Sunday 11 September 2016

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Health and Fitness Goals for September 2016

As I am due to return home today it's time to start thinking about actually getting back to reality. Holidays are always a time for me when I relax and let go of what I am usually so focused on. September is a time when everyone is getting back to their school and work routines and I’m going to be a sheep and do the same.  

 Five weeks away meant that my diet has gone absolutely shocking - I've been eating chocolate like everyday and definitely not enough fruit and veg. Although I don't really restrict my diet too much even when I'm home I know I've gone too far with eating whatever I want when 1) all my trousers are suddenly very tight, 2) I constantly feel sleepy and too full. Next week I am therefore making drastic changes and cutting out all sweets from my diet. Of course this isn't going to be a permanent change as I believe it's all about balancing the healthy and the unhealthy however I am going to try my best to stick with it until I feel like I am back to normal. I feel like I've entered the same vicious bad diet-lack of exercise circle as a couple of months ago. It will take some serious determination to break these habits again.   

 This brings me onto my second point – exercise. Although the first couple of weeks of my holiday have been quite active, the last three weeks haven't. I'm not even sure why as I've brought everything I need to go running or to the gym with me. This month I am going to start thinking about longer term goals. I am quite keen to try and run a half marathon next April. I know, it seems like ages away but I think after these few weeks of laziness I would struggle to run 5k never mind 21. So I have come up with a plan to suit my own level of fitness and one I can evaluate and change when needed.    I think I should be able to run 4k without any major difficulty right now. So this is going to be my starting point. I will try to go running 3-4 times a week and increase the distance gradually to run 7k by the end of September. This leaves me with 7 months and 14k to add to the distance – nice, easy maths. So next months goals would be: October: 9k November: 11k December: 13k January: 15k February: 17k March: 19k April: 21k.    

 I haven't run more than 10k before but I know that I won't be able to run e.g. 15k 4 times a week in January. I will therefore plan for 1-2 longer runs a week and then shorter ones in between. This is however only a plan and it can change. I might find that I can increase the distance more quickly or I may reach a point where I really struggle. That's why this plan isn't going to be rigid but adaptable to my own fitness levels and goals. I'm lucky to have some friends who are really into running so I'm sure I'll be asking them for lots of advice. 

   

Thursday 1 September 2016

Bike the Baltic

My summer holidays are soon coming to an end – just like most people’s. With that in mind I wanted to share a little bit about what I've been up to since camping in Cornwall. 

I'm currently in Warsaw, the capital of Poland but today’s post is dedicated to my trip to the coast of the Baltic Sea (to Sarbinowo)  but specifically about the cycling route I came across whilst there. 

We did no prior research at all, just hired some bikes and headed in the rough direction of the next village where we knew we’ll find a lighthouse. The village is called Gąski and it’s tiny! We also found a poster outside of the lighthouse showing all fifteen lighthouses along the coast. This is when I had the idea of cycling to the next one down which was about 27km from where we were staying. We didn't manage the challenge that day, we got to Ustronie Morskie (about 10km from Gąski) before we decided we've had enough. The cycling track from Sarbinowo to Ustronie Morskie was mostly a dirt road going through the forest. The best thing about it though was the fact that we were right next to the beach throughout the whole trip which pretty much allows you to explore the whole coast along the cycling track. 

Whilst cycling through the forest I noticed „Bike the Baltic” signs which together with small groups of people who were very obviously on a cycling/camping holiday gave me the clue that this cycling track must be a long one. I was right. The route is a not-yet-realised part of the EuroVelo 10 route which goes around the whole of the Baltic Sea through Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Sweden. When I say not-yet-realised I mean that the route is pretty much there but is not yet up to the EuroVelo standards but it's due to be completed in 2017/2018

Two days later we set ourselves the challenge of cycling to Kołobrzeg to see the next lighthouse. The track from Ustronie Morskie to Kołobrzeg is completely different to the first part that we cycled - it's fully paved with clear signposting, which following my research about Route 10 shows that this part is possibly ready to be interconnected with other completed parts. The whole route is over 8500km long so even our longest total of 27km to Kolobrzeg is just a tiny part of it but was enough to impress me. When the route is complete with all of its facilities (like bike and bed hotels) I would seriously be tempted to go for a cycling holiday there. I just love the fact that you are right next to the beach all the time (okay, maybe no more than a few hundred yards in the towns but that's still really close)! 

Lighthouse in Gąski

View from Gąski Lighthouse

Czerwona River

Czerwona River

One of the beaches along the cycling track.

Lighthouse in Kołobrzeg.