Deano's Not parkrun #1

On Saturday March the 14th, little did I know that it would be my last parkrun for a very long time and for a change, not due to an injury. I moved to a village in Wales and spent 3 months in isolation not knowing anyone and decided to come back as I was also spending too much money on rent. It was great to see some familiar faces after 3 months of loneliness, although the views were spectacular and the animals on the marsh road become my best friends. Anyway, 5 months after my last parkrun and still no signs of any return, just rumours and maybes..    

                                                                     

I have been doing “Not parkruns” or “Non parkruns” still when I was residing in Wales and this is all thanks to the Vegan runners parkrun community. They, or should I say Mike Harper, fellow Vegan runner and Fareham Crusader gets everyone from Vegan runners to post their timed “Not parkruns” either on the parkrun facebook page or he’ll take your stats from the parkrun strava group. I get to see my fellow Vegans posting their selfies with their times and a little story attached to it and where in the UK they are. It is very inspiring. Mike collects those details and writes a fantastic race report with everyone included in the post. And it is very detailed and sometimes very random facts but I absolutely love them and look forward to them each week. Mike actually becomes a V60 today and he’s still speedy too!

 

   I am back from a hip injury now and the last few weeks I have been running proper parkrun courses at Southampton common. Well, one course in particular, Route F. Well, I think it’s route F! It starts on the “Flats”, you head towards the Bellemoor pub, take the first right, over the little bridge and then turn right at the crossroads/junction and head downhill towards the Cowherds pub. Before you get there though you turn right onto the new-ish gravel path and behind the play park where the paddling pool used to be. Follow that black fence around and veer off left until you are back to where you started. 1 mile done!

 

Repeat the “Flats”, turn right again as before, over the little bridge but you turn left at the crossroads/junction this time and head up hill instead of downhill. This is the hardest part in my opinion and probably most other people’s. Anyway, no-one cares about opinions, right? 

Take a left after the climb and you have now completed mile 2. Mile 3 is the quickest for most. A nice descent on the hill that you once had to climb twice on one of the old parkrun routes. Route C maybe? Continue on the path and past the pond on your left. At the end, take a left and then head back to “The flats”. It still seems a long way as you have to run all the way to the start and you only turn right onto the gravel path finish when there are no more exits. Do not take the first right onto the gravel path! That’s it, simple course even for me to remember.

 

The first route F I did was 3 weeks ago. I ran a 20:30 and it nearly killed me. I was hoping to pace more comfortably until my fitness returned. It never happened. It was a good idea to run it at 7am though. Fewer people around and not as hot.

Last week, I returned but with Di Mattingly at 7am again. I ran the course with Di. Di put in a really good effort and we finished with a sub 25. Di was really surprised how bad her fitness was over the 5k. Parkrun sure has a big part to play in some of our fitness and speedwork. Not the people who train properly though obviously!

Roll on to this week. Di was keen to return with me and race it again. This time I messaged Josh, Disgo Dan, and Kev. I was surprised when I turned up everyone was there apart from Kev but he had been replaced by our guest of honour.. Mike Mattingly. Aka Di Mattingly on facebook..lol. That winds her up.

 

I somehow slept through my alarm and woke up 15 minutes later than planned. I made a coffee, drank it and ran 2 miles to the start. I had got there at 8:01 rather than the arranged time of 8am. Doh! Luckily they hadn’t started without me. We chatted for a bit then an even later Kev came running over. I knew he was on his 4^th beer when he messaged me last night telling me that he was on his 4^th beer. I knew he would be okay though as we once got hammered on Spingo in Helston, Cornwall the night before my favourite parkrun at Trelissick. He still came in 2^nd place behind a rapid 15 year old kid. (Probably in his 20’s!).

   I’m not really good in crowds, despite them all claiming to be my friends, so there wasn’t really a race briefing. I just told everyone that they had to run 3.11 miles if they were in miles and not 3.10 as its not 5k. Another thing I learned from Mike Harper on the Vegan runners not parkruns. I did a quick 3-2-1 countdown and the garmins did their beeping and buzzing.

  We were off. I went out pretty quick trying to keep up with an imaginary Alan Graham and the other speedsters I’m used to seeing. A glance at the watch says 5:40 pace. I sensibly slow and let Josh and Kev pass me on either side. I could still get a podium finish though right? My breathing feels laboured already and I tell Kev so, who is ahead but says he will pace me. My plan was to run 7’s again, like when I got that 20:30? The air was nice and cool though, this was PB conditions but not for any of us today. Maybe Josh? Josh is now well ahead and shows no signs of slowing. I talk to Kev in small sentences and say Hi to Kim Kelly as we pass her and turn right towards the Cowherds. Ah, love this downhill bit. I turn right onto the gravel path and can see Josh through the other side of the black railings. That would be the last time I would see him until the end of my 5k on the “flats” to the finish. No P1 for me today.

