Over 60s training.

Columba-Think i would choose not running,had enough of shuffling in the marathon and its painful.

Graham-Excellent result in xc with a very good pace as well.

My marathon training starts tomorrow and i am slightly apprehensive.
Generally i am not low on confidence but i have to be aware that i dont seem to be finding running easy at the moment.So i just intend to try and follow the plan as best i can,but if i have to drop a speed workout then so be it i will just take it easy. 

A very pleasant day for a run, not cold, sun shining, no wind, no rain.

As I started my run I realized that my legs felt surprisingly lively. I, therefore, set off down the trail to do a negative split and got a bit carried away and picked up my pace quite well. I ran hard for 30+ mins and then took a breather, saw my new friend, Sue running towards me, we chatted for about 3--5 mins and then I set off again.

The result was this:-

3.73 miles (6k), in 30.35 mins, av pace 8.12 mm, av HR 131, MHR 154 

 
Splits
5.30 mins, av pace 8.51 mm, HR 118/125---uphill
5.14 mins, av pace 8.26 mm, HR 122/126--downhill
5.06 mins, av pace 8.13 mm, HR 127/131--downhill
5.07 mins, av pace 8.14 mm, HR 137/142---mostly uphill
5.01 mins, av pace 8.05 mm, HR 141/144---downish
4.35 mins, av pace 7.22 mm, HR 149/154---uphill---I really worked hard here!

The 2nd phase of the run was 1.44 miles, av pace 8.19 mm, av HR 137, MHR 153

Splits
5.22 mins, av pace 8.39 mm, HR 129/138---uphill
5.06 mins, av pace 8.13 mm, HR 142/147---downish
1.30 mins, av pace 7.33 mm, Hr 150/153--flat!

total mileage for the session 5.17 miles.

busbar
All the best for your plan. I think you will find one day quite soon that your energy will be restored as long as you don't over do things in the mean time.

Ceal-Thank you-Well that was a very good session you ran there,you must be pleased and the hr drift was hardly anything considering the hills.

Good morning all,
Lousy weather here today, freezing rain of the worse kind, a layer of hard ice over everything. No running for me outside today.

ceal,
Such a positive run, you sound in very high spirits.

Busbar,
A bit worrying that your running is still not back to normal. Definitely caution rather than valour.

Columba,
Good question. Since injurying my achilles 3 years ago I have become a shuffler. It is not a good habit to get into but I find it is better than not running at all. I am now working hard to get out of the habit but it is not turning out to be easy. I have good flexibility and strength but it seems hard wired into my brain. My tender heels don't help of course.

I had a good long run at the weekend, 17.3k. I felt comfortable all the way and could have easily gone further but my heels were complaining over the last few k so  it was enough. 53 k for the week so good enough. 

Mick6-Good long run there and the weather here today is excellent,sun is out.
Definitely caution from me the first inkling its going wrong i will just bin it. 

Mick6
I am not sure my race was very positive, although on reflection it now looks more that way, but straight after the race, or even during the race, I wondered why I was doing it. But I was very pleased to have even entertained such a race, having never really done x-country at all until the last couple of months or so. However, I did feel positive about my run this morning, which I enjoyed. The weather, I think, played a big part in that.  

I do hope your heel sorts itself very soon, it has gone on for a long time now. I wonder if these would help. You may want to google 'correct toes' from your end. At the race on Saturday there was someone selling them, the only supplier in the UK and she was very positive about the use of them with regard to her feet which she said had been very rigid and not very flexible at all. https://nwfootankle.com/correct-toes  they ain't cheap!!

I hope your weather conditions change for you pdq. Good weekly mileage from you with an excellent long run thrown in for good measure.

good evening

that was a good weekend - and a bit!!

Impey
good going for a benchmark run in the Parkrun - the only way is up now!!

Mick6
despite your shuffle you are still cracking in some consistent mileage.
Yuck to that weather - see below for other weather tales 

Busbar
it doesn't help when the weather and general darkness are as they currently are. Why not just start out with something different like running 100m intervals - it so far removed from distance running that it could be another sport - and see how that goes??

Ceal
brave girl for sticking it out on/in Saturday's mud
Your legs were probably so pleased not to be running in it again that they  revelled in their freedom today. Nice pace both down and up!!!

