It has been a long time since I wrote on the blog, it has been a busy, stressful time moving to a new country and setting up the house, jobs, school and joining a new running club (Denbigh Harriers)!
I have got the pain cave setup which has been fine for the last month; now the sun has arrived, I have started to go out on the bike. The Garmin radar comes into its own out on these country roads, giving me a heads up to cars coming from behind. You have to take tight roads and bends with caution, but the roads are busy with cyclists, so car drivers expect to see you...
I have got some run routes, but unless I get my fell running into gear, if I want to run, it is either with the Denbigh Harriers, parkrun or on the treadmill.
Moving clubs was more complicated than it needed to be, both club secretaries were very helpful, but UKA needs to address the IT shortfall. For example, when moving from one country to another, i.e. going to another club in England... online transfer, going to another club in Wales... online transfer. Going from an English club to Welsh... paper form... which no-one knows about and is not "downloadable".
Long story short, I sorted it and have now resigned from my beloved RRR and joined Denbigh Harriers. They have been very friendly and enjoyed a couple of training sessions. We do hill training on Tuesdays, which will transform to more speed work on the paths around Denbigh as we move into summer.
I have tried two parkruns so far, Greenfield Valley in Holywell, an old rail track, nice tarmac but down the hill and back up... challenging but fun, I came third, which was nice.
Nova Prestatyn is a typical Welsh parkrun, it starts and finishes on the promenade as there are not too many parks in Wales, they typically hug the coast. I have had two visits, being 4th and just over 20 minutes on my first attempt a few weeks ago.
This week I had another go and just made it in time for the start, so no warm-up! I snuck near the front and dashed off; after 50 metres, I got clear air and started to get into a better rhythm.
The route heads south and after 1km,veers left, into the dunes and through stoney, then sandy paths until you are diverted back north onto the seafront.
You then have about 1.75 KM of concrete paths of the promenade, this time with the wind behind you (no real assistance).
It is tough being in front of a race/run as I am usually chasing people, which drives my speed up. Trying to motivate yourself to keep in front of people... so much harder.
I was rewarded with a sub-20 5k and 1st, which as been some 10 years since a "win" at parkrun, resplendent in my new Denbigh Harriers running vest.
I think Nova will be my new home parkrun as closest and has a bot of everything; I will use Greenfield if I have a hilly event coming up.
I hear Conwy is flat, but parking is limited and getting there early enough might be a challenge.
Sunday I had a nice ride out on the bike, riding around roads I have driven and am familiar, the scenery is stunning and although hilly at times, this is the Vale of Clwyd and as such, has lots of flat bits!
I have tried to join the Rhyl cycling club this week but the British Cycling website keeps crashing when I try to pay, Mastercard issues I think! so will keep trying.
This week the team selections for the Team GB Duathlon age groups have hit another milestone, the pre-qualified (Pre-covid) and first 4 from Oulton Park last year (my only qualifier) had to either pay entry to the European champs in September or withdraw. This has been the case for a few folks and as such, they move into the rolldown places, I have such a position and had some communication with the team manager and it looks like next week British Triathlon will make the offers... so maybe just maybe I will be at the champs... only time will tell.
Keep Safe All
Diolch
Mark
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