New Mature Runners Thread

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  • Hi all, especially to anyone who recalls who I am! I’m a very rare visitor these days. I also dabble with the Over 60s thread. This doesn’t work very well as you end up repeating yourself. But you have a lovely little community on this thread and I’m always amazed at how full and chatty the contributions are. You all lead very full lives! jJust a brief catch up from me. 

     Like many I am hugely missing the weekly Parkrun fix, esp as a newly minted 65 year old I would be at the nice end of my category. I did manage a few efforts before lockdown but was stricken with a virus which I don’t think was THE virus. My knee is also a bit of an inhibitor.

    My times have suffered! I’m now a bit north of 23 mins for 5k, but was pleased to register a 49.57 for 10k this week. I hardly do any distance stuff these days and my typical week is 2 or 3 runs.

    i have to some extent transferred my running energies to rowing. I’ve acquired a Concept 2 erg and am in that lovely phase where I’m still improving and registering PBs at 5k and 2k. The times are spookily close to my running times, but latterly a bit faster. However, whilst I might be built for running I’m certainly not built for rowing, which gives me a ready made excuse for mediocre performance!

    i hope that you and your nearest and dearest have stayed well. My family, including 3 grandkids, have. Two of them are due to start school in September. Time flies!

    Anyway, all the best. I’ve been reading through some of the recent posts and you all seem to be in fine fettle. Long may this continue!
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Morning everyone,

    HS - I don't think there is a prize for this handicap race series - just the kudos of being the 'best improver'. If I remember correctly, the person with the greatest difference between estimated & actual time gets 50pts, the next 49 and so on. Then I think the best time (estimated or actual from a race) becomes the new 'target' time for subsequent races. And the points from the best three of the four races are totted up to decide the winner. I always have to remember to wear my cap these days to avoid burning my head. Sorry to lower the tone of the thread but I have a friend Samantha who takes great delight in letting everyone know whenever she's trimmed her bush (the one in the garden obviously!).

    I surprised myself this morning with the handicap race. I'd used my avg pace of 10:40mm and mistakenly calculated it would mean a time of 32mins (that was based on 3mls rather than 3.1mls!). In the event, I posted a time of 30m 54s for the 5k - that equates to 9:55mm pace. Just goes to show what you can do when you set your mind to it! Of course, that means I now have to manage a similar pace next week!!
  • RunningfoxRunningfox ✭✭✭
    edited August 2020
    John Bateman 6:  It's a long time since that name appeared on the Forum, but I suppose the same could apply to me as an infrequent visitor.  Anyway, welcome back and thanks for your interesting input.  For an 0/65 your times are pretty decent whereas at 88 I'm living off memories.

    My only experience of rowing was on the lake at Grasmere many years ago, and more recently on the rowing machine.  But our village can boast a three times Olympic Gold Medallist in Andrew Triggs Hodge.

    Stick around.  I'm sure your times and training will be of interest to the Forum, though many other things get discussed on here too.
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    Nice to hear from you again JB. There aren't many of us posting regularly now, but life moves on, I suppose. I haven't looked at the Over 60's thread for over a year, and to be honest, never think about it.

    I've been doing the club's virtual 5k challenge every Saturday since the official parkruns were stopped. Your 5 and 10k times are very good. I'm hoping to go sub 26 minutes this Saturday. A far cry from my early racing days!

    Well done for taking up rowing and making good progress.

    Glad to hear that you and your family are keeping well.

    Time certainly does fly, and my son and daughter are older than the majority of my running friends!

    All the best to you and your family, and hope you will still pop in from time to time.

    WtnMel, your club's best improver, is similar to ours, where our league table is based on the best WAVA improvement. It's certainly best to wear a cap this hot, sunny weather, to prevent our heads getting sun burned. I wondered if my "bush trimming" would produce any comments🤣

    Well done for your 5k handicap race this morning. Hope you can maintain or improve on that pace in the next race.

