I know that the thousands of you who avidly follow this blog...
...will have read that I can't stand running machines, treadmills or whatever else you'd like to call them. So why, you may ask yourself, did I find myself, earlier today, pounding along on one with nothing to look at but my own blubbery reflection in the mirror wall against which it was situated?
The answer, dear reader, is that d'missus has just bought a new pair of running shoes and wanted to try them out on a 'treadie' so that she could take them back if they weren't right for her. I had another set of intervals to do and so it seemed to make perfect sense to combine the two activities.
Speaking to one of the assitants in the local gym at Maindy Pool, I found that I couldn't programme in the desired intervals and after much discussion he suggested that I try upping the speed to '13' (about 4:30 / km), running for 2 minutes and then slowing it down to '7.5' and doing a jogged recovery for 2 minutes. He suggested 5 reps' but I did 6, setting the last speed at '14.1' (4:15 / km) and was a very sweaty mess by the end of it. These places always seem too hot for my liking.
That done, I was going to do the gym session there, as I was in a gym and had just paid the princely sum of £3.65 for the privilage, but there were too many people there (haven't they got work to do?) so I came home to the safety of the cobwebs and the cold in my garage.
There's some new stuff in my list of tortures this week. These include 100s, ski squats and crunches on the ball with dumbbells. I haven't had a chance to see the eponymous Mr Shelbourne this week so I'm yet to find out if what I'm doing is correct. He did show me how to do 100s a couple of weeks ago which I think are sitting on the floor with your hands out just behind you for support, raise your feet slightly off the ground, then raise and drop them a further 6 inches or so, 100 times in each set. By the last set I'd got to about 55 before I had to put my feet down for 2 seconds and then I limped to the 100 mark by doing 20 at a time. Bloody hell that was hard.
There is also more veriety in the exercises he's given me for the gym session this week. For example wide and narrow grip press-ups and standing 1 leg shoulder presses (I've added an extra set of those from what you put so that I don't favour one leg!).
The addition of arm sprinting, nipple waggling and face bouncing have also made for interesting gym sessions but I think I'll leave the scrotum stretching until I'm a little more supple as I don't seem to be able to get my teeth in just the right place. I sometimes feel like I've got one too many vertebrae.
Wednesday 28 October 2009
Sunday 25 October 2009
Phase 2, Week 1 - Ups and Downs
My good lady wife has been away in Brussels for the last 2 days and I have to confess that I am totally useless without her. I'm overwhelmed with a dreadful ennui when she's not here and I rattle around the house like a pea in a drum, knowing that I have to do stuff like cook a proper meal and shave etc. but end up standing, unshaven by the worktop with a bowl of cereal. It always feels very sad, to me, sitting at the dining table alone. I've also found that this sorry state of affairs applies to my running and, as I hang my head in shame, I have to tell you, dear reader, that lethargy and sloth got the better of me this morning. The Sunday long run remains un-run. I could come up with numerous excuses for not running today but they would merely be a gossamer cloak to shroud my bone-idleness.
As this post covers all but the first day of 'Phase 2, Week 1', I'll try to keep it brief and to the point.
Day 2 started with an earlier than normal run down to the barrage, again. We may have to come up with a new route soon so that we don't get fed up with this one. I don't want the lack of variety to become an excuse not to run. In the mean time, this route remains very pleasant and on this particular morning it was grey, overcast, windy and threatened rain. That may not sound very pleasant but there's something about a squally, grey sea that I'm drawn to. I was brought up by the sea and I have to be near it, on it or in it (very John Masefield!). Hmmm, brief and to the point, eh! Any how, it was a 7.95 miles and was done in 1:15:02. The wind really taking a toll so that we had to stop on 75 minutes.
The gym session for this week is the same as last and I seem to be getting to grips with the 21s using the 9kg dumbbells. They're still hard but I'm not swinging or arching my back on the last set. Fabulous.
Day 3 was where this week varied from the previous. Bryan had kept his promise about varying the running by adding an intervals session and a long run. I've already explained about the long run or lack of it so here's the skinny on the intervals.
6 x 1km to be run in 5 minutes with 3 minutes walked recovery between each interval.
I can't abide running machines so I opted for a trip to the new athletics stadium at Leckwith to use the 400m track. It was Friday afternoon and I was the only person out on the field. I must have looked an unusual spectacle from the busy, nearby roads as I plodded 'round and 'round. 2 and 1/2 laps is, of course, 1km and I started by jogging 3 laps as a warm-up.
I wasn't sure how fast I needed to go to do it in 5 mins. It's been a long time since I've done anything like this, so I just went for it. 400m doesn't seem far but it feels like it when you're out there all by yourself. I completed the 1st rep' in 4:30 and was seriously thinking that there was no way I could do 6 of these. It took me longer than 3 mins to recover sufficiently to do it again, and I found it more practical to walk a lap of the track in stead of counting time.
The next rep' was, understandably, slower at 4:40 and the next was slower again at 4:52. The important thing was that I was still under 5 minutes. It seems that I must have got into my stride as the remaining laps were 4:43, 4:42 and 4:41 respectively, so I was happy but totally shagged.
Driving back to the house allowed me sufficient time to recover enough to tackle the gym session as soon as I got into the garage. I probably don't need to tell you how smug I felt.
If only I could have remembered that feeling when I woke up this morning.
As this post covers all but the first day of 'Phase 2, Week 1', I'll try to keep it brief and to the point.
Day 2 started with an earlier than normal run down to the barrage, again. We may have to come up with a new route soon so that we don't get fed up with this one. I don't want the lack of variety to become an excuse not to run. In the mean time, this route remains very pleasant and on this particular morning it was grey, overcast, windy and threatened rain. That may not sound very pleasant but there's something about a squally, grey sea that I'm drawn to. I was brought up by the sea and I have to be near it, on it or in it (very John Masefield!). Hmmm, brief and to the point, eh! Any how, it was a 7.95 miles and was done in 1:15:02. The wind really taking a toll so that we had to stop on 75 minutes.
The gym session for this week is the same as last and I seem to be getting to grips with the 21s using the 9kg dumbbells. They're still hard but I'm not swinging or arching my back on the last set. Fabulous.
Day 3 was where this week varied from the previous. Bryan had kept his promise about varying the running by adding an intervals session and a long run. I've already explained about the long run or lack of it so here's the skinny on the intervals.
