Odysseus's Journey

Odysseus

Hi to anyone who reads this, I think these logs are great idea especially to work on self motivation. Its a pity for me that they are so new, eariler in the year this would have been great for me, as I was training for specific goals. Whereas now once the Dublin marathon is over, I will be taking a well deserved six week break from running.

However, I'm sure that it will help track my prep work for the marathon. So far this year, I have done two marathons, Belfast 3.47 and Longford 3.40, as well as a 100k ultra in 12.18. It will be interesting to see whether I get any faster for Dublin as I hope to give up smoking at the end of the month:eek:

My log will focus on the two apsects of my fitness running and my martial arts training. Please feel free to add any helpful advice or comments.

Saturday 2nd Sept.

Ran 10k 0.46.41

One hour bag-work.

2x5 mins rounds. Warm up and cool down.
10x3 mins rounds.

90 sec break between rounds.


Tuesday 5th Sept.

Ran 10k. 0.44.44


Friday 8th Sept.

One hour bag work work.
As above.

I off for a run now so I add todays training later.

Odysseus

Saturday 9th Sept.

Run 20k 1.39.30.

One hour bag-work.

I noticing that my running times are getting quicker, which is interesting as I have'nt been running as much the past two month, and the distances have been shorter, not sure what to make of that except that I am cutting down on the smokes in advance of my stop day. It will be interesting for me to keep an eye on that.

Odysseus

Monday 11th Sept.

I had hoped to run 10k tonight, but chickened out when it started to rain heavy, I don't mind running in the rain once I'm already out but hate starting in it.

So I spent an hour doing bag-work instead, I have now changed my format to 10x5mins rounds. My rest period is still 90 secs but I hope to drop that donw to 60 over time.

Odysseus

Tuesday 12th Sept.

Went for run at lunch time 12.5k 59.00. Things are definitely getting better. I haven't used that route in about two months, I generally used to do it between 1.02 and 1.04. So I was well pleased to complete it in under an hour.

Odysseus

Wednesday 13th Sept.

Two hour MA training, hadn't been to a class for about a month, due to an injury, great to be back;)

Odysseus

Friday 15th Sept.

Standard one hour bag-work.

Odysseus

Saturday 16th Sept.

Ran 20k 1..35.59. Really enjoyed the run today, I'm lucky enough to live by a small fishing port, so the roads are usually quite and nice to run on. The was made better by the weather today, really enjoyed it as I kept telling myself we won't have many more of these. Then its back to running in the wet and cold.

This was followed by one hour of bag-work, and just to make things harder for myself [why do I do this? ] When the hour was up I decided to to a bag/push-up drill that I haven't done in a long time. Basically, hit the bag once, I use a heel-plam as no gloves are needed, the you drop and do one push up, then two... once I get to ten, I work my way back down to one. So you end up doing 100 push-ups, I like this drill but really do, maybe there is a part of my that's afaird of it;) However, it is a good way to finish off a session, as you certainly know that you do something.

Odysseus

Tuesday 19th Sept.

Attended a three hour MA class, psysically it was not as intense as where I usually train, yet, a good work out all the same. However, as there was a lot of weapons work, I found myself drained at the end. I think the fact that I was focusing on making such I did'nt get a smack of a weapon drained me;)

Boru.

If there's one thing I've learnt form training both myself and others it's to never underestimate the mental fatigue of a workout. Sure we can talk about the energy ourtput and calorie deficit casued by physicla training, but sometimes the best training you can do is all upstairs, that's what truly makes you stonger and capable of physically achieving more. But you know all this already so I'll shut up and just say -

Great stuff so far - can't wait to see how far you'll take it!
'

Odysseus

Cheers for that Boru. I find the psychological stuff sneaks up on me, despit the fact that I'm a psychotherapist, but when I'm training I not interested or focused on that.

Wednesday 20th Sept.

Attended my usual two hour MA Class, which was quite intensive last night, I found the class really pushed me last night, physically and psychologically, which was great.

