This week our Spark Plod Ambassador Aimee tells us about #CrispGate, #girlpower, an upside down pyramid and running with kids!
Happy International Women's Day to all who are reading this. It's 52 years since Katherine Switzer changed the landscape of running and women are continuing to inspire others and break boundaries in sport. Whatever the reason you run, keep on running and if you've ever contemplated it but not yet found the motivation to lace your trainers up, maybe Aimee will inspire you today.
###CrispGate##
"Hi, I've not written an update for a few weeks, my last blog focussed on my lack of motivation... well that has not completely been reinstated (not yet anyway!) but I know why I am struggling, because I have been wasting my energy with the whole "what can I eat, what can I not eat?" malarkey. I have been so consumed these last few weeks with what I am eating and second guessing everything, that it has got to the point that all I’m thinking about is food and my next meal and how much I am craving a Chinese takeaway and a bag of salt & vinegar walkers... but I can't because I have no points left to eat ANY food!!
"Sooo... I have a confession to make (I’m sorry Aimi, For what I’m about to say ), I joined weight watchers in January, because, like everyone does I put on weight over the winter period, also all the hype on weight loss that is heightened at that time of year... I fell for it hook line and sinker!
"Before I go on, I want to stress this is not a WW bashing blog, because I have seen it have the desired results. I work with some lovely ladies, a number of whom are doing great and have lost a considerable amount of weight by following the WW plan!
"Anyway I joined up...and for the first few weeks I did ok, I stuck to the plan and in the 8 weeks I have been following the plan, I have lost 10lbs... Woohooo right? Nope!! I feel no different now, to before January (...other than I’m 3 times moodier, or so my mum says!!) I am absolutely sick to the back teeth of fighting with my head every single meal time, and restricting myself of something so that I can have a biscuit later on!
"This update is coming from quite an emotional place, because I had a breakdown over crisps, actual real tears!! Last week Aimi posted a quote about diets and it really resonated with me and made me sit and think. Firstly, I’m 30 why am I crying over not having a bag of crisps!? Secondly, why am I doing this to myself? Because I sure as hell don't feel good, I feel deflated. I have even thought 'I can't run because I’ll be hungry, and then I’ll want food'. I know this is completely the wrong mind-set to have, it's not healthy and it’s counterproductive, hence #CrispGate!!
"So the first thing I did was message #MyTeam, in the group chat and have one great big outpouring rant about my weight, about society and about being unhappy because of food. The first thing they all did was tell me I’m not alone, then they took the P*ss out of me, then they did that thing that women do....they reminded me why they are My Team #Girlpower (Btw Spice Girls get me through ALL of my runs!)
"So, after my bad mood for over a week and my breakdown I have made the decision to never calorie count again. I am no longer 'dieting', I am instead going to be eating in moderation... Apart from Salt & Vinegar Walkers, I'm having them whenever the heck I want them!!!!"
##Running..🏃🏻♀️##
"I have been doing plenty of that, I got my monthly Strava update and February was my busiest running month to date, managing to rack up 27 miles over the month. ?This probably isn't a huge number of miles to some, but it’s 15 more miles than I did in January, so I’ll take it!
"In my running plan, it states I should try something called an 'upside down pyramid', I genuinely thought Aimi was having me on. So, as I had never tried this before, I thought it best to stay away from the main road and opted for 'down the canal'. Radcliffe Canal is a beautiful stretch it’s very flat with gorgeous views of the greenbelt, full of wildlife and nice people with dogs. If you have never been down that way... Go and take your children, it will make you feel good about life I promise!"
"So... The upside down pyramid was actually quite fun, 1 minute of running, 1 minute of jogging/walking, 2 minutes running, 2 minutes jogging/walking... and so on till 4 minutes of running, 4 minutes of jogging/walking and bringing it back down to one. If you can visualise it, it's an upside down pyramid. I probably found this more fun than just running for 2k, because it said jog or walk haha!! But I really did enjoy it and have done it a few times, really working for a set number of minutes and allowing the same amount of time at a slower pace is helping in my longer runs as I am noticing that I am dropping back to a walk much less... Yay!"
"During half term week I tried to get my boy to run with me, it took 20 minutes to do 2.5km which is fine for a boy that spends 75% of his time swimming! It was the constant "Mum, can we walk yet?" "Mum, Can I have some water?" "Mum, I'm Sweating!!" that made me give up on the running so we went for a 3 mile walk instead....Luckily my plan said run for 20 minutes haha!! Kids eh!? 🙄"
"So, as I have had a little reality check and adjusted my mind-set and for fear of boring you all with my Crisp meltdown, I am going to save the scoop from the Kettlebell class, myself and Sarah did with Maggie for next week’s update. I am also planning a big run for Sunday, I figure if I say it here I have to stay accountable, so on Sunday I have mapped out a nice little 13k route....I have not ran this far since October 14th!"
Life is too short... eat the crisps!
Aimee x
F92 Plodders meet at St Mary's Park in Prestwich every Wednesday evening. We're a women's only, all abilities group who welcome everyone from first timers to seasoned marathon runners. If reading Aimee's post has motivated you to lace tour trainers up and give walking, running, plodding or anything in between a try, come and join us in our supportive Facebook community and a Wednesday Plod.