Another Parkrun PB!

After setting a new parkrun PB of 19:53 on the hilly Woodbank Park course I was curious to see what I could do on the faster Bramhall Park route.

The parkrun coincided with a tune-up race on the training plan so I had two days of easy running beforehand to get my legs ready.

I did a 3 mile warm up to get my legs in the mood for racing. When I arrived at the venue I bumped into two club-mates who are at about my standard. Lok I normally beat but Frank is normally a few minutes in front of me. It would be good to have a bit of healthy competition anyway.

I set off at my normal steady 5K pace, being overtaken left, right and centre by people sprinting the first few hundred metres. Frank disappeared into the distance and Lok was soon 10 metres ahead. As normal after a few minutes I started to reel people in.

The first Km was about 3:55 and the halfway mark was reached in 9:50. At this point I was feeling OK but wasn't sure if I would catch Lok who was still a good 10 metres in front. Through the next 1.5 Kms I steadily overtook people and gradually gained on Lok until at 4 Km I was just behind him. The time here was about 15:55 so I was expecting a modest PB as I knew the last Km was quick.

I then noticed Frank just in front of Lok - this was turning into a great battle of Bramhall Runners! With about 600m to go I overtook Lok and then went past Frank as we climbed up the last little hill. From here it was flat and then downhill so I knew I would need a fast finish to hold them off.

Thankfully my legs were willing and I accelerated down the hill to 4:50 min/mile pace and maintained it to the finish line. I was stunned when I looked at my watch to see a time of 19:21!

I don't really understand how my last block of marathon training didn't improve my 5K PB and now towards the end of this block I have suddenly gained over 30 seconds!

Needless to say I was pretty chuffed to beat my club mates - especially Frank who I have never beaten before.

Bramhall parkrun is not especially quick so I will try a fast 5K in the summer and see if I can get under 19 minutes.

The day after the parkrun I managed a slow 17 miles on weary legs. Then on the Tuesday I had some time off work to do my 20 miler to make room for a Half Marathon this weekend - the Wilmslow Half!

A few of my club mates want to get under 90 minutes for the first time so I may end up pacing them until the 10 mile point and then we will race. I can't wait!