Look At That - Another Nugget!

Hello readers.

Oops I did it again!  I went on another solo run!  I had to, I had cake today! Oh my goodness, it was delicious, but I am glad I only had a small slither of a piece!  I am sure that would calculate to a 3 mile run, I am hoping it does anyway!

I was home early again today, so just as on Monday, no need to waste the extra time, get my gear on and get out running.  I am still finding it hard to go running on my own, I used to do it all the time when I first started.  I think I have just become way to comfortable running with my mates, although that is the most bestest thing about running and belonging to a club!  But we all do still need that extra little bit of discipline, just to make ourselves get out there and do it.  Keep up our own expectations of what we want......or in my case just to get back to what I used to have!  Far too long being way to comfy!

I decided to go to Normans park again, I still wouldn't trust myself to not take the short cuts to get back home if I just ran around the streets, 'as I am there I might as well do the full 3 miles' is what I think.  The park was busy, I am sure the same family I saw on Monday had just arrived to do their evening walk with the little un.  There are runners and walkers, people sitting on the grass chatting and others doing keep first with personal instructors.  And of course the doggie walkers.  Then there's me!  I give my self a chat as I walk along while my Garmin connects to the satellites, I tell myself "You can do this, just don't beat yourself up, have fun, if your knees hurt just walk,"  All the things I would tell runners who are struggling or coming back from injury.  I think the best bit is 'not beat myself up' if I don't do what I set out to do.  The three miles is going to happen, but the run 4 minutes walk 1 could change as I do the three miles.

My Gamin connected just as I got to the MenCap coffee shop, I started my Jabra with my music playing and the started to run.  My legs are feeling a little heavy, but I expect that, I have done 3 days in a row now!  Rest day for me will be on Friday, and maybe Sunday, we will see!  But right now I am looking up the long straight wanting it all to be done and dusted.  I am going to do the summer route of Bromley parkrun, so going across the field and then back again, just so that I only do 2 laps.....and a bit!  As I was running along I felt like I could run for longer than the 4 minutes I set my Garmin, but I knew that would last (already thinking negative) so I made sure that I did my 1 minute walk, I was just a few feet from second pavilion on the long straight when the walking section started. I really wanted to keep going, just so that I was passed the pavilion, but I am being sensible. "Remember your knees Old Girl" I reminded myself, so I started the walking.

So far so good, Jabra reminded me to speed up when I was walking, the music that I was listening to through Spotify was spot on for bpm!  Matched perfectly to what I had set up on Jabra.  A few times the voice in my ears told me to 'Slow down to reach your target pace!" I do like it when it says that.  When it tells me quite a lot of times to slow down I will change the pace!   That's how my run went, I kept focused on my music, trying to match step for beat so that I wasn't concentrating on the actual running.  It worked well, a little too well because I ran right through one of my 'walking minutes'.  I did struggle towards the end, took a few cheek walks, pretending that I was claiming it back from the 1 minute walk that I missed out on.

I was disappointed though, to see that my time today for a three mile run was slower that on Monday, a quick reminder of my chat to myself at the beginning, about not beating myself up work wonders, because then I remembered I did the grassy bit twice this time, where as on Monday I continued to run on the tarmac for the first lap.  Slightly different terrain, I think I will have to stick with this one for all my other solo runs in Normans Park!

Here's my geeky stats.

Club Run - Jubilee Park

Hello Blog readers.

It's club night and I am leader for this week, I am leader next week too, not sure how I managed to do that (I am group 1 rota leader, messed up somewhere!).  It has been raining most of the day, on and off, but being leader is always so good for me because I have to be there!  No excuses! I can chose the route too. I picked up Tracy on the way and drove towards the rec.  We stopped outside J.J.'s to collect Wendimoo and then we all walked to the rec.

I wanted to take my group though the wood, it's what we all look forward to during Summer but I can't believe that the minutes are ticking away our daylight, but it's still just about ok to go into the woods and get out again before it becomes too dark!  I was going through Jubilee Park, it's a great route, flat, also there's quite a bit of the route that you can see sky, not just the tree canopy! It's perfect for the beginning and the end of summer time running.

