Well, I keep chipping away at getting a 30 minute parkrun time... my first one was 47-odd minutes, and now (after 17 of them) I'm down at under 34 minutes.
Having lost 2.5 stones, I thought it was time to buy a proper running top and I wanted to support Parkrun so I bought one of their new Apricot tops. Very nice it is too... very thin, lots of air holes. And a sensible size and fit, thank goodness (after my demoralising trip to Decathlon yesterday, where even an XL was ridiculously tight!). I'd ordered a large and at 5ft8in and nearly 15 stones was worried I'd done the wrong thing but no, it's fine. It'll be perfect when I've lost another 7lbs.
Can't wait to try it out next week at Sale Water Park!
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Pianism
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Oooh, that’s nice to hear. I’ve been looking at these tops, but it’s a lot of money for a top that might not fit. I totally agree about decathlon, I have a couple of XL tops from there that I am still hoping that one day I’ll be able to get in to 😂
Yes,it is rather a lot of money for a top, but for something special, I was happy to pay it. You can return them for a different size if they don't fit (but probably at a cost). It's a shame that the company that do these don't do a bigger range or I'd buy more...
Totally agree, I would be happy to spend that money on a decent top and especially as it goes to a good cause, not some designer label, but I am often reluctant to shop online because you can’t check the fit and feel the fabric. I saw a couple of people in them this morning but didn’t feel I could go and ask if I could feel their t-shirt 😂
I've just been trawling Manchester and managed to get a couple of tops in a similar fabric from Sports Direct... a bit limited in range and availability but sensible sizing and good enough for me.
Our ParkRun is a two lap loop, clockwise most weeks but anti-clockwise in the first weekend of each month. Today I did it in 37 minutes. I last did it anti-clockwise at the beginning of March in 43 minutes!! Isn’t it a fab way to see the progress?!
Living in France, I feel I am missing out on Park runs...the nearest to me is Toulouse 2.5 Hours away! I feel like I am missing out even more now...nice t shirt and great to support à good cause.
Checking out cheap flights to uk to see what all this Parkrun hype is about, they sound fabulously motivating and fun!
Hi Franglaise, I have just looked up what parkrun is in French, and guess what, it's parkrun, but they pronounce it in a very French accent.
This morning as I part of my "runiversary runs" I reran the big one, yes, run 3 of week 5, dispite graduating last year I was still feeling a little nervous about it, however, I ran it OK, the pace was in fact a little faster than a year ago, last year it was 08.40Km, today my pace was 07.09 per kilometer. 😊 🏃
You'll look smashing in your new running top! Congrats on the huge improvements you're making in your PR time, too. 30 minutes is within reach for sure!
Ooh very snazzy! Glad you got a top sorted. I’m still going to check out Decathlon but at least I’m forewarned. That’s a very impressive decrease in time, well done!
No, well nor can I yet. I can feel myself getting stronger though and my running watch gives me my current pace so I'm experimenting with keeping things artificially slow at the start and keeping some energy back for later in the run. When I started out, just running was a miracle. Now, as I'm getting stronger, I'm starting to see that one day I'll be able to actually run...
They are very nice. If the large fits me then the sizing is fairly generous and they go up to 3XL so I reckon there's one to fit you. But I have to say, I feel much more conscious in the brighter colours!
It won't be long before you can't do without that 9am Saturday fix Good luck with week 4 and then on to week 5 - enjoy it; it's a real turning point in the programme and in your confidence!
I hate the way these big companies size their products. Adidas and Nike are particularly bad: at a normal size 12 I was extra large and I’m still medium after losing 2 stone. They encourage eating disorders sizing the way they do, they’re totally unrealistic and demoralising. Parkrun and their clothing ranges are much more on the button and they understand they psychology of it much better: not just for skinny younguns.
Hopefully when we next meet I’ll have treated myself to a Stratford version and we can be a couple of apricots together 👍😀
Yes, I agree. The weird thing is I've just bought an Adidas top that's basically the same size as the parkrun top and marked at the same. Yet when I went to the Adidas outlet, everything was tiny... I think maybe they do "athletic fit" for some stores and "regular fit" for others... no idea. But looking around the train carriage I'm on, to describe me as XXL would be inaccurate.
Who knows Pianism, maybe ‘leisure wear’ is normal and ‘sports wear’ is tiny? It doesn’t make much sense but I can definitely confirm you are not XXL Pianism! 👍😊
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No Parkrun Today :(
Ooooh my poor legs!!! 
Parkrun - W7R1
First Parkrun today - in the rain! 
Slightly perplexed....
