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621

In all of sixty seconds after lacing up my shoes, I am accelerating out the door. I am the worst when it comes to stretching. Besides the rare days in which when my piriformis muscles or IT band are a tad inflamed, I will do some light yoga stretches in the evening, (like yoga one-legged pigeon pose with my head bent forward to the floor) but that’s about it. I’ve never really trained my fast-twitch muscles, which explains why I am more of an endurance runner, but that annual mark on the calendar is telling me that I should probably apply a little more discipline when it comes to stretching. Yes, yes, I will definitely get to that…one of these days…

However this day, like the others, was stretch-free and satisfying. The rain returned late, but not until I managed a leisurely five miles with my daughter on the outskirts of town. There, I saw a father teaching his daughter how to drive and a doe watching keenly while her fawn grazed the spring grass along the side of the road. It seems that all of us parents were busy with our offspring today!

622

A full schedule permitted me me only four miles but I was able to get the new foster dog (who can be seen in the Pets section) out for a test run now that the sutures of his missing eye are healing and he has put on some weight.

He was so calm while I put on a leash, and he behaved so beautifully that I started to jog with him obediently alongside me. He trotted right along and I was convinced that he must have been trained, however that was before he spotted the pelican.

In the blink of an eye, I resembled the following, and all I could see as we flew past was the blurry shock and dropped jaws of the beachgoers as we flew past.

http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/dogs/dog-walking-the-owner-smiley-emoticon.gif

623

That will certainly do your ‘Fast Twitch Muscles’ good Surfermom…That’s if you can keep up with him…:-D:-D:-D

I chose something less strenuous this morning, after running down a seriously busy road for the last two Sunday’s I decided to stick to some quiet country roads for a change. It’s a route I used to run every Sunday but haven’t run it for quite a while because it is eleven miles and because I’m not running competitively anymore I’ve been happy to stick to nine and a half along the canal bank.

The sun was still low in the sky at six thirty, and with occasional cloud cover it was still cool.
I set off at a very cautious pace and was soon running on quiet country roads with the village far behind me. I didn’t even see a car for the first four miles until I arrived at the road junction where I would normally have turned right making it a six or eight miler.

I turned left at the point of no return ‘It would now definitely be eleven miles’ I thought, as I joined a slightly more busy road. It was at this point I became aware of the sounds of nature and the gentle padding of my running shoes on the tarmac, a sort of numbness had engulfed me and I felt I could run at this pace forever…And I realised why I love running…:cool:

Following the winding road, sometimes under the cover of Oak and Chestnut trees as they mingled together above my head, and sometimes with precision trimmed Hawthorne hedges obscuring fields of ripe Corn and Barley. Still running cool and pain free it dawned on me that I might have been a little hasty when I thought I could run all day, the heavy feeling of tiredness was beginning to overcome my legs, but with just a mile and a half left to go I knew I would make it safely home.

This has been one of my better runs of late, and due to sensible pacing and a keen observation of the surrounding flora and fauna, I feel refreshed and stimulated enough to face the rest of Sunday…Perhaps from the comfort of my couch (Sofa in English) though…:wink:

624

Ah, nothing better than the road less traveled, chosing the left when the right is the usual path… Which do I covet more: the feat of going eleven miles or the serenity of a country road on Sunday? As it turns out, jealousy is not the worst sin I committed today…:mrgreen:

The toughest run for me is the one that rare one comes after I ignore one of the most important laws of physics and chemistry: “Thou shalt not break thy fast before running”. Ugh. French toast was the sin, and my penance was served around noon beneath a punishing August sun. It was not unlike Lawrence crossing the Nefud in “Lawrence of Arabia” - only with an overly full stomach of confections. While pace was hardly a concern, finishing six was. Still, I managed it in decent time, knowing there would be a nice cool gulf swim at the end of it. Shedding socks and training shoes, I hopped right in, to almost immediately get stung by palm-sized luna jellyfish that start making their appearance in late summer. They are virtually transparent, except five rose-colored rings that form a clover shape in the body (that are actually reproductive organs), with stings that linger for about twenty minutes or so. Even in my melting, stinging state, I thoroughly enjoyed the visual feast of the silvery water beyond tufts of grassy oats anchoring the sugary sand. Every run is a victory!

