Run on New Year's Day - gloat gloat gloat - and future exercise planning

I may have mentioned that I went for a run on New Year's Day.  Before 10am!!  Well, if I didn't, you're the only people who don't know.....

 

 

Although the photoes below do follow the route of my run, it was not that pretty.  These were taken a few weeks ago on a frosty but stunning day.

 

Win Hill (again).

 

The lane colloquially (and accurately) known as Dogshit Alley.  Pick it up people!!

Back to school work.  Boooo!!  Down with work.  Actually it wasn't so bad.  I had purposely arranged to work from home knowing that that would help break me in gently to the world of work after a delicious 11 days off.

I took the dogs out for a nice walk and then had personal training at lunchtime.  I even enjoyed that!  I suppose I haven't had a full break from exercise so training wasn't a massive shock to the system.

Okay, where's Lesley and who is this imposter??!

I'm working from home again tomorrow as I have a meeting on Friday so hopefully more of the same.  I'm planning on going to go for a run. Definitely.

So, I've been thinking about exercise and how I need to really cement it into my lifestyle.  It is a bit hit and miss at the moment and that will only get worse as the weather gets worse.  So, I'd like to have something in reserve which I cannot avoid doing, whatever the weather and which doesn't require a large financial outlay. 

Gyms just do not work in the long run for me.   I go regularly for a few months at a time then stop and waste hundreds of ££s on subs for the next few months until I either get going again or give up in disgust.  And I hate going during the summer months too.

So, no gym.

And I'm not going down the exercise machine route.  Unless you get a really good one, it is just an expensive waste of time and space and ends up cluttering up your house as a glorifed clothes horse.  I LOVED the super-duper exercise bike (a Wattbike) the TV company provided us with during filming of the cycling show but that cost over £2k and tehy took it off us when we'd finished filming!

I bought a (mercifully secondhand) Wii Fit 2 years ago and have used it only once and never the balance board thingy!  It is still in the cupboard and should have been resold ages ago when it might have yeilded some dosh.  Bad Lesley!

So, DVDs it is.  Cheap, quick and there can be no excuses not to do one.  However, I'm not an experienced exercise DVD'er so any recommendations would be gratefully received.  I want something quite aerobic which doesn't need too much in the way of equipment and isn't insanely difficult to follow. 

The other barrier to this scheme is the where of it.  I don't want to have to use the main telly as this is in the front room and would then not be practicable if Rich is at home.  So, before I can implement this scheme, I will have to sort out the little telly for the dining room which will involve a trip to the repairman. It's like mending a bloody hole in a bucket this is!

And in other news, my pal Kerry (well, she USED to be my pal) has brought it to my attention that there is a bootcamp starting up in Hillsborough park on Monday.  Outdoor training 3 times per week from this coming Monday until 1 February for a mere £90.  Not bad you're thinking but the problem is that is starts at 6.15am.  This would require me to get up at 5.30am dress and drive to Sheffield.  But, but but....how good would I feel and what a great, short term boost it would give my diet and exercise regime??!  I'm seriously tempted.  It would be a lot easier for Kerry as she only lives a few minutes up the road but I'm still seriously tempted.

Watch this space and feel free to remind me if you don't hear any more about either of these schemes.

PS.  All this thinking about exercise has made me hungry so we finished off the last (rather large) slab of Christmas cake.  It was gorgeous but I'm quite relieved that it's gone.  I left a chunk with my parents so we didn't have to wade through the whole thing. 

PPS.  Everyone else seems to have de-Christmassed their houses but I can't bring myself to take down the tree.  It still looks lovely and has been my favourite tree ever.  The weekend....sigh......