The parkrun Cowell club

I've hardly been subtle about my parkrun obsession, I'm not sure there's been a post on this blog that hasn't mentioned it somewhere. All parkruns are fun, I honestly don't think there's one I've not enjoyed in some way, but every now and then there's a really good one - and today was one.

Like most close-knit groups parkrun has grown a language of its own. First there were the clubs for running 50, 100, or 250 events (with a special one for kids when they get to 10). These clubs feature a t-shirt at each level. Junior parkrunners (a parallel series of 2km events) get wristbands when their cumulative total distance run is a half marathon, marathon, or ultra-marathon - this is a great idea, very motivating for the kids.

Then there was the most events table, a ranking across all of parkrun-world of those who have run the most events, the most different courses, the most inaugurals. The entry criteria are having completed 20 different events or 5 inaugural events. It's a hotly contested table!

The top of the table has some very dedicated people on it - 207 different events, humbling

The parkrun Show podcast soon supercharged parkrun lexicon and introduced all sorts of terms - "passionistas" for those who have run hundreds of times at just one place, "über-tourists" (like me) who enjoy travelling around to different events and keeping an eye on the tables, "panic jogs" for when you get to an event but are really worried about missing the start and need to deploy a little panicked run/jog, and so on, and so on. The list isn't endless, but it is fairly long these days.

All this time and enthusiasm spent on what is in essence still exactly the same as it was when it started a little over ten years ago - a free, timed, weekly, 5km run anywhere we want one.

My parkrun obsession waxes and wanes, I had six months off in 2013 when I injured my knee. I had a couple of months earlier this year when I didn't run much either - but there's always been a target in the back of my mind - that of 100 different events, an exclusive and fairly rarified group called the Cowell club (so named after Chris Cowell who, I assume, was the first to get there though has long since been overtaken on the most events table).

My 118 parkruns, from 23rd April 2011 to today with 5-run rolling average time

Today, on my 118th run, I got there! Mrs and I headed out at about 7am to pick up Louise and head up to Tring parkrun for their 4th event. I really hoped that some of my favourite parkrunners would be able to join me on this occasion so I picked somewhere none of us had done (with thanks to Louise's spreadsheet skills for identifying suitable locations).

We got there a bit early, about 8:15am. Kat and Jools had already arrived and were hiding in their car. It was chilly, and a bit damp, but not the downpour that had been forecast when I checked last night. Kat popped over to give me some cheese biscuits (made with 100% cheese, nothing else) - they lasted about 10 seconds between me and Mrs, lovely, thanks Kat!

These crisps are 100% cheese and they're wonderful!

Other tourists arrived, Mike, Vanessa, and Andy, and we headed over to the start. The car park is the other side of the A41 to the route, so we filed over a narrow footbridge. In the run briefing it turned out another person, who I later found out was Neil Chapman, was also running his 100th event. I was going to say hello afterwards, but he vanished as soon as he'd finished.

Welcome to Tring Park (Caution runners!)

The run briefing advised us to be careful of cows. The approximate location of the herd is shown on the route map - apparently at 8am they were all milling about on the start line!

This is the best route map ever (cow not to scale)

The course was lovely. A grassy runway to start followed by a steep climb up through some woods. Levelled off for a kilometre, past a view spot (I'm sure it's a great view when it isn't supremely foggy!) and then a lovely long series of downhills.

Wide grassy start - no pinch-points here (until the muddy gate)

The final 2km are on grass and are fairly undulating. It's not an easy course, but it's interesting and fun.

Looks almost flat from above - I assure you it isn't!

I ran all the way round with Mrs, we chatted on and off and managed to avoid running through cow pats. My overall time was 29:29, not very quick, but then it's not a very quick course and I wasn't going for speed, I wanted to enjoy it.

Kilometre splits tell ta tale of "up, level, down, bumpy, bumpy"

L to R: Mike, Kat, Jools, me, Mrs, Andy, Vanessa, Louise

We all went back to the local coffee shop afterwards for a cuppa and some celebratory cake. I don't often indulge in the post-run coffee hang out so this made a nice change. Special thanks to Louise who made me a Cowell club card with an actual (picture of a) cow in it (thanks!) and Mike who bought my cake (thanks!). You guys rock!

Card-cow (looks like a Cow Clicker cow, remember that?)

Cake! Looked like coffee - tasted like banana!

I have to mention just quietly here that Louise, despite being a mighty 7th on the most events table, managed to walk off with her position token. It can happen to anyone, kids, always remember to give your token in!

