Riddlesdown parkrun sixteen (RDp16)

At the end of a second full week of rest (last week's parkrun aside) due to the hamstring issue I decided to have a slow (park)run to see how the leg was progressing.

the wife perfects the new baba carrying technique (photo:Nicki Clark)

The wife was on volunteering duty again and marshaled at a new spot just next to the start line, approximately 2.9km into the race. She also took the photos that you see here (apart from the one of herself).

I started at the back of the 76 strong pack with Terry, who had reached the start line with just seconds to spare. Our intention was to run at around Terry's personal best pace and then Terry might just grab himself a new personal best with a late surge while I hang back.

2.9km

After the first few minutes it was clear that we were going much slower than this, so we accepted that there would be no pb for Terry and proceeded to put the world to rights.

The reason I knew so much about the pace was that I am currently testing a Garmin 405 GPS watch (loaned to me by Race director Nicki) and had set our goal pace beforehand.

On the Riddlesdown course when you reach approximately 900 metres there is a sharp right turn and a short incline. As soon as I hit the incline I felt my hamstring tighten up, once back on the flat it felt fine again.

entering the final straight

We stuck to our easy pace for the rest of the course and coasted through the finish line in 40th and 41st positions. In the end we were only just over 30 seconds adrift from our intended pace.

The hamstring felt fine afterwards and we proceeded to the good companions pub for coffee. Unfortunately Terry had to leave to pick up his sons before we got around to having the coffee but it was good to see him again anyway.

after you, sir. no, after you, sir.

That left me, the wife & the baba plus the rest of the RDp crew. We hung chatting for a long time. In the end we left at 12:26 and took the scenic route home.

Once at home it was time to write the official race report. The wife had made a few notes during the race to assist with the style I wanted to write it in, it is now up online and you can find it on the Riddlesdown parkrun news page.

post race

Finally, back to the hamstring. It's not ready for me to resume training so I am looking into alternative cardiovascular training which avoids using it, or if it does is very minimal. If I don't do this I'll start to lose some of the fitness I've gained over the last few months and I don't really want that to happen.

stv.