Parkrun #30: Prudhoe Riverside, run 2

Back to another parkrun with uneven ground to show it who's boss, this time with my Brooks trainers on, aiming to beat my previous time of 27:12. Well, that was the hope, tempered by the knowledge it was bloomin' hot. But at least the Prudhoe run's in the trees, I figured. Anyway, did I do it? YES. 26:08. Over a minute better!

The Spetchells, a ridge of calcium carbonate spoil from a WW2 factory

There are some other notable stats from today though. First of all, it's the day before my first parkrun birthday. Which, to me, means it is my parkrun birthday. 😁🎉 Also interesting to note is that I've done 30 parkruns in one year, which would get me the first tier of the Parkrun Obsessive achievement in the app (had it been a period from January to December). 30 runs is also one of my targets for 2023. And finally, today's run took me to my 11th consecutive different venue, giving me a tourist streak equal to my best streak to date. Speaks to my dislike of routine, doesn't it? That streak will end next week, mind, when I'm due to guide run at Rising Sun, bringing my it down to about 8 different venues in a row. Which is still pretty good.

As for how the run went, it felt about the pace that it was. That is, I didn't feel particularly fast (for me), even though I was trying really hard. The heat was pretty draining and it felt particularly humid on the stretch of the course that was closest to the river (though that might have been my imagination). One of those days when the footsteps — and, indeed, the whole body — just felt a little bit heavy. Other runs like this have ended up feeling like a long slog, but this one wasn't too bad; the nature of the course makes it easy to judge how far you've got left and it's almost entirely flat or very slight inclines. This made it easy to decide when to push for the finish... or it would've done if I had anything left in the tank! 😂

Action shot from the actual run, just about showing the Tyne (head-height view was a bit better)

There's always something going round my head on a 5K. This time, I found myself being fixated on the ratio of the number of people I'd passed vs. the number who'd passed me. For most of the run, I felt I'd made a net gain of positions, but in the final kilometre or two, I'd stopped passing anyone and was gradually being overhauled by one runner after another. My gut says it was maybe 10 places gained and 12 lost by the end. Once or twice, someone passed me and I'd end up tracking them for a kilometre or so before they pushed on and left me for dead.

By the end, I barely had any pace left in me and even had a wobbly moment on the one real (downhill) incline on the course, but did everything I could to improve my time. I'd been conscious the whole way of wanting to beat my previous time and, if I'm honest, was hoping to scrape a time in the 25s, but it wasn't to be. I'm pleased I did everything I could though. I recently read a quote from Henry Rollins that feels apt: "Don't do anything by half." And yeah, I'm happy that I gave it my all today. 🙂