Tales from the Glue Factory

Swashbuckler

Laineyfrecks wrote: »

I agree & said it in my original reply, it's affecting everybody in different ways, all we can do is hope that it's going to get better & we can all go back to seeing/hugging the people we love. By giving my own example I was in no way taking away from anyone else's circumstances...We can have a group hug when it's all safe to do so:p

McGrattens 2022!

ThebitterLemon

Swashbuckler wrote: »

McGrattens 2022!

All wearing tights...:)

TbL

skyblue46

Laineyfrecks wrote: »

I agree & said it in my original reply, it's affecting everybody in different ways, all we can do is hope that it's going to get better & we can all go back to seeing/hugging the people we love. By giving my own example I was in no way taking away from anyone else's circumstances...We can have a group hug when it's all safe to do so:p

Ah it wasn't a competition. At times I feel like I'm the only one doing everything that is asked of me. Its actually quite comforting to see that some people here who I already hold in very high regard are similarly committed. Well done all.

Swashbuckler

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

All wearing tights...:)

TbL

I'm annoyed at myself for actually deleting that part of my previous post. Haha

Swashbuckler

skyblue46 wrote: »

Ah it wasn't a competition. At times I feel like I'm the only one doing everything that is asked of me. Its actually quite comforting to see that some people here who I already hold in very high regard are similarly committed. Well done all.

That's actually another reason I'm a bit weary. I have several friends just completely ignoring the rules. Hard to see my little girl having no company of her own age when there's group meetups happening all around me where the kids are having mighty craic.... And the adults too!

Lambay island

Swashbuckler wrote: »

That's actually another reason I'm a bit weary. I have several friends just completely ignoring the rules. Hard to see my little girl having no company of her own age when there's group meetups happening all around me where the kids are having mighty craic.... And the adults too!

I'm not sure what the weather was like down your way today but the snow was a plus for us. Today was the first day in weeks that the excitement of something different was happening. My five year old even had a mini snowball fight with my elderly neighbour which had us all laughing.

Swashbuckler

Lambay island wrote: »

I'm not sure what the weather was like down your way today but the snow was a plus for us. Today was the first day in weeks that the excitement of something different was happening. My five year old even had a mini snowball fight with my elderly neighbour which had us all laughing.

My missus has been praying for snow. We've literally had none. Maybe a sprinkling of it a week or so ago but not enough to do anything with.

ThebitterLemon

Swashbuckler wrote: »

That's actually another reason I'm a bit weary. I have several friends just completely ignoring the rules. Hard to see my little girl having no company of her own age when there's group meetups happening all around me where the kids are having mighty craic.... And the adults too!

Are kids not allowed have an outside exercise pod with one other family?

TbL

Swashbuckler

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Are kids not allowed have an outside exercise pod with one other family?

TbL

Nope don't think so. The only pods are two people living alone in separate households who have no contact with any other people.

ThebitterLemon

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Nope don't think so. The only pods are two people living alone in separate households who have no contact with any other people.

“People may meet with people from one other household in outdoor settings when taking exercise.”

My young lad cycles with the same lad from another family for exercise. I assumed this was within the rules

TbL

skyblue46

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

“People may meet with people from one other household in outdoor settings when taking exercise.”

My young lad cycles with the same lad from another family for exercise. I assumed this was within the rules

TbL

One to one. I can meet one other person for a run within my 5k. I can't bring a family along nor can the other person.

ThebitterLemon

skyblue46 wrote: »

One to one. I can meet one other person for a run within my 5k. I can't bring a family along nor can the other person.

Thanks, but is that what the rule above states?

Doesn’t affect me as I’m an anti social bollocks or my kids but does this not state that two families can meet outdoors for exercise within 5k?

TbL

Swashbuckler

skyblue46 wrote: »

One to one. I can meet one other person for a run within my 5k. I can't bring a family along nor can the other person.

