2020 what a year

Well we are at the end of 2020 and it has been a hell of a year. Whilst it has been tough and we have had to fundamentally change how we go about our daily lives, we have overcome every challenge. I want to finish the year off by reflecting on what I was able to do during 2020 rather than what I couldn't do.... it's all about perspective 

January 

I was lucky enough to be the parkrun run director on the 1st Jan, which was the day that Hanley parkrun achieved a new finishers record of 507, with our tail walker finishing in 54:16, we have just enough time to pack everything away and shoot off to Newcastle "the Wammy parkrun", also reported their highest number of finishers at 674 (it is very flat you know).  Finally got my new turbo trainer set up in the dining room and started pedalling.  We
celebrated my birthday at the Manchester Beer and Wine Festival and with a night out in Manchester to boot. 

February 

Was about running and working, I had started a new contract with Staffordshire and Stoke CCGs, it was lovely catching up with old colleagues and meeting my new colleagues. We had a baby shower for Emily, it was lovely to see the girls again and we managed to keep it a secret and Emily was truly surprised. The planets aligned and parkrun day also fell on the 29th February, so I proposed to Sean... we take this opportunity to run on this momentous day.

March 

I made a last minute decision to run Stafford half, as there was a couple of running buddies already signed up and I thought why not, its not a bad course and there was no pressure on time. I'm still not a fan of the race finishers t-shirts but do love a good medal! I dug out my sewing machine and started to make my own masks and we moved the trainer from the dining room into the garage, which meant we could have our first ladies lunch. We celebrated Sean's birthday and welcome baby Mia to our group.

April - May

My role changed slightly to support the local COVID response, which was both really challenging but very rewarding to feel I was making a small difference. The weather was lovely warm sunny and blue-skied days, which meant a lot of the jobs in the garden could get done and running in the Sun is always fun. Sean found a novel way to stop his bike and in the process also required a trip to the walk-in centre and now needs a new bike 🤦🏻‍♀️ 

The sun was still shining, the skies still blue and we celebrated VE Day with our neighbours in a socially distance fashion, which was lovely. parkrun bingo was a thing and I did it! I took advantage of the lovely weather, our new sail and moved to outside working briefly... It was too hot and the laptop couldn't take. 

June - July - August 

These were a bit of blur, but the weather was still fantastic and we were getting plenty of use out of our lovely new back garden and enjoyed soaking up the sun. Trying out new recipes and finally getting a hair cut!! I got to meet Mia and Emily, Jen and Liz in the park, which was lovely to see their faces in person.  We also took a long walk around Bakewell!!

Sept-Oct- Nov

We brought a campervan and managed to get a week away touring around the Lakes, Carlisle and Scarborough and getting to know the latest member of our family, Vincent!  We also got another week away in October down to Devizes, the weather had finally turned and October was rather damp and a little chilly.  We brought a fantastic awing for Vincent, which was nice and roomy and although larger it was much easier to put up and they're no more disagreements.  We visited Bournemouth, Bristol and Bath, out of the three I much preferred Bath. In November we took Vincent out for another trip this time it was only 

Dec

Well December and the holiday season has been quiet, but I have managed to smash my 2020 running and cycling goal. I'm not going to lie training has not been fun this last could of months, my mojo has taken a bit of nose dive. This year I decided to run up to Christmas Day and I even got to run a couple of these with Sean when he let me.  Christmas was quiet, with two zoom calls with both families, which was nice and might be the future!  

Anyway I have had a blast, it might not have been the year I would have chosen, but it is the year we got dealt and I played my part, not only as part of the local COVID efforts but also by keeping my distance and washing my hands at every opportunity!  

Here's looking to a much improved 2021

FOMO? Oh No!

So we are in the month of February (just) and all my running buddies are clocking up the miles, the long mile runs are getting longer and I'm in a reflective mood thinking about last year when that was me and I can't help wonder if I'm suffering a little bit of Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO)? 

But as my "long" run of 10 miles loomed yesterday and the snow, sleet, rain and wind battered my window I decided that NO, there was definitely no FOMO. There was even some bargaining with myself that, as next a half marathon was not until May my run could even be shorter, as there was no 'real' reason to run 10 miles!! 

