New years day parkrun loop

To mark the new year I combined three of my favourite running activities:

1) parkrun
2) long runs
3) pointless challenges.

I left the house just after 8 and ran the 5 and a bit miles to Lloyd Park in Croydon ready for the 9 o'clock parkrun.  After a very muddy but enjoyable 5k (21:49, 4th), I jogged the sububan 2 miles to Roundshaw parkrun  for the 10 o'clock event.  Another soggy 5k later (22:22, 12th) I was ready for the 3 and half miles home, rounding off a nice morning out of 17 miles of running.  A good start to the year, the start of my ultra training for SDW50 and some speed work ahead of cross country next week (for which the sliding round has inspired me to buy some spikes).  A proper multi-tasking run.

New Shoes...

2012; the year that was...

Stats for the year:

Total miles: 1347.9
Total no. of runs: 174
Average distance: 7.75
Average weekly distance: 25.9
No. of races (including xc and parkrun): 23

So then, the last run of the year is over and the stats are in.  Compared to last year I've done slightly less miles over slightly more runs bringing my average distance down from 8.3 to 7.75- but training wise its really been quite a similar year.  I think the non-racing highlight was over the summer where I took advantage of the light evenings and ran a lot of trail miles after work.

Race wise, there are a few highlights that particularly standout.  The National Cross Country Championships at Parliament Hill has to be the most unique start to a race I have taken part in- as over 1500 runners surged up Parliament Hill.  As much as I love the longer stuff cross country does have a special place in my running heart and you don't get a better xc race than the nationals.   The Olmpicnic ultramarathon was definitely my best race of the year both in terms of enjoying the race its self and my performance- it was one of those days where you can feel the training paying off as I started another steep ascent of Box Hill. 

Looking ahead to 2013 the year starts with cross country matches in January and February (including the nationals up in Sunderland), amongst this I need to start ratcheting up the miles ahead of some solid training in late Feb/early March and the South Downs Way 50 in April.  After this I have no particular plans; depending on how I feel after SDW50 I think I'll either have a crack at some more ultras or maybe for a change concentrate on running something shorter as fast as I can.

Happy New Year.

"Winning"

This December I've been making a vested effort to haul myself out of bed on a Saturday morning to make it down to a parkrun; and despite the inclement weather I've parkrun'd 3 weeks in a row (Roundshaw, Nonsuch, Roundshaw).  I realise this is what some people do every week of the year, but for me this is somewhat of a record.

Roundshaw Downs is probably my favourite parkrun in the area I've done.  It's got a great atmosphere, a hill and a tendency to be muddy.  I think that's what your after on a Saturday morning.  What is also interesting is that Roundshaw tends to not extract the fastest runners- possible because its far from a PB course.  This means that for runner like me, who like a good muddy hill, it means that finishing in the top 5 is a regular occurance.  First place, however, until recently has always alluded me.

This most recent Saturdays was what you might call a 'perfect storm' for a potential win at Roundshaw.  It was pissing it down and blowing a gale- the perfect weather to keep those lily livered fast runners at home! 

There were only 40 or so at the start and a small group of 5 or so set off from the front.  About half way round the first lap I was in third and as we approached the start of the second lap the guy who was winning pulled out (stomach issues) and I passed the guy in second.  I was now in first place- which came with it a feeling of elation (Yeah! I'm first) and fear (the metaphorical hear to the other runners hounds).  I dug in, ran through the middle of every puddle to keep some kind of racing line, and somehow managed to hold on to this position to win my first ever parkrun.

Now I know that every race has to be taken in context, and winning a parkrun on a wet morning the Saturday before Christmas is very much a context that needs to be taken into account-  but it sod it, it was great!

But do not fear, there's little likelihood of me getting too big for my boots, cross country season starts back up in January where it is always a battle to keep up with the middle of the pack let alone the front! 

Pirie 10

The Pirie 10 is a two lap cross country race in Farthing Downs near Coulsdon.  Farthing Downs is where I head out for many of my long runs and is a stunning piece of undulating downland that I've always thought would be a good place to have a race.  As it happens the South London Harriers, based in Coulsdon think so as well and have been running a number of races on the downs for a long time.

