I write this feeling like I have let myself down. I don't train on a Friday, because it's a nice night to come home from work and not execute a 15-minute hot beverage/toast turnaround to go out training. It is a night in which I could, if I chose, watch The One Show followed by Eastenders, or whatever it is the average population member does after work.
A Friday off is normally fine, because ordinarily I train once or twice on a Saturday. However, tomorrow we go to London to eat meat fruit at Heston Blumenthal's restaurant, and to see Cirque du Soleil at the Royal Albert Hall. This means that unless I fancy training at, say, 5:30am, I will be having a Saturday off. A 5:30am start on a Saturday is unappealing, particularly after continuing to suffer the after-effects of not sleeping enough on Andy's 30th weekend (his 30th birthday weekend, not his actual thirtieth weekend. That would make him less than a year old, which would make our marriage socially unacceptable and, moreover, illegal). All of this serves as a pathetic way to say I am taking two consecutive days off. This is why I am disappointed in myself.
So, aside from this, here's the week's training:
Monday - 60 minutes of swimming. Swam well, very hard, nicely elevated heart rate for most of the session. No faster, fitter, men in my lane this week to make me feel inadequate.
Tuesday - should have been a good warm-up run, a speed session, and a good warm-down. On Tuesday I can't deny that I was SHATTERED after the weekend, could hardly stay awake on the way home, had to take a longer route to and from work due to excessively dull roadworks in Darlington, and couldn't be bothered to go out. I therefore modified to do about 25 minutes (maybe even just 20?) warm-up, 4 x 60s fast, and a 10-15 minute jog back home. Better than nothing, but not enough.
Wednesday - 90 minutes of swimming. Used fins for the first 2 x 400m. Naturally much faster, and they made me VERY out of breath. This is a good thing. No-one else enjoys me using them though: the wash remains a problem for the other swimmers. Took them off for the remainder of the session.
Thursday - DFR on tour! This month, we showcased the north east's premier off-road running venue: Cockfield fell. 11 of us met at Cockfield Co-op (where the local youths hang out, on their tiny bikes with their tiny hairless dogs), did an 8 mile run round the fell including all the old slag heaps, and threw a good 6 minute hill rep in the middle. I followed Duncan's feet almost to the top of the rep but I think he had 10s on me at the top, and he didn't appear to be as fatigued as I was. I beat Andy, but he wasn't at maximum effort.
Friday - risotto, braised red cabbage, Celebrations, some crisps.
Other things that have happened this week include the following:
"It was my husband's 30th birthday last weekend."
"Was it? Are you 30 as well Fiona?"
From this I can only infer that I require more sleep, some of that moisturiser that professes to remove all wrinkles after one application, a haircut and perhaps some more highlights.
And the news that not only do I behave like Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory (emotionally retarded, unable to understand humour or sarcasm, asexual), but that I also look a bit like him. This is peculiar, because he is a brown-haired American male.
And I lost control of my vehicle on a minor icy road this morning, almost hit a van, but managed last-minute to divert into a gateway and stopped upon hitting the grassy verge. I tried to make it look planned, casual and cool, but I think my heart rate shot up to above 200. Does that sort of heart activity count as training?
Friday, 27 January 2012
Sunday, 22 January 2012
Severe buffering.
This week has ended WELL. It started with snoozy legs (inevitably, after a race), and ended with a 30@30 triumph for Andy.
Monday - 60 minutes of swimming, had to take it very easy after Sunday's race. I had tired legs, making pushing off the wall somewhat difficult. I had to move into a different lane because Patrick and Steven in my lane are both younger, male and significantly faster than me and I was intimidated.
Tuesday - an hour's easy run with Andy with 5 moderate 2-minute hill reps, worked stiffness out of legs nicely.
Wednesday - 90 minutes of swimming. Back on form, felt very strong, strongest swim I've had for a while. Tip top. Used my new fins for 4 x 50m and it was brilliant, although nobody appreciated the amount of wash that they created. I have yet to decide how to respond to this. Clearly I don't want to stoke the ire of fellow swimmers, but they definitely aid quad strength and cardio work. We'll see how it pans out.
Thursday - ran 6 miles-ish Doctors Gate loop at Hamsterley. One hill exertion where first Mike, then Brian, then Liam tried to pull away, meaning that it ended up being quite a race. Still, it was good to have a bit of a raised heart rate in an otherwise very pleasant run out.
