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+--- Thread: Goal to Improve Parkrun (/Thread-Goal-to-Improve-Parkrun)
RE: Goal to Improve Parkrun - NeilJ - 23-12-2025
Just a very brief update, ran Parkrun in 25:20 on Saturday felt reasonable.
Ran Aero run yesterday up in the vineyards 10,56KM @ 1:11'50, ave pace 6'47/K, ave HR 139BPM. There is an elevation gain and fall of around 380M on this route which at times is incredibly steep with sections of over 20% incline.
I do enjoy this run but yesterday the temperature just outside of Stellies was touching 35° and I think I became a bit dehydrated.
I am normally good to run to around 15kays without liquid but yesterday given the conditions, I think I definately could have done with some water. Note to self if doing this route carry a small bottle and drink at the top of the hill around the halfway mark.
As I write this today, I notice that I have consumed far more liquid over the past 24 Hrs than normal.
RE: Goal to Improve Parkrun - NeilJ - 24-12-2025
Hi Coach, tried a new route for my 1K reps this morning. It’s a newly surfaced fresh tar strip round the corner. No cars allowed on it until mid Jan so thought I’d jump at the opportunity. I did screw up the measurements ever so slightly but not to be of any serious consequence. I was 60M short on 1st rep and 30M long on the last one so it all panned out okay.
Started the run with a 2k warm-up at around 7Min / K with a few short pickups. I noted that my HR was quite low just before the start of my 1st lap at around 123 BPM even at 7mins, this was lower than normal.
1st K Really focused on form and breathing and let the time take care of itself. Felt very comfortable with good stride and upright body position. 5’00 HR@144 BPM. Felt great easy even pace throughout the Km.
2nd K Kept good form and just ran according to target without any over exertion, tried to stay as light as possible to glide through the Km. 5’00@146 BPM. Very happy with stride and breathing.
3rd K Deliberately wanted to hold form over the final KM which has been a challenge over the past few weeks. The 3rd K generally had a fall off in body shape, dropped head and shoulders, shortened stride and irregular breath pattern. 4’50@149 BPM. This was the best 3rd K I have run since starting the program, it had nothing to do with time really but rather when analyzed by preserving form and breathing rhythm, I was very happy with the outcome.
I jogged the 800 M home feeling that this was a good session, not necessarily by time but by the way I felt during and after it.
Whilst I am fully aware that sharing stride pattern, form and breathing rhythm are all anecdotal and can’t really be scientifically analyzed, they are in my view as important as the hard data provided by my watch and monitor.
The quantitative data does however bare out what I have mentioned above regarding my own qualitative analysis. There is a slightly lowered average HR of a few BPM on all segments when compared with previous weeks. The other metric that I noticed and have mentioned in previous weeks, is that today between all repetitions my Hr easily and fairly quickly dropped back to the magic 100BPM mark, well within two minutes rest.
You will notice that to lower my HR between the 2nd and 3rd rep has generally taken longer than this mornings effort and I have generally required an additional 30 seconds to get comfortable enough to start.
Overall very happy with the session but think it maybe slightly premature to start translating this into a faster Park run.
Would like to know your thoughts when you get a mo.
Wishing you and your family a very happy, joyous and blessed festive season.
RE: Goal to Improve Parkrun - NeilJ - 04-01-2026
Compliments of the season to Coach, Family and fellow runners.
I have actually been following the program, just not posted as I know that you have been busy Gavin with family.
All actually pretty much samo, samo as you can see from my Strava.
Chat soon.
RE: Goal to Improve Parkrun - NeilJ - 13-01-2026
On Saturday I ran the Bridgetown Prkrun which is pretty flat and a double loop around the park. I just felt really exhauseted and had to push hard to just maintain my pace of around 5:00/K. I finished in 25:28 and actually had to sit a while to recover. The telling bit was that my average HR was 149 which is quite a bit higher than it should have been on that route and at that pace. Clearly all wasent quite the way it should have been. Other than a bit of lethargy I have felt okay, certainly with no signs of any illness that I can report. Quite possibly just an off day.
Hi Gavin, back to posting running data with some frustration. As expressed in a previous post my Saturday Parkrun was not quite what I was anticipating and I ran deliberately on a flatter course to see if there would be any improvement through the recent training efforts. That wasent to be and I felt a bit dissapointed at the result. I know that I'm probably being somewhat impatient, given where I am at and just need to hold the faith in the training and the results will come.
So I did my longer run yesterday of 12 Kays and to be honest battled to get out the door. I checked my attitude as well as doing a quick psychological profile and realised that I was actually just exhausted. What the cause of this could be I have no idea. I have done nothing out of the ordinary, havent changed eating habits, been sleeping quite well and have no signs of any illness. The raw data indicates a run of 12.24K @ 1:27'28 which is 7 min/K, actually slower than I normally do these runs which is usually at an average of around 6:30/K. My average HR was 128 BPM so that was well within the zone 3 requirement and yet I was completely knackered when finished. I cant really put my finger on it but hopefully tomorrows interval session will help reveal what is going on.
Look forward to your considered and professional opinion.
