As a challenge, I’m going to run, bike or swim every day in January.

Day Twenty Seven

‘The 7 Ps’ is a British Army adage for Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. I might not be at war this month but I’ve got to agree with the army as today was “Piss Poor Performance” and it was all done to a lack of “Proper Planning.”

I had aimed to swim at lunchtime but, when I checked my bag, I’d forgotten to pack my membership card. Without the card, I couldn’t swim. And, having missed the morning and with another evening of walking the dog, having tea and entertaining an infant, it was 9:30 again before I could do anything – and with it being late, it was another evening of doing the bare minimum to meet the challenge.

How was it? I’ve sweated more sitting next to a radiator than sitting on the bike tonight. I should maybe introduce a new rule to the challenge – whatever you do, it must require you to at least make as much effort to require a shower afterwards.

As a challenge, I’m going to run, bike or swim every day in January.

Day Twenty Six

One of my worries about trying this challenge is that without rest I could be more at risk of injury. So far, apart from some minor niggles, I’ve been fine… until today…

You’ve probably heard of parkour, where you combine running with jumping and climbing. You may have seen James Bond demonstrate it by running up a crane in Casino Royale. It looks cool. People who do it are cool. It’s generally a ‘cool’ thing to do…. until you try it on a wet wall in Larbert.

I admit, I was an idiot and could have used a gate instead. But, no, I saw a low wall and thought I could jump on it and keep running without stopping for the gate.

I jumped. I planted my foot on the top of the wall. I thought how cool must I look to the three smokers watching from under a nearby tree and then…

… the wall was wet, my trainers have no grip, and I was somersaulting along the ground having tripped and stumbled and tumbled.

“Are you okay?” someone asked.

I leapt up and kept running.

“Aye, all okay!” I shouted.

But I couldn’t help thinking I was no longer cool as no one looks cool with a bloody knee and a large mud patch on their bum.

How was it? I forgot my running jacket so had to run in just a t-shirt, which was brave for January. Trying to keep warm in the first miles distracted me from thinking about the running, while carrying on my new challenge to run every street in Larbert kept me distracted for the rest of the run.

As a challenge, I’m going to run, bike or swim every day in January.

Day Twenty Five

This week I read ‘Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner’ by Dean Karnazes,  an American ultramarathon runner. In his book, Dean talks about how he became known for no just running ultramarathons but running further and longer than anyone thought possible including 200 miles non-stop as he competed in, to what to everyone else was, a relay race, but for Dean a 50 hour non-stop solo run.

And what is the secret of running such long distances? I’m not spoiling the book to say that the secret can be found in Nike – “just do it”. If you want to run 10 miles, just do it. If you want to run 50 miles, just do it. And if you want to run 200 miles, then just, you know it by now, do it!

So, to yesterday and the fact I has to “just do it.” Yesterday was a challenge. I couldn’t do anything first thing as I had to drive to Larbert, I could do anything at lunch as I had a meeting, I couldn’t do anything after work as I need to drive straight home. And I couldn’t do anything when I got home as I had dinner, an infant, a dog and a wife who had to work until 9:30pm. That left my only choice: start at 9:30.

I didn’t want to do it. I thought about stopping the challenge as the idea of doing anything that late made me think it would disrupt my sleep. I hate exercising after 8 as it throws me out. However, Dean Karnazes came to mind and I thought I need to forgot about my objections and “just do it.”

How was it? I can’t say this was the hardest exercise I’ve undertaken this month. I need to go fast enough to make it feel I was doing more than just sitting, but not fast enough that I would release so many endorphins I’d still be awake to see the sun rise tomorrow morning.

As a challenge, I’m going to run, bike or swim every day in January.

Day Twenty Four

Sometimes all you can say is “I did it.”

How was it? I did it.

As a challenge, I’m going to run, bike or swim every day in January.

Day Twenty Three

A run with Glasgow Triathlon Club around parks in the southside of Glasgow: Queens Park, Thornwood Park, Maxwell Park, Pollok Park, Auldhouse Park, the recreation ground and what would have been Hampden Park and Third Lanark’s former ground but I had to duck out before the end as I had a birthday lunch to get to in the Westend.

How was it? A longer run but also an easier one. As a club run, there’s plenty of breaks to let everyone catch up and for the group to stay together.

As a challenge, I’m going to run, bike or swim every day in January.

