This morning I made my much anticipated return to running action at Walsall Arboretum parkrun. This was the third time I had completed a parkrun, I will hopefully be back again next week.

I am growing to love parkruns.

They are marketed as a 5km run – it is you against the clock, these events are not described as races. They are free to enter which is amazing. All you need is to pre-register, print out a copy of the barcode you are provided with and take the barcode with you. No barcode = no name in the results and no official time.

My local parkrun takes place in Walsall Arboretum; I would describe the Arboretum as an oasis of peace and tranquility on the outskirts of Walsall. The park is currently undergoing a major restoration project funded by the Heritage Lottery. I’m not sure if the works have now been completed, information on the Internet seems to be slightly conflicting.

As I hadn’t run since the Great Midlands Fun Run almost two weeks ago, I made the conscious decision not to set off too quickly. The key thing this morning was that I was back enjoying my running again.

[Photo: Ron Reynolds]

I’m not sure what I was thinking wearing so much blue but I love my bargainous Nike tempo shorts. The shorts should have cost £19.99 but only cost me £12.99 in TK Maxx. I love shopping in TK Maxx for running bargains; I just wish that they had more running gear in stock in my local branch.

I finally wore the Nike Elite compression socks I bought in the Niketown in London last year. At £12 a pair they are pretty expensive, but they felt really comfortable and didn’t rub. I may still be wearing them while I’m sat here typing this blog entry. Unfortunately they appear to be out of stock. Rather than going for 100% Nike I wore my trusty Asics GT-2150 trainers (now replaced by a far newer ‘improved’ model) and a Ronhill tee-shirt, also purchased at some point in TK Maxx.

The run went well although I have clearly lost a certain amount of fitness during my two week absence from running.

According to the results I was:

• Position: 85/142
• Time: 28:05
• WAVA: 53.06%
• Gender Position: 20

That means that my PB stays at 27:33. Next week I am aiming to get a sub 27:20 time.

I’m heading down to London tomorrow so hopefully I be able to purchase some darker running tops (to hide my jelly belly) and some more compression socks. You never know I could get track some down in the Nike store.