After my annoying experience on Monday with She Who Did Not Show, I started thinking about what else has been bothering me at the gym lately (hey why stop at one moan after all! ).
I’m not a complete gym newbie by any means. Before getting into running I used to go to the gym four times a week before work…not classes, just the gym. How I managed to maintain motivation I have no idea as now I can barely stay on a cross trainer for more than six minutes. But anyway, I have (sort of) recently re-joined a gym in order to get involved with the different classes, such as body pump, circuits and spin.
I think with going to the gym it’s easier to be bugged by fellow gym goers because you’re in one place for a lengthy period of time. Whereas in running, you can, er, run away from people who are annoying you. Does that make sense?
So here we go:
1) Smug spin lady, just because you can almost peddle yourself off the spin bike does not mean you’re the best at spin. No need to look so smug because you don’t have a drop of sweat on you. I think you’ve missed the point. There’s a resistance dial on the bike: please acquaint yourself with it.
2) Sweaty man, heard of a towel?
3) It is never acceptable to wear a boob tube playsuit at the gym. Especially at 6.30am in the morning.
4) Walking on the treadmill while using your phone is pointless (and dangerous?).
5) Spin instructor, please stop shouting excessively loud. I can hear you over the music. In fact, the guys lifting weights at the back of the gym with ear phones on can hear you too.
6) Scary overly-muscular man, please don’t goad the instructor to work us harder. I’m finding the workout tough enough. No I don’t want to do sprints on the toughest resistance.
7) Pump instructor, please give me chance to at least grab my new set of weights before you jump into the next routine.
7) Lateness. It’s rude. It’s your job as an instructor to be there on time – preferably before the start so we don’t have to watch you setting everything up while it’s eating into our allocated class time.
Maybe I have the world’s worst gym? Potentially. I do pay peanuts in comparison to some places. Maybe I’m used to having space in my working out zone…who knows. Really not much of the above truly bothers me (apart from the lateness – that does get my goat). I guess it makes things more interesting to be able to people watch while you’re dyingsweating working out.
On a more bright note…check out my blueberry plant!
There are actual blueberries on it. You’re probably thinking, “yeah duh, it’s a blueberry plant, big deal”. But seriously this is a monumental thing for me. I pretty much kill anything plant-like. Not intentionally…well, I just sort of forget to water things. It’s all the way in the back garden…I’m tired…I can’t be bothered…
But my lovely husband Ben has been looking after it and giving it some TLC and voila! Blueberries ahoy! OK so I can’t take credit for this obviously, but I’m still chuffed. I haven’t tried one yet but when I do I’m hoping it will be bursting with vibrant flavour and antioxidants
What are your annoyances at the gym? Am I being over-sensitive and/or mean?
What funny observations have you had of people working out, or people in general? I see the funniest sites on my commute to work – women actually doing their make up in the car for instance.
Do you grow any of your own vegetables and/or fruit? In an ideal world I’d be like Jamie Oliver, planting my own produce and whipping up meals using the fruits of my labour. Ha.
I was so mad Monday morning. I didn’t mention it in my last post as I wanted to just focus on the great weekend I’d enjoyed and not bring down the mood.
Sunday night I decided ‘oh what the hell’ I’d get up early Monday morning to do spin. I don’t want to do too much running this week as I want my body to have a little running-rest. So I thought I’d do spin instead. I’d rather just get it done in the morning because then it’s done and dusted and I’m up early to get on with the housework. I also booked circuits afterwards. Then I could chill later feeling smug.
So I got up at 5.40am on my day off to make this class. I got there for the 6.30am start feeling good to go. I was then informed that the instructor hadn’t turned up or bothered to ring to explain why.
I almost cried. I was so annoyed. The instructor who told me the news explained she couldn’t take the class either as she wasn’t trained. I think she could see how annoyed I was. I mean, seriously, I COULD HAVE STILL BEEN IN BED!
But she was lovely and did a legs, bums and tums (LBT) class for us instead. Not spinning, but better than the elliptical machine I’d be eyeing dubiously as I realised I’d be there for an hour before circuits.
LBT and circuits seriously did a number on my behind (there’s a sentence I never thought I’d type) as I ached a lot the next day. Circuits involved a lot of burpees (the work of the devil), press-ups, squats, planks…all those crazy things I haven’t really been doing for quite a while and LBT was just a whole load of lower body-related pain.
So this week is all about pump, circuits and spin. I think my next run will be Parkrun. This feels quite strange but it’s nice to be mixing things up.
Speaking of mixing things up [now this is quite boring but for a simple person like me this is crazy]… At the weekend in Essex I had my usual oatmeal for breakfast but ‘normal’ people don’t drink almond milk (normal –> mainstream/non-allergic/non-intolerant) and I wasn’t carting almond milk with me to Ben’s dad’s, I had whatever milk that was available.
