Hare-y Moment

Last week was a bit light on exercise apart from pedalling to work every day. Husband had a tough week - 3 day course which entailed early starts & 5-6 hours driving each day - and an interview on Friday that he had to prepare a presentation for - so I focussed on being supportive wifey!

Good allotment stint on Saturday with Husband and Goldfish - solid 4 hours of digging over the broad beans bed & planting out the leeks in their place, lots of weeding & watering.

We went to QE Country Park this morning with Goldfish & did the HCC circuit we've done a few times before but with a difference at the start where we spent about an hour on the "proper" mountain bike course - really enjoyed the single track but confirmed that:

• I am rubbish at steep uphills where tree roots are involved
• I am also rubbish at hair pin downhills

I was really disappointed that I still can't do the steep chalk downhill stretch near Ditching. On a more positive note, I was pleased with some of my downhills on the main course. Husband was really good - esp on the downhills (no surprise).

The hare-y moment was Husband's. He was waiting for Goldfish & me to chicken our way down the track at Ditching with his bike leaned up against a fence. Hare appears, goes up to sniff bike, studies Husband, and vanishes again.

Injured instructor

Pedalled fast to get home in time to go to Body Combat, rushed out, got stuck in cricket traffic but got to gym just in time. It was a new routine tonight - but we only got to track 2 when the instructor managed to fall off the back of the stage, hurting her leg! She tried to carry on, but had to resort to sitting on the stage & simply telling us what to do. Lots of suggestions that she should stop - maybe get her leg checked out, but she decided she could resort to playing an old track we'd all done before & talking us through it - but finally came to her senses & gave up!

Went to the allotment with Husband, who needed de-London-ing, to water then came home via chip shop - not quite what I'd planned!

Not a PB Run.....

According to my running magazine, it's a bad habit to expect a personal best every time you run - so I shouldn't be disappointed at doing 5K in 30mins with Husband last night - especially as I hadn't run for a couple of weeks.

Nice evening though - dry ground, not too hot & loving the long June hours of daylight.

Pedalled to work today & yesterday, a little allotmenteering on Sunday & yesterday evening.
Only other exercise has been working through mountians of post holiday laundry - but I can't find a WLR exercise category for that!

Kitzbuhel

Just back from a week's mountain biking in Austria - apologies for no blogging but I still haven't persuaded my mobile phone to talk to my blog account & I didn't fancy spending holiday in internet cafe!

Husband & I stayed in a basic hotel in Kitzbuhel with mountain bikes & guiding supplied by Mountain Edge - v.impressed! We had new Kona hardtail Hoss bikes, beautifully maintained for the week and I can't believe I wasn't saddle sore despite having a bloke's saddle. Loads of rides withing striking distance of the town so that we only got into a car once (to get to an evening meal arranged in a nearby town). Other than bikes, the transport we used most were the Gondolas which transported us + bikes up mountains.

Beautiful scenery, and the weather improved from showery to glorious sunshine over the week.

We could have occupied ourselves well without the guiding - more than enough well mapped, signed tracks. However, Rob knew all the good bits of singletrack that aren't on the maps. He was also able to give us advance warning of barbed wire barriers, gates & stiles as well advice on good lines to take! The singletracks were terrifying - much steeper than almost all we'd done in Wales - and I walked many. However, I was pleased that by the end of the week, I was able to do one bit that was frustrating me (steep but easy slope that had a much too convenient gravel track chicken alternative!) thanks to encouragement from Rob. Husband did really well, only coming off once & riding bits that I'd written off as unridable!

Company was good too - included an Australian who's teaching PE in Slough, a Swedish student, Rob's fiancee, and a 13 year old Russian kid. Had some good food - especially in the alpine huts we had lunch in. Discovered that schnapps solves everything and that Austrian cider (Most) isn't as good as Austrian beer. In addition to riding, we did a little swimming as the lift pass included free entry to town's Aquarena which had a good 25m pool and epilepsy inducing waterslides (dark bits with flashy disco lights - surreal!).

No mishaps apart from Husband not feeling well enough to cycle on Friday.

