New year...

OK, so last year kind of went out with a feeble whimper, as evidenced by this blog. Some issues turned up and squashed a lot of things (like enthusiasm and motivation for a start), and winter has been cold and dark so far in more ways than one. What I have learned, though, is that these things do not magically resolve themselves, and happy endings don't just appear because you think you don't deserve any more crap. At some point you have to lend a helping hand to make good things happen - like going looking for them.

If I hesitate to make full-on resolutions, I can at least take stock. 2011 was a mixed year, some good times, but overshadowed in the end by things outside my control - including work trips, neverending colds, back pain, and finally a badly sprained ankle which has me laid off running for a week or two yet, to be followed by a slow comeback. Taking a long, hard look at what I did with the year, I could certainly have done better - both Waveneys were lacklustre, to say the least, and while my 5k time got better within the year, I'm a way off my best. The adventure race weekend was the real shining highlight, though, and if nothing else I am glad I did that. But compared to a year ago I'm less fit, more fat, and I sure as hell don't want to be sitting here next year thinking "could have done better" all over again. I need to train - even if I don't make the start line for whatever reason, time spent training is never wasted, right?

So I'm looking for a race to focus on. Nothing too big, but just the right amount of pressure to keep me motivated. No big trip abroad (i.e. flying) tied up with it, and nothing any longer than I've done before. Ironman 70.3 Ireland (Galway) is a contender, but I'm still checking out options closer to home like the Ely Monster middle distance. Another adventure race is massively tempting, although the only Questar weekenders are Exmoor or the South Downs - not quite as handy as one on my back doorstep in Thetford. A side adventure that's looking good is the ~120 mile overnight Dunwich Dynamo, and I hope I'll be up to running a selection of local races just for fun, but for my main focus I really want something multisport. I'll find out what my buddies are doing, but my main goal will be for me.

Hmm... time to sit down with a cuppa, a laptop, and the training bible, and have a good old think...

Happy New Year 2012! by Creativity103, on Flickr

A shout out!

I've just seen that I got a shout in the Blogger News section of my favourite podcast, Two Fit Chicks And A Microphone! That's made my day, especially as I can now download the new episode to listen to as I fly to Vancouver tomorrow... thanks, Fit Chicks! But how embarrassing to be caught out being a blogging slackarse... *blush*

Photo: a.k.a. Flow by lars_in_japan, on Flickr

Getting adventurous

Something a little different - a Questars three-discipline adventure race weekend, comprising kayaking, trail running and mountain biking. I took part in this along with Clare and Rosie (as Tri-Girls Cubed), and Trish, Debbie and Debbie's friend Birgit (as Adventure Girls), making up two teams of three in the Novice Ladies category. The overall event consists of a number of rounds combining kayak, run and/or bike with a few other activities. In each round you have a map and notes for number of checkpoints for each activity; CPs have a points value attached and you 'dib' an electronic widget to get the points. The route and the number of CPs you do are totally up to you, but there's a bonus for completing a colour set and a penalty for coming back late.

The weekend went like this:

Friday evening: arrived and set up camp. The campsite (ok, field - this was not glamping!) was gently buzzing and the friendly atmosphere was one of the things that really made the whole weekend. Clare, Trish and I got our tents up in the dark, tucked into nachos (pre-race fuel of champions) from the catering tent, enjoyed a fabulous view of the stars in the absence of light pollution, and then retreated for the night as the cold and damp drew in. Well, Trish retreated to her four solid walls at home, while Clare and I toughed it out under canvas...

Saturday morning: a dewy and misty start (and early, with trains whooshing past from 0630), but the temperature soon rose as the sun appeared just in time for breakfast. Our team mates arrived and we prepped the bikes and enjoyed the campsite banter before heading off for the race briefing - thankfully pretty comprehensive, which allayed some of our novice nerves. An hour later it was time for round 1: up to 50 minutes' kayak, followed by running to make a total time allocation of 200 minutes. Paddling straight in a two-person kayak was the most difficult of the weekend's activities, and must have provided much entertainment for those watching. Still, we got a few CPs, returned the kayak on time, and headed out on the run. By now (~11am) the sun was blazing but thankfully the trails included many shady forest paths. We completed about 7 miles of running plus the teambuilding type activity (a compulsory check-in, even if you chose not to complete it) to finish in around 150 minutes - strategic thinking having suggested that finishing early and saving our legs for the bike was better than breaking our necks to try and get to and from just one more CP. Our score of 185 put us in third place for our class, with Adventure Girls ahead on 195.

