Ms Alive and Running

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Aliveandrunning January 10 2015 Janathon Day 10

WP_20150110_001 Cambridge parkrun cancelled! When I ventured outside around 7.30 am I didn’t think it was particularly windy. When I took Rupert the dalmatian for a quick 10 minute walk in the open field, I revised my opinion. It was very windy but strangely mild. Around 8 am a parkrun insider texted that the Rangers at Milton Country Park had deemed the strong winds too hazardous and were closing the park at least until 11.30 am.

At that point a small but perfect drama unfolded. Our running pal Sue had passed through our village on route to another adjacent village taking her daughters to an activity when she saw our fastest running chum Kerry walking his bike on the road. Stopping, it emerged that he had been blown into one of the substantial drainage ditches. A motorist had stopped and pulled him and his bike out. He was shaken up but not obviously hurt and managed to get to our cottage without further incident.

Arch running rivals Mike and Sue ran to a local farm cafe where we all planned to meet up. I decided to run to the farm, a distance of under 2 miles and Ms Alive and Running took Kerry in the car. I battled against a very strong headwind but got to the cafe first. Not opened yet and no-one had arrived so I went for a little jog around the small raised reservoir in the picture. Immediately it started to rain hard and then hail. I was quickly soaked through. Ms Alive and Running dropped Kerry at the cafe and went to collect Mike and Sue who were cowering under branches half a mile away.

After coffee and some eats, I ran back home.The wind I assumed would help me on return had changed direction and I was again battling a fierce head wind. The temperature also dropped so I felt cold as well as damp. Thank you very much Greek weather gods! Anymore malarkey like this and I’ll transfer my allegiance to the Egyptians.

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Aliveandrunning January 6 2015 Janathon Day 6

WP_20150106_001 Today’s small haul of books bought at the charity Emmaus, a local large shop attached to residential accommodation for homeless people about a mile away from me. I showed commendable restraint in keeping purchases to a minimum. There were so many deserving cases which I had to leave on the shelves. Ms Alive and Running patted me on the head, acknowledging the self sacrifice I had made.

I went road running with the club tonight. We warm up on the Cambridge University athletics track which includes jogging two circuits before we split up into two groups to either do track or road training. However, the track had become icy as the temperature plunged (good tabloid word). So no track and both groups went on the road to do different training. It was chilly, the pavements weren’t slippery and there was no wind. I was fully wrapped up and didn’t feel cold. I enjoyed this invigorating session and returned home seriously hungry. Whereupon I devoured a mountain of food.

 

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Aliveandrunning January 1st 2015 Janathon Day 1

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Like two young gods, my chum Mike and I set off to do two New Year’s Day 5k  parkruns at Huntingdon and Peterborough. We considered unfurling our polar white wings tipped with gold and flying to our destinations like exotic and wondrous creatures but decided to take the car instead.

The sat nav was decidedly  parsimonious with its information. In fact we were under informed about directions and occasionally had to make our own choice. The male voice was rather breathy and possibly resentful that Ms Alive and Running was absent. What ever the reason, it caused two grown men to reprimand him seriously and issue a verbal warning. End result? We had a sulky sat nav on the way back and I’m sure I heard him mutter something which sounded like “plonkers”.

The Huntingdon  race, in Hinchingbrooke Country Park was muddy but enjoyable. I did it in a reasonable time. My ex arch rival, Mike, completed it 2 minutes faster. We then motored about 15 miles to Nene Country Park at Peterborough in time to start their parkrun at 10.30 am. Although the course was on proper paths and should have been a faster run, I ran a minute slower, despite the absence of sticky mud. I felt a little tired and probably didn’t have enough sleep. The main reason for feeling mildly jaded was due to the Ely New Year’s Eve 10k the previous day when the temperature was 10c-12c lower and very cold and icy. I haven’t got an official confirmation of time yet but my watch shows that it was within 3-4 seconds of last year’s race and the year before.

So I’ve run 20k in the last 2 days and Janathon is off to a good start. I’ve run with Ms Alive and Running, been in the company of many friendly people and sipped good coffee. It’s the good life! (Apart from the moody sat nav).

