New Mature Runners Thread

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  • Mel - this all sounds very difficult for you on a number of levels. Hang on in there (easy for me to say).

    HS - I think I'm generally cursed when it comes to most things technological. I might well be the last person in the country to get a smartphone!


    Parkrun yesterday. Vicious, biting wind (excuse alert!) and a 22.05 for me. A tad disappointing but I made 6th on overall age grading which compensated somewhat.

    Today I challenged my training partner to a 'handicap' race: he had to do 10K (10 x undulating 1 km laps) to my 9K. I thought that this might produce a tight finish but he did me by 1.5 minutes; a relatively huge amount, given that there is less than 2 minutes between us on a flat 5k. No worries: next week the handicap will be +1.5 minutes!
  • Afternoon peeps,

    What is going on with this weather - it's chucking it down atm and the lane is flooded in parts! Been to see Mary Massage Lady this morning who had a good old poke around and was delighted that the swelling has reduced. My foot felt much better when she'd finished so onwards and upwards. I've done all my stretches and gym stuff including 15k on the static bike (which I hate) and loads of squats and lunges.

    JB6, 22 minutes? How disappointing you slow boy ;) In my wildest dreams I doubt I could get below 25 minutes! You must beat your training partner next week.

    WtnMel, what a difficult situation for you. Big hugs x

    Aquarius, belated Happy Birthday to you. High Cholesterol is a right pain isn't it and sorry to hear you're pre-diabetic too which is strange given your levels and activity and healty diet - presumably that's hereditary too.

    TE, I remember reading that book when it first came out. I do know a few people who run in those barefoot Vibram running 'shoes' but I would never try them given the arthritis in my feet. Maybe if I'd always run barefoot it would be a different story.
  • Redhead  - pleased to hear that your are on the way to recovery. If I remember some of my physio/chiropractic/osteo treatments over the years, I'd have happily stuck with the original problem: I'd take a long term ache over short-term agony any time!  Yes very wet at this end of the county too, but not as bad as Queensland if the TV pictures are to be believed. Rest day for me.
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    edited February 2019
    Evening,

    HS - I texted my brother's ex first saying I needed to talk to her. That alerted her to the possibility of bad news so the subsequent phone call wasn't a total shock to her. I don't think I would ever try barefoot running apart from on a beach - and then it would be tempting to jump in the water when I finished!

    JB - thanks. I'm "hanging in there" as you say .. just keeping myself busy making sure my Mum (91 yrs old) is okay and helping her deal with anything that comes up.

    Red - glad to hear that Mary ML's ministrations are continuing to improve things with your foot.

    *waves* to everyone else

    I'm back home at the moment. Had a very useful chat with the solicitor this morning. He clarified the legal position and advised what I can/can't do re my brother's estate and the question of beneficiaries. Will call my Mum/Sister in a bit to see if they need me to drive up to Tring this coming week to help with informing banks etc.

    Being home (and having done no exercise for almost a week) I went out and did 3.5mls around town earlier on. Smiled to myself as I passed a pair of schoolboys and one moved his friend aside saying "Mind out - make room for this jogger". Blooming cheek - I'm a runner! :)
  • Morning all,

    JB, well done, an excellent time in such horrible windy conditions. Hope you beat your training partner in the next handicap race!

    Red, glad to hear that magic Mary's magic is working on your foot! Well done persisting with your stretches etc.
    I've never tried bare foot running either, but am sure it must have some benefits, as runners like Bruce Tulloh, Zola Budd and Herb Elliott have tried it in the past, and they were very successful.

    WtnMel, good to hear that you are making progress with your solicitor, which hopefully will make procedures easier to follow.
    What an insult being called a jogger! Several years ago I was running past a local school, and one of the boys shouted out "watch that Granddad go!" 

    Yesterdays forest run was a bit of a nightmare, as in common with Red and JB, the weather was atrocious. I set off for a 10 mile forest run, but had to cut it short. The rain was like stair rods, and the icy wind was vicious. I turned round after 3 miles, as "I was getting nowhere" into the wind. I only, therefore, ran a disappointing total of 6 miles. My back and legs are aching after this short run, so I sensibly cancelled this mornings spin session.


