Since Hampstead Heath is my local Parkrun, it was symbolically going to be the last London Parkrun I was going to run, but then my daughter Emily decided she would like to run it, in prep for a 10km run we are going to do in Kew in September. So actually i was happy to do it this weekend, as i really didnt feel like travelling anywhere else today!
Hampstead Heath is known by the locals as “The Heath”. It is a large (790 acres) ancient park. It sits on either side of a sandy ridge (its highest point) which runs from hampstead to highgate, along which runs a road “Hampstead Way”.
The Heath is first described in the year 986 when Ethelred the Unready granted one of his servants five hides of land at “Hemstede”.
The Heath is famous for its beauty, wildlife, Kenwood House, The Vale of Health, the bathing ponds and Lido, and athletics track, amongst other historical interests which can all be read about here:
Hampstead Heath lies mainly within the London Borough of Camden.
From the top of Parliament Hill (also known as “Kite Hill”) there are expansive and spectacular views over predominantly the southern and eastern parts of the city.
The views over Highgate to the north are pretty lovely too!
Emily and I got to the start with 15 minutes in hand (a record for me! I was evidently trying to make a good impression on her!). There were already a lot of people there. I think it must be the largest group that i have run with so far, with 324 runners!
The previous week, on the Wednesday lunchtime, I had decided to do some HIIT training. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) comprises 30 seconds of high intensity activity such as burpees or sit ups or press ups followed by 30 seconds of rest, all repeated for 20 minutes.
I did it at home, and followed a guy on YouTube called Joe Wicks. He’s a pretty good trainer, but of course since i still think i am 25 and not 52 I thought i could get away with doing the advanced HIIT training video!
After 20 minutes my heart felt like it was about to explode out of my chest like “Alien” and I could hardly move. But, after a nice soothing bath I was as right as rain……… or so i thought!
The next morning I got out of bed, took my phone off the bedside table and promptly dropped it on the floor. The problem was that the DOMS had already set in (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) and there was no way i could even bend down to get my phone. Of course i did eventually manage to pick it up off the floor, but i was REALLY sore all the way up until the Saturday of the run when i felt much better!
I must admit that I have done some more HIIT training since, and I am loving it! But I am still only on the relatively beginner level.
Here are some runners at the start of the run.
So Emily at the start of the run said to me that she was feeling quite tired so will be running slowly. Well, running slowly for her was still 2 minutes faster than my time! As soon as the race stared all i could see was her hair bobbing from side to side as she strode out ahead of me! It wasn’t long before I had lost sight of her!
Admittedly, the legacy of the HIIT training hit me at about 1km from the end when I pulled my hamstring, but to be honest it didn’t slow me down that much, so i’m not trying to make any excuses!
Interestingly, at the end of the run we met my friend Ellen, who runs the Hampstead Heath Parkrun every weekend that she can, despite living in Notting Hill. There she is on the right, next to Emily. And there is the run director Libby next to me. What a happy bunch!
I’m going to try to run the Riddlesdown park run this coming Saturday.
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