In the last 5 months I have gone from being the fittest and healthiest in my 47 years and hearing those awesome words as I floated down the magic carpet “Zoe Forman – you are an ironman” To being my heaviest and most unfit in 12 months.

 

 

But I’m not going to dive into some unrealistic resolutions or crazy diets, but I’ll get back to basics and proceed with baby steps to regain my fitness & lose the extra lard I’m carrying.

How did I get here – well it all started with two cracked ribs in the swim of IMUK, including muscle damage which took 4 months to repair. I managed to get back on my bike & run a little in October, but no swimming yet. Then my wisdom teeth decided they would like to play up, crush an adjacent tooth and have me in the dentist and dental hospital numerous time. So still no swimming in case of infection after tooth extraction but at least I was running. The ice & fog stopped cycling so it was time to hit my winter grotto where I could row, ride & run through November in between face ache & dentist visits. Until the vicious winter lurgy arrived in my head and couldn’t decide between bronchitis or sinitus then floored me for most of December.

 

Jango the police puppy that didn’t make it came back to us in September after failing his pre course assessment, so lots of walks, cuddles and exercise for him as we try to retrain him as a gun dog or I might harness hm up for running Cannie-X. Our two older dogs have been out working on the local shoots with Mike and I’ve been out shooting myself with C&W Ladies guns and my syndicates on local pheasant shoots.

I’m not down about the situation I’m in and look at it as an extended Off Season sprinkled with light training ! I’m even happy with the few sessions I have managed as they have been social and fun runs & rides with friends and my four pawed pal which I’ve enjoyed. I worked some extra police shifts around Christmas including Christmas Eve day and Boxing Day. Ran with my step kids on Christmas morning at local Parkrun dressed in a Santa suit before enjoying a banquet Christmas dinner at my sisters prepared by Tim.

We have made our annual visit to Elgin, Scotland for Hogmanay and had an excellent time with friends eating drinking and being laughing so much my sides ache! Won prizes at the Aberlour Mash Tun including a VAX steam cleaner.

I have loved running around the forests and trails for sunrise runs which suit me perfectly as it is 8:53am Been mesmerised by the stunning sunsets across Findhorn Bay and the Morayshire countryside. The fresh air, frosty trails, crunchy leaves and snapping twigs have been my soundtrack.

My old Garmin 110 died so a trip to Inverness and got a new 15 model as 110 discontinued which had £40 off in sales and is perfect for trail running, logs steps and even though basic does so much more than my old faithful 110. It’s even waterproof which I think was what eventually killed my 110 on the Winter Solstice run when I got lost.

My dear friend Sally gave me a pair. Adidas Boost shoes which she got on an event she was organising but has no interest in running. So I landed lucky in them being my size – nothing like new shoes to get you excited about training and free ones even better !

So my 2015 resolutions continue to be my general life goals, but I realise I need to get back I to routine and tackle training with baby steps. I can’t just go out and ride 100 miles, knock out a half marathon and expect to not see DOMS or pain for a week afterwards. Started back today at Pilates after an absence of 7 months, not sure I was up for the advanced class but I held my own and wasn’t a complete jellyfish.

Step by step I will ease into the New Year with training juggled with work and home. Already a few day trips to Brussels, Cardiff, London & Oxford planned for January. Only a few more pheasant shooting days left this season has gone so quickly. Looking forward to a Snowboarding holiday in Canada at end of February as I have my new bright green jacket and psychedelic pants to test out – Mike thought my old kit was boring and I looked like a tree trunk !

The seasons change and so will some of my interests and hobbies but they all interlink in that they are healthy active pleasures.

So plenty to look forward to, a full mix of events & holidays planned & booked , now to get on with it…..swim, bike, run, shoot, snowboard, running with dogs, trail running, triathlon…..