The miles ticked by, the weather was still deciding between snow, rain, sleet or all three and then the turning point loomed on my run, I could either turn for home (with 7 miles in the bank) or carry on and get the 10 ticked off... Being type A,  already being wet and cold, I thought how bad could it be!! 

10miles later, with the help of a great audiobook the 8th instalment of the Peter Grant series and quite smug of my multitasking by ticking another book of my 20 books in 2020 challenge,  I was back shivering at my front door dripping all over the mat and looking forward to a hot, steamy shower and a nice cup of tea! 

Finally, I thought it would be a good opportunity to update on how my Dad is doing for anyone who has either followed by rambling for the last year or had the pleasure (cough) of running with me in the last couple of yeats will have known that my dad was diagnosed by with Bowel Cancer in late 2018. He went through very tortuous treatment with enduring both radiation and chemotherapy, which was why I decided to run Edinburgh marathon last year to help fundraise for Bowel Cancer UK. 

His initial scans after the treatment were encouraging and he was put on a watchful waiting list; this means scans every 3 months to ensure that cancer remained in remission. 18 months on Dad is star patient, he remains cancer free and back to his usual fit, healthy and of course annoying self and we would not want him any other way!! 

Both him and mum are looking forward to the weather picking up a little so they can get back in the van and touring around the UK and Europe chasing the better weather. 

Thanks for turning in to my ramblings

2019 - it’s a wrap!

QUICK STATS: run 1,565miles, bike 477miles, swim 59,230 yards. Races 7 

parkruns 30, parkrun volunteering 25, different parkruns 8 and fastest parkrun 23:57

January-  Ran the New Year's day parkrun double at Hanley and the Wammy; joined Derwent Running Club as a Social member, to help with my Marathon Training when it starts. We had the annual Family New Year's day meal and realising how much my nephews are growing up and a lovely birthday surprise weekend in Manchester for a cheeky parkrun and a visit to the Manchester Beer Festival….oh and how could I forget a haircolour change!! 

February - My marathon training began, my long runs were getting long!! WE had a girls night out to Bingo again, unfortunately, our luck had run out but we had a great evening catching up and it was the month of my best clean joke for a long time!  "I had a hen who could count her own eggs…..she was a mathemachicken"

March - The long runs keep coming and the aim is to run 18 miles before our week long holiday in Mexico, which I manage not once but twice so I could go away safe in the knowledge that 1 week of lower mileage would not hurt the training too much. Had a lovely week away in Mexico, we were testing out a few theories this holiday..was Mexico too far for a week's holiday, how was Cancun compared to Playa de Carmen and could I pack for a weeks holiday with just hand luggage! The holiday was both informative and successful in terms of our theories, the responses were; yes, no Playa is nicer and yes!! So no more waiting at the carousel of doom!

April - Early in the month means that I was getting into the tough weeks and my longest runs were coming up with a 20 one week and 21 mile a week later running to my parents' house on a very hot bank holiday Sunday!   It didn’t get any easier but knowing they were behind me was a comfort and that my miles would start to decrease helped to lift my spirits in the final mile. We decorated and swapped rooms around in the house, the carpet that had been down since we moved in finally went and both rooms got spruced up!  Our collective weight loss is becoming more and more noticeable and we had to take 8 bags of clothes to the charity shop!!

May -Can only mean one thing Marathon Month, but before the Marathon, we had the Market Drayton 10k and I managed a very respectable time of 50:29, I had secretly hoped for sub 50 but that wasn’t my A race so I let it go and carried on with the taper which should have been easy at a lower miles however it certainly didn’t feel like that.  Then before we know it were heading up to bonny Scotland and finally the marathon is here! 4hours and 3 minutes later and 26.2 odd miles and I crossed that finish line and yet again vowed to never run another marathon again…but I still wanted to run

June - After all the build-up, miles and hours put into training I was able to diversify my training again and with a Pool based sprint triathlon scheduled for September I needed to get back in the pool again que the 5:30am starts and being in the pool for 6am!

July - we are in the holiday season and we were heading back up to Scotland first to go to Rewind 80festiveal in Scone with another cheeky parkrun tourism and the commencement of our Scotland road trip in the campervan, we visited some lovely places and I got to swim in a Lido which was another first for me!

