Tuesday 25 February 2014
Only 6 weeks left and getting back on the wall
Well there's only 6 weeks left to the BIG DAY; The Brighton Marathon on April 6th where I find out if all this training has been worth it. Training has been going well and I had my best run so far on Thursday. I took the day off from work and did a 17 mile run from Littlehampton to Worthing, along the coast with a friend. It was nice and flat with beautiful views. If I can do 17 miles, I can 20 miles and if I can do 20 miles, then I'll be able to push myself to do 26.2 miles on the big day. A few more training runs to go before then though! How have you been getting on with yours? Any tips you'd like to share with me?
The threshold training I've been doing to build up my endurance has also been getting tougher. Recent sessions have consisted of 4 x 6 minutes of running at effort level 7/8 with a 2 min jog in between, 5 x 5 minutes with a 1 minutes jog in between and a really tough session of 10 x 3 minutes with 3 minutes jogging in between. If it makes me a better runner and more able to do really well on marathon day, then I say, bring it on. Plus it's always really good to test and push yourself - you in with me?
Well what else have I been doing apart from running? As well as my regular strength and conditioning training, I've also been doing quite a lot of climbing. I had a break from it just before Christmas and over the festive period but it felt good to get back onto the wall at the Adur Outdoor Centre in Shoreham. That's where I climb quite often, it's a good indoor smallish wall. There is a new wall opening up at Withdean Stadium soon which I'm very excited about as it's near where I live so nice not to have to go all the way over to Shoreham for a climb. It's being run by a company called High Sports who also have another wall over in Crawley at the K2 leisure centre. I'll still go over to Shoreham sometimes to climb though as it's nice to mix it up and climb at different places. I've recently been on climbing days out to the White Spider climbing wall in Surrey, very close to London and The Reach Climbing Wall in South East London. Both were great days, the White Spider Centre is fantastic and one of my favourite places to climb. It has so many fabulous climbs, all different levels from easy to really tough. The Reach is really good as well but not as good as White Spider in my opinion. It does however have a great cafe with lots of homemade cakes, gorgeous toasted baguettes, sandwiches, pasty's and even does some more substantial food as well. Only negative bit is that it doesn't cater for gluten free people which I always find a bit frustrating and means I've often been tempted to be naughty and eat a little gluten and wheat on the side. The White Spider Trip was organised by the women only Vertigirls climbing club, which I'm a co-director of and the Reach trip was organised by the Adur Centre, with more trips planned to look forward to.
I've been climbing now for about 4 and a half years and really do love it. I'm not the best climber in the world and probably never will be but that's ok with me and the enjoyment I get from it is enough. I've been climbing in quite a few places in the UK, such as the Lake District, Cornwall, Portland, Dorset, winter climbing at the Cairngorms and Derbyshire, otherwise known as the Peaks to climbers. I've also been up to the Roaches which is another part of the Peaks. Overseas I have climbed in the French Alps in a beautiful place called Ailefroide which is on the Italian border, close to Turin and also been on several climbing trips to the Czech Republic. If you love climbing you've got to try them!
Anyway, I hope you all have a great healthy week ahead. I've got a full week of training planned but resting next weekend as I have the Steyning Stinger half marathon which is really exciting. It's a trail on the Downs and is supposed to be really tough, very hilly and a bit daunting but I'm really looking forward to it :)
Bye for now,
Leonie x
Wednesday 5 February 2014
Marathon Training Continued....
GETTING DOWN WITH THE TRAINING
Well Marathon training has well and truly started, I've been pounding the pavements with Run Brighton on Sundays, carrying on with the runs with my running club on Thursdays and doing my regular Friday early morning runs in Stanmer Park. Friday is a really early morning session, my friend Fiona picks me up at 6.30am, Stanmer Park at 6.45am and do a wonderful beautiful 5 mile trail run. For those of you who haven't been to Stanmer Park before you really need to go and see it, It's so beautiful and is one of my favourite places to run. When we do the run on Fridays, it's a little dark starting out but it soon lightens up and it's wonderful to see the early morning sun coming up. Highly recommended :) I much prefer trail running, road running is ok but I find it a little boring, nothing better than trail running, getting out into the countryside, so beautiful.
