Take me to the River - The Shakespeare Hospice Dragon Boat Race 2018

I was immediately thinking after the Great Shakespeare Ride, what next?  I love learning new skills, particularly sports which bring out my competitive side.  However, I equally love feeling that team spirit, which I used to enjoy in cross-country running as part of a club.  Sometimes setting your own goals and training hard towards these results can be a lonely pursuit and I was missing that feeling of camaraderie and a shared goal.

The Purple Pirates practicing in
the Hospice Garden, Captain Gary at the front!

The next Shakespeare Hospice fundraising event seemed to come at exactly the right time and so I signed my name on the list for the upcoming Dragon Boat Race as part of the hospice team, The Purple Pirates.  I enjoyed rowing when I was younger, and I often would wonder on one of my regular trips to the Scilly Isles if one day, I could be part of a gig team.  I love the idea of rowing in the open sea, although living nearer the sea would certainly help!  Dragon Boat racing is something I knew very little about, but according to the British Dragon Boat Association, Dragon Boat Racing is

"one of the most exciting and inclusive water sports as well as one of the fastest growing water sports that you can take part in world wide."

Our Captain and hospice Facilities Co-ordinator, Gary Pryor, organised a training session for us with Pershore Phoenix Dragon Boat Club over in Defford one evening after work. Four of us joined a team of 11 others, one at the helm and the rest crammed two by two along the 40ft vessel!  Had we not done a thorough warm-up, I may have cramped up immediately as I sat down on the left with my hip tight to the edge, and my left leg awkwardly bending around and extending and my right one bent and pushing back on a small ridge under my seat.  As we pushed off, I was trying to remember the three important instructions, my number (10), my buddy (11) and returning to the boat - this was in worst case scenario of capsizing! We had buoyancy aids as well so safety was well and truly covered!

The session flew by, and I learnt that key to the success of a dragon boat race is synchronized paddling.  The power comes from getting locked into the rhythm of the boat, with all oar hitting the water together.  Our tempo was controlled by the helmsman who moved up the tempo at one point to racing pace, almost 55 strokes a minute.  The propulsion and the energy in the boat was exhilarating! We were on the river for over an hour and I tried and lean as far forward as Tim (a member) did in front of me and mimic what he did although this became exhausting. It was hard to concentrate on keeping my lower arm straight and on more than a few occasions I miss the stroke and either accidentally punched Tim in the back or splashed Gary sitting on my right. After the final race pace effort where we are almost carried along by the Pershore crew, I think all the Purple Pirates are feeling weary and we certainly felt ready for the sandwiches, biscuits and tea back at the club house.

After such an amazing training night, I felt sad that Pershore was so far away as their team spirit and hospitality was enough to make me want to join up to the club!  I enjoyed chatting with the group about their different races and competitions and when I found out that a couple of members would be helping us out at the race, I was brimming over with confidence.

The Village People claim
their much deserved
best costume prize. 

Brooks the buccaneer
- with a very large parrot(!)

There was a total 26 teams on the day, representing big and small companies in the area as well as some more experienced rowers... and they were all looking good! Adorned in everything from corporate technical t-shirts, to sailor hats, stripey shirts, a(nother) pirate team (arrrrrrr!) and... The Village People. I quickly realize that my cheap, last minute pirate buccaneer costume from Stone the Crows would not hold up to the heavy demands of rowing a dragon boat and the zip had already bust from trying to wear it over a technical base-layer. Despite my strong competitive streak wanting to have a shot at the costume award, I  relinquished to the power of the full set of Village People (who did win), but I was still optimistic about our team spirit and embraced the fun of the day!

I kept remembering the training session advice that, the strongest looking guys don't necessarily get that steady momentum going to successfully push the boat into the lead.  We had some time to impart our knowledge of the training evening to the other Purple Pirates and we had a small training session from our more skilled crew members. We were really sad that our Captain, Gary was very poorly so couldn't make the race, but we quickly rallied round and recruited some extra crew members including a couple of our Young Ambassadors. I chatted to one of the Hospice at Home nurses who had been on-call during the night before and she had been called out in the early hours of that morning, so I couldn't help but feel total respect for her and that she was still helping our team!  Di, our hospice's diversional therapist had created purple bandannas for the team and adorned with various pirate props, we were in the zone!

The Shakespeare Hospice Purple Pirates, ready to row!

