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Over 60's training (Part 2)
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John,
Good luck with your parkrun. We have two here and they both have been cancelled out for the last three weeks due to ice.
I have been struggling with shingles for the last week or so and still feel like crap. I have a beautiful blistery rash at the back of my neck and in my hair, very painful.
I am feeling a little more human at the moment but running is off for a while longer.
Mick
Perfect running conditions and kicked-off the new year with 22.14 (74.74%). Room for improvement!
Well done JB! Just pipped me today! 22:54 for 72.56% with which I am very pleased! Fastest for over 18 months and nearly a minute quicker than anything in 2018! And definitely room for improvement when I get some training under my belt and as long as I stay niggle free. Last run in the age group!
Good parkrunning Graham and very decent miles Birch! My aim for 2019 is 2019 kms. Managed about 650 last year so a big ask!
TS: those mile reps hurt! Well they hurt me reading about them! I will be starting my quicker work via fartlek to start with, and then move into things like 2 x 2 mins and gradually progress from there. I will be two or three months before I will be doing a rep as long as a mile.
A better parkrun I see, NZC! Was looking for a friend's result: he was 6th at Cornwall Park last time out but ran two other parkruns today. He used to be a prolific poster under the name parkrunfan. Now living in Auckland he is just a prolific racer!
And have a great 2019 everyone.
hope you're running soon, Mick
Dave
Mick
that is not pleasant and I hope it clears up quickly
When I went for my 'flu jab some weeks back the nurse said I was eligible for a shingles shot as well and so I had that as well. After reading your symptoms I am pleased I did!
John
well done indeed on your return to the flat track - great start to the year
Alehouse
excellent way to depart your current age group and you can pick up a better AG %age next time out.
Yup they did hurt - mentally rather than physically as I simply couldn't push the pace. For as long as I have been running I have always been able to come back and run a 7:30 mile on little or no training and it is a bitter pill not to.
The longer distance means that I do not strain too much, which as a blown up sprinter, it is quite easy to do if I tackled 200 or 400m intervals. It was a way to ease my body into a higher tempo mode and see what happened
Dave
you can't start the year with a blank day!
perfect start to the New Year here, sunny and bright blue skies, light breeze with some chill in it and I eased round 4.2 miles in 41 min - legs still telling the story of the mile intervals but otherwise pleasant enough
John, yes, I'm on the NE coast (well, almost) as I live in Newcastle. I get the impression you won't be making that new parkrun one of your favourites, Potentially embarrassing to get the laps wrong but I don't suppose anyone noticed, unlike an unfortunate cyclist in one of the Grand Tours recently who celebrated his "win" before realising he had to cross the finish line again! I hope today's run went well for you.
alehouse, a great run for you and very encouraging for improvements to come. Well done.
Dave, an impressive mileage for 2018. Do you have a target in mind for this year?
TS, a pleasant run in nice weather. It's been sunny and quite mild here too today. Not always the frozen north is it?
As planned I did the flattish Rising Sun parkrun this morning. I couldn't believe the numbers! 869 people turned up, a record for the course by a considerable margin, Normally it's between 250 and 400. It was a 10:30 start and quite a few had already run other parkruns locally which had started at the traditional 9 o'clock. I reckon some folk are just a teeny bit obsessive about their parkruns...
I felt quite good and was satisfied with 25:26, at 69.3% still frustrating short of that 70% initial target. Still, an improvement over last time on the same course.
No parkrun next week as there's a cross-country fixture. And another one the weekend after that, a relay. I hope we're not in for a cold snap...
I thought I would gross you all out with a pic of my ills.
yuck!! That must chafe very badly against any type of clothing - and you need your layers on over there!!
so pleased I got vaccinated against it - it is available for free for the over 70's not sure about youngsters but it's worth a call to your doctors
I was also informed that I could be inoculated against pneumonia so I have had that done as well
Graham
800+ turning out for a 5K has got to be severely congested so your time is probably quite a bit quicker under normal conditions
I'll have to see if I can get that 70% AG in the next two weeks - not that I am competitive or anything
another lovely morning here as I ran the same 4.2 miles in 40:20 (9:45m/m)
Just found out that the new garmin measures cadence as well and at 179 steps/min seems I am in the groove. Just have to increase power per step.
However after working perfectly on my first trial when doing the mile intervals the HRM no longer wants to pick up my HR - either I am dead (hope not!!) or my hairy arms interfere with the signal or it is playing up already...