Friday - fish and chips, nigh on 100g of Galaxy, cookie, flapjack... frankly, an overly large portion of food for one woman who knew she had another meal (namely breakfast) just round the corner, and the only thing in between said meals would be a night of unstressful sleep. As it turned out, actually, the sleep wasn't as plentiful as expected, due to having: a) a coffee at 6pm, and b) two cups of tea with my fish and chips at 7pm. This was not a wise move for someone who normally doesn't caffeinate after 6pm. As predicted, I was still awake at 2am, well aware that I would be getting up at 6am to prepare for Andy's 30@30, and VERY aware that the amount of sleep I would be getting was inadequate.
Saturday - Andy's 30@30! It was Andy's actual 30th birthday so we all got up at 6, ready to breakfast before starting running at 7:15. Initially Leg 1 was supposed to be Andy (obvs), me, Jim, Duncan, Pippa, Joe, Mike, Brian and Liam. Joe couldn't make it and Mike, Brian and Liam had decided on Thursday they couldn't run in the Lakes today... As it was, Andy, me, Jim, Duncan and Pippa set off. Pippa's leg wasn't happy to be running so she had to turn back, so the remaining four of us plodded on through Leg 1. Visibility was excellent, the wind less so. Unbelievably windy, making mobility very difficult at times, as they like to say on the MWIS weather forecast. A few times I was blown off course or had to stand still to stabilise myself against a gust. It was blowing my eyelashes inwards so they were poking into my eyes, and swirling snot out of my nose and depositing it on my face. Not cool. Despite all this, it was a great run out on leg 1 - 12 hills (or Wainwrights... some of them didn't have a great amount of prominence) - and about 15 miles, covered in about 3 hours 30ish.
At Kirkstone Pass we had soup and chips, and a random sheep farmer bored everyone to death with a few substandard magic tricks. Having recommended a coffee shop in Ambleside to Gill and I (we weren't going to Ambleside, but this didn't seem to bother him), just Andy and Jim set off on Leg 2 to do the remaining 18 peaks and about 20 miles of running. Wind was atrocious, and it was raining quite heavily. Not ideal.
Having mentioned in passing that I had wet feet (thank you 'waterproof' socks for once again allowing water in after approximately 3 minutes of running), the magician man grabbed my attention by shouting across the room "Oi! Oi! Oi! Wet feet, you say? You just need to dry them, and change into dry socks." Brilliant. Once I'd learnt this - something I'd been ignorantly unaware of previously - I mentioned to Gill I might like to go back to the camping barn to shower, and then wash and dry my feet, and then change into dry socks, and even dry shoes. The camping barn had a rather sweet feature in that the shower was actually 2 showers together, behind a glass door, that anyone could see through. No locks. Anyone who wanted to go to the toilet or wash their hands could quite freely gander at whomsoever was showering. Despite the barn being empty at the time, I asked Gill if she wouldn't mind being on guard just in case anyone else came back and decided to wander through. I managed to get my coveted dry feet.
We went for coffee in the afternoon and happened upon the aforementioned Mike, Brian and Liam getting a sausage sandwich. They'd run part of Leg 3 of the BG.
And then we went to wait for Andy and Jim to return from their run. Jim had tweeted a bit in the morning (including a tweet declaring there was severe buffering... he actually meant buffeting, but we can't ridicule him for spelling mistakes when he was attempting to tweet in 70mph winds on a cold January day), but we hadn't heard anything all afternoon. Given the extreme wind we hoped they'd be fine, and indeed on schedule. They were scheduled to finish at 17:08 and they arrived at 17:12, which was pretty much bang on time, especially given the 5 minute delayed start due to miscellaneous faffage. 30 peaks, aged 30, about 36 miles, in 9 hours 51. Brilliant. Very pleased for him.
Sunday training - I hadn't initially planned to do anything, since I don't usually run 2 days in a row, but Jim was going out for an easy hour(ish) so we jogged from the camping barn along the old coach road round the base of Clough Head to Threlkeld. About 7-8 miles, into a headwind, but after yesterday's endeavours the wind, although nominally quite strong, didn't feel like a problem at all. It wasn't actively blowing us over and we could stand upright, so by comparison it was calm.
