I’ve gone and booked a last minute holiday – right in the middle of this mission to get fit! I go on Wednesday to Kos and there’s good news and bad news. Bad news is that the weather forecast is a bit iffy so lying on the beach may not be an option; good news is that means we can go walking/hiking/biking/church, sponge factory, honey place visiting/island hopping/try some watersports/Turkey trip – the list is endless. Phew... Am thinking I may need another holiday to recover if the weather doesn’t hot up a bit!

Since my last report, I have been back to Zumba which I find quite a challenge. This weirds me out as I used to go dancing and should find this less challenging than I do. But the instructor says that my difficulty may arise from that very fact. She also has a class of people who ballroom dance and she says they find it hard as well as ballroom legs have to be adjusted to do Zumba! Graceful and pretty is not the thing in Zumba (well, not for me anyway, too tall and ‘well built’ for that) and some of it is high impact which I have had to adjust to suit my well-used knees. I have to admit to loving the music though, always motivational, and reminds me of my salsa dancing days.

There’s a Macmillan Zumbathon coming up on 1 July which I am contemplating going to at a nearby hotel (Gomersal Park Hotel, for those of you who are local). Must get some practice in though before then to get to know the routines a bit better because I look like a fairy elephant at the moment. Did your mother call you a fairy elephant when you were little too? I am not loving the mirrors much in the fitness studio so elephant seems quite apt.

Thursday, back to Step again, usually the highlight of the week with lots of choreography and twiddly bits but nooooooo. Stand-in instructor who could not hear four beats in a bar which caused my head to mash to pulp in the space of 15 minutes. For probably only the second time in my life, I WALKED OUT!!!

Ended up on the treadmill instead, trying to work out whether I wanted a ‘Fat Burner’ which just seemed too easy so turned it into an ‘Aerobic’ session which also didn’t seem all that challenging either. I had only just broken sweat after 30 minutes! You have to input your age into the computer before you start and I am wondering if it thought I was 60 and not 50. Think I’ll get the management to check that one out. The weighing scales are also lying to me at the gym (ha, ha) so I wonder if it is a problem with their machines generally??

Then I got on the rower and really got up a sweat. YES! Only did 10 minutes on highest gear but did more than 2000m in that time. So actually I ended up having a good all round workout that evening.

It had been my goal to get to Pilates on Friday but that didn’t happen again. It’s just too early – I have to leave work on the dot and run across town (in the car) and still struggle to get there on time. One day, maybe...

Saturday was Spin again and this went well, although I didn’t do many of the standing sprints this time as still was a little breathless after the lurgy I’d had.  So ploughed out the heavy climbs and sitting sprints and came away feeling in good shape. Although I had to wash my face immediately afterwards as my towel to wipe off sweat smelt terrible. That’s the last time I let hubby loose with the washing machine!  Then Saturday afternoon, I spent with my sister-in-law who recently had surgery and cannot drive. So we did the rounds together in my car and I was truly exhausted by Saturday evening.  I usually take Saturday afternoon to chill out after Spin and really missed doing that this weekend. Note to self: remember to rest!

So, the week ahead. Tonight is Body Pump and Tuesday Zumba again. Then off to Kos for whatever the weather dictates!

Table is set

I have obviously painted a wonderful picture that if it were a real object, would fetch millions at auction.  However, it is really just a couple of stick men with the odd splash of colour – just to put things into perspective for you!

My jogging each morning is really a faster way of getting the dog exercised than walking and I really don’t go far or fast but I DO get out there come rain or rain (with our recent weather) and that is the most important part of moving more…the doing…I promise it’s no more than that. Sounds simple?!  Well, no, it takes a lot to do it and I am certainly stuck at a 20/25 minute level covering anything from 1.6 to 2.4 miles…nowhere near my goal of 3 miles (in any amount of time at the moment). The current “this week’s” obstacle to me achieving that mission is the fact that I jog to myself saying the beat “Thames Path, Mud Bath, Thames Bath, Muuuud…(slip) Bath, T…Thammmes Bh…(slip and slide), Mud…splutter (mud splashed up to face) etc!