August -  The Hanley park renovations have finished and we could finally run the course 2B and start to use the bandstand again, shame they never did put the sides on it so we could use it as a shelter during the occasion wet Saturday parkruns….final bank holiday of the year before Christmas was an excellent opportunity catch up with friends and walk/wander and stagger the  Hartshill beer mile 

September- after much discussion about house renovations we decided to that wanted to update the garden and make it a haven to come home too and spend time in during the summer months (should we actually get some nice weather) so our GRAND DESIGNS garden work started and finished! I ran the Great North Run again and had a blast this is one of the best half marathons and one everyone should run and I closed out the month with the North West Sprint Triathlon.

October- We had a quick running weekend away to run the Bilbao half marathon and if it hadn't have been long I'm sure that I would have got a sub 1:50 but that is Brexit for you…also the realisation of the over the last couple of months starts to dawn on me that my running has really improved recently, my times are coming down which is great !

November- There was a brilliant weekend away with the girls to Wales and we saw our first snow of Winter 2019, we participated (very hungover) in Pont y Bala parkrun  and I finished in a very respectable 5th, to be fair there were only 24 people and we made up a third of them! I managed to actually get a 10 mile PB at the Derby 10k which I was really pleased with, but then got injured right after it!! Oh and I finish my contract in Nottingham and start to look for my next contact as well as updating my project management skills

December is all about going out with friends, catching up with friends and spending time with the ones you love! Oh and I ran my fastest parkrun in 6 years!!

Heres to 2020 and whatever not only the new year but also the new decade holds :) 

Running around Bilbao city at night!

As promised here is my recap on the Bilbao half marathon, this will be my 2nd night time half marathon, the last one was 3 years ago in Las Vegas.  Most would think that running down the Vegas strip with no traffic would be amazing but I was in my "I don’t like running funk" so it was all a little bit meh which was not helped with me being ill at the end of it.

Anyhow....Sean found night time half marathon and flights were only a couple of hours, so we signed up and hoped for good weather, surely in Spain, the rain stays mainly on the plane right…

Following our arrival on Friday evening, on Saturday we found ourselves exploring this quaint City as we used Sean's soon to be patented "Google-Zen-maps" for the Race Expo and scoped out the race start…no it's over here or is it here.  Once we finally found the start area and got it locked in for later we headed off for a nice cosy Italian to help fuel us for the evenings run and replenish us from this morning's roam around the city and 13,000 steps!!!

Not necessarily the right preparation for a half marathon, but it was done, so we meandered our way back to the Airbnb for a quick relax, with the dark skies looking very foreboding.  As we dressed for the race and made the decision to catch the tube to the race start to save our legs and stay out of the rain for as much as possible, we emerged from the tube in a haze of deep heat to the race start area which was heaving and bumping out Queen way up to 11!

After a long queue in the short loo line, we said our goodbyes and headed off to our race starting pens. The rain had been coming down in fits and starts although, it seems to stop just before we headed off, which I hope would be the case for the rest of the race. They released the fireworks and flames over the starting arch we were off. I wasn't sure what my race strategy was going to be, the GNR had gone better than expected and felt that a sub 2 again would be on the cards again Then the first mile clicked by 8 min🤔 a little quick, slow down or the wheels may come off.

As we ran through the city streets my pace did settle down for the next couple of miles and it was lovely to see people out cheering us onwards and upwards with Vamos and rapido, the City looked very different at night and now in the rain, we pressed on. 

Only now as I'm reflecting on my pace and race, it's clear that after halfway I sped up considerably, I don’t remember it being a conscious effort on my part but quite clearly, from the splits I had decided enough was enough and let's get this over with.  However, there was the realisation at around 11 miles that I might be able to actually break 1:50 for a half which has been unheard of in the last 4 years!! Although, as the bleep on my watch signalled 13 miles,  then 13.10 miles the finish was not in sight and then as I rounded a corner I could see the finish and the clock said 1:51:47 my official finish time.

Great North Run Re-cap

My Great North Run POST it was a bit longer than intended…sorry!

As you will have seen from my last blog post I have run GNR 4 times in the past and this was to be my 5^th time. We travelled up on Saturday after a fast spin out on the bike for me and a cheeky parkrun PB for Sean, having been to the race a number of times before we decided to skip the expo/ pasta party and our only aim was to get to Start Fitness for some new trainers and possible new kit!