After a couple of hours' break and it was on to round 2, a 150 minute mountain bike course with the challenge activity being a sample of the High Lodge orienteering course. We found this tough going after a morning on foot, but with 40 points on offer (as much as the highest-value CP) for a couple of miles, we decided to go for it at the start of the round. After that we clocked up around 13 miles on the bike trails around Brandon Country Park, and a rather nice fast stretch of the High Lodge exit road, pausing to help out when we stumbled over Trish dealing with a puncture, but clocking up 190 points to come top of our class in that event.


Another change of kit, some dinner (curry was on offer from the caterers, not ideal but it was that or nachos again!), and round 3 saw a night trail run of up to 75 minutes and the surreal experience of scampering around the forest with a bunch of other people wearing head torches. Feeling pretty weary by now, and mindful of the big final round in the morning, we took it easy and stayed close to home while the Adventure Girls ventured a little further and picked up 20 more points. We weren't the only ones run-walking, with some people obviously limping or otherwise suffering a bit. I managed to twist my ankle on an uneven track, and Clare's knee was also becoming painful, but we both held up well to complete the round and pick up 15 bonus points for coming in under 60 minutes. We sat around for a little while to wind down, but again it was getting chilly so we called it a night pretty early.

Sunday's round was all three disciplines, 240 minutes for novices, with a fixed 60 minute slot for the kayak and then the split between run and bike up to each team. With a couple of injuries between us and some impressive blisters that I seemed to develop overnight, Tri-Girls opted to play to our strengths and maximise bike time.We still had to hit one run CP to avoid a 100-point penalty, but with one about half a mile from transition that requirement was taken care of quickly to leave us three hours for the bike and the challenge activity (a brain teaser this time). We followed our previous successful strategy of heading for the distant, high-value CPs and covered around 18 miles in total, with just one "where the hell is it?" moment and one particularly slow trudge up a tortuous sandy hill (Harling Drove, which some may remember as the old off-road section of RNR stage 13). We came in with 15 minutes to spare and 335 points gained, second in our class just ahead of Aventure Girls with 300. We celebrated our finish with a dip in the river (some dipping more than others...)

All told, we amassed 800 points in just over 9:30 total time, coming second in Novice Ladies, with Adventure Girls hot on our heels in third, getting 753 points in 10:30. Nice job, ladies!

Overall verdict: absolutely fantastic! Of course, the incredible weather helped, and I'm not sure what I'd be saying if it had been pouring all weekend, but we had the most amazing time. We came home tired, sore, sunburned, blistered and bruised but with very big grins! The best thing was that the whole weekend was really friendly with lots of hellos and smiles when you passed other competitors on the trails, and a good buzz to the campsite. The team aspect was also a nice contrast to the often solitary nature of triathlons.

The season's over now, but I would really recommend these races to anyone looking for something different for next year. Entries open soon, and you can enter solo as well as in a team of 2, 3 or 4, and you can do a Duo event if you don't want to kayak. This particular one's right on our doorstep (and uncovers some glorious bits of Thetford forest to boot), but there are others, mostly down south, and including one-day events as well as weekends. The challenge is pitched just right so that you can push yourself a bit whatever fitness/experience level you start from - it needs a bit of thought and strategy as well as speed and endurance, and of course you can have your own little competition going if you're with friends! Here's hoping for more next year...

Heavy, man

I've neglected the blog a bit. Been bimbling along, same old same old - running seems to be a bit of a struggle in terms of getting faster, but it's still enjoyable so I keep getting out there. My niggly hip is not quite so bad at the moment, and doing non-running sessions seems to sort it out. Strange, but good!

The weekly routine is looknig approximately like this at the moment, but how it can be a routine when it seems to vary week by week I don't know!

Monday - club run in the evening
Tuesday - aerobics, provided there's no holiday substitute (as they're never as good!)
Wednesday - swim
Thursday - club efforts session
Friday - Gym
Saturday - parkrun
Sunday - social bike ride

I am making a concerted effort to get one good weights/strength session in per week. I'm feeling the benefit and enjoying the buzz of upping my weights/reps. At the moment I don't want to drop anything else from my week, but I know another session would be good... after Waveney I may give swimming the boot for a bit and really focus on strength. Or maybe aerobics, but that's *fun* where swimming, honestly, isn't really.