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Traditional picture of me running with my mouth open. I can’t seem to do it any other way! That vacant look masks  deep thinking about the human condition.

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Aliveandrunning December 20 2014

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My new Hi Viz running jacket! Actually it’s a cycling jacket. I couldn’t find a Hi Viz running top which I liked, at a reasonable price and had sufficient protection from cold and chilling wind. Very competitive people may remark that it’s on the heavy side for running but that runs the risk of upsetting me. In this eventuality, I’ll challenge them to a duel of my choosing – a contest to see who could eat the most Brussels sprouts in twenty minutes, for example. The loser would have to sit very close to a naked flame for an hour. It gives me the jitters just to think about it!

I assume it’s the blood thinning aspirin I take for heart disease that makes me so sensitive to cold. The weather, particularly winter weather, wasn’t an issue before I had my heart attack but it is now. Previously I ran almost naked in Arctic conditions. Currently I’m so upholstered, people call out”There goes the Michelin Man.”

Cambridge parkrun today. The course was muddy and trail shoes were essential. Consequently my time was relatively slow. I looked up my brief personal record of runs for this time last year and my times showed little difference to today when course conditions were similar.

Most of my running chums went to Wimpole Estate parkrun for their 100th anniversary. Ms Alive and Running and I were due to go but family circumstances dictated otherwise.

Must sign up for Janathon (when I undertake to run and blog every day throughout January). This is very manageable if the runs are not too long and I don’t spend too long trying to be clever writing this blog. And the gods are willing to support me with drinks of ambrosia along the way. And the water nymphs along the River Cam don’t try to delay me as I run by. And the sun shines.

Mandy Rice-Davies (who has just died of lung cancer, aged 70), Christine Keeler and Stephen Ward, were central figures in the notorious Profumo Affair in 1963. They were stitched up by the British Establishment and class system. Still a very interesting and informative example of how powerful vested interests protect themselves. http://gu.com/p/44bqc

 

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Aliveandrunning December 6 2014

DSC_0829  Look what I’ve got! Don’t get distracted by the pretentious pile of reading matter or the plate of iconic Brussels sprouts or the original 1949 Rupert annual or the porridge in the cornflakes bowl. No, I’m referring to the SAD {seasonal affective disorder) light box which is therapeutically emitting its 10,000 lux power onto my visage. Will sitting in front of this light box alleviate the mood shredding effect of the dank, grey cloud blanketed  days of the UK winter? Will it send me high as a kite? Time will reveal the truth. This is a candid, unrehearsed snap of the third day. I’m using this basking time to reacquaint myself with Rupert Bear and his chums because I’m considering rejoining the Friends of Rupert Society (currently adults only at the moment: the junior section is suspended). It’s a top notch organisation that even plebs can subscribe to (although, understandably, they are limited to 1.7% of the membership}. So clearly all are welcome!

I’m back to running more consistently but not as speedy as before. Cambridge parkrun today and my slowest for a long time. It was very cold (for me) at around -2c or -3c. I was well wrapped up with long sleeve top, heavier duty jacket, trackster bottoms and gloves but I didn’t warm up to the point of feeling that the cold wasn’t an issue. I think this is caused by the aspirin I take (note to self : request placebo aspirin from GP). Only 20 seconds outside last week’s muddy course so not too bad really. Afterwards Ms Alive and Running and I had a tasty cup of coffee with chums in the cafe and rounded off an enjoyable running focussed morning.

Milton, Cambridge Tesco is only a stone’s throw from the parkrun course and we ventured in, risking existential angst, to transact purchases vital to keeping body and mind in harmony. I always cast a superior eye over the magazine and newspaper shelves and my gaze fell upon this –

WP_20141205_003Of course it’s very easy to poke fun at this sort of thing and at the people who read them and get vicarious pleasure from immersing themselves in the antics of celebrities lives. Compared with this ridiculousness, my interest in Rupert is sublime. Bloggers of the world, you may ask me any Rupert Bear related questions! Go for it!

