I suspect this summer is going to metaphorically resemble a juggler on a unicycle. Can I keep everything going whilst still not falling over & landing on my face? That's not even meant to be an excuse for my tardiness at updating this blog!
I'm now having to resort to Strava just to remind me of what I actually did last week!
I'm now having to resort to Strava just to remind me of what I actually did last week!
6 weeks in
I'm now six full weeks into the Berlin marathon training. So far I've taken it relatively easy, my bastardised Hal Higdon plan calls for 3 runs a week & 2 quality cross training sessions. At this point I'm achieving the 3 runs but the cross training isn't quite there, or maybe it is, just in the forms of other exercise like cricket that I've not included into my plan. I'm also yet to include any speed work, concentrating instead on gaining confidence in my groin again.
Some Cricket
With a sunny bank holiday in the offering, I chose to head to the home of cricket, Fortress Chelmsford to take in a day of the county championship. Essex were hosting (and very generous they were too) Gloucestershire. A day of red ball cricket meanders nicely & having some time to reflect was very welcome. My last full day at the county ground was back whilst on Olympic shifts when Essex were wasting funds on providing Harbhajan Singh with employment. This time there appeared to be several young prospects in the team, including a quick bowler that evened the game up with some early wickets in the first hour.
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| A day at the cricket |
Cross Training
Wednesday morning I was due to go for a gentle run. The weather outside was frightful so instead I headed into the lounge for a Fat Burner session of DDP Yoga & then made my first foray into using the Nike Training Club app.
The yoga is something I need to do more of. They are simple 20 minute sessions & given the clicks felt in my back, neck & shoulders, they are definitely helping. The Fat Burner session also raising the heart rate a bit more than the Diamond Dozen & Energy workouts.
Nike Training Club pairs nicely with the Chromecast so I could stream the workouts to the TV. I opted for an introduction, 7 minutes of core strength. There appeared to be a lot of downtime between the videos. I liked the idea of it, especially as the app is on my phone so I can do these workouts whilst away with work. It is certainly something to stick with & try out some more options.
Forest Shenanigans
The launch of the summer course at Hatfield Forest is imminent so I'd arranged for a core team meet up on Thursday evening so that we could run the route & see for ourselves how it was underfoot & what challenges we'd face with setup & marshalling. On the day both Sam & Paul were unavailable, so I met up with Karl & we took in an easy lap of the course.
The pace was nothing to write home about, Karl was in a bit of pain having defeated me in our showdown & after a day of work & fizzy pop I was happy for a nice slow run.
The course was in near perfect condition. Dry underfoot, no puddles to worry about & the ditches were dry. We have one ditch just after 2km that certainly looks deeper than when we first surveyed the course in September & the rabbits have really churned out some nice holes to content with. We might even have to get a custom "RABBIT HOLES" sign to warn the runners.
It was also nice to see the cows back grazing around the forest, they'll certainly add some fun into our parkrun efforts over the summer months.
A return to parkrun tourism - Lullingstone
We've had our Run Director rota in place well ahead of the launch event. Red & green, nice, easy ways to mark when folks were available. My first red block was Saturday May 9th, event number 8. This felt like very early on in an event's life to be leaving them for a day & ahead of the launch I was a bit nervous, especially when it looked like only Karl from our team would be around (air support was on standby from Great Notley). Paul then had a work trip cancelled so was available & took the reins the week beforehand to learn the role, taking to it naturally.
With the Forest taken care of it was time to cast my attention towards the parkrun map to see what options I had en route to Eastbourne. I wanted to get across the Dartford Crossing early. My 1st & 50th parkrun were at Greenwich so that was already ticked. Eastbourne parkrun itself I'd visited in January 2014 so that was also not an option.
The most logical destination would be Dartford, though this was cancelled for the week due to other activities in the park. The map suggested other options were Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells & Lullingstone. I asked my fellow parkrun tourists for their thoughts, ideally I wanted a nice easy route, bouncy tarmac perhaps.
Then Lullingstone was recommended for the scenery & hills. It was also a new event that is establishing itself, much like we are. So I decided to pay them a visit, my ED absenteeism guilt was building so when they asked for further volunteers I offered to help with post event close down. Tourism combined with volunteering would be a new experience for me & made me feel a little bit better for abandoning my guys.
Finding Lullingstone was fairly easy, taking the Brands Hatch exit from the M25. Given my weariness of the Dartford Crossing, especially in it's current form I'd factored in plenty of time. This meant that when everything went to plan I was there an hour early! The first thing I noticed was the hill. It was a walk up the hill just to get to the start! Did I still have time to find a flat, tarmaced alternative?
Having so much time to spare I wandered up the hill & said hello to the team. ED Giles & his guys could not have been more welcoming. It was great to chat to a team in a similar position to ours, finding their feet in the parkrun world. The best thing to hear is that they're enjoying the experience & getting to see their running community grow.
