Not really looking forward to this long weekend

It's a short week - yay! I have done 2 x 20 minute sessions in the park - yay! I had my diabetic checkup today, and the doc is very happy indeed - yay! It's Easter this weekend - gulp!

I'm an eater. I like to stuff food in my face well after I'm full. I don't crave food, I just eat it when it's about. I don't have hankerings for things, I just swing open the fridge or pantry and consume. I can skip the chocolate, chippie and biscuit isles of the supermarket with ease, but if it lives in my kitchen, it's going to get gobbled.

Easter is my kind of holiday. I'm not religious, so for me it's all about the eggs! White chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, nutty, caramel, hollow and solid, I love 'em all! They live in my cupboard right now, and if given half a chance I'd consume the lot in a single sitting.

I know people who have Easter eggs that are over a year old, just rolling around in their desk drawer. They eat one of those small caramel eggs and are satiated. Or maybe they have two. I don't. I finish the pack.

It's not just chocolate eggs, I'd do it to a pack of Girl Guide biscuits too, dunking them one after the other into my coffee. A bag of chippies is never half eaten, it's opened, consumed and the empty packet is tossed in the trash. I have memories (pre-diabetic days) of opening a family-size pack of jet planes and scoffing them all while watching the telly. I always want another scoop of ice cream, a larger slice of pie, another sausage roll, the bigger muffin and extra helpings of whatever is going.

So, why am I not the size of a house? No idea frankly. My weight for the last decade has been between 105KG and 110KG. Even now, I have lost almost no weight since starting the 20 week challenge 7ish weeks ago. Not too surprising I guess seeing as how I haven't gained any weight being lazy or active in the past. The only time I have lost weight was back when I was diagnosed as a diabetic, and I was losing about half a kilo a day. Yea, that's rapid weight loss, and I don't recommend it, especially as it went on for several weeks!

When I pack my lunch in the morning, it's huge. It's not full of bad stuff - lots of proteins, salads, some fruit and nuts, maybe an egg or two, but it's a large amount of food, and it's usually gone before 3pm, sometimes it's gone by 1pm. 

Is it my mother fault? Did she force me to finish my dinner before I could go and play? Did I have to compete with my brother for a second helping or the bigger dessert? No, or at least I have no memory of it. Mum's not to blame.

Is it psychological? Does eating replace love? Do I feel prettier when I eat? Does it combat depression? Does it give me a secret thrill? No, it's just food.

Is it biological? Am I deficient in amylin? Do I have a high/fast metabolism that requires constant feeding? Do I have a second stomach? Well, maybe to points 1 & 2, but no to #3. Diabetics are often deficient in amylin (the bodies major satiety hormone) which may explain why I still want to eat when I'm full. And I'm rarely ever cold, even in the cooler winter months, which means a faster metabolism right? 

In reality, I have no idea. It could be some or all of the above, or none of it. But with Easter on the horizon, the fistfuls of nuts or fruit will be replaced with chocolate. Boiled eggs will be replaced with chocolate eggs. And I will want to consume all of the time because I won't get full, or happy, or satisfied until it's all gone. 

I wonder how many kilometres of hill walking I'd have to do to burn off a 6-pack of marshmallow eggs? I wonder if I could possibly burn the Easter calories off in the same weekend? Maybe I should head to the hills now? There are a lot of eggs out there, and only 4 days of the weekend to burn them off again!

Sigh. Wish me luck!

Sleeping in versus clambering hills

It was quite a few months ago, maybe even a year ago, that I last scaled the giddy heights of Bridle Path. Back then it was because Tracey was doing the 20 week challenge, and now it's me. It's a damn boring track. Long, steep and not much fun. Especially if you just head up from the gondola, ascend the 280m to Summit Road, cross over, drop down the 200m descent on the other side, then turn around and head back again.

As I said, a year ago I did this, and man it hurt for days afterwards. I hadn't done any walking for years before I took it on, and I discovered my calves big time. Today we planned to ascend to Summit Road, but then take a sidetrack along Wahareraupo Track which jutted out over Lyttelton and Governors Bay. According to my map, it didn't drop down as far as the southern side of the Bridle Path did, but had a sharp wee climb in it somewhere.

