I used, many many moons ago, to be very fit. I was in the British Army, I had to be. I was a very competent Orienteerer, half decent cross country runner and ran sub 3.5 hour Marathons. Age has obviously diminished those performances, and I’m a very long way away from being 28, but my little tussle with C-19 last October has left my lungs somewhat less than optimum.
For the last 2 weeks I’ve identified a gentle 5km loop on footpaths and roads (much of it away from civilisation (nobody needs to see my efforts)) and I have been doing an old man walk/jog/shuffle in an attempt to force my lungs to work. Today it felt, to be honest, b****y awful and on completing the loop, I found I’d done it 2 minutes faster. How’d that work then? 🤷♂️
My aim is to do Parkrun again and not have to walk any of it. It may never happen.
Good luck Phil. That c gets in the way of lots but it doesn’t get a look in when you fight back . I feel your pain it’s hard to get the body going again. Good luck who knows maybe next run will be 2 minutes faster still!
Best of luck Phil. Every little bit helps. Stick with it. I went to a camp once with Jeff Galloway (a US Olympic runner) and Sally Edwards (a Hawaiian Ironman winner) and they both say walk breaks are better for the body and you can still achieve terrific fitness. I’m a convert.
Think of it this way - you've lapped everyone who's at home on their couch! The important thing is you're getting out and moving your body.
I've been a distance runner for years and I still use the 10-and-1 method; 10 minutes of running alternated with 1 minute of walking. I frequently pass people at the end of a race who've been running right through. You're putting in the miles no matter how you do it! Kudos and good luck.
I agree with @carole_sandford. My compliments. That is a very good time for that distance I think. I'm wondering: was the terrain flat or hilly? And what were you listening to?
@mbrutus Thank you. It’s relatively flat terrain here in Lincolnshire, a couple of gentle inclines. As for the music, I have the entire catalogue of a UK Band, Status Quo (I guess ZZ Top are the equivalent over the pond (certainly many music journalists have made that comparison over the years)) on my phone and had set it to ‘shuffle’ and jogged to their no nonsense 3 chord boogie.
Over the years when I was jogging, I liked to listen to film soundtracks. Rocky, of course. And then later, Last of the Mohegans and Gladiator. I'm a sucker for anything by Hans Zimmer. Keep up the good work. I'm sure you'll surprise yourself, if not those who know you best.
October 6th, 2021
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I've been a distance runner for years and I still use the 10-and-1 method; 10 minutes of running alternated with 1 minute of walking. I frequently pass people at the end of a race who've been running right through. You're putting in the miles no matter how you do it! Kudos and good luck.