Category Archives: Running

Posts that contain actual running

I was Runner 5! My 2.8 Hours Later Review

by

It’s no secret that I’m a massive fan of Six To Starts running game Zombies Run, and I frequently pretend to be Runner 5 whilst out around the park.  (I even have an Official Runner Five Shirt, that’s how much a fan I am!)

So it was AWESOME when I received some tickets to 2.8 Hours Later, in Manchester, as part of my leaving present from Lush Preston, this meant I could actually be Runner 5 and see if I could dodge & out run zombies for real!

If you’ve never heard of 2.8 Hours Later, it’s an event put on by Sling Shot Effect, that are literally real world games. Basically, you’re off on a mission and a points you’re going to encounter Zombies & others who may help or hinder your mission, and scare the living daylights out of you. My present was tickets 2.8 Hours Later : Survival, the sequel to the 2013 game 2.8 Hours Later – Asylum.

We arrived a little late for our 7:30pm start, it was a little hard for us to find the start location. We followed directions from Google Maps, and called the box office for some help, but couldn’t seem to locate it. We re traced our steps and when we reached our our starting point, we bumped into some others who were due to play, and we went the opposite direction to Google maps, and eventually found the start… and a giant queue.

Leila, Tanya & me after seeing the A4 sheet with all the T&Cs!

Leila, Tanya & me after seeing the A4 sheet with all the T&Cs!

We were really worried about arriving late, but we didn’t need to, we had no problem joining the back of the queue and were handed a sheet explaining the event and some Terms & Conditions, given a brief explanation of what was on the paper and then asked to write our full name, and sign on the bottom. T&Cs were long, 2 sides, but after reading them all (we were in line for about 40 min) they were mostly what you’d expect. Including the brilliant reminder that even though we were about to play a game, physics still applies, and we should also look out for things like cars!

We went in a team of 3, but when we reached the start of the line we were grouped up with two other teams of 2, as a super team of 7. I’d like to say I can remember everyone’s names, but I’m really rubbish at that kind of thing, and didn’t really take anything to write that kinda stuff down, sorry!

Now, I don’t want to give the plot away, the game is running in other cities until the end of the year, and I’ve been told off by listeners at Preston FM for giving away spoilers for films & Game of Thrones, so I’m going to do my best to keep this spoiler free… but it was an awesome event & I might not be able to help it!

SO after they grouped us up, we went through a quick safety brief , we were given a map & sent through to The Game…

The basics were this;

We had been sent on a mission to collect some much needed supplies. We weren’t sure where they would be, but we were trained in how to hack into a computer system that would tell us where more supplies would be if that stash was empty. Once we had supplies, we needed to head to the rendezvous, and then we could head back to base.  We had to ensure that the supplies (and the nominated team member carrying them) we completely uninfected.

We set off, and our first encounter with the Zombies wasn’t too far away. It was both terrifying and hilarious! Hearing your mates scream like terrified horror film extras is something everyone should have the chance to discover! The Zombies were incredible, both creeping & quick, and incredibly great at making you forget that this was make believe!

There were approximately 8 zombie events that happened across the 90 (ish) minute game, but it’s really hard to recount them all, as they were all part of the narrative. There were some great set pieces in locations, and the “random encounters” on the street between them were brilliant. It all rounds off into a “run the gauntlet” style encounter.  We even had a few spectators, as some factory workers had obliviously heard the human (& Zombie ) screams and nipped out for some entertainment on a fag break!

So did I survive the Zombie apocalypse?

me

All that training Runner Five, didn’t do much good, did it?

When you return to Base, there’s a giant scanner, and you queue up to see if you survived infection. I didn’t think I had, I volunteered to run the point on one of the encounters, and I know my movie tropes, I was never going to be the hero that survived, but it was all about getting the supplies back to base & making sure the runner with them was clear of infection. Our nominated runner was Tanya, we’d make loads of effort to ensure she lived & was fine…

tanya

Imagine my surprise when I saw her in the Infected Zone with me! In the end there was 3 out of our team of 7 infected, we didn’t bring home any supplies for our base. We did have a great time, and I had a hell of a hunger when we got through to the after party!

after

Leila survived… I think it was down to her amazing horror film scream at the first encounter!

It was a brilliant event, and you really don’t need to be that fit to do it. We rocked up in running kit, but could have easily done it in a pair of jeans & some fashion trainers. There was even a team who did it dressed as a Start Trek away team, 2 guys in blue, one in gold and one “Redshirt” (yes, the Redshirt was the only infected on their team) those guys were dedicated to their memes and it made a great after party photo!