Our first race, in hindsight, was pretty impressive, given it was our first ever go as a new team.  The inexperienced crew quickly learnt the ropes and we stroked out away from the Boat House and the bank of the Avon, with buoyancy aids and oars gripped tightly.. having been instructed by not less than three different people at this stage exactly how to correctly hold the oar! We rowed confidently to the starting point on our very first voyage and it felt coordinated and strong!

We turned just after the RSC and waited the signal to race the 150m stretch back to the finish by the Boat House. It was all systems go after three strong strokes, then a rhythm of 1, 2... 1, 2.... as we shouted out the numbers along to the drum-beat of our young drummer, Henry seated at the prow.  However, the other boat was close.... very close, and the slightly out of sync drumming and timing shouts from the opposing team was disorienting.  Hands wet, feet wet, faces sploshed and arms aching we pushed and pushed to get ahead of the other boat....as we passed the roaring crowds on the riverside and the finish sign, it was unclear who had won but the other team had clinched the lead by one second!  Our time of 1 minute 22 seconds was certainly respectable, although some way off the leading team, 'Ship Happens' (great name) who had an amazing 1 minute and 9 seconds!

We had two more heats to go, although where all the other teams seemed to get faster, with the one exception of 'The Village People' who dipped in the second round (but then made a spectacular comeback in Heat 3).... our team seemed stuck in a gear as our next time was only a fraction of a second better than the first time!  The final race we were five seconds slower - as our desperation to finish on a high turned into sloppiness and our co-ordination melted as we saw the other team steam ahead!  We said our final 'hip hip hurray' to the winning team and waited to spectate the grand final!

What an amazing site this was... six dragon boats lined up to battle it out in a furious race to the finish.  There was no obvious team out of the six in the lead, and the dragons were almost neck to neck as they were cheered to the finish... but the results show really how close they were!  All six boats came in at one minute and 10 seconds.... separated by fractions of a second!

After much scrutiny of the finish line video, the winners were announced, the Twyver Tigers!  Everyone cheered this had been an incredible day and a spectacular final!  I would certainly recommend anyone should give Dragon Boat Racing a go - it was fantastic for team building and just really good fun! Keep an eye out for the date of next year's race.

If you enjoyed reading this blog and would like to donate via our sponsorship page, we would be really grateful.  It is here: The Purple Pirates Just Giving Page

Elevation - The Great Shakespeare Ride 100km

I started working for the Shakespeare Hospice in Spring 2018, and I really was sprung straight into supporting the Great Shakespeare Ride event. It really mattered to me a lot to promote the event as best I could, because I was learning about the amazing care and support the hospice provides, the sheer number of volunteers involved and how appreciated it is by patients and families going through really difficult times.  I wanted to get fully on board to do whatever I could, and especially to raise awareness of the meagre funding the hospice receives from the government. In fact, the contribution is 7%, the lowest in England, which is a reason that fundraising through events like the Shakespeare Ride is vital.

Chrissy and myself from our Summer Fete. 
Chrissy manages the Hospice at Home Team..
a dedicated group of qualified nurses and staff that run
a 24/7 service to support the families and patients.
I have huge admiration for Chrissy and her team.

It had been a tumultuous lead up to the race and the training had been testing.  A couple of weeks before the race, I'd cycled in close thunder and lightening and through heavy flooding in Ettington.  This resulted in a puncture right on Walton road where the Great Shakespeare ride would start!  After another puncture, I discovered my whole tyre needed changing.. and it really concerned me that it could happen again. When you run, you don't have to consider that much...you grab some trainers and go!  A big cycle ride needs reliable equipment or bike mechanic skills!  I felt more confident once I was 'kitted out' by The Giant Store in Leamington with spare tubes, a pump and tools for worst case scenarios!  It was also reassuring that there would be mechanical support at the race.

August 12th arrived, with rain forecast all day following weeks of blazing sunshine.  Although the weather might put off some people, the car-park on the grounds at Walton Hall was certainly looking very busy, unsurprisingly given we had over 400 entrants for the event.  I had nightmares about my leading out the 100km ride in the rain and I thought I might fall down a pothole in the first few hundred yards, but thankfully it was better than I had imagined. The rain was light and I was able to take off my rain jacket to display my Shakespeare Hospice jersey, with my name embroidered on the top, especially for the lead-out.  Our CEO said some kind words of encouragement and we were off... although I was glad people were not far behind me and overtook me early on as I soon needed to pull over to put my wind-stopper back on as the rain was lashing down and I needed to rendezvous with Tim, to ride on together.

