Oh my. I did my first parkrun last Saturday and it was NOT easy. All seemed seasoned runners - no walkers. I was still planning to do my 5 minute warm up walk, but got drawn into running from the start. Needless to say I got tired very quickly! I gave myself a talking to and slowed right down and came in second to last with a time of 53 minutes. I have never before run 5k. I have only made approximately 3.5k during my couch to 5K. I ran all the way although I was planning to walk a bit in between, but didn't. I have some friends who have offered to run my next parkrun with me so that will be good. I am proud that I was able to complete it, but it was hard. I have now downloaded the running podcast for graduates and will start with that tomorrow.
First Parkrun: Oh my. I did my first parkrun... - Couch to 5K
First Parkrun
Well done... but as you say..time to pull back now and get some serious consolidation runs in
Sorry to hear that, as I know parkruns can be very addictive.
I must admit I did some volunteering at my local PR to suss it out before I went along to actually run, and I checked out their results page to see how I would fare against their slowest time. I also got there a bit early to ensure I could walk around for my 5 minutes warm up before the run started, and now I do that all the time.
But certainly at mine there are many walkers but we do tend to get over 500 participants , most weeks so perhaps for the smaller ones there are likely to be fewer walkers
So don’t give up on it yet, but definitely concentrate on consolidating your 30 minutes runs for a while
Well done getting out there and into your first parkrun. It’s not common for the whole field to be seasoned runners, and a big ask to go to 5k from where you were in one go... that’s impressive. Take it easy again for a few runs and get the 5k again by extending one run a little at a time once you’ve consolidated your current levels.
well done i have done all my running on tredmill need to get out side always wanted to do a park run am up to w3r3 on 10k plan and still not been outside yet
Well done you. I'm a bit afraid of a treadmill. Never tried it.
well done for taking the plunge...i havent been brave enough so far. sounds like a good idea to take the friends up on the offer and hopefully a more enjoyable experience
Very well done on your 5k even under such difficult circumstances. 😀 Glad you feel able to have another go at parkrun
Keep going. Every parkrun should have people taking 45 minutes +. If you keep going next time someone else who isn't super sporty turns up they will feel like they are in good company. Parkrun is very keen to encourage more new and slow runners to take part. It's for everyone.
Hey! You right there! You did it!!! I’ve never done a park run so you’re doing better than me!! I hope you took some positives from it it amazing that you went for it. It doesn’t matter if you came first or last it is the fact you went and did it! For yourself! Keep us all updated
Thank you.
No problem at all 😊. When are you planning your next one?!
I'm going to do a few weeks on the couch to 5K+ and take it from there.
Perfect idea. I find it all starts to get more difficult this time of year. I have to sneak out when I can.
I don't mind running in the cold, but I'm not happy in the rain 
Yeah so true! I’ve done running in the rain once and everywhere gets soggy!! 😂 I like going out first thing when it’s icy cold. Brrrrr ❄️❄️
Well done. That's a great achievement. Yesterday i did W9 R1 and covered just over 3k in 30 mins so there is no hope of 5k in that time for quite a while, if ever. I'm looking forward to when i do run 5k regardless of time. My partner is a few weeks behind me and already covering a greater distance than i did yesterday. But then he is within his BMI and a man whereas I'm still obese, short and female. I have no chance of matching him.
Good luck with the 5k+ podcasts. Hopefully I'll be on stepping stones this time next week.
Thank you. You are doing well. I stumbled more than jogged. I actually felt like I was running for the first time with 'stepping stones'. I'm just going to continue the enjoyment of it and not worry too much about times. And my next parkrun, I will walk if I feel like it. Its been a long journey for me. It's taken me 2 years to lose 4.5 stone, but I see it simply as a journey. I still have at least 2 stone to lose.
Wow. Congratulations on 4.5 stones. That's amazing. We both have 2 stones to go.
Mine is the running shuffle. Managed more speed last 60 seconds or so.
That’s excellent, especially how you adapted when things didn’t go to plan. Don’t worry about time because it depends who turns up: the nature of parkrun is it varies from week to week. I sometimes tailwalk at my local parkrun (a flat and fast one) and last week I was round in 47 minutes - there were walkers but they walked so fast I had to jog to keep up with them! But other times it can be over an hour: nobody minds either way. I’ve seen people go round the course on crutches.
Thank you for the encouragement.
I have just registered to try my first one next week but I too am nervous. I will be at the end of week 8 at that point so expect to walk/run the last km or more. I have had a look at the latest results for my nearest (small) run and I will be stone last so thinking of going for a bigger event so hopefully there will be walkers 🤞
You can’t be last: there’s always a tail walker. Week 8 was when O did my first one. I did my warmup walk at the start of the run rather than before it. With hindsight that probably helped as it removed the temptation to try to keep up with faster runners around me.
Thank you: I’ll try that. My nearest run starts uphill so that’s a good plan. The bigger event looks flatter though, and I know one of the organisers so I might head there for my first
I agree with Arthur. I did not do that and if I had stuck to walking my warm up at the start I would have felt better. Next Tim I will also stand at the back because if you're in the thick of it you are swept up by the runners and feel obligated to run.
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