Back On Track – Week One

Tuesday 26/01/16

Braved the scales – important to face your demons!

Breakfast – black coffee then pineapple, banana, celery, almond & chia smoothie

Training – went to gym and did my full program but not in the right order because other people were on MY equipment! 😃

Lunch – no time as had to go to a funeral. Had a kale, spinach & mango smoothie and a protein bar

Snack – almond bar, black coffees

Dinner – carrots, broccoli and bolognese

Snack – prawns

Happy with that!

Wednesday 27/01/16

Breakfast – Black coffee then pineapple, banana, kale, carrot, almond & chia seed smoothie

Lunch – crayfish salad

Snack – black coffee & vegetable crisps

Dinner – mince & mediteannean vegetables

Snacks – protein bar and a box of raisins

No exercise, always busy on a Wednesday so rest day

Thursday 28/01/16

Breakfast – black coffee, pineapple, banana, kale, carrot & spirulina Smoothie

Lunch – tomato soup (the only thing available without starchy carbs!) & eat well bar

Dinner – crayfish & anchovy salad with sweet potato crisps

Snacks – eat well bar & box of raisins

10.3 km walk in my boots, which are nearly 2lbs heavier than trainers. Need to get my leg strength back!

Friday 29/01/16

Breakfast – Black coffee.  Chocolate protein powder, banana, almonds & chia seed shake

Lunch – Frankie & Benny’s ABC salad

Dinner – Lemon sole salad

Snacks – box of raisins

Trained with Darryl for the first time this year! Started using My Fitness Pal

 

Saturday 30/01/16

Breakfast – black coffee, pineapple, banana, kale, carrot, celery, almond & chia seed smoothie

Lunch – prawn salad

Dinner – crab stirfry

Snacks – protein bar, eat natural bar

Out all day with the man trailing dogs. 10.4 km plus time on my feet!

Loving My Fitness Pal, it’s going to help me make better choices

Sunday 31/01/16

Breakfast – chocolate protein powder, banana & carrots smoothie

Lunch – prawn salad

Dinner – butternut noodles & homemade bolognese sauce

Snacks – vegetable crisps, eat natural bar

Another day with the trailing dogs. 8.85 km today.

Monday 01/02/16

Breakfast – pineapple, banana, kale, carrot, celery, spirulina & almond smoothie

Lunch – a burger with coleslaw and side salad (didn’t enjoy it 😏)

Dinner – ham omelette with beetroot crisps

Snacks – eat natural bars, box of raisins

10.08 km walk

I’m pretty pleased with my first week back on track.

When I trained with Darryl (for the sake of any new readers he is my personal trainer and Jiminy Crickett – http://www.clubonehundred.com) on Friday he suggested I try My Fitness Pal, not for calorie counting (I’ve moved away from that) but to help with nutrition and portion size.

I am hooked! It’s already changed how I eat!

I get fed up with people telling me I need carbs (I never eat bread, pasta, rice and try not to have biscuits/cake!) but I’m easily meeting my carbohydrate target from fruit and vegetables

I’m loving seeing the ‘sugar’ record, it’s made me really look at the amount of fruit I eat and I’m going to change my snacks once I’ve finished my ‘stock’. I now eat the little box of raisins a few at a time, don’t just swallow them in one go!

I’m realising how good fish is for you (thank you Sally Osborne, big shout out to Osborne’s fishmongers for getting me to try new things!)

http://www.osbornes.fish

I’m on getting my fitness back and I finally seem to  have recovered from all that kidney stone nonsense!

From now on I’m screenshotting My Fitness Pal!

Tuesday 02/02/16

Wednesday 03/02/16

Got the munchies tonight, typical the night before weigh in!!!

 

And here’s the nutrition information for the week, aiming for less sugar next week!

 

That’s 1.6 pounds off!!!!

 

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Time for an update.

I was going to write a really long post giving all the details of the kidney stone surgery but I’ve decided against it. 

I’m just going to give a quick overview so ……..

New Year’s Eve – surgery to remove remaining stones. Stent inserted. Hospital were brilliant, slept for what felt like days afterwards. 

08/01/16 back to have the stent removed, not a pleasant experience, I’m halfway through my second course of antibiotics but I’m just feeling (8 days later) that all my bits are starting to work properly again. 

