That wasn't easy! Between head
winds, sideways rain and West of Ireland cold, Saturday was a 'character
building' day to say the least.
Not a bad turnout and kudos to everyone who made it out. If you can't
make the group on Saturday morning you really need to be hitting the
sessions on your own to get the most from the program.
It is now up to you to carry out the work this week, ready for next Saturday:
The plan is to repeat the exact
same session that we have done, twice during the week. Ideally this
would be done on Tuesday and Thursday giving you a bit of rest in
between the sessions.
I mentioned a couple of things on Saturday that are worth a recap:
- Run for Time NOT Distance.
- Practise the 'Lifesaver look'.
- Get to know where the dogs are on your routes.
- Lifesaver look, again!
Re Time not Distance - the temptation will
be to push on to achieve the 5k distance ahead of the program, for your
own sake, don't.
We covered 3.2k on the weekend, most of you could with relative ease hit
5k already. What we are trying to achieve is for you to be fit enough
to hit 5k AND achieve a respectable time challenge too by the end of the
program.
Lifesaver is so important. Be aware of who is near and around you.
Extent this awareness to cars, bikes & buses. Use it to overtake,
before stepping off a kerb, for your safety & awareness at night
too.
If you fear dogs, carry a waterbottle. A jet of water in a dogs face
will stun them long enough for you to run out of 'their' territory. All
else fails throw the bottle at the dog & shout 'Fetch!!' Keep running on.
Be proud of what you have started, share the news on Facebook, let your friends and family know that you are now a runner!!
Now to the homework!
As noted above you are to repeat the session twice next week. If Tuesday
and Thursday don't suit, move the days around, leaving 1 day between
sessions and keep Friday as a rest day. I want you ready and able to run
again on Saturday!!!
- Warmup: 5 mins steady
- Work : 90 seconds effort
- Recovery : 2 minutes steady
- Warmdown: 5 minutes and stretching.
Repeat step 2 & 3 x6 times.
If you can't get out you can replicate the session on a treadmill. Best
way to contact us is by commenting on the blog or through our Facebook page that way everyone benefits from the response.
Please don't push too hard this week, settle into the training, give
yourself a chance to adapt and we'll see you all again on Saturday
(regardless of the weather we will be out and expecting to see you!)
Happy running!!
Well done everyone on a great turnout on Saturday morning!
Just a heads up to expect a little bit of sore muscles going on for a couple of days, but nothing too unpleasant.
It is now up to you to carry out the work this week, ready for next Saturday:
The plan is to repeat the exact
same session that we have done, twice during the week. Ideally this
would be done on Tuesday and Thursday giving you a bit of rest in
between the sessions.
Science Bit:
The reason for the rest day is to give your muscles a chance to adapt,
this is what makes you stronger and fitter. The body recognises the
difference between the rest day (normal muscle use) and the work day
(muscles and body under pressure) and by regular repetition of the
exercise the body adapts by growing additional muscle fibers and
improving the bodies capacity for energy production.
So there is a method in the madness that is exercise and this is why we
build in a slow, structured manner to achieve our goals. We want to get
fitter, we want our bodies to adapt, this is how we do it.
Unfortunately I didn't get a group photo before we headed off on account
of being flustered over my lack of whistle, please remind me to get a
photo on Saturday next.
Be proud of what you have started this morning, share the news on
Facebook, let your friends and family know that you are now a runner!!
Now to the homework!
As noted above you are to repeat the session twice next week. If Tuesday
and Thursday don't suit, move the days around, leaving 1 day between
sessions and keep Friday as a rest day. I want you ready and able to
suffer on Saturday!!! (Just joking about the suffering, but the workload
will be increasing week on week so you need to be rested.)
- Warmup: 5 mins steady
- Work : 1 minute effort
- Recovery : 90 seconds steady
- Warmdown: 5 minutes and stretching.
Repeat step 2 & 3 x8 times.
If you can't get out you can replicate the session on a treadmill.
Contact me for information on how to tackle the treadmill settings
(there's a lot on the blog about treadmill running). Best way is to
contact us by commenting on the blog or through our Facebook page that way everyone benefits from the response.
Please don't push too hard this week, settle into the training, give
yourself a chance to adapt and we'll see you all again on Saturday
(regardless of the weather we will be out and expecting to see you!)
Happy running!!
We're sure at this stage you are sick of hearing about resolutions, targets and goal setting for the New Year.
We're going to make it a simple decision for you:
Over the past 2 years we've hosted a Zero-to-5k running group (#Zero25k) for absolute beginners who are just looking to get active, a little bit fitter and hopefully lose a couple of pounds while feeling good about themselves.
We designed our #Zero25k program to fulfill those wishes.
This year we are opening our program to our new store in Limerick so there will be two locations, Oranmore (as usual) and Roxborough, Limerick.
You just need to join us, do a little work, allow our mentors to cajole, motivate and encourage you to complete each session in the 9 week program and in no time at all you will be well on the road to a fitter you.
Like to know more?
Well firstly it's FREE, we don't charge and will never charge for the program, you are doing all the hard work, we get to see loads of people learning to enjoy running, that's rewarding enough!!
Secondly, we meet on Saturday mornings, early. Our first session is usually done and dusted by 8:45 so you can get on with your day. After that you will commit to doing 2 sessions during the week, we'll give you your homework each Sunday ready for the week.
Our mentors will give you plenty of help, advice and guidance so you can achieve the most from the program. Please make use of us! Don't be shy about questions.
Ready for more?
Just click the link here...
The Amphibian King Galway running group (#AKGrunning) in association with #Saucony met up again on Saturday with a slightly lower turnout of 19 participants turning up to test their legs.
After a briefing and distribution of Hi-Vis jackets it was time to get going.
As the weather this week was decidedly colder with a biting wind coming off the Atlantic we did a brief warmup indoors before heading out. Going from 5 pushups (either full plank style or knees on the floor) to 5 star jumps and back to pushups a few times got the heart rates up and the blood flowing.
Outside for the brisk 5 minute walk, swinging the arms and stretching the legs allowed everyone to maintain the raised heart rate and limber up some muscles. It brought us from the shop to the coast road.
A 10 second countdown lead to the first of five run sessions. The goal is 90 seconds of good work followed by 120 seconds of recovery, repeating this for a total of 5 and then a warm down brisk walk should have everyone back at the start.
Effort in the first run should be the same in the last and you should be giving yourself a little push, get out of your comfort zone.
Everyone should repeat this session twice during the week being mindful of a rest day between the sessions and ideally two days before the next level on Saturday.
I had a problem with the Map My Run data so I have linked here to my recording and mapping through my Polar RCX-5 watch.
The Amphibian King Galway running group (#AKGrunning) in association with #Saucony got off to a great start on Saturday with 21 participants turning up to stretch their legs.
After a briefing and distribution of Hi-Vis jackets it was time to get going.
A brisk 5 minute walk, swinging the arms and stretching the legs allowed everyone a chance to raise the heart rate and limber up some muscles. It brought us from the shop to the coast road.
A 10 second countdown lead to the first of six run sessions. The goal is 60 seconds of good work followed by 90 seconds of recovery, repeating this for a total of 6 and then a warm down brisk walk should have everyone back at the starting point for a light stretch and pat on the back for a job welldone.
Effort in the first run should be the same in the last and you should be giving yourself a little push, get out of your comfort zone.
Everyone should repeat this session twice during the week being mindful of a rest day between the sessions and ideally two days before the next level on Saturday.
