My running future??

[Bazza1234]

Don't worry - don't panic! - I'm not thinking of giving it up! But thinking of what the future holds for me. After, I finish this HM in early July, having done two HM's, I think I can say to myself "been there - done that" and observing friends who have been training for a full marathon, I think I can now say that is not for me.

So - what is for me?? I started out 3 years ago , not being able to run at all and wanting to. Now I can!! But what to do with it??? I am not one of those who gets any kind of pleasure or satisfaction with trying to get faster parkrun times or going longer distances. But I do get pleasure mixing with the activities of other runners - eg parkrun and my local running club. I can "keep up" with parkrunners - I usually finish somewhere in the middle of the pack each week - and am very happy to accompany slower runners at the back of the pack But I cannot really keep up with the club runners -- although some I can currently keep within sight. I think now that my future solo running "training" will aim to "keep up" a bit more with these people - no particular length of run in mind, but maybe 14 KLms ( length of the annual Sydney City to Surf run with 80,000 others) will be my maximum.

has anybody else reached an almost existential turning point in their running - what plan have you got to keep on doing "it" for the next decade??? - once you have passed the HM or M goal or gotten your 5K PB under xminutes -- what is your greater goal???

[ju-ju- Graduate10]

That sounds very sensible. Like you I have been running for 3 years now and I do have goals for this year and beyond, but they do change and I think my ultimate aim is to grow old healthily and run and stretch daily to keep me young

[secan Graduate10]

Hi Bazza1234 , you mentioned you particularly enjoy the social aspect of running; have you considered joining a running club or, why not, creating one?

Another thing I'd find interesting would be interacting with schools and/or community centres, to promote running.

[Bazza1234 Graduate10 in reply to secan]

You probably missed it - but I am now a member of a local running club. I enjoy their company - but at this time cannot keep up with them!!

[secan Graduate10 in reply to Bazza1234]

Sorry, I completely misread the sentence. 😓

By the way, have you found your Biritish vacation run(s)?

[Realfoodieclub Graduate10]

I'm hitting my third year this week. My aim is Stregnth. I want a more toned upper body. My legs look a lot younger than they did when I was thirty, I'm hitting 50 in Spetember and would like my back,biceps, shoulders and triceps to follow suit. I'm not sure my midriff will ever get back to looking like it did years ago but with careful disguising I could get the look I want. Sometimes I wonder if it's a shallow goal but there are loads of health benefits tied up in my aim for the next year. My running I don't think I will get much faster but I'm working on the HR side of things. My speed walking that's the one I want to work on my speed with as my HR is in a better place and it's more comfortable for events. My running for a while has been a cross training for my speed walking. I am taking a break from events to work in all these things as I find my training changes when an event is on the horizon. I hope you find something that really ticks the boxes for you as I find that makes all the difference. I've been a bit lost after my HM and now feel motivated now that I have decided what to do.

[davelinks Graduate10]

Well, what else is there? You seem to have done most aspects in running. But like me you like to vary between social & solo running, but have you got the other half running? I have! and am out today with her to do her final w9run in c25k...OK she's still a tad on the slow side, but may be able to get her pace up if I start to lengthen her run today toward 5k.

I don't know what else to suggest Bazza. Perhaps rig or miss W will come on and suggest something...😊

[GoogleMe Graduate10]

davelinks has a good point... perhaps other sorts of event, where a bit of age and guile create a more level playing field (wrong metaphor!) eg some obstacles and some mud. I think you may have tried orienteering a couple of times and that seems to be a great way to keep running when you've reached the point when getting ever faster is not a sustainable goal, since each event is not directly comparable (that said, the actual running is not all in a bunch)

[Hidden]

Great post Bazza1234 , interesting point to ponder and something I hadnt thought about I.e. long term goals

Hopefully mybrunning maynhave brought back a few of The minutes of life I lost from smoking but ultimately to be fitter and healthier and extend the time scale of any visits to the doc other than to gloat about how long it is since stopping smoking 😊

[IannodaTruffe Graduate10]

As I approach the three year mark too, I have to say that I am pretty content with my running. I have done fifteen parkruns in that time and enjoyed them all, but unlikely to change the frequency of those. Collecting bling and running with loads of other people has little appeal to me, so my one "official" 10k event is likely to remain as my only experience of organised events. I haven't quite managed a HM distance yet and may train myself up to achieve that once I feel fully recovered, but I will be happy to run it by myself and am not so goal orientated that I "need" to do it. As for marathons....I would love to be able to say that I can do that, but as someone who works on their feet all day and is self employed, I can't afford the risk of the sort of injury that I have seen so many of my peers suffer whilst training for that distance.

What does excite me is being fit enough to just head out, especially when away from home, and just run solo, somewhere beautiful for an hour or so. Cliff top paths, beaches, moorland or wooded tracks are all places that I have walked for years, but running seems to heighten the senses and all that blood rushing about makes me feel more alive than anything else I have ever experienced. Alive and in control of my destiny......which may well be illusory..... but it makes me smile.

The South West Coast path maybe...............................630 miles of it.