Summary of Week 52 2010 Training!

Christmas and New Year’s week is always a bleak week for fitness fanatics. So much temptation, family commitments and Gym’s not being open!

I struggled with making a plan this week, with being off I wouldn’t be driving to work, therefore not going to Nuffield Health club in Reading! (I am counting down the days till next Tuesday and going back to training their!)

In the past this week has always been run focused and I’ve always got through this time of the year feeling great about my routines and runs, but this year I don’t have that feeling. But in reality I’m a lot fitter this year and run more weekly than the previous Christmas holidays I am reminiscing.

So how have I spent my last week of the year!

Monday: 10 miles run. The pace of this run was a ten min mile, which I found very comfortable and it has given me confidence for the marathon, as this is the pace I will focus to keep the full 26 miles.

The slow pace was due to a number of reasons, the first being the ice and snow, my running buddy recovering from the cold and also a sore leg.

My Run split

Mile 1: 9:18 min

Mile 2: 9:08 min

Mile 3: 11:08 min (Running on the snow in the Great park)

Mile 4: 11:10 min

Mile 5: 9:50 min

Mile 6: 9:30 min

Mile 7: 9:41 min

Mile 8: 10:10 min

Mile 9: 10:46 min

Mile 10: 9.31 min

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: PT - Interval training

                                This session began with a jog to the gym, followed with interval training. I really struggled with this. I wasn’t feeling 100%, but was confident I would perform better on the weights.

2 Sets x 15 Reps

Single Leg Squat

Lateral Lunges

Dead lift

Single leg Hamstring Curls

Chest Flye

Push Ups

Straight arm pull downs

Wide Grip back ward row

The session was finished with abs session following the Tabatha Protocol

Thursday: 7.5 mile run

I’m not sure what’s going on with my energy levels this week, but I think it’s a drop in iron levels! The run was hard; I felt I had no energy! I hope this soon passes as it’s extremely frustrating and upsetting as I know if can run further and faster.

My Run split

Mile 1: 9:05 min

Mile 2: 9:14 min

Mile 3: 9:47 min

Mile 4: 9:12 min

Mile 5: 8:32 min

Mile 6: 9:02 min

Mile 7: 9:08 min

Mile 7.5: 8:47 min

Friday: PT – Hill focused

The plan for the morning’s session is as per last week’s PT session. The New Year will also bring new PT sessions, still focused on endurance but following the Tabatha protocol to keep them fresh and effective!

2 Sets x 15 Reps

Sumo Squat

Bosu Ball Lunges

Single leg Dead lift

Double leg Hamstring Curls

Bench Press

Tricep Push Ups

Reverse Flye

Narrow grip back ward row

It brings a smile to my face to be writing about my last workout week! It’s been a great year for fitness; watch out for me in the New Year and also my New Year’s Plan, resolutions, 2010 achievement post, all coming soon!

I'm a female and I train arms

I did my first lunch time session in a very long time! And now I remember why I like training at lunch so much, it’s short, intense, focused and refreshing!

It's definitely a keeper for the New Year!

Today I did arms in my lunch time session; I’m a little funny when it comes to arms! I like defined, toned arms and sometimes if not all the time i will miss how beautiful someone on TV is and focus on their arms, recently this has been Angelina Jolie when watching Salt, Kara on Strictly come dancing and Jillian Michaels from Biggest Loser.

How many females do arms on a weekly basis, and have a slot in their weekly plan?
I'm not a body builder, yet i enjoy focusing on doing a good weights session just on my arms!


This is my workout today


Bicep * 3 sets
Bicep Curls - 15kg Barbell
Hammer Curls - 6kg Dumbbells
21s - 10kg Barbell
Bicep Curls - 6kg Dumbbells

Triceps * 3 sets
Overhead Triceps Extension - 3kg Dumbbells
Triceps Pull downs - cable Pulley 7.5kg
Triceps Push ups - 10 reps

It was a painful workout, I haven’t yet recovered from the chest workout yesterday and could feel the strain today while doing biceps and triceps push ups. But i know i have Saturday to rest ! Bring on Christmas!!!!

So much for the plan

I set my Plan last Saturday while being snowed in, and looking back at it, I have to say I haven’t really followed it! Not saying I haven’t worked out this week, that I have, but it’s been short workouts here and there. With the build up to Christmas and Family and friends being at home etc, my priority after work has been to get home and enjoy family time.

