Wells 10k: race review

by Ben

After easing myself back into running and racing in April, May was pretty full on. At Glastonbury I ran better than I had been expecting, while at the really tough Wambrook Waddle I was brought back down to earth a little, although I was still pretty chuffed with my result. My times at the Yeovilton 5k races were coming down, and though not back to my peak times of last year, I wasn’t far off.

With all of this, I was heading to the Wells 10k feeling pretty confident. I hadn’t done the race before, and although I knew there was a hill that we hit twice on the two-lap course, I thought that there was the possibility of getting close to my PB from Langport last year. I had thought that I might end up as the only club member at the race, but in the end there were a few of us, and my parents came up as well, although they spent as much time exploring Wells as watching the race, I think!

What do you mean it’s not on right?

We arrived in Wells in plenty of time, and coincidentally met my club-mate Iain in the car park, and so bimbled over to the town hall together to collect our numbers. From this stage on, I pretty much ignored my parents and wife: I’m quite open about the fact that at races I need to do my own thing beforehand, although in this case, it was just chatting to Iain! The collection process was nice and easy, and before long we had our numbers tacked onto our tops… and there was still the better part of an hour before our race started. The weather forecast was for a really hot day, and the morning sun was out in full-force. Iain and I hid in the shadow of the town hall, wondering why everyone else was stood out in the hot sun, dehydrating. Maybe it was just the novelty factor!

Wells, or the Algarve? Who knows?

After gathering for a club photo, Iain and I trotted off for a warm-up. In keeping with the two-lap nature of the course, this ended up being a two-lap warm-up, as our loop only ended up being about half a mile. While we were warming up and preparing, lots of other races were taking part. I can’t remember them all, but there was certainly a 5k, and a couple of short distances for children too. Lolly found the format great to keep her entertained while she was waiting for our race to start, so I can feel slightly less guilty about ignoring her.

Given the weather and the hill on each lap, added to the fact that I’d spent the last three and a half days off work with vertigo, I was aware that my chances of a PB were pretty slim. Nevertheless, I opted to head out at or around a PB pace and see what happened. Predictably, my first kilometre, which dropped downhill slightly was faster than I intended. The course also very early turned off the road and through a farm-yard, before later picking up a dusty path. While neither could in any honesty be described as “trail”, I had been expecting a road race, and was slightly unsettled. Whether that accounted for my gradual drop in pace of the next couple of kilometres, or whether that was just a reflection of my current state of training, I’m not completely sure.

Focused. Driven.

After the dusty path, the course returned to the road, and there was a short out-and-back section. Oddly, I thought, we turned around a marshal despite there being more cones beyond. Stupidly, I didn’t realise why this was. The course dropped downhill from the out-and-back section, before we hit the hill. As soon as I saw the hill, which was visible in its full glory, I knew that any slim chance I’d had of a PB was gone. This was no mere undulation, nor even a short sharp burst like that at Glastonbury. This was a Hill. I wasn’t particularly cheered up by the older chap who passed me, pleasantly telling me that it was a 30 metre climb. I maintained a gentle run for the first half of the hill, dropping to a walk at the water station, and then mostly running again after.

From the peak of the hill, the course levelled off for a little bit, before dropping down towards the Bishop’s Palace, where we turned onto a path which passed behind it. The path was lined with spectators; a brilliant stretch of support, which reminded me of Longrun Meadow parkrun.

Running past the Bishop’s Palace. A great place for spectators and great support for the runners.

On the second lap, after managing to pick up the pace initially, it slipped back to around 4:30/km from 6 to 8 km. During this stage, it became abundantly clear why the traffic cones had continued beyond the marshal on the out-and-back section on the first lap: the out-and-back was longer on the second lap. This was because the course was the same as the 5 km race on the first lap, and so to make up the distance we cut off by taking the path by the Bishop’s Palace, they had to extend it slightly on the second. I really should have worked it out the first time around, but instead it was just an unpleasant surprise. Still, it did delay hitting the hill for the second time!

Which, despite the garden hose being sprayed across the road to help up keep cool at the bottom of it, was awful again. I pretty much stopped to drink at the drink station, and walked for much longer than I had the first time around. My pace was awful for this kilometre, dropping to 5:05, but all I could hold onto was that very few of those runners around me were doing much better.

Hot, tired, and not in the mood for a sprint-finish (for a change!)

My final kilometre, dropping down to the finish, was my quickest of the race, though I demurred from a full sprint- finish. Given that at a few stages, I’d thought that I’d struggle to come in under 45 minutes based on my pace, I was pretty happy with 44:10, all things considered.

