This Week

This week I gained another 2.5 lbs (1.2 Kg). That's 4.5 lb (2.2 kg) over the last two weeks.

This is due to me taking a rest period with no exercise (apart from some walking) and eating a relatively unhealthy food (mmm chocolates). Next week I will start easing myself back in to training and eating more healthier again.

Gain this week

This week I have had a 2lb (1 kg) gain.

I was expecting it to be more due to the two Christmas dinners and party food for the last few days at work.

Actually Swam Today

I actually swam today for the first time in over two weeks!!

I did half a mile (800m) in a relatively quick time for me. About 10 minutes afterwards I went and did a 5 mile run at a fairly good pace which felt comfortable.

I also today had my third Christmas dinner of the month, so I needed to get out and do some more exercise.

No Change

No weight loss change this week.

However, I expected a few pounds gain next week due to this week having two christmas dinners and party food in the office for the last few days.

Last Few Days Training

The last few days I have done a gym class in Body Balance (a combination of Tai Chi, Pilates and Yoga) and while at the gym I did some weights and a easy CV workout.
Sunday morning I helped marshal my running club's cross country and then in the afternoon I refereed a football (soccer) match. This was more difficult due to the pitch being on a slight incline and the recent wet weather made the centre of the pitch muddy and slippery.

Next week I plan to do some early morning swims.

This Week

This week I have lost just over 1/2lb (0.3Kg)

I have also started doing some more cycling on my turbo trainer, I may even get out and do some cycling on the road. This is subject to weather conditions.

New Training Toy

I go my new training toy today.
It is a cycling turbo trainer which contacts to your pc to control the resistance, monitor you training level and there is even a virtual reality feature where you can race on particular courses.

I think my cycling training will now increase, todays 30 minutes trial was the first time I have cycled (excluding at the gym) for 3 months.

This Week

This week I have lost 1lb (0.5 Kg).
My running training was a bit more intense with a 5.5 mile cross country when it was thundering and torrential rain and then a few days later a 800m time trial. The photographs from the cross country are available here, some the image quality looks lower than normal but that is the amount of rain that was pouring down.
I have also swam 1km in a pool, this is the longest I have swam in the last few months since I last did a triathlon.

Weigh-in

This week I have lost 1 lb (0.5 Kg). I was a bit more careful what I consumed this week plus I ran a few more miles at a faster than normal pace.

An Enjoyable Hilly Race

At the weekend I did a 10 mile running road race in a different area of the country but was only 50 miles away. I had not done any races in that area and did not realise how many and big the hills where until I was running in the race. I think it was the hilliest race I have done which includes some cross countries. However I did quite enjoy the race despite the hilly/undulating nature of it. In the end I was only 1 minute away from my PB which was set on a flat course.

Next Years Races

I am already starting to plan for next year's races / events. In addition to Ironman UK, I have already booked a 3 day cycle event which is for 325 miles.

Some other potential events are those which I did this year plus some local races. There are also events those members of the two sports club's has mentioned which I am thinking of doing.

It is quite scary that I am working out my training and therefore races now, for 2007 up to mid August.

Fast Runs

Despite run a marathon just 2 weeks ago, at the weekend I did my first cross country of the session. I completed it over 1 minute 15 seconds quicker than the same race last year. When I later analysed my data I found for the race I averaged 95% of my working heart rate range, no wonder it felt hard during the race.

Then the following day I did a 6.4 Mile route at a fast pace about 30 seconds a mile slower than the previous day but I felt good doing this. Today I have decided to take a rest as not to overdo the running training. I will do run tomorrow at an easy pace.

Post Marathon Weigh-in

Nearly two weeks after the marathon I had put on 1/2 lb (0.3 Kg). This was better than expected due to the no exercise and the “recovery”/junk food I had for the week afterwards.

The Road to Ironman UK

The road to Ironman UK began for me yesterday with my first bit of exercise after the Marathon that I did the previous week. I did a 5 mile run at an easy pace but I could tell my legs had not fully recovered as my left leg muscles where tighter than normal but not giving any pain.
I kept to an easy pace and occasionally stopping to allow different run with different groups of runners at the club who where doing various distances at different paces.

Today I had dry hydrotherapy session help my leg muscles recover a bit, I will see if that helped later this week when I run again.

New Marathon PB

I am back from a few days away where I completed the Marathon in 3 hours and 49 minutes. This is 6 minutes quicker than my PB I had set last year.