6 x 1km to be run in 5 minutes with 3 minutes walked recovery between each interval.
I can't abide running machines so I opted for a trip to the new athletics stadium at Leckwith to use the 400m track. It was Friday afternoon and I was the only person out on the field. I must have looked an unusual spectacle from the busy, nearby roads as I plodded 'round and 'round. 2 and 1/2 laps is, of course, 1km and I started by jogging 3 laps as a warm-up.
I wasn't sure how fast I needed to go to do it in 5 mins. It's been a long time since I've done anything like this, so I just went for it. 400m doesn't seem far but it feels like it when you're out there all by yourself. I completed the 1st rep' in 4:30 and was seriously thinking that there was no way I could do 6 of these. It took me longer than 3 mins to recover sufficiently to do it again, and I found it more practical to walk a lap of the track in stead of counting time.
The next rep' was, understandably, slower at 4:40 and the next was slower again at 4:52. The important thing was that I was still under 5 minutes. It seems that I must have got into my stride as the remaining laps were 4:43, 4:42 and 4:41 respectively, so I was happy but totally shagged.
Driving back to the house allowed me sufficient time to recover enough to tackle the gym session as soon as I got into the garage. I probably don't need to tell you how smug I felt.
If only I could have remembered that feeling when I woke up this morning.
Thursday 22 October 2009
Phase 2, Week 1, Day 1
As I'm sitting here, typing this, it is bucketing down. What's more it looks as if it's set for the rest of the day. Who knows though? The weather men don't seem to.
It's a bit of a contrast to yesterday when, apart from a couple of 'monkey's weddings' it was mostly dry and sunny all day. The wind was also a little stronger than of late, as we battled against it on our, now customary, gambol down to the barrage. With a slower time than normal for the same route (1:19 for 8.3 miles), the wind was definitely a factor.
Later that day I managed to get to work on the big pooter, as it's almost impossible to do anything other than sort photo's on the laptop I'm currently using. My wife allowed me to swap with her so that I could edit and work on the wedding photo's I'd taken last and I've yet to show the happy couple. The upshot of that was that after several hours of staring at a screen, working my way through hundreds of shots, I was left completely cream-crackered and I decided to forego the gym session, scheduled in for that day. I may do an extra one on one of the rest days.
This allowed us to prepare diner earlier and the result was wonderful. Asparagus and butternut squash risotto.
To do this we cut a medium butternut squash into small chunks (de-seeded but leaving the skin on), which we then tossed in some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted in a moderate oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, shaking occasionally. Whilst this was roasting we steamed about 6 or 7 large asparagus spears for about 5 mins, adding a veggie stock cube to the water (a little over 1 pint) when the 5 minutes was up, keeping it on a low heat.
In a wok or large pan we sweated off half a red onion, half a red pepper and some dried mixed herbs in some EV olive oil and then added 5oz of arborio rice, which we stir fried for about 4 or 5 mins. This done, we added 2 ladles of the simmering stock, covered the pan, turned the heat down and allowed it to simmer until the liquid had been absorbed (stirring occasionally). We repeated this process until all the stock was used up and the rice was swollen and tender.
When the last stock was added to the rice mixture, we added the asparagus, which we'd cut into 1 inch lengths. A couple of minutes before we were about to dish it up we added some of the, now roasted, squash and served it with some grated cheese (fresh parmesan would be best) and a nicely chilled bottle of Pouilly Fumé.
Blinking lovely!
It's a bit of a contrast to yesterday when, apart from a couple of 'monkey's weddings' it was mostly dry and sunny all day. The wind was also a little stronger than of late, as we battled against it on our, now customary, gambol down to the barrage. With a slower time than normal for the same route (1:19 for 8.3 miles), the wind was definitely a factor.
Later that day I managed to get to work on the big pooter, as it's almost impossible to do anything other than sort photo's on the laptop I'm currently using. My wife allowed me to swap with her so that I could edit and work on the wedding photo's I'd taken last and I've yet to show the happy couple. The upshot of that was that after several hours of staring at a screen, working my way through hundreds of shots, I was left completely cream-crackered and I decided to forego the gym session, scheduled in for that day. I may do an extra one on one of the rest days.
This allowed us to prepare diner earlier and the result was wonderful. Asparagus and butternut squash risotto.
To do this we cut a medium butternut squash into small chunks (de-seeded but leaving the skin on), which we then tossed in some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted in a moderate oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, shaking occasionally. Whilst this was roasting we steamed about 6 or 7 large asparagus spears for about 5 mins, adding a veggie stock cube to the water (a little over 1 pint) when the 5 minutes was up, keeping it on a low heat.
In a wok or large pan we sweated off half a red onion, half a red pepper and some dried mixed herbs in some EV olive oil and then added 5oz of arborio rice, which we stir fried for about 4 or 5 mins. This done, we added 2 ladles of the simmering stock, covered the pan, turned the heat down and allowed it to simmer until the liquid had been absorbed (stirring occasionally). We repeated this process until all the stock was used up and the rice was swollen and tender.
When the last stock was added to the rice mixture, we added the asparagus, which we'd cut into 1 inch lengths. A couple of minutes before we were about to dish it up we added some of the, now roasted, squash and served it with some grated cheese (fresh parmesan would be best) and a nicely chilled bottle of Pouilly Fumé.
Blinking lovely!
Sunday 18 October 2009
Week 4 Days 3 & 4. Gotta be a loose fit...
Another glorious morning run down to the barrage. Blue sky reflected in the bay and the sea beyond the barrage, air crisp and life affirming, nature abounding, morning bustle, coffee toting, trainer wearing, suit clad city waking, enter password, logging in.
With the arrival of the first frost I dug out a long sleeved top from the back of the wardrobe. It's about 2 sizes too big for me but I love it. I don't mind tight fitting stretchy running kit as long as it's covered by something else that's not so clingy. There's nothing worse than lycra clad blubber on display, a trait saddly common amongst the 'road bike' cycling fraternity, I'm afraid.
Thinking about this popped the Happy Monday's, Loose Fit into my head, which I found very useful running music. It's amazing what can spark off a song in your head and I've even found myself adapting the lyrics of a song with a particular tempo to fit my running rhythm. Running (or walking for that matter) with headphones outside is a no-no for me. I like to be able to hear everything that's around me. I don't know how people can cut themselves off like that. It can't be safe.
