Parkrun #18 - Black Park

Parkrun #18 - Black Park

Another big Parkrun gap, another prompt from Heather to get out on a Saturday morning.

Robert, Heather and Reddon at the start

I am slightly injured, but doing a Garmin coach program for 5k and it is working well. I'm also doing some strength training for my left knee - also working I think. I'm not fit yet, but getting there.

We went to a new Parkrun - not too far away in Black Park, near Slough. I'm now a Parkrun tourist I think!

Not knowing what to expect, I seeded myself badly at the beginning. There were a lot of people going slowly, and my average pace was as low as 6:30 min/km in the first 0.5km. I had to try and race past people, weaving in and out, and finally got to my target of 5 min/km after 1km.

Things went well after that. I found some space, and could run my own pace, and the leafy paths were fairly flat and even.

My HR kept steady, and my pace kept going up, settling around 4:48 min/km. I felt a twinge in my right calf at around half way, so concentrated on running form, and it went away.

With 1km to go, I felt I could push a little harder, and tried to pull away from some of the people around me who I'd been running near for a while - it's funny how even minor places are important in a race.

I did get away, and sprinted for the line, which happily took me into the top 100.

Happy with my time 24:12 - faster than last year, and on target for 22:30.

Place 96th out of 632 runners - easily the biggest Parkrun I've done.

Links

Parkrun

Strava

Flickr (c) Fred Ashford

Parkrun #17 - Maidenhead

Parkrun #17 - Maidenhead

I've had a two year Parkrun gap, and though some is down to injury (I've done little running for a year) it is also because Saturday mornings are difficult for me now.

But my friend Heather is in town, and we talked about it and agreed to meet up for this one.

It was a nice morning, not too warm, and the usual 300+ people turned up.

Heather wanted to run her own pace, and I wasn't sure of mine, so we agreed to meet at the end.

I thought I'd start steady, and see how I got on, so avoided a fast getaway.

My natural pace seemed to be around the 5 min/km mark. My heart rate went up fairly fast to the low 160s and I decided to slow a little to let it settle down. This worked, and then in the final two kilometers I gradually pushed it up again, but only increasing the pace a little - I am not fit enough to do more.

I finished in almost exactly 25 minutes, which is well down on previous runs. But my knee did not hurt so I'm happy enough. More fun than running on my own. It was nice to see Heather enjoying it too as she has only just discovered Parkrun and this was her 3rd in 3 weeks.

Place 54th out of 335 runners. Time 24.56.

Links

Parkrun

Strava

Parkrun #16 - Maidenhead

Parkrun #16 - Maidenhead

Hot on the heels of Portrush, only two weeks later I'm back at Parkrun.

This time it's my 10th time at Maidenhead. I needed to do a swim at Bray Lake, so made sure I finished in time to pop next door for this. I didn't feel much like it after swimming 1km, but it was good to see if my 'warm'-up would be successful.

I was aiming for a steady run, starting without a customary sprint, and just see how I feel. I didn't want to pressure myself into pushing hard, as I want to try to enjoy the runs more.

My pace in the beginning was good. I had run the previous day, but I felt ok.

The field quickly spread out, and I found myself behind three people pushing buggies. They were fast enough, and in fact overtaking and pulling away from me.

The ground was firm and dry, an unusual thing for me in Maidenhead. I like it.

I didn't wear my hat, and just shorts and t-shirt, and was glad as I started to heat up.

After the first lap, I noticed my HR was now higher than usual, over 160, and going up. I maintained a good pace, and steadily overtook runners one my one. I even passed the buggies, one in the final two-way section as he was jammed in by a slow runner we had lapped.

Happy to finish, and a little surprised I beat my Portrush time.

Time 21:51.  25th out of 334 finishers.

Links

Parkrun

Strava

Parkrun #15 - Portrush

 Parkrun #15 - Portrush

After the race

After a long break of over a year and a half, I finally got to do another Parkrun.

