Category Archives: Running

Wymondham Half with Jayne

5th December, a date I am never likely to forget, The day I got married in 1986, then, funnily enough, the day Geoff dropped his bombshell about leaving in 2019.

So to take my mind off the date my friend Jayne had invited me over to Wymondham for a long run/walk, after 2 days of torrential never-ending rain, with a bit of snow thrown in too I did wonder if we were a little mad.

Luckily when I woke the weather looked bright and clear, perfect running weather in fact.

The roads are a bit more undulating over in Wymondham, I remember running a new years day 10km there in 2018 and vowed never again, although that could have been more to do with seeing the new year in !!

We agreed we would run/walk, no ratio just walk when we wanted to, but amazingly we ran the whole 13 miles, when you are chatting the miles just seem to melt away.

Lovely open countryside, bright blue skies, and good company made it just perfect, after all the rain we only came across one flooded road too.

Nice to be home with no bike to clean, new memories made and thanks to all my amazing friends for their support, I think it’s finally time to stop mourning and start living ……

George Munday Virtual 10K

A message today from a complete stranger made me realize that I had not posted here for a while, and while I am no longer the person I used to be surely I can still manage a blog post or two!

Today should have been The George Munday 10k an event I love, but like everything else this year, it was Cancelled. Instead, they decided to do the run as a Virtual one, meaning you run the distance send them the details and in return, they will send you the medal.

This year I have been running with Maria helping her to recover slowly from injury and this seemed like a good challenge without there being too much pressure.

I remember when Maria could barely walk the parkrun route, more chatting was done than running but with determination, we have worked together and built it up slowly over the months.

The plan today was to run the 10k then go for Sunday lunch but of course, COVID lockdown 2 put paid to our lunch plans. Instead, we did our run in perfect weather conditions then went for a takeaway coffee and enjoyed some of Maria’s homemade chocolate cake to celebrate, all done socially distanced of course.

I think Maria has done an amazing job and our next challenge will be the Ely NYE 10k which is also going to be a Virtual run.

Now we wait for our Medals to arrive.

 

 

George Munday 10k and St Neots Half Marathon

With my Audax challenge over and eager to pick up my running again and knowing it wouldn’t be long before Geoff went off on his travels, I started to fill my diary with running events.

As predicted and with little notice, Geoff left for Bangkok on 29th October just as I started a week’s holiday! Luckily for me, I had a weekend booked at Sheringham Youth hostel with Gina and Jayne, the plan was to run/walk the 26-mile LDWA Poppy line route, our first attempt at this distance and although the weather was not great and there was lots of mud we did it and had lots of fun along the way. The plan is to progress until we can comfortable do 30 miles of run/walking.

The following weekend on 10th November Gina and I met up again to run the George Munday 10k, my first running event since March. I love this well organized friendly event, its very touching with the RAF officer laying the poppy wreath and 2 mins silence before the start of the race. It was also great to see so many of my running friends at this event, it made me realize how much I had missed my running while dedicating my time to  Audaxing.

At around 4 miles a man ran up to the girl next to me and I heard him say “keep this up and you will be under the hour” which did surprise me, so I then had a little chat with Haley and much to my amazement, I finished  in 58.28 my best 10k time for over 2 years, it also felt good to be pain-free, it has taken over 18 months to recover from my bike fall on black ice, something I hope not to repeat.

Next, it was St Neots Half marathon on 17th November, I have run this event twice before, the last time in 2017 when I tripped on a loose drain cover and broke my elbow, although now pain-free I am still unable to straighten my arm. When I arrived in St Neots to register and meet up with Jayne, Gina, and Linda it was raining and cold. I had trouble deciding what to wear and at the very last min took my base layer off deciding a t-shirt would be enough, I had new skins on too which although very comfortable didn’t have a waistband pocket for my Gel, which I decided to do without.

By the time 10 am came, the rain had stopped and with no wind, it was a perfect running day. I had forgotten how undulating this course was, mile 9 to 10 felt like running through treacle, that’s when I wished I had taken my Gel at mile 6! The marshalls and supporters out on the course were great, it’s always good to hear your name being called out, I even chatted to a guy from Northampton who was just about to move to Wellingborough, which is where I was born.

Much to my delight, I finished in 2.14.44 although I never really noticed the downhill finish !! After the run we went to Weatherspoons for Lunch, steak egg and chips finished the day off perfectly and maybe with a bit more training I will get a better time at Cambridge Half.

