Weigh in (49)

Not the worst result in the world; 2 pounds on this week, weighing me in at 16 stone 7 pounds. A blow it may be, but in all honesty not a surprising one. Again, no excuses; just reasons......
The main problem has been from having the usual routine severely knacked up by a week off work. You would have thought that having more time at my disposal would make it easier to exercise, not to mention easier to control what I am eating, but in actual fact the opposite has happened. In order to explain why, I think it's time to re-introduce you to my old friend, the bullet point.....

• The three-quarter hour journey home from work has, over the last year, become invaluable in order to plan what's for dinner, avoiding unpreparedness which leads to those nasty takeaways. The week off has taken that away from me, hence I succumbed to my first chippy for quite some time (just fish and regular chips, not great but nowhere near what I used to have). May I say it was bloody lovely!
• Meal times have gone all over the place; particularly breakfast. Without having to get up and out for work I've been having my porridge at a time which could easily be called early lunch; then the whole lunch/dinner timing is up the waaazoo. Not good!
• The dreaded booze has come back onto the scene. For someone who rarely touches the stuff these days, in high holiday spirit I did knock back a considerable number of those little lager bottles (makes you feel more virtuous when they are half as big as regular bottles; until you realise you are drinking twice as many of the blighters!).
• A trip out for a movie double-header (Men in Black 3/Prometheus) with a naughty lunch of BBQ chicken burger and fat chips in the interval (Papa G's restaurant....MMMMMMM!)
• The 'works' have already groaned to a halt, but to chuck in one more spanner for good measure, I have been suffering from a case of D.F.S. Nope, not an allergy to cheap furniture (although I have that too); it is actually a joint/muscular pain with no known cause occurring in the lower extremities. Any medical experts out there will know it by it's full name.....Dodgy Foot Syndrome. I joke about it, but it is really painful, and really annoying; making it difficult to walk, and impossible to run. Not a clue what has caused it (just wake up in the morning and there it be!), but it has restricted exercising this last week to one 5km run on Thursday. Particularly annoying as it is also the cause of some giant back steps in the run programme to take me up to 13 miles this September. GRRRRRRRRRRRR!   

It is never all doom and gloom though. I did manage to get out and plant up me geraniums (is it only me that thinks that sounds like a metaphor?) and can now look forward to many a sunny, flowery Summer's evening, happier than a pig in poo with my Kindle and a glass of something - healthy, honest - with the test match on the radio.
Further good news is that I am now back at work, the batteries are all fully charged, and as I write I can confirm that the DFS is retreating enough to make me consider a visit to the gym tomorrow (me)/this (you) evening (hope you understand that, not sure sure if I do). It won't be an easy one as it's been a while, but it will be good to get back into the swing of things and start working my way up to 13 miles, and down to 15 stone something!

Cracked it!!!!

Distance trained so far...............(113.1 miles)

Confession time here, I have reached a concrete ceiling when it comes to technology. Once those gadgets were introduced which could be used as a phone, a computer, a camera, as an mp3 player and a toaster all in one, that was that. The tricky bit is that this barrier to technological evolution has now come up against the modern world of blogdom. CLASHHHHHH!
When it comes to tweaking a basic blog template, even I can manage it; just. The major effort so far has been to write, and that is a much more old-fashioned practice! But then of course I have to start wanting to add things like slideshows and video footage don't I? and that has been - to say the least - something of a challenge.
Up until about a month ago I thought that html was one of those annoying abbreviations used in lonely hearts columns to limit the number of words in an advertisement (wltm, gsoh, ns). Wasn't totally convinced what it stood for but was fairly sure that it ended with 'to make love'; dependant on the context I would have gone with 'How' or possibly 'Hankering'. It came as something of a shock to discover that not only was it a computer language to create websites, it was the very language that was used to create this very blog (live and learn)!

My early attempts in writing html resulted in limited success....

'could you please put a slideshow on the side of my blog site, many thanks Mr. Computer'

even trying to get a bit more technical didn't work....

'video no worky = ady thoroughly pissed off = bad'

Fortunately the rise of the blog phenomenon (blogomenon?), has also meant a rise in the number of help sites available when more sophisticated tweaks are desired. Thus followed four weeks plus, of the following......

1. Googling to find a solution to the tweak

2. Following the solution's instructions, usually involving copying and pasting a piece of html

3. Checking the effect it has had on the blog

4. Nothing happens/Blog doesn't work

5. Cry

6. Resist temptation to investigate the aerodynamic ability of my laptop

7. Undo the changes made and return to number one above.......

Having said all this, I am now happy to report that at the moment, everything that I want to be in, is in! On the right we have the original slideshows - which for some reason suddenly decided not to work - a third slideshow of other photos which do tie in with some earlier posts (badminton, family, run); and at the bottom is video footage taken from the finish line of the Great Manchester 10k. Treat the latter as a live-action game of 'Where's (the) Wally'!!

