After not getting any strength and conditioning sessions in
for the past two weeks I was determined to get there at least three times this
week to make up for it.
Monday, 5 February
I finished work an hour early today so that I could go
straight to the gym and still be home at around the same time as I would
normally, so as not to leave Ruby on her own for too long. I thought that I’d be useless given my two
weeks off, but I was feeling surprisingly strong. I upped the weight on the sled pull by 10kgs
and still felt I could do more.
Unfortunately, the 20m track in the gym where I do my tyre flip sprints
was being used by somebody else so I was very limited on space and didn’t
really have much distance to get a decent sprint in.
When I go to the gym, or do other exercise, I always feel
really invigorated afterwards and I spent my drive home thinking about stopping
off and going for a run, however I had to get back to Ruby so as soon as I
walked through the front door, I got her on her running harness and just had a
jog round the block with her.
Distance – 1.3 miles
Wednesday, 7 February
I was working from home today so went to the gym first
thing, arriving at just after 7am.
IT WAS FREEZING!!!!
There is no heating in the gym and the thermometer was
reading -3 degrees! I did my entire
workout whilst still wearing gloves and a beanie hat. I only took my hoody off after 45 minutes but
still had a long sleeved top and a t-shirt on.
It makes you work harder when it’s so cold though because I spent my
rest periods between sets running up and down the track, although that’s
probably not what is defined by the term rest period.
This evening I went for a walk up to Two Lads with
Ruby. We went up along the edge of
Wilderswood onto George’s Lane then walked along to the kennels and up from
there. There was a thin layer of snow on
the ground but it wasn’t slippery. We
came back down the water tanks side and went through the middle of Wilderswood
to get home.
Distance – 3 miles
Friday, 9 February
Back to the gym again straight from work today, really
pleased with myself for managing to get here three times this week without
talking myself out of it. I again worked
through my lunch and finished an hour early so that I could get back to Ruby in
good time, it’s a good job I have an understanding boss who lets me work
flexible hours to get my training in. I’m
really lucky in that respect.
The session didn’t go as well as hoped though. On my third of four sets of deadlifting, I got
a sharp pain in my left knee. I don’t
know what I did wrong but it was really sore.
I decided not to carry on with the deadlifts and instead move on to the
sled pull but as soon as I started to pull it, which involves a slight bend in
the knees, the sharp pain was there again. I’m hopeful it’s nothing serious and just a twinge but, as I’m booked to do the
Anglezarke Amble tomorrow, I decided to take it easy and move on to some arm
and abs work instead. The arms bit was
fine but when I tried to do plate abs that also hurt my knee. I did a few crunches (even though I know they’re
not great for the back) and called it a day.
Driving home hurt my knee too though whenever I pressed the clutch pedal.
Do you think if I gave up exercise and just lazed around on
the couch every day I’d still get injured?
Saturday, 10 February
– Anglezarke Amble
This is my third time doing the Anglezarke Amble (missed it
last year due to a holiday), but my first walking it. Due to a number of errands I had to run today, I decided to just
do the 16 mile Amble route, which I’ve never done before.
It turned out that I didn't even manage the short route though, pulling out 1.5 miles in when I reached the Pike.
As mentioned yesterday, I hurt my knee at the gym. Last night I iced it and kept it elevated. It felt fine walking, just had the odd twinge going up stairs. I decided to start the Amble today anyway and see how I got on.
All the way up to the Pike I was having an internal battle about carrying on because whenever I got to a steep part or a step, there was a bit of pain. The thing is, it wasn't a lot of pain, more of a dull ache, meaning it wasn't an easy decision to make. The steps up to the Pike were pretty slippery with a very fine layer of ice on them. When I got to the top, I knew it was decision time. Speaking to other walkers, they all had conflicting opinions, some saying 'you've done the worst bit now so just carry on' and others saying 'it's not worth it, it's really slippery underfoot so you'll only end up jarring it and making it worse'.
I knew that to pull out would upset me but I decided it was the right thing to do. I still don't think it is a serious injury and will probably wear off after a day or so but is it worth carrying on for a walk that a) I've done before a few times, b) I could do at any time because it's on my doorstep c) there were absolutely zero views because of thick fog d) the weather was rubbish (although I like being out in the rain so that's no reason) and e) was really slippery underfoot so ran the risk of making a minor injury into a major injury resulting in yet more time off running/walking.
Decision made, I headed back down the same way as I had come up.
As I got past the barn and started heading down to the road, the runners started coming towards me, as they set off an hour later than the walkers. There were many familiar faces there which made my walk of shame even worse.
After a natter with EtU about buffs and underpants (?!), I carried on back to base where I found that I wasn't even the first drop out... I was the third!
I hung around for a while chatting to the good folk from the West Lancs LDWA until Duncan came to pick me up and drive me home for a warming brew and a cuddle with Ruby.
Still hopeful that the knee thing is nothing bad but I've put myself a couple of supports to wear next time I'm deadlifting.
It turned out that I didn't even manage the short route though, pulling out 1.5 miles in when I reached the Pike.
As mentioned yesterday, I hurt my knee at the gym. Last night I iced it and kept it elevated. It felt fine walking, just had the odd twinge going up stairs. I decided to start the Amble today anyway and see how I got on.
All the way up to the Pike I was having an internal battle about carrying on because whenever I got to a steep part or a step, there was a bit of pain. The thing is, it wasn't a lot of pain, more of a dull ache, meaning it wasn't an easy decision to make. The steps up to the Pike were pretty slippery with a very fine layer of ice on them. When I got to the top, I knew it was decision time. Speaking to other walkers, they all had conflicting opinions, some saying 'you've done the worst bit now so just carry on' and others saying 'it's not worth it, it's really slippery underfoot so you'll only end up jarring it and making it worse'.
I knew that to pull out would upset me but I decided it was the right thing to do. I still don't think it is a serious injury and will probably wear off after a day or so but is it worth carrying on for a walk that a) I've done before a few times, b) I could do at any time because it's on my doorstep c) there were absolutely zero views because of thick fog d) the weather was rubbish (although I like being out in the rain so that's no reason) and e) was really slippery underfoot so ran the risk of making a minor injury into a major injury resulting in yet more time off running/walking.
Decision made, I headed back down the same way as I had come up.
As I got past the barn and started heading down to the road, the runners started coming towards me, as they set off an hour later than the walkers. There were many familiar faces there which made my walk of shame even worse.
After a natter with EtU about buffs and underpants (?!), I carried on back to base where I found that I wasn't even the first drop out... I was the third!
I hung around for a while chatting to the good folk from the West Lancs LDWA until Duncan came to pick me up and drive me home for a warming brew and a cuddle with Ruby.
Still hopeful that the knee thing is nothing bad but I've put myself a couple of supports to wear next time I'm deadlifting.
Distance - a pathetic 3 miles
Stats:
Week’s total running distance: 1.3 miles
Week’s total walking distance: 6 (plus daily standard Ruby walks)
Week’s total cycling
distance: 0
Week’s total swimming distance: 0
Total number of S&C sessions: 3
Not a productive week distance-wise. Must try harder!
Not a productive week distance-wise. Must try harder!
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