Another week, another trip to Town Moor. According to my logs, I’ve not done the same event so many times in a row since early 2018! It was another tough run in the wind so my result was seven seconds slower than last week, but still consistent. Hoping for SB weather again next week.
One more run on the Moor planned next week and then we’re a bit further afield again.
It was lovely to be at the celebratory 700th Town Moor parkrun, especially as (a) it was Easter weekend and (b) it’s still the two-lap course 😀
I did step up the effort level a smidge this time (aided by nylon plate shoes and the fact that it wasn’t blowing a gale like it had been the weekend before; Storm Dave was yet to arrive in Newcastle), but I was pretty surprised at the end to find I’d taken two minutes off my time from the previous attempt! Still a long way from PB shape but we’ll keep chipping away.
Broke my streak of weekly improvement at Town Moor today, but given the high winds I’m not too fussed. Keeping a consistent effort week on week.
Expecting to be back on the Moor next week to celebrate the big 700th event!
All of these parkrunday posts are going to look the same for a little while. I usually rotate my parkruns even when staying local, but I’m finding that the temporary Town Moor two-lap course is really useful for measuring my progress while I’m coming back from injury, so I’ll be doing it for the foreseeable.
It was my 300th parkrun, so it was nice to celebrate one of those interim unofficial milestones! It was also nice to run in short sleeves – spring has been good to us so far.
Another week, another Town Moor parkrun, because I am enjoying the temp course so much. Still a very long way from full fitness but I was about 40 seconds faster than last week for the same perceived effort. Gradually pulling it back. Gradually.
It’ll be my 300th parkrun next week. I may well be on the Moor again!
Town Moor was on the first week of a temporary course today (due to drainage works on the Moor) so I went along to check it out. I really enjoyed the route, which actually felt a bit easier than the usual one!
I’m still not doing much forward planning in parkrun terms (just enjoying a nice quiet spring) so no idea about next week yet.
I was happy with this race given the last couple of months.
The aim of this one was always to see where I was after a winter of non-specific baseline training, as my main aim for 2026 is to make big improvements in my half marathon time. What I didn’t expect was that I wouldn’t really have that winter of baseline training, as I had to reduce my mileage drastically in January and February in order to sort out a hamstring/glute niggle. As such, while I might have expected to scrape a sub-2 on normal mileage, I thought this week that I would probably end up somewhere between 2:05 and 2:10 – and that was pretty much bang on. Due to the lack of training I knew I had to stick to a steady effort with no heroics, so I’m really pleased with how the race went.
I felt at the start like I didn’t know anyone (Middlesbrough is a bit further south than I usually venture for ‘local’ races) but it was nice to spot a few people I knew during the race and say hi.
The last few miles were a bit tough, but that’s to be expected given that I’ve not run more than 10 miles at a time since Amsterdam Marathon in October!
The hamstring twinged on occasion, but 99% of the time I didn’t notice it. Hopefully it’ll be manageable from now on.
I also didn’t feel sick 🎉🎉🎉 I was a bit crampy on occasion but no nausea. My start line gel was Active Root non-caffeinated gel mix (which did give me the usual annoying gassy aftertaste for the whole race so I’ll try something different next time) and my in-race fuel was Tailwind (which worked great, but I need to drink more of it per fuel point as I still had some left at the end).
The course is very much recommended. It’s nice and flat other than some minor flyover inclines around the halfway point. There’s not a massive amount of crowd support, but it’s great when it’s there. There’s a mile 12 out-and-back with a very similar vibe to the mile 12 out-and-back at the Edinburgh half (i.e. when the HELL is this thing going to have a turning point?), but in general I’m a fan of out-and-backs as you can concentrate on looking out for people.
The only slight issue was that all the mile markers from 5 to 12 seemed to be slightly early, each appearing about 0.2 miles before they were expected. (I know watch GPS isn’t totally accurate but I also know the inaccuracy pattern of *my* watch and I’ve never seen early markers before!) As such, I expected the race to measure slightly short by GPS – but the 13-mile marker more than made up for the shortfall and my watch ended up reading 13.3 at the finish, which is what I would typically expect.
Overall, it was a really great race. I’ll be back sometime when I’ve got better fitness.
Now for a week of recovery (or a fortnight if I feel I need it – I’m trying to listen to my body more) before training begins for the next one.
A week or two later than expected due to the odd winter cancellation over the last couple of months, but it was lovely to celebrate the 250th Jesmond Dene parkrun this last weekend!
I had a race the next day so I was volunteering. Finish tokens on this occasion (I like roles around the funnel). Nearly 300 runners on a lovely springlike morning… but not enough of them to finish the vast quantities of cake baked by lots of talented volunteers, so there was still plenty for us to eat after everyone was finished.
Not decided on the next parkrun yet (my car is going in for repairs this week so I might be limited but we’ll see!).
Bit of a catchup as I’ve not had time to post about parkrun the last couple of weeks.
On the 7th we headed to Blyth Links as Geth fancied a faster one. I’d been avoiding speed while rehabbing my hamstring so was delighted to be able to pick it up a little and finish in 28ish mins. Nice to visit the coast too!
Due to weeks of rain followed by overnight subzero temps on the Friday night, Valentine’s Day was one of those parkrun roulette days where it’s a matter of ‘what’s not cancelled round here?’. Rising Sun was the one not cancelled round here so off we went, along with a few friends. One of those fabulous mornings where you’re just grateful to be parkrunning. And it wouldn’t be a winter Rising Sun without the enormous puddle (now upgraded to ‘canal’ apparently)!
Yesterday we went to Town Moor. Temperatures have much improved and it would be starting to feel almost springlike if not for the harsh cold wind! My run felt a bit difficult as a result but still pleased with how my leg is holding up.
Some volunteering for a special milestone next week.
Last Saturday, Geth and I went to the Moor for a change. He fancied a faster effort and I was still taking it really easy due to my hamstring niggle. It’s strange how slow parkrun feels when you’re taking it properly easy. I was a little faster than the previous week at Jesmond Dene… but not much.
No picture as there was no photographer (I did take a selfie for logging purposes but it’s not particularly blogworthy).
I’ll still be taking it easy this weekend (yet to decide where) but the hamstring is much improved following a sports massage so hopefully I’ll be able to get a bit of speed up again soon!