W1R1 harder than last Saturday’s 5k parkrun

[SteveA45]

For several months I have been athletic walking a parkrun 5k each Saturday. To improve my parkrun time, I recently switched to intermittent Run-Walk using my Fitbit 0.4k cues. Unfortunately it was the coldest day yet when I tried the C25k W1R1 podcast for today’s Run-Walk workout. Subjectively, I found it harder with 60 sec Run & 90 sec Walk compared with my recent parkrun >2 min Run & > 3 min Walk, even doing a double (800 m) starting run & a one and half (600 m) finishing run. Was it the cold or because the 90 sec recovery was too short for my body?

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Welcome to the forum and well done on getting started.

This guide to the plan is essential reading healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Enjoy your journey.

[Buddy34 Graduate]

I think you've been used to running/ walking your way and now you're doing it by the way of c25k which is different. Make sure you are going slow and slower again if needed and remember to drink lots of water per day and not just on run days. You can do it and your body will get used to it. Good luck and well done 🤗

[SteveA45 in reply to Buddy34]

I think that at the start I was drinking water in excess, because I was trying to keep hydrated on Run-Walks under 45 mins. It seems to be generally agreed that there is no need to drink during a 5k.

[Buddy34 Graduate in reply to SteveA45]

Yes that's correct if you're drinking enough each day you shouldn't need any while actually running a 5k

[SteveA45 in reply to Buddy34]

Keeping track of water consumption and general hydration balance is quite hard and a bit too time consuming for my liking. Fortunately, I like real decaf coffee and my ALDI coffee maker produces 450ml super easily.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Just different Follow this plan and you will be running for the whole 30 minutes

[SteveA45 in reply to Oldfloss]

I am not sure that my objective is to run for 30 mins. At 68, I am trying to take care of my knees by avoiding putting excessive strain on them. I started out reading Jeff Galloways books on Walking & the Run-Walk-Run method. My objective has to be able to run and walk at approximately the same pace, so I can switch between the two freely. The C25k is closer to Jeffing, as it uses shorter intervals , while I have used 0.4k cues because the allow Strava to directly report the individual run & walk lap pace. I am not sure how well the C25k will fit into my trainingt. schedule. I do a parkrun on Saturday, speed work on Monday and a long run-walk on Wednesday, with 2 days recovery before the next parkrun. In fact, when I checked Strava, I realised that I did Wk 1 Day 1 on Tuesday with no recovery before it! If I count a C25k session as ‘speed work’, then I can only do one a week and it will take me more than 6 months to get through the videos.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to SteveA45]

Well it's your journey..but..unless you have existing knee trouble this plan is so useful.

There is a lot of misconception about running and knee damage...

I had an MRI scan on my legs a year ago..( not running related)..the result showed...great knees..amongst other things

I am 69..andi run three times a week and my long run is usually 1hr +

My HM in March was 2hrs plus

If you follow this plan week by week, you may find everything else improves too

[SteveA45 in reply to Oldfloss]

I had an X-ray on my left knee a couple of years ago, because I damaged it kneeling on a hard surface and reaching into a cupboard. They reported just the usual boney spurs and age degeneration. All they suggested was pain killers and I have only recently weaned myself off them! Very reluctant to do anything that might exacerbate any residual problems. I try to do 10K as my slow long walk-run and find it simpler to do longer 0.4k intervals than very short time intervals. I embarked on C25k because the local running club has a new class starting in the New Year and I was impatient to try it out. However, I suspect that I will gain more from regularly doing the Strength & Flexibility exercises on my rest days!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to SteveA45]

Pop across to our forum..great ideas there !

[SteveA45 in reply to Oldfloss]

Oldfloss - can you please provide the link!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to SteveA45]

healthunlocked.com/strength...

Do check out pinned posts..we put up a knee one a week or so ago..x

[SteveA45 in reply to Oldfloss]

Thanks I will check it out!

[Rumour Graduate in reply to SteveA45]

Hey Steve, I had knee problems (I am the same age as you) that mean't I couldn't get up from a sitting position without help, either from the arms of a chair or pressing on my knees when I rose to try and limit the pain. After completing the C25K course, I found my knees got progressively better until I had no problems at all.

In about September last year we both had to stop running because of health issues. (Me heart and her bleeds into the eyes) The difference I have noticed as my knees deteriorated back to where they were was startling! Better support from the joints by building the muscle with running is definitely a bonus.

[SteveA45 in reply to Rumour]

The hospital gave me knee strengthening exercises to do, but needless to say I never got round to doing them but just relied on the pain killers. Now I have been forced off the pain killers because they could potentially be causing some abnormal liver function blood test results. I agree that walking (or run-walk) will be improving the health of my knees, which was what I relied on when dropping the pain killers to zero. I remain unconvinced that in the long term running, rather than keeping power run-walking, is necessarily best for the knees. It all depends if you believe mankind evolved to be long distance runners or intermittent run-walkers. However, in your situation, if you are prevented from running then run-walking could prove a less stressful means of retaining knee health without compromising you heart or eyes. In any case, doing suitable knee exercises would also be beneficial to you!

[Rumour Graduate in reply to SteveA45]

Knee exercises are good. But running is not only good for the knees, it is also a cardio vascular workout and gets all of the joints moving. If you really don't feel the running is beneficial to you, maybe walking and jogging is the way to go. That is what we are doing as we try to get back to some level of fitness.

I believe we are built for running, it is a natural response to danger and part of the way we react when threatened. But maybe as we get older it isn't so available to us. Thing is, we can train ourselves to run, I know a guy who is 85 and regularly beats me in Parkrun! He has a very positive attitude, he takes no prisoners and won't be beat. Much stronger mentally than I am and I guess that is the secret. I have doubts and he doesn't.

I wish you well Steve, hope the knees improve and that you are able to get through this initial stage and you achieve the fitness you want.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Rumour]

...and I got my first sub 30 minute 5K this week...70 in April..training for my next HM currently...

Running certainly works 😉

[Rumour Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Now you are showing off, Oldfloss! My best is just 35 minutes. And as for doing a HM? I'll be with you, but sadly in spirit only.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Rumour]

Not showing off...just amazed how running evolves and how things happen when least expected.

I love the HM distance...you can take everything in xx

[SteveA45 in reply to Oldfloss]

At the shorter 5k distance, most of us can probably run faster than we can walk, unless someone knows how to racewalk. Personally, I achieved my personal best of 34:33 last Saturday doing Run-Walk, and realise I can easily improve further! Hence the desire to work on intervals, by doing C25k, to reduce my time for each walking period and thus find my optimum run-walk times for maximum performance.

[SteveA45 in reply to Rumour]

My fitness is gradually improving and it helps that I have lost more than 10 kg over the 6 months as it is easier on the knees and promotes cardio-vascular health. Fight or flight response is designed to get us out of danger, not for ultra running like marathons. Jeff Galloway's philosophy is that almost everyone will need to do some walking in order to complete a marathon, even if they just walk through the refreshment points. He says that most would improve their times if, rather than enforced walking towards the end, they scheduled short but frequent walks from the start. If it works for a marathon or half-marathon, then logically it should work for shorter distances like 5k. His principle is that the walk breaks should be so short that you can coast through them with virtually no effort using a glide technique. Needless to say, I am nowhere close to achieving this in practice, since I am gradually moving from walking to run-walking. My objective was to slowly cutting down on the walking intervals, in a similar way to C25k, but not so far as to illiminate them!