It's the wrong legs, Gromit!

Wrong legs indeed, don't know what I've done with my fit ones...
After a fairly leisurely weekend, I thought I may be well rested for this weeks long-ish run. I was running from home today and had the choice of a hilly route or a flat one. I took the flat one and it was quickly obvious that was the right choice!
From the outset, my legs were tired, very tired. I had the route in mind, but hadn't measured it. There were options to shorten it along the way, but I thought I'd see how I felt.
A couple of miles in, everything had loosened up and I was bombing along! Didn't last long mind and every stride was an effort. Too many walk breaks and too many excuses to stop for some reason or another.
I did consider chopping off a loop, but decided I wanted time on feet so did the full route.
I find it slightly ironic that if I run into town, I can get in more off-road stuff than if I run the other way, towards the moor. (I live just 5-6 miles from the boundary of the North York Moors)
So, I struggled and shuffled on. The last 3 miles or so took a very long time and it started to rain as well. I got home just as the heavens opened!

When I measured my route it was over 13miles so that was ok.

I used my S!CAPS today, no idea if it made any difference or not as I don't think I was working hard enough to induce cramp... I ate all my sweets and my cheese biscuits too. I was thinking as running, I have a couple of gels I've acquired from various places (not tried one yet, don't really fancy them) and when I read the packet it says to consume one every 20 mins or so! Surely not? I shall continue experimenting with eating 'real food' while running thank you very much.

I think part of todays leg tiredness was due to last weeks mileage, but also a lot to do with not having eaten properly yesterday. Weekends just seem to mess me up!

Also, another question, related to running nutrition, is it better to 'front load' or replace the calories afterwards? Todays run burnt over 1500 extra cals and there's no way I can eat that much extra after a long run. I'm talking straight calories here, not what kind of food do you eat. So many things to tinker with!

Cackleberry's Blog, Supplemental.

Yeah, been watching to much Star Trek...

I have made the decision to try taking some supplemements, I already take cod liver oil and Glucosamine, but I've added in iron and vitB12. I do all the healthy eating, exercise (dhur) and drinking plenty of fluids but rarely feel full of energy. So, I thought I'd give them a whirl. I just wondered how long before I notice a difference? I've been taking them a full week and as yet don't feel overflowing with vim and vigour. Maybe it just doesn't work like that? I'd like to hear if any of you have had experience with such things.

On a similar note, I have also got hold of some S!CAPS electrolyte replacement capsules in an attempt to stop me throwing up on long runs. I've tried eating real food as I didn't want to take supplements for running, but I just can't physically eat enough to stop it.

S!CAPS

I don't like the idea of taking any of the above supplements by the way, I'm a big advocate of being all natural. But, I know I don't get enough iron in my daily diet (liver and kale anyone?) and B12 goes hand in hand with that. And bonking on a long run is just dammed unpleasant. I'm also happy to wait and give the B12 time to work, just don't want to give up too early if you know what I mean!

Anyway, a medium run is calling and it's raining. nice.

Exiting Times Ahead...

Awaiting the delivery of my complete, box set of Wainwright Guides. Revised and brought up to date by Chris Jesty. This will start the next obsession, Wainwright bagging. We plan to start in January as one of OH's work mates wants us to take him to Wasdale for a bit of winter action up Scafell Pike. Cool. (Freezing?)
Hopefully have some interesting stuff to write about for a change.

Also, the Club chairman emailed me to see if would be interested in taking over the club website. At first I wrote a reply to say thanks, but no thanks. Then I thought about it a bit, how hard can it be? Uploading pics and text, adding a few links here and there. Gav will show me what to do, it has to be worth a try. I want to be an active member of the club and this is a good start. So I said I'd give it a go...

Saturday - Quiet morning at work, boss let me go early. Our new car wasn't ready yet, so I went straight home. Took Tammy for a frosty walk to Felixkirk and back, it was nice. Took my camera and got a few pics. Collected a whole load of FetchPoint credits and another Garmin token.

Icy puddle patterns

Frosted leaves

Heading out to Felixkirk.

Tammy looks out across the fields.

December skyscape.

4.55 mile walk.

Marinaded prawns with spaghetti.

Sunday - Narrowly avoided a mardy this morning by heading out for a run dispite oversleeping and the drizzle! I took myself out to Goldenclough Lane and back. Enjoyed it.

Then it was soon time to head over to Messingham, Lincolnshire; for OH's mum's 70th birthday meal. We had a three course nosh up at the Bird in the Barley. It was good. Aunty Janet came too, we've not seen her for a while.

I worry about gettin old, as I'm sure most people do, but AJ is 74 and still going strong. OK she is bionic now, but it doesn't worry her. Also, the Codlings at Club are both over 70 and they race pretty much every weekend and train during the week. If I can grow old like that, then maybe it wont be so bad. Trying to look after my body now so I can keep hold of it!

Best get munching those veggies!!

4.8 mile run.

