It's Been a While, but Training is Happening

It's been a while since my last write up.
With Christmas and some time off, I've been a little bit lazy writing.

However, training has happened I'm glad to say :-)

And as much as I had a few extra crisps, which is not something I usually have, meals have been quite healthy.
Can you believe we never got to the Christmas pudding, as we were so full on meat and veg?

On the Saturday before Christmas, I went to my first spinning class in over 7-8 years.
Luckily it was only a 30 minutes session.
It went OK, and I still enjoy it.

On the Sunday, it was time for my longest/hardest run so far. 2x 5km with 5 minutes rest.
I went slowly, and came home knackered, but did it...

The rest of the week was all interval sessions. I conquered my 800m interval fears, and quite proud of it.

Last Sunday didn't really go as planned, but still went out for a shorter run. I just couldn't find any tempo at all.

So yes, still going strong, tomorrow, New Year's Day is a rest day, and a day where I'm going to sit and set goals, prepare goal cards, and monthly, weekly and daily tasks I need to perform to achieve them.

As much as I am against New Year's Resolutions, I am all for them if they are backed up with the action lists that I know will lead me to achieve them.

Here's to a successful and happy 2015!

I can't even say, may my marathon journey be an easy one, as I know it will be hard work.
But here's to seeing the results of it end of April :-)

And in the meantime, I can say that I don't despise running as much as I used to do.
And I know I am pushing myself much more than I did as well. That's already a big achievement for 2014!

OMG - The Long Interval Sessions Look Deadly....

It was time for my monthly chat with Rachael Hunt, my endurance coach from Life Without Limits.

We kinda reviewed what happened last month, especially why I missed out on some sessions, mainly the strength and conditioning sessions, and my nutrition.

But most of the time was to talk about the upcoming programme starting on Sunday.
Funnily enough, previous programmes were quite daunting when it came to the tempo runs.

This time, I think the tempo runs will be quite easy. It's the long interval ones that seem deadly. OMG....

I can definitely see that I will be ready for my 10k run end of January.

The plan for this month, especially with the holidays is to properly stick to the plan. I'm off work, so there is no excuse!

As many of you will be allowing themselves to indulge, I am actually going to use this time to get healthy, take the time to cook, and more importantly batch cook, so that I will have lots of healthy meals ready for when the busy time starts in January.

I always say to my clients that it's all in the planning and the preparation.
Well, this downtime will allow me to do just that.

Of course I won't spend hours in the kitchen, but each time I will cook something, I will prepare more and freeze.

The fun starts tomorrow with a spin class at the new gym that just opened around the corner. Something I haven't done for quite some years.
Let's see how my bum will feel after that, although it's only half an hour. I have another class booked on Wednesday.
Should be good fun!

I'm also very grateful for the 6 people that volunteered to take up a small collection box and put aside all their pence and 2 pence coins between now and April 26th.

If you prefer to do that instead of sponsoring me on the website, do let me know and I will put a collection box in the post for you.

But if you prefer to sponsor me, you can do so on http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/RakheeandAnne


 

Catch up Week & Body Release by the Amazing Lucy Howe

This week is a little bit of a catch up week, as I got an extra week to finish most of the workouts that I didn't do.

I went out this morning for a 2mile time trial. As I was finishing the first mile, I looked at my Garmin and was quite happy with what I saw.
I was wondering if I could hold that up for another mile.

I know that at some point I slowed down, but I said to myself I wanted to finish under 25 minutes, which I did.

More importantly, I went back to my workout logs, and that's why having a log of your workouts is so important, and the first time I ran 2 miles, end of October, I ran it in just under 29 minutes. Which means nearly 4 minutes faster in just under 2 months.

My coach Rachael Hunt immediately told me I should do the Happy Dance!!!

I didn't do too much of it, as I was rushing to get on time to my good friend and amazing therapist Lucy Howe, from Healthy Body Healthy Mind, for my bi-monthly treatment.

I got fully realigned, but more importantly, my muscles seem to be much more fired up than they were 6 weeks ago when I started treatments with her.

I needed a good release of the neck as well, as the last few weeks have been quite hectic and I do tend to keep it all in the shoulders and neck.

So now I'm good to go till early January, and as I'm off work as of Christmas Eve, I will be able to fit in all the workouts in as per the new programme that I will find out about on Friday.

I've already been told that I will get 6 workouts a week. Thinking I started with 4 and thought that was OK. Gulp....

