Progress

Earlier this week, Karen asked me to look through my t-shirts to see if a black jumper she couldn’t find, had got mixed in with my stuff after being washed.
Didn’t find her jumper, but did manage to have a micro clear out, and there are now about half a dozen t-shirts in the charity bag, along with the boardgame Lords of Xidit, which everyone in my gaming group apart from me, thought looked too complicated.
(we play Pandemic FFS!  How complicated can Xidit be?)

At yoga recently, we’ve been working on prep for headstands, and trying to actually do them.  Last night I finally pulled off one unaided.
To me that’s as big an accomplishment as when I finally managed Urdhva Dhanurasana
(full wheel pose).  It’s slow progress, but the fact I can do things at 53 that I couldn’t when I was younger amazes me.  I love yoga 🙂

Legs legs legs

I’ve recently got back into running, training with a neighbour, who is in the running club that I was in (apparently I’m a lapsed member, as I never actually resigned from the club).
So in the last couple of weeks we’ve gone from couch (I’ve not been running due to holidays and tendonitis, and he’s also been injured) to 6 miles, averaging 10 mins/mile.
So we’re pretty happy with that.

Last night however, after running my, legs were not happy.  I’d been to one of my regular yoga classes at lunchtime, and the legs were just taking a pounding yesterday.  That’s when I realised that all my physical activities are/have been leg based.  Yoga, running, karate, rock climbing, snowboarding, skateboarding, ice skating, inline skating (and the few days surfing I managed to tick of my bucket list) are all predominately leg based (with the possible exception of yoga, although there’s a hell of a lot of leg work involved).

Life of late

So I’ve not posted much lately.  Since the last post, there hasn’t been anything in the way of snow, and I suspect that winter has pretty much passed us by. (not good if you love sledging).

I’ve been attending 3 yoga classes a week, and doing the odd practice on my own at home as well, and I’m still loving it.  In fact, last night’s class was awesome.  I really enjoyed it, and had a great post practice buzz.  So much so that I didn’t stop off for a pint on my way home as I didn’t want to spoil it.

I’m eating less meat, and more veggie equivalents.  I love a roll and sausage on a Saturday morning, and Linda McCartney sausages are a great alternative to meat.  I also found Malcolm Allen veggie lorne sausage, which taste wise is no different from the real thing, but the texture isn’t quite right.  Other than that there’s no difference, it’s excellent.

Double the benefits

I’m just back from a lunchtime yoga class.
Lately (last few weeks) I’ve started being a lot more aware of how I feel mentally, after doing yoga, as well as physically.
I feel a lot calmer, more relaxed, and very chilled.

It’s got to the stage that – in the case of a post work evening class – I no longer grab a quick drink while I’m waiting for the train home, as the alcohol would kill this really pleasant feeling that I’m experiencing.  So, I take a slower, more meandering route to get to the station instead, and enjoy the sensation of calm that is washing over me.

So, double the benefits.  The physical – that I’ve always been aware of – and now the mental, which I’m experiencing more vividly than before.

Back again

Not been about in a while.  My bad.

I did the 108 Sun Salutations, and raised £106 for the charity.   It was a challenge, but I actually enjoyed it.  There was an energy in the room that just swept you along.
Really nice nibbles and a choice of a bucks fizz or non-alcoholic alternative.
I really enjoyed the whole thing, and definitely want to take part again next year.

The travel plans for this year is a bucket list trip for me, Cambodia.  We’re heading out via Singapore, as my Karen has always wanted to go there as it’s apparently a foddie’s wet dream, and she loves trying new foods.
After Singapore, it’s a few days at Siem Reap for the temples, then on to Sihanoukville to relax, before heading home via Bangkok and Dubai.
Really looking forward to this.

1st 10k in years

On Sunday, I ran my first 10k race in about 3 years.
There was way to little preparation, as I’ve only been running again for about the last month, but have been running up to 9k.
The thinking was, 9k feeling good afterwards, so another on top is do-able, as long as I remember I’ve been away from running for a few years, so don’t aim for a time, just aim to get round.

So that was the plan. I was thinking, based on the running I’d been doing, that 60 mins was a reasonable time to get round in, so I was surprised and very happy with my finish time of 55:15.

The course was a wee bit hilly, and I was feeling it in my legs for the last 1k, but I made it round and in a time 5 minutes under what I was aiming for, so to say I’m pleased is an understatement.

I think I’ve got the bug again.

Quick question for the yogi’s

This last week I’ve been a bit achey. Holding my arms up in Warrior 2 was making my upper arms ache, and yesterday, doing vinyasas, I struggled not to faceplant onto the mat!

After last night’s class I was talking to someone, and they said it’s probably not the upper arm muscles, but my shoulder muscles, that are stiff, and my arms are compensating, hence the achey arms.

The question is, does anyone have any recommendations for any exercise to loosen off stiff shoulder muscles?

Any advice gratefully accepted.

Run Forrest, run….

I’ve been dipping my toes back into running over the last couple of weeks. I’ve always missed being in the running club (I fell out of the habit after an injury, and just got lazy), and it’s more annoying now that they’ve re-located to the sports centre at the end of my road, so twice a week I see them run past my window.
SO, with that in mind I’ve been doing some gentle running to ease back into it. I’m up to just under 10k now, so I’ve entered a race on the 11th. It’s named after the guy who was my first coach when I joined the club, so it seemed appropriate.
I’m under no illusions about fast times, I’m just looking to enjoy the run, get over the finish line, and collecting my finishers t shirt (and hopefully catching up with Jimmy, my old coach)

In the words of The Clash

it’s time to “cut the crap*”.

I need to cut out/reduce the amount of sweets and rubbish I eat. It’s not even hunger. It’s usually when it’s a slow day, and I walk to the vending machine in work just to get away from the desk and stretch my legs.
Seriously, I don’t need to go from a lunchtime yoga class, back to my computer, via the snack machine. It’s a bad habit and it ends today.

(*Cut the Crap is possibly (ok definitely) the worst album The Clash recorded. A record so bad, that they basically disowned it. A very appropriate title if you ask me.)

In contrast to the previous post….

Last night at yoga, I just felt that I wasn’t getting it. I honestly felt that I did better the very first day I walked into the class 3 years ago.
My balance was off, I was getting cramp in my toes in child’s pose, did I mention my balance?
Don’t get me wrong, not everything felt like a step backwards, and I did pretty good afterwrds, but it’s proof that we can only do what we can do on any given day, but it’s not easy to accept. Acceptance is the key I think. If you don’t accept that’s how it was and move on, then it will play on your mind and create a downward spiral where you psyche yourself out.

Onwards and upwards.