And that's it for this week: I now have a 30 year old husband, and have had a good solid week's training. I've also consumed sufficient calories in the past 48 hours to last me until at least Wednesday. I think yesterday involved cereal, 2 slices of toast, mango slices, jelly babies, a gel, soup, chips, bread, millionaire's shortbread x 2, different soup, crisps, carrot cake, chilli, cheese, jacket potato, crisps, tomatoes, cucumber, sticky toffee pudding with custard x 2, fruitcake, crisps. I genuinely don't think I burnt off that many calories in my run. I'm still full now.
Monday - 60 minutes of swimming, had to take it very easy after Sunday's race. I had tired legs, making pushing off the wall somewhat difficult. I had to move into a different lane because Patrick and Steven in my lane are both younger, male and significantly faster than me and I was intimidated.
Tuesday - an hour's easy run with Andy with 5 moderate 2-minute hill reps, worked stiffness out of legs nicely.
Wednesday - 90 minutes of swimming. Back on form, felt very strong, strongest swim I've had for a while. Tip top. Used my new fins for 4 x 50m and it was brilliant, although nobody appreciated the amount of wash that they created. I have yet to decide how to respond to this. Clearly I don't want to stoke the ire of fellow swimmers, but they definitely aid quad strength and cardio work. We'll see how it pans out.
Thursday - ran 6 miles-ish Doctors Gate loop at Hamsterley. One hill exertion where first Mike, then Brian, then Liam tried to pull away, meaning that it ended up being quite a race. Still, it was good to have a bit of a raised heart rate in an otherwise very pleasant run out.
Friday - fish and chips, nigh on 100g of Galaxy, cookie, flapjack... frankly, an overly large portion of food for one woman who knew she had another meal (namely breakfast) just round the corner, and the only thing in between said meals would be a night of unstressful sleep. As it turned out, actually, the sleep wasn't as plentiful as expected, due to having: a) a coffee at 6pm, and b) two cups of tea with my fish and chips at 7pm. This was not a wise move for someone who normally doesn't caffeinate after 6pm. As predicted, I was still awake at 2am, well aware that I would be getting up at 6am to prepare for Andy's 30@30, and VERY aware that the amount of sleep I would be getting was inadequate.
Saturday - Andy's 30@30! It was Andy's actual 30th birthday so we all got up at 6, ready to breakfast before starting running at 7:15. Initially Leg 1 was supposed to be Andy (obvs), me, Jim, Duncan, Pippa, Joe, Mike, Brian and Liam. Joe couldn't make it and Mike, Brian and Liam had decided on Thursday they couldn't run in the Lakes today... As it was, Andy, me, Jim, Duncan and Pippa set off. Pippa's leg wasn't happy to be running so she had to turn back, so the remaining four of us plodded on through Leg 1. Visibility was excellent, the wind less so. Unbelievably windy, making mobility very difficult at times, as they like to say on the MWIS weather forecast. A few times I was blown off course or had to stand still to stabilise myself against a gust. It was blowing my eyelashes inwards so they were poking into my eyes, and swirling snot out of my nose and depositing it on my face. Not cool. Despite all this, it was a great run out on leg 1 - 12 hills (or Wainwrights... some of them didn't have a great amount of prominence) - and about 15 miles, covered in about 3 hours 30ish.
At Kirkstone Pass we had soup and chips, and a random sheep farmer bored everyone to death with a few substandard magic tricks. Having recommended a coffee shop in Ambleside to Gill and I (we weren't going to Ambleside, but this didn't seem to bother him), just Andy and Jim set off on Leg 2 to do the remaining 18 peaks and about 20 miles of running. Wind was atrocious, and it was raining quite heavily. Not ideal.
Having mentioned in passing that I had wet feet (thank you 'waterproof' socks for once again allowing water in after approximately 3 minutes of running), the magician man grabbed my attention by shouting across the room "Oi! Oi! Oi! Wet feet, you say? You just need to dry them, and change into dry socks." Brilliant. Once I'd learnt this - something I'd been ignorantly unaware of previously - I mentioned to Gill I might like to go back to the camping barn to shower, and then wash and dry my feet, and then change into dry socks, and even dry shoes. The camping barn had a rather sweet feature in that the shower was actually 2 showers together, behind a glass door, that anyone could see through. No locks. Anyone who wanted to go to the toilet or wash their hands could quite freely gander at whomsoever was showering. Despite the barn being empty at the time, I asked Gill if she wouldn't mind being on guard just in case anyone else came back and decided to wander through. I managed to get my coveted dry feet.