3 runs and 3 strength trainings to make sure my muscles can keep up with the pace for a longer amount of time.

The gym that just opened around the corner will be helpful for some spinning classes and rowing machines, as well as some heavier weights, which I don't have in the studio, as my clients don't require them.

I still will be doing some work here in the studio, especially when it comes to body weight exercises, which are great, stretching and lots of skipping.

Will update after my chat with Rachael on Friday.

It's Been a Struggle

It's been a struggle.
I had some mega busy weeks at work, which sapped me from any remaining energy for training.
All I wanted to do is sleep.

I'm a big believe in listening to your body, but at the same time, I also know that a deadline is approaching. And I have a goal to achieve.

So this week Tuesday, I went out and did a short interval session. 8x 200m.
That wasn't very easy, but I enjoyed it.

Somehow my knee was a little painful for a few days after that, so I decided to join the pilates class on Wednesday instead of doing my strength training, and on Thursday I only managed a bit of skipping.

Today, I woke up early, and found the street all icy. I decided to take it easy this morning, have a good breakfast and go out later.
Which I did for my 40minutes tempo run.

I decided to run next to Dollis Valley brook, and most of the way was fine, except for where they are doing some work, and that was really muddy.
I even had to walk two short bits as really didn't want to slip or get totally wet feet.

I did enjoy the run. It feels like it's a little easier. That doesn't mean I'm getting faster, but it's not as hard as it used to be.

I enjoy that time of running. Will I enjoy the much longer ones, I don't know yet. But hey, it's all part of the training to reach my end goal. VLM2015!!!

I am actually looking forward to the Christmas and New Year weeks, as I am planning to stick properly to my training plan. 
There will be no excuses of clients, as the studio is closed between the 24th and the 5th.

That time will also be used for lots of batch cooking. Freezer, get ready for lots of different meals.

BTW, have you already sponsored me?  http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/RakheeandAnne 
Any amount will be appreciated!

Will write more soon.

 

Back on some kind of track

On friday I left for a weekend in Belgium to celebrate my mum's birthday.

I have to say that normally, I tend to go to the gym with my parents at the weekend. But because Richard, my partner, was there as well we didn't do our usual.

I had packed all my running gear, including my grid roller for stretches before and after. I wasn't too sure on when I would fit the run in, but I was determined to go for my long run. Especially as I was playing catch up with so many sessions I didn't do.

On Sunday morning I put my alarm clock on, had breakfast and out I went for my 2x 2miles run.

I went to the park opposite my parents. I remember it well as it was the park we used to run in with school. My memories was that the loop was really long, as I hated running when I was a kid.
I was always running too fast, which meant I got out of breath and never managed to do any proper running.

However, I found out using my garmin that the loop wasn't even 500m!!!!
So after 2 loops, I decided to hit the streets. Backstreets it was, and I rediscovered some streets I used to walk in. Ran to my high school, discovered a whole new development which replaced an old military hospital.
I didn't meet anyone I knew though from my childhood.
When I came home, I was really happy I made it. It was quick shower, stretch and off to my grandma for lunch.

After over a 3h flight delay, it was eventually quite late when we got home. And Monday I had a super busy and long day.
To top it all up, Rakhee was doing her last running session in the Novice group, as she can't make it next week. So we ran 5k.
A non planned one, but for Rakhee it was her first ever non stop 5k. And for me, it was as well as the last one I did at the MoRun, I had to walk as I started to fast.

So yesterday I decided to have a rest day.
And as my strength and conditioning sessions took the backburner to prioritise the runs, I decided this morning to go for it.

The "filthy 50" was on the programme. Looks easy on paper, but wow, it was harder than expected. But feels good!!!

Hopefully now I'm kinda back on track, and will manage to fit as many of the scheduled workouts as possible.

Did I tell you our fundraising page is now up and running?
If you're enjoying this blog, and want to support me along the way to the London marathon, I would appreciate some sponsorship towards the amazing work of The Children's Trust.

You can sponsor me on http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/RakheeandAnne 

Thank you!

All Messed Up

Yup, my schedule is totally messed up, and I'm not proud of it.

After Saturday's strength and conditioning session, I was supposed to go for a 4mile run on Sunday.

