Excuses

30 June 2012

Excuses are my forte - I have withdrawn from the Bristol tri due to a mixture of a failure to do sufficient training and an injury that stopped me cramming in last minute training to make up for it!  I have rescheduled for 2 September (not in Bristol obviously - I know I'm a legend in my own mind but I have had to face up to the fact that my place in the grand scheme of things is a fairly minor one and so they weren't going to reschedule it for me so the new tri is in a lake near Cirencester).  As the physio is helping massively I have been to a spin class, been to a yoga class (bloody hell that hurt!), been for a run/walk (now that I am being re-taught how to move properly) and had two sessions with Mark.
Session1 - when I am still feeling a bit wobbly on the legs - focussed solely on the upper body and abs- the bloody TRX -I almost volunteered to just run until my legs fell off rather than do any more.  My arms were still shaking 3 hours after the session and the next day my abs hurt everytime I breathed. I told myself that no matter what my leg was doing that I'd tell Mark it was better, simply to avoid a repeat of that session - luckily John Stephenson is working marvels with the various crunching that he does.  Session 2 was horrific but in a normal way - back to cycle sprints - oh how I'd missed them - no really - well OK not at all - how to get me into a hot sweaty mess (and not in a good way) in 1 minute.  Wobbly legs on to lungy things, squatty things, squatty jumpy things, TRX press ups and rows and roll outs culminating in some obscene torture involving a dragging a ViPR along the ground while you are doing the plank and scuttling sideways like a demented crab - except this crab was swearing A LOT!
Since then I have got my bike out of chambers' basement where it has languished for 2 years! Got it serviced and the chain replaced and .............steadfastly not ridden it - seriously I've had it working for a week and everytime I plan to go out on it I have found an excuse (which has usually involved me lying down for a bit and waking up a couple of hours later) and it is just sitting in my room looking mournfully at me.  I don't know what I am so afraid of or what I think is going to happen if I get on it - obviously I am going to walk it down Park Street (very big hill for those people who don't know Bristol) because I'm just not that brave yet (and I haven't actually tested my brakes and I probably wouldn't have any left by the time I got to the bottom as I'd have had them engaged the whole time because I'm scared of going fast) see what I mean about excuses - but that's it - the end - I am going to get a grip of myself and head out tomorrow on the Bristol Bath bike path - 30 minutes out 30 minutes back and then I'm getting on a train to Portsmouth to go sailing.

PS  Managed to extend my apathy attack and stayed in bed instead of the bike ride doh!

Shameful

I am writing this while eating a beautiful lamb steak from the lovely Ruby & White butchers and the result of my first potato harvest plus a load of green things

(the green things in the picture is the paltry pea harvest so I had to supplement it with veggies from the supermarket)

It has been noted that once again there has been a 4 week gap between posts for which I should be mightily ashamed!   My sister is managing more than me and she has two children under 5 - at least one of which is a devil child

So I have been shamed into posting even though my computer is currently missing a "D" and a "space" key.   Well it's fair to say the getting thin thing hasn't been going so well - I haven't dared weigh myself (I have hidden the battery to the scales so I can't even accidentally weigh myself) but my clothes definitely haven't got any looser and the big tyre of blubber around my waist is still there.  I have pootled along unwillingly heading to the gym for the occasional swim and spin class and used physio as an excuse not to run.  I have done some sailing; on a smack (yes you heard me!)

and then around the isle of wight in the world famous round the island race

and then as I had pulled out of the Bristol tri I went to sulk in Jersey and had a go at sailing on a hobiecat.  I discovered many things - 1.  they are really fast, 2. they are really easy to capsize and 3. I am really, really, REALLY rubbish on the trapeze (and I have the massive black bruises on my arms and legs to prove it)

(what it is supposed to look like)

(what I looked like)

(what happened)

So after I hobbled back to Jersey I went back to crossfit with my tail between my legs (having taken 2 months off to train for the triathlon that never happened).  Ah! it was if I had never been away!  First session - turkish get ups with the heaviest weights we could manage for 3 reps each side (9kgs) and that was just the warm up!  Then we got down to the business of the WOD russian twists and 200m runs x 4 with weight increasing with each set from 5kg up to 12.5kg.  I swear the guys who work in the garage next door think we are all completely barking as we run up and down the road lugging various sizes of kettlebell/barbell weights. 

 

 I hardly noticed the session because I had been a big brave girl and cycled to the box (my first time on my bike for about 2 years!)  admittedly I pushed it most of the way as everytime a car came past I freaked out and had to get off.  Day 2 was an improvement and I cycled most of the way (apart from up and down the hill because I haven't quite mastered the gear thing and I hate cycling slowly up a hill while scary buses drive 2mm behind me).  The second WOD left my old lady knees in tatters, squat snatches and muscle ups.  Obviously I cannot do muscle up so I had to do double the number but pulling up from a kneeling position on the ground. Very sore knees and shoulders.  I then finished the week's exercise the following day with a spin class and headed to Wales to see my Mum and be met my sis and her demented offspring.

 

Never to do anything by halves I then squeezed in two sessions in three days with Mark from createfit and decided to brave heading outdoors for the sessions.  Being outdoors means the dreaded steps (see previous posts) and the terrible TRX. Oh the joy of doing pressups on the TRX.......  Hill sprints *shudder* and then some ingenious exercises involving park benches and swings (I shall never look at them in the same way again).  I certainly can feel the effects of ramping up my phys agenda.  Unfortunately all ruined by the next 3 days on a train travelling around the UK resulting in a diet of pizza, chocolate biscuits and muesli (although I was very proud to resist a burger king supper after a 6 hour trip from Scunthorpe)

PS  In the spirit of fairness and to avoid being banned from seeing my nieces for the foreseeable future I think I need to post a picture of Holly in her angelic state