Speaking of which, I had to resort to my emergency barcode that lives in my wallet which has *never* been used before as I could find any of my little plastic ones! Need to buy a wristband immediately and never take it off. DFYB. (More parkrun speak, Don't Forget Your Barcode)...

My emergency bar code came out today - first time

Whilst we're being open about cock-ups, I also ran the car down to zero miles tank range on the way home and had to do a panic-refuel. It's a 60 litre tank, it accepted a 59.6 litre top-up...

So with 500 parkrun kilometres completed, I wonder what's next? Another parkrun term is "LonDone" to mean all the parkruns in London (defined as "within the M25" for ease). I have 9 more events to reach this, so that'll take a few months (given I like to go to inaugural events too, and there may be new London ones to tick off).

The next official club tee is the "250 club", which I'm not even half way to. That'll take another 2.5 years (if I never miss a Saturday). I'm in parkrun no-man's land, parkrun limbo! Help!

I'm pretty sure I'll get over it in time for next Saturday - not sure where I'm going yet - and that's just another of the many things I love about being a parkrun über-tourist.

My new position on the most events table, joint 22nd

Scunthorpe parkrun

I haven’t seen my Dad for a while, so I popped up to Scunthorpe (town known most famously for steel and being a bit rude) after work on Friday – cheap advance train tickets for the win. And seeing as I’m here, what better opportunity to take in Scunthorpe parkrun?

A beautiful parkrunday in the North

Scunthorpe parkrun started last year while I was complaining about being injured (though admittedly, that doesn’t pin it down much).  I was annoyed I couldn’t come and enjoy it at the time, so it’s been up near the top of my to-do list for a while.

Dad drove me up to ThePods (sorry about the terrible page) – a newish leisure complex so called because each unit looks a bit like a futuristic pop-up habitation module. Just add distant mountains, desert, and twin suns.

The Pods - leisure complex (photo from here)

The course is two laps, all on smooth fast paved path with the exception of a 50m trail section through some trees and a short segment on footpath by a road. It’s fairly flat with some gentle ups and downs but nothing I’d count as a hill. A few dead turns mean it won’t be a full PB course, but the top quality surface helps keep the pace up.

Course map shows a podless Scunthorpe (from here)

Dad gave me a lift and got me there nice and early. I decided to warm up for once – a few repetitions of high-knees/bum-kicks/sideways running/spin-ups. It was pretty cold, 3 degrees according to the car, but very clear and bright. Perfect conditions for a run.

There were three pacers announced on the start line – 22, 26, and 30 minutes. Each had a large label on their back. I fancied a bit of effort so planned set off behind the 22-minute pacer and to let him slowly drift away.

We have ignition - Scunthorpe parkrun is GO! (photo by my Dad)

With the fastest countdown ever (10 down to GO! in about 4 seconds) we were off! I felt good having warmed up well, and kept the 22-minute guy in sight. He had a little cluster around him but I wasn’t feeling 22-minute brave. He drifted away over the first couple of km and I found some new people to play with. First a kid who was boinging along like he was on springs. His biggest problem was dealing with weighing so little – every time he pushed off he sprang into the air! If he could use that energy to go forwards he’d whip the lot of us.

I left him behind during the third kilometre and found a new target, an older chap in a blue top who I had been slowly reeling in. I set my sights on him and put a bit of effort in. I eventually caught him with 500m to go and pushed past – I couldn’t make a gap though so he took me back with 250m left. I let him stay ahead by a couple of metres and vowed to take him in a sprint finish. I pushed hard and took him about 1m from the line!

Most glorious sprint finish, the battle for 62nd place has never been so tough (photo by my Dad)

I thought at first I’d run a “comeback PB” (Personal Best time since coming back from injury) – but further examination shows I hadn’t, it was my 4th fastest time. I’m still pleased with 23:38 – it felt good and controlled, and I had plenty left for an effort at the end. Most importantly, I didn’t feel a single twinge from either my left knee or my Achilles tendons – both of which have been a little bit niggly of late.

Unfortunately, adjusted for age group he beat me by a country mile...

All in all a good parkrunday, and made even better with my Dad spectating. In fact, it was a good parkrunday everywhere – the global attendance record was smashed to bits!

Back at my Dad's he made me a MASSIVE high-fat low-carb breakfast - thanks Dad!

