The Fitness Thread

[Tredman]

Another 5K PB falls - managed 19:45 at Isabel Trail Parkrun in Stafford on Saturday morning. Superb course, great for a fast time and an added bonus is the rugby club next door opening for runners to use the facilities, buy refreshments etc.

Mega friendly event as well - it's a bit out of my way but worth the extra journey time.

They are a nice bunch there, good to support the local club there too.

If you are over this way then you should try the Cannock Chase Park Run. Doubt you’ll get a PB there though

 

[Stan Hullis]

I got my PB at Cannock Chase a few weeks ago, light work…

 

[Tredman]

I got my PB at Cannock Chase a few weeks ago, light work…

Its a great event, I might have been there - there's a group who do a run over the chase pre-park run I join every now again.

 

[Stan Hullis]

Its a great event, I might have been there - there's a group who do a run over the chase pre-park run I join every now again.

It was before the Leeds game, you’d have finished your second lap by the time I get through

 

[Langers]

Had quite a tough training week this week, including some hill reps on Wednesday. Then did 12km in the wind and rain (and the dark!) first thing yesterday so my left calf was mega sore when I got back from work yesterday.

Decided on an early night, used my massage gun before I went to bed, woke up this morning and the pain has completely gone.

I'm guessing that such a quick recovery is the sign of being in good shape? Anyway, rest day today so I can have a really good go for a quick Parkrun time tomorrow.

 

[Tredman]

Had quite a tough training week this week, including some hill reps on Wednesday. Then did 12km in the wind and rain (and the dark!) first thing yesterday so my left calf was mega sore when I got back from work yesterday.

Decided on an early night, used my massage gun before I went to bed, woke up this morning and the pain has completely gone.

I'm guessing that such a quick recovery is the sign of being in good shape? Anyway, rest day today so I can have a really good go for a quick Parkrun time tomorrow.

Nah, you're just lucky

This week winter seems to have really hit for early morning runs, it was proper freezing this morning. I'm training for the Malaga marathon in December so having to put a lot of miles in. Its getting miserable.

 

[Langers]

Clocks go back this weekend though - might mean a couple of weeks with a tad more light in the mornings.... before it gets too dark again. (Trying to cling to any positive I can!)

I had a quick look at my marathon training schedule when that starts in January. Fucking hell, it looks savage

Bring it on!

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Had quite a tough training week this week, including some hill reps on Wednesday. Then did 12km in the wind and rain (and the dark!) first thing yesterday so my left calf was mega sore when I got back from work yesterday.

Decided on an early night, used my massage gun before I went to bed, woke up this morning and the pain has completely gone.

I'm guessing that such a quick recovery is the sign of being in good shape? Anyway, rest day today so I can have a really good go for a quick Parkrun time tomorrow.

I was out doing 1km reps last night in the wind and rain with lorries crashing through puddles, it was brutal, but there is something kind of "primal" about getting it done in that weather, and the feeling when you've finished is all the more satisfying

Parkrun PB attempt tomorrow.

 

[Langers]

I was out doing 1km reps last night in the wind and rain with lorries crashing through puddles, it was brutal, but there is something kind of "primal" about getting it done in that weather, and the feeling when you've finished is all the more satisfying

Parkrun PB attempt tomorrow.

You mean 'smugness'? Yep - I wallowed in the smugness in the office yesterday morning. Worth the niggling pain!

Excellent - Pitchcroft? Think I'm going back to Oaklands. I am aiming on a return to Pitchcroft for a proper PB attempt in a few weeks, when this 5k improvement plan ends - that'll follow a reduced volume week and I might even break out the Adios Pro 4s for that one.

 

[Tredman]

Clocks go back this weekend though - might mean a couple of weeks with a tad more light in the mornings.... before it gets too dark again. (Trying to cling to any positive I can!)

I had a quick look at my marathon training schedule when that starts in January. Fucking hell, it looks savage

Bring it on!

