Accidentally did it on pace. Could have probably done with the butteries and Irn Bru before hand. Have to take advantage of extra running time though, however and whenever it comes about.
LINK: Team Våga
I recently spent a stupid amount of money on a new running cap. Given the demise of my banana hat and that it’s spring and no longer “woolly” hat season (my winter running hat isn’t actually woolly) I did actually need one. I wanted something running specific rather than just a cap JUST BECAUSE WHY NOT? I did look on Vinted, but second hand prices weren’t much cheaper and Våga seem like a good brand and worth supporting directly, plus it meant I could buy from my local running shop, which also seemed like a nice thing to be able to do; Although sadly I don’t think my £30 in almost three years is going to be a big help to them; When we moved to town from the city I did envisage being able to join a running club and being able to buy shoes at a shop, but life hasn’t really worked out that way.
Anyway, it’s done now. It is nice. I think I just finally cracked from trying to be so financially restrained all the time. I will regret it next month when it’s my third year anniversary of trying to save £75 up for a laptop.
I got a pink hat to go with my other pink running stuff and because I thought A would love it whereas she has always hated my banana hat - she said this one was even worse :-(. Can’t win.
Did this route again. It’d be cool if I could at least do this once a month, but I doubt I could do it fast over winter so I wouldn’t be able to do it as my fast running, it’d have to be in addition to it. Let’s just see how spring/summer/autumn goes.
Glad that some of my best times still involve hills. I do prefer hilly runs, but it stands to reason that a flat 10k or 15k in town was always going to eclipse my countryside runs (where there was no flat option).
Doing this the day after a lower body workout meant I really felt it.
Figured I could pick up the Denburn Trail on the way to Brimmond Hill and maximise the off-road (fun) bits. Also, as much as I like running full loops, the road on the way back from Brimmond Hill was pretty boring so decided to pick up the same trail on the way back. This makes for a great route.
Salomon Sense Ride 5
Some quick initial thoughts on Salomon Sense Ride 5:
- In a roundabout way I got them for a fiver which is why I went for them (wouldn’t normally consider Salomon just as a way to cheap the options down).
- They are a great road/trail/dog-walking shoe.
- The tread pattern reminds me of the old Vittoria cyclo-cross tyres I had - i.e there is an even enough surface for road use and enough tread for off-road.
- Since they are a road to trail shoe they are “good enough” on the road and “good enough” off-road. But not great on either. That is just the compromise you have to make.
- I have of course christened them through lots of mud, but I was “cautious” in them in the really slippery bits because they don’t instantly “bite”.
- The fairly tight tread pattern also means they don’t shed mud that well once it’s dry.
- They have a semi-collapsible and nice soft heel counter which I like.
- They look pretty good.
- They do take a bit of breaking in. I was not a fan of walking in them when I first put them on, but I’ve done almost 100km of running in them now (and more walking) and they are fine now; And were fine some point before this.
- The laces aren’t normal laces, but they are mostly set and forget.
- The absolutely worst thing about them is they have a really shallow toe box. A size UK 10 feels too small, but actually isn’t length wise. I replaced the insoles with some old Nike ones which are a bit thinner and that helped. I still thought I was going to end up with badly bruised toenails, but actually they are no worse than usual.
Giving the new shoes a proper christening. Wish Brimmond Hill was a bit nearer. I definitely can’t be doing that very often before work; However, did make it back in time to take the dogs out before a meeting.
Apple Watch Series 3 Five Years On
Five years on it’s still going pretty strong: It has a 90% battery capacity (although Apple are very generous with their percentages). I can, however, get up at 6-7am and either do a couple of runs (one for me and one with A) and have just enough battery to make it to bed time at 11pm ish, or I don’t do any GPS activity and I easily make it to bedtime with around half my battery left.
Since I don’t have an iPhone anymore I am literally just using it as a running/exercise watch as opposed to a smart watch (well, I do use timers for cooking - WorkOutDoors and the timer app are the two things I have in the “dock”) so that probably helps with battery life. In the day it’s connected to the house WiFi - I could turn that off I guess, but no real need.
