Friday Fit-up(date) - a day too late

My Friday to Friday fitness activities log...

Fri - ran 3.80 miles - an easy pre-race run, during which I walked a couple of blocks to keep myself from doing to much.

Sun - Swansea Bay 10k - 51:32 a new PR.

Tues - ran 5.54 miles - slow and steady with a kick on the end, which was very pleasing.

Wed - Ergo three times 4 minute efforts - set a PR for this measure.

Fri - ran 3.86 miles of intervals (or what I am calling 'sprintervals' - I think you can see what I did there).

Weight - unchanged through the week.
High - new PR over 10k even though the weather was challenging.
Low - not managing to make more progress up the Concept2 challenge series leader-board.
Observation - Autumn is here as I did my first 'early' evening run in the dark for months.

Wittering on Wednesday - super brief

Due to a bout of tiredness, and I mean to the core tired, I haven't had the energy to think about wittering this week. I was in my bed just before 8pm last night and I feel like I could happily do the same again today... I am hoping it is just training fatigue after a busy weekend and that a couple of easy days will see me right.

I other news I am all set to shut down my 'Training' page and go back to popping training updates back into the day to day posts, though I have yet to decide a format (one decision at a time here! hehe!)... anyway here are the last weeks efforts...

Week beginning Mon 10th Sept 2012

Date	Cycle	Run	Stretch	Row	Ergo	Circuit	Gym
Mon	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Tues	.	4.5mi	Y	.	.	.	.
Wed	.	.	Y	.	4 x 4min firm	.	.
Thurs	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Fri	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Sat	.	9.6mi	Y	.	.	.	.
Sun	.	5mi	Y	3trips		.	.

New 'circuits'

From here on I am going to be putting any use of the Jillian Michaels 30-day Shred DVD in the 'circuits' box of my training table. I gave it a go last night and discovered that the first workout (and I assume all three on the disc) is very much a short sharp circuit workout. It was good and certainly had me breathing hard at times, the mix of exercises was very good and logical to follow. In many ways it suffers from many of the usual exercise video drawbacks, but there are plenty of positives to help look beyond those. It seems simple and has an obvious progression, so I hope to stick with it for a fair while.

New week, new month, new week's training table and new helmet

Well, well, new week (Monday already!), new month (August already!), and a new training table to try to fill up (again already!).

Date	Cycle	Run	Stretch	Row	Ergo	Circuit	Gym
Mon	5.5mi	.	Y	.	.	.	.
Tues	6.4mi	6mi	Y	.	.	.	.
Wed	5.5mi	7.2mi	Y	.	.	.	.
Thurs	5.5mi	.	Y	.	.	.	.
Fri	6.4mi	.	.	.	.	.	.
Sat	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Sun	.	.	.	.	.	.	.

Week beginning Mon 1st Aug.

Happily the new helmet that my wife carefully bought for my daughter went down a treat, she was involved in picking it out and loves it. There was little sign of worries as we cycled into daycare today, at least on her part. Daddy is still not quite over the moment of terror he experienced as he looked down at the crumpled girl before he starting checking her and un-clipping her from her bike seat after last weeks accident. I hope that perhaps she'll retain her strength of nerve as she goes through life. I wouldn't say she's totally fearless but she certainly seems to have a healthy inner 'toughness'.

Training table - week beginning Mon 25th July

Slow start to the week now my long run has moved to Sundays, should pick up as the week goes on...

Date	Cycle	Run	Stretch	Row	Ergo	Circuit	Gym
Mon	5mi	.	Y	.	.	.	.
Tues	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Wed	5mi	.	Y	.	.	.	.
Thurs	.	2.5mi walk	.	.	.	.	.
Fri	6.4mi	.	Y	.	.	.	.
Sat	.	12.1mi	Y	.	.	.	.
Sun	15mins	.	.	.	.	.	.

Week beginning Mon 25th July.

Training table - week beginning Mon 18th July

I want to put this table at the bottom of the blogger page somewhere but still haven't found a format that does screw the whole page layout up completely! Anyway....

Date	Cycle	Run	Stretch	Row	Ergo	Circuit	Gym
Mon	5mi	10.1mi	Y	.	.	.	.
Tues	6.4mi	.	Y	.	.	.	.
Wed	5mi	.	.	.	.	.	.
Thurs	5mi	5.7mi	Y	.	.	.	.
Fri	6.4mi	5.7mi	Y	.	.	.	.
Sat	.	.	Y	.	.	.	.
Sun	.	11mi	Y	.	.	.	.

