New Mature Runners Thread

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  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Evening all,

    Columba - I'm impressed with the WAVA's my esteemed friends are capable of .. I'm happy whenever mine get into the high 50's. Shame you had to miss not-a-parkrun due to the weather. I heard about the Brecon Beacons being busy at the weekend - not surprised to hear Snowdonia was the same.

    JB - schools can be safe one day but infection-hotspots the next if your name is Boris. Must say, running round a 250m track does sound a bit boring. There's a field with a similar distance path around it near to me - would never run there though as it's used by lots of dog-walkers (with obvious results). Around 10-15 years ago, when I thought I might be made redundant, I did train as a massage therapist as an alternative career option. But the job stayed and the massage never needed to happen .. I still have my massage couch and all my notes though. Wondered at the time about training as a sports massage therapist - but that would have been very hard work learning all those muscles etc.

    HS - although there are some club member's living in the same village as me, none of them seem approachable (or have ever approached me) with a view to running together .. so don't see that changing during lockdown.

    Margaret and I had a quick 2ml walk earlier today. We (at my bidding) investigated a few more footpaths we're not familiar with and they will come in useful when I'm back running, to stop me doing the same routes each time and to keep things fresh.

    On a totally different subject, we were wondering about the bird feeder today and suspect it might be too close to the kitchen window and that's why we don't get many visitors to it? We're going to try and move it a couple of yards further down the garden to see if that means more birds will use it.
  • HS, interesting comments on tracks. Thanks for this. Someone on anther thread advised me that Garmins get thrown by tracks and looped courses which might explain my flattering time on 'my' 250m track. As for training on a proper 400m track, funnily enough my son's garden backs onto our local track - and it's a fast one. So you've now encouraged me to have a go on it to see if there's a PB waiting for me! The leisure centre is closed right now, but I can imagine having a go in the warmer weather when (if!) Covid is in the rear view mirror. 
    I've finished a few 10k events on tracks and it's a bit of a thrill to be running on one, especially if there's a bit of a crowd. The only time I've ever run measured distances was in 1990. I was about to leave the area (for good I thought - but I was back in 6 months!) and my then training partner and I thought we'd mark the occasion by doing some track sessions. As we did about 5 different distances on the same evening, the results were not spectacular! 

    Mel, well you've got another string to your bow with the massage training. I think you'd have been VERY popular with your running club pals had to started to use it. As for the bird feeder, Mrs JB is big on this and yes ours is at the end of the garden (50 feet) and attracts various tits, finches and sparrows. Our best customer though is a squirrel who is brilliant at raiding the peanuts. Good luck - and mind out for squirrels!
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    JB - my only experience of running on a 'proper' 400m track was years ago. We did a handicap race where plodders like me set off first and yes, it was difficult to pace yourself and not sprint as fast as possible because of the 'whippets' sprinting after you. The person in charge did a good job as we all finished more or less at the same time. I can't remember much of my massage training now but if I did resurrect it, it would be for friends and family only and I'd need to practise beforehand to remind myself of how to do it and the routine I used to use. I'm going to move the bird feeder down the garden a bit and fingers crossed we get more visitors of the feathered variety. As for the local squirrels, the dome we've fitted below the feeders seems to have deterred them. I saw one clamber up the central pole and look - then slide back down and slink off in defeat. The feeder seems far enough away from the nearby fence for the squirrels to attempt a 'leap of faith' onto the feeding station. All I've seen since then is the squirrels sitting on the grass looking longingly at the seeds - but unable to reach them. 

    Got off the phone from the physio a short while ago. Told her my symptoms, running history, where the problem seemed to be - and admitted I don't stretch enough. I'm seeing her tomorrow so she can prod and poke around and check the movements of my knee and check the various ligaments, muscles etc. - but she seems to already have a pretty good idea of what the problem probably is and what exercises I can do to help. I'm afraid the medical terms lost me slightly but in layman's terms, it sounds like it might be one of the ligaments supporting the knee and that after a rest to let things recover and some regular stretching in future, I might be able to get back to running without any further problems.
  • Morning all,

    Just popped in for a minute, as off to Hygienist later. I wanted to comment on John's remarks about track running. 
    You are absolutely right John that Garmins track in a straight line, so would therefore be inaccurate on a running track. Track times could, therefore, never be recorded by Garmins.
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    WtnMel, that is unfortunate that you have been unable to run with any of your club members. They don't sound a very sociable lot! 
    I imagine you will be logging quite a few walking courses with Margaret's new device. 
    Hope all goes well tomorrow at the physio's

    JB, if you do try to run a fast 5k on a "proper track" I suggest you use the timer function, which would be like chip time, and therefore accurate.