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a197/FourBells/-_Johnson_Beach_Ramp_in_My-20000000005853357-500x375_zpsfe899df6.jpg

With my sense on the sofa (no couch here, unless referring to one with a potato :P) before starting out this morning, I will do a much better job tomorrow. I vow to start with nary more than a glass of water, at a time in which the purple morning shadows are still streched long across the pavement. I think I will try a right turn rather than a left and see what another six miles will have in store…

625

First day ever of a spinning class, and while it was a great workout, why would anyone want to sit on a stationary bike indoors, in the dark, illuminated by only a black light when there are moving bicycles to be pedaled in the great outdoors? :confused2: Well, there is that pesky man-colliding-against-moving-vehicles issue…

Problem solved with a slow and steady five mile run. Somehow feet on the ground felt so much better… :-D.

626

It was pittling it down here in South Yorkshire this morning, but did it deter Foxy from going out for his early morning six mile run?..No Way!..:cool:…Stuck on me shorts and tee shirt and foraged around in the wardrobe for a waterproof top and just stepped out into the rain…It was better than I expected, :smiley: the rain wasn’t all that heavy anyway, and for some unexplained reason my legs felt strong and did everything I asked of them…Very few cars due to all the schools being closed, and not much standing water yet…So it went very well, except the waterproof top wasn’t as waterproof as I thought it would be…:-(…as you can see from this example…

http://www.over50sforum.com/picture.php?albumid=873&pictureid=10468

627

Just an update on my knee problem then.
Yesterday I went to the NHS physio, and against my guarded expectations I was very impressed as she was very thorough (apparently she does a lot of work for Hull City’s ladies team as their sports physio).

It appears that I do have some mild Osteoarthritis, which is age-related coupled with perhaps a little too much “overdoing it” in the past as well. But apart from monitoring it with stretched and other various exercises, I’m fine to continue with most gym work, avoiding any ‘hard surface’ running i.e. jogging on concrete (i.e. outside) or treadmill work. In fact she encouraged me to get back into heavier weights, though she nearly fainted when I suggested returning to 400kg leg presses! Finishing off with a few minutes on the static bike would help a great deal after each session too.

So that gives me a huge incentive to recommence my training later on today (Wednesday). What I do from now on will be a mixture of moderate to heavy weights but with additional leg work such as high reps just to keep the mobilisation going (similar to those in my last training post on here).

So it’s nothing out of the ordinary as long as I’m more careful. Time to crack on again!:cool:

628

Floydy, I wish you well with your knees. I had one sports physician tell me that I should stop running because of some knee problems I was having, but a second told me that the opposite was true. I was given the same advice as you - build up the surrounding muscles so they put less work on the joints. Three years later, that has been exactly the case, and I am running about 30-35 miles per week without any pain aside from a bit of stiffness when I sit too long.

OGF, as our rain is usually sporadic, most people stay indoors during the rain, but not me! I suppose it’s years in the water. Thankfully I haven’t dissolved yet! However, I do run with sports glasses so my vision isn’t terribly affected in a downpour.

