'Mature' runners.

Red - take care!

Diana - I used to have contacts, but as I now need 3 different focal lengths in my glasses, would be no use to me for everyday. I did speak to my optician about contacts with my distance prescription, just for running, but for some reason he was discouraging. I do have a pair of tinted sports glasses to my distance prescription, but this doesn't solve the problem of misting-up nor of rain. And of course no use at all after dark!

I run with glasses on, variofocals and no problems unless its raining and then have to look over the top, though I wear a cap when its raining to keep the worst off the glass. Cant wear contacts but could probably get away with out my glasses for running only tried it once or twice and squint abit if not careful, then a headache later.  Just been on the Berlin Marathon Site

TE, definitely trail shoes this time.

Columba, I too wear varifocal glasses and I used to wear 'near and far' lens until my prescription went out of their range.  Now I wear daily disposable high water content lenses just for running and they are great - I can't read small print in them though as they don't correct my astigmatism.  I hate running in my glasses.

Mark, just do it!

Pre registered........might need to talk to the OH urgently with a bunch of flowers!!!

Loadsa gardening today including tree removal. I am old and tired.

Can't run in glasses. I get sweat on the inside. I have daily contact lenses.
JJ

A hill rep. session last night, comprising 4 sets of 3 x 45 seconds with jogs down and 2 minutes recovery between each set. We then did 1 set of 3 x 30 seconds downhill with jogs back up. Today is a rest day.

JJ, tree removal sounds like very hard work! On the positive side, it is excellent core training.

TE - that sounds like a good session. Since my half-mara I haven't been doing anything systematically, - just whatever takes my fancy, plus whatever the running club is doing on Tuesdays. I'll make a note of your 4x(3x45) hill rep session, and next time I feel strong enough for hills, will do that.

Daily contact lenses, - with high water content - now there's an idea. Do they have to be carefully fitted, the way the old hard ones did? If I just wore one in my right (dominant) eye, so as to be able to read my Garmin with the left eye, would this be adequate, I wonder.

I do wear a cap with a long peak to keep rain off, though don't much like wearing a cap. Same as a HRM belt, feels a bit oppressive.

Went swimming last night.

JJ - if you were old and tired you wouldn't be doing tree removal.

(Just edited this, in case anyone thought I didn't know how to spell "oppressive"!)

Columba, glad that you might find the hill session beneficial. I always post details of my Club training sessions, in the hope that they will be useful to the peeps. on here!

Today has been bright and sunny but bitterly cold. The wind this morning was icy and I had great difficulty persuading myself to go out for a training run. I'm glad, as always, that I did and ran 8 miles on roads. I did a negative split, as planned, and my miles were :- 10.41, 9.44, 9.39, 9.33, 9.18, 9.09, 8.35 and 8.29, an average of 9.24.

I'm looking forward to watching the GSR on Channel 5 tomorrow morning and glad that I'm not doing it. Jo Pavey is running and she was first woman several years ago, when I was a spectator, owing to an injury. The race then wasn't shown live, and embarrassingly, I could be heard shouting out "Come on Jo!" This was about a mile from the finish, and there were no other elite women in sight. I remember the weather was atrocious and I was soaked to the skin.

Don't forget to turn your clocks back an hour tonight. An extra hour in bed

TE - I can't remember what part of the country you're in, but here in mid-Wales the weather has been similar to what you describe, - cold but sunny with a bitterly cold wind. I ran 6.2 miles, but not until the early afternoon so things had had a chance to warm up a bit. When the wind dropped I got too hot and had to take things off (gloves etc.), then it would start whistling again and everything had to go back on. So, a very pretty run but not a comfortable one. I was running beside one of the Elan reservoirs, and treated myself to tea and cake in the Visitor Centre afterwards. 

Evening all,

Had a super time at Beachy today.  Brrrrr it was cold first thing and the wind was vicious all the way round (I got blown over a stile at one point!)  However, the sun came out for most of the time with just a short, sharp shower lasting a few minutes just as I was hiking up the 3rd of the b1tches! (that's a reference to the 7 Sisters for those not familiar with the South Downs area).

The ground wasn't as bad as I'd expected and I managed to stay upright and enjoyed every moment - the 286 steps we climbed, the countless steep inclines we scaled, the flinty sections on slippery chalk, the amazing views, chatting with old friends beforehand and en-route, the friendly marshalls, the hugs from Fat Buddha who was marshalling in 2 places along with Petal, the lovely medal.  I took lots of photos and I was very pleased that my breathing was absolutely fine, even on the vertical climbs!

