It's been two weeks since the Thames Trot and I have done very little running and a lot of eating! I am itching to be back training, especially as there are only 9 weeks to go until London!
The only running I have done in the past two weeks has been parkrun. Below are my write ups for Winchester and Hastings. I have also included my write-up from Hanley parkrun which I ran the week before the Thames Trot.
30th Jan - Hanley parkrun, Stoke-On-Trent - parkrun 75 at venue 36
Once again Sarah and I were away visiting friends and so I took the opportunity to visit my 36th different parkrun, this time in Hanley park, Stoke-on-Trent. Hanley park is situated to the north of the city in a slightly run-down area. The park is a set of a hillside and therefore can be classed as fairly undulating! It starts and finishes by the park’s bandstand which is on the middle level of the park. There is a first lap which consists of a short loop up to the top of the park and back down to the start, you then head back up the hill before running all the way to the very bottom of the park and around the lake. From here you then start the long and winding uphill path right to the very top of the hill. It is a really long, leg sapping climb which takes it out of your legs. Once at the top you then run all the way back to the bottom again and once more round the lake. Lastly you climb back up the hill to the bandstand in the middle to finish.
The course was challenging but varied and fun. It certainly isn’t quick, but would be an excellent training run any day of the week. The running community in Stoke is strong and there was an excellent family feel to the run. There is plenty of parking and it is easy to find. I would love to visit again when I am slightly fitter to give myself a real workout. I took the run fairly steadily and finished with 29:23.
13th Feb - Winchester parkrun - emergency course - parkrun 76
With the recent rain having saturated the grounds of River Park and various rugby tournaments and a couple of hundred parkrunners churning the ground up, the Winchester parkrun event team had decided to implement an emergency, all on tarmac, route. Unfortunately, due to the size of the park, this meant a 6 and a half lap run.
I was volunteering on set-up however due to the nature of the course there was only the finish funnel to do. Once done I went and chatted to a few other runners before listening to the briefing and lining up at the start. With each lap being around 800 meters it meant that there was lots of overtaking. I took the first two laps very gingerly but when I realised that nothing was hurting I decided to try and pick up my pace. I must admit it was a very satisfying feeling catching and passing so many people on my final 4 laps, and it felt great to be running injury free.
I was rewarded with my fastest time since last November, running 25:28, however that is still over 4 minutes off of my PB.
20th Feb - Hastings parkrun - parkrun 77 at venue 37
With less than 8 weeks to go until the baby arrives, Sarah and I decided to have one last weekend away before it arrives in April. Wanting to visit an area of the country neither of us had we decided to drive across the South Downs to 1066 country and booked a nice cottage in Sedlescombe, just outside Hastings. This gave me an excellent opportunity to visit Hastings parkrun.
Hastings reminded me very much of Weymouth; a seaside town stretched between two headlands along a beach. The prom is lined with Victorian terraced housing and the normal array of fish and chips shops and arcades.
Much like Southsea and Lee-on-the-Solent, Hastings parkrun is entirely along the prom. It is a dead flat, 2 and a half km out and 2 and a half km back route along the front that is all on pavement. And therefore potentially very very quick.
On the day there was a strong Westerly breeze making the outwards stretch a nice easy jog with the wind at our backs. As we turned we realised just how strong the wind had been and I felt myself lean into the wind and it suddenly became very hard work. The last couple of kms was exhausting.
The way back seemed to take a long time. I was starting to tire and really had to dig deep, but then I saw the finish…I tried to lift my knees and pick up the pace, however as I got closer I realised it wasn’t the finish….it was the last of the marshals and I still had a couple of hundred yards left!!!! Not wanting to lose places I pushed as hard as I could and crossed the line sounding like an asthmatic Darth Vader!
I finished with a time of 24:43, which I was very pleased with.
Next week
Next week will see me start running more regularly. I am aiming for 4 runs in the week, nice and steady, with the longest run being around 4-5 miles. Following that I will try and start adding more distance in to one of my runs each week. Aim is to get to at least a half marathon distance ahead of London.
No comments:
Post a Comment