So, after a bit of a moan-y, negative post, the question is: Did I enjoy the race? – Yes, on balance I did. Most of the negatives were simply things I wasn’t expecting, and that’s my own fault. I should have properly researched the course, so that I was aware that parts of it strayed off-road, and more importantly, so that I knew how significant the hill was. Most of my annoyance came due to the fact that I’d arrived with whispers in my ear that I could get a PB. That was never going to happen on this course, but that doesn’t make it a bad race!

The medal was pretty basic, and I think I have a few others that are identical, but its better than nothing. The race itself was great value. Would I do it again? Yes. It might not be as high on the list as Glastonbury or Wambrook, but if I was free, I’d certainly give it another go.

Running on empty

by Lolly

Picture the scene. After a week of feeling tired and generally not 100%, it’s finally Friday evening. A text arrives checking if you’ll be at parkrun the next morning, and you send an affirmative reply (it’s pretty much the only running you do lately). You then get very little sleep and are woken up by your sleep-deprived toddler at 5:45. Your husband has been feeling ill in the night, so you’re on your own.

Do you:
a) hide under a blanket and concede to watching Peppa Pig all morning
b) get dressed and head out for a buggy parkrun

I’ve been trying to work out why it is that I chose option b. Possibly because I’d told my friend I’d be there. Possibly because parkrun has genuinely been my only exercise lately. Probably because small children are much easier to look after in big outdoor spaces.

Longrun Meadow is one of the few parkruns we’ve been to that don’t tell buggies to start at the back, but we do anyway. There’s a narrow bridge right near the start which is a big enough crush at the best of times. So there’s lots of overtaking to be done.

It started pretty badly as I struggled to get past a few of the groups near the back, meaning my speed fluctuated greatly. Efficient buggy-running is all about momentum, as the hardest thing is getting any kind of speed up. When you’re overtired it’s even more important.

At least after all that effort someone took our picture! (Credit: Graham Foster)

By the end of the first lap I’d overtaken quite a few people, but was also really starting to struggle. Running with a buggy requires running fitness, strength and energy. I had approximately zero of those. And shortly after the 2 mile beep I did something I don’t ever remember doing at Longrun before. I slowed to a walk.

Of course, this then made things harder when I started running again, as it took more effort to get speed up. By the time I got round to the formerly-muddy bit I’d conceded that I would need to walk the entire bark section, saving what little energy I had for the better path that lay ahead.

As we left the muddy bit, I told my daughter that I was sorry for walking so much, and that I’d get her back as fast as I could. This little voice replied “Doesn’t matter”.

Better ground and friendly faces got me round to the end. Glances at my watch as I’d been going along had prepared me for what I’d see just after the finish. I had completely smashed my worst Longrun Meadow time.

At the time of writing this, I don’t know my official time (my barcode didn’t scan correctly so I’m waiting to be added to the results), but I think it will be merely seconds quicker than my slowest ever parkrun (which was my first post-natal 5k). So just a course PW then.

But you know what, it doesn’t matter.

Wambrook Waddle: race review

by Ben

After running better than I had expected at the Glastonbury 10k, the focus was on building up my mileage. Though I would like to set some short distance PBs in the near future, my main focus remains on an autumn half, so I don’t want to start introducing too much speed-work if it’s going to compromise my endurance efforts. Hopefully soon I can find a nice balance between the two.

However, in the mean time there were the next two club championship races: the second Yeovilton 5k race and the Wambrook Waddle. It’s reasonably fair to say that there are few races that could be more different: Yeovilton is a flat, fast, road 5k, while Wambrook is a hilly, technical, trail 10k.

The smiling Running Forever group after Yeovilton.

Going into the week, my prospects didn’t seem great. After my Sunday run, I was starting to get bad knee pain, and so I was pretty concerned about running on it. I skipped my planned Tuesday run, and drove out to Yeovilton knowing that I might have to be a spectator. My warm-up run, roughly one mile, was completely pain-free, and so I made the decision to race. Despite having been raining most of the day, by the time the race started the sun had come out, and it was really quite warm. Nonetheless, I had a good race, managing better (though still pretty bad) pacing than last time, and improved to 20:44. Still about 30 seconds slower than my best, but a 20 second improvement on last month, so I’m still hopeful of beating my best this summer.

