In my last blog I mentioned the football match I played in for Colby Vets against Peel. Towards the end of the match ones our team, Roger, went down heavily after a 50/50 tackle. Eager to get on with the match we all encouraged him to get up and run-off the injury and he was soon be fine. After a minute or so it was evident that he wouldn't be able to continue, so he hobbled off to the sideline. In the dressing room after the match he was complaining that his ankle didn't feel right, but decided to have a beer and see how it felt later. Anyway, it didn't get any better so he thought it best to drive himself to A&E, where following an examination and x-ray was advised he had broken it! That'll probably be the end of Roger's season, but wishing him a speedy recovery, and it's such a shame as he's our leading goal scorer. One thing it did highlight again to me was that football and training for the Parish Walk aren't a great mix! I will definitely be winding up playing any more games after March.
After the 10km walk and football last Sunday I had a rest day on Monday. On Tuesday I met the usual crowd down at the NSC and rather than do laps round the perimeter we headed out on to the road. From the NSC it was a stroll along Peel Road, down on the quay and then we picked up the pace out past the nunnery. We then had a good blast up the hill past Kewaigue School, which whilst not that steep is a long drag and definitely one to get the lungs gasping for air. It wasn't a long walk, but by the time we got back to the NSC it felt like a decent workout nonetheless. Did my usual 5 mile run on Wednesday and on Thursday Dave Walker and I walked the same route as Tuesday and the Kewaigue hill was no easier!
8 of us turned up for Saturday's training walk, which was a good turnout and the most I can remember since I started going out with the group on Saturday mornings. We left the NSC and followed the Parish Walk route as far as the Old Castletown Road and instead of turning right at the end of Oatlands Road towards Santon Church, we headed back in Douglas. It was only just over 12 miles, but we did it at a decent pace, mainly interval training, so when we finished I felt like I had earned my sausage bap at Mash!
In this blog I thought I would do a rough outline of the training I will do over each week in the build up to the Parish Walk. It is not a rigid schedule, but as you have probably gathered it doesn't focus purely around walking, as for me doing different sports helps my overall fitness and stamina levels and improves my walking.
Saturday - this is the long walk for the week and I start off in January doing about 10 miles and build up by a mile or two each week, to 20 miles or so by the end of March. I probably won't walk much further than this in one training session, apart from the Sara Killey Memorial Walk at the end of April, which is ideally placed and also an ideal distance (50km/31.1 miles) to be used as preparation for the Parish Walk. From mid-May the distance of the long Saturday walk will start to reduce each week down to about 15 miles, but will get quicker.
Sunday - at the moment I have a football match every other week, but when I don't have a match I will use this as a rest day or just go out for a leisurely walk.
Monday - if I have played football on the Sunday then this will be my rest day. If not, then I will go out for a fairly easy run, anywhere from 5-8 miles.
Tuesday - football training on the astroturf for an hour and a half. If there is no football then I will meet the usual crowd for a fast session at the NSC doing interval training, but as the nights get a bit lighter I will head out on to the roads, with the distance between 5-10 miles.
Wednesday - a quicker 5-8 mile run or occasionally circuit training at the NSC, which Liz Corran runs, if Kyley talks me in to it!
Thursday - a walking session, similar to Tuesday
Friday - a rest day
As you can see not too many miles walking - maybe a maximum of 40 miles at the peak week. A couple of years ago as preparation I did nothing but walk at the same pace, as training for the Parish - probably doing 60/70 miles per week, mainly by myself. Firstly, I didn't feel as fit as I do now and secondly I was bored. So to reiterate what I have said previously; find other people to train with and focus on the quality of the training - shorter, quick sessions rather than just monotonously cranking out the miles.
Good result for Man U yesterday against Arsenal (my son is an Arsenal supporter), but a shame City won with a goal scored by someone who should have been sent off. All being well he should have 4 matches off to think about his behaviour. As my fellow blogger Ed is a Liverpool fan I won't mention that match!
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