New Mature Runners Thread

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  • glo2glo2 ✭✭✭
    Hi everyone, i am doing the Coventry half mid march, have been training regularly, i have been doing hill reps for a few weeks now just once a week, i have 2 rest days per week, however i worry about my hill reps, today i done 2 sets of 5 and walked between sets and then i added on three more (last week it was two) so i figure thats progress and then i finish by taking a lower/longer hill back home managed to complete this for the first time last week at jogging pace so again thats progress to my mind, however, i am not at all fast up these hills in fact more like a jog, i have tried fast cannot do it so i am thinking better to be comfortable and complete rather than uncomfortable and give up half way. I want to know really is this the best thing for me, i am by no means a fast runner my last half in this city was  2.14 which was a PB for me, i will be happy to just knock off a few seconds. I am 62 this year and this will be my 5th half would like to do another in the summer.  i am trying to follow Paula Radcliffe's improvers schedule. 
  • MWW, I think you will find that this will be our new thread, as I can't imagine the original being uploaded now. Perhaps there were too many posts and they couldn't be bothered. Well done with your LSR and other runs after your stomach bug. If you are feeling ok Saturday morning then I suggest you do the race, if not do an LSR.

    Columba, glad you found your way onto this new thread. It's good that your knee seems to be holding up well. build up your mileage gradually.

    glo2, welcome to the mature runners thread. I don't know what the Coventry Half route is like, but assume it is undulating as you have been doing hill reps once a week. That is sufficient as they are tough. Don't worry about how fast you do them, just doing them is sufficient. My club includes hill work once a week, and a speed session on the other club night. As you are doing a half marathon, a weekly long slow distant run is important. I don't know what sort of mileage you are currently doing, or how long you have been running. I would suggest that your long run needn't be more than 10 miles, but if you feel up to it, run a bit further. I don't know how that compares with Paula's Improvers Schedule, but she is better qualified than me to advise. Hope this helps. We are always pleased to give help and encouragement on this thread, so hope you become a regular contributor.
  • Morning all,

    A bit misty at the moment, but milder. I'll be going for good pace run with Steve later this afternoon.
    I see that there are now adverts down the left hand side of our posts when using a laptop, but I haven't noticed them on my phone. I will check later. These pesky adverts will drive a lot of members away. They also are making no attempts to clear out and prevent the spam posts.
  • I was just checking to see if you oldies here had managed the migration to the new Forum better than the Over 60's thread and it would appear that you have not!!!
  • I'm hoping more will come over. We don't have many regulars these days, and I'm afraid we won't get many new ones on this new platform. It's not so user friendly to us oldies, but I'm finding my way round.
  • Trying again - anyone able to read me? :neutral:
  • glo2glo2 ✭✭✭
    Hi hillstrider, thank you for your answer which pleases me, my schedule is as follows Sat long run  13-14 miles, Sunday rest Mon 8 miles fairly good pace, Tues 6 miles easy, Wed hill work, Thursday speedwork on treadmill, although do tend to hang on to bar, bit worried that i may fall on the fast bits try to let go every now and then (7.2 for1 minute and 11.2 for 2 minutes)  Friday rest day.  Also currently looking to purchase a book on nutrition, can you or anyone recommend a good one?  started eating 2 teaspoons of chia seeds daily in the hope it will boost my permanence as it is supposed to be a superfood.  Thank you for reading. 
  • glo2glo2 ✭✭✭
    I will be pleased to contribute, as my husband is only a spectator it is good to talk to people who understand how important  a good run can be, and the benefits for the mind as well as the body, i have come a long way as i have screws and wire in my back, and at one point had to have home help to do basic tasks and i used sticks, that is all behind me now and my goal is to improve every year, so my motto is 1 year older 1 year better.  
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Hi everyone,

    I'm still getting used to this new website but I'm glad most(?) of us have found this new thread. It looks like this part (the forums) is on a separate site from the 'main' RW website? I expect we'll get used to it eventually and it will be okay once they've ironed out the bugs.

    HS - I have managed to create a bookmark for this thread so I can find it easily which is a good thing. Strange about DBIW not being able to access the forums - I wonder if she needs to clear out her temporary files or something similar. If I had a way of contacting her I'd probably drop her an email to see what could be suggested.

    Aquarius - well done for managing to take part in the 5k race despite being in the throes of moving house. As HS mentioned, Garmin Connect does seem to have a wobble every now and then but leaving it and coming back later is normally good enough. Re your Macbook as an (ex) professional IT support person I'd always recommend switching it off and on again.