We had planned to go to the Running Show in Esher, and after coming back, go for the run.
I had my food well planned in the sense that I had put the slow cooker in action before we left for the show.
The weather was horrific and it was nice to be indoors for a few hours.
The show wasn't huge, but had everything that was on my shopping list and more.
I had 2-3 things on the list:
1. Electrolyte tablets. I'm using the High 5 Zero one, and there was a great deal for 3 tubs for £12 with a water bottle, or 4 tubs for £15.
Knowing that 1 tub in the shop is £7, at 50% off it was a great deal.
2. I needed to get some compression socks, which I'm now wearing after my runs.
3. Maybe an additional pair of running thights as one of mine starts to break up in a place I ironed it too hot... Great deals on the Ron Hill stand. I really don't care if it's last year's ones, as the main difference is where to high viz lines are situated. So a great deal to have had.

There were lots of nice gadgets, but I managed to stay away from them.
We got some free t-shirts, some free bars, lots of literature, etc.

There was a stand to subscribe to one of the running magazines. With a 6 months subscription they offered a free running camelback, which is a backpack with a water reservoir in it.
As it was the end of the day, we asked them if we could have 2, especially as we couldn't really decide on the colour. Yeah! We did indeed.

It's scary to think though how much money you could spend on running. Between a good pair of shoes, and you need more than one. Some clothes, a good bra (at least for us women), a GPS watch, and so many more gadgets, it's a whole budget you can spend there.
 
However, on the way back we got stuck in awful traffic, and arrived home really late.
So being hungry, the run never happened :-(

Monday at my running group, only 1 person, showed up. It was Rakhee with whom I'm running the London marathon.
So I decided to do the short interval session, and we actually ran at a very good pace.
It was hard, but a good session.

Today, I finally managed to fit in my 4mile tempo run.
I never know if I will manage to finish the whole distance or not. It's after all the longest I've run so far.
So I started very slowly. I also knew that there was a long steady hill coming up and I wanted to see if I could run the whole way up. So I didn't want to be exhausted before reaching it.

The good news is, that I managed to run it the whole way up. However, when I finished the hill, I realised I had only ran 2.2km, and had another 4.3 to go!!!!
The loop I had in my head was much shorter than what I thought it was.
So I kept on running.

I managed to speed up for the last 1.5km and finish with a sprint.

I know I've been talking about it for a while now, but pacing is something I really don't know how to do yet. I hope with time and practice, it will come.
Let's see.

This weekend will be tricky as it's my mothers birthday. I will take my running gear with me, and time and weather permitting I will go for my long run, which is again 4miles but divided in 2miles with 5mins rest. Let's see if I can fit it in.

I do need to plan my sessions better and make sure they happen. Time is flying after all.

Oh, and Rakhee and myself finally got our fundraising page up.
Our aim is to raise at least £2500 for The Children's Trust.
If you do enjoy reading this blog, please do sponsor us. It will help me focus throughout those tough months.
Here is our page http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/RakheeandAnne

Thank you so much!
 

Full Registration & Lots of Skipping

Yes, finally after knowing I had a place, but not having the written confirmation, it finally arrived on Wednesday.

I am now fully registered for the London Marathon on April 26th, running in aid of The Children's Trust.

By mid week next week, I also should have a fundraising page in place, as together with my friend Rakhee Shah we are going to try and raise as much money as possible for the charity.

As such, I already have put out a charity box in the studio, and would encourage anyone that comes along to leave their 1 and 2p or more in the box.
Every little penny helps!

If you would like a collection box to keep at yours between now and end of April and collect all your pennies along the way, just let me know and I'll make sure to send you one or give you one next time I see you.

This week was busy with work, and I did manage my runs, but didn't get my strength sessions in.
So on my rest day today, I cought up with one of them.

It included lots and lots of skipping. Not just in the warmup.
All that to work on ankle flexibility.

Some weights have also been introduced although overhead stuff is still hard due to my shoulder injury.
Hopefully Lucy Howe from Healthy Body Healthy Mind will  sort that out over the coming few weeks, and it will get easier.

Tomorrow, I will be going to visit the running show. Seemingly they have good deals on isotonic tablets which I am now having every day.
And might find some good compression socks to wear after my runs and workouts as per Rachael's instructions.

And I also need to fit a 4mile run in. My longest run so far. Let's see how that goes!

Now off to shower and chill :-)

 

Short and Long Intervals & Support Team

I've been slacking a little with my updates.
So since Sunday I had a rest day on Monday.
Then Tuesday, even though the weather wasn't great, I went out for my short intervals.
I felt like all I wanted to do is to get under the duvet.

