New Mature Runners Thread

1169170172174175254

Comments

  • Aquarius, we are following each other now on Strava. I ran with both Sara's and Jane this morning. 
    I will reply to all posts tomorrow😁
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Evening all,

    HS - yes, it was December last year when I had my knee problem and subsequent trips to the physio in January. I shall be heading for the driving range one day this week to have a practise before Fri's match with Alan. The U3A rambles always seem to start and end at a pub or café - the social aspect being as important as the walking. Sorry .. had to chuckle at "Dr Garmin Connect" advising you were over-reaching and your idea of playing it at it's own game by walking and responding the session was unproductive. If I was managing 15:08 miling on a walk it definitely would be (as my best pace lately has been around 15:59 miling).

    JB - chuckled at your vision of HS's Garmin talking to him (shades of  "Sorry Dave - I'm afraid I can't do that"). I try not to be nerdy when it comes to golf - but it is all down to the mechanics of the stroke and the need to get the clubhead to end up back where it started despite you swinging it around yourself. I've had dogs jumping up at me in the past - they weren't on leads and despite me shouting (effing and blinding) at the owner they belonged to, it was obvious he didn't give a ****. I've started following you on Strava by the way.

    Aquarius - sorry to hear you had a painful run this morning as I was hoping the niggle was going away. I think you're right about resting it for a few days and hoping it recovers in time for Sat's XC and/or your club's 5K. Seeing your mistakes on film definitely brings it home what's going wrong with the golf swing. I was only saying to Alan last time it's about time I took my GoPro out with us so we can film us hitting the ball and see where we're going wrong. We agreed we should film each other and then say to camera - "Good" or (more likely!) "Rubbish" :) Good luck with your email to Octopus .. they've taken over my gas and electric supply but I'm currently waiting for the handover from Avro to be completed.

    With it being half-term, the café at Pittville park was noticeably busier for our coffee & chat get-together this morning. We decided to sit outside and although it was sunny, I wished I'd worn more layers. Having got back home, I've been sat here in my big woolly jumper for the rest of the day to get and stay warm again.

    I didn't walk on Sat (had my golf day) or yesterday (but I swam in the evening) but I was back out this morning and did a 4ml pre-breakfast walk. Hopefully, will be able to get out again a few more times this coming week.
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Afternoon all,

    I walked again this morning - a shorter route of just over 3mls but pleasingly, my average pace was quicker. I took my head-torch but the batteries were on their way out - luckily, it was getting light enough by the time they packed up. These were 'spare' batteries which have now been recycled - I've replaced them with the rechargeable batteries which have now been charged up ready for my next walk.

    Which will probably be on Thu .. because having seen the forecast for Friday, Alan and I had a chat on the phone this morning and we've hurriedly re-arranged our golf for tomorrow morning instead (luckily, there were a couple of tee-times still available).
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    JB, thanks, that was my first attempt at a speed walk, so was very pleased.

    Those sub 4 minute pace reps are amazing! That was a nasty encounter with the two dogs and their ignorant owner! Just as well you waited until you were out of earshot before swearing at him, or he may have set the dogs loose on you! We've been lucky with dogs in the forest that are off leads, as they seem to have been well trained.

    Another amazing run by Lily. She will be first finisher if she continues to improve at this rate!


    Aquarius, I hope a few days rest will enable you to run pain free in the x country and 5k.

    Glad you liked the photo of me with the twins and the wheelbarrow. It was a lovely day, warm and sunny.

    I ran yesterday with the Sara's and Jane. It was raining heavily when we set off, but after a while it stopped and the sun came out. We ran 7.95 miles in the very wet and muddy forest. It was an exploratory run, through parts of the forest where we hadn't run before. Lots of wading through the mud! I've synced the course with my phone and watch, in case we want to run it again. The assessment of the run was "unproductive!"


    WtnMel, good luck with your golf practice which I hope will enable you to beat Alan on Friday. 

    Most of our Club's social runs or bike rides end up in cafes or pubs. I think that is the main reason some of them partake.

