Slug blog

So today I decided to cross-train. To take a bit of the pounding off my knees while thumping along like a baby elephant on my treadmill I decided to go cross-country skiing.

Now being the first time out on x-c skis this winter I expected to be a bit rusty, but I didn't expect to have completely forgotten how to wax... or ski.

I had the skis, I had the skin tight insulated leggings, I had the technical windproof shell, I had the toque on. But watching seniors gracefully swishing their way past me as I puffed, slipped, panted and swore my way up the hills was a real pride killer.

So no run today, I'm pacing myself.

Seriously though I've looked ahead to what's happening for the rest of the week and today suits me not to run. And that's a sensible way to look at it I think. I want to run Saturday & Sunday, and also tomorrow, so taking today and Friday off because of other commitments works best for me. I just can't become a slave to a strict, inflexible program, I hate that "knowing what you'll be doing at an exact time on an exact day" sort of thing. So I'd be no good for going on a cruise.

January 2, day 3 of my Old Years Resolution.

This morning I woke with reluctant enthusiasm, it's tough to wake up when it's dark, a minus temperature outside, and almost inside too as the heating doesn't come on till I get up and turn it on, and there's snow on the ground.

But up and straight into my running gear, with determination to pound those fat cells into submission.

So it's January 1, 2007 and do I feel like a slug or do I feel like a slug.

This year I'm trying something different. I'm dispensing with all that New Years Resolution crap, I made an Old Years Resolution instead on December 31, 2006.

And that resolution was...

Now I’m a firm advocate of a little bit of what you fancy (foodwise we’re talking about). So it makes me really grind my teeth when you see these absolute fanatics on TV, or other media, absolutely foaming at the mouth at the thought that people are eating chocolate, white rice or butter to name but a few of the perceived ‘sinful’ foods.

It’s all absolute rubbish, there is absolutely no reason why people can’t eat a little of something they enjoy, and it’s not the place of these "food haters", who probably flog themselves with birch twigs, and wear a hair shirt to sleep in and enjoy it, to condemn every little bit of food that isn’t fruit or vegetable, calorie or fat free.

First I’d like to thank all of the readers of this slugblog. Thank you for your complete inactivity, apathy and lack of interest in commenting on any of the items posted on this site over the last year.

The only feedback has been continual attempts to get trackbacks from porn, drug and gambling websites in Eastern Europe.

I had hoped by now that some healthy (pardon the pun) threads would have been running on some of the subjects raised. For example I bet you’ve got lots of “walkers” at your gym, or perhaps you’re a “walker not a washer” yourself, so were offended at it being pointed out that it’s an appalling lack of hygiene in the civilised world.

I’m sure I’m not the only person going round with that really irritating tune from the latest fried chicken advert repeating in their head. It’s the one where the mother is getting dinner ready, and husband and two kids are sitting round a kitchen table waiting.

The mother sings (actually she whines) “I can feed the family for £9.99”. The husband sings “Great she hasn’t cooked”.

How many of you miss breakfast each morning? How many of you snack mid-morning? How many of you starve yourself until lunchtime, then end up eating for England?

Breakfast is the best meal of the day for setting your body up to deal with whatever comes its way. It kickstarts the brain and metabolism, after all you don’t expect a car to run without fuel do you.

Having last week attended a full medical for my emigration visa, yes I’m hopefully leaving the country, but don’t worry my blogs will still wing their way to you by the wonders of the internet, I have been quite preoccupied with making sure that my blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol etc etc were all as close to perfect as they could be.

After all, this is my and the racing snakes future we’re talking about. It’s been a long process, having applied in 2003 we’re older, wiser, certainly fitter and healthier than we’ve been in years. It’s marvellous what a bit of incentive can do, and leaving the rain for snow and mountains is the right sort of incentive believe me.

Then it’s already too late.

With the warmer weather now here it’s easy to forget that you need to drink more fluids to keep hydrated than you would do in the colder weather.

How many of you reading this drink plain, uncarbonated water during the day? Or do you drink tea, coffee, cola? Well if you want to have a clear glowing skin, a well hydrated body and lots of energy then you need to drink water.

As a child it was firmly instilled into me that after using the bathroom you washed your hands, and it was not negotiable. If there was running water nearby you used it to sanitise, and throughout my life I’ve always carried on with this belief.

So it really makes me grind my teeth when I see people, of all ages, not washing their hands after using the toilet. For goodness sake people, why do you think that I want to touch things like door handles, food etc that you’ve just left your urine on because you can’t be bothered to wash your hands.

Vitamin C supplements have been religiously touted for years as a magic remedy to all sorts of ailments and dietary issues; colds, flu, poor diet and lack of fruit and vegetables etc. And I’m certainly no angel, I’ve taken my fair share of vitamin C pills over the years.

But why has it reached almost mythical status in the minds of many? Could it be because clever marketing has persuaded people that it will resolve many of the issues that simply eating a healthy diet, based on plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables would provide, but all in the convenience of an easy to pop pill?

I don’t normally give Friday the 13th a second thought, not being superstitious it’s not really at the forefront of my mind each time it comes around. However today, Friday the 13th 2005 has started to worry me, perhaps there is something in it after all.

It’s the time of year when between 15-25% of the population in the UK start to suffer sneezing, runny noses, sore eyes and all the other nasty effects of hayfever.

What is hayfever? It’s an allergy to pollens, the male reproductive parts of plants, grasses and trees. When the pollen comes into contact with the sensitive lining of the nose or the eyes it triggers an immune reaction and you get sneezing, itching, runny noses and sore eyes.

It's a question I've been asking myself over the last couple of weeks. If you can't fit in your normal workout/exercise routine, is it better to skip it altogether? or do as much as you can fit in?

The easy option is to say “it’s not worth getting all sweaty for only 20 minutes”, or “it’s not worth getting my running shoes out for such a short time, I’ll do extra tomorrow”.