Cambridge half marathon

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Cambridge half marathon a fortnight away, walking along the cam and those evil Tories again.

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A cold, sunny Sunday in Cambridge yesterday. Plenty of eights on the river powered by the gilded youth, loads of runners and cyclists to knock you flying, hordes of couples mooning  around (St. Valentine’s Day) and shoals of tourists shimmying from one photogenic setting to another (it can be such uphill work getting people to believe you’ve actually visited somewhere unless you are able to show evidence of yourself in a snap with relevant backdrop).

I’m a creature of habit when I go into Cambridge. I always go into WH Smith to look at the magazines and usually buy one or two, I often go into Heffers bookshop or Waterstones, walk around the market square and visit the second hand book stall and take photos on a particular bridge over the Cam. Out of preference, I like to have a nice coffee and a tuna and cucumber baguette in the marvelously anonymous Eat cafe and possibly wander around John Lewis, a rather civilised department store. I like to trip through the extensive cosmetics area in a vain attempt to identify any of the sales operatives who have abstained from caking themselves in their own products. They are always immaculately turned out and attractive but wearing no or minimal makeup doesn’t appear to be an option. Are they contractually obliged to over do it?

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These grand and beautiful trees are on Jesus Green. How lucky are we?

Cambridge half marathon is only two weeks away. I haven’t done the training I would like to do because other things have got in the way. Nevertheless, it’s good to know that despite not having put the mileage in, my overall level of fitness enables me to step up quickly to do 13 miles. It’s speed that suffers, of course, but if speed is your objective you are following a false god! The very shallowness of the concept of speed! Does anyone really care about this over valued aspect of running? I rather like these fall back arguments when you’re getting slower and slower.

Anyway, I did 13 miles today and 9 miles a week ago plus a 5 miler and a parkrun since the beginning of the month. I might do two more parkruns and a couple of long runs up to 10 miles and that will be that.

A government task force has published a report, A Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, which is very critical of the state of Engand’s mental health services, click here to read Observer article Today’s Guardian headline is NHS vows to transform mental health services  with extra £1bn a year. The report talks about a sharp increase in the number of suicides, estimates three quarters of people with a psychiatric condition do not receive help and documents that children are being sent all over the country to an available bed that may be hundreds of miles from their families.

The Tories and the coalition government have presided over savage cuts to bed availability, support services, staffing levels and overall funding of mental health facilities. Cameron in his ever so reasonable, we have learnt lessons, we must all pull together and defeat stigma, senior Tory style is presenting the spending announcement as an innovation and Tory triumph. David Cameron and his mates are duplicitous, fraudulent, own class supporting, unfeeling,  and lacking in basic humanity. They appeal to the voters who share their values – the cruel, the selfish, the self centred. May God help decent and vulnerable people.

 

 

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February 6 2016 Back in the running!

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The last time I ran was on January 26th until today, when I went for an evening jog of two miles. I managed to do 26 days of running during Janathon and 5 days of walking. My cold was persistent and brought my energy levels down. I went for a couple of late night two mile walks after Janathon but that was it! The 2 mile run tonight felt fine and my pace has not changed from previously. The challenge now is to train up for Cambridge half marathon in three weeks time. As long as I can run consistently I will only need  to run a variety of 2 milers, 5-6 milers, a couple of 10 milers and perhaps one 13 milers and that should be it. I’ll probably do them randomly or possibly take advice from the Wise Old Owl who flies beside me at night and offers sage counsel.

Final Janathon 2016 total : 95 miles including 10 miles of walking. Last year I did 104 miles and I recorded the 2014 Janathon at 95 miles, the identical mileage to this year. The secret of my successful increase in mileage last year? Brussels sprouts and plenty of them.

An unusual occurrence today. I missed parkrun due to a family occasion. We went to an auction and very interesting it was, too. We stayed about an hour and sat around an enormous modern table (board room size) on pink suede chairs (everyone sits on the various chairs which are parts of lots} Our particular lot was originally £14,000 (with a sideboard) and went for about £3,500 including VAT. No obvious good taste was discerned.

 

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Janathon Day 8 Frost, sun and blue sky

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Looking forward to the London marathon on April 24th. We’ll be spectating around Canary Wharf in Docklands again which is mile 18 or thereabouts. Last year we stayed until the sweeper vehicles went past heralding the official tail end of the race. There were still many going through in dribs and drabs and having to negotiate the extensive clear up operation all around them. Most of the the cheering crowd had melted away, the roads were opening up to traffic but they were still determined to finish despite having another six miles to go.