    I'm glad that you were amused by Dr. Garmin Connect's comments, and my reaction! I saw your mornings walk on Strava, and that it was 5k. Were you trying to better my time?🤣 You must have set off early to have needed your head torch. Just seen that you have rearranged your golf match to tomorrow.

    You are really multi tasking these days with walking, rambling, swimming, playing golf and book clubbing etc. 


    Today was a rest day, except for the usual Tuesday walk to the supermarket and back with 4 heavy bags of shopping. I noticed that I walked quicker than usual😀

    I booked the annual service for my gas boiler this afternoon and was very impressed with their response. The phone was answered almost immediately, and after the usual chat about Covid etc. was put through. They answered with my name and details before I spoke. The engineer will be coming on Thursday between 8am and 1pm. I had "fun" trying to add the visit to my new phones calendar with the times and an alert. I had to go through 3 screens to achieve this. On my previous phone, I could do it all on the same screen.
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Stopped by to say I had a text earlier to invite me to book my covid booster jab. Last time I waited before going online and by the time I did, all the appointments had gone. So this time I was on the case almost immediately. My first choice had gone but my second one was available so I booked my appointment and am off for my jab on Monday afternoon.

    And just to add the new U3A social cards group meeting is at our house on Thu afternoon. We're expecting three visitors as some other members have a clash with a lunch group that has just re-started. So I've just been into the loft to get a couple of extra dining room chairs out. And we've warned them we'll have some windows open to get the air circulating through our dining room - so they've no excuse for not wrapping up in enough layers :) 
  • Mel, seems like I'm not the only one to attract the attentions of badly trained dogs. So no a 'cards group' with your U3A friends. Your diary must be packed. What cards game to you play? I reckon I must be one of very few men of my age who has never played poker. I was once a bit of a contract bridge player though. I certainly could get dining chairs. And were they there I'm not sure I'd have the strength to get them down!

    Aqua, sorry to hear about the ankle. You've been putting in quite a shift of late with your running, so maybe it's a simple case of overdoing it? Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Are you on grandkids duties this week? We've only got one day of it and it feel like we've got off lightly. A bit like an elderly version of playing truant.

    HS, great news about your boiler service. As I've said before we were let down and the guy is returning in late November. I wager it'll be a lot colder by then, dammit. I'm even more impressed by your (and possibly Mel's) walking speed after I tried the same yesterday. I was going into town to meet up with some friends. I usually cycle but my bike was poorly so at the last minute I had to walk. I found out later it was (a mere) 2.6 miles. I had 45 minutes to get there and I did it with a couple of minutes to spare. But this was because I actually ran/walked it. Had I just walked it there's no way I could have done that it 45 minutes.

    I decided to do a few hill repeats today. Well, more of a short (150 metres approx.)sharp, slope. I managed about 3000 metres of this and a 35 minutes run overall getting there and back. The only measurement I used was 'perceived effort'. I perceived that the effort was very hard!
  • Hello from a newbie to the forum. I am 72 years old. For most of my 40s 50s and early 60s I was a pretty fit club cyclist. I jogged round my first half marathon when I was 65 as a dare from some work colleagues and really enjoyed it. The roads were getting too dangerous so I`ve swapped over to running completely albeit very late in life. I have a technical question which more experienced runners may be able to help with. Should I land towards the rear of the foot and then roll through the foot and push off with my toes? This gives a circular action a bit like ankling on the bike but a slower cadence. If I keep my feet more back under me and land forefoot and then after the heel has gone down I push off a flat foot (without rolling) I get a much faster cadence but don`t seem to push as far along the ground with each stride. I have a lot of stamina. but don`t want to try and push myself faster with the wrong action. Best wishes to you all
    Many thanks. Cheers IanR
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    WtnMel, glad to hear that you have now got a date for your booster jab!

    Good luck with the U3A social group meeting on Thursday. Lucky that you had enough chairs.


    JB, I was never any good playing poker or 3 card brag. My opponents could always tell when I was bluffing. I was quite good at cribbage though. My father in law taught me how to play.

