Wales and weighing scales

The weather for our epic weekend looked as if it was about to break and turn into a very windy, downpour kind of day so we decided to sack our original idea of hiring mountain bikes to do the trail around the Usk Reservoir and walk it instead.  I have to confess to being a teeny weeny bit relieved about that decision because the cycle to and from the trail was incredibly hilly to the extent I'd already told Liz that I was walking up one of them - it was virtually impossible in a car never mind a bike!  Anyway while the wind had kicked in, the rain hadn't so I set off on our 5.5 mile walk reassured that at least the walk would be flat!  It was very pretty and I was very tempted to have a dip but there were millions (yes millions) of signs in both English and Welsh threatening anyone who dared to enter the water with many deaths - so I decided against it. 

I discovered to my disgust that there were some bits that were NOT FLAT - it was at this stage obviously that I thanked my lucky stars I had put on a thermal vest, a fleece, a waterproof as well as a fleece neck warmer and sealskin hat!  Yaay.  Luckily the not flat bits were in no way comparable to the ones I had endured the day before so I had to man up and think of England/Wales (delete as appropriate).  I took some pretty pictures to while away the time

As we finished our walk the first drops of rain started to fall so we hopped in the car and went to find the nearest cafe- we found a lovely place which was a converted old school room which served a fab cream tea with enormous warm scones hurrah!  That served as lunch and we headed back to Bristol where I had a lie down.

It's funny how you get to see how people's minds work and Mark, my personal trainer is no exception.  When I got up on Tuesday morning for my training session I could hardly walk and so despite the sun shining I had to concede we would probably have to stay indoors as I couldn't run.  I explained what a good girl I'd been and how active I had been over the weekend and he nodded and then, like the smiling assassin he is, put me through the hardest bloody session I've ever had without me having to engage my achilles once.  All I can say is that the words "cycle sprint intervals" and "kettlebell step ups" will forever send a shiver down my spine!

I made the rookie mistake of telling him about the green dress motivation which he is now threatening to hold over me at every opportunity (at least it's better than the wall bars revelation - see "Picking Up the Brass" by Eddie Nugent, to get that reference).  The green dress motivation is that I own a fairly stunning green sequinned backless dress which I want to fit into by August.  I have fitted into it in the past and know exactly how much I need to lose to be able to fit into it again.  Due to its backlessness(?) there is no room for lycra suck-in tummy pants so I will either have to lose a fairly significant amount of lard or have some emergency liposuction on 31st July.

Having given him so much ammo, Mark moved onto the TRX and some sadistic negotiations which involved me having to chose between 2 equally horrific options of pressups (he seemed to be suggesting he was being kind to me) Hmmm.  He then finished off with some horrific abs/medicine ball concoction that nearly made me throw up (I was past the crying stage!)  Needless to say I had to have a lie down for the rest of the day and then when I tried to move found that I couldn't .....not any part of my body....literally everything hurt!  I had intended to swim the following day but was in too much pain to even leave the flat (apart from to get a very small bar of chocolate :-D....just kidding).  I was monumentally disappointed to find that I hadn't lost any weight so I kicked the scales and took the batteries out hoping that would teach it a lesson for the next time.