June and July: parkrunning and family fun

You know a month is going to be good when it has five Saturdays in it - meaning five parkruns! June saw me venturing out of my comfort zone and experiencing not one but two parkrun tourism opportunities. I set a new 5k personal best (PB) and a PB on my home course at Vogrie.

July brought my first international parkrun and a new PB at Vogrie (knocking a whole one second off June's best time!). It also brought the Dog Jog, marking a one year anniversary since I started running. Lots to be positive about, yet I find I am struggling with my running at the moment and I'm not sure why...maybe it's just the inevitable comedown after such an amazing experience running the Edinburgh Marathon. Perhaps I am pushing myself a bit hard and expecting too much of myself (wouldn't be the first time).

A few people have said to me that perhaps it's the lack of a target to focus on, and I think this is a fair point too. Signing up for my first marathon held me accountable - I had to do the training (or as much of it as I possibly could!). Whilst this sometimes affected my enjoyment of running, I did have this huge goal to focus on and I wanted to achieve that goal.

Now I feel a bit adrift - there's no running goal to work towards.

But I definitely think it was the right thing to do to have time after the marathon to process it and not jump straight into the next challenge. I could've quite easily signed up for another marathon by now, but I've forced myself to wait. I know I needed a good chunk of time to recover - after all the marathon was in my thoughts for over nine months. I still don't feel quite ready to be honest, and that's two months post-marathon. But that's okay; in the meantime I will try to work towards finding my love for running again, rather than it feeling so hard.

As I huffed and puffed my way back to the car after parkrun on 21st July, red-faced and nearly in tears from the sheer effort (that was PB week in fairness!), a fellow parkrunner passed me and said "it's meant to be fun you know" - a totally fair comment, and one I generally do keep in mind each Saturday. It led me to reflect on the past two months, post-marathon, and the brilliant parkrun experiences I've had.

Although having said that, my first parkrun back - just six days after the marathon - was not so good! I collapsed on the grass in tears after the run, taking both Dave and Tig (who meet me at the finish line) by surprise - "I've never seen you react like that after a parkrun" said Dave. I really struggled - perhaps it was just too soon after the marathon - and I was still very emotionally drained let alone physically.

Thankfully the following week I had my first ever parkrun tourism planned, so this would hopefully be a great way to just enjoy the ethos behind parkrun and not worry about times or PBs or trying too hard or anything like that...that was the plan anyway!

We made our way to Lochore Meadows Country Park, just outside of Lochgelly, and handily on the way to my in-laws in Kinross. A beautiful park next to Lochore plus a friendly team of volunteers makes this is such a great parkrun event. It was perfect for my first adventure away from my home course at Vogrie.

There was a very fast start indeed, and I found myself setting off at a pace I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up. My watch beeped for my first mile at 7.37 and I knew I was in trouble! However I'm pleased to say that miles two and three were also under 8 minutes, giving me my fastest 5k time. More than that though, this parkrun course was so beautiful - I was caught unawares by the incline on the other side of the loch though! - and I thoroughly enjoyed my experience. I went for a paddle post-run too, which always helps my limbs.

The following week brought another opportunity for some parkrun tourism, as Dave and I headed south to visit our friends Kirsty and Mike in Chelmsford. 

We arrived late into Stansted on the Friday night, stayed up chatting until the wee small hours, and didn't get a lot of sleep. Thankfully I had already realised that parkruns start half an hour earlier south of the border, but this made it even more of a struggle getting out. With a sore head and feeling very tired, I nervously made my way to the start of Chelmsford Central parkrun, under the railway viaduct. The course had been slightly altered due to an event taking place in the park, and thus we had a 'split start'. The narrow park paths meant it was very difficult to get running, but soon we were out onto open fields. The others had come to cheer me on, and thankfully had brought water as I was quite dehydrated!

I did really enjoy this parkrun though - it's a lovely course, and again the volunteers were very friendly (I haven't actually met any unfriendly volunteers!). The finish funnel was an experience all of its own - I later found out that Chelmsford Central is one of the top 10 busiest parkruns in the UK. I was 290th out of 703 runners! A very different experience for me, but one I'm so glad I did.

Does anyone else make weird hand shapes when they're struggling?!

The following weekends were spent at Vogrie, and I was back to enjoying myself again. I ran with Tig and Ross one week, set my PB the following week, and took it easier the week after.