 

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Alive and Running November 9 2014

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Ooohhh…..look at this! A lovely chocolate cake with a cherry filling brought to my door by Elaine, friend and benefactor of my proposed  therapeutic gardening  project. And very tasty it was, too. Yesterday, a running pal confirmed she is willing to be a trustee (contingent on what that role entails) and has gardening experience. Ms Alive and Running is putting together a website, Green Minds, and I’ll create a full photographic record of the development of the project. I should hear whether or not I require planning permission this coming week.

Cambridge parkrun was very slippery yesterday. There were at least 3 fallers who couldn’t continue (including a woman who broke her ankle). We are lucky at Cambridge because, more often than not, we have one or two medics taking part and will assist or advise if they can. I want to reassure blog readers immediately that I emerged unscathed. I was able to leap over the fallen and my running stride wasn’t seriously impaired.

My times are not back to normal but I ran better than last week and remained upright. Didn’t wear trail shoes, will next week if there’s further rain. I also did some serious, heavyweight socialising with running chums and spent 50% of my chat quotient for this month.

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Cambridge junior parkrun today. 130 children, aged 14  and under took part in the 2k run. No injuries reported and it all went very well. Weather was good. The overcast sky cleared and it warmed up. Afterwards we enjoyed a tasty cup of coffee.

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I have a new fascination – mycology, the study of fungi and their properties. Ms Alive and Running and I spent nearly two hours with a group of like minded, friendly people (including amateur mycologists) scouring Worts Meadow and adjacent  woodland for innocent, I’m-just-minding-my-own-business fungi which were promptly prised  out of the ground and into a trug for later investigation. It’s not edgy, it’s not rock and roll, it’s not as cool as Steve McQueen in The Great Escape but it was relaxing, mindful, interesting and adds a new dimension to walking in the wood with Rupert the dalmatian. Couldn’t identify the yellow fungi but other example are shaggy parasols which are edible (apparently).  I might cook some up for my arch running rivals as a treat.

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Aliveandrunning October 27 2014

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And so to Richmond this past weekend, staying locally and taking part, Ms Alive and Running and I, in Richmond parkrun. Richmond Park is a large open area in south west London, adjacent to the Thames. The course is one gently undulating circuit along established paths and it’s common to run past large deer. Being an intrinsically brave person, I held my nerve as I passed very near to a giant specimen with a frightening array of pointy antlers, which to my untutored eye, seemed to have been deliberately sharpened for maximum damage. It met my gaze and started to run along side of me. I resisted the urge to run screaming with terror in a non parkrun approved direction and held my nerve. Thinking quickly, I shouted out that I knew for certain that most people running behind me loved to eat venison and that he should draw his own conclusions. I saw him pull up and stare malevolently at runners to my rear. Ten seconds later, I heard cries of surprise and alarm but I judged it best to run on. Didn’t they have marshals to sort this kind of thing out? I would be crazy to jepardise my time by assisting the injured and traumatised.

Overall, Richmond parkrun went well. It’s described as challenging although I would be hard put to argue  how it merits that description. You go down long inclines and go up them as well but they aren’t severe. It is, however, a lovely course with views over London and there are runners and cyclists everywhere.There were 354 runners and I came in at 104. Before we ran, the run director drew our attention to someone who had completed 250 parkruns and was wearing the coveted gold emblem tee shirt. How we drooled with envy! It’s akin to Charlie winning the golden ticket to Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory.

This giant poppy, commemorating those killed  in war since 1914, is displayed at Kings Cross station.

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This platform on one of the stations we stopped at between Cambridge and Kings Cross, London, is out of use. The sign on the red background says “Do not alight here.” This is clearly good advice unless you have a strong interest in platform based plant life.

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This is St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel which retains the outside Gothic facade and inner Victorian architecture. It’s joined to St. Pancras railway station which is a stone’s throw from Kings Cross. We had a little spare time and went into the reception area for a coffee. They waived the minimum £12.50p spend per person since we were going to simply drink coffee for a short while rather than have an endless business meeting. Very interesting environment, expensive, lots of security to make sure the right people get in. We gained admittance because we were harmless non-spenders who met their diversity and inclusiveness criteria. I spied a security guard ticking a box as we left. Am I being unfair? Probably.

