Hello Everyone and happy weekend. Today is parkrun day, a free 5K event which takes place every Saturday morning all around the world. It is for everyone, slow, fast, able, disabled, big, small and everyone in between. Oh and don't forget about the super Mum's and Dad's who push their babies in buggies. You can walk, jog, run, run/walk, it's not a race, just a run in the park and loads of us here on Bridge to 10K do it religiously every Saturday morning.
Some of us may not be able to do a parkrun at the moment so until parkrun returns fully for everyone some of us will continue to take part on our own in a Virtual parkrun every Saturday morning called a (not)parkrun. Or if you are away on Holidays, prefer to run on your own, or do not have a parkrun close by you a (not)parkrun is perfect, please feel free to join in. Please post a little run report after your parkrun or (not)parkrun and let everyone know how you got on. The little run report can be done over a post parkrun coffee and treat/cake. (parkrun is all about the after run coffee and cake, and meeting friends old and new).
If you are a new graduate and would like to start, all you have to do is run, walk or jog at a parkrun or a 5K run/jog/walk (not)parkrun anytime today or tomorrow and write a little run report under this post. It's like a little community and it is good fun, sets you up nicely for the weekend. If you want to you can register on the parkrun website and you can log your 5K (not)parkrun. In fact you can log any 5K done during the week as a (not)parkrun.
For anyone whom has not done a real parkrun yet and if it is available to you, give it a try. It is the most wonderful community event. Saturday mornings will never be the same again.
Looking forward to hearing from all of you who ran in real proper parkruns and (not)parkruns. Happy running and have a lovely weekend.
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damienair
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Good morning Damien and all, long time no respond to a Damien post! Apologies for the radio silence but life is just a bit too mad at the moment!
We had a Kat Family funnel (almost) takeover today as we hogged the timekeeping, number checking and funnel management. Youngest kitten is off to uni on Monday so it was a bit of a send off. We went home via the car hire shop to collect a car that was less likely to break down than our own tired old workhorse. Next week we replace our old car. These are two of many other things, besides Marathon training happening at the moment 🤯🤯🤯
Katnap and I have our 18 mile training run tomorrow. Knowing Katnap he’d have run today if we’d not done the takeover 🤪 one more long run and then we can taper…🫠
He’s already plotted them out - 3 within doable distance! Giving him a half marathon to train for in 7 months time will give him a little more context to work with 😀
I started a training plan this week, Heart Rate Zone training. So I used parkrun this morning as run 3 for the week, 30 minutes in Zone 2, easy run. I've learnt a few things this week, firstly that the Garmin Heart Rate Zones are extremely inaccurate, and secondly, the Heart Rate Sensor on my Garmin watch is not very accurate either. So yesterday I purchased a heart rate chest strap in Decathlon and wore it this morning. It worked great with my watch and was accurate. I ran, jogged and walked keeping my heart rate zone between 129-140 bpm. Mr Garmin was telling me I was in Zone 4, but of course he was very wrong, I was in Zone 2. It was enjoyable, but frustrating at the same time. I finished in a time of 37:09 and had plenty of puff left. Tomorrow I have a 60 minute run in Zone 2. Happy running everyone.
Thank you Dexy. I did try to do that previously but it was not allowing me to reach some numbers when using my Max Heart Rate. So I've just gone back in, adjusted my Max Heart Rate massively and then it allowed me to change the figures for the zones. So I have them set up now. I've worked out my Max Heart Rate using a formula with resting heart rate and Max heart rate as 211 - (0.64 x Age). Lets see, it's all an experiment at the minute. But I'm moving and that's the main thing.
Parkrun #72 for me. Today I was running and volunteering. How can that be? Well our run director allows people who can finish in under 23 minutes also to be barcode scanners. I can manage to do that but the barcode scanner next to me casually mentioned he finished in 17:26 which makes me feel like I'm only doing a brisk walk. We needed quite a few volunteers today as a couple of local parkruns were cancelled because of other events. We had a good turnout even though the lure of Kylie Minogue playing at Radio 2 Live might have been strong. Overall a good morning and thankfully not as hot as last week.
