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Mel, sorry to hear about the injury. There's been a few times over the year when I've thought that 'that's the end of my running' but (so far) have bounced
back. But if it's making an injury worse then you just have to be pragmatic, I guess. On the issue of weight, if you do have to give up running I don't think it's necessarily bad news for the weight loss. I was at my heaviest when I did a marathon in my mid 50s, despite all the training. Good luck with the Nordic walking research.
Talking of injuries.......... the back is a little worse than I thought. Of course being an idiot it didn't stop me lining up for the usual 5k time trial. But it did stop me from actually doing it, as it spasmed with just about every step in my warm-up. So I hung around waiting for the others to get back, in a freezing wind, and went for a gentle 2k jog, just to keep warm as much as anything. Despite the cold wind, the prom was very busy with runners, walkers and cyclists.
Aquarius, a 9.00pm bedtime is a tad early. We tend to turn in around 10.00 and I thought that was early. But I'm not in the habit of having a read before dropping off.
Talking of which I've always tended to get my books form charity shops, of which there are a great number in my town. I quite like the 'lucky dip' aspect, but consequently I reckon I have about a 50% completion rate. Mrs JB almost always finishes a book even if she's a bit lukewarm about it - and she 's in a reading group so has to go with the majority choice. With the lack of charity shops in lockdown, we order them from 'Alibris' who are reliable and sometimes ridiculously cheap.
JB, spot on, I probably was about 12 or 13 years old when I was keeping a cricket score card. I also had an Ian Allan bus spotters and train spotters book.
I lost touch with my school friends many years ago, but I doubt if any of them are still running today.
That was an amazing marathon run by Chris Thompson at the age of 39.
I've been watching the virtual triathlon on the red button. I found it quite fascinating how they were able to watch their opponents on the screen on zwift.
Sorry to hear about your bad back. I think gardening is an enemy of runners.
Aquarius, I usually go to bed soon after 9pm and read for about 30 minutes. I've nearly finished the current one but its been a real struggle. It's "The Forty-Five Guardsmen," by Alexander Dumas. It's very boring with 712 pages, and very confusing, with all the names being French. The print is also very small, which makes it even more difficult to read.
The 5k went well, but I'm afraid that I didn't manage to break the 26 minute barrier, but ran 26.09, exactly the same as last week.
I'm glad that you were able to go for a run today, but the pace isn't that important. Getting out and doing it is what matters.
WtnMel, I haven't really sorted out the shrinking window, but am not really concerned. Strangely though, when I was typing my response to Aquarius above, the type changed into italics. I don't know why , and didn't know how to rectify. Somehow, I managed to rectify it, but don't know how!
Sorry to hear that your right knee is still causing you problems. My physio encouraged me to do squats, so I don't know how qualified your friend is to advise you not to do them, although you say that he has been studying massage and sports injuries.
I do hope that you don't eventually decide to stop running, because as you know, my right knee injury 3.5 years ago was serious; with menisci tears, which took me about a year to proceed beyond walking and jogging. I did, however, attend spin classes twice a week right up to when the gyms were closed down in the lockdown. I'm now gradually getting closer to my pace pre injury. My friend Alice, who ran with Sarah this morning, had once said that she didn't think that I would ever run again. This was during a walk in the village, soon after the injury. I persevered and fingers crossed, am still running at the age of 75.
I've nothing really to report, except my 26.09 forest 5k this morning. The WAVA was 72.47%. I'm intending to do a solo short recovery road run tomorrow, and on Monday to run 10 miles with "The Monday Group," as we will be able to run in a bubble of 6.
I just don't think I could tackle a book with 700+ pages. I go for 200-250 ideally and I like to polish them off in a few days. I'm into Elmore Leonard at the moment.
Good 5k time if the wind was as strong as it was here.
The back is still bad, although I've had worse. Managed a brisk walk but didn't even think about a run. I hope it's better by Tuesday as it will lovely to run in the sunshine that's forecasted. I've been looking forward to it since November!
We'll have another go at Line of Duty this evening. I saw it described as not so much a TV serial but more of a cult. We are hooked on The Terror which is thoroughly original and mightily chilling - in more ways than one.
Saw 2 of the 3 grandchildren today which took my mind off my back pain!
JB, they introduced virtual spin sessions at my Leisure Centre, but I never attended one. In fact, they didn't attract many users. I always did the sessions with an Instructor at the front of the class on her bike.