Any road up, it was another 8 miler, covered in 1:18, and put a spring in my step for the rest of the day.
Later, that same day...
Having been shown the correct way to do the various tortures that make up my gym session, I tackled them on my own. I have to say that I'm very business-like when it comes to following a routine like this. I don't faff around and I try to get it over and done with as efficiently as possible. My garage isn't a place to linger when you've not got a job to do in there, and shorts are definitely not the order of the day now that the nights are drawing in.
The 21s (bicep curls) with the 9kg dumbbells are still a teeth gritting, back arching experience on the last set, but I'm determined to master them. My hamstring curls are a lot better since Bryan watched me do them on Wednesday. It's all well and good looking at someone do them on YourTube but you need somebody to point out the difference between what you think you're doing and what you're actually doing. Ooh, feel that burn!
I did a gym session on it's own on Thursday so that I didn't have to do one after a long run on Sunday. Sitting here typing this, I'm glad I did. The prospect of getting changed again and fighting the cobwebs and the cold isn't the most appealing at this precise moment.
Talking of the Sunday long run, it wasn't that long really. We'd intended to go up to Castell Coch, which is about 10 miles up the Taff Trail but we had to take a bit of a detour for a pit stop, if you catch my drift. We ended up doing just over 9 miles in about 1:25 or so, I haven't uploaded the proper time yet, from my watch. On the way home, we decided to pop along to watch the end of the Cardiff Half Marathon, in which Bryan was running. We didn't have time to have a shower and get changed so we stopped off at home to sloosh the pits (I was most definitely pongy by this point), dump the soggier of our kit and grab a fleecey top each before jogging down to the finish line to cheer home Bryan and quite a few of the other 8,000 runners.
D'boy done good, getting the time he'd expected. If you're reading this, Mr Shelbourne - well done, mate.
Now that I've discovered how to embed YouTube clips, I've got to leave you with the Monday's...
With the arrival of the first frost I dug out a long sleeved top from the back of the wardrobe. It's about 2 sizes too big for me but I love it. I don't mind tight fitting stretchy running kit as long as it's covered by something else that's not so clingy. There's nothing worse than lycra clad blubber on display, a trait saddly common amongst the 'road bike' cycling fraternity, I'm afraid.
Thinking about this popped the Happy Monday's, Loose Fit into my head, which I found very useful running music. It's amazing what can spark off a song in your head and I've even found myself adapting the lyrics of a song with a particular tempo to fit my running rhythm. Running (or walking for that matter) with headphones outside is a no-no for me. I like to be able to hear everything that's around me. I don't know how people can cut themselves off like that. It can't be safe.
Any road up, it was another 8 miler, covered in 1:18, and put a spring in my step for the rest of the day.
Later, that same day...
Having been shown the correct way to do the various tortures that make up my gym session, I tackled them on my own. I have to say that I'm very business-like when it comes to following a routine like this. I don't faff around and I try to get it over and done with as efficiently as possible. My garage isn't a place to linger when you've not got a job to do in there, and shorts are definitely not the order of the day now that the nights are drawing in.
The 21s (bicep curls) with the 9kg dumbbells are still a teeth gritting, back arching experience on the last set, but I'm determined to master them. My hamstring curls are a lot better since Bryan watched me do them on Wednesday. It's all well and good looking at someone do them on YourTube but you need somebody to point out the difference between what you think you're doing and what you're actually doing. Ooh, feel that burn!
I did a gym session on it's own on Thursday so that I didn't have to do one after a long run on Sunday. Sitting here typing this, I'm glad I did. The prospect of getting changed again and fighting the cobwebs and the cold isn't the most appealing at this precise moment.
Talking of the Sunday long run, it wasn't that long really. We'd intended to go up to Castell Coch, which is about 10 miles up the Taff Trail but we had to take a bit of a detour for a pit stop, if you catch my drift. We ended up doing just over 9 miles in about 1:25 or so, I haven't uploaded the proper time yet, from my watch. On the way home, we decided to pop along to watch the end of the Cardiff Half Marathon, in which Bryan was running. We didn't have time to have a shower and get changed so we stopped off at home to sloosh the pits (I was most definitely pongy by this point), dump the soggier of our kit and grab a fleecey top each before jogging down to the finish line to cheer home Bryan and quite a few of the other 8,000 runners.
D'boy done good, getting the time he'd expected. If you're reading this, Mr Shelbourne - well done, mate.
Now that I've discovered how to embed YouTube clips, I've got to leave you with the Monday's...
Thursday 15 October 2009
Week 4 Day 2. A Barrage of Crunchy, Curled, Ham Planks
My Personal Torturer oops, I mean Trainer, AKA Bryan Shelbourne, decided that he would like to do a gym session with me yesterday, to see how I was getting on. He also needed to explain what the hell an 'alternate, bent arm plank' was, as I couldn't find anything that made any sense on YouTube.
...but first, the run...
Up early and walked the wife to central station where she caught a train to Exeter, to attend a meeting. She v smart, me in running kit. From the station I ran to the barrage again and then back home, through town.
I can't run at the pace we normally do, when I'm on my own and the entire run was hard work. I later found out that I'd done the 7 miles @ 10 to 15 seconds per mile, faster than our normal pace. I felt good though, if not a little self conscious as I marched my malodorous way through the throngs of fragrant freshers, to get home.
The 3 Ss completed, I sat down to compose yesterday's post, apply for some contracts and work on some photo's before the aforementioned torturer turned up to cast an expert eye over my hamstring curls and make sure I wasn't cutting corners on my crunches.
...and what about those 'alternate bent arm plank', things?
Oh, yes. - Feet slightly wider than a normal plank - take one arm out to the side at shoulder height - replace and repeat with other arm - repeat for 30 seconds, all the time keeping your body straight and rigid in the plank position.
Torture, but boy, it works those abs!
A good session that got the heart pumping, the sweat flowing and the muscles burning, and the boy didn't do bad for a youngster either!
What do you think to these next week then...?
...but first, the run...
Up early and walked the wife to central station where she caught a train to Exeter, to attend a meeting. She v smart, me in running kit. From the station I ran to the barrage again and then back home, through town.
I can't run at the pace we normally do, when I'm on my own and the entire run was hard work. I later found out that I'd done the 7 miles @ 10 to 15 seconds per mile, faster than our normal pace. I felt good though, if not a little self conscious as I marched my malodorous way through the throngs of fragrant freshers, to get home.
