Wimbledon Common 10k

A very lucky bib number, a run 24 seconds away from my 10k PB..

A late night after a rainy day, I had expected boggy conditions, luckily it turned out to be a day of wonderful sunshine.
Basking in the warmth of the Sunday morning sunshine, in a sleeveless top and shorts, chatting away with Vinnie, a fellow late-stage over pronator (we used to be asics twins) making a debut back to the racing circuit :)

- this was the type of race I wouldn't mind - relaxed atmosphere, close enough to home. A bit of negotiation got us a discount for 3 races - 2 of which would be half marathons on the same track in 7 week's time - which I would trial during this 10k...Hubby had other plans, saving me £11, and gone off before the 10k start to do his own loop around Neighbouring Richmond park...
The course was a loop - first 2 uphill and last 2 coming down, and flat trails in between.
Up hills did feel like the Farnham pilgrim , trails and all not easy, but it contributes to us not starting too fast - because we simply cannot!
I always wondered how big Wimbledon common was and whether it was just a loop of parkland or was there much more? A lot of what we ran that day was close enough to traffic - hear them, see them... Walkers with their Nordic sticks, riders on their lovely horses... Lots of activity, but no deer like itsneighbour. Oh well.
It was a good training run, it got warmer, one was tempted to skip the water station at 5km, but breathing thru my mouth and recovering from a stitch , I just had to. (Then I saw a girl with a similar pacing to me cut a corner to avoid the stopping!)
The race 'starts' in the second half so as
I reached 5km I took stock. >27mins (ie Parkrun speed) this again was a goner. :(
Well I can only make the best of it and capitalise on the downhills and trick myself that my legs were still fresh. Failed on the latter (although it wasn't terribly bad!) but on the 9th kilometre I release my legs within reason and did a 5:10 lap!
The last kilometre was all flat and as hard as I could drive my turbos..I can see the clock ticking in the distance - 55:xx - it kinda didn't matter, how much can I make up for it? Like an Olympian gold medallist by reaching out my hands for the photo finish? (The race chip was on the bib- unfortunately I couldn't keep my lucky number close enough) --- I finished

But officially 55:48, 24 seconds off my PB at Bushy Park 10k on my birthday 2 years ago.
24 seconds! Less than half a minute, every second counts. As I have learnt through the course of the week - the hard way to put it simply.
Am evaluating my training if I were to break 2 in a half marathon by end July. Have just signed up for a few practice opportunities. But need to get out there and get some quality speed on those legs !
Started reading Ben Ainslie's 'Close to the Wind' ( oh what a feeling!) and on the first pages he recalled one of the best advices he got from his coach: 'we want to be in a position when you're good enough to win gold even whe you're not sailing at your best'.
Need that feeling that my training can prove that I have capacity to achieve.
But achievement is very different in everyone's eyes and in the midst of so many priorities. I stayed on near the finish line for another 10-15 minutes to wait for Vinnie (with her dad and my hubby) as well as the team that were fundraising (wearing T-shirts with a photo on it)....It is also great to see my colleague cutting out her Parkrun barcode in the office last week and coming back this week to tell me she's done her first in prep for a charity 10k. Or another telling me he's smashing PB's in training for an upcoming race.
It's great hearing from my dinner guests how they have overcome their injuries and am easing back into the activities they love with some modifications and greater awareness of what their bodies can do..
It is good signing up for yet another appearance at the jpmcc this year (not totally susidised by my professional org this year as some people have not turned up!) and the organiser thinking that I don't need to train.
Am glad to inspire and be inspired! (Hmm..using what i learnt during London 2012 games maker training! )
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a gr8 Monday...Richmond Park Take Two

Who will buy, this wonderful (Monday) morning,
Such a sky, you never did see!

Who would rise at 8 in the morning
To drop a cyclist off for a ride to the sea...

And then the day's left for me to enjoy
Should I do another Parkrun?

2 loops of 5 (to train for a 10km)
Or bonus miles to a Freedom (5km unscheduled Parkrun)

Chose the latter,and had fun!




Who will try, a shortcut thro the middle
Who would know, there's 2 lakes in between!



Me, oh my, I don't want to lose my way

So what am I to do,
These signs are not useful too


I persisted, 8 miles later - I survived!






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2 secs...and heaps of sunshine

The glorious first may long weekend has just flown past, and its been great spending much of it in Richmond Park.

