The PeeFans Sports Club

[Kupar 13,341]

2 minutes ago, gldenwetgoose said:

The cycle route I followed yesterday is a 'shared space' cycle path and hence popular with joggers, dog walkers and families.

It's one that I occasionally use on a commute to work, and does reward with some attractive sights amongst the early morning joggers and dog walkers.  Sadly though far to well frequented and probably close enough to home that only a true aficionado would want to pop in a sneaky wee.

I used to cycle to work and back (only about 5 miles each way - not even enough to justify showering when I got to work), during the summer months, along a metalled bridleway that was used by horse-riders, cyclists and walkers. I would sometimes run to work and back too, or cycle in / run home, then run in / cycle home the next day. Once or twice I let go with a sneaky wee en route. As several ladies have pointed out, black is a forgiving colour, for running / cycling tights and shorts. And lycra dries pretty quickly too.

[Kupar 13,341]

I had psyched myself up for some speed work this morning rather than another 10k+ run and was blessed with good weather – perfectly still and sunny, if a little chilly at 8 degrees C when I left the house at 11am (@speedy3471 will tell me not to be a wuss).

I didn’t have specific plans, but ran 2 miles in exactly 15 minutes - reasonably quick for me – out to the edge of the fen where I can’t run any further because a new gravel extraction pit is being dug. Then I stopped for 5 minutes to get my breath back … and have a wee (details in the men peeing forum and linked at the bottom of this post).

Then I ran back as fast as was safe on the uneven concrete drove track for 0.25 miles, turned round and walked to the end of the path, and repeated. The maximum pace achieved for those little sprints was 5:30 per mile (10.3 mph).

Then I stopped to do some static exercise – a set of press ups, lunges, back and side stretches and squats. In the summer I have been stripping off and doing these naked (there’s no-one around at the end of the path except a couple of workmen on the gravel pit who are not bothered) but it was a bit cold to do that today.

My intention was to run the two miles home quickly again, but after a mile in 7:46 I thought ‘sod that, I’m walking the rest’, so I did.

The photos may convey some of the bleakness of the fens – it’s not all as pretty as some of my other photos would have you believe.

Oh – and for @Alfresco – no kingfisher, but there were a lot of birdwatchers parked up at the entrance to the bird reserves this morning. I asked a couple of them what the interest was: apparently a glossy ibis! We commonly have bitterns, marsh harriers, little and great white egrets, many bunting species, and even cranes, but a glossy ibis is something special.

Edited November 22, 2020 by Kupar
fixed links to member names; added link to other post

[Kupar 13,341]

Perhaps I will stop posting here, as I don't want it to become just a place where I chart my attempts to run further faster. But one last thing: I'm just back from attempting 10k at 7:45 / mile pace ... and failing. Ran 4.5 miles at 7:39 / mile then decided to walk home because I'd had enough. But... it was close enough that  I know I can push that speed out to 10k in the next couple of weeks. That's as fast as I think I can realistically run 10k. It would give me a time of 47min 30sec which although not fast isn't too bad for someone who smoked a packet of B&H a day through his twenties, and spent his thirties and forties largely sitting on his arse 7 days a week. I'm happy.

[Alfresco 11,633]

57 minutes ago, Kupar said:

Perhaps I will stop posting here, as I don't want it to become just a place where I chart my attempts to run further faster. But one last thing: I'm just back from attempting 10k at 7:45 / mile pace ... and failing. Ran 4.5 miles at 7:39 / mile then decided to walk home because I'd had enough. But... it was close enough that  I know I can push that speed out to 10k in the next couple of weeks. That's as fast as I think I can realistically run 10k. It would give me a time of 47min 30sec which although not fast isn't too bad for someone who smoked a packet of B&H a day through his twenties, and spent his thirties and forties largely sitting on his arse 7 days a week. I'm happy.

Well I would have to say good on you for ditching the poor habits and turning it around so that you are now fit and exercising regularly.   I still struggle to find time and motivation to get out and exercise.  I know it is good for me and I do get a good feeling from doing exercise, but I still don't do it nearly often enough.

[Kupar 13,341]

14 minutes ago, Alfresco said:

Well I would have to say good on you for ditching the poor habits and turning it around so that you are now fit and exercising regularly.   I still struggle to find time and motivation to get out and exercise.  I know it is good for me and I do get a good feeling from doing exercise, but I still don't do it nearly often enough.

Thanks ... and sure, my motivation is variable (which is why I was pleased @gldenwetgoose started this topic), even though since last year when I stopped working full time I have more time (and mental energy) now. Anything you do is better than nothing, of course 🙂 And it's probably worse to beat yourself up for not doing as much as you think you ought to ...

[Kupar 13,341]

I know I said no more, but ... I ran 10 miles on Saturday, at 8:06 / mile, and on the back of that (and the fact that I recovered quickly) I have decided that I will aim to run a half-marathon in 1hr 40min in the next few weeks. I think that would be pretty good for my age.

[Kupar 13,341]

11 mile run this morning at 8min 09sec / mile. Getting closer to half-marathon distance.

[speedy3471 10,655]

Keep up the great work Kupar, a little motivation from someone else goes along way

[Bacardi 10,134]

I'm not really sure if this counts as sporty, but I'll share anyway. 

So I just recently dropped a ton of weight. I went from a size 20 in pants to a size 12, and I'm pushing a size ten now. Im confident I'm going to get there soon because I just got a promotion where I work that requires me to do basically nothing but walk the entire store. And not just a walk like you would through the park. Some days we're so behind Im nearly sprinting through the store. I love it so much and can already feel my 12s starting to become looser on me. 

So, my sport would have to be walking lol.

[Kupar 13,341]

3 minutes ago, Bacardi said:

I'm not really sure if this counts as sporty, but I'll share anyway. 

So I just recently dropped a ton of weight. I went from a size 20 in pants to a size 12, and I'm pushing a size ten now. Im confident I'm going to get there soon because I just got a promotion where I work that requires me to do basically nothing but walk the entire store. And not just a walk like you would through the park. Some days we're so behind Im nearly sprinting through the store. I love it so much and can already feel my 12s starting to become looser on me. 

So, my sport would have to be walking lol.

Yes. That definitely counts 🙂

[Alfresco 11,633]

@Bacardi, Yes, I would definitely say walking counts - especially if it is active walking as it sounds like yours is.   Well done for losing all that weight!   great effort.

Talking of walking.....   My exercise today was about half an hour walk to the lake near me.   It was a misty morning and eerily quiet.  Just a few birds for company and the only other people I saw were two ladies walking a dog who happened to walk along the path behind me whilst I was peeing in the lake - the account and photos of peeing in the lake are here: 

When I was nearly back at the car I did see another lady jogging, but far fewer people than I would expect to see at that time of the morning.

A few photos below:

     

[Kupar 13,341]

24 minutes ago, Alfresco said:

@Bacardi, Yes, I would definitely say walking counts - especially if it is active walking as it sounds like yours is.   Well done for losing all that weight!   great effort.

Talking of walking.....   My exercise today was about half an hour walk to the lake near me.   It was a misty morning and eerily quiet.  Just a few birds for company and the only other people I saw were two ladies walking a dog who happened to walk along the path behind me whilst I was peeing in the lake - the account and photos of peeing in the lake are here: 

When I was nearly back at the car I did see another lady jogging, but far fewer people than I would expect to see at that time of the morning.

A few photos below:

  

Mandarin ducks I think 🙂 - very colourful

[Alfresco 11,633]

10 minutes ago, Kupar said:

Mandarin ducks I think 🙂 - very colourful

I'm no ornithologist, but I thought Mandarin ducks had more colourful breasts and tufts on the tops of their heads.  I don't know what type these are, I always thought they were Shelduck but you probably know more about it than I do.  They were having a wash.  They kept bobbing down into the water and then standing up and flapping their wings to dry them.

[Kupar 13,341]

5 minutes ago, Alfresco said:

I'm no ornithologist, but I thought Mandarin ducks had more colourful breasts and tufts on the tops of their heads.  I don't know what type these are, I always thought they were Shelduck but you probably know more about it than I do.  They were having a wash.  They kept bobbing down into the water and then standing up and flapping their wings to dry them.

Ah ... I was thinking mandarin ducks because of their mostly white heads ... shelducks have a dark head and a big red bill (not like the sort I'm going to get from the gas company if I keep working from home through the winter). It's nice to see the water birds, but I have to confess I am not particularlyl good at identifying them!

[Kupar 13,341]

I ran 13.11 miles this morning (half-marathon distance) in 1:47:43 (actually a little bit further in 1:48:28), in drizzle and moderate breeze. I have not felt that combination of exhilaration, cold and exhaustion since I scored a try from the wing playing rugby one Wednesday afternoon in January at my northern grammar school, aged about 14.

I find it interesting the things my brain does during a run of that length. The constant evaluation of sensory inputs (‘Was that a twinge in my knee? Pain in my side?’) and the near-automatic adjustments made to cadence and stride length. The continual mental arithmetic of predicting finish times­ and pace needed over the next mile or two, and the conscious decisions to switch ‘gears’ (‘I won’t move to 2 strides per in and out breath until 9 miles’.

There’s also point at which you start thinking ‘the Raynaud’s attack has now spread across all fingers on both hands, but I can do nothing about it’ and at about 9 miles, the realisation that yes, you are going to achieve the distance because you know it’s now a mental rather than a physical challenge.

And then the euphoria of finishing – cold and bedraggled, but with a sense of achievement that lasts far, far longer than the physical discomfort of the cold, or even the hip and backside twinges that’ll be gone in two days’ time.

[gldenwetgoose 21,497]

Great effort @Kupar - well done for just getting out there as much as anything else.   Full credit for that!

[speedy3471 10,655]

On 12/12/2020 at 8:14 AM, Kupar said:

I ran 13.11 miles this morning (half-marathon distance) in 1:47:43 (actually a little bit further in 1:48:28), in drizzle and moderate breeze. I have not felt that combination of exhilaration, cold and exhaustion since I scored a try from the wing playing rugby one Wednesday afternoon in January at my northern grammar school, aged about 14.

I find it interesting the things my brain does during a run of that length. The constant evaluation of sensory inputs (‘Was that a twinge in my knee? Pain in my side?’) and the near-automatic adjustments made to cadence and stride length. The continual mental arithmetic of predicting finish times­ and pace needed over the next mile or two, and the conscious decisions to switch ‘gears’ (‘I won’t move to 2 strides per in and out breath until 9 miles’.

There’s also point at which you start thinking ‘the Raynaud’s attack has now spread across all fingers on both hands, but I can do nothing about it’ and at about 9 miles, the realisation that yes, you are going to achieve the distance because you know it’s now a mental rather than a physical challenge.

And then the euphoria of finishing – cold and bedraggled, but with a sense of achievement that lasts far, far longer than the physical discomfort of the cold, or even the hip and backside twinges that’ll be gone in two days’ time.

Well done sir, I tip my hat to you. Just goes to show that you can do anything once you put your mind to it🙂

[gldenwetgoose 21,497]

Well - I'm officially knackered, or perhaps the term is 'goosed'.

I've been meaning to get some cycle miles in to up my annual total to a nice round number and this morning I had the perfect excuse - wife wanted to watch Bugsy Malone on TV.

At this time of year my riding is virtual, using a smart turbo trainer in the garage - controlled by my laptop I use a riding simulation called Zwift. This creates a 'real' world view including city streets and countryside, other cyclists and a very toned athletic looking me. I was going to ride in a group ride, but had a few minutes delay setting up so went solo.

Today's 'world' was a 55km ride through London and some of the Surrey Hills (conveniently relocated onto the Isle of Dogs) - so two long slog climbs.  Anyway, two solid hours of cycling with the trainer applying resistance for every climb and I'm done in.

I did get my annual target aim plus an extra 10 miles!

[Kupar 13,341]

3 minutes ago, gldenwetgoose said:

Well - I'm officially knackered, or perhaps the term is 'goosed'.

I've been meaning to get some cycle miles in to up my annual total to a nice round number and this morning I had the perfect excuse - wife wanted to watch Bugsy Malone on TV.

At this time of year my riding is virtual, using a smart turbo trainer in the garage - controlled by my laptop I use a riding simulation called Zwift. This creates a 'real' world view including city streets and countryside, other cyclists and a very toned athletic looking me. I was going to ride in a group ride, but had a few minutes delay setting up so went solo.

Today's 'world' was a 55km ride through London and some of the Surrey Hills (conveniently relocated onto the Isle of Dogs) - so two long slog climbs.  Anyway, two solid hours of cycling with the trainer applying resistance for every climb and I'm done in.

I did get my annual target aim plus an extra 10 miles!

Nice one. I think the turbo trainer was probably a wise move today rather than risking outside! And 55k is a proper workout. At least equivalent to a Christmas dinner, a bottle of pudding wine and a couple of mince pies 🙂

[gldenwetgoose 21,497]

4 minutes ago, Kupar said:

Nice one. I think the turbo trainer was probably a wise move today rather than risking outside! And 55k is a proper workout. At least equivalent to a Christmas dinner, a bottle of pudding wine and a couple of mince pies 🙂

Apparently 1066 calories - or something equivalent in pizza slices.

[Kupar 13,341]

21 minutes ago, gldenwetgoose said:

Apparently 1066 calories - or something equivalent in pizza slices.

That is a strange icon to choose for calories isn't it?

A quick Google search suggests that a "slice of 14inch pizza" is 285 calories. So over half a pizza. Doesn't sound enough, does it?

[Kupar 13,341]

Well that run was a bit rubbish. You know those times when you set out feeling fine and with good intentions and motivation and it just doesn't work out like that? I wanted to run 10k at close to PB time, and failed. So 4 miles at 7:22/mile, then a walk for a quarter of a mile, and another mile run at about the same pace will have to do. Breathing all over the place, I never settled into a rhythm, legs felt heavy. All wrong. But hey, I got out and about - that's the main thing!

[gldenwetgoose 21,497]

3 hours ago, Kupar said:

Well that run was a bit rubbish. You know those times when you set out feeling fine and with good intentions and motivation and it just doesn't work out like that? I wanted to run 10k at close to PB time, and failed. So 4 miles at 7:22/mile, then a walk for a quarter of a mile, and another mile run at about the same pace will have to do. Breathing all over the place, I never settled into a rhythm, legs felt heavy. All wrong. But hey, I got out and about - that's the main thing!

Still beats everyone else sitting on their sofa...

[Kupar 13,341]

The endorphins are coursing through my tired old body now. I just knocked 7 (seven!) minutes off my half-marathon time: 13.11 miles in 1:40:44 this morning.

But @Sophie, your time is safe: I have no idea where any other minutes are coming out of that - I was absolutely knackered at the end, and to paraphrase the words of the immortal Shakira "hips will tell me tomorrow that I did some exercise".

[willinglywet 242]

I am not sure if this can be defined as sport exactly, but just got back from my daily walk before getting to ready for my work shift. I walked just a small trip today, maybe 5 or 6 km at the most.

I could have make it longer but as i know i will get a lot of exercise later on in my job which is quite physical, so i decided just do a shorter walk today. One good side on having a physical job is that i can save my money as i dont need to pay the gym😁. Always need to find the good sides about everything. Here is couple of pics for my walk today, winter has finally arrived here. Sorry about the quality though.