Marathon du Beaujolais

(Photo: At the start. Thanks to Roger Bradley for this pic)

        Okay so it seemed crazy to travel 600 miles each way to run a marathon but we were crazy enough to go ahead and do it anyway! It was me, Lawrence Chen, Di and Mike Mattingly. We also met Derek and Roger there who were travelling from Turin.
There was heavy snow on the way to Lyon and the snow had laid on the hills where we were staying. We stayed in a Gite in the middle of nowhere thanks to Larry but it was awesome there high in the isolated hills with breathtaking scenery. I was pretty nervous and had a couple of panic attacks here and there and I knew this would happen but you can't live without fighting fear all your life can you? And the attacks don't last forever,  unlike the great memories of this weekend. We had collected our race numbers, goodie bags, t-shirts the night before from the expo in Villefranche sur-saone.

         Villefranche sur-saone was also the finish of the race. We had to return on race day to get a 45 minute coach ride to the start. It was then that I knew I was taking this marathon too seriously when lots of Santas got onto our coach, followed by some dudes in stripey prison outfits. I, of course had to sit next to Chen who rustled through his noisy bag for 45 minutes.
When we got off the coach, we were handed tumblers of Beaujolais straight away. Bit of a weird marathon warm up but it was about 1 degrees. We walked through an archway of people holding up flags of countries around the world. They reported they had 57 different nationalities running today. Not only was there a marathon, there was also and half marathon and a 10k race going on as well. The organisation of this race was phenomenal with 8500 runners in total. They also reported that there were 850 supporters. So this wasn't exactly a small race and next year would be the tenth anniversary.

(Photo: Taken from the coach on our arrival to the start. P.S Mickey mouse was a tosser and held up all the traffic when I was running next to him).

      At the start we danced to music to keep warm and then held a one minute silence for some people who had passed away. I was feeling quite emotional at this point even though I didn't know the deceased. I thought about their lives and their friends and family and their premature end. Anyway, we started to shuffle forward. The race was quite congested at the start and it took a while to get any pace despite the downhill start. It was tricky to overtake and watching Lawrence get frustrated at this, made me laugh and relax a little. 5k in and I was ready for a toilet break. I knew the wine at the start was a bad idea! People were urinating everywhere. I must have seen about 20 people urinating during the first mile.

     Then, the craziness began. I had already forgot to mention all the costumes the runners were wearing. I hear someone shouting "Go England Go". I turn around and i'm greeted by a Frenchman dressed as an Ostrich. Even his Ostrich had running shoes on and his mate was running the marathon in Hawaiian style clothing and a big surfboard under his arm. Did I mention it was 1 degrees?
We passed many vineyards and we came to a wine cellar which we had to run through the grounds, down the stairs and into the cellar where there was music playing and a display of food and drink. Wine or water, Meat or cheese, or all of it. I took the water and slipped up the stairs of the cellar on the way out. I was 10k in and my legs were feeling like I had run 20 miles already. It'll probably pass I remember thinking. I kept on running and tried to keep the positive thoughts going which was aided by the roaring crowds. There was so much to take in on this run that it all felt a bit surreal. The locals were out cheering everyone on. "Allez, Allez" they would shout. I used my very limited vocabulary of "Bonjour" and "Merci" over and over and was developing a great accent with these two words.

(Photo: Larry was so excited to see his Singaporean flag. This flag was only here because of his entry! That's some welcome).

        I managed to catch up with the Ostrich man around mile 20. He was still dancing for the crowds and shouting stuff while lively music blared out from a massive lorry. He had warned me that there was a big hill coming up. I was in bad form and shuffling. I had a weird lean to the right as if I looked injured but I wasn't. I was just so tired. I tried to eat lots of food at a previous station. I got some meat, cheese and banana and just squashed it up into a ball in my fist and put it in my mouth. I was struggling to eat this strange concoction and just ended up choking on it while some young French girls stood there laughing at the stupid Englishman. Must have looked pretty funny I guess. I felt in desperate need of Glucose/sugar but could only find water. Later came another mistake of downing what I thought was coca-cola but it turned out to be hot coffee which scolded the throat a little. I definitely learnt a few things from this marathon but i'm not sure what.

