If in Doubt Leave the Buggers Out!!

Today I’m having a rant. Gym and fitness class goers, ladies not gents, well maybe some gents, does the padding in gym bras/tops get right on your nerves? In the way that once they hit the washing machine, no matter how gentle the cycle they screw up into some deformed shape that does remotely resemble a boob!!! The gap to remove and add them is soo small, IF there’s one at all, that the padding can never go back in where it should be or how it should be!

Yes they are there to protect our modesty, but don’t! Just don’t! If in doubt keep the buggers out!

This is only a small selection from my bra padding collection!

I’m also a runner and a cyclist, no padding going astray with sports bras! Why? There’s isn’t any in there, because it’s not needed!

Rant over!

Soo much to write, so little space

Where does the time go?  As a hairdresser it’s been a busy month therefore my blog has lapsed, but my exercise has not. Still getting to my Hiit sessions twice a week at 6.15am, the gym either 6am or squeezed in elsewhere, PT weekly, the running not as much, the odd effort session with the club and cross country races on a Sunday, that was until 18th December when I tore my calf muscle in a deep muddy bog as I wrenched my leg out. Game over there and then. 

I’ve been looking at meal prepping, lacking ideas I turned to the services of Juice Kitchen In Chelmsford , they deliver freshly prepped and cooked meals to my door at very competitive prices and the food is delicious. After a couple of weeks I decided to have a go myself, no comparison. They quite often do special offers, at present they have one too good to miss for new customers. 

This picture is my own prepping Anyway with Christmas over with, I am focused again, NYE I will be having a drink, then battle will commence. I know what I want to achieve and I WILL do it

Watch this space 

Marathon Week

It’s been a bad week. After cycling a mere 18 stop, start miles following Chelmsford marathon, I drove the 100 mile journey to visit family, by the time I got there my body from my lower back to my knees were stiff and painful. I couldn’t even pull my leg back to stretch my quads! I’m now used to taking my foam roller everywhere, so for the next few days I foam rollered and stretched.  Panic set in as although things were easing there was no way I would make the start line for Saturday’s marathon.

 Last minute I got an emergency appointment with my osteopath Claire as I suspected my back was to blame. The cursed herniated disc I’ve had under control the past year.  Claire did  some manipulation and released off a whole lot of stiffness, also showed my some exercises to do to help.  If anyone local in Essex has any issues, not necessarily back, this lady is your woman, she has put me back together plenty of times, more often than not this suits me more than a sports massage.

http://www.rivermeadosteopaths.co.uk

Following this, no exercise as didn’t want to risk damage. The next 2 days I self medicated with Volterol, Saturday morning came we left home at 5.45am heading for Beachy Head. My third outing to this one event.

The weather was kind, but as we headed higher into the hills we found ourselves running in the clouds, visibility wasn’t great and the dampness was the type to go through to the bones.  We dropped lower  out of the clouds around mile 12,  however this didn’t mean running on the flats. By mile 15 I could feel pain coming behind my left knee, I tried to ignore it and improve my poisture,  by 19 miles pain in my right hip flexor. A kind , nutty seasoned female runner, she had a bumbag full of magic pills for me to choose from. I made the wrong choice co-codymol instead of ibroprufen,  it didn’t help, and as we hit the Seven Sisters the steep run down was excrotiating, the ups far less painful but physically tough.

26.2 miles later we made our final descent down into Eastbourne. I did it, albeit slower than I wanted. 
As marathons go, physically it is very tough, which is clear to see by the way a large amount of runners are walking at the finish, the cuts and bruises some are sporting, the tears, and walking down steps sideways, backwards or anyway possible, but mentally it far outweighs any road marathon, views to die for, friendly banter with other competitors, great grub on the route and at the finish. Special thanks to my running partner and team mate Karen Chapman, perfect company for a 13 hour day with the travelling. 

Will I do it again?? …….. yeah why not

Beastmode

It’s all back on track…..diet, exercise, running! 

