Diet dilemmas

Looking back over my posts, I realise I haven't got very far with my 'looking better in jeans' goal.  That may have something to do with the fact that, although I eat really healthily, I love food. A lot.

I have never, ever been on a 'diet' that I could stick to. Every week I look at magazines that contain a 2 page spread entitled something like 7 lb in 7 days, Weight loss made easy or 4 weeks to your dream body, with a chart of banned items and a meal plan for the week. Prescriptive diets work for some people but not me. I'm a vegetarian who could be described as fussy (I can eat anything except smelly cheese but I'm not a big fan of mushrooms or aubergines) so that rules out a fair few menu options.

Anyway, diets are usually only a short term fix. They can be great for kick-starting weight loss or a change of eating habits, but they get really tedious over time. That's not to say I haven't tried a few fads in my time. Here are two of the most ridiculous:

• Dr Joshi's Holistic Detox I was tempted by this one after eating too many chocolates over Christmas one year, mainly because it's veggie. The principles of eating lots of green vegetables, tofu and rice were great but I got bored after a couple of days and just wanted to eat a red pepper. It banned 'nightshade' vegetables such as peppers and tomatoes, claiming that they're acid-forming, but there were far too many contradictions about what this actually meant and too many healthy foods were forbidden.
• The Master Cleanse Against all my better judgement I gave this a go. I'm generally willing to give most things a chance to see if they work, even if they do sound ridiculous.  And at the time, Beyonce had popularised this one. Basically it involves nothing but maple syrup, lemon juice and cayenne pepper in hot water. I think I lasted three-quarters of a day on it before I gave up. I didn't feel hungry, but my teeth really hurt from all the sugar!

The challenge for me is that, although I know plenty about nutrition, I have a weakness for cakes and chocolate and a habit of eating man-sized portions when I'm with my husband. If I'm ever going to be a decent cyclist, I need to be in great shape. So, my focus for the next few weeks will be to simply trim my portions slightly and limit unhealthy snacks. Let's see how it goes...

The Mighty Deerstalker

A 10k (and a bit) hill race involving obstacles probably isn't the best idea for a clumsy, accident-prone person like me. This dawned on me at about 8pm on Friday, when I managed to go over on my already dodgy ankle by slipping on another innocuous object - a chip (a.k.a french fry). I wasn't even drunk or wearing heels. An hour of frantic icing later I decided I'd be okay and wasn't giving up on Saturday's race: The Mighty Deerstalker.

I think you'd call the Mighty Deerstalker an adventure run. I'd read the race reports and seen last year's photos so was prepared for a scary experience. This didn't stop me from making a mess of it though.

Mistake #1

'Slow and steady' was my mantra for the first 20 minutes. Last year's finishers ranged from 90 minutes to 4 hours so I saw no need to rush off at the start like most of the crowd. My friends sped off whilst I plodded gleefully along, feeling rather pleased with my new found sensible approach. I've burnt myself out early on in races before and this time my mission was to be the tortoise. Wrong move. Before long the trails narrowed and the crowd was forced into single file, getting slower and slower until it stopped to queue for the first obstacle. From that point, the 'race' became a slow-moving conveyer belt, with little scope for overtaking. Grr, if I'd sprinted at the start there would have been plenty of time to catch my breath. Oh well, I'll know for next year.

Mistake #2

Dodgy ankles and downhill running in the dark really don't mix. Last year I tore all my ankle ligaments and fractured my fibula in a freak dog-walking accident. Since then I've been really nervous about slippy slopes, and this race was full of them. I went over on my ankle a few more times, especially during the river crossings, and spent a lot of time shuffling nervously along in a semi-squat position. If I do this race again, I'll definitely strap my ankle up. In fact, I might just mummify myself and bounce down the hill!

Highs and lows

The course itself was great fun - really technical but not too physically challenging, well not at the pace I was going at anyway. The highlights for me were the sight of hundreds of head torches making their way up and down the hills, actually managing to overtake some people at the sheer scree slope and, most of all, the 'disco' section in the woods, complete with fairy lights, disco ball and thumping music.

The lowlights? Getting sent on a 10 minute detour by some friendly local youths.

I finished in a reasonably respectable 2 and a half hours, half an hour behind my friends but far from last. The true distance was apparently closer to 14k, with some serious ascent. I felt a bit bad that I'd left the others waiting in the cold (I had the car key), but not that bad, they could have waited for me!

All about the money

This week's training went well. My legs felt okay on Monday but I took a rest day anyway. Tuesday was a bit of a rubbish day at work and I was tempted just to have a bath and shop online for new running shoes to cheer me up. I realised last week that my weather beaten shoes definitely need to be replaced but I put them on anyway and decided to do what I could. Once I got out on the road, I felt much better and ended up doing my planned 4 miles after all.

I'm focusing mainly on running for the next few weeks but treated myself to a trial subscription to Triathlete's World to start planning for later in the year. I've realised that triathlon can be a very expensive hobby. It's so easy to get sucked into buying the latest 'must have' gadget. I've been there and have the Garmin Forerunner to prove it. Don't get me wrong, many of these products are fantastic but they don't get you fit... you do!

