Bats and a good run in Bury St Edmunds Suffolk

Last night my better half and I visited Nowton Park in Suffolk for an advertised guided walk at dusk. The walk indicated the possibility of hearing various bird songs and tempted to learn a little we ventured out at 7.30pm to the park.

We arrived met the ranger Malcolm and his daughter then waited for others to turn up. We waited in vain for this as no one else did! We were the only ones who turned up for the walk despite it being free and advertised in a leaflet. Not wanting to keep the ranger out just for us we did ask if he wanted to carry on but as it was his job to be there anyway he confirmed that the walk could go ahead.



Although we didn't see or hear any unusual bird life the highlight came at the end of the walk when we reached the lime tree avenue.  The ranger produced a monitor which detected  the frequency pitch of pipistrelle bats. I have never seen so many bats and as we walked down the lime tree avenue there must have been hundreds of bats diving through the air. Fantastic experience and totally free. Thanks to Malcolm and his daughter.

After last nights walk I ventured out at 8am for my long run of the week. I am building my base slowly and my log run at present is just 55 minutes. I am running for time and by heart rate monitor at the moment. The weather was good , warm with a breeze. I wore a technical t shirt and shorts with my Saucony Jazz 13's. I really like these shoes immeadiately comfortable straight from the box, light but supportive for the neutral runner.

My run today consisted of a slow 5 min jog warm up and warm down which sandwiched 40 minutes of steady green zone running. This is a meduim effort run run which keeps my heart rate around 150 bpm. Adidas Micoach states:-

• Heart Rate coaching takes into account how you’re feeling each day. If you feel stressed or tired, your heart beats a little faster. As a result, you can run a little slower than usual while remaining in the zone. This helps prevent overtraining on days when you could use a break. Conversely, if you feel great, your heart rate will remain lower and you’ll be able to go faster while staying in the zone. Heart Rate also accounts for challenging terrain. If it’s hilly, for instance, you won’t need to run as fast to remain in the zone.
• Seeing results: Check your charts to see how your average speed per zone increases as your fitness improves. For instance, you may simply walk to stay in the Blue Zone at first, but as your fitness improves you may find that you’re able to jog in the Blue Zone.

I am really enjoying the Adidas micoach, I feel freed up not having to look at my watch to see my distance and times. I am running more slowly than I used to but to avoid injury I think this is sensible and hopefully by following the heart rate monitor my fitness and speed will improve.

My route took me through Bury St Edmunds town centre  and into the Abbey Gardens and along by the River Lark.

My stats today were :-

55 minutes
759 calories
5.3 miles
heart rate average 139 bpm
pace 10.26
stride rate 189 steps a min

73% of the time I kept to my heart rate zone. my heart rate remained in the green zone and didn't drop back to the slower blue zone jog pace at the end of the run 

Please with today as this was my longest run and it was pain free.

Found a Fiver , Breakneck Speed and a Couple of Runs

On Sunday I ran a green zone run. No I am not living in a war zone simply using the Adidas mi coach. A green zone run is a medium effort which extends your endurance and optimally burns calories. You'll also build a greater cardiovascular capacity - or foundation - to push harder in later stages and more intense zones.

Heart rate based training helps you:

• Know Your Body Better: When you train consistently, you'll learn how your body responds to exercise.
• Track Your Progress: As your fitness improves, you'll be able to handle harder runs.
• Pick Up the Pace: mi Coach lets you measure your pace against your Heart Rate and, as you improve, you'll be able to run longer and faster at the same heart rate as you were (at a lower intensity) a few months back.

Least that's what the official blurb from the Adidas site tells me.

After a 5 minute jog in the blue zone I then ran 40 minutes at a steady green zone pace followed by a 5 minute warm down jog. I managed to run for 79% of the time at the green zone pace. However the rest of the time I ran too quickly and this is when the mi coach steps in and my friendly coach interrupts my ipod playing songs from Tokyo Police Club to tell me to slow down.

