22/28 Ascension

"As you have moved into ascension you have moved more fully into your body."

Today's workout was called ascension, and when I was looking for an appropriate image I found this one which shows the chakras of the body, I don't know a huge amount about them, but I have had a couple of Reiki sessions and know that they are significant and they are important in yoga I believe...
I also liked the picture :-)
But I do think that it's appropriate as in the last 3 weeks us Guinea Pigs have come to know our bodies better.  I certainly know that mine is much stronger than I ever thought before and that I can now trust it not to let me down, I have also come to accept how it looks in the mirror and that's been a really important change in attitude for me.

I wasn't sure how I'd manage this morning as I was stiff and tired from Saturday's run, I woke a couple of times in the night, just because I was stiff, and when I woke at 04.41 I was afraid if I dozed off I'd sleep through the alarm, so I got up then, ok it was a bit early, alarm was set for 5am but on the plus side it meant I was able to enter myself and John for next year's London marathon - when I say entered I mean we are successfully in the ballot for a place, that doesn't mean we'll get one but if you're not in it you've no chance!

So to our Ascenscion workout - I honestly don't remember that much about it, I just remember doing it and being really pleased because I managed to do it - including some burpees which I don't usually do because the getting up and down is too hard with my non-bendy knee but I managed 5 this morning!  We did lots of exercises in combinations of 1 or 2 then more then a rest then more of them together before a rest... it was a really good tough workout but it was one of those where you just respond to the next command - sometimes that's good to do, you only concentrate on the moment not on what you need to do next...

We finished off with a 10 to 4 routine which is a different exercise for each number of reps, so 10 of first then 9 of second down to 4 of last exercise.

It as a fast day today and this morning I was so so sleepy!  I think it was residual tiredness from the weekend, not just the run, but the early start/late night, the comedown from the adrenaline and also the stress of worrying about John and then about the rest of the guys in my relay team - responsibility is a heavy burden sometimes :-)
still felt quite jet-lagged today although by mid-afternoon was starting to feel less spaced out just tired.
Had a lovely big sirloin steak with spinach and cauliflower for dinner so will finish this and tidy up a wee bit then it will be early bed for me.
I did manage 5minutes rolling my calves on the foam roller before dinner time and although it was a bit ouchy I feel the benefit of it, I need to try and fit in a wee run tomorrow...

21/28

The fruit of my labours :-)  This is the medal we got yesterday for the Hoka Highland Fling race and even though I only did the relay it was a well earned medal!

I did the 2nd leg of the relay which is from Drymen to Rowardennan, just over 14 miles and with 555m of climbing, my superhero husband did the whole 53 miles!

We got home about 10.30pm last night and having been up since 5am it was a long day!  Never mind the adrenaline that was coursing through us all :-)  By the time we'd had a cup of Tulsi tea and unwound and caught up with life online, it was almost midnight when we got to bed.  4am I was awake, twitchy legs and overheating - normal reaction to a hard run :-) John wasn't any better so we got up and had a cup of tea and a slice of toasted nutty bread - hit the spot, back into bed by 4.30 and slept really soundly until 8am.  Both woke with the same thought, "let's go out for breakfast" :-) I had a load of manky  running gear to wash first though and as it was another gorgeous sunny day and windy, I was keen to get it out on the line first.
So after washing was on line we headed out to Bridge of Allan, there's a nice wee bistro there which does a good breakfast - and it is a nice treat once in a while to have someone else do the cooking and washing up!
Eggs, Bacon, tomatoes all allowed on a high carb day - lovely!
A wee quick trip to the local supermarket then home for a sleep - both of us were still very tired - it's felt like having jet lag today :-)  Neither of us have any injuries from yesterday, just the usual DOMS!  John has a wee blister on one foot but that's all.

That's us now starting our 4th and final week on the Destination Fat Loss program, it's gone in quickly, been hard work, made some new friends and had really good fun.  I've had good results so far and today was another pleasant surprise - I had been a bit worried about the results this week as I've struggled with work commitments and race prep towards the end of the week so haven't eaten as well as I should have, but I still managed to record another 2lb weight loss and another 4cm of fat burned off!

Today's menu
Breakfast:  Bacon Eggs tomato
Lunch:  just a banana as breakfast was really brunch :-)
Dinner:  Delicious chicken curry with savoy vabbage and kale medley

I've drunk about 2litres of water today - I'm still a wee bit dehydrated from yesterday but one of the side effects of that is that it is sometimes quite hard to drink - you just don't want to..

All in all a pretty good day, and tomorrow is my second fast day so that's me until tomorrow dinner time.

What a Fling :-)

What a day!
No photo again today, but just a really quick update to let you all know that we finished the Highland Fling, uninjured (a bit achey) but in good physical condition and good spirits :-)
I won't bother posting what I ate today because apart from porridge, a banana and a jaffa cake it wasn't very much!  I don't eat much when I'm running I don't like running with food in my stomach, but I do take a carb and mineral drink with me and that works for me.
I ran almsot 15miles with 555m of climbing - lots of hills! Then more hills!  Then a couple more climbs for good measure lol! But my amazing superhero husband ran 53miles in a few minutes over 12 hours - I am so proud of him - oh and he does eat when he's running, he's much much better at that than me as well :-)
OK folks off to try and sleep now,
more tomorrow...

Thanks for all the encouragement and supportive comments throughout today it really does make a difference x

M.I.A...

