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

All Over the Place

Good Morning Fudgey Friends,

It's an early morning post from me and saddle up it could be a long one! I've been awake since 3am and got up at 4, my head is all over the place, there is just so much going on....mostly good though, but the last few weeks & days have seen me through a roller coaster of stress, anticipation, excitement, frustration and more excitement. It's no wonder I am choked with the cold.
I'm kind of hoping that getting everything out of my head and onto a post might help a little. I sometimes wish we could plug in a USB to download stuff out of our heads when it gets too busy in there :-)

So where to start?

Moving On - Work
As many of you will know I moved to a new role in March. It's certainly what I needed and ticks all the boxes in terms of challenging. I work with a really great team and my new boss is almost as amazing as my last one! I have to admit though to suffering loss of confidence in my abilities and fear of messing up. I suppose that's only natural in any new role, I confess though to being a control freak and I know I am really hard on myself - I don't expect to be the best but I want to be my best. I have had some positive comments from a number of people in the last week so I guess I should just keep on doing what I'm doing and learning as I go. I don't think the way I've been feeling has been helped by everything else going on either,

Moving On - Home
I've lived in my wee flat for just over 12 years. I was quite happy here up until last year, it's not the best area but it's definitely not the worst and 12 years ago when I bought it, it got me on the property ladder and was my first own home. I didn't have a lot of money and I never really did much in the way of home improvement when I was on my own. The plan was always to put the flat on the market and move to a slightly bigger and nicer house with Mr Fudgey, but it was very clear that the place badly needed some care & attention
Mr Fudgey & I, with a tremendous amount of help from Mum & Dad Smith spent the first half of last year decorating and revamping the entire place. Mr Fudgey & I then decided that we would reap the benefits and everyone's hard work by staying put in the short term and with the wedding in August felt that trying to sell the flat as well would be too stressful.
Mr Fudgey moved in and we were looking forward to the wedding, when we had a falling out with one of our neighbours who also happened to have been friends of mine pretty much the whole time I'd lived here. In fact she was meant to be my bridesmaid and her husband and son should also have been at the wedding. The falling out happened about 4 weeks before the wedding and was awful. A year on I'm no longer angry or have any bad feeling, with hindsight maybe I could have handled things differently and I'm not proud of my part in the falling out - but in the big scheme of things it really wasn't worth the hassle it caused. Mr Fudgey and I wanted to remain grown up and civil about things which we have been, and other than my closest friends and family I have never discussed what happened but I think it's fair to say that hasn't been the case from the other side and I have heard with my own ears terrible untrue things said about me & Mr Fudgey. One thing I have heard that they've said to at least 2 different people is that we are telling people we are at war with them - this is complete BS we just want a quiet life and have gone out of our way the last year to avoid any nastiness. The last year hasn't been fun, we've felt like prisoners in our own home at times and perhaps I am paranoid but it seems to me that they go out of their way to make as much noise as possible passing our door as they know we will not react. FFS This is a communal block and other people live here too - so the noise doesn't just affect us - yet I suspect no one else says anything either.
I'm not saying that we are 100% innocent in the falling out, nor am I assigning blame to anyone else - we all played a part, as I said a year on I'm no longer angry or even upset - though it does make me sad that things are the way they are.
This isn't something I've mentioned in my blog before and when I write my blog I'm try to be considerate of others and non judgemental - even though sometimes I want to just rant & be 100% honest about my feelings. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I just believe it's just that your's & you shouldn't force it on anyone else and certainly not if in voicing that opinion you hurt someone. There's a fine line between tactfulness and honesty and I'm not perfect but I try my best to be a decent person.
Anyway that was really a taste of the background of things, we would have always put the flat on the market anyway, but the uncomfortable, dare I say occasionally hostile environment certainly made us take proactive action. So at the start of June we put the flat on the market & I'm so excited to tell you we had an offer which we have accepted. We have been to the bank and building society and have arranged our finances so now we are looking for our new home. Exciting times.

Weight Loss & Diet
I was over the moon to get into the Scottish Slimmers Slimmer of the Year 2010 Semi Final. I can't believe that not only did I lose the weight but that I've kept it off for 11 months now and just how much difference it has made to my life. I should hear in a couple of weeks if I got through to the final - that would be a dream come true - but all the semi finalists were amazing.
I have to confess that my diet hasn't been as good as it should be over the last few weeks, but I am more than aware of where I need to be stricter and plan to get back on track as soon as possible - I'll be re initiating the food diary and taking on board some of JAG's wisdom about eating when hungry.

