A Lazy Blog for a Busy Year

Happy Hogmanay Fudgey Friends,

I thought today I'd do a very lazy thing & use some of my old posts - a kind of review of the year.

2010 has been a very busy year in Fudgey Land,there have been ups and downs, tears & laughter, and some incredible achievements that made me smile alot.

January
The Great Winter Run - 3 temp, reduced from 5k to 4.2k due to the snow but an absolute blast & also the lovely KMac's first road race.






February
unfortunately saw me suffering with injury so running wasn't so high on the agenda

March
The Meadows Marathon - it was actually the 5k that I entered. I was delighted not to be beaten by the guy dressed as an egg!
March also saw me take on a new role as a business analyst - out of my comfort zone into the unknown and it's been a huge challenge this year.

April
Mr Fudgey & I had an adventure to Dublin for The Great Ireland Run - not even volcanic ash could keep me from running. Delighted to record my first official sub 60minute 10k.

May
First up The Great Edinburgh Run. I was not in the mood to run yet managed to take 1 minute 30 seconds of my Dublin time so a new PB.




Next was the big event - what I'd been training for since the start of the year The Edinburgh half marathon. One of the best things I've ever done. I never thought I could run a whole 13.1 miles but I did it :-)



June
As part of a team of 23 lovely ladies I took part in the Race for Life & in the process we raised over £10,000 in support of our friend & colleague Judi who has pancreatic cancer.


June also saw us put the flat on the market & I jetted off to Montreal for a week leaving Mr Fudgey for the first time since we'd been married.

July
I looked back through my posts & there was a lot of running & training in July as well as some pretty good food

August
A lovely trip home to Benbecula & Mr Fudgey & I were the proud god parents at our niece Margaret Mary's christening, I was a Semi Finalist in The Scottish Slimmers Slimmer of the year competition, We sold the flat :-D & we celebrated our first wedding anniversary with a weekend to Windermere


September
My second half marathon - The Glasgow half marathon
I enjoyed much more than Edinburgh I think because I had no pressure on myself. I would love to break 2 hours but with illness in the last few training weeks it wasn't to be .....maybe next year.

October
The first ever Scottish kilomathon This one hurt alot!

November
We waved goodbye to the flat and shut the door on what had been an emotional chapter in Fudgey history & moved into our new house - which we adore. We honestly can't express what a difference it has made to both of us & the furry fellas.

December

Loads of snowy adventures & The Great Scottish Santa Run What a fun way to finish a great year of running.






2010 Challenges

1000km in 2010 - Done

so the final distance.......1077.17km (669.32 miles)

£1000 for charity - Done

My other challenge was to raise £1000 for charity - my chosen charity was CCLASP & I managed to raise £1094 excluding the gift aid, as well as taking part in raising £10,000 with Judi's Ray's of Sunshine & I also donated to KMac's Kilimajaro climb & Movember to name a few things.

Run a Half Marathon - Done

Just writing this post has blown me away as to how much I've packed into the last 12 months & how many good times I've had, of course I couldn't have done it on my own.....

Thank you

The biggest Thank you has to go to my amazing husband Mr Fudgey, he's been then for me at every race, put up with my mood swings - the runner's highs & lows, for all the amazing photos & the you tube videos - they wouldn't exist without him & for his patience with my blogging.

Thank you to all my family & friends for their never ending patience & support.

Thank you to my 2 bestest friend Smurfy & KMac - they made all the really tough times bearable & knew just how to cheer me up.

Thank you to everyone who sponsored me.

Thank you to Colin Fraser - my personal trainer who has made me hurt quite a lot this year - in fact I do right now, but gave me quads of steel & helped keep me at my target weight

Thank you to Clare Fulton for the awesome sports massages & getting me back out & running after the ITB & groin injuries.

Thank you to all my blog followers.

I could go on the list is endless but Thank you all so much for helping to make 2010 such a wonderful year.

In true Fudgey style there are tears! but they are happy ones.

All that's left is for me to wish you a very very Happy New Year when it comes.

I'll be back soon to tell you what's in store for 2011.

lots & lots of love
Fudgey
xxxx

Aches, Pains & Stress Relief Sessions

Hello Fudgey Friends,

How are you all? Did you have a good Christmas? I hope Santa brought you what you wanted.

I was incredibly spoilt by my lovely Hubby, family & friends.

My best gift by far was the Zorbing voucher from Mr Fudgey....for those of you who don't know what zorbing is:




I can't wait to go & we're hoping to make a wee weekend break of it, but I think we'll wait till the weather is a wee bit better!

On top of the Anton & Erin Puttin' on The Ritz Tickets for my Birthday - I think he may just be the bestest husband ever :-)

We had a lovely day & I got to speak to my folks & my sister before going to Mum & Dad Smith's for a fabulous afternoon, evening & meal.

Like most of us I've eaten far too much & drank more than I usually do - so this week it was back into the gym to try & undo some of the excesses.

I also think it's fair to say that for more one reason or another my stress levels have been particularly high over the last few weeks, but one of my ways of coping is by working out - so after the short Christmas break I was back with the regime.

Yesterday was circuits & though there were only 4 of us it was really really good & really tough. First circuit 1 min & second circuit 30 seconds. Stations I can remember were: bicep curl, tricep extension, underarm bent over row, boxing, i surrender, tricep dips, burpees, chest press,weighted sprints, lunges, squats, skipping, walking press ups, walking plank & plank. Everyone of us lifted heavier & worked harder than usual - guess we were all feeling the Christmas indulgence guilt!

Today I squeezed in a 5.5km run and a torturous PT session!
PT started with a teeny weeny cross trainer warm up then straight over to the squat rack, a little warm up set & then 3 supersets of 15 very heavy squats superset with 20 Komodos, then onto the strength training 4 supersets of 8 assisted pull ups & 10 shoulder press with 6kg dumbbells, 4 supersets of 10 underarm pull down & maximal press ups I think I managed 25, 25, 20 & 20 press ups in each set. Then medicine ball lunges x 20 superset with weighted step ups 20kg bar, 10 each leg. We started with the 8kg ball but had to go down to 5kg as my arms were really hurting by this stage - I think lifting just my arms would have been effort enough. I think we did 3 sets of that but I just wanted it to be over. Toughest session in ages, but great :-)

By the time I got home my arms felt like 2 dead weights, mind you at least this takes my mind off my dodgy shin which is playing up again & my sore knee which I hurt by running after a girl to give her money that fell out of her pocket - would have been fine if I hadn't been wearing wellies at the time. I'm going back to the doctor next week to see if we can get to the bottom of this shin thing - it's so annoying. It's never been right since I dropped that big metal wheelbarrow on it back in the summer!

I'm hoping tomorrow I might get an outdoor run in as most of the snow has melted away & the pavements are pretty well gritted - but we'll see how the aches & pains are doing.

Now I'm off to spend some time with Mr Fudgey & our 4 little furry purries.

Take Care all

lots of love
Fudgey
xxxx

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

Dear Fabulous Fudgey Friends,

Firstly I hope you all have a fantastic day wherever & whatever you are doing.

