My First Parkrun

24 Aug 2019 at 19:40 // under Personal Running

Today I took part in my first parkrun. I have been aware that there is a local weekly event for over seven years and yet I have never made it along until today.

Considering it was probably just under 10 years ago that I did my last race, I was a bit worried about how slow I had become. When I was at university, I could regularly do a 10k run in under 40 minutes. But since then I have done next to no serious running. I have kept up a general level of fitness by commuting by bike. Last year I started to attend a weekly circuits class at work. But while those activities are good for general health, the specific mussels used in running haven't really been tested in a long time.

I have been out for the odd training run, or commute by running, but never really made a habit of it. There is also something different about race conditions, everyone lining up together at the start, measured distance, organisers ready to take your time as you cross the finish. It definitely feels different. The chance to run with others that will push your ability, encouraging each other as you try to maintain a decent pace.

My time was just under 22 minutes. I was worried before that I may have slipped to over 30, or worse, been unable to complete the run. I am happy enough with my time, though I hope to work it down to less than 20 minutes again. I suppose that gives me a decent target to aim for.

I definitely want to make this my default Saturday morning activity. If we don't have any other plans, I intend to run (or volunteer). Though not next week. I

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