Seasons Greetings

Hi all,

Just a very a very quick blog to wish you all a belated

very merry Christmas and all good wishes for the new year.

I know that Christmas can be a difficult time for many people for various reasons. This year our festive season has been really good but I know that some of my friends have not been so fortunate. The horrendous wet, stormy weather that arrived as predicted on Christmas Eve caused flooding, road chaos and, even worse, a string of power cuts. Godalming, and Elstead in particular, seem for have suffered the worst from Mother Nature's powers. As I type this, I have just heard that Elstead now has power...for the first time in 3 days.
Also, as I type, the sky outside my window is a beautiful blue, not a cloud to be seen, and it's looking stunning. However, the forecast for tonight and tomorrow is not good. More heavy rain and gale force winds are predicted. I hope everyone will be safe and warm and not in any danger.

Future blogs should hopefully be more exercise and fitness themed. That is my plan. However, for the next few days I intend to relax and enjoy the rest of the yuletide season.

I wish you all a very happy new year. May 2014 bring you health and happiness. Just think, in 9 weeks time the half marathon will be over and you won't have to put up with these blogs!!!

Take care and be happy,

A xxx

I know I'm not in this photo - I was in charge of the camera - but it's a lovely family pic from this Christmas that I wanted to share with anyone who hasn't seen it already on FB!!! xx

Whatever You Want

Hi everyone,

This is going to be a very brief blog because I have very little to report on the exercise front. I am ashamed to say that I have not been to yoga, I have not been swimming, I have not been to the gym and I have not walked Harvey as often as I should.
There is no real reason for the drop off in activity except for the fact that I have been working more than usual and I have been really tired. That sounds really pathetic but I am afraid it's true. This 53 year old 'lady' is starting to feel her years it seems.

Apart from work, I have had the chance to catch up with old friends over the past week which is always lovely. After a long weekend of work, I made several visits to my father in law, met up with very good friends and their mums (after I forgot about my yoga session!) and had lunch with them all, went to see ex clients who have remained friends for many years and had coffee with them (spent soooo much time chatting!), been to a carol evening, been to Oxford and been to the O2 to see Status Quo who were supported rather brilliantly by 10.cc. No wonder I'm tired!

Today saw me attend a first aid course at the school where I work and then on to a local electrical retailer in search of elusive Christmas gifts. The gifts remain elusive!

I have given myself a stern talking to regarding my exercise. I know, absolutely, that I will get back in the routine easily. However, I do think that I won't be able to commit to it fully again now until after the festive season. I think that, if I was able to run, then I would know that I would have to keep up my training. I will give myself the luxury of a couple of weeks of self indulgence and pick up again in the New Year.

I think I will continue to do the weekly blog even if I have little to report...mainly because I enjoy writing it but also because it keeps me focused on my goal.

So, apologies for the lack of news once again and I hope you are not disappointed with my lack of effort over the past week. Stay safe and take care.

A x

The Wanderer

Hi everyone,

I hope all is well and you're not all super-stressed with Christmas planning and organisation. I am actually much more organised for the festive season than I have ever been at the moment but I think that will change. It's the calm before the storm! Actually, so many previous Christmases have been hijacked by sad events and family dramas that I have forgotten what 'normal' Decembers are like. I hope I haven't jinxed it by stating it so categorically.

So, back to what this blog is supposed to be about....exercise. This week there isn't a lot to report after last weekend's 10k. My knee has not been terrible but I have been aware that it's not happy with me for making it work so hard ;-)  My hamstrings have been oh, so sore. It has taken the best part of a week for the aching to fade. However, I am still elated with the fact that I actually completed the 10 k at all.

On Tuesday I got to half way through the day when it suddenly struck me that I was supposed to have gone to yoga. I have no idea how I managed to forget about it but forget about it I did. It may have been for the best as so many bits of me were still stiff after the 10k but I did feel guilty for a while. I intend to go tomorrow morning instead. Lets hope I remember!

I have done lots of walking over the past week and making sure that Harvey and I walk 3 miles every other day is proving beneficial to us both. He gets lots of exercise and sniffing time and I get to clear my head and walk as fast as I like safe in the knowledge that he's not going to wander too far away from me, especially if there happen to be treats about. I aim to gradually increase my mileage over the coming weeks and I do have a training plan which is printed out and has pride of place among the magnets and photographs that are on my fridge. I am well aware that the festive season is likely to knock the plan out of sync for a while but I hope that the hard work that I have done up to now will stand me in good stead for a little time down time without too much damage being done.