We all know come 2011 it’s back to the busy lives we all live, and these cosy evenings and times out and about will be all over!

So this is a summary of what the week’s workout has entailed!

Monday: 10 Mile run inside. After the snowed in Weekend, I had some seriously miles to make up! This run did that exactly, I found it really enjoyable and motivating, once a fat girl now training for her first marathon is how I saw myself while running these 10 Miles.

Tuesday: Rest (Truth being no time to squeeze in any training)

Wednesday: My personal Trainer has finally recovered, and we had a PT session, which my Body is definitely feeling today. After work I went to the gym and did a 5k Interval run and Abs.

Thursday: This morning I got to the gym (late) and ran a short and fast 5k, I plan to go back later and do some weights.

Friday: PT

Saturday: Christmas

Sunday: I would like to go for a run, but we have relatives around and I don’t think I’ll get the time :(

Overall, I’m not feeling my workouts are as intense as they had been last week, but i have these next few days to fix that!

Christmas / New Year break Plan will be interesting, haven’t yet written it yet! But with my new copy of Muscle and Fitness Hers, I’m excited to try out some of the Polymeric leg workouts! Obviously I’m also still training for the London Marathon, so as we come into the New Year, I will start picking increasing my miles and distance and time I run! Running the London marathon, will definitely be a big 2011 highlight! J

Hope you all have a Lovely Christmas!

My Plan for next week

With all this snow there is little I can do, so I thought I’d share my plan with you all for next week.

Monday:  1hr on the Cross Trainer and Abs, Biceps and Triceps

Tuesday: Personal Training (Make up for the one I missed this week)

Wednesday: 10k Run

Thursday: Interval Training mixed with some Ab work

Friday: Personal Training

Saturday: Christmas Day

Sunday: Boxing Day Run! Will be making it a long run!

Thoughts?

Tearful Run

With all this chaos with the snow I am glad I went for my run last night and not skipped it completely. I was fortunate in that the snow had not reached Reading, so I wasn’t risking my safety by running outside!

Today is a completely different story! With 6+ inches of snow outside and no idea where you are placing your foot, a run just isn’t or wasn’t possible.

Yesterday I spent the day wondering if I should or shouldn’t run, no idea if my legs had it in them to do another 6 mile run! (This now being my 3^rd 10k in the last 3 days)

I finished work early and headed over to the gym, thinking maybe I’ll just hit the cross trainer or bike. When I got to the changing room a mother and baby swimming session had just finished and I was surrounded by 3 adorable babies. At that point I actually didn’t have it in me to be in the gym and surrounded by people, I just wanted some space so I get ready put on my Garmin and went for a run around Reading, not having a clue how many miles I’d manage or the pace!

As soon as I stepped foot outside the gym I set off, and felt good but very emotional, seeing the babies got me thinking about my nephew and how much I wish he was still with us. Was I had to really fight back the tears and stop myself from just breaking down mid way down my run, actually it was an option.

I put all my focus into my run and music and aimed to reach my goal of 6 miles that evening! When I got back to the gym, I felt refreshed, focused and strong. Training for this marathon will have many challenges and not all the runs I do in preparation will be as great as the one I did yesterday, but I need to focus on why I’m running and the cause!

As always see below my running split.

Mile 1: 8.48 Minutes

Mile 2: 8.32 Minutes

Mile 3: 8.39 Minutes

Mile 4: 8.31 Minutes

Mile 5: 8.30 Minutes

Mile 6: 8.18 Minutes

It’s not looking hopeful for a run outside this weekend but I will definitely try and get myself to the gym tomorrow and run on the treadmill.

Post Christmas Lunch work out

We had our work Christmas lunch yesterday, Turkey the trimmings and mince pies. After the meal most of the company wondered home, I wondered to the gym! I wasn’t sure about how my workout would go with a full belly.

The plan was to run 10k. As I began my run, I got a stitch within the first ten minutes, I told myself to run through it, but then I accidently hit the emergency stop button ( maybe it was a sign!) and didn’t have the motivation to press start again, so I stopped my run. I was a little disappointed as it meant I was diverting from the plan I set myself!

A little lost now I wondered to the weights area and began an upper body workout, super set with push ups, 4 sets x 15- 20 reps.

