Thursday Through The Thorny Thickets!

Hello blog lovers.

Ok, it wasn't thickets, but we did take a different path through the woods.  Let me begin from the the beginning.  We all met up at the rec, as usual, DiscoRich was there with his crew.  I wanted to do a shorter route today so I could get back to the rec a little bit early, which prompted David, who was going to come with us, to hop back into DiscoRich's group.  So with just the three of us in my group we headed for the woods.  All of us started our Garmins and we ran out!  What a hi tech club we are!  I do like my geeky stats!

We ran through 'Dog Poo ally' and into the woods, onto firm frozen ground.  So different to last week where we almost immediately splashed through muddy puddles.  With the frozen ground came new challenges and hazards.  The frozen footprints of walkers, runners, dogs and other animals made the paths extremely uneven.  Our feet will stay dry but our ankles are going to be getting a good work out.

I turned left, we were going to run along the path next to the rail lines and then down to the little stream, and then continue in that direction all the way up. Up to the very top! I warmed up very quickly, and I was glad that I had decided that I only needed on layer on under my jacket!  My gloves came off and straight into my pocket!  I think even my hat came off too!  It was a woolly hat, and usually I wear my baseball cap, I think I might just stick with that!

We all run up to the gate, which is about half way up.  Janet and Trish were in front of me, they were both determined to get to the gate!  That is where we had to have a stop!  I couldn't even talk!  We walked just a little way up the road, it's not good to stand around too long,  before we started to run again.  It was quite busy that morning, as the postman came down in his van and we had to stand up on the verge and then another car came down.  Just as we neared the top of the road the postman wanted to come back.  We wasn't quite sure whether to keep on running or to stand aside!  But we did the right thing......we kept on running to the top and then gave him his road back!

The run to the next woods was quite easy underfoot as we were on the roads again.  And it felt like we had a bit more speed.  We got to the end and crossed over the road and went into the tiny bit of Scadbury the we an get into before we run out of time to get back to the rec.  I will have to study that side of the woods a bit more, and see if I can find some nice paths up that way for our Thursday morning runs, and maybe even Group 0 summer routes!

We were nearly over with our 'shorter' run.  We crossed over the road by the pedestrian crossing and entered Petts Wood again.  I looked at the path just opposite the entrance and I decided that we should go down there.  I felt I hadn't done that path before, and it needed to be done. I probably have, but still, if felt like a 'new' path so we went down there.  It's good to just do something different every now and then.  We can get lost as we were pretty near the rail lines!

We cam out of that path just by the entrance of  'Dog Poo ally'.  Not the path I though it might have been!  We ran back to the rec and I raised my hand to stop my Garmin......only to find that I had not been recording.  I quickly checked it and I realised that I had about 15 minutes worth on there, which means I think I must have turned it off when I took my gloves off! Darn it!  The other two ladies, however, did have the Garmins still going and it showed that we had run 5.6k, about 3 and half miles maybe!  So, the usual distance, so much for a short run!

A lovely run though, I do enjoy running with everyone!  So here's the geeky stats that I do have!

Club Run - BRRRRRRRR!!! It's A Chilly One

Hello blog lovers.

Talk about group 0 as the temperature was sub-zero! I think this has to be the coldest day so far this winter!  It would be so easy to drop a little note onto the PWR's Facebook page to say "I've a bone in my leg this evening" or "my heart is beating in my chest" but I thought "No, Old Girl, you're hard core, get out there and do your thing"  So with the words of the Old Boy ringing in my ears "It's freezing out, have you got gloves" I went out and walked over to my car.  I came out a little earlier to defrost the thing!

I got to the rec with about 10 mins to spare,  I think there were quite a few people who decided to bring their cars today as the road seemed pretty full!  CoachHels was doing the announcements but didn't say too much as she wanted us to get out there and run.  I gave a brief description of the route we were doing, and waited till all other groups had done theirs.  Then we were off.

I didn't put up a route today, but I just said to Group 0 that we were doing one of the routes we had already done but I am going to do it backwards.  With the hills going 'against us', but they will get us warmer quicker, and hopefully stay that way.  I was feeling quite good, but I don't do cold well.  I hate being cold, I get grumpy when I'm cold. My body doesn't do so well, I get cramp in my hamstring, always on the right side! Why is that!? Always the right side!  So the route was good for me too, keep me nice and toasty.