    My hill session with Sarah H went really well, and better than last week. It was 6 reps up a very steep road. I used the heart rate screen again on my Garmin.
    Not long back from the Hygienist. It's very clinical these days, waiting outside in the car until called. Temperature tested on the forehead before going in. Hand sanitiser, jacket placed in a plastic box, and  Hygienist wearing a "Space Suit." Beam me up Scottie🚀
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    HS - as I've proved to myself (and others!) many times, gps signals are not at all accurate and can only plot your position to within 25 metres. But with a straight(ish) line run, the over-estimates will counteract the under-estimates and average out to somewhere near accurate. But on a track, I can see that the inaccuracies would be even more pronounced. I think re the club, the problem is most of the local club people are ladies and they tend to want to run with other ladies - and all the local men run too far or too fast for me. So the local club members are not exactly being clique-ey .. they've probably just not thought about it or considered it and I'm not planning to contact them and ask to be included. Well done re your hill session with Sarah H. My appointment at the physio will be very similar to yours at the hygienist with temperature checked, physio in full PPE etc. 

    I went into the garden earlier and moved the bird feeder a couple of metres further from the house - will see if that makes any difference.

    This morning I looked into Humax tv recorders and have found one I think will suit my Mum and which will give her access to Netflix as it has the app built-in. Have sent my sister details of the one I'm proposing we get her and the cost of the recorder and Netflix subscription.
  • Mel, that track session sounds fun if a bit intimidating! 
    Latest score: Mel 1 Squirrel 0. Result!!
    Good luck with the knee.

    HS, good hill session. I should do more of them. Do you keep a record of gradient and length?

    Well today I nearly wimped out from my planned run as it was very frosty and I'm ultra nervous of a fall. So I walked up to the cemetery to 'inspect the pitch'. When I arrived at 10.15 it looked too frosty. I had a 15 minute walk around and by the time I came back to my little track it was frost free - it's totally exposed to the sun. Indeed the conditions were perfect. So while I won't claim a 5K I still ran exactly the same length as the other day - and knocked 30 seconds off my previous time. Really pleased with this as I nearly didn't bother going out of the door.

    I watched the mob storming Congress live on CNN last night. My goodness it was ugly. I didn't see too many highly educated liberals in the throng, but I might have missed them.
    What  a toxic human being Trump is. 
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    WtnMel, it appears that you are quite happy with the situation re other club members. 
    I hope moving the bird feeder will make a difference.
    I'm sure that you Mum will be happy with whatever TV recorder you recommend.
    Karen has just got a new phone, an iphone12, which she is very happy with.

    JB, no I don't keep a record of the gradient and lengths of the hills. I just try to do them as hard as possible. I'm trying not to get too bogged down with data, as my Garmin has so many features, that I don't look at them all. 
    Well done knocking 30 seconds off your previous run on the graveyard track. That's a lot🏃‍♂️
    I watched the mob as well last night, stirred up by the orange man. I think he is off his head, and should be certified. I just can't understand why he has so many fanatical followers. I don't think that they are necessarily Republican followers, but just Trump followers. He has made the USA a laughing stock all round the world, giving ammunition to communist countries as to what democracy is all about.

    It was bitterly cold this morning and took me ages to warm up. I ran a solo 10k in the forest, and the ground was rock hard. There were lots of dog walkers and quite a few runners. I saw 2 lady club runners running towards me when I was about half way round, and another 2 when I was nearly home. I didn't see any of our male club runners.
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Evening all,

    JB - I don't blame you for being a bit wary of running when its icy .. but pleased to hear your little track ended up frost-free. Well done for improving your time by 30 secs.

    HS - have to admit, having seen the cost of the iphone 12, I won't be getting one anytime soon! I'm quite happy with my Huawei from a couple of years ago. Well done re that forest run in nasty conditions.

    Re Trump, I saw some Democrats were discussing impeaching him .. they should hurry up before he does any more damage. I think you're both right about him needing to be certified. I'm all for that - as long as that doesn't stop them investigating him and his companies for tax evasion etc. And his family members too!

    Had a good session with the physio. There's nothing major wrong - and I can't remember the technical terms she used - but it seems in layman's terms, some of my upper leg muscles (quads, glutes) aren't as strong as they should be and that's been allowing the knee to move inwards slightly when I run, leading to the problem. So I now have some strengthening exercises to do along with the stretching exercises that I used to do without fail that I've been neglecting lately. My notes on the exercises to do include a daily checklist - and I have another appointment next Thursday where no doubt, Isobel the physio will be checking that I've done them!