I don't usually read books with so many pages, but as I had started, I was determined to finish. The boredom, I think, helps me to drop off to sleep quickly😴
Thanks, it was windy yesterday, but not as windy as today.
Sorry to hear that your back is still bad, but good that you managed a brisk walk. Hope that it is feeling better on Tuesday so that you can get out for a run.
I haven't been watching Line of Duty, but seem to be in the minority.
That was nice seeing two of your Grandchildren. If you picked them up, I hope it didn't make your back worse.
This mornings run was a solo hilly 5 mile road run. The headwind was really strong and icy. It was meant to be an easy recovery run, but was hard work into the wind.
JB - the friend I mentioned has sent me some links for exercises designed to 'work' my glutes, which she thinks from what I've told her, could be partly to blame for my knee issues. Let's just say, when I tried them they did indeed show the glutes weren't very strong so I've now added these new exercises to my daily routine. I dearly hope my running can start again - will just have to wait and see how it feels when I try a walk/run next month. Sorry to hear your back was a little worse than you thought.
HS - I used to go train-spotting so I suspect I had an Ian Allan book too. My friend uses Zwift for her turbo trainer (bike) and treadmill. On her bike, she recently got promoted to the next class up and is now struggling at the back of the pack instead of it seeming easy. I'm currently reading 'Barchester Towers' by Antony Trollope (someone else's choice in the book group) and am finding it really hard going. Ctrl + I causes italics - don't know if that was what happened (ctrl + i to switch it off) .. and ctrl + b makes 'bold' (or stops it). I suspect I'm being a bit impatient about not running, or have not been doing the strengthening exercises for long enough - or more likely, both! Certainly I haven't had any problems with tearing anything so I shall just be patient. I'm trying to get on the exercise bike most days to keep the knee mobile.
I've done my stretching exercises this morning and had a zoom call (the 'coffee & chat' group). After lunch, I'll do the strengthening exercises, then I'm going to clean my golf gear ready for the lesson tomorrow and the 9 holes I'm playing on Wed. If I have time, I'll try and get out for a walk later today.
WtnMel, those Ian Allen books were very good. I've finished the "45 Guardsmen," thank goodness, so will have to have another look through my collection to find a more interesting book.
Thanks for the tips re italics, bold etc.
Patience is definitely key to recovery, plus stretching etc.
I was thinking that you would be getting your golfing gear ready, now that open air activities are permitted.
A lovely forest run this morning with the two Sarah's and Andy. Ran 11.49 miles, bringing the monthly total to 200k, and a Strava badge.
Well the back relented today and I ventured onto the prom on a glorious morning. Started off rather gingerly, but eventually clocked a 3 miler @7.37 pace. Feel a bit stiff.
Aquarius, I've flagged samrich too. What a dipstick, says that it's his first time on here!
JB, well done for your speedy 3 miles; I'm not surprised that you are feeling a bit stiff.
A rest day today, and tomorrow is a hill session.
HS - lucky I'm patient then isn't it, when it comes to stretching etc.
JB - hope that bad back of yours goes away soon. Keep moving! is my motto when mine is bad - but the introduction of the stretching routine should help me steer clear of problems. Having read on a bit further, I see you did manage a 3ml run.
Aquarius - I see you popped in .. hope you are well.
I went to the golf course driving range this morning. Had a 30min lesson with Richard and it turns out (a) I can still hit the ball (b) I can hit it more or less where I'm trying to!
I've also flagged Samrich, our resident spamming dick-head ..
Aquarius, yes, the grandkids can make your day can't they? Mrs JB (ex primary school teacher) is the expert so I'm just the backup. I'm looking forward to seeing them over the Easter weekend, but how disappointing that the weather is going to take a dip and plunge back into miserable and cold. Well, it is a Bank Holiday isn't it?
I made the most of another pleasant day and did an almost exact replica of the run I did yesterday, other than that it felt harder but was actually a tad slower.
We had our first foray this year into the town centre where there's an outdoor market. This assumed a disproportionate level of expectation - and of course we ended up buying virtually nothing! But it was good to do something 'normal' and we bumped into a couple of friends (not literally) for a brief chat.
I know not many are footie fans but there's a big game tonight (v Poland). This reminds all football fans of a certain age of a game against the same opponents* in 1973 which ended in England being knocked out of the 1974 World Cup i.e we didn't even qualify for the tournament. I remember watching the game at university and collective groan that greeted the result.
*not literally true as they all be about 70 years old! We'd beat them this time though.
The spammer is still there, despite 4 flags. I thought it was 4 that deleted them?
