A little bit of everything - #Juneathon day 6

Today was a lovely day, but having done a towpath run yesterday, I wasn't keen to just do a combination of running and walking again today. However, as we were finally having some sunny weather, I didn't want to spend all my time exercising indoors.

I therefore came up with a plan of getting Sarah to drop me at the gym and then making my own way home. Usually when I'm in the gym, I do five minutes warm up on the treadmill and see what I feel like from there, but knowing I was going to end up walking/running home, I started on the cross-trainer instead. What confuses me there is that I did 3km in just under 15 minutes. Projecting that forward, I would have completed 5km in just under 25 minutes - why can't I do that on a treadmill or what I'm at Park Run?

Having completed my time on the cross trainer, I knocked 4 seconds off my PB doing 2k on the rowing machine. For a bit of a break, I thought I'd try a little time on the leg extension and pull down weight machines. Not a serious go, but enough to remind my body where muscles are supposed to be.

After a short burst on the exercise bike, I headed home. Although I knew where I was heading to a point, I wasn't exactly sure where the trail to the towpath was or what it was like, so I walked from the gym to the towpath - just as well as there were some quite interesting obstacles that would have made life interesting to run down (low branches, mud patches and nettles - sometimes all three at the same time).

When I'd cleared this bit, I ran back towards home. I haven't run down that part of the towpath for a while and it surprised me how quickly I covered the distance. All too soon I was back at the main road, with a short walk to get home. Quite a pleasant afternoon's exercise.

Thursday is my weigh in day - doing so straight after finishing my workout probably wasn't the best idea, but even a 1/4lb loss is still a loss.

Cross Trainer 1.86 miles in 14m 57
Rowing Machine 1.24 miles in 09m 07
Weights - a bit
Exercise bike: 4.04 miles in 12m 02
Running: 1 mile in 08m 34.
Walking: 1.46 miles in 23m 53.
Weight loss: 0.25lb

Juneathon totals:

Running:
Distance - 7.22 miles
Time - 1h 02m52

Swimming:
Distance - 1.55 miles
Time - 54 m 24

Cycling:
Distance - 23.04 miles
Time - 1h 08m53


Walking:
Distance - 3.56 miles
Time - 56m 47

Cross Trainer:
Distance - 1.86 miles
Time - 14m 557

Rowing Machine:
Distance - 1.24 miles
Time - 09m 07

Total Distance - 38.47 miles
Total Time - 4h 27m 00

Towpath Trip - #Juneathon Day 5

The last two days, the weather has been glorious and with Sarah being away, there was no opportunity for me to do any exercise outside the house. So obviously now she's back, the sun has spent all day behind a cloud. Although I've felt like I'd been hit by a brick all day and all I wanted to do was go back to bed, I wanted to get out into the fresh air.

When I left the house, I hadn't really got a route in mind - just that I'd head up onto the canal towpath and see how I got on doing a 5k run. I warmed up for 1 mile and then set off, switching from the Birmingham Mainline to the Old Mainline and my pace seemed OK, however as I was about to rejoin the Mainline, I realised two things - 1, I was about to have a shoe-mergency and 2, I needed the loo! I slowed to a walk to find a convenient place to remedy the situation before picking up the pace again afterwards.

I use runkeeper to record my details, which at the end of the exercise said I'd done the 5k in 28m 09. (I deliberately kept the walk/run parts separate). Funnily enough, I'm not too disappointed with this, even though on the face of it, it was over two minutes slower than my PB. I have, however, learned to take the GPS trace from my phone/runkeeper with a pinch of salt. The organisers of Park Run Walsall have told me that the course is measured to be 5k (3.11 miles), however runkeeper hadn't got close to reaching that figure and even though I've done 14 Park Runs, I don't think it's recorded the same distance twice! (Even if the Park Run course wasn't exactly 5k - it's certainly not 0.3 miles out)! Gives me hope that I can be faster on Saturday!

