Last session of the year

To the gym at lunchtime again. Really glad I made myself go as I had a good session and felt most virtuous afterwards. Did:

• 1km on the cross trainer, level 10, staying above 10kmph
• 3 km on the treadmill, 10kmph, 2% incline
• 12 x 3 reps pull down at 30kg
• 12 x 3 reps chest press at 15kg
• 10 x 3 reps shoulder press at 15kg (it's official: the shoulder press is my nemesis. Ironic, considering that I am a broad-shouldered babe with a propensity when in a halter neck dress to look like an Olympic swimmer. A male Olympic swimmer)
• 15 mins on the bike, level 10, hill setting, staying above 80rpm

A delicious flapjack, courtesy of Colin who came round with Helen on Boxing Day, was my mid-morning snack and proved much more effective than last week's crisps. Pleased with the run. Shoulder press - well, I had to leave it till the last of my weights as someone else was on it, which probably didn't help. Bike: a higher setting than usual meant I really felt it in my legs. I like the hill setting which gradually increases the incline but gives you short breaks at a lower incline every few minutes to recover. Why, I wonder, does running make me sweaty and short of breath but not particularly make my legs hurt (except in the avoidance of penguin syndrome) while cycling makes my legs hurt without making me out of breath? Ah well. It must all be good for me somehow.

Forgot to report back on my ankle earlier: Graham pronounced it basically ok but with limited movement because...well, I think he mentioned the word 'capscule' a lot, or something like it. I got the impression it had stiffened up when sore and now had lost it's former range of movement. He bounced up and down on it while pressing it into the treatment room bed for a while (ow), after which it was much more manoeuvrable. So I have exercises to do to stretch it out, and at least I know that if it does hurt it's not doing any harm.

Now, I was browsing Runners World the other day and came across the concept of Yasso 800s. A bloke called Yasso (great name) came up with the idea that if you wanted to run a marathon in x hours and y minutes then you should train by running 800m reps at x minutes and y seconds. In my case, 3 minutes and 45 seconds. You start with a couple of reps and build up to 10. I'm thinking of trying it and would appreciate any tips. Also, I have worked out that this means I need to run the 800s at 12.85 kmph, but as my maths is dodgy, please tell me if I'm wrong.

Hm, have also just worked out that I need to run 8.5 minute miles the whole way to make my goal time. Seems...fast.

Regular readers (of which there are about two) may remember I listed a series of races that I wanted to take part in. The first couple are out the window due to the new job and my need to find somewhere to live near the new job. But I intend to sign up for all three half marathons next week. Call it a new year's resolution (even though I don't really believe in new resolutions: I think if you want to do something that badly you should just do it and not wait until new year. But it happens to be new year anyway, so there you go). And I've got the duathlon and hopefully at least one of the later 10ks as well. Starting to look forward to it!

Lunch time gym

Work is very quiet at the moment, as you'd expect. Decided on a lunchtime session and then faffed about what to eat mid-morning. Wanted some carbs to get me through - should I eat half my turkey and stuffing sandwich early? In retrospect, I should have done, but instead I took a packet of crisps from the office party leftover pile. This proved my undoing as, at 2.3 km in, I accidentally brushed the 'stop' button. As the treadmill ground to a halt I promptly felt quite nauseous and had to go and have a drink of water before continuing at walking pace. Really must not eat greasy food before running (or accidentally hit the stop button). From now on it's oatcakes for me.

So that meant I did:

• 1 km on the cross trainer, level 9, staying above 10 kmph
• 2.3 km on the treadmill, 2% incline, 10 kmph
• 0.7 km on the treadmill at level 20 hill setting (=between 9 and 11% incline), 6 kmph
• 3 x 12 reps at 30 kg pulldown
• 3 x 10 reps at 15 kg shoulder press
• 3 x 12 reps at 15 kg chest press
• 0.5 km on the treadmill, 2% incline, 12 kmph, just to finish off.

Not bad. Need to do something tomorrow really but I doubt I'll get the chance with Jenny in tow. As of January I'm aiming for 5km of running per session, probably broken up into two lots to start with. Going to start aiming for short bursts of hill and speed work.

