parkrun

[EdJ]

ewenm said:

I used to get a proper sports massage every 2 weeks when I was doing decent mileage. Yes they hurt but they really kept me going, especially with my calf issues.

What would you say is "decent mileage"? I'm doing about 25-30 miles a week at the moment, would you say a regular massage would help? My main ache is my upper back, but it doesn't stop me from running (i.e. it doesn't hurt when I run.)

[ewenm]

EdJ said:

What would you say is "decent mileage"? I'm doing about 25-30 miles a week at the moment, would you say a regular massage would help? My main ache is my upper back, but it doesn't stop me from running (i.e. it doesn't hurt when I run.)

I'd say a regular massage will always help. The frequency obviously depends on your training and the cost of the massage. I was getting one every 2 weeks when running 80mpw or so, but "decent mileage" is a personal thing.

[Halb]

ewenm said:

I'd say a regular massage will always help. The frequency obviously depends on your training and the cost of the massage. I was getting one every 2 weeks when running 80mpw or so, but "decent mileage" is a personal thing.

Cost is an issue. I'm getting one done tomorrow.
You have deep tissue massage? Would your muscles get all knotty without it?

I have upped my own foam rolling and stretching with a focus on the affected muscle, it has helped a lot, still want that massage though to break down the fascia and get it as loose as possible.

[ewenm]

Halb said:

Cost is an issue. I'm getting one done tomorrow.
You have deep tissue massage? Would your muscles get all knotty without it?

Yes and yes. Very painful at the time but sets me up for the next set of training and helps iron out or at least get early warning of any issues. IMO it is important to build a relationship with a sports physio so they can get to know you and spot potential problems early. I get issues with my calves when training hard so my amazing physio sorts me out with a mix of deep tissue massage and targeted acupuncture into specific tight points.

[Halb]

Acupuncture works for this?

[ewenm]

Halb said:

Acupuncture works for this?

Very fine needles straight into the knots of muscle - relaxes them in 30s or so. Not "mystic acupuncture" of a needle in the shoulder to sort out a foot problem or anything like that. It was a bit weird first time and can be hard not to twitch the muscle when she puts them in, but it achieves the same effect as sustained deep tissue massage without the potential bruising in my experience.

[RizzoTheRat]

ewenm said:

Hill training is a great session - doesn't take long but offers big benefits.

Yeah, I really need to find somewhere to do a bit, the Mrs does more hill work than me and did about her usual time while I was way slower than usual.

Edited by RizzoTheRat on Sunday 13th April 07:30

[EdJ]

Really pleased with today's result - I beat my previous PB by 9 seconds with a time of 18:33. Also got my highest position at Bushy Park with 19th place (out of just under 1000 runners). As always with a PB, it's made my weekend!

My GPS watch froze just before the start, so I was frantically trying to work out how to reset it, and ended up just running without it. It's the second time that's happened, and on both occasions I've got a PB. Makes me think that it's sometimes better to not get too focused on looking at the watch and just run!

[Willy Nilly]

18:20 today, 4 seconds off a PB. Beaten on the line into 5th place, but fastest in my age group.

[RizzoTheRat]

Lots of people updating their times on the wiki over the weekend so it looks like a good day for loads of us, I shaved nearly 30 seconds off my PB down to 28:16, it wasn't that long ago I got under 30 mins for the first time so I'm happy with that.

[JQ]

I did my first Parkrun on Saturday and really enjoyed it. It's not a distance I'd normally run, it does help mix things up somewhat.

Out of interest, how does the timing work? When I got to the finish I was given a barcode, I then recovered from my sprint finish by trying not to be violently sick for quite some time, then I queued up to get both my barcodes scanned. The time I got was about 80 secs slower than I'd actually completed the course in - should I have just gone straight to get my codes scanned from the finish line or does it make no difference?

[Halb]

JQ said:

Out of interest, how does the timing work? When I got to the finish I was given a barcode, I then recovered from my sprint finish by trying not to be violently sick for quite some time, then I queued up to get both my barcodes scanned. The time I got was about 80 secs slower than I'd actually completed the course in - should I have just gone straight to get my codes scanned from the finish line or does it make no difference?

You started at the back? The clocks starts from when they say go.
I don't know the software but when the person at the end clocks your finish time it gets whizzed to the bar code they give you as you cross.

[john2443]

Still not near my PB from 2 years ago (another 35 secs to go) but 59 secs quicker than I've done in the last 2 years, first time under 23 mins for 2 yeas so very pleased about it!

I've used this http://the5krunner.com/2011/08/22/5k-sub-20-minute... which may have helped.

[RizzoTheRat]

JQ said:

Out of interest, how does the timing work? When I got to the finish I was given a barcode, I then recovered from my sprint finish by trying not to be violently sick for quite some time, then I queued up to get both my barcodes scanned. The time I got was about 80 secs slower than I'd actually completed the course in - should I have just gone straight to get my codes scanned from the finish line or does it make no difference?

The barcodes and the time aren't directly linked so mistakes can occur. The timer has a big list of times, so knows that the person who crossed the line in Xth place did Y time. The system relies on everyone crossing the line and then getting their token at the end of the funnel in the same order, so the person crossing the line in 200th place should get token number 200. When they scan your barcode and the token they then the have name of the person who was issued that token. The system can fall down if people swap places in the funnel, or cross the finish line and don't take a token, or the timer manages to miss one. Our local one usually make a note of various people's times from our own watches so they can do a quick check and spot any inconsistencies.

[JQ]

Halb said:

JQ said:

Out of interest, how does the timing work? When I got to the finish I was given a barcode, I then recovered from my sprint finish by trying not to be violently sick for quite some time, then I queued up to get both my barcodes scanned. The time I got was about 80 secs slower than I'd actually completed the course in - should I have just gone straight to get my codes scanned from the finish line or does it make no difference?

You started at the back? The clocks starts from when they say go.
I don't know the software but when the person at the end clocks your finish time it gets whizzed to the bar code they give you as you cross.

Not really, at the most 10 secs from the line, there were only 160 people taking part. At least it gives me a low base on which to improve.

[Roger645]

Anyone done any or all of the parkruns in Copenhagen? We are off there in July and planning a tourist run at one of the runs so looking for any feedback?

Thanks

Roger

[Roger645]

JQ said:

I did my first Parkrun on Saturday and really enjoyed it. It's not a distance I'd normally run, it does help mix things up somewhat.

Out of interest, how does the timing work? When I got to the finish I was given a barcode, I then recovered from my sprint finish by trying not to be violently sick for quite some time, then I queued up to get both my barcodes scanned. The time I got was about 80 secs slower than I'd actually completed the course in - should I have just gone straight to get my codes scanned from the finish line or does it make no difference?

Makes no difference, the barcode you are given in the finishing place which is mapped against the time

[john2443]

If you look at the results, is your expected time close to the person above you? What can happen is because of an error or a runner not following the right proceedure, all the runners are moved up or down one or two rows.

This is the reason for writing down a sample of results as people cross the finish line; when something goes wrong the check sheet shows roughly where it wsa wrong.

It might be worth mailing your run and telling them what you think your result should have been, it is useful to get info from runners in order to narrow down where there was an error.

There isn't anything that whizzes the time from the timer to the token The timer records a list of finish positions and times, the scanners record a list of finish token/position and Athlete ID, we then put both lists into a laptop and it merges the 2 together.

If someone's ducked out of the funnel or crossed the finish line twice or the timer clicks more (or less) than they should have, the 2 lists get out of sync and we have to have an educated gues how to get them back in sync!

[JQ]

Cheers for the responses. There don't seem to be any anomalies around me, although there are a number of blanks in the table, so I'm guessing there may be some errors much further up.

I'm not really bothered, I just wanted to make sure it wasn't something I'd done. I guess it also means that hopefully next time I'll smash my PB.

[Mosman]

Completed my 50th parkrun on Saturday. Not fast (I'm never that fast), had a coughing fit just before I left home and did something to my lower back so pretty much every step was painful. However very pleased to have clocked up 50 after only starting C25K in January last year.

Will be wearing my red shirt with pride!