Serpentine's New Year's Day 10k 2009

Isn't Hyde Park Brilliant!!

when I got there on the first morning of the New Year, I looked around me whilst I walked to the 10k HQ and realised I'd never been there before in my whole life!!

it's brilliant innit!!

amongst all the swans and geese and ducks and moorhens and coots there was a heron that made me laugh . . it was on the roof of a boathouse . . stood there watching the world pass by . . and with its shoulders all hunched up as herons do, it just looked so very fed up . . as if to say . . *why did I have to be a heron in London? I could've been a flamingo in the West Indies and got meself a nice pink tan* . .

eventually race time got sufficiently close for me to have to remove some layers and become a tad less michelinesque . . just a tad, mind! and whilst I was doing this Sezz and Fat Face turned up all wrapped up nice and warm to support and take photos . .

what with several runners having stripped down to the barest minimum necessary to satisfy public decency . . and Sezz and FF looking so snug in their warm clothes . . I started to feel vey vey cold indeed! srsly . . as some might put it . .

anyway . . handed my bag in and jogged up to the start area . . I'd already said hello to paulb69 whilst I was changing and now I met John66 and Siamese Pete for the first time and soon we were joined by Pammie . .

I won't bang on about the race except to say that I enjoyed the course and the marshalls were exceptionally friendly and supportive and the water we were given to drink didn't have ice on it - which was nice!

the leaders started their second lap of the far loop before some of us had even got there for our first loop, which I thought was a bit rude!!!

this was my first race after I'd been told by my GP not to chase times, following a series of anxiety/panic attacks whilst running and I'm happy to say I got a PW of 58.26. the big plus is that I ran the whole way for the first time in any run for months and I'm pleased with it and I enjoyed it . . so the time doesn't really matter . .

k splits of 5.47 5.35 5.38 5.42 5.37 6.02 6.09 5.56 6.04 5.52 . . they're not bad are they . .

and afterwards FF had a coffee waiting for me . . and I met Tracey G for the first time, who gave me a huge hug from Plodding Hippo . .

and Cuddy came and found me and said that she'd recognised me from behind (can't deny it's my best side but I'm still mystified as to how as we'd never met before!!) and I'd paced her to a new PB . . which was also nice . .

and I saw helly d from RW who I'd given a lift to Milland Valley, so we had a chat . . and then I saw Susan SLIM who'd mailed me about a photo I'd taken of her at Hastings and we had a chat as well . .

and I saw Kitty too . . and I said hi to AntBliss . .

so it was a really very busy morning socially and the race got in the way a little bit

must say there were also a few people who I was disappointed not to see coz they were injured or poorly - get fit and well soon wontcha . .

but finally Sezz and FF were able to drag me away and we went over to Knightsbridge for sustenance and a natter . . hadn't seen one another since the 27th after all . . which as always was good fun . .

and then they went to look for bargains in Harrods and I went Underground to Marylebone, and overground to Aylesbury . .

great race . . lovely way to start a new year . . just need some warm sunshine now don't we!!