BGS Bake Day

I'm proudly wearing a red tshirt covered in crumbs...... it's all in aid of the British Heart Foundation and National Wear Red Day. Yup that's today, it's here at last and I'm chalking it up as a big old success.

I organised a Bake Day (aka frantic 10 minute scrabble for cake) at work. It was only a small affair but I'm rather proud of how it turned out. Alex, Jackie, Sheila and Debbie all baked wonderful cakes so combined with my massive batch of cherry and choc muffins we had enough to feed the BGS rabble.

Everyone gave very generously and together we raised £71 for the British Heart Foundation! Not bad at all, makes all the organising and kitchen caos worth it! I'm going to send a cheque off tonight... after I've been to the gym to work of 6000 kcals!!

A massive thanks to everyone who helped. Visit the British Heart Foundation to see where the money goes and why it is so desperately important we're heart aware!

Future Events

This week i've been pondering bigger challenges. Perhaps further away challenges.

The BHF And CRUK both do really exciting and amazing fund raising events abroad. Hikes, bike rides, runs and swims all over the place. I'm seriously thinking about Peru Trek, Berlin Marathon, 3 Capitals Cycle Challenge or something equally as far fetched and inspiring to do in 2011. For definate i'm doing the Three Peak Challenge ... could Team RFGR be the super team in 2011? This year i want to do the Winter High Peak Challenge .

Hmmmmm i'll deliberate and cogetate a bit more before i decide 100% on next years events me thinks, it's a serious undertaking for a Fat Girl and i have to be sure im dedicated and could do the charity justice. Exciting though!!

Bad biscuit day

Today has been exactly what is says on the tin. A bad biscuit day. Actually that's not entirely true, it's been a really bad biscuit and flapjack day. I did the gym, again, yesterday and it's still not getting any easier. Having a minor sulk about it. I know i cant expect results straight away but i want to go climbing mountains and running 10k NOW! I don't want to be fat and unfit anymore, now I've made the decision it's getting tiresome waiting for the results of my labour! Of course eating biscuits is quite the wrong thing to do when having a tantrum about being fat, darn the stupid wiring of my brain! Hopefully the weather will stay reasonably clear this afternoon so i can actually get to the Bowl this week, need to jog off these biscuits and try to reprogramme my brain!

Talking of sugar and sweet things. It's the big awaited BGS BAKE for British Heart Foundation tomorrow so I'm over Mackenzies tonight stealing muffin trays and recipes! Hopefully between me and the other super gals in my dept we'll have baked up enough treats to feed our colleagues and raise a lot of cash for BHF!

Groundhog Day

I'd just got my running shoes laced and was hurrying out of work to get over to the Bowl when i noticed horrid cold freezy white stuff falling from the sky. Bloody bloody bloody bloody snow! Now don't get me wrong i love snow- when it's a weekend and and i can go play and get drunk- not when im wearing shorts and trying to keep my balance! So with another epic weather fail I abandoned the Bowl and headed to the gym instead. Armed with my chum Jane's mp3 i started on the treadmill. Thanks to a great mix of tunes incl Feeder, Foo Fighters and Nirvana i jogged 2 miles. That's the furthest i've managed to go on the treadmill without being so bored i had to fall off!!! RESULT!! Also did 10 minutes on the rower and even did some weights. It's amazing the difference an empty gym and some great tunes can make, I might try going after work more often if it's that productive. I went at lunch today and it just felt like a chore, having to wait for people to get off stuff and not being able to sing out loud makes it really boring. I'm not good with boring, not when it comes to exercise.

So with a gym session on Mon and Tues i was expecting aching muscles and sore limbs today but low and behold todays session has been pain free. I'm not sure if that's because im not working hard enough or because of the new shakes im drinking but im happy with the result! I'm positively busting with enthusiasm for tomorrows 5k jog, which is weird. Very weird. But good i guess!

