After my snake experience last week, I was on hyper-alert mode throughout my walk yesterday. I guess it didn't help that I had gone for lunch with my (so-called) friends who decided to tell me about flying snakes which freaked me out immensely. Then of course every other mammal, reptile and rodent in the wilderness decided to surface and all the sudden movements of these little creatures darting here and there made me uber jumpy. I've never seen a monitor lizard in all the time I've done my walks, but this time I saw two massive ones and heard another scuttling away. Then a monkey decided to drop something from the trees and another decided to zip across the path. And when my nerves were worn thin, I spotted a squirrel at the end of my walk...which did nothing, but by then I was so paranoid that I half expected it to jump on my head and attack me. It really felt as if the whole forest had come together and conspired to drive me nuts. Which incidentally is something squirrels like.
Needless to say I did the walk pretty quickly. I only managed to run for 2 minutes tops, but somehow still managed to complete the whole thing a good 5 minutes faster than last week when I ran for a longer stretch. I suppose it's partly the fact that I did this after a full meal in the afternoon (the full meal also gave me a stitch running, hence the lack of running).
Last week I did the trail in the morning, with nothing in my belly and just water to tide me through. Gina and I used to talk about this whole eating vs not eating before a run and she's of the 'cannot eat before running' category, whereas I need something inside me otherwise I get all grumpy and run out of steam really quickly. Which is why I prefer running in the evenings and walking in the afternoons. I generally get up in the morning feeling dehydrated (and mostly sleepy) and within 15 minutes I get hungry. I'm not the kind of person that can ride out hunger. Hell, I'm not the kind of person that can ride out anything. I can't ride out pain, I can't ride out hunger, I can't ride out fatigue....etc etc etc.
Bottom line is, I don't think my optimum performance is in the morning. I am trying to train myself to work well in the mornings though, since it gets so hot in Singapore by 9am that most races start stupidly early which means I either do a crappy race or I just stop doing any of them races here. Not entirely sure if there is any point in trying to condition my body - you know, the adage of trying to teach an old dog new tricks.
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Monday, July 29, 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Hi there, aching quads!
After goodness knows how long not running because of the darn sesmoiditis, I finally decided to venture out for a run this week. The grand plan was to do this on Tuesday, but I couldn't find my mp3 player (I only ever use the mp3 player for runs, so no running = mp3 player chucked in some safe hidey hole that I couldn't locate!) so I ended up on the stationary bike again.
Yesterday I managed to get hold of the lost mp3 player after turning my room upside down and hit the roads with a whole run/walk plan i.e. run 500m, walk 500m, run 500m, walk 500m. With Beyonce blasting in the background I ended up doing 1.5k before I realised I was supposed to take it easy. Well, that and my ankles were aching, my legs felt tired, and I had a stitch forming...you get the picture. Essentially I was forced to walk because my body just couldn't handle this sudden running thing. Plus I started off way too fast all things considering, so I was pretty breathless by the time I hit 1.5k.
Today my quads ache. After a measly 1.5k of running. Evidently working out on the elliptical doesn't translate to running on the road. Ah well, baby steps.
What I did:
2k (1.5k run/0.5k walk) in 18 minutes
Yesterday I managed to get hold of the lost mp3 player after turning my room upside down and hit the roads with a whole run/walk plan i.e. run 500m, walk 500m, run 500m, walk 500m. With Beyonce blasting in the background I ended up doing 1.5k before I realised I was supposed to take it easy. Well, that and my ankles were aching, my legs felt tired, and I had a stitch forming...you get the picture. Essentially I was forced to walk because my body just couldn't handle this sudden running thing. Plus I started off way too fast all things considering, so I was pretty breathless by the time I hit 1.5k.
Today my quads ache. After a measly 1.5k of running. Evidently working out on the elliptical doesn't translate to running on the road. Ah well, baby steps.
What I did:
2k (1.5k run/0.5k walk) in 18 minutes
Friday, January 11, 2013
What I've Missed
My legs ached after the next day
after my 2k run/walk. Pretty depressing. Still in my bid to cram as much ‘training’
as I could in the week before the race, I hit the gym and pedaled my way to
race fitness…or at least as close as I could get to some semblance of it given
the lack of time. This pretty much means my legs haven’t actually stopped
aching since Tuesday. I kind of regret being a bit of a lazy arse the past
couple of days now.
That being said, I did miss the
aches. The past few weeks where I was down with the flu have been a chance for
me to get a good rest after the 50k walk, but I was literally going stir crazy
after a couple of days. Thankfully, I had friends in town so I was kept sort of
occupied, but I still missed doing something…or moving. And more than just
restlessness, it really felt as if something was missing.
You see, every time I go out for
a run, a walk or hit the pool, there is that alone-ness that I actually really
like. I actually enjoy those few minutes where nothing is going through my head
except things like ‘dang, that’s a song I haven’t heard in ages’ or ‘wow, that
stitch came on pretty fast’ (before all that is swiftly taken over by my
incessant whinging in my head). Then there are those days where everything that
could go wrong has and all I want to do is pull out my shoes and go for a run…a
sort of metaphorical escape from it all. And yes all the crap is still there
when you’re done, but those few minutes you were out there, they just stopped
mattering for a while.
What I basically beating on about
is that whilst my quads are still aching 3 days after doing my sad little 2k
attempt at a run, my head is grateful for that 20 minutes much missed reprieve.
So there you go, there’s my ‘sort-of’ admission that I do like running more
than I make it out to.
What I’ve done:
Wednesday – 20 mins on stationary
bike
Thursday – 15k on stationary bike
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
The Longest 2km Ever
After doing nothing except maybe a swim or two
during the festive period because I was either banned by my podiatrist from
running or just down with the flu, I decided to go for a run yesterday. I
figured it'd be good to get a couple of km under my belt before the adventure
race on Sunday that I have done absolutely no training for.
I pretty much got a stitch not very far into the
run and I had to slow to a walk just under 1km. After walking off the stitch, I
managed to get back into a sort of trot-run and then it was back to walking
again. It took me a good 20 minutes to finish 2km which is a complete morale
sap. And despite it being such a pathetic attempt at a run, my foot still hurt
after and I had to ice it again. Ah joy. I foresee the upcoming adventure race
being a wonderfully enjoyable event!
Meantime, I got my results back from the X-ray I
did last week and I have no fractures (woohoo!) but the sesamoids on my left
foot are considerably smaller than those on my right. Essentially they're not
happy with all the weight on them. As to why they were perfectly fine for 30
over years of my life but are now acting up is beyond me. All the same, woohoo
for no fractures!