I'm writing this on my phone from pre-race hotel, so please excuse any typos. Also reason there's no picture, it's technologically too taxing! It's the night before the Highland Fling and I think we're all set, if we're not, it's too late now! We had the day off work today which gave us time and space to chill out, rest and get organised so I didn't get up at 5 5 this morning for my usual dose of Friday madness :-) I'm sorry I didn't make it along to meet Dave, but the lie-in til 6.30 and the rest will hopefully pay dividends on the hills tomorrow. Today was a high carb day today which meant fruit was allowed again hooray!! After breakfast it was a quick visit to nurse for annual asthma review, passed with flying colours, then off to Physio to get my leg taped. The tape keeps things in place and whilst a lot of the effect may be psychological on this occasion I feel more confident having had it done :-) he got a bit carried away do I have a multicoloured left leg! Today's menu Breakfast: berries and yoghurt Lunch: chicken stir fry Dinner: chicken breast with bacon & broccoli Snack: carrot & banana muffin So that's it - tomorrow will be a long and hopefully enjoyable day so probably no updates til Sunday x

it's my Friday :-)

I hope John and Pamela from PinPoint-Fitness don't mind me using their logo tonight.  I like to put a picture on the page, it helps me to think about what I'm going to write and I've sat for about half an hour trying to think about what I might write tonight and what I could use as a picture...
if you're looking for PinPoint-Fitness online then you'll recognise the logo.

I've had another day out of the office, I was presenting at a conference on transformational learning, it was quite an interesting day with input from a number of people - I had to speak about a project we are doing which has given every p7 pupil in one of our schools an Intel classmate notebook which they can use whenever they like in the classroom and can also take home with them.  It's really interesting watching how the kids use the devices and how they have developed as learners.

However, the downside of this is that I don't think my nutrition has been as good as it should have been over the past 2 days, I'm usually reasonably well organised and can prepare food so that I have the correct things to eat and drink, I managed ok yesterday but today wasn't as well planned.  The conference was in a hotel and lunch was provided, the last time I was at a similar event with this company, it was a restaurant lunch so I was pretty sure I'd get something that would be suitable for lunch.  Unfortunately today it was a buffet lunch so I managed to get a couple of chicken and salmon skewers and some salad - there was couscous, pasta, potato salad, mini steak pie - which I wouldn't even have eaten in my past life.  I feel quite tired and a bit woosy this evening so I guess I probably should have eaten more but I have the day off tomorrow so will get sorted out and back on track in the morning.

Today I've eaten
Breakfast:  Scrambled eggs
Lunch: chicken and salmon skewers with salad
Dinner:  Quorn chilli (rice for John)  I should have cooked some greens with it but I was a bit disorganised and didn't have any...

I have drunk 3L of water today - plus side of conferences there's always water on the table
OH and I ignored the bacon rolls which were provided for breakfast at the start of the morning!

I have decided not to go to tomorrow's early morning session - I am racing on Saturday and I think that my legs will benefit more from the rest as they're still quite tired from yesterday's workout - I will also hopefully benefit from a wee while longer in bed :-)
I'll miss the rest of the gang though!

Tomorrow night we are staying overnight in Milngavie so that we're there for John's early start and I can register the team for the relay so there might not be an update from me tomorrow.
It might be Sunday til I'm back online...

17/28 - Ladders 2

And what worries us most is that there might be a 3rd set of ladders to climb!
In week 1 we did a session entitled ladders where we repeated a number of  exercises once, twice, three times up to 9 times, it was hard enough!  Today we did ladders 2 - I honestly can't remember how many exercises we did today but the ladder was a tough one to climb!  We did LOTS of high knees, LOTS of split squats and a new bad boy called a switch lunge - it incorporates a jump to switch legs and it's hard!  There were a fair few plank to pressups and mountain climbers thrown in for good measure so I think it would be fair to say we were all pretty "done" by time we'd climbed this particular ladder... We were however all still smiling :-)

I had back to back meetings in Glasgow today which meant I didn't have time to drive back from Cumbernauld to Alloa and get organised in time to get the 7.30 train to Glasgow so after having a clean up and getting changed in the salubrious surroundings of the ladies loos in Tesco I drove the half mile to Croy station where I ate my boiled eggs and drank my water before getting the train into town.
I was in the city before 8 which is a bit earlier than I needed to be, but that meant I had time to enjoy a leisurely peppermint tea in Starbucks and watch the "early morning crowd" - the people who are around in the morning are much more interesting to watch than the ones you get later in the day, or even in the evening...
I walked down to the Scottish Government building on Argyle/James Watt Streets, it's a 15-20min walk and it was a freezing cold wind that was blowing around the city so I walked smartly and hopefully continued the fat burning process kicked off on the ladders. After spending the morning and then afternoon in 2 different meetings it was an even brisker walk back up to the station as by this time the rain had arrived!
Driving home to Alloa I realised it was 12 hours since I'd driven in the other direction, it had been a long day :-) The weather has turned really nasty and it was wild and windy driving back - I hope it's passed before Saturday!!
I baked a nutty loaf this evening while the dinner was in the oven, looking forward to that on the high carb day :-)
Today is a low carb day which means I can't have any fruit or yoghurt - and have to have protein at every meal so breakfast was 2 boiled eggs - not desperately exciting but it was easy to prepare last night and take with me...

Breakfast:  boiled eggs
Lunch:  mackerel and salad leaves
Dinner:  Broccoli and watercress soup followed by
chicken rubbed with garlic and smoked paprika with the rest of the dark green salad

I took water with me today and so have managed to get to my 3L target, have had a blackcurrant tea, peppermint tea and tulsi tea.

My quads are this evening officially dead - R.I.P :-)

16/18 That was Fast...