Graham - agree with TS; that sort of number must create some bottlenecks. I don't think I've ever been in a parkrun with that many. Sounds like many were there having done a local parkrun 'double'. I've tried this a few times and it can be good fun (if a bit hectic travelling between the two) but the last time I did my hammie on the first and even by my stupid standards wasn't dim enough to try the 2nd. I now recall you (and TS?) are a NUFC fan. This is a bit off-topic but as there was (in my view) a fab (Netflix) documentary series on Sunderland AFC. As you are a Magpie you might not have been moved quite so much as I was by the sheer heartbreak of the die-hards when they were relegated to Division 1 (a misnomer as we all know it's really Div 3!). My lot (Brighton) are exceeding expectations on a weekly basis.
TS - I can confirm that you are not dead!
Mentioning football above (and now moving back on topic) I am in an unofficial annual comp with rnners who are on the Brighton fans' forum. We don't take it too seriously and meet up but rarely. The guys do all sorts of distances and are (like all collectives of runners) a very good bunch and mutually supportive. For the last two years I've 'won' the Age Graded league but there are several who snap at my heels. I'd go as far as to say that retaining this meaningless non-title is my key running goal the year. It's likely that no-one will get past the 80% mark so late 70%s should do it. Which means I've got to whittle at least a minute off my opening effort for 2019...….
Yes there must have been bottlenecks in my Park run but to be honest I was a bit cheeky and started near the front so can't honestly say I was ever held up to any great extent. I got through the finish line ok too but those a couple of minutes and more behind me had to queue for the last 30 yards or so to finish, such were the numbers. They also ran out of finishing tokens. Must have been a nightmare for the volunteers.
I haven't watched the Netflix series on Sunderland yet. To be honest our own situation as a badly run club constantly flirting with relegation is so like theirs that I can't revel too much in their misery. In any case at least they have reason for optimism now, which is in short supply at NUFC.
Brighton are doing very well. A good club with a very capable manager.
I'm off to the match against Man U tonight. It's forecast to be below zero so numerous layers will be called for.
I did 4.8 miles on the Town Moor this morning in nice sunshine.
Mick - that is awful. My husband had shingles and I know how painful it is. I, like Torque Steer had the vaccination after seeing how awful it was.
Alehouse - 22.54 (72.56%) I bet you are pleased. There was 2 parkruns in Auckland New Year's day. One started at 7.30 and the other 9.30. Lots did both. We chose to do the 9.30 one which was about an hour's drive from where we live - Millwater. I thought it was going to be flat but it was quite undulating and on concrete. A there and back course which had other users on it including cyclists so it could have been a bit tricky in the numbers were too big. It was quite hot and I faded quite badly in the last km but didn't walk. Very happy with 29.32 (72.97%).
Still no running training but walked 6km the day before. Think I'll mow the lawns today.
John Bateman - you take the honours with 22.14 (74.74%) Well done.
Torque Steer - looks like you better get a parkrun in.
Columba: don't fee l bad. I looked up a 65%AG on our local course - which is a very fast one. A 20-24 woman achieved a 64.35% AG and did 23.00. That's pretty damn good! Always good to remind ourselves of the age factor! I guess 80-90% of competitors will never reach a 70% AG?
that scene may have been in my memory bank
The AG result is just a by product of running - it is what it is - and provides a certain morale boost unlike the actual times!
John's illustration of the 20-24 woman is a good one. She "only" achieved 64.35% off 23 min. For her to get to 70% AG she would need to run 21 min which is a near 10% improvement in time - not an easy ask over a short distance like 5K and shows the real difficulty of AG results on the young - which is good news for us all!
John
watch something about S'land- are you mad
Newcastle fans moan about how the Toon has been run but that lot must have been the worst run club over the last 10 years in the entire league and at this distance removed from the tribal loyalties that infest the NE I have almost become sorry for them.
After last night's result however................
I like your unofficial Brighton supporter's runners AG competition. Do the results mirror the club's results?If so you must all be on an upward curve
NZC
our local parkrun had an individual who on a regular basis insisted on standing in the middle of the path that is used on the course to make his objection to it being used. As its over 2m wide it's not a problem and he looks confused when everyone says "good morning " to him as they pass by!!
At least mowing is off the menu here for the moment!
tired legs this morning for some reason ( I suspect my dosage levels need adjusting but getting an appointment is difficult as the surgery has been hit by illness!) so id 3 miles at 10 m/m pace and felt knackered in cold, dry conditions
Christine, well done on your sub-30 parkrun, especially as you were slowing down towards the end. 7:30 is certainly an early start but definitely easier to get out of bed in the summer.
