Midweek: Leazes loop-the-loop

Four days since breaking my Windy Nook duck, I finally found the time to run again. Still hoping to enjoy some greenery at lunchtime, but reluctant to head into Jesmond Vale for a third time in a row, I decided I'd head back to Leazes Park. I actually did as well, but took the scenic route and found that by the time I got there, I was so knackered that I didn't fancy any more than one lap of the parkrun course. 😩


The reason for being so knackered was twofold. First, I'd purposely chosen a route there that had a lot of uphill, and so I entered the park at its highest point. But secondly, my performance at Windy Nook had made me think that the effort I'd put in recently in Jesmond Vale and elsewhere — especially on the hills — had been beneficial, so I wanted to push myself fairly hard to reap more benefits.

Unfortunately, as you can see from the image above, my first couple of kilometres weren't exactly setting the world on fire. 1K was fine, but 2K less so. When Google Fit announced it, the third kilometre sounded like an improvement, but I couldn't be sure as my oxygen-starved brain struggled to remember the numbers and do the maths.

Regardless, I kept pushing beyond what I've been comfortable with recently. Thanks to traffic noise, I completely missed the 4K and 5K announcements — just before passing BBC Newcastle and after turning onto Claremont Road respectively, it turns out — so I just kept at it. I knew it was pretty much all flat or downhill from the BBC, so I felt I had no excuse for not upping the pace.

Eventually, coming past the Newcastle University buildings, I heard the tail end of the 6K announcement and it sounded like 32 minutes something. That was good. But it also meant I would end up running further than I'd really meant to. I did my best to maintain the pace down Northumberland Street, dodging the shoppers, and finally hit 7K just before getting back to work.

When I stopped, my calves instantly seized despite me continuing to move around the car park. To be fair, I'd felt one of them going on Northumberland Street, but pressed on. It wasn't quite as painful as the time I stopped moving after my Leazes freedom parkrun, but it was still painful. Writing this at 7:25pm, I can still feel the tightness. But... whatever. Overall, it was a great run.

Or rather, it was a great result. The first 5K may only have been a 27:11, but the 2K to 7K stretch was an impressive 25:30. Granted, there was more downhill, but I've never done 5K that fast before. Well, except on a treadmill. All in all, I'm delighted and growing in confidence for a renewed assault on my parkrun PB. How tempting is it to go to a properly flat course next?!?! 😀

The run was also notable for the fact it's the furthest I've run non-stop. My 7.7K run to work was littered with pauses as I crossed roads, but this was all go. I could have kept going too. Which is good, as it's promising for my upcoming 10K. What? I didn't mention that? Bring it. 😁

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