Barnsley parkrun, Huddersfield Carnival and Insanity

This past weekend Huddersfield parkrun was cancelled because the Huddersfield Caribbean carnival was on. So I had to get my parkrun fix elsewhere, and that's how it feels, a fix in a good way. I'm only 6 runs in but the whole routine of getting up and going for a run within the fun and friendly atmosphere of parkrun plus having the rest if the day still is just great. So after debating between Bradford parkrun or Dewsbury parkrun I went with Barnsley at Locke park. Mainly because its our 2nd closest, I had no idea what it was like or what it's average numbers were. So I looked online to find its average attendance and directions to the park so I was all clued up ready for Saturday morning.

On the day the plan was for me to run the 3 laps of the park whilst Sarah-Jane walked round with Dexter and Clark in his buggy for the first time in about a year. Then when I had finished I would catch them up and run with Dexter until he finished his 3 laps. On arriving at the start finish line that plan was scrapped as there is, in Dexters eyes and a little in mine, a great playground. So Dexter decide I could go on my own and he would play in the playground and cheer me on. 

There was a small but close group of runners at Barnsley parkrun, I say small but there was just under 100 and after a few 50 & 100 club presentations we gathered at the start. As I was unfamiliar to the group I had no judgement on where to start from for my average time, unlike at Huddersfield where I knew roughly to start with and exactly with the new penning system. So I placed myself about 2/3 back and when a guy next to me started talking about getting a DNF result today I knew I was in the wrong place but never mind. We were off and after a little shuffling and a slow start I was off at my fast pace. I wanted to keep track of people on the first lap as I had no idea where I had to go, but soon realised that the route had small arrows stencilled on the floor for you to follow. I still kept in touch with the people in front of me but I had no idea what pace I was on as I couldn't hear my Endomondo app. I really tried to keep my pace up and for the first 2 laps I did I even over took a few people. On the second lap I came upon a lady who was encouraging a chap trying to keep him going and for a while it was working but he eventually drop back but she kept going. She start helping the next person she came up to telling them to dig deep and keep it up, and this time it fell on deaf ears. Just at the start of the uphill on the 3 lap I came up behind her and she heard me and saw me coming so start cheering me on and then said something that at the time didn't register. But every time I think about it now or when telling people about my latest parkrun makes me giggle like a school boy. She heard me coming up behind her so to encourage me she said come on you can do me on the hills. Which I did but I did have to dig deep to get to the top of the hills. The uphills at Barnsley are deceptively tough but the long downhill to the finish is a welcomed sight once you've reached the summit. I reached the finish in a pleasing 25.24 and because of the heat and the unfamiliar route I was happy. Locke park was a lovely little park and would definitely do Barnsley parkrun again.

From parkrun it was home for a shower then some lunch and then my mums, for the Huddersfield Carribean carnival. This is an annual event held in the park where Huddersfield parkrun is held and attracts thousands of people to see the parade and enjoy the festivities in the park. There is dancing, fairground rides and stalls selling whistles, food and drink. 

With the weather being as nice as it is the carnival was busier than usual and the park was crammed, there must have been about 15000 people if not more. We left Sarah-Jane and Clark at my mums with Nana (Janice) whilst the rest of us went across to the park and the boys (Dexter and Liam) went on some of the rides.

 They had a great time and by the time we got back to my mums we had to quickly grab some food then we had to get home so Sarah-Jane could get ready to go out to a work friends retirement party. After she had gone I got the boys settled down watching DVD's in their room, after a busy day I knew it wouldn't be long before they were asleep. They managed to keep going until 7.30pm then I found them like this.

On Tuesday I started a new (to me at least) fitness workout called Insanity. I never thought I would follow a fitness workout DVD but I also never thought I would run regularly either. So far I think I've lost about 4 pounds in sweat in just 2 sessions and gained sore legs but I feel great so far just another 58 days to go. I'll keep you up to date on my new fitness scheme as I go.

Keep running everyone

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.

Parkrun debut for Dexter and Shepley 10k

A couple of weeks ago I ran my first Parkrun at Greenhead park in Huddersfield and then again the week after knocking almost a minute off my previous time. Sarah-Jane came along with the boys to cheer me on and join in the atmosphere. The weather wasn't the greatest that day but the attendance and the warm friendly atmosphere was. All of these and seeing his Daddy do well seemed to encourage Dexter a lot, enough to say he wanted to run next time. Now usually we would say yes Dexter of course and then promises would be forgotten by us and him but this time we could tell he really wanted to take part and run with his Daddy. So Sarah-Jane and I talked and worked out that if Dexter came on a couple of training runs with me during the week we could judge whether or not he would be up to it. Then from there we could see if he could do a Parkrun in a few weeks time.

The following Monday came and I was getting ready to go for a run around Shepley, so I asked Dexter if he wanted to come too. I was half expecting to say no or not today but he didn't he was really excited and jumped up with a big YES, so we got him dressed in to his running clothes. We went outside I did some stretches and Dexter copied then I explained to him that I would do a lap of Shepley with him then drop him off and I would carry on. He was ok with that and was still really excited when we set off round the corner. We got about 400 metres into our run and on a little downhill Dexter fell head first to the floor sliding on his knee, his belly and his hands. The tears flowed and the cries were loud but after about 20 seconds he was calm again and to my surprise when I said let's keep going he said OK. I cut the lap down a bit but we still did 1.3km before we made a pit stop at home to get his grazed knee cleaned. It was bleeding a quite a bit but looked worse than it was and I left Sarah-Jane playing nurse with him as I went back out to finish my run. I was really proud of him for getting back up and continuing and I think he would have run further if it wasn't for the fall. 

