Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
New Mature Runners Thread
The materials in this website are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor, qualified personal trainer, therapist, dietitian or nutritionist Runners's World, Part of the Hearst UK well-being network © Copyright 2017
Comments
Visitors have just left and Mrs JB has concluded her Zoom session with her siblings. I'm on tidying up duties........
My knee behaved itself and played its part in delivering a 22.48 5k today: AG73.57%. My best for 3 months.
I can do no better than to quote Aquarius: cheers everyone!
It wasn't quite so cold this morning and I had a lovely forest 5k run with my niece Natasha, and Karen and Mike.
Sarah ran a festive 12k with some of the other ladies wearing festive outfits.
Gale force winds and heavy rain throughout the night. Just as well I had decided to have a rest day.
Will be walking to the supermarket later to top up the essentials. They don't open until 10am. Apparently it wasn't very busy on Boxing Day.
All things considered a very decent Christmas for me - and I hope for everyone else too.
HS - the typing seems to be getting slightly easier slowly but surely. On one of the review exercises I felt I was being quicker at working out what finger to use .. still plenty of lessons left though (going to try a couple more today once I've finished on here). I see you wore tracksters for the first time .. (whispers .. I've been wearing mine for a couple of weeks now).
JB - I'm hoping this new techie job isn't beyond my capabilities. It shouldn't be, as I already use all the Office 365 software apart from Teams - this job just adds a layer of administration on top so it shouldn't be too taxing. I agree re the Brexit 'deal' - without knowing too much of the details, yet I imagine it's very 'thin' and probably full of 'small print' that mean it's nothing like the glorious deal our dear leader would have us believe. I liked Kier Starmer's comment - "We'll vote for your deal - but only because a no deal would be far worse. And be in no doubt, any consequences of the deal are on you, the Tory party". Sorry to hear you are in tier 4 now (as are my family who are based in Herts/Oxon). Well done re that 22.48 5K you managed to run.
Aquarius - hope you enjoyed that hot toddy. I saw on Strava you'd run at the reservoir .. hope you managed to thaw out afterwards.
Only one casualty of last night's storm that I noticed in the garden - the new bird feeder tray with a domed cover blew off and smashed on the patio. We'll have to buy a new one as it isn't repairable .. meanwhile, two pigeons were busy this morning hoovering up the spilt seed.
You might remember Margaret was interested in a re-chargeable device to use when out walking which needed to have a 'back to start' function. I'd suggested a Garmin Vivoactive 3 as it's one of the few Garmins that does that. But the vivoactive has loads of other functions Margaret has no interest in (neither would I for that matter). Over xmas, Margaret admitted she really doesn't want the Garmin - far too much money for what she would use it for. I did some research and found an app called ViewRanger which uses the gps on your phone to track your mileage and route and calculates speed, pace etc. You can also, if you want to do more with it, create a route online and navigate that. And for £25 per year, you can also sign up to download OS maps for when you're walking off-road. I think it's definitely the way to go for Margaret - I've installed it on her phone and just need to show her how to start recording your walk. I've already stored a POI (point of interest) of our house and you can easily do the same when starting any other walk so I think once she's over the initial learning curve, she'll be fine with it.
We've been out walking in the village for the last three days and I used ViewRanger myself to get to grips with how to use it. We've investigated some of the less well-known footpaths we've never ventured down so I now have a few new footpaths/cut-throughs I can use in future when out running. Margaret told me last night she's really enjoyed this xmas - no doubt because with just us two of us, it was stress-free with no visitors to entertain and we were able to do what we wanted, when we wanted to and have meals when we felt like it. In fact, because we went for a walk on xmas day after we'd had a zoom session with her eldest son and it was getting a bit late, I cooked our xmas turkey yesterday instead.
I checked and my local physio clinic is closed until Sat so I've emailed them asking for an appointment and describing the knee problem as best I can.
JB, a good way to celebrate your birthday with an 11k run. Your WAVA will now be higher, but probably less that 1%.
WtnMel, well done for persevering with your typing exercises. It was probably easier for me, as I was a teenager, and was able to learn much quicker than I can now. Also, having a teacher, rather than following instructions on a screen, was probably beneficial. I don't suppose you have had any exercises, where you have to type up handwriting. That is difficult, because it is often hard to decipher, and consequently makes typing slower.
That's interesting that you originally suggested that Margaret get a VivoActive 3 watch, because I think that is the model that Karen recently got for her birthday. I'll ask her to confirm. I know that she is very pleased with it, as she can also use it in the gym for various activities to measure her heart rate, calories burned etc. It's a VivoActive4s, a later model. I hope Margaret is happy with the View Ranger, it sounds "just the job."
