Thought I'd better see what 15km/h felt like, so set the treadmill at 0.5% incline and ran for 1 min @ 15 km/h.
It's not exactly a flat out sprint, but it's markedly faster than my normal plod, which according to my calculations is somewhere about the 10.8km/h mark. That being said I run at that (10.8km/h) speed easily and haven't really pushed myself to see how much faster I could go and for how long I could do it.
Anyway, more squash tonight and tomorrow, and some strength testing on Thursday, which will be 80 days out from the event... here's a thought though. What if I just added 1 minute of running at 15km/h every 2 days and did nothing else. After 80 days I'd be right up there at running 15km/h for 40 minutes which would cover the 10km in my target time... Interesting thought! but probably not how I'll approach the problem... although perhaps I should consider doing something like that... hmm! Procrastination mode ON!
Trials, tribulations, tales and titillations of a now 50- something year old, Scot, determined to stave of his cultural and genetic destiny with sporadic efforts to attain Physical perfection impaired by unhelpful refueling strategies and familial responsibilities. This blog will now track my efforts to recover from Multi-Focal Pulmonary Emboli, caused by a dislodged DVT.
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Monday, 12 July 2010
Squash'd
Oh dear! Just got annihalated 3-0 by a retired guy...
Ok, so my technique let me down on more than one occasion, but still... he was retired!!!
Oh yes! and to run a 10km road race in 40 minutes, means you need to average 15km/hour (9.375 miles per hour in old money!)
These moments are what you might call 'eye openers'. Challenge 40 is going to to be a lot tougher than I thought, because
a) I hadn't considered how tough it was in the first place...
b) I'm not in as good a place as I thought I was...
Is it too late to make this a game of golf???
Ok, so my technique let me down on more than one occasion, but still... he was retired!!!
Oh yes! and to run a 10km road race in 40 minutes, means you need to average 15km/hour (9.375 miles per hour in old money!)
These moments are what you might call 'eye openers'. Challenge 40 is going to to be a lot tougher than I thought, because
a) I hadn't considered how tough it was in the first place...
b) I'm not in as good a place as I thought I was...
Is it too late to make this a game of golf???
The beginning... again!!!!
Well, the football is finished, Wimbeldon is over, I'm not even sure what cricket is being played this summer and no Sky TV means no access to the Tri-Nations... all the excuses are played out and we're 12 weeks away from the Loch Ness 10k.
I've been doing a few wee training sessions at the gym over the last few weeks, but not much. Very pleased to note that the 5kg I dropped for the rugby has stayed off, but I could probably drop another 5k quite easily, so best not get too smug about it.
I turned 40, just a couple of weeks ago and that's when I've officially started my countdown to the race, and the other things that I've got planned, but let's set some targets.
1. The bevvy! - I love the drink! I love the social aspect, I love the taste of wine with food, I love the refreshing zing of a cold beer after a long week and I especially love that with friends... The thing is it doesn't actually complement a running or weight loss regime wonderfully well... So between the 30 June and 3rd October there are 95 days. I've got a couple of Edinburgh festival days pencilled into the diary already and I've enjoyed a few nights out watching the world cup already, but the aim is to arrive at the start line with at least 90% of those days designated as AFD (Alcohol Free Days)... there is one sneaky wee caveat that applies: Steaks may be accompanied by 1 glass of red wine and that does not break the AFD (life is far too short for the alternative!)
2. The food - crisps are now banned. Chips are no more than once a week.
3. Squash - I've joined a squash club and I will play in the leagues at least once a week.
4. Weight - I'm loathe to set a weight loss target, but I'm currently 84kg and feel pretty good. The gut is too big though, so I'm going to aim to be less than 80kg by race day.
5. Mornings - We've already wasted more than half of the summer! I need to be out of bed at 6am and going for a short walk / jog. This will start this week.
6. Pull ups - I can't believe how the power to weight ratio has been decimated, but if I can't do 10 proper pullups by race day, I will be raging with myself - currently I can do 4...
Wish me luck!
I've been doing a few wee training sessions at the gym over the last few weeks, but not much. Very pleased to note that the 5kg I dropped for the rugby has stayed off, but I could probably drop another 5k quite easily, so best not get too smug about it.
