Three Parkruns and a pacing lesson

Assisted by AI

I can’t remember the last time I ran before this month. High school, maybe. Twenty years ago.

Eight months of jiu jitsu changed something. A beginner’s mindset. To show up and suck and trust that showing up is the point.

So when Xavier suggested Parkrun, I said yes. Three Saturdays in, I’m surprised at myself.

Week one: 36:33. Xavier ran with me, slowing down to match my pace. I took that as permission to push harder. Went out at 6:21/km - sub-32 minute territory. By kilometre three I was cooked. Finished at 8:39/km, heart rate pinned at 188.

Week two: 39:30. Different course, same pattern. Fast start, fade hard, walked kilometre four. Ground contact time went from 290ms to 310ms as my form fell apart.

Week three: 35:23. Over a minute faster than week one. No walking. Even splits.

What changed? I finally let Xavier set the pace instead of fighting it.

He talked. I listened (mostly gasped). The conversation held me back to ~7:20/km at the start - the pace he’d been trying to give me all along. My splits: 7:19, 6:56, 7:02, 7:04, 7:02. Textbook pacing with a slight negative split.

Cadence jumped 26 steps per minute - not from thinking about it, but from finally matching his rhythm. Vertical oscillation dropped. Less energy wasted bouncing.

Slowing down made me faster.

BJJ taught me this already. I just didn’t recognise it.

White belts go hard from the first grip. Zone 5 before the roll starts. Then they gas at minute two and spend the rest surviving. The lesson everyone learns eventually: pace yourself. Start slower, read what’s happening, save the explosions for when they matter.

I’ve been running like a white belt rolls.

Research on elite endurance athletes found they consistently train about 80% easy, 20% hard - polarised training. My Parkruns have been nearly half the time above 170 BPM. Redlining. Too hard to build base, not structured enough to peak. Stuck in the middle.

The fix isn’t more effort. It’s distributed effort. Hold back at the start so you have something left at the end.

Twenty years without running. Eight months of BJJ. Three Parkruns.

I’m not sure what shifted. Maybe it’s the willingness to be a beginner again. Maybe it’s learning that discomfort isn’t the same as damage. Maybe it’s just having someone to show up with - and finally listening to them.

The goal by my birthday in July: ~30 minutes. Not by training harder - by pacing smarter.

We’ll see if it compounds.