The FastDay Forum

My official time for yesterday was 32.47, I am soooo chuffed

No PB for me - I was running along with 106 others on teh beach at Portrush - I think I read it's the only one run on a beach? It was glorious - the waves lapping the shore, a clutch of horses thundering past, someone dressed in Stars Wars gear as it was May the fourth, the sound of Vangelis Chariots of Fire in the distance.... but whilst running on hard sand is fine, you need to cross a patch of soft sand to get there. So my time suffered - 31.21. I persuaded my nephew, who lives nearby and is running a relay leg in the Belfast Marathon on Monday - to join me. He came in in about 27 minutes! Brilliant first parkrun for him, and he loved the very friendly atmosphere.

Congratulations to Cal_Ife who completed her 50th parkrun at Conkers on Saturday, pushing her youngster around. I don't think she has found this thread yet but we can still all give her a cheer!

Well Done!

I've just completed part 2 of week 5 of the C25K runs. So I've just done two 8 minute runs with a 5 minute walk in the middle! I'm feeling rather pleased with myself. My next run, hoping Friday, will be a 5 minute warm up walk and then the rest is running! No walking breaks. This fitness thing feels all a bit miraculous. I do feel like I want to move. Only a few months ago I used to miss buses because I couldn't be bothered to move a bit faster. Today I didn't even give it a second thought. I think much of that is the weightloss, just feeling lighter and able to move more, but the jogging has shown to me that I can do it.

Melanie, A beach run sounds rather wonderful.

Well done Elaine

Let us know how you get on on Friday

Advice wanted here - I have 6 weeks to go to my half-marathon. I think my current shoes are just about done - is 6 weeks long enough to break in and use a new pair?

Yes - not a problem with modern shoes, but wear them for a good while in the shop to be confident you have got the right pair. Good luck shopping!

I'm not really the person to reply as I'm a new runner and only had my shoes less than 6 weeks - but if you need them you will have to get them sooner or later Also you will still have the old ones as a fall-back.
Cant't imagine running a half marathon, I'm just about to set out on my usual midweek 5km

When I bought my last pair of shoes they checked my gait in the shop on a running machine to see if I overpronate and to what degree. They recommended nutral shoes with a gel insole. The Gel insole replaces the insoles that come with the shoe and sort of moulds itself to the shape of your foot when running. I have to say these insoles are quite comfortable and I haven't noticed any of the problems associated with wearing the wrong type of shoes

No PB for me - I was running along with 106 others on the beach at Portrush - I think I read it's the only one run on a beach?

Wow! What a beautiful place to be running that is.

It was lovely!

No parkrun this week - cancelled due to Lord Mayors show. Bit annoyed that this wasn't mentioned in the weekly newsletter, though to be fair it was on the event home page, I just hadn't checked. I hitched a lift with my husband and ran round Hillsborough lake again - did it in 15 mins, compared to last week when it took me 19. So I reckon my PACE was fast enough to do a sub-30 5km....

What a shame to miss your parkrun fix - never mind, there will be another one along soon enough... I made a determined attempt to run a steady first mile today, and found another old chap doing the same thing so we ran 2 miles together but I could not maintain even that pace for the full distance so came in at 23:48 by my watch. Only a few seconds down on recent times but my hips are both very sore - probably not recovered completely from my long fasting-day bike ride on Tuesday. Wife however had a really good run with a monster sprint finish to pass 4 people in the last few yards, only a few seconds down from her PB so she is pleased with herself. Here's to next week...

I've just signed up!! I'm 2 weeks into breaking myself in by jogging intervals but I thought signing up would give me something to aim towards!

Chuffed today. After feeling a bit disappointed last week that I could have pushed harder (and a couple of longer midweek runs) I ran 30.23 today. That's nearly 3 minutes faster than last week (33.18) and so close to the sub 30 :0D My positioning was up from 103 last week to 69 this week!!! I'm on such a high now! Race for Life tomorrow so really going to try and push for the sub-30.

A bit of determination, insanely competitive personality and midweek runs and I've almost hit my 1st target. I've only been running for 4 weeks after an 20 month (baby) break. Hope I can keep it up and I'll be sprinting it in 6 months time ;0)

All you recent converts to parkrun should take a look at the runbritain site - parkrunners can register by using their barcode number and the site issues league tables and rankings based on performances - which should suit the insanely competitive amongst us! You get a handicap rating which is charted up/down and you can compare with other runners who have registered. There is also a monthly prize for handicap improvement - which is easy when you first start but very hard when all your best runs are long past! I find it amusing to study how well/badly I have done (I'm currently 1236th best 60-year-old in the country!!!)