The Only Way is Up - Apart from the Detours

June 21st 2014 – Day 133

Day 1 Weight:      256lbs                                Day 1 Fitness:     Nil 
Day 133 Weight:  226lbs                                    Day 133 Fitness: Above Average

Weeks 17-18

When I get up in the morning and before I go to bed I take a look in the mirror and try to figure out who the imposter is. I don't remember anyone sneaking in to my house and placing a large pod next to me while I sleep but the bodysnatchers have definitely been up to no good.

I don't claim to be supremely fit but I now do things I could not have dreamt of a few months ago. The confidence that I may be able to do this is growing but work gets in the way. I would be going on long walks and bike rides every day if I could. Instead I manage an hour to an hour and half in the gym most days but it isn't enough. Yes this really is me talking.

Getting on my bike after work and going for a 20 mile ride before getting home and cooking myself something to eat is frustrating. Frustrating because I want to ride for longer but hunger and the need to get up for work the next day takes over.

The need to lose more weight continues but I am putting so much exercise time in that my appetite has gone through the roof. I now struggle to get the balance right but at least in the sense that I am not putting weight on. Even so, I have now reached the half way point towards my ultimate target of 60lbs. Strangely, once I had hit that point, in the space of about 24 hours well over 20 people commented on how much they could see the difference. These are people I see almost every day but it was almost as though I had hit a switch and my body shape changed. I always knew wearing a bigger shirt was the answer. Actually it isn't I am lying. When I started on this ludicrous adventure I could just about cram myself into XXL shirts and T-shirts, I had to breath in and pull my stomach in to button my waist size 42 trousers. I am not even joking either. I started to struggle to actually be able to buy clothes that fitted. A couple of days ago I got up for work and didn't have a clean ironed shirt, no time for ironing. I delved into the darkest recesses of my wardrobe for a shirt I could get away with and there was one that looked half decent. I put it on, buttoned it up and then realised if I tried to move I would rip it apart at the seems. I took it off looked at the label and it was a medium. Medium! Medium! I must have bought that before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Still, medium! Also bought a pair of trek pants for when I get into the mountains with a 36 waist so everything is moving in the right direction.

I have started walking into work a bit more regularly or taking my bike. Rather than take a direct route I zigzag my way so that it takes me an hour and a half each way walking. If I get away early enough, and I am not too hungry, I extend that to a couple of hours on the way home.

I have also become obsessed with the weather forecasts, I am British after all. The point is I am constantly trying to assess what the weather is going to be like to plan indoor or outdoor exercise. At the moment I still have not risked investing in quality wet weather gear as it would probably be a waste of money so fair weather is still a must. 

With this new found obsession in place, my dad would be proud, I set off to have my first attempt at Snowdon. I decided on the Miners Path, a gentle start with a steep climb in the middle before a relatively easy final bit to the summit. I set off at a brisk pace reaching the lake in no time. As I looked up towards the summit and the saw the clouds really high and all set for a fine day the ridges at Y Lliwedd looked quite inviting so I decided to go that way.

I had not climbed Snowdon this way before and after about 40 minutes it was obvious why. It is a lot steeper than the picture suggests and there isn't anything that could even loosely be called a path. After about another 30 minutes of picking my way through and up the rocky 'trail' I was no nearer the top and for the first time since I started this whole hoopla thought to myself no, stop, go back it's easier. I didn't stop, I persevered and eventually reached the top only to be faced with the next ridge being even higher and even more precarious. I carried on and reached the top. Except the next summit was higher again. By this stage it was as hard to carry on as to go back. So i thought to myself at least I can get the train down and it won't be so bad for a first go. However, my conscience was screaming Kilimanjaro will be harder, don't give in! I persevered and what a reward at the top, the view across the cauldron was just spectacular.  