I left them to their final preparations & headed back down the hill to sort myself out ahead of the start.
After a quick briefing it was time to line up & take on this course (twice).Within a couple of minutes we were climbing the hill & negotiating quite a stiff cross wind whilst doing so, I was hoping that the course would level out once into the woods but it appeared to carry on upwards until thankfully a marshal was there to direct us downhill. The descend took us lower than the start point, so although enjoyable, I knew they'd be a consequence. After a U turn (probably a route for Len to avoid) it was back to the climb, gentle to start with, then through some tracks, towards the start & time for Lap 2.
With the Forest taken care of it was time to cast my attention towards the parkrun map to see what options I had en route to Eastbourne. I wanted to get across the Dartford Crossing early. My 1st & 50th parkrun were at Greenwich so that was already ticked. Eastbourne parkrun itself I'd visited in January 2014 so that was also not an option.
The most logical destination would be Dartford, though this was cancelled for the week due to other activities in the park. The map suggested other options were Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells & Lullingstone. I asked my fellow parkrun tourists for their thoughts, ideally I wanted a nice easy route, bouncy tarmac perhaps.
Then Lullingstone was recommended for the scenery & hills. It was also a new event that is establishing itself, much like we are. So I decided to pay them a visit, my ED absenteeism guilt was building so when they asked for further volunteers I offered to help with post event close down. Tourism combined with volunteering would be a new experience for me & made me feel a little bit better for abandoning my guys.
Finding Lullingstone was fairly easy, taking the Brands Hatch exit from the M25. Given my weariness of the Dartford Crossing, especially in it's current form I'd factored in plenty of time. This meant that when everything went to plan I was there an hour early! The first thing I noticed was the hill. It was a walk up the hill just to get to the start! Did I still have time to find a flat, tarmaced alternative?
Having so much time to spare I wandered up the hill & said hello to the team. ED Giles & his guys could not have been more welcoming. It was great to chat to a team in a similar position to ours, finding their feet in the parkrun world. The best thing to hear is that they're enjoying the experience & getting to see their running community grow.
I left them to their final preparations & headed back down the hill to sort myself out ahead of the start.
After a quick briefing it was time to line up & take on this course (twice).Within a couple of minutes we were climbing the hill & negotiating quite a stiff cross wind whilst doing so, I was hoping that the course would level out once into the woods but it appeared to carry on upwards until thankfully a marshal was there to direct us downhill. The descend took us lower than the start point, so although enjoyable, I knew they'd be a consequence. After a U turn (probably a route for Len to avoid) it was back to the climb, gentle to start with, then through some tracks, towards the start & time for Lap 2.
A marshal kindly lied when I asked him if it was all flat (always nice when they realise you're a bit bonkers & play along) & the core team were at the corner for the start of lap 2 to cheer everyone on.
The second climb defeated me. I found myself getting slower & slower, like a cartoon character struggling for traction. I realised that walking would be less effort & just as fast. I also decided to take a photo to show just how insane the climb was. I started running once more only to stop & walk again, deciding not to attempt a further run until on the downhill.
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| Lullingstone profile! |
The descend was a lot more enjoyable & I got chatting to another tourist from Poole, both of us admitted to preferring the flat (and in his case tarmac) of home! Even aiming for the finish funnel was tough as the camber & angle of the hill, combined with the cross wind made running in a straight line a challenge.
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| The view at the top of the hill |
I crossed the line with a time of 29:05. Judged simply on time you'd call that result atrocious. With a course difficulty on the day of 5.0 (runbritain) it measures up comparably to Brentwood. I can probably run it faster, I could probably keep going up the hill & maybe push more down the hill, but I can't say that I didn't enjoy the challenge. The course will expose all of your running weaknesses & I'm sure the regulars will find themselves benefiting when the time comes to swap their tough course for a nice bouncy flat one.
I can heartily recommend Lullingstone to anyone that wants to test themselves. The team are friendly, the course perhaps less so! Where is the fun in running something easy though? Maybe once I've covered all of the other parkrun events on the way down to my Grandma's I'll give this one another try & attempt to keep on running throughout.
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| Officially Hilly! |
I assisted with the post event close down & continued to be impressed with the setup & efficiency the guys had for what is a very new event. I declined the offer to join them for a drink & a bacon roll as I needed to get on the road & remind myself that parkrun tourism was not the main aim of the day.
On my way from the event I realised that I'd joined the Volunteer 25 club as well by assisting with the post event close down. And to think this time last year I'd never volunteered. Now I appear to be a parkrun Event Director, enjoy both running & volunteering in equal measures.
On my way from the event I realised that I'd joined the Volunteer 25 club as well by assisting with the post event close down. And to think this time last year I'd never volunteered. Now I appear to be a parkrun Event Director, enjoy both running & volunteering in equal measures.
