End of an era

Today I went to the gym.

I didn't go there to play with their toys.

This is the conversation that took place....

-------------------

Me: Hi, I've come to cancel my membership.

Her: Oh.

[she reaches for cancellation form]

Her: May I ask why?

Me: Well, I'm a runner. I do everything I need to do... out there.

[I point to window]

Me: Over the years I've learned that I don't need all of this fancy equipment in order to reach my fitness goals.

Her: How long have you been a member?

Me: about 7 years.

Her: Wow.

Me: Yeah, I'll miss the place. I used to be here almost daily.

Her: hmm

[she writes stuff on a form and then answers the ringing phone]

Me: Do you want me to sign that?

Her: uhm... yeah, probably.

[she hands me the paper and a pen]

[I sign the form]

Me: I'll probably come down for a session or two before the end of the month, I have a few challenges to complete.

Her: hu?

Me: Don't worry. Cheers.

[I leave the gym]

-----------------------

The challenges that I was referring to are from the tribesports website - If you need a new challenge to give your favourite activities a bit of a kick try it. If you join, remember to find me and add me.

So now that I have left the gym I will save myself £36 per month. That is going straight into Steve's running stuff account, I am going to use it to pay for anything related to running (races, new gear etc).

It really feels like the end of an era, but life has moved on over the last couple of years and the gym just doesn't fit in anymore.

Steve.

There's always a plan B

There were a few reasons to avoid running this morning. I went to bed too late on Monday to make getting up at 5:51 realistic, the wind and rain was pretty full on over night, and the bed was way too warm and cosy to possibly consider leaving it until it was absolutely necessary.

So I left for work feeling a tad lame for missing a run.

Fortunately I always keep some shorts and a running top in my backpack, plus I have an old pair of running shoes stored at Mum and Dad's flat. So the decision to run at lunch time was reached. This was going to be difficult because the run-shower-lunch combo in one hour is pretty damn tricky.

the new touchscreen treadmill - with this view you can watch a red line travel around a make-believe trail

I could have gone for a run around the Thames or in one of the London parks, but as it was a bit chilly I thought it'd be best to would be to go to the gym and jump on a treadmill.

When I arrived I saw that the old treadmills had been replaced with er... new treadmills. These have a touch screen, an ipod connector, and a USB port on the front. Very fancy.

I soon figured out how to get the thing working and started my run. I started playing around with the screen and discovered that I could watch a progress line going round a running track, or if I fancied a bit of nature I could watch the line going around a 5km trail course - It was fun to play with the touch screen.

I ran for just over 40 minutes.

at the end you get a summary

Once back at work I noticed that a couple of my toes felt sore. These were the same toes that were hurting after the Tonbridge half-marathon. I have put this down to the treadmill being new and the rubber still being quite sticky. My shoes kept squeaking and I think the stickiness caused my toes to bump into the front of the shoes.

For the record I was only 25 minutes late back to work, and I ate my lunch at my desk.

8.1km

Workouts - Week Commencing 4 April 2011

• Monday: DB Workout - Shoulders/Back/Arms
• Tuesday: Chest and Triceps ( Push-ups feet on ball / Machine Flyes / DB Chest Press )
• Wednesday: Back, Biceps, Shoulders (Home with DB) and some Foam Rolling.
  
• Thursday: Bodyweight Leg Workout
  
• Friday: Chest, Back, Core, Legs and Foam Rolling in the gym. Plus more foam rolling in the evening.
  
• Saturday: 4.79km Run - ( summary / map ) - IT band is slightly sore. Foam rolling throughout the day.
  
• Sunday: 5.1km Run - ( summary / map ) - IT Band still tender. Foam Rolling before run, after run and throughout the day.

I had full week break from running in an attempt to give my right IT band a break.

I started foam rolling this week (my foam roller was delivered on Wednesday), I like it. It seems to help quite a bit after I have run but I'll talk about this more in my next it band update.


7t.

Workouts - Week Commencing 14 March 2011

Monday

A combination of my train running late and a sore knee from the previous day's race turned this into a rest day.


Tuesday

Chest, Triceps, Shoulders and Legs

• Push ups
• Machine Flyes
• Machine Chest Press
• Machine Shoulder Press
• Machine Leg Press (single legs and calf raises)

Wednesday

Interval Run (7.3km) on treadmill ( summary / no map )

1km Warm up
1 Minute Intervals
1km cool down

• Fast at 3.45 - 4.00 min per km.
• Recovery at 5.00 - 6.00 min per km.

