Parkrun #31: Rising Sun (guide-running), run 5

Another guide-running parkrun today, and a time that was a full 7 (SEVEN) minutes faster than the first time we ran together. I can't take the credit for that though; my guidee was ready to call this her graduation run for Couch to 5K, as she'd already done two of the three runs in the final week of the programme. Alas, we didn't manage a continuous 30 minutes today, as her knees were complaining; she's still just 6 months after having a little boy and bones aren't what they once were.

For me though, it made for a nice, relaxed 5K with a lot of chatting, which was a pleasant change. It was perfect for the day before a 10K and meant that I kept myself on target for 30 parkruns this year... just. I also got a surprise (and slightly random) achievement in the 5K app today, getting the "Palindrome" achievement with a time of 44:44. I feel like there should be a second achievement for that, given that it's ALL the same number, but whatever. 🤷‍♂️

So, as is probably apparent from countless recent posts, it's (what feels like) a big day tomorrow. The only goal I didn't achieve last year will finally be ticked off. Outside of the Race for Life (which feels more like a fun run), this is the first proper, mass-participation event I've done. And I'm really quite excited for it. Yes, it's a proper race, but of course I'll be nowhere near the front; that doesn't matter. My competition is with the stopwatch, as I aim to get a time under an hour. And, secretly, I'd love to get a time faster than my one 10K training run, even though that was done in perfect conditions and tomorrow will be warmer. Call it a stretch goal. 😁


All the gear's ready to go. Let's do this.

And speaking of goals, tomorrow lunchtime, just after the run, marks the exact halfway point of the year (according to my maths) and so there'll be a post to give an update on my year's goals. The timing's highly convenient, as I should (touch wood) have just ticked off one of those goals. I've been looking forward to this update for a while now (there's been a draft receiving updates for weeks) as things are looking pretty rosy. But... more on that tomorrow. See you on the flipside!

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