Cambridge half marathon is earlier this year, at the end of February, so only about seven weeks away. It’s a new one lap course this year rather than two laps within the City. Unfortunately this means the organisers have not been able to accommodate relay teams of two or three runners as they have done in past years. That’s a pity.

A cold and frosty start to the day followed by bright sun and blue skies. Despite the pleasant weather I didn’t get around to running until darkness fell which necessitated using my new Petzl head lamp for a second time. Very enjoyable. I may never run in daylight again.

Cambridge parkrun tomorrow where our chum Kerry will be running his 100th. Surely it will be a mud festival. Wimpole Estate parkrun, the nearest to Cambridge, have already cancelled due to water logging. Some of these people will come to Cambridge  and a proportion will go elsewhere. Some weird people will use the opportunity to stay in bed!

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Janathon Day 2 Into the gloop. Again!

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Vanity, vanity. All is vanity. Here’s yet another picture of me. This time I am running in today’s Cambridge parkrun. I’m just behind another open mouthed runner. It was very muddy but unlike yesterday, relatively warm so I made the right decision to run in a short sleeved top and shorts.

The gloop made for a slow time. I couldn’t convince myself I was sprinting like a gazelle. Nevertheless, I usually feel I am running faster than I am. I’ve done quite a bit of running in the last five days and although the speed isn’t there, the stamina is. I don’t feel tired or achy so that’s a good result.

After being completely splattered in mud, I showered the equivalent of several kilos of mire down the plug hole and then repaired, with Lorna, to a friend’s house where we had a delicious breakfast with a group of like minded running chums. And very relaxing and enjoyable it was, too!  We were invited to join a newly forming mid week evening 10k running group which sounded great. I’ll almost certainly take it up. Of course, I’ll need a head lamp, a very bright one to turn the Cambridge night into daylight. And if Lorna asks nicely, I’ll let her borrow it!

Cambridge half marathon in 8 weeks. Gotta get training.

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Fast Fruit?

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Wimpole Estate parkrun. I look like an escaped banana pursued by smoothie bounty hunters but this astute and discerning photographer saw through the comic potential and recorded this classic, timeless running image. And to top it all, I was the first person to come in at number 76.

The weather was very kind on Saturday, the cows with their scary pointy horns sat around playing Monopoly, forsaking their menacing poses and ignoring the runners  and even the sheep, famously daft, kept out of our way. Three of our friends from deepest Essex, came up to run with us and we gave a lift to another pal who usually runs at Cambridge. Post race, we had coffee and a bite to eat in the National Trust café and sat around chatting for an hour. A brief visit to the pre-loved bookshop yielded only three old OS maps despite being horribly tempted by serendipity, and then home.

Gorgon Brown, ex Labour prime Minister for a month or two after Tony Blair, gave a speech today containing a “coded message”, warning against choosing a Labour leader who would be divisive and make Labour unelectable at the next election. Using skills gained during a visit to Bletchley Park several years ago, I rapidly decoded the hidden message and concluded he was referring to Jeremy Corbyn. This is the same Gorgon Brown who, as Chancellor of the Exchequer so proudly boasted of light touch regulation of the banks and financial institutions which allowed them to run amok. The same Gorgon Brown in the Blair government that was utterly determined to pitch into the Iraq war with the Americans. The same Gorgon Brown, who along with all the other Labour heavyweights and the Miliband shadow government, utterly failed to address the evil Tories’ onslaught of rhetoric which continually blamed the Labour party in power for all the debt and economic ills whilst affecting a “we care about the common people and your NHS” stance. An extremely poor judge, to put it mildly!

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This pic features Ms Alive and Running establishing whether or not it was safe to go near to the edge. This was an independent decision, undertaken without my consent. I’m sure if I had done this, severe  criticism would have ensued.

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Part of the Seven Sisters, East Sussex between the Birling gap and Beachy Head, the coastal bit of the South Downs. Very hilly. Excellent running country. Useless for high diving or cliff top homes.

Cambridge Half Marathon, end of February 2016 : interest registered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Alive and Running March 19 2015

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These brave Cam punters are well wrapped up against the February weather (yes, it’s last month’s pic) and having to swarm together to stay warm. Unable to operate their own poles, they are reduced to employing slaves  to navigate the river. Passive or what? And expensive. But on the other hand the chauffeurs are very informative and entertaining. So the choice is yours. Bob’s yer uncle, Fanny’s yer aunt, so they say.