Snow interupts training

What a bummer. Jog scheduled for weekend had to be cancelled due to adverse weather conditions! Annoyingly though so too did my big house move! Instead of 5k and moving house i ended up putting more time into my alcohol endurance training. Booze is bad, but then again i may have slightly (kidding ones self) balanced this out with a lot(ish) of walking. OK so all be it drunk and in the middle of the night but it all counts if my calf muscles were anything to go by yesterday! I still went to the gym though and lasted a dissapointing 10 minutes before wanting to throw myself out the window through boredom not pain. So it's all about the 5k jog tonight round the Bowl of Hellfire Iceyslush.

Seriously though I must curb it on the alcohol front because i really do want to get fit by spring, i will be able to ascend mountains and jog 10k without an oxygen mask and need for hospitalisation. I will, i will, i will, i will, i will... am i convincing anyone else because it's not working for me! Also pissed off the smoking has crept back up again too, a definate side affect of the increased booze consumption. So that is all the news i have. I've concluded drinking is fun but it must be balanced out with better eating and more fitness. Bring on the 5k waddle tonight.

Powered by vitriol

Got out there. Jogged 1.6 miles in 18 minutes and feel, frankly, miserable, a bit angry and not very healthy at all.

I am therefore giving science the finger as this stuff about endorphins is clearly codswallop. I'm feeling angrier now than I did before heading out and that's saying something given the whole endeavour was powered by a doozy of a tantrum.

My whole right leg is a series of niggles now - one in the inside of my ankle, then the outside of my knee and the familiar pain in the lower right of my back. Further convincing me I have one leg shorter than the other or (new option) they unbalanced my core by removing the left hand side of my reproductive system.

Anyway. I did it. I got out there and did my first training in 16 days. Now sponsor me. Please.

S C-P x

Total training fail

Well as per usual my good intentions have been scuppered by a hideous cycle of illness leading to mood lowering leading to lack of will power leading to further illness. In short I haven't done any training since I walked 5km with Kelly more than two weeks ago.

I don't feel good about it. Especially seeing as the Race For Life Get Social team have sent me a bag full of goodies (inluding the cute as anything rubber duckie) as a thank you for blogging, tweeting and generally yakking online about taking part. It's a shame that the effort I put in online won't help me survive the 10km race in July.

So, it's time to pull myself up by my trainer laces and get back on with training of some sort or another. I was feeling motivated 30 minutes ago but the discovery that my iPod is at work has diminished that get up and go somewhat. Running (alright jogging. Alright ALRIGHT walking) 5km on my own with no tunes really isn't appealing to me.

A failed attempt to hijack my husband's iPod means I'm expending more energy on sorting out this perceived problem than I am on actually getting on with training. If there is one thing I need no more practice in it is procrastination.

I need somebody to tell me to get out there. Someone to have some friendly competition with. Anyone about to administer a kick up the ass?

A lazy-as-you-like S C-P x

Snow Day

This was the view from my window as i got up to leave the office yesterday night. This would've been a much welcomed sight if i hadn't been on my way to the Bowl to do a 5k.

I know from experience that running in rain round the Bowl is beyond miserable let alone sleet and snow so I decided against it. But instead of buggering off home and snatching a biscuit from the tin before i left i got my gear together and headed to the gym. As usual it was a total waste of time because there's a big red button which says STOP on the treadmill. I'm a sucker for doing what I'm told.

The final result was 10 minutes on the rower and 1.5 miles on the treadmill. Rubbish but better than nothing?

Good Times Bad Times

[For the purpose of the following statement i need you to assume that training now consists of whiskey monopoly, Wii fit games a la whiskey, takeaways post whiskey and sleep deprivation]

It's been an awesome weekend of training!

Hmmm so maybe the training has taken a bit of a back seat to fun this weekend but I'm back on track now. In Fridays post i said I'd go to the bowl again that night but work scuppered my good intentions and i stayed at my desk till gone 6:30pm. I had been to the gym at lunch and done a bit of rowing and walking but found it surprisingly frustrating that i couldn't go jogging. Being a Fat Girl it's obvious these periods of enthusiasm don't come often and I'm only too aware if i let it slide it'll be harder to get off my fat arse the next day. Then came the weekend of anti-training and plans of a Sunday jog fell to the wayside. However i think if giggles and guffaws count then I'm ready for a marathon!