My breakfast :-)
Today was my first Fast day and it wasn't too bad...
I had my last meal last night at dinner time until lunch today and it wasn't so difficult - I guess it's the thought of fasting that makes us shudder but given that I slept for 8 of them it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd imagined it might be.

When I got up this morning I was busy preparing the lunches so didn't miss sitting down to breakfast.  I'd made a chicken stir fry to have for lunch so that I had a protein and low carb meal to break the fast - it was yummy and I thought I'd be ravenous once I started to eat again but I wasn't... I've actually noticed over the last few days that I'm not eating as much as I used to I am rarely finishing a meal, I just feel full before it's finished, Pamela reckons this is because my body is getting all the nutrients it needs - it asks for more by making you feel hungry, so that's a good thing I guess.

I was back in the office today for work (only day this week!) but I had to visit a school which was within walking distance so I had a nice 20minute walk first thing today - better than sitting at desk all day...

Tomorrow I'm away to Glasgow again all day so there will be a bit of walking involved again which is good, and will carry on the fat-burning effects of tomorrow's workout - wonder what we'll get tomorrow?

Have boiled eggs for tomorrow's breakfast as I am going to have to take it with me tomorrow as I don't have time to come home after fitcamp - I will have to have a "babywipe shower" and get changed then head straight into town.  John from PinPoint Fitness suggested I shouldn't bother and should go straight to meeting and tell them that this was what real work smells like LOL!  (it's Scottish Government people I'm going to meet with!)

So a shorter menu today as there was no breakfast and no snacks
Lunch:  Chicken Stir fry with lots of leafy greens
Dinner:  Sirloin steak, spinach, red onion and cauliflower

Drunk my 3L of water and a few cups of tea - cherry and cinnamon, peppermint and tulsa teas today

Time to go get food and clothes organised for morning.

15/28

This morning's workout was entitled "The Dirty Dozen" a repertoire of 12 exercises.  We started with the usual warm up routine, then straight into the exercises - the duration was increased as well as the number, we did 50secs exercise with 10 secs rest today - phew!!  What did we do today?  We had pressups, side planks, plank to press up, mountain climbers, split lunges, walking lunges, jumping jacks, drop downs, glute bridges - one legged this time, squat jumps, and another couple which have all blurred into one...  After going through all 12 we got a couple of minutes rest then we repeated them 40secs this time with 20secs rest :-)
It was definitely the toughest workout we've done yet - it was down to T shirts for Amanda and I!
A quick drive home, a quick shower, grab breakfast and then get the 0836 train to Glasgow for a meeting, a brisk 15minute walk from the station to Atlantic Quay, and a brisk walk back to the station after the meeting added to the day's calorie/fat burn.
Another walk when I got back to Alloa, to the office for the last hour of the day, then home.  Tomorrow is my first fast day so I have nothing to eat from tonight's dinner until mid morning tomorrow.  Haven't quite decided what I'm going to eat tomorrow for my "breakfast" although I have got lunch organised and cooked :-)

Today's menu
Breakfast:  Fried eggs with nutty bread
Lunch:  Home made broccoli and watercress soup
Dinner:  Chicken fillet baked with garlic and green chilli, with cauliflower and savoy cabbage

I've managed about 2 litres of water today - it's more difficult when you're on the move... but still drinking so might make 3 before the end of the day!

Half Way!!

Or in other words you have to be willing to move outside your comfort zone... we all have them, even those of us who run or take regular exercise and whom some others may think of as "fit", we still all have our comfort zones.
It's easy to stay safe inside it, you can dot along at a steady pace, feeling good about the world and pretty righteous that you're doing your bit to stay fit and healthy - and you are, you're just not pushing yourself.  I can write that last bit quite confidently because I have been there, it's only in the past 3 months that I have started to step outside my comfort zone and do things that make me uncomfortable, but I like the results, so I'm no longer afraid to keep on pushing the boundaries.  Starting the PT sessions with PinPoint Fitness was a big step outside the comfort zone for both of us yet we have both seen some great results - we've lost weight, we've lost inches and our race times have got faster, there are lots of reasons you could attribute this too, but it's about doing something different, something you've never done before, it wakes your body up and it starts to respond.  Then you get the payback for the hard work :-)
Guess that's a bit sermon-ish cos it's Sunday - sorry folks!  That's the thing though about a blog it's about putting your thoughts and feelings down on virtual paper.

Today is the halfway mark in the destination fat loss program and I'm pleased to report that I have lost another 2.5lbs so that's 4.5lbs and another 6cm which is 16cm in 2 weeks :-)
The next 2 weeks are going to be interesting as they include 2 Fast days - I'll update you on these when I do them...

I had a "long lie" this morning, despite wakening at 5.30 I managed to dose until 6.30 and didn't actually get up until almost 7!  At 5.30 I did seriously contemplate getting up and going for a run, but by the time I got up at 7 the notion had gone!  Instead, we watched the start of the VLM and then I did a mega ironing - still watching the marathon :-)
Back to watch the finish screens to look for friends who were running today and I did manage to see one, James come across the line.  He looked strong which was good to see as he heads off to USA in a day or two to run the Big Sur marathon next Sunday!
Shopping and lunch were next on the agenda, then it was time to put a roast in for dinner, make a batch of muffins and a pot of soup.
In between times I took 5minutes out to ice my knee as it's been pretty sore past few days, but seems to be on the mend...
Sunday night we have an hour of pilates and have just changed to the Summer timetable so it's 8-9pm, it's a bit of a late start, but it does stop us slothing in front of telly or on the computer and it gives us a good stretch.  The only thing I don't like about the time is that we need to eat before we go and in order to digest it, dinner is earlier than usual which is ok but not my choice.  However it's too late when we come home.

