Over 60s training. - Page 7 - Training

Johnny J

18/03/2003 at 17:02

Running another 1/2m (Paddock Wood) on Sunday, plus an afternoon 5 miles, as final FLM distance training. It will be interesting to see how I react to consecutive 1/2m's. Last year I did three on alternate weeks with a pb on the last one.
JJ

ceal

19/03/2003 at 08:06

JJ, I am again impressed. I tend to keep my races quite far apart. Maybe because I have not yet been running as long as you. (Not yet 2 years). I seem to take long time to recover from a race, although that is getting easier each time.

Re feeling different etc. I feel different to my friends out of the gym situation, and yes you get all the stuff/rubbish you said, "I used to be a cross country runner, etc but like you they follow that with remarks like my knees are bad now etc etc" Well I could easily stop because of my knee, but I just run through it and in fact I think they are better since the running.
But in the gym, I happily chat to a 30 year old pacing away on the treadmill as if he was one of my contempories. Forgetting that I am twice his age!

Just for the record, after 30 odd years of skiing, (a good skier), I had a serious accident some 5 years ago. I had a helicoptor rescue off the mountain side after wrapping myself around a metal post at speed. This resulted in major abdominal surgery, and a couple of broken ribs. I am lucky to be here. The minor injuries were to my left shoulder and knee. I still have restricted movement in my shoulder, but so what. The knee became a problem and I had to give up tennis. Hence the running after a 17 year gap. It just did not like the twisting movements needed for tennis.I feel very proud of myself to be running competitively again. I have to say I have not tried skiing again, I do snow shoe walking instead which is great fun, and hard work too. I have nothing to proove to myself by skiing again.

19/03/2003 at 08:46

Ceal
Bit of a drastic thing to do just to get a helicopter ride. Actually, you sound very lucky to be doing anything at all. You are obviously a natural athlete. I played rugby until aged 38/39 and by the time I was in my mid-50s I had developed all sorts of knee and foot problems including fallen arches in both feet. I decided to ignore advice about being careful etc.etc.and started running. First run/walk took me 1hr.10mins for 3.5 miles. Within three months everything had started to strenthen up and aches and pains began to ease as everything started to do its job properly. Within six months, no pains, no arch supports. I'm sure there's a moral there somewhere.
Anyway, I'm impressed. You are obviously a veteran recruit with huge potential.
JJ

Impey

20/03/2003 at 00:19

Hi all......
Just keeping the thread alive.
Yesterday gym only.
Today 5 miles including 2 miles + hill running. Methinks maybe the hills will improve legwork.
My only claim to accident fame was crashing into a cow on an Ariel Leader a few decades ago. Got away with suspected concussion,facial cuts and smashed teeth. Someone asked what happened to the cow...it was in the next ward.
Re: your escapades(JJ and Ceal) its just great how you both came through and still the envy of many a younger version to boot.

ceal

20/03/2003 at 08:04

JJ Well done to you too, ignoring the advice that is. I was supposed to have scans, surgery etc for my shoulder and knee. I just walked away from the advice. I will have surgery when my probelms prevent me from living life. I do not want to run the risk of making any problems WORSE.

I wish I was a natural athelete, I have to work hard at everything. However, I am very competitive. The brain has not brought me much accolade, so I have to depend on the body for any glory.

Ceal

20/03/2003 at 08:26

LI
What was a cow doing on an Ariel Leader?
I remember how people used to get the two stroke fuel mix wrong and they used to smoke like fury. Or was it that they were just clapped out?

Ceal.
Mental strength is as important as physical strength. For instance, you have to be strong to get out there in the first place. Such a person will always beat he ones who look for excuses not to go. I also refuse to overstate my mileage. So many people seem to be able to turn 5.5 miles into 6. If you are mentally strong enough to admit that you have only done 5.5 miles and therefore you must do another .5 to meet your target you are going to accumulate steadily (whoops, nearly split an infinitive there) a small fitness advantage. Theses are the things I associate with mental strength just as much as being able to try harder when it hurts.
JJ

ceal

20/03/2003 at 10:02

JJ I agree with you. I run round a local resevoir each week, I run twice round + a 20 minutes more. It is impossible to know exactly how far it is. There is a sign for the cyclists suggesting that it is 7.2 miles round. I know that is incorrect because I know how fast I run, and I determine the distance to be more like 6.8 miles. This distance is backed up by the local running shop. However, so many people are kidding themselves that they are running 7.2 miles in such and such a time. But they are only cheating on themselves.

LI You have got my imagination going again.
Yes hills certainly help with the legs strength. I find I can run the hill OK but when I get to the top and it levels out as opposed to being downhill that my legs begin to feel tired and it is a bit of a struggle until I recover. I guess that will get better as time goes on. I have tried running the hill a little slower but that does not seem to make a lot of difference.

I have been around a bit in helicoptors. My daughter and myself were rescued by naval helicoptor off the beach on Hayling Island some 18 years ago when we were windsurfing. It was in the very early days of winsurfing, big rigs. We could not get our mast and sail up as there was a huge swell on a sandbank, and meanwhile the tide had changed! My son got back OK and called the coastguard. All very embarassing really. We were winched up and landed on a beach, full of grockles just outside our house!!
It made the newspapers. I don't tell this story very often, and now I am announcing it to the whole world!