I asked the others on Rachael's training group what they do, and all said to just get out there.

I do actually enjoy the sprints, so 12x100m was fun(ish).

Today, I went out for my new session, the long intervals. I was up for 2x 1miles.
I had to get to the GP surgery, and funnily enough the route I took was right 1mile.
On the way there, there is a bit of uphill and a bridge. I never managed to run that whole way to be honest.
So I started slowly, and I remembered what Rachael said to me the week before during our call. If you have to walk the uphill bits, do. But I tried, and was amazed it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

Filled in the paperwork, which was within my 3mins rest, and ran back.

I do realise that if I want to finish the London marathon in under 5h30, I need to run the whole way at 1min/mile faster than I did the last 500m where I sprinted a little.
So I know there is a long way to go.
However, those 2miles didn't feel too bad, which was the first time I felt good.

My second subject in the title is to find a good support team.
As you know by now, I've signed up with Rachael Hunt from Life Without Limits Endurance to get my training plans, support, coaching etc.
The physical and hopefully also the mental and nutrition aspect.

However, this week, I also started seeing Lucy Howe from Healthy Body Healthy Mind. Lucy is a therapist who is going to keep me injury free throughout my journey.

With all that training, but also with my existing injuries and background, it's important to keep the muscles active, lose, get them to function properly, and balanced.

And together with Lucy Vardy from Moon and Star Beauty Therapies who is taking care of my feet, it looks like I have a great team to get me there.

Later, I need to catch up on my strength training session I didn't manage to fit in.
But first for a nice shower and some business networking.

The first 5k

Today was the first race as per the training plan. A 5k run.
I registered with a client and my sister in law for the Movember run. A run in aid of men's diseases.

I've done some before, so the distance wasn't too daunting. However, I had in my head that I wanted to run under 40mins, but at the same time, I knew very well that per my training pace, there was no way I could do it, if I was running at tempo run.

We got there on time to put on our numbers and moustaches. Yes, it was part of Movember.

When my nieces saw me first, they got so scared, they nearly started crying, hence at the end of the race, I straight away took the mo off, and stuck it onto my water bottle.

Off we went at 10am, and as with all the other runners, I did go off way too fast.
Somehow after the 1st km, I started struggling. Knowing that I've ran 2x 2miles only last week, I just couldn't understand why.
So I decided to walk for a minute or so, before running again.

My pacing was the whole way off. Yes, I'm running with a garmin, so should know better, but have no clue yet how to do it.
Just had to walk a few times along the way.

However, I was looking at the time and how much distance was still left, and thought, hmmm, this can be done.

I finished the race under 40mins, in 39:15 as per the official time. 
So you'd say, well done, you did what you wanted to do. 
For me, it's kinda, yes, I did it, but not in the way I wanted to, e.g run the whole way round.

My friend Alison was giving out medals. So she gave some to my nieces as well. They seemed very happy.

Definitely need to work on pacing this month. Looking at my pace and splits, I ran way way too fast, compared to what I did in training by quite a bit.
The next race is end of January, and a 10km, so hopefully by then I will have learned what to do!

Still, job done!

New Plan Unveiled and Motivation

So yesterday I got my new plan through.
I had a long chat with Rachael, and we went over the new plan.

I now have 5 sessions a week.
Tuesday is short intervals, Wednesday is Strength and Conditioning, Thursday is long intervals, Friday is  Strength and Conditioning and Sunday is long Tempo run.

The exercises in the S&C are all a notch harder, and most now involve also additional weights as opposed to body weight only.
Lots of skipping and mobility work.

And the running will be focused on pacing, as I'm rubbish at that.

If I want to run my marathon in 5h30, I do need to improve my current pace.

The longest run this month is 4miles non stop. I think that's feasable.

One main question we discussed is quite a bit of mindset and motivation.
The biggest question came when Rachael asked me if I really enjoyed it at all. 
And my answer was: NO

Right now, I find running still very difficult, and I don't enjoy it.

However, I have a very clear goal in mind, which is finishing the marathon, running the whole way, in under 5h30.

And it's that end goal that makes me do those workouts and sessions. I do hope that one day I will find running easy enough to say I am enjoying it. But right now, I'm not.

And I think that is what makes me understand my clients sometimes. 
It's not that they are enjoying it very much, although we do try to keep our sessions enjoyable, have a laugh, etc. 
But if they think of the end result they so badly want to achieve, it should keep them on the straight and narrow.