I turned 40, just a couple of weeks ago and that's when I've officially started my countdown to the race, and the other things that I've got planned, but let's set some targets.
1. The bevvy! - I love the drink! I love the social aspect, I love the taste of wine with food, I love the refreshing zing of a cold beer after a long week and I especially love that with friends... The thing is it doesn't actually complement a running or weight loss regime wonderfully well... So between the 30 June and 3rd October there are 95 days. I've got a couple of Edinburgh festival days pencilled into the diary already and I've enjoyed a few nights out watching the world cup already, but the aim is to arrive at the start line with at least 90% of those days designated as AFD (Alcohol Free Days)... there is one sneaky wee caveat that applies: Steaks may be accompanied by 1 glass of red wine and that does not break the AFD (life is far too short for the alternative!)
2. The food - crisps are now banned. Chips are no more than once a week.
3. Squash - I've joined a squash club and I will play in the leagues at least once a week.
4. Weight - I'm loathe to set a weight loss target, but I'm currently 84kg and feel pretty good. The gut is too big though, so I'm going to aim to be less than 80kg by race day.
5. Mornings - We've already wasted more than half of the summer! I need to be out of bed at 6am and going for a short walk / jog. This will start this week.
6. Pull ups - I can't believe how the power to weight ratio has been decimated, but if I can't do 10 proper pullups by race day, I will be raging with myself - currently I can do 4...
Wish me luck!
Monday, 31 May 2010
Loch Ness 10k
Accepted the challenge! yep!
Entered the race! tick! yep!
125 days (~ 18 weeks) till race day.
Downloaded EndoMondo sports tracker software onto my snazzy new Nokia X6.
Need to get one of those fancy arm bands to hold the phone whilst I'm pounding out the miles... This is the prevarication stage which starts all great fitness challenges!
Football world cup is coming up along with my 40th birthday!
Entered the race! tick! yep!
125 days (~ 18 weeks) till race day.
Downloaded EndoMondo sports tracker software onto my snazzy new Nokia X6.
Need to get one of those fancy arm bands to hold the phone whilst I'm pounding out the miles... This is the prevarication stage which starts all great fitness challenges!
Football world cup is coming up along with my 40th birthday!
Thursday, 27 May 2010
Challenge!!!! Bring it on!
Crikey!
It's been quite a while since I've thought about my fitness. Got into what I thought was looking like pretty decent form for the Melrose 10's... then got a horrible cold and followed it up with sinusitis. My sympathetic doctor supplied me with the anti-biotics and nasal spray to get me onto the pitch... and what an honour that was, to once again pull on the boots and chuck a ball about with good people. The boys won the plate, Graham Shiel gave me a black eye and I ended up in Border's general hospital for 6 stitches after an accidental clash of heads... money can't buy you that sort of fun!
The last few weeks have been a prolonged period of indolence mixed with over-indulgence though and it's time to start taking care of the physical again. Finlay has come up with the ideal challenge... We all turn 40 this year. The Loch Ness marathon / 10k happens around his birthday... so here it is... Run the 10k in as many minutes as you are old... Pay a forfeit for every minute over your age to your charity of choice.... how confident are you?
As I'll be 40 next month and am currently running 10km in not much less that an hour, it's a real hum dinger of a challenge, but 10km is a great distance. You don't need to be away running for more than an hour at a time when training. You can mix genuine speed work with hill work with reasonable distance work.
The solution is obvious. Lose weight, improve cardio, improve flexibility, improve leg strength and toughen up mentally... Simples!
See you at the start line!
It's been quite a while since I've thought about my fitness. Got into what I thought was looking like pretty decent form for the Melrose 10's... then got a horrible cold and followed it up with sinusitis. My sympathetic doctor supplied me with the anti-biotics and nasal spray to get me onto the pitch... and what an honour that was, to once again pull on the boots and chuck a ball about with good people. The boys won the plate, Graham Shiel gave me a black eye and I ended up in Border's general hospital for 6 stitches after an accidental clash of heads... money can't buy you that sort of fun!
The last few weeks have been a prolonged period of indolence mixed with over-indulgence though and it's time to start taking care of the physical again. Finlay has come up with the ideal challenge... We all turn 40 this year. The Loch Ness marathon / 10k happens around his birthday... so here it is... Run the 10k in as many minutes as you are old... Pay a forfeit for every minute over your age to your charity of choice.... how confident are you?
