Food Diary

Thursday:

Breakfast - 35g mini shredded wheat, banana and yogurt
Lunch - Ham sandwich on brown
Dinner - Jacket potato and chilli (extra lean mince, onion, tomatoes, pepper, chilli and cumin)
Snack - 2 x apples, carrot sticks with salsa

Friday:
Breakfast - 35g mini shredded wheat, banana and 175ml semi-skimmed milk
Lunch - Ham sandwich on brown
Dinner - Chicken stuffed with Philadelphia and wrapped in bacon, salad (cabbage, carrot, cucumber, spring onion and apple)
Snack - 2 x apples, raspberries

Saturday:
Breakfast - 35g mini shredded wheat, banana and 175ml semi-skimmed milk
Lunch - Ham sandwich on brown
Dinner - 6 x fish fingers and salad (cabbage, carrot, cucumber and apple)
Snack - 1 x apple, 4 x cream crackers

Sunday:
Breakfast - 35g mini shredded wheat and 150ml semi-skimmed milk
Lunch - 2 x soft-boiled eggs and 2 x toast (no butter)
Dinner - Paella (onion, tomatoes, rice, chicken and prawns)
Snack - 1 x banana

Monday:
Breakfast - 30g cheerios and 140ml semi-skimmed milk
Lunch - Ham sandwich on brown
Dinner - Ham, 2 x fried eggs and salad (cabbage, carrot, cucumber, spring onion and apple)
Snack - 2 x apples, 1 x cream cracker, 1 x packet French Fries crisps

Tuesday:
Breakfast - 30g cheerios and 140ml semi-skimmed milk
Lunch - Ham sandwich on brown
Dinner - Pasta (90g) and bolognese sauce (extra lean mince, onion, tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms)
Snack - 1 x apple, 1 x banana

Wednesday:
Breakfast - 30g cornflakes and 140ml semi-skimmed milk
Lunch - Peanut butter on brown
Dinner - 6 x fish fingers and salad (cabbage, carrot, cucumber, spring onion and apple)
Snack - 1 x banana, 1 x apple, 1 x packet French Fries crisps, 1 x Magnum (as a reward for losing six pounds :)

Thursday Catch-Up

Monday: Not much to report for today, spent the day at Gloucester Police HQ - it's a very impressive building, all modern and sleek.  It makes them look like a very modern, forward-thinking police force I must say.

Tuesday: Tonight was my first Tuesday run with the club.  As the evenings are now lighter, the Tuesday night run is off-road and therefore that bit slower.  We did a lovely 5 mile run across fields; I wasn't too sure to begin with as we started off the run by climbing what felt like, to me at least, Mount Everest but then it levelled out and it was very, very enjoyable.  Probably the best run I have had with the club so far and it will be nice running with others more than just once a week.

Wednesday:  Slimming World was once again very disappointing - I didn't lose anything for the second week in a row.  I now have to keep a food diary to identify where I could cut down further but, to be honest, I really just need to refocus and get a grip of my bread habit.  I haven't been eating badly but eating a bit too much of a good thing is still not good.  I suppose it's a positive that I can maintain the weight but having another 1.5 stone or so to lose, I don't really want to be maintaining but still losing.  I am going to try very hard this week and see if it reaps results.

Thursday:  Tonight was mile time trial at the club - basically running a mile as quickly as possible.  These trials are held every couple of months and the idea is to see an improvement in your time.  Obv.  Anyway, tonight's result:

1 mile = 7:38

I am really pleased, I haven't run as fast as that before.  To be honest I couldn't have sustained it for any longer, I was just about beat.  I did try and do a sprint finish but definitely started my sprint a bit too early as I was flagging like anything by the last 50m.  Still, considering I was aiming for a sub-9 minute, I am pleased I got a sub-8 minute.  Next time would love it to be sub-7 but think that might be asking more than I can give at the present!

Is There Anybody Still There?