Cambridge Shipping Lanes 200km Audax (16th February 2019)

February the month I hate most, having done 4 x 200km Audaxes we decided we just had to fit in a February one. We decided on a permanent event, Cambridge Shipping lanes 200km then we could choose when to ride it, unfortunately, the weather stopped play on our preferred date so we were left with only one option, 16th February, the day before my Valentine 10km run, not ideal but it had to be done.

Luckily for us, the weekend forecast was clear mild and maybe even sunny.

We left Cambridge at 7 am just as the sun was rising, something I still find awesome, we thought we would try and get to the halfway point before stopping for food.

The route was very rolling and took us through some beautiful villages including the historic Lavenham, by the time we got to Hadleigh at 11 am I was feeling quite hungry so we stopped for breakfast at Huffers, we keep trying to cut our break times down on these rides but it was still 30 mins before we were on our way again.

Another hour and a half of lane riding followed by a nice fast stretch into Shotley and we arrived at the Shipwreck pub on the peninsular, neither of us were really hungry or needing a break but it was so lovely we decided to have coffee and cake while enjoying the view. 30 mins later we were on our way home, I always love the halfway point!

We or should I say I got the first puncture as we were cycling through the Royal Hospital, a very interesting looking place which is not a hospital as the name suggests! I thought it must have military connections as once you have lived on a military base you can spot them a mile off! A lovely man came to help bringing a track pump, he also told us the history of the place, how it was now a private school, had naval connections and how originally it was where all the naval orphans were sent to live

Once on our way again, Geoff had a close call with a cat, who refused to move out the middle of the road then a deer almost took me out, the speed they run at was quite frightening, before long the sun was setting and the night time riding started.

Still a novice at this night time riding I tend to slow down a little and take my time especially when the roads are full of potholes, but we made it to Sudbury with no major mishaps, here we had our obligatory Audax Macdonalds stop, 30 mins seems to be our standard stopping time!

Just after Great Thurlow Geoff, had a visit from the puncture fairy, he was not happy especially as it was now dark, but with a bit of patience and using the spare tyre we were soon on our way, only for him to hit a hole further down the road and puncture again! This time he really was not happy, I recalled that in the write up I had read about the route, we would soon be at Balsham and it was all downhill from there, so I tried to comfort Geoff with this news but he was having none of it

Once we got going again my mind fixed onto the downhill into Cambridge and I am happy to say the roads improved and it was a fabulous ride back into Cambridge,interestingly the only hassle we had from other road users was from a Double-decker bus as we came into Fulborne, for some unknown reason he had his hand on his horn behind me and all the while he was passing, we thought it could have been because He thought I should be on the cycle path!

I always expected February to be the hardest month for doing a 200km Audax but the weather was very kind and now I am almost at the 6-month point of no return for an RRtY….. I just have to keep Geoff interested and at home!

Btw the Valentines 10km run was the hardest run ever, my legs just did not want to work but I got my bling !!

Freethorpe 10

It’s the time of year when I am not sure if I am a runner or a cyclist. I tend to run more than bike as it’s a lot safer for starters and after my fall on black ice last January I am not taking any risks on my bike this year.

My running suffered due to my fall, as my side/back hurt every time I ran so I spent all of 2018 taking it easy.

Determined I would start 2019 with my favourite running events, I entered Freethorpe 10, Valentines 10km and Cambridge half marathon hoping I had kept some level of fitness from biking, surely if I can ride 134 miles I can run 13 miles!

Gina Linda & Sally at the start

Gina Linda & Sally at the start

Having just returned from Cyprus and having ran no more than 10km for around a year,I thought I had better do a longer run. So last week I set out to run 8 miles with a friend and much to my delight not only did I enjoy the run but finally after a full year I had no pain or discomfort.

Freethorpe 10 is quite an undulating route for someone that lives in the flatlands, but that adds to the enjoyment, today the weather proved more of a challenge, as not only was it cold but it was also very windy, especially on the more exposed parts of the route.

Then there was the dilemma about what to wear and I had to get the colour right. luckily I made the right choice with short sleeves and gloves, not that they stayed on for long!

Sally with her medals

Finisher Sally

I started with my friends, then after a mile we all settled into our own running pace, running our own race, happy to meet again at the end. Always good to see Geoff at the half way point with words of encouragement.