    MWW - you're not the only one confused by the new forums! If it was me I'd probably see how I am the night before the trail HM and decide then what to do.

    Columba - glad to hear your knee is still happy despite you increasing your training time. I've not managed to work out how to change my avatar picture yet - any suggestions gratefully received.

    Glo2 - welcome along to the thread. I never manage to go up hills fast - it's definitely slow and steady where I'm concerned. Hill training is definitely worth doing and should make you stronger on flat routes.

    A few years ago I was given an Adidas 'thingy' which you fitted to your (Adidas!) running shoes to track your running using a website called MiCoach. I use Saucony shoes so promptly forgot about it. I had an email a few days ago to let me know MiCoach is closing down - but they have arranged to transfer my details to Runtastic and I've been given a premium membership for a year - I'll have to take a look and see if it is worth using (bearing in mind I already use Garmin Connect, Strava and Fetcheveryone). I have installed the Runtastic app on my phone so maybe it will be a useful 'backup' if my Forerunner ever plays up.

    I've not managed to get out for a run since last Sunday ('babysitting' workmen + bowls + golf) but I'm hoping I'll have time to run tomorrow morning. My two sons are arriving tomorrow afternoon and staying over for a couple of nights. On Sat I'm driving us to Tring (Herts) for a meal with the rest of the family to celebrate my Mum's 90th birthday and I'll be driving back Saturday evening. On Sunday I have to drop one son at the station and drive the other to my house (2 hr round-trip) so I'm expecting I'll just want a quiet day for the rest of Sunday. Hopefully things will be back to normal next week! :)

    Some exciting news here - as I turn 65 this year and Margaret turns 70 in September we've decided to 'splash the cash' and do something special later this year. So we're in the process of booking ourselves a holiday in Canada including a two-day train journey in the Rockies. The only downside is the dates we can get flights clash with the Cheltenham HM which I have already entered and the Ridgeway Run which I usually do - but there'll always be other races I can enter instead :)
  • Hi Running Silverstone half in March.

    Gone from 46.12 in May 2016 (on road) to 45.43 in Jan 17 for 10k (Jan was on grass ).
    Running 30 miles a week since Nov compared to 15 miles last year.

    Last half in oct 2016 1hr 43 so 7.9 miling 
    Do you think I could dare to try 7.40 miling or would this be mad?

    soon to be 50 female.
    thank you
  • Morning all,
    Bright and sunny and today is a rest day.
    WtnMel, I have heard from DBIW by way of messaging and she has been trying to post for some time now, but for some reason, appears to be blocked. I suggested that she contact the RW Editor to see if things could be sorted out. Yesterday she "posted" on here, but the post didn't appear. It's very strange. Hope you have a lovely day with your mother on her 90th birthday.

    glo2, your weekly training appears to be good, with two rest days. I'm afraid I'm not an expert on nutrition, but try to ensure that I get a good mix of protein and carbohydrates, and five portions of vegetables per day. I have recently started eating broccoli which is good for iron. Dark chocolate is also good and helps with energy. I am pleased to hear that your are now making good progress, and agree that running is very good for the body and mind. There is nothing better than a nice run, especially off road, to clear the mind of the day to day worries and problems. Keep it up and I'm sure that you will go from strength to strength.

    AB800, welcome to the thread! Your recent 10k in 45.43 is very good on 30 miles per week. I think that 7.40 miling is certainly possible, but it depends on whether the race is flat, undulating or hilly. I haven't run the Silverstone, but assume that it is fairly flat. Do you ever do a parkrun, as they are good speed sharpeners, short and therefore easy to recover from.
  • Hello and welcome Glo2 and AB800.
    Nothing to add to what Hillstrider says; he's an expert. I just trot along. Recovering (hopefully) from a knee problem at the moment; cautiously increasing time spent running by just 2 or 3 minutes each run; and run/walking it (3 mins: 1 min) rather than running the whole time. Will probably never get back to racing, but hope to be able to do a parkrun occasionally.
    Today's run was 33 minutes. Knee started hurting towards the end, but not so much so as to stop me in my tracks.
    TE, if you're in touch with DBI, say hello to her for us. Could she perhaps try signing up as though a new member of RW?
  • Evening all,

    Gosh it was foggy this morning, thickest I can remember for many years. It was a bit of a nightmare driving through the forest, yet there were still maniacs without lights.
    Columba, you flatter me. It looks as if your running is gradually coming back, and walking, running is the best way back to full fitness. I'll try to contact DBIW again, but she didn't reply to my last message. I'm afraid she may have got fed up keeping trying to log in. It seems that she has been blocked.
    I eventually arrived at Wilverly Inclosure for the parkrun, the one with 3 hills, and was pleased with 24.07, about 20 seconds quicker than last time. The fog slowly cleared during the run, but was still "hanging around" for the drive home.

