Triple Bling Weekend

Strap yourselves in for one massive blog post folks, I could easily chop this into sizeable chunks, but given the gargantuan effort of the last week, it makes sense to keep it all together. The past week has been one of the most fun I've experienced, hard work throughout, but I wouldn't swap it for anything. The weekend especially left me with such a euphoric runner's high that it seems weird even writing about it now, a day removed with a slightly more melancholic outlook.
Whilst BBQing yesterday we were asked by a non running friend if running was fun. Sometimes fun is the wrong word, there are times when it is just about perfect though.

Making a change

Who'd have thought that a Vauxhall Astra might provide the inspiration I needed to make another change to my lifestyle. I'm spending a fair amount of time on the road at the moment & over the course of a 6 hour combined journey I found myself losing focus. As the M25 crawled delightfully on my way home I stopped off at my usual halfway point, the megalith Sainsbury's / M&S in London Colney. Normally when I head in, I pick up some chocolate & a sugary drink in an effort to wake myself up a bit, then get back on the road. Ok so on this occasion I still picked up a Toffee Kitkat (who wouldn't?), but I also picked up something that would change the course for the rest of the week.
I was due to work early for the rest of the week & leaving at twenty past six normally means that breakfast will be either a banana (unlikely), oatmeal & raisin cookies (more likely) or pain au chocolat (very likely) for the rest of the week, or a combination of the three. As my journey to Berlin continues & life itself is taking me in a completely new direction, I've started to look at myself a bit more objectively & think more about what I do & perhaps sometimes why. One conclusion I'm starting to make is that I have an unhealthy relationship with food. I don't eat big at meals, but I snack or at least I call it snacking, perhaps at times it is more of a binge. I'm also aware that I might be being overly harsh on myself, I do plenty of exercise these days so the occasional reward isn't to be condemned. I suspect the shitty past eight months have been a contributing factor, stress, anxiety & depression can manifest in different ways, some starve, some consume. I feel I've left the darkness behind me, got my head around everything now & feel in the best condition mentally I've been for a good time.
With this in mind, it was time to acknowledge that my snacking is more by way of habit currently & that I just needed to break the cycle. So rewinding back, my horde from Sainsbury's included a melon, some grapes & a pineapple. Once the M25 had released me from hire car mediocrity I was soon home & rather than let these items gather dust & rot away I chopped them all up & packed them into boxes. The idea being that I'd take some into work every morning, alongside a yoghurt (and not a Cadbury's Buttons one), removing the temptation & expense of a pain au chocolate.

Normally I only opt for chocolate covered fruit

Sure it is a minor change, but as someone that usually views fruit as the work of voodoo, one that is far healthier long term & might have a benefit in the short term as well. I'm also trying to remove that mid afternoon chocolate bar from habit, another baby step. As Monday moved into Tuesday I was sceptical that either would finish the week.....

To the forest

Core team member Paul had missed our summer route launch as a shortage of volunteers at our neighbouring in Harlow meant that he parachuted in to take on Timekeeping duties. I'm hoping he doesn't think the cost of the helicopter hire will be covered by our donation pot! We arranged to meet on Tuesday evening so that we could cover a lap of the summer route to run through the marshalling positions & cover off any other questions he had.
My walk home from the station an hour beforehand had involved hale stones, wind, flash flooding & by the time I was home I had to peel clothes off. The next hour involved rain checking constantly, even on the journey home there was another deluge. Thankfully for the run itself the sun came out nicely & the rain stayed away as we took on the Forest at an easy pace. It was good to catch up with Paul & discuss marathon plans. He was keen to know what my plan entailed & the thinking behind it, whilst I was equally keen to get his thoughts on his London experience & what lessons he'd learnt.
Soon we'd chatted our way round the route & onward back to the car park. I was genuinely pleased to be feeling no after effects from the long run on Sunday.

Have I ever mentioned how awesome the forest is?

And another change

On Wednesday evening I found myself parking in a place that I never knew existed, ready to take on something completely new to me. Josie from Unique Running Results had chatted to me briefly during a visit to parkrun about a new group she was trying to establish in Little Canfield. The aim was not a beginner's running group, more of a tune up for those already running.
Wednesday evenings work nicely for me & the opportunity for some structured coaching appealed so after missing the first two weeks due to work commitments I found the community centre on a shiny new housing estate ready to try some tempo running. I've been a fan of speed work for a couple of years, so to have a coach alongside to add some structure to it was something I was looking forward to.
There were just two of us in the class & we headed down to the Flitch Way. I was introduced to some new dynamic warm ups & stretches. We soon started with some 300m tempo runs, broken up by an easy 300m & some rest. For once my efforts did not resemble an increasingly diminishing return, in fact my last tempo was the fastest. It certainly got my heart rate going up into the 170's!
After a warm down I was back in the car & heading home. I'd felt the benefit of pushing myself straight away & looked forward to making another return to the group in the future.

A good start to tempos

A Long Saturday Begins

I'm realising that once you're an Event Director, if you find yourself at your home event, no matter the situation you're never really off duty. Out setup was a bit frantic, it looks as though we need a bit more time to put the summer route together. I had a few announcements before the run briefing & true to form I managed to remember most of them, only to recall once the runners had started there was something else to mention!
The run started in an interesting manner as everyone filtered through the setup for the finish! The joke became that I'd bought a new notebook to the event for ED notes & that I'd have filled it by the end. The event got even more fun as our scanners both decided to fail at various points & I stepped in from another role to take over scanning. Thankfully we have some awesome volunteers & one of our regulars assisted once she'd finished running to ease the strain on Paul as the Run Director for the day.
As the clock moved closer to 10 I started to realise that we were getting close to an attendance record. When runners 186 & 187 entered the final field without the tail runner we knew that today was going to be something special. With the final figure taking us to 190, a new record over our inaugural by 2.
To be up & over our inaugural total in just week 10 is extraordinary. The efforts to down play our first event certainly contributed, but the continued success & intrigue in parkrun shows just how appealing a run around the forest is.
We'd expected results to be migraine inducing. To our surprise & relief we had the tidiest set of results seen in some time. We knew runner #5 was missing & after publishing the results we've been trying to reach out on social media channels to reunite this runner with his time.