The route was well marshalled and they were great at shouting out words of encouragement. as I expected miles 8/9 were the hardest for me, especially as they were straight into the wind.

Anyway I was very happy to finish in 1 hour 43, with not even a twinge from my side/back, a few more longer runs and I might just be ready for The Cambridge Half on March 5th.

Inspire Thetford Forest Trails 10k

Today I did my first running event of 2019 and it was a little different to my usual road running events.

The Inspire Thetford Forest Trails 10k was an off-road event round Thetford forest, starting from High Lodge.

The registration area had a nice party atmosphere with music, lots of info over the loudspeaker and a huge Inspire deck chair for fun photos. I was surprised to find there were 500 plus runners. with a Canicross race starting 30 mins after the main runners.

Must change the colour of my top!

This was a gentle introduction to trail running, the course was well marshaled on a mixture of wide Forest tracks, some soft and grassy, others stony and uneven. surprisingly by the time I finished, my feet felt quite sore !!

I enjoyed running through the forest, the scenery was lovely, it was quiet and still almost relaxing but it also felt a little lonely with no supporters around the course like you get on a road race.

looking forward to doing more off road run/walking over the coming months.

Epic end to 2018

Happy to say 2018 ended on a high with a 200km DIY Audax followed by a 60-mile ride with Cambridge CTC, followed by the Ely NYE 10k run.

This was far better than the start of 2018 which saw me having a fall off my bike on Black Ice, this caused me a great deal of pain and put me out of action for many months… even now I still get a niggle in my side when running!

With some care, a few painkillers and lots of determination, I still managed to do all I had planned for and more in 2018, including Cambridge half, riding in Mallorca, Walking in the Dolomites, the Lap of Anglia, run/walking 18 miles, many 200km Audaxes, a couple of 150-mile rides and an epic 300km Audax.

The most amazing thing to me is that I have achieved all this while suffering from menopausal hell !!!!

My next big goal is to get through January and February without taking any risks in the bad weather and icy conditions which are inevitable !!!!

My recorded Miles for the year are (approx)

6,340 Cycling, 465 Running,151 Walking

I have many plans for 2019 so exciting times ahead…………

 

 

It’s been a while

It’s been a while since I last posted here, 4 months in fact which is far too long.

I have had lots to say but with things going on with my white blood cells, a sore shoulder and back mixed together with menopausal stuff well truthfully I often didn’t want to talk to anyone let alone write my blog

Things are looking up now, my white blood cells are behaving, my shoulder and back improving by the week and the hot flushes that I thought might kill me, seem to be under control with a magic pill from the Doctor!

During all this time I have done some wonderful things with Geoff and my friends ……

I managed to Run the Cambridge half with hardly any training and was very happy with my time

After the long cold winter months I finally got out to do my first Audax of the year with Geoff, it was, in fact, my longest ride to date 142 miles, a permanent route called the Pork Pie and very hilly might I add.

This year we did the Daffodil Dawdle as a run/walk which was amazing we covered the 18 miles in 6 hours about 2 hours quicker than when we just walk

Then I had an awesome week in Mallorca with Geoff and friends from SWNC, I had been worried I would not be able to do the planned rides which included Pug Major, due to my back, but with a few painkillers I achieved all I set out to do

Straight back from Mallorca to run the GEAR 10k an amazing event with all the ladybirds and my Norwich running friends, I was a little slower due to my back but I did it.

Then to celebrate Linda’s birthday we had Chase the Train 10km my back was quite sore for this and if I am honest I hated the first 3/4 miles on a narrow single track but when we switched over to the opposite side of the track the path widened and I enjoyed the final 5 miles but what really made this run special was the ride back to Aylsham on the tiny steam train

Another 200 km Audax enjoyed with Geoff from Long Melford, I really enjoy these longer rides.

And then just for fun, I met up with my lovely Norwich running friends at Debden winery for the wine run, 6 wine tasting stops around a 10 km mainly off road run. I would estimate we drank 30 shots of wine, after crossing the finish line you received a huge glass of wine with your medal, we then enjoyed a really fun happy afternoon with a BBQ and yes you guessed wine !!

I am still having problems with my back when I run but it is much improved, I can only hope it keeps improving so I can start training for Wissey half soon as I miss my running so much …….