Jarrow & Hebburn AC @ the Royal Signals

The results are out, and we didn't do too badly!

Check out the full results on the New Marske Harriers website: http://www.new-marske-harriers.co.uk/index.php/en/

31st (28th) Men's Senior team
Jarrow & Hebburn AC - Total time: 82.54

Andy Burn 12.01 17th
David Mills  15.55  44th
Thomas Coyne  12.17  32nd
Malcolm Leece  14.41  36th
Craig Deacon  13.07  33rd
Michael Joyce  14.53  31st

14th  (10th) Women's Senior team
Jarrow & Hebburn AC - Total Time: 64.43

Elaine Leslie  14.20  8th
Hazel Webster-Costella  16.56  15th
Vicki Thompson  17.06  16th
Gillian Brown  16.21  14th

Well done to everyone on the Jarrow team, we did really well, and I'm happy I didn't let loads of people go past ;)

Photo's shamelessly nicked from George Routledge  & Dave Kitching from Facebook - great pictures guys!

Gateshead Parkrun, Royal Signals Relays, and hills

Afternoon Folks.

What a week!

Tuesday kick started the running efforts with the return of Darth Jim, and the Jarrow & Hebburn AC handicap - 5k round Monkton, Mill Lane and York Avenue.  I felt pretty worn out after work, but I gave it my best shot and bimbled home in just under 24 mins.

Thursday saw my second session with Yoda (Alan)'s group - running up and down Ellison Street (Hawthorn Leslie's bank) in Hebburn.  I was hoping to just do as much of the session as possible, and eventually managed 6 of the 8 reps.

The course profile says it all!

We'd managed to get ourselves a team for the Royal Signals too, but it also fell on the same day as the first Gateshead Parkrun.  Being that I'd already done the first runs at Sunderland, Newcastle, and Durham, I just had to turn out for Gateshead, so the plan was to just turn up and have a bimble round nearish the back.  Mick turned up with his doggy, so it was the perfect excuse not to get carried away and forget that I was racing in the afternoon.

Despite my initial reservations with the course I actually really enjoyed it.  The hills weren't overly challenging, but then I wasn't really pushing it, so we'll see how it really fairs when the competitive spirit gets the better of me.

So, a total of 82 competitors managed to get round Saltwell Park in some pretty respectable times.  Well done to Hillary for getting the newest member of the North East parkrunning scene up and flying!

It was then a quick dash home for some much needed brekkie before heading over to Hetton Lyons Country Park, for the Royal Signal's Relays.

Team Jarrow were out in force, battling against the wind, hail, and briefly snow, to close teams in both the senior men and senior women.  Way to go Jarrow & Hebburn!

Will update when I get hold of the results.  Till then it's gonna be a night of chilling out with a large glass of rosé.

Happy running folks!

Yoda-lan vs Darth Jim, and super cheesecake

Thursday was a first for me.

I ditched the normal track session in favour of Coach Alan Wear's road session, and what a toughie it was.  Frankie and I were the only ones from our group to turn out anyway, so he and I both opted to do the hills.  It was much the same route as the three banks we did the Tuesday before, with the addition of a dog-leg along Kitchner Terrace, making each lap around 1.2 miles.

It started ok, but with the winter cold I've managed to pick up, the cold air and the hills were hurting my chest and the best I could manage was to bimble about. 

Disappointing really since it was the first session, made even worse by the fact that Alan or it could have been Roy told me I had one lap to go when in fact I still had two.  Yes, Yoda, 'one lap to go you have'  and when one lap actually means THREE hills it's a big deal :P  #virtual fish-slap

Plus...I was on the last hill of the third lap when some guy came running past me.  In normal circumstances this wouldn't be an issue, but he was wearing jeans and a coat, carrying his shopping!  Oh the shame...  Still, he was heading up cemetery bank towards Hill Park, so he could have been chased by coppers :S

By the time I'd started the last of the three hills some of the fast lads had finished, but it's a starting point right?

It's a bit different to Evil Coach Darth Jim's training style, but canny non-the-less , talking about Darth Jim - we're hoping to see the return of the Sith Lord on Tuesday.  No doubt it'll be the 5k handicap route as a measure of how (un)fit we all are, so I'm hoping for something around 23:45 - that'll be a decent enough time to aim for given how rubbish I feel at the mo.  I already know that Yoda-lan is doing hills on Thursday again so that's sommit else not to look forward to next week.

I swear if I could wear some kind of bodysuit overnight that burned fat I'd give it a go, or better still, forget renewable energy or searching for the meaning of life, and get the boffins working on some sort of negative-calorie cheesecake that burns calories as you scoff the lot.

Race entries & Gateshead parkrun

Morning Campers!

Following on from the success of last week in the running stakes I've definitely got some of that sparkle I was missing whilst injured.  So much so in fact, that I've even started entering races again.  First on the hit-list have been those in the piccie, but I've set my sights on a fair few more.

My first was supposed to be the Royal Signal's relays, at Hetton Lyons country park on the 18th Feb, but that happens to be the date of the first Gateshead Parkrun.  I may have to do the parkrun, bimble off home, then head back out again for the race.

I do have my reservations about running in Saltwell park (due to the numbers of people who use it on a Saturday morning), but since it's the first one, and I did the first Sunderland, Newcastle and Durham parkruns, it'd be a shame to miss out on another.