WtnMel, I hope you had a good game of bowls today and beat Alan?
Aquarius, I quite enjoyed the virtual triathlons, it was certainly different!
Good to hear that you were able to go for a socially distanced walk with your son and 2 year old.
The hill session went well this morning, but it was only with Sarah H and Mike, as Sarah F had to go into work for a training session.
I'm now reading Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore, 640 pages, but I've made a good start.
Well done for yesterdays 2 miles and 1 hour zoom pilates session.
JB, we had two first class PT trainers at school, but not in the same year. One was Trefor Owen who played for Leyton Orient, and I think Wales; and the other was a Canadian, whose name I forget who at the time was the world record holder for the half mile. He would walk alongside us, whilst we were running as hard as possible in the cross country runs.
That will be nice seeing your Grand Children over Easter.
Sarah H has now entered the virtual London Marathon, and Sarah F has a place in the actual LM. I had intended to do a solo marathon on race day, but hopefully will be able to pace her now.
I also thought 4 flags would get rid of the spammer (?)
Good luck with Lorna Done, I read it some years ago but can't remember it very well.
JB: I'm sure you'll enjoy seeing your grandchildren over the weekend whatever the weather. Bank holiday weather is usually disappointing (I believe it's traditional
No running today, instead another garden centre visit for tomato plants and other bits and pieces. I hope to get out for a run tomorrow.
This must sound confusing, but I just wanted to run the marathon distance. I'm not bothered about time, as I'm not racing it, just helping Sarah to complete her challenge.
Aquarius - for what it's worth (ie. probably pointless) I've reported Samrich as well .. however, previous reports have been totally ignored by RW. I'm thinking after another month or so of stretching/strengthening, if my knee grumbles when I try another walk/run I'll contact my physio to get her verdict. My friend is training to be a sports massage therapist so has a bit of knowledge - so while I appreciated her giving me advice from afar, without actually seeing me or finding out what and where it was painful, I was taking what she told me with a very big pinch of salt. I've not quite given up yet about being able to get back to running. But for instance, I noticed my knee a couple of times yesterday while out on the golf course (no pain - just didn't feel 'right' each time). I'm just accepting the fact that the current knee problem may be down to wear and tear and I may have to find something else to keep me fit. I 'sort of' enjoyed the Arena triathlons - but it wasn't the same as seeing them outside.
JB - the coach at my local club (golf professional and owner of the club) seems to know his stuff and is good at simplifying all the technical stuff into easy to understand language. My friend who I play golf with plays several times a week. I'm not sure I'd want to do that. I think constantly playing golf might get a bit 'samey' after a while. I've toyed with the idea of joining the senior's section at my local club as they have a Tuesday 'roll-up' where you'd get to play with different people from week to week. But I think twice a week for golf is probably my limit. You are correct of course about there not being much of a footie following on this particular thread ;-) I did see there was a game last night - but fast-forwarded through it when it was on the sports news.
HS - I thought it was 4 flags as well to get rid of a spammer .. but as mentioned to Aquarius, I've reported him too. See below re the result of the golf. I'm having to plough on with the current book for the book group but it's a real struggle - looking forward to reading some more modern fiction next month.
Had a reasonably energetic day yesterday. Played golf in the morning then when I got home, wielded the pickaxe for a while to break up the roots of the fig tree I dug up. Now it's in pieces, I can drip-feed bits of it into the garden waste bin (can't do it all at once or it will be too heavy). The other thing I did was check what attachments etc. we currently have for our pressure washer. We want to get a new hose that will fit on a reel fixed to the house - and I wanted to make sure I get the right attachments so we can switch to using the pressure washer from time to time. While I'm at the garden centre I'm going to treat myself to a new garden fork and spade as I'm planning to dig a new bed for raspberries and move the current raspberry bed further away from the fence.
Talking of golf .. and I know you're dying to hear how I got on .. I'm pleased to say I managed to beat Alan by one shot yesterday and my score of 50 was my best-ever score on that course (previous best was 51). I thought about a celebratory beer when I had finished breaking up the tree root but limited myself to a ginger beer instead.
