Saturday 23 May 2009

Don't forget to pack your running shoes

We're off on holiday on Monday for two weeks and my running kit is at the top of my packing list.  I'm still feeling tired and struggling to get out after work so I hope that the holiday will give me a good chance to re-charge and energise.

I did manage to drag my sorry self along to both running club sessions this week.  The journey home from work was spent with a small demon on one shoulder whispering 'put your feet up, have a cup of tea, eat chocolate' and a virtuous little angel on the other saying 'you'll feel so much better if you make the effort'.  

In the end I compromised - I went along, did my best, then came home and had tea and chocolate!

 

Saturday 16 May 2009

Lost in transition

The past two weeks I've done virtually no exercise, except for taking part in another triathlon last Sunday. This one was a novice but I found it hard! I'm back to finishing in the bottom third, which could be for one of two reasons:
  • inadequate training - given that I have no natural athletic ability at all, when my training isn't intense and specific I really struggle to make improvements 
  • over-training - I worked really hard for the 10k and might have burned myself out a little bit - added to this I'm mentally drained from starting my new job, so maybe I just needed a rest.
Either way, I decided it would be a good idea to take a wee break and let my body and mind recover before I throw myself into marathon preparation.

I really enjoyed taking part in the triathlon. The first section was a 250m swim in the pool, which went much better than the one in March.  The difference here was that everyone was sent off at 15 second intervals, based on their predicted time, and we had to swim up and down the lanes in a snake-like formation. This meant that if you'd predicted your time wrong, you'd end up in a traffic jam.  I managed to overtake one person but found the whole 'tapping on the feet' thing very confusing so just slowed down and stayed behind the person in front for the last couple of lanes.  From here, we went straight out to the bikes.

I have a habit of taking ages to get ready. I don't wear loads of make up or blow dry my hair but I tend to faff and I like to be dry and comfy.  As a result, my first transition took over 3 minutes!  Heaps of people were overtaking me to head out onto the bike course, so I panicked and went for it without having a proper drink.

The bike section was good - just under 10k on undulating roads and the weather was lovely. I pushed as hard as I could but didn't make any significant progress. The run was the same but only 4k - I hadn't done any 'brick' sessions this time so my legs really did feel like jelly at the start, but I got round in 22 mins, even though by the time I finished my shins were starting to cramp.

My worst mistakes this time were not doing any swim or 'brick' training and hardly spending any time training on the bike, not practicing the swim transition, and not drinking enough.  Hmm, that's quite a few mistakes.  Why didn't I pay any attention to the idiots guides in Triathletes World. Ah well, I'll hopefully remember for next time.

The whole thing took me 55 minutes (87th overall out of 125; 16th female).  After a proper drink and some food I got my energy back, so I decided to go mountain biking in the afternoon.  My legs could only manage about an hour but I had to make the most of the nice weather.  After that, I was so shattered that I needed to take a few days off training.

This week I've concentrated on work stuff in the evenings but I wonder if my tiredness is as much mental, from the stress of changing jobs, than physical.  I know that exercise normally helps me to gather my thoughts and work through any worries.  Now I still feel tired, even though I've had a rest, so I'm off for a run to see if that sorts me out.

Sunday 3 May 2009

PW to PB in 4 weeks

Just a quickie today as it's my second day in my brand new job tomorrow (hence the lack of postings).  I ran a 10k this morning and managed to make a PB (50 min 46) in spite of my relatively rubbish performance in the half marathon last month.

One contributing factor could be the fact that I joined the local running club a couple of weeks ago and went out running with the big boys on the track on Thursday.  Okay so it's not really long enough to make a massive difference to my fitness but I think it made me realise that I can push myself harder than I have been.

To celebrate, I've now entered two more half marathons this summer and... wait for it... a marathon in October.  I'll keep you posted with the progress (after I've got my head around my new job).