Emerald Isle

Hi all, Happy New Year and I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  Again I skipped a week as there wasn’t much happening apart from feasting, drinking and lethargy.   Not a great combination when you are trying to get fit in all honesty but it was time well spent with family and friends.  To be honest it wasn’t all bad.  Managed to catch up with an old friend Mr Wingfield on a couple of long walks, which I am missing now I am back in Manchester.  It was good to see him for two reasons firstly it is always good to see and have a chat with old friends and secondly because he has undergone a lifestyle change and achieved really amazing results and lost a lot of weight.  He looks in great shape and I have to say reignited my inspiration to get back into the gym and onto the fitness again. 

In breaking news I am pleased to say the Blackpool three are back together.  Mark, Lee and me will be going to Ireland in June to cycle for charity.  The distance is 592 miles over eight days, which is a slight change from the original time frame of six days but will none the less be challenging and a great target to aim for.  Keep your eyes peeled for our Justgiving page as we have to raise a combined £4500 to actually get to the stage of being able to go and cycle the thing.  My thoughts are that I will do a video blog over the eight days and try and write something each day then if possible post each day I am there if not I will upload a segment each day.

This week has been good, back on the bike commuting in the gym.  The commuting has involved some serious interval training, which was instigated by the high winds and gusts we have been having this last week.  For a couple of days i actually thought at some points i was going to have to get off and walk the headwinds where that bad but i managed to stay the course and managed to ride it out.  I had an experience on Wednesday evening, which left me a bit awestruck in that i was well on the way home with a strong tail wind doing most of the work when a heavy gust knocked me flying off the bike and onto the grass near the kerb.  It must have been funny to anyone who saw it but it did hurt my arm quite a bit!  I am pleased to say that i have regained my pre December intensity in the gym.  Back at optimal revs and putting the effort in.  Not sure why it dropped off so badly but i have started taking some vitamins and drinking more water and this seems to have helped a lot.  I think I was also suffering with some sort of virus as i had a lot of what can only be described as ‘stuff on my chest’.  Not had the best of Decembers mentally with lots going on at work with my move to a new centre effecting stress levels but I think I am over this now although there are still some issues to resolve. 

I am again playing online games and have two on the go at the moment World of Warcraft and the new Star Wars game.  I am trying to keep played time to a minimum but I have to be honest and say that the recent weather is putting me off even wanting to leave the flat it has been that bad.  The other reason is the social aspect.  I have some long time friends who I don’t keep in touch with if not playing, which is bad I know but unfortunately the way of things at the moment.  It is however something i need to watch though and I just cannot wait to be able to get out on the bike and put some meaningful miles in the legs again.  I swear this year is going to be a massive improvement on last year’s efforts.

Have a great week and my hopes are that everyone has a superb 2012 and that the world doesn’t end!!