Category: UKRunChat

UKRunChat Eastbourne Weekender (Juneathon 5, 6 and 7!)

8/6/2015

I said when I started Juneathoning for 2015 that I wouldn’t commit to running or blogging every day but that I’d manage some kind of ‘catch up’ blogging at least. As such, due to a busy (running!) weekend this one is a bit of an omnibus edition and covers the Friday, Saturday and Sunday that were the 5th to the 7th of June on the UKRunChat training weekend in Eastbourne! Following the fun we had in Anglesey, this was a much anticipated weekend and it didn’t disappoint!

Friday 5th of June: After a morning yoga class and a gentle swim, Friday was mostly about getting there. The cancelled train from London Bridge was far less painful than it might have been due to the happy coincidence that was bumping into Jenni (fellow Anglesey vet and one of the principal UKRunChatters). We spent a happy, if disrupted, couple of hours chatting about… Yep, you guessed it, running!

Yay! Eastbourne!

We obviously weren’t too discreet about it either as we prompted the lady sitting near us to comment that we made her feel unfit! Of course with usual UKRunChat encouragement we suggested she shouldn't feel unable to give it a go! I’d like to think that come Saturday she was hunting out her local ParkRun… But we might never know! When we arrived at the hostel, I had an important errand to run (literally!) A quick reconnaissance to the local recreation ground that I’d identified as a good place to deliver the Mindfulness Techniques for Running workshop that I had planned for Saturday! By the time that had been achieved it wasn’t far off ten PM and the light was going fast; an early night seemed the best and much needed course of action in preparation for a full on Saturday!

Saturday 6th of June: At 7.45 (after a light-ish breakfast of muesli, toast and fruit) a gang of us set off on a 4 and a bit mile trot for a spot of ParkRun tourism! Eastbourne ParkRun takes place at Shinewater Park and it certainly was shining on such a lovely morning! I had considered volunteering but I decided as I’d not done a ParkRun as a runner in a while I’d treat myself. Thankfully, One of our gang, Christine, had offered and so I didn’t feel too guilty! Though I have been training to get used to my marathon training pace of 10:52, and did the plod out there in about that, when I actually got into the race… Well you can imagine. I tried to be a little careful and didn’t totally hammer it but I did very much enjoy three naughty miles at about 7:30 pace instead! Of course a ParkRun always goes too fast (even if I don’t) but it was lovely to cheer on other UKRunChatters who were crossing the line. ParkRun is always about the community spirit to my mind and it was supportive squared with the RunChat ethos chucked into the mix too!

The UKRunChatGang at Eastbourne ParkRun

Eastbourne ParkRun

Having done such a sterling job guiding us to the park from the hostel, local Eastbourner Karen then kindly hopped on a bike (I’m still not sure where she produced that from!) to guide Sherie, David, Bozenka and me on a 10 mile run along the seafront back to hostel. Some people took a different, six mile route back and a few others hopped lifts home, depending on their training or tapering situations! We were so lucky with the weather; It was very windy and we were all careful to sunscreen up but the sun shone from the clear blue sky and with such a dependable guide there was absolutely nothing to do but run… and chat!

I have no idea what I was doing here... but it was clearly fun..!

Yoga in the Sun!

Rachel accepts her BakeOff certificate from Yoga teacher Amrit!

When we arrived back at the hostel, we had a couple of hours to refuel and rest up before we were treated to a session of Kundalini yoga with local teacher Amrit Singh. This was very different to the Ashtanga based yoga I'm used to and that we did in Anglesey, including lots of really intense breath work as part of the poses that I found very challenging. We were also introduced to concepts of chanting and meditation. I’ve been looking into meditation recently and am fairly used to being considered a bit of a hippy but even I found the chanting a little unusual and I was really impressed with how positive and open minded everyone was. No one was unwilling to give it a try, but I can’t believe I was the only person feeling just a little daft to begin with! I was very glad though; it certainly broke the ice for my own ‘Mindfulness’ session later in the day! ‘Great!’ I thought to myself, ‘If they can handle this then mine will be a breeze!’

We sensibly waited until after the yoga to have the second UKRunChat Bake Off! Though my contribution didn’t get an honourable mention I was delighted that the winner was a vegan creation, just like in Anglesey! It really is true that you don’t need eggs and dairy for prize winning confectionary, even when judged by omnivores! When everyone had recovered from the sugar rush and subsequent crash, it was time for me to step up to the mark and I led the group to the recreation ground for a bit of mindful running.

