Oh dear me it just didn't go well at all.
I'd missed the previous week parkrun and because I'd spent the 2 weeks between parkruns on my 10K training I was intrigued to see what effect, if any, that would have on my parkrun.
Unfortunately my local parkrun has a summer and winter course, with more "off-road" segments in the summer one. Guess which week they chose to switch to the summer route?
For the summer route, the start is in a different place and is quite a confined area. I was a little later than usual getting there so pretty much everyone else was in position ready for the off. Usually I like to start at the back of the bunch, but because of the confined space I couldn't squeeze my way through everybody.
So I found myself caught up in the middle of the pack, on an unfamiliar course when the start came.
Despite my best efforts to go at my own pace, I did get swept along with the pack to begin with. It didn't feel too bad though, at the end of the first lap (of 2 on the summer course instead of 3 on the winter) I thought blimey I could be on for a decent PB here.
It all went wrong at about 3km though, that fast early pace had really taken it out of me. In the last 2km I had to stop for a walk 3 times, getting angrier with myself each time.
I did manage my sprint finish though (I do love turning the corner, seeing the finish and kicking on) and finished in 36:04, just over a minute off my PB.
Hopefully next week I'll do a better job of managing my pace, not have to walk, and be able to finish close to my PB.