A Running Total

I set myself a little task this month. Partly as conditioning ahead of my marathon training when it starts on (*gulp*) Christmas Eve, and partly to see if I could do it through poor weather and long days at work, I decided to try and run at least a mile a day throughout October. I could run further but a mile was the bare minimum that I had to do in each 24 hour period.

Then I remembered that I don't measure runs in miles but in kilometres. So I upped the minimum slightly to 2km (1.25 miles) instead.

My running streak started two days before October did, as I did a parkrun - Kerry and Patrick's last one in Hove before they moved to the Midlands, so there was no way I wasn't doing it! As I ran with them I got my first plus 30 minute time at that course since the marathon, but it was not about a PB and all about saying goodbye. The following day was a six km run to stretch my legs ahead of a busy day in London.

I tried not to stick to the same routes when doing my basic 2k runs. The first two runs went to Hove park and then a half lap before finishing - the second was much more fun as I had Dana accompanying me. Wednesday saw me use running as a method of transport for the first time as I ran to a Zumba class. If I do this again in the future I should factor in that it takes a bit longer than taking the train, but at least my sweaty arrival hid how badly I was at dancing for exercise! Thursday was a run to Tesco - I needed to go and get some groceries anyway so took a slight detour to tie in my run with the trip.

Friday was one of my fastest runs yet, as I managed the 2k in 10:25 - it was Claire's leaving drinks that evening and if I reached the bar before 5pm I had a free pint waiting for me, as part of a promotion for a brewery whose beer isn't nice enough for me to give them a shoutout. This was after finishing work and I also had to cram in prepping my bike for the weekend in a short space of time - luckily I made it to the bar with four minutes to spare! That pint, and three others before eating, meant that I was not in a fit state to ride my motorbike to work at 6am the following morning. Instead I got a train and a rail replacement bus, doubling my journey time to and from work to an hour each way - on top of a twelve hour shift! I didn't get home until 8pm on Saturday evening but forcing myself to go out and run in the pouring rain while knackered was probably the point in this run of, well, runs that I thought I could easily fit the marathon training around my work schedule.

Needless to stay I didn't get a personal best on that run.

The next day was dryer, and soberer, so I took my bike to work instead. It was bloody cold each way so Sunday's run was actually longer as it took a while to get my legs going. These weekend runs were going to be the trickiest to fit in as I work 12 hour days every other weekend; the other working weekend later in the week I'm on nights for, and there's usually a dead 3 hours from 1am to 4am which I'd earmarked for a run then. From the Monday I switched to late shifts at work, so my runs switched to the morning. This started around Hove park but the habit of playing Pokemon Go screwed up the GPS, so I'm not taking these times as gospel. Wednesday incorporated the game to give me a goal to run to, as there was a raid happening at Aldrington station so I ran there. Thursday and Friday were treadmill runs in the gym before work, to give me a bit of a change.

There was a medical reason behind that swap as well. I'd noticed earlier in the week that my shins were aching more and more during and after the runs and talking with a houseguest (hi JJ!) who had suffered from shin splints I decided to call a halt to the Run-tober plans. Thursday and Friday were easier on a very springy treadmill at work, but Saturday's parkrun enforced the decision as a good one.

Yesterday's parkrun. The last one down here with Claire for a while, as she's moving to Manchester. My plan was to stick with her as long as possible, as she's faster than I am (the only time I've beat her was when she gave me a five minute head start, and we tied the day after she gave blood and nearly passed out) but it only took me two social cues to realise that she wanted to run with me, which was a new personal best! She dragged me to a time of 27:57, a scant 13 seconds off my fastest parkrun time ever but boy are my legs showing the effect of a fortnight of running now.

Oh, and yesterday's run was significant in other ways, too...

Yes, after falling 20km short of the same goal last year, and hitting my 200km goal on New Year's Eve in 2016, I've hit this year's goal with 79 days (a good 20%) remaining! So I've decided to bump it up to a nice round 300km, keeping to an increase of 50km a year.

Dock 'n' roll

An interesting thing happened with this morning's parkrun. Yes, I wore my pb shirt, and yes, I got a personal best, but it was a new course - I could've walked it and still got a PB. That I came in just under thirty minutes (29:36, my fifth fastest parkrun time) after a night out on a new course is pretty good; but not worthy of a blog post.

