End of an Era; New Beginnings

Sorry it’s been a while since my last blog post! In case you were wondering, I did complete my second half marathon on Sunday 30th October at Knebworth House with my friend Brian. I ran the half marathon in 2 hours and 45 minutes, whilst Brian smashed his first attempt in 1 hour and 53 minutes! While I was hoping for a better result, the route was very challenging with lots of hills and inclines. The lovely views made up for it, and Brian and I both agreed we made the right decision to run at Knebworth House. It was an incredible feeling for us both running across the finish line and the atmosphere in general was fantastic. We also caught up with university friends and visited the University of Hertfordshire campus, which was very nostalgic indeed.

After the Hertfordshire Half Marathon!

The main reason for not posting recently was due to buying and moving into a house! I made an offer on a house in Tamworth at the end of August, which was accepted. Three months later, I picked up the keys which happened to be on the same day as my work’s Christmas party. I won’t go into detail, but the process of buying my house was rather stressful and I had an issue with the house insurance just two days before I was due to pick up the keys. Luckily everything worked out ok and I was able to relax and celebrate with my colleagues at the Christmas party in Birmingham.

At the work Christmas party

I’ve called this blog post ‘End of an Era; New Beginnings’ not just because it’s almost the end of 2022 and the start of a new year, but because I recently celebrated my 30th birthday. Honestly, I can’t believe where my twenties have gone. I really didn’t want to turn 30 but I’ve been ok so far, which I think is due to the fact I managed to buy a house on my own just before I turned 30 (especially with the current economic climate). I was well and truly spoilt by my family this year. My parents took me to Hambleton Hall in Rutland Water for a fine dining experience. The food was incredible and the chocolate artwork in the photo below was a nice touch.

Lovely chocolate artwork

The past few months have been rather busy, hence why I haven’t posted on my blog. Usually I write a self-reflective blog around the New Year. It was interesting to re-read my reflective blog posts for last year and for 2020. Both of these were heavily focused on the Covid-19 pandemic, as restrictions were imposed across the globe and impacted our daily lives. Last year’s post also focused on the importance of looking after your mental health, which I still aim to keep to this day.

This year has felt almost ‘normal’ again. It’s strange to think that we lived through all of the restrictions such as having to present negative lateral flow tests and/or show a Covid passport as proof of vaccination. What I have appreciated the most this year was being able to celebrate Christmas my family, as Covid restricted this in 2020 and 2021. It felt very special being with my family and reminded me of just how grateful I am for them, especially my parents who let me move back in with them in July and they helped me recently move into my new home.

The first half of 2022 saw a relentless focus on training for my second half marathon, which fizzled out during the summer. In July I broke up with my partner of 4 1/2 years. It was difficult to break up, but my ex and I both agreed it was the right thing to do. Moving back to my parents in Leicester and starting the process of house hunting/purchasing took up time and energy, and I found it difficult to anchor myself back to the focus I had at the start of 2022. Despite this, I managed to do some training in Leicester and it was nice to reminisce over my old running routes when I was training for my first half marathon. I’ve decided my focus for 2023 will be to run shorter distances in faster times. I’m still proud that I managed to complete 5km at the Lichfield parkrun in less than 30 minutes back in March; it would be nice to finish 5km in an even faster time, such as in less than 29 minutes.

While I will always continue to work on my fitness, I must remember to carry on being myself. I was so happy that I received the ‘Ray of Light’ award at the work’s Christmas party, which was for the most positive/caring employee. As well as receiving a certificate, I was given a pair of smiley face slippers (in the photo below). They are very comfy and I wear them in the office whilst at work (the office has a very homely feel).

Smiley face slippers 🙂

The main takeaway for 2022 which I will take into 2023 is to continue looking after myself whilst continuing to be myself (if that makes sense!). I’ve been through a lot emotionally this year and perhaps I could have made more of an effort to look after myself. I will enjoy my thirties and make the most of opportunities as they arise. Despite what feels like a dreary world, I will continue to have a positive outlook on life (mindfulness and meditation really helps with this) and remember to enjoy and savour every moment.