It seems I look a lot like your photo after a long run this time of year, but it’s not so much rain as perspiration. (Holy cow, you are fit!) I am down to minerals and dust by the end of seven miles, which of course is the time I like to weigh myself, that with luck reveals a number that reads, " Congratulations! You win today’s prize ofmay having plenty of bread with dinner!" Alas, I confess I am a cheater in this way. :102:

629

Thanks, Surfermom, wise words there:023:
I don’t run anymore anyway. I used to be out running up the hills of Lincoln every night when I was in the RAF, but that was 20 years ago and with the subsequent bodybuilding I added another 4-5 stone to my frame, so my build wasn’t so suitable for jogging anymore.
I’ll still keep the cardio up though, but mainly on the bike. Plus I must walk about 8 miles each night at work, so there’s plenty of limbering up there to keep the old knees supple! :slight_smile:

630

There comes a time when you begin to slow down. I noticed this a couple of years ago when I began to get more complacent with my training. It’s easy to say that the root cause is because I work nights get tired more easily during the day, coupled with the lack of time I have to focus fully on my training, but I started putting in less sessions per week and that was concerning to me.

I’ve been getting to the stage where I’ve been deciding that visits to the gym will be treated like any other activity, such as a visit to the cinema or going for a swim; becoming a ‘casual lifter’. But that’s not for me, this type of training is built-into my psyche and pending any major injuries or health issues I will do it. And it’s all because of this problem with my knees, the arthritis. That is irreversible but with regular and carefully judged training I should be able to keep that at bay for some time.

Anyway, and moving on, my ‘session’ today was a little forced upon me because of the happening of yesterday’s physio visit, and I haven’t had enough time to get a revised programme worked out yet, which will see me employing more medium-to-high reps with moderate-to-heavy weights, though nothing’s set in stone yet, so I basically just decided on an extremely mellow effort. And what’s more, I didn’t even train my legs, which was the precise reason for returning. Ho hum, that will be tomorrow then!

Bench, c/g:
20x35
20x35

DB press:
10x20’s
10x20’s

Tricep extensions:
25x30
20x40
12x50
10x60
8x70

SUPERSET:
E-Z bar preacher curls / BB forearm reverse curls:
8x30 / 8x15
8x30 / 8x15
8x30 / 8x15

Shoulder press:
10x60
10x60
5x70
12x40

Ab crunch:
10x50
10x50
10x50
10x60
10x70
25x35

5 mins bike.

Time: 50 mins.

I’ve lost a hell of a lot of strength, despite feeling pretty energetic whilst I’ve been off. Those weights are really pathetic. My diet hasn’t been too good either and the first thing I did today after the gym was devour two pork pies. Not ideal really.
But I’m back again – for how long, who knows? – but back all the same and I can only improve.

Thanks for reading.:cool:

631

It’s been great reading all your posts in here by the way, keeping up to date even though I haven’t been training myself that much.

Surefermom, you’re a great inspiration to all on here who may think they are too old or out of shape to exercise. The level of fitness you have is pretty awesome actually. Great to see you here as a newcomer as well. keep it up!:cool:

Healthy set of legs there too, Bob!:023:

632

Hurricane Franklin gave us a nice round of glassy surf up here in the norther Gulf of Mexico this morning, which enabled my daughter and me to spend about three hours catching yards of waves. While I am no pro (just ask my snickering offspring), for every pearl and wipeout I manage to get the fins and rails into the side of a peeling wave. It’s a great workout; without thinking, paddling works out core and upper body muscles, while standing up and turning the board requires all one’s leg muscles. Further, falling off the board or getting smacked in the face full-on by a wave keeps one’s ego at a very low and healthy state. There was quite a bit of each today.

Even the end of the day ended nicely with a long five miles at low tide. Into the setting sun one direction and then with my back to it with the last of the refracting rays on the pink tufts overhead:
[ATTACH]3622.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]3623.vB[/ATTACH]

633

That sounds Idyllic Surfermom, living about fifty miles away from the nearest beach I can reach it in just over an hour, and I do, at every opportunity…However, this mornings run was no less dramatic…

Something felt different this morning as I pulled on my shorts and laced up the running shoes. A cloudless blue sky, and although it was broad daylight at six thirty, the waning moon could still be clearly seen almost overhead, the sun had caught it before it had time to scuttle away below the horizon. I stepped outside to a cool crisp morning, the damp air caressed my face and legs as I made my way out into the country. An abundance of red berries weighed down the branches of the Rowan and the sun seemed lower in the sky than usual. It is beginning to feel like Autumn…

