What a difference a day makes!

Yesterday I was on a running high.  Very pleased with the miles I'd done this year, happy with my parkrun yesterday, and feeling pretty gung-ho about life and running in general.  I planned to run 10 miles this morning, around the route of the Alton 10.  I love this route, I have run it, and sections of it, on a regular basis since I started running.  It is not a route that many people like.  Something to do with the fact that there isn't a single bit of level ground in the whole 10 miles.  Yes it is challenging, but for every uphill you get a corresponding downhill, you get to run through peaceful country lanes, obviously not so peaceful on race day, and the views are simply stunning.

I got up late today, the last lie in of the holiday, ate some porridge and got ready to go.  I wore my new compression tights, and a lurid pink, fog defying t-shirt.  I borrowed Husbando's gloves because mine had, as normal, done a vanishing act.  Apart from the fog, it was a lovely day, reasonably mild with no wind.  It should have been a lovely run.  I'd been looking forward to it all week, it was one of my favourite runs and my last daylight run until next weekend.  What could possibly go wrong?

The first 2.5 miles from my house are predominantly uphill.  Not a huge, steep, steep hill, but pretty consistently uphill (with a wee short downhill to add interest).  So long as you take it steady it is fine, in fact when I started running I didn't even think of it as a hill at all, it was just where I preferred to run because it was prettier than running through the town.  Today it was a real struggle.  By the time I got to Binsted my legs felt massively heavy and I seriously contemplated turning round, but for some reason I didn't.  I kept thinking 'It'll get better, there's that lovely downhill soon.'  My mood wasn't helped by having to stop for frequent phone calls and texts from the children.

I plodded on.  And on.  As I did I tried to cheer myself up by remembering better runs of this route:  The lovely marshall at 5 miles with fruit pastilles, getting to 6 miles (on race day) and realising that I was running at the same pace I'd done my last 10k at and still feeling really strong - but it wasn't really working.  I stopped a few times, using passing cars as an excuse, but stopping for longer than strictly necessary.

At some point I realised that the same car had passed me at least twice.  It passed me a third time, and when I got round a corner it was stationary in the middle of the road.  I stopped about 100m away and fiddled with my watch, dug out an energy sweet, and eventually he moved on.  Only to have him pass me again - in the same direction (he'd obviously gone round the loop again) a few minutes later.  I was, for the first time ever on a run, a tad concerned about my safety.  I sent a text with the registration number to Husbando, and was very relieved when I got to a section of the run which seemed to be more densely populated with walkers and cyclists.

I was running slowly, I decided that, if I wanted to make it to lunch, I better curtail the run at 8.5 miles. It had taken me 1hr 21minutes to cover the distance - it only took me 5 minutes more to run the whole 10 miles last time I raced the Alton 10.  Still, there are good days and bad days, and at least I was out their running.

I suspect that, having got carried away with the exuberance of running every day and often more than once a day this year, I was just too tired.  Next Sunday's long slow run is in London, I am hoping for better things.

A wee bit of a break!

Going away for a few days when you have children is hugely different to those halcyon days when you could just throw a few clothes in a bag, make sure the house was locked and jump in the car.  Now going away is a military operation, although forces personnel are more organised than my rabble.  This week Husbando had to go to a book fair in York.  I like York and haven't been up there for a while so I decided to go with him.  The older two children arranged to visit friends and the younger three were being dropped off with my mother, who lives near Leicester, on our way up there.

So, I packed for all three of the children, I'd just finished doing this when Hubando called and asked me to look out some stuff for him, belatedly I threw a few clothes in a bag for me.  Mainly running kit to be fair, but we did fairly well, I don't think I forgot anything too serious, although my mother had to buy toothbrushes for the children.

Our favourite hotel was closed for the first night of our stay, so we spent the first night at an anonymous  chain hotel - the Marriott on Tadcaster Road.  Soulless but serviceable best describes it!  For our second night we moved to the wonderful Middlethorpe Hall - a gem of a hotel!

On our first evening Husbando and I went for a run together, about 3.5 miles around the outer perimeter of the racecourse, and getting a bit lost in a housing estate!  Husbando was coughing for NATO, he's had a nasty flu bug and it seems he isn't fully recovered yet.  A solo run for me the next morning, in beautiful sunshine, reminded me of why I love running, clear blue skies, new places to run, new challenges to overcome.