The Dark Ox 10k

I got home just after midday, just over three hours until I would be picked up for a trip down into Dorset. I had time to get all of the kit I needed set out for the weekend, making for the obligatory photo.

For once, having lots of kit made the weekend easy

My weekend had been planned for a while. The HBO 10k is a permanent fixture on the Bank Holiday Monday & this year I'd opted for the Westminster Mile to occupy my Sunday.
So when fellow Um Bongoist Emily suggested White Star Running's inaugural Dark Ox on the Saturday night I tried to decline. I didn't want to hotel it as I needed to be in London so I was good thanks. But wait, we're heading there & back in a day, driving straight back once finished. No really, I'm good, the WSR races are mental, surely I should conserve energy. You can have a lift so that you don't need to put the Alfa through another Dorset trip. No I really am good, I mean this mile thing, I could break Steve Cram's record couldn't I?

Yeah, but have you seen the medal?

And with that I signed up. I'm like a running Golum, show me the shiny & I'll subject myself to silliness.

We arrived with plenty of time & that gave us the opportunity to chat with some of the WSR team, claim another Um Bongo member (another parkrun ED in the making, showing that we really are all a bit daft) & also chatted to the team behind the Nuclear Races, who for fun visit WSR to run all the events in a weekend.

There was no Congo flag, so Team Um Bongo adopted South Korea, and a new idea was formed....

I'd mentioned to WSR Supremo Andy about the glow in the dark face paint he'd mentioned on Facebook & it emerged just before the start so I distributed to the masses & we started making ourselves look even more silly. It turns out writing Team Um Bongo on your arms is beyond my skill set so I opted for smeared arms & a silly face (to which I then added face paint, yes readers I even beat you to that punchline). I then spotted some blue paint & quickly added a Hulk Hogan style moustache that will surpass any real facial hair I will ever attempt!

Emily decided against the gurning contest

Once everyone was gimmicked up with paint it was time for the race to start, which it did so accompanied by a drone filming for a WSR promo. You'd hope that the drone had returned to ground & not seen everyone miss the first turn & then the field being send back upon itself! This made for a funky few minutes as those who were at the front had to make their way through on narrow trails.
The three of us had originally intended to run together, but Paul soon got separated from us & it made more sense for him to head on at his own pace. The early introduction to the trails appeared to have claimed several runners & we'd been slowed to a stop for a couple of narrow passages in the opening kilometres. Soon we were on wider trails & this allowed the field to spread out & runners to get into a rhythm.
There were a few puddles & as they were early on I decided on avoiding them. For this I was teased in jest by some ladies in front of us, to which I pointed out that they'd also taken evasive action. I'm not sure my line of I'll run through the next puddle if you do really counts as a chat up line! No one said singledom after 15 years would be easy!

Nope, no idea either....

Just before 2km we had a descend that required some discipline to get down. I was just about managing with some sideways running when the angle seemed to get a bit steeper. There was potential for damage here as with the slight change I felt myself building too much momentum. I had to find a way to bail out here & thankfully at the bottom of the hill was another path. Knowing that I didn't have the knowledge or technique to halt my movements I instead embraced it & took off down the hill & used the other path like a Formula 1 driver uses a run off area when they over cook a corner.
With use of the other path I was able to turn myself around & wait for Emily to make a far more sensible descend, after which we took on the accompanying hill. Yep that's right. Descend straight into a climb, par for the course with White Star Running!!! This hill didn't see too bad, though by the top of it we agreed that we might have been better served by easing off on this one. Thankfully the prospect of further hills was easily predictable so we'd have a chance to test out that theory.
To be honest I'm probably all over the place in terms of what happened & at what point during the run. The whole experience was new, night trail running, reliant on my head torch for the first time was a fun one, though I doubt I could have chosen a tougher course to complete my night running initiation on!
The idea to use the buff to keep warm seemed like a good idea before the start. Within the first couple of clicks I was handing my water bottle to Emily so that I could move it up and use as a bandana, it was causing me to overheat whilst around my neck.
After a view of the golf course we were back into the woods & accompanied by the smell of wild garlic, something Emily had read or heard about beforehand. After a climb that required a walk rather than a run based on diminishing returns we were down to single file & getting accustomed to shouting ROOT to warn other runners behind of hazards. The root suggestion came from a runner behind us, both Emily & I were being a bit to vague or descriptive to be of much help to our fellow runners.
As 8km approached we were treated to what felt like a massive hill, a 50 metre climb that we chose to walk, there was nothing to gain here. This accounted for our slowest kilometre, 8:02 & my suggestion of finishing in just over the hour was very much looking like wishful thinking. The tactic was now very much in the format of the Larmer Tree Half, walk the uphill, run the rest, just with the added factor of darkness thrown into the mix. Another climb, just after 9km to overcome & then we ran the gentle incline back to the start / finish line. We knew it was approaching as you could hear people.
Soon we emerged into the field & like the perfect running partner I'm not I got finish line fever & strode out, apologising to Emily once more for my ungentlemanly conduct!!!!!

Post run, with the bandana in tow I was like a trail running Hulk Hogan

Once over the line at an unofficial 1:12:59 we were reunited with Paul who had potentially achieved a top ten finish with a mid 52 (did I mention this was with a broken toe).
We picked up our luminous race t-shirt & glow in the dark medal & made our way back to the car. It was time to clean up a bit before the three hour journey back home. We'd stop for food somewhere en route & in order to appear slightly normal I suspected the bright blue moustache might have to go. Of course if I had planned ahead I might have a towel available to me. Instead I had to innovate & for once I was happy for sweating profusely during the run & christened my new Um Bongo t-shirt by wiping the face paint from my face!

Awesome Run Bling

After a celebratory Gu chocolate milk shared between us it was back into Emily's car & time to head north. We made quite the sight when we arrived at Fleet M3 services for about the best food we could manage at midnight, McD's. We weren't the only Dark Ox survivors there! I opted for my usual combo of 6 nuggets & a cheeseburger chaser. It was grim, but when laced with plenty of BBQ sauce it was at least effective! The guys dropped me off just before 2am & I could have easily Flair flopped into bed! Before I did that I had a quick scan of train times & set an alarm, for this was just chapter one of this weekend's story.

