Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Freedom Returns
Miles is back at nursery! Summer is officially over! I can't deny a sense of relief that for 3 mornings at least, I'm liberated from the relentless joys of child entertainment. I can let my guilt appease about resorting to lego for the millionth time, or sneaking in a quick blog update while Miles potters about. I can go to the toilet without being investigated; I can go outside without packing a bag of snacks and bottles of water; I can give playgrounds a wide berth; I can train!
For a moment on Monday I thought their colds would cause at-home days this week, but already the symptoms are nearly gone and for the most part, Roj and I have managed to avoid it. They've both been tired, but that's more down to school and nursery than any lingering virus. When I picked her up on Monday, Jody said her day had been "perfect" and her teacher said "She's been great today!" What more affirmation do we need?
And Miles has enjoyed his return to nursery too, although getting him to go into the classroom is like prising a limpet from a rock with a leaf. As we approach the front door he sticks his head into the crook of my knee, wraps his arms around my thigh, and refuses to budge until we hit on the right incentive. Yesterday it was showing Miss Annum his new shoes; today it was asking him to think about what he'd want in his lunch sandwiches.
I am now on day 3 of my exciting new schedule. I can't complain at day 1 because it was a rest day, although that's already more than I would have scheduled for myself, since I also had Sunday off. Yesterday was slightly heftier, with a 1-hour swim that took 1hr 25mins to complete, a half-hour weights circuit, and the usual spin session in the evening (by which time I was seriously flagging). Fortunately I discovered after my swim that my pool is 30 metres not 25, which explains the time it took to complete the sets. I shall be carefully dividing the distance of each set into 30 (more complicated when the pool is restricted to ⅔ or ½ by school swimming, as it often is), in order to calculate how many lengths I should be doing in each set. I'll say this for a structured session though; that 1 hour 25 can pass in the blink of an eye. It's so different from just ploughing up and down endlessly. And I didn't even have my iPod on.
And then this morning - long run day - I did a whopping 30 minute aerobic run (including warm up, cool down and stretch). It was pretty hard finding a loop short enough; even one lap of Regent's Park takes around 35 to complete. But how refreshing to go out knowing that you have such a short workout to do, and that it has been planned that way for optimal results. I would never plan a half-hour workout, unless it was on the back of another one, so it's great to know that it actually works.
I'm so excited about my schedule. I have the Excel file permanently open on my desktop and keep going back to it to look at what I should next be doing. I get one month at a time, so I can't plan ahead too far, but it's interesting to see the variance in volume from week to week when my own schedule would have had me doing approximately the same each week (through laziness and ignorance - I know it's ineffective!) I can't tell you what a relief it is to have the whole thing out of my hands. I can't wait to see progress. I do, however, have a fortnight of testing ahead of me; next week a 400m swim time trial and a 20 min turbo time trial, and then a MAF Test the following week, which will assess my aerobic efficiency. I just hope my turbo trainer turns up from Wiggle before next week, so that I can have it all set up in the loft in time. Turbo training in the attic-gym ... what a delight!
Meanwhile I notice that Lance Armstrong has announced his return to pro cycling next year. Part of me thinks this is an amazing and admirable thing to do; it's true that it will undoubtedly help raise the profile of his fight against cancer, which he cites as his primary objective. And goodness, if he's successful it will certainly be one in the eye for all those people who put an age-limit on successful athletic careers. But I wonder how much of it is just that he is bored with his Hollywood playboy lifestyle. Once a cyclist always a cyclist. I'm sure he will yearn forever for the thrill of the race and the victory. I just hope for his sake that he will be successful because otherwise he'll look a bit like a Paul McCartney ... ageing, past his prime, desperate ...
On the bright side it might add a bit of spice to the Tour de France that has otherwise been sadly lacking these last few years, eclipsed by a slurry of drug-related accusations and suspensions. There must be plenty a pro cyclist out there rubbing his hands together and looking forward to the 2009 season, when they might at last gain access to a chink in the Armstrong armour. Time will tell I suppose, but 2009 will certainly be one to watch.
For a moment on Monday I thought their colds would cause at-home days this week, but already the symptoms are nearly gone and for the most part, Roj and I have managed to avoid it. They've both been tired, but that's more down to school and nursery than any lingering virus. When I picked her up on Monday, Jody said her day had been "perfect" and her teacher said "She's been great today!" What more affirmation do we need?
And Miles has enjoyed his return to nursery too, although getting him to go into the classroom is like prising a limpet from a rock with a leaf. As we approach the front door he sticks his head into the crook of my knee, wraps his arms around my thigh, and refuses to budge until we hit on the right incentive. Yesterday it was showing Miss Annum his new shoes; today it was asking him to think about what he'd want in his lunch sandwiches.
I am now on day 3 of my exciting new schedule. I can't complain at day 1 because it was a rest day, although that's already more than I would have scheduled for myself, since I also had Sunday off. Yesterday was slightly heftier, with a 1-hour swim that took 1hr 25mins to complete, a half-hour weights circuit, and the usual spin session in the evening (by which time I was seriously flagging). Fortunately I discovered after my swim that my pool is 30 metres not 25, which explains the time it took to complete the sets. I shall be carefully dividing the distance of each set into 30 (more complicated when the pool is restricted to ⅔ or ½ by school swimming, as it often is), in order to calculate how many lengths I should be doing in each set. I'll say this for a structured session though; that 1 hour 25 can pass in the blink of an eye. It's so different from just ploughing up and down endlessly. And I didn't even have my iPod on.
And then this morning - long run day - I did a whopping 30 minute aerobic run (including warm up, cool down and stretch). It was pretty hard finding a loop short enough; even one lap of Regent's Park takes around 35 to complete. But how refreshing to go out knowing that you have such a short workout to do, and that it has been planned that way for optimal results. I would never plan a half-hour workout, unless it was on the back of another one, so it's great to know that it actually works.
I'm so excited about my schedule. I have the Excel file permanently open on my desktop and keep going back to it to look at what I should next be doing. I get one month at a time, so I can't plan ahead too far, but it's interesting to see the variance in volume from week to week when my own schedule would have had me doing approximately the same each week (through laziness and ignorance - I know it's ineffective!) I can't tell you what a relief it is to have the whole thing out of my hands. I can't wait to see progress. I do, however, have a fortnight of testing ahead of me; next week a 400m swim time trial and a 20 min turbo time trial, and then a MAF Test the following week, which will assess my aerobic efficiency. I just hope my turbo trainer turns up from Wiggle before next week, so that I can have it all set up in the loft in time. Turbo training in the attic-gym ... what a delight!
Meanwhile I notice that Lance Armstrong has announced his return to pro cycling next year. Part of me thinks this is an amazing and admirable thing to do; it's true that it will undoubtedly help raise the profile of his fight against cancer, which he cites as his primary objective. And goodness, if he's successful it will certainly be one in the eye for all those people who put an age-limit on successful athletic careers. But I wonder how much of it is just that he is bored with his Hollywood playboy lifestyle. Once a cyclist always a cyclist. I'm sure he will yearn forever for the thrill of the race and the victory. I just hope for his sake that he will be successful because otherwise he'll look a bit like a Paul McCartney ... ageing, past his prime, desperate ...
On the bright side it might add a bit of spice to the Tour de France that has otherwise been sadly lacking these last few years, eclipsed by a slurry of drug-related accusations and suspensions. There must be plenty a pro cyclist out there rubbing his hands together and looking forward to the 2009 season, when they might at last gain access to a chink in the Armstrong armour. Time will tell I suppose, but 2009 will certainly be one to watch.
lara : 13:32
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