On holiday in Northern Ireland, and hoping for good conditions, I wasn't disappointed. It's always a bit windy by the sea, but the day was not cold, and not raining, and the breeze was fresh, but not strong.

I drove down by myself, and got the time wrong, again, and was far too early for the 9.30am start.

Read my book, and had a little warm up.

Got a free sports drink from some company doing a promotion - bonus.

I'm quite fit, and working on a 5k plan, but I've not hit the speeds I would like in training yet. I expected somewhere between 22:00 and 22:30 - which is a kind of self-fulfilling prophesy.

The start went well, and I cruised down the beach with the tail wind. I think I took it s bit too easy, and even held back a little, to give me a half way average of around 4:20 min/km. (I'm now monitoring my speed in min/km rather than min/mile). That would translate to my target time OK. 

Having held back, I hoped I'd have enough in the tank to push against the wind and not lose too much time running along the beach to the finish. The third to fourth kilometre was a bit of a mess, but I caught a big group, and once past didn't want them to get me again, so I kept going. I was tired but finished strong, and even caught someone near the line who had overtaken me around the half way point.

I came 36th overall, out of 317 finishers - almost top 10%, with a time of 22:15 (only 1 second different from my last Parkrun!)

Strava link
Parkrun link

Parkrun #14 - Maidenhead

Parkrun #14 - Maidenhead

New Year's Day 2020 and a special Parkrun - the 250th one at Braywick in Maidenhead.

I'm living a it further away now so it's not my closest (that's Bracknell), but it started at the later time of 10.30 am which was good after a late night yesterday.

I met a load of Evo members, Stuart & Rob, Barbara, Alan, Rich and others which was a surprise. It was good not to be on my own for a change.

I started well and got a good position without any real congestion - some of those behind me said that the 600+ people, some with buggies and dogs, made it hard to get any speed up and there were even places where they had to walk.

I was hoping for a time of 22 minutes, and so slowed a little after my 6:45 min/mile initial pace down to a fairly steady 7:15. My mental arithmetic was wrong though, more later.

I saw Izzy just ahead of me and David Dyer who is one of the course directors. I felt quite comfortable and was confident that I would be fine to keep at this pace until the finish - I've done a lot of running recently and am getting better at pacing.

Izzy pulled away, but David slowed a little on the back straight and I overtook him. A short time later though he went past me again! I overtook once more on the back straight - again, and then approached the small hill at the end of the second and final lap. speeded up and overtook a few people. A new left turn at he top of the hill approached a circular run round to the finish chute. With 100m to go I overtook a runner who did not want to be overtaken - I really had to sprint my hardest.
But even with that sprint and my pace improved to 7:06 I was still outside my 22 minutes goal, at 22:14.

I came 45th overall, out of 625 finishers.
Strava link
Parkrun link

In hindsight, I should have set myself a 7 minute mile pace, and I probably could have done it for the sub 22 minute, but I didn't want to suffer so much, and I'm happy I had a good run. I was 2nd Evo - Izzy was over a minute ahead.

Parkrun #13 - Bracknell

Parkrun #13 - Bracknell

A longer gap than I wanted since the last Parkrun, which was April in Northern Ireland. That's over six months! It has been a pretty busy time though, what with the house move.

I've been doing a lot of off road running in Ascot recently, and noticed that this Parkrun, being my nearest now, has a varied terrain, more later on that. There was some rugby match on TV this morning which everyone was talking about. There were also a lot of race cancellations due to high wind and rain. It was obvious then that I'd pick today :)

After a short drive I easily found the start. It wasn't much fun getting out of the warm car, but I had my thin waterproof, and hat, so I was OK. I did a quick jog around a bit of the course - up a muddy path and into some trees. It was warm enough for shorts, but I knew my legs were going to get dirty.

I joined the newcomers briefing, and discovered this was an two lap clockwise route, replacing an anti-clockwise 2.5 lap one. A good day to come.

Despite the slight drizzle, I decide to run without my jacket to avoid any overheating.