    Having moved the bird feeder yesterday - and having put some new seeds in the feeders (the existing seed was a bit damp and possibly putting the birds off) - we had a few more birds visiting there today (blue tits, long-tailed tits). Lets' hope that continues.
  • Morning all,

    I’ve been rather busy this week, home schooling my granddaughter while her father is at work, but she’s now at her mothers for a few days, so I’ve time for a forum catch-up!

    JB: We’ve been watching Only Connect and UC too, plus Mastermind. I enjoy Only Connect, but struggle to see the connections usually. University Challenge and Mastermind are a bit different, sometimes I know the answers and other times I haven’t a clue what they are talking about. Still, it’s definitely preferable to some of the alternatives on offer at the moment - programmes on cooking, cooking or cooking (oh yes, and baking). Repeats of repeats, and unbelievably last night the BBC started a series about dog grooming. Who makes these decisions about what to show at prime time viewing?  On the subject of running on a track, when I attended club training sessions we often did track work. Not my favourite sessions, as although we were graded into groups depending on our ability the sessions always seemed quite intense, and the final reps were a struggle, but they certainly helped to improve your pace. I’ve also finished a few 10ks on tracks, the most memorable being at the Olympic Stadium in London. The final part of that race took us around the practice track next to the stadium, then inside the stadium and around the corridor that’s normally out of bounds to the public (with the strains of Chariots of Fire and Steve Cram commentary blasting out), to finally emerge onto the track to (recorded) cheers and applause. The only spectators were the families and friends of the participants, so it wasn’t exactly crowded, but still very enjoyable.

    HS: How on earth did a driver manage to kill four ponies at one go? Presumably they were in a group and didn’t have time to scatter. I hope the driver isn’t seriously hurt, but I also hope he/she was charged with dangerous driving at the very least. You are lucky to be able to get an appointment with a hygienist, we can’t even get dental check up appointments. I haven’t been to the dentist now for over a year. We had appointments for our check ups just as the first lockdown took place, but the appointments were cancelled and still haven’t been rearranged. We’ve been told our dental practice is only doing emergency appointments for people in severe pain. Strangely though Steve was able to attend a non-urgent scheduled appointment at the dental hospital. 

    WtnMel: I hope you can get something sorted out with Netflix for your mum, that Humax TV recorder with the built in app seems to fit the bill. Glad to hear that there’s nothing major wrong with your knee and you have a rehab plan in place. I think we all tend to neglect stretching, despite our best intentions. I’m finding my daily yoga sessions are helping with strength and flexibility, but it’s often a challenge to find the time to fit them in. We have a number of “feeding stations” around the garden for birds but we aren’t getting many visitors at the moment. We do have a couple of robins that visit regularly but otherwise it tends to be magpies, wood pigeons, crows and sparrows. I put some breadcrumbs out this morning on a raised box, but it got covered in snow before any birds saw it.

    No running for us, too much snow still. I’ll try to post a photo of the view from our bedroom window to give you an idea of the conditions.
  • Look what I found - a photo of me aged 6 with my dad. Sadly he died four years later. I found this photo in my mother’s handbag when she died, which probably explains the condition. She carried it around with her for almost 50 years.
  • Aquarius, just seen your 2 photos. Nice picture of the snow, and what a lovely photo of you with your Dad. You must have been very pleased to have found it😀
    I'll reply to all the other posts after lunch. 
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    WtnMel, yes that iphone 12 is very expensive. I had an Huawei phone before my current Galaxy S8. The only reason I changed it was because it wouldn't sync with Garmin Connect, and I had to use the USB cable.
    Good to hear that there isn't any thing major wrong with your knee. It is important to keep up with the exercises she has set you. I'm still doing mine 3.5 years after my injury. Hope next Thursday will have shown some improvement. My physio actually tried acupuncture on me, but that didn't work. 
    Good that moving the bird feeder seemed to have attracted more birds. I had a Robin on the lawn this morning in the back garden, but haven't looked out lately.

    Aquarius, programmes on the TV over the Christmas and New Year have been dreadful. As you say, lots of cookery, baking etc. and numerous repeats. There can't have been a film that I hadn't seen more than once.
    That's very impressive, running a 10k on the track at the Olympic Stadium.
    I haven't all the details re the ponies being killed, but they do tend to gather together in the middle of the roads, and only move when they feel like it. It is possible that they were round a bend and that the driver wouldn't have seen them until turning round the bend. On the other hand, the driver was probably driving too fast, otherwise the damage might not have been so serious. I don't know whether the driver was injured, but I imagine he/she would be prosecuted for dangerous driving.
    My appointment with the Hygienist was only a routine one. To my surprise the car park was full, and I started to reverse out. Luckily, a car came out and I was able to park in their space. The Dentist was working as well. It's a private practice, and they seem to be operating more or less as usual. 
    I've just noticed the little snowman in your garden☃

    Oh I meant to say that a lady was sexually assaulted in the forest several days ago in an area where some of our lady club runners run. Apparently she was sitting on a bench. The police arrested a man, but have released him, and are still investigating. It's very worrying, and my sister who walks her dog in the vicinity has bought an emergency alarm. She won't walk  there alone again, and nor will our lady runners. We're hoping that they soon catch and arrest the culprit.

