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Caroline Iness

Liverpool ECHO reporter CAROLINE INNES only set out to burn a few calories and tone up. Over ten years later this chocoholic, vodka drinking, jogging-hater was not only a qualified personal trainer and fitness instructor but managed to run over 150 miles across the Sahara Desert. Join her regular blog for inspiration, tips and advice on how to get fit for life and stay that way..... and still eat the odd bar of chocolate!

* Got a health story for the Liverpool Echo? Email Caroline at carolineinnes@liverpoolecho.co.uk

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Through the pain barrier...

Posted by Caroline Innes on April 19, 2007 3:30 PM | 

STOOD panting after running up one of Lancashire's biggest hills and between heavy breaths, my Bob Graham training partner Ian Winstanley, suddenly blurted out: "Vicky Entwistle. How long before she has put all that weight back on?"
Before I could answer, he continued: "If I was a betting man, I would give her till Christmas and then she will be back to where she started.
"In fact I reckon it will happen right in the middle of the Coronation Street Christmas Day special. She will just burst! Right there in front of us!"
This was obviously something he had been giving some thought as we battled against the wind and ankle-breaking terrain to reach the top of Winter Hill.
Now while I hadn't personally given much deliberation as to the changing shape of Corrie's Janice Battersby (I was too busy avoiding the sheep droppings) - it did get me thinking.
While we were there stood in the evening sunshine with a clear view of the Lancashire countryside sweeping right to the shimmering Southport and Morecambe coast in the distance, millions of people across the country would be sat on their backsides indoors watching Corrie or some other depressing soap opera.
They say that the natural highs are the greatest - yeah right! But stood there on one of the nicest evenings of the year so far, out in the fresh air, with the world beneath us, I could have almost been convinced.
And the thing was I hadn't even wanted to go for a run.

How easy it would have been to have instead curled up on the sofa with a bar of chocolate and a glass of wine glued to the box.
And to be honest if it hadn't been for the fact I was meeting Ian to train for the Bob Graham - a run which takes in 42 of the Lake District peaks over 74 miles in 24 hours - that is exactly where I would have been.
Now there are a number of lesson we can all take from this.
Firstly training can be hard work so it is important that all of us find something that we enjoy.Whether that be joining our local Salsa class, playing a game of tennis or walking the dog - the more we enjoy what we do the more likely we are to do it. There is absolutely no point punishing yourself in the gym if you hate going to the gym. For goodness sake - just find something else to do.
Also having someone to train with makes all the difference. Find someone to exercise with. You will be much more inclined to make the effort to get to the gym if you know somebody is there waiting for you to drag your lazy backside along.
And finally remember that no matter how much you do not feel like making the effort, the sense of achievement - and smugness - you will feel when you have finished your workout will be worth it.
You never know - you might even enjoy yourself in the process!
(And just so you know - I have £5 on Janice being back to her cuddly self by September!) HA!

l If like me you enjoy putting your body through hell or just so you can laugh at how stupid I am to take on such a ridiculous challenge, more details about the Bob Graham can be found here

Comments (1)

Ernest Edwards wrote...

Thanks for this. I've long doubted the effectiveness of diets and believe that fitness is just a matter of working at it. We can all fwe push ourselves.

Posted by: Ernest Edwards  | April 23, 2007 3:06 PM

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