In short what I am finding is that I have tended to run a lot of my training runs at too fast a pace probably leading to injury. Much of the time my training has been at a green zone pace and I am struggling to run at the slower blue pace which does feel a bit like a crawl .Blue zone  is an easy effort builds your aerobic base and improves recovery. It also allows you to put forth a greater effort in the higher intensity zones to get more out of your running. 

It feels alien and almost embarrassing to run at such a slow pace but I am going to stick with as a radical new form of training. After all I have been injured for a lot of the last year and this is worth a try.

Directly after my run which was just over 5 miles I felt fit enough to visit Nowton Park and we did a 2 mile walk around the circumference following the yellow route path. Almost immediately on starting the walk I found a fiver! A stroke of luck and not the first time I have done this at Nowton Park. 

On a previous walk around here I found a tenner. What is it about Nowton Park that encourages folks to empty their pockets of cash? Might be the thought of the ice cream van at the car park or the haste to get back to the car when they get the car keys out.  Still not complaining, I just need to visit Nowton Park more often to reap the rewards that are there to be found. Why go the beach and metal detect when you can go to Nowton Park and pick up free money after all it grows on trees. Well at least it does at Nowton Park.

An element of me feels guilty for picking it up but if I didn't someone else would and once dropped how would you know who was the rightful owner.


On Monday I did a very easy 30 minute jog at a very easy pace. So far so good with the easy pace running.  Certainly not Breakneck Speed

David Monks -  Photo from the recent Latitude Festival where Tokyo Police Club played. Now on tour in USA and Canada promoting their new album Champ.

A cycle ride to Hawstead Suffolk

Another early morning start. There was a clear blue sky and it was already warm at 8am as I set off for Nowton. I went past Nowton Park and the church at Nowton before reaching Hawstead. Here there is a big open green with wild flowers and an overgrown football field.

From this point there was a long climb up Bell Lane, the road twisting and turning but I climbed up this fairly well making use of the 15 gears. My bike is old and heavy but it is doing the job for me filling in as a temporary means of providing me some exercise and site seeing around Suffolk.

I returned home through Nowton Park where there wasn't a sole to be seen.

Today I did 11 miles for a total of 49 miles this week so far. It was also day 3 of Juneathon and this was another motivation to get out on the bike.

Tempo Run at Nowton Park Suffolk

At lunch time I headed for a run to Nowton Park.

This is one of a number of parks in and around Bury St Edmunds. Nowton Park is on the fringe of the village Nowton and Bury and is Victorian in design. The Lime Tree Avenue was planted in 1880 and gives the park a sense of grandeur. Every Spring there is a daffodil display from the 100,000 bulbs planted as a yellow corridor along the lime trees.

I live around 2.5 miles from the park so after a mile warm up I put on some music on my IPOD and commenced a 5 mile tempo run.  Today

was another warm day and I wished I had taken a drink with me as I began to struggle after 3 miles. I think this was a combination of getting used to running in mid day warmth and a tickly dry throat. I have been fighting off a cold but may be losing the battle.

It being the second week of half term and the weather being so good the park was busy with lots of family's enjoying picnic lunches.

My run once I reached the park was to run up and down the lime avenue. There is a gentle upward incline as you head towards the maze and the Victorian Folly.

My splits were 8.11,7.52,8.01,8.31 and 8.24 for a total of  41.19 for the 5 miles - 8.12 pace. I was hoping for something closer to 8 min miles but this is fine.

I jogged home making a run of 7 miles which was slightly over my schedule which called for a 6.

Runners World SMART Coach - Half Marathon Schedule Week 5

On the way home from work I had decided not to run tonight and put it off until tomorrow. However after a peanut butter sandwich in the car this seemed to work a miracle and by the time I reached home I had changed my mind and I was soon out for my run on day 29 of my training schedule.

