Hot Hot Heat

Been a bit quiet on here lately, because I’ve not run in a while. After suffering from shin splints I decided to give the running a break for a fortnight to let my legs heal, using the foam roller (and suggested exercises from kinetic revolution) and low impact exercise such as sitting on the exercise bike in the gym watching Gossip Girl to keep my body ticking over.

I had a 10k in London to look forward to, and didn’t want to miss out. It would be the first race I’d run with Mark since the Color Run three years ago, even though it turned out he was in a different wave to me, and the longest run that Paul had ever done so wanted to give him someone to run with/make sure he didn’t bottle it. I could miss the odd parkrun in favour of saving myself for this.

Sensibly we decided to stay in London the night before the race to make sure we got a decent amount of kip without needing to rush to the starting line. Foolishly this was also because we were in London the day prior to the run walking around a very hot comic convention. We left early to book in to our hotel and rested, and I had a nice chicken and chorizo rice meal from Leon as race fuel.

The pre-race ambling helped relax us, meeting up easily and ambling down to the starting chute. This took up most of The Mall, so we waiting in the funnel with Queenie’s London flat glinting behind us in the sun. Here’s where I made my first error as I started the GPS app on my watch but didn’t pause it properly, so our half hour wait ended up counting towards my time and gave me no idea of my time while running. One thing the watch was good for was reading text messages, and I was alerted to Dana’s position just after the starting line. We edged our way over to her side of the course to pose for photos as we went past, before shooting up The Mall through Admiralty Arch and round Nelson’s Column.

One of the other reasons for choosing this 10k in particular was the course. It took us from Buckingham Palace to the City of London and back again, passing major tourist sites like Trafalgar Square, the Houses of Parliament, Downing Street and St Paul’s Cathedral. Not only that but it was rare to see them from the road without dodging buses, taxis and Deliveroo drivers. Sadly I was too focussed on the race to really pay much attention. We followed Roxy Music’s advice and did The Strand, passing Savoy Court (the only road in the UK where it’s legal to drive on the right rather than the left) and the crowds of cheering people noticeably thinned out as The Strand became Fleet Street and we took a left up Chancery Lane.

Thankfully this worked out well for runners as the road was significantly narrower and at several times we needed to overtake slower runners on the pavement. We passed a girl wearing an Argentina shirt with McGhee on the back – not the weirdest shirt I saw all day, as there was a runner wearing a Gambia away shirt. A hard right along Holborn down the rest of the A40 and the sun was really starting to lay down on us. At the 3k mark I grabbed two bottles of water to rehydrate – one I tipped over my head to cool me down and rinse the sweat out of my eyes. This point was my intended stopping point to walk for a bit and catch my breath but my legs hadn’t given me much trouble so I pressed on with Paul.

Round the BT building the crowds were non-existent so the sponsors had provided choirs and bands to give atmosphere. Nice, except at this point a lovely gospel choir chose to serenade us with Seasons Of Love, from a musical where (spoiler alert) most of the cast die of AIDS. Not really the atmosphere I would’ve chosen, although the guy raising money for an HIV charity seemed to appreciate it. Holborn became Cheapside, and we passed the exact spot where my family stand for the Lord Mayor’s Show when we watch it.

The route meandered through the City, increasing the length for the required 10k (the starting line was quite far down The Mall) and we passed one of my favourite bits of inadvertently political road naming – Trump Street, which is next to Russia Row. Round the back of the Bank Of England in the cool shade of the high buildings crammed along narrow medieval streets we passed the favourite part of an out and back course – the turning point! From here I’d have to come back along the course to get to the end so I may as well finish it. After the 5k split timing mats my stamina showed and I slowed down for a breather, leaving Paul to dash off ahead. Someone who only got into running a few months ago, and he’s already faster than me.

