Parkrun: Four PBs in a row

It took me nearly a year of pushing myself to knock a single second off my Parkrun PB. A week later, unbelievably, I knocked another 17 seconds off my PB. Remarkably, a week later, I knocked a further five seconds off to get my 5k PB down to exactly 23 minutes.

The following week, I didn’t just think I’d get a PB again, I didn’t hope I’d get a PB again, I KNEW I’d get a PB again.

On the third week, I’d stopped to talk to my daughter. If I hadn’t done that, I would have got below 23 minutes. On the fourth week, I was going to get below 23 minutes, without a doubt.

Our Parkrun was being visited by real-life superhero, Jamie McDonald. He gave us a bit of his story before the run – how he’d been in hospital for most of his life until he was 9, how he had hardly any mobility, then how he decided to cycle from China to Gloucester. And then run all the way across Canada, raising £250,000 for the hospital that had cared for him in the process. This man is a real-life superhero. That’s why people were dressed as superheroes for Parkrun that day. I was wearing an age 13 Superman Tshirt.

I set off quickly as I always do. But I was quicker and stronger than ever. I was actually very near the front. When I looked at my watch to check my average pace, it was 5.35 min/ mile! Usually my average pace at the start of the run is about a minute slower than that. Needless to say, it settled down to something just above 7 min/ mile, but I was running fast.

But it was hot. So hot!

And I was sweating like I hadn’t sweated for a long time. And I was thirsty. So thirsty!

But I needed to break that 23 minute barrier. I was going to break that 23 minute barrier. And I was going to do it wearing a kids’ Superman Tshirt.

Despite the heat and despite the thirst, I felt really strong.

Could I do that last half a lap in three and a half minutes? Could I do that hill in a minute?

I could!

I smashed it. I was way below 23 minutes.

When my time came through, it was 22:37. I’d beaten the previous week’s time by 23 seconds and knocked 46 seconds off my 5k time over the course of just four weeks. I finished 83rd out of 490 runners and was the 5th female across the line, winning my age category.

Beating my PB is an amazing feeling and getting below 23 minutes is even better.

The good news is, I’ve finally beaten my husband’s PB of 22:54. My husband isn’t a consistent runner like me, probably because Parkrun is the only time he runs. He has only beaten me a handful of times and hasn’t beaten since last summer. He’s currently running several minutes slower than me.

I don’t think I’ll beat my PB again for a long time now. If I do, I probably shouldn’t blog about it. It might be getting a bit boring for you (but not for me, I will never tire of beating my PB!).

Parkrun, PB, Parkrun: Fourth PB in a row, Jamie McDonald, Running

Author: Sarah Mummy

Share This Post On

8 Comments

  1. Wow! Amazing! I won’t tire of your PB blogs. Annoyingly my husband has just claimed the family 5 and 10k records. I have work to do!

    Post a Reply
    • Thanks very much! I’m glad to hear that someone won’t tire of my PB blogs! That’s a shame about your husband taking the PBs, but I’m sure you’ll catch him again when you’ve finished the marathons!
      My husband’s fitness is always very up and down, so I think the PB is safe with me until one of my boys overtakes me.

      Post a Reply
  2. No I wont ever tire of hearing it! And well done – in heat too! That is an amazing time – well done.

    Post a Reply
    • Thanks very much! That’s such a lovely thing to say 🙂

      Post a Reply
  3. Hooray, well done! What an amazing time too! And Jamie McDonald sounds incredible. I can’t wait to get back into Park Run, we haven’t been for a while and at the moment I always run with my daughter if we go but I’m hoping one day there will be someone who can run with her so I can try and beat my time!
    Nat.x

    Post a Reply
    • Thanks very much! Jamie McDonald is so inspirational! I used to run Parkrun with my daughter a lot, but I must admit I do love being able to run it on my own! Here’s hoping you can get back to it soon.

      Post a Reply
  4. That is so amazing and such a great achievement. I really must get my son doing park runs again, he loves doing them but he likes his lie in on a saturday morning.

    Post a Reply
    • Thanks very much! My boys are being good and getting up for it again these days, but it is always a struggle to get them out of bed!

      Post a Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.