Two runs in a row at Southampton parkrun

Yesterday was my first buggy run at Southampton parkrun for a number of weeks. I’ve missed a few because of being in Warwick for the parkrun Ambassadors Conference, then I was in Tenby for the Long Course Weekend. After that, I was at Thunder Run. Last weekend, I had relatives visiting, so M was looked after by my aunt whilst I ran.

No RideLondon for me this year

I had originally intended to take part in RideLondon last weekend, but I’ve done no training this year. I was also concerned about leaving M with relatives for the night as Stu and I were both going to take part. Stu kindly deferred his place last year, so that I could ride, so I returned the favour this year. (Given the weather, I’m not sure he viewed it that way).

Anyway, as a consequence, last Saturday I took part in Southampton parkrun. It was hot and I was tired. Also, my asthma is currently not controlled well. I ran with a friend and was frustrated that I was nowhere near a sub-30 time.

Back to running with M

This weekend, it was my turn to run with M. There was a smaller crowd than usual at Southampton, so although I started at the back, it didn’t feel too bad.

I had a chance to chat with a few friends at the start and I caught up with my buddy, Liz, near to the start. I’ve not seen her at parkrun for a while, so it was lovely to run with her briefly. We also saw Ian from STC who is recovering after doing Ironman Bolton recently.

I quite enjoyed getting to the crossroads on the first lap as it meant that there was a downhill section where I was able to pass a few people. It was then a nice smooth section back across the Flats.

I managed to turn by the Bellemoor Triangle just before the front runners came passed. It was good to miss being lapped. I was impressed that one of the runners that I saw appeared to be very young. (A glance at the results later showed that he was 11-14 years old). He was accompanied by fast Southampton regular, Trevor Hillier.

Nearly had an accident

I chatted with a few people on the way uphill and there were some of the usual requests that I get when I run with the buggy – “Is there room for another one in there?” It’s bad enough running with an 11kg toddler!

I was glad to reach the top of the hill and started to pick up some speed on the way back down. At one point, a chap made a comment about moving out of my way, but there was some miscommunication and he ended up stepping in front of the buggy. We had a little contretemps, but no-one was hurt, so we were able to continue.

As I got onto the final part of the run on gravel, a young woman commented to me about ‘the shame of being overtaken by a buggy’. I know that I used to feel frustrated about it, but I pointed out to her that when there are buggy-runners who can do <19 minutes, there is no shame in it!

Overall, it was a slower run than last week, but it suggests to me that without the buggy I can get back under 30 minutes. I’m also determined to get back on top of my training and to lose weight which will help.

parkrun podcasts

Today’s exercise was some heaving pruning in the garden whilst listening to Free. Weekly. Timed. podcast. (I haven’t got around to listening to With Me Now, Danny Norman’s new podcast. Have you tried it? What do you think?) I also managed to fit in just over 10000 steps, so that’s not too bad.

How was your weekend?