Once more I was up bright and early for prepare for parkrun. It was bright outside with a hint of frost, so I opted for long sleeves. After breakfast I jogged down to the course. It was not looking too busy there. I heard some of the marshals chatting about the number of runners going down. Perhaps better weather and the mud drying up will attract more people.
The official results came through at 10:14. When I started doing these events I think there was some manual processing involved, but now it is mostly automated via an app, so they can get it done as soon as everyone has finished as long as there are no complications.
I tried to resist going too fast at the start, but I was a little quicker than I would prefer. Although the mud patches have dried those areas still slow me down a little and you can see the dips for those. It always feels like I am running at my limit. A few people overtook me on the first lap and then I settled in behind a guy I have followed before. I eventually got past him for the last half lap and did what I could to sprint for the finish. I am always hoping that cuts a few seconds off my time. As it was I was just a few seconds slower than last week, so not too bad. I had a chat with the guy I overtook as we walked away. He is from Australia and has done some events over there.
On Strava I noticed that my friend Graham had been just ahead of me. I somehow missed him at the start, but had a feeling it was him up ahead. It is always interesting to look down the results. I noticed a guy at the start who looked past retirement age, but he stayed ahead of me and it looks like he came 7th. A lady in her 60s was just behind me. They show what can be achieved.
I have already done my 10k steps for the day. That includes jogging to and from parkrun.
I have had a good heart workout. I will do more steps today as I will be off soon to Stevenage where one of my musical heroes Steven Wilson is doing a signing session for his new book. I know @slobberchops met him in Manchester this week. I shall report on how it goes, but I am not sure what I will say to him.
Run free and stay well.
