First week of the magic plan and first Parkrun

[M0use]

Well I started week 1 of the magic plan with many doubts about whether it was a good idea or not, could my increasingly aged knees, hips and various other bits and pieces do this but I thought much the same thing before I started couch to 5k so I decided to have a go.

A week later and 3 runs completed I’m still not sure although I do think I’ll switch to the time plan rather than the distance one. All I can say is I’ll keep going as long as it’s fun☺️

I did manage to take part in my first ever Parkrun today, I know I should have done it before but it takes a bit of family organising to get there and this was the first day when everything aligned. My local Parkrun is on a hilly course of gravel (or more accurately rocky) trails and it was a hot day so I kept to my usual slow pace. I was just intent on finishing which I did☺️ and I was thrilled to be able to say I completed it (no Jeffing) and I wasn’t the last finisher. Sadly it’s not something I can commit to every week but the family have been spoken to and given warning that I’m going to try to aim for once a month. Hopefully it’ll be a bit cooler by the end of September 🌞😅🏃‍♀️

[Dendev75 Graduate10]

Yay Mouse! You did a park run and ran all the way 👏🏻👏🏻 Well done on your magic plan too, I might start that this week and like you I’ll try the times rather than distance, that can come later if I manage it. So happy you got to do your park run (is it your birthday today as well?)

[M0use Graduate10 in reply to Dendev75]

Parkrun was fun but definitely one to do no and again for me, birthday was yesterday ☺️. I think I need to increase my speed a bit more before I attempt the distance plan but we'll see how it goes. Let me know how you get on ☺️👍

[Instructor57 Graduate10 in reply to M0use]

Well done with the parkrun and starting the magic plan .... But no need to increase on speed for the distance plan

[M0use Graduate10 in reply to Instructor57]

Oh ok, I guess I was thinking that as it's taking me about 40 to 45 minutes to do 5k I'd be increasing my time too quickly if I stuck to the distance plan.

[Cmoi Graduate10 in reply to M0use]

In that case follow the time plan and swap to the appropriate week of the distance plan when you know how far you're getting in 60 minutes M0use . Speed is over-rated anyway as far as I'm concerned, give me vertical any day!

[M0use Graduate10 in reply to Cmoi]

Don't think speed will ever be my thing, I enjoy just bumbling along with my thoughts and if I'm lucky some nice countryside. Early days so I'll swap time and distance and see which works best for me. Thanks for the advice as always ☺️

[Dendev75 Graduate10 in reply to M0use]

Happy belated birthday 🥳 I’m not a fan of speed so I’ll just be taking all my runs slowly and hopefully increase the distance at my usual pace without getting too tired 👍🏻

[M0use Graduate10 in reply to Dendev75]

Thanks, had a lovely trip to the seaside, fish and chips and ice creams 🍦🍦😎. Slow is I think the best plan we've just got to remember 🤣

[Dendev75 Graduate10 in reply to M0use]

That sounds perfect ☺️ 🍦 🌊

[TimeInNature Graduate10 in reply to Dendev75]

I’m doing the time based plan at the moment and I’m finding that easier to plan for in terms of knowing how long I’ll be out for. Finding it more difficult in terms of where I should be going and how far I can’t get in 45 minutes (for example).

I’m planning on finishing the time plan and then moving over to the distance plan to increase my distance (well up to a certain amount of time anyway - I don’t want to be running for multiple hours so maybe 90 minutes tops)

Enjoy the plan!

[Dendev75 Graduate10 in reply to TimeInNature]

That sounds like a really good idea doing the time plan first - thanks for sharing - it all helps on here.

[M0use Graduate10 in reply to TimeInNature]

I think I might swap between the two and see which works best. Good luck with your journey ☺️🏃‍♀️

[Dendev75 Graduate10 in reply to M0use]

You’ve inspired me to start this plan this week ☺️👍🏻 I’ve written my own time plan up so I can tick off what ones I’ve done each week.

[M0use Graduate10 in reply to Dendev75]

Woo woo well done you ☺️🏃‍♀️ let me know how it goes ☺️

[Dendev75 Graduate10 in reply to M0use]

Will do, you too 👍🏻

[MissUnderstanding Administrator Graduate10]

Congratulations on the park run. It doesn’t sound like the easiest one to start off with so an extra well done for that!