I know that last month, I didn't follow the nutrition plan as I should have done. 
I've done better than previous months, but am nowhere near what Rachael would like to see, and what I know I need to do to make it a success.

I am still struggling with drinking water throughout the day.

So this month, I will allow myself 1 nice special meal a week (I don't want to call it a cheat meal as I don't feel cheating is a good thing, but a nice special treat meal), and the rest I will try and follow the plan.
The only weekend I know I will struggle, will be in 2 weeks time when I go and visit my parents. As I know my mum always cooks everything I used to like when I was a kid, and cram it in 2 days time!

So let's see how it goes. As long as I see improvement, I will be happy.

Oh, and btw, my weight hasn't changed much at all, but I lost some inches all over. So that's a good start.

DOMS and New Programme

My glutes definitely felt it after Wednesday's workout.
I'm actually still feeling it today, but yesterday was hard going. Or at least, hard moving from seated to standing and from standing to seated.
But I know it's all worth it (or at least that's what I am telling my clients....)

At 4pm today, my new month's programme will be unveiled.
Rachael just asked me if I was ready.
Sounds evil if you ask me.

But as much as I am apprehensive, I am looking forward to it.

Sunday it's my first 5k race. I haven't run a 5k for a long long time.
I would love to run it in just under 40mins, but I know that might not happen.
I will start slowly, and hopefully speed up as I go along.

Till the next update...

Another Deceiving Workout!

I'm back on track with my workouts. Last week was no good, as I was so tired, but it's super important to listen to your body.
Since Sunday, things are back on track.

Today it was back to a strength and conditioning session.
When I looked up the workout, I was wondering why Rachael had written out such an "easy" workout.

After the warmup, which for most people is already a full workout, it was time for some squats, bicycle crunches and lunges.
All interestingly timed, but what is 20 seconds on, 10 second off. Not much I thought.

The squats were perfectly fine. Then came the bicycle crunches, which in my mind would have been the easier part. However, because of the drills and run from yesterday, I did feel my hamstrings while doing them. Which I was quite surprised with.
And then, the lunges, which were actually hard at the end of the workout.

But, workout done, and on to the next one on Friday and my first 5k race on Sunday.
Together with a few clients, we will be participating in the Movember Run.
This morning, I went to buy some moustaches, so us ladies, will blend in with all those men growing one.

I'm still waiting for my acceptance letter from The Children's Trust. Seemingly we've gone from being an applicant to a participant in the computer, but the official letter hasn't arrived yet.

Hence the reason why I don't ask for sponsorship yet. You never know....

A Good Run and a Bad Run

On Sunday, after a week of not being consistent, I got back on track and went for my tempo run.
It was a 30min run, and I was averagely happy with my distance.

I can see that running half an hour is a little bit easier, and not as tiring. But I'm still not happy with my pace.

I know it's only been 3-4 weeks, but I am as usual very impatient!

I do need to work on pacing, and I know it's on the programme to discuss with Rachael next time we have our chat.

Today, it was the speed & interval session.
I went out for the 1/2mile warmup job. 
Then did my 5x 100m sprints, which I thought were very good.
Did the drills to ingrain some of the POSE running technique into my running.

And then it was time for 4x 800m with 2 minutes rest time.
That was a big fail....

I know it's all in the head, but just the thought of that distance made me think I couldn't do it.
I left the house doubting myself.
And the thing is, that I know I can run 4x 800m, but only slowly. And since this is supposed to be a speed session, I just can't make myself do this session, knowing that I will be soooooooo slow.

I started my first interval, and at the speed I was going, there was no way I could have run 800m. At least not in my head.
So I made it a 4x 400m session.
Disappointed I couldn't follow the programme.
But there is a slight good news to it. I was faster than the same session I did 2 weeks ago by over 1 minute!!!!

Not sure Rach will be happy with me. But that's the best I can do right now, until I feel more comfortable with all this running thing.

Definitely in the head, but need to work on it.

The routine went to pot....

Yup, the routine went to pot...

Well, I did my workout on Friday. It was a strength and conditioning session. It was actually a bit easier than expected. Which was good.

Especially as at night, I had a 13mile night hike planned in Central London, all dressed up for Halloween.
We started from somewhere close to the Tate Modern and went through most of the sites of London at night.

