Tag: parkrun

Boom!

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 5 Comments

How is the training going for the half-marathon I hear you ask? You still on target to beat your PB?

Well….'sort of' is my reply.

Over the last couple of weeks I've completed a few long runs at a pretty decent pace. Although all slower than my target pace for the half. The furthest I've run at target pace is about six miles and that was a struggle in the last mile or so. So still of plenty of hard work required in the next few weeks.

This morning I attended Peterborough Parkrun and I had decided to run it without a watch. This meant starting off running fast and trying to maintain it. It paid off, new Parkrun PB: 19.37.

Lovely jubbly!

 

Peterborough Parkrun

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

At last I have a local Parkrun, well not exactly local, still 20 miles away, but it will definitely become a regular fixture of the weekend. I've done a few of these events over the last year and they are always great fun and really well organised. My first experience of Peterborough Parkrun was no different.

It takes place at Ferry Meadows in Nene Park and is basically a couple of laps of the lakes, and because it is slightly out of the city centre, there is not a Chav in sight.

Results email…..

I was slightly disappointed with my time of 20.20. I ran 19.57 at Tilgate Parkrun last weekend, and that was a hilly course in places. This morning I worked hard from the start, but come 3km my legs felt very tired, I tried to up the pace for the last couple of kilometres but couldn't get under 20mins. But that does give me a target when I visit Ferry Meadows again next week.

 

Tilgate Parkrun

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 4 Comments

I was a parkrun tourist today.

I'm visiting my sister in Kent and her closest parkrun is Tilgate Parkrun near Crawley. So we planned to set off at 8am to give it a go. When I say 'we', I was the only one planning to run it, but my sister and her two kids were coming for the ride. It's been a while since I've had little ones, so had forgotten just how crazy things can be when you're trying to get out the door, Grace is 22 mths and Stanley is 8 mths, so this morning was not a matter of get up and go.

A few things needed doing before we could leave: nappies changed; bottles drunk; breakfast eaten; changing bag prepared; pushchair sorted; clothes on; spare bibs in bag; snacks and drinks in bag; nappies changed; toys in bag; pushchair in car; kids in car seats; car seats in car; and we were ready to go, only a couple of minutes behind schedule.

Lovely setting for a run

Tilgate Park is about 15 miles away, despite having no idea where we were going we made it in good time, and after unloading all the stuff (and kids), walking in the direction of everyone else, we arrived at the start with ten minutes to spare. A quick warm-up and we were off.

As is usual with every other parkrun I have been to, it was well organised and well attended. The 5km course began near the boathouse and does a lap of Tilgate Lake before heading to Titmus Lake, up a short sharp incline (which is not particularly short, but definitely sharp), before turning back towards Tilgate Lake for a second lap, at which point I managed a high five with Grace as I sped whizzed ran past, before reaching the finish in 13th place in a time of 19.57.

After the run we headed to the fantastic looking playground at the top of the hill….

This playground may have looked fantastic, but the items in the playground had a dark side: they were slightly more tricky than they looked. Standard swings: no problems. Springy bouncy jeep thingy: fine, until a lad jumped on and began rocking the thing like it was traversing the moon. Slide one: no problems. Slide two: huge metal corkscrew slide, which was vey high, had one go but too scary to attempt again. Slide three: steeper than it looked, Grace even managed a bit of free fall at one stage whilst travelling down it. Scramble net bridge: tried but too difficult, one step on and feet fell through holes.

Grace loves the swings!
Me and Stanley

After the playground we settled on the grass for a little picnic, a little relax, and three 'little' trips to the bin.

Lovely morning! Cushty!

 

King’s Lynn #parkrun

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 3 Comments

An early start this morning to attend, for the first time, King's Lynn parkrun. It was a very cold and misty morning at The Walks in King's Lynn.

Today's route was changed slightly from the normal one due to a bit of flooding across the main path, although it was still around the 5km, apparently about 60 yards shorter than the normal route. The course is roughly made up of three mile laps, all run on Tarmac, so a reasonably fast course, despite the couple of 180 deg turns. As is normal for parkruns, it was well organised, with plenty of friendly marshals and regulars.

I would love to have a closer parkrun that I could attend regularly, they are a great idea, not only do you get a good free timed 5km race, but the chance to chat to fellow runners over a coffee at the end. And as well as emailing you with your finishing details, they text you your position and time within 30 mins of finishing….

 

Unicycle Day 14

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ Leave a comment

It has been a while since I've blogged about this month's challenge. Mainly because I haven't really got anything to say. It has been a busy week at work, the weather has been a bit dodgy, the evenings are closing in and I've just lacked the time to put in any proper practice.

I've found that to show any improvement you really have to put the time in to practice. The first 30 minutes or so feels like you've never been on a unicycle before. It's not until the hour mark before you're feeling more comfortable. Hence why I've not really got anything to show from the week.

I'm hoping for a dry morning tomorrow. I was actually planning to run a parkrun, but decided to put that off until the unicycle is mastered. Now that's dedication to the cause!!

Although I could always make another purchase to help with the challenge….

 

Busy Weekend

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 2 Comments

The end of half-term has appeared incredibly quickly this time, and coincided with a very busy weekend.

First up was a trip to London late Friday evening to stay at Mums for a family gathering on Saturday. Brother Paul is home from China for a few days and my niece is visiting.

Saturday morning I went to Norman Park in Bromley to take part in my first parkrun, a free timed 5km run. It is a great idea and the race was great fun, three laps of Norman Park – finished in a time of 20.53. After the event you even get a text with your time and details of the race:

“Bromley results for event #130 – Your time was 20.53 – Congratulations on completing your 1st parkrun and your 1st at Bromley today. You finished in 41st place and were the 37th gent out of a field of 298 parkrunners and you came 5th in your age category VM40-44.”

AND they sent me a £15 off voucher I can use for my next pair of trainers from Sweatshop. Apparently these events take place all over the country at 9am on a Saturday morning. However, it would seem that my nearest ‘home’ parkrun is about 30 miles away! If anyone fancies running a parkrun near me, feel free!

Later in the day my niece came for a visit……

Grace is doing fantastic! I hope she enjoys ‘Discovery Bunny’ that we bought her. I drove back Saturday night to be ready for this morning’s Sleaford Half-marathon.

Initially I was not going to run this event but with the cancellation of the last two races due to snow, plus all the mileage I did in janathon, I thought I should go and run it. Firstly, let me just say it was a cold and very windy morning, when I say windy, think….

The Sleaford Half is an event I’ve done a number of times. A rural course, slightly undulating, and because it begins at RAF Cranwell, very open. So the wind was a big issue especially over the first half of the course. Finished in a time of 1:42.06 – pretty happy with that.

Next event up is a club 5-miler Frostbite followed by the Grantham Half-marathon.