So after a brief stop for lunch, we arrived in Newcastle dumped our bags and hurried out of the door to StartFittness three shopping bags later with two pairs of new trainers, new bike helmet and a few other essentials (honest) we headed off some pre-race day hydration via Brewdog. 

The lovely thing with it being race weekend is how many people there are in the City, now to be fair I have never been in the City when it isn't GNR weekend so that might be normal vibe, although perhaps race weekend does mean that the number of people wearing GPs watches, trainers and previous race t-shirts…. after sampling a couple of ciders and watching the world go by it was back off to the hotel and chill out for the rest of the evening. 

To race morning, if you are stopping in the City Centre you do get afforded a bit of a lie-in, as the walk to start is around 20 minutes, and that is mainly because it is so congested with people.  Having so many people around this does help in terms of determining “which way to the start” my advice would be to follow someone who is wearing at least two of the following, you are going to find yourself at the start of the GNR:

• compression socks,
• clean bin bag,
• running shorts /tights
• technical t-shirt
• superhero costume,
• fruit fancy dress costume
• trainers

This start is a specular feat of organisation, this year there were over 54,000 people taking part and I would imagine for most of us trying to organise a party with around 20-40 people is enough to give you palpitations, so taking on 54,000 is not for the faint-hearted!!

We found my starting pen easily enough (Zone C) and I joined the nervous throngs of runners, some stretching, other biting their nails, talking selfies and talking to friends.  Next was the warm-up and then the countdown and finally the claxon went off, as we edged forward at walking pace Sean walked/jogged alongside the fence until I passed the start and then I was off…..

Ooh look a portaloo with no queue!!! Quickly detour off and pause Garmin…back running again. My main objective was to keep to around 8:45 mile pace and try not to head off to fast at the start which is downhill and very easy to get swept along with all the excitement.

  

With a target time of sub 2 hours, my steady pace should get me there, I the 1:50 pacer came up alongside me so it was decided to hang out with him for the race.  Which is pretty much how my race went, we yoyo-d a bit in terms of being ahead of each other and my plan was to run in the middle of the road that way it was easy to dash left or right if there was a need to overtake or dodge someone randomly stopping!

My middle of the road strategy was good until there was this realisation around mile 7 that I had missed all the ice pops, following a quick correction and a detour to the left, there was an ice pop was in my hand within minutes.  Three ice pops later had the desired effect, my pace was back, core temperature was down, legs and body were ready to tackle John Reed Road around 10 miles in.

Before we knew it we were heading down to the seafront and the long mile and a bit to the finish, at one point there was a little wobble and it felt like someone had swapped my head on to a different body mid-race, but just as quickly everything came back to me and the finish was looming fast…throwing my hands in the air as I a crossed the finish line, which a chip time of 1:53 which was will within the goal going in! 

If you have never run this race, it is well worth the trip up North at least once, the people of the North East come out in their thousands to support this race, there is so much additional aid and support give out to the runners; from ice pops, jelly babies, jelly bean, sweets, oranges, beer to very much needed on this day sunscreen! You will never enter a race where there are so many people willing you along the way offering encouragement and support all the way so from me a very big THANK YOU.

      

Personally,  there are so many other races I want to run so I’ll leave it another couple of years before venturing and allow others the opportunity to enjoy the amazing atmosphere and brilliant race.

Next is my triathlon on Sunday and the Bilbao night half marathon in October!

Love a good stat or two

As the Great North Run edges ever closer, I’ve been thinking about my previous half marathons and times, which then lead me to review  my power of 10 page. If you are registered with a club it means you have an UK athletics number and the majority of your races times are logged on to run Britain and also the power of 10 which is a great resource. Check out the links to see your own results.https://www.thepowerof10.info/ sometimes they do struggle to find international races times but some of mine have made it on there.

This got me thinking I’ve run GNR 4 times what was my fastest, my slowest and the average??? The scores on the doors are: fastest  1:44 (2013 #purplepatch), slowest 2:09 (running with a friend and having a blast) with an average of 1:55:13, not too shabby. The average finish time for the famous race in 2015 was 2:12:19.