We went for coffee in the afternoon and happened upon the aforementioned Mike, Brian and Liam getting a sausage sandwich. They'd run part of Leg 3 of the BG.
And then we went to wait for Andy and Jim to return from their run. Jim had tweeted a bit in the morning (including a tweet declaring there was severe buffering... he actually meant buffeting, but we can't ridicule him for spelling mistakes when he was attempting to tweet in 70mph winds on a cold January day), but we hadn't heard anything all afternoon. Given the extreme wind we hoped they'd be fine, and indeed on schedule. They were scheduled to finish at 17:08 and they arrived at 17:12, which was pretty much bang on time, especially given the 5 minute delayed start due to miscellaneous faffage. 30 peaks, aged 30, about 36 miles, in 9 hours 51. Brilliant. Very pleased for him.
Sunday training - I hadn't initially planned to do anything, since I don't usually run 2 days in a row, but Jim was going out for an easy hour(ish) so we jogged from the camping barn along the old coach road round the base of Clough Head to Threlkeld. About 7-8 miles, into a headwind, but after yesterday's endeavours the wind, although nominally quite strong, didn't feel like a problem at all. It wasn't actively blowing us over and we could stand upright, so by comparison it was calm.
And that's it for this week: I now have a 30 year old husband, and have had a good solid week's training. I've also consumed sufficient calories in the past 48 hours to last me until at least Wednesday. I think yesterday involved cereal, 2 slices of toast, mango slices, jelly babies, a gel, soup, chips, bread, millionaire's shortbread x 2, different soup, crisps, carrot cake, chilli, cheese, jacket potato, crisps, tomatoes, cucumber, sticky toffee pudding with custard x 2, fruitcake, crisps. I genuinely don't think I burnt off that many calories in my run. I'm still full now.
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
A race! A race! We like a race!
This week brought a race! First proper one since the relays in October, and it left me feeling suitably stiff-legged so I must have tried hard. Or not prepared properly, one of the two.
Training in the build-up was without any form of taper: my priority is to get better at running for the fell season from March onwards, so this race was just a play-day out, for 'fun', if such a thing exists in a race. Plus, I was going to a friend's for peanut butter and chocolate cake in the afternoon so I was obliged to do some sort of workout in advance to give me space for at least half a cake.
Monday - 60 minutes of hard swimming. Patrick, an 18-year old who used to be national breaststroke champion, was back from university so decided to come along for the first time in months. For a reason unbeknownst to me he got in my lane, which made me look half the speed I usually do, despite the fact he's well out of condition. It's useful to have such confidence knocks every so often: it gives you something to focus on. Plus, he's so much faster it's almost laughable.
Tuesday - Achilles a bit sore after the first part of Andy's 30@30 on Sunday, so swam again. Pool much warmer than this time last week, but still chillier than is comfortable.
Wednesday - 90 minutes of swimming, good session, acquitted myself fairly well. For the second time IN 5 DAYS I was likened to someone called Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory. This is a programme I have never seen, so I looked him up on Wikipedia. Here are some choice extracts: 'Sheldon exhibits a strict adherence to routine, a total lack of social skills, a tenuous understanding of irony, sarcasm, and humor, and a general lack of humility or empathy. He is vocal about his own superior intellect compared to those around him. Reviewers and fans have speculated that Sheldon's personality traits are consistent with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome and/or obsessive–compulsive personality disorder and asexuality.' Fortunately I have a bedrock of self-confidence (or Asperger syndrome?) that led me to believe that these people must be wrong, despite the fact this comparison came from two entirely independent sources. I have now ordered Series 1-4 (when apparently I was 'more like him', when he was 'more weird') so I can adopt some more of his appealing traits. I also went to work yesterday dressed like him, with a long-sleeved top under a short-sleeved top. I amuse myself in very low-level ways.
Thursday - running at Hamsterley. Just under 10 miles, including 3 hard 3 minute hill reps. I paced these very badly, like a small primary school child. I ran the first one incredibly fast, thought I might die by the top, then predictably got much slower on reps 2 and 3. Still, was pleased Achilles was fine and pleased overall. Andy faster than me on all of them.
Friday - dinner, banana sponge and rum sauce, rest.
Saturday - 60 minutes of gentlish swimming. Had a glass of wine with dinner: first time I've ever had a glass of wine the night before a race. My tests remain inconclusive. I can't figure out if it had no effect, a positive effect, or a negative effect. Must research further.
