Running goals, motivation and chat 2026 - Part 3!

Hello all! I have been awol for a bit again. I did a spot of parkrun tourism 23/5 and managed my best time in 12 years 26.25, edging closer to my all time pb.
Yesterday I did another half marathon, the route changed at the last minute to a much more hilly one, it was red hot, I'd hardly slept and to top it all off I fell over at mile 3! It was a 2 loop race and I was very very tempted to stop at 1 lap. Luckily some of my run club members were also running and kept me going. I managed my 3rd best half marathon time, 2h 15, which I'm very happy with on a day where everything felt against me!

@SFRSmumthank you for the tip on the water. Any recommendations for water bottles - obviously something I don’t have to carry. No access to water on the run. No water bubblers.

Thanks @SFRSmum it went ok. It was hot, hilly and I was more hungover than I would have liked to be 😂. The first half was a struggle but my friend was really thoughtful and didn’t moan about waiting for me up the hills. Though by about mile 8 I think I’d sweated most of the alcohol out and I got into my stride. At the end of the race I had to wait for my friend as he was starting to flag. I could have sprinted the last mile but I thought it would have been rude to do that as he had waited for me earlier in the race. We did do a sprint to the finish line and we ended up with the exact same time. 2:02 which I think was pretty respectable considering the 1700+ ft of elevation and very uneven terrain.

Hope you enjoyed your social run and hike @SFRSmum

well done on your family parkrun success @BogRollBOGOF

@Whataninterestinglookingpotato hope the half goes well, and the head is not foggy this morning 🤣 a good run will be just the ticket for a semi hangover.

Well done to all @BogRollBOGOF family, what an excellent family effort!

Run club for me this morning for a social run, then a 8 mile hilly hike with family. Feel like I should have a rest day soon, but I've got too much to fit in 🤣

Lovely to hear about all the little running DC! Such a lovely thing to run with your kids and instil the love of it in them. My DC are older now but dd1 is nearly as fast as me now and dd2 is about half way through couch to 5k. They’re doing well!

well done on your sub 25 5k @SFRSmum that’s a great achievement.

local parkrun for me today. As I have said before it’s not a fast course and is across framers fields. I had a hard track session last night and it was quite an effort to get round today. But managed 23:23 and was first in my age category. So that was fun.

I have a trail half tomorrow but I have spend the afternoon getting a bit drunk with friends in the garden so will see how it goes. I was just going to bimble around but my young running friend (the guy I call my running son) has now decided to do an on the day sign up and wants to run it with me so I’ll have to pull my finger out. Pray for me! 😂😂.

@Lemontreeinthecity She got under 30mins last time we went and she can do the full 5k without stopping now but we do slow right down to a jog when she needs it. It took about 6 months of going regularly for her to be able to do it without stopping though. Biggest (and most obvious!) thing that made a difference is making sure she has water when we are running.

I use it as my easy run when I'm with her and don't push her at all, it's all at her pace, so she still enjoys going. Big bug bare of mine is seeing these poor kids getting dragged around by parents to while they are crying.

@SFRSmumwow sub 25 min 5K that’s fantastic!
how did the 9 year old go?
I run with my 7 year old which at times can be tough as they stop and want to walk a bit …when I’m ready to run faster the whole 5k

any tips ? 😊

Not so subtle brag I'm afraid

With my focus being very heavily focused on distance, not speed, over the last 6 months, I haven't really raced many runs recently but today, everything fell into place at parkrun.

Well fuelled, my 9 year old who I usually run with had other plans and I was feeling strong. I achieved my goal for this year or getting a sub 25 min 5K (not parkrun I must add, it was 25min 15 seconds, that's my next goal!)

Very proud of myself!

Like others, parkrun I might have a banana or a nutty bar. Something small and light. I mostly run parkrun fasted though.

@Whataninterestinglookingpotato thanks, I think Ill go in at a later week, looking through the plan it looks to be very similar to my ultra plan, just the massive milage for the actual ultra is different 😂
I'm not aiming for a time, sub 5hrs probably and sub 4.30 would be amazing, but tbh I don't enjoy running super fast so I very rarely do it, hence all the ultras

@Lemontreeinthecityfor parkrun I eat a single slice of toast and jam at about 7:45

For parkrun I probably eat a bit of bread/toast with jam and peanut butter on it. For longer runs in the morning I would force down two pieces but not enjoy them.

if it’s a race of half marathon length or longer I would also have a flap jack near to the start of the race.