I’m fully recovered from the exertions of the Cambridge half marathon although I haven’t been running much this week. I did go out with the club on Tuesday evening. How did I find it? Demanding! The pendulum is definitely swinging in favour of the fitter and faster runners. The new coach is trying to be inclusive but the the unvarnished truth is that most of my fellow runners are quicker and younger than me. Nevertheless, it is possible to adapt and successfully take part in the new regime. We did 6 x 6 minutes. Each 6 minutes was split up into 2 minutes at marathon pace, 2 minutes at 10k pace, 1 minute at 5k pace and 1 minute jog recovery before going into the next 6 minutes. So, running continuously, at different speeds, for 36 minutes, with no stop recoveries. We did something similar in the last two sessions but on this occasion it felt more manageable. The changes of pace were governed by whistle and on this occasion there were two whistles blown by two coaches running at different speeds. I was able to I hear it despite being well behind the fastest runners and therefore felt part of the group.

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Alive and Running March 9 2015 Cambridge half marathon

DSC_0285 Cambridge half marathon completed! Five halves and one relay leg of seven miles in perfect long distance running weather. Not too warm, not too cold, occasionally windy but always sunny.

Apparently the organisers increased the field from 4000 to 4,500. Unfortunately this made a difference in terms of congestion. The streets of Cambridge aren’t designed to accommodate that number of runners (oddly Cambridge University and the city planners over several centuries failed to predict mass participation running). This resulted in a lot of boxing in and unwanted change of pace. I was forced to trip up people, push them aside or deliver a karate chop to pass them. It was justified carnage. I know what pace I need to maintain and if they don’t automatically clear a space for me to glide effortlessly by,well, they pay the penalty.

Possibly foolishly, I put too much effort into parkrun the day before and felt a little tired. Nevertheless, I was only 1 min 42  seconds outside last years Cambridge half and I was happy with that. In fact we all ran well despite a general lack of consistent training among some of us (I couldn’t use this excuse).

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Shanti ran a much faster time than last year, improving by around 20 minutes. Boyfriend Ben is drinking a non alcoholic beer that we all received in our goodie bags.

I drank around 400 mls during the race, sufficient after finishing and regularly for the rest of the day. As a result of my responsible behaviour, I avoided dehydration and also excruciating cramp during the night. How clever am I!

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Alive and Running March 4 2015

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This is my kind of beard (or is it a value added moustache?). In fact I’m Day 2 into my copycat attempt. Currently, I have a white stubble beard (think Clint Eastwood in the the Dollar films) but what’s unusual about that? Nothing! I’m sure a beard/moustache like this would put me on the first rung of eccentricity and, boy, do I want to climb that ladder. The next step would be to order a bespoke black velvet cloak with red silk lining and then a sword stick (to ostentatiously open letters not puncture people). I could go on but the world is not ready for some of my ideas.

I’m not sure it would enhance my running performance although I’m prepared to take that risk. Yesterday, at the club run we did 5.30 minutes x 6 with 30 second jog recoveries. I recover quickly but I much prefer to stop moving rather than slow jog. The off track group during the dark winter nights tends to be be on the fast side and at the moment I’m the slowest. But this doesn’t really matter since we run a loop and are governed by a whistle to mark the beginning and end of the speeds. It’s only a little disconcerting when I’m overtaken by a considerably faster runner. I’ve tried to explain that it’s bad form to pass someone who’s older than themselves but so far my argument has fallen on deaf ears. The young, eh, you can’t tell them anything.

Just a few days before the Cambridge half on Sunday. I’ll do Cambridge parkrun the day before as a little warm up. I’m looking forward to the half. All the children bar one are doing it and I’m sure the non participant will see the running light eventually. The weather will be warm which will suit me so hopefully I’ll be firing on all cylinders.

Therapeutic gardening project continues to progress. I met with Cambridge MIND managers to explain the project and attended a parish council meeting where they approved the application for a couple of polytunnels and a large shed. South Cambs council planning dept. have the final say but I don’t anticipate any problems.