Grandma's 100th
I didn't think Grandma would appreciate a black technical t-shirt for her 100th so opted for a more traditional bouquet of flowers instead. My uncle Richard had managed to get the entire family down to Eastbourne for the day with the exception of Clare & Dan who were back in America & made their visit a week prior. We were due to meet later in the afternoon but after calling brother John to catch up with him beforehand, I found myself saying hello to nearly all of the Holt clan, in Marks & Spencer next to the lingerie department.
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| Holt family meet up in M&S |
As Eastbourne natives made their way around us, I couldn't help but find my mind drifting, giggling to myself that we were re-enacting the famous Father Ted scene! Luckily we weren't stuck there for days & all went off in different directions (the pier then the pub in the case of John & I) before heading to the Old Folks Home.
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| The boy tries some ale |
My Grandma is quite remarkable. Orphaned at a young age, a nurse during WW2, a society wife out in Zambia. Her power of recall is amazing. If I tell her I've travelled somewhere, she'll often recall a trip there herself in the 50's, 60's or 70's. Despite her sight failing & hearing that means you sit right next to her AND SHOUT LOUDLY & SLOWLY, she still possesses a fine sense of humour. The past 20 years or so have seen her defy the odds on various occasions & the decision to move her into a home after my father's passing in 2010 has seen her enjoy company without feeling a duty to host. The fact she was nearly 95 & still living on her own was incredible.
After a couple of hours in the company of her family & friends she started to shoo us away, as someone able to project my voice a bit better than her I asked everyone to kindly bugger off on her behalf.
As the opportunity to meet up as a family when spread across various parts of England is a rarity, we headed back in Eastbourne for a drink & a meal together, although as a designated driver on a day trip I missed out on the wine that was flowing freely. Thankfully the news about my current situation had been communicated well in advance so the day was one for celebration & looking to the future rather than consolation. Despite being separated by distances & generations we all seem to possess a liking for the dark comedies of life, after all it is easier to get through everything with laughter. I appear to have arranged a night out in London with my brother & cousins in the next couple of weeks, I'm still sceptical that I won't end up being their chaperone!
Juggling
Sunday looked to have plenty of free time, but once you start looking at everything that was planned, another couple of hours in the day would have been handy.
Firstly there was the small matter of a half marathon run as the distance aspect for Berlin starts to increase. Secondly I had two loaves of cricket tea to produce ahead of my third assignment of the day, the first LMS game of the season.
With so much to cram into the day I was out on the roads fairly early. As my routes get longer I find myself sticking various smaller routes & variations together in order to tally up to the distances I need. After finding my way from Birchanger into Stortford the other week I decided that I deserved to do the reverse of that route & enjoy the long down hill, slightly smugly as I knew many would be climbing it twice for the Birchanger 10k later in the morning.
That was another reason to get out early, I didn't want to be running against a field for an event coming the other way. I made my way out of Stansted & west towards Farnham. This meant not only a climb adjacent to Farnham cricket club, but also taking on the the steep descend & drag of a climb at the ford. I have some history with this route, the only time I've needed to be picked up from a run was after taking on this series of climbs, even when I tried to conquer it earlier in the spring I needed to take evasive action around a field & the ford was still flooded.
Given the tough parkrun the day previously it was of no surprise that both achilles were complaining for the first 5km. They appeared to be finding no fun in the undulating route but the pain started to subside. Unfortunately the pain was replaced by numbness. Both feet went completely numb for a few kilometres as I tried to wriggle my toes and stretch out the arches as much as possible whilst carrying on with running. Some flatter ground in Stortford provided no respite so I took on Lindsey Road & decided to go discovering by taking a right at the top & found Dane O'Coys. A countryside like trail at the north of Stortford & a nice addition to the urban routes normally associated with the town.
I was halfway into the run when descending from the rugby club back into the town & the run felt like one of those that you just want to abandon & head home. At no point was I comfortable & I gave serious consideration to just turning north on several occasions. I'm also aware that not every day will be perfect within this training cycle & chose to gut this one out in the hope that there might be something of value by the end of it.
After traversing the town centre & heading out to BSRC I soon found myself at the A120 roundabout & crossing into Birchanger. The heat was increasing & my unhappy run was continuing as I passed Andrea our super marshal from the parkrun. I suspect I wasn't much for conversation at nearly 2 hours into the run & I quickly continued & briefly enjoyed the downhill. My inner sadist decided that I definitely had to clock the right distance so instead of taking the main road home, I opted for the dastardly climb back towards Forest Hall Park, before another downhill & then one final ascend of Chapel Hill before home. The one benefit to all of these hills is that Berlin is pancake flat, so at least that aspect of the race should be easier.
