Sheep, Storms and Soppy Dogs

Life is still mainly eat, work, train, sleep, repeat but I have managed to have a bit of life outside of that. Saturday was a happy mix of a speedier-than-planned parkrun, the arrival of some proper vinyl to listen to (music is right up there alongside food and running in terms of things I love) and a marvellous dinner with some family. I sort of bounced from one thing to another on Sunday; from Kent to Berkshire to dog-walking to cinema to run to zombie-watching to conversation with a far-flung friend. It was mostly ace.

The ace parts were taking my godson to see Shaun the Sheep (which I probably enjoyed more than he did) and getting to walk a beautiful soppy black lab called Jasper for a couple in my capacity as volunteer for the Cinnamon Trust. We took a walk across some local heathland in the sunshine, getting vaguely lost. I think he might be game for a bit of jogging!

Silly soppy Jasper

The not so ace part was my run. The only time I had to fit my run in was in the only part of the day it was due to be wet. I was meant to be out for 2h15. this did not happen. I was prepared for the weather but even so the sheets of rain that I encountered after only 5 minutes and the subsequent drenching my a car provoked a few profanities. I found myself in a quickly darkening forest and with stomach cramps that reduced me to a walk. I got home as quickly as I could and counted myself lucky I rarely have sessions like that.

About to brave the storm

So including the aforementioned runs, the last seven days of training has consisted of a strength session, 15.75 miles on the bike, runs totalling 31.2 miles and my swim lesson which focused on crawl technique and breaststroke turns. Not too shabby!

Juggling teaching/coaching, work, training and downtime has been pretty tricky this week though. With regards to training it's not that I can't manage the sessions themselves, it's trying to physically fit them in that's proving tough. I'll be sending my coach a revised schedule of commitments to try and address that. What's becoming clear is that I'm going to have to make some fairly big decisions soon. probably sooner than I'd hoped.

Early morning sunrises 

Please tell me I wasn't the only one caught in a storm at the weekend? Anyone else secretly love kids films?

These are a few of my favourite things...

This week has been utterly brilliant and full of all my favourite things. If only I could find a way to make a living from learning, watching films, seeing my friends, cooking and going to the gym I think I'd be truly happy forever.

I got my exam results from the weekend (97% for my Core Training) and started the e-learning for my Nutrition and Weight Management course. I also started another online course through FutureLearn, in conjunction with the Open University and the University of Warwick, called "The Mind is Flat: the shocking shallowness of human psychology". I thought it might be a good thing to do alongside my PT course to get a bit more insight into the human psychology which might help me with positioning myself as a trainer further down the line. I've completed the material for week one and it's hugely interesting, regardless of whether or not I'll be to apply it.

I've managed to do some sort of exercise almost every day, walking the dogs, PT session, Body Balance, gym sessions and more treadmill walking for FitFlop testing. My abs finally stopped aching round about Wednesday and the arms took over. I'm finally feeling like I'm making some progress on the speed and strength front; I've added an extra interval to my speed session and finally increased the weights on part of my strength routine.

Alcoholic yogurt... mmmm yes please!

In foodie news I got a delivery from TheProteinWorks of some of their new Cherry and Almond flapjacks, which were on offer and are absolutely delicious. I also tracked down some of the new Raspberry and Amaretto yogurt from The Collective on offer at Waitrose... also amazingly scrummy. I had to be very controlled and not buy every yogurt flavour I fancied trying. I think I'm the only person on earth who gets more seduced by the yogurt aisle than the cake aisle in the supermarket. I'm not convinced it's a much healthier habit to have sometimes. My tomato plants finally got ripped out and stripped of the remaining fruits which lead to a batch of green tomato soup to see me through the weeks lunches; another success which I'll share soon.

Segway-ing in Chicago. Love that skyline. I miss it. I'm booking a flight right now...

This weekend I'm skipping parkrun again and taking my friend's eldest lad on a segway adventure. I'm not sure who's more excited. I've been on a segway before in Chicago but I think this is going to be a bit more rugged. On Sunday I'm going to the ice hockey again but this time I'm taking my fella. We're seeing the Bracknell Bees play the Telford Tigers. We have upstairs seats this time so it'll be a very different experience for me. 

So it's been a very full week, and that's without mentioning the cinema trip and socialising! I'm holding out hope that next week will continue the trend. What's been your highlight this week? Have you done any of the things that make you truly happy?

Incidentally if you fancy trying some of those fancy new flapjacks, or indeed the brand new porridge pots from The Protein Works, not only do they have both on offer but if you order via this link you will get 250g of their premium Whey Protein 80 in whichever flavour you prefer absolutely FREE if it's your first order.

The Cinnamon Trust

Back in the summer I signed up to volunteer with The Cinnamon Trust. In their own words, the Trust is a charity that "seeks to relieve the anxieties, problems, and sometimes injustices, faced by elderly and terminally ill people and their pets, thereby saving a great deal of human sadness and animal suffering" by offering short and long term fostering and extra practical help with day-to-day care of pets such as dog walking services. Pets are a great source of comfort and companionship, especially to the elderly so the idea is to keep them together for as long as possible.

The Trust takes the vetting of their volunteers very seriously. I had to provide details of three referees, all of whom were contacted. I then received an ID card along with a comprehensive volunteers guide and waited for a call but a few weeks ago I was contacted and asked if I could help out with some dog walking. A lady a couple of miles away had fallen ill and was no longer able to walk her two westies, Bertie and Polly. I was unsure about how much help I could offer but was reassured that the Trust try and find two or three people in the area to help share the load. I had a chat on the phone with the owner and arranged my first walk. I was a bit nervous on arrival. Would the dogs like me? Would I like them? What would the owner be like? In the end Polly and Bertie turned out to be very sweet little things who took me on a walk rather than the other way around. They have their route and know it well, happy to trot along and keep to themselves unless another dog shows up. 

Polly and Bertie. I'm only just learning to tell them apart.

Half an hour later and I returned two much less energetic dogs to their owner and made a plan for a next walk. Although I offered several times and days we settled on a week later. We agreed that we wouldn't be tied to a particular day or time, but arrange each visit at the end of the next and this is what we've done ever since. 

They're strong! We go at a fair clip through the woods.

Given that my lifestyle isn't suited to dog ownership, this is a lovely way to pretend I have a dog (or two in this case) and provide some much needed help at the same time. It adds a bit more exercise into my week and gives me an excuse to explore the woods nearby. 

If you're a wannabe dog (or cat, or horse...) owner or just want to do a good deed, consider signing up to volunteer with the Trust. It's a wonderful cause with benefits for you, the owners and their beloved pets.