I have always been considered a slow runner, even when I almost dipped under 30 minutes for a parkrun (30.06 Hackney Park Run 31st May 2014) this was still pretty much considered a pretty slow time for a 5K…oh how I long to be that quick these days.
But how useful is that S word anyway, and should we be speaking about the other S word more
Speed
I always say to women that are just starting out that your running speed doesn’t matter, the most important thing is to get out there as often as you can and to learn to enjoy the sport regardless of any improvements of speed or distance.
However, knowing your running speed does help in a range of contexts
- It helps you to assess how long its going to take you to cover a certain distance, which is very useful when scheduling your exercise
- It helps you decide if a race event is suitable…I once signed up for a 10K where I came dead last and everyone had gone home by the time I finished…if I had checked the website with the previous years times I would have been saved the embarrassment (you can read about that here)
- It helps you find running buddies who run at a similar speed to you
And also
4. It helps you to plan for improvements, knowing your baseline speed is crucial if you want to improve it.
At the moment we are half way through a pilot programme I am running called “Scream if you want to go FASTER” where we have 100 women taking part in an 8 week programme to see if by making small adjustments to their mindset and technique they can speed up and get a 5K PB.
We are having some great results so far, with many women reporting improvements week on week, and lots of women simply finding themselves running the 3 times a week the programme recommends.
So to celebrate this early success we are commissioning some new kit, with the fab slogan
Speed is Relative
Normally we order new kit and hope that we are able to sell it, however this time we are taking preorders to ensure you guys get exactly what colours and sizes you require and that we are not left with lots of left over stock.
All of our technical t-shirts and vests are made with sweat wicking fabric, wash well and always stimulate conversation at races and while out running.
They come in 4 colours and 3 sizes and we will ship them anywhere in the world
So what better way to support the Too Fat to Run movement and to prove that running fast is not the be all and end all in this sport.
The deadline for placing your order is this Sunday….so don’t miss out…get your order in now!!!