Rollin' with it

Over the last couple of weeks I've had to slow down the speed at which I have been whizzing (or shall we say, wheezing) through the alphabet. Taking part in Box Fit, X-Fit and an Obstacle run has highlighted that certain sports and I are not compatible - and whilst this is being further investigated through the medium of many needles (maaaany needles), I have been instructed to try and not injure myself over the next couple of weeks or so.

Cue sad music whilst I try to hide my glee about the fact that I am not avoiding going for a run, I am simply not allowed to... Times are tough, my friends, times are tough. 

I jest that physical activity has a detrimental effect on my health, but I'll be honest, it's been sub-optimal.

Enter stage left my best husband, who for some reason has not entirely enjoyed my phase of watching repeat episodes of Midsummer Murders with a face full of woe.  In a brave attempt to cheer me up, he highlighted how well I had done in sticking with the blog. So I had to begrudgingly admit that I was still missing 8 letters.  One of them of course my arch nemesis: Q.

And so the thorough research began.  I say thorough - there aren't that many sports to research.  Once we'd established that there is definitely no known Quidditch team within easy reach, the prohibitive cost of half an hour on a quad bike and that the website for the East Anglian Quoits Association is a couple of centuries out of date, we were left with only one plan of action: Quads.

(Or Roller Skates - but that doesn't work for the blog, so we'll keep calling them quads.) 

 We chose what is likely to be the last warm and sunny day of 2019 to drive to Colchester, where for just under £13 per person you can gain access to the rink, hire a pair of retro quads and receive an informative leaflet:

The place reminded me of a bowling alley - perhaps it's the eau - de - sweaty - shoes? 

This might be the time where I'll have to admit that my last attempt in skating is not quite as long ago as decency would have you think.  Of course I was about 10 when I was last told off by my mum for trying to skate downhill through the village to school, rather than walking at a safe pace past the farms.  (All the other kids were allowed to skate... some even had bikes.  Just saying.)

But it will come as a surprise to everybody, including my then-housemate sister, that I did in fact own a pair of white Britney Spears endorsed roller skates in 2003.  At the age of 20, in Business School.  

The reason no-one knew about this is because - despite my deep conviction that I'd make it big in the skating world - I suspected that some people might find it slightly amusing.  And so I hid the skates in the wardrobe.  Once the roads (and my sister) surrendered to the quiet of the night, I'd sneak out and made best possible use of the car-park of the printing business nearby.  I even mastered pirouettes.

All these memories came flooding back as I gingerly approached the smooth wooden surface of the rink.  I expected to find myself sitting down within the first few minutes, but I do think my clandestine practising all these moons ago yielded results.  I soon found myself swishing round and round the oval rink, deftly avoiding toddlers hanging on to the rail.

You may think that spending over an hour just drifting around the same rink might be boring, and it might be if it was not for the on-task resident DJ.  Emotional highlights included "I want it that way" (I did just about stop myself from performing the dance routine I'd learnt in secondary school, although I think it would have looked better on skates), a sudden change skating of direction (I know! The crowd loved it!) and of course, regular use of the smoke machine.  There were even some flashing lights, which lead some sugar-hyped-up 10 year - olds to ignore the instruction to keep to a sensible speed.

My best husband who probably secretly doesn't really care about the blog but really wanted to go skating.

I'll not pretend that I have any idea about the physical benefits of roller skating - I'm sure they are manifold if you do it regularly, and I saw some amazing jumps and trick performed by people who clearly didn't practice under the light of a fading street light. I know that this won't be something that I'd take up as a regular sport.  But it was great fun, and another reminder that being physically active does not have to include squats, just as much as having a fun day does not have to involve a screen.

However, just because I like bullet points, there are a couple of things worth listing:

- I was amazed at the resilience of the children.  No matter how slow the progress, the number of tears and pain of the fall, they all got up again and kept going.  Round and round and fall and up and round and fall and hold and up... It made me wonder: At what age do we start giving up?

- There were some real lessons in kindness on the rink.  Chatting to a Lady who was there with her older Teenage daughter, she explained that it was the girl's second attempt. Struggling with her weight, the daughter wanted to try out an exercise that she could do on her own, at her own speed.  The Lady pointed at the tall girl at the opposite side of the rink, hanging on to the rail, painfully moving one foot in front of the other. How brave, to keep going when it's hard, when everyone around you is younger and faster and makes you feel like you're in the way.  And how lovely, for the mum on the sideline watching on.  "I'm just here to support.  I just help her on and off the rink, but she wants to try on her own."  You go, nameless mum and daughter team.

- Of course there were a number of parents holding their children's hands to stop them from falling (or, less successfully, crashing into people).  But there were a number of sets of young adults, a young couple for instance or a set of girlfriends, where it was clear that one was teaching and guiding whilst the other one was faltering and hanging on for dear life.  More than in any other sport that I have witnessed so far have I seen the strongest ones pushing / pulling / supporting / guiding the beginners. And for me, that definitely out-cools the pink flashlights and the Backstreet Boys.

Tell me why...Ain't nothing but a heartache, Ain't nothing but a mistake, I never want to hear you say: I waaant it thaaat way!

Taking a breather

Back in June, when I wrote my first post, Jess mentioned that she had heard about an upcoming Obstacle run. 

Back then, when I was young and foolish, I googled it straight away:
a 5k (or km, as proper people call it), across fairly flat grounds, interspersed with 28 inflatable obstacles... what could go wrong.

Soon we were signed up, with Jess even being prepared to endure running on her Birthday. 