There was an after party at the base, but we didn’t stick around, we had to head back to reality, it was Thursday night. But we all agreed if we went on a Friday or Saturday event we’d be cracking out the moves to Thriller at the Zombie Disco! I’m 100% going to sign up for next years event, and possibly even consider volunteering to be a Zombie.

Thanks very much to survivor Leila, who let me use her photos for this post, because I didn’t take many, I was having too much fun!

Has anyone been to the event in other cities? I’d love to compare notes and see how / if the story changes?

Rock n Roll Liverpool Marathon.

by

It’s a funny running habit I’ve got. My husband described it as “do nothing for 6 months, then run a marathon.”

He’s right, that’s pretty much how I did the Rock n Roll Liverpool marathon this May, and it’s taken me nearly 2 months to sit down and write about it. Mostly out of laziness. Seems like my blogging & running habits are in sync.

So The Liverpool Rock N Roll Marathon.

indexLets start by saying a BIG THANK YOU to Stephen, a (not too) old friend I haven’t seen in years for letting me crash at his house the night before the Marathon. And also the other Stephen (two Stephens in one flat, confusing for blogging about, but possibly an awesome sitcom premise) who loaned me his bed & cooked a lovely carbalicious meal the night before.

THANKS GUYS. We’ll do lunch soon I promise!

The marathon, well it was mostly UP. I know Liverpool is very up, I saw the course profile, and the first marathon I did was Liverpool (different organizer) but I was expecting that after the UP there would be a little down. It’s only logical. There wasn’t. Liverpool defied all know geographic laws. I have reason to suspect M.C Escher was part of the route design team.

So it was a very up marathon, more up that I anticipated.

map

So I wanted a 5:30 marathon. Not massively ambitious.  Northing too fast, and I set off with the 5:30 pacer and stuck with them for a large part of the first 10k, then I sulked a little and dropped back to the 5:45 pacer…. then at about mile 16 I lost the will to run uphill any more and walked… FOR AN HOUR.

The Liverpool people were great, I had plenty of locals shouting “GO ‘ED GURL” and such, which did make me smile, and a few snarky comments about my “Training for the Zombie apocalypse” t shirt (“You’re going to get eaten then eh?”)

The race was a little bit disappointing. It was billed to be a Rock N Roll marathon with bands and music at every mile, but there really weren’t that many bands playing for the slow coaches at the back of the pack. Even when I was still with the official pacers I only saw one band, a group of drummers just after Everton Football grounds. They were pretty spectacular,, definitely motivating to get up the hill they were on. Not so much Rock N Roll, as here’s a Mix Tape N Some Speakers for you to run past.

That said, I could still be sulking at my in ability to continue running up hill & even after I started to run again, it was more of a run/walk/moan effort, but I completed the course.

complete

Owch, I know. A full hour and fifteen after I hoped to end. Miserable. The upside of this is that my walking meant I wasn’t too sore the next day, and I didn’t fall asleep on the way home either. I did eat the world.

 Would I do it again?

No, I think I’m over marathons now thanks.

What’s the next running thing then?

Well, as a leaving present, aside from some cake, the Lush Preston team got me a ticket to 2.8 Hours later a Zombie Running thing on 24th July in Manchester. So I at least should get my trainers back on once this month.

 

Marathon number 3, training begins.

by

Yada yada “the long road to 26.2” blah blah blah, I did some running.

It did take me quite a long while to complete my 1st real run of 2014, I haven’t really done anything for a while. #Janathon doesn’t count, it was mostly a effort to see how I could make something I was already doing sound like I was actually trying to get fit.

This time I am actually trying to get fit, although I’m mainly looking forwards to the large amount of delicious carbs I can eat & claim “I’ve got a long run.”

This weekends “Long Run” is just over 10km. Based on todays running effort, I expect it to take about a week to complete.

Best bit of todays 6.4km treadmill trundle? The Sudoku game on the fancy new treadmills. Although it is quite hard to pick the right box on a small grid, on a touch screen, when you’re running . It took me 13:12 min to do the Sudoku, I felt very clever.

I also wore my new trainers, and they were good, different but good.

Next run Thursday, another 6.4km. Perhaps I’ll venture outside?

#Juneathon Day 30: VICTORY! (And onwards!)

by

It seemed almost the second I got my running kit on, it started to rain.
Nothing new for Juneathon then eh?

A cold, wet & windy 30 min later, Juneathon 100% complete!