There about 7 in Group 0 today, and we all pretty much kept together, I think they all appreciated the nice warming hills that we did.  The straight bit along the by the pub I told them that they had to keep running, look really healthy to show off to the smokers in the pub!  Cos we are hard core!

I think everyone was feeling the effects of the cold, just breathing in was hurting some of the ladies, but I am so proud of them all.  To be able to get out on a dark freezing night to meet up in a park, (we haven't even got a club house!) just to go run for an hour or less and then go home.  We are a special kind of people, very special!  Not a lot of people do this for fun!

The undulations of Crescent Drive was another winter warmer, but it was nice that we were all still chatting away, and keep on running.  The miles seemed to be going pass quite quickly.  We were on Southborough lane and I was think, "Wow, we are almost back."  I took them through Crest View Drive to the News Shopper car park, and then we did our Scooby Doo running over the bridge.  If they can run across there nice a quietly, nice and lightly, they should be running perfectly, and PhysioMike would be pleased to see that......as he wouldn't be able to them!

Once over the bridge I took a vote, long way, or short way!  Most opted for the long way, but two other ladies who have just come back to running decided enough was enough for them and decided to go back to their cars from there, Auriol was going to go with them, but they said they knew where they were so as there was two of them together, they went back the short way.  The rest of us carried on around Woodside, Great Thrift and Hazlemere!  The topic of conversations could quite easily be one that 4 and five year boys talk about!  And if you have any of those, then you can imagine what we were talking about!

I so enjoyed the run today, the company was great, it wasn't raining or snowing and we didn't do too badly really!

Geeky stats.

Park Life!

Hello blog lovers.

As you can see, I am determined to keep up my exercises ad my healthy eating!  It's only been two weeks, it feels like two months!  I am missing just going out into the kitchen and just eating what I want, I am missing having a pint of lager on my Friday nights out and I am also missing my 'lie ins' on Saturday mornings!  I have got to get back into the routine of getting out for 9 in the morning and running.  Parkrun is where I shall be until our new 'Beginners Group' starts again on February 27th, then I shall be helping out there!

My alarm went off and I dutifully got up and ready for running.  Then out of the door and in the car!  That is the most difficult bit.......well apart from running for 3 miles!  But as I was driving to Normans Park today I actually thought about this.  It is the most difficult part of starting to run, of going to park run, to running solo.  The difficult bit is that first step outside the door!  It put me in a better mood, still didn't alter the fact I needed more sleep, and my hands were freezing from scrapping frost of my windscreen!

I park up in the park and walked over to where the start would be. The ground was quite solid now, the frost as seen to that. I looked out for Janet and Wendi, I knew they were going to be running today, J.J. was feeling under the weather so she wasn't going to be here!  I eventually found them and we chatted for a few minutes before we were off!

We started running just in front of a speed walker!  A Speed Walker, I tell you.  He was telling us that his faster 5k was something like 29 minutes.......his fastest marathon was in about 3 and half hours!  I think I am going to have to learn how to do this speed walking!  What I am actually trying to say is this chap over took us and disappeared into the distance,  He told us his name was Sean Lightman!  I shall have to look him up on the Internet!

The winter route is quite demoralising for me, I miss the summer route, but we have to run safe, especially when there are over 500 runners!  Three times around the park!  I found it a struggle today, an enjoyable struggle, but still.  I must stop thinking about 'when I was fitter' and start thinking 'when I get fitter'.  It's taken 9 months to put on this extra poundage, my own fault, but it is not going to disappear by not attempting anything!

Wendi and Trish (she was there too) ran on in front they were doing really well, I ran along with Janet.  She has a good pace going, her own pace, she runs the whole way non stop!  Something I need to work on myself!  For the whole of the 3 laps I was behind, then caught up, then behind and the caught up.  She helped to pace me, even though she didn't know!  I am sure I would have been so much slower!

The last lap was the biggest struggle mentally for me, but I kept an eye on Janet who was in front, by the time we had got to the top of the park again I felt I was in the zone, but then my blooming keys fell out of my pocket!  I was so annoyed!  I had to chase after Janet again.  With the last straight to do to the tunnel I finally started to 'get it'  I just concentrated on the orange of the funnel and went for it!  

