Going nowhere but feeling fine

You may have spotted that I haven't mentioned dieting much over the last couple of weeks. It's just not happening. I'm not piling on the lbs or anything or going mad, just not dieting per se. I don't seem to have the time, effort, motivation in me to keep it going beyond a week here and there. It'll come though so, in the meantime, I'm not beating myself up and am concentrating on making sure that I don't go mad. I'm sure exercise is the key but at the moment my efforts are sporadic and haphazard. I FEEL as though I'm doing loads but, in reality, I'm not. In summary, there is too much golfing and dog walking and not enough training, running or zumba'ing.

I was adamant that I would go for a run on Saturday morning but, when it came to it, I knew that the morning would be better spent working on the front garden of my old house in an effort to make it more presentable for prospective purchasers. Now that the baby bird season has passed I got out the hedge trimmers and spent an exhausting couple of hours trimming the wild hedges, raking up cuttings, mowing lawns, raking up grass (the rain does not help in the endeavour!) and generally tidying and weeding. It was a big effort - 4 hours in one go and I was tired and scratched by lunchtime but the front garden looks very nice now. Just the back to do now!!

I do feel that that effort was probably harder work than a 50 minute run would have been so I refuse to feel guilty about sacking the run off!

Sunday now - erm, not so great (on the diet front that is). I played golf in the morning, in the sunshine!! It was wonderful. A benign, mild, sunny breezy morning for a change and NOT what had been forecast (rain, rain and more rain). The course was wet but playable and it was truly lovely. And I played really well too. My "new" driver is still behaving itself and making a big difference to my game. My driving is much more consistent now, my faults are still there but they are less pronounced. 

 

 

 

I have always had a "power-fade"/slice which means that my ball curves to the right in flight. This used to mean that I had to aim dramatically to the left in order to keep it in play. Which was a problem because, randomly, sometimes it would go straight....into the rough on the left. Or sometimes, the slice was too wild even for the aim compensation and it would fly off in to the woods on the right. Now, although my ball still veers right, the slice is nowhere near as dramatic so I have the confidence to aim in broadly the right direction and, without the big curve right, it goes a lot further too! It makes a round of golf sooooo much more relaxing. Instead of having to hunt anxiously through the wet grass or deep undergrowth, I just saunter up the fairway....a miracle.

And without the ocasional wild disasters, my overall scores are improving too. I wasn't playing in a competition yesterday but marked a card anyway and found that I'd played my best round of the season by far - 5 under par. I would have had my handicap cut quite a bit if it had been official! It was so pleasurable but now I'm nervous that it can't last.... Pleeeeaaase Golfing Gods, let it last - I have 3 rounds of competitive golf coming up this week and I'd love to do well in at least one of them.

It has just struck me as I type this, that the new driver is a little like my new dieting lifestyle (yes, I'm stretching a little with this but stick with me). Whereas before I was always at the extremes; either strictly in control and losing quickly (the ocasional straight and long drives) or wildly off-course and risking getting lost in the rough for long periods. Now, I'm much less extreme in both dieting and non-dieting mode. I don't gain big chunks of weight when I'm off-course, but neither do I lose big chunks when I'm "going straight". It's a much more relaxing and enjoyable way to live and hopefully, as with the golf, my "scores" will start to come down gradually too.

The "bad" news from Sunday was the delicious high tea I scoffed while watching the Wimbledon final over at my friend Jenny's place. It was a belated birthday celebration for her; she had me and 2 couples with their assortment of kids over. Although there were LOADS of kids, it wasn't too painful as they sort of cancelled themselves out. As they all get on and thus don't want to spend time with boring parents they left us alone all afternoon (apart from ocasional locust-like forays down to the table of cakes etc!). 

 

 

 

And what a lovely table it was! Jenny had baked scones (with jam and clotted cream) and the others had brough a selection of cakes - walnut and coffee; lemon drizzle; and chocolate crunch. True to my non-child bearing status, I brought Pimms and lemonade!! I didn't take Rich though 'cos he was golfing but, having met again the other "husbands", I think he'd get on with them fine and would be fine with a mellow, family-based Saturday afternoon. Maybe next time...

So, we had a really nice afternoon, catching up about old school friends (we had all just missed a 25 year reunion but vowed that we WILL go to the 30th!) and just nattering through the Murray nailbiter. But too many cakes were eaten and glasses of Pimms drunk. Hey ho - extra energetic dancing tonight maybe?

 

 

Finally, by way of a Tuesday night update, I'm pleased to report that I did make it to zumba and enjoyed sweating and jumping up and down vaguely in time to music greatly.