The 3 Ss completed, I sat down to compose yesterday's post, apply for some contracts and work on some photo's before the aforementioned torturer turned up to cast an expert eye over my hamstring curls and make sure I wasn't cutting corners on my crunches.
...and what about those 'alternate bent arm plank', things?
Oh, yes. - Feet slightly wider than a normal plank - take one arm out to the side at shoulder height - replace and repeat with other arm - repeat for 30 seconds, all the time keeping your body straight and rigid in the plank position.
Torture, but boy, it works those abs!
A good session that got the heart pumping, the sweat flowing and the muscles burning, and the boy didn't do bad for a youngster either!
What do you think to these next week then...?
Wednesday 14 October 2009
Week 4, Day 1. Every day, in every way...
What a fantastic run. We decided to do our usual Bay run but this time add a jaunt out along the Cardiff Bay Barrage. I've only ever run along it during a race and they've not long opened it up to the public so that you can now get from Penarth to Cardiff Bay - fabulous.
It was a beautiful morning. The sky would have been clear if about 10 million planes hadn't scribbled all over it but even this didn't detract too much from the wonderful vista afforded by such a great vantage point on the barrage. There is such a wonderfully eclectic mix of buildings along the seafront, in the Bay.
This was our mid piont for the run and so we took a couple of minutes to stretch and have some water before heading back along the Taff Trail, home. I've noticed that we always seem to do a negative split on these runs, which means that the second half of the run is quicker than the first, and checking back through my records I see that our pace is getting a little quicker each time. It's only a few seconds, on average, but at least it's heading in the right direction.
My training schedule suggests a run of 75 minutes but we were so close to our usual stopping point, that it made more sense to go over that. In the end we covered 8.31 miles in 1:18:46 and although I was getting tired towards the end, I still felt good.
I wasn't able to meet up with Bryan to go through the new exercises, so I had to do a bit of hunting on the internet to find out what 'hamstring curls on the Swiss ball' and 'reverse crunches' entailed.
Below are a couple of the clips I found on YouTube for reverse crunches:
I followed the second of these but didn't tuck my chin into my chest as 'Gina' does here.
The following clip illustrates how to do hamstring curls on the ball. I can only dream about the physique and control of this guy - respec':
...saying that, however, I'm not too sure about the dodgy disco music in the background.
One of the other exercises included in this weeks programme is tricep arm extensions with dumbbell, which I did sitting on the ball. Learning from my previous mistakes I thought I'd use my 5kg weights. The first set wasn't too much of a problem, so I decided to try my 9kg dbs for the second. Needless to say that the 3rd set was with the 5kg dbs. Doh!
More soon...
It was a beautiful morning. The sky would have been clear if about 10 million planes hadn't scribbled all over it but even this didn't detract too much from the wonderful vista afforded by such a great vantage point on the barrage. There is such a wonderfully eclectic mix of buildings along the seafront, in the Bay.
This was our mid piont for the run and so we took a couple of minutes to stretch and have some water before heading back along the Taff Trail, home. I've noticed that we always seem to do a negative split on these runs, which means that the second half of the run is quicker than the first, and checking back through my records I see that our pace is getting a little quicker each time. It's only a few seconds, on average, but at least it's heading in the right direction.
My training schedule suggests a run of 75 minutes but we were so close to our usual stopping point, that it made more sense to go over that. In the end we covered 8.31 miles in 1:18:46 and although I was getting tired towards the end, I still felt good.
I wasn't able to meet up with Bryan to go through the new exercises, so I had to do a bit of hunting on the internet to find out what 'hamstring curls on the Swiss ball' and 'reverse crunches' entailed.
Below are a couple of the clips I found on YouTube for reverse crunches:
I followed the second of these but didn't tuck my chin into my chest as 'Gina' does here.
The following clip illustrates how to do hamstring curls on the ball. I can only dream about the physique and control of this guy - respec':
...saying that, however, I'm not too sure about the dodgy disco music in the background.
One of the other exercises included in this weeks programme is tricep arm extensions with dumbbell, which I did sitting on the ball. Learning from my previous mistakes I thought I'd use my 5kg weights. The first set wasn't too much of a problem, so I decided to try my 9kg dbs for the second. Needless to say that the 3rd set was with the 5kg dbs. Doh!
More soon...
Monday 12 October 2009
End of Week 3...
What started so promisingly with a 10 mile run and an arm burning weights session, limped home as a DNF (Did Not Finish), and I have to report my first failure.
As I reported in my last post, I was taking the day after the aforementioned 10 miler and weights session, as a rest day. As it turned out, the following days also came under that category.
Although it didn't turn into full blown 'Man-flu', I did catch the sniffles from my wife and the resulting sinus and catarrh induced nausea haven't left me with a chipper disposition. Running around and jerking physically, have not been at the top of my 'what would I really like to do now?', list.
Saying that, however, I did manage a full day's training on Saturday and just a run on Sunday. The Sunday run, an 8 miler on a hilly, urban course in the rain, left me soaked and totally knackered for the rest of the day. Saturday, on the other hand, was a much jollier affair. A bright, sun-filled trot of 7 miles that took in the Taff and the Bay and was filled with mists of mellow fruitfulness, big dollops of nature and scenes and characters direct from central casting. The gym session proved just as hard as when I first tried it out on Tuesday but without the resulting 'will I ever be able to straighten my arms again?' after-effects.
Hopefully, this week will work out better, if you'll pardon the pun. I have the new schedule from Bryan and I think I'm going to need some demonstrations for some of the gym work. If I knuckle down and can lay off the booze for a reasonable length of time, I may see some improvement.
Get thee behind me, Gordon's!
As I reported in my last post, I was taking the day after the aforementioned 10 miler and weights session, as a rest day. As it turned out, the following days also came under that category.
Although it didn't turn into full blown 'Man-flu', I did catch the sniffles from my wife and the resulting sinus and catarrh induced nausea haven't left me with a chipper disposition. Running around and jerking physically, have not been at the top of my 'what would I really like to do now?', list.
Saying that, however, I did manage a full day's training on Saturday and just a run on Sunday. The Sunday run, an 8 miler on a hilly, urban course in the rain, left me soaked and totally knackered for the rest of the day. Saturday, on the other hand, was a much jollier affair. A bright, sun-filled trot of 7 miles that took in the Taff and the Bay and was filled with mists of mellow fruitfulness, big dollops of nature and scenes and characters direct from central casting. The gym session proved just as hard as when I first tried it out on Tuesday but without the resulting 'will I ever be able to straighten my arms again?' after-effects.
