Dear Diary,
My inspiration for this diary entry theme, was my visit to see ‘Bridget Jone’s Baby.’ Great film with numerous ‘LOL’ moments in the cinema, overall a hilarious film especially if you enjoyed the original one, and if you’re a hopeless romantic like me, it’s sure to bring a tear to your eyes amidst the laughter.
So -onto the healthy living part. I had great plans to get up early on Saturday morning after my cinema visit, and get back on track with some fitness, by doing a 5K ‘parkrun’ as I was horrified when I checked my last timed result that I last ran one on the 23rd April 2016! I have my excuse of a pulled hamstring but really – 5 months since my last run! I can’t even say I’ve done many in-between either.
Anyway, after the film (with no sweets or popcorn), I checked my phone to find a message inviting me over to my neighbour’s house, as a couple of friends were visiting and they were enjoying a ‘catch up’ and a glass of champagne, no less!
I drove home, dumped the car, and not one, to miss a girly chat with champagne, I ran over the road, and joined the party! How Bridget Jones is that? Needless to say, I only had a couple of glasses and left at a respectable time in order to get up early.
As I digressed a little with the excitement of a good movie, I got up and made it on-time for Parkrun. After my hamstring injury, I remembered watching a recent episode of BBC Two – Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, which asked the question ‘Does stretching before exercise do any good?’
The program concluded that you should warm up your muscles a bit without stretching them. So, it suggested for a run, it’s actually better to walk or jog beforehand. This will increase the blood flow to the muscles and that will warm them up and also improve their efficiency. With that in mind, I parked the car, the opposite end of the park and walked very quickly to the start. It then went on to say you can then do your stretching, to improve your flexibility, after you’ve exercised. Interestingly, on the same episode, BBC Two – Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, Michael Mosley asked the question ‘Can I improve my eyesight?’
He took supplements containing the three macular pigments: lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin every day for 12 weeks. He had his blood levels checked for the chemicals, the amount of macular pigments in his eyes, and his eyesight thoroughly tested before and after taking the pills. Overall, Michael showed an improvement in many aspects of his vision, but in particular, his night vision improved and his perception of the colours blue and yellow. (Good topic to explore further for a future BLOG – on the to-do-list!)
Back to Parkrun, in case you’ve never heard of it, they organise free, weekly, 5km timed runs around the world. They are open to everyone, free, and are safe and easy to take part in.
These events take place in pleasant parkland surroundings and they encourage people of every ability and any age to take part; from those who just want to walk round to those training for a marathon; they welcome us all every Saturday morning at 9am.
It’s now 10pm on Saturday night, and I have waited patiently all day for my text message to let me know my time for this mornings performance. But I’ve just read a notice on facebook, there has been a technical hitch today, so the results probably will be out tomorrow. It’s quite disappointing, but then I need to remember after 5 month’s off, my time is probably going to be my slowest on record, and it’s an important reminder that the time doesn’t matter. What is important to realise today is that I am a middle-aged woman, that has run 5K without stopping, and that’s pretty good going. Oh, and it was a beautiful morning to be running with friends, there was no sunshine so no need for my #mauijims, but every need for my 1 day acuvue’s with their UV protection. Thank you #parkrun and a huge ‘thank you’ to all the volunteers who marshall the event and send us all our times. It’s my favourite way to keep fit!
My optical dispensing digest 