Now I'm off to sign up for that duathlon I promised Matt I'd do with him.

Sunday run

Got out today for a pootle round Arthur's Seat (the Queen's Drive route, not Al's crazy offroading). Took it easy and enjoyed the view and sunny weather. Not sure when I'll get the next run in.

A battle of wills

The title of this entry refers to my ridiculous internal dialogue over whether or not to go to the gym this lunchtime. Pathetic Ruth was whining on about having a sore throat and having left her trainers in Al's van and it being Christmas and therefore an exercise-free zone. She came extremely close to winning the argument but luckily Righteous Ruth responded by pointing out that I could just do ten minutes and that would be better than nothing, I could wear my trail shoes and I'd be annoyed afterwards if I skipped a day since I already know I'm not going to have time for another run till Saturday.

Really, I was wishing I'd thought to bring a sweater since the sun was shining on the frosty slopes of Arthur's Seat in a particularly inviting fashion. (Incidentally, both the BBC and the Scotsman websites are confidently telling me that it's foggy in Edinburgh today. Er...nope. Frosty and sunny, actually).

I toyed with the idea of heading out in just my sleeveless running vest before deciding that the loss of digits, and possible whole upper limbs, to frostbite was not a great idea. So the gym it was. In deference to my sore throat and achy head and neck, I split my 3km into three sessions on the treadmill of 1km each, at a slow 9kmph but a 3% incline. In between, I did:

• 1km on the crosstrainer, level 9, keeping above 10kmph.
• 3 x 12 reps chest press at 15kg (fairly easy)
• 2 x 10 reps shoulder press at 15kg (very hard)
• 3 x 12 reps pull down at 27.5kg (easy enough that I should probably go up a notch)
• 3km on the bike, hill setting, level 7, keeping well above 80rpm which took me the best part of 7 minutes

Keeping the feet straight while running seemed a little easier, but that may have been just because I had less time to get bored of concentrating, or because I was going more slowly.

Can't do my thigh-tingling body pump on Friday as I've been roped into the Pensions Team Christmas Quiz. However, a leaflet from my new job (at which I will start at the end of January) promises a discount at the Alloa leisure centre, so I have a new place to check out.

Must do something on Saturday or this will be the first week since starting training I've fallen below three days a week. Mostly quite happy with how I've started though: I've got the habit going. Seeing Graham tonight as the ankle's still crock - fine for running but very painful when doing things that involve pointing my toes. This includes kneeling down, which is how I like to wrap my Christmas presents. Maybe a ligament thing.

Team Aqua rule the roost

Gym before aquafit last night. In fact, a two mile walk to the gym before the gym as well.

Did:

• 10 mins on the cross trainer, (6 mins level 9 with 2 mins level 8 either side), keeping above 10kmph.
• 3km on the treadmill, 2% incline in 18 mins 26 seconds. Still finding it hard to avoid penguin syndrome.
• 3 x 12 reps pull down at 27.5 kg.
• 3 x 12 reps shoulder press at 15 kg.

Then a regular aquafit workout. As it was the last class till the new year, we decided to forgo the usual routine of one of us cooking and went to our local, Utopia, instead. With extreme excitement/competitiveness we discovered their pub quiz, previously cancelled, was back on! It was a pretty good quiz and we got better as it went along, picking up a bag of Malteasers for winning one round and surprising ourselves with our unexpected knowledge of the 1960s. To cut a long story short, we expected to come second and win a bottle of wine but either Hilary or the quizmaster added the scores up wrong (let's face it: the quizmaster is the more likely culprit) and Team Aqua won. We got £25 off our meal! Apparently some regular teams were disgruntled. But that is their fault for not knowing more about the 1960s.

New ways to make my legs hurt

Lots of new exercise-type experiences to report this morning. On Friday I went along to the body-pump class at lunch time that I told you about. This class involves holding weights while doing various lunges, squats and arm exercises. Luckily for me the instructor had a cold so had cut the class down to half an hour.

