My Journey - Warts and All

As I posted yesterday, I did my very first 10k this weekend. As hard as it was I managed it and felt ok when I woke up this morning. I went out and spent the day with my friend then, as always, went to CPT tonight. What a mistake!!! As soon as I started, my legs were like 2 huge lumps of lead. I instantly regretted my decision to go to training tonight :-( But I kept with it and finished the whole session. I'll be there again tomorrow night but I can't make it on Wednesday (Matt has a concert so I can't get home). As a consequence of going tonight, I can't sleep because of a horrendous pain in my left hip/leg. I'm hoping that my quiet day tomorrow will help it feel better and I'll be fine for training tomorrow night, I'm sure it'll ease of during the course of the day. It's late and I'm sore so am just having a wee moan :-). I'm sure after I sleep tomorrow I'll feel much better. Roll on tomorrow........

Today was the day that I did the 10k in Dalgety Bay. First I want to say a massive thank you to Caitlin, I ran with her and she was amazing at keeping me going. At the end of the race, I didn't think I was going to manage it but she kept me going all the way. She was a wee star!!  I also want to say a huge thanks to my friend Mhairi who came all the way over from West Lothian to cheer me over the finish line.  As always the true spirit of CPT was there on the day and Lyndsay, Lyndsey, John and Louise came back to help me over the finish line. I love training with these guys, I've never experienced team spirit like it. Picture of us all below. So the race itself: Ran 10K? - Yep did it Out of my fitness ability? - Absolutely but I did it Would I do it again? - Absolutely would, in fact I can't wait for the next one Unfortunately the organisation of the race was terrible. The front runners were sent in the wrong direction and they ended up running a mile or so mo...

I have done next to no exercise this week :-( I've only been to Commando training once and that was Monday. There is a really good reason why I haven't been but it doesn't make me feel any better for not going. I have an essay due on tomorrow and have used all my extra hours on that. I had to make a choice on Tuesday night, Commando or my nursing degree. It's not really a choice, my degree will always come first.  I love Commando training but I love nursing more. My diet has been good this week though. It's my first week trying to eat gluten free. I'm not going to lie, it's hard and I've had the odd slip but overall I've done quite well. Talking about my job, it's getting to the point where I need to be looking for a job. The Navy were in seeing us this term to try and recruit us and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted. I'm hoping the local job market picks up before it comes to that. After finishing this essay today, my nex...

This Sunday I'll be running my very first 10k and I can't put into words how nervous I am. This year I promised myself that I would do a 5k and I've done that. I never thought I'd even be considering doing a 10k.  I'm not asking people for a huge sum of money for sponsorship, only a £1. If anyone reading this would like to sponsor me, I'd really appreciate it. My JustGiving page is below: http://www.justgiving.com/forournationalheroes The charity I'm running for supports ex servicemen and women and their families. It seems really appropriate given that the men who've got me to the point where I feel able to run that far are servicemen. I went out for a run with 2 of the commando girls on Friday and we ran 6.3km, that was after doing CPT all week. That's more exercise than I did in year nevermind a week lol. If anyone reading this is free on Sunday and happens to be in the Dalgety Bay area, feel free to come and cheer us over the line (I mi...

Starting Weight - 18st 2.5 lbs Week 1 - Loss 0.5lbs. Weight - 18st 2lbs Week 2 - Loss 0.5lbs. Weight - 18st 1.5lbs Week 3 - Loss 2.5lbs. Weight - 17st 13lbs Week 4 - Loss 3lbs. Weight - 17st 10lbs Week 5 - Gain 3lbs. Weight - 17st 13lbs Week 6 - Loss 2.5lbs. Weight - 17st 10.5lbs Week 7 - Loss 0.5lbs. Weight - 17st 10lbs Week 7 - Loss 4lbs. Weight - 17st 6lbs Week 8 - Loss 3lbs. Weight - 17st 3lbs Week 9 - Loss 0.5lbs. Weight - 17st 2.5lbs Week 10 - Loss 1.5lbs. Weight - 17st 1lb Week 11 - Gain 1.5lbs. Weight - 17st 2.5lbs Week 12 - Loss 1.5lbs. Weight - 17st 1lb I honestly think that I'm stuck in this stone bracket. I've psyched myself out with it all. This week is the first week of me cutting gluten / carbs completely put of my diet so fingers crossed that makes a difference

I went into Edinburgh to help my sister with something related to her house. She was meeting with an MSP, council officials and police today so was a bit intimidated. I was a civil servant who worked directly with government ministers in a previous job so went with her for a bit of moral support.  I was born in Edinburgh and lived there for 24 years of my life. I know the city really well. I also know the bus service really well. I can bus hop like a professional and when I'm in the city I tend to bus my way around. Not today though, I walked everywhere! I walked a total of 5.5 miles which I've just converted into kilometres. I walked 8.5km today! I still have to go for my run as well tonight. My sister did 3.8 miles before she went her own way to get home an she doesn't walk the length of herself. One of my errands for today was to officially sign up for the Poppy Scotland run a week on Sunday. These Commando guys have a lot to answer for :-). I never, in a million yea...

