Week 1

03/01/11 - 09/01/11


This week has been exhausting, not only did I start my training regime but I also went back to work after the Christmas holidays.

Monday started with a 30 min run and for this run I was joined by Laura. The run was  a mix of running and walking and although we only did 3.24km it was a nice way to ease into exercising again. I didn't have any pain or any form of struggle with breathing. I finished the run feeling fresh and energised. The evening session was down at the Local Leisure Centre and I completed the 2.5km swimming set in a time of approximately 1:25:00. The session was broken down into lengths at 60%, 70% and 80% effort. I got about halfway through the session when my arms started to burn and I could feel I was getting tired, I wanted to stop and get out, I told myself I would do 1 more length and then after that I did 1 more and so on until I had actually finished all 2.5kms. It was triumph for me, mentally and physically.

Tuesday was a brick session, and for those not in the know, a brick session is when you do one session immediately after another. I spent 30 minutes on my bike mounted on the turbo trainer indoors and then went straight into a 15 minute run. It wasn't particularly stressing but it is a good session for getting used to running straight off the bike. I didn't have any effects from Mondays session yet but I had a feeling that I would feel it on Wednesday.

Wednesday  was a rest day. I was feeling the results of the previous 2 days sessions but nothing unbearable.


Thursday was awful... I had to start work at 7:30 and I needed to fit in a 30 minute run before that and so at 5:30 my alarm went off. I had tried to soak oats in orange juice through the night so that I could have a quick breakfast... Not a Good Plan!! I thn quickly cooked up some oats and had a couple of spoonfuls, pulled on my tights and warm top and headed out into the crisp morning air. It was tough as my legs were hurting from Monday and Tuesdays sessions and not having had enough to drink or eat I found that I ran out of energy very quickly. I managed 27:48:95 and in that time ran 4.81kms. Work dragged on and when I got home the last thing I wanted was to ride for 30 minutes, however once I was on the bike the 30 minutes flew by and I retreated thankfully to the shower. I was not looking forward to Friday as I had another 2.5kms of swimming to do and as I had a birthday dinner to get to it had to be done in the morning. I climbed into bed and decided that I had better listen to my body which was screaming insults at me and chose not to set my alarm and instead try squeeze in a shortened swim session before dinner.

Friday ended up being a rest day, and as disappointed I felt in myself I also felt like I had done the right thing as the last thin I wanted was to burn myself out in my first week. Now some of you may think I did the wrong thing but on Saturday I knew I had done the right thing.

Saturday rolled in and it was the first long run, however I had transferred the information incorrectly to my journal and instead of a 45 minute session I headed out with a hour long run in mind. Unfortunately I took a wrong turn and ended up on a long route. This was really tough as the legs were still very sore and it became a run/walk session that lasted 1:18:50 and in that time clocked up 10.33kms. I was tired at the end and a mid afternoon nap was just the ticket for recovery.

Sunday and I was on the bike. I decided that an easy way to get bike fit better was to head out on a rusty squeaky mountain bike. It was an hour long ride planned yet I ended up riding for 1:16:12 and managed 26.64kms. The ride was easy enough and it helped spin the hurt out of the legs. I am going to carry on training on the mountain bike but I am going to put my clipless pedals on as I don't want to develop any bad pedalling technique.

So week 1 in number
72.52kms covered
6:08:46 time spent exercising
... and I survived, so bring on week 2

W