Pollard Lane

It was Forrest's birthday today (33 ... how is that even possible?) and as a present to himself, he decided to try for a PB on a flat 5k course by running the EvenSplits event at York tonight, hoping to get under 17mins. It would have been rude not to join him. I got the train to Kirkstall Forge and walked along the canal to meet him at Pollard Lane, at the old bridge, seen here, from where Orla drove us to the race. On the way, I found out why he was so keen for us both to do it. It was a course of five 1K laps, which meant that he was almost certainly going to lap me - barring a miracle for myself or a disaster for him

Knowing he was chasing me down, I set off way too fast, although it didn't feel like it, possibly because I was right at the back of what turned out to be a field of mostly elite runners. It was very different from a Parkrun. After the first lap and feeling the burn way too soon, I reduced the pace and settled into a rhythm I thought I could maintain. Forrest duly passed me halfway around his last lap and my penultimate one. It was actually a lovely moment for us both. He looked fast. He made me feel slow ... but I wasn't really. I crossed the line in 22.02. It's not a true comparison because this course is pan flat but that's 2 secs better than my best Parkrun time at Roundhay in 2018. I'll take that. For the record, Forrest just missed his target, finishing in 17.10. He was happy enough though. He's also getting closer in the age-related ranking, now only 2% behind me. It's only a matter of time!