Wednesday 22 February 2012

Human Jabba

My runs have gradually gotten longer throughout training and currently are nearly all long. I still can't believe that back in October I was nearly dying after less than 5 minutes and now I'm running for two hours at a time or more. While it isn't always a breeze- I CAN do it. I was pretty certain at the beginning that this was a bit of a pipe dream and that I would NEVER get past 5 minutes let alone a 5k, then once I got past a 5k I thought a 10k would kill me. I read and heard from people about hitting a wall and was often discouraged, but now I feel like it is possible and I can't wait to cross that finish line! Don't get me wrong, I am still absolutely petrified of April 22nd, but I might actually be able to do this!

I recently found out I'm anemic- no biggy really, it just means my iron levels are low and therefore I have no energy and sleep all the time! This is slowly being fixed with daily iron supplements, however it has and is effecting my running. I have little energy to run and after my runs I can't do anything. Lying in bed with a cuppa is the most one can expect of me following any run let alone a 2-3hour bad boy. I am basically turned into a Human Jabba. I would encourage anyone who is feeling more sluggish or sleeping more than usual to visit their doctor, I kept dragging my feet until my friend made me go in. I am so thankful that I did and I am slowly becoming more energetic and focused. 


For those who don't know, I am running I am training for the London Marathon on April 22nd and I am running for Action Deafness and I am trying to raise  £2,500 for their very worthy cause. If you would like to donate please do so here. I am also sewing and selling kitschy, geeky crafts to support them. Please take a quick look and see if anything strikes your fancy. You can find them on etsy.

Running and lifting

It is week 17 of the London Marathon's Beginner 24 Week Training plan and I am 3 weeks into my new lifting regimen

Today was: Jog 20 minutes and run for 10, it the first day in months that I ran outside for my whole run and ran with my running partner. It was nice to run with someone else and be outside, but it was still a bit too cold for my liking. Today was on of those runs that the only thing that kept me going was the thought of my after workout snack of broccoli and chorizo stirfry. I was achey and tired, but mostly just cold. I may have to stick to the treadmill for another week or so. My workout today was roughly 5 miles in about an hour(I forgot the check the exact time we ran out the door).

My lifting workout at home went well, but they always do as lifting is my favorite form of exercise. I love the new lifting routine, I feel much stronger and I love how tired and sore I feel just after. I can see and feel the difference in my muscles and on the scale. I haven't lost any weight, but I can see that I am slimmer in most places, sadly, the Holloway hips will never cease!

I would also like to point out to those women who worry that if you lift, especially if you lift heavy, you will become a big hulking mass of muscle- YOU WON'T! First off, the women who get that way take supplements and injections, secondly, they workout constantly and do bulking diets and work HARD to look like that. We produce different hormones than men which means we do not gain muscle as easily as men and therefore do not get as large. If you want a perky butt, do heavy squats that make you feel like dying and for tight, defined arms lift as heavy as you can.

The thing that probably draw you to lifting heavy most is that muscle burns more calories than fat and is nearly half the size. So, you are slimming your size and burning more calories with less effort in the long run.

For those that are athletic lifting will help your running, swimming, biking, rugby, baseball, softball, or play any other sport. The more muscle you have the harder you can push in a scrum, the faster and harder you can bike, and the longer you can run.

Below is the lifting plan for the first 1-4 weeks, sometimes I like to switch it up and do abs and arms on the same day, just be sure that you do not work out all your muscles in one day. If you work out all your muscle groups you will be too sore to lift the next day. Consistency is key, without it you will not gain muscle, lose fat, nor get faster runs.



I am training for the London Marathon on April 22nd and I am running for Action Deafness and I am trying to raise  £2,500 for their very worthy cause. If you would like to donate please do so here. I am also sewing and selling kitschy, geeky crafts to support them. Please take a quick look and see if anything strikes your fancy. You can find them on etsy.