Well hello!
So, it's been nearly a year and a half since my last post. How time flies!
The big question is, am I still staying fit and healthy? The answer is not straight forward though I'm afraid. I have not been so strict with my diet for a while and dont really count calories or make food plans now. However I've been doing it long enough to gauge what I'm doing within reason. Since moving into our new place we don't tend to go out drinking so much although a have reverted back to drinking cider mostly rather than vodka. We do tend to have more comfort eating sessions though with sundays often consisting of an evening on the sofa with crisps and chocolates. In between these pitfalls though I still eat mostly stews, soups, turkey mince and fish dishes. Breakfast is usually porridge (made with water), lunch is usually a ham salad wrap. I have now changed jobs and become a driving instructor so meals are a little more awkward in that lunch needs to be handheld and not messy and evening meals are often later and so usually pre-cooked, reheated one pot stuff rather than say chicken breasts, rice and veg. I try to cook a proper meal if I'm home in the evening though. My job also means that my workouts are less regular and less structured. So the result of all of this is that I am around 18lb heavier than my lowest weight. I am a size 14 bottom and 12/14 top.
My fitness however has gone from strength to strength. Last year I ran the Race for Life without any walking and scored a PB of 33 minutes. I was really trying to get a time under 30 minutes but just couldnt make it. Since then I have been doing more running, both outside and on the treadmill indoors. I can now run 5k quite comfortably (and with much less pain during and after) and have been increasing my distance on occassion. I have even done a 10k run without needing to revert to a walk (although that one hurt my kness and hips much more).
In April this year I decided to join a Bootcamp training club. I was really worried I wouldnt be able to keep up and that my joints would hurt too much. I figured I'd turn up and do my best and see how I went. As it turned out, I just about kept up although I felt like my heart was going to explode that first time! I have been going once a week ever since. We do between 3 and 5 miles of running broken up with boxing, sit ups, press ups, squat jumps running with tyres and harnesses and that kind of thing. My fitness has improved massively as a result as has my strength. I'm by no means the best person there but I'm usually not the worst either. I can do a few squat jumps now and have even started doing some jumping split lunges! To think, a few years ago, I couldnt even do one squat! I can also jump over a knee height box now where I would have struggled to even step up on to it before!
So, what are my goals now? I would like to get back down to a size 12 although I am focusing more on body composition than weight these days. I am really trying to build my speed and dynamic power now. I'll be doing Parkour before you know it (lol)!
I am pushing to get that sub 30 min Race For Life and I'm much happier (no that's the wrong word, lets say, more at ease) with running in the cold and damp weather. I am also determined to do a mud obsticle race next year although I havent yet decided if it will be 5k or 10k. Who would have thought I would be doing that as I edge towards 40?
