I've lost a stone

It's been two months in the losing but it's gone along with 2 inches off my waist :)

I don't look any different but yesterday I was able to put a Tshirt on that my husband bought me a couple of years ago in a size too small and it fit lovely - yay me!

Suddenly I feel my Fat to Fit plan is actually working...

Running with Rocky

Forget all the other playlists you'll find on the web to help you with running.  All you need is a bit of  Bill Conti and in your mind you'll be pounding the streets of Philadelphia alongside Rocky himself.  Even better if you're running on the treadmill and can watch the footage as you go.

You might even want to treat yourself with a bit of shadow boxing as you run too, I guess that depends though on whether you're hidden away inside like me though or out in the open - but even then if you're confident enough not to mind other people wondering what on earth you're doing, go for it!

Or is it just me?

I'm back!

So it's been a (very) long time since I posted on my blog but I'm back and feeling fab!

In fact I've just run for 20 minutes so I'm right back to where I quit in July so I thought I ought to start posting again and keep my momentum going.

I stopped running back when my children broke up for the summer holidays and then once they went back to school, I was so busy with work that I just didn't have the spare energy to motivate myself into running. Lunchtimes became a vague memory and as we headed into winter, the evenings were too dark and cold for me to want to head out by myself.

Christmas came and went and then in the age old tradition of New Years resolutions I told myself I would start running again.  Then to make sure I stuck to this I spent a fortune on a treadmill knowing if I didn't use it, not only would I be letting myself down, but my husband would kill me which is a motivation all by itself!

Running indoors isn't for everyone and even I'm looking forward to those sunny, spring afternoons when you just have to spend some time outdoors but for now this is working for me and I'm loving it :)

Camping, Rain and The Gruffalo

Despite the horrendous thunderstorms forecast for the weekend just gone, we still bravely packed the car for camping and set off towards Sherwood Forest for our annual end of term campout.

For anyone else who loves sleeping under canvas I'd highly recommend Sherwood Forest Holiday Park - this was our third visit.  It's a decent size, quiet with a couple of play parks and a river to amuse the children and that's it.  The location is great, ideally placed if you want to visit Sherwood Forest or Sherwood Pines.

It was Sherwood Pines we headed to on Saturday, it was raining but that didn't put us off and we spent 4 hours exploring the forest.   We were meant to be following a guided trail but the markers seemed to disappear so we wandered off the usual path and cut through the trees and onto the rougher paths meant for mountain bikes.   I did do a bit of running but not very much as I'd not packed the proper bra and ouch!

For families with younger children there is a fab Gruffulo trail on at the moment to celebrate the books' 15th Anniversary.  Maybe not so younger children would enjoy this too if my 13yr old son is anything to go by (he'll kill me when he sees I've put his posed photo up on here!!)

Saturday night the thunderstorms hit - I've never seen anything like it!  Luckily we were in a high field and more importantly in a good tent so other than a single leak at one of the roof seams we were okay.  Lower down weren't so fortunate though as the river burst it's bank and rose 6ft meaning lots of caravans were completely flooded.  Half an hour later though, the skies cleared and we were sat back outside the tent in glorious sunshine, beer in hand.

Fab weekend!

School holidays, running and cunning plans

Last week I didn't manage to run at all.  I had a horrible sick bug followed by a migraine that completely wiped me out, not least because I didn't eat for 3 days and you can't run without fuel.   I did lose 4lbs though - silver linings and all that.

This week my plan is to build on the last run I did and hopefully lose a couple more lbs :)

I'm off to a good start as I'm just back from my first run of the week and I managed to keep going for 12m44s!!   

I'm going to need to be quite organised here on out though as it's the last week of school for my children this week so as well as work and the normal family life stuff,  I've got to fit in 1 x sports day, 1 x leavers assembly, 1 x leavers disco and then our usual end of term camping trip.  

When there is so much on it's too easy to lose motivation and I just know the following week when the kids don't even have to get up and dressed for school, it'll be even harder than usual to leave the house at lunchtime even if it is just for half an hour.     I do have a cunning plan though.    I am going to tell my kids they can't go on the Xbox unless they've come out for a run with me.  I'm sure I'll be faced with attitude and grumbles aplenty but if I manage to stick to my guns, they'll force me out of the house and then I can have peace and quiet to work while they play in the afternoon.  

Wish me luck!

Hottest day of the year?

Today is meant to be the hottest day of the year but it certainly isn't where I'm standing.  Up in the not so sunny depths of South Yorkshire the sun seems to have taken a holiday which wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact then everyone who emails me today is based in London and asking if I'm enjoying the sun.

Totally unfair !!

Of course the weather was bound to take a turn for the worse this week, why would it stay sunny when the Tour De France is set to head through town?  Instead of seeing Yorkshire as it's beautiful best, the rest of the world is going to see a drizzly grey countryside that isn't very appealing to anyone.  To be fair though these days that is what Yorkshire is like the majority of the time so maybe if it was sunny we'd be in trouble for false advertising to any future visitors.

One good thing about it being not hot though is that its easier to run when it's cooler.  I've decided to just work on sustaining the 10 minutes I can now run easily and then slowly build on that - today I pushed it to 11minutes and 16seconds.   And believe me those extra 16 seconds count, they were the hardest seconds of the whole run :)

Five reasons to run outdoors

1.  The Colours

It's great to see the fields change colour as the seasons pass.
Where I've started walk running now, the fields are full of corn and poppies have started growing - the little glimpses of red are really heartwarming (I love poppies!)

2.  Finding Secret paths

Okay to it's probably not really secret as there is a big public footpath sign right at the very top but as I worked my way down this tree tunnel, it was so quiet and I really felt like I was the first one to wander down in ages.   And the little girl in me really thought if there was ever a time to find a fairy then this place would be it!





3.  The views

I found a field full of blue flowers today which really surprised me as I'm used to seeing the yellow and green of corn and rapeseed - the view was wonderful and so unexpected.





4.  Time alone to work out any issues

I was in a really bad mood when I set off on my route this afternoon but an hour away from my desk (and my husband who put me in the bad mood) and I was great again.  I stomped out my warm up walk and then by the time I found my secret path and my lovely field of poppies I felt like I could breathe again.  You can't feel mad at anything when you feel like you're the only person enjoying such wonderful views.

5. The health benefits

I guess that's the main reason for running for most people - myself included - but it's fab when this comes bottom of your list as you know you've really enjoyed your time outdoors that day and you're more likely to keep running in the future.