I walked the length of Queen Victoria Street, and started to jog past St Paul’s Cathedral. The on course showers were much needed and helped keep me cool – the rest of my water was going down my throat or over my forehead. I picked up three more bottles at the water stop after the 6k mark and turned down a glass-sided canyon of buildings which had no respite from the sun. At this point we were approaching 11am and the sun was burning off the early morning cool. A turn back onto Fleet Street saw a pass of the 7k mark and an increase in crowds lining both sides of the street. By now the heat had gone to my head and I spent the next 1.5 kilometres in a state of delirium, feeding off the cheers and high fiving anyone who stuck their hand out to me.

Down Whitehall we passed 10 Downing Street, but more importantly my skintight cheap running top got recognised and someone shouted “run, Flash, run”! Round the top of Parliament Square we all got a shift on to get back into the blessed shade of the various Civil Service buildings, and then the final dash along Birdcage Walk. I sent Dana an alert to let her know I was within 400 metres and started picking up the pace. Passing the 100m mark I was surprised to see how close the finishing line was and sprinted toward it. I had plenty left in the tank – I should’ve started to kick on much sooner. I ran over the line with a final total of 1 hour, 10 minutes and 22 seconds – not a bad time in the heat, but I should really have done better.

A gentle parkrun ahead of me on Saturday, sticking to a slower 7 min/km pace to hopefully go round without stopping. In the next month or so I’ll (hopefully) hit the magic 50 parkrun mark, which I’m looking forward to!

This is a small piece to explain why on Sunday afternoon, between 3pm and 5pm, my Twitter feed will be a mix of football, cursing, drinking, swearing and classic rock.

It’s that time of the year again! The last game of the football season, and my team (Gillingham) are in very real danger of being relegated from their current league (League 1) to the league below (League 2). At the moment we’re in 20^th place – finishing 21^st or below means we spend next season in a lesser league with lower quality, smaller attendances and less money from both league position and people watching. It’s not good.

Here’s the table as it stands:

As it’s three points for a win, and one for a draw, the only team below us who can overtake are Port Vale. Here’s how it could go.

If Gillingham win: it doesn’t matter what happens elsewhere, we finish the season on 52 points and we stay up. There’s a party at the game, much is drunk in celebration.

If Gillingham draw: we finish on 50 points. We stay up IF Port Vale don’t win (i.e. they draw or lose). Even if they do win, if Bury lose heavily then they get relegated instead. Not an ideal situation as our fate is in the hands of others.

If Gillingham lose: we stay on 49 points. If Port Vale also lose, we stay up, drink, be merry, have fun. If Port Vale draw then we also stay up, unless we lose by a difference of seven goals or more (a slim possibility, odds on Bet365 are currently 1680/1 on such an event) in which case we finish on the same points and get relegated due to having an inferior goal difference (Goals Scored over the season minus Goals Conceded over the season). If Port Vale win, we’re down.

So, all things considered, the best outcome is if Gillingham go for a win, so we have our fate in our own hands. But how likely is this? Well, in our last game (at home, to Fleetwood - remember that name) we took the lead twice, before contriving to lose 3-2. Our match before that we lost 3-0 away at local rivals Charlton, a game I went to but the team didn’t really turn up at. Before that we won at home to Bristol Rovers, a team at the top end of the table, with two late goals that were rather lucky. Form is not on our side.

But what about the team we’re playing? We’re away at Northampton. They’re a few places above us, safe from relegation and ideally already thinking about their holidays, so in theory shouldn’t be that motivated. However it’s the last home game of the season so they’ll want to send their fans off happily with a win. Not only that, their manager (Justin Edinburgh) used to manage Gillingham until halfway through this season when he was fired – rumours are that the players turned against him and stopped putting in any effort (although that malaise has been in the squad since January 2016 so honestly, how would we know?) and as it’s always nice to get one over your ex, there may be added motivation there.

Port Vale are playing Fleetwood, who have promotion to play for (and beat us on Saturday as well) so a Vale win is by no means guaranteed, although they won at Walsall on Tuesday night. 

