Hard Marathon Training with Mike Gratton

1788789790791793

Comments

  • Hi there everyone,  I am still alive, but cannot possibly read through everything I have missed since my self-imposed absence. 

    Too much crap going on in my life so felt whatever I posted would be too depressing. 

    However, having managed a measly few miles again at not too slow a pace with the aim of pulling myself together and trying to get some racing in after Christmas I thought I had to say Hi.  Glad to see that most are uninjured and if coming back from injury succeeding. 

     Have just spent a week in Virginia, with husband who has been over there, without me, for three months in an effort to find some work. Even managed a 5+ mile run, on a freezing cold day with big blue skies....fantastic. Had to go and buy myself some proper running gloves, which meant for the first time ever I had warm hands.  So, older, no wiser and definitely very broke, but as SC said some pages back, having someone you love, the ability to run and enough food is just about all I need, and a beautiful sunny cold day makes it almost perfect.

  • Hi Tootie - good to hear from you.

    I am still very much alive and running, though my life is so busy - in a good way - that I haven't been able to post. Work, running, life and my lovely new (non-running) man are keeping me very active.

    Anyway, I thought I would ask some advice - the face fell off my Garmin 305 today and all the innards fell on the floor of the tube train. So it doesn't work; it's way out of guarantee and I am wondering whether to splash out on the new 405, whihc is nice to look at but has had mixed reviews.Anyone care to opin on whether the 405 (cheapest price seems to be about £190 from Amazon) is better than the 305, which is now considerably cheaper and many think, better. What say you Hard-trainers?

  • I think the 405 looks great and feed back, from those I know that have got one, is good.  Much better reception and less drop out. From my own personal point of view my wrist is too small and it doesn't fit. When I tried one on, too big and slides round so is very uncomfrotable, But unless you are a midget like me then it should not be a problem.
  • SC same choice for me after leaving my 305 on a train in my kit bag. I had picked up from reviews that the 405 wasn't great although infinitely better looking. Can't quite understand how you work it with gloves on in the winter.
  • cealceal ✭✭✭

    SC
    the only comment that I remember someone saying  about the 405 is that for some reason when you don't start it, ie standing on the start line of a race, it turns itself off, because one has been inactive in not starting it. That would be rather annoying, somewhat!

    I, too, would like a 405 as I always feel the 305 is like running with a tractor strapped to my wrist.

    Btw I did giggle a little at your 305 it's innards on the floor of the tube!!! 

  • Thanks guys - in the end I bought a new 305 at £135, which, unlike my last one, actually downloads data to my computer (My last one stopped doing that after a month or two). So that's a bit of excitement.

    Oh and I ran 14.2 miles yesterday - my longest run since May. That gave me my highest weekly mileage since May as well - 44 in total. Aches and pains here and there.

    And I have just been diagnosed with osteopenia - low bone density, though not quite osteoporosis. So I am now on 3 calcium tablets a day. My non-running sister puts this down to " a lifetime of dieting". It's amazaing how non-runners like to think it's because I am too thin, but I weighed myself the other day after 6 weeks without, and I am 8 stone 10 lbs, which gives me a BMI of 19.5 - perfectly healthy. I put it down to a lifetime of strong black coffee and diet Coke (both of which leach calcium from the bones). And of course, all the running is good for my bones.

    Will be doing my first race since May next Sunday - a 5-miler. Looking forward to that, though I will be very slow indeed.

  • Glad to hear it's not oseteoporosis,  S-C, and  good luck with the race on Sunday. I am still convinced  that there is a big consipiracy for anyone with a BMI that borders on 25 to reckon that anyone with one at 20 or less must be anorexic/osteoporitic/whatever.....everyone is getting bigger, but it does not mean that those of us who are not are ill....odd maybe, but not ill!
  • Ceal - when you have hands the size of a man's (they go with my size 8.5 feet), a tractor-sized watch is not a problem!