I always feel a little guilty that our son was born on April Fool’s day as I actually chose the day. I’d gone past my due date so the consultant decided I needed to be admitted for an induced birth. He suggested the following Wednesday as his diary was fairly empty then, I was a bit shocked at the news I was to have an induction and just agreed to Wednesday without thinking about what the actual date would be. When I got home and realised it was the 1st April I then understood why his diary was empty. Talking of April Fool’s day our running club posted on Facebook this morning that the club trustees had held a meeting and had unanimously agreed to change the name of our club, and that new running kit would be available to order online. The new name was perfectly appropriate, so it didn’t raise any suspicions with me at that stage, but a picture had been posted of a lady wearing the new club t-shirt, which showed a sketch of the local lighthouse, again quite appropriate considering where the club is based, However when you looked closely the “lighthouse” was rather suggestive to say the least. Then the penny dropped, and I remembered what the date was. I wonder how many members had fallen for it and been getting hot under the collar at the thought of the cost of replacing the whole kit.
Aquarius, ah the old phallic lighthouse gag. Very well known (not!). I wonder how much of the national and regional news programmes will be taken with showing Bank Holiday crowds. Locals like us will tend to avoid the prom, unless it's for an early run. Happy birthday to your son. Surely you are too young to have a son of this age? Well done on the run.
HS, great idea to be pacing someone on the virtual marathon. You will doubtless build up sensibly and in a highly structured way. What will be your planned longest training run? I never got over 18 miles.
Rest day today. But 2 notable events.
1. I went into a shop for the first time this year!
2. I resigned from one of the (2) positions I have in local councils. This was done in a state of anger because of the way a meeting was run. I can't go into detail (it would bore you to death) but I witnessed councillors playing fast and loose with a procedure and saw red (it was blue, actually).
We are doing the original Hardley a Round again on Monday, and will study the new challenge before running it.
Will reply to all of your posts tomorrow.
WtnMel, sounds like you had a very energetic day yesterday, golf in the morning, followed by wielding a pick axe to break up the roots of the fig tree. Good to hear that you beat Alan with your best ever score. If it had been me, it would have been a beer, and not a ginger beer🍺
Aquarius, yes it will be quite a responsibility pacing Sarah for her virtual LM. For a start, I will have to finish it myself, and set the right pace to ensure that we complete it successfully. We will be doing the appropriate training with a mixture of LSD runs, speed sessions, hills etc with appropriate rest days. This will be my 15th Marathon, although not an official one.
Well done for your hilly 3 laps of the park.
I hope your son's 40th birthday meal in the garden went well, and that it didn't rain.
I had to laugh at the April fools joke re change of club name, and suggestive new t shirt.
It's dreadful isn't it the amount of litter people are dropping. It's probably a good thing that Easter Monday will be very cold, as it might prevent so many ignoramuses setting out with their portable barbecues and rubbish.
JB, the longest training run I ever did was 21.5 miles, which was quite unusual, as for the first 10 miles, one of my Club Coaches ran with me, having left her bike in my garden, and then paced me on her bike for the next 10.5. I have, as far as I can remember, always made 20 the maximum distance, which would be 3 weeks before race day.
Congratulations on your 1st visit this year to a shop yesterday.🤣
Sounds like a good decision, resigning from one of your positions on the local council.
I've had the wind taken out of my sails!! I was so pleased with the progress I had made re the new Hardley a Round Challenge, mapping out the course and noting the positions of all the check points etc only to see on FB that two of our lady club runners successfully ran the whole course this morning!! We are doing the old course on Monday, but hopefully will soon be doing the new one.
I'm going to make another attempt tomorrow to break 26 minutes for the 5k.
I ran up a hill today. This is a hill I used to run up and down in training and is nothing too scary, but my training partner challenged me to run in under 5 mins (it's 0.85k). I managed it in 4.40 and was feeling smug until I checked my records and found out that I used to do this 4 times at about the same pace. I don't use Strava but my pal told me later that my performance was a minute quicker than anyone over 60 has run it this year, so I can feel smug again.
Will do the usual 5k time trial tomorrow, with no great expectation of pace. I hope HS breaks that 26 minutes............we'll compare notes tomorrow perhaps.
On a matter I referred to earlier in the week, my resignation from a local authority role, well the whole sorry business might make it to at least the local press: 'Worthingate'? Of course this will inevitably lead to a Hollywood blockbuster and I will insist that my role is played by Dustin Hoffman.
JB, yes, 20 miles will be the max, unless we go off course! My marathon PB is 3.12.26, way back in 1993 in the New Forest Marathon, when it was held in New Milton. I was 47 then, and it was my 3rd marathon that year.
I would have thought that you could have run the final 10k in less than 90 minutes.
Well done for being the quickest up that hill in the over 60's category.
