Sunday 5 June 2011
Juneathon, days 3 and 4
A double whammy since I've been all over the place again! I went for my first run since the marathon on Friday morning. It was absolutely lovely to be plodding away again. I managed to do 2.62 miles in 30 minutes, and was starting to think I was massively unfit since I was sweating loads...then I realised it was actually very hot! My back didn't hurt at all, so I was thrilled with this run. I went down the canal and saw lots of ducks, it was wonderful. When we moved into our last place I wasn't a runner, and had no sense of where I was until I started running. It's wonderful way to explore, so I'm looking forward to discovering various bits of this area now that we've settled into the flat a bit. Yesterday (Saturday) wasn't a massive achievement in terms of exercise, unless you can count lugging heavy bookshelves around and putting together flat-pack furniture! I did manage to squeeze in a few sit-ups and various other strength exercises, but I never feel like I've done an awful lot when I do them, which is why I much prefer cardio. This was all followed by me going out for my leaving do from work, getting massively drunk, coming home and being sick, which did have the effect of giving me a nice flat tummy this morning! Every cloud...
Thursday 2 June 2011
Juneathon Day 2
Not much to report today I'm afraid! I just did some strength and core type stuff, in an attempt to strengthen up my abs and therefore my back. There were at least 15 sit-ups, some reverse curl type things, 10 lady press ups, THE PLANK, and some more exercises that I don't know the name of but basically involve me lying around on the floor contorting myself into various odd positions.
I had hoped to do some running today, but I've just moved into a new flat in the city centre and am looking for appropriate running routes. Also, I had to wait around for four hours doing pretty much nothing while my Landlord fixed various parts of the bathroom, which meant that I had to squeeze the rest of my day into a much smaller amount of time than I'd hoped for. I haven't run since the Edinburgh Marathon and can't wait to get out there! I've just been on gmaps, and think I've found a possible route for my first venture. Lucky neighbours, getting to see me in lycra for the first of many outings! The good thing is that we now live right by the canal, so once I figure out which direction to head in, I should be all set. The unfortunate thing is that the rest of the area is very urban and industrial, so there's not many alternatives to the canal. I guess I'll just have to run further and find some greenery!
This shows what a great thing Juneathon is though. If I'd had the day that I'd had today in May or any other month that doesn't have an -athon attached to it, I wouldn't have done any exercise at all. Because I felt accountable, I managed to squeeze a bit in! It's like having your own personal trainer!
I had hoped to do some running today, but I've just moved into a new flat in the city centre and am looking for appropriate running routes. Also, I had to wait around for four hours doing pretty much nothing while my Landlord fixed various parts of the bathroom, which meant that I had to squeeze the rest of my day into a much smaller amount of time than I'd hoped for. I haven't run since the Edinburgh Marathon and can't wait to get out there! I've just been on gmaps, and think I've found a possible route for my first venture. Lucky neighbours, getting to see me in lycra for the first of many outings! The good thing is that we now live right by the canal, so once I figure out which direction to head in, I should be all set. The unfortunate thing is that the rest of the area is very urban and industrial, so there's not many alternatives to the canal. I guess I'll just have to run further and find some greenery!
This shows what a great thing Juneathon is though. If I'd had the day that I'd had today in May or any other month that doesn't have an -athon attached to it, I wouldn't have done any exercise at all. Because I felt accountable, I managed to squeeze a bit in! It's like having your own personal trainer!
Wednesday 1 June 2011
Juneathon day 1,15 mins cycling,no internet, on phone!
Right, I can update this now, as I have access to my laptop and proper internet. I actually did 30 minutes of cycling, including around 10 minutes of drills recommended for triathletes. I'm not planning on becoming a triathlete, but thought it would give me an opportunity to strengthen weaker areas. First day of Juneathon done! yes!
Thursday 26 May 2011
Well well well...
The good news is, I finished the marathon! wahey! the bad news is as follows...
