Too busy training to write

                 Swim        Bike         Run        Other

TOTALS	00:04:50	00:09:05	01:18:36	01:10

       Weight    Body Fat   Muscle

63.7

30.9

42.2

Bit of a lazy report today. I've been running a lot of km over the past few weeks with long runs getting up to 28km last Saturday. This week is my first week of feeling sore. I have one toenail that feels like it might fall off, sore hips and when I jumped on my bike to come home from work today I appear to have developed a strained muscle in my thigh. I felt something in my thigh go last Sunday on a run but it seemed to disappear after the first few minutes. I pulled out of my spin class tonight as a result - I need to rest, I have the Bath Half Marathon on Sunday, not to mention avoiding proper injury. Urgh.

Highlights of the last few weeks then.. My first big big run last week (26km) took in the wonderful sights of Hyde Park:

Hyde Park: The Serpentine

While on my second big big run (28km) I ran along the Thames, making it down past Hammersmith bridge where the path becomes surprisingly rural:

Hammersmith Bridge

But most excitingly of all, on my run I passed this man:

Michele Roux Jr

He was also running and I overtook him. Possibly the highlight of my running career to date. 

I'm looking forward to the Bath Half next week as a kind of break from long distance running, I think my body needs it. 

A feel a little dizzy actually.

Weight: 62.7kg
Body Fat: 29.6%
Muscle: 41.9kg

Running: 1 day, 8 hours, 52 minutes
Cycling: 2 hours 50mins
Swimming: 2 hours 50 mins
Other: 1 hour 10 mins

I've been on a few runs lately where I have just felt plain dizzy. I'm wondering if this is just because I have been tired, and before this training schedule I just wouldn't have gone out so not had this before or if it is because of a lack of proper nutrition.. I'm leaning towards the latter. I've felt a bit out of sorts since my last big run (24km last Sunday). I was an epic run, further than I have ever run before. I think it has thrown my metabolism out somehow, because I haven't felt much like eating since and am almost forcing down food but not ever feeling like I've had enough. I'll keep an eye on it. Today I had two breakfasts, that may have helped a little - I just cycled 30 mins to the pool then did an hour session there. I did also eat a Clif energy bar before setting off and an omelette on arrival home. I should be alright.

I have been stressed lately, long hours of fieldwork and then I had a PhD interview to prepare for and attend (I've been recommended for it btw, just waiting on confirmation) so that may be linked to the dizzy and general out of sorts feeling as well.

As for training highlight and lowlights.. I think my 5km feeling completely dizzy was pretty poor, but today I did have pool rage. It is annoying when someone does breaststroke in the fast lane, to do backstroke with butterfly arms is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE. I lost count of the times I had to swim around this muppet.

Highlights.. I did a nice run around London:

Houses of Parliament

London Eye

St Paul's Cathedral

The Shard

Not bad for 10k. 

Thank goodness that's over.

Swimming:  01:50
Cycling:  02:20
Running: 1 day, 4 hours and 36 minutes.
Other: 01:10

Weight: 63.8 

Body Fat: 30.5

Muscle: 42.1

My running total is a little scary now.. and in comparison everything else is a little scary for other reasons. I really need to get out there on the bike.. it just hasn't been happening. But, my research fieldwork is now over so I can start cycling in to the office again and get in to a proper routine. I have enjoyed the variety of runs though.. This weeks highlight was a run around Newcastle of about 12.5km. On the way I took this lovely picture of the Millennium bridge: 

Millennium Bridge, Newcastle.

The run around Newcastle was a lot of fun as I had a friend with me and also very scenic as we ran along the waterfront and then around some of the big monuements and other sites of the place. We also scouted out a good bar to go to later on that night..

I think the lowest point of training this week was a horrible hotel gym up North. There was 1 treadmill, 1 bike, 1 cross-trainer. The bike refused to let you enter a programme longer than 20 minutes and the treadmill shuts down after 25 minutes..  leaving me to run laps around the hotel car park (in minus temperatures and a hint of snow) to make up the extra km. The hotel was in the middle of nowhere and it was dark so there was no other option.

I need to start looking at my diet properly now. I have had far too many steaks with chips over the last month or so. I'll make a trip today to the health food supermarket.. watch this space.

It's getting a bit hard now.

I'm changing tact when it comes to reporting my stats. I'm going to just add/remove from the original baseline stats, mainly because I have a spreadsheet that kindly does this for me and removes the need for me to do math.