Then we were off to Copenhagen in mid-July for a wonderful family reunion with the Australian contingent of Dave's family, and to witness an inspiring event. Our nephew Arran was representing Australia for the first time at the RaceRunning world championships.

We met so many wonderful people and found the whole event incredibly emotional and humbling.

We then had some time to explore Copenhagen with the family - a very relaxed city vibe where we felt comfortable and safe. 

 

I also took another step out my comfort zone and experienced my first international parkrun. Dave and I travelled on the (excellent) metro to DR Byen, and strolled through Amager Faelled to find the start of their parkrun event. The first person we met was Neil from Aberdeen, who was a lovely guy. We met a nice couple from Woking, and a few others, and again the volunteers were very friendly indeed.

I found the actual run pretty tough - it was very warm, and the gravel path was challenging underfoot. I was chuffed with a time of 24.30.

I love how parkrun has changed how I travel now. One of my favourite things to do when trip-planning is to figure out if there's a parkrun nearby. Holidays and travel have changed for me with the introduction of this Saturday activity, and it's such a great way to experience a destination.

I finished July with the aforementioned teary Vogrie PB, and a volunteering stint as tailwalker. Actually I was very grateful to experience a parkrun in this role, as it gave me the reminder that it's really not about times and PBs, it's about showing up, taking part, contributing, and having a good time. An enjoyable Saturday morning spent with family members, including my brother, sister-in-law and brand new nephew, over from France.

 

Finally, to end July (almost) on a high, the Dog Jog event in Holyrood Park on Sunday. This is where running really began for me last July 2017. It was my first running event in nearly ten years, and rather than being a one-off, it was the catalyst to keep going - and thanks to parkrun I was able to run 5k every weekend (or as many as I could), and build up to a 10k, a half marathon, and a marathon. If I hadn't completed the Dog Jog in 2017, I may never had had the confidence to go to parkrun, and therefore running may not have been the part of my life it is now. So I owe a lot to this event!

I was initially quite anxious about the change in start time from 9am last year to 2pm this year, given the hot weather we've had recently. However it worked out for the best - we had a late-ish night on Saturday night and not a great night's sleep, so an afternoon start was perfect. And the heat was definitely not a factor - it was chilly along with torrential rain!

I really liked that we went the opposite way round Arthur's Seat than last year - it gave a feeling of variety. Tig and I set off quite quickly, and Ross and Willow set a great pace that kept us going the whole way round. I set a new fastest mile record (7.17), and finished in 7th place. So chuffed!

2017 and 2018

Running these past couple of months post-marathon has been a story of ups and downs. I've pondered my motivations and questioned my abilities. I've had highs - especially my parkrun tourism adventures - and lows - crying after parkrun is not a good thing for me!

I wonder what will come next? So far the only event on the calender is the Abbotsford Trail Race on 19th August. I am toying with the idea of a second marathon this year, but I am yet to make a decision. I've tentatively started to run during the week again, just to see how it feels (hot and sweaty if last week is anything to go by). I've taken to painting my toenails so I can't see how disgusting they are underneath...

Other highlights of June and July included a wonderful walk in the Ochils with Dave and his dad, the second Elliot Cursiter Memorial Walk, and pushing myself out of my comfort zone to write for Sporting Heads website. We also spent a fantastic evening/night on Gullane beach watching the sunset and toasting marshmallows with friends. There have been a number of nice walks, and despite the lack of Munro trips, it has been great to lace up the walking boots once more.

As always time is zooming by and August will be here soon. I've no doubt the feeling of being adrift will ease, and there will be new challenges and adventures to think about. I'm very fortunate to be in a position where I can run, walk or jog, and write about my experiences. Looking back on the post-marathon months has been a great reminder of the wonderful memories made, and although my mental attitude could do with a bit of work sometimes (anxiety still comes with me wherever I go), I feel the confidence I have gained in completing a marathon has made a difference. There is work to be done of course - there always is. I saw a quote this morning from author Matt Haig and it really summed it up:  

Anxiety does not mean you are weak. Anxiety forges you. Living with anxiety, turning up and doing stuff with anxiety, takes a strength most will never know. Have anxiety for two decades and you have lived several lifetimes, and have won many invisible wars.