Following a fat, unfit 50 year old to fitness!: Stalker Pigeons and Discarded Brollies

Following a fat, unfit 50 year old to fitness!: Stalker Pigeons and Discarded Brollies: Tuesday 19 th June              Tuesday 16 th June              Saturday 23 rd June Distance: 3:40 mile           Distance:       ...

Stalker Pigeons and Discarded Brollies

Tuesday 19^th June             Tuesday 16^th June           Saturday 23^rd June

Distance: 3:40 mile           Distance:                        Distance: 4:13m
Time: 1:22:00 min            Time:  60:00min              Time:  56:47min
Avg Speed: 2:46 kmph                                             Avg Speed: 4:36 kmph
Avg Pace: 24:24                                                      Avg Pace: 13:45 min/mile
Calories Burned: 496        Calories burned 95           Calories Burned: 739
Walking                           Workout class                   Run

Well dear reader I had a busy little week. As promised in my last blog I have stepped up the pace a little. I had the opportunity through the school I am currently at to partake in a few extra activities. Firstly on Tuesday morning we walked – at a very brisk pace I might add- all the Year 5 and 6 children from school to Leeds Town Hall for a fabulous concert by the Opera North Orchestra on the theme of space. We were treated to renditions of the Star Trek Themes, (an arrangement of all the series and film scores) Star Wars and extracts from The Planets Suite to name but a few. It was glorious and I found myself thinking ‘Wow! I am been paid for watching this!’ We then walked the children back to school. It was a round trip of 3.4 miles and accompanied by the usual child protests of ‘It’s too far’ ‘I can’t walk any more’ ‘ Missssss you are going too fast’ and of course the obligatory ‘Are we there yet?’

School done I felt quite refreshed and I had brought my running and swimming kit to work with me as I had the intention to go to the gym and pound the treadmill. As I was leaving school there was an exercise class on which is led by one of the mums. I had seen this class before and had kept saying that I would go. So as it was there in front of me and at £1 for the hour, a lot cheaper than a run on the treadmills, I decided to stay. I mistakenly thought that it was a gentle but stimulating dancercise type class. How wrong was I? The leader punished me for an hour through all kinds of push ups and abs crunches. By the end I was sweating like a hog and aching in places I barely knew existed! However I am sure it has done me some good and as an extra work out it was an opportunity to work a different set of muscles.

On Thursday I went to the pool for a swim only to find that it did not open till 6pm and as that would mean an 80 minute wait and eating after 6pm plus my Raison D’etre was en route to the pool too. A quick phone call determined that neither of us wanted to get home after 7pm so we ducked out and went home. I know I hear the cries of ‘wimp’ but as a new eating regime is part of my up-tempo training plan I am trying to make sure we eat earlier in the evening and not have big heavy meals later on so that is my excuse and I am sticking to it!

And so to Saturday. For the first time in a long time I did not wake before the alarm in fact I struggled to wake at all. I really did not want to get up. My body still ached from Tuesday and what I did not know at the time was I was very run down and about to go down with a bout of ‘English Summer Cold Syndrome’ which would manifest itself by Monday evening. None the less out of bed I got and once kitted up (which seemed to take longer than usual, perhaps my reluctance was manifesting through slowed responses?) I set off on my tried and tested route.

My legs were heavy and sluggish and I struggled to get into a good pace so I just went as far as the Otley Old Road junction at Weetwood, turned and came home. I knew it was a poor run even before I checked my stats and a best lap time of 11.43 confirmed that I was slow today. Furthermore it was raining.

On the run I was amused by two things. I always look for inspiration for these ramblings whilst out trotting through Headingley. The first thing that peeked my interest was the presence of what seemed to be a stalker. I first spotted him as I cut through the Granbys (after unlocking the Church Hall gates). He was sitting on a gate post and looked straight at me. I saw him again on Otley Road at the junction of St Chads Crescent, again on the St Chads fields and yet again at the sight of the old Yorkshire Water filter beds. Now I feel your concern, ‘a stalker’ you all cry ‘good grief woman were you alright?’ Clarification needed here to assuage your generous anxiety for my early morning safety. What I did not say was that he was of the ornithological variety rather than the human species. In short a Wood Pigeon. Ahhhh! Goes up the collective sigh, I doubt that it was the same pigeon at all these places but who knows perhaps he was a fan of my blog and wanted to cheer me along nevertheless he (or others of his genus) appeared everywhere. Early risers these birds you know.

