Since the company I work for recently introduced flexitime to my working conditions, I decided a good use of this month's bonus day off would be to do the Serpentine 'last Friday of the month' 5k. OK, it wasn't on the last Friday of the month this time, but that was an enforced change this month due to Nelson Mandela's birthday celebrations in Hyde Park on this event's normal running date.
I got the train from Hitchin, got a bus across the city (so I could look out of the windows, unlike travelling by Tube) and found the bandstand which acted as the race HQ - but not before I met Anna Priestley, who had also travelled from home to come to the race. As we waited for the regular runners to turn up (which they do at the last minute) we wondered what we were doing there... not in a negative way - but why travel specially from North Hertfordshire just to run round a park? Still, it was a lovely sunny day, so I was very much enjoying being there rather than at work.
The route - you'll never guess - took us around the Serpentine, on park paths wide enough to cause no trouble to the general public. Other park users were going about their business, but there was a disappointing lack of confused tourists or disapproving businessmen having their lunch - perhaps we just weren't that unusual. One particularly hard part mentally was at the halfway point, where we had to run past a tempting-looking ice-cream stall - and there was a short hill at about 4k that could easily have finished off an unsuspecting runner (Anna warned me about it beforehand!).
The route was well signed and marshalled - it looks like it's quite a slick operation, since they practise it every month, and all in all it was very enjoyable. I got round in 17:33, which was fine. After a swimming session earlier in the morning, Chris finished in 21:29. Unfortunately Anna didn't make it round - after tangling legs with another runner she ended up with impressive cuts and scrapes in the second kilometre and had to abandon. (Afterwards, we didn't reprise our conversation about what was the point in turning up...)
I was the only runner wearing a North Herts vest (the Priestleys were in rather nice kit designed for Chris's company) - and that's where my negative comments start coming in: I thought this was a well-attended event by our club, with talk of runners meeting up in the pub for a lazy afternoon afterwards... perhaps I'm a year too late for all that, since the 'pub posse' don't seem to do it any more.
At only £2 to enter you get a very nice, friendly, well-organised but low-key event, which would be perfect for those of you who work in London... but I think I'll only do it again if I know a crowd of other people are going.
Monday, 23 June 2008
Monday, 16 June 2008
MWL3: A picnic in Welwyn
The midweek league races seem to be coming thick and fast, since they're only a fortnight apart. Keeps the excitement level up, which is good - and it really sounds like a lot of people in the club have little else on their minds! We like leagues - it's a shame we only ever take part in them at this time of year or with cross-countries in winter.
So race 3 was hosted by Herts Phoenix in Welwyn Garden City, using a course we know well from previous events by both Herts Phoenix and Garden City Runners. Plenty of car parking in Gosling sports centre, and changing and showers there too (important for me this week since we're getting the bathroom re-fitted).
No HQ as such, but since the rain held off it was fine staying on the green - more of that later!
Only a 5 mile race this time, which shouldn't feel much different from 10k but it does. You've got to go faster, for a start. I felt OK but not great, although this was probably more due to a busy day at work than my recent race exploits.
(Of course, that's nothing compared to Lindsay's trip to the race, where she turned up at full speed about 2 minutes before the start, but I'll let her tell you about that.)
Since it was a two-lap course we knew exactly what to expect the second time round, which is always useful. I was starting to flag a bit after about three and half miles, so it was lucky that James overtook me at that point to do a bit of pacing. The best part was the little sharp hill by the side of the A1, where at the bottom we were both in front of a little group of runners, but at the top were so far ahead of them they were nowhere to be seen (it's that 'strong hills' thing again). I don't know why, but for some reason Lindsay thinks the idea of me and James bounding up a hill side by side is very amusing - arms and legs all over the place, like some kind of angry octopus.
There were marshals at all the important points on the route, with only minor road crossings unmanned (and that certainly didn't bother me). Due to the lack of an HQ, Herts Phoenix came up with the excellent idea of giving out packed lunches from a gazebo on the green - a bag of sandwiches, drink, and even a bit of cake to eat at work the next day. The results, when they came out the next day, were what we've grown accustomed to, with one major difference: the ladies slipped into second place behind FVS due to some of our faster ladies being unavailable (a shame, actually, because the men improved a bit!).