Good news is that the report from one of the scans they did when I couldn’t wee seems to show that my insides are in good nick. 

It also shows there’s still a stone in there and as far as I’m concerned it can stay there. If it moves and gets stuck again I’ll go with the loads of drugs route, I only want another stent if there’s no real other choice!

Anyway, this has all been going on since last September and has had a huge impact on my fitness, nutrition and ‘brain’. 

Having reached a sort of meltdown when the first course of antibiotics didn’t work I am now confronting everything and pulling myself back from the edge. 

I’m the heaviest I’ve been for years, but I’m nowhere near the heaviest I’ve ever been. 

I’m the unfittest (if that’s a word) too, but again nowhere near the levels I was at 7 years ago. 

All of this has mucked up the planned start of my targets for this year. I’m going to stick with trying to cover 2016 kilometres and averaging 3 training sessions a week (but I’m writing January off!)

The fat has got to go!!!!

I’m going to post a blog each week describing nutrition, training, activities etc. I probably won’t post about these on Facebook so if you want to follow them just check in regularly or subscribe to the blog. The posts will really be for my own benefit to make me accountable but if it helps / amuses anybody else that’s good. 

I faced the scales this morning. Let’s see what next week brings …… 

Just added this for your amusement – my text conversation with my nephew this morning!

 

Latest update ….. which means I can’t think of a title!

As I’m now stuck indoors, bored out of my brain, waiting for the man to come and service Ray’s wheelchair, I thought I may as well go back to this which I started a few days ago …….

But first I must comment on what happened with my last post. You may recall that that was the one after I met Davina McCall.

Well I tweeted her about my blog and she retweeted it, with a comment!

And that led to over 1500 viewings in one day!

And, even more amazingly, Davina McCall is now following ME on Twitter (which means I need to think of interesting things to say!!!

And then we go back to the ordinary stuff!

So there I was sat on the sofa, trying to decide whether to put the ice pack on my hand, the front of my knee or the back of my knee! At that moment the hand had possession!

The day had started early with my second ‘functional exercise’ physio class. They are good. About 6 of us with a physio and assistant doing a circuit. More difficult than the arthritis class and, whilst I’m not sure it will help my Baker’s Cyst the balance stuff is good for the M.S.

I had a chat with the physio and now know that I must not jump or run (I’d sort of worked that out for myself after I’d tried it) but squats and lunges can be tried. She did say that the size of the cyst and the fact that I can feel it filling up when I do stuff may indicate surgery. Time will tell – I’ll enjoy the classes in the meantime.

Talking of enjoying things, I’m loving my upper body strength program. If you remember one of the targets I set myself was to up my PBs and I’ve done that in the chest press – gone from the 14 to 16 kg dumbbells and I’ve done 3 reps with the 18 kg ones. Unsurprisingly this is my favourite program at the moment. I love the expressions on my face in these, the shock of how heavy they are followed by the effort of pushing them!

    

Came home with the plan of grabbing my stuff and going to the gym but Ray wanted a shower and I needed to use the steam cleaner in a couple of rooms (the joys of being a carer).

Housework is not my forte and somehow I managed to point the detail (strongest) jet at my left hand and fire it straight between my fingers. This is not a good idea and it hurts!

My cyst has filled from this morning and my knee’s swollen – hence the dilemma of where to put the ice pack 😃

At that point I stopped writing! I carried on moving my ice pack about, used the ibuprofen cream, swallowed the co-codamol tablets and ……. went to boot camp 😀.

Enjoyed the class even though the not jumping and not running got me coming up with some rather strange ways of doing things!

Today was another early start because I was training with Darryl. I now have different (additional) areas that ache! Whereas boot camp is obviously class based, personal training really is that and we had a brilliant session and my shoulders and arms are really feeling it. Back to boot camp in the morning!

After training I went to my sister in law’s as she was doing my hair. We were talking about my catalogue of injuries and she took a photo of the back of my knees so I could see what was happening. I’ve tried to do this myself in the past and it’s really difficult, try it yourself. Ray can’t help because he can only use his left hand, try taking a photo with an iPhone or iPad with just your left hand, not easy!
Anyway, as always, I digress.

