Running

Know it might be hard to explain but type or pain and where on ankle?

Everything the same in terms of shoe/terrain etc?

Bit the bullet and paid for a consultation with a private Doc. She’s a running specialist in her 70s.

Really useful and positive experience. She doesn’t think there’s a tear, just a load of inflammation of my adductor on the left.
Worst case scenario is that I need a cortisol injection.

What was especially heartening was her attitude to running and cycling and just going at it as much as you can. Her approach was do the rehab work and get running after a proper amount of healing, but don’t stop cycling.

She told me I was built for endurance and I should be doing it until I drop. It was good to hear rather than the kind of veiled scorn I have experienced from other Drs who infer that at my age I should be taking it easy.

How have you found them on shorter efforts?

I did my 10x800 session. Target split was 2m56 and I was faster throughout, last 3 reps were sub 2m50 and whilst my HR mirrored 5k effort through the reps I wasn't maxing out like at the end of a race so could've pushed a bit harder I think.

I'd put the times massively down to the shoes.

The session is used to predict Marathon finish time but as I couldn't hold sub 3 pace for even 10 miles of my long run last week I'm not daft enough think a low 2h50 is in range off these numbers.

Yup that is exactly how I found them (though slower than you). I just couldn’t vibe with them on longer distances though. Nike/Saucony/Adidas carbon race shoes have all felt nice on longer distances and still had good pop.

I don’t think Yasso 800’s have been seen as a realistic marathon predictor for a long time. I’d aim for 2:35-2:40 on the 800’s but I suspect I’d be ~15mins off that for a marathon even with a good training block. It seems close enough to be touted as a predictor, but not actually realistic

My guess (presented with no evidence whatsoever) is that a long long time ago most people who ran or cycled did mostly or exclusively what we now think of as long steady distance.

Back then, if off a diet of relatively high mileage you could also knock out 8x800m at sub 3 mins, then there was a really really good chance that you could do a sub 3 hour - because the distance and endurance was a given.

In recent years with watches and computers, and maybe time pressures, people tend to focus much more on shorter, faster, and intervals. So there’s a much greater chance that you can do 8x800 at sub 3 mins, but couldnt do sub 3 hours (very much the case for me)

Like @duncs I don’t think yassos are a good predictor but it is a solid workout… for me it’s about 10 mins too optimistic…

Same here yassos are about 20 mins over the top for me. Maybe I'm just OK at 10x800 but I never could and never will run a 2:33 marathon

This week I've managed 3 runs which is a big milestone in the long covid recovery. Two easy 5ks that were just slogs and then... Turned up for parkrun, a very rare treat for me, this morning. Was running a bit late but thought I had a couple of mins to spare. Nope. Half an hour late.

Commence operation catch the tail!

Ended up running 7 something min miles which felt pretty good but nowhere near as easy as it used to be. Still, hope remains!

Consensus on Yasoo as non-predictor then. 20 miles easy today, the dullest session in the whole plan.

Good stuff @Arducius, nothing like chasing for pacing boost.

Nice :)

https://youtu.be/R-oEFaqUQEQ?si=YQi74GPyjH9BJW9P

Did my first ever park run yesterday. Woodhouse Moor in Leeds.
Had an alright run considering the lack of running recently. 21.18 and that was with me making a wrong turn at the end (as a fell runner who considers themselves a good navigator, the irony wasn’t lost on me). So hopefully good for sub 21 next time. Legs felt like jelly and I thought I might poo myself - the joys of 5km!

Had an amusing exchange where a topless muscly man came up to me and declared
“You’re a hybrid athlete, I know it!”
I had to ask him to repeat himself before admitting I didn’t know what it was. Apparently it’s something about lifting weights and also doing cardio. He seemed disappointed when I said I just rock climb as well as run. I guess I better hand my “hybrid athlete” card back, whenever it turns up.
51st out of 669 or something - much better for my ego than fell races, lol.

Hybrid athlete status is big on TikTok.

Basically lift weights and run.

Some of the shenanigans online is hilarious.

I watched a guy last night who ran a 100mm ultra round London and posted that he did it at a 5:50km but failed to declare the 2hrs of breaks he took. It’s still impressive but just don’t get the flex.

If you’re in the area, I can recommend Potter Newton Parkrun (near chapeltown) .. much smaller turnout to either Woodhouse moor or Roundhay but really friendly and usually some tunes blasting out from the Marshalls (or others in the park). Opportunities for wrong-turns are minimal also.

Legs felt like jelly and I thought I might poo myself

Sounds like you judged your effort perfectly!

That’s shit. I can run 10 cm with hardly any breaks at all.

In restarting running news, I’ve now done three Parkruns, improving from c. 28 mins to 23.40. It’s all quite frustrating, as due to injuries/chronic conditions, can only do 1-2 runs a week and it doesn’t feel like running anymore, just plodding. But I still want to do it.

6 years ago I did 19.13 when I hadn’t been training for a year. Guess I kinda expected to get back to that pretty quickly, and need to recalibrate my expectations as an elderly, decrepit, fragile old bastard who will never be in shape again. Need to work out what is realistic as a target now. 20 mins seems pie in the sky, maybe 22 might be realistic?

Ha, I can live with a wrong turn, I’ve definitely done worse! There’s loads to go at it looks like. Keen to do the one on the Otley Chevin - lots of my club mates frequent it.
Life is pretty busy at the moment so it’s a nice way to squeeze a “race” in for the week without having to drive far.

Ah TikTok!
That’s why I had no clue about it.

You might risk picking up an injury tho.

Also did my first ever Parkrun yesterday. It was at Wanstead, so essentially flat but 50% of it in absolutely silly levels of mud. Knew something was up at the start line when I noticed a lot of people were in trail shoes. Feel for the people that wrecked anything made of ZoomX…

Somehow ended up 2nd place at 19:37. Might try Valentines Park in fast shoes next as it’s all paved but no perhaps not for 2-3 weeks.

Wow. Quite the showing!

^ this.

I split my 20 into 2 x 10 with a break half way. Legs were tired but I held a slow (just) easy pace for 18 of the 20.

Tues has tempo miles in the session on the plan which will be type 2 fun, then it's mostly easy around the 2 x MP long run efforts that remain. This tells me I should be feeling tired as I do. I forgot all this from my last effort in 2009. Should've kept a diary then.