Judith's Marathon Journey

Monday was a rest day – happy to enjoy it!

On Tuesday I had the usual double-dip!  Express Fit in the morning was the most challenging session yet – we worked really hard – as much a cardio session as anything.  The 5k race in the evening was held in very windy conditions again, so I was stoked to take another 11 seconds off this season’s best – 28:36.  Almost threw up afterwards, and felt pretty shattered for an hour or so. My fastest time since turning 60 was 27:43, so I have a way to go to reach that!  But a calm evening?  Anything’s possible!

Today, Wednesday, I had an even-paced 5k on the treadmill – about 33 minutes.

Enjoying my ‘easy’ week so far!

Yesterday, a slowish 4k on the treadmill – felt stiff and sluggish, but managed to finish with 5x100m strides. Then weights session.

Today – felt like a real runner!  Out there in the wind and rain! I ran 11k, and the second half with the wind behind me was way faster than the first half – even so, I felt really strong, and thoroughly enjoyed the run.

So that’s six weeks down – a good base for what comes next!  I’ll have a (relatively) easy week next week, and then start training for the February Round the Bays half marathon,

Good stuff!

Very tough day 39, yesterday….

ExpressFit in the morning – an extra special burpee exercise!!! So hard!  But I know I need to master these, for power and strength. The remainder of the session was a real workout, as we all pushed ourselves.

Then after work I ran home, 7k via Newtown – quite a good pace, with the help of the wind (for a change!). And then I did the supermarket shopping!!!

Very tired and sore last night (even took a painkiller), but woke up in good shape this morning.

Pilates today was cancelled, so I concentrated on a good stretch session. Yes, a rest day!

A bit slack – and not just with the blog!

OK, have to admit to not running on Sunday – no excuses… I kept waiting for the wind to drop, and then just decided I was more comfortable watching cricket on TV!  Not good…

Back to normal on Monday, with a weights session after cricket practice. I’m now doing 3 sets of 8 reps of weights which are outside my comfort zone, with 60 seconds break between sets.

Tuesday included the usual Express Fit class – hate the step-ups on to a bench! Managed burpees slightly better than usual – doesn’t mean I like them any better! I didn’t race Tuesday night, but went out for a 5k run.  The first half wasn’t much fun – I felt tight and had sore shins; at the turn around point I stretched briefly, and the return went well – came home at about 6 min/km – good effort.

And today – more wind!  I decided to make up for Sunday’s miss with a 12km run – my route had four decent hills, and the last 5k or so was a huge effort into the wind. It was so strong that in parts I was down to 8 min/km! So glad to finish – and on to the protein shake!

4k on the treadmill, finishing with 5 x 100m sprints…. in spite of not much sleep last night, and 2 hours umpiring junior cricket, I felt pretty good.

Then a weights session – I probably need to extend next week to an extra set – not sure if I’m challenging myself enough in these sessions. It’s hard to get this right – I want to build strength, but I don’t want to bulk up and lose flexibility. Hopefully, the next stage of my Fitness Instructor course will help me get it right.

Slack yesterday – but only as regards writing this blog!

Had a warm-up while battling to get the washing on the line in the wind! This made me late for the gym so only had time for about 3km on the treadmill prior to the ExpressFit class. As luck would have it, the focus at yesterday’s was cardio – so a tough workout. I then completed another 2km on the treadmill!  Very stiff and sore for the rest of the day!

Today – oh bliss – a rest day!  Just the Pilates class…. not exactly a rest, but not too strenuous either.  And now it’s done for the day… Rest….

Today I payed for such an excellent day of hard work yesterday!!!  I was starving all day – and bad-tempered with it!  It felt like I just couldn’t get enough to eat…

And my run home tonight was such hard work!  Carrying a backpack is never easy, and even though the wind was behind me for all but 1 of the 9km I ran, it was all so, so hard!  But I got there in the end, and that’s job done…

ExpressFit this morning – good workout…. then the 5k series tonight – so happy, with a season’s best time of 28:47! That’s also my best time since August 2013, so I’m rapt!

A welcome rest day – just 10 minutes on the bike at the gym, and then some weights.

I’m seeing progress at the gym – I feel like my overall strength is increasing – I even managed 10 press-ups tonight!  (OK, from the knees, but miracles take time!)

The fourth week completed…

Today was a lovely day for a run – a slight southerly (by the Capital’s standards!) keeping me cool towards the end. I ran 10.5km, in about 68 minutes, and this is quite a bit quicker than I was doing ‘long’ runs a couple of months ago.  I think I slowed over the last 10 minutes or so, as I started to get a bit weary!

Next week I’ll try to up the mileage again. I’ll need to eat well all week to make sure I’m re-fuelling properly.  I’ve started taking a protein supplement shake – it’s very passable with trim milk, yoghurt and frozen berries!