Big G - you've selectively forgotten the free entries you've won to run around TBL at MK
I've had a bad run at Great Welsh a few years ago when the weather was bad too, very windy and wet. In good conditions I've done a season's best there a couple of years ago as it's a fast course when it's not windy.
Hope you can get to run a race or two while you're there.
Ha ha, yes I had forgotten about those, and I’ve won 3 of them. I probably forget because I associate them with another word beginning with ‘p’ - punishment.
Ian / Cal - Brilliant PB's by you both, I'm sure there is more to come next year!
Only 2 PB's for me in 2018;
10k - 27 seconds faster
HM - 28 seconds faster
The GF has been leading my sisters on a couch to 5k, they are doing the 5k at Parkrun Saturday, so I plan to run/walk with one of them and the GF with the other, I'll do that after my 14 miler!
More wins at work in the Sports and Social raffle £15 love to shop voucher. £30 on a scratchcard, so bought some lottery tickets for Saturday which I never bother with!
5 miles earlier today, hip seemed be okay and the PF bearable. I'm focusing on calf s&c at the moment and seems to be helping.
Cal-that's a really good year,some of drops there. Steve-2x Pb's is great at your level. Rob-Thats a treasure trove of prizes,well done. Big G-Have a good time,may aswell enter the races while you're there Same run as shades this evening,nice 6 miles in surprisingly warm and dry weather,added bonus as I wasn't expecting to fit any more in until Sunday.
Shades-It's an amazing head clearer,that's one of the biggest benefits I've found,is after a crazy day I can unwind,and also think through anything rather than doing it at home.
I too find running a way to clear my head, however don't have a hectic job.
Rest day today, off to Panto tonight as a works social.
Got an email from Parkrun today, offering 50% off Westminster 10k (Monday before DD) Elle ran it earlier this year so at £15 each have signed us both upto it. I'm sure she'll love the surprise on Christmas!
Ian/Robert - I agree running does sort our heads out, gives us the ability to put everything in it's rightful place. I think that's why when we're injured or tapering we get cabin fever.
My new club winter top has arrived, very pleased with it. Need to order the short sleeve one next and later on a vest for the summer. Shortest day today so we're on our way.
That's nice, Shades. A lot cooler than my club kit. Robert - enjoy - I can't do that race as it clashes with Liverpool.
Just a sluggish 4 miles today, mostly to test my ankle, which niggled a bit, unsurprisingly. It'sjust a sore spot on the inner ankle bone, same as when I rolled it in the summer. Still doing parkrun tomorrow.
Cal - I thought you'd like the kit as you like Nike. The guy from our club that designed/sorted our new kit is also a great Nike fan.
Good to hear the ankle isn't too bad.
10 miles for me today, nice weather for a morning run considering it's December. Roads were very busy by the time I'd finished my run and most drivers have that stressed Christmas shopping look on their faces.
That's a great top, Shades. Much better than the new Trotters design, in my opinion!
Good to see people still ticking the miles over in the run up to Xmas.
I went out and did 5-miles this morning. It's a bit odd around here, as the houses are all detached with a lot of land, and are all unique and very nice. But the roads tend to be long and straight, and everything looks the same. I've been told it is due to something called ruilverkaveling, which is basally where land was redistributed closer to the owners of the farm houses in neat squares (before that, a farmer may have had land dotted around all over the place). But when I'm running along, it's sometimes hard to really distinguish between one stretch of road and another. Also, it's fine when there's no wind, but when it's windy it can be hard work to run around here!
The first of the 10ks is today, but we've been invited out for lunch and the race location and the lunch location are two hours apart, so I've had to knock the race on the head. No problem, but that's why I got a run in this morning. Hopefully I'll be able to do the Boxing Day race, but I'll just have to see what happens with other plans.
I'm not really into to the Alcohol Free beers and wines, but I've noticed that the bars here tend to have 2 or 3 AF beers available, alongside their other (usually very strong) beers. Also, one supermarket yesterday had 6 AF beers on offer, whilst the Lidl here had an AF beer available for 29c a can, which is very cheap compared to the UK. One of the main AF-beers in UK is Heineken 0.0, and that tends to be in the region of £4 for 6 330ml cans. I have bought some of the Lidl stuff for Xmas Day/Boxing Day.