Monday was a total exercise fail as didn't get to gym and traffic stopped me getting to Sarah's in time for a jog. I did however have a good session of bopping and clapping at a really really great HotChip gig in Notts.

So with a steely determination to get this fat arse moving I went to the gym at lunch on Tuesday. Only to suffer another fail as it was closed! So Jane and I went for a brisk walk into the village instead, not much of a workout but better than vegging at my desk. I followed this with a 5k jolly round the Bowl later that night! I'm really getting into sunset jogging, it's really beautiful and if i didn't have to focus all my attention on keeping my legs working I'd take my camera along and show you. The skies were an amazing display of burnt amber and crimson, it would've taken my breath away if i had any left. The setting sun also helps keep me going because i don't want to be caught out in the dark half way round a big hole of water, that would be bad times!

So my 5k time on Tuesday wasn't anything special, but i did find it easier going than last week which must prove the faffing about in the gym is doing something. That or being sleep deprived and trying to hold a convo with your mum whilst jogging is the way forward. So even though my speed leaves something to be desired I'm pleased I'm getting out there and staying motivated. I just need to keep it up and hopefully I'll start feeling the benefits soon. That and some of my winter blubber should start shedding in time for a lean mean bikini summer!

P.S Tuesdays walk/jog was brought to you by the music from Maximo Park and the company via mobile of Mrs Mack and Mum!

Don't let the sun go down on me

Stupidly i weighed myself at the gym the other day. First time back to the torture chamber since Christmas and it showed, i was bloody knackered and the scales said FAT. This didn't help my mood, in fact i think it broke me. After a bit more melodramatic 'woe is me' tantrum i decided to pick my self up and shut up. Crying wasn't going to help anything and tears don't weigh enough to make a difference on the scales. So last night i laced up my running shoes and went to Holme Pierrepont for a jog after work.

It was a beautiful evening and although there was a freezing wind i soon warmed up after 5 minutes of fast walking. I even broke into a jog a few times and made it round in a time of 45 minutes. This was the time i managed a year ago when training started for the 5k. Since then I've lost 1.5 stone, got fit, got healthy, jogged 5k in 28 minutes, then stopped. Winter has been miserable, with darkness coming so early and crap weather i've done nothing. Im back to square one with an additional 0.5 stone to weigh me down. Oh well we all have to start somewhere and if i have to start from the beginning again so be it. Will power growing and stubborn determination back on track.

I'm planning to go to the Bowl of Hellfire again today, but I'll time it so as I'm not walking into the setting sun. The burning amber sky made the water look like the fiery pits of hell and running with bleeding retinas isn't too pleasurable, although that did take my mind off the fire in my lungs and the burning in my knees. And it's soooo much easier to keep good pace with pumping tunes, praise be to the Ministry of Sound and HotChip :D

Oh and I've just found out there's going to be a Race For Life Charity Single, if you want to be part of it and literally sing for your life go here, they're recruiting folk to sing on it all over the UK so take a look for when RFL scouts will be near you!

One thumb up one thumb down

I can report the Team has had some 'tactical training', this is the thumb up part! The newly wed Mrs Mackenzie and I had a jolly old time boozing it up at the Beer Festival on Sat afternoon. We also celebrated Vena and Michaels birthday at the local pub with Sarah. So all in all I've managed to widen the Fat Girl part of our team but as for the Run part it's been a disaster! I'm wallowing in self pity and muffin crumbs, and that's the thumb down part! Next week will be the start of better things.... i hope! By then some will power will have kicked in and i can go back to those happy enthusiastic times gone by! Oh and I've had no replies to our Dine At Mine letters, not even a 'thanks but no thanks'. How rude and disappointing, calls for another muffin i think :(

Training #fail

This was the weather on the way to Holme Pierrepont Wednesday night. It was rain, sleet and snow, all rolled into one horridly freezing evening. Combined with the fact I was really miserable (5 days semi-no-smoking) I decided to turn round and go home. So training was a fail. I paid for it at weigh in yesterday with a 3lb increase, darn it! I should've braved the bloody weather... one training session certainly would've counter-acted the week of replacing fags with foodie treats! Hmmmmm???

