Discussion
I set a new PB today too. 28:52, probably 20-ish seconds better. I'm pretty happy with that.
Goals for 2024 were a) run a 5k under 30 minutes, and b) drop my weight to 73kg. It's not even April and I've comfortably exceeded the 5k goal, and this past week I've seen my weight fluttering around either side of the 73kg target. I weighed around 79kg in January. Give it a fortnight and I reckon I'll have it consistently below target too.
I think I've overestimated how tough it would be to achieve these goals, so I'm going to have to rethink and reset them. I didn't want to set unrealistic/unachievable targets, and that's still the case. Maybe I should ignore specific numbers, and just go with "keep the graphs heading in the right direction". The hardest part was forming the right diet and exercise habits, I think. But parkrun and smaller portions/fewer snacks/less frequent meals are a strong feature of my routine now. I've also rediscovered cycling, and achieved my 120 mile weekly biking goal this week for the first time since July last year.
Currently, at least, things appear to be heading in the right direction...
Goals for 2024 were a) run a 5k under 30 minutes, and b) drop my weight to 73kg. It's not even April and I've comfortably exceeded the 5k goal, and this past week I've seen my weight fluttering around either side of the 73kg target. I weighed around 79kg in January. Give it a fortnight and I reckon I'll have it consistently below target too.
I think I've overestimated how tough it would be to achieve these goals, so I'm going to have to rethink and reset them. I didn't want to set unrealistic/unachievable targets, and that's still the case. Maybe I should ignore specific numbers, and just go with "keep the graphs heading in the right direction". The hardest part was forming the right diet and exercise habits, I think. But parkrun and smaller portions/fewer snacks/less frequent meals are a strong feature of my routine now. I've also rediscovered cycling, and achieved my 120 mile weekly biking goal this week for the first time since July last year.
Currently, at least, things appear to be heading in the right direction...
New V1000 club t-shirt revealed at Riddlesdown parkrun for Nicki Clark. Love the yellow, which also applies to 1000 run club when somebody (Darren Wood?) eventually gets there.
Incredible achievement. Even if you volunteered every Saturday and also at Sundays' junior events, that's 10 years of volunteering to join the V1000 club, and some 20 years of running to get to the 1000 run club.
Incredible achievement. Even if you volunteered every Saturday and also at Sundays' junior events, that's 10 years of volunteering to join the V1000 club, and some 20 years of running to get to the 1000 run club.
A new parkrun for me yesterday - Holkham, a great course around the Holkham estate in North Norfolk, a "lasso" out and back course around the grounds of a big country estate. Hard packed surface and a downhill finish means it would be a quick course if it wasn't so bloody windy yesterday and my legs took 2k to warm up.
Worth checking out if you're ever in the area, they do have regular cancellations for other events at the property so watch out for those.
HR on my Garmin seems to have messed up which is odd - normally it sits around 160-170 for parkrun but yesterday it sat at 130 then suddenly jumped up to 170 in the last few minutes so I'm not sure if it just wasn't on tight enough. Never happened before.
Worth checking out if you're ever in the area, they do have regular cancellations for other events at the property so watch out for those.
HR on my Garmin seems to have messed up which is odd - normally it sits around 160-170 for parkrun but yesterday it sat at 130 then suddenly jumped up to 170 in the last few minutes so I'm not sure if it just wasn't on tight enough. Never happened before.
I'm on course (no pun intended) to hit my 150th parkrun and my 50th different course on 20th April. Currently trying to think of where would be a good location to celebrate. Any recommendations welcome, a mate and I will probably make a day of it somewhere.
Nowhere near PB's these days, but finding lots to celebrate in other measurables. I've managed to break the pattern of run - run faster - injury flare up - enforced break by simply only doing parkrun and strength work since November. Pleasingly, I haven't missed an event this year.
Total parkruns by year:
2018 = 12
2019 = 12
2020 = 7
2021 = 10
2022 = 9
2023 = 10
2024 = 12!
