New Mature Runners Thread

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  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    edited November 2021
    Evening all,

    Aquarius - I'm aware you don't log on to Strava much so although I leave you kudos when I'm on there and see what you've been doing, I don't get offended if you don't respond in kind. So no worries on that score ..

    JB - I remember you saying before you had been considering off-loading some of your books. Maybe the NT would take them off your hands? Might be worth enquiring and if so, having a little run out to your nearest property with a second-hand bookshop. Sorry - had to chuckle at you needing to get out of the house while the plumber is there - presume the two are connected? :) I expect you have lost some fitness over those three weeks - whenever I've gone back to running after an injury I've always found it hard work to get back to where I was before fitness-wise. Glad to hear your foot still isn't giving you any problems.

    We decided to move an old low chest from the conservatory to the landing - mainly because Margaret's son was here for lunch so we thought we'd borrow his muscles. The chest has been superseded by a better-looking, more modern chest. But the old chest will still be useful upstairs. Emptying the chest prior to moving it I discovered I had three old pairs of running shoes and a pair of trainers in there. I obviously assumed they might "come in handy". But let's be honest, you only need one spare pair of old trainers/running shoes for gardening or decorating. So I've kept the youngest, cleanest, least-mileage running shoes and the others have been thrown in the bin (before I changed my mind!).

    I mentioned I was seeing the manager of the leisure centre this lunchtime. It was a very good and useful meeting - not only have they agreed my swim club can start running 2hr sessions from January, they've also said we can hire the small pool as well as the main pool, sauna & steam-room. There had been a problem providing adequate lifeguards for our session to keep an eye on both pools and they said they could only cover the main pool. But they seem to have got over that problem now. This is great news - some of our members weren't planning to come back to the swim sessions unless the small pool was also available (they prefer to wallow in the small pool rather than plough up and down in the main pool).
  • john bateman 6john bateman 6 ✭✭✭
    edited November 2021
    Mel, thanks for the tip on offloading books. I'm not going to go for the 'all a one go' strategy now - just a drip-feed to our local charity chops. Indeed, just back from the local 'Samaritans' shop and took the opportunity to add

    a) some toys that the grandkids have grown out of/got bored with and

    b) several pairs of trousers which no longer fit me. I'm one of nature's 33 inch waists so at any given time have some 32 inch ones that are too tight and some 34 inch ones that are too loose. So the 34 inchers went to the charity shop - which almost certainly means that I'll put on a stone over Xmas and then wonder why none of my remaining trousers will fit me!

    The shop is on the edge of the council estate where I grew up and I took the opportunity to have a wander around today. I couldn't say that it evoked many blissful memories but it wasn't terrible by any means. 
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    JB, yes, it was Tommy Farr the boxer. 

    The windfall has to be shared between 17 relatives, plus the solicitor and taxman will probably take a chunk. My sister and I dispatched our documentation yesterday by tracker, and both arrived at the solicitors this morning. I hope the others are as quick with their responses. I hope that it is a mistake that Mrs JB owes the taxman so much money.

    I'm glad that your foot is feeling much better now. That 5k time is amazing, you certainly don't seem to have lost much fitness. I don't think that you could have had pf, as that takes many weeks to clear up.

    Waist sizes are a bit iffy. I'm a medium which in some items fit up to 32" and others 33".


    Aquarius, Sarah had no idea that the Athens Marathon was being held on that day, so was quite an experience to run some of it. She said that it was definitely much warmer than back in the UK. 

    My sister and I are keeping our fingers crossed that our shares of the windfall will be good. If all the relatives submit their documentation as quickly as us, then it shouldn't take too long to sort out the payments. The house has been sold, so the solicitor knows how much is "in the pot." 

    Well done for your steady state 5 miler. The training schedule's warm up and cool down distances do seem rather unusual, but seem to be paying off. Good that your ankle/foot seem to be ok now. I've been "liking" your strava entries, but haven't commented on them.


    WtnMel, I know nothing about American soccer, but draft picks sounds like a good system.

    Hopefully it won't take long now sorting out the windfalls, as the house has been sold. I believe that is what usually takes the longest. There were 3 keen bidders for it, so I'm assuming they got the asking price, or perhaps even more. My sister thinks that the buyer will "do it up," and resell it at a massive profit. It has a lot of land and is at the bottom of a private road. It's on the Isle of Wight by the way, so could have been bought to turn into a holiday home.

    Glad you enjoyed your walk round the NT Baddesley Clinton, and didn't burn your gums this time on the hot cheese in the pasty.

    Michael Palins diaries should be an interesting read.

    That's great that your meeting with the Leisure Centre Manager went so well! I'm looking forward to seeing your swimming activities on Strava.🏊‍♂️


    No running for me today, so not much to report. I've booked my annual service and MoT for my car for the 9th December. They pick up and return the car which is good, and saves me the bother. I haven't done many miles since Covid, as the majority of my driving is to races, and I've been avoiding them.


  • HS,  fingers crossed for that windfall. always a bit of a shame though when a house is sold off as a holiday let if not surprising on the IoW.
    On the issue of finances, our central heating bill was well short of what I'd budgeted and more than makes up for that nasty tax bill. So nice to have 'proper' CH after our crappy 40 year old boiler. We now have radiators in our dining room and can use it for more that the summer months!
    Resumed Parkrun today. Huge field at our local one with lots of 'outsiders'; so the standard was higher than usual. I managed 21.06 which was pretty remarkable given my lay-off. Hence I was more than happy with an 80.25% WAVA, although it only got me 2nd place in my age category and  (to one of those pesky outsiders!) and it was only the 10th best WAVA overall (pesky outsiders again, mostly).

    You are right I think: it wasn't PF that I had. It was some sort of inflammation of the heel pad. Still nasty: 3 weeks ago I could hardly walk, which makes today's run even more pleasing.
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    JB, thanks, we may be wrong that the property could be turned into a holiday home, or let, but it is a possibility. 

    That's good that your central heating bill was much lower than expected, and makes up for the nasty tax bill.

