RunLight: A minimalist approach to health & life

Training logs

I've never used a training log before, even though I've thought about it. I'm also not really sure about how to go about it.

You see, I've never really set my sights that high - I just wanted to not keel over every time I had to break out into a trot. But recently I've been giving it a lot more thought - perhaps because I turn forty this year - and I want to achieve a good level of all-round fitness. This happens sporadically, and each time I vow to keep it up. Perhaps a training log will help?

So here's what I plan to do: record what I do in simple terms such as how far I've run or cycled, and what other stuff I do. I've decided to do it on a Mon-Sun basis, which means I can't really brag about my active weekend...

Does anybody else keep a training log? How detailed is it? Does it help?

My new zero-emission vehicle

Yeah, it's a bike. A really nice bike.

A good friend of mine has just bought a new bike, and I was the very lucky - and incredibly happy - recipient of his 'old' bike last week, a very nice Boardman Comp.

In case you're not British, or considerably younger than me, the name Boardman may not be immediately familiar and you may not see the obvious connection with bikes.

If you are British, and were around in 1992 to see this bike storm to Britain's first cycling gold medal in over 70 years, you'll have no doubt made the connection to Chris Boardman.

Although I've only done about 60 or 70km on it so far, it rides very nicely indeed.

Study, prepare, excel

“No man ever reached to excellence in any one art or profession without having passed through the slow and painful process of study and preparation.”

~ Horace

 

Mixing HIIT with endurance training

Although I'm enjoying my HIIT sessions, I still want to be able to run or ride my bike for hours on end, and also work on overall strength and balance. To get there, I'm doing this:

 

• Using HIIT for runs under 6km or bike rides under 20km (racing flats or VFF for runs, riding my track bike for rides)
• Doing LSD runs once or twice a week (15km+), off road when possible, and at least one longer (40km+) bike ride a week (flats or water shoes for runs, road bike or cross bike for runs)
• Body weight exercises for strength
• Skateboarding for balance

 

Let's see how that goes. My forays into exercise tend to go in peaks and troughs, but I hope I can ride the peak a bit longer this time.

Quick, simple, healthy vegetarian ragout

Not wanting to throw another pizza in the oven, the other night I decided to make something quickly while my baby boy was in the bath with my wife. That gave me about 15 minutes to prepare and cook something - and here's the result.

I love cooking, don't like processed food, and generally want to live a healthier lifestyle, so I thought I'd share a quick, healthy vegetarian recipe that I loosely term a ragout. It took me about 5-10 minutes to chop and prepare the ingredients, then about 20 minutes for the lot to simmer on a low heat.

I served it with feta cheese, wholemeal bread and a glass of red wine on the evening, then ate it with pasta the following night, and with rice (to make a simple risotto) the night after that. I love the taste, which changes the longer you leave it, so I didn't get bored.

 

Here's my recipe, but you can pretty much throw whatever you want in:

High-intensity interval training (HIIT)

Now that I'm getting back into a regular exercise pattern, I've decided to mix things up so I can meet my goal of all-round fitness.

It's one thing to be able to plod along for hours on end, but I want to add a little bit pf oomph to what I do. That's where high-intensity interval training (HIIT) comes in.

Basically, as the name suggests, it involves adding bursts of high-intensity activity to a regular workout. For me, this has so far included sprints while running and cycling, plus lots of hill work.

Anaerobic strength is definitely something I'm lacking, as is time (now I've got two kids), so adding HIIT to my routine will hopefully help kill two birds with one stone.

I may post structured workout routines at some point, mainly for my own reference.

Andy Puddicombe: All it takes is 10 mindful minutes

When is the last time you did absolutely nothing for 10 whole minutes? Not texting, talking or even thinking? Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe describes the transformative power of doing just that: Refreshing your mind for 10 minutes a day, simply by being mindful and experiencing the present moment. (No need for incense or sitting in uncomfortable positions.)

Ultra preparation

Happy New Year!

It's been a long time since I've written anything here, and I can only blame being busy for part of it. Most of it's because I've just been lazy and lacking motivation.

I hope to change that in 2013, which will include training for an ultramarathon. Now, I don't know if I'll run an organised ultra because there don't seem to be that many taking place in Japan this year - within travelling distance - but maybe they haven't been listed yet. Whatever happens, I aim to be running long distances.

Wish me luck!

Slow life and natural exercise

 

“Smile, breathe and go slowly”

    ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

 

It doesn't take much effort to exercise. People tend to have this idea that exercise means wearing special gear, pushing yourself to the brink of exhaustion or preening in front of mirrors in a gym.

It can mean that, but it certainly doesn't need to.

It can be as simple as taking your kids on a bike ride, doing some gardening, going for a walk or even walking to the shops instead of going in the car. You don't need running shoes, you don't need a carbon fibre racing bike and you don't need a heart monitor.

Sometimes you just need to slow down, smile and breathe. You'll be amazed how much better you feel and how much exercise you get done.

Back into training

Although I've been riding my bike quite a bit and doing the occasional run, I haven't been habitually exercising as I used to.

And it's beginning to show - mainly around the waist.

This is partly due to the fact that it has been ridiculously hot and humid recently here in Japan, which isn't exactly conducive to a pleasant run. But it's cooling down now, so I aim to start exercising pretty seriously.

In fact, I'd go so far as to call it training.

I'm not training for a specific event as such, rather more for a long-term project and long-term health.

But more about that later.