Week 5/17

Day 29/119

2014: 
The early night last night paid dividends as I got up feeling much better than yesterday

Today was a 40 minute jog and for the first time I can remember it started ok before starting to hurt but after 10 minutes or so the achilles started to ease

I've realised that sub-consciously I've started to migrate to the treadmills that are right in front of an open view of the mirror

Not, obviously, to see myself striding majestically like a well honed athlete - no-one would believe that

It's to stare at my feet

I listen to music and watch my feet pump and by doing that I'm not staring at anyone else as I workout and somehow it's strangely calming

At least, that is what I thought

30 minutes in and I realised that I was staring at my feet through the gap of 2 cross trainers, both of which were occupied

Worse still, to see my feet, to follow my eye line it must have looked like I was checking out their backsides

I just hoped neither bloke minded.....

Start Weight - 84.4 kg
Last week Weight - 81.2 kg
Current Weight - 81.9 kg
Weekly Gain - 0.7 kg (shit)
Overall Loss - 2.5 kg

2011:
Today was a 40 minute jog and I was definitely not looking forward to it. Went to the gym for the run as it's easier to monitor my speed. Getting changed every muscle in my legs / feet and even arms (?) ached. Audio book on full blast, I set off and you know what, this training lark might actually be working. What started as stabbing pains in feet and legs after 5 minutes started to ease and by 10 had completely gone. The last 30 was a comfortable jog - there must be method in the madness. The only annoying part was when stretching afterwards the managers decided to do a photo shoot right next to me (not at me obviously - they want to show the gym in a good light). Flashing blooming cameras all the time. There was no way that I was moving though so they had to adopt a football lineup stance to fit everyone into the space that was left next to me - that cheered me up no end Nothing funnier than seeing a dignatory squatting uncomfortably for their own ego ;-)

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Day 30/119

2014:
I woke up today completely exhausted - this is absolutely  the closest I've come to just rolling over when the alarm went off

Even though my pilates has been shocking I firmly believed it was improving my back but clearly it just happened to coincide with me not doing anything potentially dangerous

The heroic thing I did last night was wash the car (has it been 4 years already)

Just that - a bit of bucket and sponge washing and I'm in bits - getting old is horrible - fact

Regardless I went to the gym and did a 30 minute hill climb on the cross trainer

I didn't go mad and by the end of it my back had eased considerably and as it's non-impact my legs also survived unscathed

However I did, at lunchtime, try the tricky manoeuvre of "going for a walk" and my knees just couldn't decide which was going to hurt more

It was a slight consolation that they never hurt at the same time but to be fair I'm really clutching at straws here

Tomorrow is 6 x 400m sprints - what could go wrong............

2011:
Today was a x-train day so, even though I had a bad experience last week, I went for weights. Fully organised and prepared, I was in the gym by 7 a.m. and was glad to see it largely empty. One woman was on a bike, reading a book. As far as I'm concerned, if you're able to exercise AND read, your not exercising properly so I walked past her with a distainful look. 45 minutes later after exercising arms, back, chest and stomach I was glad to hit the mats. Someone was already on one of the mats so I cut off any chance of "friendliness" by dragging my mat to the other side of the room. Yes I know it's grumpy - but I hate small talk with people I don't know and the sooner people realise I'm not interested the better !! ;-)

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Day 31/119

2014:
I woke up feeling my usual creaky self and made sure I had time for the pilates as today it was all about the sprints

The speed was moved up to 12 km/h but the repetitions were reduced to 6 so I was fairly confident of getting through it despite my tiredness

Next to me was a guy that ran like the clappers but was clearly unsure of himself as he held onto the treadmill rail as if his life depended on it

I could almost hear him thinking "what a lazy sod only running 2 minutes at a time" but rather like greeting the world with a huge spot on the end of your nose, I'm getting used to that kind of pitying look

As expected the runs hurt a bit, but there just wasn't enough running needed to push me too far

The rest of the day still had my right hip/thigh moaning quite loudly - I don't think it's something I'm going to be able to run off................

2011:
6 months ago I used to start running at 12 kmph and build upwards for 30 minutes. Since then I have been running longer and slower and so today's task of 6 x 400m at 12 kmph was absolute hell. I quickly ran out of breath and my legs killed - especially my calfs. My stride got so heavy that several times people right across the gym turned to make sure that the rampaging elephant that they heard didn't mow them down. Oh the shame of it!! The worry for me is that next wednesday I have to run 14 lots of 400m at this pace - how the blooming hell am I going to do that!!!!

