The Wall

For the first time since I started this I hit a block.  I really didn't enjoy Sunday's run one little bit and I don't know why. Last run I achieved my PB 7.5km so perhaps I'd built this run up and even though it was always going to be shorter due to the reps maybe I just thought it would be easier too? I went a different route so maybe that was a problem but from rep 2 onwards I was not happy.  Hopefully this is just a passing phase cause I'm out again tonight (Tuesday) for a long jog and I really don't want to feel like that again.

On the plus side I had a Chinese for tea last night and it was EPIC

Donnie

Please give generously its for a good cause

3 months to go

So here we are less than 3 months to go until the big race sounds alot doesn't it?  Well not really Christmas was only 2 months ago and I'm still getting over that so May will be here in no time. 

Training update - well what started out as walks with 30 seconds of jogging every 4.5 minutes has now turned into 2 minute jogs every 3 minutes sound easy?  Try it after 4 and 5 reps all i dream of is the voice  to say walk again yet reps 8 and 9 not so bad I guess that's just the body adjusting to the shock.  Anyway each jog still fills me with the same dread as jog 1 did however once I'm out there i do enjoy it and love the feeling of when I know I'm heading home this can only match the feeling that I know it will be at least 2 days before I have to do it all over again

Health eating update - This is going not too bad either I have been able to reward myself with some treats during this time but there is no longer the urge to pig out on things like I did before and crisps, chocolate and biscuits are still a no no.  Not being a big fan of weight loss over the years it came as a pleasant surprise to see that I had lost my first stone this week (1 stone = 6.35kg) however Gillian is testing my will power at the moment by making pancakes at the weekend and having bacon rolls a smell that will test anyone whether they are being good or not

Lastly I'd like to thank anyone who has donated to my charity MS Scotland.  I was truly overwhelmed by the support given and delighted that people have been so generous so much so I've had to raise my expectations about 4 times now.  For those who are not sure what this is all about please visit http://robboy2d.blogspot.com/2012/02/its-all-for-charity-mate.html where I explain what its all about.

For anyone who would still like to donate please visit http://www.justgiving.com/Donnie-Robertson its for a worthy cause and would mean a great deal me

5 things I enjoy about this process

So from previous blogs I explained the 5 things I missed the most since taking up this challenge and now I'm going to explain the 5 things I enjoy most about this process

5)  The home straight - Running is a pain in the ass I'll be honest dragging this body around 3 times a week ain't easy but no pain no gain the race won't run itself. My training to date involves jogging and walking for around an hour currently covering last run 4.11 miles or 6.6km. The walking parts are great but the jogging part is tough but the best part of it all is when I'm on my last repetition and I know I'll be home soon and it will all be over.

4) The peace- A strange one really but when your out and about there is nothing to occupy yourself with other than your thoughts so to get away from it all is good it can be quite nice solving the worlds problems during a run. 

3) The encouragement - I really appreciate everyone asking how I'm getting on with things it really makes all the aches and pains a little more bearable so thank you to everyone who keeps asking it makes it all worthwhile

2) The new me - The old me was fine dont get me wrong but the decisions and mindsets I have now are much better.  Its so much easier to say no to things where before I would just have one (or often more) anyway.  Likewise as the weight slowly comes off I've noticed trousers being a little looser and jeans once dubbed "out of fashion" (code for too tight) are now "back in fashion" so its really pleaseing to see a visible reward for my efforts


1) This blog - When I started out with this I wanted to use the blog as a diary of events and thoughts for my journey through this and I've found that writing this has in itself been a great help.  Now I'm not the best when it comes to the written word and as previously mentioned my spelling and grammar are not the best but i think writing down how you think about certain thinks helps you understand a little bit more about yourself.  I've always been honest in what I've written and looking back even at this stage I can see a great change in how I approach life.  For me one of the most surprising things I've found is the audience I have captured, most of my blogs are forced upon my facebook friends or twitter followers @donnierob77 so I expect a large percentage of UK views and some views in Australia but this for me would be it, so to have over 41 views in America 8 in Russia 6 in the Ukraine as well as Germany, France and Ireland is totally mind blowing.  God knows what their searching for in Russia to end up on my nonsense.  Anyway the grand plan was to at the end of this all print it all off and keep it so that when I'm fat again I can look back on the good old days when I use to pound the streets all in the name of charity

Thanks again for taking the time to read this feel free to spread the word and remember its all for a good cause so dig deep

http://www.justgiving.com/Donnie-Robertson

Its all for Charity Mate

So ever since i decided to do this i thought someone other than me should benefit from this.  My gain should be evident in the fact that i should be slimmer and fitter than well probably ever?  if at the same time someone else can benefit (with none of the hard work aches and pains) then even better as the sense of achievement for me will be even greater.

My Mum

Now there are loads of charities and good causes out there and no doubt you will have your own personal favourites so please do not judge me for not picking one of these.  My choice is a little closer to home and is a special one to me because of my mother.  Unfortunately my Mum suffers from MS Multiple Sclerosis .

Multiple Sclerosis this is a condition of the central nervous system.
In MS, the coating around nerve fibres (called myelin) is damaged, causing a range of symptoms but basically it stops messages travelling around the body resulting in the loss of function in certain areas such as movement.
Once diagnosed, MS stays with you for life, but treatments and specialists can help you to manage the symptoms.  Researchers  don't know the cause and they haven't yet found a cure, but research is progressing fast.