    I agree so heartily about how reference standards for what's normal have changed. Back in the 70s, 60s and 50s, we would have been considered normal as well as optimally-healthy. Statistically, we are still in the optimum weight range for longevity - that hasn't changed, But the population average weight has shifted upwards so much, that people look around themselves and feel that they are normal.  They derive comfort from that feeling. People like runners make them feel uncomfortable.

  • Anyone else out there training....?

    It seems to be 20 weeks to FLM 2009 on Sunday, so there must be some people thinking about it at least? (Not me of course: I have forsworn marathons).

  • SC - I'm still here, running a little, have to cycle 28 miles a day to work so that is taking up most of my training at the moment.  I am planning to have a go at Lochaber in the spring, 16 weeks programme planned from 28th December.

    Today it was snowing and running through the forest tracks from home was fantastic.  On the wildlife front I saw a couple of dippers, wrens, robins, two buzzards, a red squirrel and loads of deer.

    Regards,

    Blue

  • Lovely to hear from you Blue and pleased to see the wildlife has not suffered in the economic downturn.

    Race report from the Perivale 5 (my first race since May 25): 36:02; 7:10 pace; 79.7% age-graded and 2nd W45. HR reached 158 bpm by Mile 1 and stayed there throughout the race. So, I am content with my effort level (I ran as always on perceived effort, not consulting my watch till after the race). It's a shame my fitness in still a long way short of where I was in May, when I was in the mid-80s age-graded.  Hopefully, a few more months of steady training should see me back there.  My new man videoed part of the race and has threatened to put it on YouTube.  

    I think I am the only one left on this thread.... come in if you can hear me? is anyone out there? I need news....

  • No, you are not the only one left, and well done S-C...but my training level is so low that I barely scrape in as a runner, so I am keeping very quiet!   Glad to see that Blue etc. are still out there....keep up the good work!
  • Tootie - good to hear from you. I tthink being in hard training is self-defined. For example - reached a new post-injury high of 44 miles last week. That seems hard enough for me just now, giving the injury niggles I am constantly managing. But I am getting a lot of joy from even that much.
  • Hi all, I hope you don't mind me intruding.......

    Slow-Coach - I hope you don't mind me asking, but have you been recommended anything else in the way of increasing your calcium intake, i.e. food/drink do's or don'ts? I'm currently unable to run due to a s-f that has been caused in part by too little calcium in my diet. I am (mildly) lactose intolerant, so had been avoiding dairy, without really replacing it (occasional bit of goat's milk, etc). I had been taking supplements, but all in all I was only getting ~ the RDA which was not enough for the mileage I was doing. I've upped my supplements, and am having a daily glass of goat's milk, a yoghurt and cheese where I can manage it (though try to stick to goat's cheese), so that should all help, but any advice would be most welcome if there are other sources you think I could/should be having, etc?

    Also, I have been told, if I've read/understood properly, that you may know a bit about Raynaurd's Disease? Is that right?

  • TippTopp ...just butting in here, but as someone who is lactose intolerant, try increasing your intake of  the following: hummus,   almond butter,  chick peas and tahini (sesame seed spread, which you can use instead of butter on toast, it is a bit of an acquired taste, but if you mix some with soya sauce, crushed garlic and a squeeze of lemon juice it thickens up and I love it) and dried figs, are also quite high in calcium.  Will have another think and come back to you.  Make sure you do not drink fizzy drinks as there is some evidence that that leaches the calcium out of your bones.

     There are other things but mind has gone blank!

  • Tootie A - that's fantastic. Thank you for the tips. I rarely drink fizzy drinks anyway, but wasn't aware that they can affect calcium levels. I have also started taking a l-lysine supplement which is supposed to help calcium absorption/bone growth. Have you ever heard of it?
  • Tipp top - you are very welcome here. Tootie's advice sounds spot-on for you. I am not lactose intolerant, but eat little dairy because of my fear of getting fat. You don't say how old you are, but your bone density suffers if you lack oestrogen, so for over 50s like me, HRT helps. Coffee also leaches calcium from bones so I have switched to decaff. My GP gave no dietary advice - she just said take Calcium supplements with Vit D and do weight-bearing exercise e.g. running image

    Raynaud's  - I yes I am a sufferer. Coffee also doesn't help with this condition. In winter I am often miserable if I don't wear my big ski-mittens. Just done 17.5 miles today in them and I still had cold hands! I also wear 2 pairs of socks when not running and have to give up biking in the winter as I cannot cope with the cold to my extremities. I am also finding that wearing a headband that covers my ears helps to keep me a bit warmer while running at this time of year.