    Thanks for the comments re the 5k walk. It was only a spur of the moment thing which I think I mentioned in a previous post. I was wearing boots, jeans and a coat, not ideal kit for a fast walk. I probably won't do another, but you never know.

    Well done for your hill reps session. You should find that hills help your stamina and pace.


    Welcome Ianr38, good to hear that you have taken up running after many years as a fit cyclist. I'm also too nervous nowadays to cycle, but used to in my younger days. The question you ask is a tricky one, as there is no concrete rule. There is forefoot, midfoot and heel striking, so it is difficult to advise. There are various factors such as weight, height etc. but I would think that with your technique of ankling, where you claw the pedal pedals round, forefoot striking might be favourite. This would enable you to push off with the forefoot. As you are a "newish runner," I suggest that you experiment with all 3 at an easy pace, and ascertain which is most appropriate. Don't try to increase your pace to soon, until you are comfortable with the method you have decided on. I hope this helps, but none of us on this forum are qualified Coaches, but are experienced runners and racers. I am a forefoot striker.


    A very good, but tough structured training session in the forest this morning with Sarah F. We ran a total of 6.47 miles, which included 5 sets of 6 x 30 seconds, with one minute jog recoveries. The quickest 30  seconds was the last and 30th, and was average pace 7.22 minute miling.
  • thank you hillstrider for your very helpful advice. When I started I think I used what would be known as a `shuffle`.Slow, but I could keep it going for a long time. I then tried to go a bit faster.I found it quite natural to lead with my knees and was very concerned with overstride, but was landing on the back of the foot and rolling. I then read that running shouldn`t be just a speeded up walking so picked up on the idea of leaning forward at the ankles and landing forefoot but this felt a bit like running on the spot and not getting anywhere!! I think I`ll work harder on the forefoot strike though as you suggest. My instinct is always to go with the fastest cadence and have my foot in contact with the ground as short a time as possible. Bike training for me was either spinning fast on the turbo or heavy duty weight training. I`m not sure how ideas of `power` or `strength` relate to running-there doesn`t seem anything like a pedal to heave at. I like to think I`m strong and fit for my age but my best efforts are only getting me round on a long run at about the 12 minute mile mark and I`m (maybe too ) desperate to recreate the kind of flat out long audax rides and time trials I used to do on the bike. It will all take a lot of hard work-I`m just fed up with being overtaken by people out walking dogs!!
    Cheers
    IanR
  • Hi Ian, and welcome to the thread, I hope you’ll become a regular and chat with us about running and anything else that takes your fancy🙂. As you’ll see if you read back over the posts on here we don’t just talk about running, although obviously that’s our main interest. 
    HS is probably the most experienced runner on here, but for what it’s worth my advice would be to go with whatever feels natural to you (always providing that isn’t giving rise to any injuries). It’s often a mistake to try to “correct” what you imagine is the wrong running style, there really isn’t a perfect style. What’s in fashion one week is denounced the following week. You can get any amount of conflicting advice in running publications and websites, you have to find what works for you. Your pace will improve in time, you just need a bit of patience (and the right training sessions - HS can advise you further on those).
    Good luck - and enjoy your running.
  • Good afternoon everyone, 

    Ian, please let us know how you get on with your next run, and what foot strike you used.

    I ran a steady 6.52 miles in the forest this morning, wearing my trail shoes. I'm definitely a forefoot striker. 
    I took some photos with my new phone. 
  • Afternoon all,

    WtnMel: I can't believe it was as long ago as last December when your knee problems stopped you running. At least you are keeping (very) active with walking, swimming and golf. I suppose your gardening activities are taking a back seat at the moment now the weather is closing in. Looking forward to your golf report, and to hearing how your u3a card group meeting went (I hope it wasn't too cold with the windows open). 

