Still smiling

March 19, 2020June 25, 2020 / Lorna runs / Leave a comment

Well we are living in crazy times and I’m not sure it’s all sunk in yet. Still thankfully I remain optimistic about everything, perhaps naively, perhaps wishfully but none the less optimistic that things will get back to normal in few months ish ish.

I will continue to train for the Ironman although swimming maybe an issue for a while, may have to come back to that later.

In the meantime I’ll focus on what I can do, rather than what I can’t. I can run and cycle as much as I want and the roads should be quieter. I can search cookbooks and try out new recipes and I will be inventive when the ingredients I need are not on the shelves. I can still ‘meet’ friends and family via Skype/ Zoom etc and am planning a ‘night out’ with a lovely group of friends via Zoom and accompanied by gin and tonics. 🍸🍸

I hope everyone stays well, isn’t facing too much stress and can find some gold at the end of the rainbow… the elusive bog roll ✌️

Recovery time

March 15, 2020September 1, 2020 / Lorna runs / Leave a comment

During any training period time to recover is important. The very basis of improving fitness is incremental increases in training, rest and recovery and adaptation. Then repeat…..a lot.

This weekend I’ve been forced into an early recovery stage and it may last longer than I would like… I seem to have picked up a bug of some kind, no cough or fever in sight but none the less not feeling well and sleeping a lot, really a lot!

Sadly this has meant cancelling seeing dear friends as well as cancelling my participation in the half marathon race today (although subsequently the race was cancelled anyway).

Additionally it’s hard to not be affected by the news of flight cancellations, the potential loss of an upcoming holiday, the uncertainty of future races not to mention the uncertainty of older loved ones potentially having to isolate for longer periods.

So I’m lying here in bed and trying to think positive thoughts, what can we take away from these situations as a positive?

I’ve seen a number of examples of how lovely my friends are and people are in general. A lovely new friend dropped off paracetamol with some chocolates through my door yesterday. Another lovely friend made cake for my husband and I after our race today (sadly the one we then couldn’t do). I’ve seen locally a forum of people offering to help others if they get stuck at home. It’s so refreshing to see such kindness.

The other positive about resting is that I hope to be stronger and fitter when I return to training. Bring it on.

Corona virus blues la la la

March 12, 2020June 25, 2020 / Lorna runs / Leave a comment

Been a busy week so the most I’ve managed so far is a short run and a turbo session. I’m hoping to swim tomorrow and Saturday if the pools stay open and do a half marathon on Sunday if it’s still running. However a reality may soon be gym training in the garage, turbo time in the lounge and reading up on swimming techniques rather than doing… we will see what happens oh dear covid.

In the meantime I’ve just had my singing lesson, enjoyed singing At Last, a great jazz tune. However shortly maybe I’ll practice some blues, covid blues… to the tune of heartbreak hotel…

Since they’ll close the schools down, the gyms and pools too, we’ll have no place to train and then we’ll need the loo …

I got the covid blues babe , and it’s taking its toll, I don’t know what I’ll do when I’m out of bog roll…

They may soon cancel races, events and laughter too, and I’ll be eating biscuits, watching movies , finding things to do

I got the covid blues babe, and it’s taking its toll, I don’t know what I’ll do when I’m out of bog roll….

La la la

Week 2 of training

March 8, 2020June 25, 2020 / Lorna runs / Leave a comment

Just over 5 hours of training this week, should of been 7 but life, hay fever and the half marathon next week kinda got in the way. This is good though as I’ve been training for months prior to official week one and having an easy week is good for you.

Today’s bike ride just 2.5 hours including riding up the brickworks and being bounced about by the wind. Beautiful up there.

Running time

March 7, 2020September 1, 2020 / Lorna runs / Leave a comment

Today’s training was an 8 mile run which was a nice change from the longer ones I’ve done recently. Next week is Wilmslow half marathon so this was taper time (joy).

