By late evening I'd been to the loo again and the colour was heading more towards normal. Similar story on waking today. Cold still hasn't completely gone but certainly hasn't got worse and no signs of a fever.
If there were any doubts as to the cause of yesterday's tough run I think they are dispelled.
Muscle recovery is good. Well, I say its good based on a 10m round trip to the loo, but there doesn't seem to be any pain or even great stiffness. Very much seems that the fatigue/stiffness/soreness of yesterday were all hydration related and the slower pace and 2xu tights actually worked very well.
That leaves me feeling very positive as compared to feeling quite negative for much of yesterday. Overall, the last few day's have very much been 'half full' as opposed to 'half empty' though.
As expected, there was no opportunity to exercise on Friday despite the cold gradually getting better. Building on Friday morning's positivity I didn't let that get me down and stuck to the calorie allowance. Also exchanged a couple of messages with Alison on the subject of 'panic eating' and how this may be related to the 'banning' of certain foods/food types. I think that could prove very useful in the future, and over the last 3 days I've made an effort to eat a little of what might normally be considered dietary contraband.
Saturday also remained positive. I probably went 3-400 kcals over my allowance but that was planned and in respect of the following day's endurance run. Managed to get to the gym too for the first exercise since Tuesday - a walk there and back, 20 minutes on the x-trainer and a pretty good core exercise session.
I was particularly pleased with the latter.
Over the last 3-4 weeks I haven't been doing a whole lot in relation to core exercises. When I started the 24 week marathon training programme 12 weeks ago it prescribed core exercises twice a week, which I duly completed. This represented a cut back on the ideal volume of exercise but seemed to have no adverse effects in terms of groin pain.
As the programme has progressed the actual exercises have evolved and are drawn from around 24 different ones targeting everything from deep abs, to the various glutes, to hamstrings, to quads and lower back. That got confusing as the precise mix changed with every session. That would be OK if I did them at home (though I'd still need to flick between 3 chapters of the book in order to remind myself of how many/how long for each exercise), but it proved impossible to remember at the gym - even when I'd looked them up before leaving.
Net result was that core exercises became sporadic over the last month, completed maybe weekly, and I frequently missed prescribed exercises or had too many/too few reps. In the last week or so I began to feel a few twinges from the groin.
So, on Saturday I typed out most of the exercises and stretches into a small table, along with the prescribed durations/reps. I copied this, printed it off and laminated the copies so that they are about twice the size of a credit card. This gave me a routine of exercises and stretches comprising:
- Clams
- Knees fall out
- Single leg squat
- Oblique bridge
- Lying draw in
- Box lunge
- Stability ball leg curl
- Forearm to palm bridge
- Dead bug
- VMO dip
- Supine hip extension
- Lunge stretch
- Spider stretch
- Calf stretch
- Soleus stretch
- Quads stretch
- Hamstring stretch
- Glutes stretch
- Groin stretch
After exercising my core and, perhaps, reminding myself of what they felt like, on yesterday's run I made a conscious effort to keep them engaged throughout. I've had no twinges or soreness since.
Yesterday I finished up with a calorie deficit equivalent to the day before's excess and, now I'm fully hydrated, feel pretty good.
Ironically, after last week's skipped sessions its a recovery week this week so I'm feeling positive about my ability to have a good solid week: hitting my calorie targets without drama and completing all exercise sessions without any increase/return of soreness.
Let's see.
2 comments:
I love the idea of a card to take with you (and especially love that it is laminated!)- a good idea as it is a reminder to do it, as well as reps, sets etc. Glad you are feeling positive :) I would agree with a little of what you fancy does you good, as I find if something is "banned" then I am more likely to really want it, and eat more once I get it, whereas if I fancy something and I have a small amount, then it is usually enough to satisfy me.
I also love the laminated card! I just take the book into the gym with me, but you do look like a bit of a noob doing that..
Glad I've got some contraband back into your diet too. Proud moment, haha! In all seriousness though, I'm glad I could be of help :-)
Here's hoping for a good, solid week then eh
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