 

Kev was telling me to speed up despite me telling him I only wanted to run 7’s..lol. First mile 6:38. Now for that tough 2^nd mile. I could no longer talk to Kev as I was breathing harder. I told myself to relax and take it easier on the 2^nd mile, although I still wanted a sub 7. We repeat the run towards the Bellemoor, right and over the little bridge again. We then turn left and up the hill this time around. This is bloody hard and going on forever. Keeping pushing Deano. Was that Kev or me who said that? I look at my watch, get my head down and drive forward. I want that sub 7 on this mile and scrape by with a 6.56. Okay, relax the breathing and take charge of this downhill. Last mile and downhill with a lot of flat. Push dude.

 

Is that Rob Kelly? Of course it is. I have never been in front of Rob Kelly in a race. Although parkrun isn’t a race right? I’m still in 3^rd though as we chat to Rob. This surprisingly helps me relax my body and breathing and I’m still running a sub 7. Rob veers off to the Bellemoor entrance to meet up with Dave Keates and Ian Howard. I know this, because we see them later on after this pain and misery is over. I tell Kev that I “should” run an average pace of 6.45. I have worked this out based on my 2 previous mile times and what pace I’m currently doing. To be able to work this out so well, I can’t be putting enough effort in right?

 

We hit the flats and pass Kim Kelly again. I can already see Josh running into the finishing straight. I shout encouragement although it’s probably inaudible. He probably thinks I’m just calling him a tosser anyway. I’m only going to run 21 minutes and it’s still bloody painful! I keep telling myself that I need to sort my diet out and stop eating the crisps every night! I need to lose a stone in weight at least I reckon. I may not look fat but I feel fat and my tummy tells me so. Okay, I have come a long way from 18 and a half stone and a waist size of 44 inches.

Di reminds me of this when I give myself a hard time but without my anger and annoyance I will just get fat again. They are useful tools.

 

I hit the final mile in 6.37. A bit quicker than I expected. Kev hasn’t told me but it’s then that I realise that I am really close to 20:30 again. I decide to blast it for the 0.11 but sadly, just over the 30 second mark with 36 seconds. Really pleased with 20:36 though but a long way from that 19:02 PB back during the second world war, or was it the first?

I stop the watch, congratulate Josh on the P1. Thank Kev for the pacing and just lay on the wet grass breathing heavily and looking up at the sky. After a minute or two I sit up and get ready to snap a photo of the awesome V60 Mike Mattingly. Mike doesn’t wear a Garmin though or do social media or even Tik Tok! I ask around frantically for the time even though I’m wearing a watch myself! 8.30am bang on. That gives me a Guessitmate on his time when I look back and see what time we actually started our watches. Not long after, is Disgo Dan. Not with quite the smiley grace that Mike presented to us. You can tell Disgo has put a lot of effort into this 5k. And did say that he, like Di is not producing his best 5k times lately, with the exception of Josh who ran a 17:54 or something PB a couple of weeks ago.

 

The first thing Disgo says when he grinds to a halt and pauses his Garmin… “Have we really missed parkrun though?” This make me laugh a lot. Just waiting on Di now who was hoping to do better than the previous week. She knew she was going to be last but she always puts in 100% and will still be first lady anyway. She races in and we all beam with smiles once the pain subsides and we chat away. It was so nice to catch up and race these people. I wish there were some more people though. We had 6 which is the maximum I guess but we were so far apart because of our abilities and times today. I’m sure we could squeeze another 4 people in there or do 2 waves of 6 based on times.

  We also got to chat to Rob Callen after his not parkrun and saw Khalid running with James. Oh and Alex Beaton showed up for a not parkrun as we were leaving. Was really nice to chat to him as I hadn’t seen him for a couple of years. What a great morning with a nice cool breeze and some great people.

 

Josh Chivers was P1 today. A real good friend from skateboarding. Loves his running now and looking to join a running club and train with some people.

 

Kevin Willsher was P2 today. First met Kev at an RR10. Stoney cross I think? Seems like many summers ago now. A V40 inspiration for me.

 

Me in p3. Working on getting those sub 20’s back for the Autumn.

 

Mike Mattingly p4. Semi-retired mechanic and my better father figure in life. I want to be like Mike but not actually Mike. Could you imagine me with an afro?