Brilliant running and well done too on Volunteering as well. Two birds with one stone. Speaking of birds, I arrived home from parkrun this morning to find a Peregrine falcon in our back garden after bringing down a pigeon. The falcon ate the pigeon whilst we watched on. Never had a bird of prey in my lawn before.
First timers’ welcome, event day course check, setup and closedown can all be combined with a run almost anywhere ……. and a number of other roles at some runs.
Good afternoon Damien, for parkrun #96 I ran at Drumpellier Parkrun in a time of 32,24 with a age grading of just over 60% at 60.70%, the weather was cloudy with a little rain at the start but that soon went off, the temperature was 12C.
Interesting comparing this run with exactly 4 years ago when I first ran at Drumpellier Parkrun, my time then was 30:55 but with a slightly lower age grading of 59.35% so although I am getting a little slower I am still maintaining a reasonable age grading for running at parkruns. 😊 🏃🏾
Thanks Damien and Dexy, the temperature from south to north this morning was very different, +20C in the south and humid to a fresher 11C temperature for my parkrun this morning, the cooler weather should reach the south of England soon from Ireland and Scotland.
I intended to run #100 parkrun on Saturday 14th October but unfortunately it will be delayed by one week because I got notification from the NHS that at 7:30 pm on Friday 13th October to get my annual flu jab AND another one for Covid 19 at the same time, that's only 14 hours before before parkrun starts so no running that day, next week it's a train journey to Glasgow for #97 at Springburn parkrun and for parkrun #98 I am already booked to be the tailwalker at Palacerigg parkrun.
Except I didn't run today. On Tuesday evening, about 10pm, I got a panicked email from the local parkrun team, "We have no volunteers this weekend!!!"
Naturally, I replied within 5 minutes to say I was available. They allocated me to timekeeping yet again. Oh well! Actually, on Tuesday my run did go a little "off" as my left hamstring went very tight about 2km in, so I was glad of not having the commitment of running 5km on Saturday morning.
I got there about 8.40am and chatted with the other volunteers and a few early runners.
The Run Director's speech ran a little long, and the "go" came about 2 minutes after 9am.
One guy led the first three laps, but the guy behind him gradually caught up. The first guy must have peaked early as the other guy finished twenty seconds before him.
We had a good mixture of all ages, including a couple of girls who are cousins who finished together. There was a lady who was ready to give up having completed the third lap but the RD encouraged her to finish by suggesting she walked the last one.
As is customary, there was a sweepstake (for kudos only) amongst the volunteers as to how many runners would be there. I guessed too low this week.
There was also some confusion as my fellow timekeeper's phone didn't respond quickly at the start, so his times were 4 seconds less than mine. He also mistakenly counted a lad (who hadn't been running) who dashed through the finish funnel with his mum, taking a video of her finishing. The RD took notes and it was all ironed out in the processing.
We then got the complication of the two tail walkers getting separated as one decided to help out by jogging with another runner, whilst the other kept walking at the back. They finished 9 minutes apart (though the first one did double back and join up with the other).
Well done nowster and its always good to have two time keepers checking with the token person so as to make sure all is correct. At least then if one person makes a mistake the RD can use the other timekeepers results.
Yes, every few finishers we called out a check to the finish token lady, and that's exactly how it was caught.
On my first time doing timekeeping, I pressed the volume button on my phone, wanting to make the beep louder, and recorded an impossible time (less than a minute) for first and second places.
Well done nowster on being the timekeeper at the parkrun you were at today, that's a duty that is very important to all the runners, there was also a bit of confusion at the parkrun that I will be at next week, there was a difference of 4 seconds or more with the results due to a similar situation with a timekeepers phone, the run event director appealing for runners to post there own watch times for their runs, I just hope that doesn't happen when I am there next week for my 97th parkrun.
