Weekly Weigh-in

This week I have lost lost 1 3/4lb (0.8 Kg) and my % body fat is up 0.5%.

This is mainly due to the long runs that I have started to do over the last few weeks.

Mid Week Long Run

Instead of doing my long at the weekend due to likely poor weather conditions I decided to do it again on a mid week evening after work.

I had a 18 mile (29 Km) run scheduled.

Which I could do various loops around the running club venue which allowed me to get the isotonic sports drinks that I brought with me. I mistkenly did the first few miles at half marathon pace and not a long slow run (LSR) pace.

I ended up with the last half of the run being a couple of minutes per mile slower than the first few miles including some walk breaks. For the run I did it in over 3 hours which averaged to 10:30 minute mile pace . This is about the pace I should have been training at but for each mile and not having extremes of pace.

The run was not helped by being undulating for the area and had 1978ft (602m) of ascent which was from about 7 noticeable hills or long inclines.

Needless to say the drink in the bar went down very fast.

Tumble Turns

Today after a short swim session at lunch time I thought that I would try tumble turns from a training video I watched the previous day. Following the method they described and going through step by step.

I was able to do some tumble turns.

There is room for improvement on the turn and the push off. As I seem to swallow or get up my nose a lot of water. With the push off the wall I am too far underwater so I am nearly getting out of breath when I surface.

Weekly Update

Last week I did 5 hours of training. With 10% being swimming, 20% gym sessions and 70% running.

This did include a long run of 15 miles (24 km) done in the evening during the week.

Weekly Weigh In

This week my body fat is down 0.5% but my weight is up 1 3/4 lb (0.8Kg).

 

Not sure if this due to starting my gym workouts. However my training is starting to increase in volume so should help with the weight loss.

Overdoing a Gym Session

At the start of the week I did a gym session which I had only done a couple of times this year. I decided last time I felt ok doing the lunge exercise and decided to add more difficulty by adding some weights only 12 Kg (26 lb). However the days after that my right leg felt sore.

So for the following couple of days I took it easy by doing some swimming before gradually increasing my running and then another gym session without the extra weights.

From this I learnt not to increase my gym session drastically in a short time period. I already have used this approach for my other training, so I am not sure why I did not take this advice for gym session.

Issue with Training Schedule Planning

This week I learnt not to have a swimming session a few hours after a gym session after only starting back in gym work.

My shoulders were aching while swimming which I was struggling and I stopped my session about 2/3 the way through what it would have normally been.

So from this week I will be a bit more careful with which sessions follow each other.

Weekly Update

This week I did over 5 hours of training which is an increase of 1 hour.

This was 50% running which included a long swim. About 30% was swimming and 20% was gym sessions.

Who are the Pirates?

On the UK Runners world web site they have an article about the Pirates, which I am a member of. It has information how the group began, what it is about and where the name came from.

Started Gym Exercises

I have had my gym induction and have done 2 sessions already.

The sessions are short about 30-45 minutes, depending on equipment availability and amount of time for warm up and cool down.

These are mainly focusing on the core muscles as the three triathlon disciplines would cover the main over muscle groups and CV work.

Weekly Weigh-in

This week I have gained a massive 2oz (0.05 Kg) and my % body fat down 0.5%.

So I am still down from my start of the year values.

Weekly Update

This week I did nearly 4 hours of training. With 2/3 of this being running, about 20% swimming and the remaining was at a gym induction.

As I had not done any training over the Christmas period I have been easing back in to training gradually increasing the distance and intensity.

Running-wise I am getting back to normal pace from pre-Christmas when I did a 6 mile run yesterday on my own.

Swimming I have done 2 session with the first one being harder at the end of the session, the next one was easier despite being more reps than the previous session.

This last week I have also had a gym induction which I am planning to go 2 or 3 times a week, with the only CV work is the warm up and cool down sections.

Today I decided to have a rest day as I did not want to double up my training time on the previous week.

Weekly Weigh-in

This week I have lost 1 lb (0.5 Kg) and also lost 1.5% body fat.

I think this was due to back to normal eating instead of "Christmas" food. Also I have started to increase my exercise.

Weekly Update

This week I did 2 hours of training which was all running.

The first 30 minutes session I was struggling with my right hamstring muscle feeling tight and my heart rate being higher than normal. I think this is due to not exercising for nearly 2 weeks.

Then today I refereed a football match, which a few players had to stop due to cramps, I was however ok.

I will gradually increase this over the next few weeks and hopefully include some gym work despite it being the busy time of the year at gyms.

2007 Review

This my review of last year in terms of races/training and weight loss.

The main goal was becoming an Ironman (already signed up for my next Ironman). I learnt some lessons from this being having the right kit for the conditions which I did not have. Also the amount of training could have been increased. I also did my first open water swim in a river, which was in the River Thames in the Windsor Triathlon. This year I did my two longest swims both in lakes a 2km and a 3.8km swim, it may have been more than that due to my open water navigation skills with a bit of zig-zagging on the course.

Then later in the year I then did 2 Marathons in a weekend, the second one did seem to be harder than normal.

However last year I gained 5 1/4lbs (2.4 Kg), this was gradually increasing throughout the year and not in a massive gain. This year I am planning to correct this.

New Year Weigh-in

Over the last two weeks I have lost 1 lb (0.5Kg) and gained 1.5% body fat.

I think the body fat increase was due to the type of food I ate over Christmas and the lack of exercise. The weight loss is likely to be due to the stomach bug which detoxed me a few times.

Training Update

This last week and a bit I have not done any training.

This was due to some family stuff at Christmas and then getting a stomach bug for a few days. Hopefully I should be back in training at the weekend and rejoined the gym.