    Today was a rest day.
  • > @"Torque Steer" said:
    > I was just checking to see if you oldies here had managed the migration to the new Forum better than the Over 60's thread and it would appear that you have not!!!
  • Hi, I am obviously new here - a bit confused by the site. This thread looks 4 years old, but if anyone is out there I wanted to ask your advice please - I've been a runner for decades, got a Fitbit Charger 4 for Xmas and am getting heart rate readings showing I hit between 198 and 207 max heart rate when running. I am female and 60 so should this be worrying?? My resting heart rate on it is average 54 or 55.
  • john bateman 6john bateman 6 ✭✭✭
    edited January 2021
    Scotswoman, I claim no expertise at all, but that heart rate is crazy. I'd either check out the Fitbit or the heart (or both). Maybe ask someone who knows (and has their own HRM)) their predicted heart rate to test it out on a run?

    Aquarius, what delightful photos, esp the one with your dad. Thanks for sharing. I'm very envious of your track experience. My only similar one was the Cardiff 10K some while back which finished in the brand new (in fact not quite finished) Welsh National Stadium. Every finisher was given their medal by Rupert Moon. (I think you'll know who is is.)

    Mel. let's hope your physio has nailed it (not literally!) and you are on the road to full recovery. It sounds promising.

    HS, that assault sounds horrendous and I'm not surprised that it's sparked a fair bit of anxiety (and anger!).

    Well, far too slippery underfoot today to run on anything but grass and I had a very rare outing with my son. He's faster than me (of course) so I was very aware that I'd be holding him back. As it was, he wasn't really after a run but just to 'offload' about how grim things are with the Covid pandemic and having 2 little 'uns. Specifically, his wife is now working on the wards at the hospital and whilst in the Spring she was most re-assuring, the picture that emerges at the moment is more akin to a war-zone. 
    Scary.
  • Thanks john bateman - I'm not in a running club and don't know other runners to check it for me. But I'm off for a run soon and have borrowed my husband's Apple watch to see what readings it gives, and I'll post the results here (!). I have seen online some comments saying people shouldn't worry too much about higher heart rates if they run regularly but if anyone else on this forum has a view I'd be grateful to hear it. And getting to this great age I don't know if I'm supposed to be more careful. But I don't try to run flat out - I just live in a city with lots of hills.

    And sorry to hear about the stress on your daughter-in-law. My sister is a neuroscience theatre nurse and says that her wards are now accepting with patients with no brain issues but with orthopaedics etc, because other wards are full to capacity. Means the staff are not skilled in dealing with the patients' illness.

    And running here is very icy - yesterday was not fun - but it's been like that for a week now so I get out anyway. Like you, try to stay on grass as much as possible but often that's not an option. Forecast says it'll briefing thaw tomorrow.
  • S'woman, good luck - and stay safe. As for great age, one of our number, Hillstrider, is still going strong at 75. Inspirational!

  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Evening all,

    Aquarius - with you not popping in, I figured you were probably looking after your grand-daughter. I gave up watching OC because I could never get anywhere near the answer - at least with UC I occasionally manage to get one answer. I saw there was a new programme about dog grooming - chatting on zoom to our friends yesterday even Diana (a dog-lover) couldn't believe it was on prime-time tv and had no intention of watching it. I'm still waiting to chat to my sister to see what she thinks about my ideas for what to get my Mum. Re my knee - as I mentioned, I used to always stretch before a run but neglected it when I wanted to get out and back early. Maybe that has contributed to my problem? So the only answer is, get up even earlier once I've recovered! Lovely photo - must be nice to have views of trees rather than lots of other houses. I liked the little snowman! Also, loved that photo of a very young Aquarius with her Dad.

