Tough Mudder training - fitness check up

Remember this guy?

This is the fearsome Martin, fitness instructor, P.E. champ, all round good egg, previously of the 26th Regiment Royal Artillery, and was first introduced to you back in December when he put us through our paces in a combined Bleep Test and exercise / torture session. Since then he has been tracking our fitness (remember Kenny complaining about our fitness plan?) and has reappeared like a scary energiser bunny to whisk us back to the gym to check our progress. 

*For 'gym' read 'school hall'; we're doing this on a budget, people!

Of course, having spent two months learning how to do press-ups, working on our sit-ups and counting every step we take, we're clearly in tip-top peak physical condition, right?

Shoddy and Kariss get lunging.

After all, we work in a school and everyone knows that running around after small children is hard work. It's certainly my excuse for eating so many biscuits. So immediately after

work I struggled into my sports gear (thank you, whoever invented the sports bra, thank you!), rushed to the gym, ran back to Kenny's classroom to herd him - protesting - back to the hall and joined Kariss and Shoddy in a warm up.

Cold     ......    warming up     ........     bit warmer    ..........     raring to go!

So there we were, warmed-up and mildly enthusiastic to see how much we'd improved since last Bleep Test only... we hadn't.

Kenny had to drop out pretty quickly because he was having trouble breathing (get yourself a new inhaler, Kenny!!), shortly followed by Kariss and then me, leaving Shoddy going for a short while longer before she too gave up the ghost and stopped.

Not only had we not improved but Kenny and I had got worse scores than last time! I have to say I'm disappointed in myself. If I can't run that far then how am I going to last at Tough Mudder? 12 miles, when I can't last ten minutes?! Not to mention how exhausted I'm going to be after the obstacles and the added extras - the fire, mud, electricity, ice and water? Disappointed doesn't really cut it; terrified is closer.

Anyway, after the Bleep Test we moved onto our mat exercises  - press ups and sit ups, thankfully no bonus plank this time! Martin may have been a bit disparaged by our progress as well because he didn't even make us do jump-ups. I think all of us found this part of the test much easier than we did back in December. I hit 30 press ups and Kenny doubled his PB (send him some congratulations here).

Shoddy, Kariss and Kenny looked knackered by the end.

After that poor showing, I am definitely going to have to jump back into training but as it is half term this coming week (at last!), I'm going to take the opportunity to exercise every day. I've got off to a good start by covering over 5km yesterday whilst leafleting for my brother and simultaneously running away from Zombies, which also coincides with one of the weekly tasks on my new training regime (again, thanks Martin). Martin also sold us some press-up bars which are.... well they are just evil. Never has anything made me feel more despondent and less fit. In one day I went from being able to do 30 press-ups to, one the bars, none. That's right, I couldn't do a single one. 

And, if you're very nice, I'll post the video of me failing to do so and collapsing on my face!

Comment below if you want to see me embarrass myself....

112 days to go.