Tag: 5×50

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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Happy Easter! I’ve had a wonderful weekend- how about you?

I was still getting over my chest infection this week so my activity levels haven’t been back to normal yet, but I am getting there. Meanwhile my eating has been, well, far from ideal – but I’m really not worried about it. Back on track between now and Florida 😉

Monday: travelling back from our trip away, but we did get a walk in. Nothing else.

Tuesday: back at class- yes! Sculpt was great, it’s tough, challenging, but feels very good indeed. That was followed by Trigger Point Pilates, which was ace.

Wednesday: back to Jog Scotland and it was my first run in 10 days. We ran for 40 minutes, which was around 3.6 miles. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and boy did I need it!

Thursday: a walk in Lochgilphead

Friday: three hours of gardening- I’m counting it!

Saturday: a walk to and from Portavadie as well as a lovely day in the Spa there

Sunday: a trip to Gigha, so we enjoyed a fab walk around the island

All in all, I still have a way to go to get back to my previous fitness levels before my chest infection, but a bank holiday 10k run today has helped to boost my confidence with that.

And here’s something I’m reminding myself of:

Have a good week!

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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Did you enjoy the mild weather last week? I certainly did. I made the most of it while it was mild and dry – it was perfect running weather.

We had no classes last week as Jacqui was recovering from a nasty virus, so I pulled on my running shoes and got outside. All in all, I ran five times! I didn’t want to overdo it and cause any injuries so I tried to keep my runs structured and sensible. I also ate well and fuelled properly for a change instead of leaving my diet to chance. I also made sure that I stayed properly hydrated.

Here’s how my week went –

Monday: I planned to run 4 miles, but after my first kilometre I realised that I was running quite quickly (for me) so I changed my plan, deciding to do 5K, increasing my tempo as I ran. I did it, and really enjoyed it- and I was really pleased to see my time at the end of the run. It was a great start to the week!

Tuesday: my legs were feeling tired after Monday and probably after a busy weekend catching up on me so I took a rest day.

Wednesday: Jog Scotland run- we did hills in Tarbert which is something I struggle to do on my own. I really enjoyed it, though it was tough. It’s exactly the type of training session I needed.

Thursday: a slow recovery run. The Welsh Wookie headed out with me at the start of my run and did the first couple of miles before breaking off to do the remainder of his run at his own pace. I had wanted to do the 4 miles I had planned earlier in the week, but I forgot to change my watch from kilometres to miles so I ran 7K instead and enjoyed it.

Friday: our weekly lunchtime trail run was arranged for Friday and it was such a mild day! I reached a real milestone- I was able to run all of the way to the top of the hill without stopping. Woo hoo! I was so pleased, and very grateful to Alison and Morag for keeping me going!

Saturday: we had a busy day, helping out at Fèis and Tairbeirt. When we were finished I was keen to get out for another run. I didn’t want to push myself too far or too fast, I just wanted to go out and enjoy my run, which is exactly what I did. I kept my pace steady but slow and ran an easy 5 miles. I also wore capris for the first time this year!

Sunday: another rest day. As much as I could have run, I chose not to. I have a busy week ahead and wanted to be prepared and ready for it. I also did my food prep for the week so that I can keep on track as much as I can.

This sums up the past week for me, and I’m very grateful to have made the most of it:

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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It’s another fresh week, and another damp start here in Argyll. How was your week? I was quite pleased with how I kicked off another 5×50 Challenge, and I stuck to my seven days of activity with no huge issues. Go me!

For those of you not familiar with it, the challenge is to do 5k or 30 minutes of exercise a day for 50 days, and this round kicked off last Sunday. Here’s what I did:

Sunday: a walk through Blarbuie Woods

Monday: Veraflow

Tuesday: Sculpt followed by Trigger Point Pilates

Wednesday: run with Jog Scotland

Thursday: 30 minute walk

Friday: 5k run

Saturday: 5k walk

Sunday: 6.6k walk along Crinan Canal

Not bad! Given that the weather is changing and we move into later autumn, here’s a reminder for you: Here’s to another great week!

