I wrote a song for today, Sing it to “Im into something good”…
Woke up this morning not feeling fine,
had something heavy on my mind,
Last month I hit a new high, In the Gymnasium,
Whoa Yeah!
Since then I just can’t seem to hit that goal.
-Since then he just can’t hit that goal.
Gyms the kinda place that makes you sweat,
You hope every time you don’t get to wet,
I ran so hard today, like I knew that I could
Whoa Yeah!
Still I just can’t seem to hit that goal.
-Still he just can’t hit that goal.
Anyway you get the jist no doubt, I woke up this morning and I was tired and lethargic, and yet I had a very good night’s sleep, and was in bed early but clearly it wasn’t enough, but hey ho I pressed on and headed to the gym.
To start with I felt great, I soon woke up and was running tall, running strong, and I hit the 5K mark with relative ease, not slowing down once, but then it all fell apart, I struggled on pushing, pushing and could just not make it, as hard as I tried, I eventually gave up at 7K, so still no dice and 3K short of my goal, but 1K more than I managed last week, Again I felt a little defeated and started to head for the door.
I got to the desk to sign my sheet (To keep a record of when I have been in the gym) and a PT grabbed me and asked how my training was going, I told her, okay I think but that I was a little disappointed with my inability of being able to hit my 10K again this week, she thought for a moment then said, How’s your diet, I explained about the 5 meals a day and trying to keep it all evened out, she listened in interest and said “And for breakfast?”… “Ahh well I don’t really do breakfast before gym, I can’t work out on food have never been able to” she looked at me and said “Well would you drive to Edinburgh on an empty tank?” my response was “Well me being the prize idiot that I am it sounds like something I would do, but I see your point!” We then discussed that I need to be getting up at about 5:30 (Yeash) and having breakfast as soon as I am out of bed, I was assured that when I first start doing this I will likely feel a little ill as like me she never used to be able to handle food first thing, but she assured me that very quickly my body will start to want and crave that meal, and it will soon become second nature, get up, eat!
So starting tomorrow, I will probably be up at 5:45 (Middle Ground) and eating eggs on brown toast, not sure what type of eggs but I’ll let ya know lol… However this may be a challenge as I am having a rather late night this evening lol.
Why am I doing this to myself I hear you ask, well I am working my bits off to raise loads of money for Asthma UK, so that they can continue to work to improve the lives of people who suffer with Asthma, so see just what they do to help visit http://www.asthma.org.uk then pop along to my Virgin Money Giving page at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnClitherow and sponsor me to run the London Marathon!
Live long, Live strong,
Jay (Red John).
About Me
- Jay (Red John)
- Ipswich, Suffolk, United Kingdom
- Hi I'm Jay and I am training to run the London Marathon 2012 for Asthma UK.
Yes I am running the London Marathon, Yes I am mad, and Yes I plan to raise masses of money for Asthma UK.
So please follow me, and support me, with your help I can make it over that finish line.
My sponsorship page can be found by clicking here PLEASE support me by sponsoring me to run the London Marathon for Asthma UK.
And now a very short history about me... I am asthmatic myself and until a few years back was pushing on being obese, not only does running the Marathon give me the opportunity to give something back to such an important organisation, but it will be the crowning glory of my fitness regime, Asthmatic and overweight running 26 Miles for charity!
To find out more about what Asthma UK do visit their site by clicking here.
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Grim morning, turned good…
Here we are, Monday, the training week begins again, Although clearly the Blogging week is late as this didn’t go out on time! Oops!
Sunday Night, just before bed (After playing around with our new wireless router) I started getting my food together for today, this is to fit in-line with my new 5 meals a day regime, I felt 5 was more realistic than 6, plus I didn’t like another chaps idea of waking up in the middle of the night just to eat. So here is my mound of food (And this doesn’t include lunch as I will be home for lunch)
From left to right, My water bottle (Nothing in it, it’s just there so I don’t forget) Next is my protein shaker, with “Smooth Banana” flavour shake powder in it already, then you see the big box with a couple of Bananas in that’s breakfast for after the gym (I can’t eat before I go I am afraid, makes it to un-comfy for me to workout), and on top of that are two small boxes, these each contain a portion of Dry Roasted Peanuts and Sultanas (One for mid-morning and one mid-afternoon) Plus for lunch I had a sausage sandwich and for dinner I had Pesto Pasta :)
Phew, after all that food you would think I would be stuffed, but I am not… I’m not hungry but I am not stuffed, I feel just about right and what will have happened is that my metabolism will have been burning at a higher rate all day processing these small intakes of food on regular basis thus burning more calories AND more fat, now this brings me onto an interesting point I did some research on this, Everyone is burning fat all the time, none of this “You need to do X to burn fat and workout for X amount of time” Everyone does, however when you understand how the body burns Calories and where they come from (I.e. Calories from Fat and Calories from Carbs (Fast Burn)) you start to understand how you have to work out to achieve the best result, When sitting you burn almost 50/50 fat/carbs, but obviously at only a handful of calories an hour you’re not going to loose much of the jiggly goo, when you begin to exercise the ratio’s change, and you end up burning initially more carbs than fat, this is because the body goes for the energy source that’s easier to get hold of, and burns quicker, cold muscles need fast energy… It’s only once we have been on the go like running for 20 minutes or so that the ratio switches back over and you start to burn more fats than carbs, this is because the fast energy is now becoming more scarce and the fat provides a better fuel for endurance and now the muscles are warm, You don’t need that huge burst of fast energy… Not only this but once your into the fat burning zone, and you end your workout, your metabolism is now much higher, but begins to tail off and start to fall back to normal, it’s while the metabolism is at this high that you are going to be burning calories in the hundreds rather than the tens even when sitting, hence my fascination with keeping my metabolism higher, keep the body working on something all day (yes even food) keeps it busy and keeps the metabolism working and ticking away the calories, all day long!