It wasn't my fastest time, probably bordering on my slowest times!  But I was pleased I went out and did it.  And next week I shall do better!

Geeky stats

Mud And Track

Hello blog lovers!

This morning I decided that we needed to go through the woods.  It was such great fun last week with the whole padding through a river, I needed to feel the woods under my feet.  I saw on the Facebook group chat that DiscoRich was heading in the woods, and now that I know my group don't mind getting a bit wet then it was through the woods we go.

We had a defector from DiscoRichs group to mine, David (he wasn't feeling in a faster running mood) and a new Thursday morning runner, Trish who noticed from my blogs that Thursday morning runs take place!

I gave everyone the route that we will be doing and it was all agreeable!  Our route was up the middle of the woods turn left to run along the top of the woods, up the undulations and........well, I am sure by now you know the route!  I do like this route, but this time we are going to be running all the way down Goss lane and out on to the road as I wanted to go through Jubilee Park so that we can bash the mud of our shoes!

Boy was there mud!  Just going up the middle path there was mud.  It was a lot easier to run in the place that we all look at and think "No way am I running in that" as it is, actually the best option.  For a start your not worried about looking where in particular to put your foot down, the sloping of the path finishes where it is the deepest bit, so it will be flatter, no twisting ankles, and besides........it's great to be a kid again and go splashing around in the mud!  Trish even said that if took her back to her childhood, slashing and walking about in The mud!

It was a slow slog though, going through sticky wet and slippy mud is hard going.  I am sure we use more energy running through the mud than we do going on the road!  The bid that I do always worry about is the path just after we crossed over Botany Bay Lane, and running along the path there.  It's quite narrow, very wet and lumpy.  I am always worried about slipping and grabbing left on to the barbed wire!  Along paths I hate to see barb wire, I feel it is totally unnecessary!

Going down Goss hill was interesting!  We tried to run down but of course there were some very sticky patches and when you try to slow down it seems as if you can't because if you do you feel as if you are going to slip over!  Most peculiar!  We soon reached the end of this path and came out on to the road.  There was a big puddle just on the side of the road, I decided to wade through it and give my shoes a bit of a clean!

The rest of the run was on the roads and the path of Jubilee Park.  The sun came out just as we got inside the park, it looked glorious!  It looked warm and I felt warm, but I think that was due to the exertion rather than the weather!  We went over the bridge and came out into Little thrift.  We had a decision to make, more mud or more pavement.  I think Janet had made up her mind that she had done the mud now, bashed it off her shoes and was ready to just finish up on the roads!  So we turned right and then left to continue the rest of our run to the rec!  David did try and get us to do one more slight incline which was up Towncourt road to go into the rec from the other gate!  We all decided to just go straight down Cross ways and get to the rec as quick as we could.!

A great run with the Thursdays group 1's, I do enjoy this session, running through the woods!

Geeky stats.

Track Session

It's cold.....its bloody cold now. I could quite easily have sat and chatted to my Auntie Eve, who was here earlier this evening, and drank more tea!  But a plan is a plan, and I need to stick to it if I am to lose this spare Arctic lorry tyre I found round my waist! After a very disappointing Wednesday Weigh In with the Petts Wood Reducers group, I need to keep pushing on.  All though my fellow Reducers kept my spirits up and told me to "look to the long term".

Todays track session was the tempo run which takes us out of the track after doing one and three quarter laps first, after seven and a half minutes to turn around and run back until we hear the whistle blow at 15 mins.  I remember last year and how far I got out of the park.  I wanted to get to that point, at least.  I know I have got slow and sluggish so we will just have to see.

CoachHels led us in a quick warm up, as the session needs to be precise and we set off on the first of the 15 mins tempo runs.  After just doing one lap I knew that I wouldn't get to the place along the road that I did last year, I was even wondering if I would get out of the car park, let along on the road!  I saw all the other trackers heading out of the track and I still had at least 100 meters or maybe more to go before I got to the gate.

I kept an eye on my watch, my new fabulous Garmin, do I love this watch, it's on my arm permanently!  Counting my steps, recording my sleep, telling my my calories!  I wish it would make me run faster!  I was at the gate and still time to keep running forward, admittedly not much time, and I was right, I was quite a lot slower that last year!  I guess having something to train for is a big motivator!  But this year I just really want to have fun with my running again, enter the fun, social runs with my pals.