It was all going well until around mile 13. I was keeping to my planned pace and was enjoying the race when my back started to twinge a little. I pulled off to the side of the race and stretched and whatnot, started running again and it was fine for a little while, but then I had to keep repeating the stretches and the pain was getting worse and wasn't going away with stretches, so when I got to mile 17, I found a first aider and asked if they had deep heat or painkillers or something. They didn't. They could, however, offer me an ice pack, so I accepted, except it wasn't all that cold. Then they wanted my details and everything I said, the woman wrote down incorrectly. I gave phone numbers that she wrote down in the wrong order, I spelt my name "F-A-Y-E" and she wrote "Fayi," this was exceptionally stupid behaviour since I had 'FAYE' written across my t-shirt in 6 inch high letters! I appreciate that she was probably a volunteer and all, but all I wanted to do at this point was get moving again, and in all fairness, I could have filled the damn form out myself! All this tallied up to a total time of 22 minutes wasted with first-aiders who actually didn't help me in the slightest.
When I finally got away, I had to pretty much limp the rest of the way, with the occasional jog followed by realisation that I was walking because I was injured, not because I was lazy, and that it hadn't improved much in the last 5 minutes.
I got chatting to some lovely people on my way round though, and to look on the bright side, if I had been in that much pain and wasn't running for charity, I wouldn't have completed the marathon. I'd have gone to the pub.
I looked up the symptoms, and although I think the problem mostly stems from the car accident that I was in last year, I also think that my legs are a lot stronger than my back which is great until your legs start to tire and you need to use the rest of your body, so I will try and do some exercises to balance me out a bit.
My next challenge is Juneathon! It's a nice way to ease back into exercise and I like the way that it gently bullys one into exercising, through the feeling of failure if you don't. After that, I think that my next race will be the Wolves half marathon. Even if my back does play up in that one, it lasted 13 miles in this one until it started playing up, so I'd only have .1 mile left to do anyway! For more info, click here.
I was hoping to go for a run today, but had to get up early and wait for a sofa to be delivered at my parents' house, and you can guarantee that if I leave the house, it will turn up. So I wont. Maybe this evening though.
It was all going well until around mile 13. I was keeping to my planned pace and was enjoying the race when my back started to twinge a little. I pulled off to the side of the race and stretched and whatnot, started running again and it was fine for a little while, but then I had to keep repeating the stretches and the pain was getting worse and wasn't going away with stretches, so when I got to mile 17, I found a first aider and asked if they had deep heat or painkillers or something. They didn't. They could, however, offer me an ice pack, so I accepted, except it wasn't all that cold. Then they wanted my details and everything I said, the woman wrote down incorrectly. I gave phone numbers that she wrote down in the wrong order, I spelt my name "F-A-Y-E" and she wrote "Fayi," this was exceptionally stupid behaviour since I had 'FAYE' written across my t-shirt in 6 inch high letters! I appreciate that she was probably a volunteer and all, but all I wanted to do at this point was get moving again, and in all fairness, I could have filled the damn form out myself! All this tallied up to a total time of 22 minutes wasted with first-aiders who actually didn't help me in the slightest.
When I finally got away, I had to pretty much limp the rest of the way, with the occasional jog followed by realisation that I was walking because I was injured, not because I was lazy, and that it hadn't improved much in the last 5 minutes.
I got chatting to some lovely people on my way round though, and to look on the bright side, if I had been in that much pain and wasn't running for charity, I wouldn't have completed the marathon. I'd have gone to the pub.
I looked up the symptoms, and although I think the problem mostly stems from the car accident that I was in last year, I also think that my legs are a lot stronger than my back which is great until your legs start to tire and you need to use the rest of your body, so I will try and do some exercises to balance me out a bit.
My next challenge is Juneathon! It's a nice way to ease back into exercise and I like the way that it gently bullys one into exercising, through the feeling of failure if you don't. After that, I think that my next race will be the Wolves half marathon. Even if my back does play up in that one, it lasted 13 miles in this one until it started playing up, so I'd only have .1 mile left to do anyway! For more info, click here.
I was hoping to go for a run today, but had to get up early and wait for a sofa to be delivered at my parents' house, and you can guarantee that if I leave the house, it will turn up. So I wont. Maybe this evening though.
Thursday 21 April 2011
I love my new toy!
I am all about this Garmin! I went out for a gorgeous run today in the sunshine- only an easy 20 mins as the training dictates that I have a lighter week this week. It's so great to get back and see exactly what I did, and also it gives me the freedom to run wherever the hell I want, as I know the Garmin is picking it all up.
The marathon is getting extremely close now, and next week is my last week of full training before I have to start tapering. Scary stuff, but now I'm more excited than anything.
It's just a short post today, but I just wanted to update and let you know that I am still working hard!