Now these photos are not pretty, carrying all that weight around for years does not lead to shapely pins, although they are strong! I’ve debated wheter to post it because it’s horrid but decided I have to stick with my honesty theme If you look at the back of the left knee you can see a large swollen square area, that’s the cyst. It’s uncomfortable rather than painful. It feels a bit like I’ve got a golf ball strapped behind my knee. But I find it interesting to see what it looks like!

It’s strange how I’m refusing to let this stop me doing anything, when, for the first 55 years of my life I looked for any excuse to get out of any form of physical activity.

My mum was trained as a secondary school PE teacher, she refused a job at the school I attended on the grounds of the rows we would have. Hardly surprising when I brought home one school report for PE which said “No comment as Gillian has not taken part all year due to a verruca.” Hmm, well it worked for a year!

That was Friday.

Saturday I went to bootcamp and did double boxing, I love boxing!!!!!

Sunday I went to the gym and did my assisted pull up program (there’s a lot off assistance) and struggled!

It is now Monday and, after a very long session with the foam roller, the tiger tail and self massage of my arms, delts and traps the aching is finally easing.

I’ve made the decision to go back on detox …… sugar had found its way back into my eating, so I’ll be thumbing through Davina’s book.

The wheelchair man’s arrived!

7.5  minutes later he left ………

So I’m off out!!!!

Success breeds success!

I’ve put on weight.

There, I’ve said it. I’ve now faced up to it and I knew it was time to take it on again. Not a problem, done it before, just need to sort myself out and do something about it.

So I talked to Darryl (my trainer) about it.

We both know I know how to lose weight.

Darryl has told me, several times, that if I stick to the Ancestral Solution I can lose up to 3 lbs a week.

“Yeah, right”

As I’ve told him, this may be true for a young person but not for me. It gets much harder as you get older. Weight loss slows down. My weight loss plateaus all the time. I lose weight, but slowly.

But I decided I’d give sticking to the plan religiously a go. I’ve been eating ancestrally for well over a year but ive been eating more and more other stuff too!

Week One
Stuck to the plan about 80% of the time. Result? I lost 3 lbs 🙂

Week Two
Stuck to the plan about 95%. Result? I lost another 3 lbs! 🙂 🙂

Week Three
Stuck to the plan about 95%. Result? Lost yet another 3 lbs! 🙂 🙂 🙂

I have NEVER lost weight like this before!

And how does ‘Success breed success’?

Every time I’m tempted to eat something that’s not ancestral I think of how well it’s working ….. and I don’t want it!

So it’s not a question of self control or will power, I don’t want it.

There are sweets in the house that I’d normally shove down my throat as fast as possible, but I don’t want them!

Can’t believe it, but I like it!

There is a downside however. Darryl is right ………….. again.

The Ancestral Solution combined with the right supplements and exercise program works!

I want to be right. I like being right. But then, if I was right, I’d be 9 lbs heavier!

If you want to know more about it visit their website:

www.clubonehundred.com

There’s a free book you can download!

And have a look at their blog:

www.clubonehundred.wordpress.com

I’ve found a new use for trifle.

I should probably say that I’ve found A use for trifle.

I don’t like trifle. I think it’s the consistency. Slimy, wobbly stuff. And it’s got custard in it, I don’t like custard either. When I was given custard as a kid it always seemed to have a skin on it, yuk!

So, we have a high calorie, high sugar content, slimy, slippery, wobbly goo that I dislike and will not eat. What possible use could it have?

Ray likes trifle!

I’ve discovered that when he has a really bad hypo (two since my last post) and is in danger of sliding into a diabetic coma, it is really easy to shove trifle into him to bring up his sugar levels.

And, I don’t like it so it can be in the fridge and I won’t eat it!

This is particularly important (to me) as I’ve managed to put some weight back on and it’s time for me to sort myself out ….. again!

Now, I’ve got reasonably good self control. I can go round the supermarket and not buy ‘bad’ stuff. I can go for a coffee and not buy cakes etc. I can go out for a meal and eat sensibly and I’m happy drinking water.

BUT

if it is in the house ………………. I will eat it!

I may try and hide it from myself, but my body will work out where it is and take me there.

I will lose control of my hands, they will grab whatever it is and force feed me with it, my will power stands no chance, the body takes over.

