Catchup (or: I'm too tired to think of a witty title.)

As usual much has happened since I last bored you. In my last post I neglected to mention that Kevin the contractor returned thanks to TheO playing peacemaker (whilst he accused be of being demanding and belligerent... surely my good friends know I am neither, unless under duress). Now we are still not finished - but getting ever closer. Just a few tiny things to finish. Like a fecking stove!!

As you left the house was being prepared for yet more guests. This time broinlaw and quiet-style were coming up for a w/end and poke around the new house. First night was a gentle catch-up and a nice easy-osey chat and relax. Sisinlaw cooked and I chilled out.

However I could only be partly relaxed as I knew that the next morning I was up at crack-of-sparrows to do a craft fair in Edinburgh for 2 days. Being up at 6.30 never pleases me. I'd had about 4h of sleep, has the worst period pain of my life, the temperature had dipped permanently below zero, and I was pissed off at having to work when people were visiting. Only a trip to Starbucks made the morning even bearable.

After a day of relatively poor sales, I raced home to help TheO prepare dinner for 13. Yes 13. TheO was a little stressed as in the previous 48h a total of 3 guests (all male) had dropped out for various reasons and things were a bit unbalanced on paper. (Luckily the natural testosterone of our female contingent meant that you couldn't tell!) With courses and choices for each course. It was a delightful night. It all worked well and I manged to keep my eyes and ears open long enough to catch up with friends and family.

Sunday was a bit of a case of same-shit-different-day. Enough sales were made to cover the costs and make a small profit but sales were about 50% of the previous year. Pah.


Monday was much better and we all headed to the gym to go swimming with godlet. He was delightful in the water. TheO then went shopping whilst letting me go to the gym where I managed to run 10K. This was a great moment as I felt truly dreadful, like I was coming down with something. Hot. achy. sore. But the run helped a bit and I finished all at 1% in 59min. I managed a quick sauna afterwards but the ill feeling soon came back with a vengence.

Tuesday - bit of a blank; think I might have slept and grumped my way through the fog of illness.

Wed - all was GO GO GO as Islander and Gemil arrived to make life fuller (and a little louder). TheO went off to Oban to get them and braved -10 temperatures in Crainlarich. Talk about brass monkey weather! I scrubbed, mopped and tried to make everything a little shiny round the edges as Atholl was due to arrive too - much to the delight of her daughters.

Then we relaxed with a little gentle shopping and PANCAKES in Perth the next day. A delight all round. Ok - trying to shop with 2 wee ones might not be too relaxing.

Now, here we get to the big news. The first of the Cheeseboard has sprogged up. Blarney is 13wks gone, has had her scan and is sharing news with the world. For various reasons I've known for a few weeks and I'm over the moon. Over the stars. And have possibly shed a tear (or two). I can't wait for there to be a babybell.

Last night we met to discuss friends xmas and the news was spread far and wide. The pressure is off and the celebration begins. (We also managed to plan a great deal of xmassy joy to one and all.)

I am so excited by the thought of xmas but a bit overwhelmed by the thought of it all. With Sisinlaw and her two, and husband and Atholl staying. And work; and the hideousness that has been housemoving all my shopping is being condensed into an ever smaller space. Luckily I've been putting in the thought if not the action.

So 10k run. Illness fully in progress. Friends xmas planned. Dinner for 14 and a total of 10 house guests over the last 7 days. I can just lie in a darkened room soon right. Please. Maybe take a bottle of rum with me.

Holiday! It'll be just fine ...

Malta was great - it was lovely to see TheO's parents again. It was relaxing, a real break, a chance to get a little bit of sunshine and ultimately fab to be home again - the best sort of holiday. TheO has, as usual, outdone herself with a series (6 or 7) posts about our trip to Malta. If you want to have a look just go to her blog and you'll be able to check out the many sights of cultural interest we managed to pack into our trip.

I am just going to concentrate on the important stuff - the exercise. Jeez - my levels of sadness appear to be unbounded at present. But - onwards to the stats:

12th October - due to the fantastic pool TheO's parents have my first bit of exercise was a swim. It's an unheated outdoor pool of 11m in length (yes, I did measure it to find out). So I hopped in (finding it a pleasant but cool temperature as there had been just enough sun to heat it up) and did 100 lengths. Due to the pool being so short I tried really hard not to push off when in the deep end so I actually swam the distance rather than just glided every length. :) Kept up a good pace and felt delightfully wobbly when I got out.