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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After the coughing, sneezing and runny noses of last week, I still managed to do it: another 5×50 Challenge is in the bag! I really enjoyed it this year, and found myself looking forward to doing and then logging my activities every day, staying accountable. Here’s a summary of my past 50 days:

It’s been filled with classes, runs, walks and a few curveball activities but it’s been ace. Roll on October to the next round. Is anyone joining me?

One thing that has been at the forefront of my mind this week as my physical activities have been much lower impact that usual due to this cold is that we do need to think of our health, fitness and wellbeing holistically. When one element is out of balance it can have a huge impact on another so I’m the coming few days as I’m recovering I’ll be giving that much more attention than usual.

Have a wonderful week!

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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Spring has sprung, at long last and I find myself looking out at glorious sunshine for a rare change. It really does lift the mood and make me feel more eager to stay on my health and well-being path.

I managed to do that for most of last week. I went for a lovely 4 Mile Run on Monday, and then treated my muscles to Trigger Point Pilates on Tuesday. I then ran another 5k on Wednesday before going to PiYo on Thursday where we went back to the ’80s and did round 40. Boy, was that tough on the lower body! I had planned a run on Friday but went for a walk instead as my legs were tired. Saturday and Sunday we’re both walks, so I haven’t managed to squeeze in that extra run just yet but I have managed to keep my 5×50 Challenge on track. We are almost half way!

Tonight we’re having a circuits class for a change, and I’m really looking forward to it…. I think! Summer body, here I come! 🙈

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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Hello, have you had time off over Easter, or have you been busy working and keeping on track? We had a couple of days off work, and after being off chocolate for Lent I’m afraid I went a bit daft last week and I’ve probably eaten my weight in chocolate since!

But one thing that I have been consistent with is my exercise. As I’m committed to doing the 5×50 Challenge I was able to keep doing a minimum of 30 minutes each day. Last week looked something like this:

Sunday: A walk around Glasgow’s West End, clocking up 53 exercise minutes and 7k.

Monday: more walking, this time around the city centre and then the west end. I managed 70 exercise minutes and 11.5k

Tuesday: we headed home and I throughly enjoyed Trigger Point Pilates in the evening.

Wednesday: I had a great 5k run with Tarbert JogScotland and felt fantastic afterwards. We mixed in some file running which was tough but much needed.

Thursday: after missing it the previous two weeks it felt brilliant to be back at PiYo. We went back in time and did the first ever round from two or three years ago- and my legs felt it on Friday! The DOMS were immense!

Friday: I had planned to run but my legs needed a bit of recovery after Wednesday and Thursday so I did a 10k walk instead.

Saturday: was a busy day, but @TheWelshWookie and I headed out late afternoon for a walk around the harbour. We kept a good pace, and managed to get another 10k in the bag

Sunday: again, I had planned to run but I felt a little run down so instead we headed to Skipness for a walk. We tackled a path we’d never taken before, and did 49 exercise minutes, just shy of 7k.

We did do a lot of walking, and I did no strength or conditioning training except for PiYo but for a holiday week, I’m delighted that we managed something every day.

Tonight, I’ve started the week with a wonderful four mile run in the sunshine- what better way is there to round off a Monday?

This definitely reflected my workouts last week: I’m sure there are times you feel the same!

Monday Motivation 

Monday Motivation 

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So I’ve been AWOL over the past couple of weeks. Did you notice? Anyone miss me? I took a short break while The Welsh Wookie and I were on holiday in Tenerife. We relaxed, ate, drank beer and had a great time. 

We weren’t completely idle, though. The weekend before we went we took part in the Great Edinburgh Run, a ten mile race around the city. I’ll post my race report separately (I’ve yet to write it) but I had a great run, with a pace of 9.50 per mile, faster than I had predicted over a hilly, hot course. 

The day of the run was also the final day of my 5×50 Challenge so it was great to finish on such a high note. 

  

We then jetted off to the sunshine for ten days. We did lots of walking, getting in an average of 15,000 steps per day and I also managed a couple of hot, sweaty dreadmill 5ks but it was good to dial down the intensity a little and have some down time to relax and repair. 

But my focus is now on the next challenge: the Rock n Roll Liverpool half marathon in a couple of weeks. I managed a hot, hilly 11 miles yesterday but I found it tough going. I went with my body, though, and walked a couple of times when I had to. But the mileage is there and the training has been good until now. 

