And the beat goes on...

[SlowLoris]

Had to stop repeating week 9. I was getting bored with it and to be honest if I had to listen to "Me and Julie, Me and Julie" one more time I was likely to go completely nuts.

So I tried the Stepping Stone podcast. First time I've consciously followed the beat. I normally alter speed by lengthening or shortening my stride. I found 150 bpm really hard to follow. After 15 minutes or so I realised I was hitting the beat with my left foot strike. End result, I now have a sore left shin and aching right calf. (Which is an improvement on both aching on both legs I suppose.) I shall stick with it for a while. I'm sure practice will make it easier

Anyway, upshot is that my overall average pace was well down. Working on the advice elsewhere on this forum not to increase by more than 10% per week I ran for an extra 4 minutes. (One for luck).

It's another lovely sunshine day and Garmin Connect gave me a trophy for furthest distance run so far. And no more 'Me and Julie'.

[Colinsmith]

Go on, treat yourself. You know you want to! 😉

youtu.be/jYSi42vopqk(Not working as expected?)

[SlowLoris in reply to Colinsmith]

No, I'm not pressing play. Why spoil a nice day.

[Midriff_Crisis]

One of the tips I've read for counting your strides / timing your foot strikes is not to count on every two or four as you'll always be counting the same foot and this can end up with you subconsciously adjusting your running to be asymmetrical. Timing every 3rd strike or 6th is considered better as you alternate legs.

We did an exercise at (beginners) running club last night and counted our foot strikes between two lamp posts. The objective was to reduce your foot strikes but only by making your running style more efficient. We did this by ...

... keeping the upper body above the pelvis (rather than leaning forward or back)

... focusing on pushing off more from the trailing foot (land at the heel or midfoot and push from the forefoot)

... lifting your legs from the hips

... working your arms (elbows in, arms pumping like pistons, without crossing the body or going up and down too much)

All of the group members managed to reduce their step count. I knocked about 10% off mine, just by thinking more about the running process. Now, it's worth noting that this was a 50m stretch of path ... maintaining disciplined running for 5k or more would take practice!

[SlowLoris in reply to Midriff_Crisis]

Thanks. Good tips.

[skysue16 Graduate10 in reply to Midriff_Crisis]

That sounds really good, well done.

[misswobble Graduate10]

There'll come a day when you're actually nostalgic for Julie. Oh yes there will. Maybe not soon.

Stepping Stone podcast is about slow running to build up your running legs. Slow runs build legs. Say it over and over again ...... tee hee

You have to have something to drive you mad now that you and Julie have gone your separate ways

Happy running!

[MarkyD Graduate10]

I was looking at the runner in the photo. I think that running barefoot in W9 is a bit early, and she may get a bit cold. I certainly would not sit on that rock, dressed like that.

[misswobble Graduate10]

I’d not noticed that rock jammed up her butt. Strange folk about int there 😁

😮 Eek!

[Millsie-J in reply to misswobble]

As my old mum used to say. She ll get piles sitting on that cold stone. Shes very welcome🤣

[mrrun Graduate10]

The fun starts when you call the shots. Wanna do 10k? Yes, but on my own terms, thank you!

Going from 5 to 10 I did follow the 10% increase rule, to an extent, depending how l felt, and now I'm doing my own thing going up to 21k. I tend to choose the routes, music and outfits (yeah, even that) in order to make it fresh but the things that are constant are religious continuity of three runs per week, no matter what, as well cross training in between. Again, you call the shots.

I never, ever, run to the beat, l simply listen to the music that l love while running. You cannot possibly do a fast interval run while listening to a ballad? No? Think twice!

You sound like a person who enjoys running, so tweak a few bits and you'll enjoy it even more. The beauty of this business is that it can positively surprise you once you expect it the least.

All the best!

[Millsie-J]

Oooh Julie! Haven’t heard from her in ages! Thanks for the reminder 😆😆😆