Brick Wall

So, today I was hoping to be able to write a happy post, but unfortunately my body has other ideas!
Last week, Nicole and I ran the Harrogate Park Run for the first time. If you haven't encountered Park Run before, then you should definitely check it out - it's a free event set up by a group of seriously dedicated running enthusiasts - their aim? To raise awareness of how great running is, the camaraderie involved and most of all just to get people doing it.


Anyway, we started the race full of trepidation - neither of us had run a Park Run before, and prior to our group training session, it had been some nine years since I had run at all (except when I was late for a bus). To be honest, we weren't great, finishing 152 out of 160 runners. But we really didn't care - the fact that we had actually hauled our asses out of bed for 9am on a Saturday and run around the park for three miles is testament to our dedication to the cause - especially as Nicole even body swerved her regular Friday night booze-up.


My plan from then was to include the Park Run in my weekly training schedule - their barcode system allows you to record your time and monitor progression on a weekly basis, something which I definitely need in order to keep myself motivated. This weekend, I am visiting my parents up here in Inverness, so I was hoping to run the Park Run up here, however, I jolted my knee on the treadmill yesterday and have had to give it a miss.


One of the things I have been thinking about is my footwear - this will be the first time I will buy a pair of shoes for their practical functionality rather than for their prettiness (although I'm hoping I can keep an element of this). My lovely friend, Emma has just had special insoles made for her running shoes at the Sweatshop in Meadowhall, which will support her knees more. I'm starting to think that if I'm going to be putting 750 miles in between now and November, I'd better look at investing as well.


I'm pretty gutted to be honest - I know there's no harm in missing one session, but I had worked hard on my runs all week, finishing with a PB time of 9'27 mi yesterday on the treadmill, so was pretty fired up. 


Inverness is just beautiful though, so fingers crossed if I rest up today and perhaps tomorrow, I can head out on a circuit of my own and work on that 5k time.


Sam x