Sunday - race in North York Moors. 5.7 miles, about 300m of ascent, first woman and course record by about 90s so very pleased. Found it very hard: it was cold, icy/frosty/solid underfoot, which was quite difficult to run on, and didn't have the flat speed I would have liked (I think this happens to everyone, regardless of how fast you're going). Still, I'm pleased with my time and very pleased Achilles didn't hurt, although there were a few men I would have liked to have beaten. Andy beat me by about 3 minutes so he's pleased to have clearly restamped out the pecking order in our marriage.
This week Andy's tapering for his 30@30. I'm doing leg 1 with him, which is quite a long way for me and so I'm naturally fairly apprehensive. I don't want to hinder any part of his day out, although he's assured me it'll be slightly slower than the recce we did last weekend... I shall wait and see. One of the more appealing aspects is that when we stop at Kirkstone Pass for soup and chips, I'll get to stay there for as long as I wish and he'll have to haul himself back out for the long hilly leg 2... he's tougher than me, obvs.
Training in the build-up was without any form of taper: my priority is to get better at running for the fell season from March onwards, so this race was just a play-day out, for 'fun', if such a thing exists in a race. Plus, I was going to a friend's for peanut butter and chocolate cake in the afternoon so I was obliged to do some sort of workout in advance to give me space for at least half a cake.
Monday - 60 minutes of hard swimming. Patrick, an 18-year old who used to be national breaststroke champion, was back from university so decided to come along for the first time in months. For a reason unbeknownst to me he got in my lane, which made me look half the speed I usually do, despite the fact he's well out of condition. It's useful to have such confidence knocks every so often: it gives you something to focus on. Plus, he's so much faster it's almost laughable.
Tuesday - Achilles a bit sore after the first part of Andy's 30@30 on Sunday, so swam again. Pool much warmer than this time last week, but still chillier than is comfortable.
Wednesday - 90 minutes of swimming, good session, acquitted myself fairly well. For the second time IN 5 DAYS I was likened to someone called Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory. This is a programme I have never seen, so I looked him up on Wikipedia. Here are some choice extracts: 'Sheldon exhibits a strict adherence to routine, a total lack of social skills, a tenuous understanding of irony, sarcasm, and humor, and a general lack of humility or empathy. He is vocal about his own superior intellect compared to those around him. Reviewers and fans have speculated that Sheldon's personality traits are consistent with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome and/or obsessive–compulsive personality disorder and asexuality.' Fortunately I have a bedrock of self-confidence (or Asperger syndrome?) that led me to believe that these people must be wrong, despite the fact this comparison came from two entirely independent sources. I have now ordered Series 1-4 (when apparently I was 'more like him', when he was 'more weird') so I can adopt some more of his appealing traits. I also went to work yesterday dressed like him, with a long-sleeved top under a short-sleeved top. I amuse myself in very low-level ways.
Thursday - running at Hamsterley. Just under 10 miles, including 3 hard 3 minute hill reps. I paced these very badly, like a small primary school child. I ran the first one incredibly fast, thought I might die by the top, then predictably got much slower on reps 2 and 3. Still, was pleased Achilles was fine and pleased overall. Andy faster than me on all of them.
Friday - dinner, banana sponge and rum sauce, rest.
Saturday - 60 minutes of gentlish swimming. Had a glass of wine with dinner: first time I've ever had a glass of wine the night before a race. My tests remain inconclusive. I can't figure out if it had no effect, a positive effect, or a negative effect. Must research further.
Sunday - race in North York Moors. 5.7 miles, about 300m of ascent, first woman and course record by about 90s so very pleased. Found it very hard: it was cold, icy/frosty/solid underfoot, which was quite difficult to run on, and didn't have the flat speed I would have liked (I think this happens to everyone, regardless of how fast you're going). Still, I'm pleased with my time and very pleased Achilles didn't hurt, although there were a few men I would have liked to have beaten. Andy beat me by about 3 minutes so he's pleased to have clearly restamped out the pecking order in our marriage.
This week Andy's tapering for his 30@30. I'm doing leg 1 with him, which is quite a long way for me and so I'm naturally fairly apprehensive. I don't want to hinder any part of his day out, although he's assured me it'll be slightly slower than the recce we did last weekend... I shall wait and see. One of the more appealing aspects is that when we stop at Kirkstone Pass for soup and chips, I'll get to stay there for as long as I wish and he'll have to haul himself back out for the long hilly leg 2... he's tougher than me, obvs.
