Gym - AnnaTheApple

July 7, 2014July 7, 2014

Week #4 Marathon Training

Hello summer! I’m loving the lovely sunshine and beautiful mornings. Getting up stupidly early to run is actually quite easy as the sun is already shining and it’s fairly warm outside.

This week has been really tough. After Endure 24 I had Monday and Tuesday off running as I just needed some down time. I had a great sports massage with Kyle which really helped loosen things up. Thankfully my hip hasn’t played up again either. It’s now 12 weeks from Berlin marathon and I am wondering for how long I will go until I get injured again – I really hope things go plain sailing. Who knows? All you can be is sensible with warming up, stretching, regular foam rolling, massages and strength training.

Monday – OFF

Tuesday – strength training after work:

– 15×3/leg calf lifts with weights
– 200/leg clams with resistance band (I do 50 per leg each time)
– 4.5mins bridge
– 20×3/leg single leg dead lifts
– 16 press-ups
– 3mins toe lifts

Wednesday – I had planned to do four easy miles but as I started I found I was quite happy to run a bit faster so I call this a “paced run”. I’m finding it easier to start slower and get faster which is always good I guess.

Strength work:

– 200/leg clams
– 50/leg single leg lifts with ankle weight
– 20×3/leg single leg dead lifts with weights
– 20×3/leg lunges (mix of lunge twists and with weights)
– 4mins crab walk

Thursday – 10k tempo run. This was a brilliant run. My legs felt fresh and I felt good. My plan was one mile warm-up, two miles tempo, one mile easy then two final tempo miles.

To cool down I walked Alfie afterwards. He’s loving it at the moment as I walk him in the morning before I run at stupidly o’clock (usually 5.30am), then when I get back from my run if I have enough time I’ll walk him again to cool down. Pampered pooch!

Strength work (felt a bit de-motivated and bored so kept it quick):

– 200/leg clams
– 4mins crab walk
– 3mins toe lifts
– 3mins plank
– 2x 1.5mins side planks

Friday – a much needed recovery run. My legs felt very heavy and I felt tired. This was the third consecutive day of getting up around 5.10am.

Saturday – Ben and me headed to Basingstoke to do the Basingstoke parkrun with my friend who’s just gotten into running (the one I did the Race for Life with) and her husband and son.

In my plan it was a speedy 5k but as I had now run three days before I wasn’t sure how well this would go. I just thought put in some effort and see how it goes.

It was actually quite a tough course. There were two laps and a sneaky gradual incline you had to do twice. But it wasn’t anything crazy hard. There were over 300 people there! And lots of speedsters. I was lucky to come 4th lady with a time of 21:22, which I was chuffed with. It’s the fastest parkrun I’ve done since November. Fairly depressing but I’m pleased regardless.

There’s Ben in the red shirt

Ben found the run quite tough. His ankle was playing up and it didn’t help that he’d had a late night the night before and hadn’t run properly all week. My friend got a PB of just over 28 minutes 😀

We all had a good time though and had coffee afterwards with our friends. So chuffed they’re getting into running!

Sunday – fifth day running in a row. I hope I don’t look back at this week as a mistake week. I was concerned I was running so many consecutive days but I needed to get the mileage increasing (famous last words…). I did feel OK for all the runs and afterwards though. I kept this run slow and easy.

But it did feel like a lot of hard work at about six miles. My endurance has definitely suffered due to my lack of long runs. This distance was a distance I used to find very easy, but yesterday it was back to basics. I spent a long time foam rolling and stretching afterwards, as well as doing a quick bit of core work and clams.

Later we went shopping and I was shattered at the end of the day; I had to have a nap! Ten miles is definitely not a distance my body is used to anymore sadly. Work in progress!

Annoyingly running in the hotter weather is causing me some annoying chaffage. I keep forgetting to, er, lubricate my arms before going out…

Which makes things fairly painful later…must do better.

Onwards to another week. Fingers crossed it continues to go OK!!

How has your week been?

Do you get any nasty chaffage issues when running?

What’s your top strength training move? I need to liven things up a bit I think.

July 1, 2014

Week #3 Marathon Training

Another week passes… Apologies if you find these posts a bit dull as they’re so running-focused, I’m finding it a great way to track my progress and also something I can look back in future.

The week went OK. Running on my own, though not as fun as running with the club, is helping me stay focused on my goal and also avoid pushing myself too hard or doing more mileage than I should.