I did my 2 x 1 mile run this morning, with 4 minutes rest. 7:27 and 7:49. Nice to get under 7:30 at last.
Rest day tomorrow before Saturday's cross-country.
nice 69%, Graham - as for my plans for the year , I have the mileage target to reach on or before my 65th birthday, but I'd like to enter an event or two, after competing sparsely for the last 3 years.
Mick - !!!! I'm thankful to never had suffered that condition . .
Dave
how dare you
Has this been a NY resolution - only modest mileage each day or are you waiting on a long run over the weekend?
Ran my usual 4.2 mile course backwards this morning which basically meant I did a mile downhill at the start when I was just warming up, 2.4 miles uphill but more gradual than usual and then 0.8 mile downhill. Felt very different even though I was taking it very easy.
I appear to have fixed my HRM - I put the watch on charge despite the battery having 40% life in it and the HRM picked up immediately afterwards - currently showing I have a HR of 47 as I type this!
TS - worse still, the Sunderland goalie looked shocking. He then signed for Brighton! Do you still run your Hipps (?) Hill route?
Birch - are you going to share your target-by-65 mileage or will this curse it? I've never set an annual target; it's just never occurred to me. But I am pre-technology (Strava etc) so I guess it's much easier now.
Another crack at a 'fast' parkrun for me tomorrow. I've got zero patience/perseverance so I can't play the long game. For me, the whole of 2019 is on tomorrow's event! Have managed 4 runs this week which is good by my woeful standard.
John - I started recording my running on 27 Jan 1986, and I realised 3 or 4 years ago that if I kept a certain mileage going, then I could reach 65,000 "career" miles by my 65th birthday. It's a way of getting me out of the door, but sometimes it malfunctions (see above). A more surefire way is to enter an event or two - this has always done the (motivational) trick for me in the past. Currently I'm on 63,790, so 1,210 needed over 8 months, which is eminently doable, but can't afford too many weeks like this one.
Dave
NZC: my friend parkrunfan ran Hamilton Lake and Cambridge on New Year's Day.
TS: it is always strange running courses the opposite way round! Can be unnerving!
Mick: hope there has been progress health-wise.
Columba: great that you are getting out there, as others have said. Well done and keep it going!
Graham, John (and anyone else) enjoy your xc/parkrun or whatever tomorrow!
I have had plenty of opportunity to train this week but am being deliberately careful not to increase the volume by more than 10%, not least because of the calf and Achilles being unhappy after last week's parkrun. Will parkrun tomorrow but aim that it is a controlled progression, particularly as it is forecast to be rather cold. Not the time of year for running quickly!
Dave,
I love the 65k mile target for 65.
I have detailed electronic records back to 2004 so I know what my mileage has been down to the metre since then. I am around 28km since turning 60. The 40 years prior to that my mileage was higher so I think it is time for my 200k service.
Graham,
you are still progressing, good luck with the race
TS,
I too have a 235. The HRM is a bit flakey. Mine will randomly stop working but after a reset it is fine. It will occasionally give crazy readings for a couple of km and then settle down, no obvious reason.
Overall I am happy with it but Garmin could make the software a bit more robust.
Having you discovered the VO2Max measurement yet. Of course crazy HR eadings results in unreliable numbers. I would be interested in what it thinks yours is.
Columba,
I have learnt a great deal about shingles over the last couple of weeks and the vaccine is on my list of things to get. I am not going through this again. If you look things up on the internet is seems that it is rare to get shingles multiple times. This is my second dose and I do not want a third. According to the doc in the walkin clinic I went to, once you have had it you are more likely to get it again.
My shingles now looks substantial worse as it covers the whole right side of my head. The best image I can suggest is one of those characters from a zombie movie. The good news is the medications seem to have it under control and I am feeling a lot better, just look awful.
I should be able to start running in two weeks. this is going to be the longest break I have had in many years, even with my knee injury thrown in.
I enjoy the AG process and having been tracking it for some time. My early 60s saw me in the mid 70s and that dropped a bit up to 65 but not much. I then injured my knee which dropped me right down but I have been creeping back and feel confident given current progress that 70 is still possible. The best this year was 68.5%. As long as I get there before TS that will be fine.
Mick
ps. it is so good to be feeling human again.
Something you may have already explored but you can download other apps for your 235 including the vo2max measurement.
