The Running Diaries of a Personal Trainer

You may all remember my last post…talking about prep for the Wokingham Half Marathon? Well sometimes even the best laid plans go to pot. Which mine did.

Thursday afternoon I started to get some pain in my foot. I thought it was because I hadn’t remembered to swap from my running trainers into a different pair so spent much of the working evening bare foot. I even made sure I took pain relief before going to bed however by Friday lunch time I was in agony and could barely stand to put pressure on the foot by the end of my Yoga class. I instantly phoned Vicky who made sure Chris had a look at my foot that evening. Verdict…repetitive strain injury! BUGGER! I was taped up by Vicky the next morning and I kept myself going with Nurofen.

I knew I had to do this race. I had come too far to give up. Quitting was not an option. If I didn’t run the race I would never forgive my self. I would deal with the consequences later.

So Sunday morning, much to the shock, disbelief and disapproval of Owen’s parents (who we are staying with this week whilst the bathroom is being re done) I set off down to the start line with my brother in law to be, Evan. The foot was grumbling but I figured if I kept moving I would be OK.

First port of call as always…the toilet. I stood in the queue looking like a completely loon hopping from one foot to the next trying to keep the movement and warmth in my foot going. So far so good…ish. Still a bit of grumbling. ‘Just ignore it’, I kept saying to myself, ‘it’ll go away’. Having completed my pit stop I head back towards the area where I knew my Uncle Gavin was standing. Gavin is not my real Uncle, he’s my Dad’s best friend. He’s a brilliant runner and actually set his PB on Sunday. 1.23! Amazing! Anyway I digress. At this point I bumped into The DZ.

Some say she has been the Olympic Ice Dance Champion twelve times over and can make a man fall in love with her, just by completing a single routine. All know we know is…she’s The DZ!

At first I was confused as to why The DZ had turned up so early. She was supposed to be coming to watch me cross the finish line. The DZ had opted out on advice of many after she picked up a hip injury at the end of the boot camp week in the beginning of January. I became even more confused when I saw her number attached to her running vest. I couldn’t get my head around it,

‘I’m running’, she said.

‘You’re a lunatic’, I replied.

And she is. The DZ hadn’t managed more than 5 miles with out being in pain for the best part of 6 weeks but she had her own battles to fight as did I so I told her I was proud of her for trying and to enjoy herself! Just at this point my dad turned up completely last minute and totally under prepared as per usual. By the time he’d pulled himself together we managed to get ourselves down to the start line just in time for the beginning of the race.

AND THEN WE WERE OFF!! Dad stuck with me for the first 2 miles but just after we’d spotted Owen’s parents he shot off. And there he was saying the night before about how I’d beat him. Pah! However this was the least of my worries because about a mile later my foot started to go numb. Some people might think this is a good thing but trust me it was very uncomfortable. By mile 4 my determination started to waver. ‘Just get to 6 miles’, I told myself, ‘then you can find some one who can get you back to the start’. I hobbled for 2 miles and once I hit the 6 mile mark I realised…no one was there. No marshalls, no first aiders not even a flaming spectator. I heard some guy next me say, ‘Oh look we’re pretty much half way now’, and another one say to his friend, ‘We’re averaging 8.40 miles’. ‘Right, in that case’, I thought, ‘I’d better shift my arse and DO THIS’. I kept running through the numbness and somewhere around 8 miles the feeling in my foot came back however by the 10th mile so had the pain. The Nurofen was wearing off. I ran, walk, hobbled and almost crawled the last 3 miles. All I wanted to do was sit down and cry but by this point I had come too far. I managed to sprint over the finish line as I heard Vicky screaming ‘COME ON CINDY!’. I took my medal, had my chip removed, had a bottle of water placed in my hand and then I sat down on the pavement and sobbed! Vicky and her boyfriend Ben found me about a minute later in this state. I saw them and smiled. I was crying because of the pain but mainly I was crying from the happiness of finishing. I’d done it. I’d run through the agony. I was stronger than I ever believed I could of been! About 15 minutes later however I was crying again as we bumped into The DZ. She too had managed it! Against all odds she had gone and run that race. I was so proud of her. Yesterday was a good day.

