Review of 2010 in survey form (better late than never)

Hi Folks,

I'm afraid to say that yet again I have fallen off the blogging regualarly wagon. The next ten days or so are very busy for me and I have a couple of important events. After those are done I hope to blog a bit more often. For now I give you 2010 in survey form.

1. What did you do in 2010 that you had never done before?
Had an ultrasound scan, got a pet rabbit, went to spinning classes not sure what else! That is a bit of a random mix.

2. Did you keep your new years resolutions and will you make more for next year?
The two I can remember are cut down on swearing which I managed for quite a while but have since not done so well on and the other was to run the London Marathon which I didn't as I had to defer my place to this year due to illness.
My aims for 2011 are be ill less often, socialise more, stop swearing, run the Silverstone and Swindon half marathons again and run the London Marathon.

3. How will you be spending your new years eve?
I went to a masked ball at a club, it was good fun.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Thankfully no.

5. What countries did you visit?
Wales.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
More energy and the ability to run the London Marathon.

7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory and why?
There isn't one particular date that will remain forever. Although my friend got married in the summer and I am sure I will remember that day :).

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
This one is difficult to say, losing a stone and keeping it off is good. Also getting better at running, training as a jog group leader and Nordic walking group leader were both daunting things but I am proud I did them.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I wouldn't say I had any massive failures but I was a bit boring this year due to tiredness hence my resolution to socialise more.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I had ongoing problems at the start of the year which are now pretty much under control(yippee). I also had a few minor injuries. In December I had the flu pretty bad and fainted at work banging my head pretty hard.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
At the moment I can't think of anything in particular that I bought, I'm sat here with my latex free hot water bottle keeping me warm and I use that all the time so I will say that that is fab.

12. Where did most of your money go?
On this I am not sure, probably car stuff or food.

13. What song will always remind you of 2010?
Don't stop believing.

14. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Getting out there and living my life

15. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Being ill!

16. What was you favourite TV programme?
One born every minute or biggest loser.

17. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Hate isn't something I do, there are some people I dislike or feel disappointed in.

18. What was the best book you read?
I can't even remember what books I read now sorry folks!

19. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Not sure!

20. What was your favourite film of this year?
Shrek forever after, I laughed so much the first time I saw it.

21. What did you do on your birthday?
I went to work and then had a birthday meal with my family in the evening.

22. What kept you sane?
Sleep!

23. Who did you miss?
Friends that live far away.

24. Who was the best new person that you met?
My friend Amy, I met her in 2009 but we only really got to know each other in 2010 and she has become one of my best friends.

25. Tell us a valuable life lesson that you learned in 2010.
Be who you want to be, only you can make this happen.

Fat and Lazy

I have become fat and lazy and put on 10lb in 3 months!!

So I'm not major lazy I just never stick to an exercise plan properly. My intention is to run 3 times a week as a minimum and some weeks 4 times.

My other problem is I am just eat eat eat eat eat. I am actually hungry though not just eating for the sake of it and frankly a piece of fruit just doesn't cut it and leaves me hungry. Muchos will power needed.

In conclusion I am stuck in a rut. I have the good intentions but struggle with the doing.

I'm Back!

I haven't updated in so long. Sorry everyone. I've been exhausted again lately with my shifts. I have managed to fit in some runs including a 43 minute one in the rain today. It was raining before my friend and I went out but we went anyway and on the very last stretch as I was soaking wet anyway I splashed through the puddles like a child which was fun!

My next half marathon is a week on Sunday (10th October) and I'm really not sure what to think of that. I think I am at my fittest running wise but I do think I will struggle with the hilly nature of the course. I am looking forward to a photo of my friend and I in our finishers T-shirts and medals to be taken afterwards on my phone. New facebook profile pic me thinks!

I'm sorry that I'm not writing a longer post, as I say I am very tired and therefore concentrating is a mission. So for now it's farewell and hopefully I will update again in a few days.