It was after I had finished, I noticed one of the people who has finished before me was pleased that she had beaten the "serious runner". I know that parkrun is "a run, not a race" but it sparks a competitive spirit in some and I asked her who the serious runner was, wondering if I'd beaten them too. I was taken aback when she said that she meant me! Given that at this point I was red faced and sweaty, having had 80% of today's participants finish before me, I asked how on earth she thought I could be a serious runner and she gestured to my Brighton Marathon shirt and said "anyone who completes a marathon and still keeps running after must be a serious runner"!

It got me thinking, if not now then at what point do I start considering myself a serious runner? When I've run a 5k? A 10k? A half? A full? I've done all of those, and got medals for most too! I'm a serious runner, whether I like it or not.

Victoria Dock is a really nice parkrun, an out and back with the start/finish point just before the 3k mark. It goes around the dock, behind the Excel centre then back under the cablecar and round the residential side of the water, past some more restored cranes to the finish by the Crystal. It's flat, even flatter than Hove Prom and I was pleased with my time - I suppose a free breakfast back at the hotel definitely motivated me as well.

Next week, another tourist trip - back to Worthing for the first time in a few years, and a time of 31:55 to beat. I'll be wearing my Brighton Marathon shirt, which including the above run has seen me get 6 personal best times (either course or distance) in 5 races, so I'm confident of adding to it on Saturday!

A struggle, but I Prest-on regardless

Another Saturday morning parkrun (which I was surprised to find out today is parkrun, not Parkrun or Park Run), another PB of sorts, and one I worked for!

As part of our quiz team exploring new runs, Patrick and Kerry went all the way to Swindon in Wiltshire, 130 miles/210km away. Claire and I took the short trip across Brighton to Preston Park instead. Rather than our usual jaunt up and down Hove Promenade, we did a convoluted P shaped route around a park incorporating an out-and-back and two loops. It was also a stinking hot 17 degree morning.

Due to a gap of 45 minutes between services from Hove to Preston Park station I arrived shortly after 8am for a 9am start. After sitting watching the dogs playing I made myself useful by helping set up the finish tunnel and start signs. Claire arrived and we warmed up together, catching up on things since Wednesday. Claire mentioned giving blood on Thursday evening and I brought up my work shifts while we shifted into a position on the starting line and suddenly we were off!

The start caught us all by surprise and there was much bleeping of tracking apps as we shuffled over the start line. I realised how spoiled we are with the wide expanse of Hove Prom as the start was congested and tightly funnelled. A lot of darting about and slower pace as I fought to keep an eye on Claire, who had sped off ahead. I realised that I had no idea how far I'd run and where each km was until I hit the first u-turn and realised I'd done just over a km in 6 and a half minutes - almost a minute slower than last week! I lost sight of Claire but stuck to my holistic pacing method - finding someone who looked like they were going a good pace and follow close behind. 

This saw me slowly reeling Claire in and keeping to a good pace, running the 3rd km in 5 minutes 27 seconds - only 2 seconds slower than my fastest km last week. This took a toll on me with a lap and a half left and I revised my goal to a sub-30 minute time. The heat was really laying down and I whipped off my headband again - for the second week running it's been too hot wearing it, so next week I'll leave the fabric one for a plastic hairclip. Round the final u-turn and with one kilometre to go I noticed that Claire was still in sight, maybe this would be the first time I beat her without her giving me a five minute head start?

I was grateful of the slight coolness of the intermittent shade, upping my pace slightly so that with 250m to go I pulled alongside, as Claire gasped that she was feeling a bit peaky. All thoughts of a competitive sprint finish were flung to the wayside as I gave up the rest of my by now warm drink and matched her pace to get her to the shade at the end. We struggled over the line in 29:47, nearly four minutes faster than my last run here but just glad it was over! A sit down in the shade with some cups of water from the nearby cafe definitely helped with the recovery. But that makes it four PBs in my last three runs, and if I can beat 34 minutes 28 seconds next week on the mountains of Bevendean, I can keep this run going!

