Flipping Tough

So it would seem that weekly blogs are becoming the thing for me at the moment, perhaps I just don't have enough crap to write about every single day

Ok so let's start with a depression update.  It's safe to say that the medication I am taking is giving me the side effects of insomnia and weight loss. So I'm absolutely shattered most days but look awesome with my shirt off ;-) 

I've been taking antidepressants for around 7 weeks now and honestly wonder why I didn't start earlier.  Ok so life is tricky at the moment for previously mentioned reasons but things have and are continuing to improve a lot.  In myself I am actually feeling awesome most days. I guess my concern is one day coming off the medication but that's some way off and doesn't need to be thought about right now 

So let's talk about this week....

A few months ago my manager at work suggested that our team should go out for breakfast or lunch together, a bonding experience.  Now I love food, like really love food, but I can eat at anytime (and do) so I thought it would be good to do something a little different....and you know the old motto 'a team that trampolines together stays together' 

And so it was that at 5:30 on Monday we descended on Flip Out in Chandlers Ford.  I don't know if you've ever been to one of these new fangled trampolining centres but they are generally filled with children, and worse than that, children that can do backflips, front flips, and all the other things you really wish you weren't 20 years too old to attempt.  But not on Monday. On Monday there were 7 of us from work and 3 other people there.  It was so quiet in fact that we had nearly 90 minutes of bouncing....now I'm sure you'll agree that nobody would be disappointed with that

My intention leading up to the day had been to learn how to backflip, basically because I wanted to be a bloody show off in front of my colleagues.  To say my success was limited would be a massive exaggeration.  Essentially on arrival I had two skills, bouncing up and down, and falling over.  But. And it's a big but, by the time we left I could 'happily' do front flips, both into the foam pit (well they were more 1 and half front flips, which essentially means I ended up head first) and on a normal trampoline.  I'm 99% sure I closed my eyes when doing it, and I'm 100% sure that once you've started to do a flip, DO NOT change your mind, that will result in you smashing down onto the floor head and shoulders first....apparently 

So after around 80 minutes it was decided we were leaving.  Obviously being the fitness addict that I am, I could have kept going for another few hours but I appreciate that not everyone is of Olympic level fitness like me so it was time to go.....for dinner (may as well keep the team bonding going over food)

After the meal I did something that I've done a couple of times recently, something I never thought I would do. I went to the cinema on my own.  My film of choice (the only one on) was called 'Don't Breathe'.....at this point you're probably expecting some sort of ridiculous pun or joke about the title, well, don't hold your breath 

The trailer for the film looked really poor but the reviews were excellent so I thought I'd give it a shot and actually it was a bit of a Rolex.....a really good watch

Later in the week I also went to see the new Blair Witch film, the reviews were bad, the trailer made it look bad but you'll be surprised to hear it was at least as good as the original......hmmm

And so on to yesterday, the day I had been building up to for what feels like 6 months.  Yesterday was the day of Tough Mudder Half - London South.  

Now I did a Tough Mudder event a couple of years ago, 12 miles of mud, ice, water, mud, obstacles, mud, mud and mud, and whilst it was enjoyable overall, running 12 miles through ankle deep mud was challenging to say the least.  The great thing about yesterday was the 'half' in the title.  So it was only actually 5 miles.

Now I believe that pretty much anyone can run 5 miles, especially since it's not actually 5 straight miles and it's not a race but a team challenge.

Now our team for the day originally consisted of 3 members, which is less people than you ideally want in a team, so you can imagine the joy when due to injury the 3 person team only ended up with two members.  Being a duo did actually have its advantages though, we didn't have to spend ages waiting at each obstacle for a group of 10-12 people to reform and get through 

There aren't any particular highlights to share, we were both very lucky to get through without injury.  When you start the race it is explained to you that if someone requires medical assistance then you should raise your hands above your head like you're on a tv talent show hosted by Dermot O'Leary.....the system being that others both ahead and behind will repeat the signal and this will get back to a member of staff to assist.  It's a great system, when people actually do it.  As we were passing the 3 mile point we came across a guy that had slipped and heard a snap in his leg, the two people with him were simply stopped looking at him and everyone else was just running past.  So myself and my team mate got ready to fulfil our musical dreams and show that we had the X factor....which eventually resulted in a half assed attempt by others to do the same and medical assistance was soon on route 

At the end of the course is an obstacle called 'Everest' essentially a quarter pipe that you would associate with a skate park, except with this one you don't have any skates and you're covered in mud and soaking wet.  I found this really challenging 2 years ago, but improved fitness and a shorter wait in the cold meant that I actually went straight up first time....and didn't lose my front teeth like one unlucky girl on the course 

Obviously we struggled to build a big team for the event which is a shame because it was a great teamwork event.  It's not a race, no times are recorded and nobody cares how long it takes.  The displays of genuine teamwork by people you had never met or will ever see again were astounding and you simply couldn't get around the course without it.....it was just a shame that some individuals didn't quite understand the concept of helping others in return for assistance

Today will be a relatively relaxed day, mainly because my back is shot from both the trampolining and yesterday and amusingly/confusingly I seem to have bruised my arse as well...I genuinely have no idea how that happened...there wasn't that much team work involved 

To anyone still reading, enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a great week