When you are arguing with the folks over what to watch on TV or because someone drank too much or refereeing between the kids, or just generally feel bleugh because you ate & drank too much - please please please take a minute to think of those less fortunate who never managed to get to where they wanted for Christmas or won't be sitting down to a magnificent spread or won't receive any gifts at all.

Secondly huge apologies for leaving you blogless for a couple of weeks. The last 3 weeks have seen plenty of snow, ice, stressing about work & travel & getting everything done for Christmas - there has been no blogging, not a lot of training or running and certainly very little relaxing. I have a long list of people I should have called and caught up with and I haven't - honestly it is nothing personal and I am very very sorry. Mr Fudgey & I are certainly looking forward to no alarms for the next 4 days and a little bit of chill time.

Hope you all get time to do the things you want to over the festive break, whether that is seeing friends & family, hitting the sales tomorrow, making the most of the snow for winter sports or just relaxing. Enjoy!




Take Care, Stay Safe & Warm

lots of love
Fudgey xxxx

Santa Fudgey

Hello again Fudgey Friends,

No lie in for the Fudgey's this morning - up and on the bus for 8.30am. It was bitterly cold in Edinburgh first thing.

First stop was to collect my Santa Suit & then next stop Costa for a coffee and to warm up a bit.

Whilst in Costa I got into my Santa Gear. Then down to Prince Street Gardens. There weren't nearly as many Santas as in previous years - but still a pretty good turn out. Lots of little elves too taking part. There was some entertainment at the band stand - highland dancers & a young guy who apparently came second in Edinburgh's got talent who sang a couple of songs. They must have been frozen - it was pretty cold.

As it approached 11am, all the Santa started to line up ready for their 2 laps round the gardens. I had hoped for a place near the front so that I wouldn't get caught up in the Santa shuffle as mostly people walk & they actually didn't want people to run today due to the snow and ice. Mostly though the foot paths were clear & had been gritted. I found myself right on the start line and beside Mark C who ran 50 marathon in 56 days - I had read about Mark in one of my running magazines and he has inspired me so much - so I felt really honoured to be stood beside him. I'm not sure what quite happened I think we all set off before we were meant to and I was prepared to walk as instructed but a group of 6 guys broke off at breakneck speed - followed by me and another guy - it seemed we weren't meant to go & everyone apart from that front group slowed to a walk - I then decided sod this - if they're running I'm running & took off! I perfected an innovative style of running while holding up my Santa suit trousers!! I was out on my own and it felt fabby there were loads of people cheering and lots of little kids watching who all waved & I made sure I waved back....with one hand still holding up the trousers. As I came back round to the Ross Bandstand a lady told me I was the first female Santa :-) On the second lap just after the exit from the bandstand I was slowed up by the back of the Santa pack - but I managed to weave in and out by running up the grass & round the backs of benches - coming a long the top stretch of path a lady exclaimed - 'Oh you've been round already' There was no official finish line just a row of people handing out the medals & they told me I was one of the top 10 - only about 7 or 8 people had finished ahead of me & I was the first female Santa - how they figured that with all the beards I don't know but I was so elated. Today wasn't a race by any means It was fun and I really had fun and enjoyed it - I have no idea how long it took me to run the 1.5k course - no garmin - no watch - just me & the one size fits all Santa suit!


I have to say a massive massive Thank you to long suffering Mr Fudgey who trailed out early on a cold & frosty Sunday and as always provided fabby photos.

Thanks also to everyone who donated to When you Wish Upon a Star Thank you so so much. I raised £40 with your help.

Looking forward to relaxing the rest of today now.

More Snow - more Fudgey Adventures

Hello Fudgey Friends,

How are we all? I am so sorry that my posts are not so frequent at the moment - I'm just so busy just now I keep wanting to sit down & blog but time just keeps escaping from me.

Well last Sunday I made my Thai green curry - vegetable for me with courgettes & prawns for Mr Fudgey with carrots substituted for the courgettes - both were really good.

Thanks to Scottish Slimmers for
another great recipe.



Stranded
Monday morning came & Mr Fudgey & I thought that all was starting ti return to normality - we got the bus into work no problem....then the snow started. We couldn't get home. Thankfully I work for a brilliant company who really look after their employees and they arranged a hotel for me for the night and for everyone else who was stranded. Mr Fudgey and I went out for a lovely meal and then went to see the latest Harry Potter movie. Much as we both would have preferred to get home to our cosy housie we made the best of the situation and at least didn't have far to go to get to work on Tuesday.

Adventure Fudge
On Tuesday though there was no more snow the temperatures had plummeted and you'll all have seen the terrible scenes of people being stranded on the roads for hours on end. There were still no buses home, but I was grumpy Fudgey as I still had the same clothes from Monday & was worried about the cats and the house. Huge Thanks to Mum and Dad Smith for going and feeding our babies and doing some bits and bobs about the place - it was very very very much appreciated - especially the venturing out in the awful weather. At lunchtime Mr Fudgey & I took the decision to try to get home regardless - we took a bus half way & then walked the rest - it took us 2 hours & 5 minutes walking and we later discovered the temperature had been between -7 & -11. We got home safe though and were so happy. The downstairs toilet was frozen up - with no water coming in at all - but other than that all was well.

Workout Wifey
Workout Fudge aka She Hulk (Thanks Hubby)made a welcome return on Wednesday & Thursday. Wednesday was a PT session and though it was really tough I saw a glimpse of just how far I had come - I managed to squat 50kg - I couldn't have done that a year ago.
The session included assisted pulls ups superset with dead rows, underarm grip pull down 32.5kg, superset with 15kg bicep curls (4 sets of 10 each).3 super sets of 15 squats 50kg & 12 lunges with 30lb dumbbells. Finishing of with cable hamstrings & swiss ball crunches.
Thursday lunchtime I managed to get in a quick 30 minute run on the treadmill too and really pushed the pace - looked like a beetroot by the end - but felt fudgeytastic :-)

A long long week
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday we didn't have much trouble getting to & from work - journeys a little longer than normal but not too bad & by Friday we were starting to thaw nicely. The downstairs toilet returned to working order when the inlet pipes thawed out & all the snow slid nicely off the conservatory. I felt completely drained though and so glad it was Friday night.

Baker Fudgey
After doing our big shop this morning I was busy baker Fudgey in the kitchen & have so far made Cappuccino Marble cake, Cranberry & Orange muffins & Carrot cake.

These are to take to the office on Monday as a Thank you for the donations to When you wish upon Star & I'll be taking part in the Edinburgh Santa Run tomorrow. I am so so excited about this - it's just for fun and I can't wait.

I'll be back tomorrow with a quick post on the Santa run

lots of love
Fudgey xxxx

Another Snow related blog

Hello Fudgey Friends,

How are you all? Is there anyone out there who hasn't had snow this week?
Snow seems to be a recurring theme across blogland this week & sorry to bore you but my post does also contain snow related stories.

