Final January Update (still man-flu ridden but double chest/abs session)

I'm still man flu ridden.  I cant breathe, I cant walk very far and I'm sounding like an old man with COPD.  However, because I'm so bloody bored sitting at home doing nothing, I've forced myself to do two of my chest/abs routines today to at least burn some calories.  A litle burnt off is better than none at all in my eyes.

So, at the January, the stats for the month look like this...

...pretty impressive when you think back that I lost the first week of January to man flu and I've lost most of this week to it too.

Now, I've done 22 sessions of either Gym or my home routine, with a minimum 400 sits up session.  So a quick calculation, 22 x 400 = 8,800 sit ups.  What with my efforts to eliminate as much saturated fat out of my diet as possible, this is what I'm looking like now...

 

Apologies for becoming one of them tossers who takes photographs of themselves semi-starkers but if you look closely, some abs are forming.  Obviously I cant pull my shorts down any further otherwise I'd be in danger of making the lady readers blush but there's the hard evidence that my body is beginning to look like it should now.

From 18st and not being able to run more than 100 yards without stopping for a break, to attempting to run a marathon and having these things called abs.  Who would have bloody thought it, eh?  So bloody proud :) 

Tuesday - Thursday Update (Chest infection...again!!!)

I have not run since Monday evening.  I feel destroyed again.

I cant stop coughing and I'm wheezing like nobodies business.  I went back to the GP yesterday and he diagnosed a reoccurence of a chest infection, although he said I wasnt wheezing and I knew I was (grrr!), so he's prescribed another 7 day dose of antibiotics.

I dont feel totally drained of energy but my lungs feel sore from the coughing, so have been in no fit state to go to work, let alone go running.

I have forced myself through the pain barrier to do my home chest/abs routine for the last three days despite feeling like sh*t as I really want to see some further progress this year and as most of you lot out there have realised by now, I'm not a good patient and I dont do rest!

By looking back at the calendar, I've now done 20 sessions involving my abs with a minimum 400 sits ups a session.  So by my reckoning, I've done 8,000 sit ups now this month alone!

Monday Training (Recovery 10k and Chest/Abs)

Sunday was most definitely a rest day.  The legs felt reasonably ok though it has to be said.  I made the most of the day, having Izzy and we popped into Darenth Valley hospital at Dartford to see my Dad after his knee replacement operation.  Apparently all went well so all good, fingers crossed.

Back to work on Monday.  Home and out for a slow recovery 10k to get the legs moving again.

I took it super slow for the first 5 miles but then I wound up the pace significantly for the last 1.2 miles and I felt pretty damn good.

I had a good 10-15 minute stretch afterwards and then I went through my regular chest/abs routine.

• 10 x 20 SB ball sit ups + 20 SB sit twists.
• 10 x 10 chest press with 9kg dumbbells + 10 chest fly.

Saturday Training (17.2 mile road run)

Today was a big day for me.  Today was the day that I was going to run past half-marathon distance for the first time.

I found myself in difficulty running 13.1 miles last Sunday so today was test.  More a mental thing than a physical thing but a test that I had to come through.

I had yesterday off so I had plenty of time to prepare properly.  As you can see from the previous post, I'd done a Gym session yesterday but I made sure to minimise the amount of cardio to a basic 1km warm up and a gentle 2,000m row.

I also made sure not to run a calorie deficit yesterday.  With thanks to the calorie tracking on My Fitness Pal, I think I was a little under 400 calories for the day, even after 2 big servings of my home made pasta bolognese.  So I was all prepped.

Woke up this morning when the alarm went off at 6:45, do you think I could get out of bed?  Ha, no chance.  Didnt get out of bed til gone 7:15.  Quick bowl of porridge, half a serving of High 5 4:1, half a glass of water and I was ready.  One minor thing to add to the pre-run list.  An Imodium tab.  Under no circumstances did I want any tummy rumblings.  I felt a bit dodgy so thought to be on the safe side.

Target Pace was 9:30 min/mile. Average Pace was 9:28 min/mile. Got to be bloody happy with that.

