Happy 1st Birthday Sandgate parkrun!

With local councillor, Victoria Newton

One year ago, without really knowing what we were doing, Dean & I started Sandgate parkrun.

We had ummed and aaahed, but decided to take the plunge and just do it.  Little did we know what it would turn into, a year down the track.

Last Saturday, 23rd November 2013, we celebrated the first birthday of Sandgate parkrun.  It was a fantastic morning, which literally started with a bang - a rocket launch right there in the park!

Blast off!!!

We had a record attendance of 365 runners, most of whom got into the spirit of the Ashes, which was being played in Brisbane, by wearing white.  We had wedding dresses, angels, cricketers (pads, helmets & all!), mad scientists and more.

We were supplied with a simply AMAZING cake and had heaps of other food and drink.  It was a really special time as well, to present several awards for our annual points competition, as well as other categories, like most improved, Sandgate spirit and volunteer champion.

As always, the atmosphere was amazing and the community spirit was high.  It was such a proud moment for us & our kids to be presented with our own medals from local councillor, Victoria Newton.   The celebrations were a real testament to the loyalty and support of all our Sandgate runners.

I've been at parkrun every single Saturday for the past year, and over that time, I've met amazing people, been constantly encouraged and support (especially while training for the marathon) and witnessed the kindness and generosity of the running community.

We can't wait for many more parkruns in the next year and beyond!

Thanks so much to Ross McNeil and Tracy King for the photos in this blog :-)

New Goals, Fresh Motivation

I bit the bullet last week and decided it was really time to crack down on myself and lose a few kilos I've been trying to shift since the marathon.  I signed up to the current round of the Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation and I've loved getting back into it over the last week!  It's been almost 2 years since I did my first round, and I'm really appreciating the accountability and discipline of the program.

Jed helping me with an at-home workout!

Basically, I'm eating well, counting calories and taking my exercise up a notch - 6 workouts a week.  I'm on the advanced running program, which gives me a variety of runs each week - things like intervals, hill sprints, tempo runs and long runs.  It's not unlike what I've been doing myself over the past few months, but I just love having something to stick to.  I actually really like being told what to do, so I'm enjoying the routine of the set workouts.  It also involves strength, core and stretching - all of which I know I need to to do, but haven't had the motivation to complete by myself, so I love that too.

It's not hard getting back to calorie counting - but it's only been one week, so hopefully that continues!  One of my goals for when I get to the end of the program is to have my 5km time down to 22:30 without the pram and 23:30 with the pram.

I made a good step towards that on Saturday.  We spent the weekend at Noosa, so made the trek to the closest parkrun on Saturday morning, which is Kawana.  It's a beautiful, beachfront track and it was great to have a few familiar Sandgate faces there too!  We were very impressed by one of the regular runners there, Norm, who turned 90 during the week.  90!!!  And he's a regular park runner!  Amazing!

The beautiful course at Kawana parkrun (the ocean is just beyond the trees!

I desperately wanted to get under 25 minutes, something I've been trying to do since coming back from injury.  Nearly all of my parkruns have been with the pram lately, so the 25 has been slipping through my fingers.  But I had no pram this time and felt set for a fast one!  Despite a bit of incline along the way, I enjoyed the course and felt great, coming in at 24:02!  I was thrilled to finally be back under 25, for the first time in months.

parkrun support crew!

Saturday also marked my 52nd consecutive Saturday morning at parkrun.  Next week we celebrate our first birthday at Sandgate!  I have been at a parkrun somewhere every week since (somewhere around 18 runs and the rest volunteering) - and Kawana was my 8th different course.  It's so addictive, I can't stop!

Sandgate parkrunners flying the flag at Kawana

So, I'm feeling great for having new accountability and something to stick to (which will be especially useful for me over Christmas - a time I really struggle with self control!)  I'm excited to improve my running over the next few months and to have focus and commitment.  And of course, to celebrate the birthday of what feels like my third child sometimes - Sandgate parkrun!  If you're in the area, come along on Saturday morning, it'll be a wonderful celebration of a fabulous year :-)

Oh and I almost forgot - I'm now a published running writer!  And I don't mean I've perfected my cursive :-)  I have an article in the December 13 issue of Runner's World magazine about the Gold Coast Marathon.  I was approached a couple of months back to write up my experience, which I was more than happy to do.  I'd almost forgotten about it when the issue came out & I realised I was in there!  So grab a copy and check it out!

Family Running

It's been a while since I last posted - my running has been pretty cruisy & uneventful - just the way I like it!

First of all, parkrun results:  I've been trying to get back under 25 minutes for the first time since I was injured.  It's felt like a pretty hard slog and while I'm making progress, it seems very slow!  I'm sure I could do it without the pram, but I haven't had a chance to do a pram-free parkrun in a while, so my pram time still sits at 25:45, which I did on 26th October.  Hopefully I'm back under 25 again soon!

Just some of the crowd at South Bank parkrun

Last week we visited South Bank parkrun to help celebrate their 1st birthday.  It was fantastic to be part of a record-breaking parkrun, setting a new Australian attendance record of 944!  Amazing!  The previous record was 799, so they smashed it!  Several other event directors were there as well, so it was great to catch up with plenty of familiar faces, along with some regular Sandgate runners who visited as well.  A fantastic morning was had by all - and thankfully Dean was there to push the pram up the ramps!

Team Gibson does South Bank!

I also had one of my proudest moments as a mum last week, when my 3-year-old, Hope, ran her very first fun run.  It was a charity run at Redcliffe for the Jason Rich Foundation, and we did the 2km event together.  Hope was so excited and was so proud to don her running clothes (as well as tutu & tiara - it was a dress-up event!).  She did amazingly - we had a few walk breaks and a stop at the drink station, but she was so enthusiastic for the whole distance.  She still talks about her "marathon" and I'm sure we'll see this little pocket rocket at many more events in the future!

My running Princess!

Wednesday night group running is going great guns down at Sandgate.  I love running with other people, so it's a real highlight of my running week (well, fortnight actually, since Dean & I alternate).  We're also looking forward to our first birthday at Sandgate parkrun on 23rd November - one whole year!  Can't wait!

The Sandgate parkrun crew at the Redcliffe fun run

I'm averaging about 3-4 runs a week at the moment, and about 25-35km all up.  It's a sustainable level - enjoyable, not a chore, and enough to maintain my fitness...although I feel like a couple of kilos have crept up on me, so I'm looking forward to shedding those, which I'm sure will help with my sub-25 minute goal!

Keep running & I'll update again soon!