I felt the race was more relaxed for me this year despite aiming to improve my time. I was chatting to a few runners as I went around the course. From about the 14 miles my legs seemed to be heavier than normal but I was able to keep fairly close to my target pace. In the last half a mile I picked up the pace a bit quicker about 2 minutes/mile faster. I am not sure if this was due to the bigger crowds at this point or I was nearly finished (both the course and my energy/muscles). After finishing I was so pleased with my time and out of breath from the faster section at the end I forgot to stop my watch until a number of minutes afterwards.

My legs are not that sore now, only sudden movements give a slight pain. I will have a few more days of exercising but should start some easy pace running next week.

Bring on my next target Ironman UK in August 2007.

No Exercise for Days!!

It is strange not exercising for a few days but these are essential before running a marathon.

There is only a bit over a day and a half until the marathon and with an early morning start on Sunday to get their. At the moment I am calm about the race however that will very likely change in the few hours before the race. After all I am just going for a bit of a run for a few hours with 12,000 other people!!!

Last Run before Marathon

Last night I did my last run before the marathon. I did an interval running session last night which was a form of speedwork. I was using the garmin 305 workout option which was really useful as it bleeps between the hard an easy sessions and counts the number of reps.

The beeps was useful as it is was dark when I was running so I did not have to look at my watch to see how long is left of that part of the session.

Pre Marathon Weigh-in

My last weigh in before the marathon and I have lost nearly 2 lbs (0.8 Kg) this week which now makes me 82.5Kg. However checking my records I am 1.5 Kg more than the same time last year before the race but my waist and % body fat are similar.

Swimming Training for Ironman

I have had some “gentle” introduction to ironman swimming this week. As I went to a different swimming pool which had narrow lanes. These were just wide enough for a person swimming up and down the pool length. However sometimes depending on the other persons stroke you where getting hit or kicked. This was from the lane next to me as well as the lane I was in.

For the ironman swim their will be over 1,000 people in a lake, I have done a triathlon where there was about a tenth of that size at my start time.

Nearly a Triathlon in Training

I nearly did a triathlon in training this evening!!

I did 800m swimming and then 20 minutes afterwards I did about 5 miles of running which was a speed-hill session. The only problem was the cycle, however I did first go to a cycle shop to get some endurance nutritional products but that was the closest I got to cycling.

Pimp by Bike

I have been on a cycle maintenance course today, I now can change a tyre on my bike :-)

I learnt lots about my bike and how to maintain it. The only trouble is now there are a lot more extra bits I could buy for my bike.

Lots of Cakes

I made some cakes this week for charity cake sale for the charity I am running the marathon for. I made some plain and sultana cakes, in addition some banana muffins. I had to try a banana muffin after they where made for quality control reasons :-)

The cakes I made sold out within 90 minutes, but they had lots of cakes made for them. I found out that they made nearly £800, that is a lot of cakes!!

Just what the doctor did not order

With less than 2 weeks to the marathon I am doing, typical I get a cold and sore throat. I will have to take various vitamins/supplements to help me recover without affecting the training I have done recently. The next few days I will take a bit more easy with a couple of days rest before training again.

Weigh-in

Despite running a 10km race this weekend I have put on 2 lbs (1Kg) this week. I think this was due to the amount and type of food I had this weekend staying with family.
I will need to be more careful about the amount of food I eat in the next few weeks, as my running mileage will be reduced in the build up to the marathon in a few weeks time.

Weekend Race

At the weekend I completed a 10km running race. I did it over 45 minutes, which was nearly 2 minutes quicker than I had done previously on that course but just under 2 minutes away from my PB.

It was a windy day 15mph winds coming off the North Sea with the course being multiple laps along the seafront. It felt a hard race while running it despite it being virtually flat. Later after the race I checked my heart rate data from my garmin 305 which showed the average for the whole race was 93% of my working heart rate range. I have not run with that much effort over that sort of distance for a few months which I think told on the race time.

I will be taking it a busy easier in training in the next few days.

Training

Af the last few days of a hill session, gym class, gym work and swimming I think I will have a rest day on Saturday. Hopefully I will be rested enough for a 10km race on Sunday.

Hills

I did a hill session on Wednesday night. It had a bit of a twist, as we started at various places on the hill but as the distance decreased the pace was increased. There was one other person who decided to do hills rather than a 5 or 8 mile run.

At least the rain had stopped by the time we started to run.

Weekly Weigh-in

This week my clothes did feel looser. When I did the measurements I had lost 0.5 cm of my waist and 0.5 Kg (1 lb), which now makes me 82 Kg.

Swim Session

At Lunchtime I had a good swim today, doing 500m at a pace which felt fast for me. At the end I found out it was a few minutes quicker than I previously had done which took me 12 minutes (too the nearest minute).