  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Morning all,

    HS - it could have been worse .. that lad could have referred to me as an OLD jogger ;) Sorry to hear you had to cut yesterday's run short due to the weather.

    Following on from yesterday's conversation with the solicitor, I'm heading to Tring on Wed afternoon and on Thu morning will go with my Mum to 'freeze' my brother's bank accounts. The solicitor advised dealing with the estate can wait until after the funeral and is actually his daughter's responsibility. But I will need to speak to them after the funeral and try and persuade them to make provision for my Mum as at present, by law, they are the sole beneficiaries. Hopefully I'll be able to negotiate some sort of agreement with them which will have to be written up as a 'deed of variation' signed by all parties (as you can see, have had to quickly get up to speed on family law matters).
  • JB I love the way you’ve tweaked next week's handicap - that’ll teach him for beating you haha ;) . Hope you get your internet access problems sorted out soon.

    Red great news that the PF swelling has reduced. I can’t begin to imagine how exhausting your current fitness regime must be, well done you for sticking to it. 

    HS/Red/JB you certainly seem to have been having some dreadful weather recently. We’ve escaped the rain, and the snow has gone now too, but we are still waking up to some thick frosts that usually last most of the day. Most days we walk to the local shops, which entails going down a fairly steep hill (and therefore struggling uphill on the way back) which is a bit hair-raising at the moment.

    Very sensible HS to cut yesterday’s run short and cancel today’s spin session. It would be very frustrating to get injured again now you are back to full fitness.

    WtnMel - “jogger?” what a cheek :D . Too right you’re a runner!
    I’ve had kids jeer at me when I’ve run past them, and even had a young lad run alongside me (showing off to his mates who were in fits of laughter) but I just upped my pace ever so slightly and after a while he was out of breath and gave up. The flip side of this though is the encouragement and praise I’ve had from genuine spectators at events I’ve done. I don’t care what non-running people say, if they think they’re being funny or clever so what, it’s the support that’’s always given by other runners, marshals, spectators etc that counts with me. 

    I’m glad to see you seem to be making some headway with your brother’s affairs. What a minefield it seems to be, try to keep positive. Your mum must be so grateful to you for taking all this on. I do hope your nieces will agree to making some provision for your mother, surely they are morally obliged to do so, even if not legally. What a horrible situation for all concerned.

    We went over to the coast last night for our first club AGM since we became a CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation), it was quite daunting to hear what is needed for the club to move forward - lots of money needs to be raised to replace outdated equipment and for repair and maintenance of the clubhouse, not to mention repair of the track and field, (possibly £5k+ for that alone), also lots more volunteers are needed, as are coaches, so we can get our waiting lists down, etc etc…..
    We stayed overnight at the coast and in the morning I had a lovely 4 mile run along the beach (the paths were too icy to run on) just as the sun was rising. That was my first run for a fortnight so I’m keeping fingers crossed that my sore calf doesn’t return (or my virus). 

    Keep safe everyone while this wintery weather lasts.
  • Just realised I said in my last post that it would cost £5K to repair our track and infield area - I should have said £500K (eye watering isn't it?)

    I'd report that spammer if I knew how to.
  • Aquarius said:
    Just realised I said in my last post that it would cost £5K to repair our track and infield area - I should have said £500K (eye watering isn't it?)

    I'd report that spammer if I knew how to.
    Click on the Flag button and select 'report', Aquarius x
  • Thanks Red, I’ve just done it 
  • I've also just clicked the "spam" notification and its gone now!! The first spam that we've had for quite a while.
    Will post later, or tomorrow.
  • I didn't even see the spam!
    WtnMel - a minefield indeed, and it could so easily have been avoided if your brother had made a will. Dying intestate is one thing if it means your beloved spouse inherits, or your beloved child, but quite another if you were estranged from them and would not have wanted them to benefit.
    Re the "jogger" comment: I think people who don't run are extremely vague about what makes the difference between jogging and running.
    Hillstrider: during the 2 - 3 years of investigating my knee problem, I looked into barefoot running; not completely barefoot, but wearing shoes with a minimum or zero heel-toe drop, and very little cushioning. I was also following advice in a book called "Total Body Barefoot". All went well, and I was building up the running distance, when I suddenly developed a pain which turned out to be a damaged achilles. This may or may not have been down to the lack of cushioning. I'm now back in slightly more conventional shoes.
    Aquarius - there are probably grants that your club can apply for. (I knew nothing about this sort of thing before I was asked to become a trustee for the local Foodbank where I volunteer; and have now become aware of all sorts of grants being offered to small local charities by all sorts of organisations). Do your club's trustees have experience of financing charities?
    Recovered from my cold, and back to a little gentle running.
  • Morning all,

