Body Combat

Instructor came over half way through the class to ask me if I'd been dieting - and how had I lost so much weight - result!
She said that she really noticed tonight because I was wearing a fitted t-shirt - so I think it could be worth having a massive t-shirt & vest clear out soon - before spring arrives. Which ties neatly into a conversation I was having with Mrs Kitty Stitch last night.....

Class was great - even coped better with the push up section. I was slightly hampered though by my trousers deciding to loop over my trainers, causing my feet to slide mid push up!

Music

New label for a new project - playlists. A & I are collating ideas for great playlists to exercise to - the kind of music that actually gets you running faster, helps you forget how dull the treadmill is, makes you feel good about exercising.

I will be setting up a sub blog for these - but will duplicate here under the label of playlists.

So, some content!

I obtained the following from fellow WLR members:

• U Don't Know Me - Armand Van Helden (Featuring Duane Harden)
• Work It Out - Beyoncé
• When You`re Gone - Bryan Adams Feat. Melanie C
• Rio - Duran Duran
• Love It When You Call - The Feeling
• Clint Eastwood (Ed Case Mix) - Gorillaz
• Devil Inside - INXS
• Even Better Than The Real Thing - U2
• Open Up - Leftfield
• Rescue Me - Madonna
• True Faith - New Order
• Trouble - Pink
• Voodoo People - The Prodigy
• Jesus In A Camper Van - Robbie Williams
• Lil Star - Kelis featuring Cee-Lo

And also:

• Era - The Mass
• Nightwish - Dark Chest Of Wonders
• Nickleback - Another Hole In The Head
• Waterboys - Rags
• Acroma - Motive
• Shakespear's Sister - Can U Wait That Long?
• Drist - Stripped
• Nightwish - Nemo
• Suzanne Vega - Small Blue Thing

Powerwalk

We walked last night instead of running as A is still not 100% post cold. Really enjoyed it - good natter & we kept the pace going well.

Operational Lungs

G was having the same problem last night that A was experiencing on Sunday - phlegm occupying the bits of her lungs that should be devoted to absorbing oxygen. It's given her voice a Kathleen Turner edge though!

I finally nailed sculling backwards last night - even managed a mini backwards glide at the end (and by mini, I mean a glide that could be measured with a normal 30cm ruler!). Still can't handle the switching between forwards and backwards though.

Cross Training Sunday

I was so rubbish at biking yesterday! We (Husband, M&A) went to Bracknell Forest where I discovered that my confidence on single track has declined over winter to an even lower level. Gave up & joined A on forest tracks instead - she is still getting over a cold so her lungs weren't delivering enough for lengthy riding.

After lunch, headed home & went to the gym in the evening. I was feeling upset that I was so rubbish in the morning but attempted to turn this into energy on the treadmill! Sadly, the new Take That track seemed to help me to achieve this! 15 mins on the X trainer, 22 mins interval work on the treadmill.
Then joined Husband in the spa pool for a bit.

I saw my sister D on Saturday night - very enjoyable evening even though we lost the rugby. She put things in perspective for me - I'm very privileged to be able to devote as much time as I do to exercise. My niece can't be transported in the double buggy with her little brother anymore - which seriously curtails D's mobility and options - wheelchairs with buggy attachments for siblings don't seem to exist! She's trying to work out how to fit 1 session of exercise into her schedule atm though - hope she can!

Have Skates!

Bought Skates on Saturday - G and I went on a trip to Basingstoke & both bought John Wilson Mystiques. I also now have a lovely pink skate bag & raspberry pink blade holders.

I had a run of truly rubbish hire skates from Gosport where I felt I was balancing twice - once onto the skate as there was no support for my ankles and then again on the ice. And as for sharpness....
We spent about 45 mins skating with our new purchases - having sharp skates that fit me really does make a difference - I feel I can trust them more and I'm just baalncing on the ice! We both need to play around with the lacing though as G's toes went numb & I got pain in the arches of my feet which eased off when I loosened the laces.

31:50 to run 5K

I'm getting there!

Went to the gym on Tuesday with Husband - he couldn't swim as the pool was closed but suggested that I stay & exercise whilst he went shopping. Pushed up my 10kph treadmill stint to 22 mins successfully.

No Body Combat on Wed as I was driving back from Rickmansworth - really don't miss the joys of the M25 in rush hour.

Really good jog from the house tonight - 31:50 - which is excellent! I think the interval training is paying off and it was a good idea to do a timed jog the day after a rest day.

Size 14

Skating last night - really enjoyed the lesson as we ended up with more 1-1 time than usual with the instructor. We tried switching from forwards to backwards - with mixed success but were assured that we were "progressing"! Then worked on trying to speed up our backwards sculling so that we get enough momentum to finish in a glide.... definitely work in progress...

Anyhow, bought a wide denim belt today masquerading as a skirt from Next - size 14 and it fits! Need to consult with Husband to check that it suits me as we don't have a full length mirror in the house - but it fits. And it's size 14.

Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14 Size 14

Did I mention that IT FITS AND IT'S SIZE 14?!

ps Husband has seen the wide belt & it has passed.

The Chain

Body Combat on Wed - acquitted myself better than usual on the push ups - but they are still hard work!

