3.1 miles today, on the record, being obedient to "easy miles" / 1 Day of rest, then the 5K on Saturday!

[gdcgray]

Distance 3.1mi

Time 45:45

Pace 14:33/mi

Calories 636

It feels like it will be a year before I can do a 5K in 22:30 on level ground. Right now, I can't even imagine running 3.1 miles at 7:16/mi pace. I ran a mile off the record earlier. The hardest part of running for me is the first part. It takes a while to get warmed up and to be able to breath right. 54 year old body wants to be stiff and reluctant to do anything. I had to take two days off after that mountain run I did on Monday. Monday was a 7.2 mile trek with a 5 mile workout and some ridiculously steep climbing. That kicked my butt. My left hip and ham were really complaining. They did fine today thank goodness. I should be good to go for the 5K Saturday.

[Hidden]

Good luck for the 5k! I have my first official 5k in a few weeks and am trying to run 5k regularly in prep for it but it takes me 38 -40 mins on level ground! Can't imagine running faster - my body wouldn't cope!

[gdcgray Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Good luck to you too! I'd be real happy with that time at this point.

[Pug1 Graduate]

I am 62 and find you have to be kinder to your body. If you are in pain you have to pull back and be patient or you might be out of action through injury. That's soooo frustrating! I started in September last year and 40 mins is still my fastest 'park run ' on saturdays. I am so glad I started ... so many people my age are infirm and immobile. Good luck and don't be harsh on yourself 😊

[gdcgray Graduate in reply to Pug1]

yes, I am learning to accept taking it slow. Not much choice but my attitude has improved. I am ok with not pushing too hard. My mind is 25 and my body is 54 plus all the neglect and abuse I gave it. It took a while for that to register. So far it looks like long and slow is my way, but I will still work on improving speed over time.

[Tanethra Graduate]

That's a good if tough workout prior to a 5k race. My aim is to get under 30min for the 5k and the hour for the 10k. I think the 5k mark is doable for me as I ran a hilly Parkrun in 32:27 so on a pan flat course I should just dip under the 30mins

[gdcgray Graduate in reply to Tanethra]

yep, I see a 30 minute 5K coming your way. That is actually my goal too. I should have been more clear. My playing with numbers made it look like I had a 22:30 goal. I was just imagining how that would be. Maybe though! Would be awesome.

[misswobble Graduate]

Fast running for a short distance is way hard. You have to be like a sports car, quick to accelerate. It's why we have sprinters like Usain. They train hard for the job 😃

I am terribly slow to warm up so I do more walking at the start, and when it's cold I warm up in the house first. I am 58 and stiff as a ruddy board!

The trail runs and hikes will help,with your core fitness, so when you do happen to run on the flat it should feel much easier. 5 Ks are so hard though as it's so short a distance to pack everything in 🙂 Give me a 10 k any day

[Fatnorthernlass in reply to misswobble]

Pilates really helped me with flexibility. I'm not going now as I've given up the gym membership as I just wasn't going! It's what I will miss most 😊

[gdcgray Graduate in reply to misswobble]

Thanks misswobble, Yep, definitely need to warm up before any fast running. When ever I have done my baby 100 yard sprint repeats, it's been after 15 - 30 minutes if jogging. It seems to take that long to loosen and warm up so I don't pop any fast twitch fibers. 10K is next This old guy is just getting started.

[misswobble Graduate]

Well having membership is no good if you don't use it. My husband pays a fortune but never goes! I think it's to kid himself 😁🙄

If,you don't go then you have to work at home instead. Running and walking are good as are cycling, swimming using fitness equipment at the local park, dancing in the kitchen. You can do any number of fitness dvd's or online ones if you have a big telly. I like a DVD though as I can learn a routine

[Squarewheels66 Graduate]

I think you have to be a bit kinder to yourself

I'm 51, graduated in July 2016 with a whisker over 5k in 30 min and have kept up running since, completing a hilly half marathon in Feb (1:46:30). In training I was doing between 20 and 60k a week with 80% easy 20% hard intervals - See Matt Fitzgeralds 80/20 Running.

On my undulating off road 'test track' I can do 5k in 23:30 but this is an all out desperate effort (155-160bpm). On an easy course I reckon 22.30 is doable for me but I like hills and off road so don't seek out fast courses.

In summary I graduated substantially faster and have trained a lot, avoided injury - more luck than judgement and haven't run your goal time yet.

If you have to be fast rather than just enjoying your running

Lose weight

Get strong

Get flexible

Sleep lots

Use GPS tracker with HRM (to keep you slow when you need to be)

Train sensibly - mostly easy so you're rested enough make hard efforts properly hard.

[gdcgray Graduate in reply to Squarewheels66]

"On my undulating off road 'test track' I can do 5k in 23:30 but this is an all out desperate effort (155-160bpm). " That's quite an accomplishment! At the rate I'm going, I'll have to be jogging 50 miles a week regularly to get enough speed to do a 5K at that pace. I agree with training method. My favorite elite runners preach and do the same.