So that’s enough of the food, and the science behind it, I think more than anything I just wanted to show you that I am not just a greedy sod and there is actually science behind my 5 meals a day… and they are all small meals :)
And now we get onto the morning, I went to bed last night a little later than I would normally in the week at the moment, it was about 10:30 I believe, I was feeling okay but ready for sleep, my body and my mind seemed to have other ideas, and so I couldn’t sleep, I lay there for a good couple hours, last time I noticed the clock it was about to hit the 1am mark, so when the alarm went off in the morning I WAS NOT ready by any means to get out of bed, so I lulled there for a bit, considered not getting up at all but staying there and just going straight to work, I considered how good I had been getting things ready for the morning, by bag was packed, my gym stuff ready to fall into as I climbed out of bed, food ready to pop in my bag, and “The Havens” was calling (Yes that’s actually what the gym is called, well more where it is but it has this on the side of the door, in case you forget where you are I guess) so I climbed out of bed, and got dressed, however I started to feel quite ill by the time I had got downstairs, I guess this was probably my mind trying to discourage me from going and to head back to bed, I pushed on and made a cuppa, and took my morning vitamins and glucosamine. I had decided however, if I was going I was going a little late, and I would just forego the Jacuzzi today, IF I had the energy to do a full workout… The Morning was looking grim.
I stuffed my food into my bag and headed for the car, all the way to the gym I kept on with my Workout Mantra, repeating it out loud “Anything is better than nothing, Anything is better than nothing” expecting to get there and struggle to even climb the stairs to the gym.
But then the morning gone an turned good, I got on the treadmill and started to plog along doing my warm-up, nothing to heavy just a walk I picked up the pace a little, after a minute of fast walking the music in my ear kicked up a notch, so I did to and broke into a fast jog, okay coping with this well so far, for my warm-up it’s supposed to be a brisk walk for 5 minutes,… but then the music kicked up again, and off I went this energy flew in from somewhere the fog cleared and I just ran, well 10 minutes of running late I thought I was warm enough.
From here I moved onto a full set of resistance training, the only thing I missed was the Chin-ups, and this was not intentional just because every single darn time I turned around to use the Chin-up Frame someone was on it, no one used to use it before it suddenly seems to have become very popular lol.
Treadmill time again, so on I hopped and started my “Sennheiser – Thru The Gears” tack (No I haven’t intentionally gone all hip on you the title of the track is spelt that way) this is about a 15 minute run, starting with a low intensity and increasing with pace until you are running like someone being chased by a BIG snarly dog, or like me following the Chocolate cake, just before it all suddenly calms again and you slow to a gentle jog then a walk, just before the electronic woman says “Well Done, Training Complete” love it :) It was now 8:00am time to stretch and hit the showers before I was late for work, But Monday… Mission Accomplished and a total of about 3K run… not bad for a non-run day!
On the way to the changing rooms I bumped into the PT, she asked how it was going and I recounted my disappointment of my run last week, just like the other PT she said that sometimes we have to listen to our body, she also said that the first week of training went very well and it was bound to not run that smoothly, and then went on to say before this week’s run maybe drop it down and have a day or two off before hand, Initially this wasn’t my plan Tuesday morning I had planned to get up and go for a spin session, however my body had other ideas, I was to bed early Monday night and I woke up on time after an brilliant nights sleep… and felt straight back asleep again, only to rise about 40 minutes later (havening already missed the Start of the spin) still in a daze and feeling unable to manage a Spin or Gym session, I decided today was to be my day off and Tomorrow I will go for my next long run!
So the end of another Blog draws to a close… I would like to just pause here a minute to say thanks to all that have sponsored me thus far, but for everyone else… I have a LONG way to go so dig deep so that Asthma UK can keep working to improve the lives of Asthma sufferers everywhere. To find out more about what Asthma UK are up to visit their website at http://www.asthma.org.uk then pop along to my Virgin Money Giving page here http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnClitherow and sponsor me whatever you can.
Until next time,
Jay (Red John).
