March

Here is the grand summary for March!


Swim - 20,700m - 8hrs20
Bike - 346 miles - 25hrs23
Run - 79 miles - 14hrs16
Core, Gym, flexibility & cross training - 11hrs45
Total - 59hrs44!


This is loads compared to the previous months so I have to be careful I don't do too much too soon and get myself injured. I particularly have to look after my left shoulder, a residual injury from my teenage competitive swimming days. I also have to look after my hamstrings and hips, they get very tight, very quickly if I don't stretch out properly (I dislocated left hip from skiing when I was 20 but that is a story for another day!).


So to give you some contrast, here is the summaries for January and February...


February
Swim - 10,650m - 3hrs45
Bike - 131 miles - 9hrs15
Run - 41 miles - 7hrs33
Core, Gym, flexibility & cross training - 28hrs25 (Including 20hrs of skiing and mountain climbing!)
Total - 48hrs58


January
Swim - 8,400m - 3hrs44
Bike - 168 miles - 12hrs50
Run - 50 miles - 9hrs09
Core, Gym, flexibility & cross training - 23hrs20 (Lots of preparatory core work and some skiing!)
Total - 49hrs03

Last week's training and this week

A good week last week...

Swim - 5,200m - 2hrs
Bike - 68 miles - 4hrs50
Run - 20 miles - 3hrs52
Gym/Core - 2hrs45
Total - 13hrs27

My swimming is stable to quick. I need to speed up my bike ride and improve my endurance. The run is coming along steadily. I really enjoy the morning core work and gym sessions. The core work sets me up nicely for the day. I can feel the improvements in the gym and I can feel the benefits in the other disciplines.

This week may be a little less successful as real life is happening but the plan is...

Swim - 4,500m - 2hrs
Bike - 37 miles - 2hrs45
Run - 24 miles - 4hrs20 ( Including Heaven and Hell Half Marathon!)
Gym/Core - 4hrs25
Total - 13hrs30

Let's see what happens!

Daffy's are great!

I have to smile when I see Daffodils. They are such friendly, happy flowers.

Madness? Part 2

I made it to Kilmarnock! But the fates were out to stop me at the start.

My luck with punctures made me go the one of the local bike shops on the way to work on Friday to get a new tyre. They checked the tube for me, they fitted it for me and they pumped it up for me.





Saturday morning I got ready to go out went to take my bike outside, dead on 9am as planned and... A flat tyre.

I could have screamed, I could have cried, but I didn't. I calmly checked out the opening time of all the bike shops in Edinburgh for the one that opened the earliest, text SM about the delay and headed to the shop.

I was on the road again by 10am. Not too bad.

The route is fairly hilly in that slow, gradual, draining kind of way. The profile doesn't quite do it justice I feel. Oh, maybe it does on second glance.

The long and the short of it, I made it to Kilmarnock in 6 hours, 5hrs on the bike computer. I wasn't in a hurry, I wasn't looking for a specific time, I just wanted to do the distance. I had a head wind to keep me company, and it did a good job of that, and I had my radio. I was happy.

I got to Kilmarnock in great spirits and demanded food. SM delivered in the form of microwave butter popcorn (a great quick carb and salt fix!), risotto and then whisked me off to the cinema to see Watchmen! (Hummmm. I like the comic book films as a rule but Watchmen might need to be watched again before I decide what I think.). We were in bed by 10pm! Boy, what an exciting gal to have around!

New gym routine!

Warm up cycle or run to gym.

Stretches

Cartwheel with 12.5 barbell
10 x pull ups
10 x upward row
10 x push ups
10 x bows
10 x lunges
10 x squat to push up
10 x dead lift

Core
10 x high kicks (with hand under hips)
10 x hip curls (leave legs in high high kick position and lift the hips)
10 x tummy crunch (leave legs/hips in lift position and lift chest up)
60 second plank

Repeat Cartwheel followed by Core another 3 times!

Cool down cycle or run to work.

Curl up and sleep, sorry work. ZZZZZzzzzzzz

Morning routine

My mornings are fairly regular, provided I have got over the biggest hurdle of the day... getting out of bed!

This is how it goes...

5.45 Alarm.

Eat a banana and drink 500 ml water.

Stretches
15 x bridge holding each for 5 secs (lay on back with heals up towards bottom, lift hips to form a straight line between knees and shoulders, hold for 5 sec, return to neutral).
15 x supine high kicks on each leg (lay on back and high kick!).
10 x pendulum swings each side (lay on back with hips and knees bent at 90 degrees, swing knees left until shoulder begins to lift and return to neutral).
10 x scorpion on back each side (lay on back in the position of a church cross, swing right foot to left hand keeping left foot straight, return to neutral).
10 scorpion on front each side (lay on front in the position of a church cross, swing right foot to left hand keeping left foot as straight as possible, return to neutral).

Small bowl of porridge if followed be a bike or gym work out.

Work out (swim, bike, run, gym or yoga).

Cycle/run to work.

Large bowl of porridge at my desk; or if it is the second bowl, another small bowl of porridge!

Madness?

My plan for Saturday is to ride from Edinburgh, where I live, to Kilmarnock, where SM lives. 66 miles!

Is this madness?

Patience

Months of watching and waiting have finally paid off! Is this a lesson for my training?