I think a lot of people were quite happy to have a quiet Christmas, as it reduced all the hassle of planning for guests, entertaining etc.
I hope that you will be able to get an appointment with a physio as soon as possible. In the meantime, you are wise to rest from running for a few days.
The weather yesterday was really foul, and consequently we abandoned our planned forest run, and ran on the roads instead. The weather was a mixture of bitingly cold winds, rain, sleet and finally snow. We ran 7 miles and were all soaked to the skin, despite so called waterproof tops. I stuffed my trainers with newspaper when I got home, to help them to dry out.
No running today, but I got caught in quite heavy snow walking to and from the supermarket.
Running Fox: I hope you managed to see your partner over Christmas, and you are both keeping well.
HS - Margaret has mentioned how much easier it seemed to be to pick up touch-typing when she was younger. There haven't been any exercises where you copy handwriting as yet - there is a game where you have to type the letters on balloons that are falling to the ground but I've not been quick enough yet to win! I think because Margaret has no need of anything as sophisticated as a Vivoactive with it's many functions she won't use, she thinks its an expensive 'sledgehammer to crack a nut'. I'm sure the ViewRanger app will be perfectly adequate once she's got used to how it functions. Don't blame you for abandoning your planned forest run in that nasty weather. I think my 'waterproof' running jacket is probably better described as 'showerproof' too!
Aquarius - if Margaret gets used to using the ViewRanger app, I can see it might be worth upgrading to the 'pro' version so we can download some OS maps for holidays - always assuming we'll be able to travel and go places again. Well done again for managing the reservoir run in the nasty weather. 'Oh dear' re the bargain xmas tree and the beetles/hornet appearing. But a big 'Oh no!' to glass finding it's way into your meal!!
The physio clinic is 'officially' closed but the boss is WFH, picking up phone messages and emails. She called me and left a message and said she'll try again tomorrow. Unfortunately, we'll probably be out tomorrow as well but I'm sure we'll eventually catch up with each other! It sounded like they may be able to fit me in with an appointment on Mon.
Aquarius, that uninvited creature sounds a bit sinister. There are some new, invasive and nasty species around (no Boris Johnson jokes, please).
HS, I thought you were going to say that the foul weather meant you cancelled your run - but of course I know you are very old school (in a good way) and thus you just switched to roads! Funnily enough and talking of old school runners there was a big feature on the great Ron Hill in my latest Runners World. What an athlete he was - and did that 52 year (give or take) running streak! Incredible.
Did anyone get any running related kit over Xmas. I got socks, hat and gloves - all low-tech and (thus?) reliable.
Just back from my last 10K of 2021. Pleased to report I finished with my best time of the year: 48:33. In what has been a bad week for weather I was very lucky: a windless day on a sunny, if therefore, packed prom.
PS on the Xmas tree issue, last year we put ours in a pot in the garden (needless to say it was quite small and not a gift from the People of Norway) and brought it back in this year in much the same condition as it was when we put it out. It shed not one needle and we've booked it again for 2021!
Aquarius, our posts crossed! Sunday's shopping was uneventful and the store was very quiet, just as I like it. The shopping doesn't get any lighter, but I can walk back without stopping. Natasha is not a club member, but runs regularly, and also uses a spin bike.
Unfortunate that your bargain xmas tree harboured some unwelcome guests.
What a shame that your Boxing Day meal ended up in the bin. Strange how glass managed to intrude. Turkey and chips was better than a Chinese takeaway, which a lot of people ordered apparently.
WtnMel, presumably the ViewRanger app means running holding the phone? When my niece ran with us on Saturday, she carried her phone, which also "spoke" distance, pace etc and made a course similar to strava. I can't remember what app she used.
I presume Physios aren't affected by the Covid regulations?
JB, yes I'd heard about the article in RW mag. I believe he is suffering with advanced Alzheimer's and is now 82.
No, nothing running related I'm afraid.
Well done for your fastest 10 k of the year. That must be a 70+ WAVA, especially as you have recently had a birthday.
That was good that you resurrected last years Xmas tree, which hasn't shed a single needle.
Now for the bad news, the New Forest is now in Tier 4, so we will only be allowed to run with one other person outdoors.
It was probably the coldest day of the year this morning, and the roads and pavements were icy. I ran with Sarah F and Mike and we had planned a road hill rep session. We did a recce and the hill was frost/ice free, so we did the planned 6 hill reps with jog down recoveries. Instead of timing the efforts, we set our Garmins to the heart rate screens with the aim of increasing our max HR's at the top of each successive rep.
