Yume No Chikara

Just for bear!! he-he I was very tempted just to say that but I shant!! If, like bear, you wondered where I am these days ... well mainly on Fetch and RealBuzz as I can get to both of those places during work. Unlike the old days, when I was at college and the old work place, I can't chat all day and I don't tend to go online much at home. Anyway that promised update. Good News: I won a 32" LCD TV!! I'm running 6 times a week! I'm using not wearing my HRM. I'm averaging 20m+ a week now!! Bad News: Despite lots of running I'm still err lardy because I'm comfort eating constantly. My phone is by my side 24/7 and I am expecting a call any time, to be honest I am amazed grandma is still with us, so yes I'm expecting the call, dreading the call and stuffing my face. Good job I am running lots then really! I'm worried it will become a habit though so I am trying to adjust the eating, I'm trying to bring in lots of fruit and eat that, or low fat ...

Sorry for the delay in service! My old PC was playing stupid and I have been unable to log into blogger! But 1 new puter later and I'm back! Last weekend was the Trailwalker .... which made me re-read my 2006 blog and brought back many memories. I've read v- rap's and bee's and even slowboy's blogs and yep very emotional! BUT TW will not be for me in 2008 because 2008 is my FLM year Grandma is very ill and I am amazed she is still with us. It's for her that I am running FLM 08. Since her diagnosis I've been running loads, and I am now averaging 20m a week. Loads to say but not much time so I will say TTFN and I'll be back!

Right no more sulking. Time for being serious. This is a proper blog from a proper aflete after all. For those who don't know my grandma has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and has a limited time left. The emotional blog is elsewhere (mail me fetch mail me if interested). This blog is now dedicated to lots of running. This Pixie will be running FLM 2008 for Macmillan Cancer Research. When I say I WILL I mean there is now way I will not be at Blackheath on 13th April 2008. I will apply via the ballot, bequeath, ask for a Gold Bond place and will be re-joining my club just in case! If I have a serious set back injury wise I will walk FLM but my goal is to run it all (apart from a hug stop at mile 17!) not just complete it. I also want to raise at least £2000 for Macmillan who were at grandma's side within 24 hrs of her being told the news. I have 10 months. The next 5 or 6 will consist of lots of slow HR based runs, 1 club run/tempo run and lots of attitude. This will be my ...

... had some bad news tonight. Not sure when I will be with you again. Love Pixie

What's your number?What's your number? Mine is 9, no actually it's 10. It's not my weight (I wish!) or my age or cholesterol level but sadly it's the number of people I know who have been affected by or lost the battle with Cancer. I'm hoping it won't soon be 11 - we're still awaiting results for my grandma. Statistically 1 in 3 people will be affected by Cancer. Statistically more people are surviving Cancer than ever before. Looking at all cancers combined the five-year relative survival rate has now reached 50%. The survival rate in women (56%) is higher than that in men (43%) and this is also the case for ten-year rates (39% vs.52%). This is great news and we want that survival rate to increase, but more importantly we want to help cure Cancer. Events like Race for Life are an important way in which Cancer Research UK is able to fund its life-saving work into preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer. By sponsoring me now you could help more people ...

Life is an odd one. These last 3 weeks have seen me bite the bullet and to the best of my ability start to train with my HRM. That's to say I am doing most of my runs at 70% of HR but I have still had the odd tempo run! Running to HR is odd. I'm a slow runner and this makes me slower. I've always been slow and frustrated at being slow yet now I am purposely running slower than ever before! Yet these last two weeks something has happened. I've run more. Each week I have done 2 doubles. This means I've done about 8 sessions of exercise in 6 days. May saw me do 54m which isn't a huge amount until you realise that this is the highest running mileage I have done since Jan 2006! The last 2 weeks have also been my highest mileage this year. In fact only 4 weeks last year had higher mileage and 3 of those included races over 10m and if you exclude FLM in 2005 only 2 weeks were saw higher mileage in 2005 too. Fetch is a wonderful thing (I can get there from work for a st...

