Let's be clear it's all relative and personal!Since my gallbladder op at the end of October which was quite a big setback, I made the decision to focus on getting back my basic running legs and increasing length of runs, time, and then distance to 10k. This was achieved last week in my target time of under 9min/km pace. Quite slow but good enough and very happy to achieve the milestone. My other fun running Parkruns etc have trundled on at around 8min/km pace on a flat course. So I've Bridged from 5 - 10 km 😁
My understanding of improving pace is upping the longer slow runs, building endurance which I think in the physiology explanation increases aerobic fitness. So time to test this out.
So for the last few days I've been doing intervals on 30 minute runs using my own timings on my app stopwatch. Firstly 2'30"/1'00" x 8 and then today 2'18"/0'42"x10 which I found a little easier. I have jeffed (walked) the recovery elements.
So my fastest previous 1 mile achievement was a rapid (😂) 11'49' run on 24th September last year a month before my operation. Yesterday this improved to 11'41" and then today improved again to 11'33". This of course confirms why many Jeffers complete parkrun ahead of me. And of course my pace is also up and I achieved 4km for the second time in under 30minutes.
Isn't it just fascinating that the principles of running training can bring these improvements to any starting point in a running journey?
And more fascinating I can potentially cover more ground walking and running than running alone- for now 😉😂.
Next steps will be reducing the walking time or maybe still run but slower in these recovery phases as well as consolidating longer runs.
I know there are many set and coached interval runs available on the various apps but I've enjoyed sorting a sequence that works for me.
Distance, time and speed is all relative!
Anyone else on this particular part of the journey at the moment?
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Chinkoflight
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Yes I am on that journey too. I lost a lot of fitness last year and year before that and since Christmas I have been on a little mission to get some fitness back. It was taking me about 37-38 minutes to run a parkrun, well I say run, it was a mix of running, jogging and walking. I’ve made it to a stage now where I can run a full parkrun in under 32 minutes. I ran a 10K yesterday for the first time in a long time.
I got down to under 26 minutes about 3 years ago. I did that by mixing up my runs. 1 x interval 5K session , 1 x easy 5K run, a good fast effort 5K parkrun and a long slow easy run. The long slow runs helped build endurance, the interval sessions helped build pace. And the rest days are just as important as workout days.
I’ve entered a 10K for end of April which I’d like to run in under an hour and I’m planning on doing a Half Marathon at end of August which I’d like to run at a 6 min/km pace. I’m also rejoining my local running club tomorrow evening. My dream is to run a parkrun in under 25 minutes. My PB is 25:36.
As you said it is all relative, and personal to everyone.
Thanks for sharing your training regime. Other reasons and injury couch aside as a lifetime non runner the times are there and for now can be unlocked. It's almost not fair that the lifetime runners with unimaginable PB's that run on my ParkRun are managing their decline and I'm still improving. I know, not sustainable logic but they are still running in my Dreamland territory! Joking aside, I've taken the times as they are and goals, like my sub 90minute 10k were always going to be achievable. So the improvement in pace is just a bonus.
What I love most is that it is so personal. I used to hate going to 5K road races as they were so competitive and fast, but loved parkrun as it was lovely and relaxed. Then I realised that most people at the 5K races were just chasing after their own personal 5K PB. For some it was a sub 40,35,30,25,20 minute 5K PB. And just like parkrun it was friendly and supportive. People who run are very supportive no matter how fast or not fast you might be.
When the children were young we used to watch a lot of track and field…the local stadium was used for national trials for a while. (Our claim to fame was that we were sitting near Lyn Davies and Mary Peters once!)
Anyway, I was always more interested in athletes obtaining PBs, especially if they finished outside of the medal positions! I’m always impressed if someone has run a personal best 😊
Thanks for that memory jogger. Wow, Lyn Davies was fast on the ground and through the air from memory! As Damienair said we can all do PB's and I love the way parkrun give an age related measure too. My motivation is trying to make my cardiovascular system as good as it can be, and time is a good measure, especially as I'm trying to hang on to it!!!!
I started jeffing my runs following physio advice as a way back after a spell on the IC. I started running 1 minute walking 5, and slowly increased running and reduced walking. I ended on 5 minutes run 1 minute walking. That was 18 -24 months ago, nowadays I sometimes I run through the "walk" sometimes I take advantage of it.Like you I found I'm quicker with this system and I immediately noticed how much it improved my cadence compared with just running.
As you say it's endlessly fascinating how much we continually learn about the seemingly simple action of running.
Great, I'm experimenting at the moment, I think the recovery time at 40 seconds is as short as I can get for now but my HR does come right back. So I may increase the run length. Thanks for your reply.
Great post Chinkoflight ! I started adding speed work after finishing the magic plan. Not something I’d ever thought I’d enjoy but intervals are some of my favourite runs (sometimes when they’re over!). I enjoy them even more if they’re up a hill!!! find I need a coach to tell me when to run, how hard to push and to congratulate me when it’s done! The Nike Run Club app has worked brilliantly for me in that respect but as you say, there are loads of other ways to do it. It sounds like you’ve got a plan that’s ideal for you. I love how running is so big that we can find out own way to enjoy it and get to where we’d like to be.
Before falling over, I’d planned to try and reduce my 5k time. I had to come back slowly from that and now I’m in the meaty part of a half marathon plan, that might need to wait. I’m expecting that the longer runs and the plan’s speed sessions will be good for the 5k as well though. Perhaps I just need to go and try and run a fast (for me!) one! Part of me is too wimpy to try it in case I’m slower than I’d like to be I know that’s silly!
It must be so satisfying for you to see the progress you’ve made. It’s inspiring to me and I’m sure many others here too. Good luck with hitting your goals!
Thanks. The 20k (hm) is a real test one I would only ever attempt as slow and steady! I've not tried to run faster it's come as a consequence of the 10k plan, a bonus. I started this journey expecting to fail, but I've stuck with the basic guidance of the mentors on C25K, keep running, keep smiling and parkrun, it's a run not a race. I found some of the guided runs a challenge, after C25K, they talk about three speeds, and mine went from jog to jog to jog!😂. So I went for distance and now I have jog and run. My granddaughter ran with me on my early C25K runs and then came with me on a parkrun and said you can actually run grandad! It was a great moment.
Wimpy, never, but fear of failure, runs deep and probably has nothing to do with running!
LOL 🤣 I can so relate to having three undistinguishable speeds of “jog”, then “jog” and “jog”.
I’m better now (I think … mmmhh, I hope) than at the early years of being able to differentiate between my three speeds, but I don’t know if that is
A) because I can now run at three very different and distinct speeds
Or
B) I am still running pretty much at similar speeds, but I my power of detection of the tiny of differences in speeds has increased!
😂😂
Having said that, I focus rather on what you put in, rather what you get out, and when Coach Bennett says run as fast as you can for the next minute, I comply even if from the outside no one else can detect the change.
Thank you for the post and the replies. It’s a fascinating discussion! I’ve also just trained back up to 5k after injury and did that via the jeffing method. And I really fell in love with particular ratios. My favourite one was 3 min running to 1 min walking, but that may just be because I love running to music and I know 3 min is about a song’s worth of running. 1:30 to 0:30 was also great, I found.
A very nicely spoken, very small lady who lives in my watch says quite firmly " heart rate dangerous" when I tempo too long! Following last week's parkrun link to Alzheimer's research, all this thinking and laughing is good for the mind too.
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