Lliswerry 8 - 2023 race report

Sunday 15th January (quick review)

This was the one with the Pegasus Running Club pace bus that was great fun aka, the one where Plan A came together brilliantly. My plan was to run controlled, with purpose to build on training, and to finish feeling strong (and ready to go further). That my planned pace fitted the plans of 4 other Pegs was an absolutely great bonus. I ran with Ali, Claire, Sarah, and later Phil all of whom where fab company (top running conversations were had) and all of whom smashed it!!

The organisation was as brilliant as ever, and it was so good to see so many familiar Lliswerry Running Club faces around the event hub at Newport Stadium and out on the course. Everyone was of course excited to find out what colour the race shirt was going to be at the finish line and were not disappointed - though coming to the finish and seeing hoards of runners already finished wearing them does kinda spoil the surprise (though in a good way).

This run was all about the cool numbers though in the end my watch said my finish time was 1:23:21 as a pallindrom, when my race number was 696 also a pallindrom was icing on a geeks cake 😋

2022 SSAFA series race#1 - Race review

Wednesday, 18 May 2022 - I can report that it rained and it rained some more, but we ran and ran some more. It saw the return of the SSAFA 5k series (after a hiatus since 2019)**, and because of that the rain could not extinguish everyone's joy at being back at a fantastic event. Happily it was warm with the rain and so it wasn't one of those miserable running days where you chill to the bone as soon as you stop moving. The turn out was pretty strong given the forecast and it was back to running mazy loops in and around Bute park, Cardiff.

The race is based out of the Blackweir tavern and the location makes for decent access and parking. The organisation and marshalling is so en pointe and utterly positive in their approach to the runners. Being based in a pub means that the facilities are good, and that there is food and drink for before (mostly drink), during (either for those not running), and after (food for those that didn't opt to eat before the run, and of course drink for those celebrating or commiserating post run). I would have stayed out for a drink in the Blackweir were I not wet through and cold and needing a hot shower.

This is mainly attended by local clubs and being Welsh Athletics accredited gets some speedy sorts out on the course. The route is straight forwards, well marked and marshalled on really good quality park paths in the most part and new walk / cycle way for a long stretch. It is always good to be running amongst familiar faces even if we are all that much older than the last time we ran this. There were a couple of super speedy Lliswerry Juniors that I know from junior parkrun that added to the sense of how time has moved on since the last time we trod this course.

My own run? Well most everything that could go wrong in the run did - my head went, my stomach went, my sense of direction went (I took a short wrong turn at one point - see the kink in my strava track!), my legs didn't turn up, and a lack of running of late put me in the hurt locker almost immediately from the off. To be fair to myself I had started cycle commuting to work again just this week and done a club hills session the night before, so I was hardly rested. That I ate before the run was though my biggest blunder in terms of prep on the day.

The support on the way around from the Pegs (Pegasus Running Club) was an absolute highlight, and I only wish that my smile had not also been a casualty of the run. Onwards and onwards, the summer and the series is yet young!

Picture borrowed from fellow Peg, Tim Webb (from the club's facebook group album)

This was also the first tentative week in looking towards Cardiff Half training... a very tentative step indeed.

**The SSAFA 5k Road Race Series in Cardiff consists of three 5k races (spaced roughly a month apart from each other) which raises money for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association, Cardiff & The Vale Region. The marshals around the course are cadet volunteers - and they absolutely know how to cheer, motive and support runners!

Newport City Half Marathon 2022 - race review

Sunday, 6 March 2022 Newport, Wales - 21.20km 2:24:00 pace 6:47min/km

Go out with a plan, and boom! I was well pleased with what came out of the box, whilst I didn't hit my plan of pick a pace and run a pace (the hills didn't help that ambition much) I did meet my target time frame. Time frame not goal time note.

The race was fab, the marshalling super, and the Newport spectators awesome. I availed myself of a couple of jelly babies and then some very very nice mini-gems from lovely people at the side of the course, nom nom! The shock revelation was that I found a football style chant of "Pegs! Pegs! Pegs!" popping out of my mouth along the out and back, which was nice! 

It certainly isn't every race where you get to hear the strains of the bag pipes on your way around the course - that the piper was playing underneath the M4 flyover did not in any way make the experince teh more unusual! All the way aound the course the support was many and varied, from people on doorsteps in PJs cheering you on, to local run clubs giving it their all, lots of smiley marshalls, a piper, car drivers honking their horns, people playing music outside their houses, charity teams, to name just a few.