Last time I was in York there was no parkrun in York.  I'd considered driving over to Leeds, but decided not to as we'd been out drinking on the Friday night and I was a tad concerned that I might still be over the limit!  This time there was a parkrun right on my doorstep (almost!)  I love parkrun, but have to admit that I am happiest running at my home parkrun in Basingstoke.  I get nervous at the though of meeting large groups of new people.  In fact, on the 1.6mile run from Hotel to start line I almost wimped out several times, I had that horrible queasy feeling in my stomach that I get when I have to go to any event where there are lots of people I don't know.

On my way to the start I met the run director, Steve, setting up the finish funnel, and tied my kit bag to the fence near the finish.  I jogged around to the start, arriving very early and waiting, for what seemed like an eternity, by myself.  Just before 9am runners started to appear from nowhere.  I chatted to a man who had lost 11 stone through running and walking and was there to do his first ever parkrun, a nice man called Roy who had read my post on the York parkrun Facebook page came up to me and introduced himself.

There were lots of shiny new trainers in evidence this morning, lots of them Christmas presents or sale bargains, but there were a lot of first timers there as well, and one visitor (little old me!) Soon we were off, the course is 1 and 2/3 laps of the service road just inside the race track.  It is flat and on tarmac, which makes for a fairly fast run - I was about a minute and a half faster than my fastest recent parkruns, still too slow form my liking, but I'll get there one day.  After Basingstoke and Alice Holt, it was odd to run a course where you could see exactly where you were going to run for the next kilometre!  The race course is also well used by locals walking their dogs.  I have no problem with parkrunners running with dogs - as they all seem to be well behaved, intent on running and happy to totally ignore me.  But, and it is a big but, I am not a dog person, dogs seem to think I am tasty and edible, and I tend to be very wary of dogs, especially if they are not on a lead!  And I've never seen so many non parkrun dogs at a parkrun venue!

After the run I had the best cup of coffee I have had in a very long time.  The Poppy Coffee Company Van did sterling work supplying coffee, tea and hot chocolate to sweaty parkrunners.  We were lucky with the weather - mild and dry - and people hung around for a post run chat, but I should imagine it is a different story on a cold, wet and windy morning.  I met a couple of runners who I 'know' from the Fetcheveryone site - always great to put a face to a screen name!

I don't think there is every any chance of me becoming a parkrun tourist, but I am a third of the way to completing one of my resolutions - to run at three different parkruns (in addition to my home run) before Easter!

Hello 2013!

Goodbye 2012, and what a year it was.   Most of it good, some of it bad, but what doesn't kill you just emotionally and physically scars you for life makes you stronger!  In 2012 I ran more miles than ever before, 1181 miles as opposed to my previous maximum of 880, and ran further than ever before, finishing my first marathon, and yes I do mean first.  I will run another marathon.   I've run 42 parkruns, which surprises me because I feel that I am there every Saturday!   I have had two nasty fall, my knee still hurts (and has some impressive scaring) from the first, and the second saw me on crutches for 6 very long weeks at the start of the summer.

The glimmer of speed that was starting to emerge in 2011 was thoroughly quashed by these injuries and, let's be honest, by the consequent weight gain.  How I managed to run 26.2 miles still amazes me, surely a case of mind over matter, especially in the final few miles.

Today I started the year as I plan to go on, with a parkrun and then another 3 miles on my own, later in the day.  I ran with my youngest boy, we went slowly, running at his pace.  I love encouraging my children to run.  So far the boys are fairly keen, my youngest tries her hardest, but isn't quite up to the challenge of 5km yet, and carrying her on my back is very hard work.  My 13 year old would only run for a bus, or if Josh what's-his-name from The Hunger Games was waiting at the finish line.  Five of us were there today, with Husbando (recovering from 'flu) taking photos, one of the strengths of parkrun is that it is something that the whole family can take part in.  It doesn't matter how fast or slow you are, everyone will make you welcome.

So, goals for 2013...  I'm not sure really.  What is more important than any target is that I remember why I run.  I don't run to be faster than another runner, or beat a certain time.  I don't particularly run to lose weight (I must be the only person ever to train for a marathon and not lose any weight), and I don't really run for any of the many health benefits.  I run because I enjoy it.  I run because I always feel better after a run than before hand.  Just getting outside and running in the fresh air, especially if you manage to get out in daylight, is such a boost.  The countryside around here is beautiful, even if does include more than a few challenging hills.