 

Disgo Dan p5. Beaten by a 60 year old and only ran to 3.10 miles today..lol. Known Dan since the early days of skateboarding and getting drunk. We were a nightmare once! Disgo Dj’s a lot in places like Belgium and Blues/Overdraft etc.. Nearly got married this year as well..lol

 

Di Mattingly p6. First lady and lives for running marathons. I think she’s gonna be in the 100 club before we know it! She looks after me in a societal role and also gives me the occasional moral to think about. I also let her car share with me from time to time.

 

The fastest average pace today was 6.00 minutes per mile, the slowest 7.52. Which is still pretty impressive I think!

 

 I had the highest average heart rate of 162 BPM.

Di had the lowest with 134 BPM

In the middle we had Kev with 135, Dan with 137 and Josh with 154.

Mike sadly had no pulse.

Some of these stats may actually not be true!  

The rest of the results can be seen in the photo above that I put together.

Thanks for reading. See you next Saturday at 8am maybe? I’m off to the pub….

118 miles in a day

I had been thinking about doing a hundred mile bike ride for a while now. People always ask me “What’s the furthest you’ve ever cycled?”. It was a 93 miler from Southampton to Bridport on the start of my 1000 mile ride around the west of the country. It is pretty flat until you get to Dorchester as well and then it sure climbs. 93 miles seemed a bit lame. I knew I could cycle 100 miles on my mountain bike so why not do it? I am a very slow and leisurely cyclist though. Nothing serious about me. I often stop to take photos and add a pub or two in there somewhere.

I was keen to get back onto the Wylye valley again. I had been up there twice before. Once I cycled 85 miles to Bath by mistake and had some beers with a friend before deciding to catch the train back. The other time I ran from Salisbury and quit at Warminster and got the train back. I was learning the route to run to Cardiff. The plan was to run a 50k a day for a week to get to Cardiff. I think I worked it out as about 200 miles. It was about time I raised some money for charity again, it was going to be Asthma Uk but it needed to be a big challenge. Sadly, I had a bike accident and tore the cartilage in my knee requiring an operation which I later cancelled and decided to strengthen and rehab myself to great effect. So, I ran from Southampton to Salisbury one day (32 miles) and Salisbury to Warminster (25 miles). Then I would catch a train to Warminster and continue the run into Bath and Bristol. Maybe I’ll do that in September for a bit of fun. Anyway, I’m rambling again.

The challenge was set. 100 miles would be cycled for Fluffy butts rescue. I had entered the virtual race a while ago and my medal hadn’t shown up. I messaged them and they said they’d send another one, which they did. Very nice people indeed and they take in and look after various neglected animals. Lovely vegan people and they always post adorable bunny photos on their facebook page. Check them out. I knew I could do it with a bit of effort but it still seemed a bit daunting. This was during lockdown. There would be no option to get the train back home. It would have to be done. At one point I remember the ride being like a swim out to sea and wondering if I had enough energy to turn around and get back to the beach or had I swam out of my depth? A little bit of panic set in at one point. But that’s just my brain’s way of telling me to be careful and think about what I was doing right?

I couldn’t sleep. I think I got 4 hours and woke up at 4.30am. The plan was to set off at 6am. I had coffee and crumpets and set off at 5.30am. I made sure I had the vital stuff in my rucksack. Spare inner tube, bike pump, tyre levers, spare t-shirt, water, energy bar, pumpkin seeds and nuts. I even went back for my sun cream. I also bought a power bank to charge my Garmin watch. My 13 hour battery now lasts for 6 hours. I have had 6 garmins now and they all do this after a year when the warranty runs out and I no longer have any friends who work at Garmin for the 40% discount. I will probably switch to Polar or something. Want to get back into the ultra running again. So will need a better watch. 

I set off in shorts but with a thin jacket, hat and gloves as it was still cold but the sun was coming up. The roads were peaceful, even Romsey road on which I reside. I was heading for Romsey. I usually do Lee lane to Romsey and Belbins to get to Timsbury because of the heavy traffic but not today. Straight down the A3057 which was actually safe to cycle down 25 years ago when I worked in Romsey. Then straight through to the Stockbridge road without doing the little climb in Belbins. It was feeling a little laboured already. It was flat but felt kind of hard going. My front tyre looked a bit deflated. I decided I would stop and check it out at Mottisfont. I stopped at the river test bridge. It was very flat! I pumped up the tyre and put my jacket in the rucksack with my hat and gloves. It was warmer now and I was 9 miles in. I was a little worried about the tyre despite having a spare inner tube.

