Y Viva España

Yes this year we were off to sunny Spain

When friends, with a delightful apartment in Elviria near Marbella in Spain, ask casually if you would like to holiday with them there you, naturally, try to look just as casual when replying: that would be nice, how kind. In reality you are bouncing up and down and screaming yes, yes, yes in your head. 

Geraniums, music, bougainvillaea and streetside cafés

Our friends turned out to be the most incredible hosts taking care of absolutely all our needs as guests. They have had their apartment for ten years whilst their children were growing up and now they are able to enjoy all they love about the region in the company of friends.

Views on the street

The bays and harbours of this region are just stunning with a back drop of the Sierra Blanca mountains and there are some beautiful villas and boats owned by the rich and illustrious. With beautiful restaurants and shops as well as sandy beaches and pretty towns and villages there was plenty to do and see in our week away. Did I mention the shops - oh yes, absolutely no end of shopping temptations. In the papers today it says that the harbours and bays around the Marbella area are being developed as there is a demand from wealthy boating people to visit the area. 

Messing about in boats

Of course, I have to mention the wonderful food of the region, especially outstanding fresh fish and hams. We ate out most days and I could soon feel the pounds starting to creep onto my waistline. 

It had to be done: (clockwise from top left)
Swordfish, tapas, churros and sangria

• I go out for a run
• Thoughts on running abroad
• Notes to self

I go out for a run

All that food meant that I was keen to get out and stretch my legs. The reality was somewhat different as late nights meant late mornings by which time the day had heated up and everyone was keen to get out and about. Then there was the problem of being in a locked and gated estate. This meant that I would have to take several keys or someone would have to be in to hear the door bell and let me in.

However, I did find time to go out and I found it much harder than expected hence the very small distance I managed to run. It was all hills and very warm and humid even though it was early evening.

Thoughts on running abroad

The first thing I have to say is that running on your own in an unfamiliar area can be a bit daunting. My Garmin was not in perfect order and I did not know how to set the 'return me to home' function. So when I started to go off route I did not like the feeling at all. Everywhere looked similar so I kept turning in the same direction and thankfully there was a tower on the skyline I could aim for. 

At one stage a car pulled up and drove slowly alongside me which was totally disturbing. I just carried on and did not even glance towards them. For goodness sake I am old enough to be a Grannie and certainly not worth the view! Nevertheless, Spain is not my own country and I needed to be careful. I was not carrying anything that could be snatched. Not even my phone. My friend had seen someone have a handbag snatched on a busier road nearby so I had not wanted to take anything with me.

I saw no other runners or anyone else out walking and this felt uncomfortable after a while so getting back towards the apartment was a relief.

Notes to self

• run with someone else if possible
• don't forget to switch Garmin from cycling to running
• get a route worked out if possible - drive it first maybe
• be careful if you take a phone or let someone know your route and give them an idea of your expected time back
• carry a whistle

Well despite all the negatives I did enjoy my run and the break away was brilliant and I came home refreshed and ready to get back to my usual running routine.

Alton Water 10k Race Report

The second race of the weekend

It was quite by accident that I found myself undertaking a 10k race on Saturday and Sunday this week. My daughter and I completed the Nike We Own The Night 10k in London's Victoria Park on Saturday evening. Then on the Sunday I was off to Alton Water with my running buddy Becci where we would be racing in another 10k.

The weather over the past month has veered from bright, warm sunshine to wet cold and windy winter-like days. This Sunday it felt more like November than May and I would have been perfectly happy to stay in bed with a coffee and the papers. Nevertheless, a race is a race and I picked Becci up and I set off in the direction I thought would take us towards Lawford. It turned out we were going to take the long route but a pretty one through the Spring green countryside.

It was a very busy weekend for sports in the area with several running races and also the Tour de Tendering cycling and stage three of the Women's Tour in Clacton.

• We get ready for the off
• En route
• At the finish
• Thoughts on the race
• A brilliant mini-Commando result

We get ready for the off

Having seen the horrid portapotty (there may have been more than one but it couldn't have been many more) we decided to try the toilets behind the café. There was a really horrid smell of sewers which seemed very unhealthy near the café's kitchens. Then we had to pick up our race numbers and chipped timer to go on our footwear. After that we wandered towards the start passing some food stalls and other stalls for organisations such as a physiotherapy service.