One of these days I promise I am going to start a post without having to apologise for leaving it so long between updates.  I know I have said it before (and I know I am going to say it again) but time really is just slipping away at an alarming rate  Anyhooo, here I am now so it's update time:

Thursday: Not a lot to report for today other than my run with Calne Running Club.  Another interval night and the last one that we are doing on the road - now that the evenings are lighter due to the clocks going forward (more on that later)  as from next week we will be using the field around the sports centre.  Not sure if I am looking forward to this as I find grass a harder medium to run on than roads but I guess it makes a change.  Tonight's intervals were:

800m, 400m, 400m, 800m, 400m, 400m, 200m, 200m

Once again I trailed in a dismal last but I think it might be becoming a smidgen easier and I love the 200m sprints, they are definitely my thing.  It's a hard feeling to describe but when I am running that fast it almost feels like I'm flying and that my feet are hardly touching the ground.  It's very exhilarating.

Friday: First week for work over and I survived - hurrah me.  To be honest it has been a very dull week, I've really not had anything to do and my immediate line manager being out of the office from Monday to Wednesday did not help matters as nobody really knew what work I was meant to be doing.  This meant that I spent several days (most of the week in fact) twiddling thumbs which made the time drag somewhat.  However, things are looking up now and I have been given a project to work on with one of my colleagues so I'm looking forward to getting my teeth stuck into that. 

Today I also did my first gym class at lunch time - body conditioning.  It was surprisingly good and I must say that my muscles certainly let me know over the next few days that they had been working out.  I hope to make it a regular thing although I am not so sure about next Friday as that's a day before my first 10k and I don't really want to ache for that.

Saturday: We knew on Friday night that the weekend was meant to be a stunner weather-wise so we planned a walk with the boys and dog, a picnic lunch and then a BBQ for dinner.  It promised to be a fun day and it did not disappoint.  The walk was on the Downs that are about a 20 minute drive away - a vast area of land that you are pretty much free to roam over and roam we did.  The sun was unbelievably hot, so much so that I realised later in the day that I had actually managed to burn my arms a bit. A great time was had by all and the picnic lunch was the icing on the cake (or ring doughnuts as it were).  We had a lazy afternoon and then cooked chicken and sausages on the BBQ and eat them sat outside on the patio - marvellous.

Sunday:  Today did not start that well.  Son Two got me out of bed at 6.10am and I was quietly smug that he had had a bit of a lie-in on the day it was my turn to get up with them.  However, it finally dawned on me that my phone had automatically updated itself in the night and it was actually only 5.10am!  Kids.  Who'd have 'em?

Again, the weather did not disappoint so we took the boys and dog to Savernake Forest which is just outside Marlborough.  It's a lovely big forest with proper hardcore trails so made pushing the pushchair a breeze.  We did plan to be out for a few hours but unfortunately Son Two decided to fall ill and so we cut the morning short.  Poor boy has had a very runny nose for the past couple of weeks and today was the day when the cold decided to make its presence felt.  He spent much of the rest of the day having cuddles and sleeping.  I managed to get my run in, once again going from Calne to Chippenham along the cycle route.  It was a really difficult run, the combination of the hot weather and tired legs from the gym class did not make for a good combination.  I did manage to run the whole way, but unlike the last time I ran it, I didn't run at all on the way back, I just couldn't face it.  Anyway, today's result:

Distance = 5.5 miles
1st Checkpoint = 26:13
Time = 48:33

So very similar to last time but if I'm honest it should've been quicker as the going today was pretty much perfect.  Can't believe I only have one week to go until my 10k race, I have to say I'm not that confident.

All In A Day's Work

Well last night's run didn't go too well, my legs felt really heavy and sluggish.  I don't know if that is as a result of being back to working full time after a year's absence, or a hangover from Sunday's run where I covered more miles than before.  The whole run was a real effort and mentally tough and considering I really didn't push myself I'm quite surprised I have the following results to show for it:

Distance = 5k
Time = 27:50

Today I have signed up for my gym induction at work as I have to have it before I am given access to the gym.  We did a tour around the building yesterday morning and, considering I don't have to pay any membership fees, it's not bad at all.  There is a nice selection of cardio machines and also a free-weights area.  I'm looking forward to using it a couple of times a week to support my running.   I have also put my name down for a boxercise class (again, all free) which I'm going on next Monday.  I haven't done boxercise before but I'm hoping it will help strengthen my core and arms.  There is also a body conditioning class and I may
well check that out too.  I am determined to get fit!

