October

Another opportunity to meet some more of the competitors and "individuals". was at the Commando Challenge , a 7 mile run , through obstacles mostly mud orientated, including the famous water (mud actually ) tunnel. It was great fun though it was extremely terrifying to be pushed through the water tunnel by your feet , totally submerged in the murky water, hoping and praying that any second soon , you will feel the firm grip of a marine soldier on the other side. Wading through waist-high streams and crawling through mud-ridden cement tunnels followed by uphill cross country running. It was strangely enjoyable except for the train journey back to London. Whilst carrying a black plastic sack with dried mud stained hair , I was given a few choice looks by other passengers !!

At 59kgs and 22% body fat, I am told I will need to increase my body weight and more particularly my body fat and stomach size. This of course is great news . Chocolate, chips and beer here I come !! No post-Christmas over indulgence guilt this year ! Having said this , I do want my extra fat to be of the good kind and not to increase my visceral fat too much (fat around the organs that is).

I'm now able to monitor my fat levels as I recently purchased from John Lewis's a super whizzy body composition monitor eg body fat percentage, visceral fat percentages, bone mass, water and muscle percentage and basic metabolic rate. Never been much into physiology as I don't like to think of myself as just a combination of water, muscle, fat and bone ! Will have to make an exception just this once !

I have already started increasing my portion sizes and am now adding afternoon cake at work and drinking guiness instead of wine. Proving more of a challenge than I first thought as working out so much more , it's a struggle to maintain my existing weight !! Pav , a work mate , has challenged me to a putting-on-weight competition. He too exercises lots but needs to beef up a bit. So Pav , may the fat b* win !!

I had to inform my boss this month that I was participating in the Polar Challenge and would need some time off. JL and all my bosses have been brilliant and have accepted my request for a career break from the start of March to concentrate on my training. We were given a motivational presentation at ourAGM a couple of years ago by some Polar Challenge competitors. Little did I know I would be participating myself a few years later !!