There was a warm up which we did not take part in and pretty soon it was time for the off. The surface was very strange being open concrete squares with grass growing through. It was not very comfortable but I think being cold had made me slightly grumpy. I almost ran in my fleece lined hoody but was glad I hadn't. I did have a knitted woollen hat on for the beginning of the course.

En route

You certainly cannot complain about the location as it is very pretty with the water, woodland and farmland all looking great in Spring greens and yellows with bluebells just going over. 

The course was undulating and we were running on tracks which were sometimes muddy and mostly stoney. After my recent fall I was a bit wary of anything with larger blocks of hardcore ready to trip me up. 

Alton Waters is a large inland reservoir which was built in the 1960's and took thirteen years to construct and fill. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty which attracts lots of waterfowl.

The first five kilometres took us through trails up to the road where we went across the top of the reservoir and then back along paths round the water again. 

At one point we were treated to the beautiful singing of a Nightingale - in my view that made the run really special.

Unfortunately at about the seven kilometre point I developed a severe pain in my big toe.  I thought was going to have to pull up but I decided that we were so close to the finish that I would just have to put up with it. 

At the finish

The finish was soon reached and I heard them calling out my name as I got over the line.  I certainly knew that I had been doing a lot of running over the past three days. Then we were laughing and chatting with other runners we know from the Commando Runners group and having our picture taken with a rather smart medal.

Thoughts on the race

The course was really lovely and the event was very well supported. There were just a few negatives:

• There was no water at the first station. 
• The second water station needed more organisation (the marshall standing near the station encouraging could have more usefully helped the one struggling to fill up water cups for the runners)
• The hand dryers were not working in the toilets and there was no other means of drying hands on a very cold day.

I would definitely run this course again and feel that the terrible weather lessened my enjoyment as did tiredness and my foot hurting. That's just life though and I would happily recommend this race. If the weather had been better it would be a great place to picnic afterwards.

A brilliant mini-Commando result

The five year old daughter of one of our Commando Runner friends was inspired to take part in the 2k race to raise money running like her Daddy for Multiple Sclerosis which her Mummy suffers from. Another of the Commando Runners ran with her and had made them both fairy outfits and said that she ran a brilliant race. Stella raised over £250 - brilliant!

And our results - quite respectable given the terrain and conditions:

Becci and I with our Alton Water 10k medals

We Own The Night 10k Race Report

A 10k ladies only race on 10 May 2014

A time chip off the old starting block

It was a cold, blustery evening with driving rain when Alastair, Léonie, David and I travelled by train to Hackney Wick station for the Nike We Own The Night 10k ladies only race in Victoria Park. My daughter and I were women on a mission in pursuit of this little lovely:

Press play for a very short video of the designer creating the necklace that finishers would be given at the end of the race. 

The park looked amazing and so festive and we were hoping that the weather would behave itself long enough for our run. It did.

Early in the evening at the tented village

First things first and we did a quick tour of the tented village area where there were bars and refreshment stalls as well as a Nike shop and an Elle stand. 

The programme for the evening

I began feeling a bit overwhelmed by the scale of the event and the achingly hip youngsters cruising through life with such ease. Fortunately there were some, like me, in the Autumn of their lives and others at all levels of fitness to make me feel more relaxed and at home.

Léonie surveying the scene

It always pays to know where the medical tent is

When the rain came down we made for the tent with the bar and were soon enjoying a pre-race fruit juice whilst our men quenched their thirsts with a beer. I built up the courage as I was in the dry and relative warm of the bar tent to remove my coat and jogging bottoms and transformed myself into a runner without scaring the horses! Léonie helped me attach my chipped race tag to my shoe and thankfully there were no race numbers as I wanted to keep my running jacket on.

Then we left them to join the gigantic queues for the portapotties which were clean and easy to use - thumbs up for that facility. Fortunately, having supporters with us meant we did not need to use the bag check which looked more than adequate if we had needed it.

• At the start
• Getting round the park
• Through the finishing line
• Collecting our rewards
• Sating our hunger
• What I thought overall

At the start

There was a stage area with two large screens where a DJ called Martelo and The Fox Problem got us in the mood for the evening ahead. There was a pre-race warm up which we decided to skip in favour of keeping our men company in the bar.