You may be feeling a small sense of deja vu. Haven't you read about Gillingham trying to escape relegation on this very blog, seven or so years ago? You'd be right. Things didn't go our way that time, and because of this I'm shouting down the urges to spend my day travelling to the Midlands to cheer on my team. Instead I'll be sitting on the couch as my wife plays Stardew Valley, listening to radio commentary and refreshing Twitter while drinking in celebration or dismay. Come join me! It'll be fun.

James Rennt

I realise I've been quiet for a few weeks on here, but that's mostly because I haven't run. My stitches have finally healed, and I planned to run twice on my holiday.

The first run was intended to be on Friday morning, going from Dana's home village in Germany over the Dutch border into Holland. I wanted to cross an international border on a run but as it was a) stinking hot, b) around 20k there and back and c) my holiday, I ended up staying home and reading instead.

However, I had a backup plan. We took the train to Berlin on Sunday, and Monday morning Dana and I walked from our hotel to the Tiergarten, a whacking great park in the middle of the capital. I'd earmarked this as another run, and after missing my earlier run, this was going to count. (Also, by running on the first morning of our stay in Berlin I could drink as much as I wanted for the rest of our stay without feeling guilty!)

 I started on the western side of the park, and had a rough idea to head east as I planned to finish in front of the Brandenburg Gate, but had no set route in mind. I mostly stuck to the paths, but occasionally running through the flat green garden areas - it was a nice proper parkrun, without worrying about barcodes, times or other runners! I made up my route on the fly, darting hither and yon whenever I saw something that took my interest (such as the Beethoven monument). I kept to a fairly even pace, slower than my usual 5k runs as I had a busy few days ahead of me, only speeding up to look good in front of tourists.

Round past the Holocaust Memorial, which was a sobering sight during my run, and I realised that I was coming in a kilometre short - I wouldn't finish in front of the Gate. Across the six lanes of traffic, pausing in the middle for a selfie in front of the Monument - it was a convenient break, as there were cars coming - and through for my first run in the northern half of the park. I took a left, past an adorable red squirrel, and across the face of the Red Army War Memorial (commemorating Soviet soldiers who lost their lives in World War II - unfortunately this ended up in Allied areas of Berlin during the Cold War, so couldn't be accessed by Russians!). I briefly raced a rider on a Ducati who sportingly waited until his traffic light turned green before blasting past me, and finished in front of the Reichstag building. I wanted to run up the lovely stepped entrance, Rocky style, but the steps were barriered off and German police have guns, so decided not to!

My final tally was 5.1km in 36 minutes and 59 seconds - not a bad time for a relaxed run. I was also pleased that my watch had stopped messing about and timed me properly!

As a postscript, I'm planning on running at my usual parkrun tomorrow morning, as it'll be the first step on my training plan towards Brighton 2018 - yes, I'm running the Brighton marathon next year!

It ain't no lie, baby bye bye biopsy

I'd planned my second post to be an update on my treadmill session of yesterday morning at the gym, but certain factors have put paid to any exercise for the next few days. Saturday afternoon saw a battle with a stubborn motorcycle centre stand (and gravity working against me, rather than using it to my advantage - when I moved the bike round 180 degrees it became a lot easier) which left me with aching muscles in my back, left knee and shoulder that haven't fully recovered.

The second hindrance came yesterday afternoon. I've had a skin lesion on my stomach for the last 3 to 4 years and finally did something about it, booking in to the dermatology department at Brighton General. Nice hospital, lovely views of the South Downs, free motorcycle parking*, and nice helpful staff. They agreed it was probably nothing, but asked if I minded them taking a chunk from the lesion to be sure. The upshot is, I now have stitches in my abdomen and a ban on exercise until it's healed fully, so no running until they get taken out next week.

This does mean that my next run report will be covering one (possibly two) new countries to run, so there's that! In the meantime I'll put something up about music.

*I found somewhere to leave it and didn't get a ticket - ergo, free

First One.

Inspired by my good friend Mark, I'm going to start blogging my runs too. I don't know how long I'll keep this up for, but it'll be good to keep a record of things over and above the weekly times on my Runtastic profile.