     Hope something of use there.

  • http://www.vegansociety.com/food/nutrition/diet_and_bone_health.php

    This contains valuable information, (regardless of what your opinion is about vegans) and also allows you access to the full paper by email. It has just reminded me not to drink so much coffee!!

  • Slow-Coach - fantastic, thank you for that. FYI, I am 31. Calcium/Vit D and running works for me image

    Tootie A - thank you for the link. It certainly makes interesting reading. I had already identified vitamin K as another thing I should increase my intake of, so good to see that backed up.

  • cealceal ✭✭✭

    It is time this page moved over to the next one. I am here to help this happen!!!!

    What an excellent link Tootie  I am sending it to a friend of mine who has osteoporosis and drinks enough milk for England in order to help herself.

    TTopp
    one can also buy almond milk to go on one's cereals.

    SC
    you sound as if you are on top of things now and your training is going well and you sound happy. I have big feet too (size 9 running shoes) and hands to go with them. However, I have skinny wrists. I guess you must be quite tall too with large feet. I am 5'7".

  • I am 5'7" tall too - a giant among women on start-lines, I always feel, unless standing next to Susie!

    Actually, my life has taken a turn for the worse. I had a bit of sore throat on Saturday, but decided to do my long run on Sunday, hoping for 15 miles ( a mile more than my previous post-injury longest run), but I took a wrong turn and ended up doing 17.5 - the last 2 miles were very tough. But then I got terrible laryngitis, followed by a fever and now a bad cough and cold. Have been off work all week. My non-running boyfriend keeps saying "I told you so". However, whilst all this was happening, I learned that my dad had been admitted to hospital on Thursday night (he had called the ambulance himself) with a stroke and pneumonia. They only tracked down his family on Monday!!! They didn't check his mobile phone - doh! He is now in Addenbrooke's in intensive care with 1:1 nursing and having moved him there from his local hospital is now looking a bit better. I am too toxic to visit just yet, but one of my sisters has been with him since Monday. I haven't run or worked since Sunday, but am feeling very frustrated at not being able to visit my Aged Parent (aged 79). I am very impressed though that he called the ambulance himself. He can't speak at the moment.

  • cealceal ✭✭✭
    SC
    so sorry to hear about yourself and your Dad. I hope you both will recover very soon. x
  • Thanks Ceal. The latest on my dad is that his stroke seems to have been very mild, but he was nearly killed by the hospital-acquired pneumonia! His consultant at the teaching hospital thinks my Dad is truly amazing and has survived this far on willpower and adrenalin - but now he's in the hands of medical science. Moral of that tale - avoid District hospitals at all costs! And hopefully, it's my Dad's willpower I've inherited.

    And I have been diagnosed with a chest infection and prescribed antibiotics. So I hope to be running, visiting my Dad and making Xmas preparations again soon.  

  • Yesterday I got the best Xmas present I could wish for: Dad is off the ventilator, has had a cup of tea, a yoghurt and half a hospital lunch and is sitting in a chair. They are moving him off intensive care today down to a lower level of care. I'm flabbergasted at how he's improved, though he's still very weak. He is looking forward to a mince pie.

    OTH, I stupidly did a 12 mile run on Sunday, between coughs, and felt much worse on Monday.  

     Hope other former Hard Trainers are having a good Christmas - I do wonder where everybody has gone? Another thread perhaps?

