Pants in the Park

Since my triumph at the Festival of Running a couple of weekends ago training has been a bit patchy. The week after was pretty full on at work and coincided with the London Underground going on strike. I managed a late evening run around Battersea Park on the Tuesday and on the Thursday I walked the 4.5 miles from the office to my front door. I had a really bad outing last Sunday where it all just ground to a halt and I decided to call it quits after only 2 miles. I'm not sure what was wrong but I began to worry that I was going backwards rather than getting better.

This last week has restored some of my initial confidence although more long hours in the office has meant fitting in runs late at night. I did a quick circuit on Tuesday evening over Battersea Bridge, down to Chelsea Bridge and back along the edge of the park. On Thursday I covered off my longest run yet, 3.5 miles, it felt comfortable but then again I was going pretty slow. Work got in the way of a planned weekend at home for Fathers Day so instead I woke up this morning, threw on my running gear and popped over to the park to sign up for my second 5k charity fun run, Pants in the Park, this time in aid of prostate cancer.


Although I think I do prefer it, one of the down sides about training on your own is that it can get a bit lonely and when you slack off the pace you don't always notice straight away. Signing up for a charity run gives you the experience of running in a large group, the fellow runners motivate you to keep going and the supporters and marshalls give you some much needed encouragement along the way. By the time I reached the registration desk there was a real carnival atmosphere with a steel band, face painting and lots of balloons. The majority of people were in fancy dress, wearing decorated pants over their running gear. Some people had gone to a huge amount of effort and looked great.

After a short group warm up we lined up at the start line and counted down to go. Knowing I could cover the distance I wanted to focus on running a bit harder than my usual mid week outings. The route was the same as before and so I knew what to expect. With a couple more weeks under my belt I definitely felt more comfortable and this was confirmed when I crossed the finish line in 26 minutes and 8 seconds. Considering where I was less than two months ago I can't be anything other than pleased, but with only 3 weeks left until my official 16 week training programme kicks in now is the time to start upping the miles.

Distance: 5k or 3.1miles
Time: 26mins and 08seconds
Pace: 8mins and 25 seconds/mile
Speed: 7.1mph

My First Race

Having been running (well lacing up my trainers and mincing around for a maximum of 40 minues) at least three times a week (ok... a couple of weeks it was only twice but I jogged on the spot in the office to make up for it) I decided that it was time to try my first 5k race and see if I could actually manage 3.1 miles in one go and, if so, how many hours that might take. By coincidence, the Festival of Running hosted by Great Ormond Street Hospital was taking place in Battersea Park on Sunday 7 June, and as part of it there was a 5k chip-timed 'Fun Run'. Perfect... I get to experience my first 'race', in my back garden, whilst supporting sick children AND getting to see Andrew Castle - GMTV presenter and former professional tennis player - in running shorts.

The field ranged from the keeno elite runners wearing alarmingly little through to dedicated octogenarians who had come straight off the night shift - specifically to intimidate me with their talk of sub 20 minute target times - to groups of girls in fancy dress and grandmothers pushing prams. After a Mr Motivator style warmup that almost finished me off before I'd got going and a countdown from the lovely Andrew Castle, everyone shot off out of the blocks rather fast. Whilst I got carried along in the initial enthusiasm, I soon dropped towards the back of the pack and the octogenarian was but a small speck in the distance by the time I reached the first kilometre marker. The route started down central avenue and then round the carriageway only to repeat again before finishing near the bandstand. Apart from a brief period somewhere between 1k and 2k when I got a bit down about just how slow I was compared to everyone else I actually had quite a nice time, and when I realised I was going to cross the finish line in under 30 minutes I was very pleasantly surprised.



The goody bag was an added bonus... I could've maybe lived without the white, pink and baby blue sports cap but the banana flavoured milkshake, Nature's Valley cereal bar and lemon & lime sports drink were all worth carrying home. And as for the rather fetching gold medal with magenta ribbon, well I wore that round the flat for the rest of the day.

Distance: 5k 0r 3.1miles
Time: 28mins and 54seconds
Pace: 9mins and 19seconds/mile
Speed: 6.5mph