New Mature Runners Thread

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  • Happy birthday Mel.
    Shame if you have to leave the running club, but totally understandable in the circumstances. How long have you been a member? You've got lots of other interests so socially you should be fine. More golf?

    Aquarius, yes the interactive nature of the training plan is intriguing and definitely 'next generation'. I hope it bears fruit. The back is getting better, thanks, but I'm not sure if it's the roller or just time. I've had a dodgy back (as have many of us) on and off for years. As for injuries my main problem now is my thumb injured in a fall. Until you have a problem with your thumb (especially on your dominant hand) you've no idea how idea you use the damn thing. I think that's the end of my hitchhiking career.

    Mrs JB is insisting I have a rest day today. Every time I speak to her she says, "give it a rest. for god's sake" - so I assume that what she means! Seriously, I mustn't overdo it. Spare a thought for my pal who is marshalling for 4 hours plus today - what a day to have to do this, on a windswept, flat  and bleak course. 
  • AquariusAquarius ✭✭✭
    edited April 2021
    WtnMel: It might be an idea to wait a while before deciding whether or not to renew your club membership. However I’m sure you will get back to running again at some point. You are doing all the right things - your strengthening and stretching exercises and keeping fit by going for walks and playing golf, plus your gardening of course. So once your knee is sorted out you should still have a reasonable level of fitness to start walking/running. How are you doing with the MyFitnessPal app? All this golf and gardening should be making a difference to your calorie count. Are you enjoying Barchester Towers any better? I can imagine you are probably still struggling with it a bit if you prefer modern novels. 

    JB: Haha - I think Mrs JB may be talking about something else. :D  
    Sorry to hear you are still having problems with your injured thumb. Was that the injury you got when you fell over your friend’s dog while out running a while ago? I have arthritis starting in my right thumb and at times it’s very stiff and sore. I’m also noticing lately that the strength in that hand can vary day to day such as, for example, if I’m trying to remove the lid from a jar, so I know how vital it is to have all your digits fully functioning!  What sort of event was your friend marshalling at today? He couldn’t have picked a colder day, I hope his efforts were appreciated. 

    I did my first proper Garmin training run today. Fortunately I checked the details before setting out (and while I still had my glasses on) as I thought I only had to run 3 miles, but it turned out it was 4 miles. It was so cold when I started that I had to fasten my buff over my nose and mouth by tucking it under the bridge of my sunglasses. I probably looked like a geriatric mugger. I can’t remember such an icy wind, I almost packed in after a mile, but as it was a proper training run I thought I’d better stick with it. I can’t remember it being that cold even over the winter, my hands were aching inside my gloves and I was really glad when my watch signalled the end of the run. It was a bit of a slow undulating run, but the best I could do in that wind. I’ve three more runs to do this week - Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, all “easy” runs like today. I hope it stays at easy runs for a while until I get some fitness back.

    I’ve flagged the spammer.
  • john bateman 6john bateman 6 ✭✭✭
    edited April 2021
    Aquarius, I don't think I'd chose the word 'easy' to describe that one. Well done on getting through it. As the song says, 'things can only get better'. 
    Yes you are nearly right on the thumb: it was the neighbour's dog incident but I was only walking. Arthritis is not nice. I've got a couple of fingers that are affected but so far that's about it.
    The event was a big 5k  in the grounds of where they have the Sussex County Show or whatever it's called. It's flat, tarmac and fast, although today there was that wind - and even a few flakes of snow. The standard is very high - you can't do it unless you are sub-25 mins and the guys at the front of the field just over14. They had 5 races (waves) of runners and within each wave they had a staggered start. They live streamed it and I watched one race which despite very primitive camera work was actually quite exciting.

    They've got another event coming up in May and I might have a go at that one (weather wimp). but even at my best I'd probably not win my category unless I tripped a couple of them over at the start.

     I did a rather more brutal but short hill session today. I didn't go on distance or time. but just how I felt. And I felt totally knackered. So much for a rest day - that's tomorrow.

