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The Middle Ground
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Nice going at the parkruns.folks. Must try Leamington sometime.
Saturday
Stewart parkrun is a picturesque course. We took the time to recce a lap of it so we knew where we were going and noted that they had gone to the trouble to paint little yellow arrows on the ground. Nice touch.
On the first lap, after disposing of the usual numpty starters (one guy was in front of me after 1/2 mile and contrived to run about 21:20) I went past the leader as we headed into some woods and we ran along together for a while. At the bottom of a tree there was an arrow pointing in what I had reccied to be the wrong direction. The other feller said `it's this way'. I paused for a moment, said, `no the arrows on the ground go this way' and fortunately made the correct choice and eased to a half minute victory in 17:38, holding a little in reserve for today's challenge...
Sunday
Birdsedge Challenge - a 6ish mile multi-terrain race - half on road, half off road. Last year it was a nice little route, but I had suspicions that after this year's rain that conditions underfoot might be somewhat different. Therefore I rounded up a little recce posse (4 blokes, one woman and a dog - at 18 min flat at Barnsley parkrun dog at that!) to run the entire course beforehand. Halfway through I decided that the race would not be for me. Atrocious in places.
However I entered and as it worked out I was pleased to not only beat my club rival but also two of the better V40s in the county with recent times better than mine (one of them a 16:2x at Concord parkrun). 5th overall. In retrospect the tricky sections required leg strength and stamina and that appears to be my forte.
Birdsedge Challenge
By the process of elimination, I reckon that I must be the one that didnt enjoy it!
I did enjoy the reccie, taking in some absolutely stunning views, but the race itself was just silly. I was hoping that they may have closed the late entry desk by the time we got back from the reccie but, no, they were very welcoming of additional entries.
When the main challenge is to stay on your feet, which I failed to do on three occassions
, then I just get hacked off with the whole thing. Back on tarmac for the last couple of miles and it felt like I had woken up from a horrible nightmare and could run again.
Splits of 6:40, 6:37, 7:08, 8:35, 6:40, 5:42 pretty much tell the story.
I now have a sprained ankle as a special souvenir.
Hope the ankle heals soonest PRF, nice effort anyway & congrats on 5th BR.
Well dones to the above plus Mr Viper, Forever & Duck on some solid Parkruns.
Hilly.. cripes this bug is hanging around a while, good luck on finally shifting it.
Really sorry to hear about LS21's loss this week. Life can be so cruel.
If any of you Yorkshire folk fancy a 'themed' Parkrun next Saturday, Roundhay are having a French themed event with croissants & the like post race.
I ran the York event yesterday, nice conditions. The old legs were a bit tired after a race on Thursday & a 12.6m run home on Friday evening (I did this rather than endure long traffic queues due to the floods). I had a brisk but steady run in 21:05, turned out I was an unwitting pacemaker for the first lady!
YP, I found after semester 1 exams that I had a great 5/5 double the day after the night before. Yep, it works
prf, thanks. Yeah we were both happy with our times & runs despite being very far off our pb's which says a lot about the conditions.
Nice MT'ing between you & BR. And the usual good parkruns in the mix too.
Hilly, you've had bloods done haven't you? Nothing showing?
Nice going Wardi - sounds like you've been getting some solid training in recently.
A touch over 70 mins today on a quite hilly course. Felt pretty heavy-legged but next week is a cut back - I'll be doing very little as I'm (hopefully) going to rip my 400m pb to shreds on Saturday at Grangemouth.
Wardi - yet another themed parkrun? Sparkly ones, bling ones and now French ones? At the risk of rocking the boat, one of the things I liked about parkrunning was that whilst the basic concept of free, 5k and timed applied to all runs, the variety was to be found in the venues themselves. It seems that if you turn up at a themed parkrun either without realising it's themed (or in my case with an utter refusal to run in anything resembling attention-seeking fancy dress) then you're likely to feel a bit of an odd one out.
PRF - you had the race I thought I was going to have - ok first two miles, losing ground in the middle two and then sulking for the last two
. Valuable BnT and League points nonetheless...
