Happy 1st Runniversary

This past Sunday was my 1st Runniversary, so this weekend was full of activities just to emphasis the difference a year makes. Saturday morning was Parkrun then it was off to my mums to finish off the decking I had made her. Then Sunday morning consisted of a bike ride with Dexter and a visit to the playground, then an afternoon of gardening. Followed by my Runniversary run following the route of my first run a year ago.

My run at the bottom of this photo was my first this time last year
 

Saturday morning we all set off for Parkrun Huddersfield and Dexter was determined to run further and faster, or at least that was what he had been saying all week. We arrived at Greenhead park a little later this week so there was already a bunch of people lined up at the start. Dexter and I quickly did our stretches and Mummy and Clark went off to the playground and their first vantage point to cheers us on. Parkrun were using a new penning system at the start so the faster runners were at the front and the slower ones were at the back. It worked well and we all got started without too much jostling about avoiding slower runners. We managed to get to 1km before Dexter started to whinge about needing to slow down. As I know him and what he did last week I know he was just winging because he's 5 and nothing else. I kept him going until 3km then I said he could have a little walk and a rest before we would start running again. He was really good and started running again and then at 4km we had another walking rest for about 100 metres. I knew he had lots of energy still but I didn't want to push him to far that he wouldn't get out off doing it again. The main reason I knew he had lots of energy still was whenever we went past some Marshals who are brilliant and are always cheering you on, he would grin from ear to ear and speed up a bit. As we got close to the cafe and the area all the finishers gather in the buzz seemed to help Dexter and a few people started to shout his name to encourage him. It helped and we rounded the final corner with the finish line in sight, and a lady we passed also cheered Dexter on and I told him to sprint across the line which he did and got a great cheer too. He has finished his 2nd Parkrun in 35.33 which is  4.30mins quicker than last week, he did brilliantly.

 

On Sunday Sarah-Jane took Clark into town to do a little shopping so Dexter asked if we could go for a bike ride. Now when he said this he meant I would be on my bike and he would be towed around in the bike carriage we have. So we did and we rode up to the playground near his school and whenever I ride my bike I always forget that you use a different set of muscles compared with running because when we got there I was surprisingly tired for such a short distance. Dexter had a great time and 1 of his friends from school also came up to play in the playground, and it was funny listening to them and the way they play together. When there at school you don't get to see/hear them play with their friends so it was interesting seeing them interact.

 

As it was my Runniversary Sarah-Jane and I unintentionally recreated my first run from this time last year. The plan was to run around the block exactly the same as I did last year to see the difference a year of running has made. The unplanned debacle that followed was exactly what happen last year too. I kept saying I was going for a run but things kept distracting me, like gardening, some housework and playing with the boys.

It wasn't until Sarah-Jane said 'right stop it and just go for a run' that I actually did. That's how it was last year too and if it wasn't for that push from her last year I don't know if I would be blogging about my running and all the stuff that has happened in the last year. Now last year I did the 1km run around the block in 6.07mins which as a time isn't too bad I've done 6 min km's since then. It was the end of the run and the aftermath that was key, I didn't even manage to run the full 1km just I stopped at 0.98km and the run completely took it out of me and I was still recovering a couple of hours later. This year I decided to see how fast I could do it now and how long it would take me to recover. Well I completed the 1km in 4.05min which was 2 mins quicker and after about 5mins at home I was fine again. It was a great feeling but I still have a way to go before I could keep that pace up for 5km or 10km which I would love to be able to do. I can keep a 5min to 4.30min pace going comfortably now, so lets see how I'm getting on this time next year.

 

As you do on anniversaries you tend to look back at the last year and reflect, and that's exactly what I did this weekend. If you had told me last year that I would be running at least 10k a week I would have said 'yeah whatever'! The thing is its gone way past just that, and that's what more surprising. I've taken part in 5 organised 5k runs, 2 10k runs, and a 10 mile muddy run. If that wasn't enough I've even organised a 10k run which raised £1400 for my sons school and I'm in the process of organising another 10k run to raise money for the local Church. I find myself looking at places differently now too, I catch myself planning runs in my head when I see places that would be good 5k or 10k routes.

 

Lets just hope that this next year will be just as good

Keep running everyone.

Yorkshire Warrior. Water, mud and northern grit.

