February 2023

 4th

Plan shows 40 min mixup with tempo & walks but replaced with #parkrunbramhall and an extra 10 mins easy to follow. Garmin says it was my first sub 30 min 5k for a long time at 29:44 but official time was 30:01😭. Bramhall has a few taxing hills so it was a variation of effort throughout so I think it counts to the plan 😃 and it was 5k, honest; GPS plays up in the trees.

6th

A cold sub-zero start with an amazing blue sky. 1h40m with a target of around 8 miles achieved. I'm doing a lot of leg and ankle exercises and strengthening seems to be helping the Achilles problems.

Guts were a little off so a welcome diversion into big Sainsbury's to use facilities. As over 1 hour and 10k I topped up with a blackcurrent SIS gel. I don't need anything less than that but by 1h20m I'm running on empty if I don't top up. All in all, a good run, especially after a 5.6 mile hill walk yesterday. Bit stiff this evening.

Keep going everyone, we'll do it together 👏😃

11th

The look of a 69 year old who just did a 10 mile run for the first time in 5 years 😃 , last time was a half marathon to celebrate my 65th birthday.

1h45m on plan but ran on the extra 1'22" to get the milestone 🤗🎉 😂

13th

No running as a few days away in Swaledale but definitely got my STEPS in today 🤣  [photo of steep steps up the side of Malham Cove]

19th

A few days of no running or exercises. We had a few days in the Yorkshire Dales and I know I never run even if I take my gear. So, 5 days of eating and drinking too much but with some activity.

Home yesterday and slotted in a 40 min run which went ok. The only thing I've lost is pace management, aiming 6:20-6:35 pk but kept finding myself in 5:50-6:10 🙄.

Long run Monday is 1h40m so I'll know then how I'm doing.

Have a good week everyone 🙂

2 photos from activity day: [not included in blog]

Malham Cove 4.8mi walk

Swaledale Trail on electric bikes.. first time and they're amazing 17mi

Muker to Keld valley 6mi walk

Richmond town & Easy Abbey along Swale 5.6mi walk

Circular out of Reeth 4mi walk

20th

Long run Monday and after nearly a week away I did wonder and indeed 2 mins out I was gasping and struggling; However it all came together and on the long gradients of the bypass I was amazed at the power in my legs today. Benefits of a break?

Plan today listed 25 jog & 5 walk x 4 but somehow I got it into my head it was 1h40m so I was 20 min down on plan. I can deal with that but it's a little annoying 🤔

I took music with me today; I normally just take in the world around me and let my mind wander but the duration is getting longer now. Albums Texas: Red Book & Melanie C: Northern Star

Really working on morning and evening exercises and strength is improving. I think my sit to stand squats building my quads is really helping. When I did a half marathon 5 years ago it was my quads that hurt most in the last 3 miles. Slow heel lifts on the stairs are working wonders for my Achilles.

Keep going everyone, we'll get there 👏👏👏

24th

INJURED 😢 Only climbing over a stile on Wednesday and managed to pull a calf muscle as I bent my leg to step over.

Thought it was ok for my Thursday run an Easy 40 mins but it was one of those runs, 40 mins of hell. My breathing wasn't right, I was tired and weak and protecting my calf ended up with hamstrings and left Achilles pain; Evidently posture all wrong 🙄

Calf feeling better but still tired and a bit of a sore throat, maybe a pesky virus is mucking me about.

I think I'll have to accept missing my Saturday run to recover and get straight back in on long run Monday.

Have a good weekend everyone, may your runs be happy ones.

27th

Long run Monday; it was 2 hours moving.

Need to subtract 20 minutes of overall time for a pause at the Carrs, Toilets which failed to accept my card but fortunately did take my phone and then I was tempted at the kiosk so instead of a SISS gel I got a chunky gluten free granola bar and an apple & blackcurrant smoothie in a carton. This time, phone wouldn't work 🙄. Eventually I managed to pay and then hung around the gardens fuelling up for the second half. (Granola bar was excellent 👍)

The mystery lack of energy last time out didn't return and the calf pull could be felt but was in control. Glad I was sensible and rested it Saturday. 6 minute cold bath on return home and some rolling in order.