Odysseus

Thursday 21th Sept.

One hour of bag work, followed by the heel-plam/push-up drill. The drill took me 5.37 to do. I'm going to keep a track of the times, to see if it improves as I do it more often.

Would of liked to go for a run instead, I have'nt run all week, however, I'm saving myself for the half-marathon on Saturday.

Odysseus

Friday 22nd Sept.

I wasn't planning to train today, however, since the high winds last night damaged my bike, I was forced to take the day off work in order to sort it out. So I thought I would take advantage of the extra time.

One hour bag-work, followed by heel-plam/push-up drill. The drill took 5.47 today an extra 10 secs compared to yesterday.

Odysseus

Saturday 23rd.

Dublin Half-Marathon my last organised run as a smoker[I hope], the one thing I miss since moving out of Dublin is not being able to run in the park. So it was nice to be running there again, I finished in 1.33.37 which is a fast time for me, I knew I was pushing myself, however, I was happy with the results. Later on completed the heel-plam/push-up drill in 5.44.

Odysseus

Sunday 24th Sept.

One hour bag work, followed by heel-palm/push-up drill in 5.24.

Odysseus

Monday 24th Sept.

Ran 12.6k in 0.59.52. Found it difficult to go for a lunch time run today. Motivation was low and I didn't want to push myself to hard. Even when I had started there was that lazy voice in my head telling to make it an easy run. This is a somewhat difficult area, because I do believe in pushing myself, however, I also need to remind myself that the only person I'm competing against is myself.

whitelightrider

Hey Odysseus,

What MA are you doing?

Odysseus

My base is Krav Maga, been at that for a little over four years, however, I train with any of the Reality Based people who come over, I'm a level one instructor in Jim Wagners programme, but also trained with Lee Morisson and Mick Coup so far this year. I'm also hoping to start some Escrima soon. Cheers mate.

Odysseus

Tuesday 26th Sept.

One hour of bag-work, followed by heel-palm/push-up drill. The time is up for question on my watch told me it was 5.10, and I did push myself tonight, however, I have a little doubt that I may have skipped one of the higher numbers, I'm not sure, but time will tell on that. It can be hard to keep a track on how many you have done when your trying to hit the bag as fast as you can, drop to the floor, do the push ups, hop back up and go again.

Odysseus

Wednesday 27th Sept.

Two hour MA class, apart from this being a very physical class, it additionally supplies a social element to my training, which is very important as most of my training is done by myself.


Friday 29th Sept.

Ran 20k 1.34.36. One hour of bag-work, followed by heel-palm/push-up drill in 5.05. I seem to be getting faster at this drill, it will be interesting to see how it developes.

Odysseus

Saturday 30th Sept.

Ran 10k 48.15, one hour bag-work followed by heel-palm/push up drill 5.03.

I was not a happy bunny when I awoke this morning! My plan was to run 40k yesterday, however, for some reason I felt it was best not to and done 20k instead. When running yesterday I noticed that I felt a bit chesty, but put it down to reducing the amount I smoke in preparation for next Saturday when I plan to quit. When I awoke today, I knew I had a chest infection, I was planning to make up for yesterday by doing 30k today. I had been in bed early and even got a full nine hours sleep.

Hence the dilemma, I knew that I would be pushing it to try going with my plan for today, so a compromise was in order, and the above was what I ended up with. I did not like the run, I know how I am doing, by what song is playing on my mp3, and comparing it with various land marks on my run. I knew I was slow and did'nt like it, I kept catching myself trying to move the pace up and had to force myself not to, bummer. I will rest for the rest of the day and all of tomorrow, and see what happens. Luckly, as I work in a medical setting I had a supply of antibiotics, which will hopefully clear it up. Even though I hate having to go down that road.


Forgot to add my total for the month, I have been keeping a track of it since the start of the year, so I may as well add it here.

Total k for Sept: 136

Total k to date: 136
+1674
1810k

Odysseus

Tuesday 3rd Oct.

