@turboferret – Those shoes look like you’ve bandaged your feet! Good timer despite your disappointment.

I did my mile and came in at about 6:11 with gravity assist. Not unexpected as not really been doing any speedwork. Hope to break 6 one day.

Finished the 80/20 book and loads of good ideas in there. Like the idea of polarised training and the lactate threshold (thanks @sowler) seems to be a good way to work out zones, as well as perceived effort.

I’ve got the club 10K in 3 weeks (same route for all, but can do it solo any time over a week) and I’ve devised a condensed training plan from a 12 week plan in the book – 1 week base, 1 week peak and 1 week taper, all on the 80/20 principle. Not sure it will be long enough but there are a couple ef hill type sessions, a bit of tempo, but lots of longer, slower runs. Some recovery runs are in zone 1, which I can’t see being much above walking pace. Is that right? Just about got on top of keeping in zone 2, which feels slow, but zone 1 is going to be tough!

Hoping to go sub 45 on a flat course – I did it last time with a nice gravity drop for the first 2Km. Being not very experienced at 10K I think I went off too fast and suffered for about 95% of it and slightly twinged my arch. Going to go off slower and build up throughout the race.

Discovered Garmin Connect Workouts. Created all of the training sessions I need in Garmin Connect, which was really easy, uploaded to my watch, added them to the calendar, so I just get on my shoes, get out there and press go.

As for shoes, I talked to a really helpful chap at a shop called Northern Runner. I was going to buy some wide toe box Brooks, but ended up with some Topo Ultrafly in size 12. So far so good – loads of room in the toes, lighter than my Saucony, lower drop at 5mm which I like and after 35Km the arch pain is going. Expensive but hopefully worth it.

Keep at it all.

Just back from easy run number 2. Went on heart rate and perceived effort. Really hard to hold myself back from racing people up hills butanagwd it. 12k, 5:37/km pace which is a minute down on usual pace but felt good at the end. Legs feeling used but body in good spirits.

Mile challenge tomorrow, which won’t be as pleasant.

Loving the book BTW. After yesterday’s run, I think I’m going to drink the kookaid.

@surfer. That book arrived today and I’m going to start it shortly.

Thanks for input on heart rate, guys.

I must admit, I really felt the 55 min slow run this morning, although last night I got in fresh. Strange but true.

Thanks for the input, peoples.

I realise it’s not that accurate but I’m not experienced enough to judge a pace properly yet, but I’m getting better. To be fair to it, when I started getting a bit breathy the monitor indicated 155 and rising, backing off to easy brought it down within 30 seconds so it certainly is reading something. I’m sure in a couple of months I will do it instinctively but until then it’s a good guide.

As a reference I usually run at 160+.

It did feel slow but not too bad. Was doing between 4:52 and 5:48 for the kms. Slowed right down on the hills instead of powering up like normal. Only had heart rate on watch so didn’t look at pace or time. The km times flashed up to give an idea of distance.

Question about zones though. The Garmin seems to say my easy is zone 2, but I’ve always thought it was zone 3. Strava says it’s zone 3. Anyone else come across this?

Also, is it ok to edit the zones a bit? At heart rate 151 it still felt easy but pushed me into next zone. I seems to be able to maintain 151 easier than 149.

Easy run tonight in new shoes. 10.5km and ran on heart rate – kept it below 149 if I could. Very different experience and really very pleasant. Felt very different to my usual tempo runs which tend to hurt and took in the beautiful scenery of south west London. Could get used to it and push the distance when I get used to shoes. Slightly sore calves, one toe still hurts but wider toe box will hopefully be good in long run.

Looking at pace afterwards it dropped off a bit towards the end but that’s probably
Expected.

Been looking at how I run regarding heart rate zones. I realise my watch hrm isn’t the most accurate but it gives a good general view. It seems most of my runs are tempo or threshhold which is typical of me – push as hard as I can as I enjoy the feeling of running “fast”. I find jogging a bit boring but I guess it has its own pleasures.

