Racing and Training 2023

  Monday 30 October 2023 Weather Typically, Autumn and maybe getting worse later in the week. I weighed in on Monday, I gained a pound. My Plan:               Pilates, fuel the car, amazon return, book my jabs, meal at the Wheatsheaf. My actual:            The plan! Meal with Dave, Anne and Lauren Westley plus Justin Pocknell and Maxine Burke. I had steak and trimmings (including chips), one pint of beer and two pints of Pepsi Max. I woke up about 1am with abdominal discomfort. I had wind and bloating. I went back to sleep and eventually slept until just before 9am

  Sunday 29 October 2023 Weather Typically, Autumn I weighed in on Monday, I lost 2.5 lbs last week. I must press ahead with a strict keto regime. I did my swimming practice with Lorraine at Caldicot. Feeling a little bit better today. Had some steak and wine when I got home.    

  Saturday 28 October 2023 Weather Typically, Autumn I weighed in on Monday, I lost 2.5 lbs last week. I must press ahead with a strict keto regime. Sleep was a little more restful last night. I didn’t get much of it though. Despite that, my body battery was boosted to 78. I did Newport (TH) parkrun and struggled. I jog walked, plus I stopped to chat to Morwenna. Not feeling great at the moment  

Friday 27 October 2023 Weather Typically, Autumn I weighed in on Monday, I lost 2.5 lbs last week. I must press ahead with a strict keto regime. I went to the Greyhound last night and had two dark fruit ciders and a packet of crisps. At home I had some wine and chocolate. My stomach bug really flared up overnight, consequently I slept fitfully with stress until 9am and missed Pilates. My body battery was very low. A rest day today.    

Thursday 26 October 2023 Weather Typically, Autumn I weighed in on Monday, I lost 2.5 lbs last week. I must press ahead with a strict keto regime. I did Yoga with Chris.  I  picked Emmie up from school. I went to the Greyhound after. I also had some wine and chocolate. My stomach bug really flared up overnight. I have e-mailed Beechwood surgery.

  Wednesday 25 October 2023 Weather Typically, Autumn I weighed in on Monday, I lost 2.5 lbs last week. I must press ahead with a strict keto regime. I did Yoga with Chris. I was too tired to do anything else. I think I’ve got a bug. I have gut issues and a sore throat. I need to phone the doctor. I have Yoga again tomorrow.  

Tuesday 24 October 2023 Weather Typically, Autumn I weighed in on Monday, I lost 2.5 lbs last week. I must press ahead with a strict keto regime. I did Swimming with Lorraine at 20:00. I also entered the Swim Wales short course championships.  

Monday 23 October 2023 Weather Typically, Autumn I weighed in and I lost 2.5 lbs last week. I must press ahead with a strict keto regime. I did Pilates at 09:15 with Claire. It felt a bit better this week. I had a short nap around lunch time. I did the Greyhound / Farmwood loop but it was a real struggle. Really tight hips and glutes. I have joined Caldicot Swimming Club. There is a South Wales Masters event on December 2 nd and 3 rd . Lorraine & Denise think that I could compete.  

  Sunday 22 October 2023 Weather Typically, Autumn I felt quite weary today so I didn’t run. I went to swimming at Caldicot. Lorraine was back. I had a decent lesson. My breaststroke kicking drills with board felt good, I could do whole lengths. The drills on my back were OK too. The front crawl kicking drills were weak. I was doing two lengths FC in about 66 seconds. My tummy is not great. I just had green tea and a bit of cheese when I got home. The upside is that I will lose 2lbs when I weigh in tomorrow.  

  Saturday 21 October 2023 Weather Storm Babet has hit the UK. Mostly in Scotland I did the Newport (TH) parkrun. We are on the Winter course.  