Sunday, 8 January 2012
A cold start.
Training this week:
Tuesday - 60 minutes of swimming. On Tuesdays we swim in a school pool, which is normally fine. I don't like it as much as the main pool - it's only 20m, and feels slightly claustrophobic, and the damp on the ceiling looks like a fat cat and I don't like cats - but it's normally a good session. HOWEVER, on Tuesday there was some sort of issue with the pool heating, which meant the pool was freezing. I should have realised something was amiss when I saw Frank, the coach, sitting in a coat, hat and gloves, when he normally wears a t-shirt in all weathers. One swimmer dipped his toe in and then went home before even getting the rest of him wet. I persevered, thinking "If it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger". I would now seek to dispute this. I got ear-ache fairly early on, after about 5 minutes, and my toes went a bit numb. Shortly afterwards I started to go dizzy and was told by Frank that my nose was blue. We didn't stop much - he had the good grace to keep us swimming to "keep warm" - but my body temperature never felt like it was above freezing. After each new set of reps I said I would get out, but somehow conned myself into staying in for the whole hour. This was potentially a mistake. My legs ached miscellaneously all day Wednesday. It felt like the bones were aching, although I'm quite aware they probably weren't. Nevertheless I could hardly bend my feet on Wednesday lunchtime, which I attribute to the pool. And my face looked funny until Thursday. And my right ear hasn't recovered: it seems to have gone partially deaf. I hope this sort of hardcore training pays off at some point, otherwise it was an arduous and painful hour for nothing. In such situations it would be useful to be extraordinarily fat, with a nice insulating layer of blubber over everything. Frank said on Wednesday it was 15 degrees, which would normally be when I would wear a wetsuit and two swimming hats, rather than Speedo's budget thin black costume.
Wednesday - 90 minutes of swimming in Bishop Auckland municipal pool, which was heated to a normal temperature. Lovely. I was slow - I think Tuesday's session wiped me out more than the average hour's swim - but it was nice to get out with a rosy glow rather than a mottled grey and blue pallor.
Thursday - hill reps at Hamsterley. The proper athletes (everyone else) did 4 pyramids of 100, 200, 300, 200, 100m, with a minute in between. I can't go straight into a fast run after such a short warm-up and I'm building up my return to reps gradually so my poor Achilles doesn't have a tantrum, so I jogged while they did the first pyramid, then joined in the second and fourth. In the fourth one I managed to beat Andy on the 300m, whereupon he gave up, so I also beat him on the 200 and 100. I've never beaten him in a rep before. In the past he's always said that would lead to divorce, but apparently it didn't count because I didn't do the full session, which is a fair point. Still, I count it at as a small victory. He likened it to Usain Bolt joining Gebrselassie for the last 100m of a marathon. The comparison doesn't quite work (my diet isn't chicken nuggets, and I've yet to break the world 100m and 200m world records), but I appreciate his point. For now he's letting me keep my wedding ring.
Friday - hoisin chicken, blackcurrant and pear crumble, and Stephen Merchant's stand-up DVD. Not as funny as I'd hoped, and, as is the way with most male stand-ups, he developed massive sweat patches by the end of the show. Why don't they wear black?
Saturday - 90 minutes of swimming. Worked like a bitch by the coach, but in a good way. Worked on my backstroke, which remains atrocious: like a person swimming with broken arms, apparently. And apparently in my breaststroke I shake my head each time it surfaces, like a sideways Churchill dog. It remains to be seen whether I repeat these strokes in public, or whether my fragile self confidence has been shattered. We'll see tomorrow night.
In addition to spending a freezing hour cleaning my bike, I did a 45 minute cycle. My route was altered when some woman walking her massive fat angry Alsatian dog didn't seem to have full control of it, so I had to turn back. She said it would be fine, but I didn't rate my chances. I didn't get close enough to see, but I imagine it was frothing at the mouth.
Sunday - 3 hours in the Lakes with Andy and Duncan, on the first leg of Andy's 30@30 route. I felt somewhat lacklustre, although I'm not sure if this can be attributed to:
a) not eating enough yesterday;
b) actually freezing and then defrosting on Tuesday;
c) all the uphills: not the sort of thing that would trouble a hardcore BG-er, but still a fair bit;
d) yesterday's endeavours;
e) (most likely) running with two men who are significantly faster than me.
