About an hour’s pootle along the towpath (which is now wide and smooth and tarmacked! Until the next time it gets washed away) on the road bike, feel better for it anyway, it’s so grey and dull it doesn’t even seem like daytime.

Feeling v weedy compared to these tales of derring do and exertion – went for a jog with a mate for 5 miles. It also has the auxiliary effect of keeping me away from bad food – nearly had a takeaway last night but didn’t fancy running on one today, and I have laid off the “just a square or 2” of chocolate in the evening as the caffeine in it was keeping me up!

I have had 91 Windsor-Birmingham proposed by the OH who noticed the video and has been checking the TdB routes…
What do people think?

Update: Tulip Computers car spotted, suggests some time in 90-92

Loving the snow pix.
6 miles run/walk today TICK which is good as I have now got a deferred entry for an autumn HM come through. Need to lose a few more kgs and get a bit fitter ideally.

Short ride today, chilly chilly chilly.

I have lost 0 weight and am still 2kg up on Xmas Eve, but we’re still finishing off the Xmas cake and my willpower yesterday to resist the OH’s newly baked bread was 0 zero NADA.
On Thurs morning I was a kg down so SOME of this is glycogen stores tho…
I may also brace myself and say Not Right Now to a few of the OH’s fryups.

Short weights and abs session today.
I have an issue with runner’s trots and a new technique I’ve found to calm things down is to do yoga in my head! It really seems to stop my brain interpreting every two foot high privet hedge as palatial “facilities” with quilted loo roll and a heated seat, if I’m mentally walking myself through a sun salutation or something.
I may do some ACTUAL yoga later on, I used to do it weekly. The instructor was a very down to earth Brummie who had to give it up when they got promoted to be subject head in the day (teaching) job so as you can imagine the woo level was very low.

Short run out with one of my running buddies first thing. Starting to feel like a sliver of fitness is sticking.

A very quick spin on the road bike today – not the world’s most strenuous workout but it’s all about the cumulative effect.

A dog on the bed helps me sleep (even if it’s taking up most of the space and jabbing me in the ribs while dreaming!)

5 mile jog today, I’m allowed to say jog as I used to be at least 2 mins a mile faster! Now just pleased I can keep going that far!
DOMs from the weights sesh still there a bit. Yeah not young anymore…

Intended to do an hour on the Ridgeway but it was more like half that as I ran out of path that wasn’t terrifyingly muddy and rutted. Part of me wishes I had a 26″ as the 29″ I have feels a bit like being perched on a tractor crossed with a penny-farthing on terrain like this.

Scotroutes wins!
Did about ??5mile run today (middle bit was walk/run with a friend but probably about 3 miles running and then it was a mile there + a mile back).
Really feeling the aftermath of the weights 2 days ago!

There’s always 30 mins of Corpse Pose as a backstop option!

I’m a big believer in the benefits of consistency and the first tool I get out to achieve that is basically lying to myself, lying like a rug. “I will just jog 5 mins and walk the rest” “I will just do a sun salutation and then 27 mins of Corpse Pose” – it gets me started and then something 95% as good as a Proper Sesh magically gets done anyway!

BRRRR. Just about ok enough to go out on the bike but so cold when I got home it took 15 mins of hopping about (curtains closed!) to old disco to warm up – a hot drink was just not enough (FX: teeth chattering)

Just done 30 mins of weights / abs work. The OH promptly hid upstairs which is funny as the dog (a dreadful coward who will flee upstairs if you pull a cracker) took 0 notice …

https://www.strava.com/clubs/811216

Hmmm
The form didn’t seem that hard to fill in, but if I put in this thread’s URL it barfed, and for location I put “everywhere” and it interpreted that as Atlanta, Georgia.
Luckily I guess none of that matters too much (!)

I’m new to Strava so I’m happy to set up a group (“club”, yes?) but would appreciate any tips from old hands e.g. I expect it would make sense to have more than one admin… What else?

@monrobiker I have started a new thread – I know you said you won’t be doing it yourself, but can I ask you over as a “guest of honour” to the new thread to “open it” and say some words about Chris?
He is the catalyst for this and (I’m not very good with words always so I hope this is coming out right) it would be nice to acknowledge this and remember him at this point.

90 day exercise every day challenge to take us up to april 1st

How the heckle beckle have I put on nearly 3kg in one week?!
Oh well…

I’ve only ever heard positive things about cataract ops. I suspect doctors faced with elderly people with loads of stuff they can’t fix are only too delighted to have *something* that they can do (and obvs it’s never a bad thing having the patient at least being able to see where they’re going!).