Monday I felt good after my 21 mile easy paced run, so popped along to the gym for some abs and back work. My abs were making an appearance again after my first colonic 🙊

However since having the treatment I became increasingly bloated and uncomfortable, thankfully I had 2 booked in for this week,  Thursday and Friday. Turns out still majorly impacted (gross subject sorry) and full of trapped wind, I can’t believe I’m telling everyone this! Apparently because I’m small and I have a narrow pelvis there are a lot of kinks in my bowel where things get stuck. After my 3rd session I felt human and not bloated any more.

Tuesday 6.15am Hiit session, Wednesday rest day, Thursday PT session, Friday 5.30pm Hiit session . Saturday I took off work as wanted to be part of the first cross country race of the Essex League, as I had the day off I thought I would warm up first and do Chelmsford Park Run that was an acceptable 5k didn’t go mad 23.25 so respectable. Couple of hours later 7km undulating cross country race. Sunday I had pre entered the Tiptree 10 mile road race, which I had to do, I just had to. That was tough my legs were soo tight, still a very respectable 1hr 25 mins, although this resulted in me hobbling around the rest of Sunday. 

So my cardio is up ⬆️ Fat burning exercise is up ⬆️ Protein intake is up⬆️ Calorie intake is down ⬇️ 

A winning combo……

No Surrender!

Mad week again! Still fitted in gym Monday, Hiit Tuesday, PT Thursday. Friday I drove 5 of us to The Isle of Wight for a weekend of racing.

Saturday at 11am was St. Boniface fell 3.8km of straight up and up then down. 

Saturday at 3pm The Ventnor Horseshoe, 12km, twice the climb

All in all that day, whether it be running, walking or climbing I covered 30km.
Sunday it was the longest of the 3, 21km The Wroxhall Round. By now my calfs despite foam rollering were rock solid and every climb, there were a lot, my poor calfs were on fire. They say racing is 85% mental, it really is. Within first mile the voice in my head was telling me I wouldn’t finish, I couldn’t let it win, by mile 5 the hills had evened out my muscles had warmed up and I had settled in to a nice pace, no one ahead or behind me therefore no need to power it on. 

Well I did finish, and to my utter amazement I earned myself third place V40 lady!

Fell running is not for the feint hearted, it’s tough but thoroughly enjoyable and they’re the only races we seem to hit the booze without a care! 

Monday I was achey, decided to rest and stretch. 

Tuesday I rocked up to effort training at my running club http://www.springfieldstriders.org.uk though I genuinely took it easy managing a respectable 5.5 miles.

Wednesday I hit the gym in my lunch break for a session on my abs. Then tomorrow, Thursday I have my PT, Friday will be Hiit, Sunday Pleshey half marathon plus run home. 

Despite all this and healthy eating again my weight isn’t going down. I still will not give in to the cake!!! 

I Will Not Give Up!

Sorry it’s been 2 weeks, life has been manic. I’ll fill you in. 

If you recall my last post I was starting a 5 day juice cleanse. I did it, no tea,coffee or food for 5 days! I didn’t feel hungry at all as it turns out the 6 juices amounted to 1500 calories per day,  but I felt drained and bored. The result…… despite having an evening meal on the final day was a weight loss of 9lbs. Yes I have put 4lbs back on but it was the boost I needed, 

My personal training has resumed with Brett, I gained a new confidence in using weights since having my training sessions and have now joined Absalute Gym in Chelmsford to keep up with what I’ve learned. At £25 a month, no contract it was hard not to. I’ve had to do a few 6am sessions to fit it all in, no wonder I’m shattered. Did I mention I’m also marathon training? 

