Another week and another (not)parkrun. It’s home turf for me again this week. I’m going to pop over to my local park and run with my friend Ida. I’m just going to run nice and easy as at the moment that is all I can do. I have committed to 100 kilometres of running for September on Strava. My aim is to be back running sub 30 minutes 5K by the end of September.
Good luck to all my friends out there today. For anyone reading this for first time, this is just for fun, a group of us here just run 5K every Saturday morning and we pretend it’s a parkrun. You just run anywhere you want at anytime you want. We then report back here afterwards with our times and a little run report. Everyone is welcome so if your new and want to join in please do, join the little virtual Saturday morning party.
I look forward to reading them later today. I baked some fresh scones last night. I’m looking forward to enjoying one with a post run coffee.
Enjoy your running everyone.
Damien
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I’m on a rest day today damienair but I will be clapping everyone across that Finish line. I ran my (not)/Virtual parkrun on Thursday on a lovely calm morning and came in at 35.03. This was followed by breakfast and chatting with my actual running buddies.
Enjoy your runs everyone, and remember that it’s the taking part that’s important- you can run, walk or even hula hoop your way round the course.
Of course, I forgot to say you can run, jog, run/walk or just walk. Have a lovely weekend Dexy and well done on your (not)parkrun from Thursday. I ran/jogged/walked today. No Hula Hooping. 😀
I did hula hooping classes for a while and when it was our carnival we entered a team and hula hooped all the way round the whole procession, doing tricks and hooping. Great fun!!
Unfortunately no!! I did it every week for at least 3 years and practised and we did displays but no diference to my waistline. I did get stronger, more toned arms and wrists though.
Ooooo, can’t beat a freshly baked scone! Bet your kitchen smelled delicious Damien. 😋 😍 Hope you have a great run later. 🏃🏃
I did my (Not) PR yesterday as I’m doing the Severn Bridge 10k tomorrow. I’m beyond excited by the way. 🦋 👏
Anyway, it was my usual route on the Common, and the weather was delightful for a change. Quite cool with just a gentle breeze. I decided not to do intervals today, but maintain a steady pace slightly out of my comfortable “cruise control” zone. I even set my Garmin to give me a predicted 5k finish time (only taken me 2 years to work out that function 🤦♀️) and glanced at it every so often. 👀
I wasn’t flying along by any stretch, but I’d definitely rather have reverted to my happy pace - still, I continued on and was overjoyed to knock 1:49 off last week’s time and earn myself a Garmin 5k PB of 33:58. Certainly my quickest 5k on the Common. 🎉
My actual PB was at Stratford PR last year, which was a few seconds faster, but it only registered 4.99k, and didn’t grant me the PB. ☹️ Even so, I’ll take yesterday’s time, and I was happy all day! Funny what little Strava achievements can do, isn’t it?! 🏅
Oh, and one run away from my LEJOG4 50 mile postcard! I’ll get that tomorrow. Happy days! ❤️
Thanks Dexy5 . No tapering for me. I couldn’t miss out on (Not) PR, no way! Thanks for the waving pom poms. You could practise hula hooping at the same time! 🎉
Ahhh, I didn’t do it Dexy5 , and now I’m wearing it all so I’m not flat! I’m not taking it all off again, even though I have nearly 30 minutes to kill before I can leave. We’re under orders not to get there early - arrgggghh, the suspense! 🦋🦋🦋🦋🤣
Thank you BC. I know, I can’t believe the difference between this year and last for that race. 27 degrees in 2019, predicted 12-13 degrees for my start time tomorrow! If I don’t beat last year’s time I’m not worthy! 🏃♀️
Good luck for your Severn Bridge 10K tomorrow, I remember last year advising you to run near the part where you would get the benefit of a cool breeze coming up from the river below to cool you a little during the run, this year don't run there because it could be cold, get away from the edge to avoid that, once again good luck for tomorrow. 😊 🏃🏾
Thank you Al. I remember your advice about trying to find a cooling breeze last year - except there wasn’t even a single puff of wind - so unusual for the Severn Bridge! And there was no shade either. The hottest I’ve ever been whilst running. 🥵
We all have to stay right this year for social distancing purposes, and move back in immediately if we overtake. It’s meant to be 12-13 degrees with a light wind, so perfect for running 🤞
Nooo, I wish! My start time is 10:37:30 (yep, timed to the last second!) and we can’t get there more than 40 minutes beforehand. It’s a 30 minute drive and every moment is dragging! 🤣
I never turn off my watch until it has displayed the lap time and/or ticked over to .01 or .02 just to be on the safe side. These pb's are too precious
Cor, they look delicious! I still have some in the freezer from the start of lockdown that may have to come out now 😋
As usual I wasn’t sure again. Happens every Saturday 😂 This weeks excuse was I was still sore from Tuesday’s sports massage. She’s really had a go at my right gluteus maximus and it hurts when it jiggles 🤣🤣
However, off we went on our usual route. We saw some of Katnap’s club runners finishing a run as we were about 1k in which was nice - not seen them in a while. Relatively slow start according to my watch.
