Thank you to Ben for putting together a report on last Wednesday’s training session and my apologies for the delay in posting. Here’s the training view courtesy of Ben.
Party time!
With the dark skies and the cold nights upon us, it is becoming harder to stay motivated and to turn up at Wednesday training session. Especially for me, as they are getting further and further away from the city center. If nothing is done to stop the trend, it's likely that we'll meet in Selby in a couple of weeks (subject to T&CS on Tier 2 restrictions).
So when the rain started to pour down with a nice rhythm (same beat as Si sprinting that evening), I am sure it could have dampened some spirits. But not YPH spirits, no sir, that's for sure! No less than two-shy-of a score gathered under the Millenium Bridge (West Bank) for the now infamous technical drills. You can forget the old generation of "all to the wall" and other "and now some pulsating squats!". It was replaced by some "heel-to-toe rollings" and "karaoke" warm ups; if you don't know what they mean, you just need to tag along and discover by yourself.
Once the drills were under our belt, the rain decided to stop. Not the youngsters next to us who were listening to some kind of music (no specific terms to describe it aside to "a bit of noise"), chatting and doing other stuff you do when you are usually under 25. I mean meeting outside in the cold and damp because you haven't a house big enough to organize a party and the pubs are too expensive. Still, they looked healthy, just like the ladies joining us for the night, with some regulars like Mel and Jess, but also some new heads like Grace and Helen. (Sorry I did not get all the names, but that's what you get when you do not get introduced properly on the Facebook group.)
3 groups (the classic fast, faster and fastest) of 5/6 runners went on in Indian lines. Dom tried to hide his good form, but it has been made clear to him that he will run with the whippets, aka Alex (excellent new recruit over summer), Glynn or Si. Jim obviously deserved his place as well, and I dared to join the group. (rookie mistake).
The route was easy to explain and difficult to understand (as always): from Millenium Bridge to Skeldergate on East Bank, back and then the same treat on the West Bank. The paths were neither busy nor quite, with the commuters, wanderers and another running group of ladies (special mention to Glynn always showing support to any fellow runner). With the recent rain, some paved sections and the abundance of fallen leaves, the footing was sometimes treacherous but luckily no injury has been reported. Trail shoes could have almost been a recommendation; this is a personal point of view coming from a road runner, so anybody doing XC is authorized to laugh their arse out.
The "Next" were coming at a fast pace, almost never ending, the groups were doing great with the extra social distancing of 4m. So much that the time flew by. Well, that and my energy, which led me to join a more realistic group of lovely people for the last straight line. They had it all: cheering from Mel, great surges from both Marks, heavy breathings from Andy and Oli (not at the same time) and Grace giving her best for her last ones (yeah, at least 3 "last" ones).
Overall, great session with a nice flock of runners (is there an official name for a group of runners?), not too many nor too few, a slot of good weather when required and one of the best conjugaison of program / location. I know, tough luck if you were injured / could not make it. Cry you not, I am sure there will be another one like that in the near future with all the encore and early leave assuring less frown at home when turning up before 8.