Regeneration

Mantra Dave

Well, as a previous member of boards I have returned in a new regeneration with an aim to get in proper shape once more and keep a proper log of my trials and errors.. so without further ado:
Training Log
Aug 4th 2009-08-04
Waist: 35’
Chest: 41’
Biceps (flexed): 14.2’
Quads: 21’
Weight: 12st 08lbs
Fat: 15.6%
Muscle: 42.4%
Water: 54.6%
Exercise today:
Tai Chi 30 mins
3 x 15 press-ups
3 x 15 squats (10kg barbell)
3 x 10 bicep curls (10kg barbell)
3 x 10 triceps dips (10kg barbell)
Beginner section Step Reebok Circuit
Aug 5th
Tai Chi – 30 mins
Reebok Circuit- Beginner section plus bicep curls
Boxercise class
15 min swim
Aug 10th
3 mile run - good fast pace but didn't time it.
Aug 14th:
Crewing for Ultraman on the Galway 100 mile run in Clifden.. will see how many miles I can run as a pacemaker...

RacoonQueen

Best of luck with the log. Enjoy the crewing.

Mantra Dave

Thanks Racoon Queen

Well exercise-wise my next efforts were approx. 20 milkes cycling - not too tough on the downhills :-), 10 mile run and 30 miles of mostly walking.. I have blisters! And I am on hols tomorrow so will be a couple days before I can do any more... strangely I don't think I lost any weight! :eek:

ultraman1

Mantra Dave wrote: »

... strangely I don't think I lost any weight! :eek:

beer for breakfast usually does dat 2 ye:D:D

Mantra Dave

ultraman1 wrote: »

beer for breakfast usually does dat 2 ye:D:D

Carb loading! Carb loading!

Anyway, spent two weeks in Spain and walked about 45 miles during it (at least) and had one swim.. fartlek for 40 mins. Was a formidable 42 degrees so waaaay too hot to do any running or even to go outside where there was no AC.

Home now and time to face the music.
Will start updating again tomorrow.

Slogger Jogger

Good luck mantra dave. Some day the ultraman will crew for you.

Mantra Dave

ok after many smoke and drink filled binges I went to a hypnotherapist and am now smoke free! Very interesting experience I must say!!
Anyway yesterday I did
3 sets of press ups; 20, 19, 17
5 sets chin ups; 4, 3, 2.5, 3, 2.5
and an 8k run with Ultraman


this morning:
3 sets of press ups; 21, 20, 10 (!?)

Mantra Dave

today:
20 mins on hill training on treadmill.. level 6
20 mins swim - breaststroke - exertion level 8

pyramid sets of chin ups= very bad! - 2 sets of 2, think I tried it too early after the swimming.

up early again tomorrow for more training with ultraman

Mantra Dave

3 sets of press ups this morning - 22, 19,18
7 mile run

3 sets x 2 pull ups
3 sets x 2 chin ups
3 sets x 2 pull ups

Goin for a 4k run now with ultraman..

I'm HUNGRY!!!! still not smoking though.. those hypnotherapy people are genius!

gerard65

Well done on the smokes. As an ex-smoker I know its not easy and there will be moments when the urge seems to strong to resist, but give yourself 5mins to think about it and you'll put the 'monster' back in its box.

Mantra Dave

gerard65 wrote: »

Well done on the smokes. As an ex-smoker I know its not easy and there will be moments when the urge seems to strong to resist, but give yourself 5mins to think about it and you'll put the 'monster' back in its box.

Cheers gerard, although I don't really get any strong urges after the hypno - was bloody expensive though! but it'll save me in the long run!

Mantra Dave

This morning:
3 sets press ups - 25, 19,18
30 seconds Plank position

This afternoon:
20 mins treadmill - hills level 8
15 mins swim - perceived exertion 8.5

This evening:
10 sets x 2 chin ups

Mantra Dave

took the weekend off for recovery and started back today with a run from my place in Clane to Barberstown Castle and back - around 9.5 miles. Left my watch at home and just got out there to get time on my feet and ground under them. I am enrolled in the DCM since the start of the year so I need to ramp up to that fairly rapidly now!:eek:

Felt good though.<y fave weather for running - bright and sunny and neither too warm nor too cold. Long may it last!

Mantra Dave

8k with Ultraman in Leixlip last night. Need to get arse back in gear with resistance training though...

Mantra Dave

ok all intentions of training went out the window when I got a shout to play golf today. 4 hours carrying a golf bag counts as cross training for a marathon though, doesn't it?????

ultraman1

no.......

