It is four weeks since I last wrote my blog. I had always intended when I started writing it that I would post at least every two weeks but time just seems to zoom by. And life is so busy. Work, play and training. All are equally important but sometimes the first two, particularly work, can limit the time available for the latter and certainly the time to write about it. But here I am.
Today I am running the Newham 10k. Four miles less than the 10 mile I ran in Richmond Park a few weeks ago. It is, however, an important run for me as it was where two years ago that I made the decision to ignore my GP and seek a second opinion on what was causing me to nearly collapse each time I ran. The rest is history.

My next challenge is in five weeks. I am doing the 3 Peaks Challenge. Ben Nevis, Scarfell Pike and Snowdonia in 3 days. The main challenge so far is finding a mountain in Essex to train on. A couple of hills is all I have managed but I have been running up stairs and escalators like mad. I am now one of those smug commuters that doesn’t stand on the right on the escalator emerging from the Underground.

On Friday a friend and I walked the Box Hill Hike. It has an elevation of 224 metres which is not very impressive compared to Ben Nevis at 1,345 m but was certainly more challenging than the inclines of Essex. And it certainly gave me the opportunity to break in my new walking boots and identify any areas of weakness. The boots were fine. Not one blister. What I did notice was discomfort in one of my calf muscles on the elevations so something to work on with my roller. My friend used walking poles which certainly made her more stable on the descents which were on occasions quite precarious. Certainly something to consider but apparently they can take a little time to get used to. 

My next challenge is then going to be seeing off my excess body fat. Given that my BMI is within normal range (just) and I wear a size 12 this may not seem much of a challenge but let me explain. The two photos are eight weeks apart. During that time I lost a bit of weight and a good few cms. But what doesn’t seem to budge is those rolls of fat. What is of real concern is my body fat percentage. 38% of my body is fat. For a woman of my age it shouldn’t be above 32%. I am actually classed as obese where these measurements are concerned. It is unhealthy to be carrying so much fat. So I am going to do something about it. I am going to ignore those that tell me that it is inevitable at my age and with two children that I need Lycra to keep my belly flat. What is also very persuasive is the association between body fat and inflammation. And as inflammation has caused the damage to my fingers and may have damaged my aortic valve anything that I can do to reduce the inflammation in my body I just have to do.

So I am working with my Personal Trainer to see the fat off. It is not going to be easy. It is going to take discipline. My training will need to move away from endurance training and back to the weights. And, of course, I still need to work and play. But I’m going to do it.