Another hard week but actually felt a bit stronger this week so maybe I broke through the plateau!! Hope so!

Monday
REST! and a SPORTS MASSAGE with Nuneaton Sports Injuries - wonderful!

Tuesday:
Long Run - 17.5 miles at a pace of 9:14mins/mile which was a big improvement on last week and I felt a lot stronger in the last few miles than last week so that was encouraging!  GOt home, Ice showered my legs (Oooooooof!) and did some stretching.

Wednesday:
REST!  Well core and stretching but essentially rest!

Thursday:
Cycled to work and back - 15miles there and 22 back.  Average of 13.5 - 14mph which isnt bad on Claud!  I really did feel tired when I got home though but was pleased with best part of 40miles in the bag ;o)

Friday:
INtervals!!  4 x 5min sprints with 1 min recoveries.  Best Interval was 7:43mins/mile, slowest was 8:08 so Not bad!  Recoveries were around the 9:15-9:30 mins/mile but Id prefer to see a bigger spike inbetween the intervals and the recovery!  That means faster sprinting!

Saturday:
6 hours on the Turbo in the Nuneaton Ropewalk shopping Centre!  Was worth it as we raised a fantastic amount but my bum was numb by the finish!

Sunday:
The weather was DIRE! But I made up my mind I wanted to cycle so me and one other lunatic "Wheeler" set out on a wet and wild 35 miler!  Not before I had to swap from Gerard to Claud due to a flat tyre!  Made me realise how much heavier Claud is than the milano as I was getting unceremoniously dumped on the hills!  Still it made me work hard and as the ride was only short it wasnt a bad thing!  Was damn FREEZIN when I got home but very smug in the afternoon that I had gone and done something productive :D 

Starting to up the anti now.....races are looming! ARGH!

Monday....Day of rest!

Tuesday
Long Run - 18 miles in 2hrs 52.  Pace 9.30 mins/mile which I guess is not too bad over this distance but nowhere near a 4 hour marathon!  But I felt much better than last week. Felt good up until about mile 14 then got very tired and my pace per mile slowed drastically!  But I guess the only way to solve this is continued long runs!  Great! lol!

Tuesday:
Cycled to work!  Went the direct way on the way there and felt pretty darn good and made good time :)  On the way home I did the slightly longer route and although a bit slower it was against the wind....Ooooof!
Total of 21 miles done today.
Wednesday:
Spinning! Another fast paced interval session working on endurance to start with as if you were climbing a hill then moving onto sprints.  Hard work!
Thursday:
Long Run! 15 miles in 2hrs 23 mins giving an average pace of 9:28 mins/mile.  I have to say I was very dissapointed with the run.  Its the slowest I have run for a good while and although I cant be running full throttle on every run I did want my "easy" runs to be around the 9:10 min/mile mark.  And it felt HARD!!!  Really struggled today, no endorphin high and I was a misery guts when I finished!  Plus I dont mind admitting the thought of running the marathon after this performance has really scared the shit out of me! :o(  I persevered with the Ice Bath and froze my sorry ass off! Then massaged my legs.  I have to say that this is definitely helping the recovery process so I shall reluctantly continue with the ffffffrrrrrrreeeeeeezin water!  Oh yes, I am having my SIS Recovery shakes too that I got left over from the bike challenge last year.  Its all working well.  Shame my legs arent! lol
Saturday:
5 hours cycling on the turbo trainer in the shopping centre!  I did try and mix it up a bit by standing / sitting / high / low resistance......last hour was hard going both physically and mentally.  Its definately easier when you cycle for real!  At least the scenery takes your mind off it a bit!  Numb Bum saturday eve!
Sunday:
Hill Repeats...........OOOOOOOF!!!  That kinda sums it up!  Did just over 1.5 mile to warm up then did six X hill repeats approx 1.3 min up with a 2 min recovery jog back down.  Worked really hard and thought I was gonna hurl after number 6!  Intervals ranged from 8.06 mins/mile to 8.17mins per mile.  Not bad up quite a steep hill :)

If im gonna sum the week up - Id say slightly below par.  Felt quite tired.

