God bless us all, everyone.

 Have a Goth Xmas! Well, have any sort of Xmas, basically. As long as you're all safe and healthy, and you're happy and fulfilled - that's good enough for me. 

It's been a good day here - lots of food, lots of presents, not too many arguments, not too much stress. That bloody head cold still refuses to shift, which is a bit of a nightmare. Still testing negative (I think it's nine in a row, and 11 in a 2 week period) but I'm left with an annoying little cough, and what feels like a head that's entirely composed of cotton wool.  I'm dog tired, too. Need to recharge my batteries. Mind you, it's also a week where I need to maintain pressure on my cycling training as well. There will be a Wanyudo club ride tomorrow - got to keep on keepin' on. 

Spinning out of control

 

Well, it might have been a bit of a headcold yesterday, but it REALLY hit me, today. Of course, this means I'm at the "constantly talking about my illness" stage of my illness, so I'm hoping it has peaked. I felt truly horrid this morning, but as the day has passed, I've begun to feel a little better. 

The Chris Cohen album has helped. It's been a day of drift, of time just....passing me by. If you've read any of my posts over the last week or so, you will probably have guessed that is something of a relief. 

I'm going to have some soba noodles, and (hopefully) an early night. That should do it. 

Another busy week

 And it was packed full of riding, which was good (in the circumstances). The way everything's going, lockdown-wise, it might soon be the only escape from yet another period of enforced isolation. Oh well.

But, it's been hectic, that's for sure. As Xmas approaches, the time seems to vanish from underneath me. Plus, I managed to get another cold (no, nothing worse - still testing negative on the LFT). So, tonight I'm sitting here feeling somewhat sorry for myself, wondering whether to take another dose of Paracetamol or not. A proper head cold means my head is spinning a little, but I did still manage to get onto the trainer, for some Wanyudo action, in the morning. A brief trip to Paris-Roubaix (minus the cobbles, obv)

I'm off to get my head together. More tomorrow.

Well, maybe just.....one more day off, then.

 

I should really have worked out that there might have been some sort of illness on the horizon, from my heart rate, on the last workout ride I did.  That's about an hour, standard power output (about 190w for 60 mins) and nothing out of the ordinary. But as you can see, my heart rate is totally elevated: my body was running to stand still. I'll learn my lesson next time, and keep an eye out for the red flags. Today is therefore a day of (more) rest. Oh, and it means I have a chance to sit and luxuriate in front of the CD player. There may well be some Miles Davis. 

 

 

Lounging.

 Oh, go on then - a double post. Don't often do it, but I'm feeling weak and feeble today, so I'm sitting here doing not much at all. I've got a proper head cold (nothing on the LFT), and it's an odd experience, as it's the first one I've had since the beginning of the pandemic. So, first real illness for about eighteen months. Looking back through the blog archive, colds pop up with alarming regularity. I'm fairly sure that must have had something to do with my rather louche lifestyle, over the last couple of decades. Now I'm a lot healthier, I seem to have been able to ward off the worst of it. Who'd have thought, eh? 

But I'm back in front of the screen, working on the bulletin for tomorrow morning, and mentally preparing a list of things that need to be done. I'm hoping my head clears enough, for that to happen. I've also got to drag myself into the kitchen and make an evening meal for everyone. They can have sausages and mash, I reckon there's a distinct possibility I will have another bowl of the spicy lentil soup I made earlier. 

Slightly better today.

Though it was a hugely fragmented sleep - not sure why, at all. I was unprepared for exactly how hard this illness would hit - how it would disable me. It's a pretty sobering thought: I'm 53, and this totally clonked me; I absolutely dread to think what this sort of thing would feel like when I'm 70.
Currently sitting in the playroom, watching the kids play with their iPads, and get ready for Kids club this morning. I'm going to the Post Office to pick up a parcel (old school hardcore vinyl!), maybe get a haircut, and do some shopping. At some point, I will need a nap - that's a given, i'm afraid.
Right, let's do this.

Well, that's not good.

The cold has returned with a vengeance, and now feels like an insane head cold. And the worst part? I ended up with Tinnitus. I have a horrid roaring sound in my right ear - like a fridge buzzing - and I wasn't prepared for how depressed that would make me. I've felt very down, for a day or two. I'm bashing the sudafed, to help the Sinus pain - hopefully that will help.

So, today was a bit of a write off.

Normal service will be resumed tomorrow (hah!)
I think the cold has broken - and it's not so much of a raging sore throat now. Should make sleeping a little easier. Mind you, I'm still under the cosh - I napped this afternoon (ah - bliss) and after about 45 minutes, I woke up, not even sure which planet I was on. One of those moments when you realise your body is trying so hard to drag you under, into long, deep recuperative sleep - and kicks up a fuss when you try and preempt the waking process. I'd have stayed under for hours, If I could.
Other news? Well, as April is upon us, with all its showers, and unsettled weather, I'm looking to get my Barbour out of storage, and press it into service. Only issue? I think it may well be too small, now. I'm 45 lbs lighter than I was, so I'm thinking a visit to the stockists in Epsom could be in order.