We arrived at the rec and I could tell by the way people were standing that they were all listening to introducer, the one one that makes all the annoucements as well as introduce the run leaders.  I should be up there, at the beginning of roll call!  I am going to have to sneak on past them and hope nobody notices me!  I think I managed it well, as HannahH started with group 12 and worked her way down, Nailed it!  Nobody realised I was late!  Actually everyone noticed I was late! When it was my turn I gave my route, and speed, well actually I just showed them the paddle board thing that we have and said we were going at that speed!  We gathered all together and watched as the faster runners  then slower runners ran out of the gates.  There were 12 of us in this weeks group 1, some coming back from injury.  I do love it when runners coming back from injury decide to drop a group or two to get back into the grove.  I know there are some runners who decide to run by themselves first and then step back into their usual group.  I just think it would be so nice that when runners start running again, instead of running by themselves to build them selves up for their usual group then to come back to a slower group, chat to people, share experiences and encourage each other!

So we started our running, we managed to get out before group 2 who were waiting for HannahH to put all the paddles back.  Then it was forwards and upwards, well, there's not really many upwards, not that I can remember.  Auriol had said that there was a hill.  I think I must have that 'runners block'!  All runners get it, especially marathon runners.  They block out the training, how hard it is, they block out how hard it is to run 26.2 miles.  I had that, I did the London marathon twice! (notice how any who has ever done a marathon can get it into a conversation, not matter what).  I think I must get runners block about hills and things, all routes and races that I have ever done are flat......until I go to run them.  I know that the woods just inside Dog Poo Ally have hills, I know that, but Jubilee Park....nah!

Perfect for group 1 running, especially for me while I'm feeling fat and frumpy, and slow!!  I do love this route though, I never really use to venture on to 'my' side of the tracks before, but since we started using that for the Mob Matches I realised it's just so doable for group 1's to do.  We had to run through Dog Poo Ally and then we had a chat about running through the woods, you know, passing down the line when there were roots to step over, or bricks sticking up, tree branches hanging down.  Also about leaving a gap between you and the  person in front of you so that you could see all of these things to avoid!  As we were stand there another group came through, it was Pauls group, I think he runs in group 8, (remember I was just a tad late so didn't hear what group he was taking) He was most impressed with my group chat and even stopped his own group to listen and take on our tips too, I think!

We took the left hand path, which means that we will have to run over the three bridges to get to Jubilee Park, but on the way back we just run over one bridge and then take the road back to the rec.  Last time I went this way, I thought we had to take this path that goes to the right.  It looks like a corridor where the trees join each other at the top, but IllustriousLeader said no, but she apologised because that was the path that we needed, and that leads to the path with the little bridge!  This time we got it right between all of us.  I am sure I will be able to remember all of this next time I do this route.

We soon got back to the entrance to Jubilee park, with just one more bridge to cross back over and then a nice run down to Crossways and  the rec.  We had a count up, all 12 of us came back, yay! And we also all introduced our selves.  I should have done that in the beginning, its friendly!

So a nice run out, I think everyone enjoyed them selves, just a nice steady pace, plenty of catch ups (and a check with IllustriousLeader that I were going the right way).  Love club running!  Love my club, love leading!

Solo Run - No Discipline!

Hello readers

I decided that I need to just get off my ass and do something.  Going just twice or three times a week is just not cutting it anymore.  I have been having salads for lunch and dinners for a whole week now, with a nice relaxing for the weekend.  You think that would do it.  My sugar intake has gone down slightly, well, I just drink less tea and more coffee!  You thing that would do it too, wouldn't ya?  Well, this week I have lost the grand total of nothing and gained a full blimmin pound!  The only think that I haven't increased is my exercise, I need to burn off those calories somehow.   Maybe by metabolic rate has slowed down (as well as my parkrun times!) I can't really eat much less.......I love food!  But I am going to try and record every mince morsel that goes in my mouth!  That MyFitnessPal thing is going to nag me stupid to record my breakfasts, lunches and dinners like there's no tomorrow!  I am going to have to try and be totally, utterly honest with myself too, the sneaky biscuits at friends house etc! 