By the way, if any of you think I am now an HTML expert; think again. I may have done it, but have not got a baldy clue of HOW I have done it!!

The Countdown..........the run!!! (part two)

You have been chomping at the bit for the second installment haven't you?!! Be honest now, it's that missing piece you have been waiting for to complete the jigsaw of your life isn't it?!! Well. worry no more, as here it is! Where were we? Aaaah yes, The run had just begun.....
The first hundred metres would be a clear indicator of how the run would go. With muscles getting a bit stiff during all the hanging-around time, it was difficult to work out what niggles would be shaken off on crossing the start line, or if there might be any that might persist and cause problems. Two great things happened at this point (only 9.9km to go; yay!); first of all, the muscles felt good - completely devoid of niggles! - and secondly I heard a call from the side of the road and there was my bruv seeing me off. We exchanged what I would describe as a manly handshake (which thanks to some googling I am reliably informed is called a 'jiveshake'! (never let it be said that I don't do any research for the sake of blogkind)), and with some rock and roll blaring through my headphones, I was ready to rock and roll!
The mantra for the start was 'dontstarttoofastdontstartoofastdontstarttoofast......' as a result it seemed like everyone in the entire race careered past me, leaving me what felt to be last of the 40,000. That little voice tempting me to pick up the pace was becoming more insistent, but I resisted; knowing that if I didn't go off too quickly, it would be highly likely that these same people would be passing me in the opposite direction later in the race. As it turned out, the prophecy was fulfilled for many of them before the first kilometre was out! The sprinters had quickly become walkers, paying the price far too early in the race. I know running in one of these races is an entirely personal achievement, but I would be lying if I said there wasn't some satisfaction in overtaking people. I felt like a proper Mo Farah!
So were there any points at which I struggled during the run? Any stage where I thought I wouldn't make it? Well, at the risk of sounding really boring, no there wasn't (sorry to disappoint the dramatists in the audience). The whole thing was brilliant. Inspirational music on the ipod, the scenery of Manchester whizzing (not too fast!) by, and knocking up the kilometre count made it so much more of a pleasure than a pain. But above all this, was the crowd; the wonderful, fantastic crowd. Imagine a group of people walking around with you all day at work, cheering you on.....'blimey Adrian, that was a fantastic e-mail you just sent; quite amazing'........'I can't believe how well you boiled that kettle Ade'..........'come on mate, it's 4:30, you're almost there; you can do this!!'......well, it's kinda like that. For the entire 10k, people were lining the route, cheering everybody on (particular mention to the British Heart Foundation cheerpoint, where supporters are on the look-out for BHF tee-shirts and vests to give them an extra loud shout-out); energy and goodwill given so freely is such a unique experience, and a wholly positive feeling which alone is worth all the training. But the best was yet to come.
As the eight kilometre mark came and went, I realised - incredulously - that there was plenty left 'in the tank'. Benefitting from not going off at the start like an antelope-hunting cheetah, I upped the pace. Yes, the old fat man, with 2km still to go actually felt fresh enough to go faster. I would find it impossible to believe if I hadn't actually been there!
Half a kilometre to go, and turning the last corner....and the finish was in sight! SOOOO many people, making SOOOOOO much noise!! I'm not actually certain whether my feet touched the ground down the home straight, instead I think I just rode the wave of positivity and goodwill - and volume! - all the way to the line. There was fist-pumping, there was 'COME-OOOON;-ing, there was my bruv yelling and yes, there was even a little punching of the air on crossing the finish line. Feeling ecstatic, feeling fantastic, feeling incredible.
Post-race was all a bit of a blur really, however I do distinctly remember spending most of it with an ear-to-ear grin on my face. Clare was there to meet me and there was much hugging of my sweaty body (ewwwwwwww, ew-ew-ewwwww). It was a kind of surreal feeling going back to reality - sitting down for a Costa coffee and having a bit of a chat with bruv and sis - as the previous few hours had been anything but. Part of me wanted to keep that feeling of adrenalin-fuelled joy, but it did fade after a short while. However I am happy to report it replaced by a more permanent, strong and sober feeling of achievement (still got it, two weeks later!); made all the more real by putting on the medal. It was a surprise to me how much of a buzz I got out of wearing a disc of metal!
Time for home, and by the time 5 o'clock ticked round, I was sat, at home, on my sofa with the TV on; amazed with what I had done with my day. I think extraordinary would not be too strong a word to describe it.
So, life goes on, blog goes on, I go on.....to Newcastle in September. Back in the gym, back in training, back to the weight loss, back to the focus. Don't worry though, I won't be moving on so much as to dismiss these memories to the rubbish bin (maybe the recycle bin!); they give me the strength and confidence to push on. Having said all that.......I guess I should take my medal off now, it's been a fortnight after all.......but can I sleep with it one more night please Mummy??.......