Interesting few days. Monday J was in for almost a whole day which is the 1st since December! He's officially still called up but off "sick" with a sore wrist (suspected carpal tunnel syndrome I think). It was nice to have the full team back together and with his return came the return of the boys and I going for our run. I did put on my HRM but knew I wouldn't be using it properly! We did the normal route which gave me my longest run since January and it was just a few seconds of my 5K PB which was fab! The HR also confirmed that this was indeed a tempo run coming in at an average of about 85%. Whilst off J had been advised from his RAF PT about using a HRM and had bought one - not used but he had one! So we spent most of our run discussing the use of a HRM - see I could still chat whilst running! Just! Still it was a very enjoyable run! Yesterday I was back to being sensible because I was following the hard/easy principle of training and knew I had a 1hr PT session ...

Yesterday, being Thursday, was gym day. Having worn my HRM on a few runs I was interested to see what it would read whilst doing a gym session. These always feel harder than my normal runs, and as such I expected to see a huge difference. As I knew I would need a shower afterwards (the showers at the gym aren't great!), I changed at work and jogged over there. The session itself was then 10 mins on the tready (5@11mm + 5@10:30 pace inc 1% incline) then 10mins bike (5 mins easy 5mins@90rpm) and finally 10mins on the rower (2 sets of 3mins@2:20 pace 2 easy). Then a jog back to work. I still had a slight touch of DOMS from the squats with the 5kg medicine ball but overall it wasn't a bad session. If I take the whole 45 mins then the av HR was 163 so only just over the golden 70% and looking at the individual bits only the tready was high (like 85%). So not a bad session. Last night I went to show Gnome my dress and to my shock and horror it was no longer on the Monsoon website. As...

Yes I've been a bad pixie and not updated for days. Sorry! I blame my inability to log onto Blogger! So last week … Monday I had an awesome run! Loved it! Tuesday was PT Session and Craig was late (15 mins so I'm getting and extra 30!) and he was nice to me and didn't kill me! As a result Wednesday I went out for my run full of the joys of spring and confident of another stonking run. WRONG!! Looking at the stats it was the same a Monday, same distance and time (hey I am running to time!) and HR was similar but it felt awful. Really hard work and I was surprised it was the same distance it felt that bad. Thursday's gym session was also hard and my calves were tight and my high from Monday had all but gone. Friday came and I was determined not to have a bad run and I didn't, I had a horrid horrid run. Slow, heavy legs and no strength and then teenagers. Big sulk and very down pixie. Last week for a change I had actually worn my HRM. Looking back at my stats and it...

>bounces in as happy as a Pixie can be So training yes well err um ... THE PIXIE IS BACK IN TRAINING! Oh and I'm loving it! Last week I did 3 runs outside each one a smidge further in the same time so faster! Friday I was feeling all happy in the sun and did my 1st mile in 11:21! OK so I slowed after that but I was very happy! Today I was very aware of not doing a storming 1st mile .... and instead of doing 2.48m I did 2.62m thereby averaging 11:27! I really focused on not giving up and dropping the pace - my phrase of choice was "the treadmill won't slow down or stop until you press the button at 30mins" and it worked! OK so my splits weren't supper even but they were 12:00 11:22 and 6:39 (10:40 pace!) so I didn't slow down! In fact today for the first time I actually started to believe that I would get a PB at the RFL in July and that the 5k in September may just may be near the golden 30mins! I'm really enjoying being back out there, in fact yesterda...