Hello damienair and fellow runners. I feel like I’ve been living and breathing parkrun this week with OH being an event director and us having to shift our parkrun start to the other end of the promenade and fit into a smaller footprint in a few weeks time. We’ve had to incorporate a loop which will not be easy or popular. We’ve been measuring the route, talking to coffee van owner, chatting to the City Council Seafront Manager and thankfully sorted out a new kit storage area . Generally people just don’t know what goes on behind the scenes and all the hours put in by RDs and EDs, excepting those on here who do the same of course.
I was really pleased that UpTheStanley and I were running today and we donned our fluorescent New Forest Marathon T-shirts on for first public viewing. Today our 325th runner was to be the 150,000th finisher in Southsea. That is around my pace group so it would be interesting to see where I came.
20C, little breeze and walking down I realised I forgot to put my watch on so UTS kindly went back for it for me. I also discovered I forget water, too late . Not a good start.
To be honest I didn’t really enjoy it today. I found myself calling out for runners to stay on the left, and call out to a girl running in the cycle lane (twice within my sight) once when children were cycling towards her, and also trying to call out to a runner ahead with a large dog on a canicross lead running in the middle so the dog was in the way of incoming runners. This was so worrying, and against parkrun rules, so I then felt compelled to phone the RD to warn him so that he could speak to the runner.
As you can imagine this did not help my time or my mood and I came in at 34:44 ( 35:14 parkrun time) position 393) so I was the 150, 068th runner at Southsea .
The good news though is that returning to the house gave UTS a good warm up and he said he found his sub 25 min run easier than usual. Glad to be of assistance
Hope you all had a good one, and apologies if I sound like mr grumpy 😾
Oh dear Dexy, that doesn’t sound the best day. It must be difficult to switch off when you feel so much part of it. I can see why you tourist so much, I think you need to otherwise it will stop being fun.
I am sure you can understand TailChaser . I do try to drag UTS away but it’s been a while now. I just get so annoyed when people don’t listen to the briefing, or decide that the rules don’t apply to them. They don’t realise that permission to do parkrun can be withdrawn at any time
To be honest, I hope that less people come to Southsea when we change the route as it will no longer be classed as a fast course for people to get PBs.
UTS says I should just enjoy my own run but he was calling out people to keep left too.
Hi Dexy5, you hope that fewer people will come to Southsea parkrun when they change the course, certainly there will be less if it's windy, I read on the Facebook page that the new start is actually on the beach, what happens if it's high tide and a force 8 gale is blowing, I am sure there will be far more cancelled runs due to that change.
Ha ha AlMorr , I think you misread the post. The RD’s briefing will be on the beach and then runners will be called onto the prom in finish time order to run on the prom from the opposite direction. The weather and tides will be just the same as before, although the prevailing wind will be behind runners on the homeward lap now.
But we will lose the protection of a shelter for our lovely volunteers and that may cause RDs to cancel more than before.
Well done, you are quite right that people don't realise what goes on behind the scenes, or even on the day.
I forgot to add in my post that as I was running up the last bit of the course a man asked me to alert a first aider for the girl alongside him. She had her hand on her chest as I passed.
So I speeded up as best as I could and told the person directing people into the funnel before going through myself. She alerted the RD, who radioed the First Aiders.
After I collected my token I saw the girl run through the funnel, so I ran down to call the RD back. The man who had been with her told me her Dad came back for her.
But by now the team were looking for her to check how she was. Eventually I saw her and told her they were looking for her and an incident was recorded although no further action was required.
Finally, I got my barcode scanned and remembered to switch off my watch.
Oh well done RunaroundSue , that does sound worrying. I’m glad that all was well. That reminds me of my tourist parkrun to Stratford on Avon to visit Katnap and TailChaser . I had a wardrobe malfunction where my front zip sports bra unzipped itself and I jammed it halfway while trying to rectify the situation and ended up running the rest with my arm across my chest holding everything in. 😂
Someone came up to me thinking I was having a heart attack. Such kindness from a stranger who I suspect had medical training.
Very well done Dexy and fair play to UTS on his super speedy run. Hope the change of course does not cause too much more complications for you and your team.