Happily on target again 😃

January 2023

12th

A 30 min easy/fast per km this morning but added 2 minutes "puddle time" for stops to let traffic pass by; and it let me get to round number at 5k 😂 3rd run in a row I need to rinse & dry my shoes 💦

14th 

Don't you hate it when you pick out the wrong route and get near home too soon so have to keep adding another pointless turn around a local road? ☹️.

This morning was tough, 40min so called easy but it wasn't. Now my long runs are getting further I think I'm expecting shorter ones to be a doddle but they're still hard 🤔

16th

7 miles, that's over 1/4 Marathon 🎉🥂Relooked at my plan and concluded I have been too far too soon and not doing enough near the end. Plan to end now closely matches TCS Beginner.

Talking of plans, what's with the lingo?

• Run/walk
• Brisk walk
• Walk
• Jog
• Easy
• Steady
• Marathon pace
• Tempo
• Fartlek (cabbage for tea the night before?)
• Interval
• Cross train
• Fast
• Slow
• I give up 🤔😂

19th

It's a YakTrax sort of day up here. Should have been 40min but 2 phone calls and photo stops on such a lovely morning, I made it 

21st

One of those days where it just comes together. A really enjoyable 4.9 miles and I met my new best friends Thea and Thalia. Lots of ice spotting and avoidance, trying to run on the crunchy bits and avoid the shiny ❄️

23rd

Monday is long-run day for me. It feels odd as the distances go up and you find yourself places you'd normally only drive to. Nearly on the M60, I can go anywhere 😃.

1h30 run with a 5 min walk in the middle delivered 8.3 miles so I'm happy. Still trying to keep my speed down, I don't want injuries.

28th

One of my runs this week was a 20 min Easy so what did I do? I thought, Good grief, only 20 mins? Well, I don't need to hold back, I'll test my pace and breathing for a mere 20 mins.

Result = Left Achilles is now playing up. When will I learn and do what it says on the tin?

31st

Amusing myself that my runs are all 1 or 2 seconds longer than plan; I'm so determined not to stop short of target 😂. Photos at each km, just because 🤔😃

Training Demands, Unfinished Writings & Instagram Posts

My last blog post was dated 10 January 2023 and I feel bad that I left it there.

In January I had started my final 16 week training plan in readiness for the London Marathon 2023. One of the casualties of the demands of the time required in training was this blog. I'm sorry if you were reading it.

Largely for my own feeling of completeness, I am going to finish with a series of posts from Instagram which I did keep up with. This will hopefully give a feeling of my journey.

You can find the Instagram posts along with photos and videos @Ged70Marathon

So here's the final 15 weeks of my big adventure

Ups and Downs and Progress

 You can tell it's new year by the number of runners out on the streets. I think a lot of it is the new year new me so many people resolve. I certainly think I'll avoid the gyms for the first few weeks of 2023.

London 2023 is THIS YEAR!  Good luck everyone.

The Down bit

When writing my last post before Christmas I was pretty down about my condition. I had to pull out of the Wilmslow festive 10K due to a back injury that was failing to recover and my day-to-day running was virtually on hold due to a horrendous cold followed by a lingering violent cough that took me out for a couple of weeks. I had a go at getting going again with an easy gym treadmill session which seemed to go quite well but left me the following day drained with very sore calves showing that I really haven't been ready for it.

With Christmas in the middle and family coming to stay I had expected to hardly get any runs in at all but in the event there were a couple of gaps in activities that enabled me to get out on the roads. I was on easy walk/runs which went well but my chest was still horrendous and breathing very poor.