  • Thank you Hillstrider. 
    The 10k was flat but xc so I was pleased.

    Yes I've done a few parkruns best is 21.38 last summer and a hilly one in Dublin 21.46 in Dec. so improved.

    maybe I just need to be brave. Most of my long runs are just under 9 min miling but seem to be able to pick it up on race day.

    My last half was Oct I suffered a bit over the last 2 miles but managed to keep the pace at 7.50.

    thank you 


  • Oh yes also Silverstone is flat.
  • AquariusAquarius ✭✭✭
    edited February 2017
    Welcome Glo2. Good luck with your Coventry HM training. For someone with screws and wire in their back your weekly mileage is most impressive. I applaud your perseverance, and love your motto "one year older one year better"

    Welcome also to AB800 and good luck with your HM training too. As Columba says, HS is probably the best person on this forum to advise on HM training, but from what you've said you seem pretty speedy already.

    WtnMel - I think I've managed to get my avatar uploaded, but I can't remember how I did it I'm afraid. I thought I'd clicked on the little cog at the top right hand of the page, then clicked "edit profile", but I've just tried it again and couldn't get to the page I found the last time that let you upload a photo. I'll keep trying and let you know if I find it again.
    (Like the sound of your proposed Canadian holiday
  • AquariusAquarius ✭✭✭
    edited February 2017
    Really cross! Looks like only half my last post uploaded, will try to retrieve the lost bit, or write it again. Thanks RW.
    ( I wonder if it's because I'm writing this on my IPhone?)

  • Evening all,

    AB800, you are already very speedy and appear to be doing every thing right. Your 9 minutes miling is impressive for your long runs, so I definitely think you should race at 7.40 pace.

    Aquarius, writing on your phone shouldn't make any difference. I do most of my posting on mine and am doing this on it too.

    Ran a really good pace 12 miles in the forest with Karen this morning. Conditions were good and it was good not having to run in winter gear.
  • Thanks for the motivating post Hillstrider. I'm going to go for if at Silverstone. 7.40 pace. That'll give me 1hr 36. 

  • The second half of my "lost" post was to congratulate HS on his fast (hilly) parkrun and to commiserate with Columba on the return of her knee pain (although hopefully short lived) and to wonder whether anyone else from the old forum will find their way on here. I also mentioned that Steve did his 100th parkrun on Saturday, although we nearly gave it a miss due to being so tired from the house move. Then I wittered on a bit about the move (you've missed nothing there, just a lot of moaning by me). 
    I'm currently dividing my time between our rental property and younger son's (dogsitting) so only have intermittent internet access (at sons) until our internet is set up at the rented house. I'll post again as soon as I can. 
    I hope Red (and Mike) is ok, likewise DBI, JB6, Exhausted and anyone else from the old thread. It'll be such a shame if we're scattered to the four winds.

  • AB800, best of luck with Silverstone, I feel sure that you will achieve your goal!
    Aquarius, congratulations to Steve on his 100th parkrun, I've done 45. I echo your concerns about those from the old thread that haven't come across. We have been like a family over the years. Hope it won't be too long before you are able to post again.
    I ran 7 miles this morning on very heavy legs.
  • Morning all,

    I've heard from DBIW again and she is having to get a new computer to enable her to resume posting. She is, however, able to read our posts, so is keeping up with things.
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Hi everyone

    AB800 - welcome to the thread. I see HS has already replied to your question.

    Columba - I had also wondered if DBI should just register with some new details if the old one is blocked for some reason. Hope your recovery continues without any further knee problems.

    Aquarius - as I've suggested to HS who has also lost posts in the past, do what I do and prepare your posting in Notepad and then copy & paste it into the forum. Saves a lot of stress!!

    We had a lovely time celebrating my Mum's 90th birthday and she loved the photobook (full of scanned copies of old photos) which I gave her. She's still bright as a button at 90 so I hope I have her genes.

    After a week off I finally managed to run yesterday morning. I was playing Fetchpoint again and its good for my training. I had to climb some hills to begin with, then headed around town and while I was busy passing through the correct points on the map, I managed to cover 6.7 miles without really noticing. I slept like a baby last night and had 9 hours sleep!