We walked along the Thames by Putney Bridge. Beautiful houses, plenty of money, lots of conspicuous spending, no poor people in sight. How clever of rich people to have their own political party to disparage and shame those who have the least resources. How clever to mention that ordinary, hard working taxpayers feel “swamped” by immigrant alien cultures who either take our jobs or claim benefits money out of the pockets of ordinary, hard working…etc, etc. How reassuring that bigotry is alive and well in the Tory Party. Grrr! I think I’ll go for another run.

 

 

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Aliveandrunning October 16 2014

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An innocent bowl of porridge you might think, and you’d be right. I mix in raisins and sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg on the top. It’s delicious and I’m sure it does me no end of good. But yesterday was a dark day indeed. I unwittingly put garam masala on my porridge instead. My first mouthful was my last! I took a leaf out of the footballers’book when they want to convince us they’ve been fouled. I threw myself to the floor and rolled over and over convulsively as if I had ingested cyanide. Ms Alive and Running, who didn’t at that point appreciate the trauma I had undergone, asked if I had inflicted a paper cut on myself again. I really suffer for my porridge habit.

Running with Cambridge and Coleridge running club a couple of nights ago. We ran 1k x 5 times with 3 minute breaks with 2k in  warm ups and getting to the circuit. It’s very different running in the dark and riskier in terms of upping the chances of ricking your foot. But I like it. I’ve never fallen in the dark but I do tend to fall in the daylight possibly because I’m not concentrating sufficiently. This happens about 2-3 times a year. I’m due for a fall now. I may indulge in a bit of hubris because, as we all know, pride comes before a fall.

Cambridge parkrun this coming Saturday and it’ll be my 200th! I started at parkrun no.6 at Cambridge in 2010 after I finished the Addenbrookes Hospital cardiac rehabilitation course (which was precipitated by my heart attack in August 2009). I’ve done most of my runs at Cambridge and I’ll be the first of the regular runners to reach 200 (and hopefully 250, when I’ll receive a special tee shirt with magic powers from parkrun central and a congratulatory card from the Queen). Tomorrow I’ll bake a cake or two to eat with pals after the race.

In just over two weeks I’m doing the Bonfire Burn 10k at Histon. A couple of years ago this race was the occasion of the worst weather I have ever run in. It was very cold with a ferocious  wind and driving rain. The race was delayed and I was under dressed for the elements. I nearly abandoned the race after 2k but then I started to feel a little better and finished it. St. Neots half marathon is in 4 weeks and I started training today and ran for 45 minutes. Running motivation is reduced at the moment but after 20 minutes I physically felt much better and began to enjoy it.

When I go to the checkout at Tesco, I try to chose someone who doesn’t slavishly follow the Tesco scripted conversation ( I went to a Morrisons recently and the check out person looked around 80. She didn’t greet me, scanned the items quickly and gave the impression she had a life outside of serving supermarket sheep like me. How refreshing.) Anyway, back to Tesco. I went to someone I could regularly rely upon to be less than politically correct about her employer and difficult customers. She immediately gave thanks for only having another 55 minutes before she toddled off home. She made several derogatory remarks about the odd behaviour of previous customers and then gave me a flamboyant master class in how to open those pesky Tesco flimsy carrier bags. Having demonstrated the knack, and with  other waiting behind me, she handed me an unopened bag and said “Now you do it”. Folding her arms, she proceeded to watch me. Possibly it might be easier to go to go to a script compliant person next time.

The Conservative Party. What a bunch of shits, bigots and unpleasant, unkind people.

 

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Aliveandrunning September 25 2014

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“Oooohhhh! gasped Ms Alive and Running,”Delicious….salmon with Brussels sprouts…and cauliflower and broccoli as well…. all my Sundays have all come at once…thank you so much.” Well, this is my interpretation of what she said but the actual words were very similar (I think).

