2014 Goals and progress

So I was thinking about whether or not to keep this blog going, post Celtman 2013 partial success (glass half-full)…I never quite got round to a full rundown of the event itself, that might still come. Sufficed to say I decided that this year I need to concentrate on business, so I’m not going to be doing anywhere near the same amount of training. However, I do fancy focusing in on technique, speed, strength and skill stuff, so that when I come back next year (2015) to attempt Celtman again I’ll be a better athlete to start with. Well that’s the plan and as a result I decided to keep the blog going.

I’m going to use it slightly differently this time (less pictures). Each Sunday I’m going to plan out what I’m doing swim, bike, run wise so that it’s down in black and white and I’m committed to it. The second reason for doing this is it means I don’t have to think about it again. Efficiency is very important this year as I’m setting up a new portraiture studio and I don’t want to spend time humming and ha-ing over training, so it’s all going to be sorted out on Sunday and then just go on with…again that’s the plan.

I’m going to keep track of all my progress on a spreadsheet on Google Drive. If you want to join me follow the link and I’ll add a page for you and we can all do it together.

This week’s training plan is pretty simples…swim session on Monday morning is going to be all about setting times, 25m, 100m, 1000m, and Wednesday will be lots of drills with 10x100m thrown in for fun. Bike is going to be an hour on the rollers (first time for 9 months so wish me luck) and then out and back to Abington (I’ve forgot how far it is) on Saturday. Run is going to be similar to swim. Tuesday is going to be setting 1km and 5km times in the meadows in Edinburgh and then finding a 10km loop for Sunday and putting down times. If anyone wants to join me just send me a message on FB. I’ll add the link to the bottom of the page.

The final thing I’m going to add to the blog is food! Last year I totally came off the rails, diet wise, and now I have to sort my shit out…for lack of a better expression. My lovely sister sent me ‘The Feed Zone Cookbook‘ for Christmas so each week I’m going to experiment with two recipes, one breakfast, one dinner. This week it’s going to be Quinoa and Berries for breakfast. Quinoa is my nemesis…I never get it right, it always ends up like soup (I also have a slight issue with quinoa looking like giant sperm. Weird? I know!). However, I love the idea of it, so I am going to persevere! The second recipe is going to be Pork Green Chilli, for purely practical reasons. My father raised three pigs over the summer and as a result we currently have over 150kg of pork in our freezer, might as well use it 😉

I’ll let you know how it goes. If anyone has any great programmes/blogs/people they are following (in a non stalker-y way) let me know on the FB. I’d also love to hear any tips on training and cooking that you have, so give me shout!

Useful links:

The Greater the Obstacle Facebook page.

The Feed Zone Cookbook

On the road again!

Yipeee! No snow and sunshine! Finally out on the bike today…no more rollers! I was like a kid in a candy store and got very over excited and did 121km on the bike. The most I’ve ever done on a bike ever. Still got another 80km to find in the next 3 months, and I should probably go out with more than one bottle of water and one of diluting juice. Nutrition fail! Thought my porridge in the morning did me well. 4517kCal burned OMG! No bonking just a really sore back which was leftover from Thursday’s gym session.

Map

A wee hill on the way back from Moffat. The Beeftub is such fun!

I sometimes wonder what it would be like to train without hills, but then I think I would get bored. Fabulous day. Here’s hoping I can walk/run tomorrow!

Landscape

The view from the top of the hill at the Beeftub outside Moffat on the way home.

Girl on left looking down the valley.

Happy Girl at the top of the hill…mostly downhill from here on.

Have you eaten?

This was meant to be a post reflecting how week -2 went, but it has turned in to something else. Thanks to my idiocy.

So long story short I leaned lots last night, some of it I already knew, but some of it is new.

First thing I learned was: If you have been wearing heels all day, and you’re out of practice, your lower back might be very tired, so when it comes to doing things like swinging kettle bells, it may feel like your top and bottom halves are held together by old string (and I mean the frayed, brittle stuff). FAIL

Solution: Flat shoes tomorrow and see if it makes a difference.

Second lesson (I knew this one already, but it never seems to stop me repeating it): 2 pieces of toast for breakfast and a sachet of instant porridge for lunch will not sustain you for a whole day on your feet followed by a training session. Result blood sugar dropping through the floor resulting in; stupidity (left phone at work), followed by lack of coordination (couldn’t manage to swing the kettle bells), followed by depression (I wanted to sit down on the mats in the gym and cry by 5.30pm), finished by more stupidity (I only worked out the reason when I was driving home).

Solution: EAT more you muppet!

Third lesson (I’m also aware of this): I get far to easily aggravated when I can’t do something I know I should be able to do (see kettle bell reference).

Solution: Learn previous 2 lessons and chill out…like that’s going to happen.

So yesterday’s lessons are wear flat shoes and eat more…let see if I manage it today.