Sadly, I did not get to see any of the stellar line up of celebrities running with us including Holly Fulton who had designed the bag we had been given with our race pack. The designers Henri Lloyd and Alex Munroe also ran with us as guest male celebrities.

My race pack included a lovely tee shirt and bag designed by Holly Fulton 

It wasn't long before a loudspeaker encouraged us along our starting routes. I think it might have been either Perri Shakes-Drayton or Katarina Johnson-Thompson who are top British female athletes who were our starters. 

Not long girls!

As we were waiting for the starting gun for our section we had some inspiring messages meant to build up the excitement.

I should think we were ready after all the build up

Getting round the park

Plumes of smoke as we left the start added to all the razzamatz and we were off out into the park. The trees were all lit up with purple and teal lights which were very pretty. Léonie made a good start (this was her first ever race and far longer than she has ever run) which was so pleasing.

The paths were almost all smooth, and even as dusk fell it was still easy to see but all the lights were even more attractive in the approaching darkness. 

There were plenty of stewards around which was very good when one runner collapsed in a faint and was quickly aided. This was very sad for that poor lady and I hope she was okay. 

Soon we were running towards a tunnel which was completely lit up and as we ran through it there was music playing and a smoke effect. Very unusual and great fun. There was also a second tunnel of light and I enjoyed running through both of them twice.

I love the abstract look of this photo taken
whilst on the move towards this amazing tunnel

We were also entertained en route by DJ Clara Ampho and two bands - one jazz and one steel. 

The kilometre markers were huge lighted numbers which proved useful to encourage Léonie to run to them and have a quick recovery just after. 

Through the finishing line

The course around Victoria Park

Before we knew it we had reached the finish line and there was the same razzmatazz that we had enjoyed at the beginning. We walked along to collect our goodie bags. We were given bottles of water and then our necklaces were handed to us by the athletes who had started the race.

All the spoils of the night - Nike did a wonderful job!

We were given vouchers for a glass of sparkling wine which I did not realise we had until I looked in my bag later on the train home. I would not have wanted it anyway as I would be driving home.

Sating our hunger

We were both very hungry at the end of the race and decided to get something from one of the vendors and choose a sushi roll which was very tasty and so welcome. 

The BBC Radio One DJ Nick Grimshaw made sure the finishers celebrated with the same energy they used for their race.

We were happy to leave them to it and wend our way to the station and home after a truly amazing race experience.

What I thought overall

I had read and heard quite a lot of negatives about the Nike races but was pleasantly surprised that the criticisms had been heard and addressed. The things that I found well organised were:

• A staggered start for different abilities 
• Plenty of water at water stations
• Efficient toilet systems

Conditions:

• No aggression from runners towards other maybe slower runners
• Plenty of friendly assistance 
• Pacer encouragement
• Dry weather throughout race
• Well organised finishing

A couple of very minor points of criticism:

• there were no plasters or any sign of medical supplies in medical tent
• the voucher for free glass of wine was not obvious as it was lost in the plethora of bits of paper etc in the goodie bag

Nike would be giving £4 of each entry fee to a charity called Women Win which is to help get women involved in becoming fit and healthy through sport. 

It was a brilliant experience and as a Mother I was so proud of my daughter and her achievement. The time was not bad for a very cold evening and a first time runner so I am very pleased with our results.

A race experience I would definitely recommend.

Jogging through the buttercups

With Mersea Island Hash House Harriers (MIHHH)

It was a  beautiful Bank Holiday Monday and I had the usual struggle to balance gardening and running. Too much gardening leaves me unable to stand up properly and too tired to even think of running but there is so much to do at this time of year.

,

Some lovely, healthy treats, hopefully, this summer
my tomato plants

So it was a compromise - just a couple of hours gardening in order to leave myself some energy to join the MIHHH runners in the evening. Even so I had to put on my running clothes early in the afternoon to stop myself getting too comfortable and not wanting to go out.

I picked up Becci and met Helen at Lexden Park, Church Lane, Lexden where we joined a small but keen group of runners.

