Endure Recovery
I had wisely booked Monday off of work. My body seemed to think Endure was still happening as I woke up at around 11pm, then 4am, maybe this was due to the power of the luminous wristband that sat on the bookcase in my room.
With ruthless efficiency I woke up just before 6 & realised that my body clock has no understanding of annual leave. There was little point trying to fight it so I headed downstairs to play on the Xbox for a bit, determined that the day started as unproductively as possible. As I wandered downstairs I was instantly confused. I could walk just fine, DOMS was surprisingly absent. I had no aches or pains, a nasty cold brewing but that was it.
If it wasn't for all of the running paraphernalia that surrounded me I'd swear the weekend was just a dream. How was this even possible? I'd run further & for longer than anything I'd done previously & felt great.
Perplexing as it was, my physical vibrancy wasn't going to get turned into a day of activity. I switched the Xbox over & watched Money in the Bank, tuning in where the show was decent (Kevin Owens / main event) & out (everything else) where not. I think I liked every Endure photo on IG as my procrastination took on new levels.
Eventually I resolved to empty the car & take on one of many jobs I had been putting off for a while. The garage had become a sprawling mess of left overs from the building work, parkrun equipment, cricket gear, bbq, diy & gardening stuff & anything else that would fit in for good measure. After a couple of hours I felt it didn't look much better, it appears to be the gift that keeps on giving.
I broke up the time by making a start on an epic Endure 24 blog post, splitting my time between both activities. I had designs on heading across to Braintree to catch up with friends & my Mum, but this trip also included a visit to the gym & they were apparently closed due to water mains issues. It was as if it was being prescribed that I should be lazy!
So I let the rest of the day pass & didn't achieve a great deal. As the evening approached I was about to stick a pizza in the oven. I decided that I should at least get in some time on the exercise bike to get the legs moving a bit, before returning to the pizza, feeling like maybe a slice of it was earned.
Let's get physio, physio
Tuesday was a bizarre day. I had some awesome news that I'll talk about in future weeks, finally got round to filling in some paperwork that needed doing in order to move on & finished with some inevitable, saddening news.
Sandwiched amongst all of this was my regular visit to Dan the Physio. I explained that I was holding up well after Endure, but had some concerns about my shoulder, calves / achilles as usual & wanted him to check the shin splints. After the usual work on the neck & shoulders, he eased off the calves. He felt the shins were just fine & that by rolling & stretching I can managed any issue there, tight calves being the cause is hardly a surprise. He also couldn't find anything wrong with the shoulder after carrying out some movement tests, putting the likely cause down to a bit more tension as I've upped the miles.
My intention for the next fortnight or so it to scale it back a bit to the bare minimum amount of training to maintain the base I've built up, so this fits nicely, no major issues for now.
As I tackled some still remaining washing up, Topper returning from the vets. The prognosis was not good, there was now nothing else they could do for him. His kidneys started failing back in October & he's been on medication ever since, ballooning in size as he goes. As his weight has increased his legs have weakened so his ability to jump has diminished. Personality wise he is still the same, potentially he's even more affectionate now. It is unlikely he'll make it much further, now it is a case of monitoring how much quality of life he has. I suspect he'll be spoilt rotten over the coming weeks, allowed to eat whatever (his favourites are eggs, ice cream & fish), forgiven for the early morning jabs to the face & fussed like anything.
Forest Five
On Tuesday I also realised that I was signed up to a race. After my visit to Bracknell Forest Runners track night a few week's previously my colleague Kendra had given me a list of local races to sign up to that would work with my trips to our southern office. I'd wantonly signed up without thinking to check my running calendar, you know to see if there was perhaps an endurance event merely days beforehand.
It was even an event designed to mess with my head following Endure, 5 laps, undulating, around a forest! All I needed to do was deprive myself of sleep beforehand & force someone to do a lap after me & it would be like the weekend all over again.
Fearing traffic I'd left my hotel early & arrived with a mere hour to kill before the race. I wandered to the start line (nearly a km into the Forest), wandered back, found the toilets, chucked my valuables in the car, walked back, walked some more & probably covered 3-4km in walking before the start just to keep myself busy.
I was tempted to run with Kendra & her son Callum who was taking part in his first 5 miler. Instead I opted for the well versed plan of winging it on the day. BFR appear to be another club, like Bishop's Stortford that I appear to be an associate member of by osmosis as I recognised many faces & said hi to my Endure lap 1 partner in crime Cindy.
Anyone that had run over the weekend was comparing war stories, I still couldn't correlate my performance with a seemingly zero problems. I felt like I should be suffering, a bit fraudulent for appearing to have got away from Endure without issue.
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| Bit of a roller coaster, closing my eyes until it was all over |
I had been fooled. Fooled, lulled, seduced into believing that everything was ok. Even after a near 2km downhill beginning it was clear that like say a 2003 Alfa bought in February, though everything appeared alright, there were some gremlins to be found when on closer inspection. Potentially due to being worked on the night previously, both achilles decided to voice their displeasure at the physical nature of the activity. A hamstring that until Lap 5 on Sunday had behaved itself impeccably in 5 years of running was also having a moan. On top of this my breathing was all over the place thanks to the lingering cold brought on from camping being illness inducing.
