Tag Archives: cycle

Andy Reading 2012

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Back on my bike for the journey to Chesterton for the Andy Reading 10k having copped out and driven to last weeks event. I’m rather enjoying riding gears regularly again after so long on fixed and my £125 well used Muddy Fox hack is proving to be fine for rides up to 15 mile or so as well as the commuting and shopping for which I bought it. I gave the remains of my Bob Jackson away via freegle which is what freecycle seems to be called nowadays.

Muddy Fox HackI was expecting cold and windy but actually overheated on the way out and had to stop and remove a layer after Islip. Soon enough though I was stripped down to shorts, shirt and vest feeling the cold in the playing fields where I usually shiver waiting for this race to start. A girl from Reading said she was glad to see a vegan runner and we chatted as the runners jogged towards the start line. Fortunately this race is chip to chip as many of us were still on our way when the race started.

Once round the village then over the M40 and along Akeman Street for a bit into the wind but not as bad as I feared what with forecasts of 15 mph gusting to 30. Onto the airfield and I seemed to be managing my planned 7:45 minute miles which should give a sub-50 and hopefully under 48:33 which would be a season best even if still 2 minutes slower than last year. Lots of airfield and still feeling strong past the halfway point where I decided not to bother with the water.

After the 4th mile we turned directly into the now very strong wind which slowed us right down. I couldn’t manage 8 minute mile pace yet no one seemed to be passing me.Way in the distance the point where we doubled back and re-emerged onto Akeman Street was visible, after that it should be tailwind all the way. I held back a little then back up to speed once we’d turned and kept it going to finish in 48:09 217th of 419 which I was pleased enough with.

My plantar faciitis seems to have improved a lot, though not totally disappeared, what with my reduced mileage and daily stretches which I found here. I’ve got a sore arm instead now but at least that doesn’t effect my running.

Fragile Lala

This is our poor old Lala enjoying a bit of sunshine last Friday. She is very ill and has various tumours we can feel, probably worse further inside her. Just a few days after this photo she is a bag of bones and terribly weak. She has hardly eaten and sometimes struggles to breath. We took her to the vet on Saturday really expecting to say goodbye to her but he gave her a jab of B12 and some pain medicine for us to give daily and said we should report back in a week or sooner if she seems to be suffering badly. She still seems to get some enjoyment from the hot water bottle we’ve put on her chair and from toasting her head by the gas fire. I’ll go and say good night to her now – maybe it will be goodbye 🙁

Eynsham 10k 2012

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My return to previous running speed seems to be continuing but not quite there yet. My plantar fasciitis maybe improving, at least not getting any worse. So I set off for Eynsham with a plan for sub-50 and maybe a season best, not a lot to ask as my best so far was 49:24 at Charlgrove. I rode my new to me (but very old to previous owner by the looks) Muddy Fox hack bike that I’d bought in a hurry from Cycle King’s collection of trade-ins after the seized bottom bracket in my old faithful Bob Jackson fixie collapsed.

A bit of a struggle into a headwind that that might yet threaten my target. Over the very flooded Thames at the Swinford Toll Bridge. I picked up my chip, said a couple of hellos, had a chat with an older runner who’s daughter – also a runner – has recently gone vegan, then it was the 5 minute walk up to the start and dead on 10:30 we were off.

The Thames spills over by Swinford Toll Bridge

Although this is a pretty flat route there’s a tiny bit of a downhill slope to start with allowing a fastish mile then the benefit of a tailwind south of Eynsham. I was expecting a strong headwind for the slightly uphill drag alongside the A40 but in fact it was reasonably sheltered and knowing the route I was aware I just had to hang on in there for a few minutes then we turned to pass near the start for the second lap of the route. I was pleased to pass a few in the last couple of miles and managed a 48:33 finish – 298th of 547 runners. Still 2 mins 30 secs short of my PB but at least I’m heading in the right direction.

The tailwind made for a fast ride home though I stopped at the toll bridge to take a few photos. I’ve entered the rather low key Watlington 10km XC race for this coming weekend and traced the route through earlier this week – this is going to be really, really tough – looks like 2 ascents of the Chiltern scarp. I’ll be pleased and surprised to get under an hour on that. Part of me is looking forward to it but with a sub-zero forecast for the weekend and my foot niggling away I might yet DNS. I ‘ll leave the decision until Saturday after I’ve done my volunteer stint at the parkrun.

