Tuesday 12th February
Track session tonight, 11 x 500m. In my group this was starting an effort every 3mins 10 seconds. 4 laps and a stretch to warm up, then the session. Amazed myself by managing to do all the reps, thought I would miss at least one. All nice and consistent, did not time myself but was getting pretty much the same recovery each time and keeping my position in the group on every rep. Just a shame my breathing was so laboured - hope this gets better in time. I knew I had worked hard because my shirt was soaked in sweat at the end. Could have something to do with the milder temperature though. 2 laps to cool down then my usual shop in Tescos before heading home. Quality session.
Tuesday, 12 February 2008
Monday, 11 February 2008
Running Club
Monday 11th February
Went out with the running club tonight. We only did about 5 miles (Blagrove route) but I struggled to be honest, even though the pace wasn't that great - just under 9 minute miling most of the way, working up to 8 mins 20 in the second half of the run. Really struggled to breathe at times; as this is slower than my usual half marathon pace I can only assume my body was working overtime to get oxygen to my tired muscles. Should probably have run on the treadmill instead. Anyway, did some abs work when I got back to the gym as I haven't done any core work for a week.
Track session tomorrow (if my body will take it), pump and spinning Wednesday. May well take it easy for the rest of the week as it will give my body a chance to recover in time for the Tough Ten on Sunday, plus I can submit my coursework if I pull my finger out.
Went out with the running club tonight. We only did about 5 miles (Blagrove route) but I struggled to be honest, even though the pace wasn't that great - just under 9 minute miling most of the way, working up to 8 mins 20 in the second half of the run. Really struggled to breathe at times; as this is slower than my usual half marathon pace I can only assume my body was working overtime to get oxygen to my tired muscles. Should probably have run on the treadmill instead. Anyway, did some abs work when I got back to the gym as I haven't done any core work for a week.
Track session tomorrow (if my body will take it), pump and spinning Wednesday. May well take it easy for the rest of the week as it will give my body a chance to recover in time for the Tough Ten on Sunday, plus I can submit my coursework if I pull my finger out.
Sunday, 10 February 2008
Fri 8th - Sun 10th February
Friday 8th February
Just 10k on the treadmill tonight, nice and steady. Think this was quite an achievement, bearing in mind how much alcohol I had consumed the previous day in London.
Saturday 9th February
Body pump in the morning as usual. Rachel was covering for Ali today and as she was mixing the tracks up a bit I erred on the side of caution and went a bit lighter on most of the tracks. Decided to go for a run outside afterwards. Should probably have rested my legs for my long run tomorrow but as the sun was out it seemed a shame not to. Did the Lethbridge route, nice and steady but picking up the pace at times. It was just so nice to be out in just a t-shirt instead of 2 layers, and being able to don sunglasses to keep the sun out of my eyes instead of gloves to keep my hands warm.
Sunday 10th February
Long run today, set out not really knowing where I was going to go. Ended up being out on my feet for 3hrs 9 mins. Did a combination of the cheney manor route (about 6-7 miles) plus the Elcombe route but coming back via Marlborough road and the town centre (another 12 miles roughly). Definitely felt very tired after 2 3/4 hous on my feet, but it occured to me that with the run yesterday, I had run the best part of a marathon over the weekend.
It was more important to get in distance today than anything else, I have contrived to book 3 races in 3 weeks and so won't do another really long run for at least 4 weeks. The races are as follows:
Next Sunday: The Tough Ten (which I will use just as a training run, and then taper down for:
Sun 24th Feb: Bourton 10k. The flattest 10k I've done, would be nice to get a hat-trick of PBs at this event.
Sun 2nd March: Reading Half Marathon. Would love to get a PB but realistically I've a much better chance at the White Horse Half Marathon in April. I'll be doing my best though!
Just 10k on the treadmill tonight, nice and steady. Think this was quite an achievement, bearing in mind how much alcohol I had consumed the previous day in London.
Saturday 9th February
Body pump in the morning as usual. Rachel was covering for Ali today and as she was mixing the tracks up a bit I erred on the side of caution and went a bit lighter on most of the tracks. Decided to go for a run outside afterwards. Should probably have rested my legs for my long run tomorrow but as the sun was out it seemed a shame not to. Did the Lethbridge route, nice and steady but picking up the pace at times. It was just so nice to be out in just a t-shirt instead of 2 layers, and being able to don sunglasses to keep the sun out of my eyes instead of gloves to keep my hands warm.
Sunday 10th February
Long run today, set out not really knowing where I was going to go. Ended up being out on my feet for 3hrs 9 mins. Did a combination of the cheney manor route (about 6-7 miles) plus the Elcombe route but coming back via Marlborough road and the town centre (another 12 miles roughly). Definitely felt very tired after 2 3/4 hous on my feet, but it occured to me that with the run yesterday, I had run the best part of a marathon over the weekend.