    Here's the results:

    http://results.eventchiptiming.com/Results.aspx?CId=16202&RId=5018






  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Afternoon all,

    Thanks for the birthday wishes ..

    Wondered why there were so many new posts until I saw another spammer had stopped by - have flagged them.

    Aquarius - hope the new 'interactive' training plan works out okay. I was using MFP on the website (downloaded the phone app but wasn't using it, so uninstalled it) and had a two week stint when I was logging my food each day. But I got out of the habit before the weekend and haven't logged on for a few days. But it was proving useful to keep me focused on not having too many 'treats'. I'm still struggling with Barchester Towers - just can't work up any enthusiasm for the ins and outs of the relationships between the various people. Well done re the first 'proper' training run and good luck with the rest of this week's 'easy' runs.

    JB - I've only been a member for four years or so. The fact that with a few exceptions, none of the regular Thu group I used to run with appear to have noticed my complete lack of running since Dec may have something to do with me being in no rush to re-join when membership comes up for renewal!

    Another lazy-ish day apart from a quick walk before lunch. With the cold wind (but obviously not as cold as 'oop north') I dug out one of my thermal tops and wore that under my t-shirt and wore my waterproof running jacket to keep the wind out.

    On my walk a car pulled up and a woman inside barked "Tesco?" at me (no please or anything). I told her anyway but she obviously wasn't listening because she then drove off in the other direction. Hopefully karma meant she got lost - it would serve the dozy woman right.
  • Good evening all,

    I've got rid of the spammer, it must take 5 ticks now.

    I'll reply to all your posts tomorrow on my rest day. I'm too knackered to read through them all, after running 14.42 miles in the forest, battling the icy winds, and hostile terrain.
  • Hi newbie mature runner here. Started running a 2 mile circuit round my town a couple of times a week. Then started running with a new acquaintance who turned out to be a bloody half marathon runner and im constantly puffing and sobbing behind her....that run we do is just under 3 miles. Went back to the local runsmart group last night and ran just over 3.5 miles at a horrendously slow pace. It really annoys me that i can whoop most of these young uns in the gym at some horrid and heavy workouts but get me running and i immediately do the old lady shuffle. Anyhoo im not giving in until something falls completely off. 
  • john bateman 6john bateman 6 ✭✭✭
    edited April 2021
    A warm welcome, Collette. This is a small (i.e there are not many of us) and friendly thread. As you will soon notice, we are indeed a pretty mature bunch in age if not necessarily in outlook. The others will I'm sure introduce themselves. I'm John and in my mid 60s, live in the south of England by the coast and still fancy myself as a competitive runner. I'm a father of two and a granddad to 3. Like you I (still) do some gym work - mainly rowing and body weight stuff.
    By a complete coincidence (!) I tend to pick up a number of injuries. If you are looking to improve your running, I'm sure you will pick up some useful tips. If you need encouragement, you'll get even more!

    Rest day for me today after a few days full-on. Went for a couple of strolls with pals but my goodness it's cold even down here on the Costa.
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Afternoon all,

    HS - well done for getting rid of the spammer. Enjoy your rest day ..

    Colette - welcome and hope you decide to stick around. It's a friendly thread and we won't bite! :) I've just turned 69 and been running fairly regularly for a few years but I picked up a knee injury in Dec and haven't been able to run since. I've been out walking and am toying with the idea of trying out Nordic Walking.

    JB - don't blame you having a rest day.

    I went for a walk earlier and boy was it cold - was glad again of my 3 layers to keep the wind out. It was snowing when I was having my lunch and I managed to walk in the sunny interval between that one and the latest one that has arrived since I got back. More of an excuse for a snow shower to be honest .. not enough to settle.

