Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Yet Another Overdue Update...
Once again I have managed to miss updating this for over a week... well, after that good 17 miler I came down with a chesty cough and then a cold, so last week was kind of written off...
I took it quite easy; just a 4 mile walk on the Tuesday, and a gym session Thursday but didn't push myself too much. Saturday I filled my rucksack to around 5kg, and headed along the pavements to Colwick Country Park, venue for one of the Grand Prix series races. I had a natter to my sis whilst marching around, it was bigger than I thought and I got a little lost! It was only when I passed a half chewed trainer for the second time that I managed to find my way out! It was quite a nice walk though- crisp and clear, with paths through trees and around lakes. By the time I got home I'd done 7 miles.
Sunday my entire exercise regime involved seeing Cliff Richard at Birmingham as part of his 50th Anniversary Tour with mum (god, I can't belive I just admitted to that!) and dancing in our seats to old favourites like 'Bachelor Boy' and 'Living' Doll'...
I had my personalised training session Monday night at the posh new gym with 'Helena'. I wasn't sure what to expect, as my needs are rather, umm, specialised... she hadn't heard of the MdS, but when I told her what it entails, she did give me some good pointers. She said that as I am aimimg to complete rather than compete, the onus should be on building up strength in the legs, rather than speed, which does make sense. She wants me to run on incline on the treadmill- all the time! We then moved on to the ellipticals and she asked me what I'd been doing on them... now, I have usually done 20 minutes, gradually working up to level 9, thinking I was doing pretty well. She said that she expects me to do 30 minutes, and mentioned that the resistance level needs to be much higher.
I tentatively put it up to 9, and she said that she was thinking of 'double figures'. I pushed it up to 11, and she moved it to 15, saying 'I think this will do it'. Do it... I did 30 minutes at level 15 and it damn near killed me!! But that's the beginning... she wants me to build up my time on there!
The exercises she gave were back and stomach strengthening exercises using a ball, plus squats done against the wall, with the ball against my back and a 7 kg dumbell in each hand- you can really feel this! She also wants me to do lunges in something that looks like half a ball, and is really difficult to balance on. Then ski squats on the power plates- these are small platforms which vibrate, and holding a ski squat for 60 seconds is excrutiating!! She also recommended the leg extension machine, the Tricep dip for bingo wings (ok ok, this was vanity rather than MdS related...) plus finally the infamous 'plank'.
My legs were aching Tuesday but that is probably a good thing... I shall follow her advice anyway.
Last night was a 6 mile walk with 5.5 kg pack (bloody freezing!!) but my right knee felt a little tender so I'm sciving, sorry, resting tonight!
Tomorrow will be back in the gym... the Beacons Ultra is just over a week away!!
I took it quite easy; just a 4 mile walk on the Tuesday, and a gym session Thursday but didn't push myself too much. Saturday I filled my rucksack to around 5kg, and headed along the pavements to Colwick Country Park, venue for one of the Grand Prix series races. I had a natter to my sis whilst marching around, it was bigger than I thought and I got a little lost! It was only when I passed a half chewed trainer for the second time that I managed to find my way out! It was quite a nice walk though- crisp and clear, with paths through trees and around lakes. By the time I got home I'd done 7 miles.
Sunday my entire exercise regime involved seeing Cliff Richard at Birmingham as part of his 50th Anniversary Tour with mum (god, I can't belive I just admitted to that!) and dancing in our seats to old favourites like 'Bachelor Boy' and 'Living' Doll'...
I had my personalised training session Monday night at the posh new gym with 'Helena'. I wasn't sure what to expect, as my needs are rather, umm, specialised... she hadn't heard of the MdS, but when I told her what it entails, she did give me some good pointers. She said that as I am aimimg to complete rather than compete, the onus should be on building up strength in the legs, rather than speed, which does make sense. She wants me to run on incline on the treadmill- all the time! We then moved on to the ellipticals and she asked me what I'd been doing on them... now, I have usually done 20 minutes, gradually working up to level 9, thinking I was doing pretty well. She said that she expects me to do 30 minutes, and mentioned that the resistance level needs to be much higher.
