Moshing with Bunny Ears

Hungover & tired today, having got back from C's Hen Night in Edinburgh. I did get to have a short wander from Haymarket to the end of Princes Street & back - not a hike, but , hey, every little bit...

The only other tenuous claim I can make for exercise was dancing for a couple of hours - where I tried dancing wearing bunny ears & tail for the first time. Really enjoyed the evening - although it ended lardily with late night pizza. C looked stunning in a red dress - in fact, we all looked gorgeous!

The last proper exercise was on Friday - Body Attack as planned with S. I'm getting the choreography a bit more now! As with Saturday, benefits were negated later that evening as Husband brought in fish & chips followng his gym session - and very nice they were too.

I'm planning on doing nothing else this evening bar makng rhubarb crumble with the first crop from the allotment.

The Great Pretender

Multi tasking isn't my speciality - as demonstrated by my inability to lift the back wheel on bike training at the weekend (lean forward whilst flicking back foot up to lift pedal...). Just in case I needed a reminder, I attempted to sing along to the Foo Fighters whilst getting to grips with the new Body Combat routine last night - luckily not too disasterous - esp when in a room full of women kicking & punching! There's a bit more kicking which is to my taste.

Cycled to work on Tue, Wed & today. Got drenched on the way home yesterday but had the smug satisfaction of scooting past huge traffic jam today (motorway was closed) and being nearly the first in the office. Won't be pedallinng tomorrow as I've agreed to go to Body Attack with S after work & I'm not convinced I can cycle to the gym in less than 30mins.....

Easter in Snowdonia

I've just got back from Wales - spent Easter weekend close to Dolgellau, mountain biking. I had a 2 day women only skills course so I was really chuffed when M & A agreed to join us as it meant Husband had company whilst I did my training. Especially as I know that A has a mountain of embroidery work to do for her course.



Thursday - got to the log cabin that was our base for the weekend. Pleasantly surprised at how solid/cozy/warm it was - much closer to being a cottage than a caravan.


Friday - got to the B&B where Snowbikers are based and met the 3 others on the course - C & E who are mother & daughter - and both are keen triathletes, and R - a recent convert to mountain biking from Hampshire. G was our instructor & we covered so much just in the B&B's carpark & driveway! Basics on gear changing, establishing balance positioning and braking, then lots on slow speed and balance - trackstands & ratcheting. I was truly rubbish at tight corners (very similar to my motorbiking rubbishness). One of the things that G demonstrated well was how much extra stability you have at speed compared to at slow pace.

Lunch in their warm & dry kitchen - very welcome as we'd had hail, sleet and rain throughout the morning.

In the afternoon, we went out to try out our new skills on a 13km cross country route - it was great to feel more confident, especially downhill. Some useful tips on getting up hills too. I was impressed that Husband was given a mug of tea whilst waiting for us to get back. He'd spent the day at Coed y Brenin with M. Got back - A had made an amazing giant hot cross bun!


Saturday - more training at the B&B in the morning - revisiting the balance exercises from Friday then working on how to deal with ramps & drop offs, finishing with manuals and wheelies. In the afternoon, we went to Coed y Brenin where we did Bugsy, Uncle Fester & Dreamtime with G's expert guidance - I think I'm going to have his voice ringing in my ears on many future rides - esp "pedal, pedal, pedal", "control, roll, control". Husband, M & A went to Barmouth via the Mawdach cycle trail that uses an old railway line along the river estuary.

Sunday - I was very keen to try out my new skills so did the 15km Climachx trail with Husband & M. Really chuffed on how much easier I found the red rated stretches of single track - I now know when I've done something right or wrong! And although I'm still shaking with fear, I can get past that now (lots of pep talking to myself!). However, the final black descent was way beyond me - M & I both used our bikes as handbags for several stretches! Husband did brilliantly - I'm more convinced he's a downhill bunny whereas M & I are more cross country.
I'm sure the course has helped me immensely. I think M & Husband can see the difference coz they are now discussing getting a group together to do it themselves.

Did a little walking too on Sunday - a 3 mile circuit from the cabin that took in the Victorian Torrent Walk. Moss coated woodland and rushing white water. We picked wild garlic leaves that went very well with the tapas starter A prepared.

Much less interesting - gym on Wed - good interval session on the treadmill, 10 mins on the x trainer and a couple of weights machines.

Love DIY

Spent a good 2 hours painting tonight - that's got to count as some kind of calorie expenditure! Slightly galled that the floor paint I was applying decided to change colour mid tin, necessitating a second coat..... still, project to transform smallest room into something a guest could sleep in is going great guns thanks mostly to Husband's hard work.
Body Combat tonight in Romsey with S - surprised to see my usual instructor from my club running the class! It was a mad dash to get there - getting from desk to class by 5:30 on a Monday (when I have to use the marvellous park & walk scheme at work) - incluidng time to queue for payment and time to change - is pushing it!

57:04 - Eastleigh 10K

I've achieved my objective - 10K done in 57:04 (now confirmed as my official time), and I was 1061 out of 1372 to complete the race..