Happy reading and blogging, and a very Happy New Year!

Clare Bear 🙂 xx

Fitness Foodie Weekend

Everyone chuckled when I told them my plans for the weekend just gone – I had two afternoon teas, one on the Saturday and the other on Sunday! Both afternoon teas were lovely and provided an opportunity to catch up with members of my other half’s family. The first afternoon tea was for a hen do, and the second was for a baby shower. I enjoyed a couple of glasses of Prosecco with the bride to be on Saturday and there was a quiz about the mother to be with her second child, which really tested all of the family’s knowledge.

Both afternoon teas were delicious with the traditional scones with clotted cream and jam, finely prepared sandwiches and an exquisite selection of small cakes. I particularly liked the lemon desserts during both afternoons, with a lemon tart on Saturday and a lemon posset on Sunday.

Yummy Sunday afternoon tea

With two afternoon teas over one weekend, I wanted to make sure I kept up with my fitness. My main driver for my fitness journey at the moment is an upcoming half marathon. Nothing has been booked yet, but one of my university friends from London wants to run a half marathon with me later this year. It’ll be five years in October since I ran my first half marathon, so I’m much out of practice. Also I’ve let myself go recently with my body weight, putting on over half a stone when I had worked so hard to lose two stone.

On Saturday morning I completed my 34th parkrun at Beacon Park in Lichfield in 30 minutes and 40 seconds, which is just shy of one minute over my personal best set last month. I originally wanted to run at Kingsbury Water Park near Tamworth however, there have been protests at an oil depot which I drive past to get to the park. Rather than taking the risk, I ventured over to Lichfield. It would’ve been nice to completed another 5km in less than 30 minutes and I could’ve run a bit faster during certain parts of the run, but I was happy with my finish time. It was nice to be cheered by fellow parkrunners and spectators when I sprinted across the finish line.

Yesterday morning I ran 10km in 1 hour, 10 minutes and 30 seconds. While it’s a far cry from my 10km run at the Bedford Autodrome last October, I set myself a steady pace as I’m out of practice on long distance runs. I ran a relatively easy 10km the weekend before in 1 hour and 10 minutes – my legs ached so much for the next two days! The route was mostly flat and along my local canal, so I was pretty pleased with myself yesterday when I completed a much more challenging route with multiple steep inclines in just over 30 seconds more. It shows that I kept up the pace, which was an average of 1km in 7 minutes. Also my legs are not aching as much today, which is a big improvement.

With the half marathon in my mind, I guess I’m starting to pace myself more. If I was to run the half marathon at a rate of 1km in 7 minutes, it would take me about 2 1/2 hours (including an extra 10 minutes for leeway). This is the sort of time I’d like to aim for this year, as I completed my first half marathon in 2 hours and 47 minutes. I’d also like to start completing one long distance run each week, increasing the distance slightly each time like I did when training for my first half marathon. For my next long distance run, I will aim to run 12-13km a few times, then increase to 13-15km and so on until I reach 21km. As soon as I’ve booked my place for a half marathon, I will of course let you all know the details!

Happy reading and blogging!

Clare Bear 🙂 xx

parkrun #33 / 7 Years

This morning I woke up five minutes before my alarm was due to go off. Initially I reset my alarm and put my head back down, but after a few minutes I got myself out of bed and headed to Beacon Park in Lichfield for my 33rd parkrun. I’m so glad that I completed the parkrun today, as I ended up smashing my personal best by 46 seconds and met my goal of running 5km in less than 30 minutes!

I can’t believe it had been two months since I last ran the Beacon parkrun. It was just the start of the New Year and I fancied trying a new parkrun. My first attempt at Beacon Park was completed in 32 minutes and 53 seconds, which I didn’t think was too bad as I wasn’t familiar with the route. I wasn’t quite expecting to beat my 1st attempt at Beacon Park as much as I did this morning.

