parkrun is 5K right? So “how do I work parkrun into a 10K run?” I hear you ask. The answer is both simple and effective; I do a 2.5K warm up jog down to parkrun and then later, a similar distance back home. This works really well because by breaking up the 10K, it makes it a bit of a rest day. In order not to undo that “rest” element I took it easy at parkrun and ran at a pace that takes me round 3 minutes slower than normal. This helps me practice pacing which I love to do occasionally to help people reach new goals over the 5K.
One of the things I love about running is the friends I meet. Because I am both a member of a running club and attend parkrun most weeks, I probably have more friends through running than any other part of my life. The great thing about running friends is that they always support you and build you up; I don’t find the negativity and cynicism that you find in many walks of life today. No one is perfect and there are always exceptions to this but by and large, runners make fantastic friends.
I am now 1/2 way through my challenge by running 10K 15 days in a row. This is unchartered territory for me because I have never run this many consecutive days, let alone the 10K part! Every day from now, there will be fewer days left than I have already done so that makes me happy; the end is in sight! I have found myself more resilient than I expected so maybe from this madness I will actually end up stronger.
“Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
and the pleasantness of a friend
springs from their heartfelt advice.”
Richard is running 10K every day during June, to raise money for a public access defibrillator to be situated at Rothwell Baptist Church. To sponsor him and make a donation, please visit his Just Giving Page.
One way to have a run that exactly matches how far you want to go is to do an out and back. You simply run away from your house for 1/2 the distance you want, turn around and run home. I remember when starting running doing this a lot. As I increased the distance I could cover in a run, I could go further before turning back. Along one particular road I can tell you precisely the 3 mile, 4 mile and 5 mile points. Of course, this was before the age of the GPS watch and the distances were pre measured by driving my car and setting the trip odometer!
I live in a former mining area of West Yorkshire. Many of the country parks and nature reserves round here are what remains of “deep drop” and opencast coal mines. Now this might conjure images of pubs where if you enter, everything goes quiet and some chap in a flat cap gives you a stern look and says “yer not from ‘raaand these parts are ye” (even though you’ve been a regular of the pub for over 40 years). However, full of character this place may be, it certainly isn’t like that. The area where I live is known as the Rhubarb Triangle because most of the UK production of rhubarb comes from round here and it is famous for “forced” rhubarb; a process involving taking the plant into dark warm sheds, thus developing a distinctive flavour.
Marathon Mann 