Thursday 28 April 2011

La Jillian's 6 Week 6 Pack tonight. I can't help thinking it's a very ambitious claim. 

The hardest thing was that I let Buzz use my yoga mat so I was trying to get grip on a beach towel on a rug on a wooden floor. Slipipippery. I didn't feel my abs at all - but I hope I will tomorrow because I caught sight of my gut in the mirror a few times and it needs some suction (or 'incineration' as Jillian lovingly described it). But it was only Level 1 so there must be some burn to come.

Pecs and hammies are v sore after yesterday's Shred. Good.

Wednesday 27 April 2011

I thought a short, sharp run might be in order this morning. Instead I got a short, sharp pain the back of my calf. Relax, relax, it’s not career-threatening.

 

Having been focussing heavily on time on my feet and endurance lately, I think that I’ve extended my distance and time significantly more than my speed. By way of comparison, whereas last time I was running 40/45 minutes was an outside time, it’s now the norm. Also, I now think 5km is a short-ish run instead the pinnacle of my achievements. However, whereas I used to run at a base pace of 7.5km/hr, moving up to 8km/hr, I now consider 8.5km/hr my base speed. Not such an improvement.

 

So I trotted off at 9km/hr for five minutes, and then increased to 9.5km/hr, intending to just do a 20 minute speed run. I felt great! Flying, pounding it out, and tiring in a positive, of-course-I-can-make-it way. At about 17.5 minutes I felt a weird feeling in my upper left calf, which I tried to run through but couldn’t. I paused, stretched, and continued, only to grimace in a very unattractive way and have to stop. It felt like a twist or a wrench rather than a tear, perhaps like some tendon wriggling into the wrong position. I felt good in the leg otherwise and did about 22ish minutes on the cross-trainer and then elliptical (15 plus 6ish) without any problems. It feels pretty good now (3:30pm) so I’ll give it a rest tomorrow, get stuck into weights tonight and tomorrow, and assume that all will be dandy on Friday.

Later
30 Day Shred. Level 1, Day 1. Use 3kg weights. So hardcore (me I mean). 
It was tough-ish but I could def do it more full throttle. I was just holding back my biceps and shouldery muscles of steel.  

Shiny shiny

Now don't laugh, but as I ran 7.6km outside today (o'er hill, o'er dale), I am proud enough to return to this blog to let my many legions of adoring fans know about it. 

What has driven the return to running? A hint, dear readers-plural ... it's shiny and sparkly and it lives on the fourth finger of my left hand. And the end result will be me walking down the aisle in front of 150 people in less than four months. 

We got engaged in September last year but serious fitness efforts didn't ensue until January (except for an abortive late-night walk disgustedly inspired by a picture from our engagement party in which I quite genuinely looked like I had shoved a beach ball up my dress). Since then the running has taken off - my regular tready run is 6km at 8.5km/hr, three times a week. My indoor record for 6km is 41:54, and my best over 45 minutes is 6.4km. I have done 3.03km in 20 minutes; 4.14kmin 30 minutes (I reckon I could beat that now); 5km in 35:16; and 8km in 56:29. Outside, I am even speedier. I knooooow!!! I have done our outside run of 5km in 32:30; 3.2km in 22:10 (could easily smash that now); 3.5km in 24:20; 5.6km in 39:40; 6km in 41:14; and today 7.6km in 52:09. I am so awesome I can't believe the Olympic selectors haven't rung yet. 

So the upshot is that I can now run faster, stronger, harder, ooh, ahh, than I ever have before. I've signed up for the 8km Mother's Day Classic on 8 May (Mothers' Day!) to run with Buzz's cousin.  

And it's time for some weights. I have got Jillian Michaels' DVDs 30 Day Shred (which is a cult classic even though it's from 1997 when The Rachel was hot) and 6 Week 6 Pack which is particularly pointed given the beachball incident. I also ... dah dah dah daaah ... semi-signed up for a 12 week weights challenge in which I publicly (through anonymously) committed to doing 5-6 weights sessions a week, sticking to 1300 cals net per day, upping myprotein from 60g to 100g per day, and maintaining 5-6 runs a day. Haven't quite worked out how to do this yet. Details, details. It will be done. 

Efforts so far have been good. One dress size, 9 cms off my waist in 11 weeks and around 9 off my hips, and a whole lotta clothes reinvigorated after banishment for shrinking (hah!). I have some goals for the next 16 weeks and goddammit, is it too much to ask to be the hottest woman in the room on my wedding day? Even if I have to hack off my guests' hair? No, I don't think so. 

12 weeks. Suck it up.