So I last blogged on Sunday & had been out running in the snow - well it continued to fall on Sunday & by Monday morning was about a foot deep.

Mr Fudgey & I attempted to get into work but the main street was deep in snow & there were no buses all day Monday - so we both had to work as best we could from home. I had to phone and cancel my podiatry appointment & it was rearranged to Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday we struck lucky as my ex boss Neil passed us at the bus stop & picked us up - giving us both a lift to work. It was a good job too as again there were no buses though a service did start around lunchtime. It was forecast for more snow on Tuesday evening & I left work a little after 2pm so I could get home in daylight & before the weather closed in again

On Tuesday night it snowed - not just a little - we got another foot of snow overnight and though we had checked the web and knew there were no buses ventured out to see if the main street was passable & there may be a service either later or if we could get a lift with anyone we knew again or Dad Smith had kindly offered that he could drive us.....Snow Chance.
It was worse than Monday! The usual 4 minute walk to the bus stop took 20 minutes. So again podiatry appointment cancelled and working from home. Wednesday was by far the worst day and I had severe cabin fever. I really feel for those who were house bound for longer than us - they must have been going mad.
On Wednesday afternoon I decided I wanted to go & photograph a car just behind our house that showed how bad the snow had been.
Silly fudge put on her pink wellies with 3/4 length trousers with the result the snow went in the boots & when I got in I couldn't get them off. 10 minutes after struggling frantically I asked Mr Fudgey to help me & he really struggled to get them off my feet too - I was howling with laughter as he was pulling the boot & dragging me along the floor with it! Eventually we got them off & first snow lesson of the week learnt!
On Wednesday we also started to run low on a few things like teabags & milk and had run out of bread - we decided that on Thursday even if we couldn't get to work we would need to venture to the local shops.

On Thursday morning it only took us 2 hours to get to work - still we were both glad to get there. We also stocked up on supplies. Another snow casualty was my early morning PT session which I had to call and cancel as I wasn't going to make it on time. I did manage to squeeze in a 20 minute run though on Thursday & rescheduled my PT session. I also went and bought some bird seed and nuts for the little birds in our garden - Fudgey snow related incident number 2 coming up.....
after a 2 and a half hour journey home from work - though an hour of that was waiting for a bus we eventually got home. I decided I'd go out into the back garden to put out the seeds & nuts I'd bought. The garden had been untouched since the snow had fallen - it was so deep we couldn't open the conservatory door. I went round the side of the house and into the garden where the snow was above my knees and hung up the seeds and nuts, then I decided it would be a great idea to make a snow angel.......all was going well & lying on the snow was surprisingly relaxing, until I tried to get up, as I shifted my weight forward my 2 legs sunk into the snow, I put out a hand but there was nothing to push against & my arm sunk into the snow....I ended up hands & knees down in the snow struggling to get out.....all the time laughing, I managed to get myself up & when I came back into the house I looked like I had been whitewashed....second snow lesson of the week!

Friday morning we'd thankfully had no more snow and we both got to work OK albeit another 2 hour journey. My department Christmas lunch scheduled for Friday afternoon was the next casualty of the bad weather - but thankfully it's just been postponed till later in the month.
I've never been so glad to get home as I was on Friday evening.

Rearranged PT - as I mentioned before I managed to fit in a PT session too this week - back to the strength training - it doesn't seem to be getting any easier - but lack of gym action this week probably hasn't helped. I'm hoping to get back on track this week if the weather & my workload permit. Losing a couple of days in the office this week and working from home mean I have plenty to catch up on.
I also need to seriously get my eating under control & get a couple of pounds off - I think I lost my appetite & found an elephants.

This weekend has been fairly relaxed - yesterday we didn't do much other than some housework and go to the local shops for some essentials. I made carrot & butternut squash soup and Mr Fudgey & I cleared a path from the house to the road. We also finally had our street cleared by the snow plough. In the evening I made roasted veg & turkey breast fillet for dinner before we settled down to watch Strictly & then Escape from New York

Today we went off for our big shop. Later I went to the local shop for stamps and posted some cards, on the way back I fed the swans some bread - the poor things seemed ravenous. The plan now is to make Thai green vegetable curry and watch the strictly results.

Well that's been my week - I hope that you are all safe, warm and well.

Take Care out there
love
Fudgey
xxxx

Little Snow Runner

Hello again fudgey friends,

well this was the scene I woke up to today....


but it wasn't going to stop me running. Dedicated or mad....you decide!

I wrapped up in my base layer trousers & then my long running trousers, long sleeved top, running jacket, high viz, hat & gloves and off I went. I had only got about 300m when I realised it was far worse than I thought & I wouldn't be going very fast or very far. The snow at this point was maybe about 4 inches deep, but it was starting to snow again & was really heavy.Mr Fudgey took this from our window whilst I was out....


By 600m I had to take off my glasses & put them in my pocket. The roads weren't even clear & the snow was so deep I couldn't see where the kerb was. I managed to make it to my friend's place (about 2km) where I stopped for a cup of tea before heading back home.
Mr Fudgey snapped me running up our street.

and then in our utility room


I loved running in the snow even though it was pretty hard going - it was tough on the ankles. I got some rather strange looks from people who clearly thought I was a bit crazy, but one man said 'Good on you'
Today I never saw another runner at all!

But do you know what I'd go out & do it all over again given half the chance...I loved running in the snow.

Hope you are all safe & warm where ever you are.

Take Care
love
Fudgey xxxxx

A whirlwind week

Hello Fudgey Friends,

How are you all?
It's been a busy busy week for me again & I can only see this continuing till into the New Year. Unfortunately due to lack of spare time I’ve not blogged as much as I would have liked so you’ll need to saddle up for a special Sunday catch up – I promise I’ll try not to ramble on.

A Birthday & A restaurant review
Wednesday was Mum Smith’s birthday & we were all going out for a meal to a place in Linlithgow called Livingston’s. Mum Smith had been before and had told us it was wonderful and she wasn’t wrong. Everything about it was just fantastic. The service & the food were both first class. It was a really classy place but not at all pretentious. I ordered the spinach & ricotta gnocchi, the roast breast of duck with Savoy cabbage, polenta cakes & beetroot sauce & the nutty lemon parfait with marscapone sorbet. All presented beautifully & absolutely delicious. We had a gorgeous bottle of Malbec & finished off with coffee & home made tablet. It wasn’t the cheapest place but it was a case of truly getting what you paid for – well what Dad Smith paid for. Thanks Bertie x
I'd love to go back in daylight so I can appreciate the surroundings too.
If you are looking for somewhere for a little Christmas treat - do check out their website - the festive menus look lush.

Late Night working

Mr Fudgey had taken Wed, Thurs & Fri off so he could spend some time with his brother, but I only had some time off on Friday & Thursday night turned into a late one at the office - about 7.45pm but I did get so much done in that lovely still time after 5.30pm when most people had gone home. I got home to find my fabby hubby had made some food & had been busy putting up our dark green curtains - they make the place look so cosy & I love them.