What I've done:
Saturday - 1.5k swim
-
360m warm up
-
240m drills
-
240m kicks
-
120m strokes
-
240m free/breast
-
240m IM swim
-
240m cool down
Yesterday – 2k run/walk
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Team with No Name
'Let's Take A Walk' is back! I've only ever done this with them once because the year after they did a night walk and I'm not too keen on walking 50km when I should be fast asleep. Gina, Rach and I were the Manchester Uni Aunties. We didn't quite manage to finish the whole 50k then though and decided to throw in the towel about 45k. With Gina in Melbourne this year it almost looked like this was a no go, which was a shame, because they took a one year sabbatical and I'd been looking forward to them coming back!
Mel stepped up to the plate first, he was an old friend and I bumped into him the last (and only) time we did this and figured he was a good person to rope in. After him I just needed 1 more to make the minimum of 3 to start a team and I threw it out to Facebook. Voila, we now have a team of 4, we have a plan to do this in 15 minute run-walk intervals and hopefully we'll all be fast friends (and not total enemies) after the whole thing! So behold the Team With No Name - Mel, Chris, Shah and I!
All this means is I need to start training for this. Not really sure where the heck to start. It's not hard walking, it's just hard walking for ages and ages on end. And short of me training by doing 12 hour walks every weekend, I'm not entirely sure I know quite where to start. If anyone has any idea, help me out here!
In the meantime, I've done a run with my new runners and they gave me a blister. The ankle collar may have been a bit high or my socks were too low or I didn't have my usual insoles in there so it all rubbed wrongly. The toe bit feels a bit funny too...more cushioned? I guess it just takes getting used to. I do love me some Asics. Tonight I'll try another run this time with the right insoles and a higher pair of socks. Maybe with all these variables tweaked I'll grow into it! As for the run, if you've been following this, I've been doing my previous few runs blind. Well insofar as I didn't bother bringing out my footpod (my Garmin is now permanently residing in Rich's place because I'm absolutely useless with technology) and so hadn't a clue how far I had run. I dug out my footpod for the last run and realise I hadn't been running all that far all this while, which is a bit of a bummer. I logged 5.5k in 37 minutes and there I was thinking I had become such a speedster because my 30 minute runs had seemed far! Tis always nicer living in ignorance.
What I've done:
Monday: 5.5k run in 37:16 mins
Tuesday: 30 min spin followed by a sad amount of crunches and lots of stretching.
Mel stepped up to the plate first, he was an old friend and I bumped into him the last (and only) time we did this and figured he was a good person to rope in. After him I just needed 1 more to make the minimum of 3 to start a team and I threw it out to Facebook. Voila, we now have a team of 4, we have a plan to do this in 15 minute run-walk intervals and hopefully we'll all be fast friends (and not total enemies) after the whole thing! So behold the Team With No Name - Mel, Chris, Shah and I!
All this means is I need to start training for this. Not really sure where the heck to start. It's not hard walking, it's just hard walking for ages and ages on end. And short of me training by doing 12 hour walks every weekend, I'm not entirely sure I know quite where to start. If anyone has any idea, help me out here!
In the meantime, I've done a run with my new runners and they gave me a blister. The ankle collar may have been a bit high or my socks were too low or I didn't have my usual insoles in there so it all rubbed wrongly. The toe bit feels a bit funny too...more cushioned? I guess it just takes getting used to. I do love me some Asics. Tonight I'll try another run this time with the right insoles and a higher pair of socks. Maybe with all these variables tweaked I'll grow into it! As for the run, if you've been following this, I've been doing my previous few runs blind. Well insofar as I didn't bother bringing out my footpod (my Garmin is now permanently residing in Rich's place because I'm absolutely useless with technology) and so hadn't a clue how far I had run. I dug out my footpod for the last run and realise I hadn't been running all that far all this while, which is a bit of a bummer. I logged 5.5k in 37 minutes and there I was thinking I had become such a speedster because my 30 minute runs had seemed far! Tis always nicer living in ignorance.
What I've done:
Monday: 5.5k run in 37:16 mins
Tuesday: 30 min spin followed by a sad amount of crunches and lots of stretching.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Questions Answered
First off, a big WOW and congratulations are due to my friends who
completed the Melbourne Marathon - Chris and Gina. I knew they were both
going to do a Full and a Half respectively, but it only occurred to me
the day before the actual race that they might actually be doing the
same race albeit different distances. Doh! All the same, Chris ran sub-4
(better than Paul Ryan!) and Gina ran sub-3 which is pretty awesome
considering the only time I did a halfie, I took ages and ages. So well
done, you awesome running people!
Other than that, the weekend was pretty much a blow-out. Hardly did anything because I was so dang tired. I managed to make it down for pilates on Saturday and then did a quick walk up the Nature Reserve with Rich on Sunday. Did a short run on Friday which turned out fine minus the return of my all-too-familiar stitch...Didn't go too far because well...erm....I was just plain lazy. Because I knew I wasn't going to go too far, I tried to run a bit harder...which maybe explains the stitch. So that didn't last very long either.
Whilst mid-run, I thought about my podiatrist and I realised that I'm kind of glad I went to see him. Rich says I walk like a cowboy sometimes and I never really understood what he meant, but it's the whole flicking outwards that my foot makes when it leaves the ground. I know it's to compensate for something, but I forget now. Then there's been that annoying pain on my little toe that never really quite went away and the foot aches that cause a whole bunch of hobbling around. In all, it's nice to know that there's a reason for all of this. Makes me feel that I'm not actually that much of a freak and that maybe I can run (not that I'd choose it as my first sport of choice) a little more pain-free once I get all that fixed up.
I've finally got myself a new pair of runners. I decided to go cheap and headed to Queensway (sports gear mecca!) over the weekend and got me a sweet new pair of Asics Gel-Nimbus 13s for $70 less than the usual specialist running store I go to! I did miss having someone there who said 'yes, you should wear this shoe and in this size' though because I'm terrible at making a decision. Even something as simple as 'do I want this in a size 6 or a size 6.5?' I spent a good half hour deciding that. This despite the fact that I brought my old shoes along and it clearly showed 6.5. I ended up buying a size 6 and then going home rummaging through all my old shoes (all size 6.5 as expected) and heading back the next day to change it. Maybe that's what the $70 gives me - extra time and peace of mind. Plus Queensway is like a zoo in the weekends, way too many people! Meanwhile I just hope I got the right pair of shoes.
