'Mature' runners.

Thanks JJ. I will see what I can find out about the course and also the different type of shoes which I could maybe use again.

JJ - you mean there's nothing above an M60?

It certainly sounds as though you're back into running with a bang! Did you achieve the weight you were hoping to achieve (and will you maintain it over Christmas?)

Redhead - Tunbridge Wells sounds like a good place for a Lady wot Lunches.

Derek -Mind you and grandson don't trip each other up again.

Been swimming today.

Derek, I ran a cross country race last Sunday, as you will see in one of my earlier posts. We were forewarned that spikes were unsuitable, and I ran it in trail shoes. It was entirely off road, so I'm not sure what the criteria was for not wearing spikes. The race was mainly through ankle deep mud, so whether the Organisers thought the mud was too deep, even for long spikes, I don't know. Road trainers certainly wouldn't have been suitable.

On the 17th February is the Portsmouth Coastal Half Marathon. On the same day are the Bramley 10 and 20 milers, which are in the Hampshire Road Running League. My club will be entering runners for both Bramley races, and I am tempted by the 20 miler, a distance I have never raced before. On the other hand, I am very tempted by the Coastal Half, which isn't in the HRRL. Decisions, decisions

Columba
Q1 All folks over 60 are lumped into the same age group.

Q2  No and no.
JJ

Thanks Columba, if there is not too many there and the course is safe, I might try running without holding his hand this time (or just get knee protectors like skate boarders use)

Terence,I am not familiar with trail shoes at all. Is there a lot of difference in grip with the trail shoes compared to ordinary shoes. They have not published the course yet just the park it is in, If they do I will probably walk round it before and see what is in store.

Morning all,

Glorious sunny and frosty day here.  Tempo run for me at lunchtime 

Derek, I've never tried spikes but I always use my trail shoes for running off-road as they have a much better grip than road shoes.  With my road shoes I have hardly any grip off-road whereas my trail shoes have nice wide lugs on them which are easy to clean afterwards.  The only time they aren't very effective is on the loose flinty sections of the South Downs but other than that they are great.

JJ, keep on campaigning!  It's ludicrous that there isn't an over 65 category and there definitely should be a masters category for the over 70s 'cos you guys inspire slow ploddy peeps like me 

Derek, there is certainly more grip in trail shoes. There are various treads, however; my Salomons Speed Cross 2 having longish triangular rubber lugs, and my current pair, Salomon Pro Plus 5 having shorter triangular rubber lugs. All models of trail shoes will have treads designed to grip. When I was a regular cross country racer, I always wore spikes, although sometimes there were problems when part of the course went over tarmac. I didn't know about the existence of trail shoes in those days. I don't think I have explained this very well, but I hope it helps.

JJ, I can understand that it is difficult for you to maintain your competitive edge, when there is no age category above 60-70. It is bad enough for me as an under 70, and a year closer to that now.

I came to work in my Inov8s today as I can run off road, cross country, fields and mud most of the way so great for off road but not too comfy for running on the tarmac......if the ground is really hard as it is today I quite like using my road running shoes even on off road bits......depends on the ground and the weather I guess. 
Think there are catagories in fell running for the older runners.........could be wrong.

Sounds like a plan for 2013, JJ. Go for it!

TE, I can't believe it was 6 years ago that I ran MVP, but perhaps it is!

I have trail versions of the road shoes I had previously (Brooks Adrenaline ASR) which work well for me, and are quite comfortable for road running if there are tarmac sections. They are more waterproof, and with better grip - also darker in colour to mud staining isn't so apparent!

We did 2 x 2 miles tempo plus warm-up and cool-down yesterday evening, and ran just over 7 miles in total, so I am finally ahead of target for 1,000 miles this year.

Thanks Red, Terence. I am leaning more towards trail shoes now rather than spikes as I could use them afterwards. I am guessing that if the snow comes round here they may be better than road shoes for that too. While I dont kow the course, I have done a 5 mile race on the paths in the park. There are a number of these tarmac paths that cross it and some slopes but no real hills.

Diana, I had been thinking that longer tempo runs were something that our club very seldom did. We do shorter speed work, longer runs at steady pace and hill reps, but could benefit by tempo runs of perhaps 4 miles. I could do these on my own, but 3 quality work outs per week is probably too much.

The temperature is now minus one degree and is forecast minus 5 overnight. I will be wrapped up warmly for tonights session.

No running today.

derek
Trythis link for some ideas on trail shoes. Certainly good for snow too and you will know that earlier models left on the shelf are much cheaper. I use Brooks Cascadia for off road runs.

TE
Two fast sessions and one long slow run are the fundamentals of  a training regime after the aerobic base (lots of steady miles) has been built.Three speed sessions, unless they are very short, are OTT.
JJ
JJ

Evening all,

Dear Coach, today I did my tempo run as instructed.  1 mile warm up, 3 miles @ 9 min miling and 1 mile cool down   Tomorrow will be about 6 miles at a steady pace on a hilly route which basically means I'll be faster on the flat and downhill sections then going at a snail's pace on the hills 

Redhead
I'm not dear. I'm actually quite cheap really.

Excellent run. Well done.
Tomorrow do faster on the flat, coast down the hills and save energy for gently pushing on the uphills but don't make it two hard sessions on consecutive days.
JJ

RW's gone all festive, isn't that nice?

I can't get the santa emoticons as I don't know how to empty my cache

JJ, you have confirmed my understanding that 3 speed sessions in a week are to much. Young, elite runners can get away with it, but not us older folks.

Red, well done with the tempo session. I must get my club to incorporate them, in lieu of one of the other sessions, but this won't be until the new year, as the latest training schedules have been issued.

It was minus 2 for our club session this evening, so we didn't do the planned pyramids, as the Coaches decided the pavements were too icy to do these safely. We, therefore, just ran a very steady cautious 6.3 miles. 

Very wise too.

hi everyone 

well that has to be one of the coldest runs i have ever done, but really enjoyed it, did a gentle 6.5 miles, it is so foggy here, at certain points it was so thick i could only see about 15 feet, thats what i get for living on the edge of the countryside, 

got hospital appt tomorrow and with fingers crossed the cast on wrist will be taken off,

TE - similar concerns dictated our club run this evening. Instead of running round town we ran to the car park at County Hall (a good big one, well gritted and by the time we got there almost empty of cars) where we did all sorts of things no-one's made me do since I left school,  - hopping, skipping, jumping backwards and forwards across one of the white lines, darting from one parking bay to another and back, bending down to touch the white lines at each end. The jumping-backwards-and-forwards-across-a-white-line-while-progressing-along-it was the one I found hardest, - could jump, but was all over the place.  Anyway, we got warm in the process.  

Garmin, however, refused to switch on. Can't have been the cold; other people's garmins were working. And it's just been recharged.

Ooh yes - Santa emoticons!

Thanks JJ, I will have a read of these and then I will probably have a look around Sports Direct to see what they have got as they are quite cheap. I always have to try shoes on before buying as I need them to be quite wide and I also need to have good height in the toebox.