The original route I'd planned along the Thames to my parents was 16 miles but I made a few little alterations as I went and ended up stopping on 17.2 miles.  I originally thought 16.2 would bring me to within 10 miles of completing marathon distance but as I was feeling good, I squeezed another mile out to get me within 9 miles.  Perfect.

After a good chat with Paul at Plumstead Runners on Wednesday, we agreed that somewhere around 9:30 pace should be the quickest I should be looking at.  He said I might find it a bit slow at first as all my distance running so far has been nearer 9 min/mile pace but it would see me fare much better for the longer distances.  At the end of the day, its about setting realistic targets.  A sub 4hr marathon was a dream.  Anything around 4:30 or quicker is going to be good for me, especially first time over marathon distance.

The last couple of longer runs I've been on, my thighs have been so sore.  Today they werent too bad.  I wondered what it was but today I realised.  Running with a higher HR than normal over recent weeks would have brought on the lactic acid in the legs.  Running slower today ensured that never happened so by the end of the 17.2 miles, I was still able to walk in a great deal of comfort compared to last weeks effort over 13.1.

A couple of things to bear in mind.  A 130g bag of Bassetts Jelly Babies is not going to last me a marathon.  They'd gone by 13.5 miles.  I ended up taking a gel around mile 15 just to be on the safe side as didnt want to end up bonking at any point.  Also I need to get the hydration sorted.  I usually run with a bottle belt which holds one of my 650ml cycling bottles.  That filled with 4:1 is just about enough for 17 miles but I'd need more for longer distances.  Today I was extra careful by taking half a serving in an empty coke bottle and I drank this over the first 3 miles and then took a swig there on in at every mile bleeped on the Garmin with a Jelly Baby.

Anyway, very pleasing effort and as at nearly 4pm this afternoon, 4 hours later, I'm feeling pretty good still.

I've finally resigned up to Strava Premium for some extra stats:

Pace Analysis > here

(interesting to see that my quickest mile was mile 16!!!)

Pace Distribution > here

HR Zones > here

So overall, I'm dead chuffed.  26.2 miles seems a long way but not that long now.  To get within 9 miles is a massive mental boost.

Friday Training (Muscle Build - Session 30)

Warm Up

1km treadmill > here
 
TRX

Crucifix (3sets x 10reps)
Shoulder Press (3sets x 10reps)
One Armed Press Ups (5sets x 10reps)
Bicep Curl (3sets x 10reps)
Tricep Curl (3sets x 10reps)

Abs

10 sets (20 SB sit ups + 20 SB sit twists)

No leg weights

Cool Down

2,000m row - 9:23

Thursday Training (Muscle Build - Session 29)

Warm Up

2 mile home - Gym road run > here
 

TRX

Crucifix (3sets x 10reps)
Shoulder Press (3sets x 10reps)
One Armed Press Ups (5sets x 10reps)
Bicep Curl (3sets x 10reps)
Tricep Curl (3sets x 10reps)

Abs

10 sets (20 SB sit ups + 20 SB sit twists)

No leg weights

Cool Down

2 mile Gym - home road run > here

Another good, enjoyable session tonight.  It was bloody cold out there though, mind you.  I felt strong on the TRX and the abs felt fully engaged through the Swiss Ball workout so all good.

Nothing more to add than that.

I'm off work tomorrow, first flexi day of the year so not sure what I'm doing tomorrow.  I may take it easy, I may hit the Gym again.  I wont be running again until Saturday morning as I'd like to give the legs a rest tomorrow.

Wednesday Training (Plumstead Runners session)

Tonight was my second successive night of leading the Plums on the Wednesday night run. A little bit of a more testing route this time around but everyone coped ok.

However, I was in pieces before the end.  My quads just feel destroyed at the moment.  I really need to get back to doing comfortable running again.  Concentrating on stretching both before and after runs because my quads should not be feeling like this.

Nonetheless, it was a good run.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it.  Although the legs were feeling fried, the energy levels were feeling ok.