Mantra Dave

ultraman1 wrote: »

no.......

yes.......

anyway, 6 miles done at lunchtime today
about to do one hour of Yoga Vinyasa and then I willbe pickin up Ultraman to go do 6 more miles at club training. That's if they recognise me and let me join in- haven't trained with them for months (actually, come to think of it I didn't train at all for months!!!)

Food, wine and DVDs all set up for my recovery period tonight

Mantra Dave

Did ABSOLUTELY nothing on Fri!
Didn't even get out of bed till 4pm.
Tthen hen sat in front of tv with a six-pack and a bottle of wine, ordered an Indian and watched a boxset of Entourage.
Then went back to bed.

Up early this morning at 7.45 - did day 1 of the Running Inn running workshop in Donadea. Great workshop, I must say! Really learned a couple of things.

At 9am we started with a Vo2 max test over a mile run at 85% max effort.
According to my results I should be able to run

3k in 14 mins
5k in 24:09
10k in 50 mins (this is true- my PB is 49'28)
half mara in 1"48'30 - (my PB so far is just under 2 - so long since I did a half I don't remember!)

So then we went on to do circuits, hill training and core work. Was a tough day training. On the plus side of it, it seems that the PBs I get (as above) are when I don't train, so if I did train properly I could easily smash those times I was given. This has inspired me to actually start taking running seriously again.

Have a long run tomorrow after another Vo2 max test and am up early so just gonna stay in and chill tonight.
Pizza - check
Wine - check
DVD - check (hey, it is a Sat night after all!!)

Mantra Dave

Did the bleep test for VO2 this morning.. got to 9.2 - was told anything above 8 was very good but was disappointed since most others got 10 and up..
calves felt sore after that so 2k into the long run when they hadn't recovered I just quit the run.. back in action tomorrow!

ultraman1

most of the others wernt skullin wine and pizza all nite:D....

Mantra Dave

ultraman1 wrote: »

most of the others wernt skullin wine and pizza all nite:D....

TRue.. knew I shouldn't have opened that second bottle
Gonna be layin off the booze big time now.

Given the chance to become a real contender if I stay off the fags, lower the booze intake and train properly I think I'll go for it!

Mantra Dave

went out to do 12 today and it was disastrous!!
I hade such painful calves/shins it was like the entire muscle groups were cramped up! It was nearly 3 miles before I ran through the pain and after 6 I knew I wouold be in trouble if I pushed it to 12 so I quit.

Hopefully things will be different tomorrow...:(

Mantra Dave

WEnt out to do my favourite 8 miler today - has a nearby Sli na Slainte 5.5k near it (3.6miles)

Started off slow and calves were still like cement blocks. F$@#!!!!
After about 3 miles they calmed down and I relaxed into the run F$@# ing great!
Got to the 8 mile mark and felt ok to keep going so did the 3.6 at the end..

so approx 11.5 so far today in 1hr 57

Will be doing a few more with Ultraman tonight so all islooking good. Phew!!!:D

Mantra Dave

Well, just short of 5 miles with Ultraman tonight bringing the day's total to 16 miles and I am feeling fine!! Roll on the marathon!:)
I am aiming at getting round in less than 4hrs 40.. and it's looking quite possible.

Mantra Dave

Recovery day today so just a load of housework, 20 mins on hills on the treadie, level 9 and 25 mins swim - breast-stroke.

Went a few minutes longer on the swim than usual and managed 2 full lengths underwater afterwards.. obviously my lung capacity is improving.

Some random thoughts as I was lost in myself during the swim..

The water in the Westgrove pool is a lovely deep blue colour. I'd love to paint a wall in my apartment that colour.

I wonder what will happen rappers as they get older.. will they start to look like Jimmy Saville?

and others I can't even remember now - and even if I did I am too hungry to care and the spaghetti is starting to boil over so ...:pac::pac::pac:

ultraman1

The water in the Westgrove pool is a lovely deep blue colour. I'd love to paint a wall in my apartment that colour.



piss usually goes dat color when its mixed with bleach:D:D

Mantra Dave

Woke up yesterday and fell out of bed..
Did 3 sets of press-ups: 25, 15, 20
3 x 20 squats with medicine ball for shoulder raises
3 x 20 weighted calf raises with barbell & 10kg weights

6 mile run with club last night. Gave it everything on the first half - 3 miles in 24mins which is in line with what my VO2 max results from the weekend course suggested. Will see how I do at the CC 5k in Celbridge tomorrow! My daughter is running it too - her first race - so I am looking forward to both racing and seeing her cross the line and get her medal .