So don’t be fooled or put off by the amount I seem to be doing!

To add insult to this, I didn’t make my Saturday Parkfit. This was not an impromptu duck out -  I was still in London recovering from a dinner I hosted the night before so just had to work very hard at trying to get rid of a hangover…was it worth it?  YES!  This was meant to be a Dine for Macmillan night but sadly the invitations arrived far too late and having issued just a “save the date with more details to follow”, I actually felt a bit uncomfortable changing the boundaries the week before, especially where money is concerned.  I did however let my diners know that that was the original idea but I would just do it officially next time! 

Saturday wasn’t totally wasted, however, as there was an Open Day at my tennis club so down I went and joined in.  It was the first proper game I had played in over 12 years and my secret is now out that my tennis is as wild as it is at cardio tennis!  It was doubles and you swapped partners / opponents after the first couple have got to 7 games so you got to play with lots of different people which was great fun.  I did try really hard too to keep the ball in play and even ran for balls that were just dribbled over the net – so much so that I slid…like, really slid…and went down…my back and head hit the ground but the ouch was my hand - looking at the bruising a day on, I must have smashed the palm of my hand (by the thumb) on the end of my racket on the ground…but I got up and kept playing.  It’s funny…cancer or falling over…it’s all the same, you just have to pick yourself up and keep going!  An ice pack and glass of wine afterwards certainly helped numb the pain of the effects of the fall, if only the cancer could be so easily blocked out.  Oh, and just in case you were wondering, for all that effort and acrobatics…I didn’t get the ball back over the net!!!  I did come runner-up for the afternoon, however, which I was really chuffed about. 

Sunday morning was Cardio Tennis and actually, with a swollen, black, blue and purple hand, my shots were actually a lot better as I physically couldn’t hit is as hard as I possibly could every time!  The afternoon was then spent doing another lovely walk with my husband and the dog and I can still smell the scent of the “mustard field” and just the green, green rolling hills all around us and BLUE sky…wow, what a difference a bit of sunshine makes.  And now I think I have definitely deserved my wine!

Have wonderful weeks all round and remember to keep moving.  And if the sun does what it’s meant to and comes back at the end of the week after a few days off, this could be the week I attempt a cycle to work! 

If you need some help getting more physically active during or after cancer treatment, order a Macmillan Move More pack.

Aphra is a Macmillan volunteer who will be looking after We Give Our Time – a brand new group on the Community for volunteers, and those who’d like to get involved.

Hey all,

We Give Our Time is designed for the people who donate their time - from fundraising to making the coffee. It is for everyone who wants to feel that wider sense of Macmillan Community. A place to make friends, share the good days and spread the word of all you do for Macmillan. Just a little bit of recognition from people in the same situation.

I am lucky enough to be the Community Facilitator for We Give Our Time. I have been working with Macmillan for about 4 years. I helped to produce the young carer’s guide “Let’s Talk About You” and then I went on to create and run the first Macmillan Student Society. My experiences with Macmillan have been amazing and I really am glad to have the opportunity to carry on working with such a wonderful charity. I feel like I have done it all from auctions, to speed dating, to coffee mornings. When I meet another volunteer who is doing something that just seems to be fun, I have to give it a go.

For those of you who are a little bit curious how I got started in it all - my father had cancer and died when I was 9. I have a Bulgarian friend who says that when a window closes many more open. It usually does not make sense, except perhaps in this case.

I hope to see you all in We Give Our Time very soon. Maybe you can give us an idea of what to get the Student Society to do next!

Aphra

I am late, sorry. That is par for the course for me. Too much to do in too little time.

I find, post cancer, that everything seems to take longer, I need more rest, concentration span is VERY short, even remembering to do basics sometimes is hard. And to cap it all, I have caught my first lurgy since chemo finished last July. Famous last words when I exclaimed in the office last week that I was surprised not to have caught anything yet...