As well as the running, I'm also doing regular bootcamp sessions in the week in order to work on strength and conditioning and core, which is so important in marathon training. I've also been doing some training called Kenyan Hills, which is a delight. It's very tough but lots of fun. Hill running is so important in marathon training as it builds up endurance and that is what you will need at the 20 miles stage, when you want to give up with only 6 miles to go - this is what will take you over the finish line. I have been doing the Kenyan Hills up Preston Drove, you simply run up and down a hill, not all the way to the top, just some of it, run up and down in sets, interval style, so I started doing 4 sets of 5 mins with 90 seconds recovery which is still light jogging. We've now stepped it up to 5 sets of 5 which is great but obviously tougher. I'm hoping to step it up again to 4 sets of 6 minutes.
The training in the cold wet weather has been going ok, quite pleased with myself as anyone who knows me knows that I hate the cold and can't stand the wind. I much prefer the rain, running in the rain is great, always makes me feel alive, as if I'm taking on the elements and if it's raining, it's usually a bit warmer.
For the long runs on Sundays with 'Run Brighton', I now have to get up at 6.00am which is a bit of a killer! I don't mind getting up in the week for work that early or for early morning bootcamps but I'm finding it a bit tough on Sundays. What's particularly worse is the fact that I have to eat porridge so early, around 6.20-6.30am which really isn't particularly appealing. I don't know about you but I can't eat as soon as I'm awake, I usually give myself about an hour before I eat and then eat breakfast at work. If like me you hate eating straight away then you need to plan ahead as it's never a good idea do a run more than 5 miles with nothing in your system! To be honest, the running is ok so far, it's the timings of getting up so early, forcing porridge down your face so early and getting all the timings right, that's the hard bit. I think I need to play about with it all and try different things over the next few weeks. A friend from the running club said it's a good idea to eat quite early on a Saturday eve so from now on, I'm going to try and eat at 7.30pm and eat pasta to give me energy for the next day. I think I should try eating a smaller bowl of porridge on Sunday mornings as well, that might help!
Well that's it for today - if like me you're still training through this weather then you'll probably look like I do in the photo with all the wind and the rain but keep going! Get those timings right and fuel yourself well so you stay well throughout your training.
See you next time,
Leonie
Well Marathon training has well and truly started, I've been pounding the pavements with Run Brighton on Sundays, carrying on with the runs with my running club on Thursdays and doing my regular Friday early morning runs in Stanmer Park. Friday is a really early morning session, my friend Fiona picks me up at 6.30am, Stanmer Park at 6.45am and do a wonderful beautiful 5 mile trail run. For those of you who haven't been to Stanmer Park before you really need to go and see it, It's so beautiful and is one of my favourite places to run. When we do the run on Fridays, it's a little dark starting out but it soon lightens up and it's wonderful to see the early morning sun coming up. Highly recommended :) I much prefer trail running, road running is ok but I find it a little boring, nothing better than trail running, getting out into the countryside, so beautiful.
As well as the running, I'm also doing regular bootcamp sessions in the week in order to work on strength and conditioning and core, which is so important in marathon training. I've also been doing some training called Kenyan Hills, which is a delight. It's very tough but lots of fun. Hill running is so important in marathon training as it builds up endurance and that is what you will need at the 20 miles stage, when you want to give up with only 6 miles to go - this is what will take you over the finish line. I have been doing the Kenyan Hills up Preston Drove, you simply run up and down a hill, not all the way to the top, just some of it, run up and down in sets, interval style, so I started doing 4 sets of 5 mins with 90 seconds recovery which is still light jogging. We've now stepped it up to 5 sets of 5 which is great but obviously tougher. I'm hoping to step it up again to 4 sets of 6 minutes.