Having read a couple of books (including this one!) that link meditation techniques with running, as well as having started a meditation practice myself, I have recently devised a ‘mental toolkit’ that I use to help me improve my form and focus, especially during longer runs or darker/harder miles. T
he workshop I delivered in Eastbourne aimed to introduce some of these.

We began by seeking mental stillness with body awareness meditation exercise. I then sent every one off on laps of the recreation ground, with a different little game to play on each loop. The first three were about counting and breath, either counting footsteps, or counting your breaths… or the piece de resistance… counting how many steps you fit in to one breath! A tricky one that and not one that’s easily mastered, but a great way to focus the mind on what the body is actually doing as opposed to what it’s going to eat later! We then did a couple of laps focusing on specific senses to encourage a bit of environmental awareness. We are often very visually aware, but asking people to use a different sense and see how many different sounds they could be aware of came up with as many unexpected contributions as when we focused on smell, from hearing my ponytail hitting my back to the smell of sun cream on my face! By this time, and after such a full day, everyone was very ready to cool down a bit so after stretching out I invited people to participate in a brief taster of a meditation technique called Mindfulness of Breathing. This basically involves more counting, but dropping the numbers into specific points in the breath cycle.

An Inspirational Tome!

My main aim in offering to deliver the workshop was in the hoping that others might be able to find something useful in one of the suggestions, not that everyone would love every bit. I got so much positive feedback though and it was made so clear to me how much people enjoyed it that I really didn’t feel there wasn’t anything that someone didn’t get something from. I managed to sneak in another couple of miles round the recreation ground myself before dinner, but generally I floated round, feeling so elated from all the enthusiasm and open mindedness! I so enjoyed leading the session and am grateful to all the participants for their contributions.

As if we hadn’t had a jam packed day as it was, after dinner, Andrew demonstrated his Eric Orton inspired 'slant boards'. Having started to read The Cool Impossible book myself, I was instantly interested. Someone who had actually bothered to make the kit as detailed in the training guide! He effectively freaked us all out with pictures of shod and unshod feet, demonstrating the difference that spending your life squeezing into shoes can make and explaining how important foot strength is for good running. Exercising with the boards is believed to help improve this and then eventually running form. It was certainly food for thought and great to try the boards out. It made me think I should finish reading the book!
I believe that at this point there were some Pimms related activities but I’m afraid I was boring and slunk off to bed. Feet full of miles, a face full of smiles and a tummy full of delicious prize winning vegan cake! Heaven!

Before the Sunny Sunday South Downs trail run!

The South Downs Trail

Sunday 7th June: It was soon Sunday and the morning greeted us with just as much sunshine as the day before. We had to be out of the hostel by 10 but we made time for a 6 mile trail run on The South Downs Way alongside (and across!) Eastbourne Golf Club, again led by the indefatigable and permanently enthusiastic Karen! The scenery was as beautiful as might have been expected and running off road was a welcome change after Saturday's tarmac pounding.

My day wasn’t made fully however, until I was back in the hostel and preparing a post-shower breakfast when Anna rushed in, demanding a high five. “Thank you so much!” she beamed, rushing on to tell me that she had just used one of the breath counting exercises I had introduced in the workshop to master a particularly challenging hill that she would normally have walked up. I happily mentioned this to a few others, during a sunny picnic breakfast… “Oh yes, I found that too” was the response “It really helped and I hate hills!” “We all found it really helpful” was another reply. Ensue warm happy glow for the Runnermouse. Ah. That’s what it’s all about!

Sadly, it was then time for our farewells and departures… but of course it’s only until next time.

Just a great big thank you left to give to organiser in Chief Howard Chambers and the wonderful thing that is UKRunChat!