The run was by no means my finest work, but things got worse once I got home. The moment I took my shoes off my arches became immensely painful, necessitating some ice before I could get on with a shower & cricket teas. I suspect that despite only have 350km in them, my Saucony Kinvara shoes might be done. I can normally get 500-600km out of a pair, but given their racier profile & my weight probably being higher than their optimum user, it is likely I've taken them past their useful life. The various niggles on this run could also be due to the punishing parkrun the day before.
Either way, I carried on icing & slathered on some Voltarol before heading out the door for cricket, loaves of egg mayo & tuna mayo in hand. First game of the season & something bizarre happened just overs into the game. It has become a bit of a running joke that I will often wander to slip when in the field & see if our captain notices before moving me. On Sunday I was placed there & in slow motion the ball headed in my direction. So slowly in fact that I had too much time & the potential to get it wrong was immense! Thankfully I held the catch & took what from my recollection might just be my first slip catch from years of fielding there! As a team we bowled well (especially if you take my profligate overs out of the scorebook) & despite being padded up & ready to give it a slap if necessary the target was of no real trouble. The team won convincingly, a nice start to my club presidency!
The Conclusion
A tough parkrun, a tough long run & an increasingly listless performance on the cricket pitch. Although the long run was at target marathon pace, it appears I'm no good at juggling.
After a couple of hours in the company of her family & friends she started to shoo us away, as someone able to project my voice a bit better than her I asked everyone to kindly bugger off on her behalf.
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| Family & friends celebrate Grandma's 100th |
Juggling
Sunday looked to have plenty of free time, but once you start looking at everything that was planned, another couple of hours in the day would have been handy.
Firstly there was the small matter of a half marathon run as the distance aspect for Berlin starts to increase. Secondly I had two loaves of cricket tea to produce ahead of my third assignment of the day, the first LMS game of the season.
With so much to cram into the day I was out on the roads fairly early. As my routes get longer I find myself sticking various smaller routes & variations together in order to tally up to the distances I need. After finding my way from Birchanger into Stortford the other week I decided that I deserved to do the reverse of that route & enjoy the long down hill, slightly smugly as I knew many would be climbing it twice for the Birchanger 10k later in the morning.
That was another reason to get out early, I didn't want to be running against a field for an event coming the other way. I made my way out of Stansted & west towards Farnham. This meant not only a climb adjacent to Farnham cricket club, but also taking on the the steep descend & drag of a climb at the ford. I have some history with this route, the only time I've needed to be picked up from a run was after taking on this series of climbs, even when I tried to conquer it earlier in the spring I needed to take evasive action around a field & the ford was still flooded.
Given the tough parkrun the day previously it was of no surprise that both achilles were complaining for the first 5km. They appeared to be finding no fun in the undulating route but the pain started to subside. Unfortunately the pain was replaced by numbness. Both feet went completely numb for a few kilometres as I tried to wriggle my toes and stretch out the arches as much as possible whilst carrying on with running. Some flatter ground in Stortford provided no respite so I took on Lindsey Road & decided to go discovering by taking a right at the top & found Dane O'Coys. A countryside like trail at the north of Stortford & a nice addition to the urban routes normally associated with the town.
I was halfway into the run when descending from the rugby club back into the town & the run felt like one of those that you just want to abandon & head home. At no point was I comfortable & I gave serious consideration to just turning north on several occasions. I'm also aware that not every day will be perfect within this training cycle & chose to gut this one out in the hope that there might be something of value by the end of it.
After traversing the town centre & heading out to BSRC I soon found myself at the A120 roundabout & crossing into Birchanger. The heat was increasing & my unhappy run was continuing as I passed Andrea our super marshal from the parkrun. I suspect I wasn't much for conversation at nearly 2 hours into the run & I quickly continued & briefly enjoyed the downhill. My inner sadist decided that I definitely had to clock the right distance so instead of taking the main road home, I opted for the dastardly climb back towards Forest Hall Park, before another downhill & then one final ascend of Chapel Hill before home. The one benefit to all of these hills is that Berlin is pancake flat, so at least that aspect of the race should be easier.
The run was by no means my finest work, but things got worse once I got home. The moment I took my shoes off my arches became immensely painful, necessitating some ice before I could get on with a shower & cricket teas. I suspect that despite only have 350km in them, my Saucony Kinvara shoes might be done. I can normally get 500-600km out of a pair, but given their racier profile & my weight probably being higher than their optimum user, it is likely I've taken them past their useful life. The various niggles on this run could also be due to the punishing parkrun the day before.
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| This marathon effort will need more peas..... |
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| The 2015 season begins |
The Conclusion
A tough parkrun, a tough long run & an increasingly listless performance on the cricket pitch. Although the long run was at target marathon pace, it appears I'm no good at juggling.
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| Much needed bubbles at the end of a tough weekend |
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