       Somehow I made it up the hill and there was a downhill not long afterwards. I saw a fellow runner who was holding on his race number with only one safety pin and it was quite windy at this point so I ran alongside him and gave him one of my safety pins. He smiled, thanked me and I pushed ahead now holding the corner of my race number.
I had struggled to do 8 and a half minute miles from the start but the last 5k I was able to open up my stride a little due to the downhill. Running my fastest mile at mile 24 and recovering some sort of running form, I knew I would be behind my 3.39 PB and was hoping for 8 minute miles to get me a time of 3.30 but it just never happened. I finished in a time of 3.43 though and it was my first marathon without walking at all. I put my all into that finish. Running through some weird townhall building and into a market with cheering kids "Allez, Allez". There were a few other buildings to run through as well as the vineyards and running up and down steps.

(Photo: An underground car park that was the baggage area and free refreshments for all)

        I had crossed the line pretty dizzily when I was dragged to one side. "Dean, yes?" Before I knew it, I was talking to the crowd through a microphone. Damn, that thing was loud too. I was being asked questions and trying to answer them without dribbling too much or slurring. My words then got translated into French. I remember saying "Amazing" a lot and saying i'd return. I was a minor celebrity. After my interview and the tv cameras I was approached by many French people congratulating me and asking me about my experience. And what an experience it had been.

      I had picked up my bottle of Beaujolais and a "wine tasting" medal at the finish. I went to collect my bag to keep warm and there was yet more free mulled wine and cheese. Larry had somehow got a PB on this course despite the hectic start and also got interviewed. Mike and Di didn't finish that far behind me and Derek had to look after Roger who kept on falling over and knocking people's things over. We had all finished and that's all that had mattered. This was an "amazing" experience and if I did it again it would be in fancy dress and with more wine stops and banter.

Wimborne 10

            As I had done Gosport half two years in a row I thought I would give my number to Mike Bisson and enter the Wimborne 10 instead, which seems to clash with the Gosport HRRL every year. I was told about this race initially by Rob Kelly and convinced to do it even more by Pete Lewis after chatting about it at our own 10 mile race. I was lucky to get my entry in just before the race had reached it capacity.

           Pete picked me and Kathy up in the morning and although it was not raining, it was quite cold. Rob Kelly was supposed to be running but was currently injured. We arrived with plenty of time but there is a nice long 10-15 minute walk to the start/finish line. We spoke to many of the other runners, including the American lady who had finished last at our 10 mile race only two weeks ago. We were glad to hear that she had enjoyed it and praised us for the friendly support which she received. We waited until around 10.20 to take our bags to the baggage tent, due to the cold weather but after that we managed a couple of warm up runs before the race was to start at 10.30.

         I had looked at the results from the previous year and I thought this would be a good indication of where I should position myself at the start. So, I would start about a third of the way back. As we waited, we were given instructions and warned that the Muskets and pistols would soon be fired and that would be our cue to start running. The man announced "If anyone here has a dog, keep hold of it" This received  a roar of laughter from us runners. The guns went bang and off we ran, but slowly..

 

   
This race isn't chip timed and a lot of the slower runners are quite happy to start at the front so this means that the first part of the course can be quite congested. I even had to slow down behind people running down a nice steep hill! But then again, I had somehow managed to run my first mile 6 mins and 10 secs. I don't even run a mile that fast at parkrun!

     After the first mile there was plenty of open road and the runners were now nicely spread out. I still seemed to be running as if this was a parkrun and not a 10 mile race. I wanted to achieve a sub 70 minute finish today but I had been warned about the hill at mile 9. Many people had told me to "Save something for the last climb". I was saving nothing though, this was racing after all and today I was feeling good :) Pete had referred to the hill as similar to that of Toothill. One of our local biggish hills that we sometimes trained on.

     Despite the 6.10 first mile and the 6.28 second mile I still wanted all my miles to be under 7 minutes but that didn't happen as I reached mile 5 and hit a 7.04. It didn't matter though, I was going strong even though I felt like I hadn't been able to breathe properly since the start. I had noticed that a few women were overtaking me now and this had caused me some concern until I had found out it was currently the third woman who had just passed me. I got my own back though as I told the fourth woman who overtook me that she was fourth and the third lady was up ahead. I was still overtaking men but not women! It was quite exciting to be among the fast women and being able to see them race against one another. I didn't bother telling the fifth woman that she was fifth. I had had enough and decided to overtake her instead..lol.