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UKRunChat Inaugural Training Weekend in Anglesey

29/3/2015

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UKRunChat was founded by Joe Williams and Jeff Weigh in 2013, aiming to bring runners together in a community that supported one another to achieve their goals. Since then, the Twitter account has snowballed followers and the hash tag has more interaction than ParkRun, whilst the cycle, swim and tri chat branches have also started racing from strength to strength and the whole family is now teamed under the UKSportsChat brand. This weekend was the inaugural UKRunChat training weekend in Anglesey and it was the first time that many regular ‘Tweeters’ who have been following, supporting and interacting with one another for so many months and even years finally got to put faces to @ symbols! The weekend was held at Outdoor Alternative, a group accommodation venue in Rhoscolyn, and was organised on behalf of UKRunChat by Howard Chambers, a coach with Saddleworth Runners. Howard is one of the most community-orientated and inclusive runners I’ve met on my jaunts round the races of the North West and it is absolutely a credit to his organisational skills that I’ve got home with enough energy and enthusiasm left to even contemplate writing this now! Kudos should also go to the fantastic Mrs C, who has basically spent her weekend being ‘Runner’s Mummy’, feeding and watering a hungry host of starving joggers!

We arrived at the venue on Friday night, and having seen the weather forecast for the rest of the weekend I was keen to enjoy the last of the evening sun. A few of us bobbed off on a little 5k out to a local lighthouse and lookout point in just enough time to watch the sun set over the Irish Sea. I may not have cognitively forgotten how invigorating it can be running across a field or over a coastal path but after so much city-centre based running, even where canals and parks do afford one a little bit of green, it was good to remind myself physically just how refreshing it can be. That was pretty much that for Friday; much of the gang then went off for dinner at the local pub, but being tricky to feed I’d opted to stay back and make use of the excellent self-catering facilities at ‘Base Camp’ before treating myself to an early night in one to the very comfortable and ready made-up bunks!

With Christine at the Lookout (Sorry Erica, I stole your pic!)

On Saturday morning, most of us (who’d not over-indulged or become otherwise less than 100% in the pub!) Set off on a 6 mile trail run. Led by Witham Runners’ ‘Drill Sergeant Dan’, we snuck in a few Fartleks before heading up off the country paths and along a coastal trail. It was windy. I mean, I know the whole of the UK has had a bit of a breeze going on these last few days but this was really windy. Feathered by tufts of the sea foam that was being whipped up and over the cliff edges like angel’s dandruff (blimey, running makes you poetic, huh!?) it was a genuine struggle at times to stay running in a straight line and one or two parts near the edge made me feel distinctly uneasy when I couldn’t tell which direction the gusts would propel me next. As such, and with some slippery paths too, I reluctantly made the decision to forego my community-running intentions and somewhat selfishly pounded off to just get back as fast as I could for some breakfast! Thankfully I wasn’t totally alone and didn’t have to feel too guilty as I was joined by Scott and Helen who kept me company as we all tried not to run into each other! We got back in one piece, thankfully, and damn that was one fine shower!

Let the Bake Off judging commence!

Of course I’m not the only runner obsessed with all things cakey and so it was that we returned for a post-brunch Bake Off! I was almost as impressed that one of the judges managed to correctly guess the secret ingredient to Glittermousie’s Power Balls (avocado!) as I was that the winning entry was the only other vegan confection! This means I actually got to eat some! YUM to the peanut butter and coconut bars! Actually, they were made by Erica’s husband, who wasn’t with us, but since they were plant based and delicious I am certainly not complaining!

The Winning Entry!

If that wasn’t treat enough, I was then fortunate to play very willing patient to Howard’s new sports massage skills. Now, I’d been mildly concerned that a bit of tightness in my right iliotibial band had turned in to some mild knee pain and I’d mentioned to Howard my fear (maranoia!?) that this could be about to flare up into an injury. He concentrated on this area for me and whilst I’m not sure exactly what he did beyond ironing out a couple of bobbly bits, as sure as runners eat bananas he did the trick and I jogged back down to the remainder of the Bake Off feast with barely a twinge. I was certainly right as rain to make the most of the Pilates and yoga sessions that we were treated to by visiting instructor Jay, and couldn’t feel a thing during the barefoot running technique session delivered to us on the local beach. I think I’ve been very lucky to get that in before he becomes therapist to Olympic athletes and starts charging a bomb!

On Saturday evening, we benefited from talks by Dr Juliet McGrattan, a running-sympathetic GP who writes for Women’s Running magazine (possibly a bit too much detail on bodily fluids and various swellings for some but we all learned a bit, I’m sure!) and some running theory from Drill Sgt. Dan, who talked about correct running form and efficiency to achieve running goals and stay injury free.

Some Angle-Scenery!

The setting of the barefoot running workshop...

The Sunday Runday Route Map to South Stack!

