Since the last entry I have continued and recently finished
the insanity course. I didn't quite get to follow it rigidly as I wanted as the
odd day was missed and on one occasion I went two weeks without a workout.
Because of this I continued my next workout in a day or two normally after the
last one. I started on 4th October and finished on 27th December 2013, so I don't
think that's too bad going especially when I had no big interest in interval
training beforehand. As for whether I will do more of it I doubt I will do as
much as I did before. Time wise they are pretty consuming ranging from roughly
35 mins to just over one hour. Trying to fit these in when you have a busy
family life is very difficult. Although at times my little daughter got plenty
of smiles out of watching her daddy either in the back yard or living room
doing funny jumps and stretches (she even tried to copy me with the stretches)
I would much rather prefer to spend this time playing and helping my wife with house
duties.
I would love to say also that I got ripped and have a six
pack and lost a stone doing these exercises, but I didn’t lose any weight and
didn’t get any six pack neither. Poor me. On the upshot I felt that the
exercises were good for my core and more and more I hear these days that
triathletes should spend some time doing core exercises in addition to the
three disciplines to help them in all three sports. I also liked the incorporated
stretches which have a bit of yoga and balance thrown in for good measure.
Weather and lack of daylight
The weather has taken a downturn. Both morning and afternoon
on are basically dark and dreary. I've been using my trusty headlamp which
works a treat and is so handy on the country roads.
Also we have had some severe wind conditions.
Our fence panels in the garden came down and even running
was pretty tough for a half hour slot in Newcastle
Afterward though I thought to myself that I got
a real sense of mental toughness training instead of just going out for 'just
another 4 mile run' or what some would call 'junk miles' - a run in which you
don't really push yourself or benefit and become better.
Plans for 2014
As for what I will do in 2014 I still haven't fully
finalised any major event. I am still keen on doing a self supported iron
distance triathlon. I would love to try the double but I would prefer it if it
was an organised event which I could go to instead of doing my own one. In the
meantime I have signed up for a couple of running events and started the year
with a typical running plan for me to stick to.
Going green / detox
Watched a film recently about a guy called Joe Cross
We already have a juice and smoothie maker so I might try
doing one or the other.
Find out more about the film / documentary (Fat Sick and Nearly Dead) -
Trailer -
Full film -
Lack cycling, increase in frequency short runs
I haven't been out on the bike for a long time. Both the
darkness and the lack of any upcoming event makes feel less enthusiastic about
going out for a long ride session, much nicer in the better weather. Hats off
to the guys who in the heavy rain or odd black ice spots will still get out on
their bikes. This time of year there are very few of them. I'd much rather go
running or if I'm strapped for time just a quick swim.
I have however started to go a bit more regurally out for a run. I might not be doing long runs, but even if I am going a couple of times a week for 4 mile runs, that's better than nothing at all.
Swimming
With regards to the swimming, nothing much has changed. I
finally have got my mojo back with regard to enjoying swimming again. I used to
only enjoy swimming if I clocked up a lengthy session - nothing major - for me
a long session would be 1 mile or 64 lengths, but I haven't been doing long
sessions now for years.
Thankfully now I don’t even count laps anymore. I just enjoy
the session and especially the 5 minutes of drills at the end which are tough
for me.
Exercise - how it effects our mood
In this post I thought I'd say about how important exercise
is for me. I find that doing exercise, any exercise makes me always feel better
afterwards. I rarely feel stronger, fitter or better at one or other of the
sports, I just do them primarily for the 'feel good' factor that I get. I do
find however that if get into a rut and
don’t do exercise I very quickly start to feel low and miss the buzz I used to
get.
I think its important nowadays with a better awareness on
how we can help ourselves mood wise on making sure that we look after ourselves
and maintain a good state of wellbeing.
Each of us have our own way of making ourselves feel better
about ourselves eg shopping, beauty treatments, going for walks, meeting up
with friends, going for a drink with the mates, cinema or whatever.
My way of feeling good about myself is by getting out in the
fresh air for a while - seeing the sights, the sounds, the smells, the oddities
that you pass and later recall with your loved ones the strange going on when
you where out and about. It really really is a total sensory overload and on top of this you get the endorphin release - free drugs; yepee :-)
I love getting out and about and I cant wait until in years
to come hopefully will be able to do the same thing with my daughter and have
further fond memories to share. I cant wait!
Other Stuff
I notice that since the ironman last year and the lack of
training over the last number of months, my weight has increased a fair bit. I'm
hoping in the new year that I can focus on my new training plan and with a
closer eye on my diet I will get a handle on it before it gets out of hand.
Even if I could get back to where I was I think it would make my running a lot
easier and reduce the strain on my knee joints and reduce the likelihood of
foot injuries which I tend to get - the extra weight definitely doesn't help.
Also hopefully 2014 will be the year that I finally close the lid on the
smoking. Unfortunately at Christmas on two
nights out I had ciggies again - I didn’t even feel really pressurised
to have them. Also I notice more and more that many folks are turning to the
electronic cigarettes instead - even some long term smokers and some young
teenage groups in town can be seen with the odd member only smoking a normal
cigarette - its like they are finally being seen for what they are - a waste of
time, money and poison on a stick. Hopefully I will stop having the odd blip
every so often only to feel awful afterwards.
On a happier note, this year for a laugh I got up pretty
early on Christmas morn and went for my first Santa run. Absolutely loved it. I
was nervous at the start but after a few beeps of the car horns and people out
walking bringing big smiles to their faces I was ho ho ho all the way. I
purposely ran only in the local neighbourhood streets all over. Hopefully a few
kids whilst opening their Christmas pressies saw Santa running past their house
and I brought a smile to their face too. A bit weird though on my playlist I
was listing to Frank
Sinatra
Love the Santa run pics :-)
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