Hill sprints, chippy chips and the need to stretch...

So, that was the weekend, that was! Where did it go? Time seems to be flying by! Lots to catch up on, so here goes.

How was my week?

My week was good. I ate ok, bit same-y as I said last post. So thinking I need to shake that up - but that means being organised and planning ahead - 2 things which are in short supply in my life right now! I'm too busy 'doing' life to actually plan stuff - which is weird and a rare occurrence for me, given my perfectionist tendencies, but there you have it - true story! Tonight though will be a planning evening as - Ta Dah! - I have already got my workout in today! I was up with the larks at 6:30am and ran a quick and speedy 3 miles before work! Don't quite know what came over me but the weather is so beautiful lately that it's inspiring me to get out there and run - I am making the most of it before it starts chucking it down or snowing again or some such nonsense, and I am relegated back to the gym!

Exercise last week was good - I managed to cover over 15 miles during the week and got some weights in too, in the form of BodyPump classes. I kinda miss my sessions on my own with the free weights working through a programme though. Must try and fit one of those in soon. Also been a bit slack on the old swiss ball of late too. There's so much to remember! Might watch last night's Glee later whilst kneeling on my Swiss ball and doing lateral arm raises!!!

The triumph of last week was that big run on Monday and then on Wednesday - I am still buzzing off it! I know is wasn't a loooonnnnng way but to me it's a big run! Also triumphed on Friday with the what-to-eat-and-when-to-eat-it on days when I have PT sessions. Lately I've been so paranoid about not having enough energy to get through the Friday night torture session that I've panicked and overloaded so that I feel heavy and sluggish by 6pm and thus not as effective in training. So last Friday I ate the bulk of my food for the day at breakfast and early lunch so I had time to digest it! Worked a treat - felt much stronger and able to train by 6pm. Such a mad learning process but interesting nonetheless. Sunday night we caved and had chip shop chips - oh-my-god divine, but so very, very wrong. The way I see it though, now I CAN have them once in a while because 90% of my eating and exercising is bang on target these days AND I still have to have a life! So I had a chip butty - made with brown bread, I still cannot eat white! With real butter and chippy chips and mushy peas. SERIOUS. FOOD. HEAVEN.

Weekly weigh In?

Well, this was something of a conundrum. I ate over points all week, but still within my maintenance allowance, worked out (for me) minimally and still managed to lose weight. I now weight 9 st 12.5lbs which is 138.5 lbs which is 62.8kg. Weird. It's only 1lb loss, but still takes me 1.5lbs under goal. Hmmmm….I perhaps need to get Chris to re-measure my metabolic age, body fat and lean muscle and whatnot to see if anything's changed.

How did I do on my goals for last week?

My goals last week were to work out every day -FAIL (but this was because I went for a massage on Thursday so was not able to work out after that!), maximise veggies - FAIL(although the first half of the week was amazing!), minimise carbs - SUCCESS, no alcohol - FAIL (a counted and pointed glass of wine in bath on Tuesday), No bread - FAIL (1 slice of counted and pointed toast with a boiled egg for breakfast on Tuesday - I was starving after that mega 11k run Monday night!), minimise processed food intake - SUCCEED (but I don't eat a lot of processed stuff anyways), stay within points each day - FAIL! (But I was never OVER my maintenance allowance so that's ok! Still getting used to being able to eat more!)

So, all in all, not a bad week at all. I am only human!

What will I do this week?

I still need to get a grip of the weekend. I am fabulous all week long and then Saturday arrives, I get weighed, I heave a sigh of relief and all hell breaks loose! I usually take Saturday as a rest day from exercise, but maybe I should switch that to Tuesday (my late night to work each week) so that I can maximise the potential of the weekend? I dunno. This Saturday just gone I got up early and ran 3 miles before 9am and then went to ww. I've never done THAT before but let me tell you IT FELT GREAT! Totally set me up for the day as I was whizzing around setting up at my aunt and uncle's for the party, cooking for said party and getting ready! Definitely going to try that again this weekend - because it gets a workout out of the way, it doesn't take up a lot of time, I don't have to go to the gym and spend hours there and thus, it means my Saturdays are freed up to actually see people!

But back to this week, I will be just carrying on really - nothing especially different. One of my top priorities is to get to yoga. Ha!

NSV of the week?

Being super good with the vino and champers at the party on Saturday and consequently not being hung-over on Sunday! Hurrah!! AND getting my arse outta bed early on Sat morning to exercise.

What working out will I do this week?

This week is 'Beast it' week. This means a week of working out every day and challenging myself just that little bit harder.

Mon - Body Pump and run
Tues - Run and free weights
Wes - Run, BP, swim
Thurs - Run, BP, yoga
Fri - training
Sat- early am run
Sun - BP and Combat

I was also going to do a pilates class on Monday night but instead went running outside with Chris again and did punishing hill sprints over a 50 minute period - basically sprinting up a hill between 2 lamp posts as markers, as fast as you can, then jogging back round the block to the bottom of the hill and doing it all over again. By the 4th rep I was completely cabbaged. Handy hint…when you're speed running and you get fatigued, focus on your arms and pretend you're pulling a rope each time you stride forward. Sounds daft but totally works!! I managed 6 reps of the dreaded hill sprint and then we did a little 4k-er to wind down. Much more fun than pilates but I NEED to prioritise yoga on Thursday because I can feel my legs caning to be sttttretttchedddd……!

Any Other Business

I got an email from Women's Running UK magazine yesterday! They are a fairly new magazine here in the UK and they wanted emails from readers saying why they loved running. I replied and their editor contacted me to ask if they could print my email and a picture ! HAHAHA! How funny is THAT! I am famous.

And with that, dear ones, I will leave you. Keep blog-a-loggin'!

Heaps of love

Lizzie xoxo

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