I knew the route was going to have some big hills and it was going to be the longest ride I'd ever done.  It was actually a lot more challenging than I had anticipated! The ride flowed out eastwards towards Pillerton Hersey and Kineton on lovely, quiet, traffic-free lanes.  This was quite familiar territory, only living five miles or so away from Walton Hall. We joined the B4086, before turning southwards towards Radway and more quiet lanes with glorious views, albeit slightly drizzly.  We were on the Tysoe Road and could see Edgehill ahead... we were heading for our first really testing climb, Lady Elizabeth Hill. There was a sign preparing us for the challenge that lay ahead...and my God it was steep!  I pushed and pushed and made it up to the top on my small chain ring and largest sprocket (lowest gear on my trusty Cube bike!) I was absolutely determined NOT to stop on any hills that day...so this particularly gear was used multiple times!

My Strava says it all - Elevation!

We carried on to Winderton and a couple of big decents that tested my breaks in the rain! There was another climb up through Aylesmore and up Castle Hill to Upper Brailes.  There appeared to be a number of 'odd' looking folk around.. but realised there was a town festival with human sized scarecrows scattered around!  One I had seen wearing a high viz had really confused me as a motionless marshal...maybe I needed a gel, so out on Holloway Hill, I fuelled up on a rhubarb and custard Torq.  Even this could not have prepared me for the next challenge... the Sibfords!  Sibford Gower and Sibford Ferris, which are separated by Burdrop. On Strava, this is affectionately called, 'Burdrop's Big Balls Bombhole' (read that carefully). This was simply ridiculous... I was so close to swearing having switched gears at warp speed from dropping down and holding on the breaks for dear life, to quickly pushing up an epically steep hill, as a small boy on a push-along bike looked on ...so I managed to turn my rudeness around to a 'Well done' to him!'

We headed on towards Hook Norton, which was very surreal as I had raced in Hook Norton, along the same road in blazing sunshine the previous Sunday!  There was huge relief in the form of a very impressive food stop, manned by the WI at Hook Norton village hall.  It was lovely to take the weight off, check the tyres, guzzle down flapjack and exchange glances of kudos from other weary and hungry cyclists...all grateful for a pit-stop!

Out of Hooky to Rollright... and another testing hill where I regretted all the sandwiches and cake I had just guzzled. My digestive powers were strong though.. and despite some hammy burps, I pushed on and was relieved by another steep decent into Little Compton before another steep climb and another drop into Barton-on-the-Heath.  This was a roller coaster of a ride...up again to Wolford, a big dip and then another climb to Todenham.  My legs were on fire...but felt stronger and stronger somehow. Another steep hill up to the A429, where another friendly marshal saw us safely across to continue up to Paxford.  More climbing afoot at Ebrington was interrupted by another well-earned food station and cup of tea. At this point, the 100 mile leaders were starting to arrive and I was in awe that they had survived almost 90 miles already. There were only 17 miles left!

Another post-nosh climb and then more climbing.. and a bit more... then the best decent of the day on Nebsworth Lane down to Ilmington (big drop on the elevation image to the 50 mile point) and a very familiar view to the left from many a Tempo Ilmington series race!  The decent went on and on...  and it was a quiet, traffic free road which allowed the brakes to come off and the shoulders to relax. Out to Wimpstone and then Alderminster, where there was more climbing up the New Road, although nothing like the previous climbs.  Heading on to Loxley and to Wellesbourne where the race was nearly over, I was so grateful to have made it without skidding on a steep decent on road debris, with tyres and tubes intact and not lost somewhere deep in the Cotswolds. Walton Hall was getting closer and my legs still worked... somehow!

My personalised jersey and medal - just above the medal I received
in 2012, on the GSR 40km ride...my first ride event.

As the music from the Tempo finish arch greeted me along with cheers from colleagues in the Fundraising Team. I slumped on my handlebars and happily made my way to the post-event massage area.  My shoulders were really aching but a fantastic sports massage student from Worcester Uni, sorted me out. I felt accomplished, exhausted, proud and thankful to have been on such a Great ride, with amazing support...what an experience!

It is always difficult to know what to do next when you feel you have accomplished something so mighty.. any ideas or suggestions welcome?

Oh and you can still donate money to my Just Giving Page which is here - Ros and Jayne's Page

Gene Genie - let yourself know!