After a brief rest with Ultraman at the top of the hill I headed back down on the return journey to our meeting point and *OH F*&%!!!!* my calves felt heavy. "WTF!" indeed readers, "WTF?"

Well I slowed the pace and after a few mins I naturally started to take off again and all was well - I even left Ultraman in my wing mirrors .

Woke early again today (weird but I keep waking early now that I am not boozing) but felt like I had really worked hard last night in my muscles.. was tempted to do some press ups and squats but I think the lack of alcohol means aches and pains are not being masked as they were before and I decided to listen to what the muscles were saying to me.. "REST Dave, REST!!!" and am gonna leave exercise today. Ah, no, actually I won't - I'll make up my mind later whether to do some Tae Bo, Yoga, treadie or swimming or a combo. School's are off so have to wait for little one's mum to get back and then I will decide.

I suppose I may as well include what I eat here since diet is an important part of training. So I will start with today;
breakfast: 4 slices of wholegrain brown toast with raspberry jam, a few berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries) a chocolate protein shake and two cups of tea.

My laptop charger broke so reports will be sporadic until I get it replaced.

Off to Mantra tonight.. hope I manage to stay off the Mojitos!

Mantra Dave

well, yesterday I did the intermediate section of my Step Reebok circuit training dvd.. sweated buckets and felt great.
Protein shake in chocolate milk afterwards.
Dinner was a stew.
Lots of beer for carb loading when I managed to get to Maynooth eventually. Over two hours after I left my place in Clane!! :mad:

So the Celbridge 5k cc today at 2.30 - Disastrous!
Half way round my calves started to hurt and the uneven ground meant they hurt on every footfall. Hobbled in at just under 29 mins. Didn't even check the exact time, I was disgusted. Another year to wait to go at that one again!

A 6k cc tomorrow so will be stayin in and resting tonight. Me, my daughter, pizza, wine and Tomb Raider on dvd. She thinks the dvd is cos she'd like it. Bless her innocent little head

Mantra Dave

Well readers, what can I say...
Having only done the Celbridge Liz McDonnell as regards cross country (in recent years anyway - I discount cross country training in school) today's race was a different kettle of fish!
I like the Celbridge on cos it's really cross country - up and down hills and through wooded areas and alongside a river. Wasn't expecting to do 6 laps of a field today. Still- flatter terrain so not too difficult. Or so you might think.
The level of athletes out in force today was way beyond my ability at present. The members frommy club did well. I didn't.
Was holding my own in 2nd last and then last place, expecting to catch up during later laps. Instead at 2.5 laps my calves turned into blocks of concrete again. This is happening far too often for my liking. I ran on in pain until the 6th lap when the pain suddenly started to dissipate. Went round in what I would have thought a reasonable(ish) time- 32mins. But I had already been lapped by half the other runners
And they didn't even have a wooden spoon for me when I came in last. They even started taking down the flag markers before I finished, which considering I was only a few minutes behind the pack I found to be a bit rude. Could they not have allowed me some little bit of dignity by waiting till I was finished??!!!
Anyway the pain came back for about 30 mins after I finished.. any suggestions anyone?
We did end up standing around in freezing cold for 2 hours waiting for our race and that prob didn't help. Maybe at the moment I am just more suited to long distance rather than shorter faster races on uneven ground..
I think I will opt out of any further fast paced training/races until after the DCM and then start back on my speed training from scratch.

Mantra Dave

OK, 5 days of ehm.. rest.
Then the Donadea 10K yesterday..
Thankfully a local physio clinic supplied free massages pre and post race. I decided to get one and she found that my calves were EXTREMELY tight,and intimated that running might be a bit of a dubious activity. A few points of pressure and I was screaming like I'd picked the wrong Dominatrix- or the right one, I dunno.
It did help though and I ran the race in a reasonable 54'31 - my 4th best for a 10k (best was London Bupa in 49'28) followed by another massage afterwards.
On their recommendation I bought epsom salts today and plan to start backon my old daily yoga routine and get a couple of sports massages over the next two weeks. I think I ramped up a bit too fast this time. Has always worked before but I guess I got another year younger so I may need to take heed of stuff like that. The next two weeks will be interesting.

ultraman1

Mantra Dave wrote: »

afterwards.
On their recommendation I bought epsom salts today.