My second cause of thought provoking brain diversion was the abundance of discarded umbrellas. For those of you not familiar with a British summer an umbrella is De rigueur in fact the phrase ‘British Summertime’ is the greatest oxymoron of all. To say it has rained here is an understatement of biblical proportions. IT HAS RAINED AND RAINED AND RAINED AND RAINED for weeks now and clearly some people have decided that an umbrella no longer suffices and are instead building large ark like structures and gathering animals in twos! I found myself wondering about discarded ‘brollies’ and the people who had left them. Clearly they must have got wet because the rain had not ebbed - indeed it has been continuous for weeks now. So were these people just giving up or had they purchased new superior models? Whatever the reason along my route was the discarded evidence of a summer without sun. My barbeque has not been out once, my garden furniture is still in the shed and has not been out all year and yet we had the longest day this week the nights will start drawing in and my thoughts have already turned to Christmas, all that before a single peep of sunshine! Let’s hope for sun next week as I have a BBQ planed and more importantly I am an ambassador for the Olympic torch relay…. Oh yes more of that next week.

So as always I close with my usual appeal. I tested the link recently and discovered that the link to the MDC was not working so I have reposted it here, if it does not work let me know. I write these missives to bring awareness to the cause of Muscular Dystrophy and if any of you good blog readers out there want to sponsor me in my endeavours you can follow my link to the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign its work, outreach, campaigns and research just log on to www.muscular-dystrophy.org and see why I am doing this. If you feel you want to support me then please log onto my ‘Just Giving’ account and make a donation www.justgiving.com/Team-LewisMDC. A huge thanks you to all of you who have donated already.



Thank you for your support.

The Input Output Dilema

Saturday 16^th June                                                            Saturday 16^th June

Distance: 5:00 mile                                                           Distance: 100m
Time: 52:50 min                                                               Time:  10min
Avg Speed: approx. 6:53 kmph                                           Swim
Avg Pace:
Calories Burned: 316

Well dear blog fans as promised at the end of my last blog when I said I would keep you informed on my spa day, in short we had a fab time. We arrived at about 10.45 and my bestie got her ‘cossie’ on and went for a leisurely swim then sat by the pool and read, in the meantime I hit the gym. I had never been on a treadmill before so once the lovely girl with the vibrant red hair had shown me how to work it, I was off. I started at a leisurely pace on a flat gradient and worked my way up the km/ph. I had to record in km this week as that was how the machine worked. I set my ipod to my usual running soundtrack as I figured I would be able to pace my distance by the tracks that were playing. When I run on my usual route I can pace myself as I pass regular places/markers at the point when certain songs play.

I could not believe how long it took me to get to 1km!!! I was convinced the machine was broken as the km just did not seem to clock up. As I jogged on I stared longingly at the monitor, willing the dial to move. Eventually after about 14 minutes I got to the 1km marker and with much relief, I paused the machine to get a drink of water, seconds later I was back on the track. I have to say that thereafter the kms did not seem as long maybe because I ran faster and by visualising my route as per my sound track I was able to see myself out on my usual run. I normally I record my runs in miles and not km, as for some strange reason miles seem to clock up a lot faster perhaps it is just that I am used to them and I  feel more comfortable with them.

The most noticeable difference between the machine and the open road was the fact that I am sure I ran for longer periods before I broke into a walk (and because of the speed settings on the machine my walks were a lot more brisk than usual). I am the kind of person who would not let a machine get the better of them and consequently because the machine kept going so did I!

I have mentioned in previous blogs that I do not like running in the evening but I made a resolution whilst going nowhere at 9km/per hour. I resolved that I would go to the gym; there is one at the council pool so it should not be too expensive, there I could run on the treadmill, as I figure it would be a good way to build my stamina and get to the point where I am running constantly, or at least for much longer sustained periods. So blog world I hereby pledge to go on the treadmill at least once a week and that is in addition to adding at least one swim a week to my routine.

Now I realise that exercise is one element of training for an event like The Great North Run but the correct diet is also vitally important. With that in mind I am also embarking on a healthy eating regime. The dawning realisation of input over output struck me two weeks ago when I was just casually scoffing a bag of onion ring snacks, I looked at the calorific content and worked out that I would have to run for about 8 miles to run off all the calories contained in that innocuous looking packet. I will have to start eating more effectively and compare calories consumed to distance run. If any of you my readers out there in blogland have any good suggestions for an effective running diet please let me know.

