I have some lovely friends, they are just as crazy as I am and sometimes I can even involve them in my mad schemes. Someone suggested we run together after school one day a week and this week we had our first 'Run Club' with running, walking and run/walk divisions.
Run Club was great news for me as this means I only have to suffer the treadmill twice a week, as I can run outside and feel safe in a group.
I mapped out a three mile route and after some last minute faffing and excuse making we were off! We walked to warm up and then a couple of us went into a gentle jog. We talked, we de-stressed and do you know what - my pace was better than it normally is. I am not quite sure how this happened as we weren't exactly tearing around the park, but it's all good!
In the park, which resembled a bog, we met the usual dogs and snogging teenagers. This park is actually quite beautiful in the summer, but we had to keep to the paths as it was so muddy. I am sure we will be able to enjoy it when the good weather comes. My colleagues are plotting a summertime halt halfway round for tea and cake in the cafe when the weather is good. Don't tell them - but I am plotting we do a Cancer Research 5k in July. Who knows - maybe we can do both? Have our cake and eat it!
Thursday, 13 January 2011
Sunday, 9 January 2011
What I was doing when I should have been running!
Yesterday I was in Swindon (yes, it is a real place) so I didn't get a chance to go for my long run. I was going to go straight to the gym and depress a groove into the treadmill for an hour and a half, but due to the high price of food at the hotel in Swindon I hadn't eaten and didn't fancy running on empty.
I'm going to go off on a non-running tangent now and I'm going to tell you what I was doing in Swindon. There is a fantastic writer by the name of Jasper Fforde who writes books which are unique, humourous and compelling. Last year I went to the Fforde Ffiesta which celebrates Jasper's work and the worlds within them. I have never felt so at home with equally bizarre and like-minded people!
This year I am on the organising committee and yesterday was one of our regular planning meetings. I can't tell you everything that went on in that meeting - but look out for Crusty Cards, collectable spatulas and more dodo schenanagans!
If you are tempted, please check out the Ffiesta website on Jasper's website which tells you all about the Ffiestas of 2010 and 2011. For an unbelievable £85 you get a Bank Holiday weekend full of fun and in the presence of Mr Fforde himself. We have even managed to get you a Ffiesta discount on the hotel rooms so you can stay there as well!
Last year attendees came from Australia, the US and...five people came from Swindon itself!
Features this year involve an optional tour of Swindon in a vintage bus, taking in all the 'sights' of the Thursday Next novels; Mid Life Crisis Angst poetry; Lobster Space Invaders, Secret Cheese Tasting; and no Ffiesta would be complete without Spot the Lobster, the March of the Danvers and Name that Fruit!
I hope I'll see you there - 27th May to 30th May 2011 - the De Vere Village Hotel, Shaw Ridge Swindon.
(And it's okay, I went for a woodland run today instead.)
I'm going to go off on a non-running tangent now and I'm going to tell you what I was doing in Swindon. There is a fantastic writer by the name of Jasper Fforde who writes books which are unique, humourous and compelling. Last year I went to the Fforde Ffiesta which celebrates Jasper's work and the worlds within them. I have never felt so at home with equally bizarre and like-minded people!
This year I am on the organising committee and yesterday was one of our regular planning meetings. I can't tell you everything that went on in that meeting - but look out for Crusty Cards, collectable spatulas and more dodo schenanagans!
If you are tempted, please check out the Ffiesta website on Jasper's website which tells you all about the Ffiestas of 2010 and 2011. For an unbelievable £85 you get a Bank Holiday weekend full of fun and in the presence of Mr Fforde himself. We have even managed to get you a Ffiesta discount on the hotel rooms so you can stay there as well!
Last year attendees came from Australia, the US and...five people came from Swindon itself!
Features this year involve an optional tour of Swindon in a vintage bus, taking in all the 'sights' of the Thursday Next novels; Mid Life Crisis Angst poetry; Lobster Space Invaders, Secret Cheese Tasting; and no Ffiesta would be complete without Spot the Lobster, the March of the Danvers and Name that Fruit!
I hope I'll see you there - 27th May to 30th May 2011 - the De Vere Village Hotel, Shaw Ridge Swindon.
(And it's okay, I went for a woodland run today instead.)
