12 March 2023

MONDAY - Started off the morning strong with a 5k run. I went down a running science rabbit hole and learnt I probably should concentrate on increasing my aerobic capacity if I want to run without muscle burn. Aerobic capacity is the amount of oxygen you can distribute around your body and you use fat as a source of energy. The higher the better. I think, because I'm running an intensity level to get close to a 30 minute 5k, I quickly end up in an anaerobic zone, which means my muscles are demanding more oxygen than I can supply, lactic acid builds up and my muscles get more fatigued, and I'm running in pain and I'm not using carbohydrates as fuel. This video explains the science of it.

TUESDAY - As well as continuing on with job search, I've been working out my intensity zones for treadmill running. At the mo I think they are as follows but likely to be very inaccurate (I guess this is why people end up getting fancy watches with heart rate monitors in).

Most of running should be in zone 1. Overtime my aerobic capacity will increase so what is zone 2 above will become my zone 1 in a few months. There's this whole go slow to go fast theory in endurance running which Floris brings alive in his video.

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY So I drove son to school on the way to the gym and we could both smell burning. I also could hear an unhealthy sound from the front right wheel area. I put off going to mechanic until the afternoon so I could get the gym session in. I shouldn't have. On the way to mechanic the tyre blew - it was a very loud bang. I was 2 minutes from the mechanic. I phoned Luke up and he came and helped me change the tyre. Turned out the suspension spring had broken and was digging into the tyre. This must have happened a few weeks before as I could hear something was not quite right but kind of ignored it and hoped it'd go away.

FRIDAY I completed my first run trying to keep in zone 1 intensity. I needed to slow my pace from about 6.5 min per km to 7.17 min per km. Still my average heart rate was too fast. I hovered between zone 2 and 3 mostly. If I go any slower I'll be walking.

SATURDAY Trip to Newhaven Fort where my nephew was hanging out for his 8th birthday. My son's friend came along too and unfortunately was car sick. I almost cleaned the car in the morning - luckily enough I was too lazy to do so. That's now tomorrow's job.

SUNDAY Morning trip down to the local hardware shop for white vinegar and a scrubbing brush - £8.50. I walked past Savers, a Superdrug kind of shop and checked if they had the same items. They did - £2.20. Walked back and got a refund from hardware shop. Since I've not been working I've become more thrifty. I also reduced my gym bill from £65 to £36 - I really don't need access to all gyms in the UK, just my local one. Spent an hour cleaning the car - time will tell if I've got rid of the vomit smell. A couple of friends and their nearly 2 year old came round for a cuppa which gave me a break from cleaning. And I managed to cook a roast chicken dinner!