Running race 16:51 [5] 5.0 km (3:22 / km)
shoes: Nike Flyknit One+
newy parkrun. I DID IT!!! Finally went sub 17 :D
Felt pretty rubbish in the warm up and wasn't expecting too much from today, was just going to run based on how I felt.
did my usual burst off the start line to get ahead and the best line through the hairpin. normally after this I settle back into a sustainable pace but this week I thought I'll keep on it and see how it goes. first km in 3:10, a bit quicker than usual.
along the top section got overtaken but stuck with him. there was a pack of 3 of us here. the pace coming down to the turnaround was really good and was happy to have someone to stick with. got to the turnaround in 8:11! this is massively faster than any other time and I knew that this could finally be the week if i didn't blow up.
coming back the pace began to drop slightly and I was stuck behind the other 2 guys. I coasted behind for a little longer then realised I had to get past if I wanted to crack 17. so put in a massive kick at the 3km mark. was worried that this was way too early, but opened up a bit of gap and held it.
pace was fluctuating a bit over the next km but I kept telling myself to push hard. coming through the 4km mark I had to average 3:30 for the last km. pushed very hard here but almost in short bursts, kept having to back off a bit. hit the concrete and knew I only had a short amount of pain to go. hit the hairpin with 45secs up my sleeve and knew I had it from there.
Very stoked to crack 17, it's been my goal at parkrun for some time now. not sure what was so different about today though. massive pb by 26 secs too, and managed to hold onto 1st but not by a huge margin