A long run and cake – what’s new?

This weekend was quite a busy one! I was off to London on Saturday and then Sunday I was seeing my uni friends. And somewhere in there I had to run 16 miles… which would be my last long run before the New Forest Marathon next weekend. Non-negotiable!

I had a bit more time on my side on Saturday morning than Sunday and handily my friend Mark was planning a long run then so it made sense to join him. And as Mark is far more organised and better at adulting than I am, he planned the route and just told me where and when I needed to be. As he only wanted to do 13 miles and I wanted 16 I ran a few miles beforehand – basically just to the meeting point which he’d expertly made the right distance for me. What a star.

Unfortunately that meant leaving at 6.45am to get in Netley parkrun at the end (part of the route). But as I had a lie in the next day it was fine. Plus it would be a lot cooler than running later (yes, Mike, I KNOW. Sometimes you do need to get up early to beat the heat….).

My route to Mark was pretty much entirely uphill so was a bit of a slog. I listened to a podcast and ignored my pace. I was tired in general and my legs needed warming up. I amazingly made it on time and at the right location to meet Mark and we headed off to begin the next section of the run (well, Mark’s first section, my second section). It started with another slog uphill but otherwise was generally fairly flat thankfully.

Mark was great to run with. He’s usually super fast (aiming to break the 17 min 5k soon) but he happily (so he says) slowed down for me. He had a five mile race the next day so apparently it worked well for him (FYI, he smashed the race the next day but he did say he wasn’t sure it was wise to run so far as his legs felt quite tired during the race…).The weather was lovely and cool, though it did get sunnier and warmer as the run continued. I didn’t take water with me as it was cooler but when we got to Netley – 8.45am nicely timed – I was thirsty. I thought the cafe would be open but it wasn’t and toilet taps had a ‘no drinking water’ sign. I’ll drink from a dodgy tap on the beach but when there’s a sign I stay clear away! I spotted a waitress in the cafe though and tapped on the door and asked for some tap water. She happily obliged, taking pity on the sweaty runner, and I drank a big pint of cold water. Bliss! Thank you cafe lady!

Mark, Chris and me

And then it was time for parkrun. Now my legs were tired and I was not looking forward to getting going again. I ran with Mike who was taking it easier due to next week’s marathon.

Photo Credit: Ken Grist

Mike’s training has gone superbly for this marathon and I imagine he’ll be the one pacing ME when it comes down to it since I’ve not exactly had the most ideal lead up! We plodded around chatting (I say plodded, this is just my plod speed – everyone is different). I felt better as the legs got going and I finished 25:45. 16 miles done!A lovely lady, Lizzie, who I’d been chatting to on Instagram said hi to me and we chatted afterwards, which was nice. It was great to finally meet her as we’d been meaning to face-to-face meet for a while now but our timings and parkruns had never matched up. She’s recently joined the Hedge End Running Club as well 🙂

My other friend, Lauren, also brought me some of her own grown apples (eating ones as well!). I was so excited… And then forgot them when I got a lift back with another friend. Damn! Luckily Mike picked them up for me. What an idiot!Netley parkrun has just acquired its first PB bell as well which is cool. Along with our monthly pacing event, it’s really moving up in the world.I’m very proud to call it my home parkrun. But there are still so many nearby I need to do as well.

I also had some fun trying on my friend’s Garmin Fenix 5X to see how it sat on my wrist. I jokingly put my other watches on with as well. I wear two watches when I run because I like to keep a track of my steps with my FitBit  Surge and I like to track my run with my Garmin 220. The Fenix though would do both but it’s just SO expensive (even with a Wiggle discount…). One day.

I handily got a lift back with my friend as I was carless due to running to parkrun (I had arranged a lift before running there. I’m not quite that slapdash with all things in life…).

I had to get back fairly promptly to catch the train to London. I was heading to the Marathon Talk event to see the running-based film Skid Row Marathon. It’s a documentary about a criminal court judge who starts a running club in LA for ex-convicts and addicts, called the Midnight Mission, and how they train for a marathon. I was quite intrigued about the film but if I’m honest I was more excited about meeting up with fellow Marathon Talkers. There were quite a few of the guys I went on the Austrian Run Camp earlier this year and a few other people I knew going (including Maria from Maria Runs blog!).

Marathon Talk is a running podcast and organise the annual Sandy Balls running camp and I’ve met so many fantastic people through these events. So it’s always great to meet up with them and meet other like-minded people. Runners really are a lovely friendly group of people (provided they’re not injured… ;-)).  Anyway I’ll do a proper post about that as it deserves its own. The film BLEW me away.

The next day my university friends were coming down to Portsmouth for a meet up. As I always say, they’re such good friends and it’s always a lovely day when I see them.

Unfortunately the weather was pants. It was cold and drizzly. Despite the weather though we headed to Southsea and met in the amazing Tenth Hole tea room. If you’ve never been, please do go. It’s BRILLIANT. The cake selection is second to none.We got some hot drinks and caught up first. The hot chocolates that Shell and Kate had looked phenomenal.Then we ordered lunch. I went for the Lardon Salad which was, unlike so many other salads from British restaurants, huge and full of all the good stuff. It had chunks of bacon, new potatoes and a hard boiled egg. It was delicious.I also shared some sweet potato wedges with the girls. Well, I probably ate most of them! After filling ourselves with sensible and adequate nutrition, we then proceeded to order the more fun and exciting food. The cake.The choice was a toughie. The options were just so good. As I’ve been to the Tenth Hole a few times I felt I needed to try something different (the carrot cake is amazing, the honeycomb pie is good but maybe too much cream, and there was sadly no toffee apple cake). So I went for the cherry cheesecake chocolate brownie. What is this strange concoction you might ask? Well, let me tell you.It’s a dense chocolate brownie topped with a good layer of cheesecake goodness and then cherry compote on top. Now normally I’m not a fruit and pudding kinda gal. I like fruit. I like pudding. But together? Hmmm, not so much. I do like a crumble but it’s not top of my list. Cherry is also not my favourite. Anyway, I digress. BUT let me tell you, it rocked my world. The flavours went together perfectly. The cheesecake creamy bit helped balance the rich chocolate and the textures were fabulous. The whole thing was, well, just a delight. Ten out of ten.

Then we did a bit more catching up and chatting before everyone parted ways and headed home. I had a three mile run in the plan. I would have done this in the morning but due to events concerning my idiocy the night before I was unable… I mean, running after a fairly heavy cake isn’t always ideal but sometimes you just gotta get it done. It was raining and cold but actually I was feeling ready for a good run. And there were only a few cake burps mid-run. Actually my legs felt amazing. Despite the long run the day before I really did feel pretty good. I expect it was the sugar from the cake and the lower temperature that significantly helped, but I’ll take it! 7:39 min/mile average pace!

Whew. A fab weekend DONE.

How was your weekend?

Do you enjoy documentaries?

Do you like to break long runs up with parkrun and running with friends?

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