Then I jumped back on the treadmill and ran a fast 2km, it felt great!

Back to the weights and I did, straight arm pull downs and bent over backward row this too was 4 sets x 15-20 reps. What followed next? The 2km run, slightly faster than the first 2km.

Triceps Pull downs super set with Oblique twists and then Triceps extensions, I stuck to 4 sets x 15 reps. The 2km run followed again faster than the previous one, this one hurt a lot. I could feel the legs tiring and my upper body hurt!

The last exercise was bicep, bicep curls and hammer curls 4 x 15 reps.  The last run was a cool down. In all I managed to run the 10k planned. It felt good to change things up a bit and keep my heart rate up in between weights. The interval training will surely help me for the big run next Year April 17^th (London Marathon for those of you don’t yet know I’m running it!)

Why not give the workout a go and let me know your thoughts or tips on how I can improve it!

My Long run.

Yesterday I had a little reality wake up call around how hard this running a marathon will be! I did 12 miles although if I had planned my route a little better it could have been stretched out to the 13 miles I had planned.

I'm thinking for next week I will run a half marathon at a half marathon goal pace! As I was a little disappointed at my pace yesterday and I know I've ran faster

I've got in a lot of running this week, I just hope I'm doing my training right! But its a good to know that I'm capable of running this distance now with 4 months to go. My aim would be by beginning of March to run 4 hours non stop!

I've decided to take it easy today and rest!

Going back to my run yesterday, I've realised I need to take a drink out with me. By mile 11 I was extremely thirsty and could of killed for a drink! And I guess if your running over 10 miles its important to drink water or a sports drink? Does anyone have any thoughts on this!

When I came home I drank a couple of pints of squash and my body just wanted more fluids! Is this normal!?

These thoughts aren't new thoughts but the reason for raising them now is due to the fact training for a marathon is in a different class to training for a half marathon and I do want to protect my self to insure I get to the Marathon and run it the best I can!

So here's my split from my run yesterday.

Mile 1: 9.06
Mile 2: 9.11
Mile 3: 10.18 ( I had a little stop!)
Mile 4: 8.55
Mile 5: 9.14
Mile 6: 9.27
Mile 7: 9.11
Mile 8: 8.35
Mile 9: 9.02
Mile 10: 9.11
Mile 11: 9.05
Mile 12: 9.04

I'm fairly happy with the times! Next week I'll be faster! :)

The Plan!

The week just won't be the same if I don't plan my weekly workout!

Here's the plan let me know your thoughts!

Monday : Interval training and Weights
Tuesday : 10k on the treadmill
Wednesday : Rest
Thursday : 10K Run
Friday : PT
Saturday : 13 miles run
Sunday : Rest

13 miles will be at half marathon goal pace! I am aiming a sub 2 hours! :)

Happy training peops!!!!

My PT session today!

Morning blog readers, fellow Marathon team members, and fitness freaks like I!

Hope your all having a great week and looking forward to the weekend, because I am! I’m extremely excited about my run tomorrow, it been a while since I’ve covered the half marathon distance and I want to see how my body copes! And then I have my Sunday workout! Will be pushing it on the weights!

I’m honestly bouncing around today, is it the coffee or the awesome PT session I had this morning! I’ve now been with my trainer for 3 years and gone are the days where her workouts were impossible to do! 3 years on were forever stepping up our game and when we look back and see where we are now its extremely impressive!

I’d like to just add she is the best trainer! And I know this from all my own achievements and how far I have come! If anyone is looking for a trainer based in Maidenhead then let me know, I’m happy to pass on your details to her!

I’ve never in my blog shared my PT sessions, so here’s a taste of one of my sessions.

6am – 6.35am 4-4.5 mile run around Windsor. It includes a few hills and maybe some fartlek!

6.45 – 7.40am we weight train! Currently we’re doing total body sessions. 3 sets of 15 reps, come the new year I know she’s planned to change this up! Can’t wait!

Lunges on the Bosu – 25kg Barbell

Slow Sumo Squats – 16kg Dumbbell

Single leg dead lifts – 15kg Barbell (These are now the new evil, but I love them!)

Hamstring curls using swiss ball

Bench Press on swiss ball – 12kg Dumbbells

Push ups ( Man push ups as I call them)

Reverse flye – 3kg Dumbbells

Narrow backward row – 20kg Barbell

That’s my work out! Any thoughts?

