Alexandra Palace Parkrun 4.2.23

 Pre

Part ii. Boys are back in town. Arif vs Alexandra. Don't call it a comeback. We were back. We arrived in ample time and made our way inside. This was our first pre run coffee and based on our performances and current literature (Rourke et al, 2018) , something worth implementing in the future. We kicked back for awhile and spent some time watching ice skaters before departing for the start line and warm up. 

The walk down the hill was scenic and refreshing. We wondered on the rationale and logistics of the Parkrun placement. As on top of the hill, closer to the palace seemed to have sufficient space and distance. During the warm up we speculated on potential times. 30 something was the general consensus between us, as the inclines seemed quite ominous. Although as I write this, it highlights the importance of a warm up. 

The Parkrun

This Parkrun consists of a sloping and gradual uphill, a 100m steep gradient, then a fairly Mad Max trail of a downhill. I found it very stimulating and it was over in a flash. I glanced at the watch mid way and I was pleasantly surprised at the average pace. My Parkrun set up is 3 data fields; Average pace, current pace, and heart rate. These 3 metrics help me to understand what sort of day it will be. Today seemed like it would be a good day but I did not want to push it as I always say to Arif, I want to live to fight another. That being said, I did probably push too energetically on the final downhill or perhaps I was too disrespectful of the 100m incline. An incline I described as easy. Which at the time it was. However, a nagging left hamstring, just as it attaches to the glute, caused enough discomfort to prevent me from running or doing my lower session the subsequent week. 

Post

We were both very pleased with our times considering the nature of the course. A course that if researched, is described as hilly and difficult. I think perhaps it probably is for a London run, but as we know; their are some dastardly elevations to be had away from this island. After the run, we warmed down and decided to walk around the perimeter of the palace, around the lake, and circling the main building. As time went on I began to grow nervous of my barcode not being scanned. Today I had used the barcode on my watch for the first time (as well as arm sleeves that I found very effective) but by 11am had not received any results. Once I checked the page I realised that a mistake had occurred. There I was, 103rd Unknown. The bloody watch had betrayed me. My mood dropped and I began frantically emailing the race organisers. My panic was premature as they were incredibly helpful and resolved the issue, enabling our official Parkrun streak to remain intact. I later learned upon checking, that I had entered my Parkrun ID incorrectly into the watch, and thus it was not the watch, but myself who had caused the issue. We had a second coffee once the walk had been completed and reflected upon the day.