Climbing The Walls

Oh boy, did yesterday turn into a long day.  I managed to get to Body Balance at lunchtime, and it feels so good to be back doing that, but the plan sort of derailed after that.

It was one of those days where, at 5pm you think you'll be leaving fairly shortly, and then you're still somehow sat at your desk at 8pm.  Even when I did leave, I had a pile of work in my bag that needed checking before this morning, so I had another 2 hours to do when I got home.

Sadly, that meant the run got bumped, which I find really frustrating.  I suppose the thing I must bear in mind is that the end of January was always going to be tough because of how busy work gets, and so really I've done well to get in as many runs as I have, especially with the trainer re-fit happening as well.  I'm glad I managed to at least get my Body Balance class in though - even since last week, I can feel a little (teeny) bit of my strength and flexibility returning from before Christmas.  Now I've got into yoga and pilates, I'm intrigued to see how much I can improve my flexibility and strength, and I love how chilled out I feel afterwards.  If I had more time (and money!), I'd be really keen to fit more of this into my week - perhaps even try Bikram yoga, but it's probably a bit of a push at the moment.

Talking of busy and trying new things, what I do get to do tonight is climbing!  I booked myself onto a beginner's course before Christmas, at Undercover Rock in Bristol, and suddenly it's come whistling around in my diary.  I really enjoyed the taster session that I did at the end of November, but I still have a bit of a fear of heights and falling, so I'm currently viewing tonight with equal parts fear and excitement.  Although I went with friends last time, I'll be venturing out solo tonight, as my friends didn't want to do the course.  The centre was super-friendly last time, so I don't think it will be a problem (and as we all know, I love meeting new people), and I've deliberately booked on the course run by the instructor I had last time as she was lovely, so hopefully it will all be good fun.

I think the one thing that really appeals about climbing is that is such a good strength workout.  I loathe weight training, and will do a lot of things to avoid it, even though I know it's great for strength, posture, toning and metabolism.  Circuits makes it bearable, because it mixes it all up with cardio and combo moves, and flips between free weights and body weight exercises, but it is ultimately still hell on earth.  The couple of times I've tried any type of climbing activity, I've found that you're still getting that strength and toning work-out, and a touch of cardio, but all mixed up in the pursuit of something more fun (conquering the wall) and with lots of strategic elements to think about too.  I also like that you can make climbing as technical or easy as you like, and that for me, it will be a little bit about conquering a fear uneasiness of heights and falling, and pushing my (klutzy) self a little bit outside my comfort zone.

Due to a lack of run and excess of work yesterday, eating was a little bit hit and miss, but largely right.  I'd eaten a bit extra late afternoon, thinking I was fueling for a run (otherwise I tend to be running on empty if I run after work and before dinner), but then ended up staying so long I got hungry again and had to grab another little something.  I did manage to keep the damage to a minimum though, as dinner was already being cooked when I finally got home, so I occupied myself with shifting a bit more work while it was being done, rather than snacking.

So far this week, I think I'm doing ok on the eating front, and there'll be some exercise to show for it too, so I'm very hopeful that this will be the week I reverse the recent trend and start losing slowly instead of it creeping on.