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It's bright and sunny, a real contrast with yesterday, when we had thunder, lightning, heavy rain and strong winds in the morning.
Red, congratulations on your amazing yearly total mileage, 2,000+ is truly awesome! Sorry to hear the sad news about your sister in laws mother in law, and also your best friend's husband leaving her for another woman.
Aquarius, that sounds a very stressful charity run, but well done for persisting and finishing the race. Sometimes, best race times can be achieved under stress, such as arriving seconds before the start after getting lost on the way to the venue. Good luck with the cross country race New Years Day if you decide to run it.
WtnMel, congratulations for successfully cooking the Christmas Dinner, and hope your sons enjoyed it.
Good to see that you have already entered a couple of races next year, and hopefully the fact that you are in a running club will produce faster race times.
Mok, thanks. I've been religiously doing all the stretches etc advised by my physio over the months, and also spinning and gym workouts, so am doing every thing possible to get back into regular running again. Thinking of starting swimming again, which I haven't done for at least 8 years. I used to swim twice a week before then. Intending to go for a run later this morning.
Congratulation on your high mileage this year too.
Exhausted, well done going for a longish run on Christmas Day.
I don't think that I really lost my mojo, as I've been working hard at maintaining a certain level of fitness, so I'm not quite "starting from scratch."
Sorry to hear about your post Christmas cold. Hope it isn't too bad, and that you soon recover.
My total of 2112 miles for the year was accomplished this morning, partly with hubby (walking) to celebrate our wedding anniversary. I doubt I'll ever do quite so many miles again but I've now done over 1600 miles every year since 2006 when I was training for my first ultra
TE, hope your knees are OK now? Swimming's a good idea although you may remember how much I dislike it 'cos although I'm supposedly a strong swimmer I really can't get my breathing right. Looking forward to your return to racing.
Exhausted, I knew you'd run like a blimming gazelle even after not doing anything for yonks! #jealous! Hope the snot goes away quickly for you and your little grandson.
Moks, thank you. Your annual mileage was jolly impressive too.
WtnMel, are you doing a skinny dip on NYD this year? Can't remember when the blue thingy you and Ruth do is.
Mr Fox, a few flakes of snow and you run for home! I can't believe you're turning into such a lightweight
Aquarius, well done you for managing to do the race. I hope your race on NYD isn't too soggy - our fields are way too squelchy to run over. My NYD marathon is on a tarmac cycle track so the running surface will be good but the forecast is for strong winds and rain - deep joy!
Listening to the wind and rain beating against the windows, I do believe I made the right decision in not running the year end Challenge today and opting for the NYD marathon instead - crossing everything that this weather improves for tomorrow!
DBIW, thanks sweetheart. Do the 5k with the doggies as you'll have more fun. Hope John gets some good news at his next appointment.
Red, congratulations on your Anniversary, and maintaining a level over 1,600 miles per year since 2016. I started logging my training on fetch in 2007 and my highest mileage was 1899 in 2013. I may have run further in my earlier running years, as I often ran between 45 and 55 miles per week.
My knees are feeling better this morning, but I have decided not to run for a few days, as I don't want to set myself back again. I was so close to 100% until my unfortunate "squat" onto the bottom stair to put on my walking boots
Good luck with your NYD marathon tomorrow. It will be a bit different from your favoured off road races.
DBIW, good luck with your New Year 5k, whether you race it, or speed walk with the dogs.
Hope that John's appointment with the surgeon will advise that his knee is progressing well.
I'm still doing all the stretches etc given to me by my physio, and it's now as much of a morning routine as cleaning my teeth. I was very pleased to hold the front plank for 3 minutes this morning. I think my gym workouts are improving my upper body strength.
Wishing you all a very happy new year, with lots of good running, cycling and swimming
HS sorry to hear about your knee, it's often innocent actions like that which result in injury. You are wise to rest it a bit longer, I'm sure you'll be back to full fitness soon.
Red, consistently hitting 1,600 miles a year is amazing. I know you do yoga from time to time, but do you have any other exercise regimes to help you maintain your amazing fitness?
DBI good luck tomorrow in your 5k race. Poor John must be very frustrated not to be able to run yet, fingers crossed that he gets some good news next week at his appointment.