Do you know your genes?  

And I don’t mean whether you fit into a pair of skinnies… although I do know something that might help you there.  It isn’t just about running or training at the gym and burning calories.  It’s not just about eating ‘healthily’, cutting carbs and having a target with a prescribed training plan based on your availability and work/life balance.  It’s about working SMARTER not HARDER. 

It’s totally in our gift to find out about how and why OUR body responds in a different way, and by that I mean every individual is different.  Did you inherit fantastic speed potential?  Do you take less time to recover from a kilometer interval than your club mates?  Why is that? Have you ever wondered if you would suit longer distance? 

Many runners read inspirational books and go to inspirational talks at Expos and get caught up in the seasonal race entry fever.  I can do that, again and again… it’s a great gift being able to run and who should I thank for that?  I wanted to find out why I like to run and understand more about what might help me improve – by digging a bit deeper.

I approached Fitness Genes (@FitnessGenes) and they sent me a little kit.  A simple DNA test could reveal a labyrinth of information about my personal genetic make-up.  Exciting or what!?  It was SO simple to do.  Just a tiny amount of spit into a vile and I sent this back via the pre-paid pouch back to testing HQ and waited a couple of weeks for the result.  I registered on the website and eagerly waited for an email confirmation.  

My mum and me - I wonder how many of her genes I have inherited?  As my mum is adopted and originally from American descent - I have always been particularly interested in how I am 'made up'.

Results are in!

My analytical side was on over-drive – I even spent a whole day checking all 45 different gene results!  There is a lot to understand and tempting as it is to put together a whole Powerpoint presentation together on it – for myself, I thought I would focus on the key things which might be useful for me to understand as a runner.  The analysis goes into ALL sorts of areas, from how well you metabolize certain chemicals/foods to genes which affect training performance, strength, recovery and how things could change as you age.  

I have summarized just some of my results below... 

More about my genes

I am an EARLY BIRD!  This is good news for most races are morning ones but a lot of my training, aside from week-ends, is in the evening.  However some more early runs aren’t out of the question, although I am surprised as I don’t find jumping out of bed to do a pre-work run appealing in the SLIGHTEST!

I recover QUICK! Another genotype more common with endurance athletes but I have TWO copies of the ‘fast lactic acid clearing allele’ meaning I perform higher intensity exercise without inducing muscle fatigue early on.  This means my rests do not need to be as long.

I have lactose intolerance!  I’ve switched from ordering a cappuccino to a black Americano over the past couple of years and used almond milk in my cereal, convinced milk was causing digestive discomfort as well as flaring up adult acne.  Evidence now that I wasn’t going nuts (well unless you count the nut-milk!) 

I need to watch my blood pressure, as I have a slightly tendency to get high blood pressure, although my diet is healthy so I’m not too worried about this but I should probably avoid stressful situations.

I metabolize caffeine SLOWLY. This is NOT good news for me as it suggests that I should really limit my caffeine intake to reduce the risk of hypertension or a heart attack! 

This could be the result I really didn’t want to see.   

I have two copies of the blue eye allele.  I have the slightly rarer green eyes despite having two blue eye alleles.  Surprising as my mum has brown eyes, as has my sister... it is nice to have my dad's blue eye genes here.  

I need to ensure I don’t overdo it on BIG hills.  My HIF1A gene could explain why my body has really suffered following very hilly races and my breathlessness on high peaks!  I have very recently been prescribed a ventolin inhaler which may help me (doc thinks I have mild asthma.)  I need to look after my lungs though – it is etched on my mind that my dad, a non-smoker, died (young) of lung cancer and I need to look after myself.

I need to try and remain active, as many of my genes suggested an inactive lifestyle could lead to obesity, however I also have a lower risk of over eating.  I have noticed I put weight on quick when carrying an injury from running.  Maybe some alternative exercise options would be useful. 

What next?

This result has really flicked on a green light of hope, which I needed!  This will really help me to amend my planning and approach based on real, absolute data about my body, which is so incentivizing. 

I can now move forward with some suggested training and nutrition plans based on my own gene signature.  I am excited about the untapped potential in my ‘genetic toolkit’, and I’m particularly interested in my predisposition to endurance, in several genetic areas. 

There are nutrition plans carefully put together for me by Fitness Genes and I could opt for as well as a whole library of workout guides for me to choose from.

