A pre-race shakeout was badly needed on Saturday (especially after a long drive the day before) so a nice jog around Cramond was a good choice. It was busy – but not more than usual I don’t think – and the usual headwind on the way back wasn’t as bad as I’ve experienced it before. The forecast rain held off too!
I’ll blog about Sunday’s race in the next few days.
Next week’s parkrun will be closer to home as we’re done with travelling for a while!
Burnley parkrun had been on my radar for a while. It’s the second nearest one to the in-laws in Colne; we’ve done the nearest, Pendle, many times, but it’s very hilly and not at all an easy course. Burnley is a much flatter option and so I’d always been keen to give it a go at some point. This last weekend, we had a progression run on the training plan, so the timing was right to try this one out.
(It was also the most convenient weekend to do this month’s new-to-me parkrun – the Edinburgh area would have been the other option when we’re up for the half marathon, but Geth wants some familiarity the day before the race so we’ll do one we’ve done before!)
What I hadn’t realised was that Burnley parkrun has such a beautiful setting. It’s beside Towneley Hall, which is surrounded by a huge park. It feels very fancy when you drive into it! It really seemed like a world away from Burnley itself (I’ve run through the town along the canal and it generally seems a bit industrial and grey).
The parkrun itself was really busy, which was a real contrast to the lower attendance we’re used to at Pendle. The paths were hugely congested – I expected this to ease during the run, but it never did, and I really had to weave around people during the faster miles of my progression. It’s not really surprising though – if I lived in the area, I suspect I would go to this one all the time as it’s so nice!
A gentler effort next week as we approach the race.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect performance-wise from this one. While there’s been plenty of speedwork in my current half marathon plan, I’ve not done much short fast stuff recently – my parkruns have almost all been easyish efforts or part of longer runs for probably the last eight or nine months – and this wasn’t an A-race, just a sharpener en route to the Edinburgh half in a couple of weeks. I had no idea what kind of 10k shape I was in. It was also forecast to be a hot day.
In sum, it was pretty unlikely that I would be able to keep my streak of Sunderland PBs following my 48:59 last year. But I had to try and give it the best go I could.
In recent years there’s been a good number of Benchies doing this race and so it’s always a fun morning out. Friends are a good distraction from starting line nerves!
I started too fast (knew that would happen, it always does), settled by about mile three, resolved early on not to look at my watch until the end as I knew it would just wind me up, was suffering in the heat by the second half and felt tempted just to give up and jog it in so many times… but I stayed steady and never let the effort level drop. Couldn’t manage a sprint at the end so I know I couldn’t have done any better on the day (at least not without risking collapse). 50:22. In the ballpark of last year’s summer efforts so I’ll take it.
Might do another 10k around November or so in the hope that I can still get a PB in the distance this year once I’ve recovered from my autumn marathon. In two minds about that, though. It’s not my favourite distance!
Another parkrun sandwich this morning to sweeten another long run with fast bits in. I did the first fast bit round the Moor as signs etc. were starting to appear for the parkrun, and the second fast bit during the parkrun itself (though not quite as fast as the first bit, because I was pacing – I could have asked for a faster time slot but decided not to complicate the run any further by pacing a time I’d not paced before!).
Proud of myself that 30 minutes still felt easy after all that – there was a time not too long ago when it wasn’t even possible for me. Ended up pacing someone who’s doing a local half tomorrow and wanted some practice at his goal pace 🙂
Lots of chat with friends and then home. Such a good morning I forgot to take a photo!
Some non-run volunteering next week – it’s been a while.
Still doing a new-to-me parkrun event once per month!
Ashington Community Woodland was lovely this morning. It’s traily but very runnable, especially in the dry conditions we’ve had recently, and a nice small parkrun community (50 runners today). I will be back in the eventual future for p-index purposes!
It made me feel summery to be running on trails in nice weather. Excited for the months ahead.
Most likely back on the Moor next week!
For this weekend’s long run, the training plan mandated a 14-miler with a fast bit in the middle. I absolutely loathe long runs with fast bits in the middle, so I decided to make it more bearable by doing a parkrun sandwich. Denton Dene provided the requisite distance there and back.
It was a fortuitous choice as they’d gone all out for the Easter weekend! There was an Easter egg hunt (I did not partake as I was concentrating on my steady pace, but all the kids clearly enjoyed it), bunny ears all over the place, and chocolate treats at the end (which I really appreciated as it provided a bit of extra fuel for the rest of my run).
New-to-me parkrun next week 🙂
Back to my favourite parkrun today! A lovely easy run (well, turned into a bit of a progression run as always happens in the Dene) on an absolutely beautiful spring morning.
Fitting everything in around half marathon training at the moment so it’ll be a parkrun sandwich next week.
First parkrunday of the month is usually pacer week at Town Moor and I like to pace if possible. I used to find pacers really helpful in my early/slow days and so I’m really happy to be able to do it myself now.
I was pacing 30 today (my favourite time to pace as so many people are trying to break it!) and it felt like a nice gentle run, which is a good sign for me at the moment. Geth was taking it easy too and ran with me after catching me up at about halfway.
Under my pacer vest I wore my brand new 250 shirt that arrived a few days ago following my 250th last week! Nice to start the next 250 parkruns off in the proper fashion 🙂
Not decided on next week yet but it’ll be local again.
When Geth and I originally planned our trip to London this last weekend (to celebrate some work milestones for him), he suggested that we finally make the trip to the home of parkrun, Bushy Park. It was a lot later that I realised it would actually coincide with my 250th parkrun!
(Cue some ordering of something adequately silly to wear. Top tip: if you’re wearing a celebratory sash at parkrun, use multiple safety pins to attach it to your shirt. It was difficult to keep it on while running!)
Between the COVID-19 pause and some long volunteering stints it’s been a very long time since my 100th parkrun in December 2019. Really looking forward to my new t-shirt (ordered as soon as my result arrived on Saturday).
Bushy is a lovely parkrun with great vibes (I expected it to feel a bit big and impersonal but it was so friendly) and it was a beautiful morning – I couldn’t have asked for a better 250th parkrunday!