There was a cold wind but for once it didn’t seem to cause a problem. We got up and down the big hill without any hindrance. I got into a sort of meditative state on the long stretch, just concentrating on my breathing. By then we were well into the 3rd km and has speeded up to make up for the 1st.
Big, big puddle in the dip on the next stretch, so we had to time it well with the traffic. Slowed down for a truck to go through it and off we went again. Got past the petrol station without a hitch and into the home straight.
28:12 this week, so only 1 second slower than last. Happy with that. Got home just as the quiz started: 7/15 - a one point improvement over the last 3 weeks 😁 I’ll take that too!!
Now for some yoga and a bit of bread making. Then off to Leamington for Record Shop Day to see what interesting finds there are for our collection 😊
Have a lovely weekend everybody and happy running 🏃🏻♂️ 🏃🏾♀️ 😍
I hope so too, he says he’s going to but you know what it’s like. There is a professor there who he should be getting who does parkruns and loves running so I’m sorely tempted to get in touch with him. What do you think?
Great running TC. I’m going to go on a mission to get back down towards your speedy times again. I’m a full 5 minutes behind you at the moment. You are now my (not)parkrun nemesis. Nothing personal 😄. It’s a compliment. I’ll be chasing after you over the next 2 months. Well done on your great running.
You and eldest kitten 🤣 Good on you, please do! I have my own nemesis at the local (not)parkrun listing in my age grade - I’m always second to her but she’s always about 3 minutes faster than me and I can’t ever see me shaving that amount off. I’m sure you can do it, I’ll be no competition once you’re up to speed again 👍
It’s just the right temperature Sue, I like it when it’s 13-15C as you can still wear shorts because you warm up just enough. Sounds just the spot for a run in this weather.
Good morning Damien. The sight of your scones is tormenting me! I have somehow bumped up by 8lbs.....must be muscle from all of the exercises.
This week has been full of mishaps! I ran 7k in a power shower on Thursday and today it was a cool 12c with wind chill when I set off...and the rain came again. I think that I was slightly underdressed. My legs took matters into their own hands and, entirely unbidden, ran a 31:29, my quickest 5k since March. Everything feels ok; really strong in fact, so hopefully I will get away with it. I didn't set out to up the pace, it just happened (honestly physio if you are reading this 🙂!!)!
Very well done on your great time. I’m also after gaining some extra tonnage over the past 3 months. I’ve managed to gain 12 pounds in weight. So I’m hopping off the Venga Bus and hopping onto the good ship lollipop again for the next 2 months. Time to drop some weight.
I’m using my 2 weeks quarantine the last 2 weeks of September as a diet and detox - might as well put it to some positive use. Half a stone to go. Sadly, no running allowed other than making myself dizzy round the back garden
Looks as though three of us are trying to lose about the same amount. Probably the Farm Shop pie peas and chips wasn’t the best start!! Not haute cuisine but delicious!! Oh well; reset...my diet starts now !
I have the same attitude to weight as temperature. I’ve never owned scales and once I dropped the thermometer (they used to be glass and breakable of course) I didn’t replace it. The kids were unwell if their foreheads were hot and I was putting on weight when my clothes were tight! FYI a bit tighter since lockdown 😆 (no numbers available!)
My clothes have definitely got tight Sybilw. I find that if I have a target to aim for I’m more likely to do something about it. It’s mainly reduce The treats which have increased over lockdown/IC. There’s no way I want to have high blood pressure again.