I turned around and started heading back to the track, feeling a bit disappointed with my self.  But I guess it took me 9 months to get this heavy and slow and it's not going to happen over night.  Think long term, train like I want to win and stop fecking moaning that it's not like last year!

Back at the track and I continued to run around waiting for the whistle to blow at 15 minutes.  After that we had four 3 minute laps to do with 90 second rests between, switching direction half way through each 3 mins. That was tough, I really gave myself a telling.  We all started together, there must be about 25 people all on the start line.  I stood at the back each time,  and when we started running I watched everyone fade into the distance as we ran the laps!  I just plodded out behind them!  I will not be discouraged.  My running buddies wouldn't let me get discouraged!  Every time they pass by me I hear "Go on Donna, keep going!"  From all the ranges of group runners from 2-8's (I am not sure how many groups are represented at track, but I am flying the flag for group 0's)

After the that it was back to the tempo run, but this time I just stayed on the track and did my tempo run around there.  it was pretty dark out in the car park, and being tired I just knew I wouldn't lift my feet up!

A great session, thanks again to CoachHels and PhysioMike! I just need to work so hard now to get back to the fitness level I was last year.

Geeky stats.

Club Run - It's Getting Cold Out!

Hello blog lovers.

Brrrr, I think winter is trying to grab our attention now, it's fed up of us saying "I can't believe how mild it is" and "Do you remember the winters we had as a child".  Now they were winters!  Ice on the inside of your windows with the net curtains stuck on them!  But we will soon be warmed up as soon as we start running.

I went a little earlier to meet JJ at her house, Janet was already there, Wendimoo and Tasmin followed shortly after.  We all walked over to rec together where the rest of the club members started to arrive.

It was quite chilly, and after a while I head my name being called, that usually means for me to 'call to order' with my whistle!  It's quite ear piercing, it has stopped many a taxis that have missed our hail, but the whistle has got through!  Now I use it to grab the attention of the 100 or so runners so that the leaders can talk about their route.  So I did a great job of the whistle, the crowd quietened down and gathered around in a semi circle to hear from the announcer today.............and silence!  No announcer.......nobody knew who was doing the announcements today, we all stood looking at the empty spot!  Just a second ore two after we heard "Hi, sorry, had an issue with the toilets"  I don't think anyone asked Siggy what that was!

But announcements all done and we set of out of the gate to go up Birchwood.  I hadn't put up a route as I had a long day today, most of it spent out of the house, so I was away from my computer.  This one is quite a good one anyway, it has the drama of the hills, a very short bit of hill training, that we so far have done a couple of reps up the hill if not three times.  And then there is the final little challengey bit of the undulations at the top of Petts Wood Road!

My breathing was all over the place for the first mile or so, as always, and the chilly air was making it longer to get into my stride.  There was a nice size group of us today, those already mentioned plus Auriol, Jenny and Becky, who has started back at the club today after having time out.  That first half a mile was all up hill, and I was determined to be the perfect leader and try and get up it in one go!  It's a challenge, and I do like to at least do hills fairly well while I am leading 0.  It doesn't look too good if I flake out on the hills!

I think most of us ran all of it, if not then they only took one short walking break before running on up again.  Now that it is a huge improvement!  You can really start to see the progress being made!  From there we ran along the top road to the right  where we crossed over the road and ran along towards Tillingbourne green.  Along this bit of road some twat on a small motor bike was beeping his horn and sticking his foot out at us!  We were running along the the kerb, but this idiot didn't have any front lights on at all, his mate came from behind him, he had lights on!  Some people! Tut!

Just after this road is the little bit of hill training section.  We were all tired, all getting back to the swing of things after Christmas, so lets just see if there were any takers for the double up of the hill.  Everybody said yes, although Wendimoo said yes in protest, because he didn't want to be the only one waiting at the top!

We took a nice easy run back down to the round about after the reps and down the hill.  And so the undulations to do now.  By now my breathing was spot on, my legs felt just a tad tired, but totally expected after  last week and today.  It's not going to stop, it's what I do now, it's what I can do and will do!