I decided to start closer to the front of the start line, which I think really helped in beating my personal best as I was running alongside the more ‘elite’ runners. The path is quite narrow at the start line so you can end up getting stuck behind runners if you’re looking for a quick start. I kept up a quick pace to keep up with the faster runners and once there was more room for manoeuvre, it was easier to control my pace. The route was slightly different today but I actually found it easier as it wasn’t as muddy and there was more room along the path to give other runners space to take over.

My Fitbit showed a time of just over 14 1/2 minutes when I reached the second lap of the parkrun, which really motivated me to keep up the pace. It was tough going, especially up the short hill however, I persevered and was getting more and more excited when I was getting closer to the finish line. I was over the moon when my parkrun result came through – I ran 5km in 29 minutes and 42 seconds!

My previous personal beat was set during my 29th parkrun at Kingsbury Water Park in November 2021, which was a time of 30 minutes and 28 seconds. After four further parkruns and various intense cardio workouts at the gym, I’ve finally met my goal of running 5km in less than 30 minutes. I felt ecstatic running across the finish line, especially since I almost stayed in bed this morning!

This Girl Can

It was nice to see parkrunners celebrating International Women’s Day, which is on Tuesday 8th March. There were some runners wearing ‘This Girl Can’ t-shirts and there were placards available for taking photos. After completing the run, myself and two other women took photos of each other with the placards and wished each other a happy International Women’s Day.

In addition to beating my personal best and commemorating International Women’s Day, I started my blog 7 years ago today! I’m so proud that I’ve been keeping up my blog for this long. It’s been a great way to track my fitness journey, from the ups and downs and marking my milestones, including running a half marathon and completing 5km in less than 30 minutes today. My blog has also helped me to track my mental health journey, which in turn has significantly improved my overall fitness. I’ve come a long way in 7 years and intend to carry on writing my blog for many years to come!

Happy reading and blogging!

Clare Bear 🙂

xx

parkrun #32

Last Saturday I was pumped up and ready to achieve a new parkrun personal best, after my recent 5km cross training session which I completed in under 29 minutes. I stayed in Leicester for the weekend, so it was nice to complete my 32nd parkrun at my original local parkrun, Braunstone Park.

It was a chilly Saturday morning but it didn’t stop the 303 parkrunners (including myself) from turning up. The wind made my eyes water during the first lap when I was running down hill; it was a welcome relief when I was away from the wind. I really should have worn gloves as the wind was bitter on my bare hands, although they warmed up after running for a bit.

parkrun logo

I was running as fast as my body would let me during the easier parts of the Braunstone parkrun route; even the dreaded hill just before the halfway point didn’t feel as challenging as it used to in the past. I kept on checking the time on my Fitbit in the hope I would cross the finish line at 30 minutes or less. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

The finish time for my 32nd parkrun was 30 minutes and 44 seconds however, I did beat my Braunstone parkrun personal best by 28 seconds, which is an achievement in itself. My previous personal best at Braunstone Park was achieved in September 2021, with a time of 31 minutes and 12 seconds during my 24th parkrun.

What I have to bear in mind is that all parkruns are different with their own unique routes and challenges, which can impact your finish time. For example, I’ve mentioned before about the terrain at Kingsbury Water Park. The route can be muddy at times, especially after heavy rainfall, so it’s best to adjust your pace to avoid falling over. Braunstone Park includes a steep hill which is challenging to run up, and the finishing run is also uphill. I would say the easiest parkrun I’ve done so far is at Beacon Park in Lichfield, which I tried out at the start of the year. I completed my first Beacon parkrun in 32 minutes and 53 seconds, but I should be able to complete the route within a quicker time the next time I try it.

My overall personal best is 30 minutes and 28 seconds, which was at the Kingsbury Water parkrun in November 2021. I am determined to complete a parkrun in 30 minutes or less this year. 28 seconds doesn’t sound that much to beat, but you can certainly feel it when you’re trying to run faster.

Happy reading and blogging!

Clare Bear 🙂

xx

Super Cross-Training

Last night after work, I ran down to my local gym with the intention to complete 5km on the cross trainer in 30 minutes. My last 5km cross training workout was completed in 31 minutes, so I was absolutely ecstatic when the cross trainer showed a finish time of 28 minutes and 42 seconds!