So with one last race, there's a mountain to climb...
Pos
OVERALL
1 Fairlands Valley Spartans 1390 37
2 North Herts Road Runners 1525 35
3 Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers 1654 27
4 Harlow Running Club 2312 23
5 Bishops Stortford 2575 23
6 Broxbourne Runners 3901 14
7 Herts Phoenix 3683 9
Of course, I'm only talking about winning the league. Stepping back a bit and looking objectively, it would take a disaster for us not to get promoted back to division 1. But it's a matter of pride, isn't it?
So race 3 was hosted by Herts Phoenix in Welwyn Garden City, using a course we know well from previous events by both Herts Phoenix and Garden City Runners. Plenty of car parking in Gosling sports centre, and changing and showers there too (important for me this week since we're getting the bathroom re-fitted).
No HQ as such, but since the rain held off it was fine staying on the green - more of that later!
Only a 5 mile race this time, which shouldn't feel much different from 10k but it does. You've got to go faster, for a start. I felt OK but not great, although this was probably more due to a busy day at work than my recent race exploits.
(Of course, that's nothing compared to Lindsay's trip to the race, where she turned up at full speed about 2 minutes before the start, but I'll let her tell you about that.)
Since it was a two-lap course we knew exactly what to expect the second time round, which is always useful. I was starting to flag a bit after about three and half miles, so it was lucky that James overtook me at that point to do a bit of pacing. The best part was the little sharp hill by the side of the A1, where at the bottom we were both in front of a little group of runners, but at the top were so far ahead of them they were nowhere to be seen (it's that 'strong hills' thing again). I don't know why, but for some reason Lindsay thinks the idea of me and James bounding up a hill side by side is very amusing - arms and legs all over the place, like some kind of angry octopus.
There were marshals at all the important points on the route, with only minor road crossings unmanned (and that certainly didn't bother me). Due to the lack of an HQ, Herts Phoenix came up with the excellent idea of giving out packed lunches from a gazebo on the green - a bag of sandwiches, drink, and even a bit of cake to eat at work the next day. The results, when they came out the next day, were what we've grown accustomed to, with one major difference: the ladies slipped into second place behind FVS due to some of our faster ladies being unavailable (a shame, actually, because the men improved a bit!).
So with one last race, there's a mountain to climb...
Pos
OVERALL
1 Fairlands Valley Spartans 1390 37
2 North Herts Road Runners 1525 35
3 Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers 1654 27
4 Harlow Running Club 2312 23
5 Bishops Stortford 2575 23
6 Broxbourne Runners 3901 14
7 Herts Phoenix 3683 9
Of course, I'm only talking about winning the league. Stepping back a bit and looking objectively, it would take a disaster for us not to get promoted back to division 1. But it's a matter of pride, isn't it?
Monday, 9 June 2008
Barton 10k
This Sunday was the Barton-le-Clay hyper-allergenic 10k - a hilly off-road event in a cloud of pollen!
Just like last year, Lindsay and I cycled over to the event. Just like last year, the weather was blazing hot, and just like last year I finished in 4th place. Well, that's the short version.
Right at the end was a long downhill stretch, which by rights should be a great way to speed up, but since my legs were so tired I didn't trust them to go where I wanted them to, so had to slow down a bit just to make sure I stayed upright.
Just like last year, Lindsay and I cycled over to the event. Just like last year, the weather was blazing hot, and just like last year I finished in 4th place. Well, that's the short version.
It's good to have a race so close that we could cycle there in under half an hour without wearing ourselves out - Barton's only 6 miles west of Hitchin so it provided a little warm-up. The race is a fund-raising activity for the village's school, and I suspect most entries were probably on the day.
There were still a few puddles around, even though it had been warm and dry for a couple of days. I can't imagine what the route would be like in the wet - cross-country spikes wouldn't be out of the question.
There were still a few puddles around, even though it had been warm and dry for a couple of days. I can't imagine what the route would be like in the wet - cross-country spikes wouldn't be out of the question.
The 10k race started at the same time and place as a 5k fun run, so the start line was full of kids who sprinted off at top speed (only to come a cropper almost immediately, since the first kilometre was all uphill - very tough. (In fact, this was the route, clockwise - just count all those contour lines at the start!). I know I didn't flatten any of these kids, so my conscience is clear.
