At the start of the year I set myself a few targets for parkrun in 2012. So how did I get on?
My targets were as follows:
1. Get back under 18:30 before the end of April.Well, I actually managed this by the 25th February, running 18:18 that day. In fact, before the end of April I had run under 18:30 on 7 consecutive runs, also going under 18 minutes on four of those occasions.
2. Get a new PB (under 17:49) before the end of the year. This will be very tough, but what is the point of easy targets?I managed to set a new parkrun PB on two occasions this year, setting it to 17:46 on the 10th March and then improving to my current PB of 17:28 on the 7th April.
3. Run 35 parkruns in the year. This would take me to 85 in total and leave me on target for the 100 club by June 2013!Another one achieved. So far I have managed 39 parkruns this year. Unfortunately it looks as though I will only manage to run on one of the three remaining parkrundays this year. So it still looks highly likely that I will run 40 in the year. I now look likely to reach the 100 mark around the middle of March 2013.
4. Run at 2 new parkrun locations. Brueton for sure and at least one other.And that is exactly what I managed to do. I ran at Brueton and Killerton parkruns.
5. Finish in the top 5 in the Coventry points table.Well I am currently lying in 5th place in the male points table at Coventry parkrun. The points competition runs until early February, so this won't be finalised this year. It looks impossible for me to climb any higher up the table, and if anything I am likely to miss a couple of parkuns and therefore drop down the table a bit. I am also now running parkrun with my son quite regularly and only picking up one point each time in the process. I am therefore no longer thinking about points at all, but I'm in the top 5 at the moment, so I'll say that was also a success.
So totalling up, I'd say that is 5 out of 5 on those targets. A pretty successful year at parkrun!
Monday, 24 December 2012
Sunday, 23 December 2012
Santa parkrun fun
Great fun at the Coventry parkrun Santa run yesterday.
The weather may not have been too kind, with heavy rain throughout, but everyone seemed to enjoy it anyway.
There has been so much rain the last few days that we had a 30 metre by 5 metre pond where part of the parkrun course would normally be. A slight detour added a couple of hundred yards to the route.
At the yearly Santa parkrun, I always give myself the challenge of being the first Santa home, which I certainly managed 2 years ago, finishing 2nd overall, and I can't quite remember what happened last year.
The run was made slightly trickier this year as the Santa suit picked up weight as it soaked up the heavy rain, but all Santas were in the same boat. A boat would have been useful actually, as many parts of the route were submerged.
I don't know what the collective noun for a group of Santas is, but I'm going to adopt 'sack'.
I started the run in a 'sack' of about 5 Santas and we ran the altered route together for about the first 4 minutes. It was after this that I broke free from the 'sack' and ran as lead Santa for the rest of the run.
As usual I did manage to secure the first Santa spot in 8th overall, in a time of 19:23, not too bad given the detour, but unfortunately not first fancy dress finisher as a little elf managed to get ahead and stay ahead. The elf just wanted it a bit more than Santa this year!
Now after the run was where the real Santa fun started. A couple of years ago my brother and I started a little tradition of running the local roads in our Santa outfits after parkrun.
The last two years it has been snowing and rain isn't quite the same for festive spirit, or so you would think. As it turned out we go the usual reception of multiple beeps, lights flashed and plenty of waving.
We always remark about how keen the white van men are to wave at male Santas running along the road.
We certainly put a few smiles on faces and had a great time Santa running in the rain. Same time next year Santas!
The weather may not have been too kind, with heavy rain throughout, but everyone seemed to enjoy it anyway.
There has been so much rain the last few days that we had a 30 metre by 5 metre pond where part of the parkrun course would normally be. A slight detour added a couple of hundred yards to the route.
At the yearly Santa parkrun, I always give myself the challenge of being the first Santa home, which I certainly managed 2 years ago, finishing 2nd overall, and I can't quite remember what happened last year.
The run was made slightly trickier this year as the Santa suit picked up weight as it soaked up the heavy rain, but all Santas were in the same boat. A boat would have been useful actually, as many parts of the route were submerged.
I don't know what the collective noun for a group of Santas is, but I'm going to adopt 'sack'.
I started the run in a 'sack' of about 5 Santas and we ran the altered route together for about the first 4 minutes. It was after this that I broke free from the 'sack' and ran as lead Santa for the rest of the run.
As usual I did manage to secure the first Santa spot in 8th overall, in a time of 19:23, not too bad given the detour, but unfortunately not first fancy dress finisher as a little elf managed to get ahead and stay ahead. The elf just wanted it a bit more than Santa this year!
Now after the run was where the real Santa fun started. A couple of years ago my brother and I started a little tradition of running the local roads in our Santa outfits after parkrun.
The last two years it has been snowing and rain isn't quite the same for festive spirit, or so you would think. As it turned out we go the usual reception of multiple beeps, lights flashed and plenty of waving.
We always remark about how keen the white van men are to wave at male Santas running along the road.
We certainly put a few smiles on faces and had a great time Santa running in the rain. Same time next year Santas!
To be included in my training plan
So I have decided that I want to get PBs in 2013. I have considered this and believe that it is still realistic that I am capable of a PB. I have thought about the factors that influence achieving a PB. I have thought about how to fit training in and not annoy the family.
So now it is time to work out what types of training I need to include.
I'll start with the obvious and work on from there:
1. Running - If running is my target, then it is pretty obvious that running is going to have to be the mainstay of my training. I will need to do long runs,
short runs, fast runs, slow runs, intervals and hill sessions. Finding the right balance of all of these will be key. The sheer quantity of different types of
runs required suggests to me that I either concentrate on different types for periods at a time, or I adopt a 2 week rotation, rather than one week.
2. Cycling - Sometimes this may be proper cycling, but for convenience it will generally be indoor cycling on my static bike.
3. Yoga - On and off over the past 2 years I have used a short yoga routine of 6 different running related exercises, which takes roughly 10-15 minutes
to work through. These exercises are great for strength, balance and flexibility and should I find a way to do them regularly I am certain I will see the
benefits.
4. Stretching - I have never been very flexible and with age this is only getting worse. Finding a good set of stretches and ensuring that I do them
regularly will help no end.
5. Core strength - This is an area that I have never really concentrated on, so in theory it is an area where I can probably improve most significantly.
So those are the types of training I want to fit in. Now on to the ways that I will use to fit those sessions into my life:
- On occasions in the past I have got up before work and done some time on my static bike. I'll need to do that again.
- I work from home a couple of times a week and will need to continue to use those days to fit in decent lunchtime runs. Often I haven't run on my
Friday lunchtime at home, saving myself for parkrun on Saturday. But I think this needs to change, apart from before any parkrun that I decide to go
fast.
- I probably need to use one of my work from home days for another static cycle session too.
- I must make sure I attend parkrun each week.
- I must also make sure I attend my club training on a Thursday, which I have been hit and miss with over the last few months.
- I should probably also consider the club Monday night core training session and the track session that follows. This hasn't been convenient for me up
to now, but perhaps I should try to attend once a fortnight.
- I also need to find a way to tag stretching, strengthening and some yoga onto the start or end of many of these sessions.
So now it is time to work out what types of training I need to include.
I'll start with the obvious and work on from there:
1. Running - If running is my target, then it is pretty obvious that running is going to have to be the mainstay of my training. I will need to do long runs,
short runs, fast runs, slow runs, intervals and hill sessions. Finding the right balance of all of these will be key. The sheer quantity of different types of
runs required suggests to me that I either concentrate on different types for periods at a time, or I adopt a 2 week rotation, rather than one week.
2. Cycling - Sometimes this may be proper cycling, but for convenience it will generally be indoor cycling on my static bike.
3. Yoga - On and off over the past 2 years I have used a short yoga routine of 6 different running related exercises, which takes roughly 10-15 minutes
to work through. These exercises are great for strength, balance and flexibility and should I find a way to do them regularly I am certain I will see the
benefits.
4. Stretching - I have never been very flexible and with age this is only getting worse. Finding a good set of stretches and ensuring that I do them
regularly will help no end.
5. Core strength - This is an area that I have never really concentrated on, so in theory it is an area where I can probably improve most significantly.
So those are the types of training I want to fit in. Now on to the ways that I will use to fit those sessions into my life:
- On occasions in the past I have got up before work and done some time on my static bike. I'll need to do that again.
- I work from home a couple of times a week and will need to continue to use those days to fit in decent lunchtime runs. Often I haven't run on my
Friday lunchtime at home, saving myself for parkrun on Saturday. But I think this needs to change, apart from before any parkrun that I decide to go
fast.
- I probably need to use one of my work from home days for another static cycle session too.
- I must make sure I attend parkrun each week.
- I must also make sure I attend my club training on a Thursday, which I have been hit and miss with over the last few months.
- I should probably also consider the club Monday night core training session and the track session that follows. This hasn't been convenient for me up
to now, but perhaps I should try to attend once a fortnight.
- I also need to find a way to tag stretching, strengthening and some yoga onto the start or end of many of these sessions.
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