Parkrunners unite!

[IsThatTrue]

Right, lets find all the park runners we have on here. I did my first park run on sat.

I am very impressed with my time of 33.18 :) I am ridiculously pleased with myself.

So park runners, where are you?

My P.B for a 5k is 27.30 and I have done a sub hour 10k but my times are sooo variable. Sometimes I feel like I am flying along, other times I keep having to fight myself to not just break into a walk because it all feels too hard!
Does anyone monitor their heart rate whilst running? What should it be for the optimum fitness gains?

standing good on you! I have the 30day shred at home from before ds2. I really should dust it off, I just find it hard to fit it in.

molly well done on your marathon that is amazing! Last year I did the moonwalk (walking marathon overnight) bit I was 9 weeks pregnant and I felt awful through it all, I could h contemplate running one! Well done.

mooncup I'm still hoping for a sub 30, sub 25 is a long way off for me, but well done. Keep focused and you'll get there.

wiley I find some days are much much easier than others for running. There is a massive correlation between my times and how often ds2 woke the night before. I don't monitor my heart rate while running, hopefully somebody with a bit more knowledge will be along soon.

I'd love a sub 30 ParkRun. I've done sub 30 5k races but both the park runs I go to are hilly so never say never but feel ill struggle! 31:31 is my best so far

I wanted to do my first park run on Saturday but was too scared in case I couldn't do it (despite running 5 miles in the week). I've never run outside only on a treadmill so worried it will be more difficult?
I went to the gym anyway and ran 5k so I know I can do it so will be going along for the first time this Saturday!

I find being outside a lot easier than the treadmill and having other people around u really helps. Intend to pick out a person when I'm on route n try n stick with them and use them to help me keep my pace

29.29 this week - I tell myself under 30 is good, under 29 is great, and I'm still working on getting under 28! (PB 28.16, but that was when I was training for a half-marathon, and consequently running 4 times a week)

Yay a Parkrun thread! I've been doing it for a while now, but not as often as I mean to. Desperate to get my 50 t-shirt but have a way to go yet! Haven't read whole thread but are any of you Parkrun tourists? I'm not - I've only done my most local one, but I'd like to try another nearby one.

holmes I have done 2 parkruns at 2 different locations. We have loads locally so I can pick and choose courses. It also depends if I have ds2 in the buggy or not as our most local one is in the woods and just not suitable for my buggy.

imwoodword I have never got on with treadmills but I reckon outside running should be ok, especially when you start looking round at your surroundings and watching the other runners. Honestly just give it a go, even if you end up walking it, you'd still be cheered across the line I'd bet!

melaniecheeks 28.16 is a brilliant time. My parkrun pb is 33.18 but my 5k pb is 32.15. I have done a few 10k runs recently training for a race, so I'm going to go for a 5k tomo and see if I can push myself

Melanie - your times sound a bit like mine. PB is 28 something, but I haven't got under 29:30 for a while! For me, the secret to getting faster is to stop just doing steady same length runs, and do some intervals and speed work. Oh and losing some weight! I will feel lighter and quicker when I've ditched the holiday flab. .

There only one parkrun near me
until this weekend just gone! It was the only new park run in the uk this weekend so people had come from all over the place. Some had come up north from London nutters. And word on the ParkRun street is that it's possibly the toughest uk route so I wasn't just being soft! Lol

My DH does park run and my 9yo DS has been desperate to join him as one of his mates goes with his dad. He went the first time a couple of weeks ago and ran 26.53 and the week after he beat his dad at 25.48! He's never run before how I miss those days of boundless energy.

mellie at people travelling so far for a new parkrun. But just think how fit you'll get conquering a hard one.

holmes I'm still 2 1/2 stone over a healthy weight, so I'm hoping as the weight goes down do will my pb.

thesmallprint well done to your DS. I too miss the days of never getting tired and wanting to run everywhere!

inwood outside running is much easier than treadmill as there is so much to look at. You will be great, and parkrun is really relaxed and friendly. Just go for it, you will surprise yourself. If you can do 5 miles indoors, 5k will be more than fine.