Ran 10k 47.22, one hour bag-work followed by heel-plam/push-up drill 4.51.

Still not fully back on form, however, I felt good enough to start back, just not pushing myself on the run. My timing on the run is slower than usual, but it is a case of getting stuck in by doing the run, but at the same time acknowledging than I'm not fully recovered and allowing myself to coast a tad. I'm very suprised with my times for the push-up drill, it is almost a minute quicker than when I started with it. I am thinking of sticking with this for a month, then doing the push-ups with push-up bars for a month. The plan then is maybe to switch between push-up and burpees on different days. However, it is merely a plan, I like to have a plan in mind, yet keep my options open.

Odysseus

Wednesday 4th Oct.

Two hour MA Class, had to take it easy with some drills as I was ground-work, and my rib injury is almost there, but not fully healed yet.

justsomebloke

hey hope the chest infection has gotten better aswell as the rib injury. and just think after the 10k on tuesday you now only have 180k left to do before you hit the 2000 mark so well done. Also on a side note have you managed to kick the fags yet

oh I would say good work so far, but after doing the 100k earlier this year we all know you are well capable of putting in the time and effort to reach your goals, but really nice work so far this year anyway

Odysseus

Cheers thanks for that mate, the chest infection is almost gone, my rib only gives me a bit of a problem, if I'm banged down on the ground or if there is a lot of pressing on it, i.e. someones knee. So while I was fine last night, I took it easy on some of trhe stuff. I plan to stop smoking on Saturday, last smoke before bed on Friday night, I attending a MA seminar Saturday and Sunday so that will help I hope. Yeah the 2000k mark I plan to take a six week break after the Dublin marathon, would have liked to have reached it by then, but its looking uncertain. Then again its another reason to go for long runs;)

jsb wrote:

hey hope the chest infection has gotten better aswell as the rib injury. and just think after the 10k on tuesday you now only have 180k left to do before you hit the 2000 mark so well done. Also on a side note have you managed to kick the fags yet

oh I would say good work so far, but after doing the 100k earlier this year we all know you are well capable of putting in the time and effort to reach your goals, but really nice work so far this year anyway

Odysseus

Thursday 6th Oct.

Ran 10k 47.07. One hour bag-work followed by heel-plam/push-up drill 4.31.

Still not back up to speed on the runs, body is willing but all the shi*e in my lungs is stopping me from going for it, never mind getting better. I just hope that after giving up the smokes on Saturday, that I don't end up getting more chest infections, the Gods of Irony always seem to shine on me:rolleyes: JSB have given me an idea, since I am so close to the 2000k mark my goal is to have 2000k done by the time I finish the marathon. The distance is not a problem in July I covered +300k, however, the difficulty is getting the time. When training for Lapland I would the a day off each month to do my long run. This month both work wise and with my personal life I'm very busy, but goals are there to be achieved. I'm pleased with the push-up drill still getting faster, so well pleased:)

Odysseus

Saturday 7th Oct.

Four hour MA Class, it was supposed to be five, but as it was my first day of the smokes, I found that I needed to left after four.


Sunday 8th Oct.
Three hour MA Class.


Monday 9th Oct.

Ran 20k 1.37.11. One hour bag work followed by heel-palm/push-up drill 4.28.

Third day of the smokes today and I really felt it on the run, I was coughing up all types of shi*e. I was looking forward to my first run as a non-smoker, but it was only enjoyable in a perverse way, I didn't enjoy all the coughing but knew it was clearing out my lungs. The 20k run leaves me with 150k to do before the end of the month.

Odysseus

Wednesday 11th Oct.

Two hour MA Class.

Odysseus

Saturday 14th Oct.

Ran 30k 2.27.28.

Pleased with todays run, I had hoped to do 40k today, however, I stayed over in Dublin last night and by the time I got home I was running late, on top of that my girlfriend is coming up tonight so compromises have to be made. Still only 120k left to run.