Which plan are you following? I've gone for a 4 run / week one this time which is better than the 5 runs / week I did last time. The runs are longer though.

 

[Langers]

Which plan are you following? I've gone for a 4 run / week one this time which is better than the 5 runs / week I did last time. The runs are longer though.

Yeah it's a 4 runs per week plan, but not factoring in Parkrun - one of the few negatives about Runna is that you can't seem to tell it to schedule in a Parkrun every week so I have to manually add that into the calendar.

There'll be 2 strength sessions per week as well, which I've just started now so I'm used to them for the start of the plan. I hate them.

 

[Tredman]

Yeah it's a 4 runs per week plan, but not factoring in Parkrun - one of the few negatives about Runna is that you can't seem to tell it to schedule in a Parkrun every week so I have to manually add that into the calendar.

There'll be 2 strength sessions per week as well, which I've just started now so I'm used to them for the start of the plan. I hate them.

I should be more serious about strength sessions but always seem to find an excuse to not do them.

Not used Runna, I've done a couple of garmin plans and am following one from Marathon Handbook again this time. Runna's link with Strava worries me a little after the past couple of weeks' shenanigans.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Nah, you're just lucky

This week winter seems to have really hit for early morning runs, it was proper freezing this morning. I'm training for the Malaga marathon in December so having to put a lot of miles in. Its getting miserable.

Ah....i'm doing Valencia Marathon in December, so we must be at similar points in our training! Did a 20 mile long run last Sunday, which was arduous.

I am off to Lanzarote for some warm weather training next week (and obviously...a holiday) can't wait, although i am also dreading the return, kind of glad it's been more wintery this week so it's less of a shock upon my return.

I can't work out whether training in the cold and rain and then running the marathon in around 15c will be good, or bad.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Yeah it's a 4 runs per week plan, but not factoring in Parkrun - one of the few negatives about Runna is that you can't seem to tell it to schedule in a Parkrun every week so I have to manually add that into the calendar.

There'll be 2 strength sessions per week as well, which I've just started now so I'm used to them for the start of the plan. I hate them.

I've used Chat GPT and a mixture of stuff from old blocks i've done, it created a spreadsheet, did a specific peak week for Lanzarote and i found the more i fed in the more it spit out, factored in fortnightly Parkrun "time trials" etc.

Also found that telling it when things change it adapts really well.

As a caveat, it's also bloody terrifying how much it knows about me!

 

[Langers]

I think Runna is absolutely fantastic - especially for someone like me who is relatively new to actual training blocks/routines. The variety of workouts, the stats/data, the way it's so easy to customise/tailor it to your individual needs/paces/availability, the explanations and visuals for the strength sessions (I haven't got a clue about any of this) - it's all brilliant.

The most helpful thing for me is the way it syncs with Garmin. So if I've got an interval session, my watch tells me how far into each rep I am, what my pace is, overall distance, which 'lap' of the workout I'm currently on etc. So if I need to be at 4-4:15 min per km pace, there's a gauge on my watch to show if I'm going too slow, too fast or if I'm in range. It works so well.

Negatives? The fact you can't split some of the longer workouts - so if you've got a 20km long run to do, it'd be nice to have the ability to break it up, e.g. 10 in the morning, 10 later on. Would be helpful to have Parkrun as part of a longer workout.

And obvs the Strava/Garmin issue needs to be sorted quickly because it's the consumer who will lose out - I use both every day.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

You mean 'smugness'? Yep - I wallowed in the smugness in the office yesterday morning. Worth the niggling pain!

Excellent - Pitchcroft? Think I'm going back to Oaklands. I am aiming on a return to Pitchcroft for a proper PB attempt in a few weeks, when this 5k improvement plan ends - that'll follow a reduced volume week and I might even break out the Adios Pro 4s for that one.

Yeah Pitchcroft, hopefully the wind won't be too bad.

