Day 102

Just getting in a quick post today as we are all off to the sea fireworks shortly which will be great.

Until tomorrow...

Day 101: Watersports

Another fantastic day's vacation. Weather was scorching. No running today unfortunately, instead some sea kayaking. So a good upper body workout.

Had several outings today, some on my own where I went further and others with my youngest sat between my legs and we did not go too far. You can really feel the burn when the current is against you.

Hope to get out tomorrow for the final day of the Nike + challenge but the weather is not looking good. I do however have a few miles yet to upload as I have not been on for a few days!!!

Until tomorrow...

Day 100: What a day..

Managed it all today, it was great. Kids played for most of the morning with all their friends, so just needed to keep one eye on them. Then got in a sub 50 minute 10k, best time yet by a few seconds.

Grabbed a quick sandwich and then round to friends who have a lovely swimming pool in their garden (not particularly common in the UK) and again the kids all played together.

Weather was fantastic, a nice breeze to keep the heat away whilst running. So all in all couldn't ask for much more today. Gonna cook supper now and then put my blistered feet up!!

Until tomorrow...

Day 99: There's a Storm Coming

Fantastic day at the interactive kids science museum. It was really hot there though as it was 50 miles inland, no sea breeze.

Went down to see the local lifeboat tonight as it was open evening but it was not there, kids were really disappointed but then it came back and they got to watch it being re-housed and then got to walk around and explore it as well so a double bonus.

There is a big storm brewing tonight though. Went into the lifeboat house and it was lovely and sunny. Came out 30 minutes later and the sea mist was coming in, the wind was picking up. Should be a good show if the lighting is good. Hope it's not too late though!!!

Alas with all of this happening time did get the better of me and I could not get any training in. I am hoping there will be more time later this week.

Until tomorrow...

Day 98: Melting...

Sorry Christy!!!! After I got all of the ironing down this morning and put away, it was awful this morning as it was already quite hot and doing the ironing just made it worse. Still had to be done.

Wanted it done quickly today so I could get out for a run. Was out by 10:30 but boy was it hot already. Lots of people already out sunning themselves on the beach. Managed a sub 40 minute 8k so I was pleased with that, but I was soooo hot when I got back, I thought the soles of my trainers had melted!!

Had a great afternoon, BBQ with friends and their kids, so all 4 of them played out on the trampoline and in the paddling pool. Has just finished and the kids have just gone to bed. Not the most nutritious of meals but I had lots of protein. Still as I said not getting too hung up on it for the next 2 weeks. Will keep working hard during and after. Will probably do me good to get a few more calories than normal, that way when I get back to some very serious shredding the fat will drop off again.

Until tomorrow...

Day 97: Watching...

Well today was a really lazy day, I spent most of it watching all the kids play together from my deck in the front garden. The sun was scorching the kids were happy.

It was a very restful rest day this week. Hoping to get out for a good run tomorrow hopefully before it gets too hot as it is supposed to be even hotter tomorrow than today.

Until tomorrow...

Day 96: Another Week Closes

The end of another week, well almost but tomorrow is my rest day and also the start of my summer holiday!!! Not going anywhere but there will be day trips here and there.

I will do my best to eat healthily as much as possibly but I am not going to sweat it too much. I have made great progress these last few weeks with all the running and have seen some great changes in my body. I will continue to train as much as I can during my time off work but it may not be as consistent as normal.

I will keep blogging daily though. For now I am off to relax as I had a good upper body weights session at lunchtime today with a great abs session sandwiched in between.

Until tomorrow...

Day 95: Short on Time

Sorry, have to be really quick today, not much time, need to do some more work to clear things up for the vacation.

Managed to squeeze out another 8k today but the time was awful again. Gonna head to the gym for some weights tomorrow so that will be be 2 days of rest for my legs. It will be tough to make up the miles to get me in the top 5 of the Nike + as next week could be touch and go depending on what we are doing.

Until tomorrow...

Day 94: Too Hot!

We moan when it rains, when it';s too cold, when there is no sun and then when it finally gets nice it's too hot!!!

I know the UK is not as hot as where some of you are from but I don't like it when it gets really hot (UK hot at least), especially when I have to run it. I know you are supposed to stay out of the midday sun but that's when I get the chance to run. So around 12 today I went out. It was to be a 10k run today and by the time I got back I was dripping, my feet were on fire and I was exhausted.