Training
As I've not been feeling well for the last week, I've been taking it fairly easy.I was back to work on Wednesday but didn't go to Circuits class as I had too much work on to be able to afford even a slightly extended lunch, also during my lunch break I was trying to arrange viewings of houses etc. I had a PT session on Thursday and the legs were really feeling it on Friday. Week 9 Run 2 - I did manage to squeeze in a 30 minute run on Friday before Fantastic Mr Fudgey took me for dinner. Unfortunately a cold sneaked up on me out of no where on Friday evening and I've been feeling pants since. Friday night I was very wheezy & couldn't get to sleep so lay propped up on the sofa till I dozed off about 1. I woke up and went to bed at 2 but was awake again at 5 I'd actually been dreaming about a work issue and had a flash of inspiration so at 6 when I was still awake I got up and brain dumped into an email to my colleagues...as I'm not in next week.
In the afternoon I went for a lie down & slept for about 3 & a half hours - while my wonderful hubby tidied up and did some shopping. Then last night I went to bed about half ten but have been awake since 3 this morning. I should be out running at least 2 hours this morning and I must be feeling better as I want to - however this is probably not a bright idea. I think I'll rest up again today and get plenty of fluids in and maybe I can run tomorrow morning. I guess I am mildly panicking a little about the Glasgow half next Sunday but better I have the cold this weekend than next...at the moment I could still make next Sunday though a PB looks doubtful....watch this space.

If you're still resding - congratulations on getting to the end of this post. I do actually feel better for splurging just some of the things going round in my head - it's clear to see why I'm a bit all over the place at the moment.

I will be back later with a shorter post with photos of the banana loaf I made yesterday & our anniversary cake.

If anyone has any words of wisdom on how to kill this cold please let me know. I'm on lemsip day & night capsules and throat lozenges but think I need something stronger.

Have a great Sunday everyone, and especially hello to my new followers :-)

Love
Fudgey xxx

Just showing off now

Hey Fudgey people

More media coverage for Mrs Fudgey - this time an article in the Jog Scotland magazine (page 20)....fantastic publicity for my charity CCLASP & Scottish Slimmers

Stride magazine

15 minutes of fame

Hello Fudgey Friends,

Yippee it's Friday. It's only been a 3 day week for me at work but I am pooped - it's been very full on. There's also been a few other things going on....

Wednesday Week 8 Run 1
Eek can you believe it's week 8 of the 12 week plan! Today was the missed 30 minute easy run. It really was at a much slower pace than usual, no aches or pains, just general fatigue but I got the 30 minutes done & ran 4.75km, another tick on the training plan. So far I have only missed 1 training session. I have had to shuffle a few around to accommodate more important things like Mr Fudgey, work and general home life etc. but I'm really pleased with how it's all been going & how I've fitted it in around my life rather than life fitting the plan.

Thursday - Personal Training Session
Silly Fudgey never wrote down the content of the session as I usually do so here's hoping I remember it all.
Quick 3 & a half minute run to warm up
3 supersets of single arm clean & press, superset with 12 medicine ball lunges
3 supersets of 15 olympic bars sqauts with 7.5lb plates added, superset with 10 burpees.
3 supersets of cable hamstring things superset with cable wood chops
3 supersets of medicine ball crunches & reverse curls
I think that's it but as you can see it's not my usual level of detail with weights & reps - I should have written it down but I was in meetings pretty much all day Thursday and now I can't remember!

I got home on Thursday to find my copy of the Scottish Slimmers magazine, Boost had been delivered & that I was featured. It made me feel really proud.
Here's my before & after shots:


Friday Week 8 Run 2
It was an effort to get up this morning & when I got to the gym for my usual Friday morning treadmill session, taking the stairs up to the changing room was enough to tell me that it was going to be a tough one. The DOMS in my quads were pretty intense. I didn't think I'd be able to run for an hour but determined as ever thought I'll give it my best shot. It was great to see the friendly faces of KMac & her Personal Trainer, Andy & I had a wee bit of fun chat with them before getting down to work. When I was running it was actually OK - the dull aching & 'worked' muscles only kicked in when I stopped. I found myself later trying to take routes round the office that did not involve the stairs!
Pace today again was slow 9.2km in the hour, but again another box ticked.

15 minutes of fame
Following on from the article in Boost magazine, I was also in the Edinburgh Evening news today. I had my photos taken on Wednesday & gave an interview yesterday. You can read the article here
If this article inspires just one person to take positive action about their health, weight and fitness I'll be delighted. I'm also really really pleased they mentioned my just giving site - as the more publicity CCLASP can get the better.