Tuesday Training (Muscle Build - Session 28)

Warm Up
 
2 mile home - Gym road run > here
 
TRX

Crucifix (3sets x 10reps)
Shoulder Press (3sets x 10reps)
One Armed Press Ups (5sets x 10reps)
Bicep Curl (3sets x 10reps)
Tricep Curl (3sets x 10reps)

Abs

10 sets (20 SB sit ups + 20 SB sit twists)

No leg weights

Cool Down

2 mile Gym - home road run > here

It was a decent session tonight.  Full work out and got the legs stretched.  The legs still felt really heavy from Sunday's long run.  I spent a good 10 minutes stretching out the legs once I'd got home tonight, much to the entertainment of those cars queuing on Bellegrove Road.

Another 400 sit ups in the session to take me to 6,000 for the year.

Monday Rest Day (Chest/Abs)

Definitely needed a rest day today.  Sunday's HM took it out of me more than you can imagine.  My legs were still throbbing when I woke up Monday morning.  As I type this at 10:30pm, they've finally come back to life but I'll be aiming for a Gym session with gentle cardio on the legs tomorrow evening.

However, all was not lost.  I got another regular chest/abs routine done tonight.

• 10 x 20 SB ball sit ups + 20 SB sit twists.
• 10 x 10 chest press with 9kg dumbbells + 10 chest fly.

By my reckoning thats now 14 workouts, a quick calculation of 14 x 400 sit ups, I make that 5,600 by 20th January.  No wonder I'm beginning to see my abs at long last.

Sunday Race Day (Dartford 10...ok, lets run a HM instead!)

Sunday was planned like a military operation.

Alarm set for 6:30, Nanny child-sitting booked for 8:00, estimated time of arrival at Dartford for the 10 mile race approx 8:10...it was literally planned to within 5 minutes.

Alarm went off on time.  Jumped out of bed.  Unfortunately Izzy heard the alarm too and woke up just as quickly.  I shoved her iPad in her hand and told her to watch some Cartoons on CartoonHD, possibly the greatest kids app in history which seems to have almost every single Disney Film and Cartoon on it ever made.  She was occupied, I went to have my bowl of porridge for pre-race fueling.

Then my phone bleeped...email from the race director...

Update Sunday 19th January 0630 hrs

Runners we are very sorry, but due to us being unable to guarantee a safe route to the new start and flooding along the latter part of the route we have had to cancel the race today. Please accept our sincere apologies we have done everything we possibly can to get this race on, and have been on the course all day yesterday and since 5.00am this morning but again been beaten by the weather. 

It has just not been possible to organise a race to the standard we want to offer you and we are prepared to put anyones safety at risk.

We will contact you individually later. Please pass this message on to anyone else that you know has entered or was intending to do so.

Thank you for your understanding.

Bugger.  Race cancelled.  Really could have done with the extra time in bed.  So Izzy and I went back to bed, a quick text to Nanny to tell her child-sitting was no longer required and that was that.

A nice lazy morning, eventually got to my parents and spent some time with them.  Headed up to Bexleyheath to pick a few odds and ends up, a quick light lunch and then I took Izzy home at 1:30am as she had a birthday party to get to.

So I had the afternoon free.  I'd made the decision early on that I was going to run but having seen some of the Plums had headed off for a 13 mile run that morning, I felt obliged to follow suit and it would be good training...

First half of 2014 complete. I felt destroyed. Probably should have stuck to the planned 10 and certainly not run it at close to PB pace (only 2 mins off). I need to learn to run the longer runs slowly. The average HR is a dead giveaway how much effort that went into this run. Almost 2hrs averaging 160bpm. Ouch.

My legs felt ok through to 10k but the soreness kicked in shortly afterwards.  It was the first time I'd used energy gels on any kind of run too.  I had two with me.  I took one at 6 miles and the other at 10.5 miles.  I was literally running on empty for the last 1.5 miles so god knows how bad I would have felt had I not used the gels.

Generally though, it was a good run.