I tentatively put it up to 9, and she said that she was thinking of 'double figures'. I pushed it up to 11, and she moved it to 15, saying 'I think this will do it'. Do it... I did 30 minutes at level 15 and it damn near killed me!! But that's the beginning... she wants me to build up my time on there!
The exercises she gave were back and stomach strengthening exercises using a ball, plus squats done against the wall, with the ball against my back and a 7 kg dumbell in each hand- you can really feel this! She also wants me to do lunges in something that looks like half a ball, and is really difficult to balance on. Then ski squats on the power plates- these are small platforms which vibrate, and holding a ski squat for 60 seconds is excrutiating!! She also recommended the leg extension machine, the Tricep dip for bingo wings (ok ok, this was vanity rather than MdS related...) plus finally the infamous 'plank'.
My legs were aching Tuesday but that is probably a good thing... I shall follow her advice anyway.
Last night was a 6 mile walk with 5.5 kg pack (bloody freezing!!) but my right knee felt a little tender so I'm sciving, sorry, resting tonight!
Tomorrow will be back in the gym... the Beacons Ultra is just over a week away!!
Labels: Beacons Ultra, Cliff Richard, gym
Sunday, November 16, 2008
A Seventeen (And A Bit!) Miler...
Had quite a good week training wise... Tuesday I went along to the fitness evening, which turned out to be a promotional event for the personal trainers. I opted for the Cardio fitness test, which involved stepping up and down for three minutes and then having my pulse taken... then he announced that I have 'average' cardio fitness! Average!?!?!?! I was gutted!! Ok, he did say that the test wasn't really accurate, but he seemed to expect me to be pleased with that! Average- bloody hell!! The one good point is that my upper body strength (measured in press ups) is 'good'.
I pushed myself on the treadmill, covering 5 miles in all- a combination of fast running, walking on incline and then 15 minutes jogging on incline. I went back to the gym Friday and pushed myself again, running fast for 35 minutes. I also tried out the stepper for 20 minutes and went on the ellipticals for 20, making sure I increased the resistance every few minutes. Huh... average...
The fixed weights seem to get quite busy; I love the bingo wing blaster!! Have been making sure I concentrate on the weights as well as the cardio. I feel I am at a bit of a crossroads with my training... general consensus is that it does little good to keep churning out long, slow runs along the pavement; it is better to do less mileage over more 'quality' sessions. I have also done a 6 mile fast walk this week, and the hilly run again, which was 5 miles, plus of course the 'speed' (and I use that term very loosely!) sessions on the treadmill.
As I hadn't done a long walk/ run for some time, and the Ultra I have entered in the Brecon Beacons is now only 3 weeks away, I decided to do a 17 miler today, starting in the next village- Burton Joyce. This was one out of my John Merrill 'Long Walks in Nottinghamshire' book. I didn't want to run it all, but was a bit concerned about running out of daylight, so thought I'd better get a bit of a shift on. Fortunately it was a lovely day, and I regretted not taking my camera- I still haven't got round to getting a new battery for the little camera though- how disorganised is that!
I loaded my pack to about 5 kg, parked up by the recreation ground and headed down to the river Trent. The first 7 miles are along the Trent, and it is quite scenic. It was a combination of easy grassy tracks and thin muddy paths until Gunthorpe Locks, where it became wide grassy banks. I ran most of the river path, well, more of a slowish jog if I'm being honest! At one point I had to pass close by some bulls; I was rather concerned, as they were huge beasties with wide raking horns, rings through their nose, the works!! Luckily they were totally disinterested and just kept a beady bovine eye on me as I shuffled past.
