The run in the previous post was painless but soon after my post I suffered really bad right foot pains and could barely put my weight on it. Took time off work, some anti-inflammatories, rested for a couple of days and then started some calf raises on the stairs when it felt better. Pain dropped very quickly and I could resume walking and back to work. Things felt really much better today and went for a 4km run. Don't know why but I had the quickest speed I've run in months. So far no adverse reactions either 🤞.

The new Asic runners arrived quicker than I expected and the heel felt pretty good after a week's rest, so I went for a 5km run. The Novablasts are definitely providing better cushioning and achieved a better time than expected. Might try to up my asthma meds to see if it improves my breathing shortcomings experienced later in the run.

I procrastinated too long over replacing my inadequately cushioning running shoes and have developed some pain in my heel after a 7.5 km run, which was probably a bit too much after a heavy 20k step workday the previous day. Anyway, I have ordered some Asic Novablast which should offer far more on-road run cushioning than my present pair. I would have liked a pair of SuperBlast but they were just a bit too expensive. While I wait delivery I will assess whether it is heel bone bruising, plantar fasciitis or even a mild fracture, all of which I have experienced over the last thirty years. It pretty mild at this stage so a couple of weeks should see improvements.

I have to mention the incredible London Marathon results. The winner Sawe in 1:59:30 and Kejelcha only 11 seconds behind. The breakdown of the results is almost beyond belief Averaging a smidge over 21 kph, the 2nd 21km in 59 minutes, the last 5km a couple of seconds faster that the fastest Parkrun registered (allowing that Parkruns are 'for fun' so distance and timing accuracy can be very 'iffy'). Apparently Sawe has been drug tested once every 3 days on average over the last few months at his own request since a few African based athletes have recently been detected taking either performance enhancing drugs or masking agents.

Both of my sport watches have accuracy issues counting my steps at work due to my wrist being stabilised when pushing product around on trolleys. So, I put one in my pocket and the other on my wrist. The wrist unit counted around 18k steps and the one in the pocket 40k steps. Similar results when I reversed the watches being worn and carried in pocket. During free walking (ie not at work) they both register near identical results. I'm still unable to work out the huge disparity in pulse count between the two units during exercise. I'd have to borrow either my son's or his wife's chest monitoring units to do this, but they both take their daily gym session monitoring very seriously. I might have a chance to borrow one when they take a family holiday to Fiji, that is if they treat it as a real holiday.

I'd forgotten about this thread. So in 2023 I moved on from the Garmin VivoActive 4 & bought a Garmin Fenix 7 Solar, this was partially due to the amount hours spent exercising and the amount of time being spent away from home (work and camping). My eldest son now uses my old VivoActive 4 for his cycling/hiking/climbing etc etc in the Highlands of Scotland, his only complaint is the battery life seeming poor but then it is a few years old now. As for the Fenix7 Solar, its an amazing bit of kit

Spoke to someone recently who describes himself as 'semi-retired from running' as he only (lol) currently does about 120km a week! He is tossing up whether to increase his training to try to get to the next Olympics! He works for a living, married and his wife is expecting their first. Puts a different perspective on the attitudes of some very entitled and overpaid professional athletes.

The run was completed in somewhat hot, humid and therefore uncomfortable conditions which forced a few stops, but it did reveal a few things. a) I am hopeless at putting a watch on a 'wrong' wrist ie using my left hand to put it on my right wrist. b) My dominant right wrist is unexpectantly smaller than my left. c) The distance measurement was pretty close at 0.02km (20 metre) variation overall, but the new unit was far faster reporting distance travelled and more consistent on reporting current speed. d) The new unit reveals that the old unit was probably not accurate reporting heart rate during the run, and the new Garmin much more in line with what I would expect at my age. The average heart rate for the run varied by a considerable 20 bpm. More independent checking required, I think. e) Both units reporting of my vO2 max for the run were identical. One funny thing though is that I had set up a Garmin Connect account about 10 years ago with a cheap unit I found on the beach (I tried contacting Garmin to find the owner to no effect) and did not bother to put in my birth date but accepted the default which now thinks I'm a 36 year old. On the basis of a couple of runs the Garmin says I have a biological age of 32. Be interesting to how that stat changes when Garmin respond to my request (can't do it online myself apparently) to double my real age on the system.

