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My mate talks to a banana!

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I’ve told Mike before that talking to a banana does his street cred no good at all, even a fast one. I informed him there was a Doyenne Du Comice pear and an Egremont Russet apple in the vicinity and a stem of asparagus was doing some warm up exercises but he insisted on chatting to a common banana. I don’t even know whether  he was fair trade!

This occasion was the second Hoohaah 10k of the season at Wimpole Estate. The weather was lovely, the course was excellent and loads of our friends and acquaintances were taking part. Unfortunately, I picked up a silly injury at Cambridge parkrun yesterday. Milton country park, where it’s held, is in the process of laying a new path leading to the finish straight and I trod on a sharp stone which went between the gap in the thick part of the tread. It felt like it had pierced the sole but after exclaiming “Oh bother” I soldiered on. Cut to today, despite my sole feeling bruised, I thought my metatarsals had escaped injury. Until around 8k  I felt fine with only a little foot discomfort but thereafter it quickly got very painful and I suffered the ignominy of being forced to walk/limp to the finish. To make matters worse, the banana came in 5th out of 750!

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Here I am, face etched with pain, just about to limp over the finish line. Ripping off my sock expecting to find a highly visual injury with which to impress my friends, I found healthy looking, unblemished skin. Is there no justice?

This series of runs, so far, has raised over £6000 for The MindEd Trust, a mental health charity which focusses on the prevention of mental illness in young people and early intervention strategies for  those experiencing trauma. It has been set to address the woefully inadequate mental health support for young people.

Parkrun etiquette. It’s so easy to impress fellow runners. First tip : if you are a fast runner, consistently start at the back and pass slower runners at speed, particularly when the path is congested. Second tip : pal up with another runner and chat loudly in a normal voice while others are struggling around you. To enhance this behaviour, overtake at the same time. Third tip : bemoan your time to others who have done 5-15 minutes slower to you.

Cambridge parkrun has a record attendance of 534 and yesterday the field was just over 500. It’s getting very busy.

 

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A hot weekend of running. I felt like an upmarket crisp.

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I didn’t run for nine days because of a minor back injury then ran three races this weekend. Actually I thought it was a back problem but after a further chat with myself I reached the conclusion that it was a hip problem after all. Anyway the rest seemed to have done the trick because I didn’t experience any difficulties after a total of around 23k.

The first pic shows me doing parkrun in my new 250 top. I was just able to beat my mate Eric immediately in front of me but came nowhere near Margaret (leading and eventually beating me by 2 minutes). Is there no justice?

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After parkrun, I whizzed over to another village and did 7k fun run with my chums in the picture. I whizzed so quickly I was able to buy a load of plants from the horticulture society plant stall and pick them up after the race. It was moderately hot, around 24-24c. I don’t mind running in these temperatures and much prefer it to running below 5c.

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The following day I ran in the Wings for Life event, sponsored by Red Bull, in aid of spinal cord research and treatment. It started in Cambridge on Parker’s Piece and the route potentially ran for 100k. The idea was to run as far as you could and outrun the catcher car, driven by David Coulthard, which sets off at a steady pace 30 minutes after the last runner had crossed the start line. When cruel David catches up with you, your electronic chip is deactivated and you stop running. Your race is over and buses take you back to Cambridge. Steve Way was top runner with 63k covered. I managed just under 14k, Lorna did 7.63k. It was a pretty hot day (up to 26-27 in the fairly constant sun) and I stopped three times to drink. A fleet of buses returned us back to Cambridge. About 2500 took part and it’s scheduled to take place in Cambridge again next year.

Contrary to my expectations, the race was very well organised and successful. There was plenty of free Red Bull to drink including at the actual drink stations on route but I was too frightened to try it! You can’t beat plain water for most occasions, can you?

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More fine marathon runners. Respect!

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London marathon April 2016 : courage and pathos. It wasn’t easy spectating, either!

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Is this normal? Yes, actually, at least for the London marathon. I deserved my own bravery medal for spectating above and beyond the call of duty. It was very cold around the Canary Wharf area and I felt the harsh wind very keenly. These two seem unaffected but a significant number of people were visibly suffering.

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Now the bare facts. We arrived at Canary Wharf around 9am, had coffee in the warmth, saw the wheelchair athletes first, then the runners with physical disabilities (which was humbling) followed by the elite women, elite men, fast club runners and then the mass of runners, many in inventive and spectacular fancy dress. We stayed until the official sweeper car went by around 4pm and immediately behind it were a convoy of clean up vehicles. Threading their way through these hazards, marathoners were still coming through, having been on the start line st 10am and running/walking for 6 hours. They still had 8 miles to complete the course and were obviously struggling. I took 1400 pictures and nearly froze to death. Who is the hero? Me, obviously.