• Crunches (with 5kg Ball)

Thursday

Back, Biceps and Legs

• Machine Rows
• Machine Pull Downs (both grips)
• Barbell Curls
• Machine Leg Press (Single Leg)
• Machine Calf Raises
• Crunches with 5kg Ball
  

Friday

Easy Run (5.4km) on treadmill ( summary / no map )


Saturday

I had planned to take part in my first ParkRun but my daughter came down with gastroenteritis so we stayed in bed with her all day at my parents' house.


Sunday

We were still away from home but as I had some of my gym clothes with me I thought I'd do 10k or so along the Thames. Sadly I screwed it up. Below is the list of things that either I did wrong or went wrong along the way.

- too fast at start (without a warm up jog) first two km splits were 3.45 / 4.10
- was too cold (only had my short shorts and short sleeved tech top)
- hurt right knee - IT Band, I think. (probably due to first point)
- uncomfortable holding phone in my hand (couldn't get a good arm swing going)
- earphones kept falling out
- accidentally turned off my GPS just after the 2km mark.
- was dizzy after run. Had swirly / fuzzy lines etc..

Hopefully I've learned some lessons. from that.

Anyway, I did approx 5.7km on the Thames Boomerang route. ( summary / map )

Music: Radiohead - The King of Limbs.

------------

Overall, the week was good until I reached the weekend and screwed up the Sunday run. For the last few weeks my right IT band has been giving me grief. The left leg was originally the one with that problem, I have no idea what's going on. I'll keep the leg strengthening exercises going, make sure I stretch daily and always make sure I warm up PROPERLY for my runs. Then we'll see if things get any better.

7t.

Workouts - Week Commencing 28 February 2011

Monday 28 Feb

- Chest and Triceps (and core)

• Push-ups (10/10/10/10/10)
• Chest Flye Machine
• Chest Press Machine
• Tricep Dumbell Extensions
• Tricep Barbell Extensions
• Skull Crushers
• Crunches (10 x 4 with a 5kg Ball)

Tuesday 1 March

- Back, Biceps and Shoulders.

• Pullups
• Machine Rows
• Machine Pulldowns (various grips)
• Dumbell Hammer Curl and Press
• Barbell Curls (Various grips)
• Bent Over Reverse Flyes

Just as I reached the end of my session the fire alarm went off, so we were all ushered out onto the pavement. I dived into the changing room to collect my belongings to avoid being late for work. Luckily I had an alternative place to shower.


Wednesday 2 March

- Interval Run on Treadmill (6.5km / 34.02) ( Summary )

• 1km Warm up
• 0.5km at 5.00 min per km (12kmph)
• 0.5km at 4.17 min per km (14kmph)
• 0.5km at 5.00 min per km
• 0.5km at 4.17 min per km
• 0.5km at 5.15 min per km
• 0.5km at 4.00 min per km (15kmph)
• 0.5km at 5.15 min per km
• 1km at 3.56 min per km (15.1kmph)
• 1km Cool Down

The recovery intervals may not be completely accurate, but the speed intervals are correct - I had to try to remember everything between fininshing the workout and typing this post.

Music: Gym background music.


Thursday 3 March

- Rest Day

Unintended - Didn't get to bed in time the night before so spent an extra hour in bed.


Friday 4 March

- Easy Run on Treadmill - 6.46km ( Summary )

• overall pace 5.26 min per km

Saturday 5 March

- Rest (Planned)


Sunday 6 March

- Long Run: 12.15km ( Summary / Map )

Music: None (I fancied a silent run)

Headed for the trail again but I left home too late and there were too many dogs out. I'm a bit paranoid about being chased or attacked so I cut the trail part short and continued on the roads. The good news is that my trail shoes feel great so I am happy to wear them for next Sunday's 10km race in Knole Park.

-------

7t

February 2011

Running

Total Running Mileage: 97.1 Kilometres (60.3 Miles)

A good month for me. I've consistently put in three runs per week, I'd like to knock it up to four runs soon. I'm thinking about adding in a Monday evening or Tuesday morning run - Maybe that'll happen in March, maybe not.

I had my trail shoes delivered just before my last run this month, so I'm looking forward to hitting the trails as often as I can.

Yet again, I didn't manage to make it to a ParkRun. Could March be the month that it happens?

I was tempted to stick in an extra 3km run on the last day of February just to cross the magic 100km mark, but it seemed like I'd be cheating myself. So I'll just make 100km the goal for March.


Weights / Strength Training

Not much has changed over the last month. I'm still doing a pull day, a push day and a leg day in the gym. I'm happy-ish with that, although I am starting to feel that a change would be nice. Maybe something outside of the gym involving pull-ups using the branch of a tree and chest press with a log from the forest. I'll think about it and if I make it into a forest to strength train I'll ask the wife to take some photos and put them into a post.

My favourite exercise this month has been the walking lunges.


Here is a graph showing daily activity for the month:

• 12 Days containing Running Activity
• 12 Days containing Weights or Strength Training
• 5 Days of rest

7t.