Tonight's Slimming World was a bit of a flop too, I didn't lose so much as half a pound.  Very annoying as I only have another 1.5 pounds to go before I am 10 stone something and that has been a target of mine for a while now.  Oh well, better luck next week I hope.

Sunday Catch Up

I have absolutely no idea where this week has gone - I definitely seem to be running on a treadmill and getting nowhere particularly fast.  I had great plans when I started the blog that I would update it every day (or at least every other) but I am really struggling to keep up with it.  Obv.

Oh well, a Sunday catch-up it is then.

Thursday:  Calne Running Club night and tonight's intervals were:

2 x 800m
6 x 400m

I also officially joined the club tonight (£20 for 12 months' membership) and I am now waiting to hear back from British Athletics.  Being a member of a running club means I get reduced race-entry fees so that's a good bonus as I would like to try and run a 10k race at least once per month.  Talking of races by first 10k is now only two weeks away - getting slightly nervous!

Friday:  A very long and very dull day today as had to be out of the house from 8am until 5pm as our new baby-sitter was having a dry-run at looking after Sons One and Two prior to looking after them full-time as of next week.  With no car my choices of where to go / what to do were very limited so I ended up taking the bus to Chippenham.  Now, as much as Chippenham is a relatively pretty market town, it certainly isn't a thriving metropolis and I really struggled to waste that amount of time.  I was more than grateful to catch the bus home.

Saturday:  Picked up my new car today and I couldn't be happier with it.  Best of all though they managed to undercharge me by £200 so I was well chuffed!  When I reserved the car the other day, I had to pay a £200 deposit over the phone and then was expected to pay the balance on picking the car up.  However, when I checked the invoice, they had the balance as the total amount and had then taken the £200 deposit off which in effect made the car £200 cheaper.  Very fleetingly I did wonder whether to say something but then I'm afraid I did keep quiet and hurriedly signed the contract before they realised their error.  One up for the little man :)

Sunday:  Drove Pierre to Swindon today as wanted to nip into Next at the outlook village as I had seen a handbag in there the other day that I liked and I also needed a new pair of leggings (size 14 don'tcha know) to replace my existing ones which are now too baggy.  Once again we managed to get there too early so had to end up hanging around waiting for Next to open; I really need to learn to check opening times. 

Today was also my long run day and I decided to run to Chippenham today and then walk / jog back.  Had a great run out and even with having to stop to open three gates and to put Rommel on the lead a couple of times I still managed the following:

Distance = 5.5 miles
Time = 48:54

Very pleased as the going was pretty awful: wet, slippy and muddy.  So slippy in fact that on the way back I managed to loose my footing and fall flat on my face.  Thankfully nobody witnessed my fall!

Tomorrow sees me starting my new job - my last day of employment was the 31st March 2011 so I'm excited about starting a new challenge but I'm also aware that this is the first time since Son One was born (May 2009) that both Other Half and I have worked at the same time;  when I think about all the things we will have to organise on a daily basis I come out in a cold sweat.  I really hope things work out well for us as it will be nice to have two incomes once again as we will be looking to move within the next 6 months and it would be good to buy somewhere rather than have to go into another rented.

Toodle-pip for now dear reader(s), wish me luck for tomorrow.

Well What A Week It Has Been

Well what a funny old week it has been so far.  Other Half's work van managed to fail its MOT in spectacular fashion last week to the tune of £500 and seeing as it only cost £800 to buy a year ago, it didn't really make much financial sense to repair it so today the lovely man from the scrap yard came and took it away.  We've decided that Other Half will use our existing VW Polo as his work vehicle which meant we needed to find another car rather quickly as I will need it to get to work next week (well, hopefully!)  We visited a few garages on Sunday but the boys were not particularly happy about being dragged around car showrooms so Other Half took yesterday off and, with baby sitter on hand, we set off on the hunt.  And, ta da, above is a picture of my new baby, a Peugeot 307 estate.  "Pierre" is a joy to drive and I can't wait to bring him home on Saturday.