Another run, another PB

Another honk of the PB klaxon! Three PBs in my last two runs, and slaying some demons too. Not a bad start to my weekend!

Today was my first run as a Marathon Runner. After resting for a few days post run I was fine last Saturday morning; a few light sessions on the exercise bike (8k on Monday, 12k on Thursday) convinced me it was time to get my running shoes back on. Down to the usual parkrun of Hove Prom, last seen as the 25th mile of Brighton marathon. Last time I went along there was a slow drudge along helped by the appearance of Kerry and Patrick for a motivational boost - I had to do better this time.

Another notch on the motivation scale was my parkrun times. I hadn't had a PB since March last year, and in that time Kerry has overtaken me with her own PB. This added an extra mildly competitive edge, especially as she turned up today wearing a Swindon shirt! Last night's run prep of a late night at the theatre, together with being clogged up with London air, wasn't ideal preparation - but I didn't want to let that stop me. I'd compiled a special playlist for today, eschewing the backlog of podcasts as I wanted to keep the tempo up. 

A nice few chats before the start, with Carly, Claire, Emily and the Swindon pair, before we took up our positions...closer to the start line than usual. A shorter opening speech than I remembered and we were off!

00:00:00 Ennio Morricone - The Ecstasy Of Gold

A swift start, and we quickly got into a steady pace. I hung off Kerry's shoulder to get a good pace going - 5:29 min/km for the first kilometre of five. I spotted Claire not too far ahead of us and briefly wondered if I could overhaul her as well, but focused on keeping Kerry close. 

00:03:24 AC/DC - Thunderstruck

Round the first bend, and Kerry had realised I was close behind, content to preserve my energy. The first Km was done and I was feeling good, not bad considering I didn't properly warm up! I kept the top of the i360 in my sights to improve my posture and breathing. A quarter of the run done and I noticed that the frontrunners hadn't reached halfway yet - as the course is two laps, with the start/finish passed the other way as halfway round each lap, it was good to see that they weren't too far ahead. It's demoralising getting lapped!

00:08:16 Motley Crue - Kickstart My Heart

I'd planned this playlist to gradually increase the tempo so as not to blow out an early pace. At 2km I was still hanging off Kerry's shoulder but I noticed she was starting to slow. I decided to take the lead and have her become the hunter, so I motored past her and kept my pace up.

00:13:00 Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run

Just after 13 minutes down, I passed the halfway point. Around two minutes faster than I usually hit this bit, and I was still feeling good. I told myself repeatedly that I had run further than this without slowing to walk during my marathon, and I didn't need to reserve nearly as much energy for the rest of my race, plus I didn't wanna disappoint Bruce! This took me round the 3rd turn of four, and I noted Claire not too far ahead, and Kerry behind. 

00:17:29 Guns N' Roses - Welcome To The Jungle

The four kilometre was the toughest, and Kerry noted she saw me starting to wobble. I was regretting my long sleeved undershirt, but some relief came from losing my microfibre technical reflective go-faster headband (£3 from Decathlon) and focusing back on the top of the i360. 

00:22:03 Van Halen - Jump

A check of my watch as the song changed and I passed the 4km mark. One more to go, a final turn and I was facing the cooling breeze. This helped and I could see the finishing line in sight! Kerry was behind, Claire too far ahead to catch up. Keeping up with the same pace would see me surpassing my personal best time of 00:29:18. All I had to do was not slow down.

00:26:04 Motley Crue - Kickstart My Heart

Didn't I listen to this already? I put that out of my mind as the course passed under my feet. I steadily advanced towards the line, slowly reeling in the woman in front until a blur of peach out the corner of my right eye. Someone was going for a sprint finish. Well, I wasn't having that and I found an extra burst of energy to keep her behind me, overtake the woman ahead and finish in 252nd position with a new personal best time of 00:27:44!

The post run chats revealed a successful day for a lot of us, with a fair number of new PBs. I was pleased that my marathon hadn't caused any lasting damage, and that a lot of my slower times recently had been fear of getting injured before the marathon - with no such worry this time around I could think positively. I was convinced before the start that I'd beat my previous times and this mental attitude definitely helped.

