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If you've been keeping up with my blog, you'd have seen my blog post on what I had coming up since my last race.

Since I've not just got running races coming up and I've started cycling and swimming too(with some swimming events coming up).. instead of doing training diaries for each event.. since I'd end up repeating myself within the different posts, I figured I'd just change the format of the post to have the training diary include a recap of any and all exercise I do throughout the week so it covers everything!

So, welcome to my first Training Diary post!


MONDAY - SWIM - 1025m
Mondays swim session was a bit of a fail to be honest. I arrived early for to get in some swimming before the lesson as I don't get to swim as much as I'd like. I was having some major issues with my normal goggles I usually use(the Aquasphere at the bottom). They were sucking to my eye socket too much and my eye lid kept touching the lens.. and they kept leaking. Im pretty sure I need new ones.

Thankfully, I always carry an extra pair in my bag.. in this case it's my open water goggles which did the job for the lesson. I'm in the midst of replacing my Aquasphere.

The lesson itself was OK. I focused on Front Crawl technique and did some drills with the kickboard as I want to swim faster with front crawl and apparently my stroke is fine but my kick could do with being stronger..

If you follow me on IG, you'll know I've been working(or in my case atm not really working) on my fear of jumping in the water. I failed last week AND this week.. I just couldn't muster the courage to jump in and it's terribly frustrating!

TUESDAY - REST - Always a rest day usually.. maybe not so much now that it's lighter in the evenings but the morning is always a no go.

WEDNESDAY - 3 mile RUN & 1850m SWIM
Double Workout day.. not really intentional but I woke up before my alarm for the first time in..ever? and fancied a run.. and if you ever get a day like that, you bloody well take it and go! So I did 3 miles with some glorious sunshine and felt great overall.

Then it was Wednesdays late women's only swim which has become my new favourite as it's not busy and I can get a decent swim in. Got in some decent distance but had major issues with cramping in my toes and hands during the swim.. been recommended to get some electrolyte tablets to put in my water, so I'm hoping that helps!

THURSDAY - REST - Unplanned. Not sure why I didn't do anything.

FRIDAY - REST - Took a rest day on the assumption that I would be parkrunning Saturday.. but totally forgot about Phillip being on call and not being able to go.

SATURDAY - 14.7 mile CYCLE
I was SO nervous for this cycle. It's been ages since I've been on the turbo.. even longer since I've been out on the road. The last time I went out on the road, I had normal pedals but I switched to cleats when turbo training and this was my first cycle with them.

I was FREAKING out before the cycle and worried I was gonna hit the deck. Fortunately I didn't. I loosened the tension on the cleats to make it easier to unclip. Surprisingly, it wasn't the unclipping that was causing issues, it was the clipping back in!

but I survived, thats the main thing and it reminded me that I really enjoy cycling.. so I'll be doing it more often now that the weather has warmed up!

SUNDAY - 5.65 mile RUN & 9.4 mile CYCLE
An AWFUL run! 5.65 miles of pure suffering. The temp had gone up 10 degrees in what feels like overnight(in reality a couple of days) and I was NOT ready for it. I hadn't hydrated properly either which is a major rookie error and I didn't take water with me. It was disgustingly hot, I felt lethargic and my head was pounding from being dehydrated.

We did include some 'sort of' fartlek training at the start and picked some parts to pick up the pace.. but as I got hotter and hotter, we just had to stop. I'll give it a go another time.

Later in the afternoon, I went out for another cycle. My butt was sore from the previous day and it was SUPER windy out where we rode but it was another successful trip with the cleats.

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So, I had a 2, 2, 2 week, 2 swims, 2 cycles and 2 runs - thats all fine by me! Im trying to switch things up with my routine lately so Im happy with this. I'm hoping that not just focusing solely on running will maybe kickstart my weight loss.. so we will see what happens!

Question: Do you cycle? Have you ever used cleats? Any tips for clipping in/out? Anyone else have a fear of jumping into water?

I didn't realise it had been so long since I did a blog post here! Time appears to have gotten away from me. Oops! I've have been a little busy with work and I've been away to visit the family for 4 days just this past weekend but to be honest, I've been in a bit of a funk since Cambridge Half Marathon.. and whilst I had events/races to continue training for(which I'll go into a bit later), I just didn't feel motivated at all to workout and therefore I was finding it difficult to gather the inspiration to post here too since the majority of my posts is centered around my training!

However, the visit with my family has done me good! They've always been so encouraging about my weight loss and my running and training.. and lets face it, when you're in a better mood, you're way more motivated to workout!

I ran 2 six milers whilst I was at my parents and I swam yesterday evening(1.1 mile swim). So I'm fairly sure I'm getting back into the swing of things. Hopefully it will continue!