    Well done for todays parkrun, that's amazing to get another 80%+ so soon after your injury. I've got nowhere near that percentage since my knee injury in 2017.


    Aquarius, I gave you some duff information about Sarah's "Marathon." It was the Barcelona marathon. I don't know how I got it mixed up. Must be old age😒


    In my previous post I forgot to mention my earlier runs. On Wednesday, Sarah F and I did a hill reps session in the forest. It comprised 3 hills, 5 minutes on each, with two minutes recoveries between each hill. On Thursday, I did a solo hilly 10k road run on very achy legs from Wednesday hills. Today I ran 6.53 miles in the forest with Mike, who is recovering from a calf strain. The run included a very slow run round one of the 5k courses.

    I'm watching the Who's "Tommy" on Channel 11, but finding it very boring. They are nothing like they were in their hay day. I suppose people of my age are lucky to have seen all the "super groups" when they were at their peak. I believe that the Rollin' Stones are the only band still going that are anything like they were in the past.
  • Thanks HS. Some good consistent running from you. The trees are really 'turning' now so I suspect the forest looks beautiful. I remember seeing Tommy at a cinema in Leicester Square back in the day. I confess I loved it. I thought it was Ken Russell at his over the top best. 

    So today, was a bit 'different'. I was a bit 'spent' after the parkrun but last night I realised that there was a run on today in Crowborough, on the East Sussex/Kent border. It's one I did in 1989 and was - given the course - probably my best ever 10K. Now the course has changed and there's a 5k option. I hadn't realised you could sign up on the day, so once I saw you could and on a whim I decided to go in for the 5k. Unfortunately Mrs JB (and the car) was overnight baby sitting duty but fortunately the duty was en route to the event. So I thought if I cycled over and picked up a lift it would work out.

    Hence at 7am I was on my bike (it was very cold!), and biked 10 quite hilly miles and then by car to the event. It was a slightly different course to the one I remembered. It was about 3.5k steepish downhill and then an absolute beast of a hill on the way back. At least on the 5k I only had to do it once; the poor devils on the 10k had it twice - and there were some very good runners walking it the first time around.

    So I finished totally knackered and in 23.11 (the course was a 100 metres - of steep hill - too long) and that gave me 4th place and 3rd male. I think this was because most of the good runners were doing the 10k but I was still quite proud of a 3rd place - especially as I was (I think) the oldest competitor in the 5k field.

    Thus I've now got a ghastly, garish trophy on my shelf.

  • Good afternoon everyone.

    I almost got around to posting on here on Saturday but time was short, and I’m afraid it was a toss up between ringing my sister and posting, and as I hadn’t spoken to my sister for 6 months (where does the time go?) it had to be the phone call. On Sunday we had our supermarket delivery in the morning and went to our grandson’s birthday party in the afternoon, so no spare time then either. Anyway no more blathering on or I’ll run out of time again and have to go to cook the dinner (Sunday dinner, which was postponed due to the party).

    Right, time for a quick catch up of your posts (heavens - is it really six days since my last post?) - 

    WtnMel: Glad to see you got to Baddesley Clinton, and had good weather. That Python book sounds a bargain, I hope you enjoy it. I remember looking around a NT property some years ago (can’t remember where now) and coming across a small book sale in the dining room of the house. To my delight there was a copy of a book I’d been trying to get hold of for some time but had no luck as it was out of print. It was an absolute bargain price too. Isn’t it funny, I can clearly see that table with the book on it, but I’ve no recollection of which property I was in. Great news that the leisure centre has agreed to 2 hr sessions for your swim club , plus use of the small pool, sauna and steam room. 

    JB: Good to see that you are back running again - and still as speedy as ever, and as exteme as ever I see. Not content with getting a good parkrun time, the following day you cycle for 10 hilly miles then do another 5k, and a hilly one to boot. You really are a glutton for punishment. Well done for being the 3rd male finisher and being awarded that “ghastly garish” trophy (any chance of a photo?). 

    HS: Seventeen is a lot of people to be sharing with, but I’m keeping fingers crossed for you that you’ll still end up with a nice sum. I see you are as consistent as ever with your good mix of training sessions. I expect the forest must be getting quite muddy at this time of the year, which adds to the difficulty of your runs. Do you plan your sessions well in advance or just decided more or less on the day what the session will be?

    I’m still sticking more or less to my Garmin training plan and had a “supersets” session on Friday that consisted of 200m flat out, 600 fast, then 1 mile fast. That was the idea anyway, but nothing much in the tank that day, but at least I gave it a go. The following day was a tempo run, but I decided to use a route that starts with a gently incline then goes on to a steep hill. I think it only flattens out after 1.25 miles so that rather slowed me up and took away the “tempo” element of the run, but again I felt I had at least done the distance required so was happy enough with that. Unfortunately my foot was sore again. Today I repeated the hilly run route, again with a rather sore foot. Although I’d waited until midday before venturing out it was still frosty and slippery in places so I had a good excuse to take it easy. 

    Time to get the veg on :o - more tomorrow if I can fit it in between Pilates and the house survey our buyer has requested. 

  • john bateman 6john bateman 6 ✭✭✭
    edited November 2021
    Aqua, thanks for the support. Tried to post a picture of me + trophy but couldn't do it. Believe me, you've not missed much! (I'm not quite sure which looks worse: the trophy or me.) I'm in awe of your discipline in following that Garmin plan especially as it is so prescriptive and tricky. The efforts of Sunday have left me with a bit of a tweak at the back of my knee but nothing serious I think................
  • Afternoon all,

    This mornings run, Pilates and house buyers survey are out the way, so I'm now relaxing with a cup of tea.