    WtnMel, good that you are seeing your mum and helping with all the complexities. At 91, it must be very confusing for her, so it is good that you are there for her.

    Aquarius, I've experienced youngsters running along side me, and like you, usually burn the off quite quickly. There was one occasion though, when I lived at Waterloovile , when several lads and a girl started running with me. The lads soon dropped off, but the girl was obviously a runner as she kept with me for quite a while, and I had to really up my pace to keep up with her. My pride wouldn't let me "be beaten."
    I remember you mentioning the need to raise funds etc to enable your club to move on, some time ago. Good luck with the fundraising.
    Sounds nice, a 4 mile run along the beach. Hope your sore calf and virus don't return.

    Columba, that's interesting your investigation into minimal footwear running. You seemed to have been doing all the right things by building up gradually, so I wonder if that was what caused your Achilles injury. You probably did the right thing by returning to slightly more conventional shoes.
    Glad to hear that you have recovered from your cold and are back into gentle running.

    I only ran 4.3 miles on roads yesterday, as my legs and feet were feeling heavy. I think that is because of Monday's forest run was so tough in the wind and rain.
    I've got an appointment with the Hygienist at 11.30 and am running with Sarah H this afternoon who is just back from 6 weeks in Australia. 
  • Columba: Regarding minimalist shoes.  Way back in 1986 I went into a Huddersfield sports shop for a pair of marathon running shoes.  After trying on umpteen pairs and not liking any of them I was walking out of the shop.  "Hold on a minute" the chap said.  Nipping down into the cellar he came back with a dusty old pair of Adiracers.  "Just stick 'em in the washer and they'll be as good as new.  £15 to you". 
    I stuck them in the washer and they came out dazzling yellow.  With veritably no cushioning or heel to toe drop I ran three or four marathons in them, including two Londons, and won my age category in all of them.
    I'll never race in them again but they've become something of a treasure that maybe ought to be in a museum!
  • Morning all, I ran 6 miles in the forest yesterday afternoon with Sarah. It was very windy, but thankfully, the heavy rain that was forecast didn't materialise.
    Had a vegetarian pub meal with Alice in the evening. 
    Today is a rest day.
  • Afternoon peeps,

    TE, you were lucky to miss the rain! Enjoy your rest day today.

    Hello MrFox <waves>

    Hi Columba, glad to hear you're feeling better and are back running again.

    Aquarius, hope you are now completely free of any lurgy and able to run. The amount of money needed to repair the track is amazing!

    I had a useful visit with the Podiatrist the other day. I learnt that I supinate, my hamstrings and glutes are very strong but my calves are very tight with my left one much stronger than the right (my left knee was damaged in a riding accident decades ago and I reckon that its had to get stronger to accomodate that). He's referred me for an MRI scan to check that there isn't a heel spur lurking in there (which would be tedious!) and he'll be sending me some exercises to do on my calves in the meantime alongside those I do with Mary Massage Lady. He did all sorts of measurements and poking/stretching/walking/standing tests and has made me some temporary insoles with a hole beneath the heel and added some clever taping around my heel and it feels so comfy now! Onwards and upwards :smiley:

    Have a lovely weekend everyone.
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Evening all,

    Aquarius - too right I'm a runner (I'm an af-leet) but I've never had anyone run alongside me. Did have a dick-head schoolboy try and trip me up once. His smirk soon disappeared when I jumped over his leg, turned round and told him what a stupid little p***k he was! That beach run at sunrise sounds lovely (but would obviously be even nicer on a summer's morning). What? £500k! (gasp!). I can't see any spammers posts so I guess between you, you have already reported it enough times.