Monday – no running. Strength workout after work:

– 3mins calf raises
– 4mins bridge
– 10×3/leg bridge with leg to chest (see below)
– Marching bridge (Demo –> careful it’s loud when it starts!)
– 4x 10 running man (Demo)
– 3x 15 single leg dead lift (Demo)
– 100/leg clams with resistance band

Tuesday – strength routine at home when I got back from work day in London:

– 3mins toe lifts
– 4mins bridge
– 10×3/leg bridge with leg to chest (see below)
– 4x 20 running man
– 3x 20 single leg dead lift
– 100/leg clams with resistance band
– 15 press ups

Wednesday – I got up ridiculously early to do a hill session on my own. There are two great hills near me and I’ve been wanting to train on them for ages. I ran one mile to warm-up (8.22 pace) then alternated between the two hills. I ran over the first one as fast as I could, then jogged slowly down as a recovery. I then ran back over the hill and repeated the jog down. I then did exactly the same on the other hill. All in all, I ran eight up hills. This equated to just over two miles. I then jogged a mile back home. I was absolutely beat!

Thursday – I got up again early (we’re talking 5.10am) and went out for an easy recovery run. My problem is that my ego is getting in the way of these easy runs. Though I find it easy and I’m not exerting huge amounts of effort, it still isn’t easy-easy you know? I can’t seem to get it into my head I should be running 8.30s – which are really easy for me. This would be a far better recovery for me and less stress on my body. But my ego keeps whispering saying “you don’t want 8.30s on your stats for this run do you? People will think you’re slowing down and are a rubbish runner”. I know this is ridiculous though. I know I need to keep my easy runs EASY and my hard runs HARD. Otherwise it all merges and I’m unable to completely blast my harder ones. Need to work harder at this.

Strength workout in evening:

– 3mins bridge
– 2mins calf raises
– 4mins toe lifts
– 2mins bridge march
– 4×20 single leg dead lift
– 150/leg clams with resistance band
– 4mins crab walk
– 4x20secs/leg balancing on one leg with eyes closed
– 15 press ups
– 20 diamond press ups

Friday – off.

Weekend – Endure 24 (I’ll do a whole recap post on this as it was EPIC – but I only did two laps of the 5 mile route).

Just to talk quickly about some of the strength workouts I’ve been doing. I’ve been reading a great book called Anatomy for Runners by Jay Dicharry. Basically it helps you identify your weaknesses in running and the ways to improve on those weaknesses to avoid injury and become a better runner (sounds like something I definitely need to read, right?)

Leg to chest bridge

So like the geek I am, I took the book to the gym and followed some of the exercises. It’s a great book. Very interesting, though there could be more photos as some exercises were tricky to understand what was going on!

And I’m also incorporating different things like the running man, single leg dead lifts and balances, as well as lots of different stretches from Kinetic Revolution (<- love this guy, so many great articles and advice for runners). You can sign up to a free 30 day challenge and each day you get given a list of stretches and exercises to help you improve as a runner. I haven’t been following it to a tee I must say as I just don’t have time with everything else but I’ve been picking specific ones that I think might help me.

Do you do hills for running training? I’ve been fairly anxious because it’s quite a tough workout and I’ve only felt strong enough now to do it (ironically it should increase my strength).

Are there any fitness books you swear by that have helped you?

Have you ever done any crazy fitness thing, like running for 24 hours? Or being part of a relay team?

June 23, 2014

Week #2 Marathon Training

I loathe to write anything hugely positive about my running for fear that the sword of Damocles hanging above my head will drop…and injury will strike. However, I am trying my best to avoid that situation as you can manage!

I’ve pretty much followed my training plan but shifted some miles here or there depending on the time I had, though the overall week’s mileage remained the same. I’ve also modified the Ab challenge because I read a few articles about how it wasn’t that good for you…specifically crunches and sit-ups being bad for your back and neck, and rather than creating a nice strong core it’s actually just working specifically your abs. I’m not interested in getting a six pack or the aesthetic side of things but I do want a strong core.

So instead of doing the sit-ups I do Russian twists instead to work my oblique muscles (side abs?) and instead of the crunches I do bicycle crunches which I hear are better for your back and more dynamic. I’m not judging anyone else doing the Ab Challenge (Ben is sticking with the regular plan), just personally for me I didn’t want to risk anything. Everything else on the challenge I’m sticking to.

So last week, this is what went on:

Monday – no running. 45 minute strength workout:

– 100 weighted squats
– 4mins toe lifts
– 3mins calf raises
– 4mins crab walk (—> demo)
– 3mins bridge
– 1mins bridge pulses
– 10×3 bridge leg lifts

Toe lifts

Tuesday – 5k at a fast pace. Not breaking any records here but I’m chuffed I almost fully negative split it (damn you 0.1 nubbin).

I also did a strength workout after work:

– 30 x3 (per leg) hip hikes
– 30 x3 (per leg) backward lunge and knee lift with ankle weights
– 5mins toe lifts
– 3mins calf lifts
– 24 x4 (per leg) clams with resistance band (—> Demo)
– 30 (per leg) bird dog (4-8 sec hold) (—> Demo)

Wednesday – 10k Race for Life in Basingstoke.