What I've done:
Friday - Ran 20 minutes
Saturday - 45 mins Pilates
Sunday - Walked Bkt Timah Nature Reserve
Other than that, the weekend was pretty much a blow-out. Hardly did anything because I was so dang tired. I managed to make it down for pilates on Saturday and then did a quick walk up the Nature Reserve with Rich on Sunday. Did a short run on Friday which turned out fine minus the return of my all-too-familiar stitch...Didn't go too far because well...erm....I was just plain lazy. Because I knew I wasn't going to go too far, I tried to run a bit harder...which maybe explains the stitch. So that didn't last very long either.
Whilst mid-run, I thought about my podiatrist and I realised that I'm kind of glad I went to see him. Rich says I walk like a cowboy sometimes and I never really understood what he meant, but it's the whole flicking outwards that my foot makes when it leaves the ground. I know it's to compensate for something, but I forget now. Then there's been that annoying pain on my little toe that never really quite went away and the foot aches that cause a whole bunch of hobbling around. In all, it's nice to know that there's a reason for all of this. Makes me feel that I'm not actually that much of a freak and that maybe I can run (not that I'd choose it as my first sport of choice) a little more pain-free once I get all that fixed up.
I've finally got myself a new pair of runners. I decided to go cheap and headed to Queensway (sports gear mecca!) over the weekend and got me a sweet new pair of Asics Gel-Nimbus 13s for $70 less than the usual specialist running store I go to! I did miss having someone there who said 'yes, you should wear this shoe and in this size' though because I'm terrible at making a decision. Even something as simple as 'do I want this in a size 6 or a size 6.5?' I spent a good half hour deciding that. This despite the fact that I brought my old shoes along and it clearly showed 6.5. I ended up buying a size 6 and then going home rummaging through all my old shoes (all size 6.5 as expected) and heading back the next day to change it. Maybe that's what the $70 gives me - extra time and peace of mind. Plus Queensway is like a zoo in the weekends, way too many people! Meanwhile I just hope I got the right pair of shoes.
What I've done:
Friday - Ran 20 minutes
Saturday - 45 mins Pilates
Sunday - Walked Bkt Timah Nature Reserve
Thursday, October 11, 2012
The Fine Line
Yesterday I went on my run hungry. I'd eaten an early lunch and all I had for tea was a quinoa cookie, so before I started my run my stomach was growling. I figured if I just drank a whole bunch of water it'd help that. Well boys and girls, it doesn't. My original plan to run from the train station all the way home got halved and I had to get on a bus to go the rest of the way. Talk about humiliating.
It was insanely hot yesterday as well which didn't help at all. About 1.5k into the run I was dripping sweat and feeling exceedingly hungry. I stopped at one of the traffic lights and when I started again, my legs just felt like lead and I just couldn't find any energy to drag them along. I think I struggled through maybe another 2k before I called it a night.
The thing that went through my head throughout the run was why running was just such a miserable sport. Granted there are days where I love the run and all that, but then there are so many more days where I just want it all to be over very early in the run. I don't get that swimming. Other than when the coach makes us do ridiculous interval sets, I rarely ever am in the pool thinking 'oh my gawd, when is this going to end?' And just the number of parts that ache when I run is ridiculous. People ask me 'why do you run if you don't enjoy it?' and really I think there are only 2 reasons - 1. I wouldn't enjoy stopping as much as I do if I never ran and 2. every time I see some guy/girl running and how they make it look effortless, I forget how much I ache and feel like crap half the time and wish I were running with them. I'm calling it running amnesia. That'd be the only way to explain why instead of looking at someone running and going 'thank goodness that's not me', more often than not, I'm thinking 'I wish I were running'. Weird, but true.
Maybe I'm just in a slump and need to find a way to get out of this. I also need to find that fine line where I'm not overly hungry or completely stuffed before I do my next run.
What I've done:
Tuesday - 1hr swim training (covered 2k)
Yesterday - 30 minute run
It was insanely hot yesterday as well which didn't help at all. About 1.5k into the run I was dripping sweat and feeling exceedingly hungry. I stopped at one of the traffic lights and when I started again, my legs just felt like lead and I just couldn't find any energy to drag them along. I think I struggled through maybe another 2k before I called it a night.
The thing that went through my head throughout the run was why running was just such a miserable sport. Granted there are days where I love the run and all that, but then there are so many more days where I just want it all to be over very early in the run. I don't get that swimming. Other than when the coach makes us do ridiculous interval sets, I rarely ever am in the pool thinking 'oh my gawd, when is this going to end?' And just the number of parts that ache when I run is ridiculous. People ask me 'why do you run if you don't enjoy it?' and really I think there are only 2 reasons - 1. I wouldn't enjoy stopping as much as I do if I never ran and 2. every time I see some guy/girl running and how they make it look effortless, I forget how much I ache and feel like crap half the time and wish I were running with them. I'm calling it running amnesia. That'd be the only way to explain why instead of looking at someone running and going 'thank goodness that's not me', more often than not, I'm thinking 'I wish I were running'. Weird, but true.
Maybe I'm just in a slump and need to find a way to get out of this. I also need to find that fine line where I'm not overly hungry or completely stuffed before I do my next run.
What I've done:
Tuesday - 1hr swim training (covered 2k)
Yesterday - 30 minute run
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
To Run or Not to Run
Last week I did a 40 minute run and for 3 days my legs ached and my left foot started acting up in protest at the work I put it through. It got so bad I actually had to hobble out of bed the past few mornings because it just hurt so much. 40 minutes - that's it. Not like I ran 40km. In fact I doubt I even did 7k. It is all very demoralising. So a part of me is seriously considering the fact that I may never do a marathon because my poor feet just can't take all that pounding. I may actually just have to admit that running may not be quite my thang!
I'm not going to give it up just yet though, drama-queen rant aside. I'm going to try a run again tomorrow and see how that goes. Then I've made an appointment to see a podiatrist on Thursday because the internet is spitting out way too much possible feet problems I might have and much as I love this chinese dood I go to to 'fix' my foot, I'm starting to feel that he seems to be treating the symptom rather than solving the actual underlying problem. Damn left foot!
The annoying part about all this is that my run on Friday was actually pretty awesome. I ran stitch-less and nothing ached too much. I saw some pretty odd people (one woman was carrying a sort of handbag while running...why???) and I ran a bit further than I usually do! So it really is a real bummer that it all fell apart over the weekend.
On a random aside, I went to the Nature Reserve on the weekend to do a quick walk and as I was coming down from the top, I saw a family and their maid. And then I realised the maid was carrying all the snacks and water for them. It didn't look like all that was very heavy, but it was ridiculous! What took the cake was the fact that the father was wearing a '42k finisher' T-shirt. Woohoo, he can finish a marathon but can't carry a few bottles of water? Seriously? I was not impressed with that.