    HS - yes, I remember trying to sync my Huawei with Garmin Connect and it wouldn't do it. I still have my old Nokia Windows phone (as a backup) and for ages, I've been meaning to put the sim card from the Huawei into it to see if it will connect with Vodafone. Secondly, to try sync'ing it with my Garmin. The Nokia phone is smaller than my Huawei and fits into my waist-belt so I used to take it when I was running on Thu's - it has a pay-as-you-go sim in it so it was only there in case of emergencies. My physio used some ultrasound on my knee - but if offered acupuncture I wouldn't know if it would have any effect as I've never experienced it before. It does sound like the driver in the forest was going too fast - some people see the open road as an invitation to speed up. Lucky you got a parking space at the dentist. How horrible to hear a woman was sexually assaulted in the forest. Given the fact you can only have one other runner with you now I don't blame your lady club members from steering clear of the area.

    Scotwoman - that max. heart rate sounds too high to me .. I would have expected you to be aware if your heart was beating that fast so it sounds like maybe it's a duff reading. Is it from the Fitbit? Personally, I have a heart-rate monitor strap paired with my Garmin which is supposed to be more accurate than built-in heart rate sensors and even when I'm going flat-out, my heart-rate doesn't get any higher than 160-170 (I'm 68 by the way). I saw your later post and it reminded me of a guy who worked in the same office as me - he used to pooh-pooh the idea of Garmin watches etc. and just had his wristwatch. His philosophy was - if I'm out of breath I've been working hard. And he wasn't worried about timing his daily runs .. the only ones that matter (he'd say) are races. He was a 1h 30m half-marathoner by the way.

    JB - as you'll see below, I've been conscientiously doing my exercises today. Sorry (but not at all surprised) to hear how difficult and scary life is at the moment for your son and his wife.

    I've been doing the stretching I'd been neglecting and the new exercises the physio gave me on Thursday. And I'm discovering muscles I didn't know existed :) I did the set of exercises earlier today and I'm supposed to try and manage two sets daily. But we decided it would be safer to ask our cleaner Rosie not to come for a few weeks - so I've been doing some x-training this afternoon with the vacuum cleaner - it's harder work than I remember :)
  • AquariusAquarius ✭✭✭
    edited January 2021
    Afternoon all,

    Scotwoman: Welcome to the thread! This is a very friendly and supportive group, I hope you will be able to visit us often. As regards your dodgy HR reading I found that my last Gamin (chest strap model) gave some worryingly high readings from time to time, but my new Garmin watch has a built in HR sensor and seems a lot more accurate. My recent readings are around 160-170. (I’m female and approaching 67 yrs old). 

    HS: Sorry if I didn’t make myself clear about the 10k at the Olympic Park. The majority of the race took place around the Olympic Park, passing the various venues (VeloPark, Aquatics Centre etc) then finished inside the stadium. So I’ve actually only run one lap of the Olympic Stadium. I think the furthest track distance I’ve ever done was a 3000m event, and I found that boring enough. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t run a full 10k on the track. That must have been a very frightening experience for the lady who was assaulted in the forest. It does make you think twice about running alone. Hopefully it was a one-off incident and the police will find the culprit quickly, but in the meantime it is sensible for both your sister and your female club members to give that route a miss.

    WtnMel: yes, it is lovely to just see trees when we look out the window. The fact we aren’t facing a row of houses is one of the reasons we wanted to move here, our last house was a few doors from a first school and our street was always congested with cars. It was only a narrow road to start with and when the parents used to park up on both sides it made it almost impossible to get up or down the road. We often had problems accessing our drive due to inconsiderate parking, so I was determined when we moved it would be to somewhere with no parking issues. . Having said that though we are still thinking of moving back to the coast once this pandemic is over, although I know that means returning to a more built up area without such nice views, and probably parking problems again. I’m glad to hear you are doing your stretches - but housework too? Steady on.

    JB: I do remember Rupert Moon, a Welsh international wasn’t he? I think the golden era of Welsh Rugby was in the 70’s (a bit before Rupert Moon’s time), they had an outstanding squad then - Gareth Edwards, JPR, JJ, Phil Bennet, John Dawes etc. I don’t know whether with the passing of time my memory is being a bit selective but all the home nations seemed to field some cracking teams then. I’ve rather fallen out of love with the game recently, there doesn’t seem to be the same skill and flair, it’s all about bulking up and using brute force now. No wonder there are so many injuries.
    It must have been nice to have a run with your son, and good for him to be able to “get it all off his chest” as regards the pandemic. He must be really worried about his wife, she has to go in day after day to work in unimaginable conditions. It must take quite a toll physically and mentally. I hope when all this is over, and life returns to some semblance of normality, they can perhaps get away somewhere for a couple of days, even if it’s just a short drive away, and have some time to recuperate.