SO

I have to find stuff that is full of sugar, liked by Ray and that I would not eat even if there was nothing else available and I was thinking of gnawing on my own forearm.

So far the list consists of winegums, turkish delight and trifle.  Other suggestions are welcome!

My ‘homework’ from Darryl was to write down everything I ate and drank for a week. I did it, very honestly, and I’ve handed it in, but I’m not expecting a gold star (but I might get a silver one!).

I’ve made quite a good start, I’ll let you know how successful I’ve been soon.

——————————-

Thinking of forearms, did I tell you about the day I was stuck in a traffic jam and my thoughts were rambling about as I drummed my fingers and watched the muscles in my forearm move? I suddenly thought that if it was on a bbq there would be more meat on that than on a chicken wing so it would get eaten first. Don’t know how tasty it would be though. I wonder what you’d marinade it with?

——————————-

 Nine weeks today I will be 60!

Time for an update on my challenges.

All are going well and I’m ahead of schedule with all of them.

I’m particularly proud of how far I’ve travelled on foot. 1,215 miles! Add in the cycling and this map shows how far I’ve travelled:

I’m hoping the weather forecasters are wrong, I really don’t need three weeks of snow at the moment, but if it comes it is NOT going to stop me, I WILL do this.

That’s enough for now, need my sleep, I’ll be out pounding the pavements again tomorrow!

 

POSTSCRIPT

There are times when even I can feel old, and right at this moment is one of them.

Walking the 21 km today and doing 2 lots of steps were fine, well I’ll admit to various parts of me hurting and aching (my back and my left ankle for some inexplicable reason).

But, after about 30 minutes of being at home, having to deal with another hypo, trying to move Ray from the bathroom to his bedroom and then get him to eat sweet stuff has taken it out of me. In order to get him to cooperate I have to be very calm, gentle and encouraging. Now there’s a challenge for me! But it’s done!

Remember what I said about if it was in the house I’d eat it ……… this is the time for  a binge.

What have I got? Are you ready for this?

Poached salmon, dressed crab, crayfish tails and a lobster tail. (Went to the fishermen’s co-op on my walk.)

Don’t think it’ll hit the spot like sweeties, and it shouldn’t all get eaten at once (I’ve also got stir fry) but we’ll see what happens ……

 

OMG, heard a sound from the other room, he woke up and wanted to know if I’d taken his empty bottles to the recycling dump, and then went back to sleep!!!!

So what progress on my ‘core’ challenge?

None! Absolutely none! And it’s all my own fault 😦

Remember how I found one of the exercises completely impossible? Well, after writing my blog I thought “I’m NOT going to let this beat me”, got down on the floor and started trying to do it.

Did I warm up first? No. Well it’s only lying down isn’t it?

Will I ever learn??????

I worked and worked at the exercise, probably for about half an hour, and by the end my elbow and my knee were meeting.

“Great, conquered that, I’ll build on it tomorrow at the gym” and off to bed I went.

Fast forward to the next morning. I wake up, go to get out of bed and “Ow!!!!!!!!!”

I could not move! I was stuck in bed.

I had to, very gently, roll over onto my side, drop my legs out of the bed and push myself upright. This was not good.

Flashback time: When I was HUGE, this was what my life was like. I was a beached whale. I always had to get out of bed like that. I’ve got a memory foam bed so you do (well I did) sink right into it and I ALWAYS had trouble getting out of it. Now I wake up, don’t even think, contract the core, sit upright, turn and stand …. or I did ……..

Being truly stupid, I then had breakfast, got dressed, went to the gym and tried to do my usual stuff! Ha, ha!

Saturday was spent in London having lunch, and laughs, with a group of ‘virtual’ friends I had never actually met so I was kept out of trouble.

Well at least until we came out of the restaurant and I saw this:

So Sunday came and to prove just how stupid I can be I repeated the struggle out of bed …….. go to the gym routine. No chance.

Monday … first part of the warm up = pain. OK, enough!!

Time for a rethink. I’m going to have to give my body time to recover so ……… let’s go walking!

I sat and looked at my schedule and worked out that I was 148 kilometres from John o’Groats. Is that all?

I decided that I was going to get there before my next session with Darryl in 11 days time.