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Day 32/119

2014:
Rest day today and having to consume a vast amount of wine to perk up the dullest of world cup semi finals last night - it couldn't have been timed any better

2011:
I say training, but it is in fact the 2nd best day of the week - rest day. The Gods were smiling on me this morning as the alarm was forgotten, resulting in a full 45 minute lie in - bliss. Today has been a mostly hobbling day. Legs have ached - but no more than that. The fear that it could get worse was greater than the pain felt. Cycling tomorrow....

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Day 33/119

2014:
Today, after a HUGE night's sleep, I had the choice of swimming or cycling

Last week's wrinkly synchronised swimming was still burnt into my memory so I opted for the far easier challenge of a 30 minute bike ride

I do wonder whether it SHOULD be easy or not but it certainly is - the way I do it

I'm just concerned that although I need to exercise I also need to conserve energy for tomorrow's run

To make in slightly more painful (apart from the knees) I watched BBC news on my phone and it was SO boring 30 minutes seemed like an hour

What made it worse was that I could see Joss in the mirror on the treadmill looking every ounce the person training for a marathon whilst I looked like I was rik-shawing Miss Daisy

Aren't my Saturday runs embarrassing enough ....?

2011:
Today was the first time I've ever played smelly-man chess. Surely you have heard of it - the rules are so simple. What you do, is go onto an end treadmill for a warm up in a completely empty gym. Then you wait 2-3 minutes to allow the smelly man (yes, same one from last week) to get on the treadmill next to you. Part of the fun is that ALL of the other treadmills are free, but he has still picked the one next to you - check. I castled by cutting the warm up short and moving to an upright bike. He then counters by leaving the treadmill and sitting on the bike RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU - check again. Master-stroke time - I then slapped the handlebars of the bike I was on and very audibly complained that it wasn't working properly and I deserved better from the membership fee. I then get off that bike and got on to another at the other end of the gym - he wasn't expecting that - check mate. Managed to cycle through 30 nervous minutes without further incident

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Day 34/119

2014:
Again the 5 o'clock alarm was no friend of mine

Added to this I woke up with really bad stomach cramps which made me worry that there might be a possibility of doing a Paula on today's 8 mile run

This week is all about setting me up for next week's huge increase and despite the stomach I was pretty confident that I'd make it

That will teach me

It must be psychological

Last week my body started hurting well into the run as it knew there was a long way to go

This week, it knew that there was less distance to run so started the moaning MUCH earlier with the achilles, knees and right thigh all fighting my ever cramping stomach for my attention

I also had the indignity of being passed  by a dozen blokes all carrying massive ruck-sacks

I NEED to make that "I can run faster" sticker for my back

I made it to the end feeling bloody rubbish (I know it was hotter, but still) and just made it to the little boys room in time

Never has the phrase "I'd give it a few minutes" been more apt and I was thankful that this was one of the shorter runs because I don't think I'd have made much further

A cold bath has pretty much rounded off a poor start to the day and I can look forward to a few beers tonight

I love rest day Sundays :-)

2011:
A sober night preceded this morning and I remembered everything that went wrong from last week. Make sure that all delicate parts were completely protected, and instead of tea, a nice pint of water (with some paracetamol) accompanied my porridge and banana. I decided to wear my Max Wall trousers and after much, much arguement Joss convinced me I didn't need to wear shorts over them. I was worried about modesty but the cold and the wind took care of that for me. I do think, however, that it was a little unnecessary for Joss to ride ahead of me wearing a placard with an arrow pointing to me and a sign saying "Nothing to see here". A hurt that cuts a little deeper when you realise that she wrote it BEFORE she knew what the weather was going to be like. Still away from that - 8 miles ran , powerade tried and successful, and it felt pretty good, apart from the afore mentioned wind which I think is safe to say, Joss especially did not like ;-)

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Day 35/119

2014:
There should be not much to say here - it's a rest day after all

If only that were the case

I decided to go on 2 fairly short, leisurely walks and my right knee / thigh could not have hurt more

Is it the training or just general decrepitness ?

I'm not sure which answer inspires more fear but it did mean an afternoon / evening with my legs up, punctuated by regular wimpering and bouts of feeling sorry for myself

I'll probably fell better tomorrow....

2011:
Rest Day today so it's a lie in and relax day. A bit of shopping, visit the parents and then back home for a MEDICINAL glass of red wine - I've read there's concentrated vitamin C in it - Hoorraayy !

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