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WtnMel, I did a similar drive in my car the other day, to keep the battery topped up.
I did a bit of trimming in the front and back gardens yesterday, and filled up the green bag that the council provides. It will be collected on Tuesday, so I can do a bit more after that.
I hope that you enjoyed yesterdays walk and todays Sunday Lunch😁
JB, I can't see parkrun coming back until after the almost certain 4 week push back for freedom. I'm not too bothered, to be honest, as I'm quite happy doing the Saturday forest not a parkruns. Well done Mrs JB, getting into the 5k spirit.
I ran the 64th successive forest not a parkrun this morning with Sarah F and Mike. We all finished together, for the first time, in 28.09 a WAVA of 67.31% for me.
HS - the photo doesn't really do the walk justice as it gives no indication of the slope of the hill. Yesterday's Sunday roast went down well - I always 'reward' myself with a can of beer (stick to wine the rest of the week). Well done re your 64th successive not-a-parkrun with Sarah & Mike.
Not planning to do much at all today as it's supposed to be so hot. Will probably stay indoors most of the day but the swim club is meeting this evening so will get some exercise later.
I wasn't able to check if that hose guide I want is in stock at the local garden centre (the website doesn't show stock per store). So I'll trust to luck and if there's none on the shelves, buy one from the Hozelock website.
Then off to the Junior Parkrun where Lily recorded a PW BUT finished 3rd from last. She's clearly a 'championship' type of competitor who runs for place rather than times!
Am rather hoping that the England football team acquits itself rather better than our cricketers!
I can’t remember if I’ve any other news to pass on, other than while in a queue of traffic a couple of days ago smoke started billowing from beneath the bonnet of the Discovery, so we quickly returned home and rang the RAC. It turned out to be nothing serious. A day or two before this we’d had the car into Quickfit to have the AdBlue topped up and apparently they’d spilled some of the liquid on the engine housing, so the spilt AdBlue started smoking when the engine got hot. Bit scary at the time though.
JB - chuckling at your 'insights' into Lily's athletic performance. Well done re your Sun morning 5K - good idea to go out earlier than usual.
Aquarius - figured you must be busy just lately as per my post a few days ago. I'm not surprised the increased mileage and pace is proving to be a bit harder. Anyway, I'm sure you're right that whatever you are managing to do will result in some improvement in your overall pace. Re the 4am fly-swatting session, I trust you had the curtains closed - otherwise I can imagine anyone around would have had a laugh at two people leaping around a bedroom at that time of the morning. We get flies in our conservatory but Margaret got an old-fashioned fly-swat from the local diy shop and that has proved to be a very worthwhile investment. I can well imaging smoke billowing from beneath the bonnet would spook most drivers - just glad to hear it was nothing serious.
I managed 32 lengths at yesterday evening's swim - I wasn't quite so out of breath afterwards as I was last month so I must be getting a bit more 'swim fit'.
And .. I managed to shift my a**e out of bed earlier than usual this morning and did a 3ml pre-breakfast walk.
I'm meeting the u3a 'coffee & chat' ladies at 11am today - must resist 'treating' myself to a cake with my coffee as a reward for going for a walk!
Mel, great swim. Just as a matter of interest do you know the length of the pool. Maybe 25 metres but even more impressive if longer. I couldn't manage 32 x 10 metres.
Rest day for me today. For some reason I'm really feeling the heat today.
JB - the main pool is 25 metres, so 32 lengths is 800 metres (or half a mile in old money). Enjoy your rest day.
I resisted the lure of a cake with my coffee at my meet-up with the u3a ladies yesterday. One lady ordered a scone then when it arrived, asked if anyone wanted a piece as she didn't really want all of it (no-one did so she had to eat all of it herself!)
The garden centre did have the hose guide in stock that I wanted so I got that while I was there. Remembering the problems I had drilling into the wall when I put up the hose reel, I've been to the local diy shop this morning and treated myself to some new masonry drills for fitting this hose guide. I showed the hose guide to Margaret and how it works and she's deemed it (quote) "revolutionary" when it comes to taking the hose round to the front of the house to water the front border.