There was a quiet stillness as I made my way down that neglected road. Could it be that the diversion that was in place this morning was sending all the traffic on a wild goose chase around the neighbourhood while repairs were made to the level crossing? Or was it that the world knew something special was going to happen today…

There was no indication that my run would be any different from any other day, my legs were feeling heavy and cumbersome, and short bursts of speed would be followed by the slow jogs of recovery. I would not give in to the feeling of lethargy that accompanied me on my run this morning. And so it was, as I made my way, snail like, around my eight mile course, sometimes fast, and sometimes slow, until I arrived home, thankful of being able to stop and fill my gasping lungs with air.

I clung to the wall in desperation and glanced at the time on my stopwatch…A seasons best time by five seconds…Not an easy task on one of my most run courses…:-D:-D:-D…No sounds of the surf lapping up onto the beach, or the gentle swish of the palms as they are gently massaged by the warm gulf breeze…:-(:-(:-(…
But an amazing relaxed feeling of euphoria…:cool::cool::cool:… and the thought of…How the hell am I going to make it through the day…:015::015::015:

634

Congratulations on your record - especially in August Well done, snail! http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/olympics/sprinting-smiley-emoticon.gifYour vivid descriptions of your running adventures are not only inspiring, but they send me scrambling for Google to discover the new in what is so familiar to all of you in the UK. I did not, for example, know what a rowan is, but I do know we have mountain ash trees here, so I can better imagine how vivid those berries are. You certainly had your daily dose of endorphins, it seems.

As it was, my endorphins were soaking wet this evening. A long and happy phone call with my parents (both in their mid eighties) resulted in a late exit out the door. Squinting to prepare myself for the sun that should be setting, I instead discovered a slate-colored crown of roll clouds staring at me menacingly and furrowing its brows in warning. Knowing the skies fairly well here, and never letting anything stand between me and five miles, I shrugged it off, estimating that I had at least forty-five minutes of pavement time before the skies fell.

As it turns out, it is a good thing that I am not a forecast meteorologist. About three miles from home, the entire contents of a cumulonimbus cloud poured unmercifully and completely on my head, blinding me from everything except for the thick and lethal lightning bolts snapping down over the gulf to my right. There is always some internal debate about what to do when one is caught wide out in the open in a thunderstorm, so this time I did what I thought best - I ran. I ran fast. I ran soggy, but faster still. One car, racing past, covered me in a sheet of water, and one man pulled over to offer me a ride (thank you, kind sir, but my father long-ago put the fear in me about riding with strangers), and I made it home in no time. It was a personal best!

Actually, I have no idea. I forgot my running watch…but it felt fast. Does that count? Do I get a medal? Never mind, I shall settle for a hot shower and dry clothes, and another day knowing that OGF pulled off a better run than me :102:.

As an aside, I am not liking what is in the mirror these days. While my running distances have been the same and I feel strong enough, I am SURE that I am losing muscle mass in my quadriceps, hamstrings, etc. and need to do something to mitigate this …more cycling, perhaps? More hill running? This will never do…

635

Nonsense Surfermom your descriptive accounts are far superior to my meagre attempts. And your battle with the wrath of God outstrips my mere five second improvement on what are fastly diminishing times. Forty Five minutes for five miles would be a good time for me these days, and I notice you run every day…You mentioned 35 miles per week…so 5 x 7 = 35…Yes…:-D:-D:-D In comparison I only manage three runs per week of 6 - 8 - 10 and maintaining this has been one of my most important rules for almost forty years, only the distances have changed. The most important rule is not to stop or walk during a run (unless injured)…These rules have served me well over the years resulting in very little injury.

