Running goals, motivation and chat 2025 - Part 2!

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Hi all, just setting up a second thread - I hope you don’t mind @Jumbojem but the other one was getting a bit close to ending…

Sorry to keep harping on about the weather but it’s still raining up here so instead of running this morning I’m going to get back on my lovely water rowing machine which I’ve neglected totally since starting running back in Jan/Feb. I miss it (and I miss the muscle toning it gave me) so I’m going to get back on this morning for a change.

Might do parkrun tomorrow or a longer run, haven’t yet decided.

Blimey @Whataninterestinglookingpotato you are very fast. Well done.

@SoapCollector thanks for the shoe recommendation. I tend to wear asics, I did want brooks this time but I had a JL voucher and they didn’t sell them. Mine are some sort of cumulus. The contender 9 look good and there’s a trail shoe too I might try. I currently have NB trail shoes but find them narrow. I wore my orthotics in them last week for PF and they rubbed my instep.

My heels are narrow too. I tend to wear out the back of ankles on runners/ shoes despite using the lace lock holes to secure them. I can not wear any shoes not strapped on above the arch near the ankle. No loafers, courts, ballet pumps etc.

Things like compression socks are a nightmare as I have proportionately huge calves. My ankle is pretty much half my foot!

My heart rate has a broad range but I've been running for 10+ years.

Last Saturday at parkrun I pushed relatively hard and had an average heart rate of 161 and maxed at 183 (I'm mid-40s so 220- age is 170s). There wasn't a lot spare in the tank but I wasn't huffing at max.

Today I did a long, easy, run/ walk. Average heart rate was 117, but brought down by not pausing the watch for photos and other little pauses. Plus trail so gates, stiles causing psuses. A lot of it was zone 2, and zone 3 from picking up pace making the most of down hills. I didn't touch zone 4+

In my early days it shot up to 155 very quickly, then down to the 140s.

Thanks all for the heart rate info. I appreciate the chat, think people in real life have heard enough of my running stats chat! 😂

Well done @Whataninterestinglookingpotato that sounds like an interesting race and a good time too!

Sprint interval 5k run for me tonight, hard work but should be worth it!

Hope you enjoy the sprints @SoapCollector I would see how quick your hr comes back down again as that’s more a reflection of fitness your recovery time. Especially doing sprints.

Two dog walks today for me and some weights on my lunch break as working from home. Plan to run tomorrow morn though not sure how far will see how I feel I think as it’s just too humid for me to run far at the moment I’m much more a winter runner.

Felt stiff and flat this morning but with a day off work I thought I can’t not run so had a dip in the sea first to ease the joints then did a faster 5k with negative splits all the way. Funny how the body can often do better than the mind thinks it can. Still didn’t fancy going further though, I’m hoping when the temp is back under 10c my longer distance mojo will return in the autumn. Off to help my 80+yr parents sort out their garden today.
Happy Friday running everyone.

Hope the sprints went well @SoapCollector and well done @RunningInto for getting out when you didn’t feel like it, always an achievement I think!

My calves are killing today after the gym on Wednesday and I may be a little hungover as it was my sons birthday yesterday 😂 so I think I’ll do the gym today, and my ‘long’ slow run tomorrow instead. I do find it really hard to do those, as my natural instinct is to do the best time I can, but I have to remind myself why I’m doing them 😂

Coincidentally, after talking with you guys about park run an old friend messaged me this morning asking if I fancied going after her holiday as she’s too scared to go on her own. We’ve agreed to give it a go in September!

I much prefer doing park run with a friend @LovesToWalk it takes the pressure off as we used to chat until the turn round point at 2.5k and then run so it removed that must go faster pace anxiety feeling at the beginning . Our kids are the same age but on different life paths so we’d have a good natter which naturally slows the pace. Hope the calves ease up. My stiffness was partly from pushing harder in my weights session on Thursday.

Yes, the sprints went well thanks @LovesToWalk my legs are really feeling it today though. I think it worked all muscles from the waist down! I too find my 'long' slow runs difficult as I have to keep reminding myself not to try make it run the fastest longest run!

Well done on getting out @RunningInto I'm quite envious of your dip in the sea. Hope the gardening goes well.

Did a very sweaty 13k this morning which takes me up to 42k so far I'm August. 💪

@RunningInto so true about body and brain not always matching up. The first few minutes of my runs often feel awful, but I get into it and then it’s fine. I’m new to longer distances and I love it when I get around 30 mins in and it suddenly feels great.

Another running first yesterday, my first fall. Tripped over a rock and went flying. Got a few cuts and scrapes, but no big injuries. I’m definitely a runner now, I’ve earned the title!

Well done @MissScarletInTheBallroom your doing well on your total.

hope you don’t get any stiffness from the fall @Stripeymouse

Hello runners! Welcome newcomers! I won't try to reply to all the chat as there has been so much and I'll end up missing something.

Back at work this week so haven't had much time, but I did stick to my new plan:

Monday - rest
Tuesday - 3 miles
Weds - 10 minute warm up from YouTube and my first strength session from the RW plan I shared a couple of pages ago
Thurs - 5 miles
Today - 10 min warm up again and strength

Tomorrow will be parkrun en route to a family thing, and Sunday will be a longish run (7 or so miles).

Did my 10K today and chuffed to have come in at under 1 hour 🎉

Sub30 parkrun today (hilly course)
I wasn't sure if I had pulled it off because my watch time was marginally over.
I thought it was quieter than usual at the briefing, but was double-funneled. That amused me as I went past DH in the holding funnel. I had seen him a bit ahead but knew I was too spent to surge and catch up, and just needed to mantain until the end.
Garmin rated it as VO² max
Average HR 166, max HR 182.
25% in zone 4, 66% in zone 5 (my whole face was red, not just my cheeks)

It was quite warm by lap 2 too

I was also a tomato faced park runner today.