So this was a solo run, just me, my Garmin and Jabra .....nagging me!  I was heading for Normans Park, "Why don't you just run around the estate?" the Old Boy said to me "Because there are too many short cuts" I replied.  If I got back to my house in less than three miles then I knew I wouldn't run around the block to 'make it so' as the captain says in Star Trek!  I got in the car and drove there.  Maybe if I keep it up I can start running there. It would make it up to about 5 miles then but lets not think about that!  I am struggling getting my ass in gear for a 3 miler!  Out the car with my music already filling my ears as I get Jabra ready to do her 'stuff'.  Also got my Garmin ready to record it and send it direct t Strava!  Then I can say 'It happened!' 

I was a bit worried about my knees, there were really playing up on Saturday, so much so that I had to walk most of parkrun that day but I had a plan.  Plan a run/walk.  Don't over do it, run for 4  mins walk for 1, it's what I would advise all those who are planning to come back after an injury!  So I need to take my own advice too.  I set my Garmin up to do the run/walk like that, Jabra was in 'pace mode' where I need to run at a certain pace, and my head was set in 'Just do it' mode.  I started Jabra, it gave me a count down from 10, I started my Garmin as soon as Jabra kicked in, the music was set at 155 beats per minute, what else could I possible want!  Apart from fast feet, lighter body, fitter lungs, stronger muscles! 

As so my run begins!  There are loads of people about, dads with their kids on bikes and scooters, mums and dads pushing buggies, runners, walkers, cyclists, it's quite busy at that time in the evening.  I was fortunate that I got let off a little earlier today so that I could be here at this time!  Psychologically I was thinking I was 'let off' for an hour so don't waste it, use it!  Instead of sitting on my ass I got into my running gear!  And now I am running, looking at all this happening in the park! 

I was feeling a bit....puffed up and proud.....you know, "Look at me, I am running...on my own" type of proudness!  As if anyone in the park would give two f.f.f.f. flying hoots about that!  But it does make you try and run like a professional, in my case it didn't last long, just 4 minutes!  But my first four minutes my knees didn't hurt!  It felt good!  Jabra said "Slow down to reach your target pace" It felt good!  I hardly ever get told to slow down, well a couple of times when I was leading group 1.  But I am sure that is not going to happen on my next lead!  I am way to heavy these days!

Three laps, that's what I was planning, or 3 miles.  Three laps of Normans Park just makes me get a bit miffed, 2 laps I can do, I like doing 2 laps.  But that means going cross country, running along by the river over the grass!  Yeah, I could do that, or I could just stick to the path, saves going over wibbly wobbly grass!  That was my plan, but as you know, my plans change with the second hand of a clock! It's why I come to Norman Park to run, just so that I don't find a short cut home along the roads around my area! 

I did the first lap, then my head space kicked in "You gotta do that again! And then.....AGAIN!"  I was dreading it.  No SnappyH to chase down, no Naggy to run away from!  That puffed up proud feeling moment came crashing down!  Even with my interval run/walk style!  So my plan was to cut across country, follow the water line and back again.  It will mean I will have look as if I am starting another lap  when I reach my start point again, but then I will do a U Turn and run so that I can get to 3 miles!  Next time I will just do the Summer parkrun route from the beginning, maybe I will still to the plan! 

But I think I will pat myself on the back, just a small one, I don't want to get to big headed, after all, it's the first week done of a healthier life style!  I do crave sugar though!

This is me, just finished the run, standing by car!  I even done some stretches to cool down!

Saturday....Ooops parkrun day!

Hello readers

Can you believe it's been a week since my last run!  Not good!  There has been some very good reasons though, on club night Tuesday gone I was at my hairdressers, I didn't get out till gone 8, then on Thursday, that really hot, hot Thursday, well the evening was even hotter as I was at the Theatre watching The Dream Boys at the Churchil! Oh my goodness!  What a lovely evening!  So no running at all during last week, not even on the days that I could have done!  I was just too tired! (tired read lazy!)