5km in under 29 minutes!

Each time I cross train, I vary the intensity levels and aim to keep up the same speed to really push myself. Yesterday I selected a rolling hills programme where the intensity levels gradually increased, then decreased and increased again towards the end of the workout. I chose intensity level 12 for the programme and even increased the level to 15 during the workout. It was particularly tough going during the last 1km as the intensity was even harder however, I managed to keep my speed above 10km per hour. There were occasions where I was cross training above 11km per hour, which felt incredible!

I must admit, my legs felt a bit like jelly after last night’s cross training but after a gentle walk home (as part of my cool down routine) and a nice refreshing shower, my legs were better. I feel even more determined now to finish a parkrun in 30 minutes or less. If I can complete 5km on the cross trainer in under 30 minutes, I can certainly do the same for a 5km run!

Happy reading and blogging!

Clare Bear 🙂

xx

Keeping it Local

It’s been just over four months since I decided to join a local gym. COVID restrictions were still in place when I moved to Tamworth in October 2020, with two national lockdowns to follow in November 2020 and January 2021. Rather than signing up for the gym while things were uncertain, I went out running on a regular basis. This formed a fundamental part of my self-care routine and as a result, I saw a significant improvement in my fitness (such as running 10km in 1 hour, 1 minute and 6 seconds and pushing myself closer to completing a parkrun in 30 minutes)!

I find it easier to run outside when it’s lighter in the mornings/evenings (plus I feel safer). I did try running outside in the dark a few times, but it can be difficult to watch your footing. Therefore I made the decision to join the gym last October after looking at a few local gyms. My favourite gym at the time was one in Atherstone due to the range of equipment and decent facilities. It takes me about 12-15 minutes to drive to the gym in Atherstone, so it’s not too far away.

However, I recently heard about a new gym in my local village. I had a look a few weeks ago and was pleased with the gym equipment. While there are no showers at this gym, it’s only a 10 minute walk from my house. How more local can you get with a gym on your doorstep?! The gym is also part of the same group of gyms as the one I signed up for in Atherstone, so I was able to easily upgrade my membership to include my even more local gym as well.

For the past few weeks I’ve been going to the gym down the road. The location is perfect not just because it’s by my doorstep, it also provides the perfect opportunity to warm up and cool down. I run down to the gym which takes about five minutes and then I take a gentle 10 minute stroll back home to cool down after my workout. Last week I even managed to go to the gym before starting work, which meant running down for a 6:30am session and having enough time after my workout to shower, have breakfast and get ready for the working day.

Recent results on the cross trainer

My new local gym opened in the New Year, so it currently looks really nice with brand new equipment. I like the cross trainers at this new gym as there are various exercise options, including setting trials through different locations across the world. You watch a video of a walking trial while you cross train which helps to make the exercise more interesting. I was very pleased with myself last Friday when I completed 5km on the cross trainer in 31 minutes at high intensity levels (see photo above – I spent two minutes cooling down at the end of the workout)!

I was also chuffed last week after completing a 5km internal training workout on the rowing machine. I rowed my fastest 500 metres in 1 minute and 54 seconds! My previous personal best for rowing 500 metres was 1 minute and 58 seconds. Usually I aim for two or three very intense 500 metre rows and my slowest 500 metre row is usually 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

I’ve not been able to complete a parkrun since running in Lichfield at the start of the year however, I am aiming to run this Saturday at the Braunstone parkrun as I will be in Leicester this weekend. It’ll be interesting to see how fast I can run 5km on Saturday following my recent intense workouts at the gym.

Happy reading and blogging!

Clare Bear 🙂 xx

The National Running Show

Last Sunday I received an email from parkrun about an upcoming event at the NEC in Birmingham. This event was the National Running Show, which I hadn’t heard of before. The email was offering a free ticket for weekend admission – I thought, why not?! I booked my free place and went to the NEC on Saturday; it turned out to be a thought provoking and inspirational day.

