A 10K in the sunshine ☀️

[Jools2020]

I’ve been working hard to get back to fitness running to heart rate, gradually extending my long runs, speed intervals, the usual stuff that we do when for whatever reason we have to take a long break from running.

For the last 4 or 5 weeks my long runs have started to hit 10K and beyond. (So I feel I can post on here!) Most of these runs have been in low heart rate zones.

Today I had intended a 2 hour run. But I changed my mind and decided to run a 10K the way I used to! Yes, I’d still keep a wary eye on my heart rate but I’d switch the 1Km autolap back on and be aware of my pace a bit more. Just to see!

Vest and shorts today I thought! It was the right choice. I had a light breakfast and took a Tailwind drink with me, as well as water. I never used to do this in the past for a 10K, but have got into the habit of doing it now for my longer runs, since  SueAppleRun kindly sent me some!

A 10 minute warm up with a few strides and I’m ready to go! I did find it a little tricky to set the right pace. 10K is a long way if you start too fast, but I wasn’t far out. As I’m running, my mind decides to tell me that if I get my skates on I might try and improve my 5K time as well! This, I think, turned out to be a bit of a mistake. I started to push myself really before I should have. The 6th km I had to slow down.

I ran on and tried to listen to my music! All went well until the last couple of kilometres when I did start to struggle a little. I eased off and it felt like my last km was at a snail’s pace - funny how that works out though - it wasn’t as slow as it felt!

At the end I was really tired but the pace was comparable to how I was running when I was at peak fitness. Not quite there yet - but pretty close! My heart rate climbed up a little with each km and I ended up with an average of 150.

Very happy with the run and I did manage to improve my 5K time to just over 40 minutes. (It’s never been my favourite distance!)

😊🏃‍♀️👍☀️☕️🍰

[SueAppleRun 10 Miles]

That's a run to be really proud of Jools, you reined it in when you needed to and ran the whole 10k, so good to have seen your strength return, you have worked hard to get back and you are 😄

[Jools2020 Half Marathon in reply to SueAppleRun]

Thanks SueAppleRun . Yes, it’s taken a few months! 😊 I haven’t always felt like going out but your support has been so helpful 👏👍🥰

[Annieapple]

🍏Beautiful day beautiful photos & your beautiful smile!! Congratulations on pushing through to 10K … back where you wanna be!! That training, hard work & determination have played a role!! SO happy for you!! ☺️🎈

[Jools2020 Half Marathon in reply to Annieapple]

Aaw thanks Annieapple . It does feel good to be almost back where I was! 😊

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

Hi Jools; congratulations on a very successful run. The last 2k always feels tough when upping pace and distance at the same time, but that is what you wanted to do on the day, so well done you! All headed in the right direction and great to see. By way of encouragement, my comeback started last September, and only recently has my average heart rate for long runs dropped below 140. I credit the NRC HM plan, but that isn’t for everyone. I think it stops me making mistakes🙄.

Keep posting on here as often as you like!! Staying in touch with friends when they are IC or recovering is important. Looking forward to following your progress 🙂

[Jools2020 Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

Thanks! I have temporarily paused increasing distance, and I’ll continue to run by heart rate on most of my long runs as I can see results. Yes, I started in about September, too! I had an online coach and although what she was telling me to do was common sense, I couldn’t have stuck to it on my own. It does get a little tedious, although she pushed me on my intervals running to do more than I thought I was capable of doing!

To begin with, my pace on my long runs was about 11:30 as I struggled to keep my heart rate down. I’m now running a lot faster at the same heart rate - my average for my last long run of 1hr 53mins was 130 - it did creep up a bit to 135 for the last couple of kms! I covered 12 km at low effort.

Interesting to hear you are doing something similar. I look forward to following your progress, too!

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Jools2020]

That sounds really good. I have never tried heart rate running, in fact for the first couple of years I daren’t even look at it! A coach in the ear does help. Like you, I have increased interval pace, and the pace of last week’s 12K was pushed up by 15 seconds/k. It was labelled a tempo run; 2 k easy, 8k at 5k pace then 2k easy to finish. I get into problems when I push too hard before I am properly prepared, so having a coach to work out when I am ready to push on and at what rate is just what I need to keep me off the IC.

[Jools2020 Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

That sounds like a great way to run 12K.

Oh my coach also advised me to do strength training and supplied me with some videos. When she said she wanted me to do weight training, I thought she must be having a laugh! But now I do that, too!

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Jools2020]

Sounds as though we have similar regimes. My exercises tend to reflect the rehab from my most recent injury! I use resistance bands around my thighs for crab walks and squats. On top of that I have a nerve glide, which instantly resolved Achilles pain (Achilles was merely the site of the pain, not what was causing it) Adductor stretches and finally a Happy Baby Pose …which I didn’t think I could manage, but it turned out to be easier than it looked. I use dumbells too, but not that frequently at the moment. As you will know, the trick is to keep them going, even when the problem seems to be fixed. We are all human!

[Jools2020 Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

I didn’t have any injuries fortunately but I had pneumonia all over Christmas 2023 which took me out of running for 3 months. After working hard to get my fitness back and repeating most of c25K I caught Covid. I wasn’t that ill and didn’t have a cough but my heart rate was up for weeks. That was when I hired a coach. I didn’t have the heart to do it all again on my own! It sounds like what you are doing has worked. 😊

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Jools2020]

I think so; I have just had a session with my spiky massage ball, ironing out a few lumps in my peroneal muscles ready for a planned 10 miler tomorrow . Running hills always makes them tight. I think turning injury repair exercises into regular maintenance habits can save a lot of time out of action….but always cross fingers when you say such things!!

[Jools2020 Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

My goodness you sound dedicated! I just do a few stretches after my runs & jump in the bath 🤣 maybe I need to do a bit more research! Maybe the bath cures everything! I’m 70 now so expect a few aches.

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon]

And there’s a photo of a happy runner 🙂

Your hard work has clearly paid off and you were able to run for 1hr23 mins which is, in itself, a huge achievement. Well done 👍😎

[Jools2020 Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Thank you, IP. My runs have been so controlled for over 6 months, it was great to break loose!

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Jools2020]

🤗🥰

[Sandraj39 Half Marathon]

Lovely photos…lovely run. Well done Jools2020 ! 👍🙂

[Jools2020 Half Marathon in reply to Sandraj39]

Thank you Sandraj39 . I was happy with that one! Back to low HR for the next run, though. 😊

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Hey there! You can always post here ... it's good to see you back. I'm sure it must feel really good to be getting back to peak fitness again. Well done for sticking with it 👏👏👏 That sounds like a 'victory' run .

[Jools2020 Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Thanks - yes it did feel like a victory run! I’ve done a few 10Ks over the past 4 or 5 weeks but they’ve been low HR and part of longer runs. This one was an ‘I’m going to run for 10K today’ run! And I worked quite hard in the second half. It feels great to be getting my fitness back. Need to keep up the consistency now I haven’t got a coach watching me!

[misswobble Marathon]

Well done Jools! Lovely weather for a longer run. It’s a pleasure to be out there not after being wet for months on end 😀.

[Jools2020 Half Marathon in reply to misswobble]

Thanks! Yes it was gorgeous this morning, too ☀️

[Cowladyrunning Marathon]

That's a great run after working your fitness back up 😃 Looks a lovely sunny run too.