I've entered a few races, and am toying with the idea of entering a few more, but I'll wait and see how I feel in a week or two.  I will, of course, carry on with parkrun - I should make it to 100 runs this year and at least one of my children should make it to 50 parkruns.  I may get to somewhere near my PB, but even if I don't I know that I will have great company both on the run and for a coffee afterwards.

Happy new year to you all.  And keep running.  Or start running - who knows, you may find you like it!

Phew! That's a relief!

I thought that I couldn't run any more!  I was starting to get really rather distressed about this!   I've had a tough few weeks, physically and mentally.  I ended up going to the doctor for some medicine that really didn't agree with me, although it took me a while to realise that it was the medicine that was causing the problem.

Running, for me, is a great source of relaxation.  A time to get outside and think things over, or not think of anything at all apart from the rhythm of my feet as they hit the ground and the beat of my heart as it pumps the blood around my body.  In times of stress my first instinct is to grab my running shoes and hit the road.  So, having hit a rough patch this is just what I did.  Only to find that I could only stagger about half a mile before needing to stop, catch my breath and recover before ploughing slowly on.  Every breath felts as though I were breathing through a marshmallow, and my legs just refused to respond.  2.5 miles into a 3 mile run (and I had to get to 3 miles to pick up the car to come home) I stood by the road feeling absolutely shredded.  I have run half marathons at a much faster pace and felt better after them.  I had no idea what was going on, but was almost in tears about the whole thing!

I'd stopped taking the drugs the previous day, but obviously they were still whizzing round my system. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to complete a 5km parkrun yesterday morning, so when I remembered that a friend was coming along, and that her 5k time was slower than mine I jumped at the chance to run with her.  She may think that I was encouraging her along, but she was my life line and kept me going.

As it was, the weather was cold and bright - lovely running conditions if a little slippery underfoot.  I was still nervous as the run director completed his briefing and led us all to the start line.  Once we set off the nerves dissipated somewhat, helped by the gentle downward slope for the first kilometer.  I told my friend that she was in charge of the pace and I would run at her speed (all the time thinking "I hope she doesn't go off too fast, I won't keep up and will look a right twit!") but I needn't have worried.  We set off at a nice steady pace.  We hadn't seen each for months, so there was lots to catch up on and, as those who know me will testify, I can talk for NATO!  At the back of my mind I was thinking 'I'm running!  My legs work!  My chest feels fine!'  I could have run the whole way easily!

With only 66 runners I can see how it might be discouraging for slower runners if they were there on there own.  At the first Alice Holt parkrun there were over 150 runners, so that feeling of running alone (and wondering just how close to the back of the pack you were) wouldn't happen.  I am sure that as this parkrun grows in popularity this will cease to be an issue.  As for my friend, when she turned up she told me that her 5k time was around 33minutes, well, she smashed that one yesterday, coming in with a time of just over 31 minutes on a challenging course.  I see a sub 30 minute time in the very near future for her.  She really did dig deep yesterday, pushing herself round.

This morning, the nerves returned a wee bit as I had planned a 9 mile run to meet Husbando and No.1 Son for breakfast.  It was very icy and as I started out I began to notice that my chest was tight.  I also realised I was thinking about work, that I'd spent a lot of recent runs thinking about work.  I decided to consciously think of other things (upcoming films, the amount of Chinese food eaten last night, the content of Seb Coe's autobiography) and the tight chested feeling passed!  It was never going to be a fast run, the road was too slippery to take risks, but it was a beautiful, frosty morning.  A chance to remember that I run because I enjoy running.  That should be reason enough!

(Thanks to Mark Cornwell for the photograph)

Alice Holt inaugural parkrun

About six months ago I answered a request for people to help set up a new parkrun.  It was all very exciting, planning new routes, meeting new people, setting up new Facebook pages and so on.  Sadly, due to work and home commitments, I couldn't play as active a part in the event team as I would have liked, but I still kept up to date with what was going on (as I have admin rights on the Facebook page!) and was thrilled to hear that the event was starting today.  