My local is quite flat, thinking of trying some of the others!

I was playing spot-the-tourist at a new parkrun the other week, there were loads but most of them had only travelled 30-odd miles.

inwood, loads of people walk at parkrun so if you can run 5 miles you'll be absolutely fine. You do lose yourself in the scenery when you're outside and I don't think you notice how far/fast you've gone because it's not right in front of you all the time.

I'm worried about pacing myself - on the treadmill I know what speed to do, concerned that when its just down to me I'll peak too early! Thanks for the encouragement all, dedin

Fat fingers! Definitely going to go down to do it on Saturday.

I found it a bit tricky at first because it's tempting to dash off at the start with everyone else. If you haven't got a GPS watch with a pace alarm then you could always find some songs on jog.fm that are the right speed, at least for the first km until you get into your stride.

I ran 7k today this morning and took the DDs geocaching in the afternoon (uphill with DD2 on my back) and now I'm wishing I had a foam roller. Ouch.

Good advice from eau about the pacing. Make sure you position yourself about 3/4 of the way from the front so you do not get caught up in the excitement of the fast front runners. If you know from your gym work roughly your estimated time for 5k maybe ask when you arrive for someone who is running about the same time. Everyone is very friendly. Alternatively, most of the park runs have a facebook page so you could drop them a line and say "hi I am new, I need a buddy" and sure someone would offer to hook up with you. I started park run on my own but a smile and a hello goes a long way and I have met some lovely folk. this was a log winded way of saying GO FOR IT!!!! If you go off too fast, you can always walk and catch your breath

Most importantly...don't forget your barcode (DFYB) and remember its a run not a race

imwooward I found pacing hard on my first parkrun as I kinda got swept along with everyone, but it's only because ours has a tiny bottleneck near the beginning. But I was always told by a friend that if I feel I've gone too fast to slow down, there's always a slower pace, and if you can slow down but keep jogging to recover, it's easier to speed up again. Not that walking to recover would be a bad thing tbh. As standingonlego said, it's a run not a race, and the only person you really compete against is yourself.

I'm heading out for a 5k this morning when my parents get up to watch the kids. We'll see if I can push myself since I've only been doing 10ks recently.

I usually run with my dog - so we start at the back of the pack. Our's is a 3 lap route. First lap, I'm overtaking the slower runners and picking my way through to a less crowded part in the middle. Second lap I keep out of the way of the faster runners who are heading for the finish! I enjoy the third lap as there wont really be anyone passing me, and I try to reel in one or 2 runners in front of me. But I think that finishing stretch is where I could pick up a bit more speed - I should start my final burst sooner.

5k in 30.18min but half a mile of that was on the beach which was hard! I'm very impressed though my pb before was 32.48, so by training for 10k I've knocked 1.30 off my time

Well done IsThatTrue that's amazing!
I did a little 2 mile jaunt around the streets as a first ever run outside and it was ok - except my hair bobble broke so I was constantly pushing hair out of the way!

Well done IsThat! I did 5k's worth of hills tonight as part of my marathon training and did it far faster than usual - last few runs have all been 6 or 7 miles.

High five to Molly. MASSIVE WELL DONE. We were on the same C25K thread a couple of years ago (I have nc'd several times since so you won't recognise me). You are brilliant!

imwoodword congratulations on your first al fresco run! Hope it went well, lovely evening for it!IsThat I think i need a few longer runs to help my 5k time and you have given me the push i need for a decent leg stretcher tomorrow.

imwoodward well done on getting out into the big wide world. I love running outside, there's always something new to see.

ohone it's amazing how training for different things really helps, whereas you get stuck if you keep doing the same training over and over.

standing I'm glad to be of service people had said to me that doing longer distances help your times on short runs but I'm not sure I was all that convinced. But it honestly worked as you know you can push that bit harder as you're not trying to keep something 'in the tank' as it were for the rest of the run.