Where Did the Week Go - W/E 11th May 2024

This week got off to a quiet start, on account of the Bank Holiday. We don't normally go anywhere or do anything out of the norm, due to traffic on the roads, etc. and anyway, OH was cycling on Saturday and Sunday, so I spent most of the weekend pottering about at home.

When he got back on Sunday, we did make a quick dash to a DIY store before it closed, to get some supplies for him to get the shed base ready, for when the shed arrives in a couple of weeks. 

On Monday, OH came with me for my Couch to 5K run. He's currently recovering from a hamstring injury and needed a slow short run. I think it was a lot slower than he expected!

Anyway, when I got back I got changed and then headed out to do the weekly shop locally. I was working later in the afternoon, so there wasn't time to go further afield.

Work was pretty busy, so passed okay. I bought a few bits for OH's birthday later this month, as there was a bigger discount than usual for staff. 

I did my usual class on Tuesday. LB came home for a few days just before I headed off, which was great. It was lovely to see her again. She had some written work to do for Uni, which she could do whilst she was at home and we were planning to do some last bits of shopping before the family wedding, which is coming up in a few weeks time.

When I got back from my class, we could catch up properly, until I had to go into work in the evening. She was busy with her Uni work anyway, so it worked out well. I was only due to work on Monday and Tuesday this week, so luckily I had the rest of the week off. 

On Wednesday, I had a chilled day. I did do an extra long run in the morning, which took 35 minutes. I needed to try to push on to prepare for the 5K, and try to get nearer the target of 5K, as I was running less than 3 km on my runs. I needed to know if I could run for longer. It didn't feel too bad actually. 

I only had 2 or 3 runs left before the event, so I decided I would extend my runs  each run, until I was covering 5K in distance. As you can probably tell, I'm a ridiculously slow runner, but I'll just be happy if I complete the run and preferably run the whole distance, regardless of how long it takes. I will, of course, be at the back of the pack and if I find I need to walk a bit I will, but I don't really care too much about that. The only person I'm running for is myself, to see if I can actually do it.

On Wednesday evening, OH and I watched Race Across the World again. We love this programme and would love to do more travelling some day, when we get the chance. LB managed to finish and submit her Uni work on Wednesday, which meant that we were free to head off shopping the following day.

We set off on our shopping trip around 10.30 am, driving to a large mall 20 miles outside of London. We'd not been to this mall for years, since LB was small, as we tend to go to a more local one that's since been built, but we specifically went here because I'd bought LB some bras online to wear at the wedding, but when she'd tried them on they didn't fit, so I needed to return them and this was the easiest place to do that and do the shopping and other things that we needed to do. 

We didn't spend that much time in the mall. I got my refund and we managed to find some bras that fitted and then we had a little look in Primark too, but didn't really find anything we wanted to buy. We then went to Supercuts and both had our hair cut. I was happy with how mine turned out and so was LB. It felt like a win to get these two things done. Anything else was a bonus.

Next, we headed to the outdoor retail park, so that LB could pay a visit to Hobbycraft to buy some yarn, as she wanted to crochet a shrug to wear over her dress for the wedding. Whilst she was in there, I did a small shop in Home Bargains next door.

We made one more stop, which was on the way home, to my absolute favourite large out of town charity shop and we both had a good mooch around. I found quite a few tops there for work, for the summer months, the gym and other occasions. I bought 8 tops and 6 books for £23, which I thought was great value. I'll do a separate post about the things I bought. There was some filming going on in the store, which created lots of activity, which was interesting.

On Friday morning, I headed out for a run after the dog walk. It was my last run of the week, so I ended up running a bit longer and virtually running 5K, well 4.75K, so at least I know I can just about do it. It was midday when I ran though and very hot. Although I tried to keep in the shade, there often wasn't much. I was a bit red faced (not from sunburn) and my legs were like jelly when I stopped running, but I felt better knowing that I was only a few metres from running the full 5K.

LB headed back to Uni in the afternoon. It had been so good to have her home again so soon. We'll next see her at the wedding. She's taking the train up to meet us in Yorkshire, as she's at Uni the week before and can't get away early. We're heading up early to pick up a camper van en route, in which we'll all be staying for the duration of the wedding. It should be fun.