So as always I close with my usual appeal. I tested the link recently and discovered that the link to the MDC was not working so I have reposted it here, if it does not work let me know. I write these missives to bring awareness to the cause of Muscular Dystrophy and if any of you good blog readers out there want to sponsor me in my endeavours you can follow my link to the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign its work, outreach, campaigns and research just log on to www.muscular-dystrophy.org and see why I am doing this. If you feel you want to support me then please log onto my ‘Just Giving’ account and make a donation www.justgiving.com/Team-LewisMDC. A huge thanks you to all of you who have donated already.



Thank you for your support.

12 week count down

Saturday 9^th June                                                              Wednesday 13^th June

Distance: 5:00 mile                                                           Distance: 200m
Time: 39:50 min                                                               Time:  20min
Avg Speed: 4:53 mph                                                        
Avg Pace: 13:14min/mile
Calories Burned: 408


Oh my! Oh my! The realisation hit me this week that it is only 12 weeks until the big day. This realisation dawned when I got an email from the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign to remind me of just that. I had hoped that by this time I would have shed a few pounds and be a lithe, honed and toned example of a long distance runner. Oh my! Oh my! I seem to have fallen behind in that plan. Although I have generally developed my stamina and fitness and feel that the distance of 13 miles is a distance that I can complete. However I will not be aiming for a fast time I just want to go out do my best in the best time that I can.

I think that I need to up the ante now and increase the number of times I go running in a week. My problem is I really don’t like to run in the evening I find it so hard to motivate myself after work, added to the fact that the car fumes are so much thicker at night. Neither do I really want to go before school; however I recognise that I must do something. So as I ran this week I determined that I would make a concerted effort to do more. Prior to losing my job 2 years ago I was a member at a gym where I and my Raison D’etre would go a couple of times a week to swim. Swimming is also a good form of exercise for him as his legs are totally supported in the water. Sadly gym membership was a luxury not to be had by a redundant Assistant Head Teacher so our regular little trips to the pool went the way of many of our previous life’s little luxuries. However as we both have Leeds Cards which gain us reduced entry at council pools we decided this week that we would go for a swim one evening after work. Wednesday night was the time we decided upon for our visit. And on Wednesday we met at the pool and were both pleased to find that although we had not been in over 18months, it was not too traumatic and surprisingly neither one of us particularly struggled. We did not do a huge number of lengths as the pool was full of kids having lessons and kids just larking around. We swam for about 20 minutes but we could not do a full length as the end was sectioned off for lessons so we probably did about 200 metres each. We both determined to do more next time, the experience was a positive one and furthermore I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that we were swimming together again.

As Saturday came I woke early as usual but decided not to go out as I was, later in the morning, heading off for a ‘Spa Day’ with one of my ‘besties’ as it was her birthday in May and like me she joined the 50 club so this is her birthday treat. Along with the pampering treatments we can also swim and go in the gym so it is my intent to do both of those before I indulge in the facials, massage and nail painting that we have planned for later. I have never run on a treadmill (other than my gait analysis) so that will be an experience. I will let you know how I get on……

I end with my usual appeal never forgetting why I write these missives is to bring awareness to the cause of Muscular Dystrophy and if any of you good blog readers out there want to sponsor me in my endeavours you can follow my link to the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign its work, outreach, campaigns and research just log on to www.muscular-dystrophy.org  and see why I am doing this. If you feel you want to support me then please log onto my ‘Just Giving’ account and make a donation www.justgiving.com/Team-LewisMDC. A huge thanks you to all of you who have donated already.



Thank you for your support.