I’m proud. It’s only taken 3 attempts to achieve it, and I did it mostly in secret!

20130701-214458.jpg

Juneathon was one of the three June goals. The other 2, well, that’s 50/50.

Drop 2% body fat
I weighed myself this morning & took all my measurements. No change. None.
I have actually have only lost 1lb in weight since the 1st January.
I’m slightly mixed in my emotions about this. I know I’ve eaten an awful lot of crummy food this month, a few cheeky beers and a good amount of sweets.

The annoying thing is that I didn’t take any measurements at the start of the year, so while I know I’ve lost a few inches, I’ve no idea how many, and I want the numbers to prove it dammit!

No Starbucks
I spent £1.65 in Starbucks this month, on fruit bread one Sunday morning, because nothing else is open in Preston.
My coffee shop cold turkey wasn’t 100% true, I had a few Neros & a fair amount off breakfasts from a local indie shop (they curdle soy milk, so no coffee from them) but nothing near the shocking amount I previously spent.

So onwards!

20130701-220443.jpg

Home Cooked Meals
I did well cutting out the massively mediocre coffee and I’m going to attempt to change my terrible habit of buying breakfast or lunch, and start planning ahead & making my meals.
Also, I’ve recently fallen into the habit of buying junk oven meals, or pizza. I need to stop being lazy & start making Food.

30 Day Shred
One day off after Juneathon & I’m going to do 30 Day Shred. I’ve taken measurements, if I manage it, it should shift a few.

#Juneathon Day 29: urgh, is it wet everywhere else too?

by

Today, it seemed to rain as soon as I left the door.
I feel like this has been the most miserable & wet & cold Juneathon ever. I though this was supposed to be a warmer, drier version of Janathon.
(And I seem to be repeating myself, sorry readers, I know I’ve made this whine and moan before)

Today was a slow jog / walk, with less sulking than yesterday, but also much slower. I’m very much looking forwards to the last day tomorrow, and hopefully I’ll get up quite early and get it over & done with!

#Juneathon Day 28: bit miserable, mostly walked.

by

Today I got some news about a a course I’d applied for at work. I wasn’t successful & was devastated, I really wanted onto this training course. I was given some feed back about why I wasn’t selected, and I think it will take a few days to digest, and sulk, before I take it seriously, instead of personally.

So my run was full of replaying the interview, and things I thought I’d done well & also how it was the end of the world that I didn’t get onto the course.

But at least I ran.

#Juneathon Day 27: London

by

Today I have been to London & back.

The thought of running when I got home after 6 hours travel & 6 hours training was not a happy one.

So I with a little bit of thinking & planning, I got off the tube 4 stops early & walked to Euston to get my train home. It was a good 45 min walk, with a small distraction to buy Coffee & big distraction to buy discounted Washi tape & postcards. (I’m a sucker for a Paperchase sale!)

I didn’t run, but I’m still counting this as a Juneathon effort, if it wasn’t June I would have just stayed on the train, and I’m actually quite proud I managed to navigate my way from Leicester Square to Euston by foot, and not get lost or miss my train home.

The presentation went well, I’m really glad I did as much prep over the previous few days, it was a timed and would have been cut off if I went over. I ended with 1 second spare!

I’m going to sit back for the rest of my train journey home & enjoy looking at all my Washi tape, and never actually use it.

#Juneathon Day 26: Stressed & Pizza

by

I went running quite stressed, I’m going to London on Thursday, for training / interviewing. I have to make a presentation. I’m a little stressed by it.

And I’ve also done nothing but snack all day, so I probably shouldn’t have had pizza and then went for a “run.”

So it wasn’t a comfortable run, and because I couldn’t get the presentation out my brain, it wasn’t relaxing.

 

#Juneathon Day 25: Remove VAT on Sports Bras!

by

I was going to run much earlier than 10pm, I was going to, honest.
But the guest tweeter on The Women’s Room was tweeting about #WomenInSport and I got sucked in.

I’ll write more on another day (I’m just trying to keep up with Juneathon) but one thing I want to shout about is

Remove VAT for sports bras

I can understand that all other sports equipment has VAT on it, but if I want to do any kind of sport being female I need a sports bra, or further pain & injury will arrive. I’d even settle for VAT removed from the larger sized Sports Bras (as I know they aren’t made by many companies & cost £££) and if they were cheaper, I think I would help (not completely page the road with gold, just help) more ladies get into sport & activity more.

What do you think #Juneathon?
I also ran 3.2km, I wouldn’t have got that far without one.