Sign up for the summer 2015 couch to 5k course now!

The next Abingdon AC couch-to-5k will begin on Saturday 13th on June 2015, 8.30am, at Rye Meadow, Abingdon.

Based in conjunction with your local parkrun, the course is 10 weeks to take those new to running from absolute zero, to absolute 5k parkrun hero!

It will be co-led by Caroline H and Becks C.

Email us at abingdonacbeginners@gmail.com for more information and to sign-up! The sign-up form is at the bottom of this post.

Run for your life!

Running is a great way of keeping fit, beating stress and making friends. For several years now, Abingdon AC have been offering running-from-scratch courses, which take beginners from running a minute at a time to running several miles in one go.

This summer we will start a couch-to-5k course (the Silver course). It is led by club members who are qualified Leaders In Running Fitness, and aims to get beginners running regularly as part of a large established group of runners.

We have found that the most important factor in people keeping up their running is making lots of friends who also run and taking part in regular group runs.

Course details

Start: 13th June 2015 at 8.30am
Session length: 30-45 mins followed by coffee at Java&Co
Meeting place: Rye Meadow, at parkrun start
Course length: 10 weeks
Target distance: ... 5 km (3.1 miles) ... so you can do... 5k events including the weekly Abingdon parkrun.
Training: Warmup, walk/run (run segments gradually increasing) over the parkrun course, cooldown, stretching.
Associated group: Abingdon parkrun, a free weekly 5k event open to everyone from 4 to 400 (and their dog or pram!)
Cost: Free!

Find out more

More info and our bios!

Sign up

Sign up form

Whoops

I got the day of week and month right in my last post but not the date - the new course starts on Tuesday 14th April!

John

Tuesday evening 'Silver' couch-to-5K course starts 14th April

The next Abingdon AC couch-to-5k will begin on Tuesday 14th April, 6.50 for 7 p.m., at Tilsley Park, Dunmore Road, Abingdon - meet in the foyer. 

Based in conjunction with your local parkrun, the course is 10 weeks to take those new to running from absolute zero, to absolute 5k parkrun hero!

It will be led by John Styles, with help from Abingdon AC club members.

Email abingdonacbeginners@gmail.com for more information and to sign-up!

Spread the word!

Running is a great way of keeping fit, beating stress and making friends. For several years now, Abingdon AC have been offering running-from-scratch courses, which take beginners from running a minute at a time to running several miles in one go.
This spring we will start a couch-to-5k course (the Silver course). It is led by club members who are qualified Leaders In Running Fitness, and aims to get beginners running regularly as part of a large established group of runners.

We have found that the most important factor in people keeping up their running is making lots of friends who also run and taking part in regular group runs.

Course details

Start: 14th April 
Session length: 30-45 mins 
Meeting place: Tisley Park building foyer - 6:50 for 7 p.m.
Course length: 10 weeks
Target distance: ... 5 km (3.1 miles) ... so you can do... 5k events including the weekly Abingdon parkrun.
Training: Warmup, walk/run (run segments gradually increasing) along the wide footpaths in the vicinity of Tilsley Park, cooldown, stretching.

Cost: Free!

Sign up

Sign up form

C25K week 9 round up

We've come a long long way together

So the day is fast approaching; your last session of the C25K course. Your opportunity to try your first full 5k as a new runner.

Don't let it worry you though. You've already done the hard work during the previous nine weeks. The most important thing is that you try to enjoy it!

You've all come a long way. Just think about it for a moment. Nine short weeks ago you may have struggled to run for 1 minute, but last Saturday I watched you all run 15 minutes without stoping. TWICE! That is an amazing achievement and sets you in good stead for life as a runner. Whether you run regularly or just the occasional parkrun, you will continue to benefit from what you've done so far.

As a self-confessed run addict however, I would encourage you to continue pushing yourselves. A weekly parkrun is a great way to measure progress and there are plenty of races out there that are suitable for all abilities. Signing up for a race is a great way to stay motivated.
I'll make a few suggestions for future events in next week's final blog, but for now ...

Let's talk about parkrun

You will run your first parkrun without the whistle on Saturday, so I thought it was a good opportunity to take a closer look at what parkrun offers. At the risk of gushing, I'm going to share some of my thoughts about this most wonderful event.

For me, parkrun offers so much but asks for so little in return. I wrote a list of some of the things we can get from parkrun.