I’ve avoided the marathon for a couple of years now as I found it very tough setting and actually achieving training targets (paces), as well as dealing with the onset of injury when I peaked and on the day performance.  However, this information has given me some confidence in approaching a marathon with an informed approach as well as the knowledge that I have some real endurance capability.  

I can now put my mind towards improving my running performance and fitness with some careful planning and better nutrition awareness.  

This could be a new chapter of enlightenment.  

I will definitely be continuing on this journey and I would totally recommend anyone who wants to approach their training more scientifically OR even just find out more about themselves - this could really help explain a few things!

Unlock your own DNA and make it happen!

Take my Breath Away

Ill-health and injury can play a big part in ruining your otherwise 'well-thought out' race training plan.  I'm sure this is a very familiar tale.

The Berlin Half Marathon offered everything you could want. A fabulous flat course, reliable (proper) Spring weather and a course cutting right through historical landmarks and inspiring architecture, as well as (I would discover) uplifting crowds and awakening drums! So, something had to go and f%$k it all up.

Ros' top lessons learnt at Berlin;

1. Just Say No... to overly challenging races just 2 weeks before an A-goal race. Even if it's not a marathon... the Cleevewold 14 in hindsight was a bloody stupid idea (albeit a mega accomplishment).

2. Take care with tough sessions.  In the same week as you can't even walk down steps for two days following (point 1) race, don't attempt a brutal interval session... with long rests standing in torrential cold rain...especially when you've previously had chest issues.

3. Listen to your body and your mind, especially when you are run down mentally from other exhausting life events. A week of considerable work-related stress did not help. Give yourself time to heal mentally as well as physically.

4. Recover as seriously as you train. Even eating all the fresh fruit and veg in the World with maybe some Easter chocolate.. as well as 'resting' will not resurrect your health to perfection. Repeat point 3. about listen to your body.

5. Plan stress-free travel - Lufthansa 4, Ryan Air NIL.  The German Airline totally rocks with FREE snacks and drinks (inc. wine)! However, top tip, if you're transferring at Frankfurt, save some energy to manage the transfer across the vast airport(!) Who knew - it's the third busiest airport in Europe!

6. Get to the Expo as early as possible! 

Tackling the Expo on the Friday was a good shout.  Berlin's Expo was held at the Flughafen Templehof, the former airport and a historically protected landmark, one of the few remaining Nazi era sites as well as a symbol of freedom due to the airports role in the 1948-9 Air Lift.

7. Break-in your trainers - properly! That means, run more miles in them than just a Parkrun, a club circuit and maybe a couple of other short runs/walks. Also, after getting them soaked through in puddles, then drying them out on a radiator - wear them in again!  #crispy

8. Stop at every water stop and take every energy gel on offer!  Especially when it is unusually warm!  However, expect anything (especially abroad!) A small cola gel handed to me was thick and unpleasant tasting like warm liquorice! Yuk!

9. Open-top City bus tours FTW!  I wholeheartedly recommend an open top bus-tour - especially the day before a race.  You can sit, relax and explore so much - then when you race, you can remember the stories behind the sites.

10. Don't treat the week-end as though your Race depends on it.  As long as you stay well-hydrated and you don't exhaust yourself too much the day before, certainly don't deny yourself any treats!

Race day
I'd spent couple of days feeling very achy and tired with a strained chest and voice, but I was taking regular paracetamol (following the docs advice) and I was eating very well.  The splendour of the City and the excitement of participating in the race, clouded my judgement though and having collected a number and memento T-shirt, it didn't feel right to not even try.

My race number pinned on my new club vest and the chip was on my shoe.  Surprisingly.  The jog to the start from the hotel was a good indication of whether I could actually cope with this. It was warm and I was excited but anxious as we passed the steady flow of runners along the wide and traffic-free Unter den Linden.  My feet were in some discomfort though, warm and encased by my crispy new Asics, resuscitated from a very wet Parkrun!

Tim was happy to run with me at my pace as his main goal is the London marathon, so this was just a very scenic easy long-run for him.  Luckily his pace is not too different to mine.

Following a teary wobble in the start pen, made slightly better by a cuddle with the big fluffy race mascot fox 'Friddolin' Frink' (I fondly nicknamed 'Fiddlin' Frank)... I decided;

- The first mile would almost pass close to the hotel, I could retire if in trouble.

- If I pulled out later on, I had a travel pass in my pocket and could make my way back at the hotel.