What's Coming Up?
As I mentioned, I do have a few events already scheduled and booked that I should have been training for. Here's what I have in my diary for definite:
- 5th May - Wings For Life
- 9th June - Great North Swim

I have a few races/events pencilled in too, I just need to figure out  if we're available.. or just haven't booked them yet.
- 3rd/4th June - Summer Wolf Run
- 2nd July - Great Newham Run
- 16th September - Swim Serpentine

So, I've got Wings for Life coming up in 5 weeks. I think the problem I've been having with getting motivated is the fact that the finish line is behind you on this event, so there's not really a distance I'm training for like there was for the Half Marathon. Instead, I've turned the tables and set a goal to be able to get to at least 8 miles before the car catches me, so thats an incentive for training!

Then there's the Great North Swim in June.. which I'm both excited and nervous about! I watched Phillip, his mum & aunty do the swim last year.. and kinda wished I was doing it too. Then I got a wetsuit and was doing open water swims last year, so I've got everything I need.
I can't wait for Open Water Swim to start.. but thats what also brings the nerves as the open water makes me nervous! Hopefully I'll get used to it eventually, I didn't do OWS for the full season last year, I started towards the end.

So, pencilled in, I have the Summer Wolf Run - which will be my first obstacle course race if I register a place for it. Phillip has been going on at me to do a OCR for a while since he did one the year before last and loved it. He's agreed to do it with me as some of the obstacles look tough! It will require some training for sure.. so more of an incentive to start strength training again! Oh Kettlebells.. where are youuuuu ;)

He was caked in mud! Yuk! ;)

Great Newham Run is pretty much certain.. but I just haven't registered for it yet. Phillip and I have done it every year for the last few years and it's quite a good race, so I'm pretty sure we will be doing it again.

Last but not least, I want to do Swim Serpentine this year after I saw loads of people do it last year. The medal was huge last year so thats a total bonus. It's just very close to our holiday in September, so I need to double check we can definitely do it.

So, I've plenty of reasons to keep up my training and I think my body needs a bit of a switch up in routine instead of just running all the time. I think my body has gotten used to my running training and my weight has plateaued. So it's time to switch it up. More swimming, cycling and strength training ahead!

The above will also help for when I eventually book onto a triathlon. I still plan on doing one this year and I've found a couple that look ideal(a sprint, I'm starting small and being sensible!). The London Tri has been recommended a lot but I'm not sure how it will work out for travelling down with a bike and everything! So I'm looking at ones closer for the time being so I don't have to worry about too much on the day.

But that's it for what events I've got planned. I'll be restarting my training diary posts and trying to get back into a more regular blogging schedule.

Question: What events/races do you have planned? Do you ever hit a blip with no motivation after a race?

5 years ago,  I didn't know how to swim, I was at my highest weight and I was going on holiday to Egypt with Phillip. If you've ever been to Egypt before, you'll be well aware of the soaring temperatures, no matter the time of year.

I was thrown in at the deep end when we went on holiday(not literally). It was scorching hot and the only relief from the heat was to be in the pool. Everyone else was swimming and having fun and I would just cling to the sides of the pool.

I knew I had to learn to swim. With the encouragement of Phillip, I very barely learnt to swim whilst I was on holiday. I was doing a combination of breast stroke arms with front crawl kick and didn't move very far! The only time I really 'swam' as such was on holiday until I made the decision two years to start adult swimming lessons(best decision I've made in a long time and I highly recommend it!). Now - I can swim lengths and legnths with ease, I've done mile swims in an open water lake and I'll be taking on a Triathlon next year!

With that in mind, everyone who swims will have a swim bag. People have different items in their swim bags depending on what they do when they're swimming. If you're hardcore or you are in a club - you may end up having floats, pull buoys or fins but I just have a basic swim kit!

I'm quite a nosey person, I love seeing what people have in the kit bags, I figured it'd be fun to share what I have in my swim bag and some of the pieces I use when I take a trip to the pool!

SO, WHATS IN MY SWIM BAG?
Like I said, I have the basics in my swim kit that most(if not all), swimmers would usually have in their bag - I'll split the items into two sections, Swimming & Post Swim but first lets start with the bag!

Kit Brix Bag* - This is what I use this as my normal swimming bag and my open water swimming bag and it's fantastic!
The bag itself is super robust and the whole of the inside has a waterproof lining, so any wet items you put inside wont leak out anywhere. I typically store my bag in the car - and before I had this bag - my old bag got soaked through with my wetsuit/swim stuff and would soak in my boot or footwell of the car, not the best!

