Leading from the sidelines

The only bit of me that was running tonight was my nose! I have a most unwelcome summer cold that's added extra challenges to the packing we need to do prior to moving out of our home on Thursday - and meant that I pedaled alongside the runners tonight.

One of the runners once told me that she liked it when I cycled with the running group as it implies to onlookers that she's too speedy for me to run alongside!

I have to admit that there are some advantages - the panniers are handy for unwanted layers, water bottles & car keys. It also means that I look at others' running techniques more than when I run with the group.

It's also meant that my road bike remains with me rather than in storage & I'm hoping that I will be able to use it at least a few times over our nomadic period.

Biggest downside tonight was that as it wasn't my mountain bike, we were constrained to the pavement on a beautiful evening. And it really doesn't feel as good to be on the sidelines - I prefer to be in the group.

Priorities?

It looks as if we'll have a gap between completing on our house sale & purchase - which will mean a couple of weeks relying on our fabulous friends' spare rooms. We are so lucky to have friends who are stepping in to help!

We're in the process of sorting out about 20 years worth of stuff and I think we've got the trickiest bits nailed - tropical fish tank, umpteen containers of plants (including mega spiky agaves), food and bikes. This means that I can now stress about how to stay fit whilst homeless!

I think we'll be more regular visitors to the gym, not least because the food is OK value. However, I'm struggling to work out how I can continue to cycle to work as this will mean more complex bike and car storage! There's also the laundry issue - smelly sports kit will have to wait for weekends to be washed as I don't really want to take advantage of friends' washing machines. More eating out will definitely challenge my waistline.

And the move was my feeble excuse for failing to do a long run this weekend. Probably the biggest risk to my fitness is my motivation (as ever). If I want there to be obstacles, there will always be obstacles. Trick is to keep my Pollyanna head on, look for the positive and focus on staying off the sofa.

Online charity sponsorship sites

I've been using a well known charity sponsorship website for a couple of years now - it's made fundraising so much easier and painless for me and my generous sponsors. But there are more available so I've been doing a little digging into the alternatives, comparing Everyclick, Virgin Money Giving, Bmycharity and Just Giving.

I'm not a fan of Everyclick's fundraiser web pages - very basic and I find it tricky to navigate - but it it is unique in not charging any setup or monthly fees to charities for being able to receive funds through their site. £10 donated with a visa debit card & with standard rate gift aid gives your chosen charity £12.23. There's also the USP of additional funds that can be raised by using Yahoo via the site.Probably a good choice for fund raising for a small charity.

Bmycharity is new to me - the fund raiser web pages look fine and it gives the highest sum to your chosen charity of the four I've looked at: £12.63 on the same basis as I've shown above. However, it charges £150 plus VAT setup to charities for being able to receive funds through their site. If you are raising money for a big charity where this may be a comparatively trivial expense, this site could be a good option.

Virgin Money Giving's USP is that they are set up as a not for profit company. £12.47 is the sum your charity will get for £10 donated as specified above. They charge £100 plus VAT setup to charities for being able to receive funds through their site. I like the idea that fund raisers have a "permanent" web page where they simply add campaigns - if you regularly raise money (e.g. I do one run for charity every year), this could appeal.

Just Giving charges charities £15 per month for being able to receive funds through their site. £10 results in £11.92 being given to the charity - the lowest of the 4. So apart from being very used to using the site and finding setting up fund raising pages quite easy, I think I now have compelling reasons to go elsewhere!

