Do the right thing?

Skating on Monday - started the level 5 moves which include our first spin and cross overs. It's seeming scary but I think achievable atm.

Good run with A yesterday - 45:34 to do the 5.68km which compares to 46:19 on the 20th - definitely progress.

I'm struggling today - I was given a cadburys flake easter egg by a printer and I'm failing to do the right thing - which is to give it away! It has 2 flakes - which are 178.5 cals each....... and I should be saving my cals as it's Husband's turn to cook tonight and I hate saying "please can you make this low cal?"..... but I am planning on going to Body Combat later.......conscience, arrrrrggghhhhhh...

Not a lazy weekend...

Jogging with A on Friday evening – we didn’t get anything like as wet as I thought we would, given that it was raining en route to A’s. I’m now in non-thermal tights as the weather is gradually improving. A’s waterproof is looking huge on her now – she’s definitely starting to look more svelte and trim.

Digging on Saturday – planting potatoes at the allotment. We’re doing charlotte for the 3rd year, but are experimenting with pink fir apple as a maincrop. None of us eat masses of spuds and M has an aversion to floury potatoes – so having 2 lots of salad varieties will probably suit us better. Good to see D down there – who was the beneficiary of all the spare chitted seed potatoes.

And boogying too on Sat – saw a Guns’n’Roses tribute band at the Brook then went to the Dungeon. I danced lots (well, bounced around lots) and was sporadically joined by J, S&X. Very grateful to S for the lift home.

31.7 km mountain biking route from the house on Sunday morning. A wasn’t feeling good so M&A headed back around the halfway point – which was a shame as the 2nd half was so much easier than the first. I’m starting to think that getting all who set out to complete the route is turning into a new major objective! I’m enjoying the routes from the house – so good not to have to mess about with roofracks & to spend time driving to the start. It’s a good reminder about how much countryside we have on our doorstep.

Sunscreen – must start using it again! Didn’t this weekend but looking at the area on my face that was most mushed in my accident, it’s now discolouring, giving me white patches. Discounting leprosy, I figure that it’s worth re-discovering my factor 40 as something I don’t leave the house without applying…..

Shallow

Walked down the hill last night for a meal with a former colleague J & her flatmate K - although I'm not sure that 30mins walking completely justified a fab plate of tagliatelle, cream and mushrooms... bad indigestion followed & I couldn't sleep.

So I read instead - Louise Kean's "The Perfect 10" - which despite being a light chicklit novel has well observed description of what it's like to lose lots of fat & how it impacts your head. Now thinking about "what's it all for?" is making me think - I'm not down as such, but definitely not overcome with the joys of spring. The main character stating how she's become more vain definitely hit home! Feeling shallow about being so focussed on my weight, my appearance and my own fitness level.

31:04 - getting there

Went for a run last night from the house - 31:04 - so I'm getting there! Convinced that I lost a few seconds by messing about by the headphones/specs/buff interface on my left ear way too much. Fat Boy Slim may be getting erased from my playlist as his track has a getting slower & slower bit - not great for timing.

We passsed!

G and I both passed level 4 ice skating tonight - we both felt we'd been judged a bit generously - but the tester did point out that she's looking for us making roughly the right moves, getting the gist of it - not making perfect moves.

Having said that, I was so not convinced that I'd done enough to satisfy one bit (turning from backwards to forwards) that even after she said that I'd passed, I asked to be able to do it again [did it marginally better - but hey!].


Level 4 (in case you are interested) involved skating backwards into a 2 foot glide, going forwards & turning to backwards, going backwards & turning to forwards, one foot glides on the outside edges and forwards chasses.

Race For Life Target looks achievable...

Body Combat on Wed
4 tracks from the new routine, all the rest from the old. There’s a tricky bit that includes a jump sidekick and a flying forwards kick….