1. Well there's the obvious - a weekly 5k, timed run (not a race)!
2. It costs exactly nothing to join up and run.
3. It's well organised, safe and inclusive.
4. It is a community event.
5. It offers the opportunity to wear fancy dress for no particular reason.
6. If gives you an excuse to eat cake. 'I earned this cake!'
7. It allows you the smug feeling of having run a 5k before most people have even got out out of bed.
8. It's a chance to get together as a family to do something active (and free).
9. Allows you to set a good example to your kids.
10. It gives kids the chance to grow their confidence in a supportive environment (actually that applies to adults too).
11. It's a chance to meet people from your own community as well as those who have travelled from further afield.
12. It's something to be proud of.
13. It's a not very secret, secret club. A bit like the Free Masons but without the silly handshakes.
14. It's a chance to show yourself what you are capable of and then exceeding it.
15. It gives you targets to aim for - that all important 50 t-shirt that proudly declares how many times you have run around our muddy course.
16. It gives you a focus, motivating you to get out and run.
17. It gives you the feeling of belonging to something bigger.
18. It gives you the perfect excuse to buy new running shoes (well you need shoes for mud, shoes for the road and shoes to just look good in).
19. It allows you to wear hi-viz clothing in public, without feeling like a berk.

OK so that's my list. Maybe you could add a few more. What is obvious though, is that there is a long list of things we get from parkrun.

And what do they ask for in return? 

Your time. That's all.

So now that you are runners and have been welcomed into the parkrun fold, it is worth thinking about all of this. You can give back by joining in and volunteering. It's great fun and you get a lot of the things on the list without even running!

Bargain! 

The only way parkrun can keep going is by people like us giving up a bit of our time on a Saturday morning to enable and encourage others to run.

Of course you don't have to do it right away. You'll want to get a few runs under your belt before volunteering and that's great. This is something for the future. I just thought it was worth mentioning.

Session 9

What we did:

Drills to warm up.

(run 15 minutes + walk 1 minute) x 2 (31 minutes)

Session 10

Next session we will be:

Running parkrun! Woooohooooo!

Homework

Don't forget to get a few sessions in during the week. It will be particularly important if you want to be ready to run the whole 5k in one go.

Register

We'll meet again at 8:40 on Saturday. Try to get here in plenty of time before the start. We'll do a quick warm up before we join the other parkrunners on the start line.

C25K week 8 round up

The missing week

Ok so I missed last week's round up. It was a horrible week and I didn't get the time. However, I will just say that I was very impressed with the progress of everyone after the week I wasn't there. Brilliant effort!

Twelve whole minutes

Well if I'd been impressed the week before, this week knocked my socks off. Seeing everyone running for the full twelve minutes was fabulous. And we all did it twice!

It really is getting close to the final graduation parkrun and people are already clocking up good times for the run. Considering there is a walking element, this is brilliant.

Next week we will be running for even longer! We'll also replace the 5 minute walk warm up with some drills so that we can start running at the same time as the rest of the parkrunners.

Injury time

I know that there have been some niggling injuries within the group so I thought I'd look at that issue.

It's not unusual for new runners to suffer with aches and pains as their bodies get used to the increase in activity. The trick is knowing when a 'niggle' has become (or has the potential to become) a real injury.

It's not just new runners either. Recent research has shown as many as 79% of runners suffer at least one injury in a year.

There are some injuries that are considered more common among new runners, for example, medial tibial stress syndrome, or as it's more widely known - 'shin splints'.

There is no definitive known cause for injury but there are a few things that are thought to increase the risk for some people. For new runners, increasing distance or intensity too quickly can leave them vulnerable to injury, (particularly the aforementioned shin splints).

Biomechanical imbalance is another possible cause. Humans are rarely perfectly symmetrical. Weakness in one muscle group can cause excessive wear and tear in another, leading to possible injury.

However, there are plenty of wonky runners out there who never seem to get injured, as well as strong and physically well balanced runners who get injured just thinking about running.

So what can we do about it?
Preventing injury completely is impossible but there are things we can do to reduce the risk.

Warm up before a run, stretch properly afterwards and do core strength work on the side.

Also, you might benefit from a sports massage every now and then.

What if you are unlucky enough to pick up an injury?
There is a wealth of help and guidance about treating injury on the intranet. Some good, some not so good. Below are links to sources I've found helpful in the past.

• running.competitor.com/2014/07/injury-prevention/the-top-5-most-troublesome-running-injuries_11316
• www.athletestreatingathletes.com/
• www.kinetic-revolution.com/coaching-blog/strength-rehab-for-endurance-athletes/
• www.runnersworld.co.uk/beating-injury/running-injuries-a-z/199.html

Session 8

What we did:

5 minute brisk walking with swinging arms
(run 12 minutes + walk 2 minutes) x 2 (28 minutes)

Session 9

Next session we will be doing:

Drills to warm up.
(run 15 minutes + walk 1 minute) x 2 (31 minutes)

Homework

Don't forget to get a few sessions in during the week. It will be particularly important now that you are increasing the length of the run intervals.