Yes I think I must be a bit strange! Ok so as princess said PTs do seem to push you when everything says no (I'm sure it was the smile and muscles mind!) but today I still had a slight hint of soreness. Schedule said 30mins in the gym so off I went. Another 10mins on the tready, bike and rower. All were OK for the 1st 5mins then required focus for the last 5mins. Craig was in the corner with another client and somehow this made me carry on! It was as if him just being there meant I HAD to do it otherwise I would be insulting him! Then again in a strange way when I finished and strolled back to the office (tee off flashing flesh (sorry!) due to being a tad over warm!) I felt rather smug and happy! Yes I was suffering from lack of recent exercise but I hadn't given up! This week I have done 2 outside runs of 2.45m or 30mins. Last week I also did 2 runs. This week I am now thinking .... 72 days until RFL .... I could get a PB ... wonder if I could get to under 11mm pace? See stran...

Yesterday I had my first proper PT session. Having been wished luck the day before and having struggled to get out of bed Monday morning I was sure I would over sleep. This meant a restless night of "what time is it? Have I over slept?" which was hardly ideal but did mean I was up, dressed and able to have some tea and bread before I headed to the gym and I got there early! Having got there early I sat on the recumbent bike for a few minutes gently peddling to wake up my legs which were sure they shouldn't be working at this time! Then it was time! The clock turned to 7:30AM and Craig turned with a huge smile and lured me onto the treadmill! Ok so normally I do 10-12 mins at 11mm pace. So we start at 11mm pace, then after 5mins he ups it to 10:30 pace then again after another 5mins to 10mm pace! By this time I was awake and struggling so I was pleased at only having to hold the 10mm pace for 3mins following it by a 2mins walk. So 15mins on the treadmill doing 1.31m and al...

13th April 2008 Yes that's next year's Flora London Marathon! As I write there are probably still people out there on the course (Lloyd Scott for one!) and here I am thinking of 2008. I'm not wishing my life away honest I'm focusing! OK so there is naturally the little issue of actually getting in to FLM first but it's something to aim for! Today I watched the TV and felt all the emotions of 2005. The tears were in my eyes and to be honest I was sorry I wasn't there, even as a jealous supporter. Unlike previous years I wasn't totally glued to the sofa. I wanted to move about, I actually wanted to be out running if I'm honest. I don't think this is a sign of FLM losing it's shine for me I think it's a sign that I want it more. If I enter FLM whilst I focus of weight and basic fitness then in 6 months when the "You're In!/Not In" magazines come out I will be in good shape. I'm not going to even suggest I can get into FLM then ...

Today I was down the gym following the plan devised by the PT. On paper it looked fine but given all the gardening of yesterday (and one stiff back) and it was harder than I expected! Warm up of 5mins on the bike (about 75RPM) followed by 5mins @90RPM. Rower for 15mins at between 2:20 and 2:40 pace. Managed 3008m. Now this was hard work as I normally only do say 5-7mins so 15 was mentally hard as the time just went so slow! Ended up saying 1000m per 5mins achieving the 1st in 5:01 then the second by 9:59 which gave me a tiny negative split. I really wanted to do the 3km and thought I wouldn't so worked hard in the last minute. I finished breathing deeply and realised that rowing isn't all upper body strength, the old legs work too! Finally 20mins steady run on the treadmill. The aim was 11:30-12mm pace but I averaged 12:44 pace. My legs were tired (CV fitness was fine!) and my back started to ache and 20mins felt like forever. In fact I tried to think of all the things I saw at...

Firstly I would like to say I have not been near scales for 2-3 weeks and I am not desperate to get back on them! With Easter, my birthday (meal), Gran's birthday (meal) and a 3 day course in London (meals at lunch, hotel in evening) it may not be too great! On the bright side I ran (twice) and walked (lots cos I kept on getting lost!). I did 2 runs of over 2miles and walked 3-5m on all three days. Given the heat and the stupid people giving out free papers and all the pedestrians it was hard work! Today I saw Mr Fit PT guy. I told him my 2007 goal was lose 2st and take at least 5mins off my 5k time. Said what I was doing/had done and that my overall goal was a GFA. I should get a plan tomorrow but I think I will suffer! As an example: On the tready today he made me do 6mins at 10:30 pace (after a 2min warm up and the 11min pace I normally try to maintain) at an incline because it was good for me! Then there was the bike on a higher cadence than I normally do (90 RPM instead of 75)...