I wonder what others do whilst running. My mind wanders, I think about numerous things in a weird all over the place mad dream like way. It’s quite therapeutic. Although the other thing I’ve found myself doing in the last miles is imagining I’m in a race and I’m placing in my age group, about to overtake the person in third place…. I think about finishing my Ironman in a good time….imagine running down that blue lined last 100 metres and throwing my arms in the air as I go through the finish line. Sometimes I think my thoughts are those of a deranged crazy woman and other times I convince myself it’s true and this positive visualisation will help me to be amazing in some way.

Deranged is probably more in the ball park though 😆

Swim drills

March 5, 2020September 1, 2020 / Lorna runs / 4 Comments

Got up and raced to the pool to get there before 6am. It’s crazy there and people hog lanes early and do not like sharing. Icy windows and some roadworks meant I arrived at 6.05 dam! I threw off my clothes as if you’d told me Brad Pitt was in the next room, donned my super speedy swimsuit and hat and pegged it around to the edge of the pool. It was only 6.10 hurrah.

Alas all the regular swimmers, mostly over 70 had shown me up as they were already in the pool doing their laps and ALL lanes were claimed. Unbelievable! How do they get in there so fast?

I got in a lane where the swimmer was slow in both that lane and neighbouring lane and wove around them back and forth for 40 minutes. Still I managed my swim drills, catch up, quadrants, high elbow and finished with 8, 7, 6 etc lengths with 15 sec rests between. Total 1800m at 2.07 mins per 100m. That’s the boring bit.

Took at least an hour for goggle marks to fade, one of the delights of swimming when you’re 51. Might see if I can find myself a new pair, maybe something sexier, black shaded ones hmmmmm… internet awaits..

The joys of menopause

March 4, 2020June 25, 2020 / Lorna runs / Leave a comment

Had a rest day yesterday. This was not supposed to be the case but after many many nights of interrupted sleep due to hot flushes added to my pollen tree allergy I found I’d reached a whole new level of tiredddddd. Went to bed last night at 9pm and struggled to get up before 7am….sigh

At least day I was slightly more energised and managed a lunch run of 2.5 miles and a visit to the gym after work. I wonder how long the impact of menopause goes on for but I’ve heard months and years and some have even said it never stops….ah what now? So the wonderful side effects include feeling b*****sed, waking up hourly through the night, feeling slightly nautious and then having a hot flush every 30-60 minutes, having a brain that has been removed and replaced by tumble weed, losing things, forgetting things and last but not least noticing that alcohol no longer agrees with you (boohoo!!) 😩

Still I will do my Ironman I will, I will and no annoying hormones are going to stop me even if they do prevent me from getting out of bed sometimes….. so if my dearest hubby should read this please please please pull me out of bed tomorrow by my feet and kick me out the door so I can go swimming before work. Ta very much, your wife x

Monday PT

March 2, 2020June 25, 2020 / Lorna runs / Leave a comment

I love my workouts with the PT and it’s even more fun now as my husband and I do the workouts together (ok that sounds wrong..). The highlight of the masochistic hour is feeling sick whilst doing multiple mountain climbers before throwing a medicine ball at the ground and imagining the ground is someone you really hate. No seriously the highlight is doing boxing intervals with your husband and sizing each other up 😉

Emma (our PT) manages to get us to work really hard, is excellent at planning progressive workouts and is super nice to boot. I highly recommend.

Following the workout, I should have consumed a super healthy smoothie followed by a nutritious meal, however, the veggie pie, chips and beans were just too tempting. Next time.

Swimming tireds….

March 1, 2020September 1, 2020 / Lorna runs / Leave a comment

2300m workout done. Doing drills in a 50m pool is very tiring but hey we did it. And apparently my black swimming hat meets my husbands approval… 😏. The coaching at Manchester Aquatics Centre is excellent though. I’m working on imagining my arm is a handle or something like that….high elbow, turn the handle, touch the thigh…..ooh nursey

Swimming lesson