Week beginning Mon 18th July.

Training table for a new week

After a good week of being 'on the move' last week, here goes this weeks training table. Two weeks in a row, almost a habit... I'll be filling it in through my 'Andy on the move' week...

Date	Cycle	Run	Stretch	Row	Ergo	Circuit	Gym
Mon	5mi	9.3mi	Y	.	.	.	.
Tues	7mi	walk 3mi	Y	.	.	.	.
Wed	5mi	walk 2mi	.	.	.	.	.
Thurs	5mi	5.6mi Run, 4mi walk	x2	.	.	.	.
Fri	6mi	2mi walk	Y	.	.	.	.
Sat	.	6mi	Y	.	.	.	.
Sun	.	walk 2mi	Y	.	.	.	.

Week beginning Mon 11th July :o)

Mondays 9.3 mile run took me 1hr 35min, it was supposed to be an out and back run (45mins each way). I over did the outward leg, and suffered all the way home. The main issue for me was that I realised I wasn't adequately hydrated! I hadn't drunk enough through the afternoon before my evening run, and after a few miles I knew about it. I hope to remember not to do that again any time soon.

Thursdays 5.6 miler took me 55min 32s, and was far more comfortable thanks to the physio straightening me out. Still no breathing rhythm, which made it a bit laboured. Breathing is where I'll look to really focus during upcoming runs.

Saturdays 6 mile run was great (57min 35s), it was raining, but that seemed to help as it was cooler than it has been of late. I started off quite quickly and then decided to try and maintain it. Earlier in the week I had gotten some new running shoes, and I had thought to go easy in them. The new shoes felt great with no rubbing or discomfort, so I felt more than happy to push along. My body tells me that I did push it a bit too much for this stage in the half marathon training program that I am following, but it was good fun.

New training table for this week

The new blogger interface and I have had a falling out over my training tables. I used to keep the in progress version at the bottom of my page out of the way and post it when it was complete. I can't now seem to house it in the new template, all sorts of weird things occur, including very, very long gaps before a broken table appears. So I have had to go 'old skool' and using the simplest html I can muster build a table that works (see below). Whenever I try and do fancy things to the table in 'compose' mode it all goes badly wrong again. There must be something I am doing wrong to cause a conflict, but I can't see what.

Anyway, the training table, I find it useful to see how I have done week by week and where I am not getting on the move. The current table (which I will have to edit through the week in this post - see above), features no rowing related activity - simple reason I haven't enough hours in the day at the moment to divide between running training and rowing training. As I have signed up to run a 'competition' with running that is the basket I've popped all my eggs into. Fingers-crossed though I might get out on the water once a week starting sometime soon weekends permitting (ah, and weather permitting - summer has turned very strange here just now).

Date	Cycle	Run	Stretch	Row	Ergo	Circuit	Gym
Mon	5mi	8mi	Y	.	.	.	.
Tues	5mi	.	Y	.	.	.	.
Wed	5mi	6mi	Y	.	.	.	.
Thurs	5mi	.	Y	.	.	.	.
Fri	6mi	.	Y	.	.	.	.
Sat	.	Walk 2mi	Y	.	.	.	.
Sun	.	Walk 1mi	.	.	.	.	.

I am improving the look of this as I figure out what I was doing wrong. Any advice gratefully received :o)

Happy as I am that the activity is again 'on the move', my weight is resolutely sticking where it is (around 15st 5lb currently (215lbs)). This is a little disheartening as I can really feel the baggage when I am running. A loss of half a stone would make my joints a lot happier, this would be roughly where I was last time I tackled the half marathon distance. Like the fitness I know it will come, but it does mean I am going to have to work on staying patient.

As a footnote I find it strange that I have only just 'discovered' the draft function in the posting list, some 300+ posts later (I know, I can be a simpleton). See, apparently even humans learn! This is meaning that I pop a bunch of stuff on in the evenings and that log in and quickly post around mid-day when allegedly people might be looking for various blog musings to entertain them.

Last weeks activity in summary (sort of)...