New recipe
I've not posted any recipes for a wee while but concocted something new this evening to share with you. I had leg of pork steaks to grill & wanted something slightly different with them so I made a kind of risotto.
cooked 100g organic brown rice
boiled some broccoli
diced red pepper
diced green pepper,
1/2 small onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 tablespoons sweetcorn
spray oil
60g philadelphia light with chives

Spray a pan with spray oil, add peppers, onion, garlic & broccoli & cook for a couple of minutes, put into a casserole dish & add the cooked drained rice & the sweetcorn, stir in the philadelphia & that is it....simple as that & really tasty. I would actually eat that as a meal on it's own.


Well that's it from me for today. Sunday's run is a long one......& then I'll be into the final 4 weeks of training - I can't believe the countdown above but I think I'm almost ready!

Have a fab weekend everyone

love
Fudgey xx

So Much to Blog about… so little time

Hello all
I’ve had a busy few days since I last blogged on Saturday and so much I wanted to blog about but not enough time to sit down & get typing. So here goes I’ll try not to bore you too much.

Saturday:
We had Mum & Dad Smith over for dinner. I think it’s fair to say it was enjoyed by all.

Starter: Baked Haggis Filo parcels with plum chilli sauce
For the haggis filo parcels I took 4 sheets of filo. I sprayed one sheet with spray oil & then put another sheet on top. I cut this into quarters. I put approx a teaspoon of haggis in the centre & then scrunched up. I did the same with the other 2 sheets of filo. I then put the parcels on a baking tray sprayed with spray oil & baked in the oven at gas 4 for 20 minutes.
This made 8 wee parcels. You could also try this with vegetarian haggis.

The plum sauce was a bit of classic fudgey experimentation of just chucking stuff in but it turned out amazing:
4 plums stone removed & chopped up
60 ml water
30 ml white vinegar
Generous pinch of ground ginger
2 tablespoons of granulated sweetener
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
Wee bit of lazy red chillies

I put everything in a pan, brought to the boil & then simmered for 12 – 15 minutes. I removed from the heat & once cool blended till smooth. I made this in advance & simply reheated later when I wanted to use it.

Main Course: Roast Chicken Breast, Stuffed Tomato & pearl potatoes.
Decided to keep it simple & roasted my 4 chicken breasts in the oven.
Cooked 500g of pearl potatoes & drained & added a little bit of butter..

I made my stuffed tomatoes with light Philadelphia with basil, spring onions, red onion, a couple of cherry plum tomatoes, a little chopped red pepper & some wafer thin ham & of course not forgetting my oil & vinegar store wild garlic mix– pretty much per my previous blog on these. The plum sauce also got used with the main course as there was some left & everyone liked it :-)

Dessert: Chocolate Peach Flan
This is an adaptation of a favourite Scottish Slimmers Recipe of mine. So easy to make.
1 small flan base
1 small tin of peaches in juice
200g quark
Drop of vanilla essence
1 tablespoon granulated sweetener
Sachet of options hot chocolate

Remove sponge flan case from pack. Take a tablespoon of juice from the fruit & drizzle over flan. Mix quark with sweetener & vanilla essence. Spread this over flan base. Drain the remaining peaches & arrange on top of flan.
Mix the options hot chocolate with 1 to 2 tbsp of water to make a smooth fairly thick paste & then drizzle over the peaches. Put in the fridge and serve when ready. I served with a spoon of half fat crème fraiche.

You can vary the fruit, you can use any non flavoured soft cheese (eg Philadelphia) & you can experiment with the flavoured hot chocolates.


Week 2 Run 4
This should have been Friday’s swapped Run 3 consisting of 5 minutes easy run, 10 minute steady run, 10 minute temp run, 5 minute faster run, 10 minutes easy run = Total 40 minutes, however I find it quite hard to judge my pace outside so decided to just run. This will change soon though as I bit the bullet and ordered a Garmin :-D which I hope will really assist my training
It was a beautiful sunny Sunday morning and for the first time this year I ran outside without long sleeves or a hat. 8.16km and 49 minutes 16 seconds later I returned home a happy energised little Fudge. Mr Fudgey was amused by my co-ordinating pink & white top, pink watch & pink joggers alarm….I probably had a matching pink face too!
We headed out to see Mum & Dad Smith so we could deliver the Mother’s Day gift we forgot to give her on Saturday evening.
Then we headed over to Glasgow to meet some friends for a fabulous meal. It was great to catch up and a lovely evening was had by everyone, we weren’t even too late home and I am still on the half marathon training wagon ….though the wine did smell amazing.