So here we are up to date with my blogging.  Parkrun day and it's a special one, it's RefMichaels 100th!  Yup, there has been a few milestone runs recently.  There were a few more happening at Bromley too, Marcus's Mrs doing her 150th and at Orpington The Spencers doing their joint 50th that's so romantic, and I do believe Liz another PWR was doing her 100th at Hoblingwell!  So many PWR's and so many parkrun venues!  It's hard to not to be near a parkrun in our area! No excuses for not runnig!  Mind you today I really, really wanted an excuse to stay in my nice warm, bed!  After having the amazing week with the sun shining at it's brightest and hottest on our tiny little bit of Britain, we are now paying for it with the thunder and lightening and the rain!  It was coming down pretty hard this morning, I was cussing with every item of my running gear that I dragged out of my drawers and again when I put every item of clothing on!  Why is it raining?  I tell you, us Brits are just never satisfied, it's too hot, it's too cold, it's to wet, there's not enough air about, it's misty!  It's a British  thing to do, to be unhappy with the weather.  But raining now, I hate starting a run in the rain!  I say hate, if you had asked me on Friday morning (the day are the hottest day since years ago) then I would have whipped my clothes off and gone bare assed out there!  I bet you're glad you didn't meet me Friday morning then!

So there I was, waiting to see if all were going, which they were of course, what's a bit of rain, our skin is waterproof! I knocked on Shalini's door to find that she is running a tad late, so I got into my car, already soaked and drove to Normans park.  There were quite a few parking spaces when I got there, well that rain kept coming down! The walk up to the start of the park run really soaked me even more and I tried to run a bit, then I heard a voice behind me say "Hang on, we're coming too", I looked behind me and it was Loulou and Terry.  We were joined by Auriol and Tracy, we all walked in the rain to the top of the park! And yes, my Garmin, kicked in and told me I was doing exercise, another little nugget in my Garmin bank!

We found our other friends, RefMichael and CarolWithAnE, although C.W.A.E is still not able to run yet, but she is determined to get back to it!  She was also standing there with an umbrella!  After the big cheers for the volunteers and the milestone runners (I am sure we were really noisy when it came to RefMichaels name) we waited for the off!  Andy was RD this morning and he soon got us underway!

RefMichael!

I started my Garmin, started my feet running and started the negative thoughts as that first little pain in my knee said "oi, what you think you're doing?"  Yup, that's right, I am having slight problems with my knees!  It's just a pain, a sharp one second pain in my knees.  Mainly in my left knee!  I am hoping that it's because I have put on weight! Running with extra pounds hanging off me, it's not easy.  I am hoping it's that anyway, because anything else I just don't want to think about it!

In the end, I walked most of this weeks parkrun, with Tracy running beside me, I did a couple of little running sections, but I though I would be sensible, just enjoy being their for RefMichaels 100th parkrun.  I finished the run/walk in Garmin time of 47:22 and parkrun time of 48:47, still under 50 minutes, so I am quite pleased with that, plus it's another parkrun done!

Two In One!

Hello readers.

Two blogs in one today.  My computer was having a hissy fit on Thursday, wanting to download, upload or do stuff that I never asked it too!  So it was taking ages!  I will wrap up two blogs here instead.

The first is all about IllustriousLeader's Thursday evening Speed and Core training!  I arrived, with Shalini and Tracy, dead on time at 19:30, but it still appears that every one else turned up earlier, still did a two lap warm up jog of the rec, and had finished the laps, waiting for the drills to begin!  Now they are keen athletes!  My warm up jog was one to the loo before the drills started!  I got back in time for the lovely drills though, being put through our paces by the IllustriousLeader, the 'Iron fist in a velvet glove' queen!

Our first running activity was the pyramid style of running, we had teams of five, I think, and about 5 teams too.  I am sure you all know the pyramid running by now.  I.L. had put us in teams of mixed ability, I was thinking, Ok, this is going to be a competition then!  There is me feeling fat and bloated and I am going to have to try and do best by my team!  I think we cam third actually!  But oh my goodness, I did try my best!  I had forgot to start my Garmin, I only got some of the speedy pyramid runs, Oh well!  I kept it going, just so that it could calculate calories for the core exercises that we did, which were, star jumps, burpees, lunges, planks, push ups and something else which has escaped my memory!  We finished with our par luffs or relay running to those that don't know!  Groups of three, running around the rec. 

Loved the session, but I must work harder!

So we are up to date, it's now Saturday and of course that is known as parkrun day!  It was Wendimoo's 100th parkrun this morning so I had to be there.  She came to mine a couple of weeks back, even though she really didn't want to, (she was totally pleased that she did though!) and so of course I just had to go to hers.  The weather forecast for Saturday was.....rain!  I was not looking forward to getting out there in the rain.  The Old Boy had told me Friday night that it was set for torrential rain! I really wasn't looking forward to it!