  • TRTR ✭✭✭

    SC - I saw that you popped into the sub3 thread. I'm glad to hear that your Dad is ok, and that you're still doing a bit of running (or more than a bit).

    you (and WS) helped me alot in my early numpty days - I havnt forgotten.

  • SC - glad to hear your Dad is better. Thanks again for your help (and to Ceal and Tootie A too).

    Have a good Christmas all.

  • SC I haven't gone anywhere just not been popping in so often. Not having a focus on marathon training at present means I'm a bit all over the place.

     Glad to hear your Dad is getting better - after a nasty surprise it must have been good to see him on the mend before Christmas.

    Season's greetings to all hard and soft trainers. Not much hard training going on here as I get through a Christmas cold. Am of the view that training takes a back seat so my body can clear the infection asap. SC's experience seems to support that - sorry SC.

    8 miler to look forward to later today, first run for 3 days.

  • Good luck to all recovering from Christmas lurgies, and great news about your Dad S-C, I know how it feels. No running at all for me, really bad chest infection, not yet recovered inspite of mega-dose of antibiotics, but much, much better.  Could not even walk without getting breathless...quite scary! Hope everyone has a wonderful 2009image
  • Just checking in for an occasional hello.

    Glad your Dad's improving S-C.

    Things for me aren't so great. I've not been well since my 1:33 'disaster' at the Gosport HM in November. I feel weak, and keep getting dizzy spells, on one occasion passing out completely. My blood work hasn't shown up much other than a rather low cholesterol (I'll quiz my doc more on that - I thought that was a good thing - maybe my good cholesterol is too low) and slightly low sodium (I guessed as much from the cramp I've been getting). I get the results of the ECG on Friday, but my doc wants a 24hr ECG from me. I suspect I've had a low grade virus - I've heard tales of people getting stuff that's taken 6 weeks to get over. My doc doesn't disagree, but there's frustratingly little evidence.

    Running has been sporadic. I did string a few gentle 4 mile runs together over Xmas culminating with an 8-mile social run on the Sunday, feeling much better, but it wiped me out and I've been tired ever since. No running for me this week and I'll try to get more rest (now I'm back at work - doh!).

    Does this all sound familiar by any chance?

    -6C on Hayling last night - I know that probably seems mild for some of you, but as we rarely get frosts on our little island surrounded by nice warm sea, that's f'in' cold!

  • Susie - good to hear from you, though what you have sounds horrible - a nameless malady is very frustrating. You can't start doing any Googling about it and contact fellow-sufferers. But once you've got past the frustration and denial stage of being ill, I always try to see it as a time to focus on other priorities, e..g. work, reading good books, (or watching crap TV if you prefer). We can't expect our bodies just to go on and on. I do hope you get the satisfaction of a name for your ailment soon, and a prognosis and some light at the end of the tunnel.

    As for me, I have been pretty cough-free for the last week, and it made a huge difference to my speed at Tuesday's threshold session - I was 20-30 seconds a mile faster than the previous week!

    But it's be pure Baltic here in the Metropolops too: Wednesday's club run had my feet so cold (despite double socks), that I was getting painful cramp in my toes by the end.

    And on Sunday, in the ancestral homelands of Southwold, where I was visiting the Aged Parent to do his bidding (while he criticsed from his armchair) on his discharge from hospital, I managed to get out for a 16-miler in stunning sunshine and sub-zero temperatures. The surf was magnificent, and I explored some wild and lonely places (e.g. Covehithe beach, where tree-stumps grow out of the sea), Southwold pier in winter, the harbour and common. And I saw only one other runner (oddly in the remotest and loneliest part of the run). There were dog-walkers, bikers, surfers and kite-surfers and even the RNLI men out on an exercise (they were also scattering ashes they told me later), but runners are rare in winter in that part of the world.

    Still very unsure if I'll make it to the FLM - every other long run seems a huge mental challenge, requiring every trick I know to complete it. And I have other pressures on my time (sick dad; non-running BF) these days, despite a loyally supportive son. Still, one day at a time eh?

Sign In or Register to comment.