I carried on into Mottisfont and turning left onto Hatt lane and down the hill into Dunbridge. Right into Lockerley. I knew this route so well as I had done it so many times now. I was getting a little bored of it to be honest. It is very flat though until Alderbury at least. I was cycling through West Dean when I decided I would take a different route back via the New forest. It would be a few more miles and hillier but more interesting for me. As the miles passed I planned out the return route in my head. The roads and lanes were still empty. I saw some deer and a Kestrel hovered above. 

I had a few ideas leading up to this ride: If I got tired early on, I could just do a 50 miler to Salisbury and back. Maybe a 100 miler to Warminster and back? Ideally I wanted to get to Longleat and back which would be 108 miles by my calculations. Wouldn’t it be cool to do 3 counties though? Hampshire, Wiltshire and Somerset. Let’s see how it goes I thought.

My tyre was flat again when I got to East Grimstead. It had to be changed now. The road was narrow but there were no cars out here yet. One girl came past on a bike and another girl out jogging. This was my only spare inner tube. It took me a while to locate where the puncture had come from. Always check the tyre! Feel around on the smooth inside parts. Glad I did as the thorn or whatever the sharp spike was, was still in there. Took a while to retract it from the inside of the tyre. 9 miles to Salisbury now? This was the only place to stop off at Halfords for another inner tube if I needed one. I generally don’t get punctures on a mountain but my front tyre hardly has any grip or tread left. I should have replaced it months ago. Bad Dean Jones.

Into Alderbury and then Salisbury. The roads still quiet at 7.45am. I got to Halfords but they didn’t open until 8am. Do I wait 10 minutes for a spare inner tube? With my patience? No way. I carried on through the park reminding me of the Salisbury parkrun course and past the Cathedral. Under the usually busy tunnel and left past the wetherspoons and the railway station and towards Bemerton.

Once in Bemerton I filled up my water bottle in the cemetery from a tap. I almost forgot this water stop was here. A great way to get free water on the go. I carried on into Quidhampton. Great memories came flooding back from the Salisbury 54321 race. Right and a left and on to the busy A36 for a short time before a left turn into Wilton. More people around now. Straight on until I see the right turn for Great Wishford.

Now, I remember Great Wishford having some hard climbs. I kept pedalling in anticipation but they never came. What I thought of as a hill 3 years ago has certainly changed after living in Cornwall, Devon and Wales. West Hampshire is very flat (Not West Dean hill though!) and this part of Wiltshire isn’t too bad either. Just one quiet road running parallel to the A36 for miles now. Hardly see any moving cars. Most of them are parked in the villages that you pass through. You can’t even hear the A36 even though it just to your right in the distance. All I can hear are the calls of the Yellowhammers in the trees and bushes. Buzzards and Red kites loiter effortlessly above as I easily cycle the flat road. Nothing but fields here but then you occasionally go through the little quaint villages.

I am surprised though as there are quite a few cyclists about on this sunny morning. 90% of cyclists say hello, wave or smile at you. The other 10% think they are too cool to acknowledge or just miserable I guess. I never find many runners very friendly. They never look like they’re enjoying their run either. What’s the point? How can you go through life so miserable? Anyway, I am getting hungry and it’s about 9.30am and I’m about 30 miles in. Nearly a third of the way! I was a bit worried that I had made a mistake about not waiting the 10 minutes at Halfords. There is nothing out here at all really. There is one place I know of though and I was hoping it was going to be open. It seemed to take ages to get there. Where was it again? One of the villages but I couldn’t quite remember. I did the Langfords. Little Langford, Hanging Langford. Then through Wylye, Bapton, Stockton, Sherrington  and finally Boyton where the Ginger Piggery is located. 

When I got to the Ginger Piggery I saw two cyclists leaving who had not long passed me on the road. They were coming out of the courtyard. It can’t be open I had thought. My heart sank. Nearly 40 miles in. I got off my bike and walked around. Yeah, it looks shut. I looked through a few windows and eventually a window opened. “Hello” the woman smiled. “Are you open?” I pleaded. She said I was 20 minutes early but would fire up the coffee machine for me anyway if I could be bothered to wait. I was so happy to get a Latte with soya milk. So much cake on display that looked so good. Sadly no vegan cake though so I just sat down in the sun with my Latte and ate my pumpkins seeds and an energy bar. The little comforts! I managed to take my watch off and plug it into the power bank too, which charged about 15% in 15 minutes. Good stuff. 

More cyclists arrived laughing and joking. A nice bunch. I said goodbye and got back on the bike feeling refreshed from the much needed break as my calves were burning a little bit and my lower back was really sore. I managed to stretch it out on a bench for a bit though. Into Corton and past Tytherington which, as you can imagine, has a very long looking name sign. Sutton Parva and Sutton Veny follow. Up a hill and you’re now off the Wylye valley. It changes. Everything looks more built up now as I head into the town of Warminster.