Tomorrow I am off traveling again! Yes back to Berkshire to the in-laws then mum's on Sunday. Then London on Monday (to Wednesday) and back home Thursday! So don't worry if you don't hear from me for a few days! Thursday I have a meeting with the PT so I will update you on that Thursday night! I've discovered that the PT is a former GB triathlete. You know that gym tri I did? 24:43 for me and he did the best time in about 14mins!! Yes 1000m row, 2mile bike 1mile run in 14mins! Gulp! I think I may suffer!!

Well they are supposed to have bad memories aren't they?!?! OK so diet was going great then there was last week off, birthday cakes at work yesterday and stress/panic eating today due to a presentation to do at work. I hate presentations. So I must get my head back in line tomorrow as next week I have 3 days in London which won't be a lettuce leaf lunch (pub meals instead) and little exercise (no hotel gym this time) apart from the 1/2m walk to the course. Anyway there is also another reason for being a goldfish. Today I went to the gym at lunch. As my presentation was after this I did a warm up then weights, toning and abs work to exercise but not get too hot and or flustered as I didn't think the red glow would look too professional! Yesterday I also did some CV work so it was cool to have an easier session today. I drive home (no visit to the garden centre as I was dropping a colleague) and the weather was gawjus and the house was empty and >hangs head I walked at 1.8...

OK OK I'm sorry I have neglected things but those who can read (unlike Bear) will have realised I was away and hence the silence! A quick run down for Bear. Last week: Sunday : drive to mum's Monday : walk down the Thames and crazy golf at Maidenhead Tuesday : course in London. Parked at Fraggle's (thanks!) so got 1.5m walking in just getting to/from Reading station, plus I did some speed work round Paddington Station (thanks to train times) and a gentle jog down Fleet Street. All carrying a ruck sack. Had planned a 1-1.5m walk as I had to take my car to be serviced but dad meet me at the garage. Wednesday : meet the lovely Fraggle for a day out with the little people at Lego Land. Thursday : collected car (expensive) and then had to get tyres (more expense) Friday : M&S shopping + garden centre Saturday : tree climbing thanks to model plane landing in tree (failed to retrieve plane so dad cut the tree down!) Sunday : birthday meal + wine! Monday: in-laws then home So b...

Sorry Yes I've been busy! Also puter is dying of a virus and needs re-installing but Gnome is half way through a project! So sorry to anyone who has mailed me (Bear!) and thanks! Also I played hostess to 2 speedy folks, have driven to Reading and played cheer leader for Gnome! Yesterday Gnome did the Green Park Challenge at Reading. It's 3.3km and he finished in 20:55 which is faster than me! Bless! I've also been busy at the gym going 4-5 times a week. I'm trying to get folks to give me money for my birthday for PT sessions there to aid in this year's weight lose goals. So far this week I have lost 4lb despite gaining due to courses. So slow but in the right direction. Running has been restricted to 10 ish mins on the tready or max 1mile but it's good. I have to admit to feeling a tad emotional and jealous at both the Ashby 20 and Reading but I'm focused on losing the weight and that is what I will do! I'm now on my 2nd week of Rosemary Conley as there ...

Whoops! Just realised I haven't done an update for a while! Well I've been busy keeping up the gym work, playing mother and working! Work remains great! J is almost back from Iraq (flies back on the 18th March but not back to work for a while) and remains in good health! I'm going on another course too! A request has gone in for 2 Business Objects course which are back to back in April at their Maidenhead office. This means I can stay at mum's for a few days again. Tomorrow is Red Nose Day and I will be doing the gym's charity tri for a laugh! It's 1000m on the rower, 2mile on the upright bike then 1mile on the tready. I'm not expecting fast times but it's a good challenge! They did it for Children in Need so I will repeat it then to see how I improve! Tuesday K and I at work joined the Rosemary Conley class which started to enable the sponsored slim. We're both aiming for 2st off before the end of October for the Macmillan Sponsored Slim with some e...