I think there's going to be a choice of white kit too. I've heard it mentioned, so I guess that's a white vest and maybe a short sleeved for running in the warmer weather. But we don't have strict rules on kit we can wear whichever we like red, black or white. We also order individually direct from the supplier so nobody has to order and hold stocks which is such a task and ties up funds.
Your running route today couldn't be a greater contrast from Devon, it makes running away from home interesting though.
Wonder why AF beer is so expensive here compared to NL. Dropping the price here surely would encourage some to try the AF.
Oooph, not sure I could join the Mavericks at the moment as I quite enjoy being on the Trotters committee etc.
Shades, not sure why the prices tend to be higher in the UK. Over here there are lots of breweries and a lot seem to have an AF beer, so maybe more competition brings the price down? Even the bigger breweries like Erdinger and Hoegaarden have AF beers, which are decent and readily available in bars here (as is the Heineken 0.0). I’m not really aware of that trend from British breweries, although I do know Adnams do one. I believe Tesco is recognised as the best supermarket to get AF beers, but over here all the supermarkets seem to have a selection.
I think in the UK the likes of Becks Blue are good sellers, but also don’t have a very good reputation due to the way they’re made (and the resulting - horrible - taste!). The Heineken 0.0 is becoming more popular in the UK partly because, as I understand it, it’s brewed following a more normal brewing process, but then the alcohol is taken out at the end, whereas I don’t think Becks Blue follows a brewing process as such. I wonder if the decent AF beers will become more popular in the UK over time?
Generally though, when I’m out in the UK I’ll just have a soft drink, coffee, lime and soda or tap water. I suppose more choice of AF beers would be nice, but I’m not too bothered really, although I know there are a selection of tea-totalers who get quite angry if a place doesn’t serve AF beers!
A bit of a fail for me today. I went off to Gunnersbury parkrun (I was supposed to be meeting a clubmate there) but had a brain fart and went to the wrong station (Gunnersbury, not Acton Town which is nearer) and then couldn't find the park until a nice man showed me on his phone. I ended up having to run there in my coat and was just taking the coat off when the run started, so I didn't have time for a rest or even a sip of water. As a result, despite the lovely park and the nice weather, my run wasn't great - legs were already full of lactic and I just couldn't manage to do better than 26:44. I didn't find my clubmate either, but some nice people did give me a lift back to Acton Town so I got home OK.
Never mind, it's another park off the list, plus I completed the Staying Alive challenge (three parkruns starting with B and three with G...geddit?) and I ticked off another number in the parkrun bingo challenge (a hard one to achieve - you need to record a finishing time for every time from .00 to .59, so it's not one you can really do deliberately).
Big G - we don't have a committee or meetings at the Mavericks. T spoke for 5 mins at the dinner but mostly to congratulate runners on their achievements for 2018. We do have a treasurer and she just said 'we have x amount in the bank' and that was the end of the treasurer's report. It's a refreshing change from the usual stuff.
I guess the AF beers are expensive to produce as quantities small, so for now a niche market. But I think in a few years things will change. I like the taste of a normal or strong lager but have never found an AF free one that tastes nice but I don't go out of my way to try them. The free AF beer we had at Frankfurt marathon was too sweet and too gassy. But when I'm out I usually have a coffee or a lime and soda, trouble is I don't care for soft drinks, never have. On a hot day I can enjoy a J20 watered down with lots of ice, but only one. Hate cola flavour and don't like carbonated drinks really.
Cal - stressful journey to your parkrun, but easy to assume that the station of the same name would be the nearest to the park.
15 miles in the rain (mostly in the rain, anyway). Brockwell route, though I slightly altered my route there to avoid the dark bits of Tooting Common. Two and a bit laps of the park and then home. The last three miles felt tough but I wasn't watching my pace (I had the sleeves of my jacket pulled over my watch due to the rain) and it appears that I'd actually been running a little bit quicker than my standard easy pace once the early miles were out of the way. Bum aches quite a lot now, despite an epsom salt bath.