Duck - yes had bloods and they came back okay. I'm off to see doc again this morning but don't think I'll get much joy. I have to say the constant headaches are a bit worrying, but my guess is they're all part of the virus...
Nice parkrunning Wardi.
Hope nothing serious with the ankle PRF!
Nice multiple racing from BR & PRF again.
Bad luck Hilly ... your virus is like this weather - it really should clear up but the misery seems to go on and on.
Duck ... good parkrun and follow-up on Sunday. 400m preductions?
forever ... forever winning.
MrV ... nice 5th place. Plenty more to come methinks!
YP - good weekend's training from you! Yes I have been uing a HR monitor for most of the past 4 years.
Wardi - nice parkrunning at York.
I took Saturday off ... busy day with the kids and then another glamourous gig in Shipley with the band, so late night ... and then early morning as the boy had his last Tri of the season in Holmfirth. Registration closed at 9:45 and his race was at 12:35 (
) so I left him with his scooter and his mates and headed off for a run up to the transmitter on the top of Holme Moss ..1070 ft ascent, with 940 of that over a 3 mile stretch. 4.9 miles out at 10:06/m ... 4.9 miles back at 7:17/m ... that should give you an idea of the gradient. Felt very good though and brought up 45 miles for the week. DOMS this morning, although the cycle in felt okay ... will run home slowly tonight.
We used to live in Holmfirth so know your run very well Dan. Can't say we ever ran up to Holme Moss though! Drove in the car to admire the views a bit
Wardi/Hilly - No, theres nothing serious with the ankle, it was just sore from all the turning over it was doing.
It is fine this morning though. 
And I believe the next race on Wednesday is all on tarmac....I'm predicting zero falls, but that may be tempting fate.
Wardi - You must be feeling strong to be racing twice in threedays and sandwiching an 'almost half marathon' in between.
On the subject of the themed parkruns, I'm with BR. The whole point about parkruns from the outset was the simplicity and the fact that wherever you went you would know exactly what was going on and feel part of what was going on.
The 'themes' and extra fluff that seems to be becoming more widespread is born out of a misguided feeling by local event teams that they need to 'entertain' in some way to prevent their events becoming stale.
It is wrong and discussions and polls in the past have shown beyond doubt that people want the simplicity without all the silliness. So much so that you will often go to these themed parkruns and not even notice anything because people couldnt care less. The trouble is that by advertising them there will inevitably be people put off from going.
A simple 5K timed run around a park at 9am on a Saturday morning is what people want.
Duck - Confidence doesnt get much higher than a declaration that 'I'm going to rip my PB to shreds'. Love it.
BR - Yep, I do seem to remember you expecting to have my sort of race. I think the phrase you uttered during the reccie was 'I'm definitely not doing this' or words to that effect. Its a good job you dont listen to yourself really.
I do like its uniqueness in terms of the prize giving - it doesnt matter what category/position you are, the prize is exactly the same. Old school.
Dr Dan - 3 hours does seem excessive to have to pre-register. Was there a valid reason for it? Some hardcore training getting up to Holme Moss though, I wasnt the only one with a 3 min/mile spread of paces yesterday.
Did someone mention Leamington parkrun? Well as it happens I ran it on Saturday, came 2nd and got round in 18:16. Its mostly offroad, on fields or trails with a big hill in the middle. So considering the muddy puddly and generally icky conditions + I had a bit of a cold/sore throat I have got to be happy with the result. BS calc says it was worth something with a 17.
As prf has already mentioned I ran Barnsley last weekend and came 2nd to him. He didn’t mention the fact that my shoelace came undone on the 2nd lap (of 3) I decided to ignore it and plough on. I recon that cost me about 10 seconds and the win!
Cant say my weeks holiday was all that good due to the crazy weather, but at least I managed to get some decent running in while away, including another session of 10x400 on Brixham Harbour, nice setting for reps. They came out a little faster but felt much easier than the week before. So all good.