Sunday is traditionally the ‘Long Slow Run’ (or LSR) day and Howard had planned a route for us that took us along the coast (all roads this time!) to a lighthouse at South Stack Cliffs. With some less sure they wanted to do the full distance, there was an option to be picked up by the van at the visitor Centre, 8 miles from base. Quite a few people decided, having got thoroughly soaked on the way there, to make the most of that option, but stubborn as ever I took the bipedal route back and was very glad I did as the rain dried up, the sun came out and the hedgerows chirped into life with spring chaffinches and blue tits. Upon making it back to camp, I had time to shower and pack before a final well timed and perfectly runner-focused yoga session to stretch out the legs before hopping on the minibus to be deposited less than 10 minutes form my front door. Now that’s what I call service!

It’s impossible to pick out a single highlight of what has been a very enjoyable (if occasionally soggy!) weekend away. I’ve tried to pick out some of the main features of the trip but could easily have said so much more and I’ve met so many friends that I couldn’t list them all. I think the best thing to end on is a reiteration of my gratitude to Howard for organising it, UKRunChat for having the vision that made the whole thing happen in the first place and of course, all the running chatters without whom the community wouldn’t even exist. I can, without a shadow of a doubt, highly recommend anyone who enjoys a bit of a run at any level to check out the next one; a weekend away in Eastbourne from the 5th to the 7th of June. And yes, before you ask, you will see me there!

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Back in the Race...

28/2/2015

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Though my blog posts have been a little less frequent of late, I’ve shared enough with anyone who actually reads them to know that I’ve not been too well since the end of last year… but that things were on the up. That trend has (thankfully) continued (more or less!) over the last month and I’ve now managed two races, as well as being broadly on track with my pleasantly vague marathon training ‘plan’ for London 2015.

With the Salford Harriers Senior Women in Wythenshawe

Post race with mum and friends on Parliament Hill

Speaking of London, and with the event drawing ever closer (less than two months away now!) I should probably start getting a little more on the case about fund raising. For speed, you can sponsor me using the text details to the right, or visit my fund-raising page to find out more about why I am running for the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.

After Trafford next week, the rest of March will see me looking forward to the Trimpell 20 and then a training weekend in Anglesey where I shall be leading my first running groups for UK Run Chat since qualifying for a Leadership in Running Fitness license.

It doesn’t seem to matter though what my own pace will be in any of these events; it looks like the summer will be speeding past in no time!

Given that both races so far have been Cross Country, the term ‘on the up’ is applicable in more ways than one, especially so last week at the Nationals on Parliament Hill in London. Yep. It’s called Parliament Hill for obvious reasons. Mud, wind and a steep hill is pretty much synonymous with cross country and I was fairly pleased to finish upright and with both my shoes still firmly laced to the appropriate appendages, which is more than can be said for many unfortunate runners who I saw hitting the deck (read sludge) or stopping to fish spikes out of swamp-like conditions. That I finished about 7 minutes slower than a cross country race of the same 8k distance the week before in Wythenshawe might once have perturbed me but given the differences in courses and conditions, I was pretty relaxed about that.

The race in Wythenshawe marked the end of the 2014/15 season of the Manchester Area X-C League and went pretty well, especially considering I’d not raced since Stockport 10 back at the beginning of December. I came 18th in the Senior Women’s race, 17th over the series (11th and 9th in the 20 to 34 age group) but our team came third in the race as well as winning the division 2 medal for the league. I’ve been told I get a medal for that, which I can collect next weekend at the Trafford 10k so it’s just as well I’ve already registered to run it!

I’ll keep it short for once but in other exciting news, I confirmed this week that I shall be a pacer at the 2015 Liverpool Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon! I’d considered running the inaugural event last year but as I’d not yet completed a race at that distance I opted to stick a bit closer to home with the Asics Manchester Marathon instead. In 2015, I’ll be pacing Liverpool with the 4.45 target group. As it’s not until June it’ll have no bearing whatsoever on my efforts in London… But I’m hoping it’ll serve as no more than a gentle warm up for my first ultra; Trail Blaster, which is the weekend after!

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Coming Through

3/2/2015

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Scott Jurek quotes a favourite poet of mine, Robert Frost in chapter 1 of Eat & Run;

The best way out is always through.