It’s ok to feel grumpy sometimes, especially when you know you’re in the right Dexy5 . PR is precious and it needs to have rules to keep it safe and fun for everyone.
park run no 5 for me and really pleased as first time under 35 mins! 33:17 but still walking up some of the hills…. Need to work on pacing myself. As always, a very happy post parkrun Saturday feeling 😃
Clumber Park for us today, a two night stopover en route to Sutton Hoo.
We did a Freedom Run here 4 years ago and I am pleased to report that I was 26 seconds faster today. It was a lot cooler today though and the gravel part was less slippery than I remembered.
We completed the Pirate Challenge.
We went to the main cafe for a full breakfast but it was the worst parkrun breakfast ever. The bacon and eggs were overcooked but the "toast" was was very odd. It was totally white but rock hard, difficult to cut even when covered in baked beans. Very surprising as usually National Trust meals are nice.
We took it back for a refund and went to the little cafe near the start of the parkrun for some very nice warm cheese and ham baguettes. A bit too big so we saved half and ate them after our walk around the lake and pleasure garden.
All being well we will be at Irchester Country Park next Saturday.
ooh a bad breakfast is not the way to end a parkrun. We chose to have bacon baps and coffee while token sorting today. They were delish as the brioche baps were toasted too.
Very well done Sue and congratulations on completing the Pirates Challenge. Glad you were able to get a refund on an awful breakfast and get something else instead. Enjoy Irchester Country Park next Saturday.
A dry, cool-ish, slightly misty start to the day in Lincolnshire and off to Market Rasen for my 84th parkrun. Don’t know what the problem was but my form deserted me and I ended up with a time of 34.26. Very disappointing!
Jen said the same Sandie1961 . She went solo to Severn Bridge and ‘only’ came in at 29 something. She thought she was running well. I said she was - and so were you btw!
Well done Sandie. You got out there and did it. Much more than many others and you were much faster than all the lazy lumps at home in bed. Nothing wrong with that time.
Today was my 5th Parkrun, 4th in a row. I was watching Tyler Speers on YouTube, really enjoyable running channel and was taking about “negative splits”- i do parkrun for cardio, but I do want to have good runs, last week I nearly fainted so wanted to properly pace the jog. My course is 3.5 laps, so a negative split means go slowishly first two laps to , ‘leave something in the tank’ to go faster in later laps. I did this today, my time last week was 38 in the heat. Today i had a good well paced run, has a small kick finish, wasn’t exhausted at the end… the time 40 something. Conclusion- forget Tyler abd negative splits!
No, Tyler is not wrong, but the trick is defining "slowishly". My regular parkrun target is 25 mins, and for me a "good" set of negative splits is something like 5'10", 5'05", 5'00", 4'55", 4'50". Because if I go, say, 5'30" and 5'15" for the first 2 Ks, the target is already out of reach, as there's no way I can average 4'45" over the last 3k. So say you're aiming for 37'30", i.e 7'30" average pace, 7'45" (possibly 7'50") for the first k would be as slow a "slowish" start as you would want. Although that all said, I think most parkrun PBs probably come from starting fast, gritting your teeth and holding on - so the splits will be positive, but hopefully only just.
My regular haunts (Chadderton Hall and Hafan Pwllheli) are in the top twelve hardest. When I go to some much further down the list (eg. Cannock Chase and Coldham's Common) my pace is much faster.
I'm still not doing parkruns sub 25 mins though, even though I regularly run 3km around that pace. My parkrun PB is 25:55, from three weekends ago.
I tend to hold back for the 500m or so, before pushing up the ranks.
Negative splits can be difficult to achieve if you have a climb in the middle or towards the end of the run.
Yes, absolutely hills do make it tough to have a “controlled” jog. I just about make it up this one still jogging (lots of people walk) so much as I’d like to control thing, I’m not strong enough yet. I’m carrying 9kg extra weight, part of why I’m running!
My previous run (at Pwllheli) was 32:09, and the ones before that there were both over 36 minutes. Running on sand isn't easy, and the summer heat also made it even more difficult.
At Chadderton, my usual time is around 29 minutes (and a bit).
Last year's parkrun PB was the one I met Katnap and Tailchaser at (Newborough on Anglesey), with a time of 26:50.