Today's session

Row, 5 mins
Plank, 3 x 38s (42s rest) (new time)
Twists, 3 x 15 @ 5kg (not sure what weight the next ball up is - might have to use a dumbbell to increase?)
Half pressups - 3 x 13
Biceps - 3 x 8 @ 8kg (new weight)
Squats - 3 x 10 @ 12kg (first time with weights - 6kg dumbbell each shoulder. Next time: grab an advisor to get the lowdown on the squat rack)
Lats - 3 x 8 @ 35kg
Triceps (cable): 3 x 6 @ 20kg (not so new, but done *properly* today, i.e. elbows fixed. Less rest at the top, harder work!)

So - a few weight increases, pleasantly fatigued afterwards, feeling good :) :)

Photo: Weight & Horoscope by wblj, on Flickr

Quick roundup

Back to normal on the knee front, so a fairly normal week/weekend (sort of):

Thursday eve: crikey. Sprint efforts on the cinder track with Richard in charge. 200m pairs relays, mixed-distance pyramid relays, 50m shuttle runs, all kinds of short sharp delights. The final 400m was about the hardest thing I have ever done. A very slow run back to base (all together, which was nice) with some severe cases of jelly legs. Wowsers. Come back Nigel!!

Friday: feeling the after-effects a bit, but managed a 3.5 mile lunchtime run with Natalia and Alice. Not fast, but not bad at all. My arms ached more than anything, evidence of my amazing sprint technique (and you can take "amazing" in any way you like...)

Saturday: parkrun not happening, uh-uh, no way. I thought the Friday run would loosen me up and leave me ready to at least amble round on Saturday, but no. Two sleeps is the killer for that old friend DOMS...  so, a quiet morning and the off to Essex (above) with the girls for a nice weekend :)

Sunday: "the usual", quick evening bike ride with Clare - biggest achievement, not getting wet! Had a little daft panic moment starting off on a barely-there hill, but no harm done apart from feeling an idiot. It was a good pace.


Photo: Wally, by me! From Mellisa's hen weekend.

Back in the swing of things!

My knee seems fine. Wheeee!

Weekend: no actual exercise (oops) but I did cycle to parkrun (volunteering) and the shops, stand for hours on Sunday volunteering at the tri, and go for a little swim in the river.

Monday: 3.7 mile run with the club - all fine. No problems with my (mostly healed) blisters either.

Tuesday: aerobics, being careful of twisting and changing direction, but again no ill effects during or afterwards. We had a good old cardio set in the middle, which rocked, but I am looking forward to a new routine! Might miss next week due to a school group session in the lab though :(

Wednesday: 30 min steady but strong swim (short because I was fitting it in between classes). My right ankle (I twisted it a while back slipping on wet grass, but seem not to have blogged that...) started to ache, but my knee didn't! The whole swim felt good and today I'm feeling it in my shoulders, which is a pretty good sign of having worked well.

Thursday (tonight) will be efforts, Friday a gentle and probably short lunchtime run (meeting at 1.30pm), Saturday parkrun, and if I can make it (and if clean kit allows), a little run on Sunday morning too (hen weekend away).

Photo: zero gravity by [auro], on Flickr (CC-BY-ND 2.0)

After all that...

...I seem to be on the mend! A day strapped up yesterday, a good night's sleep with my knee on a pillow, and today is almost, well, normal. I'm being careful, and haven't had time to run anyway, but it's looking OK. I cycled in to work and that was fine. Clearly my knee is an attention seeker.

Volunteering at parkrun and then the Norwich tri this weekend, so no epic workouts for me, but I might try a little jog up the lane and back, maybe a bike ride on Sunday evening, and some strength work at home (no squats or lunges, though!).

Photo: Othello Tunnels - Stretching into the Light by That Guy Who's Going Places, on Flickr

*sigh*

Still not able to exercise. My knee can go from being almost normal to making me hobble and sound like a chimp ("oohh! ooh! aahh!") for no apparent reason. Even though I figured it would be futile, I went to the medical centre this morning. Rest, elevate, ice and heat, painkillers, bandage, come back on Monday if it's bad, yada yada. At least I got a free tubigrip, but even that keeps rolling down.