I arrived slightly before opening time and joined in the applause when the show was officially opened. There were plenty of goodie bags at the entrance, which contained free bottles of Boost Sport drinks, energy gel samples, caffeine gum and flyers. There were also a couple of people dressed up as bananas, who were handing out (you guessed it) free bananas!

The show was like walking into a runner’s paradise, with plenty of stalls to suit everyone’s tastes and running abilities. There were more trainers than you could shake a stick at and lots of running gear to try on. You could sample various protein snacks and shakes, alcohol free beer and even low fat cheese (which was actually pretty good). As well as popular sports brands, small independent businesses attended the running show with products from quirky running leggings to personalised/custom fitted headphones.

I quickly had a look at a few stalls when I first arrived, as there was a talk at 9:30am which I didn’t want to miss. I’m glad that I didn’t miss the talk, as it set me up for a day of learning. Nicky Edwards, a physiotherapist and sports scientist, delivered a talk called “Female Specific Training – How to Prevent Injuries & Smash Your PB!”. I was intrigued since I’m trying to beat my parkrun personal best, which is currently 30 minutes and 20 seconds.

The talk was very much focused on the women’s menstrual cycle, which I didn’t expect but I had never considered it before in relation to fitness. Nicky explained how women’s hormones change throughout the menstrual cycle and how this impacts the recovery process after exercise. This means that women should ideally tailor their exercise schedule so it’s in sync with their bodies. I also learnt that women should aim to consume protein within 30 minutes of exercising! Protein is important in repairing and rebuilding the muscles after exercise, and the body absorbs protein much more efficiently shortly after exercise. I’ve definitely taken some pointers on board from Nicky – she provided a very informative and insightful talk.

Giant inflatable iPRO bottle

Following Nicky’s sessions, I planned my day to look around stalls and sit in further inspirational talks. YouTube channel ‘The Running Channel’ delivered several talks throughout the day, including one on understanding different paces during running. The CEO of Running Channel, Andrew Baddeley, provided plenty of advice on understanding your own paces – it turns out he is the record holder for the fastest parkrun, which stands at 13 minutes and 48 seconds!

The final talk I listened to was called ’10 Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Became A Runner?’ by Lisa Jackson. This talk was very inspirational, especially for new runners as Lisa explained her journey of how she became a runner. One of the most important things, she said, is to give yourself permission to do what you want to do. Lisa gave herself permission to run at the age of 31 and as a result, she has participated in 110 marathons and ultra marathons! Lisa also stressed the importance of not being afraid to come last in a race. It’s not the worst thing that can happen, but it’s the taking part that counts and the feeling of euphoria after finishing a race.

In between the talks I treated myself to various goodies, including a lovely new pair of running leggings which have a multicoloured dog paw print design. I also bought some protein shake packets, three pairs of sports ankle socks and even a subscription to the Women’s Running magazine. I had a quick flick through a magazine at the show, which was full of inspirational stories and running tips. I’m looking forward to reading my first edition and receiving the other editions later on this year.

Wearing my new sports leggings 🙂

I’d definitely recommend the National Running Show to all runners, and to those who are interested in taking up running. The show was definitely an eye opener for me, as there’s a lot more to running than I initially realised. The next show is on at the Farnborough International Airshow from the 7th-8th May 2022. I will probably wait until next year before I go again and stock up on more fitness goodies and freebies.

Plenty of goodies!

Happy reading and blogging!

Clare Bear 🙂 xx

New Year, New parkrun

Happy New Year!

I hope you’ve had a good and healthy start to 2022.

As if New Year’s Day was a week ago today – the first week of the year has gone by pretty quickly for me. During the first week of 2022, I was able to meet up with family and friends after catching COVID just before Christmas. I started back at work on Tuesday, which signalled the return to regular daily life and getting back into a routine. This has helped me to get back into exercise as I struggled to motivate myself whilst I was self-isolating.

I went for a 6km run on Monday (which I completed in just over 40 minutes) and went to the gym on Wednesday and Friday to do some rowing and cross training. It was a shock to the system but I feel better for it. I’m also glad that I’ve managed to lose two pounds this week, after putting on six pounds between my birthday and the New Year! Just another four pounds and I’ll be back at the two stone mark and ready to lose more weight.