Luke and I were up early in preparation for setting off to Harrogate for the Yorkshire Warrior. Luke came to pick me up at 7.20am and we set off at 7.30am intending to be there by 8.30am. We got there at 8.15 and our excitement had now turned into a slight case of nerves. About 5 mins behind us was Jessie with Matty and that was our team, as Rob had to drop out yesterday due to family reasons.

Luke, me and Matty keeping warm and feeling nervous

After parking in an almost empty field as we were one of the first there, and by the look of other Warriors turning up we were also the least prepared. After getting our numbers signing the health and safety waivers we stood around for a bit and then made our way over to the start as people were gathering in anticipation of the first wave of people setting off. I took a few photos over the next 25 mins and the crowds just kept growing and growing. We couldn't help but size up our competition even though it wasn't a race, and when we weren't sizing people up we were commenting on their outfits. This was all because we were nervous about what we had signed up for.

It was now time for wave 1 to head to the start so we all went down to see the first start of the Yorkshire warrior. There was a man dressed in spartan attire with a microphone getting completely into character and doing a good job too. He was there to explain something's and to give the warriors a quick warm up, then he set them off with a 3 count. 1.2.3. And they were off really excited and worried at the same time, no one really had an idea as to what was a head but we soon found out.

As 10 minutes later the Spartan called the 2nd wave to the start and that was us, we lined up at the front for some reason like we were gonna be off like a shot or something! Like the wave before we got our briefing and our warm up before we were set off too. This time it was a 10 count to build the tension more, 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 GO.

We set off pretty quickly but so did everyone else but at the first gate 100m away we all slowed again as it was too small to fit everyone through at full speed. This was why we were at the front so we could get through the gate and be off on our way without too much disruption. We ran for about 500m before we reached a wall and had to hurdle it, this lead us into some trees where we had to negotiate down trees and logs until we reached another wall, again hurdling it. A little run then brought us to what they called the spiders webs, a group of trees all tangled with string and wire in all different directions and you had to navigate through this to the other side. At the other side we were startled by the sight of a fellow warrior slowing to light a cigarette which made a few of us laugh. It was then down the hill to the next obstacle, a cargo net crawl under a gate into nettles leading down to the Salmon run. This was our first of many encounters with cold water, we had to get in the stream and advance upstream for about 200m in freezing water, and slippery rocks. At the end of this section was a 30ft climb up a muddy banking to an old railway line, the railway line was long gone but trees and shrubs and roots were there instead. From here was a couple of quick obstacles a tyre clamber followed by a crawl through a 20ft tube barely wide enough for stocky people so it was an elbow crawl slightly uphill.

A 1km run up and round the surrounding hills led to the log carry. Choose a log and then its up and down a banking a few times then off running again. Into the trees we went and then it was water time again which was thigh deep 10ft puddle with a queue at the other side leading to another puddle. This one was different this was a foul smelling bog stomach deep to me a 6ft tall guy never mind some of the 5ft tall warriors around me. Once you were in this bog you had a rope to guide you across this 30-40ft puddle but you had to use your feet to feel you way as the guy in front of me found out the hard way. He tripped over a log under the water and went face first into the bog, poor guy got a mouth full too. Once out of the bog you had three big bankings to climb up and down on the way to the first set of 6ft walls to climb. I was worried about these as I was afraid I would be too tired to pull myself up. It was all in my head and I flew over them my feet barely touched the tops and I was over both of them.

 

Off we were again running for another km until we came to a 15ft climbing wall to get over then a cargo net climb and then running another 500m until we reached more water holes to cross. We were doing well as a team keeping together and helping each other when we needed it, we even became 'those guys' who high five each other after each and every challenging obstacle, it was fun and kept our spirits high. This was very important was we descended down a muddy bank to the entrance to THE TUNNEL. An abandoned railway tunnel 800m long in complete darkness, or that's how they had sold it as in the description for the event. It was sneakily filled with water ankle deep in places and knee deep in others which was actually quite refreshing! They did provide torches but they were useless and were more about being able to see other people rather than where you were going. Some poor girl actually went over on her ankle in there and was taken away in an ambulance as we came out the other side, which is bad you don't want to see others get hurt whilst having fun. From the tunnel we ran another 1km then we had to jump in a ditch covered in places by netting so we had to crouch down or bend to keep our heads out of the netting. The further we went in this ditch the more muddy it got and I almost lost my shoe it got that boggy. Once out of the ditch we ran again until we had to do the ups and down or over and unders if you like. Then it was the big round hay bales 1 high to start then 2, then 3, back down to 2 then 1 again and then onto the last obstacle for a while the barbwire crawl. It was a good 2km run from here and about halfway we came to a sign saying 5 miles halfway. We couldn't believe it we felt like we had done about 7 miles by this point, but we carried on and came to an A frame climb with a Hydration station on the other side.