    Our snow is finally starting to thaw, if the thaw continues we may be able to get out for a run on Wednesday (our first granddaughter-free day this week). Fingers crossed. Our snowman is looking rather sad now, he’s lost his nose and his hat has fallen off due to his head dissolving,  he still has one arm though (not sure what happened to the other one). The trees behind him are nearly all free of snow but the golf course further behind them is still covered (the Derwent Walk, which I often run along, is between the trees and the golf course, but that is also still covered with snow).
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Afternoon all,

    Aquarius - interesting your built-in hrm is more accurate than the chest strap .. always thought it was the other way around so you live and learn. I remember you mentioning you are missing living near the coast - hope when you are in a position to move you can find somewhere that won't be plagued by parking problems. Glad to hear the snow is finally thawing even if it means the snowman is looking a little sad ;)

    I've been continuing to do my exercises and stretching each day - I haven't managed to do two sets in one day yet but I figure one set is better than none.

    I had to put my "IT Support" hat on earlier. The lady who runs the charity I provide support to said she was having problems accessing a spreadsheet to update it (could only access it in read-only mode). From what I could see (given my limited knowledge at the moment) it looked like the guy who used to do the IT support was last to update the file so maybe it hadn't saved it back properly. So I've suggested they speak to him to see if he needs to 'save' the spreadsheet so that's its available to other people.

    I made myself useful earlier on doing some minor maintenance. Our tumble dryer has a fluff filter in the door which needs emptying each time the dryer is used. But it also has another filter at the bottom of the dryer which I cleaned up. That was straightforward and I was able to do it with the vacuum cleaner.

    But you may recall we had a problem with the filter on the washing machine getting clogged by a small cloth a while back? I also took that filter apart (the manufacturers make it easy by positioning it at the bottom of the machine and accessed from the front). But I didn't make such a mess this time as I knew what I was doing! :) I was able to drain the small tank near the filter first (about a big mugful of water). So when I removed the filter to clean it, water didn't gush everywhere like last time. I also knew to put old towels underneath the washing machine to catch any small spillages. I've added some reminders to clean each of the filters into my Outlook calendar so they don't get forgotten until its too late.

    This might make you smile. My partner Margaret had a call from a friend yesterday afternoon who moved away and has been busy looking after her husband recently so not had time to keep in touch. On hearing from Margaret I was busy doing housework she was shocked. But Margaret didn't know if that was because (a) I was doing housework (b) because it was late afternoon and housework should be done in the morning ;)
  • Good afternoon everyone, I can't believe I haven't posted since Friday☹

    Scotswoman, welcome to the thread, and hope you will be a regular contributor.
    Your maximum heart rate does seem far too high for someone your age with a resting heart rate of 54 or 55 which seems normal. Do you have a chest heart rate monitor, or is it optical, i.e. in the watch? I'm 75 male with an average resting heart rate of 52 and my max when running is 168. I very seldom hit that, even when doing speed work or racing. Readings can be erratic if a chest strap isn't tight enough, or a Garmin not tight enough on the wrist. There is a heart rate thread on fetcheveryone; it's a bit technical but you might find it useful.

    JB, they released the original suspect for the attack, but I believe they are questioning another man. 
    Luckily the pavements and roads haven't been icy in my neck of the woods.

    WtnMel, the physio did try ultrasound on my knee, but it didn't help. A few runners I know had operations for menisci tears. It worked for some, but others wished they hadn't had one, as it hadn't worked.
    My vacuum cleaner is a very elderly upright Hoover, and is heavy and difficult to manoeuvre. It still uses paper bags to collect the dust. Karen joked that it must be very ancient, as she didn't think that vacuum cleaners used paper bags any more.

    Aquarius, although I used to train twice a week on the track, I've only ever raced once on one. That was on a Civil Service sports day, and it was 5,000 metres. It was many years ago, so unfortunately I've no idea of my time.
    Good to hear that your snow is beginning to thaw, and I hope you will be able to run on Wednesday.

    I've run 3 days in a row; Saturday was a forest 5k with Sarah F in 27.08, my quickest for several weeks. Yesterday was a solo recce for a club 5 mile course. I made a bit of a mess of it, as my navigation was naff. I ran it again today, but with Sarah H this time. We made a couple of wrong turns, but otherwise it went ok. It was a very tough course, very much like cross country in my younger days. Lots of hills, mud, deep water, twisting and turning etc.  A fair amount of wading through the deep, clinging mud made it heavy going. It took us 1.04.50 , which gives some indication of how tough it was!

     
  • Just a quickie from me, I'm afraid. Woke up Monday morning with a raging sore throat. Not good! However over the course of the day it seemed to evolve into an old fashioned cold (remember them?). This now seems rather quaint and reassuring, but 

    1. I'm still wondering how/where I picked it up;

    2. I'm very grateful it's not something worse.

    So with streaming nose and eyes, sneezing for Britain and feeling generally yuk, I'm relatively cheerful!  

