Tag: outdoors

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

by TartanJogger ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

How on earth did we get to the end of January? As usual, this month has felt endless- but at the same time I can’t believe I’m already a month into my challenge to get back on track. I’ve had another fantastic week, both my fitness and my eating has been on track so I’m pleased. There’s been no secret to this- it has been down to preparation and making sure I stick to the plan. So far, so good! Here’s how my week turned out:

Monday: I did two classes. First up was Core Conditioning. It’s tough, it I had definitely made progress compared to the previous week’s class. And the DOMS I had in Tuesday and Wednesday were a real testament to that. We then had Veraflow which was great for stretching and for balance, and ends with a much welcomed mindfulness session.

Tuesday: we had snow, and the roads were a bit tricky so classes weren’t on. However at lunchtime I headed out with Alison for a snowy run, to christen my new trail shoes. It was beautiful!

Wednesday: the previous days snow had frozen so JogScotland was cancelled, but I wanted to give my new trail shoes a go on ice, so I met up with Alison and Lesley for a short run. We did lamppost sprints, which I’d never do in my own.

Thursday: the weather had improved and Class was back on so it was back to PiYo, which I had missed the previous week. It was one of those nights when everything clicked and it was great!

Friday: I had a rest day after four solid days of activity.

Saturday: the weather was wild with winds and driving, icy rain but I was determined to get out and test my new trail shoes on a muddy trail. I reckon that it’s very likely the weather won’t cooperate on the day of the Kintyre Way Relay so I might as well train and get ready for that. I did just short of 3.5 miles doing the short Castle loop three times. I focused on building confidence running downhill in the slippy mud and I think I did that. I did walk at times, and stopped to take plenty of pictures – I loved it. I had planned to do 4 miles but I’m happy enough with how my run went.

Sunday: a rest day. I’m heading into another busy week and in the past my enthusiasm has overruled my sense and I’ve pushed too hard, too soon resulting in injury. I’m going to take my time to build up slowly in the coming weeks, balancing distance with hills and cross training to hopefully achieve the best results.

I’ve also done more mindfulness this week, I’m sure that’s not done any harm whatsoever!

Here’s some motivation that has worked for me, if you’re flagging as we head into the last few days of this month:

Have a great week!

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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It’s another new week, yay! How was the last week for you? Mine was ace! I stuck to our New Year Reset all week with little temptation. I kept up my exercise and my healthy eating and I’m definitely feeling the benefits. We also had a lovely, relaxing weekend which is why I needed, too.

Here’s how my week went in terms of exercise:

Monday: I headed out at lunchtime with Alison and Morag for a trail run. We did the same route as the previous Friday and we were slightly quicker. I also made it a little further up the big hill which was great!

I then went to the first Core Conditioning Class- it was tough and really challenging. I reckon I have pretty good core strength but this really pushed me and I have a long way to go to get the variation form. Lots to do!

Next up was Veraflow which was a lovely end to the day, with some great routines and movement ending with a much needed mindfulness section. A triple threat day!

Tuesday: or rather #TwosdayTuesday. It was our first sculpt class since before Christmas and it too was tough to get back into! Next I enjoyed Trigger Point Pilates, eh oh I needed to work out the muscles after a couple of weeks back in my exercise routine.

Wednesday: week two of our Jog Scotland block, our group did hill repeats which is a drill I struggle to do on my own. I’m really pleased we’re being challenged with different drills every week!

Thursday: I managed to fit in a walk and rounded the off on 12,500 steps

Friday: a cold, wintry walk along the harbour

Saturday: I had planned a run but my calf felt a little tight so we went for another harbour walk instead

Sunday: rest

All in all, I thought my week was good, all be it a little too front loaded. I’m not complaining though!

My new trail shoes arrived on Saturday so I’m planning on christening them with a lunchtime trail run tomorrow. Can’t wait!

I think this will be my mantra: have a great week!

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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How was your first full week back in 2019? I’m going to start in reverse order by telling you that I had a brilliant trip away in Belfast for the weekend, where we all surprised my mum while she was there for her birthday/retirement. It was ace!

But before that I had a really good week of eating well and cutting out the rubbish. Jacqui has set up a four week New Year Reset, just to get everyone back on track after indulging over Christmas. It’s not about weight loss, but about nourishing your body and feeling more energised. So far, so good!

Here’s what I did for exercise last week:

Monday: no class, so we went for a walk

Tuesday: no class, another walk.

Wednesday: Jog Scotland was back, and was busy- which was great to see. We did a 10 minute warm up jog, 10 minute tempo run, 10 minute cool down jog. I was very happy to be back.

Thursday: I joined Alison and Morag for a trail run around Kilmory Loch at lunchtime, I had never run there before and I loved it! At night it was also the return of PiYo and we started a new round. The lower body track is a bit of a challenge!

Friday: I planned to run but I had a little hip niggle so rather than risk it I went for a walk and did some TPP to help to ease it off.

All in all, it was a good week but I’m really looking forward to classes all being back this week.