It was more important to get in distance today than anything else, I have contrived to book 3 races in 3 weeks and so won't do another really long run for at least 4 weeks. The races are as follows:
Next Sunday: The Tough Ten (which I will use just as a training run, and then taper down for:
Sun 24th Feb: Bourton 10k. The flattest 10k I've done, would be nice to get a hat-trick of PBs at this event.
Sun 2nd March: Reading Half Marathon. Would love to get a PB but realistically I've a much better chance at the White Horse Half Marathon in April. I'll be doing my best though!
Wednesday, 6 February 2008
Wednesday 6th February
Body pump followed by spinning tonight. Enjoyed both classes. My legs definitely seem to be getting even stronger, which augurs well for the races I have planned for this year.
Complete rest tomorrow, as I am in London for the day, seeing a play called "Dealer's Choice" in the afternoon and "Grease" with the sports and social club in the evening. I intend to enjoy the day as much as possible as lent starts (for me) the next day. The six weeks that follow will be tough, but should be very interesting.
Complete rest tomorrow, as I am in London for the day, seeing a play called "Dealer's Choice" in the afternoon and "Grease" with the sports and social club in the evening. I intend to enjoy the day as much as possible as lent starts (for me) the next day. The six weeks that follow will be tough, but should be very interesting.
Tuesday, 5 February 2008
Track session
Tuesday 5th February
Track session tonight, as per Neil England's schedule. 17 x 300m, and in my group starting an effort every 1 minute 45 seconds.
Did 4 laps to warm up as usual, followed by a stretch. Found the reps very, very tough - tried to pace them so that I could do all or at least most of them, which meant I wasn't collapsing at the end of each one but had a very short recovery. Managed 16 in total, missing the 9th rep to make a "pit stop" and give myself a breather. It seemed to work as I did nice, consistent efforts after that. So in total 4.8k, or 3 miles, of speedwork. Jogged 3 laps with my friend Claire to cool down. Not a bad session, must keep these up to improve in races.
Track session tonight, as per Neil England's schedule. 17 x 300m, and in my group starting an effort every 1 minute 45 seconds.
Did 4 laps to warm up as usual, followed by a stretch. Found the reps very, very tough - tried to pace them so that I could do all or at least most of them, which meant I wasn't collapsing at the end of each one but had a very short recovery. Managed 16 in total, missing the 9th rep to make a "pit stop" and give myself a breather. It seemed to work as I did nice, consistent efforts after that. So in total 4.8k, or 3 miles, of speedwork. Jogged 3 laps with my friend Claire to cool down. Not a bad session, must keep these up to improve in races.
Monday, 4 February 2008
First Long Run of 2008
Sunday 3rd February
Had made up my mind, before yesterday's rollicking believe it or not, that I would attempt my first proper long run of the year. When I say proper, I mean marathon training distance as opposed to half marathon. I tried to prepare for it as I would a race, ie pasta and an early night the evening before, and changed the music on my MP3 to make it more interesting.
In the end I was out on my feet for 3 hours and 20 minutes and surprised myself. I just took it nice and steady, had a few walk breaks where I needed them, and took along an energy gel and a bottle of powerade. The route was starting from the gym, up the old railway path, through old town, down on to Marlborough road, where I basically ran the half marathon route, heading back via the town centre, past the oasis and back to the gym.
It was cold and windy, but I stood up to it well. My legs felt surprisingly fresh considering the weight I had been using in pump yesterday. I only really started to tire after 2hrs 45 mins, and from then it was a mental battle rather than a physical one. I dug deep and kept going, all the way back to the gym.
Felt very tired but exhilarated afterwards - it felt so good to finally notch up a really long run distance after my injury problems, and I didn't suffer anywhere near as much as I thought I would.
As a result, I have decided to enter the Blackpool marathon at the end of April, as long as my friend Sharla (a girl I go to the track with) is still up for car sharing. Knowing her she'll already have entered, so I don't foresee a problem with that.
Monday 4th February
PT session with Ali today. As this is just core work I assumed my legs would be glad of a rest, but as it turned out I wasn't as sore as I thought I would be and manged 4km on the treadmill to warm up before Ali arrived.
The session itself went well, Ali was very happy with my technique on pretty much all my exercises (I'll elaborate on the schedule at a later date) and gave me a few variations to work on. Even on the exercises I was unsure of it turned out my technique was pretty much spot on. It was hard work mind you, and I'm sure I'll feel the effects tomorrow.
Needless to say we had a few words about my diet afterwards and how I need to improve it. I've decided that I need to do something fairly radical, and have entered into a pact with my mate Andy to give up alcohol for lent, starting Friday (I'm going to the theatre Thursday, so will want to have a glass or two of wine). I'm quite excited about this; it was when I gave up drinking for lent a few years ago that I got into running, so hopefully this will be what I need to shed that stone and give my running a kick-start ahead of the Berlin marathon in September.