Today's menu:
Breakfast:  scrambled eggs with a thin slice of nutty bread
Lunch:  Roast turkey with a salad of mixed leaves and tomatoes.
snack:  Apple and half a muffin when they came out the oven :-)
Dinner:  Roast beef, celeriac mash, broccoli and carrots (only a few)

I made Broccoli and watercress soup so that will be tomorrow's lunch.

Well done to everyone who ran the VLM today, especially our friends, James, Pete, Graeme, Lindsy & Owen, and a special Congratulations to Lindsy & Owen as next weekend they get married!

13/28

This was the view as we ran out of the forest today it was pretty cool.

I am running leg 2 of the Highland Fling next Saturday and I was unsure of a bit of the course, so asked John if we could go and recce it this weekend.  We were awake at 5.30am - guess it's just becoming a habit :-) so we had some porridge for breakfast and set off at 8am.  It was a lovely morning even though the forecast wasn't great - heavy showers for the whole country...

We're about an hour away from Drymen so by the time we got parked, jackets on (and trousers in John's case) and organised, we were probably on the track by 9.15am  It was sunny with some cloud and was fairly warm, I managed to keep my jacket on for about half an hour then it had to come off!  We had a nice run up into the forest, and when we go out the far side, the photo above was the view as we crested the rise. It was lovely, last time we'd come this way it was overcast and you couldn't really see much.

We ran 4 miles then turned round and headed back - that was the best bit as it's mainly an uphill climb all the way from Drymen but it doesn't seem too hilly until on the way back you realise that you are going downhill nearly the whole way!

After getting changed we set off to Glasgow to Tiso's to pick up some stuff for next week.  Had a nice lunch there too.

We missed all of the rain while we were out running, we drove through a couple of heavy showers on way home though.

Back home early afternoon and I've just chilled, icing my sore knee and watching the last Harry Potter movie.

Today's menu:

Breakfast:  gluten free proridge, half a banana, cinnamon and dollop of yoghurt

Lunch:  Baked potato with mediterranean veg in it - I had worked hard so the starchy carbs are ok :-)

Dinner:  Baked salmon fillet, roasted veg with extra broccoli

lots of water, some tulsi tea and more water.

I might run again tomorrow as there is a cycle path near us which has just been opened and I have been waiting for months for it to open so we can try it out...

12/28 Thank crunchie it's Friday!

On Monday morning, John promised us "something special for Friday".... Friday morning came, I woke about 5mins before my 5am alarm and got up and out and on the road.  The motorway signage made me smile this morning - 'don't drive tired' it said, No sh*t sherlock I thought :-) I wasn't really tired, just not fully awake...
However by the time I got to Cumbernauld and met my fellow Guinea Pigs we were all Bright and Breezy (John's catchphrase from week1!) and off we went. 
John started the session with the usual warmup routine, then said "you know the phrase Thank crunchie it's Friday?  Well we're not going to do crunchies, we're doing burpees" - I could hear Iain's heart sinking to his boots - I'm sure he won't mind me telling you he hates burpees :-)  I don't hate them I just can't do them, it's the one exercise I can't do with my poor old knee, it doesn't bend enough to allow me to either bend down or spring up, but I have modified exercises which I can do instead and I don't think I work any less than the others I just don't jump up and down as much as they do.  We had various variations of burpees, plain ones, narrow to wide ones, corkscrew ones, I'm sure there were more.... we interspersed them with  straighthrough lunges.  We then did 4 sets of tabatas, did I tell you before I love tabatas?  I was really pleased as I was able to do all the pressups without going onto my knees, 40 of them! The other tabata was a backwards lunge which was sometimes a bit wobbly after the pressups but still good fun :-)
Our pup from Wednesday came back to say hello today, he came a wee bit closer to us who knows he might be joining in by end of next week lol!

I've done well with my water intake today - just about to get another glass when I've finished this :-)
today I've eaten

Breakfast:  scrambled eggs
snack:  small banana with cherry and cinnamon tea
lunch:  veggie soup
dinner:  beef stew with carrots, green peas, parsnips

I'm not sure whether we'll be up in the morning for parkrun or not, I'd like to go but my knee has been sore today - although it's feeling better at the moment so it will be a case of setting the alarm and seeing what the morning brings.

11/28

Why is it when you just get used to something they go and change it!!! Doesn't matter if it's whereabouts in the supermarket your favourite goodies are, or in this case, the user interface for the blog!! Arrggghhh!! So that's why I'm back with my wee mouse - it won't kill us and learning something new is always good... even if it means that your shopping takes longer!

OK that's todays moan over with :-)  Been an interesting day today, I had to go back to see the orthopaedic consultant and get the results of my MRI scan, when I'd seen him in March we'd had a wee bit of a spat as he told me I'd to stop running and I told him I wasn't going to, so I wasn't sure what to expect today...
He came out to call me in for my appointment and as we walked back down the corridor, he said "ah, my marathon runner"... Lying waiting on his desk for me was a model of a knee, I thought oh here we go, but in fairness to him he was much nicer than last time and went through the xrays and the MRI results in great detail.  The short version is that the cartilage I have left in my knee is in good nick, the bad news is that there's lots of other stuff going on, but as there was no acute trauma in need of immediate surgery he agreed to let me and my physio continue to manage the issue until such times as I can't carry on and then we'll reassess the options... He says I'll need a new knee but I'm too young but I hope to prove him wrong :-)

Had a reasonably good day food wise today, and have managed to drink most of my 3 litres of water and enjoyed a nice cup of tulsa tea this afternoon.