Week 5 started with a 6 mile run. The schedule said to run this in a slightly quicker 9.15 mile pace.  This I did and felt pretty good and relaxed doing a 54 min .5 sec run for 6.1 miles in 8.54 pace.

This post includes more photos from the recent cross country race at Nowton Park Suffolk in January.

It being a Monday do visit Kenley at the Essence of Running for his Music Monday motivational song.




For my offering this week its the Talking Heads with the aptly named Road to Nowhere

Talking Heads Road to Nowhere
Uploaded by Celtiemama. - See the latest featured music videos.

Nowton Park Suffolk - Seven Mile Run

Uggh bitterly cold and breezy morning. Overnight there was a dusting of snow but I had no second thoughts about the need to keep to my training schedule. I haven't broken it yet though I am sure I will at some point.

The air was cold this morning to the point where it effects my running. I have read about this before and experienced this before in the previous cold spell earlier in January where I find I come to a complete halt when the air is really cold. It is as if I can get get enough air into the lungs and consequently I will walk a bit and then run on.

I read this on a site called Dr Pribut's Running Injuries Page "A balaclava is a fine idea to use to cover your face, and keep the cold air from triggering bronchospasm. A number of articles over the years have found that it isn't merely breathing cold air that contributes to asthma and bronchial constriction, but "facial cooling" that triggers the response. This is considered a reflexive triggering of the vagus nerve. Facial cooling can trigger other vagal nerve reactions, including slowing up of heart beat, which will limit your ability to exercise.



I will certainly try running with a scarf over my face and mouth if the cold weather continues to see if this overcomes a perception that the cold air might be affecting  my breathing. Then again I might be over analysing this!

I still managed to put in my 7 miles and again I had a slight time improvement with the following splits 8.29,8.51,9.09,9.03,8.52,8.39,8.44 for a total of 1hr 1 min 51 seconds. Three seconds faster than yesterday.

 Todays run took me to Nowton Park. There is a good circular run of around 2 miles folowing a woodland trail in parts. The ground was generally frozen rock hard so there was problems with slipping.

Day 27 of the Runners World SMART Coach schedule completed

Suffolk Winter League County Cross Country 2010

The Suffolk Cross Country League is a series of 5 races run during the winter months. All are approximately 5 miles on multi terrain track and fields. Today was the race held at Nowton Park in Bury St Edmunds and having already run before the event I went along to watch with my camera.

There is a junior and adult race and I took many photos which I will upload on to Flickr to my site and to my UK Running Group. You can find the photos on Flickr by searching using running or running in suffolk to find the photos or take a look here. The UK Running Group now has over 3000 photos , 41 members and over 124 clubs are represented in the UK. Why not join up and add your photos of races in the UK?

Saint Edmund Pacers wearing the red and black stripes on white shirts are winning the Suffolk Cross Country Series this year and again came in 1st in the mens race today.

High Green near Nowton Suffollk

It was just a little to icy this morning for my run .

I ran out of Bury St Edmunds on the Horsecroft Road through Hardwick and Horsecroft. Instead of running across fields to reach Nowton Park  I continued on the road which takes you round to High Green. This is a small hamlet which is familiar to runners who take part in Saint Edmund Pacers Friday 5 as being the high point up a long drag from Nowton Park.

You could never be confident of your footing and consequently I couldn't run to my normally stride and had to pad along at a slower pace.

Lovely sunshine this morning, though the temperature was 0C.

My run was a 6.41 mile effort and I felt tired as this was third consecutive day of running.

Boxing Day Run 2009

 This morning after a week of ice and snow, finally most of the ice had gone and a bright blue sky and temperatures above freezing brought out many runners on to the roads of Bury St Edmunds.

If they were like me they were rolling more like a barrel rather than running smoothly through the parks. Many runners and non runners alike will start to think about starting their training schedule for the Virgin London Marathon 2010. I didn't get a place in the ballot and probably just as well. t present I don't have the stamina to run a marathon.