    I've also managed to sort out our house and car insurances, so the next job is thinking about which Christmas presents to buy for the family. I find this gets more difficult every year. Our grandchildren have too many toys already, our children (now adults) likewise, although in their case it's gadgets, clothes etc. No one actually "needs" anything, so it always seems like it's a case of buying for the sake of buying. At breakfast this morning I was telling our granddaughter what Christmas was like when we were children. We had a coal fire and I can remember writing my Christmas list for Santa which was then thrown up the chimney. I always believed the list made it's way safely to Santa but I expect in reality it just burnt away as the heat from the fire took it up the chimney, just as well it was always a short list or the chimney might have caught on fire! The purpose of these reminiscences was to point out that a Christmas list doesn't need to be 20 pages long, a modest half dozen items is more than enough. 

    My run this morning was a nice slow one (an "easy run" of 3 miles was called for on my training plan, and I wasn't going to argue with that). The weather was slightly milder than yesterday, no frost or icy puddles but still a bit chilly. Looking at the forecast for the remainder of the week we look set for wintery weather and possible gales, not what I want to hear for this Saturday's XC. Before then I've a "goal pace repeats" session, which I'll do on Thursday (usual warm up and cool down miles with 3 x 8 minutes @ 9.39-9.59 pace, with 3.5 minutes recovery between each set, as JB says it's very prescriptive).

    Considering this is a new build house (4 years old) I was surprised at how long the survey took today. I thought the guy would be finished in about half an hour, not one and a half hours as it turned out. As we still haven't found anywhere ourselves to move to yet - houses at the coast being in very short supply - I hope this isn't all for nothing. I can't help feeling that at some point our buyer will find an alternative property where the sellers are ready to move straight away, and he'll drop out of our sale. Putting myself in his shoes I wouldn't blame him if he did, in fact I've let him know that if push came to shove we would understand if he needed to do that. At the moment though there isn't much available in our area, so unless that changes we still have a chance of finding a property for ourselves in the meantime. 

    JB: Oh dear, the curse of the New Mature Runners Thread strikes again. What is it with us and knees? There's always at least one of us with a knee problem (cue North East joke - "it's nee problem" ) maybe I shouldn't have bothered, as jokes go it's not up there with the best is it? I hope in your case though it really is a case of nee problem, you've had your spell of being crocked. Hopefully a day or two's rest will put things right again.

    Pity about the photo. 
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Afternoon all,

    JB - well done with the de-cluttering of toys and clothes as well as books. Having recently de-cluttered my running stuff, socks and running shoes, my trousers (of which there appear to be many) are next to be sorted through. I'll then move on to shirts, t-shirts etc. It must have been nice to be back at parkrun, even if one of the incomers took 1st place in your age group! Well done re your 5k race you entered on a whim and cycled to - and as with Aquarius getting a prize at her race, well done re your 3rd place trophy.

    HS - I guess with 17 relatives in the frame for bequests, it could take some time to finalise everything. Well done with all the recent training. I pick and choose with the programmes on Ch 11 (Sky Arts) and although some are good with old 'rockers' reminiscing, some I record I give up watching as they prove to be a tad boring.

    Aquarius - I see you postponed your Sunday roast to Monday. We moved ours to Sat because we were in Warwick on Sun (grand-daughter's 13th birthday). So we spent most of Sat confused as to which day it was as a result. Well done re your recent runs but sorry to hear your foot is sore again.

    We had a trip to Ross-on-Wye on Fri to pick up a light fitting we've had rewired (it was literally on the blink). We drove into the centre of Ross while we were in the area but there was nothing really of note to see to be honest. When we parked we both remarked on a slight burning smell coming from the car but didn't really think any more about it. But on the way back along the M50 a warning light came on about the engine temperature. I slowed down a bit and it went out (phew!). I drove the rest of the way home a bit gingerly and checked under the bonnet later. The oil level was fine but the coolant level was way below the 'Min' mark of the expansion tank. I had to go to the local garage to get some antifreeze and it took 3 pints of antifreeze to get it back to midway between Min and Max levels where it should be.

    I walked yesterday morning and it was so cold, my fingers went numb despite wearing gloves. I've had a more leisurely walk today as I parked in Pittville Park and then walked into town to see my financial adviser for my yearly review and then walked back again. The investments are still doing okay and I'm still solvent btw - so that's okay! :)

    I'm having my hair cut early tomorrow morning and then we're going to go back to Croome (NT). Partly because it's a nice place to walk - but mainly because we're having a family get-together on 11th Dec and the NT shop at Croome had a good selection of things I can buy so I should be able to get the family's xmas presents in one go (the way I prefer to do my xmas shopping!).
  • hillstriderhillstrider ✭✭✭
    edited November 2021
    Good afternoon everyone,

    JB, yes the forest looks really lovely now, with the trees changing colour. I don't know whether the trees have shed more leaves than, usual, or whether the Council haven't bothered to collect up the leaves from the pavements. They are nearly ankle deep in leaves, which makes a nice rustling noise when walking through them. 

    Well done for Sundays 5k, after a 10 mile cycle ride to get there, and 3rd male. Your work outs on the rowing machine must be helping your endurance, and strengthening your core!

    I hope the tweak behind your knee is nothing to worry about.


    Aquarius, yes 17 is a lot of people to share the house sale proceeds with, and after the solicitors have  taken their share, there might not be as much as we had first thought. Never mind, something is better than nothing.

    The forest isn't as muddy as expected so far this year, so we are making the most of it. We followed a16 week training schedule for Octobers marathons, but we haven't devised a new plan yet. We will tailor our training for the New Forest 10 mile in July, and the New Forest Half Marathon in September. There will probably one or two road 10k's as well. There will also be occasional 5k training runs on roads, as our forest courses will be mud fests. 

    You are doing well persisting with your Garmin training plan, it sounds quite tricky. 

    Glad to hear that you have now sorted out your house and car insurance, it's always good to get that out of the way.

    I don't have any grandchildren, so don't have that problem. My sister has seven, so it's quite a problem for her. I remember writing a Christmas list and putting it on the coal fire. I was told that Santa could read the writing in the smoke that went up the chimney. We didn't have a coal fire when my son and daughter were young.

    Good luck with Saturdays cross country, and your training sessions. I'm still seeing your runs on Strava.