     Then I saw and heard the amazing Morris dancers. This created such a great atmosphere. Loud music was playing and everyone was cheering in the streets. This always encourages me to run faster and clear any negativities than may have been going on in my mind. I had run my fastest 5 miles in a time of 33 mins and 2 secs and my fastest 10K in a time of 41.08. I was flying, but still knew that the hill would be tough at mile 9.  At mile 8, I had thought to myself that even if I run two miles in 7.30's I should still get a time of 1.08. Not far away from my 1.07.57 PB from the Salisbury 10 that I got in March. I was getting tired though and wasn't sure if I was making much sense with my time predictions. I had hit the 9 mile mark in just over an hour and then came the hill. I told the Marshall half-jokingly that I was on for a PB until I had hit this hill. The PB potential had gone, or so I had thought. I ran as hard as I could along the finishing straight and there were signs that informed me that there were "400 metres to go" and then I could see the giant clock ticking away. I want to get across the finish before 1.08 and I had just made it in 1.07.59. I was really happy with this time and so close to a PB by 2 secs.

        I was over the moon and had surprised myself with how well I had run. There was free tea/coffee and soooo much cake to choose from but was sweating so much and feeling sick with my effort, so I jsut decided to head back to the finish line and cheer in the other runners while I waited for Pete and Kathy. In they came and then we went for free coffee and cake. You could go as many times as you liked as well. There was so much variety of cake! Kathy looked like she was going to pass out at the finish as she was all dizzy. Turns out she got a PB by about 3 minutes! 137.55 was her time. Peter did it in: 127.16 and when I got home and checked my garmin I had actually done it in 106.59 and the official results confirmed this, so it was a PB after all! One of 57 seconds. I was even happier. Another great event and a wonderful day. A big thanks to Pete and Kathy for making it even better.

Winchester parkrun

        The plan was to get up at 5.30am, have breakfast and run to Winchester for parkrun. So a nice half marathon training run plus a slow 5K when I got there. However.. It all went a bit wrong! I had washed all my parkrun barcodes. I remember leaving a barcode in my shorts and putting them in the washing machine. This had happened for two weeks in a row. I was now behind schedule and wouldn't make Winchester parkrun.  There was a saviour though, and his name is Neil Garton. I had explained my situation on a facebook status and Neil had come to my rescue. Not only did he give me a lift to Winchester but he also printed me off some barcodes. I was still going to run :)

     As we arrived, the sky had become very dark. We knew it was going to rain but we weren't sure when. We left the leisure centre and headed to the start and it was already pouring hard with rain. It was also pretty cold as we stood by the trees to try and shelter. The Race Director briefed us on the course, thankfully this was kept short as everyone was keen to get going.
Winchester parkrun starts next to the leisure centre and it's on grass. This means it was slippery due to the current weather conditions. It wasn't too bad to start with but got worse as we did each lap. Each lap is roughly 1 mile, so you do 3 laps before heading to the finishing funnel.
     It's not as boring as it sounds though. You start by running around the pitch and then you go in between some trees where you have to be aware of the tree roots that protrude from the ground. You come off the grass and then run onto a path and over a bridge and eventually back onto the grass to complete the lap. I really liked this course despite all the mud and rain and would love to do it again.

     Due to a low number of runners I managed to come 9th which is the highest i've ever placed in a running event. There were only 105 runners. I ran a little bit harder at the end to make sure that I beat the first female home who came 10th with the same time as me. The course was slightly shorter than 3.1 miles though and I think I would have been closer to 21 minutes rather than the 20.30 that I achieved.
The support was amazing. Especially the two loud girls that shout at the top of their lungs as everyone passes them. A brilliant experience which wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for Neil. Neil came 70th with a time of 27.17. He also took the photo for me. Cheers Neil. I then ran 13.1 miles home in the rain in a time 1hr 41 minutes and went straight to bed :)