Treats (to be specific- crisps) are my downfall but my granddaughter who’s 11 has a sweet tooth and has really taken to baking at my house recently! Her scones are very good. Your victory over your blood pressure was amazing so I’m sure you won’t let it sneak back.
Thanks GTFC. I felt very happy at the end of my run; still over 3 minutes off PB, but I kept the stride short so this is all about cadence increasing as I recover fitness and binning the 1.24 metre strides which I think caused the injury. I will just see where that takes me. It was 5:30 pace which got me into trouble! 👍
Hmmm, trying to be careful! PB of 28:17 is not in any danger CC. Next run is my slow hill climb; I must keep off IC for the Vitality. It would be good to up the 10k pace a little bit by then. 🐌
🙂 It is a 5 hill run really cheeky. One long one in the first 1k then three steep ones in k 3, the first of those being a long one too and then a nice little one to finish! The down hills are great though. When I am fit I can do it ok, but it is going to take a few attempts. Once I can manage hill 2 without walking, the others will succumb! A younger runner would think nothing of it. My youngest did it first time and thought it was fun! 😠
Oh hell........I am doing this tomorrow!! 😱 ⛰⛰⛰🏔⛰😡
Good morning Damien, I would have liked to have one of those fresh scones after my 11th (not) parkrun this morning, the temperature was 11C with nice sunshine.
I ran it around the local park which is only a 3 minute walk away from where I live, not around the loch where I usually run, it didn't make much difference from my usual time, this morning my time was 34.19, 3 seconds slower than my first official parkrun 13 months ago, age grading was 54.30%, as long as my age grading remains above 50% I feel OK, I have never had a parkrun which my age grading has been below 50% so I am very pleased about that.
Thank you Damien and GTFC for your comments on my 11th not parkrun this morning, I enjoyed my run in the park next to where I live, that is the place where I take my neighbours dog Holly walks most afternoons, not my usual running route.
Hi Damien, just in from my not parkrun with a time of 30.24. Nice sunny day here in Scotland. Those scones look amazing i can almost smell them. Have a great day 😊👍
Well done buddy. My (not)parkrun time is very close to your time today. The scones and coffee when I got home were lovely. I will be chasing after you for that time again over the coming weeks.
They look epic my friend! Good luck today and your quest for September sounds superb. Wishing you what you deserve...which is safety and success.
Cheers. This time last year I was at my fittest. I was running 10K in 56 minutes comfortably and my parkrun PB was last August in a time of 25:36. I am struggling now to get to 33 minutes. So I really need a challenge. 100K for September will help me greatly. I'd be delighted to get back towards a 28 minute 5K time for the moment. It's been hard to remain motivated without races or parkrun to train for. But I'm happy to be still running.
Sorry for the late post. Rather a busy morning and on the way to play pétanque. Met up with Shake-and -run at 8.00 by the lake as usual. Just 14c and slightly misty with a definite feel of autumn approaching. My legs and breathing weren’t really playing ball, resulting in a 7.22 for km 4 and a total time of 33.34. Still felt we deserved coffee and pastries in the square in Eymet afterwards though 😋 Have a great weekend everyone!
Sadly we lost to Corentan’s team (who is one of those cannon ballers who smashes your boule out of the court if you are scoring) by 13 to 8, then our second game was scuppered by a thunderstorm when we were leading 10 to 4 😡 Great fun though!
Well done Sandie. I might as well have been with you. I did my run with 2 walking breaks in a time of 33:22. Now post run lakeside coffee and pastries sounds perfect.
The fact that you’re still running in such a relaxed place where it must be so tempting just to chill and drink wine must be applauded in the first place Sandie! Still a fab result and you know you’ll soon be storming it again once you’re back - enjoy!!
Today’s (not) parkrun was fun, but towards the end I was coughing because of the fumes from the traffic... I need to get back on the trails now things are getting back to normality out there. I was running to my HM plan, but today was nicely compatible with parkrun... 15 minute warmup jog, 30 minutes race pace and 15 minutes of cooldown (though I walked that bit). My 5k time was 28:56 which I’m pretty pleased with all things considered. 5.4 miles on my monthly total too, so I’m a whisker over 4.5 miles away from hitting 100 miles this month.