We started running slightly uphill, the same way I'd practiced in fact, and having not seeded myself properly I had a bit of overtaking to do on the narrow path. Into the trees and I'd just about found my place. It was fun, if slow, weaving through the dense wood, with deep pine-cone matting underfoot. Back out and into the wind and rain again we approached the start pavilion, and went past it down to some football pitches through the soggy grass.

Completing the approximate figure 8 we got to lap two. I had slowed a little by now but by the end of this ascent and back in the trees I picked the pace up a little and overtook a couple of people, even though I got hit in the head by what must have been a falling pine cone. I gained one more place just near the pavilion before going on for the final section.  I kept this position until the finish.

I just kept going, looking over my shoulder a little occasionally to make sure I wouldn't be caught. I gained on the man in front, but had no fight in me to chase for one more place. The varied terrain of muddy path, waterlogged grass, and bed of pine cones saps your leg strength.

I expected to be about 20th, so was pretty surprised not only by the distance (my watch said 1/10 of a mile to go) but also by being handed token number 11. I'm told the course is the correct length, but GPS watches get confused in the trees - I'm prepared to believe this.

After the run, view of the start/finish pavilion, and part of course

I came 11th out of 201, with a time of 22:21. Admittedly, lots of faster runners probably stayed at home and watched TV. Still, it's my best time this year!

Strava: Link
Parkrun: Link

Parkrun #12 - Portrush

14/04/2019

Semi annual Portrush Parkrun time.

Dropped Lyra with my Mum and drove down with Anna.

It was bright and breezy - very breezy, with gusts of 40mph - and around 5 degrees. Quite cold so I wore my light waterproof. over a t-shirt and shorts.

Bridge

The tide was out so there was a good hard surface of sand; I went for a quick warm-up down the beach. There is a small river of water going down to the sea, and a little bridge is placed for people to use to keep their feet dry. I decided I'd use it.

The start was directly into the wind - I went straight for the bridge, which was a mistake. It took me up the beach a little away from most of the runners who decided to risk wet feet. I didn't have the any and would have been better hiding behind some people to save energy.

It was really hard and I was slow. My HR was about 160 bpm as I slogged my way up the beach towards the White Rocks, but my minutes per mile were way down. It took me 12:51 to get to the turnaround.

Some runners

Finally the wind was on my back. I took some advantage of this, but my legs were tired so not as much as if I'd been fresh. Still, it was interesting, and in places I felt like I was running down a steep hill. My HR stayed at about 160 bpm, then with 1/2 a kilometer to go I pushed for home and got it up to 170. My return time was about 2 minutes faster than going out.

I came 35th  out of 232 runners.with a time of 23:46 (one of my poorest results). Last year I was 29th with 21:51 (278 runners) so maybe it was just the wind that I can't handle as I lost all my time there.


Links Strava
Parkrun

Parkrun #11 - Maidenhead

11.08.2018

Up early on a Saturday morning and a bit of a rush to get everyone ready for the drive over to Maidenhead for our first family Parkrun.

It was a bright and sunny day, maybe even too warm even at 9am.

We met a group of other buggy runners, and the organizer of the Buggy group.

I wasn't going to try to be in the front at the start, but this was probably a mistake. Due to some earth works, there is only a narrow passage now to get through to the main path, and I got stuck for a while with no way to overtake. Not pushing the buggy into people's ankles is difficult, and I had to walk at times. Anna and I ran together for a bit, but then I saw a gap and pushed Lya into it and lost her.

After my slow start things got better, though it was still quite variable where I needed to overtake, or where I ran up the small steep hill - pushing was hard and a little slippery there.

Happy to finish my first buggy Parkrun - the time 26:01 (79th out of 279) doesn't really matter much. Anna beat 30 minutes again with 29:48.

Links
Strava - Link
Parkrun - Link
Photos on Facebook group

Parkrun #10 - Portrush

28.07.2018

We were lucky with the weather today. Rain overnight cleared and thought it was cloudy and a little windy, conditions could have been a lot worse.