All in all a great run, the undulations of Woodside Great Thrift and Hazlemere are always a fabulous training, especially when it's on the last road, as that is when you are at your most tired and those little undulations feel like mountains.  But you feel see pleased with yourself once you have don't it nd you  feel like just dancing!

Here's the geeky stats for todays run, it's not bad, but we still have a lot of work to do!

Geeky stats.

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A Double Up Running Day!

Hello blog lovers.

As you can see, the determination is still here.  Five days into exercise regime, 4 days into healthy eating.  I think this must the longest 'start' for ages.  I've normally caved in by now!  But those scales when I stood on them, if they could talk they would have said "Gee woman, you sure got a lot a hard work ahead of you!"  I could almost imagine the laugh at the end!

So this mornings session was with the Thursday Morning group, with three lovely ladies, Charlene, Janet and Diane, just a small group today.  DiscoRich's group was just a bit bigger than hours, but both smaller than last week as we have all had to return to work.

DiscoRich took his group through woods, let me tell you, it was a mud fest!  Me, well I was being a little kinder to my group, I was going through the Cinder Path, so all on pavements and paths!  No mud, well maybe a little sticky on the cinder path, but I was expecting a relativly mud free run.  We set off out of the rec and turned right. It had started to rain just a little bit, but I didn't think it was going to be a torrential downpour.  Apparently last night it came down in bucket loads, I must have slept through it as I didn't notice it.

It was a slow jog to the path, now bear with me, I just said about the torrential rain last night, and the fact it was raining again, and it's been the wettest December since forever, the path that I chose to go down was a bit wet.  The leaves had all mulched up where the school children and the mums and dads had been using this to get to the school.  So if felt like we were running in the woods!  What with the trees and the fields around, and the babbling brook on our left,  we couldn't possibly called wooses!  But further on along the path it was even more of an adventure.  The path was flooded!  There was water pouring from the woods onto the path and running down towards us.  I guess it shows that we are actually running up hill when we go along here (I hadn't noticed before as it looks quite flat really!)  There was no way around it, we could step to the sides and squish in the squish mud, or we could just run through it and just embrace the water!

Diane, Janet, me and Charlene

I had to take a picture of it, here take a look for yourselves, it doesn't really do it any justice this picture, but there really was quite a lot of it pouring out from the sides.  If you look along the path you can see a person, we actually stopped until she caught up with us so that she could take this picture of us!

Can you see our 'photograper!

At the end of the path Janet and I waited while I sent Diane and Charlene off to do the loop around the estate.  I felt justified in not running with them as I was planning on going out again in the evening.  After they came back we continued our run back to the rec.  I was quite cold actually and beginning to think that maybe I should have ran with them instead.  I have done an awful lot of exercise this week, but I needed to do that, I want to get my routine established, and do as much as I can for most days of the week!  When I had thought about what I had done this week I was quite surprised, and even started to think about not going to track in the evening.

It was a slow jog back to the rec, Charlene had almost ran her self out.  She is so.....fidgety, she wants to get in there and do it, but with out training first!  The jog around the loop with Diane she was let of the leash, and she did her own thing.  Diane came around first looking puffed out, with Charlene coming around second, all sprinted out.  She will get there though, once you know, your know and then just work on it.

It was good to get back to the rec, DiscoRich's group was already there, with very muddy runners!  Our shoes on the other hand we beautifully clean, it was the 'shoe wash' we had when we went through the flooded path!

Here, can you tell which group is which!

Which four is my group?!

Track Session

And so for my second running session.  It was the start of Track 2016 today, many people have come back, some are new to track, some just seem to belong to the track, and Mr. "Monkey Man" S. himself was there too.  These guys all look so fit!  It didn't look as if any of them had over indulged this Christmas!  This was going to be painful.

This time last year I was training for the marathon, I was also a stone and half lighter! I was doing ok on the track, obviously not as well as everyone else there.  But then there are not many group 1's or even 0's that turn up for track, I think they think is way to scary!  But my plan for today was to 'teach my body a lesson'.  Teach it that this is what is going to happen every Thursday, run in mornings and run in the evenings.  Thats the plan and that is what is going to happen.  I needed to 're-boot' my brain into thinking that Thursday evenings is training evenings.  Usually these sessions are based around the spring marathons, but even when I did it last year, I just did what I could, I did my best, pushed myself that little bit harder than I would in ordinary group runs, or indeed in solo runs.  And this is what is going to happen this year too, evening though I am not going to be doing an marathons!