Also, if you ever decide to go to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, go early. The early morning crowd up there are a lot nicer than the folks who rock up at 9am. No one said 'hello' and when I greeted people sometimes I barely got a reply. They just didn't seem happy which is a real shame.
What I did:
Friday: 40 min run
Saturday: 45 min pilates
Sunday: 40 min walk up and down Bukit Timah Hill
I'm not going to give it up just yet though, drama-queen rant aside. I'm going to try a run again tomorrow and see how that goes. Then I've made an appointment to see a podiatrist on Thursday because the internet is spitting out way too much possible feet problems I might have and much as I love this chinese dood I go to to 'fix' my foot, I'm starting to feel that he seems to be treating the symptom rather than solving the actual underlying problem. Damn left foot!
The annoying part about all this is that my run on Friday was actually pretty awesome. I ran stitch-less and nothing ached too much. I saw some pretty odd people (one woman was carrying a sort of handbag while running...why???) and I ran a bit further than I usually do! So it really is a real bummer that it all fell apart over the weekend.
On a random aside, I went to the Nature Reserve on the weekend to do a quick walk and as I was coming down from the top, I saw a family and their maid. And then I realised the maid was carrying all the snacks and water for them. It didn't look like all that was very heavy, but it was ridiculous! What took the cake was the fact that the father was wearing a '42k finisher' T-shirt. Woohoo, he can finish a marathon but can't carry a few bottles of water? Seriously? I was not impressed with that.
Also, if you ever decide to go to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, go early. The early morning crowd up there are a lot nicer than the folks who rock up at 9am. No one said 'hello' and when I greeted people sometimes I barely got a reply. They just didn't seem happy which is a real shame.
What I did:
Friday: 40 min run
Saturday: 45 min pilates
Sunday: 40 min walk up and down Bukit Timah Hill
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Recovery Be Damned
I signed up for a halfie in November. I was won over by the whole 'women's only half marathon' and thought 'ooh that'd be fun!' Only, after getting myself registered, I suddenly recalled that I didn't half like running all that far and I found out that it started at 5.30am. Oh joy.
So my post-race, laze-around-and-be-a-couch-potato plans got thwarted by my over enthusiasm at this whole 'all women half marathon' and all I had is a good 2 days to pig out and do squat. Yesterday I got back to some semblance of 'training' if you might call it that - only I didn't do any running. The sky's been a bit crap lately. Thanks to the lovely folk over in Indonesia (Sumatra to be exact) and deforestation by slash and burn, the air this way has been pretty hazy. I could run on the yawn-mill, but let's be serious...that really isn't likely to happen. So in training for my halfie all I've done so far (and that was all done yesterday) was to go for a spin class and a 1/2 hour session in the pool where I think I managed only 1.25k in distance....ah well, we'll write them off as recovery work-outs.
I was going to run tonight but my good friend Jeanne just rang to say she was in town for a layover for a couple more hours. Talk about last minute notice! No running tonight, instead I shall be knocking them beers back and catching up with an old friend I haven't seen in ages now! Come on, surely that's a better way to spend a Wednesday night than doing a 5k run. I'm not even going to bother to pretend that I'll wake up super early to do my run tomorrow. Ain't happening.
What I've done
Yesterday:
45 min spin
1/2 hr swim training
So my post-race, laze-around-and-be-a-couch-potato plans got thwarted by my over enthusiasm at this whole 'all women half marathon' and all I had is a good 2 days to pig out and do squat. Yesterday I got back to some semblance of 'training' if you might call it that - only I didn't do any running. The sky's been a bit crap lately. Thanks to the lovely folk over in Indonesia (Sumatra to be exact) and deforestation by slash and burn, the air this way has been pretty hazy. I could run on the yawn-mill, but let's be serious...that really isn't likely to happen. So in training for my halfie all I've done so far (and that was all done yesterday) was to go for a spin class and a 1/2 hour session in the pool where I think I managed only 1.25k in distance....ah well, we'll write them off as recovery work-outs.
I was going to run tonight but my good friend Jeanne just rang to say she was in town for a layover for a couple more hours. Talk about last minute notice! No running tonight, instead I shall be knocking them beers back and catching up with an old friend I haven't seen in ages now! Come on, surely that's a better way to spend a Wednesday night than doing a 5k run. I'm not even going to bother to pretend that I'll wake up super early to do my run tomorrow. Ain't happening.
What I've done
Yesterday:
45 min spin
1/2 hr swim training
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
A Snake and A Cramp
I've been a little bit better and a little bit less lazy last week. I did a 4k run the day after my first spin class in ages last week and did that in fairly alright considering the state my legs were in! Lately I've taken to running close to the office after work and just showering at my gym (Have to make full use of my 60 buck gym fees every month!). It's been a nice change and running up and down the bridge on Nicoll Highway provides that nice change in er...altitude(?!). The leg back is along the sea so it's all very pretty - insofar as you can call the waters around Singapore being pretty. All the same, I saw my first snake whilst running last week! And it scared me every bit as much as I scared it. But it was black and long and I may never take that short cut again.
Other than that run and the Nike run on Saturday, the only thing I've been doing more of these days is swimming. I did a sad 1/2 hour session last week before the Comedy show at the Club last week and then dragged myself out of bed on Saturday for the morning training.
Yesterday I went for spin again and my legs don't ache as much as they did last week! Woohoo! I also went for swim training in the evening and boy was it tough! Essentially my instructor has decided that Bernie, this nice Irish lady at training, and I match each other pace-wise. So when it came to the intervals he paired us both up. Which sucks. Because I couldn't slack off at all! It's not even as if I felt I had to beat her. I just felt that even if I lost to her I couldn't lose by too much. I think there was a point where I was thinking 'damn you Bernie, let up already! I can't slow down until you slow down!' Well, she didn't slow down. I didn't slow down. And we both wound up knackered at the end of training. We were also the last ones in the pool. I also had my first ever cramp in my foot! And right after I cooled down with a slow 50m swim. Which goes to show that my body is allergic to too much exercise!
What I did:
Last Wednesday - 4k run
Last Thursday - 30 mins swim training
Saturday
- 1 hr swim training
- Nike run
Yesterday
- 45 mins spin
- 1 hr swim training
Other than that run and the Nike run on Saturday, the only thing I've been doing more of these days is swimming. I did a sad 1/2 hour session last week before the Comedy show at the Club last week and then dragged myself out of bed on Saturday for the morning training.