I'd run a couple of the proposed routes with Martin Bushell (event director) and other members of the team back in June, but I hadn't even looked to see where the official route would take us.  Alice Holt is far from flat, so I knew we would be in for an interesting run.  

This is now my nearest parkrun, being about 4 miles up the road from me, this meant that I could have a little bit of a lie in this morning, getting up at ten past seven rather than seven o'clock!  I chivied the two younger boys into their shorts and trainers, drank a quick cup of tea, transferred my Alice Holt parking ticket from one car to another, checked I had all the barcodes and bundled the children into the car.  Finding a parking place at 8.30am is not going to be a problem at this venue - there are vast pay and display car parks.  Canny locals tell me that there are free car parks a short walk away, but I'm far too lazy for that!

It was lovely to see so many friendly faces at the start.  There were regulars there from Basingstoke and Frimley Lodge parkruns, Chineham Park Running Club had a huge presence on the day, and I spotted several people from the online running community that is Fetcheveryone.  parkrun royalty was represented by Paul Sinton-Hewitt (it is his fault we are all up early running round parks in the first place) and Danny Norman (of 'The parkrun show' fame).   Event director Martin welcomed us all to the forest and did the first of many very successful pre-run briefings.  If he was nervous it didn't show!  

And then we were off!  The start is nice and wide, with a gentle downhill slope for the first couple of hundred metres.  'Not so fast Freddy' and I fell into step (for a little while) beside a lady with a 50 club t shirt on and we ran and chatted for a while.  We talked about various things running related, and she mentioned that she runs round marathons counting them out in parkruns.  'That's odd,' I said, 'There was a lady on the parkrun show the week before last who said the same thing!'  'That's because that lady was me!' said Louise Ayling! 

The two lap course is lovely, very up and down, but the hills are quite short so you don't notice them too much!  It is a beautiful place to run and I reckon the changing seasons will provide plenty of wonderful scenery.    

It was wet and quite slippery today, Freddy went flying at one point fairly early on, covering his 10 club t-shirt in thick mud.  Strangely (!) he was quite grumpy about the whole thing after that and I really had to cajole/bully/threaten/bribe him round.  On the plus side this did give me time to chat with the wonderful marshals and to take photos!  Another advantage is that if I run it on my own I will easily get a PB!  My other son had run on ahead of us.  

We were only lapped by one person, I do hate being lapped, but was gracious and cheered Danny on!  Danny in turn encouraged Freddy as he passed us (again) on his warm down lap!  I don't think this will ever be a very fast 5k course, even in dry conditions as it is quite undulating with a lot of uneven ground (which was quite 'challenging' for my dodgy foot), but is it a fun course with lots of twists and turns.

Coffee afterwards at The Cafe on The Green was very welcome on a chilly morning.  Lots of chance to socialise, eat cake, discuss the route, eat cake, talk about other parkruns and eat cake.  Actually, the boys both had the 'woodsman breakfast' which was good value at £4.95 each and looked delicious.  The coffee was good too!  

My middle child is planning to do his ESB exam talk about parkrun this year, and was keen to get pictures of all four club T-shirts (and their wearers!) in one place.  Danny (250), Nicola (100),Freddy (10) and an as yet unknown member of the 100 club obliged.  I am very grateful, as is he! 

So, will I change my home parkrun?  Probably not, but I will try to run my local parkrun on a regular basis.  I have one son who loved Alice Holt and one who swears he will never run it again (that'll be because he fell over!) but will happily volunteer!  So to keep everyone, including me, happy (I like a shopping fix after my B'stoke parkrun as well as a gossip with my B'stoke parkrun family) it looks as though we will be visiting Alice Holt occasionally.    If any of my running buddies wants to visit Alice Holt parkrun I am more than happy to meet you there!  

Night running

Last night I went for my first properly dark run of the autumn.  By the time I got home from work it wasn't dusk or twilight anymore, it was just dark. 

I don't like running in the dark, it means that I can't run my normal routes along single track country lanes because there is absolutely no street lighting out there and many potholes!  I am rather fond of having two ankles that function reasonably well most of the time and see no reason to increase the chances of breaking one, or both of them.  Winter evening running means a change of route, I have to turn left, not right, as I leave my road and towards town.  This at least guarantees me pavements and street lighting for most of the route. 