Breakfast was a deconstructed omelette - sounds interesting huh?  Bacon dry fried in a large pan, some rocket sprinkled on top then 4 eggs broken on top of that, we had half each and it was nice - easy way to get more greens into the meals :-)

Lunch:   tuna salad with some chickpeas, pepper, red onion and mixed salad leaves, spinach, watercress, lambs lettuce and a dark red one I can't remember name of.

Dinner:  Chicken fajita salad - I had lots of peppers to use up so peppers, onions, chicken, some paprika and chilli, served hot over the rest of the salad leaves above :-)

Snack:  a banana while waiting an extra half hour for my appointment...

no exercise today other than the walk through the hospital and the usual walking of a normal work day, it's an early start tomorrow for our Friday workout which promises to be "something special..."

Tomorrow's session means we're half way there!

I'll fill you in tomorrow evening!

10/28 OW! & WOW!

Thought I'd post the guinea pig eating the dandelion again today as we spent a fair bit of this morning's workout with our faces dangerously close to the grass! (it did smell sweet and fresh though)
This morning's session was titled "24" this meant that we did 8 different tabata exercises 3 times, 45 secs work, with 15secs rest in between. It was a toughie but goodie, but like I said before... I love tabata training :-)
There had been a lot of rain here last night and early morning so I was expecting it to be a fairly soggy morning, but it wasn't too bad and although it was cold when we started it wasn't nearly as cold as Monday and we soon warmed up. We had a potential new recruit this morning, a runner had his retriever pup with him and passed us, the dog couldn't decide whether to come join us or carry on with his run... he gave in to temptation and went off with his master eventually.

So what were the OW! and WOW! of the title?
If you are a friend on facebook you will already know the WOW as I was so pleased I posted it earlier today. I have a dress I wear for work when I want to feel important at meetings (only kidding!) a classic black shift dress which I like and feel smart in but I have always had to squeeze into it and would only wear it with a cardi or jacket so you didn't see the lumpy bits round the back/bust arms etc.
I decided to put it on today as I had to go to a meeting which I wasn't really wanting to go to but which I knew I'd feel better and more confident at if I was dressed smartly. I literally "slipped" into it - it was an awesome feeling and while wearing the dress helps me feel confident, knowing how easily it went on was an even bigger boost! I now need to take the skirt of it in about 2 inches as well :-)
so that was the WOW... the OW which I didn't think about til later on in the day was when after my shower this morning I went to dry my hair, and the hairdryer in one hand, the brush in the other, both held above my head made the triceps go OW!!
However the one thing that these both have in common is that they really prove to me the benefit of getting up early to do the sessions, and also the healthy eating - thanks again to John and Pamela at PinPoint Fitness!!!!

I think I've eaten a bit better today:
Breakfast: raspberries half a banana and yoghurt with some 4 seed mix
snack: apple
Lunch: 2 boiled eggs with 2 thin slices of nutty bread
Dinner: salmon fillet with roasted veg - red, yellow, green peppers, baby tomatoes, courgettes

I had two cups of licorice tea today - it's not unpleasant to drink but it is a bit sweet for my taste, however I will persevere with it if only for it's reputed benefits and have drunk about half of my daily water intake so I might make it up before bedtime, though that will mean I won't have an unbroken sleep!

As well as the exercise session this morning I had a 4mile run with friends after work, we ran up Dumyat ( a wee hill near us) I found it hard going getting up the hill, this morning's session took it's toll on my legs, but I had a flyer of a run downhill, I love running downhills and I was going really fast tonight :-) It was brilliant!
have a good evening folks and tomorrow's Thursday so it's nearly the weekend!

9/28

And I'm proud to say I didn't eat any of them!!!!

Two friends and colleagues were retiring today so we decided to have an afternoon tea for them, myself and 2 other friends baked the goodies and lots of people came in over a couple of hours to have a cuppa, a cake and a blether and to wish them well. It was a lovely afternoon, but tinged with a wee bit of sadness as with all the reorganisation that's going on at the moment at work, their departure marks the end of an era... Our team will never be the same sort of team again :-(

It really wasn't too difficult to resist the temptation as I was busy making sure everyone had a cuppa and the plates were kept replenished and organising the presentations etc. I did manage to drink almost 2 litres of water throughout the proceedings though!

It was a busy day as I had to go to a software demonstration this morning through in Camelon, and then rush back to get the afternoon's festivities organised. I had intended going for a wee muddy run in the woods tonight - I was even lying in bed at 5.30am planning my route! However the hailstones/rain changed my mind for me, that and the tired legs from all the standing around this afternoon and running up and downstairs getting more cups etc etc.

I slept all night again last night - I can't remember the last time I slept 2 nights in a row! I did however wake just before 5.30am and enjoyed the luxury of just dozing til the alarm came on just after 6. Will be up at 5 tomorrow as it's fitcamp day :-)

What did we eat today?

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon and tomato
Lunch: some grapes and a banana in the car...
Dinner: chicken curry with loads of spinach in it served with broccoli and cauliflower rice.
no snacks today, not had time, I know it's probably not enough for the day in terms of being properly balanced, but some days you just have to do what you can :-)
However, as I write this I might just go and cut a slice of nutty bread and have another glass of water, then it will be time for early bed.

8/28, week 2 day1

It's a cliche but it's true :-) After a long tiring and emotionally draining day yesterday, when I woke at 0450 I soooo wanted to go back to sleep, however I got out of bed got myself organised and set off to day1 week2 of PinPoint Fitness' new fitcamp regime.