[I might have taken my own chia seeds with me to Essex, shhh I know this is sad]
I had whole milk. I haven’t had whole milk in forever. Before almond milk I used to drink/use skimmed. God forbid I chose *whispers* full fat milk. But now I’m not fussed. I know that fat isn’t the devil (burpees are – we covered that, right?). I only choose almond milk because it makes oatmeal taste so damn good and it also means Ben doesn’t drink it so we never have stock control issues
Let me tell you, people, if you’ve never put whole milk in oatmeal you are missing out. Creamy, thick, delicious…heavenly! Definitely be recreating this at home (and still doesn’t cause stock control issues as Ben prefers skimmed – everybody’s happy!)
Actually one of my friends said to me that she puts cream in her oatmeal if she has it. I’m not sure I could handle that much creaminess in my stomach so early in the day – but I am intrigued I must admit…
Has anything really annoyed you recently? Go on, have a rant. It feels so good afterwards
What recipe/concoction have you found surprisingly yummy lately?
What’s your workout hell? Burpees. Every. Single. Time.
Oh I do love having a Monday off! This weekend England (not Scotland unfortunately – boo!) had a Bank holiday. This, for non-UK readers, is basically just a public holiday on the Monday. Though I’m not sure why it’s called a ‘bank holiday’ (though I know the banks are closed). Yesterday we got back from Essex seeing Ben’s dad yesterday and so today (Monday) we’ve just been chilling and catching up with the housework. So here’s my weekend catch-up.
Friday I got up early and went to spin which was good but as always hard. I was chuffed for getting myself there for the early class and then having enough time when I got back to pack and get myself together without stressing. Then we drove to Essex…and obviously this involved lovely bank holiday weekend traffic. *sighs*
Though it was perfect timing to paint my toe nails! I was very appreciative of Ben’s smooth driving.
After having a nice evening on the Friday, we got up early and headed down to the Chelmsford Parkrun for a bit of Parkrun tourism! It was so great doing a different Parkrun. I had no idea about the course (though it’s always 5k).
It was located in a lovely park with a pond. The weather was a bit drizzly but a nice cool temperature.
The run went well. I felt speedy and strong and was grateful for a lovely flat course (there was a very small steep hill but nothing scary or hard).
My father-in-law cheered us on and took some photos and it was good fun. Though the girls were very speedy! There were at least three so far ahead of me that I had no chance to catch them.
But I was very chuffed with my time – about 10 seconds better than my Parkrun PB! But the course definitely helped I would say as my usual route has an annoying hill we have to do three times. I came 5th female which I was very pleased with considering all four females in front of me did it in sub-20s and sub-19s. Yikes!
Unfortunately – God I don’t even want to type this it’s so annoying and repetitive – I’ve twinged my groin. YES I KNOW. Another flipping running-related injury. Jeeeeeeze. But I’m not making a big thing about it. It’s fine. I’m just having a nice week break from running (well, I’ll see how it goes ). I’ve got my spinning and pump so it’s all fine. I’m not panicking as it feels like just a small twinge that just needs a little rest.
Moving on! For the rest of the day we did something hugely embarrassing that I can’t believe I’m admitting. We did the TOWIE tour. Now I will forgive you if you didn’t know TOWIE stood for The Only Way is Essex. And I will also forgive you for not knowing that that is a ridiculous reality TV show set in Essex… coining those elegant phrases such as “I’m well jel” (translation: “I’m very jealous”).
Well, we did the tour. As in we walked around Brentwood and went into all of the main cast’s shops (as they all now own their own shops for some strange reason). And lo and behold! They were actually in their shops. Now we are talking proper Z-list celebrities here, people. I know. Calm yourselves.
All good fun. I will say that the majority of them were really lovely and didn’t mind me cheekily asking them for a photo. Apart from one. I think the phrase she used was “this ain’t a museum – have a look at the merchandise if you want a photo”. To which I promptly apologised and left the shop. I’m sorry I’m not paying £10 for a notebook to justify having a photo taken with her. I think she realised I was a bit affronted and called me back. It was all very awkward and I just wanted to get away as quickly as I could.
Not to labour the point too much but I do think reality TV stars shouldn’t be too high and mighty about fans wanting photos taken with them…after all, without us they wouldn’t be where they are. It’s not like they have ‘real’ talent like, say, actors and singers. Sorry if that’s a bit catty!
We also mooched around a few shops and I bought this top and skirt.
I’m not sure if together they go well but I was originally wearing a dress so I had to try them on together! Dorothy Perkins…how I love that shop.