And if I did meet my buddy for a run, then who else has he met is the question. Or maybe the spirit of the rule is you should have one person and stick with that one person throughout...

One thing I will say is its all very confusing.

To your original point though TbL, my little one is 3 so she wouldn't be able to.

Edit: seems like i've misinterpreted to rule!

skyblue46

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Thanks, but is that what the rule above states?

Doesn’t affect me as I’m an anti social bollocks or my kids but does this not state that two families can meet outdoors for exercise within 5k?

TbL

Yes, my bad, its fine.

ThebitterLemon

I’m adopted a one person exercise bubble per kid.

My young lad cycles with the same lad all the time

I run with the same lad all the time (if he’s interested in going)

Maybe see if you can get your young one an outside play date that you could chaperone.

My lad brings a mask and sanitizer

TbL

Swashbuckler

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

I’m adopted a one person exercise bubble per kid.

My young lad cycles with the same lad all the time

I run with the same lad all the time (if he’s interested in going)

Maybe see if you can get your young one an outside play date that you could chaperone.

My lad brings a mask and sanitizer

TbL

Cheers for that! It's good to know. I think there's a bit of paranoia from us at the moment with where the numbers are at. We've been slow to even visit playgrounds. Hopefully as the numbers come down we can start to broaden our horizons. The playschool closing is the worst part really.

ThebitterLemon

It’s shockingly tough all round.

Hopefully the end is in sight

I must admit I found this one particularly tough and I like to think as myself as fairly durable

The mental toll on thousands will be around for a long time

TbL

diego_b

What I’m finding tough at the moment is people within my extended family who appear to be anti restrictions/vax/cop on and reposting some of the worst crap you can see on fb. The “I’m a doctor and I etc etc” type things.
I just think of the mindset that person must be in when people who are doing the right thing find it so hard at times but accept we all need to do the right thing to protect our families and everyone...but for those others who can’t/won’t/dismiss it...well they must be going through hell mentally to see us at it.
In my own case on the running front I seem to have picked a good time to get injured so just working on that myself (have been to physios) and running on my own rather than meeting the regular people I ran with. Just feel more comfortable in myself knowing that I am doing what is asked and what is right. In ways it’s like a race, just bear out the tough parts and we can savior the reward at the end...no pb was ever easily earned and neither will this be.

Annie get your Run

We are all feeling it for sure, probably one of the reasons so many have returned here . My brother, niece and nephew live in the US, I haven't seen the kids in 18 months or family and friends in Dublin in over a year but I remind myself every day that we are fit and healthy and for now, that's enough. This forum, with our common bond of running and slagging the cr*ap out of each other is a huge help and hats off to those who have organised challenges first time round and again this time! I love reading the descriptions of people's runs and I often picture where they ran which temporarily brings me out of these 4 walls into a different location . The only social interaction I have is occasionally stopping for a quick socially distant chat with some of the Sanctuary runners crew down here if they happen to be out at the same time.

Welcome back to the logs P!

ariana`

Sorry to hear you are finding it tough P. I think we all are. We're all suffering in different ways, missing different things and people in our lives, and struggling with the day to day monotony.

As an introvert I feel sort of lucky that I'm not missing much social engagement myself but it's a huge struggle home-schooling (if you could call my attempts at it that) 3 primary school children while also working myself in a demanding enough environment. And I miss my Mom so much and she is missing out on precious time with her grandchildren and they with her. She turned 80 during lockdown #1 and soon she will be 81. Her turning 80 hit me hard, I can't help thinking that quality time might just be running out...but we can't let our head go there because then it all just goes to sh*t...