I miss a left turn and go through the town and end up on a very busy A362. A few cars beeped at me. It was a scarily fast road but I went with it. A nice bit of adrenalin to keep me going. I had lost the NCN24 at Warminster but never mind. This road would get me to Longleat eventually via Cley Hill which looked very nice for a walk. Will have to check it out another time. 

I still wasn’t sure where to go from Longleat as I was at a different entrance which I didn’t recognise. I continued on the A362 and took a photo at the “Welcome to Somerset” sign. I had made it to my third county. Corsley Heath? Never heard of it. Rodden? Never heard of it.

I got to Frome. I had decided that this would be far enough. After all, I had to do a return journey yet and I was 54 miles in by the time I got to the centre of Frome. More race memories returned and a drunken night during the Frome folk festival. A great day indeed. I got myself a couple of Vegan sausage rolls from Greggs and a can of coke and sat in a quiet place by the river. My back was killing me so I stretched it again on another bench. Was so nice sitting in the sun. I was so hungry now as well.

It was time for my return journey but now I was able to easily pick up the NCN route to Longleat.

 I still remember the first time I cycled through Longleat. It freaked me out a bit. It’s all woodland. You cycle past the entrance booth with all the cars waiting to pay to get in. Go past the house and are following signs to the safari park. It’s just parks and gates. I was expecting to get attacked by Lions. I wasn’t sure if I was going the right way. What a strange cycle route. Was I going to get eaten? I sped up as I scanned the fields for hungry Lions. I was sure they would be running for me soon. Maybe I’ll just get the Monkeys? Anyway, they never appeared. I seem to have a habit of thinking the worst of situations. I’ll give you a couple of examples: As teenagers, some friends and I were on the Magic carpet ride at Chessington world of adventure. I hate adventure parks. Scare me too death. Don’t know why I went. I was on the magic carpet ride with my friends when we heard the bolts coming loose and banging on the mezzanine of our magic carpet. So I obviously shouted with fear “THE BOLTS ARE COMING LOOSE!” A few people started screaming louder while my mates laughed. Someone’s pockets were just ejecting a loads of 10p pieces and they were flying about the place.

Onto the Beaujolais marathon, Myself, Mikey, Di and Lawrence were looking for our gíte in a remote area of France. It was dark and snowing. A car pulls up and asks if we’re lost. We are up in the remote hills in heavy snow, there is no one else around. We are going to be led to a barn where we are mugged, tortured and killed. I am panicking with fear again. I am working out my escape plan while Lawrence is being raped in a field! It actually turns out that they were just really nice people trying to help us out! Weird.

Where was I? Ah yeah. I got told off in Longleat for trespassing. It was super busy as well with people picnicking on the grass. No social distancing here! I was taking a photo of Longleat house when a 4x4 turned up with security. I am to stick to the cycle route as I am not a paying member at Longleat. I never would pay. I am certainly not in favour of animal captivity. Goodbye Longleat. 

I climbed a big hill and soon got lost again in Maiden Bradley. The sign was heading for Shepton Mallet. Definitely not the right way. Salisbury was signed behind me. No internet signal for google maps out there. I pondered on directions for a minute or so until I saw two more cyclists. They didn’t know the best way but said maybe through the Deverills. They gave me directions and I spoke to them as we cycled and we both took the right turn. It was very nice around here. They went on ahead and told me to take a right turn at the end. I could see the guy gesturing a right turn with his hand as they cycled out of sight. I was lost and in new territory. It was exciting though and the views were lovely. I think I may have cycled through all the Deverills too. Kingston Deverill, Monkton Deverill, Brixton Deverill, Hill Deverill (No hill?) and Longbridge Deverill. Hills were all around with lovely fields of livestock. I was at the bottom of the valley the whole time. Nice, flat and fast route and then contrastingly back onto the A360. 

It wasn’t too long until I found a right turn back into Sutton Veny and then I was back to familiar territory. I probably still had 45 miles to go but I could relax a bit more now and would stop back at the Ginger piggery for a Sports drink and a Vegan Ice cream.

The sun was still blazing as I sat there in the lovely courtyard but there was a family with a bunch of screaming kids that didn’t offer the serenity that I had yearned for. I charged my watch again and got chatting to a cyclist on the next table. He was my age, maybe older? From Salisbury and supported Wycombe Wanders. His son supported Chelsea. We spoke about cycling around Hampshire and Wiltshire and how busy the Wylye valley was this morning with fellow cyclists. I said goodbye and told him he’d probably catch me up on the way home.