The Pegs were relatively few in number but big on performance, with some terrific runs. Colin kindly hung on to see me home which was hugely appreciated, though I was a bit rude in packing down a banana hungrily whilst we were chatting.

Some fabulously funny camaraderie at the finish line was very much appreciated - thank you fellow runners and thank you Lliswerry friends 😊

With a month to Brighton marathon I have much to do, but I think today proved a very good test of where I am and where I need to dial my pace down to. In case you were wondering Brighton is "operation complete" and not goal driven... if I get there in one piece it will be a case of go out and enjoy that one, much as today was.

Footnote [no pun intended!] - after the race I found my heels were quite tender and so I have gone and purchased a pair of new running (and a new brand to me of) shoes in an effort to aleviate any issue for covering the marathon issue. More on the choice in a future post perhaps.

The footnote's footnote - this was my 15th half marathon which in of itself is something that makes me smile 😁

Running club?

Here is another post that mysteriously sat around in my drafts folder waiting for me to click 'publish', can't work out why its been there for nearly 3 years but anyway some thoughts from back in the day when I was new to the run club world... Written Sept 2018...

Over the last little while I have been exploring and then enjoying running club life, which was initially born out of my experience of swimming classes early in the year which had a club feel. Coming from a history where I was once an active rowing club member it could be seen as a little odd that it has took me as long as it did to seriously consider and then join a running club. For a number of reasons I have arrived here and so I have been dipping my toe in the waters and have actually come to some conclusions.

My story was a tale of two clubs. There are of course many more than two clubs I connected with, and I suppose living in a capital city you could perhaps expect that. Although tracking them down can be a bit of a journey in itself.

Narrowing the list down to two clubs for me was based on the following considerations:

• location
• days of the week they meet
• size of the club
• outlook / ambitions of the average club member
• UK Athletics (UKA) / Welsh Athletics (WA) affiliation - lets face it basically for event discounts, and insurance
• facilities
• kit
• feel - perhaps the most subjective and one that ultimately sealed the deal

The two I visited were the Maindy Harriers and the Pegasus Running Club, and the first thing that has to be said was that both were fabulously friendly, approachable, welcoming and understanding. It felt a little cheeky saying "can I come along, not join, and have a couple of runs with you to see how it is?", but it was absolutely the right thing to do. I would encourage anyone to do the same - maybe the club is too competitive, or not competitive enough; maybe they don't offer as many sessions as you'd like; maybe you don't 'click' with the coach / run leader - whatever sense you get will help you decide and moreover help you get more out of being a club member.

I had the pleasure of doing a couple of sessions with the Maindy Harriers before I tried out Pegasus, and by the time I arrived at my first Pegasus session I was absolutely sold on joining one or other because club running just felt right. As a long time 'lone wolf' runner it was definitely the right time to come in from the 'cold'.

In the end I went with my heart because the Pegasus club is based out of a rowing club that I used to row for (the one that forms a lot of my earlier blog posts), and so it felt like a place I wanted to be associated with again (albeit in a new form).

Both clubs can be found in the Welsh Athletics club listings, by searching with a search engine, on social media (a Facebook search will find them).

Cardiff Parkrun - #65 (#60 at Blackweir) and my first one back after you know what

Back at Blackweir (Cardiff) parkrun for my first parkrun since January 2020, and it was an absolute blast. I had a great experience of being back out there in parkrun world, with the organization and marshalling utterly en pointe today. The biggest change I noticed was the shortened run brief at the start and truth be told I preferred it to the old ones. The atmosphere in the pack was good, the camaraderie certainly has not been diminished at all in the time since my last run.

Random phone pics of the event today

In terms of my finish time, I couldn't can given a monkeys what it was really. I ran as comfortably as I could, I looked to pace with caution and respect the backend of the distance. Certainly I feel I managed my run well, and that is at the moment what I want - I want to manage my expectations and just out and out enjoy my runs. The biggest give away that I had contained my over-enthusiasm was that I did not sprint finish (!), and come on what's the point right as it is only a run after all, its not a race.

For the record my watch recorded 31:50, parkrun officially clocked me at 32:43, and I was the 489th runner to cross the line out of 644 runners at Blackweir parkrun today.

I know I won't be doing parkrun every week and I am happy with that as I want to avoid getting on the "better, better, better" treadmill of parkrun time chasing, and stay with the "enjoy, enjoy, enjoy" rhythm and stay injury free.

