Did you miss me? It’s been a busy week, but I’m glad that 2 of my exams are behind me. Just one to go now.
Tuesday: It had been 6 days since my last run so, even though I really didn’t have the time, Claire and I made a quick trip to the gym. Back on the treadmill I did a 6 minute km, a 5 minute km, and then another 6 minute km…I’m sure most of you can work out that was 3km in 17 minutes :-) Swiftly followed by some proper stretching and then 45 minutes of weights.
Sunday: Under threat of rain Claire and I hit the gym again. I decided to do a repeat of Tuesday’s run but lengthen it out a bit and turn it in a tempo run. I did my warm up k in 6 minutes, then took it up to 5’30″ kms. Didn’t feel too good after the 3rd km so decided to stop there. Did some good stretching, then 70 minutes on the weights, then went back and finished off with a 1.5k run at base training pace (5’50″).
Total Run: 7.5km
Check out this rather trippy video about running. Very weird but somewhat compelling.
In other news, fellow blogger Steve is going to be running the Treetops 10k this Sunday in aid of the Donna Louise Trust, a local children’s hospice that has recently had to close for 2 nights a week due to lack of funds. Please visit his JustGiving page to support him. Thanks.
Quite a poor week for running. I don’t have much of an excuse really except I’m busy trying to get my dissertation done and I went back to archery this week (Friday and Saturday).
Tuesday: Scribs decided to join me for an outdoor run and, not knowing just how far his little legs might take him, we turned back at the chimney (2.5k point). We finished the 5k in 36 minutes, which I think was pretty good for someone that doesn’t run.
Wednesday: Had already decided to join Claire in the gym but it was just as well because I woke up to a thunderstorm and I know I never would have dragged myself out into that. Did my first 8.5k on the treadmill in just under 52 minutes. My 60 minute 10k is looking more and more likely, which is great.
Friday: Back in the gym. Did a 20 minute 3k with the treadmill at a 2 degree incline. Swiftly followed by an immense weights session.
Sunday: Woke up to a balmy 7 degrees and so decided to go back to the gym. Did an 8.5k workout, which actually ended up at 8.75k, in 54.5 minutes.
Total run: 25km
My monthly challenge with Matt ended this week. The final score wasn’t quite as close as last month, let’s just hope I haven’t put him off :-) The Nike Men vs Women challenge ended yesterday too. I logged 141.8km for the women’s team, we still lost. Next year though… :-)
Haven’t really run much this week, but don’t fret because I’ve been doing other things! Which brings me to the reshuffle of my ‘last week’ posts. Apparently these other sports have been complaining about being relegated to the end of the post and so from now on they’ll be listed in chronological order along with my running.
Taking a break on the bridge.
Monday: Claire and I decided to go for a bike ride in the morning. It was too cold for me to run outside but not too bad for cycling. We went the furthest we’ve been together – 25km – to the outskirts of Stone and back. Took about 130 minutes overall, which isn’t too bad considering the terrain. Hopefully when the exams are over we can take a whole day out to cycle as far as we can :-)
Tuesday: So much for outdoor running. I got up and it was cold and overcast so I went to the gym instead. Bit of a wobbly 8k due to yesterday’s bike ride. Finished in 48.5 minutes, though shoes were a bit off again so technically I only ran 7.91km.
Wedesday: A resistance day today. I intended to recalibrate my shoes again before I start running outside but the treadmills were turned off in the gym so I used the bike and the rower to warm up. Felt distinctly unsweaty when I got home so I spent half an hour on the Wii Fit, not that it actually helped, but it was fun :-)
Thursday: I finally went back to the pool, after I’ve been saying I would since Christmas. Swam 1km but it was probably more for all the people dodging I had to do. You’d think they’d put the lane ropes up with that many people there. I told Chris (who was manager in the afternoon) that he would need to sort it out before I swam again (ah, the joys of working there!)
Saturday: Another 8k…well, it wasn’t really 8k because my shoes were off again (I can’t work out whether it’s my stride length that changes or the sensor is just rubbish). I actually went 8.4km in just under 52 minutes. However this was made marginally better by the fact that Claire and I got into the gym for free. Thank you gym man.
This part looked like a Winter Wonderland
Sunday: As per my last post, I went camping just outside Stratford for the weekend. Come Sunday morning I was tempted not to run because I was tired from a night in the tent, it was raining, and Ally was ill (and I felt I should do the good girlfriend thing). In the end running won out and with just a vague idea of where I was going I ran from the campsite to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and back. Was a very nice run actually. Only about 7k round trip but the miles were hardly noticed as I was too busy taking in the scenery. The first part was a road but I found the canal path and that was quieter (and lot prettier – see pic). Walked it again today and it seemed to take forever!
Wednesday: My first 8k. Went really well actually, I was obviously having a good morning :-) Took 48.5 minutes.
Thursday: Another 8k. Felt a bit wobbly after 4k but carried on til the end. Just under 49 minutes.
Friday: Did a 17 minute 3k as a warm up for weights. Have been ignoring resistance work since my mileage went up, should probably see to that.