The training in the cold wet weather has been going ok, quite pleased with myself as anyone who knows me knows that I hate the cold and can't stand the wind. I much prefer the rain, running in the rain is great, always makes me feel alive, as if I'm taking on the elements and if it's raining, it's usually a bit warmer.
For the long runs on Sundays with 'Run Brighton', I now have to get up at 6.00am which is a bit of a killer! I don't mind getting up in the week for work that early or for early morning bootcamps but I'm finding it a bit tough on Sundays. What's particularly worse is the fact that I have to eat porridge so early, around 6.20-6.30am which really isn't particularly appealing. I don't know about you but I can't eat as soon as I'm awake, I usually give myself about an hour before I eat and then eat breakfast at work. If like me you hate eating straight away then you need to plan ahead as it's never a good idea do a run more than 5 miles with nothing in your system! To be honest, the running is ok so far, it's the timings of getting up so early, forcing porridge down your face so early and getting all the timings right, that's the hard bit. I think I need to play about with it all and try different things over the next few weeks. A friend from the running club said it's a good idea to eat quite early on a Saturday eve so from now on, I'm going to try and eat at 7.30pm and eat pasta to give me energy for the next day. I think I should try eating a smaller bowl of porridge on Sunday mornings as well, that might help!
See you next time,
Leonie
Wednesday 22 January 2014
Am I Crazy? What have I Done?
Well I blame it on the Guinness totally! What am I talking about? I went to my running club's AGM last night and had 1 pint of Guinness and a friend talked me into running the marathon didn't she. I've always said I'd never do a marathon, as there's too much training involved, you have to be so committed and dedicated, especially over the tough winter months and I've always said it's too much as I hate the cold weather and it doesn't interest me. However, much to my surprise I said yes.
Can I just add that in my humble opinion my running club is the best running club ever, Brighton & Hove Women's Running Club, formerly called Running Sisters. Such a lovely group of ladies, so supportive and friendly. If any of you ever decide you want to join a running club, you should definitely check this group out. (Shameless plug I know!)
I've checked out the charity places and decided to raise money for the WWF .........no not the World Wrestling Federation, the World Wildlife Fund. People who know me know that this charity is really close to my heart and I support it a lot of the time. I'm particularly fond of chimpanzees and gorilla's and friends in the past have said that there is a particularly close similarity between myself and chimps, I've got no idea why! On a more serious note WWF is a charity that is really close to my heart, I think it's increibly sad that species are becoming extinct all the time and animals are losing their territories and organ-utans are losing their homes because of the world's ever increasing need for palm oil. One of the benefits of raising money for charity is I'm hoping the training over the cold miserable winter months will be made more bearable because I'm raising money for a charity that is really close to my heart. During those frost bite training sessions I can say to myself that I'm doing it for the animals, a good cause and it doesn't matter how long it takes me to finish the marathon as long as I do it. Also now that I am doing it for WWF, there's no way I can back out, I'm in for the long haul whether I like it or not. Anyway, I'm off for a training session I'll leave you with my final thought: The Panda Made Me Do It! :)
I'll be back shortly with how my training has gone so far - do get in touch if you have any questions or if you're running the marathon too!
Leonie x
Tuesday 14 January 2014
Introducing Maria Pali - Our Advanced Clinical and Sports Massage Therapist!
My name is Maria Pali and I’m an Advanced Clinical and
Sports Massage Therapist based at Target Body Training. I originally trained as
a holistic therapist in the 1990’s but felt inspired to become a sports massage
therapist when I trained for my first marathon; The Inaugural Brighton
Marathon. Next month I will have completed my 50th marathon and my
passion for helping people out of pain and injury (as well as my love of
running) hasn’t stopped.
So what does a Clinical and Sports massage therapist do? I specialize in treating the soft tissues of
the body. By this, I mean the muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia, which is
a type of connective tissue and is implicated in many injuries and pain.
