Parkrun
Parkrun organises free weekly timed runs all over the world.
For those that don’t know Parkrun is an organisation that coordinates free 5km timed races/runs at parks around the world.
Of late I’ve being attempting to haul my arse off the couch to go out running. I was inspired by a friend (well done Sue) who was using a Couch to 5K program that was posting updates to her Facebook profile. I started the 9 week couch to 5K program using the RunDouble app on my phone in early June. I’m due to start week 8 next week
I’ve been running without stopping for 25 minutes covering about 4.5km and my training route has a short hill at the end. I say short, it feels horrendous as I drag my self over it. So my thought was if I could run 4.5km with a hill at the end I should be able to complete my 
local Parkrun as it’s a flat course. I turned up to the event expecting there to be maybe 30 – 50 runners. Boy was I wrong. More like 500. I turned up a little early as I wasn’t really clued into the procedure. Gripping my barcode (they give you a barcode when you sign up) in hand I was ready to be ‘processed’ only to be told by a marshal that I only need the barcode as I complete the run. I continued to fumble with my phone as I try to setup a custom 5k run in RunDouble whilst making sure I have the Foo Fighters going as their beat is a good running metronome. No slow ballads whilst I’m running please.
We’re a bit late to start as the organisers cant locate the ‘chips’ …
“Hmmm, free race, then chips. Happy days!” I thought. However the chips were timing chips ?? … the engineer in me wants to understand how the process works. I cant make sense of it. I tell myself to
“just stay in the moment and concentrate on what I need to do and to let the marshals take care of the event”
I go for a little warm up jog, stretch a bit and relax. The timing chips have arrived and the marshals are getting us ready. I line up in the 25-31 minutes starting area, much as the competitor in me would like to be further forward I keep reminding myself …
“You haven’t run 5km before. The target is to complete the distance”
I’m fumbling again now. Headphones in/out … I need to listen to the marshals and I’m trying to get the RunDouble app ready to start the race. And we’re off! As I cross the line I press the “Start my Run” button, get comfortable and try to find a good pace. It’s a bit crowded so I move to the edges of the group of runners around me. I find myself wanting 
to run faster than the pace of the group around me so I pick my way through. Some are going past me too, including a guy pushing a three wheeled buggy complete with infant. I notice a couple of other runners ahead of me are close to my pace so I track them. All is good. I’m not running at a pace where I could hold a conversation but I’m comfortable enough. No sign of The Chimp telling me to “STOP!”
“Strange” I think to myself “no updates from RunDouble”
Hmmm do I fanny about with it as I run or do I just stay with the music and keep tapping the pace out? I stick with the latter. So far we’ve been in the shade of trees lining the local river that runs through the park and it’s felt comfortable. I normally run late evening as I find it hard to run when it’s hot. Then around 1.5 – 2km I find we’re out of the shade and it’s warm. I run with ankle length leggings and a short sleeved running top. Good choice for cooler evenings not so good for warm days. It’ll be shorts and perhaps a vest next time. Lessons learnt. For the first time my pace and the heat is starting to wake The Chimp up. This time he’s useful, he’s not telling me to stop, he’s telling me to
“Just ease the pace a little. Let go of the runners you are tracking and pace yourself.”
In fairness it’s sound advice and I ease back a little. 2km – 3km is warm but bearable. I can see the speedsters doubling back now. Whilst that could construed as disheartening, for me it was a positive as it meant I was close to half way. I can feel I’m tired. I’m a little careless as I pass another runner, just cutting in front of him a little too quickly as I move to avoid some pedestrians. He gives me a gentle tap on the shoulder just to let me know he’s there. I raise my hand and apologise. I need to brush up on my running etiquette.
3km – 4km it’s getting tough now. The Chimp is no longer being reasonable
“Just stop. Take a breather. It’s hot, you’ve set off to fast. You’ve still got 2km to go, you’re not going to make it”
I hold The Chimp with a firm but compassionate grip and say
“I know you’re trying to help. I know I’m hot and tired and yes my breathing is heavy, and some parts of my legs feel tired. However, for now I can run to that tree and for now that’s what I’m going to do. I will ease my pace again but I will not stop. The pain you notice will pass and I choose to focus on the parts of me that are feeling good. My shoulders, my thighs, my feet. If I can climb the hill on my training runs and keep going I can continue to run on this flat course”
The Chimp continues to wrestle with me and I try to accept that he is there but I choose not to fight with him. Rather I focus on my moment by moment goals:
- Keep pace with the music.
- Run to the object in the near distance.
- Focus on the parts of my body that feel good and strong.
I see the 4km marker and that gives me a huge psychological boost. This silences The Chimp as he knows despite how much he complains I’m too strong mentally to stop now. I can break the last 1km down. That’s probably going to take about 5.50 to complete, I can break it down into 100m stretches. It’s the home straight now. I see a 400m marker and the competitor in me says
“Ok let’s open up the throttle and bring it home in style”
Yeah right! I quickly dismissed that idea noting that I’d probably throw up if I tried that. I just kept tapping out the pace despite marshals trying to spur me on. Then at last I can see the finish line. No hero stuff here just a constant pace to the line where I’m given a timing chip which is effect another bar code.
Yay! First 5km!
I still cant work out the mechanics of how they time me but I’m too tired and boiling hot to care. I funnel into the queue to be ‘processed’. As we queue up we’re encouraged to talk to our neighbour in the queue. Fat chance of that I can barely speak. Then I’m processed … my personal barcode is scanned and my timing chip is scanned. Job done! A great achievement considering I wasn’t doing any exercise before June. Definitely some schoolboy errors though:
- Huge bunch of car keys .. I had stuff them into the zipped pouch at the back of my running leggings
- Forgot to bring any water
- Need to get my running gear right for the temperature.
- Set off too fast. Probably spurred on by my competitive spirit.
- Failed to start my timer correctly meaning I don’t have any splits information which would have helped me analyse my pace.
Overall though I’m pleased that:
- I completed the distance
- My time (27.15) was good all things considered
- I didn’t cave in when The Chimp got ugly
Many thanks to the Parkrun volunteer marshals. They make it so easy!
I’m picked up “The Art of Running Faster” by Julian Goater on my Kindle app earlier this week and to my surprise I found I have a totally incorrect technique.
OMG! Well it’s fair to say my calves took a battering. It felt like I had a rock in each calf. I focused on stretching afterwards but the next day I was in a lot of discomfort. I have a new found respect for girls in stilettos, I have no idea how they do it. Two days later I went out for a very gentle run to loosen things up.