MS has striped my mum of her mobility and has taken away alot of the things she enjoys so much, however this has not stopped her being an absolute fantastic mum and granny it just means that we all now get to take turns into wheeling her around and trying not to crash her wheelchair into things (harder than it looks)

So when I do this run in May I am looking for you all to dig deep for a worthy cause no matter how little or big the contribution is I know that both myself and my mum will be entirely grateful for your donations and that you will be helping out a great charity MS Society Scotland http://www.mssociety.org.uk/near-me/national-offices/scotland

Please give generously http://www.justgiving.com/Donnie-Robertson

Thanks in advance

Donnie

Diary of a fat man 5 things I miss

So for a few weeks now I've been really strict on my eating habits and I mean strict. When I look back on my old habits I see now just how much junk went into me combined with no exercise it was just a recipe for disaster but that doesn't mean to say I don't miss all of those things.  Here are some of the things I miss since being healthy took over

Number 5 Chocolate - I've never desired chocolate but if there's chocolate around I will have it.  With Christmas in the past my kids between them must have received over 10 selection boxes added on to that chocolate coins and the chocolates Gillian and I received then the house is laden with the stuff.  By now it would have been devoured.  It would not be uncommon for the last cup of tea as night to be accompanied by something from the goodie box.  Now I just avoid chocolate altogether and you know something i don't miss it as much as I thought

Number 4 Crisps  - Crisps are ace.  So versatile they go with almost anything?  No?  Nothing better than sitting at home feeling a little peckish and "oh a wee bag of crisps fit fine" and then 5 minutes later "oh that was great I'll have another" Again party season at Christmas usually means "chip n dip" and pringles are always on offer in the shops so it would not be uncommon to devour a whole tube of pringles in one night, madness I know but they've hit the advertising nail on the head "once you've popped...."  Now I try and avoid crisps but I do miss the crunch sensation you get when eating so I have allowed myself low fat quaveresque bags once or twice a week nothing more

Number 3 Fast Food - Who doesn't like fast food? Chinese, Indian, KFC, Burger King and my all time favourite Domino's.  We like to treat ourselves normally on a Saturday night to something nice and whilst this won’t stop entirely the weakness was during the week if you couldn't think of anything to cook then we would just get takeaway now this doesn't happen every week but again the advertising gang have got you "Two for Tuesday" absolute dream 2 medium pizza's (one each I'm nae that greedy) delivered within 20 minutes for around £10 then if and it’s a big if there was anything left over that was lunch the next day sorted out.  I've not had a proper takeaway since I've started this so we'll wait and see how it goes but so far so good.

Number 2 Cheese - I think push come to shove I could quite happily live without chocolate but not cheese.  Cheese on toast right now would be an absolute treat likewise macaroni cheese absolute event.  I still have cheese like Philadelphia which is OK but it’s not mature cheddar.  I don’t want to write much more as it’s making me hungry

So what’s the biggest thing I miss out of all of this?  Well for one it’s not chips, surprising i know but I’m not a big chip fan, I mean I like chips plenty of salt and some tomato sauce yes please but I wouldn't go wild over it.  Chips are normally a convenient side order because you can’t be bothered peeling and boiling tatties but it’s not something I couldn't live without.

So the main thing I’ve missed the most since starting this is......................

Number 1 Biscuits - I love biscuits not even chocolate biscuits any kind at all.  Take the humble rich tea perfect for dunking (1-2 seconds max) A cup of tea could easily see you through half a dozen biscuits and I drink allot of tea so the cupboard is getting hit hard on a daily basis.  Same at work there is always cookies or cakes on the go so it would be rude not to indulge.  It's really hard to avoid biscuits so what I've found helps is that if I avoid the things that make me eat biscuits then that's half the struggle so instead of tea I have hot juice or water and this helps. 

So there you have it all the things i miss since being healthy.  Now I'm not going to lie to you or kid myself that I wont ever have these things again but moderation is the key and treats are a great reward for my hard work

Till next time

Donnie

Diary of a fat man The long and winding road

So I'm eating healthy and doing well on the training, add that together with walks during the week on my lunch hour and its all going well.  Sunday saw my first outing during the day and i must confess it felt allot better running in the cold day than it does in the cold night.  I even have a confession to make when i arrived home on Sunday after my hour session i actually felt quite good (could have been frost on the brain?) I'm not sure if it was A) just the feeling of being home or B) whether in fact I'm actually starting to enjoy this ?  A few hours later when the aches and pain kick in i start to believe it was probably A.

Anyway as my walks/jogs turn into jogs/walks one thing crossed my mind that i hadn't prepared for, and that was where to run?  It seems simple enough but in reality your choices are limited.  As a busy dad and husband my wife, Gillian, works in the evenings and i look after the kids so when Gillian gets home at 8.15 this is when i head out.  In the dark winter nights i don't like to wonder too far from home so i find myself running around the industrial estate so that no matter where i am I'm never that far from home.  Its not the best of places to run but its quiet and i don't feel self conscious when I'm doing it.  I've mapped out a route of 5k (half the distance of the race and at present the thought of doing this twice still seems a long way away but the mindset and attitude are all still  going strong

So what does this week hold in store well the running part is double what I've done to date so it will be interesting to see my comments this time next week.  I should also be in a position to say who is going to benift from this hard work

Thanks again for all the support and kind words this is what pushes me on

Donnie