I was quite pleased to hear the rain come on Friday night, maybe just maybe the forecasters had got it wrong, well, it's quite possible isn't it!  But then I work up this morning to a dark room and the sound of rain outside the window.  Darn it!  I quickly checked to make sure that Wendimoo herself hadn't cancelled it, but she hadn't, she was encouraging us all to come, she had made cake! Darn it!  The rain then got heavier! "Oh really!?" I said as I looked at the torrent of rain coming down! "Come on, Old Girl, get hard core!  it's only for an hour!"  I got my self ready, checked to see if Naggy or Shalini were coming!  They were not coming by the way!  Shalini said it was too wet, and Naggy had that work stuff that we all need to do! Everyone else was grabbing a lift with LittleJ!  So no room for me!  I wasn't looking forward to driving there. Usually it will be fine, but the road that I need to take to get into the park is closed!  It's the blimmin water mains again!  I could have gone down Chatterton road, but I thought that maybe everyone would be doing that and that road is really squishy!  So I decided to go through to the other car park by going up towards Keston Mark and then going thought Hayes!  Simples!........Nope! There was another blimmin water main gone in the middle of the road!

Anyway, I did get there, and would you believe the rain had stopped too! I looked around for Wendimoo and the girls! And RefMichael too! We all moved to be able to hear the R.D. do the announcements and milestone role call. A big cheer from us lot with Wendimoo!

Then it was the run!  I started in middle of the park, very unusual for me, but at least I got to hear the official starter say 'GO' and pushed my Garmin button to go.  We all started at once, that's me, Wendimoo, Tracy, Auriol and LittleJ, we didn't stay together that long though.  LittleJ was walking, Auriol started to pull away straight away and that left just the three of us to run along together.  We are all virtually the same pace and we kept in shoulder contact.  I pulled away a bit from Tracy along with Wendimoo, we could see Auriol just ahead of us.  There was also some Zero's to Heroes running close to us too, there were having their graduation of the new beginners, there were so many of them!  It's brilliant to see!  Anyway, me and Wendimoo running along, having a walk when we needed or wanted it, no Naggy to nag us, CarolWithAnE wasn't here, she is on the injury list!  So we really missed behaved with the walking sections.  But then Wendimoo on the last time running along the long straight found her 'inner Naggy' and started nagging me to keep going.  I was hoping the rain would start up again, I was just so warm!  It was so muggy out!  But I kept on going right to the top of the park, along the top and then it was the last short straight! 

When we was running towards the finish funnels we were chatting about the Tracy could sprint so fast!  When we do our Thursday evenings, she can even out sprint me!  Wendimoo said that Tracy once surprised her as she ran up behind her for a sprint finish.  I told Wendimoo that she had done the exact same thing to me, and that prompted me to sprint for the finish!  We both laughed.  Then Wendimoo found her inner sprinter and made of towards the finish funnels, I couldn't keep up with her, my legs were feeling like lead, they felt like lead at the beginning of the run and the still feel like it now!  Just then I had that familiar sound of running feet coming up on the outside of me, I turned my head slightly to the right and the there was Tracy! No!!! The competitiveness came over me yet again and I started sprinting towards the funnels.  Tracy was right by my side, matching me step for step the whole way! ' She's gonna beat me this time' I thought to myself, I really wasn't prepared for a sprint finish!  I almost gave up but then I heard Tracy laugh and she backed off!  I kept the pressure up for just a little bit further hoping that she wasn't going to find a second wind because I was truly done it!  That awful 'sick' feeling was just creeping up, I knew if I pushed just a little bit more I would be heaving as I went through the funnel!  She didn't catch me.....but she wasn't that far behind!  I am sure next time she will do it!

My Garmin time said 41:44.5 and my official parkrun time was 41:45!  Not bad for accuracy, there's something to be said about starting near the official starter (you can push the button at the same time)  Still a very long way to my pb.  Must try harder!

Club run - Group 1

Hello readers.

Group 1

Tuesday evening, one of my favourite times.  It's club running day.  Running with PWR is the only that that keeps me motivated to keep on running, I am just so glad I run with the bestest club around!  Auriol was in the lead today, as was established in our Whatsapp group.  Also Naggy made her excuses to not run today.  #she was not budging for her decision, but Shalini did!  She was first to put up in the group that she may  not be going!  It's too hot shes says!  Nah, that is not a good excuse or reason from not getting your running gear on and out of that door!