March 4th
Usual wander down to Hove Prom for a parkrun. It's not my local one, but it's fast and flat. The wind coming off the sea usually has a cooling effect, and 50% of the run is towards the i360 which helps keep my head up and improve my breathing.

I had a good feeling about this run. The weather was cool and clear, the prom was pebble-free and I had a good warm-up. I kept my pace up and knocked 14 seconds off my PB, finishing in 29:18, grateful of my Shot Bloks pre-run.

March 7th
I had the day off ahead of my aunt's funeral back in Kent that evening, so I went out for a run along the seafront early doors, instead of heading to the gym to use the dreadmill. I'd planned to run a full 10k to boost my distance, but the route I planned took me towards the power station past a very dusty aggregate site, which caused me to abandon my 10k plan and stick to a simple 5k, running past some different beach huts along Hove seafront finishing in 34:48.

March 11th
Back to Hove Prom for another parkrun. Wasn't feeling too confident about this one, but managed to shut up the nagging voice telling me that last week was a fluke, a one-off, all down to the energy blocks. I stuck to a steady pace on a foggy prom, just behind a father/daughter couple. I dropped back from them around the 3k mark, a distance hurdle I need to get over, but at the 4k mark I sped up with the intention of reeling them in. Unfortunately 300m from the end as I planned to kick on for a sprint finish they did the same! I ended up finishing with my watch showing 29:29, after nearly collapsing on my pregnant, Gillingham-supporting friend volunteering as tunnel marshall. The text showing my time took an age to come through, confirming my time as...29:18 again! Nothing if not consistent, at least!

March 14th
After an earlier post on tumblr about body positivity, BMI and weight (which I will transfer over here soon) I decided to continue my casual weight loss attempts. On a Thursday at the gym I tend to use the exercise bike on a "fat loss" program, spending 35 minutes cycling (and watching Gossip Girl on my tablet) before using the weights. I noticed that the treadmill had a similar program, so decided to try it out, wondering if I could combine my usual Tuesday 5k with something that'll help me lose some more fat.

Unfortunately not, and twenty minutes later I spluttered to the end of a dull 2k, having wasted my running time for a Tuesday. However my extended weight training led me to discover the ab machine, so in a fortnight or so I'll have a body like Zac Efron.

March 18th
Parkrun day! This time I performed a little experiment. The night before I went up to London to Shepherd's Bush to see Tove Lo live in concert. We didn't get back until half past midnight, so I was running on around six hours sleep (two hours fewer than I normally get). Not only that, I'd had a few pints at the gig (my limit on the night before a run is one, normally) and I was feeling clogged up from the London air. I wondered what effect these three factors would have on my run.

Well, I started off badly. My smartwatch utterly refused to start timing me, and by the time I gave up on that it was too late to start the app on my phone, meaning I was running blind. I usually run with a timer so I can check it on my watch (plus I get an audio readout of distance, time, pace and calories every km) so this was a further experiment on how I could cope away from my comfort zone. At the first turn of four I noticed an older chap in a blue football shirt that I didn't recognise, so I gradually increased my pace to catch up to him and the two people he was running with, and asked him who the team was. He explained that it was an old Montrose shirt, as he was a fan, and proceeded to tell me all sorts of interesting facts about the club while I was struggling to keep pace. At the dreaded 3k mark I bade them goodbye and slowed to catch my breath. The 3rd km was mostly stop-start, and for the final bit I again tried to reel in those ahead of me. I crossed the line at 30:16, a pace that six months ago I would've been delighted with, but a disappointing end to a run of four sub-30 parkruns in a row.

This was longer than I intended it to be. I didn't even mention my wife tail-running for the last two parkruns, or the Swindon-supporting friend I made because of our shared love of obscure football shirts. In the future (i.e. when I can be arsed) I'll copy that piece from tumblr about body fat, and also do a post about music to run with.

Gig Survey 2016

Top 5 shows of the year?