Snowdonia Marathon

          I was picked up by the Mattinglys and Lawrence. We left Southampton Friday morning and arrived in Llanberis to pick up our race numbers and t-shirts sometime in the late evening due to the long journey and traffic congestion. It was a long day but we had a nice lunch at the Spread eagle pub in Gailey just after the M6 toll. We met Terry Prynn and Derek Goodchild there and asked a few questions about the marathon as Derek had finished it 15 times already and would be running it for the 16th time! We had all entered this marathon some time ago and I hadn't really looked into the race until a couple of weeks before we were going. I went on the website and made a few discoveries: This was supposedly the toughest marathon in Britain and there were some steep climbs. 1100ft at the start and another 1200ft at mile 22. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and a little scared if I am honest. I wasn't really marathon fit and had recently pulled out of the New Forest marathon due to an achilles injury. I certainly wasn't going to race this. I thought i'd be lucky just to finish.

         We got to our hotel in Caernerfon and checked in, then it was time for food and a couple of beers, followed by an early night. I hardly slept as it was very warm and I was quite nervous about getting around this marathon. We had breakfast early and went back to Llanberis for the start of the race. It was trying to rain but held off despite the grey skies and the wind wasn't too bad either. Perfect conditions really. The race was to start at 10.30 and the heavy downpour was predicted for 3pm. At least we'd have a dry start!

               The race started and nearly 2500 people shuffled forward. We were off! Lawrence was storming off ahead and Mike and Di were right next to me. Mike then seemed to pick up the pace but I ran with Di. Di was running our annual 10 mile race in a week's time so was only running 12 miles of the marathon and was then going to DNF herself to save her legs for the vital Hampshire Road Race League event. We seemed to be climbing straight away and this would last for about 3 miles. This was challenging at the start of the race as our breathing became heavy but the scenery was amazing with streams flowing down from the rocks and slate all around us. There were also T.V cameras filming so we couldn't walk but Di did offer a lady £50 for her bike halfway up the hill. The other great thing was that you could see so far into the distance in front and behind you. When we reached the top of the hill there was a long but not too steep downhill. This was mine and Di's favourite part of the race as we cruised down and Di pointed out that we were running a sub 7 minute mile which is something I have never done in a marathon before.

               The road still continued to slope downwards but at 6 miles we were now running on slate. I found this tough as I was being very careful with my footing as I didn't want to sprain an ankle and the wind was making my eyes water as well but Di was loving this part and flew off ahead and took me awhile to catch her again. The first 10 miles had vanished in hardly anytime at all. This was such a good marathon. All my fears had now disappeared and I was loving this. It was soon time for Di to quit the race at mile 12 where Terry would be waiting for her with the car. We spoke to many other runners and they told us that it would get tougher after 13 miles with another hill approaching. Di had decided to carry on running despite being told this. We were both having a great time and spent most of the time joking and laughing except for when the guy tripped over a cat's eye in the middle of the road.

                The second hill wasn't as steep as the first and was just a gradual climb. We knew this as Derek had told us about it. We seemed to get on okay and I made a prediction that we would catch up with Mikey at mile 18 as we were running well and running lots of sub 9's. I was wrong but we did see him and 19.5 miles and he was heading off course for a wee. My legs were feeling pretty tired at this point but they had now found renewed vigour. As Mikey went off course I sped up to overtake so that he wouldn't see me and Di was kinda doing the same thing apart from she couldn't stop laughing. As you can see we were really taking this race seriously!

                Mikey finally caught up around mile 21-ish but decided to walk again. We had forgotten that he was trying out a run/walk technique that he had read about but he said that it probably wasn't working too well because of all the hills. We left him behind and carried on chatting to strangers and Di likes to give everyone abuse. I think she actually out-chatted me and that's an achievement in itself! She kept us thinking about positivity and we weren't allowed any negative thoughts. I told her that I was being held hostage in my own head and this wasn't fair but I stayed positive anyway ;) It was hard not to with all the great support from the crowds and the marshals on the course. 22 miles in and we had now hit the biggest hill on the course. I had had 3 energy gels and 2 slices of orange. My hands were very sticky so the next water station would be for my hands. There were plenty of water stations and most of them were giving out free "High 5" gels with a different flavour at each station.