13th October - this I had been dreading. A run. In the heat. My lovely friends were exceptionally nice to me and wandered round a garden/park for about 40min whilst I attempted a run. It was great to be somewhere safe with decent-ish paths - but it was still quite rough trails. That, combined with the heat, and the huge hill I insisted on tackling made for a really, really, hard run. I had to keep telling myself that even if no-one could see me - I would know if I had walked! So I did two loops which involved a big uphill and then a gentle decent loop and a simple flat section. These were a mile each and were completed in 12.20 and 11.40 respectively. (I think this shows the heat/hill affect.) The for the last 1.1mile I just pootled round the park finding flat-ish bits until I had plodded out the distance. 11.20 + 1.30. A total time of 36.50 was damn slow but I was just delighted to have done it.

15th October - Took my courage and decided on another swim - on a day with no sun -it was arse achingly freezing. Did 92 lengths (1012m) and called it a day. Not bad when moving but any slight stop was almost too cold to bear. Am obviously crazy.

17th October - Was beginning to despair. Malta - especially if you are out in the country - is not a good place to run. There are precious few pavements, poor street-lighting, and crazy driving. Road running would be suicidal on all but a few new roads. In towns you might be able to do some good runs round the outer sections - but you'd have to know your routes well. It was a busy last day with lots of footie watching planned (an England match on the tv; then Malta v. Moldova in the national stadium). Luckily for me we were heading into Paceville (Pa-che-ville) to watch the England boys get gubbed. TheO's Ma suggested I call the Hilton and ask about their gym. I was suspicious as I've tried this at home and no-where lets you use their gym without either a membership or an induction (how many inductions before I'm inducted to death!). Luckily Malta has different standards - bless! For the vast cost (let's not even talk about it) I could buy a day pass and just turn up and use their gym and pool. At least they give you a free locker and towels. :) So I went in and planted myself on the running machine to churn out a mind-numbing 5 miles. The machine was in K and a bit crap so I managed only to get it to do auto-start then alter the gradient to 1% and get the speed to 10kph - 5 miles/8K in 10min/miles was done - two quick stops with me randomly hitting buttons to get it started again - in about 53min. Apart from watching Sky news and the match I had an incredible view out to sea of the huge stormy swell battering the coast - it was stunning.

BACK in the U ... K
19th October - After a blissful sleep in my own bed - more like passing out having been up for 21hours straight the day before - we decided it would be a good idea to go to the gym. TheO went to play squash and I toddled into my local. Managed 5k in 27min was absolutely delighted - only 8 seconds off my fastest ever 5K - really feel like I'm coming back to form (even though I'm carrying far too many excess pounds). Then did all the weights except the tummy machine.


Hoping to have some quality weeks at home. Get loads of work done. Eat a healthy diet, get a few more pounds off before Christmas, up the exercise and appreciate all the things I love about home. Sounds slightly too good to be true.

AQUAFIT

Several friends do Aqua-Fit on a weekly basis in Edinburgh. Today we two gave it a go.
Overall - not bad. Feels as good as a gym session but not like a run or a proper swim. We will go again (might adjust this if I awake in pain tomorrow) and add it in as an additional session in the week. Great location in the dive pool in Dundee - plenty of space and good deep water.

I was a bit of an exercise snob about it. I'm never that convinced by something I can't measure. I could go regularly and not really know if, it was getting any easier/I was getting any better. I found somethings tricky from a balance and co-ordination point of view but it didn't feel like that hard a workout. Good to be forced to keep going through it all with music and a teacher though. Bizarrely I got two rubbing patches on my arms from my swimming costume and the constant arm pumping/swinging motion - who'd a thunk it?

Almost had an argument with TheO as I was possibly unfairly disparaging about people who, "couldn't run 10K". Difficult to express that it's only by holding onto thin shreds of belief in my own physical ability that I manage to aim for faster/stronger/better - and I can only do this by making comparisons. I don't want to be 'quite good for a fat girl' I want to really surprise people with my strength and level of fitness. That's why I want to challenge myself physically. Who would have imagined that aqaufit could have provoked such levels of debate. And we didn't even get onto the fact the instructor was quite cute!

Lardy Arse Fat Bags writes again.

I think the title might give you a suggestion of my mood. (And I'm not even hormonally challenged!)

However, I'll try and catch you up before ranting.
Went away with TheO's brother, and sister-in-law for a 5 day whiskey tour round Scotland. We were fortunate: The sun shone, the roads were quiet, the accommodation and planning put in by TheO made everyone had a wonderful time. I discovered a liking for whiskey - but only the finest single malts, with a good age. (Oh yes, another expensive habit - that's what I really needed.) It was brilliant. Far better than expected and as always those with a desire to read more can find all you need at : Life of a Wastrel.