My weekly timetable at the mo is 

Monday   weight session in gym 

Tuesday Hiit with bootcamp 6.15am then effort training with Springfield Striders 7.30pm

Wednesday 12 hour work days so no training 

Thursday gym session, followed by running club 

Friday 5.30 Hiit 

Saturday long work day

Sunday long off road run (up to 17 miles)

My healthy lifestyle is back on track though I’ve had a couple of nights out. Annoyingly I’m still 10lbs overweight, my Abs are nowhere to be seen, clothes too tight. I will not be despondent and throw in the towel, I’ve done it before so I will do it again. 

Getting Better With Age

It’s been a tough week, mega busy at work as going away soon, kids off school, I still got it done though I am laying on the sofa blurry eyed at this moment.  

I made my own protein balls, I am uber proud of these and they taste lovely .
Ingredients 

Dates (200g)

Ground almonds (100g) 

Almond butter (a dollop)

Coconut oil (a dollop)

Chia seeds (couple of spoonfuls)

Dessicated coconut (couple of spoonfuls)

Cacao powder (few spoonfuls)

Vanilla protein powder (30g)

Water as needed

Zapped it all up (remember to take the seeds out of the dates) rolled into balls, a few I rolled in melted cacao buttons and coconut think I may have overdone the buttons though. They last for ages in the fridge and can be frozen.

This weeks activity consisted of 

Monday 7am PT session with Brett Bowen, 7pm offroad trail race with my fast runner friends Nikki and Catherine,  almost 6 miles. 

Tuesday 6.15am Hiit session 

Thursday an hour weight session at home

Friday The Ipswich Twilight 10k, I smashed a PB by over 2 minutes and also was first in my age category 45-49! I won my first trophy, so pleased and forever grateful to my pacer Nikki.

Sunday a very tough 13.1 miles, mainly off road and hilly but with a twist, the middle 5 miles was a road race put on by my running club. Followed by 30 minute ab session.

So yes I’m shattered,  bring on another week . 

From The Beginning, Well Almost

I’ll keep it as brief as I can.  From a young age I battled with my relationship with food, I put some of it down to the fact my parents would not let me leave the table until I had eaten everything on my plate, as probably with a lot of you.  The effect in latter life was not being able to go to a buffet without wanting to clear the table personally,  I had a massive hatred for food wastage, though those are just a couple of examples.

As an adult I discovered exercise, by my late teens, early twenties food was winning the battle, I found the more I exercised and less I ate the more weight I lost, years of yo-yo dieting ensued.  Back then the weight came off from where I wanted it to, therefore still managing to retain my boobs, so with my tiny waist and big boobs a short career in glamour modelling began, until my boyfriend at the time put paid to that. I don’t have many regrets in life but that is most definitely the biggest, at 18 years old putting a boyfriend before what could have been a lucrative career.

All through my twenties my weight would fluctuate between 8 and 10 stone. Thirties, marriage, two children. Exercising got harder and harder until I discovered running, I could step out of the front door and just run. 8 marathons,20 something half marathons, and countless 10 milers, 10k, 5k, 5 milers, on or off roaders I’m now the Ladies Captain of my local running club the Springfield Striders.

Life with a young family, running my own business, having a husband that would work 24/7 made fitting in exercise extremely difficult, marathon training was almost the third person in my marriage, you become selfish, but you have to be, you have to be strict and regimented and nothing else mattered, well in my head that’s how it had to be. To my horror I gained weight marathon training!!!  How the hell could that happen? I’ll tell you how, I treated it like pregnancy, it became my reason to eat!!!

2014,I took up boxing and started cycling just more stuff to try to counteract the fat. 2015, Bootcamp, more importantly HiiT (high intensity interval training) I started to notice I was getting that definition back. I wanted more of this!! I had a little chat with Brett from DNA bootcamp about diet, he gave me lots of pointers and was always happy to help with any of my questions. I soon realised from the diets he showed me that they were mainly high protein. That was it I changed the way I ate, I had been addicted to carbs, gradually I ditched them, no panic though as natural carbs are everywhere, very quickly the weight started to drop, muscle started to build, my running improved massively.

This was a lifestyle change, not a diet……….