Hope you have a good weekend of running or moving, A

February and beyond... there is a marathon on the horizon and fundraising for Mind

Looking at the horizon through the month ahead and into the rest of the year I felt I had to put a bit more of a plan or at least some milestones to aim at into the calendar. So all being well I will do my first club run for Pegasus Running Club over the weekend of the 12th of February, and I have set up my deferred deferral for the Brighton marathon for the 12th of September - plus I've got a deferred  Wormshead 10k in October to keep me good and busy on the milestone side of things.

Fundraising for 2021...

So as the issues around the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continue to impact us all in so many different ways, I have decided to try and do a little bit to help support Mind, the mental health charity.

I am donating Christmas 2020, my birthday and my running efforts as I build slowly towards the 2021 Brighton marathon (which I have had to defer twice, once because of injury and once because of the pandemic - hopefully it will go ahead this year!).

If you are able and comfortable with doing so I would love it if you would lend a bit of support to a charity that assists in supporting the mental wellbeing of so many among us. 

My fundraising for Mind, is if you have followed my blog in the past via the justgiving.com platform, which is easy to use and super reliable. The page for this 'challenge' or the build up to the marathon is Andrew Hollins is fundraising for Mind (justgiving.com) 

Days 5 and 6 of my Twelve Days of Christmas walking

The one with the sunshine and a sunny peg catchup - 12 days of Christmas #day5

Twas the gap between Christmas and New year and all were out a walking, a running, a cycling, a squelching merrily in stick mud. In other news I walked into another peg, Phil, and had a fab chat about all things lockdown, running, walking, Christmas and partners off chasing reindeer (or finding Comet anyway) 😁

It was great to run into a fellow Peg, Phil, for a quick (socially distanced) chat about the range of running motivation in lockdown and the peaks and troughs and coming and going of motivation through this difficult period. Notably he had found some new ways of training with the club and a handicap run series that had been set up. I realised that I had worked so much that I didn't really engage much with things like Facebook, the internet, and training on online with the running club... they just seem like a stretch too far too far for me with everything going on. I thought that it would be a poor substitute for real club nights, but clearly it had worked well for those that went for it.

Beautiful day for a stroll along a suggested route that I actually took a wrong turn on, nice was.... muddy! On day 5 of the 12 days there definitely weren't any gold rings to be found, five old things maybe... but another walk ticked off and another small step in the right direction

The one that just had to be rounded up to 6km - 12 days of Christmas #day6

Did the route that I was supposed to do yesterday, although to keep things really spicy I did it in the reverse direction... I know right? Proper daring stuff! It was busy out on the paths and tracks again this morning with good conditions for running (I mused as I walked!). Second day in a row I spotted two elite athletes zip by, always inspirational to notice their ease and grace of movement... I run just like them when I run - honest!

Spotted another (former) peg as I walked but recognised them too late to say "hello", and then realised that I would get home in that annoying distance of 5.6km and had to round it up to 6km by carrying on for a bit (as you do). Well it was the 6th day of the 12 days after all and 6km seemed fitting, and no 7km will not happen tomorrow before you ask.

Halfway through the 12days of christmas now and enjoying myself quite a bit.... which is nice!!

The out and back walk imagining I was running - 12 days of Christmas #day4

The one where I kept wondering how far I would have got to if I was running! There was a tiny cameo from fellow Pegasus runner, Julia, and I found myself wishing I was running so that I could have doubled back for a chat... although to be fair that would have been just as short lived as she is very quick 😊

This is now ten days of covering 5k plus on foot everyday, and while as an ambition it felt 'small' with it hardly being a training plan per se, it seems to have worked. Trying to 'do' 5k a day for a period has given me just enough push to get out and active with little risk of me feeling that it was not possible. Until now I haven't declared what I have been up to because I have noted the personal trend that if I explain an elaborate plan in a blog, instagram post, or tweet then it often fails - there is a name for the phenomena (which I forget).

Lovely day out and nice to get out and enjoy the morning... daydreaming of running. On the run front, I have a way to go yet, and will be c25k'ing when I get to that point. Like the start of a good marathon run I'm starting slow, and reminding myself if it feels slow it probably isn't slow enough for a strong finish!