I ran this with my friend at her pace to support her in her first 10k. It was such good fun! More on this in another post, though I will say she smashed her target at got 1:04 which is brilliant (and she could have done better but we were held up by walkers).

Thursday – no running but a strength workout after work:

– 4 mins bridge
– 3x 10 (per leg) bridge leg lifts
– 5 mins toe lifts
– 3 mins calf raises
– 3x 1min heel taps (—> Demo)
– 5 mins crab walks

Friday – 4 mile run on feel keeping it easy. Another (almost) negative split run! I wear my heart rate monitor for my runs so I can make sure I’m not pushing too much. My heart rate was an average of 157 (my fast 5k on Monday was 172 average).

Saturday – 5k at Parkrun. In my plan I had said this was a speed session so I wanted to push it.Parkrun Selfie

I just ran as fast as I could basically. There was a girl in front of me the entire time and though I managed to overtake her twice she still beat me.It was a bit frustrating but what are you gonna do! I should have kept to her shoulder and not wasted energy in premature over-takes and seen if I could pip her towards the end.

My time was 21:42 and I was third female. Not too shabby!

Sunday – I got up early and ran a 7 mile easy paced run. I found this run quite tough. Even though it was early (8.30ish) it was already very warm. I struggled to maintain a good pace and felt a bit rubbish. I don’t think what I ate the day before had helped… (BBQ and lots of cake).

From the get-go it just felt like a slog.

After the run Ben and me met up with our friend to go for a 15 mile bike ride again.

I enjoyed this a lot more than last week. Not sure why but it felt nice to work the legs in a completely different way. We didn’t go at any great speeds but it was just nice to be out in the sunshine, chatting away while moving the legs. I think we’re going to try and continue this every week when we can but probably move it to a Saturday as the long runs are going to increase and I won’t fancy a bike ride afterwards!

Total of 23 miles.

I’m pleased with the week. Feel like I’m getting faster and hopefully getting stronger.

How has your week been?

Has the sun been affecting your running?

Have you ever done the Race for Life?

May 27, 2014

I’m not training for a triathlon but…

I’ve been doing some swimming and cycling recently. But not a lot of running. My hip is still sadly niggling me.

I saw my physio last Friday just to check it wasn’t anything serious as I was going into an Anna Panic (as Ben says, Pannakin mode). Ideas of arthritis and stress fractures were floating around my mind. Yes, seriously over-reacting I know. But I do have arthritis in my family…And an over-active brain when it comes to injuries and niggles.

Anyway the physio said I’d just tweaked my groin/hip flexor area and running Netley had aggravated it further and caused my back to tighten up to compensate (I get an ache in the top of my glute/lower back as well). Panic over. He said it really depends on me when I can get back to running – as long as the pain isn’t unbearable I can run. But I’m still taking it very cautiously and not running for the time being.

My lovely friend at my running club gave me a three day free pass to her AMAZING gym which is just around the corner from me so I thought I’d put that to good use over the weekend. The gym has two pools: one inside and one outdoors (yes, in Britain).

On Saturday morning I got up early and headed there for a swim. Bear in mind I haven’t swum in years (ignoring holidays). I rocked up to the pool in my bikini (I have no actual swimsuit), no goggles and no clue. I got into the Medium Lane (there was no slow lane) and started breast stroking. But I worried this might niggle the groin/hip so changed to front crawl. I wear contact lenses so I had to keep my head out of the water. This is not an easy feat when doing front crawl.

Now no disrespect to them, but there were a lot of older, shall we say senior, ladies there in their swim caps, goggles and proper swimsuits. I did feel slightly judged by them and also hugely inferior (if looks could kill…). Evidently, these ladies go every single day and I was encroaching on their territory. The Medium Lane was becoming ridiculous with people walking up and down the lane so I switched to the Fast Lane and was quickly overtaken a lot by some speedy ladies. Oh my poor ego…

I enjoyed about 15 minutes of swimming until I became bored. Up and down. Up and down. But I stuck it out for 50 minutes. The next day I managed 45 minutes – and even ventured into the outdoor pool (now that gets you moving!) and felt my front crawl improve a lot (it helped bringing goggles). I then treated myself to a good 10 mins soak in the Jacuzzi.

After my swim on Saturday I realised I could get to parkrun to see Ben run.

I got there just before 9am and loved the look on Ben’s face as I cheered him and he realised I was there. It was nice to still make parkrun to support – though I looked a little like a drowned rat with my wet hair.

Ben did a good run, just under 22 minutes. We had a nice cup of tea and chat with some running friends and Ben got on top of his football sticker swapping…

Yes, he is 26 years old.