I thought the voting in SPOTY went just as I predicted but Wiggin's margin was a surprise as was the total number of votes cast

1. Bradley Wiggins 492,064 (30.25%)

2. Jessica Ennis 372,765 (22.92%)

3. Andy Murray 230,444 (14.17%)

4. Mo Farah 131,327 (8.07%)

5. David Weir 114,633 (7.05%)

6. Ellie Simmonds 102,894 (6.33%)

7. Sir Chris Hoy 42,961 (2.64%)

8. Nicola Adams 35,560 (2.19%)

9. Ben Ainslie 35,373 (2.17%)

10. Rory McIlroy 29,729 (1.83%)

11. Katherine Grainger 28,626 (1.76%)

12. Sarah Storey 10,342 (0.64%)

Nice to see David Weir and Ellie Simmonds so high up too.

Nice touch from Wiggins when he absolutely refused to let Sue Barker turn it into "his" triumph - it was all about the team, he insisted.
All echoed by Dave Brailsford in his speech  too - those cyclists all seem to be very free from any ego!!

sorry Graham 
missed your xcountry exploits - a dirty big advert for headphones came across the page!! - excellent result.

I had too much to do before going away and relied upon someone else to pack the car - result no running gear. Just as well as everywhere was covered in black ice in the mornings, even pre breakfast walking was tricky!! 
I did see a pair of badgers not 10 yards in front of me  and watched them amble off into the woods, excellent spotting!!!

Coming back home the bright clear weather turned into dense fog and dreaded frost as we climbed up the Pennines. I kept a close eye on the temperature gauge and we were soon at  0C and the road assumed a nasty glassy appearance whereupon I slowed down. Up front a pale red hue tinged the sky and I wondered what it was until realised it was brake lights!!!!!!!!!!!!
Coming over the hill I saw a continuous ribbon of tail lights stretching into the distanceand then we stopped and waited. after an hour the nearside lane slowly edged forward and I managed to get off  onto a slip road where I ofund a parked police car whose occupants rather grumpily told me the whole of the A66 ( the main trans Pennine route) was closed and if I could find myself another route I was welcome to it!!! 
Icy roads alternated with flooded roads  as I did a long detour before finally getting back on track after another 1.5 hours or so. That took the gloss off a a very good mini break and some excellent food!!!!!!

TS,

That was a bit tough on you having to divert and take a longer time to return home.  Does spoil things just when you had a nice break beforehand.  Certainly not "the icing on the cake" .

Thanks for positive comment re Parkrun race.  I clearly expected too much of myself for this one !

Ceal,
No, I shan't give up on 5ks. If I did it would be because I'd stopped running altogether and that is not what I intend  .   I thought about missing Parkruns out for a few Saturdays but the appeal is always there and I want to achieve getting my "50" shirt eventually.

That was an excellent  finishing position in your race, near as dammit in the first third of the field.   Unlucky that guy caused a knock on your leg but it sounds alright judging by your run out today.  Split times to die for .

Set out to repeat same route and same direction as the two runs last week. Some of the trails were muddy and well puddled,  it was good to run on dry tarmac paths on the 3rd and 4th miles.  Hence I seem to always get a better pace on 4th mile on this particular route.  Not a single runner was seen, only peeps with dogs. Don't know why, it was fine with light winds though threatening dark skies produced downpours later after I finished my run.

Mile splits....11.56,  10.41,  10.32,  9.56  10.13 and 1/2 mile warmdown at 13min/mile pace.   total 5.5 miles ran.

I was hoping Jessica would get the Sportsperson of the year but Bradley was worthy of it.  Surprised that Mo Farrar was way down the list.

Had to smile when the screen switched to the States and Andy Murray wasn't presented his prize by the guy who stood with him.  Andy looked a little embarrassed having to pick it up himself !

'lo all
Haven't run for a couple of days. Legs have been very tight after too much gardening.
Finally got MrsJJ's  personalised number on the new car.

Columba
The shuffle is to be avoided at all costs but it's something that happens very easily to older runners. Ignore this if you just want to run slow. Guard against it by concentrating on style, particularly lifting the heels by pulling them backwards and upwards. Speed training is a necessity for us mature types because it's a more natural style when running as fast as possible.

Ceal
Your race was very respectible, especially as XC isn't your forte.
Liked your training session very much. 

