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[Swallow]

Here's a bit of a curveball, strange thought I was having last night. How good is a punchbag for building upper body strength? Just been thinking about something like that which would easily go in my garage and let me do an upper body workout each day which would be a nice change from the running.

So, do they actually work?

Boxing in general burns a lot of calories, but your endurance (especially arms) and strength will definitely improve. Go for it, get a heavy bag though if it's for building strength, not a light one for timing/movement.

Knock out 500 punches a night and you'll soon feel the difference

I really need to get back into boxing, it's really good fun.

[fragmast3r]

even better do kickboxing

[Spagoli]

Well 8miles steady on sat was OK and 21 miles on sunday didnt make the achilies go snap so think I may have had a lucky escape. did tempo run last night was supposed to be 7min/mile managed first 53 mins at that pace then struggled a bit and ended up 7.14 after last mile, not suprising it felt tough after sunday. that said feel bright as a button today and looking forward to a hard track session tonight! only 5 1/2 weeks training till london

[Rossco]

Just out for a nice wee 5-6 mile cycle there, hadn't been out for about a month and thought I'd struggle but it was a breeze thanks to me upping the ante CV wise at the gym the last 2 months.

I'm gonna start doing the same route all the time and time myself, and just keep trying to beat it each cycle I do.

[Spagoli]

....I'm gonna start doing the same route all the time and time myself, and just keep trying to beat it each cycle I do.

this is what I did running and IMHO it wasn't great, it's OK for a few times to see the times drop but I found I was so used to the run that after a bit I got into a real rut....

I was only attacking in the places I thought were "easier"

I found that I had very set expectations (time) which didnt take into account what I had done the day before or even how I felt or the conditions

When I came to train for a race I started varing the run each day and alternating between tempo, interval, recovery and long runs. After 6 months of that when I went back to my original 6mile ish course I destroyed my times previously I had gone from 46 mins to 41 and then struggled to get any lower after the variety my first run was 37 mins.

Anyway thats just my two peneth

Interesting you reckon the CV stuff has helped the cycling, i always fancy it but reckon I wouldnt be strong enough

[rumbletum]

I also just got some Nuun, which is pretty popular with long-distance triathletes. Pop em in your water bottle and it adds a bunch of sodium, vitamins, calcium and other bits and bobs to hydrate you properly. Nice flavour too.

I've got some of these but can't stomach them, if you drop me your details you're welcome to have them mate.

[Ish]

Getting back into my running is going well. I've dropped back into a regular pattern and while I'm not exactly setting any personal bests I'm gradually upping the distance and the pace.

I've also pretty much cut out the alcohol too. Mainly because its being messing with my sleep badly and when I don't get the rest the last thing I want to do is run. I think I've had four pints in total in the last month.

Starting to feel much better as a result.

[MonkeyWrench]

I don't know how this is happening with me but I'm losing weight at an alarming rate. This week I've managed to lose 4lbs, despite the fact I only managed to get one run in. However, I have kept up with my resistence stuff and I am doing a lot of walking to and from work (45 mins each way), so I can only guess that's what is doing the trick. My eating pattern has stayed pretty much the same too.

[recipher]

Another big week for me, after having most of the previous week off with a bad cold.

Monday 25 mile cycle, hard-ish + swim
Tuesday 7x800 @ 3:02 at the track
Wednesday 20 mile cycle, hilly
Thursday 20 mile run, just under 2:40 (7:59 min-mile pace)
Friday Coached swim for an hour
Saturday 6 miles, 3 miles tempo @ 6:35 min-mile pace
Sunday 105 miles on the bike @ 18+mph

That's the first time I've ridden over 100 miles. I rode with my training group/club, and the pace was pretty high. I'm pleased with myself, I kept up, took my turn riding hard at the front and didn't get tailed off on the climbs.

More here.

[Ish]

Any runners got any advice for what I can best describe as "locked up calves".

Basically at the moment whenever I run, or for that matter walk anywhere at a fast pace (which is my natural speed tbh), my calves turn to stone and become very painful. Sometimes it passes after a couple of miles of unpleasantness but often doesn't. I've had to lay off the running for the last week or two as a result.

Ideas anyone?

[Rossco]

this is what I did running and IMHO it wasn't great, it's OK for a few times to see the times drop but I found I was so used to the run that after a bit I got into a real rut....

I was only attacking in the places I thought were "easier"

I found that I had very set expectations (time) which didnt take into account what I had done the day before or even how I felt or the conditions

When I came to train for a race I started varing the run each day and alternating between tempo, interval, recovery and long runs. After 6 months of that when I went back to my original 6mile ish course I destroyed my times previously I had gone from 46 mins to 41 and then struggled to get any lower after the variety my first run was 37 mins.

Anyway thats just my two peneth

Interesting you reckon the CV stuff has helped the cycling, i always fancy it but reckon I wouldnt be strong enough

Good points made there about timing myself, I havent bothered to do it yet as I often go different routes depending on weather or if I'm with someone else, etc so dont think I will in the end!

Definitely the increase in CV has helped my cycling the last few months though! In general I'm getting a lot fitter and can run/cycle further than normal without getting tired. And I can even see the muscle in my legs getting bigger by the week, its brilliant!


And in other weightlifting news, to keep Chain happy if he's still here. (Not heard from him in ages!) Benching 85kg comfortably now, got a good 6 reps out the other day on it, then 6 negatives straight after. And I'm squatting 135kg now, it just keeps going up every week and I still manage! Dropped it to 100kg the other day after my big sets to see how many reps I could get and managed 27, it was pure hell but boy did it work!

[ascender]

Well, in the time that the site was down, I managed to get a place in the 2009 Marathon des Sables. Since then it has been a rollercoaster of emotions, ranging from new levels of excitement not seen since I was a kid awaiting Christmas and a sensation of impending doom and being gripped by "the fear".

Running is going well now though, did 13.5 miles last week which has been a long time coming. 8 or 9 really tough weeks but finally I'm back up to that sort of distance which is a relief to be honest. I remember it wasn't that long ago I was struggling with 3 miles, so I'm delighted to be back on the right track.

Hope everyone else is doing well, its been weird not being able to check in to this place.

BTW, if anyone else got in to the MdS or is considering it, we've started a forum to try and gather together all the info about it including kit & training advice. Its at http://www.themds.co.uk.

[recipher]

Good work, ascender. I'd like to do MdS but maybe when the kids are older. Not a big fan of sand or heat either which is a bit of a disadvantage.

I'm racing (2wice) this weekend, so I did my long run of 20 miles today. I ran 15 on Saturday, so my legs (and my head) hadn't really recovered. I didn't eat much either, so I didn't push it. Still managed 8 min-miles, without feeling great but it's done now and that's the main thing. That's 4 20-milers down, 1 to go before the marathon, and then I can forget about (really) long runs until September when I'm finished with triathlons and have to get into gear for the Snowdonia Marathon.

I've got a 27 mile team time trial (on the bike) on Saturday and then a local duathlon on Sunday. We'll see how those go, hopefully decent but if not, then hey-ho.

[Swallow]

Congrats Ascender, great news!

[ascender]

That's some effort Recipher. I can only dream of 8 minute miles at the moment, even on very short runs. I've decided not to do FLM as I'd missed too many long runs, so I'm going to to the Edinburgh marathon instead which is a month later and will fit in with my schedule a bit better.