Yesterday had been a hard day and had left me exhausted and very down at the end of the day. I laid with Oliver until he was fast asleep and went to bed myself. I set my alarm for 7:30am as I wanted to try Parkrun again. I hadnt run it for ages and the course has changed because of flooding. Oliver and I got up and after breakfast I took him to my mums and left Joanne in bed. Oliver was much happier this morning and we chatted before I left, "try and get first place Daddy" he said, "I will try for you" I replied.
I got to the park in plenty of time and had a gentle warm up and a quick recce of the new diversion. After a great parkrun I came home and spotted Olivers Scotch pancakes and really wanted some. As Im cutting out Gluten I decided to make my own with rice flour. They were amazing! I put some washing on and tidied up for the rest of the morning and Oliver came home at lunch time. After lunch I had a hot bath before work tonight. I'm going running with the boys again in the morning so its an early start tomorrow!
Running: 3.15 miles / 19:04 min / Barrow Parkrun Position 1st! (woo Hoo)
I arrived at Barrow park and I was actually a bit nervous. Id had a bit of banter on social media with my running buddies as Id posted a 19:05 5k earlier in the week, so I was feeling a bit of pressure (totally self inflicted) to deliver a good performance. I had a warm up around the diverted section, the usual route goes past the park lake but after all the rain it is totally flooded and the path is under water. The shorter diversion means instead of a 2 1/2 circuits of the park it was now 3 and a half with some cheeky little hills added in for extra value.
I met up with a couple of friends, Alastair and Garry and we chatted in the morning sun. After the briefing we made our way to the start line and I lined up on the front row. The great thing about Parkrun is that you never know who will be running it. Sometimes there can be elites knocking in 15mins and the next week the winning time is 21 mins.
The gun went and I strode out behind one of the junior runners. I think he must be 13 or 14 and an exceptional runner already at that tender age. I ran along side him, both of us pushing the pace and leading the pack. I asked him what his normal time was and he said around 19.30min. I decided this would be a good pace and kept with him for a lap. On the second lap he slowed at a hill and I pushed on into first place. If we had ran together all the way I had already decided to push him hard and step back to let him have the win at the line. Its so good not just to see the future of the sport but compete against them is amazing. But he slowed (i found out after his shoelace had come undone - rookies!) and I drove deeper into my reserves.
Out front by myself, I came around for another lap and I was glad Id done a quick recce earlier as the paths intertwined and rose up and down. I started to breath heavily and my pace dropped slightly. I turned my thoughts back to yesterday, to the stress and anger and frustration, using the negative feelings as fuel, stoking my engine and burning them away. My frame lifted and I strode on pushing harder and harder. I passed the last lap marker and the race bell went in my head (you know the ones they have on athletics tracks when its the final lap), driving me further.
I was audibly gasping for breath, my heart pounding and my lungs on fire as I reached the last section. Come on Lee I said , its yours to lose now! I passed lots of back or the pack runners (no offence meant by that, anyone who gets up and exercises has my total respect. Always remember no matter how fast or slow you go on, your lapping everyone sat at home on the couch) the way in and sprinted for the finish, totally spending all of my fuel. I dropped over the finish line exhausted but feeling bloody awesome. What a good run and an unexpected return to form. Its going to do wonders for my confidence and my fitness in the coming months.
I went and grabbed my phone and a water from my jacket then made my way back to the finish to cheer the lads in and show my appreciation to the marshals who always do a great job. I managed to take a couple of pictures and grabbed a picture with the boys at the end. I stretched out and made my way home.
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| Running Buddies - Alastair, Me and Garry |
Food Diary
Post run breakfast -
GF pancakes topped with maple syrup and blueberries
(I pimped a standard pancake recipe) : 200g Rice Flour, 150ml Coconut water, 150ml of skimmed milk, 50g ground almonds, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 eggs. Mix it all together and drop a blob into a hot pan with oil.
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| Rice Flour and almond pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup |
Lunch
Tesco GF Ham Hock Crispbake with mushroom risotto (from last night) and an avocado salad.
Dinner
Not sure yet, I will get it after work tonight!
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