I got a huge glass of orange juice and sat in the shade in my garden for 10 minutes cooling down. Came in at a respectable 50m 40s. Not as fast as last week but much faster than yesterday's 5k run.

My aim for the next few days will be to try and get into the top 5 on the Nike + but going on the mileage of the top 5 now I am not sure I will get there, I will try hard though over the next few days.

Until tomorrow...

Day 93: Getting up at 5am doesn't Make for a good Evening Training Session!!

Well as the title of today's post would suggest I was up early to get into the office today. It is a 3 hour round trip to drive to and from the office so it's not just getting up early but concentrating on the traffic too. There is 7 + hours in the office also.

As soon as I got home though I got changed into my running gear and played a bit of football in the garden with the boys until my youngest threw the ball over the fence due to frustration!! As soon as he was picked up for football I set off.

Boy oh boy though as soon as I set off I felt tired. I had already been up for over 12 hours by this time. I ended up doing 5k but it was a very slow time today but I am glad I managed to get it in today as I thought I would lose out on a workout today completely.

Until tomorrow...

Day 92: Mixed Up

Well I followed through with my routine today and went for my HIT sprint session at the gym. It was time to turn it up a notch as well.

The last routine was 4 minutes at the following intervals, 6kph, 12 kph, 14 kph & 16 kph. This was then repeated another 4 times (total of 5) with an additional minute at 16 kph.

Today's was getting back to close to what I used to be able to run. However I only cranked up the 4th minute. I went to 17 kph for cycle 2, 3 & 4 then back to 16 kph for the final cycle but again with the 21st minute at 16kph. It was tough but then it was supposed to be, I reckon I can push that harder too next time.

Then it was onto the abs. Gave an extra 10 on each of the exercises today too. Starting to see a few changes now and a bit of weight seems to be edging off. Just need to control the nutrition over my vacation.

Until tomorrow...

Day 91: A New Week

The start of a new week of training. Fully refreshed from an awesome rest day yesterday. Flew through the ironing today and then got changed for my run. This mornings weather was beautiful, lovely and sunny, a bit of a breeze. Passed several other runners going along the beach in the opposite direction all engrossed in their music too but we all smiled at each other and gave each other a nod!!

Just a quick 8k today as I had my brother and his wife staying for the weekend and my Dad coming over for lunch. I really went for it today as I had rested up yesterday and put in a cracking time of just over 39 minutes for 8kms. I don't think this is my best time but it is certainly the fastest for a few weeks.

As much as I have loved all of the long runs last week I need to mix it up a bit this week, despite trying to get a better place on the Nike + as I do not want to lose site of my goal. I am gonna head to the gym tomorrow for my sprint HIT workout and another abs session. Tuesday I will be in the office so there may be no training due to the very early start and kids football when I get home but I will see. I am on vacation at the end of the week for 2 weeks so it will be a busy week this week too.

I will get in as many training sessions this week but I am not sure if I will have the time to put in the mileage I did last week, we will see though. We are not going away anywhere so I hope to continue daily running and blogging through my vacation.

Until tomorrow...

Day 90: Rest Day

A much needed day of rest today after all of last weeks running. Feeling good for it too. Nice family day today. Lots of walking but no running. Will be fully re-charged for one on Sunday.

Until tomorrow...

Day 89: What No Rnning?

Yep that's right no running...well 2 minutes warm up on the treadmill and that was it. Needed to do some weights and abs today as have not done any for while. Concentrated on arms chest and back today with abs in between. Felt good to be doing some lifting today.

Rest day tomorrow and have family down so probably no running at all with the kids but we will see.

Until tomorrow...

Day 88: Another Week Almost done

Only one more day to go and I have not decided what to do tomorrow yet. I really should go to the gym tomorrow and do some weights as I have neglected these since starting the Nike + challenge. My legs could certainly use the rest.

Got another 10k under my belt today and managed to bring it in just under the 50 minutes which was great. Had a really strong second 5k which I think was faster than the first 5k.

Got my 21k route planned out on Google earth last night, trouble is I need to remember it now. The village I live in even If I run completely around it only racks up something like 16k so then I need to double back on myself to get the rest of the distance. It will be quite a challenge that's for sure but I will save that for a few weeks I think. Get a few more 10 & 13k's done first.

Until tomorrow...

Day 87: Jelly Legs

I knew this would happen after yesterday's run and sure enough my legs were a little like jelly today. So instead of doing 1 run like normal I did 4!!! Started first thing this morning running 1 km back from my kids school after dropping them off.