He did catch me up and he cycled at my slow pace for about 5 miles while we chatted away and moaned about the screaming kids from earlier. He also mentioned another café in Hanging Langford at the Nature reserve. Apparently there is a nice lake to walk around too. I’ll add it to my list. He had to leave me to get back home to watch Chelsea lose 4-0 with his son..lol. I never did ask his name but then I’ll probably never see him again. He was a nice dude though and very down to earth. The miles flew by as we chatted and I was back in Salisbury in no time. Still no puncture either. 

Salisbury was busy with people walking around the town and the cathedral now. I had to cycle on the path to get back to Alderbury because of the traffic. I took a right turn and followed the sign to Downton where I decided I would be stopping for a nice cold beer in the pub. I had remembered how hilly it was from Alderbury to Downton and this time is was true. Hilly for Hampshire anyway. I had just passed the 93 miles. I was now setting a record for my longest mileage in a day. I felt ok too. Legs were a little achy but nothing too serious. I was surprised that I didn’t have a sore bum. I must be putting on weight again! After some biggish climbs I arrived in Downton. Chained my bike in the garden of the Wooden Spoon pub and ordered a nice cold pint of beer and some salty crisps. This is was heaven. I sat in the garden alone and charged my phone with the power bank. The beer went to my head quickly and I felt quite light headed. I really wanted another one but thought it might be a bit dangerous. I’ll wait until I get to The Compass Inn in Winsor for another pint. Only 8 miles from home. I gave my details to the landlady while I chatted to the 4 men sat down in the pub. “You’ve cycled 98 miles because you can’t run and are injured?” They all laughed. I know it sounds crazy but it’s true. I would have been running instead of cycling if I could. One guy was from Swaythling. We chatted about pubs and other stuff and then I told them my route home as they had asked. Up the hill, through Woodfalls, Brook, A nice fast downhill into Bramshaw. Furzley, Newbridge and Winsor. 

Sadly the Compass Inn was rammed and my Gear cable had just snapped (or so I had first thought). I didn’t bother with the pub and carried on and now stuck in 2^nd gear. The Rembrandts song came into my head frequently. Mostly that day though I had been singing Eddie Money’s - Two tickets to paradise along with Knick knack Paddy whack give the dog a bone. Random.

I was so hungry now. It just hit me. I was starving. I might even starve to death! I was over 100 miles in now. In fact, I had passed the 108 miles planned at the pub in Winsor. I was so tired now. Through Tatchbury mount/Loperwood and down to Calmore. As I took a corner, my back wheel clipped something like a block of wood or something. I lost control for a short time and the car coming towards me dramatically swerved to avoid hitting me. I thought it was a slight over reaction but then I was tired with 110 miles in my legs and 10 hours in the saddle. Still no sore bum but my left palm was going numb now and losing the feeling. My back was really hurting too. The rucksack felt heavy now. I didn’t even use the clean t-shirt in there but you never know. It was a nice sunny day but not too hot with a nice breeze. I had picked the perfect day. Rather than go through Testwood lakes I chose Hill street and Manor farm and onto the testway out to Lee lane. I knew I only had 4 miles to go now. Maybe I would stop at the Four horseshoes for a pint in Nursling? Nah, I was too hungry and it was full of chavy looking kids. I couldn’t be dealing with that. I was becoming irritable now. 

At 118 miles I was home and safe. 10 and a have hours in the saddle and 7000 calories burned according to strava. I think I ate that when I got in though. I was suffering from Nausea when I got in. Head was spinning, the room was moving. It wasn’t hot enough for heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Not enough food eaten? I think it was probably motion sickness from riding for so long. Anyway, I’m all good now. I remember thinking about 75 miles in… Why do I do these things? It seemed like a good idea. I think that when we push ourselves like this, these memories get etched forever. My happiest memories strangely enough are of me struggling through bouts of endurance. My 1000 mile bike ride, Running for 12 hours, The Thames Trot 50. The Ely 45 mile Ultra. These are my favourite memories. My greatest and proudest moments that I can relive over and over in my head. Money can’t buy these things (although I did pay to enter them). Anyway, that’s my story about my longest bike ride. I went into more detail than I realised I would. I love writing these blogs but struggle with motivation to start them. If you got this far.. well done and thank you. Join me for an adventure sometime.x

Start of July 2020

Well, the healthy eating isn’t going so well. My excuse is that, I find it harder when I can’t run. My hip flexor is still damaged and I haven’t really run for a month now. I am doing more cycling and core work though. It’s going to take a while to heal too. Another month maybe? I will attempt a slow mile next Saturday. Good news is that my weight hasn’t really moved at all. So I will just recap on last weeks activities.

