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All the puddings

This weekend was full of highs and lows. Let’s get the lows done quickly, shall we?

I ran on Monday night and my shin/calf was really niggly. It had niggled slightly at parkrun a week ago but I put it down to it being really cold and my muscles not being warm enough. But Monday clarified things. It didn’t feel right and afterwards it felt pretty crappy. I’ll go into this in another post but basically this is rubbish.

Anyway, I didn’t run again until deciding to try a few miles before parkrun this weekend (because I was panicking I hadn’t hit the 8 mile long run I needed to for Tokyo). Though I knew I was lying to myself. I knew the run wouldn’t go well really and this was just to avoid me going to parkrun believing I could run and having to DNF. So on my pre-parkrun walk with Alfie I ran up the road with him and decided it was a no-go. I got back home, wrapped up in warmer clothes and headed to parkrun to set-up and volunteer.img_6900It was very cold and despite having several layers on and a hat I was cold. I was grumpy as I was overthinking about my leg, running and marathon training…but I was eventually cheered up by the lovely parkrun crew. You can’t be too sad at parkrun!

After parkrun and a hot bowl of porridge, I headed to the gym to take out some of my frustrations. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine which made me feel a little better about not running and then did a fantastic glute workout which I’m still feeling today. This included:

• Squats
• Landmine squats (these are great for really working on your depth)
• Monster walks with a resistance band
• Cable pull-throughs
• Leg press burnout
• Single leg deadlifts

I left the gym feeling accomplished and far more happy. Sometimes you just need to sweat it out!

I was also feeling good because I was going out for a Christmas meal with my friends. It’s always so nice to dress up. I wore a very sparkly dress with sparkly shoes and felt really happy 🙂img_6924

We went to the Cams Mill pub (where the Fareham parkrun starts at). It was very nice!img_6935We’d made our menu selections a while ago and I was disappointed with myself for choosing trout as my main rather than turkey (who does that!??!). I think my rationale was that I didn’t want to over-do turkey before the big day. I was very jealous when the mains came out though. However, my trout was delicious (and I got some leftover turkey from one of my friends so it was a win-win!)cams-mill-pubAnd again I was annoyed that I’d selected a pear tart for pudding… but then realised I’d chosen it because the cheesecake was chocolate orange which I don’t really like. I’m not a Terry’s Chocolate Orange fan at all! And Christmas pudding is a bit too rich and alcoholly for me.

The pear tart, however, was really really good. The ice cream was lovely and creamy and the tart was lovely and (dare I say) moist. No big nasty chunks of pear in which I was fearing. As nice as it was, I got serious food envy when I saw the cheesecakes. They looked so good! My friends laughed at me for ordering the inferior pear tart and I grudgingly watched them enjoy their cheesecakes (the far more popular pudding choice). Isn’t it the way when even though the meal you’re eating is nice but you see something that looks more appealing suddenly your meal isn’t as good…just me?

However, I was very lucky that two of my friends didn’t finish their cheesecakes and passed them down to me! Now, on reflection, I can say the pear tart was the better pudding. I’m still not a chocolate orange fan and who serves cheesecake with orange sorbet?? But I can’t say I complained too much 😉 Though I felt very full afterwards!!  Just call me the human dustbin…

I did have a few gin and tonics as well, because it’s Christmas 😉 Though amusingly my first G&T didn’t actually contain any gin and I was sipping away thinking “this is lovely!” until the barman ran over to me and said he needed to put the gin in as it got taken before it was ready! Oops. Shows how much I drink!img_6940Anyway the evening was good. Nothing like good friends and good food to make you feel 100 times better.

Christmas meal number two this week 😀

Are you going to any Christmas parties or meals this year?

Will you be dressing up?

What would you normally order on a Christmas menu?

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Edinburgh parkrun Review

Morning, morning. I have another parkrun review, this time from my running club buddy Andy Cockrell. He’s a super speedy and super smart. He has kindly offered up a review for the Edinburgh parkrun. Hope you enjoy!