In other news the Wormshead 10k that is the only event I have entered in 2021 (I forget where I am with my Brighton marathon deferred deferral), has been postponed from February to October. Given that I am miles from fit just now, I can only say that I am happy with the extra time to prepare, but I do feel for the organisers having to plan an event in these difficult times of SARS-Cov-2 uncertainty and disruption. Having said what I said about grand plans falling over I will though say that the Wormshead event is my 'a' goal for the year because it is just a plain fun, tough and well organised event.

Strolling, just strolling...

There are places to start and then there are places to start. After the realisation of just quite how bad my fitness is at the moment I have decided that it is just a case of getting moving again, and by moving for the moment I mean walking. For each of the last four days I have covered 5km (3.1miles) or more on foot, mostly with the dog for company, and with no targets in mind other than just getting some walks done. They say if it isn't recorded on Strava it never happened, so here they are on Strava (sort of)...

So the 19th of December I hope will be a turn around point from the routine that I had established for the last many weeks of sitting on a chair in our front room for the vast majority of the day and working without barely a stretch for hours and hours. I didn't consciously decide not to move, it just sort of snuck up on me, as getting on with work has been a brilliant way to try and ignore the madness in the world just now. There is so much wrong with just sitting, and I am fully aware of the potential consequences of so much inactivity, but it just felt better to get on with stuff as fast and as much as possible. I am feeling the consequences of my poor choices and hence I am trying to bring this thing back around to the simple tenet of this whole blog - me being "on the move". Movement is good for all forms of health and I just need to keep it simple and get moving.

Happily for me I think all I need do is re-connect with the Pegasus Running Club crew in a couple of weeks time and they will spur me along. They are fab and have already been asking after how I am getting on... running clubs much like any social grouping around an activity are just the best thing for community and shared wisdom.

From here, more walking, then perhaps its back to a blend of couch to 5k and / or the running form, elasticity and strength training of RunRx and /or club runs... to be honest I purposefully haven't chosen what comes after the walking as I really am determined to take this one step at a time (cliché not intended) to make this a proper change... so for now we walk! Which is nice!

Three 5k races in a week

After being a lone wolf runner since the start of my 'running career' I have now embraced the world of club running in joining the Pegasus Running Club here in Cardiff. This combined with helping out my wife at an aquathlon led to three 5k race events in a smudge over one week (!!), which is almost unheard of in my running.

In the end I ran these 3 events (in reverse order) :

29-6-2017 Parc Bryn Bach Aquathlon event 2 (run leg) - 00:26:06   [GPS watch time]
Event website http://www.newporttri.co.uk/parc-bryn-bach-aquathlon-series/

The Parc Bryn Bach Aquathlon series provides fast flat racing as well as an introduction to open water and multi-discipline events, in a fun and friendly environment. Our values are to provide a local, friendly race mid-week for people to use as good training and race practice.

Description 'borrowed. from the organisers Newport East Wales Triathlon (NEWT) 

28-6-2017 'The Chase' 5k Cardiff - 00:25:20  * new PB *  
Event website http://www.cardiffrunningevents.org/the-chase-5k.php

The event is a type of Handicap with 2 start times. All the Ladies will start at 7.30pm and all the Men starting at approx 7.32pm with the intention of the first Lady and first Man finishing at approximately the same time. 

Put on by Cardiff Running Events

Photo credit - Luke Heslop (Cardiff running event photographer extraordinaire, and fine runner)   

21-6-2017 SSAFA Road Race Series 2, Cardiff - 00:26:01
Event Website http://www.ssafa5kcardiff.org/

SSAFA is a charity that was formerly (or perhaps is more fully) known as the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association, is a UK charity that provides lifelong support to serving men and women and veterans from the British Armed Forces and their families or dependents [credit - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSAFA].

It has to be said I am extremely pleased with how the sequence turned out, with a event timed run PB (I have run very slightly faster within Parkruns timed on my own watch) and two strong times either side of it. It has to be pointed out that the heat at the SSAFA event was high (in the middle of the UKs June mini heat wave) and that without the temperature I reckon that would have been the quickest of the three.

Life as a Pegasus Running Club member is proving to be brilliant, in the two club events I ran with two different Pegs as a pacing strategy and thoroughly enjoyed the support / banter / camaraderie. The single issue I have with it is getting beyond my lone wolf runner mentality of 'turn up, run, go home' and get used to taking extra kit along so that I can make a habit of attending the post race socials. So far, because I am unfortunately a very sweaty runner, the thought of hanging about stinking the pub out with my perspiration has put me off of having a slow pint of cold beer with the club posse.