I had thought that I’d need to replace it last year but I guess I might get another year out of it before the battery is completely knackered. Perhaps if I was doing longer runs I’d notice it, but it’s fine for what I’m doing currently. There are rare occasions where I’d like to have a watch that has days long battery life (so not even a new Apple Watch) for tracking runs and steps, but I don’t need it.
Some follow-ups since the initial review:
- I’ve realised wrist based heart measurements are just what they are. They are very person dependent, etc. WorkOutDoors having Precision Start where it starts measuring heart rate before starting a run helps a bit. So I use it, but it’s hit and miss: sometimes records perfectly during runs, other times gets maybe a couple of readings.
- I used Siri via my watch once to phone little M whilst out in some bad snow and there was no way I could have unlocked my phone. Worked a treat, but that was the only time.
- I stopped using the Strava app for WorkOutDoors and use audio sparingly for sprint intervals. I e. I could completely cope without a speaker on a watch.
- Display-wise, when running I just have average pace and time nowadays which really helps with readability.
- I stopped using Teuxdeux (sadly), but could still use the Shortcuts app for Taskwarrior. I do miss this specific smart watch functionality, but can cope without it (obviously).
In general I really can’t fault it and I’ve loved it as a bit of technology. If you have an iPhone, getting a Watch SE is a far better value purchase than whatever iPhone you have. It is Apple’s best product in my opinion, especially when combined with WorkOutDoors for the mapping, etc.
I am not unaffected by consumerism - I’ve window shopped hard for a new watch over the last year from the most realistic option (a forerunner 55) to dream level stuff (like a Suunto Race S or Polar Vantage M3). I’d love to buy something, but know there is no real point yet. Anything in my price range isn’t really going to be better it will just have more battery life. It’s not going to make any difference to my exercise routine.
Strava Year In Sport
That makes it two years of this reduced running effort, but I have maintained a great streak, doing 75 mins of fast (for me) running (keeping it under an average of 5 mins/km) and then 75 mins of strength (split as 45 mins of actual strength exercises and 30 mins of yoga*). I’ve had maybe one week each year when I didn’t keep the streak owing to being on holiday, etc, but even then alternative exercise has taken over (like the two slower trail runs in Cassis this year).
I still do miss my long runs and I still think it’s a shame I’ve had to let that go since it took years to build up to doing those distances, but what I have now is a good compromise.
And this year I have managed:
- Two Brimmond Hill runs (I used to think nothing of this distance, but it’s rare to get the opportunity now. Brimmond Hill is a great thing to run up)
- Two “mini three peak” challenges (again making the most of what’s on my doorstep - I don’t get the point in not running up a hill if it’s there)
- Two runs of the Calanques trail in Cassis (the best trail I’ve ever run)
- Finally getting to run up Bennachie
- And managed my fastest 5k. So close to getting sub-20 (20:15), which isn’t bad for my age.
Strength wise, I really don’t know if anyone else would notice (I am still a bit of a weedy stick), but I can see the difference. I guess if I really wanted to “bulk up” I’d have to do more than two strength workouts a week and do the whole protein thing and I can’t be arsed with that. I just wanted to do something. Could do with upping the weights though since I don’t have the time to up the reps.
Yoga wise. Oof, I’m just glad I can do it. I’m no where near as supple as the Nike instructors, but again, I think for my age I’m pretty good. Managed to get into the wheel on repeated occasions. That’ll do for me.
In general, I am fully aware I’m coasting, but I don’t mind. As I see it I’m in a holding pattern in case life changes again in the future and, if so, I can use this as a base to build up from. And if nothing changes then I’m still making the most of the time I have.
* - I do keep thinking about splitting the strength into equal 25 minute chunks and I might try this next year.
I used to be able to see Mither Tap in the distance from when we lived in the countryside. It took thirteen years until we finally drove there and walked up it. It’s taken another four years for me to get around to running up it. At least living in town now I can get the bus near to there, even if the opportunity doesn’t arise very often.
The easier alternative to when I need to do all my running in one go. Early mornings by the sea are beautiful. I should do this more often than I do.
Back dated this post. Decided I’d make a handful of my Strava runs public
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