Location: The Edinburgh parkrun takes place on the shorefront of the Firth of Forth between Cramond and Silverknowes in the north west of the city.  Once you’re on the shorefront, follow the stream of runners and you’ll find the start.

Parking: There are two options for parking.  The first is the car park in Cramond village at the foot of Cramond Glebe Road to the east of the start line.  The car park at Cramond does fill up quickly, but further on-street parking is available along Cramond Glebe Road.  The second option is to park on Marine Drive on the Silverknowes side of the course to the west of the start line.  Both options are free and equidistant from the start line.edinburgh-parkrun-photo-wg12-1

Photo credit: WG12 from the Flickr group

Alternatively, there are regular busses to Cramond.  It’s then a 5-10 minute walk down Cramond Glebe Road to the shorefront.

Amenities: There are public toilets at the Cramond end of the Promenade which are open from 0830 each day.

The Cramond Bistro opens at 1000 and offers hot drinks and homemade cakes (the scones are particularly good).  This is located on the River Almond Waterfront, just follow the promenade around to the left where the river meets the shore when returning from the finish line.  Alternatively, go down the steps opposite the entrance to the car park.

On the Silverknowes side there is Boardwalk Beach Club which opened earlier this year.  It is located between Marine Drive and promenade about halfway along the course.  If you have non-runners or spectators with you, this is a good place for them to base themselves as the patio area looks out onto the promenade.

Course: The course is effectively an out and return along the shorefront, with a small loop at the turn point to prevent the turnaround from being too tight.edinburgh-parkrunThe start line is about 500m east of Cramond Village, usually marked by banners and flags.  The route then heads east along the promenade towards Silverknowes.  With the number of runners, the start can seem a bit narrow, but the route widens up very quickly; the main promenade is 20m wide so there is plenty of room for everyone.

The route follows the promenade winding along the coast for 2km before heading left when you reach Gypsy Brae to hug the shoreline for another 100m, before turning right to run back to the main promenade.  Turning right onto the promenade, you then run 2.5km back along the shore towards the start line.  When running west you have a fantastic view of the Forth Bridges further along the coast.  With about 500m to go there’s a fork in the promenade.  Take the left-hand fork and you enter the finishing funnel.

The course is entirely on tarmac, so mud and slippery conditions under foot are not generally an issue unless it’s icy.

Elevation: The course epitomises the phrase “as flat as a pancake.”  There are no discernible elevation changes apart from where the promenade forks with 500m to go, but even that is a very gradual rise of around 1m!

edinburgh-parkrun-photoPhoto credit: from the Flickr group

Number of participants: On average there are around 350 runners each week, but average attendance is increasing.  There have been up to 500 runners at recent runs, with a record attendance of 642.  For a city the size of Edinburgh there are a disappointing number of local parkruns, the only other one in the city is in Portobello on the East side of the city which was set up last year.  Despite this, attendance at both runs is still increasing with Portobello seeing around 250 runners each week.

Other: The course record is 14:31 for men, set by Ross Toole and 16:35 for women, set by Sarah Inglis.edinburgh-parkrun-photo-wg12Photo credit: WG12 from the Flickr group

It’s a Scottish parkrun so remember it starts later at 0930.  As it’s on the coast, the wind can be an additional challenge at times, but at least the wind will be behind you for half the run.  In the winter, the wind can have quite a bite to it, so remember to dress appropriately!  On a calm day, however, it is a very fast course.

Check out their Facebook page and Twitter for more info!

Have you done any non-English parkruns?

Do you prefer a flat but potentially windy course or a hilly but less windy course?

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Back to parkrun and training like a girl

Happy Monday everyone, didn’t the weekend just fly by?

