Thursday 18 August 2016

Goggle Issues!

This evening I went swimming in Lake Windermere.

It was a fantastic evening for a swim.  My Swimming Buddy was trying to convince me to swim without my wetsuit but I wasn't having any of it! (In hindsight perhaps wetsuitless was the way to go as the lake was rather warm compared with its usual chilly temperature but I am keeping that one quiet!)

The sky was blue, the sun was shining the lake was calm but my goggles spoilt what should have been a perfect swim! 

From the off they kept filling with water and once I got this issue sorted they started to fog up so I couldn't see where I was going at all!

This was a big worry to me as there was a lot of traffic on the lake with it being such a great evening! 

I would have been much happier if I could have seen the little rowing boats, speed boats and big steamers heading my way!  

There was also a lot of teenagers larking around in the water too which unnerved me a little since I couldn't see them!

I tried to stay close to my swimming buddy David but this proved difficult for me as he is naturally a faster swimmer than me and I am a bit of a slow coach at the moment after being on my holidays for 3 weeks!

Thankfully I survived without bumping into anything or anyone but my trauma's didn't stop once I was out!

I realised after staggering to the shore that I couldn't see very well even without my fogged up goggles on!  

It became clear to me that I had lost one of my contact lenses somewhere in the lake! 

Obviously with water leaking into my goggles it had washed one of my contact lenses out 

THEN to add insult to injury, my Garmin decided to play up too! 

After squinting awkwardly with one eye at my Garmin I noticed that although it had recorded the length of time I had swum it hadn't actually tracked the distance!  

I wasn't a happy bunny but thankfully we had done our usual route so I know I did approximately a mile in 45 minutes 53 seconds, which is much slower than our usual time! 

I'm blaming the goggles rather than my fitness levels!

I think it's time to invest in some new goggles as I'm not going through that again - it totally spoilt my swim!


Wednesday 17 August 2016

A warm morning Run!

This morning I went for a Trail run with my friend Sue, since we don't have long before she run's her first 10K Trail Race!

It was a very warm and muggy morning but the sun wasn't shining so it wasn't too bad to run in!

We did our usual Scout Scar route and I was pleased I had her with me as there was cows in our way which she confidently shooed away!  Had I been on my own I would have run an extra couple of miles to avoid going past them!

We did 4.16 miles at an average 12.49 minute mile pace, which is the fastest Sue has done this route!

I was really impressed with how much Sue's running has come on!

She is very nearly match day ready in my eyes!

Tuesday 16 August 2016

A hot run and a hot swim!

It was forecast to be another hot day so I decided to go for my run first thing before it got too hot!

However, despite this careful planning it was still HOT!

Thankfully I had gone prepared with a drink but I still struggled to maintain a decent pace and I felt like I was running on sand!

I managed 6 miles at an average 9.12 minute mile pace, which is slower than I had wanted but understandable in the heat!

Despite the sun shining all day, this evening I opted out of a lake swim as my shoulder and arm have been sore since I have come back from holiday! I don't think my shoulder was happy with the combination of lugging heavy suitcases and cycling across the Golden Gate Bridge!

I didn't want to get stranded in the middle of the lake in pain so I sensibly decided to try out my shoulder in the pool first to see how it faired! 

Everybody else obviously decided to opt-in to the lake swim as the pool was exceptionally quiet compared with usual! The sun was streaming in through the windows and the water felt like a bath but hey you can't have everything going your way!

I was quite impressed that once I was "warmed-up" my shoulder didn't object too much and I managed 1700 metres or 1.05 miles albeit quite a bit slower than I usually swim! 

I think this means I will perhaps brave the lake later in the week!

Monday 15 August 2016

Clean and Tidy-ish!

I was very good today, despite the fact the sun was shining I couldn't ignore the pig-sty I call home any longer and I was compelled to do some cleaning!

I didn't do quite as much cleaning as I had intended but the downstairs and Kitchen were spic and span by the end of my quick spree, which is the most important - just in case I get any unannounced guests!

Anyhow I rewarded my half-arsed cleaning efforts with sunbathing in the garden and reading my book and stayed that way until it was time to take my Ladies running club. (I am on holiday afterall!).

It was a very warm and muggy evening but I still had 16 Ladies turn up, which surprised me as I thought they might have all stayed in the garden with a glass of wine and a BBQ!

However, they all did struggle with the heat and we ended up having a fair few rest breaks but we still managed to do 4.1 miles in 47 minutes.

I was pleased that I had cancelled the second group for the duration of the Summer Holidays as I might have expired if I had to keep running for another hour!




Clean and Tidy-ish!

I was very good today, despite the fact the sun was shining I couldn't ignore the pig-sty I call home any longer and I was compelled to do some cleaning!

I didn't do quite as much cleaning as I had intended but the downstairs and Kitchen were spic and span by the end of my quick spree, which is the most important - just in case I get any unannounced guests!

Anyhow I rewarded my half-arsed cleaning efforts with sunbathing in the garden and reading my book and stayed that way until it was time to take my Ladies running club. (I am on holiday afterall!).

It was a very warm and muggy evening but I still had 16 Ladies turn up, which surprised me as I thought they might have all stayed in the garden with a glass of wine and a BBQ!

However, they all did struggle with the heat and we ended up having a fair few rest breaks but we still managed to do 4.1 miles in 47 minutes.

I was pleased that I had cancelled the second group for the duration of the Summer Holidays as I might have expired if I had to keep running for another hour!




Sunday 14 August 2016

I'm not feeling it!

I didn't do any exercise yesterday, apart from lifting my right arm to pick up a glass! I did have a good excuse though, it was my oldest friends wedding and 50th Birthday celebrations combined!

I was still suffering severely with tiredness and lack of sleep due to jet lag but we still managed to have a fabulous day and evening!  However, the evening involved Ceilidh dancing and I think perhaps we need to have some dancing classes before we next take to the dance floor, but it was a laugh despite not being pretty to watch!

We didn't get home until this afternoon so we did a quick 3.7 mile walk with the dog before I went for a run!

I hadn't realised quite how warm it was but I was determined to keep my pace under an average 9 minute mile - which I managed to do -  just!! Considering there was a couple of hills en-route I am quite pleased with myself although I did feel exhausted by the time I got back! I did 3.8 miles at an average 8.58 minute mile pace! 

Tomorrow is Monday, but Thankfully no work for me as its still the Summer Holidays! However, my day will consist mainly of cleaning and tidying before going to my Ladies Running Group in the evening. Luckily another leader has been taking the group in my absence so at least I won't have a lot of unfit and unmotivated ladies turning up after 3 weeks off - I hope!!

Feeling FAT and BLURG! I seriously need to detox!!


Friday 12 August 2016

1st Post Holiday Run

After a fabulous 3 week holiday it was back to reality today!  

After losing a nights due to the time difference I was exhausted when I eventually went to bed last night at 10pm, however my body clock had other ideas!

I slept well until 3am and then PING I was wide awake!

I got up and watched The Olympics until I decided to go back to bed at 5am for another nap!

Consequently, today has been a struggle!  However, determined to not give in to sleep I did my holiday ironing and then pushed myself to go for my first run in 3 weeks!

After a very busy road trip around California which involved too much food washed down with too much alcohol combined with jetlag I was expecting to find the run a little challenging ... and I wasn't disappointed!

However, despite not feeling healthy I pushed myself and managed to do 4.7 miles at a 9.07 minute mile pace!  Considering it was hot and windy it wasn't as slow as I had anticipated!!!

Just 5 weeks until my next Half Marathon so time to detox and get fit!

I am looking forward to having a goal to aim for!

Bring it on!