With the New Year vibes, I fancied trying a different parkrun this morning. I usually go to Kingsbury Water Park which is south of Tamworth, but I knew the conditions would be difficult for running with the recent bad weather. I’ve mentioned about the mud and puddles on various occasions, mostly notably the Halloween parkrun at Kingsbury which was challenging, but fun at the same time!

I decided to try out the Beacon parkrun in Lichfield this morning. I’ve been meaning to visit Lichfield since moving to Tamworth as I’ve heard it’s a nice place to explore (particularly the cathedral). I arrived at Beacon park early just in case I had to look around for a parking space, but there’s plenty of parking around (and I now know for next time). I took a leisurely stroll around the park and took in my surroundings. Despite the wet conditions, Beacon park is lovely and probably even more so during the spring and summer months. There’s also a nice view of the cathedral when you stand on the bridge across Beacon pool.

Beacon Park with a view of Lichfield Cathedral

As runners were making their way to the start line, I thought that the Beacon parkrun was fairly new as it wasn’t as busy as Kingsbury Water Park and Braunstone Park in Leicester. I didn’t mind this though as it meant more space for everyone and potentially easier opportunities to overtake runners. I found out later that today was Beacon Park’s 28th parkrun. It only started on the 8th January 2020 and there were 689 runners at the first Beacon parkrun! Of course, all parkruns had to stop in March 2020 when the pandemic caused a full lockdown in the UK, and the Beacon parkrun was able to start again in mid July 2021.

Just before the rain picked up!

I didn’t aim to beat my personal best this morning since I was running somewhere new. The route was pleasant around the park and mostly on tarmac. There were a few trail parts of the route where there was mud and leaves, but nothing to the extent of Kingsbury Water Park. The route was essentially two laps, so it was similar to the Braunstone parkrun. As usual, it was nice to see a variety of people at Beacon parkrun, including first time parkrunners, parents running along with their children and owners with their dogs.

I completed my 1st parkrun at Beacon Park in 32 minutes and 53 seconds, and my position was 152 out of 196 runners. This morning was my 31st parkrun since I discovered the parkrun back in May 2016, when I was on holiday in Guernsey. My personal best remains at 30 minutes and 28 seconds, which I would definitely like to beat. One of my aims this year is to therefore complete a parkrun in 30 minutes. Now that I’m more familiar with the Beacon parkrun, I should be able to finish the route in a faster time than today, and edge even closer to running 5km in 30 minutes!

Happy reading and blogging, and stay safe!

Clare Bear 🙂 xx

parkrun #30

It was a beautiful start to yesterday morning in Tamworth. There were no clouds in the sky and the sun was slowly rising. It was slightly chilly but ideal for running at Kingsbury Water Park. The conditions were almost perfect for setting a new personal best at my 30th parkrun. However, the mud and leaves along the route meant it was hard work running, but I’m still pleased with a time of 31 minutes and 4 seconds.

A lovely start to Saturday morning

There weren’t as many park runners as usual yesterday morning. There were only 179 runners compared to 330 last week (I didn’t complete a parkrun last week, but you can view all results for Kingsbury Water Park on the parkrun website). This could have been down to people attending work Christmas parties the night before, or because it was cold outside (or maybe even the Omicron variant which is causing concern). A lot of runners were wearing hats, gloves and jackets; all of us were certainly keen to start running in order to warm up. I wore my parkrun t-shirt with a long black top underneath to keep my arms warm. I would wear a hoodie or jacket, but I’d probably end up wanting to take it off whilst running so I contend with the chilly conditions at the start of the parkrun.

Having less people running was another ideal condition for beating my personal best, but I had to take my time along the muddier parts of the route. I felt my footing almost give way a couple of times under the mud and leaves. When it was safe to do so I picked up the pace in an attempt to complete 5km as close as possible to my personal best, which is currently 30 minutes and 28 seconds. I finished the parkrun yesterday with 36 seconds behind my personal best, which I don’t think is bad considering the conditions.