Well, I’m back in the running game again after a bit of time off. I feel raring to go again after reigniting my running mojo and my shin/calf feeling a whole lot better. I ran three miles on Monday evening and then six on Thursday. Both of those runs felt really good. I’ve obviously lost a lot of speed and endurance, as is natural with taking time off, but it didn’t feel like I was really struggling or that it was such a shock to the system, which was pleasantly surprisingly.

This is probably due to the fact that I retained some level of cardiovascular fitness through using the (very dull) elliptical machine. I find this machine soo dull but I’d watch YouTube while I was on it and it definitely helped pass the time!

Anyway, so Saturday morning saw me at Netley parkrun for the first time in ages.   Ordinarily I’d have probably kept going but volunteering even if I wasn’t running but I’ve been really busy recently. I felt very bad when I saw the core team set-up guys and they jokingly saifd, “who’s this stranger, then?”. But they welcomed me back, thankfully.

Though it was very cold that morning! I do prefer it cold and dry then wet and warmer but it’s still tough to be outside walking around for an hour before you start running. I forget how easy parkrun is when it’s beautifully sunny and warm… the winter months are definitely a trying time.img_6765We’re now on the winter course, which is slightly different to last year’s winter course due to the construction work happening on the chapel. This means we run part way on the grass round the chapel. Huge piles of leaves cover the route though so we had to do a bit of improvising to clear the way…img_6764We used the signs as brooms to sweep away the leaves. Oh the things we do for the love of running!

I had sensibly worn long trousers and different shoes to set the course up, then headed back to my car to take them off and switch to my trainers. I wore shorts, which was very nippy! But I knew once I got going I’d be alright. I’d stayed over my parent’s house the night before and annoyingly had forgotten my socks so had to borrow my mum’s. She lent me some lovely sparkly ones (the photo doesn’t really show)…img_6767The start area is a bit more cramped and as I hadn’t done this course before and I wasn’t aiming for a fast time, I just wedged myself somewhere in the middle. This proved a little bit of a mistake as I was then hemmed in amongst a a lot of people not really my speed. But really it didn’t matter as I managed to get round them as we broke out into a bigger space.

The run felt a lot harder than my previous two runs and I guess that’s because it is a hilly course (two hills you do three times) and I was very cold going into it and din’t warm up until mile two. But mainly because I’m unfit in terms of running.img_6766

One of my friends said afterwards to me that he noticed I wasn’t in my usual area of the field – I was a fair way back from where he’d thought I was going to be. I’m not that bothered because, as long as my training goes OK, I can look back at this and see how far I’ve come. It’s always fun seeing the progression and working hard to get better.capture

 

 

 

My time was 23:59, so just squeaked a sub-24 which I’m happy with. I definitely hope to do some speed work this marathon cycle but I’m going to allow a few weeks of getting gently back into things to avoid re-niggling!img_6782So a successful parkrun! It was so nice to be back and see friendly faces again. Though it’s invariably cold and miserable in the winter, parkrun is definitely still worth going to!

The next day I went to the gym in the morning and got in a good workout. I did 45 minutes on the elliptical machine and then did a chest and shoulder workout. I imagine my strength workouts will have to take a backseat very soon but I was really chuffed to get a personal best for my bench press.img_6811Chest is not an area I used to train at all (“I’m a girl” was my excuse). But I soon realised that in order to be a more balanced athlete in terms of strength and muscle I need to train my entire body. I train my back so why not my chest? And I’ve felt it hugely help with my other lifts too.

After my workout I showered and got ready to meet my parents for a Nando’s and a cinema trip. We saw Allied which was alright…very, very cheesy but not a bad way to spend an afternoon after you’ve eaten a lot of chicken!

How was your weekend?

Are there parts of your body you either don’t train or hate to train?

Do you run during the winter?

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Burgess parkrun Review

Another week, another parkrun review. I hope you’re enjoying these and/or find them helpful! I love parkrun so for me I love hearing about other ones around and I hope people find the information helpful – especially as they’re written from runners who have a good knowledge of that particular parkrun.