Really enjoyed the race despite the wind & rain! C & M both achieved good times - 49:55mins for "Whippet" M and a very creditable 60mins for C - despite having a cold. Bumped into Husband's ex colleague A at the start who did her first ever sub 1 hour 10K - 59:18 - very impressed!

And as you can see from the box on the right, my fundraising objective has also been achieved.

There may be another photo coming as I had my pic taken with a B&Q sponsored Olympic diver at the start.

Lots of thanks are due:

• C&M - fab to see you & fab to have some company!
• Husband for coming training with me, holding my bag & taking photos - really appreciated his support.
• G for not minding when I dropped out of going out last night due to race.
• Sisters & Mum for helping to get me out running the other week.
• Everyone who sponsored me!
• Whoever the genius was who sorted out fruitcake at the end - it was wonderful.

Digging in the rain

Virtuous day today - we started on project "transform small spare room from junk room to kids guest room" and spent a good couple of hours digging at the allotment, getting more organic matter into the soil ready for spring sowing/planting.
I'm trying to ignore my legs which are still aching a bit from Thursday night's run....

Motivation

Husband & I were looking at some old photos recently - I kept on looking at ones of me pre Big D - given that I'm struggling to control my eating atm, it's kind of pertinent to remind myself... the attached pic was taken in Auckland in 2005.

I did the Eastleigh 10K route tonight after work - my last big run before the race on Sunday. Sub 1 hour - yay! My legs are aching nicely now. With regards to my other objective for Sunday, sponsorship is now over £100 thanks to very generous friends, family & colleagues.

A mystery solved

There are 2 showers in the building I work in - and somebody is always in the shower closest to my desk between 8 and 8:20am - I normally arrive at 8:10ish and have a daily rant about MY shower being occupied. What has confused me was the length of the time the trespasser spent in MY shower as it's a bloke - and as Husband is fond of telling me, blokes tend to be in/out of showers quickly compared to me - and I only take 10mins @ work. Mystery was solved yesterday - he left his razor in the shower! I can't imagine shaving at work - no reason why not - but as I've already mentioned, he's using MY shower.... unreasonable rant over!

Gym on Monday - just a quick visit so 5 mins x trainer followed by interval training on the treadmill - I ran well! Storm winds put me off cycling into work that day. Yesterday, just the cycling.
Today, I think I did some sort of athlon - cycling to work, body combat & then swam 20 lengths with Husband in the pool - cyclo-buffy-swimathon??

Ford Focus

2 fords on today's ride - M & P snuck in a 3rd at the campsite near Brockenhurst.

We did the old railway ride from Burley - X & S had requested a gentle route, but we did stretch "gentle" in a few places, taking the route up to just under 35K. X's feet got very cold following the drenching in the fords so I was glad that my new flask:

• Holds enought for 5 hot drinks at the end of the ride (and will stretch to 6)

• Kept the hot water hot!


• The push button gadget thing on it works

No punctures & apart from a hail shower, not too wet. Good to hear more details of X & S's wedding this summer.

Body Attack

New class tried today - so a new label is required..... S persuaded me to try a Body Attack at Romsey Rapids - "a simple, high-intensity group exercise-to-music class that’s fully optioned to cater for all fitness levels". I enjoyed it - but struggled a bit with choreography as I've got a bit too accustomed to the straightforward Body Combat stuff - anything requiring me to do something with my left arm and something else with my right leg is beyond my limited coordination!

About 45 mins of walking on Wed as my car required servicing & the garage is at the halfway point on my commute. Cycled to work on Thursday.

Wrong Trainers

Back in Hampshire - I seem to be less tolerant of long drives the older I get & 6-7 hours is definitely a long drive!

Cycled to work yesterday & went skating - the last for a while as G & I have decided to take a break. G did pass level 7 - which is brilliant - CONGRATULATIONS!

I sent around a "sponsor me please" email yesterday to friends & family for the Easteligh 10K - Baby Sister was impressively quick to respond. I was really touched when I saw that a former colleague from Garmin, L, has sponsored me. I do miss the apres work jogs around the Forest with L and V - it was a winning combination of scenery, chat & exercise!

Gym tonight - I managed to wear the wrong trainers - as I've mentioned before, I do have a few to choose from! I ran well (5K in 27:10), but my toes felt quite bashed afterwards. Split my x trainer sessoin to 2 sets of 10 mins and used the lat pull down machine.

Currently attempting to sort out my ipod following its crash on Saturday.

Running and Rugby

Another 10K this morning - better organised route but I messed it up by not going down Ladycutters Lane due to a scary looking loose standard poodle - I think dog bite experience has had a little impact! Very slow - 64mins - in my defence, 70 odd steps were ascended and there were a few gates and stiles. I did stop the timer & switch off ipod to walk across railway line. The ipod crashed drastically later - just as I finished so I wasn't too annoyed.

Husband arrived at lunchtime - I'd really missed him esp as it has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster over the last few days. After lunch, set off with him, Sisters, P and D to see Tynedale RFC play Rugby Lions - conclusive victory of 32:5 (photos to follow when I get home) - so about 3 miles of walking to add to my day's activity.