The start of October for the past 2 years has meant my end of season annual leave and time off from training :) I was ready for some time off, as the only extended leave i had had was my trip to turkey, an emotional rollercoaster of a trip, and then i had a few days off in july to watch wimbledon, so definitely in need of a recharge of batteries and some sleep. This October was also significant as it was my mother's 60th birthday so the two of us went off to London for a few days to do what we love to do, watch theatre shows, shop, and eat good food :) Tea at the Ritz was simply amazing, and Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables were truly wonderful. We also got to do a little sightseeing but because we were so busy and i wasn't getting up at an ungodly hour on my time off i didn't make use of the 5 star fitness facilities are our lovely hotel. They even had a 25m pool!!!!!
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| Tower Bridge |
Even though October was my month of no real formalised training, other than 4 days off straight at the start of my leave i have been ticking over. I have had some days where i've taken an extra rest day because of circumstance but my swimming has been twice a week and i've seen great improvements there with regards my feel for the water, my breathing capacity, and my power with my pull. I'm also spending a lot of time on the turbo and it helps that i have a sky+ backlog to keep me going on my low heart rate zone rides with the odd sufferfest video thrown in to spice things up every now and then. I've also started going to a pilates class and i think this has possibly helped with my breathing. What has happened though is that asthma has been diagnosed now after i returned to the nurse. My blood tests were all clear but the peak flow rate over a month showed enough of a pattern for me to be started on a steroid pump as a preventative measure and then a ventolin pump as and when i need it. If it will finally allow my lung capacity to feel more like it should given my fitness then i'll be one happy bunny! I'm back doing strength work and have been building up slowly, yet to get back to the gym, but instead doing body weight work, trx exercises, and basic kettlebell work. I've finally ditched my obsession with protein bars and did lose the weight i put on during my "eat what i like week" but these past few days where i've made a hearty lentil based soup i've found myself feeling bloated so that obviously wasn't the right choice for me. I know it's the off season, and i'm allowing myself beer when i fancy it, i'm also trying to make positive changes to my diet to get to the weight i want to be, whereas the past 2 years i've been carrying just a little bit too much in my opinion, even though those who know me would cry out that i didn't need to lose any. On the negative side my running is still hampered by my long standing calf/achilles problem. This flared up again without an apparent cause early september and whilst i reduced running volume and intensity right down it wasn't helping, not even with regular stretching and osteopath treatments, This week i haven't run at all and it's killing me as i love running the trails in autumn and i've also missed the first west glamorgan cross country fixture for Celtic Tri, with the second race also likely to be missed too as crosscountry isn't exactly forgiving when you have a calf/achilles problem. Another thing i did, given that's it's a month of doing different things, is a 2hr charity zumbathon, and i went on a date! The date itself went well, or so i thought, but it wasn't meant to be, so it's back to me, myself, and I! What i haven't yet managed to do though is get on the golf range or throw my climbing shoes back on!
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| Meandering through Chinatown, London |
Speaking of golf...what i have started this month is sport psychology support work with young golfers who are in the south wales regional squad of Golf Union Wales. This opportunity came unexpectedly, through my MSc in Sport Psychology at Cardiff Met (UWIC) and whilst it'll mean a big time commitment with often 2 weekends of every month having a commitment, it also means i get to put my sport psychology into practice and will help me gain experience ready for any private work i pursue in the future. I'm also back on the dissertation wagon, having met with my tutors this evening, so i'm hoping to get my data collection sorted soon, ready to start data collection when the tri season starts next spring. So i'll have a fine balance ahead of me with full-time work, sport psychology golf work, my dissertation, a MSc module after xmas, and then the usual things like training, running a house, and making time for family and friends!!
As i enter November so there's an exciting development occurring which i'm super excited about. More of that next blog no doubt...As for now, well i'm enjoying my turbo time as the weather and free time hasn't been in favour for outside rides for a while, and i'm actually really enjoying swimming, although my bad that i missed this morning as my body just said 'No!' I really hope to get back running in time that i can still enjoy the trails without them becoming too muddy and also in enough time for my races which i'm already signed up for! I've paid up for 6 already and that's all my A races sorted, with only one or two others to fit in, but even if i didn't add anymore in then i've got one exciting season ahead and i'm conscious to have enough time between each race to build and to also use some races as training races rather than tapering for every race as i did this year.
Happy November everyone!! xx
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| Fantastic contrast of bleak black clouds against the backdrop of sun overlooking Celtic Manor golf course |
