ParkRun Time Improvements

ParkRun Time Improvements

So at the beginning of November in a blog post I outlined some training targets (see it here).

That post was written on the back of completing a ParkRun in 31 mins 42 seconds on the 02/11/2013.  I was a bit disappointed in this time because I knew could have done better.  The subsequent weeks  I started to achieve marginally better times.  However, it was only at the end of November that I knocked a few more minutes off my ParkRun finishing time, I got 27 mins 31 seconds on the 30/11/2013.  Then suddenly out of the blue, running along side Jason Blount (who helped with my pace), I smashed my personal best, finishing in 25 mins 31 seconds on the 14/12/2013.   Since then I have gone strength to strength, now into month two of 2014, I have just achieved back to back personal bests of 24:42 and 24:06 respectively.  All of the ParkRun times over the last 12 weeks are shown in the graph below, In the 12 weeks I have managed to knock a whopping 7 mins 35 seconds of my ParkRun time.

My ParkRun finishing times over the last 12 weeks

My improvement in finishing has been attributed to a number of factors.

• First of all, at 9am on Saturday morning there is an overwhelming amount of support and encouragement from the ParkRun runners, supporters and volunteers.  It is virtually impossible not to push yourself that extra 5% harder.  ParkRun is great for meeting new people and making friends.

• Secondary, I have started doing regular training.  Thanks to a good friend Jason Blount, he has motivated me to regular training on Thursday evenings and the occasional extra run on other days of the week

• Thirdly, I have cut out the rubbish food in my diet cutting out most sugary snacks, fizzy drinks... etc.  Since the end of November I have been monitoring my weight via weekly weigh ins and since the 04/12/2014 I have lost 18 lb.

• Finally,  my father has taken an interest in ParkRun, he has supported me and even taken part in 3 races himself.  This has given me a huge boost.

Some of these have a bigger say in my improvement than others but I think it a combination of all these factors that I have allowed me to complete back to back PBs.  I have been that happy with my overall performance that I decided to answer a question about breakfast and running achievements on the weetabix facebook page.   Little did I know that this result in me receiving a personalised packet of weetabix with my name and ParkRun PB on the front.

Along as the factors above continue there is no reason for me not to continue improving.

December time

My last blog update was addressing my plans to get fit and healthy.  Well here is an update so far...

After a month of eating healthy, regular exercise and getting regular decent sleep... I am beginning to feel pretty good,  slowly losing excess body fat and generally feel pretty good.   It has been at least a couple of years since I regularly did of those things.  Also in the recent weeks I have managed to shave off 3 mins my ParkRun time.  I am hoping to continue improving my time every week.

Last week I received some exciting news, it seems there is now a good chance of some further work in Canada.  This has given me an extra incentive to finish off my work to enhance my chances of securing this work.  I have been working on a paper with the help of my PhD supervisor we have this submitted for publication before the Christmas break.

That is about it for this blog update.  Nice and short which is better than zero posts.

Back in Training

I started a blog more than two years ago with the intentions of writing blogs on a frequent occasions.  However the combination of laziness and busy with other things has meant that my blog page to be sparse with posts.  Also the previous entry was almost two years ago and a lot has happened since then, including 3 months in the Yukon, NW Canada and considering a possible future in Australia.  Maybe I will write about my experiences in another blog post.  I also recently discovered that I have dyslexia and regular writing about my life should help me improve my ability to write coherent sentences.

This blog post is going to be about my fitness and weight loss targets.  Back in 2010, I managed to lose 4 stone in weight and go onto complete a half marathon in 1 hr 47 mins.  This continued into 2011 where I did a few fell races and finally completing the Snowdonia marathon in 4 hrs (probably my proudest sporting achievement).  In April 2012, I ran the Manchester in also 4 hrs in very harsh weather conditions.  Unfortunately this was my last major sporting achievement.  After this I devoted my time to working on my PhD thesis.  Post submission I worked ridiculous hours with 3 jobs before getting a post Exeter Uni and spending 3 months doing fieldwork.  I will also add that I did suffer with anxiety during this time period and the combination of eating crap food and drinking sugary energy drinks I have slowly put the weight back on.

Now I am currently unemployed, although my current priority is finding the next job.  I have started training again with the intentions of losing weight and getting back to a good level of fitness.  I have signed up for the Central Lancashire half marathon in early Jan which should allow me plenty of time to regain fitness.  After this I intend to do the Manchester marathon again.... as a good friend has challenged me.

Today I did the park run in Hanley, parkrun is a free 5 km race that takes in parks all over the world on Saturday morning.  This morning I did the race in an embarrassing 31 minutes which is a good 10 mins off by current 5 km PBs.  My aim is to get close to back to that time.

Also I am currently over weight, weighing in at 16 and half stone.  To achieve my running targets I need to lose 3 stone.  I am planning to achieve this through a combination of diet and exercise.  I have decided that I will blog various steps of my quest to fitness in hope that i might give inspiration to people who are currently my situation to get back into shape.