Oxford parkrun 1st Birthday

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I refrained from running for 6 days after Abingdon Marathon and then took another 3 days off. Meanwhile I got out on my road bike for a couple of 25 milers which made a nice change though not quite as satisfying as a decent trail run. I kept my running distances short and was pleasantly surprised to find some of my speed coming back. 8:21 min/mile pace on the Saturday, 8:07 on Tuesday then 7:45 for a 3 miler on Thursday – the fastest I’ve run for ages. My foot still hurt a bit and I had a bit of a sore upper left leg muscle, probably what was behind my knee pain at Abingdon, for the 1st couple of runs,  but I don’t think these short, flat runs are making things any worse. In fact today, 24 hours after the parkrun, nothing really seems to hurt.

So it was with a sense of optimism that I cycled to Oxford parkrun’s 1st anniversary event yesterday. To celebrate there was to be cake (well it wouldn’t be vegan so I took something to munch but it was the spirit of the thing that mattered). The Council had been persuaded to open the drinks booth for the first time, from the length of the queue at the finish this was profitable for them and will hopeful become the norm.

And there were to be time pacers: sub 21 minute, 25 min, 30 min, and 35 min I think it was. I’d already spoken to Chris who thought he was the 25 min pacer and said I intended to follow for the first couple of miles and then, if I was feeling good, I might take off for a faster finish. Somewhere along the line Alun became the 25 min pacer instead so after 10 mins of prizes and announcements what turned out to be a record field of 118 parkrunners set out – Alun rather worrying me by flying off nearer 7 min miles than 8 but as he pointed out the start is downhill.

We settled into perfect pace though one young lady in the group seemed to think we were going a bit slow. I chatted away with Alun who had run marathons both the previous weekends with a 3hr 2min PB at one. He’d noticed I’d been taking a few Conquercise zones back off him in the Fetcheveryone website game and I told him how I had been getting back on the bike (which means more zones won) since Abingdon and how the move away from long runs back to regular cycling seemed to be improving my running speed.

Many of our bunch seemed to fall behind but Alun was still keeping correct pace by both our watches. Another Fetchie caught us and turned out to be iPlod who used to be another big zone owner in our area, he (John in the real world) was racing the next day and used Alun’s pace to slow himself down and save his legs. I was huffing and puffing a bit in the cold air and becoming aware that I should shut up and run, after all this was still fast for me.

23 minutes said Alun as we approached the last descent to the finish dead on schedule . I suddenly found myself hiccuping sicky burps in a manner that reminded me of Lala with furballs. Just after our 3rd pass of the marshal it became evident that I had 3 choices: throw up down my front; choke and turn red or stop and recover. I stopped to the surprise of John and Alun who I waved on while I threw up a small amount of breakfast that hadn’t yet been digested despite having had 2 hours to go down. Slightly shocked I started walking, then running, and now feeling fine again I charged towards the finish at what later turned out to be 6:45 pace (alright it was downhill).

No chance of catching back up though and finished in 25:29 49th of 118 runners. Alun’s time was 24:55 – he couldn’t have got much closer. Oh well!

A cup of black tea from the booth (I forgot the planned soya milk); a munch on my Soreen banana loaf and a chat with runners new and old made for a proper parkrun anniversary celebration. We even had indoor space in the pavilion or whatever it is. A chap in a suit who I think may be a City Councillor was in attendance and hopefully got a chance to see what a fine thing Oxford parkrun is.

 

Abingdon Marathon 2012

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Despite a snotty nose and an increasingly worrying dose of plantar faciitis in my left foot, for now subdued with a layer of ibuprofen gel, it was with a sense of confidence that I cycled to Tilsley Park for the start of the Abingdon Marathon. My revised target of 4:15 seemed very doable, the taper had left me feeling quite energised and the conditions, still, grey but not too misty, cool but not cold, were great.

A bit early this time due to my failure to get lost on the way, Peter turned up 20 minutes before the start on his Brompton to support then, just as we were called to the start, Maria appeared in VRUK vest and trademark green tutu. Onto the race track, 5 minutes milling about, then we were off – me strategically positioned near the back this being a chip to chip timed race.

A couple of miles of main road part closed just for us then we turned into Thrupp Lane where I was asked the ‘what do you eat?’ question by a vaguely familiar older runner with a moustache and an American accent. I’m never ready for this one so answered ‘a lot of beans’ which is at least better than ‘vegan junk food’ which I believe I came out with last time. My companion turned out to be a long term veggie, he gave up meat at Thanksgiving when he was 16, long enough ago for it to be a hippie thing. This was his 89th marathon and he was considering going vegan before his 100th. I mentioned the Northants Ultra and he said he ran that and was last hence the familiarity. Soon enough 5 miles had gone somewhere.

A shout of ‘come on vegans – you must be Nik’ turned out to be from faster VRUK runner Simon’s supporting partner. Maria’s other half, John, was stationed with the boom box on the cycleway after Sutton Courtney. Shortly after halfway a shout from following cyclists ‘keep to the right, the leaders are coming through’. Sure enough a Woodstock vest flew past like he was running a 5k then a couple of minutes later an Abingdon Ambler who I rightly guessed to be Paul Fernandez who would go on to win in 2:32.

