This is
long... in fact it may even break the record for longest ever ramble about
nothing in particular. The worst bit is,
there isn’t even any pictures to break it up... so please bear with me (try and
stay awake).
Monday
I didn’t get
out for my run on Monday due to waiting in all day for the delivery man. I am slightly embarrassed to admit we had
McDonalds for dinner as we had absolutely no food in the house (but it was so
naughtily good). I headed out to
badminton club after dinner and played so appallingly badly I looked like I was
drunk, it was like none of my limbs were connected, they were all doing their
own individual thing. The only thing
they had in common was keeping my racket as far from the shuttle as possible! Having said that, I still had a great
time.
Tuesday
- Swimming: 50 lengths 45
minutes
- Weights Legs, Back,
biceps, triceps, abs
- Easy Run 4.2 miles/09:03mm 00:37:59
I had a
rubbish start to my Tuesday morning – first I dropped my phone on the kitchen
floor and the screen smashes rendering it completely unusable. Next, I accidently ran a red light on my way
to the swimming pool... I have no idea
what I thought I was doing, I just have to hope that I didn’t get caught on
camera and there isn’t a fine winging its way to me! Finally, when I arrived at the pool I managed
to reverse my car into the side of a police van full of policemen. Yep... it could only happen to me! Luckily for me I was going so slowly I didn’t
cause any damage to my car or their van, but I received a proper telling off
from the policeman. This all happened in
the space of about 20 minutes – now that’s what I call sod’s law in
action!
After having
a little cry in my car (I still behave like a child when being admonished), I
headed into the pool where I managed 50 lengths in just under 45 minutes. Yep, you heard right, that’s 50 lengths. I am so pleased with myself, this is way further
than I have managed before. I managed
2-6 lengths at a time before stopping for a rest. It took me a while to find a rhythm but
having decided to stick with unilateral breathing I found it less
lung-bursting. I was using each set of
continuous lengths to concentrate on a different aspect of my stroke that my
swimming teacher told me I need to improve.
This included kicking from the hips and keeping it shallow with feet
relaxed, relaxed arm recovery, breathing and head position in the water and the
reach and glide.
After my
swim, I headed straight to the gym to do some weight training. I am having a personal training session next
week to introduce me to my new sport specific weight training plan. I am really looking forward to this as it
will mean every session is focused (although I have no doubt that Rob will push
me to puking point).
Later, after
a short but satisfying afternoon nap, I headed out in the sunshine for a
run. My legs took a few minutes to wake
up but overall it felt comfortable.
After my poor performance on the hills of Hereford at the weekend, I
made a special effort to power up any and all sections with even a slight
incline. I began to stuggle between mile
2.5-3.5 as my left calf felt really tight and I found myself breathing more
heavily than usual but this soon passed.
I was trying to make a conscious effort to keep my upper body loose and
relaxed as I have noticed that when I run I hold my shoulders really rigid
which results in muscle soreness after my longer runs.
The only real complaint about this run was
that I dressed way too warm for the weather, I think shorts and t-shirt would
have been more appropriate than the full length thermal tights and long sleeved
technical t-shirt I was wearing (you’d think there was no windows in my house
for me to check the weather).
Wednesday
- Spinning – turbo Hill training 01:08:00
I put the
turbo to good use on Wednesday morning by trying one of the spinning podcasts I
had downloaded. I have never done
spinning before and didn’t really know what to expect but secretly thought...
how hard can it be? Well, I thought my
legs were going to drop off after 20 minutes and my quads were burning. I nearly cried when I realised I wasn’t even
half way through! It seems I had
inadvertently chosen one of the hill training podcasts which involved lots of
‘climbing’ up out of the saddle. I
persevered, although I didn’t manage the whole session at the prescribed
intensity and on more than one occasion found myself dropping into an easier a
gear when I should have been aiming harder.
Still, this leaves plenty of room for improvement. By the time I had finished I felt like I had
had a really good workout, got my HR up nicely (probably too high, but hey) and
believe it or not, I’m actually looking forward to trying it again.
I think I
lost at least a stone in weight through sweating – there was a lovely puddle of
sweat on the floor by the time I had finished (note to self: put towel down on
floor under bike for next time so as not to ruin very expensive wooden
floor). I will also be placing a fan
next to me to try a keep me cool and to mimic the wind in my hair (yeah right J).