Tuesday: The afternoon saw me trying to better my time once again on the 5k route and I have the following to show for it:

Distance =  5k

Time = 26:50

Average Heart Rate = 161 bpm

I have beaten my personal best set last week to the tune of 25 seconds whilst having a (slightly) lower heart rate - I am very, very happy.

Wednesday: Today I took the dog for a walk on our usual cycle route but instead of catching the bus back we walked.  So, 14 miles later we ended up where we started - both of us are now knackered!

I also finally got my contract from Wiltshire Police today although it is still all subject to the security clearance but at least I do have something official in writing to say I have been offered a job!

Slimming World tonight rewarded me with a 3.5 pound loss so good news on that front too.  I guess all this exercise must be paying off. 

Time Flies Like The Wind, Fruit Flies Like Bananas

For years and years I never got that saying, I remember asking my step-dad why it flew like a banana and not, say, an apple.  They say with age comes wisdom and now I finally get it!  I can't believe I have not updated the blog since Tuesday, it has been a bit of a funny old week though.  I got a phone call from the agency on Tuesday to say that my start date for my new job was going to be delayed as I still had to go through security clearance and there was no way the results would be back within the week.  My start date is now Monday 19th March @ 9.30am so it's jolly decent of them to give me a lie-in on my first day.  I finally received the security documents via email on Thursday and, oh my God, they want to know the ins and outs of me and pretty much everyone I have ever had involvement with.  I have been through checks before, I had to be CRB checked for my role within Dorset County Council, but this is the first time that I have had to answer questions about relatives and not just myself.  And unfortunately this has added a rather complicated twist as Other Half did something rather foolish a few years ago which I have a feeling may come back and bite me on the bum.  This has taken the gloss off the new job somewhat as I am not 100% confident that I will get clearance.  What is even more concerning is that it will take approximately 20 days to go through all the checks but they are letting me start on that Monday regardless of the fact that not all the results are back so I'm now worried that having started, I may then be told I cannot continue.  It's something that is playing on my mind constantly like a broken record - I keep telling myself it will be alright but in my heart of hearts I am concerned.

Wednesday was Slimming World and this week I put half a pound on!  To be honest it wasn't unexpected as I have been a bit naughty lately (my love affair with bread is catching up with me) but I'm still a bit upset as I was really hoping to never put any weight on whilst on my weight loss journey.  Hey ho.

Anyway, moving on to things with a more positive note, I did my run on Friday this week instead of running with the Club on Thursday and today I did my long run.  Once again I did the cycle route so I could take the dog and was out the door by 8.30am expecting it to be really quiet at that time of the morning on a foggy Sunday.  How wrong I was, the bloody route was packed which meant the start was a bit hit and miss and took me a few goes to get into my stride.  However, today I felt really strong throughout the whole run, especially towards the end.  I don't know what made the difference today, whether it was the earlier time (this is the earliest I've run) or whether I am actually getting fitter, but I thought I was running strongly and I have the following results to show for it:

Distance = 5.75 miles

1st Checkpoint = 35:01 (-1:28)

2nd Checkpoint = 43:48 (-1:26)

Total Time = 53:26 (-2:46)

So, so pleased with my times and how strong I felt on the run.  Three weeks today until my first 10k race - bring it on :)

Fanfare Please

Dum De De Dum Dum Dummmmmm .... or however it goes.  Incase you couldn't tell by the rather discreet opening to my post I now have a new Personal Best for a 5k. Hu-bloody-rah.  So without further ado below is tonight's result:

Distance = 5k

Time = 27:15

Average Heart Rate = 162 bpm

So three positives from tonight's run, 1) I have improved my PB by nearly a minute (54 seconds to be precise) and 2) my average heart rate was reduced which hopefully means my cardio fitness is also improving and 3) I ran the whole course once again, in fact I even tried a bit of interval training inbetween lamp-posts and it's obviously this that has made the difference.

Hill training on Thursday?  Bring it on! 