    I hope that you are able to find a suitable property before your prospective buyer pulls out.


    On Sunday, the Sarah's and Jane ran the Gosport Half Marathon, and I ran a solo 10 mile hilly road run. Yesterday I ran 7.13 miles in the forest with Jane and Mike.

    Today is a rest day from running, but I've spent the afternoon dusting and hoovering. I've got a really ancient upright hoover, which is very heavy to manoeuvre. It was a more intensive effort than usual, as I took things off shelves, and moved furniture. I will have to fit a new bag before the next clean. Luckily, there is an electrical shop nearby that sells the bags for the hoover. The owner is always being recommended on facebook for repairs to washing machines, fridges etc. He also sells electrical goods.
  • What with the talk (Aqua/Mel) about Xmas shopping, we've been politely requested not to get the grandkids too many things this year (we've been a bit OTT in the past). I think that's sensible advice and as a result we might be as solvent as Mel in the new year! I like the idea (Mel) of a 'one hit' Xmas shop, especially if it supports a cause close to your heart such as the NT.

    HS, that hoover sounds like it gives you a good upper body workout! I agree with your policy of not replacing it - as with Xmas gifts we all just accumulate too much stuff. If ever there was a time to rediscover the 'make do and mend' values of our parents it's probably now. I also like your policy of shopping local - another value which seems quaint to many but is common sense.

    So a rest for me today - but tomorrow I have to go and reclaim my bike - and cycle the 10 miles home with it. But it's net downhill and I think I'll have the wind with me.

    My main running objective at the moment is to try to maintain my standard, not overdo the training (this comes naturally!) and get to my birthday (27/12) in reasonable shape to attack the new year with my new 'favourable' age. I'd like to start by winning my age category at this Saturday's parkrun. 

    PS Aqua, I detect that your desire to move house is diminishing with each passing week. Can't say I blame you!
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    WtnMel, our posts crossed for the umpteenth time! 

    Yes, it could take quite a while to sort out the payments. Possibly a nice Christmas Present!

    I agree that some of the Channel 11 programmes can be quite boring and disappointing.

    That must have been a bit worrying when the warning light came on in your car. Lucky that you were able to get home safely, and then to the local garage for antifreeze. A similar thing happened to me a few years ago whilst I was driving home from Aylesbury. I was on the M6 when a yellow light came on indicating that tyre pressures were low, or perhaps a flat tyre. Everything seemed ok, so I slowed down a bit and got home ok. I checked all the pressures and they were fine, so I drove to my local garage and they said that it sometimes happened when going over a bumpy road, or pothole etc. They showed me how to reset the warning light, and touch wood, hasn't lit up again!

    Good that your investments are still doing well. A bit chilly for your haircut, but I presume you wore a hat or cap? Good luck with your Christmas shopping in one go.


    JB, I think most families "spoil" their Grandchildren.

    I think that the hoovering and dusting was a good work out. There was a lot of bending and stretching where I took things of shelves onto the floor, and then had to pick them all up again to replace them.

    Your rest day yesterday, and "easy" 10 mile cycle today, should have recharged your batteries. It's a good idea not to overdo the training. Good luck with Saturdays attempt to win your age category in the parkrun.


    It was minus 1 degree this morning for our forest run. I ran with Sarah F and Mike. We ran 4.94 miles which included 2 sets of 2 minutes hard, 30 seconds hard x 3.

    I have entered the New Forest Half Marathon which isn't until September next year. I entered this early as it was a "Black Friday" price. I have the option of upgrading to the marathon at a later date if I change my mind. Sarah F and Mike have also entered the half.
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Afternoon all,

    HS - I trust you walked along the pavement kicking the leaves into the air, which is what I would do. I see you are already making plans for various races next Summer. Depending on the type of property, I'd imagine even after the solicitor's fees and splitting the money 17 ways, you must be in line for a reasonable amount from the sale proceeds. But whatever it is, as you say, something is better than nothing. Well done re the recent training over the last few days. I would be reporting doing hoovering if it wasn't for the fact we have a lady comes in to do cleaning once a fortnight. Margaret always says it isn't that I wouldn't do a good job - but she can afford to get a cleaner in, so why not. That local electrical shop sounds useful, especially as it gets good recommendations on FB.

    JB - I'm only doing my xmas shopping now because my sister and cousin are organising the pre-xmas get-together so I have to make the effort. Our grand-daughters are actually Margaret's but I'm allowed to be one of the grand-dads - I'm 'Granddad Mel' to differentiate myself from Granddad (their Mum's Dad) and 'Grandad Mike' (Margaret's ex). Margaret always seems to buy loads of presents for grandchildren and her nephews and niece - I guess I'm lucky that in my family, we agreed years ago to limit the numbers of presents we all buy and stopped buying presents for the various children once they reached their teens. As you'll see below, I managed my 'one-hit' xmas shopping spree. Good luck with the expedition to reclaim the bike - but I wonder if the wind really will be behind you (in my experience in the past, it always moved around to be in your face, regardless of which direction you went).

    We went to Croome Court (NT) after I had my hair cut. I use an app called 'Waze' which is a sat-nav and it was showing a slightly odd route and I thought I knew better. Then we came across a road closed for repairs I was planning to use. So then I DID follow Waze's instructions ;) We had a nice walk around the estate (just over 3mls). Then we headed for the cafe and had a coffee and another of those scaldingly hot cheese & onion pasties .. but I was ready for it this time so my gums aren't sore like last time. I then did the xmas shopping in the gift shop so I'm all sorted now for the family get-together in December.

    Margaret was feeling a bit worn out after this morning's walk so settled down with her book. But I still had some energy so have been out raking up the leaves on the back lawn and bagging them up. I know there are plenty more to come down off the trees but at least there won't be twice as many to do in another week or two. I had a look at the leaves from last year which I bagged up and they've rotted down nicely so we can scatter them on the borders as a mulch over the Winter and the worms will do the rest.