I’ve been out for walks most days and during the walks I usually do some push ups or chin ups at the park. At home I will do sit ups and other core work and stretching. My back still hurts a bit from falling out of a tree. 

I feel like I’m going a bit stir crazy lately as I’m not fit to run and haven’t had a job since the end of February. There are still no climbing gyms open either which is what I am missing the most lately.

So, I decided to apply for a job on Monday and they phoned me on the Tuesday. On the Wednesday I was walking to Calmore for an Interview. Of course I got the job! I never thought I’d be so excited about going back to work. It’s only 2-3 days a week at the moment. 8-4. Some great hours too. Bit of a mixed day as I had to rush home from the interview to attend my brother’s funeral. It was a nice service and lovely to catch up with the family. I had a few beers too!

The next day I had planned to meet up with Disgo Dan in Woolston for a bike ride at 9.30am. We were going to Lee-On-The-Solent. I worked it out to be about 40 miles for me as we would have to cycle to Bursledon and Warsash as the Pink ferry isn’t running from Hamble yet. 5 and a half miles to meet Disgo and then we set off through Woolston and into Weston and Netley. From Hamble I followed Dan into Lowford and then we crossed the bridge at Swanwick and turned right onto the gravel path the other side of the Hamble river. A nice ride with the high tide but a bit of headwind. Into Warsash and then Chilling and Old Hook village. I got us a bit lost and took a wrong turn. I have done this route a few times but then I have done thousands of routes. I can’t remember everything at my age now ;) We ended up on a busy road into Stubbington and then Lee-on-th-solent where we stopped for chips on the sea front plus I had a vegan sub! We headed back the right way through Titchfield haven and then had a couple of beers at Dan’s before I cycled home and clocked up 49 miles. Such a great day and we didn’t get wet. 

Thursday saw me attempting to make my own Soya milk. I bought a blender from Sainsburys for £20 and another £10 on 5kg of Soya beans of the internet. I get a lot of inspiration from Ellie Busby on facebook from “Nutrition for Vegan runners”. Soya milk has the most nutritional value than all the other milks too. Alpro is the most common non-dairy milk on the market too which isn’t good from a vegan point of view as they also deal with animal products. I worked out that making my own milk will cost me 30p a litre and I won’t have to go to the shop for it. 

I soaked 200g of soya beans for 12 hours in water. Drained and washed them. Softening them with my fingers and then I put them in the blender with clean water. It turns into a white liquid. I also add a date to sweeten and some salt. It then has to be strained to separate the milk. You can use the mush to make burgers as I watched on youtube. I didn’t do it this time though. I need a better strainer. I have now ordered some nut milk bags to strain the milk properly. You can use a cheese cloth if you have one. Anyway, you need to bring the milk to boil and then let it simmer. It was a bit of a messy process the first time around but now I feel more confident that my next attempt will be much better. I made a litre which I stored in the fridge for my coffee. Think I may add another date next time. Some people use syrup and other sweeteners. Another good thing about making your own milk is that all the ingredients are natural and better for you. 

Friday saw me going to work for my first day. A lovely small company with nice people to work with. One is a runner who has started his own running group, Waterside runners. I spoke to another guy about my bike ride and my manager has a great sense of humour and he also got “Powerslave” the Iron maiden record delivered on vinyl and has his own “Metallica” cup in the canteen. I can see it being a good place to work and loved my first day. Then I spent an hour with my old work buddies around the corner at DX. Chatting and catching up on all the gossip. 

Saturday saw me going to the pub with my dad. Two pints in the wetherspoons. We sat down and both took turns ordering on the app. Then a walk up to the King’s arms which was much better. Listening to music on the jukebox and laughing and chatting with others in the garden. We did drink a bit much though but the social distancing worked very well as you’re not really allowed to stand around unless you’re waiting to get served which was never busy. Plenty of sanitiser too. 

That’s it really. Still been reading a lot during lock down and learning Welsh everyday. I also enjoy youtube videos on health, nutrition, bouldering and “Big questions with the Dead Milkmen” every weekend. 

Spending less time on facebook feels good for me too. I am just logging on at the weekends now and no messenger too so people are just texting me or using whatsapp. No politics, news or opinions or scrolling through the same shit everyday :)

 

A bad photo I found at my Sister's of me and my Mum. Who wears t-shirts over hooded tops? 