I know I cant keep that pace up for full marathon distance so any dreams of running a sub 4hr marathon are way out of the window now.  Maybe 4:20-4:30 is more achievable and more realistic.  Got some well deserved stick from some of my Plums on Facebook when I posted up the Garmin data and rightly so.  Paul said he'd have a chat to me on Wednesday about working out a realistic time for the Marathon and then can work backwards to schedule the training from that, something I've yet to do!

Saturday Rest Day (Chest/Abs)

Just the now regular chest/as routine today...

• 10 x 20 SB ball sit ups + 20 SB sit twists.
• 10 x 10 chest press with 9kg dumbbells + 10 chest fly.

As is currently stands, tomorrow's Dartford 10 is still on, although the race has now been reduced to just less than 9 miles because part of the course is flooded as the River Darenth has broken its banks so we'll have to see what the morning brings...

Friday Rest Day (Chest/Abs)

Izzy is here tonight, so its rest night apart from the now regular chest/abs routine...

• 10 x 20 SB ball sit ups + 20 SB sit twists.
• 10 x 10 chest press with 9kg dumbbells + 10 chest fly.

Legs are beginning to feel much more alive again, so am now looking forward to Sunday's Dartford 10 with some positivity.

One thing is noticable though.  More than ever.  My abs.  They actually exist.  Just got out the shower tonight and I've been admiring myself in the mirror for about 15 mins.  This is unusual behaviour for me.

Thursday Rest Night (Chest/Abs but mainly sitting on my backside!)

1st rest day of 3 consecutive rest days in an attempt to revive the legs ahead of the Dartford 10.  My usual plan of action now is to just run through my home chest/abs routine on my rest days, just so as to keep everything ticking over...

• 10 x 20 SB ball sit ups + 20 SB sit twists.
• 10 x 10 chest press with 9kg dumbbells plus 10 chest fly.

After a lovely soak in the bath, it was a case of plonking myself on the sofa to watch CBB and The Undateables.

I'm not normally a watcher of CBB but have found this series really addictive after accidentally watching the second episode a week or so back whenever it all started.

Conclusions:

• Lee is a mug for playing Casey.
• Casey is bloody gorgeous but comes across as desperate.
• Jim Davidson is brilliant, as is Lionel Blair.
• Linda Nolan is a bully and comes across as such a "victim".
• Louise is the most annoying housemate in the history of CBB.

The Undateables was quality this week.  John, the lad with aspergers, that so could be me with his track record of saying the wrong thing to the ladies lol.

RIP Trigger (Roger Lloyd-Pack)

Desperately sad news today that dear old Trigger, one of the best comedy characters of all time passed away on Wednesday evening.

Only Fools & Horses is the best sit-com ever to grace this earth and will never be bettered.  Trigger was an integral part and was such an amazing character with dead-pan delivery.

Roger was also an ardent Tottenham Hotspur supporter so its always doubly sad when we lose one of our own.  I presume the club will pay their respects with a minutes applause at the next home game. 

In memory of Trigger, I thought it would be poignant to remember him by this too...

Wednesday Training (Plumstead Runners session - led by me! eeek!)

Wednesday Night training was interesting.

First Plumstead Runners session of the year for me as I'd missed last week's as I was still getting over the horrid man flu.

As it turns out, a Wedneday afternoon comment on the Plums Facebook page turned into me plotting out a 8.5 mile route and I ended up leading everyone around it.  Got some pretty good feedback afterwards and everyone seemed to enjoy the route.  Shame my legs didnt...

God, what on earth is going on with my legs? 

Ok, they felt heavy after the double 10k this week but usually a days rest is more than sufficient to kick some life back into them but not this time. The man flu seems to have sucked every last bit out of my legs. The energy levels felt reasonably good to be honest, mainly down to the two pots of porridge at 3pm but the legs felt awful. Awful just like the time I ran the East London Half Marathon last year when I felt them cramp up even before I'd completed the first two miles. 

So much for looping around and picking up the runner at the back. I left that to those that did have the legs. I kept stopping and stretching my quads out at every opportunity.