Thanks Neil.
RE: Goal to Improve Parkrun - TheEd - 13-01-2026
Hi Neil .. great to have you posting again .. I left everyone alone so they could enjoy the festive season
so you didn't overindulge over the christmas break
try a few early nights in a row and let's keep an eye on things
feedback after tomorrow's run will be interesting
good luck TheEd
RE: Goal to Improve Parkrun - NeilJ - 14-01-2026
Thanks coach, I can report that this mornings session was much better. The fatigue was gone and I got through it with little trouble.
1st K I really did feel pretty good and probably went out too hard ran 4:29 @ 151BPM held my stride well and glided through to the finnish.
2nd K definately paid the price of running too hard in the 1st K, breathing fairly heavily at 500m and felt tiredness in my legs. Ran it in 5'13 with my average BP at 155 but wasnt overly disapointed as I realised it was due to the 1st km run too hard. Did feel slight slump in my shoulders through the middle.
3rd K went out moderately with the full intention of finishing faster which was achieved. Was super attentive on form and using my arms to find and maintain a good rythym over the last 400m. Ran 4:46 at around 154BPM and felt pretty good at the finnish.
The session overall was far better than anticipated particularly after Saturdays parkrun and Mondays 12K. I was quite happy with my form and felt that I got through the session for the most part holding good posture. The big and obvious realization was that I do need to run the 1st rep more conservatively next week to provide a more evenly timed session overall.
I have noticed that I am achieving my relative resting HR of around 100BPM between intervals slightly quicker than when I started doing these sessions.
Much better today.
Thanks for the chat.
RE: Goal to Improve Parkrun - NeilJ - 20-01-2026
Sorry Gavin for not posting earlier just been really busy. Saturday I ran Parkrun in 25:27 and deliberately took it fairly easy, I did notice that my average HR was 154BPM which seems quite high for the performance. Felt good across the finish and think I could certainly have gone quicker. I think that you are correct and that my 1st sub 25 in a while is probably just weeks away.
RE: Goal to Improve Parkrun - TheEd - 20-01-2026
Great Neil .. don't get too caught up in the heart beat too much, focus only on creating the routine and everything should fall into place
when doing the ParkRun the heart rate should go higher before running as the mind and body begin to anticipate the journey.
Once the Monday run pulse begins to drop and the wednesday session becomes faster at a lower pulse you know you moving in the right direction
ParkRuns should always be the reward
getting there Neil
cheers and enjoy your week's training
TheEd
RE: Goal to Improve Parkrun - NeilJ - 21-01-2026
Thanks Gavin, I'm holding the faith and can certainly feel that the program is working. As we get on in life we just need to recognize that things take a little longer, this includes fitness, running improvement and probably most importantly, recovery. As once competitive runners we know the kudos that we recieved when at the top of our game, our egos were stroked by both others and ourselves as we continued to strive to improve. As healthy old men we occaisionally tend to forget these things and live in the mind of our younger self, until we are challenged by a session that brings home the reality of our state and age. This is the new challenge that makes this program so exciting. Beating not just that goal of time, but beating the age barrier while doing it.
Monday I ran 10K in a fairly mediocre 1:10'08 at 134 ave BPM. Felt a bit guilty at having not gone further as Im now averaging 12K on these sessions. Lets see what the rest of the week holds.
RE: Goal to Improve Parkrun - NeilJ - 22-01-2026
I Ran my intervals yesterday and was a little perplexed as I just don’t seem to be able to get any real consistency. The fluctuation in times is something that I am finding difficult to explain.
1st K @ 4:42 - 155 BPM Felt okay kept good form all the way through. Fairly consistent pace.
2nd K @ 5:02 – 155 BPM My average heart rate tells nothing about this run. I started reasonably as I had finished the 1st K. At around 400m I started flagging and was struggling to keep my shape, gasping for air and had to hang tough to get through the segment. I finished as quickly as I could and was heaving wanting to throw up across the line. It took 3 minutes to get my HR back down to where I felt reasonably comfortable to proceed with the final K.
3rd K @ 4:53 – 155 BPM I started the final segment conservatively given the finish of the previous k. I tried desperately to keep upright with a good posture bur felt quite knackered through to around 700M. I forced myself to push through the final 300m just to get under 5 minutes.
There seemed to have been a relative improvement week to week and then this fall off. Coupled with this is the strange anomaly where my 2nd run is always quite a bit slower than the 1st or 3rd. I appreciate that if I’m running the 1st k too hard then I am going to obviously suffer on the 2nd K, that’s logical. The thing is that I feel that the 1st km is almost always within my grasp, I recover quickly and feel okay. I am normally reasonably good until the halfway mark through the 2nd K when the wheels come off. The final Km is normally a struggle but as I know it’s the last one psychologically I can find the extra gear required to finish well.
I think I’m going to attempt this session on the track next week, as the road I run on does have a slight decline at the finish of the 1st and 3rd K with and incline on the start of the 2nd KM. it is really not terribly significant but I think worth the experiment to get on the track to try. Besides which I haven’t run on a track in about 10 years, so it will be good to get back there.