Happy Intervals!

I ran intervals today and I'm so glad they went well, my last horrible run knocked my confidence a bit so I needed a strong run to get back in the swing of things! My heart rate managed to stay really low throughout the intervals, my highest average for an interval was 160 which I was really surprised about! I expected it to be a lot higher for intervals but I felt strong today and that seems to be reflected in the lower heart rate. My planned workout today was 10-20 minute warm up then 8 x 400m intervals at 1.52 with 8 x 400m recovery in between ending with a 10 minute cool down, (I didn't time the recovery intervals just did a slow jog round the track) I did;

1 mile warm up in 10.25 (average HR 120)

Repeats
1: 1.51 HR 117
2: 1.50 HR 135
3: 1.50 HR 132
4: 1.52 HR 130
5: 1.53 HR 153
6: 1.47 HR 138
7: 1.46 HR 144
8: 1.38 HR 160

1.1 mile cool down in 12.39 (average HR 117)

Total: 6.1 miles

I was really craving something sweet after my lunch today, a cheese and cucumber sandwhich just didn't cut it after the run! On a side note I think Mike's friend might have thought I was a little odd when I disappeared upstairs with my lunch and a bag of frozen green beans to ice my knees! I've decided to make a more concentrated effort to ice my legs since I do seem a bit injury prone and I don't want to take any more time off this half marathon training! Anyway back on to the sweets! I remembered I had a Trek protein flapjack left from my goody pack, I also had a not too great chocolate yoghurt in the fridge which I thought the flapjack could make taste a bit more interesting. They went really well together and definately hit the spot, I wasn't hungry again for ages! That's really unlike me after running, normally I could eat anything and everything after I've run longer than a few miles.

Nutritional info and ingredients

Crumbled into the yoghurt

Yoghurt mess
I liked this trek flapjack almost as much as the cherry flavour, I think the ingredients were the same except for the cherry raisins. I will get it again it was really nice and filling.

GPP workout and tabata finisher.

Hope everyone's having a fun Friday! Mike and I don't have much planned for tonight, just going to relax and watch some rubbish on the telly. We watched the Sophie Dahl cooking show on the iplayer, a few people mentioned it on their blogs, I wasn't too impressed, she seemed to be trying to emulate Nigella Lawson. I had high hopes for the program cause I'd heard she was vegetarian so I was looking forward to a veggie cooking show but she eats fish so that was a bit of a let down. Not that I want to be negative towards people who are pescatarian but I was just looking forward to an all veggie affair! Are there any UK people planning on watching Over the Rainbow tonight? I must admit those shows are a guilty pleasure of mine! For my overseas readers who might not know what I'm on about, it's like American Idol for music theatre, this season they're trying to find someone to play Dorothy, I think in a west end version of the Wizard of Oz!

Didn't do loads of training today, Mike was out most of the day and we ended up a bit pushed for time when we could train together. The finisher was tough! My shoulders are still so sore from the neider press the other day but I think it would be a tough one anyway, especially going straight on to the push-ups, my arms felt like jelly!

Chin-ups x 5 from dead hang (done during the morning)

GPP #1 (From Ross Enamait's Infinite Intensity)
30s burpees
30s star jumps
30s high knee dumbbell press
30s shadow boxing

x 5 rounds back to back.

Finisher
Tabata bar hangs x 4
Tabata push-ups x 4 (22)

Nakd Pecan Pie



Nice texture, I've decided I prefer the Nakd's minus the oats as they're a bit softer and chewier.
I liked the taste a lot but it was Mike's least favourite so far, I must admit out of the oatless bars I prefer the cashew cookie and cocoa orange but I would eat this over one of the bars with oats.

Trek Cocoa Brownie




This had a similar taste to a nakd cocoa loco but with the added soy crispies which were a nice texture.
It was nice and filling, I had half for a rare mid morning snack since I ate breakfast two hours earlier than usual and there was no way I was making it to lunch time!
I liked the soy crispies - I wonder if there would be any way of doing a soy free version of the trek bar as Mike's allergic to soy, he did try the peanut one cause he really wanted to and he hoped it would not cause a reaction but unfortunately it did, which is a real shame cause he loved the bar and I think he'd like this one even more, maybe I'll put the idea to Natural balance in case it's a possibility!
The ingredients are similar to the peanut oat and it has ginseng and gingko biloba in which I like.