Very icy on the ground this morning, and I decided not to run. I'm running with Helen tomorrow, and as I don't normally run on a Friday, am using this as an excuse for not running today.
I'm looking forward to watching Dr. Who tomorrow. "Exterminate the Covid 19," "We obey!"
JB - as you'll see below, I've got an appointment with the physio next week (the same one I saw in Jan 2020 for a shoulder problem). Re losing fitness, I'm resigned to that happening. But after a few issues with ankle problems in the past and an enforced layoff, nothing new about having to start again. No running-related kit for me - just as well as I have plenty already!
HS - sorry if I misled you re ViewRanger. I guess you could use it for running - but it seems to be primarily designed for walking. And that's all Margaret needs it for, to record her walks around town. I saw the New Forest had been put into tier 4 the same as us (Gloucestershire). So you'll now have to choose which clubmate to run with each time. Well done re that hill reps session - and don't blame you not running today with the icy conditions.
Third-time lucky for me re the physio - I was actually near the phone when they called earlier. I've got an initial telephone consultation on Wed morning (info gathering etc.) and an appointment at the clinic on Thu morning.
Happy New Year to you all - I won't be staying up but what's the betting I'll get woken up by fireworks going off? Maybe tonight's the night I should search for my earplugs?
I'll just leave this topical image here - you're welcome ..
Mel, like the photo, we had a firework-free NY Eve. I just about managed to stay up until midnight, not so much to welcome the new year, as to wave an unfond farewell to this one. As the song tells us 'things can only get better'.
Columba, good to hear from you. A Christmas spent in isolation doesn't sound much fun but well done for keeping your pecker up.
HS, I guess there'll have t be a rota in your running group to work out who runs with whom?
First run of 2021 worked well for me. 5K in 22,27 @ 75.41% WAVA. Really pleased with this and almost worth getting my fingers frozen for!
Happy running (and non-running) to all for 2021,
Columba, good to hear from you again. I think we are all on strava here. My Garmin is 645 music, although I don't bother with the music feature, and my phone is a Galaxy S8. This syncs with my Garmin, strava and fetch.
That was good that you were able to communicate with members of your family on Zoom. It appears that Skype, which I recently deleted has upped its game, and can now accommodate up to 100 in a session.
WtnMel, I've had a look at the ViewRanger app and see that it is aimed chiefly at walkers. The reviews were mixed, some highly critical, and others giving 5 stars.
Our Monday club runs will be tricky now that we are in tier 4. We will have to run in pairs, but on different courses.
I hope your appointment with the physio on Thursday proves to be productive.
I didn't stay up last night either, but was woken at midnight by the fireworks. Not so many this time though.
I see from the news today that many idiots ignored the instructions not to mix in households for the New Year, and the police had to break up numerous parties. No wonder the number of people being infected is rocketing out of control.
JB, yes we will have to decide who is running with who to keep within the guidelines.
Well done for your first 5k of the year, an excellent time and WAVA.
I ran an easy pace road 10k this morning with Helen. It was below zero, but sunny and frosty underfoot. She has the same model Garmin as me, and showed me after the run, how to find the screen that predicted times for different distances. Well, mine predicted 22.40 for 5k which is ridiculous. We surmised that the calculations were based on Vo2Max. Mine is 47, superior, with the fitness of a 20 year old. Presumably based on todays pace, that is what a 20 year old should run. That is ridiculous too, which John has proved in his sixties, and I ran 22.08 when I was 65.
Well another 5k for me, partly through Saturday morning habit. Also my running partner has set himself the goal of running a 5k every day in 2021 (I'm not sure why, but it means I'll always have company!). Today he acted as pace marker and took me through in 22.12 with a WAVA of 76.26%. This is a real case of early season form and the temptation is to cash in which might not be entirely sensible............
Talking of pace-makers, I heard that Joe Wicks took his 5k time down from 21 something to 18 something with the aid of a pace-maker - a bloke called Mo Farah!
Have ordered a new pair of trainers. I can't remember how long I've had the current pair but far too long by most folks' standards. My new ones are red (the blues had sold out). I'll be rather self-conscious I think!
We were also woken up at midnight by fireworks
Today we’ve got heavy snow showers, not ideal conditions for running but nice for the kids though.
Mel's visual gag was more Only Connect than UC - hence I didn't get it. (I'm happy just watching Victoria Coren for30 mins anyway, whereas Paxman is a bully-cum-know all.) Bring back Bamber!
If I see anyone selling yoga mats I'll get you one to add to your collection.
As for the 80% WAVA, I think that will be a bridge too far (good film, that). I just crept over 79% a few years back. If only I'd have know surely I could have found a couple of seconds from somewhere!
