Fairview Park Run 5K

I was supposed to have my skeletal reset week on week one of our vacation, but my physical therapist accidentally wrote an extra week of run minutes into my return to run plan. When I saw that, I decided to see if there were any park runs near our hotel. I had read about European park runs online, and sure enough, I found one! I asked if I could steal some of my husband's birthday morning to run, and he graciously agreed!

But first up, the eating. The website said no toilets at the park, so I drank my coffee with RNWY collagen by 7 AM. I had some porridge with toppings and about four ounces of lemon water by 7:30 AM, and then we left for the bus about 8:30 AM.

It had been chilly (to me) the last few mornings, so I opted for a dry wicking tee and capri pants, versus the tank top and shorts I had set out. I packed some protein in a shaker bottle to drink afterwards and off we headed.

I had not planned to use the bathroom before the race, but of course I needed to. We arrived at the park around 9 AM, and I could see where the run was, so I hopped over to a coffee shop and bought a flapjack so I could use their toilet. Then off the park for the run.

Goals:

I was allowed to run 30-35 minutes this day, and I just wanted to run. I knew I should not push the pace, nevertheless try to sprint, as this could be harder on my bones. So I just ran for the joy of it!

The Run:

The run was three laps through the park, each about a mile, and then into a finish shoot. The course was a combination of paved trail, grass, and dirt/light gravel. The course went through some trees, along the run, down the river, and then back around. Volunteer marshals directed runners, and even cheered for us as we ran. One lady clapped and yelled, "You can do this. You can do it" through the entire run, I think!

Mile 1 was a warm-up mile in 8:52, mile 2 a little faster in 8:41, and mile 3 in 8:39. It's not even marathon pace, but faster than I have run in months! I kept telling myself to enjoy this, as it would be the last time I could run for a week. But, by God's grace, having survived months of no running, I was pretty sure I would make it.

I came in at 27:27 on my watch, grabbed my token, and then went and scanned my barcode to register results. I ran eight minutes more (wanting to squeeze out every minute of running that I could), and then we got back on the bus.

Results:

The official results in the Parkrun app said 27:40. Fair. I didn't start at the front of the pack, and I think they use gun time. I really don't care. I got to run. I got to run in Ireland. My husband let me steal part of his special day. I was super happy.

Final Thoughts:

I really don't know why the Phoenix area doesn't do park runs. Are we just too busy and too selfish to volunteer? Do people care too much about medals? I don't know. What I do know is that we have lots of parks in Phoenix and besides the heat, they would make great places for park runs. Anyone want to start a local park run movement?