Yesterday I went for spin again and my legs don't ache as much as they did last week! Woohoo! I also went for swim training in the evening and boy was it tough! Essentially my instructor has decided that Bernie, this nice Irish lady at training, and I match each other pace-wise. So when it came to the intervals he paired us both up. Which sucks. Because I couldn't slack off at all! It's not even as if I felt I had to beat her. I just felt that even if I lost to her I couldn't lose by too much. I think there was a point where I was thinking 'damn you Bernie, let up already! I can't slow down until you slow down!' Well, she didn't slow down. I didn't slow down. And we both wound up knackered at the end of training. We were also the last ones in the pool. I also had my first ever cramp in my foot! And right after I cooled down with a slow 50m swim. Which goes to show that my body is allergic to too much exercise!
What I did:
Last Wednesday - 4k run
Last Thursday - 30 mins swim training
Saturday
- 1 hr swim training
- Nike run
Yesterday
- 45 mins spin
- 1 hr swim training
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Back to Spin
Yesterday was my first time back to spin in forever. I knew it was going to be tough. But I didn't know it was going to be THAT tough! I think I spent half the class looking at the clock hoping that by staring at it long enough I would magically move time faster with my sheer will. The other half of the class I spent debating with myself whether I should just hobble out of the class in shame.
Every time we were made to stand up and pedal, I died a little. Plus, each time the instructor made us do that it seemed like forever before we actually got back on the saddle. It was miserable and sweaty. Oh so sweaty. I also cheated a little (confession time!) by having tons and tons of ‘water breaks’ and ‘brow wiping’ just so I could seat my sorry little ass back down, if even for 2 seconds.
My personal instructor had warned me that the afternoon spin classes weren’t very good and that they’d be boring. Pah! If only I had time to be bored! My brain was on overdrive (screaming not-so-nice words, incidentally) the entire while.
The class was, however, dismally small. There were only 3 crazy people bobbing up and down their stationary bikes and my only bone to pick with the instructor was I never really knew what he was saying. But (and big BUT here) at least the guy was on his bike the whole while suffering every bit as much as we were. And because misery craves company, it made me feel a little bit better that at least he was feeling the burn. Ages ago I went for the evening class where the instructor talked a lot and walked around the class singing to his own songs. Maybe some people find those classes more fun, but it just always pisses me off when I’m suffering and the source of my pain isn’t suffering along with me!
Today I’m slated for a run but my thighs ache so much. I guess I’ll still run (or at least stumble around) because I feel a wee bit bad that I skipped out on swim training yesterday. Which brings me to the conclusion that I’d rather do 1 hr of swim training over a 45 minute spin class any day!
What I did:
45 min spin
Every time we were made to stand up and pedal, I died a little. Plus, each time the instructor made us do that it seemed like forever before we actually got back on the saddle. It was miserable and sweaty. Oh so sweaty. I also cheated a little (confession time!) by having tons and tons of ‘water breaks’ and ‘brow wiping’ just so I could seat my sorry little ass back down, if even for 2 seconds.
My personal instructor had warned me that the afternoon spin classes weren’t very good and that they’d be boring. Pah! If only I had time to be bored! My brain was on overdrive (screaming not-so-nice words, incidentally) the entire while.
The class was, however, dismally small. There were only 3 crazy people bobbing up and down their stationary bikes and my only bone to pick with the instructor was I never really knew what he was saying. But (and big BUT here) at least the guy was on his bike the whole while suffering every bit as much as we were. And because misery craves company, it made me feel a little bit better that at least he was feeling the burn. Ages ago I went for the evening class where the instructor talked a lot and walked around the class singing to his own songs. Maybe some people find those classes more fun, but it just always pisses me off when I’m suffering and the source of my pain isn’t suffering along with me!
Today I’m slated for a run but my thighs ache so much. I guess I’ll still run (or at least stumble around) because I feel a wee bit bad that I skipped out on swim training yesterday. Which brings me to the conclusion that I’d rather do 1 hr of swim training over a 45 minute spin class any day!
What I did:
45 min spin
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Where Goes My Mojo?
So I did a big fat zero by way of training last week. I did a lot of “I’ll do such and such tomorrow” but actual physical exertion? Zip, zilch, nada. And nothing helped to make me feel bad enough to lift a finger. I went to youtube and watched people running, swimming or biking; read countless sporty blogs and still I couldn’t find my mojo.
In all, I feel a little bad. And I couldn’t even enjoy my short little break because I just spent everyday feeling just that little twinge of guilt that wasn’t big enough to make me move but wasn’t quite small enough that I was going to bed feeling quite at peace with myself (or more the way my so-called ‘training’ was going). More than that twinge of guilt thought, is the growing fear that with the Bintan sprint triathlon looming closer and closer, I’m wasting precious time lazing instead of putting in bike hours. And mainly, I just really don't want to push my bike up at the beginning of the bike leg like I did last year.
I moved a bit on the weekend, just to make myself feel somewhat better. I was supposed to do a 5k fun run on Saturday, but it got rained out and after sitting around waiting for the rain to stop, I decided about a half hour before the postponed flag-off to go off for breakfast (and convinced my friend to come along as well). Which meant my forced exercise that weekend was blown. I went for a pathetic excuse of a swim instead. 2 x 300m in all. It wasn’t anything to cry about. Pfffft.
On Sunday, Rich and I cycled from his place (via park connectors and sidewalks) to Robertson Quay and got lunch before cycling back. It came up to 10k. And mostly I held him back because I was the biggest wuss and was terrified of narrow pathways. This is what happens when you don’t ride regularly – every damn thing makes you freaked out that you’d fall off your bike. I think I need a good fall to get over this. Nonetheless, we made it through without a scrap (but with a lot of ‘oh crap!’ and ‘woah!’ shouts along the way) and I quite enjoyed it. We did learn from this slow, not-so-long ride though that firstly we probably should have started earlier than noon; and secondly we should probably have sloshed on some sunblock! I have the weirdest tan lines on my back and Rich is just…well…red in various places. All fun and games.
What I did:
Last Monday to Friday – Absolutely nothing
Saturday – 2 x 300m swim
Sunday – 2 x 5k bike (and lunch in between – green curry, yum yum!)
Yesterday – 1 hr personal training (aching so much now!)
In all, I feel a little bad. And I couldn’t even enjoy my short little break because I just spent everyday feeling just that little twinge of guilt that wasn’t big enough to make me move but wasn’t quite small enough that I was going to bed feeling quite at peace with myself (or more the way my so-called ‘training’ was going). More than that twinge of guilt thought, is the growing fear that with the Bintan sprint triathlon looming closer and closer, I’m wasting precious time lazing instead of putting in bike hours. And mainly, I just really don't want to push my bike up at the beginning of the bike leg like I did last year.
