Wake boarding session 3...... 23rd august 2016

Tonight's session was not very appealing to me as I was starting to lose confidence in myself ever being able to actually get on the lake and wasn't feeling too great about going. I took my daughter and sister along hoping it may help me do a little better. 

    When I arrived all the girls where getting ready and Carla came over to me and gave me a wonderful surprise that really lifted my spirits and made me feel eager to get trying to conquer the knee board.  Carla was going to wake board with me to show me that I was not the only that do more face planting than boarding. This meant the world to me; also it shows what a great motivator and friend Carla is. 
  It was a really lovely hot evening, it was really busy with a great summer vibe, and everyone was laughing and joking and enjoying their evening. Again the support from everyone in our group was amazing.  Carla showed me how amazingly she face plants exactly like me, we laughed together and cheered each other on. Carla done really well on one of her goes and got quite far out before face planting. Myself.....well I just keep face planting pretty much straight away and even left my board behind on the dock a few times  I was still having a great time though and laughing all the way through it.
  All the girls in our group done really amazing tonight.  Jess has mastered the knee board in this session and can now get around the whole lake once. Jade dome amazingly as it was her second session and after only a few face plants she soon got the hang of it and was knee boarding to the first set of slopes getting a little further each time. Jamie went fir the standing board this week and she done amazingly! She had a rough start but got out further each time and even saved herself from falling on one go which resulted in her righting her board and getting further out on to the lake. 
Towards the end of our session the man who was working the cable suggested that I lay on my board but I didn't feel too sure about doing it so said I would go on my knees for this turn but would lay down on my next try if Carla did. I said to him is he suggesting this as he is fed up of wat hinges me full in  he said no it was so that I could get around the lake he just wants us all to have fun and enjoy our self's.  The staff are all so great at wake fest they don't judge and the help you as much as they can. So Carla went laying down on her board first and she did amazing! She managed to get near enough to the first corner on the like. I was up next and after watching Carla thought rights this is it I will get out onto the lake now.  Well I was very wrong as again I face planted straight away. I never tried anymore after this as I was tired and my arms where aching from keep being yanked. Once you tire it is so much harder to hold on. 
Out of all my sessions so far this one has to be my favourite and they one I enjoyed the most. It was fantastic having Carla supporting me how she did and we had a few more girls which was great.

Saturday = Park run day.....Todays was a massive achievement for me

So today was my sixth parkrun since starting running and it was a very special one for me today. I avoid park run some weeks due to my anxiety as I can feel uncomfortable in the crowd, uncomfortable with people watching me run and very uncomfortable about my picture being taken. I use parkrun not only for helping me to improve my running and as a training run but to help me overcome some of the things I find difficult.

·        It helps me getting used to pictures being taken of me.

·        It helps me be social as I will have to talk to people I don’t know each week.

·        It helps me get used to being in crowds

·        It helps keep me on track at the weekend with my diet as it makes me feel good in myself and motivated.

Today was not a Pb day for me with my time but I accomplished something much better than a Pb…..I WENT ALONE AND RAN ALONE FOR THE FIRST TIME AT PARK RUN!!!!!

When I arrived in the park I went to listen to the run briefing, I stood to the side alone as I was starting to feel nervous. I was scanning the crowd hoping to find my friend Anna so I could run with her. Unfortunately Anna was busy today baking for a cake stall at her church’s fete. I took myself off to the start  and kept moving back in the line due to nerves and lack of confidence and I was thinking if I do one lap I can just run through to the car park and go home without no one noticing as if I go now I will draw attention to myself.

The first lap was awful I trie4d to put my headphones on to block everyone out but they were stuck on a few second shuffle and I was in such a state I couldn’t get it to play the whole song. I gave up with the headphones and thought right let’s just concentrate on reaching the corner with the hill as by then most of the people around me will get ahead and I will feel better having less people around me. By the time I reached the top of the little hill I was feeling so anxious that it was affecting my breathing which was not very good for my running and made very self-conscious about my noisy breathing. By the time I reached the lake I had caught up with a runner but then slowed as I didn’t want to pass them and kept behind them thinking god sake Mel just go past! It is so silly really as if I had my running buddy kaily by myside I would of just followed her past a runner but on my own I was keeping myself behind them. Now I was feeling annoyed with myself on top of everything else. As I was coming up to the carpark I was very tempted to bugger off but knew I would cry about it and hang onto it to for days tormenting myself that I quit especially as I need to train for the ThisGirlCanRun10team race that I have been chosen for. There was only one thing for it which was that no matter how hard it was I had to keep going as it would be a much harder week for me if I give up.  I tried to concentrate on my breathing and blocking out as much as possible around me when I found myself running alongside another runner who I didn’t know but had seen before. I didn’t want to slow as I wanted my run over with as soon as possible so stayed at my pace hoping that he would pick up his pace and get ahead. This didn’t happen and I was feeling uncomfortable due to my anxiety nothing to do with the runner himself. So I picked up my pace a bit and got ahead a little then he picked his pace up so he was ahead which made me feel loads better but after a while he went to a walk so I got   ahead  a little then we were side by side again. This continued for most of the second lap. On the third lap I slowed after the hill so that I could lose him but then half way round this lap I found myself in a similar situation with another runner. Inside my head I was screaming at myself for god sake why you are putting yourself through this! I felt like I had been running for hours and just wanted it to be over. As I was coming down the hill over the other side the marshal on that corner said

‘Well done great running! Just down the hill, round the lake and you’re done’

My answer was ‘thank god for that’

It was this encouragement that helped me around the last part of lap 3 as I kept repeating it to myself in my head all the way to finish and it helped me to even pass a few runners and walkers to get myself down that finish funnel and get home!