Regarding general running of late – it’s coming along well. I’m following a self-made 6-week plan to gradually build up distance, and then towards the end of January I’m starting my 12-week plan from Pete Pfitzinger & Scott Douglas. I’m very motivated right now, I just hope I can move through the plan without injury. Strength and conditioning work is going well, I’m really enjoying working with the Ben, Josh, and Dan at Athletic Edge. Their style is really working for me.

It takes this many tickets to get to Scunthorpe and back (when you cock it up the booking)

I’ve been staying in a flat for the last couple of months while some work is done on my house, so it’s been very hard to get into any kind of routine. We’re moving back in tomorrow (hurray! Finally!) so it’ll be easier to cycle and swim too – I’ve done virtually none of either since October. Increased variation in training should help me stay resilient to injury and accelerate improvements.

Of course, Mrs is putting me to shame by running the 45-mile Country to Capital ultra-marathon today.

My wife (white hat) at the 25-mile point - clearly bonkers

Anyway, I’m very excited about the Rotterdam Marathon, particularly now Mrs has entered too.

Game on!

Holiday! Southwick Country Park parkrun

Me and Mrs are on jollydays this week. We've come to Frome (apparently pronounced Froome, as in Chris) in Somerset to relax (although somewhat predictably the car was mainly full of bicycles, shoes, and sports clothing).

We drove down after work yesterday and today was our first full day - it's Saturday, and that means parkrun day. The nearest parkrun is Southwick Country Park parkrun, a 30 minute bike ride from where we're staying. Up and off, slightly foggy head after an unexpectedly good meal and wine at The Archangel (we'll be back there for sure - incredible onion rings), and with google guided navigation chattering instructions from my chest pocket. We got there with 10-15 minutes to spare.

Today's Run Director, and overall Event Director, Sean Price came and introduced himself. He explained Southwick Country Park parkrun was just over two years old, and told us about the course route. When I said my home run was Wimbledon Common he remembered Abradypus coming down for their inaugural run (and he was right, she did!) - good memory, Sean! He also said he recognised my name from somewhere (uh-oh!) and knew about my blog. We talked about parkrun tourism a bit, I just love trying out different parkruns.

Today was my 79th parkrun and my 64th different course (including 26 inaugural events). Some people are far more accomplished parkrun tourists. There's a most events table, and I'm a long way from the top! Ordered by number of different events I'm languishing down in joint 26th place, but ordered by inaugurals attended I sit 9th.

The top 4 as listed by number of different events, the competition is hot at the top (I'm joint 26th)

The top 4 ordered by inaugural events attended (I'm 9th)

I'm not quite challenging for the title yet, but I'll keep plugging away

The run went very well. Mrs and I ran perfect 25-minute pacing for the first 3km (5:00, 4:57, 5:00) and then I wound it up a bit to cover km 4 in 4:42 and then km 5 in 4:36 (Garmin data here). This was my strongest and best managed performance since injury. With an official time of 24:27 I ran faster last week at Southwark in 23:36 (but I measured that as 120m short, so I was on 24:12 5km pace really) but had it all on the line in terms of effort, I was far more comfortable this week.

We cycled there (and back) and ran "fasted" (no food, only water and black coffee). Fasted sessions encourage your body to burn fat as a fuel rather than relying on carbohydrate stores. I was very pleased that I felt no loss of energy throughout the morning - I must go and get myself tested at some point. Mrs did it recently - her blog on it is a fascinating read.

A happy café stuffed full of happy parkrunners - just how it should be on parkrunday

£2 for toast'n'tea? A pleasant change from London prices!

After the run we enjoyed a cuppa at the wonderful little café. There's a really strong sense of community at this parkrun - lots of encouragement (it's always a good sign when the early finishers stay around to clap everyone else in).

The only parkrun with its own statue: L to R - Me, Sean, Mrs, and Forrest

I asked Sean if Danny Norman (presenter of The parkrun Show podcast) had been down, but although he's been invited a few times he's yet to get here - come on Danny, I think you'd love the community here!

Forrest has his own olympics inspired torch and his shape seems inspired by the London 2012 font

Thank you to Sean and the team, you made us feel very welcome indeed - particularly with the "come on, Wimbledon!" encouragement.

He represents the spirit of the parkrunner

This certainly have a wonderful parkrun, I look forward to running it again one day.

Consistent swimming pace

So I made a lighthearted post some months ago about my swim coach un-teaching me to swim (apparently, I couldn't swim, even though I thought I could) and rebuilding my technique from the ground up (we have the technology).

Well here's a quick update on how it's going. I'm now faster than I was before I started, and much more efficient (going by perceived level of effort/tiredness - not particularly scientific, but it's all I have to go on - although it ignores that I'm generally fitter now and so shouldn't get as tired, etc, etc, etc).