I moved a bit on the weekend, just to make myself feel somewhat better. I was supposed to do a 5k fun run on Saturday, but it got rained out and after sitting around waiting for the rain to stop, I decided about a half hour before the postponed flag-off to go off for breakfast (and convinced my friend to come along as well). Which meant my forced exercise that weekend was blown. I went for a pathetic excuse of a swim instead. 2 x 300m in all. It wasn’t anything to cry about. Pfffft.
On Sunday, Rich and I cycled from his place (via park connectors and sidewalks) to Robertson Quay and got lunch before cycling back. It came up to 10k. And mostly I held him back because I was the biggest wuss and was terrified of narrow pathways. This is what happens when you don’t ride regularly – every damn thing makes you freaked out that you’d fall off your bike. I think I need a good fall to get over this. Nonetheless, we made it through without a scrap (but with a lot of ‘oh crap!’ and ‘woah!’ shouts along the way) and I quite enjoyed it. We did learn from this slow, not-so-long ride though that firstly we probably should have started earlier than noon; and secondly we should probably have sloshed on some sunblock! I have the weirdest tan lines on my back and Rich is just…well…red in various places. All fun and games.
What I did:
Last Monday to Friday – Absolutely nothing
Saturday – 2 x 300m swim
Sunday – 2 x 5k bike (and lunch in between – green curry, yum yum!)
Yesterday – 1 hr personal training (aching so much now!)
Friday, March 23, 2012
The Best Laid Plans
Are oft thwarted by my laziness. Remember my training schedule I put up? It was a little ambitious, but I thought I'd at least keep to 70% of it. So far I'm swinging for 10%...if even.
I lazed on Monday and skipped swim training on Tuesday (with the excuse that I would wake up early to swim on Wednesday instead...guess what happened with that!) and finally decided I had to at least do something run-wise since I had promised Rach that we would do a fun run together for her virgin 5k mass run. So after my colleague dropped me off on Wednesday after work, I ran the rest of the way home. A grand total of 4.5k! Not quite 5k, but close enough.
Just as I started the run, there was sheet lightning and a part of me was tempted to just go 'Screw this! It's not worth killing myself over a run!' but I overcame my sorry excuses (yay me!) and started off...a little bit faster than usual since sheet lightning does freak me out a little. It started drizzling a little mid-run which was all good, because it is just so much more pleasant running in rain!
All in, this wasn't my best run, but it wasn't my worst either. My MP3 player, which showed an empty battery gauge at the start of the run and actually lasted the whole run, made the run just a little sweeter - you know, the whole 'Will I make it before this dies? Will I not?' question. And when you find it lasts all the way through you thank God for small mercies! Plus that debate in your head takes away from all the ankle aches, thigh aches, shin aches, calf aches...you get the drift.
My legs were a bit tired the next day. Not sore. Technically I could have woken up super early and gone for a swim yesterday morning. Technically.
What I've done:
Last Saturday - Ran 2.5k (and I ached the whole next day!)
Last Sunday - Swam 1.8k (2 x 300m with paddles, 2 x 600m without paddles)
With paddles
1st 300m - 7:35 mins
Rest - 21s
2nd 300m - 6:58 mins
Rest - 26s
Without paddles
1st 600m - 15:48 mins
Rest - 20s
2nd 600m - 14:24 mins
Wednesday - Ran 4.5k in 30:14 mins
I lazed on Monday and skipped swim training on Tuesday (with the excuse that I would wake up early to swim on Wednesday instead...guess what happened with that!) and finally decided I had to at least do something run-wise since I had promised Rach that we would do a fun run together for her virgin 5k mass run. So after my colleague dropped me off on Wednesday after work, I ran the rest of the way home. A grand total of 4.5k! Not quite 5k, but close enough.
Just as I started the run, there was sheet lightning and a part of me was tempted to just go 'Screw this! It's not worth killing myself over a run!' but I overcame my sorry excuses (yay me!) and started off...a little bit faster than usual since sheet lightning does freak me out a little. It started drizzling a little mid-run which was all good, because it is just so much more pleasant running in rain!
All in, this wasn't my best run, but it wasn't my worst either. My MP3 player, which showed an empty battery gauge at the start of the run and actually lasted the whole run, made the run just a little sweeter - you know, the whole 'Will I make it before this dies? Will I not?' question. And when you find it lasts all the way through you thank God for small mercies! Plus that debate in your head takes away from all the ankle aches, thigh aches, shin aches, calf aches...you get the drift.
My legs were a bit tired the next day. Not sore. Technically I could have woken up super early and gone for a swim yesterday morning. Technically.
What I've done:
Last Saturday - Ran 2.5k (and I ached the whole next day!)
Last Sunday - Swam 1.8k (2 x 300m with paddles, 2 x 600m without paddles)
With paddles
1st 300m - 7:35 mins
Rest - 21s
2nd 300m - 6:58 mins
Rest - 26s
Without paddles
1st 600m - 15:48 mins
Rest - 20s
2nd 600m - 14:24 mins
Wednesday - Ran 4.5k in 30:14 mins
Friday, March 16, 2012
Sports Injuries
I really wish I had more 'glamorous' sports injuries like 'oh I ran so fast I broke my leg in the process'...or at least something not as lame as me tripping over my toe and spraining in as I got into the pool. Which of course is what I did last night at swim training. I got out of the pool to get my paddles and then pretty much stumbled back into the pool. So now my fourth toe is aching and the bit that scraped against the wall of the pool just keeps oozing clear liquid. Lovely.
Yesterday's training was short as well. I had to catch stand-up comedy with Rich after training, so had to leave pretty much after a half hour session. So it's not like I sacrificed my toe for something big. I think I managed three 150m sets (swim/kick/drill) and 4 x 200m pull sets. Meh. Didn't really feel like I did much.
What I did:
Yesterday - 1/2 hour of swim training
Today - 1hr personal training
Yesterday's training was short as well. I had to catch stand-up comedy with Rich after training, so had to leave pretty much after a half hour session. So it's not like I sacrificed my toe for something big. I think I managed three 150m sets (swim/kick/drill) and 4 x 200m pull sets. Meh. Didn't really feel like I did much.
What I did:
Yesterday - 1/2 hour of swim training
Today - 1hr personal training
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Morning People
I'm not a morning person. Not to say I get up cranky and need that first cup of coffee to get me in a favourable mood, but I just find it torture dragging myself out of bed in the morning. As you know, from numerous entries, I struggle constantly with morning work-outs. I make these well-intentioned plans to wake up stupidly early and go for a swim or a run, and fail more often than not.
Yesterday evening I was supposed to do a swim and somehow managed to convince (lie to!) myself that I would wake up super early the next morning and swim then instead. This morning my alarm clock rang at 6am and I only managed by sheer willpower to crawl out of my bed at 7.15am (silently cursing myself whilst trying to reason out in my head why it would be better to stay in bed). I washed up with my eyes barely open and trudged down to the pool.