Hello again Exhausted, I always seem to get a cold either just before or just after Christmas too. So far, apart from a stuffy nose, I seem to have evaded it. (hmm, hope that isn't tempting fate
Red, good luck with your first marathon of 2018. You don't exactly let the grass grow under your feet, do you?
And good luck to DBI with the 5k, whether you run it or dog-walk it.
Welcome back, Exhausted!
Been doing lots of walking but no running. Seeing physio again on Tuesday, and will ask him what he thinks about running - just 10 minutes, maybe, with walk breaks. Trouble is, he's mystified; doesn't know what's causing the problem, so how can he know whether running will make it worse? Frustratingly, I've been given a parkrun wristband for Christmas, and furthermore a new parkrun has started up in Newtown which is a mere 30 miles away as opposed to 40+ for my next nearest parkruns. Thanks for the sports massage reference, though, Red.
Best of luck with your training this year
59 yr old female, keen to re-start running and footy after six month layoff from most activities bar the odd gym visit (due to long working hours with lots of driving.) Fitness has gone downhill so I've ditched the job, no more 14 hour days, yay! Now I just need to get rid of the mild sacroiliac ache- probably the result of said job. So here goes with the first walk/jog/stretch. Next stop, summer 10k. Ultimate goal is the big M, but that is a distant dream right now.
Happy New Year, everyone! Ali
Yesterdays marathon was a tad wet! No, actually it was torrential rain from start to finish. Even though it was on tarmac there were a couple of gentle slopes on each lap which resulted in waterfalls across your path which then form huge puddles which we had to splash through, in true trail-running syle, so my feet were wet all day (along with most of the rest of me except for my upper body which was shielded by my new rain jacket)! Managed a sub 5 again, 4:53:18, so happy with that. That's 135 done with a couple of weeks until my first back-to-back ultras of 2018
Welcome AliRi and good luck with your training. Plenty of time to get your fitness back but please do be careful to do it gradually.
Aquarius, I am quite active around home with looking after Esther my old pony, gardening and outdoorsy stuff around the land. I think that must count as some sort of cross-training but I'm sure at some stage I won't be able to maintain this level of fitness. In fact, I think this year will be much lower mileage despite a flurry of high mileage weeks for the first 3 months.
Columba, hope the Physio helps.
Dry at present, but rain is on the way, not very inspiring.
Aquarius, thanks. It's so frustrating that such a minor action could stress the knees, but hopefully, didn't do much damage.
Columba, sorry to hear that you are still having problems with your knee. My physio couldn't sort me out either, in fact he seemed to be making it worse. The osteopath wasn't much help either, just telling me that I had an menisci tear and that it wasn't anything to worry about. I began walk/jogging and brisk walking which seemed to help, and have now done several 9 mile slow runs without causing any more damage.
AliRi, welcome to the forum and hope you will be a regular contributor. Ease back into training gradually, as advised by Redhead. I've been rather sidelined by a knee injury, so am returning to training very cautiously.
Red, well done for another sub 5 hour marathon. Sounded tough with the heavy rain and waterfalls.
I did a brisk 2.2 mile walk yesterday and intend going for a 6 mile forest run later this morning.
TE: Good luck with your running/racing comeback. Hope you're soon back to full fitness again. I'll bet your brisk 2.2 miles was at a faster pace than my morning run...
Red: You're incorrigible, I don't know where you find all the time and energy for 135 marathons on top of looking after ponies, gardening, knitting, photography, mile long blogs and goodness knows what else besides. Wish we all had your genes?
AliRi: Welcome to the forum and good luck with your comeback to running and fitness. Take it easy for starters, do your own thing and keep it enjoyable. Don't try to emulate Red, or me. She's not normal...and I'm too old and slow!
Happy running everyone......
TE, hope your forest run wasn't too squishy. Our fields look as if they're about to become water meadows. Thank goodness they're on a slope or we would definitely be completely waterlogged.
Columba - sorry to hear the physio is still mystified about your problem.