  Friday 20 October 2023 Weather Storm Babet has hit the UK. Mostly in Scotland Pilates in the morning. That was about all. I watched the RWC 203 semi-final Argentina v New Zealand. It was a bit of a mis match  

  Thursday 19 October 2023 Weather It is Autumn! Yoga in the morning and then straight to Upper Cwmbran for a massage. I tried to get some sleep on the sofa before I left to pick Emmie up but I was also waiting for an Amazon delivery so sleep didn’t happen. The delivery came while I was in Rhiwderin. It was left behind the Wheelie Bin. Early night for me, I am tired. Pilates in the morning.

  Wednesday 18 October 2023 Weather It is Autumn! Pilates in the morning. At home, tried to get some sleep after Mandy had gone, but the phone rang and then the postman called. Picked Emmie up from school. Called in at the Greyhound on the way home. Had some beer. Made some pork belly bites. which were nice. Had a text convo with Kay. John is not well.

  Tuesday 17 October 2023 Weather It is Autumn! Evening was swimming no coach this evening. Lorraine is in Canada. I’ve got Pilates in the morning.  

  Monday 16 October 2023 Weather A lot chillier today I did Pilates with Claire.

  Sunday 15 October 2023 Weather A lot cooler today I did a session from my Garmin. 15 minutes warm up 10 * 20 secs with 45 secs recovery and 15 minutes cool down I did it on the Greyhound -> Chepstow Road loop Evening was swimming with Denise in charge. I stopped at the Greyhound on the way home and had two beers. I had a can of London Pride to with food when I got home. I had bloating and stomach cramps overnight. So, not a restful night’s sleep. The RWC Quarter Final France v South Africa was an astonishing game, also Wales beat Croatia!

Saturday 14 October 2023 Weather A lot cooler today I did the Newport parkrun in 35.28. The first 4K were OK the last was tough.  

  Friday 13 October 2023 Weather Cooler and some rain today I did a Pilates class. My first class since June or July. I did some home stretches first. I collected my ticket for the train to Gatwick. I put it inside my passport. I have been pretty good with my diet since William went back. Very low carb and no booze.

Thursday 12 October 2023 Weather Some light rain today I was up early for a Sainsbury delivery at 09:00. I pottered around today. I did some stretching etc. I have booked my train journey to Gatwick; I need to collect the ticket from Newport station.  

  Wednesday 11 October 2023 Weather Some light rain today but still warm for the time of year. I had my new dish washer delivered. I was up at 7am for a potential early delivery so my morning stretches (as inspired by Angela Copson) were disrupted. I did my best though. Mandy was here today. After she left, I had a snooze and did a training run. I have booked my train journey to Gatwick; I need to collect the ticket from Newport station.  

Tuesday 10 October 2023 Weather Still warm for the time of year. I did my morning stretches (as inspired by Angela Copson). I worked on my San Sebastian trip preparation and planning. I went to Rhiwderin to pick Emmie up from school. I went to swimming at Caldicot in the evening. Lorraine, Denise etc, were not there. I did 30 minutes practice. I have booked my train journey to Gatwick, I need to collect the ticket from Newport station.

 I made Will a breakfast. My dish washer has packed up so I ordered a new one.  Will and I disconnected the old one as best we could. One connection (the water supply) is a bit fiddly. I shall leave that to the Hughes Electrical Installers to sort out. I took Will to the station. He caught the 11:59 train home.

 Wiliam and I went to see Emmie play in a Tournament at Ponthir. I relaxed for a couple of hours and then went to Swimming at Caldicot. Many of the squad were away compeing (including Lorraine). So I did half an hour by myself and headed for home. I had a pint and a packet of crisps in the Greyhound, then Will and I went for a meal at the Jewel Balti.

 William was here. I made him breakfast - he went for a haircut. I did some stride repeats in the afternoon and it felt reasonably good. Will went to see Poker friends at the Crown. I had a steak and went to bed early.

Friday 06 October 2023 Weather Cooler in Newport, but warm for the time of year. I generated a final MM financials report for the Pescara trip. Landscape format with cleared status removed. I’ve done a load of washing and started putting things away. Receipts and paperwork are shredded. William arrived in the afternoon and we went up the Greyhound for a meal. I had cod, chips and peas and a dessert (Raspberry & Lemon mousse with runny cream). Now I start the serious planning for San Sebastian.  