Firstly it was a little cold outside, as it usually feels when you've just woken up. Secondly the pool having not been warmed up by the sun all day was just freezing. If it weren't for the fact that there were 2 guys doing laps in the pool and making me feel a bit like a wimp for wussing out, I would have just stumbled back home to sleep. But instead I shivered a little and started on my laps grumbling.
Now because I had woken up a good 1 hour and 15 minutes after I was supposed to I didn't have time to do all the wonderful things I had planned to do the night before. So I ended up doing half the program and in my dazed state, thought I had hit the timer on my watch, but didn't. Essentially I swam 2 x 300m and have no idea how long each set took.
And now I'm sleepy.
What I did today:
Swam - 2 x 300m
Yesterday evening I was supposed to do a swim and somehow managed to convince (lie to!) myself that I would wake up super early the next morning and swim then instead. This morning my alarm clock rang at 6am and I only managed by sheer willpower to crawl out of my bed at 7.15am (silently cursing myself whilst trying to reason out in my head why it would be better to stay in bed). I washed up with my eyes barely open and trudged down to the pool.
Firstly it was a little cold outside, as it usually feels when you've just woken up. Secondly the pool having not been warmed up by the sun all day was just freezing. If it weren't for the fact that there were 2 guys doing laps in the pool and making me feel a bit like a wimp for wussing out, I would have just stumbled back home to sleep. But instead I shivered a little and started on my laps grumbling.
Now because I had woken up a good 1 hour and 15 minutes after I was supposed to I didn't have time to do all the wonderful things I had planned to do the night before. So I ended up doing half the program and in my dazed state, thought I had hit the timer on my watch, but didn't. Essentially I swam 2 x 300m and have no idea how long each set took.
And now I'm sleepy.
What I did today:
Swam - 2 x 300m
Monday, March 12, 2012
Singapore has No Hills
But it didn't feel like that yesterday. Partly because I was lazy to haul my bike halfway across the island for a 20k ride and partly because I wanted to check out something different. "Different" kicked my sorry little ass.
Rifle Range Road is a 5-minute drive from where I stay and is basically a long (I thought flat-ish...so wrong!) road that is about 2.5k from Mayfair Park to the end of the road. I parked the gas guzzler at the end of the road and still didn't have any inkling of the pain and burn that was to come. In fact, I had walked that road twice to get from the Nature Reserve to Macritchie and yet I still had it in my head that it was all going to be a nice, pleasant ride.
Long story short, it was torture. I haven't been on my bike properly in ages and my legs actually felt like it had rusted over. I had to go to my absolute lowest gear to get up some of the slopes and my lungs felt like they'd burst at the top of each climb. Obviously I also felt a bit like a loser especially with all these runners, long boarders and hikers around me silently judging (or so I thought) my slow, slow plodding up the dang slopes. Needless to say, I rode out and back and popped my bike back on my car and drove home. I was past the point of caring if anyone noticed I had only gone down to do a 15 min bike ride and a grand total of 5k.
So although I was supposed to put in 20k of cycling in this weekend, I only managed 5k. I think I was also supposed to squeeze in a run. It would seem I’m not doing so well following my schedule!
What I did:
Sat: 4 x 300m swim
Sun: 5k bike ride (woohoo!)
Rifle Range Road is a 5-minute drive from where I stay and is basically a long (I thought flat-ish...so wrong!) road that is about 2.5k from Mayfair Park to the end of the road. I parked the gas guzzler at the end of the road and still didn't have any inkling of the pain and burn that was to come. In fact, I had walked that road twice to get from the Nature Reserve to Macritchie and yet I still had it in my head that it was all going to be a nice, pleasant ride.
Long story short, it was torture. I haven't been on my bike properly in ages and my legs actually felt like it had rusted over. I had to go to my absolute lowest gear to get up some of the slopes and my lungs felt like they'd burst at the top of each climb. Obviously I also felt a bit like a loser especially with all these runners, long boarders and hikers around me silently judging (or so I thought) my slow, slow plodding up the dang slopes. Needless to say, I rode out and back and popped my bike back on my car and drove home. I was past the point of caring if anyone noticed I had only gone down to do a 15 min bike ride and a grand total of 5k.
So although I was supposed to put in 20k of cycling in this weekend, I only managed 5k. I think I was also supposed to squeeze in a run. It would seem I’m not doing so well following my schedule!
What I did:
Sat: 4 x 300m swim
Sun: 5k bike ride (woohoo!)
Friday, March 9, 2012
So the Training Starts...
And already I've skipped what I was supposed to do on Wednesday and Thursday. It is a trial getting back training. Everything aches so much. After my personal training on Monday and my swim training on Tuesday, I was pretty much all out. So since it was still the start of the training schedule, I figured I could use a break. Tomorrow I shall start again!
What I've done:
Monday - 45 mins personal training
Tuesday - Swim training (Total distance: 2.1k)
What I've done:
Monday - 45 mins personal training
Tuesday - Swim training (Total distance: 2.1k)
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Being Realistic
I figured that if I signed up for 20 races in a year (which is probably close to what I signed up for last year), I’d probably only turn up for...well...pretty much none. This year in a bid to save more money and not accumulate any more race t-shirts, I’ve decided to be a bit more realistic and sign up only for races I find so fascinating I would have to turn up. Also to leave a reasonable time of rest in between and not assume I could do a race every weekend.
It hasn’t really started off so well. R and I didn’t turn up for Safra Avventura even though we signed up and paid a bomb for it (I even bought a new bag for the race!) and I fell sick a week before the MetaSport Aquathlon so that plan got scuppered too. I resisted the urge to sign up for a million races in its wake - well done, me! So this year other than my 2 failed non-races (which probably isn’t the best way to kick start race season), I’ve only got a 12k trail race, a 1.5k swim race and a Sprint triathlon to look forward to. Now, how much self-control is that!
As for my training schedule, I may have gone a bit overboard and might have been a bit over optimistic, but let's sort out one thing at a time!
It hasn’t really started off so well. R and I didn’t turn up for Safra Avventura even though we signed up and paid a bomb for it (I even bought a new bag for the race!) and I fell sick a week before the MetaSport Aquathlon so that plan got scuppered too. I resisted the urge to sign up for a million races in its wake - well done, me! So this year other than my 2 failed non-races (which probably isn’t the best way to kick start race season), I’ve only got a 12k trail race, a 1.5k swim race and a Sprint triathlon to look forward to. Now, how much self-control is that!
