Hi everyone, hope you are all having a great day and a great weekend, I will warn everyone now that this post is a pretty long post, I've just spent over 2 hours writing this and changing things and then completely starting again, so hope you all like it, probably doesn't convey the excitement of the run but hope you all enjoy reading today's parkrun post 
my day/night before started out as going really bad with me burning my finger in hot oil whilst frying eggs last night as I hand my hands lower than I thought and my brain took a bit longer to tell myself that my finger was burning or should i say frying my finger oops, then I get up at 5 and all of a sudden I remember waking up again, don't remember falling back to sleep but luckily I woke up before 6 so still had over an hour before I had to leave the house, didn't go bed until gone 11 last night after staying up and watching insidious even though I have it on dvd, learnt my lesson though not staying up again that late going bed a lot earlier next week, and when I set off, I was almost at the bus stop until I realised I'd forgot my running watch, I had left it in my room and the annoying thing is I kept looking at it and still didn't realise I had to pick it up for the parkrun today, that sounds like it's going to be a bad parkrun but it took a total U-turn and I'm so glad about that it did
I set off a little bit late but still managed to get to the bus stop for 7:35, the bus came on time at 7:43 so got on the bus and then about 7 minutes later I was getting off the bus, got to the start of the parkrun for 8, there was other volunteers stood around waiting so we all chatted and waited for the run director to turn up with the keys to let everyone get to work, we didn't have long to wait and so I dropped my bag to the side of the track and went and got the cones to put them around the track,
Today's parkrun was being taken over by the burden road runners for people to find out about different running clubs in the local area, today was the 3rd take over we've had, we've had a take over from radcliffe A.C. and another club but I can't remember which club that was, just checked and the other running club that helped takeover an event and it was the darwen dashers,
I took far to many cones, I was almost dropping them on the way round and my finger was still hurting from last night so was struggling with that a little bit, I was going round the track and who should appear but my friend bill, we chat and I ask him how his holiday went and he said he had a really good time, I finish off putting the cones around the track, I had picked up enough cones to put enough cones around the track, the 2 for the start and enough cones to put down to direct people off the track,
I'm stood chatting to bill with the volunteers and who should appear but my new friend phil who was visiting the parkrun to run around the track with me, we had a lovely chat and then I introduced phil to one of the run director's who let me know that phil was trying to get in touch with me, so the 3 of us chat about parkruns and different parkruns which I've only ever been to 2 which are bolton parkrun and heaton park parkrun, so then phil goes off for a warm up lap, so I go chat to other volunteers and wait for phil to come around as it was coming up to the new runners briefing, I manage to catch phil and take him to the runners briefing, but since I was running around the course with phil it wasn't a huge problem missing some of the new runners briefing, it was a great briefing that was given,
We then walk over for the briefing that louise from the burden road runners took us for, told us the usual rules, keep to the left, watch out for other park users, one dog per person and they have to be on a short lead, and any children under 11 must be accompanied by an adult, a round of applause for all the volunteers and then we went to line up, me and phil went to the last third as we aren't that fast but we are a lot faster than people sat on the couch
They start the run and we are off, me and phil aren't that much different pace wise so it was nice that neither of us was going to fast or to slow for the other, I was possibly a little bit slower than phil is but it was a great experience, we ran around the track and I then started directing phil off the track, phil is visually impaired due to a brain injury, we started off strong but not to fast, I helped direct phil around the course, I told phil when we coming up to these tree stumps and when the path winded to the left or to the right and when to turn left or right, phil helped me run up the hill and around to the other hill where we ran down, explained to phil (to the best of my abilities) about the pot holes at the left side of the hill we had to run down so explained that phil should run in the middle to avoid an injury, we went around a second time and then back up the hill, and then on to the last little bit at bolton parkrun was the out and back, it's exactly what it says on the tin, I explained to phil that we had to turn left and run down this path, run around this cone and run back down the path, go through the 2 sets of gates just before we got back on to the track and past the finish line, we finished together in a time of 34:59, 1 second under the 35 minute mark, I'm really pleased with that and I hope phil was pleased with that time to, and I hope I was a good guide around the course, that was my first time at being a guide,