Lexden Park - a hidden gem in Colchester

It was great to see Helen and both Becci and I were looking forward to running with her as we had a feeling she would love Hashing.

• Getting started
• Sight seeing en route
• The finish
• The Pub!
• Afterthoughts

Getting started

This was not good, I have to say, I immediately felt short of breath and sluggish. It was so bad I was a bit worried I would have to give up as we came out of Church Lane and crossed the road and headed uphill. At the top we stopped and had our instructions to head towards The Avenue of Remembrance and by the time we had reached Spring Lane roundabout I had recovered enough to realise I was ok. Becci pointed out that there was a lot of pollen about again this week.

Sight seeing en route

Helen and I posing in front of the "Vortices" sculpturewhilst everyone else
admires the park and enjoys a sweetie break

Apart from the name "Vortices" I have not been able to find out who the artist was who created the sculpture which can be rotated by pushing the base around. Quite spectacular for a children's playground. Interestingly, the playground was made of astroturf.

We also ran through the paths of riverside Cymbeline Meadows which were once cultivated with cereal crops but in 1990 they were sown with wildflowers and grasses to create a meadow which would be grazed by cattle in Spring and Summer. 

Cymbeline Meadows

Part of the trail took us through Charter Wood which is 10ha of mixed deciduous woodland planted in 1992 to mark the 800th anniversary of King Richard I (Richard The Lionheart) granting us a Charter of the Borough.

We saw some beautiful cowslips where the margins of the arable land has been left to wildflowers and grasses which encourage insects that will pollinate the crops. 

Along the riverside there are kingfishers and in Spring there are Nightingales in Charter woods and Noctual bats over the arable fields. Sadly for us we neither heard nor saw said wildlife but that is probably because a herd of Hashers dashing through the countryside is bound to frighten everything away.

The finish

We had a beautiful run through a meadow of buttercups towards the finish of our hash and as we headed up Spring Lane there was a very pretty cottage bedecked with festive bunting. 

Another good MIHHH trail

The Pub

We all made our way to The Prettygate pub afterwards where they seemed to be having an attempt at an Hawaiian themed evening with some garlands and a couple of people sporting floral shirts. Helen treated us to a much needed drink and we had a good chinwag before heading home.

Quite a lively local especially so when invaded by
several MIHHH's

Afterthoughts

It had been quite a warm evening and next time I am definitely going to remember to take some insect repellant as the air in places was thick with the little biting so and so's.

Running around Colchester proved to be quite educational. The housing estate we ran through in Braiswick was completely new to me and I would never have seen it but for this quirky trail. Altogether we covered about five miles (my watch was not as accurate for some reason).

Quirky would also be my word to sum up the whole experience this evening and I would't have missed it for the world. 

Keeping on Track

Records, records, records

"Mission Control" - My craft room/office

I am addicted to keeping records and notes and using planners. I find it especially rewarding when I can look up and compare running sessions or races etc to help me set goals and plan future events.

I love the digital age and the way it enables avid list makers like me to indulge their passion. Even so I still adore using pen and paper and spending time messing around decorating pages for my planner and note books. The result is a combination of both digital and paper notebooks, journals and folders.

• Running basket
• Running folder
• Organizer/planner
• Evernote
• Computer folders/files

Running basket

My Reisenthel 'running' basket 

This basket system was something I learnt about from Jen over at Organized Jen. Having everything in one place that can be carried about the house so that I can journal downstairs when having breakfast or lunch makes life so much easier.

In my basket today:

• Garmin Vìvofit ready for photographing for blog review
• Colchester Half Marathon Tee Shirt waiting for displaying
• Skipping rope (impressed!) for when Vìvofit tells me to get active
• Jonathan Adler small zippered pouch 
• Staples large zippered pouch
• Magazines
• Running folder 

I keep a Moleskine notebook, pens, coloured marker pens, post it pads etc in my Jonathan Adler pouch to make notes about my running sessions.

Various items corralled into a pouch
for ease of use when note taking 

In the large Staples pouch I keep my current running books I am reading including a daily motivational guide. 

Another set of corralled items that are
looked at every day

Then there is another small pouch which holds my running journal and loose photos, discount vouchers and some sticky notes.

