It's a sqeeze....

It's Thursday tomorrow, this week has passed by in a blur of Frank the dog, feeding him, clearing up after him, talking about him, worrying about him and generally becoming obsessed. Paul is away this week so I've been thrown in at the deep end, it's definitely an experience!

Having a dog has made me realise that my next door neighbours are absolutely lovely. They've checked on Frank a couple of times whilst I've been at work and were also my comfort blanket on Monday when I attempted to leave the house to go for a run - which meant leaving Frank for a whole 35 minutes.

I was glad of those 35 minutes, they made me feel calmer as I pushed my aching legs round the park. It was good to be outside, not worrying, not picking up dog mess, just concentrating on breathing. I didn't manage to get to the Derwent Runners on Tuesday night, I'd been out all day at work and didn't want to leave the little bundle of fun on his own during the evening too. I also had an insect bite on my ankle. Yes, this sounds like a poor excuse except I am a total freak when it comes to insect bites, most people get a small raised itchy lump for a couple of hours, maybe a day. I got bitten on Sunday and my ankle was still the size of an elephant this morning. I couldn't do my shoe up!

The swelling had reduced somewhat by this afternoon (I had been given some hardcore anti histamines) so after I fed Frank and wore him out enough so he was quiet, I put my trainers on and headed out. I was meant to do an hour at 9 - 9.15 pace but it was late, I hadn't had my dinner and didn't want to leave Frank for too long. In the end I did 5 miles. These were my splits:

Mile 1 - 9.58
Mile 2 - 9.15
Mile 3 - 9.13
Mile 4 - 9.48 *Darley Abbey hill
Mile 5 - 8.38

I was pretty pleased with the last mile. My legs were ok and I felt good.

Tomorrow's interval session is 10 x 1min @ faster than 8 min mile pace with 1 minute walk recovery. I want to see if I can keep each minute under 7.45 pace.

This week I've felt overwhelmed with having a dog, I've thought a few times 'what have I done?!', I'm tired, I have to plan my day to fit everything in and it seems like a chore. Tonight when I was running I remembered how I felt when I started this training and thought about how I feel about running now. In time I know I will grow to love Frank.

Clean & Jerk

Rest day today - well a rest from running. I had a session with Rich this morning. I mentioned that I'd been watching the weightlifting so we decided to give the Clean & Jerk a go. I was pretty pleased with my 30kg effort:

Then I looked at the Olympic results for my weight category. They lift up to 165kg. Oh well - 4 years to go to Rio, I'm sure I can build it up a bit in 4 years?

We also did more plyometrics, jumping over small hurdles, using the TRX and finished off with some more powerful jumps over a step box. I noticed that my jumps have improved over the past few weeks which made me happy. They used to hurt and seem to take all my effort but today I managed to spring over the step box as well as the hurdles. 

I've felt good this week, being on holiday has meant I've had plenty of sleep and have relaxed. Watching the Olympics has motivated me to try harder plus I've had a few afternoon naps!! I hope I can keep it up when I go back to work  - the determination I mean, I can't imagine the afternoon naps would go down well in any office.

Interval session tomorrow with the Derwent Runners:

8 x 400m @ 8 minute mile pace with 1 minute recovery. 

After the session I'm going for a drink with the lovely Sooz & Charlotte from the club. I've heard that it's important to have something to aim for when training, so I'll be focusing on a large glass of wine during every one of those 400m.

Post run cocktails

I'm off work this week (and next), my plan was to sit & watch the Olympics. People that know me well, will know that I struggle to sit down for very long, so my vision of relaxing on the sofa with the tv for company hasn't really gone to plan. I made the mistake of making a list on Monday which has meant that I've spent most of the week so far, doing the jobs that are on that list. Our garden now looks less like a jungle though.

I managed to fit in a 35 minute run yesterday, in between digging in the garden, seeing my lovely friend Mrs Booth and making a chicken pie. It was the 'recovery run' that I should have done on Monday so was just a gentle jog. My calves were tight most of the way round even after doing some stretching but in general it was ok.

Tonight is an interval session with the Derwent Runners. We're doing:

6x90 seconds at 8 minute mile pace with 1 minute walk recovery.

I've learnt how to pre programme my fancy watch so (hopefully) it will beep at the right time. Last weeks session proved quite popular so we're expecting a good turn out.