CoachHels started with the warm up drills, PhysioMike gave us instructions on what the session was going to be.  To be honest, there was no way I was going to do all that he said, and I just plodded along going as fast I could within the expected effort that PhysioMike had said.

The thing I love about this session is.....everybody!  I was running around the track, at Old girl speed, at the back as usual, but when they all lapped me the encouragement I got from everyone is just tear jerking.  That's when you know you belong to one of the best clubs around.  "Come on Donna, you can do it"  "Good going Donna, great stuff"  "Keep going Donna, you're doing well!"  With comments like that coming from member of your running club, from the faster groups, it's just amazing!  I love being with this club, I love the members, and I love it that on Track Day, I am mingling with some of our best runners and there is not one cliquey element, anywhere, in our club!

So geeky stats, as you can see, it wasn't particularly fast, and only 2.5 miles as well. It should have been about 4 miles in all.  but I am going to be working on that now!  Watch and see.

  

Back To It Tanya

Hello blog lovers.

It's the new regime for Tanya.  I 'whatsapped' her a day or so ago to see if she was ready to 'bring it on' and get fitter and faster and join PWR group 0!  Guess what she was up for it, raring to go!  So we arranged to meet at 12:30 at Normans Park.

So after school run, bike ride, shopping I drove down to Normans Park.  Sorry, I had a busy morning, and I am actually impressed with myself that I was organised to get it all done before our arranged time!  I was just about 7 minutes late, but Tanya was there, with a smile on her face.......and baring gifts!  Some thank you pressies for Hels, ZippySherry and me for helping her with running!  I think she should buy herself a pressie too, for keeping at it, because really, the hardest part of getting out for a run.......is getting out for a run!  The longing to go out for a run can last and last, or as in 99% of all runners it can wane!  And that's where the hard bit is, getting out there doing it, when you don't feel like.  And to be truthful, who really wants to go out in the cold damp air to run?  Just a few crazy people right!

But once you're there the smile takes over, all the procrastinating has been done, and you're doing it.  We only did 1 loop of the park, 5 mins walk, 1 min run and then a brisk walk around for the net lap.  Next week we will do the same walk/run times but we will do two laps of the park, and then there after increase the run times.  I am doing it this way with her because she has done the beginners course, I know she can do it, it's just a little reprieve as we are getting over the Great Christmas Binge!  Chocolate cake and butternut squash......with cream!  But we shall do it, we are both determined!

Geeky stats.

Club Run - Get Back Into Routine!

Hello blog lovers.

There seemed to be quite a lot of runners meeting up this evening.  Maybe they have all started back to work and found their work clothes just that little bit more snug than usual.  Or maybe because it's not raining!  That is always a good way to winkle out some of our runners!  Also I had J.J. Janet and Wendimoo, and Auriol back from the festive festiveness to help sweep and encourage the rest,

To be truthful, if I wasn't leading then I would have thought about missing tonight, my hips are still quite sore from the train run on Sunday!  That'll teach me for not stretching out properly, afterwards! Instead I just went straight in the shop and order coffee and cake!  But, I am chasing my mojo, I am committed to gaining my fitness back, and I do love meeting up with my running pals!  Of course I am going to be there!  Nothing short of a broken leg would stop me!

I was quite surprised to see so many in my group, there were 12 of us.  Including Robin who did the VLM as well last year.  She is getting back into shape after doing something to a muscle in August.  So a nice little gentle 3 miler will be ideal!  We waited for all the other groups to leave and we ran out of the gate turning right and then right again to go up Kingsway.

I had been playing around with the plotaroute web site and had come up with this pistol shaped (if your close your eyes almost shut!) route.  It made me chuckle as I thought of names that I could come up with for the route, 'We're Gunning for you Fat Cells'  'Ok Shoot, We're Ready to Run"  'Let's Shoot Up Here'.  It was uncharted territory for me though. And I looked, I studied, and I said out loud  to myself the names of the roads that we were going to be going  to be running along.  I have a lousy memory, so anything that can help get the route firmly and safely filed in my brain cell will help

The first half of the route is easy for me to remember, it's on my side of the railway lines, and it's the roads that we have done before. Some of the ladies with me don't know these roads, they will be feeling lost, exactly how I am going to be feeling once we go back under the railway lines!