Back at the car, Andy noted he had three Penguins. He was about to inhale all three (he has a phenomenal talent of 'inhaling' food when hungry. He's particularly good with Freddie Frog sweets: it's one of the things that made me marry him) when Duncan and I managed to snaffle one each. He wasn't pleased. We had to stop at a shop in Pooley Bridge to replenish, although they didn't have Penguins OR Boosts OR Toffee Crisps, which was what Andy was looking for. He settled on a Wall's Cornish Pasty (I don't have the vocabulary to comment on how vile that looked, fridge cold) and a Double Decker, so it wasn't a totally wasted visit. He'd never had a Double Decker before. Imagine! Nearly 30, and never had a Double Decker! I last had one aged about 10, but wouldn't rush back. I settled for a KitKat Chunky: a modern-day classic.
Summary of this week's training: Achilles feels okay(ish), and I beat Andy in a rep. Hence it has been a success.
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Bored of the wind.
Let's see where we're up to... It has been 13 full days since my last blog post, so now I shall test my powers of recall to see what I've done in the interim:
Thursday 22 December - 37 miles of cycling, in hideous wind, during which time I got blown off, actually blown across the road and into a ditch, after about 20 miles. i.e. Pretty much the furthest point from home, so 'turning back' wouldn't have made much sense. Should have turned back before it got so dangerous. So windy it actually blew snot out of my nose, which, although it saved me dirtying my glove, was fairly grotesque.
Friday 23 - made fudge and truffles.
Saturday 24 - about 75 minutes of running with Andy, with one fast 2 minute hill effort, on Simonside hills. Nice day out. Bit blustery and drizzly, but nice running.
Christmas Day - the plan was for a cycle, but wind forbade it, so a short walk and lots of turkey instead.
Boxing Day - 3.5 mile(ish) race, just outside Rothbury. 1st woman, 6th overall, 25:59 and 2 mins 40 down on leading men. Would have rather been a bit faster but was more pleased that my Achilles wasn't a problem. The wind in my face for the last mile made me feel a bit like I was pulling a lorry. Hard work, despite the shortness of the race. Plus, my experiments would indicate that a face full of truffles, fudge, turkey and bread sauce 90 minutes before the start is not conducive to feeling athletic.
Tuesday 27 - 29 mile cycle down the A68 home from Corbridge, since Andy had taken the car to support Jim's BG attempt. 25 miles on one road was ever so slightly boring, although it had sufficient hills to more or less retain my interest. Legs slightly tired from Monday's efforts. Mince pie at Tow Law.
Wednesday 28 - 56 minutes of running on Bowes moor with Andy and Jim, in more strong wind. I think we only did about 20 minutes actually into the wind, but it felt like about 20 hours. 60 minutes swimming in the evening. Should have been 90, but got out early to go for a curry. (It was the Christmas holidays, after all.)
Thursday 29 - 59 minutes of running with Andy, Jim, Duncan and Pippa on Cockfield fell. NB: Had I been left to my own devices, I would have made both Wednesday and Thursday's efforts up to a nice round 60 minutes. However, I was made to feel by the company that this would be obsessive and pointless, so I didn't.
Friday 30 - breakfast, lunch and dinner. (i.e. a rest day)
Saturday 31 - 51.5 miles of hilly cycling (in more wind, although not quite so ferocious this time) in Northumberland with my sister. (Longframlington - Netherwitton - Elsdon - Alwinton - Netherton - Rothbury and back). About 4800 feet of ascent (if the Garmin is to be believed). Nice to ride with Louise; haven't cycled with her properly for about 5 years. Then stuffed my face with soup and cake and hared it down to Glossop for New Year's Eve.
New Year's Day - 10 miles from Glossop up to top of Snake Pass and down through a medley of peat bogs. I think it would be fitting to rename the Peak District as the Peat District. After all, the peaks are hardly prominent but it is genuinely full of peat.
Monday 2 January - almost too embarrassing to write - about 37 minutes of cycling. Fortunately the odometer on my bike had been knocked so the embarrassingly short distance wasn't recorded.
And now we're up to today, which will involve 60 minutes of swimming.
Scanning above it seems to make for a fairly dull read. I'm pleased that despite having been on holiday for over two weeks and being away for most of it, I've managed a fair bit of good training, and now that I'm back to work it should start to get more structured again. Looking forward to the wind finally abating so cycling becomes less dangerous, although glancing outside it would appear that it's as strong, or stronger, as it has been for most of the past month.