So the Stats for Week 2
Total distance run this week 32.83km
Total running time 3 hours 29 mins 06 secs
10 weeks Sunday till the half Marathon :-$

Week 3 Run 1
Well a new week, a step closer to the half marathon, I was feeling positive that I managed 4 runs last week – yet I was not in the mood to run today! Training plan has a 35 minute easy run. Monday night is my weigh in night so I got home from work and started to get my stuff together and get ready to run, much procrastinating later I finally left 20 minutes later than I should have which meant either a) running or b) catching the bus, since I was in my running gear option a was the winner. I had to add an extra loop onto my route as I can make it to ‘fat club’ in a round 23 mins so I added an extra 2.76km on & managed to run 6.16km in 38 mins 31 seconds. 2 minutes 19 quicker than I ran the same route the previous week – so much for lack of running mojo. So this is my tip – even if you don’t fancy training – give it a try – you might be surprised – but if it’s not working for you don’t beat yourself up over it either. I find that I normally run best when I’m not up for it – I think it’s because there is no expectation and once I start running I unwind and all my frustrations / annoyance / stress get relieved even if just a little.

Week 3 Run 2
Interval Training day. 10 minutes easy run followed by 5 x (4 mins at tempo pace & 2 mins jog) finishing with 10 mins easy run. Another 8.48km clocked up.
I was so invigorated I also went on the cardio wave machine for 10 minutes
Then 3 sets 12 reps bicep curls 6kg dumbbells
3 sets 15 reps bosu squats
And then a lovely triset for my abs 3 sets of (15 ab extensions with 8kg medicine ball, 12 Russian twists with 8kg medicine ball & 15 reverse curls)

Well that’s my training right up to date so I’ll say cheerio for just now and will be back soon with more chat

Lots of love
Fudgey xxx

Week 2 Run 1

Hello Fudgey Friends,

Monday again.
I have to admit I was feeling a bit poopy this morning, absolutely shattered - I haven't slept well the last 2 nights, I was a little sore from yesterday's run & a bit emotional. A tired, grumpy, sore hormonal fudgey is no fun whatsoever.

At lunchtime I decided to nip to the gym for a quick 30 mins to see if I could perk myself up.

10 mins on cardio wave machine
3 supersets of 15 swiss ball chest press with 6kg dumbbells & 12 press ups
3 tri sets of 15 crunches with 6kg medicine ball, 16 Russian twists with 6kg medicine ball & 15 reverse curls
Then a really good stretch off

It did work and I went back to work feeling a lot better.

By home time I was flagging again but Monday is my Scottish Slimmers class - I still go every other week now I am at target weight but my class buddy Jan is only a pound away from her target weight and I don't want to miss her reaching it. Jan is a really kind hearted and lovely 80 year old lady who has been going to the class the whole time I have and we get the same bus home (though tonight my plan was to run home)
Jan didn't come to tonight's class so I just got weighed and headed out to run home.

Today's run on the training schedule was to be a 40 minute easy run.

The plan was a loose one to run home which is about 3.4km and if I was feeling sore either walk or if it was really bad I'd have to get the bus.
The first 5 or 6 minutes felt awkward but I stuck with it and all of a sudden everything just clicked into place and the running just took over. By the time I was approaching home I felt really good and thought to myself I need to keep running so I also added on the 2.76km loop I did on Saturday.
So by the time I arrived home I'd been running for 40 minutes & 50 seconds and it worked out as 6.16km.
This is slow pace for me - but it was meant to be an easy run and it was easy - I felt I could have run another 6km.
I felt fantastic other than having cut my heel open yet again - I took a picture for anyone who wants to see it ;-)
Into the flat and another really good stretch off and a lovely hot shower.

Hubby & I then had the soup from yesterday's blog entry & it was delicious.

Well I promised myself an early night so I'm going to do just that.

Hope you all had a good Monday.

Back soon

lots of love
Fudgey xx

Exciting Times in Fudgey Land

Hello Fudgey Friends,

A quick update on the rest of the week's training before I fill you in on the exciting times in Fudgey Land.

Thursday: I joined my lovely friend Mandy for a spin class at lunchtime. I love spin but have been concentrating so much on my running of late that I've not been to many classes at all. My fantastic personal trainer Colin took the class on Thursday lunchtime. It was a brilliant 30 minute workout & the legs certainly were feeling it on Friday.

Friday: 5km Run 28 minutes 57 seconds. This run was really tough going but I stuck with it & am still consistently sub 30 minutes so looking pretty good for the meadows 5k in a couple of weeks.

The ITB is feeling brand new :-)
though I have been very careful and not run more than 7km yet but think this week coming I will be back to normal.