Running exercise total: 3.11 miles (5km) in 28m 09.
Walking exercise total: 2.1 miles in 32m 54

Juneathon totals:

Running:
Distance - 6.22 miles
Time - 54m 18

Swimming:
Distance - 1.55 miles
Time - 54 m 24

Cycling:
Distance - 19 miles
Time - 56m 01


Walking:
Distance - 2.1 miles
Time - 32m 54

Total Distance - 28.87 miles
Total Time - 3h 17m 38

Déja vu - #Juneathon Day 4

Same as yesteday for the same reason, just a shorter distance in a slower average pace. Partially because the kids were later going to bed, partially as I felt I should have a lighter exercise day today as I put lots of effort in yesterday... and I was playing SongPop at the same time.

Tired now - must be time for hot chocolate and bed!

Exercise total: 8 miles in 25m 22.

Juneathon totals:

Running:
Distance - 3.11 mile
Time - 26m 09


Swimming:
Distance - 1.55 mile
Time - 54 m 24

Cycling:
Distance - 19 miles
Time - 56m01

Total Distance - 23.66 miles
Total Time - 2h 16m 34

Exercise Equation - #Juneathon Day 3

If wife = in Edinburgh with work and kids = asleep in bed, workout = exercise bike.

Exercise total: 11 miles in 30m 39.

Juneathon totals:

Running:
Distance - 3.11 miles (5km)
Time - 26m 09


Swimming:
Distance - 1.55 miles (2.5km)
Time - 54 m 24

Cycling:
Distance - 11 miles
Time - 30m 39

Total Distance - 15.66 miles
Total Time - 1h 51m12

Splish Splash - #Juneathon Day 2

Since completing Swimathon at the end of April, I have tried to make sure I go swimming at least once a week (OK with the exception of the Bank Holiday weekend when bed was just far too comfortable for me to consider moving!)

I have found the best time that suits both me and the family is on a Sunday morning. Most of the time, the kids can be trusted to sort themselves out with breakfast and entertain themselves without starting World War III and Sarah can relax in bed (at least until the shouting starts!).

Since Sandwell council built the new leisure centre in Tipton, lane swimming has been available most mornings, with Sundays being from 8.00am until 9.00am. It was actually quiet quiet today, although since it was the final weekend of Spring Bank Holiday Half Term, I guess some people will have been away.

My effort for Swimathon was based around doing three 25m lengths of breast stroke followed by two lengths of front crawl, however since then I've been trying to change that ratio. Today, I did the first 1km doing 1 length of breast stroke followed by 4 lengths of crawl. After that, it was front crawl all the way and it actually felt quite good!

When Jeremy Clarkson is reviewing the lap done by the star in the reasonably-priced car, he often says that if it looks slow, it's generally quite fast. My swim felt fast, so clearly it was going to be slow! I suppose it didn't help that my mind was drifting a little bit - whether it was starting to write this blog post in my head or thinking about the rest of the day. It was just as well that I had the lap counter with me as on several occasions I realised I had no idea what number lap I was on. (One of the reasons I started training for Swimathon I did so many laps on one stroke and then so many on another so I could work out where I was!) Still it doesn't help if you mis-read if towards the end of the workout. A quick check of the lap counter and I thought - great, 2 to go and on starting the last lap put a bit of speed together to finish with a flourish. However, on touching the wall, I realised that what I thought was lap 98 was actually lap 96 so I still had a couple to go! I promptly finished those two last lengths off, which was just as well as the lanes had been removed sometime during my last 5 laps and if I'd set off again, I would have crashed into parents playing with young children!

Exercise total: 2.5km in 54m 24.

For those who have followed my previous exercise blog posts, you will know that my primary goal has been to lose weight. Well I'm pleased to report that in May, I got my BMI into the 'healthy' range and despite a couple of pounds added here and there, so far I have managed to maintain that (OK so I've only been healthy for three weeks but it's still an achievement in my eyes). I feel I have a little more weight to lose as I'm still at the top end of healthy and it wouldn't take a lot to slip into unhealthy ways again, but if I can get my BMI into the middle of the range and keep it there, I'll be happy - I'll also be able to start buying clothes that fit me again as I have a lot of baggy trousers at the moment!

Besides the usual Juneathon rules, I need to make sure I cover at least 167.75 miles this month. This is to keep me on track for doing 2013 miles of exercise in 2013 (so usual communiting activity doesn't count). As at the end of May, I was at around 895 miles, which is about 56 miles ahead of where I need to be. However, I don't want to be complacent as if I come down with a nasty bout of something later in the year, I'd like to have the miles in hand to be able to complete the distance.



