Shooshing

I should currently be packing for a trip to the Alps but as I have at least two hours before I need to leave so plenty of time.

Posting has been limited by Sean’s lack of a computer and my lack of exercise on part due to a manky chest infection. However, manky chest infection is clearing just in time for me to go play in the snow for a week. There’s also a pool and gym with the apartment so the plan is to try to get some exercise other than skiing in. Time will tell if the apres-ski is more of a priority.

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Roll on the weekend

Gosh this month is going quickly, and like the blog posting the training has slowed a tad. There is a suggestion that if you ever want something done, give it to a busy person to do. They’re very good at just getting things done.  The first few weeks of March certainly this certainly held true for me – work was busy as ever, the Easter term of college was drawing to a close which means assignment deadlines and into this I had to fit training in, which meant early mornings.

Now, college is over for a few weeks and I’ve only trained for two days out of the past five, with today only being a cycle to and from work. Tomorrow I’ve got an early start and quite likely a late finish. There’s also a fair bit of socialising to catch up on, which then impacts on ability to train in the morning.

The good news is that Friday, Saturday and Sunday will definitely be devoted to training. Team Gaffs, or Iceds as Sean seems to prefer, is off to the New Forest to take part in a Questar Race, which mainly involves running and cycling for five hours.

Hopefully this year it will not involve a compass that thinks North is every direction which will then  lead to a small domestic about how to map read. I also hope that this year I don’t fall off my bike and that we make it back within the five hour limit.

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Hill work

If you look very closely at this picture, at the bottom of the path is a blur of neon yellow. That is Sean at the bottom of the hill we just ran up and down a dozen times. For those of you that haven’t met Sean in real life, he’s quite a tall person. It has been noted by several people that he’s generally a large sized example of a human, I tell you this to point out just how bloody steep that hill is.Unfortunately the slalom stage is even steeper and further – yay!

So today was a trot of about 1.6 miles down down to the park, then 12 runs up the hill. The first person, in this case Sean, ran up the hill and dropped a dog lead. The second person, yours truly, then ran to the lead and picked it up. Then running either further or dropping it a bit nearer the bottom on the return journey. We mixed it up, some longer runs, some short and faster, for a very relative definition of faster. We then walked  the 1.6 miles back and are currently watching the pre-match punditry for Super Saturday.

Later today will come a very important part of the training, an event such as Tough Guy requires an holistic approach. This is why we’re mixing up running, hill work, core improvement and other aerobic exercise. The other element is training for the beers will drink once we complete the course, today will be an intensive session to help prepare for just that.

Edited to add crop of zoomed in image as Sean didn’t believe he was actually in it. The doggie happily running up the hill is Harley.

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The Hangover: Mk II

So yesterday was good. It involved planks, crunches, lat raises and pizza and cupcake, and prosecco. Which means today involved a Maccy D’s for breakfast and dirty duck for lunch. It also involved, due to Sean’s lack of forward planning, a train trip to Somerset. Which meant the one thing it didn’t involve was any exercise.

However, having read Sean’s most recent post about his total lack of exercise during his week in Cornwall. I’m feeling quite relaxed, or at least not guilty.

So I’m currently at the Gaffney’ country house in deepest darkest Somerset and the main plan is to watch the rugby tomorrow. The plan before that is to get up, have a light brekkie and then go do hill training. Then have a hobbitish second breakfast and then watch (please dear god) Italy stuff Wales, Scotland stuff Ireland and England stuff France*.

In a world of infinite possibilities, some of these things are bound to happen. I fear the only one that will actually  happen is the world of hurt that the hill involves.

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The Hangover

Normally I’d have one of those after St Patrick’s day, a wonderful excuse to drink much Guinness in an attempt to win more Guinness themed tat. It’s also a good time to try and make it on to the Guinness’ marketing list. Now normally this would be something to avoid but Guiness really do send out the coolest stuff. I’ve previously received personalised beermats, an ‘ickle Christmas tree to grow and inflatable beer trays. Tat perhaps, but cool tat.

Anyway, I  didn’t go out, I went to class then finished an essay, then got up early this morning and did yet more crunches and arms.  I’m going to try and fit a run in tomorrow, which is very much dependent on what Sean is planning, which is difficult to divine when he doesn’t answer text messages.