    Runningfox my only experiences of rowing were on the canoe lake in Ryde Isle of Wight, when I was a youngster.

    This mornings run was 7.2 miles in the forest with Sarah and Mike. This included 5x1k with 2 minute jog recoveries. My fastest k was the 4th in 4.48, so I'm pleased with that. If only I could string five k's together at that pace, I would run sub sub 25 minutes. I'll be happy if I get sub 26 on Saturday though.
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Afternoon everyone,

    JB6 - looks like we cross-posted earlier on .. and I do remember you! Presume you've now recovered from that virus - dodgy knee doesn't sound good though. You say your times have suffered - but they're still in the realms of 'dream' times from my perspective. We have my partners son Ed living with us temporarily and he has been working from home here (his Dad came back from the USA - needless to say Ed felt safer being with us for the 14-day period). Ed brought his rowing machine with him and has a session on it each day after he finishes work.

    RF - regardless of you and JB being infrequent visitors, we're always happy to see you here.

    HS - you can rely on me to make the appropriate joke when there's a possibility of a double entendre. Maybe I should have held back a bit this morning as I may have set the bar too high for any subsequent improvement. Well done re this morning's run with the faster intervals.

    I've been to the driving range this afternoon to get in a bit of practise before tomorrow's match with Alan. I managed to hit most of the balls cleanly so fingers crossed for tomorrow. It's supposed to be hot tomorrow and on Cleeve Hill there's no shade - so I'll take my platypus with 2L of water - and I mustn't forget my big hat to protect my head!
  • I did a 10k run last night in an old pair of trainers, when I got into the final k I felt a click in my knee. Today its been sore so I am taking a few days off.
    Hopefully its nothing serious.
  • Thanks for the kind words of welcome.

    I've realised that on another runners' thread (for Brighton and Hove Albion fans), I'm the oldest regular contributor. There are some excellent younger runners and, as with this thread, the overall mood is very positive and helpful. However, as the resident 'old git' I do feel a bit out of it when they report their latest training exploits. Tales of ultras, colossal monthly mileages and 'running streaks' lasting months are a bit intimidating. (Funnily enough, thanks to the marvels of WAVA, I'm near the top of 'table' - unlike the football team we support!)

    All of which is to say that it's rather more 'comfortable' on this and the Over 60s thread  where at 65 I could almost qualify for the Youth Squad! It's reassuring to hear of the various struggles overcome simply to keep the legs moving forward, at whatever pace.

    Talking of which. Absolutely boiling down here, so yesterday I showed dangerous and rare signs of common sense and ran in the evening, in a shaded area. The bad news was that the 'shaded area' consisted of a 200 metre hill which I then slogged up and down for most of the 5k that I managed.

    There was a football team on the same patch doing some pre-season training, which seem to consist of a group run for about 400 metres (on the flat bit) and then a kick-about. Can't blame them, but I did wonder whether they had a workout of the same intensity as that of the little pensioner shuttling up and down over the other side of the field!
  • jb6:  I must say you echo my thoughts perfectly in that first paragraph.  At my time of life I don't really fit into this Forum but I'm always interested to see what folk are getting up to - and sneakily comparing their activities to what I was doing at their age.     Not that I'd tell them, of course!
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    WtnMel, I'm sure that you can improve on your 5k time. The competitive element should give you the incentive to "go for it!"

    I hope you beat Alan today in your golf match, and didn't forget your big hat😉

    Damien, I hope your knee problem soon clears up. It was probably caused by wearing old trainers.

    jb, I'm afraid common sense is something that comes with age! I'm quite sensible with my running now, and have reduced my mileage this year. I expect that you were putting more effort into your training run, than the footballers.

    Today is a rest day, which is just as well as it is probably the hottest day on record.