Register

We'll meet again at 8:40 on Saturday. Don't forget to check in with one of us so we can keep a record of who is there for each session.

C25K week 6 round up

Mud mud mud mud mud mud

Let's talk about mud. Love it or hate it we've certainly had our share of it!

It makes even the short intervals of running feel harder than they have any right to be. Then there's the washing! It gets everywhere, "how did I get mud on my chin?!"

And those lovely new, shiny running shoes will never really be clean again.

Next time you're struggling through deep mud cursing under your breath about how hard it is, try to look at the positives. The extra muscles you are using to keep you upright are making you stronger and improving your balance. It's not just your calves and quadriceps that are getting a workout but also those smaller muscles in your feet and legs. Off road running brings challenges that will make you a better, stronger runner.

The best thing is though, that when it eventually does dry up, you are going to fly along!

So learn to love the mud, and remember that some people pay a lot of money to do this, you're getting it for free!

Get stretched

Now that you are increasing the distance you are running it is even more important to do your stretching. You should to try to make it part of your routine.

We are separating more each session where some of you speedy people are able to cover more distance during the run intervals. So if you get to the finish everyone has finished, gather in our usual stop and start your stretching. You can do it in a group to help each other remember all the different stretches.

Here is a reminder of at least some of the stretches we do:
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/how-to-stretch-after-a-run.aspx

Or if you want a few new ones:
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/staying-healthy/the-rw-complete-guide-to-stretching-for-runners/484.html

Session 6

What we did:

5 minute brisk walking with swinging arms
(run 7 minutes + walk 3 minutes) x 2 + run 5 minutes (25 minutes)

Session 7

Next session we will be doing:

5 minute brisk walking with swinging arms
(run 9 minutes + walk 2 minutes) x 2 + run 5 minutes (25 minutes)

Homework

Don't forget to get a few sessions in during the week. You might even notice how much easier it feels without the mud!

Register

We'll meet again at 8:40 on Saturday. Don't forget to check in with one of us so we can keep a record of who is there for each session.

C25K week 5 round up

Running is hard

I know, right? You probably don't need me to tell you that. I imagine that the increase in minutes of running over the last few weeks has brought that crashing home.

Yes running is hard, but it wouldn't be worth doing if it was easy. Sitting on the sofa watching TV is easy, lying in bed for an extra hour on a Saturday morning is easy, getting in the car to go to the supermarket is easy. But these things all lack something that running brings. A sense of achievement, an increased level of fitness and best of all, a rush of endorphins!

OK so you might not be quite at the 'rush' stage yet, but I'll bet you are feeling an lift in mood after a run. That's because, for all the benefits of running there are for your body, the benefits for your mind are tenfold.

Running (physical activity), is increasingly being 'prescribed' for improving mental well-being or even depression, and for good reason. All those lovely chemicals that are released when you run. The release in tension, or sometimes simply having a bit of time to yourself. These things are as important as lowering your blood pressure or dropping a few pounds off your waistline, and are not to be underestimated.

So welcome to the club of doing something that is hard but feeling good about it. Welcome to being a runner!

If the mental health benefits are of particular interest to you, here are a few links that you might find useful:
http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/help-information/mental-health-a-z/E/exercise-mental-health/

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/apr/30/running-shows-mind-whos-boss

http://www.thesportinmind.com/articles/the-benefits-of-running-and-exercise-on-mental-health/

Progression

I do hope you are continuing to enjoy our course. You are certainly progressing brilliantly.

Some of you were able to complete your first parkrun last week and others not but that's fine. It will come. The point is that you all ran more than ever before!

Caroline will be at the helm for the next session as I'm off to the inaugural Didcot parkrun to see if I can snag myself a PB!

Session 5

What we did:

• 5 minute brisk walking with swinging arms
• (run 5 minutes + walk 3 minutes) x 2 + run 7 minutes (23 minutes)

Session 6

Next session we will be doing:

• 5 minute brisk walking with swinging arms
• (run 7 minutes + walk 3 minutes) x 2 + run 5 minutes (25 minutes)

Homework

Don't forget to get a few sessions in during the week. Think of it as an opportunity to get out of the house and away from the kids/parents!

Register

We'll meet again at 8:40 on Saturday. Don't forget to check in with one of us so we can keep a record of who is there for each session.