Race for life update

A massive thank you to everyone who sponsored me in the Race For Life in Swansea yesterday.  I'm £5 off my target of £250 and there is still time for people to add sponsorship to the page  -Krissie's Sponsor page

The course was run in Singlton Park, which is a beautiful place that sprawls behind the hosptial of the same name and Swansea University.  At least 2K of the race was uphill and the path was uneven in many places and also across grassy parts - so it was more of a cross country race which was great as I loved cross country as a kid.

The wining time for the race was 22 minutes and I came in on 30 minutes and 30 seconds - a new personal best.  I am really very pleased with that time as on Monday I suffered cramp in both quadriceps which rendered me in a fair amount of pain for much of Tuesday and yesterday.  But I'd be damned if I was going to let something as simple as cramp get the better of me. There's that stubborn mule again.  My left leg is in all sorts of pain today but I've booked in with a physiotherapist to get a full sports massage and have my bones realigned, so hopefully that will solve that.

As a rule, I don't really like running but I really enjoyed yesterday and it proved that I am so much fitter than I realised. I'm thinking cross country is the better option for me, it's more interesting than road running. So I think had I not had cramp i'd hae come in in under 30mins.  Well there's the target for next year.

Thanks again to everyone who's supported me via sponsorship and through messages.  It means a lot as the cause is so very dear to me.

You Rock

\m/

I Race for Life For...

Yep it's that time of year again where I come cap in hand to family and friends and run/walk a 5K course in my beloved neighbouring city, Swansea, with the hope that the few pounds I raise will be the vital few extra that find a cure for cancer.

This year is my fifth Race for Life and while I tend to grin like a cheshire cat when on the course, I also take the time before the race to reflect on those who I Race for Life for and in memory of. The sad fact is I race in memory for more than I do for those still with us, but I suppose that's part and parcel of getting older.

This year the pink back patch (I'll add a picture here later) has a list too long for my liking. I'd like to reflect here on a few of the names - not all or I'll start crying - but a few that are important to me. There are two on the list who I never met but the had a great influence on my life. Ronnie James Dio being the one who had an impact on my music and who we lost a year ago on Monday. Needless to say Rainbow and Dio make up a lot of the playlist I'll be running to tonight. His voice is possibly the greatest metal voice the world has and will ever know (no offence Bruce). For such a small man, his voice was enormous and his vocal has been a huge influence on my own style. Thank you Ronnie.

And Gwen, who had a profund impact on me through her work, and through that work I met some of the most amazing people and have made some lifelong friends. Thank you Gwen.

Rhian, I knew this woman as a teenager. We attended Air Cadets together and we formed a close friendship that like so many we didn't continue through to adulthood and that makes me sad. However, she was a a genuinly lovely person and we shared a love of musical theatre and dance. Alas ovarian cancer took her at the very young age of 31. She was too young.

Jane. Jane passed in August 2010. And for the short period that I knew her she was a warm and wonderful person with a free spirit and a heart as big as an ocean. She was a big fan of the band (slightly biased too being Giles' mum) but her support was immense. I am sad that I didn't get to have more time with her but I am so grateful that I did know her.

Uncle Alan. We didn't know until after the investigation into his passing what had caused it. He passed in December 2010. As a child my sister and I were close to Auntie 'Lizbeth' and Uncle Al. They lived not far from us and we would often go to their house for tea and cake and just to escape Mum and Dad if we'd got in trouble for anything (the benefit of a LARGE family when you argue with your parents is that you have lots of places you can escape to in safety). He and my Grandfather were close friends - well they had married sisters so it was inevitable. His ashes were scattered with my Grampa's.

Grampa. Seven years and I still miss him every day. I idolised my Grandfather, he taught me to play piano, always new what buttons to press to wind me up to the point that I would have to prove him wrong (I know now that he wound me up because he knew I could do whatever I put my mind to but sometimes I lacked motivation. He was a skilled carpenter. I hope he and Alan are up to mischeif where ever they are.

I missed two names off the list this year - Dad Phillips (my Great Grandfather) and Gareth Jones (my former boss when I worked at UWIC). They are also in my thoughts.

Something I mused on the other day was how grief affects us in different ways. By no means what I'm about write is meant to belittle the person who is going through the horror of suffereing cancer but I can only write from my perspective as someone who's been on the support side of the fence.  More often than not grief is usually those left behind being damned angry at the person who has passed for leaving them, and then that anger disapates to sadness tinged with anger. Grief is also a very selfish emotion. But it's also made more prominent by feelings of hope. And that's why cancer is such a horrible disease. Treatments can force the cancer to go into remission and give those of us who care for that person hope that that they will live a long and full life. But sometimes that hope is short lived and that's the crushing reality of cancer for those of us left behind. We, the support network and onlookers, are (just as the patient is) fed hope for a year or two that the treatment will work and that the person we love, who is going through the horror of cancer, will come out the otherside. That's why the grief of losing a loved one through cancer is so hard to come to terms with and why the anger stays for a long time, because we dared to hope. And damn it I'm going to keep on hoping.

