Club Run - Move Up Week

Hello blog lovers.

This week at club night its Move Up week.  And considering we are at the beginning of the rung at PWR's we don't have anyone to accommodate!  So each month I try to challenge our group instead.  This month it's Tillingbourne Green.  It sound so sweet, doesn't it?  "Tea on Tillingbourne Green any body?" "Game of croquet anyone?" But really it's not that sweet!

There was a couple of regulars that are not here this evening, J.J. and Tracy, both of them are not very well, and also Carole.  Now Carole is here but I kicked her out, it's move up week and Illustrious Leader had asked her to try it out!  She was 'umming' and 'arring' about whether to go to group 2 or not! So I helped her out, "Move up to Group 2 Carole"  Her running is just amazing.  Her parkrun times are impressive, and she finally broke the mental block with the distance by running 7k at the weekend!  So it's time to move.  Of course she is always welcome back into group 1 for social chats, taking it easy runs, and just generally socialising!  That's the beauty of moving up to different groups, when you want to change the scene take it easy then you can just drop down a group or two.  But us lot in group 1 work hard every week, there is no dropping down a group for us!

All the group leaders started giving their details of their run, after our Health and Safety officer, TimTheHeadBand, gave out a gentle reminder about wearing Hi-Viz attire!  Most of us a PWR adhere to that, in fact I am sure there is a competition about who has the brightest jacket or who has the better lights!  *looks at arm bands and light up laces*  I need more lights, my light up laces are dying!  Anyway, as it's move-up week all the leaders are going to be running at their slowest pace advertised, but I also noticed they were going on easier routes, "....it's flat, mainly!" "....I couldn't get it any flatter" were some of the comments.  Then it was my turn!

"Well, as we are the bottom of the rung, we are going to have a challenge, with hills! It's Tillingbourne"  My group just looked at me!  I am sure they will love it once we get started! And I know they will love it once we have finished!  So once we were all ready, all the groups started to move out, slowly the rec emptied.  We started out leaving just a couple more groups to finish their own group chats and we headed up Birchwood.

The first of the undulations this evening.  We ran up there at our fastest advertised pace, which is 12:30 - 13:30 m/mi by the way.  So there is no taking it easy for us!  We had a bit of a walking break and then continued on wards to Tillingbourne.  As we ran towards it, it started to loom up before us.  Even in the dark you can see it! "There she is" I said to group!  It has to be female, because it's so changeable!  You have the nice little short steep up when you first start it, which makes you think that you have done really well!  Then the nice long, long downhill section.  Making you feels really good, happy, nothing to worry about.  Then Boom Baby!  That change, so quickly, an uphill struggle, making you work hard, like wading through treacle!  Then you are back at the beginning all smiles, all forgiven.....until next time!

We all ran together for the first half of the green, and then once we finished the downhill section and the little flat bit we took a breather before the next half!  To give them all a bit of a work out, I said they could do this bit at their own pace.  They all went for it!  Me and LittleJ  swept!  They all ran the who way, I was impressed with every ones efforts!  They did really well.  Once me and LittleJ got to them, which wasn't that long after (I was the last to get there!) then we had the little bit of 'hill training' hill to do! I could just get us to run up it once, and a nice faster pace.....but this is a challenge day!  It's our move-up day, so we did it twice!  I think that is just plenty.

Afterwards we turned right and headed back on home, to the rec, to do some stretches........once we get to the memorial hall....just the very last undulation of the evening!  Again we were all still together, running really well.  On the upward undulation of Petts Wood Road I sent them up at their own pace, just for one last challenge of the evening.  I think everyone had a good work out.  We turned right and then right again to enjoy the 'sweeties' of the down hill road of Kingsway! And then a quick sprint back to the rec.

Fabulous run this evening, with six very lovely people!  Michael, LittleJ, Kelly, Pei and two other ladies whose names I have forgotten!  So our geeky stats!