The time based magic plan sounds like a great option. The couch to 5k was all time not distance it makes a lot of sense to stick with using time as a way of increasing your run distance. It’s supposed to be a helpful guide and not a cast in stone plan so if you find it too much, there’s always the option to take extra rest days, or cut the longer runs, or even ditch it altogether. The main thing is just to keep running in a way that you find enjoyable and enables you to stay injury free. Good luck!

PS: I didn’t do my first park run until months after graduating and I’ve still only managed one. Life keeps conspiring against me! Hopefully we both make it back soon!

[M0use Graduate10 in reply to MissUnderstanding]

One of the best things about couch 25k for me has been that I can fit it in around the rest of life so Parkrun is tricky but I'm going to treat it as an occasional pleasure. ☺️🏃‍♀️

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate10]

Congratulations to you MOuse on completing your first parkrun, well done on not Jeffing (walking) at all during your run, I just hope that you can run one parkrun a month.

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate]

First parkrun and no jeffing! that’s awesome. The magic plan is great, I did the times one first and had a lot of fun with it

[Me_time Graduate10]

Well done on your first parkrun. Like you, I find parkrun a bit difficult to make it to as well, mainly because I like a bit of sleep in on a saturday morning 😆 getting out of bed to be at the park by 0745hrs can be a bit too early for me on a weekend, specially for a run! I have only done 2 so far.With c25k I managed it much better around my schedule.

Don't worry about the speed if you choose to do the magic plan by distance. I did it by distance as personalIy I prefer to set goals in distance rather than time. I did it at my normal conversational pace, same as the c25k.

Which ever plan you choose, all the best 👍

[M0use Graduate10 in reply to Me_time]

Thanks for the good advice. Don't think speed will ever be my thing. I think I'll swap things around a bit for the next few weeks and see which works best for me. ☺️

[Dexy5 Graduate10 in reply to M0use]

Don’t forget M0use, I week can be as long as you like. Take 2 days between runs if it fits in better.

[M0use Graduate10 in reply to Dexy5]

I usually try to leave 2 rest days after the longer run and 2 days after the shorter ones too if it's been a particularly busy week. It should be fun not punishment ☺️

[LottieMW Ambassador]

Well done of your first Park Run! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

I found as a slower runner, the timed plan first worked best. It seemed a natural progression from the 30 minute consolidation runs to use them as the “core” run…so one run is shorter, the other gets increasingly longer. Like C25k, you can adapt the week to suit you, in fact it’s more flexible as you can run the week in any order!I can tell you that it’s a huge buzz to know you can run for 60 minutes…almost as good as that 30 minute graduation run!

Also, it’s a useful way to reach that magic 5k if you haven’t run that distance yet. It took me about 4 weeks of the plan to get there…took me around 50+ minutes 😊

I then started the distance Plan at the beginning, so a 5k becomes the “core” run. I’m up to 9km on my second time around and taking it easy…so easy, in fact, that I’ve decided to put in a few short runs instead of progressing on the long run 😉

Good luck with whichever route you take!

Happy running 😄🏃🏻‍♀️🐌

[M0use Graduate10 in reply to LottieMW]

Thanks for the advice, it's always interesting to know how others have progressed. It took me 4 weeks of consolidation before I managed 5k and I'm now reasonably ok with that distance as long as I can take my time and I'm feeling good (no aches and pains or sniffles). I think I'm going to try pretty much what you've done, start with the time plan (starting at the point that nearest matches my max time at the moment) and then switch back to the distance plan. I'm finding such peace and fun in my running that I want more time stretching my legs but I also need to be sensible and do everything I can to avoid injury to my aged joints 😄.Happy running to you too 🏃‍♀️🐌☺️

[Rennur Graduate10]

Sounds like you're doing it all right. Once you have got up to an hour you can consolidate on that (with 2 shorter runs as well per week) or just move up to 10K as slowly as you like.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate10]

Well done you! Just take it at your own pace and see where you get to. I feel that the time one is the right one for you, by your comments...Just enjoy!