I braved the showers, the lack of sleep, the π«£tummy issues, and the general peoply-ness and I've been and gone and done a Parkrun.
YIPPEDY-ZIPPEDY-DIPPEDY-DOO! π€ΈββοΈ
I talked to a few other runners, compared headphone stories, established that my travelling a few miles to the run did not quite compete with those travelling from Bath, Birmingham, Stoke ... and Scotland! Apparently quite a few wanted an "I" ... πββοΈ
It's a very up and downy course and it was a bit nippy, but running through trees, on a track - and with people - was a real experience. I've been thinking of venturing further afield for my day to day runs and this is certainly somewhere I will come back to for weekday running.
I was very close to the back at the start and kept to 8m/km until I felt comfortable. Then I tried to settle at an easy-ish pace. I think I ran slightly faster at times as there were other runners nearby and I felt pulled along. All was comfortable though.
I did feel I had a lot more to give in the last 1/2 k, but - I'll be honest here - I wanted a good time, but a time that I may be able to beat in the future. Shallow, huh?
Anyway: 33:24 is about 20 seconds off my fastest time for a 5k in my entire 4 week history of being a grown-up, qualified runner. π
120th out of 169 runners.
7th in my age category. π¨βπ¦³
Oh, and did I say? I DID A PARKRUN!
(Naturally, the NRC app insists I ran 4.99k! π± My watch (and the folk in charge fully credit the 5k!π)
Written by
Gthants
60minGraduate
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Fab, fab πππ , well done for overcoming so much and now doing a parkrun!! And such a wonderful time too. It sounds like you really enjoyed the experience. There's no going back now.
What a great start to parkrun! You set out steadily until youβd got your bearings which enabled you to get the absolute best out of the experience. Great running and result! Love the strategy of keeping a little back to get a PB next time. π
Everyone was way more experienced and in retrospect I think it would have been disheartening to be a group or two closer to the front: a) my pace would have been too fast and I may have had to walk or not finish; b) I'd have been constantly overtaken.
Absolutely agree - could have been a totally different, less satisfying experience. Based on this run, youβll have a much better idea of your start position for your next run!
Ahh, what great news Gthants, you sound like you had an absolute blast! Thatβs a fabulous time too π Have fun on Saturday mornings - you realise theyβve now changed forever π
welcome to the parkrun family! Good innit! πβ¦β¦you do realise there are T-shirts to collect now β¦..for volunteering and running/walking β¦β¦so you have to keep goingβ¦.π
πβ¦..just a few moreβ¦.youβre in now, you canβt stopβ¦.and yes it is a sort of addiction, but certainly not a bad one to haveβ¦..itβs a great community to be part ofβ¦.π. All parkrun asks of you is to turn up and join inβ¦.walk, run, skip whatever you likeβ¦..I love it β€οΈ
It was genuinely lovely. The marshals were great at at the end a lot of the runners who'd finished stood and cheered those still coming through - such a lovely thing to do!
What a brilliant post! π Parkruns are so great - the atmosphere, the various courses, the people all make it the highlight of my week! Congratulations on your 5k pb ππ» it sounded like you still had fuel in the tank which is the sign of a comfortably paced run ππ»
NRC always records my Parkrun at 4.88 so I have a little run on the way there to make sure I get the full distance.What was really annoying was when I ran an organised 10k, the only time I've ever done that distance, and it recorded 9.99. I was so carried away with the start line I forgot to set my Garmin watch for a minute or so, so according to my electronic stuff I've never actually run 10k. Never mind, I've got a medal that says I did it π
That parkrun has attracted a lot of fast runners if you're coming in at that position with a time of 33 minutes. Well done!
My old Garmin watch often measured my local parkrun at about 4.4km, and my newer one records the same one as 5.3km. Lots of corners close together and plenty of tree cover does that.
Ah - I see! I was telling someone else that I spoke to a guy about 17 minutes in and his watch said he'd been running for 23 seconds as it had just found a satellite! The wonders of technology!
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My First Parkrun ππ
First Parkrun 
ο»ΏFirst week of the magic plan and first Parkrun 
First Parkrun