It can also be tempting to pin your hopes on a flashy new bike, so I was delighted that my second hand Rocky Mountain attracted a few admiring glances and 'nice bike' comments last weekend.

One thing that you can't economise on, however, is race fees. This week, a group of work colleagues agreed to enter the Great Edinburgh Run. £26.00 for the priviledge of running 10k and only a too-big t-shirt to show for it! So far, my races are adding up to be almost as expensive as my old private gym membership. I'm living without fad diets and fitness crazes but my bank account isn't feeling the benefit. I've got 3 more races coming up between now and May but really want to enter a couple more triathlons too. At this rate, I'd better choose them wisely.

First triathlon - in the snow

Yay! I've completed my first triathlon and I wasn't last!

At least I've been better at training than I have been at writing on this blog. It looks like it's just going to be a weekly thing, until I get a new job anyway. I love writing but usually it's the last thing on my mind when I get home after a day at my computer.

Last week's training
I stuck religiously to my programme with just a few minor blips. I couldn't convince my hubby to go mountain biking last weekend so we went road biking instead, which resulted in me having a hissy fit and going home early. On Thursday, my training buddy cancelled on me so I did another session on the indoor bike trainer by myself. On Friday, I went for drinks after work. On Saturday, I suffered the consequences of 2 for 1 red wine and could barely manage to walk the dog without keeling over.

The wee triathlon
On Sunday morning, bright as a button and fully recovered from Friday's excesses, I tucked into the breakfast of champions - porridge with yoghurt, raisins and seeds, washed down with copious amounts of apple juice and coffee. Perhaps just a tad too much coffee - before long the excitement and nerves really kicked in and I'm sure the extra caffeine didn't help.

The Wee Triathlon is the first event of the season from No Fuss Events, whose main focus seems to be gruelling and epic mountain bike races. I'd travelled to the event with 3 fellow triathlon 'newbies' and over breakfast we fretted over exactly what a 'technical descent' might be. More on that shortly.

The swim
The event began with a series of 400m swim heats in the pool. I had no idea what to say whan I was asked to estimate my swim time. The last time I'd donned a bathing suit was on holiday in December, and that was to go snorkelling. "Hmm, the slowest?" I predicted. After much deliberating, I settled on 13 minutes, and was put in the slowest heat.

Looking quite the part in my swimming cap and goggles, I got into my allocated lane. On the shout of "Go!" I felt the adrenaline surge and pushed off with all my might. I can't really remember the first length but recall gasping for breath about halfway through the second and swallowing a gulp of water. By the end of the second length, I was experiencing what I can only describe as a minor panic attack. I think the excitement must have caused me to over-breathe really badly. I actually had to stop after the fourth length to regulate my breathing and went on to finish the last 12 lengths with my head out of the water, swimming breaststroke in the style of a drowning hippo. How I wish I'd done some swimming training.

Miraculously, I wasn't the slowest person out of the pool and finished with a time of 10 minutes and 32 seconds.

The bike
As I watched the faster heats from the warmth and comfort of the poolside, I looked out the window to see the snow blizzard getting steadily worse. By the time we got outside, it had turned into an eye-watering sleety hail.

As a result of my rubbish swim time, I had to wait 5 minutes at the start line before I could head off on the bike. By then, my two pairs of gloves were soaked through. I'd learnt my lesson in the pool and decided to set off at a comfortable pace. The first section was on road and we were splashed by more than a few cars. By the time I reached the trail I was completely drenched. I managed to overtake a few people (the turbo trainer sessions had paid off) and was doing really well until I reached the downhill section. It was really steep, with a mesh of tree roots, wooden steps and rocks, all mashed up into a muddy mess. I fell a couple of times and my chain came off so I decided the best strategy was to pick up my bike and run for it. I am not a technical mountain biker at all. I did get back on just in time to smile for the photographer though. I had to save face after the swimming spectacle!

After that, it was back down the road at a pace. I got up into my biggest gear and powered along as fast as I could. Just as I thought I was reaching the end, we were diverted back up a narrower, steeper trail. "Nooooo" cried my legs, but I dug deep and made it to the top. The faster, flowier (is that a word?) descent was much more fun and I felt totally elated as I flew into the transition, taking just over an hour for the 10 miles.

The run
All that was left was a relatively quick 3 mile blast. Again it was half on road and half on trail, but it wasn't quite as hilly as the bike section. Initially, despite being unable to feel my feet, I felt fine and focused on plodding along at a comfortable pace. After about 10 minutes though the pain really kicked in. My lower legs were bright red after being blasted by the icy cold water and my feet were truly sodden. I had visions of ending the day with frostbite, or even trench foot. A searing pain was rushing through the muscles in front of my shins, even though I've never experienced shin splints in the past. I stopped to stretch and walk a couple of times and eventually the pain subsided. After 38 minutes I reached the finish line!

Although it was a huge challenge, I absolutely loved it! I was expecting to be one of the last finishers but as it turned out I was faster than most of the other girls. I'll definitely be entering some more triathlons this year and I loved the off-road format. In the meantime, I'll definitely think about going for a few swimming lessons.