After 2km I realised that I was going to have to contend with my legs still aching from that ridiculous 200m session we did on Thursday (the one where you keep running 200m as fast as you can until you can't take it any more), so this was an excellent excuse to look at the scenery, and try to find a pace that didn't hurt too much. Most of the way round I had this song in my head (but that's OK because it's quite an uplifting one to run to!).
Right at the end was a long downhill stretch, which by rights should be a great way to speed up, but since my legs were so tired I didn't trust them to go where I wanted them to, so had to slow down a bit just to make sure I stayed upright.
Unfortunately, there was a marshalling malfunction at about 8k, when we had to turn left off the Lilley road and head towards the finish. Well, a marshalling absence, in fact. I was in 4th place at the time, and the first 3 runners all carried on straight ahead (I know what it's like, I've done it often enough myself!). So although I didn't know it, I found myself leading the race for a kilometre or so. The first 2 guys caught me up again, but the 3rd one didn't, so technically I finished 3rd, but I don't think I could really justify accepting the 3rd place medal in those circumstances, so sorted it all out after the finish.
There was a small but friendly NHRR turnout, with James immediately behind me, and Jaime, Jo S and Lindsay running too. And here we are...
Oh yes, after Jo asked about this race on the forum I said
Good off-road race that I would have considered doing again... if it wasn't 3 days before the next midweek league race.
So what happened? Well, obviously, I changed my mind. Although the midweek league is very tight at the moment, it's really won or lost by who turns up and who doesn't. It's not so tight (yet) that an extra 10k in my legs is going to make all the difference. (I reserve the right to change my mind again if I have a disaster on Wednesday.)
So the review stuff:
Facilities - the school was 5 minutes walk from the start and finish (don't know if it had showers). The finish was on a recreation ground so families could use the playground if necessary. There was a stall selling teas, coffees and bacon butties at the end, so a big thumbs up for that!
Course - marked every kilometre, but a couple of turns unmarked, and very few marshals. In its defence, this is effectively a fun run organised by a school, so it's not designed to be organised like a 'normal' race.
Did we win anything? - Well, I suppose I gave up my prize! So no.
Friday, 30 May 2008
Letting it slip
I turned up to the second midweek league event fired up for another fun race, and even the constant rain wasn't going to dampen my spirits. Well, OK, any of you that have seen me before a race know that I'm generally not at my most cheerful at that point, and I often seem to have odd aches and pains that never surface at any other time - why is that? But I was looking forward to the next race of the league.
Until 5 minutes before the race it looked like Shaftesbury Barnet hadn't turned up. I thought perhaps they'd decided that the competition was beneath them after last time. But just before the start they all appeared - maybe they'd all been sheltering under the same tree. During the first kilometre, on the cycleway we know best from the winter 5k series, pretty much all I could see was the entire Shaftesbury Barnet men's team ahead of me - it looked like they had about 7 of the first 10 runners. So of course I couldn't see them for long.
I knew the course was mainly flat for about 4k, then uphill for about 4k, and downhill for the last 2k (OK, there's a course profile on our MWL page, but any information more complicated would have overloaded my brain). As I mentioned for the last race, I don't mind hills - the only problem with a hill so long is guessing how much effort to put into getting up it. Too fast and you're too tired to really benefit from coming down the other side. Too little and you've wasted too much time (and it's a measured 10k, after all, so there's still an outside chance of getting a PB!). I don't think I got it too wrong - certainly nobody caught me on the way up, and I very much enjoyed the sensation of speed on the way down. And it was only when I saw the clock at the end that I could definitely rule out getting my best time (even though I missed it by more than 20 seconds).
The big sports hall was a perfect HQ, and I can't comment on the showers or changing rooms because I've never used them (too close to home). The sandwiches and snacks were OK, but fell into second place behind Bishops Stortford. Not that food reviews generally form part of a race review...
So what was going on score-wise? Pretty much the same as in the last race, only more polarised. Our fantastic ladies were even more fantastic, with Tash joining in the fun this time as part of a 1-2-3-5 NHRR finish for the first ladies' team (it has to be said that it's a good job she did - without her the ladies' race would have been neck-and-neck with the improved Spartans ladies' team). But our average men were even more average, again finishing 3rd in the men's event and losing even more ground to Spartans (let's ignore Shaftesbury Barnet; we know they're going to wipe the floor with us!).
