Something had to change

I’ve been feeling down for months because I’ve not been exercising enough and I’ve been putting on weight. Eventually, something had to change. My schedule can’t go back to the way it used to be where I could train whenever I liked around my work hours.

Stuart and I had a discussion and agreed that we would each take two nights a week where we could train. I’ve got Mondays and Wednesdays and Stu has Tuesdays and Thursdays. On these nights, the other parent takes responsibility for putting M to bed. So far, it’s working out OK.

Cycling with Teri

Part of my ‘something had to change’ plan is to exercise more on Fridays. For the last two weeks, I’ve been out cycling with Teri. We’ve both got a lot on at the moment, so we went for a short route that we’re both familiar with. It starts in Shirley, heads out of Southampton via Eling Tide Mill and then into the New Forest. We head in the direction of Beaulieu but then turn towards the Drift Inn before going back to Ipley Cross and home again.

The distance is only about 40km, but it’s a step (rotation?) towards RideLondon. (It’s also the start of my training for another even more exciting event that I’ve got lined up. I will be posting about it later! Spoiler here!)

Swimming

The next part of my ‘something had to change plan’ was to make use of my 9am start on Mondays. Last Monday, I went for a swim before work. It’s a challenge to fit it in, but it’s one I’m determined to master. I can’t drop M into the nursery until exactly 8am and I need to be at my desk at 9am. The answer seems to be to arrive before 8am, so that I can take everything into my office before work. I can then be waiting at the nursery to drop M off as soon as the doors are opened before running across the road to the swimming pool.

Last week, I set myself the goal of swimming as far as possible in the time that I had. I managed 1000m, so that’s a clear benchmark to improve on.

This week was a Bank Holiday, so my swimming plans were scuppered, but I’ll be back at it next week.

M is now having swimming lessons on Sunday mornings. She’s really enjoying her time at the pool. Unfortunately, the diving pool is currently being renovated, so the lessons are taking place in the leisure pool. This means that there is no leisure swimming. When it goes back to normal, Stu and I are hoping to fit in some swimming alongside M’s lesson. One of us will stay with her whilst the other swims.

Running

A key part of my ‘something had to change’ plan is rejoining Lordshill Road Runners. I trained with them on Monday and Wednesday last week.

I was in Group A/B (beginners) at the Sports centre for a hills session. It was exactly the kind of session that I need to regain my fitness. I’d like to think that I’m towards the top end of the group and that it won’t take me long to move out. The reality is that I don’t have the fitness, flexibility, strength or endurance right now. I’m also very overweight.

Wednesday evening’s session was really hard. It was a pyramid session of 30 seconds fast; 30 seconds recovery; followed by 60 seconds and then 90 seconds. It was a warm evening and although I recognised a lot of people, I was also acutely aware that they are now much faster than me. In the end, I set myself a personal goal for the session, which was just to keep moving. I don’t think there was much difference in my intervals, but I kept running for 6.5km, which equals my longest run this year.

What else can I fit in?

The final part of my ‘something had to change’ plan is to make better use of my lunch hours. On Monday last week, I enjoyed a lovely relaxing yoga session. I had hoped to book onto another one, but they’re very popular. You have to be online at exactly the right time to book. I definitely need to set myself a calendar reminder to book on!

On Tuesday, I walked to and from work as it was Stu’s day to go out for a run. When I first started walking, I hated it because it felt so slow. Now I miss it a bit when I’m cycling. The difficult part was walking home as I had lots of bags and had been expecting to be able to put them in the buggy, but Stu had collected M and ran home with her!

Spinning

Much as I love running, I know that I need to spend more time on cycling as it’s the discipline that takes the most time in a triathlon. For this reason, I went to a spinning class on Thursday. It was only 30 minutes, but that was perfect to get me back into it.

I was able to choose a bike that was right in front of the air conditioning unit, which is perfect for me as I overheat so easily. The spin bikes have been replaced since I last went to a spin class and they’re really nice now. It took me longer to get the bike set up than before and I think I didn’t raise the saddle enough before I started. The instructor seemed really friendly and I loved the choice of music.

Sadly, I haven’t kept up the spinning this week. I was meant to go today, but failed to bring a hairbrush, hair bands, towel or water, so I thought I’d better pass on it.

Have you ever lost your exercise mojo and managed to regain it? What did you do?