    I mentioned to Aquarius about logging my food intake using the MyFitnessPal website. Since I've gained weight with not being able to run I wanted to identify where the 'extra' calories were coming from. Someone on a thread on the Fetch website mentioned a couple of other websites that might prove useful for tracking my weight and my calories in/out (Trendweight & Fitbit - which can be linked) so I'm going to give them a try instead of MFP.
  • AquariusAquarius ✭✭✭
    Afternoon  all,

    Welcome Colette, I'd echo what the others have said, this is a friendly thread and very supportive. I'm a 67 yr old female and I've been running since my mid 50s.  I've done a few (very slow) half marathons but I now mainly do 5ks and 10ks. I also do Pilates and Yoga plus a bit of strength work from time to time. Most of us on here are either currently injured or have had recent injuries, an occupational hazard for a mature runner it seems  :)
    My advice to you would be forget about distance and forget about speed, just run at whatever pace feels good to you for as long (or short) a distance as you want. Don't go out with the idea "I must run 2 miles today, or 3 miles" or whatever, just listen to your body and enjoy your running. It's easy to get demotivated if you set yourself too difficult a challenge and struggle to complete it. Have you considered doing the Couch to 5k programme? It's a mixture of walking and running that gradually gets you running a bit more week by week. It's good for beginners and also anyone returning to running after an injury or other layoff. 

    WtnMel (or should I call you Tesco now?) what a rude woman that was. I hope Tesco was shut if she did eventually find it. Talking of rude people, it's a tad thoughtless, to say the least, that none of your Thursday running mates have enquired why you've not been running lately. 
    It's been snowing here too, I forgot to mention that yesterday's cold run was also a snowy one, the snow did eventually melt but not until teatime, but then the hailstones started! Snow showers again today, but not lying fortunately. I took our granddaughter out for a walk this afternoon and it was bitterly cold, luckily we had to cut it short as she suddenly announced an urgent need to go to the toilet (they pick their moments don't they :/ )

    JB: Enjoy your rest day

    HS: I hope you've recovered from your 14+ mile run in icy conditions, that was very hard core running, you put the rest of us to shame. Well done for eventually getting rid of the spammer, I hadn't realised it took 5 flags to do so.
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    Welcome Collette, As John says, we are a very friendly lot, and discuss other things besides running and other sports. I'm the oldest on here, mid seventies, and have been running since my thirties. My name is Terry and I live near the New Forest in Hampshire. I'm still competitive in my age category, but unfortunately there have been no actual races so far this year. I have done several virtual races, but they are not the same.


    I haven't posted properly since Saturday, so there is a lot to catch up on.


    Aquarius, good luck with your garmin training schedule. I've never been one to stick to a schedule, but tend to modify them to suit myself.
    Glad to hear that the birthday meal went well

    I was a bit peeved to see that two of our runners did the new challenge the very next morning, but I have the course on my phone and watch, so we will run it in a couple of weeks time.

    I see that you did the first training run on your schedule yesterday. You are right about the icy cold wind. Lucky that you checked the details before setting off. We ran in the forest yesterday, and at times were forced almost to walk against the wind. 


    Mike, good to hear from you again, and well done for your 10 miler. That has always been my favourite race distance.


    JB, I agree about the WAVA's being more important than the times. Some of our younger runners are running 20 minutes or less for the 5k's but their WAVA's are only in the mid sixties.
    Well done for your hill work, you will reap the benefits.


    WtnMel, belated happy birthday on Easter Sunday. Glad Margaret cooked you a nice meal.

    I had no problems syncing the gpx file to my phone and watch. We will probably run the course in 2 or 3 weeks time.
    I hadn't thought about my coach shouting at me from her bike with a megaphone. A bit like the boat race. 

    I hope you don't give up running altogether. I haven't attended a club training session since my injury in June 2017, but have renewed my membership each year. I still run and train with many of the members, and take advantage of the challenges, face book page , club website etc. We have been following the Independent Training Schedules each week, modifying them as necessary.


    Yesterday was back to a bubble of 6 runners, and we ran the original orienteering  challenge again, trying to run it faster, and less distance. We ran a total of 14.42 miles including the warm up and warm down. The actual run was 12.66 miles and shorter and quicker than previous attempts. It was very challenging with the very strong icy wind which seemed to be a headwind most of the time, and the ground was rock hard, and very lumpy. There were a couple of streams to cross, but we managed ok.
  • Thanks everyone for the warm welcome !!! Im running again tonight with the local run club. I hope i fair a bit better this time !!! Its usually a 5k or there abouts..those who want to go further do loop backs. 
    I know i am my own worst enemy in that im very competitive but more with myself than anyone else. 
    I will check in later and i hooe you all have a great day. Its blinking freezing here !!!
  • john bateman 6john bateman 6 ✭✭✭
    edited April 2021
    HS, that sounds like one challenging run. Streams! Icy wins? Uneven and lumpy terrain? You deserve a rest.