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These last two pics are typical of people gritting their teeth and carrying on.

I’ve successfully injured myself again and it’s stopped me running. I seem to specialise in picking up a heavy weight but swivelling awkwardly at the same time. The result is I’ve hurt my back in a similar fashion to previously. Actually I can run on it but decided, wisely, that perhaps this wasn’t a good idea after I did an inter club 5k last week (Kevin Henry series). The problem is getting up after I’ve sat down for more than 10 minutes. It takes a long time. I can’t put my socks on, either. It’s getting better and I’ll be doing parkrun on the weekend.

Ken Livingstone must have had a stupid moment in his attempt to support of Naz Shah, Bradford West MP, who was suspended by the Labour party for a historical post on Facebook suggesting that Israel should be relocated to the US. She stands accused of antisemitism. Ken used Adolf Hitler in defence of his argument, stating that Hitler once supported Zionism. Unfortunately, Ken has got some previous on the topic of antisemitism. This is Labours dark side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CAUTION : very slippery

 

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Icworth House, near Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk and the venue for the first Hoohaah 10k of the year. Beautiful setting and a lovely trail course (in the main) BUT VERY MUDDY.

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In fact there were hundreds and hundreds of metres of mud and easily qualified as the most muddy race I have ever taken part in. To enter the restaurant/cafe, shopping emporium and second hand bookshop, one had to don these blue plastic over bootees! One didn’t look very cool.

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Fair enough. I wasn’t impressed by their bookshop, however. Not a patch on Wimpole Hall’s and I didn’t buy anything. Highly unusual, highly irregular but a memorable experience thanks to the blue bootees.

Still, the race was very enjoyable and later we had coffee at an outside cafe with our chums.

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I found myself inadvertently sitting on the orange side and consequently ruined the symmetry.

Tuesday was running club and we did a “country fartlek” from the University of Cambridge Athletics Club to Grantchester Meadows, along the Cam.

Today, we ran Cambridge parkrun. Cold but a great deal dryer than last week. I couldn’t catch any rivals. I’ll have to choose new and slower rivals.

Tomorrow, it’s the London Marathon. Spectating, not running. It’s not easy devising a training regime for marathon spectating. I’ll know tomorrow when it’s all over.

 

 

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Muddiest ever Cambridge parkrun

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The entire Cambridge parkrun course was replicated in this short section. I took this pic on my warm up route and met a runner who warned me I would need a boat to proceed further. Many of the puddles occupied the entire width of the path so avoidance wasn’t an option. The rain held off but temperatures were low (for me) at around 2-4c. Despite the weather, 359 splashed their way round and it really was good fun.

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Here’s a good picture of Lorna (in the middle) with running (and chatting) chums. Looks completely normal.

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Here’s Lorna at the end of the race and about to receive her number token. Something has happened in the time these two pics were taken and I’ve yet to receive an adequate explanation. How long was she running while munching her glove. This certainly isn’t normal!

Tomorrow I’m doing a 10k race at the Icworth Estate, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. This promises to be another mud bath which raises the possibility that we mud splattered runners won’t be admitted to their very nice cafe/restaurant. or even worse, I’ll be turned away from their second hand bookshop.

Me : Do you realise I’m a National Trust member and therefore entitled to benefit from the full panoply of facilities and privileges which are accorded to my subscription?

National Trust official : On your bike, sunshine, and come back when you’ve had a bath and smell a lot sweeter!

Thanks to Stoke Gifford Parish Council, parkrun is national news following their decision to charge parkrun or parkrunners for using the open spaces of Little Stoke park as a course. They’ve been roundly condemned for this move because it contradicts the founding principles of parkrun and constitutes a degradation the philosophy of a free, inclusive, volunteer organised, run for all. There are nearly 400 UK parkruns and around 850 worldwide. Additionally there are about 90 Junior UK parkruns. Stoke Gifford Parish Council are very naughty, very foolish, very short sighted and probably Tory dominated.

 

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It’s all about me, again!