As a result, no more running for me now until the Dartford 10 on Sunday morning in a hope to get the legs back to normal.

New fueling tactic :)

First club run of the year for me tonight, having missed last week's due to man flu.

New tactic for me this week.  Now I've been tracking my calories again, I know I need to keep the calories boosted for nights I go running, so for the first time ever, I've had two "Oats So Simple" porridge pots this afternoon at 3pm in a bid to ensure I'm fueled properly for the Wednesday night run.

Will report back later how it went.  Before I start, I can still feel the legs after Monday's run so not 100% would be an accurate description

Tuesday Rest Night (Chest/Abs but mainly housework!)

Rest Day.  Well earned too.  The legs felt a little sore after the back-to-back 10k's on Sunday and Monday so Tuesday was a chance to recover before the club run on Wednesday night.

My decorator had finished the majority of the decorating in the hall, stairs and landing so I spent the majority of Tuesday night hoovering up all the dust and generally tidying up in advance, knowing Izzy is staying over this weekend.

Once I'd done my housework, I done the usual home chest/abs routine...

• 10 x 20 SB ball sit ups + 20 SB sit twists.
• 10 x 10 chest press with 9kg dumbbells plus 10 chest fly.

Anyway, I did say the decorating was finished.  Like it??? :)

 

Monday Training (Chest/Abs & 10k run)

Monday was a half-day in the office for me.  Vic my decorator was beginning to finish my hallway, stairs and landing today, so I wanted to be there to check a few things with him.  As it goes, the work was a little bit more involved than we realised, so he's finishing up tomorrow now.  Not a disaster but it'll look fabulous once its finished.

What with being in at home, I made the most of it.

I spent 30 mins piling up the rubbish outside and in the garden into the garage, ready for a skip to be filled in the next few weeks.  Hopefully my brother will be able to give me a hand in due course.

While I was waiting for Vic to finish up, I got the chest/abs routine out of the way...

• 10 x 20 SB ball sit ups + 20 SB sit twists.
• 10 x 10 chest press with 9kg dumbbells plus 10 chest fly.

Once Vic had disappeared, I got my next run in the bag, another 10k, first back-to-back 10k's I'd done this year...

A good run but fairly slow by my usual standards. Average HR was a little higher than usual probably because I'd eaten only an hour beforehand. I did make a conscious effort not to go out with my ear buds in tonight so I could listen to my breathing and concentrate on keeping a steady rhythmn and I think I done that for the most part but my mind was wandering here, there and everywhere tonight so probably could have gone quicker although the legs were telling me otherwise.

I met Rich in the pub at 9pm tonight for a catch up.  We were discussing the benefits of keeping the food diary but he made me very aware I need to keep my calories up otherwise I'm going to start bonking.  Its good to be trying to lose the body fat but I need to eat, plain and simple.

When I say that, check out my food diary for today...

 

Calories consumed 1,834.  Calories burned 1,245.  So net calories = 589.  When you consider my target net is calculated at 1,760 to lose 1 lb per week for a month to get me to 12st 12lb again, I will be losing weight more quickly than I really wanted to, not that its a bad thing but I'll be risking my health and possible injury if I eat like that when training for Paris over the next 3 months.

So when I got home, I treated myself to 2 scrambled egg on toast.  I'm going to try and eat again after every training session now just to keep the calories up.

Changes to the blog...

As most of my readers would have assumed by now, I'm one for the small details.

In my last post, I said that I'm trying to reduce my percentage body fat totals so I'm recording a food diary and looking closely at the nutritional content of what I'm putting into my body.

I thought it would be a good idea to publicise three key indicators on here:

• Calories consumed
• Net calories consumed
• Fat consumed

Check out the new Diet and Nutrition tab.  I'm now going to post the reports from My Fitness Pal in here as a record.

Chewing the fat...

One of my main targets this year is to try and reduce my overall body fat percentage.

What with the man flu over the last 10 days, its been virtually impossible to do any sort of cardio exercise to burn any fat so I've taken a look at my diet and I'm making a conscious effort to cut out the crap.

I may have lost 5st over the last 3 years but when I'm at work, I think nothing of a quick 1 min walk around the corner from the office and come back with a packet of Real McCoys Chilli flavoured crisps AND a Twix bar.  Thats 600 calories right there and god knows what the fat/saturated fat content is in them.  Well technically I know but lets not go into that detail right now.  As I train so hard, the effect of them treats isnt that bad on the body in terms of putting on pounds but the fat content will ensure I'll never properly see my abs and the other muscles.  So, its about time I get that part of the training regime correct as well.

Most of you will know that I used the My Plate function of Livestrong.com to log my calories when I first lost weight.  Although I havent done that for the last 12 months or so, I thought it would be a good idea to do it again, just to track the nutritional values of the food rather than the calories as I tend to eat sensbibly these days.

However, I've just discovered My Fitness Pal.  Essentially, it works in exactly the same way as My Plate but the main difference is the majority of the food database is based on English food companies rather than American, thus making it so much easier to track the food.  The iOS app is bloody brilliant and makes it a dream to work with.  The reporting function is awesome.

As you can see, I've done pretty well this week.  Way under my net calorie allowance and I've got the carbs/protein/fat ratios pretty much where I want them to be, although they will need to be tinkered with a little when the full marathon training programme kicks in...

As you will know from my blog posts, the only proper training sessions I've done this week were Saturday and Sunday and this shows in the net calories consumed.

Sunday Training (early 10k run and Chest/Abs)

The plan was to hit the road again today, after the 5k on the treadmill yesterday.

My legs still felt rather heavy this morning, making me realise that the virus I had probably took a lot more out of me than I initially realised.  However, I still forced myself out.  I stretched well beforehand and felt confident but the first two or so miles, I was having a running battle in my head about whether I was fit or enough to run or not.

Fairly slow by my recent standards but not overly bothered. It was all about getting out there and just getting some miles in the legs after a 10 day break from road running. If I'm totally honest, I dont think I have much left to go quicker anyway. I was just delighted to be out again. 

Legs felt heavy throughout and very heavy in the last couple of miles coming up from Danson Park through Welling High St/Bellegrove Rd. As I type at 7.30pm tonight, my legs still feel heavy, not something I can usually say after a 10k. Definite after effects of the virus. Here's hoping they feel a little better tomorrow morning.

Saturday Training (Muscle Build - Session 27)

Warm Up 
 

1km treadmill > here

TRX

Crucifix (3sets x 10reps)
Shoulder Press (3sets x 10reps)
One Armed Press Ups (5sets x 10reps)
Bicep Curl (3sets x 10reps)
Tricep Curl (3sets x 10reps)

Abs

10 sets (20 SB sit ups + 20 SB sit twists)
  
No leg weights  
 
Cool Down

4km treadmill > here

Good session.  First run in anger since getting over the majority of the man flu.  First 1km on the treadmill was fine, second session was draining.  Didnt have an awful lot left tbh.  Just glad to come off the treadmill with a clear chest.

Although the legs will be buzzing tomorrow after a 10 day break, I will be running outside tomorrow.

Thursday & Friday update (Still fluey and Chest/Abs x 2 and Defoe!)

Still nowhere near 100%.

Still a little snotty and still wheezing, meaning I still daren't run outside.  One ventolin pump caned in the space of a week, 5 days into 7 days worth on antibiotics.  Not good.

Work has been rubbish.  Getting home late and dealing with my decorator hasnt been good for any kind of early eating and subsequent hitting the Gym thus I've only been able to concentrate on my home chest/abs routine.

So on both Thursday & Friday...

10 sets of 20 swiss ball sit ups plus 20 swiss ball sit twists.

10 sets of 10 chest press with 9kg dumbells plus 10 chest fly.

 

Not much more to add than that.

 

Had a lovely chat with Izzy on Facetime tonight.  She hates the beard.  Its coming off shortly as its beginning to annoy me.

