This will probably make my female friends smile, it may make some grimace a little inside, but it might also ring a bell with my male friends too - not necessarily the particular style of clothing here, but that being unable to go into a shop and just pick something off the rail, is a very uncomfortable and upsetting feeling.
I know I've been there!  I now get a real 'kick' out of being able to go into a shop and not have to look at the XL/outsize rail first :-)

Last night I was out for a pre-Xmas meal with some of the fitcamp crew, we had a really nice meal, lots of laughs and I looked around the table and wished that I had a photo from earlier this year when we started out on our individual journeys with pinpoint.  The 'food police' were off duty last night, so it was a free choice from the menu dinner, some people indulged in a wee tipple or two, I was driving so it wasn't an issue for me, I thoroughly enjoyed my soda and lime, but I did have Xmas pudding and brandy sauce!  I had a goats cheese & caramelised onion crostini with spinach and walnut salad, then cod loin served on a red pepper and grean bean risotto - delicious!
It was really nice to see everyone with their clothes on, we all scrubbed up well and looked great - this is why I wish I'd a photo from the start so that we could compare - not just the change in peoples' size, but more importantly the change in peoples' demeanour, there were so many smiles and laughs and banter, this all comes from the confidence that you gain when you gain control of your body.
Sorry I am aware I am rambling a bit here...

Back to the picture of the clothes shop, the other week we went into a shop and I tried on a coat which I have been coveting for a while, but am waiting for the sale, I automatically lifted 'my size' from the rail and put it on, then experienced a real OMG moment - I think I said it quite loudly!  The coat drowned me!  So I tried on the smaller size, which fitted comfortably - then put it back on the rail to wait for the sales - I'm still :-) about it...

So, I reckon it's time to stop rambling and get on with some shopping and chores, we start our final 4 week block of the year on Monday and I am really looking forward to it.  On the scales this morning I weigh 25lbs less than I did this time last year and hope that this time next year I will be able to say the same...

just a reminder that this time next week we will be into marcothon and before that - next Friday 30 November I will  be walking on hot coals to raise money for Cancer Research UK and all donations are most welcome xx

S.A.D.

SAD, that's how I've been this past week or so (apart from weekends) I always find this time of year difficult, the shortening days and the change in the weather means that the past week or so we seem to have had lots of grey 'hingin' days, it's been barely light as we've driven to work then the low rainclouds along the hills have meant that it's never got fully light and then by lunchtime it's been getting dark again :-(  I don't mind the black darkness, that's ok it's the lack of sunlight I really struggle with...
The picture is of today's lunch, in contrast to the last week or so, today we had some pale blue sky, some white cloud, and weak sunshine, but it made a huge difference to my day, and to how I felt, and when I was looking for a picture for this post, I thought that this was appropriate, it's bright, fresh and colourful...
if you're interested it was a prawn and avocado salad :-) The nuts and fruit were to snack on during the day.

One of my colleagues brought me in a special light on Monday and it also made a big difference to how I felt so I think I will be investing in one for the house!  Weekends have been ok as so far we've had fair weather with a good smattering of sunshine, although the forecast for tomorrow is atrocious and I've not looked for the weekend yet :-)
However, we have been lucky at Pinpoint-fitcamp we've had it dry for our workouts - even on Monday when it was hellish right up until about 6.25pm - we start at 6.30pm :-)
I am really enjoying being back in the 3 sesssions a week zone, and after 3 weeks, can already feel and see the difference :-)
Friday night is the pinpoint Xmas night out, we had a meal out together a couple of months ago and it was great, we had a special 'clean' menu, however on Friday the 'Food Polis' are off duty so we can eat whatever we like off the menu, I have chosen a goats cheese salad, cod with a sundried tomato risotto and of course xmas pudding :-)  (I'm not a fan of the turkey dinner at the best of times, so it's nice to have options).  It is 9 days until I do my firewalk and at the moment I am quite calm about it - don't know what I'll be like come the 30th though!!!!
If you would like to help us raise funds for Cancer Research UK please donate here, every little helps xxx

That will do for tonight, just felt the need to pop in and blog tonight... fingers crossed that all the good feelings I have from my endorphins and the nicer weather today carry me through tomorrow!

Here's a photo I took yesterday as I came back from a meeting and parked to go into the office - perhaps it was the harbinger of better things to come...  I've never seen a FULL double rainbow before.

Downtime...

In his book "Everyone's guide to distance running" coach Norrie Williamson says, "The better the recovery, the better will be the quality on the other side. In many ways, recovery is the most important part of your training schedule and your training is only as good as your recovery."
So there you go that's why the only running I've done since Canada is parkrun 2 weeks ago, a wee 5km blast on the treadmill the following Tuesday, the Jimmy Irvine Bella 10k last Saturday...oh and a wee trauchle up Dumyat through the bog on Sunday morning :-)
However it's getting to that point where I need the structure and discipline again so am now counting down the days until Marcothon starts on 1st December :-)
I've been back at pinpoint fitness fitcamps again 3 times a week since I got back and that's been great, it's kept me sane, and I get my endorphin fix!  It's also helped me to shift a couple more pounds and hopefully will kickstart some more weightloss over the next couple of months which will help me with my training for the Highland Fling at the end of April.  I am hoping to start by doing a couple of very gentle recce runs on the parts of the route which I haven't run yet, looking forward to that starting soon and getting my new trail shoes on Sunday will be the start of this project :-)
Health and fitness wise, it's all pretty good at the moment, came back from Canada with no injuries and had a wee visit to the physio 2 weeks ago and he was pleased with the state of my  legs!  Just have to keep fit throughout the winter so that I am ready to take on the next big challenge.

Oh! Before that however there is one BIG challenge that I am undertaking... 2 weeks tonight I am going to do a FIREWALK - yes walking across hot coals!  Scary stuff believe me!
This has been arranged with the pinpoint crew and Tesco and is to raise money for Cancer Research UK, so if you are reading this and you agree that yes 'she has finally flipped' then if you could spare a few pennies we'd all be really grateful.  You can donate here  Thank You xxx

Pumpkins...

How many things can you do with a pumpkin?  A lot more than just carve them :-)
These are my masterpieces from last weekend, I made pumpkin muffins with the insides of the spider's web one.
Then on Wednesday we had a spooky fitcamp session - we all turned up dressed in fancy dress, and did a mega workout where every exercise involved a pumpkin!  Was great fun if hard work and as always with the evening crew we had lots of laughs along the way ;-)
We were gifted the pumpkin to take home with us and challenged to see what we could make with it - I think the best suggestion came from Angela who suggested a door stop or foot rest lol!
Because I like to experiment in the kitchen, I decided to see what culinary delights I could come up with - here are the results:
Spicy pumpkin soup - which is in the fridge so no photo - we are having it for lunch tomorrow.

Toasted pumpkin seeds - wash the seeds, dry and place on a dry baking tray, toast until golden - delicious as a snack or sprinkled on your soup/yoghurt etc

pumpkin bread - delicious warm or cold spread with butter - yummmmmm

Chinese chicken and pumpkin curry with fresh spinach and coriander

 

 

So there you go, you can use a pumpkin instead of a kettle bell for a good workout and you can eat it too :-)
Hope you all had a Happy Hallowe'en!