This morning I swam a timed 30 minutes.

The objective: to go as far as I can.

The method: swim, put effort in, but not so much I burn out and have to stop, but enough to keep the pressure on and feel like I've represented my ability well.

The results: I over-ran a bit, but hit 64 lengths (1600m) in 31:47.8. What I'm most encouraged by is the consistency:

Solid consistent pace, v happy!

Next steps: Work to increase my speed across the whole set (i.e. just "swim faster" in general) - this should be easier than correcting any dead spots (e.g. variable inconsistent pace, terrible drop off in pace, etc).

Tonight I'm driving up to Bolton to swim in Pennington Flash, to run Pennington Flash parkrun (which until last week I didn't even know existed!), and to cycle 2 laps of the Ironman UK bike course (and back to the hotel) for a grand total of 150km! Last big training session until the big race!

Gold session

Sometimes a training session is just not fun. Crap weather, niggling injury, head not in the right place - but you go out anyway, and you get the job done. It might not be the best day ever but the session was done and the time is "in the bank" - you'll benefit from the training and it'll contribute in some small way to your improvement.

Today was not one of those days, in fact I felt damn-near invincible. The day called for a long ride, and a short run at 90% max effort (how convenient for that most parkrun blessed of days, Saturday). I decided to head up to St Albans parkrun. It's near enough that I can ride there without a crazy early start (I've been sleep deprived enough this week as it is), and it's not a course I've done before. I also needed to do some hard effort periods, 3x 10 minutes well into HR Zone 2. I decided on taking a long route back, and riding the last 10 minutes of every hour at high intensity.

The ride to St Albans was uneventful, apart from some GPS woes. My watch lost about 10km of the route - oddly retaining HR data for the period, but no position. Following that my Garmin Edge 705 which I've recently rediscovered and now plot all my routes into in advance, took 2 reboots to find any satellites. Maybe it was a bit foggy up there in low-orbit land today.

The short (largely flat) route from Wimbledon to St Albans, 46km, 1h 47m

I found the park and got changed. For once I'd arrived in good time, and had a chance for a snack and drink and warm-up jog (I was already fairly warm after an hour and 45 minutes of cycling, but you still need to remind the legs what running is).

We set off on the 9th toll of the bells from the local church (and proved once again that, just like at any New Year's Eve gathering, although large groups of people can count, they certainly can't hold good time). The course runs down a slight incline for 750m or so, round a large pond 3 times, then back up the hill.

Lots of ducks and assorted pond-dwellers to avoid

My first km ticked over in 04:18, well, I thought, it is downhill after all. I had to keep the effort high, so I just thought I'd try holding this pace. 2nd km ticked over in 04:21, nice. I didn't feel too bad either - cadence high, steps light. I'd already reeled in quite a few people who had gone off harder than they could sustain. 3rd km in 04:25 - OK this was starting to look good. I was still holding the pace and cadence well, and felt strong with it. I'd overtaken a few more fast starters too. The 4th km went in 04:22 - great pacing, I was excited now, if I could pull something out of the bag for the final km I might be on for a really good (for me) time. I rounded the corner, gave a push up the short steep part at the start of the finishing incline, and made a big effort. There was a tall man I'd been gradually gaining on the last laps round the pond, I made it a mission to beat him. Digging in I reeled him back, and overtook him with 20m to go - a sprint for the line and it was over.

My official time was 21:30 - a massive PB, taking 45s off my previous best! It was also a new PB on (deep breath) age graded performance (61.71%), gender position (15th of 69 males giving 21.74%, absolute position (17th of 122 finishers giving 13.93%), and age category placing (SM35-39, 2nd of 11 giving 18.18%). And now the world knows how needy I am about my parkrun stats. I've got graphs and spreadsheets too - would you like to see?

Check out that even pacing!

Changed, back on the bike, and off for the ride home - the long way. Legs were understandably fried for the first half hour, but some easy spinning settled them down. I'd decided that the last 10 minutes of every hour were going to be at a hard pace. I was scheduled to be in HR Zone 2, but I can't see my watch when I'm putting a big effort in to see where my heart rate is, so I just decided to "go for it" and see what happened. 0:50:00 came up just as I was turning a 90 degree left hander, I summoned myself to start with the effort and looked up to find a bloody great wall of a hill in front of me! Oh well, better see what I can get done. I put the pedal to the metal for 10 minutes, powering up hills and pushing hard out of the saddle on the flat. I was battered by the end and thankful to sit back down and just spin the wheels.

