Olympic Bracknell, hangovers & a really long run

A week that had a clear lesson, if you don't give yourself the opportunity to succeed, then you will indeed fail. Two very good runs, one abomination that was all my own fault.

Hold dinner, I'm off to the gym

Some cancelled plans left me with a free evening on Tuesday. I'm still uncertain at what point life changed to the point where I saw this as an opportunity to hit the gym. Surely I should embrace some sofa time!?! Instead I got home, changed & out the door. To my surprise, the gym was far less busy at half eight in the evening than at half six in the morning, plenty of space for me to keep myself to myself & in theory not cause embarrassment!
I started on the sit down bike, moved through to some leg pushes, a couple of different abductor machines & then took on my nemesis once more. I don't know what it is about the elliptical, but I can't find a rhythm. I suspect this could very well be down to me, so just got through ten sweaty, stop & start minutes I called it a day. After 30 pull downs (a nice increase on last week) I returned to the sit down bike to cool down. Just my second visit but I was able to do more either in terms of repetitions or weight. I even remembered a towel this time, which was handy as the hard work brought the sweat on!
The gym visit was followed up with a burger, a deserved reward! There was something quite satisfying about finishing work & then doing some exercise. I struggle to get on with evening running, but varying to gym work was quite enjoyable. The best news was that my calves weren't ruined the day after. So either they've adapted to the workout, I've stopped doing something wrong, or I avoided the machine that must have been responsible!

More kit arrives

My Wiggle order landed in the porch. Ah yes, the reminder that I'd worked late the previous week & had internet access. I'd replenished my High 5 gel stocks. Having got on with them for years, they are a good staple of my distance running. I was also going to trial some new products, chews & waffles from Honey Stinger (I'd picked up one waffle when in San Fran & got on with it), plus some new gels from Torq. I think I should now have enough to get me through to Berlin & probably into the spring!

Plenty of gels to get me to Berlin

Track Session

My varying work schedule has the potential to play havoc with my the run plan. Not only this, being away with work leads you towards eating out, big breakfasts, snacking in the car, tours looking for Wimpy restaurants etc. Having recently started the running group on Wednesdays, I realised that I had a problem of my own causing by having meetings 100 miles away on two separate days. Sure, I could commute to both, but my recent experiences of the M25 had left the prospect of more motorway time less than appetising.
I'd contacted some running friends & colleagues to see if there were any races, groups I could join in with or tracks I could make use of. There was even the prospect of doing a freedom parkrun. I'd seen an event, the Yateley 10k that would have fit nicely, but work got in the way & by the time I got round to entering the event was full. Evidentially I need to be less ponderous! I mentioned my quandary to my colleague Kendra & she provided a solution. Her club, Bracknell Forest Runners have Wednesday night track sessions & I'd be more than welcome to join them.
After navigating my way through a few meetings on Wednesday I found myself at the track will plenty of time & caught up with Kendra who introduced me to her son & various club colleagues. The plan was fairly simple: one lap at a comfortable 6 out of 10 pace, one lap challenge (8/10) & one at a suicidal pace (11/10). After one recovery lap it would be time to start again, will a goal of 3 good quality reps rather than 4 that didn't hurt.

Pretty consistent reps

The entire session was fun. Tough, brutal, lung busting fun! My previous experiences of running on a track were at the Olympic stadiums of London & Helsinki, plus avoiding the track whilst being the fat kid at school. It's fair to say a municipal track doesn't quite have the same bounce as a freshly laid 2012 track, but the surface was still responsive & I felt quick. The suicidal laps were clocked at 1:35, 1:44 & 1:41. The 1:35 equates to a 3:58/km pace, something that very satisfying at my current fitness levels.

The track was rather resplendent in sunshine

After an embarrassingly inflexible post run stretch & cool down I thanked Kendra & co for inviting me down & headed back to the Linton Travel Tavern for some food. The on site Harvester was still serving & I demolished a well deserved rack of ribs with aplomb!

It's not big or clever

Three late nights in a row. After the track session I'd been given a list of midweek races local to Bracknell that would fit nicely with my work schedule. The track fun had also inspired me, so I spent the evening & then some more writing up my previous blog & entering races!
Thursday was spent in briefings as we'd got to our year end at work & were then off into London to celebrate. It turns out that being on boat whilst drinking can lead to confusion. You can wonder if you've been drinking too much or perhaps feel you need to drink more to cope as the boat bobs up & down in the Thames! The bar staff were suggesting doubles to start the evening, I felt at half five this wasn't the best course of action & stuck to single G&T's for the majority of the evening.