Me and Shalini drove to pick up Tracy and then we were off to the rec.  We saw SnappyH just entering the rec as I parked drove up the road to park the car.  Wendimoo was just coming out of J.J.s house ready for our run.  It's great, all gathering at the rec.  We are such a big club now, there are loads of us.  I decided to stay in group 1, especially after the week holiday, I also ran yesterday, so its all good.  I was glad to see Dee there, me and CaroleWithAnE had persuaded her to come along to a Petts Wood runners club night.  Third time now, a fully paid up member and enjoying it! Running with a club really does give you motivation.

Aurial took us on the usual group 1 route around the woods.  We only do 3 miles in group run, so we are kind of restricted to which paths we take that will add up to the 3 miles.  But it doesn't matter, because just running through the woods is just what is needed.  It was a bit mugging in the woods, SnappyH had put up a reminder in our Facebook page about 'Jungle Formula' insect repellent.  It's smells disgusting but I brought it along and sprayed myself one we got out of the car!  We will only have to suffer the smell one way!  But I think it was totally necessary, I would have been breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea, snacks and binge eating for the bitey little blighters! I shared with my friends too!

I opted to sweep, I like to sweep, no matter what group I am in, group 1, 2 or 3 I opt to sweep! I feel comfortable at the back, unless I am leading of course.  I enjoyed my run this evening, just chatting and talking to Wendimoo, Tracy and some new faces too.  Our cub continues to grow! My run today, wasn't particularly fast, but it was such fun.  Love club days, it reminds me of why I continue to run!

Three miles done this evening, over a lovely route with some very lovely people!  What more could anyone ask!

Auriol with her girls!

<iframe src='https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/embed/3852421281' title='Club Run - group 1' width='465' height='500' frameborder='0'></iframe>

photos from Auriol

Monday Kicking Ass

Hello readers.

It's been a while, I've been away.  I took my running shoes, my leggings, my running pants, my sports bra and my club top on holiday too.  They had a lovely break in the different places from here to Lands end. I am sure my running gear had a lovely 10 long day rest.....in my suitcase!  That's right, I didn't even get them out!  So now I am back, (got back yesterday) and now I am at least 100 pounds heavier than I was before I left!  It was such a lovely break!  I promised myself that I would get my ass back in to shape......not this floppy ass that I have now!  There is only one way to do it, and that is......Just do it!  I can't rely on this magic potion or pill to be created by the scientists that will make us all super fit and healthy and slim!  I just have to go and work hard at it! 

I thought about going out this morning, but with 10 days worth of washing to do, it didn't happen, besides I really am not a morning person!  So it was this evening that I had planned to do something.  Fortunately for me, Naggy text the Normans Angels group to see if anyone wanted to go for a run.  Company, it's always good with company, not that we run at the same pace, but we travel together, we talk on the way there, we encourage each other, we can see each other at various parts of the park.  It's just better than being by yourself.  We both bought our music, Naggy also brought along Benji too, he is getting used to these runs now, and I am sure he is beginning to love them.

Because I've been away we had a lot to catch-up on and so we walked that first bit of the park.  From Hook Farm end of Norman park to the play park at the other end.  Benji was in need of a run, he was not happy about this walking malarkey and wanted to run, so Naggy had to go just before we got to the park!  I quickly got all my gadgets up and working, my Garmin......did I tell you I bought a lovely new one......and my Jabra ear phones with my music playing..  I started to run just after the park.  It's not going to be three miles, but I might try and make it a bit more than just two laps by doing the parkrun route of going across the park by the water!  I expect Naggy would be doing her planned 3 miles of running, if Benji is up for it!

So that was it. two 'B' shapes of the park, I am including my little walk in this bit, if it's recorded it happened!  Of course that goes the other way, I did a load more walking on my holiday than is shown on my Garmin site, but because we stopped and sat, and looked at all the fantasitic places, and looked out at see, well, my watch just did not pick it up that I was being that active!  Oh well.

So, a 2.40 mile run with a .28 warm up walk to begin with, not quite three miles, but not bad for a start....I need to continue now!  Thank goodness for club run tomorrow!

