Thursday 9 October 2014

Run Like Thunder!

Hello blog lovers!

It's that time again, it's Thursday time, one of my most fav days in the week!  The morning run with the ladies this morning was just brilliant!  Our route this morning was some of the Petts Wood 10k, just about 5k of it, but going in the opposite direction, just for a challenge, (to see if I knew the way) and also it's good to change things about, mix it up a bit.  Who wants to keep running running the same way all the time.  Ok, it was still in the woods, and it was still on the same paths, but we  just  ran up and down and then up and down again !  Sounds like fun eh!

I am felt sure that the ladies were going to love it, it was a challenge but we all love a challenge!  The route took us up Birchwood road, but of course on the side of the woods, and after we neared the top Denise said to me "Its good to get the hill out of the way in the beginning" I just gave a wry smile, I was the only one that knew the route!

We ran along to the gate that leads from the road into the woods and we turned down the path, the second path.  That bit I could remember.  This going around it in the opposite direction was a bit of a challenge for me!  When we got to the end of this path with several paths leading from it, I tried to visualise which way I came up when I ran the route the other week.  They all seemed the same, and they all felt the right like the headed in the right direction, all except the path on the immediate left.

I took a path that I thought would be right and started to run down it.  When were half way through this path I began to realise that it was the wrong path, we hadn't passed the little clearing with the benches.  Oh well, we shall just see where this ends up.  It actually ended up by the railway, popping out on the path that runs along Birchwood! Yup, that's right, a small loop!  Oh well, I owned up, like a good leader should, but said we are still on for doing what I wanted to do, it's just a different path!

The ladies said that if I hadn't mentioned anything they wouldn't have noticed anything was amiss! Oh well.  But the didn't notice the down hill, and then when we got back to dog poo ally of course I lead them up the middle path to continue with my planned route.  Now I have to look out for another path that will be on the right.  I want to run to the Sun Dial!

It's funny trying to do things in the opposite direction,  and it was a challenge for my group too.  Those hills are a challenge for all of us!  I took a path that I thought was the right one, but again I was wrong!  It's just run up parallel to the middle of the woods path.  But that was good, because it meant that I just hadnt come across the right path yet, I had not missed it, not like I did on the other side of the woods!

We eventually found it and turned right and we ran along for just a short while and the clearing emerged from the trees with the big sundial in the middle.  Some of the ladies hadn't actually seen this memorial sun dial before.  It's commemorating the British Summer Time Act in 1925, and it was in memory of William Willet, an untiring advocate of British Summer time.  Well, what a great opportunity for a photo I thought.  Here this is the ladies!

L-R Pinklady Jo, Dawn, Denise and Ariol

After this we ran along the top.  There I gave them an option, to continue to Botany Bay, and then down that way, with the possibility of a little more mud than the other path.  The 10k path, which I was going to 'wing' anyway, because I knew I wouldn't recognise the path that would be on the left.  They all decided to take the 10k path.

So we ran down, jumping over puddles, roots and twigs and branches. See it's a challenging route, we then came to the railways lines,  the ladies in front started heading in the wrong direction, so I called them back and we ran to the left to go back to dog poo ally.

I wasn't quite sure how long this route was but I could see on my watch that we need to do a bit of road work to make it to at least a 5k.  So when we came out of the ally I told them to turn right and head up (yes, that's right, up again!) to Manor way, which is part of our 10k, and then we can continue with the PWR 10k theme to finish our run!

I decided not to look directly at the ladies as I didn't want to see that  "More hills Old Girl, are you trying to kill us" look from any of them.  But it was that far now, we were nearly all done and back into the rec.

The rain held off, just, it had rain this morning, and the air was still damp, but it was just perfect for this mornings run. The run was only marred by news that I dithered to long about continuing with childmiding and lost yet another potention client to the big nurseries. I wasn't best pleased that for sure, and I have to appologise to the ladies next week for my foul language! Oh well!  I shall just have to run socks of later to get rid of stress!

Geeky stats.



And now to the track session with Mike and Hels.  It had been an extremely stormy day after my run this morning, with hail stones, big fat rain, lightening and thunder.  You would think that it had rained it self out for the day!  No! No, No!  There was still just a little be left in the tank!

I got to the track early, it was dark and it wasn't feeling cold.  I thought it was going to be a good session.  As I pulled up in the car park I did notice just a few light spots of rain on the windscreen.  "Just a dusting" I thought t myself.

I walked into the track with Jane.  She has really come along way, I remember her starting group 1 and now........and now......well she is in group 7 with the speedys!  Fantastic achievement!  We chatted and waited for the others to arrive.

A couple of laps of the track later and every one who was going to turn up was there.....and so was the rain.  Just lightly coming down, keeping things nice and cool!  Our sessions was going to be a timed session (my favourite, distance I have problems with!) 2, 4 8, 8, 4, 2 mins jogging with a min rest in between.  And PhysioMike and Hels were going to be standing in the rain timing us, making sure we know when the minutes are up.

The 2 and the 4 min were to be run at our usual 5k pace and the 8 min was to be run at our 10k pace.  Well, this should be good fun, lets see what this old girl has got to give.  The rain started to come down even more as we started our running sessions after all the warm ups and the drills.  The first two minutes was under way.  I managed to get around about half the track before the 2 minutes was called.  Others were just at the finish line!

Next it was the 4 minutes.  When we ran past PhysioMike he was calling out what our 5k times would be if we kept up that pace for the whole 5k, I couldn't believe it when he said I was on for a 33 minute 5k (if I kept going at that pace of course!)  I don't think I have been close to that for year or 2!

Then it was the 10k pace part, the 8 min of running. Hels blew the whistle and I started running, but I slowed the pace down a bit, just like Mike said, and ran.  I kept going for the whole way, I was pleased with that!  When we got back for the 1 minute rest I heard PhysioMike say to one of the fast runners that he nearly didn't have a time written down for the pace he was doing, as his was the very last time that was written down.  I expect my time wasn't written down either as I would be on the other end of that list!

The thunder and lightening continued throughout that whole of our session!  I was just smiling as I was thinking this is totally crazy, running around in the wet with lightening over head, but we are on runner (as Mike said) I wonder if it matters if there is 2 inches of water on that rubber!

Working down the scale now, 8, 4 and the 2 mins jog was most refreshing!  I couldn't quite believe it when I pelted up towards the finish line on that last 2 mins and Mike called out to me "30"  Blimey! then I heard Mr. S said, "I knew you could do" "I just wish I could do keep that up on park runs" I said to him, "You can" he said to me.  I think next time I am really going to have to try, and try and try harder.  But, not beat myself up if I don't get anyway near it!

So geeky stats, but of course it's only for the calories that I had my garmin going, seeing how I worked that old heart of mine!  A faubulous time, and I think Hels and Mike had it hard just standing around in the rain, with the thunder and lightening happening!  Big thanks to these two!!




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