Saturday - had a lovely trip to North Berwick with Mum & Dad in Law & hubby. Thanks all for a lovely day out x

Decided to take a rest day today instead of my usual long run.

Total distance run this week 18km
Total running time 1 hours 32 mins 12 secs


Exciting Times in Fudgey Land
Those who know me will tell you I've haven't always been a lean mean Fudgey running machine - back in 2007 I weighed 6 stone more than I do now and I've been on a journey of weightloss since June 2007 till I reached my target weight September 2009.
It's not always been easy but I've had loads of encouragement and support from everyone around me, especially the amazing Mr Fudgey.
Anyway I was absolutely ecstatic when Scottish Slimmers emailed me to invite me to a photo shoot. So tomorrow I will be getting my hair & my make up done, styled & photographed.
I've also been approached by a freelance journalist who is keen on doing an article about me and my journey from Fudgey Big to Fudgey Small.
I'm not just pleased at the recognition for myself but also for everyone who has supported me and hopefully I will be able to inspire others too.
I also want to say a HUGE public Thank you to my boss Neil for allowing me the time off tomorrow - the 2 of us are in for a busy week with the rest of the team being on holiday. Thanks Neil - you're the best ever x

So for those who don't know me so well or didn't know me 3 years ago.
I've transformed from this:

to this:


I am really looking forward to my photo shoot. I'll update you all next week on how it goes, and of course on the running training.

Hope you have all had a great weekend.

Back On Form

Hello Fudgey Friends,

I'm pleased to tell you that I'm back to my usual self and the leg is feeling pretty good.
I had a lovely day on Sunday. Mr Fudgey bought me a Wonder woman bathrobe (I'm wearing it now) , a Wonder woman t-shirt and a personal joggers alarm.

On Sunday evening we went to McKirdy's SteakHouse, we chose here as we've been a couple of times before and both really enjoyed it, but the food on Valentine's Day surpassed all previous visits.
We both started with Deep Fried Haggis filo parcels with a chilli drizzle - WOW :-)
I then had the chargrilled chicken breast with saffron mash, creamed leeks & sugar glazed carrots & Mr Fudgey had the 6oz Fillet Steak served on fondant potato with a garlic & mushroom sauce. For dessert I had Belgian chocolate & cointreau mousse & Mr Fudgey had white chocolate cheesecake.
The food was absolutely phenomenal, portions just perfect sizes - I can't normally eat 3 courses but this was just perfect. All the food was cooked to perfection and presented beautifully. So if you live in Edinburgh and haven't tried McKirdy's - you have to go. If you don't live in Edinburgh but are ever visiting you MUST check them out. I'd strongly advise that you book a table though as they are usually busy and no wonder when the food & service is as good as this.

Now some of you will be very surprised to read I ate all of that, especially those who know how careful I am about what I eat and yes most of the menu would not be on Scottish Slimmers, but you have to treat yourself occasionally. All week I made sure that I saved up calories for my meal out & also made sure I put in plenty of exercise too, and this week too back to my normal positive eating plan. Now I am at my target weight I tend to be quite strict during the week so I can have treat(s) at the weekend - this is what works best for me and I've been at my target weight for 5 months now.

As I had 2 whole rest days Saturday & Sunday, - which were great. Rest is just as important as training you know, I was back into routine again on Monday.

Monday 5km 28 mins 57 secs
Tuesday 7km 41 mins 50 secs
Wednesday: Never slept well last night & not feeling too great today but after work into the gym - I knew it would help relieve some stresses & I would feel better afterwards.......so......
10 minutes on bike to fatigue the legs & when I got off they felt like 2 dead weights
12 dead lifts superset with 12 hamstring cable thingys each leg (repeated 3 times) KMac & I have a whole language of our own for certain exercises and gym equipment!
Out to the stairwell....
30 Mountain climbers, 40 step ups, 20 side step things (repeated 3 times)
Back into the gym.... planned to get onto the cables but they were in use :-(
so ab work
15 ab extensions with 25lb plate, followed by 1 minute plank on bosu ball, followed by 20 oblique cycles, repeated twice more but with the plank only being 45 seconds each time
and then finally to finish me off
my fave ............the treadmill
Fast 1km Run 5 Minutes 28 seconds......a second off my PB of 5.27 but pretty damn good considering what had preceded it ;-D
I was a bit (actually a lot) of a pinky sweaty mess by the end of the session but it felt so good. I think I have endorphin addication!

Then I got to come home to My Fabulous Fudgey Husband & our 4 beautiful kitty's

For those who don't know this is Clyde, Dora, Bonnie & Beau.