Columba - our posts crossed! Good to hear from you (other than us leaving comments on each other's training on Fetch). I have an armband designed for my ipod - I tried it but my phone was too big to fit in so thank goodness for the Garmin. Must admit, not come across Endomondo before. I see you may need to give Viewranger a try - I had a look after HS's question and see you can record tracks for 'trail running'. But to be honest, there's no restriction so I'm sure it would work for you whether walking or running. And it's free, so no point not giving it a try in the meantime? As you say, Zoom has been a real boon for allowing people to get together despite being miles apart.
JB - we had people near us letting off fireworks from 7pm, but most of them between 11:30pm and midnight. I was in bed by then but it was too noisy to get to sleep! Well done re that WAVA score for your first run of 2021. Not sure your partner's "run a 5k every day" regime will last the year - but who knows? I must be different to you - give me garish, brightly-coloured pair of trainers every time - the more garish, the better. At least then people can't complain they didn't see me coming towards them
HS - I'd say for anyone not sure, give View Ranger a try and see if you like it or not .. I've tried it on a couple of walks with Margaret and personally give it a thumbs-up. I also saw the news reports about parties being broken up and people getting fines. I would definitely take any Garmin forecasts with a very large pinch of salt!
Aquarius - I agree about technology being a good thing (as long as you can get to grips with it!). It's good to be spread around the UK but able to 'meet' on here and as you may know, HS, Damien and I are buddies on Strava and Columba and I compare notes on Fetch. I expect you can keep the new yoga mat until the old ones get worn out or you get bored with them. Shame the places you walked were busy - but no surprise they were, given everyone had probably been indoors for a couple of days and was desperate for some fresh air and exercise. As you say, weather permitting, probably worth getting up early next time and try to beat the rush to get a parking space.
My Mum (93 years young! has expressed an interest in getting a freeview recorder and/or 'smart' tv and broadband in her flat so she can record programmes and also access things like Netflix .. this was after speaking to one of her flatmates at her sheltered housing. I'll need to speak to my sister and compare notes about what to get her - the main criteria will need to be ease of use.
Was trying earlier on to help the manager of the Arts Together charity I've volunteered to help with their Office 365 admin. Tried, but failed, to help her with a problem printing webpages and a problem scanning documents. In my defence, nigh on impossible to help too much when you can't see what they are seeing and they're using a browser (Firefox) that you don't use yourself and a make of scanner (Brother) you're not familiar with either!
I treated myself to a game called "Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim" after trying it at my son's - unfortunately, it doesn't run at all well on my less powerful laptop. But my 'gaming' son has pointed me towards how to 'tweak' the various settings in the game (to lower the graphics settings) to try and get it running better. Hope I can get it to run okay - waste of £11.99 otherwise!
JB, well done for another amazing 5k. I hope that you haven't peaked too soon.😃
I am quite a fan of OC and University Challenge, although must admit that I don't know most of the answers. I also like Countdown, and once got the conundrum that the contestants and audience failed to get. I am hopeless at the numbers though😒
I had a few 80+ WAVAS back in the day.
Aquarius, yes it will be difficult now to arrange running partners, but on Monday we will draw straws, to ascertain who will run with who, and each pair will run a different course.
We've got the same problem in the forest with the car parks being full, and cars parking on the grass verges again. This morning there were more runners, dog walkers and walkers than usual. Obviously the directive to only meet outside, is bringing them out to our beauty spots. Four ponies were killed a day or so ago , and the car was a write off. the driver must have been speeding.
WtnMel, I didn't see the New Year in, but was awoken at midnight by the fireworks.
The View Ranger certainly looks a good bet for walkers and hikers.
That's good that your elderly mother has shown an interest in acquiring a smart TV or similar, as this will certainly broaden her access to programmes that she is interested in.
That problem with printing and scanning does seem insurmountable in the circumstances.
Hope you can sort out that game you recently purchased.
Ran the 41st consecutive not a parkrun in the forest this morning with Sarah F. The trails were much wetter and muddier than expected, and quite slippery in places.
I'm going to take a rest day tomorrow, as todays run was tough.
HS, why am I not surprised that you pushed through the 80% WAVA barrier. Back in the day, no-one really seemed to bother too much with the age grade thing. Out of interest, what were the details of your best ever WAVA? (I appreciate that you might not have the data to hand.)
I kept my training partner company today while he an his daily 5K and I went on to run 8K. This was very slow - but I found it as hard as my last 2 fast runs. Need a rest day, which I'll take tomorrow.