Here's what happened .... Met PT Dave. Nice, young, my height (bonus!), blonde and muscles! 5mins warm up on rower whilst telling him I've run for almost 5yrs, done a couple of marafuns, want to lose at least 2st etc. Then he tells me what we are going to do boxing! Then some boxing "circuits" then some weights So 1-1 boxing (never done that before), 3 sets of 1mins doing punches then "Hooks" (?) with him holding pads. This made me sweat buckets, HR hit 192 and arms ached. Then 2 rounds of:1min boxing against the kick boxing piler thing that stands on the floor1min stepping on a stepper then throwing 2 punches and stepping downthen 10 sit ups with 2 punches at top of the sit up. To say this was exhausting is an understatement! My arms turned to jelly and even now, hours later, they ache and I've lost all strength! The boxing was followed by squats using a gym ball on the wall, upright row, chest press and curls all on the ball oh and some other weights t...

I am such a good Pixie! Yes I am! No really I am! I've been very good and used my gym membership properly! Last week I did two lunchtime sessions then a longer session on Saturday. Saturday I also did a stupid thing! I walked to the bottle back with 2 bags full of bottles and it's about 1m away, and Gnome was with me so it was a slow walk. Lord my arms ached when we got there! Still it's good resistance work! Then at the gym I did some more tready work increasing my running. I didn't have my HRM on (which I will dig out for a laugh!) but the tready HR hand rail readers couldn't read it! I got 192 at one point (after I reduced back to a walk for a minute or two) but whilst running it was too high for it to read!! I also did some core work and abs work and I have been trying to do this on each session to cool down almost. Sunday I was again painting. It's amazing how much work it takes to paint some walls! I need to do the wood work next, then re-do the main coat...

Well I've been very good ... I've been exercising, eating well and I've stopped snacking. I've even stuck to the no chocolate rule! I am however tired and run down with a sore throat so expecting the cold to hit any day soon :-( Not sure about weight as I am avoiding the scales, but my determination has rubbed off an K from work. I was told she would never walk anywhere and that I would never get her doing lunchtime walks with me. Tomorrow she is joining the gym with me having come twice this week as a "recommend friend". We'll both be there twice a week. Next Thursday I have my 1-2-1 with Dave the PT who also happens to be the gym's "exercise to lose weight" guru. From my brief chat today I was told "keep running outside, keep watching the food and do different things down the gym". The lower impact exercise has made little difference to my weight but this break has allowed me to focus on food and has got me out of the snacking hab...

So far so good. The plan is working well. No snacking and complete food control! Looks like I have lost the weight gained on my course and a bit too I think so happy. I'm even having those TW moments of "oh that's real hunger!" which is excellent! This week I have joined the gym, had a CV and weights induction and then been to the gym alone (whilst Gnome had his swimming lesson). I hope to get my PT session next week. This weekend I have been cleaning the hall walls and painting. 5-6hrs of cleaning yesterday and 3-4hrs painting today is a great workout I can assure you! Not actually got to cleaning the brushes yet mind as Gnome is installing XP on his PC and keeps on calling me! I feel a long soak in the bath coming on!

Yes today started Operation Goldfish! I've counted calories, took hot water and milk to work to make tea (money saved covers gym/pool membership) and I've joined the gym! The gym gave me a free bag with water bottle, tee and towel too which was nice! Tomorrow I have my 1-2-1 induction and I also have a voucher for a 30mins PT session. The pool re-opens on Monday (has been closed for re-tiling) and they even have a running club taken by the PTs twice a week after work for when I start back running! So plan is: Monday, Wednesday, Friday:- lunchtime walk. Tuesday, Thursday:- lunchtime gym Saturday:- gym whilst gnome swims Sunday:- swimming with Gnome (aqua jogging maybe?) Gym will include weights work, rower and stepper and bike. I never do weights so this is a great opportunity to improve in this area. As it's during lunch it will only be a short session so doing weights then will be ideal as I also won't get boiling hot and we all know more muscles mean more calories bei...