:rolleyes:

Mantra Dave

sorry.. on Ultraman's recommendation I bought the salts. although they also recommended them- and were the ones to recommend them to ultraman in the first place!:p

Mantra Dave

well the epsom salt bath was intriguing! thought there was nothing happening at first but after a while the sweat just started pouring out of me! After about 30 mins it felt like I had done an hour of power yoga or a ten mile run.. my muscles felt at ease, loose, and I felt calm yet invigorated.
I followed up with an hour of power yoga, 40 mins using my old slendertone and then went training with the club.. interval stuff - I found it pretty tough but rewarding. Here's to tomorrow.

ultraman1

Mantra Dave wrote: »

well the epsom salt bath was intriguing! thought there was nothing happening at first but after a while the sweat just started pouring out of me!

that wasnt sweat ,it was litres of mojhito's......

Mantra Dave

OK - Did a 6 miler on Thurs with the club... went well. No leg probs and it seemed like I was making much less effort than before and timed much quicker. Has been v hard to get this site to load on my crap conection so couldn't update..
Did nothing since Thurs but bought a heavy punchbag to hang from my chin up bar.. it's a workout just to lift the thing!!! Tried it out last night and it's fun and tiring..

Mantra Dave

Did f%$£k all over he weekend. Fell off the wagon and smoked and drank and ate to my heart's content. Stayed up all night watching DVD boxsets and goin to bed in the early hours. Tues night went training - Ultraman couldn't make it. Reckon he just wanted to go see the spirit of the marathon dvd instead.. felt odd running at first on Tues - like I was running lopsided or something.. but after a while I got into a groove and ran for 40 mins before I had to stop to collect my daughter from her training.
Today I did an hour's Yoga and then a 35 min swim at a moderate to fast pace for me. In bed now but too wired to sleep so may go watch tv and have a couple glasses of wine.
My prep for this mara is th 2nd worst ever. Last time I did something similar was when I ran it after only 3 training runs in total. Took me 5 hrs 15. I know I should beat 5 hours this time but am not happy with myself.

On the plus side I have stayed away from the smokes since the weekend and without any difficulty. I just genuinely want to be rid of the f***ing things now. I used to be able to run even when I smoked but not lately and if I've to make a choice then I choose running. Have a free back up session with the hypno people so I will be going back.
Plus I have made out a training plan which I am going to follow so I have some structure. I am gonna print it out and stick it on the fridge and soon as I am capable of trainhing after DCM I am gonna start working towards other races in the new year.

Plan for the next few days:
Thurs - Yoga, 6 mile run
Fri - Yoga, swim
Sat - Yoga, swim
Sun - Yoga
Mon - run/walk 26.2 miles and then go get pissed!

Mantra Dave

another hour of Yoga vinyasa today, 30 mins of Tae Bo - the basic DVD.. I used to do Tae Bo daily and was at the Advanced video which is 4 after basic. After doing it today I realised how out of shape my legs are cos the exercises in the DVD can be a bit of a killer. No wonder I took to running so easily all those years ago and no wonder now that I haven't been doing them and little other cross training that my running has got worse.
Anyway followed up with another 6 miler with the club. Didn't time it but felt good and was going at a pretty good pace..

Mantra Dave

I wrote a bloody long post on the marathon and this crappy site said I wasn't logged in when I clicked submit! I clicked on the BACK button on my browser and my post was not there but the site said "welcome back Mantra Dave" so obviously I am logged in! Bah f***in humbug I'm not goin through all that again!!!!:mad: I don't believe it! It just did it again!

Short version:
2 days pre-mara: swim and yoga
1 day pre-mara: 1hr yoga
Did marathon in 4hr 51
Thanks to Aimee and Candace from USA whose perfectly toned asses and taught bods kept me going for the first 18 miles.
Have hangover today.
Add your own part(s) to the story as you see fit; it will probably have been true anyway.

Diggy78

did you not stop for a bit of yoga with those asian guys at mile 23 ish?

Mantra Dave

Well Sports Fans! I am back...
Today I did anumber of things...

I bought new trainers.. Asics Kayanos. Normally I spend €60-70 on trainers but for a particular reason I decided to get the best I could and doshed out twice my normal one. WOW the difference! They fit my feet so snugly it's unreal.. Will never go back to any other trainer after these!
This is because I also signed up to do the Edinburgh marathon in March and started training for it tonight with a tempo run with the club..
first time back on the road since the marathon and I did 6 miles in 48'29. My fastest ever 10k was 49'28 so I am quite pleased with tonight's run.
I took a leaf out of Ultraman's book and also used some motivational tools (i.e. I watched the Rocky boxset and have a real mantra to run through my head. As you may know or have guessed about me - I am terrible for putting things off. Now Apollo Creed's creed (sorry had to do that) rings through my head from Rocky 3: There is no tomorrow. There is no tomorrow. There IS NO TOMORROW!