MEN
1 Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers 129 7
2 Fairlands Valley Spartans 373 6
3 North Herts Road Runners 484 5
4 Harlow Running Club 652 4
5 Herts Phoenix 684 3
6 Bishops Stortford 815 2
7 Broxbourne Runners 1191 1
LADIES
1 North Herts Road Runners 44 7
2 Fairlands Valley Spartans 60 6
3 Bishops Stortford 143 5
4 Harlow Running Club 153 4
5 Broxbourne Runners 248 3
6 Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers 325 2
7 Herts Phoenix 356 1
Why is this? Well, it looks like FVS got more runners out this time and we were a bit weaker. It really is as simple as that (but comments welcome!). So overall it's another 12 points each for each of us, but we've now been overtaken on 'goal difference'.
Pos OVERALL Score Points
1 Fairlands Valley Spartans 933 24
2 North Herts Road Runners 1022 24
3 Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers 1203 18
4 Harlow Running Club 1489 16
5 Bishops Stortford 1634 15
6 Broxbourne Runners 2394 9
7 Herts Phoenix 2377 6
But hey - it's so close that it can all change around again next time. PLEASE all come to the next race!
Until 5 minutes before the race it looked like Shaftesbury Barnet hadn't turned up. I thought perhaps they'd decided that the competition was beneath them after last time. But just before the start they all appeared - maybe they'd all been sheltering under the same tree. During the first kilometre, on the cycleway we know best from the winter 5k series, pretty much all I could see was the entire Shaftesbury Barnet men's team ahead of me - it looked like they had about 7 of the first 10 runners. So of course I couldn't see them for long.
I knew the course was mainly flat for about 4k, then uphill for about 4k, and downhill for the last 2k (OK, there's a course profile on our MWL page, but any information more complicated would have overloaded my brain). As I mentioned for the last race, I don't mind hills - the only problem with a hill so long is guessing how much effort to put into getting up it. Too fast and you're too tired to really benefit from coming down the other side. Too little and you've wasted too much time (and it's a measured 10k, after all, so there's still an outside chance of getting a PB!). I don't think I got it too wrong - certainly nobody caught me on the way up, and I very much enjoyed the sensation of speed on the way down. And it was only when I saw the clock at the end that I could definitely rule out getting my best time (even though I missed it by more than 20 seconds).
The big sports hall was a perfect HQ, and I can't comment on the showers or changing rooms because I've never used them (too close to home). The sandwiches and snacks were OK, but fell into second place behind Bishops Stortford. Not that food reviews generally form part of a race review...
So what was going on score-wise? Pretty much the same as in the last race, only more polarised. Our fantastic ladies were even more fantastic, with Tash joining in the fun this time as part of a 1-2-3-5 NHRR finish for the first ladies' team (it has to be said that it's a good job she did - without her the ladies' race would have been neck-and-neck with the improved Spartans ladies' team). But our average men were even more average, again finishing 3rd in the men's event and losing even more ground to Spartans (let's ignore Shaftesbury Barnet; we know they're going to wipe the floor with us!).
MEN
1 Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers 129 7
2 Fairlands Valley Spartans 373 6
3 North Herts Road Runners 484 5
4 Harlow Running Club 652 4
5 Herts Phoenix 684 3
6 Bishops Stortford 815 2
7 Broxbourne Runners 1191 1
LADIES
1 North Herts Road Runners 44 7
2 Fairlands Valley Spartans 60 6
3 Bishops Stortford 143 5
4 Harlow Running Club 153 4
5 Broxbourne Runners 248 3
6 Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers 325 2
7 Herts Phoenix 356 1
Why is this? Well, it looks like FVS got more runners out this time and we were a bit weaker. It really is as simple as that (but comments welcome!). So overall it's another 12 points each for each of us, but we've now been overtaken on 'goal difference'.
Pos OVERALL Score Points
1 Fairlands Valley Spartans 933 24
2 North Herts Road Runners 1022 24
3 Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers 1203 18
4 Harlow Running Club 1489 16
5 Bishops Stortford 1634 15
6 Broxbourne Runners 2394 9
7 Herts Phoenix 2377 6
But hey - it's so close that it can all change around again next time. PLEASE all come to the next race!