Monday morning Ben and me got up at 6.10am (ON A BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY – sorry for the caps, but that is early, am I right?) to go for a 30 mile bike ride with a fair number of guys from the running club (or ‘injured’ club as some said as a lot of the people there currently couldn’t run because of injury, myself sadly included I guess).

Photo credit – Kelly

Well as you can see I’m one of the few not wearing a jacket. In my running-focused brain I thought I’d get warm on the cycle, even if it rained.

Well the heavens opened up and I was FREEZING. Ben, my loving husband, gave me his jacket though and cycled in just a running t-shirt. Honestly, I don’t know how he survived in the absolute freezing and wet conditions as I was still so cold despite the jacket. He has definitely earnt a few Husband Points!

Just a little bit hilly…

By about 20 miles though I wanted to be home. I was so cold and wet it just became very difficult to enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, if the weather had been better I’d have loved it. The route was scenic, the hills were tough but satisfying…but being so cold for so long is just not fun. Total time cycling: 2:19:12 though we stopped a few times to regroup.

As soon as we got home I was in the bath with a coffee (again, lovingly made by my husband after he’d had a shower). I just couldn’t get warm. I was also starving. I didn’t have anything before cycling and nothing on route (this is the same for running) but on the last stretch of the ride I started to feel dizzy and weak. Not good at all. Need to be more sensible next time. This is a whole different thing to running!

After a big bowl of porridge and then a proper shower I felt more human. Thankfully we were going to Nando’s later as well with a friend so I could eat my body weight in chicken. The calorie in-out balance was definitely returned to normal by the end of the day 😉

Running, cycling or swimming – which do you prefer? I think we know my answer to this 😉

Are you a fair weather exerciser? I don’t mind running in the rain at all. No problem. But cycling…well not only is it cold but I felt a lot more cautious going downhill as I was scared to slip.

Have you ever felt dizzy when exercising?

March 17, 2014

Walking not running

Good morning and happy Monday.

Thank you for your lovely comments about my last post. Provided I’m no longer injured by the time the marathon comes about then I will run. Ideally I’d like to be able to run a good few runs before the marathon problem-free, perhaps even a 12 or 10 miler but we’ll see. The longer long runs are lost to me now sadly.

Ben and me have spoken at length about this and what we’ve sort of decided that I will run the Paris marathon with him. He was aiming for 9min/miles and I think that should be in theory do-able for me. But we’ve both agreed if one of us is really struggling, the other one can run on with no hard feelings. I know that sounds quite callous but I think it’s fairly pragmatic. Unless obviously we’re enjoying running together! I don’t want to hold Ben back if the wheels come off for me – he desperately wants to have a better marathon than his last.

Moving on to this weekend…despite feeling fairly pants about the whole running situation, it wasn’t too bad. We went over to my parents for an Indian takeaway. They have the best Indian. Sadly where we live it’s all very sub-par. I got my usual…

Chicken tandoori starter and chicken tikka main, with lots of onion salad and regular salad. I know this sounds very boring but this is actually one of my favourite meals. I love the little pot of white sauce you get with it as well. I have no idea what’s in it and frankly don’t care. It rocks my world. And a few cheeky poppadoms as well of course 😉

Moving away from food, Ben and me have just treated ourselves to Fitbits [we bought them ourselves, I haven’t been asked to review them]. I used to have a pedometer but it was annoying to attach to my belt or trousers. But I love this! It has really encouraged me to walk more, I’m not even joking. It’s even become a little competition between Ben and me (though he’s winning by miles as he’s able to run and 18 miles is a lot of steps…). To the point that we’re fighting over who walks Alfie in the morning. OK we’re not fighting, but it encouraged me to give Alfie a huge walk yesterday morning while Ben was out running.Then when a friend came over we took Alfie for another long walk to catch up with our friend. In the end Sunday’s steps were over 20,000!

I sit a lot at work so this will definitely help remind me to get up a bit more and take a lunchtime walk, which I rarely do at the moment. The weather is getting nicer so this should be lovely.

As I can’t run at the moment I’ve been back at spin. Oh joy. On Saturday I did the 45 minute spin class followed by 20 minutes of rowing and then lots of strength work. Not nearly as exciting as Parkrun believe me (especially as it was the two year anniversary and it was a fancy dress one…onesies galore). But I just have to keep telling myself it won’t be long until I’m back again. Annoyingly though spin tends to aggravate my IT band and tightens it up. So instead this morning I went on the cross trainer, the rower and the stepper.

Am I the only person who’s never used the stepper before? I was quite confused what to do and had to creepily watch a woman using it to make sure I was doing it right. It was quite cool to see how many floors I’d climbed though. Silver linings and all that.

What machine do you always use at the gym? Which is your favourite?

Do you own a fitness tracker, like a Fitbit or a Nike Fuel band or a pedometer?

What’s your takeaway of choice?