Anyway, this one, Burgess parkrun, is written by the lovely Gemma (@peeriegemgem), an avid runner and Twitter friend.m
Location: Burgess Park is in Camberwell, South East London and is the Southwark boroughs largest park. Along with Southwark parkrun it can claim to be the most central of London parkruns.  The easiest way to get there on public transport is to head to Elephant & Castle tube station (on Bakerloo and Northern lines) and walk about fifteen minutes down the Walworth Road or get a bus.  On bus, locate Citymapper to stop on Camberwell/Albany Road as this is the nearest entrance to start/finish of the run.  (pic shows entrance)

Parking: Being in Central London, parking is on the limited side although the website does note there is some spots available in Addington Square and on Albany Road and this is free for up to four hours.

Amenities: There are toilets available in the tennis court centre which should be open just before the run begins.  These are just as you head into the park on the right hand side.img_8078After getting an absolutely drenching visiting a friend for their 50th parkrun (see Wally – dressed for the occasion!) we headed over for warm mugs of tea and avocado on toast where the results are processed at Fowlds Café, Addington Square.  It is very small on the space front so head over promptly once you’ve finished your run to get a seat!img_8083Course/Elevation: The course is an out and back with two laps of a lake in the middle.  (See pic)  Note the start and finish are not at exactly the same point as the start was moved further back to ease congestion. Most participants wander up, leave their belongings at the finish on a waterproof sheet and head to the start. img_8072The course starts with a long straight of about a kilometre before turning back on itself, out towards the lake, twice around, and then heading back to the finish (but cutting short the full kilometre straight!).  It is well marshalled at each turn so the only thinking required is remembering two laps of the lake!  There is a slight dip where you go through the underpass on the final straight and this is about the point where you want to consider kicking in for that final sprint.

I may be slightly bias as this is my first parkrun and where I have done the most runs, but it remains one of my favourite runs.  It is a very friendly parkrun and I have made many friends after running Burgess over fifty times.

It is a fast flat course (see elevation!) that doesn’t get too congested once you are out of the start.burgess-elevationIt is ideal for pram/buggy runners – one flew past me as I headed onto my second lap of the lake. The volunteer team are very enthusiastic and there are usually post run goodies on offer.  I tucked into fruit and homemade brownies as post run fuel – yum!

Number of participants: This parkrun has really grown in size since my first days of attending two years ago.  Back then a hundred was average but the record attendance has now hit nearly 300.  As the Saturday I picked to return was the worst monsoon rain I’d ever done a parkrun in, there were 149 brave souls facing the rain.

Other: Check out the Burgess Park Facebook/Twitter as they post updates fairly regularly.  Sometimes people take photographs which will appear on social media and there tends to be socials organised a couple of times a year.

Do you enjoy doing parkrun in fancy dress?

What’s the funniest fancy dress you’ve seen for a runner?

Are you a fair-weather parkrunner?

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I.C.E. (And not the cold variety!)

Today I have a really interesting post from my friend, Michelle (she recently did the Newcastle parkrun review – to be fair, she really should start her own blog as she’s such a good runner and always eats nice things (read: cake) too). Today she’s reviewing the I.C.E running ID.

Now it’s dark like all the time (well it feels like it anyway) “be safe, be seen” is a thought that crosses most runner’s minds as they pick out their best high-vis outfit before their run, don the head torch and other flashies.

But have you ever thought about if, god forbid, something happened to you whilst out on a run???

If you’re out with friends or a club then the people around you are going to know who you are and who to contact to tell them what has happened but are they going to know your medical history? If you take any medication? If your allergic to medication? But what about if you are out running alone? The chances of someone who knows who you, let alone anything else about you, finding you is minuscule!!

