What A Weekend

Well every year i think i get a little bit more insane :-) not only did i decide to do the nottingham triathlon this year but i also decided to do the club relays the day before.... yes i know 2 triathlons but only one weekend... i dont know what i was thinking!

Well the truth is i thought the relays would be an easier warm up, as you get a break inbetween each discipline whilst you wait for your team mates to complete their laps..... well the truth is this made it harder... not only did i get beaten up royally by fellow swimers (i have the bruises to prove it) and attacked by monster weeds in the open water swim (i started first amongst over 200 people) but because i was the first swim, bike and run in our team, i had an hour and a half wait inbetween my bike and my run.... the cooling down after the bike and then trying to get yourself up and sorted again over an hour later to run was not just mentally challenging but physically exhausting too. however i did it, and over all in my team came first in the swim, second in the bike and last in the run (i never proffess to be a great runner... however although slower in the run then the rest of my team it was a PB for me... ) and over all due to my fast swim and bike our times were pretty similar... this was a great confidence boost for me as one of the girls in my team won the lincoln tri just a few weeks before... and guess what i beat her in the swim and the bike...only by a few seconds mind and i think she was holding back for the nottingham tri the next day but hey ho it still felt pretty good.

god im rambling again... appologies where was i?

oh yeah... well as much as i enjoyed the club relays (and well done to Louise in her first ever Triathlon) i was really more excited by the individuals the next day. Last year i just wanted to see if i could do it..... this year i wanted to beat my time.

so before i knew it i was back in the water sunday morning waiting for the start of the swim.... off we went on the starters horn.... i was fairly relaxed this year... anaged to steer away from too many punches and generally keep chilled, however some lady kept grabbing my leg and the lake was full of weed i practically ran aground at one point... so my swim was a little slower than last year.... then out of the swim into T1  (where i faffed a little too long) and out onto the bike....
now last year on the bike despite a fast swim i was then over taken constantly due to a poor bike performance.... this year however things have changed... i am more confident and have stronger bike legs and i began to overtake others! i knocked over 20 minutes off last years bike time woohoo...
then it was out onto the run.... here was where the question "why am i doing this?" popped into my head.... due to my knee injury and general exhuastion i had to fight myself the whole way round just to keep running... but i did and my time was the same as last year on the run and i managed a sprint finish too.... woohoo, overall i knocked nearly half an hour of last years time.

i never thought i would say this... but now i dont want to just get round... i want to train for the medals, this year has proved how far i have come, my swim is strong, my bike has gotten stronger... and my run ... well it needs work but with a few minutes knocked off here and there i could do it.

i am no longer that over weight unfit girl.......I am now a triathlete

oh p.s i got the job at david lloyds and also a cover job at my gym, so im now a personal trainer at david lloyds and a spin instructor at my local gym :-)

Time for an Update me thinks

appologies all, i know it has been some time since i ranted on about things, however im sure you did not miss me too much.

so much has happened in the past few weeks.... i have officially become a fully qualified Personal Trainer, come back to my dreary job, had several interviews with David Lloyd Health club in nottingham (to which the final one is tuesday... and its looking good for my new life to start there), made home made jam (which i am utterly proud of and generally started making some positive changes to my own fitness and nutrition regime.

so where do i start.... well the Personal training bit is my most exciting news i guess, however i will miss the many fun times we had in london i am now raring to go with it and all being well David lloyd will be the place for me to do this. i still have a mountain to climb doing my normal full time job as well as part time PT at david lloyd but it will hopefully be an enjoyable and challenging moutain....and eventually will lead to me reducing my dreary hours behind an office desk and filling them with far more exciting times running round studios helping my clients find the fun in fitness!

changing my nutrition regime.... well would you  believe it i now have full fat milk (yes full fat read my previous blog to see why) in the fridge as well as unprocessed full fat orgainic butter, my cuboard is bursting to the seems wth organinc natural products, and i am carefully monitoring my sugar intake..... my house mate who has always been very pro organic is proud of me, although my pockets are a little emptier i feel satisfied knowing my body will reep the benefits... plus if you shop savvy you can still get good wholesome organic low processed food for less if you get the shops own brand rather than brand names :-) and the look of the food on my plate is highly satisfying, and lets face it butter just tastes far better than marge :-)

Jam making...... ooooooo i had fun here, my loacl parks are currently bursting to the seems with blackberrys and with a little help from my sister Mrs B a jam recipe was gained and the jam challenge set :-)http://afteralltheworldisabeautifulplace.blogspot.com/

now in this process i learnt a few things....

