Weight and Run

26.2 in training

May 12 2012

First 4 weeks of training {complete}

So I have officially completed the first 4 weeks of my Berlin marathon training plan, 20 weeks to go (how long does that sound, seems like a blooming long time to me).

Few Stats for the past 4 weeks:

Running sessions planned: 11

Miles planned: 58

Actual sessions done: 9

Actual miles done: 48.69

I am quite happy with that considering for a week of training I had a throat infection and cold which left me missing a couple of sessions and I did a few sessions feeling slightly under the weather.

Hows the leg doing? On and off at the minute, long post run stretching and rolling seem to be keeping me on an even keel but some days I can feel discomfort that I know isn’t right but it does wear off over my running rest days. Overall my legs are coping well and the injury I have been dealing with for what feels like years is behaving (in a fashion ahem, its not allowing me to wear any heels which is a bummer but you can’t have it all, I still rock the flats). I do get the occasional gluteus pain too so I need to work on that, hopefully my British Military Fitness classes will help build then up nicely.

Training has picked up a notch now and has now entered long run territory, first 10 miler of the plan is tomorrow. I will be taking this slowly and building up speed over the coming weeks.

Ultimately I am happy with progress and I am seeing improvements in all areas of my running and fitness just not my waist size and weight but I am working on that. I just need to cut the crap as it does affect my overall feeling during runs, particularly the speed interval training sessions. I feel instantly sick when I have ate crap in the day then gone for a training run so for the next few weeks I will be getting food back in order to help me during my training not affect my training in a negative way.

Next 4 weeks covers around 70 miles over 12 training sessions, lets hope I have another good 4 weeks of training and I can stick to my training plan.

by Vicky

show hide 2 comments

comment

Lara - Looks like the marathon training is off to a cracking start, well done. Look after that leg and it will look after you

Vicky - Thanks Lara,
I am really looking after it. My stretching sessions last a long time these days and I roll out my leg daily which is so good.

May 04 2012

Goal May

by Vicky

no comments

comment

May 01 2012

Trying new foods: Dragon Fruit

I admit it, I eat the same foods a lot, its easy and ultermately I know how many calories I am consuming. Sometimes the foods I eat fit into a bit of a timetable, yep very dull. It is boring and in all honestly I get completely sick of the same lunch of cooked ham and a salad or chicken and some steamed vegetables or some form of filled wholemeal pitta so I am making a conscious effort to try foods i’ve never tried before.

I was at the supermarket today getting my fruit and veg supplies as normal where I also picked up a Dragon Fruit, something I have always looked at and thought how nice and exotic they look but never actually tried.

Well I was pleasantly surprised, tastes like a cross between a kiwi in texture and a mild pear in taste. I think I will be adding many more of these to my shopping basket in future.

I wonder what I will try next, I will decide while having a roam around the supermarket during my next visit. Suggestions are of course welcome.

by Vicky

no comments

comment

Apr 24 2012

Comparing devices, the numbers

As I got hold of the new Nike+ Fuelband and me being the geek that I am, I naturally wanted to check out the differences in numbers reported by both Fuelband and my trusted Ki Fit, that I have been using since January 2011 to help me calculate my full daily calorie expenditures.

On Saturday I put on both devices (yes I was like go go gadget girl for the day) at 8:30 am through till 5pm and checked the numbers throughout the day.

Check 1: After sitting eating breakfast, getting ready for the day and walking around London for a couple of hours before stopping for a coffee break.

Ki Fit: 523 calories, 5453 steps.

Fuelband :314 calories, 5635 steps.

Check 2: Another hour walking around london.

Ki Fit: 816 calories, 10065 steps.

Fuelband: 502 calories, 9842 steps.

Check 3: Tube travel back home then a short rest before going for a run.

Ki Fit: 984 calories, 11646 steps.

Fuelband: 580 calories, 11308 steps.

Check 4: Pre run numbers.

Ki Fit: 1058 calories, 11830 steps.

Fuelband: 611 calories, 11656 steps.

Check 5: Post run numbers.

Ki Fit:1609 calories, 18787 steps (551 cals for the run).

Fuelband 1142 calories, 19427 steps (531 cals for the run).