I also Race for Life for two people who are still with us. Uncle Robin, who has been in the clear for ten years. And Sue, a work colleague who I admire and respect greatly, who was also in remission but alas we've had the very sad news that it's returned with vengeance. Sue will be in my thoughts very much as I do the course.

So, with my quads screaming at me due to cramp, even if I have to hobble around the course tonight I'll still be doing it.  It's too damned important to me for me to say I 'm not!

I Race for Life.... I race for us.

Please sponsor me if you can - http://raceforlifesponosorme.org/KrissieKirby2011

Thank you

x

Happiness, oh happiness.....

So I've been a bit lax in updating my blog these last few weeks and I've not got much to report today.  But I thought I should check in and have a bit of a wibble about the last month etc.  I'm currently researching a blog about tricks to combat and trick the old sweet tooth but damn that chocolate and it's fantastic taste is all I can say!  I had been a little in the doldrums too, but then who doesn't get days like that eh? I suppose it's because I've been mentally preparing for the onslaught in work of long working days through June.  But it keeps the roof over my head, good healthy food in the stores my gym membership going, and affords me the ability to do the stuff I really enjoy, like the band etc. Silver lining on everything ;)

During the bliss that has been 2 consecutive double bank holiday weekends, I have been away at my cross country pantomime hobby and had a thoroughly good time, and the band have had a number of gigs as well as continuing to write the second album, so it has been all go.  But that has been no excuse to slack off from maintaining my food diary... but that's what I've done!  I've been rubbish with it for over a month but I have maintained my weigh ins and my weight has fluctuated a little between 12 stone 12 pounds and 12 stone 10 pounds (the latter being where I am now). So I've not done too badly, although in retrospect I could be closer to 12 stone 0 but hey ho, life does get in the way.

I had a moment of 'GET IN' when out shopping with my dear friend Liz on the weekend.  We decided a girly day was in order and that a trip in to Cardiff was needed for food, coffee, retail therapy and gossip. Imagine my delight when in H&M I tired on a little black dress only to find that the Large (and girls we know H&M aren't very generous with their sizing) was too big!! I can't begin to say how elated I felt. So dropping to the medium I now have a rather lovely little black number ready for a night out with girls from the gym next month.  It's rare these moments happen but I think by keeping this blog when I have a low day I can read this entry and remember that feeling.  I am not ashamed to admit that I squealed and jumped up and down in the changing room... very, very happy!

Last night in the gym I had another  'oh hang on I'm not doing too badly at all' moment when I caught sight of myself in the studio mirror.  I have to say I impressed myself with how I noticed the difference in how I look and that's probably due to me hitting the gym every other day since last Tuesday last week.  I think I've shocked my system (after a fortnight off the gym) into going - ooh we best be toning up then.  The other thing I've done is found that My Fitness Pal have an app for the Blackberry.  This is made of win (if you forgive the expression), mainly as I am waiting for the next food diary that I am road testing and the current one is too big to fit in my handbag.  My mobile is surgically welded to my hand (or at least it must appear that way to most people), and I have the My Fitness Pal app on my iPod but often forget to take the ipod out; plus it's not 3G capable so I can't get the database of foods unless in a Wi-Fi area.  Having this on my beloved Blackberry now means that it's all to hand and I don't have to worry about a seperate book.  The only down side to the app is that it doesn't have a mood area so now I keep a mood journal by using an A6 jotter pad that I bought for about £2 in Sainsbury's. That fits in the handbag nicely.

The sweet tooth being back with vengeance is annoying me as I really thought I had that one sorted.  But I suppose it just takes a lapse over one or two days and BOOM back it comes.  So I will continue to read the mountain of articles I've got from various sources and hope to come up with a blog that has lots of ideas and suggestions (hopefully realistic and simple) that will help curb the old sweet tooth and I'll be testing lots of them out on myself.  Why suggest these things if you aren't prepared to try them yourself eh?

Anyhoo.  This week I've had my PT session with Peter. And as usual he's handed me my butt on a platter.  He's really pushing me and I'm learning lots of new excerise ideas and tips which is great.  I'm finding my gym workouts are exceptionally varied and that the cardio machines can do so much more than we first think.  I've also started back to my cardio classes twice a week.  I dropped a lot of my classes when I took on a personal trainer.  And though the break and shake up in my fitness plan has done me the world of good, I think I need to get back in and restart my cardio classes only not so many as I once did.

So after a great weekend, a fab PT session and a very good BodyCombat class last night, I'm walking on a cushion of air today and feel tall and toned. Oh and Pandora hasn't reared her head in a quite number of days. To be honest for the first time in a very long time I'm feeling very happy with myself.  Now I just need to learn to take compliments with a 'Thank you' instead of going off on how much hard work this can be ;)

Until next time, be kind to yourself

Much love

Krissie
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