The video has been edited and "special effected" by our very own Ian "tarantino" Kennedey and ready for public consumption!  A humerous insight into the preparation and training im putting into the Cycle Challenge.....and not forgetting the humiliation!!  Surely thats gotta be worth a £1.00 of anyones money??!!!?? lol!  I would be very grateful for you sharing the video with all your friends!

Due to a busy week with meetings and the weather still being DIRE the training wasnt as regular as normal..... but what I did do I made COUNT!

Monday
Spinning Class - another Intense spinning session working on Endurance, high cadence and Intervals.  Its hard work but I do enjoy it!  Just dawned on me today that I can wear my SPD's as they have clip in pedals!  This will be a lot better plus I can really concentrate on my pedalling form.  HURRAH!
In the evening I had a sports massage by Nuneaton Sports Injuries which was great!  I am going to try and have one per month - more if I can afford it!  I read a great article on HOW MASSAGE HEALS SORE MUSCLES which was tweeted by COVENTRY RUNNER which tied in very nicely with this!  It is worth spending the money on a massage if you are training hard.

Wednesday
LONG RUN - I had a day off work today as I was taking my daughter to Preston for a Uni Interview so I ran in the morning this week.  And it was COLD!!!!  I could barely feel my face by the time I got home!  But I still managed to do 14 miles at an average pace of 9mins / mile.  I do admit to not feeling as strong as last weeks run and the time reflects it but it would still achieve a sub 2hr Half and I have got to accept that I cannot go at a rate of knots on every single run I do! Especially the long runs otherwise I will end up with an Injury again!  After reading about the benefits of massage and also cold baths after exercise (If its good enough for MEB its good enough for me!) I decided that after long runs I will soak in cold water and then massage my calves to help recovery.  Well you would have died laughing if you saw the performance of me getting in the cold bath!  OH MY GOD!!! It felt painful!  But after hopping back out, once the sensation returned to my legs (LOL!) they did actually feel better!  So I persevered and continued to soak them in the cold water!  Then I massaged the muscles.  Although my legs ached that day I was really suprised and a little bit impressed that the next day my legs felt pretty good actually!  So Im going to continue with this routine.....

SUNDAY
Finally!  I got to ride out with the WHITESTONE WHEELERS!! My first ever club run and i have to say I felt ridiculously excited riding out with a group of "proper" cyclists.  Was a bit nervous to start, the guys looked good with their snazzy kit, carbon bikes and tri-bars!!  But I managed to keep up over a 50 mile route at an average of 15.45 mph and felt really quite pleased!  I will definately be going again! :D  I wonder......does this mean....I am a cyclist?  Maybe the clown on a bike days are behind me.... but then again! :p

Still pressing on with the training and gradually increasing the mileage in preparation for the Half and Full Marathon.
Mon:
Spinning Session on the bike, this is great for working on pedaling form, high cadence and interval session to really build up endurance.
Then I went into the gym and did a "legs" session including squats, lunges, leg press, hamstring curls, calf raises which were all high reps and short recoveries to maximise muscle endurance.

Tues:
Intervals on the treadmill - 4 x 1 mile repeats with 5 min recovery.  FIrst few intervals I managed at 7:15-7:30 mins per mile...but gradually got slower!!  I was pleased though with maintaining the pace over the mile :)  Intervals are hard work but already I can feel them paying off :)

Weds:
Spinning again!  

Thurs:
Took the bus again to work so I could run home!  I have to say had I not HAD to run to get home I think i would have talked myself out of it!  The weather was cold and I didnt feel very energetic!  BUt IM glad I did run as once going I felt flipping great and did a bit "extra" , just over 13.5 miles in 2hrs 57secs!  an average pace of 9:50 mile / min and I was very pleased!!

Sat:
A six mile tempo run at 8:23min/mile

Sunday was horrendous snow and therefore the club ride with my new cycling club was cancelled.  GUTTED!!  So instead I went to a local country park with my friend Ian and took video and pics of me running and biking in the snow for my new ingenious idea of a promotional video lol!!