First Half
Following the start of the in-line skating race to a very rocky AC/DC chiming bells countdown and guitar/drum intro. which made me grin, our start pen moved forward.  Our pen had some quite serious looking club athletes...so I fully expected them to stampede ahead.  However, I felt comfortable as we moved out, in the warmth of the sun along wide, flat roads, lined with well-wishers.  I thought to myself "just get to halfway, just count down the kms."

We soon passed the Berliner Dom and moved out west along the long, wide Unter den Linden to the Brandenburg Gate.  It was then onwards to the Victory Column with it's bronze 'Victoria' sculpture visible straight ahead at about 5km.  Uplifting beats of drummers and the crowd support was typical of a big vibrant City. There was a tunnel with birdsong pumping out on speakers and green glowing lights!

Second Half
We approached the Charlottenburg Gate and its larger-than-life bronze statues of King Frederick I of Prussia, and his consort Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, then made a left turn, and another left and back east!  As we headed back towards Potsdamer Platz, I felt reassured that I could finish, but the pace slowed considerably, so an energy stop came at the right moment!  However, it came in the form of a thick, 'cola' gel and was revolting! However this was soon forgotten as we turned at Kochstrasse and went right through 'Checkpoint Charlie', the historic border crossing between East and West Berlin that permitted foreigners passage.

Onwards through the final crowds to the corner of Karl-Marx Allee and I could see the Finish in sight - at least the roar of the crowd was increasing.  Having not even checked my Garmin once, for fear of demotivating disappointment, I was relieved to see on stopping it, I was only a few minutes over my London time (a month previous).. 1:56:59. Greeted with a medal and a cup of luke-warm sweet tea - the finishers moved past a long bar offering pints of refreshing alcohol-free beer.  We collected an official certificate and returned our rented chip devices.

Main lesson learnt, don't cram 'tough stuff' just before an 'A-goal' race. We only found out about the planned attack at the race via some BBC alerts which flashed up later that day.  I certainly felt very safe with all the armed police officers visible around the City, but at the time I didn't think anything of it and took it as that was just standard.  It's always sad to hear these things but you just cannot let these things worry you and put you off.

I'll visit Berlin again - possibly even tackle the marathon, but with much better planning! Now rest.

A week of very big ups and downs

I feel it would be very reader-friendly to summarise the past week's highlights.


1) Last Sunday, I ran the Cleevewold 14 - a beautiful and frantically undulating 14 mile multi-terrain race, organised by Cheltenham and County Harriers, which starts from medieval Postlip Tithe Barn near Winchcombe. The route weaves up to Cleeve common and returns via Belas Knap neolithic burial mound. After about 3 miles of grueling ascent there were rewarding, panoramic views right over my home town of Cheltenham. Contrastingly to the previous Sunday's unexpected snow day, which had still left some snow drifts in some of the highest parts of the race, it was a lovely, bright sunny day and we weaved up and down fields of newly born lambs and calves. I would totally recommend this race to anyone who enjoys a low-key, friendly, well-organised, TOUGH, HILLY and unpretentious race. No medal or T-shirt, just a chilled bottle of Cotswold beer with memento glass at the end.

2 ) I managed to squeeze in a 9 x 800m session around Victoria Park as a final 'tough session' before the Berlin Half next week-end...eeek! My hope is to try and get a time under 1 hour 50. I would "really" like to get closer to 1 hour 45 minutes. My Vitality 'Big Half' marathon in London a few weeks ago followed a week of weather turmoil which hindered training, and Berlin is apparently flat and fast!  I really hope the past couple of Sundays' longer and more challenging runs will have bridged some gaps in my endurance and the increasing intervals sessions will have sharpened my speed. FINGERS CROSSED!

3) I've been offered a fantastic job, with a fantastic local charity, which puts on fantastic events... but more on that soon! Having decided to leave my previous job - it was the first interview I went for and I REALLY wanted it, which I think must have made a huge difference. I'm overjoyed that I turned a negative situation upside down. This has really done wonders for my motivation and self-esteem.  I can't wait to start working with my new team.