Shades, as a matter of interest, how many are in the Mavericks now?
Cal, are you hoping to do two parkruns in a day on Xmas Day and/or New Year's Day? It must be possible or you, with so many events around and presumably starting at different times?
A really busy, but good day yesterday. We went to a restaurant in the evening which was a la carte, but at the same time it was "all you can eat". The dishes were quite small but you ordered a dish at a time, and could order as many dishes as you wanted after each ‘round’ was finished. A very good night and great company with a group 16 Dutchies.
Got up late today but went out for an 8.5 miler this afternoon. There was some light rain but it wasn’t too cold, and I had a really good run. It’s the longest run I had planned in advance, so I was pleased to be able to get this one done today.
Shades, yeah. I had a good stretch after and it went away but I still feel knackered. I don't know why my last two Sunday runs have felt so tiring - 13 and 15 miles should be easy now. Perhaps it's the after effects of the cold I had, or perhaps it's just the time of the year. Big G - hoping to do a double on NYD but I volunteered at my local to do the post-run take down and it will be tricky to find another I can get to before that. The tubes are running, but only every 10 minutes so it'll be tight.
Shades, thats a pretty smart top, Ware Joggers is pretty poor in terms of kit, just vest, shirt and hoddies available.
Big G the only day you can do 2 parkruns is NYD. Hope you enjoy the AF beers.
Cal well done on the long runs, the still are a decent distance and will take a bit out of you, esp if you're still not quit 100%. Can you run between the 2 parkruns? I did that last year, pretty knackering with a belly full of cheese and port.
In regards to AF beer, most of it undergoes the same process and then the added expense of removing the alcohol after fermentation as good as outweighs the duty cost of the alcohol. As to why it's 29p over there I'd imagine it's a demand thing. I do agree that Heineken is pretty decent, I also enjoy Brewdog's version which is like a craft beer.
When I've been to Australia there is a big market for midi's (mid strength lager) served at alot of sporting events, usually between 2-3% strength which as long as it has flavour I'd be happy with. My favourite beer in the world is a pale ale from Perth called little creatures at 5.2% not something I'll drink lots of at anyone time. Thankfully they have a lazy dog beer which doesnt quite hit the spot but just 4%, means I can drink a few of these on xmas day without ruining the cooking.
What I find confusing is the word light at the end of the lager name, Bud Light is because it's low in abv (3.5) Coors and Michelop Ultra light is as its lighter in calories but up at 4% (however when it was first launched in the UK it was 4.5%).
7.5 miles earlier, feeling more comfortable with every run, spent a bit of time on my feet before and after doing house work. Popped into Asda for a mid run poo.... seems the local towns all had decended on it.
All I need to do now is pop to Marks and Spencer pick up the turkey and gravy and buy some bread.
Rob - the closest 9am is Peckham which is probably further than I could run in an hour (after running 5K). I think my best bet is Highbury, which is on the tube. So long as they run when they say they are running, I can just about make it back to Tooting for the parkrun there.
Cal - I think you answered your own question about being so tired after your couple of long runs, looks like you're running them too fast, which is why they are making you so tired post run. Just ease up on the pace for the next few weeks.
Robert - yes, it is nice kit, the short sleeved is good too, I'll post a pic when I get one...just to make you all a bit jealous
I always though 'light' was a reference to the colour of a beer, but I just assumed that. I must start trying some of AF stuff just out of curiosity, I'll skip the Becks though as I dislike the ordinary Becks so unlikely I'll like their AF version
I've got to pop into Asda today, but not for the same reason as you did, too much information I just need some milk and bread.
8 miles for me this morning, light rain, bit breezy in places but enjoyable run as less traffic although the shoppers are out now in their cars.
Robert, I’ve tried the Brewdog one - Nanny State. The Adnams one isn’t bad either, Ghost Ship. I’ve tried a few over here - Bavaria 0.0, Hoegaarden 0.0, Erdinger and Radler. Personally I didn’t enjoy the Radler although it seems to be in most bars here.