The most impressive, were the poppies at the Tower of London.

It was 1am by the time we reached it, and it was just powerful.

We finished the walk by 5am, and after some breakfast at the finish, it was time to hurry home, have a shower and go to my first client for 7am.

I have to admit, I struggled to stay awake. But more importantly, I didn't really have time to stretch properly. 
Which meant that on Sunday, I was very very stiff.

I wasn't really up for my tempo run of 2x 2miles with a 5mins rest in between.

Monday, I started my new novice running group. As it was their first session, we did lots of short intervals and quite a few drills. So at least I considered that to be my speed interval session.

And today, I went out for Sunday's tempo run.
It was a sunny morning, and after breakfast, it was time to get out there and just do it.
I was quite disappointed to see that the path all around the park was only just over 1km. With 6.2km to go, I thought it would get boring.

I bumped into a client of mine on my second loop, so jogged alongside him while he was walking home and we had a little chat.
And then it was back to running. Even though it was a slow one.

It definitely made me realise that if I manage to sustain this pace for 26miles, I have about half hour or so to get faster if I want to achieve my goal of running the full marathon in 5.5h.
Rachael says not to worry. So I'm not worrying. It's just an observation.

Entering my 3rd week of training now. 

 

Thought my arms would fall off

So after the run yesterday morning, I had to do my strength an conditioning session in the evening.

It was a AMRAP session (as many rounds as possible) in 20 minutes.
The focus was definitely on the upper body.
Between burpees and triceps dips, which I had to modify to accomodate my shoulder, at some point I thought my arms would fall off...

Somehow today, I do feel them, they are achy, but not as bad as I thought it would be.
Strange, but I'm grateful.

Tomorrow's workout looks achievable. There is a lot of skipping and planking in there, so we'll see how it goes. But the rest looks OK to me.

Will let you know tomorrow ;-)

Catching Up...

I just realised I didn't update the blog on Sunday evening's run.
I came home after my workshop, had a cup of tea, and eventually got going for my 2mile run.

As it was already dark, I remained on the well lit streets, especially as the park was anyway close.
Not the nicest environment to run on, but hey, when you have to, you have to.

I was quite surprised, as I was very tired after the long long week, but still managed to run it at a regular slow pace.
Nothing to be amazed about except that it was easier than I had anticipated it, being so tired.

However, it made me realise that I have a long way to go, as based on my time for the 2miles, I would need 6h to finish the marathon if I go at that pace the whole way.
So some speeding up to do. But you have to start somewhere!

This morning, I had to catch up with the speed and interval session of yesterday.
I made sure to get up early to make it happen.
After a warm up and some drills, it was time to do 4x400m.
Somehow the 3rd interval seemed easier than the others. Not sure if that's normal or usual.

Off for a days work, as today I also need to do my strength session. And I had a quick look at it, and it doesn't look too appealing this week. Oh well, the marathon is at stake, so better get on with it.

But, the rules say, if you have to do both sessions on the same day, you need to leave at least 3h in between.
Hence run this morning, strength session later.

Dedication is what I call this

This weekend, I've been on an amazing course to get new ideas on how to grow my business.

3 intense and full on days, and on Friday, although I was supposed to do my strength and conditioning session, we were invited for dinner.

Which meant I had to push my workout to yesterday evening. At the end of the day, the people on the course wanted to go for a drink, but I had to turn it down.
When I got home, the last thing that was on my mind was to have a workout.

I sat down with a cuppa tea, and after a short recovery, I changed and went to the studio.

Part of my workout was 50 skips. Well, I can't remember when the last time I did some skipping, but I wasn't bad, but wasn't good at it neither. Definitely room for improvement.

On Monday mornings, when I'm in Oakhill Park with my novice running group, there is this guy who uses one of the tennis courts to skip.
A few months ago, I bumped into him after one of his sessions and he told me he was a cyclist and uses the skipping to improve his endurance and leg speed.
He skips non stop for over 1h!!!!!

So compared to him, there is definitely room for improvement :-)

But the workout went well, and I felt much more awake afterwards. It just reminded me I did the right choice of pushing myself to do the workout. You ALWAYS feel so much better after a workout.

Tonight, it's a 2mile run. Again, it will be after my course finishes, so won't be before 8pm. Let's see how that goes.

Am still waiting for the official confirmation from the Children's Trust, but I know I have a place. But until then, I can't setup a fundraising page. Hopefully when I do, you'll be inspired enough by my efforts to donate something towards my efforts and journey!. 