I’ve signed up to do the Kintyre Way Ultra Relay along with Alison and Morag. We’ll be doing one section each of the 33 mile route so we’re planning to run together one lunchtime each week which should really help with training. I’ve ordered new trail shoes as my current ones are ancient, but faithful servants! Bring on the hills!

I’m looking forward to another great week 👍🏻

Enjoy your week!

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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Did you miss me last week? I was off on holiday and so I also took a sneaky little holiday from posting, too.

What did you miss? I bet I missed more!

As we had a fabulous family wedding and a trip to see more family, my fitness plans- and my 5×50 Challenge- did slip however.

Here’s a roundup of the past two weeks:

Monday – Veraflow which is a lovely, lovely class

Tuesday- Sculpt followed by Trigger Point Pilates

Wednesday – Walk

Thursday – PiYo

Friday – I didn’t get any meaningful activity in, so I’ll count that as a rest day 😉

Saturday – Wedding – I danced A LOT

Sunday – not much activity but we did walk to and from places in the West End

The following week:

Monday – travelling all day

Tuesday – walk

Wednesday – walk

Thursday- walk

Friday – walk

Saturday – walk

Sunday – walk

Did you spot the pattern last week? 🤣 The weather was lovely for late autumn- dry, crisp and cold so we made the most of it by getting out and walking. I’ve had some twinges in my left knee: nothing serious but I felt I should rest it and walk rather than risking it and running.

Here’s something different for today’s motivation, I do hope you like it: I’m not sure how achievable some of these are (day 21 – really?) but others look good to me. Have a great week!

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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It’s Monday, and for us it’s a bank holiday. Yay! I love an extra Monday off, with nothing much planned 🙂

How was your week? Mine was very mixed: a week where the best laid plans went awry. I started off last Monday with a brilliant Circuits class. I’m finding that my fitness is recovering and every week I am making progress. It’s such a great way to start off the week, revving up with both strength and cardio. I tried out my new leggings from OgiYogi and they were amazing!

I knew I wouldn’t make it to Sculpt or TPP on Tuesday as I was on my way to stay at my parents for early meetings in Glasgow on Wednesday. I did manage a short walk, though. The plan for Wednesday to Friday was to be in London for work, so I planned lots of walking a s packed my resistance bands, but Storm Ali put paid to my plans, and London wasn’t meant to be this time. I did walk around 15k steps on Wednesday and one positive was I made it back for PiYo on Thursday. This new round is ace, and as we have lots of beginners it’s been a chance to really focus on technique and getting each move right.

I had a day off on Friday, and so I decided to head out for a 5k run. It was amazing! The first self motivated run in a while, and I loved it.

We had visitors all weekend, but on Sunday we did go out for a walk in the rain, and this morning, @TheWelshWookie and I got another 5k in. It’s the first 5k that he has done in a long, long time: as he said, it’s wasn’t fast and it wasn’t pretty- but he smashed it!

I may well have rediscovered my running mojo, just in time for the autumn! Have a wonderful week ☺️

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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I’ve not blogged for a couple of weeks, as we’ve been on holiday. It was good to step back and change up my routine with no pressure to keep anything up. We had a bit of a staycation: we visited places in North Wales before going to the Midlands and the coming back up via York. We had a great time!

During the first week, we kept our eating more or less on track, but we’re much more relaxed during the second week. And though we didn’t have any formal fitness plans, we did an awful lot of walking almost every day, often getting around 15,000 – 20,000 steps in. So all in all, not bad!

We are getting back into a routine this week. No circuits tonight, but we got a lovely long walk in after work instead.

Have a good week, whether you are in holiday, working or getting back, and don’t forget:

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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Happy Bank Holiday Monday! 

We’ve had a lovely weekend, with lots of RnR. Last week was great, though a busy week at work meant that my training wasn’t quite a planned I’m afraid. We had no WAR on Monday, but I did a double class on Tuesday: stability class is getting tougher using weights, medicine ball and increased reps with every week. This was followed by PiYo stretch and flow, which I really love. I missed Jog Scotland on Wednesday and I also missed Thursday night PiYo. Here’s hoping for a calmer week this week, with more of my regular routine.

We had no WAR tonight as its a holiday, insteaywe had a lovely long walk past Tarbert Castle, and it was as beautiful – if foggy- easy for it.

Here’s your motivation for the coming week: 

Have a good week, all!

Monday Motivation: 6 days until Spartan Day

Monday Motivation: 6 days until Spartan Day

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I cannot believe it, less than a week to go. Oh my! This training period had flown by in a flash, and I’m only now feeling fully recovered from my injury. 

 I feel like I did last week: part excited, part filled with trepidation, but what will be will be. Last week’s training went a little awry: lack of numbers meant that Jacqui had to cancel Monday and Tuesday night’s classes, which was a really difficult call for her- but I agree that she can’t run them for very small numbers of attendees. It’s just a shame when it happens to her (and is) at short notice. It put a little more focus on what I had to do for myself, so on both nights I did some strength training and ran, managing 5k on Monday and 4 miles on Tuesday. I know it’s always more difficult to train by myself than to put in the effort at class, but I pushed myself with some challenging moves including box jumps (eek) and sandbag lifts. I then ran 5k again on Wednesday to test my tired legs and I struggled, but I’m very glad I pushed through as I’ll have to keep going with tired legs on Sunday. 