After a long week of work (not new anymore) and into the night...I pushed ourselves out to beat the non existent Saturday traffic to the 9am Parkrun

Got there too early, without a coffee, a tired me to the starting line.

It's the first Saturday of the month - and usually there's pacers...I see miss Sally(?) with 27:30 bib on, and vowed not to see her all the way...

Due to potential land degradation issues, they've changed the place for starting announcements - and one had to walk between those at the start toget to the bad to start...which means, an earlier forced start...

Miss 27:30 pacer explained the route to a few followers 'and it gets steeper towards the end, killer hills'..since I was slowly passing her in the downhill first kilometer... I let the chatter fade in the distance.

I know this track too well.. And when it gets harder, and when it gets steep. And today, I knew wasn't my day. I did the thing one isn't supposed to do. Walked for a minute - it was a hard push...
Near the second dip of the track miss 27:30 caught up, and so did the few followers, missing a few.
They asked me not to stop...so I pushed on....and can only hope...



Failed a sub-27, and missed official PB by 2 secs!

What could I have done better? Earlier nights, a coffee and warmup.
In contrast to my other half, I don't loathe Parkrun. I recommend it for those that needs encouragement - what I can achieve in a Parkrun is often played back at the final 5kms of a marathon (when one realizes benefits of fresh legs!)

A little tired visit to Isabella plantation after, not quite in full bloom. What a Saturday !





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Faux Filet

April in Paris, only just. And just an overnight stay.

Stayed near Bastille - and to Marathon de Paris veterans, that's the 5km mark and the first drink station / bottleneck.




Spent most of the Saturday walking around, visiting old haunts - escaping the labyrinth from the chatelet metro via a walk east, with the bastille insight, and out of sight again....the brasseries made commercial via too much word of mouth reviews, the marche at the mouffetard (Left Bank) open on a Saturday afternoon (my mouffetarte shop has given way to a clothes shop!)

The highlight being the evening meal at a lovely little establishment at the Marais, run by 2 (female) lovers - the recommendation of the night being Faux Filet !
My poor French turned suspicion into 'false beef' = horse but lucky it wasn't- a nice protein fix it was (lately I just need meat, don't know why)




What wasn't faux there was: c'est deliceaux!

Of course, how can a Sunday morning not start with a beautiful run (my hotel selection, of course was strategically to facilitate such pursuits).
Late checkout requested (a pattern here) and of course I had to lead the running route (professional run tour guides charge €75 for this luxury!) -

Along the right bank of the Seine we went - a quiet stretch that runners/cyclists/rollerbladers would go on the middle of the road (where available) and where not, the minimalist/barefoot shoe runners would suffer on the cobblestones.





It was nice being there, jogging the memories of 2 Sunday mornings in April few years ago, when we were racing and spectating against time. The only clock this time, was the possible late checkout charge ....so the logical point to turn back was in the jardin Tuileries - as pretty as before...

And some customary stretching with the louvre in the background



And then..a straight run, traffic permitting , down rue rivoli...



Not quite 10kms (would've been if we reached halfway up the champs élysées near George V)...but at least we did it!

***
Things aren't always what they seem, faux imaginations are easily found with a bit more thought, but its the initial idea, and the necessary logistics with a diversion, that gets me out there.

Back home, I've finally tried a day commuting with the bike and train alone..ok, with a lift to my old station with faster trains in the morning.

On the way back, I explored the options of heading home by cycling totally, by using my return ticket and changing to the slower train that will take me a 5 min ride home, or by using the return ticket and cycling the 5 miles home.

I chose the 3rd option, which meant I didn't have the 20 minute dead time on the platform for the train change (I got home quicker than waiting for the train!)

Alternatively, if I had decided to cycle my whole way without interruptions, I wouldn't have wasted time on waiting for the train even.

Faux pedal economy. Real exercise. Just more planning required for a proper workout. But how many balls to juggle?

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Coast to Coast

(Dual post on travel blog @ Wordpress )

Cycling for some, but driving for me (with a bit of running , sightseeing in between!)

777 miles for the car, 164.18 miles on the bike - completed from our home in Surrey, up north, staying in Preston for the night, to make a fresh start on Walney Island on the West of the Lake District on a Saturday morning.