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Second verse, same as the first

..and tomorrow is a rest day, hu-f’cking-rah!

I’ll still be up at daft o’clock but for an early meeting with someone other than Davina.

So today was a repeat of yesterday, many crunches and core work, then arms, then a blast into work – a whole 6 seconds fast than yesterday and then less than a blast back. Obviously my decision to take a day off has angered the gods and in particular the gods of traffic lights. I think I hit every single red it was possible to have on my chosen route. Guess it counts as interval work.

Still no word from Sean, or indeed Fi. I cam only assume that they are working their respective socks off and are too busy to update this week.

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Spring hath sprung

Finally it seems to be a bit warmer and lighter, which made it a bit, though not much, easier to get up and do yet more abs and arm work this morning before jumping on the bike and pedalling to work.

The newly pumped up tyres went like a dream, either that or a mere two weeks of exercise has made a hell of a difference. I knocked about six minutes off my previous ride time in to the office and this was despite the top of Holland Park avenue being snarled. Normally this wouldn’t matter too much but the sunshine has brought out all the fair weather bikers who haven’t got the bottle to cycle in-between stationary traffic, nor the wherewithal to get out of the bloody way of those that do. Bike computer reckons I did 5.53 miles in 27 mins and 17 seconds. iMapMyFitness thinks I did less about 5.38 in around 34 minutes. This is not surprising, the bike computer only works when I’ve moving, the iPhone app just keeps going until I hit stop. It also seems to think I took pretty much the most direct route in, regardless of any buildings or railway lines that might have prevented such a feat. The one good thing is that it showed the elevation and I now know for certain that I lovely long steady climb to look forward to on the way home.

I hope the sunny weather is shining on Sean as he messes about on the river and that he doesn’t have to call out the rescue boat as he did when we went for a pootle round Falmouth Harbour many years ago.

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Yet more running

I can’t believe that I’ve only been training and blogging about training for two weeks, it already seems like forever. Bearing in mind that I know I can’t fit anything in on Wednesday I’ve decided it will be my rest day for next week, which makes my selection as Monday for my rest day last week seem a tad foolish.

My legs obviously agree as they decided that my initial plan to run further than yesterday was idiotic and so I cut it short. At this stage I’m not too unhappy about that as I’ve still got 19 weeks to get up to standard.

Tomorrow’s plan is an arm and ab session followed by a bike in and out of work on freshly pumped tyres.

As Sean is off to Helston today to prepare for a week’s larking about in Falmouth Harbour I doubt there will be an update from him today, although he has promised he will go the gym after work and will no doubt shower us with his pearl’s of wisdom then.

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Satuday is also a running day

As I have a couple of pieces of uni work due this week I thought it would be prudent, for once, not to follow my brother’s lead and go down the pub to watch the miserable excuse of rugby match that was apparently this year’s Calcutta Cup. Instead I stayed in, did some writing and shouted at the TV. A Lot.

Not quite sure what depressed me more about the game, the abysmal standard of England’s limited and imagination-less ambition, the pathetic behaviour of the Scottish supporters in booing England’s place kicks or that the English crowd reciprocated.

Anyway to cheer myself up*, and to take full advantage of Sean taking the weekend off, I went out for a short, not very sharp, 3 miles. Making the happy discovery that if you use your inhaler before running breathing is far easier – who knew!

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Kerry – 10th March

Unlike my Brother I can give a review of my new Saucony’s. Plus points are that they do seem to be stopping my idiotic knee kicking in, though I really need to do a good four or five miles to be certain on that front. However they are quite heavy and make my feet ache a tad, I’m sure I’ll get used to them and if I change to a lighter show I’ll be lightning fast.

So this morning was another short run, this time faster and flatter as planned. Only bugbear is that the iPhone that I’m using, imapmyfitness is pants. Last time I used it, it told me my stats every 15  minutes. Today it told me every minute, which took about 40 seconds each time for the nice lady to tell me just how slow I was running in various ways. This meant it took me almost 15 minutes to listen to The Devil Went down to Georgia by the Levellers. I eventually gave up trying to listen to music and the nice lady and ran in silence*. Then at the end of the run, the ap wouldn’t update properly, trying to put my start location in Denver.

Any recommendations for an alternative most welcome.

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