Gym bag suggestions?

I need a new gym bag! Do you have any suggestions for me?

I’ve been looking at http://mobile.lyleandscott.com/barrel-bag/accessories/eagle/fcp-product/795?colour=fjord-blue but I haven’t been able to make up my mind.

What’s your gym bag and are you happy with it? Which gym bag should I buy?

Return to running after being sick

I returned to running today after having benched myself for the past three months. I was out for two months because of an injury in my hip from overtraining. And now I’ve been out for another month because the cough following a chest infection is being more stubborn than I am!

9 days till my next marathon and I’ve ran less than 60km since the beginning of July! I’m starting to get s.c.a.r.e.d.

HIIT: friend or fad?

A couple of times a year I’ll add HIIT (high-intensity interval training) to my exercise regimen. I admit it, I succumb to the fantasy of the supernormal improvements promised by HIIT. After a couple of weeks I’ll quit and go back to running the way I do the rest of the year. For me it is therefore effectively a way to shake my body out of what could otherwise become too much of a routine (if such a thing exists).

Online, people are always raving about how amazing HIIT is. The problem is that the people who are raving about it have only done it for a week or two - like I do, too (except for the raving - I still don’t know how I feel about it). The problem is that I have yet to hear about a person who’s done HIIT on a regular basis over a longer period of time. So I am none the wiser if it’s better or if it’s just different.

Have you tried HIIT? What’s your experience? Does it have its place in the short run? Does it work in the long run?

In short: Is HIIT a friend or a fad?

January round-up

• Returned to resistance training and increased my bench press from 10-10-10-10-10 to 15-15-15-15-17 with the same weight. Time to up the weight again for February. If I could only have that kind of progress every month!
• Started running again (now that it’s no longer 10 degrees outside). I ran my regular 4-mile track in 36:23 the first run of the year, 35:18 the second time around (which compares with 32:54 back in October). I’m more than two minutes behind, part of which I can blame on the ice. But I’m gonna get back on track (no pun intended).
• As for my NY resolution to be happier, I’m not sure if I am, but it sure helps to feel like I’m making progress on at least some areas. :)