It's been a long time since I've seen any improvement in speed, last July to be precise. I suppose it doesn't help if you're slipping and sliding around on ice and snow in the winter. Nor does the extra weight from Christmas contribute to my gazelle-like runs! My 5k times were closer to 40 mins than 30 and my last 10k was in November. But suddenly with the arrival of slightly warmer weather the 5k is now closer to 35 mins, the longer runs are creeping upwards and I consistently run over 20k a week with no problems. Last week I ran 9k in a reasonable time (for me) so this week I wanted a 10k (or a longest distance). I took Sami with me for the music and because I intended to have walking breaks. The weather was perfect for running, 8 degrees C, slightly overcast, but dry and I headed off over my beloved fields, through the woods and along the roads near the old airfield in Schleissheim. These roads are perfect for in-line skaters, runners, walkers and cyclists because there are so few cars. Today there was little of anything, I had the north of Munich more or less to myself. The music was good, but it does make me set off too fast. Normally my first km is my slowest by a long chalk and I frequently have negative splits. Not so today, the first 4 km were quite speedy for me and after that the walking breaks came a bit too frequently. But I wanted a 10k and at the half way mark I knew a PB was not unrealistic. And I got it with 1:40 minutes shaved off and a time of 1:11:49. Now I know there are loads of you out there who can run 10k in under an hour, or even under 50 mins, but I can't. And I'm astounded that I can run it in under an hour and a quarter. And that time means I ran the equivalent of 2 x 5ks both in under 36 minutes which in my current form is pretty brilliant.
So now to lose the last few Christmas kilos and get my 10k time under 1 hour 10 mins. Oh and increase my distances and get my 5k time down a bit closer to 30 mins. I'm not being greedy am I?
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JaySeeSkinny
Graduate10
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Well done on your 10k time jayseeskinny! I love running at this time of year and think I slow up with the summer when it gets warmer. Much prefer this cooler weather. Great goals too - and yes of course you can hit them! Good luck☺
Wow that's brilliant - I am still struggling with getting past 5k - keep starting different programmes and giving up but thinking maybe if I sign up for a 10K in the summer it will motivate me to put a bit more effort in 😂
Sign up for the 10k! They say if you can run 5k you can do 10k - I'm not too sure about that, but I reckon as a one-off it is possible. I manage 10k about once every 3 months, but I think this time I've built up enough strength to do a 10k regularly. Certainly my 5ks are more consistent. It's only taken a year!
That's fab JaySeeSkinny so great to see an improvement 😊 . This is my first Spring of running (started c25k in May, I think, and I think it might have the perfect conditions for some PBs 😀
That's an excellent time - well done! Isn't it fab when everything comes together and you get a PB? Brilliant!
Oh, and edited to say that my times are very similar to yours. I am in awe of all these people who whiz around a 10k in under an hour. In fact, at the Carsington HM and 10k a couple of weeks ago the winner finished the HM one minute after I finished my 10k It doesn't matter, though, I know I'm not built for speed and I can see I'm improving so that's what counts.
I agree. And there's a nice little statistic which tells me that I'm at 51.6% for my age group. That means 51.6% are faster than me, but 48% are slower, and I'll get into the top half yet!
Excellent PB Jaysee. My fastest 10k is still 1hr17 although recent 10ks have been more like 1hr30. Although weirdly I have run 5k in under 30min quite a few times! I wouldn't mind seeing some sign of improvement in my longer runs though. It would be great to feel something's shifted, be it stamina or overall running strength. I think if you gave 5k a go with a crowd you would def hit 30min. I run about 30 seconds faster per km in a crowd i.e. at parkrun...
There's no parkrun over here in Germany - I envy you lot! But I seem miles off 30mins, last run was more like 39! But I was tired, so I'm not going to beat myself up about it.
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It doesn't matter, though, I know I'm not built for speed and I can see I'm improving so that's what counts.
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