I was feeling the pain in my hips.  When I say pain, it's an ache!  It's not a crippling pain.  And I think it is all down to not stretching properly, longest run for some time, all those extra 'ounces' I have around my middle......bottom........top.....chin(s) are not making it easy either!  I have joined a new group the PWR.......Petts Wood Reducers!  We post pictures of scales (optional of course) but we do or at least we will post the pounds lost, as an encouragement for all of us!  So I am hoping that in a few weeks I will be at least a couple of pounds lighter!  And the miles won't be so telling on my body!

We finished the route on the 'Jingly Jangly' side of Petts Wood and so for the 'Crinkly, crinkly' side.  This was the bit that I was going to have to think about, and picture in my mind the route that I planned earlier!  We were going up a road that I don't think I have ever been on, or at least, not that I can remember anywhere.  But before that as we were running along Tudor way, one of the ladies noticed that we were 'heading' towards the rec.  She started to get her sprint on, but after I replied to her 'Yeah, that is the rec, but we are not going that way!'  she laughed.  I was thinking that maybe I was a bit cruel to 'dangle' the last road that we would be running on in front of them only to tear them away and run along St. Johns instead!

When we got to Willet way is when I needed to really try and remember which way it was to go.  I even resorted to getting my phone out to try and see the map from the Facebook page.  But this is Janets neck of the woods!  When she asked me which road I needed I said "I'm not sure, but I need to get to Ladywood Ave.  "Oh ok, so it's this way up this road, or it's Greencourt"  "Yes, yes that's the one" I said.  "Oh!" came the response.  She then said that this road was the steeper of the hills! Meh..... we can do this! We're PWR's!  So I sent them all up, running at their own pace, whether it's slow, fast or even walking, but I will see them all at the top!  I walked, along with one other! After that I was back to knowing where I was again.

We got Petts Wood Road and I noticed that we had a couple of faster runners among us, some that could be encouraged to run at a faster pace for the rest of the run.  It's was all downhill anyway, and then right into Crossways.  So Robin, Wendimoo and a couple of others set of at a slightly faster pace while the rest of us just finished off the run at our own speed.  We mingled in with Group 1 as we ran down Crossways and so both group 1 and 2 all finished the evening with the usual stretches, and I must say, a must!  Boy is it a must!

A great run today, just getting back out there are all the over indulgence is good!  Geeky stats.

Train Run - 2015

Hello Blog lovers.

My first run in 2016, so my longest run of the year so far! I like that.  It was also the wettest, and muddiest!  It was train run time!  Running with my fabulous running buddies doing the annual Train Run from Knockholt/Sevenoaks to Petts Wood.  For some reason we had to travel from Orpington due to some sort of track maintenance and I was so pleased that the Old Boy said he could drop me off there!

The crowd grew and grew as we waited for the train, the usual queueing for the loos before getting on the train, and that included me.  I don't know what it is, but things like this just sends signals to my bladder to 'get ride of everything!'  Not usually on a Tuesday evening run, or a Thursday morning run!  Strange! We piled on the train taking up the whole carriage, here this is us!

Everybody!

Jenny In the purple

Illustrious leader, second left

The buzz was brilliant, chatting and laughing, on a wet morning on a train at 9 in the morning!  Have you ever heard it happening on a commute into London Monday mornings?!  No, I don't think so!

It didn't take long for us to get to Knockholt, only a couple of stops, so we really didn't even get warm and cosy, and not feel like getting off! It seemed there was a record number of PWR's today getting off at the Knockholt stop this year.  I am sure it is over half of the runners that met at Orpington train station!  I am sure its usually the other way around.  In our group there are quite a few 'debut' Train Runners, including Jenny from group 0!  This really is a just 'come along for the ride......ok....run and have some fun' style run.  It's an introduction to cross country running and also a great way to 'test' the waters for any races that may take your fancy!  If you can do this run then you can do any of the Grand Prix events!

Here's a picture of the Knockholt Crew!

