The short run each week: Looking through the B... - Bridge to 10K

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The short run each week

Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UKGraduate10
β€’63 Replies

Looking through the B210k programme, there’s a growing short run as well as a growing long run.

I know some of you use the shorter run to do speed work and I know I should but 😳 🐌

Is there a reason for taking that one back down to 2.5k?

Would it be foolish to keep it at 4k throughout (which the short run reaches at W4 and stops at.)

I’m pencilling runs into my diary (rock’n’roll Saturday, Jay) and I’m just struggling with them being below 4k!

On schedule for one more week of 5k-4k-5k then two of 3x 5k then start B210k end of this month, aiming for 10k on weekend 22nd September 😱🀣

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Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UK
Graduate10
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63 Replies
β€’

I think, but don't quote me here, that reducing one run helps keep with the 10% increase overall. I know when I did an extra K Bluebirdrunner suggested reducing my recovery run to make up for it a little for that very reason, so that's where I'm coming from. 😊

Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UKGraduate10 in reply to

Ok. And calling it a β€œrecovery run” makes sense too.

in reply to Jay66UK

It helps me psychologically. Then I do something daft like intervals... πŸ˜†

Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UKGraduate10 in reply to

With apologies to Robbie Williams (and many others before him...)

β€œAnd then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like β€˜let’s sprint the next bit’.”

in reply to Jay66UK

πŸ˜‚ You got it Jay!

Oldfloss profile image
OldflossAdministrator60minGraduate in reply to Jay66UK

Yup!

misswobble profile image
misswobbleGraduate10 in reply to Jay66UK

Robbie Williams 😳

Stick to the 10 per cent rule and the 2.5 k. No hurry Not in this weather particularly πŸ‘

Frank and Nancy Sinatra please 😁

Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UKGraduate10 in reply to misswobble

I know what you mean about the Sinatras. But, you know, Nicole Kidman.

misswobble profile image
misswobbleGraduate10 in reply to Jay66UK

Beauty and the Beast 😁

Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UKGraduate10 in reply to misswobble

There are far worse versions.

open.spotify.com/track/0NkM...

misswobble profile image
misswobbleGraduate10 in reply to Jay66UK

😁😁😁😁😁😁😁. I’d forgotten about him 😁

BethMay profile image
BethMay in reply to

πŸ™„

Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UKGraduate10 in reply to BethMay

I know. I’ve got a terrible voice.

Tasha99 profile image
Tasha99Graduate10

I do my intervals on a treadmill. Easier to control. However I didn’t start intervals til recently, after getting to 10k πŸ€”

Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UKGraduate10 in reply to Tasha99

Yeah I think I might leave it until after my fifth marathon in a week 🀣🀣🀣

Tasha99 profile image
Tasha99Graduate10 in reply to Jay66UK

πŸ˜³πŸ˜‚

Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UKGraduate10 in reply to Tasha99

You’ll know when it is going to happen - Hell will have frozen over the week before.

Tasha99 profile image
Tasha99Graduate10 in reply to Jay66UK

πŸ˜‚ you’re hard on yourself!

in reply to Jay66UK

Me too! I'm really poo at them. I can get steadily faster, but throw in intervals and the recovery jog balances the overall pace out and you wouldn't think I'd bothered πŸ˜„

Tasha99 profile image
Tasha99Graduate10 in reply to

Doesn’t matter about that though.

Ripcurlrana71 profile image
Ripcurlrana71Graduate10 in reply to

Same here! Just want to stop and sit down. πŸ˜‚

in reply to Ripcurlrana71

With ice-cream 🍦 x

Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UKGraduate10

Right. I’ve come to a scary decision.

How much more do I need to prove to myself I can run 5k?

If that short run β€œonly” reaches 4k I’m bringing the programme forward to next week.

Enough pussy-footing around, time to grow a pair and don the panther paws.

Marvo69 profile image
Marvo69 in reply to Jay66UK

Go get it Tiger!! πŸ…

Lorijay profile image
LorijayGraduate10 in reply to Jay66UK

Sounds great Jay, brilliant to have you on board!! :) :)

BethMay profile image
BethMay in reply to Jay66UK

Bam πŸ’₯ Go for it Jay!