Tonight it felt amazing to be back at WAR. I kept the intensity down a notch. I had no choice, I’d forgotten to pack a sports bra…. oops! But I took part, omitting the more aerobic moves for a change! The new core section was a tough one, it was challenging across my whole body, but I’m looking forward to giving it another go, when I’m properly attired! 

Whether you’ve also taken a break from your routine or you’ve been skipping your training altogether, I hope this helps getting you back on track: 

Late Motivation 

Late Motivation 

by TartanJogger ♥ 3 Comments

How was your Easter weekend? Mine was fantastic, but it meant that I forgot to blog yesterday- sorry about that! I thought I’d post tonight instead, with a round up of my training from last week.

Monday was WAR. This is such a good way to start my week, I’m really feeling the benefit of the HIIT style tracks and the strength training: my arms and shoulders are stronger than they have ever been and I know the squats and lunges are paying off. I’m pushing hard, and leaving each section shaking and sweating, but I still have work to do, especially with the tricep work. I’m determined to keep building on what we are achieving so far in this session. It’s ace!

On Tuesday I ran a strong four miles in 38:55, which was better than I expected. I was running comfortably and didn’t push too hard, but want to keep the intensity on track which I think I did. 

Wednesday was a 5k run to West Loch Tarbert with Jog Scotland. This was at a comfortable talking pace which was perfect after the stronger run the evening before. The run was over before I knew it: I really look forward to my Wednesday night social runs with JogScotland.

PiYo and VeraFlow was off on Thursday due to the Easter break and so I headed out around the village for a walk which was good. I needed the break and so I listened to my body and focussed on active recovery.

Friday was a day of getting organised, but I thought I’d get in some cross training so did 30 minutes on the indoor bike. It will never be my favourite type of exercise, but I understand the benefits and so I have been just getting on with it!

On Saturday we were able to get to Victoria Park ParkRun and I was in two minds about how I’d run with a week to go before the Great Edinburgh Run. I decided to see how I coped with a sub 30 minute 5k and it turned out that it was very comfortable indeed! I was able to chat easily, and I could have easily pushed harder but to know that I can now run sub 30 minutes again shows me how far I’ve come in the past four months, I’ve knocked at least 5 or 6 minutes off my 5k time. I still have a way to go to reach my 5k PB time of 26:11 but I think I *could* have run around 28 minutes 😉 Big thanks to the 30 min pacer- she was absolutely ace!

Easter Sunday was all about family time, but I squeezed in a walk around Glasgow’s West End, in the pouring rain. And then I ate. A lot. We had Mexican food which made a change for our family: for starters I had chicken rice balls, which were like arincini followed by a spicy cod dish served with rice and finished lunch with creme egg cheesecake! Wow, it was awesome! I also had a few margaritas and a few of us had tequila shots…… as you do! Eek!  Just immediate family for dinner 🙂

After an after party at LADs house (and a couple of gins) we headed off to Ryan’s gig in Merchant City: it was amazing! They were awesome! 

On Monday @TheWelshWookie and I had some shopping to do, but when we arrived back in Tarbert we headed out for a lovely walk, soaking up the last of the bank holiday sunshine. We had stopped off at the George Hotel in Inveraray for lunch, which was ace! We definitely over indulged this weekend. 

Tonight, I headed out for an easy 5k but ended up with another four miles in the bag, at a pace of 9:22. I didn’t plan that pace, my legs just wanted to run so I went with it 🙂

I know that balance is everything- and I’ve rounded up tonight by eating half of a Lindt teddy. I don’t mind admitting it- it’s the first major chocolate fest since Christmas and I feel a bit sick after it….. not my best idea, but It is all about balance, isn’t it? At least that’s the choccie overload out of the way 🙂

I’m looking forward to getting back on track for the rest of this week, before the Great Edinburgh Run on Sunday. 

Here’s a little motivation if you’re struggling after the weekend:

 Have a great week!

5×50 Challenge: Week Six Round Up

5×50 Challenge: Week Six Round Up

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5×50 Challenge: Week Five Round Up

5×50 Challenge: Week Five Round Up

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