This has certainly been an underlying philosophy of mine in recent weeks as I have struggled to regain balance during my experiences of some physical and mental ill health. Of course, one could argue that you don’t really have much choice sometimes and you have to just keep going regardless but there are different ways of approaching that, some more or less healthy than others.

In my last post, I spoke of reviewing the value in the self imposed rigours of a strict training plan, something that had clearly become a stick to beat myself with as opposed to a tool for achieving a desired outcome. As a result, I had derived a new intended method of getting myself, and we hope triumphantly so, to the finish line of the 2015 London Marathon. My new training plan can be summarised as: A speed session, some hill work, a couple of medium/recovery runs and a slow long run in most weeks aiming to be at a point about a month pre marathon where I’m doing up to 50 miles a week, 20 of those in one go about 6 weeks before marathon day with a gentle 2 week taper.

Bam. And that’s all there is to it.

As a teacher who is used to living according to timetables, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed targets, that are incessantly assessed, this vagueness allows room for serious uncertainties and as a perfectionist who needs to know she’s doing all the right things, I had opened up a potential cornucopia of anxieties. This lack of plan would be a significant challenge in its own right. Have you really ever thought about how hard it can be to not do something!? Still, despite the ebbs and flows of up and down moods, energy levels and hormone spikes I have been surfing not just the angst but also the training. And do you know what? It’s been good enough. Not perfect perhaps, there may have been days where I swam instead of ran, there may have been days where I walked instead of swam and I can even recall at least one day where I pulled the blinds, wrapped myself in a blanket and ate an obscene amount of cake instead of even leaving the house but heck, I felt better eventually! I’ve also been learning to recognise achievements even in small quantities, especially when returning to a speeds and distances that I had feared I’d never get back to; ‘OK, I may only have done it for 600m bursts but I still hit 9 mph 6 times…’

As I have been finding it hard to leave the house, I’ve also been doing a lot of, no, OK, be honest, all my running for 2015 on the treadmill in the womblike sanctuary of my gym, the one place I’ve felt able to consistently go on a regular basis. I know this isn’t great in the long term but I’m a self confessed weather-wuss at the best of times and it’s been cold! Anyway, it’s scary out there. It was a great example then of one such minor achievement when I managed my first outdoor run of the year on the 1st of February thanks to Up & Running Manchester’s Marathon Training Run. Ten miles, slow. Just what I needed and a real confidence boost. I’m getting there. I’m getting through. Sometimes, that’s the best you can be doing.

'Cater for'. Heh. See what I did there??

It appears I squeak not just for myself...

And a last bit of running related ‘news’, still linked in part to health. Having been struggling with weight over the last couple of years, I finally got annoyed enough to write to Runner’s World about the tendency for all running related motivational articles to be focused on weight loss from a ‘please help me shed some’ angle. You may even recall my ranting post from October in which I discussed body image in the media from the angle of one who needs to gain some. I wasn’t exactly surprised but pretty chuffed nonetheless, despite being ‘on the rocks’ in my relationship with the sport, to note that my thoughts to this effect had actually been summarised in the February edition. It was only this morning though, as I idly flicked through the March edition whilst reluctantly cross training on the gym bike (yes I am still being good with my strength work!), that I realised I must’ve made a pertinent point… Apparently a third of those who responded to the February letters page did so in order to agree with me. I cycled the next fake kilometre a little bit faster and with a broad grin on my face, feeling more part of some kind of virtual running community than I have done since I discovered UK Run Chat. 31% of those who read that letter agreed with me strongly enough to actually bother writing in to say so. And it took me at least 6 months to be arsed enough to write it! I’m looking forward to that article then, maybe it’ll help me where the GP hasn’t!

So maybe I’m not just coming through. Maybe I’m doing better than that. Maybe I’m coming back up too. Just as well really, cos I hear tell that you gotta get up to get down!

And speaking of Robert Frost in the context of endurance, it seems appropriate to end on a favourite (last) verse from his poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

    The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep.”

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Ahhh… So THAT’S where I left my mojo!