The long (hilly) route from St Albans to Wimbledon, 96km, 3h 53m

1:50:00 came round quickly, and I went hard again. No idea if I was putting hard enough (or too hard) an effort in. The route was quite varied. I went through narrow country lanes, up and down steep little hills, and past so many enormous and beautiful houses that I lost count. I thought I would find the last 10 minute effort very hard, but as 02:50:00 came round I gave it everything I had left. I flew past a couple of surprised London Dynamo riders who had overtaken me earlier, and really kept the pressure on. I was really surprised at how hard I could go even with everything that had come before today. At the end of the third hard push I found myself at the far end of the Thames Turbo Triathlon bike course, so the way home form here was on autopilot.

The 3x 10 minutes of hard effort are clear, and were at exactly the effort I was aiming for

Today was coloured Gold in my training diary - that means it was a breakthrough session. I feel like today I pushed my boundaries and achieved more than I have before. Over 150km of cycling with 30 minutes of real hard effort - and a massive 5km PB in the middle. Training days don't get much more motivating than this. I try to ask myself regularly before/during/after training, and in other relevant decisions in my life, "Will this make me a better Ironman?". Today the answer is yes, today's training will make me a better Ironman.

Tomorrow is a double-run day, 45 minutes in the morning, and an hour in the afternoon. Let's see if my legs have forgiven me by then! (I've fed them righteous pizza, so they can't be too stroppy about it).

Preston's Perfect Parkrun

I took a trip to Preston on Saturday to support their inaugural parkrun event - I wrote it up on @parkrunfan's blog - check it out here.

Shock news: Training works!

This weekend I had planned to go for a long bike ride with the Mrs on a route she tried out last weekend and really enjoyed. I like to get a parkrun in on a Saturday morning, and enjoy trying out unfamiliar courses, so I agreed to meet her in Kingston after my first visit to Kingston parkrun.

Unfortunately all hell broke loose at the day job, so Mrs was on and off the phone over night, and again this morning. Today's ride was off - rescheduled for tomorrow. Instead we'll go for a run together later this afternoon.

So that left me with a parkrun to do, but nothing afterwards. With working almost exclusively in Zone 1 lately, I have missed going for a 'balls out' parkrun, and seeing what I can do. With Kingston an easy 25 minute cycle away (a lovely warm-up and cool-down duration) I thought today was the day, let's put some real effort in and see how it goes.

I arrived at the start with a minute or two to spare, and joined the group. There seemed to be about 50 or 60 people there, a good size for a parkrun on a course that was fairly narrow in places, and had a number of people to navigate who were just out walking and enjoying their non-parkrun morning (they don't know what they're missing!).

The Kingston parkrun course

Elevation (according to Garmin)

I had quite a clumsy arrangement to run in, with my iPhone tucked down one glove (I fancied some music for a change today) and my bunch of house and bike keys tucked down the other glove. We set off after the race briefing and I was immediately caught behind someone slower. I held back and waited for a gap, and pulled round. I felt good, fresh from only having had a 15 minute swim yesterday, and confident. I didn't have "new PB" as the be-all and end-all, but my previous was set almost a year ago at Wimbledon Common parkrun on 5th April 2011, so I felt like an improvement was due.

I went off a bit quick (as ever) but tried to keep cadence high and speed constant. I was surprised at how quickly I reeled in a few people over the first couple of km. I was running well, I knew it was fast, but it was a bit unfamiliar as I'd spent so much time at sub-150 BPM heart rate lately, and here I was well into the 160s.

I haven't seen Zone 3 for a long time!

I tried to wind it up on the return leg (it's an "out and back" course) and checked my watch for the only time - it said 17 minutes and something, and I was a few metres shy of 4km. I realised that means that all I needed to do was put in a sub-5 minute km and I should break 23 minutes.

I wound it up over the last 500m, had a near sprint for the line, and stopped my watch. Looking down I almost passed out in shock - not that I'd broken 23, I was kind of expecting that, but by how much!

My previous PB was 23:07 set at Wimbledon Common parkrun on 15th April 2011

I still start too fast and get slower before bursting at the end though - this suggests there's more to come just by better pacing even with no fitness improvement.

Even though all my training for the last 6 weeks has been focussed on Zone 1 - I still smashed it! I'm overjoyed, and really happy to see some results from my hard work.

This is definitely getting a "Gold" entry in the training diary.