That snail is fast!

During half term, I took my eldest to the cinema to watch the film Turbo. Without trying to give the whole of the pretty feeble plot away, there is a snail who dreams about motor racing. Following a small accident involving nitrous oxide, 'Turbo' finds himself moving at a faster pace than your average garden snail. Without trying to stretch the point too much, I can see a little bit of correlation between me and this kiddie flick. Admittedly, I've not consumed chemicals to give me special powers, or been taking under the wing of a Latino taco vendor. But as the months have gone by I've become a stronger faster runner and at the weekend I notched off another personal milestone.

Before I started doing the ParkRun thing on Saturday mornings, I did a bit of reading on 5k races. An article from Runners World grabbed my attention suggesting that 'breaking the 25 minute barrier marks you out as a committed runner' . While I know from reading various forums that this comment was rather sneered at by some in the running community (yes, looking at you skeletons in vests who find this exercise business so much easier than us mere mortals) it provided me a target to aim for.

Since July I had attempted 15 timed 5k races, with my quickest at 25:28 and my slowest at 30:06. Last Saturday, at the 16th time of asking I improved on my PB by 29 seconds and just managed to sneak inside sub-25, crossing the line in 24.59. This doesn't mark me down as anything special, indeed I was one of 123 runners at my event who completed the course within 25 minutes. But I can't imagine too many of them were morbidly obese just a few years ago and incapable of running a few metres without sweating and wheezing uncontrollably.

How much faster can I go? I imagine things will become a little more tricky from here onwards. I'd like to think that maybe there is a sub-24 minute run in me but time will tell. Maybe if I have a little bit of what Turbo is drinking. That said, the times aren't important in the overall scheme of things. It is good to have something to aim for, but the important thing is I'm maintaining regular exercise which is helping me to become fitter and healthier. The fact I'm enjoying it and look forward to damp cold Saturday mornings is a welcome bonus.

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