After last week's effort, knockimg 5 seconds off my 5km Personal Best, I felt I could put in another good performance at Cannon Hill parkrun, and scrupulously applied the same regimen, although this week I only had one day of rest. Nevertheless I knew I was unlikely to do even better, so would have been happy with anything under 20 minutes. Just three months ago I'd have been delighted with sub-20!
Somehow today didn't feel the same - I felt fit enough, but despite the motivating music, the warm-up and stretching I just didn't feel 'in the zone'.
It was such a beautiful spring morning though that I was happy to go through the motions and just see what happened.
Derek, my new nemesis(!) had turned up again, so there was a little bit of competition there. He told me he'd decided not to go off quite so fast this time, hoping to have the strength to finish quicker.
There was a big field again, despite all the other races going on this weekend. I positioned myself close to the front, but almost from the start I found myself going backwards. I probably lost around half a dozen places in the first kilometre, but then seemed able to hold position for quite some time.
I knew I was ahead of Derek, but was expecting him to slip past at some point - I never look round but I suspected he might be tracking me, biding his time for a reversal of our last clash!
Fergal did his bit for me again, helping me to focus on the job in hand during the two slightly up-hill sections where I have a tendancy to drift off. With the large field I found I was catching more tail-enders, and having to run round them - I even had to call 'excuse me!' when, on my sprint finish, a gap I was aiming for suddenly closed in front of me. I could hear someone bearing down on me over the last few hundred metres, and was convinced it was Derek, so put my all into fending him off, only to find that it was someone else entirely, a chap in the green and white hoops of Tipton Harriers. We thanked each other afterwards - me for him pushing me on and him for me pulling him along!
I checked my watch, feeling fairly confident that I'd gone sub-20 again, but was astounded to find that, albeit unofficially at this stage, I'd clocked yet another PB, shaving off a further couple of seconds!
Derek came in very soon after, and I gave him a shout, and anyone else I knew. Joe came in pretty soon too, so I knew he'd done well.
When the results came out Joe and I had both improved, Joe knocking 3 seconds off his Cannon Hill time (though his parkrun best still stands from Brueton parkrun back in August) and my PB of 19:42 confirmed, although eighteen places further back, in a finishing field of 139 (also a record for Cannon Hill). Derek, alas, fared less well, slower by thirteen seconds.
Derek joined me for his warm-down - the first mile or so of my run home. It seems we may come up against each other again sometime soon.
Apologies for the late posting, by the way. After my run home I had to have some lunch and head off to visit friends for the remainder of the weekend, and as it's getting quite late now I think I'll leave my account of the run home until tomorrow. Then again, as I haven't had time for a run today (Sunday) I may go out tomorrow whe I get home from work...
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