OK so I expect a few of you may be confused about the Goldfish. Well let me explain. Goldfish: Know for short memory Elephant: Know to "never forget" Gazelle: Fast and athletic When it comes to losing weight I am very much a goldfish. I wake up full of good intentions, have breakfast and go to work. By the time I get there I have forgotten the diet. Then I eat something and remember it. Then ... the circle continues. So yes I am a goldfish with a short term memory for losing weight. I need to become an elephant and therefore remember that I am trying to eat less, eat healthy and lose weight. Elephants never forget and if I can remember and become more conscious of my diet then I will become that gazelle I want to be! At the end of my course we were given a free gift. Not the usual pen and mouse mat ... no ... we got a "Fit Kit". This contains a body fat monitor, blood pressure monitor (that gives pulse), booklet (10 weeks to a healthier you - stop dieting, eat an...

I've decide I am a goldfish, but I need to be an elephant so that I can become a gazelle!

My house is on a hill and that hill doesn't get gritted. The journey to work yesterday wasn't much fun so given last night's freezing conditions I opted ('cos I can now!) to work from home today. Currently I am on my lunch-break! I've enjoyed my day and got a lot done, mainly documents as I have to pay to dial into work (then claim it back) I first dialled in last night to test it then again at 7.40AM to mail in that I was working from home. It's a novelty! The hire car for my course also turned up which is good but they were unable to clean it because of the snow!! Just not good enough hey!

Well I can't sit on a fluffy cloud of "winner" happiness for ever now can I!?! So ... Been out walking again today having failed to get up this morning to use the bike. It was far to cold (heating hadn't gone on yet) and I was tired. In fact I failed to get up for another 50mins and I have to admit I have felt more alive today because of it. Lunchtime saw me out for my 3m walk in the crisp clean air and I still have hopes of 30mins on the bike tonight > failed again as tired and I want a nice hot bath and snuggly bed! I really want to get in some doubles and up to the 90mins a day. I think the mornings are harder for me, I am not a morning person! Or it could just be that I have been getting up earlier for over 2 weeks and body is telling me this! I will be joining the gym when I get back from my course, so that I can use it whilst Gnome is in his swimming lesson, swim more and also do 1or 2 classes (body balance and or body pump). Again this will enable me to con...

YES!!! I have actually won something running related! I won a RW online competition to get a new sports bra! So one new Enell (crimson or ink) on order! Great news cos they cos over £40 by the time you add postage! Other news ... exercise bike is now in the spare room and will stare at me every day as that is also where my hair and make-up "stuff" is!

Doesn't seem that long but yes I've not run for two whole weeks. Normally in two weeks I would have run about 18m or 6 runs and about 4hours of exercise. Here is my 2 weeks break down: Walking - 19.4m in 5hrs 12mins Stepper - 12378 in 2 hrs 45mins 1 swim - 1 hour So that's 9hrs exercise or double my normal exercise. Result! Weight has stayed stable but that's more to do with calories in rather than calories out! Posture/form has really improved in fact I think my figure is starting to reflect the improved posture. Niggle-wise I still have a few minor niggles (I wouldn't have run anyway I expect and would probably have sat on my butt). The front of my right hip has adjusted to upright walking but I still get the occasional niggle on the quad that 1st bothered me 3 weeks ago, but very minor and rare now. Calves are behaving too so all good. I have done some fizzio exercises but not too many and with the improved posture I have already noticed an improvement anyway whi...