After the tragic deaths of the two young Aldershot, Farnham & District runners I feel it is important to raise the topic of ensuring every one of us runners have some form of ID on them when out running I.C.E. (In Case of Emergency). This doesn’t just apply to people with medical conditions but EVERYONE! There are a number of options available, from simple and cheap to those with a slight cost but worth the investment!

Your Mobile Phone

For those of you who run with your phone this is a quick and free option!
These days most mobile phones allow you to enter I.C.E. and medical information which can then be accessed from the lock screen. I am not sure exactly how to do this with any phone apart from iPhone but just Google it and there will be plenty of step by step guides available. If you own an iPhone then if you go into the built in Health app it will ask you to set up your medical ID.

This can then be accessed from the lock screen in an emergency without having to unlock your phone.

After you press the home button press “Emergency” and then “Medical ID”.

Key Tags

This is another quick and cheap option for ensuring you have I.C.E. details with you whilst out on a run and was the first way I ever took I.C.E information out on runs with me! I bought a pack of about 30 key tags from a pound shop, wrote I.C.E. on the front and my emergency contact name and number on the back.

It lives attached to my front door key so it is guaranteed to go with me every time I run! The rest of the pack of key tags are probably sat in a drawer at home but I’ve got one on my uni front door key and another on my home front door key. Why not put the rest of the box to use and pop one on your kid’s door keys too?!

parkrun Wristbands

The majority of runners these days have a parkrun barcode. For many of us it starts life as a constantly crumpled and soggy bit of paper, it then progresses (maybe) to being laminated to make each one last a bit longer but why not invest in a parkrun wristband and kill two birds with one stone!

At £13.98 the wristbands are made from silicone making them durable and waterproof. They come in sizes from small to extra-large, are available in black or pink and are laser engraved with your name and personal barcode. In addition to these you can personalise them with your I.C.E. telephone number and medical information.

Even though I’m not the most frequent parkrun attender I purchased one of these wristbands about a year ago. The first time I used it I was worried the barcode wouldn’t work but I’ve had no problems! They are really light and easy to just slip on before a run, even if you’re not off to parkrun!

OneLife ID

Being away at uni I felt I probably needed something a bit more than just a key tag on me when I was out running as the chance of anyone knowing more than my name was well zero! I came across OneLife ID who make emergency wristbands designed for sports. These are slightly more expensive but worth every penny!

They have a wide range of wristbands, alert cards, dog tags and now even tags to add to your watch or activity tracker! Each of their ID tags are personalisable and allow you to create an online personal profile which can only be accessed using a code on the back of your ID tag. The online profile can be updated and allows more information about you to be sought. You can also download a mobile ID to save to your phone.

I chose the Stealth Squadra ID wristband (£22.99) which comes in a choice of 11 different colours, has a soft silicone strap and a stainless steel “fold over safety clasp” so it fit securely once you’ve put it on. It is water and sweat resistant too. It comes in one size which you cut to size and then attach the clasp meaning you can make sure it’s a snug fit!

When ordering you personalise the tag itself to include text only (up to 5 lines) or have less text and a QR code. You choose your own online ID and the tag comes with a security PIN written on the back of it so people can only view detailed information about you if they enter the pin. If things were to change in the future you can order replacement tags for your band.

I love my OneLife ID and wear it out on every run! It doesn’t move about too much due to the fact you cut it to size, fits easily under long sleeves for the winter and is so lightweight I have often forgotten I still have it on and have been known to walk around with it on all day before!

Carrying I.C.E. ID whilst out on a run will put your loved ones at ease, so with Christmas coming up why not add an I.C.E. ID wristband to your list for Santa!

Thanks, Michelle. This is a really important post I think. I for one actually have done none of these things and feel suitable guilty! I’ll definitely be updating my Health app on my iPhone and looking to buy the parkrun wristband soon. And not just for running but I go to the gym stupidly early in the morning so having this information on me would be very handy as I don’t take my purse with me to the gym.

Do you have any of the above I.C.E products?

How do you stay safe when running?