We stopped for a drink before pushing on and coming to another A frame climb, which was beside a tree with a very tempting branch to swing off the other side. Somebody gave into temptation and broke the branch and must have fallen about 7ft but he was ok. Running over the next field was hard as the ground was so uneven but we soon were at the next climb, over a cargo net then a couple of walls. From here it was back towards the hydration station but on the way we had to climb up and slide down a couple of bankings. By this point my knee was starting to rear its painful head again and I was having to walk a bit but at the hydration station I had a chance to rest it. The next obstacle was another crawl through a small maze of poles not too bad but all this was on a slight hill which wasn't good on the knee. It was about now where we started to miss the water puddles as we were getting warm again, but got distracted by a deer being chased by a dog, by the time we had got our heads around the funny sight we had reached the next obstacle. We were pretty excited about this 1 by now, it was the ice bath. I didn't think I would have been excited by an ice bath before today but I was and as we climbed up it Matty decided to dive in head first which got him a cheer from the others around us. It was really shocking having to duck under a plank and dunk yourself in the water but I didn't want to get out after it. It was very refreshing and lifted our spirits, and so did the sign that said 2 miles to go that was there too. Running again we came to some streams that we had to cross and cross again and again. We were soon in another water hazard and climbing another muddy bank then onto another 15ft climbing wall. We were told we only had about a mile to go which was great news but as rounded the corner we realised we had THE TUNNEL to do again the other way. As its pitch black in there it's not safe enough to run so as we were walking it gave my knee a chance to rest but my calfs decide to get a touch of cramp. I needed to stretch them out a bit and I got the chance on the steep slope we had to climb at the end of the tunnel. We were close enough to the finish to have spectators cheering us on and they could see I was struggling so cheered my number to pick me up. Which it did and hurdled the next obstacle without any problems. It was really annoying my knee because it was only that, that was slow us down I didn't feel tired too much and my muscles were fine on the obstacles it was just the impact of running on my knee.

With 2 obstacles to go we could hear all the crowds watching the final obstacle and after a couple of walls we could see them too. As we came to the final obstacle, a climb up a man made slippery slope, I saw Sarah-Jane and the boys who had come to see us finish. They had made signs for us and Jessie had one too.

We conquered the last climb and we ran together to the finish line and even sprinted the last 20m. We had done it we had finished it and in a fairly respectable time too, unofficially we had completed it in 2hr20m. Officially we were Yorkshire Warriors it felt brilliant to say that too, we collected our T-Shirts and put them on. The T-Shirts were great they were proper running T-Shirts not like the cotton T-Shirts you usually get, these ones you might actually use again or at least I will on my training runs. We then got congratulatory hugs from Dexter and Clark, and they had been practicing their well done Daddy chants too.

We hung around for a bit to see some of the other Warriors cross the line and to get some food. Then we headed back to the car to get changed out of our muddy and stinky clothes and go home for a shower.

It was a fantastic day and I would certainly do it again next year and recommend it to others too. For a first time event it was set up and run very well indeed, and I can see it being full next year. We thank you Yorkshire warrior and will see you next year.

Keep running Everyone.

Saturday morning run in my new shoes

It had been over a week since my last run and my PB run of 10 miles. It snowed again on our usual run day (Monday) do we didn't get out and then we were pretty busy Tuesday and Wednesday. Rob and I would have normally gone out on Thursday but Rob was working away and for once I could be bothered. We had planned to run and it would have been quite funny to have run together on valentines day and leave our other halves at home. It didn't happen so the next time we had planned for a run was Saturday and the Fun Run 10k route.

Friday came and so did a taste of spring the sun was out and the temperature was almost mild. Clark and I went to pick Dexter up from school and met Sarah-Jane there, and from there we went to Meadowhall to buy me some new running shoes. After a good 20 mins looking at the same 20 pairs of shoes I choose 3 that I liked, all Brooks (who I'd never heard of before). After trying them on I went with the Brooks Ghost GTX as the felt like slippers on my feet. I was now looking forward to the run in the morning even more. When we got back home I wore my new shoes for an hour or 2 to try and break them in a bit and to get my feet used to them and because I'm 12 years old still.

