First Park Run!

I've been thinking about it for a long time and now I've finally done it!  My first Park Run.  I set my alarm and dragged myself out of bed.  It felt very weird getting up at 7am on a Saturday, during the holidays and my dog looked at me like I was mad.  I was also surprisingly nervous.  What if it wasn't running any more?  What if I was supposed to pay and I didn't take any money?  What if they were all elite athletes?  

Anyway it was great.  It was still running, I didn't have to pay anything, and they were all very friendly.  I started chatting with some other runners beforehand and one lady (on her second run) reassured me that she had just aimed to keep going for her first run.  She was happy with a time under 45 minutes, so I thought I would set myself the same goal, hoping that I might even make it under 40.

It felt like a lot of hill for the first half of the run.  Nothing steep, but steady hills.  I had to stop and walk a couple of times.  One man ran past and said "okay do some work now" so I started running again.  I needed that encouragement.  One of the ladies I had talked with earlier gave me a high five as we passed each other going in different directions, and one of the kids encouraged me towards the end, reassuring me that I was nearly there.  

It was great.  I was so excited to finish that I forgot to stop my watch but I think I managed around 37-38 minutes.  Apparently they will email me a time when I have officially registered.  I'm looking forward to next week. :)