To add to the confusion, in the UK 0.5% beers are also marketed as alcohol free, but most would have one or two of those and count them as AF. It’s confusing as some soft drinks have small amounts of alcohol in them too (for example, orange juice etc, if left opened for a few days) but as far as I know they don’t have to display the fact prominently.
I’ve picked up a cold Not a surprise I suppose as a few people I’ve seen also have had a cold, but still annoying. Not sure what I’ll do about running today - probably a rest day would be a sensible idea to see if I can shift it. Shame, as weather-wise it’s the best day since I’ve been here.
Big G - bad luck on getting a cold, that's the trouble with all the socialising at this time of year.
Re the AF and 0.5%, there's always been that issue with tinned shandy having tiny amounts of alcohol. I guess it's the same with Xmas puddings/mince pies, most alcohol is cooked off but there are still small amounts remaining. Likewise decaff coffee still has some caffeine in it.
Hope everyone's ok,survived the mayhem of the last few days and I'm off now. I knew Saturday was going to be our busiest day and I'd be on my feet for about 10 hours so took my watch in and measured my steps,just under 38,000!!! Then stupidly went out for 5 miles but there was nothing in my legs,No running yesterday so thought is try a solo half today. Started with the wind behind me so made good time then lost it with the wind against me,out of the wind at 8 miles and still ahead of target,I thought I'd picked a route with not much traffic but between 8 and 10 I had to stop 4 times,the last time I just couldn't get going again so called it a day.Despite the stop/start I ended exactly on PB pace,and until I hit the traffic I was on for about 1:26/27 so feeling good about it.
Ian - bloody hell that's a lot of steps, you need roller skates. Must be exhausting but must also contribute to your training. Good to hear you're off now for a few days, you've earned it.
Doing a solo half in that time bodes very well for future races
Shades-Its generally not that tiring,I'd say my normal step count is half of that,and I've been doing for 20 years so I'm used to it. A lot of today's route was the same as my last half,and looking at Strava,most of my segments were about 10/15 sec/mile quicker than then so when I next do a half I'll aim for 1:26
Comments
I've had a bad run at Great Welsh a few years ago when the weather was bad too, very windy and wet. In good conditions I've done a season's best there a couple of years ago as it's a fast course when it's not windy.
Hope you can get to run a race or two while you're there.
Big G, those MK punishments defo aren't prizes!
Steve 'only 2 pbs' is good well done.
More wins at work in the Sports and Social raffle £15 love to shop voucher. £30 on a scratchcard, so bought some lottery tickets for Saturday which I never bother with!
5 miles earlier today, hip seemed be okay and the PF bearable. I'm focusing on calf s&c at the moment and seems to be helping.
Steve-2x Pb's is great at your level.
Rob-Thats a treasure trove of prizes,well done.
Big G-Have a good time,may aswell enter the races while you're there
Same run as shades this evening,nice 6 miles in surprisingly warm and dry weather,added bonus as I wasn't expecting to fit any more in until Sunday.
That's great that your GF has been coaching your sisters ready for their first parkrun on Saturday. It's definitely catching this running lark.
Robert - well done on prizes, fingers crossed for the lottery tickets
Ian - I don't know how you find the time or energy to run, such a busy time for you at work, but it must help unwind at the end of the day.
7 miles today, lovely and mild, windy in places.
I too find running a way to clear my head, however don't have a hectic job.
Rest day today, off to Panto tonight as a works social.
Got an email from Parkrun today, offering 50% off Westminster 10k (Monday before DD) Elle ran it earlier this year so at £15 each have signed us both upto it. I'm sure she'll love the surprise on Christmas!
My new club winter top has arrived, very pleased with it. Need to order the short sleeve one next and later on a vest for the summer. Shortest day today so we're on our way.
Robert - enjoy - I can't do that race as it clashes with Liverpool.
Good to hear the ankle isn't too bad.
10 miles for me today, nice weather for a morning run considering it's December. Roads were very busy by the time I'd finished my run and most drivers have that stressed Christmas shopping look on their faces.
