Bit of a midweek change of plan last week. Geth and I had originally planned to go to Leazes for a fast effort, but after both suffering from a cold during the week, we decided not to put ‘course PB pressure’ on ourselves and elected to try our NENDY at Denton Dene instead.
I was really pleased to get this one done. I’d been meaning to go all summer and hadn’t got round to it!
I decided to give it a good bash without looking at my watch. It turned out to be less hilly than people had been warning – IMO the sharp turns and narrow paths (made more difficult by the ‘keep right’ rule) are the truly tricky parts of this course.
I felt like I was going too fast when I started, but I decided to hang onto the pace and see where it got me. It got me a 29-second all-time parkrun PB – 26:32! Not bad considering it was a hillyish course, I was recovering from a cold and I was only wearing my second fastest shoes!
I was also 3rd lady, which I’m almost more pleased about than the PB. I know positions are all very dependent on who turns up on the day, and I try not to be competitive, but given that I spent my early parkrun years shuffling along accompanied by tailwalkers (tailrunners in those days), a podium finish is always going to be really special.
Back to bigger hills next week, so I’ll definitely have to wait a few weeks to try and be fast again!