So I am full of cold and yes, it has affected my ability to exercise. In fact, the only thing I managed yesterday was a bit of sofa surfing (cue, Hawaii Five-O music)... And today, I am imagining the Paddington hard stares I might be getting from my colleagues for sneezing.

My exercise regime has continued but slowed down due to the tiredness which preceded the lurgy.

Spin classes are continuing to motivate me and, in fact, I did one on Sunday morning in the hope I could ‘sweat out’ the germ I was harbouring. I performed pretty well under the circumstances, a bit sweatier than usual, but tired beyond belief afterwards. So even though it had been my goal to train again on Bank Holiday Monday, nothing ensued apart from ZZZZZZZZZZZ, oh, and a bit of ironing – does that count?

There’s something a bit illogical about Spin, I’ve decided. What is the point of sitting on a bicycle which goes nowhere, other than the exercise aspect? I might see if I can get myself a second hand mountain bike and get myself out in the weather. Although it was a bit off-putting seeing my hubby go out on his brand new mountain bike in March and coming back with a blistered undercarriage – ow, ow, ow. He’s not been out on it since, the bike is still in the kitchen (don’t ask...) and any mention of me using it has fallen on selectively deaf ears.

I also tried TRX last week which is a method of resistance training using your own body weight. I think I quite like this but will need a training buddy to get me to use this as part of the routine.  This training system was apparently devised by a Navy Seal who, for obvious reasons, had limited opportunity to exercise/weight train. This is a portable system which can be used in your own home in a relatively small space and consists of a strap/pulley with hand holds for each hand attaching to an A frame or ceiling frame (or a door if you have the home version).  It is suitable for all levels of fitness, for rehab after injury and for us too! The exercise can be adapted to your own level of fitness and in fact, despite my many years of exercising, I was only allowed a fairly basic level to start with, not including stomach exercises as my instructor was concerned that my lack of strength following abdominal surgery would mean this was not appropriate until core strength has improved.

Talking of instructor, I have to admit to being just a little bit distracted as he was demo-ing the exercises by the very aesthetically pleasing view I was beholding. So, I had the added extra heart fluttery exercise too. That’s very naughty of me considering I am old enough to be his mother.  I’ve got to say, there are definite benefits to going to the gym if it is only to admire the lovely bodies on show !

I had the opportunity to sample Tai Chi last week during a team building day but this disintegrated into farce at the moment the instructor said to look at the end of your own nose and I was faced with my boss in manic monkey pose with cross eyes. Suffice to say that the rest of the routine was a write off due to the tears rolling down my face. I felt so bad that I apologised to the instructor afterwards who thankfully didn’t seem too worried. I might try this again but this time, no boss allowed! He is just too funny...

The main issue I have discovered is not to overdo things. I certainly could not train at the same level as my co-blogger ClareC. Firstly I am quite a bit older and had major surgery last year and only nine months since chemo finished. In that time, I have been made redundant , started a new job and absolutely must reserve my energy to do that, am supporting my unemployed husband and still trying to do all the things I need to do to keep our heads above water. 

The Move More pack is really useful so am delighted so many of you are ordering this now. It helps you no matter what level you are and even if you don’t do something every day, it gives you something to be proud of!

Until next time...

The pose that lasted so long I didn’t have to do the press ups afterwards?!

Firstly and in case you don’t make it to the bottom of my blog, I would like to say that I am SO proud of everyone who has ordered their Move More packs, signed up to challenges, or just moved that tiny bit further or faster whether it’s getting yourself up and out of pyjamas when you didn’t feel like it, walking to the doctors or shops, and getting there that bit faster than the last time, well done to you all.

Back to the blog.  As you would have seen from the last blog, I made it swimming!  It was fine but that was about it – you know that kind of fine that when it is given to you as an answer to something, you should duck pretty quickly before a barrage of….”well, in fact, not fine, where do I start?”…comes out?  Yes, do duck now! 

