Eastbourne parkrun 07 April 2012: The satsuma that got squeezed!

Another wonderful parkrun. Cloudy but muggy and regretted my long top choice. Our good friend Lynda was down from London for the weekend, so she gave me a lift today. Much like last time, we laughed our socks off the whole journey there - so much so that we kept setting off the bleep on the keyfinder, which, if lost, you locate by shouting or clapping for it. Lynda, struggling to keep the car on the road for fear of shaking it into the side from laughing too much, managed to get us there just in time. I had just about burst every blood vessel in my head from the pain of excess chortling.

We rocked up with 5 minutes to spare, did a few pretend stretches amongst the professionalesque runners, who were limbering up properly, and the fabulous Easter mums whose warm-up, in fairness to them, consisted of simply removing their jumpers. The call was made and we all lined up as one – parkrunners!

Last week I had half marathon walrus legs and slapped my way round like an old steam boiler. This week, I went off way too quick - 6:40 min/mile for the first 200 yards. Ouch. Reined back a bit, let the quicker guys and gals fly off, but kept myself hidden, as mid-pack Martin, amongst the enthusiastic amateurs and pre-pubescent kids.

I felt quite strong most of the way round, evidenced by the fact my HR was 7 beats (roughly) lower than last week, yet I was averaging 10 seconds a mile quicker. Running science is weird.

At 4km, I hooked on to the back of a young boy. He must have been about 11 or 12. If you are reading this young boy, I am truly sorry for crushing your spirit. (still did great!!) You see, dear reader, he appeared to have hit a tough patch and I was coasting a bit, so I waited for an opportune moment before letting out a bit of turbo and eased past. (My only competitive streak of the whole run and I hated myself for it!).

I passed the back of the finish line just as some of the first few finishers were funnelling through it. Just a lap of the field and the customary sprint (and I use that term loosely!) home and I can have my reward of some lukewarm water in the rucksack.

Position: 29th

Garmin time: 23:31 (course PB by 21 seconds) - I put that strongly down to the fact the ground was firm today.

My friend Lynda popped round the final bend about 5 minutes later, looking like a giant satsuma about to explode in her bright orange Berlin Half Marathon top. She sprinted past one doughty lady runner on the run-in and hit a new PB herself. Not sure of her official time yet, but we think it was sub 29 and Eastbourne is always going to be quicker than her home parkrun of Richmond.

After shopping for prosecco and nibbles for later (vine leaves, olives, spiced corn, feta and other assorted antipasti), we laughed the whole way home again, with Lynda recounting how she was overtaken with ease by an 11 yr old girl with a honky-cough.  A giant satsuma squeezed by a teenager with flu. I think that calls for a #embarrassingmoment

Next time, I am going to play bull-spotting. You know, the guys who sniff in so much air so as not to leave any for the rest of us? They strut around wide-eyed, sweat physical-fitness testosterone and their only thoughts are to cane every runner around them. Try bull-spotting next time you are out and I dare you not to chuckle…


The satsuma and I....

Other blogs:

A parkrun lesson

How parkruns and bumblebees can lead to half marathon success

Eastbourne parkrun 24 March

Eastbourne parkrun 31 March 2012: How Kathy Bates sabotaged my parkrun

 

Inaugural runs: Eastbourne parkrun (28 January 2012)

Eastbourne parkrun started today, with a turnout of 120 people. Several experienced parkrunners had made the journey to Eastbourne to greet the dawning of a new event, though probably none quite as mad as @n0rm, fellow parkrun tourist and ironman-in-training, who got up at 3.57am to cycle down from London.

The route is a route of three parts:

1. a short anti-clockwise lap on grass


2. a long clockwise lap on tarmac


3. a short clockwise lap on grass (the reverse of part 1).

My top tip: "Remember part three".

Because at the end of part two, you can see the finishing funnel with lots of people standing around cheering. More than one person sprinted past me to the line...only to find out that there was still one bit left to run. If you know that, and don't sprint, then the cheering crowds of the already-finished will give you a wonderful lift to take you round the final part. But I imagine that if you don't know that, the last little bit seems to go on and on and on.

Thanks to two runners, Eastleigh regular Robert Spencer and parkrun first timer Victoria Heaysman, both of whom (unwittingly) paced me round and spurred me on to a sort-of-sprint finish.

And thank you, as ever, to all the volunteers who put on such a slick first event. It a great, flat course with a touch of variety to keep it interesting. Definitely one to try, if you're passing by.

Inaugural runs: St Albans parkrun (14 January 2012)

Wow! St Albans parkrun kicked off today, and [pauses to thank and congratulate the volunteer team] it's a cracker.

The course is flat. Not quite as-a-pancake flat, but you'd have to be pretty hill-averse to call it undulating.

And for two of its three miles, you're running around a rather picturesque lake, so definite pretty points for the route.



I also really liked the design of the route. You run around the lake three times, so have a great chance to see the shapely figures of the front runners on laps two and three. But by avoiding the start point on laps two and three, you avoid that feeling of 'O God, not again!' that multi-lap courses can provoke.

It was also bursting with familiar faces, including Danny Norman of parkrun show fame who clocked up the fastest time of the morning, the nomadic Burnham Joggers, Dave and Bob, and also Reggie who I first met at Ally Pally parkrun.

And I even had virtual running buddies for company in the shape of Jovial Gnome and Fortnight Flo. What more could a tourist want?