After studying a number of people I know on Strava they seem to be doing a lot more miles at lower intensity so I’ve bought that 80/20 book mentioned earlier and will see if I can learn something from it.

Also got some new shoes coming today as, after a discussion with a great shop, I realise my shoes are long and pointy and I need long and wide. Sick of bruised, sore toes and aching arches So I ordered some clown shoes and will see how I get on. It’s a risk not tying them on but not much choice at present.

@j4mesj4mes – I think I’ve narrowed it down to some Brooks Adrenaline GTS 20. Thanks for the input. Can I ask how much you size up in them? I’m 11 so tempted to go for a 12.

Cheers.

Just found out why the camera cut out:

Saw the iss but not the dragon. Too light here in London still. Shame as whole family out looking. Convenient the camera cut out for the landing.

These threads ebb and flow. Started month well and have been a bit slack as it got hotter and I’ve got arch pain. Been out a couple of times a week. Mrs root started “running” and attempting couch to 5k which I’m very proud of her for as she has never liked sport of any kind. Think it’s mainly to get out of the house and escape the kids for half hour.

Been doing 10k or there abouts, all on the road to avoid the massing throngs of Cummings wannabes. After my virtual club 10k 2 weeks ago I haven’t pushed myself that hard as it was incredibly hard, especially solo. I can see myself enjoying a competitive 10k with a large group as it seems the sort of distance where tactics, pacing and the ability to suffer come into play. 5k is just a full on blast from flag to finish, enjoyable in its own way, but, but not long enough for tactics.

Impressive stats from the Wimbledon president. Still got my second mile to do this week for the challenge. I fear I will be slower as haven’t really done speed work for months.

Ok, shoes. I like my saucony omni iso 2
Support shoes as I’m a knock-kneed eejit. But, I get bruised toes and my arch hurts. Shall I buy a pair of the same a half or full size bigger, it go for something else? I like a big toe box and a drop of around 8mm. These are for road and dry trails to link up roads.

Keep it up! Enjoy reading of people’s experiences.

Channel 4 and the mail did well. The whole story doesn’t wash.

@mehr

Tragic, very sorry.

You’ve inspired me to write to my (Tory) MP. I will follow your example and will try to remain civil.

Some very emotional and heart-wrenching stories from members on here. Luckily I’ve only lost out on family contact and we have been ok, but it’s been tough. To say I’m furious does not come close to describing how I feel about this stab in the back.

All I can say is that as soon as Boris backed this vermin, he essentially signed his own execution papers. This villain is what the country voted for and his true colours are now out for all to see. If even the Mail is turning on him then surely, surely this is the end of the rat.

But the question remains, as has been asked here recently, is what does Dom have over Bozza? Dirt? Who really pulls the strings?

I’ll try to adapt, but it’s not just running in the heat, it’s anything. Anything above 20 degrees (much less if running) and my brain goes soggy, limbs lose coordination and I act like superman with kryptonite around his neck. I’m sure my ancestry must have been Scandinavian or from somewhere of cooler climes. I’ve always been like that and it’s a bit of a running (sic) joke in the family. I seem to perform best at a wet, muddy, January parkrun at a nice cool temp of about 3 degrees. It’s not pleasant, but suits me.

No choice but to get out there and change my physiology.

@turboferret. Sorry I was unclear. That is his marathon record – 2:34 or something. We are trying to all run a mile and see if our 26 miles added together would beat him. I have failed, but I get another chance next week and hopefully will be cooler.

I bet you could do a 4:30 mile?

Not saying you have to like the guy, although some of his videos are quite good, but this is quite amusing. It’s a 4 minute mile.

Injuries are a fact of life I think. I tweaked my arch doing my 10K on Sunday- still hurts a bit today but not too bad. Thing is my shoes hurt the side of my right foot just putting them on so I think there might be something wrong. I really dislike hunting for shoes, especially if you can’t visit a shop.

As for the mile, I did my mile challenge today. There’s a member of our club who holds the record of 2:34 or something and the idea is that we all attempt to run a mile as near to that pace as we can and see if we can beat him. Even mostly downhill I could only manage 6:06, which is slower that he did. My speed has gone a bit over the past few weeks but I gave it full beans. I know there are people on here who run faster marathons. It’s quite incredible what the human body is capable of.