On Saturday, OH was out cycling again so I took the dog out. When I got back I decided to do a bit of housework and cleaning, which felt productive. I watered and fed my houseplants and potted some of them on, which I'd been meaning to do for a while. I then spent a couple of hours pruning in the garden. There were a couple of corkscrew hazels that needed a bit of attention, as they were getting a bit overgrown. It felt good to get these under control again, although the garden didn't look much different afterwards.

OH then got out a new BBQ that we hadn't used yet and put it together and made our supper on it. Beef steaks with air fried potatoes, which was nice, before we settled down to watch Eurovision.

This week passed so quickly, I guess it does when it's filled with nice things like spending time as a family. Next week, will be all about the 5K run which takes place on Saturday. I'll be glad when it's done if I'm honest, as it has taken up a lot of my mental and physical energy lately, but I do want to enjoy the experience too. I'm looking forward to possibly running without a goal in sight, as and when I feel like it once it's done.

A Week of Better Weather (Mostly!) - W/E 4th May 2024

I thought I'd do my weekly post a little differently this week, mainly because it gets a bit repetitive. As you may have gathered, I'm a creature of habit and routine. I need a routine, it keeps me motivated, self-disciplined and sane, especially when I'm on a weight loss journey.

I was asked if I'd go into work on Sunday afternoon. I didn't really want to, as LB was home, but managed to arrange to go in for 2 pm, so I got a few hours to chat and catch up with her. She returned to halls in the afternoon whilst I was at work. It was lovely to have her home for a night. She'd had a good night out at her friend's house in our part of town, but needed to get back for Uni on Monday morning as it's too far and too busy to travel in Monday morning's rush hour.

I was also working on Monday and Tuesday evenings this week, so I had a four day stretch of working. I did get paid this week though and due to all the extra hours I'd put in, I got a nice surprise when I saw my wage slip. 

Before work on Monday, I managed to get the weekly shop done, as usual, and saved over £8 using the Lidl Plus 10% off coupon that I'd earned by spending over £250 there this month.

I continued with the Couch to 5k runs again this week (Week 5 on the app). They got ramped up again big style. Monday's run was 3 x 5 min runs, Wednesday's was 2 x 8 min runs and Friday was one 20 minute run, which sounded super daunting.  

I wore my new running trainers this week and they felt good. Nice and well cushioned. I feel like I'm starting to find my own personal dress code when running. I'm not a tight leggings and vest kind of runner. I prefer leggings with loose shorts over the top and a T-shirt. I just feel more comfortable a bit more casual and covered up. I invested in a second-hand baseball cap to help mask the sweaty, red face a little and keep the sun off my face. (When we get any!) I quite enjoy wearing it. I think this is what I'll wear when I do the actual 5K run. 

With the weather being much better this week, I was able to go out running without a sweatshirt on over the top, which meant I was a little less encumbered and I was also able to put my phone in a waist belt and leave it there.  I don't look at it much now when I'm running, I just listen out for the cues from the app and listen to my music.  The only annoying thing was the adverts between songs on YouTube. As a consequence of this, I took advantage of 3 months free premium Spotify membership and made a playlist without adverts. It should be a gamechanger. Once the free trial runs out, OH is going to purchase a family membership for all of us, as both he and LB use it a lot.

The weather didn't play ball for my final run of the week on Friday, as it rained for most of the morning. I ended up going out whilst it was still raining lightly. My trainers took the hit and are no longer sparkling white. I spent most of the run avoiding puddles and mud. I know I need to let go and let them get filthy, but I'm resisting. Anyway, I did the 20 minute run and it felt like a real landmark in my running journey. The app is so good, it is really helping to build my confidence and stamina. I never really believed I would get to this point.  Here's a picture of my trainers post run:

Could be worse!

Other exercise this week, included my usual Tuesday class, which has gone down in price again, which I'm not complaining about. It was very full again this week. It really is getting so popular. The New Age games classes started again this week, and I attended the Saturday gym session. I've actually really missed them this last month, but luckily, running has helped to fill the gap and give me a new challenge.