    I've just phoned my friend Alan as the weather forecast isn't looking good for Friday's golf (wintery showers of rain). So I've suggested we maybe play tomorrow instead and am waiting for a call back.
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    HS - our posts crossed (again!) :)

    Just to say, with my newly shorn hair, I was glad of my woolly hat on today's walk around Croome Court. I see you've entered a race because of the special 'Black Friday' price. I'm studiously ignoring all the Black Friday emails I'm getting, regardless of how tempting the offers seem to be.
  • HS, how good to enter the NF HM so far in advance and at a (we hope) bargain price. I think that looking forward to an event such as this - which in my experience of it was utterly idyllic - will help get you through these dark, cold and dreary winter months. Having said that you are not a 'fair weather runner' and I'm wondering if there are ANY conditions that would stop you from getting out and training? 

    Mel, we too get a fair amount leaves and I used to rakes the and even invested in a leaf blower at one point. Leaf raking is a great upper body workout. However for the last couple of years I've simply not bothered and lo and behold they disappear of their own volition and perhaps give the worms a good meal or two? Very sensible to reschedule your golf as Friday looks pretty wild and windy. I'm checking the local forecast for Saturday's parkrun - which isn't too bad (but we'll see on the day!). 

    The bike ride went OK but was in very heavy traffic plus at the time the schools were disgorging hundreds of pupils. And even at 3.30 it was very gloomy. So it wasn't the physical effort of riding that was stressful but simply the concentration required. There were also a few potholes to avoid - which didn't seem to exist a few years ago. Hats off to anyone who commutes any sort of distance on a bike.

    I also decided to have a bit of a training session before the bike ride. This was a short (4k total) and tough (fast 250 metre intervals) and TBH wasn't very prudent. Unusually for me it was my hamstrings that indicated a certain discomfort and so I'll do no more running for the next couple of days.
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    WtnMel, It's quite fun kicking up the leaves, but even better running through them. This morning the workmen were "blowing them away!"

    I think we should all get a reasonable cut from the property sale, but who knows.

    Talking of cleaning ladies, one of my running friends has her own cleaning business, and is doing really well financially. She would love to give my bungalow a top to bottom clean (not that it is dirty!) but I like the exercise it gives me.

    I've never heard of the "Waze" app. Is it better than Google Maps? I've never used my phone for navigation, as I believe it uses a lot of data, especially on a long journey. My car has its own SatNav, but there are areas where it "has no data." I believe a long time, we discussed the possibility of updating the maps without paying. I think I tried what you suggested, but it didn't work. 

    You certainly like those hot cheese and onion pasties!

    Well done, raking up the leaves. This morning, during our run, we saw a man with a blower, blowing the leaves out of his garden, into the road. What a dxck head!

    Hope you managed to have your golf match with Alan today?

    The black Friday deal for the NF half marathon was a 15% reduction of the entry price. I also had a £2.00 reduction as I'm a member of England Athletics.


    JB, it definitely helps to have targets in mind, to incentivise the hours of training. I believe that I have an entry to the New Forest 10 mile in July, carried over from last year. I think that 10 miles is my favourite racing distance. The only conditions when I won't run is when there is black ice on the roads and pavements. I don't mind running on soft snow.

    Well done for cycling on busy and pot holed roads. There is no way that I would cycle on roads these days. It's dangerous enough driving, let alone cycling! Probably not a good idea to do an interval session, before your bike ride🚴‍♂️. I imagine that you will be working out on your rower during your "rest" days!


    This morning was a hilly 6 mile road run with Sara H.
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Evening all,

    JB - well done for battling the traffic, potholes, schoolkids etc to retrieve your bike. As mentioned below, my cunning plan to re-schedule the golf to today (which was lovely, bright sunny day) didn't work out.

    HS - having said I'm studiously ignoring all Black Friday emails, I did notice one from Trainline.com giving a (genuine) 50% discount off the price of a Senior Railcard. The card gives 30% off the price of rail tickets and is usually £70 for three years. Mine expired in 2020 so needed renewing anyway - but with the discount, only £35. We're not planning any train journeys just yet - but it has paid for itself in the past and being 50% cheaper, will definitely do so this time. My only niggle is that it is now a digital card and you have to have the Trainline app on your phone. I've contacted them to see if it's possible to get a physical card as well (in case the phone conks out) but I'm not sure if that's a possibility or not. Waze does use your mobile connection - but with my new phone I get 6Gb a month of data and I never get anywhere near that. The main advantage of Waze is that users report problems (roadworks, accidents, queues in real-time and every other Waze user sees that report. I'd say it's better than Google Maps. My sat-nav does connect with my phone for traffic info - but I prefer the route-finding on Waze. 

    I phoned Alan but his central heating was being serviced so he wasn't available to play golf. So we'll play tomorrow and pray to the weather gods that the rain stays away as long as possible. I've got my waterproof trousers ready anyway and as they're lined, will be ideal tomorrow as it's supposed to be cold as well.

    A quiet day today. As I mentioned , our cleaner was here today and as Margaret was in town, I needed to be around in case there were any problems or questions. Then Margaret had to pop into the village and she was expecting a Hermes parcel so I had to stick around again.

    So, being stuck indoors 'supervising', I've been rooting around in various draws and have discovered I have more walking socks than I realised - and 5 t-shirts and a thermal top for walking/running that I'd forgotten about. Yes - the contents of those draws were very jumbled up, hence me not realising what was in there. The draws are very tidy now - and surprisingly, I didn't come across anything that was surplus to requirements and needed throwing out.
  • Mel, your railcard anecdote made me giggle, and for this reason. I 've been quite a 'heavy' user of trains since turning 60 and each year got a new 1 year railcard. Then at the beginning of 2020 at renewal time, I thought that my policy was silly and that a 3 year railcard would be cheaper and save the annual renewal process. You can guess the punchline..............since splashing out on the 3 year one almost 2 years ago, I've not caught a single train! I hope you get more value out of yours.