Sunday Night, just before bed (After playing around with our new wireless router) I started getting my food together for today, this is to fit in-line with my new 5 meals a day regime, I felt 5 was more realistic than 6, plus I didn’t like another chaps idea of waking up in the middle of the night just to eat. So here is my mound of food (And this doesn’t include lunch as I will be home for lunch)
From left to right, My water bottle (Nothing in it, it’s just there so I don’t forget) Next is my protein shaker, with “Smooth Banana” flavour shake powder in it already, then you see the big box with a couple of Bananas in that’s breakfast for after the gym (I can’t eat before I go I am afraid, makes it to un-comfy for me to workout), and on top of that are two small boxes, these each contain a portion of Dry Roasted Peanuts and Sultanas (One for mid-morning and one mid-afternoon) Plus for lunch I had a sausage sandwich and for dinner I had Pesto Pasta :)
Phew, after all that food you would think I would be stuffed, but I am not… I’m not hungry but I am not stuffed, I feel just about right and what will have happened is that my metabolism will have been burning at a higher rate all day processing these small intakes of food on regular basis thus burning more calories AND more fat, now this brings me onto an interesting point I did some research on this, Everyone is burning fat all the time, none of this “You need to do X to burn fat and workout for X amount of time” Everyone does, however when you understand how the body burns Calories and where they come from (I.e. Calories from Fat and Calories from Carbs (Fast Burn)) you start to understand how you have to work out to achieve the best result, When sitting you burn almost 50/50 fat/carbs, but obviously at only a handful of calories an hour you’re not going to loose much of the jiggly goo, when you begin to exercise the ratio’s change, and you end up burning initially more carbs than fat, this is because the body goes for the energy source that’s easier to get hold of, and burns quicker, cold muscles need fast energy… It’s only once we have been on the go like running for 20 minutes or so that the ratio switches back over and you start to burn more fats than carbs, this is because the fast energy is now becoming more scarce and the fat provides a better fuel for endurance and now the muscles are warm, You don’t need that huge burst of fast energy… Not only this but once your into the fat burning zone, and you end your workout, your metabolism is now much higher, but begins to tail off and start to fall back to normal, it’s while the metabolism is at this high that you are going to be burning calories in the hundreds rather than the tens even when sitting, hence my fascination with keeping my metabolism higher, keep the body working on something all day (yes even food) keeps it busy and keeps the metabolism working and ticking away the calories, all day long!
So that’s enough of the food, and the science behind it, I think more than anything I just wanted to show you that I am not just a greedy sod and there is actually science behind my 5 meals a day… and they are all small meals :)
And now we get onto the morning, I went to bed last night a little later than I would normally in the week at the moment, it was about 10:30 I believe, I was feeling okay but ready for sleep, my body and my mind seemed to have other ideas, and so I couldn’t sleep, I lay there for a good couple hours, last time I noticed the clock it was about to hit the 1am mark, so when the alarm went off in the morning I WAS NOT ready by any means to get out of bed, so I lulled there for a bit, considered not getting up at all but staying there and just going straight to work, I considered how good I had been getting things ready for the morning, by bag was packed, my gym stuff ready to fall into as I climbed out of bed, food ready to pop in my bag, and “The Havens” was calling (Yes that’s actually what the gym is called, well more where it is but it has this on the side of the door, in case you forget where you are I guess) so I climbed out of bed, and got dressed, however I started to feel quite ill by the time I had got downstairs, I guess this was probably my mind trying to discourage me from going and to head back to bed, I pushed on and made a cuppa, and took my morning vitamins and glucosamine. I had decided however, if I was going I was going a little late, and I would just forego the Jacuzzi today, IF I had the energy to do a full workout… The Morning was looking grim.
I stuffed my food into my bag and headed for the car, all the way to the gym I kept on with my Workout Mantra, repeating it out loud “Anything is better than nothing, Anything is better than nothing” expecting to get there and struggle to even climb the stairs to the gym.
But then the morning gone an turned good, I got on the treadmill and started to plog along doing my warm-up, nothing to heavy just a walk I picked up the pace a little, after a minute of fast walking the music in my ear kicked up a notch, so I did to and broke into a fast jog, okay coping with this well so far, for my warm-up it’s supposed to be a brisk walk for 5 minutes,… but then the music kicked up again, and off I went this energy flew in from somewhere the fog cleared and I just ran, well 10 minutes of running late I thought I was warm enough.
From here I moved onto a full set of resistance training, the only thing I missed was the Chin-ups, and this was not intentional just because every single darn time I turned around to use the Chin-up Frame someone was on it, no one used to use it before it suddenly seems to have become very popular lol.
Treadmill time again, so on I hopped and started my “Sennheiser – Thru The Gears” tack (No I haven’t intentionally gone all hip on you the title of the track is spelt that way) this is about a 15 minute run, starting with a low intensity and increasing with pace until you are running like someone being chased by a BIG snarly dog, or like me following the Chocolate cake, just before it all suddenly calms again and you slow to a gentle jog then a walk, just before the electronic woman says “Well Done, Training Complete” love it :) It was now 8:00am time to stretch and hit the showers before I was late for work, But Monday… Mission Accomplished and a total of about 3K run… not bad for a non-run day!
On the way to the changing rooms I bumped into the PT, she asked how it was going and I recounted my disappointment of my run last week, just like the other PT she said that sometimes we have to listen to our body, she also said that the first week of training went very well and it was bound to not run that smoothly, and then went on to say before this week’s run maybe drop it down and have a day or two off before hand, Initially this wasn’t my plan Tuesday morning I had planned to get up and go for a spin session, however my body had other ideas, I was to bed early Monday night and I woke up on time after an brilliant nights sleep… and felt straight back asleep again, only to rise about 40 minutes later (havening already missed the Start of the spin) still in a daze and feeling unable to manage a Spin or Gym session, I decided today was to be my day off and Tomorrow I will go for my next long run!