Entertaining part 1
On Friday, Mr Fudgey & I had invited Mum & Dad Smith & Paul for dinner. The menu:
Starter: Haggis filo parcels with plum chilli sauce
Main: Spanish baked risotto with homemade garlic & herb doughballs
Dessert: Mini cheesecakes
We had a nice meal & then great fun playing the wii. I think everyone enjoyed the evening.

Entertaining Part 2
We woke up on Saturday morning to find we'd had some snow overnight - so my plan of walking to the post office was kind of scuppered - plus my parcels were larger than I expected. Thankfully Dad Smith dropped us off at Uphall Post office on our way to do the weekly grocery shop - & that is the first of my Christmas parcels in the post :-)
After our shopping & a lovely bacon roll & cup of tea at Mum & Dad Smith's & saying our goodbye's to Paul (yes I cried - but not till Paul had left us), Mr Fudgey & I spent the afternoon doing housework & getting the house all in order & ready for our second evening of entertaining. We had invited KMac & the boy for dinner & I was going with a Chinese style menu.
Starter: Duck spring rolls & oriental chicken crackers, prawn crackers & homemade sweet & sour sauce & more plum chilli sauce.
Mains: Garlic chicken, 5 spice pork, stir fry veggies, egg fried rice & egg noodles
Desserts: profiteroles & mini toffee & chocolate cups.
It was another really lovely evening & I can't wait to entertain more in our new hoosie. I never took any photos though - I actually forgot to!

I'm going to leave this here for now & do another post re today's run in the snow a wee bit later. I want to go now & get my laundry sorted & the dinner started.
Be back soon folks.

love
Fudgey xxx

Returning to normality

Hello Fudgey Friends,

How are you all? What have you been up to?
I'm good - normal routine & routine are starting to return, though I seem to be busier than ever with one thing or another - I think it's getting to that time of year though. I had hoped to blog again before now but time simply ran away from me!

Friday
I never went to the gym at all on Friday, I decided that as I was planning to go to the Zumbathon for 2 hours on Saturday and to run on Sunday that I'd take a rest on Friday. Unfortunately I ended up in my bed at 9pm burning hot but feeling shivery & with a terrible headache. At 5am on Saturday morning I submitted & took some painkillers. It's very unlike me to feel like that - but I was completely wiped out.

Strictly Saturday
I felt better when I got up on Saturday but still not quite right & I had to resort to more painkillers around 1pm when I started to fell yuck again. So I never made it to the Zumbathon or to collect the Christmas items I'd reserved at Argos :-( We did have a successful shopping trip to Morrisons & I finally got a potato crock :-)
The slow cooker was in use again & I made Hungarian Goulash - it was very tasty.
They say laughter is the best medicine & oh how I laughed - nearly cried at Ann & Anton's Samba - sheer comedy gold. Whether you think Ann should have been out weeks ago or not - you can't say it's not entertaining


Surprise Sunday
I actually got up & ran on Sunday & it felt fantastic.
Focus was increasing the distance rather than the pace as since the kilomathon my regular Sunday long runs have been irregular & only about 5 - 6k. I want to build a good base between now & the end of the year so I can start my marathon training feeling strong. Was really pleased with a nice steady consistent pace & the rain mostly held off. I foolishly took my gloves off at around 4k & zipped them in my pocket.....bad move - blue hands by the time I got home!

Then I got an absolutely fantastic surprise. As I'd ran into our street I saw Dad Smith's car in the drive & wondered why he was at ours so early, came in & no one about. Mr Fudgey came downstairs & was asking if I was OK - how was the run etc. I was trying to get my breath back after being out in the cold & coming into the warm, and was leaning forward, hands on thighs, looking at the floor. Then Mum Smith came down & said morning & then another figure I assumed to be Dad Smith till I heard the voice & looked up & there was my lovely brother in law Paul - all the way from Buffalo. Only Dad Smith had known that Paul was coming over for a week. Mr Fudgey & I haven't seen Paul since our wedding last August - so this was a fabby fudgey wudgey surprise.

Back to the normal routine
Monday lunchtime I squeezed in a cheeky 22 min treadmill sprint interval session - certainly got the blood pumping, then after work I went to the Superhero body pump class as part of the Children in Need events at my gym. There were 5 classes back to back but I only stayed for the pump class as I needed to get home, but next time if I'm a bit more organised in advance I'll do more - I might even join in the dressing up!

Today - Even though my lovely personal trainer is on holiday I know he'll know if I don't keep up the strength training & do the nice new programme he wrote for me. Deliberated whether to go after work or tomorrow morning but since mornings at the gym aren't really happening in my world at the moment & getting into work early is good as I'm so busy - I opted for this evening.
Quick 5 min cross trainer warm up
then 4 supersets of 10 underhand grip cable pull downs superset with 10 upright rows 15kg bar
4 supersets of 10 assisted pull ups superset with 20 hammer curls (10 each side) 6kg dumbbells
3 supersets of 15 leg press (first set 60kg & next 2 sets 62.5kg) superset with 20 medicine ball lunges with 6kg medicine ball
Should have also done squats superset with calf raises - but a) squat rack was being used & b) I was a little short on time
finished with abs 3 supersets of 15 jackknifes & 10 hanging leg raises

Travelling home on the bus I could feel my upper body objecting to me already! Still just had a really deep & bubbly bath whilst listening to The girl with the dragon tattoo.....life is good :-)
If anyone has any other good book tape suggestions please let me know as I'm thoroughly enjoying listening to books on my journey to work.

Other Running related news
An update on 1000km in 2010 - well as you know I achieved this in October but I've still been logging my runs & am now up to 1045.11 km (649.41 miles)

I have also signed up for The Great Scottish Santa Run in Edinburgh on 12th Dec - only 1.5km - should be a good bit of festive fun & then a wee gander round the Christmas market & a shot on the big wheel - perfect Sunday out.

and that lovely friends is all for today - I had better get to bed as I want to be in work early again in the morning - lots to do :-)

Take Care all
lots of love
Fudgey
xxxx

Hooray I'm back

Hello Fudgey Friends,

I'm back on line at last. Been sitting thinking about blogging for the last 37 or so minutes & just don't know where to start.

Moving House
1st November was the big day & it was all good other than a small delay in getting the keys for the new house.
Both Mr Fudgey & I had a week off to get sorted & it was busy busy week, & an expensive one....trips to buy new washing machine & tumble dryer, big food shop to restock, ikea trip & a new tv.
Though I never got to the gym I certainly wasn't idle....listing boxes & furniture & running up & downstairs.
We were very fortunate that the place was in walk in condition so we've only had a few little things to do like putting hooks on the backs of doors and a lock on the downstairs toilet door. There are plenty of other things we'd like to do and put our own stamp on the place but nothing that is really urgent.
The two of us have been sleeping so well since we moved and love the new place. The kittys are settling in too. Clyde thinks he owns the place - we just pay the mortgage!
I can't believe we've been here nearly 3 weeks.

