Visiting Lymington Woodside parkrun

I’ve been feeling really down about my fitness levels recently, so I’ve decided to mix things up a bit. Two weeks ago, we decided to run somewhere new and visited Lymington Woodside parkrun.

Lymington Woodside parkrun

Stuart and I visited Lymington parkrun as it’s one of the events that are fairly close to where we live and we hadn’t tried it before. I had intended to do a lot more parkrun tourism this year, but that hasn’t happened so far.

We arrived quite early, which gave us plenty of time to park, get the buggy out and use the facilities before walking to the start.

The start area is by a cricket pavilion/sports bar where there were more toilets. In comparison with Southampton parkrun, this parkrun is tiny. For various reasons (recent rain and a food festival that was taking place), we were on the winter route. It starts on one side of a field, so there was plenty of room for the field to spread out before the path got narrower. I started towards the front, whereas Stu and M started towards the back. I knew they would catch up with me at some point during the run.

Part way around the first lap, Stu and M joined me, so I had some cheerleaders. I’ve not been running well recently, so my goal was to try to finish in 28 minutes.

As you can see, Stu found the run easy and M loved talking to me… but I found it tough!

Fortunately, by the third lap, I was feeling better.

However, by Lap 3, M was far more interested in the playground than in shouting encouragement!

Overall, this run felt really tough, but it was nice to achieve a sub 28 minute time again.

It was really nice to have a run where I felt no pressure… and where the course is flat in comparison to Southampton. (Actually, it’s quite flat in comparison to most parkruns that I’ve done). The course is really pretty and it’s lovely to have toilets and water readily available at the start and finish. Stuart appreciated the option to buy a bacon sandwich in the pavilion. I was delighted to finish well under 28 minutes, so my goal now is to maintain that. I’d also like to improve on it.

Southampton parkrun

Last Saturday, Stuart and I were Run Directing at Southampton parkrun (with our little helper M as an unofficial cheerleader). I missed taking part, but I love being able to interact with so many people.

This Saturday, we’ll be marshalling again at Southampton parkrun.

I’ve also been planning some more parkrun tourism for the next few months. I’ve got some clear ideas of where I’d like to go, but a lot of it will depend on whether M decides to sleep a bit more.

Running with Liz

Yesterday, I went for a lovely 5km run with Liz around Itchen Valley Country Park. I’ve been there for cross-country races, but not for a few years. Then there’s obviously a set route to follow whereas Liz and I just wandered wherever we fancied. At one point, we ended up leaving the park and found ourselves by the river, which was the perfect place to stop for selfies.

It wasn’t the fastest run I’ve ever done, but it was definitely one of the most enjoyable and I’m feeling a thousand times happier because of it.

Back in the pool

Inspired by my (minor) success yesterday, this morning I made myself go back to the pool. I find swimming a real struggle, but I planned a pyramid session and made it through 1 mile. Next time I’m determined to swim 2km.

Running with a buggy

I’ve blogged a lot about running with a buggy and can confirm that it only gets harder as your child gets heavier. That’s why I have so much admiration for anyone who runs with a double buggy. I recently read about Cynthia Arnold breaking the world half-marathon record with a triple stroller. I assumed that it was probably a fairly ‘soft’ target. It was last broken in March 2018, by Ashlee Eskelsen in a time of 1:47. That’s 5 minutes faster than my half marathon PB without a buggy! Cynthia Arnold finished her race in 1:29! Wow – that’s super speedy! To make it even more impressive, her children are aged 6, 3 and 11 months, so they’re not tiny either!

What else have I been reading?

I read a cool article Best Running Gear: 18 Running Bloggers Share Their Favorites – check it out!

Getting back into club sports

I’ve decided that I need to find a way to train regularly. Southampton Tri Club has two running sessions a week, so I’m hoping to make it to those. I’d love to go back to swimming with the club, but I just can’t afford it when I couldn’t guarantee that I’d make 1 session a week.

As an alternative, I’ve also decided to rejoin Lordshill Road Runners (LRR) as an unaffiliated runner. I’ll see how it goes for the rest of this year and if it works out then I’ll rejoin as a full member next year.

Have you ever lost your running mojo? How did you get it back?