So I have a few to write up, so here goes.
Graduation Day!
Yes, thats right, Graduation day for the beginners! And could you believe it I was feeling blimming poorly! The cold virus had got hold of me! But I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I got up in the morning, went over to see if NaggyNeighbour was coming along, but she was in her PJ's still and her boy was firmly stuck to some game! So I went over my car and then just looked at it! "Where did that come from?" I thought to myself as I looked at the sparkly, diamond like frost on my car! I just didn't expect it, I hadn't seen frost in the mornings for ages, not since last winter anyway. So I scraped away that white cold stuff, taking up precious time! We had arranged to meet at 8;30, so that we could all warm up togethter, get the stickers on the graduates, keep everyone nice and relaxed!
Tracy was up and ready, when I eventually got to hers and we drove to the park. Everyone had already parked, met up, got their stickers and had walked over to the pavillion. We walked over to them us had they started the warm ups. Tracy and I joined in and then we all walked over to the start line. I wasn't quite sure how much of this I was going to be able to do, in fact I was already making plans to just cut across the park just so that I could encourage the beginners, run for a short while and then walk back across the green. Of course I wouldn't have put my bar code in to be scanned!
I was pleased that Liz was there, Tracy could run along with her as they both run about the same pace. The buzz through the entire graduation group was amazing, they were all excited, scared, nevous, but they were all positive that they could do this. It was just so wonderful to see it all coming to a finale, watching them as they look around at all the other runners. It was soon time to run, the crowd surged forward, people ran past, buggie pushers, dogs and the humans passed by and then it was just a nice steady plod as we start ran down the first of the short straights. I was still thinking about not running the whole way but when I was running with them I found that I could quite easily keep up with them without dying of breath, so I decided tat I would try to run around the whole 5k with them.
Tracy and Liz were chatting away as they ran along, keeping each other motivated, I just kept plodding along next to them. I hadn't bought my Garmin along, this was all going to be down to what Tracy and Liz could do on their own. I am only there to give them a little push if feel they could do it! They kept going the whole way round, Tracy ran the whole entire way, Liz had a couple of walking sessions, but they still kept going. The finished their parkrun 5k and they wasn't the last ladies to finish! All the other beginners had done so well, most of them running the entire way non stop! The smiles and the laughter and enthusiasm of them all is totally infectious! Now that was better than any cold remedy out there!
Here is a picture of all the Graduates on Saturday 19th November 2016
Tuesday Club Night
After the huge success of the last beginners group we were expecting quite a few of them to turn up ready to tackle PWR's club night runs! We were all prepared with leaders placed stragetically in all groups so that we had plenty of experienced leaders in each group with sweepers, to be able to cope with numbers.
In my group 1 we had 18 runners! Most of them were from the beginners group! There were more beginners that went into group 2 and I think even in the higher groups! I decided to do one of the easier routes in my repertoire of routes that I have. My cold is still hanging around, making me sound worse than I actually feel as talk to all, I still have a bit of a headache but deffo on the mend! I gave out my details at the briefing and then we all met up at stake 1.
My group just seemed to swell and swell the longer we stood there! It's just so brilliant! J.J. and LittleJ and Wendimoo were with me to take care of all the newbies and the regulars as well and also ZippySherry was going to take the middle sweep, just to keep everyne motivated! It's a first fun for my new shoes as well! I need to make this occasion! New Brooks shoes, Adrenalines GTs 15 all for the princely sum of fifty quid! I think that's just blimmin marvelous. It's amazing what you can get if you ask around! So what I didn't get this years latest colour, the fact is, Brooks shoes are always the same, they don't change apart from the colour! My last pair of Brooks had done be just fine, so comforatble!
Anyway, enough of my shrewd shopping trip! So the first part of our run is up the little hill of Kingsway. That's about as hard as this run will get! It's a perfect introdcution to club running, lure them in. let them think that this is going to be just fine and then BAM! Take them around Tillingbourne! No, No, I won't do that! lol. But if there is one thing that the newbies will know is, that no matter what route we do it will have a hill in it some where. Whether it's a short hill or longer hills!
There was also a couple of people who were new, but not through the beginners programme and also a 'returnee' who was coming back. The hill, Kingsway, showed me that there was going to be a split in the group at some point in our run, but I was determined to keep us all together for as long as I could. I took them over the bridge, leading them over the bridge in our 'Scooby Doo' fashion, so as not to wake the troll underneath. To be honest, it was bad for a first time! I was thinking although we were not as quite as we could have been, I think the troll would have been only slightly disturbed! But the beginning of next year we will all be running a lot light on our feet!
All the way around Crest View, the road on the left as we come out of the car park from the bridge, is our next road. We kept running all the way around. My cold seems to be reminding me that it' still around, but I am sure that all this running is doing me more good than anything else! We took a little break at the end of this road for a catch up. This is where Tracy can see her house! It's always difficult when you run pass your house, knowing you still got half your run to do!
Once over the other side we walked for a bit and then started running again once we crossed over Lakeswood road. Crescent Drive was the next long road. We were doing some good paced running, but it was along here that my stilly Garmin stopped as it ran out of battery! Just by Diameter road! more or less half way around our route. Now I had no way of knowing if I was running at group 1 pace or group 2 pace! This is probably where my group wil split in too, but at least now we will be heading back to the rec. LittleJ loaned me her Garmin just so that I could keep an eye on the pacing. I tried to figure out out it went, but I wasn't sure! Oh well.
It was at the top of Shepperton were we all split. J.J. LittleJ. and Wendimoo were going to be running with the slower runners, me and ZippySherry were going to take the faster ones. I decided to use the easier route of taking a right and then left over the bridge. This will take us to Beaumont Road. The undulations here are barely noticable, but we did have to be care because of the road being up!
We were all running so well, the group that I had with me were determined to keep on running and as I said, I wasn't quite sure of what pace were were doing. I know it wasn't at the fastest pace of group 2 maybe the lower end of group 2 pace, but we were doing a good pace, that I was sure. A few weeks of this in group 1 and I could be saying bye bye to a few of them as they move up to group 2!
Along Tudor way I got them to run for 2-3 lampposts then walk one lamppost. Tudor way is not that long of a road, so there is only maybe on walking session along here. Once we cross over Petts Wood road, then it's all out to get back to the rec. Group 2 was running along the other side of Tudor way and Emma noticed that her friend was running with them. She wanted to run along with her once we crossed over.
Everyone wanted to do the fast bit up to the rec! It was blimming good! We ran about 3 miles, just 5k today. Not bad as an introductory first club run!
Here's some of our Geeky stats!
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