Did I mention I plan to complete Edinburgh in under 3hrs 30?
If you're a regular reader then this blog is gonna get interesting over the next few months!

PS - I heard of a Boardsie who participated in the 24hr treadmill session in the UK and didn't call me to ask me to be their biographer for the event! Ahem! Please take note readers that if you want the best article written about you then you should know where to come!

Anyway - dinner is almost ready and I have Rocky Balboa yet to watch,so I bid you 'adieu'

ultraman1

Mantra Dave wrote: »

PS - I heard of a Boardsie who participated in the 24hr treadmill session in the UK and didn't call me to ask me to be their biographer for the event!

you mite of gone to the wrong place

Mantra Dave

Well, did Tae Bo basic DVD yesterday followed by a 20 mins swim.
Could someone explain why guys with their girls want to stand in the middle of a lane forcing swimmers to detour round them and out into the kids section? And then why such afforsaid arseh*les then have to prove to their girls that they can swim further underwater than you? There are other things I'd like to say I prob do better than her bloke but since it's a family show I'll say nothing,but it sure was an irritating swim!

Okay, did the Crookstown motorway 10k today.
As for my performance - if you're reading this from the link on my facebook page then you know why I sucked, if you are reading directly from boards.ie I'll just say Coyote Ugly. The less I go into it the better.

I'm not even gonna bother listing the reasons this was such a bad race for me.

As for the race itself..
Fantastically organised. Really easy registration, signposting was very good, tents and toilets set-up was great (except for one niggle which I will come to).
The medal was very nice - quite unique. Was delighted with it.
The goody bag was great. Delighted with that too. Lily O'brien's chocolate, a reflective armband, an Outsider mag, water, Berocca vitamin, a bag of Tuc minis, a metal box of Silvermints, a Nutrigrain, a small packet of biscuits, and more. It bet the pants off the marathon one, entry to which is more than twice the cost of the Crookstown one. And before anyone points out logistics such as numbers involved,road closures,Garda overtime etc.. the marathon is sponsored by Adidas and I reckon they could afford to put some extra stuff in the goody bag if they cared!
This bag rivalled even the old marathon ones from back around 2000.
The post race stuff was great too. Chips promptly removed. 3 tents full of hot tea and coffee, bananas, crisps, pastry, yoghurts and more that I couldn't see with the crowds. Think a Hogwartz meal!
One slight niggle was that I was dying to use the loo from the 3k mark... not in the way that I could wander over to the side of the road.. I heard there was a portaloo at 4k so I held on. To my dismay the loo wass off the course so that I would have had to climb over the barrier and go out of my way from the race to use it then come back to the race. So I just soldiered on as best I could.
The course was deceptively difficult with a headwind on the return run, freezing temp (I know not the course but it adds up) and rain. It was a well chosen place to run quite a challenging 10k.
I managed to cross the line in 56 mins 40 - quite a bit off the 49 I was thinking of before I was kidnapped and forcefed beer last night, but all in all everything else about the race made it worth doing even if my result was bad.
If anyone involved is reading this - thanks and well done!

ultraman1

Mantra Dave wrote: »

I was dying to use the loo from the 3k mark... not in the way that I could wander over to the side of the road.. I heard there was a portaloo at 4k so I held on.. So I just soldiered on as best I could.
!

shake and BAKE baby:D:D

Mantra Dave

Right, decided to forego any training till I got a pro at my calves. One very painful yet strangely enjoyable sports massage on Monday, followed by 24 hours doing nothing then a 7 or 8 mile (have to drive it and check) run last night. Felt slow to start - still have some pain in my right calf but was told to expect that for a couple of days after the massage - but ran a negative split between the first and second half of the run. Finished feeling very very comfortable and could have kept going.
Bit sore today but nothing much. Physio said there's a possibility I should go back to NOT stretching as have only had this trouble since I started. Have another theory in conjunction with this that I am gonna keep to myself for the moment.
Headin for a few miles in the park with Ultraman in the morning then club tempo run tomorrow night.
Started reading "Born To Run" - very inspiring and awe-inspiring stuff.. and at times both hilariously funny and jaw-dropping. Has really put me in the mood to keep getting out there and keep running.
It occured to me the other night how much I really feel at ease running at night when it's very dark. I think I may do all my runs in the evening in future cos I also slept very well afterwards.
Almost finished "Born to Run" today cos I couldn't put it down without feeling compelled to pick it up and start reading again.. buy it, borrow it, read it - it's the athletic version of Motley Crue's autobiography - 'The Dirt'.
(I should get paid for this).