Dirty Food. Mmmmmmmmm dirty food.

Our next visit to a White Star Running event is for the Dorset Invader Half on July 18th. I've been assured (or potentially lied to) that it's completely flat & all on fresh asphalt. What I do know for a fact is that the medal is a Roman Shield, 4 inches by 3 inches!!! If I keep doing WSR events then I'm going to need more physio work on my neck!
I cannot recommend WSR events enough. In a world of homogeneous races that could take place anywhere, the guys at WSR stand out. They go the extra mile to put as much enjoyment & humour into some truly brutal courses as they can, rewarding you with awesome post race goodies & exceptional medals. I'm expecting the Dorset Invader to be the toughest weekend of the marathon plan, it could also be the most fun.

Westminster Mile

Thankfully my body clock's penchant for half five wake ups did not interfere with the need for a few more hours ahead of race 2 of TBW. I didn't make it all the way until 9am, but did get myself around six hours & enough time to scan through the test match highlights before driving down to Stortford to pick up a train into London.
Green Park is easy to get to when everything runs to plan & that is precisely what happened on Sunday, leaving me with at least an hour to kill before the parkrun wave started. I think this was the first race I'd be attending without anyone alongside so I wandered the park & dozed in the sun listening to podcasts to pass the time. On a lap of the park I spotted fellow parkrun tourist Steve Stockwell (copy7t on Twitter). He's now part of the core team at Dartford & on a slight hiatus from touring whilst the event establishes itself. We swapped parkrun stories & I thanked him for the advanced warning that Dartford was cancelled at the start of the month, leading to my Lullingstone visit.
After a toilet visit I found it was time to drop my bag off & make my way to the start. I still had plenty of time to go & spotted parkrun's Mr 500 Darren Wood, taking an opportunity to shake his hand. A remarkable achievement that he modestly puts down to being in the right place at the right time. A pat on the back from parkrun founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt as he passed me & after a slight wait for the Sweatshop wave to clear ahead of us I took an opportunity to take in the surroundings.
I spotted another parkrun tourist Mike Bristow (urglecom on Twitter) & checked in with him following his Run Director debut the day previously. He's seen me tweet about the fun we'd had the day previously, being on the other side of the fence certainly increases the sympathy you have for other events when you hear of their issues.

parkrun wave starting to fill up

For the last few minutes I kept myself to myself, focusing on getting loose, running a mile would be a new experience for me. My only strategy was to hammer it, assume 100% fitness & treat it like the first third of a parkrun. Put everything in & see just what was possible.
There is a kind of unadulterated joy about running such a short distance. I knew that I could run as close to my limit as possible, just let the legs go & to hell with the consequences. What was the point in holding back, the opportunity to run a timed mile is a rare one.
After the first corner a steel band was on hand, cranking out Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance with Somebody, an interesting adaptation! I found myself in a decent rhythm, not that my Strava output suggests this. The first km was completed in 4:33 & with the finish just a corner away I carried on pushing, dropping the pace down to 4:12/km as I crossed the line in 7:13.
I chatted briefly in the finish area with Paul Sinton-Hewitt, extending the invite to Hatfield Forest & thanking him for parkrun & the enjoyment it brings, quite how this came across with the post mile recovery I'll have no idea, but as parkrun has been around for over a decade I'm sure he's used to dealing with barely coherent runners!
I spotted Mike once more & chatted on the way back through goody bag & luggage pick up. He did the honours with the obligatory Buckingham Palace photo & we agreed that visiting each other's events would be forthcoming. After chatting to a Fulham Palace based tourist I got myself changed into slightly more normal attire & headed out of Green Park.

Apparently the Queen was watching all races intently

I was very satisfied with my time, knowing I'd pushed myself as far as I could at present. My fastest 5k sits at 23:08 & this measures up very nicely with that, though there is no chance I could sustain this pace over triple the distance. I'm tempted to pay Chelmsford parkrun a visit as that would give me a fair impression of where I stand in terms of speed at the moment.
I had a mere 4 hours to get home & turned around back out to the Forest so wanted to find food as quickly as possibly before heading out of London. I'd made my mind up to visit either Jamie Oliver's Hot Dog stand or wrap heaven at Jumbo Eats, both near Piccadilly Circus. As I wandered in that direction I had a light bulb moment, just before the hot dog place was the Japan Centre. That was the decision made then & I picked up a salmon sashimi & rice bowl for consumption on the train home & treated myself to a big platter of random sushi for the evening.

Might have overdosed on sushi. Still no idea what some of them were

Oh hello again Forest

After a quick spin of Stortford to pick up BBQ essentials (had kind of forgotten charcoal up to that point) I found myself with a bit of time at home to start tidying up ahead of guests arriving on the Monday. My pile of filing had gotten so large that one of the cats had chosen to sit on it. With the cricket on the TV I felt this was a perfect opportunity to watch a bit of the action & make a start on sorting paperwork. Topper felt he could assist as well, laying across me or on various piles, I suspect that as a cat he's not completely aware that his assistance might be viewed as a hindrance!
It was soon time to head across to Hatfield Forest & give the proposed special event alternative route a spin. I was met by fellow RD Paul, Simon & Amy who are also heavily involved with the volunteering side of HFPR.
After our walk the week previously I'd made a couple of adjustments virtually to the route in order to get the distance spot on without the need for every decreasing circles in the finish field. Now the route follows a familiar start that is used for all of our courses, keeping a nice bit of consistency.
Some nice easy running was all I could muster & I felt like I was holding everyone back, but they were kind enough to stick to my very gentle trot.
The route was well received by all & finishes in a nice style around the big tree in Shell House car park. I think our runners will like it a lot & if it provides us with another option then in the long term the extra work will be worth it.
I asked the guys for their thoughts on my Saucony Kinvara's as we debriefed in the car park after the run. My fear is that despite only 350km in them, their lightness combined with my heaviness has brought them to the end of their useful life. They were fine on the mile earlier in the day, but the long run of a fortnight previous had been a painful experience. My suspicions were confirmed, neither Paul or Simon would run in the shoe in the state it is now, so it looks like my super fast & light shoes are heading for retirement. Turns out I'd picked up the Mizuno's just in time & I'll now think about my trainer strategy before introducing another pair as Berlin grows ever closer.
Once home, I found that I was well & truly knackered. I struggled my way through the funky sushi platter, a combination of eyes being bigger than stomach & tiredness. I realised I could achieve nothing with the evening, ran & bath & took an early night. I could tidy up in the morning, rest was a priority.