Hope you've all still got power and haven't had any damage to your home/garden/shed etc. The wind woke me up at regular intervals during the night and I was convinced we'd have a power-cut but we're OK so far (fingers crossed and off to check the generator!). Just checked Esther's field and no trees across the boundaries but not checked the next field yet. Waiting to see if things calm down a bit before I decide on venturing outside for a run; there are too many trees along the lanes so it's risky in high winds especially after heavy rainfall - a few years ago a lady was killed nearby when a tree landed on the roof of her car, killing her instantly but missing her poor baby who was on the back seat.
Aquarius, thank you for your kind words. I love running but my marathons and ultras are used to draw attention to ARUK and my fund-raising. Each year I've invented a challenge with a twist on anything I've done before and mostly related to my age (as that's what people seem to focus upon!) eg my 50th birthday saw me complete 5 marathons, one for each decade, plus a 50 mile ultra and that's when I first started doing my knitting stunts at the London marathon. I rather shot myself in the foot when I completed my 60th birthday challenge 8 months before my birthday (that's when I ran 52 marathons in 52 weeks) so the only thing I can think to do this year is go for a really long distance event so my raft of ultras/marathons are being used as training runs - yes, I know that sounds bonkers!
WtnMel, please don't denigrate your running achievements for last year. There are so many things to focus on that running can't always be a high priority, plus you did have an injury. Good luck for this year. Now I"m whistling the theme tune for DoDG!
Mr Fox, there is no way your physical age is 60 - it's more like 40 and I know plenty of 40 yos who would be jealous of you!
DBIW, well done to you and the gorgeous Nemo xxx
Right, time for some squats...............
Then a 13km run in York, in the snow, post xmas. Longest run in many years. My joints don't stand up brilliantly to distances; I had a severe case of something called Perthes disease when I was a kid it was predicted I wouldn't be walking, so I'm just grateful to be able to run at all.
Exhausted, don't be downhearted. I think everyone stops and starts. Strava is a great personal motivator, I find. I can just compare what I'm doing to me, and not worry about how slow I am compared to anyone else.
Red/Aquarius, my forest run on Tuesday was horrendous. I set off early afternoon in torrential rain and very strong winds. I very nearly didn't want to run, but I don't like wimping out. I only ran 5.1 miles, as the outward leg was uphill and into the teeth of the wind, so I turned round and ran home. It was soggy and muddy underfoot, so not a lot of fun
WtnMel, stomachs were ok the next morning after the Indian Meal thanks. The knees seem to have recovered from the trauma of the sit down on the bottom stair involuntary squat. Glad your xmas meal was a success. Hope this years running will be injury free for you, so that you can increase your annual mileage.
Red, thankfully there was no damage to my garden fences and no loss of power. There were some areas of the New Forest that did lose power, but luckily not where I live.
MrCharley, well done for running over the Christmas period, you put me to shame. I did manage a couple of dog walks with my daughter though. I agree that strava is a great motivator, and I followed my running friends progress etc whilst I wasn't running, so I didn't drop out of the loop.
DBIW, hope yours and John's injuries are sorted out, so that you are both able to continue with your sporting activities.
I had a very good spin session yesterday morning, followed by an upper body workout in the gym. I've got another spin session this evening. I don't know how accurate the "control panel" is, but it registered that I had "travelled" 17.2 kilometres in the 45 minute session. I don't know whether that is good, but its given me a target to aim for now.
Just looking back on the injuries that are besetting everyone here, top of the list seems to be the knees, although I haven't derived that statistically or with any rigour. Let's have a poll. Which bit of your body has given you the most injury trouble while running i.e. something that has put you out for weeks or months? Top of my list - Achilles. Next, will to keep at it.
Mrcharly. Interesting about the Perthes Disease. My nephew had that. He had to be kept in traction for over a month. He's now a mountaineer and general professional all-round danger action man. Good on you that you're running.
I went to the dentist yesterday as I broke a filling over Christmas, ironically, eating wholegrain rice. So much for healthy eating. There must have been a tiny stone in there, or something. Anyway, when he presented me with options and the bill I realised that my quick risotto using Christmas leftovers will prove to be the most expensive meal I've ever eaten. I don't think I'll go for this root canal and crown business. What justifies putting so much money into one tooth? It's like having a Ming vase in a house full of charity shop crockery! He told me, like all dentists have, that I have terrible gums and all my teeth are going to fall out any minute. Yea, yea.
Well done on the Christmas Dinner WtnMel. It's all about project management, which, from everything you've told us about your working life, is probably second nature.