So, using the best preparation possible - a bottle of wine and chocolate cake and ice cream the night before, then a lateish night to bed - I awoke to my alarm and the sound of rain pounding on the roof. And it was dark. Summer was gone! Much procrastination and hoping for cancellation didn't pay off, and at 7:30 we were heading to the hills, and I was trying to convince myself it would all be worthwhile, I'd enjoy it more than a sleep in, it would be more satisfying than a hot coffee and a newspaper. 

At the foot of the hill it was cold and windy, but drying out and the skies were clearing. There were just three of us today (and Austin) with sickness or other lame excuses keeping the others tucked up in bed, and we struck out for the top of the hill. It was nowhere near as bad as the previous time, and once on top, we headed along the Wahareraupo track, to a couple of awesome lookout points with gray, but magnificent views of the harbor and hillsides.

After taking in the views, we followed the track around the western side, then up the vertical path to the ridge of the spur we'd been tracking along. Then it was mostly downhill back to Summit Road, and down Bridle Path to the car.

On the way up I had noticed some people on the track that kicks off half way up Bridle path and heads up quite sharply to Castle Rock. I saw a different group heading up on my way down. So, I'm now trying to convince Tracey that next time we do a Bridle walk, we head up there! An even bigger challenge!!

Normalish transmissions resume next week. Last weeks sessions in the park will be replicated this week, as well as a better diet (maybe) and more km's on the bike. We're approaching the halfway point of the 20 weeks, so it might be time to step it up another gear! 

Crippling self and colleagues

I did four of those 20min sessions last week, and felt I deserved a weekend off. Thankfully, I had plenty of work to do, so spent most of it hunched over my laptop smashing the keys randomly.

Tracey had organised for some of her clients to do the annual City 2 Surf walk/run that weekend, and I was roped in as courier, chef and welcoming committee on the Sunday. What I envisaged as being a relaxing snooze on a blanket in the park while waiting for them to arrive turned out to be a 2 part session that left me aching for days afterwards. I had 2 x chilly bins loaded with food and drink, and a large bag filled with tarps and blankets and more. Sadly, the closest I could get a park was quite a distance away, and combined with a long-cut, a mis-direction and a wandering about aimlessly, I was carring those damn bags for 2.3km! My shoulders were aching and I was beat. I almost gave up on a couple of occasions, ready to throw it all on to the ground where I was and damn them all! But, I managed to set up camp and quaffed coffee till they all arrived, ate, drank and then we were heading off again. This time I had 2 helpers to carry the bags, but within 500m they were complaining about weight, so I was a gentleman and left them and the bags at the side of the road and jogged off to the car. It was still about 1.5km away, so I was determined to jog the whole way, and I did. Sweet. For the rest of the day, and all of Monday, my shoulders were in pain, reminding me that an exercise session doesn't have to be planned, and incidental exercise is sometimes harder than planned stuff.

This week we have been back in the park, but with company this time. Several people from my office had registered interest in the lunchtime sessions, so were ready to rock over on Tuesday. Well, one pulled out because she had meetings all week long, and another had massive blisters on his feet from the City 2 Surf, and another forgot (pregnant, so shrinking brain at fault). So session one was just 3 of us, and it went really well. It was similar to sessions I did the week before, but different again. All of us were exhausted, but happy, at the end of the session and still keen to return the next day. 

That next day was today. Both of yesterdays companions were complaining about soreness, and underperforming in netball or jogging after work that day. A sure sign they had been working hard. Tracey was most pleased. Today we were four and did lots of jogging/running, boxing (which I can already feel in my arms!) and cards. Yes, the dreaded deck came out again with jumping, squatting, lunging, running and pushing options dealt out with no compassion at all. Finishing off with a prone hold was cruel, but it's kinda nice that when they were over you don't have far to fall. I felt this session was a little easier than yesterday (I may have got lucky with the cards) but it sure wasn't a stroll through the tulips.

Tomorrow is a rest day, possibly a morning session or a shin-test jog for me. Hopefully no upper-body action as my arms may not recover from today.