Training starts.

Last Thursday I started "fitness training for referees" in preparation for the 2010/2011 season.

I haven't done any training for well over a month as I have been giving my body a rest after last season.  So this was hard work!

Started off with a Cooper Test. Run as far as you can in 12 minutes.  I managed 6 laps of the rugby pitch, which gives me an average distance for my age.  Not bad for the first run in over a month.

Then straight into simulated Bleep Test, but without the beeps.  We just ran as fast as we could over the course for 12 minutes.

Then straight into a J.A.M. Test which is a special referee fitness test, designed to simulate the kind of running we do in a game.  Again, no specific measurement, just kept going for 12 minutes.

Finally 6 uphill sprints.  Each sprint being about 100 yards.

By the end of the Cooper Test my lungs were bursting.  By the end of the Bleep Test my legs were like jelly and by the very end I just wanted to be sick.  Still I stuck the course and didn't drop out, so for a first fitness session of the season I was pleased I managed to stay the course.

The next morning getting out of bed was a major hurdle.

Only another 10 weeks to go!!