L-R: Patrick, Emily, Kerry, yours truly, Claire

Snickers

Two honks of the PB klaxon, because I managed to get two personal bests in one run, yesterday! 

Yesterday I ran Brighton Marathon with my brother. Tell a lie. Yesterday, we completed Brighton Marathon. There's a reason that people recommend training plans, and we grossly underestimated what we'd got into! Nice atmosphere at the beginning, with a lap of the park where the starting corrals were knocking off both the first mile, and the highest point of the course. Easy, right? One mile down, barely broken a sweat. Down the main road into town, past familiar sights, lots of people calling out my name - getting it printed on the front of my shirt was the best decision I made preparing for this - knocking off miles two and three. Nice and easy! More posing for pictures as my wife surprised me by appearing between the pre-agreed spots, nice boost to take me past my old flat, up a hill that I'm not entirely convinced wasn't completely vertical, then back down the main route through town.

Down to the seafront, passing the mile 5 banner and crowds on both sides of the road were cheering me - I think by this point Phil was regretting not getting his name put on his shirt too. Up the steady climb to the clifftops and never again will I say that certain roads are flat. While they may seem that way perched on a motorbike, running up them reveals the true gradient! Out towards Ovingdean, ticking off miles 6 and 7, a steady pace, enjoying the view and going to part of the Sussex countryside I'd never visited before. It was about 8 and a half miles before I first slowed down to walk - a personal best in terms of steady running. 

Back out of Ovingdean, a village that helped me discover my love of jelly babies, and an evil double-back climb before heading back to town. More clifftop running, enjoying the views, glad it wasn't sunny. Being annoyed by the camber of the road, which may be one of the reasons my ankles are protesting this morning. A supply drop from my wife (and Phil's partner) at 12.5 miles, because despite normally having good math skills and running a half marathon last year, I can't work out the halfway point of a marathon. This was the loudest point of the whole run, and precisely the wrong time to start listening to music in one earphone! 

Approaching the 14 mile mark, scanning the crowds for signs to pass the time (I'll read any text if it's put in front of me, if I could combine running and reading I'd be much better at this!) I suddenly noticed one with my name on! Two friends from my local parkrun and pub quiz had roped in their friends and come down to cheer me on! Seeing Patrick and Kerry, and then half a mile later Claire and Matthew (the other third from our quiz team) with a supply drop was a real boost ahead of what my brother declared "the longest, most boring road ever" - the four mile out-and-back from Hove to Portslade. I used to walk this road daily to get to work so I knew what to expect, but I think it took a lot from him. We helped break it up by running to a bit of street furniture, then walking to the next one, and it really helped keep positive.

Unfortunately that deserted us after mile 18. Aside from Vanessa popping up with supplies, this was the bleakest part of the run. The psychological effect of turning away from the finish line was a blow; as was more of the dreaded camber, the rain, the sparse support, and Phil's knee giving him gip. These combined for a slow effort, and apart from catching each other up after toilet breaks (19.5 miles was the first time I came to a complete stop!) we didn't break above a walk. The grey, windy, cold, wet section through Shoreham Port - industrial estates aren't the nicest of scenery - up to the power station was the point where all motivation deserted me. I knew that all I had to do was get to the next water station, opposite where my bike gets MOTed, and that would be enough - after that would be the turn back towards the finish line and while we still had five miles to go, we had to do it anyway as everyone was waiting for us at the end so we may as well complete it!

It was at this point that we realised warmer clothing would've probably been beneficial as we were both shivering in our shorts and t-shirts/vest tops. Phil blagged a blanket from a first aid tent and we swapped this on the long route back. I honestly don't remember anything of miles 23 to 24 apart from endless grey clouds and a large amount of people shuffling along like a zombie movie. Just after the 24 mile point I got to familiar territory - the next mile or so was part of my usual parkrun route and I knew it like the back of my hand! Even more of a boost, Patrick and Kerry surprised me with an unplanned support slot and walked with us up to the 25 mile point. It was nice to have a distraction as Phil and I were out on our feet. Thankfully the psychological marker of only having a mile and a bit helped, and the crowds of support returned along the seafront. I noticed that my response to people calling my name changed over the run - from an upbeat "thank you, young lady/man!", to a simple thanks, to a raised fist of acknowledgement, to a weary thumbs up, to a very minimal wave! 