As I'll be 40 next month and am currently running 10km in not much less that an hour, it's a real hum dinger of a challenge, but 10km is a great distance. You don't need to be away running for more than an hour at a time when training. You can mix genuine speed work with hill work with reasonable distance work.
The solution is obvious. Lose weight, improve cardio, improve flexibility, improve leg strength and toughen up mentally... Simples!
See you at the start line!
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Ye know what ye know. Ye know it's right and you're wrong! So stop it
I've been off the sauce for a few weeks now. Had a fairly dramatic effect on the weight very quickly, but I was surprised yesterday to be back up in the heavyweight division. I say surprised. I wasn't really that surprised as I've been doing a bit of snacking. A wee biscuit here and there and a bit of chocolate... ho hum! I knew I shouldn't have, but I did...
That's not to say that that I wasn't actually a bit heavier than I expected, but still there was an underlying reason... and here's the really daft bit even beyond the biscuits...
Last week I was eating cup noodles, trying to kid myself on that I was giving myself some energy to work harder in the gym. Was I dickens! I was eating cup noodles because I like them, especially the spicy Tom Yum Tiger ones. It took my boss ripping the piss out of me to make me think about it... So sad am I that I even googled "cup noodles for energy before a workout" to see if I could get some backup... All I got was confirmation that I was eating super processed shite, flavoured with a half cup of salt... I still like them, but they're off the menu ;-(
Worse still, earlier this week I convinced myself that eating houmous and fresh bread would be a terrific snack. Great taste, full of friendly proteins and the oil is the healthy Mediterranean Olive oil. Of course that only works if you treat it like a snack, but the greedy got that I am saw me scoffing a whole tub of the stuff with a wee baguette. OK, so I was hungry, and the stuff I was eating is supposedly healthy. but that was ridiculous AND I knew it.
So, I'm off the drink, exercising more, but the weight isn't really coming down as I'd like it too... because...
i) Well, just weighing yourself isn't the best measure anyway
ii) You need to watch the diet too!
iii) When you're my age, you really need to watch the diet!
That's not to say that that I wasn't actually a bit heavier than I expected, but still there was an underlying reason... and here's the really daft bit even beyond the biscuits...
Last week I was eating cup noodles, trying to kid myself on that I was giving myself some energy to work harder in the gym. Was I dickens! I was eating cup noodles because I like them, especially the spicy Tom Yum Tiger ones. It took my boss ripping the piss out of me to make me think about it... So sad am I that I even googled "cup noodles for energy before a workout" to see if I could get some backup... All I got was confirmation that I was eating super processed shite, flavoured with a half cup of salt... I still like them, but they're off the menu ;-(
Worse still, earlier this week I convinced myself that eating houmous and fresh bread would be a terrific snack. Great taste, full of friendly proteins and the oil is the healthy Mediterranean Olive oil. Of course that only works if you treat it like a snack, but the greedy got that I am saw me scoffing a whole tub of the stuff with a wee baguette. OK, so I was hungry, and the stuff I was eating is supposedly healthy. but that was ridiculous AND I knew it.
So, I'm off the drink, exercising more, but the weight isn't really coming down as I'd like it too... because...
i) Well, just weighing yourself isn't the best measure anyway
ii) You need to watch the diet too!
iii) When you're my age, you really need to watch the diet!
Monday, 4 January 2010
New Year
Well, that's that! A cracking Festive season. Way too much bevvy than was good for me, but the party's over now and time to get back to business.
I'm going to spend January working on my weight, flexibility and general movement, as well as reacquainting myself with a rugby ball. Fortunately, a few junior clubs are doing some indoor work due to the astonishing snow we've got just now, so that works for me. The big trick I'm going to play this January though is to get along to some dance classes and see if I can't loosen up these old hips of mine. Fingers crossed!
I'm going to spend January working on my weight, flexibility and general movement, as well as reacquainting myself with a rugby ball. Fortunately, a few junior clubs are doing some indoor work due to the astonishing snow we've got just now, so that works for me. The big trick I'm going to play this January though is to get along to some dance classes and see if I can't loosen up these old hips of mine. Fingers crossed!
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