At lunchtime I pushed it and went for another 8km run. I really didn't want to go this distance today but had to otherwise all the extra mileage yesterday would have been wasted. Managed to get a reasonable time too of just over 40 minutes so yesterday did not take as much as I thought out of my legs.

Got home had some lunch and then about 45 minutes after my 8k it was back to school for the kids sports day which was another 1k. 2 hours later it was a run home and another 1k. So 3 out of 4 of the runs were quite short but they all add up. After a cracking 1200 calories burned on yesterday's run I burnt another 900 today across all 4 runs which is great.

I have also decided that after yesterdays 13k I am going to go for a 21k run in the next few weeks which will be a half marathon (13 miles). Will need to map out a good route for that one so that halfway point finds me halfway from home, this way the temptation to stop is eliminated as you still need to get home!!

I'm off some much needed food.

Until tomorrow...

Day 86: Comfort Zones

Lilla this whole post has come about due to you!!! THANKS.

Comfort zones we all have them throughout our lives, at work, personal life and our training routines. I am sure you can all spot most of your comfort zones whilst reading this post.

We all know the importance of mixing up our training to keep the body guessing, but how do you know when you are stuck in a rut. Well I don't have an easy answer to that but what I can say is you will probably know you were in a rut when you get out if it!!!

I always try to improve my training and get better each time I go out. I thought this was mixing it up enough and that I was pushing the boundaries and to a certain extent I was just not to the max or my max. I have settled nicely into the 5km and 8km runs that I have been doing now I hadn't really noticed.

Lilla's post abut the marathon got me thinking. Now I don't want to run a marathon, just not sure I could concentrate for that long over that distance but i thought I would try to show some encouragement by trying to match the training schedule especially as this was something new for Lilla.

The plan today was to run 10kms rather than 8kms which would match the 6 mile Lilla will have to do and then tomorrow run 13km which would match Lilla's 8 mile run. Didn't quite go to plan, but in a good way.

I read Lilla's post this morning about her concert and the fact she may switch the runs. Never the less I set out on my pre-determined route that I had planned using google earth (this is great for measuring and planning routes). Towards the 7km mark though I started thinking about Lilla's post and then realised that I have my kids sports day tomorrow so no way am I going to have time to run that 13kms tomorrow. Oh well I thought not to worry.

I kept going towards the end of the 10kms and continued thinking!! Then I thought well, I have a 3 km route mapped out from the house so I will just run on past and then do the 3km route on top...so I did. I was pretty tired by the time I reached the house but past I went back onto the beach.

I finished and ended up running 13.43kms at an average pace of 5m 04s in a total time of 1h 8m 45s. I know I can go faster but this was the first time out but I was really pleased with the time as the pace is a 12 kph pace, 7.5 mph.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that at the end I realised that I had really pushed through the boundaries of my comfort levels today. I have run this distance before but not for a long time and the last few times have all been on the treadmill. I hadn't realised that my workouts had stagnated so much again. I was exhausted and my running gear was soaked through but I felt great.

Just ask yourself when was the last time you really went way out there with your workouts and changed something really major?? Many of you may do this regularly and I used to think I did but this showed me I need to go further every now and again. Don't get me wrong I don't plan on running 13kms everyday now but I shall run it again next week and will run the 10 km later this week.

Thanks again Lilla.

Until tomorrow...

Day 85: Back to 100%

I think I have fully recovered from whatever mild thing I had last week. Had a great 8km run today and the Nike + gizmo was only 40 metres off which is pretty good, it measured 7.96 km rather than 8km so I think I will leave it at that.

Got a sub 40 minute 8km in today and although not my fastest run to date it is getting back up there. I may even get back out tonight for another run, have not decided yet. It is a beautiful evening so it will certainly be nice if I do.

Until tomorrow...

Day 84: My Sons First Run

An historic day today, my 9 year old has been on at me to take him for a run all week. So we had planned to go today. Finished the ironing (as usual) then got changed and went out with him. The day was perfect, nice and sunny very little wind!!

We were almost at the 1 km mark when his stomach started to hurt, not sure whether it was a stitch or something else. We kept going for a bit but then he needed to walk for a while. We then kept running and walking for the rest of the circuit. He did really well and finished with a great sprint, it was just a shame about this pain.

He enjoyed it apart from that so I don't think he wants to go again!! We will see, not gonna push him, he knows he can come anytime. We covered 3.3 km together so he did brilliantly and was not out of breath at all.