The changing rooms were cold and cavernous and I noticed the walls all peeling back to brick. The floors are shared by those coming in from outside and those coming in from the pool so a bit of a mud bath on the floor…and you are expected to walk bare foot on it…oh brings back memories of verucas at school!  The swim was OK, not too busy and managed half an hour, by which stage I had only just warmed up in the cold water…and then back to the showers and a quick change to get out of there.  The more I think about it now, the more I think I may take swimming off my list!  I could smell the chlorine on my skin a good day later (after 2 showers). I made such a drastic change at the time of diagnosis to my diet and also all the products I use (shampoos, face creams, toothpaste etc.), that surely it goes against the grain to be taking a chlorine bath?  The damage it did to my hair when I was at school – I was at the time using Sun-In to dye my hair and the chlorine turned it green – well, it can’t be doing your insides good either?   Sorry to be the bringer of doom and gloom but this is just my take on it!  And my pool facilities are particularly poor compared to many others so don’t let me put anyone off.

Monday was my “day off” exercise which is lovely, except for my escalator run UP (note the word up!)!  50 which I thought was fairly respectable and same again for Tuesday on the escalators.  In the evening I just took myself and my dog, along with my parents’ two cocker spaniels to Richmond Park for a walk in the glorious sunshine…still very wet underfoot but it was a glorious half an hour and no run-ins with any deer a la Benson! 

Wednesday morning was really tough jogging and I actually didn’t get that far…there was a distinct lack of motivation for the day ahead but that should be no excuse.  Thursday was fine as was Friday (an OK fine this time around), with the added bonus on Friday of getting a reply from a fellow jogger going in the opposite direction to my question of “does it ever get easier?”….”no” was the reply.  It made my day!  Why?  Because everyone keeps saying it gets easier and surely you can’t go too far wrong with jogging but IT DOESN’T GET EASIER!  With that response, a slight spring in my step, proceeded to battle my way home!

Saturday and yes, you’ve got it…Parkfit.  It comes round quickly doesn’t it?!

Loved it.  It was very cold first thing but a really good turn out and running was the “theme” for this week’s session.  With all my attempts of jogging alone and not failing but struggling I suppose, I didn’t blink an eyelid and I think the reason being is that I was not alone.  And I can now say that I know what a horse feels like when it has a carriage to pull!  Using the rubber resistance bands and in teams of 2 you take it in turns to try and run as far as you can (uphill I must add) with your “buddy” pulling you back.  The “Boss”, Ali, said it would be so much easier to run after being “held back”, we’d feel as if we were flying…the only flying I nearly did (nearly!) was on the muddy patches in the rugby field whilst literally running from pillar to post – well, floodlight, rubber tyre, rubgy post…and yes, got myself into trouble again…got myself into a race for the last push…a dead heat but really just great for both of us to keep ourselves / each other going, thank you!

A few squats and press ups to finish off with and the harder option was with your feet on the tyre and then do your press ups…so of course I have to give it a go…and thankfully didn’t get to have that panic of falling flat on my face on the ground as made to hold a pose for a picture…no time either to worry about the double chin as already had the red face, hair all over the place, trembling arms, sweaty brow, tummy hanging down, etc, etc, going on!

Sunday and another fun session of cardio tennis.  How there are no accidents when there are two of you one side of the net being fed a ball to hit from the base line and then run to the next the opposite side of the court (not net!) and hit the volley…it makes me laugh, too, which doesn’t help the concentration!  A brilliant workout and I got chatting to one of the ladies there who works specifically with cancer patients and the effects of mushrooms on “us”.  I am finding more out next week which is fascinating but also a bit scary as mushrooms and I have never really mixed, and that’s just the bog standard supermarket button ones, forget anything stronger in any shape or form!

Bank holiday Monday and a lovely 3.8 miles around the Shardloes Estate, nothing too strenuous needed today!   I can’t believe I am now half way through this 12 week blog and if I stopped blogging tomorrow, I can safely say that I would continue exercising…and I actually question if it would be easier without the pressure of having to make it semi-interesting?!  I will let you know in due course! 

If you need some help getting more physically active during or after cancer treatment, order a Macmillan Move More pack.