Only did 2 parkruns this month but it has been far from a bad month. On the first Saturday of the month I was down to volunteer at Pollok parkrun doing number checking. I was quite glad I did as I had been ill the few days before and was not up for running.
The second Saturday I did Pollok coming in at 30.30. I really don't know how I managed it as I was feeling rubbish from 1k onwards but unlike previous attempts where I would stop and walk I just kept going and managed to get round. So you could call it my best worst parkrun this year :-)
Then the week after I decided just to lie in and go running in the afternoon. It was a bad one and this time I had to run/walk from about 1.5 miles onwards.
Then this Saturday I was heading up to Creiff to celebrate my Dad's birthday but I knew I could still sneak in a cheeky parkrun before hand. So I was off to Strathclyde parkrun. I wouldn't say I really attacked this parkrun but gave it a reasonable effort. I remember overtaking quite a bit. There was this really tall guy I overtook in the last km and although he was moving quickly he was barely lifting his legs off the ground, where as I felt like I was giving it a lot more. All of sudden in the last 200m he sprinted past me - I did think he was holding back! The good news from this run was that I finished in 28.23 in some pretty wild weather. A sub 28 is not far away.
I have mentioned 3 runs here which would normally be the end of the post. But sorry. It is not the end of the post. I managed another 7 training runs on top of this. Making it easily by best month so far this year. Yes there was some bad runs but there were good runs too. Especially today where I managed 4.5 miles in 45 minutes. The best thing about it was I was getting faster all the way round and still felt good at the end.
I get the sense December is going to be a challenging month if weather forecasts are anything to go by. But with a lot of good training done in November. If I do have a good December it is going to set me up really well for 2016.
Monday 30 November 2015
Sunday 1 November 2015
October
Well this month started well enough with the Kielder 10k which has its own post.
The following week I was down at Strathclyde parkrun. It was a good steady run and I was pleased to dip below 29 minutes for 28.59.
The next week I made the trip up to Callender park to run my second Falkirk parkrun. After the first time I really wanted to conquer that hill this time. So I started off slower. Maybe a bit too slow as when I looked behind me after 100 meters there was only 5 people behind me. But I stuck with the plan and found when I began climbing up the first hill I was gradually overtaking people. When I got round to that hill this time I had plenty of energy and managed to get to the top without walking. So mission accomplished. I had a look at my time when I got home and it was 31.23 which was actually 12 seconds slower than my first time there. So maybe I could have given it a bit more here. Still really enjoy running at Callender park though, it is one of my favourites.
Last week I was back Pollok park where it was raining quite badly right up until kick off. So there were a lot of puddles throughout the course. Meaning it was slower going but fun all the same coming in at 30.27.
This week I have been on holiday and it has given me time to reflect on my running for this year and also plan what I want to do going forward. I managed 3 runs on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. No parkrun on the Saturday though due to a dodgy night sleep. It is actually the first Saturday since April where I have not run on a Saturday, most of course being parkruns.
Anyway back to analysis of this year. When you look at my times compared to end of year last year. For Strathclyde parkrun I have improved by about 20 seconds. Then for Pollok parkrun I have come close to beating 29.08 I recorded last year but never have. Now don't get me wrong, I have thoroughly enjoyed doing all the parkruns this year. But I have not been improving at all. Now it is obvious why and I have been saying it in my posts all year about lack midweek runs. But its almost like I can just turn up and get round 5ks and 10ks at slower times and be happy with that. I know doing 3 miles a week may see improvements for starter but from past experience you need to put in the work if you want to get faster. Now I think its time to challenge myself more which in turn will spur on the motivation to get out more, but at the same time will mean less parkruns. I'll see if it works and if not I can always go back to doing "At least I got out there" parkruns once a week.
The following week I was down at Strathclyde parkrun. It was a good steady run and I was pleased to dip below 29 minutes for 28.59.
The next week I made the trip up to Callender park to run my second Falkirk parkrun. After the first time I really wanted to conquer that hill this time. So I started off slower. Maybe a bit too slow as when I looked behind me after 100 meters there was only 5 people behind me. But I stuck with the plan and found when I began climbing up the first hill I was gradually overtaking people. When I got round to that hill this time I had plenty of energy and managed to get to the top without walking. So mission accomplished. I had a look at my time when I got home and it was 31.23 which was actually 12 seconds slower than my first time there. So maybe I could have given it a bit more here. Still really enjoy running at Callender park though, it is one of my favourites.
Last week I was back Pollok park where it was raining quite badly right up until kick off. So there were a lot of puddles throughout the course. Meaning it was slower going but fun all the same coming in at 30.27.
This week I have been on holiday and it has given me time to reflect on my running for this year and also plan what I want to do going forward. I managed 3 runs on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. No parkrun on the Saturday though due to a dodgy night sleep. It is actually the first Saturday since April where I have not run on a Saturday, most of course being parkruns.
Anyway back to analysis of this year. When you look at my times compared to end of year last year. For Strathclyde parkrun I have improved by about 20 seconds. Then for Pollok parkrun I have come close to beating 29.08 I recorded last year but never have. Now don't get me wrong, I have thoroughly enjoyed doing all the parkruns this year. But I have not been improving at all. Now it is obvious why and I have been saying it in my posts all year about lack midweek runs. But its almost like I can just turn up and get round 5ks and 10ks at slower times and be happy with that. I know doing 3 miles a week may see improvements for starter but from past experience you need to put in the work if you want to get faster. Now I think its time to challenge myself more which in turn will spur on the motivation to get out more, but at the same time will mean less parkruns. I'll see if it works and if not I can always go back to doing "At least I got out there" parkruns once a week.
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