    I had to retype most of my post again, because for some reason a bar appeared on the left hand side of the screen with a light bulb and the wording "You don't have permission to do that." I ignored it and carried on typing. However, when I had finished, I clicked "Post Comment" but it wouldn't post. I therefore logged out and back in again, and it had saved the first part up until the light bulb appeared. Very strange and annoying.
  • HS as usual wise words from you.
    Up early to avoid the heat and was drawn to the windless prom for a 5k time trial. Managed 22.49, my best for about 6 months. Will spend the day watching England lose the Test Match............
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Afternoon everyone,

    Damien - I'd be wary of running in old trainers (mine get worn as 'normal' trainers, then for decorating or gardening) .. anyway, hope that knee problem goes away quickly.

    JB6 - I have similar 'problems' with my club's FB page and Strava where I see exploits of fast running or very long runs, neither of which I'll ever be capable of. So thank goodness for WAVA. Well done for deciding to run in the cool of the evening - I've surprised myself recently by managing to get up at 5:30am regularly and run in the cool of the morning .. far less busy as well! I wonder if the football club had an intense post-training workout at a local pub afterwards? :)

    RF - on a personal note, I very much doubt my exploits will ever compare favourably to yours! ;)

    HS - the results of the first week's handicap race will be published on Mon. It will be interesting to see how I compare and I obviously hope I can improve my 5k time a bit more next week. I didn't forget my big hat at golf yesterday - but I did forget how to play golf after a while. I blame the heat but I found it very tiring pushing my trolley up and down those hills. Alan has a motorised golf trolley but at £500 a throw, that's more than I wish to spend. Sorry to hear you lost some of your post but at least it had saved some of it.

    Ed moved back to his Dad's this morning so I transferred some of his stuff in my car. Not done a lot else since then and definitely haven't ventured outside with it being so hot.

    All being well, I'll be up early tomorrow morning for an early run before it gets too hot.

    Aquarius - not seen you for a few days but trust all is well ..

  • Good evening all,

    jb, that's an excellent time for the 5k. Mine this morning was 29.02, one of the slowest this year. It was run as consecutive laps round a field, and I set off much too quickly. The heat didn't help. My quickest forest 5k this year is 26.19, and I was hoping to go sub 26 minutes today. That's why I set off so quickly. I won't be doing laps round the field again!

    WtnMel, I'm looking forward to hearing the results of your first weeks handicap race. Glad you remembered to wear your big hat, and I didn't forget to wear my cap. I'm sure that the heat must have affected your golf, in the same way that it affected my morning 5k. I still haven't cooled down, it "hit me for six!" I haven't been out either, and it seems to be getting hotter, there is no breeze.

    Enjoy tomorrows early morning run. I will only be doing a short one. 

    Tomorrow would have been the Salisbury 54321, and I would have been running the half marathon. Just as well that it has been postponed, as I wouldn't fancy it in the heat. The two Sarah's are joining the "Half arsed ladies" tomorrow, for a virtual half marathon. Men aren't allowed, which is just as well!

    Hope all is ok Aquarius, and that you have just been too busy to run or post. 
  • HS, many thanks. I enjoyed the run, especially as it was a little bit competitive against my 33 year old training partner. He ran 5.5k and I did 5k. It should have been a near perfect handicap with us both crossing the line at just about the same, but it turned out to be a comfortable win. However, he’ll probably get his revenge as the rules dictate that he’ll be doing 5.4k next week......
    we run the local Parkrun course and I recognised a few other regulars.

    As for my cricket prediction, I’m massively happy to be proved wrong. Sport is wonderful for producing the unexpected and making me look foolish. Mind you, I don’t just need sport to make me look foolish.
  • The pain in the knee is still there but getting better day by day. Another few days hopefully I will try and run again.
  • AquariusAquarius ✭✭✭
    Evening everyone 

    Sorry for the prolonged absence, everything’s fine here, just rather busy, but I appreciate your concern.
     I should have time for a longer catch up post tomorrow. (Promise 😊)
  • AquariusAquarius ✭✭✭
    Forgot to say I’m back on Strava!!
  • 7k along the prom. Blustery wind and hot: 34.07. Mrs JB managed a 5k in about the same time. I’m having suspicions about her as she keeps disappearing for half an hour with some guy called Joe Wicks. I tried some of his exercises and they were very hard,

    More exercise to be had later watering the allotment which is dry as a bone.
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Morning everyone,

    HS - still waiting patiently to hear how I fared in last week's handicap race (today is the last day for posting week 1 results). The golf course was even hillier than I remembered - don't know why we call it a 'treat' to play there - but looking forward to playing on relatively flat courses for a while now ;) The "Half-Arsed ladies"? - that made me smile!