This Looked Easier Than it Was

Today it was back to strength and conditioning.

The warmup was longer than last week, and was quite tough. However, I was impressed with my burpees.
I suppose that knowing it was only part of the warmup made it easier.

The main session comprised situps, KB swings and walking lunges.
Which on paper didn't look too bad.

However, the situps that were required were a little different to the ones I normally do, and yes, they are definitely harder.

Think I'm going to feel my abs tomorrow, but my glutes surprisingly as well.

Yesterday, I've also been given some exercises to strenghten and loosen up my ankles and feet.
I've always had stiff joints in the toes and ankles, and to be able to run better, faster and injury free, I will have to work at it.
So at the end of the session, I did the stretches/exercises. They are quite painful for now, but let's see how I can improve.

I had my nutrition chat yesterday, and although my nutrition in general is quite clean, there are some slight changes I will have to make.
But the main focus for me, will be on drinking more and eating some protein together with my piece of fruit when I have early morning clients and only have breakfast later.

I always have something to eat, as you don't really want to see me hungry. I get very very grumpy when that happens.

Next workout has been pushed back from Friday to Saturday. I am on a course, and we've been told there is a dinner on Friday evening.
So that leaves me with an extra day to recover from today's workout. Think I might need it ;-)

 

Short Interval Session 1 - WOD3

For those living in the UK, you might have noticed it's quite windy out there.

Luckily the rain had stopped earlier and blue sky prevailed. But the wind is still quite strong.

Still, a short interval session was on the cards for today, so no choice but to go out there and just do it.

After a warmup job, and some footwork, it was time for 10 short intervals of 100m.

The first few were fine, after the 6th, I started struggling. After 7, I thought my lungs were going to explode.
Recovery was only between 15 and 22 seconds after each run, which isn't much at this moment in time.

But, it's done and dusted. My 3rd workout session towards VLM2015 is done!

Tomorrow back to the strength training. I only briefly had a look at the exercises involved. It looks feasible ;-)

Before I went out for my run, I had a chat with Rachael about nutrition. 
The things I am going to struggle with is mainly the water, so will have to focus on that over the next few weeks to make it a habit.

And being more prepared as well. 

I don't eat much junk in general, but with the training, I need to make sure I have the right stuff available at the right times.

Off to shower, and have a meal with some carbs to recover!

Recovering from Friday and 1 mile timed

I woke up yesterday thinking I wasn't feeling too badly after Friday's workout.

I worked as usual, and had a pedicure by my friend Lucy from Moon and Stars Beauty Therapy, as it will be important to keep my feet well supple and clear of dried and hard skin.

It's only towards the end of the afternoon that the DOMS kicked in. I struggled to get in and out of a car, but had to as we were invited to not just one, but two birthday parties!

This morning was still hard going, however, throughout the day, the stiffness disappeared and when I got home after a training day in Oxford, it was time for my 1 mile timed run.

1 mile is just over a full lap on the outside of my local park.
I have to admit that I struggled. Not sure if it's because I was tired, it was evening time, or what it was, but I couldn't control my breathing properly and my ankles felt very stiff.

Still, timing wasn't too too bad, but there is a lot to work on. But gives a good benchmark.

Rachael analysed my running technique after we videod it yesterday, and there is quite a bit to work on to help getting faster, but also running in a safer way to prevent injuries.

Lots to look forward to!

Another rest day tomorrow until my next running session on Tuesday, which is a sprint interval session.
This is what Rachael said about it: Ive just done your first short Interval session...it's not too bad but takes your breath away for a short while :-))))))) ENJOY!!

Not sure what to think now.... 

First Strength & Conditioning Session - ONE WORD - OUCH

After a nice rest day yesterday, my first strength and conditioning session was on the plan for today.

As I mentioned on Wednesday, it did include the evil burpees. To be honest, I couldn't remember how evil they were, they were worse than my memory...
Will need a lot of practice I think. But luckily I haven't seen them in the next workout!

After a warmup and some hip openers which were all fine (except for the burpees), I had a 15 minute workout planned where I had to do as many rounds as possible for a series of exercises including more burpees.

All I can say now is OUCH.... Wonder how I will feel tomorrow.