The rest of the day was pretty active as we had friends round, 4 kids in total which meant non stop football, trampolining and various other activities, had a good water fight mixed in there too.

It was a great weekend, now for a relaxing evening and then back to some serious running.

Until tomorrow...

Day 83: Just Chillin'

A pretty lazy day today. Got some advanced screening tickets for WALL-E so took the kids to that this morning, then had to stop at Burger King for lunch as they wanted to go, who I am to refuse. I have to admit it was nice, but you have to have a few pleasures!!

Then a bit more shopping. I did manage to get 3 km running behind my youngest on his bike. I was quite surprised we went that far as he only has little legs!! It was 3 separate journeys though of about 1km each but it all adds up.

Until tomorrow...

Day 82: What a Different Week

What a week and what a contrast to last week too. Nothing was going right last week. Too many things going on, little or no training which pushed into bad nutrition.

And then this week, wow. Started strong on Sunday with 8km, then Monday with 5km, and then Tuesday the sportsband turned up and it was 8km everyday for the rest of the week. So all in all I have covered about 45 km this week which is great for me and that equals around 4500 calories for me also so that is awesome.

Thanks for all the support that everyone has shown to me and all the other people who are taking on the Nike + challenges. Not sure what mileage I will get through at the weekend. My eldest son is coming out for a run with me Sunday so I will do shorter one and probably slower to see what he thinks of it, should be interesting!!

Have done hopefully my final calibration today so the next time I do my 8km it should be right on the money.

Everyone have a great weekend.

Until tomorrow...

Day 81: Low on Energy

Another 8 km today but boy it was a tough one today. I keep wanting to get out and get some mileage down but I am not feeling 100% either but I have to go out to catch up with the front runners!! I'm not that bad about 80% of full health but it is addictive this challenge. I think I just need to get a bit more carbs down me to give me a bit of an energy boost so I have had a good healthy tea and a bowl of ice cream!!

The calibration seemed to work well from yesterday. Ran the 8km and the Nike + sensor measured it as 7.8km so nearly there. Have reset the calibration now and will re-calibrate tomorrow when I run the 8km again and then hopefully that will be it. Was still not a fast run today, just taking it easy still.

I will be interested to see what sort of miles I can rack up at the weekend with the kids if any.

Until tomorrow...

Day 80: Rain, Rain go Away

Lilla, thanks for the fantastic Shredder + graphics, they are great by the way.

The weather was so awful today, it just kept raining and raining and then rained some more. i think I could have swum my using running route today!! Needless to say I went to the gym today and thought I would test out the Nike + thingy on the treadmill.

I had pretty much the same readout as yesterday. It over estimated my distance. I ran 7.3 km in 38 minutes today (had no more time, hence the odd figure) but the sensor stated I had run 8.84 kms. After the upload today I calibrated the distance down to the actual distance I ran so I will see tomorrow whether it is more accurate.

It is definitely dependent on your stride length and thus your foot hitting the ground. I finished my run today in the usual fashion with 1 minute at 16 kph yet this was the slowest part of my. As the speed went up my stride length increased and so my foot was not hitting the ground as frequently thus the sensor thinks you are running more slowly or a shorter distance.

The key to really accurate readings, I think will be to run at either the same pace for the whole run or to try and keep your stride consistent even when changing speeds (not too easy!!).

Still I guess it's all relative. The main thing is everyone is posting some great runs and that we are all getting or staying healthy, what's a few kms between friends!!

Until tomorrow...

Day 79: Nike +...Let's Do It

The weather was miserable in the UK again today, had to pick my Dad up from hospital today so that meant no workout at lunchtime as usual but as my Nike + Sports Band turned up there was no way I wasn't going to fit in a run today, had to get a run posted up ASAP. Probably shouldn't have gone today either as I think that I may be getting what the kids had last week. Never the less I went but took it easy and did not go all out.

I think it's gonna take a few days to a week to get the sensor calibrated as it reported a distance of 9.24 kms and I have measured it on both Google Earth and Google maps and it comes out at 8 kms. I will try to map out a precise distance and calibrate it that way so that it is a bit more precise.

Still I got my numbers up so I am playing the catch up game now.

I shall get out for another run tomorrow in between the rain that is forecast or maybe even try it out on the treadmill at the gym, I have read that they are not as accurate on the treadmills though. Only one way to find out though!!

Until tomorrow...

Day 78: Intensity

I think most people reading this post will have written about Intensity on their own blogs at some point in time and I too have written about it before. We all understand the need for increasing the intensity in our workouts in our accountability.