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
Joys of spring
I went for a very pleasant run on Sunday. Not a race (thank goodness - still heavy-legged from the MWL race on Wednesday and the 4 x 7-and-a-half minute Balke test session the day before), just a long run. It was rather less relaxing than my usual Sunday runs, since I went with Lindsay's brother Simon, who is rather fast . Luckily he'd done a race the night before, so I could at least breathe while keeping up with him.
It was a mainly off-road route, from Hitchin to Pirton, Offley, Preston (nearly) and Charlton - I hadn't run over towards Pirton for at least a year, which seems a shame because there are some nice paths over there.
The sun was shining, there was a nice cool breeze, and the fields were all bright green (or yellow) due to recent rain. Sometimes it's worth remembering that we have some beautiful countryside around here! I did struggle on a few hills, though - if I'm out running with people slower than I, then I have an excuse to catch my breath at the top of the hills. Not this time.
Towards the end we were caught up by someone else out for a run, going even faster than us. By a strange coincidence, it was someone Simon knew from competing against him, and whose blog he'd been talking about earlier in the morning (although we couldn't find it!), Dave Wardle of Woodford Green athletics club. Not to be outdone on the social front, we turned the next corner and bumped into someone I knew, Astrid, also out for a longer run, who had seen Jon Hunt, who had seen Chris Sharp and Sally Harkins, who had seen Lindsay... we were all out there somewhere!
It was a mainly off-road route, from Hitchin to Pirton, Offley, Preston (nearly) and Charlton - I hadn't run over towards Pirton for at least a year, which seems a shame because there are some nice paths over there.
The sun was shining, there was a nice cool breeze, and the fields were all bright green (or yellow) due to recent rain. Sometimes it's worth remembering that we have some beautiful countryside around here! I did struggle on a few hills, though - if I'm out running with people slower than I, then I have an excuse to catch my breath at the top of the hills. Not this time.
Towards the end we were caught up by someone else out for a run, going even faster than us. By a strange coincidence, it was someone Simon knew from competing against him, and whose blog he'd been talking about earlier in the morning (although we couldn't find it!), Dave Wardle of Woodford Green athletics club. Not to be outdone on the social front, we turned the next corner and bumped into someone I knew, Astrid, also out for a longer run, who had seen Jon Hunt, who had seen Chris Sharp and Sally Harkins, who had seen Lindsay... we were all out there somewhere!
Friday, 16 May 2008
Bring it on!
Hurrah! The start of another midweek league season!
Since we got relegated from division 1 last year, and so did Bishops Stortford, we had a chance to re-run last year's most memorable race, this year without the comedy weather. And being in division 2, that should mean that the competition is easier... shouldn't it? It certainly didn't look like that a minute after the start, when a whole swarm of Shaftesbury Barnet men were disappearing off ahead, and a load of Spartans were among them.
We've done the course a few times now, and it was as pleasant this time as before: a narrow road, a track, country roads through a village. The out-and-back course meant most of the marshals could double up, and there was even a drinks station halfway round - by no means expected for a midweek league race.
Until Statto posted this link on the forum, I'd forgotten that the middle loop of the route was so high up, and so there were more hills than I remembered. But we seem to be pretty good with hills in this club - I talked to a few people afterwards, and we all found that we dealt with the hills at least as well as our competitors. All that training really does seem to help!
I was happy with my run, doing a hilly 10k in under 37 minutes. I even saw Steve McKeown cross the finish line, although I suppose that was because we finished with a couple of minutes running round a playing field.
It's worth mentioning the excellent food Bishops Stortford put on for afterwards - loads of sandwiches and cakes, and arranged in such a way that there wasn't even any queuing. Good work!
The results are in now, and they match what our feelings were on the night: Shaftesbury Barnet and Fairlands Valley Spartans had better men's teams than us, but our women are pretty unstoppable - especially with an Astrid-Paula-Melissa 1-2-3 at the front. We could also tell that Shaftesbury Barnet didn't have a women's team. What we didn't know was how close it would be in the end. With the men's and women's scores combined, NHRR and FVS came out level on 'team points', and the fact that women's team is so fantastic meant we just sneak to the top of the table on 'runner points'.
