Posts
Assorted musings of the Hodzilla blog
There's a mix of recent posts and old stuff I wrote years ago in different and sundry places.
Janathon day 23: Tabata (again, again)
Posted Jan 25, 2014
Today resembled yesterday in lots of ways, except that instead of kids having piano, I had orchestra. So - for the third time in three days - I found myself in Hervines Park doing Tabata squats and lunges, with work on the Bulgarian Bags as well. By this point, as you can imagine, my back-side was on fire! Warming up, and getting my back-side down for the squats, was really quite a challenge.
Janathon day 24: PT pairs
Posted Jan 25, 2014
Friday is PT day. My PT partner has just seen a physio who said he can't run or do lunges or squats for 6 weeks, so we were on a strict upper-body regime today. After yesterday's final nail in the squatting coffin, I wasn't going to argue!
Janathon day 22: Tabata (again)
Posted Jan 25, 2014
I'm glad that not every week is as busy as this one. I've managed the activities, just about, but getting them up on the blog has been a bit harder!
Janathon day 21: Wild Training, plus a bit
Posted Jan 21, 2014
Today has been characteristically busy. Despite this, though, this evening I was booked onto our Wild Training class at 7:30. We're still doing lots of Tabata training, and since I'm not running, I found myself doing walking lunges with a 12Kg Bulgarian Bag thrown over my shoulders in the Tabata style. My glutes are now rather on fire! Come to think of it, the session was actually pretty tough, ending with "punch planks" - holding a plank with one arm, and punching said Bulgarian Bag with the other elbow - again in a Tabata style.
Janathon day 20: things that aren't running
Posted Jan 21, 2014
Since I still can't run, and life is very busy, I am looking at things that are easy to slot in but help stay fit. My FitBit is helping here, reminding me to walk rather than drive, for instance. Press-ups are also coming along nicely too.
Janathon day 19: hockey dad!
Posted Jan 20, 2014
Today was the second of Mrs H's "yoga days", so any kind of fitness outing was out of the question. However, my 10yo had a hockey tournament in Tring, so we headed out that way for the game. It was a lovely day, but very cold indeed! My 5yo and I trudged round the hockey park for an hour or two, occasionally sitting in the car to thaw out joints. I've made a mental note to wear a lot more clothes and bring a flask of hot drink of some kind.
Janathon day 18: musical ordeal!
Posted Jan 19, 2014
Two events coincided today: Mrs H was in London all day for her yoga teacher training; and I had rehearsals all afternoon for my Misbourne Symphony Orchestra concert, and then the concert itself in the evening. With three kids to deal with, it was always going to be a busy sort of day!
Janathon day 17: pairs PT session
Posted Jan 17, 2014
I always look forward to Fridays, and my regular PT session with my friend Holger. Today was no exception - although, if I had known in advance how hard a session it was going to be, I might have felt differently! It was quite a simple session, but hideously cardiovascular... The main features were a Bosu ball (I had no idea how many pain-inflicting exercises could be dreamt up for this), boxing with elastic ropes attached to our arms, and some push-up and pull-up TRX action. By the end of the hour, I was just about dead on my feet - so, all told, a good one!
Janathon day 16: press-ups, mainly
Posted Jan 17, 2014
When did life get so busy? What with not being able to run, and work and other activities pressing in on all sides, it is proving tricky to come up with interesting Janathon activities. Today was another press-up day, trying to build up my capacity. I managed 50 of them, which I'm pretty happy with.
Janathon day 15: Tabata
Posted Jan 16, 2014
So running is still off the cards. The substitute for that activity at tonight's training was therefore squats and lunges, again. That gave me about 120 squats, and 90 lunges each on my left and right legs. Having done this twice during the week, my legs are really quite achy; I am consoling myself with the thought that all this glute work is going to have to be good for my running, when eventually I am able to get back to it.
Janathon day 14: yoga!
Posted Jan 15, 2014
Today was looking a bit tricky on the Janathon front. Mrs H took my Wild Training spot as I've been feeling just a little bit under the weather, and my feet have been a bit sore all day after attempting to break in my new Doctor Marten's shoes! So I was very happy to hear that Mrs H needed someone to try her new yoga class on!
Janathon day 13: hello glutes, goodbye toes
Posted Jan 14, 2014
How can it be that things are getting so busy this early in the year! Work is really hotting up at the moment, meaning some late nights are coming up. Janathon today has been alright, though.
Janathon day 12: getting better at press-ups!
Posted Jan 12, 2014
Another day off the running; thought I would up the number of press-ups instead. Today I managed 40 of them, in 2 sets of 20. Pretty happy with that!!
Janathon day 11: continuing to tread water
Posted Jan 12, 2014
I really hate being injured! My ankle is making a - literally - painfully slow recovery. In the meantime, I'm having to think of alternatives. Today was 20 press-ups, but if anyone has any suggestions for 12th onwards, I'd love to hear them!