    There's a programme on BBC 4 tonight on the band, Lindisfarne. (Cue another anecdote,,,,,) Back in the early 70s I really liked them and was at university. My uni hardly had any decent bands visiting and I got hugely excited at the prospect of a (relatively) big name band coming down. So excited that I started drinking rather early, and woke up the next morning not remembering a single thing about their performance. I'll watch tonight and see what I missed! I might even have a beer (just the one!) to celebrate.

    Got a bad feeling about the weather for your golf.....and for my Parkrun in the morning.
  • Afternoon all,

    WtnMel: You must have been relieved to get home safely from your trip to Ross-on-Wye last Friday. I imagine it was a bit worrying when that warning light came on after you’d noticed a burning smell earlier. Good job the problem was easily rectified with some bottles of antifreeze.
    Good news that your investments are doing well, especially considering the current economic uncertainty. 
    I see you not only went back to Croome Court as planned but also managed to get all your Christmas present shopping done while there, I’m green with envy.
    I see you tried to change your golf match with Alan to Thursday, but were unable to do so. If you go ahead with it today I hope the weather is better down your way than it is here, as it’s bitterly cold and the wind is howling in the trees. We have a golf course just over the Derwent Walk, probably only a hundred or so yards from our house as the crow flies, so we often hear the clunk of golf clubs hitting balls (usually accompanied by warning shouts), but unsurprisingly no one is playing today.
    It looks like Christmas has come early at your house, judging by the number of things you’ve found in drawers over the last few days.  :)

    JB: What a nightmare your return bike journey sounded. I haven’t ridden on roads for quite a few years, and would be far too nervous to do so now. I know a lot of councils are installing bike lanes on some busy roads, but I really don’t think it’s a good idea to expect bikes and cars to share the road without accidents happening. Yes there are some considerate drivers, and cyclists too, but there are also some risk takers in each category. We have quite a few cyclists around here, sometimes solo riders, sometimes in a big group. A lot of them are quite speedy, but never speedy enough for impatient car drivers.
    I hope your hamstrings have recovered by tomorrow (if you decide to do your parkrun). To be fair to them though, they’ve been very understanding up to now…..
    (Re our house move - you could be right).

    HS: I used to love kicking through fallen autumn leaves as a child. I think it was a combination of the rustling sound when they were kicked into the air, the variety of colours, and the crisp crackling noise when they were stamped on. As an adult I still got the same enjoyment, and more so when running through them. That is until a few years ago when I ran though a deep pile one day on a pre-work early morning run. The previous day had been one of high winds resulting in some broken branches, one of which was lurking, unseen, under my pile of leaves. My foot caught the edge of the branch turning my ankle and I had to limp the couple of miles back home. I don’t run through leaves now if I can avoid it.
    Well done for your dusting and hoovering workout. I often think of housework as cross training, hoovering in particular.
    It’s nice to have some races to look forward to, and good to get them at a discounted price. We have a few 10k events that always sell out within hours of being opened for entry, so I always try to get into them even though the actual events don’t take place for months. The downside to this of course is that it’s impossible to know whether you’ll be injury free when the event comes around, and not all race entry sites allow transfers. 

    I opted out of yesterday’s training run as I was feeling very tired, and had a few aches and pains, and call me a wimp if you like but I’ve already decided to give tomorrow’s XC a miss. The forecast is for snow and high winds, but even if it turns out to be less severe I’ve made the decision to give it a miss. I think I must be turning into a fair weather runner (unlike HS) as these cold windy days are not to my liking and I’m finding it increasingly difficult to persuade myself to get kitted up and get out.
    My son has just sent me a text from work asking whether the snow has arrived yet, fortunately it hasn’t as he has a number of steep hills to negotiate on his way home.
  • Good afternoon everyone,

    WtnMel, that's interesting re the Senior Railcard. I haven't been on a train since I left Liverpool 35 years ago. I do have an OAP's bus pass though which is free. I haven't used it much since the Covid Pandemic, but it is very useful using the bus into Southampton. I wouldn't fancy driving there at present, as all the roundabouts are being enlarged, causing long hold ups  at temporary traffic lights, and diversions.

    That Waze app does sound useful with information on traffic problems etc. I remember you using another app which had similar functions, but can't remember what it was called. 

    Did you manage to hold your golf match today?

    I've got two drawers full of running gear, and also quite a few running t shirts hanging up in a wardrobe. When I was able to go to races regularly, I  wore an extra old t shirt, which I would discard before race start. This helped to keep numbers down.


    JB, I know what you mean about drinking heavily before a gig, and not remembering much about it. A classic example was when I was living in Liverpool, I went with a friend to watch Richie Blackmores "Rainbow" and couldn't remember what numbers they performed. What I do remember is when they had finished, we were all shouting out "Rainbow, Rainbow!" They did return for another number, but I haven't a clue what it was. Photography was forbidden. What a contrast to todays gigs, where fans are taking photos on their phones constantly.

    The forecast for tomorrow is rain and gale force winds. Should be interesting for your parkrun.


    Today is a rest day for me, but we were planning on running a 5k on trails tomorrow morning. It remains to be seen what we do decide on.  
  • HS: our posts crossed again :D
    I hope the weather down your way isn't too severe and you manage to do your planned 5k tomorrow, I'm sure it will take more than a bit of wind to stop you :)
  • Aqua, it looks as though your end of the country has had a right old hammering. Hope all is well with you. It looks like the sort of weather which might result in the event you've pulled out of being cancelled - although they breed them tough up north. 

    HS, no train journey for 35years! That's amazing. Did you decide to venture out? (I'm guessing a yes.)

     Actually  the weather was not too bad here this morning. Thus parkrun took place although numbers were down but still 240 hardy souls. It was the marshals I felt sorry for - so I made a point of a big thank you to all of them. I managed 21.26 which was about right, with a WAVA of 79.00%. I secured 1st place in my age category and the WAVA was the 4th best in the field. (A 65-69 VW did 26 minutes which was very impressive.)

    The toughest bit was the cycle ride home which chilled me to the marrow. Mrs JB didn't run today - she was on grandchild duties, and rather grateful for it I suspect!