Juneathon totals:

Running:
Distance - 3.11 miles (5km)
Time - 26m 09

Swimming:
Distance - 1.55 miles (2.5km)
Time - 54 m 24

Total Distance - 4.66 miles
Total Time - 1h 20m 33

A Long Weekend In Liverpool

Friday 24 May 2013

I don't always enjoy bank holiday weekends. Yes, I enjoy the extra day out of the office, however sometimes they just turn into an extension of a normal weekend - too much housework to do, trying to entertain two children inside as the weather's miserable... not this time.

I'd arranged to switch a couple of days around at the office, so instead of finishing at 5.30pm feeling tired, I finished at 2.30pm and was raring to go.

Go, in this instance, was Liverpool. We were spending a long weekend staying at the in-laws house, which is always nice. As ever, it took longer to get the other side of Wolverhampton than it did to get the rest of the way. Whether it was Sarah headbanging to Bohemian Rhapsody with G being suitably embarrassed from the back seat (I would have joined in with her, but it was a particularly busy stretch of road and I needed to concentrate!) or G singing quietly (word-perfect) along to a song we had no idea she'd heard before, even the journey was fun.

Saturday 25 May 2013

Saturday started fairly normally for me, but unusually for Sarah in two ways. The first was that G woke up at stupid o'clock. In her defence, there was no clock in her room and it was light enough for her to think it was time to get up. However, in going past S's room and into the Grandparents room, she disturbed S. Believe me, the last thing you want is an awake S at 4.30 in the morning! Despite Sarah's best efforts, getting him back to sleep proved impossible.

The other new thing for Sarah was that she did her not only her first Parkrun, it was her first 5k run and I was very proud that she completed the distance. The rest of the morning was a chill-out session as the kids played in the garden until it was time for Christmas!

Although we had planned to see Jodie on a couple of occasions, for one reason or another, we hadn't managed to meet up, so it was nice to be able to see her again (and exchange Christmas presents). The six of us (Grandma, Jodie, me, Sarah and the kids) headed down to Crosby beach.

Grandma is in training for the TOGS marathon (I still haven't got my head around how this works as it doesn't appear to involve travelling the required distance). However, as a part of her entry she needed to make a video introducing herself - here's a quick excerpt of her doing her chariots of fire bit.

By the time this had finished, Sarah, Jodie and the kids were nowhere to be seen. The kids had decided to explore the dunes and they had gone to supervise! After a while we headed back home, however it was still a nice day so we sat in the garden and chatted whilst the kids played.

Sarah and Jodie putting the world to rights in the garden.

Eventually it was time for Jodie to go home. Grandad was feeling under the weather, so he headed to bed, closely followed by the kids. The three of us left sent out for a Chinese Takeaway, however this did open a completely different debate - perhaps you can help us out with it!

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Sunday 26 May 2013

The Duck On The Clock

After a cooked breakfast on Sunday morning, we caught the train into Liverpool City Centre. S caught sight of the River Mersey and excitedly claimed "It's the swimming pool". As much as I love his enthusiasm for swimming, I'm not sure that would be the most hygenic stretch of water to take a dip!

We headed to the Pier Head, where there were a couple of helicopters and a typhoon jump jet that could be sat in. As we arrived, S pointed to the top of the Liver Building and exclaimed "It's the duck on the clock!" Kids have such a funny way of looking at things sometimes.

Prepare to die, Daddy!

S was intially a big worried that the helicopters would take off with him inside, but he was reassured into going in. I didn't survive long as he found a gun on one of the helicopters whilst I was outside, pointed it at me and shouted "Prepare to die, Daddy!" In the next helicopter, the children were allowed to sit in the cockpit and pretend they were flying it.

We'd brought a picnic into town with us, so we took the opportunity to have a sit down. It was a bit of a backwards picnic as we started with ice-cream and followed it with more savory stuff. Batteries recharged, it was show time. First we watched a fly-past, then there was a Tiger Helicopter (I think) that performed all sorts of maneuvers over the river. We were impressed that S commented that he thought that the way it moved was like a shark coming out of the ocean and I have to say he was right. After the helicopter returned to base, the local sea cadets treated us to a show that included the sailor's hornpipe, club twirling and a display on the rigging.