JB, I've only got records of races since 1985 which I've entered on fetch, but I've recorded quicker runs prior to then. My 80%+ WAVAS that are summarised on fetch are as follows:-
10k 37.00 81.65%
10k 35.52 81.02%
13.1 1.20.58 80.63%
10k 37.15 80.46%
10k 38.00 80.14%
5 miles 29.45 80.01%
These times were all gun times, so could easily have been a minute or more quicker if chip timed.
JB, thanks! I'm afraid my standards have dropped as I struggle to get into the seventies now. I've never quite regained my form since my knee injury in 2017.
It was cold, but sunny this morning. I ran 8.4 miles in the forest with Sarah F. The terrain was wetter and muddier than expected, but we enjoyed the run.
I'm awaiting Doris's broadcast this evening at 8pm to see if he is going to put us into total lockdown. This will probably mean reverting back to running solo again.
HS - I've spoken to my sister about my Mum's request re Netflix. She's going to find out what BT contract my Mum is currently on and as I'm retired and she is busy, I'll do the necessary research to come up with a 'shopping list' for my Mum on what she will need. No progress yet re the Arts Together manager's computer problems - I've done what I can for now and she'll get back in touch when she's had another 'play' (technical term). Well done for 41 consecutive 'not-a-parkrun's - and for that 8.5ml run with Sarah F.
JB - my Dad died at 70 but my Mum shows no signs of slowing down and is still in full control of her marbles. Well done re your 8k - I'm sure the speed will return.
I won't be at all surprised if we have to go back into a total lockdown as not enough people seem to have been taking things seriously enough (the Dominic Cummings effect!) and the current measures don't seem to be controlling the spread.
As I mentioned previously, off to the physio on Thu morning. We went for a walk yesterday - just a quick 2mls round the block - and my knee was okay but I know as soon as I start running again it will start giving me problems. After more poking and prodding and consulting my anatomy & physiology book from when I did a massage course, I have my own pet theory of what the problem might be but I'll wait and see what the 'expert' has to say.
Still struggling to get that Skyrim game to run on my laptop - may have to wait until I upgrade to a faster machine. Meantime, since my son has donated his 'spare' PS3 and a few old games he no longer is interested in, I may see if I can pick up a second-hand version cheaply.
I think that - as Columba as said - we'll all be running closer to home i.e. not driving to run.
In this spirit I went local this morning. Over the last few years I've been running around a cemetery (various members of my and Mrs JB's families are there already, but are a bit less mobile than me - for now!). There's an almost perfect 250 metre, smooth, tarmac 'track' that I use. (I see the occasional deer, as it's not far from the South Downs.)
20 laps = 5k. A boring workout but quite a fast if not ideal track as it's a little undulating. The good news: 21.55. The bad news: although the Garmin records '5k', I'm sure it's a bit short - so I won't even check the WAVA.
Mel - if your self-diagnosis is correct, you can pursue an alternative (additional) career as a physio!
WtnMel, a friend of mine is doing something similar for his Dad, whose sight isn't so good, nor is his hearing.
It's good that we are still allowed to exercise with one other person. The challenges that the club are setting are much more productive, running with a partner. Thankfully, I am self motivating, but prefer running in company these days.
I'll be interested to hear what your physio's diagnosis is, and what treatment is recommended.
Columba, thanks. I was very competitive in the past, but at the age of 75 am just pleased to still be running, and enjoying it.
Sorry to hear that you missed a not a parkrun, but glad to hear that you are still running 5k's. I cancelled my membership to the Health and Fitness Centre at the start of the original lockdown, and have never restarted it again. I did the spinning sessions for more than 2 years, but have no intention of restarting them. They served their purpose by helping me to retain a certain amount of fitness, whilst I could only walk and jog. I believe you said a while ago that you were having problems booking a session, so decided not to bother again?
Yes we are not supposed to drive to our places of exercise, but I'm afraid drivers are ignoring that, as the forest carparks are full and drivers parking on the grass verges again. There are hundreds of animals killed every year by careless, ignorant drivers, ignoring the speed limits.
JB, yes as I mentioned above, we can still run with one other person!
I remember you saying that you had "a running track" round the cemetery. Do you believe that if you tried, you could run a faster 5k on that track, than on the road? Mike said that he would like to try a 5k on a track as he thought he would run it quicker. I advised that the first few attempts would probably be slower, as he would be tempted to set off too quickly, and burn out during the last k. It takes quite a while to adapt to track running. I attribute my early high WAVA achievements to the fact that I trained twice a week on the track, with a good Coach.
Today is a rest day, and tomorrow will probably be hill reps. I have an appointment in the afternoon with the Hygienist.