Oldfloss profile image
OldflossAdministrator60minGraduate in reply to Jay66UK

As someone far more awesome than me once said... if it is a plan you are following then just follow it.

in reply to Jay66UK

Good stuff Jay! We all know you can do this, we just need to convince you now. Love it!! You know the drill, slow and steady and just put one foot in front of the other. We're here to support you every single step πŸƒβ€β™‚οΈπŸƒβ€β™€οΈπŸƒβ€β™‚οΈπŸƒβ€β™€οΈπŸƒβ€β™‚οΈπŸƒβ€β™€οΈ #forbetterorworse

Chrisj31 profile image
Chrisj31 in reply to Jay66UK

You go Jay! :)

cheekychipmunks profile image
cheekychipmunksGraduate10

*Walking away from this thread because I haven’t even competed C25K yet*

FOMO!!! πŸ˜©πŸ˜…

Dexy5 profile image
Dexy5Graduate10 in reply to cheekychipmunks

Oh but you will cheekychipmunks

cheekychipmunks profile image
cheekychipmunksGraduate10 in reply to Dexy5

I can’t believe I’m even contemplating it based on how much I used to hate running! πŸ˜…πŸ˜…

Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UKGraduate10 in reply to cheekychipmunks

If anyone has ever been more enthusiastic and upbeat about C25K then I’ve not spotted them, cheekychipmunks.

You’ll manage whatever you choose to tackle.

cheekychipmunks profile image
cheekychipmunksGraduate10 in reply to Jay66UK

Again, what???? πŸ˜…πŸ˜…πŸ˜…πŸ˜…

in reply to cheekychipmunks

You'll be with us in no time and probably passing us shortly thereafter! 🐿

Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UKGraduate10 in reply to

Agree. β€œEnthusiastic” doesn’t come close!

mountaindreamer profile image
mountaindreamerGraduate10

I’m going to try some intervals with the Speed podcast next week, Jay, but am also not sure I’ll manage to do intervals for the whole of the shorter runs (especially once they get longer). I think I saw someone mention they did so many intervals, then just jogged the rest to make up the distance to the shorter run, so I may try some compromise like that. (If next week’s intervals don’t floor me completely!) If I need to recover more, then the short runs may just become slow jogs. (Think I also read somewhere that slow recovery runs bathe your muscles etc in all sorts of great healing chemicals...)

Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UKGraduate10 in reply to mountaindreamer

I hope you are happy together! Speed isn’t for me at the moment. Too fat. But I can keep going. 🐌

mountaindreamer profile image
mountaindreamerGraduate10 in reply to Jay66UK

Don’t think I’m built for speed either! Too short and skinny, with all my pulse coming from a pacemaker with issues! πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

Dexy5 profile image
Dexy5Graduate10

Remember the c25k rules Jay, just believe in the programme. Says she who hasn’t even looked at it yet - too busy playing on the bridge πŸ˜€

Saartjie profile image
SaartjieGraduate10 in reply to Dexy5

Me too πŸ˜„

David_G profile image
David_G

Hi Jay, for what it’s worth I agree with Sutsha πŸ™‚ The reduction in one run makes up for the increase in another, not necessarily in distance terms but perhaps also the effort required to complete it πŸ˜€

I’m using the shorter runs to build up my speed when I can but we’re all different. 😊

Recovery Run is a good term to use as we can all treat it as whatever we want. Sometimes we might feel like speeding up, other times we might just have a goal of getting through it! πŸ˜€ However we do it, it’s another run under our belts and that’s a victory in itself! πŸ˜ŠπŸ‘

Good luck mate! πŸ‘πŸ€ž

Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UKGraduate10 in reply to David_G

Ta!

pinkaardvark profile image
pinkaardvarkGraduate10 in reply to David_G

You should treat it not for whatever you want but as an integral part of the running week. Prior pseudo science stated that recovery runs helped clear lactates from the muscles and reenergise the muscle with extra blood flow. The lactate point is nonsense as they are now known to clear within an hour. Getting blood flow up can be achieved without further trauma to the muscles by crosstraining. So what is a recovery run? It is an excellent time after a long run to practice running in a pre-fatigued state. It's not meant to be easy but allows your body to co-opt slower twitch fibres into use because you are already fatigued, this in turn builds the endurance aspect of your running physiology and as a result helps you increase your endurance range. So from this perspective I wouldn't use the run after a long one for intervals, I'd use the run before the long one for that if I only did 3 a week.