1. Carly Rae Jepsen, Pride, Brighton, 6th August
2. Chvrches, Royal Albert Hall London, 31st March
3. Lucy Rose, Ramsgate, 22nd January
4. Pretty Reckless, Scala, 10th October
5. Big Moon, Pyramids, 1st October
6. Black Honey, Great Escape Brighton, 20th May
7. Foxes, Concorde 2, Brighton, 11th May
8. Lucy Rose, Brighton Dome, 18th February
9. Anavae, Boston Music Rooms, 22nd September
10. Gabrielle Aplin, Brighton Corn Exchange, 15th February

Total number of shows?

32, up five from last year.

First show of the year?

Lucy Rose, acoustic, at Ramsgate Music Hall.

Last show of the year?

Lucy Rose, acoustic, at a library in east London.

Most surprising show?

Chvrches. I knew the second album was good, but this was a near religious experience!

Most disappointing?

Garbage in London. They’re my favourite band, but their gig in London in June was too dark for my liking - I could feel myself going to dark places and so I made my excuses and left.

Farthest travelled?

Ramsgate or Portsmouth.

States attended shows in?

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

Venue most visited?

Komedia, Hope and Ruin and Horatios - all Brighton venues, all visited twice.

Worst injury?

Thanks to stronger leg muscles, tactical site visits and better footwear, my legs didn’t suffer as much.

Most expensive ticket?

£35 for Chvrches - but well worth it!

Band seen the most?

Lucy Rose, only four times this year.

Best new discovery?

The Big Moon and Dua Lipa were instant likes. Black Honey had two fantastic sets at The Great Escape but a subdued set in Portsmouth means the jury’s still out.

Bands seen this year that also broke up this year?

None! Yet. Although Lucy Rose has lost two members of her touring band.

Friends made at shows?

I mostly went to gigs with Dana so didn’t really talk to anyone else. At some point in this year Carly Rae Jepsen started following me on Instagram, if that counts.

Band members met?

Lucy Rose, but she doesn’t count. Becca from Anavae, but she was our wedding photographer so that’s cheating a tad. Foxes, at a signing. Technically Samantha Barks, if she counts? Or Katrina Law?

Best souvenir from a show?

Tees from the Carly Rae Jepsen, Chvrches, Pretty Reckless and Anavae shows.

Longest time in line?

An hour in a gritty back alley before Black Honey.

Shows seen from the barricade [front row]?

All four Lucy gigs, all the gigs at Southsea Fest, and Carly at Pride.

Most shows in one month?

Excluding The Great Escape and Southsea Festivals, February with 3 - two of which were in one night!

Most shows in one week?

That week in February - Gabrielle Aplin on the 15th, then Lucy Rose and PINS on the 18th.

Biggest crowd?

Carly at Pride. We had people come down from Scotland for it.

Any drunk encounters?

Free beer in Portsmouth.

Top 5 best 2016 concert moments:

1. Chvrches - I went from wanting to buy all their merch to planning a tattoo of the band’s logo, I was that ready to join their cvlt.

2. Carly Rae Jepsen playing a (truncated) set less than 30 minutes walk from my flat.

3. Lucy Rose’s face lighting up whenever she spotted me and Dana in the audience.

4. Foxes being utterly smiley and fantastic whenever we saw her.

5. Black Honey at The Great Escape. Absolutely blistering sets!

Top 3 worst 2016 concert moments:

1. The Garbage gig - I hated to cut it short, but I wasn’t enjoying it.

2. Black Honey in Portsmouth - I don’t know if I’d built them up too much in my head, but they weren’t as good as in Brighton. Technical issues dogged them as well.

3. The sound at Pride was pretty bad, but then again no mortal technology can do Carly justice!

Gig Survey 2015

Top 5 shows of the year?

1. Carly Rae Jepsen, Islington Assembly Hall, 7th December
2. Garbage, Brixton Academy, 8th November
3. Taylor Swift, Hyde Park, 27th June
4. Lucy Rose, Southampton Engine Rooms, 17th March
5. Foxes, Concorde 2, 28th October
6. Anavae, Camden Barfly, 17th December
7. Lucy Rose, Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth, 14th November
8. PINS, Dome Studio Brighton, 15th May
9. Pvris, Concorde 2, 22nd April
10. Gabrielle Aplin, The Haunt, 8th July

Total number of shows?

27, a drop of 14 from last year, but still respectable.

First show of the year?

Rae Morris, at the Komedia..

Last show of the year?

Anavae, supporting at the Barfly.

Most surprising show?

Carly Rae Jepsen. Considering less than two months before she was just the “Call Me Maybe” girl, this was quite the turnaround in my opinion!

Most disappointing?

Charli XCX wasn’t as fun as I thought it might be. A lot of the Great Escape suffered from me having had two days on site immediately beforehand, so I wasn’t up for a lot of standing.

Farthest travelled?

80 miles to Kentish Town Forum.

States attended shows in?

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

Venue most visited?

Concorde 2 four times, same as last year (though different bands - Lucy Rose, Charli XCX, Pvris and Foxes)

Worst injury?

My legs took the brunt of it this year. I really suffered at the Great Escape and Pride. A broken heart at the Anavae show when they didn’t have any t-shirts in my size.

Most expensive ticket?

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Band seen the most?

Lucy Rose, a whopping seven times.

Best new discovery?

Carly Rae Jepsen! Honourable mentions to: Orla Gartland, Pins, Flyte and Izzy Bizu

Bands seen this year that also broke up this year?

None! Yet.

Friends made at shows?

Lucy’s Rosettes at the Kingston Lucy Rose gig. Possibly Lucy’s husband too. Passing nods to Kieron Gillan and the metalheads at Carly Rae Jepsen, the family at Taylor Swift, the random trio at Garbage. Technically Meg at Anavae, except we were mutual social media followers before that, and never actually saw each other in the tiny venue anyway!

Band members met?

From the top: Lucy Rose several times, Lynn from Pvris, Orla Gartland, PINS, Rae Morris (at a Lucy Rose gig!), Flyte, Gabrielle Aplin, Foxes, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Becca & Jamie from Anavae

Best souvenir from a show?

Lucy Rose tea and Carly Rae Jepsen tee.

Longest time in line?

An hour in the cold before Garbage and Carly Rae.

Shows seen from the barricade [front row]?

Lucy Rose at Concorde 2/Together The People/Wedgewood Rooms, Pins at the Dome Studio, Taylor Swift (from the pleb barrier, at least), Gabrielle Aplin, Foxes at Pride, Carly Rae Jepsen, Anavae.

Most shows in one month?

Excluding The Great Escape, December and March are tied with 3.

Most shows in one week?

2. Charli XCX and Lucy Rose in March, Lucy and Gabrielle Aplin in July, Garbage and Lucy in November, Lucy and Anavae in December.

Biggest crowd?

Taylor Swift, at Hyde Park. 65,000 people!

Any drunk encounters?

None that I recall.

Top 5 best 2015 concert moments:

1. The entire Carly Rae gig. From her singing to my fiancee, to belter after belter, to the Phonogram writer not only being there but complimenting my beard, to the great hugs from CRJ after - everything hit the spot.

2. Taylor Swift managing to top her previous two superb gigs.

3. Lucy Rose’s face lighting up whenever she spotted me and Dana in the audience.

4. Foxes being utterly smiley and fantastic whenever we saw her.

5. PINS at the Dome. I knew nothing about them beforehand beyond a vague “girl group” listing, but they absolutely blew me and Dana away!

Top 3 worst 2015 concert moments:

1. WATIC completely misjudged the crowd at the Kerrang tour gig and acted as if they were the headliner, leading to a lack of any call-and-response and a flat atmosphere.

2. Charli XCX looked like she would have rather been anywhere but at the Concorde 2 gig.

3. Anavae had sold out of large/XL sized t-shirts by the time we got to the merch, and I’m no longer able to fit into a medium.