I set off down looking for the respite of a relatively easy trail on the way to the summit of Snowdon. My a..e took a bit of a battering sliding and scrambling across rocks and finally meeting another hardy soul going the other way. After swapping notes I carried on readying myself for the final scramble up to the top of Snowdon. I looked back to see what I had crossed. 

If it had looked like that going up I would have stuck to my original plan to ascend all the way up via the Miners track. What a reward though.

By now the clouds were closing in on the summit and visibility was down to about 30 yards as I entered the clouds. Remarkably it was still warm enough to stay in a T-Shirt and it didn't rain so it was comfortable despite the poor visibility. Not being able to see the summit though meant that the fatigue in my legs was all I could focus on as I could not tell how close I was to finishing the climb, even though I knew it couldn't be very far. As I finally reached the last 150 feet it was like Piccadilly Circus. I had only seen maybe 4 people in 3.5 hours and now the final assault was hampered by so many people at the top. I was 50 feet from the top when I had to stop and sit down but my head was screaming no, no, no don't stop now it doesn't matter how tired you are. On I went to the very top, and as I did the clouds dispersed and the sun came out.

Now the Snowdon Railway is a wonderful thing. But it really is galling  when you get to the top and can't move for people who have come up on the train. No problem with that if you're old or infirm but when you're young(ish) and relatively fit(ish) don't put walking boots on to get on a train. And if you're wearing high heels I might just tell you to f... .ff! Especially if you're a bloke.

I sat close to the summit for 45 minutes taking in some food and drink and set off down the Pyg Track. All the way down my knees were taking a pounding and I thought 'I am going to suffer for this tomorrow'.

About 6.5 hours after setting off I finally reached the end of the trail and although feeling the effects a little bit I was relatively fresh. Feeling very proud of myself I set off on the drive home.

Sunday morning came and valuable lesson no. 5 came along. I can train as much as I like in the gym, go for 20 mile walks or 40 mile bike rides but nothing prepares you for descending down a mountain until you descend down a mountain. All those muscles I haven't used before were now stiff and strained. My knees though were fine. So the training is paying off because I was able to persevere on a difficult ascent. I just need to do it more often now so that I can prepare for the descents.

"I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held highAin't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb"


Please help keep me motivated by visiting Marks Just Giving Page 

or TEXT code MPTC50 £amount to 70070 e.g. MPTC £5

You can also follow me on Facebook

For more information about the Princes Trust visit the website at www.princes-trust.org.uk

Mark

The Proclaimers and Minor Triumphs

June 1st 2014 – Day 112

Day 1 Weight:      256lbs                                Day 1 Fitness:     Nil 
Day 112 Weight:  227lbs                                    Day 112 Fitness: Above Average

Weeks 15-16

After a couple of stop start weeks my progress in losing weight stalled a little bit and moved down by a whole 1lb in 4 weeks. This is usually the bit where frustration and an attitude of 'what is the point' will kick in. I will start eating rubbish, stuff my face with chocolate and put all the weight back on again. It is not that I hadn't been doing any exercise, I had been going to the gym regularly.

A lengthy night out in town drinking plenty of beer, red wine, vodka and Jack Daniels, a great meal, some fantastic live music and leaving the last bar at 4.30 in the morning, led to a monumental hangover, my first in months. That inevitably led to writing off a day and a big attack of the munchies. I arose invigorated by a good sleep and a weigh in showing my weight had stayed the same. I took that as a very positive sign so after a light breakfast I set off on my bike to cycle to Southport and back with the Pier as my goal. I got to the Pier and felt fresh so I carried on towards Preston, stopping to turn round when I realised I had no idea where I was so thought it safer to retrace my route. By the time I got home I had ridden just over 40 miles in about 3.5 hours. The padded cycling shorts really did the business as remarkably I could still sit down afterwards.

For most of the following week I put in some long sessions in the gym and on one day walked to work and back in a bit of a roundabout way so it was not too easy, about 1.5 hours each way.