Race day prep didn't exactly go to plan.  A late bus meant that I missed a connection and arrived just after 10 giving me 20 minutes to register, get changed, pin my number to my shirt and complete the 5 minute up hill jog to the start line.  I made it there just as they announced the 5 minute warning.  In some ways this was a blessing as it was not a day to be hanging around in the cold.

The course basically goes gradually up for the first mile or so, followed by a descent, a mile or so on the flat.  After this you climb out of the valley and then it undulates, but manly downhill back to the start for lap 2.  It's mainly footpaths with one pretty muddy section through a field.  There was a heavy frost so in the shade there was a nice glint to the ground in the winter sun.

Due to the cold, the ground was frozen solid which made for fast conditions compared to the mudfest of recent running.  I was felling pretty good and after the initial miles settled into a good pace with a few runners around me.  I competed lap 1 in about 33:30 which was faster than I imagined and started to worry it would all go wrong on lap 2.  Luckily however there was a Collingwood runner who was hanging on the whole way round lap 2- and with inter-club rivalry in mind I couldn't let him pass me!  Somehow I managed to finish in 1:07:03- getting my self 26th place and a new PB for the distance.

The Pirie is a really good, grass routes, club organised race.  No bells or whistles just honest hard running on great trails with tea and cake afterwards.  I am definitely going to try and enter some of their other races on the downs, which include a midweek 10k series over the summer and a 5 miler in October.

In other news I have a target race for 2013; the Centurion South Downs Way 50.  From now till Christmas I'm just going to enjoy running the odd park run and whatever training I feel like.  In the new year the training proper starts...

Bread from Beers

Carshlaton IPA available in casks and old lemonaid bottles

Post Vanguard Way Ultra recovery has been harder than expected.  I took a week off, but the first run back brought with it pain in both feet and ankles.  So I took another week off and after a gradual increase in distance I seem to be OK.

But it's not like I haven't been productive.  When I set up this blog I planned to cover the full tripartite of topics bread, sweat (well running) and beer. This hasn't really been the case- as with the exception of the odd mention of favourite beers it has been running and not much else.  I thought I would make amends, so whilst I haven't been running I've managed to find some time for some brewing and baking and linking the two.

The brew which is currently undergoing secondary fermentation in the corner of my living room is an IPA made from a kit from Better Brew.  The kit, which comes in a pouch rather than the traditional can, was dead easy to use and hoping to for some tasty beer in a few weeks time.   I plan to call it the creatively titled Carshalton IPA. 

At the end of every homebrew you are always left with an inch or two of slurry at the bottom of your fermenting vessel (in my case a plastic bucket).  Normally I just bin this, but I've heard you can use this as a starter to bake bread.  A quick search online confirmed it was possible but there were many warnings that it could create very bitter bread.

Undeterred I mixed about a cups worth of the yeasty, stale beer, hoppy and malty leftovers of the home brew without about 200g of wholemeal flour and 275ml of water to make a sponge.  Left this to ferment during the day and before bed (after several good pints of Sambrooks Junction) added another 300g. of flour and some salt, oil and extra water, kneaded and left to rise.  Knocked it back down in the morning, shaped it, went for a run (see how I combine all my hobbies!) and then baked for around 20 minutes at full blast followed by another 20 minutes at gas mark 6.

The result- a pretty tasty loaf.  The beer has a slightly beery smell as well as the sourdough taste you might expect.  The after taste is a bit bitter but, too my mind, in a good way.  So all in all a successful little venture. I've combined the left over yeast with some flour to keep it going as a new bread starter for further loaves.

IPA Bread

Vanguard Way Ultra, October 2012

The Vanguard Way Ultra is a two day race/challenge covering over 66 miles from the wonder of Croydon to the beauty of the south coast. Going into this event I wasn't maybe as prepared as I could have been having failed to do any of the back to back runs I had planned- but with lots of trail running over the light summer evenings I was pretty sure I'd get round.
 
The start was from the Sandilands cricket club: I hadn't been there since the Croydon Ultra in 2011 and was hoping I might have a better day than I did then. As I arrived the 10 o'clock starters were about to set off and I had a quick chat with them. Everyone seemed like a good laugh and that was true of everyone across the weekend. 
 
