Let's just forget the boring part - the cold showers, which I am still taking - and concentrate on the exercise part for the past few days. I am improving! I increased my standard running distance now to between 4.0 and 4.5 miles (depends on which tracks I take through the woods) of mixed tarmac and gravel/mud tracks. Time is around 45 to 55 minutes, which is not bad for a guy who used to hate running.
I also managed to get to the local pool (albeit a little warm at 29C) and swam around 2km in just over an hour. I am so out of practice at this that I can't get my stroke/breathing correct to swim crawl - I end up out of breath after about 2 lengths (100m) and have to revert to breast stroke, which I find a lot easier and can do almost endlessly but the pace is a lot slower than I would like. Any suggestions for improvement?
With all the exercise my weight is now down to around 71Kg. I am assuming that it is staying around this number because fat is being replaced with muscle. I would like to get it below 70Kg within the next 2-3 weeks if I can. Any suggestions for ways to burn off more fat? I read somewhere that whey powder supplement could work for this but I think if if just eat a little less and exercise regularly it will have the same effect? What do you think.
I realise I need to get some before and after pics and stats going here - I will try and do this later this week for you all.
Till next time......
Sunday 19 April 2009
Wednesday 15 April 2009
Day 85 - Cold Water Videos
I had a cold shower again this morning. I don't know what the temp of the water is at the moment as I haven't measured it in many days. I did enjoy the sensation this morning more than most. Maybe this is because i am getting used to it as a long term part of my life, or maybe its because I was feeling more energised this morning and got in with view of really enjoying the water.
Now that the winter season here in the northern hemisphere is over it is interesting to trawl through some of the video websites such as Youtube to see what other cold water people have been getting into. There are a lot of "Polar bear" swims in some of the colder countries (Canada, USA, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Russia and others) and others where there are organised cold water swimming groups or clubs. Polar Bear events are typically one-off events on a specific day (such as Christmans Day, New Year's Day or Epiphany) whereas the club events are more geared to regular, organised swims or dips (daily, weekly or monthly).
A number of these events have photos or videos taken of them and are posted for all to see. There is a collection of these in my links and playlists on the right of this post. I must say that the open water swims tend to be the most appealing to me such as this 500m+ swim one done in 2C water by Youtube poster Ujumine (click here for video). Whilst I have not done this yet myself I certainly will be making every effort todo so next winter or whenever the opportunity arises.
There are other Youtube users such as Ulysse3329, ToughPaul and blechdose2, who also seem to share this love of cold water swimming and endurance. If you know of any more people, vidoes or other sites related to coldwater swimming and endurance, please let me know.
Now that the winter season here in the northern hemisphere is over it is interesting to trawl through some of the video websites such as Youtube to see what other cold water people have been getting into. There are a lot of "Polar bear" swims in some of the colder countries (Canada, USA, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Russia and others) and others where there are organised cold water swimming groups or clubs. Polar Bear events are typically one-off events on a specific day (such as Christmans Day, New Year's Day or Epiphany) whereas the club events are more geared to regular, organised swims or dips (daily, weekly or monthly).
A number of these events have photos or videos taken of them and are posted for all to see. There is a collection of these in my links and playlists on the right of this post. I must say that the open water swims tend to be the most appealing to me such as this 500m+ swim one done in 2C water by Youtube poster Ujumine (click here for video). Whilst I have not done this yet myself I certainly will be making every effort todo so next winter or whenever the opportunity arises.
There are other Youtube users such as Ulysse3329, ToughPaul and blechdose2, who also seem to share this love of cold water swimming and endurance. If you know of any more people, vidoes or other sites related to coldwater swimming and endurance, please let me know.
Tuesday 14 April 2009
Day 76 to 84 - Spring is Here
There has not been much happening over the past week, especially as the Easter Holidays have intervened and other things have been happening which have diverted my attention.
The water from the cold taps is warming up so the cold showers every morning are not as cold as they used to be. I am still taking cold showers and still enjoying them. The opportunity to take a cold bath has also not been available to me the past week either.
