Hi all!
I'll start with my weeks running before getting to the good stuff!
Sunday : 18km - 1:47:46
Tuesday: 6km - 35:16
Wednesday: 10km - 54:28
Saturday: 5km - 21:45
It has been a very good week for my running culminating in today's PB. I made a decision a month ago to increase my distances in the attempt to improve my endurance. I can run at a reasonable pace but wasn't able to sustain it for 5km.
The weather was great this morning, I have uploaded a photo that I took when I entered the park. There wasnt much wind and it was warm. I got chatting with the two guys who are leading Barking Parkruns yearly points table and told them that I was getting close to my PB times in the last few weeks. Last week I managed to follow one of them for the first lap but then dropped away in the second. He told me before the run that he was planning on running a bit faster this week and I should try and keep up with him. The other runner kept insisting that I had to get a PB this week because the conditions were good. He got a PB last week of 20:40!
I decided that I would pick the slower of the two of them out and try and keep up with them for as long as I could. Normally I keep checking my times on my Garmin but I decided to not look as often today and use one of them as a target.
They started off fast and were both neck and neck, I kept up with them for the first km and ran it in about 4:10. I felt like I was running much faster than normal but told myself that I could keep it up. The timer of the run stands at the first mile marker and announces the time as the runner go past. I got there in 6:40 which was much faster than I normally do. By this time the two guys were pulling away but I kept trying to minimise the gap. The timer also stands at the half way point (the course allows his to go from one mark to the other in time to keep up with the faster runners) and I got there in 10:30. This was when I knew I was much faster than normal. I think last week I got there in about 11:10. At this point I was feeling very tired but knew if I hung on I would get a PB, it was just a matter of how much.
By this time the two guys had pulled away and I was just overtaken by a lady who was in her mid 60s.She didn't even look like she was tired! I kept up with her for about a km before she also pulled away. Another guy then overtook me! I used him as a target for a while but his pace was too much for me by this point. It was a bit demoralising to be overtaken by a few people but I knew that I was still on for a PB. An 11 year old kid was then reeling me in and I thought that he would not overtake me! I have never beaten him before and today was going to be the day. By now I had reached the finishing straight and had about 200m to go. The kid was closing in, I had a stitch, my lungs were bursting...I dug deep and ran as fast as I could. I managed to fend him off and crossed the finishing line but was exhausted. I stopped the Garmin but because I hadnt been looking that often during the run I didn't know what time I had. When I looked it was 21:45! 28 seconds faster than my last PB! I actually lay down flat to get my breath and from the pain of the stitch, but I didn't mind!
So a great run, I have had my breakfast now and have a busy day ahead. I have promised that I would take my 4 year old daughter to the park. She wants to ride her bike around and has told me that I have to run alongside her! I don't know if I have the energy...
Here is a link to my run:
connect.garmin.com/activity...
Oh and I am planning on running a half marathon distance tomorrow.Looking forward to it!
Parkrun, new pb! 