I’m not one to leave it there, so I delved deeper in to my half marathon stats:

Total half marathons: 40 

Same race multiple times: 8

• GNR, Potters arf, Robin Hood and Stafford *4
• Birmingham *3 
• Brighton, Cardiff, Liverpool *2

Counties covered 7: England, Scotland, Wales, America, Spain, Portugal, Ireland

City run in: 11: Birmingham, Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh, Las Vegas, Lisbon, Madrid, Manchester, Nottingham, San Francisco, Santa Monica

Fastest  1:42 (Nottingham 2013) 

Slowest 2:25 (Stafford 2016) 

Average 1:55:31

Total official distance covered 524 miles 

Total time run 77:12:05

Now I’m running unattached, meaning I’m longer attached to a running club, it’s a shame to think my times will no longer be recorded under my name and being able to access this type data will disappear. Perhaps it is time to join a virtual running club, but which one to choose…. 

Walking wounded

September was not my best month!  It started off well with a lovely relaxing week in Ibiza which was my first week off since forever…well last year really.  Then I came back ready to get focused carry on with the swimming, cycling and getting down to some serious training before my key race Robin Hood half marathon.

And that is where things started to go downhill; since forever I have been thinking, talking about cycling to my parents' house. I have run it many times and the last time, I ran along the cycle route and I was excited about trying it out.

The short version of this story is that I had a collision with a Bee; which made me I fall off my bike, had to be rescued by my knight in shining armour, get patched up by the angles at the Walk in Centre and then be ridiculed by my friends and family alike (once of course, they knew I wasn't too badly injured). I really can’t wait for the ambulance chasers call me up with "had an accident that wasn’t your fault" :)

So due to my injures this meant I wasn't able to go swimming, because of the nasty open wound on my elbow, and it was a perfect excuse not to do any speed work… I fell of my bike you know

My next calamity happened because I just wasn't thinking; as I mentioned earlier my key race this, but it had been demoted to get around and survive.  The main reason for this was that I simply hadn’t put in the key running sessions what with, training for the triathlon, the falling off my bike and always taking the easy option on club night. 

So race day came and although I felt  undertrained, I was well prepared in terms of kit…no missing running bra or running trainers this time - that was a relief. Little did I know at the time I had already made my biggest mistake of the day, simply by putting my bra on!

Now your running bras, ladies, are like your trainers after around 300-400  miles they start to lose their elasticity and you need to replace them and this was the reason that I had chosen  today of all the days to were a new running bra, this was not only new new but really new as in a new model I had never worn before…..YES I KNOW I committed the mortal sin of wearing something new on race day. 

For the first couple of miles all was good….however after mile 3 I was in serious trouble, by mile 8 was agony and despite asking every one of the St Johns ambulance  crews on route no one had any Vaseline to spare :( 

Although I was very uncomfortable to say the very least, there was a reminder that there will be other people who might be having a worse day; case and point was right in front of me a lady who err umm how does one say this…was having a worse day than me and the evidence was running down the back of her legs.  I have to say this did spur me on a little if not in the least to get away as no one wants to be caught on camera with that in either the fore or back ground.

My last few miles were very uncomfortable and I admit the thought of taking my bra off did cross my mind, but the damage had been done and the best thing I could do would be to get to the finish ASAP, take the dam thing off. But if you have ever suffered with third degree chafedge you know that taking the offending article of clothing off is not the end of the story, there is the horror of the shower and putting clothes back on! Needless to say the following weeks after Nottingham were very uncomfortable and not very supportive ;)

What followed for the rest of September was a terrible sore throat, followed a week later by a stinking head cold. So I can honestly say that it September has been pretty shitty really, in terms of my health!

I am approaching October optimistically :) watch this space

Unplugged...the key to enlightenment

For the last few years I have been playing with the idea of unplugging from recording and measuring all my fitness activities (running, cycling, swimming, walking).  Ever since I took up running I have recorded every element of my run and dutifully added it to my spreadsheet, before the advent of Garmin Connect or Strava. It was great watching my mileage grow each week/month and watching my average pace per mile decrease over time.  I watched myself go from a regular 10:30 min mile pace down to 7:50 ish with glowing pride and sense of achievement….

However, what I once enjoyed soon turned sour, and that little screen on my watch dictated how I felt about my run, likewise not achieving a certain distance each week (30 miles) made me feel lazy, unfit and a little down.  Which is ridiculous when you think about it, a given pace or mileage should not determine about how you feel about a run, that should come from within rather than from a little device on your wrist.