I am going stir crazy. I really hope it's eased enough to allow a swim (with pull buoy to avoid kicking if necessary) tomorrow.

Photo: No Cop, No Stop, I Don't Care *Explored* by Sean Molin Photography, on Flickr

Ouch :(

What the...? I woke up this morning, and my knee hurts. (That sounds like the start to the worst blues song ever.) I feel like I'm not going anywhere for a little while.

I had a good night's sleep despite the 20°C temperature, don't think I was tossing and turning too much, but when I turned over first thing there was a definite OW moment. It seemed to settle down, I was able to get up and get myself to work (favouring one leg on the bike - SPDs would have been very handy), but after sitting on my arse for a couple of hours, it's bloody painful and I'm hobbling around like Long John Silver. Feels like I have twisted or otherwise strained it, rather than a bruise or knock. Barely any swelling, if at all. Hmph.

Until this point, it had been a good week. Well, possibly until last night, when I forgot my socks but decided to run anyway. Bzzt, wrong answer. Heel blisters threatening after 2 miles, and a walk home, with bare feet on the grass when possible. They don't seem too bad today but that's because I have a knackered knee occupying my thoughts!

The weekend got off to a good start with a gentle Friday run and then a guided river swim followed by a barbecue. Nothing on Saturday but a good day on Sunday, starting with 20 miles in the forest with Trish on her spare mountain bike, and then the usual circuit in the evening on the road bike with Clare and Alice. Followed by a cheeky dip in the river because it was bloody hot :) Feeling a tad saddle sore after all that, but a good day - biking the trails is fun, but hard work.

Photo: Pink by *Kicki*, on Flickr

Successful outing for the stripes

My Conac club vest (not pictured above, but similarly stripy) had its second outing at the Broadland 5k series tonight. The rain poured just before and after but stayed off for the race (although with plenty of puddles around to ensure we got wet one way or another). I ran without a watch, not necessarily by design but it worked well - all I could do was go for it and not be tempted to slack. I ran a good strong race for the first half, including the hill just after 2km, and hung on to 3km but as soon as that downhill ended I ran out of steam a bit. About 4km I found a bit of energy and kept going right up until that last hill when (guess who) Mr "I'm going to take it really slow tonight" Mark appeared on my heels. Grrrr. He obliterated me on the last corner to beat me by 5 seconds, and I had nothing left to come back at him. SO ANNOYING! Still, I was a minute faster than the previous race, so I am well pleased with 26:40. But one of these days I shall have my revenge... (and in any case my age graded % is better than his, so ner)

Alice ran well at 25:35, and Claudia was under 30 minutes so pleased with that. Andy picked up an individual and a team prize, so a succesful night all round. Especially as Sue brought cake! Just not sure whether some people went to the wrong pub...

Since last week, I've mainly been running - Friday lunchtime (Bowthorpe marshes), Saturday parkrun (28:52 - nice easy run), and Monday (also lunchtime to fit it in around other stuff). Sunday was a rest day, including a massage and lots of lounging around at the spa/pool at Sprowston Manor :) On Tuesday it was back to aerobics again, definitely not a very high impact routine at the moment but Sarah did have us doing the old run around the room in the middle of the set, which helped raise the old heart rate. The final abs work felt very hard at the time, but there's not too much sign of that a day later! So on the whole I felt much fresher and more rested than I did for the last race, and it showed, but I need to sort out that last km for next time, dammit.

Photo: Stripes @ Wollaton Park, Nottingham by timparkinson, on Flickr

Get lost!

I tried a little trail run* with the orienteering club tonight - not only did I not get lost, but I won a prize :) And (carto-geek alert) I got to keep the map.

It was great fun, although it somehow feels a little bit like cheating to know the area well beforehand - the paths were 99% ones that I run often at lunchtimes. There was only one that I hadn't been on, which I did miss first time around because it was deceptively narrow, but it didn't make a big difference to the route. Nonetheless I had to do the distance like everyone else, and think on my feet. It was an interesting experience to find myself catching up with people who were clearly much better runners than me, while they were standing looking at their map (usually followed by them overtaking me a few seconds later). However, on an unknown course that would undoubtedly be me scratching my head, so I consider myself to have enjoyed it while it lasted.

