Like many runners these days it was a parkrun that got me back into running. My local parkrun is only 2 miles away and one of the better ones in my opinion. Undulating and curvy with plenty of mixed terrain, dog walkers and crazy geese it is always well attended and there are always loads of club mates there.
An extended 4 mile warm up felt nice and then just time to strip off a layer and get to the start line. Due to icy conditions the course was altered slightly and the marshals admitted that they were not sure how long the race was now but it would be somewhere "about" 5k.
As normal everyone charged off at the start and I was probably in around 25th place after 100 metres. I soon started to work my way through the field though and by 2k I had overtaken the two club mates that I wanted to beat. By this time the field was pretty spread out and there was a good 20 metres between me and the guy ahead. My legs felt good though and I just did my best to keep the foot on the gas and my club mates behind.
They gradually dropped behind and I finished in the same 11th place I started the second half of the race in. I was surprised by the time of 20 minutes flat as I knew I was going faster than that but concluded that the revised course was long and hopefully I did at least a 19:30 5k. But most importantly I enjoyed myself and felt energised afterwards. Hopefully this short "off" period I have had is over.
A two mile jog home made it nine for the day.
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