Long May She Reign

Saturday 2^nd June

Distance: 3:01 mile
Time: 39:50 min
Avg Speed: 4:53 mph                            
Avg Pace: 13:14min/mile
Calories Burned: 408

Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat where have you been? I’ve been up to London to visit the Queen… so goes the old Nursery Rhyme and like the aforementioned Pussy Cat I too, along with my Raison D’etre am vising my queen. My Queen this week celebrates 60 years as our Sovereign Monarch and I personally think the woman is a bloody marvel. For 60 years she has devoted her life to the service of her country and never faltered from her duty. When did she ever cancel an engagement? When did she ever not turn up and smile, shake hands, pass pleasantries, receive the bouquets from little girls in their best dresses? There must have been days when she wanted to ‘throw a sickie’ and phone into the office put on her best poorly voice and claim to have an upset stomach or feign a pathetic cough as she told the whopper ‘I have the flu won’t be in till Thursday! (She came to the concert having left The DOE in hospital how many of us would turn up to work on the day our husband/wife was taken into hospital I wonder?) Yet turn up she has to countless openings, previews, premieres, tours of factories, hospitals, institutions, schools; you name it she has visited it. Hat on head and handbag over a gloved hand, eyes sparkling and smile fixed. Those gloved hands have shook the like of great and small, have cut ribbons, smashed bottles, dug in trees, laid foundation stones, pulled cords to reveal plaques, held swords to invest, pinned medals of honour and valour, laid wreaths to remember, signed issues of state and of course waved. Even if you are not a royalist one has to admire the fortitude of an octogenarian who still does the same job she did at 25 and with the same vigour. Yes I know she has had the best of everything from food to medical care and that there are long gaps spent at one of the many palaces or estates but even so the crown is never truly put away, our queen’s life belongs to us, she is ours as we are hers and for me that relationship is one of huge admiration, respect and love. I could not bear to lose our royal family, imagine a Britain with a president be it President Millibland or President Cameron or God forbid the return of ‘The Blair’ the thought is unthinkable. The money that comes into our country through tourism is huge and as the tourists come, primarily to London, statistics also show that a great number of them will also venture to Scotland, Wales, Ireland and even up to us in T’North so we all benefit from the tourist £ spent in our shops, restaurants, transport, and service industries. Would those people still come were it not for the pomp and pageantry? The Trooping? The Ceremonial? The State Occasions?  These occasions of state that we do so well, I doubt as many would come.

I have come. So this morning I went for a jaunt round the local, not knowing the streets of where I am stopping very well, I simply ran to the nearest park and jogged around it 3 times then back. I covered 3 miles which was enough today as my legs were a little leaden and I am tired as the last week at school has been very busy. We had a Jubilee week culminating in a Fayre on Friday. The children had a great week and did some fabulous work on time lines, biographies, geography, British history and some very creative art work. The week ended with a procession of kings and queens, a picnic lunch and a Fayre. A jolly good time was had by all. The children who come from many different countries of origin, learned about the importance of history be it family, social, cultural or national. We celebrated where they came from and how; now as British citizens they have a rich history to be part of and to add to. They stood and sang the national Anthem with pride and I was touched by their commitment. Our multicultural society works best when we value our traditions and respect our differences.

After my run for the rest of the day we ventured into central London to scope out the best place and easiest route for the pageant tomorrow. My Raison D’etre had declared, last year, that after I had such a great time at the royal wedding, that he too wanted to be part of one of our nations great events. So we checked out a route that was accessible for him and decided where we would aim for. Come the day we were turned back as ‘that way is for invited guests only’ we had been given duff information, but undeterred we went on and found our way to the riverside and managed to get an excellent front row pitch. From our viewpoint we, along with 1.2million others saw The Royal Barge bedecked in its finery with our good Queen atop it. That marvellous woman stood for 4 hours and believe you me it was bloody wet and a tad chilly and exciting though it was, boats tend to move a little slowly. After 500 I found myself thinking ‘Ooh look another boat’ but we stood it out till the last as we felt that the last should be supported as well as the first. I felt an incredible sense of history there. All the crowd there were very aware that we were seeing history in the making and that we will never see the like again in our lifetime or in a great number to come.

We were wet through; we ached from standing for 7 hours. My Raison D’etre did so well I kept checking on him as did the crowd around us who were very caring of him, offering support. We had a wonderful day and my British pride was overflowing. We may try for the procession on Tuesday but we are already fulfilled.

Never forgetting why I write these missives is to bring awareness to the cause of Muscular Dystrophy and if any of you good blog readers out there want to sponsor me in my endeavours you can follow my link to the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign its work, outreach, campaigns and research just log on to www.muscular-dystrophy.org and see why I am doing this. If you feel you want to support me then please log onto my ‘Just Giving’ account and make a donation www.justgiving.com/Team-LewisMDC. A huge thanks you to all of you who have donated already.



Thank you for your support.