I initially headed to Nowton Park  but conditions here were dodgy with the car park like an ice rink it was impossible to run through . Once through the car park the grass was water logged in places and boggy and whilst runnable I didn't fancy a slow bog run.

So instead I headed back into the centre of Bury St Edmunds and headed to the Abbey Gardens. As you can see from the photos the ice has gone from the centre of town making this the safest place to run at the moment.

During the holiday break will start to think about plans for training and races to enter for 2010

Bury 5 at Nowton Park Bury St Edmunds

The Suffolk Friday 5 series continued with Saint Edmund Pacers turn to host the five mile road race series. This was the 4th race after events organised by Ipswich Jaffa, Felixstowe Road Racers and Stowmarket Striders.

The good weather increased the number of entries compared to last year. Wheras there were 391 finishers in 2008 this year the number was up to 451. The weather was warm , sunny but also humid and this had its effect on more than a few runners who needed help from the medical attendants due to the humidity.

I entered on the night and this year parking was easier as we were allowed to park within Nowton Park. Like many other runners I took advantage of the Lucozade Sports Mobile Stand which was providing free sports drinks and energy bars.

I am never very good with running in heat it always to sap my energy and so I knew before the start this would be more of a training run than a race. I also had in the back of my mind last years DNF!. My only ever did not finish race.

As a consequence I set off at a moderate pace and ran the first mile within the park in 7.40. The first mile has lots of bends and is narrow in places with some up hill sections and generally you have to watch your footing for mole holes.

Once you leave Nowton Park and emerge on to Fox and Pin Lane you are starting to gradually climb up hill and my second mile time had slipped to 7.57. The steepest section of the course takes you up the old town lane to High Green and through a local farm. I seem to struggle with hills and was passed by many here as my time for the 3rd mile was 8.36.

However once at the top of the hill I knew I was at least going to finish albeit in a slow time . There is a good long downhill stretch past Nowton Church and my time recovered in the fourth mile to 7.40. There is another up hill section at Nowton Road near the Nowton Village Hall but by this point you know the finish is close by and you return down Fox and Pin Lane and into the park for a sprint to the finish line. My final mile was my best in 7.33. In fact at this point I felt as if my legs had woken up and I was ready to do another five though very hot. At the finish the humidity had left me resembling a river of sweat and absolutely soaked I took the offer of a cold shower from a jug of water from one of the race helpers at the finish funnel.
My official time was 39.22 for 216th place right in the middle of the pack bearing in mind the 451 finishers. Probably my slowest ever 5 mile race but I was still happy relieved I think to get this bogey dnf out of my mind.

The junior race had a good entry and many of the photos in this entry capture the beginning of this race. I will load other races to flickr in due course


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Now playing: Ramones - Chasing the Night
via FoxyTunes

High Green near Nowton Suffolk

Wow tired this morning. Got out early at 7.30am

I felt stiff and slow as I ran on a circular course through the Bury St Edmunds town centre , near Nowton Park and up to High Green but the weather was simply great so relax!

I ran 7 miles in 1 hr 3 mins and 50 seconds very slow for me.

Nowton Park Suffolk

7.45am 7.4 miles in 1hr 0 mins 51 seconds
Week to date mileage 37 miles
Month to date mileage 90
Average weekly rate 30.5 miles
Average monthly rate 132
Year to date 1128
Lifetime 10721

This was one of those indecisive drifty runs where I wasn't sure where I was going to and changed my mind several times.

Before heading out of Bury I passed by the Theatre Royal which has finally been restored and opened for business after what seems must have been 2-3 years.

I set along the road to Sicklesmere but decided against continuing along this route knowing I wasn't intending to run more than an 1hour. Instead along this road there is an entrance into Nowton Park and the opportunity to get on to softer ground was too appealing to refuse. Inside the park on a glorious Autumn day I noticed this tree stump circle. It doesn't match the setting and history of Castlerigg Stone Circle but perhaps an alternative venue for druids. Who needs Stonehenge when you have Nowton Park.