As the cadets display finished, we started to head to the Museum of Liverpool as there was some kids colouring activities going on. On the way there, there was a robot performing. S got a lift on Grandad's shoulders to see what was happening and I lifted G onto mine - it' had been a long time since I'd done that and I'm not keen to try it again any time soon (well she is nine!). The robot was doing some singing and dancing and the kids seemed to enjoy it, however there was quite a crowd around, so it was difficult for me to see exactly what was going on.

I'd heard about the Museum of Liverpool before, but this was the first time I'd been inside and it was quite busy. We were a little early for the craft activity, so we had a little explore. One of the nearest exhibits to the room we were going to be in was about the Liverpool Overhead Railway. Unfortunately, one of those parts of history now consigned to the past with the only reminder it was ever there being in the museum itself. As the museum was over three floors, it's definitely going to be somewhere I'd like to go back there again.

I was a little disappointed with the craft activities that were put on as it was mainly colouring sea scenes - still it wasn't there for my benefit and it was an opportunity for the kids to do something different for a bit and for Grandma and Grandad to have some time off. Unfortunately, S got bored incredibly quickly and although he did get distracted when his three cousins unexpectedly showed up, soon Sarah needed to explore some more of the museum with him.

G&S colouring with their cousins G&E

After a while, it was time to move on and we headed up to Chevasse Park to see what was happening there. As it happened, the advertised event was a 'Proms in the Park' and we found a space on the grass for a little more picnic and to see what music was on offer. To be honest, it would have been a lovely spot to have enjoyed a nice cold beer, but apparently that wasn't allowed. The next band up was a jazz band from Liverpool University. They weren't bad with a decent set that had my foot tapping. S certainly thought so as he was dancing around - so much so that a photographer asked us if he could take S's picture for Liverpool One publicity. Don't suppose it will get used, but we didn't have a problem with that.

As it came time to think about going, S sat down for a drink - at which point we noticed his shoes. He was wearing his school shoes, which was fine as they were pretty durable, however the sole had started to wear significantly to the extent that the insole was visible. On the way back to the station, we had to take a diversion via Clarks for a new pair.

Arriving back in Waterloo, it was time for tea. We went to Nicola's on South Road, which lets the kids make their own pizza. Our two had eyes bigger than their stomachs and so needed to take what was left of their dinner home!

After a shower to freshen up it was clear that I'd caught the sun - still it had been a lovely day.

Happy, contented, but a little sun burnt!

Monday 27 May 2013

On the Monday, the day started with another cooked breakfast - which was delicious even if was going to take some work in the gym to get rid of again. The weather for today wasn't great so we took the kids down to the marina on their scooters where they could play on the swings. After making Grandad be the troll under the bridge, they went to the waterside. Near the Lakeside Adventure Centre, there's an outdoor gym. Sarah took full opportunity of the facilities on offer...

It also gave Grandad the opportunity...

to nick the kids scooters and go for a quick tour of the park! Not that the kids were fussed - they were just as happy on the outdoor gym as Sarah!

After a while, the promised rain started to appear, so we headed back home for a lunchtime snack. G had been badgering us all weekend to play some games as a family and so out they came. S wasn't fussed, he snuggled up with Grandad on the sofa.

First was an Angry Birds game that Jodie had gone G for Christmas. It was a pleasant enough game... up until the point you have to flick the die to try and knock over the king pig - that can hurt, especially if you need multiple shots to knock it over!

After that, we introduced G to Cluedo. It looked like she had the hang of it, which is more than can be said for her Grandma, who made an accusation based on three cards she held in her hand! In typical competitive Dad style, I managed make a correct accusation first, although to be fair, we think G had actually reached the correct answer but continued to eliminate everything else rather than make the accusation.

My triumph, however, was short-lived as Blind Ignorance was brought out - a game that I am terrible at. It's known under various names, but essentially if boils down to you having a name on a card attached to your forehead and having to guess who you are by asking questions that can only be answered with a yes or a no. G, Sarah and Grandma took great pleasure in watching me struggle to identify myself as Kermit The Frog.