Cambourne 10k, a few miles out of Cambridge. Grass, soft paths, some hard surfaces but not much. Several long, gentle inclines and descents. Mainly countryside. I didn’t do it last year. Did do it in the previous two years. Today was 5 seconds slower than 2014 and 38 seconds slower than 2014. So I’m a failure and in bits? Hardly, it was a good run for me. The weather was sunny, temperature around 10c and warm enough for me not to have to wear a jacket and long tracksters. I enjoyed this race.

About 850 ran it and there were an awful lot of faces I knew or recognised from the club, parkrun and other races over the years.

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Here’s me munching on a post race goody bag snack and holding on to Lorna to make sure she doesn’t run away. Good friend Mike looks straight at the camera. He came in approximately 5 minutes faster than me! Surely he must be taking a performance enhancing drug? There were actually officials wearing hi viz bibs bearing the word ADJUDICATOR running in the race and one cruised effortlessly past me. What’s all that about? To pull over people running too fast, that’s what.

Watched a recorded BBC programme, How to Stay Young tonight. The second part is broadcast on BBC1 on Thursday, April 11th. Well worth watching despite being a little scary. There are now a number of tests and research findings which give a more accurate indication of future health and longevity. One was very simple. Crossing your legs and then sitting down on the floor without the use of your hands and then rising to your feet, again without the aid of your hands. You scored 10 if you could successfully do this as described and lost points if you used an elbow, hand or even wobbled excessively. I couldn’t do it. Not only did I go down with a thump and nearly injured my coccyx but I was nowhere near to getting up unaided. Oh dear! I wonder if performance enhancing drugs would help.

 

 

 

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A Tale Of Two Parkruns

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Here is a pic of Milton Country Park which hosts Cambridge parkrun. 341 runners turned out despite the rain and giant puddles of unknown depths. I’m sure we would be regarded as heroes or stars by people whose love of exaggeration knows no bounds. The truth is we were just ordinary guys (now regarded as a universal term referring to all sexes) doing our duty and taking no regard of personal danger.

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Here is a pic of Yeovil Montacute parkrun in South West England, hosted by the National Trust in the grounds of Montacute House, where 258 ran, including Lorna, who stayed near Glastonbury. Note the difference in the weather. Blue skies, unbroken sunshine and undoubtedly warm. They are simply runners, not heroes!

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Here’s another picture to underline the intrinsic unfairness. These are very little puddles compared with deep troughs of water straddling the narrow trail paths and the deadly swamps which edge them. Boy, did we get super muddy unlike runners at other mollycoddling parkruns.

Still, it was a good run albeit on the sticky side. My new arch rival Eric beat me by 8 seconds but I’m catching up. Neither of us are as fast as last year although we are both slowly improving. Ex arch rivals Mike and Kerry have moved well beyond me (unless I seek out those popular illegal performance enhancing drugs. I’ll have a word with the Tesco pharmacist next time I do my shopping).

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Photo by John Wilderspin

Here’s me, pursued by rabid dog, on the finishing straight. My mind is already on reading a copy of The Oracle that Lorna was bringing home from her sun drenched parkrun at Montacute.

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Can’t wait to go back to Glastonbury with Lorna and climb the Tor again.

Tomorrow, I’m running the Cambourne 10k and, unlike today, the weather looks good.

 

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Cute butterflies and pollinating insects most welcome : rabbits and deer, remember you are edible!

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Green Minds, the therapeutic gardening project, continues to develop slowly but will need to speed up considerably now the growing season has arrived. The rabbit proof fence is almost fully intact and I am hoping other wildlife will not be a problem. I went out in the field with Rupert the dalmatian and surprised two roe deer. Rupert gave chase to one and I saw the deer leap over a 1.3m fence with ease so if they see something really delicious in my little compound it won’t be difficult for them to get in. I’m thinking about venison at the moment.,

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Since this pic was taken I’ve acquired several more tables and planted a lot of seeds. I’ve got a lot of digging to do both inside and outside the polytunnel. I’ll also need to install sliding doors at the entrance where you can currently see green netting. We had some very strong gales last week and the net openings could not cope with it.

Wimpole estate parkrun last weekend.Blue skies, sunshine and warm enough for me to wear shorts and long sleeved top. It’s one loop over park land and includes a short, steep hill, a run along the lake side and a route which takes you to the front of the big Hall and down the main drive. Trail shoes needed. I usually walk up the hill, striding as strongly as I can. This time I jogged up which wasn’t any quicker, really, and took me longer to recover at the top. This is followed by a flat 400 metes before a descent to lake level and a view of the folly on the far side. Sometimes you need to run close to large cows with dismayingly sharp curved horns. This requires a degree of bravery. Other runners refer to us as possessing “Wimpole courage” and I accept the compliment. One can gradually acquire this unique form of courage by acclimatising to danger by running past sheep which are also thick on the ground at Wimpole. This stage is known as  Wooly Thinking.