I decided to
miss my run in the evening as my calf was still very tight and sore – I actually
have a palpable knot in the side of my calf.
I felt really guilty about not going and had to fight the urge to go out
and ‘run through it’ but I know from previous experience that one missed
session will make no difference compared to aggravating an injury and ending up
spending a week or two out of action. So
my Wednesday evening was spent in compression, foam rolling and stretching.
Thursday
- Swimming: 54 lengths 45
minutes
- Weights Chest, shoulders and abs
- Run 5.16
miles/09:09mm 00:47:13
Another good
swimming session on Thursday morning and I managed 54 lengths in 45
minutes. I found it took me about 16-18
lengths to get warmed up and into a manageable rhythm. Up to that point, I was only managing 2
lengths at a time before having a break.
The best news is that I managed 3 x 8 laps continuously... WOOHOO!! This really takes the pressure off as I now
know that I can complete the swim distance for my first ever super-sprint
tri. The last few times I have been
swimming, I have been experiencing dizziness when I stop swimming. It feels like it might be an inner ear
problem but maybe it could be a drop in blood pressure when I return to being
upright. Think I will have to ask my
swimming teacher for advice.
Before
heading to the gym, I headed home to wolf down some porridge and did the
dutiful wife bit and drove Arran to work as it was pouring with rain. Today’s session was my last session of
faffing around in the gym before my new programme starts next week. I am more than a little bit scared, as Rob
who devised the plan was grinning evilly while telling me he can’t wait for me
to start as it is going to be fun... and by fun, we all know what he really
means is that he will torture me until I puke!!
I headed out
for a run just before lunch. As per
usual, my pacing was crap! I ended up
running far too fast for what was supposed to be an easy run. I felt fine for the first 3 miles (even when
running up a mammoth hill). I started to
fall apart between miles 3-4 and really struggled to keep placing one foot in
front of the other. I just concentrated
on keeping my arms moving, knowing that my feet would follow. About 1 mile from home I started to feel
better (but that may just have been the thought of putting my feet up with a
nice cuppa).
On a
positive note, I am getting better at running downhill. I have been making an effort to develop my
downhill running skills (all the time pretending uphill doesn’t exist... bad
Westy) with the aim of increasing my speed downhill while still being able to
recover and not expel too much energy. I
think I managed it quite comfortably today.
Friday
- Recovery Run 4.25
miles/9:58mm 00:42:20
- Swimming Lesson 01:00:00
This morning
was officially SLEEPY TIME!! I slept in
until 11:30 this morning... it was lush!
I do have a very good reason (it’s not just me being lazy, I promise), I
am starting another round of night shifts tonight and I knew I wouldn’t get any
nap time this afternoon due to my swimming lesson, so I made the most of having
the whole bed to myself, snuggled up and went back to sleep after Arran left
for work.
When I
finally dragged my backside out of bed, I headed out for a run. I was really determined that this run would
be a slow, steady run at a comfortable pace and that I would not get carried
away. Last night my left calf was really
tight so the evening was spent stretching, on the foam roller and trussed up in
compression – it worked, as my calf felt great this morning. My run was good, and I actually managed to reign
myself in and keep a steady pace and it felt good, I wasn’t knackered and had
plenty of energy left at the end. I
monitored my calf all the way round but at mile 3 it started to feel tight with
the beginnings of cramp so I changed my gait slightly to take the pressure
off.
I know it is
not recommended to change your gait without professional guidance but I have
found that for me slightly altering my gait can make a massive difference, particularly
on long runs. I am a forefoot striker
and run higher on my toes with my left foot than my right. As a consequence, my left calf often takes
more strain, particularly on uphill sections.
When I feel my muscles starting to tighten and cramp I switch to a more
mid-foot strike action for a while and this seems to relive the problem without
altering my gait so much that it causes problems elsewhere.
My swimming
lesson was HARD. We did plenty of drills
and ended with 200m of sprints with reduced recovery time. By the end, it felt like I was going to cough
my lungs up... nice eh!!
So, here
ends possibly the longest post in history... are you still awake? You may have noticed I have deftly skipped
around the subject of the dreaded weigh in, but I must be accountable for my
actions, so here it is – I gained 2lbs.
No excuses, no fancy talk – it is entirely my own fault for shovelling
every bit of food in sight into my gob all week. Lesson learnt...? (Only until the next time).
