No matter sort of runner you might be, and no matter you’re coaching for, it’s at all times nice to make parkrun a part of your weekly routine for those who can. It’s a fantastic begin to the weekend and can prime up your motivation for operating due to the always-excellent ambiance.
Nonetheless, becoming parkrun in isn’t at all times the simplest factor to do for me when marathon coaching, and never solely due to the million actions my youngsters have lined up each weekend. It’s additionally as a result of parkrun is 5K, and as soon as I’m deep into marathon coaching my velocity classes are usually longer, and so they often happen on a Saturday.
Luckily my coach Andy Hobdell additionally loves parkrun and has discovered a method to embrace it in lengthy velocity classes—he simply makes me run arduous earlier than and after it. The parkrun sandwich throughout marathon coaching principally entails operating two lengthy stints at marathon tempo, one earlier than and one after the parkrun itself, which you continue to run as arduous as you possibly can.
Earlier on in my present coaching block for the London Marathon I did my longest parkrun sandwich session but, doing 10K at marathon tempo earlier than parkrun, adopted by 8km afterward, however you are able to do a lot shorter variations of the session—I’m doing 5K earlier than and 5K after this weekend, for instance.
It’s a fantastic session for testing out how comfy marathon tempo feels, particularly after the parkrun if you’ve put a quick 5K into your legs. The restoration time is often meant to be three to 4 minutes between every part of the exercise, however that is virtually inconceivable to evaluate appropriately for the beginning of the parkrun as a result of they don’t often start at precisely 9am. Then afterward it might take a little bit longer to get your barcode scanned and say hiya to a few individuals earlier than heading off to run once more.
The logistics of this session can be difficult, relying on the parkrun—for those who run a really hilly course, it’d truly be robust to run at marathon tempo on it earlier than and after, so that you may have to discover a totally different route domestically for these sections, or alter your tempo targets. It’s additionally generally good to get off the parkrun route for the exercise part after the run if doable, so that you’re not in the way in which of runners nonetheless ending their parkrun.
In case you don’t have a parkrun close to you or simply hate early mornings, then it’s simple to do that session and not using a parkrun. Simply do the center 5K arduous, or discover one other race if you need the additional motivation of different individuals to run with, which definitely at all times helps if you’re pushing the tempo.