We did a Kipchoge challenge a few months back – run 200m at his marathon pave (34 seconds). Basically a sprint for me – remarkable.

As for the 4 minute mile, I agree it has been diminished in stature over the years because quite a few elites have achieved it, but just trying to run at that pace for any length of time is an absolute eye-opener. About 30 second 200m slacked together, stunning. watching Cram and Co make it look so effortless back in the day always inspired me, but just thinking how Bannister ran that fast on a cinder track, in slippers and without modern scientific methods is simply stunning. Freaks of nature maybe, but it still took some doing. Surfer – 4:17 is mighty impressive though!

Thanks. Mine still feel quite young really. Maybe the pain is just because I pushed it to the limit on Sunday. A few day’s rest should help. It was worth it to get the time though!

Shoe question, sorry. After my full on 10k run on Sunday my arch started hurting. Shoes are on 250 miles. How many miles do you get out of your shoes?
Cheers.

I love the idea of zero drop, minimalist stuff and started running about 9 months ago in Merrell barefoot shoes. Had the usual calf pain, but feet not too bad
After short runs but hurt after longer runs.

Joined a running club and nobody was wearing minimalist shoes. Nobody. And they were fast. After a few months I swallowed my pride, got some normal shoes with an 8mm drop and found my feet felt great after longer runs, the calf pain disappeared and knee pain went. YMMV.

Trail shoes are different. Lower drop
And more minimalist – i think they work because your feet and body are constantly adapting to the terrain.

It’s Sutton Runners 10k day!

Of course, it’s been called off but we’re all doing our own solo 10k.

New 10k PB!

Went out bright and early, started on the highest place in the known universe (Rose Hill roundabout), ran down to Merton Park and flogged myself around there until my watch told me it was mercifully all over. It was my first 10k “race” and I probably went off too fast.

Still, I got a pb of over 2 minutes to come in at 44:40 so pretty happy with that! Not sure I could do it on a completely flat course yet, but I won’t be far off.

@turboferret. Certainly doesn’t look like you’ve lost any speed!

Cheers for encouragement. I think running to Battersea park would kill me! After 6.8 miles I’d be no good to man or beast. It’s hard to find a flat route around here. It’s not exactly mountain country, but when you’re pushing for a time a 2 minute incline just saps the energy. I don’t think runners benefit S much from downhill as cyclist as it still hurts to go for it on the downs.

@turboferret

Class but if running for that 5k last week. Immense pace! Nice going this morning too – looked proper tough on the pace chart and very consistent splits. Nice.

@dashed

Funny you should say that about a 10k. Well done on that time – you will def crack it. Never actually run a 10k as a distance before – always more so the 10k is part of a longer run. Pb was 49 mins something but went out on Friday for my run and a few km in I thought I would do a 10k. A fairly undulating route and included 2k slow start as warm up and came in at 46:42. Beat my age and happy with time. Pace was 4:40/km

Some comments got me thinking I might be able to nudge a 45 as its 4:30/km pace.

Went out yesterday to try to hold a pace if 4:30 for as long as I could. Got to about 6km then I felt the previous day’s run and caved in. I should have known as I’m the sort of runner who needs long recoveries and I’m never good at consecutive days. Will try again soon. 45 minute 10k seems less painful that a sub 20 5k for some reason.

Definitely not worth it, but have often thought of ways.

One way I came up with, which was quite elegant and simple I thought, was to get group policy to run a startup script hidden somewhere on the server, on all the clients. The batch file would simply have one line that read “pause”. Never tested it.

Nothing is broken, PCs won’t boot, but it would be a pain to find the cause for anyone not in IT.

Like the desktop image trick too.