More items collected together in a pouch
helping to keep me organised 

In my running journal I records details of my training sessions and races. 

I have a front cover showing some race photos and on the back a selection of running motivational sayings.

Running motivational sayings adorning my
 journal which is from Paperchase

I use the journal to note:

• the date, time and venue
• the trainer
• who was with me
• details of the training session
• what the weather was like
• my thoughts and feelings
• my goal

Using the notes I form a new goal for the following session which I attach to that page.

An example of how I set out my journal pages

At the back I have a list of the races I have completed with time and my race number.

The back pages of my journal

I also have a 'To Do' post it and any special notes on a post it.

I like to keep a selection of running, cycling, walking and health magazines in my basket. Recently I made a page keeper using some of my desk calendar motivational pages which I laminated. It is very useful for when I find an interesting article I'd like to look at again or a recipe I want to get to quickly.

My home-made page keeper coming in useful to remind me
of a delicious looking recipe I may try later

Running folder

My running folder is divided by tabs into sections as follows:

The front of my running folder with the usual
post it notes and zip pouch for pens etc

• Garmin records
• Kat Marks (my previous trainer) Running
• Races
• Training notes
• General paperwork items 

I use page tabs for each individual training session
 so I can get to them quickly

I sometimes print out my Garmin pages because I worry about things on the computer being lost. 
I keep records from my trainers as they sometimes send you emails with instructions etc. 
I have the paperwork and numbers for races in another section.

This folder is really full up now so it is time
to plan better storage

I keep fun training notes from SportsGirlsPlay.com which are designed for youngsters but I think you have fun being young at heart sometimes.
Then finally I have a section for paperwork such as nutrition, specific training plans and so on. I am probably going to have a new folder just for nutrition but I will have a separate post on that later.

As always there are a number of items to keep
in a general section until I decide where best they
could go

Organizer/Planner

I use an A5 Filofax with month by month inserts

I have a large A5 desk filofax with month-by-month pages that help me keep on top of different aspects of life. 

Behind another motivational page I have room
for my Moleskine notebook

My filofax also houses my Moleskine notebook which I use to make notes for this running blog.

Another organising idea from Organized Jen
this one is for projects including my blog planning

I like to keep notes about my running blog including how I organised it, which service providers I used, ideas for future posts etc.

Every time I have an idea for a post I jot it down here in my notebook

Evernote

Evernote - my collection of running notes

This is a really useful tool which I use on a daily basis for taking notes for everything. I have a stack for running and here I can keep clippings from web pages I visit or I can create notes such as the one shown for a checklist of things I might need for a race. The use of tags allows me to quickly access things I need. For example, I might take a clip of a race route and tag it under the race name and map then next year I can type in that tag and get the details quickly.

Computer Files and Folders

I try to keep just four folders on my desktop
including Running and screenshots

The computer is useful to keep my running obsession in order.

• Running folder
• Screenshots folder
• Garmin Connect
• Bloglovin' and The Old Reader
• Facebook
• Email folders

Running folder

I keep photos in my running folder and older screenshots from my Facebook Running group league tables. I try to keep it clean and uncluttered and eventually I hope to get an external hard drive to help with storage. My photos are stored on iCloud too.

Screenshots folder

Here is where I keep the latest league table results and any other images I want to use for my blogs.

Garmin Connect

This is where I can keep track of my running, spinning classes, hiking, cycling and my Vìvofit data. I can also connect with other runners.

My running page on my Garmin Connect 

Bloglovin' and  The Old Reader

I love to read blogs about running, knitting, sewing, reading, art, organisation, cooking, gardening and many other subjects and these readers mean I don't miss any new posts and can favourite anything that I might want to re-read.

Facebook

I belong to a running group on Facebook called The Commando Runners and here I can keep track of what races are coming up and they have league tables to help motivate us for both running and cycling.

I also 'like' lots of running related pages such as Parkrun, Nike, Garmin, LuluLemon and so on.

Email folders

I have folders for:

Parkrun

Running general - for web orders, race entries, club information etc.

So there are all the tools I use to keep my running hobby recorded and organised. I love it but I never forget that I don't really need any of it and I could just head out the door and enjoy a run. In the end it is my choice to enhance my running experience by making records and plans.