    I've entered the Corsham 10K in April and one of my running friends is a local and has also entered. There's a short, sharp hill at 9K and last time, that's where she told me to head on and I beat her by 30s or so at around 63 mins. She's recently posted a 59m15s 10K result so I've told her I'll use her as my 'hare' as I will also try to get in under the hour. She has youth on her side (-20 years on me) so it's going to be a good training target for me over the next couple of months.
  • What's happening. Have just discovered the new format and then it took a while to find 'New mature Runners' page.  My profile seems to have disappeared too, and the link to my blog. Did this happen to everyone?  And how do I bookmark it?  Instructions aren't very clear for 'Old' mature runners!  Anyway, glad to discover most of you are still here.
  • WtnMel - quick post to say I've rediscovered how I got my avatar back. At the top right of the page click on the funny red picture they've given you (at the beginning of the row of symbols which ends in the cogwheel), then click on "edit profile", then on the left hand side of that page you should have a list of options, one of which will be "change my picture"
  • hillstriderhillstrider ✭✭✭
    edited February 2017
    Morning all,

    Bright and sunny, but windy and rain expected later. today is a rest day.

    WtnMel, glad to hear you had a great time at your mum's 90th birthday. Best of luck with your training for the 10k. It's always good to have a target.

    RF, good to hear from you again.  I think the opinion of most posters is that the upgrade has been chaotic, it's disjointed, lots of original threads not uploaded, including this one. No direct link to run hub, event finder is useless, many events on original web not uploaded, none of my bookmarked events have been uploaded. I could go on. It seems that some race organisers are no longer using the RW for their events, as responsibility has been passed to Eventbright, whose T & Cs are considered draconian and personal details are unsafe.

    I have had a notification that I have been promoted to level 3, whatever that might mean.

    Aquarius, good that you have got your Avatar back.
  • Been struggling with Storm Doris this morning, not just the gale force wind but a hilly, waterlogged landscape my studs had difficulty coping with. It took my breath away and I was glad to get home.
    I'm still struggling with the new format of this Forum which can hardly be called an upgrade. So far as I'm concerned it's very much a downgrade. Why did they have to mend it when it wasn't broken? 
    TE: Congratulations on your promotion...... 


  • glo2glo2 ✭✭✭
    Had a good weekend, Saturday run was 13 miles ran indoors and jumped straight on treadmill to do 1 more mille, that is the longest ever for me so quite proud, and for once i did not feel exhausted for the rest of the day(a first for me) maybe the chia seeds are working? All i need to do now is hurry up!  Half marathon is 19th March Coventry.  Mondays run was good and i felt good, yesterdays not bad done this indoors 10k in 59.3, and todays hills were better managed to do 2 sets of 5 and 4 extra thats one more better than last week, and i felt like i was running better although got tired towards the end.  So i really want to do 10 minute mile for the HM, not sure if i can do this with only 3.5 weeks to go, any suggestions please? hope you are all enjoying  this spring like  weather, although a bit windy today i must say.  happy running to you all.
  • Glad to see RF back, hope others will find their way back too eventually.
    TE - have you any idea who has promoted you to Level 3, and what if any are the implications?
    WtnMel - wonderful that your Mum is still "bright as a button". My Mum got into a settled state of depression a few years before she died, and never really shook it off. In terms of memory she was ok, just lost all her joy in life.
    Added another 3 minutes to my running time (or run/walk time, more correctly) to make 36 minutes. It poured with rain and I got home soaked to the skin.
  • Morning all,

    Storm Doris is just hitting us here now in the south, so in two minds whether to run this morning or take a chance that it might have improved by this evening and go to club session, if it isn't cancelled.

    RF, well done for running in those conditions yesterday. I agree this is a downgrade, rather than upgrade. Upgrades always have snags, but this one is an absolute disaster in my opinion.

    glo2, your training seems to be going well and I can see no reason why you couldn't maintain 10 minute miling for your half marathon. The only advice I can give is to continue the speed/hill work, but gradually taper your mileage as you get closer to race date. Don't do too much in race week.

    Columba, I've no idea what "my promotion" means or who gave it. I've received three more notifications of "my promotion!" There are runners on other threads who have also received more than one notification. The new RW Web seems to be rapidly going down hill, going from bad to worse. Good that you are still increasing your run/walk sessions, and well done for yesterdays in pouring rain.
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