heading out the door just before six am. With the Brentwood half marathon on Sunday my aim was to bank some easy miles to ensure I'm ready.
I decided to head to Quendon, then once on the way to Newport make a turn back south towards Elsenham before returning to Stansted. This is a route I'd not visited for sometime, a good ten mile route.

The Run

Despite a slow first kilometre I was soon into a settled pace around the 6:00/km mark. I felt decent throughout, with the 15th kilometre being the fastest. The knee did not prove too painful and previous ailments such as shin splints weren't a factor.
Even the final ascent up Chapel Hill in Stansted didn't tax me too much and I was soon home, happy with the morning's work.

Sometimes a run goes that well, there isn't much to talk about!!

A whole loop

Today wasn't meant to be a run day. In fact today I was intending to play squash, but couldn't find an opponent. After an easy run on Tuesday and my swimming lesson on Wednesday I had noticed my knee pain wasn't shifting. So I gave myself Thursday off, no problem as I'd have a parkrun & long run to fill the weekend.
Oh how plans change. I'm working late tonight and at short notice was asked if I could also provide assistance on Saturday morning. Sadly in the world of work, Saturday has yet to be relabelled parkrunday. So I've sacrificed my parkrun. This lead to a juggling of my running plans and a decision to head out this morning if my knee felt adequate.
I spent the evening researching knee conditions (there isn't much else to do in an evening), Internet self diagnosis is always a bit dangerous, but has been correct with plantar fascitis, achilles tendinitis and other ailments in the past.
Thankfully I'm not in a huge amount of pain, just a nagging on the outside of my knee, it appears to be an ITB issue. We're no stranger to this condition, Paula has experienced it and manages it well. After some research on stretching, rolling and taping I feel it is something that won't hinder me too much. I'll just add it to the list of many injuries I seem to acquire!!!

The Run

With daylight available I chose to attack the loop from North to South and headed straight to Pennington Lane. My training plan called for some 3-2-1's but I opted for a general increase in pace and effort to make up for the parkrun.
As I eased myself in I could feel some nagging pain in my left knee & considered turning around, but this subsided as I warmed up. My main cause for concern was cold fingers, I'd forgotten my gloves!!
Visibility was poor as I headed downhill, probably under 50m by the time I was running alongside the main road. After dragging myself up the hill back into Stansted my pace increased further, I was comfortably pushing myself.
After dissecting Stansted I was back on the country lane, heading north once more on Lime Kiln Lane. All that stood between me and home was two more hills.
I kept my posture more upright than usual for the first ascend (I've been prone to leaning into a hill too much), using the downhill stretch inbetween to recover.
I was soon home and happy with a sub 6:00/km pace overall. The rest of the day will be interesting, and gauge of how the knee is holding up.
Mornings like today are just perfect for running. I'm starting to run more without music and it was nice to have a country lane to myself and hear just the sound of nature and a fat lad wheezing along.

Three runs in one

So here comes the blog post that has been due since I sprinted across the parkrun finish line on Saturday. Lets get the excuses out the way, life is hectic at the moment. We landed back in the UK on Friday, perplexed by a bright yellow thing in the sky! Not that we had time to rest, as soon as we'd unpacked it was time to pack up the rest of our lives and clear the house. Building work on our extension started yesterday so our weekend consisted of throwing out a plethora of junk acquired over the years, batch cooking meals, taking the cats on holiday to Paula's folks. This meant that despite finding time to run, the chance to update the blog proved elusive.
Which leads me to Tuesday, my first commute for a couple of weeks and the perfect opportunity to put some thoughts down. What would have been a single run, has now become three.....

The Run #1

Despite walking and swimming whilst in Iceland, on Saturday I was lacing up for the first time in 13 days. My last run had been the St Luke's 10 mile race, a satisfying PB. Of course Saturday is parkrun day (only a matter of time before its officially renamed), the question as always becomes where to run? Our other weekend activities dictated this, we needed a town based run so that boxes etc for packing could be acquired. With this in mind we headed to Chelmsford, for the third time already this year (almost a regular). Mrs H couldn't be persuaded into her running gear, so I lined up at the classic course start line. I think this was the first time in 2014 that the main route was possible, flood water has tested the resolve and the Chelmsford team have been excellent with some imaginative course routes to ensure no cancellations.
My expectations were low, this would be like the first session of testing, wanting to push but staying just about comfortably within limits. I was also running without gps as I'd left my garmin on the coffee table. This meant a return to the Nike app on the phone, no way of referencing during the run as it was safely stowed in a pocket.
I settled into a decent rhythm, without anything to guide me I just stuck to what felt comfortable. The effort was greater than an easy run, but it could have been a 28 minute tank for all I knew! For the first 3km I stuck with a couple of runners who felt like they were running at about the right pace for me. I pulled away from them as the course has a brief climb, always a good sign when I have power up hill. Other than a brief chat to myself with a kilometre to go, I was feeling rather good. As we entered the final lap of the first park I was passed by a guy who was getting a second wind and enjoying himself, he was striding away from me but I wasn't overly concerned. With 400m to go a father had joined his son to encourage him to the finish line, I jokingly added that he should easily beat a 30 (only one year out) fatty like me & with 200m to go his dad said to kick, so I went too!
Those final 200 metres were one or my most enjoyable parkrun experiences. I know parkrun is a run, not a race, but with a finish line in sight that's not how we saw it! My competitive spirit kicked in and I surprised myself with the speed and endurance I had, overtaking at least four! After being pipped on the line in Colchester earlier in the year, this was a fun way to end the run. I even managed to haul in Mr 2nd wind, who complimented me on the finish. As someone who never excelled at sport in my youth, it was nice to be praised and feel like a winner, even if the prize was 132nd place!!!!