Gonna have to do some reading back but I see Simon ran another PB, forever is back setting PBs and records again, Phil has blonde hair, Wardi is now a parkrun regular and BR and prf have been racing twice a day since I have been gone.
Hilly hope this lurgy moves on, its been a long time now
Unfortunately, it's par for the course at these junior triathlons ... registration first, then the pre-race briefing for everyone, and then the races starting from youngest to eldest. If you have an older child, you wait 3-4 hours!! At adult triathlons, the registration desk stays open and you turn up an hour before your start time, get a race briefing just before the swim, and you're sorted. The only Yorkshire junior tri to adopt this was at Todmorden last week ... that was a junior event fused with an adult event.
Nice parkrunning all. I did Lloyd parkrun on Saturday along with several other Croydon Harriers as part of a very active stag do. I had initially planned to go for a parkrun PB, but didn't sleep well at all and was still stiff from a tough workout and circuit training on Thursday, so just decided to run hard. I'm glad I did because it was quite a tough course and it seemed everyone's times were slow.
That was followed by paintballing, which was fun until I got shot in the back of the head at close range and almost passed out. Then quad biking, which was also fun until I drove into a tree and seriously hurt my wrist. Driving home changing gears with my right hand was not fun. I think I need to stick to running.
Duck, I think the pacemaker ruined it for him. Although, I quite like it when pacemakers ruin things since I am not a big fan of pacemaking in general - it takes a lot of enjoyment out of a race for me. I can't see anybody troubling Rudisha in The Olympics
Mr V, that pace as part of a longer run should give you a fiar bit of confidence.
Hilly, I have been sitting here sniffling a little this morning and hoping I'm not getting a cold, then I read your post and it puts it into perspective.
Nice Birdsedging, BR. Shame yours didn't go so well, PRF, but you did have a very busy weekend. Are you icing the ankle?
Well done on your pacing, Wardi. I sort of agree with BR, I see no harm in a Christmas hat here or there (or a pair of antlers as our stag did on Saturday), but would rather parkruns didn't turn into COMPLETELY WHACKY people showing just how KKKRAZY they are by running dressed up as a giant Weetabix or whatever.
Some climb, Dan. I'm not surprised you have DOMS today.
Hilly - You've had some bad luck with this virus, hope it clears up soon.
Dan - Nice session, sounds like a monster hill!
PRF - 3 falls? Now come on thats just clumsy
YD - Nice to see the BS calculator can now be used for race positions as well as times
. I'm looking forward to notching up some parkrun wins against you in the coming months 
Simon - Sounds like you were lucky to survive in one piece!
Well it seems to be slightly cooler today and its forecast for rain tomorrow at race time. I’m hoping this means conditions will be a bit more favourable for something quick than they have been recently. I feel a big performance is due and I can match Duck’s confidence in saying I think I’ll rip my PB to shreds............ok I only say this as I don’t actually have a 5 mile PB
Afternoon!
Some good running going on as usual. Kudos to PRF for getting grumpy during a race (never known that happen before) and some hilarious splits
Duck been dipping in an out for a week or two and seeing some promising stuff from you which is good. Hope the shredding of pb goes well.
BR in general I am with you on parkruns. I dont mind the self organised silliness like Simon parktook in at the weekend, but stuff organised by the event team just seems like a waste of time to me. Roundhay seem to be one of the worst for it I have to say...
Hilly sorry to see you are still not well. I know your bloods have been tested but have they definitely checked for glandular fever? I hope you can some progress soon.
Forever - great win sandwiched in a longer run. It is coming back for you that speed I think. Can you describe the new course as I have unfinished business with the old one after getting held up on the narrow path...might be tempted to have another bash one weekend!
Nice 5th place Mr Viper. Think you, PRF and YD need a triple smackdown soon!
Waves at the lurking TheOtherMan
Dr. Dan that sounds like pure cycling madness!
Hope the wrist is getting better Simon.
Ooo Mr V I am doing my first 5 mile tomorrow too possibly. I like a new pb
Especially as I wasn't on a bike.
Any races planned Curly?
