'Mature' runners.

Mark, I think you made a good choice buying the Speedcross 3s. The Speedcross 2s that I had were excellent, and I ran 506 miles in them, including some mileage on roads.They didn't need any breaking in and were perfect in every way, especially the wide spaces between the rubber lugs, which meant that mud didn't stick between them. The reviews for the 3s are that they are even better than the 2s, so well done. I did try to buy some 3s, but they didn't have any in my size. The Proplus 5s that I did buy were reduced to £50, so I got a bargain there. The original price was £85, so they were obviously an old model.

No running today, so am looking forward to tomorrows hill reps with the club. 

LOL at Matsmum and the stress-induced biccies!   That's one of the reasons I decided not to do VLM again this year as it really does cost a lot to get there and back.

Dull, dreary and drizzling all day. Two dog walks, some stretching and static exercises and a hair cut. Completed my 2011/2012 tax return; HMRC owes me £3.

Chairing a meeting tonight.

Redhead
The 3 laps make the race very easy. They go very quickly compared with out and back or a 10 mile circuit. I've been lapped on that course when running 78 mins .

I will be racing this year I hope but mostly local events.  I'm getting slower so travelling outside Kent/Est Sussex isn't really worth it.

Matsmum
It has to be over 10C before I start stripping.
Southwark is nicely placed for running the Thames Path.
JJ

Morning all,

The sun's out and so will I be soon - hill reps on a decent incline followed by lots of pottering in the garden.  Heaven 

JJ, I'm pretty sure I've seen you get those great big long legs out I cold weather!  Now you've scared me with your lap story - just imagine me plodding along on my first lap when the speedy peeps are on lap 3   Having said that I do rather like the idea of running on  a track a change and I'm pretty sure I've never been to Sidcup either.  Must see how it fits into my schedule.

Have a lovely day everyone 

Red, hope you enjoy your hill reps in the sunshine. I'll be doing mine this evening in the dark

Went to the dentist this morning for my 6 monthly check up, and he advised that a back tooth, which had been loose for some time was now leaking, and my body was using up 20% of energy fighting the infection. He said that once it was extracted, I would have more energy for my running. I don't know whether this was part of his sales pitch, but it had the desired effect, and I will have it extracted next week. Watch this space to see if my times improve!

JJ - a haircut as cross-training?

TE - best of luck with the extraction. If it's already loose it should come out without too much difficulty.

Raining here. Shall be out with the running club tonight, wearing my new head torch. Also just got my Garmin back from being refurbished, so shall be fully equipped.

Little four and a bit mile plod to work and put the heart rate monitor strap thingy on. Stayed around 140 to 150. Whats the best way to know your max again please? Run like billyoh I guess!!!

Columba, thanks. Yes the dentist said that it should come out easily. The charge for extraction is £85. I have a 45 minute appointment, although I don't know why, as they don't use laughing gas anymore. I presume I will have some injections to numb the pain, and they normally take some time to take effect. I think the lengthy appointment is a way of justifying the extortionate cost Hope you get on ok with your new head torch, and the Garmin is fully operational. Mine no longer beeps on each mile, and it is definitely set to "on." Probably wearing out, as I have had it for about 4 years.

Afternoon all,

Did a very successful hill reps with plenty of huffing and puffing on the ups but recovering quickly on the downs.  6.12 miles in total.  Gardening had to be abandoned when friend-in-need phoned in tears and stayed for 3.5 hours sobbing about her impending divorce.  Made me feel glad to have my Mike.

TE, good luck with the extraction.  I had one last year and it didn't hurt at all at the time but was very sore afterwards.  Enjoy your hill reps.

Columba, steady on, you're sounding like a real club runner.  Next you'll be talking about club championships and age gradings  

Going to cause myself alittle pain by trying to get my heart rate to max out on the way home ouch. NOt as bad as the dentist all the best TE.  Keep puffing Redhead and counselling......a good friend no doubt.

Red and Mark, thanks.

Red, good that your hill reps went well. Your friend is lucky to have your shoulder to cry upon.

Ran 4.1 muddy off road miles early this morning with my doodle.

Columba
My gents hairdresser moved premises about a year ago so I now go to a ladies hairdresser and get it cut by a young, slim blond woman aged about 20. I don't reckon there's much opportunity for cross training.

TE
A bad tooth will certainly take the edge off your running but not sure that it's 20%. You will certainly feel better though. A piece of string tied to the doorknob is cheaper.

msc
A maximum HR test hurts. Find a hill of 100 - 200m. It doesn't have to be vertical, just a bit tough. Do a long warm up. Run the hill flat out, jog back down, repeat twice more and you should see your MHR on the third effort.. If you've done the hills properly you will have wibbly legs and feel like throwing up.

JJ

I am so happy. I did the 6 miles getting faster today, starting at 12 min mile - and finished in 63.30. A whole 4 mins faster than last time. Mind you, the weather was great, bright and mild. I actually began to understand about the shorts thing.

I've heard some iffy remarks from dentists before , TE.......are you quite sure he was telling the tooth?

JJ - you've got a doodle!  I love them. But I am not having another dog after my Golden crosses the rainbow bridge to Matthew. He chose her and he named her. She is 14 in the summer and her back legs are giving her a lot of trouble. It makes me feel sad.

mcs - I have never had a heart rate monitor. Does it strap on the upper arm? I have a strap on my arm with my phone in as a safety measure. Well, that is what I tell people, but actually it's great at keeping my batwing from flapping. I was looking for something for the other arm,so maybe a HRM is the answer!