    Columba - indeed, that is the problem. My brother would probably not have wanted his daughter's to have all (any?) of his estate but we just have to deal with things as they stand (I'm hoping my diplomatic skills haven't waned). Glad to hear you've recovered from your cold.

    HS - my Mum did say when I left her on Thursday she didn't know what she'd do without me and my Sister helping with everything (brought a lump to my throat).

    Red - I think you're right about why your left calf is stronger than your right and good to hear about how thorough and useful the visit to the podiatrist was.

    Re my brother, I've now managed to freeze his accounts and have spoken to one his daughters and explained the situation re him not having made a will. She seemed amenable to discussing providing for my Mum (hopefully the other daughter will feel the same) so we two agreed the three of us should meet up after the funeral. Still have the tricky task of speaking to my brother's ex to explain my Mum would rather she not come to the funeral even though her daughter's will be there :(

    I'm planning to go for a run tomorrow morning - hopefully I can do a 'long' run of 5.5mls but I'll see how I feel on the way round and adjust accordingly.
  • Hello everyone. Just catching up.

    John Bateman 6: As everyone keeps saying to Theresa May. Abandon those red lines! Anyway, signing up for a marathon is indeed heroic, although I think running those shorter distances where you clearly have a talent is important, too. I must admit, since I gave up running I don't think my weight has altered. I never weigh myself as we haven't got any scales (and I don't have a smartphone either, so we'll be joint-last in the world to have one). Possibly, I'm a bit less toned, maybe. 

    HS: Lots of balance between sensible hat and going for it. It's lovely that you're going out and doing social things with your running mates. They sound like a nice set of people.

    Columba: I admire your volunteering. I hope you got some running in in the parks. 

    Aquarius. I hope you are between bugs and illnesses at the moment. £500k sounds a horrific sum. 

    WtnMel: It sounds as if you've really done a good job sorting out the finances. It must be an awful burden to bear and a diplomatic tightrope. Hopefully, the funeral will be an opportunity to heal differences and get everyone to talk, reasonably. 

    Redhead: It sounds like progress on the foot. Maybe some gentle running interspersed with walking might work for a week or two. I'm sure your overall fitness, at your level, won't be diminished at all. I hope, also, that Mike has got over his lurgy, now. 

    I've been backwards and forwards to London in the snow to do a bit of emergency babysitting. We saw Gilbert & Sullivan's Yeoman Of The Guard last week. Some very good performances and singing. I haven't run since the beginning of January because I hated it so much, and have to steel myself to go out again to do something I hate. I've done some fairly regular walking, though. I saw a rabbit run across the road, yesterday. Some hope of regeneration, maybe?
  • Morning all, 

    Red, you have really been put "through the mill," with poking and prodding by magic Mary and the podiatrist, and all the stretches etc that you have been doing. It will all be worth it though when you get back running again.

    WtnMel, you seem to be coping really well with the complicated negotiations etc due to your brother not leaving a Will. 
    Hope you managed to achieve your 5.5 miles this morning.

    Exhausted, I hope that you haven't permanently abandoned running, as you always seem to be able to produce fast runs "out of the blue!" 
    Our club is a very friendly one and there is a lot of socialising. I haven't attended a club session since my injury, but have had close contact ever since. I intend to start going to club again, once they return to the forest in the lighter evenings.
    Sounds like you have been very busy with your baby sitting duties.

    I ran 10.5 miles in the forest yesterday with Alice. It was a battle with the elements from start to finish. There was heavy rain, hail and very strong winds. The forest was a sea of mud and water, and at times we were forced to jog and even walk. We had intended running 13 miles, but conditions were so bad, that just after 5 miles we decided to turn back. I'm resting today as my back and legs are aching. 
  • Afternoon all,

    Good to see you are making progress Red, that sounds like a very productive session with the podiatrist with lots of useful information for you. I hope you don’t have to wait too long for your MRI scan.