Thank you
An enormous Thank you to Mum & Dad Smith for all their help during the moving period - we are very very very grateful. Thank you to the rest of family & friends too for their support over the last few challenging months & for all the warm wishes & new home cards we received, We are so lucky to have such fantastic family & friends xxx

Still working hard
So the first week of November saw a serious decline in my regime but I'm back on track & those who follow me on facebook or dailymile will know I've started my strength training - with my challenge to be able to do a pull up. OMG I never knew how hard it would be.....but I'm enjoying it.....so here are my workouts since start of the month

07/11 - Exploring the new neighbourhood 5.02 km

08/11 - Spin class

09/11 - PT this strength training is really tough
quick cross trainer warm up then 2 sets of a burpee, jump & pull up - 10 reps
3 supersets of 15 squats 60lb superset with 15 squat jumps with 25lb weights
3 supersets of 10 assisted pull ups & 10 single arm row 25lb (10 each side)
5 supersets of 10 lat pull down & 10 shoulder rotator

10/11 - Circuits Oh how my upper body hurt after yesterday's PT session. started strength training to be able to do pull ups - hope it's worth it!
Today's stations: step ups, step lunges, oblique twists, sit ups with weight, ski sit with shoulder raises, shuttle runs, chest press, tricep dips, press ups, punch bag, skipping, spin bike high resistance & squats ....1 min each station - 2 circuits

11/11 treadmill 4.18 km - Running has been suffering due to the house move so I manged to snatch a quickie at the gym before work. Not a bad effort so far this week, spin, PT, circuits & a run. My upper body hates me - can't lift arms above shoulder height & pulling doors is an effort - but it feels so good to hurt again - yes I'm crazy!

15/11 more exploring new hood 6.07 km -went out just as it was starting to get dark about 4.30pm & had a great run. Everything just felt so good - think the enforced rest due to house moving & the change of focus to strength training has really helped. Best run in ages

16/11 - PT
oh how much I love having a personal trainer & even though it's really hard work I'm enjoying the change of focus with the strength training - it probably isn't something I'd have done without a PT
today's session
4 x supersets underarm grip pull down 10 reps 30kg superset with 10 upright rows with 15kg bar
4 x supersets assisted pull up 10 reps superset with 16 hammer curls (8 each side) with 6kg dumbbells
3 supersets of 15 reps leg press 65kg superset with 20 medicine ball (6kg) lunges
3 supersets of 15 jackknifes & 10 hanging leg raises
hanging leg raises were a bit crap to be honest today but we did them on the roman chair & I couldn't get a grip I was comfortable with

lovely lavender & waterlily bath when I got home to relax & unwind

17/11 - Circuits my fave class of the week
stations this week: upright row, mountain climbers, squats, plyometric step ups, tricep dips, bicep curls shadow boxing with dumbbells, swissball crunches, walking lunges with 5kg plates, press ups - 2 circuits a minute each station & then a press up challenge & abs to finish off

Hoping for a dreadmill session in the morning too....so all in all not a bad effort over the last 3 weeks.

Also have the Zumbathon for Children in Need to look forward too on Saturday.

Work, Food & General Chat
After the week off it was good to get back to work and I've been pretty busy the last 2 weeks in fact I can't believe tomorrow is Friday. The house move has certainly had a positive effect as the longer journey too & from the office helps segregate home and work & the fact that I'm so much more relaxed & sleeping well has meant I feel like I'm functioning better during the day and though I'm a busy bee I'm really enjoying work at the moment.

Getting back on track with the healthy eating - it was a bit out of sorts with the move but now back into routine and finally can use the slow cooker we got for the wedding. So far have made lentil soup, vegetable soup & oriental honeyed pork. & I have some photos....

Slow cooker


Lentil soup


Oriental Honeyed Pork



so all in all life is pretty fudgey right now. Very glad to be back on line & reconnected with the world.

And now I'm going to say goodnight as I need to get to my bed if I want to attempt to gym in the morning.

Will be back soon

lots of love
Fudgey

Still not back on line

Hello Fudgey Friends,

I'm missing you all loads.

I feel really cut off with no internet or phone at the new house.

Not a very happy fudgey this morning as although we had an engineer out yesterday - our phone doesn't work & we don't have the router yet - so not net access either - though obviously need to get the phone line sorted first. Just a bit PO'd that it seems like a waste of a half day's holiday.

I've also come in to a whole raft of blood pressure raising mails & messages at work..........grrrr

maybe I should go home & start today again!

On a more positive note I did have a cracking run yesterday evening & I made some yummy banana bread.

Hope to be back soon with proper blogs.....eg when we get online at home.

Take Care all

Fudgey xxxxx

A very quick hello

Hi Fudgey Friends,

I'm missing you all & all my fellow bloggers - but love love loving the new house. It's been a busy busy busy week - we've hardly stopped - need to go back to work for a rest!

Am at Mum & Dad Smith's just now so thought I'd do a very quick post to let you know I'm good & that I'm thinking of you all.

Can't wait to get back into a routine - only a PT session & 1 run this week due to big house move. Started my strength training for my latest ambition to be able to do at least one full pull up - oh man it is so hard & I had major DOMs yesterday. Great to change the focus a little though. Out this morning for a quick 5k run in the new hood - perfect bright but cold morning after all that miserable rain. I even went off road - might need to invest in trail shoes.....got a little muddy but had great fun.
Spin & Pump tomorrow though, PT on Tuesday & Circuits on Wed - week looking fab already. Miss all you fudgey followers - can't wait to get back online - hopefully 15th Nov

Righty better go & get on want to get my shoes all unpacked & in the wardrobe we reassembled this afternoon!

Take Care everyone
lots of love
Fudgey

Goodbye for now

Hey Fudgey Friends,

Just a quick post before I disconnect my PC.

Had a quick run this morning but it wasn't so good.

Awful:-(
great first km, then I don't know what happened - lost control of my breathing started to panic, then I had a headache & felt sick - maybe not such good idea with the big house move tomorrow - but still it was running .....& normally if I have a bad run I make up for it next time.

I've not stopped since I got back either. The place is in turmoil. Defrosting the freezer, wiped out all the kitchen units, dismantled the bed, scrubbed the bedroom skirting. Mr Fudgey is disconnecting the DVD & Blu Ray :-(
And there are still a thousand things to do - cooker to be cleaned, bathroom to be cleaned, fridge to be cleaned, sitting room & front bedroom skirting all need wiped etc. It's going to be a late night I think......& I'll probably be doing it all over again tomorrow in the new place!

As I said yesterday we don't get internet till 15th November - but I'll try & get access to update you on how things are at some point between now & then even if only briefly.

Take Care everyone
love
Fudgey
xxx

Nearly there

Hello Fudgey Friends,

How are you all? Good week?

Well it's less than 48 hours now till our move. Someone is ready to go!
Snapped this pic on Friday morning.

A HUGE BIG THANK YOU to the marvellous movers, Kmac, Smurfy, Lorna & Rob who helped us move a whole load of stuff today. THANK YOU also to Mum Smith for providing a feast - the gang really appreciated it & also asked me to pass on their Thanks.