Badminton, bag rounds and more nakd bars!

22/03/10
We just did a quick workout yesterday as we ran out of time, we were planning on running intervals before breakfast but our legs were too sore and our bellies too hungry! We settled on some mixed up 3 minute rounds before in the afternoon, ate a snack and went to play badminton! We then went to pick up some groceries so our tea ended up being at 10.30, not good! I'm not a fan of eating a lot close to bedtime! Anyway, back to the workout!

7 x 3 minute rounds (1 minute rest)

Each round was;
1 minute heavy bag
1 minute plyometric jumps over medicine ball
30 seconds heavy bag
30 seconds band slams

Badminton 1 hour 30 minutes, on and off playing Mike and my dad and getting thrashed by both of them... I don't think I'll ever be a good badminton player, those two always thrash me! In between the games I did 20 push ups. I saw a poster for a university boxing club which has boxers boxing competetively, this will be great if I do go back to uni and haven't found a new gym by that time, plus it was only 50p a session, not bad!!

Since we were waiting for my dad to get changed and hadn't managed our intervals we did a sprint suicide relay! What were we thinking with such sore legs!! The quick turns absolutely killed my bum!! We did 3/4 of the court then back to the start then the full length and back to the start and took it in turns to run, we did it 10 times. I'm sure Mike got the good deal cause I was slower than him giving him more rest... his turn seemed to be over before it begun!

Nakd Cocoa Orange
Really nice texture like the cashew cookie
Loved the flavour, like a Terry's chocolate orange, only good for you!
This bar is my favourite so far... closely competing with the Trek cherry flapjack!
Ingredients since I must have forgotten to photograph the back of the packet - Dates (40%), Cashews (40%), Raisins (14%), Cocoa (5%), A hint of natural flavour



Nakd Banana Bread
Nice sweet banana flavour
I enjoyed this one a lot more than I thought I would actually cause I'm not a huge banana fan, it was really nice though it was quite delicately spiced you could taste a little cinnamon which I liked


Today I had my midweek rest day, I just did 30 minutes of yoga from our new dvd, I needed the rest today, my legs are still so sore and I'm struggling with some arm pain. I got knocked on my forearm last week and it still hurts, it hurts to grip stuff and is really wierd! I think I must have knocked a nerve or something, I don't know, I wish I knew more about anatomy!

Weekly totals and 21/03/10

How has everyone's weekend been? I had my rest day Saturday and I was going to join a last minute race on Sunday but I didn't in the end as although there was on the day registration none of the registration money went to the charity it was supposed to be supporting. As we didn't have any sponsers we didn't want the only money we could give to go to the council and Sainsburys and not where it was needed. I think it's pretty awful actually as the race entry fees will actually have been making profit for someone on an event which was supposed to be for charity. I understand them breaking even but did they really need to make profit when it could have gone to charity.. has anyone else noticed this? There have been a couple of races I've been put of entering as they make out they are for charity but when you actually look into it very little, if any, of the entry fee goes to charity.

Weekly Totals
Miles - 13.39
Push-ups - 55
Chin-ups - 0
Pull-ups - 0
Neck Exercises - 1
Isometric Punches - 0
Wrist Curls - 1
Core - 1

21/03/10
4 x 2 minutes sparring
3 x 2 minutes mitt work

ICT #4
Part 1
10 burpees
20 lunges
30 squats

x 5 rounds

Part 2
10 second pull up hold
10 push ups
10 upright band pulls

x 5 rounds

14.25 mins (last time (27/12/09) I took 21.02 mins!)

The sparring was frustrating this morning, we don't really have the space for it but whilst we're not at a gym we don't want to lose our sparring fitness and endurance. One thing I'm having problems with is that it seems to hurt a lot more at home cause I don't have the same amount of adrenaline as I do in the gym I suppose... The mitt work was good, Mike said I was punching with good power and I thought it went a lot better than the sparring where I just didn't feel like I was landing much, he assures me I landed at least one good body shot though!