    Columba, thanks for the advice regarding grants. The “day job” of the trustee dealing with finance is that of obtaining funds and grants for various organisations, so I expect she’ll know where our best chances lie in obtaining funds. I know we already have a small grant coming from England Athletics (about £3k I think) and we are in the process of applying for a community grant from a local building society. Unfortunately these, although very welcome, are just a drop in the ocean in respect of what we actually need. Good to hear your cold has gone and you are running again.

    Running fox - I liked your tale of the yellow running shoes. I do wonder sometimes whether we are having the wool pulled over our eyes by shoe manufacturers with their latest models and upgrades, which promise the earth in terms of running success. I’m all for injury prevention and comfort, but if the product is so good (according to the manufacturer’s own advertising) why do they need to “improve” it every year? 

    Exhausted I believe I am lurgy free at the moment (said with everything crossed), hope you are too after your trip to London. How is your grandson doing, is he fully recovered now? Do you really hate running now? I hope not.

    WtnMel - I don’t envy you the task of explaining to your brother’s ex that your mum would rather she didn’t attend the funeral, but I can quite see your mother’s point of view. I hope the other daughter agrees to meet up after the funeral and will be amenable to making provision for your mum. It’s a very sensitive and difficult situation, I hope it all works out for you, it seems you’ve ended up as “pig in the middle” trying to keep everyone happy. Did you manage to get out for your run this morning? I hope so, you need to get out whenever you can, running will help to de-stress you.

    HS I was about to moan about the 4 mile XC I did yesterday until I saw you managed 10.5 miles in similar conditions. I take my hat off to you, I have to admit I really struggled yesterday and despite stretching, icing and extended use of the massage stick when I got home, I feel sore all over today. I’ve never run in such gusty, windy conditions. Two club tents blew away and another was damaged beyond repair. Then the mud - like you we had standing water and very deep and gooey mud. I never got above a jog, and had to walk quite a bit as I was sliding about all over the place. I passed a number of runners who had stepped to the side of the course to refasten shoes retrieved from the mud. Unfortunately it all went wrong from the start as due to the slow moving toilet queue I almost missed the start (I heard the first whistle summoning the senior ladies team (which includes the vets) just as I finally got to the front of the queue and was entering the portaloo. Needless to say business was attended to very quickly then I was off sprinting down a bank across a very bumpy field into a vicious wind (and blinding sun) to the start line, and just got there as the second whistle went to move the runners up to the start line and then the final whistle and we were off. Straight up a long steep hill, at the top of which I glanced at my Garmin and got quite a shock when I saw my heart rate. I just hope my Garmin was malfunctioning at this point. I’d been intending to give this XC a miss when I first saw it in the fixture list as it’s one I particularly dislike, out of all the ones we do this one is always very windy and exposed, with a lot of hills with particularly steep descents. However our club put out a last minute plea requesting as many members as possible attend as the senior men were close to getting promotion back to division one and the ladies were only a couple of places off leading their division one, so I thought I’d better turn up. The men fortunately did regain their promotion to div 1, but our ladies team have slipped down to sixth place! So all that effort was for nothing. :(  Hey-ho.
    One funny thing though regarding the tents that blew away, one of them landed on a runner in the senior men’s race, but fortunately it landed in such a way that he managed to keep running out the “open door” without breaking his stride, much to everyone’s amusement.

  • Where is everyone? It's unusual for me to have two consecutive posts on here :)