The instructions advised me to leave the river, finally, at the Hazelford Ferry Hotel, which is now an old folk's home. A bit of road walking brought me to the village of Bleasby, where I bought a fruit drink, and then I followed a footpath through fields and over a railway line to the village of Thurgarton. I got a little confused here as the book told me to turn left at the junction and turn right to the church and priory 20 yards later. I saw a road signed to the church opposite, so took it, but couldn't find the bridleway I was supposed to be looking for. I started to retrace my steps, and passed a lady who informed me it was a little further down the road.
The bridleway went uphill quite steeply, and was rather muddy. I nearly went wrong again, but saw people walking down the field and realised I should have taken a left turn. I followed a muddy track along the ridge to a wood, and stopped for my cheese and pickle sandwiches. I had been mainly walking along the bridleway as it was so muddy under foot. That didn't change! It was just after this that I got a bit confused again... I found the correct track to and then round a small coppice, and then reached a minor road, where the instructions told me to turn left to the village of Epperstone. It seemed to take ages to reach the village, and when I read the instructions again, they mentioned passing a farm and turning right. The farm had been across the road when I reached it- so, I retraced my steps, back to the bridleway, and went the other way- to discover that the road eventually reached a dead end in a farmyard! Cursing, I retraced my steps, and asked a rather nervous horse rider (must be the rucksack that scared her!) if I was on the road to Epperstone.
She assured me I was, so I retraced my steps- again- and jogged right down to the village. I was getting a bit concerned now that I may not be back before dark! I had a bit of to-ing and fro-ing in the first field out of Epperstone- there was a sign to say that this was a 'turf' field, and strips of turf had been sliced away, but the exit wasn't obvious. I finally managed to locate the stile and footbridge, and crossed the road to another footpath to Woodborough.
I was now on another muddy bridleway, which wound uphill quite steeply, past some old propellor planes standing in front of a small hangar, and into the village of Lambley. I followed a funny little path behind the houses, being forced disconcertingly close to an electric fence, before walking down a field, passing a mysterious mound right in the middle of it.
The last bit of the walk was along a bridleway from Lambley to Burton Joyce- there was another steep climb- I made myself run part of it, then the path gave way to a tarmac track, then road, running right down into Burton Joyce. I did it in 5 1/2 hours, was easily back before dark, and probably ended up doing more like 18 miles! The terrain wasn't particularly challenging, although there were a few steep climbs, but at least it's a long walk in the bank. I even managed to clean my filthy running shoes and clean up the resulting mess in the sink before my mate got home (it was a close call though!)
I am really going to have to sit down this week and revise/ devise a training plan for the rest of the time I have left until the MdS! Oh, and find some money so I can actually afford some equipment!!
I pushed myself on the treadmill, covering 5 miles in all- a combination of fast running, walking on incline and then 15 minutes jogging on incline. I went back to the gym Friday and pushed myself again, running fast for 35 minutes. I also tried out the stepper for 20 minutes and went on the ellipticals for 20, making sure I increased the resistance every few minutes. Huh... average...
The fixed weights seem to get quite busy; I love the bingo wing blaster!! Have been making sure I concentrate on the weights as well as the cardio. I feel I am at a bit of a crossroads with my training... general consensus is that it does little good to keep churning out long, slow runs along the pavement; it is better to do less mileage over more 'quality' sessions. I have also done a 6 mile fast walk this week, and the hilly run again, which was 5 miles, plus of course the 'speed' (and I use that term very loosely!) sessions on the treadmill.
As I hadn't done a long walk/ run for some time, and the Ultra I have entered in the Brecon Beacons is now only 3 weeks away, I decided to do a 17 miler today, starting in the next village- Burton Joyce. This was one out of my John Merrill 'Long Walks in Nottinghamshire' book. I didn't want to run it all, but was a bit concerned about running out of daylight, so thought I'd better get a bit of a shift on. Fortunately it was a lovely day, and I regretted not taking my camera- I still haven't got round to getting a new battery for the little camera though- how disorganised is that!
