Run baby run: Part 1

Right. Hold onto your hat people. I'm inspired. I'm going to run the race for life in July in rememberance of my Grandma and uncle who died of bowel and lung cancer respectively.

It's 5km. I know that may sound like nothing to some of you but I'm determined to be in adequate shape to run the whole bloody thing. And then?

Well, I'm considering running a half marathon. It may not happen this year. Or maybe it will but it would have to be the latter half of the year, as I will need all the time I can to seriously train (hard) and improve my endurance. I don't think there will be any runs here in the UK at the end of the year as it will be winter ... so maybe I'll investigate what half-marathons are scheduled back in Oz.

So, I am now off to Waterstone's bookshop to see if I can find a book on training to run a marathon. I do kind of remember I friend of mine mentioning a book matching this description way back when I considered running to be a sport for the insane. That very well may explain why I can't even vaguely recall the title of the book!

The long weekend of boy

8:35am Saturday 17th March
“Fark, fark, fark … move people! I’m running laaaate!”. It was all I could think as I ran through the rabbit warren of the London Underground, like I had a white hot poker up my arse.

8:40am
Passing Costa Coffee in a disheveled mess of blonde hair and pashmina scarf. THE rendezvous point for meeting the boy if I was running late (am I really that unpunctual that we have to make these plans?!). No boy. Thank the Lord! I will be able to meet him off the train.

8:45am
No sign of boy.

8:58am
Still no sign of boy.

Shite it’s cold. Only yesterday it was a pleasant 15 degrees soaked with sun. Today, it’s 3 degrees and overcast. Typical. Welcome to London, enjoy your stay.

9:00am
Switch seats after sleeping hobo gets up and moves off. I figure his seat is going to be much warmer than mine. It’s not. My arse is freezing.

9:10am
Another Gatwick Express train has arrived. That’s a total of three in the time I’ve been here.

Still no boy. Begin to wonder if there was a problem with the flight (his original flight was meant to fly into Heathrow at 6:30am but his flight plan was changed to a direct flight into Gatwick at 7:30am due to some storm on the East coast of the States). Then begin to panic that he has been refused entry to the great British nation because he was traveling on his diplomatic passport. A little naughty but not illegal.

9:20am
Stroll up to look at flight board in front of Gatwick Express ticket office. It only lists departing flights from Gatwick. Dammit!

9:25am
Another train arrives. No boy.

9:30am
Pull out my lugging big book out of lugging big bag (a Mary Poppin’s type carpet bag). I try to read a bit. I read the same sentence four times. I place lugging big book back in lugging big bag.

9:35am
Begin to clean nails. Another train has arrived. And then I see him. He hasn’t seen me. He’s striding up the concourse trailing his very grown up suitcase (he normally carries a duffle bag that is never essentially packed but rather a mish-mash of his travel items!). I can see, even from a distance, he has grown a beard. Umm, what’s that about? Then he spots me.

The rest of Saturday passes in a blur. A beautiful blur. A happy blur.

Saturday night we went to a ridiculously formal restaurant for a date. We had no idea what they were asking or offering us most of the time due to their thick European accents and use of big, fancy pants words! We could barely decipher the menu. And as for the cutlery … well, there was enough there to start our own military operation!

We settled on pink champagne for an aperitif. Grilled crab legs with olive oil and tomato dressing for starters. Whole lobster and a rather fancy beef fillet. The crab legs were to die for! I have never eaten crab legs in my life. They were magic. I could’ve eaten myself into a stupor with them. The lobster was served complete with a magic show (I kid you not!). And the beef was gorgeous. Only problem was that I could only eat four mouthfuls. Even that was a struggle. Rob ended up having to eat two meals – surf and turf - poor possum! Unfortunately I was not able to keep my four mouthfuls down. 29GBP for a bulimic episode sucks. After a latte and a few mouthfuls of chocolate fondant pudding, all was well with the world again.

We did plan on going for a stroll after dinner but it was titty cold. In a sheer stroke of genuis, I was only wearing a cocktail dress, sans stockings and stilettos; hence grand plans of strolling were aborted! I did have my black wool coat on but when only half your body is clothed, you’re hardly going to stay warm! Therefore, there was a brisk dash to the tube station with me repetitively stating the obvious … “Geez, it’s cold”, “It’s really, really cold”, “I’m so frigging cold!”. Just how many ways can you possibly say the same thing, I ask?!

Rob loves pictures of me when I'm laughing! And although this picture is out of focus you can still see that I no longer have a double chin and you can see my collar bones! I love collar bones!

Sunday was essentially a day dedicated to rugby. We jumped a train to Reading and ended up sitting next to a rather peculiar couple (“Asking him if it’s snowing”). Rob had got us tickets to see London Wasps vs London Irish in a big St Patty’s day (or day after!) match. The weather was on the crisp side when we left home but by the time we got to Reading it started sleeting, raining and blowing a gale. I was not a happy camper. At all. I’m sure Rob would rather have had his balls clamped than contend with my stroppy, so not happy countenance. But once we were in the stadium, the wind was almost non-existent and we were mostly under the stadium cover. The seats we had were fantastic. Rob drank Guinness and a little more Guinness.

And as quickly as it started, the weekend was over. Sigh.

Lost & found

LOST: Bandit Girl’s motivation and enthusiasm to kick arse in banishing “the lard”
Item is of sentimental value. Owner is distraught. If found, please contact Bandit Girl on the on the B-phone. Generous reward offered.