The sun came out to see us home, which means that I managed to get sunburned in the same run - in the same few miles - that I needed a blanket to keep warm. Thanks, British weather! Past the 26 mile banner we started to pick up into a gentle jog and crossed the line together, in 6 hours and 5 minutes. If I do it again it'll be with several more half-marathons and longer runs under my belt, as I'm normally upbeat and optimistic but this took it out of me. Still, I've run a marathon now, and nobody can take that away from me - not bad for the kid who preferred to hide in the library than take part in PE at school!

(Incidentally, from a few minutes of Googling, it appears that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has never completed a marathon himself - which means that I can be judged as a better sportsman than The Rock, using this as a barometer!)

 The comic book series Phonogram, in which the basic concept is music-is-magic (and if you love music you really should check it out - start with The Singles Club, and use the glossary if you’re not familiar with mid 2000s British indie music), puts forward the idea of the Curse Song. The song that, no matter how chipper and upbeat it is, brings forth a memory that drops like a stone to the pit of your stomach and starts to kick its way out.

“It’s worth stressing that a curse record is a different thing to the true angry break-up obsessive record. Putting on anything by Nick Cave, drinking a lot of whiskey while scowling is actually a healing thing. Not nice for anyone else to be around you as you coat yourself with blood and sin, but actually a utilitarian thing for self-repair, an aesthetically-inversed version of white wine, smeared mascara and bawling “I Will Survive”. A curse record is the opposite. A curse song will, in a real way, open up old wounds, tearing the stitches you’re trying to make hold. A curse song should be avoided at all costs. 

Lately I’ve been going through a pile of old mix CDs I made when I was younger. Some are labelled, some anonymous (the one labelled Best Of 2003 was a chuckle - I might stick it up on here for people to laugh at) but each CD has had at least one track that made me think “cor, I haven’t heard this in ages!” which promptly got stuck on a Spotify playlist created for the very purpose of nostalgia. Also, a surprisingly high amount of Evanescence considering I’ve scrobbled them on Last.fm nine times since 2005. It’s been an enjoyable jaunt down memory lane, until I stuck one on from the tail end of March 2004, forgetting exactly where I was in my life at that time.

Curse song? The whole damn disc was full of the fuckers. 

That’s the thing about music. It’s time travel. An eight bar intro can rip you from the present day and hurl you, screaming, back to a time you’d left behind. Oh, you’d got over it. You’d moved on, after a long and difficult healing process. Built a life, found your ideal partner, created a new you. The happiness you have now? No barrier to the flood of memories. 

Music can be magic, or it can be murder.

Gig Survey 2017

Top 10 shows of the year?

1. Tove Lo, Shepherds Bush Empire, London, 17th March
2. Lorde, Brighton Centre, 30th September
3. Kesha, Electric Brixton, 14th November
4. Lucy Rose, Electric Rooms, Southampton, 24th November
5. Blondie, Hyde Park, London, 30th June
6. Marmozets, The Haunt, Brighton, 22nd August
7. Sainte, Hoxton Square Bar & Grill, London, 11th August
8. Lucy Rose, Whelans, Dublin, 11th November
9. Billy Lunn, Prince Albert, Brighton, 16th August
10. Phil Collins, Hyde Park, London, 30th June

Total number of shows?

A scant 21, down eleven from the year before (and six down from 2015)

First show of the year?

Gabrielle Aplin, at the Haunt in Brighton on Valentine’s Day.

Last show of the year?

Lucy Rose, at a roller rink in Southampton on November 24th.

Most surprising show?

Blondie. I hoped they’d be good, I didn’t expect them to be that great!

Most disappointing?

Paramore at the Royal Albert Hall. It was stinking hot, and the new stuff didn’t grab me at all.

Farthest travelled?

Dublin! First show outside England since Garbage in Paris, May 2012. Dublin was around 700km away from home.

States attended shows in?

Cheerful, grateful, euphoric, terrified, bored, knackered.

Venue most visited?