Odysseus

Tuesday 17th Oct.

Ran 12.5 k. 0.58.23

Wednesday 18th Oct.

Ran 12.5k 0.56.55.

I was really pleased with Tuesdays time it was the fastest I had run that course, therefore I was really pleased with todays timing. I feel that I have been a tad slack with my training recently, missing my MA, bag-work etc, still I know that I haven't been missing to much. At the moment, I'm sorting out how often I can train, as I do need to adjust things a bit. I have two relapses with the smokes, but have been off them again since Early Sunday morning. A bit of good news, I have just recieved a e-mail telling me registrations are now open for the Shara Marathon in Feb, so I'll sorting that out tonight when I get home from work:)

justsomebloke

so only 95km left (and if you include the marathon itself that only leaves you with roughly 55) so good work, and also good work with keeping mostly of the fags

Odysseus wrote:

A bit of good news, I have just recieved a e-mail telling me registrations are now open for the Shara Marathon in Feb, so I'll sorting that out tonight when I get home from work:)

Man you really are a gluten for punishment and a real inspiration:D

Odysseus

Saturday 28th Oct.

one hour of bag-work, followed by heel-palm/push-up drill 4.44.

Thanks jsb, but unfourtunately I picked up a bad stomach bug last weekend, so I only started back today, so I'm not going to make the 2000k mark before the marathon. Its a pity, but as I was ill, i'm not too bothered about it. On a more positive note I did register for the Shara Marathon, so I'm pleased with that. I started to train with the heating on to try get used to the heat, I only had it a 20c, however, I could feel the difference, and I will have to do a lot more work around that. However, I also have to note I went back on the smokes, but plan to stop again tonight, I have been smoking the best part of 26 years so it will take time and I'll have to just stick with it. Anyway its great to be training again, really missed it.

Odysseus

30th Oct.

Dublin City Marathon 3.44.23.

Well now I can have a six week break from running, it sounds nice at the moment as I suffle around my house in pain, however, I know I'm going to miss it. I subscribe to the theroy that you should have two months a year off from running, in the last year the longest break I've had is two weeks, so a break is needed. I'm going with six weeks as the Sahara Marathon is on the end of Feb, so I also need to be back in shape for that.

It was nice to do the Dublin Marathon again, though this is only my second time. I was hoping to beat 3.40, but a mixture of a very slow start, there were something like 10,000 running, and psychologically I was'nt as strong. I knew I would finish, but found it hard to push muself that little further, I kept thinking of excuses, such as you were ill recently it effected your training etc. However, don't get me wrong it is still a very good time for me. As for the 2000k mark I should still be able to hit that with the last two weeks of the year. Its more a question of what I'm going to do for the next six weeks, I pity that punch bag of mine!

Odysseus

2nd Nov.

One hour of bag work, followed by heel-palm/push-up drill in 4.28.

Odysseus

Saturday 3rd Nov.

One hour of bag work, followed by heel-palm/push-up drill in 4.24.

I hope this journal doesn't become too boring over the few weeks asa it will mostly be MA and bag work. I skipped MA training this Wednesday as I was still a tad sore after Monday, so I start back next week. I forgot to add up my distances for Oct so here goes:

Total K for Oct 137.

Total K to date. 1810
137
1947K
So with starting back running in mid Dec, that leaves 53k to be don by the new year, that should be achievable.

Odysseus

Sunday 4th Nov.

One hour of bag-work, followed by heel-palm/push-up drill 4.30.

I had the heating on today whilst training, even though it was only 19 degrees I can feel the difference. I generally use between 1.25 and 1.5 liters of water when training at home, which is a lot within an home. However, I think i am going to have to start using electrolyte drinks before and after. Especially as I plan to start wearing those Hally Hansen thermal tops or something similar to get me use to training in the heat. The push-up drill was a tad slower today, however, I think I may have repeated the six shots/push-ups.

Odysseus

Friday 10th Nov.

