With the new term beginning this seemed like a good time to shake up my training routine to try and make the most of the time available to me without being completely exhausted! With no race to train for in the near future, I’ve got a bit of room to try out something different. Here’s an idea of the routine I’m working to:
Monday – rest
Tuesday – 4 miles
Wednesday – rest
Thursday – 4 miles + Ashtanga yoga
Friday – PT session with Steve
Saturday – rest
Sunday – 8 miles
From next week I will have yoga on Monday evenings again, but for this week I had a rest day as I was a bit shellshocked from the first day back at work (which was pretty busy) and I had an appointment once I got back to Perth so it was good to get home and totally switch off for the remainder of the evening.
Before bed I laid out some running kit as my new plan is to try and run twice through the week, but in the morning rather than the evening. It’s something I’ve played with occasionally in the second half of this year and I want to see if this creates a bit more space in my week by cutting down some rushing about. Now seems like a good time to try it out so that a routine can be established.
I was out the door by 5:30am and had originally planned to run a loop of a little over 3.5 miles, but within the first mile I realised that my light had come off my shoe. I’m quite fond of that light and toyed with turning back to locate it (I mean, it was obviously on the pavement somewhere flashing away!) but then decided simply to run 2 miles then turn around and retrace my steps to run another 2 miles home. Shortly after this I actually met Steve who was heading back from his run so mentioned it to him and when I got home empty-handed a while later I discovered that he had found my light and taken it home. What a guy!
That run made me feel pretty good for the rest of the day and I achieved a lot, arriving home a little after 5pm to unwind with a short yoga practice before settling down for the evening. So far so good!
By switching my training around I created space on Wednesday which meant I wasn’t rushing to squeeze in a workout before orchestra. It was really nice to have a bit of time to myself and a chance to enjoy my dinner without having to bolt it down, which made me feel much more relaxed for the rehearsal.
Wednesday was also notable for the homemade apple crumble we had. My dad was given a big bag of cooking apples by one of his friends and my parents passed some on to us. Steve had a bit of time on the afternoon so made a crumble. It was delicious!
I had another early run on Thursday morning, opting once more for 4 miles but running a loop this time. I’m actually surprised at how good I’ve felt running first thing, and knowing I have my workout done for the day is great! I think the endorphins keep me going for the rest of the day and where I had expected to feel really tired, I’m feeling ok. It will be interesting to see if that remains the same a few weeks into the term!
Thanks to some heavy traffic I was a bit pushed for time after work, but did make it to my Ashtanga class. For those who have been following, yes I did manage another headstand and my teacher noted how quickly I’m moving into the posture now compared to my hesitation before. Now to work on holding it for a bit longer.
On Friday I headed down to Steve’s studio after work for a session. This week it was the TRX for upper body/core and a little bit of mobility work around my left ankle. It’s no longer causing me any discomfort, but I have noticed that it doesn’t feel as stable as the right one, which is having an impact on my balance postures in yoga. By working on the range of motion we should be able to address this.
I listed Saturday as a rest day, but only in so far as I didn’t do any training. In a highly unusual move, I missed parkrun (gasp!) in order to attend what, for me, was a very important event and the logistics of fitting it in around a parkrun – even tourism – were just too complex. Steve dropped me off at the station on his way to parkrun and I hopped on a train to Glasgow, coffee in hand.
The reason for my trip this time was to take part in the march and rally organised as part of the teachers’ pay campaign in Scotland. I don’t want to get into all the reasoning behind the claim, etc here as I don’t think it’s the place for it, but I do believe very strongly that some things need to change as teachers are feeling overworked and underpaid. I’ve never taken part in anything like this before, so it was quite exciting and I had no idea what to expect (and the fact that I was prepared to miss my beloved parkrun says a lot about how I feel on this one).
Arriving in Glasgow it was pretty clear that this was going to be a huge event. Organisers had been worried about low numbers and had thought maybe about 5000 would turn up…the lowest estimate made of the numbers is 20,000! Almost everyone leaving the station and heading into the underground was on their way to the march and the muster point in Kelvingrove Park was packed! I found my colleagues, donned a campaign beanie hat (it was a pretty chilly morning) and someone from my school who was involved in the organisation asked me to be a steward. I wasn’t particularly looking for a “job” to do, but she said all it involved was wearing a high vis top and walking on the outside of the march. High vis? No problem!
The march took us from Kelvingrove into George Square in the centre of Glasgow. I think it was 2ish miles and took us about an hour to cover as it wasn’t exactly a brisk pace! As we marched it was great to see the sort of support I tend to associate with racing in Glasgow – drivers tooting their horns and waving, shop owners cheering us on and residents hanging out of windows calling out and making noise by banging saucepans, etc. We ourselves were making plenty noise with whistles, horns and rattles so it was pretty cool.
