My best keeps getting better!

After Thursday’s successful run to Newbiggin I was quite looking forward to the Newcastle Parkrun on Saturday. Having missed three consecutive Saturday’s I was determined to get a personal best and felt really motivated before we began. My previous pb stood at 35:37 and I was aiming to get about 34 minutes on Saturday.

I had a good breakfast (more than my usual banana) as I think this was part of the reason I did so well last Thursday.

I arrived in Newcastle with my friend Rachael, and we met another friend Claire there (she’s started running at the same Monday group as us). Our coach was also doing the Parkrun with his son and we said hello before the run began.

There was a strong wind on the Town Moor and this made for challenging conditions but I was determined not to give up. I wanted to keep running all the way round as sometimes I think I walk because my brain thinks I need to even though my body says it’s doing ok. I do find it easier to keep going when I’m at a parkrun (or at my running group) than when I just go out on my own.

When I was running into the wind, it was getting quite difficult to breathe but I just kept talking to myself as I put one foot in front of the other ‘you..can..do..this..’ – this worked surprisingly well and I was delighted when I turned the corner out of the wind for the final stretch of the race. All the way around I could see Rachael just a little way in front of me (usually I lose her the first couple of minutes in) and knowing she would be at the finish line waiting for me kept me going.

I started to feel a little sick after 4km but knew that I was nearly there and I didn’t feel so bad I needed to stop. Steve (our running coach) was near the finish, and just as I was starting to feel like I was losing energy I heard Steve cheer me on. He told me to keep going and it was just the motivation I needed for a sprint finish! I was so happy to cross the line and I was pretty certain I’d achieved the pb! It was definitely a challenging run but not the worst Parkrun I’ve done (that has to be the one with the torrential downpour!)

 

I was delighted when I received my official Parkrun time and it was 32:53! I still can’t quite believe it, but the runner in me is already thinking – how can I get it nearer 30 minutes!

Rachael and Claire both did really well too! Rachael has been having problems with her ankle but she still did it and with a great time too! It was Claire’s first parkrun and she was delighted with her time as well!

 

I went back to Rachael’s house before home and enjoyed a cup of tea and some biscuits! My first cup of tea of the day and I felt it was well deserved!

I was practically dancing around the house all day on Saturday afternoon and it even made me motivated enough to start the Spring clear out I’ve been meaning to have for quite some time (probably since last spring!)

I was looking at my running journal over the weekend and this particular entry in October made me realise just how much progress I have made.

“Just got back from running session with Steve. I ran for 3 WHOLE minutes without stopping! Super happy!”

Off to running group again tonight and I am feeling motivated! I’m taking my nephew to Cardiff tomorrow for an overnight trip (to visit the Dr Who Experience) so I won’t get running again until Thursday. I will be doing the Parkrun again on Saturday and then after that I don’t know what my running routine will look like as I am starting a new job on Monday and there will be a lot of travelling involved so I’ll have to fit running in where I can.

I’ve set up a JustGiving page for the Great North Run. As you may know I am running for the North East Trust for Aphasia, supporting people with communication difficulties following a stroke or other brain injury. I went to visit them on Thursday and gave them a cheque for some other fundraising we have been doing. They were absolutely delighted as the money really does support their work. They were also really pleased to hear about how my running is going (and some of them even remember that this time last year I said I’d never run!)

If you can support my fundraising for this fantastic charity then it would be greatly appreciated. Any amount you can spare really will make a difference, lots of little amounts add up a large amount! Here’s the link: http://www.justgiving.com/JollyJulie – Thank you for reading!