Since I was out for a run I also wore my Garmin (luckily all these gadgets are small, I would have looked like bionic woman otherwise) This reported 528 calories for the run.

Clearly there is a big difference between the calories reported by Nike+ Fuelband and Ki Fit, although not a big difference during the run, just the ‘general’ activities.

I went to several online calorie tools to check an approximation of the calories burned for the various activities and none activities (watching tv, sitting relaxing etc) I had done and the figures come in much closer to Fuelband than they do Ki Fit. I know that Fuelband doesn’t account for ‘none activity’ (it does not claim to either since it is for measuring activity only) like Ki Fit does and since you do burn calories just breathing, sitting watching tv and generally doing nothing, this kind of calorie expenditure needs to be accounted for when reading the Fuelband data but the differences are a bit larger than I had expected. I know Fuelband isn’t intended to show calories burned all day long including moments of rest but I am going to be using it as much as possible to help me manage my calorie in requirements since I do struggle a little still. I am going to stop using the Ki Fit for a while and see how I get on with Fuelband. I am liking it just being a wrist band rather than something to be worn on the upper arm. It’s comfortable and it looks good, even my hubby thinks it looks great and not at all obvious as to what it is, just a black bracelet. So far so good, lets hope it helps me as much as Ki Fit has.

by Vicky

no comments

comment

Apr 20 2012

Nike+ Fuelband has arrived

I managed to get hold of a Nike+ Fuelband today (Boxpark in London had a limited supply of these ahead of it’s general release in the UK which is early May). I won’t bore anyone by going on about what it does, a quick google will provide all the information but it basically measures activity much like what I currently use by means of Ki Fit. It’s a nice nifty wrist band which is one of the big reasons I wanted to give it a go. Ki Fit isn’t very summer clothing or short sleeve top friendly, it generates alot of attention and questions which I don’t really like. I also feel conscious wearing it even under long sleeve tops and jackets as it is noticeable so I was thrilled at being able to get hold of something that does what I want but is much more low key and wearable with all my clothing.

Here it is:

I have been wearing both Ki Fit and Fuelband for about 1 hour now, I wanted to see the difference in the numbers reported. During this time I went and did my food shopping and did a few things around the house. Here are the numbers reported:

Ki Fit: 240 Calories / 1434 Steps

Fuelband: 106 Calories / 1379 Steps

Clearly the calories are significantly different, I am not that bothered about Fuelband reporting less than Ki Fit does, I would be concerned if Fuelband was reporting more but since its not I am okay with the numbers.

I may run another test at some point and wear both all day and report the numbers over a much longer period of time and numbers reported during my workouts. It would be interesting to see the differences here since Ki Fit also uses body heat and body heat fluctuations in the calculations and Fuelband doesn’t.

I want to stress here that I am by no means saying Ki Fit is not a good product and I am looking for a replacement. I love this product and it has been the most useful thing to me while I have been losing and maintaining my weight. It is a product I will always continue to support and promote (note: I do not get any sort of free products or services from Ki-Fit or any related company for my blog posts and reviews, opinions are my own from using the product for over a year) and will use on and off for the forceable future. For the time being though I would like to not have it around my upper arm 24/7 but I still want the support of having a rough guide to how many calories I am burning in a day to assist me in how many calories I should or shouldn’t be consuming.

I will report back further once I have been using Nike+ Fuelband for a good amount of time.

by Vicky

show hide 1 comment

comment

Lara - Fascinated to hear if the differences continue (with calories). Must be honest I had forgotten about the body heat used by the KiFit. I really should wear mine more often!!

Apr 18 2012

Getting back in a routine (attempting to)

This week was the first work week in years that I have walked to and from the office every day, left the office on a Friday and been at my door in under an hour! I am loving not having to travel for work and having much more weekend time and more of a Monday morning to myself. No packing a suit case on a Sunday evening for me for a while (probably once every 4-6 weeks now) or getting up at 5am on a Monday morning to get to the office and no more hotels, oh it is nice. I love my job I truly do but the travel and living arrangements really grind my teeth.

Back to topic of this post, I have been trying to get into a routine now I am staying put for a while. I have my plans drawn up, got to several British Military Fitness classes last week and a weekend one which was quite a novelty, yoga and easily got a whole load of walking in. If I walk to and from the office each day I will cover 30 miles in a week, easy peasy way of getting those extra calories burned.

