This morning, the alarm went off, but I was almost too cosy to get out of bed and go out into the cold and run 5k. But this would be my 50th parkrun, a t-shirt-worthy achievement, so I got out of bed and off I went.
Ah, bitter chill it was!
as John Keats wrote of The Eve of St Agnes. Most people were wrapped in layers, but I had my usual running leggings and parkrun apricot t-shirt on – as well as my special running shoes, of course. I was a bit chilly before the run, but I soon warmed up when I got going. By the time I finished, I was nice and warm, except for my toes. That’s the problem I’ve found with my toe shoes, which aren’t waterproof, either.
Last week’s mud hadn’t gone anywhere, so the course had been diverted so as to avoid the worst of it on the drove and the entrance to the top field. I wasn’t feeling particularly fit, so I plodded round, slow and steady. The diversions made the course slightly longer, and my plod ended 39 minutes and 5 seconds after it started. My pace continues to improve, despite last week’s clarty blip, and that makes me happy – along with putting my feet into my fluffy slippers when I get home.