Saturday came and Rob came to pick me up and we drove to Windmill Nursery cafe which is the new start to the Shepley First School Fun Run. This would be the first time Rob would run the 10k route and it would also be his first 10k this year. We started well keeping a low 5 min pace and within no time had passed 3km, this is the first point on the route where i plan to have a water station for the Fun Run. It is also the start of the 1km uphill that drains your energy quite a bit, not too much so you wanna give in but enough so that when it does level out you slow for a minute to get your breath back. It was just round the corner when we hit 5km and my new lovely shoes started to cause me some pain. OH NO. It was slightly rubbing on the arch of my left foot, I could still run on it so carried on but I had to stop 1km later. I tried to adjust my foot in my shoe and tied my laces tighter to see if it helped. I got a couple of hundred metres further on and had to stop again it was too tight, so I loosened my laces again and just had to put up with it. We reached the location of the second water station or at least where it will be in 4 weeks time. It is at the 7.5km mark and also the halfway point of the 5km Route. It was a lovely day and the views around us were fantastic which made the last climb a bit more bearable, at 8km Rob started to tail off a bit and at 8.5km had to stop. Rob had developed a blister on the ball of his right foot and his legs were a bit tired so we walked for a little bit. I didn't mind too much as we had stopped just under the windmills and I think the noise they produce and the scale of them are amazing. We got going again and finished the run in 56 mins which considering we stopped 3 times wasn't bad at all. After a little breather Rob drove me to stables and dropped me off with Sarah-Jane and the boys. It wasn't until I got home that I could assess the damage to my foot and it was a quite impressive blister. It was about an inch wide and about an inch and a half long, it's a good job the shoes come with a 30 day guarantee. I will try and run in them again on Monday to see if it was just because they were new but if it still cause some pain it's back to Meadowhall for them.

It is now 1 week until the Huddersfield 10k , 4 weeks until the Shepley First School Fun Run and 10 weeks till the big one the Yorkshire Warrior.

Keep running everyone.

Yorkshire Warrior and Great North Run

Yesterday was a really good day for my fitness regime and targets for the year. I arrived home from picking Dexter up from school and checked my phone as I had received email on the way home. I opened it up and was pleasantly surprised, I wasn't expecting any news on this until today. I got a email from Bupa congratulating me on entry into the great north run on 15th Sept 2013. I was really happy and instantly put a photo on Facebook to share with friends and family. It was only then that it occurred to me I was gonna have to get there and early so might have to sort out a hotel for the night before travel to the race in the morning and probably a whole lot if stuff I don't even realise yet. I'm still excited thou and that carried on through to my run last night.

I was due to run with Rob but he was stuck at work, so I was in my own. I was running with an extra spring in my step because of the news of the great north run and probably because I had remembered to eat something too. When I normally run I find that around 8km I hit a wall and have to dig in for a bit. This time however my App told me I had completed 9km and it was only then that I realised I hadn't hit my usual wall. This also gave me a boost and I started running with an added vigour, and before I new it I was at 12km still feeling great. With my Endomondo App friends of mine can send me messages or pep talks as I'm running which is a really cool feature. As I completed lap 5 and 14km I got a message from Sarah-Jane asking if I was coming home. As I had past my previous best of 14km I was feeling ace and still wasn't feeling the run too much, so I took her message as a joke. I soon realised that I had been running a while and that she was probably being serious. So I decided that even if I was on a brilliant run I was gonna complete 1 more lap and 16km then go home. I wanted to complete 16km or 10 miles as this was the distance of the Yorkshire Warrior run that were signed up for in April. I managed it in a respectable 1hr30 and was in slight pain but nothing unusual after a long run. I kept thinking to myself that I could quite easily do another 5km to make it a half marathon. Not this time but I think I could do it if I had the time another day. I was glad I had done a Yorkshire Warrior distance now with plenty of time to the run as I now have time to prepare for the obstacles that I will have to do as well as the distance. All I have to do now is help Rob to that distance and we'll probably have to drag Luke to that distance. Luke is gonna have to pull his finger out and start running again soon or he won't make the 10k Shepley First School fun run.






































I gained another confirmed runner yesterday too and I'm getting close to the magical 30 mark. I say that but I would have been happy if only 10 ran, its going to be brilliant whatever happens.

Keep Running everyone