Hatfield Broad Oak 10k

I was up at around quarter past six & the decision made the evening before to take an early night was immediately vindicated as I had some energy! A quick double take of the mirror & I realised that I had quite an awesome bed hair mohawk. I'm not quite ready to unleash that kind of look on the public but it did give me a giggle.
The early start also gave me a good two & half hours to tidy the house & get the pulled pork for the BBQ into the slow cooker. I achieved most of what I needed to before leaving the house & also ensured I'd packed my flip flops for the post race so that my feet could get some air.
One thing I didn't check was the weather forecast beforehand, presuming it would be warm & cloudy like the past couple of days. As I loaded up the Alfa I was oblivious to the slightly sinister clouds & more concerned with getting the right tunes on! Music has been a constant throughout life (listening, I have bugger all talent) & after the performances so far over the weekend I was in a really positive mood so wanted something to reflect this. I flicked through the selection of CDs in the Alfa (2003 tech at it's finest) & found the perfect bit of pre race funk....

Playing today on Radio Alfa....

As I got into Takeley I realised that in the car ahead were Jim & Katrina who helped get the parkrun off the ground. I was suddenly self conscious, hopefully they'd not spotted me enjoying the music a bit too much!
I followed them into Broad Oak & we chatted briefly, Katrina was coerced into taking the big parkrun photo in exchange for an ice cream. In my brief tenure as an ED I'm learning that bribery can work wonders!
Emily & Paul had spotted me & we wandered around the village to acquaint ourselves with the new start / finish locations before heading onto the village green. Suddenly I noticed the difference between this & previous years. I now recognised far more people from the parkrun & made an effort to say hello & wish folks well in the upcoming race. We visited the t-shirt table to ask for a sneak peak of the this years colour, a slightly blue grey, very similar to my Stockholm Half shirt from 2012. The quality of the print appeared to have been improved & the event emblem was now the sole feature of the front, with sponsors on the back. We enquired about the medals & were told that they were just for the kids race, this was confusing as we were sure they'd been some special 30th anniversary bling advertised. After a brief joke about leaving it was time to focus on getting race ready. Toilet, car to drop stuff, warm up, toilet, line up for the start. The provision and / or positioning of the toilets could do with a a bit more thought. I think the number of portaloos was similar to previous years, but they were previously supplemented by the village hall. There were queues, but then that is also a good way to kill 10 minutes before the race begins.

Team Um Bongo pre race

I had no real plan going into this race. I knew that I wasn't in PB form & lined up in the 55 minute pen with the idea that if I can hang onto that pace for as long as possible then with a perceived slower course I'd be relatively happy with that kind of time. Alec made his way further forward, he'd be looking for a sub 50. Paul stayed by Emily's side, looking to run an easy 55 with her as well, though both weren't feeling 100% after the marathon the week previously, Paul's toe breaking yoga exploits & the brutality of the Dark Ox (at least they'd not run twice since then).

Reservoir Dogs style....

The crowd lurched forward a couple of times as the timing pens closed up with the race start imminent. In previous years the start had been loud & clear, I think they'd even been a PA system blasting Chariots of Fire or something to add to the race start atmosphere. This time around there didn't appear to be that luxury, but given the movement of those ahead the race appeared to have started.

Suspect my race pace might have been improved by performance enhancing hair....

The course layout intrigued me. The old figure of 8 still existed but was being run in a different order, the smaller loop first, then a reverse of the larger loop, guaranteeing a nice downhill finish. This would also remove the biting uphill finish of old & the congestion around the village hall that was becoming a bit too much in the past couple of years. The question remained, how would this change the race itself, I was sceptical about the five minutes slower statement.
I started pretty much bang on target pace with a 5:28 kilometre, following with a 5:34 on the drag of a climb out of the village. This used to be the 6.5 to 8km climb & was always the lowest point in the race for me previously. Here the pace was still good & having a start of a race atmosphere certainly appeared to help me. I was making progress through the field & knew that I had some shade (not really a factor today) & downhill to follow. In the early stages of the race my competitor chip felt like it was rubbing & having seen the damage done to a fellow runner a month previously I was determined not to look down just in case I was slowly shredding my own ankle.
I caught up with HFPR super marshal Andrea & paced with her for a little while. She was handicapped with the lurgy & implored me to carry on & not let her slow me down. With the course flattening out & my rhythm feeling pretty good I took her advice, said goodbye & got my head down.
A third km of 5:12 & a 5:22 to follow surpassed my expectations. It was ok though, to get to half way I had to climb what used to be the finish & then head up into the village itself. Descending past where the finish used to be my right shoulder was becoming next to useless. It felt a bit dodgy during a pre race warm up, here it was being of no help. I dropped it to my side to see if not using at all would alleviate the issue.
That was pointless though as you need to use your damn arms! Despite the discomfort, Vicky from Harlow parkrun was at the top of the hill to support us & I made a point to head across & high five (left arm), my attempts to mask the pain with a smile appear to have failed spectacularly given the resulting photo! My high five claimed another victim, I really should have forewarned Vicky that you have to really commit when offering me a high five, my enthusiasm for a mid run high five is similar to that of Todd from Scrubs.
I knew that as the pain wasn't in my legs & directly stopping me running that I just had to carry on regardless & the crowd support was actually lifting my performance with a 5th kilometre of 5:06. I threw some water over myself at the aid station, hoping the cool water might have some benefit to the shoulder & begun the gentle climb out of the village as the bigger loop begun. Halfway through in 26:47, under target for a 55 minute run.