Training Log	Row	Stretch	Run	Ergo	Circuit	Weights	Cycle
Mon/31/8/09	2-	Y	.	.	.	.	.
Tue/1/9/09	.	Y	.	.	.	.	.
Wed/2/9/09	.	Y	.	.	.	Y	.
Thu/3/9/09	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Fri/4/9/09	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Sat/5/9/09	1X	Y	.	.	.	.	.
Sun/6/9/09	2-	Y	.	.	.	.	.

Rowing and stretching seem to be making up the staple of my recent activity, which is great. If I manage to add the bike into the mix again I will really be on the move again... I keep trying to get back on the bike but the weather or work keep tempting me away from peddling. The weather has been so changeable I haven't been motivated on rainy / windy days, and work has been such that taking the train has been the most convenient. Still returning to the gym for some weights sessions over the next few weeks will be a welcome addition.

Last weeks Training Log

Training Log	Row	Stretch	Run	Ergo	Circuit	Weights	Cycle
Mon/24/8/09	.	Y	.	.	.	.	.
Tue/25/8/09	.	Y	.	.	Y	.	.
Wed/26/8/09	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Thu/27/8/09	.	Y	.	5x 2k	.	.	.
Fri/28/8/09	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Sat/29/8/09	1X	Y	.	.	.	.	.
Sun/30/8/09	.	.	.	.	.	.	.

Continued signs of movement, though I am seriously considering putting a miscellaneous column on the end for other activities like the allotment digging and heavy-duty DIY ;o)

Almost broken, plus latest training table

Today was a bit of a tiring one, it started with a long 4 trip session on the river in a double scull (two in the bow seat and two in the stroke seat), and ended with a long afternoon digging our allotment. The double went very well, so much so that my partner suggested we did some 'work' - starts and full pressure rowing. It seemed to go so well that my partner was wishing there was more of the season left to go racing, hehe.

The allotment digging should perhaps go in my training log, as I got a bit carried away and was treating it like a sporting event!! I ended up having to have a hot bath when I got home just to try and avoid too much stiffness tomorrow. Felt good to be working hard, but Monday morning work will prove interesting... I might be moving pretty slowly.

Happily this weeks training log (see below) shows a welcome return to quality "on the move" work, I am chuffed and look forward to keeping it going :o)

Training Log	Row	Stretch	Run	Ergo	Circuit	Weights	Cycle
Mon/17/8/09	2-	Y	.	.	.	.	.
Tue/18/8/09	.	Y	.	.	Y	.	.
Wed/19/8/09	.	Y	.	.	.	.	.
Thu/20/8/09	.	Y	.	5x 2k	.	.	.
Fri/21/8/09	.	Y	.	.	.	.	.
Sat/22/8/09	1X	Y	.	.	.	.	.
Sun/23/8/09	2X-	Y	.	.	.	.	.

Last weeks training table

Slowly but surely getting back into all things active...

Training Log	Row	Stretch	Run	Ergo	Circuit	Weights	Cycle
Mon/10/8/09	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Tue/11/8/09	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Wed/12/8/09	.	Y	.	4x 2k	.	.	.
Thu/13/8/09	2X-	Y	.	.	.	.	.
Fri/14/8/09	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Sat/15/8/09	1X	Y	.	.	.	.	.
Sun/16/8/09	.	.	.	.	.	.	.

Signs of progress?

Over recent weeks I have found it hard to put together a good run of training. On Saturday morning I tried to do some repeat 2k ergo's as a session and managed a warm up 2k of 8:51.4, a firmer 2k of 7:39.2, and a final tired 2k of 9:49.0. The three of them felt like very hard work, and I had nothing really to give in the third 'warm down' effort. It really felt like I have a long way to get back to fitness.

Tonight I tried the same sort of session and managed:-

2k 1- 7:40.6 - aver. 1:55.2/500m

2k 2- 7:37.4 - aver. 1:54.4/500m

2k 3- 7:36.8 - 1:54.2/500m

2k 4- 9:31 - warm down

I felt much better tonight, although clearly I have a lot of work to do. I hope to do a similar session once a week to work on stamina and the mental toughness of repeating fixed race plans. Its kind of a plan...