Edit ... xpost ... yes you have.
Well its a club handicap 5m XC around Richmond park so yes and no...proper races:
22nd July - Up Tow Down Flow half
Oct - Cabbage Patch 10
Nov - Gosport Half
Last week was my first full week back in training (45 miles and 30+ miles commuting on the bike), but despite that I am in reasonable shape. A bit chubby and a bit lacking in speed after my trail marathon but strong enough to start re-building after so much time of inconsistent training. Will shall see how quickly it comes back!
Hilly, that is very odd. I imagine it would be easier if you knew what it was!
Dan - sub-56 is the aim, I reckon ~ 55.5 - 55.7. Sounds like you had a pretty brutual hill run!
..and that sums up the thread in one.
Simon, might be best to stick with running. I still have a scar from a few years ago when I got hit in the wrist with a paintball (it was only a small area of unexposed skin which of course meant that was the area I got hit).
Hopefully the Olympic final will see him running his own first lap, not one pre-set for him. I think he can afford to go slightly faster through the first lap (being more of a 4/8 than 8/15 runner) but that's just me.
Mr V, you could argue your 5M pb is an infinate value (having never run one it could be undefined?), therefore you will rip it to shreds
Welcome back Curly. Hopefully this time you're over everything that's held you back the first 6 months of the year!
No running today but did a weights session - I invested in 50kg's worth last week (at a very reasonable price too, we've had some other lighter ones for a while too so I now have a decent amount to lift). 3 sets of 10 reps of 40kg, which was a decent intensity but not maximal. I feel like I've done a sprints session today so I think it's a job done.
Ah okay I missed that bit. Trying to skim read at work
There is more to it than that Duck. Nice impromptu parkrun btw, a good pacing effort.
Dr Dan– I am liking the negative split on your long run the other day
YP – going back a bit and you have already had some good advice……but fwiw 12m @MP is tough, don’t beat yourself up if you cant hit it this far out. I would either run to HR or just run to effort in the early stage of your Mara Campaign. Worry about hitting X and Y pace closer to M day.
Good mileage on top of the bike commutes Curly.
Good luck tonight Mr V, I have yet to run a 5 mile race. I fancied the one you are racing but its not convenient. Nice work at Tyndale during the week as well, where is the race, near Hexham?
Dash– you still running? Are you coming up to York on the 11th Aug?
Nice mileage last month Darola.
I still need to listen to your interview prf. Though I agree on the AB thing
….. Are you doing the Teeside double on Saturday? SM is doing Stewart and Boro?
Looks like Simon and Duck have bewitched Ratzer and Phil into Middle Distance runners.
Hope the end of term lethargy passes soon CB.
Speaking of Whacky parkruns, at Leamington on Saturday there was a pink theme, something to do with charity fundraising. It was basically loads of blokes in pink tutus. After about ¾ mile into the run I was in the lead and thought I was on for a comfortable win, when something pink came into my peripheral vision, for a horrible few moments I thought I was in a genuine race with a pink tutu, luckily it was just a bloke in a pink t-shirt. He ran along with me until about 1.2miles and then dropped me. He ended up beating me by 1:02, quite an impressive pace wind-up on that course. A bit of PO10 stalking shows he has a 33:30 10k to his name, so no shame in being beaten by him. My splits were 5:46, 6:09, 5:45 and 35 (5:07/mi), guess where the big hill was?
Curly - Good to see you back. Hope your 5 miler goes well. I think the triple smackdown will be the York parkrun on the 11th August if all are in attendance.
YD - The race goes through Ovingham and Wylam if you know where they are. Its pretty much half way between Hexham and Newcastle.
Curly, nice to see you posting and racing. I am doing the Cabbage Patch again and I believe YP is as well. We must dig out the race list. I am hoping for a sub-60 this year, which I think is doable, but I am not 100% confident I will have enough time to get my endurance back up between the end of the track season and the race.
The wrist is much better now, thanks.
Duck, that sounds like just the type of session that would result in you putting on bulk - not what you want to do as a runner.