The wildflower seeds we planted in the back garden haven't come to anything - they were free so I shouldn't complain. So while I was at the diy shop, I bought some runner beans to plant where the non-existent wild flowers are. I think I've just sneaked in at the end of the runner bean planting season. Margaret picked up a tip from somewhere which is to put grass cuttings in the trench where you plant the beans which helps preserve the moisture - and also, to use grass cuttings to mulch the bean plants once they've germinated and again, helps preserve moisture.
It's 3 days since I was on here, so will try to catch up.
WtnMel, well done for your 32 lengths of the pool. Make it 50 next time😁
I hope you enjoyed your coffee and chat morning yesterday? I've just seen that you resisted the temptation of a cake. That shows willpower🎂
Aquarius, good to hear from you again, and glad that everything is ok! I'm not surprised that you are finding the longer runs, which sound like fartlek, to be tiring, especially in these humid conditions.
I had to laugh at the fly swatting escapade. I remember when I was a child, every household and shop had fly paper hanging from the ceilings to trap the flies. There don't seem to be so many flies, these days. I remember when driving, that the windscreen would be splattered with flies, but nowadays, there don't seem to be any.
I can imagine smoke billowing from under the bonnet of the Discovery to be scary. You must have thought that it could have caught on fire.
JB, it was probably the hottest day of the year yesterday, although it was very hot over the weekend.
Just realised that I missed your earlier post. Well done for yet another superfast 5k. You are consistently in the 70+ WAVAS. Well done to Lily, she's making progress, gradually working her way through the opposition.😊
I did a slow 10 mile plod on Sunday in the heat, exploring the first part of the proposed marathon course. I took a few photos and will post some as a new post.
Yesterday was a forest 10k which was rather unusual, in that I found the first mile hard going and was breathing heavily. From there on, I felt ok, and each successive mile was quicker than the one before. I was almost sprinting the last mile. I took some photos of that run too.
Today is a rest day, and I might not get out for a run tomorrow, as my car is being collected for a summer ready check. It depends what time they return it, whether or not I run.
Mel, good handiwork as shown in the photo which as usual puts me to shame.
Two hard sessions in 2 days for me. Yesterday some short, sharp and nasty hills and then today a 10K in really hot conditions. Managed 49.59 which sounds admirably precise until I admit that I was trying to duck under 49! Having failed to do this I did have to put some effort in to avoid going over the 50 mark. So I was sort of pleased.
Spare a thought for Mrs JB. She is due to watch a play this evening in an open air theatre. This should start just as thunderstorms are due!
Am enjoying the football and by some miracle have moved up to 2nd place in a predictions competition.
Well done for yet another sub 50 10k which is even more impressive considering the weather.
I hope Mrs JB doesn't get soaked this evening in the open air theatre.
Good luck with the prediction competition.
I'm waiting for the return of my car, before deciding whether to run. I hope its before the start of the rain.
JB - I often get my shadow in films I take with my GoPro as invariably, I have it on a selfie stick so I can pan around the surroundings of wherever I am. Although I'm swimming at an indoor pool rather than the local lido, its air-conditioned, so cooler than outside. Well done re those two training sessions. Hope Mrs JB doesn't get caught in any downpours - we're much further west than you so I think we may escape them or just be on the fringes of any downpours.
HS - lovely photos of your local terrain as ever. Trust you've got your car back by now and have been able to get out for a run.
Started cutting the lawns at 9:30am to avoid the worst of the heat. But stopped for coffee and a crossword with Margaret mid-morning after I'd done the front lawn. So have only just finished doing the back lawn in the (now) blazing sunshine - doh!
Heading over to Halfords after lunch. Nothing car-related .. it's where we get large bottles of de-ionised water which Margaret uses in her steam iron. Then after that, heading on the the local golf club (Sherdons) for a practise session on the driving range before Friday's match with Alan. I may have already mentioned I've 'bitten the bullet' and decided I'm going to treat myself to an electric trolley? I asked Sherdons if they could match some online prices I'd found .. buy local and support local businesses and all that .. and they came back with a very competitive quote of £70 less for the trolley and cheaper prices for the accessories too. So while I'm at Sherdons, I'll call in to the pro shop and order the trolley etc. and pay a deposit.
