Running Naked

Wednesday 2nd October 2013

Running (6.00 Miles / 00:50:04 /00:08:20 / HRZ 3)

I’ve been running naked!

Before you all start getting mental images of my perfectly toned and tanned manly torso shimmering in a film of reflective sweat, and my muscles rippling under the intense Northern Irish sun, you need to calm down and cool down.

I’m talking about not bothering with any information from my running watch.  Thankfully for all mankind, I am fully clothed – albeit clad in Lycra! Hmmmmmm.

Following on from my successful “naked” run last week where I didn’t bother to look at the watch, I decided to do the same again last night.

Just head out and ignore the watch and try to hold a steady but reasonably challenging pace for the whole run. The goal was for 6 miles and see how it went.

Last week I averaged 8.27 per mile and felt OK with it – this week, on what I must admit was a bit of a hillier route, I managed to average 8.20 per mile.

I am pretty pleased with this and it has given me a clear thought that I will build this type of “naked” run at tempo pace in to my Ironman training plans as I think it helps to develop a greater awareness of natural pacing, and I also believe it will help to drive my average speed upwards.  If it warms up next summer, I might even try NAKED running – watch out Lisburn!

 
Thursday 3rd October 2013

Swimming (1150M / 00:27:33) 18M Pool in Gym

Plan 1350M
Achieved 1150M
Reason – Crap swim!

If ever there was story of two halves, my swim today was it.

The first 750M were knocked out in the now customary 14min 30secs and it felt very comfortable.  By the time I got to about 850M, I started to feel almost sea sick and entirely wobbly.

Not a great place to be.

To be honest I am slightly stumped as to the reason and the only thing I can think of is that I need to get used to adding in more metres to the sessions as I have focussed a lot on building  a base of set speed over 750 metres recently – and perhaps not fuelling correctly before a swim.  I do seem to be quite susceptible to dipping energy reserves in the pool.  Something I will need to look after.

Anyway I’ll put it down to experience and brush away the thought that it took me almost as long to swim the last 400M as it did to swim the first 750 Metres.

Could have been worse – I could have puked in the pool.  Thankfully not!