More sunny sporty pics to cheer me up in the rain.

 A few sporty pics to cheer me up in the relentless rain.  I should be on the golf course now but we were rained off by a torrential downpour.  You CAN play golf in the rain of course, but the sheer volume today was epic in its proportions.  The greens were flooded within 40 mins so we had to come in, thank the Lord.

These were taken a few weeks ago the Friday before we went down to London for the Olympics.  We're watching the 2nd Test match against South Africa at Headingley.  It was a great day out.

I've not been there since the new Media Centre was built.....very swanky.

Rich and his pal Sean.

The longest "beer snake" I've ever seen.  Chains of plastic pint glasses collected throughout the crowd and then joined together as the afternoon gets more beery!  Maybe not the most sophisticated entertainment but it relieved a rather dull game.

Sean acquires a "flankie".  Half flag, half hanky!

Oh God, there are 2 of them...

Next day we're at the Olympic Stadium (mercifully sans flankie).

Mobile beer seller - genius!

Then on Sunday over to west London to dump our stuff at my pal, Natalie's place and meet up with some Uni/college friends for lunch.

Then a boat trip down the Thames to Excel for the boxing.  It was a great trip and a bit more interesting than sitting on the tube for hours (although we did loads of that too).  London looked very glamourous.

We alighted at North Greenwich next to the O2.  The quickest way to Excel was on the cable car link over the river.  Rich declined so it was a couple of tube stops instead!

So, that's all the pics for now.  Tune in tomorrow for the next exciting instalment!!

Only joking.

We've had another hectic Bank Holiday weekend: 

We went over to my parents for a couple of days Thursday and Friday.  We played golf (badly) on the Friday at a very smart course near there.  Then had supper with my parents, sister in law, Her sister from Malaysia and my niece and nephew.  It was a brilliant, funny, chatty evening after which we took Dad for his weekly trip to the boozer.  It was great catching up with the Canadian half of the family.  They are great kids and good company and their Mum is a proper laugh too. 

The youngest lad, Lachlan is about to start a couple of semesters on a Tall Ship with the University of Nova Scotia.  Lucky beggar - they start in Instanbul, through the Med, down to Senegal, then over the Atlantic via the Azores to Rio de Janeiro.  How exciting for an 18 year old boy eh?

Mum is declining badly I'm afraid.  She won't shower or change without a great deal of "persuasion" and wants to go out every afternoon back to Grimsby to "her Mummy".  Poor dad, it's hard on him so I take over the showering, hair washing and clothing duties when I can.  It was rather upsetting this time as she was not her normal pleasant self.  There was a nasty streak to her.  So, while I remind myself that it is the disease, it was hard to listen and stay nice.  Very hard.

Saturday it was back to Sheffield for the football.  Another stirring victory over Millwall this time.  Our 18th consecutive unbeaten game (most of which have been wins).  It really is fantastic being a Sheffield Wednesday fan at the moment, long may it last.

Sunday was walks and boozing with my London friend who was up here staying with a mutual friend, Stacey.  (Stacey came up here to visit once and met a mate of mine, Jim and they have been married and lived here for years!)  Bit of a big night I'm afraid but luckily Rich and I had to catch the last bus at 10.30pm so we weren't in as bad a state as the others!

Monday, a rainy day out at the local agricultural show with my friend Natalie from London.  We couldn't quite believe we were going out in the downpour but it calmed down eventually and we had a fun time wandering round the stands and watching the gun dogs and sheep dogs and cart horses etc.  Natalie is a proper townie so loves all the country stuff.  Apparently, according to Stacey, she spent most of the evening surfing the net looking for properties up here!!

I took Tuesday off too to meet yet another London mate (Rachel) coming up with her husband.  Just to add to the inter-twining complexities, Paul was at college with me and Stacey and met Rachel at my wedding.  So I'm a proper matchmaker!  We don't see them often as they have kids (one of whom is autistic) and a very busy life in London so it was great to have a few hours catching up in Castleton. 

Then, finally, a dash into Sheffield for yet another football match.  This time a Cup game against a Premiership side, Fulham.  And we WON!!  And played brilliantly.  We're into the 3rd round and are now 19 games unbeaten.  Heavenly.

So, all in all, a hectic weekend.

I had been looking froward to rounding it off with a game of golf but now...a quiet morning catching up with blogs before heading off to work.  Back to REAL LIFE soon....booooo!!

Super Saturday!!

 So, here we are, we've just arrived at Stratford and got through security (didn't take long and was very friendly) and we're about to enter the Olympic Park!!

Orbit.  The jury's out on this but I loved it.  I think the park needs a focal point and something which will form an attraction in years to come.

The Olympic stadium - we're getting v excited now with only 2 hours to go!!

Flag's out...check...

Beer....check....

Admire lovely wildflowers....check...

Enter the stadium and find our brilliant seats.  We realise that we're sitting right at the end of the longjump pit and it is the mens' longjump final - bonus!

While we wait, we watch the volunteers setting up the hurdles.  It was a military operation, they actually marched in step and waited for orders to pick them up off the truck, take them to the marks and then even to put them down!

We soaked up the atmosphere and took some photos.  This family weren't quite Union Jack-ed enough as, after I took this picture, she applied sparkly cheek transfers onto her husband and father!
I was jealous, I wanted a sparkly face transfer!!

