Health + Fitness

[Canary Wundaboy 1,359]

47 minutes ago, TheGunnShow said:

Out of interest, what pace did you go at when you went for 3km straight?

I ask simply as people who are new to running don't always have a sense of pace. Miss TGS had always tried on the treadmill at 7.5km/h but could never go more than 10 minutes. Told her to drop it to 7, and she's been over 30. And even I don't run all half-marathons if the course becomes hilly or the headwinds become serious - I'll happily drop to a power-walk.

Prime example, I had a PB in the Faroes last year for a half-mara (which I've broken three times since), and I slowed to a walk on at least three occasions, if not four. Still ran 1:42.

Most important of all, congratulations on the new PBs and beating 4 previous records. 

I had it at 9km/h. 8 felt too slow, 10 too fast. I had a nice, steady rhythm going, it was just slowing down for a break that was the mistake I think.

Edited August 23, 2023 by Canary Wundaboy

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

24 minutes ago, Canary Wundaboy said:

I had it at 9km/h. 8 felt too slow, 10 too fast. I had a nice, steady rhythm going, it was just slowing down for a break that was the mistake I think.

No such thing as too slow on an easy jog. Try 8.5km/h next time and see how far non-stop you go. The thing here is the length of time/distance you go without stopping/walking. Build that up, and your racing pace will climb along with it in the overwhelming majority of cases.

The great majority of my training is done at a pace that is very comfortable for me - this is how you build up your aerobic capacity, so do not worry about pace.

Edited August 23, 2023 by TheGunnShow

[Canary Wundaboy 1,359]

2 hours ago, TheGunnShow said:

No such thing as too slow on an easy jog. Try 8.5km/h next time and see how far non-stop you go. The thing here is the length of time/distance you go without stopping/walking. Build that up, and your racing pace will climb along with it in the overwhelming majority of cases.

The great majority of my training is done at a pace that is very comfortable for me - this is how you build up your aerobic capacity, so do not worry about pace.

Fair enough. I do have the time element to consider (I'm usually at the gym during lunch times so i do have to compress a schedule) but I'll give 8.5km/h a go and report back. 😃

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

14 minutes ago, Canary Wundaboy said:

Fair enough. I do have the time element to consider (I'm usually at the gym during lunch times so i do have to compress a schedule) but I'll give 8.5km/h a go and report back. 😃

Shouldn't lose much time. It's literally two minutes difference on a 5K at those paces.

Race Pace Conversion Chart – Run North West

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

Another personal best today. Completely shredded the old one, in fact - mainly as it's a distance I don't race much, namely ten miles. Warm one today at the Riverside 10-mile in Lancaster and went with a fellow Horwich Harrier, who's quite a bit faster than me.

Old PB dated from 2012. I'd had three goes since but injuries and heat put paid to them. Knew I was in shape to beat it after the half-marathon PB three weeks ago on largely the same course.

I didn't expect to knock two-and-a-half minutes off though. Old one was 1:17:05, and I did this...

Garmin Connect

(Incidentally, my mate legged it in an hour and eight minutes).

Edited September 3, 2023 by TheGunnShow

[FenwayFrank 2,459]

So compared to you runners on here is this quick?

 

[The Raptor 1,211]

About 10 minutes quicker than I've ever done one so obviously amazingly quick...

A very good time I'd say.  Particularly in this heat. 

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

6 hours ago, FenwayFrank said:

So compared to you runners on here is this quick?

 

Yep, that's fast. To put into perspective, I ran a recent personal best in Lancaster over the same distance, and on a flatter course, that was 12 minutes slower.

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

Another half-marathon in the books, and my 20th country clocked up with the HCA half-marathon in Odense, Denmark. Message to self: follow your tactics!

Usually I'll aim to put the opening 10K of a half-marathon down at around 48:30 after an opening kilometre over 5 minutes and an opening 5K of around 24:30 - 24:45, slowly pick the pace up to 10K and pick up pace considerably in the second half. Did the PB in Lancaster going out in 48:04 with an opener of 5:06. 

Well, started Odense with a 4:52 and went through the first 5K in 23:51. That was 30-40 seconds too quick. Went through 10K in 47:45. Did do the second 10K slightly faster, but I'll habitually do a second 10K somewhat nearer 46:30, and this time I did 47:31. Finished a bit quicker again but couldn't get into top gear and finished with a second-best run over the distance of 1:40:04.

(Photo by Gustav Ellegaard, I'm front-left in the blue/green T-shirt and bright yellow shoes).

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

Bumping up - clocked up a personal best 5km time on Friday night in what's been a very decent year for my running. Five personal bests this year and this was in my third difference distance (three in half-marathon, one over ten miles, and this in the 5K).

This race is called the Power of 5K, takes place every two months on a dead flat cycle track in Lancaster and has two races; one for under 20 minutes known as the A race and one for those over 20 minutes known as the B race. A volunteer made video footage of both races and I was in the B race for the over 20s.

The old PB was also at this event in August 2022. Lowered it from 21:20 to 21:15.

And if you really want a laugh at my expense watching this video, watch for runner 438. Black T-shirt, black shorts with orange sides, and VERY bright canary yellow running shoes.
 

