Southampton parkrun #163

Southampton parkrun was to be my last parkrun before Ironman Dublin 70.3. It was also the first time that I had seen my friend, Teri, for weeks. I asked whether she wanted to go for a quick run or a social run, and she suggested that both would be possible. I wasn’t sure, but agreed to start with Teri.

At the top of the first hill, I started to struggle, but Teri encouraged me to run on. Near the bottom of the first hill, Clare joined us. She has had a few health battles recently.

We continued running, but I wasn’t able to keep up with Teri, so I chatted to Clare. As we neared the finish, Clare suggested that we should pick up the pace, but I said that I would rather wait until we were on the gravel, which is the last 300m or so.

When we got onto the gravel, I picked up the pace, but Clare was stuck behind a couple of people. It didn’t take long for Clare to over-take and sprint for the finish. I did the best I could but wasn’t able to match Clare’s pace.

How did I do at Southampton parkrun?

Overall, I was pleased to have finished in under 26 minutes: