2012

[stillwaddler]

new year plan started yesterday with a solitary 3.5 mile plod through horrid lashing rain and high winds. Sorry for lack of activity here. I will explain after my run out this afternoon!

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Yay! Great to see you again sw!

[El Gordo]

Hurrah! It's SW!

[Antonio247]

It´s wonderful to have you here again.

Best of luck with your new challenges and happy new year!

Saludos desde Almería

[marathondan]

Was wondering how you're getting on SW! Manchester marathon sounds juicy...

[Sweder]

Good to have you back SW : ))

[stillwaddler]

Cheers guys, I hope to log in a bit more regularly now.
So what has been happening in the SW household?
Retiring at the end of May was just wonderful, so good in fact that I kept thinking that something would happen to burst the bubble…low and behold Mr SW comes home one evening mid July with the news that having completed a very successful project there was no more work in the office so he was effectively redundant. Deep joy, good old recession strikes again. He spent many weeks searching, nothing available in this country at all, Dubai or Saudi were options but he rejected thse but has accepted and now started a job in Shanghai – ruddy long way to cycle on Norman Tebbit’s Dad’s bike isn’t it! but a great firm and hopefully a good career move.
Running has been on the back burner, particularly when we knew that his leaving date was approaching. I am not planning on re-locating to China, but will go out for extended visits, probably for the first in April – after the Wilmslow half! Good job I didn’t sign up for the Manchester marathon as you can’t roll it over until next year.
Sorry for lack of activity on the Forum I have been running probably on average twice a week but nothing earth shattering being never more than a 5 miler. I do aim to get back into running more regularly and for longer distances, need something to take my mind off things, I expect I’ll get used to Mr SW being away and Skyping is great , amazingly they let you Skype from China!!
Meanwhile next month brings an awfully big birthday – eek, I surely can’t possibly be that old…

[Sweder]

Wow, an eventful time indeed. Glad things are working out, if at long distance. It's better now we've moved on from coke cans and bits of string : )

[marathondan]

Hope things continue to work out OK SW. Do keep us up to date with your half mara training. And here's something to aim for!

[stillwaddler]

Well, an uneventful 5 miler at lunchtime today, bit ploddy but banked. Weather was kind all the way round - it had been thrashing it down just before I went out. I checked my shoes when I got back, a pair of Asics gel Kyano which I started using just before Brighton mara last year, I was surprised to see the heels are quite worn and the backs are shredding quite badly, might be time to unwrap the pair I have had stashed away for almost 12 months. I bought two pairs at the time as so often the new "improved" models that the manufacturesr bring out every year just don't seem as good as the originals. So much for progress.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Well, an uneventful 5 miler at lunchtime today, bit ploddy but banked. Weather was kind all the way round - it had been thrashing it down just before I went out. I checked my shoes when I got back, a pair of Asics gel Kyano which I started using just before Brighton mara last year, I was surprised to see the heels are quite worn and the backs are shredding quite badly, might be time to unwrap the pair I have had stashed away for almost 12 months. I bought two pairs at the time as so often the new "improved" models that the manufacturesr bring out every year just don't seem as good as the originals. So much for progress.

Nice to have you back SW!

Not so nice to read about the living arrangements, but hang in there - some of us have been down that road and it is surviveable. It can also strengthen your marriage in an odd way - I realise it probably doesn't need strengthening as such, but it does add another layer of life experience. Hang in there!

I'd be interested to know how you get on with the new shoes. Manufacturers (and their sales reps) seem to be forever warning us not to store shoes away for any length of time. I'm never sure whether this is because their fears of the compounds breaking down over time in storage is true or whether they just don't want us wearing last season's gear.

[El Gordo]

Just to echo the renewed welcome SW. Shame we hadn't heard from you earlier -- we could have worked on getting you over to Almeria this year, now that the old man is on the other side of the planet.

There seem to be a lot of echoes in here at the moment, because I'd also agree with what MLCM just said. My better half is still in the UK, and we are getting on just fine! Skype is a godsend -- though I've had to draw the line at M asking me to show the apartment on Skype so that she can check on the quality of my housework. We are both better off in her blissful ignorance. If she reads this, I am toast.

On the shoe front, and MLCM's comment, this is an interesting topic. I am also unsure whether the claimed shelf life of shoes is marketing myth or truth. Just last night while packing for Almeria I came across an old pair of NB 854s which were my footwear of choice before NB delisted them. I say "old pair" but in fact they are barely worn, which made me wonder if using them again might help me cope with my current recurring injury. Decided against bringing them with me just in case they fell apart, but I might give them a try out when I get back. They must be around 4 years old I should think.

Anyway, great to see you back in the saddle, and you can always drop in here for a bit of company.

[stillwaddler]

Cheers Guys, Almeria would have been fun. Looking forward to reading all the reports of running and partying. Old man off to Singapore for a couple of meetings next week, has just recieved his Shanghai residency and work permits so will probably be moving around South Asia a fair bit. Meanwhile I'm keeping the home fires burning, well the wood burning stove anyway. Have just realised that we will have been married for 35 years in March - that seems a helluva long time, just never expected to be apart at this stage, but you never know what is round the corner.

Will get the Old/new Asics out later in the week to give them the once over. Just a 3.5 miler to report yesterday, I felt I was running it reasonably swiftly - Garmin 'though, He say otherwise!!

Incidentally I am still using a Garmin 201 looks really clunky compared to the sleek new models but I don't know whether it is worth upgrading? Anybody got any views?

[Sweder]

I recently replaced my old 205 (lurcher pup casualty) with the same model. There are plenty with more whistles and bells but I know how it works and, with SportTracks, I get all the data I can eat. I can't be doing with this perpetual upgrading malarkey : )

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

My old 201 was no longer charging so my wife who knows me better than I know myself gave me a brand spanking new 405 for Christmas. It is far superior to my old 201 (very fast to find satellites/ auto-uploads data to the PC etc etc) and has its own heart rate monitor (effectively replacing my old Polar HRM) as a bonus.

I love it.

[stillwaddler]

Bit the bullet and got a 110 - going to take it out for a maiden voyage in a minute or two. Sorry I'm so tardy on writing here, been doing a bit, but am suffering from stiff ankles. Complained in passing to one of my offspring about said ankles, he ventured it might be because I am now so old!!! Trouble was I couldn't move quickly enough to cuff him one.

[El Gordo]

Bit the bullet and got a 110 - going to take it out for a maiden voyage in a minute or two. Sorry I'm so tardy on writing here, been doing a bit, but am suffering from stiff ankles. Complained in passing to one of my offspring about said ankles, he ventured it might be because I am now so old!!! Trouble was I couldn't move quickly enough to cuff him one.

My new GPS running gadget might be of interest to you, SW.

[stillwaddler]

Spill the beans then El G, what gadget would that be? 110 behaved really well, proved just how slow I am currently running. What's that old disco number - "The Only Way Is Up" well, even a very old runner can dream a little.

[El Gordo]

Spill the beans then El G, what gadget would that be? 110 behaved really well, proved just how slow I am currently running. What's that old disco number - "The Only Way Is Up" well, even a very old runner can dream a little.

Um - I posted a picture of it

[stillwaddler]

Ahh - old technology :-) so are you going to share the contents of your gadget or is it For Your Eyes Only