I'm pretty impressed by how much I beat my old time on the ICT workout! That was a big surprise! I was really dreading doing it cause I clearly remember last time not being able to walk for days, my legs are feeling pretty sore now, hope I can move tomorrow!! I have a few more Natural Balance reviews, we've recently tried a Trek bar and a chocolatey Nakd bar, both went down well!

Trek - Peanut and Oat




Really nice peanut butter taste
We both felt it delivered good energy
Good protein (11g)
Good ingredients (Dates (38%), Raisins (12%), Peanuts (12%), Soya Crispies (10%), Peanut butter (7%), Apple Juice, Oats, Ginseng Extract, Gingko Biloba Extract.)
On the packet it says 'A sweet, rich, wholefood combination of fast and slow release carbohydrates, protein, fibre, ginkgo biloba and ginseng for sustained alertness, endurance, recovery and hunger control.' - pretty good food! Mike and I shared it after our morning workout but I think it would be good before workouts too.
We both liked that it had the ginseng and gingko biloba extracts.

Nakd - Cocoa Loco





This bar was Mike's favourite (so far!)
Great healthy replacement for a chocolate treat
We thought they would be great in a children's lunch box
One small, or half a big one is enough to satisfy a sweet tooth

Hope everyone has enjoyed the weekend!

19/03/10

Well I tried the cherry raisins in my breakfast this morning and yummmmm, they were really good! I tried them by themselves too and they were good that way too, kind of like sweets. I think when I start doing runs that are long enough to need fuel I will try these, I think they would be easy enough to digest and give me some extra energy! Anyway... I've gone off topic... Back to my breakfast, it's quite an art form the amount of things that go into it!

I have two natures path cereals, optimum power and millet rice oatbran flakes, then I have plain musli to which I add dried apples, blueberries, cranberries and today cherry flavoured raisins!

Optimum power, cereal with soy, flax and blueberries

Millet rice oatbran flakes

Musli

+ cherry raisins!

Served with semi skimmed organic milk and xylitol, my milk of choice is soya actually but today it was cows milk.

Yoga AM
Our yoga dvd arrived this morning so I just had to try it out, I did a 30 minute routine which was supposed to aid digestion. It's hard to say if it worked but it felt like it did, I was fairly full when I started and my tummy felt better by the end, not sure if that was just cause time had passed though... will have to test it out after a restaraunt meal!! The dvd looks good though I'm looking forward to trying all the other routines.

Run - Afternoon
I ended up having a good run today! It was going to be a tempo run but my tempo miles ended up not very good tempo but good overall, I beat my old 3 mile time! Yipeee! I didn't even realise how much until I checked the time at the end, I just ran as hard as I could. Mainly thanks to a man on a bike who cheered me on in the first mile when the wind on the bridge felt unbearable and I just felt a bit crap, he put a smile on my face for a good mile or so :-) Here's my stats!

Mile 1 (warm up) 9.51 average HR - 160

Tempo(ish) miles - 3 in 24.33 average HR - 183
Mile 1 - 8.31 (181)
Mile 2 - 8.13 (183)
Mile 3 - 7.47 (187)

Cool down miles 2.39 at 10.03 per mile average HR - 169

Total running = 6.39 miles in 58.25, 9.09 per mile

With my lunch I tried the apple pie nakd bar, Mike and I shared the big one, it felt like good running fuel and didn't make me feel sick whilst I was running so that's a big plus for me! It was really tasty too, similar to the apple cupcakes I make only more healthy! The big bar has two of your five a day crammed into it too... Check out Mike's hand model skills!



It had a similar texture to the berry bar, I liked it more than Mike as it was very appley and he's not the biggest apple fan! I really liked the apple chunks in it and the cinnamon flavour, I can't decide if I prefer this or the berry one... too many choices I think hehe.