The marathon is getting extremely close now, and next week is my last week of full training before I have to start tapering. Scary stuff, but now I'm more excited than anything.
It's just a short post today, but I just wanted to update and let you know that I am still working hard!
Tuesday 12 April 2011
Wow, what have I been doing?
Wow, I didn't realise that it had been so long since I added to this! I have been busy training, studying and fundraising. The fundraising side of things has become very exciting, as I have organised a gig with some friends of mine for the week after the marathon, which will be great fun! There's alot to do for it though, so I will post further details on here soon!
I've also been bought a Garmin! I'm very excited and am about to take it out for its first run. This is a late birthday pressie, and I reckon it's really going to help me in the marathon, as I'll know whether I'm running at the right pace or not, which is quite hard to figure out on your own when you're surrounded by hundreds of other runners. Studies have shown that even inaccurate readings on GPS watches improve race performances, so it can't be bad! I will update later on today.
That's it from me for now, I'm off to take my new toy for a 16 mile jaunt!
I've also been bought a Garmin! I'm very excited and am about to take it out for its first run. This is a late birthday pressie, and I reckon it's really going to help me in the marathon, as I'll know whether I'm running at the right pace or not, which is quite hard to figure out on your own when you're surrounded by hundreds of other runners. Studies have shown that even inaccurate readings on GPS watches improve race performances, so it can't be bad! I will update later on today.
That's it from me for now, I'm off to take my new toy for a 16 mile jaunt!
Thursday 31 March 2011
Hayfever blues
My last two runs have been a little disappointing. As it is now officially British Summertime my hayfever has kicked in, so much so that I've been waking up with a bloody nose (sexy, I know)! Because I'm generally forgetful, I managed to find myself without antihistamines for a couple of days- long story short, I found myself almost hyperventilating up a hill this afternoon and then having to walk a little way. Fortunately, I'm now armed with medication, so hopefully Saturday's 16 miles wont be too horrific!
I mentioned in my last post that I had ordered Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald. It finally arrived (note to self: don't order things online at the same time as the Royal Mail has to deal with a national Census) and I must say that I'm extremely impressed. While it's not an easy read, it lays out the facts and backs up all of its advice with statistics from scientific studies. The most interesting part is the few pages where you can read what elite endurance athletes eat in a typical day. Some of the advice in it also just made me feel a little stupid for not thinking of it sooner, but then there is so much conflicting advice around, that it is easy to get into a muddle. It seems to be a lovely holistic approach to nutrition and I already feel happier about what I'm eating. It has also made me rethink my training strategy in general, and I feel that it's time to turn things up a notch. Tomorrow will be my first full day of eating according to Fitzgerald's advice, so I'll let you know how I get on. The main thing that I've taken from it is that I'm not eating enough carbs to sustain my workouts, so I'll be upping them significantly.
I plan to do two workouts tomorrow: a strength workout in the morning and some cross training on the exercise bike in the evening. I'm on holiday from work this week, so it's very nice to be able to fit these things in whenever I want to, especially with all of the extra snacks that I'm supposed to be eating now!
We shall see how I can fit them in around work next week, but I don't want to think about that now!
I mentioned in my last post that I had ordered Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald. It finally arrived (note to self: don't order things online at the same time as the Royal Mail has to deal with a national Census) and I must say that I'm extremely impressed. While it's not an easy read, it lays out the facts and backs up all of its advice with statistics from scientific studies. The most interesting part is the few pages where you can read what elite endurance athletes eat in a typical day. Some of the advice in it also just made me feel a little stupid for not thinking of it sooner, but then there is so much conflicting advice around, that it is easy to get into a muddle. It seems to be a lovely holistic approach to nutrition and I already feel happier about what I'm eating. It has also made me rethink my training strategy in general, and I feel that it's time to turn things up a notch. Tomorrow will be my first full day of eating according to Fitzgerald's advice, so I'll let you know how I get on. The main thing that I've taken from it is that I'm not eating enough carbs to sustain my workouts, so I'll be upping them significantly.
I plan to do two workouts tomorrow: a strength workout in the morning and some cross training on the exercise bike in the evening. I'm on holiday from work this week, so it's very nice to be able to fit these things in whenever I want to, especially with all of the extra snacks that I'm supposed to be eating now!
We shall see how I can fit them in around work next week, but I don't want to think about that now!
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