752 kcals

I went to the gym last night and burned 752 calories, hell yeah! Although I have to say I didn't feel like I had worked that hard. I spent a long time on the rowing machine going slowly so that was where I burned most of the calories. I hadn't been to the gym in ages as I had got bored of it and had been running and going to spinning classes instead.
Since my work shift pattern has changed I have barely been to spinning. I got into the habit of going every Monday morning as I always worked Monday evenings. But now I work 2 out of 3 monday mornings and seem to find an excuse not to go on the other Monday. However now we have got new spins bikes (I work at the leisure centre) we have more places on classes as we have more bikes. Also I now have a staff membership which means I can book onto the classes so I am more likely to get a space at busier times. So hopefully I will stop being lazy and go?! Watch this space.

My mum is kindly making homemade stew for dinner and when I popped in earlier it smelled delicious. It should be pretty healthy so I am looking forward to that.

I do have some other stuff going on in life at the moment but I don't really feel that now is the time to blog about them so that is perhaps something for the future.

I hope everyone is having a good week.

Bread Challenge? Done & 101 in 1001 update

So my one month of eating only homemade bread ended yesterday. It was surprisingly easy to complete with freezing loaves I had made etc. However all I could think yesterday was I never want to eat homemade bread again. The last 2 loaves I made I put a quarter of the amount of salt the recipe stated which is great for the health aspect but they turned out a bit bland. I bought a loaf of wholemeal bread yesterday and I am looking forward to having my sandwich at work this evening on that bread. I think in future I will make bread more often as it really isn't that hard it just requires time if you are hand making it or only 5 mins of weighing if you are using a bread maker. Overall it was a good experience.

I am going to write an update on my 101 in 1001 list below.

Items in bold are completed
1. Complete a half marathon
2. Graduate from University
3. Walk/Cycle everywhere for one week
4. Go on holiday abroad
5. Continue to give blood regularly (I am currently not allowed to give blood, however I was doing so prior to illness so if I am allowed to give again I will do so regularly and if I get to the end of the 1001 days and haven't been allowed to I will still count this as done.
6. Make baked Alaska
7. Make a gingerbread and sweetie house
8. Type all the recipes out from Gran's recipe book
9. Make the wartime fudge from Gran's recipe
10. Go to the beach
11. Make Christmas Dinner
12. Eat only homebaked bread for 1 month
13. Make jam
14. Learn some basic Italian
15. Go sledging
16. Learn to play Squash
17. Eat 5 a day fruit and veg every day for 1 month
18. Eat 3 a day dairy every day for 1 month
19. Complete a full marathon
20. Go camping
21. Go on the London Eye
22. Teach Milo to rollover properly
23. Journal properly for 1 month
24. Cook a new recipe once a month
25. Join the bone marrow register ( I enquired about this but am not eligible as I have a latex allergy however the good intention was there and I put the effort in to contact them therefore I am calling this one done)
26. Go crabbing
27. Watch the sunrise
28. Go horseriding
29. Don't eat meat or fish for one week
30. Go Ice skating
31. Bake something from the dog treats recipe book for Milo
32. Cycle to Kimmi's house
33. Climb a tree
34. Make my own mulled wine
35. Go to Scotland
36. Go carol singing with Laura
37. Go rollerskating
38. Buy someone some flowers
39. Read all of the Lord of the Rings (I am starting this one today)
40. Go for one month without eating any chocolate
41. Buy something with the £50 from Nan for my 18th
42. Play the lottery 10 times
43. Keep a record of everything I spend for 2 weeks and what on
44. Paint a picture
45. Spend an entire day in my PJs
46. Take part in a conservation project
47. Eat oily fish 2 x per week for 6 weeks
48. Take an evening class
49. Get a manicure
50. Go to York again
51. Climb Ben Nevis
52. Bake a cake for someone
53. Make my own sweets
54. Watch all 3 the Lord of the Rings films in a row
55. Make a massive sandcastle
56. Go on a Ghost tour
57. Watch the Hunchback of Notre Dame
58. Watch all of the Labyrinth
59. Walk around Grasmere and Rydal Water in the Lake District
60. Buy something designer(my glasses are)
61. Go to a Karaoke night
62. Have a weekend in a new city
63. Make my own tiramisu
64. Try yoga
65. Make pretzels
66. Get into my old jeans
67. Customise something
68. Get something from Tiffany's
69. Make my own nutella type thing
70. Spend one day a week off of facebook for 6 weeks
71. Enter more competitions
72. Make flat chips
73. Feed the birds
74. Have a tapas night
75. Read 101 books over the 1001 days
76. Epilate my legs at least 20 times over the 1001 days
77. Do some regular volunteer work
78. Go on a lot more walks to different places locally
79. Go to Warwick Castle
80. Go to Birmingham shopping
81. Have a barbecue
82. Cook over a camp fire
83. Make a themed cake
84. Make chocolate truffles
85. Buy some more matching underwear
86. Visit Stonehenge
87. Visit Liverpool
88. Visit Blackpool
89. Go one day a week without eating chocolate for 3 months
90. Make my own cereal bars
91. Throw a dinner party with 3 courses
92. Learn to change a tyre
93. Have a poker night
94. Learn to play chess
95. Throw a proper slumber party
96. Visit Ireland
97. Learn to play 10 songs on the piano
98. See a Shakespeare play at The Globe
99. Make a bracelet
100. Go to a pub quiz
101. On day 1001 write a new list