Day Twenty Two

My wife wants to use my indoor bike for some virtual spin classes so I set her up with a free subscription to the Peloton app to see if she would like it. Today, for a change, I tried a 45 minutes pre-recorded class with an instructor who was so American that all I can say is “Yea haw, yankee doodle dandy, Joe Biden stole the US election!”. I think it may need some good Scottish instructors. Like the one who, halfway through a Yoga class, mused “I’d love a Gregg’s sausage roll right now”

I can’t imagine anyone in Peloton having a pasty. The most they might say is “Who’d love a carrot baton, right now? Mmmmmm, hummus dip and celery!”

Also, I’ve have not heard the N word used so often in a playlist. I wasn’t sure if I was in spin class or a KKK Sunday cycle.

It was not for me. But, as a change, it worked. the class passed quickly as the instructor shouted nonsensical motivational phrases like “We’re not going anywhere today but hot damn you’re going to go far!!!!”

How was it? A tricky one to judge as the Peloton app only allows you to connect to a Peloton bike, not to any other bike. Instead, I had to open an app for the bike and then the Peloton app. But Apple doesn’t allow split screen for both so I had to flick between the two to see my cadence and resistance. I just had to guess how fast or slow or hard or easy I was to take it.

As a challenge, I’m going to run, bike or swim every day in January.

Day Twenty One

I weighed myself yesterday. I was 0.4 kg lighter than the start of the month. I’d like to say this small difference was a result of the challenge but I think it’s more to do with the fact I’ve stopped eating cake for breakfast this week.

It was my daughter’s birthday two weeks ago and we ordered a cake. In the photos it looked great, a double tier cake with a bear holding balloons. In person, it was taller that the Empire State Building and the bear was so big he’d have scared a grizzly.

I’ve been eating cake ever since. Cake for breakfast, cake for lunch, cake for dinner. It tasted delicious but it would have had to have been thrown out if I’d not eaten it quickly. So, every meal had to have a pudding course.

This week, the cake was finished and I’ve just had normal meals. The 0.4kg is just cake leaving the body.

It would be interesting to know if 31 days of exercise can have a substantial difference to your weight but I think I’ve spoiled that experiment by incorporating gluttony into my diet this month.

How was it? Some wee complaints: a pain in the ball of my foot when I landed, tightness around my knees, heavy feet but all cleared up as I ran and I wasn’t sure whether they were a result of not resting for 21 days or just standard ‘warm up’ pains. Other than that, another nice day meant it was a unseasonably warm run for January and my blesses gripe was wearing too many layers (a nice complaint to have!).

As a challenge, I’m going to run, bike or swim every day in January.

Day Twenty

I like all the Zwift maps except for one: New York. I don’t know why I don’t like it. I love London because it reminds me of living there and running around many of the streets it covers. Yet, despite loving New York, I don’t get the same nostalgic feeling of “I’ve been there”. Maybe it’s the floating sky bridge, which, as far as I can remember (it’s been 15 years since I was in New York), doesn’t actually float above Central Park. Maybe it’s new?

So, one of my favourite things about Zwift is the ability to chose worlds so that I can avoid New York when it appears. And, for day twenty, I could choose a tour of Japan instead of Manhattan or risk the icy pavements and roads of Glasgow. Hopefully, one day, I’ll get to see these Japanese roads in real life too. And, a floating sky bridge. Which, if it’s going to be anywhere, is sure to be somewhere in the Far East.

How was it? All good. Still feeling slightly lethargic but I was looking forward to 45 minutes of spinning my legs so while I might be fatigued I’m still keen to take on the challenge.

As a challenge, I’m going to run, bike or swim every day in January.

Day Nineteen

The hardest day. Not in effort. But in trying to find the time to fit anything in. I have work, after work meetings, a dog to walk and a toddler to entertain so the only choice was to try and fit a swim in before work. I could have got up earlier but this is a challenge to run, bike or swim every day and not a challenge to get up early in the morning. That would be mental! 🙂

How was it? Still tired but my pace shows that it’s not through physical effort, as while I felt tired I was still keeping a decent pace for me, but rather the mental fatigue of 19 days in a row. Today’s swim was helped by having water leaking into my goggles and having to stop at the end of a length to adjust them. I soon lost track of how many laps I had swam and ended up swimming 1k when I thought I was at 750m.