Competitive? Me?

[TeacherWendy]

I wouldn’t say I was a competitive person. I did C25K for fitness and health, not to run races. I’ll never be fast. But now I’ve completed the program and using Runkeeper to log my runs and I analyse the life out of every run I do, comparing stats. I do 5k. I’m only competing against myself- still psyching myself up for a ParkRun. Last week I did my fastest ever at 42 mins (with my walk at either end). Today the same route took me 46. Instead of celebrating I got all disappointed that it was so much slower. I’ve completely lost sight of the fact that 5 months ago I couldn’t run for 2 mins. I tell myself that each run is an achievement, speed doesn’t matter - but I secretly want to do it much faster.

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

Hey, well done on the runs and those times are good... as you say 5 months ago was impossible. What running are you doing? If you’re still doing the same run every other day or three a week, you will gradually get faster... however varying run distances and paces will get that time down sooner. That 46 is one of the keys to doing this... engaging a lower gear will be good for going a little longer... your long run should be at “recovery run” pace and that’s usually a couple of minutes a mile slower than your “race” pace. Once you’ve upped one run, drop another... try 15 minutes pushing a little above comfortable pace (not much, just a little) or run 1k and go a little faster still. Assuming you’re running comfortably over your distance now, ju-ju’s 10k plan could really help your speed around a parkrun. The combination of a bigger fuel tank nd getting used to a slightly faster pace can knock minutes off a new runner’s PB.

[TeacherWendy Graduate in reply to UnfitNoMore]

Thanks for that advice. I thought I really had to do 5k now each run or I’d be letting myself down but I can see sense in what u r saying.

[UnfitNoMore Graduate in reply to TeacherWendy]

The NHS guidelines are for 150 minutes a week cardio, or 75 minutes vigorous cardio (running) so you have some room for manoeuvre.

I'd go long on one and short on another, keeping the total the same for week one, then you can extend the total by up to 10% a week. In a cycle of runs I do one long, one speed/tempo, and recovery runs of varying distances... 8 of those are at a comfortable pace... then leading into a 5k PB attempt I'll go tempo, sort slow, shorter slow, race.

[Buddy34 Graduate]

Speed will come eventually just focus on enjoying your running and maybe find a nice new route to try out 😊

[ArthurJG Graduate]

Does it help if I tell you that top competitive athletes don’t even try to run at their best pace most of the time? They do 60 to 80 percent of their running at (by their standards) a very slow pace. Even parkrun advises not to try for a PB every week: one all out effort every two to four weeks is plenty and take it easier in between. And remember that advice is if you DO want to be competitive. If you don’t then you can afford to be even more relaxed about pace.

It’s about whether you want to PROVE your fitness by running fast or IMPROVE your fitness by running slow. Even if you really want to get faster, most runs should be focussed on the latter. Once or twice a month is enough for the former.

[TeacherWendy Graduate in reply to ArthurJG]

Thanks for that. Still very much a learner.

[ArthurJG Graduate in reply to TeacherWendy]

As indeed we all are, that’s why we’re here

[SlowLoris]

Your PB is your 'Race Pace'. As the others have said, most training is done much slower than that.

[RunningChocoholic Graduate]

Hi Wendy, well done on your progress. I completed this last year but have recently done it a second time. I too became obsessed with times, pace and trying to go faster but the reality was if just didn’t work for me. I now do three runs a week: 4-6k, 6k and push for an extra km at the weekend. I’ve switched off the ‘pace’ on Map my Run and just have it kick in at each km with time of day. This has made my runs far more enjoyable, my pace is steady, not fast but ok, and I’ve found I can just settle into the runs easily and cover much more distance. On Saturday I got to 10k and it’s purely because I’m not worried about my time anymore. If my speed increases over time so be it but if it doesn’t I’ll take the slower pace, my playlist and a big smile at what I’ve achieved. Best of luck x

[TeacherWendy Graduate in reply to RunningChocoholic]

Thanks for that.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Progress will not always be a resolutely upward curve.

Well done.

[E27M14 Graduate]

If you’d asked me six months ago I would have said I am not at all a competitive person. I would also have said that you wouldn’t catch me running unless my life depended on it 😂

I am exactly the same though. I over examine the stats and expect a PB in every run. I feel like I have really been struggling the last two weeks. The runs have been harder work than they were a few weeks ago, and I’m always disappointed with the times. I’m not really sure what to do really. Except stop being so hard on myself because not long ago I couldn’t even run for 60 seconds and now I’m beating myself up over not being able to run 5km in under 40 minutes 😂

[TeacherWendy Graduate in reply to E27M14]

That’s so funny. It’s just like me!