Whilst we were away I did use my trainers. An heartfelt thank you goes out to the groundsman/woman of Dornoch FC who provided a lovely pitch for me to run round and round in circles to complete my 5k on the 28th. It was 32min of trudging through long grass and enjoying the sun setting over the sea, whilst a huge rainbow formed and the RAF jets flew underneath it. Really quite spectacular. Also had both dogs with me on leads - they behaved impeccably - bless.

As soon as we got home on Friday 31st I had to get out there. We'd done a lot of driving and my body felt antsy. I think it was this copped up feeling that lead to me pushing the pace. It was a hilly route and 5K wizzed passed in 30.17... haven't done that in a while - was delighted.

After such success (hmmphff) I got a little too optimistic. On the 2nd I tired a *new route* which was mostly trail running (damn Runner's World for putting such alien thoughts into my head). I did a good first mile on tarmac then headed off through some woods - up hill; through a field - up hill; then, amazingly, up a hill. There was lots of walking. 2.25 miles in 30min. A good workout but not a fantastic run. I hate trails, I hate not being able to relax and just run, I hate having to look where I'm going, watch my step, avoid branches and puddles. Pah.

This all cumulates in yesterday when with only a little attention from TheO and a cattle prod I was convinced to go for a swim. Indoor, yucky, busy, chlorine, was not quite as bad as I remembered. I slogged through 58 lengths (it would have been 60 but they kicked me out) doing 4 crawl, 2 breast-stroke in manic repetition. There was one pause to adjust goggles at about 10 lengths and a 2min break at 40 lengths when TheO went off to the gym. I was delighted by this as it's the furthest I've swum since I was a kid. (Still feels nothing like a run though.)

But my gloom (apart from being woken-up before I was ready) stems from stepping on the scales. 12st 7lb (175lb for those in the US) - this sucks. Holidays and highdays have lulled me into eating out and eating too much. At my half-marathon lightest I was 12.1 and I maintained 12.2 with relative ease. Now I have another 5 lb to lose again - and for all those in doubt - it pisses me off. I try to regale myself with tales of my strength and continued exercise regime - but I know the extra weight is just fat. DAMN IT.

With apologies to Robert Frost - a rewriting of a runner's favourite.

Whose breads are these - I think I know.
The shop is in the village though.
They will not see me eating here,
To watch my tum fill up with dough.

My little legs must think it queer,
To eat without some hunger near,
Between the lunch and dinner time,
The longest hours of the year.

They give themselves a sturdy shake,
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep,
Of crispy crumbs and chocolate flake.

The Mars is lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I eat,
And miles to go before I eat.

Juneathon Update

As requested by JoggerBlogger I am adding my Juneathon data - I have no hopes of winning the prize (whatever it may be).

Days exercised: 20/30
Run - 25miles (from the 14th when I was finally allowed to)
Gym - 4 sessions
Swim - 40 lengths
Elliptical - 29 miles
Yoga - 2 sessions
Walk - 20miles
Crazyarse Housework - 3h

Junethon definitely helped with the motivation. Thank You JB

Still pumped - work it baby - WORK IT!

Out did myself today - and I didn't even fancy doing much...

Started with an excellent full weights session including the multi-hip machine and the arm things I hate. Did it circuit style with no stopping, actually worked up a sweat doing weights... normally I'm so gross from the running machine that I never notice. Really worked hard and was surprised by how quickly I could work my way round all the machines alternating arms and legs.

Then went for a swim.
Did 2 breaststroke/4 crawl for 40 lengths with a 1min stop at 24 lengths to talk to TheO.

Really chuffed 40 lengths in 31 minutes - much more like it. It finally felt like a proper workout, I was getting some water at the end and I could feel my legs shaking. And, just to chuff my day to the max* TheO is cooking dinner tonight (Roast Chicken, Crusty Bread and a Big Salad) for me, and a friend is coming round. What perfection. (Then, when they go - there's the England Match to watch.) It's all far too exciting.

Needless to say I will be keeping this double session as the joker to play when I really can't be arsed one day in this fabulous Juneathon**.


* Note to self - never use this expression again.

**NOT SURE BLOGGING WHILST STILL PUMPED FROM EXERCISE SHOULD BE ALLOWED, THIS POST IS FAR TOO PERKY AND FULL OF ITSELF.