Fighting a cold

My first, for some months. Ugh - it's a bad one. My throat is absolutely on fire. At times like this, I dread going to sleep - as I know it'll be such a trial. Lying there, unable to swallow properly, getting more and more pissed off.
Oh well, I guess it won't last for more than the weekend - or at least, I hope it won't.
Today's food - Chick Pea curry. I'm amazed at how quickly it's become one of my favourite things to eat.

Walking

That's what I do now. All the time - and as much as possible. Looking at the stats on my phone, yesterday I managed a little over 20,000 steps. Around 17km. I absolutely love walking/hiking, and it's nice to come to the realisation  that it was something which was always there. Yesterday was a lovely walk - though a little breezy. Following the Thamesdown link, across Ashtead Park, Rookery Hill, Chalk Lane, Crampshaw Lane, Stane Street - across the M25, then following the path until a long left turn round the golf course, and back via Slough Lane into Headley. All in all, around two and a half hours. I'm not kidding when I say I'd love to be able to do it every day.

How to start the day

Or, how not to. It's been a depressing beginning, for a Wednesday. Family stuff, normal pressures. Making me feel hollowed out, and useless. So, I'll try and balance that out, by showing you how my days normally start - and how that's helped me.
In the last six months, I've managed to finally get fit, and lose some weight - part of that has been because of sobriety, but it's also a process that's happened just because it felt like it was time. I've lost 45 pounds, which is a huge amount, I know - and oddly, it's actually been rather easy. In the past, it's always been half a stone here, a stone there. But this time around, the willpower I had discovered since kicking alcohol has served me in really good stead. I just managed to find a course of action, and stick to it. Perhaps more importantly, because I've now accepted change, that process was actually a lot of fun.
I'll deal with exercise another time, but I did want to focus a little on how I changed my diet - and the biggest part of that was finding a routine that helped me out, in the morning. Breakfast is such an important meal - not just for the nutritional values it gives you, but also for the statement it makes. This is how I'm starting my day! This is what I'm doing with my life!
I needed to find something that did all of those things, and was healthy, tasty, and felt right. So here's how it pans out.
I tend to get up before everyone else. Pip sets an alarm really early - 6am. But then, tends to snooze. Me? I'm now wide awake. So, I'll get up, no real point in lying there looking at the ceiling, So, I have time to cook, and to think. Breakfast for me is quite Zen - a chance to organise food, to be methodical. And I think that trickles down to me, and the rest of my day. "Start as you mean to go on", if I had to distill it into one simple phrase.
I have Soba Noodles for Breakfast, with various drinks to accompany. Soba are just wonderful: low GI, virtually no fat, low calories, lots of protein, and fibre. I get my packets from Amazon, on a regular order - they're authentic Japanese noodles, and not expensive at all. Soba noodles need five minutes on the hob, so while they're cooking, I'll get everything else together. Fill a Japanese tea cup with Green tea. Prepare a glass of iced water. Get a vitamin pill (Centrum Men's 50+, ah, old age!) And a glass of coconut milk.
Once the noodles are cooked, they're rinsed in cold water, and drained. Into a small bowl, and then topped with two finely sliced green onions. Shaken over the top - some toasted black sesame seeds, and some Furikake. Then, add some Tsuyu broth. This gives you that real Umami kick - some sweet, some salt. It's about 100ml of broth, I guess.
And that's it. Like I said - it's about having a healthy, great breakfast, but it's also about starting the day off, on the right foot.

Wanting more sleep - but, getting it? A different matter.

Philippa's got me trying her old fitness tracker thing. It says I slept for five hours last night, but I still don't really trust it. Within those sleep stats it appears to assert I never woke up, yet I did. The TV came on, twice, to try and update software (one of the mot annoying things, ever) and both kids came in to sleep in our bed.
So, does this tracker learn that sort of stuff? I'm not sure. Also, I feel like it's snooping on me. I guess it is, but I'm not entirely happy with it, so far. Maybe I need to get used to the whole thing.
*sigh*
Anyway - today? Not much, hopefully. A little light gardening, and roast beef for our tea.

Something odd...

...has happened to me this year.
I've changed my relationship with alcohol. I've cut down, dramatically, over the last couple of months. Since the start of February, I've drunk alcohol on just five days. It works out about once a week. And now, when I drink, I don't seem to want to cane it, quite as hard as I used to. I'm liking the weight I've lost, the extra energy I have as a result, the deeper sleep, the calmer moods.
But - am I about to become teetotal? No, I don't think I am. I still like the taste (and, if I'm totally honest, the effect). But some sort of sea change feels like its under way.
Hey, I've had a lot of fun - more than thirty years of fun. Maybe it's time to slow down.
Let's see.