I find it fascinating that the internet can allow two runners to communicate with each other from different continents. I have never been much of a team player, hence the ability to run long distances with just myself for company, but it never ceases to amaze me the camaraderie exhibited by fellow runners, we certainly are a breed apart.

Unfortunately Champagne is not a drink you would normally find in a Northern Pit village, so I’ll toast your success last night with a frothing brew of Brown Ale…Cheers…Surfermom…:smiley:

636

Sports day! If one plans to run, go surfing, and ride bikes to help a friend trying to catch some feral kittens to take them to the veterinarian, be sure to do the first two first, or else you will be too injured and exhausted to do anything else. That story is so off topic that I will post it tomorrow in the “Pets and Animals” section, but I am happy to report that I survived the event (though others barely did not and there is car interior that will never be the same) well enough that I squeezed in a cool six miles with my daughter late in the day.

Yes, OGF, isn’t it interesting how solitary our sport is, yet we are indeed very supportive we are of one another, even if it is a nod and wave out on the roads, or an interesting thread out here in cyberspace. I am thoroughly enjoying reading about your adventures on foot so very far away. :smiley: While was once convinced to get involved in competition, I have found that I am infinitely happier having given up that competitive lifestyle. Running my own little daily competitions against my legs, heart, lungs, and mind - each of which are fiercely trying to beat me - are satisfying enough. I do like keeping an eye on my pace, but my times are nowhere what they were six or seven years ago. C’est la vie!

I completely agree about maintaining distance and I remember watching “Everest”and thinking that walking mid-run is like sitting down on a long ascent. Once you do it….that sweater starts to unravel.:018:

The toast was most appreciated - certainly after that season’s best you deserved a cold and frothy ale. In return, I raise a cup of late night tea for your victory and perseverencehttp://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/drink/sipping-tea.gif

637

Hi

Any form of running is out for me, a serious injury to my left leg in 1989, told I would never be able to walk without crutches and a full length heavy metal leg brace.

After several years on crutches and then sticks I can walk and only occasionally have to wear a light weight brace, it is no longer screwed into the leg.

It is somewhat weird, I can climb up Snowdon, but cannot come down, it is the same with stairs, up is easy, down I have to swing my leg.

I have what Surfer calls a spinner, an adapted exercise bike, with the left pedal fixed.

I also have an adapted road bike, again with the left pedal fixed, which I love to get out on.

I have to choose my routes carefully, steep hills are a no no with only one pedal.

I have a daily exercise routine to maintain the quads in my left leg, very important.

638

Really enjoying reading about Surfermom’s adventures. It’s surely a different world out there:004:

Well,
Normal service is resumed, or it’s getting there gradually after a lovely couple of hours training yesterday. The knees were feeling in better shape, so instead of postponing another legs session, I did a relatively good 40 minutes on the legs, followed by a general booster for the upper body.

Arthritis is irreversible but it can be controlled if you keep some sort of load bearing routine going to keep the legs reasonably strong, so without bashing myself bonkers by completely destroying those dicky knees of mine, I decided on a re-run of a session I did a few weeks ago – three sets of high reps/light weights. This time I kept the weight the same for all three sets but went to failure on an additional fourth set, plus with a little extra weight. I decided that this should see my leg strength increase again without pushing things too far too quickly.

LEGS

Incline press:
50x100
25x150
25x150
25x150
28x200
*Very cautiously adding the 50kg for a final failure set. My quads can easily handle this kind of weight which makes it all the more frustrating because I cannot risk any further knee damage therefore I’ll take things steady over the next few weeks with the weight.

Seated leg press:
25x120
25x120
25x120
43x160
*Notice that these final heavier sets are looking like a doddle. This does mean that I have a guideline now for increasing the previous three sets each coming session.

Calf press:
20x150
20x150
20x150
14x160

Extensions:
25x40
25x40
25x40
22x60
*Bit of knee pain on these, so I’ll leave these weights as they are next time.