Monday, 3 January 2011
The Gym
I was a little later getting to the gym today and the treadmills were all being used so I had an extra long stretch whilst I waited and then hopped on the first one that became free. I then noticed the man on the treadmill next to me was just stood on the machine without it moving. I don't know if he was waiting with a friend, but I was getting really annoyed for all the people who were waiting.
The guy who was on my other side had eaten onions and garlic last night, it was coming through his pores. Hmm, lovely.
I did 1.4km and then managed to get my arm caught in my headphones and sent my poor MP3 player off on a journey through the air, so I had to stop the machine to retrieve it. After another 1km I needed to go to the loo. I left the machine and found another one a few minutes later (free from garlic man). Now I knew I had to knuckle down and put the kms in! I had an aim of 4.8km, but agreed with myself to do 6.4 if I could as this is tomorrow's aim and I thought it might be easier to run further on a day off rather than the first day back at school.
I tried to take the speed up to 8km/h when I could and did take it to 9 on one point, but then I kept taking it down to go slow or have a drink. On the TV I had a choice of 'Bargain Hunt' or 'This Morning', so I chose to listen to the LA Fitness music channel. When 'This Morning' became a Hattie Jacques documentary I did flick between the two. For anyone who doesn't know her, she was an amazing actress who never got the parts she could have played because of her size and died aged 56 of a heart attack. That was motivation to keep running!
To cool down I went for a brief swim.
The treadmill has it's uses, I admit, and I hope it will see me through these dark evenings.
The guy who was on my other side had eaten onions and garlic last night, it was coming through his pores. Hmm, lovely.
I did 1.4km and then managed to get my arm caught in my headphones and sent my poor MP3 player off on a journey through the air, so I had to stop the machine to retrieve it. After another 1km I needed to go to the loo. I left the machine and found another one a few minutes later (free from garlic man). Now I knew I had to knuckle down and put the kms in! I had an aim of 4.8km, but agreed with myself to do 6.4 if I could as this is tomorrow's aim and I thought it might be easier to run further on a day off rather than the first day back at school.
I tried to take the speed up to 8km/h when I could and did take it to 9 on one point, but then I kept taking it down to go slow or have a drink. On the TV I had a choice of 'Bargain Hunt' or 'This Morning', so I chose to listen to the LA Fitness music channel. When 'This Morning' became a Hattie Jacques documentary I did flick between the two. For anyone who doesn't know her, she was an amazing actress who never got the parts she could have played because of her size and died aged 56 of a heart attack. That was motivation to keep running!
To cool down I went for a brief swim.
The treadmill has it's uses, I admit, and I hope it will see me through these dark evenings.
Sunday, 2 January 2011
New Year - New You?
We all know resolutions actually start on the second of January, everyone is far too hung over and craving bad foods to start on the first.
What is your resolution for this year? I am not in the habit of setting resolutions, instead I used to set myself 'goals' as a teenager, things to achieve. Unfortunately I often set these in a dreamy state of mind and without much practical idea of how to achieve these goals. It became quite depressing at the end of every December to realise I had yet to achieve many of these. This year I am going back to that old habit, but I am going to set goals that I can achieve if I apply myself and work hard. Here they go:
I don't want to go into all the miseries, but I am very glad to see the back of 2010 and am full of hope for 2011. Onwards and upwards!
What is your resolution for this year? I am not in the habit of setting resolutions, instead I used to set myself 'goals' as a teenager, things to achieve. Unfortunately I often set these in a dreamy state of mind and without much practical idea of how to achieve these goals. It became quite depressing at the end of every December to realise I had yet to achieve many of these. This year I am going back to that old habit, but I am going to set goals that I can achieve if I apply myself and work hard. Here they go:
- Finish the London Marathon on the 17th of April 2011
- Defeat ill health and lead an energetic and normal life - eat well and get fit
- Get my work/life balance sorted by not working over and above
- Actually go on holiday
- Find time to enjoy the things in life that make life worth living: read more books, go to the theatre, spend more time with my often neglected boyfriend, visit my friends.
I don't want to go into all the miseries, but I am very glad to see the back of 2010 and am full of hope for 2011. Onwards and upwards!
