Parkruns, PBs and Preparation!

Tomorrow I will be running my first organised 10k ( Sunderland). I am a mixture of nervous and excited but I am happy that my sister, (Joanne) brother-in-law (Craig) and best friend (Rachael) are also doing it! We can all get up really early on a Sunday to go running together haha! I feel fairly prepared, I've trained quite a bit and plan to just go and enjoy it as best I can!

I went for a run on Monday in Liverpool when I was away with work. I had forgotten to pack my running socks and just as I was about to sit in a corner and cry I realised I could just go to the shop and buy some more...so that's exactly what I did! :) I ran along the docks and it was really pretty. I did about 4 miles in total and did a mixture of race pace and gentle running and have been resting the remainder of the week.

I can’t believe how much time has flown since I last sat down and typed! I’ve done quite a bit of running since then!

On Saturday 19th April, South Shields Parkrun celebrated their first birthday. I went along with Joanne, Craig and Rachael. Rach had been having some problems running recently so she took photos of us running. It was a good run, but as always I found it quite a challenge. I was delighted with my pb of 30.28 – a sub 30 is so close now!

 

After the run, we all went to the Sandancer for tea and cake. Awards were presented by British Biathlete Amanda Lightfoot. The legend that is Tony the Fridge was also there and I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet and talk to him. I cheered him on at the Great North Run when he passed us at 11 miles last year and he is part of my inspiration to run. Rachael took a photo of us and we were talking to him about running. He’s so lovely and gave us lots of tips and advice about running!

 

Last Saturday I did South Shields Parkrun again and Joanne volunteered (with my niece Toni). Some of the members of the Great North Run Beer Tent Group also came and did the parkrun at South Shields. It was nice to catch up with them before we ran!

About 4km in I saw Joanne and Toni and seeing them really gave me a boost. They cheered me on and I started running faster. This was not a good move as I soon ran out of energy and couldn’t keep that pace up. I think I had been on target for a time close to the previous weeks pb but as I was running out of energy I began to slow down. As I was approaching the finish line Micky cheered me on and this kept me going. I was still very pleased with my time of 31.05 but I did feel rather sick! I started to walk back in the direction of Joanne, and to cheer on the other Beer Tenters. Shortly after I finished I saw Phil and Claire J Andy and I started to run back for the others. Joanne and Micky were running with Adelle and Andrew, with the tail runner. Toni was scooting along in front of everyone on her scooter. Andy and I caught up with them and ran the final stretch cheering Adelle on. It felt really good being part of the team and supporting Adelle and Andrew over the finish line. I know how important and special this feels when people come back for you as I’ve experience this myself.

After we got to the end, the tail runner thanked us all for coming back and showing support. It clearly meant a lot to Adelle and I was glad I had been part of the team supporting her J I love how supportive runners are! It makes me proud to be one!

 

After the run, we went for a cup of tea and cake (ice cream for Adelle! J ) It was nice to sit and chat after our run.

I am looking forward to completing my first race tomorrow. I still can’t quite believe that I have to run 6.2 miles (or indeed that I am able to!) It still amazes me how much progress I’ve made since I started running in September. It’s all for a good cause though! It also just goes to show that with hard work and effort anything is possible!