I really suprised myself at parkrun on Saturday and beat my previous time of 27 minutes 37 seconds with a 2 minute 13 second personal best of 25 minutes 24 seconds! Woohoo! I am very pleased with this and am hoping to break 25 minutes next time I run at Newcastle parkrun, which will be on Saturday 12th March. We will be starting a new pacing system on this day, with times of 20 minutes, 25 minutes, 30 minutes, and 35 minutes being paced by volunteer runners. This is the perfect opportunity for runners to get a little bit more motivated and push themselves to achieve a certain time at parkrun, so why not come along and try it?
My marathon training is going well and I did a 10 mile run on Sunday, fast 800m repeats last night, and 7 miles this morning before work. I have a fairly easy week this week and will be doing a fast 2 miles tomorrow, 4 miles on saturday, and racing a 10k on sunday!
I read some scary stats in Mens Health magazine the other day....If the world keeps going the way it is going then by 2020 depression will be the second most disabling condition in the world and by 2050 over 50% of the UK population will be obese! Depression and obesity are both conditions that are able to be helped hugely with physical activity and exercise, and exercise is now known to be as effective, and longer lasting than the effects of antidepressants, with psychologist Tal Ben Shahar actually suggesting that, 'not exercising is like taking depressants'.
I am busy preparing lectures on the psychology of exercise, and also obesity, which is proving to be good reading. The benefits of exercise are so vast and yet exercise adherence is often hard to achieve. I love lecturing on subjects like these and believe if we can educate everybody as to the benfits of exercise then many of the lifestyle diseases mentioned above will be able to be more easily managed and the symptoms and effects dramatically reduced.
Great news that my friend Monica Harris has started training for this years Models Fight Night which she founded, competed in, and won last year. It proved to be a great night of entertainment and lots of money was raised for charity in the process. Check out http://www.modelsfightnight.co.uk/about-us.php for more information or to get involved!
Have a great day,
Niyc xx
Wednesday 23 February 2011
Wednesday 16 February 2011
My first Marathon
February is National Heart awareness month, and its that time of year when everybody picks up their fitness routines and decides to get their heart pumping. My gym has definitely been busier than usual, with many clients asking for personal training to help them reach their goals. I love this time of year and alway feel really good getting into to intense training and living well! I started my marathon training plan this month and am feeling on track for the event on May 22nd in Edinburgh. David Daniels, an experienced marathon runner from Newcastle parkrun, devised the plan for me and top UK ultra runner Sharon Gayter looked it over and made a few amendments. With such expert training advice I should be prepared for the marathon; provided I stick to the training, which I have done so far. The plan consists of a day off on Mondays, with speed work on Tuesdays, a 5-8 mile run on a Wednesday, a steady run on Thursdays, Fridays to rest, then Saturdays are 3-4 miles, and a long run on Sundays, currently around 10 miles (1hr 30 mins ish), and increasing to 22 miles as the marathon draws closer.
Last night I did a fast running session, which I find really difficult. I'm used to running long distances but not so accustomed to short, faster runs. The session consisted of three 1 mile repeats, which means running a mile fast, then jogging until you get your breath back and recover, then repeating this another two times. The benefit of doing mile repeats is that it improves your running style and efficiency, and improves your fitness, speed, and stamina too. Incorporating a speed session into your training also allows for practise at overcoming both physical and mental discomfort, something which is important in long distance events such as a marathon. Having trained hard last night and really pushed myself I did a slower run this morning, running 3 miles into work (at 5:30am!), and then running a further 3 miles on the treadmill, which took around 55 minutes overall. Morning exercise really sets you up for the day and energises!
Many of you will have found out this week that you have a place in this year's Great North Run so why not come along and get into running or start your training with a completely free run, alongside 200 other runners, every Saturday at 9am in Exhibtion Park Jesmond. I am going to run my second Newcastle parkrun this Saturday and hopefully beat last months time. I will be able to track my progress online at http://www.parkrun.org.uk/newcastle/results/AthleteHistory.aspx?AthleteNumber=50288 and see how my times improve in the run up to the marathon. I'd definitely recommend Newcastle parkrun as a training tool for any event you might be working towards, or just for general fitness and a good laugh, and it is great to see your own online profile with a catalogue of your runs and volunteer contributions! Visit http://www.parkrun.com/ to sign up, print out your barcode, and come along and run. See you in the park!
Niyc xx
Last night I did a fast running session, which I find really difficult. I'm used to running long distances but not so accustomed to short, faster runs. The session consisted of three 1 mile repeats, which means running a mile fast, then jogging until you get your breath back and recover, then repeating this another two times. The benefit of doing mile repeats is that it improves your running style and efficiency, and improves your fitness, speed, and stamina too. Incorporating a speed session into your training also allows for practise at overcoming both physical and mental discomfort, something which is important in long distance events such as a marathon. Having trained hard last night and really pushed myself I did a slower run this morning, running 3 miles into work (at 5:30am!), and then running a further 3 miles on the treadmill, which took around 55 minutes overall. Morning exercise really sets you up for the day and energises!
Many of you will have found out this week that you have a place in this year's Great North Run so why not come along and get into running or start your training with a completely free run, alongside 200 other runners, every Saturday at 9am in Exhibtion Park Jesmond. I am going to run my second Newcastle parkrun this Saturday and hopefully beat last months time. I will be able to track my progress online at http://www.parkrun.org.uk/newcastle/results/AthleteHistory.aspx?AthleteNumber=50288 and see how my times improve in the run up to the marathon. I'd definitely recommend Newcastle parkrun as a training tool for any event you might be working towards, or just for general fitness and a good laugh, and it is great to see your own online profile with a catalogue of your runs and volunteer contributions! Visit http://www.parkrun.com/ to sign up, print out your barcode, and come along and run. See you in the park!
Niyc xx
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