@Whataninterestinglookingpotatothank you - I wasn’t sure if it was a good time or not 😊
I think I’m going to practice my local Parkrun route twice - to maybe build up to 10k?
also curious as to what anyone eats on the morning of parkrun (8am).
Ive found muesli and milk makes me feel a bit sluggish….

I was away for the weekend so we were parkrun tourists. I had 12km in my plan for Monday but I binned that off, was way too hot for running. Then I had yesterday off work so did an early 5k but it was our running club charity night so I did another 5k last night as well, it was not fun! Got hill reps tomorrow so I’m glad it’s getting a bit cooler

@SFRSmum you may well be ok to go straight into week 8 of a training plan. I only trained for about 8 or 9 months weeks for my first one with a starting average weekly mileage of around 30 miles. Are you hoping for a time or just hoping to get around feeling somewhat human?

Welcome to the thread @Lemontreeinthecity a 30 min 5k is very respectable. Do you have a half in mind you’d like to aim for?

@Goditsmemargaret it is hard to motivation to run in this heat!! I hope you find your mojo again soon.

club run for me last night and 7 sweaty trail miles with the gang. I led a group made up of the few brave souls who turned up from the 8:30min/mile and 9 min/mile pace groups as neither group leader was around and there was only 7 of us who braved the heat. I had to make up a route on the spot as wasn’t expecting to have to lead. It was good fun, apart from my slight poor decision to run up the massive hill through the woods. But we all survived! I jumped straight in my pool fully clothed when I got home.

Hope others are coping ok in the heat.

I am seriously lacking in motivation and don't know why. I have a 5k race tomorrow, a fitness race (Hyrox style) in five weeks and a marathon in October.

I don't know what's wrong with me. I started ozempic 10 days ago, could that be it?

Hello 👋
Im hoping to get my running goals up this year to actually completing a half marathon. …maybe more !
im starting out with Parkrun. Completed 5k in 30 mins.
pace 6’22”.
no idea if that’s any good!
looking for motivation and tips.
also what to eat before.
😊

I'm feeling a bit lost with my training. I have a plan, I'm following as best as time allows but I feel way behind, the doubt is trickling in. I haven't managed as many of the back to back runs as id hoped and only managed 2 days of over 50k walk/run (mainly walking) in the last 6 weeks. My runs have mainly been slow and low, which is fine for keeping me ticking over but I'm not sure how good it is for pushing myself.
Hopefully get a good back to back weekend this weekend, although it'll be likely to be Sunday/Monday looking at l free time and then I'll be in a semi taper, semi as the 70 miler is a practice run for a 100 miler 6 weeks later (which I've decided to mainly walk)
I have to remember I felt the same before my may ultra and exceeded my expectations on that by quite some way.

Question on switching over to marathon training, I've signed up for 2, one at the end of September and one at the end of October. I'm currently running at least 40k a week usually more plus walking, will I be ok to go straight into week 8 of a 16 week plan (milage is the same, slightly lower)

Well done those who did races in the heat this weekend, must have been tough! OH says running in this heat is poor man's altitude training 🤣 I ran/walked a few miles yesterday and was dripping.
@TyneFilth how did the explore run go? I'm heading to North Devon for a running weekend in a few weeks, got Copilot to suggest some trail routes and the four it gave me all say "medium to high elevation"!

Well done to today's racers! Not the conditions for PBs at all. I'm on holiday in Devon for a few days and about to go for an hour at a gentle pace (not least because I forgot my sports bra) which will be exploring style - in Ilfracombe so quite hilly! Just waiting for my dinner to digest a bit.

Well done to you and your dd for completing the half marathon, especially on a hilly course not to mention the weather!

How lovely you got to cross the finish line together too.

Thank you all, and well done to you too @SFRSmum.
That's appalling they only gave you half a bottle of water at the end!

It was far too hot to put a pb effort in and overall I wasn't impressed to be honest. Goody bag was sparse too.