On a boat!

After some food we took part on the mock gambling tables & to my surprise I started to get quite good (or quite lucky) at Blackjack, eventually winning a 4th prize in the overall chip count. This meant I now have a cool bag for Endure, not sure the beers that accompanied it will make it though!

Recovery after Thursday's boozy evening

The third & latest night involved the cricket at The Oval. Though we're struggling to raise a team for matches of cricket, getting the guys together to watch some T20 was really rather easy. Eight of us got down to The Oval on Friday evening to see Essex finally win a game, defeating Surrey.

LMS Social

The game wasn't played in the best of spirits, Surrey had an extra fielder which isn't really within the spirit of the game. Sure the fielder might have been a very confused squirrel, but it covered the ground quicker than most & had more control than Jade Dernbach.

Cricketeering

One of our guys lives close to the ground & had been given the task of finding us some post cricket sustenance. The usual option would be a curry house, but Dave had mentioned there were some good Eritrean restaurants close to his home. The food really was excellent. Large platters lined with pancakes, onto which various curries were heaped on top. Then more pancakes were provided, which were used as cutlery to scoop up the curry. In front of us we had a choice of prawn, mushroom, lentils, chick pea, lamb, beef & chicken, all packed with flavour. One had a bit too much flavour for young John as he picked up what he thought was a slice of cucumber from the salad. One trip to the bar for a glass of milk later & we'd established as he wiped his tears away that it was more than likely a chilli!

Eritirean platter

As great as the meal was, walking out of the restaurant just after 11 meant that I was logistically challenged when faced with getting home. I was still well south of the river so needed to rely on a taxi & then thankfully a well behaved Victoria Line to get me up to Tottenham Hale & the last train northbound. Getting to bed just before half one, surely that was a good idea?

The last train out of London

parkrun gets funky, Chris gets a hangover

My ever sadistic body clock opted for a 0531 wake up call, beating my alarm to the job by 4 minutes. In a potential foreshadowing of what was to follow for the rest of the day, I tried to reclaim these minutes with a micro snooze before throwing myself under the shower in an attempt to awaken my senses. I had a realisation that the combination of no sleep & alcohol the night before had left me in quite a tender state.
I still had plenty to print out for our special event course so quickly put together a cup of tea & tried to encourage some productivity from myself. I also needed to get to the forest as I had the keys on me (still can't get over how cool it is to have keys to an entire forest)! The day was going to be a busy one, we had a new special, untested live route to setup & nurse the runners around. On top of this we had our first ever club takeover event scheduled, with Bishop's Stortford Running Club ready to paint the forest in green & gold. On top of this we had 150+ horses to content with & a lack of parking as a result.
I arrived at the forest in a state I really wanted to remain in for the majority of the day. Slightly sheepish & with sunglasses firmly locked over my eyes. The sunshine was already far too bright & the rest of the team were more than aware that I might be a bit fragile. We got the kit out & split into two teams to setup the course, with me quickly realising that the pile of signs due for repair in my garage would be really quite handy!
Once the course was setup we had planned to walk our marshals direct to their positions & had got the NT's permission to use some of their hire bikes to ensure we could get back to the start line in time. This got a bit too close for comfort when one of our car parking marshals left our Run Director at the main gate directing traffic & our marshal guides (and the bikes) locked away in the hub! I asked Alec to help out at the front gate as he'd arrived early ahead of his 50th run & after Sam diligently stuck on the on site speed limit we were able to unlock just before half past & start walking our marshals to position.
This meant that not only was I hungover, but I would also be riding a bike, something I've never been good at & haven't done in years. I was anticipating the incident form submission as I road around the forest, dropping off marshals & then making a fast (well for me) break back to the start / finish area. It's not like I could even sheep off to the back of the briefing as I had a presentation to make. As I arrived back I also realised I was meant to be delivering the first timers briefing given it was a new course. Mark, one of our regular volunteers was down to shadow & as I still needed to get myself ready to run I just gave him the advice to wing it & assure the runners they'd not get lost!
As our runners assembled for the briefing we were joined by Phil of BSRC at the front as he introduced the club. He started addressing the club & I noticed my name in his notes, what followed took me completely by surprise as he told all of those in front of us that they were only here down to my work & that he would appreciate a round of applause for me. It was a very touching moment as the runners duly obliged & I was quite glad to have the shades on! I was taken aback by the response & humbled. I just wanted to run locally, it's nice that others get to share the experience.
Once Phil & RD Sam had said their pieces the megaphone was handed to me, where I welcomed Alec to the 50 shirt club. In just over a year he's not only found parkrun, but embraced it, racing to 50 appearances. I brought Alec up to the front & handed him my 50 shirt as a loan for the day, proud of his achievement & allowing him to bask in the glory for a moment. With the changes to t-shirt distribution within parkrun, the chance to publicly acknowledge milestones is harder, but I've got a couple of ideas seen at other events that I think could work.