So the end of another Blog draws to a close… I would like to just pause here a minute to say thanks to all that have sponsored me thus far, but for everyone else… I have a LONG way to go so dig deep so that Asthma UK can keep working to improve the lives of Asthma sufferers everywhere. To find out more about what Asthma UK are up to visit their website at http://www.asthma.org.uk then pop along to my Virgin Money Giving page here http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnClitherow and sponsor me whatever you can.
Until next time,
Jay (Red John).
Friday, 5 August 2011
Epic Spin...
Oh my god, today was AMAZING!!
I got to the gym, having got up as normal at 6:00am and headed into my spin session I had boundless energy and stamina and had an amazing workout, I couldn’t have asked for better, the regulars were all in and all in a very motivational mood, it was brilliant, I worked out hard and fast and loved every minute, and just to prove I had done my work, after the session there was a larger than usual fallout puddle surrounding my bike that seemed to take an age to mop up… I hope they go in there later with a mop and bucket!! But yeah, I did good!! However my knee is a little tender now, but it does have 2 full days of recovery :)
So after my amazing spin session I headed for the Jacuzzi, and as usual the outdoor one first, so I could sit and watch the clouds flying across the sky, once the bubbles stopped I headed for the indoor Jacuzzi, I sat in one corner lounging there like I was in an arm chair, and a couple of swimmers (who are often training as a group) decided to have a race up the pool… and what’s the stroke they chose? It was Butterfly! My god, I am in awe of anybody who can swim the butterfly, it’s not an easy stroke to co-ordinate, I have tried it once or twice and I just can’t get it, and yet they rocketed up the pool like scolded cats… Very impressive!
Then I was off to the Steam Room, I have taken to doing this almost every day now to, I tend to find warming myself up again and drawing more sweat out gets rid of the pungent Chlorine smell that often lingers even after a shower, It’s also good for the respiratory system and as it makes the heart beat that little faster trying to cool you off, it moves more blood around and this has to be good to help recovery and remove Lactic acid from the muscles doesn’t it?! Listen to me, maybe I should train to be a PT? haha.
So what now? Well this weekend I hope to figure out my new diet, getting my 5 odd small meals a day into the equation so that I can start off next week with even more vigour and work my way up to the next 10K run on Thursday, fingers crossed this week I will find more energy and the stamina to stick at it to the end of the 10K, and lets push for just under 1 hour… why not eh?
Did you know… 3 people die EVERY DAY in the UK from Asthma, Asthma UK are working tirelessly to help prevent this, but they cant do this without our support, I am supporting them by running the London Marathon to raise money for this cause, I need all you to sponsor me just a little! To find out more about Asthma UK and what they do to help prevent these unnecessary deaths please visit http://www.asthma.org.uk then pop along to my Virgin Money Giving site at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnClitherow and donate even just a small sum, or if you would prefer to do it the old fashioned paper way, give me a shout and next time I see you I will wave a sponsorship form under ya noggin :)
Until next time, Live long, Live Strong and have an amazing weekend!
Jay (Red John).
I got to the gym, having got up as normal at 6:00am and headed into my spin session I had boundless energy and stamina and had an amazing workout, I couldn’t have asked for better, the regulars were all in and all in a very motivational mood, it was brilliant, I worked out hard and fast and loved every minute, and just to prove I had done my work, after the session there was a larger than usual fallout puddle surrounding my bike that seemed to take an age to mop up… I hope they go in there later with a mop and bucket!! But yeah, I did good!! However my knee is a little tender now, but it does have 2 full days of recovery :)
So after my amazing spin session I headed for the Jacuzzi, and as usual the outdoor one first, so I could sit and watch the clouds flying across the sky, once the bubbles stopped I headed for the indoor Jacuzzi, I sat in one corner lounging there like I was in an arm chair, and a couple of swimmers (who are often training as a group) decided to have a race up the pool… and what’s the stroke they chose? It was Butterfly! My god, I am in awe of anybody who can swim the butterfly, it’s not an easy stroke to co-ordinate, I have tried it once or twice and I just can’t get it, and yet they rocketed up the pool like scolded cats… Very impressive!
Then I was off to the Steam Room, I have taken to doing this almost every day now to, I tend to find warming myself up again and drawing more sweat out gets rid of the pungent Chlorine smell that often lingers even after a shower, It’s also good for the respiratory system and as it makes the heart beat that little faster trying to cool you off, it moves more blood around and this has to be good to help recovery and remove Lactic acid from the muscles doesn’t it?! Listen to me, maybe I should train to be a PT? haha.
So what now? Well this weekend I hope to figure out my new diet, getting my 5 odd small meals a day into the equation so that I can start off next week with even more vigour and work my way up to the next 10K run on Thursday, fingers crossed this week I will find more energy and the stamina to stick at it to the end of the 10K, and lets push for just under 1 hour… why not eh?
