Park(run) life

A first introduction to Parkrunning

With most of the week's training written off by a bug, there's not been much distance done, so on Saturday I jogged over to Ashton Court and joined the weekly Parkrun.

Since my last proper organised running was 20+ years ago, this free event was a good change from the usual there & back runs - I actually got to run with real people and not just against the Endo App. It was very well-organised & reminded me of the spirit of the old-style inter-club XC races I used to run in the the 90s.

I managed to put in a creditable performance (for current fitness level) in just over 23 minutes. Given there's a 100m lump of hill in the first mile it was surprising to get up this with no real problem. Most of my running has been on paths & trails & I was starting to wonder how to cope with the hills on the K2B.. Now I know. The same way as everything else. "Left foot, right foot, slightly faster than walking".

Short & Sharp was definitely true as it was over before I'd properly got my bearings, but happy to be competing & came in a reasonable 55th of 230. For something completely different I'll be adding this to the weekly schedule when I can, as it's 12mi there & back - a bit more if you add in a loop around the docks.

Sunday saw me take the old Bath Path in an attempt to run a full marathon for the first time, though the bug still had a small hold and I ditched at Bath rather then push it. First time I've bailed halfway since I started LeJOG training, though it did feel like the right decision. Plenty more time to step up the mileage, as there's still 423 days to go.