After Yeovilton, my knee continued to trouble me, though it had been fine during the run itself. I was more wary of Wambrook, knowing that a hilly course would be more likely to be problematic, and so I had a discussion with my physio about what I could do to minimise any trouble. He recommended a few exercises, some kinesiology tape, and Voltarol gel. I continued to avoid my other planned runs, and so I arrived for the race not really sure if I’d be able to complete it. Like Glastonbury, this was a race that I hadn’t done before, but I knew a fair bit about as Lolly ran it last year. Or at least, I thought I did – turns out that nothing really prepares you for this course.

For a full description of the route, you’re probably better off reading Lolly’s report: she describes it well. But succinctly, it is a beautiful, but very challenging course. The hills would make it difficult enough, but the terrain is very technical and varied. There are descents on grass, loose stones, solid but wet stones, and ascents on all of those, plus bog. And trust me, there is little that is more draining that running up a hill through a bog. Three river crossings, a scramble over a fence (no stile), and even a couple of short stretches of road!

Beating Clive to the first river.

The race starts with a sharp descent to the first river crossing. I’m better than average at trail descents, and so I was happy to fling myself down the hill and see what happened. Apparently, one of my club-mates, Nigel, took this one step further, and was aiming to be the first runner to the river. He didn’t quite manage it, but I was a little surprised to see him ahead of me when I passed him at the start of the climb after. As is typical of these Somerset Series races, I knew a lot of the people around me, and was able to use these to gauge how I was running. Which told me that even after the really, really, really long climb after the river, I remained further forwards than I would have expected. I was just behind the first woman (Jo from Minehead), and one position ahead of another of my club-mates who normally beats me by a minute or two, Clive.

On the second descent, Clive took a bit of a tumble behind me, but got back up again quickly, and then passed me on the next climb, when my calves really started to complain. The first four miles of the race are by far the hardest, and judging myself against those around me, it was the section from miles three to four on which I lost time. I think I simply wore myself out so much on the first two climbs that my legs went. I dropped back a fair bit on a descent through a field, in which I simply didn’t trust my legs enough to run as I normally would, and I dropped straight to a walk on the hill after it. After that walk, I actually stopped at the drinks station to finish my whole cup, a rarity, particularly in a 10k!

I really struggled with this section of the race.

The last section of the race was run primarily through fields or on decent paths, and once I had recovered slightly, I was able to start catching up to those that had passed me. On the final hill, I passed two runners, but wasn’t able to close down the gap to Clive in front. In fact, on reflection, my own position didn’t change at all from the picture above on the left, struggling up the hill. The two runners in red passed me shortly after this drinks station, but they were the pair I passed near the end. So I guess overall, we just chose to put effort in at different points of the race.

In summary, I loved this race for many reasons, even if it was really hard work. I love running off-road, and this race just cemented that fact. The tricky terrain was brilliant fun, and although this route as a race would probably benefit from being a little less hilly, the hills add to the rewarding nature of the course.

The smiling Running Forever group after Yeovilton.

Next up: Wells 10k (29/05/16)

Round the Tor 10k: race review

by Ben

I love the summer, because it’s when all the winter’s training comes to fruition in what can be a pretty non-stop string of short distance races. If course, the fact that I keep getting injured and missing winter training is something of a spanner in the works, but it’s still fun to be out racing!

After the first race of the Yeovilton 5k Series, in which I moderately exceeded my expectations, I had the Glastonbury 10k. This is one that Lolly raced (in my place) last year, when I had a further setback. I was pretty excited to be running it this year, but I knew that it wasn’t the flattest route. In fact, plenty of people who did it last year had been moaning no end about the hill at the end.

Looking bizarrely fresh at 9.5 km.

If I’m being honest, I didn’t really see what all the fuss was about; I’d stood at the top of that hill, and yes, it was steep, but it was also pretty short – surely you could just power through it? Of course, that fact that it was in the last kilometre of the race was less than ideal. But anyway, more on that later.

Given the… undulating nature of the course, and the fact that my training ‘long’ runs had only just hit 7 miles, I wasn’t particularly optimistic of a fast time, and was aiming to go sub-45, with the expectation that it might be tough to achieve. (My PB is about 42:22, for reference.)

The start pen was pretty well organised (Lolly tells me that this was NOT the case last year), but it was a little bizarre. There were two areas: the front was reserved for club runners, and the rear area for unaffliated runners – irrespective of pace. This worked out reasonably well for me, but it did mean that I ended up a little bit too far forward, and unsurprisingly (and characteristically) I flew off far too fast.