Hopefully, this week will work out better, if you'll pardon the pun. I have the new schedule from Bryan and I think I'm going to need some demonstrations for some of the gym work. If I knuckle down and can lay off the booze for a reasonable length of time, I may see some improvement.
Get thee behind me, Gordon's!
Wednesday 7 October 2009
Week 3, Day 1 - Arms and The Fat Man
I met Bryan Shelbourne, my personal trainer, for lunch yesterday (now the day before yesterday) to review the training and chew the fat, so to speak. There was much talk of reps and recovery, schedules and goals. It's good to have someone keen and interested in your progress. You've got to be one determined mother funster, with no other distractions in your life, to do something like this on your own, so I'm very glad he's there.
He's training for a half marathon at the moment, and distance running is something he's not done before, so I was glad to turn the tables, as it were, and offer some advice and support. As an ex professional rugby player he's not the ideal shape for distance running so I was able to draw on my own experience of lugging a hefty body over long distances ( he - hefty muscle | me - hefty blubber ). The support came in agreeing to go on a 10 mile run the next afternoon. I prefer to run in the morning and me and d'missus have only just got back up to 8 miles or so, but he said it would be slow and I'm always up for a challenge.
To add to the daily slog, I wanted to tackle the new gym session for week 3. Press-ups and dips had been replaced with flies and curls and toe touches had given way to heal touches.
I warmed up and stretched as normal; set the timer to 30 seconds and rolled out the ball of torture for 3 reps of 30 secs with 30 sec recoveries of the plank. My stomach muscles were starting to get warm and trembley as I finished the last rep - 30 seconds on my knees then back into plank position and - roll the ball out in front of you a little, 1, 2 then back - roll out again, 1, 2 then back. By the 10th rep my upper stomach muscles were burning and trembling again and by the 3rd and last set my lower back muscles were also joining in the arson.
The change of position on the ball, onto my back was brief relief for 30 secs and the first few crunchies, again held for a 2 count, didn't feel too bad, but as I completed the last set of 10 reps I was blowing through gritted teeth - 1, 2, 7 - 1, 2, 8 - 1, 2, 9 - 1, 2, argh!
Heal touches seemed like blessed relief but 3 sets of 50 started to take a toll on my side muscles.
Now for the arm stuff...
As I mentioned above, Bryan had replaced tricep exercises with those that work the bicep and chest. I also noticed that the recovery time between some of these sets was longer than the usual 30 seconds.
First up were 3 sets of 10 flies done on the ball. I allowed myself a little more time than the recovery time after the heal touches to sort out how I was going to do this. I've got quite a big garage but I'd parked the car a bit far forward and I found that trying to balance on my back on the ball whilst waving 9 kilo weights around was endangering the bonnet of my pride and joy. A bit of careful manoeuvring soon found me slowly flapping between the workbench and the paint tins, a warm ache developing in my pec's.
That done, I sat up and, after the requisite time, moved straight into the shoulder presses. I must have the ball pumped up quite high as I find I'm wobbling about a fair bit whilst doing all of these things. That's the point, I suppose. Like Pilates, you're making small adjustments all the time which gives your core a good all round work out.
The next set of exercises, Bryan had down as 21s. This, I was told at lunch the day before, is a series of bicep curls done in 3 subsets of 7, hence 21. The first 7 are from full arm extension (180°) to 90°, the second go from 90° to 0° and the third from 180° to 0°. This was to be done 3 times and as I had the 9 kilo dumbbells in my hands already, I was ready to go.
"9 kilos may be a bit heavy...", I'd been told. "...you may want to use the 5 kilo dbs you have.". WHY DID I NOT LISTEN? I'm sitting here typing this, unable to straighten my arms fully and having had a bloody awful night's sleep trying to get comfortable because of the pain on the inside of my elbows (is there a name for that part of the body?). It's amazing how your body allows you to do something that you will sorely regret at a later date.
This stupid act of macho bravado with weights was probably compounded by 10 mile run later that day.
The Run...
It had been raining, on and off, all day. Brief dry spells were interspersed with showers of fine drizzle and heavy downpours, but the net effect was the same - you got wet. Very wet. Add to this the unseasonable temperature of about 20° C and you may understand the kit selection quandary in which I found myself. Should I go for the Gore-Tex waterproof (or 'boil-in-the-bag' as a friend of mine calls such things) or something thin, shower proof but not too hot, or do I brazen it out in just a technical tee? I opted for the '...but not too hot' kit and trotted off to meet Bryan in town (we would join my wife en route).
I can't say I'm that keen on running in the afternoon and the 1.5 miles into town were run with leaden legs on cast iron snow shoes. A quick stretch and Bryan's steady pace soon eased my body into accepting what I was asking it to do and before long I was into a hypnotic rhythm that didn't feel like exercise. By mile 3 we had all stowed our jackets and at the turning point (this being an out and back route) there was little point in putting them back on. A combination of sharp showers, sweat and tree shake had contrived to make all 3 of us soaked to the skin but we happily plodded on, swapping horror stories of great sporting injuries we had known.
My wife parted company with us so that she could run straight home to avoid getting too cold on the warm down, if you follow me. B and I continued on to the point where I'd started measuring the route he'd suggested. As I feared, it wasn't quite 10 miles but we were both happy with the 9.3 we'd covered in 1:33:20. My quads were starting to complain a bit but nothing like my arms are now. That'll teach me.
As you may have guessed, dear reader, I'm taking today as a rest day before I punish myself any more. Besides, it gives me chance to churn out this drivel so that no one can read it.
Ahh, the catharsis...
He's training for a half marathon at the moment, and distance running is something he's not done before, so I was glad to turn the tables, as it were, and offer some advice and support. As an ex professional rugby player he's not the ideal shape for distance running so I was able to draw on my own experience of lugging a hefty body over long distances ( he - hefty muscle | me - hefty blubber ). The support came in agreeing to go on a 10 mile run the next afternoon. I prefer to run in the morning and me and d'missus have only just got back up to 8 miles or so, but he said it would be slow and I'm always up for a challenge.
To add to the daily slog, I wanted to tackle the new gym session for week 3. Press-ups and dips had been replaced with flies and curls and toe touches had given way to heal touches.
