Girls Run The World – Michelle and Sue’s Training Diary Week 5

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. Michelle is currently out of the office this week on holidays in New York, BUT we can report that she has completed her first real 5k in just 26 minutes! And here is the proof!

@lifestylesports Hi guys! Update on #GirlsRunTheWorld, my very first 5km race today in 26.25. Thanks for everything! pic.twitter.com/K1GIynjLK0 — Michelle Mc Mahon (@McMahonMichelle) March 1, 2014

SUE’S DIARY: Run, Forrest, RUN. On Monday, I started out the week pretty well. I managed to get a bike session in for about an hour and work on the rest of my exercises in the evening. Tuesday morning started with a visit to the physio, Lorraine in Physio Fusion, but this time I got the all clear to run again! I went along to the training session and ran just a little to start to get back into it. That night, I got on the bike again for half an hour and did more of the exercises. The good news is, everything is definitely getting stronger and the knees feel better. However, on Wednesday I reached a real milestone. I managed to swim 1km in total in the pool before work in just over a half an hour! Now, for those who swim quite a bit, this is quite easy but for me, it was a big achievement. Thursday was another short running session after I completed about 28 lengths of the pool but Friday unfortunately didn't happen. With the busy work schedule, I barely managed to get a walk in. I'm still continuing with the Pilates which I go to on Saturday morning in the Swan Centre. My trainer Leanne is a tough cookie but she is really helpful with the different poses and trying to strengthen my core, but this is really not for the faint-hearted. You need to commit to it and try your best and it WILL hurt for the first few sessions! On Sunday, I managed to run for about seven minutes out of 30, but with a calf strain and my knees still a little off, I decided to take it a little bit easier. Hopefully I can get as far as the 5k, but we live in hope! 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.