The first kilometre was predominantly uphill, going up the high street buoyed on by the big crowds. I’m not joking either – there were LOTS of people. The run coincided with the Beltane celebrations this year, and so the place was packed. I’ve never run with such loud support before, and to be honest, it was a little intimidating. Less intimidating was the sight of Lolly and Lani at the top of the high street, right where I was expecting them. It always makes me smile when Lani notices me running (she doesn’t always!) The crowds, and my position a bit too far forwards meant that I ran a 4:11 first kilometre, and then was even faster for the second (admittedly downhill) kilometre, 4:05.

That first hill is the worst of the race, but the course continues to undulate throughout. Personally, I enjoyed this – I tend to find completely flat courses a bit of a slog, and like the varying effort that an undulating course allows. Through these middle kilometres I averaged about 4:23. I spent most of this section worrying that I’d had gone off too fast, and continued to go too fast. I was well inside my 45-minute target, and although the pace felt reasonable, I was worried that I was just going to hit a cliff at around 8 kilometres, and struggle home for the last couple, particularly with the hill.

I was wrong. The eighth and ninth kilometres were both relatively easy downhills, and although I was starting to worry about the prospect of the hill, my pace increased accordingly to 4:14 for each. The final kilometre began with a little bit more descent, but then the hill loomed large ahead of us.

Definitely not so fresh looking in the final sprint.

I’m a little unusual – I love hills. As soon as I saw the hill, I kicked my pace on, and passed two runners that I’d been following for a while before we hit the hill. At the bottom, there was a sign – I can’t remember the exact wording, but it was essentially “high five for hill power”. I did – I was willing to take anything on offer! I powered up the hill. From the bottom you could see the turn at the top, so I was happy to put my all into it.

It was fine. I won’t say it was easy – I felt pretty nauseous at the top from the effort, but it was fine. From the top of the hill, the course turns left down hill, and I just let gravity help me down. It might have been more efficient to put less effort into the hill, for more effort down the hill, but meh.

Although I’d known for a while that I was going to be well under 45 minutes, I was pleasantly surprised to see 43:20 on my watch – for an undulating course early during my training, that was far closer to my PB than I was expecting!

I really enjoyed this race, and it was good to have a few club mates around for it as well. Unfortunately, we weren’t organised enough to get a proper group photo, as we all seemed to be in different places. Lolly and Lani were near the end to cheer me in again, but unfortunately I didn’t notice them in the large crowds. I have to say a big THANK YOU to Lolly for her support during this race, which as I understand, mostly involved standing in the toilet queue with Lani, who kept declaring that she needed a wee. Definitely a runner in training!

Next up… Yeovilton 5k and the Wambrook Waddle

Early summer speed

by Ben

Spring is generally considered to be marathon season, while the summer is dedicated to shorter distances. With both marathon and half marathon distances out of the question for me this spring thanks to yet another winter injury, I always knew that my first races back would be quicker, shorter distances.

My ‘training’ started again gently in March, with a number of runs aimed mostly at building some confidence and clocking up some miles. But I struggle to run without definite aims in mind, and there was no way that an autumn half marathon was going to get me going in the short-term. So, I had a look around, considered how far I was running (up to 4 miles) and decided to book the Brean Down 5k on 3 April.

In all honesty, this didn’t end up being a goal, so much as part of the journey. For those that don’t know the area, Brean Down is a headland between Burnham on Sea and Weston-super-Mare in north Somerset. The race starts by the beach and climbs up to the top of the headland, runs along and down to a fort at the end, before climbing back up to the peak and dropping all the way back to the beach. Off-road. It clearly wasn’t a course on which to get a PB, but that’s fine, as I was hardly in any shape to get a PB anyway.

Grimace, grimace, smile for camera, grimace.

The day before the race, we travelled up to Kingsway parkrun, where Lolly kindly ran with the buggy to allow me to put down a more realistic benchmark for my training; 21:59. Two minutes off where my next target, and more like three minutes off where I’d like to finish the year. But at least I had an idea.

At Brean Down, I ran pretty well; my legs were tired from the hard effort the day before, and they certainly weren’t prepared for the hills, but I enjoyed pushing myself around, and getting the buzz of the race. It was also pretty nice to get a medal to add to my collection! Time was pretty irrelevant, but I came in quicker than I’d been targeting, finishing in 24:56.

After that race, I built my training up more, putting more structure in place. While I still wasn’t running from an actual training plan, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to be doing. A couple of runs in the evenings, parkrun, and a “long” run. Which was 5.5 miles of hell that first week. No idea why, it was just a bad run.

“This is so easy, I can do it with my eyes shut.”

Another chance to set down a benchmark followed soon after; the first race of the Yeovilton 5k series. I’d been meaning to race in these for a while, but this year I let myself give it more importance, and I’m planning to use it through the summer to benchmark my progress. I’m going to be pretty pissed off if I don’t go sub-20 at one of them!