I loaded my pack to about 5 kg, parked up by the recreation ground and headed down to the river Trent. The first 7 miles are along the Trent, and it is quite scenic. It was a combination of easy grassy tracks and thin muddy paths until Gunthorpe Locks, where it became wide grassy banks. I ran most of the river path, well, more of a slowish jog if I'm being honest! At one point I had to pass close by some bulls; I was rather concerned, as they were huge beasties with wide raking horns, rings through their nose, the works!! Luckily they were totally disinterested and just kept a beady bovine eye on me as I shuffled past.
The instructions advised me to leave the river, finally, at the Hazelford Ferry Hotel, which is now an old folk's home. A bit of road walking brought me to the village of Bleasby, where I bought a fruit drink, and then I followed a footpath through fields and over a railway line to the village of Thurgarton. I got a little confused here as the book told me to turn left at the junction and turn right to the church and priory 20 yards later. I saw a road signed to the church opposite, so took it, but couldn't find the bridleway I was supposed to be looking for. I started to retrace my steps, and passed a lady who informed me it was a little further down the road.
The bridleway went uphill quite steeply, and was rather muddy. I nearly went wrong again, but saw people walking down the field and realised I should have taken a left turn. I followed a muddy track along the ridge to a wood, and stopped for my cheese and pickle sandwiches. I had been mainly walking along the bridleway as it was so muddy under foot. That didn't change! It was just after this that I got a bit confused again... I found the correct track to and then round a small coppice, and then reached a minor road, where the instructions told me to turn left to the village of Epperstone. It seemed to take ages to reach the village, and when I read the instructions again, they mentioned passing a farm and turning right. The farm had been across the road when I reached it- so, I retraced my steps, back to the bridleway, and went the other way- to discover that the road eventually reached a dead end in a farmyard! Cursing, I retraced my steps, and asked a rather nervous horse rider (must be the rucksack that scared her!) if I was on the road to Epperstone.
She assured me I was, so I retraced my steps- again- and jogged right down to the village. I was getting a bit concerned now that I may not be back before dark! I had a bit of to-ing and fro-ing in the first field out of Epperstone- there was a sign to say that this was a 'turf' field, and strips of turf had been sliced away, but the exit wasn't obvious. I finally managed to locate the stile and footbridge, and crossed the road to another footpath to Woodborough.
I was now on another muddy bridleway, which wound uphill quite steeply, past some old propellor planes standing in front of a small hangar, and into the village of Lambley. I followed a funny little path behind the houses, being forced disconcertingly close to an electric fence, before walking down a field, passing a mysterious mound right in the middle of it.
The last bit of the walk was along a bridleway from Lambley to Burton Joyce- there was another steep climb- I made myself run part of it, then the path gave way to a tarmac track, then road, running right down into Burton Joyce. I did it in 5 1/2 hours, was easily back before dark, and probably ended up doing more like 18 miles! The terrain wasn't particularly challenging, although there were a few steep climbs, but at least it's a long walk in the bank. I even managed to clean my filthy running shoes and clean up the resulting mess in the sink before my mate got home (it was a close call though!)
I am really going to have to sit down this week and revise/ devise a training plan for the rest of the time I have left until the MdS! Oh, and find some money so I can actually afford some equipment!!
Labels: gym, John Merrill, walk
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Another Overdue Update!!
Yep, I am doing really badly updating!! Well, I am settling into Nottingham ok... since my last run I have found another one... a brilliant hill run! I did this one on Thursday, it's one long road, and basically a series of slow gradual climbs, with a few steep ones, culminating in an absolute killer- which I managed to complete without stopping!
Friday was my new posh gym induction! Sadly, it was just a safety briefing and introduction to the equipment ('Have you used a gym before... etc etc) so was very basic. I am apparently entitled to a session working out a personal program tailored to my needs, so I have booked this for Monday 24th November. Be interesting to see if they can meet my needs! I went today and pounded the treadmill for 20 minutes, concentrating on speedwork, then 20 minutes on the ellipticals- these have tellies!! Seriously, I cannot get used to having rows of treadmills and ellipticals! No summit trainer, sadly, but something I think may be a bit similar if I can get the hang of it...
I found substitutes for all the fixed weights I have been used to using, and got very excited over a tricept machine- yippee, a bingo wing blaster!!! Finished off with a 15 minute incline run, then an inaugral shower- note to self, next time remember bloody comb!! I had to get petrol looking like a reject from Glastonbury.
I noticed that on Tuesday they have a free 'fitness' evening, where you can get your fitness questions answered (' How do I do the MdS...') and have a fitness test apparently, so I may wander along to that. Handy when the gym is only 10 minutes walk away!
I haven't done a long walk for a while though... I have one in mind for this weekend that's now fairly local. Just need to obtain a map for this area!
Friday was my new posh gym induction! Sadly, it was just a safety briefing and introduction to the equipment ('Have you used a gym before... etc etc) so was very basic. I am apparently entitled to a session working out a personal program tailored to my needs, so I have booked this for Monday 24th November. Be interesting to see if they can meet my needs! I went today and pounded the treadmill for 20 minutes, concentrating on speedwork, then 20 minutes on the ellipticals- these have tellies!! Seriously, I cannot get used to having rows of treadmills and ellipticals! No summit trainer, sadly, but something I think may be a bit similar if I can get the hang of it...
I found substitutes for all the fixed weights I have been used to using, and got very excited over a tricept machine- yippee, a bingo wing blaster!!! Finished off with a 15 minute incline run, then an inaugral shower- note to self, next time remember bloody comb!! I had to get petrol looking like a reject from Glastonbury.
I noticed that on Tuesday they have a free 'fitness' evening, where you can get your fitness questions answered (' How do I do the MdS...') and have a fitness test apparently, so I may wander along to that. Handy when the gym is only 10 minutes walk away!
I haven't done a long walk for a while though... I have one in mind for this weekend that's now fairly local. Just need to obtain a map for this area!
Labels: gym, hill running
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
I'm Back!!!
I'm back- after having finally moved! If I move again remind me to make a start at least a year in advance...
It seems quite weird sharing with somebody again, but Lucky seems to be settling in ok. I am having to get used to a lot of different running routes and I think that the Garmin is going to come into its own! Shamefully I did virtually nothing last week as I just didn't get chance! Mind you, most of the week seemed to consist of lugging heavy boxes up and down stairs, and carrying full bags of stuff to charity shops, so that's got to be good for the muscles!
I ran for an hour tonight, following the road to Burton Joyce- it's fairly busy and well lit, which is good... I think Burton Joyce is going to be the new Rearsby... there are also some wicked hills not too far away.
I am considering a gym- I looked at one yesterday, JJB Sports Centre, which looks the biz- loads of cardio equipment and a pool!! I never had a pool at The Engine Room!!!!! And there is equipment which looks very much like a summit trainer to replace Brian whom I am sorely missing! I have just got to work out when I can afford to join...
It seems quite weird sharing with somebody again, but Lucky seems to be settling in ok. I am having to get used to a lot of different running routes and I think that the Garmin is going to come into its own! Shamefully I did virtually nothing last week as I just didn't get chance! Mind you, most of the week seemed to consist of lugging heavy boxes up and down stairs, and carrying full bags of stuff to charity shops, so that's got to be good for the muscles!
I ran for an hour tonight, following the road to Burton Joyce- it's fairly busy and well lit, which is good... I think Burton Joyce is going to be the new Rearsby... there are also some wicked hills not too far away.
I am considering a gym- I looked at one yesterday, JJB Sports Centre, which looks the biz- loads of cardio equipment and a pool!! I never had a pool at The Engine Room!!!!! And there is equipment which looks very much like a summit trainer to replace Brian whom I am sorely missing! I have just got to work out when I can afford to join...