My official time was 2.00.44. So even with the injury I had a PB that had smashed my other PB by a good 13 minutes! I’m getting better! So next stop is Reading Half Marathon! April 1st 2012 and I can not wait! I think we can all work out the morale to my story…when disaster strikes, either pick yourself up and start again or plough on through!

Before I sign off I have a group of people I would like to thank for getting me through the day.

Vicky & Chris for making is possible for me to run with the treatment they gave me.

Jackie & Alice for screaming like complete and utter mentaloids at me just after the 11 mile mark! Noticed how you were outside the pub girls

Vicky (again) and Ben for cheering me over the line and delivering my broken body back to the in laws to be.

Andy, Denise and Debbie Read for supplying me with so much encouragement before, during and after the race as well as providing me with a chocolate bar, gloves and a foil sheet directly after the run.

Owen’s parents (Carole and Mick) for looking after myself and Evan the night before and directly afterwards with pre and post meals…AMAZING GRUB!

Owen for calming me down before the race and forever believing in me.

Holly and Joanne for their supportive texts of encouragement.

Rachel and Emily for the dog walks which killed two birds with one stone, walked the dogs and tested the capability of my foot.

Finally…The DZ. Who really proved to me that anything is possible when you put your mind to it. Thank you DZ. You truly are my hero!

CBPT

On Saturday morning I went out for my last long training run before Wokingham Half Marathon coming this Sunday (19th February). Yes it was minus ten and yes there was massive sheets of ice on the ground but I had such a hectic weekend planned I needed to get that run DONE.

Five am on Saturday morning my ‘breakfast alarm’ went off. I had placed some apricots, dry cereal and a cartoon of apple juice next to my bed. I ate and drank as much as I could manage and then settled down for a snooze until my seven am ‘get your back side out of bed and go for a run’ alarm went off.

Everything was ready to go except I couldn’t find my gloves! I took the rash, last minute decision to wear my cookie monster hat in a vain attempt to keep my self warm. I knew I must look like an out and out idiot which was confirmed but the smug smirk of an ex boyfriend as he drove past me as I hit mile nine but honestly I COULD NOT CARE LESS. It was so frickin’ cold! It was so cold that I saw another runners eyelashes has frozen over. I was contemplating how ridiculous she looked when I realised it must be the same for me and I was wearing a cookie monster hat…

I ran a good solid eleven miles in 1.35.30 which I was extremely chuffed with. I ran from home to my friends house where I am learning to do my Swedish Massage. I made it just in time to have a steaming hot shower and a nice cup of tea before the course started. BLISS To most people this seems extremely simple and it is but we haven’t had a shower at home since June…only baths…and the novelty of this has well and truly worn off!

I am running my first half marathon of the year this coming Sunday. I’ll be honest I’ve had pre-race anxiety nerves for the best part of ten days now. I really want to do well and everyone has the utmost faith in me so I feel I need to do them and myself proud. Needless to say I shall be putting my determined head on for the day. I have a couple of short runs left to do and a yoga class to ensure I am adequately stretched and then I’m there!

Please wish me the best of luck and if you are in the local area please do come down and cheer me on! It will help!

Thank you.

CBPT

www.oceansportstherapy.com

Sponsers of the Wokingham Half Marathon http://www.wokinghamhalfmarathon.co.uk/html/sponsors.html

Wow…what a weekend…snow (and lots of it) two runs (in one day), two dog walks (one in snow, one on solid ground) and Arsenal won 7-1…WHAT??? Yes I know…CRAZY!! Just for those you who haven’t heard…Owen went up to the Arsenal on Saturday to watch this game and took his friend Chris using MY ticket. As you can imagine…I was mightily miffed when I saw the score line…I would of LOVED to be there…HOPEFULLY there will come another time and HOPEFULLY I won’t miss it!

I spent the best part of Saturday morning running in sub zero conditions. The first was with a client who is training for the Tough Mudder Race in May. I hope for her sake it isn’t this cold on race day…she should be safe but you never know in this country. I took this client out around The Look Out. I had reckied the route several times before hand with Yumi  just to make sure it had everything I needed…fallen trees to jump over and roll under, hills and mud- that was until it was frozen solid but negotiating frozen mud is far harder than you would imagine so it worked out well! My client managed her fastest 4 miles for quite sometime; 45 minutes and taking all of these obstacles into account I think she deserves a round of applause! When we started the run it was -8. By the time we’d got back it had warmed up to -6…tropical…my client’s hair at frozen at tips!