    I seem to be hungry pretty much all the time: I think it's the cold. (But thank goodness we had the central heating done last week rather than this week.) They breed them soft down here.
  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Afternoon all,

    JB - I'm obviously hoping I'll get some use out of the railcard now I've bought one. I've recorded the BBC4 programme about Alan Hull (Lindisfarne) which I'll watch at my leisure sometime soon. 

    Aquarius - yes, with hindsight I should have probably investigated under the bonnet in Ross. I'd have seen the oil was okay and the coolant was extremely low and could have bought some anti-freeze if there'd been a local car parts store nearby - or a bottle of water as a last resort. I don't have that many xmas presents these days so it doesn't take much to get them all sorted (a lot different from Margaret as I mentioned). It would be nice if when playing golf, every time you hit the ball you heard a 'ping' sound .. unfortunately, it is sometimes a 'clunk' as you hit the ground :) I don't blame you opting out of the XC race given the conditions. I woke up to find Cleeve Hill has snow on it (not too much by the look of it - but definitely a sprinkling). We also had some snow this morning outside at a much lower level - but it all thawed quickly. But I see you've had it much worse - hope all is okay and all hatches were battened down beforehand.

    HS - yes, I've also got a bus pass and got one as soon as I was eligible, which was at 62.5yrs of age. But I've not been on a bus since Mar 2020. My running gear (t-shirts, socks etc.) is all in one large draw. It's the fans with their arms in the air recording the concert that meant I gave up attending gigs 5-10 years ago as I was fed up of not being able to see the band properly. 

    Golf yesterday - there's bad news and good news. The bad news was it rained a lot. I had my waterproofs so kept dry with the exception of my gloves which got soaked. I had some spare gloves but struggled to get them on as the wet gloves caused my hands to go numb. The good news is I also had packed my fur-lined Thinsulate gloves which meant my hands were able to warm up again - but they're very thick so I couldn't really 'feel' the golf clubs properly. The really good news was I played really well yesterday and beat Alan by 3 shots (thanks to 8 bogies and 2 pars).

    I've not ventured outside today apart from raiding the freezer in the garage for tonight's meal. But I see with the high winds, most of the leaves that remained on the trees are now on the ground. 

    For info .. I had an email from Which? magazine who are going to launch a class action against Qualcomm who inflated the prices of chips used in Apple and Samsung phones. If you've had a phone of either make since 1st Oct 2015 you can register your interest and if Which? are successful, you'll share in the money they recover. It may be between £5 and £30 which isn't much - but it'll be nice to stick one to Qualcomm. Here's the link if you're interested and want to read more - https://www.smartphoneclaim.co.uk/ - my recent renewed contract with a Samsung A12 means I probably qualify so I've registered.
  • Afternoon all,

    JB: Well done for your age category win yesterday, it must have been a pretty chilly run, but even worse for the marshals so I’m sure they will have appreciated your support and thanks. I always make a point of thanking marshals whatever run I’m doing, I know that most of them would probably rather be running than marshalling so I’m grateful to them for giving up their time. I feel guilty because I don’t volunteer enough myself. I hope you had a nice warm shower when you got back home to chase away those chills.
    As it happens our XC wasn’t cancelled, although there were a lot of strong views on Facebook both for and against the decision. I think most of the people in the “cancel” camp were mainly concerned about the travel to and from the event since a number of roads had been closed in places due to fallen trees or masonry etc. The weather itself on Saturday, although still very windy with snow showers at times, wasn’t too bad as the day went on. All the same those who ran said it was freezing cold and challenging conditions, but only one of the team tents blew away. The weather aside I’d another reason for opting out, I’d been feeling achey and tired since Tuesday night, which I first put down to having squeezed in more runs than usual over the previous few days, but I now think I must have picked up something from one of the guests at my grandson’s birthday party last weekend because it turns out his father has been feeling unwell since Tuesday too, and with the same symptoms. There were about 40+ at the party, so it’s quite possible that at least one of them was germ-laden. (Btw I always feel hungry when it’s cold, I think it’s my body’s way of asking for fuel :) )

    WtnMel: Your comment about no longer going to gigs because of people waving their arms about is more or less the reason we stopped going to rugby internationals. The number of times we paid a fortune for seats (not to mention travel costs and accommodation) only for the event to be ruined by some idiot deciding to stand every time England got their hands on the ball, with the knock on consequence of the person behind having to stand to attempt to see past them, then the person behind them and so on. Being just 5 ft tall myself I usually missed all the action, and Steve didn’t fare much better, so we got no enjoyment it and decided to stay at home in future and watch it on TV. I think it must be a generational thing, the older fans never felt the need to stand but the ones who did were invariably 30 somethings who didn’t seem to understand the game, probably having come to it later in life as something that seemed like a good way to spend a Saturday - meet their friends at the pub first, have a few drinks, go to the match and jump up and down, then back to the pub.
    Well done for beating Alan, but lucky you had your Thinsulate gloves with you as it sounds like it was nasty conditions for playing golf. Thanks for the information about the Which class action, I’ll look into that.

    HS: Hope all is well with you and you managed your 5k yesterday without any interference from storm Arwen. 

    We were going to go for a meal tonight for Steve’s birthday, but as self and son are under the weather we’ve decided to just get a takeaway and eat at son’s house. 

    Hopefully a run tomorrow if I'm feeling better.
  • Aquarius, it was very cold yesterday, and it was just Mike and I that ran the5k. It was the slowest ever, probably because of the icy wind which made the breathing painful. 32.37 was the embarrassing time😒

    I'm sorry to hear that you are not feeling too well, so were very wise to give the cross country a miss.

    Happy birthday to Steve🍻🎂🎉. Hope you enjoy your takeaway this evening, and feel better tomorrow, so that you can go for a run.


    WtnMel, I see that you have had snow. So far, we have managed to avoid it, but if the old saying is true, "it's been too cold for snow!" 