Well all my birthday celebrations are over and everything is back to normal. I have had a brilliant 30th!! Tuesday I got to spend the day relaxing, shopping and then CPT. On Saturday, I had a wee night out in Dunfermline. It was a brilliant night, lots of laughs, dancing and podium dancers lol.  I know my initial motivation for the weight loss was my 30th and I wasn't at my target weight as I has wanted to be but I felt great on Saturday night and the pictures have at last showed me how far I've come. I've lost 5 stone and yeah I've got a long way to go but I've already achieved a huge weight loss. I changed my Facebook profile picture on Saturday afternoon. I was mucking about with my camera and trying to get a picture of my hair to let my granny see it. I couldn't believe the picture. It was like I was seeing myself for the first time since all this started. It was the first picture in years that I've actually thought 'I like that photo'. So ba...

So I turned 30 on Tuesday and I have to say it wasn't painful at all. The Commando circuit part of the day was extremely painful and remained that way until Wednesday night. The actual part where I left my 20's wasn't though.  I'm in such a better place now than when I turned 20. On my 20th birthday my dad had only died 3 months before and I was in a terrible place in my head. I had no idea where I would be the next week nevermind 10 years on. I had no idea that 4 months later I'd lose the other man in my life, my grandad. But on a happier note, I didn't know that I'd meet the man who would eventually become my husband just 6/7 weeks after my birthday. Don't get me wrong, the last 10 years haven't been a bed of roses but I like who I am and where I am in my life.  I'm actually looking forward to what my 30's have in store. In 4 months I'll be a fully qualified nurse, something that I never thought I'd ever achieve. I'm happily...

I've been going to Commando training for a few months now and tonight we did another progress circuit. I really haven't been able to see the change in my fitness levels but tonight it was there in black and white. The idea of this is to do as many of the exercise as you can in 60 secs. I've put down my previous scores and the ones that I achieved tonight. 29 May 2012 Push Ups - 37  Sit ups - 15  Squat thrusts - 18  Wide arm push ups - 36  Sit ups with a twist - 15  20 metre sprint - 4  7 August 2012 Push Ups - 62 Sit ups - 36 Squat thrusts - 32 Wide arm push ups - 66 Sit ups with a twist - 24 20 metre sprint - 9 I'm so chuffed with my scores. I beat my own ass and did it all on my 30th birthday. I had an amazing day with Matt and this topped it all off. I can actually see the difference in my fitness levels. Go me!!!!!

Last night, my sister organised dinner out with my family for my birthday. I had a lovely dinner but realised last night that I can no longer drink like I used to!!  It's not something that I'm particularly proud of but I use to be able to drink like a fish. It was disgusting the amount of booze I could put away!! Last night, the 5 stone that I've lost hit me and I realised I can't do it anymore. I don't want to do it either. I'm feeling incredibly guilty this morning for jumping off the diet. I know it's my birthday but it's just not worth it. I'm out next Saturday for my birthday and I'm not going to not drink but I'm definitely going to be more sensible. I hate the memory gaps, I want to remember every bit of it. It's my 30th after all not my 18th. Next week will be less drinking and more dancing!!!

Starting Weight - 18st 2.5 lbs Week 1 - Loss 0.5lbs. Weight - 18st 2lbs Week 2 - Loss 0.5lbs. Weight - 18st 1.5lbs Week 3 - Loss 2.5lbs. Weight - 17st 13lbs Week 4 - Loss 3lbs. Weight - 17st 10lbs Week 5 - Gain 3lbs. Weight - 17st 13lbs Week 6 - Loss 2.5lbs. Weight - 17st 10.5lbs Week 7 - Loss 0.5lbs. Weight - 17st 10lbs Week 7 - Loss 4lbs. Weight - 17st 6lbs Week 8 - Loss 3lbs. Weight - 17st 3lbs Week 9 - Loss 0.5lbs. Weight - 17st 2.5lbs Week 10 - Loss 1.5lbs. Weight - 17st 1lb Need to get out of this stone bracket!!!! Next week :-) on the plus side, I reached by 5% weigh loss target last week and I only just realised

I've spoken about the fact that I suffer from polycystic ovaries syndrome before but I don't think I've ever dedicated a full post to it. Just in case anyone hasn't read those posts before, I'll give you a wee bit of background. Polycystic ovaries syndrome affects about 10% of women and although relatively common, some doctors really don't know anything about it. It affects fertility in women and the important thing about it is gettig on top of your symptoms. It has a wide range of presenting symptoms which include acne, lack of periods, problems with periods, mood swings, excessive hair growth etc. It can sometimes look like PMT. For years, my doctors have dismissed my symptoms as being in my head (even though I suffer from the physical complaints of PCOS). Last time I was at the doctors, I had done lots of research into the problems I was having with my irregular blood sugars. I took along evidence and still this horrible doctor refused to listen to me. I to...