Food and Exercise Round-up (weeks 49 and 50)

The Stats

Wednesday 22nd January

Weight:  8st 8lbs
BMI:  20.5
BFP:  23.5%

Wednesday 29th January

Weight:  8st 11lbs
BMI:  21.0
BFP:  25.1%

The Food

I was briefly very pleased with myself for getting back to my pre-Christmas weight and BFP, but then it all went a bit wrong.  Some dodgy pork and some seriously bad pre- and post-long run fuelling led to an upset stomach followed by feeling better and eating *everything* which in turn led to some weight gain.  Never mind, next week is another week...!

The Exercise

If things were a bit dodgy on the food front, the exercise front was much better over the two weeks.  As usual I cycled, ran, Cross Fitted and walked.  Thanks to some conveniently-timed strike action I got a long run in on 23rd January.  I ran from work to Finchale Abbey.

And on the way back things started to go a bit wrong...my return was plagued by the dreaded *bathroom issues* but I managed 11.28 miles in 2 hours.

And then I ate a cream scone, which was just silly and which I heartily regretted not very much later!  It was very nice at the time though (date and walnut - yum!).

Alastair and I did a little "porly walk" on Saturday, and by the start of the next week I was back on top form.  So much so that - in another conveniently timed strike on the Tuesday - I ran a half-marathon!!!

I set off having not eaten a thing since a modest breakfast loaded up with Garmin, phone, belt-pouch-thing containing Shot Bloks and a sensible post-run snack.  I reprised my Finchale Abbey run with a couple of extra loops (including a very hilly pull up to Newton Hall - that's why the first few miles are so slow).  Right up until about mile 10 I wasn't sure I was going to make it to 13.1, but I surprised myself by not only doing so in a really good time but going into real overdrive in the last mile (hopped up on Shot Bloks I think).  Look at that average time!

Not fast by any stretch of the imagination I know, but fast for me and that's what counts.

I celebrated with pepperoni pizza and red wine for my tea that night (once I was sure that everything was in order following the run!) and it was delicious.  Then the next day I weighed in and found out that I'd put on 3lbs since my last weigh in.  How can you put on 3lbs in the week you've run a half-marathon...life is not fair (and no, it wasn't muscle alas)!

Food and Exercise Round-up (week 48)

The Stats

15th January 2014

Weight:  8st 9lbs
BMI:  211
BFP:  24.3%

The Food

None of note, as I've been practising post-Christmas abstemiousness!

The Exercise

Starting on Monday 6th January I had a seriously good week exercise-wise.  I did what I call a full house - I cycled to work every day, I ran twice, I Cross Fitted once and I did a long walk (20+ miles).  Noteworthy at any time of year, almost unheard of in January.  I am loving the mild weather after the past two winters.

My Tuesday run was a nice threshold session with my new running buddy - a work colleague who's much faster than I am but who's training for a marathon and needs to practice running at marathon pace.  It works out perfectly for both of us as her pace is a threshold pace for me (she's not very good at running slowly at marathon pace yet!), and it's good fun running with a friend.

My Thursday run was a solo 5k which I sneaked in in just under 30 minutes - I started off trying to practice running 10 minute miles - my target half-marathon pace but got bored with that about half-way through and started running for speed!

Alastair and I did a wonderful walk on Sunday.  We started with an absolutely heavenly caftiere of coffee at the lovely Burgoyne Hotel in Reeth.

We walked over the top to Bolton Castle in bright sunshine, stopping at a very handy lunch stop on the way.

 

The battery in my phone ran out after Bolton Castle so, to my great regret, I didn't get any photos of the truly spectacular sunset we were treated to.  It was a stunning, rose-pink and gold sunset that turned the sere grass of the moors a beautiful, otherworldly pink, and although the sun itself was liquid gold right until the moment it dipped below the horizon the sky turned a dramatic scarlet before fading into twilight.  It was truly breathtaking.  We did the last couple of hours of our walk under a sky of the deepest black chipped with such bright stars - it was wonderful.