    I’ve just been for a slow 3 mile jog to stretch my legs as they are still a bit stiff after Saturday’s XC and I have another 5k club GP tomorrow night. 
    Before my run today I accompanied Mr A on his second one mile walk/jog session. Steve hasn’t run for over a year now due to the atrial fibrillation he’s been experiencing, but last week we tried a 1.2 mile route of walk/jog without any ill effects, so today we decided to try it again and so far so good, about half an hour after Steve finished he checked his pulse which was a regular and steady 62. Admittedly a bit higher than normal for him but that will be due to him being so unfit (and heavy) at the moment. The main thing is there is no fibrillation there. We are still waiting to hear about Steve’s appointment for the ablation procedure but regardless of when it is I would like him to go into it in the best possible condition. The cardiologist was happy for Steve to take gentle exercise, but even so Steve couldn’t get rid of the fear that he would keel over if he tried to run, however a few weeks ago I persuaded him to go for a walk with me, which we’ve repeated a few times now without any signs of fibrillation, although Steve was still nervous of taking the step up to running again. So I discussed it (on the quiet) with the physio we go to and also our club coach, with the result that the physio has given him some stretching and strengthening exercises to do, and our coach (who by chance had the same condition and successfully underwent ablation with the same cardiologist Steve sees) encouraged Steve to lose some weight and start a walk/run programme. As a result of both their “chats” Steve is starting to feel motivated and more confident, which is a good thing. It’s not easy when you’ve both been runners then one of you is unable to run for a prolonged period, while I feel guilty every time I go out for a run I know Steve is feeling depressed that he is unable to join in. We’re just keeping fingers crossed that once Steve has the ablation he will be back to normal and able to start running fully again, however we know the procedure only has a 60% success rate, so we’ll just have to hope for the best.

    I've just been reading the write up of our XC, apparently over 1000 runners took part (no wonder the course was so churned up and muddy) on what was described as the toughest XC course in the North East. 
    You can say that again!


  • Aquarius: A battle against the elements, indeed. It's always a hard choice in the Portaloo queue. Leave it or get there in time. Anyway, in true Agincourt spirit, you answered the call and were there when you were needed. Never mind the sixth place in the rankings. 

    The heart business with your husband does sound worrying. A colleague of Mr E's is a keen runner and, a week ago, was rushed off to hospital with chest pains. He's back at work but has something strapped to him to monitor his heartbeat and he's been told not to do any more training for his forthcoming marathon until he gets the all clear. 

    HS: Another hero. Well done for completing the 10.5 miles. 

    I've had a weekend away, including a birthday party, and did lots of walking. Yesterday was a nostalgic drive through the New Forest which we used to walk through quite a lot. We then went to Lymington where we walked about 9 miles along the trail which faces the Isle of Wight, doing some birdwatching. Widgeon (lots), Brant Geese, Shelduck, Turnstones, Redshank, Lapwings, Curlew, Greenshank and a lone Oyster Catcher. 
  • Afternoon peeps,

    Just popping in to check you're all OK.

    Aquarius, that's positive news about Steve. It must be really hard for him, having been so fit, to be struggling now but your secret chat with the Physio seems to have helped enormously and given him focus. I understand his nervousness though as it does sound worrying. I don't know what ablation is so will go an look it up. Your xc sounded horrid, rather like a marathon I did in similar conditions last January. Mud and standing water are not fun so well done on getting through it. LOL at the tent landing on a runner (that's the sort of thing that happens to me!).

    Exhausted, jealous of your Gilbert and Sullivan adventure - presumably at the Savoy Theatre?. Last one we went to there must HMmS Pinafore about 20 years ago. I've been a fan since childhood and even have some really old piano music (Mikado, Gondoliers, Iolanthe, Yeoman of the Guard and I can't remember which others) mum and I used to play when I was a child. Your trip to Lymington sounds lovely, especially with the bird-watching. I love the aptly-named Turnstones.

    TE, a wise decision to cut your run short. The wind's been horrendous here too but thankfully it's a bit calmer today.

    Today I did all my exercises and then decided to try a gentle jog so trotted out for .25 mile and then turned round for home to make a nice round 1/2 mile. The recalcitrant foot felt no worse afterwards so I gave it a good icing/stretching as a reward. Onwards and upwards.

  • Afternoon all,

    Aquarius, that cross country race of yours sounded a right beast! Well done for completing it, and I'm not surprised that you were sore all over the next day. It took me a couple of days to start feeling ok again. Had to laugh at the thought of the runner running in and out of "the flying tent." :smiley: Hope your legs recovered in time for the club 5k GP.
    Sounding more positive for your husband that he is able to jog/walk now with his pulse remaining steady. I hadn't heard of ablation either, so looked it up in my Concise Oxford Dictionary which stated "Removal (esp) in surgery of any part of the body." I hope this procedure is successful!
    1000 runners in your cross country was certainly a big field.