Had made up my mind, before yesterday's rollicking believe it or not, that I would attempt my first proper long run of the year. When I say proper, I mean marathon training distance as opposed to half marathon. I tried to prepare for it as I would a race, ie pasta and an early night the evening before, and changed the music on my MP3 to make it more interesting.
In the end I was out on my feet for 3 hours and 20 minutes and surprised myself. I just took it nice and steady, had a few walk breaks where I needed them, and took along an energy gel and a bottle of powerade. The route was starting from the gym, up the old railway path, through old town, down on to Marlborough road, where I basically ran the half marathon route, heading back via the town centre, past the oasis and back to the gym.
It was cold and windy, but I stood up to it well. My legs felt surprisingly fresh considering the weight I had been using in pump yesterday. I only really started to tire after 2hrs 45 mins, and from then it was a mental battle rather than a physical one. I dug deep and kept going, all the way back to the gym.
Felt very tired but exhilarated afterwards - it felt so good to finally notch up a really long run distance after my injury problems, and I didn't suffer anywhere near as much as I thought I would.
As a result, I have decided to enter the Blackpool marathon at the end of April, as long as my friend Sharla (a girl I go to the track with) is still up for car sharing. Knowing her she'll already have entered, so I don't foresee a problem with that.
Monday 4th February
PT session with Ali today. As this is just core work I assumed my legs would be glad of a rest, but as it turned out I wasn't as sore as I thought I would be and manged 4km on the treadmill to warm up before Ali arrived.
The session itself went well, Ali was very happy with my technique on pretty much all my exercises (I'll elaborate on the schedule at a later date) and gave me a few variations to work on. Even on the exercises I was unsure of it turned out my technique was pretty much spot on. It was hard work mind you, and I'm sure I'll feel the effects tomorrow.
Needless to say we had a few words about my diet afterwards and how I need to improve it. I've decided that I need to do something fairly radical, and have entered into a pact with my mate Andy to give up alcohol for lent, starting Friday (I'm going to the theatre Thursday, so will want to have a glass or two of wine). I'm quite excited about this; it was when I gave up drinking for lent a few years ago that I got into running, so hopefully this will be what I need to shed that stone and give my running a kick-start ahead of the Berlin marathon in September.
Saturday, 2 February 2008
Friday 1st / Saturday 2nd February
Friday 1st Feb
11.2km (7 miles) on the treadmill, nice and steady to start, increasing the pace towards the end. Enjoyed this session, but wish I could run continuously instead of being plagued by "runners trots" after about 4km. Did some abs work before heading home. Good session, especially considering how tired I was feeling after a hard week.
Saturday 2nd Feb
Just body pump today, intentionally left my running shoes at home as I want to give my legs a rest so I can do a long run tomorrow (hopefully about 2.5 - 3 hours on my feet). Decided to go a bit heavier on most of the tracks, and did on squats, chest track, lunges and shoulders. Felt good after the session, but had my mood spoiled when Ali stopped me leaving and said "Jon, you're coming with me." It could only mean one thing..
Weigh-in 2nd Feb 2008
Body weight: 16st 4.2lb
Body fat percentage - standard body type: 27.1%
Body fat percentage - athletic body type: 18%
Basically my weight has not changed since I last weighed myself in december. This is simply not
good enough and quite rightly Ali had a few words to say to me. Quite simply, my training is spot on, my mileage is good (but will get better as I increase my long runs, starting tomorrow) but I am putting too many calories in my body and this needs to change, and fast. More nights on the wagon are called for, and I need to reduce my food intake. It isn't all bad news though: Ali thinks my target weight should be just under 15 stone, which should be achievable now I start marathon training.
11.2km (7 miles) on the treadmill, nice and steady to start, increasing the pace towards the end. Enjoyed this session, but wish I could run continuously instead of being plagued by "runners trots" after about 4km. Did some abs work before heading home. Good session, especially considering how tired I was feeling after a hard week.
Saturday 2nd Feb
Just body pump today, intentionally left my running shoes at home as I want to give my legs a rest so I can do a long run tomorrow (hopefully about 2.5 - 3 hours on my feet). Decided to go a bit heavier on most of the tracks, and did on squats, chest track, lunges and shoulders. Felt good after the session, but had my mood spoiled when Ali stopped me leaving and said "Jon, you're coming with me." It could only mean one thing..
Weigh-in 2nd Feb 2008
Body weight: 16st 4.2lb
Body fat percentage - standard body type: 27.1%
Body fat percentage - athletic body type: 18%
Basically my weight has not changed since I last weighed myself in december. This is simply not
good enough and quite rightly Ali had a few words to say to me. Quite simply, my training is spot on, my mileage is good (but will get better as I increase my long runs, starting tomorrow) but I am putting too many calories in my body and this needs to change, and fast. More nights on the wagon are called for, and I need to reduce my food intake. It isn't all bad news though: Ali thinks my target weight should be just under 15 stone, which should be achievable now I start marathon training.
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