Other than those symptoms & a general lack of moral fibre, my pace was just weird. I wanted to see if a 44:00 @ 5:30/km was possible, although I hadn't researched the course, or sustained that pace since the HBO a few weeks prior.
This soon became a grin & bear it kind of run. I made an effort to thank every marshal around the course. There was a delightful rollercoaster of a down & up just after halfway, actually by the end of the uphill I'm not sure delightful was the right term for it. I found breaking the run into 2km sections helped & once I was through 6km the back of the run had been broken & I felt more inclined to push whatever I could out of my legs.
My pace was better for the 7th kilometre & a marshal advising us that it was all downhill from that point onward raised a cheer from the runners in & around me. A lady from Reading RC cashed in on the descend a bit more than me, though my pace was increasing I find it far too easy to lose form on a downhill. As the finish came into sight the course flatten out & I decided it was time to really test the legs. Impressively I was able to manage a full sprint finish, reeling in a few that had passed me on the downhill.
I collected my goody bag & liked the unique medal, popping it round my neck whilst waiting for Callum & Kendra to finish. As they approached the finish Callum dropped Kendra with an almighty sprint finish home, recording a 48:53. A great debut performance at the distance & a sprint finish I'd be proud of! I said my goodbyes & made my way back to the car to cool down a bit. A much appreciated Mars bar was found in the goody bag & I headed back to my hotel, trying to work out what to do for dinner. I was in a bit of a state post run & really couldn't be arsed with getting changed, or sitting in a restaurant. Knowing takeaway was my only option from this point I then decided I didn't even want to wait for a curry & chucked the hire car into a McD's drive through.
Dirty tainted food, but it was fine by me.
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| Funky medal, sweaty face |
parkrun
I was back on rota for a fortnight of Run Directing down at Hatfield Forest. As James was staying at the house he'd been added to the roster for pre & post event work, although he didn't appear to be overly inspired by us leaving at 0645.
When on duty I try to avoid anything that might induce swearing, I'm already far too fluent at dropping the F bomb without further encouragement. I'd forgotten this golden rule as Nick Helm's Hot & Heavy was already in the CD player. We'd made it halfway towards the forest before I asked James to source something else.
The course was setup in decent time (with me on a bike no less) & with Amy taking on the Volunteer Coordinator role under Karl's supervision, I had time to remember what exactly I was meant to be doing. Thankfully all of our volunteers were in place & ready to go, it was just time to greet the runners, get through a briefing that had a second page & then relax for 15 minutes whilst they ran the course.
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| Lots of volunteers, no runners though |
So we'd lost runners once, you'd have to be really unlucky for it to happen twice? It appears the NT's herds of cattle are a mischievous bunch. Always intrigued by our signage, they'd managed to nudge our penultimate turn from a left to a straight on arrow. This is how Mark found himself leading, thankfully he sounded on to the runners that had overshot & corrected the sign for those that followed.
A reluctant first finisher & definitely the only time my 50 shirt will ever cross the line first! Thankfully all of the runners I spoke to that had missed turns were in good spirits, understanding that these things happen. Some even commented on getting even more free kilometres in!
The rest of the event passed without incident & we chose to take the bikes out once more to assess the two turns where the issues had occurred & collect the remaining signage on the course. I found myself even enjoying the ride. I was such a useless cyclist at school that I even failed cycling proficiency! I think when I rode during our event a couple of weeks back that would have been the first time in 5 years. Sure the quads ache within a kilometre, but it was nice to ride, something I might do more of at the forest.
A very long weekend
James was down for the weekend, making a return to Hatfield Forest parkrun on the Saturday & taking on the summer course for the first time. That wasn't the only reason for his visit, he'd tried to catch Katherine Ryan's latest show a couple of times in Preston & Leeds but had no joy. She was due to play at Udderbelly over the weekend & after acquiring some tickets on Stubhub a plan for a weekend was formed.
So Friday night comprised of gin, comedy & (sadly) dirty McD's food for the train home after the queue for Duck & Waffle was simply too long.
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| All set for comedy |
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| Pints of cocktail in the late afternoon, this could only go wrong |
A second round of cocktails (served by the pint, though a lot of that was ice) & this time we were back to Breedo's to try the beef tacos. Vicky & Cali opted for duck burgers, donuts & mocking me, all of which they appeared to enjoy! They were soon on their way & we decided that open air eating in the rain was fine but it was time to wander ourselves.
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| All kinds of food at Dinerama |
A couple of more pubs later & it was 9pm, I was pretty much done by this point. It would be rude to head home before the light went so into The George at Liverpool St we went. James insisted on doubling up our Tanqueray Tens, his eyes popping out at the £22 cost! By half ten we were onto the train north, after yet another trip to the golden arches (yes really). No nightcap for me, time to sleep.
Hoohaah Hatfield Forest 10k
This was my second attempt to run the HF 10k. I'd not made the start line for 2014's inaugural event after a delightful weekend of toilet hugging & extreme weight loss. This time around I was looking forward to it. The event last year had sewn the seed for a potential parkrun at the venue as it was the first running event I was aware of at the forest (I was wrong, just wasn't aware of others).
