Tuesday 31 January 2012

Went for a 15km long run today. Initially I was only going to do 10km, but it felt nice and easy, so I kept on it. Managed to keep myself under the 5min/km average pace too, so very pleased.

It's been just under a month since I started tracking my mileage, and I find it's really encouraging to see my progress. I think I'd be tempted to slack off if it wasn't so easy to see the results of my efforts, laid bare on the GPS screen! It also helps to know when training isn't working; seeing my performance drop means I can swap and change around my plans with more confidence. I've found that sometimes when I think I'm moving at my slowest because things seem really hard, I'm actually running faster (which is probably the reason it hurts more!).

I've been worrying that rowing training won't help increase my fitness levels as much as extra running would, but today's run has helped reassure me it's still useful training. In fact, I think it probably helps me do more on the whole, as I don't get bored with doing the same thing all the time.

I'm worried that I'll hit a training wall soon, and that it's going to get harder and harder to keep upping the mileage. I'd like to hit 20km next week for my longer runs. I've got just under three months to go, so I know I need to break that half-marathon boundary and get my body used to running for more than an hour. This Sunday I think I'll try and run for an hour and half, and see where that takes me.

In other news, I had a bit of a rowing epiphany the other day that I forgot to mention. Or maybe I just omitted it because it's pretty embarrassing I didn't realise it about... mmm... SIX YEARS AGO when I first started the sport! It sounds odd, but I've always been thinking about my blade in terms of its lateral movement past the gate, when suddenly, in the middle of yesterday morning's outing, I realised that it was all about the movement of the blade back and forward in the water.

I realise that probably doesn't make sense to a lot of people... Before I was thinking about the blade making a C shape past my rigger, now I realise it should be more of an I. Not sure that makes it any clearer!

Anyway, apparently it noticeably improved my finish when I suddenly switched on to that; at least that was the opinion within the boat. So, I'm looking forward to the next coached outing to see if someone from the bank picks up on the change! It's be awesome if it helps sort out my long standing problem of sustaining power through the stroke. But what an idiot for not realising sooner!! :p

Monday 30 January 2012

Today's training consisted of a 10km mileage outing and then a 2km erg test. 7.39.4; not bad given the lengthy outing this morning I feel, something to work from!

Tomorrow I want to try and put in some running miles; maybe a 10km or possibly push it up to a 15km...

Thursday 26 January 2012

Last night I managed a 10km on the treadmill. It was quite hard going, still working on recovering my fitness lost last week due to flu. But I felt good to get to the end of it.

Today I had a shortish outing in a four. It was very windy, good practice for bumps I'm sure! Working on maintaining a strong position at the catch. I need to reduce my level of body rock to make sure my finish is strong too, and need to stop my blade washing out at the end of my stroke!! This is a perennial problem for me, I'm determined to fix it this term.

Wednesday 25 January 2012

Marathon Training Blog

Hello!

If you're here, it's probably because you clicked a link from my Just Giving webpage; thanks for stopping by!

Here you can read about my training exploits as I build up to April's big race.

Today's training:

A nice morning row in a four with the lovely ladies of JCBC; managed to get some good long pieces in by being a bit sneaky and spinning on the reach to row down to Jesus lock and back. We were working at a low rate, steady state, with a couple of power 10s thrown in for good measure. Also did some front slide builds to help get our strokes in time. Session aim was to decelerate down the slide, and have lots of time at the catch, then an acceleration through the stroke to a strong finish. I need to focus on drawing up and sitting back to a strong position, to help maintain my power at the end of the stroke.

This evening I'll be gyming at Abbey Pools (an excellent local facility I would highly recommend to denizens of Cambridge); looking to put in a bit of distance as I was ill last week and didn't manage a long run. Hopefully get 10k out on the treadmill, though I may have to reassess if the place is super busy!

If you're interested in my mileage, I post after every run to twitter. Why not follow me there?