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.

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.

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!