JB mentioned Mrs JB being at an open-air theatre and the risk of thunderstorms. Speaking purely selfishly, I'd prefer there not to be any rain or storms until the weekend so that the weather doesn't affect (a) the u3a walk tomorrow which I'm a leader for (b) my golf on Friday. Fingers crossed - but I'll be packing my waterproof and umbrella on both occasions.
Mel, I'm assuming you new investment will conserve energy which will be channelled into monster tee-shots? I'm so out of touch with buying stuff (especially golf stuff) that when I first read your post I thought, "£70 for a trolley - sounds like a bargain". Then I read it properly. My own purchase today was a book on D-Day (of which I've got scores) form a charity shop for £1. Last of the big spenders, eh?
Looks like Friday will be a wet day, I'm afraid, Mel.
I did a 5K row today. The near parity between my 5K running and rowing times continues - the row was a mere 30 seconds slower on this occasion.
WtnMel, thanks, it's amazing the quality of photos taken by our mobiles!
Yes, I got my car back yesterday in the early afternoon, so went for a 5.28 mile forest run. It was really hot, which made it hard going.
I had to do a double take when you said that you had to stop for a coffee and a crossword with Margaret, and then realised that you meant a crossword puzzle🤣
I was thinking of you riding round the golf course on your electric trolley, before realising that it wouldn't be one that you sat on!
JB, sorry to hear that Mrs JB got absolutely soaked, but glad that she enjoyed the show anyway.
That's amazing that your 5k rowing times are close to your running times. Perhaps a different story if you were rowing on the The Thames😁
I ran 10k this morning on a hilly road course, and my t shirt was absolutely soaked with sweat. My eyes were stinging where the sweat ran into them. I must remember to wear a sweat band next time.
It's belting down with rain at the moment, and forecast to continue tomorrow. Thankfully, tomorrow is a rest day, and I'm meeting a running friend in the morning, in the village, for coffee.
JB - I went to an open-air Shakespeare play where there was torrential rain .. ironically, it was The Tempest. Yes - the idea of getting the electric trolley is to save me getting knackered pushing it around so I can conserve my energy for the golf itself. I think you may be right about it being wet tomorrow - I'll be prepared for it though.
HS - chuckled at you thinking I stopped mowing the lawns to have 'cross word' with Margaret (that could happen if she criticised my mowing technique though)
Feeling tired after today's u3a ramble because of the weather (it was close, warm and there was no breeze). My right foot was already a bit sore from wearing some old trainers in the garden - it's feeling a tiny bit worse after wearing my walking boots today. My golf shoes are 'snug' so hope they don't make my foot any worse than it is after today.
I wasn't too tired to plant the runner beans though (although I did have to force myself off the sofa). I dug out the trench and put the grass cuttings in the bottom as mentioned previously. Then planted the canes to support the beans. After I'd planted the beans I gave them a good soaking and was was going to water the rest of the garden but it started raining. However, it didn't last long. I think we must be on the fringes of these thunderstorms as we've not seen any yet.
Did you manage to order your golf trolley on Wednesday? I hope the weather down your way has been kind for your u3a walk yesterday and today’s golf match (which I’ve got great hopes for you winning). Ah, again read on (I’m always behind with your posts these days) and see yesterday’s walk was a bit on the muggy side. Those sort of conditions are very draining aren’t they? You almost hope it will thunder just to clear the air (but not during your walk obviously). I’m intrigued by Margaret’s idea with the grass cuttings, you’ll have to let us know if that worked.
WtnMel, it's good to have a chuckle on here😂
I'm not surprised that you were tired after yesterdays ramble, the heat is very debilitating🌞
If your golf shoes hurt your feet, you could use it as part of your golf handicap😁
I hope you had some of todays rain on your newly planted runner beans.
Aquarius, I'm glad that you liked the photos. We tend to run in parts of the forest that don't attract the tourists and their litter. There are always a few local dog walkers, and the dogs are usually under control. I've noticed that a common trick is for the owners to produce a treat when they see us approaching, to distract them.
I can't explain why the first mile of that run was a struggle, but the remainder felt "easy."
I'm afraid that we did get wet this morning for our coffee meet up, but as we both drove into the village, we didn't get too wet, walking to Costa Coffee.