This is the reason that I unplugged! Now, many of my running buddies are real statos (you know who you are) and they love to know the distance, the pace per mile, splits, HRM, oscillation, VO2 max, which moons were in alignment during their run and they were shocked by my little experiment, and was convinced that my head to explode the first time I went out without my Garmin (they weren't alone in thinking that). ***

But I am happy to report that my head stayed on my shoulders and didn't explode! I've been unplugged since the 1st September and run or cycled 11 times which includes a race.  I would have been on the biked and swam more however, there is story they which I will share next blog.

SO the BIG question is; do I feel more enlightened now I have undertaken this little experiment? To be honest I don’t really feel any different…. I think I need to acknowledge a few things a move on

1. I like data
2. I like recording information
3. I need to stop setting targets
4. I need to set targets based on my current level of fitness ( I didn’t really mean point 3)
5. I should stop comparing myself to a time in the past when I was always getting PBs, summers were sunnier, I was 1 stone lighter and it always snowed a Christmas
6. I should enjoy whatever exercise I do, because it normally means I'm with friends, I am prolonging my life (barring any major accidents see the next blog)
7. I have been coveting my next triathlon GPS device for the last 27 days
8. If I forget my watch it won’t be the end of the world, my run/ride/swim will still count even if it isn’t on Strava

 

I am really sorry if you came to this blog expecting from profound message about how running without devices has set me free and how everyone should do it….it took an unexpected turn for me as well!!

*** other than Olly Clarke he said I could make it!

Much ado about nothing

Well I haven't blogged in a while mainly because there has nothing really to report!  But on reflection in 4 months I have run 6 races, entered 2 more half marathons,1 10miler around Donnington Park 1 5k in Dublin (running for bling!)

Maddog 10k, the 1st race of the year.  It is a great race early in February so the weather can be rough! And this year was no exception; basically we ran in to a head wind for the 1st 2.75 miles then you turned and run back with the wind behind you for the last 2 miles.  You can see from my mile splits the effect the wind had (8:30, 8:37, 9:14, 8:23, 7:51, 7:18)

Angelesey Half, my first race of many races which are going to take me outside of England (I know that this is a bit of a stretch, but we call it artistic license :) ) I had no plan going in to this race other than enjoy it.  I was that laid back about the race as I was still in the line for the Loo as the gun went off!  I took my time and jumped on to the back of the field and just ran the race steady, it was quite night nice picking people off as you through the field.  The race was very scenic you start on the world famous Menai Suspension Bridge and then along the coastal road in to Beaumaris Castyle and beyond, then a switch back and back along the coast road and finish in the town which means you get to see the dragon twice!!

Stafford Half, I hadn't planned on running Stafford Half, I haven't run it for a couple of year now, not really sure why as it is a great race which starts and finishes in the town centre and you had great support, but I kinda feel

been there and done that.  But I had a couple of friends who were running it as part of team Lucas (in memory of a very brave little boy call Lucas Williams, who was taken too soon)  so I had agreed to run with them and support them on the way round.  It was Sarah's first ever half marathon and was my pleasure (as her coach) to run with her and make sure she had everything she needed.  I had the most fun not only supporting Sarah but everyone who was in my orbit was getting some much needed Coach K help!

Dougie Mac 5k, Sean loves running this race and this year they had brought it back to the original route, which is out from Wedgewood, around the village and back.   This year I deceiced to join him.  As I am in Marathon training I decided that I would run the race easy and then add extra miles on the end. Little did I imagine that I would win it, which was a very nice surprise.

Market Drayton 10k, this has also been a firm favorite race of mine and it is fast becoming a firm favorite.  I think this year there was 5,000 runners taking again it is one of those races were the weather can play a big part, this year it was very very warm, but again I do like to run in the sun.  I hoped to get under 50 minutes but with the weather it wasn't going to happen!! It would be have been nice to beat my Maddog 10k time, but unfortunately I didn't have the wind helping the pace.  With great organisation, brilliant support and a fantastic goody bag it had been voted as one of Runners World best 10k for the last 4 years and you can definitely see why. 