So on Monday I walked 18.1 km + 7.5 on the exercise bike (harder than a real bike ‘cos no downhill bits!)

Tuesday 22.3 km walked, 4 km on the bike.

Today 26.6 km walked, 11.5 on the bike.

I will do this!

Just one thing though. Do you remember my ‘marathon’ blister? Well all this walking is disturbing it a bit.

I just hope my core gets better before my foot gives out!

There are more questions than answers ……..

Well there are with me around, although I do have a tendency to over think things.

So …….

Why does a half marathon that you walk at night have a medal like this?

Could it be so you can see it in the dark? Enjoyed my first half marathon though, and could have kept going. Been asked about doing the Shine full marathon in September, mmmm, what to do?

Why do I love finding ‘new’ muscles?

Well this picture may have something to do with it:

Muscles don’t wobble. Muscles let me eat more. Muscles look really cool. I like muscles!

But this leads on to one of my random thoughts.

I was bored, stuck in a traffic jam recently, watching the muscles in my forearm moving (doesn’t everyone do this?) when I thought “If my forearm was amputated and cooked on a bbq it would get eaten ‘cos there’s a lot more meat on it that on a chickem wing.”

Doesn’t everyone have thoughts like that?

The Olympic torches are bigger than you think.

But they are great to pose with! No, unfortunately it isn’t mine and I had to give it back. 😦

Why is there nothing I would eat in the healthy snacks aisle?

Well, why????

Why, when I am going up and down those steps (like I did 8 times today) do I see other people doing the same ……. but they tend to be men in their 20s and 30s?

Whilst the women of my age tend to be dressed in ‘nice’ clothes and lunching in Leigh? Bet a lot of them would love to be doing what I’m doing, but they’ll never admit it!!!!!

BTW I’ve just been and collected my uniform to be an Essex Ambassador (voluntary work) for the Olympics. As I only wear gym kit it’s a huge addition to my wardrobe although pink and purple aren’t really my colour choices!

I also do voluntary work (I’m on the Independent Monitoring Board) in a prison. Variety is the spice of life, but the only ‘uniform’ for that is a belt with a pouch!!!

Reading this back, it’s quite understandable that I’d rather be running up steps and hurling heavy weights than dressed in a frock and lunching!!!

Talking of weights, my traps hurt. A lot!

It’s either the 10 sets of 20 single arm swings with a 16kg kettlebell, or it’s the 3 sets of 15 clean and press with the 15 kg barbell. Each time they twinge I go ouch, then think of the muscles (see above) and smile!

Talking of kettlebells ….. why do I see people using little baby ones?

Oops, I’ve cut off the left hand side of this but you get the idea. This is from Dragon’s Door and is their recommendation of what kettlebells to get.

So, the lightest ‘real’ kettlebell is 18lbs, or 8kg. I won’t say any more about that!!!!

Yes, I do use the ones they recommend for a ‘strong lady’. Am I really so much stronger than so many people at the gym?

People really need to be taught how to use kettlebells properly!!!!

Why am I so tired?

Because this week’s random challenge is to get up when it gets light and go to bed when it gets dark, just like my ancestors would have done.

It’s getting dark so, feeling like a reverse vampire, Night Night!

Oops, forgot to ask, should I do the Shine Marathon?

Please leave a Yes or No answer!!!!!

 

Well, just after I posted this I had to call an ambulance cos Ray was having a really bad hypo attack. Over an hour later his blood sugar was high enough for them to go (thanks girls, you were lovely) and he’s really angry and aggressive with me for calling them!

Ho hum, such is life!!!!!

I wasn’t trying to lose weight!

The latest random challenge was to completely follow the ‘Ancestral Solution’ for two weeks.

This is a way of eating recommended by the trainers at Club One Hundred. http://www.clubonehundred.com/ancestral_solution.php

This was a real challenge for me because I’d relied on calorie counting for such a long time but this was completely different.

I’ve followed most of the principles for a while but not gone for the full works before but, you’ve got to give everything a go haven’t you!

On my long walk to training that day I’d paused at the bottom of ‘those steps’ to check my phone and read Darryl’s latest blog on breakfasts http://clubonehundred.wordpress.com/2012/05/24/introducing-the-alternating-ancestral-breakfast-for-ultimate-wellness-11/ and thought I quite fancied trying that. Didn’t realise that I’d be changing everything!