I agree that there shouldn't be back to back hard sessions, and also that it should be 3 hard, one easy week. Definitely follow a Coaches advice and not Garmin's. I don't know what they base their training schedules on, but in my opinion, it isn't a new way of thinking, except for them. Your son's Garmin half marathon training schedule doesn't sound that brilliant either.
Your training session today sounds good, and tomorrows like a sort of structured fartlek.
I'll be doing tomorrows 5k solo, and on roads. The usual forest trail course, will be a sea of mud, as it rained all night, and hasn't stopped today.
Aquarius - I did pop down to Sherdons and order my electric golf trolley along with the accessory station, umbrella holder and travel cover. I didn't order a scorecard holder but am going to after yesterday (see below!) and will buy that online. Re your comment to HS about leaking from every pore - on the walk one lady I was leading told me she was beginning to feel warm as we climbed a hill, then at the top told me she was now 'glowing'. After a bit more climbing she then said "I've gone past the glowing stage now and I'm sweating". I forgot to say the ladies christened us the M team as apart from Christine and Rose, it was Mel, Maureen, Monica and Marguerite walking together. Re the comment to JB about no cut-back week on your plan, that is strange as every other plan I've seen does have an easier 4th week before increasing the mileage again (with a 'rule of thumb' of no more than 10% increase). Good luck with the planned run at the weekend.
HS - my golf shoes were more comfortable than I expected them to be but it helps I have padded socks to wear with them. But the soreness got worse as the golf progressed (see below) and some of that would have been down to the shoes not being waterproof enough - the golf socks were soaked through when I removed them and I had to stuff the shoes with newspaper when I got home. We had plenty of rain yesterday to keep the runner beans I've planted from drying out. I agree with your suggestion to Aquarius about following a coaches advice and not Garmin's. For years I've worked on the idea you have a plan of 3 hard weeks, and 1 easier (cut back) week where your body recovers.
Stupidly (in hindsight) Alan and I decided to play golf yesterday despite the fact it was raining hard and forecast to carry on all day. The novelty of not feeling too hot soon wore off, the fairways were awash and the greens had standing water on them. I had my waterproof coat but somehow didn't figure waterproof trousers might be a good idea too! So my walking trousers I use for golf were soon sopping wet and the golf glove so wet, I was able to squeeze my hand into a fist and water would run from it. After a while my paper scorecard began to disintegrate from the rain and I wasn't able to write on it any more. Thankfully, Alan has a scorecard holder and umbrella holder on his trolley so he was able to keep his card dry and keep score for us. We gave up after 13 holes because that green is near the clubhouse. I wanted to stop anyway as my sore right foot was feeling even more uncomfortable. We were both winners yesterday by the way. Alan beat me by 4 strokes which is a better result than usual for me - and because I have a bigger handicap than him, I scored more Stableford points than he did.
I forgot to say I got bitten on my right arm on Thu's u3a ramble and judging by the way my body has reacted, as it has in previous years, it must have been a horse fly. I've been applying anti-histamine to my arm and it's still swollen today.
WtnMel, wet socks definitely cause rubbing and soreness, and if feet already sore, would make it worse.
Yesterdays rain came at the right time for your runner beans!
It definitely was a mistake to play golf in that heavy rain, and on wet grass! Good, however, that you were both winners, with your handicap coming to the rescue.
That sounds like a nasty bite by the horse fly. They usually do cause nasty reactions, so it's good that you had some anti-histamine cream to apply to it. I hope the swelling soon comes down.
I ran the 65th not a parkrun 5k solo this morning on roads. My time was 27.07, which is the quickest since March.
HS, isn't it a shame that the 'Parkruns' you are (in effect) doing don't count towards your overall tally. I've been stranded on 190 or so since lockdown and beginning to wonder whether I'll ever get the 200. Well done on your quickest time since March. Do you run quicker when you do solo runs, I wonder?
Aquarius, well done for sticking to (well as much as you can) what sounds like quite a demanding training regime. I guess you (or any of us) has to 'buy in' to the coach, whether it's a real person or a virtual one. You mention my 2 hard sessions on consecutive days and it's simply a case of how I feel. Equally if I didn't fancy what a coach dictates, I know I wouldn't do it. I fear I might be uncoachable! You still have 8 weeks until your target race and that sounds to be quite a large space in which to make progress, especially as it's a 10K and not longer. (Have you got a target time?)
