Parkrun - 21:46 - 3rd Place finish!!!

[Aftabs]

Hi all,

It was very cold and windy today which meant we had less than 30 people turn up for today's run. It was so cold that the 30 seconds it took to take my jacket off before we began was enough for me to lose feeling in my fingers! I made sure to put my gloves on quickly! I was thinking of running in my jacket but I felt a bit warm after my 1km warm up and knew I would heat up if I tried a fast 5km in a jacket. As we started I knew that a PB time wasn't a possibility in the conditions so maybe I should not push myself too hard. This thought was quickly dismissed as I found myself in 3rd place after the 1st km and knew the only way to keep hold of it was with a fast time. At each opportunity I had a quick glance over my shoulder and could see that I was slowly building a lead over the 4th & 5th placed runners. The 1st and 2nd place guys were far to far ahead for me to think about them. The 4th runner kept me honest the whole way around until I got to the 4th km mark and could see her in the distance. I knew that the 3rd place was pretty much in the bag and then didn't push really hard in the last km because that is always painful :-). I finished in 21:46 and with a stronger finish could probably done that 10 seconds faster. However it was still a good time for the conditions considering I could hardly feel my face by the end! Also it was my highest ever finish at Parkrun! Not a bad way for the final Parkrun of 2014 :-).

Here is a link to my run:

connect.garmin.com/modern/a...

[misswobble Graduate]

That's fast!!!!! Well done you for turning out. I ran a very icy park run last month but it was slow cos folks were being so careful as it was like a skating rink. Your body tenses up making running difficult as you're bracing yourself for the inevitable fall. Not recommended. Still, it's the same for everyone.

I know what you mean about running jackets. You just get too hot and then you want to peel the ruddy thing off

[GettingFitter Graduate]

Brilliant run well done

[janda Graduate]

Absolutely fantastic Aftab. A brilliant time and an even better place to finish! I'll post later about my Parkrun in Falkirk. Well done. James

[TurboTortoise Graduate in reply to janda]

Hi janda, I see you ran Falkirk... I have done that one a couple of times, really lovely course, but that 'wee hill' they talk about... well, someone has a sense of humour. Hope you enjoyed it (and sorry for hijacking your thread Aftab)!

[Aftabs Graduate in reply to TurboTortoise]

No problem

[carerof Graduate]

well done just wish we had park runs in our area.

[TurboTortoise Graduate]

Brilliant result. And especially so considering the competition - the guy who came first is an international athlete (his name is familiar) - how incredibly fast is he?! In fact just googled him and he does a 2.17 marathon!

[Aftabs Graduate in reply to TurboTortoise]

That guy was a bit special. He sprinted from the start and left us all in his wake. As I got to the 1km mark he was a few turns ahead and I would guess that he was at 1.5km. From there on in I couldn't even see him. He was kind enough to come over and congratulate me on my 3rd place finish though. I couldn't imagine running at his pace even for 1km!

[Slookie Graduate]

What a great time! Congratulations Aftabs.