Let's feel better

       

        Today is Monday the 22^nd of June. I’ve been meaning to eat healthier for some time but never got around to the discipline. I find that the success rate is higher if I write out a plan. Today is the day that I start. I’ll start with a daily weigh this morning. I have also written a list of recipe ideas for the week so that I know what to eat for Breakfast, lunch and dinner. The worst thing lately for me has been my sugar craving in the evenings. This is usually in the form of Crisps, chocolate or a pack of biscuits dunked in a cup of tea. This, for me will be the toughest test over the coming weeks. But weight loss is such a simple idea… You just have to stop putting stuff in your mouth ;)

       I have also written out some sort of exercise plan. I currently have a hip flexor injury from overtraining so can not really run at the moment plus I stupidly fell out of a tree which is causing pain in my back, ribs and neck. Ha! Getting old and falling apart ;) I will be cycling and walking with maybe the odd jog down a few roads. I will also being doing some weights with my dumb bells and quite a bit of core work. Push ups, sit ups, yoga stretches etc.. Sometimes I’ll go climbing or do handstands in the park. I think it’s important to make the exercise fun from time to time or else the interest and motivation gets lost. The same applies to the eating. There’s nothing nice about eating bland foods. I’m going to make sure I enjoy the foods that I eat but keep them healthier. For snacks I may have some fruit, nuts or the occasional bar of dark chocolate.

I have read enough books about nutrition to know what works for me but you can never stop learning and that is the beauty of it. Obviously, everyone is different but there are some great tips that I have remembered:

Try and eat your carbs earlier in the day rather than later.

Sleep is very important for burning fat and recovery.

Try to avoid food that takes the body a long time to digest. Meats, dairy etc..

Listen to your tummy rather than you head. Are you really hungry?

Burn fat rather than carbs during your exercise by fasting and going slower and longer.

How big are your portion sizes? How many calories are you taking in?

Randomly fit in some exercises during the day. Sometimes I will just drop and do 15 push ups or 15 sit ups. The more reps you do the easier they will get.

No microwave or ready meals and try to avoid packaged foods which can be tough!

If you feel unmotivated or struggle with depression like me… Just try and clear your mind of thoughts and get out the door. This is great for me. Sometimes I’ll walk and mile around the block and other times it’ll be an unexpected 10 miles.

Remember, when you eat, what are you fueling for?

Don’t eat salad just to lose weight but to replace lost nutrients after exercise. 

Ok, bit of a shock on the scales! Said I was 13st a couple of days ago. Electronic scales are a bit weird sometimes. I try and take 3 readings from different places in the room.

Weight: 13.6 st

Fat: 21.1

Water: 57.6

Muscle: 35.8

BMI: 24.1

Not great but a motivator for me. Heaviest I’ve been in a while. I’m keen to get under 13 stone again and get my body fat percentage under 20 percent too. BMI is too close to 25 for my liking as well. So we’ll see how I get on in the week.

Ok, I guess I should really outline my goals here as well. The plan is to lose some weight. Primarily as a runner I am not too interested in building muscle. Like I once read in a book “Have you ever seen a Kenyan runner weight training?”. I want to feel lean and efficient and I know what it feels like. It feels fantastic! The core work is the most important for me at the moment as it will also help with my strength in bouldering and climbing. Hoping to get a decent shaped body in the process as well. Get the tummy flat would be great instead of the holding it in..lol. I do not want to get so skinny that I have no upper body strength though. I have read about such athletes who run sub 30 10k’s but can barely lift a bowl of rice after training. Ha! Wishful thinking ;)

Todays food was:

Breakfast;

2x Crumpets for breakfast with a vegan spread

Lunch;

2x beetroot hummus wraps with rocket, peppers, tomato and cucumber.

1x Banana

Snacks;

1x Kiwi fruit and a dairy free yoghurt

Dinner;

Rice, tofu, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes with garlic and onion.

Snacks;

Nuts and an orange

I did a 25 mile bike ride (very flat) 1200 calories according to strava?

A 3.5 mile walk = 300 calories

Because of my back pain, the sit ups and press ups were a no go but I did do 3x 30 high knee raises and 3x 1 minute planks.

I was supposed to post this blog last night but was lazy.

Tuesday 23^rd of June (Day 2)

13.4 st

20,9 fat

57.7 water

35.9 muscle

23.9 Bmi

Breakfast;

Oats with Cinnamon, flax and chia seeds in soya milk.

Off for a 40 mile loop on the bike soon.

Anyway, we’ll see how it goes. Writing this is to really to make my thoughts more lucid and give me something to read back and get my focus. It may help someone else, who knows? Let me know if you are trying something similar or just want to swap some tips or want some tips about Vegan nutrition or great books to read. I will mention some of these things in the coming write ups anyway. Writing this will also put pressure on me to achieve my goals. Thanks for reading if you got this far. I will probably update on Friday or the weekend and let you knwo my progress. Would love to hear about yours too. I will also recommend books, youtube channels, and other things that have inspired me. Cheers.x