For what it's worth we haven't gone near playgrounds either, I see them as germ pools at the best of times but during this they've been a no-no. We go for a walk every day during my lunch break - usually just a short walk but it gets us out. And luckily the kids have each other to play with. Your little ones will be fine. Most of us kids who grew up in the 80s didn't attend any playschool or creche etc, we just started primary school at 4-5yrs. You and L are their world. My littlest is 5, for his 5th birthday last Summer, he kept banging on about his "party", I was panicking because obviously due to Covid there wasn't going to be a big party. In the end his bro laid it out to him - "you know there's nobody coming to your party" (he didn't mean it to sound so cruel I swear he's a sweet kid normally), so the soon to be 5 year old replies "yes they are...my 4 favourite people are coming", me at this stage in a blind panic, heart breaking for the lad who had big hopes for his birthday, but he goes on to say "mom, dad, you (to his brother) and M (other brother) are all coming!". That was all he cared about, so sweet, and a party we had and of course it was his best birthday ever! Little kids don't need much so try not to worry

Swashbuckler

Lovely post there ariana. It's reassuring to hear that. Our little one is feisty out so it's hard to tell sometimes if she's fed up or that's just her personality. Haha.
I hear you on the grandparents. It's hard to see precious time passing by and them missing out on seeing their grandkids. Tough on my wife too as all she wants to do is go out and about like the proud mum that she is.

Cheers folks. Absolutely nothing to do with running but all the posts remind me why I spend so much time on this forum. It's the one social media that, despite taking a break from logging, has always been my first social media that I check every day and when I have spare time. Weird to say but I always get a little boost when I see a thread updated on here. Sad isn't it? Haha

Laineyfrecks

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Sad isn't it? Haha

Not sad at all...I think AGYR said it perfectly in her post, reading about other peoples runs & different things takes you away for a little bit & can have you smiling at the laptop if it's something funny or feeling for that person if it's something sad... It's a nice outlet to have away from the likes of FB & Insta etc.

Swashbuckler

Happy with another very solid week in the bank. Starting to sound like a broken record at this stage but that's no bad thing I guess.

Monday - Easy 14M - 1hr53. 8.02min/mile avg.
Tuesday - Recovery 52min. 6.2M. 8.25min/mile avg.
Wednesday - Boards January Challenge (with blind strides). 1:00:08. 7.4M. 8.09min/mile avg.
Thursday - 2x(4/3/2/1min off 90s). 3min between sets. 6min/mile pace for each.
Friday - Easy 50min. 6.3M. 7.57min/mile avg.
Saturday - Easy 53min plus strides. 7.4M. 8.05min/mile avg.
Sunday - 36 min progression. Starting at 6.25 and making my way down to 6.10 for the last 5mins.

Mondays long run had to be run in the evening. Couldnt get out in the early AM, or at lunch so I headed out after work. ANd boy was in refreshing to do so. A novelty for me which made the run all the more enjoyable. Came home refreshed and happy.

Tuesday - legs were tired from the long run. I had chatted with Luke about the DOMS from the week before. No surprise atall given the style of the session. The early part of this week was set-up to give the legs a chance to recover though. Nothing exciting to report from this run.

Wednesday - Boards January challenge. This would have really been my only chance to improve on my woeful first attempt. Decided to take a different approach this time and not decide the route, see how I felt after a mile or so and go from there. After about a mile I felt like I was in or around 8.10ish min/mile pace so I worked out a route from there. Kept the pace pretty even throughout. Landed back near home and picked my usual section of the estate for some blind counted strides and recoveries. Finished the last stride and hit stop. Rolled up the sleeve and was pleasantly surprised to see 1:00:08. Happy with that effort. Its managed to drag my ass up the table and has me in good shape for Feb challenge, whatever that is! Kudos to shotgun for setting it up.

Thursday - 2x(4/3/2/1min off 90s). 3min between sets. 6min/mile pace for each.
Nothing too daunting about this one. A year ago would have been a different story but i've come a long way in a year. Cant really say there was anything major of note here. It was a good session. Certainly not a doddle but plenty of work in there to keep you honest. Recoveries were pretty generous. Was happy with how it went and felt. Pretty much hit 6min/mile pace for all. Total incl. WU and CD - 9.7M

Friday and Saturday were easy runs. Legs have been fine since Tuesday so run of the mill tick the box runs.

