30-10-2025, 01:52 PM
My name is Paul and I am 63 (born 20 April 1962). I probably did my first runs in my teens with my elder brother, but my main focus has always been sports rather than running, so football at school and then after school until my kids were born and then after a ten-year pause when young children made it hard to regular commit to sport I returned to sport, switching from football to tennis (since tennis was more flexible and less of a commitment). I still play tennis, usually 2-2.5 hours on a saturday morning mainly doubles. But I have probably done a bit of running throughout this period - almost entirely 5km runs and some years just three or four and other years perhaps 10-15. Obviously, I have never had any coaching - I just look to put one foot in front of another for the time it takes to run the distance. Similarly, I have never really had a training programme. I have heard that you are supposed to do easy runs and long runs, sometimes go slow and sometimes go fast, but I find it very hard to be disciplined. I usually have headphones that give me my time every five minutes and if the time is good, I think "lets push harder and go for a PB". If the time is bad, I think "lets push harder and at least do a reasonable time". So, every run is pretty much the same effort level (although the times vary a bit) and it is almost always 5-6km.
So why change? Well, there is no burning platform for me to improve my running, but I think it might be fun. I currently round 5km in around 30 mins and I would like to get this closer to 25 mins (but I am not sure I will ever break 25 mins and strangely enough I am not getting any younger!) and I would be keen to do 10 km in less than 60 mins and possibly under 55 mins. After more than 40 years of running, it would be nice to feel that I have a better understanding of it and can do a reasonable time for my age. I will be doing a bit of pilates and yoga as well as running (and of course tennis!) since my underlying goal is staying fit and healthy, but lets give it a go and see what the Ed can do for me!
So why change? Well, there is no burning platform for me to improve my running, but I think it might be fun. I currently round 5km in around 30 mins and I would like to get this closer to 25 mins (but I am not sure I will ever break 25 mins and strangely enough I am not getting any younger!) and I would be keen to do 10 km in less than 60 mins and possibly under 55 mins. After more than 40 years of running, it would be nice to feel that I have a better understanding of it and can do a reasonable time for my age. I will be doing a bit of pilates and yoga as well as running (and of course tennis!) since my underlying goal is staying fit and healthy, but lets give it a go and see what the Ed can do for me!