I also noticed round hay bales in the park which again I haven't noticed here before and that is probably down to me my lack of observation more than anything else. However it set me thinking about when round bales were introduced? Certainly as a child there were only square bales. Both have their advantages. Square bales stack like bricks so are good for storing in a barn. However they pose problems in transporting them to a barn and require more labour.

Round bales are seemingly a task of 1 farmer using a baler machine but of course don't stack well but are much cheaper to make hence nowadays it is the exception to see square bales.

Nowton Park Bury St Edmunds

8.15am 7.3 miles in 1 hr 1 mins 21 seconds

Week to date mileage 30 miles

Month to date mileage 114

Average weekly rate 29.7 miles

Average monthly rate 129

Year to date 892

Lifetime 10485

Finally back home and for todays run I decided to run over to Nowton park and do a circuit.

On a lovely warm day I headed out via Cullum Road.

Looking at mapmyrun.com Nowton Park is 2.5 miles from home. I am not entirely sure of the distance around the park .

I follow the route markers generally around the perimeter. However the park ranger appears to have changed the markers sometime ago and the route seems to take a shorter path in places. I tend to stick to a longer route through tree cover in some areas going "off piste".

I am sure I read some where the official distance around the marked path I would guess that it is around 2.25 miles but may be shorter anyone know?

Up by the Arboretum there is a huge range of different trees and in the Chinese section a carved Panda which has had a home here since 1998.

I ran a slow time recording 20.06 for the lap around Nowton park. I will have to dig out some of my old times for this which I am sure are a few minutes better than this.

Bury St Edmunds Friday 5

7.30pm 5 miles in 37 mins 41 secs

Week to date mileage 19 miles

Month to date mileage 5

Average weekly rate 29.3 miles

Average monthly rate 127

Year to date 636

Lifetime 10229

Tonight was the first in a series of Suffolk/Essex 5 mile evening races from Nowton Park Bury St Edmunds. The weather was surprisingly warm and dry after recent rain seemingly every day for the last couple of weeks.


Perhaps the combination of the good weather, the enjoyable location at Nowton Park and the excellent organisation all helped to swell numbers as even with a few minutes before the start of both the junior and adult races there were big line of last minute entries. The guys in the registration tent did a brilliant job as looking at the results on the Saint Edmund Pacers website it would appear the race entry must have exceeded 500.

The figure of eight course has a bit of everything - to begin with there is a mile and a bit within Nowton Park. As per usual most people belt of at a good pace partly to get good position as some of the corners are fairly narrow and with the volume of runners you can get stuck behind a group and overtaking is then not easy.

Things begin to settle down after emerging from the park and heading up hill to High Green. The course runs through a farm across rutted tracks and some puddles. . There is then a good downhill section near Nowton Church before another slight climb, more downhill before returning on to the same road and into Nowton Park for a sprint down the avenue of elm trees.

I took lap times but I haven't made much sense of them and I think I must have failed to stop my watch at the finish as my overall time seemed to be more than the official time.

Anyway my lap times were

Mile 1 7.30
Mile 2 15.42 - 8.12
Mile 3 23.49 -8.07
Mile 4 31.00 - 7.11
Mile 5 37.56 - 6.56

I was slower than last year by 13 seconds by the official time. I struggled to get going and felt hot after the 1st 2 miles. I didn't take enough drink at the half way point and would have better off stopping and having a drink. At this point the hot air balloon looked much more inviting than running.

However it was a good event and depending on work commitments I am know considering whether I can do any of the other events in this series of races.

Friday 15th June - Kirton

Friday 8th June - Ipswich

Friday 22nd June - Stowmarket (Haughley)

Friday 13th July - Great Bentley

The free race t shirts were very popular.

As per usual I will load up many other photos on my flickr site in due course.