Gym Friday
Very pleased with myself as I did 5.01km in 30 minutes – phase 2 of achieving the 5K Race for Life in sub 30 minutes. Phase 3 will be to work further on speed and to add some incline into my treadmill work. I also need to ensure that I do at least 1 full speed 5K run per week – hoping that with the clocks going forward, I may be able to start doing more off road routes… Thanks to some very generous sponsors, my fundraising target is also looking achievable - as you can see from the ad on the right.

Swim Saturday
It’s a bit cheeky including this here as it was only 11 lengths – and that was only because our shower was out of action and we felt weird about going to the gym just to use theirs!

Bike Ride Sunday
Route from the house with Husband, C, M&A, S&X and J. C has her own SNB (shiny new bike) although it looked even better christened with a little mud!

14.3 mile route I cobbled together from Tracklog OS maps, going up through Owslebury and then over to Twyford Down. Water Lane is normally an entertaining climb – lots of tree roots – but will be avoiding it for a while as horse hooves have made it an un-rideable quagmire in places.

J headed back earlier – she was on Husband’s old bike and the seatpost was too high for off road for her. Loved it over Twyford Down – interesting tracks and good views. Good to see Husband back up to speed – and very good to see A up front! M did help with back markering – but I’ve warned Husband that he needs to take more turns with me when it’s a large-ish group.

Nice problem - but still a problem

Dressed up smart-ish for a meeting today - crisis 1 was not being able to find the only pair of smart black trousers that fit me atm. Crisis 2 was not having a jacket that goes with the only smart skirt that fits me atm. Crisis 3 (more of a mini crisis though) is that the only smart skirt is a tad loose - to a level where I will need to be careful to wear long-ish tops with it to avoid displaying underthings to the world - and I only bought it in Jan (tweedy Hobbs thing)....

Losing fat is costing me a small fortune in clothing - and I resent handing over dosh for smart work stuff I only wear once a month or so. And even more bras now need to be consigned to charity shop bags (now 36B - how depleted is that!).

Anyhow, skating went well on Mon although I suspect I won't be passing level 4 at next Monday's test unless I miraculously get better by then or unless the instructor is very very kind!

Last night - good run with A. 46:19 to do the 5.6km route with a good chat as a bonus! Planning on running with work buddies starting next month after work as part of Race for Life prep.

In Laws do Cycling

Went cycling on Saturday with Husband & his parents in the Forest – very very impressed with them both!

Mum-ish hadn’t been on a bike for approx 16 years and Dad-ish hadn’t done much more than that. We hired bikes for them both from Burley & found an empty coach park for them to practise before heading off. We’d chosen a route with loads of options to cut short or to take an easier route, but all not necessary. We did over 15 miles – mostly off road – including a ford and some changing of gears. Both said they were saddle sore afterwards. Even more impressive is that on Sunday, both of them were fine – no aches/pains/strains – which indicates that they are fit!


On Sunday, did some walking coz we went to London for Mum-ish’s Mothering Sunday day out – very pleasant wander across Hyde Park as we made our way from the Serpentine Gallery to the National Gallery.

Went to gym later on – 10mins X trainer, 26mins interval work on treadmill. Think I’m ready to push it up to 28mins next time.

Camouflage shorts and pink wellies

I was rubbish at skating on Monday - for some reason I just didn't feel very stable - ah well! Didn't help that Husband & I made big decisions about mortgages, homes & the future direction of our lives in about 15 mins before I left the house...

Tuesday - gym - 26mins of interval training on the treadmill with no ill effects - it's going well! Snuck in a very brief session on the rower weights machine and 1o mins on the x trainer too.

Body Combat on Wed - the most intense it's going to be for a while as Juliana starts to phase in the new routine next week. So I don't feel too guilty about arranging to go out with a former work buddy next Wed. Some new clothes arrived in the post - very pleased with some long-ish camouflage shorts that are going to look great with my pink wellies at the allotment this summer.

Tonight - proper rest day unless traipsing around the supermarket counts!

No Longer Obese Bird

Weighed myself today - 79 kilos which makes me un-obese! I'm not a big fan of BMI measurements as they don't differentiate between muscle mass & fatty mass - but I can't pretend that I'm not chuffed to fall into a different category.