12/10/2014

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I’ll be totally honest, I started this weekend with some pre-run anxiety. I dunno why I get it, it always works out fine, if I could switch it off I would but I can’t so there you go. The main cause of this was the impending cross country race as the first of the Manchester League, hosted by Stockport Harriers in Woodbank Park. There were three reasons I think, that I was a little nervous. First and foremost, I’d never done a cross country race before. Infact, I’d only done two cross country runs before (assuming you don’t count walking at the back in school two decades ago), last weekend in Heaton park, mostly to get used to running in the new spikes (you can read about that here if you like). A total of 15 miles. Secondly, this was the first race where I felt I was really joining in with the whole club running thing and competing as part of a team for Salford Harriers (as opposed to just turning up to a race and happening to mention I’m a member.) Thirdly, I didn’t really know where I was going as I’d never been to that park before. Not a huge cause of anxiety really but still, another unknown. I talked myself up before I went that of course it would be fine, nothing to worry about, blah, blah, blah but I didn’t really get settled into the idea until I managed to successfully navigate my way to the park (one down!) and spot some friendly Salford faces. As soon as I’d got into a warmup lap with a couple of the other ladies I totally relaxed and started to really enjoy it already.

A few laps round Woodbank Park..

Still not very muddy!

We had great weather for running; not wet (a little muddy underfoot but hey), not windy and not too hot or sunny either so another big tick in the ‘told you it’d be fine!’ box! There was some confusion regarding how many laps to do and I’d heard talk of ‘a hill’ but I tend to run quite strong on hills I think and my tactic is to just follow the guys in front so I wasn’t fazed by any of that. As soon as we set off I was incredibly glad I’d put the effort in to do the test runs last weekend as it really is such a different thing to be running on soft ground. I felt fairly strong though and was glad I’d switched a couple of my training plan days to give me Friday as rest (as well as deciding against the hill reps on Thursday!) After my concerns had melted away I genuinely loved the experience, very scenic and a real joy to be flying over the woodland paths and grassy stretches, though I was a little concerned when we encountered a very muddy, steep downhill section with a big sign at the bottom saying ‘ROOTS!’ I’ve been so accident prone lately; that really would be just my luck!

Perhaps that made me take it more cautiously but I didn’t have any trouble and felt sure footed all the way. When we came to an uphill stretch I found myself mildly scoffing at the talk of the hill. ‘Oh come on!’ I mentally chided ‘This is more of a slope really…’ Until we got round the corner a bit. ‘Ah. THIS hill.’ Thankfully, what it proffered in gradient it lacked in length and so with a few quick little steps, concentrating on effort not pace, I got to the top with not too much bother, but yes, granted, I’ll give you that as a hilly course! I was interested to see later the correlation between the gradient and my pace (courtesy of Garmin!).

Pace mapped against elevation! No surprise I go slower up hills!

On the third lap I was almost the only person still even giving a passing courtesy to the idea of running and many were slowing to a walk for that bit. I completed the course in… a time. I’ve been told that times aren’t important in cross country (though I’m not sure that can be totally true or there’d be no competition!) so I’m not even going to say what it was. So there.

What I will say is that the whole thing was just over far too quickly! (and not because I ran particularly fast!) I do think I got off lightly with the weather and the boost of support from so many of the Salford men who were there ahead of time for their own race (in this event the ladies ran a separate course) did help me power over a few of the tougher bits but I am definitely looking forward to the next one I am planning to run; a home stint (hosted by Salford Harriers) round the infamous Boggart Hole Clough! December the 6th though… Not sure we’ll be so meteorologically blessed!

It was owing to the commitment I’d made to run the cross country race on the Saturday that I had been reluctant to commit to the Oldham Half Marathon on Sunday as suggested by regular race buddy Simon at the Salford City 10k. Combined with my intention to register for Lancaster Half in a fortnight, I wasn’t too sure it’d be a good idea, especially as I’d been warned it was a ‘tough little course’. ‘I’ll see how I feel in the morning!’ I had vaguely non-committed. Still, having been told I’d be saved a place out of a reasonably small maximum field of 500 it was hard to turn down and I’d already pretty much decided in the afterglow of an enjoyable Saturday that I was good to go. It was in a completely different and far more buoyant mood that I hopped on the bus to Oldham and set off through the fog to trot out a few miles through Saddleworth.

A different kind of running for Sunday morning!

Knowing that I didn’t have to do it, and with no pressure on myself to try and get a ‘good’ time (after all, it’s a hilly course and I raced yesterday so no sneaky PB attempts here!) made my mood much brighter I think and I enjoyed it from the first step.