I'm also a tomato faced runner, without fail, every run! 😀

Hope you are ok after falling over @Stripeymouse

I managed my longest run in a while yesterday, 8.7 miles. Running into the strong wind on a very exposed stretch of straight road was a mental challenge as much as a physical one.
Then did a 5 mile hilly hike in the evening so was bushed. Bit of yoga and blackberry picking stroll is about all I'm good for today. It's quite hot though so kind of glad I'm not running, although the next few days are forecast hot though so I won't escape entirely.

I've got 8 miles to fit in tomorrow.

I'm hoping that my DOMS will be better...
To be fair, feeling it on day 1 tends to shift quicker. It's when I feel it creeping in late on day 1, I know that day 2 is going to be hard work...

Hi all! I might have posted on here before or maybe I have just lurked. Either way, I am loving all the bra, shoes, HR chat. (Sweaty Betty/Nike, Brooks GTS 17/Ghost, 175 at full pelt)

I picked up running again a couple of years ago as well as doing strength training. I've been a swimmer for longer, open water all year round. You can tell what's coming... Yes I got a bike and did a super sprint triathlon last year, then two duathlons over the winter, then a sprint this spring and I'm doing a standard in Sept.

Anyway I'll try to stick to the running chat here. I have been a parkrunner mainly, then I did a RunThrough 10k in March and got under am hour which I was extremely pleased with. I am booked on the RunThrough Battersea half in October which is not all that long away!!

I have a training plan set by a proper coach who I also do strength and conditioning "bootcamps" with once or twice a week. As well as those I generally do two runs, two swims, one big ride and three short bike commutes in a week. I did one run after work recently with a young (29yo!) colleague who was an excellent pacer. I had no idea I could still hold a conversation at 6 mins/km!! I have paced a friend at parkrun myself too and it's a really great we to keep each other accountable!

I ran/walked up to 30km in June and did my marathon hike at the start of July but I’m only just building my distance back up for my autumn half marathons. Running, including run-walking, continues to be a slog; my HR spikes within thirty seconds of beginning to run and it all feels very challenging. It’s really getting me down at the moment.

Part of me wonders whether my body just needs a really long and gentle warm up. My June half marathon training run was only a few minutes slower than my race, and I did 15 sec run/30 sec walk as a 5km warm up then 30 sec run/30 sec walk to the end.

I haven’t been able to run at all well since my hike - I’m really struggling in all areas! Does not bode well for September…

ChatGPT has suggested the following as a race day strategy for the GNR to achieve a similar finish time to my last (and only) half marathon race:

0-5km 15 sec run/30 sec walk ~8:30 min/km
5-10km 30 sec run/30 sec walk ~8:00 min/km
10-15km 45 sec run/30 sec walk ~7:45 min/km
15-20km 60 sec run/30 sec walk ~7:30 min/km
20-21.1km Run as much as you can ~7:15 min/km

I hope I can manage something like that. I feel enormous pressure to do “better” than last year but I just don’t seem to have the aerobic ability at the moment.

Last week:
Mon - 6.7km with running club
Tue - Functional fitness at the gym
Thu - 6.3km with running club
Sat - Bodypump at the gym
Sun - 12km (my Coopah plan wanted me to do 10km)

I also walked just under 19.5km.

I am aiming for similar this week!

Alas I got floored by a migraine Sunday resulted in a day in a dark room as this one had lots of nausea and the next 48hrs are now the hangover zombie feeling. Did manage to do a slow dog walk this morning but with the hot weather building im not sure when I’ll next get a run in now. This too shall pass, but frustrating when I had a 4d wend off work and end up spending 2d sat doing nothing. They are very hormonal linked never got one until I hit mid-40s and hereditary as my mum suffers too.
Hope the hot weather doesn’t limit too much running for you all.

@TyneFilth welcome! It sounds like you are very organised with your training and packing a lot in with the swims and cycles, strength on top of running. I feel tired just reading it 😂
@lightanddreamy don't beat yourself up too much about being "better", I spent a lot of time this winter feeling I should be faster but I just got slower and slower. It did my mojo for running no good whatsoever. It sounds like your body needs a bit of rest, not sure how much you had after the marathon hike? Although I do think as we get older we do need a longer warm up, and it's always good to get faster as a race goes on, and finish strong.
@RunningInto hope you feel better soon, how typical it happens when you have a/l.

I got up early to have tea and toast and got out before it got hot. The plan had a tempo run but I could not run more than 100m at a time half way through as, sorry TMI, needed a poop and could not risk running. So I circled back home and finished the run after. This is why my preferred run time is mid morning! That said it feels good having got it out of the way before starting work.

That's my kind of training
I haven't done a triathlon... yet, but DS has done a couple of children's Tri-Star events and really enjoyed them. It's been interesting seeing how the transitions work. He struggles with swim- bike because his executive function is affected by dyslexia, and being a casual entrant it's not worth investing in optimal equipment that he'll grow out of.

My alarm went off at 7:45 am. I concluded by 8am that my 8 mile run was not happening. My quads have been very DOMSy all day. I can cram it in tomorrow. Not ideal, but it would have been unpleasantly sloggy to have pushed through today.

I'll have to set the alarm early which at least will help with beating the heat.

Too hot for me today. I did buy a new running vest from NB though. The matching shorts were lovely, but pockets were useless so I didn’t get them.