I need to complete 20 more parkruns before I reach my second milestone with the parkrun. My first milestone was completing 25 parkruns, with 50 parkruns being the second. Once you complete these milestones, you can qualify for a milestone t-shirt. I’ve decided not to buy a 25 parkrun milestone t-shirt but I will definitely buy a 50 one once I’ve completed 50 parkruns. It can take a long time to reach these milestones since the parkrun is only held weekly (unless you run every single Saturday). I don’t always get the chance to complete parkruns on Saturday mornings, which will be the case now until the New Year. Plus it will be very likely that I’ll be completing long distance runs next year, so I may put a hold on parkruns while focusing on running further than 5km (although a parkrun could be a nice breather from long distance running now and again).

Happy reading and blogging!

Clare Bear 🙂

xx

Lifestyle Routine

It’s strange to think that it’s December tomorrow! Even though COVID-19 has still been having an impact on our daily lives with varying restrictions throughout 2021, where has the year gone? 2021 has flown by for me and a lot has happened, most notably the changes to my lifestyle which have become a part of my daily routine.

The changes have been simple and fairly easy to incorporate into my life, and I feel much better in myself for making these changes. For example, I meditate first thing in the morning to set the tone for my day, whether it’s focusing on gratitude, self betterment or easing my worries. Meditation has greatly improved my mental health, which I never really used to take care of in the past. Being more mindful is helping me to raise the awareness flag when things get hectic, and it enables me to take a step back and consider how to handle situations in a more meaningful way. I’ll admit, I’m still getting to grips with adopting these techniques in practice however, meditating on a daily basis is helping me to improve myself each day.

I’ve also incorporated a regular exercise regime into my lifestyle routine. Now that it’s getting darker at an earlier time in the evenings, I go to the gym after work on Tuesdays and Thursdays, rather than running outside. I complete various exercises at the gym, such as rowing (in which I do interval training) and cross training. When I’m free on Saturday mornings, I participate in the 5km parkrun at Kingsbury Water Park. I’m trying to beat my personal best, which is currently 30 minutes and 28 seconds, and aim to complete 5km in 30 minutes. As well as intense exercise, I like to keep myself active throughout the week by going out for a walk during my lunch break and sometimes after work.

Another change to my lifestyle is being more mindful of my diet. I’ve always been pretty good at having vegetables in my diet, but I’ve definitely improved my fruit intake this year. One of my favourite dishes for breakfast, which I discovered earlier this year, is alternative pancakes. The recipe omits flour and milk, and uses banana and porridge oats instead for the batter. I mix blueberries or sultanas into the batter and serve the pancakes with chia seeds mixed into Green yogurt and chopped strawberries on top.

Meditation has also helped to improve my diet, as I eat food at a much slower pace than I used to. I’ve become much more mindful when eating, which means I take more notice of the flavours, textures and aroma of food. I also feel fuller for longer and more satisfied overall after a meal. I still have the urge to satisfy my sweet tooth but rather than omitting sweet treats altogether, I try to limit myself to what I have each week. For example, I enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea on Saturday after a tour of Highclere Castle, which was my birthday present from my mother. I don’t very often have afternoon teas, so it was a nice treat.

Afternoon tea 🙂

All of these changes to my lifestyle has helped me to lose two stone over a period of eight months. I’ve been stuck at the two stone mark for just over a month now, with one week where I gained a pound and then lost it the following week. I’m pleased that my body has become accustomed to the weight loss, as I had many weeks throughout the year where I worked hard but didn’t see the desired result on the scales. Meditation is helping me to be more appreciative of my body, which means I’m trying to exhibit patience with my weight loss. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s better to lose body weight gradually as it gives more time for your body to adjust to the new weight.

Now that we’re truly in the run up to Christmas, it will be a challenge to lose weight in December. My focus will therefore be to maintain my body weight the best I can through my regular exercise routine. If I lose weight then that will be a bonus, as I want to focus on intensifying my exercises at the gym from this week. I’m not skimping out on Christmas treats this year (I don’t think anyone will with Christmas being very different last year)!

Happy reading and blogging!
Clare Bear 🙂

xx