C25K+ STAMINA podcast - Such fun!

[iain-strachan]

So this is the last of the three C25K+ podcasts to try, and must say I really enjoyed it - though it felt pretty relaxed and not a test of stamina. Maybe doing it after dark meant I took it easy. The cool night air is great for running, isn't it?

First thing - the music is much more palatable than "Stepping Stones"! Sometimes it felt like I was just floating along to the beat, being effortlessly driven by it.

Two year ago, I attempted Stepping Stones but had a bad back. I had great difficulty keeping in time with the beat, and ended up doing a weird tripping thing to get back on the beat, which I'm sure wasn't good for my already wrecked back! Didn't run for a long time after that.

But this time, as I said it just seemed to mesh perfectly.

Not sure how much it stretched me, as Strava tells me that my previous runs (park run, c25k etc) are at about 164 steps per minute, and STAMINA goes 158 (10 mins) 160 (20 mins) and 165 (5 mins) so only the last 5 are my normal pace.

In fact on previous runs I've been experimenting with a 180 bpm piece, and though I didn't use it on the last parkrun I found my pace on the parkrun was hitting 170-172.

All of which meant STAMINA was a pretty chilled out effort.

Not a fabulous distance - about 4.4 km in the 35 mins, but that'll be a good benchmark for repeating it, which I certainly intend to do.

So my ratings of the three:

Stepping Stones: Meh. Awful music and the pace a bit slow for me.

Speed: Wow! Hard work even given it's only 18 minutes. Those intervals really take it out of you. But definitely one to keep plugging at. Also you get the prettiest graphs on Garmin connect that really show the intervals. But then I'm a data nerd. It's my job.

Stamina: Well, as Miranda's mum says on the TV show: "Such fun"!

It really was. Loved it.