I had a lot of fun today, met a new friend, after the run finished we waited in line and bill and alan came over so I introduced phil to alan as I'd introduced phil to bill before the run started, we stood chatting whilst waiting to get our barcodes scanned, I then asked the run director who was taking pictures if it was ok if me and phil could have a picture took of just us two as there was people running in front and behind us when the pictures was getting taken during the run so thought it would be nice to have one of just us two, then phil had to leave to as he didn't live close to bolton parkrun so showed him how to get to the car park as there was like 3 gates opened and the doors opened to the building, first time I went to bolton parkrun, I couldn't find the track and then couldn't find my way out, that happened a few times until I remembered where to leave and where to get in,
I then went to find bill and we went up to ali to speak about the links I sent him and he really enjoyed reading them, we spoke about the run reports and me writing a run report for the actual page, ali said I could use the run report I write for here, but think I might do a seperate run report for both here and the parkrun page,
I was over the moon to be able to say I can write a run report for the page, I was jumping up and down, really looking forward to next week, going to take a notebook with me so I can make some notes about the run, any celebrations, milestones, birthdays etc, then will check the results to see who has managed to get a PB, the volunteers etc, I'm going to write the way I write on here but I'm going to change what I write about and then I will send it to the run directors and then when it's up on the news page I will put up a link for it, for everyone who fancies having a look at what I've wrote and if it's any good,
I told Ali how much parkrun means to me, I go and help out but it's no where near as much as parkrun gives to me, I get there early or volunteer as tail runner but still feel like I'm not giving as much back to parkrun as parkrun has given to me, we spoke about the fact that without volunteers the parkrun wouldn't be able to take place in the first place and I said about that putting out the cones is enough for me to do since I have to count up to 7 then put a cone down and also walk in a straight line which isn't always the easiest for me, and then to do them all at the same time, it makes it a little bit harder but I manage it, I'm happy to put the cones around the track each week, doesn't sound like a lot but it's enough for me to be able to do and cope each week and to still enjoy it, I am really looking forward to next week's parkrun post,
Today has been an amazing parkrun, I got to see so many familar faces, some new faces and I got to make a new friend today, I can't wait for next week's parkrun, and today was my 45th parkrun I have only 5 more weeks til my 50th parkrun I look forward to celebrating that, just thinking way back in june last year thinking I wasn't even going to go to my first one due to confidence, self-esteem and being self-conscious to now be celebrating my 50th parkrun in 5 weeks time,
I'm really happy about everything I've done over the last year well longer than that, it's coming up to 2 years since I started the couch to 5k programme and started on my own journey, I've come so far in the last year and a half but back when I started out on my very first run I couldn't imagine how far I'd go, the running has helped me in more ways than just fitness and I'm sure with everyone else all your journeys you have found that the running doesn't just improve your fitness but goes in to other parts of your life,
I can't thank you all and this programme enough, if you are starting out on your own journey you won't regret it, you will find things about yourself that you never knew, obviously this will be your own journey so take it at your own pace and don't rush through it when you don't feel ready, it is your journey and nobody can tell you or should tell you when you should or shouldn't be going on the next week of runs, take it at your own pace and enjoy yourself along your journey and the programme, for me it was one of the best decisions I took, if I hadn't started on this programme I would never have found out about parkrun and the rest as they say is history,
I hope everyone has had a great parkrun today, if you didn't run at parkrun because it's your rest day or you volunteered or you don't feel like you can keep up or you go to slow and haven't yet gone to volunteer then I'd suggest you go help out and witness all the runners going round the course, but the final decisions is yours as to whether you go to your local parkrun or not, I hope you manage to go to at least one even just to volunteer and cheer the runners on, I hope that everyone on the injury couch heals up soon and you are back running soon, and I hope everyone that has had a rest day today, enjoys their rest day and your next run is a great one
Take care,
Siobhan x