Janathon day 10: still not running...
Posted Jan 11, 2014
Today has been pretty frantic, in a good way, and right now I am buying drinks at a Wild Training social event, so all I've managed is 20 TRX press-ups.
Janathon day 9: what a plank... Plus - green smoothies
Posted Jan 9, 2014
Something I've done over the last few days has made my left leg hurt, so running is off the cards for a few days to give it a chance to recover. What with today being so busy, and my orchestra rehearsal this evening (I play flute, and we have a next weekend), I haven't had time for much exercise today. So I managed a token plank of 1 minute 17 seconds, just to keep my record up...
Janathon day 8: marathon (not literally, though)
Posted Jan 9, 2014
Janathon day 7: short and sharp...
Posted Jan 8, 2014
That applies both to today's exercise and this blog post. I've only just finished a totally different project I've got on the go, and it is gone 2:30AM, so I will do no more now than report that I managed Wild Training in Hervines Park this evening. the key features of note are:
Janathon day 6: open the floodgates!
Posted Jan 6, 2014
So today was my first day back in the office this year (if not actually my first day of work), so I thought I would do a lunchtime run. I had a rough idea of a route, heading round the lakes at the aquadrome, and cheerfully set off in that direction. It was a lovely run, staying mostly dry and not too cold and, including a warm-up/cool-down, totalled about 3.5 miles.
Janathon day 5: just sneaked under the wire...
Posted Jan 5, 2014
Oh that was fun! It's been a really busy day, but I just managed to sneak in a quick run before bed. Same route as Friday, recorded on my watch as 2.94 miles in 33:31. Can't tell yet how that compared, but will check when home. My DOMS from friday is now even worse, so I was worried that the run would be a non-starter, but with my usual warm-up walk it all turned out fine. So that's a great success chalked up to the motivational power of Janathon!
Janathon day 4: Wild Training, a brief run - and FitBit!
Posted Jan 4, 2014
Today was my first session this year of Wild Training, a local outdoor fitness group I've been attending for a couple of years now. There's a lovely mix of people at the group, and sessions manage a fine balance between good, strong exercise and fun.
Janathon day 3: exercise sandwich...
Posted Jan 4, 2014
This is going to be a brief write-up, what with it being late. Today has been an exercise sandwich, squashed as it was between two thick-sliced chunks of exercise and with some good slabs of meat in between!
Janathon day 2: beautiful weather!
Posted Jan 2, 2014
It is hard to imagine how different today's run turned out! First to fill in the back story now that the technology is playing ball...
Janathon day 1: hello 2014!
Posted Jan 1, 2014
Happy new year, everyone! So here we are again: a month of training every day for Janathon.
Juneathon day 30: Heron Lake
Posted Jun 30, 2013
So, for me, Juneathon was brought to a close with a very pleasant lap of Heron Lake. With an early start, it was all over by 8:15AM. I think it was about 1K or so, which we did in about 30 minutes plus/minus a few. The rest of the day has been, variously, manic in a good or bad way, so I'm glad it is bed time now. Good night all, and - see you in January!
Everything you wanted to know about open water swimming (but were afraid to ask)
Posted Jun 30, 2013
If you are participating in a triathlon soon, or indeed you just enjoy swimming but are a bit fed up of the pools near you, there is a lot to be said for heading down to a lake for some outdoor swimming. As well as taking a bit of practice to feel comfortable, it can also be just a little bit intimidating if you don't "know the ropes", so this post is intended to help clear things up. Do bear in mind, though, that I'm no expert; my enthusiasm comfortably exceeds my abilities!
Juneathon day 29: last of the hopeless days!
Posted Jun 29, 2013
Words like "write-off" spring to mind when I think about today; with Mrs H out from 6:40AM until 10:30PM, and a not-yet-housetrained Sam the Cockapoo around, there hasn't been a good deal of chance to get out for some decent Juneathon-ing! So, again, all I've managed is a token 1:40 plank to keep my record clean.
Juneathon day 28: overtaken
Posted Jun 29, 2013
Not much to say - ended up working until 1:30am, so managed a 1:35 plank before diving into bed, to be woken up 30 minutes later by our 5yo!
Juneathon day 27: the best made plans...
Posted Jun 27, 2013
Some days just don't go as you plan. Today, for instance, I was hoping to go for a run or at least a swim; in the end all I managed was a plank and some foam rolling. Oh well, such is life!
Juneathon day 26: uppers (circuits) and downers (yoga)
Posted Jun 26, 2013
The mood this afternoon has been managed most effectively through exercise! My 6pm circuits with Wild Training was a great lift - metaphorically and practically. We are still on TABATA, mixing ropes, kettle bells and running (plus mountain climbers ... ouch). It is very challenging, but is definitely helping my fitness.