    Colette, good luck with the club run. You do come across as a competitive sort (I'd be the last to criticise this). Have you and/or are you, planning to do some events? Parkrun is the ideal entry level (and some of us never get much beyond it!) especially as you are running 5k. Have you got a Parkrun locally? I'm a bit of a PR addict and have missed it terribly.

    No running for me today so I walked up and down the stairs 50 times doing a set of 10 pull ups between each set of stair-climbing =  2,500 steps and 50 pull ups. I found it as tough as a 5k run and it took about as long.

    I then had a couple of pals round to sit in the garden for cake and coffee and it was as cold as I've been for a mighty long time. Mrs JB took a photo of us sitting with blankets wrapped around us and labelled it 'last of the summer wine'. 
  • AquariusAquarius ✭✭✭
    Good afternoon all,

    Colette: Enjoy your run tonight, I hope it doesn’t get any colder by then. 

    JB: You certainly set yourself some odd challenges don’t you. 50 times up and down stairs with 10 pull ups between each set - was Mrs JB keeping count for you? I wish I could have seen you sitting in the garden wrapped in blankets (I wonder what the neighbours thought?). 

    HS: That really does sound like a horrible run, one of those that you wish you’d never started. I hope you are having a rest day today?

    I had a 3 mile run scheduled today so went out early. It was really cold again (and unfortunately the forecast suggests it’s not going to improve for some time) but I only needed my buff over my mouth and nose for the first half of the run, so it must have been slightly warmer than Monday (less wind?). I set off towards the park, but on an impulse detoured to run a lap of an abandoned running track. It belonged to a school which was demolished some time ago, the track remains but isn’t in great condition. Then after popping in and out of the park briefly I set off back home and clocked up the 3 mile distance a little way before where I had intended to finish. Next run is Friday but that is only 2 miles, then on Saturday I think I do another 3 miles (better check).
     My glutes and hamstrings have been quite tight lately, but strangely I only notice this when I’m sitting or lying in bed. Anyway I’ve made an appointment with the physio for tomorrow afternoon for a torture session. Steve will take me over to the coast and while I’m at the physio he’ll do some work on his boat, so I’ll walk along to meet him afterwards (pummelled glutes and hamstrings permitting). 
  • JB i like the sound of that workout especially if theres cake, coffee and bants to follow :smile: Thanks Aquarius im hoping its a bit warmer than monday too !!! Im not good in the cold 🥶
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    Colette, there's nothing wrong with being competitive with yourself. I'm just the same, and very self critical. Sarah keeps reminding me of my age, to keep my feet on the ground.☹. I hope you have a good run with the club tonight.


    JB, it was a challenging run on Monday, but it was meant to be. All these challenges are reported to the coordinator, who is maintaining a league table of results.

    Your work out sounds very hard core, and much harder than your usual 5k. I haven't got any stairs, so stair climbing is one activity I won't have to try.

    Sounds very civilised, sitting in the garden with friends, eating cake and drinking coffee.


    Aquarius, it wasn't a horrible run on Monday, because although it was tough, there were 6 of us, and we really enjoyed it. There is a certain feeling of achievement once the challenge is over. We took some photos and I will post a couple on here as a new post. 

    It wasn't as cold this morning, as on Monday, as that icy wind had dropped. That was a good idea, doing a lap of an abandoned running track. Did you up your pace accordingly🏃‍♀️  I hope the weather is better for you on Friday and Saturday.

    Good luck with the physio tomorrow!


