Trying out a new parkrun

This morning I headed over to nearby Raphael Park to run in their seventh week of their recently started parkrun.

http://www.localtennisleagues.com/romford

Only about two miles from home Raphael Parkrun is now my new local parkrun adding to the other local runs in Harrow Lodge and Brentwood. 

Having only found out about this new parkrun after a week or two of it starting and after a busy few weeks this week was my first chance to get over and try out the new event. 

I was eager to try out this new course as it promised to be a different challenge to my recent visits to Hackney Marshes parkrun. Raphael park in three laps of the park all on Tarmac paths as opposed to Hackney Marshes which is a completely flat there and back course.

I was interested to see how my run on a tougher course would compare with my recent PB on the super flat Hackney Marshes route. 

Arriving before the race I was greeted by a great turnout of runners of varying abilities, club runners, fun runners and walkers from a wide age range.

A detailed explanatory briefing was given to myself and the other news runners. The first six weeks of the race seem to have been blighted by confusion amongst runners as to the layout of the route. It seemed pretty simple though 2 long 2km laps and 1 smaller 1km lap and on the final lap you divert from the route into the finishing funnel. With plenty of explanations before the start and numerous marshals out on the course to direct runners I found the course to be pretty straightforward.

The route of the run really went all around the park and it really is a lovely park. The route starts at what most be the highest point on the main path through the park then heads down to the entrance on Main Road before turning right onto the water. Runners then hug the waters edge all the way to the end of the lake before heading up the incline towards the back of the park and the playing field and tennis court area. Right around the tennis courts before heading back toward the main park and the start area which takes you down and then up a dip before your back at the starting point for the second lap. 

A repeated lap brings up 4km and running parkrun as laps I found really broke up the race and made it go quickly. The third shorter lap starts the same way as the first two with the split then coming after the incline midway through the lap when runners on their final lap take a sharp right to head for home. Down and the up the dip and another sharp turn to the right brings runners into the only grassed area of the course where the course snakes in the last few hundred metres into the finishing funnel.

It was a tough run and I was interested to see my time at the finish. Despite being a more demanding course there times I felt really good and was flying round, I was able to maintain my pace when I started to struggle and I wouldn't have been surprised if I had challenged my PB time despite the tougher route. However my final time was 21.49 which represents my third fastest parkrun time. My regular speed work sessions in recent months are definitely making an improvement as my faster runs feel easier as I am used to running at faster paces. 

Overall I finished in 7th place out of 105 runners which I was really pleased with and it was nice to be involved in the business end of the race even if I wasn't anywhere near winning the race. My first km marked a km PB of 4.04 which was also pleasing but shows that I am still heading out too fast and this is something I need to work on.

Big thank you to all organisers and volunteers at Raphael parkrun for a well organised race which I hope will grow and develop for many months and years to come! 

Day 20 A cold, muddy wintery parkrun

Today's run - Parkrun - Trails - 5K - 24.29

This morning I was up bright and early for a Saturday to head off to a parkrun. 

It was a slightly special parkrun as I was excited to be taking part in @brentwoodparkrun inaugural event. Held in Weald Country park it is a 10 minute drive there which this morning meant defrosting the car from the arctic grip that enveloped it over night. 

The early morning run and start was not helped by a night out last night at a family birthday party which involved quite a few celebratory drinks, a whooping big pizza as below and getting a taste for and subsequently rather enjoying more than a few shots of lemoncello.  

South Weald park was the venue for my last marathon the Brentwood Weald Country park marathon which I completed at the end of October.

The park is one of my favorite local parks and its a lovely place to walk and is fast becoming one of my favorite places to run. 

This morning the park was at its best and could have provided plenty Christmas card worthy photo opportunities. 

The run its self was tough, not just because of the icy and muddy conditions but because of the hilly terrain and the technical trails provided by running through the forest and in and around the assortment of trees with their protruding roots and branches.

Overall I felt pretty strong and was happy with my pace, my aim was to try and go around 25 minutes as I felt that would be a decent time on a trail based course knowing it would be hilly and muddy. I finished in 24.29 which I was very pleased with as the course actually ended up being tougher than I envisaged. 