  • Good afternoon everybody,

    WtnMel, our posts crossed!
    I always believed that chest straps were more accurate than optical, but perhaps the technology in optical has improved. 
    I wish I had your confidence re washing machine filters. My previous machine was quite straight forward. Just lower the flap and unscrew the filter to clean. I did put a dish underneath to catch any water, but some still spilled over. My current machine has a black rubber hose which has to be unclipped and pulled out. It has a cap at the end which has to be pulled off to let any water drain out.  The cap can then be replaced and the hose clipped back into position. Seems simple, I've just got to make the effort to do it. 
    Yes I do remember the episode with the dish cloth. I must remember to put towels down too, when I get down to cleaning the filter.
    Reference the friend's shock re doing the housework, I reckon it was a combination of (a) and (b). 😁

    JB, sorry to hear about your cold. It does make one wonder how we catch them in the current situation of not mixing with others etc. Good job that it is nothing more serious though. Perhaps the cold virus will protect you from the covid virus.

    Today is a rest day, and tomorrow will be another structured training session.
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Evening everyone,

    HS - I'm not sure whether the ultrasound will do any good either. Same for the 'kinetic bandage' which the physio put on my leg and which I took off earlier (removing a few hairs while doing so - ooh, ouch!). The vacuum cleaner is an upright Milco which uses paper bags as does the 'Henry' which we also have. Your friend Karen (and her joking about paper bags) sounds like she is one of the Dyson generation. Well done for your three days in a row running - especially that mud-laden forest one. The washing machine (Bosch) has been designed to make it easy to clean the filter - it helped that having done it before I knew the pitfalls about the water leaking and was ready for it this time. From your description, it sounds like we have very similar ones (if not identical)

    JB - hope you manage to shake off that cold lurgy soon.

    I mentioned I've taken on IT support for the charity Margaret does fund-raising for. I've started doing what I used to do at work. I have an A4 hard-back notebook and I've written all the various enquiries/problems in that so it's all in one place (rather then scribbled notes here and there). It will make life easier to have it all in one place and it may well become my 'bible' in due course if I can't remember who had what problem and how I fixed it.

    I had a book group zoom meeting earlier today. Everyone seemed to enjoy "Where The Crawdads Sing" and as it was my turn to choose, I've suggested (and they've agreed to it) "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" for our next book. We've all agreed we want to get outside our 'comfort zone' and I think this choice might do that for two of the ladies.
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    WtnMel, I found that by doing the stretches etc that the physio gave me, and doing spin sessions twice a week, was the only way that my knee gradually improved. For ages, my only "running" was a hobble to and from the supermarket. There was no quick fix for me. I'm hoping your injury isn't as bad, so that you will get back up to speed much quicker than I.
    I had a "Henry" vacuum cleaner at one time, but it didn't last for very long.
    My washing machine is a Service Washer Dryer.

    I find it very useful to make written notes for future reference, the only trouble is, sometimes I can't make head or tail of them☹

    I hope your Zoom group enjoy your book choice.

    This mornings training session was 5 x 800 metres on grass. A tough session, but no pain, no gain😅
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Morning everyone,

    HS - seems to be just you and me here at the moment. Aquarius is busy with grand-daughter home-schooling duties, JB has a cold lurgy, Damien appears to have disappeared and Scotswoman hasn't posted again. I'm off to the physio after lunch for my follow-up appointment .. I've been doing my exercises daily but am not expecting any quick fix so will be interesting to see if she notices any difference. I'm sure my knee problem isn't at all serious - I'd have had more pain than a dull ache if so - but glad I've nipped it in the bud. I'll find out next month what the book group ladies think of my choice - I'd guess one of the to who haven't read any thrillers like this will enjoy it - the other I think may struggle a bit. Well done re your training session.

    'See' you (and hopefully one or two others) tomorrow ..
  • Good afternoon all

    JB - oh dear, sorry to hear about your cold lurgy, I hope you feel better soon (hot toddy perhaps?)

    HS: I also thought the chest strap HR monitors were more accurate than the built in ones, perhaps mine was a bit iffy because it was quite an old one. Well done for keeping up with the training, you appear to be the only one of us doing so, but then it takes a lot to stop you doesn’t it. Keep flying the flag on behalf of the rest of us incapacitated forum members. 

    WtnMel: Your washing machine and tumble dryer sound very much like the ones we have, although different makes (ours are a Samsung washing machine and Grundig tumble dryer), but we have the same system of filters on ours. I hope your trip to the physio today was productive and she’s happy with your progress. It is a bit of a pain having to remember to incorporate stretches into your day, but worth it, even if it’s only every other day. I’m lucky in that I’m enjoying the yoga I’ve been doing during this pandemic, so I’m happy to do anything from 15 mins to an hour each day, and the bonus is that it’s keeping me a lot more flexible than I would have been otherwise. I just wish I could get out for a run, it must be at least three weeks since our last run, so when we do get out again it’ll be like starting from scratch.