Mike has started a blog!! In face we're both blogging sat in bed at the moment haha, anyway go check it out and say hi if you have time! Here it is Fighting Fit. It's similar to mine but he is going to include more fitness articles such as training without much equipment, high intensity methods, strength and combat sport articles. I might be slightly biased but it's definately worth keeping an eye on, he knows his stuff and spends a lot of time researching fitness techniques and the body's energy systems. He writes most of the workouts we do together at home if they aren't a Ross Enamait one that is!

A mystery parcel and strength workout

I got a great parcel yesterday morning!! The lovely people at Natural Balance Foods sent me some bars to try out! And what a stash they sent too! We ripped open the box and shared a berry cheeky and cashew cookie before we went to do our strength workout. I also tried one of the trek flapjacks, the cherry one after the workout, a girls gotta get her protein in post strength work (plus I really wanted to try it)! Look at what they sent me, I can't wait to try all this lot!!

That box contains two trek flapjacks, one cherry one oat, three trek bars, mixed berry, peanut oat and cocoa brownie, four flavours of raisins, cherry, orange, lemon and pineapple, big and little nakd bars in berry cheeky, apple pie, cocoa loco and banana bread and nakd nudies in cashew cookie, cocoa orange, ginger bread and pecan pie.... Wow! I'm so excited to try all these flavours :-) Thanks for such a generous package Natural Balance!



Berry Cheeky
ummm I think I need a haircut!! or at least to straighten it before posing for daft pictures!


Here's what we thought;
It had a really nice taste of the strawberrys and raspberrys
It tasted fresh
It was good workout fuel - didn't make me feel sick even though I'd eaten it right before, that's a biggie for me, most things I eat don't agree with me if I eat them too close to the workout, will test another bar before my run today!
Great ingredient list - Dates (39%), Oats, Mixed Nuts (14%) Raisins (13%) Apple Juice, Raspberries (2%) Strawberries (1%), Natural Flavouring.

Cashew Cookie



It had a really nice cashew taste
It was quite cake like more than a bar
It was very moreish - tasted a lot naughtier than it was!
It was also good workout fuel, see berry cheeky review!
Another great ingredients list - Cashews (51%), Dates (49%) - I can't believe that's all that's in the bar!

Trek Cherry Flapjack


It was nicer than any flapjack I've had before (was only going to have half but ate the whole thing...that says it all hehe)
The cherry raisins were lovely, I can't wait to try them in my breakfast
The ingredients list was not quite as good as the Nakds as it has some added sugar and oils but it's got better ingredients than other flapjacks and has the bonus of lots of protein
It kept me full for ages
I will definately buy this again




Strength Work
Dumbbell Lunges - 2 x 12 25kg (go up in weight next week)
Dumbbell Clean and Press - 1 x 2, 1 x 1 10kg (+1.5kg from last week)
Dumbbell Bent Over Row -2 x 5 15kg (+1.5kg from last week)
Dumbbell Bench Press - 2 x 8 8.5kg (+1kg from last week)
Dumbbell Curl - 4 x 2 7.5kg (+0.5kg from last week...how did it make it so much harder?!)
Barbell Wrist Curl - 50 reps 20kg
Barbell Reverse Wrist Curl - 40 reps 11kg
Neck Curl - 50 reps 10kg

The strength workout wasn't too great today, I tried adding weight in most exercises and my body just wasn't feeling it on some of them, especially the clean and press, I only added 1.5kg and went from 2 x 8 reps to 2 then 1! Maybe I should have gone 9.5kg before 10kg.. I used to clean and press 15kg when I did a lot of weights a few years ago, can't believe 10kg feels so hard now!

Mike and I got a bit snappy happy after taking the bar pictures and decided to take some pics during our strength routine, the camera ran out half way through though so I only have a pics of the first few exercises... please ignore my weight lifting face haha... not the most attractive look I've ever sported!

Setting up the weights

Lunges (I have weights in both hands)

Clean and Press

Bent Over Row

...and then the camera decided it had had enough!

Well I'm off to get some breakfast, think I'm going to be trying some of those flavoured raisins in it! It looks like a lovely day for a run today, so glad spring is here!