Actually, that makes it sound worse than it was: the upper body and back stuff was all fine (probably because I had been assigned the teeniest weights ever as a beginner) but one track involved holding a crouching position which made my quads go all wibbly. Just as the lactic acid was building up to intolerable levels and I was about to keel over the instructor would shout 'Ok, team, just 10 more seconds!'. By the time you were actually allowed to stand the flood of blood back to my thighs was blissful. And then she made us do it all again. Twice!

So after that the obvious thing to do was to recruit Al to make me go hill running on Saturday. I'd envisioned a potter round Queen's Drive taking about half an hour, but the bastard drove us to the Dunddingston car park (yes! the one at the bottom of the hill! What's wrong with this picture?) and then warm up by slogging up the hundred plus steps to the top loch. I know there are over a hundred because I counted and then lost count when I had to start concentrating on not throwing up instead. So I was knackered before we even got the the starting point.

OK, here is a map to illustrate exactly what we did. Having gone up the steps (the orange line from the Duddingston Village car park), we climbed up the steep side of Crow Hill. By this point I was walking but still managing to keep up with Al who was running. This is one of the bizarre things about hill running. Then down the dip and back up again to the peak of Arthur's Seat. Then a scramble down to Piper's Walk - is it just me or is it wrong to have to use your hands on a run? At this point Al got a stitch, ha ha! And it was downhill so I ran ahead and then waited, stretching nonchalantly at the big boulder at the Hawse. The rest of of was not bad at all in fact: along the top of the crags and back through the middle valley to the road and back down to the car.

In all it took us an hour to do not much more than three miles, which I considered pathetic. Despite Al's attempts to explain that it's different with hills, I still consider this walking pace. However, it was a workout for the lungs if nothing else. And I have times to beat: 12 minutes to the top of Crow Hill from the car and 17 minutes to the top of Arthur's Seat.

Sunday would have been a rest day had Al not signed me up to the Santa Run (Father Christmas is dead: long live Santa) in Princes Street gardens. This is a trot twice round the gardens accompanied by 2,000 other people also dressed as Santa/Father Christmas. I was quite taken with the dogs in Santa outfits or with reindeer horns: I know it's wrong to dress up your dog and wouldn't normally approve, but in the circumstances it was acceptably cute. The preponderance of dogs, reindeer, kids, elves and so on made it more of a walk, and at one point as we shuffled past some more sedentary Santas one was heard to remark 'Look out for the competitive Santas!'

Al fought his way past lethargic Santas at the end to claim our medals (yes! medals for walking approximately 500 yards!) and we claimed our own wee elf from his mum and took him to refuel in the German Christmas market, which is exactly like a German Christmas market in Germany. I had the strange Dutch meat product known as frikendel.

The rest of my weekend was spent buying presents and collecting, erecting and decorating a tree. It took ages but does look very smart. I also bought a HUGE roasting tin only to get home and find it wouldn't fit in the oven so had to return it and swap it for one that was merely large. Christmas is, as always, accelerating towards me.

Gym

Lovely meal at Calistoga's on St Leonards last night: nice pink bream, which I chose for the cheesy accompanying potatoes. These were potatoes that were cheesy and therefore divine. Also an excellent gingerbread man and eggnog ice cream. Plus we got cheese as well as dessert, so no need to choose between the two.

Tried to work some of it off at the gym at lunch time. No time for weights but did:

• 10 mins cross trainer (6 mins level 9 with 2 mins level 8 either side) staying above 10kmph
• 3kms on the treadmill, incline 2%, in 19mins 17 secs - found this very hard going. Don't know why: maybe because I hadn't eaten since breakfast?
• 15 mins upright bike, level 7, hill setting, staying above 80rpm.

When I was tired on the treadmill it was really hard not to slip back into my pigeon-toed run, which seems to take much less effort. But I am persevering.

Busy weekend

Got out for my surf on Saturday having just had my hair highlighted. This led to amusing conversations as the hairdresser and then the girl drying my hair kept asking how I wanted it dried, or straightened, or what products to use, to all of which the answer was 'It doesn't matter because it's going to be in the north sea in an hour'.

So. Biggish swell for Belhaven, but light winds as promised until mid afternoon when they picked up and it all got a bit choppy. Took me a while to figure out how to work the new board - how far back I need to lie to paddle effectively and how easily you can get the nose under an oncoming wave. Once out the back I could barely sit up on it and at one point fell of with a yelp which Al found hilarious. Although it's only 6 inches shorter, the pointy nose means there's much less volume at the front. Anyway, figured it out eventually - I need to lie about an arm's length plus an inch back and it paddles lovely. Got up on some smaller waves and it was SO quick and turned really fast - felt like the difference between driving my car with and without the 'city' steering on!

Headed back for Al to go into town for a birthday cup of tea with pals and I did some work, including sending WEA an invoice that should nicely cover my car's MOT. Glanced out of the window and it was snowing! Soon went back to rain though. Then into town to meet Al and friends who had been round Mary King's Close. They said it was good but because there were young children in the party they didn't get the scary 'lights out' bit. Jo said that was just as well because she was scared enough as it was.

Had a drink before heading to Ana Purna's for veggie Indian food. Rob and Rachel came along, which was nice, and they mingled happily (I hope) with random friends of Jo's. Rachel bought Al a cap and bow tie to accessorise his swing dance!

Finally left the last pub and decided to walk till we found a taxi - ended up walking all the way home and getting in at 2.30 am. Then up again the next day for swing dance rehearsal. I hadn't realised how nervous Al was of performing on stage: I assumed that since he happily throws himself off mountains and waves and so on that a two and a half minute performance would be a doddle but apparently not. Now I feel guilty for persuading him. But it went fine and there was nobody he knew there! I think we all looked the part: the girls all wore dresses or skirts and the guys went suited up: Ray and Rob had trilbys (trilbies?) and Al wore his cap. And at the very least we had to be more entertaining that the adult interpretative dance troupe who just walked around looking morose for five minutes. We had Christmassy music and everything! I'm going with some of the class to the dance company's Christmas do on Saturday. Hopefully Al can come but his sister may be arriving from Australia.

Yesterday: straight to the gym from work. It was really busy but managed:

• 2 x 10 reps at 15 kg on the chest thingy
• 3 x 12 reps at 27.5 kg on the pull down
• 3 x 10 reps at 15 kg on the fly thingy
• something else on the shoulder press.

Honestly, I am so bad at remembering weights I do. Next time I am taking a pen and paper with me. I think the shoulder press at the Leith gym is more difficult than the one at work, though why that should be I do not know.

Also did 2km on the treadmill, 2% incline at 10kmph, thinking hard about where I put my goofy feet. Then wanted to do the bike but it was busy so did 10 mins on the cross trainer: 6 minutes at level 9 with 2 minutes of level 8 either side, keeping above 10kmph.

Then aquafit, where Inge had returned and asked us what Bill had made us do. We whinged suitably ('He made us go in the deep end...without floats!'). I think she was inspired, or maybe I was just concentrating on working at the right level, keeping my heels down and posture straight, but it was a harder class than usual. Not as hard as last week though.

Tired now. Running with Mo tomorrow and should do something at the weekend too: maybe Arthur's Seat if the weather's nice.

More exercise!

Ooh yes, getting back into the swing of it now. No pun intended.

Went to the gym at work before swing dance yesterday. Did:

• 3 x 10 reps 17.5kg on the chest machine (this is the one which I forgot the name of last time)


• 2 x 10 reps 15kg shoulder press (very hard)


• 3 x 12 reps 25kg pull down (easy - must go up next time)


• 10 mins cross trainer level 6 to warm up


• 3 km on the treadmill, incline 2%, in 20 minutes (annoyingly hard considering this used to be a doddle)


• 15 mins upright bike, hill setting, level 7

Whilst running, I tried very hard to think about how I was putting my feet down, concentrating on rolling from the heel to the toe and keeping my toes pointing out. Or rather, it feels like I'm keeping them pointing out, like a duck, but actually that's just making them straight because I usually run with them pointing in, like a pigeon. Quite hard to see them in the mirror because the front of the treadmill was in the way, but I think I did ok. Certainly felt like I was using my lower leg muscles in a way they weren't used to. Hopefully I can keep this up enough to avoid injury this year.

Then went to swing dance where we practised our Christmas show routine without mirrors or instructors to follow! This went surprisingly well, and I actually felt like I was dancing instead of following a series if steps.

There's a body pump class at the gym at work on a Friday lunchtime. No time today but I might go next week: I never do any exercise on a Friday usually so it would be a bonus session. And I know I say this every year but I do want to improve my overall fitness, not just running. I say that and then when it gets to the stage that I have to run an hour each session I give up on everything else. Need more hours in the day.

Going back a bit to Al's duathlon at the weekend, he went with his friend Matt. Al's signed up for the whole series of three, but Matt was only signed up to the first one. He wasn't sure about doing the others but I there's a team option so I said I'd do the running if he did the cycling. It's on 27 January and is about 5km of hilly trail running, so that gives me something to aim for. Matt cycles faster than Al so I will have to make sure I don't let him down in the running stakes.

In other Exciting News, my new surf board has arrived! Oh, it's so beautiful, just how I imagined. So beautiful that I have learned how to upload images directly into a blog just to show you. Should be small waves, light winds tomorrow so I will get to try it out!

Exercise!

Hurrah! Finally got back into it yesterday. Went straight to the gym from work - the gym at Leith Victoria, which I hadn't been to before. It's teeny, but had everything you need.

Did:

• 10 mins crosstrainer, level 5, keeping above 10kmph
• 15 mins upright bike, level 6, keeping above 80 rpm
• 3 x10 reps at 25 kg pull down
• 3 x 10 reps at 15 kg shoulder press
• 2 x 10 reps at 25 kg something called 'fly' which works your front top chest muscles, whatever they're called
• 2 x 10 reps at 25 kg whatever the last upper body weight machine was

Plus some stretches. The three treadmills were busy the whole time but it was a nice change to get on the crosstrainer. Didn't really push the crosstrainer or bike at all and will set them higher next time.

After that it was straight in to the pool for a few lengths and the aquafit. Aqua is usually just a stretch out but this week we had a different instructor, Bill, covering for our usual lovely French (?) girl Inge. She had promised us "a 'andsome man" and he was indeed quite fit, though depressingly probably about five years younger than us. He shook hands with us all, even though we were all wet!

Anyway, Bill put paid to any notion that aqua is a bit of a doss by explaining that on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is standing still and 10 is completely out of breath and panting we should be working at a 6. The warm up was at about the level I usually find the whole class, and I actually got quite warm and out of breath for most of the rest of it. We did lots of jogging and jumps to keep the heart rate up, interspersed with weights. Not sure if the fact that Bill was a bloke made me work harder - my strangely male-orientated competitiveness kicking in. But it definitely helped that he had good music which I could set a pace to.

Anyway, between that and the gym I'm pleasantly sore in my arms today. The ankle seems to have survived, after I went through a moment of agony trying to get it in a wellington boot on Sunday. I was watching Al's muddy duathlon (he didn't come last and won a Christmas pudding) and hadn't allowed for the fact that pointing my toes to get the boot on would aggravate the injury. But as long as I don't have to run in wellies I'll be fine.

Meant to add, a while back I was tagged by a running pal. The rules are:

• Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
• Share five facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
• Tag five people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
• Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Well I haven't really got any online friends to tag other than those who have been done already, though maybe I will try and get some now. But I guess I can think of some facts. How about:

1. When I was little I used to want to be called Laura after Laura Ingalls Wilder.
2. I am incredibly short-sighted and have yet to meet anyone more so (now there's a challenge - if you can beat my prescription I'll tag you!).
3. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to swap lives with my friends and do their jobs for a day. I think I would like Morag's best.
4. I will eat anything as long as it's dead.
5. I am completely lost without my diary, as Ailsa knows because I once left it at her house and went crazy. I don't even know my own mobile number. It's 07...something.

Enjoy!