In the evening we had a nice easy take-away (I had an Indian while Ben and his dad had a pizza – Ben was in heaven). We watched What Women Want (love, love that film! Such a classic) and had an easy evening.
We had a great time in Essex and it was good fun
Right, now I’m off to do some ironing and watch some Friends. Rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle living over here!
How was your weekend?
Reality TV: do you love or hate? I’m terrible. I love all that rubbish; Keeping Up with the Kardashians, The Hills, Made in Chelsea… But not Big Brother. I have some standards
Have you met anyone famous?
What Parkruns have you done? Any ones to recommend?
And in the UK we have a Bank Holiday Monday. Woohoo, three day weekend! Well, four day weekend for me as I’m off today!
I have recovered somewhat from Sunday’s half marathon adventure…though my legs were hating me Monday morning. I did nothing on Monday in terms of fitness. Getting out of bed was hard enough! But Tuesday evening I thought I’d brave running club. I knew if I tried running on my own I’d really struggle with motivating myself from now just crawling along the pavement and having a nap in the gutter. It wouldn’t have been pretty.
So I ran the mile to running club at a nice and easy pace and was surprised that it wasn’t too bad. And as luck would have it it was an easy session because the club had a league run the next evening (ha! which I would not be going to – need a break from races for a few weeks!)
Anyway we did 5 x 1200m with 3-4 minutes recovery between each. I was faster than I expected! I was tailing behind the speedy bunch and ahead of the slightly slower bunch so I was all on me own running along which did kind of suck. But on the last lap the speedy bunch took pity on me and forced encouraged me to do a ‘snake’ lap with them (we run in a line, the last person then has to sprint past everyone to get to the front, and it continues like that until the end – there were 5 of us in total). I really appreciated the encouragement from the others so this worked a treat.
Then a two mile leisurely(ish) run home.
Definitely wouldn’t have done that on my own I assure you!
This morning I had a one hour sports massage that I got through Groupon. Ahhh I love it. I hate it. It’s painful. It’s good. As well as my legs, the lady did my whole back and as she started I was like “pfft like I need my back doing – it’s my legs that are the issue”. Jeeze clearly I have back issues. It was PAINFUL. I had to grit my teeth to stop myself from screaming. I think it’s part of being British and maybe my personality that I don’t like showing pain or making noises of pain. When she asked how it was I could only squeak.
Now we’re off to Essex to visit Ben’s dad. We’re planning on engaging in a bit of Parkrun tourism by doing the Chelmsford one, and somehow manage a 10ish mile run around where Ben’s dad lives…errr I see trouble ahead. Or at least a phone call to Ben going something like this “Ben, I’m lost. Come pick me up please.”
Right, time to go!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Sports massage: love it or hate it?
Are you OK with showing you’re in pain? Even when I stub my toe or something like that I don’t like showing I’m in pain. I get embarrassed.
How long does it take for you to recover from a race? I’m feeling pretty much back to normal now thankfully. Well, let’s see how the Parkrun goes I guess!
Do you run when you go away to different places? I love seeing new places this way but my navigation sucks.
Hi guys! Sooo on Sunday I completed survived the Cheddar Gorge half marathon. And I’m not tooting my own horn here when I say it was no small feat!
The day began very early, showering (ha, what was the point in that!) and having a good breakfast at 6.30am. My dad was supposed to come with Ben and me and support while my mum stayed at home with their dogs and Alfie as it would have been unfair to have left them on their own in the house another day (after Saturday’s BBQ). But my dad was really ill in the night and couldn’t make it so my mum came instead. My dad was devastated. I always joke that he’s my ‘soccer mom’ as he’s always encouraging me and giving me pep talks before races so it was a real shame.
Anyway we drove the two hours towards Somerset (grabbed a coffee en route – necessity!) and arrived with an hour to spare. Perfect!
It had rained a fair bit on the journey up and but it had stopped by the time we arrived and I started feeling excited!
We got ourselves together with our hydration belt (for me) and Camelbak (for Ben). Panic struck when I realised my gel had burst a bit in my bag. Very sticky. Gross. But luckily not too much of it had leaked to make a significant difference. It just meant I had to carry it running rather than keep it in my belt.
Look what we found!! This made me think of Claire as she’s always showing photos of Gromits from around Bristol and London.
Then we got our bibs and made the long journey up to the start. We left my mum (bless her wearing her flip flops) and she went off to have a mosey around the shops to come back later to where we would be finishing. Basically there was no ideal point to spectate!
We could tell as we saw the other runners that this was a different style of race. The runners did not look like your stereotypical road runners. They were hardy looking men and women ready for a challenge. It felt very relaxed which was great.
Ideal to be walking behind the first aid guys!!