    Yesterday was a rest day, and today was an out and back interval session on grass with Mike.
  • Just heard a while ago from the Surgery that I have an appointment for my 2nd jab Thursday week. 
    I'm hoping the 2 pics appear now

  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Afternoon all,

    Aquarius -  a couple of the Thu group had noticed I hadn't been out running but most of them seem totally oblivious. I got bored seeing their runs on Strava so apart from the two I mentioned, I've stopped following them on Strava and have also left the club group and the group set up for the Thu gang. Again, no-one appears to have noticed! I rather hoped that stupid, ignorant woman didn't manage to find Tesco or that they didn't have whatever it was she wanted - the fact she drove off in the wrong direction was a good sign. I thought young children ALWAYS picked the wrong moment to announce they need the toilet? Well done re that 3ml run. Needless to say, my glutes and hamstrings aren't too tight after my daily stretching I've been doing regularly (polishes halo). Hope you don't feel too bashed about after your visit to the physio.

    HS - it was the old idea of a coach on a bike shouting at rowers through a megaphone I had in mind with my comment about you being followed by your coach. I'll wait and see how my knee is when I try another walk/run in May and then after a visit to the physio if it still hurts, may have any decision about stopping running taken out of my hands if continued running will do more damage. Nice couple of photos from your run on Monday. I noticed you two men were being "well 'ard" with shorts, one of your clubmates had her capris on but the others stuck to running tights. I'm still wearing my tracksters when I go out walking as it takes that much longer to warm up properly.

    Colette - good advice from Aquarius about listening to your body when it comes to how far to run .. all I would add would be to build up slowly (no more than 10% a week). 

    JB - well done for that stairs/pull-ups training. Chuckled at the Last Of The Summer Wine comment about you and your mates. 

    Earlier today I emptied our small compost bin and spread it around on the border (mainly where we have a big hole where that fig tree used to be). After lunch I cleaned up the door-frame in the conservatory so I could apply some self-stick hooks. They will be used to hold a rod from which we're going to hang a lightweight curtain from so that we can leave the door open in the summer without getting invaded by flies. Having been industrious, I didn't feel at all guilty about disappearing to the driving range for an hour or so this afternoon for more practise before Fri's re-match with Alan. I managed to hit the vast majority of balls properly - and most of them even went in the intended direction! ;)

    Margaret has had a text to book her 2nd jab and has booked it for the coming weekend so I'd imagine I'll be getting a text myself before too long.

    Margaret had a bad night's sleep and has just told me she's given in to temptation and instead of making a shepherd's pie with the left over lamb from Sunday's roast (because she doesn't have the energy), she's ordered us fish and chips! :)

  • Mel, enjoy your Friday game of golf. I'll not encourage Mrs JB to read your post which identifies all the jobs you've been doing around the house - she might get ideas.

    HS, the stairs workout was just something a bit different. As Aquarius notes, I do set myself some strange challenges. Thanks for posting those photos. As Mel says you guys wearing shorts are making an alpha male statement. Seriously, I've not  dug out mine yet. I reckon it has to get to about 19 centigrade before I'll do so and give the world a treat.  I'll try to post that last of the summer wine photo.

    Aquarius, how good to have access to a track (of sorts). I've got similar at the cemetery but these days if I go there I tend to stick to paths that are less busy and tucked away. Today I went there and included 10 times up and down a hill. I tried to do each rep inside a minute (one minute up, slightly less than a minute going down to recover) but it got increasingly hard as fatigue set in. Managed it.
    Good luck at the physio; we feel your pain.

    Colette, I'm with you on the cold. Glad to report some warmish sunshine here/
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    JB- before we started playing golf again, Alan and I (and our respective partners) were having a regular Fri morning zoom chat. I think I may have got him in trouble with his partner Diana several times by mentioning what I'd been doing and her saying "You should be doing that Alan!" When we were able to run as a club, one guy wore shorts all year round. I mentioned it to him and he said, they only get replaced by tracksters when the temperature was below freezing. Personally, I'm too much of a wuss to do that. Aquarius's mention of the running track reminded me of when I started my apprenticeship in 1968 and the company I worked for (part of the Lucas Group) had acres of grounds with football pitches and the like and a cinder running track. One of the things we did as apprentices was to go outside every morning for exercise (pretty much come rain or shine) and I guess the idea was to wake us up before the day's training started.