Soon enough it was 11 and time for the weekend "elite" start (I think it was only called elite as naming the earlier runners as "slow pokes" wasn't really in the spirit of things.)  We set off at a conservative pace through Lloyd park and quickly came to a halt as we learnt our first lesson about the Vanguard Way; the waymarks are often hidden so keep your eyes peeled and a close eye on the race card.  At the front there were about 4 of us running together; generally chatting but with that unspoken agreement that it was a race.
 
Unfortunately it became quickly apparent that a map was needed and we added on miles to the route here there and everywhere: spending much time scratching our heads and being saved more than once by one of the guy’s phone which had the route and GPS. By about the quarter way it was clear this was going to be a team effort and three of us stayed together for most of the race.
 
Putting the navigation to one side, there was some great trail running to be had with some long sections of single track and muddy woodland running. The recent weather also lead to some paths and roads turning into knee deep puddles/rivers/lakes.  The course was also pretty lumpy with some stiff climbs thrown in.
 
As we approached the final few miles I could no longer keep pace with the other two but ran in with a guy from the 10 o'clock start (who was running his first ultra on behalf of men's running) that we'd caught earlier, eventually crossing the line in around 7 hours having covered 40 miles. 
 
On arrival we learnt that the navigation issues we faced were not unique and as it got dark there many still out on the course. In the end just under half the starters got to the finish line on day 1. Some of those who were collected from the course weren't best pleased but in general I think most accepted that this kind of thing happens sometimes in trail ultras. The organisers were also really good at a) accepting that a map was needed and b) sorting that out plus extra route marking for the next day. I think once everyone was warm and dry and tucking into lasagne that any hard feelings had past.
 
On waking for day 2 I felt surprisingly rested and not too stiff. With maps in hand we set off following the route markings and a group of 5 of us got to checkpoint one, running through the early morning mist, without incident. As we approached checkpoint one, we met a runner that turned out to be Stuart Mills who lived locally. Stuart, who has won a few ultras over recent years including Lakeland 100 and the classic quarter, then kindly ran with us to checkpoint 2 meaning there were no wrong turns. It also meant the pace was a bit quicker than expected but it was still early days so not too much damage done. By checkpoint point 3 we were 4 and after cruising through the charming village of Alfriston we were back to the 3 from day one. We climbed the steps to descend to the sea; and like day one over the final few miles I dropped back as whilst still running I couldn't keep up the pace. The seafront at Seaford felt like it was never going to end, but eventually it did and with that brought Newhaven football club and the finish.
 
So then; day one 07:06:00 3rd place, day two 06:24:33 3rd place overall 13:30:33 3rd place.  Whilst maybe not the most competitive event in the world it was still nice to be third (my first non-parkrun podium!)- I even got a trophy and a free buff.  

So then in short, the Vanguard Way Ultra- good route, nice people, lots of mud.

Recovery wise my right ankle and foot ache to walk on, which I hope will pass with time and not turn into an injury; either way I think I'll take the week off.

What's next? Vanguard Way Ultra...

It's been a while since I updated this Blog.  In fact the last post was my report of the amazing OlymPicnic UltraMarathon all the way back in June.  The lack of updating has been not for a lack of running however a lack of racing.  Apart from a couple of parkruns (including a new best for Roundshaw downs) I haven't lined up for anything.

But next Saturday and next Sunday that will change as I attempt my first two day ultra; the Vanguard Way city to sea ultra.  With around 33 miles each day the route winds its way from Croydon to Newhaven on the coast.  Whilst maybe not as prepared as I could be (house decorating got in the way of the planned back to back runs) I feel ready to take it on.  Since the picnic I've done a few 20+ mile runs and lots at the 13-16 mile length- off road and hilly.  Hopefully this will be enough to get me through the weekend.

Two weeks of this training period was spent on holiday in the foot hills of the Pyrenees near the town of Quillan.  Amongst some good hiking, beer drinking and relaxing I managed some really good runs, all with several thousand foot of ascent.  There's nothing quite like sweating your way up a hill followed by a 20 minute descent on winding single track.