So from being a bit of a coach potato I've been training properly since the turn of the year and it shows, sometimes just a little bit, but I know I'm on the right path.
This evening I popped into the city to grab a couple of drinks with a mate from work. After that, I headed back to the car by way of a short run (I'd had 2 bottles of Peroni over the space of 2 and a half hours, no fear); from One Above to the passport office is mostly uphill, so I popped up a steady pace and went for it. End of last year, I'd've been hanging out of my airse half way to the car and had to walk some of it without getting close to that pace, today I judged it well to my limits and it felt good. Really good. I like the way this is going.
Friday, 12 August 2011
Thursday, 11 August 2011
Work Induced Mental Fatigue
When I decided to write this I I figured I'd make sure I recorded everything, good and bad. This here is a mediocre day.
Today as I drove home from work, I felt both physically and mentally fatigued, so I've bailed out of my run session. Physically I reckon I'd've been fine to do it, particularly as its recovery week, but mentally, even though in all likelyhood I'd've felt better at the end of the session, I just kinda wanted to hide from the world for an evening.
For those of you that know me, I tend to be a rather unrelentingly positive & cheery guy, and the training and competing has made it even easier to maintain that outlook. Some days though, staying positive and trying to keep the spirits of those around you up is a tiring task (yeah, works not a happy place for a lot of folks at the moment). I also haven't had a proper break since I was over in Lisboa, so I'm risking a little mental burn out in the office. Thankfully I have a 2 day week next week before I head up early to Aberfeldy to stay in a caravan for 4 nights where I fully intend on doing a bit of running, a bit of cycling and lots of sleeping, reading and chilling to recharge those batteries.
There are other factors at play here too I'm fairly sure, some of them things I can deal with fairly easily (I've let some bad eating habits slip back in & I'm having too much refined sugar again leading to those sugar dips) others require a lot more thought and care. The good news is though that the training is enjoyable and I'm looking forward to my run up Arthur's Seat on Saturday.
But I'm recognising when I need to stop & rest earlier these days before it becomes an issue, so rather than going out for that run, I took myself to that mat & did a stretch session, now I need to move on with some of those niggling things around the flat. Finally, and most importantly, I will be having myself an early night & plenty of sleep, and I'm sure I'll wake up with more energy to hit the day and the weekend head on :)
I also know that once I hit my Roth training plan I'll be getting very busy, so now is the time to eliminate the stressors that can easily be dealt with & reduce the impact of longer term stressors. Training for Roth won't just require the physical effort of training, but the mental effort to get my life more efficient so that I can function better. Some aspects should be straightforward - declutter the physical and mental things, be it something as simple getting better at the housework & keeping on top of it, or physically getting shot of things that I don't need, I just need to start changing some more bad habits is all!
Words are a powerful tool, and never underestimate them. Even in the act of writing this I have felt some of the mental burden lift from me and some more of the excitment and optimism seep back in. Had I finished this 45 minutes ago, I may even have put on my trainers and gone off to join the run session. All I can say here is find an constructive outlet for anything negative in your head - get it out before it becomes a pattern, be it a foolishly public blog like this, a friend to talk to or a private diary, because a healthy mind is a healthy body my friends.
Today as I drove home from work, I felt both physically and mentally fatigued, so I've bailed out of my run session. Physically I reckon I'd've been fine to do it, particularly as its recovery week, but mentally, even though in all likelyhood I'd've felt better at the end of the session, I just kinda wanted to hide from the world for an evening.
For those of you that know me, I tend to be a rather unrelentingly positive & cheery guy, and the training and competing has made it even easier to maintain that outlook. Some days though, staying positive and trying to keep the spirits of those around you up is a tiring task (yeah, works not a happy place for a lot of folks at the moment). I also haven't had a proper break since I was over in Lisboa, so I'm risking a little mental burn out in the office. Thankfully I have a 2 day week next week before I head up early to Aberfeldy to stay in a caravan for 4 nights where I fully intend on doing a bit of running, a bit of cycling and lots of sleeping, reading and chilling to recharge those batteries.
