As you may know, I'm due to run my first HM in March with one of my boys.
He's 20, I will be 58.
I'm following Abi's plan to the letter (mostly). I've trained steadily and incrementally and am trying to follow all guidance. My son on the other hand barely runs more than 4k, but ONCE did 9k - back in July!
He's way faster than me over those distances, but as time has gone on I've allowed my mind to toywith the idea of us reaching the finish line at a similar time, as he fades over the unknown distance...
Tonight he ran 19k! Just like that. In just over 2 hours too. How? Just how? It's not fair! My dream of getting to the finish line first is well and truly shattered. Haha!
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linda9389
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The idea of us finishing together was very tongue-in-cheek 😀. What really amazes me is how he jumped the distance. It's taken me months of steady running to get from 10k to 16k! I'm not advocating his approach for one minute, but I do envy his 'I've got this, no worries' attitude 🙂.
It sounds like your 10k was a lovely experience. Do you still run with your 19 year old?
Yes, we normally go to park run together, but he or I have been busy each Saturday for the last couple months, so we haven't managed it for one reason or another. But the PR became our 'thing' to do together lol.
I am rapidly going off your son! Is it not enough that he has age and gender (and probably beauty too) on his side, but he feels the need to flaunt it in our wrinkly, liver-spotted faces too! 😜😂
You will do just great Linda and he will be ready to take photos of you triumphantly crossing the finish line for posterity 😁
The question both you and he needs to ask is - what will this 20 YO be doing when he is 58!!???? Age 72, I was recently moaning to a fellow parkrunner (who is 52) about my difficulties - he looked at me and said, "I can't even imagine doing what you are doing when I am 72!!!!! "
Speaking as someone that admittedly didn't (and still doesn't) do it the textbook way, there's a lot to be said for self-confidence and/or denial! That's my approach anyway. Not a recommendation by any means—fit, strong running should be everyone's goal, not just getting to the end—but through luck more than design it's worked fine for me so far 😁
Anyway, you don't want to share your triumphant finish photo! Group shots are for the medals at the end. Your finish is just for you!
But how is he feeling today? I generally feel the same about my husband. He trains way less than me, and generally runs all races faster than me. However, I recover almost immediately, while it takes him well over a week to recover. That's where all the training pays off. I would think your son will be suffering more than you.
Thank gawd for that Linda, you had me worried with your title - I thought you wouldn't be able to run the HM for some reason! Sorry I do of course commiserate with you for the loss of your dream 😋 but I'm relieved you are still running with us!! 😌 Don't forget to look at age-graded calculations if there are any, you will still come out on top! 😊 xx
Why don’t you go for age graded finish time instead? For example, if your son Finished in 2h15, you could finish in 3h and still have a higher age graded result - thus effectively finishing before him 😁
Yes, e.g. using this calculator, your genders, ages and enter some time to get a grading. howardgrubb.co.uk/athletics... 😀 it would give 43% and 45% for you.
Thanks for this. I'm aiming for 2h30m which I think is giving me 55% vs 43.5% if he finished in 2h15m (just adding a couple of km to his time yesterday). And I plan to continue training ... whereas when I spoke to him earlier he was planning on drinking to alleviate the soreness in his legs
He will of course simply dismiss these numbers as poppycock and say first over the line is first over the line ... but he'll learn .... and I'll already know
Yep my son is 17 and Can knock out a 21 minute 5k no problem. They have gazelle legs. Don’t be disheartened, enjoy the race and the achievement of it for both of you 🤗
Just looking at last week’s Parkrun results for my 50+ husband...hmmm...18th / only person in that age category that high in the field / time 20:32... He keeps getting annoyed he can’t do sub 20 mins!!! I wish I could hate him, but I can’t even blame age. 🙄😂❤️
I’ll be a significantly distant second, with lots of people between us Linda 😂😂😂 No way I’m competing in this household. The only time he promised to stay with me was our first Parkrun, and it only lasted 1 of the 3 laps. 🙁❤️
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