  I was so relieved to have finished and all I wanted to do was get home but found myself in a que for barcode scanning something that has never happened before for me and today I really didn’t want to be hanging around. I spent them time in the que looking at my feet flicking my barcode feeling very uncomfortable. It gets to my turn and my barcode wouldn’t scan which again had not happened for me before so resulted in my details having to be written down so keeping me there longer.

  I finally got myself out the way found a little quite spot on the field had a drink and stretched. The whole time thinking to myself I hope no one is watching me in case I’m not stretching properly. I was doing stretches that i always do and that I had been taught by my fitness instructor so this was just stupid thoughts again.

It wasn’t until I got home that I started to feel really good about the fact that I had just completed my first park run alone. I felt amazing even though it was a struggle it was so worth it as I am still on track with my training and it showed me that I can do it again and who knows it may be a little easier emotionally when I do.

Running4women ThisGirlCanRun10 team windsor 10k - training

So after reading up on the course I thought that I better get some hill work planned into my training plan. I’m not a lover of hills so this will be tough. Really looking forward to running this course as it sounds beautiful and I do like nice view’s on my runs.

The race Starts and Finishes along the Long Walk inside the Deer Park. The course itself, although rather undulating, it is traffic free and is spectacularly beautiful with fantastic views of Windsor Castle from 8k down to the finish. On route you will run past  the Statue of George III, commonly know as the “Copper Horse” , the Jubilee Statue of Queen Elizabeth II on horseback, the York Club and then through the Village and back down to the finish where your family and friends will be waiting to congratulate you on a job well done!

First training session 16/08/16

So today I went out for my first training session. I covered 6.4km in distance and included some hill work on a long gradual incline hill. My friend Angela gave me tips on how to train well on this hill which was that I should use the lampposts on the hill as goals. Angela said to start at the first lamppost, run to the second then walk back down to the first the run up to the third and so on working my way up to the top of the hill.

    I set off running to the hill and arrived at the top of the hill so that I could run down to the first lamppost and count how many there was on my way down.....there are 15! As I reached lamppost number 1 turned around and ran as fast as I could to the second then walked back down to number 1. I did this a total of 3 times. For my fourth run I ran as fast as I could again from lamppost number 1 to lamppost number 3 then repeat this 6 times. 

On the 6th run I stopped at lamppost 3 caught my breath then walked to lamppost number 4,from here I needed to get back to the top of the hill to make my way home so I decided that I would run to one lamppost then walk to one till I reached the 15th at the top.

view from the 15th lamppost

  This was a challenging run for me and it really worked me hard! It left me feeling amazing and I had really enjoyed my run. I achieved some goals today to.

* This was the furthest I have run alone.

*I worked a lot harder on the hill than I would have done before as usually I would have just plodded from the bottom to top.

* I got my heart rate into the peak zone for 10 minutes which is the longest I have managed while exercising.

This race is giving me so much motivation 

here is my finish selfie 

Congratulations Melanie you have been selected to join the ThisGirlCanRun10 team!

The 15th August was such an amaZING day! I recieved an email to say that i had been selected to join the ThisGirlCanRun10 team and run the running4women windsor 10k in september. I will one runner in a team of ten,i really can't believe that i got chosen for this especially as there are only 10 places. i am really excited to be given this opptunity and can't wait for race day!

here is someinformation on the race from their website. it sounds like it will be an amazing race to be part of.

Boudavida Women's 10k Windsor  will take place on Saturday 24th September 2016 at a new start time of 10:00am.

The event began with the idea of introducing women to participating in organised running events and this is still the way we operate. You will find that this event caters for all levels of ability: those who have never participated in an event before through to seasoned runners – we treat you all as equal! Although there is a competitive element we know that there are many female runners out there who just want to participate in an event, and do their best whilst at the same time having fun.

NEW FOR 2016

• Free Race T-shirt, Race Certificate and race medal to all finishers
• Music  on course
• Physiotherapy/masseurs
• Children's fun run

Wakeboarding with Active Basildon – session2 16/08/16

So this evening it was time for my second session, I was really looking forward to giving it another go. I was hoping to at least make it through the first two slopes as at my last session I was told the more I try the easier it will get. Hoping for less falling off (lol)

Mel VS Wakeboarding - take 2

I made some progress this week with putting my wet suit on. J  It was the right way in, got it on in one go and it didn’t take me as long. Still hard works though (lol) if anybody has any tips for getting these on easily please leave them in the comments box.

