St Albans half marathon

James Edgoose and I go to the St Albans half marathon - I give him a lift; it was him who suggested entering, he did it last year. Its only an hour, down through Stevenage etc. And St Albans is a name from my childhood - not far from Berkhamsted, and I recall childhood trips where we went to look at the roman remains with no great enthusiasm. Children are like that. In the car, he says that the course is quite hilly, and not to expect a great time - he reckons the hills are worth 3 minutes or so on your time.

Arriving is a bit confused - they haven't signposted the car parks well - and we end up following someone else and parking in "Premier Foods" which to me has shades of Reggie Perrin. To Verulanium park, with the cathedral very distant on a hill. It is raining, so people are huddling under shelter, and since we're early we retreat to the sports center and its small but very convenient cafe and toilet (don't underestimate the virtues of an indoor toilet at a race). We put on our numbers, grease up our nipples, etc and then head off to dump kit at left luggage. I join the loo queue outside, despite not much time, and am relieved when they say there will be a 20 min delay (still not quite sure why, maybe clearing the roads). So I lose track of James, who has left me with the very helpful tip to start further up than normal, because the course narrows soon. Anyway, after one last wee in the bushes I join in about where I think might make sense, and fairly soon we're off. Its still raining; it keeps raining, fairly lightly, thoughout the race.

James turns out to be right, in that after 100m the course narrows for about 1 km to a path alongside a hedge, and predictably enough there are lots of people who have been hopelessly optimistic about their running speeds. But I squeeze past, and indeed the extra adrenaline is good for speed. Given James's advice about the hills, and not having trained for this at all (I'm sort-of quite pleased with myself for just being happy to enter casually) and instead of tapering doing a hard outing yesterday, I really don't know what time to aim for. After a while I decide that a sub-5 min/km average overall is a good target (which makes 1:45, roughly) and I start counting how much spare I've banked over that, and am pleased to find it building up. 5 km in 22:40, and then 10k is coming up. It isn't going to be a PB but its going to be good: 46:20, which is a second PB (45:26 to 10k is my best so far). So stop thinking of keeping sub-5, because that is too easy now, and start wondering if I can get under 1:40, which is my next target. Up to 15k (1:10) this looks plausible but the next 5k are hard and I slip a little, and start being overtaken a bit. Think to myself that going down the hills fast is the key to this race - you are bound to slow down up the hills, so you need to get it back downhill, and I find myself zooming past people, hitting the dizzy heights of 3/k at one point.

And so, with a bit of a push close to the finish line, I come in 1:40:22. I'm actually quite pleased not to have much push left for the finish - it means I've pushed earlier and not left any spare, which is what I want. James gets 1:43, so I beat him, ha! The first time I have (well, I did at Norwich too, but he was deliberately going at marathon pace then). After race treat is an ice lolly, lovely, though the gentle rain is still falling. Running conditions were good, the rain kept me cool, and having my glasses wet up wasn't too annoying. Collect left luggage, slowly put on kit, and then head back to the car (get lost) and head home (though traffic jam in St A). Home: weight self as first thing, of course: 69.2, w00t! It was all worth it :-).

Notes on the race:

* its a good course, mostly rural. Not perhaps a fast one but an attractive and interesting one. * needs a few more loos at the start. But if you're a gent, the bushes on the far side are available. * they had lots and lots of water stops - far more than were needed in the conditions.

Bit added after: I thought I ought to add, that during the best bits of this race (the first 15k I suppose) it was a real joy to run: everything was going well, I felt light not heavy, times were good.

Refs

* GPS track

Spiers and Boden

To the Junction, to hear Spiers and Boden. There is no warm-up act, and I had an outing beforehand, so when I get there at 8:10 they've already started. I sneak in on the balcony upstairs, which is a fine view. Once my eyes are accustomed, I can see Miriam and the vacant seat she has kept for me. We're at the Junction 2, which is smaller, nicer, and has seats. After the interval, when I join her in the main hall, I can see that the spare lighting has been carefully done so it looks better from here: it is directly from above, so casting shadows on their faces. The interval is a fest of people queuing up to thrust money at them for the new album, pictured (with their sigs on it!). I sense that S+B fans are loyal; we certainly are.

