Cross-training over the summer holidays!

Abingdon Marathon Training - 13 weeks to go

Monday 24th July 2017 

The summer holidays have arrived and we celebrated with a nice lie in! Today actually didn't run - shock horror! The reason we didn't run is because we were embarking upon a new challenge - a Tandem bike ride! John had bought me a voucher for a days hire for my birthday. We planned to cycle from Bristol to Bath on the cycle path which would be my furthest cycle ever. 

Picking up the bike from the cycle center near the cycle path, the owner gave us some tips and we had a little practice cycle. She informed us that the front rider (John) was known as the captain - consequently, we renamed ourselves Captain Cox and Lieutenant Dicks. We set off cautiously but it didn't take long for us to feel stable and start to pick up the pace! We managed to get up to 20 miles an hour at one point - before I started screaming and forced John to slow down. We stopped off a few times on the way and then ate lunch in Bath before returning home. 32.1 miles cycled! 

In the evening, we continued our cross training with our favourite yoga class - much needed as my bottom was incredibly sore after all that cycling! 

Tuesday 25th July 2017 

Today we decided to do some speed work. We went to the local track with the aim of doing some 800m reps. It was very hot and my legs were still aching from the cycling yesterday but I still managed 8 x 800m efforts at a pace of between 5:50 - 6:15 mm. 

In the evening, we went to the Ivy in Clifton Village. The parents of my Year 6 kids bought me a voucher so we headed up to check it out. The restaurant itself is stunning - an old bank with hundreds of transport themed paintings covering the walls. The menu was big and there were lots of gluten free options - although not a separate gluten free menu so I had to remember the options. The staff were attentive and brought gluten free bread. It's a great place to go for a special occasion. 

Wednesday 26th July 2017 

We missed our usual GWR run this week because we had a Harry Potter quiz in the evening. So John and I went out in the afternoon for a GA (general aerobic) workout. 13.2 miles ran on a hilly route - I've been trying to make more of an effort on hills to try and improve on my weakness. 

Thursday 27th July 2017 

Today was our next cross training activity of the week - squash! We ran to and from the court at Easton Leisure Center to get some extra miles in. Using MoveGB the squash court was free to hire. 

We played 3 games initially and I lost all three pretty quickly! Then John gave me some top coaching advice and let me try out his extra special racket ...watch the video below to see what happened! 

Friday 28th July 2017 

Today was the next in the Towpath series. John was planning on racing in the evening but I wasn't so wanted to get a few miles in during the afternoon. John kindly agreed to accompany me as my domestique on his bike! 8 miles done and as my legs felt progressively looser and warmer, I picked up the pace which made for a good progressive effort. 

mile 1 - 8:27 

2 - 8:10 

3 - 8:11

4 - 8:25 

5- 7:49 

6 - 7:44 

7 - 7:47 

8 - 7:21 

All the time, it felt comfortable and my heart rate was below 150 the whole time so pretty pleased with the workout. 

John's warm up cycle clearly worked as he finished in 2nd place at the Towpath race in the evening. It's always great getting to watch John finish as usual I'm running the same race but further back in the field. Today was an especially exciting finish as he was in a very close race for 1st position. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite able to get a win but did pick up a bottle of wine! 

Saturday 29th July 2017 

Due to the fact that we had a wedding the next day, today was to be our long run. We were up at 6:30 so that we could get some miles in before parkrun. Unfortunately, today was just one of those days when you're not feeling it. My legs were tired, I was tired, the hills seemed huge and never ending and so the run was pretty slow. Still, another long run done - 18 miles ticked off the plan. I guess it's good to run even when you're tired - good practise for the end of the marathon when my legs will definitely feel tired! 

This evening, we went to see the Jungle Book at the Old Vic followed by a few drinks in Clifton to celebrate our friend Andy's birthday. 

Sunday 30th July 2017 

Another fairly early start today as we had a wedding to go to! A nice steady 3 miles to wake us up before driving to Nottingham for my friend's wedding.