    JB: No grandparenting duties for us this week, our granddaughter is away with her mother so we've had a quiet week for a change. Our grandsons (5 and 2) visited a couple of times with their parents. The first time was to bring a cardboard coffin (yes really) that they put in their garden each Halloween. It had got damaged in the wind this year so grandad was given the job of fixing it. I can't understand the morbid enjoyment children get these days from Halloween, when I was young our parents used to hollow  out a turnip (not pumpkin), carve a face on it, put a candle inside, hang string around the turnip. Once it got dark we'd have a walk around a couple of streets (with parent) proudly carrying the turnip lantern with flickering candle inside - which inevitably blew out in the wind and took a lot of muttering to get it lit again with a match. There were no gardens decorated with witches, ghosts, skeletons or dismembered limbs as there are these days, nor did we knock on doors and expect sweets. I think I must be turning into a "grumpy old woman"  :D
    Well done on your hill repeats - is this your new addiction?

    HS: It's surprising that after all these years you are still finding parts of the forest that you haven't run in before. It's nice to find these new routes though, it makes sessions more enjoyable when you are discovering new places. I hope your boiler service went ok today. That sounded like a very challenging forest session yesterday, including those 5 sets of 6 x 30 seconds, to finish with 7.22 minute miling is amazing, particularly as it was on your last rep when you must have been feeling it by then. Lovely photos as usual. I went for a walk today and took for some photos of my own, I'll post a selection later.

    Speaking of hill repeats, on Wednesday I went to the park to test out the ankle again. i took it slowly and once there ran up and down the hill five times, I could just start to feel a bit of a twinge so ran back home. For some reason, even though the return running was on the flat my ankle and foot became more and more painful, until in the end I was almost limping. I know, I know - I should have taken my own advice and just rested until Saturday, but I couldn't resist a run out. The consequence is a slightly puffy and sore ankle. I did some dreaded tennis ball therapy and also iced, in the hopes of undoing the damage. No luck, still sore. So yesterday I did nothing, just sat about. Today I couldn't stay in any longer so went for a walk along the Derwent Walk. From an ankle point of view it wasn't great, but nevertheless I really enjoyed the walk, and it lifted my spirits a lot. I strolled along for a couple of miles or so before turning back. I took the time to look around me, which I don't normally do when running. I love autumn, seeing the trees change colour and the misty light. I took some photos and will post them in a separate post. 
  • I don’t know why these are all sideways, I’m sorry.
    The first shows the platform at Shotley Bridge station (on the right) as it is today, the second has a picture of how it used to look.
    The third photo shows my “creaking tree” it leans further and further over every time I run past, and creaks ominously.
    The last one is just some horses in a field.
  • Hi all, great photos from Aqua and HS. Around here the trees seem to be 'turning' a little later than usual at this time of year. The weather definitely seems to have turned, though, with some strong winds and heavy rain - just in time for our grandkids visit. (Everyone seemed to have gone to Tescos, including us this morning but the roads were very empty which just goes to show how many children must be dropped off to school these days.

    Sorry to hear of Aqua's continued ankle probs but nice to hear that the walk cheered you up. As for Halloween I don't remember any 'celebrations' when I was a lad. Perhaps we were too god-fearing on the south coast (afraid not!).
     
    Bit of dog walking yesterday and a morning of dog minding tomorrow (=no Parkrun: greater love hath no man than to sacrifice this!)

    A warm welcome to Ian. Great that you want to try to get into running and interesting that you have a background as a serious cyclist. You've already had some good advice. My thoughts are that

    1. it's pretty difficult to 'learn' to run. I'm only speaking from experience but on the rare occasions I've tried it I seem lapse back into my 'natural' style.
    Of all the variables that affect your pace I suspect this in the one with minimal impact and
    maximum difficulty.

    2. hence, don't worry about shuffling. I'm a shuffler and can put in some decent speeds over a distance. (I admit perhaps it's a bit of a 'super-shuffle'.) Shuffling is pretty efficient - but can lead to some nasty trips.

    Really looking forward to hearing of your progress, Ian.

    Have literally just heard that my son (34) has just passed his exams and is well on the way to becoming a financial planner. I'm always in the market for good news, especially in these trouble times.
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    Aquarius, I'm not sure of the acreage of the New Forest, but it is definitely large. It's surprising though how many different routes we can find, and still not be that far from home. We do occasionally drive to a start point, but don't like polluting the atmosphere. 