The Conclusion #1

My official time was 25:18, a respectable return having had my feet up for a couple of weeks. I don't think I'm far away from breaking 25 minutes again and hope to be close to PB pace by Helsinki in 10 weeks.
I was also happy to have paced well, it was nice to know I can keep to a faster pace without some tech on my arm!
The most pleasing aspect of the run was the lack of pain. Perhaps rest is good for you! There were no occurrences of shin splints, achilles or calf pain.

The Run #2

Sunday. Long run day (another renaming opportunity?). After deciding to lie in for a bit longer I was out on the road to see how the long run would go. I noticed my quads were tight, lack of post parkrun stretching!
Taking a look at my schedule seemed to suggest 130 minutes of easy was the order of the day, over two hours?!?! I made the call to run long and just see how it would go, anything over an hour would be satisfactory, despite a half marathon being just two weeks away.
The sun was out, the temperature mid teens, a big culture shock to Icelandic weather! The lack of flood water meant that I could explore other routes, a lap of Bishops Stortford wouldn't be required. I took on the Manuden to Rickling Green route, a track that you'll be lucky to see another person on. It does include a real tough ascent, that you recover from for all of a minute before you dip & climb once more.
After I got into a rhythm the quad pain subsided and I found myself to be settled into a consistent pace around the 6:05/km mark. After 45 minutes I arrived at the cricket pitch in Rickling, downed a High 5 gel and turned for home. I felt great, once I was running alongside the main road I was able to pick up my pace, dropping well under 6:00.
With 4km back to Stansted I decided not to be greedy. This was a day for banking the sunshine miles and not attempt to add extra junk miles by turning further from home.
So I was home, 13km completed in 1:18, a model of 6:00/km consistency.

The Conclusion #2

A bottle of Fridg Cookie Dough was my reward, alongside a day of nagging knee pain. For the rest of Sunday and a bit of Monday I found my left knee to be very tender, just above the cap. The quads were tight when I returned so I went straight on the foam roller, the knee pain was perplexing though. A bit of ice later in the day didn't seem to alleviate either!
It was a shame to spend the rest of the day in pain as the run was so positive.

The Run #3

I'd put my running kit together on Monday evening more in hope than expectation of being able to run. Thankfully an extra night of rest had paid dividends and I felt decent. This was great as the daylight appears to have returned!
I could return to the loop! Regular readers will know that the country lanes around Stansted are my bread and butter, yet off limits in the dark hours. I took on the southern half of the loop.

Icelandic Tapas

Though I might be on a short sabbatical from running, our holiday in Iceland is presenting an opportunity to blog about both the food and the sights.
We landed in Reykjavik on Friday afternoon ahead of our friend's wedding on Saturday. Once checked in we were able to meet with a few of the guys for some drinks and to sample the culinary delights. A table at Tapas Barinn was booked for later in the evening. This gave us a chance to check out some bars and the local beers.
Offerings from Viking and Thule were both reasonable. The highlight was a pint of Ulf at The Laundromat Cafe. The concensus was this beer surpassed everything that had passed before it.

The Eat

Our reservation time was soon upon us so we made the short walk to Tapas Barinn. An intimate basement restaurant, offering an extensive (though light on vegetarian options) menu. Between us we opted for The Icelandic, Hunter & Traveller set menus. I'll focus on the Hunter menu as this was my personal choice.

Lobster tails baked in garlic

Three lobster tails placed back upon their shells and delicately cooked in garlic. A perfect start to the meal.

Smoked puffin with brennivins blueberry sauce

My first time trying Puffin. The meat was quite gamey, very similar to Duck. The blueberry sauce seemed to marry it perfectly, a good combination.

Smoked Salmon with horseradish sauce

For me, this was the highlight of the meal. Regular readers will have picked up that I'm a fan of smoked salmon, normally placed on a plate of Eggs Benedict. This salmon was simply perfect. The slices were about double the thickness of regular smoked salmon, the texture soft & the taste was sublime.
Add to it a dash of horseradish, absolutely amazing.

Grilled tuna with pickled ginger and teriyaki sauce

Whenever we cook tuna at home we always tend to opt for safety first and cook it to at least medium. This dish was served up rare, with the tuna seared on each side. It tasted great and the rareness meant the texture wasn't rubbery at all. Coupled perfectly with teriyaki and ginger.

Grilled icelandic lamb Samfaina with mint sauce

Another excellent dish, cooked to perfection. Sadly I don't have many more thoughts about it as the dish was overshadowed!

Grilled king prawns with oriental sauce

Exactly what you'd hope from shellfish. A decent crunch and well seasoned.

Chocolate cake with berry compote & whipped cream. Port & coffee.

As if we needed a desert! A small but rich slice of chocolate cake that was complimented with a berry based sauce. If you we're inclined, you could also have a coffee alongside your port. I've never been a coffee drinker so opted for just the port.

The meal was exceptional. At around £50 per head for the meal and a drink each it more than justified the cost. If you find yourself in Reykjavik and want to try something special, take a look at www.tapas.is.

After settling the bill we headed back towards our hotel and to Dillons Whiskey Bar (above the Chuck Norris grill (yes really)). In this cosy scout hut like two floored bar we sampled the local vodka & local gin. Having struggled for Icelandic gin at Duty Free I was eager to try the local option. The conclusion was that the alcohol content was high! A strong Caprinha style taste, unlike most gins I've tried!