Posts Tagged ‘running’

It rained all day. So much for Dry January.

This made things really muddy. There was no escape from the mud. Every time I put my bag down to get something out of it, there was mud all over the floor. My beautiful new changing robe is now covered in mud. There is supposed to be mud on the course – it’s cross country. But it would be nice if there was a safe space somewhere.

The course was nice enough. Not brutally hilly, just regular Temple Newsam hilly. There were several water crossings. The deepest was well above me knee and on some of the shorter people, up to their waist. It is a good job I had my phone in a waterproof bag. I managed to get around without falling over, so that was nice. Might need some specific soft mud shoes for next year, though.

Lots of lovely baked goods at the end. Thank you to everyone who baked and th team captains for organising.

A beautiful misty morning for Roundhay’s 700th event. This ticked a box for me, too: it was my 7th Roundhay parkrun which takes my p-index to 7. Not bad given I only reached 6 earlier this month.

I was delighted to wake up on the morning of the race and see the ground covered in snow. Then the race emailed to say it was still on.

First, it was really cold. I put four layers on and it still took me 30 minutes to warm up enough to strip down to 2-3. The snow wasn’t the issue, though. It was the ice. All of the hills were icy. Mostly going up hill but there was still at least one descent that was icy. A lot of people fell over. Thankfully, I did a slow potter around, and stayed upright. It was cold enough to trigger a nose bleed, though.

Otherwise, it was a lovely race. Would do it again if it was warmer.

PECO is Leeds’s cross country league. When I took part in 2021, I only managed two races, so I’m hoping for three this year. Wst Park is the third one in the series and it is a nice course. Not too hilly (some hills) and because it was so cold the ground was forzen over so no mud. Like other races, it is often single track so difficult to overtake. Very well marshalled and a fun day out.

A great way to start the year as it took my p-index to six.

The p-index is number of different parkruns times the number of times you have done them. So, if you have done at least four different parkruns at least four times, you would have a p-index of four. I only started paying attention to it last year, around all of the touristing, but this year I’m hoping to give it some focus.

Heslington parkrun takes place at the York Sport Village Cycling Circuit. It’s a one kilometre cycle track meaning you take on five loops to complete the parkrun. It is very flat with only one slight rise and the laps allow you to gauge your pace, even if it is a little repetitive. Great course if you are looking for something flat and fast.

The Abbey Dash is a flat and fast 10k. And yet somehow has a new flatter course than when I last ran it in 2021. There was a good turnout from Hyde Park Harriers but we never got a group photo organised. I finished in:

50:40

I spent 1:40 in an emergncy bathroom stop at the half way point, so I think I would have run around a 49-minute 10k if it was not for that. I was delighted with it as I haven’t done much fast stuff since spring and not much serious running since Dublin Marathon, so I’m flat I’m still reasonably fit.

It was a great day of running. Cold and dry. Plus there was the Christmas market in City Square. Well done to everyone who took part and thank you to all of the volunteers.

York parkrun takes place on York race course. it’s one and a half laps, meaning it starts on the far side and finishes in front of the grand stand. It’s a popular one: despite the cold November weather, there were 608 of us there. It’s probably a PB course if you are at the front as it’s absolutely flat and tarmac all the way around. Further back there is quite a lot of congestion, especially around the large puddles that form after heavy rain. Thank you to all of the volunteers and excited to have got my Y for the alphabet challenge.

I finally made it to Run The Line! It’s a 12k-ish loop, all on trail, that starts and finishes in Glencullen.

Thousands of runners take part and if you’re thinking “that sounds like a lot of people to get in and out of Glencullen”, you would be correct. It took about 45 minutes from arriving at the edge of Glencullen to get into the car park, so cycle, car share, or arrive early if you can.

The run itself is well organised with plenty of marshals supporting us along the way. It is run in aid of the mountain rescue service so I felt in safe hands. The course mostly goes up and the start and both the climbs and the descends are technical so I was pretty slow on all of them.

My total time was:

1:44:16

I was just happy to get around. I took my eye off the ground for a split second at about the 7km and hit the deck, but no serious damage done.

Beautiful views all around. I would recommend it if you are in the area.

Tuesday was my last run as a member of Blackrock Athletics Club. Thank you to everyone who has run with me over the past few years, and Gerry for his tireless organisation. I hope to see you all again soon!