running

Summer Schedule

simon CrossFit, Fitness, running , , , 2 Comments

With the summer in full swing its time to up my workout schedule. Not only will I be increasing the miles but introducing a number of CrossFit workouts and sprints. The schedule is as follows:

Monday – Pull-ups, CrossFit
Tuesday – Run
Wednesday – Pull-ups, CrossFit
Thursday – Run
Friday – Pull-ups, CrossFit
Saturday – Sprints, CrossFit
Sunday – Run

This schedule does seem a little packed but with a lot of sleep and great nutrition I am confident I will see gains.

I will be following a Hal Higdon schedule for my running and aiming to be at half marathon distance in around 6 weeks time.

I will be utilising CrossFit and also a CrossFit playing card deck for the strength training.

For pull-ups I will be following the 20 Pull-Up Challenge.

So thats the schedule I post mainly to open the doors to any friends, friends of friends, random readers of the blog that would like to team up during the summer months. Be it by training in person or simply keeping track of each others progress online.

I am flexible on the times for any of the workouts and will do an AM/PM split. So leave or comment or drop me a line to workout!

Rest and Nutrition

simon Fitness, Life, running , , Comment

The accumulation of 14 weeks of training ended on Sunday with our 10k run. Using the dreadmill and the roads Scott and I had worked up from running an earth shattering 1 min splits all the way to 10k. Our goal began as a simple 5k run, when we achieved this with ease we rose the bar. Our new goal is marathon distance by sep/oct. To aid in this goal we decided to have a rest week.

The rest week didn’t exactly pan out. Instead we racked up our highest mileage in a 7 day period. So with 3 days until our new running schedule begins the rest has officially begun.

With a new schedule comes a new diet, my current diet runs at a negative 5600 cals a week. Far from healthy and explains my fatigue recently. So the new diet is a large calorie increase. The extra cals will be coming mainly from nuts and lean protein sources and maybe a pancake or two!

I will be trotting out FitDay to track calories and if there is any demand at all will post a weekly diet plan.

My First 10k Run

simon Fitness, running , 2 Comments

I have been looking forward to running my first 10k for around 6 weeks. My guide runner and I have been training hard, determined to put in a good time. So when I awoke this morning and it hurt to stand there was no way I was missing this run.

The pain was mainly on my heels, this makes running slightly easier as my footfall is front/mid so I never strike my heal. So I was quietly confident this wouldnt be an issue. The journey to the drop off point was full of chatter about how the rain may effect us, did I mention it was raining? Boy was it raining.

Exiting the car we began being pelted with rain, no matter it wont get much worse I’m sure of it! We began the run with a steady pace repeating aloud the mantra, “keep it slow, keep it slow”. The first mile was a breeze, then the rain really hit us.

Huge drops of rain that could surely fill a shot glass, instantly our clothes became a chafing second skin. There was nothing else to do but laugh. Why did we think summer clothes would be appropriate for this run?

We crashed into the puddles as they grew in size, trying to dodge the splash or at least get a sneaky hit on each other. By now our shoes were soaked through, but hey at least we were halfway.

Passing the 3 mile marker we both found a second wind, our stride length increased as did our pace. Scott bounded into a swimming pool of a puddle, shooting dirty cold water right up my shorts, great a wet crotch! With our 1.5 mile marker rapidly approaching we decided to head home the back way, a long gradual incline followed by a slight decline.

As we dropped into single file we hit water slightly deeper than anticipated. With the puddles being deeper than our shoes it made running difficult. So we quickly hopped onto the road and ran the white line. My iPhone signalled the final 400m so we up the pace and finish on a high.

A record of 50:37 for our first 10k, injured and in the rain. Proud of that time!

Vibram Pain

simon Life, running , , Comment

Around these parts the temperature rarely breaks the 20 degree barrier. So as soon as the sun is out its time to play outisde.

Scott came around about mid afternoon and after playing with MacSpeech we decided to go feed the ducks at the local pond. Now I live around 500m from the duck pond so I figure it would be around 1.5k round trip. A great distance to use my Vibrams to increase my foot strength a little.

With vibrams on we headed out to feed the ducks, just as we tossed in the last few pieces of bread Scott mentioned checking out the pavement around the back, see if it could be a possible new running route.

We trekked the extra 1km to the pavement, its a beautiful pavement, a real long stretch of fresh new tarmac. No random posts in the middle of the path just a loooooooong stretch of great guide running territory. We decided to walk the opposite way around the path, to see if it continued into a nearby village.

This is where the pain began, with the sweltering heat the beautiful tarmac was baking my feet. Every time we reached a corner in the path we continued, afterall the path must end soon!

The walk continued a little further than anticipated passing the local airport, the school, the wildlife park and the fishing lakes. By now my feet were on fire each step was becoming painful, damn you Vibrams!

We discussed swapping shoes but when Scott realised I had been sweating sock less in the Vibrams he quickly said no. As I began gritting my teeth through the pain Scott suggested we stop off at the nearby pub and call in a lift.

A welcome beer and a chance to rest my feet I rang Sian. The lift home secured I limped to the car complaining the sunday 10k will be difficult.

Running Point

simon Fitness, Life, running , , Comment

Todays run was special for 2 reasons, its my birthday and I had new Nike gear to wear.

Sporting my new Dri Fit Nike short sleeve we headed out on a 2 mile “sprint”. We walked to the edge of my housing estate and began our run, overzealous we began a furious pace.

Being willed on by my new Nike threads we hit the long hill leaving the village. We achieved a mystifying 7:44 pace on an incline. Rounding parrots corner for the next uphill stage we were beginning to lag.

As mentioned numerous times I run shoulder to shoulder with my guide runner. However this particular uphill has a few unique traits which allow me to take point.

The hill is made up of a thin path flanked at both sides by grass. This allows me to correct my position depending on footfall and the feel of the grass. Feeling the long strands of grass on my left leg the next foot strike is a correction to the right. Repeating the process of minor corrections allows me to run point for a .75 mile stretch.

Running point is a great psychological boost, dictating pace and direction for once I am the guide runner.

The pace proved a little adventurous for my guide runner and we decided to take a little breather. I continued to take point which proved a little hazardous as I ran into the road and into oncoming traffic. Undeterred and with a quick correction we were home stretch bound!

Finishing the run we began to dissect our pace. We decided energy conservation is our new mantra. Heading out of the gate too fast always results in poor performance. Start slow finish fast!