One hour of bag work, followed by heel-palm/push-up drill in 4.21.

Missed my MA class again this week, I woke up with a cold on Monday morning and needed to take a little rest from training. Quite annoyed about this as I am very busy work-wise so I can only go once aweek at the moment. Training tonight was with the heating on, over the coming weeks I will start to increase the temp.

Odysseus

Saturday 11th Nov.

One hour of bag-work followed, by heel-palm/push-up drill in 4.03:)


It is really noticable today how a negative issue [row with girlfirend], can have a significant impact on ones training, as well as easing the psychical tenision. In psychoanalytic terms I was working through my jouissance. I noticed I was getting more hits in on during the bag-work, however, I was really surprised with my time for the push-up drill.

I have also decided that I start back running on the 10th Dec, I registered for the Port Tunnel 10k last night, so this will be my first run. I was hoping to just use it as a gentle re-introduction, however, some of my mates who never do organised runs have entered; so a bit of healthly competion is entering the picture;)

Odysseus

Monday 13th Nov.

One hour of bag work followed by heel-palm/push-up drill in 3.53, once again:)

Once again great bag session, as I haven't been training with other people for a few weeks, I have been missing it; but I think I am also pushing myself becuae of this. When doing the push-up drill I knew I was doing well, by the song I was listening to. I always finish up on the same song whether I training at home or running a race. It my way of telling myself its time to push it, your almost done. During the drill I knew I was slightly ahead and though, if I got 4.03 on Saturday, wouldn't it be great to get under four mins. So I went for it, after the last push-up I leap off the floor to gap my stopwatch, thinking every 100th of a sec was crucial. I was amazed when I saw 3.53. If I remember correctly, that is almost one minute of the time it took me to complete the drill when I started doing it again. So well pleased:)

Odysseus

Friday 17th Nov.

One of of bag-work, followed by heel-palm/push-up drill in 3.47:)



Due to a last minite work committment I missed my MA class again this week:mad: So I have made a decision that since I'm so busy work wise at the moment, that I'm not going to start back until Dec. That will give me a bit of an extra break until i start running again. On that note I went for a gait analysis yesterday, first time I ever done this. It was suggested to me to chage my type of running shoe, so I have a brand new pair of trainers waiting for me when I start back, I miss running, but the bag-work is keeping me ticking over. In relation to the push-up drill, I was faster again tonight. I have noticed that I need less recovery in between which is speeding my time up. Whereas previously on the end scale like 7,8,9,10,9,8,7, after hitting the bag I might be in the push-up position, but would need to take a breath or two before I would commence, whereas now there is little or no recovery, just straight into it.

Odysseus

Saturday 18th Nov.

One hour of bag-work, followed by heel-palm/push-up drill in 3.44.

Another three seconds off the push-up drill, whilst I'm really pleased with this, as I know I'm keeping on form with the push-ups and doing good ones; I know I can only get so fast at it. So the plan is too continue like this until the end of the month, and then add some burpees into it. I know this will really slow down the time and make it a lot more difficult.

Odysseus

Sunday 19th Nov.

One hour of bag-work followed by heel-palm/push-up drill in 3.53.

Tried out some new kit today, I got some of those Canterbury long sleeved base layers. I was wearing this and had the room temp at 20 degrees, I could feel a notable difference. It was strange in that the t-shirt wicks away the sweat so I didn't feel sweaty around my torso, however, with the heat escaping out of my head, it was dripping off me. I'll will need to keep an eye on my hydration, I had some dioralyte after to counter that, as well as having a liter of water whilst training.

I'm at the stage now where I want to go for a run, but I said I was'nt starting back until Dec 10th, and it is wise to have a good break. So I have been working on the planning for next year, I signed up for the Commemara Ultra Marathon this morning its 39.3 miles, so that works out a little over 60k. As it is in April its ideal for preperation for Lapland in June. So that's the plan for the next seven months. As my girlfriend told me this morning when I told her about the ultra, her reply was the sooner the better you start back running, it will stop you finding new races;) So that's me sorted until July now, plently of goals there, and it should help keep me out of trouble.