We were sweating before we’d even begun!!
And we finally made it to the start.
Here are the elevation changes throughout the course:
Mile one: It began really really tough. A lot of up hill running. We ran through about four fields so there was a lot of jumping over stiles. My game plan had been to stay around 9 minutes a mile. I looked at my watch during the first half a mile and I was doing 10 minutes and struggling.
Mile two: It levelled out, there was a nice downhill section which was refreshing after the climb. Then some rocky bits to climb over and slide down which was good fun.
Mile three: This involved more running uphill across a big field. There was absolutely no point in trying to be speedy. Then we ran through a lovely bog soaking my trainers…good stuff.
Mile four: Still climbing. There weren’t a huge number of runners at all. There was maybe three guys I could see directly in front of me (obviously more further ahead!) and a few behind. I saw up ahead that two of the runners were coming to a stop and looked confused as to where they were going and a bunch of hikers pointed the way. It was that kind of race! There were ribbons on trees and marks on the floor but it was dodgy at times! I caught up with a guy and we started chatting which was really nice. It was his first off-road half marathon as well so it was nice to be in good company!
Best bit was passing a couple of marshals and them shouting “here’s the first lady!” What a boost! The guy in front of me did a bow pretending it was him, which was funny.
Mile five: What a dream! I zoomed downhill. I kept a great routine of doing teeny tiny footsteps and landing on the front of my foot to let gravity basically push me forward. I gained back quite a bit of energy doing this as it didn’t take as much to run it. Though obviously I had to be careful not to fall!!
Mile six: I took my gel, thankful to stop carrying it (putting the now less sticky rubbish in my belt of course!). I managed to get lost off the route by mindlessly following two guys. We ended up going through a very constricted path amongst brambles then realising it really didn’t feel right and backtracked to the correct path.
Mile seven: Oh man this was tough – one of the hardest parts. Serious uphill. I couldn’t run it. It was just impossible. My thighs were burning. The guys around me walked it too so I didn’t feel so bad.
Mile eight to mile 11: Can’t remember much apart from really loving it at this point. No more uphill’s for a bit and I felt like I was zipping along nicely gaining back some speed. My music was being annoying as I was using Spotify and it kept losing signal but when it did burst into life in my ear (half scaring the hell out of me) it was excellent. Otherwise the atmosphere of the race was great too. I’m quite glad I had the best of both worlds to be honest.
Mile 11: Oh mile 11. You ruined my fun. Suddenly in front of me were these steps of doom. huge steep steps we had to get up and it went on and on for what seemed like forever.
Mile 12: After finishing the steps I was flying again. Some fellow racers let me pass them which was nice and one even said “I want her shoes!”. Lots of downhill’s which I took at break-neck speed which I now cringe at thinking back to. All heading downhill to the town where we got some actual road running for a few seconds!
My mum was there with her camera and snapped a photo.
The final bit of the race was a short but very steep uphill. Then done!
Hurrah!
Crazy paces! My official time was 1:58:42. My Garmin stopped several times during the run because of my walking breaks – clearly it was unimpressed with my lack of hill climbing ability and gave up on me. I also came first girl and 20th overall out of 157 runners.
After finding my mum afterwards, I promptly collapsed onto the grass with some water and we waited for Ben.
Ben finished in 2:52:34. I was so worried he hadn’t enjoyed it because of his unfortunate lack of preparation but he was smiling and looking strong at the end. I was very proud!
Nope that’s not a lovely tan; that is just dirt
I’ll spare you the raw details but then commenced the Great Baby Wipe and Change of Clothes Adventure in the car park. We’re classy like that
And then we headed out to find FOOD (this was 3pm!) We found a lovely little pub and walked in praying they were still serving, which they were, hurrah! I hurriedly told the barmaid that we had just finished a race and didn’t always look so bedraggled! She laughed and said she’d seen worse haha.
Code of conduct for post race: always wear your medal. You feel like Mr T.
I had a butternut squash and feta salad to start (delicious but I was so hungry I really wanted to just get to the main!) and then for the main I had a delicious home-made beef burger with chips and tomato relish. Ohhhhh it was heaven. Alongside I had a cup of tea.
I inhaled everything. Those chips didn’t stand a chance.
I thoroughly recommend this race. I loved it. So much variation in the course, such good camaraderie from the fellow racers and the marshals were excellent. Definitely one for next year!
What’s your kind of race? Do you prefer the regular road race, or something a bit more crazy and off-road? I just know my next race is going to seem a bit dull in comparison now?
Do you run with music or not? I get a boost from music and it helps me not get bored. Sometimes I like my own thoughts for 13.1 miles I get bored of myself.
). 
I was very appreciative of Ben’s smooth driving.
