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!