    JB6 - well done for your competitive run against your younger training partner. I don't follow cricket but saw England won despite the predictions - have you been watching the Jack Whitehall series? Well done for the 7.5k along the prom. Despite the lockdown I've not been tempted by any of the online Zoom fitness classes.

    Damien - glad to hear the knee is getting better by the day.

    Aquarius - I remember you saying your son and grand-daughter would be staying for a while so I knew that might keep you from posting here on RW. Presume your comment about being back on Strava means your Garmin Connect account is now sync'ing okay?

    I managed to get out for an early run this morning - just 4mls. It's actually cloudy here and not at all hot & sunny like they were forecasting .. suits me tbh.

    Planning to run again on Tue (5k handicap race #2), Margaret is going to try and get tickets to visit another NT house on Wed, the new boiler should be fitted at my house on Thu so will go over there to 'supervise', answer any questions and do some more gardening with my son and playing golf on Fri. So another (cough) 'full' week planned :)
  • AquariusAquarius ✭✭✭
    Afternoon all,

    First of all thanks for the suggestions of things to try to get my Garmin linked to Strava again. I tried them all, plus some hints I’d found online myself, but nothing seemed to work. Then yesterday I thought I’d give it another go and this time instead of the usual message telling me Garmin’s site was temporarily unavailable I managed to get past that step and re-linked the accounts! 

    JB: Hello again, you’re always welcome here. If I was you I wouldn’t bother with these second rate forums, this is where it’s all happening so stick with us. This is also the forum for people with dodgy knees, I think we’ve all had, or still have, knee issues. If you are only managing two to three runs a week then your current 5k and 10k times are very impressive, when parkrun does eventually start up again I imagine you’ll be pretty near the top of the WAVA rankings. Well done to Mrs JB for getting out for a run with you, did she run before doing the Joe Wicks workouts? I never got around to trying them myself, but one of my sons did them every day with his young daughter. 

    Runningfox: My only experience of rowing is on a rowing machine at a gym. I think my only nautical adventure was when I took part in a raft building competition at Center Parcs. We only had a few logs, rope and some empty oil cans but as Steve is a civil engineer he came up with a good design which not only floated with all six of us on board, but it also stayed intact, which seemingly never normally happened.  The instructor was a little non-plussed at this as apparently the session usually consisted of multiple attempts (and failures) at constructing something seaworthy. Consequently he was a little lost as to how to fill in the remaining time, so he got us to follow him as he rowed around the lake on a zigzag course (hoping to capsize us I suspect) however we straddled the logs and paddled around the lake after him quite easily. All went well until the instructor suggested I try to stand up on my log and turn 360 degrees without falling off. Unsurprisingly I did fall off the slippery wet log and hit my wrist on the raft as I fell in. I spent the rest of the afternoon, evening and most of the night in A&E with a broken wrist. They wouldn’t let me go until the doctor had seem me and made a decision on whether or not it needed to be pinned, so in the end I discharged myself with a promise to get it checked at our own A&E when I returned home the following day. The whole raft experience was rather bizarre as apart from our family the other members of our “team” included an Israeli ex special forces guy, who was very intense and rather reserved. He had started the session by trying to take charge, but once he realised Steve had a better grasp on how to build the raft he immediately gave way to him and followed his every suggestion. When I fell into the water the pain from my wrist was quite severe and this guy immediately noticed I was going into shock and slung me over his back and swam back to shore with me before anyone else could step in. Once we’d got to dry land he deposited me on the sand and swam back to the raft without a word. Fortunately Steve had followed him back to shore so I wasn’t alone for long. The palaver we had getting my wetsuit off hampered by my broken and increasingly painful wrist is a story in itself, but at one point I was half on the changing room bench (hanging on to the back of it with my good hand) and half on the floor, with Steve pulling as hard as he could on the wetsuit “legs”. As this was the ladies changing room we were fortunate no-one came in during my unrobing.