Ok so technically I'm cross training the whole time these days, that is if you still say I am a runner! If you say I am a walker just now then yes I've been cross training! Over the week I have done lots of sessions, in fact I've done 2 sessions on a few days! My stepper has been used 4 times (7905 steps) and I've walked 7.1m (3 sessions) during the working week, not bad! Yesterday I did no formal exercise. I did walk to the paper shop and butchers in the village. Then we all went shopping and marched round "Swad" (I got accused of walking to fast! That's a first!) trying to locate our local tile shop to get the kitchen finished. Local shop is closed :-( so we then had to waste some time before Gnome's swimming lesson. £50 later Gnome has new foot wear and it's time for swimming. Later in the day we went off to Homebase and bought a load of paint (for me!) to paint the hallway and kitchen (boring but bright Classic Cream) and then finished the day ...

Well OK so Monday I slipped but Tuesday I did 2 full sessions and today I did 2 half sessions. One thing I have really noticed is that my body is having to adjust a lot more than I expected it too. It's not the level of exercise or the impact it's simply my posture. For what must be the 1st time in ages I am concentrating 100% on walking upright and using muscles that aren't used to it. The front of my quads and hips are stretching (especially my right side - the weaker side) and my butt is having to work. So surprisingly I have a few niggles but I know that it is use not injury so I am carrying on. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit so ... :-D Work weigh-in saw 1lb off or 3lb in 3weeks which is good, slow but steady and that's what I need. I hope to, over time, increase my low impact sessions so that I exercise more too. On the whole my eating has improved with me being aware of hunger vs emotional eating. Today however I was tired very tired and head said SUGA...

Just thought I would share that quote with you! I won't, however, tell you that it was said by Mr Motivator in his latest exercise DVD 'cos then you might think that I was a sad person and had said DVD which >blushes starts to burn up Another good one is: “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal;nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” Thomas Jefferson Now that is a quality quote and SOOOooo true isn't it! Anyway last week. Thank you for the kind comments! Now as a follow up I can update you on my week (well 6days): Walked : 12.5m Stepper : 2118 steps Exercise bike : 6.4m Not bad if I say so myself! This is a lot more exercise than I have been doing and I am working at a low level so hopefully this is not only burning calories but building base fitness too. So as a follow on to this I have some targets for me! By the end of April I want to have: " Walked " the Grand Union Canal - 175m " Ste...

Well actually it's good! I did 2.6m walking yesterday and 3.2m today. I've also not suffered my normal "have run must eat" post run munches. This I think will be very helpful and hopefully will help break that habit! Yesterday I decided to work out my rest heart rate, as I am useless at finding my pulse I put on my HRM and was delighted to get a reading of 48. Then for some kind or warped laugh I decided to wear it for the day! Now I only had it reading not recording so can't give you lots of stats but I did discover a few things. Walking round the office I am nice and chilled with a HR around 100. Climbing the stairs (all 72) sees my HR shot up to 165 (and lots of heavy breathing). Driving is about 80-90. Now if I sit "normally" my HRM bleeps at me! It can't get a reading as I lean forward and slouch so much! So a HRM can also be a useful tool to help you watch your posture! At lunch I went for my walk, the 1st part was a continual slight incline an...

It's no good I can't take any more. The feelings of failure, being demoralised and just feeling constantly useless. Never feeling good enough, never managing to get it right ....So that's it, I've had enough. I can't take any more. It's with great regret and heartache that I have to say yes to a trail separation. The affair started in July 2002. I was approaching 30 and fat and frumpy and unfit. So on 4th July and I pulled on my trainers for the 1st time. Since then the lure of being hot and sweaty and out of breath has kept the affair strong. Through the years I've suffered heartache and pain, injury, joy and frustration. The love is there and it's strong but I can't take any more upset. So ... me and running are having a trial separation. I don't want to split but it's no good. I can't take the mirror laughing at me anymore. I can't take the "impact ripple" of my thunder thighs, the chaffing from my bra or HRM and the nigg...

