Health and Fitness Routine Update

[Rascal]

Met up with The Salmon and Pete Plant and we did the shuffle.  Got to The Legends and Robbie was there too.  A steady five miles.    Did the strap on.

[Mab y Mynydd]

Met up with The Salmon and Pete Plant and we did the shuffle.  Got to The Legends and Robbie was there too.  A steady five miles.    Did the strap on.

Does Pete Plant still sing with Cuckoo Oak?

[Rascal]

I don't know what Cuckoo Oak is.  I doubt that Pete sings anything, he can run fast though.

At circut training I felt much better than I have done since, well, all year.  I think that I will give it my all next week as I am feeling a lot better today and I have had proper meals at proper times, although they were not full portions.  Strap-on-tastic.

[Mab y Mynydd]

I don't know what Cuckoo Oak is.  I doubt that Pete sings anything, he can run fast though.

I thought he was part of a folk band named Cuckoo Oak (or it may have been Cuckoo Ale).  He once was deputy head at Ercall Junior School.  He may be a completely different Peter Plant of course!

[Rascal]

No, deffo not the same Pete Plant.  Pete works in the hotel by the town centre and I obviously know him through the running community.

Today was a rest day.  As I was feeling good yesterday after training and I ate well, I decided to eat bigger meals today even though I didn't feel like it.  This was to build up my strength and have a rest ready for the swim tomorrow and then the race on Sunday.  I still did the belt thing though.  Before Christmas I was really fit and strong and looking to knock out a personal best on the 10K race but at this point I think that I will do well to run under 45 min.  We shall see.

[nanon]

Good luck in your swim and the race on Sunday, Rascs. Take it easy, don't over do it.

[Rascal]

Cheers Nanon, much appreciated.

On Saturday the swim went well and I only stopped for about 100m out of the whole session which went a bit like this.

300m warm up
8 x 50m
200m pull buoy

600m swim (although the person leading couldn't count and did an extra 150m)
400m pull buoy
4 x 100m

8 x 25m sprints

swim down

This session was not as many meters as previous weeks but it was a different type of programme.  I did mention to the coach that it didn't seem any easier though.  A good thing was that it didn't feel like swimming through treacle this week.



On Sunday I took Rascal Bach swimming in the morning 9-10, got her home and darted off for the race.  I must mention at this point that as we were in the changing room, and luckily we were right next to the bogs, I got caught short and had to leg it in the cubicle just before diarrhea belted out of my behind and spray painted the poor toilet.  This happened again at home but not anywhere near the same velocity as the previous.  I though that I would still go to the race as there couldn't be anything left in there after them two episodes.

How wrong!  I got to the start of the race and was warming up as a cramp hit my tummy with a pain that made me wince and buckle my knees.  I trotted behind a bush, even though there were a couple of hundred people there either waiting to run or there supporting friends and families.  Dropped my keks and laid a massive cow pat of a turd, to the tune of the compare announcing 'Two and a half minutes to the start of the race'.  Grabbing a couple of handfulls of dirty wet black brown leaves, wiped the rear end and got to the start.  I considered the options, pull out now and be racked off for ever about it or run the race, get the medal and a cr@p time and be racked off with that.  This, plus the fact that I had paid money to enter and it was only six miles, I obviously decided to go ahead like a flippin idiot and run the race.  It's just the sort of stupid thing that I would have done when I was younger so why stop now.

The race got under way and I felt ok considering.  It was good to see the two lads from DK there and we exchanged pleasantries as I passed them at about mile two.  Then at mile three to four, I had a really bad time of it.   I felt really weak and thought that I had little strength in me, just as the two DK lads passed me.  I tried pumping my arms in order to get the legs moving, but it just wasn't going to work.  So, rather than blow up completely, I decided to let them go and settle back into a comfortable pace.  I kept on thinking about positive thoughts and to keep on going, to keep focused and to run the best race that I could.  Looking at the people coming the other way, I thought that even though I wasn't feeling so good, there were still loads and loads of people behind me.  

By mile four, things had picked up again and I seemed to have strength back in my legs.  I decided not to kick at this point but to keep a steady pace and get round the course.  This was a great decision because even though about five people passed me in the last couple of miles but I also passed quite a few too.  There was one girl there that is a very good runner and she had passed me at about mile two and she was holding her side then.  I later found out that she didn't complete, that is a massive shame because she does suffer from pain in her side.  At 200m to go I listened out and couldn't hear anyone coming up behind for a sneaky place in front of me so I just kept to the same pace, I mean, what would a few seconds extra off the time on this race count for?  Nothing really, especially as I was not going to beat my personal best.

The finishing time was 43:30 but I will have to look at the web site for the official time.  That is a full 90 seconds off my PB.  Never mind, I was happy with a sub 45 and I knew that I was never going to get an excellent time after being ill for the month previous and having diarrhea at the start of the race isn't really the best preparation for a 10K race.

After, I saw the lads from DK and they were happy with their time and one of the Harriers that keeps an eye on my time because we are about the same level and we pace ourselves with each other at races, told me that he had run a PB, BRILLIANT!

When I got home I ran a bath and nearly fell asleep in it.  I felt rough as anything so decided to go for a lie down and slept for the next four hours.  The rest of the day was a wash out and was spent on the sofa.  So, rather than continuing to carry on training at a reduced level I have actually decided to take a few days off from training.  That's right, you read it, a few days off from training.  No running, no cross trainer, no swimming, no walking at a pace up the Wrekin, no bike, no gym, no circuits, no nothing (well except for the strap on, I am going to carry on with that.  Well you couldn't expect me to stop completely.  Even junkies get methadone).

