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Sunday, February 12, 2012

Weekly Training

This week my training was over 10 hours which was good considering the cold temperatures.

The cycling (in gym) and cross training was about a third of this time each. With running being next with a long run in the cold and a new parkrun.Then with a bit of walking when possible due to the weather and ground conditions.

However there was no cycling outside, still waiting to use my racing bike this year. Also there was no swims. Both of these need to be corrected soon. As part of my cross training I have been doing more different sets of weights which hopefully will help me out in a triathlon.

Parkrun Newbury

On Saturday I took part in the first Newbury Parkrun 5km.

It was a cold and frosty drive there in -11c in places with snow on the countryside, glad I decided not to cycle their.

When I got their the main car park was already full so I used the additional car park which happened to be across from the post race cafe and also gave me a 1km warm up and down run from the start :-)

The snow was all around and looked picturesque at the race location at a former airfield covered in snow. See the events photos at http://www.parkrun.org.uk/newbury/photos , I did not have my phone or camera with me as I thought the cold temperatures would not be good for it.

There was a lot of people there for a first event and the conditions, looking at the results there was 317 finishers which I think is the most at a new event by over 100.

It was a good course which would be all on gravel apart from crossing the runway twice, from what I could tell under all the snow. The course is a single lap in a q shape which is unusual to have a single lap and made judging the distance/pace difficult especially with the snow.

I had a number of layers of clothes on, including multiple hats,gloves and watches with the a Ipswich Town top on to keep me warm.

From the start I went of at a fast but controllable pace. The clear gravel soon turned into snow covered and the path narrowed down a bit, so I took the snowier route to get some space. When we turned left I noticed that there was some cattle on this common land and we were getting some strange looks from them in the cold.

The route then continued round on the path which you had to watch out for ice and any pot holes which was a but more difficult in the snow with the sun reflecting on it. As we turned at the top end of teh course we knew we were on the finishing straight which must be about 1 mile long, and even had a slight incline which was interesting in the snow. Near the end I could see the top of the registration marque so I know we where not far from the finish and gave it a bit more of a push.

I finished with a fast time for me of just over 23 minutes, which I think is my fastest time for me in snow.

I did a recovery jog back to the car and changed in to warm dry clothes before trying some food and drink in the cafe before the drive home. It is a good event to do and I will be back when it is slightly warmer.

Pie Sandwich

Somebody at work sent me an article about a person losing 16 stone by giving up pie sandwiches!!

It sounds so wrong but I had to try it. Which tasted great!!

Pie Sandwich

It is about 600 calories, so I can understand giving those up would lose a bit of weight. I went for the slightly healthier options of wholemeal bread and olive oil spread instead of thick white bread and butter.

Therefore it was quite a good post exercise recovery food as had carbs, protein and some fat with a bit of fibre and other micro nutriments. Any type of pie could be used including vegetable pies!!

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Big Training Day

Today was a big training day with 3 1/2 hours at the gym which was 3 gym classes, weights and cardio.

Then tonight when 0c (lower with the wind chill factor) I ran 10 miles. The last few miles of the run were tough due to muscle fatigue from today's exercise plus the route had a steep hill on each loop.

This would a good training day, nutrition wise I was ok pre and post gym until I got to work were I carb loaded on cakes that somebody had brought in. Then tonight I was taking regular sips of isotonic drink despite it being cold which helped on the run. Strangely I did not finish the bottle like I would have normally done and over-hydrated.

Monday, February 06, 2012

Hawaiian Loco Moco

I saw this Hawaiian Loco Moco mentioned on the new series of Hawaii five-o last night, after a quick google I thought I would give a try today.

It is rice in the middle, with a burger on top of that, then a fried egg at the top. The gravy is poured on the egg and around the edge of the rice. It tasted really great and will definitely make it again.

Nutritionally it is fairly good for me as has carbs, some fat, with protein from two sources including omega 3 and the amino acids from the egg. To make it more nutritious the rice could be brown rice, there could be some vegetables in with the rice and/or the burger could be a meat free type.
 
Hawaiian Loco Moco

What would Optimus Prime do?

 I like this article about Optimus Prime (from Transformers) and how to transform your life (diet and exercise). I already use some of the ideas and use the transform metaphor (and the sound effect) when on my bike transforming in to the aero position.

Sunday, February 05, 2012

Training this week

Training this week has been effect by the cold spell and snow this week. However I have still managed about 9 hours which is about the same as the previous week.

Still no cycling outside on my main bike.

My amount of time swimming was lower but I did a longer swim.

My runs were more intense speed work, which include mile reps and my fastest home parkrun in over a year.

My cross training time increased and included a couple of weights sessions when in the gym.

Due to the weather condition this was a good amount of training with a good mixture of sessions. Hopefully I will be able to get on my main bike soon.