They are playing at the folk festival, and at the Corn exchange in the autumn. Go and hear them if you get the chance.

They say they have been going for 10 years; I remember them from before they were famous, at the Folk Festival, playing the "Rambling Sailor".

As ever, the best bits of the show were the songs-with-words; or at least for me, who lacks any ability to appreciate music for its own sake. "The birth of Robin Hood" and "Tom Paget" I recall. They didn't do Bold Sir Rylas, alas.

I find listening to them inspiring: it is to see and hear people doing something they do very well, and love. It makes me want to do the same - not in the sense of playing music, but of excelling. Maybe one day I'll find out how to.

Refs

* Stoat: Bold Sir Rylas * Stoat: Bellowhead and Wild Willy

Gardening (wisteria)

No, this isn't wisteria, it is an iris from the front, looking particularly lovely at the moment. The blue ones at the back are good, too. And we had some rain today, the first in ages, which may help.

At the end of a longish day (E to Eve's for trip to Legoland; Shop; Fen Drayton 10k (46:45); Town (Waterstones)) I felt like doing some gardening, so decided to put in the wisteria we bought last weekend. It goes against the "new room" at the corner, but first the bed had to be cleared as it was terribly overgrown. I planted back some cowslips and some of the feral oregano; we shall see.

See-also: the iris in context and blue/purple grannies bonnets.

Gardening (rose)

Having failed at a series of approaches to recording what I plant (in the hope of not digging it up by mistake next year) I thought I'd try the wub. So, lets begin:

See-also the next photo for a general view. This is a "Bridge of Sighs" rose, which is a type that Mother gave us and used to be at the front of the house, until the building work.

This one is expected to share with the grape vine. I composted it in well, having dug down as far as I could, constrained by the "mat" on which the house sits, and the foundations of the new extension.

Also done this weekend: planted 12 marigolds at the front, and two poppies, and a "cream-n-berries" (horrible name, but looks pretty). Put the fifth slab by the double doors, and planted out Miriam's plants by it.

Head of the Cam, 2011, pictures

The 2011 Head of the Cam, run by Chesteron rowing club, was on April 30th. Full results are available. Briefly, Mens winners were Caius in 8:28; Womens were Downing in 10:00.

This post is to point you towards the stills I took of the event, which are hosted at flickr. See the collection Head of the Cam 2011 (current status: all done).

* Division 1: set 1 (boats to 109); set 2 (boats 110-125); set 3 (boats 125-138); set 4 (boats 137 on) [Hmm, those numbers aren't monotonic. Overtaking or starting out of order, who knows?] * Division 2: set 2 (boats 201-216); set 2 (boats 216 onwards) * Division 3: set 1 (boats to 316); set 2 (boats 315-333); set 3 (boats 334 onwards)

Also, there will be video available at spannerspotter in due course.

Now the begging bit. You may use the photos freely for personal use, blogging, etc. Please provide a credit to me, in the form of a link back to this post (also, if you put them online, I'd be interested to know where. Perhaps drop me a mail (wmconnolley(at)gmail.com; or put a comment to this blog posting). Also, please consider donating to club funds via the paypal "donate" button below. You may give whatever you feel the pictures are worth :-) but something like £1 would be sufficient.

[Ahem: that is the updated link, if anyone tried and failed to donate before]

Note: whatever the paypal link says, the funds will go to the club, not me personally. Should you actually wish to purchase the copyright to the photograph, that will cost a little more. Please email wmconnolley(at)gmail.com.

Other pix of possible interest

Since you're here, let me try to interest you in...

* Head of the Cam, 2009 * Head of the Cam, 2010 * Christmas Head, 2010

Easter at Annie's

Over the Easter holidays we went up to Annie's. Well, I took the children; M stayed to work. I've forgotten exactly when it was, because I'm writing this up at the end of May. But I can look at the pix, and my garmin tracks, to find out, how convenient. It looks like the answer was the 17-21st, or thereabouts. We drove up on the Sunday evening, arriving (as I now recall) at about 11, having taken about 5:30, which is a good time. I now know the way and don't need maps.

