Week 6......I've gone from writers block to you can't shut me up!

Now I'll try not to make this a War and Peace posting but there's a few things that have happened and I feel that it is my duty to share the news with you.

Running....completed 4 runs for the week (one more than normal, but this is not intended to be a regular occurrence) my second run being my fun run in the snow.

Had a great run on Saturday morning even though it was a rainy day. I woke up at 6:45am to a quiet house, (the kids were away for the night) and although I could have stayed in my warm cosy bed (something that Rach took full advantage of and do you blame her), I put on my running gear and set off..........thinking about it I'm a bit worried that this is the second time I've given up staying in bed with Rach and chosen to go out for a run, is this some kind of runners mental block? During my run (4 mile, Olney and Emberton Park route) I had the pleasure of bumping into (not literally, I'm a very careful considerate runner) Sheila, Louise and Anna (fellow runners and friends) and then Jane (Olney Runner and friend) who stopped to give me a hug and kiss. Why is it that meeting lovely ladies is like waiting for London buses.....don't get me wrong, I am not implying that these ladies bear any resemblance to buses, perish the thought, but in true London fashion you don't see any for ages and when you do they all turn up together. Needless to say I'm thinking of making the Saturday morning run a regular spot, keep a look out for me girls.

My non expected fourth run was on Sunday morning when I agreed to go out with Rach on her speed training session. What this involved was a warm up run (easy pace for 20 minutes), 6 x 60 second speed efforts (5 minute recovery between each effort) and a warm down (easy pace for 20 minutes). We were staying at my mum and dads in Hanwell (London) so the training was done in their local park. I completed the warm up with Rach and then proceeded to attempt the first 60 second speed effort.....BIG MISTAKE......after 25 meters she left me standing and I was thinking to myself "how can her little legs carry her off so fast". As a result of my poor speed performance, I resigned to standing on the sideline shouting words of encouragement during each of her efforts. It was at this point that I decided it would be fun to pretend that I was her running coach and to help make it look more convincing I ran the last 50 meters of each effort alongside her shouting words like "c'mon you're doing great, keep up the pace, dig in". Jogging back part of the way with her during the recovery period added what I saw as the final convincing touch to my fantasy role.....poor Rach had to put up with me doing this for her last four efforts.

A good week for running and a great pleasure to get out with Rach....who knows, we may do it again (easy runs only, I hasten to add).

NEWS FLASH....."Gordon has entered The Great Daffodil Run (10km) at Kelmarsh Hall on 4th March".

Vibro Training....completed my 2 sessions for the week, the vibration rate being set to auto on my last visit which meant that the speed varied from low to high during the workout. This speed variation was great, I really felt as though I had a good workout during the brief 10 minute session. That was the high, the low was my instructor making me aware that age was a contributing factor to the slow weight loss.....I much prefer the muscle toning and muscle being heavier than fat reason, however I must resign to a mixture of both reasons but if asked I will always go for the latter.

The Diet.....no weigh in pressure this week as I am now only doing this at the end of the month. I have had better weeks, but the weekend just gone found me giving in to temptation. It started on Friday, but in my defence I must point out that the children were staying away for the night and it's important to take full advantage of these moments. A drink and a 2 course meal at the Horseshoe Pub in Lavendon (excellent selection of fish dishes on the menu) saw me polish off 2 pints of Guinness, a fishermans pie and a chocolate pudding with ice cream. On Sunday night I was found at a Harvester in Watford ordering a steak which happened to be a 16oz T Bone (with all the trimmings, fries, onion rings, corn on the cob) washed down with a pint of lager. I'm glad to say that even though I've had these moments of weakness I have still managed to lose weight be it only a small amount.

Finally....and not before time I hear you say, I would like to say a big thank you for the present I received today from a good friend, the first only runner t-shirt......which I shall be modelling around the streets of Olney.

the front.....................the back

Is this the start of the only runner merchandising franchise......who knows!