The Haunt and Resident Records, both in Brighton, both visited twice. The Haunt would’ve had a third entry but Against The Current took on the mantel of the We Are The In Crowd curse and we had another funeral the day before.

Worst injury?

A digestive issue before the Lucy Rose instore at Pie & Vinyl, Southsea. Also the Gabrielle Aplin gig was two days after I ran a half marathon so my legs were protesting somewhat.

Most expensive ticket?

The Phil Collins/Blondie ticket was by far and away the most expensive.

Band seen the most?

Lucy Rose again, six times this year (up from four the last year, and down one from 2015).

Best new discovery?

Cheating a little bit, because my new discoveries this year have mostly been away from gigs, but Sigrid, Camilla Cabello, Julia Michaels, Kesha, Now Now, and Louisa Johnson all popped up on my radar this year.

Bands seen this year that also broke up this year?

None! Yet. Thankfully. 

Friends made at shows?

I mostly went to gigs with Dana so didn’t really talk to anyone else. However, about a week after I handed in my notice at my job, I got talking to one of the new joiners and found out that our music tastes overlapped to the point where a Venn diagram of the two would be pretty much a circle, so that was nice.

Band members met?

Lucy Rose, but she doesn’t count. Billy Lunn, but he doesn’t count either. Chronologically - Rose Elinor Dougall, Oh Wonder, Tay Jardine, Lorde (veeery briefly), and Jamie and Becca from Anavae. 

Best souvenir from a show?

More Lucy Rose tea, but that was more of a replenishing of my supply than anything else. My Sainte tee is lovely coloured, my Lorde tee fits me very well, and my Tove Lo long sleeve tee is comfy even though I can’t wear it because of the naughty word embroidered across the front.

Longest time in line?

An hour or so on a cold Brixton street before Kesha. An increasingly irritated hour outside Tove Lo afterwards subjected to the karaoke of her hits by her fans. 

Shows seen from the barricade [front row]?

Billy at the Prince Albert, Rose in London and Lucy in Hove and Dublin. 

Most shows in one month?

July, August and November had four apiece (not all of which were Lucy Rose!)

Most shows in one week?

Four in a week in July, and we also fit in a pub quiz, a cinema trip, and had some friends come down too! It helped that 3 out of the 4 gigs were in-stores, and 3 were in Brighton (2 in-stores and a post film concert) but that’s still good going for anti-social animals!

Biggest crowd?

Phil Collins and Blondie in Hyde Park was around 50,000.

Any drunk encounters?

I had beer at pretty much every gig that didn’t take place in a record shop, including the one at a vintage clothing shop, and the video shoot (I was a barman. I had to pour beer for the video. I didn’t want it to go to waste.) However I drank in moderation, so was not drunk at any of them.

Top 5 best 2017 concert moments:

1. Lucy Rose playing it super cool when Dana and I popped up in Ireland without warning (in fact, explicitly telling her we would only see her at one more tour date).

2. Before Kesha came on the (90% camp gay) crowd was warmed up by a Spotify playlist of 70s rock classics. When the opening riff to this blared out you could feel the crowd getting ready to sing along to the Destiny’s Child roll call, expecting Bootilicious. When Stevie Nicks’ vocals kicked in the disappointment was both palpable and hilarious!  

3. Tove Lo’s “give no fucks” attitude. Both her gigs were great, but the London gig - on St Patrick’s Day, and at a venue I’ve had issues with shitty crowds at before - was a feedback loop of crowd and artist adoration.

4. A 20 year old New Zealander holding 4,500 people in the palm of her hand.

5. A 72 year old American showing the kids how it’s done at Hyde Park.

6. BONUS MOMENT Oh Wonder having trouble with Dana’s camera, resulting in this wonderful selfie.

Top 3 worst 2017 concert moments:

1. The atrocity that took place in Manchester in May, which (justifiably) prompted the cancellation of the Ariana Grande gig we had tickets to.

2. A dodgy pie resulting in a dash to the loo at one of the Lucy Rose in-stores, losing my front-row spot.

3. Dua Lipa’s headline gig. To relieve the experience, shuffle her album with half a dozen “generic stage banter” mp3s, to have a very similar effect.