Honoring Alec's entry into the 50 club

As for the parkrun performance itself? Flipping horrendous would be the most appropriate term to describe it. I'd given myself such a handicap with the lack of sleep & drinking, this was a pure punishment run, legs barely working, arms without rhythm, head & lungs not really that interested. The special event route provided a definite PB (for the event) potential. It is the flattest route we've setup in the forest & from 2.5km onwards it is flat & grassy. Had I not spent the week abusing my liver & depriving myself of sleep I could have returned a good result. Sometimes you get the result you deserve.

parkrun presents: Chase the Event Director!!!!

Karl had also been burning the midnight oil (due to a house move, not drinking) & ran in easy as well. As Sam was getting on fine with his army of BSRC volunteers, we headed to the NT cafe & picked up some massive slices of Rocky Road, also discussing plans for our American event on July 4th with the cafe staff, who are also going to put on some special snacks for the day.
I was starting to feel a bit more human & made my way around our finishers to pick up feedback on the course, which was universally well received. We don't have an agreement with the NT to use this route regularly, but given how it kept our runners away from the road, it might have potential to be used in the future. It did look absolutely stunning in the sunshine as well. From about 3.5km you turn into a wide plain that is currently covered in buttercups, sure every parkrun is special, but there are some views you just can't find elsewhere.

ED has cake, all is well again

We even managed to get packed up in record time, presenting us with a slight issue when arriving at the pub for results processing. It was 10:57, was that too early for a pint? And on second thoughts, why the hell did I even want a pint? The answer to both questions; probably but it was after eleven once the pint had settled & I probably didn't, but draught Erdinger is hard to turn down.
The rest of the afternoon was close to a write off. I don't recall doing anything productive & decided that a nap on the recliner was the best course of action.

Took some signs home for repair, Roo needed to inspect them

Another night on the town

Do I never learn? A third night out in a row, a potential fourth very late night. Vicky, Harlow's ED had arranged for drinks & a meal in Braintree for her birthday. My original plan was to stay over at my mum's (an arrangement I'll probably have to get use to in the short term once the house is sold). I had even arranged for a long run in the morning with Paul.
After my useless parkrun effort & the loss of a long run last weekend I knew it was important to get through the 16 miles planned for Sunday morning. With that in mind I made a sensible decision, they'd be no drinking, just mocktails & diet Coke for me!
We had a great evening, joined by a lot of the Great Notley core team & their supreme leader (and my parkrun mentor) Len. The guys were all on form & Vicky appeared to be enjoying herself, although there were a few occasions where we lost her to giggles momentarily!
I tried a French dip burger after realising I hadn't had a proper meal all day. The concept is a good one, you either pour gravy over the burger or dip in. The execution wasn't perfect, might be one for me to play around with at home.

Mega quiff can't hide even behind the largest Sundae at TGIs

We all went our separate ways at around 10, affording me a decent night's of sleep. My running kit was already out for the morning.