Kirkcudbright & Skye

More holiday blogging as I've got internet access again after a few days camping.
Tuesday in Cumbria was spent walking around Arnside Knott - one of Husband & I's favourite spots from way back when we were at Lancaster Uni. Clear blue skies meant that the Cumbrian hills were really visible (for once) from across the Kent estuary. We then drove over Hardknott Pass, stopping for a wander at the Roman fort.
Wednesday was spent with Middle Sister, C and MBIL along the easy going cycle path that now connects Caton with Glasson Dock through Lancaster - more old stomping grounds for us! C looked very contented on th back of MBIL's bike - managing to fall asleep on the way back.
Drove up to Borgue nr Kirkcudbright to glamp in a wigwam for 3 nights. This is a wooden hut type thing with electricity, mini fridge, microwave, kettle and sleeing platform with foam mattresses that can in theory sleep 4-5. Or me & Husband very comfortably! Loved the campsite too - and plan to return.
Rain meant we did sightseeing in Kirkcudbright on Thursday, with a gentle riverside amble.
Friday - we finally got the bikes to one of the 7stanes. Dalbeattie was one of the first to be built & its signature challenge is "The Slab" in the picture. Much too scary for me - it's a kind of vertical drop. As for Husband - well, cameras don't lie do they??
My technique was abysmal as per usual - although I did improve a little towards the end with my very own (patio) slab type drop off. And I've done my first berms! Very little - but hey, that's 2 Top 40s covered in one afternoon (other was mtb-ing somewhere new).
Very excited to see a red squirrel - and Husband saw a pine martin.
Dalbeattie doesn't exactly flow in many places, but it's certainly challenging and the views were fabulous. Again, a return is planned.
Saturday was spent mostly in the car, driving to Skye. We're in a cottage with the Fabulous In Laws for a week.
Weather today was abysmal - apart from a blue sky 40 minutes which we were able to take full flukey advantage of with a 3km walk to Talisker Bay in the picture before a tour of the Talisker Distillery.

Easter Sunshine

So grateful for the weather deciding to be a little less typical for a British bank holiday weekend on Sunday & Monday. We'd hibernated during the rain on Good Friday & Saturday decorating the hall & landing (another Top 40 is close to completion), but escaped outside on Easter Sunday, spending the morning with Kitty & Goldfish at the allotment, then going for a 26km ride in the New Forest.

We did what I think of Kitty's route - Husband's favourite as it has some more interesting descents than most of the bike trails in the Forest. For the second time ever, I managed to cycle up the steep gravelly slope that's just after a horsey underpass. Completed it in 2 hours with no punctures - although Husband's chain & associated gubbins were demonstrating signs of wear.

I noticed the mosses more than usual - probably because all the usual spring plant happenings are so behind this year.

More sunshine today. Baby Sister came over with the children & we spent the afternoon admiring lambs, piglets and so many chickens at Manor Farm Country Park. J was very taken with a big black stag turkey, murmuring "magnificent" - not expected vocab for him! R still doesn't scream when being held by me - weird. A kept on calling me Grandma - bad enough - but she was aided and abetted by my naughty baby Sister!

Running tonight - I got very muddy checking out suitability of the path next to the Itchen, taking advantage of a no-show 7pm group. 5 for the 8pm group and we did the Bishopstoke hill route.

We need more Rabbits

I used to be a keen Girl Guide - and the organisers of the company I was in all took names from Winnie the Pooh characters - hence the leader was Rabbit to us. She was also a friend of my Mum - and Mum let me know today that she died 2 days ago after a long illness. She gave so much time and effort over to Guiding - and was an influence on me and many others. Enthusiastic, dedicated, caring and utterly consistent. More Rabbits in the world would be a good thing!

Walk free ride

No walking today! But this is a good thing as we were on a bike ride in the Forest. Husband & I did the uber loop - a 39km perimeter of our regular Forest rides, completed in 2:55 of pedalling. I am feeling happy about not resorting to walking on a slippery, sticky stretch where the week's rain had made an impact. And happy about actually pedalling all the way up a slope where I've always resorted to pushing my bike in the past. It's just after the tunnel under the dual carriageway (often full of horses, but not today) with a gravel short and steep stretch just as you come out. Perhaps this compensates for my miserable performance at the gym on Friday - and maybe for the chocolate dessert I had last night with ice cream.

My bike is broken though - front brake was scraping from the outset, making progress a tad more challenging. And about halfway around, my front wheel started making metallic twangy noises. Husband has diagnosed a broken bearing in the front wheel - and I have no idea, so he must be right!

I definitely prefer bike rides where the ride is the point of the day - not just an obligatory piece of exercise to be squeezed in somehow/sometime. I like being able to focus on enjoying myself, not worrying about getting back in time to hit the supermarket. And a mug of tea from the thermos is a lovely way to round off a day in the Forest.

