The mind is a wonderful thing, it forgets pain and discomfort very easily which probably explains why I was poodling along the route to Knowle Manor in Somerset about ten days ago, happy as Larry and with a light heart. Fond memories came back to me: rising early on a dewy morning and doing some gentle stretching as the sun came up over the trees; gentle strolls across Exmoor communing with nature and stopping to look at the wonderful views; line dancing, belly dancing, circuit training... all viewed through a rosy glow.
Of course, once settled reality kicks in. The alarm goes off at 6 am, stagger out of bed, splash cold water over face and look at the pasty, white faced creature in the mirror. Yank on leggings, socks, trainers et, lurch downstairs for a nice refreshing Green Tea (oh for PG tips with MILK...), a shot of apple juice to get our blood sugar up and running and then the Warm Up starts. Now I don't know about you but I always feel that the Warm Up is enough exercise and after about five minutes am ready for my breakfast, but no chance - Charlotte is merciless 'COME ON YOU GUYS' and on we go every muscle aching and gasping for breath.
OK first hour of torture is over and we rush, well sort of rush, into the dining room and view the small bowl of muesli with acute disfavour. It doesn't have the same allure as bacon and egg and a couple of slices of fried bread, but we are allowed a cup of black coffee and boy is it strong. We all knock that back and off we go.
By the end of the first day I was beginning to realise that I was Stark Staring Mad to return and put myself through all this but I kept telling myself Elaine you can Do this and get on with it. All was OK until Monday when we went on a nice easy walk (HA!) around a reservoir. Only five miles. Only five miles. Just repeating that so you won't mistake the length. I know for some people five miles is a walk in the park, a stroll down to the newspaper shop and a relaxing leg stretch but it isn't for me. Mostly on the flat thank goodness as I don't do up, but by the end of it I was miles behind everyone else and beginning to feel distinctly odd. Lovely Susannah stayed with me for the last half hour and I would not have made it without her as there was a Hill at the end which nearly finished me off and I was practically hyper-ventilating by the time I staggered back onto the bus. Could not eat lunch as I felt so nauseated and spent the afternoon in a motionless heap on my bed. After that decided it would be more sensible to opt for the shorter walks which I could manage and not overdo it so that I could not take any of the other classes in the afternoon. So for the rest of the week I only walked three miles a day.....
The best thing about Fitness Farms is that everyone is there for the common cause, either to lose weight, get fitter, get motivated, change lifestyle etc etc and every single person there is supported and supportive and if one of us is having a bad day and in tears and wanting to go home, and it happens, there is always somebody who will cheer you up, give you a hug and make you a cup of herbal tea (I personally feel a shot of brandy would have been better but fat chance). The camaraderie is great and friendships are formed - nothing like swapping pain killers, plasters and Deep Heat for building a bond. Ditto, that we all spent the week make up free and looking like the wrath of God, but we did not care.
I mentioned that I thought it would be a really good idea to have a week purely for the Over Fifties. I was the oldest one there, I think, and I found that I could not do as much as the others as I needed a bit more rest and recovery time in between each class. I gather that this has been discussed so I am going to write to the Director of the company and suggest it and see what happens.
Anyway at the end of the week I had lost 3lbs (and another one off since I came home), but more importantly I felt fitter and leaner and found I had lost four inches off my waist, three inches off my hips and I now have two boobs instead of four. There is follow up support available to us all, including the recipes for the delicious food we were served (I must say the spinach and pineapple smoothie was not for me...) and we are all forming a group on Facebook so we can continue to encourage each other to carry on the fitter life style.
So I drove home on Friday feeling happy and relaxed, stopped off halfway to have my packed lunch provided to us before we left, had a coffee and as I neared home I looked back my memories of rising early on a dewy morning and doing some gentle stretching as the sun came up over the trees; gentle strolls across Exmoor communing with nature and stopping to look at the wonderful views and smiled fondly and began to think 'You know I might just do it again. It was SUCH fun'.
As I said, the mind is a wonderful thing.....
