I'd always been keen on Albert Park parkun - the flat, the city coffee opportunities and the possibility of smashing a PB on this course got me excited.
Well 2 out of 3 ain't bad - getting my training partner Scotty out of bed took some convincing, bribes included giving him a lift, coffee and the promise I wouldn't run off on him (no PB today) the poor guy hasn't run 5km since .... well actually I don't know, he can ride a bike but that's where it stops.
It's a nice spot Albert Park, the sun gazing over the lake and at 7:30am there is plenty of parking. With the crowds gathering I had heard this can have up to 300+ runners on any given morning you could feel that it was going to be a big crowd.
Maybe I caught them on a bad day, maybe they had lots of announcements, but personally I like it when parkrun starts 8am SHARP! let's get it going - but with a bit chit-chat and awards and discussions on the course going on I don't think we took off till 8:15am!
The course as promised is flat as a surfboard and follows the gravel path around the outside and quite close the water edge, the path is quite narrow so early on in the run there is a bit of jousting and getting stuck behind a few people until the herd thins out after the first 1.5km and then you have some room before the first turn at the top end of the lake.
Scotty was going well - I kept talking to him to keep him amused and less worried about his heavy breathing; we discussed his various injuries over his years of football & cricket. As my lone true man about town single friend his life amuses me no end with stories of women issues and working out if he is going to play golf or shag some lady friend this afternoon - part jealous and part grateful is how I tend to feel after our talks, let's just say he is more suited to it than I am.
Coming around the boat houses he starts to ask that quitters question "how far to go?" I explain we are just past half way and he is doing great - but I'm no Richard Simmons super inspiring type I tend to hope my actions speak louder.
ANNND he's out!
With a wave of the hand as we jog past the golf course, he tells me to go on without me, like a solider in battle I don't want to leave my buddy - explaining between exhales he say's something a long the lines of
"if I die you can have my golf clubs! Now go on without me ..."
Thinking he has a great set of clubs, and maybe he might throw in his new sports car I get shifting; having sat in 2nd gear I try to click up and start attempting to pick off other runners hoping I can get in around the 25 min mark.
My gas started to fade, and running in a long sleeve seemed great at Scott's Pace - but now I was burning up, crossing the line just over 25mins and I was happy, warm but happy.
My good pal came steaming in a few minutes after I had stretched down and complain all the way to the coffee shop (which is pretty standard, he does that on group rides as well)
It's a great flat course, need to position yourself up the front if you want a good time on the tight running track - but worth an attempt if just for the city location, will work this in again as part of Bike/Run session and throw in a lap of the Yarra Boulevard Hills to create a great workout.
#forher #AR2G #parkrun #dadathlete #newblog #running
No comments:
Post a Comment