Soft tissue conditions that I have treated range from back
and neck pain, piriformis syndrome, frozen shoulder, migraines and headaches
and RSI’s. Injuries I have treated include tennis elbow, rotator cuff injuries,
sprains and strains and running injuries. I also have experience working
with arthritic conditions and fibromyagia.
I use a range of techniques including deep tissue and sports
massage, myofascial release, ultrasound therapy, kinesio taping, medical
acupuncture and hot and cold applications. Treatments are tailored to the
individual and often fuse several techniques.
I don’t just deal with pain and injury. I also offer 2nd
and 3rd trimester pregnancy massage as well as luxurious hot stone
massages.
My neck and shoulder treatments are particularly popular. They not only help to alleviate pain but can also be incredibly relaxing.
My neck and shoulder treatments are particularly popular. They not only help to alleviate pain but can also be incredibly relaxing.
It’s great to be part of The Target Body training team and I
do look forward to meeting you.
So you have met the whole Target Body Training Team - we'll be back tomorrow for another blog by Leonie Moore - See you then!
So you have met the whole Target Body Training Team - we'll be back tomorrow for another blog by Leonie Moore - See you then!
Monday 13 January 2014
Introducing Personal Trainer, James Myers
Hey guys!
Last week you met Leonie who leads our boot camps. Today we're introducing you to James Myers! He is also a Personal Trainer and knows what it is to live a busy life but take the plunge and change an unhealthy lifestyle to one where he saw results. Here's what he says below:
Having been in the restaurant business since my 20s I decided 25 years on to sell my restaurants and make a career and lifestyle change.
I’ve always loved sport and been a member of a gym, however late nights, socialising and partying always seemed to take their toll both energy wise and time wise.
In 2010 I decided that a change of career should mean a change of lifestyle, I'd had enough of feeling unfit, overweight and permanently tired.
Within 6 months of the change I had dropped 22 pounds in weight and felt good again.
This was achieved through a change of diet, combined with a consistent, simple and enjoyable training workout program.
Having qualified in Personal Training at Level 3, Kettlebells and Padwork, I can help you to achieve your goals be it weight loss, muscle gain, core training, increased flexibility and agility or general fitness training .
I can design exercise programs that work within your lifestyle and give nutritional advice that is sensible, balanced and manageable.
Let’s set a goal and work together to achieve it.
I DID IT FOR MYSELF....NOW LET'S DO IT FOR YOU!
James knows what it is to change a lifestyle into one which is healthy long term. He is happy to do some FREE half hour sessions to introduce himself and let you meet him before you decide to commit. If you live in the Brighton and Hove area and could do with a free half hour consultation then give us a ring below and we'll get you booked in asap! If you missed last weeks blog then hit the link below to see our latest video.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152102173607318&set=vb.102896623091486&type=2&theater
info@targetbodytraining.co.uk
07809369506
See you soon!
Hannah
P.S. Don't forget to get down to Preston Park on Saturdays at 10,30am and Wednesday mornings at 7am for boot camp - it's only £5!!!!
Last week you met Leonie who leads our boot camps. Today we're introducing you to James Myers! He is also a Personal Trainer and knows what it is to live a busy life but take the plunge and change an unhealthy lifestyle to one where he saw results. Here's what he says below:
Having been in the restaurant business since my 20s I decided 25 years on to sell my restaurants and make a career and lifestyle change.
I’ve always loved sport and been a member of a gym, however late nights, socialising and partying always seemed to take their toll both energy wise and time wise.
In 2010 I decided that a change of career should mean a change of lifestyle, I'd had enough of feeling unfit, overweight and permanently tired.
Within 6 months of the change I had dropped 22 pounds in weight and felt good again.
This was achieved through a change of diet, combined with a consistent, simple and enjoyable training workout program.
Having qualified in Personal Training at Level 3, Kettlebells and Padwork, I can help you to achieve your goals be it weight loss, muscle gain, core training, increased flexibility and agility or general fitness training .
