Steady hour

Nice social run with Lizzie, round the block via Keswick Hall, which I made up to an hour by tagging on the bridlepath and Ipswich Rd. 6 miles in an hour - perfect. After the rain, too, so it was a bit cooler but still quite humid.

Same old

Same old lake swim, a bit slower than usual but I think the buoy was quite a distance out today. 18 mins either way. Water was very clear, not too cold, and even though I know it can't be true I would swear there was a current against us on the way out!

Gym bunny II

Same as Wednesday but without the abs, and doing the biceps with individual weights. No time to think, so took the easy option!

Fartlek

A bit of short, sharp fun out with Lorraine and Anita at lunchtime, taking it in turns to nominate efforts. 4.8 miles in 44 minutes (including efforts and recoveries), so 9:16/mile average but including some real full-on sprints as well as walk breaks.

Warm up to Eaton Park, then:
NE corner past speedway track to first crossroads
SW corner to exit by yacht pond
alley between Buckingham Rd and Unthank Rd (short hard sprint)
along Sunningdale from Wentworth Green to bollards (sustained effort)
along Greenways from Atmere Close to Cranleigh rise (short hard sprint)
up Ebbisham Drive from Greenways to first corner and down again (Kenyan hill)
Waitrose car park entrance to far end of Eaton bridge
Newmarket Rd from Newmarket Close to Colney Lane (hill)
Colney Lane from Cringleford Chase to Newfound Drive (sustained) then to next telephone pole (sprint)
Then cool down via the woods, metal bridge and across the field to Chemistry arch.
Full route.

Really good fun - exhausting, and we've all got wobbly legs now, but definitely good fun!

Gym bunny

A bit dull, but it serves its purpose.

5 mins bike - warm up
10 mins stepper
10 mins rower (ow, forearms)
10 mins stepper
tricep pulldowns, 3 x 12 @ 10kg
bicep curls, 3 x 12 @ 10kg (bar)
abs, 50 straight & 25 each side

Getting better at this

Another good run, over an hour, average closer to 9:30/mile. Things are looking up.

Went to work via the city on the bus this morning, so decided to run home. Went out with Rosie (on a recovery after a 16 miler, I can't usually keep up with her) , did the Bowthorpe marshes loop and then continued up the Avenues and round the ring road, totalling 7.5 miles. I did have a couple of stops (loo stop back at the Sportspark, and buying spinach (!) at Waitrose), but running time was 1:10. Lots of bits where I felt really strong and comfortable, and just flying along. I know that it would have looked different to outside observers (substitute bimbling for flying) but to me it was good!

Intwood double loop

7am - not a cloud in the sky. Breakfasted and on the road by 8am, out on the Intwood loop... what the hell, figured I would do it twice. Wind was blowing homewards, making the Ketteringham straight a bit of a drag, but on the second loop I was just shy of 20mph average (5.75 miles in 17:24). A bit tough into the wind but I just kept pushing, and really enjoyed the ride. But I felt justified in a nice easy cycle home! Back for 9:15, clouds just beginning to build. Ah, bank holidays.

Early run

Well, ish :) Was going to bike to Trish's but with the weather not so good and the start put back to 10am I thought I should do an early run and free up the rest of the day for doing stuff with Marks' mum who was visiting.

So, 10.6k in 1:02 (great - 9:25/mile and the start was slow), a bit damp but nothing too bad, and then a shower and... sitting watching the Olympics closing ceremony until after 3pm when we finally went out. Oh well.

Lake swim

Another great lake swim, just under 30 mins for the round trip (excluding break), swimming with Trish and Chrissie and Penny, and managing not to cause carnage. Especially on the return leg, I just felt like I really got into the flow, and could have gone on much longer. Not so many fishies to put me off this week either!

"Steady" run

"I'd like to do an hour steady" I said, thinking 10 min miles. "OK" Lorraine said. Not sure what we were up to, it was steady in the sense of a more or less consistent pace, but averaging out at 9 minute miles with a bit of a walk break (when I went over on my ankle running up the golf course hill) is not exactly what I planned. Not bad though :) Near as dammit 10k, in 54 minutes.

Counting strokes

Having already done a longer swim, I went back to counting strokes today. When I really think about it, I can get as low as 19. When I try and swim fast, it's back up to 25 or so. The key seems to be the long push all the way back to hip level. I think I am getting the catch to be a bit more automatic now, though.