So my challenge was for two weeks to only eat what my ancestors could have eaten i.e. foods that would have been available locally in season or foods they would have stored. And only to cook ‘properly’, no microwave!

First some research to find out what would be available.

Fish, meat, eggs, nuts, berries, seeds, apples, strawberries, asparagus ……. Asparagus? I’ve never had asparagus? What do you do with it? I’ll find out!

Next thought was that most of these things are very high in calories and fat. Yes, it’s ‘good’ fat but even so ……

But then I decided this was my challenge and I was going to do it. Sod the calories and fat, I’d ignore them.

Another concern, would I get constipated? I’ve been nut bound in the past and didn’t like it. But …. read the line above!

So, off I set to do my shopping …….

I also bought bags of different nuts and seeds plus vegetables and set off home.

I’ve discovered that the secret to eating like this is to be organised. I always have small bags of seeds, nuts etc in my bag for when I am out. When I cook the steak, for example, I cook more than I’m going to eat so some is available for the next day. I wouldn’t say friends have got used to it but they’re not that surprised when I pull a bag of cold steak and a load of nuts out of my rucksack and proceed to eat it!

OK, I haven’t stuck to this 100% for the two weeks, but I wasn’t far off it. I’ve actually enjoyed eating like this and I feel better for it. My belly has shrunk and I’ve lost weight, even though that wasn’t the plan, I was doing it for fitness! Nearly 2 lbs in week 1 and another in week 2. I’m sure that would have been more but there was a jaffa cake incident and a penguin problem!

Downsides? I missed my skinny cappuccinos. My digestive system has become very efficient, almost too efficient, but D assures me this will settle down!

After talking it over with Darryl I’ve decided I want to continue to eat like this. I’m eating mega amounts and really enjoying it but I need occasional treats. We agreed I’d go for 85% Ancestral with 15% treats. That’s taken the pressure off and the last 2 days have been completely Ancestral with one skinny cappuccino each day. Now that suits me perfectly! The rest of the time I drink hot or cold water with the occasional green tea.

I’ve had some lovely meals, here are a few examples:

Sorry about the photos but I’ve got fed up trying to line them up!

Oh, and I’ve had to learn to cook! I’ve discovered that steak does not need to be incinerated, in fact it tastes better when it isn’t. It does however need to be cooked and a plate full of blood doesn’t work for me. I did eat it because I was in a hurry and was ravenous but I had to keep my eyes closed!

So, I’ve got no idea how many calories I’ve eaten, it must be squillions with stacks of fat but I’ve lost weight, my belly fat’s reduced, it’s fuelling all my exercise (haven’t had sugar cravings) and I feel great! Already looking forward to tomorrows meals!

If Dame Kelly Holmes can do it ……

Since ‘arriving’ at Lands End last Wednesday I’ve been feeling a bit down. I’d pushed myself hard to get there but John o’Groats seems such a long way off ………….. probably because it is!

I know there are some people who look to me for inspiration, but what do I do when this happens?

I started by giving myself a couple of days off. Saturday I set off for Bluewater, but arrived to see the others leaving the start, I was just too late and I needed no encouragement to stay and chat to Clare rather than setting off as I should have done! Went and enjoyed coffee with the others then popped into Go Outdoors on the way home where I met Kirstein who was getting a bike for her birthday. This started me thinking about getting my bike out.

Sunday I went to the gym, did a bit of weights (halfheartedly) and some rowing.  Drove to Leigh to have a go at those steps, did them once and gave up. This was not good!

Back to the car, drove along the seafront thinking about the bike. Back to Leigh, parked the car and headed towards Costa where I was planning cappuccino and a large slice of self pitying cake, when I heard “Gill!” It was Darryl, my trainer, having lunch with a friend. Oops.

He then introduced me as one of his most successful clients. Double oops. Explained I hadn’t done very well the last few days, he said ‘Never mind, your car’s about 7 miles away’. Well it usually is, I leave it at the gym and go for my walk. But it wasn’t. It was 100 yards away. Triple oops!

