Cold and slow

I’ve succumbed to the lurgy and have had a heavy cold for a couple of days, which is incredibly frustrating. It has affected my sleep and makes me want to just hibernate.

This morning, Stu ran to Royal Victoria Country Park and I drove to meet him there. We’d chosen to go to Netley Abbey parkrun as it was our friend Dave’s 250th parkrun.

When I arrived, I set up M’s running buggy and then went over to congratulate Dave for reaching his milestone. He was chatting to one of my running heroes, Iwan Thomas. Iwan was there with his adorable French bulldog, Frank… I was so tempted to take a photo because he is the cutest pup (and Iwan’s not too bad either!)

Stu was feeling achy when he got there as 12km is the furthest he’s run since he was doing Ironman training last year, so he said he look after Morgelyn and I could run. I wasn’t wearing what I would usually wear to run in, but as the temperature was -4ºC (39ºF) when I left home, it was probably just as well that I had some extra layers on.

As I wasn’t feeling well, I agreed that I would join Kim and Vicky for a social run. Kim was looking very glamorous all in black, and she was sensibly wearing sunglasses. I hadn’t thought about wearing mine and was blinded for half of the run.

It was a route that I’d not run on before, so perhaps my result could be considered a PB, but I know it was slower than I would usually do.

I’ve been feeling jealous of all of the beautiful leggings on Instagram recently, so I splashed out at Decathlon this week. I had a £5 voucher to be used by the end of the month, so I went in for a browse and after spending a further £8, I came out with some very jazzy leggings. For the price, I was impressed with the quality – they are quite thick and have a lovely flat waistband that is quite high. My only gripes are that they are designed for people who are taller than me, so they are quite long… and perhaps I could have worn a smaller size as they started falling down. However, if I had worn a smaller size, I think they would have stretched too much and the white lining would have shown.

Tomorrow, I had been hoping for a lie in, but we’re marshalling at the CC6, so there’s no rest for the wicked. I’m then scheduled to go out for a short run with Lou, but I think I should see how I’m feeling. At least I’ve got a lie in to look forward to on Monday, when everyone else is heading off to work!

How are you getting your fitness fix this weekend?

 

parkrunning between April and June 2016

I didn’t do a lot of blogging between April and June because I was really busy and also very tired… but I did manage to fit in some parkruns.

The 200th event at Southampton parkrun was on 9th April. Kim and many of my other friends were wearing fancy dress… but I wanted to wear my SOAS kit.

Kim and I agreed to run with Vicky, who managed to get a new PB!

parkrun 16th April 2016

On 7th May, I agreed to meet up with my friend, Dorte, who lives near to Netley Abbey parkrun. I had completely forgotten that Southampton parkrun was cancelled on that date, so Netley was a lot busier than it usually is. Also, the usual course was unavailable, so we had to run 5.5 laps of the cricket pitch. I was so grateful that I had my Garmin on – without it I would have lost track of how many laps I had completed. Although the course was a little dull, I managed to get a faster time that I had for a while.

I ran with Kim at Southampton parkrun on 7th and 14th May. I deleted my results email, but was pleased that I managed to help Kim to get a massive PB at event #203, and she came reasonably close at event #204.

I went home to Cornwall, so on 21st May, Stu and I went to Penrose parkrun. It’s a beautiful location, but it’s a tough parkrun with lots of climbing and a very windy section along the clifftop. I knew I would find it tough, but was determined that I wouldn’t walk any of it. I had hoped to be a bit quicker, but was quite pleased to achieve my goal and was surprised to find that I finished second in my age group.

I then returned to Southampton and after doing quite well at event #207, I was pleased to get back under 30 minutes on 11th June.

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parkrun at Royal Victoria Country Park

Yesterday morning I ventured over to Netley Abbey parkrun for a change. I had agreed with my friend Dörte that we would meet up for a run at her local parkrun.

I had originally intended to cycle to Royal Victoria Country Park, but it was very foggy when I got up and as my main cycling jacket is white, that didn’t seem a sensible option, so I was lazy and drove there. It’s a shame as there are some lovely bike racks in the park and the cycle route is usually quite scenic.

I didn’t really give myself enough time to drive, so I only had five minutes to park and get myself to the start line.

After I had dropped my bag with the rest of the baggage, I saw a few of my friends from Lordshill at the start. I had a quick chat with Dave who is trying out the Furman (FIRST) three day a week marathon plan. Whilst we were talking, I felt a little nudge from behind. My lovely friend, Di, was trying to catch my attention, so she had poked me with her foot… unfortunately, it was only as she did it that she realised just how muddy her feet were, so I started the run with a footprint on my bum!

I looked around and couldn’t see Dörte, so I thought I’d set off and would probably see her on the way around as she’s a faster runner than me and it’s a three lap course where you pass other runners.

I find Netley Abbey parkrun to be quite challenging. The current route is a three lap course that has a downhill section before a run parallel to the shore. (If you want to see a bit more of the view, check out this video from the Shipwrecks and Submerged Worlds: Maritime Archaeology course that I was involved in – Julian and Jesse are standing just off the path that we run along, so you can see the Itchen shoreline and Fawley oil refinery in the distance!) I was supposed to be going quickly, so that I could report a 5k time back to Coach Olly, but I got really distracted when I saw a little pug walking along the shingle – oops! There were also some good marshalls along this section.

After the run along the shore, there is an uphill section that is quite narrow and can only fit two runners abreast. Then it’s back onto the main path, which is quite muddy and has a number of puddles on it at the moment.

After a few minutes to get your breath back, there’s another uphill section, before heading through the woods and a lovely downhill section, which is also quite muddy and leafy.

Several times during the run, I saw Ben who was the first finisher and I also saw Dave, Di, Khalid, Rodolfo, Aurelio, Kelly and various other friends… but no Dörte.

Going into the last lap, Kelly passed me. I don’t see her very often as Kelly runs with Hedge End Running Club and doesn’t come to Southampton parkrun very often, but Kelly and I ran our first half marathon together and finished Stubbington 10k in exactly the same time last week. I tried to stick with Kelly when she passed me, but I was just feeling too tired to keep up. I think this week’s interval sessions have taken it out of me a bit!

There used to be a large hospital for wounded servicemen at Netelet Abbey – now the chapel is all that remains in the park

The section back on the flat is challenging as the right hand side of the path has fewer puddles so runners coming in the other direction often veer onto this side of the path.

On the final lap there is a really long finishing straight, which is great if you’re feeling like really going for it at the end of the lap. I got to the final 100m and wanted to have a sprint finish, but I had nothing left. I had assumed that I would get a time of 26:XX, but it was not to be. My time on my Garmin was 27:15, which is quite disappointing.

A look at the stats was a little less depressing – I finished 3rd out of 21 in my age category and was 21/110 women. Overall, I was 123rd out of 270. I also realised that my time was a PB on this course – although I have only run it 3 times before and it has generally been with other people. First place in my age category was a time of 26:01 – I reckon that I can manage that with a bit more training!

Overall, this is a lovely parkrun. Occasionally, it is run on a multi-loop course around teh cricket pitch, which is quite dull, but the other main route is also attractive. The marshalls were great and as the event isn’t too big, it still has a local comunity feel to it.

Afterwards, lots of people adjourned to the cafe for a drink. I sent my friend, Dörte a text message and found out that she hadn’t been able to make the run, but she was able to cycle down to the cafe to met me… this also gives me a great excuse to come back to Netley, so that we can have a run together!

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And now for something completely different… You may have noticed that it’s ‘Way Back Week’ on Facebook. Here’s my photo from about 1980!