It was an informal affair, with a small number of edible prizes (I am liking this orienteering lark more and more already). My Mars bar was gained for "fastest lady over the final stage, barring those who already won a prize or went home before the presentations". My time (over my own personal route of 3.3 miles) was 32:26 or 9:49/mile average. Given that I ran out of steam at one point, that's not bad going. It was a good strong run but better than that it was bloody good fun. I think I shall do more when the season starts in September. Thank you, Norfolk Orienteering Club!

Since the last update, I have been a busy bunny and am feeling on top of the world. Friday saw a social run with Tally and Alice, a nice steady pace after Thursday's efforts. After helping rather than running at parkrun on Saturday, I went out for a bike ride around the usual loop with Kerry and Clare in the evening sunshine, which was lovely, and then when it rained (finally) on Sunday I did the without-weights bit of my strength/core circuit from the gym. However, on Monday my legs were pretty stiff from the lunges etc. so I hung out at the back on the club run and walked the last bit with Hannah and a couple of newer ladies. On Tuesday I made a return to aerobics and thoroughly enjoyed it, especially since I found I could cope with both the routine and the intensity - but only some of the abs work at the end. I think I will keep that session up for a few weeks. Then today included a swim as well as the trail run - my first foray into the pool since Waveney, I think, so just 30 minutes getting reacquainted with the water and seeing how my technique has fared. Not too bad, I think, but a more structured session next time will tell.


Photo: IMG_5802 by timbobee, on Flickr
* no, this is not an actual control point from the UEA course...

Not quite ten thousand men...

...and I'm not quite elevating Nigel to the aristocracy (king of efforts though he may be). But yesterday there was certainly a lot of up and down hills going on, essentially just for the sake of it, but then again we know it's good for us. Over at the playing fields, we did 2 sets of 3 easy-ish hills to warm up, and then the last "set" was a cheeky surprise consisting of three hills per lap. I was in the "two laps" group, needless to say.

I just wish I hadn't decided to add weights to my squats in the gym the day before. Lazily (!) I started with 7kg each side, because that's what I use for the bicep curls in between lunge sets and I didn't want to be swapping (or hogging) 2 sets of dumbbells. I dropped down to 2 sets of 10 static lunges each side, and was certainly feeling it a day later if not at the time. Poor old quads... It was a good progression session (ha) overall, as I did 3 x 40s on planks, 3 x 15 on twists, and 3 x 20kg triceps.

Other than that, my week has involved a round the (Ketteringham) block cycle with Clare, a commuter-bike ride to Wroxham and back (24 miles), Monday night club run, and Friday lunchtime run with Natalia and Alice (actually a good gentle stretch for my tired legs). Not too shabby - plans are now that the weekend will see another bike ride and maybe a swim.

Photo: Oh, The Grand Old Duke Of York.. by zawtowers, on Flickr

Shady ladies

Bloody hot again for a lunchtime run - mad dogs, Englishmen, yada yada. Natalia and I stayed in the trees as far as possible. A surprisingly comfortable run given it's #3 in a row for me, but probably because it was slow, only about 3 miles (although it's hard to map the twists and turns in the trees so maybe it was further) at 11 min miles.

Photo: Through trees by Autumnsonata, on Flickr

Back to efforts

Thursday night efforts, in Eaton Park with Nigel at the helm. Two 1-2-3-2-1 pyramids, a minute in between each effort and 3 minutes between the two sets. It was my first club effort session for, oh, a million years or so. But... I wasn't at the back. I was kind of at the front of the back if that makes sense. I don't have any handle on pace, really, but I tried to imagine what I'd like to be able to run a 5k at (looking at it in terms of realistic aspiration rather than pipe dreams).

It was a hot day and it was hard, sweaty work turning myself into a human beetroot - but that's the point of efforts. I'd describe it as tough but do-able, so I reckon I pitched it right... calf cramp was threatening on the way back to base but it didn't appear during the session so that's good. I did wish I'd taken a drink - I was probably dehydrated by the end, which can't have helped.

I haven't done anything other than running since the lake swim at the weekend - the next day my nose/head was totally stuffed (allergic reaction?) and so I gave it a rest. Now I hear there's suspected blue-green algae at the lake, so I wonder if that's what it was?

Photo: sweaty. by dearsomeone, on Flickr