    Exhausted, I was running in the New Forest Monday morning with the two Sarah's and Jane. You might have passed us in the car. Saturdays Lymington parkrun was cancelled due to the adverse weather conditions. You sound like a real expert in bird identification. My paternal grandfather could identify the different bird songs, and also their eggs. It was not illegal to collect birds eggs in his day, and he had a large and varied collection. He lived in Parkhurst (not the prison) and often walked in the forest. As far as I know, he wasn't a runner.

    Red, the sensible hat seems to be appearing more and more often these days :cry: 
    Sounds encouraging that you have been able to do a gentle jog. Gently does it, plus stretching, and you will soon be able to go further. The exercises, stretches are paying off.

    I ran a steady 6 miles in the forest on Monday with the two Sarah's and Jane, attended spin class on Tuesday and ran 6 miles on roads this morning Tomorrow will be a rest day.
  • Red, great to hear that you managed a short run with no ill effects. I bet that run, even though it was only 0.5 mile, gave you as much enjoyment and feeling of achievement as any of your longer runs. As you say - onwards and upwards from here!

    HS you’ve had a busy week so far with your running and spinning, so I hope you enjoy your rest day tomorrow. Thanks for your kind wishes regarding Steve’s ablation. I’ll feel a lot happier once we actually get a date for the procedure. Incidentally Steve visited an ophthalmologist today as he is also waiting to hear about a cataract operation, and the ophthalmologist said the cataract op cannot take place until the ablation has been done, so he is going to write to the cardiologist to tell him this. We’re hoping this might persuade the cardiologist to move Steve up the waiting list for the ablation procedure.

    Exhausted I’m very impressed that you can identify so many birds, it’s obviously an interest of yours. Apart from pigeons, magpies, crows and red kites we don’t see many bird varieties around here (or maybe we do and I just can’t tell them apart from the few I do know).

    Last night’s 5k GP went ok thanks HS. My time was the same as last month, so there’s still room for improvement. I really should make an effort to get to the club training nights when they are doing track work so I can improve my pace. I’ve been really busy all day today with grandson duties, and I’m exhausted now.

    We were due to have a Road Relay race on Saturday, but unfortunately the council will not accept UK Athletics usual £50 million insurance and instead want one of the local organisers to sign an indemnity accepting unlimited liability, not surprisingly the organisers have refused. It’s a great shame as this event has been taking place for nearly 100 years and always attracts lots of interest from the north east clubs. In the past Brendan Foster, Steve Cram, Charlie Spedding and Mike McLeod have all run in it. It’s hoped it can be rearranged in the near future but at a different location (and with a different council). For some reason this particular council seem determined to oppose any organised running events, even fining the North East Harrier League organisers thousands of pounds last year for a XC event which they found fault with (even though they’d given permission for it to go ahead). Strangely enough they can’t do enough for parkrun apparently.

    For those of you who are interested, (warning: - those of you who are squeamish look away now) Steve’s ablation procedure will involve inserting a wire into a vein in his abdomen, the wire is then fed through to his heart to enable areas generating the “rogue” electrical signals (which cause the fibrillation) to be frozen and destroyed. The whole process takes about a couple of hours, during which time he will be fully awake. It’s a bit more complicated than that obviously, but that’s the rough idea.
  • Aquarius: Ah! Your description of the ablation process now rings a bell. My neighbour across the courtyard has had that operation. She waited for so long she considered going private, but then was called in about 4 months ago. I did shiver to myself when she described it. However, the good news is that she'll be fine for the foreseeable future and certainly looks much better now. She's about 75 or so. I hope it has the same regenerative effect on Steve. 

    I went to get my hair cut yesterday. The hairdresser is near the Exe so I got a bit more birdwatching in. Alot of what I saw at Lymington plus Shovelers and Pintails. I haven't seen many Avocets this winter (not on our bit anyway). Our local Turnstones on our promenade hang around together like bored youths on one particular spot. They're as tame as pigeons as people have taken to feeding them. They'll be dealing drugs next!