I tried to run at times with the same pacing strategy we used for the 5K track session at Asics 26.2 bootcamp of pushing for 400m, recovering for 200m and repeating throughout. I found this method useful to keep pushing myself and I was pleased I was strong enough mentally and physically to keep pushing. I definitely fell I am strong enough at the moment to put some decent pressure on my 5K PB. 

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for tomorrows post on my Santa run! 

Brentwood South Weald Marathon

Sunday marked my third marathon in three months as I completed the Brentwood South Weald Marathon organised by Go Beyond in the leafy Essex countryside.

The appeal of this event was its proximity to where I live, just a 15 minute drive away. After I entered I however became less enthusiastic about the event due to it being 12 laps of a 3.5km course and I was somewhat apprehensive this would be a dull and boring monotonous event that would be a depressing mental grind.

The reality was thankfully far from the truth.

Race intro

The marathon forms part of the Brentwood Running Festival which also comprises of a 10K and a half marathon, so provides a challenge for all abilities.

The marathon is a complete off road affair, a real trail marathon, suitably tough, muddy and grueling for even the most experienced runner.

Before the event I knew to expect a tough course as I have visited South Weald Park before and so was aware of the terrain, but it wasn't until completing my first lap that I fully appreciated what a tough event this marathon was going to be.

The course

Somewhere into my second lap I quickly established my race strategy, aim for under 5 hours which would be incredibly respectable, be prepared to walk the hills and inclines and conserve energy for later in the race and keep my trainers as dry as possible for as long as possible.

I also broke the course down into two halves, one half was around the main park field where running on longish grass that was very tough on wet heavy ground. The hill up to the wood then marked the transition into the second half where the trails zig zagged in and around the woods, although undulating and technical the path here was mainly downhill I figured and was a section that I should try to move through as quickly as my legs would allow.

Interspersed in the forest were sections of treacherous muddiness where a slow to a walk was advisable. There was also the tricky ravine with a sheer drop down a root riddled bank and a muddy scramble up the other side slowed most runners progress down to a walk or a crawl.

Out of the woods a nice water sodden muddy, marshy patch awaited before the second hill climb completed the lap and took you down to the finish line.

How did I find it?

In summary; tough, muddy, tiring, scenic, challenging, autumnal and rewarding are the words that spring to mind.

I decided to run without a watch so throughout the race I had no real idea of pacing or my race time apart from the snippets of other runners completing the 10K or half marathon I heard over the loud speaker as I passed through the finish line after completing each lap.

This decision made the finish all the more satisfying as I was really pleased with my finish time as this was my fastest off road marathon.

The course was so demanding though, having completed Beachy Head Marathon this time last year I am no stranger to tough off road marathons and although the hills in South Weald Park don't quite rival the seven sisters this is still a tougher than average marathon.

As some kind of perspective I consider myself to be in much better shape running this marathon than my last two but by the half way mark my legs felt like they did at the 20 mile mark of the last two marathons.

Overall I really enjoyed the event and would class this event as a special event as it stands out for its excellent organisation, brilliant marshaling on an interesting and inspiring location and setting.

The event was very much a slick operation which included a thorough briefings given before the start of the three different races, enthusiast marshals offering encouragement on the course and a plentiful supply of refreshments available after every lap. The race represents terrific value as for the £16 entry fee you received a medal and t shirt as well as a print out of your split lap times provided to you within seconds if finishing. 

The only negative I can recall from the experience is a minor one relating to the playlist being played at the finish line, some of the songs were not what you would call your obvious choices, hearing Elton Johns candle in the wind 3/4 of the way through was extremely odd and although it didn't inspire to me run it did make me chuckle! 

On a personal note I was very pleased with my performance, I didn't find the multiple laps a drain or a bore but instead found it quite comforting to know what was coming up and to have a clearer understanding of distance covered and distance left to run.

I coped with the slight repetitiveness of running the same path over and over by talking myself through the route that lay ahead of me on the course in the same way a rally car drivers navigator talks the driver through the obstacles that lie ahead in the next few hundred metres. 

