Wednesday 11 June 2014

Juneathon catchup

I've failed at the blogging side of Juneathon but I have still exercised (sort of) every day. 

Friday June 6
I spent the afternoon pitching a tent on my own. I wore my Garmin because I wanted to see how far I moved while doing it (there's a lot of running in circles involved with tent-pitching). I covered just over 1 mile in more than an hour. I also had to run a third of a mile from home to my kids' school because I was late to pick them up. 

Saturday June 7
I accompanied my daughter and her Beaver Scout friends on a 3.4 mile walk from Henlow to Langford and back. It took just under 2 hours and there was a lot of moaning involved (it rained a LOT, plus Beavers are age 6-8). We did get ice cream though. 
In the afternoon I played cricket and rounders with my son and his friends, rounders is a bit like interval training. ;)

Sunday June 8
I took down a tent, which involves a similar amount of running around in circles. It certainly gets the heart rate going. I had a short walk in the afternoon too when I took my son to his karate lesson and visited a friend who has just moved nearby. 

Monday June 9
I did circuit training, it was a Tabata-style circuit (HIIT training). I was exhausted and sweated loads. Had to run to the class (0.3 miles) too because I was late. 

Tuesday June 10
I ran today, I went for a quick 5K on my own before running club (3.4 miles in 27 mins) then took a group of beginners on a 2.3 mile run around the village in 30 mins. Was good to get some extra miles in, my running has suffered recently since my husband started running too. He takes all the good running slots :(

Thursday 5 June 2014

Club night, race night!

Tonight was running club. I don't really get to intermediate running club anymore, because my husband has started running and he's faster than me so he can't really attend beginners club. I go to beginners at 7pm on Thursday and my husband comes along at 7:30pm with the children and we do a relay handover, with two children as the baton.

Tonight's club run was really good. Pete took the run-walk group (who are now running for 7 minutes and walking for 2 minutes, after starting at 1 minute running a month or two ago), and Ed and I took the remaining four runners out. We did a race: Ed and two girls ran one way around the village and me and two other girls ran the opposite direction, the aim being to stay together as a group and beat the other team back. One of my group was really struggling to keep pace, and we had to loop back every 5 minutes to keep her motivated. We passed Ed's team sooner than expected, and that demotivated us for a while. But then my team caught up with the run-walkers so we had people to aim at. Lots of shouting happened, and finally we were on the High St and I was trying to encourage my team and some run-walkers to sprint for home. The best thing was seeing the other team sprinting down the High St too! So we weren't all that far behind, a few seconds was all in the end. A great run, 2.5 miles at 9:50 min/mile pace.

Before anyone starts feeling affronted on my behalf at my being prevented from going to running club because my husband is faster than me, we've organised a schedule from July (when my current Pilates class term ends). He's going to attend Tuesday club nights and I'll attend on Thursdays. I do miss my Tuesday beginners but I have family commitments that make 7pm an awkward time to run.

This might be my last Juneathon blog, 5 days in! I have a busy busy weekend looming. It's my son's birthday party Saturday afternoon, but also the Scout Group sponsored walk is in the morning (you can sponsor us at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/TeamPassey) and my daughter's football presentation is after lunch. Blogging will be minimal and include lots of walking (Saturday), and possibly tent-pitching (vigorously so it counts for Juneathon, on Friday).

Wednesday 4 June 2014

Finding my inner knee

Today's Juneathon post is all about Pilates. I went to a different class than my usual Tuesday one, although this will become my new permanent class in 5 weeks' time. I always feel awkward at the Wednesday class, even though I'm more advanced than the people who go to it. I make myself try harder so I don't need the instructor to correct me during exercises. And I usually forget to breathe as a result.

We did exercises with the Pilates ring tonight: leg squeezes and arm raises and stretches. I like the ring thing, although I'm always a bit nervous it's going to snap on me (because of my mighty thigh strength). We also tried to locate our inner knee muscles, working these should strengthen our knees and straighten the knee cap (I am known for my dodgy knees so I paid a lot of attention at this point). We located them while sat down and then attempted to fire them while stood up. This exercise should apparently also entail gluteal muscles, so we had to stand there holding our arses to check they were working too. I was trying not to laugh, so I couldn't do this at all.

After Pilates I walked home, put my kids to bed, then went back out for a fast 5K as practice for a race in a few weeks. The aim was to hit 7:30 min/mile but I failed at that and only managed 7:50 average. My husband (who is now an expert at running 5K, or so you'd think) told me my pacing was hideous and I should try to stay consistent throughout the run rather than slowing on the hills. (I think I forgot what I was doing about halfway round because I slowed right down to 11 min/mile.) I've been told now, consistency is the key! I'll try again next week.


Tuesday 3 June 2014

Exercise is not a chore

I was supposed to be at Pilates this evening, an easy Juneathon activity. But this afternoon my son was taken ill and I find myself at home and unable to go to Pilates (I've moved myself to Wednesday's class, that's tomorrow sorted).

So for today, I've had to shoe-horn in a 1.3 mile walk while my husband was briefly around to catch potential vomit. Half an hour of dropping the well child at beavers, walking to the shop, and walking home. Chores AND exercise completed in one go. Marvellous. 


Monday 2 June 2014

Ditching the ab plan, day 2

Today's Juneathon activity was circuit training, I made a last-minute decision to go to the class based on a lack of work to do and a need to tone ab muscles etc. Ran to class (that must also count for something). Today's circuit featured 16 stations of core/leg/arm/cardio exercises, each done twice.

Had to amend squats and lunges because my knees are playing up, focused on technique. Managed some full press ups with feet on a medicine ball, and again moving the ball hand-to-hand between press ups. Seem to have cracked the "sideways jog things with standing ab curl".

I've decided to ditch the 30-day ab challenge, on day 2. I studied the challenge in detail and I think it just increases in difficulty too quickly, it will only lead to injury! I shall persevere at the leg raises though, we do those in Pilates class and I find them really hard. I did just under 100 ab crunches today during circuits, which counts for something.

Weighed myself too. Need to lose 14 lb before my cousin-by-marriage's wedding in July. This is what happens when you lose focus and think you can eat what you like because you're running loads.

Sunday 1 June 2014

Kick up the ass needed

Since MK Marathon I've felt my running hasn't been easy. Post-marathon-lack-of mojo-itis. I ran Stotfold 5K 2 weeks after the marathon (and was 2nd woman) but my time of 23:07 wasn't spectacular (albeit my best 5K time for more than a year).

Anyway, time to look forward not back. I've decided to do Juneathon as a way to kickstart my mojo again, or at least make me do exercise every day. I'm also doing this 30 day ab challenge that seems to have taken over social media. Although if I can do 125 sit ups, 200 crunches, 65 leg raises, and hold a plank for 2 minutes by June 30th I will eat my own hat (made from rice paper...).

Today I did a 10K interval workout, to heart rate zones. I ran for 10 minutes to warm up, then aimed at 162-170 HR for 7 minutes followed by a 3 minute recovery at 139-145, and repeated that 3 times. I ran the remaining distance as a cool down. Felt very unfit, and struggled to get my heart rate into either the threshold or the recovery zone, it preferred to hang around in the no-man's training land of 150 bpm.

Stats

Distance: 6.3 miles
Time: 56:12
Av HR: 154 bpm

30 day ab challenge

15 sit ups
5 crunches
5 leg raises
10 sec plank