Stepping up the training a bit this week in frequency and feeling
pretty good about it too!
Monday
15 mins of 1 min intervals / 1 min recovery on the bike and then the rower followed by an upper body strength workout including Chest Press, Lat Pull downs, Shoulder Press, Pecs, Rear Delts, Bicep curls and tricep extensions.

Tuesday
6 x 1km Intervals at 4.5-5min/km (7.5-8min/mile) pace with a 5 min recovery period between each one.  Worked really hard and on the middle couple of intervals really found my rhythm and felt bloody brilliant!!  One day Ill run like this over distance ;o)

 Wednesday:
 Spinning Class – a high energy interval session on a spinning bike gradually increasing the resistacne throughout the workout.  Great thighburner!

 Thursday:
Today I caught the bus to work so I could RUN HOME!! I did 9.5 miles in 1:24mins so an average of 8:50min/mile and considering it was a “comfortable” run I was quite pleased with the timing.

 Friday:
Cycled to work and back – direct route both ways felt quite good on the way there at 35mins but a bit slower on the way home, although the weather was a bit pants by then lol!

Saturday:
Longish cycle ride while distributing posters!!  Did just shy of 40 miles and by the nature of the ride it was a bit stop and start but I enjoyed the ride out! I also took a pit stop at COVENTRY RUNNER where I got myself a new pair of trainers plus they very kindly donated a voucher for a pair of trainers for the “Guess the finishing time” competition.

 Sunday:
 REST!
 
I am uploading all my training onto FETCHEVERYONE as it neatly combines my schedule and training altogether which is good for a quick overview.  Although when I upload a few days training it posts the lot to facebook / twitter and makes it look like Im a training  FREAK!

After last sundays race I was on a high after running an average of 8.08 mins/mile over 12KM!  Well chuffed :o)
Monday was a supposed recovery bike ride but after a touch up Claud felt super frisky so we went quite well actually! LOL!
Thursday and Friday I cycled to work via fillongley as it is hillier that way and also more mileage ;o)  I was well chuffed on Thursday as I blasted my previous weeks time!  But on Friday the wind and rain combined with tired legs I was a good 5 mins slower....but still not as slow as last week thank god!
Saturday I had a rest!  then Sunday I did a 11 mile steady run - it was very windy but still averaged 9.12 mins a mile and I felt pretty comfortable out there so I was pleased.  Long term I need to get a bit more structured with my running training as Im tempted to try and beat my miles per minute every time I go out! Which is a recipe for injury so I am going to have to be a bit more disciplined and do slower longer runs and concentrate on the speed in my interval training!

A link to my Garmin Activities! TRAINING LOG

Well after a layoff during "party season" I decided to get my butt back into gear by registering for the Cycle Challenge and getting back into the old routine!  After Christmas we went  to Yorkshire close to the moors where I started back training in earnest!  By god they got big hills in Yorkshire!  And yet again I had got a ridiculous notion of "hill hunting" the infamous and deadly Rosedale Chimney which is a 1:3 gradient climb.  What can I say......it chewed me up and spat me out lol!  But pushing the bike up a section aint no mean feat either and I got back on just to have a rest hahaha!  But as I neared the top my attention was taken off my burning thighs to keeping upright on my bike with quite a lively side wind to contend with!

I have to say that the area is just breathtaking and it took me back to my JoGLE days cycling through such jaw dropping scenery.....oh I do love to ride my bicycle!

The running has been going well too and touch wood the body is holding on out even after a half marathon back in September YAY!  Last weekend I did my first race of the season, a hilly 12km in stratford which I completed in 1hr 37seconds (lol!) so that was at a 8.08min per mile pace which although it aint no Haile Selassie I was still pretty pleased with it ;o)

After a terrible accident with my poor late garmin last year where it got crushed I had the good fortune to find myself a fantastic bargain on EBAY just before christmas of another Forerunner 310xt so I am a very happy girl and just revelling in all the STATS!!  I shall link a few on here now from Yorkshire but wont bore you with the lot lol!  But I will link the odd few sessions throughout the weeks to come to keep a log of my training progress!