Sunday: 8k again. 48 minutes, which was pretty good, but I did stop for a couple minutes at half way in an attempt to get rid of a stitch. Props to Claire for doing 3k of intervals, nice one :-)
Nike+ challenges are going well. As of yesterday I was whooping Matt 86 to 41k, was 14th out of 55 in the 300 miles in 300 days challenge, and 30th out of 72 in the Marathon Multiplier (210k in a month). Men vs Women still isn’t working for us – 557,106 vs 225,854k.
I also got my free Nike+ Men vs Women long sleeve tee in the post on Friday. I got an email from them last week (as did, I assume, anyone that’s logged enough miles in the challenge) saying that the first however many to reply would get a free tee. Well I can’t pass up the opportunity for free stuff so I’m now the proud owner of a shirt that says “I love you. But I will crush you.” on the front and “Join the men vs women challenge at nikeplus.com” on the back.
My gym membership has now expired so I’m going to attempt running outside again. Expect some longer times as I struggle :-)
Tuesday: My first attempt at 7.5k. Not much of a jump from last week’s 7ks so fairly easy. Finished in 47 minutes.
Wednesday: Another 7.5k in 47 minutes.
Friday: A 20 minute warm up for a weights session. Only went 3.5k but I was very happy at not being remotely tired afterwards (my asthma usually gets me when doing a run with no walking breaks). My iPod also informs me of a new pb for the mile (9’01″) though that’s only with this sensor – I’ve done a sub 9 minute mile with the old sensor, so it doesn’t really count :-)
Sunday: 7.5k again. I tried a new tactic and managed to finish in a little over 45 minutes. Not a massive difference to the runs earlier in the week but I’m getting there. At least now I’m on target for a 1 hour 10k.
Wednesday evening was basketball. This time it was a game against the Wolverhampton Rhinos – look out for a post about it later in the week. Thursday I went cycling with super housemate Claire. We went 20km in a rather leisurely 120 minutes (and had a good chat along the way).
In other news, I’ve tipped over the 150lb line, and by ‘tipped’ I actually mean ‘leaped’. Not too bothered about it at the moment but will have to make sure I don’t gain much more. More weight is more to carry 10k!
I also went onto the British 10k Run website and checked that I was entered (I was). Looking forward to it now.
As a side note, this blog has now made it to 1 month :-)
I love running. I’m guessing that wasn’t much of a shock, seeing as you’re reading a training blog about running. I love running, but I do other things – to keep me interested, to get a good full-body work out, to be flexible in my exercise if I have an injury that prevents me running.
As you’ve probably gathered, I like to play wheelchair basketball with my boyfriend Ally and the West Brom FC Wheelchair Basketball Club. This is great for me as it’s the only team sport I play, is a good cardio workout when I have an injury (which is more often than I’d like), and works the upper body (which running doesn’t really do). Of course, it also means I get to play with Al, which is good.
GT Aggressor - Mine's a bit muddier
I also like to cycle, particularly off road. I have a GT Aggressor mountain bike which I like to take down the canal path in better weather. I am a member of the gym at the SSMSC and use their resistance machines and free weights at least once a week. I’m an archer, and shoot 3 times a week. While it’s not exercise in the same league as running, it works your arms and back and requires concentration and hand eye co-ordination (and yes, it is a sport). I’m only a few miles away from the local swimming pool and have been known to go for a swim when I have the time. I have a Wii Fit (though one could argue that this doesn’t constitute exercise), a FitDeck and a Pilates DVD. I think you get the picture.
What amazes me is the availability of all this and yet there are so many people out there that don’t do any exercise. Contrary to Scribs’ Dad’s belief that exercise is bad for you :-), there are many benefits. If you need reminding then check out my post ‘Why Run?’. No time? No money? There are so many ways around this, just google it or comment this post. You don’t want to wait until you’re ill/overweight/having a mid life crisis to start exercising. Start now, right now…well, maybe when you’ve finished reading this post. I value my health and fitness quite highly, and I certainly don’t want to take it for granted.
The more observant of you may have noticed a few minor changes on the blog this week. It’s just a few bits and pieces, though you’ll see that I’ve now added a guest book, should anyone want to leave me some love :-) Moving swiftly on…
A less successful week this time. You may remember that my knee started to hurt again after stretching last Sunday, well unfortunately it would appear that it’s going to take longer to heal than I had hoped.
Tuesday: My first 7k. Took me 45 minutes but I don’t think that was too bad for a first attempt. It was after this run that I decided I needed more time off to recover, much to my disappointment.
Sunday: 15 minutes of speedwork as a warm up for a resistance workout at SSMSC gym (which came in at 2.3km). Knee sore but not as bad as I was expecting. Things are looking good.
Wednesday evening I played basketball in West Brom as per usual now, and Thursday I played 1-on-1 baskteball with Ally. To make up for the lack of running in the week, Claire and I cycled 17km (10.5 miles) along the canal in a timely 100 minutes on Friday afternoon.
With the little bit of sun we’ve had I’ve been tempted to try an outdoors run, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t get very far in the cold with my EIA. Not long now though!