5.5 hours + of driving , to the working class island on the west side of the British mainland. Boring buildings, but a coastal walk near Sandy Gap marks the start of the route.



Seeing the boys off ( europe's biggest offshore wind farm to the right of this picture)...

I had 4 hours before lunch. What else but a run along the coastal path, and a walk amongst the pebbles to touch the water on the west coast.


Now that I live miles away from the sea, I always think about when was the last time I was this close to the water. Perhaps in Perth Australia , last November?

The wind in my face, a glorious morning with dog walkers on the coast, it was lovely being there. To compensate for the poor pace I have been maintaining , some intervals between bench and rubbish bins were done.


A coastal drive via ulverston got me to our lunch spot at l'enclume, a 2 Michelin star restaurant in the little village of cartmel.

The 6 course lunch + cheese was the loveliest one could experience on a long distance bike ride - and a quick pop in to the home of the lovely sticky toffee pudding we got from waitrose a while ago, so nice that I had to sketch the cover..and then I found out we were coming here... Surreal



After lunch, the cyclists headed east - Dean with the luxury of arriving at the coast in 5 days and Seng by the next day (to catch the BonWagen home) - and I set off along windshadowed mountains , saying goodbye to the lakes and into the Penines.
Checked into the B&b with an hours snooze, then I was called to pick up the cyclist at Kirkby Stephens for dinner and a rest overnight.



These w2w (Walney to Wearmouth/Whitby) routes were very well signposted!

The next morning after the good ole English breakfast, I requested for a late checkout from the B&b and went for what usually would be a walk for most, but I had miles to catch, so it was a run instead. 4 mile return to smardale gill viaduct via a disused railway path and crossing few gates - no chance of getting lost, and fond memories of the Farnham pilgrim trail half last September



Not easy running back into the wind!

Returned in light drizzle, packed up and headed to the next stop, Barnard castle, expecting to miss my cyclist (as I gave him 2.5 hours head start!)
He took a wrong turn, so had a bit more of a journey to catch up climbing to the highest point on the track, so more time for me to head down near the water for some panoramic shots


We eventually had lunch in a little gallery off the high street at around 1pm, and with few hours of daylight to go, and working on Monday - we decided to head to wearmouth (Sunderland ) rather than scenic Whitby.

Which means another hours drive to Durham - a bit of peace and quiet for me visiting the cathedral during evensong.



No free wifi in close proximity and a text from the cyclist saying he will press on - at 5ish I made my last descent towards the coast.

Not far at all, a lovely feeling reaching the mouth of the wear river


The end of the coast to coast route was unspectacular and typical of sleepy English seaside



I touched the water on the east. Connected. Peace. And waited near the beach in the car..



At around 7ish pm, Seng had reached the coast . Final mileage as below.


Photo to proof it


Then it was the drive down south...home just after 1am.

What a weekend! Now what next of the amazing British cycle routes?


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Fast and Slow

Highs and lows.
The power of losing few kilos!
An amazing 6.63 miles on Saturday along my old training path from staines to chertsey bridge (aka my meadow)..it was great seeing the Thames after a long absence (the inability to start last time, a week before the Shakespeare run!) ..and a long run, relatively ..I reassessed after 2 miles, and thought we should make it worthwhile, having to drive to the start now that we have moved!



Slow starts on both ends, after a brief midway break..and then not an easy finish at all. 10:48/ 10:25 negative split on the long forgotten Penton Hook (Lock) Challenge!


It wasn't hard to be emotional on a sentimental return to the old neighborhood....but I had more of that to come later..

Monday night, shocked to see the breaking news on Boston. At 4:09, 2 hours after the winners came in ...the bombs went off. That would be a time for the average (fast in my eyes) qualifier would finish. If my other half or I would be running...the other could be nearby, waiting at the finish. Or the slower version (likely someone like me), hitting the wall or down to whatever mind tricks can get one through mile 25.. No energy to run away from bombs. Or having the race halted...DNF for a years training due to this mindless act. I feel for those who were there and have been impacted, and hope justice will be done. One shouldn't have to fear for this kind of security threat in a major road race, or any other race, like this.

Or rather, the analogy of the finishing line is near..unfortunately, one can never be sure. It hurts to hear that amputations have had to happen at the scene..not what one would imagine.