David_G profile image
David_G in reply to pinkaardvark

Ok, you obviously know more about these things than I do. I’ll carry on doing what I think is right for me, as I’m sure we all will.

pinkaardvark profile image
pinkaardvarkGraduate10 in reply to David_G

Sorry, I realise I may have sounded like I was preaching, as to knowing more, no not really :) we can all be scholars with the help of google hehe. Just trying to be helpful and in part figure out this stuff in my own head. I think everyone should reach there own conclusions especially when so much of this stuff is under 'debate'. I was really just trying to say do the short run for speed stuff before the long run and do the run afterwards for recovery :)

David_G profile image
David_G in reply to pinkaardvark

Hi, no need for β€œsorry” at all 😊 We all do our best and take our inspiration and advice from wherever, then it’s up to us to decide what to do πŸ˜€

Good luck to all of us! πŸ™‚

CJDavies profile image
CJDaviesGraduate10 in reply to David_G

Excellent advice, I treat the recovery run as a luxury to do what i want- I've managed intervas a couple of times, ultra snail pace another and once it turned into the long run as I was just feeling it. Do what feels right has got to be the best advice.

Chrisj31 profile image
Chrisj31 in reply to David_G

Yea nice comment. There is also a short run each week in the active 5-10k plan I'm following.

ju-ju- profile image
ju-ju-Graduate10

I’d say do what you are comfortable with, and an interval session is really good fun but not for everyone!! Well done on your progress ...

Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UKGraduate10 in reply to ju-ju-

Thanks. Looks like you’ve got yourself a late joiner for next week.

ju-ju- profile image
ju-ju-Graduate10 in reply to Jay66UK

Great!!

Ripcurlrana71 profile image
Ripcurlrana71Graduate10

I’ve only done intervals on one week for my 5k - but was too much. I didn’t mix it up with speed work etc. I just ran the shorter runs as normal runs.

Now I’ve hit 10K I’m going to mix it up more but just for variety. Do whatever you want to do on the runs. I’m not a big fan of intervals. 😊

Berksrover profile image
BerksroverGraduate10

I guess a lot depends on what you want to achieve, I certainly find it easier to run at a consistent pace, a bit quicker on the shorter runs, average for the 5k and the slow side of slow and steady for the long ones, I do still want to go sub 30 for 5k so may well do some intervals to help with that on the shorter runs, but will stick to constant pace for my longer ones, each to their own and you know your body and targets best.

Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UKGraduate10 in reply to Berksrover

Thanks. I’d like to be faster. But I’d like to be taller too!

Berksrover profile image
BerksroverGraduate10 in reply to Jay66UK

My list is younger, taller, faster, lighter but apart from that....

Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UKGraduate10 in reply to Berksrover

🀣

BethMay profile image
BethMay in reply to Berksrover

πŸ˜‚ You’re not alone there!

in reply to Berksrover

Alive is good for me

in reply to Jay66UK

Love your wit! I'd like to be faster and slimmer! 😁

Tbae profile image
Tbae

I am so pleased that JuJu’s 10 the magic number 10K plan is so accommodating or I think our Panther Leader would have put this panther cub back on the bus.

I used the programme for structure and used the long run to build upto the HM distance.As if that was not off message enough I decided to do 14x5k runs during the 4 week, Speed Challenge.

I start week 6 tomorrow with my first attempt at my HM.

From always knowing I wanted and needed to find another gear,I decided to pursue distance.Now that has been turned completely on its head because of bridge and marathon support on here.

It is great Jay to see you coming over here.Enjoy it and do what our panther leader advised.What you are comfortable with.

But also keep those cub ears pricked for all the magic that is here.

I am going to take on board what Mike ( pinkaardvark) has replied ,when I get back on the bus for the next class in August.

Enjoy it all.πŸ’₯πŸƒβ€β™‚οΈπŸ†πŸ’₯

Jay66UK profile image
Jay66UKGraduate10

Thanks.

sallenson profile image
sallensonGraduate10

I don't think there's a "correct" answer to this and it's fine for everyone to find a solution that suits them. On the assumption (Ha!) that I get through my "recovery week", my way through this is:

"Short run" = intervals or hills, to get the heart rate up and build "strength" into the legs;

"Medium run" = "tempo run", not fast but demanding enough to know I'm not just jogging;

"Long run" = easier pace to build endurance.

But everyone's got their own solution and that's just fine and dandy. I'm assuming that someone will shout if we're doing something a bit bonkers and risk over-training...

As long as we're safe and happy, then that's bigly cool xxx

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