                 Our race numbers had our names on which was also great for support. People were calling our names out with added encouragement. For the first time me and Di had decided to walk for a bit. This was a steep climb. 23 miles in and I bump into an old friend from Southampton that I haven't seen for about 15 years! Weird, but great to see him and chat. When we got to the apex it was tough to start running again as my hamstrings had seized up and I noticed that this wasn't just happening to me. It took a while to get the legs warm again but I did. There was a pretty strong wind coming from the East now and running was a little tougher but I was happy to run through some of the puddles just to cool my feet down.

             Not long to go now! Most of the course is on road but now we were going to be back on the flint and grass. This last section was downhill. It's started gradually but by mile 25 it was very steep and impossible to run down. You had to slow yourself down. This would obviously awaken the quads. I had now left Di as we didn't have far to go and really wanted to pass two girls for good who had passed me a few times previously. I started by leaning back as far as I could when I was running but the descent got steeper. I then tried a sort of fell running technique where you run down the descent sideways. This seemed to work much better and gave me more control but as soon as the hill started to mellow out again I began to sprint. Yes - Sprint! I was sprinting at the end of a marathon. Managed to run my last mile in a sub 8 and was flying to the finish. This was the best I had ever paced myself. I had finished with a time of 4hrs and 2mins. Lawrence had already finished with an incredible 3hrs 30. Di was only 2 minutes behind me with a 4hrs and 4 mins. Mikey was 4hrs and 15 mins and Derek was done in 5hrs and 16mins, This was also Derek's 102nd marathon! An incredible man and a great inspiration to all.

            We picked up a Welsh slate/coaster at the finish grabbed a free tea/coffee or squash and then the rain started to pour down. We had been lucky. It was then back to the hotel for a shower and off to the pub for a drinking session and some food. What an amazing weekend. I would love to do this marathon again next week if I could. I guess i'll have to wait until next October.
     

Southsea parkrun

          I got up at 6am and it was still dark. I couldn't see the wind or rain but I could certainly hear it. Do I really want to make all this effort for a parkrun I thought? I had breakfast and drank my coffee which gave me more time to ponder over this question. I really wanted to do Winchester parkrun but they were doing a "naked running" parkrun thing. I felt like racing today and getting myself a good time. I had only been on a diet for a week but was feeling fitter and lighter already and the 20.21 I got at Cardiff parkrun the previous week had really gave me some confidence.

       I walked from my house into Shirley and got a bus to the train station and it was still dark but it was only raining lightly and the winds had died down. Things were improving! I got the train at 7.13 and had to change at Fareham but I was in Portsmouth by 8.15. It's quite a way from the train station and took me about 25 minutes to walk. Which was a good warm up for the legs. The parkrun starts near the Southsea pyramids centre which is pretty much where the Great south run starts. Although it is actually closer to the start of the Portsmouth coastal marathon which is behind the centre. There is a massive shelter where people gather under and it's also ideal to leave your bag there as I was worried my i-pod and phone would get wet but that didn't matter because by now the sun was out and shining brightly over the sea. It was a beautiful sight to see so early in the morning.

        We were briefed on the course and told to make our way to the start line. This was only the 2nd ever Southsea parkrun and there were already over 100 runners. At the start line I saw a familiar face that was Danny White from our running club. I managed to get in a quick greeting and then we were off.
You basically ran along the seafront towards the south pier and when you got half way you went around a cone and came back. This may sound boring but it isn't. It's fast and flat. On the way out the wind was against us and all I could hear was the wind in my ears. To my right was the wonderful sight on the sun glowing over the water. There were very few pedestrians on course which was also great. Despite the wind I was still able to run my first mile in 6 minutes and 27 seconds (and the same for the second mile). As soon as I rounded the cone and was on my way back there was silence. I no longer had the sound of the wind in my ears. The wind was now behind me I guess. This doesn't mean that running became easier though. I was now panting hard and it felt like I had sold my soul to the running devil for this parkrun. I had to dig deep and it felt like I was slowing down, but I wasn't. My garmin told me that I had run 3.12 miles in 19 minutes and 58 seconds! That's my fastest 5K in 3 years. I was so happy with the time and then spoke to Danny and found out that he had won in a time on 17 minutes and 35 seconds. I had came 17th which was a brilliant achievement for me.