Another busier week

Training Log	Row	Stretch	Run	Ergo	Circuit	Weights	Cycle
Mon/21/4/08	.	Y	.	.	.	.	Y
Tue/22/4/08	.	Y	xtrainer	.	.	Brief	Y
Wed/23/4/08	2x 3t	Y	xtrainer	.	.	.	Y
Thu/24/4/08	.	Y	45mins	.	.	.	Y
Fri/25/4/08	.	.	.	.	.	.	Y
Sat/26/4/08	2- 3t	.	.	.	.	.	.
Sun/27/3/08	.	.	.	.	.	.	.

Latest training table - busy week!

Training Log	Row	Stretch	Run	Ergo	Circuit	Weights	Cycle
Mon/14/4/08	.	Y	xtrainer	.	Y	Light	Y
Tue/15/4/08	.	Y	xtrainer	.	.	Brief	Y
Wed/16/4/08	2x 2t	.	xtrainer + 20min	.	.	.	Y
Thu/17/4/08	.	Y	.	3x 8mins	.	.	Y
Fri/18/4/08	.	.	.	.	.	.	Y
Sat/19/4/08	2- 3t	.	.	.	.	.	.
Sun/20/3/08	2- 4t.	Y	.	.	.	.	.

A busy weeks training table ;o)

Training Log	Row	Stretch	Run	Ergo	Circuit	Weights	Cycle
Mon/7/4/08	.	Y	xtrainer	.	Y	Brief	Y
Tue/8/4/08	2x 3t	Y	xtrainer	.	.	Brief	Y
Wed/9/4/08	.	.	.	.	.	.	Y
Thu/10/4/08	.	.	.	.	.	.	Y
Fri/11/4/08	.	Y	xtrainer	.	.	Brief	Y
Sat/12/4/08	2- 3t	Y	.	Y	.	.	.
Sun/13/3/08	2- 3t	.	.	.	.	.	.

Two sessions a day has proved interesting, and thanks to being unemployed at the moment, easy to fit into the day. The kind of stuff I've been doing with the cross-trainer (xtrainer) is something I could still do on my return to the working life... I hope to get it so engrained that I will make time for the sessions because I'll be addicted to the activity.

Three outting on the river always helps the mood levels. Especially as now the clocks have changed and the days are longer, the options are more flexible. The elevation in mood with the clock change suggests I am more prone to SAD (seasonal affective disorder - not sure thats the right word combination, sorry). I reckon its an aging thing that makes daylight and associated activities missed more and more each winter.

Training table

Training Log	Row	Stretch	Run	Ergo	Circuit	Weights	Cycle
Mon/24/3/08	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Tue/25/3/08	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Wed/26/3/08	.	.	.	.	.	Gardening	.
Thu/27/3/08	.	.	.	.	.	Gardening	.
Fri/28/3/08	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Sat/29/3/08	Twice	.	.	.	.	.	.
Sun/30/3/08	Y	.	.	.	.	.	.

Back to activity (well a bit) ;o)

Training Log	Row	Stretch	Run	Ergo	Circuit	Weights	Cycle
Mon/17/2/08	.	Y	20min	20min	.	.	Y
Tue/18/3/08	.	.	.	Y	.	Y	Y
Wed/19/3/08	.	.	30min	.	.	.	Y
Thu/20/3/08	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Fri/21/3/08	.	Y	50min	.	.	.	.
Sat/22/3/08	.	Y	.	40min	.	.	.
Sun/23/3/08	.	.	.	.	.	.	.

Last weeks training

Training Log	Row	Stretch	Run	Ergo	Circuit	Weights	Cycle
Mon/28/1/08	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Tue/29/1/08	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Wed/30/1/08	.	Y	20mins	.	.	Medium	.
Thu/31/1/08	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Fri/1/2/08	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Sat/2/2/08	.	Y	20mins	30mins	.	.	.
Sun/3/2/08	.	Y	30mins	.	.	Medium	.

Winter training? Has it really begun?

Well, last night saw the start of winter circuit class at the club, hosted by a local school. And after a crazy day in work I got there a few minutes late (five minutes actually - cheeky!). It was hard work and today my legs feel like they have had all the bones removed leaving me with wobbly jelly legs. The question is has the winter training really started?....

I hope my training logs will continue to inspire me, as will (I hope) my renewed affair with all things blogger.... ( blogging still seems more appealing to me than facebook).

Ps. Stepped on the scales this morning... that's a whole other story!?!