So, totals since starting training:

Swimming:  01:50
Cycling:  01:45
Running: 22:34
Other: 01:00

And the health stats:

Weight: 63kg, ( - 700g since the beginning)  

Body Fat: 30.9 ( - pretty much nothing since beginning)
Muscle: 41.3Kg ( - 400g since beginning, you get the idea) 

Health wise I'm feeling pretty good this week. I have been away for work again and decided there would be no snacking on biscuits or the like, only fruit and other healthy things. Save for the one 'bubble' chocolate bar yesterday I've succeeded in this and it is probably what accounts for a slight reduction in weight. Hoorah. My life saver was a bag of (organic) sultanas. I did eat the whole bag over 5 days.. but that's ok. I say they are organic because I can't eat non organic dried fruit because it is slathered in sulphites. I didn't know this as a small child and ate little else but sultanas, needless to say I spent a fair chunk of my childhood ill and spent far too much time in hospital.  

Fitness wise I have had a hard couple of weeks. I have been conducting the fieldwork for a research project I'm running. It means long days in quite difficult environments and leaves very little time or energy for fitness. I ran a particularly slow 7 km yesterday on a treadmill (I couldn't face the wind and rain in the tired state I was in) and hated every moment of it. But, making up for that somewhat were runs earlier in the week, including a respectable 17.5 km around lovely Bath. I'm running the Bath half marathon in a few weeks so I tested out the route, seems nice and flat - bring on the PB! 

Bath City from the air, very pretty.

I'm away for work again next week, this time up north. It will involve three hotels over 5 nights, most of them in the middle of nowhere.. wish me luck..

Snow excuse.

Since last post: 48km run, 10 miles cycled, 1 hour swim training. 

Weight: 63.5kg (-600g)

Body Fat: 31.1%  (+0.5)
Muscle: 41.6 Kg (-600g)

I've had bit of a rest week this week and haven't quite managed to complete all the activities in my training schedule. Largely beyond my control - a few long work days, a PhD research proposal to write and snow. I'm ok with my efforts generally.

Today I ran a new 10km PB of 52:21. Not so bad, especially considering it snowed the entire time. The race was in Stubbington (Hampshire) and is the highlight of the week. I spotted the horses below (and more) running through the snowy field alongside runners during the race. Lovely.

Other things of note this week.. I ran 2.5km carrying a big bag of old clothes for charity on Wednesday. I thought there was a collection bin around the corner from my place. I was wrong. I thought there was another one another km or so up the road. Wrong again. I had to run down in to the peak hour high street and find an open charity store. Don't say I don't do anything for charity.

I'm away for work again next week and I'm already dreading the treadmill. Ugh. 

Death by treadmill

A massive 61km since last post. 

Weight: 64.1 Kg (-100g) 

Body Fat: 30.6% (-0.3%)
Muscle: 42.2 Kg (+100g) 

This week was the hardest of weeks so far, it marked a pretty big rise in expected km and I was away from work so four of my six runs this week had to be done on a treadmill in a tiny tiny hotel gym. I was staying on the outskirts of Coventry in a retail park. There was a big a-road I could have run down.. but it was dark and looked to be the local trucker hangout. No thanks. I also had a fun 10 hours of fieldwork  for a research project to be done each day. Such fun. 

I don't like treadmills, I have always found them mentally and physically difficult. I don't know if my short legs have anything to do with it but I just can't seem run as fast - then there is the tedious number watching as each km stretches out in to eternity. I'm pretty proud of myself this week - I managed a total of 34km on the things. 8km is my limit though, and as I had two 8km plus runs I did have to cheat a little and split my runs in two (8km in the morn + 3km at night for my 11k and 8km in the morn and 2km at night for the 10km) still counts. I also need to entertain myself so all treadmill runs are interval runs, they hurt but are somehow more tolerable than straight forward running. Plus they make my run graph look pretty: 

So there were no scenic highlights this week, unless you count BBC breakfast on the treadmill tv. This only worked for 8km of the total 34 though. The remaining km were either a blue 'no signal' screen or a muted breakfast show from ITV - no text, just people on a couch and me left guessing what they were talking about.

Smug on a Thursday

22.5 Km since last run.

I managed to shake off the sulphite wheeze last Sunday and ran my fastest pace since training began: 6.5 km at 5'42. Makes no sense really.

I'm starting to feel the extra miles, my little legs are a bit tender and I was tired beyond words last night. My own fault though, after a 10 km hill run I suggested walking from Hamstead Heath through Camden and down the canal to Little Venice: 10 km of walking. Made me think I need a whole load more training before I'll be able to tackle the marathon/half iron man. Getting there though. Today marked a small mental victory; I was tired from yesterday and really didn't want to go for a run, but I did and now I'm feeling all nice and smug.

The highlight of this weeks running so far was probably the view from Brockwell Park yesterday, pretty city: