It's that time of year....half marathon season!
Had you said that to me in years gone by I would have replied "so what" or "not for me". But this time round I find myself 4 days away from my 3rd ever half marathon.
This fills me with both excitement and trepidation. Trepidation due to past experience: my first half marathon was in 2004, long before I became a regular runner. I ran the Great North Run a little too hard and finished it being carried the last few yards and taken straight to the hospital tent where I spent many hours on a drip with severe dehydration and memory loss. What a shame that I ran the GNR and have no recollection of finishing it!
My second half marathon in 2009 was purely about setting those demons to rest. I still wasn't into running at that time (I hadn't yet found parkrun which would really get me started), but I managed my (still) PB of 1 hour 33 minutes (plus change).
This time round I consider myself a runner. This time I have targets. The only problem now is that my long term calf injury has shown worrying signs of returning. Fingers crossed it doesn't!
So firstly I want a PB, secondly I have to go under an hour and a half and thirdly I'd like to set a time that I am proud of. Maybe I am setting my sights a little high aiming for an 8+ minutes PB at around 1 hour 25 mins, but a man can dream right?!
As long as the calf injury doesn't bite me in the leg, I should have a chance!
I'll let you know how I do.
Good luck to all other parkrunfans taking on a half marathon this weekend!
Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
parkrun stats of the week...9th March 2013
The parkrun statistics of note for this week are:
213 parkrun events run (up 2 on last week). This is yet another new record number of events on a single parkrunday - we are breaking the record most weeks at the moment!
27,920 runners, down 525 on last week.
The average number of runners per parkrun event run was: 131 (down 3.8 on last week).
12 events recorded new record attendances, as follows:
The longest standing parkrun attendance record is:
Amager Faelled 146 28/08/2010
And in the UK it's:
The highest attendance this week was 842 at Bushy Park.
The lowest attendance this week was 9 at both Fritton Lake parkrun and Vejen parkrun.
9 new male course records set this week:
14 new female course records set this week:
74 runners ran times under 17 minutes this week. 10 of these runners ran under 16 minutes. And just 1 of those ran under 15 minutes!
The fastest parkrunner in the World this Week was Thomas Do Canto, running 14:49 at Parramatta parkrun. Not bad for an inaugural event - it sounds like a fast course!
The fastest 5 were as follows:
The top age grade performance this week was:
The fastest (valid) freedom run on the "most recent 100" list at the moment is:
213 parkrun events run (up 2 on last week). This is yet another new record number of events on a single parkrunday - we are breaking the record most weeks at the moment!
27,920 runners, down 525 on last week.
The average number of runners per parkrun event run was: 131 (down 3.8 on last week).
12 events recorded new record attendances, as follows:
| Event | Record Attendance | |
| Brandon Country Park | 57 | |
| Hackworth | 71 | |
| Huddersfield | 359 | |
| Kawana | 106 | |
| Launceston | 102 | |
| Marlay | 370 | |
| Newent | 59 | |
| Parramatta | 114 | |
| Sandgate | 162 | |
| Southampton | 360 | |
| Walsall Arboretum | 152 | |
| Wynnum | 146 |
The longest standing parkrun attendance record is:
Amager Faelled 146 28/08/2010
And in the UK it's:
| Waterworks | 215 | 23/04/2011 |
The highest attendance this week was 842 at Bushy Park.
The lowest attendance this week was 9 at both Fritton Lake parkrun and Vejen parkrun.
9 new male course records set this week:
14 new female course records set this week:
| Event | Athlete | Time |
74 runners ran times under 17 minutes this week. 10 of these runners ran under 16 minutes. And just 1 of those ran under 15 minutes!
The fastest parkrunner in the World this Week was Thomas Do Canto, running 14:49 at Parramatta parkrun. Not bad for an inaugural event - it sounds like a fast course!
The fastest 5 were as follows:
| Event | Athlete | Time | |
| Parramatta | Thomas DO CANTO | 14:49 | |
| Cardiff | Owen WALPOLE | 15:21 | |
| Newcastle | Ian HUDSPITH | 15:39 | |
| Cannon Hill | Philip HINCH | 15:42 | |
| Nonsuch | Kevin QUINN | 15:44 |
The top age grade performance this week was:
| Event | Athlete | Time | Age Group | Age Grade | |
| Cheltenham | Martin Christopher FORD | 19:18 | VM65-69 | 90.33% |
The fastest (valid) freedom run on the "most recent 100" list at the moment is:
| Runner | Date | Location | Run Time |
| Alex BALL | 09/03/2013 | Sheffield Hallam | 19:48 |
Sunday, 10 March 2013
Peeeee Beeeee!
I did it, I did it, I did it! (I am a big kid when it comes to parkrun). I only went a got myself a nice, shiny, new PB at Coventry parkrun yesterday!