There are other factors at play here too I'm fairly sure, some of them things I can deal with fairly easily (I've let some bad eating habits slip back in & I'm having too much refined sugar again leading to those sugar dips) others require a lot more thought and care. The good news is though that the training is enjoyable and I'm looking forward to my run up Arthur's Seat on Saturday.
But I'm recognising when I need to stop & rest earlier these days before it becomes an issue, so rather than going out for that run, I took myself to that mat & did a stretch session, now I need to move on with some of those niggling things around the flat. Finally, and most importantly, I will be having myself an early night & plenty of sleep, and I'm sure I'll wake up with more energy to hit the day and the weekend head on :)
I also know that once I hit my Roth training plan I'll be getting very busy, so now is the time to eliminate the stressors that can easily be dealt with & reduce the impact of longer term stressors. Training for Roth won't just require the physical effort of training, but the mental effort to get my life more efficient so that I can function better. Some aspects should be straightforward - declutter the physical and mental things, be it something as simple getting better at the housework & keeping on top of it, or physically getting shot of things that I don't need, I just need to start changing some more bad habits is all!
Words are a powerful tool, and never underestimate them. Even in the act of writing this I have felt some of the mental burden lift from me and some more of the excitment and optimism seep back in. Had I finished this 45 minutes ago, I may even have put on my trainers and gone off to join the run session. All I can say here is find an constructive outlet for anything negative in your head - get it out before it becomes a pattern, be it a foolishly public blog like this, a friend to talk to or a private diary, because a healthy mind is a healthy body my friends.
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
More Swimming
Pool session last night, open water tonight.
Last nights pool session was an odd ball. I've got my swimming up so that I'm out of the development lane and into the middle lane, with a more consistent session. Yesterday though, I started off swimming lack a sack of potatoes, and never really pulled it back. The session started with an easy 200 as a warm up, but I started off in the middle of the group, so rather than finding my own steady warm up pace I pushed on harder than I should've so that I didn't hold anyone up. Stupid. After that, bit more warm up, into the main set and slipped back to the back of the group where I started to get into a rythmn cos I wasn't worrying about slowing people up, just about me and my tempo, listening to the feedback from my body & just trying to relax into it, and it started to work, but should've done it from the start. Towards the end, I was getting reasonably consistent I thought.
Tonight it was off to Loch Lomond for some open water swimming. With the utterly miserable weather, I struggled to get psyched up for it, and dipped into a bit of Team Roth backup to chide me into manning up. Lochside, the rain had stopped which made pulling on the neoprene a bit more appealing. The water was surprisingly mild considering the amount of rain that'd chucked down during the day. Into the swim and I found myself in a bit of a bunch a couple of times, so I'm definitely getting more comfortable with the flailing arms and legs around me! My swimming felt better than yesterday, though my shoulders were still feeling tired after last night, so I bailed after one lap and headed in to change as the skies started to open up. Job done.
Last nights pool session was an odd ball. I've got my swimming up so that I'm out of the development lane and into the middle lane, with a more consistent session. Yesterday though, I started off swimming lack a sack of potatoes, and never really pulled it back. The session started with an easy 200 as a warm up, but I started off in the middle of the group, so rather than finding my own steady warm up pace I pushed on harder than I should've so that I didn't hold anyone up. Stupid. After that, bit more warm up, into the main set and slipped back to the back of the group where I started to get into a rythmn cos I wasn't worrying about slowing people up, just about me and my tempo, listening to the feedback from my body & just trying to relax into it, and it started to work, but should've done it from the start. Towards the end, I was getting reasonably consistent I thought.
Tonight it was off to Loch Lomond for some open water swimming. With the utterly miserable weather, I struggled to get psyched up for it, and dipped into a bit of Team Roth backup to chide me into manning up. Lochside, the rain had stopped which made pulling on the neoprene a bit more appealing. The water was surprisingly mild considering the amount of rain that'd chucked down during the day. Into the swim and I found myself in a bit of a bunch a couple of times, so I'm definitely getting more comfortable with the flailing arms and legs around me! My swimming felt better than yesterday, though my shoulders were still feeling tired after last night, so I bailed after one lap and headed in to change as the skies started to open up. Job done.
