June weekly round up #1

Hmmm... Bit of a mixed bag this week. I honestly thought that the first week would be easy, but never mind. Work pressures got in the way (missed ballet class due to being at work) and a couple of nice unplanned evenings.

On the bright side, I did play with a new gym machine that I hadn't noticed before: a spinning machine with video tutorials. I'm not a cycle-y type normally but this was quite fun - lots of changing pace, not too difficult (I picked level one for the first session) and kept me occupied by concentrating on my "cadence" (speed of legs turning). I'm not sure I believe the calorie burn - it didn't seem as hard work as the rowing machine but it reckoned I'd burned 50+ calories more.

Also, I did do better on meal planning this week which mostly kept me eating sensible food and portion sizes. A work in progress.

All in all I'd say there's room for improvement!

The numbers:

Monday: 3.2 mile walk (in a surprising quick 43mins)

Tuesday: walk to and from work (1 mile each way, trying to keep below 17min) + bikini core workout 

Wednesday: walk to work only (surprise dinner date!)

Thursday: walk to work + 27min level one spin session

Friday: walk to work + bikini core work out (unplanned night out)

Time for some accountability

Some of my recent escapades...

Where did my stamina go? I thought I was staying fairly fit and active, what with the skating and skiing and ocassional gym trips. But then last week I did a relatively strenuous gym session followed by some serious ski practise the next day (by serious I mean continuously up the lift, down the slope with little pause for breath or chat). It totally wore me out! I was soooooo tired afterwards - I practically collapsed into bed that night. And even after taking it gently for the next few days (just some light swimming), my muscles didn't recover forat least three days.

It's time I took my fitness a bit more seriously. How am I ever going to survive a long weekend hiking in the Peak District, a couple of days' worth of surfing lessons in Devon or a winter skiing holiday if I'm this out of shape?*

So I'm going to workout every weekday in June, and post my progress here on the blog. It might not make for very exciting reading, but it's my way of being accountable and committing to improving my fitness. 

For the purpose of this challenge that I've set myself, the bear minimum daily workout will be my favourite core workout session from the wonderful Jess at Blonde Ponytail, which only takes 10 mins so should fit easily into the busiest day. I also plan to get to ballet classes (did you wonder what had happened to the ballet? I've been averaging one class every three weeks recently), definitely get to my gym (it's so close that there's no excuse) and also maybe swim occasionally.

Wish me luck!


What are your top tips for getting fitter and staying motivated? Do you have a short workout routine that you'd recommend?

In other news - I plan to do some more posts about all of the amazing Alan Turing events that are happening at the moment. My twitter feed is full of exciting news from Alan Turing Years, The Imitation game and Bletchley Park Podcast...

* Currently none of these exciting sounding trips are booked, but you never know what's round the corner!

Cabinet of dreams

It took me ages to properly realise the potential of our latest Ikea purchase. But finally I sorted it out so here you go...

Ta-dah!

My make up and hair station :)

It's a great height for me (between elbow and shoulder), in-built mirror, compartment for my make-up... everything.

This is the inside:

It's been a good incentive to get rid of old, crumbly, rubbishy make-up that's been around too much. I don't wear make-up very often and as a result it often ends up sitting in the bottom of a bag for far too long.

The latest (and most genius) addition is the extension lead. For the first time in ages I have a mirror within easy placement of a socket for my hairdrier. It's luxury.

And below, the drawers are also being put to good use:

Hairdrier, brushes, conditioning and heat protection spray, heated curlers, gas curler, hair straighteners, the lot!

Most are only used once in a blue moon - I'm not half as organised or stylish as these pictures would suggest. Now, if only I could manage to organise the rest of the place just as well...

Small goals

I have a few days off work this week. I'm determined to do very little and relax as much as possible. With this in mind, here's my do to list for the week:

• Turn the alarm off (already done in anticipation!)
• Buy a magazine and sit in a coffee shop reading it cover to cover
• Go skiing at least once (got to keep the practise up)
• Eat brunch
• Read lots of books (well at least the latest download on my kindle, maybe more)
• Start planning this summer's adventure/holiday (got some research to do)
• Wear a bit of make up everyday (if I'm not dragging myself to work then I should have time for this)
• Whilst eating out (which is likely to happen quite a bit), make some healthy menu choices 
• Paint my nails (already done - first time in about six weeks!)

What's your favourite relax and rewind activity?

Nothing like being busy

What an active weekend - I'm certainly starting to work my muscles and build a bit of stamina; my legs are a teensy bit sore today!

On Saturday there was more skiing. I'm trying to get lots of practise in so that I don't lose the skills my instructor taught me and continue to grow in confidence. I did lots and lots of runs. In fact, barring the short break for a cup of tea in the middle, I pretty much skied for two hours straight. And I got to wear my new ski jacket which I treated myself to after being signed off by my coach (up until now I've been skiing in my sailing jacket, which worked just fine but won't cut the mustard on a proper skiing trip).

At the top!

Sunday turned into skating day. We didn't join the London Friday Night Skate crew for their Sunday stroll because we wanted to take it gently, so instead we pottered up down and around Hyde Park for a couple if hours. The place was packed (well it was 27degC) so we had fun dodging pedestrians, cyclists, other skaters, skateboarders, scooters and other associated Sunday park goers. Sunshine, ice cream and selfies on-the-move. Glorious.

We topped off the weekend with homemade seafood paella (very loosely based on Jamie Oliver's recipe here), dining al fresco :) Long may the warm weather continue!

Little happy thoughts

I've finally started taking more photos on my phone to blog about. Unfortunately, this hasn't exactly translated in me remembering to write blog posts so I've got all these photos sat doing nothing!

I thought I'd share with you some of the best things that I've done recently...

A cheeky glass of champagne.

A tasty and healthy mid-afternoon snack. Much better than biscuits.

The sea always makes me happier. I didn't even paddle this time.

Dawlish beach, Devon. Beautiful.

Sushi plates arranged into a rainbow. I love sushi and rainbows :)

Another rainbow :)

What's been making you smile recently?

Let loose on the slopes!

After three lessons featuring quite a bit of falling over and a very patient ski instructor, I've got myself signed off to ski by myself!

This lesson was so much more fun than the previous two. I took the bumps more naturally and even smiled whilst skiing (a new experience for me!). I also didn't take any tumbles although there were a few wobbly moments. 

Currently my skiing still resembles a zombie on ice. I'm much more relaxed than I was but am still too stiff; I have a tendency to look at my skis unless someone reminds me to look up; and generally I pootle down at a pace slightly faster than that of a tortoise.

Anyways, I am celebrating and made the most of an hour on the slopes without my instructor. Yay!