Approaching 5km (we started downhill), was not in a happy place

We'd be climbing until the 8km marker & it was the 6th kilometre where I started to feel the post village atmosphere malaise. The pace slowed down, well reverted back to the target pace of 5:30. It was between 6 & 7km that Paul passed me, approaching with the Um Bongo theme (he's made it his mission to memorise the whole thing before Endure 24) & after a brief chat leaving me to it having been let off the leash by Emily at halfway.
Jim had come into view, giving me some focus. I find I run better when I identify other runners & attempt to match or surpass them & this was no different. The fatigue of the weekend's efforts was starting to manifest in my legs & the water bottle was limited to one arm now, but cardio seemed fine & the mind was fully engaged. I'd hazard a guess that this was the best I'd felt whilst running this year. I had no time pressure, easy 6 minute clicks would get me home within target time & my ailments were manageable.
I slowly started to reel Jim in, with a 5:24 followed by a 5:13 8th kilometre. At around 8 I drew level, just as he was looking to tail off to the side & walk for a moment. I caught him at just the right time & urged him to stick with me, encouraging him that he was on for a great time & we could run this in together. I knew that the course was going to favour us shortly & Jim found his groove again. We chatted for a bit to pass the time before the final push, the conversation providing a distraction from a marshal imploring us there was just a km left (try 1.5) & that I was slowly taking us through the gears.
As we finally did pass that last kilometre marker the descend got even more favourable & I decided it was time to give it everything. It was time for one final push & my pace dropped down below the 5 minute mark for the first time in the race. Weirdly I found myself tearing up a little on the downhill, I'd like to think this was just a cross wind & my sheer speed rattling my eyes around a bit too much. In truth I think there was a bit of elation at how well the run had gone & a realisation that it would have been Dad's 61st birthday.
I'd started running on May 25th 2010, bizarrely not realising it was his birthday until after the first run, it was all a happy coincidence. Back in the here & now I found myself storming to the finish line. I was smiling as I approaching, at least I thought I was until Vicky saw me & shouted at me to try smiling, I suspect I was pulling my usual race photo face! I tried even harder to smile & got ready for a finishing pose, only to realise there wasn't a photographer! Jim followed momentarily afterwards, using the large hole I was punching in the air to good effect!
I was slightly flummoxed by the time on my Garmin, only to then have it confirmed by the official results. 52:37!!!! This mean a return in 25:50 & a massive negative split!
Post race there was a bit of a queue to get through t-shirts, water & oranges, I cooled down a bit too much in a sweaty vest, not overly ideal. Despite the huge amount of space now available, this wasn't quite as slick as it could have been. This was the first year of the new finish area though & teething troubles are natural. It made a huge amount of sense to move & once the t-shirt was collected there was plenty of space to mill about & catch up with other runners.

Post run smiles

There was indeed no medal & it appears this is due to a communication issue. The HBO 10k is all kinds of awesome, but communication isn't their strongest suit. I spent 3 months prior to the event trying to contact them to head down to the parkrun to promote & recruit runners and / or volunteers & got a reply only for my response to hit a postmaster fail. I think the changes they've made this year made a lot of sense & with further thought will improve the racing experiences. As for the medal itself, I counted the t-shirt as my run bling.
I was euphoric with my time & was eager to hear how everyone else had got on. Paul had gone on to catch up with Alec & give him the boost he needed to get a sub 50. Emily wasn't far behind me with a mid 53, shelving all of her ailments once more to deliver a very solid time. Everyone seemed to be happy with their results & the consensus was that the course definitely wasn't a whole five minutes slower.

A justified reward

We made our way to the car park in order to get layered up, then took on the obligatory post race ice cream. We had time to complete a lap of the village festival before heading back to the ice cream van for our Hatfield Forest parkrunners photo. At quarter to one we had assembled 30 of us (another 5 were stuck in the burger van queue) & quickly posed in our post race shirts before everyone escaped for the warmth of their cars or the pub. Lot's of post race smiles in between the shivers!
With the photo done it was time to head home & get the BBQ stuff ready.

Hatfield Forest parkrunners post race photo

Post Run BBQ

For the past 5 years my HBO visit has been combined with a bank holiday BBQ to follow in the afternoon. Just because I was flying solo this year didn't mean that the BBQ would be scuppered. Emily & Paul were heading back to assist, Suz & Matt also showed up in advance to help with any preparation. Vicky also turned her one functioning hand post high five to put a salad together. With some funky music in the background it was like a BBQ sweatshop! In truth, without their support I'd have probably still been preparing stuff into the evening, I was perhaps a bit too ambitious!!

Post BBQ refreshments

We might have also over delivered on the food front, meaning I have a week of leftovers to look forward to! I now need to ask Suz what her marinade recipes are as I gave her carte blanche to use anything in the kitchen & she created two amazing mixes to accompany the BBQ cornflake chicken.
As was apparent during the HBO, the sun had decided not to shine upon us on this bank holiday so Paul & Matt stayed outside on BBQ duty whilst everyone else enjoyed some relative warmth inside.
To enjoy some great food alongside friends, old & new really put a cherry on top of what had been an awesome weekend. In the background the England team even won a game of cricket, you couldn't make this stuff up!

No need to cook for a week, or two, or three....

The Conclusion Part One

A weekend that surpassed all of my expectations. The Dark Ox was even tougher than I thought & the sense of achievement in finishing irrespective of the time is something I'd have struggled to contend with even a year ago.
My performance over the mile was far better than I could have imagined. Running free can be hugely empowering. I had no idea how fast I could be, now I'm intrigued to see how much faster I could be!
As for the HBO, it remains my favourite event in the running year. This year added a whole new dimension in terms of engagement & I think it positively reflected in my performance. Not sure my mega quiff was quite so performance enhancing, it was certainly a bit more aerodynamic!
Mentally I feel I'm in a good place at the moment. Good might even be an understatement, I have a confidence with my running & around running that I've not experienced before. I might have had quicker races but I'm not sure that I've had a better race than Monday's 10k. My positivity got me through the physical pains along the way, teaching me that winning the mental battle will get me across the line in Berlin. It's as if after five years the penny has finally dropped & in answer to the question posed earlier, running is indeed fun.