We haven't signed up for any more runs/walks/events at the moment. There was a local Santa Dash that took place at the weekend but I was working and couldn't take part. Even more of a shame when you realise that the gorgeous Roger Black was also taking part! The Santa Dash really appeals to me so maybe next year I will be able to enter although with will be a Santa Stroll rather than a Dash in my case.

All of the poignant anniversaries that I mentioned in my last blog have been and gone. I took flowers to the crematorium for Mum and met Charlotte for coffee where we raised a cup to Jonathan and Nick before going on the the cemetery to put some flowers down for both boys. I cannot believe that a year has passed so quickly.

Of course, this week saw the passing of one of the icons of our time, the great Nelson Mandela. He was an inspirational figure to many and the tributes to him have been very moving. To me, in my usual basic way of thinking, he seemed like a lovely man, a man who did so much good. Whenever I saw images of him in his latter years he looked so gentle and serene and I always thought that he'd be a lovely grandad. The fact that he had such an impact on the world seems less important than the fact that he seemed lovely. Typical me!!

Finally, I thought I would leave you with a few photos (with Charlotte's permission) of Jonathan and Nick as a gentle reminder to everyone of the reason we are doing this. We hope you boys are having fun up there!

Have a good week.

A x

Walk On By

Good afternoon from a weary but elated Mrs. Fish/ Nanny Fish/ Mum etc etc.

Yes, today was the day that Jack and I upped our game and took on the challenge of The Jigsaw 10k run. We both stayed in last night...not unusual for me but a rare event for Jack on a Saturday night, especially just after pay day....and woke refreshed and ready for the event. Well, I woke countless times in the night, worried that I was going to take too long to finish, as I had to be back to work for 2pm. Pressure indeed. Jack nonchalantly wandered downstairs later than we had agreed, didn't have any breakfast, put on his new trainers (courtesy of Grandad Fisher) and we set off for Dunsfold.

                                                                 New trainers!

The race was taking place at Dunsfold aerodrome where the BBC film Top Gear. As usual, we got there early and spent a lot of time sitting about but soon it was time to gather at the start. There was a problem with the speaker system so no-one had a clue what the starter was trying to tell us but we did all hear the '3-2-1   Go!' instruction and that was the last I saw of Jack until after the race.

My plans to walk the whole event were scuppered when I realised that I was going to be the only entrant who was walking. I was very soon at the back of the group and I found that I really, really didn't like it. I thought about it for a moment and then, of course, I broke into a very slow trot. Nothing more, nothing less. I felt like a naughty girl. I was going against everything I knew that was sensible and against everything I had been told but it felt good!

We had to complete two circuits of the track to reach 10 k and it was quite fun. It made a change to trot/walk on a flat surface and the weather was good. No rain, no frost, no sun.

Once the runners had all passed me by, I settled in with a couple of other ladies who were running at a very gentle pace and who were running the race as training for bigger events in the New Year. I walked a bit then trotted to catch them up and then walked again. That strategy seemed to work for me and the first circuit was completed in about 35 minutes I think which I was very impressed with. Obviously, the second lap was more of a challenge and it's always disheartening to be lapped by people about to finish the race! However, eventually the finish line was in sight and I managed to haul myself over it! My time, according to my trusty Nike app, was 1 hour 14 minutes. Go me!!

I got my medal but no goody bag. It had taken me so long to finish that all of the bags had long gone but the medal was what was important.

Back in the car, Jack was waiting patiently for me. He had managed to finish in about 48 minutes. He DID get a goody bag but it seems that I didn't miss out on much apart from a chocolate bar. He thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of running further. He said that his shoulders and upper arms ached which is probably down to his running style but otherwise he was fine. My knee held up pretty well. My right hip hurt....a lot! When we got home I took painkillers, had a cuppa and a bath and then went to work.

                                                       Mum, son and dog!

Now, this weeks sees several poignant anniversaries. Dec 2nd is the anniversary of my Mum's death, Dec 5th is the first anniversary of Grandma's passing and Dec 6th is the first anniversary for Jonathan too. Dec 6th would have been Mum's 74th birthday. Many memories will be stirred this week, some happy and some sad. On my trip around Dunsfold this morning I saw a white feather. My sister always says that a white feather is a sure sign that Mum is watching over us. I had a smile when I saw it. I thought of Mum, I thought of Grandma and I thought of Jonathan.......and I ran just a little bit faster....for them.

Byesy bye (as Dad used to say).

Have a great week everyone.

A xxx