Running and rowing combo

The last 3 days I have got back into the full swing of things.  On Thursday I went running at lunchtime and then in the evening I rowed 5000m which will count towards the January Concept2 virtual online challenge for my team "Empty the Tanks".

Yesterday I also rowed another 5000m.  I found it quite surprising that it is quite easy to row a 5000m in under 21 minutes, yet my PB is currently only 19:46.  This leads me to believe that I can easily improve on my current PB given some more training.

Then today I decided to increase yet again the length of my long weekly run.  My previous longest run was 2 hours and 10 minutes, but today I felt like pushing that further.  My intention was 3 hours but I decided after 2.5 hours that was enough for now.  I have cross country skiing again tomorrow and need to save my self a little bit for that.  I think if I had run for 3 hours then I would be really suffering tomorrow.  As it is I feel a little tired and am sure I will sleep very soundly but other than that just fine.

The last time I did cross country skiing was before xmas and I think my fitness is a lot higher than then so I am hoping tomorrow I will see a lot of improvement in my overall technique and speed.

And on a separate note I decided to jump on the scales after my run and it gave my weight as 83.9kg.  I was quite pleased with that as I have lost 2 kilos since starting this blog.  I would really like to be under 80kg by the Zurich marathon in April.  If I plan on trying to lose 0.5kg per week then I would be 78kg by then, which would really help both my running speed and the wear and tear on my joints.

A preliminary thank you and a keep up the good work appeal

Hi to all my blogites (no idea if that word exists but it sounds cool)

Thanks to those of you who have already sponsored me for my Marathon des Sables 2012 attempt.  Almost 900GBP raised in 2 days, which combined with what I will put in the pot myself is over a third of the way towards my target of 9500GBP.

For those that haven't yet sponsored me my fundraising page is  http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PaulJanes

If you are a stranger and have clicked on my blog by mistake feel free to just donate a pound.  Even if every accidental visitor donates a pound that will eventually add up.  Rome wasn't built in a day.

I can even help you.  Its easy.  Follow my simple plan to improve your health whether you a smoker, a chocoholic or a sexaholic - basically anyone with an addiction

1) When you feel the need to give in to your vice go to my fundraising page above and donate the equivalent amount of money that your vice would cost
2) Think to yourself now I have just spent what my vice would have cost so I don't have the money left to indulge my vice

I especially welcome expensive vices such as those with a love of the white stuff.  Just remember my two step plan and you can give up.  You can, believe me.  I wanted to indulge my vice of buying a new bike so I instead donated 2500 pounds and put a picture of the bike I wanted on my wall.  Now I don't even have to wait to go past the bike shed each morning to see it.  I can see it from my bed at night.

Why does illness always strike when you are on a roll?

I was on a roll after Christmas and managed to bump up the training run distance to around 24k according to the mapmyrun website.  So just over a half marathon.  Then suddenly the next day I realised I was coming down with the flu.  It sucks but that always seems to happen when your training is just starting to go so smoothly.

Three days of lying in bed and feeling like the world was about to end and then I started to feel better.  Now I feel my energy levels are back to normal but I am still a bit congested so will have to wait another few days before hitting the hard training again.  It's always a tossup between getting back to it as quickly as possible and risking coming down with something else and leaving it a few extra days and missing that amount of training.  Yoga is tomorrow lunchtime so that will be a gentle way to ease back into the swing of things.

I got myself down to the doctors today, as I needed to get a medical declaration that I am fit enough to participate in both the Marmotte and the Marathon des Sables and I have those both signed off now, so that's always good news.  I was slightly put out when the doctor suggested that marathon runners are normally a fair bit more fragile than I am - just kidding - I have accepted long ago that I am not destined to be a super lightweight runner.  But then again James Cracknell isn't exactly a super waif either, and he managed to complete standard marathons as well as the Marathon des Sables in a fantastic time.

I will be putting up details of how you can sponsor me for the Marathon des Sables shortly, as soon as I get back the documentation from Mencap.  I managed to get another 2 colleagues today to pledge 100CHF each, so if I can get enough people the target is within my reach.