Santa Dash today. Was hoping for a too 10 and came in second! Not really a race but it’s likely to be the only time I ever trouble the podium.

Stopped after 1km while an fellow Sutton Runner tied their shoelace, but I couldn’t have caught the winner.

Legs were A bit tired after a parkrun pb of 21:14 yesterday.

I got the firm block too – much better. Also reversed the saddle clamp so it is higher and further back and put slightly wider flat bars on – it is the 2SL so came with flats. Position is now almost identical to my old Xc style mountain bikes so quite comfy but not too upright.

The 2 Speed is good as the gear mech is so simple it doesn’t create any real drag. Also lowered the gears somehow – either a smaller chainring or larger sprockets, but can’t remember which.

It’s funny and against general consensus it appears, but I hate the tings at 100PSI – very skittish and harsh. Much better around 60psi where it softens the ride a bit and absorbs the bumps. They are good for short sprints but a bit of a pain to ride any distance over about 5 miles.

Some great runs going soon here. Most of my running seems to be struggling up and down the A217 with the occasional foray into a muddy field – living the dream!

First time on a bike this Saturday gone – a lap of Swinley on a retro bike with a load of retro blokes. Here’s what I thought would happen:

1. Legs would feel it as bike muscles not been used for a while.
2. Backside would hurt the day after.
3. I’d feel sprightly on the hills due to losing nearly a stone since the summer and doing running intervals and XC. V02 max has gone up and I can push myself further than only three months ago.

So, off I went, keeping pace with the 2 fast guys up front, blast up the first hill, and here’s what happened:

1. Legs felt it as expected – the burn!
2. Yes, my backside hurts today – no suspension, 26″ wheels and anti brakes make for a lively ride.
3. Felt like absolute crap, lungs burning, gasping for breath, felt like I was going to die after one hill that I used to zip up on the single speed – proper oxygen debt, almost scared at one point Felt like an unfit old man and by the end I was pooped – a full 21Km of riding on what isn’t the most demanding of terrain. Maybe I was expecting too much?

To be fair, I did keep up with the middle of the group and wasn’t the slowest, but I was expecting to feel fit and sprightly. The wind has been taken out of my sails a bit and I get the feeling old age is coming at me head-on, and I’ve got nowhere to hide. If I can’t hide, I’ll just have to keep running!

Been looking at that elevate App and there’s loads of lines that I think i’ve got the hang of. Just wondered what others fitness score is coming in at? I’m currently on 13.1, up from 4 in August. Not that it means much but it’s good geeky data.

Really like Spyres and compressionless seems to be key. Much better than the hybrid hydro/mechanical I had before.

I use old Campag Daytona shifters – quality items and work just fine. I think they are 9 speed and they will pull an xt mech on an 8 speed cassette with no meddling.

It’s getting fun now – the Muslim council has come out against the Conservatives. Lovely stuff.

Usually single speed and gravelly stuff, but this year I seem to have taken up running. Loving it so far, go two or three times a week and getting stronger.

Out at weekend in Swinley with the retro crew, global fat bike day soon. It’s all good. Be interesting to see how bike fitness is as I haven’t been on bike for a few months. Expecting a sore backside.

Inov-8 X-Talon 200 recommended. I was taking sloppy corners at normal speed with little or no slide. Straight through ankle deep mud without a worry about the heel slipping. Feel like proper mtb winter tyres strapped to your feet.

New mud shoes were great yesterday. For the first time I could run downhill, uphill and around corners without fear of crashing out. Could really lean on them and just run. It was V muddy. A revelation they were.

XC race was brutal as I was feeling rough with a cold, but pushed through and came fourth for team, albeit 4 minutes down on 3rd place man! One fast guy didn’t turn up. Faded in last half lap probably due to feeling ill. 36:53 for 7.84km so happy with that in the mud.

Rigid, steel, singlespeed. That’s all you need. What, you don’t all agree? Can’t see why.

@turboferret Good going for 10th with a buggy though. Wish I could do that sort of time without a buggy!

Here’s a controversial question. I’ve got a charity Santa dash next week. 5k run then I’m joining the family for a 1.2k walk afterwards. Now, do I “race” the 5k in my full Santa suite? I reckon there might be a few competitive dads taking part. I’m figuring if it’s 300 people, then 75 will be Runners and the mums will probably stay with the kids, leaving about 35 dads. I tend to always be slightly above average in most sporting events (unless it’s football) so would be looking at maybe a top 10 finish. Sad, I know, but it’s for charity and we have a fair bit of sponsorship, so got to make the most of it.

Question for TurboFerret:

Now I’ve joined the Strava group I’ve been snooping on some activities. Just wondered if you won the Sri Chinmoy 5k with the buggy? Brilliant pictures of you lined up on the front row with the buggy.

Local team XC for me on Saturday – South of Thames XC Morden Park – 5 miles, teams of 4. It’s my local park so easy to get to. New Inov-8 shoes have arrived so will be trying them out.