Well done also for your 5k this morning, that was an excellent time and WAVA. I'm afraid the wheels came off in this mornings run and I ran a disappointing 28.29 a WAVA of 66.53%. Sarah F and Mike were also under par, but finished ahead of me. My WAVA was better than theirs though, as they are much younger than me.
I'll be looking out for the Hollywood blockbuster, with Dustin Hoffman playing your role.
Happy Easter to you all
Aquarius, I’ve done a few of the Garmin training plans, 5k and 10k. On the whole I found them very good and they gave me a lot of inspiration for different types of speed (!) sessions. The
HS, sorry to hear about the 5k, but WAVA trumps times (in my book at least!).
Aquarius, you're right about Dustin Hoffman so I'll go for someone younger. I didn't know you could get a Garmin coach. Are you good at sticking to training plans? It takes a discipline I simply don't have. Really looking forward to hearing how it goes as I've got my own 10k challenge in exactly 10 weeks. All the very best of luck with yours.
To this end, I ran up that hill again this morning - 4 times. It's only 6.2% average gradient and 0.85km which is nothing compared to some of the hills elsewhere (e.g around Mel's part of the world), but it's the most taxing in my otherwise pan-flat town. I haven't really done much hill work, so I'm figuring that this - about an hour of it in all after running there and back - might have significant training effects. It certainly felt hard and drew some looks from the dog walkers.
Had the grandchildren around in the garden, so thank goodness it was a lovely day. Great to see them, but after being dragged into various games of chase I feel pretty knackered.
Finally, a bit of an odd thing. I bought one of those 'Ab-roller' things to help the stiff back. As this exercise involves kneeling I was a bit worried about my dodgy knee. But a nice unanticipated consequence is that it seems to have helped my knee (as long as I kneel on cushion).
Aquarius - yes, as you can imagine, I was very happy beating Alan at golf. I do enjoy the ginger beer (it's the fiery sort) and tbh, I don't drink beer that much so it wasn't that big a deal to not have it. I've noticed the odd knee twinge just wandering around the house or when out on walks - but I didn't have any problems when out digging out that fig tree. Our running club membership will be up for renewal soon - but I'll hold fire on sending any money as I'm not sure there will be any point re-joining if I can't actually run. Well done re doing the park/hill run a little bit faster - and I see the 40th birthday meal went off okay and you didn't get cold and/or wet. I can imagine some members of your club getting a bit agitated about having to pay out for new kit until the penny dropped re the date. I can well imagine the NT property car park and reservoir one being full - people locked down and then some freedom and a bit of good weather leading to too many and not enough spaces. Well done for signing up for that 10K training plan - when I was running regularly I always thought a 60min 10K was probably a good target to aim for (given my age!).
JB - I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've been in a shop recently. Last week I had to (gasp!) buy petrol for the car to fill up the tank to get to the golf. That was the first time I'd filled up since mid-Dec. I don't blame you for resigning your position if councillors were not sticking to the rules. It's been a while since I walked up a hill, let alone run up one, or even several times on the trot.
HS - hope you managed to get that route sorted with syncing a gpx course to your phone. I may have mentioned before I have an OS maps subscription which allows me to plot a course on an OS map and then send the corresponding gpx file to my Garmin eTrex which I use for walking. I have never tried it but presume I could do the same but send it to a phone app instead? Reading about your 21.5ml run where your club coach ran with you then paced you on her bike for the 2nd half - I now have an image of her on a bike with a megaphone shouting at you to pick your feet up and run faster
Mike - I've been away for a few days too and it sometimes takes a while to catch up. Well done re that 10 miler.
Been having a relaxed long weekend. Went to see my son on Fri, yesterday was my birthday so Margaret looked after me and cooked me a nice meal in the evening and today, apart from doing my stretching and strength exercises and going for a swift walk this morning, and then cooking our Sunday roast dinner, I've spent the rest of the afternoon reading the weekend papers then coming on here.
Not a lot planned for the coming week apart from the daily exercises. But Alan and I are hoping/planning to play golf again on Fri so I'll make time for a visit to the driving range before then.
JB: Yes I do more or less stick to training plans, or at least I did when doing half marathons, but they were set plans that I printed off the RW site and they didn’t take account of my progress (or lack of it). I’m hoping this interactive plan will be more motivating. I do my first “proper” session tomorrow, nothing very exciting, just an easy 3 miles. (Weather permitting, snow forecast here).
Nice to have seen your grandchildren today and had a cross training session into the bargain by the sounds of it. You must have loads of energy to play chase after a morning’s hill session. HS will confirm that hill repeats are excellent training for gains in both strength and speed.