    HS: Sorry to hear your 5k yesterday was disappointing but well done for even attempting to run in this heat. I hope you’ve recovered from the heat now and your run this morning was in cooler conditions. It’s strange that you seem to run faster when doing forest runs than running laps of a field. Why do you think that is? You had a good run on Thursday though so hopefully Saturday was just down to a combination of the heat and possibly Thursday’s run still being in your legs. It probably is a good thing that the Salisbury 54321 isn’t on today all things considered. I sympathise with you having to retype your post again due to being unable to post the original, it’s so annoying when that happens.  

    WtnMel: How was your trip to Croome Court? I have a feeling we’ve heard about Samantha and her bush trimming activities before, but never doubt yourself I’m sure you’ll manage to improve on that.  Well done on your handicap race, you are posting some good times lately, it’ll be interesting to see where you are when the results are posted on Monday. Fancy having a motorised golf trolley - if that’s not cheating I don’t know what is. That definitely put you at a disadvantage on a hilly course in this heat. I expect it must seem a little quiet now Ed has returned home, he was lucky you were able to offer him a place while his father was in quarantine. I see you have another busy week ahead, try to remember to keep your arms covered up while gardening and take your toolkit with you on Friday to remove the motor from that ridiculous golf trolley.

    Damien - Welcome to the dodgy knee club. Seriously though I hope it clears up soon.

    As mentioned above I’ve got Garmin to sync with Strava again, but the Garmin satellite location problem is proving more difficult to crack. Yesterday I ran just over 6 miles but didn’t get the satellites until I was over 3 miles into the run. Strangely though when I turned my Garmin on in the house while getting ready it immediately found them, so I popped it on the outside on the garden table while I warmed up, by which time it had lost them again. Yesterday turned out to be quite a busy, and tiring, day. After my run I ironed for an hour and a half in that punishing heat, then tottered downstairs a shadow of my former self to find Steve wanted to go for a walk. As there was a bit of a breeze starting up I thought it might cool me down, but I hadn’t reckoned on it being another 6 mile hilly walk. I managed to forget to take my Garmin, but luckily I’d put Steve on Strava that morning so I was able to “steal” his walk. His Garmin was playing up a bit too and took a good half mile to locate the satellites (glad it’s not just me). I’m hoping today will be a fairly restful one.
  • Afternoon all,

    jb, it certainly has been another hot and sultry day. Well done for your 7k. I did do the Mr Motivator and Green Goddess workouts earlier in the year, which weren't very taxing. I do my own workouts on rest days, which include press ups and front plank.

    Damien, good to hear that your knee is getting better.

    WtnMel, I thought that you would chuckle at the "Half Arsed Ladies!" They all finished in good times. The set off at 7.30am , but said that it was hot even that early.

    I ran 6.34 miles this morning at recovery pace. There was a slight breeze, so it wasn't as humid as yesterday, which really "knocked me for six!"

    Good luck with Tuesdays handicap race, I hope you do improve your pace.

    I hope you will find your new boiler an improvement on the old one. I have had a letter from my boiler maintenance contractor, advising that the annual service is due, and asking me to contact them to arrange a service visit. I've purchased a new carbon monoxide alarm, as last year they advised my existing one only had a years life left. It was only efficient for 5 years, or so the engineer said.

    Aquarius, glad to hear that your Garmin is now connecting with Strava.