20/03/2003 at 10:16

Exhibitionist tendencies.
JJ

ceal

20/03/2003 at 13:06

JJ mmm, I try

ceal

20/03/2003 at 20:32

Hi again,
Thanks everybody for the entertainment and advice. I'm avoiding cows, L.I. My training today was done by chasing sheep. Little b.....s.

Hey Ceal, your 16 miler was a sub 9 minutes. Superb. Re. your attitude to the marathon, I think that Henry Ford hit the spot when he said:
`If you think you can do it, you're right.
If you think you can't do it. you're still right.'

I think that also goes for the people who have niggles and aches as an excuse not to run. And the worst excuse of all.....age!

I raced Ospreys at Hayling Island many years ago. What I remember most were the tides!!!

Do persevere with the hill reps everybody. They really are beneficial both in terms of improving speed and lowering the lactic acid threshold. Don't be impatient - just build slowly. Another beauty is that the hill rep session is relatively short (so easier to fit into real life) and need not be timed - blessed relief from that pesky watch.

A 30k race this weekend and I am relying on it as an indication as to what my target time in the FLM should be. If you don't hear from me again you will know that I am gutted and wandering aimlessly around Cornish clifftops. Otherwise I'll speak to you next week.

Byee

ceal

21/03/2003 at 09:14

JJ good luck for the half this weekend. I look forward to hearing all about it. I was to be away early next week. Plans changed to the following week. All change for my training plans. A 6 day week this week. So have cut out the speed/hills in favour of just running the miles. Next week will be messed up. But hey I am sure it will all come together in the end and it certainly is not the end of the world.

Pussy, all the best for the 30k race. I am sure we are all waiting to hear from you asap afterwards. Please call in what ever your time. Like I said to Johnny, the FLM is what you have been training towards and is what you will be tapering for. I am of the opinion, rightly or wrongly, that as we mature, we perhaps need a little more tapering than our younger competitors.

Is there anyone out there that can comment on that last sentence.

Are either you Johnny or Pussy being sponsored this year for the FlM?

Johnny J

21/03/2003 at 18:33

Hi Ceal.
Cruised through a 6 miler this afternoon. Could have gone on for miles but I'm conscious of the 1/2m on Sunday. Just shows what a day's rest will do.
As for 'oldies' tapering for the FLM, I always do a two week taper. The first week I do 2/3rds to 1/2 the normal distances(depends on how I feel) and the second week about 1/2 to 1/3 the normal distances with nothing at all in the last two days. It's actually very, very hard work to contain oneself but it really does pay off. Unfortunately I was not a runner when I was young so I have nothing to compare with.
JJ
JJ

Impey

22/03/2003 at 00:30

Pussy......heres wishing you a purrfect day for your 30k. Is that 18.6 miles then?
JJ....And I extend good luck to you too Johnny. Not that you need luck as you certainly seem to know what to do,before and during!
As for me a good 6 mile plus run today including those testing hills again. Could have gone on longer but the parkgates close at 5 and I didn't fancy running as much as another 7 miles home. The car might have been wheel-less next day.
Off to Yarmouth tomorrow so looking forward to a run in different surroundings again.

Impey

22/03/2003 at 00:32

Btw has anyone had trouble logging on to RW? I had to re-submit my e-m and password before being allowed to post on thread.

Just Spud

22/03/2003 at 09:36

I did not have ant problem, L Imp.

Good luck JJ and Pussy!

23/03/2003 at 14:37

Afternoon all. Just to report 1-47-38 for Paddock Wood 1/2m. Tooooooooo hot! very uncomfortable. No wonder I don't race in summer.
JJ

23/03/2003 at 20:28

LI I've had that problem a couple of times before but not recently.
JJ

ceal

24/03/2003 at 08:26

JJ I have not doubt you will have more to say on yesterdays half. After a decent taper you will knock minutes off!

Yes wasn't it hot yesterday, I had a problem taking on enough fluids.

I ran 16 miles again yesterday, which was only 6 days since my last 16 miles. Which probably was not very sensible, but next week I have 3 days off (roll on, I say). I ran the distance some 10 minutes slower on purpose. The only trouble is it took 2 and half hours, which is the longest I have ever ran in one go. I did not sleep very well and thus now feel beaten up. My legs feel fine, it's just the rest of me. Although I have to say I feel a little better since I got up. I realise I have ran 45 miles in last 7 days. I foud it difficult to eat yesterday after the run, although I did and felt rough for doing so. I drank as much as I was able to after my run for the rest of the day. My resting pulse (51)is only a couple of beats up today, so that is good news. so I guess what I am feeling is overtiredness, which was self inflicted.

ceal

24/03/2003 at 08:31

L imp. I hope you had a good w/e on the coast. Did you have it as hot as we did, or was therea sea breeze. I have never seem so many people at our resevoir before, even on a Bank Holiday.

I had problems on Saturday in getting into RW site, I had to shut my computor down and re boot in order to make a connection. But I wasn't sure if that was my server giving me a hard time!

Johnny J

24/03/2003 at 09:01

Hi Ceal
45 miles in 7 days is a lot so no wonder you felt off-colour yesterday. Very impressive though. Don't forget it's all supposed to be enjoyable as well.
I've never done 45 miles in a week.

On another tack, I don't think this website is the most stable one around so if anything goes funny I would suspect them first.
JJ