I went for an hour’s run today, partly along the river Cam, in preparation for another half marathon in 10 day’s time. My arch rivals Mike and Kerry have also decided to run. I can’t catch them over 5k or 10k but over 13 miles I can get nearer to them. I didn’t feel much like running today although after 15 minutes it felt fine. Afterwards I felt a lot better, both physically and mood wise.On the weekend I’ll do parkrun, club training on Tuesday, about 80 minute run on Wednesday, another  parkrun on Saturday and then the half on Sunday. It’s a training hotchpot but that’s me , innit!

I’ve been running for around 33 years. I started running in response to my father’s ill health, in 1981 and, with the exception of the last 3 years, I’ve not belonged to a club or run with anyone else. My father died in 1983 of smoking related heart disease and other contributory factors, aged 62. I thought a non smoking and running lifestyle would inoculate me from ill health and particularly heart disease so I was surprised (British understatement and stiff upper lip example) when I had a heart attack , aged 58 (Thank you God, I’m sure you know what you are doing!) Because I had an overall good level of fitness, I have been able to recover and run at a better level and more consistently than before. Joining Cambridge and Coleridge AC seemed more attractive than hitherto and I must admit that running with this club is very enjoyable. The coaches are hardworking and very supportive of all abilities. We’ve got track and two road sessions to chose from each week and plenty of variation. But….I still have a strong urge to give it all up and run alone. I like the different running challenges but I have a limited capacity to talk about running and a club, of course, will be a hotbed of running related intercourse, verbally speaking. Perhaps I’ll ask one of the coaches about the possibility of introducing silent sessions.

Thank you prime minister David Cameron for revealing that the Queen “purred” when she was informed that our Scottish mates had declined to become independent of England and Wales, requiring exit from the Union. I always associate “purring” with Eartha Kit’s singing style. Dave has been castigated for audibly making this remark to another top person in conversation that was picked up by long range microphones. That’s castigation not castration.

Nice headline for non readers and people who have no interest in real news in yesterday’s Sun newspaper (oxymoron) : HAIRY CORNFLAKE FACES PORRIDGE. This refers to the British DJ Dave Lee Travis  who was convicted of indecent assault this week. His nickname is Hairy Cornflake and porridge is slang for time spent in prison. No wonder it’s the UK’s biggest selling newspaper with such fantastically inventive front pages. Laughably the Guardian ran with some boring guff about Milliband pledging to save the NHS or somethin!

 

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Aliveandrunning September 14 2014

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I have just returned from completing the Grunty Fen half marathon near Ely. Ms Alive and Running insisted that a digital image should capture me, victorious and triumphant, following a heroic 13 mile battle with the fenland road tarmac. I have the beginnings of an enigmatic smile (think Mona Lisa here) and my intelligent, penetrating but benign gaze suggest a complex and superior mind. It doesn’t matter that I have perfected this expression in front of a mirror over dozens of hours. Malcolm Gladwell estimates that to completely master a discipline takes around 10,000 hours of development and practise. Well, Malcolm, I’ve done it in half a day!

How did the race go? Mmmm…  I was 6 minutes slower than last year and came in at 1 hour 53 minutes. The first 10k went OK but I struggled keeping up the pace for the next 10k. I decided to walk at the drink stations and had four walk/drink breaks, more than I planned. I think my training plan was far too casual. Oh well, I’ve got 2 more halves coming up – Wimpole Estate in 3 weeks and St Neots in 9 weeks.

I gave my speedy friend Kerry a lift to Grunty and he repaid the favour by beating me by 5 minutes! To add insult to injury, two club mates chatted throughout the entire 13 miles, running in a very relaxed manner and eventually cruising past me, probably going about 70% of their top speed. Still, I’m waiting for the Grunty Fen photos! I made a big effort to compose my features when I saw the cameras (not that I’m vain or anyfink) so, hopefully, I appear to be running effortlessly. Can the camera lie? I’ll make my mind up when I see the pictures.

I was happier with yesterday’s Cambridge parkrun when I came in well under 24 minutes. I think running less suits my parkrun times but certainly not a a half marathon distance.

Cambridge junior parkrun had 116 runners today (aged 4-14), a record number. Children from 40 schools took part and they all had their pictures taken holding a handwritten sign of the name of their school. In terms of joy and excitement, junior parkrun gives most value for money (figuratively speaking).