Good luck on all the ultras Red.
Gosh Bionic. Swimming that distance in Cologne. Good luck. Nothing seems to deter you. It must be really something to see wild boars on a regular basis.
I'm off to register with a doctor for the first time in 8 years. Nothing wrong with me. It's just on my list of things to do that I've never got round to.
Not surprisingly, my hip gives me the most trouble. If I overdo things, I end up needing a stick to walk for a while.
Exhausted, my knee injury is the top of my list, as I haven'r really had any other injuries that put me out for any length of time.
On the subject of dentists, I'm afraid to say that I have had a root filling, and also some crowns. I have recently taken out a Dental Plan, which will save me quite a lot of money over each year. I have occasionally thought "why not have the lot out and get dentures," but I can't bear the thought of taking them out at night, and soaking them in Steradant
Good idea to register with a Doctor, as you never know when you might need one. Hope you can find one, as they are rapidly retiring and not being replaced.
MrCharley, great respect for how you continue to run!
Last night's spin session "was something else!" We were really put through the mill. It was very intense, and included a "23 minute steep hill climb." I really enjoyed it as we were challenging ourselves to maintain the effort. This is where my endurance from running is so beneficial, as I am able to "keep going."
I'm taking a well earned rest day today, and intend going for a longish run tomorrow.
The rain has finally gone away thank goodness. I had a run/walk combo today as I went for a 5.5 mile hilly run then collectted Mike from home to walk the route with me in reverse (less uphills that way!). A very pleasant 11 miles.
TE, think you've earned a rest day after your spin session! Hope your long run tomorrow goes well.
Mrcharly, I'd never heard of Perthes disease and am very impressed that you keep running.
Exhausted, when I first started running I had all sorts of bodily adjustments to overcome, mostly from old horse-riding injuries, but the thing that dogged me as I increased my mileage was problems with my right ITB which took ages to sort out.
My poorly pony is still very sorry for herself so we had to get the vet out yesterday to give her extra pain relief. She's now got another week of box rest before I let her out for a short while to see if she's any better. Poor old pony :-(
mrcharly, my intrepid husband swam the Thames Marathon, which is 14km! he finished in 4 hours 9 minutes, which put him in the top 3rd of the finishers. There were over 500 swimmers! Whisper it, but I am seriously thinking about entering it this year. I must be mad, either that or old age is creeping up on me. First event of this year is a 1000m time trial on 18 January.
IW, thanks. It's only few months since we had to say goodbye to our beloved Kizzy at the age of 38 so I'm really hoping Esther (30) pulls through this although I most certainly won't let her suffer as that's part of being a responsible owner. Oh and you must do the Thames marathon swim ;-)
I see we've got an escort agency troll now! Reminded me of some of the searches which landed people on my blog - the creepiest being 'redhead in chains' which took them to my page about crocheting a chain at the London marathon so I suspect they were a tad dsiappointed!!!
One wonders about the connotations of "keeping it up" from an escort agency. Redhead in Chains (chortle)
I've done alot of walking over the past few days while my cold gets better. I realise that I could find out distances more accurately, but I tend just to go on what's on signposts. I'm a bit old-fashioned.
Perthes Disease isn't really a disease, so I understand. It's a condition where the bone cells die around the head of the femur. It is quite rare. I believe that medical opinion on how to treat it varies across quite a wide spectrum from "do nothing" to intervention on the scale of my nephew and Mrcharly. I'm not quite sure how my brother and his wife picked it up on my nephew. I think he had a bit of a limp. He was incredibly active as a boy, physically threw himself at everything, so I suppose that get-up-and-go was still there once he recovered and perhaps the knowledge of what it's like to be in traction for over a month spurred him on more than anything to now make a living in out-of-door general dangerous pursuits (although he teaches people to do it safely!)
I heard something on the radio, Hillstrider, about the medical benefits of HIT (high intensive training). So, it sounds as if you're doing the right thing.
On the subject of distressed animals, we've had a high number of seals washed up on the coastline after the storms. The instinct of members of the public is to coax them straight back in the water, but they're being told that that is entirely wrong. The seals should be left to recover, sleep and recuperate wherever they are. They've been mainly pups separated from their mothers.