Then went to the gym on Thursday whilst husband swam. Did my usual CV - with the 20 mins on the treadmill at target average of 10kph - but had enough time to hit 3 weights machines.



Saturday - I had a lovely day at Nirvana Spa which I kicked off with my first visit to their gym - enjoyed listening to my newly purchased Mika album.



15 mile bike ride today with Husband and M - M's fave New Forest route which starts from (but doesn't actually go into) Markham Woods. I walked down 1 scary slope - but that's 2 less than last time! No falls, no punctures, but Husband managed to destroy his chain - already placed the order for new one from Wiggle. He did consider stainless steel to enhance the SNB's shininess but has gone for the 9 gear equiv of mine.
Overcast day, not too cold. Saw a herd of deer hurtling towards the track. They did an impressive switchback when they realised that there was a small child on a bike on the track (v.scary, obviously!).

I enjoyed the ride particularly as we went in the morning for a change - definitely quieter & it makes better use of the day as when we go in the afternoon, we tend to have a lazy morning. I missed A - especially at the end as she is the only one of us organised enough to bring a flask of coffee!

Level 3 Ice Skating

We passed!

Level 1 was standing up from a sitting position, basic skating forwards, gliding and dipping, stepping around on the spot.

Level 2 was moving backwards, half snow plough stop, forward skating and 2 foot glide on a curve.

Level 3 was a forward one foot glide in a straight line, 2 foot jump skating forward, forward and backward sculling and one foot glide on a curve - inside edge.

G and I will now be buying ourselves skates as a reward!

Roll on level 4.....

Another Muddy Sunday

Very pleased with myself on Friday at the gym - I averaged 10kph for 20 minutes. This is a significant step towards achieving my goal of doing the 5K Race for life in 30 minutes (I hope!). Just need to work up the time now to 30 mins - which is definitely achievable as I didn't feel too tired after this session.


Just as important, Husband swam - his knee is still not 100% perfect, but it was brilliant that he managed to swim his 50 lengths.


On Sunday, did the HCC Farley Mount route with Husband and M. It's normally a reasonable ride - not too difficult - but not today! Ended up carrying my bike down the Clarendon Way section - the mud was clagging up the wheels so much that they wouldn't turn. And just 10 feet after scraping the mud off to free the wheel, it clagged up again! Deep joy. I had a bramble scratch my forehead so had an arty trickle of blood down my face towards the end! Husband's knee was playing up - he is loads faster than he was.


Gorgeous snowdrops on banks everywhere. And I can't beleive that it didn't rain on us given that it had been raining on and off all weekend.

On a completely unrelated topic, I was really chuffed when one of Husband's work acquaintances who we bumped into at the gym on Friday told me how impressed with his apparent loss of weight. He's actually lost fat though rather than weight - and is gaining loads of muscle - definitely a good thing!

Ireland, Skating, Gym

Jogging on Friday - which demonstrated that rest days are important as I took about 1 minute longer to complete the route than last time!

Fabulous weekend in Northern Ireland - courtesy of C & R's engagement party. Spent Saturday walking around the 60 acres that comprise the Ulster Folk Museum - lots of buildings form all over Ireland from churches to teeny tiny cottages that apparently accomodated families with 7 kids.

Boogying on Saturday night at the party - the highlight was Husband whisking me around to Mack the Knife.

More walking on Sunday - we went up to see Giant's Causeway. The coast was beautiful and it stayed dry! Also went to Bushmills (discovered that I do like whiskey despite hating scotch) and to Dunluce castle. Husband was suffering though - he had pain in his ankles and knees by the end of the afternoon.

Flew back on Monday. Skating with G - our last session before next week's test. A couldn't make jogging last night so I spent the evening cooking soup. Missed Body Combat tonight as I had a dentist appointment - dragged myself down the gym (seriously lacking motivation!).

Gym & Food

Gym tonight - Husband was to swim but Esporta decided to shut the pool - as he didn't have his gym kit, he heroically hit the supermarket whilst I exercised. We are getting less and less impressed as time goes on - for example, it's over a month since they promised to contact us to discuss our membership fees (we are being overcharged atm). The only thing keeping us from changing to David Lloyd is the Body Combat instructor and unpredictable congestion...
10 mins on X Trainer, 20 mins interval jogging and then some weights - lat pulldown and the leg press.

Watched Truth about Food on BBC2 tonight which was all about dieting. Some interesting stuff about soup and dairy. Soup fills you up for longer (apparently) than if you were to eat its ingredients in soid form washed down with water - all down to how your stomach processes water. Dairy - there's some indication that calcium may cause more fat to be egested. Rest of the programme covered food diary (tick), portion control (tick) and protein filling you up (tick).

Less Chocolate

Jogging with A on Tuesday - same time as our last outing which was good. The shorter run intervals definitely seem to deliver better times than just 2 long-ish runs.

Body Combat last night - I managed some of the push up exercises but still don't feel I've mastered them!

Weighed myself this morning - not somethig I do often - and I was 5kg lighter than at beginning of November - not bad considering that Christmas happened during the gap! Trouble is, this means that my calorie allowance goes down - by 2 chunks of chocolate a day. How will I cope??