It was a pleasant surprise to see a couple of other Salford faces there too, also who ran yesterday, though as far as I’m aware I’m the only Harrier that actually raced both. Not that it’s a particular accolade; I think going to support is really important and something I should do more of if I wasn’t so obsessed with running the races myself! Though I could feel it a little in my calves still from yesterday, I could tell I wasn’t risking injury, I felt fitter than that, a fact even the Garmin agreed with when it beeped after a mile and a bit to tell me that my recovery was ‘good’. Now, I’d never seen it say anything else until yesterday when it decided to let me know, as I tracked my route home, that my recovery for that bike ride was only ‘fair’. I think that’s reasonable enough and I’m glad to know it can say something else when it wants to!

#UKRunChat-ters get everywhere! Me with RunChat buddy, Howard!

The scenery I had been promised was only slightly marred by the fog but in fact I think in many ways (at least where you could see through it) it just made the landscape more interesting as it drifted in and out between the hills and slunk about the wooded areas like a naughty teenager who hasn’t quite finished the night out yet and doesn’t want to go home. A waning moon high up above the hills added to a very pleasant view. Yeah, you had to go up a hill to see it but hey, you got to come down the other side too ‘wheeeeee…’!

I'm sadly getting bored of medals but I love the design of this one!

I chatted happily with Simon until about 7 miles I think when I had to use a bush (meh, whatever, a minute maybe on my time but a far more enjoyable run for the stop!). Annoyingly, I didn’t catch him again so either we missed each other or he kept up the same pace as me and pipped me to it! Whatever the reason, I had the next seven miles to slip into more of a personal reverie and it occurred to me that this time last year any running related angst hadn’t been related to a short cross country but to my impending first ever attempt at a half marathon. I ran the Bupa Birmingham Half Marathon last year as only my 3rd ever race and first at the distance (apart from managing 14.1 on a treadmill as I wanted to know I could ‘go the extra mile!) and it seemed like such a huge challenge, yet here I was now, deciding on the morning to just hop up and run one as if it was no bigger a deal than making a cuppa for breakfast. It really is amazing how much your perception of challenge can change once you have achieved a goal. To be fair, any angst I had for that race probably paid off. I ran it in 1:37, a full 13 minutes quicker than I did today!

Interestingly, when I told a mate later about the race he said ‘Hmmm, did you do it in, what, an hour and 50?’ Spot on! A very well judged guess that he told me he’d been able to make knowing my recent times in combination with the fact that he’d run it himself a few years ago. Still a pretty impressive guess in my opinion!
So that about wraps it up for my weekend of running! What with slips, trips, bike crashes and a busy month at work, I’d been feeling a little ‘meh’ about the old running malarkey of late but I can officially say I have found my mojo. It was somewhere between the muddy hill of Woodbank Park, Stockport and the foggy slopes of Saddleworth Moors. Who’d have thought!?

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Mouse on a UKRunChat Mission

6/9/2014

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It was never going to be an easy seven days. First week of term, 3 new student groups, nearing 40 new faces on Monday alone. Track Tuesday, Run2Work Thursday, household stuff to deal with on Friday (including the delivery of my new, much anticipated futon; did I mention I’ve been sleeping on the floor for a week!?), UKRunChat Challenge on Saturday, Salford City 10k on Sunday with a publically announced intention to PB in sub 40... Aaaaand…. All go again on Monday for academic week 2 of 36. Ever feel you’ve bitten off more than you can chew?

Well, I’m no stranger to busy weeks so taking each day at a time, Monday went really well. The new group showed promise, we had a genuinely good day and I was, at about half past five in the evening, having happily cycled home from work, enjoying a short 30 minute canal run in ‘recovery’ from the previous day’s 12 miler and feeling pretty positive about life, the universe and everything. Until, that is, I caught my toe in a hole provided by an absent cobble and decided to find out if those remaining would like to make friends with my forehead. Fast. In fact, the guy I had been about to overtake, who was listening to music on in-ear headphones, told me the only reason he turned round was not that he heard but that he felt the vibration as I hit the ground. Hard. Core. So it turns out cobbles don’t want to be best pals with my cranium. So much for the ‘recovery’ run. Skip the feel good stories relating to the kindness of strangers and excellent NHS care (no sarcasm there by the way, I was genuinely very well looked after) and I trundled home from A&E in the early hours with the gradually creeping feeling that my week had been somewhat derailed. Funnily enough, one of the main reasons they kept me in so long (aside from wiping the blood off, gluing the hole in my head and generally making sure I hadn’t broken anything except my pride) was owing to my apparent bradycardia. This is basically a condition in which the patient has a worryingly low heart rate. Mine was 38. Apparently they expect 50 even in very fit people. If I’d been a bit more with it I might have pointed out that my usual resting heart rate is around 40 anyway but I was feeling a bit groggy for some reason. Thankfully, one doctor eventually concluded that I was simply ‘super fit’. He wasn’t so bad himself.

