This morning I ran for 43 minutes and covered 5.5km - I noted it as "unsupervised" - the first 5k (only the second ever!) where I wasn't constantly in the gaze of someone else or chasing someone's wobbly bottom and I didn't have anyone keeping time in my earphones.
I worked out a 5km route for myself that extends my usual riverside run across the footbridge up by the rowing club, along Shalford Park and up and over the hill close to Shalford Station before coming back to the river at the Broadford bridge and returning to the starting point. I wasn't entirely sure of the 5k point so I let myself run a bit further and was please to find that I was able to.
Next time I'll try it in reverse, there aren't any steep hills, but there are one or two more inclined bits than I'm used to, it also includes the beachy sandy bit that I usually don't run on because it's tilted all over the place and slippery with it - but it's good to have that variety. I'd like to know whether it's any more difficult one way or the other (and then do the hard one!)
I will probably go to parkrun again on Saturday. The best 5k in today's run was 5 seconds slower than my last official time, which is good, considering I've had a week off, but today I kept reminding myself it's about covering the miles, going for distance rather than speed.