Did you know… 3 people die EVERY DAY in the UK from Asthma, Asthma UK are working tirelessly to help prevent this, but they cant do this without our support, I am supporting them by running the London Marathon to raise money for this cause, I need all you to sponsor me just a little! To find out more about Asthma UK and what they do to help prevent these unnecessary deaths please visit http://www.asthma.org.uk then pop along to my Virgin Money Giving site at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnClitherow and donate even just a small sum, or if you would prefer to do it the old fashioned paper way, give me a shout and next time I see you I will wave a sponsorship form under ya noggin :)
Until next time, Live long, Live Strong and have an amazing weekend!
Jay (Red John).
Thursday, 4 August 2011
10K Run cut short!!
Today got off to a really bad start, today started at 1am when the new neighbour decided loud TV was in order, I don’t know if he had the window open but I could pretty much hear every word, he was watching a news channel, and by the 5th time I heard the weather report I was getting ever so slightly miffed off, said neighbour (we shall call him Bert) has never done this before, Bert has woken me up at 6 or 7am on a Saturday or Sunday doing this but that’s not so bad as 1am… but anyway I managed to drift back off to sleep, only to wake several times in the next few hours to hear various segments of news or weather, I was not impressed, Bert is often not home, and has had he TV very loud before on the odd occasion but never past a reasonable hour in the evening, maybe he is an insomniac, but does that mean the rest of us around him have to be?!
By the time the alarm did go off, all was quiet next door, but I was feeling a little worse for wear, I have no conscious knowledge of how many times I woke up or how long the TV was on, but I know when it first work me up it was 1am, and my better half said this morning it work him up at 3 am so was clearly still going then, but hey not deterred (that is a lie, I was deterred, I wanted to stay in bed and do nothing this morning) I dragged myself out of bed and got dressed, plastered my feet (to stop the blisters forming) and headed off to the gym, still in a foul mood knowing I had gone to bed early purposefully and ended up woken up… GREAT!
On the treadmill and the run began, I felt almost immediately that I was pushing my luck, I had no energy, no stamina, nothing, things were hurting I was still feeling tired, I was not impressed, but I pushed on… I ran up to 3K and had to pull back for a moment, but not too long I was good to go again in a minute and off I went, still feeling every single foot fall, and every leg movement being an effort I pushed on, keen to get as far as I possibly could, Then the boot camp went outside, this gave me a distraction for a short while but I couldn’t seem to focus on anything, not even the running, my music got louder and louder and I tried to block everything out totally, I pushed on harder and harder but it was no good I had to slow to a walk, cool down and stop, my 10K run was cut short :(
I managed just 6K today, 4K short of where I wanted to be, I did however manage this in 40minutes, even at my “slower” pace so this is good it sets me on track to achieve the 1 hour mark, but I wasn’t impressed I felt defeated… I spoke to a PT on the way out and she asked what I was training for and how I was getting on, I said I was doing well until today and explained, she made me feel a little better though as she said the body will sometimes not be able to handle what you want it to do, especially this early on in your training and it’s best to listen to it as you have done and don’t push it, I was still feeling a little defeated, but I won’t let it get me down, I did something, and as I have always said something is better than nothing where exercise is concerned. However what I will say is if I am ever woken up in future by Bert’s TV, I will be getting out of bed and having words… witch words I will choose I am not too sure about, but when I am tired, I am like a bear with a sore head and frankly at that time in the morning, I won’t care who I offend, having said that it looks like he is away this evening!
So all in all a struggle today but still, I went and I am not going to let it de-motivate me, tomorrow I have a spin session and then the weekend at rest, and next week, we try all over again, I have another two whole long running sessions before my next re-program.
What can I say, we all knew this wasn’t going to be easy, today shows it indeed is not :(
As for my plasters on my feet, the one I placed on the left foot perfect, but it didn’t really need it, the one on the right foot, that was more painful and the blister from last week having not healed properly… useless, it moved and came off and ended up crumpled in my sock under my heal, although I still managed to avoid any blisters this time, so that’s great but I think I need some better plasters for future, my right foot must move around more in my trainer than my left foot… Or maybe I just have abnormal feet!?
On a plus note I received my Protein powder today, along with my Thermobol… what’s Thermobol you ask? Well its something to give me a little boost and keep my metabolism ticking just a little higher to help with the weight loss (It’s orange peal and herbal stuff), and I also received my 7-Day Pill Pot for my multi-vits and Glucosamine (For me joints) so I am all set (Provided I am allowed to sleep).
After a little discussion and some reading, I have also decided to change my diet, I did this before when I lost the majority of my weight when I was an Elephant, so I think I need to go back to it, not only does it keep the metabolism up, it gives you more sustained energy levels and stops you from over eating in any one meal, so henceforth (or at least once I have figured out a meal plan of sorts) I will no longer be having 2 or 3 meals a day, but I will be having 5 to 6 small meals a day, suits me down to the ground, I’ll spend most of my day eating :) haha... a little more research required I feel!
So... Tomorrow = Spin session, lets hope I have a little more stamina tomorrow!