The Long Run

I woke up hungry. This was not overly unexpected as on reflection I'd only had one decent meal on Saturday & hadn't really snacked either. Thankfully I was up with plenty of time to spare so quickly rustled up some scrambled eggs on some buttered brioche to give me some fuel for the run.
The plan was a simple one, once I'd driven over to Rayne I'd be joining Paul & his regular Sunday morning club. They have a 10 mile route that is a bit of an out & back on the Flitch Way. Once we'd completed this we would then run on, finding another 6 miles to complete the route. For Paul, this would be an easy run, well within his capacity both in terms of distance & pace. For me, the pace of 10 minute miles, just over 6.00/km was manageable, the distance would be another step up.
I'd packed three High 5 gels, a packed of Stinger chews & a packed of Nakd cola raisins. This should have been sufficient for the day. The heat was a bit more than expected so I borrowed Emily's running belt, allowing me to carry an extra 400ml of water, just in case.
As with previous long runs after a parkrun, both Achilles took a few kilometres to ease off & that was followed by a complete numbing of my left foot. Thankfully we had a tarmac section as we lapped Felsted so that by 10k I was into a rhythm & shaken off all of these annoyances. Running in a group afforded the opportunity to chat with some of the Braintree Athletics Club guys, sharing run & race stories as you'd expect. Once we were back on the Flitch, the BAC guys headed off at their own pace, Paul & I stuck to the target.
My first experience of the Honey Stinger chews was good. They give the impression of being very sticky and / or chewy, but they were easy to handle, no residue & melted in the mouth. So a tick in the box for the chews & I found myself able to get through a packet slowly, although could easily scoff them a lot quicker if I needed to. As we made our way back towards Braintree I opted for a gel at 8 miles. Wiggle had some special edition Mojito flavoured High 5's, so I'd added a box to my cart. The flavour wasn't too funky, perfectly acceptable, although sadly missing in alcohol content!
We were soon passing Rayne station, resplendent in the sunshine & packed with Sunday morning cake & coffee enthusiasts on the old platform. It would have been great to stop & join them, but we still had 6 more miles to cover, so continued on the Flitch. Paul ensured he checked on me at regular intervals, offering the chance to chop the route should I feel the distance wasn't something I was capable of. For the most part I felt good, having shaken off the annoyances from earlier in the run. Anything past half marathon distance is going to be tough, but I didn't feel my performance drop off too much & even made it up the hill between Braintree & Rayne as we returned. I kept answering in the affirmative, we'd be completing 16 miles / 26 kilometres, only an inadvertent face plant would be stopping me!
This presented a slight issue as we made our way into Rayne & near to Paul & Emily's house with 25km on the watch. Anyone who's a runner will have at one point ran just past their house & looped back in order to clock a distance. On Sunday Paul & I ran progressively smaller loops, the final one including a lap of a van before finishing. I even managed to stride out a bit at the end, which told me the tank was not on empty.
26.1km in 2:40:01 as I stopped the Garmin. My target was 16 miles in 160 minutes & by running in km I covered an extra fifth of a mile. It had been an every increasingly warm morning, the kind of day when you really want to be running in a singlet. As I'd wanted a summer training plan & the daylight it affords, I can't be moaning about heat! As long as I plan accordingly everything will be just fine.

Paul looked just fine, I looked like I'd been dragged through a car wash backwards

After gulping down a couple of pints of water, a nuun Cherry Limeade concoction & some treacle tart, it was time to say my goodbyes & head across to my mum's to say hello (and make use of a shower). Running alongside friends is always enjoyable & having someone who can run alongside you & be completely at ease with what you are trying to achieve can work wonders for your training. Paul has paced me in the past & is an expert in reading reactions, knowing when to push, encourage & tone it down where required. Here is job wasn't so much pacing, there was a natural degradation in the last 5k of the run, his goal was to get me to my distance target.

The Eat

Hangry. A term to describe the combination of anger & hungriness.
Running long is hard work. You should really look after yourself after a long run to help the body recover. Wolfing down a packet of crisps at your mum's house & then wandering round a couple of towns doing errands is not really in any guide to recovery. I'd started the day hungry, burnt a huge number of calories & by mid afternoon was feeling rather ravenous.
I had a plan, I wanted a Ploughmans. I figured that calling into the new cheese shop in Dunmow would tick that box, but couldn't check their website as I'd left the house without my phones in the morning so was off the grid. My back up plan was Waitrose in Stortford & it is always good to have a fall back as the shop was indeed shut in a very sleepy Dunmow on a Sunday afternoon.
So my runger had to put up with a detour into another town. After a quick visit to the deli I had a whole selection of cheeses & was soon home constructing the Ploughmans.
As much as I wanted to just devour everything that was on the plate, the sheer richness of the cheese meant that I had to take my time, appreciating all of the variations. The truffle infused brie was so rich that I think it gave me hallucinations into Monday!

English Blue, Ewes, goats, cheddar, something else I can't recall, brie with truffles. Cheesegasm.....

I was that full afterwards that even though I was in calorie deficit by a long way, I really didn't fancy eating anything substantial during the evening. Instead I spent the evening building up the piles of crap I'd need for Endure, it's like I'm almost prepared! After a well deserved bath it was time to sign off for the week.

The Conclusion

Two excellent performances, one truly terrible one. The hangover run was all my own fault, I had low expectations & met them. At the same time, enjoying a night out is no bad thing so I'm not going to chastise myself too much for it. If I'd have run faster then all it probably would have done is compromise the long run on Sunday.
The track session was a lot of fun, I find the challenge of speed work something that really pushes me. As for the long run, plenty to be happy about there. Another notch up in distance & the pacing remained pretty strong throughout. At this stage in the training, with 14 or so weeks to go, I've very happy & content with my approach. I feel healthy & I also feel like I'm improving.