Liverpool Half this is my most recent race and the 1st of my 3 Rock and Roll half marathons of 2016. Again it was another warm day out.  I have run a half in Liverpool before but this was a bit of a different route; we had longer in the city which was nice although I am sure there is a hotel with a statute of Billy Connelly I am sure that it isn't but I can't remember the hotel name so I can't even check.   Then as we were trotting along, we disappear up a little side street and a rather short switch back and I thought why are we going up here, surely they could have just move the start and finish a little…then as I reach the top of the switch back and there was music blaring out and then the penny dropped…you might be there before me but yes we ran up and down Penny Lane.  The finish was long coming but I managed to put the hammer down at the finish and made it under the 2 hours.

Work wise I have moved contracts, I seem to have left London just as the city was coming to life..... thats about right !!  But I am now working closer to home which is nice, I get to sleep in my own bed every night, see my other half every day and get to run with the club again! The commute is pretty simple and a little tedious but it is only short term, so I can cope with that.

The two races I have entered is Robin Hood Half which I have done 3 times and Birmingham Half which I think this will be my 5th time.  It should be a good few months race wise we have: Stone St Michaels 10k, Donnington 10miles, Potteries Marathon, Thunder run, Dublin 5k and half, Robin Hood half, Birmingham Half and finally Las Vegas half marathon!! 

Can you fool yourself in to being positive

So it has been a while since my last blog; NO I have not fallen off the face of the earth, NO to a life changing lottery win and NO I have not found my fame and fortune on Britain’s Got Voice Factor. The past couple of months have been a little be meh’ when it comes to running and finding things to blog about.  I normally come up with my blog titles and themes during my runs, but I have been drawing a blank recently. 

At last tonight’s running club post run 'chippy tea' a fellow runner asked me if I have been injured as they had not seen in a while, I thought about this for a minute; said no the physical injury but yes to a MOJO injury!  Can you injure your MOJO? I am not sure if it is burn out, fatigue or just simply a bit of a slump but when I’m not running I think about how great it would be running but then when I’m running I just want to stop and crawl under a rock. Strange but true, having said that I have just recently run the Great North Run and the Nottingham Half marathon, so although my MOJO is telling me to stop, my iron will is keeping me moving forward! 

Something positive

can you see us ?

I really enjoyed the Great North Run (GNR) this year; this wasn't a target run for me, that was Nottingham, so I had offered to pace Emily to a personal best, Sharon who was also running GNR had said that she would jump on the pace bus for fun.  Everything was going well and we were hitting the splits, but it was getting hotter and hotter, unfortunately this was not suiting Emily and she was struggling.  So we decided to change tack and we slowed down a little and made sure that we catered to her every need, raced off to water /refreshments stops and making sure she was hydrated, keeping up her spirits with lots of positive re-enforcement and generally enjoying our run with those around us! It was fab, we all crossed the finish line holding hands and with smiles on our faces. I have to say that I was one race I thoroughly enjoyed for the 1st time in a long time! 

Something else positive

Nottingham was going to be my target, but my training had not gone well with self-sabotaging thoughts. I reassessed my goals and went out for a  personal best this year, but the mojo deserted me 3 miles in and my mind started to go off on one about how crap I was and why didn't I give up!  Well I didn't I carried on a ticked off the miles, the splits were not what I was after but, hey I was moving forward which was good.  

It was a good job I carried on as I helped a distressed runner; between 9/10 miles, saw this chappy running and he was running very strangely, leaning back and looping very slowly, so I stopped and went back to have a chat with him.  He assured me he was fine and for me to carry on, so I asked him “if he always ran like this”, “no” came the reply, “well you are not fine then”, then two other runners came to my aid and we escorted him over to the side of the road.  I shouted for the runners going past to send back a marshal and a lady got him a chair to sit on.  Fortunately but the time we left him he was looking a bit brighter and I hope that he got the medical attention he needed. Then I carried on my run, my goal had gone out of the window but you know I didn't care, I helped someone out in need and that was more important!

Something productive

With all my negative thoughts I am trying to do something’s to put the spring back in my running step;

1. Tackling cross country never done it before, hated it at school but hoping the club and team environment will help me get my MOJO back
2. Reading (or listening to) Chimp Paradox by Prof Steven Peters, if it is good enjoy for the GB cycling team it is good enough for me
3. Scaling back the running during the last few months of the year
4. Contrary to point 3 looking to take part in Go-Vember again trying to run at least a mile every day during November 

Something to look forward to

• I have got my good for age place at London, this time I want to enjoy it a little more. My first London, I was so in awe and focused on getting a good time it took all the fun out of it.  So next year it is all about enjoying it and the time is irrelevant.