    I've cut the lawns (sssh, don't tell Mrs JB) and after an executive meeting between myself and Margaret, I've dug up a wild raspberry plant that has seen better days (and wasn't that good flavour either) which I'll replace with a new row of cultivated raspberries.
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    WtnMel, I thought the  coaches  with megaphones on bikes riding along the towpaths were in your mind.

    It would be a shame if you eventually did have to stop running, but you do have plenty of other activities to keep you occupied.

    I find that my legs don't really feel the cold. It's my head and hands that need to be covered the most.

    That's a good idea hanging a light weight curtain to keep the flies out. 

    I hope yesterdays golf practice pays off for Fridays rematch with Alan.

    I don't think I've mentioned it, but I have got an appointment for my second jab next Thursday.

    Hope you enjoyed the fish and chips.


    JB, most of your workouts look very hard core to me.

    My legs don't really feel the cold, as I mentioned in my post to Mel above.

    Well done for those hill reps, the sort of workouts I enjoy.


    Today has been bright and sunny, and slightly warmer than of late. I ran an easy pace 10k on a hilly road course.
  • john bateman 6john bateman 6 ✭✭✭
    edited April 2021
    I think the file with the photo is embedded below. I'm the one on the left as you look at it. As fine a body of men as you'll find.  But wimps compared with HS and pals! (Note it was sunny and we STILL needed blankets!)

    Mel,  your post gave me a giggle. But the reference to a cinder track really dates us, eh? (Reminds me of the comic book character, Alf Tupper, 'the tough of the track'.) Mrs JB sent for some raspberry canes and planted them in the allotment this week. Raspberries are my favourite fruit.

    HS, I know what you mean by 'an easy pace 10k' but I'm not sure that many non-runners would understand the use of the word 'easy'! Especially 75 year old non-runners.
  • The photo opened ok John. You all looked nice and snug in your blankets. 
    Talking of the cold, I remember as a child, seeing my breath indoors and ice on the inside of the windows. That's perhaps why I don't feel the cold so much nowadays. 
  • HS, windows? You had windows?? You were lucky! (Cut to the Monty Python,  Four Yorkshiremen sketch.......)
  • AquariusAquarius ✭✭✭
    Afternoon all,

    I haven’t posted for a couple of days and there are 10 posts to catch up on! Slow down. 

    Collete I hope your run on Wednesday went well?

    HS: I like the photos you post of your running pals, whatever the session happens to be everyone always looks as if they are having a good time. I didn’t up my pace when running a lap of the track as it was supposed to be an easy run throughout. I just added the track lap in to make up the distance. I believe all my runs next week are easy ones too, just slightly increasing in overall mileage. I can also remember the pre-central heating days of my childhood. Jack Frost drawing crazy patterns on the windows and icicles hanging outside them. What bliss it was when we got our central heating system installed. 

    JB: I loved Monty Python, those programmes seem even better when watched again today. Great photo, there’s definitely a Last of the Summer Wine look. I imagine the blankets were very welcome, it looks chilly despite the sunshine. Well done on your cemetery session, I pass a cemetery on my runs but can’t bring myself to run around it somehow.

    WtnMel: I agree about it being too cold yet for shorts. I think it’ll be at least another month before I change over to my summer running kit. It’s still quite chilly here. I remember a few (male) runners at our club liked to wear shorts whatever the weather, but the coach would tell them off if they went back into them before May in case they pulled muscles during training. Well done for all that hard work in the garden, the curtain sounds a good idea. Let us know if it works. I get really annoyed when we get a house full of flies as soon as the weather gets warm, going in and out to the patio from the kitchen always ends up with a kitchen full of flies. That was an interesting story about your apprenticeship and starting each day with some exercise. Can you imagine apprentices today agreeing to do that? After the successful golf practice I’m expecting good news from you about today’s match with Alan. (Fish and Chips?? I hope you logged that on your fitness tracker ;) ).