Physically I did start to tire and ache from around lap 5 and the going got harder as you would expect through laps 6 and 7. I was as ever glad and thankful for the support of my wife who was on hand with lucozade and support to keep me running into the final laps.

The last few laps were understandably all the more difficult but thankfully went by relatively quickly and I continues to feel buoyed by the growing number of multi coloured bands I was collecting to count the number of laps completed. 

Finish line

I most admit a strong feeling of elation approaching the finish line for the final time, no musical fanfare, no cheering cheerleaders or cheering crowds that you get with larger inner city marathons but instead the strong sense of satisfaction of having completed a demanding challenge with a handful of other hardy souls.  

                   

Between marathon 2 and 3

So two out of three marathons done and dusted.

Number one the Vanguard Way Marathon completed in 4.55 after one or two issues.

Number two the Robin Hood Marathon in Nottingham ticked off with a PB of 4.10 just over a week ago.

Number three fast approaching before the end of the month, the Brentwood Weald Country Park marathon less than three weeks to go!

Recap

I thought I would tie up a few loose ends and recap on where I am and what I am doing as I enter the final stage of my three marathons in three months series.

To be honest I have kind of had enough of running OK maybe not running but the demands of marathon training. My body is starting to feel the affects of several months hard training and I am getting a bit fee up with constantly having to train and eat right, still mustn't grumble!

As I have mentioned I completed my second marathon in a PB time of just under 4hours 10 minutes and with it earned myself the flashest medal in my collection!

Medal

Not only is it shiny and orange (my favourite colour!) and with the striking robin hood design but the bit in the middle spins round! Awesome! 

After the marathon I did go on a little post run eating binge and enjoyed eating a few too many calories to help me refuel. If you are in the mood for a bit of food, check out this blog here be warned does contain foodporn!

Trainers

Trainer wise about three weeks before my second marathon I bought my second 'new' pair of trainers.

My 'newer' asics GT 3000's replacing the 'old' new pair of my asics GT 2000's.

I figure my 2000's have done in excess of 400km and felt like they had lost a lot of life, I will still keep them as my second back up pair as they still have a bit of life left in them though.

Ideally I would have had a little more time to wear in my new pair before my second marathon but it disnt work out that way and although they haven't caused me any problems I think they will be more in their prime come my third marathon in a few weeks

Yearly mileage

Year to date I have almost hit 1300km thats around 800 Miles and I think I am on course to hit 1700km. Earlier in the year I did have an ambition of trying to hit 2000km as I narrowly missed 1000km in 2014 but I know now I am too far adrift from being able to meet that target.

My new aim is to hit 1000 miles which will be just over 1600km which is very doable as I will only need to cover 100km per month for the last three months, should be in the bag! 

London marathon 

Last week I along with many others up and down the country waited expectedly for their fate to be decided? Was Christmas going to be planned around training runs? Would I have to endure a lot of running through the cold, dark dank days of January?

The simple answer is a big far no!

No London Marathon for me again! I have entered the ballot at least 6 or 7 times over the last 10 years or so and never been lucky enough to get in. I know I am not alone in not being lucky enough to be selected.

I did go on a bit of a twitter rant against the London Marathon in the gact that it has become more about celebrity runners and fundraising and less of a race event. Anyway thts over with now and I know I will still be entering the ballot again to hopefully be selected for 2016, fingers crossed!

So on-wards to Marathon number 3...

Marathon number three is in Brentwood, Weald Country Park to be precise and must surely be my most local marathon as it is only a 10-15 minute drive away.

Having started to look into the specifics of this run I am a bit taken aback that this marathon consists of 12 3.5km laps! Argh!

I knew it was laps but so many repetitions of such small laps sounds awfully dull and dreary with the potential to destroy any runner mentally. Time will tell!

The positive from it is that as it is in a park and the route is off road I can go back to training on trails for my preparation which I am really looking forward to! Bring on the trails!

Thanks for reading as always any tips and hints on how to cope with running multiple laps would be great!