    The last "live band" I saw was The Kinks, when I lived in Liverpool. We were in "the posh seats" in the gallery, but were so far away from the stage, that they were just like small dots, and could even have been a cover band, for all we knew. Very, very disappointing.  I think the very first band I saw was at Surry University and they were the Bonzo Dog Doodah Band. Anyone remember them? 

    Well done for beating Alan at golf. I have the same problem with gloves. I've a thin pair and a much thicker pair. The thin aren't really warm enough, and the thick are too bulky and become awkward.

    Thanks for the info re phone chips, my previous and current are Samsungs.


    Today was bitterly cold this morning, minus 6 degrees with the chill factor, according to the local weather app. I ran a solo forest 11k, and was really cold, despite wearing 3 tops, a woolly hat and the thin thermal gloves. Still wearing shorts though as my legs don't feel the cold. I made the mistake of wearing trail shoes, as I thought the ground would have been wet and muddy. As it turned out, it was rock hard, very lumpy and rooty.
  • Mel, a lovely programme on Alan Hull. YBH I had no idea he was so respected and talented. A difficult person but hugely rooted in the north-east. I loved the programme and hope you enjoy it too. Mind you, I thought the comparisons with Bob Dylan were a bit of a stretch. Take the positives from your golf game! As for the bus pass, and having expressed my amazement at HS not using the train for decades, I literally don't remember the last time I caught a bus in my home town - possibly 50 years!

    Aqua, I too have not acted in the marshal capacity enough. It's on my 'Guilt List' - which is very long! Kids are basically walking germ warfare agents who are at their most lethal at birthday parties. As a fellow shorty I agree on the whole standing up/waving arms around issue at sporting and music events. Mrs JB's first experience of spectating at a rugby match was in 1974/5 at Twickers - England v. France. We lost and she fainted as she was pressed  against one of the crash barriers. It was also  her last rugby international, although I did manage to get her to go to various county cricket games over the years - much more genteel. 

    HS, I'm jealous: I loved the Kinks! Waterloo Sunset would be a contender for my favourite single and I think Ray Davies was some kind of genius. I found out a couple of years ago that the remnants of the band (not including Ray Davies) are still touring small venues. I booked a ticket - but the drummer (I think) died and it was cancelled.
    Well done on your hardy weekend running: see my on limitations in this respect at the end of my post.

    My Saturday parkrun was a bit better than I thought as I discovered that

    a) I not only won by age category but also beat all the 60s and 55s;

    b) my time was the best 65-69 in all the (20) Parkruns in West and East Sussex.

    This combination was almost certainly a first for me, although the time was nothing special.

    Sunday I went out for a 10k - very chilly. Hill repeats warmed me up.

    Today I went out to run for an hour. I gave up after 40 minutes: I was simply bored. This sums up my idiosyncratic approach - unless I'm running for a purpose and under pressure (intervals, hills, time trials, races) I'm simply not engaged. I think I'm a running oddball.
     
  • JB, I  used to marshal at the local parkrun, when I had a race the next day. A couple of times I've been tail runner, which is interesting. 

    I've got an Kinks mono EP, "Kingsize Session." Its got, I've Gotta Go Now, I've Got That Feeling,  Things Are Getting Better and Louie Louie. I think LL was originally by the Kings Men.

    Well done for Saturday's parkrun. That's a very impressive achievement, beating all and sundry!

    Sunday was really chilly, so well done for your 10k and hill reps. I don't blame you for cutting todays run short. I did the same yesterday because I was so cold. 


    This morning was 10.42 miles in the forest with 5 running friends. It included approximately a mile on an icy road. I very nearly had a nasty fall, but thankfully, Sarah H who was running next to me, grabbed my arm and held me up. It really scared me🥴
  • Here is a picture from this mornings run. I'm wearing the blue top.

  • WtnMelWtnMel ✭✭✭
    Evening all,

    Aquarius - I see the XC race did go ahead and I guess there were some 'hardcore' XC runners who didn't see why there were thoughts of it being cancelled just because of a bit of snow? One of my friends did a race yesterday and said it was freezing cold - her description on Strava "Wilmslow 10k proper cut glass nipple weather" says it all ;):) I hope whatever lurgy you seem to have picked up goes away quickly - I definitely eat more when I've come down with a cold. Re rugby - the premiership, which I used to enjoy watching, is now on BT Sport and the recent international matches were on Amazon Prime (neither of which I plan to subscribe to). However, I recorded the Barbarian's match (which turned out to be the women's match instead which was just as entertaining) and I noticed they trailed the fact the 6 Nation's will be on the BBC in February, which was good news. Happy Birthday to Steve btw.

    HS - we've had some snow .. but mainly on Cleeve Hill (I saw earlier it's still there). I remember the Bonzo's! The golf gloves tend to be thin to allow you to 'feel' what you're doing - I'll take those think Thinsulate ones with me next time to keep my hands warm between strokes. Sounds like you'll qualify for that class action if both phones have been Samsung ones. I see you are still in shorts but layering up on top. I don't have any 'classic' Kinks music but I did get a free cd "Working Men's Cafe" by Ray Davies that they gave away with one of the weekend papers a few years ago. That does look cold in the photo you posted - and I'm pleased to say I recognised a couple of the other ladies from previous photos you've shared with us.

    JB - I'm definitely on a high for playing well at golf on Friday .. just hope I can continue to do so this week.

    Apart from popping into the village centre this morning, I've spent most of today in front of the laptop. My gas & electric have been transferred from Avro (now defunct) to Octopus. I needed to check through the latest bill and account statement they had sent and then set up a new direct debit. I think I've got that sorted. The bulk of my time though was dealing with 'admin' for my swim club. I needed to email the leisure centre to request some longer sessions from January, the club secretary to report back on yesterday's committee meeting on Zoom and the members who've been coming to the 'temporary' swims we've been running since May with details of the swim in December. I also had to pop to the end of the garden to empty the stuff for the compost bin today - and I cleared up some of the things that had been blown around a few days ago!
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