So now I'm going to leave you & head off to bed I think, early shifts this week at work.

lots of love
Fudgey
xxx

Happy Valentines Day / Happy Chinese New Year

Hello Fudgey Friends

How is everyone? Any plans for Valentines day or Chinese New Year?

I made a Scottish Slimmers Chinese feast for Mr Fudgey & his parents yesterday.
Homemade vegetarian spring rolls with sweet & sour dip followed by 5 spice pork with rice noodles & egg fried rice.
We also tucked into the Valentine cake I had organised for Mr Fudgey. Made by Joyce of Joyces Cake Shop. We have had many many cakes from Joyce including our wedding cake & they have all been gorgeous.


Training Update
Training has been good this week. Slowly building back up after my injury. Times are consistent, but kept the distances down this week and no long Sunday run today, I wanted to spend the day with hubby and have put in a good few sessions already this week, so 2 days rest are just what I need.

Sunday: 5km Run 29 mins 14 secs
Monday: Rest Day
Tuesday: 2.5km hill run 17 mins 10 secs plus mini circuit - check out Tues blog.
Wednesday: 5km run 28 mins 50 secs
Thursday: 2 speed sessions both 3km, 16 mins 53 secs and 16 mins 37 secs & upper body workout
Friday: 7km Run 41 mins 35 secs.

I have to admit that the leg & knee hurt on Fri after the 7km run - though I made sure I had a good stretch & I never sat too still all day Friday so the niggling eased off well before lunchtime.

Thursday I ran so fast & so focused in my second session I never realised that I had cut the back of my heel and was bleeding all over the place. KMac's PT Andy will be pleased to hear this after his comment that my random bruise was nothing as there was no blood!

Total distance run this week 25.5km
Total running time 2 hours 30 mins 19 secs

Well that's all for today folks. It is Valentines day after all & I want to spend quality time with my fabby hubby - it's our first married valentines day.

Hope you all are having a great weekend

lots of love
Fudgey
xxx

100 Days to go / My Amazing Charity

Hello Fudgey Followers,

So the countdown tells me it's 100 days till the Edinburgh Half Marathon on 23rd May. I'm kind of excited & kind of nervous but I know I can do this and as with everything I do I'll give it my best.

Of course it's an enormous motivator that I'm running for charity not just for myself.

So let me introduce you to my amazing charity.

CCLASP
is an Edinburgh based charity that helps children and adolescents suffering from cancer and leukaemia & provides advice & support for parents

My first involvement with CCLASP was when one of my fabulous friends Eileen Norman was seeking volunteers to help with the annual CCLASP Christmas party, which is held at my office. Anyone else who works at Standard Life Investments, who has been involved in this day will back me up and tell you how much fun it is, even though it's hard work and can be emotional - it is one of the best ways to spend a day. So I signed up to help out with the party, at the time I also had a part time weekend job so I couldn't stay for the actual party the first year, but I helped out making sandwiches, getting all the gifts ready for Santa, filling helium balloons and getting everything ready.
Then in 2008 Standard life Investments celebrated their 10th Anniversary as part of our anniversary year we pledged to raise loads of money for CCLASP. Mr Fudgey & I took part in The Great Scottish Walk , a 12 mile walk round Edinburgh, this event was also sponsored by Scottish Slimmers, another very very very important part of my life - they helped me lose 6 stone ;~) but I shall save that story for another day. Mr Fudgey & I raised £500. I should also tell you Mr Fudgey did this the day before he started his new job - I hate to imagine what his new colleagues thought when he walked tentatively in the next day!
Standard Life Investments hosted a fabulous Christmas party in 2008 and this time I was able to stay the whole day. The great thing about CCLASP is that it's like a family and the whole family come to the party, every child gets a gift from Santa, not just the children who are ill. All the children are treated the same. All the families recognise each other or know each other from shared hospital time and other CCLASP events and it truly is an amazing support group. The parents can sit back & enjoy a coffee while the children run around, chase the lovely volunteers who have dressed up as TellyTubbies or characters from Monsters Inc, play party games or sit quietly & colour in. Of Course the highlight of the day is Santa's visit. Every child goes home laden down with goodies.

The Christmas Party is just one of the many many fun events that CCLASP organise. They also provide transport to and from hospital appointments, running a drop in centre, run a telephone helpline, arrange holidays, fundraisers, newsletters and the weekly clown entertainment on a Wednesday (theatre day) for those in hospital. These few things are just the tip of iceberg, Check out the website to find out more for yourself.

So this year I'm going to try & raise £1000 for my chosen charity. the main event being The Edinburgh Half Marathon. However I have now pledged to run a 1000km for £1000.