4) I was third female in the local parkrun in Leamington and first in my age category! I literally woke up half an hour before...(!) It was very muddy... and in my haste to get ready, I put on my new Asics road shoes (in crisp, minty blue) - only to have mud splattered all over them just walking to the start! By the end of the race, mud was (right) up my legs, across my arms and even on my face! It was also a fellow Run Warwick member, 'Kevlar's' 100th parkrun, so he was adorned with a brown '100th parkrun' tabard (which may have been white when we started!)  It was good to see another regular Run Warwick member, Billy on the course, passing me just after the hill but this kept me hanging on right up to the end (I finished just behind him).  Abi, James and Sue were also there, Abi and Sue on bar-code scanning duties. It reminded me, I really should volunteer again soon!

5) I need to work out WHAT IS GOING ON with my training and my body.  I am intrigued to know what approach will help my running and where I might be going wrong.  I have dabbled with kettle-bells, core strength work-outs and read up on different training plans and strategies, and listened to the advice of others. However, I feel like I've hit a plateau, without any informed learning to really move forwards and improve. Admittedly, I was just enjoying getting back in the saddle and really enjoying running again and even though I'm not sure I could ever reach my PBs again, it would be nice to try and not just put it 'down to my age'.

I am really excited to have an opportunity to explore learning about my fitness genes and have a more methodical and structured approach to training and nutrition based on exactly how my body works it all out. It's all about 'Fitness Genes' and I am thrilled to have the little DNA collection kit in my possession to start my own DNA journey and understand how I can really make improvements to my running and fitness. I will be sharing that journey with you!

There’s ..snow business like Mo business

It had been quite an unusual few days of inclement weather. If you needed to get out and run (and some of us, even non-Marathon training, still really do), fiercely icy winds meant extra grit (and layers).  Thursday brought snow... a good dollop of it... and then there was even more on the Friday. I was getting anxious about travel to London for the inaugural Vitality Big Half.  Created by London Marathon Events Ltd, The Vitality Big Half was billed as ‘a new one day festival centred around the half marathon, aiming to be truly global and uniquely local in a celebration of the wonderful cultural diversity of the great city of London.’  Well, with that organising, and elite runners like Sir Mo Farah fronting the field, what runner could resist!

There had been several cancelled races pop up on my social timeline, including my local Warwick Half, the Leicester 10km and every nearby Park run I can think of. An email from the race organisers confirmed the route was snow-free - so it was GAME ON.  My transfer back to Kenilworth Runners was just confirmed on 1st March, so I borrowed a Kenilworth Runners vest from a club mate in the village (where I was marooned) to wear come Sunday!

Sunday morning greeted London with fresh blue skies, and at the Tower Hotel, chosen because of its close proximity to the start area on Tower Bridge, swarms of runners were hustling around the breakfast area. Pinned up, shoe tagged and layers adorned, I set out to join a field of around 15,000 runners, minus those stuck up north in snow.  It was nice to hear the organisers had allowed runners who couldn’t attend, could record their own 13.1 miles and claim their medal with the Strava evidence.

Right. Now to it. There was a delay as the different waves surged forward from different converging roads near the bridge, but we were entertained by top tunes including Mr Brightside and London Calling whilst marshals darted about collecting disrobed bin bags and jumpers...then we were counted down.  The route passed through the boroughs of Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Lewisham and finished in Greenwich with a ‘Vitality Big Festival’ showcasing International cuisine and music to reward the weary runners.
Now most road races I’m pretty zoned out, trying to hold onto a decent pace so my memory of details around me are very random and patchy... but some parts I can recollect.

• A chance passing of Sir Mo himself as he came out of Canary Wharf, in a lead pack of 3 and us outbound runners  cheered him on as we passed.
• A mile long tunnel about 2 miles in... the Limehouse Link Tunnel to be precise. I don’t think I’ve ever run through quite such a long one!
• Cobbles along Wapping High Street
• Over the Tower Bridge at the 7.5 mile point... (below)
• A sign at mile 10, saying ‘It’s only a Park Run to go’
• The fantastic crowds in Lewisham cheering for the final mile...
• The Cutty Sark greeting us in the final stretch

Would I recommend the Vitality Big Half?... Yes!  In the run up to the London Marathon, it’s a great warm up for the main event.  Great T-shirt, unusual medal and the rare opportunity to share a course with the International Elite in a much loved City.  The course had some minor challenges...the cobbles and incline from the tunnel exit but I can’t really grumble about 525 feet overall elevation gain.  My time was 1:53:19... a bit quicker than the Kenilworth Half the previous September (1:54:37) and close to the Warwick Half the year before that (1:52:52).  Seem to be a bit stuck in a groove, but onwards to Berlin Half next.