Good to see people still ticking the miles over in the run up to Xmas.
I went out and did 5-miles this morning. It's a bit odd around here, as the houses are all detached with a lot of land, and are all unique and very nice. But the roads tend to be long and straight, and everything looks the same. I've been told it is due to something called ruilverkaveling, which is basally where land was redistributed closer to the owners of the farm houses in neat squares (before that, a farmer may have had land dotted around all over the place). But when I'm running along, it's sometimes hard to really distinguish between one stretch of road and another. Also, it's fine when there's no wind, but when it's windy it can be hard work to run around here!
The first of the 10ks is today, but we've been invited out for lunch and the race location and the lunch location are two hours apart, so I've had to knock the race on the head. No problem, but that's why I got a run in this morning. Hopefully I'll be able to do the Boxing Day race, but I'll just have to see what happens with other plans.
I'm not really into to the Alcohol Free beers and wines, but I've noticed that the bars here tend to have 2 or 3 AF beers available, alongside their other (usually very strong) beers. Also, one supermarket yesterday had 6 AF beers on offer, whilst the Lidl here had an AF beer available for 29c a can, which is very cheap compared to the UK. One of the main AF-beers in UK is Heineken 0.0, and that tends to be in the region of £4 for 6 330ml cans. I have bought some of the Lidl stuff for Xmas Day/Boxing Day.
I think there's going to be a choice of white kit too. I've heard it mentioned, so I guess that's a white vest and maybe a short sleeved for running in the warmer weather. But we don't have strict rules on kit we can wear whichever we like red, black or white. We also order individually direct from the supplier so nobody has to order and hold stocks which is such a task and ties up funds.
Your running route today couldn't be a greater contrast from Devon, it makes running away from home interesting though.
Wonder why AF beer is so expensive here compared to NL. Dropping the price here surely would encourage some to try the AF.
Shades, not sure why the prices tend to be higher in the UK. Over here there are lots of breweries and a lot seem to have an AF beer, so maybe more competition brings the price down? Even the bigger breweries like Erdinger and Hoegaarden have AF beers, which are decent and readily available in bars here (as is the Heineken 0.0). I’m not really aware of that trend from British breweries, although I do know Adnams do one. I believe Tesco is recognised as the best supermarket to get AF beers, but over here all the supermarkets seem to have a selection.
I think in the UK the likes of Becks Blue are good sellers, but also don’t have a very good reputation due to the way they’re made (and the resulting - horrible - taste!). The Heineken 0.0 is becoming more popular in the UK partly because, as I understand it, it’s brewed following a more normal brewing process, but then the alcohol is taken out at the end, whereas I don’t think Becks Blue follows a brewing process as such. I wonder if the decent AF beers will become more popular in the UK over time?
Generally though, when I’m out in the UK I’ll just have a soft drink, coffee, lime and soda or tap water. I suppose more choice of AF beers would be nice, but I’m not too bothered really, although I know there are a selection of tea-totalers who get quite angry if a place doesn’t serve AF beers!
I guess the AF beers are expensive to produce as quantities small, so for now a niche market. But I think in a few years things will change. I like the taste of a normal or strong lager but have never found an AF free one that tastes nice but I don't go out of my way to try them. The free AF beer we had at Frankfurt marathon was too sweet and too gassy. But when I'm out I usually have a coffee or a lime and soda, trouble is I don't care for soft drinks, never have. On a hot day I can enjoy a J20 watered down with lots of ice, but only one. Hate cola flavour and don't like carbonated drinks really.
Cal - stressful journey to your parkrun, but easy to assume that the station of the same name would be the nearest to the park.
Rest day for me today
Cal, are you hoping to do two parkruns in a day on Xmas Day and/or New Year's Day? It must be possible or you, with so many events around and presumably starting at different times?
A really busy, but good day yesterday. We went to a restaurant in the evening which was a la carte, but at the same time it was "all you can eat". The dishes were quite small but you ordered a dish at a time, and could order as many dishes as you wanted after each ‘round’ was finished. A very good night and great company with a group 16 Dutchies.