Cue Tuesday mostly spent asleep (so much for track!), Wednesday feeling pretty damn sorry for myself, Thursday back in work but still feeling rough (may be next month I’ll run to work!) and that was that week pretty much chewed up, spat out and thoroughly not to plan!

Thankfully, after a decent night’s sleep finally (ahh, my comfy new futon is love at first kip!) I was somewhat anxiously ready to brave my first run since what I now think of as the Aborted Run of Cobble Doom. This run was a (thankfully!) gentle 10k in Bolton with the UKRunChat guys Joe and Jeff, along with a few other tweeters who were all meeting up in the flesh to support the challenge.

UKRunChatters in front of the 'Dream Bus' and ready to go!

Approaching the Finish... Already!?

Set up by Joe and Jeff, UKRunChat, is an online community, mostly on Twitter, whose aim is to support runners of every level of speed, experience, preferred distance or motivation to achieve their running goals. The Challenge is their attempt to raise £35,000 for the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust and Epilepsy Research UK by running 50km a day (in 5 separate 10k runs) in 35 locations across 7 days. Wow. I’d already established that despite having registered for the 10k tomorrow, today’s run in Bolton was the only time I’d be able to hook up with them so there was no way I was missing it. In light of the weeks events, I also began to feel it was probably psychologically quite important to know I was even able to run before tomorrow!

It was really great to meet them eventually. Of course, I have become familiar with the guys remotely; I had a long ‘phone chat with Joe a few weeks back (I hope to become more involved in what they are doing soon, after completing the Leadership in Running Fitness course next week but more of that soon) and frequently tweet with them during UKRunChat hours on Wednesday and Sunday evenings.

Despite the benefits of social media however, it’s always different to actually meet someone and I felt instantly comfortable with them, falling into standard ‘runner talk’ and sharing in their enthusiasm for their challenge (Well. It is only day 1!). I reluctantly admitted my ‘adventure’ on Monday, as soon as Joe started asking Jeff if he’d seen my race times! ‘Don’t worry!’ I assured them, ‘There’s no way I’ll be running that speed today! Look, I’ve just noticed there’s even still blood on my trainers!’ And there was. Ugh.

So with a patched up knee, and a suppressed anxiety about running in the first place, I set off with the gang into a rainy Bolton Saturday. Most people agreed they liked running in the rain. Takes all sorts. For myself, I was less bothered about the rain in my face (thanks to the vainly donned cap I was wearing to hide my new third eye!) than I was worried about it being slippery. ‘Please don’t let me fall again!’ I was thinking. But I didn’t. I forgot all about it very soon and simply enjoyed the run. Staying true to the name, it was a very UKRunChatty one and I remembered very quickly how happy running makes me, especially when I get to do it whilst simultaneously nattering to others!

Farewells at the stadium; before they leg it off to Lancaster!

All that worry soon evaporated and when we arrived at the finish (the Reebok stadium) I was genuinely surprised. ‘10k!? Already!? Must have been 5!?’ Nope; 10 it was and the crew leapt in their van to head off to Lancaster, before swinging past Kendal and then on to ‘somewhere near Glasgow’. I sadly boarded the train back to Manchester, having toyed with the idea of hitching a lift to Lancaster but eventually seeing sense and remembering my Salford City date in the morning! Instead, I sat on the train eating my lunch, wet but happy and so very glad I’d had the chance to support Joe and Jeff in their challenge as well as in their wider community project. When I looked down… I noticed all that rain… it had washed the blood clean off my trainers.

If you would like to support the UKRunChat 2014 Challenge, you can sponsor them here.

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Glittermouse is a visual artist, educator and practising Buddhist who also likes a bit of a run from time to time. In 2014, she realised others could benefit quite a lot from her reflections on running trials, tribulations, triumphs and trip-ups… so she added another volume to her package of blogging adventures.

You can find out more and source links to other projects on the 'home' page of this site.

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