Thursday is my normal day for another run but we went to see my friends newborn daughter. The boys loved holding Harlow and it gave them a bit of practise before Flynn is born in 13 weeks time.

So when Saturday came around I wasn't going to do Parkrun until my Mum texted me to see if we were going and if we wanted breakfast after. So we decided to go and we asked Dexter if he wanted to run too as I had signed him up to Parkrun the day before, he said yes still with the same excitement as before the run on Monday. Even with a fall he still wants to run, which is brilliant. So Sarah-Jane and I came up with a plan so that if he didn't want run all of the 5k he didn't have to. Sarah-Jane was going to walk to certain points on the course to cheers us and if I felt Dexter could carry on he could walk with his mummy and brother and I would carry on. We arranged meeting points at 1km, 2km and 3km where he could drop out if he was struggling.

We turned up at my Mum's to drop stuff off then walked round to the park we also picked up Liam (Dexter and Clark's cousin) who was staying over at my Mum's. 

It was pretty quiet in the park to start with so Dexter and I did our stretches then left Sarah-Jane, Clark and Liam to go to the start and they went to the playground for a bit.

Whilst waiting at the start the crowds started to gather and we got talking to a boy about 16 years old who was a seasoned runner with over 50 Parkruns to his name. I knew this only because of the 50 Parkrun t-shirt he was wearing. 

The run started and Dexter and I ran holding hands mainly because I was afraid I would lose him not the other way round. We ran down the main straight and at the bottom we waved at mummy who was in the playground.

Then we rounded the corner at the bottom to head back up and complete the small lap as I call it. As we start the first big lap I explained to Dexter that we would see mummy a few times around the run and if he felt like he couldn't carry on we could stop. He wanted to go on as far as he could which was great and as we reach 1km and our first meeting point we just waved and carried on.

 Dexter was having fun and was surprised at how many people were cheering us on. As we got to 2km started to say he wanted walk but I knew that he could carry on further he's just 5 and winges at the littlest things. So when we saw Sarah-Jane Clark and Liam we waved again and kept running.

As we reached the end of the first big lap I knew Dexter could carry on but I didn't want to push him too much on his first Parkrun and at 3km we met Mummy and started to walk.

I was very proud of him as 3km was the furthest he has ever run and he was going to carry on the route still and finish the full 5km. He was going to walk with Mummy whilst I carried on to the finish then come round  again to pick him up. I left them with 20 mins on the clock and finished with a time of 29 mins so I was chuffed with my final 2km. Once I had finished and got my barcode scanned I ran back down the route to meet up with Dexter again. I caught up with them at the 4km mark and I persuaded Dexter to run again and his cousin Liam joined us too. As Dexter was running in his England shirt with his name and age on people kept cheering his name to give him a boost. We came round the back of the cafe and had about 300 metres to go and we met up with a group of runner who were doing extra km's and they ran behind us and cheered Dexters name until he crossed the line to complete his first ever 5km and first ever Parkrun in a time of 40.09mins. I was ever so proud of him and it was at that point that I remember that he is only just 5 years old and he has just done a 5km run. He has promised that next time he will run faster, but if he just did it again full stop it would be great. He enjoyed the run a lot but I think he was more taken by his barcode, and that he had to look after it until the end.

 

It's only been 3 weeks since I started doing Parkruns but I already feel comfortable at the events. They have a real family feel to them and you know that after a few events you will know a few of them by name. This will come in handy when I try to encourage a few of them to join my run, the Shepley 10k which I'm organising. The numbers are slowly growing but are better now with its new date of September 15th, rather than its old date. I hope that we can get enough people for the run and I hope we can gather enough volunteers for Marshals too. We need about 10 people for Marshals and we are nearly at the 30 runners mark which is great for a community run. We would obviously like more runners so that we raise more money for the St Paul's Church in Shepley.

If anyone want to join in the Shepley 10k please get in touch via this blog or email me on mattpatt@hotmail.co.uk

Please remember everyone keep running

 

New route and a new 10k

For the past couple of weeks we (Sarah-Jane and I) have been mainly focused on baby names after discovering that we are having another boy. 

I think we have come to the decision that boy number 3 will be called Flynn Richard ______ Pattison. The 2nd middle name is still under discussion and we are back and forth over 2 names, Bishop and Darwin. 

Also I've been busy turning the cogs in my rusty brain trying to find a job and plan my next event. The job front isn't going to well but the organisational skills I gain from organising these fun runs should hopefully help. 

The St Paul's church in Shepley is in need of money to match a grant they have been given to refurbish their facilities and if they don't raise the money they lose the grant. So I offered to set up a fun run for them to help raise some of the money they need. And so I was straight onto the contacts I gained from doing the Shepley First School Fun Run, and was planning routes out in my head. I came up with a couple, a short one around 6k and a longer 10k one too but I wasn't sure which was best so over the next few days I ran them both. They both followed a similar route but the 10k took a few extra roads in along the way. After completing them both I decided to go with the 10k mainly because it was more of a challenge but I felt a bigger sense of accomplishment after finishing. I still have to sort a few things out with the Shepley cricket club and set a date and time but as far as permission goes the SHEPLEY 10K is born. 

The route has slightly changed from this picture. You get a great sense of scale from it and every time I look at it I can't believe its only 10k it looks huge. I'm very excited about this run and with it being a possible July date should be a very nice day for everyone who will be involved. As the church host a lot of community clubs I.e dance classes, guides etc. I'm very optimistic that we should be able to get the word out quickly and to a wider audience than we did for the school plus I hope we will get a few more volunteers for Marshals too. 

As always I will keep you informed as to my progress and my runs, and keep running everyone.