Heres my geeky stats..

<iframe src='https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/embed/3848653952' title='Bromley Running' width='465' height='500' frameborder='0'></iframe>

Club Run - Leading

Hello readers.

So, this mojo of mine, as I said to Illustrious leader today, I am dragging it kicking and screaming back from the deepest darkest depths.  On my Garmin calendar, this is the 9th 'green' activity recorded with my new watch.  I have it set up that it knows when I am walking and so it will switch itself on all by itself.  I also went out running yesterday for 3 miles, with Naggy,  just for 'shits and giggles! No other reason, just because we wanted to!  Brilliant!  Plus, it looks so good on my Garmin calendar these days!  My running sections, however,  I do need to push the button to start , which really I prefer to do, just so that I know it is recording it! And besides, we all so look professional all poised with our finger in the button!

My mojo really just has started to show again, just  look at my calendar and see that even walking for 10-15 minutes a day is an activity, it is good for me!   I am feeling pretty proud of myself at the moment,  Todays run is the 4th run in a row!  So, yup!  Mojo is around and probably got half a smile on!  It was my turn to lead this week, I do like leading.  I had a couple of routes planned.  One involved the woods and the hills the other was a nice flatish type of route, with just one hill, which was the bit on the road before going into the park.  When I found out that I had IllustriousLeader back to running I decided that I would do the flat route.  Mainly because now, I knew I wouldn't get lost as she knows this route!  It's the mob match route, through Jubilee Park.  From the rec, doing just one loop of the mob match route and back to the rec it will take us to 3 miles, a perfect distance for group 1.

All leaders at the front, told everyone where they were going and how fast they were going, which is on the slower end of the advertised pace as it's move-up Tuesday!  Then we all gathered our runners for the evening.  There were nine in my group, including a couple of newbies.  It's going to be great run, I could feel it!

We set up, out the rec turn left and left again.  The first, and only hill coming up!  We didn't go in through Dog Poo Ally, this time, we ran along the road to Little Thrift, we were going along the path there, by the railway lines.  Up and over the new bridge to get to Jubilee Park.  I do like running through this park, it's nice and flat, it's what PWR use for the mob match route.  A 1.5 km route around the park, for the mob match they do two laps, but we will only do one lap and then run back to the rec.  That will be a perfect 5k run, nice and flat, virtually traffic free!

Getting up that little hill, well, I didn't quite do it, I turned around to see if my group were sticking together and that I wasn't going to fast and then lost my pacing up the hill......that's what I am saying, and that's what I shall tell my solicitor!  Alison managed the hill all the way up to Little Thrift!  Well done!  We had a little break there just for a minute and then back to running through the ally to the stairs.  Now, decisions, do I suggest they run up the stairs or not!  The thing is, I can't ask them to do something I am not willing to do, so I ran up the stairs!  The other 8 runners all copied me and ran up those steps.  I think there must be about 14 or so steps up!  I was blimmin hurting by the time I got to the top step!  I did tell everyone to walk down the other side though, I didn't want anyone falling down!

The park, Jubilee Park, is beautiful, it's local and it's where we hold our mob match!  I realised I could use this on a group 1 run when I did the match back then.  I just knew it would be perfect for us.  I wasn't that confident running around Jubilee park and the first time I did it I got lost!  Of course when I say lost, you can't really get lost, you just end up in a place where you didn't want to be!  I knew the first half, it's straight down the path, in by the car park and through the gate on the left!  From there it's just follow the path, until we come to this cross way in the path.  I remembered from last time that we had to turn right and run along there till we passed the chair and the information sign will be on the  right!  It was all coming back to me!  I did have a little bit of a wobble, thinking I had to go straight along, but we had to do the sharp left turn here!  It was all coming back, yes, it's all in there, it just needs dragging out!  A bit like my mojo really!

The next wobbly bit, was coming up.  I think last time, on a Thursday morning run, I took the left path, I should have just kept on going, straight, straight, straight!  That is where we will stumble upon St James school.  See what I mean about not being able to get lost, lost, because we will always pop out of the woods or park at some place where I know! And being Jubilee Park, it's near to my house then Petts Wood, Hawkwood ad Scadbury!

