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50th Parkrun & Sub 25 minutes

Parkrun 50

Yesterday was a big morning for me at Parkrun.

It was my 50th Parkrun (earning me the shirt to the right), and at the same time I’d set myself a goal of running the 5km in less than 25 minutes, despite the fact that my PB of 25:22 had stood for over 12 months. In fact that 12 months was beginning to feel like a lifetime ago, before my failed snorkeling experience off Mystery Island in July 2016 and before tearing my knee in December and having surgery on it in February. That said, I knew I’d done a lot of work, and as recently as last week, surprised myself by getting to within 7 seconds of that PB. The thing is, I’d set a goal to break 25 minutes a number of times, and never made it.

I was buoyed by the offer from Tony to pace me through the distance, a ready eye on his watch the whole time. I was not helped at all by the fact the I had a shoelace come undone about 200m in and the other at about the 1.5km mark. I deliberately decided not fix the second shoelace at the first stop, as it would mean I would end up further back in the pack, there was a chance the lace might last, and my fingers were too cold and numb to tie properly. 😃

In the end all was well, though in giving my all to get across the finish, I didn’t manage to grab my finish token and had to go back for it a minute or two later once I’d caught my breath. Position #41, definitely my best position number, but I had to wait a couple of hours to get the official time:

Lillydale Lake parkrun results for event #168. Your time was 00:24:40.

24:40! I’d sliced a whopping 42 seconds off my PB, made it under 25 minutes and survived!

Thanks Tony, and all the people who cheered me on on the day.

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Parkrun goals.

Parkrun

I shared in the Five months post surgery knee update that I’ve been whittling my parkrun times down over the last month, (though not nearly in the same way as my nephew who has recorded 13 PBs in a row, go Zach!). Tomorrow will mark my 50th Parkrun, which is an exciting milestone, 2 years and 4 months after my first run on 21/3/2015. That first run was 36:47, and I’m hoping to celebrate my 50th with a new PB under 25 minutes. My current PB is 25:22 and best for the year is 25:29 so I think I can do it. Tony, a running coach and fellow member of Up ‘n Active Lilydale Lake Running Group has offered to pace me at 25 minutes, so we are going to give it a red hot go.

Wish me luck.

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Knee – Five months post

Parkrun June 24

The knee is now basically as good as it’s going to get, which is pretty good but still a little painful when I run. It’s amazing how much difference there is between running on concrete, running on asphalt and running on gravel. There is noticeably less impact on the gravel especially. My time has been taken up by other priorities on and off over the last couple of months but I’m trying to get two to three runs in every week. I did my first Parkrun for the year in late April with a time of 35 minutes and and have progressed through 32, 28, 28, 26 and last week finished in 25:29, just 7 seconds outside my PB!

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Open Letter to the Universe

Dear readers from around the world,

There are a couple of things I’d love you to do below, but first a bit of my story:
Last year I turned 42. A landmark age for anyone who has ever read the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. But also a time for a bit of contemplation of the meaning of life. So, I was 42.  I was overweight @ 103Kg (though at 6’3″ (188cm) I carried it fairly well)  depressed, exhausted, grumpy and living in a kind of mental fog. Not a great place to be, but when you get there slowly over many years, you kinda don’t notice it.
 
12 months ago my wife Bernie reconnected with an old school friend Nic who introduced us to some products from a company called Isagenix. (http://www.berniesnell.isagenix.com/). Bernie jumped on as she was desperate to lose some weight, I tried them to support her and quietly to prove they couldn’t really work. I went through a few really tough days giving up coffee before I started, but after 4 days on the program I could feel a difference. After 30 days I’d released 10kg but also lost a stunning 10cm off my waist. That’s not the best of it though, I now have clarity of thought like I haven’t had in 20 years and more energy than I’ve had since I was in my early 20’s
BUT, this isn’t an ad for isagenix (or at least not completely) but there are a couple of things I’d love you to do.
 
2015-06-17 06.51.56
With all this new found energy I had to burn it off somehow, so I’ve joined a gym where I’m working out 3-5 times a week and also joined parkrun www.parkrun.com.au where I do a timed 5km double lap of the local Lillydale Lake on a Saturday morning. Since doing that I’ve been able to chip 12 minutes off my personal best time from 40 to 28 minutes for 5km. To double up on that, this Sunday I’m competing in Run Melbourne, a 10km run along the Yarra River from the Arts Centre to near Fed Square.
 
Here’s one thing I’d love you to do: I’m supporting beyondblue as my charity, and I’d love you to sponsor my run and support this awesome charity helping those with depression. https://runmelbourne2015.everydayhero.com/au/marksnell/
 
I’d also love you to like our Facebook page where we share a collection of inspiration, motivation, recipes, results and a bit of fun, all relating to making a better you.
https://www.facebook.com/Health2FreedomAu
 
Thirdly have a look at our website at http://www.health2freedom.com.au and join our mailing list if you like what you see.
 
Lastly, if you like the idea of what you have heard here, want some more information, or want to get in contact, email me your phone number, email address, Facebook details or the latitude and longitude where I can send a carrier pigeon and I’ll be in contact.
 
Whatever you do, make today a fabulous day!