Next my run with Leigh and THE DZ. Some  say she was once part of the Polish Mafia and maintained a staple diet of marbelous cake ONLY. All we know is she’s…THE DZ. Leigh is the landlord of the clinic where we run Ocean Sports Therapy from. Slightly less mystique but just as exciting in character. The three of us managed another 4 miles again in the 45 minute region which was great because The DZ has been suffering from an agonising hip injury which has played havoc with her half marathon training. She came to see Vicky (my OST business partner) last week and it seems *fingers crossed* that Vicky has fixed The DZ.

The DZ shall be flying around that half marathon track before she knows it!

When I got home after all this I had time for a ten minute bath and a quick bite to eat and then I was off for a walk with my new ‘dog walking friends’ *in the voice of the Inbetweeners* Emily and Rachel and their dogs Frank, Buddy and Roxie. Unfortunately it is coming to the time of year where the deer begin to emerge so I lost Yumi a couple of times and had to set off cross country (still at sub zero temperatures I’ll have you know) to retrieve her. So all in all…another 3 miles. Phew. Our walk the next day was lovely also so. With the snow having fallen the night before it really was a winter wonderland

In conclusion. Well I decided I would go for my ten mile training run today with Leigh the Landlord. We managed ten miles in 1.29.06. CHUFFED. Wokingham Half Marathon on the 19th February. I really want to make a good go of it. *Fingers crossed* Anyone local please do come down and cheer me on! THANK YOU!

CBPT

www.oceansportstherapy.com

Saturday was an extremely busy day for me, running club, pilates, pregnancy pilates, decorating the kitchen, catching up on Birdsong on BBC i player and oh yes…the small matter of a wedding dress fitting.

I rushed over there (with Owen’s mum) after a hetic morning; I appear to be doing EVERYTHING by the seat of my pants these days. We managed to get there ‘Just In Time’ (as Owen’s mother says in her strong London- not cockney she’ll have you know- London accent).

Claire (at Supernova Brides) made us feel very welcome (as always) and set about measuring me………..it appears after a crazy 7 months of working on the house, 3 months of half marathon training, the dog walking regime, a change in eating habits (big breakfast, medium lunch, small dinner) and one crazy January I had managed to lose an inch off my bust, an inch off my hips and an inch and half off my waist! I then tried the dress on and…I really and truly felt like a princess.

Some people will moan at me I know and try and bring me down about the  inch loss but what these people forget is I am a professional.

 I know what I am doing when it comes to gaining and losing weight- I am FIT not SKINNY (a little recongnition to the twitter crew out there you know who you are). Ultimately I am a personal trainer, if I didn’t have a handle on my weight, I wouldn’t be very good at my job. It does irritate me when people notice my weight lose and start saying, ‘OHHHH be careful, you’ll get ill’, ‘You won’t be sexy anymore’, ‘You’re just too skinny now’.

 I gain weight and lose it again depending on my training regime. If I am half marathon training I HAVE to lose weight because TRUST me, until you have dragged yourself around thirteen miles you do not know what a difference half to a whole stone will make. It’s brutally uncomfortable if I’m carrying it! However if I lose it my speed goes up and I can fly around the course. I give myself a couple of months off half marathon training in the summer to allow my body to rest- injuries recovery, blisters die down and the mind prepares it self to start again. I do keep up with exercise but not at the same intensity. This is just to keep the body ticking over.  The body can not train at a high intensity all of the time. All the top professionals (runners, rugby players, footballers etc, etc, etc) have their off season..well so do I. It is VITAL.

Anyway I apologise for my rant this morning but for anyone who does feel the need to pass comment on my weight please remember I have been doing this job for almost five years now…Ultimately I shouldn’t have to justifiy myself but I feel I have to on a personal level and for all of the fitness fanatics out there. Personally I am fully aware of what I can and cannot where my body is concerned. You have no reason to worry about me.

I would also like to take this opportunity to promote my next two boot camps.

April 10th- 14th 2012….details to follow at a later date

AND

August 16th- 18th 2012 (yes pre-wedding, three day boot camp for wedding guests and well wishers a like)….details to follow at a later date.