Its time for the important stuff, like the credits if you will, but I hope you don’t turn off at this point and you spend a little time to read what I have to say… I’m doing this to raise lots of lovely money for Asthma UK, who among other things produce a quarterly magazine, Asthma Magazine will keep you well informed and help you to better manage your or a loved one’s condition. Our asthma nurse specialists are also on hand to answer your questions. Celebrities like Bill Bailey (comedian), Mutya Buena (singer) and Jenni Murray (broadcaster) discuss their asthma and careers in depth, to see what else Asthma UK do visit http://www.asthma.uk.org and once you have pop along to my Virgin Money Giving page at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnClitherow and giz a donation!
Until next time,
Jay (Red John).
By the time the alarm did go off, all was quiet next door, but I was feeling a little worse for wear, I have no conscious knowledge of how many times I woke up or how long the TV was on, but I know when it first work me up it was 1am, and my better half said this morning it work him up at 3 am so was clearly still going then, but hey not deterred (that is a lie, I was deterred, I wanted to stay in bed and do nothing this morning) I dragged myself out of bed and got dressed, plastered my feet (to stop the blisters forming) and headed off to the gym, still in a foul mood knowing I had gone to bed early purposefully and ended up woken up… GREAT!
On the treadmill and the run began, I felt almost immediately that I was pushing my luck, I had no energy, no stamina, nothing, things were hurting I was still feeling tired, I was not impressed, but I pushed on… I ran up to 3K and had to pull back for a moment, but not too long I was good to go again in a minute and off I went, still feeling every single foot fall, and every leg movement being an effort I pushed on, keen to get as far as I possibly could, Then the boot camp went outside, this gave me a distraction for a short while but I couldn’t seem to focus on anything, not even the running, my music got louder and louder and I tried to block everything out totally, I pushed on harder and harder but it was no good I had to slow to a walk, cool down and stop, my 10K run was cut short :(
I managed just 6K today, 4K short of where I wanted to be, I did however manage this in 40minutes, even at my “slower” pace so this is good it sets me on track to achieve the 1 hour mark, but I wasn’t impressed I felt defeated… I spoke to a PT on the way out and she asked what I was training for and how I was getting on, I said I was doing well until today and explained, she made me feel a little better though as she said the body will sometimes not be able to handle what you want it to do, especially this early on in your training and it’s best to listen to it as you have done and don’t push it, I was still feeling a little defeated, but I won’t let it get me down, I did something, and as I have always said something is better than nothing where exercise is concerned. However what I will say is if I am ever woken up in future by Bert’s TV, I will be getting out of bed and having words… witch words I will choose I am not too sure about, but when I am tired, I am like a bear with a sore head and frankly at that time in the morning, I won’t care who I offend, having said that it looks like he is away this evening!
So all in all a struggle today but still, I went and I am not going to let it de-motivate me, tomorrow I have a spin session and then the weekend at rest, and next week, we try all over again, I have another two whole long running sessions before my next re-program.
What can I say, we all knew this wasn’t going to be easy, today shows it indeed is not :(
As for my plasters on my feet, the one I placed on the left foot perfect, but it didn’t really need it, the one on the right foot, that was more painful and the blister from last week having not healed properly… useless, it moved and came off and ended up crumpled in my sock under my heal, although I still managed to avoid any blisters this time, so that’s great but I think I need some better plasters for future, my right foot must move around more in my trainer than my left foot… Or maybe I just have abnormal feet!?
On a plus note I received my Protein powder today, along with my Thermobol… what’s Thermobol you ask? Well its something to give me a little boost and keep my metabolism ticking just a little higher to help with the weight loss (It’s orange peal and herbal stuff), and I also received my 7-Day Pill Pot for my multi-vits and Glucosamine (For me joints) so I am all set (Provided I am allowed to sleep).
After a little discussion and some reading, I have also decided to change my diet, I did this before when I lost the majority of my weight when I was an Elephant, so I think I need to go back to it, not only does it keep the metabolism up, it gives you more sustained energy levels and stops you from over eating in any one meal, so henceforth (or at least once I have figured out a meal plan of sorts) I will no longer be having 2 or 3 meals a day, but I will be having 5 to 6 small meals a day, suits me down to the ground, I’ll spend most of my day eating :) haha... a little more research required I feel!
So... Tomorrow = Spin session, lets hope I have a little more stamina tomorrow!
Its time for the important stuff, like the credits if you will, but I hope you don’t turn off at this point and you spend a little time to read what I have to say… I’m doing this to raise lots of lovely money for Asthma UK, who among other things produce a quarterly magazine, Asthma Magazine will keep you well informed and help you to better manage your or a loved one’s condition. Our asthma nurse specialists are also on hand to answer your questions. Celebrities like Bill Bailey (comedian), Mutya Buena (singer) and Jenni Murray (broadcaster) discuss their asthma and careers in depth, to see what else Asthma UK do visit http://www.asthma.uk.org and once you have pop along to my Virgin Money Giving page at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnClitherow and giz a donation!
Until next time,
Jay (Red John).
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
Warming up for the next long run...