When we got there all seemed as ever, except Floss quietened down very quickly after we arrived, and Annie was worried about her - she had suddenly got ill, very tired, pissing blood, and the vet diagnosed kidney problems, likely fatal. This cast a bit of a shadow over the whole week - Annie loves her dogs, though having had quite a few over the years isn't too sentimental over their ultimate fate. In fact Floss got a bit better while we were there, but was mostly immobile on her mat - getting better amounted to being interested in eating and drinking.

Monday we didn't do much by popular request, I think we played Carcassonne, and I went running for 10k. It is only a week after the Brighton marathon, so I'm entitled to be not back to form, and anyway there were all these weird hill things in the way.

On tuesday Annie was kind enough to say "why don't you go out and do a big walk" and so we looked at a few maps and I decided on Helvellyn, Striding edge, which I haven't done before. And it is dead famous, so I was keen to go. And a useful test of my new-found fitness. After staring at roads and stuff, we decided (more kindness from Annie) that she could drop me off on the wast side - Glenridding, in Patterdale. We had a lunch in the local (Best Western) hotel because we'd just missed the lake steamer deadline, and after that they went down for a lake trip and I walked over the road and started up the hill. A lovely day for it, just on this side of not-too-hot, and a good walk. By Red Tarn I was happy to have a little rest ijn such a lovely spot, then pressed on to the top, since I was supposed to be on the far side in 3 hours I think but actually it took me 3:40 - I was a touch slow coming down, due to ending up with two rubbed raw little toes: memo to self: take thicker socks next time.

Wednesday was slow too - we had lunch together, then Annie went off to work at the Big House by the lake where she tour-guides, and we went off to climb - Shepherds crag, Jackdaw ridge, or at least the first pitch. Before that we had coffee (well I did, the kids had whatever) at High Lodore farm, which is a wonderful place for a sit in the sun. I'd forgotten how hard it is to climb with kids and only one adult - no luxury of M to belay (so D did, and I had to be very sure not to fall off) or anyone to look after the knots on their harnesses. But, it all worked - and there is a good tree to ab off, though I admit to some nervousness about it, especially after Alderly Edge. D did more - E was in one of her not-really-happy-to-abseil moods, so didn't do too much. But she did take lots of pix while D was climbing. And after that, we had more coffee.

Thursday was another slow day. The previous evening, while I'd been sitting out having coffee in the sun (the kids had the TV on of course, that is one of the attractions of being at Annie's, and I prefer to not be in the room if possible) when the paperboy (after exclaiming over my kindle) told me I had an "egg" in my tire. And so, on closer inspection, I did - a distinct outwards bulge. So Annie recommneded the garage by the supermarket in Cockermouth as likely-honest, so off I went, and they fixed it (sweet-talking me into saving money by using some not-a-known-but-just-as-good-honest-guv tires, since they didn't have the Michellins in stock) while I wandered round Cockermouth. Which doesn't, to the unthinking eye, show any great signs of the huge floods of yesteryear. After that I was free and so went for a stroll by the seaside, just walking up and then down the beach, thinking whatever thoughts I thought.

And then, it was time to drive home, so I did, not forgetting the children, but forgetting the maps Annie had lent me, and which I've only just got round to posting back again. Over the next weekend we went to Mother's.

That is the story of the trip in terms of events. I should try to tell it in terms of thoughts and feelings and stuff too. But it is more than a month past. I remember it as pleasantly quiet and relaxed. It is nice to be somewhere else, where I'm not expected to do anything, and the kids can relax, and I can play with them a bit but not too much. In the evening I'd talk with Annie a bit - or she would watch TV - and we'd worry about Floss.

Refs

* Flickr set

* Helvellyn post on Stoat

Four birthday cards

Daniel, Miranda, Mother and RNLT. Guess which is which?