Saturday, 18 December 2010
Dedication in Winter
It is snowing. I don't mean the pretty frosting over grass and tree branches, I mean properly snowing where you can't see much in front of your face. In my life time I have never known this in December. As a child I was always depressed by how wet and mild it was every single Christmas Day. One year I even prayed to God for snow on Christmas Day; He took me literally and sent a few flakes that lasted all of five seconds.
It has been a hectic week or two and I have not been out running as I should have, I have only been out on the last two Saturdays. Last Saturday I did six miles or so, today I probably did two and there is a very good reason for this.
Now do you see why? The white haze is blizzard like snow and running into it is no fun...I could not see anything.
Some people tell me I'm crazy - HELLO! I signed up to run 26 miles before I could even jog one! And it is because of this I have to keep going, even in the bad weather.
Today I ran on the snow covered grass as this is uneven and hard to slip on, I avoided all the paths as they are very slippery. I also went on line last night to look for grips for my shoes, but Yaktrax are all out in my size. I don't think you realise how oddly you run on snow until you come inside and find yourself doing your best John Wayne impression.
Anyway, despite the weird weather I actually rather enjoyed myself this morning.
It has been a hectic week or two and I have not been out running as I should have, I have only been out on the last two Saturdays. Last Saturday I did six miles or so, today I probably did two and there is a very good reason for this.
Some people tell me I'm crazy - HELLO! I signed up to run 26 miles before I could even jog one! And it is because of this I have to keep going, even in the bad weather.
Today I ran on the snow covered grass as this is uneven and hard to slip on, I avoided all the paths as they are very slippery. I also went on line last night to look for grips for my shoes, but Yaktrax are all out in my size. I don't think you realise how oddly you run on snow until you come inside and find yourself doing your best John Wayne impression.
Monday, 22 November 2010
My first half marathon
I have a new friend. I didn't know him before 10am yesterday. His name is Len and yesterday he played a very important role in my life.
Saturday my official bag carrier and I drove south to my parents' ready for the Gosport Half Marathon on Sunday. On the day itself I was up at 7am and we left just after 8. It was a short drive to Gosport, although finding where to park took a while and my parents had the traditional 'should've gone that way' bicker. My dad finished parking the car whilst I went up to the HQ to register. By the time my parents had made it to HQ I had collected and attached my chip, been to the loo for the first of many trips and stood around for a while. It turned out they had been so long because they had to dig a man and his car out of the car park/squishy gravel pit.
Gradually more people began to arrive and I looked frantically for another person like me - a bit overweight and with the nervous look of a new runner. Nope, no one. What I did see was lots of club t-shirts and thin, athletic frames. I took a deep sigh and braced myself to be what I had feared - the last person to cross the finish line.
The start was a bit further down the road from HQ, so I waited for everyone else to line up before I went, I wanted to be near the back. As everyone left it also meant the queue for the toilets disappeared!
The start was a little after the planned 10am as I believe there were a few problems closing the road. Within minutes of crossing the line I was at the back and looked for someone as unfit as I am to use as my pace setter, I found a likely candidate, but I soon lost her (she finished about 25minutes before me in the end with two other people between us). Then I met my new BFF, Len. Len was a member of Gosport Road Runners and being the nice chap he is he volunteers every year to be the marshal at the back with the last runner. He said one year he had to help a guy in a rhino suit, so I like to think I was a little easier to escort as at least I could see the kerbs.
I adored the first four miles, although I lost my hat which the lovely Len went back for and then carried for me until the end. I had planned on allowing myself a small walking break every four miles, but I was loving it so much I thought I'd try to keep going as long as I could which then soon became the ambition to run it all.
The first lap of Daedalus air field wasn't too bad, as I could see the other runners and we mutually encouraged each other as I went one way and they the other. As I was near finishing my first lap of the airfield the elite runners raced past me. They can run!
Leaving the air field I didn't see anyone apart from Len and the other lovely marshals (who all smiled and offered words of encouragement) until it was time to do another lap of the airfield. That was pretty depressing, the airfield is like a ghost of the Cold War. Tall, abandoned MOD buildings line derelict streets. I was glad to leave it behind and make my way, with the trusty Len on his bike, towards the promenade and the seaside.