Now that my FRA calendar has arrived I think the first race that I'm aiming for properly this year is the English Championships race mid-March. January is traditionally when I find training the hardest - back at work, still dark, seems like ages (! for a teacher this will gain little sympathy) until the next holiday... - but with a race a mere 10 weeks away it focuses the mind somewhat.
In other news, having consumed approximately a tonne of saturated fat over the past month, it is time to begin something of a more athletic diet, in order to prevent dropping dead of a heart attack before my next race.
Thursday 22 December - 37 miles of cycling, in hideous wind, during which time I got blown off, actually blown across the road and into a ditch, after about 20 miles. i.e. Pretty much the furthest point from home, so 'turning back' wouldn't have made much sense. Should have turned back before it got so dangerous. So windy it actually blew snot out of my nose, which, although it saved me dirtying my glove, was fairly grotesque.
Friday 23 - made fudge and truffles.
Saturday 24 - about 75 minutes of running with Andy, with one fast 2 minute hill effort, on Simonside hills. Nice day out. Bit blustery and drizzly, but nice running.
Christmas Day - the plan was for a cycle, but wind forbade it, so a short walk and lots of turkey instead.
Boxing Day - 3.5 mile(ish) race, just outside Rothbury. 1st woman, 6th overall, 25:59 and 2 mins 40 down on leading men. Would have rather been a bit faster but was more pleased that my Achilles wasn't a problem. The wind in my face for the last mile made me feel a bit like I was pulling a lorry. Hard work, despite the shortness of the race. Plus, my experiments would indicate that a face full of truffles, fudge, turkey and bread sauce 90 minutes before the start is not conducive to feeling athletic.
Tuesday 27 - 29 mile cycle down the A68 home from Corbridge, since Andy had taken the car to support Jim's BG attempt. 25 miles on one road was ever so slightly boring, although it had sufficient hills to more or less retain my interest. Legs slightly tired from Monday's efforts. Mince pie at Tow Law.
Wednesday 28 - 56 minutes of running on Bowes moor with Andy and Jim, in more strong wind. I think we only did about 20 minutes actually into the wind, but it felt like about 20 hours. 60 minutes swimming in the evening. Should have been 90, but got out early to go for a curry. (It was the Christmas holidays, after all.)
Thursday 29 - 59 minutes of running with Andy, Jim, Duncan and Pippa on Cockfield fell. NB: Had I been left to my own devices, I would have made both Wednesday and Thursday's efforts up to a nice round 60 minutes. However, I was made to feel by the company that this would be obsessive and pointless, so I didn't.
Friday 30 - breakfast, lunch and dinner. (i.e. a rest day)
Saturday 31 - 51.5 miles of hilly cycling (in more wind, although not quite so ferocious this time) in Northumberland with my sister. (Longframlington - Netherwitton - Elsdon - Alwinton - Netherton - Rothbury and back). About 4800 feet of ascent (if the Garmin is to be believed). Nice to ride with Louise; haven't cycled with her properly for about 5 years. Then stuffed my face with soup and cake and hared it down to Glossop for New Year's Eve.
New Year's Day - 10 miles from Glossop up to top of Snake Pass and down through a medley of peat bogs. I think it would be fitting to rename the Peak District as the Peat District. After all, the peaks are hardly prominent but it is genuinely full of peat.
Monday 2 January - almost too embarrassing to write - about 37 minutes of cycling. Fortunately the odometer on my bike had been knocked so the embarrassingly short distance wasn't recorded.
And now we're up to today, which will involve 60 minutes of swimming.
Scanning above it seems to make for a fairly dull read. I'm pleased that despite having been on holiday for over two weeks and being away for most of it, I've managed a fair bit of good training, and now that I'm back to work it should start to get more structured again. Looking forward to the wind finally abating so cycling becomes less dangerous, although glancing outside it would appear that it's as strong, or stronger, as it has been for most of the past month.
Now that my FRA calendar has arrived I think the first race that I'm aiming for properly this year is the English Championships race mid-March. January is traditionally when I find training the hardest - back at work, still dark, seems like ages (! for a teacher this will gain little sympathy) until the next holiday... - but with a race a mere 10 weeks away it focuses the mind somewhat.
In other news, having consumed approximately a tonne of saturated fat over the past month, it is time to begin something of a more athletic diet, in order to prevent dropping dead of a heart attack before my next race.
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