Adios Pro 4s arrived last night, was walking around the house in them like a 12 year old with new football boots last night.....tempted to wear them tomorrow, but probably shoudn't.

I've also ordered the Alphafly 3s....so will make a decision over the next few weeks about which i'll wear for Valencia.

Have you done Arrow Valley? I think that's probably as fast/faster than Pitchcroft.

 

[Langers]

Yeah Pitchcroft, hopefully the wind won't be too bad.

Adios Pro 4s arrived last night, was walking around the house in them like a 12 year old with new football boots last night.....tempted to wear them tomorrow, but probably shoudn't.

I've also ordered the Alphafly 3s....so will make a decision over the next few weeks about which i'll wear for Valencia.

Have you done Arrow Valley? I think that's probably as fast/faster than Pitchcroft.

Yeah I've done Arrow Valley. Really good, very friendly - I'll be going back in a few weeks but I would strongly disagree about it being as quick as Pitchcroft. Definitely not as flat as there are a few peaks and troughs along the way.

The only Parkruns I've done that can rival Pitchcroft for speed are Hastings (simple out and back on a promenade) and Isabel Trail (out and back on what I think is an old railway line).

What colour have you gone for with the Pro 4s? Very exciting!

 

[Tredman]

Ah....i'm doing Valencia Marathon in December, so we must be at similar points in our training! Did a 20 mile long run last Sunday, which was arduous.

I am off to Lanzarote for some warm weather training next week (and obviously...a holiday) can't wait, although i am also dreading the return, kind of glad it's been more wintery this week so it's less of a shock upon my return.

I can't work out whether training in the cold and rain and then running the marathon in around 15c will be good, or bad.

I did 18 miles last weekend. Training has a drop off this week - found myself earlier saying 'oh great, its only 14 miles on Sunday'

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Yeah I've done Arrow Valley. Really good, very friendly - I'll be going back in a few weeks but I would strongly disagree about it being as quick as Pitchcroft. Definitely not as flat as there are a few peaks and troughs along the way.

The only Parkruns I've done that can rival Pitchcroft for speed are Hastings (simple out and back on a promenade) and Isabel Trail (out and back on what I think is an old railway line).

What colour have you gone for with the Pro 4s? Very exciting!

There are 3 problems with Pitchcroft, it's like a tundra, the wind at the bottom end can be awful, the 20 metres of bark for the horses that you run through twice is horrible, and finally the sprint finish is on grass, which can be boggy.

AV does have a couple of ups and downs, but obviously you can earn that time back on the downs, i like that the second lap is different so it avoids the traffic of the slower runners, the wind doesn't seem to be too bad, and it's paved all the way around.

However, i have only done it 3 times i think, and in each instance i was in really good shape, so i probably think better of it as a result, where as i've done Pitchcroft so often i've experienced it at its best and worst.

All that said about Pitchcroft, the Horseshoe course is definitely faster, i think that the normal course is either measured long, or the Horseshoe course is measured short (or both!), because I always seem about 20 seconds faster on that alternative course.


As for the Pro 4s i went for these, £152 from Sportshoes seemed pretty good. They look beautiful now, but a couple of damp runs and they will look dreadful...still.

 

[Langers]

Same colourway I have - great price for them as well. I hope you like them as much as I do! Best shoes I've ever run in.

I wasn't aware of some of those downsides with Pitchcroft as it's been mild weather every time I've been, though the bark sections don't bother me at all. The grass isn't ideal though, I agree with you there. Always wary of turning an ankle on that section. and I've yet to experience the horseshoe course.

I've not done all the West Midlands courses but of the ones I've done (Pitchcroft, Dudley, Wyre Forest, Babbs Mill, Oaklands, Wolverhampton West Park, Wolverhampton East Park, Perry Hall, Cannon Hill, Edgbaston Reservoir, Arrow Valley, Walsall Arboretum, Woodgate Valley, Sutton Park) I've found Pitchcroft to be the fastest.