The Conclusion Part Two

I couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable weekend. To do something you enjoy & share it with friends is something special. The past year hasn't been the kindest, but I'm rebuilding & I've discovered that by approaching things with a more positive outlook you in turn open up more opportunities.
Don't worry, I'm not going to become all preachy, my inner cynic still exists! Sometimes life takes a different course & now that my head has got round that I'm embracing the change.
Before, during & after the race on Monday I realised just how awesome being a parkrun Event Director is. In ten short weeks we've seen a community start to build, you start to notice regulars, regulars start to notice other regulars & suddenly you realise just how great that is.
Len & Gerry had touched upon the positives from the role. On Monday I got to see the happiness others had from their results, having an interest in how they performed & feeling pride in their achievements. As we got ready for the photo it astounded me that in such a short space of time we already had the community that every parkrun aspires to achieve. Over the course of Monday, even as we moved away from the event & the photo made it onto Facebook & folks start tagging themselves you realise that not only do you think there might be a community, but others want to be part of that community. When I was spluttering incoherently to Paul Sinton-Hewitt the day prior, this is what I was trying to thank him for, but then again, he probably knew that. As my chat with Len shows, being an ED is awesome, you could be one too.

Len & I get very deep with some of our chats

Well done for getting to the end, sadly there is no prize.........

Oh alright then, you can have a prize

HM Week 8 - Almost there

Better late than never? I could have easily penned this update straight after my visit to Brentwood parkrun on the Saturday afternoon, instead kept meaning to get to it as the week went on, but found myself getting progressively busier. Now, nearly two weeks after the event, here comes my ode to Brentwood....
In summary, week eight of my half marathon plan was another successful progression. I finally did a bit of tempo work with a fartlek run around London one lunchtime. I'd hate to think what a fartlek run looks like to a passer by. Some nutcase sprinting, walking and the jogging in-between, probably looks like a complete non runner clueless to how you're meant to run. The session was hard work though, those walking rest periods never feel long enough.
No major aches though so it was a case of good workout banked and move on.

Brentwood parkrun

February 21st had been marked in the calendar for some time. The event had launched in December, but I'd kept volunteering at Great Notley before Xmas so the opportunity to head across hadn't been there. January was a hectic phase of run and race directing. I'd caught up with Event Director Leigh over email and discussed when he'd be around as I was eager to meet him and absorb more parkrun experience. The third Saturday of the month worked and I'd also persuaded Alec to make the trip, he did make to the inaugural and had been talking it up ever since.
Our events share an ambassador & Gerry had mentioned how similar we were to Brentwood, the major difference being their course added hills to the mix. So I was prepared for tough, or was I?
Leigh had spotted me and once his RD duties allowed we exchanged a brief hello, we'd catch up after the run. The drive down to Brentwood had been really straight forward with both motorways being clear, the event was easier to get to than some closer on the map. They'd been some rain during my journey and I was hoping it was heading in a different direction to me.
This would mark the parkrun debut of the mudclaws, unless you count pre parkrun tours around the forest. I was glad for the addition of seal skinz socks as the course was the muddiest they'd seen it!
After a short but sweet briefing we wandered up to the start area, where Leigh started us with the church bells still ringing for nine o'clock. It was quite a sight for a dog walker who suddenly had around a hundred people hurtling down hill towards them! The first half kilometre was all downhill, first on a field, then on hardstanding paths. After crossing a bridge the course turns right and once you're through a field you find yourself climbing all the way to 2km. The gradient wasn't too bad, but the distance of the climb made it hard work.

First parkrun for the mudclaws

I could still see Alec in the distance, his bright yellow HBO shirt meant he stood out quite nicely, despite the field becoming stretched.
Just after 2km we turned into a woodland area and the sparsity of the field made it hardwork to identify the route at one point. Underfoot conditions were soft at best as we navigated fields and round a deer enclosure. After crossing one of the tracks in the estate I was soon heading back down to the bridge. A short uphill would take me back to the finish. Sadly a short uphill would also cut a kilometre or so from the course, instead I turned left and headed down to a rare sight on the course, a marshal. Event Director has managed to create a very lean event, something I was envious of with quite a manpower heavy course myself.
The final kilometre was laid out in front of me after passing the marshal, a bit more flat, then what appeared to be gentle uphill, some flat, another little climb then a nice descend to finish.
On starting the climb I appeared to be reeling Alec back in, a rare occurrence these days. Unfortunately by the midpoint of the climb I realised why. This innocent looking hill was a breaker. Such soft underfoot conditions that progress would have been easier through treacle. I wanted to walk, I hadn't walked at a parkrun for a long time. I really wanted to walk, this was daft, why had I got out of bed?
I managed to get to the point where it flattened out and grabbed some respite. I'd kept going, no walking for me. Now all I had was a brief bit of up before the downhill to the finish. By the time I'd got to the photographer at the end of this last climb I'd realised the tank was truly empty. It wasn't so much a sprint finish, more a barely passable bimple.

Slightly muddy

I stopped the watch, grabbed my finish token and found myself at ninety degrees trying to collect myself. I was knackered, completely done.
I caught up with Leigh and we started talking all things parkrun, he was keen for feedback and I was keen for advice. A perfect combination. Not that I was overly coherent for the first few minutes!

Veloviewer of Brentwood parkrun. Figure of eight circuit.

The Conclusion

In the immediate aftermath I tweeted the following:

 

Shock and awe. A term used back in my uni days to sum up a military tactic. It could also lend itself to Brentwood parkrun. I was shocked at how much it took out of me. A mid 28 time is, based solely on average times for me alone, appalling. It doesn't however take into account conditions. The hills of doom at Wimpole & Great Notley haven't defeated me in recent history. The difference is, they are a momentary distraction. Brentwood is unrelenting. You start fast downhill, get a covering of mud, climb for an age, take on some more mud, bit of downhill (to take you back through the first mud), then climb some more. Want to sprint finish? Good luck, Brentwood will have emptied you.
I'm in sheer awe. The course was the toughest I've experienced. I hated it. I loved it. It left me wanting to curl up in a ball and find some nice flat tarmac. It left me wanting more. In most cases you'll find routes have a bit of give & take. On this occasion, potentially due to the conditions, it felt like 95% carrot, 5% stick. Will I be back? Absolutely. The course will be perfect training for Endure and a good gauge through the summer to my marathon training.
The entirety of the challenge enthralled me, this parkrun is an absolute gem and goes to the top of many lists. I'm sure it'll be kinder in the summer or when frozen, but part of me will have an eye on bad weather and hoping it coincides with future visits.