1. firstly do not go blackberry picking in shorts and flip flops injuries will occur

2. always watch out for bees.... it is not wise to pick them,,,,, you are infact after blackberries after all

3. never leave blackberry jam unattended...... unless you want your kitchen to look like someone was murdered bruttaly in it.

4. if removing seeds from jam do this speedily time is of the essence before the jam sets

5. only ever keep one pot for you and give the rest to friends they will throughly enjoy this.

Fitness regime creation..... well this is still a work in progress and will be for a while as i have 2 triathlons and a half marathon coming up running steadily and building my miles without knee issues is currently my main aim... but to be honest getting out on my bike or running round the lake is still just a joy, with my ipod on and my new iphone tracking my progress with runkeeper im steadily getting there :-)

so there you go a wordy and waffly update..... i will try to ensure i do more

i cannot quite believe all the hard work is finally paying off and i am now in a position to truely share this with others..... if i help but a few my job here will be done.

xx Mairi

What is good nutrition?!

what is good nutrition?????? well that is certaininly the question.
Many times i have believed that my general food intake is pretty rich in the nutrients that i should be getting, however being a vegetarian for 15 years (recently fallen off the wagon) i often dont get enough protein, but generaly i try pretty hard to take in the right foods and not too many calories.
However today we have been taking a bit more of an indepth look at nutrition and it turns out its a bit of a political quagmire, with companies bribing scientists to research the benefits of their food... and then blatently lieing about the result.
Now how many of you out there  grab the low fat this and the low fat that? or use marg instead of butter?

well i tell you now be very careful of what you are picking up..... it could indeed be far worse for you than the original full fat version.
for many years people have been afraid of fat (did you know someone was paid to do some research to say how bad it was for you and when he actually found out it was near the oposite he was paid to tell us otherwise!)... we are constantly told of how bad it is, and how much it will clog our arteries.... and eat our low fat spread because its far better for you and will lower cholesterol too.
what they dont tell you is that to make their spread look or taste similar to the real thing they have prodded and played with and mutated what was once a good food and created a monster TRANS FATS being a prime example.
stay away from anything that says hydrogenated... or partially hydroginated, steer clear of anything white... nature doesnt do white (except coconut) and instead reach for the most natural and unprocessed food you can, it will take longer to break down and thus keep you on a more even keel.
Many processed foods will cause the dreaded sugar spike... most people just associate this with a sugar low after and as long as its only a couple of hundred calories (that yummy twix) think its fine if its in my daily limit. but actually its far more than that,  high GI  foods (those that break down into energy/glucose/sugar easily) with high Glyceamic loads (increased blood insulin levels for longer) can cause havoc with your system.
Most are more afraid of fat than they are sugar... when the truth is sugar is by far the greater evil, by causing increased levels of blood glucose they increase the levels of blood insulin which in turn stops you from burning fat. Put it this way insulin loves to store fat, imagine it running round your body stealing any free floating fat and wacking it straight into those bumby areas! Now i know i would rather burn it than store it so im going to be far more careful about my sugar intake and a little less fearful of my GOOD fat intake (after all your spinal cord is primarily made up of fat amongst many ther things)
so if you really want to make sure you are eating the right things by all means listen to the advice but keep an open mind about where that advise is coming from and who it might actually benefit. and most of all try to avoid highly processed food.... if its been bashed, microwaved, rolled, frozen whatever its guna be far easier to absorb and thus the body will use less energy to break it down... and roll on thunder thighs.
but dont think this means you cant have a little of what you want.... i will still have my chocolate bar, pizza or my caffee late.... ill just be far more aware of its affects and limit the times i have it.

