My First 5k

Yep. Did it. I ran 5 of your metric kilometres in the blistering heat (well perhaps 22 degrees) of Guildford Parkrun, twice around Stoke Park and into the arms of my beloved who was so excited she missed the video she was commissioned to make (me triumphantly striding over the finish line) and instead caught me wiping a bucket of sweat off my head.

So I can run 5k, 3 miles or whatever you call it. You'll remember that my goal was to do it without dying - this video and the blog post that I'm writing 8 hours later can be taken as proof of my continued existence. You can consult the official results to confirm that I did it :)

You'll find me at 445th place with a time of 38:51 - my stretch goal was to get in under 40 minutes, hurrah! I did that too!

Now it's patient training to claim back the 8 minutes and 52 seconds that will get me under 30 minutes.

Lessons:

Running on grass is hard - half the course is over grass and I haven't done that before, it's more uneven and worked my ankles harder.

Running in a group is different, I found it harder to maintain my concentration because people were passing me and then walking a bit so I would pass them and then they'd put on a spurt etc.

There were (pretty tiny) inclines, but as a riverbank runner, I've not really pushed that day-to-day, I found them significantly wearing, so some more hilly routes are indicated - also going downhill doesn't give you back as much as you lose going uphill, I didn't know that before.

The sunshine does make a difference! I've been used to going out at 7.30am when the sun is low and the air is still cool and there's plenty of shade along the river. Out in the open savannah between 9 and 10 was hard.

My training so far has established a discipline around steady pace that other runners don't necessarily have. There were a lot of people walking a bit, running a bit (and some of those people got a quicker time than me!) I think I'd rather do it my way.

I'm a bit frustrated because I've got a hospital thing on Monday that means I'll probably need to rest for a few days afterwards, but I expect I'll be back to normal by next weekend.

Go me!