Keeping my pace between 9 and 9:30 miles and necking an energy gel every 40 minutes or so all seemed fine and I was enjoying myself and confident at mile 16 as we ran towards Drayton for the second time. I don’t really know what went wrong, I remember pushing a little as my pace snuck below 9:30 on the slight incline. By mile 18 my left knee was hurting, I walked 30 paces to ease it which gave relief but didn’t fix it. So there I was yet again watching my plan dissolve as the whole world ran past. Walk a bit, jog a bit, lean against a telegraph pole to stretch it, 2 more ibuprofen, sit on a bench and give it a rub, walk 30 paces then jog for a few minutes. Soon enough I was near the back of the field struggling on in the cheerful but disappointed company of the slow and the lame. There seemed little point in continuing but also little choice but to do so. At least mind and soul seemed intact, it was just the blooming body that couldn’t cope.

Back into Abingdon by the Thames and lots of Abingdon parkrun folk marshalling around mile 23 so I put on a smile, have a joke, and keep running till I get round the corner by which time my sore knee seems to be spreading to surrounding muscle. Still, almost there and 4:30 seems possible. Through the underpass then walking up the exit ramp Maria catches me up and tells me we are going to run to the finish together. Maybe the ibuprofen had started to cut in, I manage almost half a mile before my knee cries ‘stop’ and I walk for 30 paces then catch Maria back up.

This is actually quite fun and lots of support what with 2 Vegan Runners vests together and it’s Maria’s local club organising so they all know her anyway. I can tell Maria’s really pushing herself so I get with the plan and only give into my knee once more and soon enough we are in the park where a huge puddle results in wet feet and then onto the race track where even the last 200m seems too far to go. Just before the finish Maria zooms off like a rocket and I cross the line a couple of seconds after her. 4 hr 30 min and 10 sec 643rd of 732.

Coffee, biscuit and a relax then Peter and I cycle back to Oxford together in our VC&AC tops, very slowly. The combination of fixed gear and my now cramping, but less painful, left leg offering some brief but excruciating moments of discomfort.

The next morning, ibuprofen and alcohol having mostly worn off, the knee itself is fine but the surrounding muscle, particularly the lat above, is very sore. My PF hasn’t really made itself felt yet but I expect it’ll be moaning by tomorrow. My right leg, the wonky one with the broken lump of metal in, doesn’t hurt at all and I suspect, not for the first time, that a lot of my problems are down to my lopsided gait and favouring the right at the expense of the left.

I’m a bit disappointed in the result though glad I finished. Part of me is tempted to enter another marathon soon, maybe an ultra, to treat Abingdon as a training run, something to be built on. I felt this after the MK Marathon hence entering the Northants Ultra shortly afterwards – I seem to be cursed with a ‘can I try that again and get it right this time’ outlook rather than the more sensible ‘never again’. I shall resist such inclinations though and give my body a chance to recover properly. No more races over 10k for the rest of the year and no more running until at least Thursday, maybe longer, is the plan. Maybe I’ll just have to stop running altogether for a bit to let the PF improve, I’ll see how it goes. I’m looking forward to some time out on the bike instead. My running distance target for 2012 was 1200 miles and I passed this somewhere around Drayton yesterday so at least that’s done.

 

Real Relay – Crowmarsh to Henley

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The Real Relay is a brilliant concept – amateur runners following the route of the pompous Olympic torch relay but actually running all the way carrying a single GPS tracked baton instead of driving round much of it in a coach like the torch. It was already getting very popular by the time I’d hear about it from Matt and I only managed to get a stage by sitting in front of my computer pressing refresh every minute for an hour. The 20 stages the organisers made available that morning went in less than 5 minutes. Instead of charging for the event Endurancelife asked that we all make a £10 donation to the charity CHICKS who offer respite breaks to disadvantaged children in the UK.

Anyway I bagged the Crowmarsh Gifford to Henley stage – 10 miles with a big hill. Matt was to run the first few miles including the hill then I’d take over for the remaining 7 odd miles. The obvious route was down the busy A road but we didn’t fancy that, particularly as we were supposed to run at around 5pm Thursday when the traffic would be bad. I drafted a route and we did a recce on the mountain bikes, up the hill via a quiet lane to Nuffield then after Nettlebed down a very muddy bridleway then the Old Bix Road to the outskirts of Henley where pavement began. Still a couple of miles here and there along the A road but there were paths for part of that.

Come the day the online tracker and facebook page suggested the baton was about 90 minutes behind schedule. This had always been a possibility – look at it another way, over 5,000 miles and 540 runners so far yet only 90 minutes off target – but did mean rearranging the handover times. Various emails and texts later and we’d agreed Matt and I would be at Crowmarsh Gifford roundabout at 5:30pm.