Unfortunately my health threw a bit of spanner in the works, and the experience didn't quite go to plan. Luckily for Jess, there was very little running - but I think it all came a lot closer to work for her than she had hoped for a day-off birthday. And I was incredibly lucky to be limping about with such a supportive trooper - thank you Jess!

So whilst I wait for some answers, I'm afraid the bloggage (or the sportage, more precisely) will have to take a little breather, just to be on the safe side.

But in the meantime, I'm still very much open to suggestions: the planning must go on!

A reason to dress sensibly

At the beginning of the summer holidays (...2017...), I pledged that I would practice cycling to work, ready to be a confident rush hour cyclist by September. 

3 sets of summer holidays have passed since, and I am yet to fullfill that pledge. However, on this occasion there are actual, real and sensible reasons in addition to pure laziness as to why I have not met this particular challenge:

1.  We managed to buy the probably only house in the hole entirety of flat county Suffolk from whence I'd have to conquer 2 steep hills in order to get to work. 
2. The only route (avoiding the A14) to get to work leads me through a very busy town centre at rush hour.  It is dangerous - I'd know, I'm one of the drivers to blame for that.
3. Even the non-town centre roads on this route are perilous because of the number of parked cars in crazy places.  You can't ride near the pavement but instead have to "own" the middle of the lane. Cycling lanes?  What's that?
4.  Also, let's be honest, it's effort.  I couldn't get to work in a skirt with heels and some kind of organised hair do. Sounds dreadful. Sounds like me most days anyway, but that's a different conversation entirely. I just want the option of making an effort.

However, a pledge is a pledge and I shall one day attempt to keep it - but I felt I'd first need to develop a base level of bike-riding-ability. 

Social media to the rescue, I had a number of offers and suggestion on where I could practice.  Howard kindly suggested to ride around Alton Waters with me(this place has a lot to answer for).  The 8-mile / 12km round trip can be conquered on foot or bike, and if you don't own a bike you can hire them at the location (including helmets. Make sure they give you one that fits...)

My helmet did not fit.  Yes, I know about tightening the notch at the back.  Yes, I did try to use my pony tail to hold it in place.  Yes, I did look like this in public except when the helmet feel forward and I had to cycle blindly.

If you have read my blog before, you know that my adventures usually pan out in one of two ways:
1.  I dread it beforehand, and it turns out I'm awful at it.
2.  I think it'll be easy beforehand, and it turns out I'm awful at it.

HOWEVER - this one was different.  For one, we booked it at such short notice that I didn't have much time to dread it.  We'd also had a busy weekend and so I didn't have time to build up my normal amount of panic.  There was a moment, just after we'd collected our bikes and the gents told me to lead the way that I thought "there is no way I can do this".  But there were too many people around to do much about it, and so I ended up funnelled along the path, whistling a happy tune.

And whilst there were a couple of inclines where I had to get off and push my bike, overall I thought I'd managed pretty well (I was measuring myself against a 5 year old we overtook a couple of times. I know how to set achievable targets).

The ride took us about 90 minutes, which included stopping to adjust saddle heights a couple of times, fixing a dropped chain,  general chatting and picture taking and not killing pedestrians with our crazy speed. I have no doubt that most people could beat that time, but it felt a comfortable, enjoyable pace rather than full-on effort. 

Then we had Ice Cream.  The End.

So is melancholy really incompatible with cycling?

1.  I guess it depends on what you want to get out of it.  I know that there is a cycling club in our town where people search out well planned routes and work for speed and endurance when it comes to riding uphill.  I'm fairly certain I would not have enjoyed that as much. The relaxed afternoon ride we had would probably not have done a massive amount for our fitness levels but we were outdoors, off the sofa, and moving.  So, a gentle win but still a win I think. 

2. If you do plan on taking up cycling, think carefully on what you want / need and seek advice from professionals.  We bought my current bike second hand and had a number of problems, the biggest of all being that I just don't trust it.  It doesn't feel very sturdy. I now wish I'd invested a bit more and actually felt safe riding it, rather than wobbling about, praying that the breaks work this time. 
- Take some time to work out your gears and your timings.  We discovered a couple of times that we left it too late to adjust our gears when approaching inclines, which meant we didn't manage to get to the top.  I believe that - if I had familiarised myself with the rental bike before we set off - I'd have been much more efficient. So next time I know that I'll be quicker even if my fitness levels stay the same.
- Check your saddle height.  My knees were stroking my ears.  Not ideal.
- Get. A. Comfortable. Saddle.  Just saying, whilst waddling.
- Also, get a helmet.  I mean it.  Ask my brother-in-law who "only" suffered broken ribs and a mangled helmet in an accident.

3. The benefits of cycling are manifold:
- It can easily be incorporated into your every day life.  If you cycle to work for example, you then don't have to go to the gym, you've had your work out.  Unless you live above your shop.
- Once you own a bike (and a well fitting helmet), you don't have any additional costs other than perhaps maintenance. Unlike a gym membership, which will continually cost you and make you feel guilty on those days where you just don't manage to get there.
- It's fairly gentle on the joints.  Despite my legs being particularly sore at the moment, making me consider whether it was wise to go ahead with our plans today, I came home in no worse pain than I set out in.  I know from experience that I would be in pain if I had gone on a walk instead, so I'm really chuffed with the outcome.
- It can be a social or an independent sport. Go out on your own at your own speed, or find a nice location with cycling lanes that allow you to have a little chat with your buddy. 
- The NHS website highlights that cycling can reduce the risk of serious illness such as heart disease and that it has a positive impact on your mental health.

4.  The planet.  You don't need me to spell it out. Please, hold me accountable - or even cycle to work with me:-) Mwahahahah!

On yer bike!

Thank you Howard for a fantastic time!  We hope you're not too sore!