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Following the Leeds
May. 13th, 2019 09:50 pmTwo trips to Leeds in the space of a week? Have I gone mad?
On bank holiday Monday, I went with my Sunday roleplaying group to The Great Escape Game, to try to crack King Arthur's Secret. I'd never played an escape room before, but I had a gift voucher from my sister from my birthday last year (Thanks, sis!) which was about to run out...
It was a lot of fun. My expectation that it would be kind of like the mental/mystery challenges in the Crystal Maze was pretty close to the mark. All those co-op board games and roleplaying campaigns had obviously honed our teamwork, and we coordinated ourselves well, divvying up the tasks to solve the puzzles. Having a 10-year-old we could send up the chimney and into other tight spaces helped as well! The game has a 55% escape rate, but we managed to crack it in 32:29 out of our allotted 50 minutes. We all had a great day out :o)
Yesterday, I was back for my second Leeds-based time challenge - the Leeds Half Marathon. Owing to rubbish public transport, I stayed overnight in the Discovery Inn, but it was nice being only 10 minutes walk from the Start/Finish (even nicer after the run!). The crowds weren't as big as for Sheffield, but there was still a good atmosphere.
People had told me this was less hilly than the Sheffield Half Marathon. I'm not sure that's true. The hills might be less steep, but there's a lot of sustained uphill, particularly in the first half. The unrelenting sun, lack of breeze and traffic fumes as we ran along a dual carriageway (with only one of four lanes closed) made the first half really tough. Fortunately the second half made up for it, and was really lovely by comparison. There was more in the way of trees, a bit more of a breeze, beautiful scenery (including running right past Kirkstall Abbey), and a nice lot of downhill.
I had to manage my breathing and a stitch in the last couple of miles, but still felt reasonably okay - and triumphant - as I crossed the finish line. My clock time was 1:42:35 and my chip time was 1:42:17 - just 40 seconds slower than my time for the Sheffield Half, so I'm certainly consistent! I finished in 740th place out of a field of 5,812 runners. Just the big run in October to go now to complete the White Rose Triple...
On bank holiday Monday, I went with my Sunday roleplaying group to The Great Escape Game, to try to crack King Arthur's Secret. I'd never played an escape room before, but I had a gift voucher from my sister from my birthday last year (Thanks, sis!) which was about to run out...
It was a lot of fun. My expectation that it would be kind of like the mental/mystery challenges in the Crystal Maze was pretty close to the mark. All those co-op board games and roleplaying campaigns had obviously honed our teamwork, and we coordinated ourselves well, divvying up the tasks to solve the puzzles. Having a 10-year-old we could send up the chimney and into other tight spaces helped as well! The game has a 55% escape rate, but we managed to crack it in 32:29 out of our allotted 50 minutes. We all had a great day out :o)
Yesterday, I was back for my second Leeds-based time challenge - the Leeds Half Marathon. Owing to rubbish public transport, I stayed overnight in the Discovery Inn, but it was nice being only 10 minutes walk from the Start/Finish (even nicer after the run!). The crowds weren't as big as for Sheffield, but there was still a good atmosphere.
People had told me this was less hilly than the Sheffield Half Marathon. I'm not sure that's true. The hills might be less steep, but there's a lot of sustained uphill, particularly in the first half. The unrelenting sun, lack of breeze and traffic fumes as we ran along a dual carriageway (with only one of four lanes closed) made the first half really tough. Fortunately the second half made up for it, and was really lovely by comparison. There was more in the way of trees, a bit more of a breeze, beautiful scenery (including running right past Kirkstall Abbey), and a nice lot of downhill.
I had to manage my breathing and a stitch in the last couple of miles, but still felt reasonably okay - and triumphant - as I crossed the finish line. My clock time was 1:42:35 and my chip time was 1:42:17 - just 40 seconds slower than my time for the Sheffield Half, so I'm certainly consistent! I finished in 740th place out of a field of 5,812 runners. Just the big run in October to go now to complete the White Rose Triple...