The week also included some parkrun sign making

The Long Run

So after a brutal parkrun and just before the first cricket net of the season would be the logical time to sneak in the longest run of my training cycle wouldn't it?
There was some logic to it, some method to the madness. After the first net I'm generally an achy mess, though working from home on the Monday would allow for a long run, I didn't want any excuses.
So at 0634 I was out, heading towards Bishop's Stortford on a bright Sunday morning. Having seen a route my core team colleague Paul had taken through Birchanger, I decided to head this way as an alternative to reaching Stortford.
My last proper experience of climb in the village was during the Birchanger 11k of 2011 (officially marketed as a 10k, but something appeared to go a bit wrong with the measuring wheel). I'd forgotten just how long the hill lasted for, a great start to a run after the exertion the day before!!
Once the A120 was negotiated I was into Stortford and found myself consistently at a decent 5:50-6:00/km pace. I passed the golf club and chose to head to the running club. I knew I needed around 10km around Stortford so the plan was to freestyle my way around. After getting back towards the town centre I picked a random left turn when the climb looked challenging and kept making random turns until I eventually found myself at the base of the hill to the rugby club. This was the intention, yet the journey there included parts of Stortford I'd never seen in nearly 5 years of living there in my past!
A tough slog got me to the rugby club, then the cricket club and back, almost towards Stansted. The route even allowed for a diversion around Lime Kiln Lane as I approached home.
A nice twenty kilometres banked, a good long run. Onto the roller, get showered, scoff some breakfast and then straight out of the door for cricket, no rest for the insane!!
After two hours of bowling (not risking the tendinitis by batting at present) I was reduced to bowling spin, albeit probably at a greater pace than my usual slow medium filth. I wasn't surprised to find myself falling asleep on the sofa by 6pm!!!

The Eat

It has taken so damn long to put this post together I'm struggling to recall the highlights! A visit to Five Guys on the Saturday night and a humongous steak on Sunday finished the week perfectly!

Going All in at Five Guys

Double Trouble

2014 started with a parkrun, logic would suggest 2015 would follow suit. Why not start with two? The rules of parkrun allow for two events to be registered by a runner on a single day, the only trouble is finding a couple of events timed appropriately that aren't too far apart. Realistically the start times need to be 90 minutes apart, though some London events you could manage with just an hour between.
The other part of the logistics to work out is where would you run, how far are you willing to travel to complete the double. The good thing is, parkrun completely get into the spirit of the occasion and events work together to make sure doubles are possible. In 2014, there weren't many options available in Essex, so Chelmsford went ahead at the normal time of 0900. This year there are now a huge number of events possible.
Back in October I was involved in some of the planning, just in case we were live (newsflash, we're not). On a day when I was meant to be studying at home a rolling messenger conversation between Great Notley, Chelmsford, Maldon, Basildon, Harlow, Colchester, even Ipswich if memory serves me correctly ran for the whole afternoon. You see just because one combination works, doesn't mean others can't be considered. The rules allow for a start to be between 0830 & 1030, very few go early, it's New Year's Day after all. So based on a running time of 45 minutes, you need to be able to get to the second event start line in another 45. So think of the possibilities; Colchester & Ipswich, Maldon & Chelmsford, Great Notley & Colchester, Harlow & Chelmsford, Chelmsford & Great Notley.
With the location of Great Notley, it made most sense to pair with Chelmsford, though Colchester was reachable (and achieved by some in attendance), the drive across to Chelmsford is the shortest possible. You then have the question of what way round to run things. Chelmsford first, or Chelmsford second? Logistically Chelmsford is an easier setup and can be run with no signage and minimal marshaling. Though Notley experienced a sign free event between Xmas and New Year, with plenty of doubling up tourists expected, a full event would be required.

It was becoming clearer that Chelmsford should be the later of the two events, especially when you factor in Maldon Prom & their proximity to Chelmsford. It made sense for everyone to converge on the county's capital, the largest parkrun in Essex as a finale to the NYD double.

NYD is a special day for parkrunners, especially the tourist community. All events are encouraged to advertise their intentions so that runners from both near & far can make plans accordingly. Though my double would be at two of my local events, much tourist chatter could be found regarding the possibilities of visiting two new events in one, bonus parkrun day.

Once the plans were pencilled in, I offered my services to the GN core team to assist with the event running. This lead to me being the tailrunner on the day, able to both volunteer & run, a perfect start to the year. On top of this I gave the First Timers / Tourists Briefing. For those present, apologies if it appeared slightly rushed, I was being made aware that we had time constraints! It did give me a moment to realise a good order to run briefings in. Bring the tourists & first timers together, provide an overview of the course first, then send the tourists on their way & talk directly to the first timers. That way the experienced tourists get the information they need & the briefing is relevant to all.

I still seem to speed up when talking to a group of people, nothing I can't coach myself out of. I think this was the calmest I'd been at a briefing, not bad seeing as it was the biggest one I've had to deliver so far given the high number of tourists from both Chelmsford & Colchester. I also got an opportunity to welcome a school friend to parkrun, I might be a bit too much of a parkrun enthusiast at times, but it is always fun to see friends enjoy their first parkrun experience.

The Run #1 - Great Notley - Tailrunner

This was going to be a challenge of a different kind. My usual parkrun exploits when in decent condition are usually in the low 23 to high 25 mark, 4:35 - 5:10km would be a fair spread of my 5k pace, course dependent. My easy paced runs when training hover around the 6:00/km mark, when I paced Joel at St Neots, we ran at just over 6:30/km. The tail at Notley usually comes in between 40 - 55 minutes depending on the course conditions & with the hill now treacherous following a marathon the day before, I suspected we'd be at the slower end of the scale.

