Never thought I'd post in THIS section!

[MaureenMLove]

And at the ripe old age of 49 too!

So me and my other half (best friend that is, not husband!) have taken the plunge and moved from regular road walking, to cross country (woods) and we've been throwing a bit of jogging into the mix, much to the hilarity of our family. The gym or exercise classes is something that I have managed to avoid my entire life!

Today we challenged ourselves to the local Park Run route, to get a better idea of what we can do.

We ran a whole 1K! A moment, please, to marvel in this achievement! .

We are surrounded by lots of people who run, swim, cycle and are generally fit, but they are all a wee be competitive for us! We don't want to discuss what we're doing with them, because it becomes a competition and we really don't want that. However, we could probably do with a few tips for getting it right.

I've nicked DDs Fitbit for a while and today's run activity came out at 7.20 km pace. Is this reasonable for a first go? Or is that too fast to maintain it for any length of time?

We've been walking 2 or 3 times a week for about 5 years and do on average 5/6km each time on a road walk. When we're going through the woods it's more like 4km, but it's much more up and down hills and hard going at times.

So, we're in reasonable shape I believe, but what next? Is the 5K Park Run achievable to do you think?

Basically you, dear Mumsnetters are going to be the place we actually tell people were doing this! And then one day, maybe we'll announce to our friends, that were doing a half marathon! . OK, maybe not, let's just work on the 2K for now!

Well done! 5k definitely achievable, especially as you've been exercising already. And park run is perfect as it is very welcoming and inclusive. There are a variety of apps called couch to 5k, which take you on a programme of running and walking, with the running sections gradually increasing. I think there is a thread about it somewhere. 7.20 pace is fine, it really depends how you feel doing it. Many new runners go too fast at the start and can be disheartened by feeling out of breath, so finding a pace that's right for you helps.
As for a half marathon, you never know! 5 up years ago a friend tried to get me to do a 10k and I refused, couldn't imagine why anyone would want to run that far! So this year I did my first marathon! The nicest thing bout running though is that you can do it your way - whatever distances, pace and frequency you like. So have fun and good luck!

Wow! A whole marathon, that's fantastic! Well done.

We are really rather proud of ourselves today. 5 years ago when we started walking, it was more about actually having time for us to walk and talk and get a bit active at the same time. We remember back then running from one lamp post to the next just for a laugh and being completely knackered.

Let's hope we don't lose momentum. Weekdays is endurance up and down hills in the woods and then we'll see if we can get a little bit further than 1K at the weekend.

Thank you for replying.

You're doing it the right way, just gradual increases in what you do. And all those hills will certainly do you good!

I think you're doing brilliantly!

It's still less than a year since I started running, and I won't bore you with stories of my progress (I've scattered it in enough threads already). But I was always a pretty good walker, who never ever saw myself as anything more active.

I think in miles, so won't comment on your pace. Also, because it's irrelevant for Parkrun. I volunteer at mine as tail walker (it used to be called tail runner, but it was changed earlier this year because they want to stress it's not all about running). Parkrun is also definitely not a race (well, I suspect it is for a small group of fast runners at ours, but it's easy to ignore them).

It's nice at the back, really friendly and, at mine, a mix of slow jogging and walking. You sound as if you'd fit in just fine. And it might even give you something to look forward too at weekends.

So, I started this thread on 23rd July, just 5 weeks ago....

Today, I ran 4.5k! . I also ran 3 times across the beach, when I was on holiday. All of which were in excess of 3k!

Tomorrow, I'm going for 5! After all it's only another 500m right?

I appear to be quite good at this shit. #neversaynever!

cool :)

Well done!

Fantastic! What great progress. Carry on & have fun!

Maureen, well done! It's great you've kept at it. Are you noticing any changes to your body or well being yet? Have you done a Parkrun yet?
An important bit of advice is to make sure you have a decent sports bra and decent trainers. It's worth paying out for the trainers to avoid paying out for physio later!