Gym on Saturday evening, following a very pleasant day shopping with A in Bath. Stuck to x trainer and weights as my legs were still aching from Thursday.

Today should have been a stretching 20 mile route NE of Salisbury but it was soon apparent that Husband wasn't well - he wasn't delivering any power to his pedals and was looking scarlet faced & v.sweaty after just 1 climb. I failed to persuade him to turn back (he had his determined face on!) but we persuaded M&A to carry on ahead as it was going to be a long slow ride for us! The SNB then took charge & its chain then snapped, caused by a bent cog. So even Husband had to admit defeat! he did a quick repair job on the bike & we pedalled back to car. So just 6 miles!

I was still feeling in need of some exercise so went for a run this afternoon but tried off road for the first time. Started off in woods close to the house & did a 5.2km route. Resorted to walking at one very muddy section - so I was amazed that I did 5km in 33:09! Beautiful day & it helped me to remember just how pleasant the area so close to the house is. And I acieved sweaty muddiness without a bike....

Then went to Hayling Island with Husband as it was just too good weather not to be outside - I took the photos here. Wandered along the beach & Husband got his sea fix - something to do with being born/brought up at the seaside apparently.

Just spotted that A has her Race for Life fundraising site up & running - click here to view & donate!

Jogging, Punching & Kicking

Tuesday - jogged with A. She's decided that I should talk more when we run to ensure that our rates are compatible - and she should talk more on the walk bits.... not sure I can cope with structured gossip! We swapped cookbooks afterwards - I'm into making soup atm (big batches which I freeze then take to work & nuke for lunch) so new ideas are needed.

Wednesday - Body Combat. Chatted with 2 of Husband's colleagues - one from another colleagues in the class and then with A from his office on the way out. Love the way the pink bits on my new trainers look in the mirror when I kick - yes, I know, I need to get out more!

Baby Sister D has resurrected her blog - the fab named Rah Lose Weight. Please have a look coz she's asking for encouragement. She's also sent me her soon-to-be-tweaked playlist which I've added to the Playlist blog. Have changed the comments settings as I didn't realise I had it set not to accept any!

Novel Exercise

Just been climbing over pallets of leaflets – very elegant & ladylike! Glad that I’m wearing jeans today & that I managed not to damage myself – mostly because filling out the accident report would have been embarrassing…

Anyhow, skating was good last night – still can’t get the forwards to backwards switch move – but I wasn’t alone. Working on improving my general technique as I tend to push off from the toe pick. Still loving my skates!

Black Eye and Raspberry Pink Insoles

Thursday – went to gym but only did a little CV work as I wanted to focus on weights. Used 4 machines (more than my usual 1) but I struggled to fill an hour. If I do this again, will ask Husband if he doesn’t mind a shorter swim.

Friday – gym again as Husband was feeling guilty about the bacon cheeseburger and chips he’d had for lunch! 20 mins Xtrainer, 22 mins interval jogging. It was a great opportunity to try out my beautiful new trainers – Brooks Addiction again with even more technical features in the spec of the 2007 version to deal with my extreme over pronation (I run like a penguin – but without the iceberg belly slides!). Sadly, I’m equally impressed with the raspberry pink insoles…

Saturday – shovelling s**t! Moved a heap of manure from a field in the Meon Valley to the allotment with Husband, M&A (with cars – that’d be a long long walk with a wheelbarrow!). Managed to get bitten by something just under my left eye – and thanks to my immune system’s over reaction, I now have a puffy black eye…
Great lunch afterwards courtesy of A.

Sunday – should have been cycling but cried off after looking at the forecast of heavy rain & wind. M&A still went – but for a shorter, less exposed route than the one we’d planned. Went to the gym instead. Very pleased as I was able to up my interval training session on the treadmill up to 24 mins at an average of 10kph! So long as I keep pushing up the times, 5K in 30 minutes by July looks eminently achievable.

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.