One of our Endure team mates, Paul had tailed in the past & advised that keeping running is the key. To me, it would be disrespectful to do anything other than run unless the person at the back of the field is themselves walking. You have to match the action of the slowest person on the run, walking whilst they run would not be appropriate behaviour in my mind.

I lined up at the very back of the field & gave the RD the thumbs up once all runners on the path had passed me, with the start line being moved for the winter it was always likely we might have late runners, especially with the event needing to start dead on time.

Starting off at the back of the field.

Once we were under way I started running, just dropping my pace so I was a couple of yards behind the back of the field. Before we'd even made the first corner I noticed another runner, so hung back as they were evidently a late starter. As soon as he was through I started up again, only to notice another regular, making his way to join me having run to the event! I stopped once more & then joined him, though in my mind I was panicking about making Chelmsford as he started walking! Thankfully it was just a breather & he was on his way.

So after half a kilometre I joined Dan, one of Notley's Core Team, I'd be his company on the way round. Dan is aiming for a PB on Saturday, but conditions were not on our side on this New Years Day morning. We passed through halfway in decent time, but the hill of doom was going to be walked, both up & down. My job as the tailrunner isn't to cajole anyone to run faster, just provide assurance on the course & encouragement, no one should feel they are the slowest person on the course, for that is the tailrunner's job. As we made our way down the hill we were passed by two ladies, After saying hello, I presumed they'd headed out for some early morning PT, a great new year's resolution. It wasn't until we spoke to a marshal later on that I found out they'd be late arrivals & we in fact catching up! Of course I couldn't have mitigated for this, once we are through the first corner I can't see any new arrivals!

Tail running

Dan's decision to walk the hill of doom was very sensible, I felt the descend was actually more dangerous & lost my footing momentarily on a couple of occasions whenever I ventured from the very perimeter of the path. Once on level footing we started to run again, we'd be on for a 50 minute finish, which would give us just enough time to get across to Chelmsford without having to set any land speed records!

One thing I do need to remember when tail running is to be less chatty. Just because the pace I'm doing isn't taxing me, it doesn't mean that the person I'm running alongside isn't suffering. After all, when I'm at the top of my pace & Paul is pacing me, I'm not much conversation myself, at times I can barely make it past grunting.

I crossed the line in 50:33 & after getting scanned it was time to head to Chelmsford for the second half of the double.

The Logistics

At this point I should provide a bit more back story on how this double was achieved. Alec, my brother in law was also interested in doubling up, so it made sense to try & share transport. Logic would have suggested that as we live further away than him, that I'd drive. But that logic didn't apply once I'd agreed to be the tail runner. So Alec got up earlier, drove out of his way to Stansted to pick me up. I couldn't even do the decent thing of remember any change for the car park. It'd got it out ready & everything, but rules dictate that I always forget something & this time it was £2.50.

The logic made perfect sense as Alec had the car running ready for me once I'd may my way from the finish area. It wasn't quite a case of tights on the head & Drive Drive Drive, but it was a parkrun getaway vehicle.

Luckily spare change was the only thing I'd forgotten as I slipped the mud caked trail shoes off & into a bag. They were followed by the soggy socks & sweatband & I towelled down the feet for a complete pit stop.

I was then into nice fresh socks & lacing up the Saucony Kinvaras for the first time in a while, everything has been trail of late. Had I two pairs of trail shoes I'd have opted for them, Chelmsford has just enough mud to keep them interested. Upon arrival in Chelmsford I ditched my jacket & shirt for a new long sleeve shirt & we were on our way.

My regular human clothes were already packed into the boot of the wife's car, she was due to meet us for breakfast afterwards & I'd planned ahead.

Once in the park I checked in with Gerry, the Event Director who had himself been present at Notley. He'd announced beforehand that the tail from GNPR was also running at Chelmsford.

The Run #2

I had no plan in my mind for how I'd run the second of two 5k. My legs felt ok as the tail running hadn't overly taxed me so I could have run hard. I set off with the intention of just enjoying it, get round & get some much deserved breakfast.
I was comfortable & had spotted Len from Great Notley in front of me as we left Central Park. I pulled myself up alongside & we spent an enjoyable half hour chatting. As my mentor for parkrun Event Directorship, it was great to just chat on a nice easy run together. Given my recent hiatus, a PB was never on the cards so why not enjoy the sociable side of running. It was certainly an aspect to running I hadn't embraced properly until 2014, to start a new year being sociable made perfect sense.

Len was more enthusiastic than I was......

For the second of the two runs I was in road shoes & this only caused an issue twice for me. The section between 2-3km was a bit treacherous, nothing like the Great Notley course, but far from ideal in roadies. The second occasion was in the finish funnel as a result of my own stupidity. By keeping to an easy pace, I had plenty in the tank. As we turned off the path towards the finish funnel, I challenged Len to a sprint. What followed was quite possibly the best sprint finish of my running career. I surprised myself with just how much pace & power I had. Not only did I drop Len straight away, but I calved through a few more finishers. If this had be caught on film in its entirety it would have been a fun watch, all I have is an awesome picture showing me straining everything to get across the line.

The Sprint Face!

The issue with a sprint is that you then need to decelerate through the funnel. This is a challenge at the best of times, I've seen plenty of runners go through the funnel, unable to stop themselves. I have also myself experienced the complete opposite, a complete halt the moment I crossed the line in Helsinki having put everything into a run. Add the sprint to a mud bath of a finish funnel and you have an issue. On two separate occasions I had to right myself in order to not go over before I'd left the funnel. Sprinting is for fools, that's the lesson learnt.

The Eat

Double up means double to food yes? Before leaving Chelmsford I'd consumed the obligatory Gregg's sausage roll (Dunkin Donuts was closed) & then supplemented that with a double cheeseburger. Not sated, it was time for Welsh Rarebit once home, though I need to work more on my method for this dish, not quite getting the combinations right currently.
I promise that in 2015 I'll eat less crap, just need to empty the house of it at the moment....

The Conclusion

A fine way to see in 2015. Two enjoyable runs with company, some volurunning included into the mix. The first time I've managed to score a NYD parkrun double & hopefully something I can repeat in the future.