My Auntie was passed from pillar to post until she ended up in the surgery of a Danish consultant who was like, “My god! This woman is sick! We must find out why!” And the first thing he booked her in for was her cataracts – I think he felt she’d been messed about so much that she deserved to be treated for SOMETHING PDQ!

Would people be interested in a 90 day exercise-every-day challenge to take us up to April 1st 2021?

I’m in. Slow but steady. I have a written request from my knee to “do what I can” !

We have old skool twinkling filament lights, they’re LOVELY but if somei goes wrong, they take a while to fix (Reader, I fixed them).

Hooray for 2021 Chub Club! I’ve lost a lot of the weight I put on in 2019 when my Mum was dying, but my crumbling joints have put in a polite request for 3-5 more kg off if that could be attempted :)

Also the more lightweight longsleeved jersey Santa got me is a size smaller than the thermal one…

TBH I’d wait for six months – or even four – as things will calm down and there may be a lot of rescue dogs suddenly available!
Friend (admittedly not the most worldly person) got scammed out of a couple of hundred deposit yesterday so can confirm there are some take-the-money-and-run scammers on pets4homes RN.

Dogs Trust has got a list of charities you can foster dogs for on their website (old people in hospital, families fleeing DV etc who can’t have their pet for a while).

Up to you though – I do get the strong desire for a dog as I was the same :) but if you can let your head get a look-in that’s preferable :D

So so sorry.
Just one foot in front of the other.
Your poor poor boy.

There are different motor strengths so if she is going to make a lot of bread or big batches, have a think about whether the Pro would be better than the Artisan.

I have a KitchenAid blender and it is indeed built like a tank, has replaceable bits and I am now lusting after a KA stand mixer with a dough hook … that is when we get round to replacing our crumbling 80s kitchen, as we’d have nowhere to put it right now!

Static this week but not bad given the ginger cookies I made and, er, ate. Final push indeed, let’s see if I can shed that last half kilo before I open my Xmas chocolate :D

Your local running club may well still be going – ours is, divvied up into pace-based groups of 6 – I’m in the 11+ mins/mile (in reality closer to 13 ahem) – I know it’s not always the case but if you check out the results for a local race you’ll see which clubs have members of about your speed.

But if you need to stick to morning sessions – a 5k to 10k program and some sort of virtual challenge with a nice looking medal?

2nd recommendation for the Steve Peters book, one top tip it had was basically ignore any freakouts from your brain between ~10pm & 7am as the “eek TIGERS!!!!” bit of the brain is firing them off but the “don’t be daft, that’s Ted the one-eyed cat” bit of the brain has gone to sleep for the night! Or something along those lines.

Also some good stuff about dealing with difficult meetings and letting people have their say (or rant!) and feel heard, first, as a way of dialling down the tension and making it more likely they’ll listen to you in turn.

If you can hang on for a few months, New York is quite happy to take your money and marry (an already married couple) again, and it would be a nice outing!

If you can’t get PMI through work as PP have said, how about something like Benenden, which is 11.50 a month, pays out about £1000 for initial consultant appt / diagnostics if you’re in pain and will be waiting on the NHS, and do some ops too? It’s cheaper because it’s NOT medical insurance but it might do the trick for plugging the holes between NHS and what you’re willing to go out-of-pocket for.
http://www.benenden.co.uk/health/healthcare

KOKO folks, my joints certainly are a bit happier!

Send a few cards to yourself with the envelope stuffed with glitter…

Retired greyhounds are lazy sods, used to hanging around in kennels most of the day. As full time workers we had them for 20 years but I did pop home to let them out for a wee at lunchtime.

But ofc any “dog door” for them is a burglar door! so you would need a dog walker if you can’t pop back yourself. They shouldn’t come with the covid premium though as there are always a lot looking to be rehomed.

Down a scratch, half a kg to go before target! Have got the OH to stop making icecream and have been having more salad & falafel meals. But still have advent calendar choc / shotglass of Bailey’s or sherry some nights.

Keep on keeping on folks!

Done.

Iirc I had a cut about a year ago (in 2019). Nowt since. 99% if the time it’s tied back, otherwise I look like Brian May. It does mean I have to be strict about checking the Roomba’s rollers etc as if you don’t clear long hair out frequently it can cause issues and I don’t want the motor to burn out!