It was a cold one this morning, however the plus side of that was that the ground wasn't as soggy as last week, still a bit of sliding involved, but not so wet knees, bum and elbows :-)

We had a great workout this morning, sorry I know I've said it before, but you'll hear me say it lots I'm sure in the coming 3 weeks... I love Tabata training!
It was another beautiful sunny morning with clear blue skies and next to no cloud but it was -1C although once we got going we were soon all warm enough.

I got home to discover John in remarkably good nick considering his exploits yesterday and after breakfast and a shower it was time for work.
It is slightly disconcerting driving to work and feeling the muscles deep in your bum twitching of their own accord!
Once the post workout buzz wore off I was sooooooo sleepy and tired. I think yesterday was catching up with me, it's too convoluted to explain but the combination of having had a good run myself, being overwhelmed that John had such an incredible time and got a Boston Qualifier, and then worrying about our friend who was doing his first marathon and wasn't as quick as he'd hoped to be, took it's toll... add that to the early starts and the 15hour day yesterday and you'll understand why I'm sleepy :-)
We have two friends and colleagues retiring tomorrow and I've been busy organising their farewell do as well, which involves it's own stresses. However the macaroons have actually turned out ok, the daisy cakes are done and the mars bar cake is cooling. My other friends and fellow ESOs are also busy baking and getting organised so hopefully we'll have a nice afternoon tea tomorrow.
today's menu:-
breakfast: raspberries, 1/2 banana and yoghurt
snack: blueberry muffin
lunch: salmon fillet with leftover stirfry veg
dinner: chicken breast fillet with broccoli, carrots, green beans

I've also managed to drink loads of water and some decaf green tea and a tulsi tea this afternoon.

One thing about being tired out yesterday - I slept all night - I don't usually manage that so hopefully I'll get another good sleep tonight and be back to my usual self tomorrow!

7/28 A Long Day :-)

I think this is the most appropriate image for today's update all of the Guinea Pigs have reported fabby losses in lbs and cms/inches after week 1, well done everyone :-) Thanks to John and Pamela of PinPoint Fitness for the workouts and the wee prezzies which keep us motivated :-) That's us 25% of the way already!

The picture was painted on the road between miles 25&26 of Lochaber Marathon at Fort William which is where I've spent today. John was running the marathon so we were up early and heading off up the almost deserted road to Fort William by 7 this morning. It was a beautiful morning and the scenery was breathtaking in places, there is still a fair bit of snow on the high peaks and the sun shining on it was fantastic.
While I was waiting for him to finish the race, I took myself of for a 16km run, up Neptune's staircase ( a series of 8 locks = 8 equally sized small hills the same distance apart) and along the canal for a few miles. It was a good run and I was pleased that I did it today 15minutes faster than I'd done the same run last year. However John had a phenomenal run, smashing his PB by 9mins to come home in 3h22m! Not bad for 26.miles 385yds or 42.2km!

I've not eaten brilliantly today but have tried to stick to my regime as best I could,
Breakfast: Gluten free porridge with banana and honey
Lunch: A roasted chicken breast grabbed from Morrisons (other supermarkets are available) and I'd barely finished it when superman ran home!
Dinner: And this is where I was really bad but if you've been to FW you'll know how limited choices are... McDonalds =:-0 but it was a chicken salad!
Drunk lots of water and when we got home had some
blueberries, raspberries and yoghurt so tried hard :-)

Back properly on the wagon tomorrow and here's hoping for another good week! I think I might be a bit stiff at our workout tomorrow but that's what I get for running fast today :-)

6/28 PJ Day!

Yep that's been me today, I don't do this very often, but once in a while life catches up with me and I'm ashamed to say that I have spent today in my pjs...

I woke up early as usual, but had a lie in until 7 (that's a lie in for me!) and decided when I got up that I wasn't going to go to parkrun as I'd originally intended. I still thought I might run a couple of miles later on in the morning with John but in the end I didn't. It was a 'fine drying wind' this morning so got 3 loads of washing done and dried outside and baked some macaroons for a tea-party next week, and then another nutty loaf. John went for his run on his own, I just didn't have any energy, so I decided to save it all for tomorrow as I am determined I am going for my run tomorrow at Fort William.
After lunch I slept for an hour and feel a bit better for it, so then it was time to watch my donkeys run in the National and bring the washing in :-)

So, not much to report today, got a few £s back for 3rd place in the National, won't let me give up work but might buy a beer for John and George when they finish their race tomorrow.

Today's menu was
breakfast: Gluten free porridge with banana, drizzle of agave nectar and a spoonful of yoghurt
( I tried the millet porridge but it was too gritty so used gluten free oats instead)
lunch: Chicken stir fry, chicken breasts with broccoli, cabbage (red/white/green) onions, carrots, beansprouts
snack: slice of nutty bread
dinner: sirloin steak with brussels, cauliflower, carrots ( & baked potato for John)

On a positive note though, I am not as stiff/sore after yesterday's workout as I thought I might be I hope this means that I'm quite fit and my recovery is good, and not that I'm not working hard enough!!
will be heading for an early bed tonight as we're up at 0530 to head to Lochaber for marathon!

Day 5/28

Friday 13th, luckily I don't suffer from triskadekaphobia so this was just another day for me - except it was another 5am rise! I don't actually mind getting up early, I'm definitely a morning person, I don't do late nights very well, probably haven't since I was a teenager and even in those days I didn't lie abed until lunchtime, so 0450 and I was awake and up out of bed to get ready for session no. 3!