It was confirmed today that Jermaine Defoe has agreed to join Toronto in the MLS.  Good luck JD and thanks for the memories.  No doubt we'll see you back at WHL as a fan in the years to come.

Monday - Wednesday Update (Chest & Abs / Muscle Build Session 26 / Plumstead Runners AGM)

I really am getting frustrated now.

How long have I had this cold/man flu for now?  It just doesnt seem to be getting better.  One step forward then two steps back.

As for Wednesday night, I've still not run outside since NYE, which makes it exactly 1 week, the longest break I've had since I first started having knee trouble back in the summer.  To say I'm p*ssed off doesnt even cover it right now.

However, all is not lost.

Limited by the chest infection I seem to have now (treated by antibiotics), I know I cant do any significant cardio otherwise I'd put myself in trouble, so I've been concentrating on strength training.

Monday, I done my chest & abs routine to keep things ticking over...

10 sets of 20 swiss ball sit ups plus 20 swiss ball sit twists.  400 done in no time.  

10 sets of 10 chest press with 9kg dumbells plus 10 chest fly.

Totally shattered afterwards but feeling good.

Tuesday, I braved the Gym for Muscle Build session 26...

Warm Up 
 

1km gentle treadmill 

  

TRX

Crucifix (3sets x 10reps)
Shoulder Press (3sets x 10reps)
One Armed Press Ups (5sets x 10reps)
Bicep Curl (3sets x 10reps)
Tricep Curl (3sets x 10reps)

Abs

10 sets (20 SB sit ups + 20 SB sit twists)
 

No leg weights
 

Cool Down

1km gentle treadmill.

I know it sounds a lot for a man suffering but hey, I felt reasonably ok, before and after.  Probably a little bit more tired than usual though.

Then Wednesday evening I went along to the Plumstead Runners AGM straight from work.  I have to say, health-wise, Wednesday was the worst I'd sounded all week.  Chest was crackly, throat was hoarse, I was sounding awful.  My voice was on the verge of going.

The AGM dragged on and on and we didnt get out until gone 9:30 but all is now sorted.  I have to say I was losing the will to live by the end but all done for another year.

Sunday Training (Muscle Build - Session 25)

Warm Up 
 

1km treadmill > here

 

TRX

Crucifix (3sets x 10reps)
Shoulder Press (3sets x 10reps)
One Armed Press Ups (5sets x 10reps)
Bicep Curl (3sets x 10reps)
Tricep Curl (3sets x 10reps)

Abs

10 sets (20 SB sit ups + 20 SB sit twists)
 
No leg weights
 

Cool Down

2.5km treadmill > here

1st gym session of the year after getting over the worst of the heavy cold/man flu.  I felt reasonably good although the legs felt a little heavy after the final 2.5km run.

One thing I will be trying to work on is doubling up on the abs work, especially with the TRX sessions as otherwise, it feels far too quick.

Wednesday - Saturday Update...

As I told in my previous post, I have been struggling with man flu.

Unfortunately, the symptoms were getting worse.  By Friday afternoon, I'd spent the best part of 24hrs shivering.  The cold/flu moved down from head to chest and within 24hrs had gone back to the head again.  Blocked sinuses, headache, the lot.  Severe lack of energy.  I seemed to have hit rock bottom.

As of Saturday evening, I've recovered a little.  Dont get me wrong, I still feel like shite but I've got some energy back.

From an fitness point of view it hasnt been great but because I havent been able to exercise because of having Izzy, its not been a total disaster.  However, from a parenting point of view, it has been a disaster.  I've been a right grumpy sod the last three days with Izzy and we havent quite been able to do what we were planning to do.

However, I have managed to fit in three sessions as such...

2 chest/abs circuits at home, consisting of:

10 x (20 SB sit ups + 20 SB sit twists + 10 chest press* + 10 chest fly*)  * 2 x 9kg dumbbells.

I also did manage a 1.5 mile walk with Izzy on Friday morning over Oxleas Woods through the mud and puddles.