When we got to George Square there was a rally so we gathered to listen to the speakers and make sure the numbers in the square remained high. It was only at this point that the real scale of things became apparent as we were told that an hour after we had begun marching, the last of the marchers were only just leaving Kelvingrove Park – that’s basically a 2 mile snake of marching teachers moving through Glasgow! Very powerful and hopefully it will help to make a difference.
As things came to an end I headed off to meet Steve who had completed his parkun business (shadowing the RD ahead of taking on the role himself next weekend) and jumped on a train to Glasgow. He couldn’t really join us as he had a small procedure on his foot during the week and has to be careful about spending too much time on his feet while the wound heals but fancied spending a bit of time in Glasgow. I was, unsurprisingly, pretty hungry by this point so we went to get some food at Bar Burrito. It’s one of those places with a similar setup to Subway, but with Mexican food. Reasonable prices and pretty tasty so we often go there when we’re in town.
After that we had a quick look in some shops then went for a hot drink at Hotel Chocolat (of course!) before our train. I do enjoy their seasonal specials so had their autumn hot chocolate. I can’t remember now what the autumn ingredients were – I have a feeling it was something like maple and pecan notes – but it was delicious.
I was pretty tired by then after being on my feet all day so we got the train home, ran a couple of quick errands and were home in front of the tv ready for the Strictly Hallowe’en special. Perfect!
I didn’t set an alarm for Sunday, instead allowing my body the chance to get whatever rest it wanted and enjoy a potential extra hour of rest. Of course, I was woken by the kittens who were full of beans thanks to the recent full moon. Anyone know how to set their clocks back an hour? 😂
The weather was cold again and I could see a layer of frost on the cars. Time to get the winter kit out! I got myself dressed in my winter finery (plus sunglasses since it was actually quite bright) and set off for 8 miles. It was a really enjoyable run and I got just what I wanted from it – to keep my mileage ticking over while I build a solid base to head into the new year. No need to bust a gut over the pace, just run comfortably and listen to my podcast. It was lovely.
The rest of the day was pretty chilled. We had to get some food shopping done since we hadn’t done it on Saturday, then a chance to relax and recharge before the new week. One down, eight to go…
Have you ever taken part in a march/rally?
What’s your favourite winter kit?
On Wednesday things were really busy and once more I felt a little unfocused. Steve suggested a run to clear my head, but I was wary of piling physical stress on top of mental stress so stuck to a short route and easy pace. I definitely felt much better when I got home again!
Thursday saw me at another yoga class, this time Ashtanga. My focus was back and I felt like I moved well through the postures. Still working on that headstand but I like having something that I want to improve on and am waiting for that “a-ha” moment that helps me to finally realise what to do.
The weekend, whilst much needed, was also really busy. I began on Saturday with parkrun. I really wasn’t sure how I was feeling after a tiring week so decided just to see what happened. And what happened was I ran a sub-24 minute time for the first time since the marathon at the end of April! I said recently that I really wanted to be back in that sort of form before going away on holiday so I guess I’ve achieved that now. It will be interesting to see if my time improves any further in the next couple of weeks.
Post-parkrun I was back on the paddleboard for another SUP yoga session. It was raining but with a wetsuit on that didn’t really matter. It was, however, still rather windy so that affected the postures we were able to do. All that yoga, especially the SUP sessions, really worked my core this week!
The show, however, was brilliant. I wasn’t a massive fan of the support act, but Michael McIntyre was hilarious so I’m glad we were able to see him, even if it did mean a late night!
As a result, I was pretty tired on Sunday morning so decided to head out for 10k rather than trying to increase my mileage any further. I was pretty tired and sluggish for the first mile but then my body woke up and remembered what it had to do and the rest of the run felt great.
The rest of Sunday involved a number of errands followed by a visit to my parents since it was Fathers’ Day.
It was from Wednesday that things were a bit more out of the ordinary. First of all, I was out of school for an exam meeting. I was back on the early train to Glasgow and heading to a different hotel for the day (no overnight stay needed this time). It was a beautiful morning and Glasgow is always lovely in the sunshine so I opted to walk to the hotel. A few people had raised their eyebrows at this, but with the logic of a runner, I knew it wasn’t that far since the venue was at the far point of the Santa Run course which is a 5k loop from right by the station I was arriving at. I therefore knew it would be a little over 1.5 miles away and probably only a 30 minute walk. I had plenty of time and really enjoyed the walk.
Since it was so nice I headed out with a friend from the marking team for a walk at lunchtime and everything looked amazing.
Then after the meeting I walked back to the station for my journey home. By the time I got back I had walked a fair distance but still had a run on my schedule. However I also had a sports massage booked and realised I wouldnt be able to squeeze a decent run in before heading along there (it was 6pm and the massage was at 7pm) so began to wonder if I could possibly get up early and run in the morning. I actually laid out my running kit and mentioned to a couple of people that I might do this as that would keep me accountable…
I rounded off my Thursday with Ashtanga yoga. I was feeling good and surprised myself by managing TWO full rounds of Wheel for the first time. Now I can tick that off as something I have progressed to in the sequence, next up is to keep working on my headstand as I’d love to be able to do this unsupported.
I had a group running with me, some of whom were looking to run a faster time than they had been of late, and at least one who was hoping for a PB. I always find it so strange to run along with a group bunched around me – like having an entourage! Despite the heat and the group working hard, we managed to smile for the photographer so it looked like we were all having fun!
I came in at 27:52 so everyone wanting sub-28 was fine and there was definitely a PB in there for someone. It’s always so nice when this happens. The runner has put in the work to get that time, but it’s nice to feel like setting a steady pace has helped them to reach that goal and seeing how pleased someone is to run a new PB is fantastic.
Post-parkrun I got myself organised for another session of SUP yoga. It was feeling warm and I was in two minds about the wetsuit but just couldn’t face the idea of going in the water without it so decided to sweat it out in the wetsuit. It was a fantastic session and I was able to stand not just in Mountain pose but in Warrior this time (I only managed this for about a millisecond last time!) so I know I have made progress on the board. Towards the end of the class there were a couple of people in the water so I decided to slide in off the side of my board as I was conscious that I needed to get in the water to overcome my fear of falling in. It felt really nice and I loved just bobbing about with my floatation device on. Now I’ve been in, I’m less scared of the thought of a fall. I’m, also considering buying a “shorty” wetsuit for warmer days as I know I can borrow Steve’s full length one if I need it.
I do love this time of year when I don’t have anything imminent to train for and can keep my training up but without too much pressure so there’s room for a bit of fun. With all that exam marking to fit in, it’s a welcome distraction!
Friday was an early start as I had to get a train to Glasgow for the first part of my exam marking duties. We were meeting in one of the city centre hotels and I had a booking to stay over that night rather than go back and forth. I quite like getting the train as it gives me some time to read/listen to a podcast/blog and feels quite relaxed when the train is quiet.
We always eat really well at these events so I soon made up for the light eating the night before! Lunch was awesome as it was all the various bits and bobs to build your own fajitas, plus a salad bar and selection of desserts. That evening I ate in the hotel bar with one of my friends from the team and had a pretty amazing burger followed by a double chocolate brownie with hot chocolate sauce and ice cream. Yum!
Fortunately, I did have the foresight to get a bit of activity into my day as well. I knew we would finish around mid-afternoon and since it was a glorious day (the west coast of Scotland gets the best weather) I took a walk into town with my friend and we treated ourselves to a drink at Hotel Chocolat. I picked the salted caramel chilled chocolate.
Once back, we located the hotel pool and I had a bit of a swim before we headed into the steam room for a bit of a blether. It was good to have a bit of chill out time around all the work (and forthcoming marking!).
Saturday was more of the same and sadly no chance of fitting in a parkrun, so I consoled myself with a selection of food from the breakfast buffet (it’s a hard life!). I started with a selection from the cooked breakfast foods, then saw someone with a pancake and chocolate sauce. I investigated and realised that there was maple syrup so treated myself to a pancake with bacon and maple syrup. Not something I have often but oh so tasty!
We had another great lunch where there was a selection of foods and I just went for a mad selection of a little bit of everything. My plate seriously had rice, ratatouille, ham, veg, fries, spaghetti and salad all at once! I then “double-desserted” as there was mini key lime pie and profiteroles. How was I expected to choose!
The train journey flew by as I bumped into some others I had been working with and discovered that one of them is also a runner so we chatted about races all the way back. Steve had offered to pick me up but I was needing to move so opted to walk home. It was a nice surprise about half way up the road to find him walking down to meet me. I didn’t do much else the rest of the day as I was feeling tired and actually went to bed quite early. What a party animal!
Post-run and breakfast I took my work into the garden and got down to some exam marking while Steve was out for a long bike/run brick session. We had a few errands but once that was done I headed back into the garden to make the most of the sunshine since there’s no guarantee of it lasting around here!