1 North Herts Road Runners 494 12
2 Fairlands Valley Spartans 500 12
3 Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers 750 9
4 Bishops Stortford 676 8
5 Harlow Running Club 684 8
6 Broxbourne Runners 955 5
7 Herts Phoenix 1338 2
So there's a long way to go, but we'll be fine if we carry on like that. We know we were missing a few runners - hopefully we'll be able to get everybody out next time. I'm looking forward to a fortnight's time already!
Since we got relegated from division 1 last year, and so did Bishops Stortford, we had a chance to re-run last year's most memorable race, this year without the comedy weather. And being in division 2, that should mean that the competition is easier... shouldn't it? It certainly didn't look like that a minute after the start, when a whole swarm of Shaftesbury Barnet men were disappearing off ahead, and a load of Spartans were among them.
We've done the course a few times now, and it was as pleasant this time as before: a narrow road, a track, country roads through a village. The out-and-back course meant most of the marshals could double up, and there was even a drinks station halfway round - by no means expected for a midweek league race.
Until Statto posted this link on the forum, I'd forgotten that the middle loop of the route was so high up, and so there were more hills than I remembered. But we seem to be pretty good with hills in this club - I talked to a few people afterwards, and we all found that we dealt with the hills at least as well as our competitors. All that training really does seem to help!
I was happy with my run, doing a hilly 10k in under 37 minutes. I even saw Steve McKeown cross the finish line, although I suppose that was because we finished with a couple of minutes running round a playing field.
It's worth mentioning the excellent food Bishops Stortford put on for afterwards - loads of sandwiches and cakes, and arranged in such a way that there wasn't even any queuing. Good work!
The results are in now, and they match what our feelings were on the night: Shaftesbury Barnet and Fairlands Valley Spartans had better men's teams than us, but our women are pretty unstoppable - especially with an Astrid-Paula-Melissa 1-2-3 at the front. We could also tell that Shaftesbury Barnet didn't have a women's team. What we didn't know was how close it would be in the end. With the men's and women's scores combined, NHRR and FVS came out level on 'team points', and the fact that women's team is so fantastic meant we just sneak to the top of the table on 'runner points'.
1 North Herts Road Runners 494 12
2 Fairlands Valley Spartans 500 12
3 Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers 750 9
4 Bishops Stortford 676 8
5 Harlow Running Club 684 8
6 Broxbourne Runners 955 5
7 Herts Phoenix 1338 2
So there's a long way to go, but we'll be fine if we carry on like that. We know we were missing a few runners - hopefully we'll be able to get everybody out next time. I'm looking forward to a fortnight's time already!
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
No running at all
Little did I realise that the Fountains 10k would be my last run for more than a week. The day after the race I developed a cold, and couldn't do any exercise for more than a week. It's weeks like this that make me realise just how much time I'd normally spend running. And how good it is to be out and about, and how ANNOYING it is to be stuck indoors feeling sorry for yourself with nothing better to do. (Oh, and speaking of annoying, Lindsay loves telling people about what it's like to be woken up in the middle of the night by your husband blowing his nose. Got to breathe somehow...)
Anyway, I'm better now, thanks for asking. So I thought I'd go for a little run this evening to get back into the swing of things, especially since it was lovely and sunny. This was all very well for a mile or so, and after that my legs felt like blocks of stone and I started to gasp for breath. It's amazing how quickly you can lose fitness... thankfully, it doesn't take all that long to get it back again (I'm telling myself). Better ease into it a bit more gently - only a week before the first midweek league race of the new season!
I've just realised I can summarise this post with 'being ill is rubbish'. Groundbreaking.
Anyway, I'm better now, thanks for asking. So I thought I'd go for a little run this evening to get back into the swing of things, especially since it was lovely and sunny. This was all very well for a mile or so, and after that my legs felt like blocks of stone and I started to gasp for breath. It's amazing how quickly you can lose fitness... thankfully, it doesn't take all that long to get it back again (I'm telling myself). Better ease into it a bit more gently - only a week before the first midweek league race of the new season!
I've just realised I can summarise this post with 'being ill is rubbish'. Groundbreaking.
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