At my first ever parkrun (at Sale Water Park) I got swept up with the crowd and went far too fast. My heart rate went off the charts, I got fatigued and had to walk for a bit twice on the return leg. Even with that, that was my parkrun PB for about 9 months. I must go back sometime -- it's one of the flatter courses.
I continuously jog, but actually in terms of times it be better to go fast as possible for as long as possible and walk to get breath back & keep on. I see people who are walking one moment passing. It makes me giggle, at myself.
Very well done on your 5th parkrun. Bit by bit you will get a little faster. Don't think too much about it. A nice way to do it as you go regularly is to pick out someone who finishes a little bit ahead of you each week and aim to beat them the next week. That way you can use them to pace you and then for the last 400 meters or so you can go for it and try to pass them out before the finish. After that you can pick someone else.
They are called parkrun Nemesis. And it is a great way to get a PB. Of course they are not really a Nemesis, but just the person you want to beat that week. 😀
Hi damienair and fellow parkrunners. An early start for me today. I caught the 06:08 train and headed to London to run at Thames Path parkrun. A couple of tube stations later (and getting lost in Canary Wharf 🤦🏼♀️🤣) I arrived in good time and in lovely bright sunshine. There were 502 runners which included three people dressed as cows as this was a Cowfest meet-up (something to do with the parkrun Cowell challenge). They looked very sweaty afterwards as it was a very warm and humid day 😬. This course has a curly wurly spiral ascent up and around a small hill, then down again which was great fun. SueAppleRun and I are planning to do the other curly wurly parkrun sometime soon hopefully. I know some of you have done that one and it sounds great. My official time was 31:36 which I’m happy with. Once home and showered I went to bed and slept for a couple of hours. Next weekend I’m in London again for the Vitality 10,000 on Sunday so will stay local on Saturday I think, but who knows what madness will take over me. I have the tourist bug 😬😆
Let me know when you and SueAppleRun plan on doing Somerdale Pavilion Mudita11 , as it’s close to me and I love to run there!
Well done today. 😀 My friend who I ran with at the Cheddar 10k said her friend had gone to Thames Path today too, to sample the rival Curly Wurly (the one here is my friend’s local PR), and you probably know all about the friendly rivalry between them both. 😅
Cheeky so-and-so! 😂 You can almost smell the Curly Wurlies whilst running round Somerdale Pavilion, old home of the Cadbury’s factory (and before that, Fry’s). Someone my mum used to work with used to bring in rejected imperfect chocolates from her relative who worked there. 😋
A little bird said that you were visiting the walnut whip today Mudita11 . I’m glad you enjoyed it, and an excellent time too. My fastest ever parkrun time is 31:38, but that was pre pandemic!
We’ve decided not to do the Vitality 10000 after all, despite the race packs arriving this week. That medal and T-shirt will be sitting there waiting for me. 😢 But 3 races in 6 weeks is going to be a bit much for me before GSR.
It is a fantastic run though and you will love it.
Catching a 6am train!?! That's dedication! OK, I did get up at 7am last year to get out at 7.30am to drive from Aberdaron to Newborough Forest (Coedwig Niwbwrch) parkrun to meet up with TailChaser and Katnap , but that's an exception
I’ve been away from Parkrun for most of the summer so it has been a while since I’ve responded to Damien.
I had to make a 3 hour car journey (longer if traffic is bad) to visit Mr Shakes, who is in hospital having a new hip. I decided to stay over with family to break the journey. They live a 20 min walk from Chasewater Parkrun so it seemed a shame not to miss out on a bit of tourism.
Weather was kind and the deer stayed a safe distance away. The rough track was quite energy sapping so I welcomed the tarmac for the last 2k. 204th out of 240 runners but I did get some PBs (I’ve run some of the paths before) so can’t complain. I also had a cute little cheerleader (my great niece).
Hope Mr Shakes is recovering nicely, and yes you were quite right doing a bit of PR tourism Shake-and-run ! Your great niece is adorable and that’s such a lovely photo of you both! 🥰
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