Since the last post I have had to spend more time on the sidelines due to illness. Somehow I have still managed to keep my streak going of getting out at least once a week this year but calling some of them runs are questionable. But at least I am getting out there.
The first run back from illness was at Tollcross parkrun in the east end of Glasgow. My reason for doing it was because I haven't done it since March so deserved another outing. Plus I knew it would be a struggle so I wouldn't be setting any speed records if I did a flat course. But what happened in this run was something I really did not expect. I came 2nd last!! I know the tail walker goes down as last in which case I would be 3rd last, but still, the only person I was in front of was a 70 year old! First run back from illness or not, this maybe was the wake up call I needed. Not just in terms of my time but my general health. For the record my time was just over 36 minutes which is my worst 5k time ever.
The next weekend I went to Springburn parkrun. After Tollcross the previous week my expectations were low and I just set out at a very easy pace. Just before the end of the first lap where the slight incline starts I felt the need to walk, so I did up to the small car park. But after that I was able to run fine the whole of the 2nd lap. Then in the last half lap I even managed to pick up the pace a bit and push on for a sprint finish! Where did that come from I don't know but it was reassuring to know I hadn't completely lost my fitness. I started to think that because I was bed bound so much I hardly did any activity at all when I was ill meaning my body needed to get use to being active again. Anyway this parkrun I did in just over 30 minutes! A 6 minute improvement on Tollcross.
Hmmmmmm, the weekend after Springburn saw me to return to Pollok for the first time since June. I felt alright at the start but wanted to take it easy still just to gradually try and build things up rather than go for it and have a guaranteed blow up. In the end it could be seen as my biggest blow up ever at a parkrun and that was taking it easy! I didn't even complete the first km or some might say the easy bit, without walking. And walking featured heavily on this "run". The reason for this is that the more I went on, the more ill I felt. I probably should have stopped after 1 lap but I'm too stubborn sometimes. I finished in 42 minutes. A PW for 5k by a long way.
It only took me a few days to recover from this though and I was back at it for the final parkrun day in September. This time I was heading south for a family wedding with my parents. They very kindly let me do a parkrun on the Saturday and I chose one which was on the way as the wedding was down in Cornwall. So I picked Arrow Valley just south of Birmingham in Redditch. To be honest I don't really have any criteria for picking a parkrun - like flat/hilly, laps/out and back etc. It was going to be somewhere I haven't been and its a parkrun so they were the only 2 boxes that needed to be ticked. I knew it was a busy one by the results. Usually they get about 400. It starts in a big grassy area and then its 2 laps of the lake, although the path does veer away from the lake in sections. The paths are quite narrow and I started quite far back, so pace was very much dictated for the first mile or so. But then it spread out and I could pick people off for the rest of it. I ended up finishing in 30 minutes completing a very up, down month of running.
In terms of looking forward and future goals I know I said I might just stick to doing parkruns but I do think I need bigger goals to get me going further and faster during training. So maybe a 10k in November could be on the cards. I also have set some strava segment goals to keep my hill work interesting.