I am writing about this again as I I was watching the Mens Wimbledon 2008 finals yesterday evening. It was an amazing match involving 2 of the greatest players currently playing the game. It has already gone down in history as one of the best finals at Wimbledon.

It lasted for just under 5 hours. These 2 athletes were performing at their peak for 5 hours straight, not only physically but mentally also. The eventual winner Nadal won in the final (5th) set by 9 games to 7. He had the chance to win the match in the 4th set tie break but Federer pulled it back. So mentally he needed to be even stronger.

This was the longest ever Wimbledon final and they just manage to finish it prior to the light fading. It just got me thinking though at the level of intensity from both these players and also the length of time they were playing at that level. I couldn't think of any other sports that require a level of intensity for almost 5 hours, marathons are just over 2, boxing is around 40 minutes.

I know they do get some rests between games but they are pretty much engaged in the game and on their feet for the majority of it. I certainly have never trained for anything near that length of time. The longest I have spent running in the past 12 months is probably around 90 minutes covering around 15 kms.

Today it was a case of dodging the rain. I must admit my legs were a little heavy from yesterday's run. I went for the medium distance today which was 5kms and I nailed it in 26m 26s which I need to check back but is either a new PB or pretty close. Really windy again today.

I have ordered my Nike + sportsband which I hope will be with me tomorrow, purchased a sensor pouch also as I do not have Nike + trainers, for anyone else in the UK thinking about it, it is definitely the more costly method, but having purchased an 80 GB Ipod Classic last year I wasn't about to go out and buy a nano now!! It cost just over £50 delivered for both the sportsband and pouch. So hopefully if it arrives in time I should be able to upload my first run.

Until tomorrow...

Day 77: Coming back strong

After a pretty bad week I finally got a run in. Finished off the household chores and went to the cinema with the kids and then hit the beach when I got back. Went on my log route today and really went for it. Had a nice tailwind along the beach but unfortunately that is only for about a third of the run.

Still at the first check I was well in front of my best time again but I still had the strong winds on the way home to contend with.

I kept pushing all the way and eventually finished in a fantastic time of 38m 49s which is well over a minute better than my best run over this distance. I will be interested to see what the Nike + Sportsband says for distance as I have measured it on Google Earth to be around 8km.

I'll need to be running that everyday to catch up with everyone by the time it arrives.

Until tomorrow...

Day 76: A better day

The weather turned out great, got some jobs done this morning and then trailed the kids on their bikes for a couple of miles.

Have registered for Nike +, my user name is bloodsweat but it will be middle of next week before I get my sportsband, couldn't get the Ipod thing as I have a classic and it only works with the nano.

Will have a lot of catch up to do by the time it arrives!!

Until tomorrow...

Day 75: End of a bad week

Probably the worst week I have had since starting my road back to fitness. Poor nutrition and exercise this week down to many different reasons. No excuses though, it is only a minor set back. The kids are much better today, you can tell as they are fighting each other with venom again!!!

So as long as the weather is good over the weekend I hope to have some very active days with them and get a head start on next week, hopefully get out for a run on Sunday after the usual household chores.

Wishing everyone a great weekend, will hopefully join the Nike challenge over it with the other shredders.

Until tomorrow...

Day 74: Getting Better

Well things are slowly getting better, kids are mending, father has had his operation, apology from the garage about Tuesday. Only thing remaining is some training, chances are that is it for the week as I will not be able to get out tomorrow due to one sick kid so it may be a lot of running behind the kids bikes at the weekend to catch up on some exercise!!

Nutrition has been pretty poor this week also due to everything going on, not a good excuse I know but I will get back to some serious graft next week and hopefully over the weekend.

Until tomorrow...

Day 73: From bad to Worse

Well I thought yesterday could not get any worse but both the kids are really ill so no training today as I took the day off to look after them both. Hopefully they will be a bit better tomorrow although there will be no school as they haven't eaten anything today!!

Until tomorrow...

Day 72: Nightmare

Well I'm not going into all the details but today has been a nightmare and I ended up delayed at the office for 2.5 hours due to our lease companies incompetence, so I got 2 minutes with both the boys when I got in as it was their bedtime and they were both running high temperatures so I was not impressed with the company I dealt with today and shall be discussing complaints with them tomorrow.



Needless to say there is no time left in the day to do a training session so I will pull out all the stops and go for broke on another 45 minute run tomorrow!



Until tomorrow...