Depending on which goal I am focusing on at any given moment, I am either...
50% of the way there for entering the 50 club
25% of the way there for entering the 100 club
10% of the way there for entering the 250 club
I don't want to sound too obsessed by it, but if everything goes to plan I should join the 50 club in May 2012.
Now for the run itself...
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| meine frauen (fotograph: Nicki Clark) |
We arrived in good time (by our own recent standards) as Mrs7t was taking a well earned break from running, to be the official photographer. Lime hung around with the wife for a while but decided it would be more fun to spend the second half of the event hanging around with someone a little more
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| off to compose a few more verses of their parkrun song |
The conditions today were quite challenging. A lot of rain through the previous night had left the ground very muddy - not everywhere, but in some key places. However, the rain had passed by 9am. The temperature was somewhere around 9 degrees.
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| i'm sure i'm a bit taller in real life |
Once the usual pre-race announcements were taken care of, Nicki presented November's parkrunner of the month prize to Barb. I was very pleased when I had read that she had won it ( yes, I do check the parkrun website for this kind of info :-p ). It was much deserved - welcome to the club, and congratulations! I hope you have fun choosing your shoes!
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| this photo isn't over exposed, i'm just pale |
Then the race started, squelch, squelch, went the runners as they sprinted, jogged, and shuffled out of the start funnel. I started at the back again and before long pulled up along side Chris, we chatted for a few minutes and then I pressed on. Shortly after, I found myself drawing alongside Barb, we exchange a few brief words and again I pressed on. Just before the half-way point I saw that I was closing in on Pete, shortly afterwards I was alongside him. We stayed together along the gravel path, where we had to negotiate the wide puddles. We had completely different approaches to these. Pete went straight through, while I danced around the edges not wanting to get my feet wet!
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| all the twos, twenty-two! |
After the 2.5km point I pushed on, from here it was a fairly lonely second half.
I think most people wearing road shoes would have had problems with traction today. Again, I wore my trail shoes, this has been the week where I really needed them. I'm interested to see how the shoes hold up in these conditions, especially in the corners, when I start racing again.
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| trail shoes and mud are best friends (photo taken after all the extra bits of mud had been bashed off) |
Overall it was a very chatty parkrun for me. We continued on to the Good Companions pub for coffee. Again, it was instant - it just doesn't have the same effect as the filter coffee. I must ask if they can reinstate the real coffee. Oh, and I must get to the pub in time to hear Reckoner next time.
7t.who.loves.running.in.the.mud
