With 50 days to go until the start of Stage X I think the Athlytic app says it all today. The result of a Versaclimber class at David Fairlamb Fitness at 0715 followed by a slow 24 mile run and a double PT session back at Dave’s gym is “overtrained”. That’s exactly what I wanted and tomorrow’s effort is going to take some digging in to get through (more on that later).
The Versaclimber session gets the week off to a great start. Support Man Carlton tried one last week and it took him 3 days to recover. Speaking of which, I stopped off at Carlton’s house at today’s half way point for one of his famous omelettes. Delicious.
Then Carlton and another of my old running mates, Carl Hudson, joined me for a few miles. Carl turned up in his Run Geordie Run t-shirt which I thought was a nice touch.
I left Carl and Carlton and headed east at Newcastle Race Course aiming to get back to Dave’s gym at half 4 for a double PT session. I arrived with plenty of time to spare but was in no fit state to change into fresh training gear. I did however, managed to get some time on the Vibroplate machine which helped loosen me up.
The PT sessions involved a lot of strength and cardio work and it turned out to be another great workout. Admittedly, I didn't reach the heights of recent weeks but I couldn't fault the effort.
With just over 5000 active calories burned today, I continue to be surprised at how little fuel I’m needing. Porridge, 3 bananas and the aforementioned omelette was all I needed today. Gone are the days of using sugary so called energy bars. I should report, however, that I couldn’t face having any food tonight so I’m already looking forward to my porridge for breakfast tomorrow.
Tomorrow’s task is very straightforward but challenging. It's not something I've ever attempted before. I'm after a long workout that won't put a great deal of pressure on my joints. With that in mind, I’ll be trying my best to climb the equivalent height of Mount Everest on my Versaclimber in the Run Geordie Run gym. That’s 29,032 ft (8,850m) or the same kind of effort as 15 of Dave’s Versaclimber classes. It could turn out to be a long day!
Speaking of which, here is a short video which really captures the spirit of what a Versaclimber class looks like. I'd recommend anyone give it a try. If Carlton can manage it......