@turboferret – Brilliant video and a stunning effort, mate! The thing that gets me about fast runners is that they, like you Turbo, just don’t look like they are trying. They effortlessly glide across the land as if propelled by an invisible helping hand. It looks so easy to emulate, until you try to keep up with someone on the track or parkrun and you’re breathing blood, limbs-a-thrashing, basically sprinting just to keep up for a few hundred metres. A different breed. Great stuff! I’ve seen your Strava and you seem to have the mojo back and are getting the miles in.

I haven’t posted here for a while – it’s all gone mad. Missing club nights and interval sessions but Sutton Runners have a virtual 5K every week where we post a 5K on Strava and have an aggregate of our previous times to beat. It’s tough pushing hard on your own. When you’re surrounded by other folk who are close to death and collapsing across the line it feels ok, but I feel a bit self-conscious in the street on Sunday morning trying to avoid people and looking like I’m about to have a seizure. I’ve posted 20:57, 22:01 and 21:31 so far (I think) but the faster ones were aided by a gravity-assisted drop-in. I get points for going uphill, not down, so I won’t win.

Been running every few days to keep sane. Was heading to parks, but they are packed with people around here (not unlike a turn-of there century Impressionist painting) so I stick to the roads now – easier to avoid people by jumping into the empty roads devoid of cars. Not huge mileage – 21K last week, but that’s good for me.

Bought a turbo trainer – good fun, especially when it gets harder going up hill. Nothing like being out. As the roads are so quiet, it’s not too bad on the streets and far less people than the parks.

My goal of a sub-20 monte parkrun seems a bit far off now as I’ve definitely lost some pace over the weeks but I’m not going to worry about it any more – just keep ticking over and build back up again when we are let out.

One thing I’ve discovered is that running in the heat is even worse than cycling. Not a fan of hot weather anyway, but it’s very hard for me to stay cool when running. Throw in some lovely tree pollen and it has not been too pleasant.

Hope everyone is keeping safe, keeping well and keeping sane! Great to read all your stories and keep them coming – all are an inspiration. Cheers.

A touring bike is not a bad suggestion. My gravelly thing is more tourer than racer with drop bars level with the saddle and quite short reach. I can use all the positions (and do) on a ride.

Discovered a long time ago I prefer drops for road and light off road due to “hood”
Position. You tend to stay in the same position on bike more so the option to move hands is a wrist- saver.

Mtb a bit different as the body moves around so much the hands are happy where they are. Ymmv.

@kilo. How are you getting on with it?

Kona Unit? Sliding dropouts, old ones 135mm. Nice frames, but quite chunky. My xl weighs 2.7kg for just the frame so not terrible.

Not even tempted to unsubscribe. The content isn’t always relevant to me these days, but there’s always a couple of gems in the mag.

Been buying the mag on and off since the early days and so glad it and the forum still alive. Tough times for us all, but it’s bringing people together more than ever so we can get through this!

Had a few but most memorable was a completely jammed freewheel just before summiting Snowdon. It rendered the bike a fixed gear which was terrifying descending on the brute. I soon resorted to just unhooking the chain from the cassette and freewheeling down most of it. Managed to mill away about half the alu chainstay. Chucked the frame afterwards. Only.came off once.

@alex, what size is that you’ve got there? Looks good.

So, people have had their Tempests for a while now. How are you getting on with them? They do look good.

Very tempted but I just can’t seem to get the geometry to work for me. At present I ride steel Graventurex bike with a 71 degree head angle, 380 reach and a 620 stack. Even then I have about 60mm of spacers on the steel steerer to get the bars up and it’s very comfy for me. Just can’t help thinking the front end will be way too low for me on these.

My son is a bit older at 10, but has had a Vitus 24 since he was 9. It’s really good for the price and he seems very stable on it.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-24-kids-bike/rp-prod168788

Love a rigid steel mtb. Wouldn’t want to ride any other sort of mtb these days.

Unit, Puffin and Stooge:

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Almost forgot my Claud Butler.

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Testing posting photos from instagram. The blue one is my youngest’s. I’ll post mine later.

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Brothers

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Looks like a new female parkrun record in Cardiff. Charlotte Arter, 15:49, and 93.5%!!!

She finished 8th but is the real winner.