Seated ham curls:
25x40
25x40
25x40
14x50
*These went very well, no problems pulling backwards with the lower legs at all. I intend to increase the weight on this quite a lot next time to return to my previous standard.

OTHER WORK

Seated row, hammer bar:
15x41
15x41
15x47

Seated hammer curls, alt:
6x14
6x14
6x16

Concentration curl, seated, alt:
6x18
6x18
7x20

E-Z bar preacher curl, low pull, slow, c/g:
6x40
6x40
6x40
5x50
*No worries as usual with pull work. The 50 seemed easy like old times. If all else fails and all my bones seize up, I can always go back to being a bicep boy!

SUPERSET:
Tricep extensions / 20kg BB curls:
33x40 / 20 curls
21x50 / 20
15x60 / 20
13x70 / 20
8x80 / 20
*No rest between the extensions and picking up the bar. As with the bicep work, the triceps are still on good form and in decent shape. Rocketing up the plates with these extensions.

Shoulder press:
5x80
5x80
3x90
*Much improved from Wednesday’s effort. I know I said I wasn’t going for heavy weights to increase the strength anymore, but I can’t help it. The temptation is too much!

Pec dec:
15x50
10x60
4x70
15x40 fast
*Rarely do pec dec work, it doesn’t do anything for my chest whatsoever, but I was walking by the machine so why not do a few jolly little reps?

Tricep extensions (again):
30x35 high reps

Ab crunch:
10x50
10x50
10x50
10x60
10x70
50x35

5 mins bike.

Time: 2hr. 10mins.

Much more like it. A basis there for a proper routine starting again next week.
It’s strange that the only exercise that was giving me a little hassle was the leg extension, and for some strange reason the 5 minute bike at the end, which was really painful – walking up steps has the same reaction. Must read up about this.

Today I won’t be training as it’s food shopping in the morning and in the afternoon I’m going to see The Stranglers with support from Big Country and The Ruts. Should be a good gig.

Thanks for reading, have a good weekend:cool:

639

Swimfeeders, that is one of the most sensational fitness stories I know about. Twenty-seven years after being told you had a debilitating injury and you are still that active and dedicated to keeping your legs fit? Incredible! This world of spinning classes is new to me, but I have decided I need more leg work, so it’s an entertaining enough way to do it, and I can see that it will be enjoyable in the winter months. That said, I would, take a day on my outdoor bike any day of the week! Do I ever feel your pain when it comes to those downhill treks! When you are young, you never anticipate that going up would so much better than going down. I am very interested in your workouts and progress! http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/gym/exercise-bike-smiley-emoticon.gif

Floydy, I am still amazed at your work and have often wondered whether or not you (and others) worry that when going to failure, you could cause a serious injury. I relaize you probably have a spotter, but how do you know the difference between approaching failure and approaching a blow out, so to speak?
http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/funny/1/weight-lifting-emoticon.gif

A concert on a Saturday night promisies big fun. I am a fan of “Big Country”…and am showing my age as my kids have never heard of them.

I had a light workout today of step aerobics using three pound weights and quiet five mile run. Then I completely cancelled it out with a pasta dinner, a giant green salad, and, I must confess, a nice thick slice of garlic bread. It was worth every step!

640

Good questions raised, Surfermom, thanks:)

The failure sets I do are really just one or two extra reps which can (just) be pushed out after a standard set, although sometimes I do try to round them up to the nearest 5 (10,15 reps total etc), depending on the exercise.

The only exercise I need to use a spotter for is the bench press, but only if I’m going very heavy on and that is something I’m trying to limit these days. It’s much more sensible and realistic now that I’m in my 50’s to simply aim for maintaining my physique, rather than trying to get ‘bigger’ anymore. That would be nigh impossible and pointless. I’m happy with my shape and health mostly but even so you can’t change the habit of a lifetime, and yes, I’ll sometimes still push myself a little bit harder just to see if I’ve “still got it”. I can’t help it!:cool: