Cold hands, sore arms

It’s the end of week one of the hundred push-up challenge and time for an update. The good news is that I completed everything I was supposed to, so currently on track with it. 

If you’re not aware, the hundred push-up challenge is a six week incremental training programme, which should prepare you to complete the challenge at the end of it. There are three workouts each week, and each workout consists of five sets. The format is typically the second set is higher than the first; the third and fourth sets are the same lower number; the fifth set is pretty much do as many as you can.

So how has the week gone? First of all, I managed a total of 174 push ups this week over the three days. That seems a great start. On day one I felt my form was a little off at the beginning so made sure I was concentrating on doing push-ups correctly, rather than semi-formed ones that could end up causing me problems in the longer challenge. 

On Wednesday, my day two, I found my pectorals were still a bit sore from the Monday workout but I managed to complete the five sets, and by today, day three, I was feeling good again. The last workout was challenging but doable and I made the mistake of looking at the numbers for week two when I’d finished. Looks like the challenge is going to be a bit of a steep curve up to the hundred!

For anyone else following the challenge I’d love to hear how you’ve been getting on and also hear your thoughts going into the next week(s) too.

(Not) Being pushy, an update

I wrote on Friday about the hundred push-up challenge I’d decided to start. Today was day one of the challenge for me so I wanted to give a quick update for the others who have also said they’d take this on with me.

The challenge has three workouts each week, my plan is to do these every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I’ll then post an update of how I got on for the week after the last session on the Friday and anyone who is taking part can post progress in the comments too (should you want to).

Spoiler alert, the first workout today went well. There’s no backing out of the challenge for me just yet!

Being pushy again

Push-ups or press-ups? I’d call them press-ups, but overall I think I’m in a massive minority worldwide. Let’s call them push-ups for now and not fret too much over the old potato-potato argument. 

Why are we talking push-ups? Many years ago I became aware of the hundred push-ups challenge, a program spanning six weeks that builds you up to completing one hundred push-ups in one go. For whatever reason, my brain decided to remember that fact this week and I’ve been reminding myself of what’s involved to get there. 

The hundredpushups.com website shows the steps and how the weeks break down. First, get your current level of push-up-ness through the initial test: do as many as you can before you collapse in a heap. I managed about twenty-five, but then re-read the instructions and they’re supposed to be “good form” push-ups. After watching a youtube video on how to do a push-up properly, I need to go back and do this again. Apparently you’re supposed to get reasonably near the floor, not just hover about in the top position and wobble up and down a bit. 

Over the course of six weeks the program takes you through three workouts a week, with five sets of push-ups, incrementally increasing over time. There’s a second exhaustion test halfway through where you can check on your progress and see how you’re improving, or not. The beauty of how the program works is that if you find it’s getting too tough then you can just repeat a week to build up strength and confidence.

This looks like a great challenge to take on and a good method to get to the hundred push-up goal. So the question is: has anyone completed this challenge before and if so, was it worth it? And secondly – does anyone want to join me in this challenge and see if we can do it together? If you’re in, first push-up workout is on Monday!

Tempo tableau

Autumn is clearly in her final knockings, with leaves torn from trees and mulched into a paste on the pavement; wind whipping up from nowhere to blow all the bins over on bin day; the sun, visible for a few minutes while you hastily get your running kit on, and then disappearing behind thick clouds from the minute you get outside. Yes, winter is on us, and it’s time to hunker down and hibernate for a few months. 

Or not. We could always head outside and battle the monster, right? I’m currently increasing my running miles each week, getting back towards the fitness level I was at a month or two back.

It’s straightforward to fall out of fitness. Much like gravity helps you off a ladder and quickly down to the floor, going on holiday for a couple of weeks where the beers are three Euros a pop certainly takes you quickly in the wrong direction. The body likes fat, and likes storing it where it can. Perhaps it knows winter is coming. Perhaps it’s seen the rising energy prices!

I went out for a tempo run this week. This is one of my favourite training runs as it really feels like you’re preparing for a race. For context, a tempo run is one that starts slow for around ten minutes, then fast paced for a sustained period, and then a cool down at a similar pace to the start. That fast pace section is not supposed to be 100% effort, but it can definitely feel like it towards the end.

My tempo splits were reasonably short this time, a couple of km each, but I managed to keep to the timings fairly accurately – the fast section was around 4:30 min/km on average (although dropping off towards the end!). It was a simple run that I managed to fit in my working day, but one that took me away from routinely increasing miles on easy runs, and into something of a more formal training program. 

And just as the season changes from autumn to winter, as the winds blow colder through the streets, I felt a change. A change in my own psychology, a change in how focussed I am on my goals, and a change in my desire to develop some structure in my training and to get outside and run. 

I just might need a hot chocolate when I get back ok!

Hard core training

Following the success of my Yoga workout last week, I said I’d have a go at a Pilates session on my watch, specifically a workout called Pilates for Runners. So here is… the eagerly anticipated Pilates post!

The Yoga session was long, taking in over 90 different moves over 30 minutes. It was fast paced and difficult in places to keep up with. The Pilates workout was around half as many steps in a similar timeframe delivered at a simpler pace. There was an added bonus of five rests mixed in with the steps. A serious improvement for me, although unfortunately these breaks were only ten seconds long – I could’ve done with a couple of minutes each time!

Pilates appears more fluid than yoga, involving a more complicated range of moves. Complicated to me anyway, a complete novice in the world of organised stretching. As with the Yoga, I copied the man on my watch as he moved through each step. It was not always easy as sometimes you don’t have sight of him, but each step lasted for 45 seconds to a minute, so there was always time to catch up again. 

The 25 minutes or so workout was challenging. It worked the core well and stretched my legs with the help of a resistance band in some steps. Some of the steps hurt, some were fun, (check out “Rolling like a ball” – just called “Rolling” on the app), some I wanted to stop with 30 seconds left to go on it. 

This was all new to me, so there was some uncordinated moves, some groaning, some realisation that my legs just don’t stretch that far. Definitely one to do behind closed curtains! I noticed afterwards that the app details the muscles worked in each step, which will help target different areas in the long run when I get more familiar with what I need to do. 

The best part of these additional workouts is that they are something new and different. I’ve written in the past about the great benefits we get through running on our mental health and well-being. A wonderful part of learning something new is the dopamine hit the body gives us as a reward. And while this wasn’t really learning something new, it was just copying body shapes that a little guy on my watch was making, I did get a sense of reward associated with the exercise. 

The real benefit, I suspect, is the mixture of exercise. A new string to an old bow. A new challenge and a new tendon stretched in a pleasing way. No gain without pain, right? Let’s hope so, there was certainly the pain here.

I’m inspired by the new workout routines and will look for more, perhaps my watch will give me some others to work through. There appears to be workouts for Stand-up paddle boarding, Cross country skiing, even yard work. On send thoughts, I might not want to get too far down that track, I might end up with a list of unwanted jobs, all in the name of fitness.

For snow run

Running in the winter is a tricky pursuit. There’s a few safety aspects of running in the dark – you never know who’s lurking around the next dark corner; a safety aspect of icy paths or, as we have at the moment, paths covered in wet, slippery leaves; but also getting out in the elements. 

Safety is always first – I never run where I can’t see, or too close to the river in the dark. Basically, if it doesn’t feel completely safe – don’t bother with it. Nor do I carry anything worth mugging me for, if someone really wants a sweaty running top then I guess they could have it…!

The weather is still fairly mild at the moment, so the motivation to go running isn’t too hard to find yet. The other morning it was raining, and I stared glumly out of the window waiting for it to stop before I went out. This is peak autumn running behaviour – there’s no room for attitude like that if I’m to train over the winter. 

I recall running a half marathon a few years ago and a couple of days before there was an enormous snowstorm across the country. I’d expected the race to be cancelled as I’m sure similar ones across the country were, but the frequent emails from the organisers all stated that the show would go on, they were working round the clock to ensure we could run.

I wasn’t massively happy. While I’d done my training and got myself to a good level of fitness, the snow outside my window didn’t inspire me to get out there in shorts and a t-shirt and trot round for a couple of hours, taking in the sights of one of our historic cities. 

The morning before the race, I went to a local sports shop and bought a thermal top and leggings base layer. I found them constrictive and unflattering, but at least I had something to go under the flimsy PE kit I’d been planning to wear.

The organisers had done a fantastic job of clearing the 13 mile course and while there was still havoc being caused across the country, a couple of thousand runners made their way around the course unhampered by the snow, now piled up at the sides of the roads. 

The base layer top has come out a few times since then, not so much the leggings. But now, as I stare outside at a grey cloud passing, perhaps they would bring the psychological boost I need to get going. The top will be even more unflattering and restrictive than it was a few years ago, but I’ll be warm. And perhaps it gives me another goal to achieve – simply fit comfortably into my running gear.  

Get back (to where you once blog on)

Here we are again, following a two week break on holiday with the family I feel less fit than when I left, slightly wider round the middle, in need of another fortnight away in a health spa, but all the more better for it! Running, writing, app development have all taken a back seat in favour of sun, good food, and multiple trips to the bar. 

But it’s now time to get back to where we were before we went away… so what was that then? Dusting off the notes from last time, it looks that I was committing myself to smashing a ten year old personal best time of my local Parkrun. No harm in that then, best get back to it. 

I’ve decided on a couple of goals to get me going: with my target time at 21:40 (really?!), I’d like to run a Parkrun in a few weeks to set a benchmark. First up though will be an initial 5km run this week with the aim of consistent splits of 5:20/km, ie 26:40 in total. Not sure if I can hit that now so may take a few runs to get there – must start somewhere though.

Right now I feel a stiff and generally not in great shape but will write on that first run back later in the week.

It’s great to get away but also good to come back and pick up on life. In my case this is back to running, back to writing, and especially getting all the updates from across all the other sites I follow here, looking forward to reconnecting.

The return of Seville rights

After the excitement of Sunday, it’s time to think about where we go from here: my main goal is now complete, so where does runanother find its next challenge? 

Actually, now is not quite the time to explore what happens next, now is the time to consume all the things I’d cut out over the pst few months in the name of fitness. I’m not advocating unhealthy living or overeating, just adding back in some of the things that are good in life.

Which brings us on to marmalade. I’m not sure there’s any better way to consume bagfuls of sugar than with this magical orange spread, ladled onto thickly sliced, heavily buttered toast. What better way to start the day, that and a cup of tea, and, if you’re extra specially lucky, back to bed for a bit. No such chance for me.

Aside from a renewed non-oaty breakfast diet, there must be other things to focus on now. One of these is with Garmin, and the much-loved App store. At the start of the week I managed to release a new app for Garmin watches (free, of course), under my runanother account.

My main aim for developing Garmin apps was always to look at how data can help in training. How looking differently at data can be used to provide an insight that will help the running (hopefully wider fitness too) community. 

My first app was to dip my toe into the Garmin development world, and was a relative success. The app was a watch face called Rotorua and has been downloaded over 2000 times and had several positive reviews against it.

This time, I feel I have wandered off the right path. I set off looking at steps data, but have somehow created an app (another watch face) that takes the past 7 days of activity data and turns it into morse code. With seven days, there are 128 combinations of dots and dashes, so 128 different words generated. There are four lines of data, so over 260 million different four word phrases that it can generate. 

With this much data and possibility it’s no wonder I got sidetracked. I completed testing and released it through the Garmin approval process, and is now available on Garmin Connect IQ. If you are interested, it is called Morse!

I’ve promised myself that the next app with use fitness data in a more constructive way. 

So have I answered the question of what I do next? Not really, but as long as there’s a pot of marmalade in the fridge I’ll be happy for the short term. 

The real answer to this is in the strap line of this blog, and what I’ll be focussing on: run another mile, run another race, run another bath!

The ghost of fitness past

With the years piling on, it feels I’m more susceptible to injury. I have a 10k race in a few weeks and my goal is to get a personal best for it. My record is a little under 47 minutes which I set it the first time I ran it, twelve years ago. That race, that younger version of myself turned up in a pair of trainers and a football training top after only doing a handful of warm up runs in the previous few weeks.

Who would’ve thought that chipper, sprightly young chap, skipping up hills, smiling with the other runners, would turn into my arch-nemesis. The person I’ve set out to destroy! Well, not destroy per se, I don’t want to create an inescapable time loop and be forever trapped within the grandfather paradox, ripping apart the entirety of space time and obliterating our dimension forever. It’s just that me’s time I’d like to destroy.

Time paradoxes aside then, what did my former self have that I don’t? Relative youth brings relative resilience – I recall regularly heading out on a run after only a couple of quad stretches and be generally ok the next day or two.

Running now takes a bit more prep to get into. I’ve discovered dynamic stretching and have been doing that every run this year. I go through a couple of moves to progressively warm up the muscles in my legs and hips and then when I leave the house I walk for a bit before breaking into a run.

Walk! I can imagine the younger self laughing at that. Bit of a waste of time walking isn’t it? If you go out for a run for an hour it should take an hour. Not an hour and twenty minutes because you need a walk before and after.

But it helps. As does gradually building up the heart rate through some light jogging and different drills, after about 5-10 minutes I’m good to go.

At the end I stop where I’m finished and walk back home to cool down. My former being wouldn’t appreciate this either, runs start and finish at your front door, and not a centimetre before!

So far I’ve been injury free (apart from a couple of niggles along the way that cleared through rest and some lighter training) and without wanting to jinx anything I feel in good shape for the upcoming race. The real question is whether I’ve achieved the right levels of fitness to finally beat that sinister being, that evil genius, that ghost of races past, that… me!

Goals just wanna have fun

An important part of a running blog is carefully explaining the running goals the author may have in an attempt to either a) muster some moral support in the comments, or b) give themselves a moral and mental boost, as once it’s published there’s clearly no going back. 

So here I am, taking the time to articulate a goal that is as personal a thing as it can get – I’m not aiming to beat someone else in a barefoot race up Ben MacDui, not planning on coming in the top 100 of the 2023 Brighton Marathon, and I’m certainly not attempting to beat Sally Gunnel’s 1992 gold medal winning time in the 400m hurdles. 

Of course I’m not, these are clearly out of my reach. I’m doing something much more straightforward. I’m going head to head with the toughest opponent in the world. Me. 

Specifically me from twelve years ago. Twelve long years. Twelve years of age pressing against me and whittling my self backwards. 

The detail behind this is that I run the same hilly 10k race every Autumn and every year I fail to beat my inaugural time. After setting that benchmark, I’ve never had a pb. Well this year it’s going to be different.

If you’ve read my other posts you’ll see I’ve recently been focussed on technical aspects of running. I’m also looking to train more often, run further, take on more cross-training between runs, and target strength training to build muscle and (please) prevent injury. 

And the main thing is… I’m enjoying it. The first half of this year I focussed on weight loss, dropping off nearly a stone. That took a lot of discipline and I’ve since put a fair bit back on (I couldn’t resist the biscuits any longer), but I think I’ve reached a balance of healthy living, maintaining a reaonable weight and getting outside for exercise multiple times every week. 

You may be interested in the targets. The one to beat is 46:50. If I can get below that it’s a win. If I can near to 45 mins that’s amazing. And if I can get down as far as 44, well, that’s something else entirely. 

So there we are, goal written down and shared, moral and mental boost in place, that makes me fully committed now. There’s clearly no going back!