Todays progression was a fun one. As I've said already before, I love those tempo/progression runs. Funny one today though. Found it a little tricky to settle into a rhythm. The guide from L was 35mins ,to start at 6.25 pace and work down to 6.10 for the last 5 mins. So I decided 10mins at 6.25, 10mins at 6.20, 10mins at 6.15, 5mins at 6.10. I think it was the narrowness of the range was what had me struggling a bit. Was running on feel mostly but it never actually felt like a progression rather me dipping around 6.15-6.25 for the entire run. The numbers say otherwise - 6.30/6.20/6.15/6.10. Nothing uncomfortable about this one. Lungs were fine. Legs a little "leggy" by the end but nothing major. Total incl. WU and CD - 10.5M.

This log is very boring! A good solid week with nothing really exciting to report!

So thats a wrap for January.

Total for the week - 61.5miles (7hr57min)
Total for the month - 267 miles (highest month ever I think)
Consecutive days running - 37 days

That's also a wrap on dry January and two weeks off chocolate/sweets/cakes/biscuits etc.
Noticed a big difference physically especially being off the sweet stuff.
I don't plan on rushing back to either to be honest. I've broken the habits which was my main goal and the last thing I want to do is go back to square one. Two Moretti 0% on Saturday night did me fine although listening to some of those choons that Oonegative posted on his Spotlight had me wanting a crate of beer, a laptop and my noise cancelling headphones. It also didnt help that he sent me a picture of his vast collection of craft beer in his fridge.

A good January. Hopefully i'll keep that consistency.

Might just treat myself to a Jaffa Biscuit or a McVities cake this week..................Yum.

P.S - Covid is still sh1t...............

Thanks for reading.

ThebitterLemon

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Happy with another very solid week in the bank. Starting to sound like a broken record at this stage but that's no bad thing I guess.

Monday - Easy 14M - 1hr53. 8.02min/mile avg.
Tuesday - Recovery 52min. 6.2M. 8.25min/mile avg.
Wednesday - Boards January Challenge (with blind strides). 1:00:08. 7.4M. 8.09min/mile avg.
Thursday - 2x(4/3/2/1min off 90s). 3min between sets. 6min/mile pace for each.
Friday - Easy 50min. 6.3M. 7.57min/mile avg.
Saturday - Easy 53min plus strides. 7.4M. 8.05min/mile avg.
Sunday - 36 min progression. Starting at 6.25 and making my way down to 6.10 for the last 5mins.

Mondays long run had to be run in the evening. Couldnt get out in the early AM, or at lunch so I headed out after work. ANd boy was in refreshing to do so. A novelty for me which made the run all the more enjoyable. Came home refreshed and happy.

Tuesday - legs were tired from the long run. I had chatted with Luke about the DOMS from the week before. No surprise atall given the style of the session. The early part of this week was set-up to give the legs a chance to recover though. Nothing exciting to report from this run.

Wednesday - Boards January challenge. This would have really been my only chance to improve on my woeful first attempt. Decided to take a different approach this time and not decide the route, see how I felt after a mile or so and go from there. After about a mile I felt like I was in or around 8.10ish min/mile pace so I worked out a route from there. Kept the pace pretty even throughout. Landed back near home and picked my usual section of the estate for some blind counted strides and recoveries. Finished the last stride and hit stop. Rolled up the sleeve and was pleasantly surprised to see 1:00:08. Happy with that effort. Its managed to drag my ass up the table and has me in good shape for Feb challenge, whatever that is! Kudos to shotgun for setting it up.