So that was the workout for today - I was up at 5.30 as I couldn't sleep. All quiet here though Wed, Thurs & Fri night. I think it is just excitement. Mr Fudgey & I were then busy packing boxes and then we all loaded into & then back out of the cars.

Personal Training
Smurfy & I both had lovely DOMS on Thursday morning partly from Circuits on Wednesday & from our other efforts so I knew PT would be fun.

Warm up set of 20 squats
3 supersets of 15 olympic bar squats (50lb) & 12 squat with shoulder press 15kg
3 supersets of 15 leg press 65kg & 20 medicine ball lunges
3 supersets of 12 cable hamstring curls each leg & 12 hanging leg raises - still more improvement first 2 sets pretty good - 3rd set I managed 8.
3 supersets of 12 crunch, lift & extend & 12 compound crunches
3 sets of 10 cable wood chops each side.

I also told Colin of my ambition to be able to do a pull up by the end of this year - even if it's just one! You've got to have a goal & with no real running events left this year for me I'm going to achieve 100 press ups & at least 1 pull up by the end of the year :-)


On Thursday I also received my second graze box - again I shared it with Mr Fudgey.
We both thought that the cracked black pepper cashews were awesome - they didn't last long. I also discovered I don't particularly like amphissa olives :-( thankfully I am a fan of kalamata ones.
I was also gifted some wasapeas from Mike at work from his graze box as he thought they were vile - I love wasapeas :-)

On Friday I took a well deserved recovery day. I also had to go off at lunchtime and do a number of moving related things & by the end of the day we had confirmed that everything was in place & it's all systems go for Monday.
We won't be getting our internet set up till 15th November - so I will have to take a wee blog holiday I think, but don't worry I'll be back.

Even though all my clothes are packed I do have running gear for tomorrow so hopefully I shall be able to get a cheeky wee run in :-)

If I do & before we pack my pc I'll try & drop you a wee post.

Take Care all
love
Fudgey
xxx

A long week so far

Hello Fudgey Friends,

How is everyone?

Well I never got to run on Sunday or get to to the gym as I had kind of hoped for - the reason was I was absolutely exhausted. Our neighbour was very agitated again & we ended up calling the police at 4am only for him to be quiet when they arrived but he continued to make noise at 5am, 6am & 7am. Then followed disturbed sleep on Sunday, Monday & Tuesday night. Touch wood it all seems quiet tonight - so hopefully we'll get an uninterrupted night's sleep. Mr Fudgey & I have been knackered this week. Not great in the run up to the move. You may then ask yourself how have I managed to fit in 4 workouts already this week. Well it's stress relief more than anything.

Monday - making it up as I go along
I had a day off on Monday so managed to get into the gym in the afternoon. I was in 2 minds what to do - didn't really fancy a long run on the treadmill nor was I inspired by my programme - time for a new one I think. Anyway jumped on the treadmill for a gentle 10 minute warm up - ran 1.42km, then decided I'd do some press ups. I managed 70 in total - proper full manly ones too - done in 4 sets one of 25 & 3 of 15 - by the end of the year I aim to be able to do 100. Then I did 3 sets of squats with 20kg bar & then some abs - 3 x triset of 15 ab extensions with 8kg medicine ball, 12 crunches with medicine ball & 20 oblique cycles. I then finished up with 20 minutes on the bike and did just over 10km. I do so want Mr Fudgey & I get out cycling when we move

Tuesday - Spinning & Running
Needed an outlet for my tension after another largely sleepless night, so headed to spin at lunchtime - it was a great class taken by the lovely Gary. I was also conscious I hadn't run properly for over a week so headed back later for a very intense interval session. Week 2 on the Run Less Run Faster programme
Tough tough workout but felt so good for it :-)
10 min warm up then
5 repeats of 800m working @ 11.5kmph & 400m recovery (4.5 / 5.5kmph)
6 minute cool down

Hope to get at least another run in this week - but not sure how or when though - we shall see.

Wednesday - My favourite circuits
Not so noisy last night but still not a great sleep so pretty wrecked again this morning but coffee & a chocolate muffin perked me up & then I had to go to circuits to work off said choc muffin ;-0
Stations today were, bicep curls, tricep dips, bosu press ups, clean & press with squat, swiss ball squats with 5kg dumbbells, supermarket sweep (pushing trolley with c 150kg from one end of studio & then pulling backwards to the other), bag drag sprint & stepping stones, burpees, swiss ball pass , swiss ball crunches & punchbag. Usual drill after a warm up 1 min at each station - a quick rest & then second circuit of 45 seconds per station. Class was pretty busy today & I got a kick out of doing better & more manly press ups than some of the men!

Still all quiet upstairs & not a light on - I have a bad feeling that there has maybe been another incident today - I could be wrong it's just a feeling I have - but I just seriously hope that the poor guy is getting the help he desperately seems to need. Yes even after 4 mostly sleepless nights I still care.

So I'm going to get a cup of tea & curl up for some sleep.

Night night all
love
Fudgey
xxxx

Blogger Issues

Hello all,

Just a quick post to tell you I'm having a few problems with blogger....or my pc.
When I try to log in - the page just refreshes & asks for my password again, it doesn't say it's incorrect or anything - it just ignores it!
I finally managed to get in by resetting my password & got through to my account this way - but with our move imminent sorting this out will have to wait till after that - unless anyone has any words of wisdom?

So if I don't post for a wee while - this is why.

love
Fudgey
xx

A Runners MOT

Hello Fudgey Friends,

There has been no more running or work outs since I last posted on Thursday as I am undergoing a little maintenance at the moment.
Now seemed the right time to sort of some of my running ailments as I have no more events planned this year.
I've been having problems with my right shin since I dropped a large metal wheelbarrow on it several weeks ago. It feels really bruised though there has never been a mark. My feet are also pretty ugly with hard skin & calluses & months ago I had lost a toe nail so my doctor had referred me to the podiatrist - appointment wasn't till 22nd October though!

Sports Massage
I would highly recommend regular sports massage if you can afford it. I've had problems with my ITB, my groin & my hip - all sorted out by the magic hands of my massage therapist. You can learn a few massage techniques yourself too - as I know massage can be an expensive luxury.
I have been asked many does does sports massage hurt? Honest answer is yes it can sometimes, but I always find that the discomfort is more than worth it for the released / relaxed muscles afterwards & like anything the more you do it the more you get used to it. A good therapist won't overwork an area if it is getting tender & will work within your tolerances.
I had a sports massage on Wednesday night which ruled out shin splints or anything muscular with the shin. It did show that my whole right leg was knotted up - the calf, hamstring & right into the hip. I felt so much better after it though at points during it was not so pleasant.

Stretching
We all know we should stretch but how many of us do & do it properly. This is something I know I need to work on more.
Check out the stretching handbook

Foam Rolling
I haven't yet invested in a foam roller - but it follows on from the self massage & stretching theme. Foam Rolling
I am going to get a foam roller once we are moved & settled & need to make it part of my training routine. I have heard from loads of positive feedback from other runners on using a foam roller so will give it a try.