I did my customary Saturday 5k this morning. At 22.52 it was a few seconds slower than my previous 2 efforts. The weather was perfect - almost windless, cool and dry. As I was running at 9.00 and was running the local Parkrun course, I saw lots of runners and many of them familiar (smiley) faces. Well, not so much faces as bodies as I noticed one of my rivals looking very lean and mean. Certainly no evidence of lockdown excesses on him. I felt a bit flabby after that. So perhpas not a great idea to............
........... off to a family lunch with my 2 sons, their partners and 3 grandchildren. This was in a rather nice place where the service, food and surroundings were great. The best thing was that there was lots of outside space for the kiddies to run around in. And their granddad. Naturally, it being a Father's Day celebration I picked up the tab, (Hang on - shouldn't it have been a treat for me not from me?!)
I got some beer from one son and a book from the other which I mention because it was (as Aquarius notes regarding my interests) the new Max Hastings about a convoy to Malta in WW2. (By a coincidence, my Polish daughter in law bought her dad the same book - but, of course, in Polish). I'm by no means an expert on this period of history but like many of my vintage do have an ongoing interest. Indeed, a few years back I did a guided tour of the Normandy D-Day beaches.
JB - not struggling, just plodding on (or trying to) despite these annoying little niggles. The Stableford system basically allows me extra shots over and above Alan. Over 18 holes I think I currently get an extra 6 shots over Alan - but my handicap means in total I get 2 extra shots on every hole and 3 extra shots on the 3 hardest holes. Well done re your Saturday 5K and glad to hear you enjoyed your family lunch and your presents.
Glad to say my right foot isn't so sore today - spent most of yesterday in sandals so no pressure was being applied to the bruised area.
The itching and swelling from the horse-fly bite is also subsiding.
But because these things seem to come in threes, I got woken up at 6:30am this morning when my right calf cramped up. I've been stretching the calf and achilles since and have no idea why it happened as I've not been dehydrated.
My son asked what I wanted for Father's Day so I 'ordered' a polo shirt for golf and he chose a very bright red one. They won't miss me on the golf course, that's for sure!
Right - off to cook a Sunday Roast as it's errr, Sunday and I give Margaret the weekend off from cooking so she has a well-earned break from producing meals.
JB, it is a shame that our not a parkruns won't count. My last parkrun was my 50th, so at least I got the t shirt. I haven't worn it since though.
I do sometimes run the5k's quicker on my own, but my quickest have been with others.
Another excellent 5k by you!
I hope you enjoyed the Father's Day lunch. You certainly got some useful presents from your sons. That must have been very interesting, your guided tour round the Normandy D-Day beaches.
WtnMel, I suppose that heavy run does have its advantages, in that there are less people about, but it does mean more cars on the roads.
Thanks, I suppose running the 5k on roads, rather than in the forest, was the main reason for a quicker time.
Good to hear that your sore right foot isn't as sore, and that the itching and swelling from the horse fly is subsiding.
Cramp in the night is very painful, and usually no reason for it.
A bright red polo shirt for Father's Day. Good job there aren't many bulls on golf courses!
This morning I ran 13k (8 miles) in the forest. It was much cooler, and there was an irritating light rain. I took a few photos which I will post tomorrow. It was much wetter and muddier that I had expected, so I was glad that I had decided to wear my trail shoes.
HM, good 8 miler from you yesterday. Looking forward, as ever, to see the photos.
Mel, thanks for the explanation of the golf scoring system. Can you negotiate a favourable extra few strokes for someone wearing a bright red polo shirt? Well done on the cooking. As for your cramps, they are not nice. Mrs JB used to get horribly bad cramps in her calves in the night. Then she took early retirement and magically they stopped. So simply a case (for her) of our good old 'friend' work-related stress.*
* rereading this I've just realise how I have far more work-related dreams these days than I did when I was working.
I often wonder how fresh fruit and veg is in the Supermarkets.