Monday, 8 August 2011
Cheeky Wee Monday Crow Climb
I hadn't planned on doing anything except a little stretching the evening, but as I got in the car to drive home, I realised with weather like that, it'd be criminal not to get out on the bike for a wee spin and since I'd yet to do the climb up the Crow Road at the back of Lennoxtown, tonight was the night.
I was feeling a bit sluggish, so I just spun myself over there, doing the 12k out in around 30 minutes, just warming up for the climb really. I took 10 minutes from there up to the car park as I struggled to get a good rhythm going, then as I had worked out how to get those pedals spinning properly another 5 minutes to top out where I took a wee chill out to stop beside the burn and relax for a while. Lovely in the sun.
Now the fun bit!
Back on the bike and you have that lovely downhill to open up on, topping out at 68 km/hr on the section down to the car park before chickening out into the headwind and sitting up in prep for the corner. Heavy on the anchors for the corner, then tuck in & crank it up in top gear and WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE topping out at 70.4km/hr with more available from the legs, as it felt a bit sketchy thanks to the wind coming straight at the side of the hill. Anchors on again, into the corners, fun but not so good as technically I suck cornering at speed, with a couple of almost hairy moments, then I'm down into Lennoxtown and cruising all the way home. Lovely.
the route is here, though the out and back sections feel hillier than that...
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/45156476/
So things I learnt/refreshed in my memory today:
1) Need to practice bike handling skills
2) The Crow is in easy reach for hill reps
3) My climbing is still a bit baws, but no where near my "special" technique of the spring
4) Fast is gooooood
5) Take opportunities to get out in the sun
6) Fast is fun!
I was feeling a bit sluggish, so I just spun myself over there, doing the 12k out in around 30 minutes, just warming up for the climb really. I took 10 minutes from there up to the car park as I struggled to get a good rhythm going, then as I had worked out how to get those pedals spinning properly another 5 minutes to top out where I took a wee chill out to stop beside the burn and relax for a while. Lovely in the sun.
Now the fun bit!
Back on the bike and you have that lovely downhill to open up on, topping out at 68 km/hr on the section down to the car park before chickening out into the headwind and sitting up in prep for the corner. Heavy on the anchors for the corner, then tuck in & crank it up in top gear and WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE topping out at 70.4km/hr with more available from the legs, as it felt a bit sketchy thanks to the wind coming straight at the side of the hill. Anchors on again, into the corners, fun but not so good as technically I suck cornering at speed, with a couple of almost hairy moments, then I'm down into Lennoxtown and cruising all the way home. Lovely.
the route is here, though the out and back sections feel hillier than that...
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/45156476/
So things I learnt/refreshed in my memory today:
1) Need to practice bike handling skills
2) The Crow is in easy reach for hill reps
3) My climbing is still a bit baws, but no where near my "special" technique of the spring
4) Fast is gooooood
5) Take opportunities to get out in the sun
6) Fast is fun!
Friday, 5 August 2011
Do The Maths, Sean
First up, I want to point out that in no way is this a complaint, last nights run session was fantastic and exactly what I needed. In saying that, taking 20 or 30 meters off each of the 12 laps then adding 6 is (being generous) removing 1 of last weeks laps then adding 5 and a half new ones. I wasn't fooled. Instead I was pushedand enjoyed myself.
Similar set to last week, though we did 1 lap on 2:30 then 2 on 5:00 finishing with 3 laps on 7:30 with an extra minute before starting again, and then again. So yeah, we didn't have to walk back to the start line, and yeah, we got 5 to 10 seconds extra rest, I will give you that.
Anyways, once again I felt I paced myself pretty well, most laps coming in aroun 1:53 to 1:58, so probably around the 4min/km mark, which if I can start to string it together will lead me to one of my goals of a sub 40min 10km run.
Right now, that feels very possible, though there are a few things I need to work on to make it easier - my glutes & hips need stretching out as they tend to tighten up and its where I'm feeling it the most when I'm running, I need to relax more as I have a habit of tensing up if I get a little out of breath, which just makes my posture worse, if I can get my hips better stretched I can get them further forward and more into the 'falling forward' way where I can let gravity pull me along and I need to get my ankles more flexible to aid this too. I've made great gains in this running malarky, but as you can see above, I've got plenty more to go!