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Alive and Running February 28 2015

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This is Stanley Green who regularly patrolled Oxford Street, London between 1968 and up to 1993 when he died. As a teenager wandering around London on Saturdays, I probably came across this man a couple of dozen times (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Green). I was reminded of this quintessential English eccentric by three people I met over the last few days who unexpectedly engaged me in conversation. Unlike Stanley, whom my teenage self found unsettling. I can now sustain whole conversations with people who make me marvel, with whom I have very little in common, who are on a substantially different wavelength but are interesting, have integrity and an openness. It doesn’t take much effort on my behalf because I invariably like them and enjoy their brief company. At the same time I’m aware how difficult and lonely it can be for people who don’t easily conform to conventional social norms. Am I over thinking this? Can’t help it, readers! I take most people seriously most of the time until they demonstrate this is not a sensible thing to do. And most the people I can’t take seriously, do conform to social norms in their interactions. So bring on eccentricity, I say, but not too much of it all in one go.

Wimpole Estate parkrun today. The weather in my village was relatively mild but when we arrived at Wimpole it was much colder and the wind was cutting.The light was poor and if I was more forward thinking, I would have employed someone with a SAD lamp strapped to their back to run directly in front of me. It was also very muddy and several people required to be hoisted out of vicious swamps by the emergency services. Anyway, I was one of a number of survivors who managed to stagger back to the superior National Trust cafe where I indulged myself with a fruit scone, butter and jam and a lovely cup of coffee. I kept good company with friends and met or observed parkrun royalty who were visiting from Headquarters.

Only eight days before Cambridge half marathon which most of my family and running friends are doing. There will be none of the stupidity of last year when I failed to drink during the race, and after finishing, which resulted in dehydration, an inability to walk and a nice trip in a Landrover to the medical tent. How magical water is! It didn’t take too long to recover but I won’t repeat the mistake.

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Alive and Running February 23 2015

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And so to Londinium last Friday. This picture was taken in Foyles on their new site on Charing Cross Road. As my daughter Shanti commented, it’s like Borders used to be before they imploded.

Is anyone familiar with the old Foyles and their particular way of doing business? You took the book(s) to a counter without a till, a receipt was given to you with details of book(s) and price, you toddled off to someone in a booth, paid your money, your receipt was stamped and you took it back to the counter where your book(s) were crying their eyes out because they felt so lonely and abandoned. The pay booths were often a good way from the counter where you left them so you might have to traipse (relatively) long distances. Fittingly, Foyles was the setting for my only episode of book rage around 35 years ago. I had already undergone their payment rituals when I noticed I’d been overcharged. I went back to the first counter (without a till) and then returned to the payment booth for a refund, despite showing signs of exhaustion. The cashier who had served me had changed and had gone to the top floor along with her money. I would have to find her to obtain my refund. Not surprisingly, I couldn’t find her, the red mist came over me and burly security men suddenly materialised displaying an appropriately burly attitude. Readers, I got my refund but it was a messy business. See Foyles in Wikipedia for a fuller description of this quirky, exasperating, labyrinthine vast shop in it’s prime. I miss it as I do Borders.

What’s happening on the running front? A very muddy Cambridge parkrun on Saturday morning with a slow time to match but I will be improving once the weather is kinder to me. On Sunday, it was Cambridge junior parkrun and it was good to see the first lady come first over the line. I was official photographer and took around 250 pics. 139 children took part in muddy conditions (they run part of the adult parkrun course) and a good time was had by all, thanks to the volunteers and supportive parents.

Today was my last long run before the Cambridge half in just under 2 weeks. I did 11.6 miles and it felt fine. It didn’t rain as previously forecast but there was a strong, bitter wind blowing that frequently slowed my pace. I’ll probably go out with the club tomorrow evening and have a rest day on Wednesday.

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DSC_0571 Thanks be to the Greek gods there are still some wonderful book sellers around. These four are in Cecil Court or Tottenham Court Road. You’ll be able to get any book you desire through these shops but a deep pocket is essential. It’s not Poundland although a good proportion of these fine books will have originally been under that price or not much over.

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Cecil Court still has (possibly) eight or nine bookshops offering fine or first editions, and they are generally much better lit nowadays giving the impression of cosiness rather than the gloom of a single low watt night light. They also appear to be open for business rather than closed to a snooping public. In the past, they seemed motivated to appear unwelcoming.

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Finally, here’s Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in Frith Street, Soho.

We had a lovely day simply walking around London, from Euston Road, down Tottenham Court Road, into Soho and China Town. I took a load of pics and could have taken a million more.