    The boiler service went really well thank you. The engineer phoned to say that he was on the way, and arrived just after 8am. This was perfect, as it meant that I could go for a run after he had finished. He was more thorough than the engineer the previous year, taking about 45 minutes. He said that there were no problems and that everything was working well.

    That was a very tough session on Wednesday but we enjoyed it. 

    I'm glad that you liked the photos, and thank you for yours, which are very nice. A shame that they came out sideways, I wonder how that happened? 

    Sorry to hear that your hill reps have aggravated your ankle again. Glad that you enjoyed the Derwent walk. It's always good to get out in the fresh air, which does help to lift the spirits.


    JB, glad that you liked Aquarius and my photos. I'm not sure whether I'll run with my phone again, because when I ran with it yesterday taking the photos, I found when I got home that it hadn't synced with Garmin or Strava. Thankfully by turning my watch off and then on again, it synced.

    We've found the same with the roads being much quieter during school holidays. We have to cross the busy A326 for many of our runs to enter the forest. It takes ages to cross on school days.

    I'm sure that we didn't have Halloween when I was a youngster. Didn't it originate in the States?

    Hope you didn't have any problems with other dogs whilst you were dog walking?

    Congratulations to your son for passing his exams. You must be very proud.


    Today is a rest day for me, so I drove into the village for a hair cut. I've probably mentioned previously that my hair dresser is a runner, so we chat about running, as well as other topics, putting the world to rights.

    I thought Ed Milliband did an excellent job in PM's Question Time, standing in for Sir Keir, who was isolating. He made Bo Jo squirm!🥴


  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Afternoon all,

    Back after a few days away from RW so I'll do my best to catch up ..

    HS - well done re that forest run with the Sarah's and Jane .. and I see you were wading through mud again. Well done for managing to walk quicker back from the supermarket with the shopping bags. Glad to hear the boiler service went off without any problems. I think we've always had Halloween here in the UK - it's the 'Trick or Treat' aspect that is the American import and which I detest. I'm always up for anyone who makes BoJo squirm!

    JB - the social cards group came about from talking at the coffee & chat group as we thought it might be a good idea for the winter months. We don't play anything where too much brain-power or planning is involved. So for instance, we play 'Plonk' where you are dealt 5 cards and you have to follow the number or suit and try to be first to put all your cards down. Except some cards (A,8,2) mean you reverse direction, miss a go, pick up 2 cards respectively. As I said, it's just a social thing really and none of us want to go much beyond this sort of game. Though we did try 'Newmarket' on Thu and I guess we may 'progress' to rummy or similar games eventually. Well done re the hill repeats and your 'perceived effort' whilst doing so :) Good news re your son passing his exams.

    Aquarius - I've not been in the garden for a week or so but will have to next week as it's garden waste collection day next Friday. I haven't forgotten I need to prune our brambles and I'm sure Margaret will direct me to anything else that needs chopping back. Call me and Margaret old grumps but we ignore Halloween and if anyone knocks on the door, we ignore them. But one advantage of being set back from the road is most youngsters can't be bothered to walk all the way up our drive so visitors are few and far between. Sorry to hear your ankle reacted badly to your test run. I'm glad to hear you managed to get out for a walk - and thanks for posting the photos .. I've also no idea why they came out sideways.

    Ian - welcome to the forum. Hope you find us friendly and stick around. I've not run since last December when a knee problem stopped me - I have visions of starting running again and will do the couch to 5k. But at present I need to get back into a regular routine of stretching and strengthening exercises to build up my leg muscles (lack of strength and a general lack of flexibility being the causes of my knee issue).

    HS mentioned his speed walk and when I was logging this morning's walk I thought I would look at the benchmarks league Fetch is promoting. I think I've been managing a decent pace lately and when I looked at the 5k walking table for 65+ men, I am in 2nd place as there's some bloke called Hillstrider who is top of the table ;) I will struggle to beat that time.

