Tag: parkrun

A few weeks’ worth of parkrundays to catch up with.

On 13th September we went to Town Moor, as is traditional the week after the GNR (they do a big group photo of everyone in their finishers’ t-shirts). Geth and I both had six miles to do – peak marathon training meant that every scheduled run was quite a bit longer than three miles and parkrun sandwiches had become non-negotiable at this point! We did the course solo by ourselves, stopped for the group picture and then went round again with everyone else.

On the 20th I had a tempo progression to do, so sandwiched it to Jesmond Dene this time (1 mile steep uphill, 1 mile flattish and 1 mile steep downhill just about worked for my session).

On the 27th I finally got round to doing another new-to-me parkrun! We headed up to Morpeth for Carlisle Park parkrun (not to be confused with Carlisle parkrun, which we did the month before). Some tough bits on that course but it’s a really lovely one.

Then this last weekend, 4th October, we returned to Town Moor for what ended up being an eight-mile sandwich due to running from home and back. It was another tempo run on the schedule for me, but Storm Amy put paid to that – ran the parkrun at marathon goal pace effort instead, which was a nice confidence booster as it felt easy even in the strong wind. (Hoping for still conditions on race day, obviously!)

Another local effort this next weekend.

Back in the Dene for a third week running (and it’ll definitely be a fourth next week as we’re scheduled to volunteer!).

Just took it really easy today as starting to wind down for the GNR mini-taper. A lovely morning out running with Geth.

Favourite parkrunday of the year next week!

Usually I rarely visit the same parkrun event twice in a row, but this summer I have really, really appreciated my nice low-key parkrun mornings at Jesmond Dene, which is my closest event (and, conveniently, my favourite). Life (and running, to an extent) is a bit high-pressure at the moment so I have decided that parkrun will be an escape from that. I’ve just been running how I feel. PBs can wait for next year.

(And believe me, nobody is ever going to get an overall PB at Jesmond Dene! Unless it’s the only event they ever run.)

Don’t know yet where I’ll be next week. Not ruling out going to Jesmond Dene again!

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!