    Your experience with raft building sounds like something out of a film. I don't know what anyone would have thought if they had entered the ladies changing room and saw Steve frantically trying to pull your wetsuit  legs down. They may have called the police thinking that you were being attacked.

    I think yesterdays slower run was due to Thursdays training session still being in my legs. That was the first time that I had tried running the 5k in laps round a field. It would in theory seem that this should be quicker than over an undulating route, but I think that is what made me set off too quickly, as if I was on a proper runner track. It's all about pacing, and I got it wrong. Todays recovery run was fine, and I enjoyed running at recovery pace. I think you are right about the 54321 not being held today. It has been much too hot for racing.

    I still can't understand why your Garmin is causing so many problems in connecting to the satellites. With one of my earlier models, I used to leave it in the garden for a couple of minutes before setting off, but once it had connected, it never lost the signal. My current Garmin forerunner 235 connects almost immediately after I step outside, and when I'm doing the 5k, I don't switch it on until I'm in the forest at the start of the run. It connects almost immediately there, and doesn't lose it. It does seem that your device is faulty and I'm wondering whether you can contact wherever you purchased it from to see if you can get a replacement. I think under the sale of goods act, a faulty appliance should be replaced , or repaired within 6 months of purchase.

    I admire you for ironing for an hour and a half in that searing heat. It's bad enough in normal conditions, but I just can't imagine it in the heat. Then going for a 6 mile walk is unimaginable! I hope that you have taken it easy today.
  • Thanks for the warm words. I must be on the right forum as I’ve got dodgy knees too!
    On the running laps issue, my otherwise brilliant Garmin has let me down a bit and overestimates distance and therefore gives me very flattering times. I used to run these laps around an empty section of a cemetery. However, at the same time that Covid hit us, graves started to appear and I thought it was disrespectful to run. 

    It was so hot here yesterday that the allotment which is usually a hive of activity was almost empty.

    Cetreparcs is a great family holiday location but I’ve never tried raft building. 

    Mrs JB is a big fan of Joe W and rarely misses a day. She tends to wait for it to get a bit cooler. She can outplank me by a considerable margin, but unlike HS and me can’t manage a press up. She has a core like concrete!

    Good luck, Mel, with the handicap race. Love the concept.

    No run for me today so I can give my knees as rest. The dreaded rowing machine awaits, but if the temperature reaches 30 plus again, it won’t be fun. I’ve never managed more than 25 minutes on the thing, but some folk do marathons and there’s even a setting for 100k!

    2 of our grandchildren are with us today and it’s a challenge trying to keep them cool. We are lucky in that our garden always has some shade at any time of the day. And it isn’t that large.
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    jb, You may remember that 3 years ago, June 2017, I tore the menisci in my right knee. During 2018, all I could do was walk/jog averaging about 12 minute miling. Last year I concentrated on building up my mileage and did do a few races. This year has been the first where I have been doing speed work and the virtual 5k every Saturday. Unfortunately, all my races have been postponed, except the New Forest Marathon series which the organisers have said will go ahead. I can't see how it can, and await their decision that they will have to postpone it.

    I do find my Garmin to be rather unreliable, for example on occasions, after a slow recovery run, it advises 3 days recovery and after a hard session, 12 hours recovery. I tend to ignore the recovery advice.

    A good idea to give your knee a rest. I still do the stretches etc that my physio gave me after the injury, although I'm hoping that the knee will continue "to behave!" I did try the rowing machine a few times in the gym after spinning, but wasn't a fan. I've cancelled my membership at the Leisure Centre, as the revised spinning schedules aren't convenient for me. I will try and book a session, as and when necessary, but it is difficult to get in now, as they have halved the number of bikes from 24 to 12, and you can only book up to 4 days ahead. I've had a look on the app, and all the spin sessions are fully booked. 