    I played golf with Alan on Wed (the hastily re-arranged match to miss the rain). In the event it did drizzle a bit but it was nothing to worry about. I was trying to put into practise what I learned at the player development day - and results were mixed. I got out of one bunker first time - but later on, it took me three attempts. I fluffed several drives off the tee and topped a few iron shots. But my putting was better. I was doing okay up to the 16th hole and was only 6 shots adrift of Alan. But on the 17th hole, I hit into a ditch, picked the ball out and dropped it and then promptly hit into the ditch a second time. I only just got the ball over the ditch on my 3rd attempt and fluffed a couple more shots. Then to add insult to injury, I hit into the ditch a bit further up the fairway. I lost six shots on that hole!!

    I walked again early this morning before breakfast and was glad to have my head-torch - it was windy and I had heavy rain on the way round so felt very virtuous when I was back home in dry clothes having my breakfast. I've also done all my stretching and strengthening exercises today as well - go me :)

    We only had two visitors (Rose & Brenda) for the social cards group yesterday, so it was just the four of us. The other lady who was planning to come (Chris) sent a Whatsapp message to say she's caught covid so will be self-isolating for two weeks :(
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    I saw HS had a very wet hilly fartlek run today. We had similar very wet and windy weather here this morning (almost biblical proportions of rain coming down) and I was so wet when I got back from my walk, I had to peel my clothes off on the front doormat to avoid dripping everywhere. The wet clothes are waiting to go in the washing machine and my trainers have been stuffed with newspaper to try and dry them out. And now when I look out, the wind has dropped and it's sunny! Still .. another 3mls walking done and dusted.
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    WtnMel, thanks! I think I was mixing Halloween with Trick and Treat. I wonder who that hillstrider fellow is. I thought he was a runner🤣

    Your golf match on Wednesday with Alan on Wednesday sounds a bit like "hit and miss!"

    Well done for your early morning walk before breakfast yesterday.

    I hope you enjoyed the social cards meet up!

    I see that you walked this morning in heavy rain, but that it stopped when you  got home, the same happened to me after my 10k fartlek road run. 


    Don't forget that the clock's go back an hour this evening. An extra hour in bed, but dark by 4pm.
  • Good morning everyone,

    The weather this morning has been horrendous! Torrential rain, and gail force gusts of wind.
    I decided not to run, which shows how bad it was. It's brightened up now and the rain has stopped. I also woke up with a back ache. Don't know what has caused it, perhaps the extra hour in bed🤣
  • Hi all. Will keep this short and sweet: I've gone and crocked myself.

    Not racing, not training, not rowing, not gardening, not doing silly weights exercises. Nope, none of the obvious candidates. This was done while 'racing' my 4 year old grandson up and down his house. No falling over or muscle strains, but when I woke up the day after I couldn't stand up: my heel was so tender that I couldn't put any weight on it. I can only think that the hardwood floors + wearing no footwear somehow buggered up (technical term) my heel.
    So I'll join Mel and Aqua on the crocks bench. Ice should help.

    What makes it worse is that he kept winning!
  • Morning all,

    Oh dear, we do all seem to be in the wars don’t we? Injuries all round I see: HS: painful back, JB sore heel, my dodgy ankle - there’s only WtnMel who seems to be fighting back from injury, it must be all these stretching and strengthening exercises!

    JB: Congratulations to your son for passing his exams, it’s nice to hear some good news for a change. Bad news about your heel though - has the ice helped? I know how frustrating it is to be sidelined with injury.

    WtnMel: Gosh, I’d forgotten about the Newmarket card game, I can vaguely remember playing it when younger, but can’t remember now what the rules are. I wonder who that Hillstrider could be who is sitting on top of that walking league table for 65+ men? :D Well done for persevering with your walks despite the horrendous weather. Pity about your golf match, but there’s always the next time (providing the course isn’t waterlogged with all this rain).

    HS: Thanks for the timely reminder about the clocks going back. Sorry to hear about your back, I hope its better now. You were wise to give running a miss in view of the horrible weather we’ve been having, I think this week is supposed to be better down your way.