I warmed up and stretched as normal; set the timer to 30 seconds and rolled out the ball of torture for 3 reps of 30 secs with 30 sec recoveries of the plank. My stomach muscles were starting to get warm and trembley as I finished the last rep - 30 seconds on my knees then back into plank position and - roll the ball out in front of you a little, 1, 2 then back - roll out again, 1, 2 then back. By the 10th rep my upper stomach muscles were burning and trembling again and by the 3rd and last set my lower back muscles were also joining in the arson.
The change of position on the ball, onto my back was brief relief for 30 secs and the first few crunchies, again held for a 2 count, didn't feel too bad, but as I completed the last set of 10 reps I was blowing through gritted teeth - 1, 2, 7 - 1, 2, 8 - 1, 2, 9 - 1, 2, argh!
Heal touches seemed like blessed relief but 3 sets of 50 started to take a toll on my side muscles.
Now for the arm stuff...
As I mentioned above, Bryan had replaced tricep exercises with those that work the bicep and chest. I also noticed that the recovery time between some of these sets was longer than the usual 30 seconds.
First up were 3 sets of 10 flies done on the ball. I allowed myself a little more time than the recovery time after the heal touches to sort out how I was going to do this. I've got quite a big garage but I'd parked the car a bit far forward and I found that trying to balance on my back on the ball whilst waving 9 kilo weights around was endangering the bonnet of my pride and joy. A bit of careful manoeuvring soon found me slowly flapping between the workbench and the paint tins, a warm ache developing in my pec's.
That done, I sat up and, after the requisite time, moved straight into the shoulder presses. I must have the ball pumped up quite high as I find I'm wobbling about a fair bit whilst doing all of these things. That's the point, I suppose. Like Pilates, you're making small adjustments all the time which gives your core a good all round work out.
The next set of exercises, Bryan had down as 21s. This, I was told at lunch the day before, is a series of bicep curls done in 3 subsets of 7, hence 21. The first 7 are from full arm extension (180°) to 90°, the second go from 90° to 0° and the third from 180° to 0°. This was to be done 3 times and as I had the 9 kilo dumbbells in my hands already, I was ready to go.
"9 kilos may be a bit heavy...", I'd been told. "...you may want to use the 5 kilo dbs you have.". WHY DID I NOT LISTEN? I'm sitting here typing this, unable to straighten my arms fully and having had a bloody awful night's sleep trying to get comfortable because of the pain on the inside of my elbows (is there a name for that part of the body?). It's amazing how your body allows you to do something that you will sorely regret at a later date.
This stupid act of macho bravado with weights was probably compounded by 10 mile run later that day.
The Run...
It had been raining, on and off, all day. Brief dry spells were interspersed with showers of fine drizzle and heavy downpours, but the net effect was the same - you got wet. Very wet. Add to this the unseasonable temperature of about 20° C and you may understand the kit selection quandary in which I found myself. Should I go for the Gore-Tex waterproof (or 'boil-in-the-bag' as a friend of mine calls such things) or something thin, shower proof but not too hot, or do I brazen it out in just a technical tee? I opted for the '...but not too hot' kit and trotted off to meet Bryan in town (we would join my wife en route).
I can't say I'm that keen on running in the afternoon and the 1.5 miles into town were run with leaden legs on cast iron snow shoes. A quick stretch and Bryan's steady pace soon eased my body into accepting what I was asking it to do and before long I was into a hypnotic rhythm that didn't feel like exercise. By mile 3 we had all stowed our jackets and at the turning point (this being an out and back route) there was little point in putting them back on. A combination of sharp showers, sweat and tree shake had contrived to make all 3 of us soaked to the skin but we happily plodded on, swapping horror stories of great sporting injuries we had known.
My wife parted company with us so that she could run straight home to avoid getting too cold on the warm down, if you follow me. B and I continued on to the point where I'd started measuring the route he'd suggested. As I feared, it wasn't quite 10 miles but we were both happy with the 9.3 we'd covered in 1:33:20. My quads were starting to complain a bit but nothing like my arms are now. That'll teach me.
As you may have guessed, dear reader, I'm taking today as a rest day before I punish myself any more. Besides, it gives me chance to churn out this drivel so that no one can read it.
Ahh, the catharsis...
Monday 5 October 2009
Week 2, Day 4. Do Not Panic!
As I've mentioned in previous posts, I like to do a long (well it's long for me!) run on a Sunday. Having discussed it with Bryan, we agreed that I could do that and either leave out the gym session or do it on another day, as doing the 2 on the same day may be a bit too much. Yesterday was such a day.
We spent a leisurely Saturday night reading the papers and listening to the radio before turning in at about 10:30 (life in the fast lane, eh!). My wife is fighting off the sniffles and I wasn't feeling 100% myself and as I was waiting to clean my teeth I was aware that I could really feel my heart pounding in my neck and behind my eyes. My neck was feeling a bit achy, which I'd put down to keeping my head straight whilst doing situps, and I was getting chest pains every now and again. Out of curiosity, I took my pulse, worked it out, took it again a few more times just to make sure I'd got it right. They were all about the same - 44 BPM. Bloody hell, I thought, I'm not that fit.
I've just taken my pulse a few times whilst I'm sitting here doing this, and it averages out around the 58 BPM mark. When I was in the midst of my marathon training, all those years ago, my resting heart rate was about 48 BPM, which was pretty good, so you can imagine I was a little concerned on Saturday night.
I didn't sleep very well that night, needless to say, and when the alarm went off on Sunday morning very little had changed except that now I was feeling dizzy and had tingling in my hands and feet. Basically I felt rough, so I powered up the pooter to google (I think that's a verb now?) my symptoms and see if I should phone an ambulance, the doctor or an undertaker. 15 minutes of rummaging around various websites provided, I believe, both diagnosis and cure (I can almost hear any medical professionals reading this, groaning with exaspiration). What, I believe, I had suffered was an anxiety or panic attack. My belief was further reinforced by the fact that my conclusions seemed to alleviate the symptoms.
I have to confess that I've been more than a little worried about the length of my current rest period between contracts and as the majority of my recent professional experience has been in the financial sector, I can't say that the future looks particularly rosey either. Still, I shouldn't let it get to me so much that it effects my health and it was in that state of mind that I decided to lace up me Asics and head for the Taff Trail with me sniffling missus and a liberal dollop of Vaseline round me nethers.