As I drove out to Henley where I planned to leave the car it started spotting with rain. By the time I arrived it was a steady downpour and sitting in the car for 5 minutes hoping it would blow over just seemed to make it worse. I accepted my wet fate and got the bike out the car only to hear a crash behind me. I turned to witness a woman reversing her Range Rover out of a nearby space while yapping into her mobile phone still propelling a shopping trolley along broadside across the rear of her vehicle, it looked like it was about to tip over so I darted over to warn her but then some kid, presumably the dimwit’s son, appeared and risked getting squashed while whisking it out the way. I’m not even sure she knew any of this happened! I resolved to cycle cautiously around here.

An hour and a thorough soaking later I arrived at Crowmarsh Gifford roundabout and pushed the bike into a bus shelter. I checked my phone to find a voice message from Matt which I couldn’t really decipher what with the noise of traffic streaming past but seemed to end with a reassurance he’d be there on time. A lady pulled up in a car over the road and beckoned me over and asked if I was Nik, she had bought the children to collect another Nick who was due to hand over to me. She took a call which was Nick saying he was at the bridge so I knew he was due in a few minutes. No Matt still but I’d always been aware I might end up running the whole thing without him and wasn’t going to let it be a problem. I locked the bike, necked a gel and some water, decided I’d run in my cycling stuff rather than risk freezing in my vest, and took the baton from a happy but sodden Nick at 5:41 and set off alone.

After 5 minutes my feet were as wet as they could be, the side of the A road was awash and I couldn’t step out of the gutter due to the traffic. Turning into the quiet road to Nuffield was a relief and at the start of the climb Matt appeared on his bike. I pointed out he was a bit late now!

The climb, about 160 metres over a couple of miles, went by pretty painlessly. Nattering to Matt, who cycled alongside, stopped me running too fast. Come the top of the hill in Nuffield, a bit over 3 miles, I’d averaged 10:30 minute miles which I was fairly certain I could reduce to sub 10 minute miles by Henley (10 minute miles being the average time allowance for the relay). I had to rejoin the main road to Nettlebed at 4 miles but there was a bit of roadside path most of the way and even the traffic had it’s good side as people hooted goodwill – maybe they knew what I was at or maybe they just thought a nutter running in the pouring rain with a big stick flying a Union Jack must be worth a toot.

I’d decided on the ride over to abandon the bridleway plan – I knew I’d end up weighed down with feet of mud and I was bound to loose time. I’d spotted path most, but not all, the way down the A road to Bix but weather and lack of maintenance meant much of it was obstructed by low hanging trees and overgrown bushes. I did my best to keep my pace, now around 9:30 minute miles, as I danced back and forth into the gutter while Matt cycled in the road behind so I felt fairly safe from traffic. This all sounds miserable but I was thoroughly enjoying myself!

A few hundred metres before Bix there was no path and the road was narrow, Matt had gone on ahead, and a huge puddle loomed ahead which may possibly have hidden a broken drain cover so I skipped right out into the road round it and back relying on my ears to warn me of traffic. I tweaked my calf here which pained me a bit latter but no serious damage. Then I left the main road to run through Bix and down the steep and quiet old road with it’s crap surface, Matt joined me running for a bit but then turned back to collect his bike. I suggested he just lock it up somewhere and run into Henley with me then I’d drop him off when driving back.

The Fairmile into Henley has a good path either side and Matt joined me here to run, I even let him have a go with the baton but this was more because carrying the thing was making my arms ache than any forgiveness for his tardiness. Half a mile to go and he seemed to be speeding up just as my legs were whispering ‘almost there’ so I took it back and soon after we were at the arranged rendezvous in the middle of Henley Bridge at 7:21, nicely on time but with no sign of Philip to take the baton. I stood in the middle of the bridge waving the baton while Matt jogged over to the other side to see if he was maybe over there.

Matt returned empty handed but moments later a fit looking runner appeared from Henley direction, he’d been expecting us to appear along the High Street whereas we had reached the bridge via Thameside. I handed my camera phone to Matt who did a fine job with it considering the dull weather and the grinning fool in the cycling kit. Soon enough Philip was on his way to make good time to Bisham Abbey!

I drove a drenched Matt and his bike back to Crowmarsh where I was pleased to see my Marin was waiting safely in the bus shelter. It wasn’t till I got home that I realised just how knackered I was. The run took 1hr 40m for 10.4 miles, I would have been a bit quicker in better conditions I think but at least I didn’t lose any more time. A great event to have a small part of and now I keep finding myself drawn to the online tracking page to see where he baton has got to!