The Life Of Ryan» all sorts

Marathon Training – Day 70

admin — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:32:16 +0000

Well, I finally spoke with my Doctor this morning, turns out she’s not my doctor, but another doctor….I think. Anyway, basically there was a slight issue with my ECG. It’s nothing major, but it is something so we need to have it looked at to see and make sure there’s nothing suspect. I’ve got to book into a private clinic (Blackrock, Charlemont, Vincent’s Private) and get an Echocardiogram and an ECG Stress test. She’s doing me up a letter to collect tomorrow and then I have to call and organise.

I had a right pain in my hole trying to find out from VHI where I should go and where and what was covered. They were looking for treatment codes and doctor’s names and all sorts of things so eventually I just lost interest in the conversation and nominated Vincent’s private. Hopefully I will be covered.

Anyway, when I spoke to the doctor, she told me that as long as I wasn’t getting chest pains or anything I could keep training as normal, so I finally hit the gym for the first time in over a week. Just eased myself back into it with 25 minutes on the cross trainer and 20 minutes on the threadmill. I’m not supposed to be running on the threadmill, but the guy in Amphibian King told me to try them out in the gym on the threadmill in case they didn’t fit properly or something, in which case I could bring them back because I still hadn’t worn them outside. They are pretty cool, feel much better than the runners I have been running in, but I could still feel my knee getting at me after 20 minutes on the threadmill.

I was running at a really slow pace, because I wasn’t really running but more trying out the runners. Still, I ramped up the pace to the pace you’d need to run at to finish the marathon in 3.5 hours, and it is FAST. I lasted about a minute at that pace, but in 10 months time, I’ll be hoping to run at that pace for the whole race. To be totally honest, right now, that doesn’t seem possible at all, so I’m wondering if I should lower my expectations a bit and aim for the 4 hour mark instead of 3.5 hours.

Anyway, it was good to be back in the gym (even if it was freezin), and that the ECG thing isn’t urgent (even if I still am a bit aprehensive about the tests)

Back on track a bit at least….

Marathon Training – Day 50

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:44:59 +0000

I injured my back on Sunday, and was told by Gemma (my Chiropractor) not to go to the gym yesterday. Today, in all honesty, my back was pretty much fine. My form however, not so fine! I just had a complete pig of a day and couldn’t motivate myself to go to the gym at all at all!! All was not lost, I thought, because I still had badminton training, so at least there would be some exercise. Nope. Badminton wasn’t on as there was exams on in the hall (a fact I deduced having driven the whole way into town and arrived at the door of the gym to see all the tables and chairs where I was supposed to be playing).

I don’t deel well with bad form and stress. My solution is usually to pig out. I say usually, which would lead you to suspect a “but this time, I’m happy to say I did not). But I did, massively, with loads of crisps and chocolate and wine and pizza and all sorts of good stuff. I must have taken on about 3000 calories in about 2 hours. And it felt GOOOOD!! At the time, not afterwards, obviously. But no training did mean I got to watch the Transormers 2 – Revenge of the Fallen which I still hadn’t gotten around to, that’s a result of sorts, right?? So after 2 days back at training, it was another 2 days off. A poor run of form If I’m going to make the start line in October 2010!

Better than training, though perhaps not as good for you

Marathon Training – Day 25

admin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:03:54 +0000

Dosed up to my eyeballs on Rubex for Vitamin C and all sorts of other goood shit to try and shift this bloody cold, and (said he looking for sympathy) having had a rubbish night sleep in the spare room because I couldn’t stop coughing, I headed to the squash courts for a run-around this afternoon. I spent 45 minutes chasing around after my own shots and got a good cardio workout in the process. I have to say, I did a few court-lenght (as in, not very long) sprints while I was in there and I wasn’t able for it at all.

It’s bizarre that you might be able to cycle 7km then do 20 minutes on a cross trainer with relative easy, to the point where you don’t think you’re dying, but if you sprint the lenght of a squash court 5 times in quick succession, it feels like you might, in all truth, keel over and die!!

Thankfully, I didn’t keel over and die. In fact I summoned up the fortitude to go the swimming pool afterwards and turn in a few lengths. To be fair, probably only about 15, at which point I thought my breast stroking arms were about to fall off, but heck, it all counts!!

That’s well over an hour of good solid continuous exercise, which is good enough for me! Bring on Day 26…

The Cold Buster