It was during this time I started to realise the progress I was making, 40 mile bike ride in one go? Not me? To think back to the middle of February when after 15 mins in the gym, on very gentle settings, I was slumped in a chair trying not to throw up with the gym instructor getting me to breathe deeply and take in water.

A few things happened that really started to boost the confidence and realisation that maybe, just maybe, I can do this if I keep focusing. I was doing some bench presses with dumbbells. Now, although I have increased the weights by 40% I was not approaching anything you could call a tough exercise. However, as I was working through my sets I was conscious of another guy coming to use the bench next to me. I could then here the grunts and groans as he started to push his weights. I swear, I could hear the sweat oozing from his pores due to the effort. When I had finished and sat up I looked across and saw that this guy was less than half my age and his weights were 4 kilo's lower than mine. In my head a did a lap of honour shouting yes, yes, yes! I had the urge to kiss someone but unfortunately Britain's Next Top Model hasn't been in for a while.

The day after I was running through some cardio exercises. I did a warm up of 2k on the rower in a little over 9 minutes at maximum resistance, I couldn't do 300m at setting 5/10 without stopping at the beginning of March. I immediately got on to the exercise bike and tried a new exercise. I chose the fat burn session which required me to get my heart rate up to 80% of its max, slow down and then bring it back up, the machine determining the resistance level as it measures your rate. I set off thinking this was too easy as the machine gradually increased the resistance. After ten minutes I was thinking the machine was broke as I was no where near the heart rate. I persevered and eventually the machine reached the maximum level of 20 and despite the burning in my legs and the sweat pouring out of me like water out of a kettle it took close to 20 minutes to reach the maximum heart rate. Again thinking back to March I could just about manage 10 minutes on level six. I finished that exercise and then did a quick 30 minute session on the treadmill and then 30 minutes on the cross-trainer both at Level 13. Despite all that I got up the next day without any aches or pains. It was then the penny started to drop that this really is working.

Flushed with success I went off into Snowdonia and had a walk up Moel Hebog that lies behind Beddgelert. It is not massively high but is fairly steep on the way up and almost vertical coming down the other side. It was a good exercise in seeing how my knees and toes coped on the way down and the answer is very well. It was a beautiful day and some of the views across Snowdonia were spectacular. The Ice Cream parlour in Beddgelert is worth a visit too.

The following day I got on my bike and rode from home to Otterspool Park via the Pier Head and Albert Dock, about 34 miles in total. Despite a mountain hike the day before a bike ride of that length was no problem. Okay it may not be very strenuous but this is me, lazy b.....d, we're talking about here. This is real progress.

The long walks and bike rides over the last couple of weeks have been solo efforts without music or podcasts for company. I need to test myself against the urges to stop, give in and go home. I only have what is in my head for company. The reason for doing this is that I need to know, when the time comes, if I will be mentally strong enough to continue when my feet hurt or I need a good sleep. The good news is I am now starting to think that it really is possible for a completely unfit, overweight lazy git to do this. The bad news is when left alone with only my own thoughts not a lot goes on in my head. 

Where do the Proclaimers come in I here you ask? Well I don't I am just surmising you want to know why the Proclaimers are in the title of this latest ramble. You see, when I started on this programme I bought something called a Fitbit Tracker, a wrist band that measures the number of steps I take daily, amongst other things. Today it reported that I have walked 500 miles since I started and I am going to walk 500 more. (audience groans!) 

However, here is a little pic that shows progress. A way to go but you have to start somewhere, 2 stone down, 2 to go.

Thanks for all the support and encouragement.

"Now if I was in your shoes
I might look at me and think
There's a fool
But I'm not in your shoes
And I don't have to play"


Please help keep me motivated by visiting Marks Just Giving Page 

or TEXT code MPTC50 £amount to 70070 e.g. MPTC £5

You can also follow me on Facebook

For more information about the Princes Trust visit the website at www.princes-trust.org.uk

Mark