Thursday - 2x(4/3/2/1min off 90s). 3min between sets. 6min/mile pace for each.
Nothing too daunting about this one. A year ago would have been a different story but i've come a long way in a year. Cant really say there was anything major of note here. It was a good session. Certainly not a doddle but plenty of work in there to keep you honest. Recoveries were pretty generous. Was happy with how it went and felt. Pretty much hit 6min/mile pace for all. Total incl. WU and CD - 9.7M

Friday and Saturday were easy runs. Legs have been fine since Tuesday so run of the mill tick the box runs.

Todays progression was a fun one. As I've said already before, I love those tempo/progression runs. Funny one today though. Found it a little tricky to settle into a rhythm. The guide from L was 35mins ,to start at 6.25 pace and work down to 6.10 for the last 5 mins. So I decided 10mins at 6.25, 10mins at 6.20, 10mins at 6.15, 5mins at 6.10. I think it was the narrowness of the range was what had me struggling a bit. Was running on feel mostly but it never actually felt like a progression rather me dipping around 6.15-6.25 for the entire run. The numbers say otherwise - 6.30/6.20/6.15/6.10. Nothing uncomfortable about this one. Lungs were fine. Legs a little "leggy" by the end but nothing major. Total incl. WU and CD - 10.5M.

This log is very boring! A good solid week with nothing really exciting to report!

So thats a wrap for January.

Total for the week - 61.5miles (7hr57min)
Total for the month - 267 miles (highest month ever I think)
Consecutive days running - 37 days

That's also a wrap on dry January and two weeks off chocolate/sweets/cakes/biscuits etc.
Noticed a big difference physically especially being off the sweet stuff.
I don't plan on rushing back to either to be honest. I've broken the habits which was my main goal and the last thing I want to do is go back to square one. Two Moretti 0% on Saturday night did me fine although listening to some of those choons that Oonegative posted on his Spotlight had me wanting a crate of beer, a laptop and my noise cancelling headphones. It also didnt help that he sent me a picture of his vast collection of craft beer in his fridge.

A good January. Hopefully i'll keep that consistency.

Might just treat myself to a Jaffa Biscuit or a McVities cake this week..................Yum.

P.S - Covid is still sh1t...............

Thanks for reading.

What are you training towards? Was that 14 miler Monday on the plan seems a bit long?

If you can stay off the sugar you’ll see huge benefits, good luck with it

TbL

Swashbuckler

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

What are you training towards? Was that 14 miler Monday on the plan seems a bit long?

If you can stay off the sugar you’ll see huge benefits, good luck with it

TbL

Yeah the 14M is my regular weekly long run. Every Monday, without fail, 14M.

No specific goals this year C. Me and the boss have had several chats over the past few years about that side of things and we're on the same page. I'm just thinking long term. I don't really care about goal races right now. I want to keep building and when the time comes to peak for something I'm confident I'll be peaking from a really really solid base. A bigger and better base than I've ever had to be honest.

That's not to say I won't have a few blowouts this year but nothing specific in mind right now. That's the good thing about having a coach, otherwise I wouldn't have a clue how to shape my training.

MY BAD

I was going to ask the same question. Good outlook, real solid base building going on.

Laineyfrecks

Great consistent training as always, great to see! Your log is not boring (certain people just like to waffle )

Oh god how are you managing without the sweet stuff, I have had many, many, many failed attempts at giving it up:o What's the secret?

ThebitterLemon

Laineyfrecks wrote: »

Great consistent training as always, great to see! Your log is not boring (certain people just like to waffle )

Oh god how are you managing without the sweet stuff, I have had many, many, many failed attempts at giving it up:o What's the secret?

No/low carb for a month slays the sugar dragon ðŸ‰

TbL

Laineyfrecks

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

No/low carb for a month slays the sugar dragon ðŸ‰

TbL

A month with no carbs:eek:

skyblue46

Laineyfrecks wrote: »

Great consistent training as always, great to see! Your log is not boring (certain people just like to waffle )

Oh god how are you managing without the sweet stuff, I have had many, many, many failed attempts at giving it up:o What's the secret?

The teeniest little bit of willpower