Am I Kung Fu Fighting?

After a roast dinner for tea, it was time to go. As ever there were tears from G who didn't want to go, but as Sarah and I had to work the next day there was no choice. Still, it was an excellent weekend!

Pinch, Punch, First of the Month - It's #Juneathon

Raring to go!

I feel rough - it's not an excuse and it's not man flu, but I am starting this Juneathon (junathon.com) with a throat that feels like it's been cut to ribbons and a nose that makes a noise when blown not dissimilar to when I'm playing my trumpet.

It's a bit of a shame really, because after a couple of days of really miserable weather in the West Midlands, it's brightened up and it's a glorious day.

So my Saturday started the same way it has for about the last three months now - with a drive over to Walsall Arboretum for a Park Run... But with one slight difference - my legs would be on display. I can't remember the last time I went for a run outdoors when I was wearing shorts as opposed to running tights!

The first challenge was finding somewhere to park as a fun fair had arrived and was setting up shop where I usually park. Fortunately, I spotted some of the other runners coming out of a pub car park, so I was able to nip in and join them.

The pre-run gathering

The Start/Finish Straight.

Previously when I had run at Walsall Arboretum, we had used "The Grange" end, however today we would be using the Victorian end around the lake. I'd only run this course once before, on the first anniversary of Park Run at the Arboretum. To be honest, it doesn't really matter to me which we use as the challenge remains the same (me vs the clock). However, the Victorian course is all Tarmac, which makes life a easier for those running with buggies, whereas the old course is a little more uneven.

Remembering my last run two weeks ago, where I had an unexpected shoe-mergency, I made sure my laces were nice and tight and after the usual briefing, we were off. Given the nice weather and the fact that I'd had a couple of sessions in the gym on the treadmill this week, I was hoping for a PB and ideally to go under 26 minutes. (My PB is 26m 03).

Our morning briefing from run director, Kate.

When I run, I like to listen to music, using the standard headphones provided with my iPhone 5. As they're in-ear headphones, I've had problems with them staying in before, however not to this extent. I'm sure I spent more time on lap one trying to sort my headphones out than concentrating on my running. Eventually, I decided the only solution was to keep them in by pulling my headband over my ears. This seemed to solve the problem... however I then became concerned that I'd set off too fast!

When I do Park runs, I try to go at a sufficiently fast pace so I don't get lapped, well there was no chance of that today! Half-way around my second lap, the leaders came blasting by. A quick check of my watch showed we were about 13m 30 into the race. It'll be interesting to see what the winner's time is today.

As I started my final lap, I felt that a PB was still possible, but I would have to pick up the pace a little. Being unfamiliar with the course, it was difficult to tell whereabouts I was on the lap, particularly as just as you think you've gone round the lake, there's still a little more to go.

I tried to pick up the pace in the closing part of the lap and stopped my watch at... 26m 09. 6 seconds outside my PB, but 4 seconds faster than I ran at Princes Park Run in Liverpool last weekend. The official results are still to be posted, but they've matched my watch the last couple of weeks. (They'll be posted here ( http://www.parkrun.org.uk/walsall/results/latestresults/ ) if you're interested)

Taking my tag, I was 71st today. For me, the exercise and the time are more important than where I finished. Recording a time consistently around my PB is OK and I'm not unhappy with it, but I would really like to break that 26 minute mark.

If anyone can suggest anything to help me increase my pace (preferably an audio program/podcast of some description that can be used both outdoors or on a treadmill) or a decent set of running headphones that aren't going to fall out my ears every two minutes, that would be fab.

As ever, a big thank you should go to the volunteers as without them giving up their time,there wouldn't be a park run as the important jobs of timing, marshalling and organising wouldn't get done. If you would like to take part in a Park Run, they happen all over the country (and the world). Visit Parkrun.org.uk to find out where your nearest race is, register for free and join in!

Some more runners crossing the line.

Volunteers and finishers continue to clap home and encourage those still running.

Juneathon totals:

Running:
Distance - 3.11 miles (5km)
Time - 26m 09