Events
The Great Winter Run - completed
Meadows 5km March
The Great Ireland Run April
The Great Edinburgh Run May
Edinburgh Half Marathon May

THANK YOU
to everyone who has sponsored me already - I really appreciate it so much & I know CCLASP will too.

SPONSOR ME PLEASE
Please please please sponsor me. Every little donation will help so much.
Your sponsorship will keep me motivated to keep training & keep blogging & will be thankfully received by CCLASP.

Please vist my just giving site, or come & see me if you prefer the old fashioned form method.

In true fudgey tradition there will be home baking to Thank you!

and you can check back to my blog regularly to see my trainign progress, classic Mrs Smith 'thoughts' and just my general all round fudgeyness

and if you don't sponsor me I can't promise that I won't show you my scabby runners feet with blisters & lost toenails......you have been warned :-)

Injury does not equal inactivity

Hello Fudgey Friends,

Hope you have all had a great week and have a fudgey weekend planned.

I haven't blogged this week so far for a number of reasons. I've been really busy at work again this week & been so tired when I've got home in the evening. I've been out 3 nights of the week too.
I also have had no running to blog about what so ever as I picked up a little injury on my long run on Sunday.

Illiotibial Band :-(
The Illiotibial band isn't a muscle it's a piece of connective tissue that runs from the Ilium (hip) to the Tibia (shin bone) & I've hurt mine. This is a really common running injury apparently. Nice to know I'm now a real runner what with my ITB (click link for more description on injury), and the loss of my toenail. Yes I am now officially a real runner!!
Being a qualified First Aider, massage therapist & sometimes a sensible fudge I knew I needed to stop running for a few days at least & initial treatment was R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression & Elevation) I was not a happy fudgey on Sunday evening.

Injury doesn't need to mean inactivity though. I've recently read a couple of books on running in general & on training for a half marathon and if you should get a niggle or get injured - even if you can't run you can find alternatives to keep up your fitness.

So on Monday I went for a swim at lunchtime. 50 lengths of our wee pool = half a mile & I did that in 25 mins. I'm not a great swimmer but I forgot how relaxing it can be. BTW This is not a picture of me! Monday night I was out at my Scottish Slimmers class - even though I reached my target weight in September I still regularly weigh in to make sure I am on track.
On Tuesday I had a quick warm up on the cross trainer & tried out the new cardio wave machine in the gym - my leg wasn't so keen on the range of movement on the cardio wave machine but my goodness when I'm back to full fitness I'll be trying it out again, great workout & calorie burner. I then concentrated on my upper body. I did 3 sets of 15 reps wide grip assisted chins super set with 12 reps bent over row with 15kg bar, 3 sets of 15 reps of swiss ball chest press with 5kg weights superset with 12 press ups, 3 sets of 12 reps bicep curls with 5kg weights, 3 sets of 12 reps of tricep extension with 3kg weights & finally 3 sets of 15 reps ab extensions with 5kg medicine ball. I also had a leisurely 20 minute swim.

The hill are alive.....
with the Sound of Music. On Tuesday evening Mr Fudgey & I went out for dinner with his Mum & Dad & then his Mum & I went to see The Sound of Music at The Edinburgh Playhouse. The meal at Giulianos was good but unfortunately we had to cancel our dessert order as it was too close to the show time and they hadn't arrived :-( I was really looking forward to my wild cherries, ice cream & whipped cream....this would have been a real treat for me as I am usually so strict about what I eat. The show was Fab. A enormous Thank you to Mum Fudgey Smith for getting tickets & taking me. The boys - Mr Fudgey & his Dad went to see a movie 'Edge of Darkness'. A great night was had by all.

Wednesday I had a total rest day & felt so much better for it.

Thursday morning back in the gym.
13 minutes on the cross trainer, weighted steps ups using 20lb weights 10 each leg superset with medicine ball lunges 10 each leg x 3 sets, 3 sets of 15 reps romanian dead lifts with 20kg bar, 4 minute rowing challenge and 3 sets of 15 reps ab extensions with 25lb plate...all closely supervised by Colin my lovely PT....who is also injured....hope your knee is better soon too.

On Thursday night I went for my first ever sports massage to see if it would help my leg. It was the best massage ever. OK a little painful at times but afterwards I felt I could have run home! The tension in the muscles was really released & I felt an immediate difference. £30 well spent. If you workout regularly, are carrying a sports related injury or are training for any kind of sporting or endurance event I would seriously recommend you consider including sports massage into your training plan.

