As part of the Life Style Sports #GirlsRunTheWorld campaign, Michelle McMahon, Editor of Her.ie and Sue Murphy, TV & Film Editor,were challenged to run a 10k race after 12 weeks of training.
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MICHELLE'S DIARY:
Girls Run The World
Except sometimes, they don’t.
This has been my worst week so far – by a long shot. After a great week last week, I hit a stumbling block. I missed the junk food I’d given up, I missed the wine I wasn’t drinking, and I felt lazier than I had since the Christmas slump.
The week started off great, we were out with Peter on Tuesday, I did a 5km run on Wednesday in under 30 minutes, and we were back out with Peter again on Tuesday. I was wrecked for that session though, and it was afterwards that I first felt I’d bitten off more than I could chew. This started my spiral of shame…
On Friday night, I ordered a large pizza, and a portion of curry chips for good measure. I was the only person at home. I managed half of it, then I had the rest for Saturday breakfast/lunch. I ate pastries for the first time this year on Sunday, and a few glasses of Prosecco while I was at it. Exercise count? None.
I’m heading off on holidays on Friday, (with my first official run on the Saturday), but before that I have approximately 13,278 things on my to-do list, and two days to move house and clear out the old place. Stress is not my friend. I’ve averaged two hours sleep a night for the last week and I’m physically and mentally exhausted.
Feeling like a complete failure is no fun, so I decided on Sunday night to just sleep it off, and start fresh on Monday. Easily said, not so easily done when I lay there staring at the ceiling until 6am. I started the week exhausted, and that is a hard place to come back from.
So, on to today. We had our first of two sessions this week with Peter and I’m coming back around. Bar my little crash, I’ve been sleeping better, eating better and feeling better – and lots of people I’ve seen in the last week or two have had nice things to say about how I’m looking. Let’s not lie, that’s always nice.
I have my instructions for an interval run tomorrow, another session with Peter on Thursday and then I’m flying to New York on Friday morning. Peter has recommended a 15 minute jog on Friday, then it’s rest and relaxation before I attempt the Frozen Penguin run in Brooklyn on Saturday morning. Current reports suggest it’s quite likely to snow, so anything other than landing on my arse will be considered a success! Joking aside, I really want to do well so I’ll be giving it my everything. Hopefully, when you read this blog next week it will be one I’ve penned from the comfort of a New York hotel room, surrounded by the nice things I bought myself as a reward for surviving. Wish me luck…
SUE'S DIARY:
A LOT DONE, A LOT MORE TO DO!
This week has actually been a lot more positive for me in terms of training and fitness. At the start of last week, I was still not running which is pretty annoying considering I am still turning up for training sessions where I basically have to walk while watching Michelle run off into the distance! However, I was keeping up with the exercises and the rest of the training programme, so my fitness was improving all the time and I still worked on the warm-up with Michelle so it didn't feel like I was completely alone!
The main section I work on the site is the film section and with the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival on and the BAFTAs, I was spending a lot more time on the bike as it was pretty time consuming to try to make it to the swimming pool. Plus, this really ensured that I was in fact sticking to the exercises as I did them before I got on the bike.
I was back at physio this week and with Lorraine off, I saw Jennifer who gave me a couple of extra exercises to build up my strength over the next few weeks. I now have a total of seven exercises to build the strength in my legs, single leg lifts, knee bends and using a foam roller to work through the tension in my calves and legs.
Physio Fusion have been brilliant and I am already feeling a lot stronger.
With the bike sessions this week, I also added in a Pilates class at the Swan Centre in Rathmines on Saturday morning. I absolutely loved it. All of the exercises are helping with my strength but I also felt really relaxed when I left the building. However, on Sunday, I found it difficult to even laugh. It was all good pain though!
To join Sue this week:
Train 5 x times per week plus one Pilates class for strengthening. (I work a really busy schedule, believe me, you can do this!)
Three swimming sessions – Up to about forty lengths now.
Two bike sessions – 45mins/1 hour on bike on a very easy setting.
Exercises - Single leg lifts, sit-ups, strengthening knee muscles, foam roller on the calves and on the outside of the legs.
Find pb3 coaching on Facebook for more details on the training programme
Whatever kind of training you are involved in, the Life Style Sports Product Experts (in stores nationwide) are on hand to ensure each customer selects the correct clothing and footwear to meet their individual needs, reducing risk of injury and achieving better results. Life Style Sports also offers customers a free Gait Analysis service in select stores which provides runners with an essential insight into their individual running styles. Customers can also find all the information they need on wearing the right technical apparel, including “Sports Bra Fitting Guides” and footwear while running or working out at “The Fitness Hub” on lifestylesports.com.
