Attacking Life

I really feel like life has had a really strong, oppressive hold over me lately. Or maybe rather not a hold but more I feel I have been in a box, lying down on my back and the ceiling of the box has been pushing into me. I have tried to push it upwards and off me but it just hasn't budged much, and even when it has it has come back down on me.

It's all to do with work. I feel I have been suffocated by it. I make plans to do things for myself like going for a bike ride, a swim, a session in the gym, making some soup or a nice meal that doesn't mean stabbing some plastic and putting in the microwave.. but there has been NO TIME.

If I'm not IN work then I am taking calls from work. If I am not taking calls then I am writing down all the things I need to do for work when I am back in, or I am doing some distance learning training.

And it's not just work but it's money too. I have a nice car, a nice living room and bedroom which I have recently decorated and I have been on holiday twice this year but it has put my just over £13,200 in debt. Now I am clearing this at say £900 a month which is fantastic but it has only been this month that I have cut up my cards... and it was then my light bulb moment happened and I realised I HAD to start attacking life and taking it back from the ceiling that was crushing me.

I have cut up the credit cards and set a budget that I have absolutely no option but to stick to because I have no credit to fall back on, and I have made it clear to everyone at work.. I AM NOT doing overtime that doesn't suit me.

I work 40 hours a week as the manager of a mental health unit, 5 days a week and I NEED that break. So I am having it. I will swim every morning. I will starting trying to run on my shin splints again every dog walk, I will cycle every evening, I will do my house jobs every Saturday and I will only spend 2 hours on a Sunday organising my to do list for the next week.

Just writing it makes me feel so much free-er and I can feel myself pushing off the ceiling and revealing a window with trees and rose bushes outside it. I can see light!!!!!

I'm going to eat healthily and enjoy my food again. I will stop going up in weight because all I had time for was McDonalds and I will stop getting headaches and being sick because some days I didn't even get chance to go to McDonald's so I just starved.

In ONE YEAR I want to be so happy it's infectious, so healthy people comment on my looks, and debt free!!

IM GOING TO ATTACK THE SHIT OUT OF LIFE!!!! YEEEEHHHAAWWWWW!!

Getting Three Peaks Ready

Twitter me in a signed Jenson Button shirt

G'day darl. Howaya going? I am today, completely splendid and full of energy and beans!

I've come to the conclusion from hashtagging #threepeaks on Twitter (find me @F1_Rowlands) that I seriously, seriously need to up the game to get ready for the challenge. It appears from the many tweets from others about constant gymming and practice mountain hikes that quite simply doing a 45 minute walk up one incline to Tesco once every other week is not going to get me to the physical strength needed to climb three mountains in 24 hours. So my plan has been formulated...

Training at the same gym that Jessica Ennis does, Ponds Forge, I have joined up and will be starting the following classes as of the Monday after pay day...

Look at the size of the slide on the left!!! I am quite excited in case I see olympains

Monday - Boot camp.. I best get me arse in gear and apparently there is no where to hide in Boot Camp
Tuesday - 20/20/20 - this is swimming but being egged on at the same time. A full 2 hours!
Wednesday - break.. think I should let the muscles take a wee break today
Thursday - body pump.. apparently very good for the core which I will need lugging a backpack up hills
Friday - gym - treadmill. Set on flat for running, incline 3 for walking and the highest incline it will go for mock trudging! For a good hour and a half.

I reckon Saturday I will still do my big walk to Tesco but treadmills just aren't life like enough.. you hear many people talking about how they prepared for marathons on the treadmill and nearly died on the pavement. So yes, that is my plan. Unfortunately my plan means a 35 minute walk TO the gym... at 6am... and then a 40 minutes walk TO work!! But it's important. And I must succeed!!!!!

Yeah mine won't look anything like this

In terms of baking, this is going to go quite well I hope. I'm going to make cupcakes with yellow and blue icing, cornflake cakes and fat free blueberry muffings for those on diets. I have discovered Asda's smart price stuff is fantastically smartly priced and have worked out, if I sell each cornflake cake at 40p, for the cost of £4.00 to buy all ingredients which will make around 50, I only have to sell 10 to make my money back and will in profit for the charity make £16.. not much but if I can sell around 50 cakes a week,that's £64 a month which by the time July rocks up, that's £320 made for charity! Nay bad eh.

Go on! Even if it's just to see if it works...

I have a banner and flyers on their way, both free except for £5.40 P&P complimentary of Vista Print. Thanks guy.

And get this!! You can TEXT ME!! Your donation!! Text BEAR91 £10 to 70070 :D Or if you are a bit skint... you can send £1.00, £2.00, £3.00, £4.00 or £5.00.

Or you can visit the website https://www.justgiving.com/bearclimbshills and donate there. Everyone across the world can do it and in the currency you want which is brilliant for all of the amazing friends I have gathered across the globe :-)

But yes,, I will keep you all updated with how training is going and of course, if I pull in the gym. That would be great. And if there is anyone in Sheffield who wants to be my badminton buddy, I can get us a court for £3.00 on Saturday between 1-3pm.


Wish me luck!! or better yet.. sponsor me. Every £10.00 is an hours wage for a Marie Curie Cancer Care nurse to come and look after someone dying. Thanks dudes.