3 course dinner-

Deep fried goats cheese

Poached salmon

Cheesecake

Back to work tomorrow, don't feel like I've had a weekend... the next lie-in is a loooooong way off...

A Frosty Week in December

Quick round up really, not much exiting to talk of.

Sunday - Took the dog along Cod Beck for a nice change, then Dad and Stepmum came for lunch. We went to the Lamb Inn at Rainton and it was nice.

Approx 1.5 mile walk.

Sausage, mash and veg.

Monday - Meant to be my day off, but I went in to observe a visit. It was an organic poultry farm and we were there to issue a slaughter certificate. Only took a couple of hours. 

Then I went shopping, yawn.

Went to club, Sonja back in charge tonight.

Lots of jogging and assorted drills to warm up, and a few relays.

Onto circuits-
Approx 40 secs of each exercise-
lunges
arm rolls
press ups
'throw-the-ball-while-balancing-on-one-leg'
shuttle runs
step up and overs
squats.

2 sets.
Cool down with stretching.

Managed in total 22-23 proper press ups, very proud of myself!

Plus 1.55 miles with the dog.

Leftover sausage casserole and pasta.

Tuesday - Allowed PMS to ruin my day. felt rubbish, managed to walk the dog but that was about it really. 

Although, we did go to Northallerton to look at a car... put a deposit down on a Volvo S60.

1.4 mile walk.

Pie chips and veg.

Wednesday - Another visit, this one involved a long drive to Scarborough. Nice farm though.

Tonight we had our Sandhill Xmas scoff at Solberge Hall. Very posh, quite nice. 

0.75 mile walk.

Big fat 3 course dinner-

Ham hock and rabbit terrine.

Sea bass.

Chocolate and orange fondant.

Thursday - Long quiet day at work. Had a pint in the Angel afterwards.

1.4 mile walk.

Leftover curry and pasta.

Friday - Another long day. Richard had to go on his visits by himself while I manned the fort. 

Homemade bologanse for tea, plenty of garlic! OH went to Sprouts and got the washing up done at last.

Took Tammy out in the moonlight to track down a Garmin token.

1.78 mile walk.

Spaghetti bolognase.

November Round up and into December!

Monday - Conducted my first post mortems at work today! Just some chicks, but kinda cool all the same.

Club night, Vicki came again which was good.
Paul G took us again and we started with jogging and drills to get warmed up, then nto our equipmentless circuits- 

Finger stretches, arm rolls, arm circles (imagine skipping) 30secs each, 3 reps.
Jumping lunges, high knee kicks, star jumps - 30secs each, 3 reps.
'press ups against the wall' 3x 30 secs.
Wierd leg circles to work the quads 4 x 20 secs.
Leg cycling 20 secs, hold legs up off floor 15 secs. 3 reps.
Sit-up-and-hold, 20 secs x 3.

Shuttle runs to finish, 2 bursts of 30 secs.

Felt a lot more energetic than I did on Wednesday and quite enjoyed bouncing round.

We had a little energy left, so Steve, Vicky and I went for our little jog round Sowerby.

Tuesday - Boring day and zero exercise.

Wednesday - Just me and the boss at work today, thankfully it was quiet, but still we got a couple of new clients.

Club night again, after a warm up/circuit session with Stephan, we jogged across town to do the Station Road time trial! Don't have the times yet, but I don't think I broke any records...

Stephan's circuits - 

burpees
split-leg squat thrusts
star jumps
squats
press-ups
more star jumps!

3 shuttle runs, 10 x exercise, 30 secs rest. 

Spoilt it though with a dirty old kebab for tea, oops.

Thursday - Very quiet at work.

Some how got roped into going to Wass Woods for a headtorch run with Steve and Gavin! They run much faster than me, but I managed to keep up and we covered approx 7.5miles in the trees. Then had a pint at Sutton. It was hard work but I quite enjoyed it, much better than sitting on my bum all evening, tossing it off on here. Also, a good start to my December mileage.

Friday - Felt dehydrated and almost hungover from yesterday, blurgh. Fortunately we were quiet at work. Just walked the dog after tea. 

The FetchPoint game has got serious now as there is a Garmin up for grabs! You have to collect the special markers, but alas! mine wouldn't pick up!! I've sent a message to Lord Fetch in the hopes he can fix it or something.

Saturday - Managed to get to Tesco and Lidl and still be massively early for work. Pleased I got the ironing out of the way yesterday... Just one client today.

Went for a windy but sunny run round Rainton and Asenby after work which was nice. 

Been having a look at the Paleo diet, but I don't know how it would fit in with running? Dunno. I quite like the idea of 'eating clean' but to do it properly is far too restrictive. The Paleo thing is the next step along really. It only uses raw ingredients but allows you to actually cook with them! Could I survive without pasta I wonder?? Possibly not.

Summary for the Week-

Monday - Club night, plus 1.76 mile job, plus 0.75 mile walk. Left over beef curry and rice for tea.