• I have booked my races for Feb, March and May and I am looking to do some different ones that in the past, so we are off to Blackpool half and a 20 miler, Milton Keynes half and I am hoping to do Ashby 20 as well.

• I am part of the Team behind bringing back the Potteries Marathon, which is fun, exciting and exhausting all the same times…not sure what the Potteries Marathon is all about click here.

• I;m doing the Thunder Run again next year with a large number of my club mates which is going to be awesome, fortunately not the 5 laps like this year (I don’t think that it helped at all).

Well that is my lot, again apologies for the lack of posts over the last couple of months, fingers crossed normal service aka bad grammar, spelling and general confused posts will resume soon!

My whistle-stop tour of June and July!

Gosh it's really had been a long time since my last blog!  There are no good excuses to give you!  However let me catch you up; this is what has happened since 1^st June (grab your hat for a whistle-stop tour!)

I have finally finished my HNC course in Sport, Health, Fitness and Exercise however I am still awaiting my final mark!! I am free again from study, all this free time what should I do??

I have become a run director at my local parkrun which is Hanley and I have to say it is the most friendly parkrun there is around Stoke on Trent (ok ok it is the only one around Stoke on Trent) so far I have been RD 4 times and I am notorious for a) not needing to use the mega phone and b) counting up rather than down on the starting line…. Well it adds to the excitement.  

Don't we scrub up well    

Being part of the parkrun family I,  with my fellow directors and a few lucky parkrunners, attended the Stoke on Trent Personality of Year awards evening, we were nominated for the Sport in the community award. Unfortunately we didn't win, but we had great fun during the evening ( I believe there may have been some wine drinking going on!) and it was strange seeing everyone in there proper clothes for once! 

I have been away on holiday to America, we drove down Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) from San Francisco down to Venice in Los Angeles.  We had a great time visiting the sights of SF Alcatraz, Napa Valley, Lombard Street, China Town, traveling on a tram to down town and of course Sports Basement to name a few of the sights we saw. Whilst we were there we also ran the See Jane Run Half marathon which gave us great views of the bay area.  

Then we started to travel down the PCH to Santa Cruz for couple of nights, Malibu and finally stopping the last few nights on the Boardwalk In Venice Beach.  Where we also finished off the holiday with the Red White and Blue Half Marathon run along the Santa Monica Boardwalk.  

All in all we had a great holiday not what you could call relaxing but it was still fun all the same.

Trentham encampment 

I managed to get a late entry to the Thunder Run 24 race at Catton Park and pulled together a team of 5 fellow Trentham running mates.  I was a little daunted as we got a team place 2 weeks before the race and also our team only had 5 people in it!! Although we had all said it was for fun…..the pressure was on a little.  I was team captain and organised the team and the timings of the laps, at my initial calculations we would all be running 4 laps of the 10k course with the men in our team running 5.  However it soon transpired on Saturday that my timings were way out and we would all have to run 5!! So this last weekend I ran 50k which makes me a ultra runner!! I know it wasn't all in one go, but I am still taking it!   

All in all we had a brilliant weekend, alongside our team of 5, there was another Trentham Team of 8, a couple of Trentham Solo runners and finally two club mates running with other teams.  It was and is a truly amazing event, like glasto for runners, the camaraderie is brilliant not only cheering on your team, any other local teams and also cheering on the runners who ran past our camp at all times of the day and night over the weekend! 

Thunder Ru 2014 DONE!

We had some brilliant results, our fellow runner Janson Heath won 1^st solo male, and Jill Phillips came 3^rd in ladies solo.  Our team of 8 finished 6^th and our little team of 5 finished 17^th in our category, not bad off no training and only 1 hour sleep in 36 hours!! 

The only downside was the lack of internet (although hardly surprising as we were in a field!) but a lot of my twitter friends were running and it would have been great to catch with them, oh well may be next year. 

And with that I think we are all caught up, I will try not to leave it so long next time I promise, however I do have a couple of busy months with, training for Great North, Robin Hood Half, Amsterdam Marathon and also Rewind 80 festival in August all to look forward to. 

Kirsten photo bomb