Anna and I went down first so that we could have a bit of a warm up. Carol and Jon arrived a bit later but still in time. It's actually 3 years since we all ran Portrush Parkrun together.

I wasn't going for any records as I haven't really run fast for a while. I know it's easy to say after the event, but I'd expect to be able to do around 22 minutes.

It's 2.5k out along the beach, and 2.5k back. I was doing OK on my average speed by the turnaround, though I could feel myself slowing. On the way back I seemed to be running with two other men, none of us willing to let the other gain any advantage. I pushed a bit harder, or so I thought; my speed was still going down. This is perceived effort working it's magic.

One of my rivals dropped back a bit, the other was on my shoulder. It's always amusing to see mid or low ranked competitors trying to outsprint each other for what is not really a very important victory - one place in a race that doesn't matter. But when you've spent 10 minutes trying to outrun someone, it becomes vital to win that meagre prize. I pushed as hard as I could with about a minute to go - there wasn't much left in my legs, and I have a feeling the other guy just didn't care and let me have the place anyway.

The rain was beginning as I finished, and Carol and Anna had to complete their races that way.

I came 29th out of 278, in a time of 21:51

Anna did 29:45 and was pleased to beat her target of 30:00
Carol did 25:12, and Jon did really well coming 5th with 19:35

Results
Parkrun here
Strava here
Flickr 1 2 3
There are photos on Facebook, but I haven't bothered to track them down for this blog yet.

Parkrun #7 - Maidenhead

24.06.2017


Over three months since my last Parkrun. Saturday mornings are difficult.


It has been a very warm week with record temperatures, but today was a bit cooler and there was even a very slight hint of drizzle. Perfect conditions.


I met my friend Hank at the start, doing it with two of his kids. We got a selfie.


There was a new start line, further back from the path where we all funnel into a small space. This is a good idea, it gives the field a chance to spread out a bit and reduces the bottleneck effect there.


I started well, and as usual only looked at my time after about 1/2 a mile - I was on 6:45 minute mile pace, quite surprised. Some days you feel good, and some days I find it a struggle to do even 7:45 pace.


I relaxed a little, and didn't lose any speed until the start of the second lap. But then I picked up the pace again and finished strongly.


A new Maidenhead PB of 21:40, and very close to my best Parkrun at Portrush of 21:33


Quite pleased with this - maybe I am getting fitter. Have to do 10k at London Triathlon though.




Links
Strava
Parkrun
Flickr 1 2 3 4 5 6 - maybe a few more small ones in the Maidenhead Parkrun group

Parkrun #6 - Maidenhead

My aim this week was to get a faster time than last week, and to still be in control. I managed it.

I had a Nutrigrain bar for breakfast with a coffee, and then a gel 20 minutes before the race. I did a 5-10 minute warm-up run. This is probably not enough. I might go earlier next time and warm up for longer.

The ground was very wet, and I got a bit bogged down at the start and wasn't in a good position tactically. By the time I reached the straight where it opens out, I was a good 10-15 seconds behind the pace. But I'm not sure it really matters that much, as I'm running to average pace. I watched my speed, and noticed I'd settled quite comfortably into 6:58 min/mile - 10 seconds faster than last week.

I maintained my pace as well as possible - it was very hard to get past people, due to the mud and narrow paths, and this slowed me down in places. I went a bit fast around one corner and nearly slipped in the mud. I tried to get past one man near the end, who saw me, speeded up and blocked me - very annoying as he just slowed down again and I went past anyway, but it messed up my flow. But I kept to approximately 7 min/mile all the way.

After the final bend, I sprinted for home, feeling good, and finished at 6:57 min/mile pace. I was very careful not to let the person sprinting behind me get past and take my place, and I didn't sneak in front of the woman ahead even though I could have done - she was running fast on the back straight and overtook me, and deserved it.

Result 21:57 - 19th overall out of 252.

Links
Strava
Parkrun
Some photos on Flickr include me