Day 35 - Another week done, another week closer to the 100km

2 lots of 45 mins to end week 7, the second intense week of the 14 week cycle; 2:28 for Anita, 2:04 for me, 4.5R

The Saturday row is a nice long, relatively low-intensity row, but its still 90 minutes worth of rowing, so it's more a psychological test than physical now.

Anita is finding her physiology is changing - she always used to suffer from overheating during exercise. Now she perspires (no, sweats :)) more, but is regulating her body temperature much more efficiently than before, a sign of improving fitness. She also used to lose her breath during exercise, this doesn't happen anywhere near as much as before, only during intense (Sub 2:00) rowing. Psychologically she deals with the time aspect better than I do, and his happy with her music.

After every session now (1 hour being the shortest) I'm absolutely drenched in sweat, but within an hour (After we've got home and showered) I get the endorphin rush, which usually tides me over for about 2 hours before food energy kicks in. One thing I'm starting to realise through experience is the food choice prior to exercise is massively important - I need lots of Carbs/Natural Sugars. Today I had Scrambled Egg./Toast for breakfast, and suffered in the last 15 minutes (75 to 90 minutes) because of it. High carb breakfasts or lunches always allow me to exert myself to the fullest in rowing sessions, but low carb meals afterwards (high protein) are seeming to be the way forward for weight loss.

Lastly, I passed 1MM lifetime today (601018m since October 3rd this year), and expect to go past 2MM in February 2012. Anita has another couple of weeks to her first MM :)

Anita: 18249m
Andy: 21780m

Cumulative:
Anita: 502019m (312.3 miles)
Andy: 601018m (373.5 miles)
Total: 1103537m (685.8 miles)

Journey:
Start: Topnotch Gym, Colchester CO4 9ES
Finish: Chavannes-de-Bogis, Vaud, Switzerland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chavannes-de-Bogis

Day 33 - Self Harm Wednesday, and an important landmark

3 lots of 30' tonight, 2:25, 2:18 (Fastest this year) and 2:25 for Anita, 2:01, 1:55 (Fastest this year) and 2:01 for me, 3R

Anita's words are - "The 1st one hurt, the 2nd one really hurt and I resigned myself to just getting the 3rd one done" - As it is she completed everything, and her middle 30 ' was her 2nd fastest ever (2:17.9), in the middle of 2 other 30' pieces!!!!! Another piece to log on Nonathlon :)

I didn't feel too bad (My left glute is still causing issues down my left leg, even though I sat on a towel tonight) and the first piece went OK. Then with the 2nd piece I set out nice and hard, had some good music come on the mp3 and was at 1:53 with only 8 minutes left. I decided to let the time bleed away until it got to 1:54.2 (My best ever was 1:54.3), and it hit 1:54.2 with 20 seconds left. As such I hit a PB in the middle of 2 other 30 minute rows :) Feeling a little bit big headed :)

Lastly we passed 1MM Cumulative tonight just into our 2nd 30' piece, so passed 1MM in 32.35(ish) sessions, in 74 hours 50 minutes, a 2:14.7 average.

Anita: 18940m
Andy: 22764m

Cumulative: 1028050m (638.9 miles)

The Journey:

Start: Topnotch Gym Colchester CO4 9ES
Finish: Saint-Germain-de-Joux, Ain, France http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Germain-de-Joux

Day 32 - Sprints after a day of databases.............

4 lots of 15 mins tonight, 9' 2:15 and 6' 2:25 for Anita, 9' 1:52 and 6' 2:01 for me, 4R.

Went over to St. Ives in Cambs today to go through the new database/client system schema, and got back to Colchester mid-afternoon, so it wasn't too bad a day considering.

In the first 15' I suffered again from the pressure-point issues in my left glute that I had last night, sapping strength  in my left leg again. For my second piece onwards I sat on my towel, which was a quick remedy. I hit all the targets and more though, so it wasn't anywhere near as big an issue as it was last night over the 90 minutes.

It's getting a bit boring re. Anita - She yet again stormed it, getting faster with every interval, finishing with 3350m (2:14.3) - I think 2:14 av for her 6344m Challenge Series piece is more than doable, if not a bit conservative :)

The biggy tomorrow - 3 lots of 30', including what will be both our fastest 30' of the season so far (2:18 for Anita, 1:55 for me)

Anita: 13228m
Andy: 15752m

Cumulative: 986346m (613 miles) - 1MM cumulative tomorrow, in 32.5 sessions :)

The Journey:

Start: Topnotch Gym, Colchester CO4 9ES
Finish: Pont D'Ain, Ain,. France http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont-d'Ain