My Group were loving the route, we were all together and keeping in a nice tight group even though on a couple of occasions I was actually running a tad faster than I should have been for a move-up Tuesday!  But then, when we look at the average it will be just fine....probably slower than we should be going!

IllustriousLeader had to tell me where to go on just a couple of occasions, I would certainly have gone the wrong way if she wasn't with us.  I think doing this route one more time and it will be in the old grey matter upstairs, I will be like a local!  Hang about.......I am a local!

Anyway, we got through the park, no problems, all back safe and sound, we did some cool down stretches, with the walking group that came back with us, and reminded them all again about next week.  So, PWR's if you are reading this, remember Mob Match next Tuesday, meet in Jubilee park.  Try and register during the week to make it so much easier for the ground crew!  And most of all......have fun!  Running is for fun as well remember!

Here's our geeky stats.

100 Parkruns!

Hello readers.

Saturday was a special day for me, it was my 100th recorded parkrun!  That is 312 miles, 500.115 kilometre!  I have actually done a few more parkruns than that, but sometimes I had forgotten my barcode (who hasn't done that!) and sometimes I was with the beginners, encouraging them, where I started running with them, then decided to take pictures instead!

But on Saturday I decided to do my 100th, on the hottest day so far of the year!  Who does that!  I came prepared ......well prepared for after the run I had cakes, Naggy had to supply me with water for the run, when I went over to her house first thing!  I had forgotten to bring it with me!  It's a hot morning, even at 8:30, I just knew it was going to get even warmer, the weather maps have been showing red bits all over our area!  Shalini came over to Naggys and we all left for Normans Park. I had bought chocolate cake and some butterfly cakes (not homemade, either of them) and CarolWithAnE had made some delicious chocolate brownies!  I was looking forward to those.  I was thinking that the maltesser chocolate cakes would be all melty by the time I get back to dish them out!

Once at the park we walked over to the pavilion to, cakes in hand.  I put

them inside the building, underneath the seat, hiding them away from the faster runners!  I wasn't the only one doing a mile stone run, SingstarJo and NatalieC were doing 300th and 200th respectively!  I just wish I had got together with them at the end to get a picture of 100th, 200th and 300th parkrunner milestoners!  But check out the picture towards the end of the blog!  You can see how come I didn't go and search them out!

These are what CarolWithAnE made these

Once we had put our cakes away we walked over to the start, by the play park!  We are back to the summer route of course!  All the way up the other end of the park!  We were walking along and the KevTwoBalls said "Come on Old Girl, you got 90 seconds to get to the start"  We had to do a warm jog to get there!  But we made it in time, to hear the RD read out the names of all those doing their milestone runs!  Lots of cheering for the volunteers milestones, the junior members doing their 10th and then the 50's, 100's, 200's and 300's!  It really is an achievement.  Some people have reached their milestones a lot quicker than I did.  I ran my first parkrun 8 years ago, 22nd April, 2011, 5 months after joining Petts Wood Runners!  How do I know that, because I think that day it was a mob match, it was also how I found out about this whole parkrunning business!  I still didn't do that many back then, it took a while before I was hooked on getting up early on a day when I could sleep in late!

I am waffling, just so that I don't have to tell you about the run!  It was hard, so hard, I was so warm,  feeling fat, flabby and totally unmotivated, trying to get my ass around the course, in front of hundreds of people was tough!  But I was still doing it!  Aiming to just finish with a smile on my face and not to throw up in front of hundreds of people.  But, I was still doing it!  That is what I will take from parkrun no 100.  Eight years on, I was still doing it!  CarolWithAnE ran the whole thing with me and with Wendimoo too, reminding me all about the achievements, reminding me about how without PWR CarolWithAnE and RefMichael wouldn't be out here, just doing it!

The last lap Tim'HeadBand' joined with us and he ran the last part of the course with us, from the pavilion back to the pavilion,going around the park, just not along by the river! It really was a great 100th run, not great as in a great time, because to be frank, it was pathetic!  But great that I was doing it and sharing the day with my running buddies, NaggyNeighbour CaroleWithAnE, RefMichael, Auriol, and so many more!

This was me, not a pretty sight and the end, but I soon rallied around and made a little speech.....just look at this!

So parkrun no.100 done, 44 minutes plus!  But I did it!