     We had another covering of snow the night before last which was added to last night, and so this morning it’s lying deeper than ever. In fact the forecast isn’t too good for the next few days. The estate is quite icy (two people reported falls and broken bones on our estate’s Facebook page yesterday) so we are staying put until conditions improve.
     I must say I’m finding this home schooling lark rather exhausting. There are a number of sites that you have to visit for the various resources, so a number of logins and passwords to remember. One of the sites crashed on Monday and only became available again late Tuesday night.  My main bugbear though is the site for English and Maths. It’s by an American company and the schools over here have apparently dubbed an English voice over the original one, but it’s not a very professional job. The sound quality is dreadful. Even with the sound turned up to maximum you have to strain to hear what is being said and all the while there are loud rustlings and clicking noises, which is very off-putting. It’s hard enough trying to keep the attention of a 6 yr old from wandering without having to strain to hear what is being said. Then there is the sheer quantity and difficulty of the work. I rather optimistically expected having to do a couple of hours of relatively easy home schooling each day, but even starting at 9am we still haven’t covered everything for that day by 3pm, by which time we throw the towel in as tiredness and distress are creeping in (for both of us). On top of all of this we have to find the time for reading and spelling practice each day. I just don’t know how teachers manage to get through all this on a daily basis, I take my hat off to them. 
    It’s been a busy time at Aquarius Towers this week, as apart from the joys of home schooling we have had to get the RAC out again for the LandRover. This time because the cover on the exhaust fell off while the car was on the drive. The RAC guy phoned to say he would be with us in half an hour, but it was quite a while later when he eventually turned up - on foot! He’d had to abandon his van as it couldn’t cope with the snow and hills on our estate. After examine the LR he said the brackets holding the exhaust cover in place have corroded and broken off. We’ll have to wait until the weather improves to get the car to a garage and get the cover welded back on again. This means our son has had to take the day off because he's been using the LR during this spell of bad weather to get to work (his own car is rear wheel drive, which is useless in these conditions). I hope we can get it fixed soon or he will have to take a lot more time off.
    This weather has a lot to answer for one way and another, as we’ve now lost our TV signal (Sky) due to the heavy snow, but I suppose since there’s very little of interest to watch at the moment it’s no big loss.
    Steve’s computer bit the dust earlier in the week so our son got him a new one, and has helped to set it up. Steve is currently transferring stuff from the old PC to the new one (and I’m lying low, as the air is frequently blue). :#
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    WtnMel, good luck with your physio this afternoon!
    I ran the session with Mike, and the two Sarah' s ran together.

    Aquarius, I think the problem with the chest strap is that the contacts have to be moist, and the strap has to be tight, but not too tight. I used to wet the contacts under the tap before putting the strap on.
    I'm glad that you are enjoying your yoga sessions, and that they are doing you good. I'm doing a range of stretches etc on my rest days, and am definitely getting more flexible. I can almost reach my toes now, when doing the hurdlers stretch. I used to be able to do it easily at one time😁
    I hope that your cough/cold has cleared up now?

    We have only had a short spell  of snow which was a week or so ago, and it only lasted for about 20 minutes. I don't blame you for not running on the snow, as it is very dangerous. 
    I sympathise with you for the on line learning. Karen has the same problem. she is working from home, and has the 5 year old twins to "teach" at the same time. She is finding it very tiring but going out for a run, no matter how short, helps to relieve the pressure.
    On a slightly different note, but on line related; my sister sent me a link to our cousins funeral, which didn't work. It turned out that she had been given the wrong password. I've got the correct one now, so will try again later, as I believe the video will be available for a few days. I've now been advised that I would have to download the Vimeo app. I've never heard of that platform, so perhaps it's a new one.

    I'm sorry to hear that you are still having problems with your Land Rover, and obviously, the snow doesn't help.

    I've seen on facebook that viewers in my region are having problems with Sky too, although not through snow, as we don't have any at present.
    When I renewed my maintenance contract for my laptop, in December, Andy said that he would get me some quotes for a new laptop in the New Year. If I don't hear from him soon, I will get back in touch with him. It's amazing how we all seem to swear at the devices when they go wrong, or we forget how to do certain functions etc. 

    I did an 11k recovery run in the forest this morning, after yesterdays interval session. The forest is very wet and muddy now, with all the rain we've had.
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