I also put in four indivdual sprint lengths, just for fun. Hard to time on your own of course, but seemed to be consistently 22 seconds. Raaaa.

Wroxham race 3

Nice evening for a race... I was feeling ready for it, not too nervous, up for a PB. Just missed out on that, still had a good race, but got left behind by old speedy legs, this time at 2.75k instead of 4.9k! Splits: 4:55, 4:44, 5:23(!), 5:00, 4:53, total 24:55 (PB 24:33). Official time 25:06 - I saw the clock tick over as I rounded the corner. Disappointed that I couldn't squeeze a few more seconds on that last k, but maybe that meant I had given it everything earlier on. Mark's time 24:18. Think what he could do if he trained...

Long swim

2400m today. With Wroxham coming up tomorrow, I thought it was better not to run, but to do this week's swims Tues and Thurs. But knowing I would be missing a Tri-Anglia session I made up my mind to do an hour (and do it properly!).

400m warm up

50m on 1:15
100m on 2:30
50m on 1:15
200m on 4:45
Total 400m in 9:45 - repeat x 4

400m cool down

Pacing was pretty consistent. I only went over 30s per 25m on a couple of the 200m reps, and managed to hit 52s for one incredible 50m. The rests were just about right, although a goal would be to shorten them to 10s/20s/30s in the future. I still really need to work on my turns. Not necessarily learning to tumble, but just doing them faster!

I forgot to take a drink apart from water - in the very last set I felt my legs getting heavy, and was a bit wary of cramp, but it was fine. But next time I will try that. The Lucozade Sport lemon one I tried was fine for cycling.

Little run

No need for me with the beginners, so I was off with the 4-milers. We went around the old tow path, and I added on a loop via Fiveways - total 4.6 miles. I did it in just under 44 mins, excluding a cheeky pit stop in the middle, so just under 9:30 per mile. I know the Fiveways loop (on my own) improved the average, but that's not bad for a Monday run. Mark did well too.

Good swim, aborted run

Excellent swim in the lake this morning, partnering Trish - we pushed each other along a bit I think. Buoy was a bit further out, making 1600m round trip we were told. We completed in around 31 minutes - didn't time it as such, but did look at my watch. It was cold to start with, and I felt like I was gasping a little, but just forcing myself to breathe on a normal rhythm helped, and I was soon into the flow. There is more weed and lots of shoals of fish, which occasionally surprise me and throw me off stroke, but I am still loving the lake.

Had a little run with Lizzie later on too, the plan was to run to hers, run around the Waitrose loop and back to hers, and then back to mine, maybe along the lane for a while to make up an hour. I got to her place needing the loo, and by the time we got back to the Church Lane track, I was needing it again. Couldn't even manage to jog down the lane to home, had to stop and walk. After stopping in at home, I couldn't manage to get out and do the rest, although I knew I should have done.

Just swim

No session tonight, so it was a lunchtime swim for me. Started OK - 400 warm up, then decided to do last week's session again. So, kick off with 400 fast. Forgot my watch so had to squint at the clock on the wall, which said the 400m took me 7 minutes. That'll be 350m then, unless I have found the secret of dropping 4 secs per 25m (unlikely). Oops. Next 200m - 4 mins. Tick. Next 200m - 3 mins. Crap. Can I not even count to four now? (The number of times I touch the far wall - I do know 200m is 8 lengths.)

At that point I gave up counting and just swam. And quite enjoyed it too. I think my catch is improving, on the left (weaker) side especially. I still can't turn very well using my left arm, though, it's all slow and clumsy. Not that using the right is much to write home about, but there's definitely a difference.

Long run

Mostly on my own, although a nice steady start with Granville. Wanted to do 1:10 and hit 1:09:30, which was good enough for me! Route works out as 7.45 miles, so that's 9:20/mile - had a quick sneaky loo stop at the Rose, but otherwise it was steady. I'm really pleased with that. I was definitely tiring towards the end but was determined to make it to 70 minutes - ended up zigzagging quite a lot but it was quite good fun actually! Passed one chap on Earlham near the Beeches only to pass him again near the police station, so no idea what he thought I was up to.

Nothing yesterday as I was wherry viewing all day.