The beach at Lee-on-the-Solent is beautiful, the view of the Isle of Wight was clear and there were dozens of yachts sailing between there and Southampton. I am not sure I really appreciated it as my lower back was aching (a lot) and my already pitiful running pace was a glorified slooooooooow jog.
Len told me how far it was and passing the 12mile marker filled me with hope. With quarter of a mile to go my mother joined me and nagged me to "run"; I think she was worried I was keeping all the GRR waiting (to be fair, I probably was). I tried to tell her politely I had done 13 miles and there was not much left in the tank.
I picked up to a sprint to cross the line and I think the cheer was more for the fact they could all pack up and go home, rather than for me! It was good to hear that everyone had finished though.
My time was 3hours 22minutes, 8 minutes quicker than my best estimate and I am pleased that I managed to maintain a 15minute mile.
The marshals cut off my chip for me and gave me a lovely cloth goodie bag. Inside was the best bit of cherry cake I have ever tasted!
It was a good race, organised and run by lovely people. I will go back again next year, my mission will be to not be the last runner in!
I hope Len does not mind me adding this, but it relates to one of the matters we discussed in our three hours together. We were talking about the excuses people use for not running or looking after their health. Len took up running after a quadruple bypass ten years ago. Now tell me you have a decent excuse not to put on those shoes and get out the door!
 |
| The chip |
 |
| People heading towards the start (all 1469 of them) |
The start was a bit further down the road from HQ, so I waited for everyone else to line up before I went, I wanted to be near the back. As everyone left it also meant the queue for the toilets disappeared!
The start was a little after the planned 10am as I believe there were a few problems closing the road. Within minutes of crossing the line I was at the back and looked for someone as unfit as I am to use as my pace setter, I found a likely candidate, but I soon lost her (she finished about 25minutes before me in the end with two other people between us). Then I met my new BFF, Len. Len was a member of Gosport Road Runners and being the nice chap he is he volunteers every year to be the marshal at the back with the last runner. He said one year he had to help a guy in a rhino suit, so I like to think I was a little easier to escort as at least I could see the kerbs.
I adored the first four miles, although I lost my hat which the lovely Len went back for and then carried for me until the end. I had planned on allowing myself a small walking break every four miles, but I was loving it so much I thought I'd try to keep going as long as I could which then soon became the ambition to run it all.
The first lap of Daedalus air field wasn't too bad, as I could see the other runners and we mutually encouraged each other as I went one way and they the other. As I was near finishing my first lap of the airfield the elite runners raced past me. They can run!
Leaving the air field I didn't see anyone apart from Len and the other lovely marshals (who all smiled and offered words of encouragement) until it was time to do another lap of the airfield. That was pretty depressing, the airfield is like a ghost of the Cold War. Tall, abandoned MOD buildings line derelict streets. I was glad to leave it behind and make my way, with the trusty Len on his bike, towards the promenade and the seaside.
The beach at Lee-on-the-Solent is beautiful, the view of the Isle of Wight was clear and there were dozens of yachts sailing between there and Southampton. I am not sure I really appreciated it as my lower back was aching (a lot) and my already pitiful running pace was a glorified slooooooooow jog.
 |
| The penultimate stretch of road. |
I picked up to a sprint to cross the line and I think the cheer was more for the fact they could all pack up and go home, rather than for me! It was good to hear that everyone had finished though.
My time was 3hours 22minutes, 8 minutes quicker than my best estimate and I am pleased that I managed to maintain a 15minute mile.
The marshals cut off my chip for me and gave me a lovely cloth goodie bag. Inside was the best bit of cherry cake I have ever tasted!
It was a good race, organised and run by lovely people. I will go back again next year, my mission will be to not be the last runner in!I hope Len does not mind me adding this, but it relates to one of the matters we discussed in our three hours together. We were talking about the excuses people use for not running or looking after their health. Len took up running after a quadruple bypass ten years ago. Now tell me you have a decent excuse not to put on those shoes and get out the door!
Saturday, 13 November 2010
Things seen when running
I love history and all kinds of historical facts clog up my brain at the expense of anything actually useful.
Today whilst out running I saw something that made me happy. Here is for you to see too:
Today whilst out running I saw something that made me happy. Here is for you to see too:
Now, your trivia question is - why is this postbox so rare? And - how can we date it so specifically?
To give you a bit more of a hint have a look at the detail:
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