Odysseus

Tuesday 21st Nov.


One hour of bag-work followed by heel-palm/push-up drill in 3.50.

Trained using the base layer again, however, I bought a blow heater yesterday specifically to heat my gym room, [I must be off my nut, to use a technical term]. The temp ranged from 20 to 26 degrees, from start to finish. Drank 1.5lt of water, followed by a dioralyte after.

I got an e-mail from the organisers of the Shara Marathon yesterday stating that they were adding a 190km ultra this year, to be done over three days. I'm cracking up over this, I won't have the time to prepare for this, a pity I would have loved to have a go at that. However, there are plently of other races out there, and to be fair I have enough on my plate until half way through next year. Still though it would have been nice;)

Odysseus

Thursday 23 Nov.


One hour of bag-work followed by heel-palm/push-up drill in 3.51.

The temp ranged from 20 to 26 degrees. Drank 1.5lt of water followed by a dioralyte afterwards. I haven't noticed the temp effecting me in a physical way, in that I don't feel physically tired, however at times I have noticed that some of my usual power in missing in my strikes.

Additionally on a psychical level I have noticed my concentration is definitly effected. There are certain combinations of strikes I like to focus on in different rounds, I have found myself having to stop for a sec to work out what I was doing next. It will be interesting to observe the effects of training like this, as it is new to me, I don't know what to expect.

Odysseus

Saturday 25th Nov.

Attended a day long MA seminar, it was good to be training with others again, as it highlighted a few bad habits which were creeping in. Additionally it was nice to put a few more faces to some of the people who post here. A big thanks to Jon for organising today.

Odysseus

Sunday 26th Nov.

One hour of bag-work followed by heel-palm/push-up drill in 4.02. Temp ranged from 24 degrees at start to 28 at the end.


Man this was a new experience for me, it got notabley more difficult after the 26 degree mark, at rounds 7,8,9, I just felt drained. I am used to doing endurance drills which push you to give everything you have; but this was different. It was'nt that my body hurt or that any part of it felt tired, it felt like I had no energy. At this stage I gave myself an extra 30 secs break between rounds, bringing it up to a full two minutes rest.

The rational behind this was I noticed how hot my head was, with the base layer keeping my torso warm, all the heat from my body was escaping out my head. I was just a tad concerned that I might over heat. With the room this warm it feels like your not getting enough oxigen, I know I am, it just feels difficult to get your lungs full. For the last round I was able to dig deep and give the bag a good work over, a performance cue for me is palying Wagner Ride of the valkyries, which I alway finish on whether its a marathon or bag-work. Its interesting the psychological boost that something like this porvides. I know its time to dig deep when I hear it as I have trained myself to do so, it just automatically happens now. On the fluids front I had 1.5lt of water and a dioralyte.

justsomebloke

hey good to see all is going well, just a quick query I was just wondering if you are going to run the sahara run with a hat on , to keep the sun directly off your head and if so would you train every so often with a hat on, as the hat will prevent some heat escaping during the run making you feel even hotter it may be best to try train with one on to see if it may effect your performance. Also what does the girlfriend think of your energy bill from having heated training sessions:D

Odysseus

Tuesday 28th Nov.


One hour of bag-work followed by heel-palm/push-up drill in 3.38:) Fastest time yet. Temp ranged from 21 to 26 degrees. Usual fluids intake.

jsb wrote:

hey good to see all is going well, just a quick query I was just wondering if you are going to run the sahara run with a hat on , to keep the sun directly off your head and if so would you train every so often with a hat on, as the hat will prevent some heat escaping during the run making you feel even hotter it may be best to try train with one on to see if it may effect your performance. Also what does the girlfriend think of your energy bill from having heated training sessions:D

Cheers mate, yeah your right it's the next thing I plan to add. I just want to talk to one of the GPs in work first to check it out. My head was so hot when it was 28 degrees I was a tad worried. As the base layer would have my body tem even higher. I don't know whether it would be an idea to keep an eye on my body temp as well.

