5K NSV

flabulous4

Hello all,
I started couch25K in June this year and finished it in late September. Shortly afterwards I started doing parkrun, which is free 5K runs every Saturday morning in various parks around the UK.
It was my fourth parkrun this morning. I drove over in the rain, thinking 'This might not go so well.' My home run is the Pennington Flash parkrun, which is a mixture of gravel paths, grassy banks, some bridle paths and usually a fair bit of mud (I know I'm selling this well). Just before we started the marshal announced that we would be running a different course today - as he put it 'if we used the grassy banks you'd be needing an ambulance', and that the paths would be softer than usual because of the rain. It wasn't looking good!
So we set off and the course was boggy, muddy and splashy. There are two hills, one quite steep and one gradual one, and you do three laps. Halfway round the first lap I passed someone who normally finished ahead of me and thought 'I'll be seeing you later!'. I passed a few people fairly quickly and worried that I'd peaked too early.
Second lap and I was feeling it a bit...stumbled over a rock...I've been doing bridge to 10K and I think I prefer the longer distance because it takes me a while to get into the run. When I do the second lap at Pennington Flash I keep telling myself that I'm nearly halfway...over halfway...only have to wave at that marshal one more time...
Third lap and the steep hill nearly killed me...just hanging on in there. I could see a couple of people in front of me and I was getting closer to one of them - but I could hear someone behind me! I drew level with the woman in front of me but then we came to a small hurdle and I HATE those, so I let her go first. Big mistake - she hurdled it and sprinted off like a hare! Nearly at the end and I could hear panting behind me - and people shouting 'Don't let her get past you!'. I speeded up but it wasn't enough and I just couldn't go any faster, even though the finish line was metres away, and she went past me literally in the finish lane!
You don't find out your time until around 12 noon when it goes on the web, and I wasn't expecting great things - I ran at Pennington a fortnight ago and did 29:47, and didn't expect to beat that, given the conditions, and especially having been beaten on the line! I was sitting in a cafe with the kids and about 12.20 I checked my phone...
28:02.
28:02!
A minute and three-quarters faster!
And the woman who beat me on the line...she got the same time as I did.
Next time I'll be looking out for her - and trying to get under 28 minutes!

wiglet23

That is sooo awesome. Congrats!

Myrtlemama4

wow thats amazing! Its funny how other people can help you without you even knowing..That is one of my goals is the 5k under 30 min..way to go!

Leigh_D

WOO HOO! :happy: