MPC 2017

To build on the success of 2016, I decided to renew the programme and have signed up for 2017!

I am still deciding on my specific goals, but generally want to continue to lose some weight and get fitter.

The workout schedule has changed - there are now four workout sessions per week, plus two ARD (active recovery days) and one rest day. I did Month 1, Week 1, Day 1 (M1W1D1) yesterday. It seemed harder than the first session of MPC2016 but I am sure it is just because I have been out of training for a month or so.  The workouts have introduced new exercises as well as keeping old favorites, and after yesterdays lunge session my thighs are feeling quite sore.  Tonight I am going to the gym to complete the first cardio session.

I went for my first run of the new year yesterday, which was more of a walk as my fitness is still recovering from a bad cold I had before Christmas, but I managed to complete 5.5km in an hour. Today I went for a walk in the country for about an hour, wrapped up warm against the cold. 

I have also determined to stick to the food plan a bit more. I have already been shopping and the cupboards are full of healthy things so I have no excuse!  I made a delicious feta, grape and couscous salad for lunch, and tonight I am doing veggie sausages with lots of vegetables.

Loch Morlich Revisited

We were lucky enough to spend another week in the Cairngorms at the end of July. This time I DID take my running kit. One summer evening I set off on the same run around the lake. I'm not sure what the difference was (playing music on my phone; getting live feedback via MapMyRun; or just knowing the route) but I smashed my 5km record. I did the distance in 38:11 and sub 8 minutes for every 1km split. I'm not saying it was easy, but running is starting to feel a bit more comfortable for me and I walked much less than usual. I finished of coursewith the now customary swim in the loch.

My First Munro

Inspired by many other Peakers that have conquered Schiehallion, this was quickly added to my summer mini challenges list.

I am currently working just half an hour's drive from the hill, and made it clear to my boss that it was on my wish list.  I was quite happy to walk it by myself, but as it happens there was a butterfly transect on the hill so I managed to combine work and pleasure in completing my first Munro.  It seems cheating slightly that I got paid to complete my challenge, but I still did it and that's what counts. In fact, it was more of a challenge as we spent 10 hours wandering up and down the slopes rather than just summiting and returning to the car park as most normal people do!

We were very lucky with the weather. Although there were clouds on the summit when we arrived at the car park, these quickly cleared. It was perfect walking weather - not too warm or sunny to dehydrate you, but not too cold either, with just a slight breeze.

There is a clear path to follow from the Braes of Foss car park, and it was a steady walk to the base of the hill and up the lower slopes. Although there were some steeper sections, it was a relatively easy climb.  The hardest part came at the top of the hill, with the last mile or so of the peak covered in boulders which made walking slow and more difficult.

It was great to reach the peak, and there were amazing views from the top of the hill across Loch Tummel and the Rannoch Moors. I remembered to look for the MPC2016 stone that someone had left at the summit, and managed to find it and have a photo taken.

Although a working day, we are now into the summer holidays and it was a popular day with walkers. The peak was busy with people celebrating their climb and having a lunch stop.

We carried out some plant transects on the way back down the hill, and perhaps my favorite part of the day was the slow descent, when all the other walkers had disappeared and the colours of the Scottish hills became more vivid in the early evening light.

I don't have much free time whilst I am working in Scotland, but hope to be able to fit in another Munro before the end of my trip.

An Evening Run Around the Loch

Although I took my running kit away with me, my work has sometimes sent me off for a few days to satellite locations and on this occasion I left my trainers etc back at base. Which was a real shame, as last week I spent a few days at Glenmore near Aviemore in the Cairngorms. There was a great 5+km trail around Loch Morlich, and it seemed a shame not to make the most of a few free hours and take in the scenery. So I used what kit I had and did the run in my trail shoes instead. It wasn't the best gear and hurt my feet a little, but it was good to get out and challenge myself.

The route was mostly on good tracks and woodland paths, surrounded by beautiful caledonian pine forest with occasional view of the loch beyond. It ended on a beach and the water was very tempting, so we went for a quick dip.  It was absolutely freezing but very refreshing to go for a quick swim to cool off and finish the workout.


This is a super spot for an active retreat, and if you feel in need of reinvigorating your mind and body I can thoroughly  recommend this location.

Working Away

Over the last six weeks I have been working away from home. Whilst my summer job is very active (walking around the hills of northern England and Scotland doing butterfly surveys), hill-walking is not an all round activity and I have found my old injuries of lower back pain and dodgy knee starting to twinge again.  I am living with my co-workers and whilst we eat healthily (mostly vegetarian), I have found my portion size is creeping up and chocolatey snacks appearing back in my diet. I wasn't overly worried about this (as I'm burning all the calories, right?), but when I came home this weekend and got on the scales I found I have lost ZERO weight over the last month, despite an average of 6 hours fat burning activity per day.  So I have resolved to decline second helpings at the evening meals, and cut out the sugary snacks again. I really should be making the most of this summer project and getting fitter and losing weight while being paid for it!!

Last night I paid my penance. In the morning I did the 5km local Park Run, and took nearly a minute off my time to get a personal best. It was really humid and I struggled around some of the course, but for a few minutes I really found my pace and felt really good while running - hopefully I'll get better and more of my runs will be in that feel good zone!

In the evening, I went to the gym and did a modified W4 D5 interval weight training session.  I did seven exercises interspersed with spurts of all out cardio with as little rest in between as I could bear (normally just enough to move on to the next machine). Then I repeated the whole lot again, and tried to increase the cardio performance. Here are my workout and results (x2):

15 push ups + 1 minute row (213m + 216m)
15 sit ups + 1 minute bike (0.52km + 0.56km)
15 fit ball squats + 1 minute cross-trainer (20 'moves' x 2)

15 deadlift and raise + 1 minute step (0.48km + 0.50km)
1 minute plank + 1 minute row (235m + 227m)
15 band pulls + 1 minute bike (0.55km + 0.55km)
15 leg raises + 1 minute run (3 minutes on last round) (0.11km + 0.35km)

Race for Life 5k

A wonderful atmosphere and great weather for my first running race - the Leeds 5k Race for Life. We took it steady up the hills but jogged a fair amount of the way, and came in with a reasonable time of 43 minutes. It was great to be joined by two other "Peakers" on the run to keep me company. 

W8 D5 - Official End of Prep Programme

W8 D5 complete! It was great, but also a little sad, to see the words "congratulations you have completed the MPC prep programme" at the bottom of my workout sheet.

I made sure it was a good final workout by doing four rounds of the interval weight training test, two sets of each of:

• 10 push ups followed by 2 minutes row.  At Week 4 I did 361m and 404m; this time I did 379m and 443m.
• 1 minute plank followed by 2 minutes on the cross trainer. I increased the resistance to Level 5 and my distance to 0.10km and 0.11km (up from 0.08km and 0.09km last time).
• 10 x deadlift with the weighted bar (yellow 7kg) followed by a two minute run on the treadmill. The treadmill was a new exercise for me so nothing to compare to, but I improved my performance on the second set from 0.22km to 0.24km and was able to run for the full two minutes fairly comfortably.
• 10 x fitball squats followed by two minutes on the side stepper. Last time I did 0.76km and 0.94km; this time I smashed it with 0.93km and 1.10km (though I did find this the hardest CV activity and was exhausted afterwards!).

Over the course of the training programme - which is eight weeks officially though I have taken longer to complete it - I have lost over 22lbs.  This morning I lost an additional half a pound, which may not sound like much but it means my BMI has nudged under 30 for the first time in a long time. This means I am officially no longer obese, merely overweight! 

I am so grateful for what I have achieved with the MPC Prep Programme, and am currently thinking how I can build a 'maintenance' version into my life while I am away from home over the coming months.