Completely unexpected. Certainly not intended. At least a month ahead of schedule, but somehow I did it!
I have to be honest, I did take a fairly close look at my entire parkrun history on Friday. If you can count copying and pasting my results from the parkrun website into Excel, adding a filter and then ordering them from fastest to slowest as "a fairly close look" that is!
As a result I realised that I had only ever done 9 sub 18 minute parkruns at Coventry. For a nearly a year now I have considered that sub 18 minutes is where I should be as a matter of course on any parkrunday that I decide to "try". Clearly, the fact I had only done it 9 time before suggests that it is not quite my default time yet. Anyay, I also noticed that after my PB of 17:28, there was a substantial gap to my second best of 17:46 and I decided that it was about time I stuck another tme in that gap. So my aim was for 17:45 or just a bit quicker.
Something else that I noticed when looking at all my results was that my most common position at parkrun is 2nd place. Before yesterday I had finished 2nd on 11 occasions. Make that 12 then now after yet another 2nd place yesterday.
Even during my run yesterday I never really considered the possibility of a new PB. I was just planning my second fastest run at Coventry parkrun. The first lap was pretty quick, but comfortable, as I sat in behind a group of 3 decent club runners. A couple of times I thought they were going to drop me, but I just ensured that I sat on the back of the group. Equally a couple of times I thought I could go a bit faster, but sensibly (and tactically?) I stayed in behind them, for my second fastest first lap (that I can remember) of 8:48.
As soon as we passed the finish line at the end of the first lap I decided that was the time to start to wind up my pace. Looking back now I think I may have gone even faster had I stayed in behind them a while longer. The 2nd lap certainly felt a bit harder. Somehow though I managed to make the second lap faster than the first and I believe it was my fastest lap ever at Coventry parkrun, completing it in 8:39 for a new parkrun PB of 17:27, beating my previous PB by a single solitary second. All the pleasure of a PB without making further improvement too hard!
When I crossed the line and glanced at my watch to see that it was very possibly a PB (depending on official timings) I even gave the air a little punch of delight. I don't think I have stopped smiling since!
Thank you parkrun, for getting me into running, for making running my sport of choice and for giving me great feelings like this. I am officially, at the age of 38 years old, faster than I have ever been before (at 5km at least!).
That is part 1 of my summer of 4 PB targets done. I do still want to improve my parkrun PB further this year, but anyway it is 1 down and 3 to go. Next weekend it's the half marathon!
Completely unexpected. Certainly not intended. At least a month ahead of schedule, but somehow I did it!
I have to be honest, I did take a fairly close look at my entire parkrun history on Friday. If you can count copying and pasting my results from the parkrun website into Excel, adding a filter and then ordering them from fastest to slowest as "a fairly close look" that is!
As a result I realised that I had only ever done 9 sub 18 minute parkruns at Coventry. For a nearly a year now I have considered that sub 18 minutes is where I should be as a matter of course on any parkrunday that I decide to "try". Clearly, the fact I had only done it 9 time before suggests that it is not quite my default time yet. Anyay, I also noticed that after my PB of 17:28, there was a substantial gap to my second best of 17:46 and I decided that it was about time I stuck another tme in that gap. So my aim was for 17:45 or just a bit quicker.
Something else that I noticed when looking at all my results was that my most common position at parkrun is 2nd place. Before yesterday I had finished 2nd on 11 occasions. Make that 12 then now after yet another 2nd place yesterday.
Even during my run yesterday I never really considered the possibility of a new PB. I was just planning my second fastest run at Coventry parkrun. The first lap was pretty quick, but comfortable, as I sat in behind a group of 3 decent club runners. A couple of times I thought they were going to drop me, but I just ensured that I sat on the back of the group. Equally a couple of times I thought I could go a bit faster, but sensibly (and tactically?) I stayed in behind them, for my second fastest first lap (that I can remember) of 8:48.
As soon as we passed the finish line at the end of the first lap I decided that was the time to start to wind up my pace. Looking back now I think I may have gone even faster had I stayed in behind them a while longer. The 2nd lap certainly felt a bit harder. Somehow though I managed to make the second lap faster than the first and I believe it was my fastest lap ever at Coventry parkrun, completing it in 8:39 for a new parkrun PB of 17:27, beating my previous PB by a single solitary second. All the pleasure of a PB without making further improvement too hard!
When I crossed the line and glanced at my watch to see that it was very possibly a PB (depending on official timings) I even gave the air a little punch of delight. I don't think I have stopped smiling since!
Thank you parkrun, for getting me into running, for making running my sport of choice and for giving me great feelings like this. I am officially, at the age of 38 years old, faster than I have ever been before (at 5km at least!).
That is part 1 of my summer of 4 PB targets done. I do still want to improve my parkrun PB further this year, but anyway it is 1 down and 3 to go. Next weekend it's the half marathon!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)