As for my training schedule, I may have gone a bit overboard and might have been a bit over optimistic, but let's sort out one thing at a time!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Fish Burps and other Weird Running Things I've Discovered
1. I’m glad that I’m only doing the halfie and not a full marathon because I’ve pretty much run out of detours to make to get home. Also, I realise my ‘ultimate running playlist’ doesn’t last for all that long. Plus, around the 16k mark is when my bag’s jostling against my neck starts becoming unbearable.
2. Having a filling sushi meal before a long run gives you fishy burps and it lasts the entire run. And it isn’t pleasant. The thing is I actually know all this because I’ve stupidly done it before, but apparently I’m not smart enough to learn from my mistakes.
3. I sing when I run. Well mostly I mouth out words of songs, but if ever I’m feeling out of it and there’s no one around I sometimes belt out the chorus of a song. Obviously I run out of breath really quickly and then regret doing that. I also regret it when sometimes I don’t do a good enough check and realise there are actually people near me. There actually is a good reason why I sing/mouth words whilst running: I find it helps me run through a stitch. I wish there was some scientific way to explain this, but there isn’t. It just works for me. So if someday you’re in a car and you drive by a crazy person running and looking like she’s talking to herself. It is likely to be me trying to get rid of a stitch. Sometimes I do a little jig too but that has nothing to do with side stitches and more to do with me being a little too into my music.
4. My brain stops working when I run. When I was running back last week I spotted someone I thought was an old friend of mine. I yelled his name as I ran past. The guy stopped and looked quizzically at me, which should have been my first clue. Instead of running on, I stopped, looked at the guy, pointed at him and said ‘SR?’ Doh, obviously it wasn’t him and obviously I looked like a complete fool. I refused to take that route when I did my long run this week lest I meet the guy.
5. On top of achy legs, my stomach muscles ache after a long run. I’m not sure why, but today it feels like I did a bunch of crunches yesterday night!
6. Not really running related but I take back what I said about good yoga schools. I realise I meant good yoga teachers. I went back for a yoga class on Monday this week and had a very blah class. The instructor was nice, but it just felt like a whole bunch of stretching. And it was hardly challenging. And there was a lot of sitting around cleansing your mind of this or that. Yawn.
What I did this week:
Monday: 1hr yoga
Yesterday: 16k run in 1hr 57mins (The last time, and only other time, I did a 16k run I did it in 2hr 26mins, so even if this is the slowest a human being could run, I’m not complaining!)
2. Having a filling sushi meal before a long run gives you fishy burps and it lasts the entire run. And it isn’t pleasant. The thing is I actually know all this because I’ve stupidly done it before, but apparently I’m not smart enough to learn from my mistakes.
3. I sing when I run. Well mostly I mouth out words of songs, but if ever I’m feeling out of it and there’s no one around I sometimes belt out the chorus of a song. Obviously I run out of breath really quickly and then regret doing that. I also regret it when sometimes I don’t do a good enough check and realise there are actually people near me. There actually is a good reason why I sing/mouth words whilst running: I find it helps me run through a stitch. I wish there was some scientific way to explain this, but there isn’t. It just works for me. So if someday you’re in a car and you drive by a crazy person running and looking like she’s talking to herself. It is likely to be me trying to get rid of a stitch. Sometimes I do a little jig too but that has nothing to do with side stitches and more to do with me being a little too into my music.
4. My brain stops working when I run. When I was running back last week I spotted someone I thought was an old friend of mine. I yelled his name as I ran past. The guy stopped and looked quizzically at me, which should have been my first clue. Instead of running on, I stopped, looked at the guy, pointed at him and said ‘SR?’ Doh, obviously it wasn’t him and obviously I looked like a complete fool. I refused to take that route when I did my long run this week lest I meet the guy.
5. On top of achy legs, my stomach muscles ache after a long run. I’m not sure why, but today it feels like I did a bunch of crunches yesterday night!
6. Not really running related but I take back what I said about good yoga schools. I realise I meant good yoga teachers. I went back for a yoga class on Monday this week and had a very blah class. The instructor was nice, but it just felt like a whole bunch of stretching. And it was hardly challenging. And there was a lot of sitting around cleansing your mind of this or that. Yawn.
What I did this week:
Monday: 1hr yoga
Yesterday: 16k run in 1hr 57mins (The last time, and only other time, I did a 16k run I did it in 2hr 26mins, so even if this is the slowest a human being could run, I’m not complaining!)
Monday, November 21, 2011
Training Updates
Last Monday: 1hr Personal Training
Last Thursday: 14K run
It was long and painful. I was pretty much over it by about 10k but I pushed through (woohoo!) and made it all the way without stopping to trot...well at least not till the last 1k. Point to note, overhead bridges are the enemy 13k into a run!
Saturday: Woodcutter's Trail/Butterfly Trail in 3.5hrs
It took that long not because the walk was particularly long but there was just so much stopping and waiting around for people. We did this with the local Y and there were a lot of people. While I think there are overseas treks that I might do with the Y, the local ones just have a lot of slow people. I'm not particularly fast, but these guys are sloooow.
And while I think it's great that the Y organises walks like these because it gets people (who might ordinarily be inert) out and moving as well as raising awareness on the presence of this ("natural") side of Singapore, but short of there being another local trail I need directions through, I'd probably be a bit reluctant to join them. Sorry Gracie!
Sunday: Salomon X-Trail Race - See below.
On a side note, since Jo asked - I wasn't actually doing real yoga yet. It was a beginner class to prep your body for yoga (or something like that) and it involved doing a lot of squats. I think when I progress further I'd be learning Ashtanga yoga?
Last Thursday: 14K run
It was long and painful. I was pretty much over it by about 10k but I pushed through (woohoo!) and made it all the way without stopping to trot...well at least not till the last 1k. Point to note, overhead bridges are the enemy 13k into a run!
Saturday: Woodcutter's Trail/Butterfly Trail in 3.5hrs
It took that long not because the walk was particularly long but there was just so much stopping and waiting around for people. We did this with the local Y and there were a lot of people. While I think there are overseas treks that I might do with the Y, the local ones just have a lot of slow people. I'm not particularly fast, but these guys are sloooow.
And while I think it's great that the Y organises walks like these because it gets people (who might ordinarily be inert) out and moving as well as raising awareness on the presence of this ("natural") side of Singapore, but short of there being another local trail I need directions through, I'd probably be a bit reluctant to join them. Sorry Gracie!
Sunday: Salomon X-Trail Race - See below.
On a side note, since Jo asked - I wasn't actually doing real yoga yet. It was a beginner class to prep your body for yoga (or something like that) and it involved doing a lot of squats. I think when I progress further I'd be learning Ashtanga yoga?
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