Being the nerdy type I wrote my own watch interface as all of my running partners have the same watch.
I wanted something very simple and big.
Alehouse - that '10% rule' seems sensible. I too am plagued by Achilles/calf and a twinge (or worse) is an ever present threat.
Mick - how much training have you missed? This is one of the things I've noticed as I march (or limp) through my 60s: the recovery to decent form takes that much longer.
Well someone in my family knocked 25 seconds off his 5K PB today. But it wasn't me! An identical time for me as achieved a few days ago (22.14). Surely I could have shaved a few seconds off, had I known it would be this close?? 2nd in Age Cat, and 8th (out of 487) for AG score. The latter cheered me up somewhat. Of course the main thing is to be out there, injury-free, enjoying the fresh air/sea breeze and the friendly company. And of course Bateman junior's PB.
alehouse - hope your parkrun was "mission accomplished" . . .
John - good parkrunning, and well done to your son. It's pleasing to have our children sharing our hobby. Both mine are keen - just heard from my son, who is on his way back from the Yorkshire XC Champs.
No, I won't stop running or recording - but maybe I won't set another arbitrary mileage target. As alehouse says, 35 mpw should be attainable - I've averaged over 37 mpw for 33 years - but time on feet is longer now I'm slower, and legs more "bashed".
Dave
Mission pretty well accomplished at my parkrun, although probably ran a tad harder than I intended: couldn't let one of my mates beat me so took 15 seconds out of him in the last 800 to get bragging rights in the pub on Wednesday. He is three years older though and only runs once a week, at parkrun. He does play squash five times a week though! It was my quickest on this course out of my three runs and I do find it quite tricky as is definitely undulating. Ran 24:05 compared with 22:54 on the flatter course last week. Was second in age group. Never saw the first guy before, during or after! He was a good half minute clear; I was ahead of him last week. On a positive note the Achilles and calf area which has troubled me all week was nowhere to be seen!
My daughter occasionally runs, but is another who never trains (although she does cycle or swim and go to the gym most days). Her last parkrun was around 21. Obviously there are a lot of merits in cross training!
And well done on your parkrun, NZC! Onwards and upwards!
Glad you are making progress, Mick.
Being athletic through your senior years is new territory. I do not think it is well understood or that any generation before us has actually done it., certainly not my parents generation.
There are many things that contribute to loss of performance in our senior years, but none greater than loss of training. As you point out, it seems to require some much more time to put it back. Is it just time or are the intensity levels different. If you were to plot training effort versus relative performance would it be the same. I have found it much harder to apply the same training effort as I aged. It is not the lack of motivation, just aches and pains and the fear of further injury.
So to answer your question " how much training have I missed" .
Being an engineer I am afraid my answer will be complicated.
Here is a plot of my annual distance and best AG % each year since I turned 60. (believe it or not my software generates this)
The first big dip in AG occurred after a great couple of years. It was a chronic Achilles problem that took forever to clear up. Obviously a huge loss of training, but look how long it took to rebuild and I still didn't get there before another hit. This time a knee problem and yet another heavy loss of training.
As you can see I am climbing back but my total training effort is lower again.
I think I can conclude that if you want to maintain your relative athletic performance you have to find a balance between doing enough training and avoiding injury.
So a simple answer is a lot. In the short term my shingles is only going to cost me 2 or 3 weeks so I don't think it will be significant.
Mick
TS, I see you ran one of your routes in reverse. I do that all the time for a bit of variety but when I suggested that we try that for our weekly running club training runs, I was met by blank looks and it wasn't taken up.
alehouse, nothing like a race with a mate for providing that extra motivation! Your friend may only run once a week but he must be super fit if he plays squash five times. I played quite a bit in my 20s and 30s and remember how very strenuous it can be. Pleased your calf and achilles behaved themselves.
John, good to hear your son getting a PB. Always a good feeling, if a distant memory for some of us....
Dave, good idea to enter some events. I nearly always enjoy them, even if times are disappointing.
I felt reasonably strong and was pleased with the time of 32:19 for the 3.75 miles. The average pace of 8:35 would have been disappointing not too long ago but is a minute faster, or thereabouts, than my other two XC outings this season. Hopefully a little more to come. I've now done four weeks in a row where the total mileage starts with a 2, if only just, so it would be nice to keep that going.
Next Sunday it's the XC relays, teams of three running two miles each. My fellow runners are very good so we have a chance in the M65 category (we're all actually over 70 but no category for that).