Mairis army

Well it's been one heck of a week. I have taken part in more aerobics classes then I ever would have thought humanely possible in a week!

I have side stepped,grapevined and leg curled my way to a very sweaty victory.

Now I have never been the most comfortable aerobics participant often feeling more like a baby elephant on ice than anything else. But through sheer determination, sweat and tears not to mention a few hours in London fields park prancing around like a looney..... I have made it through.

Today was assessment day and along with a banana a few of what looked like the cast from frame, and myself dressed as an army sergeant we pranced our way through aerobic hell and came out the other side qualified!

Oh yeah me and my barmy army can dance and no we will bring forth our aerobic prowess to the world 

Today has definatly been a Fat Day

It has been so hot in london today..... which completly blew out any plans we had to go wondering far or do revision.

So instead we had a rather unsuccessful trip to primark (short shopping) and then headed to the market where a mahusive slab of water melon was bought and some cucumber and strawberries! yes you have guessed its pimms O'clock and today was going to be a pimms day :-)

We then headed to sainsburys and after getting various bits for sandwiches we also had some mint icecream fall into the trolley along with various ice cream sundae making materials.... such as that chocolate sauce you had as a kid which goes hard on contact with the icecream yummmy.

I know its bad but it was just too hot to do anything today other than chill out, drink pimms and eat icecream.

we all deserve a Fat day everynow and again. but i will do the gym time in the week as penance :-)

Happy Pimms Day

Now i guess i should go on and do a little revision for my Personal Training exam now its a bit cooler.

Now heres where it gets interesting

Well im now nearly half way through my PT course and im still loving every minute. Now most of the anatomy and physiology we have done up to this week has been more of a refresher for me, but we are now getting deep into the practical applications of the science and all i want is more.....
Im learning so much about myself and the reasons both mental and physical as to why i have plateauxed! and Yes Toby i can now see what you mean about over training.....and i admit im falling firmly into that category.
All this time i was thinking ive been training less vigorously than last year and couldnt quite see why i have not managed to loose this last stone and a half... its been so irritating.... stubbourn fat!
I thought i had a fairly mixed up routine, but when i look at it now, even though many of the excercises may change i have been training in the same zone and essentially my body has got bored. Its desperate for a change. imagine how bored you would get eating the same breakfast every day for a year.... well thats pretty much how my body is feeling.
Now much of the reason my routine is set is due to work and time i have availible.... but its no excuse for me not to change it up a bit more..... as the saying goes "if you always do what you have always done you will always get what you have always got!"
I cant wait to start instigating some of the training methods we are learning, now i have a better understanding of what works what and why, and how it will make it so much easier for me to apply logic and get gains ( or losses dependent on how you look at it :-) ).... not just for me but for my future clients too.
i can barely control the excitement of the potential for me to not only change my life but also improve others too. as i have said before if i can just change a handful of peoples lives the way i have what better reward could i have... and i really hope that i can be just good enough to do that.

Legs and abs of steel

well im now 1.5 weeks through my PT course and its going great. i have passed my first assesments with flying colours and have been told by my trainer that i have a flair for the job and great personality she thinks i will make a great PT.
Its so good to feel like im making the right choice im loving every day from theory in the classroom to bench pressing with the guys.
we also did some fitness testing today... a bit like a body MOT... and i have got the all clear. not only is my BP is normal, my lung capacity well over average, and my resting heart rate is low (but not scary theres an issue low just my body is chilaxing low).
We also did a fitness step test in which i scored higher than the girls and up there with the boys, as well as a sit up test where i also beat the girls and to the boys shock beat most of them too tehehehe.
We also tried out our max strength today. this is basically how much can you pull, push, lift etc in one repitition... i.e its as heavy as you can go you will be able to do one but no more. I (again to the boys suprise) leg pressed 185 kilos more than double my weight, and chest pressed 55 kilos.
All of the above just goes to show that you dont have to look ultra skinny or fit to actually be fit. im a good size 14-16 and i am right up there with the best in my class. i think i earned a little respect today from those in my class and gave myself a pretty good boost of confidence too.
Roll on tomorrow. i cant wait to get out there and start helping others.