I am now the 'proud' owner of two working GPS sports smart watches. After I bought a new Garmin unit as replacement for my malfunctioning Fitbit, I chanced on a web site with suggestions on how to factory reset the 'dead' Fitbit with a complex sequence of activations on the one external button.....and it worked. I will adopt the new one as it has several features I like but it will be interesting to compare how the two units report the same run. Yes, I will be the idiot runner wearing two units tomorrow morning.

The internet was right, the Fitbit Versa 3 is not a reliable unit having irrevocably failed the other day after about 2.5 years. I cosseted it more than previous units, like avoiding swimming with it, although it was worn every day, but still disappointed. A few days to my birthday so will probably go for a Garmin unit and accept contributions from the family toward its purchase. Don't need an elite unit but would like GPS, running and activity stats, and 'advanced' heart rate functions, as well as the ability to answer phone calls on my mobile (which has been a surprisingly useful feature). Not sure which specific unit yet but probably priced in the two to three hundred pound price range. Garmins can be quite large and clunky though which do not suit my skinny wrists.

No current lung infection - tick Recovered from medical procedure - tick Run out of excuses - tick So out for some light morning runs before the sun gets up and temperature gets too unbearable. I can't work out whether I was shamed or inspired to run again by my daughter in law getting up at 4 am on Christmas morning for a 25 km run and my uk great nephew participating in a Christmas morning parkrun in near zero temps.

Annnnnd then after only two runs I contracted another respiratory virus. Had to have a clinical PCR test to find out, this time, I had 'Human pneumovirus' and the planned medical procedure deferred. Pretty fed up with just coughing and not running this year, to be honest.

Annnnd then I get a bronchial infection that took me out of running action during the four weeks break I had from work.🤧 Resumed running yesterday and back to 6 minute kms but no ambition to improve for the moment with a small medical procedure due.

Yesterday's 7km run with 5':30" /km averages, which means I managed to knock off at least 4 seconds per kilometre from recent bests. Didn't think I'd really be able to get back to where I was a year ago so pretty rapt with this. Calves are hurting now which suggests it was achieved with a bit more rebound and less plodding.

Just achieved my sub hour 10km target, 10.1km in 58m 28sec. Did not set out to do it, but went out slowly trying to keep my heartrate down (another story), felt good, the weather was really nice, and I thought why not? Probably not as much preparation as I would have liked, so I did find the last 2km quite hard to push through. I won't aim for greater distances, but I will try to make it an occasional target with the hope of making the effort easier and/or a little faster.

A mixed bag over the six weeks or so: A couple of days after the above 8km run I came down with a cold, not a bad one, but sufficient to deter me from running for a bit. Resumed with a light load of short, slow distances and built up to 7km again and then I was delighted to have, a good (for me), 7km at 5:34 averages. Then immediately came down with another cold, this time a proper cold, the worst kind, A REAL MAN COLD! First time off work since covid. So, I question whether the effort put into the relatively fast runs lowered my resistance to infection? OR, whether I already had been infected and my immune system had already stepped up resulting in improved times?? Or it was all just a coincidence? Eventually resumed running again with really slow (not for want of trying) 4km run on the weekend, then had a fun pneumonia vaccination on Monday (they are free at my age so why not), eventually felt good enough today to run another 4km today with surprisingly fast 5:32 averages. Maybe that immune system thing again? I'd like to string together a couple of uninterrupted months of progressive training to get to my 10km target but might have to try before my prostate biopsy in September, which will likely cause another two-week training interruption.

Our winter weather/work/social/laziness have contributed to a less consistent recent training phase. However, a social media post by my daughter-in-law (full-time work, with a two and half year old) showing her improved running times and fitness over the last year spurred me into venturing out for a twighlight run tonight. After my involuntary tapering I decided to extend my distance to 8km. Went out too fast for the first km so spent the next three recovering and then was able to settle into an even pace. Very happy with 5:36 km averages, which is the best I have been achieving recently for shorter runs. Calves hurt...a lot. Must walk out the lactic acid tomorrow, but my knees handled it comfortably despite the cool conditions.

