I did a NRC run today and enjoyed it more than the last one. It was a 6k run with Coach B and I did it because it occurred to me ... I can run 6k! This was my fourth run of the distance - 6.4k in 45 minutes today following Saturday's 6.3k in 43. This seemed at "easy" way of ensuring I ran over 40 minutes, that being the figure I'm more interested in as I try to very gradually increase the time I run for.
Three things struck me about the run:
1. Coach B said I should be proud of the fact that I'm running. 🫣
2. I'm still probably running too fast, but I learnt a bit about pacing as for a few hundred metres in the middle he encouraged a slightly faster pace, and then a slightly faster still pace. This was HARD. If my pace had been a bit slower to begin with, it wouldn't have been as hard. (I am going to leave that sentence if only to prove that I am eminently capable of stating the bleedin' obvious! But you know what I mean: there's a degree of "just" pushing it with my running anyway.) I am not at all good at messing with my pace and like to run at the pace I feel comfortable at.
3. I have ran 6k four times. I have ENJOYED the runs. (Even on Saturday when I was surrounded by entirely non-threatening and utterly friendly dogs on two occasions, which messed with my focus and pacing, I still managed to run out of my funk and back into my happy place.) I have (whisper it) looked forward to these runs. That may not last and it may not be a feeling I get on every run, but it's the first time I have had four runs in a row that I have actively enjoyed since Laura accompanied me on C25K.
To return to my headline and first point: YOU should be proud of your running. You're getting up and getting out and moving forward. Really well done!
Written by
Gthants
60minGraduate
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😁😁😁😁. I bumped into my niece as I bounced over the road to start my run. I was telling her about coach B and Andy P, she rolled her eyes at the perceived woo woo
Who cares 🤷♀️ 😁
I did the 40 min recovery run and they said all the right things. It was marvellous 👌
Great run. When I've done that run I've found the faster bits to be a bit out of my comfort zone. Left to myself I might put on a burst of speed at the very end, but to do it when there's still a km or so to go? Hmm.
One thing though, I've found that if I speed up for a burst I tend to run a bit quicker afterwards. Is that just me?
The pacing is something I can't quite grasp. The conventional wisdom seems to be that I need to have run more slowly than I generally do in order to run for longer and then run faster to go further. Or something like that. I tend to just run! 🫣
Forgive me, you may be there already, but using the NRC HM plan (You will know that it does a 10k plan too) taught me a lot about my pace. The plans are different to the one off runs as they are designed to help you run further, faster, stronger ….at the end of the plan. Most of the early long runs are run at easy pace, so speeding up a bit mid run when prompted shouldn’t be a problem..if it is, it means you were running too quickly at the start….I have been there…and still mess up occasionally! I now have, in ascending order of pace, an easy pace, a 10k pace, a 5k pace and a mile pace (through running intervals which are part of the plan). The other golden rule is that the first 1k should be the slowest. I enjoy that structure, not least because it works for me and helps me to avoid going too fast too soon.
I was writing in a cafe when I saw your reply and teetering on the brink of clicking to download the programme, hesitating in case Nike immediately drained my bank account to pay Coach B his vast fee! 🤣
Great run report! Pace is the hardest thing to get right. I’ve found it comes with experience and getting it wrong…a lot! Even when you think you’ve nailed it, you’ll have a run like mine yesterday where it’s all over the place. I totally agree with Beachcomber66 -the NRC speed runs are brilliant for getting to feel like what the faster paces should be and dropping back to slower ones afterwards.
Your run really made me smile. I almost had a full on temper tantrum when Coach B threw in a few sprinty sections about 10k in to a ten mile run (I hope I remembered that right). I was livid with him but it really does show you that even if you think you can’t go any faster, you often can and when you do successfully drop back to a comfortable effort, it feels so much easier!
You’ll get it. You’ve already made masses of progress. It’s exciting to see where you’ll go next!
This is so impressive, you absolutely should be proud. I find I run better with a guided run too. It just keeps me on track nicely. I've been concentrating on slowing the pace this month and I feel this is beginning to pay dividends. In fact my weekend longer run was lovely, completely gremlin free. Onwards and upwards, you're making great progress 👏. Hope you find a plan that works for you.
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week3run1 ✅. 3 x 17 mins with 1 min walks. 
How did your parkrun or (not)parkrun go?