    My ankle more or less held out for the XC on Saturday. I surprised myself in how cautious I was when we set off, I couldn’t shake off the idea that I was going to go over again on that ankle so I really felt I was running in “old woman” mode.  Having said that, miles 1 and 3 (the easiest bits of the 2 lap course) were a little quicker because they were mostly flat. Miles 2 and 4 were dreadful, with hills that were challenging not only for their steepness but for the difficulty in getting a safe foothold (a runner next to me was on all fours at one point). The problem was the lack of grip due to mud and stones. I hadn’t the strength to run up them even if I felt confident to try, so I decided to be sensible instead of foolhardy.  The funniest part of the race was the two muddy downhill sections.  You came across the first one almost before you saw it, with the second one shortly after. The reason it was so funny was due to the reaction of the other women runners. I’ve never heard so many screams and squeals of laughter all at once in a race. Normally I would be a little bit stuffy about girly screaming in a serious race, but this was so spontaneous I couldn’t help smiling to myself. I think a lot of the people around me must have been fairly new to XC this season and hadn’t come across such a steep technical descent before and it caught them by surprise. The only way to tackle it really was just to go for it, flat out. The mud was so thick and deep that if you dithered and tried to pick a safe line you’d probably end up flat on your back (as some did). I was pleased to see later that day on Facebook that a spectator had videoed the whole thing, it was really funny. On a more serious note though at different parts of the course I saw injured runners being “quad-biked” away for treatment, usually as a result of falls. Which just goes to show that anyone can mis-place a foot and come a cropper if they lose concentration. I’ve found a couple of XC photos of me on Facebook, which I’ve copied and will post on here.
    I haven’t done any other running since Saturday because I’m keeping everything crossed that my ankle will be okay for tomorrow night’s 5k (our club’s next Grand Prix race at the coast). 
  • Some nice flat sections on good ground. 
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    JB, oh dear, what an unusual way to get injured. You definitely won't be trying barefoot running. Hope you are not out of action for too long.

    Aquarius, I wish I knew who hillstrider is, because I would buy him a pint🍻

    My back is ok thanks. It was only an ache when I got out of bed, and soon wore off.

    The weather was much better today, bright and sunny, although the wind got up and the rain started again this afternoon. There was just Sarah H and I running this morning, as Sarah F is away for 2 weeks on a Cruise Ship! We did an easy pace 10k on a hilly road course.

    Good that your ankle held up during Saturdays x country. It sounds like a good "old fashioned" course, unlike many of todays which can be flat as pancakes. You had the right idea running downhill, just like the experienced fell runners. Sorry to hear that some runners were injured and had to be quad biked away for treatment.

    I hope your ankle will be ok for tomorrows 5k, and that you run a good time.
  • Just seen your pics Aquarius, very good!
    They didn't appear on my laptop when I posted earlier. 
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Evening all,

    HS - I think there must be an identical twin of Hillstrider who does walking. Thankfully the golf last week was mostly hit and not too much miss. I see you gave Sunday's run a miss due to the torrential rain. And I see the backache was a short-term thing. I'd remembered about the clocks going back (it's normally on the 4th Sat in Oct but this year it was a week later than usual for some reason). I hope you told Sarah F to do laps of the deck of the cruise ship to burn off all the extra calories she's bound to consume.

    JB - oh dear re you having crocked yourself while 'entertaining' your grandson by racing around the house. It reminds me of when I crocked my ankle when we had our grand-daughters to stay several years ago - but that was fairly dramatic as it involved me falling off some play equipment in an adventure playground.

    Aquarius - yep, you're right .. I still seem to be fighting fit. I did go over on my right ankle a couple of mornings ago but I caught myself in time so there was no damage done. I'd forgotten the rules of Newmarket - I won't list them all here but Rose who runs the cards group, printed them out for us. Rose also went to the bank and got £1's worth of 1p's for us to use when placing our bets. It's another simple game entailing following the cards which is the sort of thing we want to play. Glad to hear your ankle just about held out for your XC race. The terrain does sound quiet challenging if a fellow runner was on all fours going uphill. And the downhill parts sound challenging too - I think I'd be worried about going over on something like that even if I had trail shoes. Sorry - but you mentioning smiling at lots of ladies screaming made me think of how a lot of ladies (and men too) react at the skinny-dip I go to when they've stripped off and start running down the beach .. and then again when they reach the water and find out how cold the water is! Thanks for posting those photos - it's always nice to see friends in action.

