Monday: I had booked in for a spinning class at the gym, but arrived just as it started (a combination of Ally’s rather dodgy “it only takes 20 minutes to get there” and being stuck behind some very slow drivers) so went into the main gym instead. Did a 10 minute warm up on the bike and then alternating sets of two-handed tricep extensions with a 6kg dumbell and some tricep dips off the bench.

Tuesday: Finally made it to a spinning class and promptly lost half my body weight in sweat, as per last Wednesday’s post.

Thursday: Went to another spinning class. We had a different instructor this time and she did things very differently – concentrating on keeping the resistance high and going slower. I didn’t enjoy this way quite as much but it was still a good workout. I took the CX and measured my heart rate. If you can’t quite see the picture, I started off (after the warm up) at about 100bpm, got it over 160bpm about 13 minutes in and peak at 178bpm a couple of times.

HR for Spinning on Thursday 27th

After the class finished I did 3 sets of 10 two-handed tricep extensions (8kg), bicep curls (8kg), and tricep dips off the bench.

Friday: I was planning to run in the afternoon, but spent most of it putting it off. A few quick downpours and ominous clouds didn’t help matters. In the end I bullied myself into going out and managed a rather nice 7.5k in 46:42. I tried to keep the pace up in preparation for the 10k next week.

Sunday: Ally and I went camping on Saturday so today’s run was along the Thames to Hampton Court Palace. It was a 10k out-and-back which took and embarrassing 1:12:26 – which I can only attribute to a bad night’s sleep (or lack thereof) and having not eaten anything before I set off.

I started on the left hand side, went to Hampton Court on the right (north of the river) and then back again.

Total Run: 17.5km

Outdoor thermometer stuck to the window

My latest investment into running gear is a thermometer. This might seem a little odd, but one of the biggest factors influencing my asthma is the temperature. I’ve been trying to work out the lowest temperature I can train at but don’t have an actual figure. This way I can find out the cut-off point for running outside and allow me to work at lowering that ever so slightly. It was only cheap so I’m not sure how accurate it is yet, and I’m not sure how long it’ll last – but hopefully it’ll still help.

Less than a week until the Lichfield 10k. I think any hopes of a decent time are off so I’ll just go along and enjoy it. I’ll still do a few longer runs during the week to try and get my stamina back up to something decent.

Wow, what a workout! So, from the top then…I introduced myself to the instructor guy , who helped me set up the bike. The place got very full very quickly, full of fit-looking twenty- and thirty-somethings in expensive workout gear. We were all facing a mirrored wall, which I found rather disconcerting, as I’m not particularly small and would soon look extremely red compared to my white vest. It was all good though, as Instructor Guy turned out the lights as he turned up the music. What we were left with was a sort of momentary sensory deprivation, where you can’t see anything until your eyes adjust and you can’t hear anything except the amazingly loud music.

Luckily for me (and my lungs) it was only a 45 minute session. We’d covered 3 different cycling positions and thrown in some close handed press ups on the handlebars for good measure. The lights came back on, we stretched, and then the cleaning lady came in with a mop…I’m glad it wasn’t just me that was sweating like a waterfall then.

I was expecting my legs to be sore today but they’re fine, which is pretty handy for if I decide to run later.

I booked in another class for tomorrow evening on the way out (thought I’d do it before the high wore off and I chickened out). I’m thinking of taking my HR monitor to see what I get up to. It’s just a shame that this will be the last chance I get to spin for a while.