ParkRun Day!

Hello blog readers

It's parkrun day and it's still January, so it's a no brainer where I shall be doing todays Janathon activity and it's at Bromley parkrun.  I knocked for Naggy and then we collected GetYourLegsUpTracy hereby known as LegsUpTracy, and SnappyH.  We don't like to leave anyone behind!  We drove to the park but decided to not drive inside.  There are so many people that come along to Bromley now, it's just crazy!  If you see a parking spot on the road first then best grab it!  Or.....run to the park!  But we are not quiet up for running to parkrun just yet!

We are still on the winter route, so just under three laps of the park before going into the funnel. It's crazily busy and they have had to move the funnel to the other side so they can make it longer to accommodate the volume of people!  And this morning I noticed there was a 'double funnel', I have no idea how that was going to work, but I am sure it all went well.  I usually am in the back of the pack so by the time I get to the finish  it's usually all clear! All the usual gang were there, with some of us missing, blimmin cold virus!  We were all at different parts of the start, Naggy was somewhere I couldn't even see, she went to put her coat into the baskets, Kathy was starting a little further up the field, I found that out after I caught up with her,  and J.J. and K were starting with me.  I didn't see where GetYourLegsUpTracy was.

There was the usual chat from the RD and then the throng of people surged forward. For us at the back it was a slow moving forward, I started my Garmin and my Jabra, I had both ear buds in, I don't know why I did that, it's so anti social, parkrun is a huge community thing.  Maybe I thought subconsciously I would push a little harder to get a faster time!  Who knows, but there I was cut off from the world listen to some run music from spotify, a mission to just try and keep a steady pace!  I wasn't planning on going fast, put it that way, that will start next month!  When I have rest days!

I did the first lap and I saw my club buddies running past and I realised that I had both ear buds in, being anti-social, so I took the right one out and I could hear!  I could hear the chatter of the people running, the breathing of the runners as I passed them or as they passed me, I could hear the footsteps as they got closer, which kept me on my toes trying not to let them pass!  Yup, this is how I should be running parkrun!

I could still hear my music and it was helping me to keep pace, I chose the right rhythm for myself!  the second lap went by with me saying "Well done" to the faster runners and saying "cheers!" as they called after me!  Much better!  Just the last lap to do now and of course that is not a full lap.  I had been running with GYLUT and Deborah by this time, I can't remember if I caught them up or they caught me up, but it was a game of overtaking between all of us.   With just half a lap left, Deb started to pull away in front, I was in the middle and Tracy was behind!  I tried to keep up with Deborah but she just has these long legs and seemed to be gliding along like a gazelle, so my aim was to keep GYLUT behind me.  That was all I had to do,  She and Debs had already overtaken me a few times on the last lap and I had taken back the lead.  But now it is just so close, the short straight into the new funnelling system and that was it done.   Nigel was running back down and passed me and said something which I could quite hear (he said it on the left ear which was bunged up with ear bud) but I just smiled and kept on running.  I could hear GYLUT footsteps behind me so I pushed just a little bit harder and then I heard her laughing!  I knew she was going to go for it, so I just pushed out and ran faster.  I was so near the funnel now but then a wave of nausea came over me! "Oh no, not now!" I thought, so I just slowed down hoping that it will pass but it didn't!  I could feel the heat rise and my eyes almost go black. I knew I was going to heave, the finish funnel was just there!  Thoughts were going through my mind, do I just run on into it, risk throwing up where all the other people behind will have to step over any chunks that I lay down or do I step aside and throw up just out of the way, where no needs to step!  "Shit, I can't" I said as a huge heave came from the bottom of my stomach!  I hadn't had breakfast or even a drink, so thankfully nothing was 'ready' to come up, but still, the nausea was there, working on whatever it could to bring up something to embarrass myself with!  Luckily it was quite noisy at that point as well because there was no disguising a bottom burp from the other end!  Tracy did pass me by and looked back towards me as she entered the 'clicking' point!  I had told her to carry on, like the brave soldier I was!

One other person passed me by before I had regained control of my stomach and bottom! I finished parkrun, thankfully without too much embarrassment and collected my token!  38:53 on my Garmin, I can live with that!  It was faster than last weeks tourism run!  Plus, there was still cake!  Marcus had just done his 350th!  That seemed to settle my stomach down again!

So my Geeky stats!




Oh by the way, yesterday, I did my Jabra lady! So extra workout, sit ups planks etc!  I am still not slacking!