Tuesday - zero exercise. Homemade bacon and cheese quiche with jacket spud and beans.

Wednesday - Club night inc 2 mile time trial, plus 1.1 mile walk. Donner kebab for tea.

Thursday - 7.5 mile run. Curry and rice for tea.

Friday - 1.4 mile walk. Fish and chips for tea.

Saturday - 4.8 mile run. Sausage casserole for tea.

Hmm, think I need to get some veggies in this weekend...

A Windy Weekend

Saturday - A morning at work, the three hours went quickly!

Took Tammy for a quick walk to Joseph Turners before it got dark.
Bored all evening.

Sunday - The original plan was a 10 mile walk from Kilburn, but it was blowing a hoolie and it was decided Boltby Reservoir would be a safer route. Hmm.
Then off for a spot of Christmas shopping, oh the joys. Although, I did come away with a Sprayway jacket from TKMaxx and a pair of Scarpa boots from Blacks for 1/3 off! Bargins!

Very little mileage done this weekend unfortunately, and no routes to talk of.

Saturday - 1.55 miles walked. Beef Rogan Josh with rice and pops.
Sunday - 4.05 miles walked. Mince and dumplings, with roasties and veg for tea!

It will probably be January before we do any decent walks now...

Hoping to get myself into order, maybe the rest will follow.

A Week on the new job!!

Monday - Started my new job at Sandhill Veterinary Services today. So far so good. I'm doing a mix of lab work and office work. The lab work is my forte, the office stuff is confusing! I'm sure I'll get there eventually...


New job though means no walk to work. I shall miss that for a variety of reasons, the fresh air wakes me up on a morning; I wave to lots of people I shalln't see any more and it's 40mins worth of exercise!


However, Monday night is club night, Vicki came with me too tonight which was nice.
Sonja was off so Paul G took the session.

Warm up with jogging and a few drills then onto upper body work for a change-

• Finger stretch things, big arm swings, arm pulls. x30 secs each, 4 reps
• Twists, star jumps, Can-can(!) x30 secs each, 3 reps.
• Push ups, squat thrusts x20 secs each, 3 reps.
• High steps, fast little steps, x20 secs each, 2 reps.

We finished with shuttle runs.


I wasn't sure at the start of the session quite how hard it was going to be, but by the end I had a sweat on! Also quite proud of myself for managing a total of 12 proper push-ups!!
After all this, Vicki, Steve H and Sarah G and I went for a little run round Sowerby in the dark.


Tuesday - Nothing much exiting to report today. Just took the dog for a walk in the dark up Rymer House drive, collected a good few FetchPoints for my troubles...


Also got the Wii out for a spot of Just Dance 2 action! Hmm, how little co-ordination can one person have?!


Wednesday - On my own at work today. Coped ok though.


Wednesday is also club night. I was relieved (as I think everyone was!) when we found we didn't have Alan this week. With Rob being on his hols, we've been having a variety of coaches, but it's been good to mix it up a bit. So Steve M and Stephan took us tonight. 


Warmed up with jogging and a few drills then on to circuits - each excercise for 30-40 secs.First set-

• Shuttle runs.
• Lunges.
• Bunny hops.
• Squats.
• High knees on a squishy mat!
• Step ups.

Second set- 

• Shuttle runs.
• Star jumps (touching the floor)
• Straddle jumps.
• Squat thrusts.
• Star jumps (ordinary)
• Step throughs.

• Then a third set using our 'favourites' from the first 2.
• Pyramid session. 4x 30secs, 3x 45 secs, 3x 1min, 3x 45secs, 4x 30secs. 
• Cool down.

I'm glad it wasn't any harder than this 'cos I was struggling, not physically (although my quads were still quite sore from last week) but motivationally. No post club run tonight!


Thursday - Very lazy and didn't do any exercise what so ever.


Friday - Went on a farm visit with the vet today, was good. 


Not much to report exercise wise, just walked Tammy in Pearsons Wood. In the dark of course.


It's been really chilly with wintery showers and apparently there's been snow on high ground in Cumbria...


Hopefully I'll get a bit more done at the weekend. Need to motivate mayself to get out after work, sitting here muching marshmallows wont get me race fit, will it?! 


(for some strange reason the formatting is all f*cked up on this...)


Ok, in summary - 


Monday - Club night, 2 mile run. Jacket spud and cottage cheese.
Tuesday - 1.1 mile walk, 40-odd mins dancing. Fry-up for tea.
Wednesday - 0.75 mile walk, Club night. Pasta with stir-fry veg and a bit of donner meat for tea(!)
Thursday - 0 exercise, Pork chops, mash and veg for tea.
Friday - 0.75 mile walk. Fish dinner with chips and sweetcorn for tea.


And too many marshmallows these last 2 days...


PS, not competing in a 'distance challenge' this month, a) I want a rest, b) Phillip is injured so it's no contest and c) need to get settled into the new routine after changing jobs.