Into Costa’s. I’d gone off the cake (hooray!) but I did have a couple of biscuits …… and a think. Felt a bit ashamed of myself and that I was letting him down. Started to think more positively (he always has that effect), the bike may be the answer ………..

So, drove home and got the bike out of the garage to go for a short ride and see how I got on. I was MUCH better than the last time I tried. 5 km later on, admittedly nearly empty, roads I was starting to think I could do it.

Fast forward to this morning, sitting having breakfast (pork fillet, onions, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes & squash) watching TV where Will Smith was being interviewed. I like Will Smith. He was asked what his biggest bug bear was, after some discussion he said it was people who start things but do not finish them when there is no good reason why they shouldn’t. Another oops. When I started on these challenges I said that I wanted to do things that I would only fail at through lack of committment. I’m on week 10 and I’m wobbling? Get that bike out!

So, bike is loaded into the car and off we head to the seafront. Park up, on the bike and off I go.

I’m even better than last night and I’m enjoying myself. I don’t even stop completely when there are bikes coming the other way on the cycle path and sometimes I was able to keep cycling at the same pace as they went past, although I was chanting ‘Keep calm, it’ll be fine, keep calm, it’ll be fine’ to myself. And it was!

I’d originally aimed to do 25 km, but, as I rode along my brain was wandering about thinking. It does that a lot, more so on the bike as I need all my senses so I don’t wear my headphones.

I was thinking about a post I’d read on Twitter. Dame Kelly Holmes had said she’d been on a 20 mile bike ride. Well, if she can do that so can I!

 (Please remember that I’m not at all competitive!)

So a bit of mental maths later, the bike was turned round and off I set again. Back to the pier, some side roads, back to the car. 34.87 kilometres (21.66 miles), that’ll do!

Feeling quite proud of myself I came home to write my blog. I needed to find Dame Kelly’s tweet…….

After quite a while I did:

Kelly Holmes Fitness (@KHfitness) 20/05/2012 20:06 Nice 18mile cycle today. Inspired to get out after watching the Manchester 10km. What did you do today?

She did 18 miles, not 20 as I remembered. I did 21.66 miles. I beat Dame Kelly Holmes!!!!!!!

Good job I’m not competitive!

 So what am I wittering on about this time?

Inspiration!

It’s out there, you just have to look for it.

Darryl is my main source of inspiration, he knows me so well and knows exactly which buttons to press to get me back on track.

But the other ones link back to my earlier post about Positive Mental Attitude.

I will have seen, heard and read loads of stuff in the last 24 hours but the Will Smith and Kelly Holmes quotes were the ones that stayed with me and spurred me on.

I will meet my targets!!!! (So I’d better get my arse dow those steps tomorrow!)

Comparisons don’t work!

Well we all know that, don’t we? I’ve thought about this a lot this week

Firstly I had a discussion with my 18 year old rugby playing nephew about weights:

H: squat-115; Clean-80; Push press-80; Bench-90

Me: Well done you. That’s awesome! I am ever so slightly (well a hell of a lot really) jealous!!! xxx

H: Hahah so you should be! Get in the gym and lift!! 🙂 x

Me: LOL!!!I’ll have you know I’ll be doing my 40 kg deadlifts tomorrow!!!!

H: pussyyyyyyyyy man up and go big 🙂

Me: Aaarrrrhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! I keep eating spinach!!!! xxx

H: Erhh spinach is grim.. Just eat protein

Me: I eat loads of protein. Steak for breakfast, ham for lunch, 2 chicken breasts for dinner ……. Popeye ate spinach!

Why would I be competing with him?

Then I’m doing those steps ….. 8 times!

Now D. trains himself on these and leaps up them, bottom to top, in seconds. Can’t remember how many but I’ll add a note when I find out. He hops down them, two foot jumps up etc. etc. etc.

Why would I be competing with him?

Two years ago I trained on these a lot and eventually I could run from the bottom to the top …. just about! Now, after the first set, I tend to pause part way for a breather.

BUT two years ago I drove to the steps, ran up them a couple of times then drove away. Now I drive to the gym, train for about an hour, walk the 6 km to Leigh, do the steps then go for a long walk!

So I can’t compare myself to myself because I’m doing different things!

 I can, however, compare my progress on my current programmes so it’s time to stop writing this and get my arse to the gym and maybe out for a walk!