Good morning and as always, I hope that everyone who reads this had an awesome weekend. It’s just a shame the weather caused so many problems. I’m feeling far too chirpy for a Monday morning as I’m on annual leave. I’m looking forward to not having to get up at 05:30 every day. I’m aware that I’m repeating myself but I’m also looking forward to spending a couple of days in Wallingford.
So, what did I get up to during the weekend? Did I run? Did I avoid the local pubs? Did I avoid the rain? Did I do anything productive or did I sit around watching the TV?
Once again, I need to add a disclaimer here. If you want to read about an action-packed weekend, this probably isn’t the blog for you. If you want to read about active travel, this definitely isn’t the blog for you. If you want an insight into the life of a 40-year-old Brummie who enjoys quiet and predictable weekends and good food, this may be the blog for you.
I was woken by the sound of rain hitting my bedroom window on Saturday morning. Great news from a hydrological perspective, we most definitely needed the rain. Not such great news from a parkrun volunteering perspective. I’m ashamed to admit that I lay in bed for a couple of minutes and seriously considered giving parkrun a miss.
I didn’t and once I’d successfully navigated my way past the Sutton Park cows, I had an enjoyable run – well it is mainly downhill – towards the location of the start of parkrun near Banners Gate.
I was handed a high-viz vest and barcode scanner and as the drizzle had turned into rain, joined some of the other volunteers underneath the gazebo. I got chatting to a more experienced barcode scanner and after hearing a few horror stories decided to use the Virtual Volunteer app.
I don’t think there were any finish area related issues and I really enjoyed barcode scanning. I had a slightly embarrassing moment when the first finisher’s barcode wouldn’t scan. Luckily the number checker was standing right next to me and was able to make a note of the first finisher’s details. One runner accidentally handed me a £20 note rather than his barcode, I joked that he didn’t need to pay me. Another runner expected me to scan the barcode she’d attached to one of her trainers, my temperamental right knee didn’t appreciate having to kneel down.
The app seemed to scan the majority of the barcodes I was handed and my phone coped with the rain. The results export process was straightforward, I’m a bit of a technophobe and I didn’t have any issues. Just a word of warning, the app was quite what I’d call ‘battery intensive’. I’d make sure your phone is fully charged before you use it for barcode scanning.
I got home, had a shower and made a start on my Saturday chores. First set of chores completed, I checked out the Sutton Park parkrun Farcebook page and saw that the photos had been uploaded. I think it’s safe to say that the photographer captured my best side, my back is clearly more photogenic than my front!
[Photos: Peter Heafield]
The remainder of my Saturday seemed to consist of several power naps, some much-needed food shopping, a trip to the Post Office, some food prep and a couple of episodes of Holby City. I wasn’t feeling quite right, so I went to bed at a sensible time.
Fortunately, I felt a million times better when I woke up yesterday after a solid 12 hours’ sleep. I had a date I didn’t want to cancel, Sunday lunch at the School House in Weeford. I suspect that I wasn’t actually unwell, I just needed to recharge my batteries. I briefly thought about heading out for a run, saw that it was still raining and changed my mind. I didn’t fancy getting soaked to the skin two days in a row.
After breakfast, I went through my usual seeing ‘what’s causing outrage on the Internet today’ routine. A lot of people appeared to be getting their knickers in a bit of a twist over the cancellation of the bike section of Outlaw 2019. Rather ironic considering these people weren’t actually taking part in Outlaw!
I then noticed that a video of the finish area had been added to the Sutton Park parkrun Farcebook page. I discovered that my legs and bum feature for slightly too long for my liking.
I guess that’s definitely the end of my running shorts and skorts modelling contract. I’m just relieved I was wearing Capri leggings and not running shorts!
At lunchtime, following a quick reunion with the family cats, I headed across to the School House in Weeford with mum and Colin as I’d offered to treat them to Sunday lunch. Although this was slightly more expensive than my usual Sunday lunch option of salad, I knew that the food would taste amazing.
I had a bit of a blogger photo taking fail here as due to some extreme parental pressure, I wasn’t able to take photos of all the food. Both the crayfish salad starter and the roast sirloin of English beef tasted amazing. Mum made me chuckle as she told me she’d cut back on the amount of meat she eats. She said she was thinking about cutting meat out of her diet. She then proceeded to order roast lamb with all the trimmings. I did my usual trick of wanting what the person on the table next to us had ordered. I’ve got no idea what it was but it looked amazing.
The rest of the day was a bit of a washout, it was very much a case of rain stopped play. The original plan of picking strawberries was replaced with an hour or so watching an old film. Old film complete, mum dropped me back home and I spent what was left of the weekend completing a couple of chores.
I did warn people that this blog wouldn’t be very exciting 😉
Did you have a good weekend? I hope that the rain didn’t ruin your weekend plans.
Has a race photographer ever captured an unflattering photo or video of you? I can’t believe I didn’t even notice that the camera was positioned underneath the gazebo.
Hi I'm Emma. A 44 year old Brummie who loves running. I'm a runner, medal collector, race number hoarder, and hydrologist. Join me as I try out new things and take on new running challenges.
Your weekend sounds lovely to me! It actually sounds quite familiar- a little running, a little eating, a few chores
Thanks AJ. I suspect the forthcoming Bank Holiday weekend will look the same; some running, some gardening, some chores and a lot of eating. I hope that you have a great weekend.
Thank you Emma! I’m just trying to read, run, knit, bake and socialize while I have the chance!