Parkrun last Saturday. I have been greatly troubled by a gremlin lately. This is the one who whispers 'You muppet, you've started far too fast - you're already exhausted and the rest of this run will be misery, so why bother completing it?'. I almost always start too fast, and I started a thread about this last week, in which Sadie-runs coined a great new verb for this behaviour - 'muppeting'. Pinkaardvark offered words of encouragement and some mind games which sounded like they might help, so I decided to try muppeting at parkrun. I would either succeed and get a huge PB, or I'd crash and burn, which would cost me nothing but a little disappointment.
I started in the middle of the pack and deliberately scampered off way too fast. 6:28 for the first km - that's my fastest ever 1km split according to Garmin Connect, and it's verging on suicide for this novice runner. Garmin buzzed and I slowed down to 7mins/km, telling myself I really could get my breath back and continue at a decent pace. It was a big effort, but after another km I was ok. I actually speeded up again a little towards the end, with my last km 6:54.
I got my PB and learned a lot, and boy was it fun! Muppeting rocks!
Written by
telford_mike
Graduate10
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
We all need to learn hope to cope with running when we're tired. That's why we train. Setting off too fast and having to cope as we go with slowing down, regrouping and then heading back off again is a critical running skill.
Good point, well made. It's definitely a skill worth acquiring. I've always relied on running a steady, even pace up to now (C25K drums it into you), so it's good to learn that there are other ways to tackle a run.
I would respectfully submit '-) that starting too fast is not a skill, it's a mistake … as is starting too slow! I make one or the other most weeks - starting just right is a skill that I wish I could master ……
It sounds like you did negative splits over the last 4 Ks once you got your breath back, so you obviously didn't start too fast, you were just establishing a good position in the field Adrenalin tends to take you off the start line quickly in a race (oops, not a race, it's a run), so you want to make the most of it without getting carried away.
Nice muppeting there, Mike. 👏😁 As you get fitter, it is all too easy to start out fast. In fact, I struggle to slow down sometimes! However, being able to recognise you are running a pace you won’t be able to sustain, and managing to slow it down for a while, that’s what makes for a good runner. 😊
Great Mike! I’ve started to be more at ease with taking risks on pace and routes. But accepting I might be more uncomfortable is a tough call when I’m still trying to build positive associations with the actual running. It makes your decision to face the gremlin, and do it anyway, even more impressive!
Well done on your PB at PR.. always a hard one where to start in the pack ..
Muppetting appears to fall In the same category as hindsight and foresight 😂
The important thing there is fun and you had that .. job is a gooden as they say 😀
I’m still trying to master “steady pace” Mike. I always set off fastest (especially for Parkrun), but then gradually get slower the longer I run. At the moment, starting off slower seems to just mean I slow down even more, so has no apparent time benefit for me! 😖❤️ (The only exception to this is my Parkrun sprint finish, but I can’t keep that up for too much distance!😊)
It certainly is! 😃 And from the way my own gears seem to work, I don’t see not being to maintain it as any reason to get scared that you’ll burn out and not finish the run - you can just keep going at a slower pace.
That's me too. First km is always fast (fast for me, I mean) - if I run slower, I still slow down later anyway and the run is no more comfortable. In fact I suspect the difference between my faster and slower times is often a question of how far along the 5k I am when I transition from the faster to the slower pace - on my PB I had done almost 3k before I slowed down, but it was the same fast pace and the same slow pace, just managed to hold the fast one for longer that time.
At parkrun, most of us start off "dead cold" . We might do some stretching and go for a "warm up walk" or maybe a short slow jog - but none of these are enough. Why do we see "elite" runners doing 100 metre sprints as part of their warmup out front of the start line for a HM?? Because , when we first start to run, maybe for the first 1K , our heart is not beating very fast , but our major muscle groups are crying out for "more blood more oxygen" . Hence we are essentially running in an aerobic deficit for the first bit of parkrun - until our hearts catch up and start to beat at the rate necessary to provide all the blood and oxygen being called for.
So - if you really want PB's, do a slow easy warmup for 10 minutes and then some HARD runs to aerobic exhaustion before you start the parkrun. Your heart should be beating fast on the start line!!
I wrote some waffle somewhere this week about how my view of Parkrun has changed. I used to get cross at not being able to run at my pace from the start. I could never start off too fast as it's too cramped and there are always some parallel chatters way up front getting in everyone's way. Instead I accept I will start off slow due to the environment around me and gradually speed up as the pack stretches out and I overtake the repeat offender muppets who are crashing and burning. Negative splits all the way. it also means the Toxic Ten is less toxic as I am winding up gradually.
I think my new technique is known as "reverse muppeting".
That’s the way I do it. But the ability to deliver negative splits at Southsea depends on which way the wind is blowing - no chance with a strong westerly!
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Decisions, Decisions. Parkrun or not?
Everything’s Coming Up Roses. 🎵🎶🎵🎶🎶
Parkrun - no stopping today 😎
A breakthrough at parkrun 
Virtual parkrun- (not) parkrun 
