The last time I got a PB (personal best) time over 5k was at the 3rd anniversary of the Bushy Park Time Trial (now Bushy parkrun) in October 2007. We’re one week away from the 5th anniversary and managed to find a new PB!

In October 2007 I ran 18:04 which I knew was going to be a hard one to get back to. In 2008 I had injury problems on and off during the year and in early 2009 I was concentrating on my Ironman training too much to be concerned with getting back to these times. As a result of the training volumes I started closing in on the lower 18’s but a lack of real speed training meant I wasn’t quite getting there.

Since the big race in July I’ve been doing more speedwork and pushing harder on (most) Saturday morning - today was no exception. I said before the start I was planning on “18:30” but after a fast 1st km (3:40) I just kept on pushing. There was a good bunch of people around to hang onto and as it happened I slowly but surely drifted up the field throughout the entire race. I don’t believe a single person overtook me.

After about 2k I knew I was running close to PB time but wasn’t sure, and as I headed into the final km I glanced at my watch to see it say around 14:25, which meant I needed to run the final km in 3:39 to be equal to my best. There was no point giving up now so it was just a case of ‘get on with it and don’t ease off!’

The final 100m or so ended up with me closing in on fellow Ranelagh Harriers member Pat W. and I pushed hard to just squeeze past him at the finishing line. His time was slower than his best time, but I was happy to have gained another place.

My overall position was 17th (not bad) but the time on the clock was 18:01, giving me a 3 second PB. Superb.

It was bloody hard work but certainly feels good to be on top form once again over this distance. We’re a week away from the parkrun 5th anniversary and I’d love to put in another great time next week, but its going to be busy - real busy in the park next Saturday as a bumper turnout is expected.