I was in domestic mode yesterday - 7 jars of seville orange marmalade and we cooked for Kitty & Goldfish which was an op to discuss allotment plans for the year. Domesticity may recommence in a sec as I've found a recipe for my spare oranges....

Fitness Equipment Al Fresco

I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo here (poor quality - sorry!) but some intriguing equipment has appeared outside the Hub (home to Eastleigh WRN amongst others). It's next to the kids playground, but appears to be gym style equipment - there's a cross trainer thing, strider thing and a weird skiing thing. We did give it a try after running on Tuesday - fair play for trying something new for adult fitness.

I was really impressed with Cragside's "fitness trail" that was more of an adventure playground for grown ups that I tried in the summer - and the popularity of Go Ape demonstrates that this is a potential growth area.

Monday's 8pm group did some great hill work, but numbers were as patchy as last week. My marketing efforts are going to be helped by WRN linking with Race for Life again this year - and I think I can organise the required training sessions around the Winchester and Southampton events.

Too pooped to go to Body Combat today - I slept badly last night and had an earlyish start - so it was just a walk up the hill today plus I will dig out the wii in a sec. Pedalled on Mon and Tue.

Challenging the little grey cells

Although I love cycling in the Forest, it's really not great for my pedalling skills as it's so easy! We knew that it would be muddy, but Husband and I opted for a route that extends the much-ridden Ellisfield HCC route over to Preston Candover to get our brains ticking again. And it was muddy. Much of the mud was clay on chalk that varies between ultra claggy and ultra slippery and I have to confess to much walking. Having said that, I also did enough to feel that I'd pushed myself.

3.5 hours to do 26.5km! Very grateful we didn't get any punctures as fixing them would have been very messy - and Husband made me go through a deep puddle repeatedly at the end so that tyres rather than mud would interface with our bike carrier.

I was surprised to still see a little snow around - as you can see from this picture. Snow damage was evident on many of the roads with new cracks & potholes.

Snow damaged roads yesterday too as my satnav took me down a very little lane en route to my nephew's 5th birthday party in a village hall Buckinghamshire. I didn't want to repeat Husband's experience so took it very slowly & chose a different route home later in the dark. Very proud of my nephew as he was beautifully behaved at his medieval themed party, looking cute in a crusader outfit. I can't count any exercise for Saturday - but I did make vast quantities of sandwiches!

Very bright new jacket

8km in 50 minutes wasn't quite the pace I was hoping for on Friday evening - but my solo run was my first outside since New Year and did include a fabulously vicious hill (Olympic Way to Stoke Heights) that I've only done downwards before. It was a useful opportunity to try out my new branded convertible and luminously bright windproof- as I was drenched on the inside when I got back, I remain to be convinced on its breathability. I think I had overdressed a little to be fair - it was much warmer on Friday evening than it's been for a while. I pedalled too on Friday so felt reasonably justified in stuffing face with pizza and wine.

Lots of walking on Saturday on a very enjoyable jaunt to Brighton with G. Probably not enough to justify my Choccywoccydoodah chocolate & ginger cupcake! Picked up a pair of leggings that should be great for Body Combat in the Sweaty Betty sale - deep and secure feeling waistband.

I'd been toying with the idea of joining Goldfish in Stockbridge today for a runners vs mountain bikers 8 mile thing but lost my nerve - still aching a little post

Friday, guilty about deserting Husband having spent Saturday without him. paranoid about my shoes slipping and sliding on wet mud and paranoid about ensuring that this week's WRN runs go well after last week's cancellations. Pathetic huh? Goldfish did really well too.

So went for a bike ride in the Forest with Husband instead. We did a 26.73km version of the Portuguese Fireplace ride. I was proud of cycling through the fords - lots of water and a noticeable current.

Anyway, pizza and cupcakes contributed to a weight gain of 2lb this week - so much for getting committed to dropping a dress size!

Another Top 40 done - thanks boss!

No ordinary paper cup, but a porcelain mug with silicone prevent-hand-burning wrap & silicone prevent spillages when taking drink upstairs lid.

Very pleased with my Christmas present from my boss - it's been used and it knocks number 22 off my Top 40 project!