Big G - I think there's 57 in the Mavericks now, about the same as last year. Quite a few are Trotters.
That must be a sort of Dutch equivalent of tapas.
You're getting a fair bit of training done while you're there.
Been doing lots of cleaning today, more tiring than running. Back to running tomorrow and less cleaning. 😄
Big G - hoping to do a double on NYD but I volunteered at my local to do the post-run take down and it will be tricky to find another I can get to before that. The tubes are running, but only every 10 minutes so it'll be tight.
Big G the only day you can do 2 parkruns is NYD. Hope you enjoy the AF beers.
Cal well done on the long runs, the still are a decent distance and will take a bit out of you, esp if you're still not quit 100%. Can you run between the 2 parkruns? I did that last year, pretty knackering with a belly full of cheese and port.
In regards to AF beer, most of it undergoes the same process and then the added expense of removing the alcohol after fermentation as good as outweighs the duty cost of the alcohol. As to why it's 29p over there I'd imagine it's a demand thing. I do agree that Heineken is pretty decent, I also enjoy Brewdog's version which is like a craft beer.
When I've been to Australia there is a big market for midi's (mid strength lager) served at alot of sporting events, usually between 2-3% strength which as long as it has flavour I'd be happy with. My favourite beer in the world is a pale ale from Perth called little creatures at 5.2% not something I'll drink lots of at anyone time. Thankfully they have a lazy dog beer which doesnt quite hit the spot but just 4%, means I can drink a few of these on xmas day without ruining the cooking.
What I find confusing is the word light at the end of the lager name, Bud Light is because it's low in abv (3.5) Coors and Michelop Ultra light is as its lighter in calories but up at 4% (however when it was first launched in the UK it was 4.5%).
7.5 miles earlier, feeling more comfortable with every run, spent a bit of time on my feet before and after doing house work. Popped into Asda for a mid run poo.... seems the local towns all had decended on it.
All I need to do now is pop to Marks and Spencer pick up the turkey and gravy and buy some bread.
Robert - yes, it is nice kit, the short sleeved is good too, I'll post a pic when I get one...just to make you all a bit jealous
I always though 'light' was a reference to the colour of a beer, but I just assumed that. I must start trying some of AF stuff just out of curiosity, I'll skip the Becks though as I dislike the ordinary Becks so unlikely I'll like their AF version
I've got to pop into Asda today, but not for the same reason as you did, too much information I just need some milk and bread.
8 miles for me this morning, light rain, bit breezy in places but enjoyable run as less traffic although the shoppers are out now in their cars.
To add to the confusion, in the UK 0.5% beers are also marketed as alcohol free, but most would have one or two of those and count them as AF. It’s confusing as some soft drinks have small amounts of alcohol in them too (for example, orange juice etc, if left opened for a few days) but as far as I know they don’t have to display the fact prominently.
Re the AF and 0.5%, there's always been that issue with tinned shandy having tiny amounts of alcohol. I guess it's the same with Xmas puddings/mince pies, most alcohol is cooked off but there are still small amounts remaining. Likewise decaff coffee still has some caffeine in it.
I survived Asda, busy but manageable.
I knew Saturday was going to be our busiest day and I'd be on my feet for about 10 hours so took my watch in and measured my steps,just under 38,000!!!
Then stupidly went out for 5 miles but there was nothing in my legs,No running yesterday so thought is try a solo half today.
Started with the wind behind me so made good time then lost it with the wind against me,out of the wind at 8 miles and still ahead of target,I thought I'd picked a route with not much traffic but between 8 and 10 I had to stop 4 times,the last time I just couldn't get going again so called it a day.Despite the stop/start I ended exactly on PB pace,and until I hit the traffic I was on for about 1:26/27 so feeling good about it.
Doing a solo half in that time bodes very well for future races
I'm going for a run in the morning, love to run on Xmas day.
A lot of today's route was the same as my last half,and looking at Strava,most of my segments were about 10/15 sec/mile quicker than then so when I next do a half I'll aim for 1:26