Similar set to last week, though we did 1 lap on 2:30 then 2 on 5:00 finishing with 3 laps on 7:30 with an extra minute before starting again, and then again. So yeah, we didn't have to walk back to the start line, and yeah, we got 5 to 10 seconds extra rest, I will give you that.
Anyways, once again I felt I paced myself pretty well, most laps coming in aroun 1:53 to 1:58, so probably around the 4min/km mark, which if I can start to string it together will lead me to one of my goals of a sub 40min 10km run.
Right now, that feels very possible, though there are a few things I need to work on to make it easier - my glutes & hips need stretching out as they tend to tighten up and its where I'm feeling it the most when I'm running, I need to relax more as I have a habit of tensing up if I get a little out of breath, which just makes my posture worse, if I can get my hips better stretched I can get them further forward and more into the 'falling forward' way where I can let gravity pull me along and I need to get my ankles more flexible to aid this too. I've made great gains in this running malarky, but as you can see above, I've got plenty more to go!
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Support
I signed up for Roth with Mark, Hannah & Jo from the club, and it does make it all the more exciting to be entering an event like this with friends I train with. Over the next year, I've no doubt we'll be giving each other masses of support and encouragement and I know I'll be looking to them all for plenty of advice, which is why when Mark asked if I would be up for driving down to Bolton to cheer on Hannah in her first long distance race at Ironman UK, I didn't even have to think about it. I know from my races how much easier it feels when there are faces you know out there cheering you on.
We headed down without telling her, so I'm sure you can imagine the look on her face when she clocked us on the course - totally worth it. We caught her several times round the course, each time with a huge grin on her face as she cruised through the miles as steady as can be, before heading down to the finish line to witness her triumphant finish. Much respect & well done Hannah.
The whole day was spent cheering on everyone that went past; unknown spectators have raised my spirits so often before, so I wanted to help all those competitors the way I've been helped in the past. We cheered til we were hoarse and clapped till our hands hurt; the words and smiles from those passing were all that we needed in thanks.
So if you know someone competing, give them encouragement throughout their training and on the day. And iff there's a race near-by, get yourself out into the crowd and shout your lungs out. Maybe you'll get inspired too. I know my inspiration went up. Now I've seen what long distance is all about, and I. Can't. Wait!!!!!!
We headed down without telling her, so I'm sure you can imagine the look on her face when she clocked us on the course - totally worth it. We caught her several times round the course, each time with a huge grin on her face as she cruised through the miles as steady as can be, before heading down to the finish line to witness her triumphant finish. Much respect & well done Hannah.
The whole day was spent cheering on everyone that went past; unknown spectators have raised my spirits so often before, so I wanted to help all those competitors the way I've been helped in the past. We cheered til we were hoarse and clapped till our hands hurt; the words and smiles from those passing were all that we needed in thanks.
So if you know someone competing, give them encouragement throughout their training and on the day. And iff there's a race near-by, get yourself out into the crowd and shout your lungs out. Maybe you'll get inspired too. I know my inspiration went up. Now I've seen what long distance is all about, and I. Can't. Wait!!!!!!
Swim Success
Another day, another sign of how far I've come. Tonight was time trial night and as I have Strathclyde Park Olympic Distance coming up, I figured its time I manned up and moved from the 750m to the 1500m. After a cheeky wee 200m warm up, it was onto the main set. After an initial wee rush, I talked myself into setting a good steady rythmn, not worrying about anyone else's speed and just going for it. Due to a wee niggly issue with my shoulder, I'd given myself the option of dropping out after 750, but as I reached it feeling good at just under 16 minutes, I carried on. In a moment of excitement I kicked off the wall a little too enthusiastically, resulting in a smidgen of cramp, but I worked it off over the next 50m. Settling back down into my proper rythmn, the lengths just disappeared, though towards the end I started taking a couple of big breaths at the end of some lengths. In the last 100m, cramp started to threaten again, but there was no way I was stopping, so took it on home, in a little over 32 minutes. The best thing for me though was that the entire session was completed using only freestyle, at no point did I have to slip back to breaststroke to catch my breath. That, my friends, is progress!
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