       

           Those doubts I had in the morning whether it was worth the hassle to make this journey to parkrun were now eradicated. I spent the rest of the day so happy and wanted to tell the world that I had gone sub 20  and only for the 2nd time. I think I was more excited about this than anything else that I had achieved so far this year. I later found out that my official time was 19 minutes and 59 seconds. Just sub 20, but sub 20 all the same ;)

The 2013 Cardiff half Marathon

           I was woken by my alarm at 6am in a hotel in Bridgend. All I had to do now was wake up Mikey in the room next door, shower, make coffee and put on my race attire. We were on the road for 7am and driving down the M4 towards Cardiff. With 19,000 runners, we thought parking may prove challenging and the roads for the race were closing at 8am as well. The plan was to park and get breakfast. There was a fair bit of traffic but we found an NCP carpark which would end up costing us £18 something and then tried to hunt down somewhere to eat. Time was running out though. I usually eat two hours before a race but we ended up in a waitrose at about 8.15. I had a scotch egg and a pain au chocolat with a lucozade (weird I know) and I think Mikey ate about 6 hot cross buns and 2-3 pain au chocolats with coffee. There was a bit of confusion here as Mikey thought that the race started at 9.30 and I thought it started at 9am. We had to check the guide book and of course I was right. Which meant we were running out of time. We had 15 minutes to get to the baggage area which wasn't too bad but we both needed the toilet pretty desperately. We quickly got changed and headed for the portaloos where we had to queue.

            I remember getting in the portaloo at 8.58 and coming out at 8.59. A number two PB for me probably! We then ran to the start and were directed through the castle. We were already running pretty fast just to get to the start on time. We didn't get to the start on time as we missed our "Orange wave" group. We were the runners who were attempting a time of 1.30-1.45. Instead we ended up running near the back of the "Green wave" who were running 1.45-2.00. It was hard to get started with all the slower runners and seemed pointless battling away to overtake such a vast amount of runners. Mikey was trying harder than me and I didn't want to lose him so I did my best to keep up with him. Surprisingly enough we managed to run our first mile in roughly 7.30. We knew there was a 1.45 pacer and we had planned to catch him and overtake him at some point. Mikey had a half marathon PB of around 1.39 so we would try and continue with the 7.30 minute mile as an average pace.

         So many people think that the Cardiff half is a fast, flat course but there are undulations. The worst uphill being at mile 12. The course has changed a couple of times over the years and I believe it used to be flat. I had run a PB on this course the previous year though with a 1.31.06. We were asked by some runners what time we were going for and what mile were we at etc.. They were trying to gauge if they should be ahead or behind us I guess. At mile 6, an announcement of our running time came out through a loudspeaker. I checked my watch and worked out that we had started the race Three minutes late! Thank god for chip timing is all I could think.

       Other memorable moments were running through Cardiff bay and all the cheering supporters that surrounded us. There was music playing from a loudspeaker which helped motivate me and give me a boost. There was also a band who played to us. We passed a fellow Lordshill runner at about mile 3 but we didn't know who it was. We also passed a speedy Winchester lady at mile 12 and had passed the 1.45 pacer. Things were looking good but I was feeling tired and wasn't chatting as much as I usually did. It actually felt a bit like racing..lol. It felt like there were supporters all the way from mile 12 to the finish. Both sides of the streets were filled with encouraging supporters which gave me goose bumps and made me want to run faster than I actually could.

       I sped ahead and crossed the line but Mikey wasn't far behind. My time this year was 1.38.24 and Mikey's time was 1.38.29. It was a half marathon PB for him. Which we didn't know until we got home. I staggered about in a daze collecting my medal, a technical t-shirt. One benefit of being fat is that there wasn't a queue for the XL t-shirts ;) I then got a goody bag as well. Grabbed a banana and a milkshake too. (Even though the milkshake had curdled to Mike's amusement as he watched me spit out a big lump of chocolate).