Long slow run...

More like a short, very slow run this morning!

My hamstrings were feeling like guitar strings last night at swimming from my run on Monday and my 22 mile bike ride on Tuesday and my left shoulder was clicking in a nasty way every stroke after riding with a rucksack that was a fraction too heavy. As a result I got out of the pool before the end of the session. I hate doing that, I feel like such a wimp but I figured I was going to do my self some damage if I continued (the final sets were kick and pull).

This morning, my guitar strings were still very tight so I have decided to do two medium runs of 10k rather than one 20k run. And to take my phone ready for photos!

A gorgeous day, I was heading to run round Arthur's Seat, clockwise.

First view of the park. I'm going round the hills on the right (Arthur's Seat) and up to the height of the hill on the left (Salisbury Craig's).

Going down...

Good morning Swans!

Going up...

And up...

Looking down...

One of the best views in Edinburgh, if not Scotland, in some of the best weather you can get!

Cycling

Feeling a wee bit tight after my run yesterday, this morning I headed out on my bike on a long commute to work.



The road between Kilmarnock and Glasgow is 'fun' at 7am. Leaving Kilmarnock, it is a steady up hill slog for about 8 miles! I was chuffed with averaging 13 mhp on my computer, but a little concerned I would be late for work. I always under estimate that road.

It is then down hill, weeeeeeeee, all the way in to Glasgow! Shame about the traffic and traffic lights that get in the way!

Running

Now this may be a bad thing to do on the night before my long run...

Yesterday I had a fantastic 5 mile run. The first mile or so wasn't much fun, whilst I warmed up but then I really got into the zone. What is even better is that it only took me 43min, that is 3 minutes quicker than my last 5 miler.

Maybe, just maybe, I might one day call myself a runner...

Back on track part 2

I had grand plans for my training last week, and I achieved most of it! This is what my week looked like...

I did have a wee 'close encounter' with a van door. Luckily I was going uphill so I wasn't travelling too quickly but I still have a lovely lump on my chin. The bruising makes me look like I haven't washed my face properly!

Chain gang

I love riding in a chain gang when it works. There is a poetry about. The rhythm and grace is hypnotic.

I hate the chain gang when it doesn't work.

Yesterday we went out, group of about 10 riders. We settled into a chain gang after about 10miles but boy what a chain. The faster line wasn't a little faster, you had to push hard or even stand up to catch up with the guy in front. I don't mind that occasionally but not for 30 miles!

I nearly got dropped 10 miles from home but some lovely chap held back and helped me re join the group. I was able to repay the favour on the final hill.

44 miles is my longest to date. I better get a whole lot more miles under my tires soon if I'm going to race for 56 AND run afterwards! I was pooped!

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Back on track...

Here is my training plan and summary for the week:

Monday - Core 10min, Run (2km) 20min, Bike (10k commute) 30min - (Recovery day)

Tuesday - Core 10min, Bike (30miles) 120min, Swim (3km) 60min, Bike (10k commute) 30min, Flexibility 15min

Wednesday - Core 10min, Gym 30min, Run (10k commute) 60min

Thursday - Core 10min, Swim (3km) 60min, Bike (10k commute) 30min, Bike (spin) 25min, Flexibility 15min

Friday - Core 10min, Bike (10k commute) 30min, Gym 30min, Run (5km) 30min

Saturday - Core 10min, Flexibility 15min

Sunday - Core 10min, Flexibility 15min

Swim 2 workouts 6000 m (6561 yards) 2 hours
Bike 5 workouts 86 km (53 miles) 3h55
Run 3 workouts 20 km (12 miles) 2h5

SBR Total 10 workouts -- 8 hours

Other Total 13 workouts -- 3h15

Total 23 workouts -- 11h15

I figure that if I tell the world, I'll be more accountable and not be too 'tired' to get out of bed at 6am!

Lasswade 10

My holiday in Glen Coe is over and I'm back with a vengeance with the Lasswade 10. A 10 mile race through the beautiful Lothian country side. Well it was beautiful most of the time. Not the bit past the land fill :-(.

Our route started in Rosewell, just south of Edinburgh. By mile 2 we were near the bottom of Rosslyn Glen, home of Rosslyn Chapel (Yup the one out of the Da Vinci Code). By mile 6 we had finished climbing out of the Glen and it was mostly down hill to the finish.

Here is the elevation plan.

I had a good race, I'm really pleased. My target was to keep an eye on my pace. Back in November I did Buchlyvie Half Marathon and totally bonked towards the end. This time I wanted to finish running.

I set myself the target of 10 min miles. If I had finished in 1:40:00 I would have been happy. The first couple of splits were about 9:20 which I was quite happy with. My third mile was 10 min but that was the steep section out of the Glen. After that I didn't quite record my times other that it was about 9:30. At 6 miles I felt good and managed to pick up the pace. At 8 miles I was on 1:14:00. I had an outside chance of getting in at 1:30! I picked up the pace again. At 9 miles I was on 1:23:00. I was saying to myself 'Dig in, you can do it, it is supposed to hurt now, dig in'.

My unofficial finishing time?

1:31:09

I'm totally stoked. 9 minutes quicker than my plan and an 8min mile sprint to the finish!!!!!!

Wooo hooo, I'm back.