I woke up this morning determined to run. I was thinking 10K would be good, so looked at the Nike Run Club guided runs and chose ‘Another 10K Run’.
On my warm up walk, disaster! I reached to sort out my watch and realised I had forgotten it! So walked back home to get it. I didn’t want to retrace my steps to the lane by the riverbank where I usually run 2K, to add to my 8K loop. Never mind, I’ll run up the infamous Deadend Track instead! But no - I was almost there and saw that the barking dogs were being walked there, which would mean I’d have to run past them twice. So - I headed out of the village on my 8K loop. The distance gremlin started talking in my ear. 😈 “You can stop at 8K. You had such a bad day yesterday. It will be fine! Do 8K, then go home and make coffee!” I drop kicked him into a passing pickup truck, deciding to add the 2K after I’d run back into the village.
I enjoyed this guided run. I’m getting used to Coach Bennett now, and I like the way he encourages you to consider things. At the start of the 4th km, he said ‘Run for 500 metres as if you were running your 8th km’. It messed up my splits, of course, as I increased pace 😬; but I was making a huge effort to let the run ebb and flow in a natural way, and trying not to focus on the splits.
I had even decided not to speed up for the last km, but Coach Bennett had other ideas! 😀. He encouraged me to focus on my form, relaxed shoulders, unclenched hands and to increase pace without too much increased effort. I did this and finished strong. It was a good run 👍
Image. Memory of Springtime - ‘Bee fly feeding on forget-me-not’
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Jools2020
Graduate10
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Yay very well done 👏👏👏 coach Bennett definitely knows what he's doing but you still have to put in the effort 😃 fantastic run, you can now relax and enjoy the rest of your weekend! 🤗
I know what you mean. When I got to my favourite part of my run this morning the music went off for 20 minutes, just the rain, the sound of the breeze and the birds - just perfect!
Well done, sounds like a good run, and you beat those gremlins! Love the idea of letting the run ebb and flow, will try this more, trying to ignore pace and run comfortably like I could run all day. Pace will get better with miles on legs so they say. Thanks for posting, happy running 🏃🏽♀️👍
Yes! The ebb and flow was a helpful hint from GTFC and I loved it! Coach Bennett also had me speed up and back off during the run - reinforcing the ebb and flow. Happy running to you, too! 👍
Omg glad you were able to go back and get your watch.
I am sorry you had a bad day yesterday, I hope today is better.
Well done for not listening to that pesky gremlin 😈 and completing your 10k as planned, I hope you enjoyed your well earned coffee and you did not make one for the 😈!!!
Your guided run sounds brilliant Coach Bennett sounds great, well done for finishing strong, getting out there, not listening to the 😈 and enjoying your 10K run.
Thank you, Rebecca! Today is better, starting with a run😀
It was a relaxed run at 1hr 26min, just letting it ebb and flow, but finishing strong. I missed the rain, it’s really dark here and pouring now! Have a nice weekend - Julia
Sounds like you had another good run this morning Julia. I'm glad you are having a better day today.
Its nice to run without music - I've been doing that quite a bit lately, although I don't know if I would like to go as far as 10k without any. I like the NRC runs too, although I wasn't so keen on the Thank You run I used today.
That photo is simply stunning. We get a lot of those bee-flies in the garden during summer. They are fantastic creatures.
Great job getting rid of the distance gremlin this morning Jools 👿 and I'm going to remember your drop kicking technique next time I meet him on a run. I can't do negative splits yet but try to keep my shoulders down and hands unclenched. Hope you are having a better day- focus on that great run! 🏃♀️😁👍
There's more than one way to approach most things 😁 and flexibility is key- I always enjoy reading about your runs and learning from your experiences 😁🤗
I had the NRC app for ages without trying the guided runs. I just listened to music. It’s certainly worth giving one a go. The headspace ones are really good and I tried some of those first.
I’ve always used very upbeat music to get me going faster but I’ve been thinking of changing to slower calmer music, or switching it off altogether ... so you have inspired me to try this. My focus has changed from trying to run a faster 5K to running slower and appreciating my surroundings 😊
I love coach Bennett and I can very nearly run 10K now so I’m looking forward to using these guided runs very soon.
Thanks, JayJay. I’m so pleased that I have inspired you 😊. It’s funny how how our focus can change. Running more slowly makes it much more enjoyable for me. I know you are very close to 10K, you are doing amazingly well! 👏👏👏👍
Well done for sticking with it and soldiering on. Sounds like a good run after all though. Loving a bit of Coach B myself but I do like my music in the gaps. I had a music malfunction last week and 30 mins felt like a very long run!
Have a great day! It’s pouring here too now 🌧. Great pic too 😮 xx
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NRC Coach Bennett is real and not just a voice in the NRC app after all!!!
8k, a foaming alsatian and Coach Bennett
What's happened to NRC?
NRC 10k Plan 3 weeks to go: 10k Headstarts aka ⭐️ 10k Run at last! ⭐️