I don’t tend to run all that well in evening races, though I do really enjoy them. Still, I managed to prepare relatively well, with a shorter day at work, and a mid-afternoon meal. I didn’t really know what to target, other than quicker than the 21:59 I’d run at Kingsway. With that in mind, I changed the settings on my watch to km pace (I usually use miles) and decided to aim for around 4:20 per km, which would give me a time of somewhere around 21:40, which seemed reasonable.

My pacing was dreadful. Perhaps unsurprising, given that the races are known for having a fast field. I started too far forwards, and found myself drifting back for the first kilometre. After that I steadied myself in the pack, but obviously everyone around me was pacing badly too, and we struggled to maintain our pace. All that said, I was chuffed to come around in 21:07, within a minute of my PB.

After Yeovilton, I had two and a half more weeks of training before my next significant benchmark, the Glastonbury 10k. But I’ll cover that in another post…

parkrun tourism: Kingsway

by Lolly

A whole 3 weeks after our last parkrun tourism, we were on the road again – this time heading up to Kingsway in Gloucestershire. This was a pretty logical choice for our next trip – just off the M5 and (from reports we’d received) buggy friendly.

The first thing we noticed was that the course information page for Kingsway was really helpful. Plenty of information on parking and the facilities available. We also copied down the directions – just as well as the sat nav tried to send us to a different part of the postcode.

Kingsway parkrun is based in a park right next to a sports pavilion. When we arrived it was raining, but happily everyone congregated inside the pavilion so we were relatively warm and dry. It did, however, mean relatively noisy conditions for the new runners/tourists briefing. But the key information was confirmed: 3 laps, starting on the path near the pavilion, about half the course on grass or trail path. Erm, what? When I agreed to buggy run this one I’d been told it was mostly path. In fairness, Ben did give me the option of swapping, but it seemed silly to do so at such late notice.

After a late decision on outfit choice (hoodie and short-sleeve t-shirt) I headed out to join everyone else. With the number of people already lined up, I had to take quite a wide route on the grass to get to the back of the pack. My buggy running confidence isn’t that great, and there was no space on the path further forward, so I was kind of glad to have to start at the back.

With a rare spot of non-buggy tourism, Ben decides to attempt a sprint start

Of course, once we started I was a little less happy to be at the back. The path wasn’t all that wide, and so there weren’t many early opportunities to overtake. We’ll blame the path, not my lack of experience. We quickly moved onto tarmac cycle path and I managed to get into a bit of a rhythm. Then a couple of turns later I could hear a marshal saying “Watch out for the step”.

Great. A step. Actually, it wasn’t too bad. It was just the move from the path onto the trail section, and by taking the corner a lot wider than everyone else the step could be easily avoided. The ground was bumpy but pretty solid. At around this point there were a couple of dogs jumping at each other, and so while trying to keep the buggy on course I was also trying to avoid a dog that kept jumping in front of us.

We soon got a view of some of the faster runners, giving me my first chance to wave at Ben. The course turned onto a cycle path section, although I opted for the grass in places to overtake people. After another turn we moved onto a field, which was much smoother than the trail section and so a little easier technically, just tiring.

After some more cycle path we reached a similar gravel surface to the start. This section would have been easier if I hadn’t been trying to take my hoodie off without stopping. At Longrun Meadow, when you go past the finish there are swarms of people ready to take excess clothing from you. Here I had to keep an eye out for an appropriate location, which turned out to be a bench. Right in front of a photographer.

Don’t even know where to start with this one…

And so lap 2 commenced. With the field having thinned out a little, the going was a little easier. That is, until the faster runners started coming through. Being lapped was inevitable, but I was very conscious of not wanting to get in the way. In a few places I deliberately slowed down to let runners pass me in a wider spot – and then regretted losing momentum when trying to speed back up.

Navigating the turns and wishing I’d done more upper-body work

As I reached the path after the field, runners were lapping me thick and fast. Including Ben. This gave me the small relief that once I got back to the start I could drop off the buggy. Also a relief for our daughter, who hadn’t enjoyed my awful steering on the bumpy ground.

So I started my third and final lap feeling strangely light, and trying to remember how to use my arms. It was like running a completely different route. The (many) turns were wider, the ground was firmer, and overtaking was a breeze. Strava tells me the third lap was 2 minutes faster than the second.

I’d made a conscious decision before the run not to push myself too hard, so I had a little left in the tank at the end. Which I obviously wasn’t going to use to finish hard. Until there were a couple of people right in front of me.

