It sounds as though many of you had a really amazing time at The Great South Run last weekend. Lots of miles of tarmac, cheering crowds including our very own cheerleaders extraordinaire, seaside breezes, good food and great companionship. Congratulations to all of you who took part in GSR and other events last weekend. Lets hope there are many more opportunities for us all to meet face to face at real live events in the near future.
It has been a steady week for me, parkrun last weekend awarded me another PB (must be the new shoes) and my 5km chatty run with TailChaser last night was a great way to hear about the GSR first hand. This weekend is mostly about the bike as I shall be cycling with my ladies from the club, catching up on more gossip and eating cake while hoping for not too much wind and rain. Do tell us how your quests are going and what you have planned for the weekend, Sandie1961 and I are excited to hear what you have been up to.
I had some gait analysis at the shop where I bought my new shoes (did I mention I have some?) and it was my first experience of a treadmill. I would love to hear from those of you who train indoors and understand how you find these contraptions useful.
This week’s description of Autumn comes from one of my favourite books, ‘A time of hot chocolatey mornings, and toasty marshmallow evenings, and, best of all, leaping into leaves!’ (AA Milne ‘Winnie the Pooh’). Here’s wishing you plenty of leaves to jump into!
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Shake-and-run
Graduate10
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Hi Shakes, yes the GSR was a blast and I’d love to do it all again this weekend. We were incredibly lucky with the weather conditions though, it must be said. 🙏🏻
So my Quest has been completed I suppose. I’ve only run once since last Sunday - a combination of many factors - but with any luck I can get into more of a routine when the stars finally realign! That said. I’m happy with how my less than perfect buildup to the GSR helped me run a good time in the race, and it shows how running fitness stays with you for a good while.
Oh yes Yoga. I was good at getting on the map during lockdown and during the summer when I could roll it out outside. Rubbish at it at the moment. A bit like my French practise, it has fallen by the wayside. But thank you for reminding me that routines can be reestablished. Good luck with yours.
It’s my longest spell off the mat. I used to practice daily and had done so for 3 years or so. I’m hoping to pick it back up next month.🤞 We can do this! 👊
Nice shoes. I recently got some new ones myself, and nothing else in my shoe rotation is getting a look in at the moment!
I had two objectives in my Quest - to run 39 - 42 K in the last week of October. That pesky thing called life got in the way in the last week, knocking my running down to 31 K, but hopefully OK for that last week coming up.
Secondly, to sleep 8 hrs a night; this week I've averaged 7:30, but I saw a report in the Telegraph yesterday alleging that 7:30 is actually the optimum amount!
Lots of miles clocked up there Nowster. Volunteering at Parkrun is great fun, so I hope you enjoy it. I know that quite a few are short of volunteers so your help will be very much appreciated.
My local one sent out an appeal for this week and next week. It spurred me into volunteering next weekend. I'll make myself known to the team tomorrow and chat with them.
My quest is still to reach 10 miles. The plan was to reach it in 2 weekends. But I fear that might get postponed a bit due to a nasty sciatic nerve playing up.
Besides that the idea is still to stick to 5K on weekdays and 10K on weekends after my 10 miles. And to get a pair of new shoes for my birthday in 2,5 weeks or so 😁
My Quest effectively completed with hitting my GSR target time 👍 - I'll think about new objectives for November but have no intention of pushing myself for the rest of this month!
Treadmills: apart from the obvious advantage of being able to run comfortably when the weather is foul, I use them to try to just get a little bit better at something under controlled conditions. Example .... I can run 5k in 25 mins (usually) but would like to get back to sub-23 pace (4'36"/k), or maybe sub-24 (4'48"/k) to begin with. So session 1, I wind the machine up to 4'48" pace and see how long I can maintain it. If I have to call it quits after 1k, there's a marker. Next time, then, my target is to get to 1.5k before blowing up, then 2k and so on ("incremental gains" - the increments may have to get smaller as the distances get longer). When (if!) I get up to 5k, start again with 1k or so at 4'36" pace, and so on.
The point is that conditions are identical each time, and you set the pace and the machine delivers it exactly. So you are comparing (and hopefully improving) like with like.
Just don't expect achievements on the treadmill to be easily replicated on the road .... 😀
Hi S&R and fellow questers 👋I’ve achieved my quest of running an average pace of under 8’ per k. Ok only just at 7’59’’on a 6.5k and 7.5k run, but it’s done ✅. I’ve also realised that I don’t want to go faster. I enjoy long deliciously slow runs where I can take in my surroundings, tune into the rhythm of my breathing and footfall, enjoy the weather and empty my mind 😊
So quest done and I’m just going to enjoy running for the rest of the month.
Well done on achieving your quest Frizz. I have learned to enjoy my slow running so I know what you mean. The likelihood is you will get faster anyway, no need to push for it.
That’s very true. My first 5k in July 20 had an average pace of 8’29’’ so I’ve knocked of quite a lot without trying. I’ve just started listening to my old C25K playlist again which is at 160bpm. It’s amazing how my old 5k playlist ( designed to speed me up) is now my 10k playlist ( designed to slow me down) Small victories 😊
Sounds perfect! Not all of us are designed or want to be speed freaks and taking your time to tune into the surroundings or your inner self is very satisfying
Update: Despite myself I couldn’t resist doing a 5k baseline run just to see what I could do 🤦🏻♀️ I ran a lovely 5k in the cool but sunny late afternoon. I’m on half term this week so I took advantage of the lovely afternoon weather to fit in an extra run 😊. My average pace was 7’40’’ and my time 38:23 (2nd fastest 5k) I’m happy with that. I pushed myself but it was comfortable. Having now satisfied myself, I AM just going to enjoy running at a gentle pace till the end of the month 😂😊
Hello Shake-and-run & Sandie1961 Hope you're both well and enjoying the weekend. So far have completed all of my quests bar one. - ran 3 times this week
- am continuing to slowly increase the distance using Ju Ju's magic plan - my longest run being 8km this week
- cross trained (swam) twice this week
- on track to run at 3 different parkruns this month. (Have done 2 out of the 3 so far) and have volunteered at one
- haven't managed to get 7+ hours sleep every night though. (For 1 night only managed 6+ hours)
All in all pretty happy with how my week has gone.
Thank you @Sandie1961. My sleeping hasn't been great of late. In the end I decided to have a rest from any physical exercise this week and last night I had a good's night deep sleep for the first time in ages. (I've been running 3 times a week consistently since March apart from 1 week when I just ran twice). Don't know if my lack of sleep all this time has been down to overtraining. 🤔
Gosh where is the month going!! How can it possibly be week 4 already?
On the plus side, my goals are actually *fingers crossed* all on track!
Restart the BridgeTo10K - well this one is a surpise, I've actually found it much easier to get back into the longer distances which meant I did a 10K today! Now looking forward to consolidating this distance over the next few months so that it starts to feel easier and less intimidating!
October rundown - clock up more miles in October than September (51.4K) - if all goes to plan I'll be well over 50K by the end of the month.
Hit 300K steps and get the October Step Month badge - at 266K, so should be very manageable
At this stage I don't want to keep pushing, but instead just ease through the rest of the month and start thinking about some goals for November and December to end the year on a high!
Great running FF, well done on completing your 10k ahead of schedule. With another week of the quest to go looks like October will be a great month for you.
Hi y’all! I’m on Week 3 of my 10k consolidation plan, after 5 days of a planned pause due to work commitments.
This week will be themed with revisiting the C25k+ Intervall podcasts.
So I’m facing the music (🤣) and reconnecting with good old Laura!
And then for the last weekend of October , I signed up for a 10k Halloween virtual race, as the medal looked like a great seasonal necklace to have!! 🤣🤣🤣
I’m very impressed that you have your plan set out in writing. Looks great 👍 Good luck with the 10k. Always nice to have some bling to look forward to 😃
Hi Shakes, love the pic-collage and the new shoes!😍
My Questing has picked up this last week, I managed to squeeze in TWO runs and definately felt the benefit that running more frequently brings. They both went well.
2 P. E. with Joe Wicks sessions as well as daily YWA practices as my cross training and strength and flex.
The 'going dry' this month is easier than I expected. I think I had plenty in the months before!😏🍷
I am feeling fitter and maybe a bit trimmer too😉 Ready to head into November with enthusiasm.
Hello S-n-R, just checked my goals and1. I've run 3 times a week every week2. The target was 45 km this month, today's run brought it to 45.34 😁 maybe I'll revise this to 55 km
3. Parkrun in husband's hometown: well I ran 5km with his friends club today, not an official Parkrun but definitely close enough. Especially as I started at 8am not 9am like an official Parkrun would be.
Gosh this has been a week as flat as a pancake in terms of progress towards Quest goals. I am going to see if I can double up this week ie 2 runs and 2 yoga sessions in this final week and get back into my PoA account at least.
Oddly though, I made an unexpected start on a long term project I've been mulling over since just before the Pandemic. And no one has died.
Well Googleme some weeks it just goes like that and things get in the way. It is ok to reset your goals and try again. Good luck with your long term project and whatever you achieve in the days left until the end of the month.
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Magic Plan Week 4 Run 3 
Spring into March...Week 4...How is all going folks?
Consolidation week 4 update
Week 4 done and dusted