I may have jacked in the training plan but I still did something for the good of TRFGR. I spent over an hour in Westfield hand delivering begging letters to our favourite stores! I really hope we get some positive responses. I also hope the letter made sense. Basically I said the Team and friends are meeting each month. We're cooking a meal and all chipping in some money for CRUK. All we need is a few businesses to recognise they could help us and be generous. We're not asking for cash, we're asking for food so we can add the shopping budget to the donation, and any products from their stores we can raffle off or give as prizes for quizzes or games. I hope I'm not the only one that can see the potential boost to our fundraising this could generate. It's all for Cancer Research UK, who could say no to finding a cure for Cancer? Well apparently Next can, they wouldn't even take my letter, instead they gave me a slip with head office phone number on and told me that was all they could do. Was I naive to expect more, am I going to be disappointed when we get no replies?? Oh dear!!

Guess I'll concentrate on the training and sponsorship for the 10k, always a great comfort to know I can count on the generosity and kindness of my friends and colleagues! I'll start passing round the sponsorship forms soon! If you want to sponsor me online go here !

Expect another update on training early next week. Well it's the beer festival tomorrow so I HAVE to fit training into the weekend else next weigh in will be another disaster! The plan is to go for a jog Saturday morning then do a MEGA walk on Sunday with Phil. Fingers crossed for better weather!!

Hesitation

Look out the window. It's getting dark, it's raining, it's freezing cold. I don't want to go jogging, I don't want to get out my nice warm clothes, I don't want the rain to sting my face and lose all feeling in my fingers. I don't want to go jogging!!

Well OK I do a little bit, I'm still feeling guilty about the whole cake thing last week but I'd be a little happier if I was setting off to gracefully jog along a stretch of golden sand and sparkling blue surf. Instead I have to get my stupid shorts on and go waddling round a wet, dark pond in Nottingham. Not really inspiring or motivating but if it's what I must do then so be it.

Off I go :(

Style and sobriety #fail

The training on Friday went well. We showed up and we jogged a good chunk of the 1.6mile circuit. For this I am proud, we started with gusto and we followed through on our fighting talk. What I'm less proud of is the fact that I was fuelled by a whole Victoria Sponge and Sarah was quite tipsy after a few afternoon pints! Vena, however, was sugar and alcohol free, but still managed to pull off the most amazing impression of a chav I've ever seen. I know what our next theme night will be!! I'm not being mean, i'm allowed to mock because I rocked an even more ridiculous ensemble (see photo evidence- cheers Vena!!)

So with training for the Race For Life 10k underway it's time to start our second fundraising attack. Every month most of the TRFGR girls are meeting under the guise of Gourmet Night. It's a great excuse to eat quality grub and spend the night drinking wine and catching up with friends. Every athlete needs a breather from training every now and again! So taking this idea on board we've decided to open up these events and hold them as Dine at Mine events for Cancer Research UK.

We're appealing to local business' and supermarkets to help us maximise the amount of cash we can raise from each event. If we're supplied with food or vouchers it'll enable us to donate the shopping budget as well. And if we get given free goodies we can raffle these off or use them as prizes for competitions and challenges. I've signed us up and written letters to our favourite supermarkets and shops so I really hope we get a positive response, we REALLY want to make these nights a success and raise as much money as possible!

Now onto the serious business of training.... I'm heading down Holme Pierrepont tonight to see how good/bad a 5k walk in the rain can go. Then I'm home to deliver the Dine at Mine begging letters! Wish me luck!