The run itself was much the same as last Sunday's, apart from being a wee bit longer. I was more tired than the previous week's effort but I think I can put that down to the events of the night before.
All in all, I was happy with the 8.25 miles in 1:18:04, and I was exceeding glad that I'd done it. There's nothing like a spot of physical exertion to lift the spirits.
I'm also becoming a fan of the hot shower, cold shower routine. I'm convinced that it's preventing the muscle ache I would normally feel 2 days after a hard work-out.
Anyone know where I can get hold of some birch twigs?
We spent a leisurely Saturday night reading the papers and listening to the radio before turning in at about 10:30 (life in the fast lane, eh!). My wife is fighting off the sniffles and I wasn't feeling 100% myself and as I was waiting to clean my teeth I was aware that I could really feel my heart pounding in my neck and behind my eyes. My neck was feeling a bit achy, which I'd put down to keeping my head straight whilst doing situps, and I was getting chest pains every now and again. Out of curiosity, I took my pulse, worked it out, took it again a few more times just to make sure I'd got it right. They were all about the same - 44 BPM. Bloody hell, I thought, I'm not that fit.
I've just taken my pulse a few times whilst I'm sitting here doing this, and it averages out around the 58 BPM mark. When I was in the midst of my marathon training, all those years ago, my resting heart rate was about 48 BPM, which was pretty good, so you can imagine I was a little concerned on Saturday night.
I didn't sleep very well that night, needless to say, and when the alarm went off on Sunday morning very little had changed except that now I was feeling dizzy and had tingling in my hands and feet. Basically I felt rough, so I powered up the pooter to google (I think that's a verb now?) my symptoms and see if I should phone an ambulance, the doctor or an undertaker. 15 minutes of rummaging around various websites provided, I believe, both diagnosis and cure (I can almost hear any medical professionals reading this, groaning with exaspiration). What, I believe, I had suffered was an anxiety or panic attack. My belief was further reinforced by the fact that my conclusions seemed to alleviate the symptoms.
I have to confess that I've been more than a little worried about the length of my current rest period between contracts and as the majority of my recent professional experience has been in the financial sector, I can't say that the future looks particularly rosey either. Still, I shouldn't let it get to me so much that it effects my health and it was in that state of mind that I decided to lace up me Asics and head for the Taff Trail with me sniffling missus and a liberal dollop of Vaseline round me nethers.
The run itself was much the same as last Sunday's, apart from being a wee bit longer. I was more tired than the previous week's effort but I think I can put that down to the events of the night before.
All in all, I was happy with the 8.25 miles in 1:18:04, and I was exceeding glad that I'd done it. There's nothing like a spot of physical exertion to lift the spirits.
I'm also becoming a fan of the hot shower, cold shower routine. I'm convinced that it's preventing the muscle ache I would normally feel 2 days after a hard work-out.
Anyone know where I can get hold of some birch twigs?
Friday 2 October 2009
Week 2, Day 3 - One Fell Swoop...
I didn't want to get up this morning. Although I'd slept soundly, I don't think I'd recovered from the lack of sleep on the previous night. My wife didn't want to go running with me either.
As I made breakfast, I juggled the training schedule around in my head. Core and strength stuff now then run later? Just the core and strength stuff, full day tomorrow, long run Sunday?
I took the tray back upstairs for our usual breakfast in bed, still half asleep and none the wiser.
As I leaned back to let breakfast settle it occurred to me that the DVD we'd hired last night would need taking back to the shop - a good mile and a bit away. Problem solved. Run to Blockbuster, drop the DVD off and then carry on to do an old hilly route I used to run regularly.
In case you're interested, the DVD was Angels and Daemons with Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor. I'd not seen the Da Vinci Code film but read the book and this film was unmistakably Dan Brown. Bloody awful. It was like reading an essay by a precocious 12 year old, who'd done a lot of research and really wanted to let you know that fact. I haven't seen a performance like that of Ewan McGregor's since I last saw The Wooden Tops.
Rant over.
Meanwhile, back at the training schedule...
...DVD jettisoned in the Quick Dropoff box and head for the first and worst hill. Penylan hill in Cardiff is a great hill to run up. It's long, steep in places and when you get to what you think is the top, you realise that there's a fair way to go until you start to go down again. I was knackered when I passed the water tower and started to decsend but I kept going. I haven't done hills for ages, so this was a bit of a test for me. I passed the test but only just. I've still got a way to go if I'm to get anywhere near as fit as I used to be.
Running on my own was quite nice for a change. You can change your pace or even the route on a whim, which I did several times on this occasion.
The dead foot thing came back again but I was half expecting it as my calves were quite tight. I pushed on all the same, determined not to let it bother me and completed the 6.26 miles in 57:19 and with a negative split.
Flushed with success, I decided to tackle the gym session as soon as I got home. No need to warm up, but I did a fair bit of stretching, concentrating on the calves and the hammies and then puffed, grunted and swore my way through the list of torture that is my core, stability and strength routine.
Rest day tomorrow and then a long run on Sunday.
As you may have noticed, I've added some feedback buttons to the end of the blog. It would be nice to know what you think.
Cheers.
As I made breakfast, I juggled the training schedule around in my head. Core and strength stuff now then run later? Just the core and strength stuff, full day tomorrow, long run Sunday?
I took the tray back upstairs for our usual breakfast in bed, still half asleep and none the wiser.
As I leaned back to let breakfast settle it occurred to me that the DVD we'd hired last night would need taking back to the shop - a good mile and a bit away. Problem solved. Run to Blockbuster, drop the DVD off and then carry on to do an old hilly route I used to run regularly.
In case you're interested, the DVD was Angels and Daemons with Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor. I'd not seen the Da Vinci Code film but read the book and this film was unmistakably Dan Brown. Bloody awful. It was like reading an essay by a precocious 12 year old, who'd done a lot of research and really wanted to let you know that fact. I haven't seen a performance like that of Ewan McGregor's since I last saw The Wooden Tops.
Rant over.
Meanwhile, back at the training schedule...
...DVD jettisoned in the Quick Dropoff box and head for the first and worst hill. Penylan hill in Cardiff is a great hill to run up. It's long, steep in places and when you get to what you think is the top, you realise that there's a fair way to go until you start to go down again. I was knackered when I passed the water tower and started to decsend but I kept going. I haven't done hills for ages, so this was a bit of a test for me. I passed the test but only just. I've still got a way to go if I'm to get anywhere near as fit as I used to be.