Just to give an update, I can't get the idea of the ultra out of my mind, I have spoken to my girl friend and she has no objection. I requested the info on it, its 140k to be completed within 35 hours, one stage fully self suficient, so your carrying you world on your back. I need to get some clarity on some question I have about it. However, were I am now is I'm looking at ways to make this happen, so watch this space. Finally the heating bill is all mine as I live on my own and spend half my week down with her, so no probs there:)

Odysseus

Friday 1st Dec.

One hour of bag-work, followed by hp/pu/mc drill in 9.01:eek: Man that was hard. Fluid intake as normal. Temp ranged from 21 to 26 degrees.

I have added mountain climbers to the push-up drill, so to save space its now hp/pu/mc drill;) I said I was going to change the drill at the end of Nov, so this is what I came up with. I was going to add burpees but I think the jumping would have my cd player skipping.

Now that its Dec its time to start focusing on my running, nine days and counting til I start back. I am still in contact with the organisers of the ultra, my place on the marathon is safe, but there is a qualification for the ultra that I'm trying to work around. They want you to have done a "100k, some 50milers, and some marathons". I have never done an organised 50 miler, so I'm waiting on them to get back to me, I hoping that the 100k which I trained up to 70k for [I told them 80;) ] will get me through, but its out of my hands now. Also I got the distance wrong its 160k bang on 100 miles, it would be a great achievement.

Odysseus

Saturday 2nd Dec.

One hour of bag-work, followed by hp/pu/mc drill in 8.45. Fluid in was 1.lt of water, followed by a dioralyte. Temp ranges from 26 to 28 degrees.

I'm still using the base-layer, however, at the moment if the temp is 26 degrees or over I'm taking a 2 min rest between rounds, I did'nt feel like I needed it today, however, I was talking to a GP in work and who advised my to take note of my core temp. My understanding of it is that the base-layer may bring my core temp up too much, thereby running the risk of a heat seizure. So the next item on the shopping list is a good thermometer, I'm just waiting on a pharmacist in work to order me a good one.

Odysseus

Tuesday 5th Dec.

One hour of bag-work, followed by hp/pu/mc drill in 8.23. Fluid intake was 1.5 lt of water followed by a dioralyte. Temp ranged from 23 to 26 degrees.

I am pleased with the rate that I am acclimatising to the new drill, it does go to show you the psychological barriers we break when we try something new. This is only my third time to try this drill and I have knocked 38 seconds off it. I kept to 90 sec breaks between rounds as the temp didn't go above 26 degrees. On that point I think I will have to get a second heater to try heat up the room quicker as it took 90 mins to heat the room to 23 degrees before I started. Got my race number for the port tunnel run today, so I'm looking forward to a nice gentle run on Sunday to kick start my running again:D

Odysseus

Friday 8th Dec.

One hour of bag-work, followed by hp/pu/mc drill in 7.51:D Fluid intake was 1.25lt of water followed by a dioralyte. Room temp was 18 to 24 degrees, whilst my core temp was 36.1 the same at round 6 and 37 after the drill.

Really enjoyed pounding the bag tonight, great stress buster after a ****ty week. Had to call the AA out twice to bring my bike to a garage:mad: Which meant I also missed my MA class on Wednesday, which was due to be my first night back. However, now that the rant is over:) As can be seen I was keeping an eye on my core temp, first time for me to try this. The room temp was lowish as it was cold when I got back after work, and it took over an hour to get the room up to 18 degrees.

I went with checking my temp at round 6 as it was nearer the halfway mark as I do the push-up drill at the end. However, since the first and second check were the same, I think I will now check it at the beginning, round 5 and the end of the bag-work, as well as after the drill. I interested to see if the exertion involved in the drill was responsible for the difference in my temp atr the end. Finally I am well pleased with my timing for the drill:)