For James, this would be his first 10k, though with another one due next weekend he was more than ready. My ever efficient but not overly friendly body clock performed the half five wake up trick as always. I managed to barter another couple of hours of sleep, but noticed that I wasn't overly with it, potentially due to the gin consumption the night previous. Three slices of heavily buttered Soreen really didn't feel sufficient so I threw myself under the shower to try & wake myself up.
Arriving at the forest but without anything to be in charge of felt quite liberating. I met Sue, Maldon's ED for the first time & it was good to share ED stories. I'm still yet to make it to Maldon on a Saturday morning & will be a long old commute if I don't get it visited soon!
We picked up our numbers & I said hello to Alison & Hannah the Hoohaah team. I cheekily asked if they could mention the parkrun, the response was very much in the affirmative, how about you take the stage & we give you the mic during the briefing?!
We had some time to kill & I spent some time preparing my race kit before chatting to some of the parkrunners present at the event. I bumped into Rich from Great Notley & as James wanted to run to a 55, Rich joined us.
So after a brief appearance on the stage with the mic, where I not only promoted us but all of our local parkruns across Essex it was time to start. James knew his target might be ambitious, but you might as well aim high to see what is possible. A nice flat target time made it easy for me to calculate the splits, 5:30/km, Rich works in miles so I had no idea what that worked out at, probably around the 9:00/mile mark.
Our pace wasn't amazing as per the watch, but I was noticing we were measuring short based on course signage, understandable in a dense forest. This meant I think we were good, but wouldn't be sure until the end. After 3km navigating the forest we were onto the Flitch Way & enjoying the flat & shaded conditions. I'd ditched my sunglasses before the start as it looked overcast, a decision I would soon be regretting.
The weakest kilometre was the 7th & I can only think this was due to the heat & then some boggy, technical trails that had to be navigated. Having been in the shade for a while we were unaware just how hot & sunny the day had become & it really did sap the energy. This was something that I need to take into account for Berlin, it can be terrifically hot there. After my not always perfect pacing record I was keen to check in on James frequently & he appeared to be just fine, with Rich using himself to then pace me, dragging us out a bit more.
As we reached the 8km marker James was on target but told us to run on, concerned he would struggle in the final part of the race. I double checked all was ok & kicked on, Rich was now pushing the pace a bit more to stretch me as the finish line beckoned, setting targets of runners ahead for us to pass. The pace to this point had been comfortable so I was able to go through the gears a bit & get down to a 5:00/km pace. A brief aeroplane to a photographer (sadly not captured) & we were into a nasty little wooded area that preceded the finish. This was a complete momentum killer as hazards both at head height & on the ground needed to be navigated. As we emerged into the field we could hear Vicky on the PA system & Rich encouraged me (like I normally need it) to sprint to the end. Perhaps the pace wasn't quite so easy as I'd previously felt, the resulting sprint finish was a rather weak effort, if the ground were covered in treacle it wouldn't have surprised me.
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| Medals & smiles (almost) |
I'd really enjoyed the run & the chance to explore different parts of the forest that we don't see as part of the parkrun courses. No doubt I've now got some new course ideas for the drawing board, though whether the event really needs more routes would be debatable.
James was soon on his way back to the North after a chocolate milk & a shower. His 6 hour journey home wasn't great for his spirits, though I suspect the medal stayed around his neck throughout.
I spend the rest of the day on a bit of an emotional roller-coaster, the first time Father's Day has really hit me for a while. I headed across to Braintree to see my Mum & bring some beers to Step-Dad Steve but found myself having to chuck the Counting Crows CD out as it was reminding me too much of the many things I shared with the old man. It wasn't depressing, I just felt that my driving would be enhanced if I wasn't tearing up! Mum had a load of old photos I'd not seen before, including one from Dad's Japan visit in 1987, which left me wondering if I can recreate the photo when I visit in January.
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| Dad in Japan. Now just need to find out where this was. And why his shirt to trouser ratio was so bad. And what is going on with the jacket.,,,, |
The day finished with a steak, once I realised it was darn late & I could do with eating, then a bath so that I could treat the muscles to a soak after a good 10k performance.
The Conclusion
A thoroughly enjoyable week. Two races, two relatively pleasing performances given my fatigue & lack of speed work of late. My 10k time was good, it achieved the goal set at the start & I was able to get some quicker clicks in at the end. I think I'm in a good place to start reintroducing speed work alongside the mileage & the target of breaking 48 for the first time at August's Pride 10k is something that should be possible. I've got another 10k that precedes it by 5 weeks & Sean is heading down to Yateley with the aim of pacing me to 50 minutes, his reward for hauling me around close to target will be a curry! There is also the small matter of a half marathon PB to aim for & the Dublin trip, also with Sean offers this potential.
The weekend itself was also a lot of fun, spending time out with friends & just letting off some steam was exactly what I needed. It might have hampered Sunday's performance, I suspect I was sweating neat gin by the end!
Looking forward to increasing the mileage again & Friday brings a track 5k, which should be a lot of fun.
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