One Day One Photo - 22

Saturday 22nd September

When I am in London on a Saturday morning, my new ritual is to do the Parkrun. It is a 5km run that takes place in the park, and for me is  an ideal way to start my weekend. I burn off a few calories before piling on more on Saturday night. I can also track my progress and measure where I am in terms of my running fitness. I am not sure when the scheme started, but it has proven to be a great idea, and is a really good way of getting people into running. The runs take place in many parks up and down the country. The Parkrun website lists the locations of all the runs which are taking place, and you'll probably find there is a Parkrun happening near you. I do the one in Crystal Palace, near my flat. I have also done one in Hull, near where part of my family lives. Today, I did a new one - on Roundshaw Downs, the nearest one to Higg's place.

The great thing about this event was that it was completely off road. The bone dry surface made things easier to negotiate than if it had been muddy. Off-road is off-road though, so just like a Fiat 500 can't double as a 4 x 4, I found it quite a shock to the system going off road after spending so much time on tarmac.

I managed ok though, and was the first female vet finisher. (Who knows I might have been the only female vet in the race!) The weather is set to turn wet and muddy over the next few weeks. That is when this course will come into its own, and we will have more of a cross country race to run. In fact, the organiser even said I could bring spikes. I am tempted to bring studs or spikes the next time I do this race, though I need to make sure I can walk the walk once I line up wearing these. Many people who do the Parkruns are new to running, though there is also a smattering of amateur athletes too. The experienced runners will most definitely be in special mud adapted running shoes. Therefore if I want to join them on the startline I may need to get training! I guess there's no rule about how fast I should be running when wearing studs or spikes. I just have to hope I don't make an idiot of myself being completely unceremonially dropped by the old hands in the game!