It was another nice morning and it's quite a noticeable difference as the week has gone on, just how much lighter it is every morning. It's about 15mins from Monday in terms of when it gets light, and ok Monday morning was heavy rain and cloud whereas Wednesday and this morning were much brighter and frostier! Both mornings when I have been driving home, there has been ice on the Forth at Stirling...
We'd a great session this morning it was called Ladders - you do 1 rep then 2 reps then 3 reps up to 9 reps so that you've reached the top of the ladder, unlike a pyramid, you don't come back down again you move onto another exercise :-) Really tough strength and conditioning exercises too. We worked in pairs and I was working with the lovely Lauren and we should get an extra gold star because we did 51 reps of each exercise, but the 'T pushups' we assumed you had to twist to both sides as 1 rep, but turned out that that should have counted as 2, so we did 102 of them! Bet we pay for that tomorrow :-(
Most of Scotland has experienced some pretty heavy and sudden hail and rain showers over the past few days and the park we use for our sessions is no exception, the mossy grass is therefore slightly squidgier than normal so trying to keep a grip with your feet while doing planks and pressups adds that extra dimension to the exercise experience lol! The worms seemed to quite like the company too and were popping out to join in. They should have been out on Wednesday morning when we were doing inchworms...
I felt good after the workout, strong and invigorated, I even ran back to the car! However the early start is taking it's toll this evening as I'm really sleepy now... but as John is preparing for his marathon on Sunday and we have a potentially early rise tomorrow I can go to bed soon ;-)

Today is the first day that I've felt hungry at all, I forgot to take a banana or muffin to work with me for my snack so I didn't have anything from my breakfast at home til lunchtime and from about 1130 until I had my soup at 1245ish I was ravenous! However I'm pleased that I resisted the temptation of the choccy biscuits and things that were available at coffee time - that's the time of day I didn't drink a coffee!

Today's menu:
pre workout I had 1/3 of a small banana and half cup of decaf green tea
post workout I ate the rest of the banana and drank rest of tea(cold)

Breakfast: berries, pumpkin seeds and yoghurt, half of a wheat free apple&cinnamon cookie very kindly produced by Pamela after our workout :-)
Lunch: vegetable soup
Snack when I got home: 2 slices nutty bread
Dinner: Roasted sweet pepper soup with rocket leaves & goats cheese

Now I know I should have had more but I don't feel hungry so I haven't had anything else - we had planned to have steak and veggies, but John who's fuelling for his race on Sunday had been eating extra so he wasn't hungry either so the steaks and veggies will be tomorrow night's dinner.

Hopefully I will get up in the morning Bright and Breezy and ready for parkrun, but if I sleep longer then it will be the long lie which wins. Sunday morning will be another very early start as we have to be up in Fort William for John's race start and I will go for my longish run on the Caledonian Canal - which isn't nearly as scenic at that point as the Forth & Clyde but it's still an ok place to run so I am looking forward to it - Neptune's staircase is an interesting challenge, I would hope that I can climb it even better than I managed it last year!
I will then meet up with Susan & Courtney whose husband/dad George is running his first marathon and we'll be there to cheer the runners home.
I'll need to plan carefully tomorrow to make sure I take food with me etc but I'm sure I will manage :-) However you might not get a Sunday night update as we will be fairly late home and very tired...
Have a good weekend folks, let's hope the weather is on the up and may the marathon gods smile on the boys and all our friends who're racing at Lochaber or in Edinburgh at the Rock'n'Roll Half!
As well as our friend Sylvie (from Toronto) who is running the Paris marathon.

Tonight's dinner - beef madras with cauliflower/cumin rice - delicious!!

Ok day 4/28 and had best sleep for ages last night, ok to backtrack a little... when I came in from yesterday's session, I had really achey legs they knew they had done a lot of stretching! As the day wore on though they eased and by evening I was really pleased at how they'd recovered. So I am sure this contributed to my good sleep :-) I woke this morning feeling refreshed and all day have felt "bright and breezy" I've felt like my eyes are properly open, my hair which is a good barometer of my health, has been bouncy ( a good sign) and my legs whilst they remind me I've been working them, aren't sore.
I feel a little guilty today that I haven't run since the weekend, this is partly because I've been tired from the early mornings, have been busy cooking when I've come home, and because I've had a little bit of "can't be gassed"...
I am however looking forward to the weekend as I have 2 runs planned, we are going to Falkirk parkrun on Saturday morning where John is going to pace me round the course to see if I can go a little bit faster than before and get another PB, if I don't get it this time I won't be too disappointed as I've got much faster in the last few weeks and it's now about shaving off half a minute or so not the 5min chunks I managed before! Sunday morning will see us up early as we're off to Fort William, John is running the Lochaber marathon, and I will go for a longish run - 2hrs or so while he's away out on the course. This will let me be back at the sports centre with time to get cleaned up and changed before the winner comes home :-) It was a great event last year, not a huge field and not a huge support, but a very genuine support and a great atmosphere. It was also a beautiful warm sunny day last year - we'll settle for dry or showery this year! (forecast is pants!)
I will go and run up the locks at the canal, there are 8 of them - Neptune's staircase and it's a good workout to run up them all and then I'll trot along the canal path for a few miles and turn back.
So what have I eaten today?

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with toasted nutty bread
Snack: small banana and decaf green tea with lemon
Lunch: leftover chicken pizza with mixed leaf salad
Afternoon snack: blueberry muffin and tulsi tea
Dinner: beef madras with cauliflower cumin rice

Feeling quite sleepy now but still feeling brighter and more refreshed than I have for a few weeks - don't think I feel quite so stressed...

Tomorrow morning is our 3rd fitness session so I'll be up at 5am so it's another early night for me.