I can design exercise programs that work within your lifestyle and give nutritional advice that is sensible, balanced and manageable.
Let’s set a goal and work together to achieve it.
I DID IT FOR MYSELF....NOW LET'S DO IT FOR YOU!
James knows what it is to change a lifestyle into one which is healthy long term. He is happy to do some FREE half hour sessions to introduce himself and let you meet him before you decide to commit. If you live in the Brighton and Hove area and could do with a free half hour consultation then give us a ring below and we'll get you booked in asap! If you missed last weeks blog then hit the link below to see our latest video.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152102173607318&set=vb.102896623091486&type=2&theater
info@targetbodytraining.co.uk
07809369506
See you soon!
Hannah
P.S. Don't forget to get down to Preston Park on Saturdays at 10,30am and Wednesday mornings at 7am for boot camp - it's only £5!!!!
Wednesday 8 January 2014
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year Everyone! I haven't posted anything for quite a while so thought it was high time I did! I hope you had a great Christmas and are excited about what 2014 will bring. At Target Body Training we have been working hard behind the scenes and we have a couple of new team members that I'd love to introduce you to. You will be hearing more from them in this blog as the weeks continue. They'll be sharing their passions, snippets of helpful information and answer any questions you have about fitness, injuries, eating habits and much more.
Leonie is an inspirational trainer and excellent motivator, who believes fitness should be fun. The bootcamps combine resistant and cardio work, which help you get fitter, stronger, improve your core strength and help you lose weight as well as being really good fun. Leonie likes to show people that getting fit doesn't always have to be in a gym. She has level 2 in Gym Instruction and level 3 in Personal Training qualifications, as well as being fully qualified in Kettlebells Instruction and a fully qualified Boxercise Instructor.
As a Personal Trainer, Leonie is passionate about helping clients reach their potential, getting the best out of the sessions and achieving their goals. Leonie will work with you in order to design exercise programs that will push you in order to get the necessary results but are also realistic, as well as being highly enjoyable which is so important in fitness because let's face it, if you don't enjoy it you won't continue doing it. Leonie is also a co-director of a women's rockclimbing group and regularly plays league tennis in the Brighton & Hove Parks League.
I've had the privilege of working with Leonie for a while now and she continues to amaze me with her excitement for learning new things and dedication to her work and you. If you have any questions for Leonie or anything mentioned above do drop us an email and we'll do our best to get back to you asap.
That's it for today but we'll be back tomorrow with some more news!
To kick us off we have the one and only Leonie Moore! Leonie has been running our boot camps for a number of weeks now and is fantastic at it - you can see her in action in the Target video featured here https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hannah-Smith-Personal-Training/102896623091486
Leonie is an inspirational trainer and excellent motivator, who believes fitness should be fun. The bootcamps combine resistant and cardio work, which help you get fitter, stronger, improve your core strength and help you lose weight as well as being really good fun. Leonie likes to show people that getting fit doesn't always have to be in a gym. She has level 2 in Gym Instruction and level 3 in Personal Training qualifications, as well as being fully qualified in Kettlebells Instruction and a fully qualified Boxercise Instructor.
As a Personal Trainer, Leonie is passionate about helping clients reach their potential, getting the best out of the sessions and achieving their goals. Leonie will work with you in order to design exercise programs that will push you in order to get the necessary results but are also realistic, as well as being highly enjoyable which is so important in fitness because let's face it, if you don't enjoy it you won't continue doing it. Leonie is also a co-director of a women's rockclimbing group and regularly plays league tennis in the Brighton & Hove Parks League.
I've had the privilege of working with Leonie for a while now and she continues to amaze me with her excitement for learning new things and dedication to her work and you. If you have any questions for Leonie or anything mentioned above do drop us an email and we'll do our best to get back to you asap.
That's it for today but we'll be back tomorrow with some more news!
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