Today I woke up feeling really exhausted and I knew that I had a lot to get done today. Thankfully the fact it was Friday & having plenty to keep my mind busy meant the morning whizzed by. I decided to head down to the gym at lunchtime and did 10 minutes on the cardio wave machine and then 10 minutes on the treadmill. I didn't run fast or far or have an incline on - in fact it was probably more of a jog than a run and it felt OK - not great just OK, but it was great to be back running. All being well I'll start building back up very gradually over the next week or two - but I think I am on the mend.

My fitness regime is so important to me and such a huge part of life now that I'm not going to do anything daft to jeopardise my health and well being and end up being badly injured. This lead me this afternoon to question....when did I get so sensible?
It is vital though to listen to your body.

I managed to get through all the things I has set out to get done at work by the end of today and a few wee extra things so it's been a positive end to the week.

So on that note this little fudgey is going to leave you & go & make my wonderful husband a nice cup of tea.



Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
I'll be back again soon

lots of love
Fudgey xxx

Porridge, Pasta & Personal Training

Hello Fudgey Friends

Hope this finds you all well & coping with the sub zero temperatures....I can't believe how cold it is.

I thought I'd give you an update on my week so far ahead of my winter wonderland adventure - The BUPA Great Winter Run tomorrow.
The course has had to be changed to a flatter 4km rather than the planned 5km round Arthurs Seat due to the icy conditions.....but KMac & I will still be there

Monday 4th Jan saw me back to work & back to some kind of normality though it was still very quiet as here in Scotland we also have a holiday on Jan 2nd & most people took this in lieu since this fell on Sat.
Caught up with the effervescent KMac over our usual morning trip to our Starbucks counter....non stop chatter there & back....It's good to be back.

Tuesday 5th Jan saw hubby return to work too. Really back to normality now.
I tested the M& S Instant Porridge sultana & apple flavour...Amazing :-) At 90p a tub a bit pricey but when you are as conscious about what you feed your body as I am....well worth it. I also had a wild sweet orange Tazo tea from Starbucks ;-)
This was also my first lunchtime gym session since Christmas eve.....I popped down at lunchtime to grab a quick 20min run on the Treadmill & it felt great to be back....it was good to see a few of the regular faces too & I had a quick chat with my fantastic personal trainer Colin

Wednesday 6th Jan - up & out to hit the gym for 7am & managed a 10km Treadmill Run....my time was slow 67mins 13 secs but I had committed a cardinal sin......'Running on Empty'....well actually 3 mouthfuls of tea. This is not something I'd recommend & I must discipline myself to get up earlier & eat something as I increase my training for the half marathon. Hubby, Colin & KMac if you read this please don't give me a row....I gave myself one.
Once I got into the office I tried another portable porridge, this time from Asda. Flahavans Instant Oats 45p ....not as yummy as the M & S one but still pretty damn good & just what I needed after my run. I also had a Tazo Passion tea.

Thursday 7th Jan Up & at the gym again for 7am for my first Personal Training Session of the year. I started having sessions back in May when my weight loss stuck & I'm so glad I did...I would have reached my goal eventually without it but I wouldn't have been as fit or have the body shape I do now. I love my sessions with Colin, he pushes me really hard, constantly challenges me, but also makes sure I don't overdo it either.
In this session we worked upper body & abs which was strange as recently we've been working so much on the legs & training for the half marathon but I had run on Wed & need fresh legs for Sat. The hour as always just flew by.

Friday 8th Jan A rest day in more ways than one. No gym for me today saving myself for the run tomorrow. I also didn't make my packed lunch as usual. I am normally very very strict during the week about what I eat & don't leave home without my fudgey pink lunch bag of supplies but today I treated myself. I had an amazing salad from the canteen of cous cous, chicken, red onion, green olives, beetroot, cherry tomatoes, balsamic dressing & seeds.
The afternoon saw some quality girly chat with KMac & Mandy. They kept making me laugh which wasn't funny as I kept telling them 'Don't make me laugh....Colin broke my abs yesterday' KMac, Mandy - you guys are the best I am still chuckling thinking about the chat & the calories burnt discussions!!!
This evening I made wholewheat spaghetti with onions, garlic, bacon & half fat creme fraiche - one of the brilliant Scottish Slimmers recipes.

I feeling fabby I'm feeling fudgey & the fresh legs are starting to twitch and can't wait to run tomorrow.


If anyone is there tomorrow KMac & I will be the ones wearing the pink plastic ponchoes & leg warmer combo & probably talking non stop right up to the start.
Hubby I thank you so much in advance for coping with us & supporting us....I'll try not to cry at the end this time!

We'll both update you tomorrow with how we get on.

Stay Safe & Stay Warm

love
Fudgey xxxx