Snow prevented exercise yesterday bar a thoroughly good walk in the woods with Husband - we went up to our wedding wood at Crowdhill Copse. And a bit of wii fit later on - I am determined to master skateboarding.

Less fun walking today to work & back - especially when I slipped, landing square on my backside on the way home.

Had a Happy Christmas

I ran for the first time since the Mince Pie run - and I'm not feeling better for the break, indicating successful over indulgence over the last few days. My Dad's got great choice in beer, my middle sister makes great ginger puddings, my brother in law cooks fantastic pork, my Mum's mince pies & Christmas cake are the best, my other brother in law aided and abetted the beer drinking and even the sight of my littlest sister looking decidedly svelte didn't halt my calorie intake! So it's not my fault. OK, it is. A little bit.

I had to cancel all runs last week due to ice & snow. It was too snowy in Northumberland so my running shoes stayed in the suitcase & I scrounged a pair of walking boots from Mum. It's great having walking addicts as parents as there's always spare kit!

Walking was required between our lodgings at a pub and my parents' home - only about 10mins, but a slippy operation on ice and compressed snow.

Middle sister & I escaped for a brief moon/snowlit stroll on Christmas Day in a vain attempt to create more food space.

We did a more substantial walk on Boxing Day, heading down to the Tyne and the east along its south bank. My older nephews used this as an opportunity to try out their new wooden swords - very impressed that they restricted hits to dragons and other such monsters and not each other - or youngest nephew who joined us in a rucksack. Nieces headed back earlier with their Dad as it certainly wasn't very warm. As you can see in Husband's photo, the light, snow, mist and landscape all made for a memorable walk.

And more walking yesterday at a lake close to Belsay - just with Husband, Mum & Dad. The snow and frozen lake made everything monochrome - our colour photos could easily be black & white! Lots of swans & canada geese hung out on the only non frozen bit of the lake, competing quite viciously for vistiors' bread!

Why haven't I been to Bristol before?

Liked Bristol lots. Bit like Vancouver, Istanbul & Auckland (stay with me...) it's got water breaking it up at different angles and like 2 of the 3, has had lots of harbourside re-development. We had 2 objectives for the weekend - catch up with J who's in Bristol & try out the Thermae Spa in Bath. Hotel prices led to us staying in Bristol - and to be honest, I preferred it to Bath.
Lots of rain on Saturday. We got drenched waiting for ferries - but still enjoyed getting our bearings on the water.
Bit of a Brunel theme started - SS Great Britain was much more interesting than I expected. Husband told me about his Grandad being on HMS Exeter in WW2 when it was shot almost to bits, limped into Port Stanley & cannibilised metal from SS Great Britain's scuppered hulk to become seaworthy again.

Fabulous catching up with J & B that evening - and meeting their very cute son for the first time.

Got up a bit late on Sunday & walked over to Arnolfini to see a Climate Change art thing before breakfast in a cafe/bike shop. Then more Brunel - Clifton Suspension Bridge and a walk up to the Observatory for a better view.

Shopping in Bath was a bit disappointing, but the Spa was good. Busy, but apart from not having enough showers, it was well able to cope with the numbers. I loved looking out over the cityscape in the dimming light (and rain) from the rooftop pool - but goggles weren't needed. Very pleased that hugging Husband was socially acceptable in the pools - it was kind of romantic in an odd way. The water didn't smell bad - but didn't taste great - kind of old badoit! Steamrooms were very non-plastic and immaculate - although we couldn't tell which aroma was in each. The meal included with our package was better than we expected. I was surprised that we had to rush at the end in order to meet the 3 hour deadline - I'd expected to have exhausted its charms much sooner! My skin is now very soft and I almost relaxed. Not a cheap way to spend an evening - but enjoyed the experience - and it's another Top 40 objective ticked off.

In touch with my inner anorak

Through (finally!) connecting our wii to the world, I've discovered that 30mins of wii tennis burns 122.85 calories for one of my weight! So not as good as a jog or pedal, but still something. We're addicted to wii snowboarding though in the remote mode which I suspect is negligible in benefits other than entertainment. I've ordered the wii fit plus software - which will satisfy my inner calorie anorak as it gives calorie estimates. And sadly, this was a major motivation in purchasing.