So that has been it since Sunday, it is now Tuesday and I have told The Salmon that I will not be going on the Shuffle tomorrow or again to circuits on Thursday.  Friday will also be a day off and then it will be back to swimming on Saturday and an eight mile run on Sunday depending on how I feel.

[Llaingoch]

Many thanks for that thoroughly entertaining post Rascal. I hope your bottom adventures have firmed up.

[Mab y Mynydd]

Aye and the strap on.

[Rascal]

Lets just hope you two are taking this thread seriously and not just making quips about my upset tummy and the ab trainer.

Official time was recorded as 43:45.  Not brilliant but again not bad considering.

[Mab y Mynydd]

Very good.

[emmerson]

Lets just hope you two are taking this thread seriously and not just making quips about my upset tummy and the ab trainer.

Official time was recorded as 43:45.  Not brilliant but again not bad considering.

6 miles in 43 minutes? that's really good isn't it? And you not being full of sh*t for once.

[Carnedyr]

That's right, you read it, a few days off from training.  No running, no cross trainer, no swimming, no walking at a pace up the Wrekin, no bike, no gym, no circuits, no nothing (well except for the strap on, I am going to carry on with that.  Well you couldn't expect me to stop completely.  Even junkies get methadone).

Its a long way to the weekend, can you make it?

I find it amazing how you guys can stay focused running for such long times.

[Rascal]

Thanks for your kind comment Emmz.  Git!

Carny, the weekend is now only two more days away but I think I will make it.  If LLainy can stay off the fags, I can resist the temptation to exercise for a few days in order to get well.  The reasoning behind it is that I will be much fitter and stronger, quicker, if I rest rather than keep on pushing it.  I did dream of getting up and going for a bike ride today though and even in my sleep I though 'blydi hell, I can't go I'm resting'.  Flippin stupid illness.

Staying focused through a race is easy because you concentrate on the person in front of you and you either make a bid to pass them or run with them, which may mean running just behind them so you can kick at the end to get past them.  In training there are different methods to keep focused such as fartlek training where you run slowly for a period of time then run fast for the same amount and carry on alternating for the time or distance you want.  Other methods are to choose a distance that you can run in five and a half minutes, then on the eighth minute go again.  Repeat this five times.

[emmerson]

Thanks for your kind comment Emmz.  Git!

sure thang Rascal buddy

[Rascal]

After five days off training and still not feeling much better, it was back to training today.  I went swimming as planned and it went a bit like this

Warm up 300m
During the warm up I started to lag behind and thought that this was going to be a bad session.  After 250m I decided to have a break and let the others do the last 50m without me.  When they finished, one of the women said to the bloke leading the swim in a very aggressive manner, 'if you are going to go at that pace, go back up to the next lane!'  I said that I thought it was a bit fast too and that it was going to spoil the rest of the swim if they continued to swim at that pace as I couldn't keep up, but if they slowed it down to the pace that the coach actually set, everyone would have a good swim.  Well it fell on deaf ears, I expect some peoples egos just won't let them see beyond thier own selfish needs.  He should indeed have moved up to the next lane.  I had to take quite a few meters out of the session which annoyed me.

3 x 200m

three sets of 4 x 100m with each 100 getting faster.  Again, going off too fast.  The next lane up were going off at 1:35 and we went off on 1:30  blydi ridiculous.

1 min rest

three sets of 4 x 100m

1 min rest

three sets of 4 x 100m

8 x 25m sprints on 30 seconds (I was making them in under 25)

8 x 50m on 65seconds (I was making them in 55secs)

3 x 200m pull buoy on 4:10

100m time trial, I did 1:46

25m butterfly, 25m backstroke, 25m breast stroke, 25m crawl

[Rascal]

Because of the snow, The Salmon didn't want to drive to his eight mile route so we went from here and did 7 miles at a slowish pace.  Still strapping on!

[Mab y Mynydd]

Why is he called The Salmon?

[Anchee]

Glad you asked, Mab. I've been wondering too.

[TreFFS]

Why is he called The Salmon?

Because with all that excercise he is always in the pink?

[emmerson]

perhaps he really good at swimming upstream?

[Rascal]

We were at a Steeplechase race and I beat The Legend for the first time.  When we finished, The Legend said that he had gone past one of his rivals whom was 'wallowing around in the mud like a farmyard animal, whilst I soared past like an eagle!'  We had a right good laugh at this because The Legend was doing actions to go with it.  It may have been at a different race but close to the steeplechase and I think The Salmon had a poor race.  This led to him being called The Salmon because he had finished the race but was then left flapping about on the shore like a dieing salmon.

The Legend gets the name from when I went to Aldi one morning to buy some sports kit.  It was a day after one of the races and I was still sore and stiff.  In the queue waiting for the shop to open were two blokes talking about triathlon.  I joined their conversation and we had a laugh and I asked them if they knew my friend (yet to be named The Legend).  He is well known in the running community around here and they did indeed know him and whats more, they also go out training with him.  So the next time they went out for a run the left him behind saying that The Legend should keep up and they ribbed him the entire run. 


Today I went to circuit training and worked my socks off.  I felt really good for the first time this year.  I felt like I could do more on some of the exercises but on others I actually counted and did more that usual!  Bring it on!  I was next to a bloke and pushed it to do more exercises per set than him, just for the challenge, and I managed it.  Also, today was the first day since Christmas day that I have actually felt hungry.  So when I did, I just ate whatever I wanted.  After a month of being off food, it is good to get some hunger back and hopefully this is the start of the recovery period and will set more PBs on the running and triathlon this year.

I have decided as the marathon is close now and I should be well into training by now, I am going to knock it on the head this time and probably go in for the Anglsey Marathon later in the year, and I will pop in to see Mam and Dad after.

[Tecsyn]

Why is he called The Salmon?

Is he a poacher..?

[Rascal]

no