Comfort Zones

By Kate Webb

26 September

So we came back for more. Tuesday night, sun setting, and Green Team assembling by the club house sporting a variety of fluorescent kit. Longer intervals this week, but that wasn’t the main difference. There were other comfort zones to break out of. 

On reflection, having spent week 1 jogging round the lake, I see that the park gives a lovely sense of security. It’s quiet, it’s sheltered, and most of the time it’s flat. But Get Started is about more than running in big circles with only ducks for company, so prompted by earlier sunsets and the descending darkness, week 2 saw the new Striders striding out into wider St Albans. 

It’s now becoming clear that this course is about more than putting one foot in front of the other at a reasonable pace. It’s about running while negotiating the real world in all its glory, and in St Albans this means, in no particular order, cobbles, hills, headwinds, traffic lights, hills, other people, hills, wheelie bins and cars. Oh, and hills. 

And that’s where the real benefit of running in a group starts to pay off, as we shout back and forth about the upcoming hazards, and encourage each other up Abbey Mill Lane and Mount Pleasant. 

Turns out that for all the pain, anguish, heavy breathing caused by running up a slope, there is a tremendous sense of speed (and achievement) to be gained from trotting down Holywell Hill back towards the park. (For now we’ll ignore the teenagers effortlessly going in the other direction.....give us time.) 

No doubt there will be more comfort zones that will be shattered along the way, but so far so good. Wonder where next week will take us?

Getting started

By Kate Webb

19 September

In spite of what the song, says, I’ve always had more trouble with Tuesdays than Mondays. Mondays seem to come with some in-built momentum and energy, whereas Tuesdays simply remind you that there’s an awful lot to get through before the weekend comes around. 


Given this, you’d have got very long odds at the start of the summer on the chances of me standing, on a Tuesday evening in September, neck to ankle in lycra, alongside the athletics track in Verulamium Park. Long odds not just because of my natural antipathy towards Tuesdays, but also because of my chequered history with trying to keep fit. I have, over the years, developed a finely tuned ability to talk myself out of any sustained attempt to exercise. While I’ve been able to see exactly how successful and rewarding gyms or spin classes, running or triathlons could be for friends and family, I’ve never been able to maintain any reasonable effort for myself. It’s always been too expensive, too inconvenient, or offered the unwelcome prospect of embarrassment or discomfort. 


So what changed? 
With the benefit of hindsight, it was a combination of things that led me to dust off the running leggings and check the elastic hadn’t perished. There was a latent sense that I should really do something to combat the commuting and office-based work life that occupies most of my week. 


There was the triple pincer movement of the announcement of the Get Started course – via twitter, email and facebook – so I couldn’t reasonably say I hadn’t seen it. Then there’s the cost - £12.50 for 12 sessions over six weeks and ongoing annual membership of the club which seemed to appeal to my Yorkshirewoman’s need for value for money. What’s more the Striders promised support from friendly coaches, no matter what level, which sounded right up my street and certainly worth a try. 


And then there were the welcoming and supportive emails from the Get Started team at the club who made it all seem very straightforward and easy. 


So there I was, nervously shifting from one foot to the other, as the sun set on one of the better days we’ve had recently alongside 40 other new recruits. 


First step – the warm-up. I have a sneaking suspicion that alongside a plan to get people running confidently there’s also a plan to enter a team in a synchronised formation warm up event (perhaps a spin-off of the 2012 Olympics). If so, there’s still work to be done here, but under Helen’s helpful guidance, and with some willing demonstrators, we soon had our pulse rate up and were feeling nicely warm. 


Then we split into our teams, organised by ability and led by Becky and marshalled by fully fledged Striders. I’d been assigned to the green team (green as in beginners, rather than suggestive of any speed). Fine by me – that’s exactly where I needed to be. And off we went, setting our own pace, with coaching tips as we went – 5 mins running, 2 mins walking – while the sun set and the wildlife on the lake watched on. 


And, much to my surprise, it wasn’t so bad. At times it was verging on enjoyable! So much so that I came back for more two days later, having found myself in a strange place (for me) of looking forward to it while at work during the day. The same pattern of warm-up, running, and warm down, accompanied by talk of day-glo tabards and building up towards doing a 5K (one day). 


Okay, so it’s only the end of week one, and there may be a bit of beginner’s euphoria as I type, but I’ve got a sense that something might have clicked and that in launching Get Started the Striders may have struck on a winning combination of friendly, supportive and practical exercise – at least a combination that can work for me. 


In spite of discovering muscles I never knew I owned, I managed another short run over the weekend (note to self – try without the slight hangover next time), and now I am really looking forward to what might come next. You’d have got even longer odds against that back in July. 


Of course, the danger through all of this is that I start to like Tuesdays and take against Mondays instead, but I’m too focused on getting myself some reflective kit to worry too much about that right now. 

RACE REPORT: Third 2011 MWRRL Fixture – Welwyn Garden City: 7 June 2011

The St. Albans Striders showed their class on Tuesday night in a dominant display at the third fixture of the Herts & Essex Midweek Road Race League, division one.  The series of 10k runs pits the top clubs in the region against one another in a bid to win the coveted ladies’, men’s and overall trophies.

Back to full strength after a disappointing spell, the Striders romped to victory in both the female and male races at Welwyn Garden City, picking up maximum overall points on the night and thrashing arch rivals Garden City Runners on their home turf.

The men’s team was brought home by Simon Riley in 33:27, with captain Paul Adams hot on his heels in 33:29.  Ed Blake (33:58) and Blake Vivian (34:35) also made the top ten in a high quality field.  Tom Crouch made a welcome return to racing on home soil with 34:47 showing plenty of promise.  Jonathan Scott (34:51) and Steve Buckle (34:55) took the 14^th and 15^th spots.

Not much further back, the men’s scoring twelve was completed by John Knight (36:26), Gary Warren (36:47), Ross Langley (37:23), Andy Auld (37:50) and John Jones (38:08). 

On the ladies’ side, first home was Sally Onn with a new personal best of 38:47 in third, followed by Lucy Waterlow (39:44) in fifth.  The impressive consistency of the female squad was demonstrated by the Striders packing a further five athletes in the top 20, with solid runs by Zoe Lowe (41:19), Gill Jubb (41:59), Heather Blamire-Brown (42:39), Helen Cartlidge (42:42) and Claire Kremer (43:48).  Anna Styles also ran well to complete the winning team in 44:29 for 27^th.

The fact that the Striders finished ‘B’ and ‘C’ teams in both the ladies’ (eight to score) and the men’s (12 to score) 10k shows the great turn-out that the club enjoyed.  Ladies’ captain and team manager on the night Liz McKie commented, “this was a fantastic race for the Striders and all our runners deserve congratulations for some great performances”.

RACE REPORT: First 2011 MWRRL Fixture – Stevenage: Thursday 5 May

Defending champions St. Albans Striders have made a promising start to their 2011 Midweek Road Race League campaign.  The League pits the top running clubs from Herts and Essex against one another over five evening fixtures in the summer months.  Although finishing only second in both the ladies’ and men’s sections at the opening race in Stevenage, the Striders were lacking a number of their fastest athletes, so the overall result was encouraging.

Leading from the front, men’s captain Paul Adams was first Strider home in 33:15, finishing second overall.  He was closely followed by Simon Riley, who continued his recent run of good form to post an impressive 33:48.  Jonathan Scott, Blake Vivian and Pablo Plaza Lastras also made the top ten in a high quality race. 

Further back but still running well, the men’s scoring twelve was completed by Gary Warren, Grant West, John Ockenden, Stuart Wright, Richard Harry, Matt Ennion and John Jones, all well under 39 minutes despite recent marathons still in the legs.

On the ladies’ side, the first Strider over the line was club chairman Sally Onn in fifth with 40:21 and there were good runs from Zoe Lowe, Heather Blamire-Brown and Helen Cartlidge, who finished 11^th, 12^th and 13^th respectively.  Fast-improving Claire Kremer posted a solid sub-45 time on a warm May evening, with Liz Walls, Helen Varley and Mandy Attree completing the scoring eight.

If you can run a 10k in under 38 minutes (men) or 44 minutes (ladies), the St. Albans Striders would love to hear from you.  Please email men@stalbansstriders.com or ladies@stalbansstriders.com .

RACE REPORT Hatfield Broad Oak 10k – Bank Holiday Monday 30 May 2011

The St. Albans Striders are celebrating another successful outing, having returned from Monday’s Hatfield Broad Oak 10k race with the ladies’ team prize.  In warm conditions the undulating course was challenging, but Sally Onn (40:27), Zoe Lowe (41:16), Deborah Steer (41:39) and Gill Jubb (43:30) did enough to walk away with the female team trophy.

Zoe Lowe’s impressive time was also the winning performance in the female vet 45-54 category, with Deirdre Heydecker (47:01) replicating this success in the 55-64 category, just eight days after completing the Edinburgh Marathon.

The men also ran well, with Simon Riley, Gary Warren, John Ockenden and Colin Braybrook at the front of the Striders, but this was only enough for fifth male team amongst a strong field of Herts and Essex club runners.

The event also featured a one mile fun run for the kids, which was enjoyed by honorary mini-Strider Antonia Jubb, inspired by her mum’s success in the main race.

Full list of Striders’ results:

	↑ GunPos	Name	Gender	Cat	ChipTime
	12	Simon Riley	M		00:35:20
	39	Gary Warren	M	V	00:37:28
	58	John Ockenden	M		00:38:53
	69	Colin Braybrook	M	SV	00:39:23
	102	Sally Onn	F		00:40:27
	121	Zoe Lowe	F	SV	00:41:16
	125	Jonathan Redshaw	M		00:41:29
	132	Deborah Steer	F	SV	00:41:39
	142	Stuart Middleton	M		00:41:51
	180	Gillian Jubb	F	V	00:43:30
	187	Joseph Dunn	M		00:43:44
	246	Christopher Onn	M		00:45:09
	248	Helen Cartlidge	F		00:44:51
	262	John Hope	M	GV	00:45:34
	266	Elizabeth Walls	F	SV	00:45:58
	351	Deirdre Heydecker	F	GV	00:47:01
	373	Mandy Attree	F	SV	00:47:30
	412	Patrick Higgins	M	SV	00:48:37
	443	Carol Ransom	F	V	00:49:15
	484	Linda Powell	F	V	00:50:10
	612	Claire Sharp	F	SV	00:53:36
	812	Sheryl Norman	F	SV	00:57:12