22 items completed so far, Day 1001 for me is 13th September 2011.

The one in which I get fitter

I went for a run this evening. The only time I stopped to walk was crossing a couple of roads where there was traffic to avoid. I then walked another 5 paces after the last road I crossed while I had a few sips of water. Prior to today and despite having done 2 half marathons before the most I had ever run without walking a bit was 2 miles. This evening I made myself keep running and keep running and kept giving myself a you can do it you are strong each step you take is one less left kind of pep talk and I ran 3.05 miles. Which is more than a MILE more than the most I have ever ran without stopping to walk. Previously I have been more of a run/walk person. Today I finally feel like maybe I actually might be able to be a runner (not professionally but you know actually get half decent at this running thing). The training plan I was going to use for the London Marathon this year (before I realised I wasn't going to be well enough and deferred to 2011) required you to have been running for 30mins 3 times per week for 3 months I think it was. The training plan I believe needs to be started either the last week of December of 1st week of January. Being as I managed to run for just over 30 today (yes I am slow paced!) I think I am going to be on target if not just ahead for that training programme. This makes me happy as I am actually improving and hopefully I will manage to keep up training regularly.

I do have a half marathon in October and I do think I am unlikely to do as well as I had hoped when I signed up but at least it is having it's purpose of getting me doing some training. The half marathon is very hilly which is what concerns me. I will be happy to finish and am hoping for a similar time to my last half marathon which was on flat ground. I still have time to get fitter before this half marathon and I think now I know I can actually run a reasonable distance without stopping I will be more motivated and self believing.

I also enjoyed my run this evening as I had time to myself just to think about whatever happened to pop into my head. By the end of it I was singing a song in my head although I can't remember now what song but it had the word step in the bit that was going round my head. (Probably to do with the aforementioned pep talk!)

A fun weekend

This weekend I have been to a friends housewarming party. She moved 5 months ago, but has only been in her new flat for 2 months. I had a great time but I am pretty tired right now!

I have managed to stick to my homebaked bread challenge so far. It is interesting as it does involve a bit more planning and thinking ahead to make sure I have some bread.

I have a couple of social events coming up this week that involve some not so healthy eating but I am not going to worry about it and am going to just make sure I eat as healthily as possible the other days. I am on all earlies this week so am going to cycle to work every day unless it is raining very hard. I have got some cycle gloves to protect my hands from the rubber on the handlebars. My eczema on my hands has been pretty bad the last week or so despite not having touched anything that I know is rubber for well over a month. I'm hoping they are starting to heal right now. It did get me a bit down on Thursday as they were just so sore and itchy and kept bleeding.

So anyway my plan for this week is exercise and eat healthily as much as possible. I have decided today that my aim to get back into my target size of clothes is the end of the year. Which gives me four months which means I only have to lose a tiny bit each week. I could probably do it sooner and I would like to be skinnier sooner but this aim is realistic and leaves room for those days when you just can't motivate yourself.