Yep, you are correct, all of you! Not sure why I posted such a negative thing – I’ve managed to pick up the cold the kids have had for the last week so feeling crap today – so sorry about that. I’m actually feeling pretty good about what I’m achieving on a personal level, not compared to others, and rather than look at what others are doing and feeling bad, it inspires me to get out there.

Bucked up I have been. Thanks.

I’ve joined too. Now to feel really inferior about my running. Onwards and upwards.

Tha is Alanf. I am definitely running with faster people at the club and I think over the past 5 weeks I have pushed myself much further than I would have if I’d been going solo. I’m just about keeping pace with the runners I considered way faster than me now over short distances but there are plenty of faster members.

Sub-22 was hard and I was using a fellow member as a pacer, but I was comfortable enough until I wound it up in the final km. It was slippery, gloopy, rooty, very muddy, I was sliding all over the shop, and I forgot my inhaler so I feel I have it in me to go faster.

Good to hear everyone enjoying getting on and moving those legs.

I’m on a bit of a high after the weekend. I think I am definitely going to aim for a sub 20 parkrun before I get too old and my legs fall off.

So, I improved by nearly 2 minutes over 5 week of club sessions and varied running. I need to increase my pace from 4:25/km to somewhere near 4:00/km which I know is mighty difficult. Any training suggestions or just stick with what I am doing and see where it leads?

Cheers.

I think I’ve narrowed down my XC/trail shoe down to the Inov-8 X-claw 200 in black. Low drop, light, wider fit in the toes, flexible, a bit of padding but not too much and what looks like great grip. Just need to work out if I need 11 (shoe size) or 11.5.

Us and them mentality. Problem is that foot users have right of way and that annoys some mtb folk as they have to slow down.

Good effort though and way beyond what I could do at the moment. I’m encouraged by my recent results and thinking maybe I could start doing longer races.

Nonsuch parkrun was great fun – another mudfest, sliding all over the place, hunting the verges, loved it.

Forgot all hope of a PB due to conditions and kept pace with a fellow Sutton Runner. Picked it up in the last km and gave it full beans.

Slightly shorter course by about 20m and not quite 5k. Previous best from a few weeks back was 23:48 on the summer course and I was hoping to dip under 23 minutes.

Came in at 21:48 and I’m really not sure where that came from. Pretty happy with that! Obviously hill training and the sessions with coaches are working. Next goal is of course sub 20 minutes, but that seems a long, long way off. There again, I never thought I could run sub 22 so who knows?

I need some proper deep studded trail shoes though as I’m sure I can pick up time if I have grip and don’t have to pussyfoot around.

Got my Saucony omni shoes for £79 quid in the end which I think is ok. It’s only £10 more than I paid for a pair of running shoes in about 2004 so can’t complain.

Been reading on them – sound pretty amazing. The foam returns 85% of energy which is nice. Apparently the Saucony with the everrun(tm) sole I’m receiving tomorrow will return 83% of energy, no more, no less, so I’m looking forward to springing my way to some personal beasts!

Is there really 2 inches of foam under the heel? Reminds me of back to the future, or some weird 1960s, psychedelic moon walking sequence from a sci-fi B movie.

Turbo: are those Nike shoes the ones Kipchoge used for the sub 2 hour marathon? Look subtle – think I’ll get a pair for work.

Laughed at the “He may not have know he was in a race, but he definitely lost”. Been there.

I did some solo hill sessions last night – 25 minutes of fast up and slow down. It was ok and I quite enjoyed it and was suitably frazzled at the end, but when I do it with others the competitive spirit kicks in and I push myself much further into the danger zone.

Might be a good thing as I want to be a bit fresh for a PB attempt a the Saturday pARkrUn. Hoping to go under 23 minutes from a current 23:48 PB. Not sure if I can on the winter course as I don’t know it and might be a bit slippery, but will give it a go.

As above, I think you can justify spending a fair bit with your ability Turbo.

Found some of the shoes at a much cheaper price. The saving will slow me to buy the trail spikes from the shop so I won’t feel so guilty. Road isn’t my favourite type of running, that would be trail, but the club sessions are on the road so I feel I should have some decent cushioning and support for my old bones. Hopefully they’ll work out.

They recommended the Omni iso2 which seem to have more extreme stability than the guide, but are of course less common and can’t find that many on discount. I’ll keep looking.

Been looking around and it seems that #120 isn’t that much for a decent pair of road shoes. Anybody got any experience of the Saucony Omni Iso2? Seemed very comfortable to me so might invest in a pair.
Cheers.

Great photos. Cold here, but not that cold.

Tried on some XC spikes yesterday and they are strange shoes. Nothing to them and very narrow so not sure they will work for me. Made the mistake of getting gait analysis done and some Saucony road shoes were a good fit and so comfortable compared to my minimalist things. Also offered support to stop foot collapsing inwards. Didn’t buy them as £120
Quid which seems a lot for A Pair of shoes to me.