The route looks a bit complicated too:


View Gateshead parkrun in a larger map

Start from the green point, head north following the blue line back round to the start, then orange till you get to the red lap, then its three laps of the lake (anticlockwise) then back on the orange route to the start..  Hopefully there'll be plenty of marshals to help people keep count round the lake, and direct folks off in the right direction.

We'll have to just try it out and show a bit of local support.  Since it's only 5 mins drive along Durham Road for me it'll definitely be the quickest to get to, but not sure it'll have pb potential with it being hilly.

So this will bring the North East parkrun count up to five - with so much choice the whole region should be getting out there and into running!  Then hopefully some of those new runners can filter through into the clubs, and do some of the fine races we have on offer here.

Talking of which, the race calender is starting to fill up very nicely (and add in my diving, and golf competition calender and it's hardly any wonder I never have any free time)

February 11th   Start Fitness NE Harrier League (4) Wrekenton.
February 18th     Royal Signals Road Relay Championship, Hetton Country Park.
February 18th     1st Gateshead Parkrun
 
March 3rd     Start Fitness NE Harrier League (5) Alnwick.    
March 17th     North East Vets XC Championships, Bedewell Park, Jarrow.
March 24th     Start Fitness NE Harrier League (6) Prudhoe.    
March 25th     Run Northumberland Half Marathon, Wallington.
  
April 1st     Hartlepool Marina 5 Mile RR.    
April 1st     Transped Blyth Valley 10k RR.
April 6th     Elswick Harriers Good Friday Relays, Newburn Riverside Park.
April 6th     Mermaid 10k Road Race.    
April 8th     North Tyneside 10k.   
April 15th     South Shields 10k MT.    
April 22nd     Wallsend Harriers "Terry O'Gara Memorial 5k Road Race"
April 22nd     London Marathon.
 
May 6th     Keswick Half Marathon
May 6th     Sunderland 10k & Marathon of the North
May 7th     Tees Barage 10k
May 13th   Middlesborough 5k
May 14th    VAANEE (NE vets) Meeting #1, Monkton
May 17th   Jesmond Dene Handicap #1
May 20th     Pier to Pier Run
May 27th   Raby Castle 10k
May 28th    VAANEE (NE vets) Meeting #2, Monkton
May 31st     Angel View Run
  
June 2nd     Allendale 8 & Fun Run.
June 4th     Jesmond Dene Handicap #2
June 9th     The Blaydon Race
June 11th    VAANEE (NE vets) Meeting #3, Monkton
June 12th     Festival of Alnwick - Les Allcorn 10k
June 13th     Penshaw Hill Race
June 17th    Bamburgh 10k
June 20th   Newburn River Run
June 20th    Sunshine Run 5k
June 23rd    VAANEE (NE vets) Track & Field Championships, Monkton
June 24th    Lambton 5k & 10k
June 25th    Jesmond Dene Handicap #3
June 30th    Eaglescliffe 5k

July 2nd    VAANEE (NE vets) Meeting #4, Monkton
July 4th   Tynedale 10k
July 8th     Watergate Trail Race
July 16th    VAANEE (NE vets) Meeting #5, Monkton   
July 22nd     Northumberland Coastal Run.
August 30th     Watergate 5k inc. VAANE 5k Trail Race    
October 7th     Great Cumbrian Run
October 14th   Matfen 5k & 10k
October 28th   Newcastle Town Moor marathon

Just a sample of the spring & early summer races here in the North East of England.  I've got my entries in for a few now, with hopefully a few more in the coming months.  For entry forms and information check out: http://www.northeastraces.com/ 

New year, renewed mojo

Wow...It's been bloomin' ages since I sat down and penned something for my blog.  Mainly because I did no real running through the whole of October through December apart from jogging to keep some kind of fitness on the go.  Plantar fasciitis  is a real pain in the arse (foot), and after four months of trying to sort it out I think I'm definitely on the mend.  Looking at my monthly mileage for last year is a bit depressing to be honest, with three different injuries through the year it was probably my worst year for running since I started out.

It's a shame really because I was 40 in December, and it should have been my last bash at the V35-39 category stuff before moving up to a new veterans category, but I'm gonna put the year from hell behind me and look to this year as a whole new experience at the V40 category (and a whole new set of personal Bests.

The year has started pretty well too!

Looking at January I've managed to get back on track with getting down to Monkton for my club session, and getting out to the parkrun in Newcastle.  I still hate running on the Town Moor (after my marathon experience) but it's a decent 5k effort and if it's not too windy it's canny for a decent time.

 Of course the Newcastle parkrun is the perfect place to run in fancy dress too!  Me & Catherine (Speedy Goth) in a fairly decent 5k time of 26:37. 

If January was getting the building blocks going, the February is going to be putting in some hard work and working on speedy & endurance.  I've already had a good start to the month with two decent club sessions:  5k Hill session, and 16x200 on the track, a run on Wednesday with Alan (which I haven't done for months), and then another bash at the parkrun yesterday

I didn't bother with my watch after a decent week of running, and just went out to enjoy myself really.  It was really cold, and with a slight breeze on the return path the chill took my breath away.  Still, got round in a reasonable time of 23:23 - something to work on for the coming months.  Well done to Mick Joyce, Dave Mills and Barry Pascoe (first timer) from my club, and to Jeff Henderson for great times!

Next week I'll be doing my regular road session on Tuesday with my usual running group, but on Thursday I'm joining Alan Wears for my first bash at his endurance training session.  I know it's hills already, so at least I can prepare for the worst!

Lets hope that this is a great start to a great year of running :)