I might have mentioned in my first post that I haven't exercised for quite a while. A shoulder injury has stopped all my workouts since June.
The only thing I have done since is the bike leg of a triathlon (which was painful for the shoulder). I even had to walk the bike to the bike shop, as I couldn't pump the tyres myself!
And lots of walking and a bit of running. But no strength training at all.

So today was a bit of a shock to be honest. But, I suppose you have to start somewhere.

Tomorrow is another rest day, although I've been asked to record my running, so as to work on technique over the coming months. So will do a little bit of running (if I can move at all).

1 mile run (as fast as possible) is on the cards for Sunday. Till then...

First month's programme has been unveiled

Today I had my first call with Rachael to go over my first month's programme.

First reaction:
I am starting tomorrow with a rest day! Result ;-)

However, my first workout on Friday is starting with burpees.... Yeah, you heard it right. If you never heard about burpees, they aren't the thing you do after a meal.
They are evil. But supposedly one of the best exercise for runners, she says...

If you want to see what it looks like, just go here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX60BcsO_wE

I only looked at the first few workouts so far. What I have noticed is a mean 4x 800m run timed towards the end of the month as my interval run, and 2x 2mile run for my tempo run.
That's more than a 6k in only a few weeks time. Gulp...
I have also noticed quite a few timed workouts, which is not something I am used to do. So that will be interesting.

Oh well, will just have to suck it up and do it, I suppose.

I will have to accelerate my shoulder recovery. Maybe doing the physio's exercises might help ;-) that's my task for tomorrow then, doing them properly. LOL

Nutrition call booked for Tuesday. Looks like I better eat some nice stuff over the next few days. Although I know that Rachael likes her food, and she also likes a treat here and there, so hopefully that will be fine.

Have weighed and measured myself today, to get a starting point. Will get someone to take a before picture in the next few days.

All will be tracked along the way, and will let you all know how it goes. For those that work with me, they will know I weight and measure every 4 weeks, so that's what I'll do for myself as well.

Bit of respite till Friday. Will write after first workout, might not be able to write the next day though if my muscles will ache. Time will tell.

The Start of a Journey....

Last April, I entered the London Marathon ballot for the 4th time. I had never been successful, and this year wasn't an exception.

However, my friends who registered with me, got their place in the ballot, which seems to happen every time... They get in, and I don't. One of my friends twisted my arm by saying she wouldn't run, would defer her place unless I would run it as well.
So I got in touch with the Children's Trust, and got a charity place through them. I will have to raise a minimum of £2000 towards the charity, so once I will have had the official acceptance letter, I will open an online charity page, and hope that while you will be reading my updates, you will feel enticed enough to sponsor me on my journey.

I have to admit that I have always wanted to run the London marathon. Each year, I have been watching it on TV, except for the last 2 years where I have been volunteering with a fabulous team at the 23mile mark on the Lucozade drinks station.
At 23 miles you see quite a lot of people suffering by then. And I always vowed that if I were to run a marathon, I would train well, so as to run the whole way non stop, and not feel broken part way.  

Here is a bit of background to endurance events I've done:
1. I have walked the Moonwalk twice with my friend Tish. The Moonwalk for those who haven't heard of it, is a marathon length walk (you can also do half) throughout the night, normally done in your bra, in aid of breast cancer. Both times we finished in under 8 hours.

2. After being unsuccessful at the ballot a couple of years ago, I registered to run half a marathon in Edinburgh in 2013. After not training properly, all I wanted was to finish within the time limit of 3h, and not get kicked off the road by the sweepers van. Mission accomplished.

3. Last May I walked the largest part of London 2 Brighton, and only pulled out due to the horrific muddy conditions as I really didn't want to break anything.

So that's my experience at endurance events. I've done a few shorter runs, 5ks and 10ks, and a few triathlons (none at olympic distance yet).

My goal for VLM2015:
My goal for next April is to run the whole way non-stop and finish in under 5h30

I know that to achieve that goal, I have to train consistently, which is something I always struggled with, as I am not a good runner at all.
When it comes to training, it's not just about running, but also strength training and flexibility training so as to prevent injuries along the way.

I also know I will have to work at my nutrition.

As such I have signed up to work with my friend Rachael Hunt, who is an endurance coach.
After a long chat with her, I will know next Wednesday what my first months training programme will look like, with first training session on Thursday. HELP....

My plan is to update this blog regularly.
It will be a great tool for accountability, but also to share my progress, my struggles, the changes I have to make to my lifestyle, etc.

Hope you will enjoy the reading along the way.