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by TheGunnShow

[sonyc 5,519]

One thing I learned very recently was hearing about the impact of freezing some foods (carbs) and how doing so reduces the glucose content. So, freezing your bread and then toasting is better for you in terms of resistant starch. Good for anyone who has diabetes or pre-diabetes or indeed, anyone who wants to control blood sugars generally. If you cook pasta or potatoes and then put them in the fridge and later warm them up again you get the same result. Journal link attached. 

So maybe be worth doing to cut those spikes in sugar.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17426743/

The original programme (Michael Mosley) is on BBC Sounds if anyone wants to hear the programme.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001rq3z

 

[sonyc 5,519]

Health tip number 2! And for this I'm giving @lake district canary - a massive thank you - it was one of his suggestions many years ago I followed ever since and think it's worth another airing. Making your own muesli! Buy all your items in bulk and mix in your own desired mixes every day - oats (all kinds out there), dried cranberries, almonds or brazils or cashews, sunflower / pumpkin / chia / sesame seeds, ground linseed, milled help ....anyway you can choose each day either as part of a porridge or cold.  It works out so much cheaper (at least 50% I calculated) plus greater variety and most importantly less sugar than you often get with brand names (sultanas and raisins can be substituted with cranberries which are a super food in themselves and you need very few).

Maybe lots of folk do this already (so apologies in advance) but it's been more or less a daily thing for me for a long while. 

[Mason 47 1,379]

At this point I assume I lose an awful lot of weight, only to put it back on so I can come on here and talk about it.

Here we go again.

You can keep your running though, I don't know where my ancestry lies exactlty but I don't think there were a lot of wide open spaces.

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

Bumping back up, mainly as I ran a new personal best over a distance I don't race much simply as there are not many events of that length any more, namely 6 miles.

In fact, I blasted it - old PB was 44:38, this time out I ran 43:49.

Probably the last chance I'll get to race in my home town if I get the visa (appointment with the German Embassy in two days) so if that's the last one, I can leave with my head held high.

[hogesar 9,674]

I currently have a Shoulder Impingement which means I can't go to tennis, nor can I do anything in the gym. So i'm sat on my ar*e working and eating cheese.

Just felt like I had a contribution to make

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

37 minutes ago, hogesar said:

I currently have a Shoulder Impingement which means I can't go to tennis, nor can I do anything in the gym. So i'm sat on my ar*e working and eating cheese.

Just felt like I had a contribution to make

Loads of squats, perhaps? Hope the shoulder gets better soon!

[Satriales 651]

On 23/08/2023 at 09:37, TheGunnShow said:

Out of interest, what pace did you go at when you went for 3km straight?

I ask simply as people who are new to running don't always have a sense of pace. Miss TGS had always tried on the treadmill at 7.5km/h but could never go more than 10 minutes. Told her to drop it to 7, and she's been over 30. And even I don't run all half-marathons if the course becomes hilly or the headwinds become serious - I'll happily drop to a power-walk.

Prime example, I had a PB in the Faroes last year for a half-mara (which I've broken three times since), and I slowed to a walk on at least three occasions, if not four. Still ran 1:42.

Most important of all, congratulations on the new PBs and beating 4 previous records. 

7 & 7.5 is quick for me, I can't get above 5.6km/h!

[littleyellowbirdie 2,550]

On 27/02/2024 at 12:26, hogesar said:

I currently have a Shoulder Impingement which means I can't go to tennis, nor can I do anything in the gym. So i'm sat on my ar*e working and eating cheese.

Just felt like I had a contribution to make

Are you doing any physio for that?

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

Think I'll feel this one tomorrow. To break up long runs on the treadmill I started doing them as a slower interval session. Remember that my half-marathon PB is 1:39:23, so just over 12.7km/h. As a means of breaking things up whilst providing some tempo work, I decided I'd run a period at a faster pace, an equal period at a slower one, then reduce each period by one, until I got down to zero.

In other words, just as an example, 5 minutes fast, 5 minutes slow, then 4 minutes fast, then 4 minutes slow, then 3 - 2 - 1.

Usually on flat ground my slow/recovery place is about 10.5km/h to 11km/h. Decided to have the slow pace at 10.5km/h and my fast at 13.1km/h, so a bit sharper than my half-mara PB. And I started out for an 11 minute fast spell, then 11 minutes slow, then 10 - 9... etc.

Got down to finishing the slow 4 minute phase and two hours had elapsed. Longest run this year, so I cut it off at that having clocked up 23.6km/h whilst feeling fresh in cardio terms. I'd only covered the half-marathon distance for the first time since the first week of this year in Norway so to be putting over 10% on the covered distance already is pleasing enough. And without really slogging it for a prolonged period of time or even treating it as any form of race, it translated into a sub 1:47 half-marathon.

That said, if I want to do proper marathon training, I can probably just drop back to my slow pace after two hours of that, then try to finish off with a mile of the faster stuff.

EDIT: If I'm going mara training as well, that top pace can drop a fair bit. 12.5km/h should still hold as a faster pace for at least a full 11 step, if not 12. A 12-step would put me over two-and-a-half hours of interval work, 13 would get me to about three hours. That won't be 26 miles in one shot by any means, but the changes of pace should be very good strengthening work in training that would be somewhat faster than my target marathon pace.

Edited April 17 by TheGunnShow