The Up bit

In the event, recovery was surprisingly fast. I managed the Christmas Eve Santa parkrun, slow for me but I did get round without a significant walk break. After Christmas, I managed a couple on longer (40-50min) run-walks moving up from 4+2 to 8+2 and by Saturday I managed my first planned continuous run of 40 minute. Back on Plan!  It is amazing how once the illness passes, body and brain remember how to do it and everything accelerates.

Milestones

So since my previous post, here's a list of things that I've achieved:

• I am into my 16 week training plan (early)
• For the first time in months I am able to do a hamstring stretch with no back pain
• I've completed a run over 10k first time since October 2022
• I've done my fastest 5k for quite a while
• I've moved on from walk/run combinations to running
• Completed my first run over 1h 20m since I did my 65th birthday half marathon five years ago
• Retuned to parkrun - my 25th
• Done my local parkrun running 2.3k each way from home to the event and back again, which I've intended doing for years
• Started to experiment with the gels as runs extend for longer time
• Managed to get my Achilles to a point where it seems to be under control - a mix of support, stretches and not pushing it too hard.

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How Many False Starts before I am Disqualified?

Wilmslow 2021

Training is so frustrating!

Sat 27 Nov: I was looking forward to taking part in the Wilmslow Festive 10k but the back problems I mentioned in my last post didn't improve sufficiently and I had to miss out. I love that race as well :(  

Mon 5 Dec: Finally back on the road again after 8 days of back exercises and walking 5-6k each day to tray to maintain my progress.  A good 50min walk / run (2 min / 6 min); Felt great and actually on plan. All the walks had worked.

Tue 6 Dec: Seem to be getting a bit of a cough?

Thur 8 Dec: Forced to miss run as my throat and lungs are burning and I'm coughing my guts out. Give me a break.

Sun 11 Dec: It's nearly a week now and the only thing running is my nose🤧. At least the chest is feeling better this morning. So much for training plans; glad I started the 16 week at minus 20 so I can catch up.

No Saturday indoor bike session, no Monday long run and no Tuesday additional bike.

Thur 15 Dec: Feeling healthier at last but minus 7C outside and my chest is still a bit dodgy. Opted for a drive to the gym.

Treadmill & Swim

Very successful gym trip. Having had a long interruption to running I needed to be careful of my Achilles and also take it easy after being poorly. 

Run / Walk for 60 minutes alternating 8.5kph jog and 5.6kph walk. Treadmill cranked to 1.0 for a gentle sop toward road running. Only 7.5km but a good hour's work. Following my run I headed to the pool to finish off with 200m. I would have done more but half the length of the pool was taken up by water aerobics and short lengths with no wall to turn at one end are a pain.

Trying to Get Back on Plan

Sat 17 Dec: After Thursday's gym session my calves are a little sore so I passed on my intention to head to a parkrun this morning. My local was cancelled due to ice on the course so it would have meant a half hour drive - not very green.

I normally do 40 mins on the indoor bike unless I decide to got to parkrun. This week however, I'm part way through renewing all the sealant in our shower so it's out of action. Poor excuse to miss exercise but not to be sniffed at 🤣

Let's see what this week brings. I need to be patient and not damage myself catching up too soon

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Santa is NOT Coming to Town

This Santa Claus is definitely not coming to town in Wilmslow Cheshire tomorrow. 

I should be taking part in the Wilmslow festive 10K for which I enjoy wearing a Santa outfit most years but sadly a back strain has decided to get worse just at the wrong time. It's really tempting to go ahead and run but I've a horrible feeling that I'm just going to hurt myself and knock my training back even further . This is really depressing as I'd only just about got my Achilles right and was hoping to get on with my training properly, but instead of that I've been knocked back a few weeks and I am now seriously concerned as to where things go from here.

This autumn-winter so far has been really bad news for me with a series of injuries from hamstring pulls to recurring Achilles pain and my back coming back to haunt me. To explain the last comment I hurt my back when I was 19, 50 years ago, and over the years it regularly decides to give me problems, usually at the most inopportune times.

Trying to maintain some fitness and strength, my Thursday run was replaced by a 400m swim and my Saturday indoor bike session replaced by a 5km fast walk. I will miss the 10k race tomorrow but, all being well, get in a short run on Monday which is my long run day.

My Training Plan

Ironically, I created my outline training plan last week and it's already gone to pot. On the positive side, I learned during training for my 65th birthday Half-Marathon  that plans have to be flexible. That time I built a solid progression and took no account of holidays, appointment clashes, family emergencies, illness, injury etc. 

For my 70th birthday London Marathon, the first thing  I did was scour my calendar for likely holidays or trips and matched them to rest periods allocating long runs to fit. I have taken my kit with me on several trips and never used it once. Knowing my own body now I have also dropped the simple continuous increase in duration/distance and instead ramp up and fall back in stages. This should both assist with boredom and reduced injury likelihood.

The other big change is that I am planning based on Duration rather than Distance, though admittedly with an eye to both. As I recover from injury I may be out for 50 minutes but that will be a walk/run combination, in healthier times it will be all run and therefore a longer distance. I anticipate being on the streets of London between 5 & 6 hours and monitor that against my actual pace as I train.

Miles vs Kilometres

I have stuck to training in Kilometres after being tempted to miles due to the Marathon tending to be described in miles. I am used to managing my routes in Km and the numbers pass by so much faster. I tend to think as I run how far I am in terms or proportion of distance covered, e.g. I know when I am 2/3 of the way and only have 1/3 left. I also like to think of a Half as 2 x 10km (plus a bit) and now the Marathon as 4 x 10 (plus a lot). I distinctly recall 3/4 through the Half Marathon thinking, right, only a parkrun to go, I can do that.

follow me on Instagram @Ged70Marathon

That Greek Dude has it in for Me

The warrior Achilles is one of the great heroes of Greek mythology. According to legend, Achilles was extraordinarily strong, courageous and loyal, but he had one vulnerability–his “Achilles heel.”

In my previous post two weeks ago, I was having problems with my right Achilles and that got much worse so today has been my first run for over 2 weeks. Luckily the gap coincided with a week of planned rest put into my training plan because I was going away with the family for a long weekend, so I didn’t lose as much training as I would have otherwise. 

For the first few days I was using ibuprofen gel and a compression bandage around Achilles and my ankle and did my best to rest it. I then moved onto an ankle support which I bought from Boots the chemist which does seem to have been good. I am wearing the support for any at risk activity but otherwise carrying on a normal life. I have been using an exercise which is new to me frequently throughout the day. Whether lying or sitting I extend my feet down as far as I can and hold for 30s then return to neutral before drawing them upwards and holding for another 30s. I repeat these 3 more times and am finding I am immediately mobile in the morning if I do this in bed before rising and it completely removes the stiffness I was feeling when first walking.

Today’s run was a tester so was only 20 minutes and just short of three kilometres and as yet, four hours later, I’m not suffering any pain. At its worst a week and a half ago, there was a distinct lump in the Achilles which was very tender to touch but a mix of rest and gentle exercises seems to be doing the trick and the contours of the Achilles itself are now quite reasonable and can be touched without pain. 

Self-Inflicted Injury - a warning

This problem with my Achilles is a salutary tale to anyone older or who hasn’t regularly worked their Achilles. I got this injury when I started running aged 59 on one of my earliest runs. Though new to running after a 40-year gap, I did a lot of hill walking and was fit with leg strength and lung and heart capacity and found it strangely easy at first. This led to a piece of idiot enthusiasm when I decided that I could actually sprint a little. That 80 metres has haunted me for the last ten years and I think will continue to. Please, take it easy until your body has adjusted if you are new to running.

Next Steps

The plan now is gentle, regular runs to get back into it, but I have a 10K in two weeks’ time which I’m hoping to manage to complete without doing any damage.

Wilmslow Festive 10K next on 27th November.

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