    Yesterday’s physio session identified some tightness in my piriformis, ITB and calves. As regards my hamstrings she said she’d known them to be worse, so at least my hamstring stretches seem to be doing some good. Looks like I have a lot to work on for the other areas though. I was banking on the yoga to be keeping me supple, but obviously more work is needed.
    I messed up today’s training run a bit (only a 2 mile easy session) through not wearing my glasses and accidentally pressing the wrong button to start the run. When I realised (half a mile in) that I was doing an ordinary run rather than the set training run I stopped my watch. All okay so far, but trying to find the training run details again without glasses was too challenging. After pressing various buttons lots of times I did eventually manage to get back to the right screen and start again. I’ll have to be more careful next time.
  • DRR MikeDRR Mike ✭✭✭
    JB, my river run took in the Cray and Darent, up towards the Thames, a few miles west of the Medway, so you’re geography is close!

    Welcome Colette, I’m also a newbie to this thread and your already posting more than me! I hope the weather is warming up enough for you now, I’m fortunate not to feel the cold too much and am still able to wear shorts year round like Hillstrider. Hope the running has gone well for you this week

    Aquarius, how did today’s session end up going after you got back on track? I guess you ended up going further than planned 🙂

    JB, I still use the term “easy run” as a catch all for most of my runs nowadays, force of habit I suppose after many years of keeping diaries. If I’m honest, most of my “speed sessions” are easy now, particularly as I run alone so nobody pushing me to speed up.

    WtnMel, I just about remember cinder tracks you mention, we had one here in Dartford when I first ran for the Harriers, I remember when Zola Budd famously ran here in the early eighties she kept her shoes on!

    I saw your mention of Strava, I’ve just started using the paid version and finding it very good for comparing runs. I hope you are not forced to reduce or stop running completely, not sure how I would deal with that, although I do a bit of cycling and swimming it’s running I really have the enthusiasm for.

    HS, well done with your hilly 10k yesterday, I’ve been putting off the hills for a few weeks, it’s about time I (reluctantly) added some to my schedule. Nice photos by the way.

    I’ve managed to put in 3 runs so far this week, all around the 4-5 mile mark. A couple based on the Garmin coach sessions that some of you are also using, Stride repeats today and a tempo run on Wednesday. It was warmer today when the sun is out, I wore a short sleeve shirt for the first time this year! Got a cycle ride planned for tomorrow with a friend, a long run on Sunday and our local indoor pool is reopening on Monday so things are definitely looking up!

    Have a great weekend all....
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    Aquarius, I'm find it difficult to keep up now as well. I must get back into daily posting again!

    I'm glad that you liked the photos. We always have a good time, no matter what the weather, or difficulty of the runs/sessions. Monday was the first day that we were permitted to run in a bubble of 6 again. 

    When I lived in Liverpool, there was a disused running track near where I was living. It was closed up, but I used to climb over the gate to get in. It was quite uneven and a mixture of cinders and sand.

    When I was a child we had a coal fire, and an oil stove to help warm up the room. There was no heating in any of the other rooms. I remember carrying a can to a nearby hardware shop for a gallon of paraffin. The owner would sit on a stool, with a fag in his mouth and fill the can. No such thing as health and safety in those days!

    It seems as though your physio sessions are having some effect, but the stretching, yoga etc is something that you will probably have to keep up. I'm still doing the ones my physio gave me all those years ago, plus a few more.

    I have the same problems at times, running without my reading glasses. Messages, numbers etc sometimes appear on my Garmin and I don't know what they say, or mean. Very frustrating.


    Mike, my speed sessions nowadays are what I would have called recovery runs, back in the day.

    I'm on Strava, but not the paid for version. I find that fetcheveryone, gives me all the data that I require.

    I'm sure that you will find adding hill work to your training beneficial. Most training schedules include hill work, for increasing stamina and endurance. Good to see that you are doing speed work,  the more variety, the better.

    Enjoy your cycle ride with a friend tomorrow, and long run on Sunday.


    Today is a rest day, and tomorrow, I'll have another bash at a sub 26 minute 5k in the forest.
  • Mike, looks like you are preparing to a triathlon!