The Knockholt Crew

There were going to be two groups but were will be breaking away after about 2 and half miles, so for now about 40 of us snaked our way out of the station and along London Road, lead by Illustrious leader with SingstarJo running along at the back with us.  Crazy eh!  Most people who are able to stay in bed, under the duvet would still have been there.  Some may even have got up and got ready for church (I said my prayers as I ran along!) But here we all were out in the rain, in the middle of winter, albeit a mild one so far, running for fun!  I smiled as I remembered what the Old Boy said to me this morning when the alarm went off "Stupid idea!, its raining"  Oh don't worry, he says it about his own 'fun days out" as well, getting up while it's still dark to go fishing, in a boat, in the middle of the sea...... ok a few miles from shore.......with his friends!  Rain or shine, he still goes!

The run along the A21 was soon over and then it was time to go cross country, a path way through the housing estate, not quite off road but compared to running along the A21, tons better.  At least we probably wouldn't come across any 'free range swine' going this way! (News in yesterday that pigs had escaped and closed the A21 for 5 hours!)  Jenny was smiling, even with the rain, she looked quite determined.  I was sure she would be quite surprised when sees just how good this run is to do, and totally thrilled that she had done it!  But for now the miles won't even notice, mainly because of the struggling up the hills! But shhhh we don't talk about the hills!

See, we were running!

I had forgotten just how much I like running this route!  Yes it's tough and of course it's early morning, and I have to miss church, but I do like running this route.  I was looking forward to the running across the field, that would be interesting!

I was at the back of the group with SingstarJo, Jo, Auriol and Jenny.  We all just ran along with a bit of walking as well.  It was soon time to break again into two groups.  SingstarJo took the breakaway faster group just after we got to Green Street Green, up the hill, up Old Hill!  A horrendous hill! Very slippy, through the woods along the bridle path. But I think that is the last of the horrendous hills, just some undulations after that!  We took another catchup (we already had one early)  in the middle of the field, which was the top of the hill, about 3 miles in.  This is us....

I told Jenny just how far she had gone, she said "Oh don't tell me!" I think she didn't really want to know how far there was to go!  But the fact was, it didn't feel as if we had already done 3 miles, with less than a Parkrun to do!  The miles seem to have disappeared, been eaten up by us, and we were still there smiling!

To me these last couple or so miles seem to fly by.  Jenny was starting to feel it after the next mile. I just kept her spirits up and we chatted and ran side by side.  Running on the roads through the housing estate didn't seem that far.  By about 4 and half miles we were back into the paths. You gotta love our area!  Busy roads, housing estates, and then country side, winding paths and open air!  All within half hour of the big smoke (London)!

By the time we got to the Cinder Path we again a broke into yet two more smaller groups.  Illustrious leader taking he sedate running back the last mile and me run/walk at group 0 pace till we get to Saints and Sinners, and let me tell you, I am going to be a complete sinner, I will be having cake, and a big cup of Mocha coffee!  Healthy life style starts tomorrow!

So for the last little bit back to Petts Wood high street, we just enjoyed the rest of the run, using the lamppost system to keep us motivated.  We caught up with Auriol along Tudor way and we three finished the course together.  Back at Saints and Sinners for that nice little treat!

Now, he is a little anecdote. Saint's and Sinners were not expected about 15 or so hot, wet, sweaty ravenous and thirsty people to patron their establishment this morning.  And I do believe they were a bit inundated with orders of coffee, cakes smoothies and like.  It seemed we were waiting ages for them to take the order,  take the money, fill the order, and then serve the order.  There more people arriving as SingstarJo's breakaway group (who actually did a couple of extra miles as well!) started to come through the door, as well as regular customers and a trio of cyclists.  Our very own Heleana decided that enough was enough and then said to the two lads that were working to just do what they could do and she would serve the tea and cakes!

We were absolutely astounded, but they got on with it, "Who's the tea with cake?" called out Heleana and she served the rest of the Knockholt crew, as she gave out orders to the two guys working!  What a great time we had in that cafe!  These are the two guys who were serving this morning!

Saint's and Sinners staff

Fabulous run!

Here's the geeky stats and some more photos at the end of the blog, Most photos I have poached for Ka, I hope he don't mind!  I have sent him a kind message asking for permission!

Heleana third from left, unofficial S & S staff!

Horrid Hill

really horrid hill

Just arrived at the cafe

Still waiting for tea and cake!