Sorry, I just remembered I said I would write you out a summary of my weights schedule. I did actually write it all down, and will send it to you when I get home tonight.
The game we were playing was called Total Annihalation. Maybe I'm too old and grumpy for this sort of stuff, but I felt it was a stupid, dangerous game. I also got shot in the mouth. Surely there is a way of making a ball of paint splatter without it causing damage to the skin?
Re Rudisha, I agree. I knew he would not break the record off that first lap the other night.
YD, heh heh. That would have wound me up a little.
Right, I'm going to rip my 800 PB to shreds tonight!
Congrats on 2nd Y D, did you feel left out with no pink bits? ooo-err!
Good luck in the 5 milers Curly & Mr Viper.
Very impressive climbing & descending Dr Dan!
Simon.. serves you right for multi-sporting
PRF.. my race last Thursday was only 1m but when you run flat out on legs as old as these you end up feeling like a rickety chair! I did do a 3m warm & 2m warm down to alleviate the effects.
I take it no-one is going to show up at Roundhay on Saturday donning a beret, a string of onions and speaking in an preposterous accent like an extra from Allo, Allo? I must agree that as a Parkrunner novice, what I have enjoyed so far has been the relaxed nature of the events & cameraderie, a measured course, rarity of club vests & petty rules. At present I can only do York as I have to be at work on the outskirts by 10am! I just have time to stop sweating & jump in the car & away!
10k race tomorrow night is at Wistow/Selby so those of you who have done the Wistow 10 will have an idea of the pan flat course. After the mountainous nature of the 10k I did 2 weeks ago a nice flat route will do very nicely thank you, however relentless it is!
If you run sub 60 Simon you'll have time to get the beers in before we are finished
Curly - I have gotten grumpy mid race before....and for the very same reason. It was Leg 10 of the Barnsley Boundary where I fell even more than yesterday. I am now top ranking in the club in terms of hitting the deck this year......and that takes some doing when you have Simon Newton as a teammate I can tell you.
In fact, we could be one of the clumsiest clubs around!
I definitely have design flaws for that kind of stuff. I watched as a fellow runner (with a Barnsley parkrun PB of 18:00) had no problems dealing with the 8 inch thick mud as we reccied the course yesterday. Now, considering that he is only 7 inches tall I think there may be lessons to be learnt.........
YD - Shoelaces are worth 6 seconds tops! And yes to the Saturday double, Riverside and Albert Park. Rumour has it that BR will be there for the taking at Riverside while his focus is shifted elsewhere. Then again, I may be playing a double bluff.........
Thinking about it, Middlesbrough is shaping up to be a tasty little number...so far we know about BR, Simon Newton, YD, PRF, Steve Middleton, Mr V?........this could be one very fast parkrun brewing.
Wardi - Good luck tomorrow. Hope it isnt Windy Wistow as it was the last time we were there.
I'm also doing the Down Tow, and the Gosport Half, so it looks like we have a similar taste in events
Rings a bell Mr V, nice part of the world.
I did Wardi, partial to a bit of pink about my person I am……
Sorry I wasn’t clear prf, but unfortunately I can’t make the Tees double on Saturday, I have a prior engagement in Sheffield. In other words I am on the lash, shame as I quite fancied it. However, I will be checking out Graves parkrun while I am in town, so not all is lost.
PRF that made me lol! You are rather good at falling over though...
YP I'll be the curly one in a ranelgh harriers top or crop top - come and say hi
My pb for 10 miles is 73:08 so I'll be aiming to beat that. As I have been out a while I have no idea by how much.
For the half I am aiming for something round 1:45 - they have moved the start as Dorney lake is closed so I suspect it will be a little slower than previous years but I am just using it as a marker. I have run 1:41 before but if I get anywhere near that I will buy the beers
YD - All clear now, I forgot about your visit to Graves. Enjoy the zoo.
Curly - Pot, kettle, black.
I havent tripd over for AGES - I think it is you who is a bad influence. I made through a mud fest trail marathon in racing shoes without slipping
Watch me fall over tomorrow now