Happy Friday All x

Training to date!

So I haven't kept completely to my plan, but I will have by Sunday ticked of all the workouts planned!

I've had two rest days this week, neither were planned. This means Sunday will be a workout day and I did a double workout on Tuesday!

But I can't complain because it was amazing! Spinning in the morning and a comfortable and enjoyable 10k after work!

Wednesday was taken off! I was busy with other things, which I hope develop into something great and I can update you all on! But time will tell!

My run this morning was amazing! Where is all this energy coming from!? I think its partly the buzz from getting a place into the London Marathon and the rest down to energy levels being sky high!

I'm worried about when the motivation will be low and the run hard! What then? How will I cope?

I have other worries too! Am I doing the right training, is it enough? Or should I be doing more?

On Monday I ran on the treadmill so no running splits but here's a look at my run today!

6.5miles
Mile 1: 9.02
Mile 2: 8.42
Mile 3: 8.40
Mile 4: 8.33
Mile 5: 9.01
Mile 6: 8.50
.5 mile: 8.57

Good luck to all you marathon trainers! Please support my cause and if you can sponsor me! Thank you!

Grim Challenge Update!

Message from Behalf of the Grim team!

The new date for the postponed Grim event will be January 15th & 16th 2011

They will transfer all entrants of the original Saturday event to January 15th, and all entrants to the original Sunday event to January 16th
...
Please keep your race number and chip safely and wear them on race day.

Thanks for bearing with us and we hope to see you all in January

Kind regards - The Grim team

Week One of London Marathon Training!

So its officially my week 1 of Marathon Training this week, not really to clued up on what I should do on the running side i.e. How many runs a week, distance , speed etc!

So until I've looked into it the below is what I've planned for the week! Let's see how I get on with increasing my running!

 
My training plan
Monday :- 10k easy run
Tuesday :- Spinning, Biceps, Triceps and Abs
Wednesday :- 5k interval run and Whole body weights workout
Thursday:- 10k race pace
Friday :- PT
Saturday :- 14 miles run
Sunday :- Rest

Wish me luck!

The last week its gone well, managed to get in two 10 mile runs, 2 weight sessions and spinning session! A Girl can't complain!

If you remember I did say I was running the Grim Challenge last Saturday, however due to the weather it has been postponed!! I wasn't overly disappointed, with the cold and icy weather and all! However I still ventured out and did my own Grim on the Icy roads and grass.

But now its serious stuff with London Marathon! I have faith that I'll stick to my plans!

Would be great to get your support with the fundraising!

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PavanjeetKhaira

Virgin London Marathon - Miscarriage Association.

I'm really excited and really emotional! Its a strange feeling! Yesterday I got my place for the London Marathon! The ultimate runners dream to Run one of the Worlds greatest Marathons and to uptake the challenge of running 26miles!

However I'm running for a reason! I'm running for the Miscarriage Association! Recently my sister in law who is more of a sister to me than sister in law lost her baby boy 4 months into her pregnancy. It was devastating to say the least, I couldn't see my sister go through this. From the moment she became pregnant I was there, in fact I was one of the first people to know seeing that she told her Husband and me at the same time! We had so many dreams already made up, thoughts about Baby Khaira and his next 20 years etc. And in a moment it was all lost, and nothing could be done, nothing at all. My sister and me have always been there for one another and for me not to do anything for her was painful. To also loose the nephew I couldn't wait for and never give him the love I had planned to broke my heart.

Its a strange thing and maybe people don't understand it because up to now I didn't understand what pain people went through when they miscarried. You loose a being, a part of you a joy you couldn't wait! How is that ever replaced, its not, and it never can be.

This loss is like any loss, and I'm so happy that I've got a place on this charity to run for the Nephew I never got to hold and for my sister. Baby Khaira would have been born on the 12th April so on the day of the marathon my thoughts will be on my nephew and where I am scared of the 26 miles I have faith that I'll remain inspired and determined to get to the finish!

So watch this space for how my training is getting on! Would love for your support!
I will be fundraising come next year so please help me raise as much money as possible! This is something no one should go through so let's help raise awareness and help this cause!

Thoughts go to Jigar Khaira my unborn Baby Nephew.