    I walked this morning - just 2.5mls because I had swum 28 lengths (700 metres) at yesterday evening's swim.

    This afternoon I drove into Cheltenham, parked up and then walked to the bank to pay in a cheque and get £20 in £1 coins (for parking machines), to W H Smith to get a 2022 diary and some refills for my Parker pen and then to M&S to get some socks and some more of the tea we like (Luxury Gold). The reason I was in Cheltenham in the first place was because I had booked my covid booster jab so once I'd dropped off the shopping in the car I walked to the fire station where the jabs were being done. It turned out they were offering flu jabs as well so it was a case of covid in the left arm and flu in the right. I'll now wait and see if there are any after-effects from either jab over the next day or two.

    BTW - I think one of the ladies I used to run with on Thursday morning's was at the fire station at the same time as me. Given the way no-one, including her, appeared to notice when I stopped running last December because of my knee problem, I studiously ignored her and wasn't going to give her the chance to say hello and pretend to be friendly.
  • Aqua, the photo depicted a lovely looking course but clearly looks were deceptive (as they so often are!) and it was a tough and hazardous course. Very well done for coming through it unscathed. I'm sure experience counted (as it so often does!) in negotiating the various challenges. Excellent stuff and should set you up well for your club 5K. (A southern softy like me would take one look at that course , make his excuses and disappear!)

    Mel, good swimming. I guess it's 25 metre pool? Great to get 2 jabs at the same time as long as there are no after-effects. Our booster is a few weeks away, I think. I've driven through Cheltenham a few times but never stopped. It looks a lovely place. although I suspect that parking is a challenge (in the summer at least)? My sister used to live in Fairford - and I once did a cricket tour in Cirencester, which was rather nice. Lovely part of the world.

    HS, as our most experienced 'member' I wonder if you've had Plantar Fasciitis, as that's what I think I've got. I seem to have all the classic symptoms the worse of which is the pain as your foot hits the floor if you have to get up in the middle of the night (as is not unknown for men of a certain age!).

    Anyway, I'm hitting with ice and an orthotic. It's going to be a slow process and I'll have to accept that I'll lose running fitness. Having said that I did 10K on the exercise bike, 1500 metres of intervals on the rower, 60 squats in a minute and 100 press-ups in under 2 minutes - so I'm not quite falling apart (yet).

    However, have retreated into hermit status somewhat!
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    WtnMel, good that the golf was more hit than miss.

    Yes, Sarah has said that she would be doing laps round the decks, and also working out in the gyms.

    Well done for your 28 lengths of the pool , and your walk yesterday.

    I must get myself a diary for next year. I try to write something every day. Does your Parker Pen take cartridges? Mine uses ink in a bottle. 

    I hope you don't have any after effects from your two jabs. Mine was a painful arm, the one that had the Covid booster. 

    Good for you, ignoring the lady in the fire station.


    No running today, being a Tuesday, but have done a lot of jobs, including defrosting the fridge.
  • Good afternoon everyone, except for the unwelcome spammer above!

    JB, our posts crossed! Thankfully, I've never had plantar fasciitis, but unfortunately I am a man of certain age that has to get up in the middle of the night.😧
    Several of our club runners have suffered with it, and it does take quite a time to recover. It might be wise to see a physio if the pain persists, who can advise stretches etc.
    Amazing, all those activities you did, in lieu of running, so you won't lose too much running fitness. As I've said before, my physio recommended cycling or spinning after my knee injury, and I went to spin classes twice a week for 2 years. 


    I ran 5k this morning on roads with Sara H. This was my first 5k for many weeks, and I have certainly lost some of my pace. Partly due, I suppose, to the many weeks of marathon training, and consequent tapering. In the circumstances, we were fairly pleased with our 30.07. When Sarah F returns from her cruise, we will start upping the speed work again.
Sign In or Register to comment.