Monday 4 January 2010

I did it!!

A snowy walk just before Christmas. The girls are stuck at a stile...

No problem for mum, Shelagh - straight over!


Splat - too hard for Minty....

Help meeeee


Muuuum, pleeeaaase.... how could I resist?




The lovely village of Bamford




I managed to make myself go to the gym after a rubbishy day at work and despite the fact that my gym pal Vicky had to cancel due to missing her train!!


I was so cold! Our office heating has not been on all day so it has been arctic and that made me feel really bad - tired, achy and slightly feverish. Anyway, I was still intending to to to the gym and then got the text from Vicky saying she couldn't make it. That could have been the trigger for a real evening of comfort eating and not exercising. But it wasn't.


I got home, got changed straight away as that is always helpful in making sure I exercise and then was out of the door within 20 minutes. And I worked pretty hard too.


The lovely Huw is on holiday this week which is why I'm so keen to make sure I do plenty of exercise on my own and I'm trying to follow his routines. It is surprisingly easy. I'm pushing myself and really trying to hear his voice while I do the various forms of torture. For example, while doing the front lunges (which I loathe) I hear him tell me to lean forward and go slower and I always do 25 even though my legs are burning at 20.


And something amusing happened as my reward for all this virtue. I was on the bike, warming up. Usually I do a 10 minute cardio warm up, then a load of weight-based pilates type exercises and then another 10 or 20 minutes cardio. But this evening I was trying to make myself stay on the bike for longer. I was mentally working my way through my various chimp management techniques - well, just do to 15 minutes; how about 200 calories; well, you're here now, you may as well do 20 minutes etc etc . It was working too - I had almost finished when the girl on the bike next door leaned across and said "I've just realised where I know you from - you were on that Bike Challenge TV show weren't you??" She knew I was local because she recognised the field I was walking the dogs in in one shot and she thought she'd seen me on the road with Shelagh and Minty but we'd never met.


We had a really good chat and I carried on biking for another 5 minutes. I was pleased to be able to tell her truthfully that I still keep it up and that it has done me a lot of good, especially as I had been practising the techniques at the very moment she recognised me!!


Anyway, I'm going to dive into the shower and get up to the pub for a couple before I crash on the sofa. It the weather forecast is right, I won;t be going anywhere tomorrow! Hope the snow doesn't cause anyone too many problems - enjoy it if possible.

2 comments:

Lainey said...

Well done! You're on fire!

I love it when those moments come together - the one where the girl recognised you.

Peridot said...

Great photos as ever - just think yourself lucky that cocker spaniels are relatively portable. I've hefted large labradors over stiles before and you really know all about that! Got to count as weight bearing exercise....!

Gah, I live too close to work (almost 9 miles) and always get in on snow-days. To sit lonely and resentful...

love
Peridot x