I honestly don’t heel-strike…

After the run there were drinks and cake available for purchase in the pavilion, and quite a few people stayed around. We stopped to chat for a bit, and made use of the changing facilities before we headed home.

Kingsway parkrun was a more interesting course than I’d expected, with the many twists and turns giving it more character than 3 laps might suggest. There were quite a lot of marshals on course, including a fair few juniors, and all of them were amazing in the support they offered. The only question now is where to try next…

parkrun tourism: Mount Edgcumbe

by Ben

It seems that parkrun is about the only running I do at the moment – damn knee!

A few months ago, we noted with some interest that a new parkrun was starting in Cornwall. We initially planned to head down for the inaugural, but things didn’t work out (and besides, inaugural tourism is a bit frowned upon by some!) As inevitably happens, weekends were filled with other things, but we eventually opted to simply book a hotel and that would be that.

We started following the event on Twitter and Facebook, and got a bit worried when, a week before our visit, this happened:

12805823_1757510067870874_8383834279902349092_n

“Regrettably we have had to take the decision to cancel today’s event. The course is blocked by a fallen tree.” Posted by Mount Edgcumbe parkrun on 5 March 2016 at 07:20.

Cue some panicking, and deliberation on alternatives – Lanhydrock or Plym Valley? The latter seemed more logical, but actually, from the hotel we were staying at, right next to Mount Edgcumbe Country Park, both were similar distances.

In the end, all the worry was for nothing. The weather eased off towards the end of the week, and on Friday evening, the event Facebook feed confirmed that the morning’s run was on!

On Saturday morning we woke up to glorious weather. We woke up earlier than we would have liked – but that’s what happens when you stay in a hotel with a toddler. Or indeed, stay anywhere with a toddler. All the stormy weather from earlier in the week had disappeared, and instead it was a beautiful, warm sunny morning with barely a breath of wind.

After a small breakfast in the hotel (mostly for the benefit of aforementioned toddler) we drove down to the recommended car park and tried to work out where we were meant to go. There was a small cluster of people on the path near the entrance to the park, but nowhere near as many as we would have expected to see at ten to nine! It turned out that most people met up by the house, where the run finished, and then walked down. It was something of a Flash parkrun (see abradypus’ parkrun jargon buster), and I’d be lying if I said that we weren’t a little worried.

Start in the trees, and finish at the house. Uphill course, but not too bad. Oh, and you go via the top of the hill too…

We assumed that we would have missed the briefing, but no, that took place at the start line, so all was good! Without too much ceremony or fanfare, the briefing finished with an immediate “3-2-1-Go!”

If Carlsberg made parkrun starts…

Running with the buggy I often get frustrated at having to start at the back of the field, and then spend the rest of the race weaving through runners, and this is typically worst at the start, for obvious reasons. But at Mount Edgcumbe, the combination of a small field and a wide path meant that I had done all my major overtaking in the first 200 metres, and thereafter I could just run at my own pace. Well, walk and run.

I’d done a bit of research on the course. A tiny bit. I knew that:

The course involved a hill.
The course was off-road.

That was it. I didn’t know how much of a hill, nor how off-road the course was. Had I done, I might well have refused to run it with the buggy. After an initial run along the coast which was relatively flat, (far hillier that our entire home parkrun), the course turned inland and uphill. The subsequent mile was in fact, with brief two interludes, all uphill. Now, I don’t mind hills, and compared to the average runner, I probably actually quite enjoy them. But that isn’t necessarily the case when I’m pushing a buggy, and the terrain gets pretty rugged.

I dropped to a walk quite a few times, and I have to admit that it probably took away from the stunning surrounds. The entire of Mount Edgcumbe Country Park is absolutely beautiful, and I can tell you without reservation that the best way to enjoy it is not pushing a buggy up the damned hill as fast as you can manage. Even in my exhaustion (I kid you not, it’s only a parkrun, but that was among the hardest effort I’ve exerted on any run) I was able to take in a fair bit as we navigated up a series of switchbacks to reach the summit. Once at the top of the hill, I had to pause to take a couple of photos, it would have been criminal not to. Oh, and the accompanying rest was pretty handy too.

The climb was definitely worth it for the views. Probably better in the other direction, but my photos that way are embarrassingly out of focus…

The course took a long loop around a field on top of the hill, giving you a good chance to look in each direction, before it dropped back down the hill, going back down the same paths we’d just climbed up. While the climb up the hill had been a tough calf workout, the descent was all about the triceps as I tried to make sure that buggy, toddler and runner all went in the same direction as the path. My daughter didn’t really enjoy this bit; the rough terrain at speed just resulted in a very bumpy ride, and I don’t blame her for moaning a couple of times here that she wanted to get out and walk.