Red, divorces are the pits. We have never had one in our family which is pretty amazing in this day and age. But I come across it quite a lot in my work, and it is devastating. People just don't realise it until it's all just too late. I feel for your friend. But she is lucky to have you. 

Do you all belong to clubs then? 

Matsmum
Good run today.
14 is a good age for any dog. The trouble is that we get very attached to them. 
The doodle is 5 and named Maizie. She's the world's most expensive mongrel but a wonderful dog and great fun.

I belong to a club; Tunbridge Wells Harriers. I joined at about 63 y.o. when my running plateaued due to doing the same training week in week out. I made huge improvements in a very short time.

Heart rate monitors strap round the chest with a transmitter over the heart area which links to a receiver on the wrist. It's the nearest us guys get to wearing a bra. Well I hope it's the nearest!
JJ

Red - I'm already well aware of age gradings! But am not into club championships.

I too was on the phone this morning to a friend in need; not a divorce, - her husband died very suddenly in December - no prior health issues, though he was certainly overweight. She's in a complete state of shock, not surprisingly.

In spite of all the extra equipment (or perhaps because of it) I somehow managed to turn my ankle during tonight's club run. Didn't quite fall. They were doing laps around various bits of the town, so I let them run one lap without me, then walked the other way to meet them coming back - ankle felt ok - jogged a bit - no pain, but did feel rather hot. Finished the run very gently, and now have ankle nestling in a pack of frozen peas.

Matsmum -  condensed history of the last 50 or so years: I was an athletic club member from the age of 12 until about 15 years ago. Since then my husband John and I have been members of a triathlon club. It helps us to have structured training sessions, we have a wonderful swim trainer for our Tuesday night coached sessions and there are also group bike rides. We have two male dogs, Nemo is a black German Shepherd aged 5 and Charly is a White Swiss Shepherd, 7 months old and still growing. We have had shepherd dogs for over 30 years now. I am a member of the German Shepherd Association of Germany and belong to a local club for training and competition with our dogs. We live in southern Germany, John has run 5 marathons and countless other races. I have completed 45 marathons and both of us have done many Ironman triathlon races though now retired from long distance, OH with knee trouble and me with a titanium hip. Both of us are very much slower than we used to be! That's it in a nutshell.

JJ, I'm sure you're right that 20% is "over the top." It was probably his way of ensuring I would make an appointment for an extraction. It would be a miracle if my race times improved by 20%

Matsmum, "are you quite sure he was telling the tooth?" LoL. I belong to Hardley Running Club, and my pace and race times have improved, compared with the last few years. I ran unattached for several years, and found that no matter how hard I trained alone, the effort was not as great as when training with others of similar or higher ability. I think that this is the 5th club I have been a member of, and have been with them since January 2012. We have training evenings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on Sundays, some of us go for a long run in the forest.

Columba, sorry to hear about your  twisiting your ankle last night. That is the hazard of night running on roads and pavements. The ground is often very uneven, with potholes filled with leaves.

Last night was a hill rep session comprising 3 sets of 4 hill reps, with approximately 2 minutes jog recoveries between sets. We increased the pace as we passed each lampost, so we were at maximum at the last one. We jogged back down each time. The weather was atrocious, yet we had the highest turn out since I have been with the club. There were quite a few who I hadn't seen before, and they were very fast. There must be lots of members who don't regularly attend club sessions.

Ran home in pitch black as torch batteries dying, managed on the third rep of a sprint to get the heart rate up to 179 but reckon in daylight on a hill probably go a touch higher as wasn't ready to throw up or wobbly legged. Will try harder.

TE guess the New Year brings out those who are making a fresh start with New Year Resolutions.

Matsum Heart Rate Monitor straps across the chest but if it slips can fail to pick up the beat occasionally but useful to know how fit you are.

mcs, I'll have a look at Speedcross. I do have trail shoes, but sometimes conditions are so muddy, that even more grip would be useful. I still haven't tried a max heart rate test as JJ describes, just taken the figure from a challemging hilly race. One day I must!

Mattsmum, your training is off to a very good start, and you run far better than I did when starting preparation for my first marathon. My elder daughter likes running, but hasn't managed to do much recently with 2 small sons. However, the three year old has mastered a two wheeler bike, and has been cycling to and from school with his elder brother, and Jo is running alongside for safety reasons, so running two one mile round trips three times a week, which is good multi-tasking! Glad you have a hotel sorted. Our running club runs a coach to VLM. It means a horribly early start, but I don't sleep all the well the night before anyway, and there is great camaraderie (and cake!) on the coach.

TE, hope the tooth extraction goes smoothly. We have also done those 'pyramid hills', and are building more regular hill sessions of all types into the schedule.

I had a very muddy, tough but pleasant Sunday run with two friends from running club. It is a complete circumnavigation of Lyndhurst, just over 8 miles. I had to hose down the shoes after that one!

I meant to say that I'm also a fan of running clubs, assuming you can find a nice friendly and supportive one which trains at a time that suits you. Our club has organised sessions on Monday & Wednesday, a social run on Fridays (on trails with head-torches at this time of year) and an occasional organised Sunday morning longer run. Otherwise I run alone on Sunday, or arrange something with a friend from the club. We also have some social events, and like TE's club, which is quite nearby, take part in an inter-club race series (10 Wednesday evenings over the summer and 6 Sunday mornings over the winter). Clubs who participate take a turn to organise & marshall one of each.