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Pretty Milton ParkRun

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It’s been a few years since I last went to Milton Country Park Parkrun. As with all Cambridge Parkruns I usually do them on the way home from night shifts as they are local to where I work. Otherwise I tend to stick to in and around Bedfordshire, where I live.

Milton Country park is so pretty and it makes a really interesting Parkrun. Don’t come here expecting a PB though, especially if you’re not used to trail runs like me! I am usually a strictly path runner only! Here there are tight twists and turns, plenty of puddles and tree roots to watch out for! It is certainly not boring and I would thoroughly recommend it.

The route has changed recently and starts off with a small lap of a section of the park, followed by 2 larger laps and then finishing with the small section again. There is plenty to look at to keep yourself distracted. It is completely flat, which for an anti hill girl this was a relief! I would rate this Parkrun 8/10, I love it but my joints prefer more flat paths. Considering how tricky it is, I still got a good time. A PB for this particular event YAY!

I was too tired for my usual post park run hot chocolate treat but there is a lovely cafe here if you need a pick me up after! I do love it here but it is a little out of my way and on the whole, I prefer it to be mainly flat paths if possible. For beauty and how interesting it is I give this one a solid 8.5/10.

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New Park Run – Great Denham 22th April

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I loved this park run. Smaller than the others I’ve run with 174 runners this week. This, however gave it a super friendly vibe, like everyone knew each other.

I love how it’s a complete 2 laps of the Great Denham Park. Psychologically, 2 laps rather than 2.5 laps at Bedford or 3 laps at Storeys Field, makes it much easier. It’s very flat, running on paths the whole way, tarmac and gravel. This is a good Park Run if you’re aiming for a PB. Make sure you position yourself nearer the front at the start line, as it’s a bit of a jostle to get past people at the start, it’s quite narrow at the start.

It’s a lovely green space, with sports pitches and children’s playing areas. Along one side of the park is the River Ouse. I found that there was enough to look at and keep my mind off how out of breath I was! I didn’t quite get a PB but I wasn’t far off. 25m 21s and my PB sits at 25m 16s at Storey’s Field. I think it will take a lot of effort to beat that!

There are plenty of places to park. I took the Park Run website’s advice and avoided the car park directly next to the park. This car park gets super busy, so I parked in a car park next to the primary school which was around a half mile walk to the start line. This meant I got to have a little look around the village too.

There are plenty of options for post Park Run refreshment, if like me you need a pick me up afterwards! There’s the Archers Rest, which is right on the start/finish line and there’s also The Eatery which is near to the Sainsbury’s. Both of these look popular and good options for food and drink. I look forward to trying both, when I definitely return to try and beat my time next time.

I was in such a good mood after this Park Run that I was mad enough to enter the ballot for next year’s London Marathon. I always said that I would never want to run a marathon but recently I’ve been inspired. I know that I am very unlikely to secure a space but I thought it was worth a try.

Thank you Great Denham for a really friendly vibe and a lovely change to my usual Park Run. I’d love to do the alphabet challenge at some point so I have now ticked off B for Bedford, G for Great Denham, M for Milton and S for Storey’s Field.

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Running – Week 14 2023

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This past week has been full of achievements starting with a Bedford park run PB. 26:25. I don’t know why, but since they changed the route of Bedford Park Run since COVID, I find it much harder. It’s now anti clockwise around the park, and instead of a sharp incline and a nice long decline, it is a long gradual uphill climb and a short downhill. Some would probably not even class this as a hill but, to me it might as well be Everest! I am sure with time I will get used to running up hill.

From complete beginner in January this year, to having run my 4th 10k with the run club this week. I am feeling so proud of myself. I am just so happy that I’ve started something and stuck to it. This is something that I am not very good at usually!

Run club this week was great. We had a change of meeting point and therefore a different route too. We started off at Bedford Park and it was glorious sunshine. Cue a necessary selfie.

Due to an unforeseen route change half way, it ended up being more than 10k and it was my longest ever run! 7.1miles to be exact.

10k is starting to feel easy, however only when running with other people. I find it harder to increase the distance on my own. That may be down to the fact that there aren’t many safe running routes near where I live. There is a loop I can run twice to make a 5k run but this has become boring. Also I need more ways to distract myself when running so I can keep going without getting bored and stopping. I have a good running play list on Spotify which you can check out by clicking on the Spotify icon at the bottom of the homepage. Maybe I should try some podcasts or audio books to keep me entertained.

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Bedford Park Run

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Bedford Park Run is my favourite so far. I’ve only tried 3 different ones, but I would love to make a mission to travel and try them all! Or a lot more at least. Bedford has got a bit of everything. There is a small hill which is a bit of a killer by the last lap! It’s 2.5 laps of the park and there is a lovely pond with wildlife and a water feature, plenty of greenery and tennis courts. My favourite bit is the cafe at the finish point where I often go for their famous hot chocolate. It is a beautiful park on sunny and not so sunny days; you can visit my instagram for more pictures.

Today marked my 21st Park Run which means I have 4 more to go until I reach my first milestone! I will definitely be purchasing some merchandise to celebrate hitting said milestone. Yesterday was actually my 5 year Park Run anniversary, thanks to the guys at Park Run for letting me know that. So 21 over 5 years isn’t that great but I have done 8 this year so far and I plan to run every Saturday this year when I am not at work.

Today wasn’t my fastest time or even my fastest time at Bedford. I found it a bit of a struggle today and I’m still learning what causes these off days. Maybe I didn’t eat enough yesterday. I never usually eat before a morning run as I used to find that I would get abdominal cramps half way through if I did. I do hydrate before hand and I take some fast acting sugar with me just in case. Love heart sweets are my favourite for this purpose. They come in mini packets and are easily stashed in my running leggings pocket alongside my barcode and car key.

I’m also not very good at pacing myself when running at these events. I get overwhelmingly competitive with myself and I push myself to my limit. I certainly wouldn’t be able to talk at the pace I run at Park Run. I felt like I started off too quickly, to get a head start. However, looking at my Apple Watch stats it isn’t true. I appear to have started off slower for the first mile, the second mile was quickest and then slowed down for the end. Probably as I felt like I was dying and my legs were tired.

The volunteers at this event are fantastic at boosting morale. I feel like I’m completing a marathon, the way they cheer us all on! Without them, it wouldn’t be anywhere near as fun or worth doing. There’s a couple of regular super cheerful volunteers that keep me going back each time.

I’d love to hear your advice for running a great 5k and feeling good for the whole time. If that is possible! Also which Park Runs do you recommend I try next? I live in the Bedfordshire area, but I am willing to travel to try some good ones!