Do we have any regular Parkrunners onboard? I did the couch to 5k over lockdown and then lost some mojo and direction. Running dropped off. Then I did my first Parkrun and now I'm a bit of a Parkrun evangelical. It's such a great atmosphere and really structures my week. A mix of walkers, joggers and some runners who, quite frankly, seem almost superhuman. I look forward to Saturday mornings and ticking that "exercise" box. I'm still a distinctly below average runner but slowly nipping seconds off my PB and determined to get a level I can be proud of. Just being consistent is my main aim and having a Parkrun every week really helps with that. I even factor in rest weeks where I volunteer.
I haven't done it for a few years. I agree it is a great atmosphere. The community feeling is really nice to have, always great to see such a diverse mix, some with those ridiculous elite sub 18min times and others that are with the family walk/running. We plan to do it again as my other half got into running a bit more. I'm trying to build back my running, but only sticking to treadmill so that my asthma isn't triggered by the cold weather.
Yeah the weather has been all over the place the last few weeks...windy, rainy, sunny, cold, warm. Often on the same run! I need to look into if I should invest in some targeted training. My 5k time is slowly coming down a bit (from "terrible" to merely "bad") but as it's a side activity to (hopefully) compliment my martial arts (and overall health) I only do two 5k's a week. Not sure if I should just be happy with being able to run a 5k at all (something that took a lot for me to build to) or try and get a more "respectable" time? Looked at a few "how to run 5k faster" type videos and it just seems too much to devote to what should be a supplemental activity.
Yes the road to improving is always associated with more time on that activity Before getting back to martial arts classes as frequently I found it easy to program, even with 1 class a week, training and recovery programming is much easier. I found it hard to just do an activity like that and not get engrossed in trying to improve, I guess that is fairly normal behaviour. Recently I have found it a mental battle to just do 2-3 miles twice a week without thinking about the time/speed improvement. The easiest improvement gains for me were from losing weight/body fat, usually I'd start a program at ~15 stone and over 3-4 months drop 2 stone which makes for easy pace gain over time. If the 2 runs was all I could fit in, which sometimes was the case for a while, then I work increasing distance at the same pace for one, and intensity on the other. One of the other changes that I didn't even realise until a few years later reviewing my programming as increasing walking volume outside of running. The year I had the best times I was the same weight, but I was walking 2-4 miles a day (with my son at 5am most days due to early wakes). Years after that he slept better and I didn't do the early morning walk for 30-60mins to give my wife a rest, but the rest of my program stayed the same. I try and walk as much the just year or so even though I don't run as much. I read research about this and from what I recall it was working the lower HR range for longer periods that gave better performance. As a techy I stacked out on all the tech, HR monitoring, GPS, cadence tracker, a few analytical services to track recovery (hrv monitoring) but I think there are a lot of people who don't need this and just know their body well enough. I tore my MCL so I'm currently looking at every runner in envy, but I'll be back soon.
I've barely been able to walk, never mind run, since an injury in September last year, but I love the idea and Mrs Mitch is a regular. She does a variety of courses, from flat but muddy to hilly and dry, and that strikes me as an excellent idea. There's a great community around the races too, which is important for many participants. It strikes me as a great thing, almost as good as Easy Strength, which is working really well for my old and injured self right now
Parkrun IS a great thing. It should get government funding and be prescribed by doctors IMHO. Free and run totally by volunteers (at the local event level at least). No one cares what time you do it in and there's always plenty of encouragement. I did a bit of parkrun tourism yesterday (where you run a course different to your local or "home" run location). And it was a much more uphill course than I'm used to!
On a rest week this week but did a more hilly parkrun a couple of Saturdays ago (and TKD after!), then a longer 5 mile/8k run in the week (trying to build extra capacity for the 5k by running longer) and then got a PB at a flatter parkrun last Saturday. My time is not important (it's not a good time) but it does feel good to chip a few more seconds off and hold back the decline of age a bit longer.
Oh dang! I missed that! Sorry you are injured Mitch! Are you on the mend and it is just taking a while? Or is it not healing up at all?
It's improved a huge amount, thanks, but I'm still not walking properly, and it's still swollen to about twice the size of the other one. It'll get there, hopefully, but it's just frustrating that it's taking so long!