Another bit of news..on my last post I said I was overtaken by a mother with a crying baby on a pram. And an elite runner too. I found out tonight that I was also overtaken by a pregnant lady... my suspicions (see last post - I wonder why?) ring true....Liz Yelling just announced she is expecting twins! Wow!






Must catch another wink...and find the time, for another chance to get out there before the week is done! The less overtakers, the better!

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Oh Dear! Old Deer (Park)run again!

Driven by marketing, a commitment on Twitter and an urge to stretch my legs and 'run with the elites and see records broken', I got myself to Old Deer Parkrun last Saturday.
Learnt from my mistakes at bedfont lakes last weekend, I had a reasonably early night and kicked myself out of the door promptly to get to the carpark early.
I wasn't the only one, and from a distance this looked like a proper paid race, tents, promos and all.

With only £1.60 in my pocket, I had to look like those afraid of the cold and stayed til 10 mins before the start - to check out the Adidas boost tent, enter a draw to win a trip to Parkrun Sydney (or just Sydney - where I started fun running!)
Many donned marathon talk 26.2 tshirts and of course the 50 and 100 Parkrun tech shirts too - I also donned an orange royal parks half top (2010), with a few of my lilac counterparts (2009) - this wasn't the normal old deer Parkrun. In fact this was my second visit, my first being shortly after it started and I was bored of 'running around the park' per se, and rarely thought about coming back. (According to Marathon Talk podcast , it was one of the lowest attendance Parkruns, I wonder why ;))

A bit of intro by marathon talk hosts Martin and Tom, and the race director, introducing us to the elite athletes - in yellow, and all sub-3 marathoners (for those who were!) , it was good to see them doing this - probably a walk in the park! Double Olympian Liz Yelling was there, and she was going to do about 25 minutes...really?
this parkrun (very well marked and Marshalled) an anti clockwise loop with the inward lap into the wind, painful to endure... And along with me at the starting line, Bushy Park runners, other non-normal ODP runners...ladies runners with a pram with a crying baby...she didn't stop to comfort...(time is everything ! ) . It just wasn't easy. I was breathing hard - wanted to stop but couldn't do it..of course not, it would look stupid...and that second lap itself...I saw a slim girl in a yellow top passing me...yes, it was her! The famous Liz Yelling has just overtaken me! Wow...I'm here running with the elites! I tried to keep up, but it really wasn't my day...the long hours, lack of sleep and poor diet over quarter-end, meant that the only thing I could hope for, is to beat last week's time at bedfont lakes (the unknown #76)...and naturally, I did. 28:28. And within the top 500. An Old Deer Parkrun PB.




I love those emails from Parkrun HQ..and if I had more time on my hands..I would chart it.heres the excerpt:
Congratulations on completing your 14th parkrun and your 2nd at Old Deer Park today. You finished in 421st place and were the 84th lady out of a field of 553 parkrunners and you came 9th in your age category VW(ed: yes a veteran!)..... Congratulations on setting a new Personal Best by 56 seconds at Old Deer Park parkrun! Congratulations on setting a new Years Best time today.
Out of curiosity, I spent a good Sunday morning in bed exploring the stats..looked at my page. Only 14 recorded runs to date. And lacking consistency...
I also clicked on Liz's page..she again, was not so much a frequent park runner and times ranged from 17 to 35 minutes! But this goes to prove that she can run fast, or slow, as she wishes...
I didn't stay for the last person to finish or to be in the lucky draw..it was good to get out and to prove that I'm out of shape...
-----
Monday felt like the only fine day of the week and I had grand plans of freedom parkrunning at old deer park, on the way home. Kinda expected that to happen..a late finish meant that I did a bit of run- walk part commute to twickenham carrying very little...a nice sunset run across the Thames, twice, and capturing this lovely sunset.




Towards the end of the 4.4 miler...my legs feel activated again. One day, I will make this a 7 miler with a freedom run and a good ole warmup!
---------
A visit to the gym yesterday saw me visualizing my 2013 goal #1. With my inov8s and a start stop strategy after each kilometre or less..I saw the magical 26:59 at 5.00km with a 1.0% incline. I just need to get outdoors, and keep at it...with a recent weight drop..if I watch my diet and sleep well, and pick a Saturday when I'm in and hit Richmond Park...I would achieve it!
It rained hard outside when I left...am glad I made myself do the detour before heading home to a nice dinner of smoked meats, lentils and rice. :)
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