Running on my own was quite nice for a change. You can change your pace or even the route on a whim, which I did several times on this occasion.
The dead foot thing came back again but I was half expecting it as my calves were quite tight. I pushed on all the same, determined not to let it bother me and completed the 6.26 miles in 57:19 and with a negative split.
Flushed with success, I decided to tackle the gym session as soon as I got home. No need to warm up, but I did a fair bit of stretching, concentrating on the calves and the hammies and then puffed, grunted and swore my way through the list of torture that is my core, stability and strength routine.
Rest day tomorrow and then a long run on Sunday.
As you may have noticed, I've added some feedback buttons to the end of the blog. It would be nice to know what you think.
Cheers.
Thursday 1 October 2009
Week 2, Day 2 - Curiouser and Curiouser
I’m staring at a blank page.
Well, not any more.
I went to bed very late last night after a night out with some old friends and former colleagues in Bristol. Any time after 10:30 or 11pm is late for me and it was actually this morning when I finally turned in. A night in a hotel contributed to the lack of sleep and so I extend my apologies to anyone who might be reading this. These are the ramblings of a seriously tired person.
As you may have gathered, I’m having a rest from training today. If you’re remotely interested, I’ll fill you in on how my physical exertions panned out yesterday.
Once again my wife was working in Oxfam during the morning but we managed to get up early and headed out for our usual 6 miler down to Cardiff Bay, along the banks of the Taff. It’s been ages since I’ve run in the rain and this trot added to the drought. The patchy clouds did not disturb the low, early morning sun and hungry cormorants dived, Alice-like, into the looking glass that masqueraded as the river, whilst their replete companions dried their prehistoric wings on convenient pontoons.
We don’t chat a great deal when we’re running, just the occasional musing and ruminations on things that catch our eye. When I follow the same route for any length of time it’s amazing what previously unnoticed details can spark my curiosity. For example, whilst navigating against the trickle of commuters along the Taff Embankment, I noticed a series of rounded oblong, iron covers, set at regular intervals into the pavement. They’re about 1’ by 6” in size and are decorated with 2 Celtic knot patterns that occupy the 2 halves of their surface. They’re only along a short section of the path and don’t appear to be terminated by any obvious piece of street furniture, which is, I believe, the term coined for the random collection of boxes and posts that clutter our city’s walkways. What do these covers conceal? Why are they decorated like that and why can’t more of the mundane necessities of modern urban infrastructure be similarly adorned?
See what I mean? Ramblings.
Any way, my feet seem to be behaving themselves these days but this morning’s effort was a little more taxing than usual and I was glad to hear the bowed and blown scales and musical exercises floating across the canal from the college of music and drama that herald the home straight. The increased fatigue was later explained when I discovered that we’d inadvertently picked up our pace a little, and we had completed the 6.04 miles in just over 54 minutes.
******** Ramble alert *********
Just an aside – I’ve lived near the college of music and drama for over 13 years now and in all that time I’ve never witnessed large groups of leotard and leg-warmer clad students, rhythmically spilling out of the building and pirouetting on the roofs of near-by traffic in spontaneous, yet strangely choreographed, song and dance routines. Funny that.
Back to the serious stuff…
More Swiss torture was endured later that afternoon. I’m looking forward to the day when what I’m doing in these core, strength and stability exercises seems easy but there is some compensation from the wonderful feeling of smug and satisfying exhaustion that rounds off each session.
I also think I need to come up with a new name for Swiss Ball crunchies when I’m trying to explain what I’m doing to the uninitiated.
I’m going for a lay down.
Well, not any more.
I went to bed very late last night after a night out with some old friends and former colleagues in Bristol. Any time after 10:30 or 11pm is late for me and it was actually this morning when I finally turned in. A night in a hotel contributed to the lack of sleep and so I extend my apologies to anyone who might be reading this. These are the ramblings of a seriously tired person.
As you may have gathered, I’m having a rest from training today. If you’re remotely interested, I’ll fill you in on how my physical exertions panned out yesterday.
Once again my wife was working in Oxfam during the morning but we managed to get up early and headed out for our usual 6 miler down to Cardiff Bay, along the banks of the Taff. It’s been ages since I’ve run in the rain and this trot added to the drought. The patchy clouds did not disturb the low, early morning sun and hungry cormorants dived, Alice-like, into the looking glass that masqueraded as the river, whilst their replete companions dried their prehistoric wings on convenient pontoons.
We don’t chat a great deal when we’re running, just the occasional musing and ruminations on things that catch our eye. When I follow the same route for any length of time it’s amazing what previously unnoticed details can spark my curiosity. For example, whilst navigating against the trickle of commuters along the Taff Embankment, I noticed a series of rounded oblong, iron covers, set at regular intervals into the pavement. They’re about 1’ by 6” in size and are decorated with 2 Celtic knot patterns that occupy the 2 halves of their surface. They’re only along a short section of the path and don’t appear to be terminated by any obvious piece of street furniture, which is, I believe, the term coined for the random collection of boxes and posts that clutter our city’s walkways. What do these covers conceal? Why are they decorated like that and why can’t more of the mundane necessities of modern urban infrastructure be similarly adorned?
See what I mean? Ramblings.
Any way, my feet seem to be behaving themselves these days but this morning’s effort was a little more taxing than usual and I was glad to hear the bowed and blown scales and musical exercises floating across the canal from the college of music and drama that herald the home straight. The increased fatigue was later explained when I discovered that we’d inadvertently picked up our pace a little, and we had completed the 6.04 miles in just over 54 minutes.
******** Ramble alert *********
Just an aside – I’ve lived near the college of music and drama for over 13 years now and in all that time I’ve never witnessed large groups of leotard and leg-warmer clad students, rhythmically spilling out of the building and pirouetting on the roofs of near-by traffic in spontaneous, yet strangely choreographed, song and dance routines. Funny that.
Back to the serious stuff…
More Swiss torture was endured later that afternoon. I’m looking forward to the day when what I’m doing in these core, strength and stability exercises seems easy but there is some compensation from the wonderful feeling of smug and satisfying exhaustion that rounds off each session.
I also think I need to come up with a new name for Swiss Ball crunchies when I’m trying to explain what I’m doing to the uninitiated.
I’m going for a lay down.
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