Yup. My clever friends, no doubt you've guessed the reason for the absence. I have had a monumental fall off the wagon … and I'm yet to claw my way back on. In the past, I've had very temporary mishaps with the wagon but have managed to get a leg back on before any serious damage was incurred. So what’s happened lately? I’m not sure. I think it’s been a combination of things. Ever since the overfill and consequent ill health, I developed a fear of eating solid food in case I still had the gastric swelling (I know, I know - 4 weeks is more than enough time for these things to resolve and was a poor attempt at an excuse after the first week!). I was eating a lot of ‘soft’ food – known to bandsters as the ‘soft food’ syndrome. This is to be avoided. Not because it’s detrimental to the band but because you can consume more calories than you actually require due to the consistency of the food or high calorie drinks (milkshakes, juice, lattes etc – which is okay just after a fill but not for extended periods). But after the swelling parlava, I was just plain lazy and unmotivated. In generaly, I have also seemed to have got a bit … okay, very blaze. I’ve lost a lot of weight, I feel good about myself and I’m getting sick of continually having to buy clothes and dragging the old stuff down to Good Sam’s on a crowded bus. Yet, I would love to lost another 10-15kgs. So what’s stopping me from just knuckling down and bloody doing it? Sigh.

Added to the melting pot, has been the uncertainty of where life is taking me at the moment and what I'm doing. All this continual sorting, problem solving and fretting over all the ins and outs that are my life on a daily basis has taken up a lot of my emotional and mental energy, which has left me with very little energy or enthusiasm for the shrinkage thing.

But with a little ground work I am in for a spectacular come back!

The ground work has included:

• a decision to stay in London for the time being until the hospital here gets organized with this supposed position in the Middle East or until Rob and I make further plans (I will be sending in my application for the Highly Skilled Migrant Permit on Monday after finally getting all the evidence together that the Home Office needs – which, may I add, is rather extensive! It’s going to cost me around 800GBP for this application with no guarantee that I’ll even be granted the permit in the end even though I well and truly meet the criteria and points required! Gulp!)
• sorting out and some further nesting in my wee apartment (honestly, it’s no bigger than a shoe box!). I have not changed the duvet cover or linen since I moved in over a year ago (Oi! I have indeed washed the linen and duvet cover just not changed the set of linen or cover I’ve been using!). I felt I needed to have a change. So I splashed out and bought some gorgeous Egyptian cotton sheets (300 thread count – oh my gawd, take my word, quality sheets are the bomb to sleep on!) in oyster, some white pillow slips, a couple of new pillows and a new boudoir cushion. I printed out some new photos for my photo frames. I also bought new incense, can opener, vege peeler and flowers. I carted all my heavy linen (duvet, towels, duvet covers, valance, bath mats ra-de-rah-rah) up to the laundromat for a serviced wash. I cleaned the house within an inch of it’s life. I ventured down to Good Sam’s to do another delivery of unwanted goods. And I changed my duvet cover and made up the bed with the new sheets and pillows – I now have a divine bed in white and caramel/oyster. It’s rather noice! So now the house is uber clean and done to minimum stuff levels. I so love not having clutter! It’s funny but when my living space is clean, organised and uncluttered, I find that I, myself – mentally, physically and emotionally - feel the same way. If my living space is completely chaotic for a long period, I find I become out of sync. Strange but true!
• I have, in my hot little hands, a free registration coupon to join Weight Watchers this coming Tuesday. I know this concept may sound strange … you know, joining WW when I have a band but I really need the support and motivation of other people who are also on a weight loss journey. I realize I may struggle with sticking strictly to the WW eating plan due to my low calorie intake and problems digesting certain foods but just to get back on track. It’s not a long term gig – four to six weeks max.
• I have researched alternative yoga class venues. I was attending Bikram yoga but certain classes are so jammed packed that you can hardly move … so I just wanted some alternative venues to practice yoga of some description.
• I have entered all my regular foods into FitDay so I can keep a record of my calorie intake over the next 4 weeks.
  
  The rest of the plan?:
• I will make a commitment to myself to exercise regularly for 4 weeks (after the 4 week mark it becomes routine)
• Join WW
• Eat three meals a day plus one-two snacks if required
• Plan meals in advance
• Regular weigh in (WW & home scales)
• Track food (FitDay and in notebook)
• Book for a small fill (.4cc in 3-4 weeks time)
• Keep in regular contact with my mate who also has a band – when we stay in contact we seem to be able to move mountains of pounds!
• PREPARATION!

Oh my gawd! Would you look at that! I have just glimpsed the shiny face of my motivation. Right! I’m off to catch it and bottle it!

Have you met Miss Jones?

Weight: holding steady

Jars of nutella consumed in last 4 weeks: pass

Days exercised last week: 0

Clothing in my cupboard that fits: less than 20%

Size of undies bought yesterday: 12 (yeah-huh!)

Amount of money spent on looking gorgeous this week: 140GBP (new undies, brazilian & eyebrow wax and hairdresser .. my credit card has taken objection to my melting body. Thank all that's holy for increased credit card limits and bank overdrafts!)

Work: in status quo (suprised?!)

To do list:

1. End obsession with nutella ... starting tomorrow
2. Exercise (is it all coming back to you now, Bandit Girl?)
3. Wear the fabric outta my new size 12 undies
4. Replace manky head on electric toothbrush
5. Banish ridiculously oversized coat to Good Sam's as it makes me look like a knob head drowning in fabric (I could be a dead ringer for that Jeepers Creepers scarecrow dude)
6. Shave legs
7. Be nice to strangers