Back home this week and back to the beautiful Dene for my favourite kind of parkrunday. Kept the pace ‘parkrun easy’ (i.e. a pace that feels too fast normally but is nice and comfortable at parkrun) and enjoyed the surroundings.
Same again next week!
It was the last day of our trip today, but there was still time for one more new-to-us parkrun!
We weren’t expecting much from Carlisle (especially after the special trip to Fountains Abbey last week) but it’s a really lovely parkrun. Not a fast course (there are a lot of grass sections, though perhaps not so many on the winter course) but a really friendly event, and surprisingly small in numbers given that it’s the only parkrun in the city.
Closer to home next week!
I think Fountains Abbey is one of those parkruns that’s on everyone’s bucket lists – considered the most beautiful in the UK and all that – but for me and Geth, it had been taunting us for a while as we see signs for it every time we drive down via Harrogate to visit family. Every time, we say that someday we’re going to stop in the area and do Fountains Abbey parkrun instead. This weekend, we did.
We were both taking it easy today (Geth recovering from injury, me resting after a tough week on the training plan) so had a lovely run together enjoying the scenery.
The abbey and grounds are so beautiful and this parkrun location really is worth the hype for me. I don’t usually revisit non-local parkruns, but I’d love to do this one again.
More touring next week.
Another quiet-ish parkrun was much needed this weekend (and Geth wanted to do a couple of extra miles afterwards) so Town Moor was the best option. They were also having their annual celebration event so it was a good atmosphere.
I started off quite conservatively (good marathon goal pace practice) and then progressed to a faster last mile. Finished feeling really strong and happy! But it was the parkrun good vibes that made the morning great. Went to the café for a bit afterwards to catch up with folks.
A little further afield next week!
Another week, another Jesmond Dene parkrun!
I still hadn’t decided where to go as of last night. I’d had quite a busy week and busy weeks make things like parkrun decisions feel more overwhelming than they should. Added to that were a couple of extra uncertainties – Geth is carrying a slight injury following his race last week and wasn’t sure yesterday if he’d be able to parkrun, and the forecast of thunderstorms meant that all the local parkruns were warning that they might have to cancel. As such, I decided this morning to take the easy option.
On the face of it, Jesmond Dene – a notoriously hilly course – might not sound like the easy option. But to me it’s the perfect ‘don’t think about it’ parkrunday. I get a nice walk there and back rather than driving, I can choose to take the run easy and enjoy the beautiful views, and I can have a generally quieter and calmer morning. Today I was grateful just to be able to parkrun (the storms held off), and those are the best parkrundays.
TBD again next week, though I won’t be disappointed if I end up back at Jesmond Dene again!
A rare occasion running the same parkrun for the second week running. Geth was marshalling as he’s got a race tomorrow, so I went along to the Dene again this morning.
Another hot day (should be getting used to it as it’s been hot all summer so far!) and I felt a bit lacking in energy for the first mile or so. However, I never have a bad time at Jesmond Dene and I was able to pick things up a bit for the final stretch downhill.
Next week TBD!
A catchup as I was short on time last week.
I was at Blyth again last Saturday with my Vaporflys on, hoping for an overall PB after getting close a fortnight previously. Sadly it wasn’t my day and I was about a minute and a half slower. I’m trying to learn to pace on feel but I don’t seem to be that good at it!
Today I was back at my home parkrun (and favourite parkrun) Jesmond Dene after missing the monthly trip there in June. Lots of friends there, a lovely sunny morning (if still a bit warm!) and good vibes. Legs were feeling a bit dozy today but still only about 45 seconds slower than my course PB. I’d love to beat it this summer so I will be back a few times.
In fact, I plan to be back as soon as next week – and back-to-back weeks at the same parkrun are almost unheard of for me!
Nice to celebrate Denton Dene’s 100th event and 2nd birthday this morning!
It was a super hot one, so I didn’t push it too hard – but still came in with a solid steady time.
Hopefully it’ll have cooled down enough to go for it properly again next week!
Considering that I didn’t feel well yesterday afternoon (to the extent that at one point I was considering walking parkrun instead of running it), I had a really good parkrunday!
I felt much better this morning (Geth not so much – we’ve now identified that he needs a bit more rest this weekend), though the weather was not on our side. Yesterday’s beautiful sunshine had given way to wind and drizzle. Nevertheless, we drove to Blyth as planned, did a warmup and both decided to see what we could do.
It’s a crowded start so I focused on overtaking the people I needed to overtake and settled in. There was a strong headwind on the beach side of the loop so it was just about staying strong during that section and trying to make up for it in the tailwind on the way back. I had quite a few similarly-paced runners to chase, so I was able to keep a steady hard effort the whole way, though I never looked at my watch during the run.
I didn’t have much of a sprint in me at the end (was outsprinted by quite a few people and it absolutely could not be helped) but I was delighted with my result. Course PB, 3rd fastest ever parkrun time (only six seconds slower than my overall PB), highest ever age grade and 1st in my age category (7th lady overall). Not bad given that I was still talking about taking it easy first thing this morning!
I know it’s just one parkrun but it has made me feel much better about my running as I’ve been a tiny bit disappointed with my race results recently. Still no distance PBs this year, but it definitely feels like it’s within reach now.
Staying local again for an event milestone next week.
This was the last Town Moor parkrun for a month as it’ll be off for a few weeks due to the Hoppings fair. There was a great vibe all morning as a result.
It was also pacer week and I paced 27 minutes for the first time. Came in bang on time, so I was really happy!
With the Blaydon Race coming up on Monday, participants were asked to wear their Blaydon shirts from past years, so I dug out my first one from 2017 – it was hidden under my pacer vest during the actual parkrun but I got to be in a few good group photos beforehand.
Final thing of note: I realised when looking at the results that Jay McGuiness (of The Wanted and Strictly fame) had run Town Moor parkrun today. Nice to have a celebrity visit!
Visiting a local one we’ve not done in a while next week.