So once again apologises for the little grumble but I needed to get it off my bust, hips and waist

CBPT

Thanks again for the amazing boot camp Cindy! It made me realise that health and fitness is actually within my reach, even though I’m no spring chicken! I didn’t think I’d stay the course but, thanks to your encouragement, I’ve realised that was what they call a “limiting self belief”…so 2012 could be an exciting year of discovery!

When the idea of a new year boot camp was first suggested during one of our advanced pilates sessions, I felt tired at the thought. Everyday for 5 days? I come home from work exhausted and barely manage to fit in eating and sleeping without a military style fitness regime as well! But I hate to miss out so I decided to give it my best shot. Some of session 1 was a bit of a rude awakening after my lazy Christmas break. I admit that my squat thrusts lacked a bit of thrust.Those evil burpees, they were half hearted, but they were pardoned. I kept going and was addicted by day 2!

Boxercise was great for my inner core, despite the attempted derailing from my cheeky fellow bootcamper. Skipping, interval runs, lots of variety and the feel good factor took over. Finally, getting me up at 8am on a Saturday for 2hours of exercise was nothing short of a miracle. Spurred on by team spirit, sunshine and blue skies, I can actually say I enjoyed the final run and chat. So now you’ve kick started my new year of fitness and healthy eating,I just need to keep it going… I’m enjoying your circuits and boxercise whenever I can make them and looking forward to Easter bootcamp already!

Thanks again. 

Sophie

I am now back into the throws of Half Marathon training. Wokingham is booked. Reading is booked. I’m also contemplating Bracknell although I’ve been informed it’s an awful race…

The training regime over the past seven days has consisted of a three mile run, Circuits, X-Bike, a five mile run, Yoga and a six mile run as well as all the dog walking sessions (at least one a day, if not two!). I’m currently typing this part of my blog whilst trying to motivate myself to beast it on the treadmill for at least twenty minutes…everyone at some point will struggle to get motivated, even Personal Trainers!

Please excuse me whilst I go and beast it on the Treadmill for at least twenty minutes.

*………………..TWENTY MINUTES………………..*

And as easy as that twenty minutes, four kilometres and two hundred and sixty calories later I’m here to tell the tale.

I really didn’t want to do that. I’d already wimped out of a three miler around the roads of Wokingham but after almost losing the use of my hands to the sudden cold snap yesterday, I decided to head to the clinic instead. Once here I started faffing and found myself on my blog page. It was only once I got typing and thought about how well I did last week, I realised I wanted to do the same again. Eventually I got there and I feel so much better for it now

You see the key is to just make yourself do it. It’s hard at first and it is too easy to find other things you could or should be doing but ultimately you know you’re only cheating yourself and your body will be living proof of this. Nothing ever worth achieving comes with ease. If you want something in life you have to go through the long up hill slog to get there. Think of a time you’ve  had to do this. A relationship, finding a new job, learning a new skill? The obvious one for me would be my business. This however continues to be an up hill race and probably always will be to some extent; surely that only makes the rewards from it greater?

I noticed someone on Facebook this week asking how to get motivated. This is my best advice to her and anyone else who may be feeling a little bit lost, stuck or in a rut.

Apply my VISUAL techniques and see if they help you…

1) Visulise your goal- see what it is you want to do in your minds eye. Revisit this thought twice a day- when you wake up and before you go to sleep. Do not constantly think about your goal for the more you dwell on it the easier it will be to find flaws in what you’re doing. Alternatively you may become obsessive and this will also stop you from focusing clearly on your goal.

2) Instigate- Start by putting a plan of action together. No goal was ever achieved with out a good plan.

3) Sensible- goals are very important. You’ve never run a mile in your life and yet you’re planning to run a marathon? You need smaller, more manageable goals in between. Start with a six mile race and then ten and so on…

4) Understand- your reasons for wanting to achieve your goal. Is it your goal? Or is it an idea someone has put into your head which seemed like a great idea at the time after five pints, a packet of nuts and a twenty quid bet? Are you wanting to complete your mission to make you or someone else happy? This matters. A goal is personal and therefore you should be doing it for yourself, to make you happy.

5) Achieve- your goals. There is no greater feeling than knowing you have tried your best and put in 100% the whole way.

6) Love- yourself and live life but always set yourself some sort of goal. It doesn’t have to be exercise related. It can be anything. To find a better job, to work on the house or finally learn how to bake a cake.

Relish the challenge.