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud

Today is the day of my long run.  Today is also the day that it decided to pour down for the whole morning which I knew would have rendered my planned run into basically one step down from a mud bath.  Today also did not have a promising start - the plan was to set out nice and early; I would go work-clothes shopping whilst Other Half took the boys to the railway museum (handily located right next to the shopping centre).  Unfortunately Son Two decided the plan was not to his liking and proceeded to throw up over himself and his car seat when we were approximately half way to Swindon.  Foolishly we had not planned for such an event and therefore had no change of clothes with us which only left us the option of coming back home again; regurgitated half-digested milk has a somewhat pungent smell that cannot be removed with wetwipes alone unfortunately.  So Son Two and I spent the morning at home whilst Other Half and Son One carried on with the plan and went to visit the museum; apparently a lovely time was had by all and Son One also appreciated the McDonald's Happy Meal that he had as an added treat.

So I finally got to go on my run around 3pm.  Luckily by this time the rain had eased off but I knew that the going was not going to be good.  I did think about changing my planned route but I really wanted to take dog with me and therefore I had to do an off-road run.  He's actually very good at running on-lead but at only 8 months old I don't want to have to do too much pavement pounding with him as I don't want to risk any muscular or skeletal injuries.  However, I am debating having a go at Cani-cross with him when he's old enough.  Anyway, off we set down the trusty Calne to Chippenham cycle route; in fairness, I am getting somewhat sick of this route by now as I also use it a lot for walking but it's the nearest off-road route I've found.  Started off nice and steady as the going really was very grim, huge puddles that had to be skirted and thick, gloopy mud that sucked the very life-force from me.  But, today showed the following results: 

Distance = 5.75 miles

1st Checkpoint = 36:29 (-1:17)

2nd Checkpoint = 45:14 (-2:07)  

Total Time = 56:12

Two things are very pleasing about today's run; firstly, I was quicker at both checkpoints and I am especially pleased that I clearly upped my speed between points as I was a whole two minutes faster today despite the rather poor going underfoot and secondly, I got into my stride a lot quicker than I have before.  It normally takes me a least 10 minutes to settle into a good breathing / running pattern but today I was there pretty much from the word go.  Maybe it's all starting to come good? 

Next run Tuesday where once more I shall be attempting a PB.

Friday Catch-Up (Again)

It's a good job I didn't volunteer for the February blogathon as clearly I am not very good at keeping my blog up-to-date.  I did have some vague ambition of blogging every day but time just seems to slip past so fast and before I know it I've missed a day.  Anyhoooo, here I am now for a quick catch-up so that I can keep track of progress.

Wednesday: Slimming World!  Wasn't sure what the verdict would be this week as I have been very slack on using the Wii and normally I use that to gauge any potential weightloss (although it never seems to be that accurate however hard I try to place it in exactly the same spot every time).  Well, I was rewarded with a 2.5 pound loss taking my total so far to 2 st 8.5 lbs and meaning I got a lovely green certificate to celebrate getting to 2.5 stone.  Only another 4 pounds to go to hit my interim target of 11 stone whereby I shall then have another measure to check on progress.

Thursday:  I have a job!  The agency rang at lunchtime to say the interview had gone well but not quite good enough to get the Project Manager job (not surprising really as I have never actually been a PM - guess they must've seen through my bullshitting!)  However, they were impressed enough to offer me a role as Project Support Officer which I have accepted (but, once again, never having been a PSO I have absolutely no only a vague idea of what the job involves).  Still, Monday 12th March will find me standing at the door of the Police Headquarters in Devizes ready to seize this new opportunity that has been presented to me.  However, we now have the headache of what to do about the kids and getting someone to look after them so Other Half can carry on working too.  At the minute it looks as though the best option financially is actually for him to give up work as the nursery is going to cost around £1900 a month which, quite frankly, is a pretty obscene amount of money and would mean him going to work just to fund the nursery.  Decisions, decisions.

Tonight was also club night which I struggled to get the motivation to do.  But, having managed to get my bum in gear, it turned into the following session:

1600m x 3

And I found it really tough.  Although I am now up to running for 6 miles, that's at my comfortable pace and sustaining any kind of speed, even over a relatively short distance, is something that I continue to struggle with.  However, I shall not be beaten so next Thursday will find me hill training with the Club which is possibly a combination of the two worst things ever - hills and running at speed.