Snuck in a couple of long runs this week, Monday and Thursday. Thursday was particularly challenging as it was very warm and took a hilly route. Tuesday and Wednesday were shorter faster runs and Friday was a rest day as I wanted to be fresh for the Park Run on Saturday.
The Park Run was an alternative route due to an event in Temple Newsam. There was confusion with parking but the run began only five minutes late with 160 in attendance. Weather was hot from the get-go and I had been warned in advance that the route was tough. It was two laps of a route with each lap containing two or three moderate hills.
After the first half-lap I had fallen in with a group who I stuck with for basically the remainder of the race. Learning lessons from the 11k race I did a few weeks ago I wasn’t too competitive in the first half, which paid off when I had fuel left through the second half to fight the group I was in. Annoyingly I hadn’t worn my watch so didn’t know what pave we were doing and also had no concept of where I was In the pack.
On the final straight past the rhododendrons there were 3 runners in front of me so I increased my pace. I knew I could take the nearest two, who were running as a pair, and hoped to catch the third. I overtook the pair easily and engaged with the third but he he was stronger than me and beat me by a couple of seconds (so not even close).
I was happy with the effort that I put in and asked the guy who beat be what time we did, and he said 21:35 which is a good result for me. The results were released later that day and I found I had come 5th overall and 1st in my age group which is by far my best positional performance and the Park Run, and very satisfying. The time was also good but not comparable to other runs due to the alternative route.
Overall a good performance and encouraging that the training is paying off. Based on the other times posted, gaining another few places is very achievable in the coming weeks.
JH 