Coventry parkrun - holding back

[@gilbasit]

That pace is blistering!

[@racheld1844]

Thanks. It was definitely a quicker than planned time 😁

[@garymacalister]

Congrats on 300! Learning to allow myself to get overtaken on "easier runs" was a really hard skill to master, still don't think I have but I am less worried about it these days as I understand everyone has different goals. And I agree, this has been the wettest marathon training block I can remember!

[@racheld1844]

Thanks Gary. I think the only time I could stick to pace would be if I was a pacer. Everything else always seems to just find a way of being too fast or too slow 🤣 Well done on Bath Half. We enjoyed your video 😊

[@Mack.Tracks]

That Puma pair sure delivered a bit of speed there. I’ve heard a lot of good things about them!

[@racheld1844]

I can definitely feel the speed drop in the velocity trainers. Although, I do tend to wear them more for recovery/easy runs where my legs are pretty tired. That could also give me the perception they’re not too fast 😁

[@SwimBikeRunStu]

Glad you enjoyed my local parkrun. I actually went to Bedworth this week and not coventry 😂

[@racheld1844]

We looked out for you on the off chance you might have been there 😁

[@BenNotley]

Superb performance Rachel! Shame about the half being cancelled. Huge congrats on hitting that 300 parkrun mark that's incredible. 297 more than me 🤣 Look forward to seeing the next training run mate. 😎🤘

[@racheld1844]

Thanks Ben. We’d booked the half because we couldn’t face one of the hard marathon sessions from the plan. We’ve skipped that one and switched it round, so it’s still got to be done either this Sunday or next 😬🤣 Oh to run some longer slow miles… something that we’ll be doing later in the year. Strange how I crave easy miles when I run fast, then when I’m running long but easy, I wish I had the speed back… can’t win 🤣

[@reluctantfellrunner]

Been plenty of rain. Training going well Best wishes.

[@racheld1844]

Thanks Nigel. Today was no exception to the wet conditions. Another run through puddles on all the paths 🌧️

[@almorrison2040]

For someone taking it "easy" that's still very respectable. Looking forwards to your speedy marathon. Good luck with the final weeks of training.

[@racheld1844]

Thanks Al. These last few weeks are always hard going but I’m looking forward to seeing what I can run again at Newport. There’s a slight route change this year, so it’ll be interesting to see what the difference is. How has your training been going?

[@almorrison2040]

@@racheld1844 I'm back and trying for another BQ. 4 months off through injury, so I don't really want to use my current entry and limp around. It'd a lot of money for that trip.

[@racheld1844]

@@almorrison2040 - not so good news about the injury, but glad to hear you’re back training again. Best of luck with the quest for your bq time 😊

[@middleagedrunningman]

Well run you pair!!! Under 3h14m marathon very impressive!!

[@racheld1844]

Thanks Tim. Hopefully we’ll see you at another parkrun soon, although you shoot off so fast, we probably won’t 🤣

[@brummyrunner8408]

Great video. Congratulations on the 300!

[@racheld1844]

Thank you 😊 We’re looking forward to running Saturday, and for once the weather is forecast sun and light winds 🤞

[@neilsumner6440]

Another enjoyable video Rachel, I did coventry almost a year to the day! When you're feeling good and you tell yourself don't push too hard sometimes it's virtually impossible to resist going too fast the finish line is like a magnet. Best of luck for your 300th hope you and Rory have a great one! 👍

[@racheld1844]

Thanks Neil. We planned to visit Coventry the day we went to Edgbaston but Stu from Swim Bike Run Stu said that part of the route had some standing water so we opted to wait till the paths had dried out. Great route and lovely running up to and passing the War Memorial 🙂

[@jamesbenjamins]

300🎉

[@racheld1844]

Thanks. I’m a bit behind on videos but the 300 video will be hopefully out soon 😁

[@debbiestreets4089]

Great video, was lovely to meet you at the token scanners!! Ps where was the white top from, I want one!!! 😊

[@racheld1844]

Hi Debbie, it was nice to meet you too. Sorry we didn’t get much chance to chat, I was flapping because my camera had stopped working 🤦🏻‍♀️😁 The top is from Proviz. I bought 3 of their tops last autumn and love them. The arms are covered in reflective dashes and light up great on dark nights (which hopefully I won’t need again for a good few months 😁)

[@tworunningbrooms]

Brilliant park that one. We stayed for a while looking at the war memorial and the display in the cafe area. Dawn did a 5 mile race there a few years ago organised by Coventry Godiva Harriers. Not sure if that still takes place? Our guess for your special away day parkrun is Jersey. Collect the letter J and have a weekend somewhere totally different. We'd like to do that one day.

[@racheld1844]

The run up to, and past the memorial was a really nice part of the course. Especially in the sun. I’d read it was constructed using Portland stone, the same as the Cenotaph and from the quarries I got to run round last summer on holiday. I like the guess, unfortunately this one isn’t Jersey but we are visiting one you ran last year and it was one Dawn wasn’t too keen on for a specific reason 😁

[@tworunningbrooms]

@@racheld1844 we're thinking Severn Bridge as Dawn didn't like heights. We did it in 2022. 🙂

[@racheld1844]

2 years ago 😱 …. 😁

[@eddiegaul1903]

I figured you'd get caught up in the "race" element of the 5k Rachel. I know my competitive side would as well. Shame about your half being canceled. It seems like you guys are indeed getting a lot of rain. Ran a 1-58-47 on my half this past weekend. Hilly and windy. Sort of jumped into the race on a whim. Are you on Strava? Thanks for the tour of the park and look forward to seeing your 300th event.

[@racheld1844]

Yep, sooooo much rain but hopefully we’ll get a small window of dry for the parkrun on Saturday which will make it more fun. How did your 5k go? I think that was your last event you mentioned. Well done on adding an extra half in the mix too 😁 Funnily enough I joined starva this week. I’m not sure if I’ll be making it public yet as I’m happy with my garmin set up. But I do like the mile split graphs I get from stava. Much neater than anything garmin shows.

[@eddiegaul1903]

@@racheld1844 well if you decide to add friends to Strava look me up. I did run a St Patrick's Day 5k. I was a bit slower than I wanted but about 30 seconds faster than the previous 5k I did. 24.17 was my official time. Hopefully I can get back to running sub 24 again soon

[@racheld1844]

@@eddiegaul1903 - well done on your 5k time Eddie. I’m sure with all your recent races, your fitness must be getting a real boost 🙂

[@eddiegaul1903]

@@racheld1844 I think so but I haven't had a really good race of late where everything has come together. Either hills or wind. I have a flat 10k this weekend and the weather is looking reasonable for it. I know every inch of the course so we shall see how I do. It gets harder and harder to make gains in running even with the best id training efforts and plans. Fingers crossed for this weekend