Then, post run, I'm going to drink some cocktails with the fabulous Irene. I've not been out for what seems like ages so am looking forward to it. Drinking alcohol in general doesn't seem to mix well with running but I'm on holiday after all and Friday is a rest day so I shan't feel guilty.

I watched the legend that is Bradley Wiggins win gold in the time trial yesterday. What a massive achievement, wins the Tour de France one week & Olympic gold the next. He raced almost every day for 3 weeks and then had one week to prepare for the Olympics. I'll try to remember that on Monday when I'm moaning about a 35 minute 'recovery' run.

Greatest show on earth

I can't believe it's finally here - the 2012 London Olympics start today! I remember the day 7 years ago when London was awarded the Games. I was sat in my little terraced house watching the TV with my lodger Olivia. When they announced London had got it, we heard people cheering in the house next door too.

I can't imagine what it must feel like to be an athlete who has got to the Games. The pressure on those people who we 'expect' to win medals is huge. People's lives can really change in an instant, one minute your living your life, training hard, dreaming this dream of winning a medal, then you win, your catapulted to fame if it's a popular event like athletics, swimming, cycling. Your face is everywhere & everyone suddenly wants to know you. What about if you win a medal in a lesser known event like fencing, synchronised swimming or shooting. You've worked just as hard but the general public don't seem that interested. Do those competitors even care?

I did the planned interval session last night with some of the Derwent Runners. There was about 10 of us sprinting through the local park. It was hard work but over quickly. I like those kind of sessions.

This morning I went to train with Rich. I was moaning (as usual) that my calves hurt so we did some work on a foam roller. This lovely bit of kit is sort of like having a sports massage, only more painful. And you have to do it yourself. I used it on my calves, my IT band and my glutes. After rolling, we did some plyometric work -

Squats on a Bosu with a ViPR
Triple extension work with the TRX
Jack knifes on a swissball with press up
Double explosive jumps
Heel to bum kicks with a swissball

We finished off the session with more stretching and now my legs are feeling like my own again rather than 2 blocks of lead. It's strange that more exercise actually made me feel better!

4 weeks are up and today is the day that I can have an alcoholic drink. I made it. I'm not going to lie and say it was easy. If I hadn't left the house it would have been fine. I struggled when I was surrounded by other people having a drink. I've not started on the wine just yet but tonight, when the Olympic opening ceremony starts I'm planning on drinking some Proseco.

I've done 4 weeks of training 4 or 5 times a week. I can't remember the last time I exercised this much! Apart from the aches I actually feel great. I feel more determined than ever to complete every session on the list. I feel like I've got a purpose.

I'm very excited about the next 2 weeks, I'm off work, the Olympics is on, the weather forecast is looking good.

Let the Games begin!

Hoops!

Today started in a rush. I washed my hair and didn't have enough time to dry it so I left the house looking a bit like a lion. I sorted a few things out at work that have been on my mind for a while and when 5pm came round I was ready to try out the new watch.

I got my trainers on, switched the watch on (remembering instructions from Flino as to what buttons to press) and jogged over to the Pride Park loop to start my 6x1 min intervals. Watch was working fine, telling me how fast I was running and how far I'd covered. Which was great, until I realised that for intervals I wanted it to tell me how fast I was running and also how long I'd been running for, or better yet, how long I had left to run. I pressed some buttons and managed to get it to tell me when a minute was up by beeping at me.

Great, I started running quite fast looking at my wrist - it said I was running 11 min mile pace. I don't think I was. I decided that I'd just run pretty quick for a minute and then walk for another minute. Repeat this six times. Jog back round the loop to cool down and remember how to breathe again. Session done. Although it was short, I felt like I had worked hard.

Interval training is meant to be one of the best ways to increase your fitness and improve your endurance.

I clearly need to learn more about the watch but overall a good days running.

Tonight we went to Jack Rabbits for dinner to say goodbye to Peaky as she is off on her travels for a month. What a brilliant evening, the food was amazing - it's all cooked on an Aga and everything is delicious! I was very close to cracking on the no drinking but managed to find some resolve at the last minute. I didn't want to have to write that I'd given up.

I've met some great friends through Derwent Runners and whenever we go out we spend most of the night laughing and not really talking about running. It's a very friendly, sociable club and has helped me to realised that not everyone that runs is a 'serious' runner.

I'm full of lovely food now and feeling very tired and happy. 9am PT session tomorrow to burn off the huge piece of Apricot Tart and Cream that I had for pudding. All this exercise has to have some benefits!