There's pockets on the inside and mesh pockets on the outside for storage of smaller items. When of the other great features(for those who do Triathlons), the bag has a zip on two sides of the bag that runs round the outer edge where you can attach another kit brix bag and use for your transition kit!
Swimming
So, essentials for swimming that I think every swimmer probably have are:

Swim Suit - I've got a Speedo swim suit. They are typically my swimsuit of choice - I have 2 different swim suits I swap between. I have owned an Adidas suit but it went out of shape and started to stretch and I haven't had that problem with Speedo.

I'm currently using the Speedo Endurance Plus Fit Kickback* and the Speedo Enurance Plus. There's nothing too fancy about the Speedo Endurance Plus suit - I just like the colour as it's a lovely all over purple. The Speedo Endurance Plus Fit Kickback has a 360 degree bra support(which is great for bustier women) and core muscle support for better positioning in the pool(I'm not entirely sure if this is making a difference or not or if it's my technique being adjusted in lessons). Either way, they're both flattering swim suits and they're comfortable and easy to move about in - which is important for swimming!

Goggles -  A much needed essential for swimming, unless of course you love getting chlorine in your eyes, which isn't particularly fun! I have two pairs of goggles, a pair for pool swimming and a pair for open water swimming.

I have the Aquasphere Kayenne Clear Lens* goggles - They're great, they fit really well, I've had no fogging or leakage with them and the clear lens is perfect for the pool. I find that tinted goggles can make things seem alittle dark and I don't like that!

For open water - I have the Zoggs Predator Flex Goggles which are also a superb goggle. They've got polarized lens which is perfect for swimming open water and protecting your eyes from the sun. They also fit really well and I've had zero problems with fogging or leaking with them. I'd recommend either of those goggles, both are great brands!
Swimming Hat - Now I suppose not everyone needs this - but ladies(& gents) with longer hair.. please please wear one! Not only will it mean that the hair doesn't get in your face when you're swimming but strands of hair wont end up tangled in other peoples hands either. This is an absolute pet peeve of mine and I hate it!

A basic one is more than sufficient - but I absolutely love mine! I love the colours and makes me pretty unique to spot in the water too. I'm pretty sure it was limited edition though, I don't think it's available anymore!

Water Bottle - Naive little me thought I wouldn't need any water when swimming(duh, I'm in water? ;) ) but you definitely still need to make sure you're hydrating when swimming - you still sweat.. even in the water and I usually get quite parched during a swimming lesson so always have a bottle of water handy. Im using a water bottle from HydrateM8 - A 900ml bottle with timing up the side to remind you when to drink during the day(super helpful!)

POST SWIM
So, now we're on to what I use after swimming! I tend to have the following in my bag:

Microfibre Towel - Most people use a normal towel I think - I decided to get a microfibre towel just because it's SO much more compact to fit inside my swim bag - I have a bunch of things inside my swim bag and usually includes my work stuff as I tend to swim in the morning before work - or I have my clothes ready to change in to.

The towel is super easy to dry with and is really quick drying too! I don't think I'd ever go back to using a regular towel.

Dry Bag* - Basically just a small waterproof bag that I can store my soggy wetsuit inside once I've finished swimming so I dont end up with a pool of water at the bottom of my bag and my other bag contents dont get wet. It's obviously not a necessity but I think it comes in handy.
3/2-IN-1 Shampoo/Conditioner - Not particularly fussed on brand - I'm usually in a rush to get to work in the morning so dont have time for a full shampoo and conditioner ritual but don't want my hair smelling of chlorine either.

Tangle Teezer -  A god send for those who tend to get very tangled hair. I used to brush my wet hair with a normal brush before and used to end up with a ball of hair.. or still very matted hair post swim but I've had no issues using a tangle teezer to de-tangle my hair. I dont know what I'd do if I forgot it one day!

Protein Bar/Protein Shake* - Always take either a protein bar or a protein shake with me for after a swim to help repair the muscles! A protein bar is so much easier - but a protein shaker that has two separate compartments to store water and protein powder that you can then mix together post swim works just as well. Currently using the Herbalife Protein Bars and Protein Powder* in case anyone was interested!


So that's pretty much everything that I take with me swimming! You can buy swimming products from all sorts of places - Either directly from swim brands or from stores/online stores - I did receive a few products from SimplySwim marked with an *, however, I have bought both swimming goggles and swimming costumes from them prior to working with them for a blog post - I highly recommend them as a company - they have loads of different swimming accessories and lots of choices of brands - if you're in need of any swimming kit, I'd definitely give them a look!

Question: Whats in your swim bag? Any must have items you'd  recommend?

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Disclosure: I received the bag/protein products from Herbalife as part of blog campaign. I also received the 4 items from Simply Swim for this blog post for free. I am not being paid to talk about or advertise any of these products. All opinions are as always, my own and are not affected by items gifted to me. See my policy page HERE for more detail.