This week however has gone the wrong way. I have such a terrible cold coupled with a nasty cough which makes my head hurt. I haven’t been walking to the office either because the weather is just shockingly bad. Why is that, I was looking forward to some decent weather and ample time outside and what I actually got was a nasty cold and cough in a place thats predominantly forcast with blustry wind and rain for the forseable future. I hope it starts to turn around and I feel better soon, I usually just carry on but I am resting to get over it quicker and hopefully ill be right a rain in super fast time and the weather decides to be kind so I can get kicking my plan.

On another note it is the London Marathon this Sunday, I will be there somewhere along the course cheering and giving my support so good luck to anyone running I hope it goes well.

by Vicky

show hide 1 comment

comment

Frankinho - “I usually just carry on”

To be on the safe side of things, never, ever exercise while suffering from a cold. It could cause severe and permanent damage to your heart (like myocarditis), making any running in the future impossible. Please be patient (no pun intended).

Apr 10 2012

Give me a kick

Oh dear I hang my head in shame. This past week has been food hell, I hate ate crap like its going out of fashion, WTF is with that. Okay so having chocolate around since its been the Easter weekend hasn’t helped but where has my will power ran off to? I don’t need it, my body suffers for it by way of feeling tired and the addition of lard pounds. I really need to stop this and reaching for the quick easy fatty foods, biscuits will not help my hunger in the day, they will make me feel like crap in more than just physical ways. Chocolate will not fill me ready for my evening workouts, it will just give me the ‘crash and burn’ effect over and over.

Since the Berlin half marathon I have been a garbage eater, I must stop, I haven’t dared step on the scales and its for the best I don’t have access any any until the weekend. My marathon plan starts next week and I need to be in full flow, eating well and working out well.

Your all welcome to give me a kick up the back side, I sure as hell need it.

by Vicky

show hide 4 comments

comment

Lara - Before I kick your butt I like your new header picture, it captures what I’ve read about you beautifully.

NOW:

Pull yourself towards yourself woman. You have a lot of change happening at the moment and in some way or another the stress may have manifested in bad eating. Do not wait for a new week to get back to healthy eating, start now with your next meal and maybe give yourself an extra day off working out if marathon training is starting next week … it worked hard for you and did rather well.

…. butt kicked

Frankinho - No kick, just a hint from decades of experience:

In the long RUN , you won’t be able to fight that crave to (garbage-)eat, especially not after the strees-test you put your body and mind through by running the BHM or similar races. Many thousands of years of evolution have created that almost unstoppable urge in your subconsciousness – trying to fight it is a waste (waist?) of time, IMHO.

Instead, try and find ways of coping with it, of playing with it and, most important, of playing tricks on it. Make it a fun game, find strategies and tactics to at least achieve a draw. “You” stressed your body, “it” struck back and scored. It’s a game. Enjoy it.

Blaming yourself and feeling shame just makes the desire to (over-)eat worse. I doubt that the power of your free will – if a “free” will should really exist – can beat the will power of your subconscious mind over the long haul. Try to have them both work together or, at least, have them play a friendly.

You do have a nice blog.

Greetings from Berlin. F

Vicky - Thanks Chic, I’m getting my head straight that’s for sure.

Vicky - Thanks for your kind words Frankinho.
I think you are right, the feeling bad about the food is not good for anyone, its very hard not to though when you know in your mind its not good for you. I think your right also about working with it but not ‘punishing’ myself over and over. I should work with this and I will be trying hard to do that. It is easier when I am working out but on my ‘days off’ it does go a little wrong but again working on it.

If you have a blog also drop me the address and I will check it out, its okay if its wrote in German I can read a little German.

Apr 06 2012

Journal Entries

A very late post of my journal entires for the past ahem 7 weeks.

Training journal entries covering week 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of 2012 (18th February – 6th April 2012). Time for some serious daily training to commence as of week 15. I now have 25 weeks until my first marathon, sounds like a lot of time right? Well I’m still recovering from an injury so I need all the time I have to do this right and get to the start line in Berlin feeling like I have done the best I could possibly do.