I finished around 6:15 or thereabouts which is just 1 minute slower than 5 years ago so I'm happy with that 

Very cold here but did an easy 3 off road with the doodle.

TE
I follow your club training sessions with interest.

Redhead
Excellent result at Beachy. Not a bad time at all.
JJ

Columba, I live in The New Forest, well, not exactly in the forest. It's in Hampshire, a lovely County, and I am about .5 of a mile from the forest.

Red, very well done at Beachy! It's good news that you didn't have any trouble with your breathing. It seems like they have got your medication right, at last. Will any of your photos be viewable via a link?

JJ, good that you are still running, even though not racing. You must still be very fit with all the Doodle walking, gardening etc. I'm glad that you find my training sessions of interest. My running has improved no end since joining the Club, and I am happy to share the training sessions with all on here, in the hope that it helps them to persevere with their own training. 

Red - super result! Very well done indeed, I'm glad you had such a  wonderful day and no breathing problems. 

Off for usual Sunday morning swim session. Yesterday it snowed here most of the day, stopped in time for dog club but there was a bitter wind blowing straight across the field. The dogs didn't seem to mind it! Charly is coming along nicely, attentive and trotting along by my side. When I first get him out of his kennel, he pulls me right to the table we have in front of the fence, puts his front paws up and waits for me to lift him up onto the table! Then we practice the sit, down and stay positions.

Morning all,

It's a lovely day here today despite the forecast for rain all day - it's sunny and crisp with no wind.  I took my leggies out for a short 3 miler early on and they didn't complain much.  I'm just going to pootle around the house this morning and then this afternoon I'll get out raking all the lovely leaves that came down in the wind yesterday and have been blown into nice neat piles

TE, I'll do a write-up on my blog soon so I'll post a link on here when it's done.  The scenery was stunning in the sunlight yesterday.  I love reading about your club sessions too even though they are scary sometimes 

IW, awwwh to Charly!  There were lots of doggies of all shapes and sizes doing Beachy but my favourite was Milly, a little Jack Russell, who I saw being fed pieces of sausage-roll at one of the feed stations.  I was busy stuffing my face with a hot cross bun so didn't have a hand free to take a photo.  Her little legs were muddy right up to her tummy and she was clearly having a wonderful time 

JJ, I want to get under 2 hours for a half next year and would like to devote a large part of my winter training to achieving this goal.  I'm doing the Brighton marathon in April but want to focus more on speed again and the sessions you gave me this year worked a treat at Paddock Wood.  Any advice from my favourite Coach welcome please.

Red - well done on your Beachy result, and how good that you not only enjoyed it but had no breathing problems. I gather (from another thread) that quite a number of people got taken off in ambulances.

I think mid-Wales has got your rain today. Milder than yesterday, but very wet.

TE - New Forest of course, now I remember. We've had conversations before about some odd little crustaceans that live in puddles in the NF and apparently nowhere else in the country.

Columba, that's right, horse- shoe crabs if I remember rightly.

No run today and Tuesday will be my last speed session before Sundays Lordshill 10 mile race.

3.3 miles off road this morning. Very slow and muddy.

Redhead
I will have a gander in my reticule and see what I can find. I will mail you in a day or three.
In the meantime don't do any hard training for  the next 4 weeks so that you recover properly from Beachy. Runs should be easy paced, not more than 6 miles max., and not on two consecutive days. You will lose no fitness.

TE
Hope you won't do more than a couple of easy threes after Tuesday.
JJ

Morning all,

Rest day today as I'm being sensible 

JJ, thanks.  I'm using November as my rest and recovery month to let my body repair properly.  I'll just keep my mileage ticking over.

Columba, people taken off in ambulances?  Must have been either hypothermia or slipping down the slopes.  I saw one woman wearing just a vest and shorts which was complete madness!

JJ, yes, I will certainly be taking it easy after Tuesday, just running at jogging pace, and resting Friday and Saturday. I want to start my race at a quicker pace and hold it until the last couple of miles, and then, hopefully increase it. I have regained my race confidence from the recent two half marathons, where I started off slower and increased my pace throughout. I will, however, not overdo the early miles, as I know I won't be able to maintain a silly pace, as I did in the past.

Red, good to hear that you are now resting and recovering after all your tough races and breathing problems. Your body will thank you for it.

Congrats to Redhead after another super effort....well done. cold dark and wet yesterday morning as we did a hilly cross country run at 6am and then told my daughter when we had got back the clocks had gone back, not too happy!!! Rest and recovery today and coffee time me thinks......