I was then in London from Thursday through to Sunday night, so I didn’t get any training in – unless you count an average of 15,000 steps per day and lugging a suitcase about with me!

Tonight, we were back at WAR and I pushed it: it was really hot, really sweaty, but I felt much more capable than I have in weeks and weeks, with the strength returning in my legs for the balance moves and the jumping lunges. Progress indeed! I’m sure I’ll have DOMS tomorrow, but that’s fine with me 😆 I also worked my shoulders, chest and core hard with some full press ups and I tried to focus on my form when doing planks and side planks. 💪🏻

I have my bag packed for tomorrow, I’m hoping to squeeze in a run before PiYo tomorrow night, again just to really push myself. Bring it on! 

This is my focus for the week: I hope it resonates with you, too. Have a strong week! 😎

Monday Motivation: Three Weeks Until Spartan Day

Monday Motivation: Three Weeks Until Spartan Day

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I can’t believe that, in three week’s time, it will all be over and I’ll have- hopefully- completed my first Spartan Run. Eek! This is hurtling towards me at an accelerated pace, and I’m hoping that my nod towards training is enough to see me through.

As I said in last Monday’s post I started the week with WAR. And I had DOMS for days, I definitely pushed myself! On Tuesday I did a 5k run/ walk which felt good, but reminded me that my body isn’t quite 100% yet, my left leg still felt a bit off and weak. I’m hoping that my runs this week will show an improvement, but who knows. 

I had an unanticipated busy week, with a trip to Islay on Wednesday meaning that I missed my regular Jog Scotland run. I was out on Thursday night and so I missed PiYo but I managed a walk and a little cross training on both nights which was better than nothing. Since then, I’ve had visitors all weekend for the Seafood Festival, which is one of the best weekends of the year in Tarbert. This year was no different: it was really wet but we had great fun, great food, excellent company and a few cheeky drinks including the newest addition to the local gin collection: Kintyre Gin   I’ve had a day off today, which had mostly been spent getting beds stripped and washed, and catching up on a few things around the house. We have a quiet weekend coming up, with no visitors which will be nice as we’ve enjoyed company for the past three weekends. I’m hoping that this week will give me a chance to keep my fitness goals on track. I’m heading to WAR later today, we’ll see how that goes after such a busy weekend 😉 

We then have a trip to London planned before the Spartan Race, so I’ll be doing what I can between times to keep up. Eeek! Here’s some Monday Motivation that I’m holding on to- I hope it works for you!

SpartanJogger Training Continues 

SpartanJogger Training Continues 

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Well, in a fashion it does. And by fashion I mean this rather swish Spartan Ambassador Tee 😉   As the weeks go by, I’m feeling much more like my old self physically, but I still have a way to go with some numbness in my right thigh, triceps and upper back. My left knee isn’t collapsing nearly as much but I’ve not ventured a run on it yet. 

I had a great night at WAR last Monday working on my core, legs and arms in particular but I didn’t use my weighted gloves- I’m planning to add them back in tomorrow night, if my osteopath appointment goes ok. I was a bit wobbly in the legs last week, too, but much improved from the previous week. 

Yesterday, @TheWelshWookie and I went for a long, hilly walk in the woodlands above Tarbert, getting in six miles which was a real achievement: I felt ok physically, with my left leg struggling a little only in the downhill sections. 

The view was gorgeous:   When we got back, I did some work comparing my current training to the Spartan guide and there are some gaps I need to work on. Granted, I’m very happy that I’m already working hard on squats, lunges, planks, press ups and other key strength exercises, but I do have some gaps to address:

Bear Crawls: I’ll need to work on these to get my butt under the barbed wire. Not sure what to do beyond focussing on dropping my hips when holding a plank.

Pull Ups: Nope. Definitely a gap for me. Not sure I’ll ever manage pull ups so I’m going to rely on The Wookie punting me up ropes and walls 😆. Meanwhile I’ll work on my next gap:

Box Jumps: I’ve asked The Wookie to find a suitable implement we can use for practicing these- my coffee table is too high, higher than a dining chair. Still working on this one for now but I know it will be a critical one.

Sandbag Lifts: we’ve been working on imaginary sandbag lifts at WAR so I’ll have to really focus on this, and see if there’s something I can use in the meantime to build some strength here.

Not too bad, though, four key areas for development in terms of strength.

In the coming week I’m hoping to try a short run/walk/run so wish me luck with that, it’s been five weeks since my last run so I’m missing it terribly! 

All in all, training is slow: my focus has been in recovery and on returning to fitness in a measured way. Long may it continue but with five weeks until the Spartan run I hope that my improvements build momentum as my confidence in what I can do returns. 😀