With about half a kilometre to go, the route splits from the ascent to make its way to the finish by the house, but there is one last hill to climb first. Again, I have to admit that I dropped to a walk, but I managed to push myself back to a run for the final 50 metres to the finish line. My time was awful, but this isn’t a course where you can pay much attention to your time, and to be honest, it isn’t one where you should care much. The park is too beautiful.

On finishing, I found out that I was first buggy, ever, and the run director asked me how I’d found it. In summary: very difficult. I run with a buggy fairly often, and at a number of different parkruns, and this was by far the hardest place I’ve run with it. I would only really recommend it for people experienced at running with a buggy. Apart from anything else, if you chose this as the first place to run with a buggy, I don’t think you’d ever try it again!

Annoyingly, she’s never willing to get out and push me during the run.

This was one of the two most scenic parkruns that I’ve done, (I’m not sure anything will compare with the ‘Wow’ of emerging onto the coastal path during Penrose parkrun), and almost certainly the most difficult. I’d recommend this event to everyone, and I’d love to try the course again without the buggy at some point just to see how I could do, but who knows; with so many parkruns still unvisited…

The small field (just 49 runners) and single lap course did make it a slightly lonely run, but as always, the marshals were all outstanding, and the atmosphere in the café afterwards (10% off with presentation of your barcode) was as jovial as you’d expect. All in all, a great event in a wonderful location.

Getting into cross training

by Lolly

Look at any running information for long enough and you’re bound to read about the importance of cross training. Essentially, this is just other exercise that helps with your running, or helps to even up body areas that running doesn’t target. This has always been a bit of a sticking point for me – I can never seem to get momentum for running and other exercise at the same time.

When we did our Leadership in Running Fitness course at the end of last year, the trainers talked about the need for regular stretching workouts as part of any running training plan. Secretly, I felt a little bit smug at this, as just a couple of weeks earlier I’d started a new stretching and flexibility class, and this time I was determined to make it stick.

Studio 22 is a dance fitness studio, and was the place I decided to try when looking for a new start. I was attracted by the range of classes, and the decent class prices. My desire to stretch out my muscles combined with a wish to stretch out my comfort zone, and so I found myself at X-TND & Flex. Stretching my comfort zone was putting it mildly.

Rolling out the tight spots

I was asked about my flexibility goals. An obvious question, you’d think. But as someone who has never been associated with the word ‘flexible’, it was difficult to answer. And with that I entered the world of biomechanical releases, muscle rolling, belly breathing, and the splits. Yep, the splits. It is fair to say that I had never been close to doing the splits, and this did not change that evening.

For some reason I persevered, and slowly but surely I started to have a bit more of a clue what I was doing. You could even start to tell that I was attempting to do the splits. With the extra confidence it was time to add something else in, this time Ballet Fit.

Ballet is not something I did as a child, but it’s hard to deny the obvious fitness benefits. For me the biggest challenge was (is) balance. Oh and grace. And maybe a bit of flexibility. Ok, so essentially it’s a class that targets a lot of weak spots for me. As you’d therefore expect, I was rubbish at it.

Of the many things I’ve learned at Studio 22, a key one is that it’s ok not to be good at something, as long as you try to get better. There’s no way that you can expect flexibility and balance to magically improve, they are areas that need work just like running.

The burning question is, of course, what impact has all of this had on my running? Well, I’ve still not cracked the art of balancing exercise effectively. I’ve certainly been doing a lot less running than I was before, even with my short runs to and from the Studio each week. But it’s actually good news.

All the leg stretching and strengthening means that I no longer ache after a flat-out parkrun. And they feel pretty good during the run as well. I find myself checking my posture against any reflective surface I pass, which has helped my running form and day-to-day aches. As for my pace, it’s fair to say that there’s no indication I’ve been running less. In fact, my pace is up there with the best it’s ever been.

For me, the secret to cross training now seems clear. Find something that you actually enjoy, and stick with it. Studio 22 is the place that this has worked out for me, and I can feel the difference on the odd occasion I can’t make a class. Now I just need to get out running more, to really reap the benefits.

Release!

In case it wasn’t obvious, I’ve never taken a camera to a class, so Ben took these at home…

I have not been asked, or paid, to write this post, and I pay full-price for all classes at Studio 22.

parkrun tourism: Chipping Sodbury

by Ben

Note pyjamas under coat, and no socks or shoes!