Brilliant running. Thats a great achievement getting to 100 miles in a month. Nice 5K time today too. Very well done. I'm going to attempt 100K for September. I need to get my mileage up too.
My turn to report. I turned up to the park this morning at 9:10am listening to Rage Against the Machine. I got out of my car and met a couple of fellow parkrunners for a very quick little chat, socially distanced of course. I then met my friend Ida and we started our watches and off we went. I have a wee niggle today, after 2 kilometres my right hamstring started getting very tight. I ran on to 2.7K and then took a little walking break and carried on. Ida and I then got to the hill a 3rd time and we took another walking break before running the last kilometre to the finish. I finished in a time of 33:22. I did some stretches and the consulted my lovely wife for extra stretching advice as I am embarrassed to say I am married for 14 years to a Pilates instructor and have never done Pilates. I think it's time to start. I then had a shower and enjoyed one of my lovely home made scones. I got the cinnamon concentration just right this time. Nicola said that they tasted just like my Mums. High praise indeed. Thanks Mary Berry for your recipe.
You’ve just got to do the Pilates Darren, it’s the best! No excuses 😁 I know what slowed you down though, RATM would make you start off far too quick and angry, you need to build up to that one! It’s nice to see other parkrunners isn’t it? Makes it almost feel like the real thing. Hope the hamstring behaves itself 🤞🤞
Pianism had announced that he would be doing his virtual Great Manchester Half Marathon today on the Tissington Trail, so a group of us decided to join him in a relay. We all met briefly at the start, then most of us set off to our designated car parks along the trail.
Sharuns stayed with him to run the first stretch where her OH was waiting in the car. I had already dropped my husband off there before driving to the third point.
While I was waiting for them to arrive Sharuns and OH arrived in their car for the photo shoot of Pianism and Geoff.
I set off running with Pianism and Geoff took our car to my finish point.
Along the way we met BaddieThePirate running to meet us. We then met Geoff who had run back from my finish point. After a while Baddie turned back (uphill!) to collect her car. We also met another friend, Mark who had walked from the end car park and he ran back with Ian to the end.
At this point I fell behind a bit and even walked a very short while because I had a stitch. NB: apologies to anyone if I have got the sequence wrong
We drove to the end point, met Pianism's OH and Sharuns just in time to see Pianism and Mark stop as they completed the distance.
After eating Sharuns delicious home-baked biscuits we walked along to the end of the Tissington Trail and enjoyed some fish and chips in the market square.
I ran 1.02 before my stint, in order to keep warm as it was a cold wind at the beginning before running 6.75 with/behind Pianism, so I have calculated a time of 36.39 for my (not)parkrun 5k.
We were lucky with the weather, cold to start with but it was good for running and the rain didn't start until we were driving home.
I can hear my WhatsApp beeping away so I guess the photos are arriving. I am sure that Pianism will be posting a more detailed report soon.
Fantastic. That was a great idea staying and helping your friend complete a virtual HM by running relays. A portion of fish and chips sounds gorgeous. I’m starving now.
It was really good to see each other again. The last time we ran together was the last official parkrun but we have kept in touch with WhatsApp and in some cases via Zoom (ukulele club meetings, Geoff's piano lessons)
They were absolutely amazing! I was really touched and it reminded me what a wonderful group of friends I have and what wonderful people the running community are in general.
Here I am, late to the party again! Busy day today - helping to get daughter-in-law's baby shower underway with cream teas (your scones look much nicer Damien). However had managed to start the day with 29.47 - but this week's (not) parkrun time hails from Thursday with a rather naughty 28.37! Happy running all!😀
I’m not entirely sure why but today was my first run since 18th. Longest break for months 😳 so I need to organise my time better. I’m back to childcare but at least 2 of those go back to school soon. Not sure how I’ll juggle a 2 year old though 🤷♀️ She doesn’t nap and my husband isn’t attentive enough! Have managed walks though. The result today was a disappointing 36.05 but I’ve always got age grading on my side 🤣 Still I’ve managed 3 minutes quicker recently so not really happy.
A run is a run. Well done for getting out there. I'm at least 5 minutes slower than this time last year. But then again I was running twice as much back then. I just need to increase my distance and frequency. That is my September goal.
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