Husband went cycling yesterday whilst I had a most enjoyable afternoon with G. The only glitch was having my purse swiped - in a busy shopping centre on a Saturday afternoon. John Lewis scored huge brownie points - their Card Services team were really helpful when we came in to stop my partnership card - allowed me to use their landline, looked up phone numbers and even brought us both a pot of tea. I now intend to do as much of my Xmas shopping as poss in John Lewis!

So apart from my wii fit, no exercise to report since Thursday. Hoping to do something today.

Chocolate & subs for

I have strong feelings about chocolate - it's up there with ice cream and beer as something I feel my life would be much poorer without. The good stuff is always preferable - dark chocolate with reasonably high cocoa solids and a depth of flavour - well demonstrated by Montezuma's dark chocolate.
However, there are a few substitutes that form part of my chocolate intake.

Not shown here is my recent discovery of FairBreak wafers now merchandised perillously close to the coffee shop till at work. Something a bit kitkat like about them and not too bad on calories (110ish) and these have now replaced Freddos as main threat to my diet.

I share a liking for the Special K Bliss bars with Mum & Dad. Has to be the orange version - the raspberry one is too sweet, but I think my fondness for marmalade also plays a part. The dark chocolate base is just about sufficient for a cocoa hit.

I've included a recent discovery here - Waitrose gave me a voucher for a free pack of macaroons - smart marketing as I've failed to avoid them since. As with the Bliss bars, just enough dark chocolate to matter.

Combining 2 of my loves has potential. Beer flavoured icecream may not be a wonderful thing, but I love chocolate icecream. Skinny Cow bars are fabulous - fewer calories than many yoghurts & infinitely more dessert like in my warped opinion. Only hitch is that my local Waitrose has switched from Triple Chocolate to a toothpaste flavoured abomination - and the stock of the revolting green version doesn't seem to be declining. So my fix can only be achieved on our occaisional ventures to a big Sainsburys.

Finally, I thought I was the only person in the world who liked nakd bars*. Bought a multipack on impulse, tried 1 and wasn't convinced at all. They claim to be uncooked and fruit packed (lots of dates) but there is cocoa there together with a unique earthy taste. 4 or 5 bars later, I was hooked! Very filling for a little calorie count, chocolatey enough to work and pretends to be virtuous. Again, the cocoa one is the only one I like. I have witnessed many (OK, Husband and Goldfish) be suckered in by the brand name only to be hugely disappointed & not sure that they are really food. So I was surprised to hear somebody not me extol their tastiness and chocolateyness - HC from running. I am no longer alone....

* = this logic is clearly flawed as Waitrose continue to stock them & I'm sure that my purchasing alone wouldn't justify their shelf space.

Off to Canada

Woke up too early today thinking about what I still have to locate/pack. All sorted now except my fave bikini is awol - but it's Canada we're off to not Thailand so shouldn't miss it too badly. Starting in Vancouver, pick up RV, up to Whistler then Kamloops to see T's venture - a gorgeous looking guest ranch. Wells Gray, Jasper, Lake Louise, Penticticon, Osooyoos. Original plan was to get to the Pacific coast - but that's been shelved for a second holiday somewhen. Activity wise, we have canoeing & rafting trips booked and have packed my bike helmet. Really hoping I can get my food/exercise balanced again - but I doubt that Canadian portion sizes will make that particular aim realisable!


Very grateful to C for agreeing to feed fish and water.


It's been an exhausting week but not for exercise. Husband's been working stupid hours and I've been struggling to get work to a stage where I can leave it with a clean-ish conscience. We were both grateful to have all Saturday to pack - if we'd been rushing around on Friday night, we'd be exhausted for first few days of holiday! Lots of later nights, late tea - not good.


Only cycled on Mon, Tue & Fri this week due to an excursion to London on Wed. I came back via allotment on Friday for watering.


Extra running on Thursday for WRN so that they wouldn't miss too many sessions. Only D made it & we did the Itchen Way in (drum roll) 37:33 - on Monday, it took over 42mins and it's a difficult route to speed on (off road, narrow, bridges/runners/kids/walkers & dogs to negotiate).

