Quayside 5k 2023 | RACE DAY VIDEO | The Run that never was! 

I hope the calf is healing well mate. I like the slow motion shots of the runners. It's always interesting to see different strides and foot strikes 👍🏻

Nice to listen to you taking the positive out of the present situation. Take care

Loved this video, it shows exactly why this sport totally rocks - you couldn’t run but took joy from watching and supporting others - you’ll get your sub 25 Freddie I’m sure. I’m 47 and still pushing for my first sub 30 5k, been running a year, and I’m almost there, it just takes us a little longer than when we were in our 20s - keep going! X

Best of luck with the recovery Freddy! I do nearly all of my runs at low heart rate as I tend to pick up hip and calf injuries when I run at pace. I have found hill reps/repeats really helpful as a replacement to faster running as it gets my HR up but with reduced impact, and also is great for form/cadence.

If the calf isn't healed soon then I definitely recommend you see a good sports physio - from experience a minor injury can turn into a long term pain if ignored. A physio was able to diagnose and treat my leg problem straightaway, really wish I'd made an appointment with him earlier.

Those periods of illness and injury are tough to deal with when all you want is to get your momentum back up but you've dealt with injury before and you came back really strong. You'll be back soon!

Sorry to hear about your calf injury. They are painful and take longer than most people think to resolve themselves. I think I've had them 2 or 3 times in my running career and each time it took about 21 - 30 days to get rid of. There really isn't any short cut to it. Massage and promoting blood flow to the area seemed to help but it is sort of a waiting game. It will heal though -- just be patient with it. Good luck!

OH NO! I was just wondering about you last night, thinking i must have missed a video. That stinks, I'm sorry. You're injury reminds me of years ago when I ran a race, climbed a mountain, and took 3 MMA classes all in 1 week... then blew out my knee crouching down at work. Per my PT, it wasn't crouching that actually injured it, it was the massive amount of inflammation my body had from pushing so hard so often over a short period. I also had to take 6 weeks off running with a minor calf tear in 2020. Still plenty of walking, upper body weights, and pilates, to help limit scar tissue and maintain strength, but zero running. Let yourself heal...a minor calf pull can become a serious calf tear and take you out for a lot longer than a few weeks! Adding age to it just means more recovery, but you can still push for your goal once you heal. Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Oh no Freddy! I've just got back from 3 weeks no running because of a pulled calf injury and it sucks! A friend recommended I tried kinesiology tape to strap it and no kidding, it worked like magic! Go steady and happy training :)

Freddy, I am glad you said what you said. When you explained about your injury I was saying: too fast, Freddy, you need to slow down. And you said it yourself. From my experience older runners need to keep the quick stuff to a max of once or twice per week for a year, and the rest slow. After that, you will have built up enough strength in the muscles, tendons etc that you can afford to do maybe 2-3 speed sessions a week (but no more than that).

I found out in this vid that we are near the same age. I'm 47 next month! Bad news on the 5k attempt. But absolutely the right choice! I hope your calf is sorted soon and you are back on the road, trail etc. In terms of running faster when older. I've found it's the acceleration that causes the problems. To run fast... I can do it, but I'd better be properly warmed up first! Once I've wound up to speed I'm ok. Though to be fair though this week I knackered my back for two days, just by sitting funny. Keep on Freddy, you'll get there!

Setbacks are all a part of the long journey, you'll be back stronger and faster in a short while. Stay after it!

Great to meet you as well. Think official chip time was 20:46 so happy with that. Definitely too many speed runs from Garmin if they have you doing 3 or 4 a week. I do one interval session and 1 tempo session per week and the rest is all easy stuff

hope you get better soon! when I learned one thing in the last marathon training plan: i can run perfectly and endlessly easy. But when it comes to faster runs the body does not handle it right now as with every step 3 times or whatever the bodyweight lands on the feet. So stabilisation work and strengthtraining it is…

Yes,the fast running,I agree with you,I never run fast,either slow or steady.i have tried to pick up the pace for my marathon,but that's not "fast". My last 5k PB was the only time in a month or so I ran at speed.

Oh I am sorry to hear and hope your calf is healing well now. I got injured twice by following Garmin Coach Greg - four times a week with the Pace from the Garmin Plan was definitely too much for me Coach Jeff is the better choice for me. Did you try him too?

I’ve also been following a garmin coach plan in prep for the Great North Run. I’ve also got injured and like you I partly put this down to too many fast/speed workouts per week. I’m continuing the plan but dropping down to 1 speed workout per week. I recently had an Achilles injury and got ‘shockwave’ treatment on it from a physio. I was sceptical but it really helped. I’d been struggling for a couple of weeks and the shockwave cleared it up in just a few days. Hope your injury heals soon. Ps - what software do you use to edit your videos? The slo-mos of the elite runners were really good!

Sorry to hear this Freddie, was wondering how you got on. Personally I think speedwork is needed to get faster, and I wondered if you'd thought of joining a running club? You might not feel like you're fast enough for that, but clubs have runners of varying speeds and i know Blyth and North Shields Poly have a lot of runners slower than you. The advantage of a club is two fold, you have an experienced coach who is setting the sessions for you (normally in groups based on 5k time) and you have a group to go to races with and talk about running with in real life. It's a real god sent in the winter months when it's hard to slog it out solo. Anyway, hope you recover from injury fast, it's a bitch!

Garmin in is too aggressive for newbies! I learned that myself and being 5 years older than you, I learned to enjoy the faster runs but more moderately than Garmin would suggest. In fact, I am mostly cross checking suggestions with Jack Daniel’s book which, however, maybe on the more overly cautious end. Get better! I have had minor hiccups this season again, but still hope to complete most of the objectives in the end and if I don’t, then I have a very long Canadian winter for some base training and long runs.

Hi freddy use the injury as a positive you can't run or you will only delay your come back let all the other niggles heal and do more strength training and walking .you will be back soon.

I'm not an expert by any means but just wonder if longer, slower runs might be more more suitable. Training and racing at pace seems to have a habit of leading to injury. Not preaching, mate. Just want to see you out there fit, fresh and healthy 🤙

Mate you need to rest up and heal properly, once you have you will come back stronger and smash that sub 25 5k. It fucking sucks tho, hope you feel ok mate.

Injuries are all part of running, no one escapes them. I think not being able to run and seeing all these people enjoy doing what they love, will inspire you even more? I have hurt my calf, probably 100 times and there is something that really helps the healing. May work for you? I find the lump and I press on it, as hard has I can. It will complain and feel angry, but thats ok. You are breaking up knot and getting blood flow. I follow this with ice. This I do for the first week after hurting it. No running and very little walking. It sounds like your calf is starting to heal but not ready to jog. I would encourage you to try this therapy and do not run, or walk a step for the next week. Leave your calf alone and start easy walks, see how the calf feels and mix in some shuffle jogs. I would be shocked, if you were up and jogging again in two weeks. Second, never follow a program, follow how you feel. Even most pros, dont run more than 2, maybe 3 hard workouts a week. The rest is just easy milage. I can tell you what works for me at 70 years old. I can only run 2 workouts of any real effort, per week. After a long hard run or a short fast run, I am MORE sore, the second day. So after 2 days I have not recovered, so I always take one more day from running. So 3 days off, but I am walking 6 miles on my off days. I signed up for my first 5k in 10 years, last year, and on the last easy run a few days before, MY CALF WENT! I know how you feel. Being injured is alot like being sick, you just have wait, dont live in the moment (as they say) live in the future! You'll be back, better then ever. We are all here for you, Freddy!