    Aquarius, the main thins is that you are running again. It will warm up soon, surely? I did see some research which showed that - all other things being equal - southerners are less likely to get Co-vid. There is a serious hypothesis that this is because there is more sunlight down south and that this is the causal variable.

    HS, did you get that sub-26?

    Usual time trial for me this morning. And usual brisk, freezing, easterly on the 'out' section of the 5k. Managed a 22.05 which is 1 second outside of my SB (other than the wind-powered effort). A tad disappointed as I stepped up the training and was hoping to see the benefit in a sub-22. Pleased to see one of my local 65-69 rivals out running  as he's been injured. He looked very sharp and lean I thought! 

    Talking of which I'm trying to shed a few pounds. I'm about 10st 2lbs and could do with shifting about 4-5 lbs. The trouble is that when I'm trying to lose weight, I just obsess about food and it becomes harder to keep disciplined. I'll probably end up 4-5lbs heavier! 

    Anyone got any tips on what works for them? I know Mel is on the case.
  • Good evening everyone,

    JB, no I didn't go sub 26 this morning, but was a minute quicker than last week, so can't complain.
    Well done for another brilliant 5k with a WAVA in the 70's again. Mine was 69.12%.

    Before we started, we saw an elderly looking man running in the opposite direction, looking very strong and running at a great pace. We immediately thought that he must be a fell runner. Lean and mean!

    I weigh 10 stone which I'm happy with. At my peak, I was 9stone 7llbs, which I wouldn't want to go down to now.
  • AquariusAquarius ✭✭✭
    Mike: Short sleeves in this weather? I’m assuming it’s a lot warmer where you are than here, we’ve had snow the last two days. I think JB is right - that definitely sounds like you’re getting in some triathlon training! I hope you enjoyed your bike ride yesterday and also your long run today. Thanks, as I’d only run half a mile before realising I wasn’t on my training run it didn’t add much overall to my session. I had to jiggle the route a bit to make it up to the full 2 miles again but managed to do so, arriving back my intended finish area right on 2 miles. As I finished three women passed me, in a line abreast across the track (I should explain that I was on an old railway line that was once a single track line, so it’s rather narrow). It’s very popular with cyclists, runners and dog walkers, more so than ever this last year. Since the pandemic most people make a bit of an effort to maintain a certain degree of social distancing when passing so I was really annoyed to have to squeeze onto the grass verge to avoid them. I’ve seen them on there before and I’ve never seen them make any attempt to make way for others. 

    HS: We had a coal fire too, I can’t remember when we had it taken out and had a posh modern gas fire installed, but it must have been when smokeless zones came in (mid / late 60s?) as I can remember I used to be the first one home (my Grammar School was just down the road from our house) so I used to have the job of raking out the old coals and laying the new fire. I can still recall the smell of those firelighters, and (good grief) holding up sheets of newspaper until the fire “caught” and started burning properly. A Health and Safety nightmare. Another thing I can remember (heavens, this is a real walk down memory lane) is being very young, maybe 5 or 6 and getting dressed in my bedroom in front of a very old dodgy electric fire, no tube just some funny wire that heated up bright red. Thinking about it now, it’s a miracle I’ve survived to adulthood. 
    Sorry to see you didn’t break that elusive sub 26, but a great WAVA all the same.

    JB That hypothesis regarding Covid sounds like discrimination to me. We can’t help having cold weather. I think I’ll have to riot or hold a demo, or flood social media with Northern Lives Matter, or maybe find a statue to someone pro warm weather and pull it down. We’re bolshy up north you know. ;)
    How annoying to miss that sub 22 by 5 seconds, but it can’t be far off now. I’m sure if you could shed a few pounds you could smash it. It’s funny that both you and Mel want to lose a bit of weight, whereas I’m trying to put it on, and HS is quite happy with his. We’ll have to ask him what his secret is.

    Another easy 3 mile run yesterday to complete this weeks training runs. Next week is also all easy runs, but overall mileage is 1 mile more. Slow but steady is the idea I suppose.
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