Week 1 of Janathon Done

Maybe not, but I'm working on it...

Well, that's a week down and I'm knackered - how about you? In the last seven days I've done two runs of 2-3.5km each, swum 2km and 3.5km (and outperformed my last times at those distances significantly), and lifted a whole lot of heavy things, both for the sheer awesomeness of lifting heavy and as a specialist swimmer's routine. I've tracked my food every day even though I HATE doing so, and tried to keep it mostly on target - I've gone well over on two days, but they were my swimming days so there was at least some compensation for snaffling up the Christmas chocolates. I've lost a pound - I guess it would be more if it wasn't for that! I've gone up to Level 29 on Fitocracy, am ahead on both duels (though only just on one and that'll plummet tomorrow because running points are rubbish - it's all dependant on how hard I work at Masters on Sunday!), and ranking reasonably well in all the challenges I joined. Can't say fairer than that, really! So Janathon is doing great things for me. Whether I can stick to it when the duels are over, I don't know - a girl needs a night off! We'll see.

Getting Heavy

Oh noooooes, Fito is down in the middle of logging a fairly epic workout. Damnit. That'll teach me to depend on the internet.

Had a ton of work to do (uuuuuuuuurgh, January and being self-employed sucks), so neatly talked myself out of the run I didn't really want to go on anyway. I got enough drizzle on the school run to put me off, yadda yadda, excuses excuses. I know. I'm not sure of the merits of running three times a week versus twice a week for a swimmer, and my OH only runs twice a week - it was C25K that had the 3x week set-up and I do find that harder to stick to. I'd left myself enough time to lift weights and the Fito points are a heck of a lot better, anyway. So I'm competitive, shoot me. I'm so pleased to see my dumbell bench press back up to 14kg already; last time I was lifting heavy I got as far as 16.5kg. I'd really like to hit 20kg.

Here's hoping for a clear swim tomorrow...numpties stay home, please!

Dry Land

Friday has traditionally been a rest day, which is a nice way of saying "I'm so full of Chinese food I can't move and anyway, don't I get just one night a week to slob out and watch telly?". But, you know, Janathon and duels and all that. I'm pretty stiff from running (can't wait for that to be a thing of the past again) and I try to alternate body parts anyhow, given that I'm supposedly an all-round wannabe athlete.

For Christmas my lovely husband bought me a copy of Swim Smooth: The Complete Coaching System For Swimmers And Triathletes, which is something I've been after for a while. I usually buy everything for my Kindle these days but this is one of those few books you really need the good colour photos for. I can't wait to get stuck into it properly, particularly the open water section; for tonight I just looked up the "dry land training" chapter and did that, saving the routine on Fitocracy (if you are a Hero I think you can take this from my account). It's pretty much stretching, core work and shoulders; and probably light enough to do daily should you feel so inclined. The book doesn't say how often, actually, but I think I'll probably see a fairly rapid core improvement if I keep it up. Doesn't get me a lot of points, though! And neither does running. Pffft. Despite my being pretty competitive, I'm not too worried at the moment - I have some swims planned, which will help. We'll see!

I Got 999 Problems But A Wall Sit Ain't One

 

Yeah, yeah, I'm aware that's a rubbish title. But hurray, I got started! Ok, yes, should have started yesterday but between the hangover and the rotten headcold I've had for a week the drizzle wasn't appealing at all. Wednesday is OH's run night so I lifted a whole bunch of heavy things over my head, did a few planks and a 2.5min wall sit (woo!) and by the time he got back from his six mile run (aaaaargh, I am never going to catch up) I'd scored 999 points for my workout on Fito, which is too funny a number to do any more to.

I'm ahead on the first day of Duel 1 (which sure as hell won't last!) and all geared up to head out for a run tomorrow. Can't decide whether to just restart C25K from week 1 and treat it as HIIT up the hill out onto the daaaaaaaaaaaaark moor road - since I now have the flashy thing for the back of my Ron Hill jacket, thanks mum! or walk the mile up it and then run back home downhill. Might be a bit risky on the knee, that tactic. We'll see!

Vorsprung Durch Technik

Trying out "a week's training per blog post" because I'm guessing people are tired of me cross-posting every entry to Facebook...

"When women first began to work out with weights, it was considered dangerous to have them lift anything heavy and so they were given only two- or four-pound wooden dumbbells. The fact that women lifted much heavier objects in the home seems to have escaped most of the men who designed the exercise. here two cheerful ladies work out in their street clothes in a photograph c. 1910 by Willis T. White." From Venus With Biceps.

I love that picture and quote, it makes me laugh every time - these ladies must have felt like they were lifting feathers after toting babies and coal and doing mangling! It is a good thing to remember that lifting weights which aren't as heavy as your handbag is a touch on the silly side.