My souvenir is tanned arms and white hands, courtesy of my gloves... also feeling quite pleased that my fitness levels are up to 6 days of riding and that I was able to ride up all of a particularly cruel ascent on the last day (going from 1670m up to 1938m to Pengelstein).

Cheesefoot Head

Must get out of this new bad habit of blogging once a week!

Anyway, since last Wednesday, I've commuted by bike 5 times, been to the gym just once, walked from house to Eastleigh, done lots of allotmenting & did a 44km bike ride last weekend. The ride was from the house with Husband & Goldfish, over to Marwell, up to Cheesefoot head via Dean and back cutting underneath Owslebury. Husband came off & twisted his ankle when he got his trousers caught on his pump - very glad he wasn't hurt as we are off to Austria tomorrow (today now - looking at the time!) & would hate for him not to be able to enjoy it. I was pleased that I was able to cycle up a seemingly impossible hill. Beautiful day & fab views across the green Hampshire countryside.

I really enjoyed the gym last night as I was able to vent the negative energy from a frustrating day at work on the treadmill! I can just about cope with 2 min intervals of 10.5kph/12.5kph over 30mins now - just 0.5kph more than before, but boy, it feels so much tougher.

Wrong Shoes

I'm contemplating purchasing a Slendertone. My middle is not very attractive atm, I loathe abs exercises and my pilates DVD remains unwatched. The only abs work I do is at Body Combat (which was good tonight even though I was next to a goddess in hot pants) and I think I need to do more than 3mins a week to get any results!

I had to wear my cycling shoes all day as I managed to forget to pack alternatives. Normally, this wouldn't matter too much as I wear trainers as opposed to cycling shoes for my commute. However, my trainers are still soaked from Thursday's drenching en route home (and somewhat smelly) so it was my hard soled very-cycling-looking ones I normally keep for the weekend. Wasn't my best fashion statement.

I've tried for about the 3rd time this year to get the Big D back on track - day 3 & it's going quite well - deficit of 2700 calories built up so far if I include exercise calories, 700 if I don't....

Calories in > Calories burned

Feeling guilty about having not blogged for over a week! A sign of being busy maybe (that's my feeble excuse)....

Anyway, I only pedalled to work 3 days last week as it was Bank Holiday on Mon & we had Friday booked off so we could go to my ex colleague C's wedding in Stirling. Lots of allotmenting on Monday - 3 hours of weeding made easier by lots of rain earlier - typical BH weather! More rain on Thursday evening meant that I arrived home literally dripping! My shoes are still wet today! Body combat on Wed, but overall, a fairly laid back week.

C & R's wedding was great - didn't know many people but everyone was really friendly which made it a fab evening as well. C looked stunning - strapless long gown with corst type effect down the back. R was kilted as were most of the blokes. Immaculate venue - a sandstone manor house in beautiful grounds complete with peacocks! Lots of good food, lots of alcohol. Boogied in the evening to a very versatile band - mixing Dolly Parton, the Proclaimers & some trad Scottish tunes - even Husband danced. Very impressed that my shoes only caused low level agony (strappy wedges with a heel). Our moves were put to shame by very talented young Irish dancers. We called it a day when the band did at 1am.

We then played tourist - quite a bit of walking which eventually took its toll on Husband's ankles. Stirling Castle was interesting & the day kind of went by easily- beautiful weather meant far reaching views. In the photo, the big peak on the left is Ben Lomond which I walked up in 1989 whilst on a field trip!

Stayed in Leith on Sat night & walked half a mile across cobbles in strappy wedges to restaurant - this time, my feet really did hurt! Pint consumed sitting on a pontoon followed by a good seafood meal - see what I mean by calories??

Sunday - more walking around the Royal Botanic Gardens - but the weather finally broke whilst we were ambling around the glasshouses. It did mean that we almost had the place to ourselves in the afternoon!

Cycled in today & went to gym tonight in a vain attempt to offset the excesses.... 10mins x trainer then 30mins intervals. Husband swam but his lungs aren't completely over the cold he had last weekend.