    It was very hot and humid again this morning, but I had a really good 14k forest run with Jane. 
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Afternoon everyone,

    Aquarius - glad to hear you are able to access Strava now even though you don't know how! Reading your comments to RF .. useful Steve being a civil engineer and being able to design the raft at Center Parcs .. I'm sure most people would struggle to build something seaworthy. Nasty to have broken your wrist but useful to have that Israeli guy to leap into action and take you to the shore. Reading about the problem getting the wetsuit off afterwards - it was only yesterday my friend Samantha posted on FB saying was it just her, or did everyone else have to take a breather halfway through putting their wetsuit on! :-) Croome Court was good - most people followed the rules about the one-way system through the gardens apart from one family of numpties. We had to dodge off the path a few times to pass slower groups or let faster groups pass us. Re motorised golf trolleys - worryingly, I am now pondering getting one. It is lovely and quiet now that Ed isn't lurking - and we don't have a constant film of grease in the kitchen from the cooked breakfasts he made himself every morning. Well done re your run and subsequent walk.

    HS - well done re your recent runs. The new boiler has a five-year warranty and as its a Worcester Bosch one, comes highly recommended. I'm beginning to wonder if you're right about Aquarius's Garmin being faulty with the problems finding the satellites.

    JB6 - in my experience gps watches of whatever make are never that accurate in the short-term, but over a distance, the over-estimates counteract the under-estimates. I read somewhere they can be as much as 20 metres out. I proved this to myself by wearing mine when cutting the lawns and if the track was to be believed, I was in my neighbours gardens and the house at various points. I wore it once when playing bowls and allegedly, walked 2 miles which is obviously nonsense.

    The handicap race results have been published .. I'm currently in 11th place with 40pts (will try and post a photo of the results). Looking at them, I did wonder if some of the first few were trying to 'game' the system?

    For tomorrow's handicap race attempt I'm going to try and get my old Forerunner 305 going again. I may look a bit geeky with a Garmin on each wrist but with the 305, I want to try using the 'virtual partner' function to see how I am doing during my run.
  • HS, yes I do remember your knee problem.At the time it looked pretty grim I though. I’m so pleased for you that you’ve got it sorted and have regained some form. A 14k run is evidence of this! I know you are a competitive sort, so I’m guessing that you are, like me, itching for events to return.

    Mel, well done! Top 10 next time? I’ve no idea of how such a handicap system works, but it clearly works for you!

    Another 7k for me this morning, once again in searing heat, even at 7.30. 33.50 achieved which is exactly the 4.50 K pace I set on my Garmin. Mrs JB didn’t quite complete her 5k. As a redhead she really suffers in the heat.

    Am going as a spectator to our local Harriers athletic meet this evening. I’ve just realised that it’s the first such event I’ve seen since going to Crystal Palace in the late 90s. Not sure the standard will be quite the same! Interested to see how they manage social distancing on tv he track.
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Morning everyone,

    JB - well done re this morning's 7K run. It was a tad warm even at 6:30am when I was out. Hope it isn't too hot for the meet you are going to spectate at this evening - equally, hope you don't get caught in a downpour. The handicap system for my club's races works on the idea you post your estimated time for 5K (or a recent result) and then try to beat that time. If you beat your estimate, that becomes the target for next time. So the race series rewards consistent effort and improvement. 

    As I mentioned, I got my old Forerunner 305 out for today's race - I'd forgotten how relatively heavy it is on your arm compared to the newer models. Sorry to say Aquarius - but even for an old Forerunner, it got hold of the satellite signals fairly quickly. As HS suggested, perhaps there's a fault of some sort with yours and if it's in warranty, it might be worth contacting Garmin to see what they suggest?

    Anyway, for today's 5K race I used the 'virtual partner' on the 305 to keep me focused and (drum roll ..) I managed to run the course even faster than last week. Today's effort was 30:10 (9:40mm pace) so 44 secs faster than last week. I'll be keeping a beady eye on the times the other people post during the week now to see how the people above me in the week 1 results fare.
  • WtnMel, well done on your 11th place, soon to be in the top 10! My boiler is a Worcester Green Star, it came with a 5 year guarantee and has been very reliable. It had its first service last year, and an engineer is booked to come Friday afternoon for its second service. 

    jb, yes I'm looking forward to racing again, but heard yesterday that the New Forest Marathon organisers have finally admitted that the races would have to be postponed. 