A bit lazy of late....

No biking last weekend - we're (still!) sorting out the house. I did a bit of mall walking with G on Saturday but I'm not sure that counts.

Running on Monday went OK - Intermediates did their 5K fine. I'm a bit miffed I'll be on hols when WRN have their AGM - esp as it's in Salisbury and esp as it might have been a good opportunity to encourage the Intermediates to do the AGM 5K run as their first ever event. I'm still encouraging them, but I'm not convinced....

Anyway, good chat on Tuesday over dinner convinced me I should at least think about a 1/2 marathon next year. I was a bit overwhelmed talking to "proper" runners on Saturday night and Tuesday - a useful reminder that I have a long way to go.

Jewellery meant no combat on Wed, but I did walk to Kitty's which I'm hoping compensates. Great to chat to her and X - according to my boss, we are bang on trend getting together to do craft stuff.

Skipped cycling today (good reason - but not interesting), but Husband took me out for a great run tonight for the first time this year.

Ready meals required

No cycling yesterday as I had to squeeze a London meeting before a 2pm meeting at the office. We considered the gym on Wed evening but decided to pay the allotment a visit instead. Husband had to spend longer than he expected prepping stuff in the greenhouse, leaving us with just 45 mins of light to plant tomatoes, autumn psb & dig over bed ready to plant carrots.

So much easier cycling today compared to Mon/Tue as the wind's died down. We managed to get to the gym with just enough time to make it worth Husband's while - aquacise curtails swimming at 8pm on Thursdays. Rare exposure to Eastenders whilst I did 10mins X trainer & then 35 mins on the treadmill. Then discovered that aquacise hadn't happened, so Husband was still able to have his swim. And due to lack of veg in the house (we have some, but not in combinations that are winning - celeriac & red cabbage surprise anyone?) paid an unjustified visit to chip shop on the way home!

We do scoot around a lot in the evenings - leaving not much time to cook - I really should plan for this & put some quck & slutty options in the freezer! Yes, I could cook more at weekends - but to be honest, time doesn't seem to be available then in abundance either. I'll stop whinging now.

Tidy house & garden - for once

It's a rare weekend that I don't get on my bike. We had a "we have our house back" celebration BBQ on Sunday - which required spending Saturday blitzing the garden (5 trips to the tip) and Sunday blitzing the house. It was worth it to actually see it all looking OK again. Sun kind of made guest appearances at the barbecue but it wasn't too warm. Really chuffed that so many people came & downed enough beers to ensure that I slept badly and had a bit of a bad head on Monday - a bank holiday.

I spent Monday afternoon at the local fete, smiling lots at people who seemed a little bemused to see a Women's Running Group's stall! Chatted to one of the previous Eastleigh WRN runners which was interesting and I think she's considering rejoining. A few others sounded interested in the nextr beginners group, so I think it was worth it.

Fairly predictably, it was just a hardy few at running later on Monday. J & I did our fastest ever joint 5K time at 29:50. Ventured into Eastleigh with the Intermediate group as I wanted them to realise how much easier they can make it over the railway bridge now - think I was successful.

Just cycling today as we went to the cinema tonight to see Age of Stupid - and now I'm down about the planet being doomed. Doomed, doomed, we're all doomed I say!

Thoughts on shampoo - I should get out more

Bike shop have not disappointed - I'll be picking up my repaired wheel tomorrow morning. Not that I'll be able to do much riding - we're having a barbecue on Sunday & I suspect that Sat & Sun will be spent frantically tidying house & garden!
Gym tonight - I had my ipod with me for once so tried the nautilus weird incline treadmill thing that is one of the few CV machines not to be linked to the TV screens.

I'm not sold on my current shampoo. I chose it as it's made without petrochemicals - not for any health motivation ("natural" does not equate to "better" in my mind - asbestos occurs naturally....) but at work, I've been looking at cleaning agents that purport to be less environmentally dodgy than others, so figured I'd try some different toiletries at home. The shampoo I'm trying seems to struggle to lather & it's difficult to work into my scalp. Not sure I'm brave enough to try an equiv conditioner - ever since I went blondish, getting a comb through my hair post washing is near impossible without industrial strength conditioner!