My running has been taking a bit of a back seat as there have been a number of things going on which have meant I have not been able to get out as much. I did manage a longwalk with some friends of about 4Miles one day and around 2 short runs of 1.6miles each all within a reasonable time. I will resume the runs in earnest this week. With some recent rain the ground has started to become muddy - quite inviting to take run and jump (or even a slide) into? Anyone else tried this? The idea of being covered head to toe in slimy mud is quite appealing in a weird sort of way/
One day this week I will take my camera along and post some pics of my daily route through the local woods, especially as "Spring is Here" and the woodland takes on a completely different perspective - flowers, blossom and new growth of foliage, bushes and other exotic plants. I am still looking for that elusive pond somewhere along the way so that I can really take that swim and cool off en route.
Till next post.
The water from the cold taps is warming up so the cold showers every morning are not as cold as they used to be. I am still taking cold showers and still enjoying them. The opportunity to take a cold bath has also not been available to me the past week either.
My running has been taking a bit of a back seat as there have been a number of things going on which have meant I have not been able to get out as much. I did manage a longwalk with some friends of about 4Miles one day and around 2 short runs of 1.6miles each all within a reasonable time. I will resume the runs in earnest this week. With some recent rain the ground has started to become muddy - quite inviting to take run and jump (or even a slide) into? Anyone else tried this? The idea of being covered head to toe in slimy mud is quite appealing in a weird sort of way/
One day this week I will take my camera along and post some pics of my daily route through the local woods, especially as "Spring is Here" and the woodland takes on a completely different perspective - flowers, blossom and new growth of foliage, bushes and other exotic plants. I am still looking for that elusive pond somewhere along the way so that I can really take that swim and cool off en route.
Till next post.
Sunday 5 April 2009
Day 71 to 75 - From Cold to Exercise
Being at home after all the business travel is quite refreshing. And now the weather and the water temperatures are warming up I think my toughness regimen must move from cold water endurance to toughening up my body and muscular endurance. I will still do the cold water showers (as I have this week apart from 2 days when the water was so luke-warm that it was unpleasant - neither hot nor cold enough - so I added some hot water to it) but I will look for other opportunities to get into cold water situations (rivers, streams, ponds, ice baths, sauna cold pools etc.) which are likely to be colder than water from the tap.
As far as exercise is concerned I have been extending the distance I have been running over the past few days. Today it was close to 5 Miles on a mix of road, woodland paths and across farmland. There was a mix of up and down too, but nothing too extreme as far as inclines are concerned. The time was not that good - close to 1 hour but for the most part I did jog or walk at a fast pace. I did the majority of the run in shorts (no top) as the paths are public footpaths and there were people around. I even got a few hoots from cars when I was running without a shirt along the road!
I hope to mix the running with swimming occasionaly during the coming weeks. I don't know if I will find a cold water pool in my area but I will certainly try to find an outdoor one rather than an indoor one. If you know of one west of London let me know. Also looking for suggestions of places to go swimming in West London area (Tube accessible) during the week and/or to meet up with others with similar interests occasionally during the coming months. Suggestions welcome via mail and/or the comments section please.
I would like to find a running mate of similar ability so that it is not so boring and that will challenge me to do better (i.e. push me along a bit). So if you live on the west side of London along the M40 corridor anywhere between J2 and J4 and are interested in joining me for the occasional run please leave a comment and let me know.
As far as exercise is concerned I have been extending the distance I have been running over the past few days. Today it was close to 5 Miles on a mix of road, woodland paths and across farmland. There was a mix of up and down too, but nothing too extreme as far as inclines are concerned. The time was not that good - close to 1 hour but for the most part I did jog or walk at a fast pace. I did the majority of the run in shorts (no top) as the paths are public footpaths and there were people around. I even got a few hoots from cars when I was running without a shirt along the road!
I hope to mix the running with swimming occasionaly during the coming weeks. I don't know if I will find a cold water pool in my area but I will certainly try to find an outdoor one rather than an indoor one. If you know of one west of London let me know. Also looking for suggestions of places to go swimming in West London area (Tube accessible) during the week and/or to meet up with others with similar interests occasionally during the coming months. Suggestions welcome via mail and/or the comments section please.
I would like to find a running mate of similar ability so that it is not so boring and that will challenge me to do better (i.e. push me along a bit). So if you live on the west side of London along the M40 corridor anywhere between J2 and J4 and are interested in joining me for the occasional run please leave a comment and let me know.
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