Well been a bit of a mixed time since I last blogged! The weekend was good! OK so I didn't run but I did have another great day at the Cavern and swimming with the Buzzy ones and Raptorites and Gnome! Saturday I did a "lets empty the kitchen so I don't have to worry about time tomorrow" thing. Monday I had a sore quad. This I decided was a slight touch of DOMS (after I had cancelled my run!) from the kitchen clearing (think climbing on stool and going on tip toe of one leg (same one) to check cupboards are empty). Tuesday (Kitchen day!) and I decided I would try a run alone so no pressure. Leg better but not 100%. This is my Fetch report: "Really awful run, didn't run yesterday due to sore right quad (believed to be DOMS (el-Bee) due to kitchen work!) but wasn't bad today so thought it would be good to run it out. Solo run and horrid. Calves a little tight but not too bad, form awful (had to keep on relaxing shoulders) and was aware of quad. In the last 1...

Yep it's been raining lots and lots and I was out for a run today!! LA and I almost forewent today's run as the rain was fantastic this morning but come 11:55 it seemed to slow and by the time we had changed it had stopped. It was still windy mind! We decided to do our normal route in reverse. The golf course we cross was deserted and water logged! Then we discovered the side gate out of the golf course was locked (no golfers so closed I guess!) meaning we had to double back and "jog" through the actual leisure centre!! I then realised that the road through the village was actually all downhill for most of the last mile meaning that there was a huge chunk of uphill to do! Pixies are very bad at going uphill's (I'm not allowed to say Pixies don't do hills since TW or buzzy people shout at me!). I have no hill stamina what so ever (yes I know I need to do some hill work!) so I struggled. Once I was up the hill I made up the 20-30ft gap between LA and I and m...

Yep twice already and another planned Thursday and maybe even a short trot on Sunday with a buzzy one following a splashing session! >beams enthusiastically Ok so Monday. Got up and again massaged legs. Was conscious of last week's bad runs and running with LA. She had a meeting at 1 so I knew she would want to get on and run. As it turned out she was late getting to the changing (so I stretched and warmed up! >listens for applause Today LA decided we would do the slightly longer route. Down hill for the 1st 1-1.5m then uphill all the way home. Today was also VERY windy. Dry but very very strong winds. I just couldn't cope, I was running but felt like I was going nowhere. We've only done this route once and my 1st checkpoint (!! end of downhill section) was 2mins slower. After that I was just too shot to take advantage of any time we were sheltered. The other checkpoints were only 30secs out which I was pleased with! Again I kept running like yesterday but my legs wer...

Well it seems to have passed fairly quickly doesn't it, but yes we are now at the end of week one of 2007! Surprisingly I am not reporting failure left right and center! So far I have eaten more fruit and veg, run 3 times, stretched and done some abs work! I've also swum once and I will be doing a double today (morning run, afternoon swim) as Gnome wants to swim today! This morning I have been out and done my 3rd run of the week. Three short runs see just 8.42m clocked up so this month looks like it will be short on the 40m, but consistency is the key and the last 2 years have seen a good week 1 and 2 then nothing! Today's run was better than Friday's in that I didn't walk and the legs were less tight but was still slower than I had been running. I got up, made some tea then massaged my lower legs for 30mins. Drank my tea, changed and headed out the door. The 201 wasn't playing ball today saying I had done 1m within 3mins! So I just ran. After Friday's effor...

OK so I'm a tad late on this post, I'll blame my course as I was away in Manchester for 2 nights with no Internet access! Right then resolutions? Hmmm Ok here goes. Stop eating diet food - was sent a free sample of slimfast soup which was so foul I didn't eat it and when I looked at it the slimfast was worse nutritionally than Heinz Big Soup! Run 500m in 2007 , did 400m in 2006 and if I can do 40m per month this is 480m, just add a couple of races and a couple of good weeks and Bob's your uncle! Aim to do the 5K swimathon (did my fastest 1m swim Christmas week - 43mins) This means I need to do some swimming! Gnome wants to do the Green Park Challenge at the Reading half marathon so I may see if I can swim this at Reading. Drink more eat less lose weight eat more fruit (the normal!) Well you expected that didn't you! The ladies in the team attached to mine are doing a team "diet" as of Monday so I am joining in. This also means I will/have stopped WW. I ...