Seems I need some new road shoes and some proper off-road shoes, so it’s a bit like bikes – N+1.

Brilliant photo, Turbo! The look your child’s face.

Found some Saucony Havok XC2 that look good and are half the price of the trail shoes I was considering. Might try to nip into Run And Become to have a look today. Any experience of these?

Turbo – I’ll check out some spikes as been looking at Inov-8 shoes costing upwards of 100 notes and they seem a bit excessive. Thanks.

Your mate must have been flying/skating to come second – some proper fast people on these races – great to be a part of, but a loooong way back. And we’re only Division 3!

Turns out my time does count toward the team result as we had a rogue runner in our results – I have now been promoted to 10th place, but because I’m obviously placed lower we score less and we have dropped into the relegation zone. There’s no way my 38:22 should be counting to our result as the next person in our team did a 35:59, so I’m way off the pace. I think our leader got a 22 but 3 of our faster runners weren’t there. Hopefully I won’t be in the top 10 again as feel a bit guilty, but I guess I was faster than the guy behind me so did what I could. Even so, it does feel good to be part of the “A Team”!

Well done to Izzy! It’s a confidence booster. Good stuff from others too.

Second round of the Surrey League XC on Epsom Downs yesterday in filthy conditions. Mud, rain, cold, lovely!

Last time out I took it easy as didn’t know if I could run 5 miles. Turns out I could but got slow time. This time thought I’d up the pace a bit and I’m really happy with my run – 11 out of 25 in team so I don’t score (first 10 do), but I was 3rd from last the previous time. Probably went a bit fast as got a new 5k record of 23:26 during race, hit the wall at 6k up the long drag of a hill at the back of the race course and felt properly crap, but picked it up again and managed a good finish.

Main problem was lack of traction – Bambi on roller skates for most of it, hunting out the long grass for grip which isn’t good for speed or energy conservation. Looking at some grippier shoes but without a big heel to toe drop as this seems to make my knees and groin flare up. Currently running Merrell Trail Glove with zero drop and despite tight calves, they are treating me quite well on road and dry trails. Any recommendations for the muddier stuff? Cheers.

Well done for getting back on the pony after injury. I’m keeping them at bay, just.

Did my first 10k ‘club run’ on Sunday. Easy pace, a few stops to wait for stragglers but made it in one piece.

Proper hill sessions last night – blasting up about 200m of 1 in 7 and recovering down. Buried myself but quite happy I was the fastest in group and dropped the guy at the club I am chasing for pace. I’m under no illusion though as he is a very good runner and will beat me on anything over 200m. It’s good to make new friends who are runners. Did some sprints after and we paired up and did well. Legs are like lumps of raw meat hanging off today!

I do like a good hill – was always my forte on a bike.

Or 3:27/km and 5k in 17:14.

STUNNING!!!

Nobeer, 37.5 miles deserves respect in my book. Truly amazing, along with many people on here.

Again, here on planet slow, I’m going out on my first non-cycling club run tomorrow and attempting to run further than any man has ever run before. Any man inhabiting my body that is, pushing the boundaries to 10k!

I got my old knee pain back on Thursday’s track session, with some groin pain on the side for added flavour, so hope I can make it.

Been coughing quite a lot after a few minutes running. Like there’s phlegm I can’t get of. Quite irritating. Might try an inhaler before running as heard this can help. Don’t think it’s too serious but will see what happens.

En route to Fance for family holiday with sore legs today.

Tuesday was 800m hilly reps. Trying to keep up with Runners that are faster than you is great training. It appears I still have it on the hills, which is encouraging. Spent by the end but managed jog back to base.

Not fully recovered it was track last night. Moneghetti session was suitably brutal. This was followed by the Kipchoge challenge for men to see if we could run 200m in 34 seconds, which was his marathon pace. 15 of us lined up and all pretty much made it. I was very happy as I came in a close third with 32 seconds. Second time out I was second as the leader pulled up. Haven’t run so fast in many years and felt great, but certainly pushed myself. Gasping for breath by the end. Just need to keep that up for just under 2 hours – truly mind boggling for us mortals.

A week of recovery now. I think I need it!

He was under 2 hours so might have been quicker.
68 seconds 400m, 17 seconds 100m, 14:10 5k.
Mind boggling.

Well, that was different. Very unlike a parkrun where I guess I’m in the top 15% of runner despite being average. Just one look at the 300 strong field of fit looking male athletes and I headed to the back for the start. Again, unlike a parkrun the field was much closer, stampeding across park, a sound like thundering horses. Tempted to join in the fun but ran my own race as 5 miles an unknown distance for me, so took it easy.

It was muddy, slippery, wet, hilly and bloomin’ good fun. Had some left for the final km and got a good finish up the hill.

I wasn’t last, but was amongst the slower finishers – just behind the main herd really. Was aiming for 45 minutes but got 41:53 so happy with that.