 Tonight’s session was a bit more busier than last week which I found a little uncomfortable at first and I hung back a bit letting the other two girls in our group go first followed by a few more people who was not in our group. After some e3ncouragment from Carla I took my first go for this week. Well this had to have been the worst fall of them all so far as my board didn’t come with me so I ended up being pulled face first off the dock. This was not a very pleasant start and it left me not particularly wanting to try again but Carla checked I was ok, chatted to me while dipping my board in to the lake as she thought the fact that my board was dry is why it didn’t come with me. Carla took my board down and encouraged me to give it another go. This time myself and my board made it off the dock making it a little further onto the lake before falling off this time than ever before! Very small progress was made but still progress which made me feel a little more encouraged to keep trying. My next few turns resulted in falling with no more progress. I think that I am the most amazing falling off wakeboarder in our sessions (lol) it is very tiring all that falling off to which surprised me.

How I’m feeling about wakeboarding now

  After my two sessions I am starting to feel slightly frustrated with myself as my arms will not do what I  want them to do so that I can actually it out onto the lake. I will keep trying as even though I’m struggling I am enjoying it a lot. The support and encouragement every week keeps me determined to conquer this and if I don’t manage to do so by the end of the course I will go back in my own time to carry on.

Wakeboarding with Active Basildon

I have been given the opportunity by the lovely Carla to take part in a wakeboarding project course that has been put together for Active Basildon. I have always wanted to try some type of water sports but was either too fat for a wetsuit or not confident enough to go alone.

Mel VS Wakeboarding……..Take 1

So my first session was on the 9^th of August at 5pm. I woke up that morning feeling excited thinking to Me Woo hoo today is the day to conquer something new! I got on with my normal Tuesday activities and it wasn’t till around 4pm that my anxiety decided to kick in. I was now thinking……

 Oh my god wakeboarding what on earth have I got myself into!

What if the wetsuit don’t fit!

  I made myself a cup of tea and took myself out into my garden to take 5 minutes to get myself together as I knew that really I would be fine once I got there as Carla was going to be there. I knew that Carla would take care of me. So off I went at 4.30pm feeling ever so nervous.

Challenge 1 – getting into a wetsuit for the first time ever

Oh my god getting a plus size body into a wetsuit is a workout! I think the fact that the changing room was rather small didn’t help either. I had my wetsuit half way up my body and was pulling it, wiggling into it while huffing and puffing as it really was quite hard work (lol) I was thinking to myself oh god this really is not going to go on and I’m going to be so embarrassed to have go out saying I can’t take part as my suit don’t fit. At this point one of the other girls pointed out to that I had my wetsuit on inside out (only I could be such a muppet lol )so off it came, put the right way round ready for the pulling, wiggling, huffing, puffing and feeling like I couldn’t breathe to commence again. After about what seemed like 15 minutes I finally had my wetsuit on and I was over the moon as IT FIT!

Challenge 2 – wakeboarding time

Standing on the dock I watched the other two girls who were taking part today go first on their knee boards. They both done fabulous and made it look so easy so when it came to my turn I was thinking to myself I have got this! I can do this! Well I definitely did not have it (lol) I just about got myself and my knee board off the dock the face planted straight into the lake. The rest of my session consisted of very much the same, I kept falling off straight away but I was laughing and having fun the whole time. I kept getting back on after each fall and trying again. I also really enjoyed watching the other two girl’s progress from the knee board to the standing board and shouting out encouragement to them.

My favourite part of the session was trying something completely different and out of my comfort zone. All the support and encouragement from the other ladies, Carla and Vicky was great and kept me trying.

WAKEBOARDING I WILL BE BACK NEXT WEEK TO HOPEFULLY KICK YOUR BUTT!!!!!

my journey

I started my weight loss journey back in January 2013 and to date i am now at a total of 8st loss. My journey has been very hard at times and at others totally amazing. I hoping by writing a blog i may inspire other people like myself and also help me with the rest of my journey. I am an anxiety sufferer which affects my life in a big way but have found through fitness and meeting great people on my journey has improved so much. For me this year 2016 has the been the most amazing year of my journey so far.....I have met some  amazing people that have supported me and inspired me in different ways. Some of which have took me out of my comfort zone and helped me complete things I thought I would never do.

These amazing people are 

Kaily Barnard.....My friend, running buddy, fitness buddy and race buddy.  

Denise Carter......The most amazing fitness instructor.

Carla Andrews and Angela smith.......these two lovely ladies run motivated minds

 Danielle Roach.....My wonderful hairdresser

Suzanne Daniels.....My weight watchers leader 

My wonderful family who are there for me every day supporting me through the good days and the bad days.

I will do separate blogs on each of this wonderful people to share how they have all made a difference in my life and how.

So think I will be brave and add some of my fat pictures