Parkrun #33: Herrington Country Park, run 2

Well, this was a tonic; I'll explain why in a moment. But first, let's just bask in the glory of having set my second fastest parkrun time ever today, with a 25:16. at Herrington Country Park. That's given me a much-needed mental lift, so... hurrah! 😌

So yeah, I've been starting to feel a bit glum about my pace again recently. Ever since I hit the high of a 25:04 at the Riverside a couple of months ago, I feel like I've been on a slide backwards. And both in training and at parkruns. Thursday's difficult run in Newcastle did nothing to help my mood either. Today, on the way south, I had to fight off the urge to just turn around and go home several times. I'd actually set out with Silksworth in the satnav, but cancelled that around the Tyne Tunnel. I just didn't fancy it; the course sounds uninspiring and hilly enough to give me another morale-killing slow time. Reflecting on the risk of a poor time, I began to wonder whether I'm such a tourist mainly because I can't face not getting a course PB each time. New course = guaranteed new PB. Have I just got a massive fear of failure?

Anyway, as I drove slowly onward, I considered Herrington and managed to remember the time I got on my only previous visit. Matching a 26:20 felt like it was going to be hard, but the thought gave me a moment of focus and a flash of determination, which was enough to stop me turning back.

The Kubix 23 festival... a bit of a surprise!

On arrival at the park, I got a surprise as the signs at the entrance were all about the Kubix festival, which it turned out was happening today on the site. There were festival marshalls in evidence at the entrance and I immediately did a U-turn to park up and check whether the parkrun was even on. The 5K app reckoned it was (or rather didn't say it wasn't), so I eventually turned back in and asked the guy on the entrance whether parkrun was still on. "Down there for parkrun" was the -- entirely incorrect -- response. I drove "down there" only to be told by more marshalls that "down there" was only for the festival campsite and I needed to leave the way I'd come in.

So, back to the entrance with the choice then being to either head to what looked like the main festival car park or... well... leave. I started the former, thought better of it, and then did a 3 point turn to leave. By this point, I was starting to notice more and more people in running gear, mainly coming from the opposite side of the dual carriageway, just under Penshaw Monument. I made a beeline for that and after almost giving up on the parking there, eventually found a spot I was happy to leave the car. It was 08:55am. 😱

As you can see, the festival was pretty close to the start line

Luckily, I made it to the start in time, partly helped by the fact the organisers delayed it a bit to account for the parking shenanigans. So... with the long-winded but cathartic intro out of the way, what was the race like? HARD. But I made it that way on purpose.

I set off with my mind full of how bad I felt about recent performances (10K aside) and determined to have a go at setting a decent time; really, a low 26-minute time. That meant skipping off the path to get past people at the start and generally just setting what I felt was going to be an unsustainable pace. This was based on the fact I often reflect later that I wish I'd set off faster, when it turns out I could've handled a faster start. So, faster start it was. This did, of course, mean that I was huffing and puffing like crazy the whole way round. It definitely helped to know what I was letting myself in for re the course, but lordy, I made it hard on myself.

On the first lap, I don't think I let up at any point. I'd left Google Fit's announcements on today by accident (I normally turn them off for a parkrun, as they're embarrassing as well as wrong), but the volume on my phone wasn't loud enough for me to make them out properly, so they weren't really providing feedback or motivation.

On the second lap, I felt my pace was dropping and that I was starting to struggle, feeling the effects of the quick start. While I'd fairly consistently been passing a lot more people than had passed me, I think I coasted for a few seconds as I lost focus. Later on that second lap, I vaguely heard Google's 20-minute announcement and could've sworn she said I'd done only 3.54 kilometres. My brain didn't have enough spare oxygen to work out my pace or projected finish time, but that felt bad. And so, despite the fact I was starting a descent down the longest and most exploitable bit of hill on the lap, my mind drifted and I coasted again. This time, I could see what a difference it made as some guy in a 50 milestone top pulled out 10-20 yards on me! Dammit!

In hindsight, I shouldn't have let myself be influenced by half-heard announcements. There's a fair chance she'd actually said "point NINE four" not "point FIVE four", which would've totally pepped me up. But anyway, I pushed on toward the finish, this time knowing full well how many turns I needed to take (unlike last time!) and even managed a decidedly anaerobic kick in the last 10 or 20 yards. As ever, it took me a few moments to stop the run timer on Google, but it indicated a time around 25:25, which astonished and delighted me in equal measure. To get a final time of 25:16 was unbelievable.

The finish line in the amphitheatre at Herrington Country Park. The water was very welcome.

So, some hours later, here I am writing it up and feeling like the sub-25-minute goal is back on. I may need to choose my event (a flat one!) and coincide it with cooler weather, but it feels attainable. Next up, though: getting back into the midweek rhythm again.