So I was up at 6:00 again this morning, packing my gym bag, tripping over the cats and arriving at the gym, yup you guessed it a little late :)
I arrived at the gym and headed to the desk to grab my program, as I did I bumped into my PT, who asked how it was going… I said I thought I was doing very well and mentioned how I managed to run 10K in 1hr 5 minutes, and that this was the first time I had ever run this far or for this long… She rubbed her hands together and informed me in an almost evil manner that she would have to make it a lot harder next time, erm… do you think I can retract that statement “Oh no, actually it’s going terrible” I somehow don’t think she would believe me.
Anyway I digress, even though I was running late I had an amazing gym session and managed all but one of my resistance exercises, the one I didn’t was the chin up mainly because every time I headed in that general direction someone was using the chin up machine, having said that had I got on there I would have been late for work!!
After the resistance I headed for the treadmill, and although I didn’t do a huge run, I managed about 3K in 20 minutes, at this point I felt it was time to stop and I needed to be heading off for work, and I didn’t want to overdo it before BIG RUN THURSDAY!
I also ordered my next batch of Protein shake, I usually have a shake in the mornings after a gym session, firstly it helps stop me feeling massively hungry so I don’t sit at my desk eating biscuits all day like the fat piggie I have been, and secondly it really helps the muscles to recover, I’ve been using it ever since I have been going to the gym (well not quite but for some time now) and it does make a HUGE difference, The other half also bought home some fitness mags for me to look over, and there is an offer I can’t resist… 3 issues for £5 and a free tub of Breakfast Oats with Protein how can I turn that offer down… I’ll let you know how it tastes :)
PLUG ALERT!!
As I sit here typing this, my feet are currently resting and getting massaged by a foot spa with warm sea salted water to ease the pain and prepare them for tomorrow, so why am I putting myself through all this pain?! Well because I am raising money for a cause I really believe in, Asthma UK take a look at what they do and how they help millions of asthma sufferers every year here http://www.asthma.org.uk and once you’ve decided you would like to help them out pop along to my Virgin Money Just Giving page at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnClitherow and sponsor me, how about pushing the boat out and sponsoring me £1 per mile?!
See you all soon,
Jay (Red John).
I arrived at the gym and headed to the desk to grab my program, as I did I bumped into my PT, who asked how it was going… I said I thought I was doing very well and mentioned how I managed to run 10K in 1hr 5 minutes, and that this was the first time I had ever run this far or for this long… She rubbed her hands together and informed me in an almost evil manner that she would have to make it a lot harder next time, erm… do you think I can retract that statement “Oh no, actually it’s going terrible” I somehow don’t think she would believe me.
Anyway I digress, even though I was running late I had an amazing gym session and managed all but one of my resistance exercises, the one I didn’t was the chin up mainly because every time I headed in that general direction someone was using the chin up machine, having said that had I got on there I would have been late for work!!
After the resistance I headed for the treadmill, and although I didn’t do a huge run, I managed about 3K in 20 minutes, at this point I felt it was time to stop and I needed to be heading off for work, and I didn’t want to overdo it before BIG RUN THURSDAY!
I also ordered my next batch of Protein shake, I usually have a shake in the mornings after a gym session, firstly it helps stop me feeling massively hungry so I don’t sit at my desk eating biscuits all day like the fat piggie I have been, and secondly it really helps the muscles to recover, I’ve been using it ever since I have been going to the gym (well not quite but for some time now) and it does make a HUGE difference, The other half also bought home some fitness mags for me to look over, and there is an offer I can’t resist… 3 issues for £5 and a free tub of Breakfast Oats with Protein how can I turn that offer down… I’ll let you know how it tastes :)
PLUG ALERT!!
As I sit here typing this, my feet are currently resting and getting massaged by a foot spa with warm sea salted water to ease the pain and prepare them for tomorrow, so why am I putting myself through all this pain?! Well because I am raising money for a cause I really believe in, Asthma UK take a look at what they do and how they help millions of asthma sufferers every year here http://www.asthma.org.uk and once you’ve decided you would like to help them out pop along to my Virgin Money Just Giving page at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnClitherow and sponsor me, how about pushing the boat out and sponsoring me £1 per mile?!
See you all soon,
Jay (Red John).
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Spin like mad, and 100mile cycle...
So up I got this morning at 6:00 ready for my spin session, considering I had a rather late night I seemed to be quite lively, however I didn’t have time for a coffee this morning just time to make one for the other half before running around like a mad fool trying to find the TomTom that was a requirement of the day (unbeknown to myself until this point) so as usual I arrived a few minutes late (there is a distinct pattern evolving here isn’t there) so everyone was settled on their bike and already pedalling away when I burst in the room, luckily as it’s school holiday there are allot of people away, with exception to the regulars of course, who will always attend (like me) come hell or high water!!
So there we were pedalling for our lives, and again Track 5 killed, although I felt there was a marked improvement… I did well today, although I did feel dead at the end of it, and as I had done on track 5 a few weeks back as it’s so manic, the poor guy next to me who was really going for it responded to the instructors shout of “SCAT” by pedalling furiously and knocking his water bottle off witch promptly rolled under my bike… all I could think was “YESSS, I’m not the only idiot to have knocked my bottle off during this track” sadly though when I had my bottle incident it travelled two rows back :(
But what a session, I felt tired, worn out and yet glowing, always a good sign!