Professional Opinion
Always get a professional opinion if you have an injury - it helps if you can find someone who is sympathetic to your sense of urgency to be back up & running as soon as possible.
I went to see the doctor about my dodgy shin on Thursday - probably about 6 weeks after I should have! & she referred me for an xray on Friday. I went for my xray on Friday but have to wait up to a week for the results. No one has yet told me not to run so I've not stopped completely!

Podiatrist
I had my podiatry appointment on Friday afternoon - she told me not to run for 2 days (fri & sat) so I am doing as told! This is because she removed a lot of hard skin from my feet and she said that running when the skin had just been worked on and was so soft would cause more blistering. She said the hard skin that I get on my big toes is a result of my overpronation and I'm going back in a couple of weeks for a biomechanical assessment & to be fitted for some orthotics - which should help to keep my feet in tip top condition & if I'm really lucky might actually improve my running efficiency :-)

I never thought that I'd become so addicted / obsessed / in love with running - so it's vital to do everything I can to make sure that I can keep on doing it......& for the sake of poor long suffering Mr Fudgey as I get really irritable when I don't get to work out.

I'm off now to prepare dinner before my Saturday fix of Strictly come Dancing. Hope to get in a run or workout of some sort tomorrow.

Take Care all
love
Fudgey x

1000 km in 2010 & The latest Graze

Hello Fudgey Friends,

How is everyone?
I can't believe it's Thursday evening already - where has this week gone?
How has your week been?

1000km in 2010
Those of you who have been following my blog for a while will know that I set myself a personal challenge this year to run a half marathon.....I've ran 2 & 2 x 10ks, 2 x 5k & a 4k & a kilomathon 26.2km - go check out my race reports, I also said that by the end of 2010 I'd run 1000km.....with 2 & a half months still to go till the end of the year I completed that challenge today.....since the start of this year I have ran 1001.78 km (622.48 miles)For those of you that work better visually or in terms distances between places - it's a little further than John O'Groats to Gloucester.

My other challenge was to raise £1000 for charity - my chosen charity was CCLASP & I managed to raise £1094 excluding the gift aid.
I don't think its sunk in how much I've achieved yet - but not bad for someone who a couple of years ago & 6 stone heavier couldn't run for a bus.

The Latest Graze
Thanks to JAG & Laura I heard about Graze boxes so used Laura's code & ordered myself a free box. It arrived at the office today & I was desperate to dive in but wanted to take a couple of photos - so I just had a wee taste of the Bento mix & the Dark Rocky road - Amazing :-) When I came home I took some photos & then I shared the Olive, rosemary & siciliano pesto focaccia with Mr Fudgey - we liked very much. I haven't tried the juicy orange raisins yet.
If anyone hasn't come across Graze boxes yet & would like to try one you can get one for free by visiting http://www.graze.com/ & using my code GMMW2643






Go on treat yourself - you deserve it.

A Fudgey Night Out
Mr Fudgey got 2 tickets for his birthday to see Robert Plant at The Usher Hall - so on Monday night we went for a lovely meal at McKirdy's steakhouse & then onto The Usher Hall. Robert Plant was fantastic & I even knew one song.

We had a fab night.

Workouts this week so far
Monday, I went to Spin at lunchtime as we were out in the evening - it wasn't a busy class but was pretty good - not as hard as I'd hoped it would be though.

Tuesday was PT
quick cross trainer warm up
olympic bar squats warm up set of 15 no weight
3 sets of 15 Olympic bar squats.....very heavy!
3 super sets of weighted dynamic lunges 12 each leg & swiss ball single leg hamstring curls 12 each leg
3 sets of 15 smith machine calf raises
3 super sets of 15 calf extensions & 12 body weigh calf raises each leg with 8kg dumbbell
10 minute abstravaganza! simple crunches, circle crunches, swiss ball crunch with medicine ball, swiss ball plank roll outs, oblique cycles, reverse curls, compound crunches & crunch lift & extend

Wednesday I was particularly tired. There was more drama with our neighbour on Tuesday night but he is now getting the help he needs. I really hope he gets well soon. So on Wednesday I ended up taking a well earned rest day. I also had a sports massage in the evening which has straightened out my knots a lot.

Today was just a quick run, it was all I had time for & better than nothing & it took me over that magical 1000km target.


and that my lovely Fudgey followers is me up to date with you again. Off now to catch up on Sppoks.

Take Care
love Fudgey
xxx

Ups and Downs

Hello Fudgey Friends,

How are you all? Good week? I hope so.
It's been another full on week for us in Fudgey land - there is never a dull moment - that's for sure.

Wednesday - Circuits, a night out & another police visit
Wednesday seems so long ago now. I managed to complete my second cross training session of the week - circuits class. Smurfy & I both thought it was incredibly tough this week - I don't know why more so than usual. Still loved it though.
Then in the evening I was out with some people from work - we spent the evening at hawk & hunter, firstly upstairs in the cocktail bar & later in the secret garden. A great time was had by all, but way too many cocktails, shooters & drinks in general. Thanks to Steph for finally throwing me in a taxi & sending me home.
Unfortunately I came home to a war zone & very quickly the happy fudgey was a very upset one. Our neighbour upstairs was very very distraught and had been disruptive from around 9pm, he was threatening to harm himself too. I told Mr Fudgey to phone the police but that I was going up to see if I could calm him down - yes silly I know but I just wanted to help. Needless to say it didn't end well on Wednesday night. Mr Fudgey fearing for my safety had to physically drag me downstairs to stop me from going into the flat above. I was drunk and emotional and just wanted to help someone who seemingly no one else has the same concern for. Mr Fudgey was shocked at how physically strong I am and how much effort it took him to get me downstairs - on the plus side he does now fear for the safety of anyone who tries to attack me if I'm completely sober as he thinks they will most likely come off worse - see all that time working out has an added benefit! I don't want to say too much as it's not fair to those involved but the evening ended with the police coming out and things eventually went quiet - but it didn't make for a great night's sleep.

Thursday - Hangover, rest day & baking
Lack of sleep, overload of emotions and far too much to drink didn't make for a great start to Thursday, though I was at my desk for 8am. I opted to leave my gym kit at home and take a rest day. Thankfully by 10am I had perked up & managed to have a very productive day at the office & even stayed on till 6pm. Working with a hangover though is not something I'd like to do on a regular basis - I suddenly realise how old I feel. When I was in my 20's I thought nothing of staying out till 3am & making it to work the next day - I simply couldn't do that now.
When I came home and after we'd had dinner I started to make white chocolate chunk & double chocolate chip cookies for the Let's do it for Judi bake sale at the office. For those who are newer to my blog, Judi is a friend & colleague who has pancreatic cancer. A group of us ran the Race for Life this summer and raised over £10,000. The latest fundraiser is to raise money for the makeover of a cancer research shop & so a bake sale was arranged for Friday. I was limited to what I could do as the majority of my baking stuff is now packed, and as I've been so busy at work I couldn't commit to helping man the tables - but I wanted to contribute something. The cookies turned out great though I was so tired I forgot to take a photo for my blog. As you can guess it was then off to bed for me. It was all quiet from above all night.