I'm quite pleased with how things are progressing since being able to string together a few runs in our now cooler weather. My distances covered and speed are slowly improving, but I am not putting too much pressure on myself so that I can enjoy the run more. I have had to correct a previous mentioned running posture problem (stooping and looking at the ground in front of me) and now a new issue with my breathing. Seems stupid, but I actually have had to concentrate quite hard on breathing by using less chest expansion and using more diaphragm breathing. I think both issues were what made my first 'comeback' run a few weeks ago so hard. No wonder I prefer running by myself, it is taking most of my brain power to keep putting one foot in front of the other, conversation is way beyond me. Not sure if it inspirational or just plain daunting when you read headlines like: Canadian ultrarunner Stephanie Case just won the 100-kilometre Ultra-Trail Snowdonia ultramarathon in Wales — six months postpartum, without an elite bib, and while stopping to breastfeed her baby at aid stations. She took 3 years off running to have her baby and just entered the event to test where she was before a more challenging event in July. Incredible!! Me, well I have decided my target this year will again be a 10km run on the flat, and hopefully in under an hour.

Just seen on the news that the doctor has received £4.5 million as a settlement. There must be Planet X Gravel bikes with Carbon Fiber forks out there.

Getting older does not make anything easier and I have found myself putting off running due to current high daytime temps/working/health/any excuse really, and then dreading the likely deterioration and pain of resumption after an extended break. I've also been slack regarding my diet and increased my mealtime wine consumption, so I should not be surprised (but I was) that a couple of recent impromptu blood pressure tests have indicated it has risen above ideal levels. Not dangerous but not a trend I want to worsen. I was obviously too complacent that my regular casual and mostly physical taxing work, plus walking two dogs we are looking after twice a day, would be enough to maintain my fitness. So, I have resumed running, just 4 km to start with and by gosh is it slow and has it hurt! However, I can take some solace from the fact that when I started running, about 35 years ago, and did 2km for a short triathlon that I remember it hurt a lot more. It will be interesting to monitor my blood pressure if I manage to maintain about 3 runs a week.

I recently found a longlost self help book called "Superman" by a Robert Heller from the late 1970's. He had applied his speciality of business management analysis to consolidate a lot of the recognised texts and studies of the period into a simple to read presentation of the best practices to improve mind and body. It influenced me when I first read it, especially with regards to the ongoing benefits of exercise and a good diet, and I have to say that on re-reading it stands up fairly well to accepted modern recommendations. However, I discovered a subsequent disconcerting revelation: There is an entry in the book about his father and how he had a formidable constitution undermined in later life by a crank diet which is inferred to have lead to his death at the age of 81. When I googled Robert Heller I found that as well as being a prolific author of 280 publications, he died in 2012 at the age of 80 after a long illness. I now have a "what went wrong" feeling similar to what I experienced when I learnt of Michael Mosely's premature death.

I attended a local athletic meet recently and watched a junior athlete give a seasoned Olympic finalist a surprise in the sprint finish to a middle-distance race forcing the more experienced athlete to rally again to win. Who doesn't love precocious talent, especially when the backstory includes coming from limited Australian country facilities (a good grass oval) and the nearest proper running track a couple of hours drive away. I was also blown away by his likability and maturity at just 17 years old when I spoke to him later. I find youngsters like that really uplifting.

2018 when I was on a 12 months drugs trial for a diabetic drug I lost 3 stone. I was blood tested every 2 weeks, MRI done each month, and esg,s. I was definitely not getting the placebo. I was reducing the other medication as the trial doctor advised and my local surgery approved and eating well and exercising. Basically it was the Newcastle Diet that I was given. I never knew that at the time. What I know now was a it was a success for many. It required meal replacement drinks which were not cheap but Asda and Tesco weed 10 for £3 then. Now £5.50 for 10. I mix with chilled water and keep in a flask when going away. I use the milk for my cereals. After the 2018 trial and none of the medication it was a year before I was prescribed the medication because my doctor thought the drug was a nonsense. Which it was not because within weeks of taking again my diabetes was better controlled, my weight came down and I was just in better health. Until prolapsed discs. PS. There is a Scheme in Scotland for weight loss where the meal replacement drinks are supplied free.

"Undefatted", a good description for me post confinement I hope this year will be the one when I return to my previous form, the broken back put paid to it last year.

52% of Brewers Yeast is protein. I eat food for my protein tuna, mackerel, salmon, trout, herring, haddock, eggs, milk, nuts. I get the best of fish once or twice a week from the best of fish mongers. Right at the Smoke houses.