I've also managed to get back to around the 25 minute mark, which means I've gone from aiming to be in the top half of the results to being in the top third. According to my Garmin I'm hitting max heart rate, so not leaving anything behind! Also, my average HR is dropping for the same effort which is satisfying to see.
All small victories, but I find the stats really motivational when getting up in the wind and rain on a Saturday morning!
If anyone is unaware, I'd highly recommend the 5k app. A lot of fun challenges in there and all the data automatically pulls through from your parkrun barcode so minimal effort. I'm very close to completing stopwatch bingo (finish time on every second, ie 25:00, 27:01, 34:02 etc), but as it's near impossible to target, it's pot luck whether you get one or not.
Nowhere near PB's these days, but finding lots to celebrate in other measurables. I've managed to break the pattern of run - run faster - injury flare up - enforced break by simply only doing parkrun and strength work since November. Pleasingly, I haven't missed an event this year.
Total parkruns by year:
2018 = 12
2019 = 12
2020 = 7
2021 = 10
2022 = 9
2023 = 10
2024 = 12!
I've also managed to get back to around the 25 minute mark, which means I've gone from aiming to be in the top half of the results to being in the top third. According to my Garmin I'm hitting max heart rate, so not leaving anything behind! Also, my average HR is dropping for the same effort which is satisfying to see.
All small victories, but I find the stats really motivational when getting up in the wind and rain on a Saturday morning!
If anyone is unaware, I'd highly recommend the 5k app. A lot of fun challenges in there and all the data automatically pulls through from your parkrun barcode so minimal effort. I'm very close to completing stopwatch bingo (finish time on every second, ie 25:00, 27:01, 34:02 etc), but as it's near impossible to target, it's pot luck whether you get one or not.
resolve10 said:
All small victories, but I find the stats really motivational when getting up in the wind and rain on a Saturday morning!
And this is the thing for meI'm not a bit interested in being a competitive runner or measuring myself against others
But just the nature of parkrun (early start so all done and home by around 10.00/10.30, standard format, loads of venues, welcoming even if you just want to turn up, run and then leave) makes it so addictive. I really missed it when it snowed and everything was cancelled a few weeks back. At the most I have missed 3 or 4 in the 13 months since I re-started last year
resolve10 said:
I'm on course (no pun intended) to hit my 150th parkrun and my 50th different course on 20th April. Currently trying to think of where would be a good location to celebrate. Any recommendations welcome, a mate and I will probably make a day of it somewhere.
Take a trip down to Bushy Park, and tick off the "Where it all started" achievement?I have a friend up to 260 parkruns and still can't get the last one for stopwatch bingo, I have offered to be timekeeper and let him know when to cross the line but he wants to do it properly!
LastPoster said:
I'm not a bit interested in being a competitive runner or measuring myself against others
I do have an unshakable competitive element in me, but I've just adjusted what I'm competing with. I'm not even competing with myself anymore, because I once ran a good 5 minutes quicker than my current best, but it's racing against my current self, and other average 37 year olds! MesoForm said:
Take a trip down to Bushy Park, and tick off the "Where it all started" achievement?
I have a friend up to 260 parkruns and still can't get the last one for stopwatch bingo, I have offered to be timekeeper and let him know when to cross the line but he wants to do it properly!
Bushy is an option, although my mate has done it so we'll probably do an event we both 'need'. I have a friend up to 260 parkruns and still can't get the last one for stopwatch bingo, I have offered to be timekeeper and let him know when to cross the line but he wants to do it properly!
I've really got lucky with stopwatch bingo. I'm on half as many parkruns as your friend but only need :02, :09, :15 & :19 to complete.
LastPoster said:
early start so all done and home by around 10.00/10.30,
I quite regularly don't make it home until after 12, sometimes after 1 
Completely agree about the addictive bit though. It gets me out for a run every weekend regardless of the weather, and we even aim to try and do one when on holiday.
Edited by RizzoTheRat on Monday 25th March 17:49
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