But I still want to be seen.  I'd rather not become a hood ornament on a 4x4, so I make sure that I am wearing a neon yellow top with reflective stripes and that I have a head torch.  My new one is rather clever in that it has a red light at the back as well as an exceedingly bright white one at the front.  I don't like wearing a head torch - it feels odd, and my field of vision is constricted to the illuminated beam directly in front of me, but I'd rather be safe. 

Last night's run won't go down as one of my best ever.  I am pretty sure that one shouldn't wheeze while running, but the remnants of the 'flu are obviously still with me.  Still, I'd had a stressful day at work and mentally felt far better after my run than before.

I ran 4 miles and in that time saw four people riding bicycles without lights.  I know that a lot of cyclists complain about inconsiderate drivers, but these four (who were all adults) really do give cyclists a bad name!  I am sure they would be most upset if they were hit by a car.  I was moving a lot slower than a car and almost ran into a cyclist stopped at a junction.  I thought lights on a bicycle were a legal requirement after dark, but maybe I am wrong.  If they aren't required by law then common sense says it is pretty obvious that they are sensible!  Mind you, none of these people were wearing cycling helmets either....

Running free?

You may or may not have noticed that I quite like running.  I've been through periods where I've not been running well (I'm going through one of those at the moment) but even when this happens I hate not running more than I hate running.  In the 4 years since I started running I seem to have taken the blame for a fair few other people getting the running bug.  I quite often wax lyrical about the fact that running is a cheap activity.  Most of us own a pair of trainers and some sports wear.  All you need to do is lace up the trainers and step out of your front door.  No gym subscription vanishing via direct debit every month (whether you manage to make it to the gym or not) - what could be simpler than that?

But it isn't quite that simple is it?

Once you start getting more involved, dare I say obsessive, about running, you suddenly decide that you can't possibly manage without at least a couple of running outfits.  If you're lucky, you've hit this phase in the summer, and you can pick up a pair of shorts and a tech t-shirt for about £20 each, which makes 'running socks' at £10-£12 look really quite expensive, but you throw them into your shopping cart anyway.  If it is winter, you are probably going to end up with long running tights, long sleeved tops, maybe a running jacket, possibly a hat and definitely some gloves (I have been know to cry tears of pure misery if I've left my gloves at home in the winter).  The cost mounts up and up.

Then there's running shoes.  I've just bought a new pair and it only feels like a couple of weeks since my current pair were shiny and new.  Running shoes last for about 500 miles, and if you run 30 - 40 miles a week, well, you can do the maths as well as I can, the shoes don't last very long at all.  Like most people who run a lot, I don't ever want to find myself in the situation where I have to go on a long run, possibly a race, in new shoes, so I tend to buy a new pair about three quarters of the way through the life of the old pair.  And running shoes tend to be pricey.  Especially if you need shoes that stop you pronating as I do.  I had a voucher for 20% off running shoes today - and still ended up spending £80.  (They are lovely - I can't wait to wear them, but eighty quid for glorified plimsoles....)  Oh, and then someone mentions trail running and trail shoes, so you end up buying another pair of trainers that are destined to be covered in mud in perpetuity, never, ever fully drying out between puddle ridden (but great fun) runs.

Oh, and I almost forgot gadgets.  I do love a gadget!  This could range from a few pence for an add free version of an app on your smart phone to a couple of hundred pounds for a GPS watch and/or heart rate monitor.  If you are running you may as well know where you have been and how fast you were!  It all adds up....

.... and that's before you decide to enter races!  I try to forget how much these races cost to enter as soon as I have submitted my application.  I do know that the Reading Half for next year is £31.50 (for UKAA members) and the Great South Run is £41 (for just 10 miles).  The more high profile the race the greater the cost!  I don't even want to think how much I have spent on entering races in the last few years.

I'd like to apologise to the children and partners of anyone I have encouraged to run for any economies they have been forced to make just so the runner in their family can acquire a must have item (this week's must have item for me was a head torch), you know that running makes them happy don't you? You wouldn't really want them being cranky at home without a nice new {insert currently lusted after running item here} so that you can get the latest X-Box game would you?  Of course not!!

Thankfully parkrun is free!  A weekly running fix that cost nothing (although volunteering at events ins encouraged).  It is also a great way to get some experience of running with other people (in some cases a lot of other people - Bushy Park parkrun has over 800 runners every week), and challenging yourself against the clock and other people!