The 21st of May was a big day for me. I completed the Couch To 5k (couch25k) running programme using a guide app on my phone. Having never previously stuck to anything exercise-related I was immensely proud of myself.
Get Fitter 2
Two days ago I completed run number fifteen of Couch to 5k. It is a milestone run in the programme. I am amazed that I have stuck with it as I have never been able to stick at any exercise routine before. The other equally amazing thing is that I am really enjoying it. I actually look forward to run-days (every second day).
Piano on the Drive
After the people next-door recently shouted, “more!” whilst I was practising the piano with the door open, I decided to play a little piano out on the driveway for the neighbours. Meaning to play outside on Friday, the weather proved rather incompatible so, with the threat of rain removed I finally managed to get outside last night.
Get Fitter
I have decided to try and take on a self-improvement routine during the Coronavirus lockdown. I try and practice the piano at least once a day. I write, even a little, most days. I listen to audiobooks and podcasts about such things as science, psychology, running a business, self-improvement, as well as comedy and music. I have also decided to really try and get fitter and, hopefully, lose some weight.
The Guilt of Feeling Relief When Someone Dies
A retrospective look at feelings following the death of my spouse in 2019.
The subject of feeling a certain sense of relief following the death of a loved one is really tough. Amidst a fog of emotions, immediately following my wife’s death, I know that relief was a strong and powerful emotion or feeling. What immediately followed was a dark and heavy burden of guilt for feeling this way.
Flowerpot-Sally – Lockdown PE Activity
Today I brought out one of our classic long-running and home-made-up “skill” games: Flowerpot Sally. For those of us lucky enough to have a garden here is a simple game for kids that maybe you could just about squeeze into the “doing something PE-y each day” class. Many years ago I played in an Aunt-Sally team in Oxfordshire, which inspired this game that our family has played during the summer for years.
Venturing Out, Volunteering and Neighbours
26th March 2020
Whilst I have food in for a good few days and have plans to make carby things like flatbread, naan bread, and cakes I realised that the additional ingredients such as butter and natural yoghurt (naan bread) were in rather short supply (or absent) from my house. The last of the sliced bread was consumed this morning and the milk won’t last too much longer.
Bottling It – Asking the Doctors to Tell the Kids. Part 2: After
A retrospective look-back at events in November 2019.
We gathered in the family room. Myself, my three boys, my father-in-law, a friend who had been visiting (who, on receiving a message from me, abandoned the fitness class she was in the middle of teaching), and the friend who had brought the boys. The doctor and one of the nursing staff (I think), came in and told us all that mummy was really poorly and was going to die. Soon. Any-time-now soon.