3/28 Session 2

Well John wasn't lying on Monday, he upped the ante this morning :-) It was great though! Hard work and broke a sweat and was sore when finished but got the endorphins going and that's the best bit! My fellow GPs will probably disown me for the following comment but I love Tabata training!!

I genuinely believe that this is what has helped my running most in recent months, it teaches your body/brain that even when you think you're absolutely done, you can usually manage "one more!" Your anaerobic function becomes much better and it makes you stronger.
The weather forecast was wrong for this morning, it was forecast for rain, sleet, snow, hail and thunder but when I woke at 5am it was dry and the sun was just starting to lighten the sky, we did our workout under beautiful blue skies, and although it was a wee bitty nippy on the fingers at the start, we soon warmed up! We even had music this morning which was a nice wee addition and partially drowned the puffing and panting...

Today's menu - small banana and some water on way to workout
Breakfast: Brambles and yoghurt
Snack: Blueberry muffin
Lunch: Turkey stir fry (leftover from last night)
Dinner: Chicken pizza and salad leaves see picture - it's yummy!

I was quite sore later this morning after all the stretching we did but by dinner time that has eased and I feel pretty good tonight if a little tired due to the early start.

I need to try and fit in a run tomorrow at some point - might be lunchtime or after work - unless I waken early in the morning in which case I might try to get a wee run in before breakfast.

The beef madras for tomorrow night's dinner is bubbling away merrily in the kitchen and the aroma is very pleasant :-)
more tomorrow...

Day 2/28

OK it's not that bad, the guinea pig in the picture is eating a dandelion and it appealed to my warped sense of humour :-) I've not been hungry at all, I've eaten plenty and enjoyed it all!
I decided today would be a rest day in that I wouldn't run, I have a commitment to run tomorrow evening so between that and our 6am session tomorrow and the DOMS from yesterday I thought that wasn't unreasonable.
Today's menu was
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with tomato
mid morning snack: Cherry and Cinnamon tea with a Banana and carrot muffin
Lunch: Poached salmon with a mixed leaf salad
Dinner: Stir fried pepper, onion, celery, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli and turkey

Tonight I baked some blueberry muffins so that will replenish the "tub" :-)
I will need to prepare tomorrow's lunch (leftover stir fry) and breakfast (fresh berries and yoghurt) as I will be up at 5am tomorrow for session 2 with my fellow guinea pigs and our gurus!
So looks like another early night on the cards but telly is rubbish anyway :-)

Session 1 - done :-)

Day 1 done!
I went to bed early last night - by 2130 and was asleep within minutes, I'd set the alarm(s) for 5am but woke at 0200, 0300 and 0445 so I got up then :-) I'd been organised and laid out my stuff in preparation and in the hope of keeping the noise to a minimum so that I didn't disturb John too much.
A glass of water, half a cup of cherry and cinammon tea and I was good to go. I took a banana and some water with me and nibbled half the banana on the journey.
I think I was the first to arrive in the car park where we were all meeting, but it was only a matter of minutes until others started driving in. Those who had paperwork to complete did so and after introductions off we headed to the park. John and Pamela took us through the warmup routine and then demonstrated the exercises we were going to do, we all duly got down on the wet moss and did as we were bid :-)
I thoroughly enjoyed the workout, I'm sure that he wasn't kidding when John said it would get harder, but it was a good workout never the less, and there is something extra that you get from exercising outside, the birds were singing and the rabbits were hopping around...
Funny thing struck me, it rained on the drive through and it rained on the drive back, but I am not aware of it raining while we were working out :-)
Home to a breakfast of fresh fruit and yoghurt, a race to enter and then I'm off to meet a friend to take her out for a wee gentle jog. The rest of the day will be spent baking nutty bread and preparing food for the week.

Update: Had a gentle 5km jog/walk with Susan it stretched my legs out and she did really well. I then went for a Mega healthy shopping - I think you should get extra clubcard points for having a healthy shopping trolley! Had a nice soak in the bath to ease my legs and heat up as it was a bit damp and chilly when we were out running, then after some home made soup it was time to hit the kitchen for an afternoon of domestic goddess icity!
I baked 2 nutty breads and prepped the ingredients for another 2, this is a really nice loaf which contains no wheat or yeast, but does have a lot of nuts in it which require chopping and this is time consuming so I decided to weigh out and zipbag the dry ingredients and nuts so that if I am making more later in the week or at weekend it will save time. I also made a nice Balti which we had for dinner and some home made soup, oh and roasted a turkey which I couldn't resist as it was less than half price :-)

Today's menu:
pre 6am session - cup of cherry and cinnamon tea and half a banana. Other half banana on journey home.
Breakfast: Fresh fruit and yoghurt
Lunch: Home made veggie soup
Dinner: Chicken Balti with cauliflower
Snack: Carrot and Banana muffin - again no wheat, sugar or animal fat.

At least 2.5litres of water!
Think it will be another early bed tonight :-)

Early Night

well it's only 21.19 and I'm heading off to bed, looking forward to tomorrow morning and meeting all my fellow Guinea Pigs :-)
More after we've been through session 1...

A Brief Introduction

In January of this year myself and my husband started a course of personal training with John and Pamela from Pinpoint Fitness. We have followed their eating guidelines and the structured weight programmes which they devised for us as well as our 'normal' running training. We've both lost over 1 stone in weight and have seen huge improvements in our strength, fitness and general health. This has helped us achieve new PBs in each of the races we've run so far this year!

I am about to embark on a new 4 week programme with Pinpoint Fitness and I'm going to blog about my journey here...

come back regularly for updates :-)