Bike + run

Suffolk Coastal bike ride: 35 miles - Mark's longest ride ever. Average 11.5mph - not bad given that there was a headwind all the way back. Nice and sunny, though. Don't think I'll bother with another Bike Events ride - pretty expensive for what it was, we could have done the same ride on our own and enjoyed it just as much.

Then, while chilling on the sofa, Lizzie called to see if I fancied a run, so I went around the block (via Waitrose) with her, just under 40 mins at social pace :) . Got wet thanks to a little cloudburst, but even that was quite nice!

Swim + run

Swim - abot 35 mins, sticking with partner Julie who wasn't having such a good session. Plenty of time for me to work on my stroke and breathing, and the sun came out. Excellent.

Then a run - aiming for a longish (1hr+) slowish run, I did 6.8 miles in 1:07, so just under 10 min miles. It was pretty warm, and due to laundry failure I was in long leggings, plus I didn't take a drink and hadn't drunk much at/after swimming. So a bit of a struggle at times, but I was pleased to keep a steady pace and break the hour barrier.

What a difference a day (and a half) makes

It's *definitely* the Wednesday session that is the problem, either the pool or the time.

Today, swimming 11:45am at the Sportspark:

400m warm up (8:10 - bit quicker than I should have really)
10 x 100m sprints on 2:20
400m cool down (9:05 - more like it)

No cramp, felt wonderful really - OK the 100m times were dropping off a little as I went along, but they were all between 1:55 and 2:00. Excellent session. This is how it should be!

Five times... er...

Eaton Park efforts again. Same route/loop as last week, but just five laps of the grass this time with 1:30 recovery. It was initially billed as "somewhere between 800m and 1km" but after the first lap (which I did in 3:07), that was hastily revised downwards. Someone's GPS suggested 0.42 miles, which we roughly converted at the time to 640m, and GMaps agrees with the properly worked out conversion which is 675m.

My times were 3:07, 3:07, 3:10, 3:11, 3:04. It felt sustainable for the lap, but I don't think I could have done 1.5 or 2 laps continuously at that pace. Mark came along too and did the first one at 3:20 (7:52/mi), then the next 3 progressively a bit slower, and sat out the last one. Fair enough, for his first Thursday session!

Three minutes for 675m = 7:09 per mile, with +/-5 seconds per lap equivalent to +/-12 seconds per mile, so that puts my reps between about 7:20 and 7:35/mile. I am pleasantly surprised by that - I would have said around 8 or just below. To put it in perspective, my 5k PB of 24:33 is 7:54/mile.

Float like a butterfly, swim like a sponge

Yucky swim session. From the start I felt like I was going nowhere slowly, then I got the beginnings of cramp about 2/3 of the way through, and never shook it off. Each time I tried to stretch, my legs felt more and more like lead afterwards. Ended up doing many lengths of pull just to finish the session.

400m warm up
Inverted pyramid:
400m, 30s rest
2 x 200m, 25s after each
4 x 100m, 20s
2 x 200m, 25s
1 x 400m

Bleh. Extremely frustrating. Is it the warm water, the time of the session, or what? I should be thankful I don't get it at the Sportspark or the lake, but why *do* I get it at the high school pool?

Blimey!

The full club run entrailed going out to some field near Bowthorpe, around an off road bit and then back. Since I knew I would fall off the back of the main group and then either get lost or end up alone in Bowthorpe, I ran a shorter route with Granville, and then tagged an extra bit on the end.

The first loop was about 37 mins, and the second was another 25. Whole route is here. It seems to add up to 11k, or just under 7 miles, which makes 9:05-9:10 per mile. I didn't expect it to be that fast!

Beginners plus one lap

3 mins, 2 mins x 5 with the beginners, then a quick lap round UEA, 10:33 = 8:30/mile.

Leisure ride

Out with Mark, on the hybrid as I didn't know how late we'd come back from the pub, and in what weather. As it turned out, the pub was shut so it was tea and cake at Simon and Jenna's, and we came back in the rain.

Just under 43km / 27 miles, no bike computer but we did the last 12 miles or so in 55 minutes, so approaching 13mph average - maybe a bit slower than that on the way out.

Wibbly Wobbly Log Jog

Fantastic, friendly race as always. Official time 44:19 (172nd of 277), 44:10 on the watch - same route as last year, allowing a comparison with 45:02 run then, so that's not bad :) Really, really enjoyed it. Route (roughly - but more accurate than the one linked from last year's post!).

Event photos were taken by Derek Haden