So, not a post about gadgets (though I have a lot now, I should review them sometime). But advance through technical workout, rather than technology. Monday I should have been out playing D&D but it didn't go ahead for reasons, so out came the weights. I had a play about with some new lifts and bodyweight exercises, earning me two Fito quests and adding dumbbell flyes and seated dips to my roster of "things that are probably good for me" . A hundred dips hurt quite a lot, by the way.

Swimming on Tuesday was a full technical and speed session, the first I've done like this and oh boy, this had better be good for me because, well, ow. No letting the flow come with this one; it was all about living and dying in the seconds. I'm using the "How to cut 5% off your mile time" training plan from H2Open Magazine, which requires:

• 10 min warm-up
• 10 min drills on any weaknesses (so, everything in my case)
• 20 mins of 100m sets at 80% effort, 1min rests
• 10 mins of 25m sprints at full effort, 1min rests
• 10 mins cool-down (which I abused by attempting to learn bilateral breathing - it's improving)

I'd calculated from my last mile time (about 43min) that I needed to be doing my 100m sets at 2m 35 or less. It turns out I was doing them at around 2m 05, but the chances of me keeping up that pace for a full mile right now is about nil. Still, the fact that I can do it is a good start. Overall I did 1.9km in 50mins but there was a lot of stopping (for slow people at first, and then rest breaks between the sprints).

 Wednesday was a wash. It's usually a rest day but I'm in two duels so I did try some static/bodyweight work. Terrible, shouldn't have bothered. Those dips on Monday were killer.

Thursday is usually a run but waahwaah, horrible rain, so I figured I'd grab another swim, though it would only be an hour. 2.25km (90laps) in 59mins was marginally faster than previous times - factoring in numpty-stops I'd probably have got another 4 laps in before the pool closed. TriCalc rounded it up to 2.3kph, anyway. I'm hoping to get to 2.5kph so I can do the 5km Swimathon in 2hrs (thus being significantly faster than my time when I was 18) and finish a two-miler under 1hr 30 - although I won't know if I can do that til I hit the open water again (yes, still pining). It's probably a couple of minutes faster over the mile time tonight but there's a lot of work to do, and it's impossible to get an accurate read when you're sharing a lane with six other people, five of whom are numpties hogging the ends or so slow you have to stop behind them (seriously, dude, if three or four people are continually swimming into your feet you need to switch to the slower lane) and one who's snapping at your heels. I hate that, it means I can't switch off - I had to give myself a good shake-down at half a mile and refuse to let anyone else set my pace for me. Tuesday nights are so much better for serious distance.

Friday is supposedly the sacrosanct rest day. We'll see. These duels are tough going and there's not much in it.

Oh - I've lost 5lbs over the last month! That's down to nothing but tracking to about 150cal under 2000. Still really having issues over getting enough protein but it's definitely helped me to make better choices. Not that I was terrible in the first place, but it's things like being aware of that second biscuit, and reducing the pasta later if I do have another one.

Do You Even Lift?

Why yes, yes I do, apparently.

I have no idea where that shirt comes from - I love the composition of the picture and the set of his shoulders. He just seems so competant.

So yes, no run tonight as it's cold and drizzly and I don't have anything beyond a t-shirt to go out in right now - having got soaked on the school run multiple times this week we're all off for new wet weather gear at the weekend. It really is time to pick up the weights again since my shoulder seems mostly better, so it was back to basics with dumbbell bench press, deadlift, pullover (I just really like that one), planks and static wall sits (I happen to be fairly good at those). Pleased to see things haven't degenerated too much since mid-June - I just started out at 10kg in each hand and went up to 12.5kg for the bench press, always my most comfortable lift, and my PR at 15kg is not all that far off. A way to go to get back to deadlift and pullover form, though, PRs for those are both 20kg.

Best plank clocked in at about 90s, halfway to PR - I'd really like to get to five minutes on that; just went for a couple of 60s wall sits (PR 240s) so as not to stress that clicky knee out too much (it's still going on after ten days, no idea what's happened). Total fail on push-ups again...annoying because I feel strong enough to do it now but my back keeps collapsing and I'm not sure how to fix it.

It'll do, happy enough with that - I need to do some research over the next week to try and work out the best programme to support endurance sports. Getting stronger made such a difference to my swimming very quickly earlier this year and it's really important to me to do everything I can to support that development. Also I seem to be losing weight slowly but steadily; it makes sense to help that along.


Besides, lifting gets you loads of Fitocracy points and one of the first things I did with my new Hero status was to challenge my OH and a good friend to free-for-all duels. :D