February 5th - Back on Form

This last 10 days has been a pretty awesome one for me, full of little adventures which have helped me feel great.

Parkrun

I will start off at last Saturday with Parkrun, It was my 3rd Parkrun of the year, I had been out of the country for a couple of weeks plus a little ill so I decided to treat this parkrun carefully, I still ran shirt free but I really concentrated on taking it slow for the whole run, I think I over did it a bit as I came in at a full minute slower than my personal best, this was not a problem and although I did feel a tiny bit down about it I came to realise it was VERY windy and I was still recovering from a small illness. I followed this parkrun with a quick dip in the sea which was cold but energising, what I really love about the Saturday swims is the people I swim with and the cakes they supply.

Bliss

The next morning I was up nice and early for a run with Matt, it was at Farlington marshes nature reserve which is a regular 5km run for me however it was a new run location for Matt. Well what can I say, the scene was idyllic, the sun had just risen and the sea was as flat as a pancake, it was such a beautiful scene, the air temp was cold and crisp and it was such a good run, I felt so good after that one. 

Sunday run day with Matt

Mondays are as usual a swim day for me so I headed down to Hayling for my regular dip with Ann, this was a bit of a tough one as sometimes I just don't feel in the right head space for a cold water dip however once I am in and swimming I always feel better, I am lucky to have Ann to encourage me into the water. 

Tuesday turned out to be a very cool day, I had decided that I was going to go for a hike in the countryside, I headed off to the village of Chalton and went for a lovely long 7 mile walk, it was so nice as I think I only saw 1 other person during the walk, to have that kind of peace away from people is so rare these days. During the walk I encountered a whole herd of deer and plenty of other wildlife. I felt so good after that. 

My next mini adventure was Friday and another Swim with Ann, the wind was bitterly cold so not that nice but it wasn't too bad once in the sea, the only thing was that the sea was acting kind of strange, very different waves from usual so we were very cautious. 

Finally that brings me to today and another parkrun, It was all a bit odd to start with as the announcer didn't have their usual load speaker and so I totally missed the beginning of the run, I ended up joining just as the last people were crossing the start line. The first part of the run I spent weaving in and out of walkers and slower runners to get to a place that matched my speed, I then continued with the wind behind me until the turn around point. 

Parkrun again

All was going well and then I found a pace and stride that I had not discovered before, I was soon passing the occasional runner again and it felt very good, I really pushed hard and the wind was blowing straight into my face but I kept going and eventually crossed the finish line. After the previous week which was slower I was really hoping to be back to a decent time, well not only did I beat my personal best but I smashed it, a whole 79 seconds faster bringing my PB down to 30 minutes and 03 seconds. I was absolutely chuffed to bits. After that I celebrated with a very brief dip in the sea with some friends. Happy days.