    Well done for this mornings 7k. A 4.50k average pace is very impressive. I'm trying to average sub 6.0k pace for my longer runs and sub 5.0k pace for my 5k challenges.

    Hope you enjoy the athletics meet this evening.
  • WtnMel, I typed my reply to your earlier post, before seeing todays above.

    Well done for improving your 5k time by 44 seconds, that is a big improvement! My Garmin 235 doesn't have a virtual partner feature, but an earlier model did.

    Today was a rest day, except for the walk back from the supermarket with four heavy bags, and then the front plank and press ups.
  • AquariusAquarius ✭✭✭
    Afternoon all

    HS: I’ve had this Garmin model for a few years now, so it’s no longer under guarantee. Perhaps I need to invest in a new one. Saturday’s 6 mile walk on top of the earlier 6 mile run left me feeling pretty shattered on Sunday so I made a point of taking it easy on Sunday, and on Monday too as it was too hot to run. I can’t believe it’s three years since you damaged your right knee. I think it’s very encouraging that you’ve been able to show that by exercising patience and getting back into running slowly it’s possible to make a full recovery from injury at any age. You are running really well these days and going from strength to strength, definitely an example to us all. I know you used to enjoy your spin sessions so it’s a shame they are fully booked at the moment, hopefully you’ll be able to get a slot soon.
    WtnMel:  your handicap system sounds like the one our club uses for the Grand Prix 5k races. It’s a popular format as it gives everyone a good chance of performing well, the downside of course is that if you get a good result your handicap reflects this and you set off later the next time. My 610 Garmin has a virtual partner feature too, but I haven’t used it for ages, maybe it’s time I did (unless he’s skived off somewhere, I wouldn’t put anything past this Garmin). You certainly got the benefit of using yours today, that’s a great improvement to last week’s time, and in the heat too. Perhaps you’ve earned that motorised golf trolley, after all it’s no good exhausting yourself tackling the golf course hills when you have a 5K handicap challenge to win. 11th place is a good starting point, lets hope it’s onwards and upwards from here! ;) You may be right about fellow runners playing the system to get a good handicap, I’ve suspected that has happened at our GP races in the past. The first race is a 10k, and the handicap times are worked out, in the first instance, on the results of that race. It’s surprising how one or two people seem to have a “bad run” that day.
    JB: Like Mrs JB I used to struggle with press ups, but I am able to do quite a few if I adopt the kneeling strategy. I have my knees on the floor and cross my ankles in the air behind them, it takes the strain off the back and still seems to be quite effective. I’m not surprised you’re giving the cemetery a miss these days, I’ve never managed to run in a cemetery (although I believe RF has done) as it does seem disrespectful as you say, but then I suppose if any of them had been runners themselves maybe they’d quite like to think of other runners passing by…..? Enjoy your local Harriers athletic meet this evening, I hope it’s cooled down by then. Let us know how it went please, it’s nice to see some racing starting up again.

    Zoom Pilates for me this morning again, a good session that seems to iron out the aches and pains and leaves me with a spring in my step. I tried a run this afternoon. Never again in this heat, I couldn’t breathe and gave up after about three quarters of a mile and ran back home. It’s taken me most of the afternoon to cool down.

  • Hi all,

    A great evening watching the athletics on our local track. Perfect for sprint events  - no wind, a fast track and (of course) very warm. A pretty high class field if hardly the Diamond League. Lovely atmosphere, PBs galore, two track records and the highlight - an astonishing 12 year old girl competing  and beating older athletes in the 100 and 200 metres .......and achieving number 1 ranking for her age in Europe. A superstar of the future.

    Really inspiring to see grassroots athletics and the huge amount of work put in by volunteers. (I volunteer at Parkrun and it's nothing like this!).
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