The weather for the most part, made a big difference this week. Experiencing the warmth from the sun when running, walking the dog and walking to classes felt wonderful, therapeutic even, after what feels like such a long, cold, wet winter.

The garden is really starting to green up now. I took the opportunity to plant my dahlia tubers into pots early in the week, as it was still a little early to put them into the ground at the allotment. Another small job done.

I was off work on Wednesday, which was bliss, so I used the time to catch up with my financials and cook up some homemade food for the dog. I also did a bit of a wardrobe sort out, taking out any items I will no longer wear and packing up some of the thicker and heavier winter clothes to make more space. This felt very satisfying to do and should make life much easier when deciding what to wear. 

I also did a sort out of my gym/running clothes. Some things, that I used at the start of my weight loss journey, are just way too big now and are taking up valuable real estate in the drawer. Some I donated and some I put into storage, just in case. As a consequence, I feel a lot more organised going forward.

I had another free day on Thursday and I decided to make it a complete rest day and not go to the gym, as I'd be going to the free gym session on the Saturday. After walking the dog in the morning, I had an early lunch and then set out to go into our local town. I needed to get a couple of bits, one of which was a sympathy card, as my dad's sister had telephoned earlier in the week to tell me that her brother had passed away. She is now the only living sibling on that side of the family, which must feel very strange for her, bless her.

It's a busy time family wise at the moment. OH's neice gets married in a few weeks, so we'll be travelling north to attend the wedding. His other sister is talking about visiting us here in London in June, and his cousin and her husband are coming over to the UK from New Zealand as I write this, so it will be nice to see them again at the wedding. 

My nephew is also getting married in Australia, on the same day as the wedding here, OH's birthday is coming up in May and we're planning a holiday to Greece in June, so it's going to be a busy couple of months, especially with the shed to build inbetween and a 5k run to train for and complete the week before the wedding (OH is doing a 5k and a half marathon).  Luckily, I'm taking a couple of weeks off work, which should help.  

I have to admit that some weeks when I'm busy with work too, I do feel quite overwhelmed, as I do like a quiet life, but it will be fun to see everyone at the wedding and once we are on holiday, we'll get a chance to relax.

Back to the shopping trip, the other thing I needed to do on Thursday, was to continue the hunt for some matching fabric for my quilt and I decided to look in a couple of local to me fabric shops on this occasion. 

I walked into town to increase my steps for the day. The first fabric shop didn't have a fabric that matched well enough, so I decided to walk on to a fabric warehouse that I last frequented when I was doing a BTech in Fashion course over 10 years ago. It was quite a walk to get there, but I quite enjoyed it.

The warehouse was big with hundreds of rolls of fabric, but again, nothing colour matched well enough. I did find a roll of black linen though, to cover the sofa seat cushion, so I bought a meter of that. It wasn't cheap at £10, but at least it will allow me to finish the sofa cover.

After not having any success in the fabric places, I changed tack and decided to visit a couple of charity shops in this part of town, before catching the bus home. I struck lucky in the first one and found a pack of two new pillowcases from Primark, that were virtually a perfect match. They cost £1 and probably provided me with almost 1 metre of fabric once cut open. They are a 60%/40% cotton/polyester blend which is okay. I was thrilled just to find something suitable that was the right colour, as I was losing hope at that point. It was great to be able to continue quilting when I got home. I'd really missed it.

Friday, was a quiet day at home. After my morning run, I chilled for a while doing some stitching on my quilt and then had lunch. I hadn't slept well the night before, so I ended up curling up on the sofa watching the last two episodes of Death Comes to Pemberley, which I enjoyed.

OH booked our forthcoming holiday to Greece today. We're going to Santorini, one of the Greek Islands. I can't wait. It looks beautiful.

Saturday, I headed back to the free gym sessions which re-started. OH was out at a cycling event all day, so I chilled at home. I met him and some cycling friends at the pub later, where we had some supper, which made a nice sociable end to the week.

I hope you had a good week.