Thanks, yesterday's run was nice and steady, and really a recovery pace run.
That's odd that Mrs JB's night cramps ceased after she stopped working.
Strangely, I often dream that I'm working in an office, but not with any previous work colleagues.
It's been raining steadily all day, and I ran 7.7 miles on roads this morning with the Sarah's.
Yesterday's photos below, as promised.
HS - with hindsight (a wonderful thing) I should have worn my waterproof trousers .. I'll know better next time. The bright red golf polo is indeed very bright - if Alan wears his bright lime green one at the same time no-one will miss seeing us. Well done re your 8ml run yesterday. Reading about you dreaming you were working on an office - last night I dreamt I was out running pain-free .. it may still happen. Some more nice photos of the forest - you are very privileged having that on your doorstep.
JB - don't imagine you'll be resting for very long
I cut our small front hedge this morning and when I was getting the things from the garden shed, I noticed one or two of the raspberries already reddening, despite none of them being very big yet. That's the summer-fruiting ones on last year's canes (which I moved so that may have affected the cropping). The autumn-fruiting raspberries are brand-new this year .. they are growing okay at present but I'll have to wait and see if any fruit appears. Anyway, I'll keep watering them all regularly and hope the fruits swell up as they ripen.
Glad to say .. Arm - not so itchy .. Right foot - not so sore .. Crampy calf muscle - gone.
As I was about to post this I noticed today's post where I see the cramp has gone (hurrah), but I'm now reeling from the news of Alan's lime green shirt, and the thought of you and Alan blinding every other golfer with your colourful attire.
(I hope your dream comes true.)
Aquarius, well done for persevering with what reads like a very challenging regime of training, especially as you are also doing Pilates, strength training and. last but not least, kitchen cleaning. I know I'm the last person to advise this (see below) but there comes a time when you have to listen to your body. So some modifications might well be the way forward.
Mel, I love raspberries and by far prefer them to strawberries. In terms of a military analogy, strawberries are the Spitfires getting the glamour but raspberries are the Hurricane, doing the job without a fuss. Not sure if this worked! How right you were about my rest day not lasting very long...........
Indeed, it didn't happen. As the resident nutter on the thread I decided to have a session on the rower. This was 10K - twice as long as I've ever rowed in one go. I gave myself the target time of my last 10K run of 50 minutes. It's not a comfortable way to spend 49.39, but I was pleased to do it. Best of all no aches and pains this morning so I could do a........
7K run. Very windy but managed it in a decent time (33.20).
Had 2 bits of contrasting family news today. My older son, who has drifted a bit career-wise since leaving university (13 years or so ago) and was laid low with serious illness for a while, has been offered a really good job by one the the companies that he freelances for. After what he's been through we couldn't be more thrilled for him.
And then my younger son contacted us to say that Lily (star of the Junior Parkrun) and the rest of her class all have to self-isolate as someone in her class has Co-vid. This will be a bit of an all round challenge. Oh well, hopefully just a short-term problem.
WtnMel, didn't you know, red and green should never be seen 😁
I very seldom dream about running, but when I do, I'm usually late for the start, or when I've started, I never finish. I don't drop out, but the dream changes.
Good luck with the rasbererrys, will you be making jam?
Good that your arm, foot and calf seem to be behaving 😀
Aquarius, we have litter pickers here too, who pick up off the pavements and in the forest. Sarah F is one of them.
Sorry to hear that another dog has jumped up at you. The owners response was fairly typical. "He won't hurt you," He's only playing" etc.
It does seem to have turned a bit colder, and it rained all day yesterday, the longest day 🌧
I never stick rigidly to a training programme, but adapt to suit myself.
Well done cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom, that equates to a hard cross training session in my opinion. You certainly have a tough programme ahead of you, and will be wise to adapt it, depending on how you are feeling.
JB, your post popped up somehow whilst I was replying to Aquarius.
That's amazing, rowing 10k in sub 50 minutes, that's faster than I can run it. Even more amazing, running a quick 7k the following morning!
That's good news about your elder son, having been offered a really good job.
Not so good from your younger son though. Lily and her classmates having to self isolate, as one of the pupils has Covid.
I've nothing much to report, except today is a rest day.