TS
Bit of a nerve-wracking journey there. Glad you made it back safely.
JJ

Widdley Braggins was the right result for SPotY. Winning the T de F and an Olympic time trial are as different events as it gets. I know about these things!

I'm just a little disappointed that the  Brownlee brothers didn't feature.
JJ

Morning all
ceal
You might have just solved a problem I was about to have with your comment on doing intervals to prevent shuffling. Mt friend and I are going to meet up for our Ye Olde Winter Solstice run but I haven'e been running much (and not on the road) so didn't want to risk it but could defo do intervals.

Have been busy and enjoying myself. Last nigth was my first experience of beatbox which was amazing.  The Boxettes and Shlomo and the lIp Factory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIUkVnC2K20  Can't do links

Morning all,
It will be snowing all day today on top of yesterday's ice so definitely a treadmill for me. I hope all of this clears up by Friday as we are driving up to the Bay of Fundy for Christmas. A 2 day journey.

ceal,
Thanks for the link. I compared my toes to the pics and I seem okay as my toes are well spread. I am going to try the shoe test they suggest, where you stand on the insole and see if your toes spread outside it.

TS,
Strange as it may seem, road closures are very rare here. I have know it happen due to white out conditions but not ice. A white knuckle ride is never fun.

JJ,
Your question about change here in the last 50 years got me thinking and I even asked some friends what they thought last night at the pub. General opinion is that society here has hardly changed at all. There has been some changes in the big cities, Toronto and Vancouve,r but the rest of Canada is much the same and would be easily recognised by their great grandparents.
I have a personalised number plate on my motorbike, Mick6. It is fun as everyone knows my name, so at the gym, where I am constantly meeting new people, they all call me by my name without me introducing myself.

Despite my complaining heels my running is going well. My current plan has me maintaining 30+ miles a week until Feburary with a couple of down weeks over Chrstmas. I am hoping this will rebuild my base so I can start my speed recovery for my 10k in May. I don't intent to do any formal speed work until then, just pickups and progressives when I feel in the mood and the weather permits.

good day

must be all out Christms shopping - just small and exquisite things for me please !!

Impey
good miles there 

RE SPOTY - in another year the total votes cast for Mo would have been nearly enough to win - volume of voting was exceptionally high

JJ
I think the Brownlees didn't make the short list on the basis that they will be around for a number of years to come to win it!! They both look ridiculously young still - I wonder if they will turn out for the local race up Chevin on Boxing Day - they often do. Ali B is the course record holder.

'Tis the Christmas lights run tonight followed by pub grub and proper beer 

Unfortunaltey I have to be up quite early in the morning to get the train to Bristol for meetings over the next two days. I thought I would try the train after recent car journeys but it is going to take over 4 hours each way!!! Oh well at least I can get some work done.....................

mick6
you obviously finished your shopping early  
Hope the heel stands up to your programme
It was an overturned tanker that blocked the road rather than the ice itself but none of the heavy stuff could turn off as the minor roads up there all have bridges with weight restrictions on them 

I was doing my drop heel raises this morning and realised half way through that my achilles don't hurt any more - or at least no more than when one subjects them to doing such exercises with dirty great weights strapped on one's back!!!
The tendon is still a bit thicker in the right than the left  but that is a legacy of old injuries past - so onward and upward!!!

Torque Steer - good to hear the archilles is behaving itself. You really do a lot of travelling don't you!

Impey - good effort in the Parkrun - we can only do what our bodies will allow us. I find if I do most of my runs easy, I can make it work a little harder in races. 

Graham - sounded like a tough course that needed spikes or off-road shoes - well done for completing it.

Ceal - I am continually amazed that all your runs are quality ones. Great placing btw in your race.

Columba - you can run slowly without shuffling, just think about your form, and relax and run without pushing. I do most of my running pretty slowly. The shuffle only comes in for me in the marathon, or in a race where I have pushed myself too hard. Some race pics are not pretty!

busbar - good luck with the marathon training - why not wait till after xmas? I usually don't worry about my lack of running about this time as I know it is difficult to get the runs in.

Mick - nice long run.

My 3000m was run in 25 degrees - I even got sunburnt! Not nice. I didn't have a good run, 13.44 - only 5 secs slower than last time, but I felt worse. Think it is time to do more long easy running. Trouble is it is too hot and this morning very humid!