     We collected our bags and waited for my cousin Selina (with me and Colin in the above pic) who was also running. She had finished in just over two hours (but not according to her watch to her annoyance). We then thought we'd go and hang out with Colin Jackson and get our photo taken with him before hitting Nandos for some food and conversation about the amazing event. Such a great day and I have now done it two years in a row and would happily do it again. Mikey really enjoyed it and said it was really well organised. We were told that they managed to get 19,000 runners running within 7 minutes. Now that's great organisation! We went home very tired but very happy and after the race I had made it to 999 miles of running for the year. This was also my 40th race in the 3+ years when I started running and became an addict.

Cardiff parkrun 05/10/13

Mikey was on time at 6am on the Saturday morning, which surprised me. All the windows were  open in the car and he apologised for the strong smell of petrol due to some sort of car problem. It was still dark and as we travelled I was wondering if it was ever going to get light again, but of course it did eventually. We had decided to do Cardiff parkrun which starts at 9am. That gave us plenty of time to hit the M4, pay to go across the Japanese bridge and get to Cardiff. We got there somehow, despite the  sat-nav being pretty useless. Getting to Cardiff was fine but finding the park was a little trickier. It's probably pretty easy to find but we are eons away from being the smartest double act in the world. We quizzed other runners who pointed us in the right direction. We parked in the Tesco extra car park which has 3 hours of free parking and a toilet for the parkrunners who were in desperate need, like me and Mikey. Only one cubicle was vacant while the other was out of order. I felt bad that I snaked ahead of him and locked the door quickly denying him access. There were only 15 minutes until the start but we both managed to go in time and run to the start with a few minutes remaining.

The Cardiff parkrun is a 3.1 mile or 5K out and back route with a loop at halfway and it’s run  along a place named “the taff trail”. It’s a nice concrete pavement route shaded by trees and next to a river. Then the course goes into an open park where the loop and point of return is. The sun was shining brightly and the temperature was great for the time of the year. We managed to catch up with Emily Brent from our running club who is also at Cardiff uni. She told us that the start is quite congested for the  first 1 kilometer because of the narrow path and the number of runners. There were nearly 500 runners in previous weeks and there were quite a few 16 minute finshers every week! 

Of course with all the chatting we hadn’t started near enough to the front as we should have. We expected a horn to sound like Southampton parkrun but nothing was heard, I guess we should have been  paying attention. This meant that I started my watch late and ended up with a 3 second discrepancy. Oh well, what’s 3 seconds eh? The speech at the beginning was no more than a minute long which I thought was awesome (Southampton take note!) 

Me and Mikey raced our way through the crowds. Oh well no PB today, just enjoy the course we thought. But even with this congested start I had still managed to run my first mile in  6 mins and 27 secs! That is a super fast first mile for me. The whole course was feeling like it was on a slight downhill gradient. At first I was chasing Mikey and struggling to keep up with  him, I had now left him behind and decided to try and average 6.30 min/miles for a PB or something close to my 19.56 that I ran 2 years ago or so. Halfway through though I could already feel myself beginning to tire. The legs were fine but the breathing wasn't.  I could feel the excess weight of my stomach. It felt exaggerated and I found it difficult to circulate my breathing due to this. "I;m too fat", I said to myself. "I am going to diet after this weekend, a proper diet. I will get that sub 20 time again!"  

             I had finished in 42nd place with a time of 20.21 which was my fastest parkrun time in 18+ months. My watch was showing a 3.1 mile time of 20.18. I was super thrilled and Mikey didn't arrive much later in 60th place with a 21.01. He wasn’t so happy with his time though. Struggling with this parkrun had made me decide that I would not race the Cardiff half the next day and I would not hunt down the 1.30 pacer. I’d run with Mikey and the miles in my legs for an upcoming marathon instead. We both had an 8 item breakfast at Tesco plus a cake for Mikey of course. The place was full of hungry parkrunners and we chatted to a few of them including a Scottish man from St.Andrews who had come down for his 50th parkrun. This then made me wonder where I would do my 50th parkrun (if I ever got there). I was now on 19 runs and Mikey on 29. We discussed where we might do our 50th parkrun and  then off to our hotel in Bridgend we went for a  much needed shower.