I met an old running club friend whom I hadn’t seen for some time while I waited  for Lorna to come in.  After a fine coffee with running chums, I took myself off to the pre-loved book shop where crazy people actually donate their unwanted books, an oxymoron if ever I heard one. I limited myself to two essential purchases.

Today, I went for a short 2 mile run and tomorrow, if I get back from East Londinium in time, I’ll go road running with the club.

 

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Don’t jump in!

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Trinity Hall’s Jerwood Library, completed in 1998 and opened in 1999, just 649 years after Trinity Hall was founded in 1350. That’s a long time to wait for a decent library. I was a little anxious about the vaguely Alfred Hitchcockian man gazing down at the punt about to pass beneath him. I had a vision of him vaulting the railings, landing on the punt and crashing through the wooden floor.Needless to say, it was all in my head and no punt related incident or tragedy occurred.

I am now a returned club runner having virtually stopped attending from October last year. Yesterday was a pleasant, sunny day in Cambridge (see visual evidence above) but when I left home at 6.10 pm it was overcast cold and raining. By the time we road runners left the warmth and shelter of the Cambridge University Athletics clubhouse it was raining hard and continued to do so for three quarters of the session. Of course I under estimated the severity of the weather and didn’t wear the right jacket. I got thoroughly soaked and if the temperature had been lower I would probably have given up. However, after warming up and running the first of 4 x 1500 metres, I felt much better. On my return I had a shower and tasty meal and overall I felt energised, alert and more alive. So that’s my advice. If you’re feeling tired, lethargic and generally lackadaisical, go for a hard run (in the rain preferably) and you’ll find yourself on top form again (disclaimer : you need to have a certain amount of running fitness or you might go from bad to worse, and this approach  might only work for me. Has this advice been helpful? I’ll leave the world to decide.

I saw something relatively unusual today. A man and a women, probably in their mid seventies, passed by me riding a tandem tricycle. They weren’t sporty and didn’t look as if they were fitness advocates.They were cycling together, out in the sunshine, enjoying themselves and going places. The tandem tricycle was stable and they didn’t have to continually focus on balance. Marvellous!

I’m reading the third book, The Conscience of the Rich, in C.P.Snow’s Brothers and Strangers sequence. I think it’s the right one. They weren’t published in the right sequence and I’ve managed to mislay a number of them after I was forced to tidy them away. Note to self : begin to stack books in towers throughout the house so they are ever at hand.

 

 

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Lorna listens to the whispering grass

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Good Friday arrived with some reasonable weather. We went to Wicken Fen, the first nature reserve to be owned by the National Trust in 1899. It has a range of wetland habits – fen, reedbed, wet woodland and open water –  on a deep peat soil which is kept wet by rainfall and clean, chalky river water. It’s currently around 255 hectares but there is a hundred year plan to gradually buy up surrounding farm land and increase the wetland area to 5,300 hectares extending southwards to the edge of Cambridge.

We had a nice coffee, and later a simple meal, at the National Trust cafe and managed to bump into two running couples we know from Cambridge parkrun.

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A small smock wind pump built around 1912 and the last surviving wooden wind pump in the Fens. Still in occasional use in summer.

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Just over half a mile from the entrance to Wicken Fen is Wicken Corn windmill and still milling flour. Of course I went in, climbed to the top and took some pics of the giant wooden cog gearing. A beautiful structure, inside and out, restored by this man, and his colleagues, over several decades. A fantastic achievement!

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Hey! Is this a running blog or not? Last Sunday I ran a five miler at Swavesey, on a road surface, alongside open fields. The course was flat as a pancake. The sun shone and it was a good run for me. I did feel a little envious because a lot of running chums were taking part in the half marathon which was on at the same time. Interestingly, a lot more ran the half compared with the 5 miler. I’m still recovering my running fitness and it would have been a mistake to do more than 10k but it’s fascinating the power a little bit of warmth, blue sky and sunshine  can exert on my motivation and running well being.

Tomorrow is parkrun and the weather forecast is overcast with rain in the afternoon. Last week the field was 450. That’s a large number on  narrow trail paths. Part of course is by the side of a lake and recently anglers have pitched their tents so half the narrow path is obstructed. A good example of passive aggression.