Thursday 05 October 2023 Weather Cooler in Newport, but warm for the time of year. I did some morning stretches (as inspired by Angela Copson). I had a Sainsbury Delivery at around 09:30 then a sports massage with Daniela at 11:00. Back at home, it was lunchtime and I had sausage, bacon and eggs. I went for a walk around the park (early evening) and I had   a steak for an evening meal followed by a protein shake. I’ve done a load of washing and started putting things away. Receipts and paperwork are shredded.  

  Wednesday 04 October 2023 Weather Cooler in London, even a spot of rain near Bristol (but I was on the bus) I couldn’t really do my morning stretches as inspired by Angela Copson at my Holiday Inn Express Hotel room. I did have a shower and a breakfast. Today there was bacon and (watery) scrambled eggs, tea, coffee (not as nice as Italian coffee) and milk. I also had some small sausages as a treat! I checked out in plenty of time and walked to the National Express stops outside T4 (stops 12, 13, 1nd 14 I think). The 09:50 bus to Newport was on time. We did a tour of Heathrow, picking up at T5 and then the Central Bus Station. It was an hour before we were actually heading west on the M4. We got back to Newport pretty much on time. I ordered a taxi on the Dragon app. This is now my favourite way of getting home. I started to potter about, unpack etc I got a couple of steaks out of the freezer but they didn’t defrost in time so I reverted to what was really plan “A”, a vi...

  Tuesday 03 October 2023 Weather Warm and sunny. In Italy, cooler in London First thing, I did my morning stretches as inspired by Angela Copson and then I had a breakfast and did my swim. Today there was bacon. My breakfast was bacon and scrambled eggs, tea, coffee and milk. I checked out in plenty of time and got the 09:30 bus to Pescara. I had a cappuccino at the station. The Frecciarossa was a few minutes late. I got some free snacks and water. The snacks were not too disgusting so I ate them. There was a little bag of fruit and nuts plus some veggie crackers. At Bologna I went out of the station at the Marconi Express side. There was a bar across the road so I had lunch there. Two beers, a small pizza and a toasted ham and cheese sandwich. The Marconi Express service was not running. There was a replacement bus service, so that was a bit of a disappointment. Check in was a bit tedious, my queue for bag drop was slow because the label printer wasn’t working! Secu...

  Monday 02 October 2023 Weather Warm and sunny. First thing, I did my morning stretches as inspired by Angela Copson and then I had a breakfast and did my swim. Today there was bacon. My breakfast was bacon and scrambled eggs, tea, coffee and milk. I went down to the pool for my 10:00am swim. I had a day off from the continuous swim programme and just relaxed, did some swimming and some sun bathing. At lunchtime I finished off my cheese and ham and had some red wine. I poured the excess red wine down the sink. In the afternoon, I went back to the pool. I decided not to go for an evening meal, I had an early night.  

  Sunday 01 October 2023 Weather Warm and sunny. First thing, I did my morning stretches as inspired by Angela Copson and then I had a breakfast and did my swim. Today there was bacon. My breakfast was bacon and fried eggs with two slices of buttered toast, tea, coffee and milk. I went down to the pool for my 10:00am swim. My continuous swim was 16 minutes today. And I was in the pool for 30 minutes. I did a bit of sunbathing and then had another short dip in the pool. I had a couple of cups of red wine at lunch time. Then I had a snooze. I went back to the pool at around 16:00, so a bit earlier than yesterday. The pool side bar was closed today. I headed over to Gelateria Davide for a couple of beers – corona with a slice of lemon. I then went to Civico 01 for the spicy cheese starter and the arosticini with verdure. I had a couple of beers with those plus I got two lots of coperto and pane. The bread was crusty and really nice but it spelled trouble for later. After my ...