 VISUAL

So go forth and conquer!

CBPT

So first week back and it was straight into the OST Boot Camp!

This was hard work from the start. Tuesday kicked off the 5 days of intensive training with a Cardio Circuits which left a majority of the group wondering how they were going to manage to get through the next 4 sessions. I believe the quote,

 ’Burpees! They are the Devil’s work!’ was uttered many a time.

So into Wednesday where I had promised an ‘Intense Core’ session. Some how the group where under the impression this would be like an Advanced Pilates class(they blame me for not explaining it properly…I blame them for hearing what they want to hear )…how wrong they were. Every Abdominal exercise was interspursed with a minute of boxing each. There was a swap over period in between each minute of boxing- this is where partners would swap over their pads and gloves. This is also the period of time in which people like to SLACK! *Tut, tut, tut* The boot campers learnt the hard way I have to say! The pair who were slowest to swap over their kit each time were dished out a punishment i.e. press ups and could they believe their ears?…MORE BURPEES…

‘Burpees! They are the Devil’s work!’ was uttered many a time.

Thursday night we ventured outside into the gloomy, damp and cold area in front of the OST building. Shuttle runs and plenty of them was on the menu for tonight. Once again the group were split into pairs and whilst one was completing a set of shuttle runs the other would be doing an incredibly difficult exercise for example…oh I don’t know…BURPEES…

‘Burpees! They are the Devil’s work!’ was uttered many a time.

To the delight of the Boot Campers we took a break on Friday night, however their joy was short lived. Saturday morning presented the group with an 8am start and two hours of gruelling exercise. The first hour consisted of a ‘gentle jog’ down to Nashgrove Park. Here is where we really started to ‘get our mud on!’ Sprints around and across the football pitch, walking lunges, jumps of all varieties and guess what BURPEES in the mud!

‘Burpees! They are the Devil’s work!’ was uttered many a time.

We jogged back to clinic where we met up with a couple of my usual keen Saturday morning runners who lead the weary and muddy boot camp group on a 3 and a half mile run around Finchampstead. We stuck to the roads which, if you have been to Finchampstead, you’ll know are long, straight, hilly and VERY hard work. The boot campers powered on through. There were aches, pains, even tears of frustration for some but it was all worth it when they finally made it back to the OST clinic. Suddenly there were smiles all round. They had done it! In the grand scheme of things the run was relatively easy compared to BURPEES.

‘Burpees! They are the Devil’s work!’ was uttered many a time.

So this week has started with a BANG!

Quite literally…

I felt sorry for my ex colleagues from the spa/gym where I spent my first 3 years as a trainer… They had to deal with a fire on the first day back into the New Year. By all accounts they handled it very well but I do not envy them having to walk a couple of hundred wet and cold people in nothing but their swimming costumes to the fire point on the other side of the car park. I’m sure the annual fire practice will now be a breeze!

Owen and Yumi have been packed out the door at 7.15 AM…yes AM…twice this week for a run. Owen was, how should I put it? Disgruntled. The first day he stepped out into the midst of a raging storm…probably not the best start to the wedding regime but he was up and out there again this morning, dog in tow and came home to a hot bath and a healthy version of an English Breakfast. This consisted of a boiled egg, grilled bacon & Costco sausages, beans and one slice of toast. In the grand scheme of things I’d say Owen’s doing pretty well!

So to Ocean Sports Therapy (OST). Yesterday was hectic! Vicky was in with new clients all morning and I had several ultrasound scanning appointments, personal training (PT) sessions, X-Bike AND Boot Camp! Boot Camp! started with a tough session of Cardio Circuits including skipping, shuttle runs and burpees. One quote from a participant…

‘Thanks Cindy. Loving the new year workout. You made me sweat. I never sweat. And my inner core is trembling at the thought of tomorrow’s workout…’

Not a bad start, hey?

Well on that note I will leave you all to your New Years Resolutions. Let’s work together on this one and make them stick. I’ll be with you every step of the way! Good luck!

CBPT

This is my first post to let you know I shall blogging regularly in the New Year about my training, nutrition, work (at the Wokingham Famous Ocean Sports Therapy Clinic) and there may also be the odd mention about my husband to be- Owen & our dog Yumi.

I can’t wait to get going! I hope you enjoy

CindyBakerPersonalTrainer