Friday - another brush with the law, Running & a quiet night
On Friday morning after a great nights sleep we had another brush with the law but this was a more pleasant one, we met with our solicitor regarding the sale of the flat and our impending move.
Then into work & dropped off my cookies to the bake sale. I never bought any cakes but did buy 2 strips of raffle tickets though I didn't win. I believe the bake sale raised around £1000.
After work was run number 2 of the week on the run less run faster programme
This was hard!
Plan 1.5km warm up, 3.5km @ 10.6kmph & 1.5km cool down
Actual 1.5km warm up, 1.5km @ 10.6kmph 0.5km recovery, 1.5km @ 10.6kmph & 1.5km cool down - but pretty happy with though as I never normally run anywhere near that pace so to maintain for 1.5km twice is a little victory
Home and again all quiet here. We actually curled up and watched a movie and a pretty good one at that - Shutter Island I'm not a Leonardo DiCaprio fan but he was very good in this film and I really really liked it.

Saturday - packing and shopping
Nothing too exciting, we were up early as the church behind our flat is being demolished and they started work at 8.30am. The building is now completely down and it is so weird seeing right through to the main road. As we were up we headed off to Asda early and did our weekly shop - probably our last proper one whilst in the flat.
The rest of the day was spent packing boxes and clearing out, then the usual Saturday ritual of Strictly come Dancing. After Strictly we watched a classic Star Trek & then I had to go to bed as I was shattered - couldn't sleep though - way too much in my head.

Today - Sunday - running, shopping & visiting
I never slept well last night and was up at 4, 5 & 6. I made myself get up at 9 and get ready for my Sunday run, though I was really in the mood - though I have found the ones I don't feel up for are most often the best. This was the 3rd run of the week & completing this would mean successful completion of week 1 on the run less run faster programme - 3 key runs & 2 cross training sessions.
Target pace 5.57 average pace 5.57 :-)
felt blah, injured, great & alright! shin hurting a little again need to ice it up. Pleased that I managed to run as described in the programme though - first couple of k warming up & then middle ones slightly faster than target, then last couple to cool down to achieve an average of 5.57 woo hoo I did it
splits - 6:19, 6:04, 6:00, 5:56, 5:47, 5:46, 5:47:5:53 & 6:20
I'm also now only 1.45km away from completing my 1000km in 2010 challenge. Once I've done that I'm going to go and get my poor shin sorted.
Mr Fudgey & I headed into town later where I purchased a gorgeous new aviator style jacket in Debenhams. There is no shame to my little eskimo jacket that I love so much but it's about 7 years old and about 4 sizes too big for me.
Next we headed out to visit Aunt Liz and Mum and Dad Smith. We both really felt that Aunt Liz could do with a visit from some friendly faces and that she'd like to hear all the news from us - so we hope our visit brightened her day. We then all had dinner together which was really lovely and Dad Smith brought us home - Thank you :-)
I must Thank Mum Smith for the fab soup, fairey cakes & dinner - the apple & pear crumble was awesome x

and that my dear friends is the edited highlights of another week in Fudgey land.
I should add that Mr Fudgey and I have seen our neighbour today and he says he is feeling a lot better - he certainly appeared much calmer & lucid. Hopefully he is now getting the support & help he needs.

Right better get some sleep :-zzz
Take Care all
love
Fudgey
xxxx

Kilomathon Video

Hello Fudgey Friends,

It's finally here - Mr Fudgey's latest masterpiece.
Thanks so much hubbly man - I know how much time & effort this took xxxx

Kilomathon Video


Enjoy!

love
Fudgey xx

Run Less Run Faster

Hello Fudgey Friends,

How are you all? Welcome to my new followers :-)

Well today saw the start of the Run Less Run Faster programme - I'd initially heard about this through Laura's blog, and then heard of a couple of people at work who have been following this programme so I ordered the book from Amazon.
My life is so busy with one thing and another that I have found it difficult to fit in my usual 4 runs a week recently, but I also felt I was just putting in miles for the sake of it & am no longer really improving speed wise, though the distances have been increasing. Now that my events for this year are out of the way it's the perfect opportunity to try something a little different. Run Less Run Faster centres around 3 key runs a week, focusing on quality not quantity, but is supplemented with at least 2 cross training sessions - whether that is cycling, rowing or resistance work. So I've read first 3 sections of the book & couldn't wait to get started.
I have signed up for The Great Winter Run 5k in January & this fits in nicely with the 5k plan in the book....so watch this space.

Run Less Run Faster Week 1 Run 1
I opted to do this run in the gym so I could make sure I maintained perfect pace during the intervals & also to protect my calf a little - though it seems to be good.
This run was about 15 minutes warm up run followed by 8 intervals of 400m working @ 11.5kmph followed by 400m recovery (between 5 & 7 kmph) - later intervals I opted for slower recovery pace so I could maintain the fast working pace & then finishing off with 10 minute cool down run. This was hard work, but it was great to be doing something other than simply putting one foot in front of the other & just plodding along. The sweat was pouring off me at the end and I felt like I had really worked. Girls Aloud & The Saturday's on the ipod did help push me along too :-)

More Personal Torture
Yesterday I did my first cross training session of the week - I had a PT session with Colin. I'd told him my calf was pretty sore & tight from Thursday so there was no calf work or running but I still worked really hard.
quick cross trainer warm up & one set of 15 olympic bar squats with no weight.
3 supersets of 15 olympic bar squats with 60lb & single arm clean & press 9kg 10 each arm
3 supersets of 15 bench squats with 20lb & swiss ball single leg hamstring curls 12 each leg
3 supersets of cable hamstrings 12 each leg & 12 hanging leg raises
3 trisets of cable wood chops 10 each side, 24 oblique cycles & 20 russian twists

I was over the moon that my hanging leg raises have progressed so much - the first set was the best I've ever done - very little swing & I manged the full 12 in one go - not quite perfect but vastly improved. The other 2 sets weren't as good - but I'm progressing all the time which is very motivating.

Food & Weight
I've been eating too much rubbish again & regained the 2.5lbs I'd lost a couple of weeks ago. I know though what I need to do to get back on track & will be back at my target weight very soon.
On Sunday I made some cauliflower & broccoli soup for us to have on Monday after my slimming class Very very easy to make just 250g of fresh broccoli & 250g of fresh cauliflower, 1 medium onion chopped & 900ml of vegetable stock. We had this last night & it was lovely.

I also made some fruit tarts on Sunday - not the healthiest I know but little treats are important now & then.

Tonight I made a delicious pork stir fry & made my own Scottish Slimmers sweet & sour sauce rather than a calorie laden processed one.

Now need to go & make lunch for tomorrow.

Take Care everyone
love
Fudgey
xxx