So then I was off to the Jacuzzi for my bubble, and today one of the other regular spinners was in there, and we got to talking, turns out that on Sunday she got up at about 4am Sunday morning and cycled up and down the A12 doing time trials, she did something silly like 100 miles… THEN comes into the gym for a spin session today, I am well impressed!!
For breakfast today I had nothing but a protein shake, this was NOT by design and I was intending to pick up some fruit or something but that didn’t happen either, but lunch was nice, more salad (there was a big bowl left from Sunday still) and some flavoured rice, very nice… this evening I had homemade chicken and vegetable soup (made by me other half) on pasta! :)
And phew it’a a hot evening, so hot I am struggling to concentrate on this blog!
So down to business, 17% of people with asthma say that sometimes work makes their asthma so bad, they have to take time off, Asthma UK are working hard to try and make the symptoms more bearable for everyone with Asthma, to find out more take a look at http://www.asthma.org.uk and then pop along to my Virgin Money Giving page at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnClitherow and sponsor me to run the London Marathon 2012 for Asthma UK, why not sponsor me per mile?!
See you all soon,
Jay (Red John)
So there we were pedalling for our lives, and again Track 5 killed, although I felt there was a marked improvement… I did well today, although I did feel dead at the end of it, and as I had done on track 5 a few weeks back as it’s so manic, the poor guy next to me who was really going for it responded to the instructors shout of “SCAT” by pedalling furiously and knocking his water bottle off witch promptly rolled under my bike… all I could think was “YESSS, I’m not the only idiot to have knocked my bottle off during this track” sadly though when I had my bottle incident it travelled two rows back :(
But what a session, I felt tired, worn out and yet glowing, always a good sign!
So then I was off to the Jacuzzi for my bubble, and today one of the other regular spinners was in there, and we got to talking, turns out that on Sunday she got up at about 4am Sunday morning and cycled up and down the A12 doing time trials, she did something silly like 100 miles… THEN comes into the gym for a spin session today, I am well impressed!!
For breakfast today I had nothing but a protein shake, this was NOT by design and I was intending to pick up some fruit or something but that didn’t happen either, but lunch was nice, more salad (there was a big bowl left from Sunday still) and some flavoured rice, very nice… this evening I had homemade chicken and vegetable soup (made by me other half) on pasta! :)
And phew it’a a hot evening, so hot I am struggling to concentrate on this blog!
So down to business, 17% of people with asthma say that sometimes work makes their asthma so bad, they have to take time off, Asthma UK are working hard to try and make the symptoms more bearable for everyone with Asthma, to find out more take a look at http://www.asthma.org.uk and then pop along to my Virgin Money Giving page at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnClitherow and sponsor me to run the London Marathon 2012 for Asthma UK, why not sponsor me per mile?!
See you all soon,
Jay (Red John)
Monday, 1 August 2011
Low on fuel… But amazing news!
I start this blog on an AMAZIN note, I have today received a donation of £50 from my good friend Sue, so a HUGE thanks to Sue and I hope to do you proud :)
I also received my Asthma UK running vest today, it’s a little smaller than I had hoped however so I may need to purchase a slightly larger one, in case I don’t loose all the weight that I want to during my training, it does fit but leaves nothing to the imagination!
To the training, Today I was low on fuel. I’m not 100% sure why but figure it is the combination of an interesting diet over the weekend with very few complex carbs and quite allot of fast burn sugar’s (Left over cheesecake mainly… oops) so that left me a little low on energy but I still managed most of my resistance, with exception of “The Plank’s” (Yeah plural, I have to do two different types and more sets than I care to remember) and I ran a good 4k in total too, but I had no more energy to carry on, so I headed to the Jacuzzi…
When I got down there the Jacuzzi was still open as was the steam room and the sauna, but the pool was closed “Due to unforeseen circumstances” Having discovered what these were later I was not surprised, but I have to admit sitting in the Jacuzzi at the end of a huge empty pool was a little surreal, it just didn’t seem right with no people swimming up and down and the odd person bobbing along doing their Aqua Walk exercises… I actually have no idea if that’s what it’s called but it sounds a good name for it, what they do is literally walk slowly up the pool bobbing along, some people have their hands out the water, some in the water, when they get to the other end, they then walk backwards up the pool… I have often thought that what with people swimming towards them concentrating on their breathing and staring at the floor of the pool, and them walking backwards (not always in the straight line) not really looking, maybe they should have a reverse warning, not only this but I also wonder if they choose this pool specifically as it has no deep end, could be interesting if they suddenly put one in ;-) but then I think I am just a little cruel!!
Breakfast today consisted of an Apple and a couple of Bananas, lovely… I do think though that I need to get some cereal in me in the mornings… perhaps Fruit and Fibre… I used to love that stuff, Lunch was Cheese and salad sandwiches… and more salad on the side, again yum… although I did feel like a bunny rabbit afterwards, but plenty of fruit and veg in me today, and this evening I am out for a meal with the theatre group I am a member of, so not sure what I will be eating then, but I can say I am a little peckish now.
Now down to business, 5.4 Million people in the UK alone have asthma, Asthma UK is campaigning for free prescriptions in England
Catch you all soon,
Jay (Red John).
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