Workouts - Week Commencing 21 February 2011

Monday 21 Feb:

- Chest and Triceps

• Push-ups (warm up) (10/10)
• Machine Flyes
• Machine Press
• Machine Pull-downs (triceps)
• Barbell Extensions (triceps)

Tuesday 22 Feb:

- Back and Biceps

• Pull-ups/Chin-ups
• Machine Row
• Machine Pull-down
• Dumbell Curls
• Barbell Curls

Wednesday 23 Feb:

- Interval Run (6.1km) - Summary

• 1km - 6.00 mins per km pace
• 1km - 5.00 mins per km pace
• 1km - 4.17 mins per km pace
• 1km - 4.17 mins per km pace
• 0.3km - 5.00 mins per km pace
• 0.7km - 4.17 mins per km pace
• 1.1km - Gradual cool down - 5.00 / 6.00 / walk

Was supposed to be a pyramid but didn't quite work out as planned. I wanted to keep running fast.


Thursday 24 Feb:

Missing my train by a few seconds actually meant that I arrived in London over 20 minutes later than planned. I had to scrap my gym session and squeeze in some body-weight leg workouts throughout the day.

• Squats
• Walking Lunges
• Leg lifts (Backwards / Sidewards etc)

I am loving the walking lunges!


Friday 25 Feb:

- Easy Run ( 6.8km ) - Summary / Map

Music: Radiohead - The King of Limbs


Saturday 26 Feb:

- Quick body-weight session (but overall it's a rest day)

• Push-ups
• Crunches

Sunday 27 Feb:

- Long Run (Split into two halves so I could test my new trail shoes)

• Trail Run - 6.28km ( Summary / Map ) - Also see my 'First Trail Run' post.
  

Changed into my road running shoes and continued....

• (Long) Run - 7.19km ( Summary / Map )

Music: Radiohead - The King of Limbs

-------

The highlight of the week was the trail run. Also, all three weight sessions resulted in some nice DOMS.. - I love having DOMS!

I guess next week will be roughly the same, give or take.


7t.

Outdoor Gym Installation Complete

You may remember my earlier post regarding the outdoor gym that is being installed in my local park. It is now complete and open to the public..

There are six pieces of equipment.

First of all there is a machine that works the obliques, hips etc.. You can just swing from side-to-side but I assume that using the machine with a more controlled motion works better.



In this next photo you can see my wife using one of the cardio machines, I'm not entirely sure of the name, but she liked it. Directly behind her is another cardio machine, and to the left are some bars for performing tricep dips or leg raises.



On this next piece of equipment you grab the handles and turn, my wife says she felt it most in the triceps, I think it probably works the shoulders and the rest of the arms too.



Lastly there is a chest press machine that uses your own body weight to create resistance for your exercise. It didn't feel like it was using my full body weight, so perhaps it cleverly offsets the weight somehow.




Overall, I think it's a nice edition to the park. I'm sure it'll keep the new-year-resolutionists and the (unfit) masses occupied for a few weeks.

However, the one thing that is missing is a pull-up bar. You can pretty much work every muscle in the body by just using your own body-weight, but for the back and biceps really need a pull-up bar. I think that's an oversight by whoever makes these decisions, they really should have taken some time to find out more about exercising before going ahead with it. Looks like I'll have to carry on using the 'monkey bars' in the kids' playground for now.

7t

Consideration for Others? No chance.

I was in the gym this week, just finished my pull-ups and moving onto another piece of equipment (The lat pull-down machine). I was in the process of sitting down only to be informed by another gym member that he was 'using it'. I apologised and moved onto my next exercise.

The next thing I knew the guy that was supposedly using it had followed me over to the machine I was using and proceeded to do some tricep pushdowns next to me. Then he moved on to the Smith Machine and started to do some chest presses. I can only assume that he was working his way around the room and didn't want anyone else using any of the machines he was planning to use.

In the 10 minutes that I was waiting he didn't even look at the pull-down machine, let alone use it!! So I plonked myself down on the machine and carried on with my workout.

What a cock!

7t.

Outdoor Gym

Apparently they are installing an outdoor gym in my local park. I can't wait to test it out!

Photo courtesy of the wife.

2011 Fitness Goals

2011 Fitness Goals:

Running:

1: 5km - To go sub 21, then sub 20, and so on.. Current 5km personal best is 21:35.

2: To figure out and get on top of my knee issue, which I believe to be ITBS.

Being successful at number two leads into number three..

3: To build up to 10km race distance. Once the ITBS problem is under control I should be looking to start at a goal time of 45 minutes and then work on improving that.

Gym:

4: Improve leg strength - This is linked to number 2.

5: Focus more on progressive overload.

7t.