On Saturday, we were off on our travels again to visit another parkrun in the south west. With Longrun Meadow, and a fair few of the other local runs, being off-limits to buggies at the moment due to the severe mud and puddles, we had a look for a more… benign course. Chipping Sodbury seemed to fit the bill perfectly: three laps of playing fields, all on solid paths. It did sound a little boring though!

parkrun tourism almost always means an early start, unless we’re staying away, and this was no different. A 6:45 alarm is slightly earlier than we have during the week, and it would have been earlier but for the fact that we’d got most of our stuff ready the night before! Unfortunately, one thing that we couldn’t sort out the night before was our lovely daughter…

Still, we set off around 7:40, which left us plenty of time for the trip up the M5 and a little way along the M4. Some research had indicated that there was plenty of parking, and that proved to be the case. There were also toilets at the car park, which is always appreciated after a drive! After a short new runners briefing, followed by the general pre-run briefing, we had a short debate about how many layers to wear. Lolly opted to shed her hoodie before we started, but I kept mine on, for the first lap at least.

Finished! (Credit: Mel Warren)

The start line was a short walk from the car park, and even shorter for those of us forced to start at the back with buggies or dogs. That far back, I couldn’t hear when we started (invest in a klaxon for starting your parkruns, event directors!) but soon enough, we started plodding forwards. Despite being told that buggies had to start at the back, there were only two of us there, and at least four buggies taking part, but nevermind!

As usual, the start was pretty congested, and it wasn’t really until about three-quarters of the way through the first lap that I started making decent progress through the field and found some gaps to run in. The course, which is actually just short of three full laps, starts at the bottom of a shallow ascent of about 60 feet over a third of a mile. I didn’t really feel the climb on the first two laps, but certainly did on the third! It then winds its way through a little grove of trees, before coming back down on the other side of the playing fields from the start. A short sharp descent drops the runners down into a small car park by the scout hut, which also had a little ~~speed bump~~ buggy jump on it. It then turned through a little decorative seating area, turned a sharp bend and went through a staggered gate, across the car park, through another staggered gate, and back to the start. Technically, the end of the lap was by far the most challenging in the buggy, with a series of tight turns, especially the gates!

Putting the “park” in parkrun.

The support was pretty good, mainly around the finish funnel by the car park, but also on the “down” section of the course, on the other side of the cricket club by the car park. One thing that I was very impressed by was a plastic sheet, which was used to put any outer layers that runners had stripped off onto. This was a great solution, as all too often, I’ve thrown my hoodie off, only to find it wet and muddy on the grass later.

I suggested in the first paragraph that the course looked a bit boring, and that is certainly what I’d been expecting. However, it surprised me a lot: although it was essentially a “road”-style course, rather than trail, it was varied and really enjoyable. As with all parkruns, the support around the course from the marshals was great, and everyone was friendly. We didn’t stop for a drink after, but we did sample the play park before a trip to Sweatshop to get Lolly (and me, sneakily) some new shoes.

The other side of the race

by Lolly

Our running club, Running Forever RC, organise two races every year (well, technically three), and last weekend it was the Humdinger (and Hurtle). The Humdinger is a half marathon around hilly country lanes, and the Hurtle is a shorter version at between 4 and 5 miles.

The club have a policy that means every member should volunteer, or name someone to volunteer in their place, and only enter the race if all the volunteer slots are filled. Personally I think this is a great policy. What better way to support the running community than volunteering at a race? Runners always make the best marshals.

This year we went for a slightly different role. The day before the race, Ben drove round with the race director to put out all the signs (mile markers, ‘caution runners’, ‘drinks ahead’ etc). On the morning of the race we drove round the course together to check that all the signs were still there, and to make sure there were no surprises on the route.

The runners are coming!

As we had no specific role at the start of the race, we stood near the first signs to be collected with our cameras. And then the fun began. Driving round the course again to pick up all the signs. My career as a sign-retriever did not start well – I tugged so hard to get it out the ground that it hit me on the nose. Lesson duly learnt.

In a way we were completely separate to the race; no concept of the number of runners or how the leaders were doing. But we saw everything from a completely different point of view. Walking up and down hills to pick up signs gave me so much respect for the people running up those hills. We stopped off at marshal points to talk to club friends who were packing up to go home. And we saw how strong the guy running at the back of the pack looked, accompanied by the two tail runners holding to the sacred club rule: Nobody gets left behind.

I’d really recommend getting involved in a local race the next time you get the chance. If you’re not sure what it involves, or would like to start with something a little shorter, then head down to your local parkrun and volunteer there.