I love this picture of Rich and me.

Dai Greene in the first race of the evening - the mens' 400m hurdles semi-finals.  He made it through to the final as fastest loser.

I liked the little remote control cars to carry the discus's and javelins back to the net.

Christina Ohurougu.  She surprised us by coming second in her semi-final and making it through to the final (and then doing so well in the final to get a silver medal!).

Chris Tomlinson in the longjump.  He was never quite "on it" so it wasn't surprising that he ended up 6th which is pretty good by all standards.

Louise Hazel in one of the heptathlon 800m heats.  Rich fancies her so I indulged him with a few photos...

 And something for the ladies....this chap came 3rd in the longjump and was a real character, entertaining the crowd.

The Olympic flame - we couldn't see it until after the discus net was taken down.  Stunning.

I tried for ages to capture an entire sequence of a longjump and, when I looked at my photos, was chuffed to realise that my best effort was also the gold medal winning jump.  Well done Greg Rutherford, you did us proud!  Here goes...

Then Jess ennis enters the stadium and it goes mental.  She ran a brilliant race and gave that little bit extra to win her race as well as the gold.

All the heptathletes do a joint lap of honour which is great but all eyes were on one person...

I'll give you a clue, she's the one with the flag....

You will know that she's a Sheffield girl but did you know that her mum is from the Hope Valley, where I live?  Her mum went to the local school and her grandfather still lives a few miles away.  She has been out here loads of times so there's pictures of her in loads of the lcoal businesses (especially the ones who sponsored her int he early days) and, as a result, we feel like we have that little extra pride in her.

And then, after the madness of 2 gold medals, Mo comes out!  It was crazy loud, waves of noise rolling round the track....Mo, Mo, Mo, Mo......

Keeping us on edge, he gradually picked his way through the field and to the front before his awesome final lap blew them all away

At the end, he celebrated with his training buddy Galen Rupp who came second.  How cool is that?

It was an evening we'll never forget.

Progress report

I began last week with a mildly determined effort at getting back on track and reversing the Olympics Effect. This effort started well with a couple of days of good routine and moderation but then quickly went to pot. A golf game was cancelled by others and no alternative exercise inserted to replace it. Work required some long hours which resulted in self-indulgent laziness and poor eating. I went to my parents and grazed on tasty treats, drank large amounts of red wine and did not go for a run as I usually to do on visits to Coleby. We went to Captain's Dinner at the golf club which involved a big meal and more wine (and beer afterwards).


 

So much for getting back on track. My heart was not really in it. I felt fat and bulky and my clothes were becoming worryingly tight with no larger ones to ease into. Yikes!
 

So, Monday morning was not a particularly pleasant experience but I managed to force my unwilling chimp onto the scales (once again, Knowledge is Power was my saviour) and I had the anticipated kick up the backside. A jump of 6lbs! and 2 lbs more than the previous Monday which had been shocking enough. Double Yikes!
 

So then I started with the last couple of posts and really thinking about what I was doing rather than "trying" in a vague, ineffective manner. And it has been much better. I know I've only been at it for 3 days but my weight has already dropped by 4 lbs (leading me to suspect that the Monday morning shocker was a blip) and, more importantly, my attitude is much better.
 

Mini-targets remain the way forward for me. I cannot face a big task so must break it down into day by day chunks. Today's targets are as follows:
 

• Finish my work early and leave the office to get back to personal training at 4. I was not meant to be in the office today so routine is haywire but it can be done - that is what flexitime is for!
• Salad and fruit for lunch.
• Healthy, home-cooked supper and no wine.

Procrastination Rules!!

And by that I mean rules to avoid procrastinating. I'm glad I stopped SW for a while; glad that I managed to coast along for a couple of months without any great damage being done; but not glad that I have experienced that classic post-holiday hangover for the last fortnight and gained 5 lbs!


Our trip to the Olympics and a few other fun summer events induced a happy, relaxed food and drink fest in me which has lasted long after normal life resumed. Okay, no problem, I can live with that but it has to stop and stop now!!


So, back to basics. Mini-targets usually work for me so let's set a few. Breaking the giant behemoth of my diet and exercise woes down into small, manageable chunks:

• Today I will follow SW to the letter and write down what I eat.
• I will print off a calendar to hang up at home so that I can record my weight and exercise on a daily basis and keep that pesky clever, rationalising chimp on the straight and narrow.
• I'm playing golf later so that will have to do for exercise.
• We're going to the first home match of the season this evening and I will drink diet coke or water not pints of bitter. 

Given that I'm absolutely run off my feet at home and work, the above is the best I can manage for now. The important thing is that it is a START and a meaningful one too.


Hope you've all been having a wonderful summer!!

Stooooop!!!

This coasting and gaining weight has GOT to stop. It has been 2 weeks since our Olympic holiday finished but I'm still in holiday mode - eating, drinking and not doing much exercise. So, writing down, daily blogging, weighing, running, accountability and much much more.... I actually feel better resolving to put a stop to the madness. Watch this space.

Hello!!

I'm just checking in on my phone to promise a proper post asap. There's loads to catch up on and I need the support/accountability to get back on the straight and narrow after many recent happy excesses. Speak soon peeps!!