    Red: It does sound an encouraging onwards and upwards. Go gently. No silly stuff.

    HS: I did think of you as we drove through the New Forest. 

    I've received an invitation to possibly participate in a clinical trial to test some pioneering Alzheimers treatments. It's a long term one which will last into the next decade. The catch is that I've got to take a test which will indicate whether or not I've got a double copy of the gene which may indicate that I'm genetically predisposed to getting dementia/Alzheimers. Do I want to know? 
  • What a dreadful dilemma Exhausted. I’ve often wondered what I would do if offered such a test myself. I’m a bit of a worrier, and I suspect something of a hypochondriac, so I think my decision would be to leave well alone. I’d worry myself sick if the result showed I was in the increased risk group because there’s no cure at the moment. Although it’s a chicken and egg thing isn’t it? If no one participates in these sort of trials there will never be any breakthroughs in treatment or prevention. Do you know what is involved in the trial?
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Afternoon,

    I managed to get out for the 5.2ml (not 5.5) run on Sunday that I mentioned ..

    Exhausted - I'm hoping the funeral/wake will be a catalyst for reconciliation rather than the opposite. I've walked along that trail from Lymington (via the boatyard) facing the IOW and have also in the past, walked out to Hurst Castle and got the boat back. Not sure what I would do re that clinical trial if it was me - difficult decision.

    HS - I'm planning to do some Wed eve runs with the club (different routes from Thu mornings) once the clocks change and it's light in the evenings. Well done re that 10.5ml forest run - sounds like a hard session with all that mud & water plus inclement weather.

    Aquarius - my partner Margaret is chief fundraiser for a charity so I know (from her) the difficulty of persuading people to make grants. The shoe manufacturers will always try and persuade you that you need the latest model - I say, stick to a make/model that suits and only upgrade when necessary. Sorry to hear your XC efforts were in vain but smiled at the tale of the runner who had a tent land on top of him but ran out through the entrance (if it was on film someone could earn £250 by sending that to "You've Been Framed"!). Good to hear Steve was able to do that walk/jog session and useful to have a club coach who has had the same condition. Re that unhelpful council, I'd be inclined to make Steve Cram aware - I'm sure with his help they could be persuaded to be more helpful.

    Red - at school our music teacher was very into G&S. I enjoyed it at the time but haven't seen any G&S for years. We're out tonight to see "Waiting For Godot" and having a meal at Cafe Rouge beforehand (along with all the other lovey-dovey couples! ;) ). Glad to hear you were able to do a little jog-ette without any after-effects.

    I've managed to persuade my Mum to let my brother's ex attend the funeral and wake. Admin-wise, I've been in touch with a couple of pension companies to make them aware of his death. As I mentioned before, sorting his estate will be subject to me discussing the situation with his daughters.

    Been for a 5ml run with my clubmates. A different route today (usual leader injured) so we started at the local Waitrose .. towards the end they headed to a local art gallery that does coffees but I diverted back to Waitrose in the last half-mile as I needed to get back home.
  • Afternoon all,

    Exhausted, I'd rather not know what the future holds. At my age I take every day as it comes, and would hate to be told not to run anymore for medical reasons.

    WtnMel, it would be great if the funeral became a catalyst for reconciliation.
    Wednesday evenings running with your club will be good, when it gets lighter. Todays weather was ideal for your 5 mile run with your clubmates.
    Hope you have a very enjoyable evening with your partner "painting the town red!"

    Aquarius, sounds like your Council is living in the Dark Ages.

    Today is a rest day from running for me, but will be doing a forest run tomorrow morning.
  • Morning all,

    Yesterday morning was very foggy, but cleared up to become nice and sunny and very warm. I did a good pace 8.1 mile forest run.The laying water had mainly dried up, leaving deep mud which had been churned up by horse riders and ponies. Quite an adventure navigating the best ground to run on, involving a fair amount of zig zagging. 
    I'm taking today and tomorrow as rest days, as I'm running the Solent Half Marathon route again on Monday with "The A Team."
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