Well on Saturday morning I left a sunny Liverpool to head to London to make my final preparations for the Marathon on Sunday. I was feeling ok and relatively good about the race; I had been hit with a chest infection the Friday before and finished the course of antibiotics I was taking on Saturday morning.  The atmosphere in London is amazing on the build up; the city is busy and buzzing with people and athletes.

After a brief rest on Saturday and some broken sleep, Sunday morning quickly arrived and I was full of porridge and on the tube heading to Greenwich to the start of the race. The carriages were heaving, it was like being at the front at a concert and not a very good one, I thought at one point how many more people can fit on a tube that is already full, the answer is a lot more!

At Greenwich station the trains flooded the streets with runners and the sea of people poured to the large flats of the park. All around people stretched off, ate and drank and carried out the all important final rituals. Charity vests and t-shirts covered the landscape, men and women erected weird and wonderful costumes and a small zoo of runners was formed. Probably the most surreal part of the day for me was standing having a wee next to Darth Vader and Scooby doo at the same time!

Before long it was bags on the transport and everyone had to make their way to the form up points, bang on cue the heavens opened and we all became soggy and cold. Richard Branson then pushed his way to the front and we were off at 09.45. It was a real hurry up and wait moment, crossing the line was slow and starting to run was even slower, eventually after a mile the crowd began to open up. The first six miles flew by and the three different start points (Red, Blue and Green) all joined up as the route headed towards London city, the pace was picking up but the volume of people around me was unbelievable!

As the course progressed the crowds of supporters grew and grew, the bands, drummers and screaming mobs all get inside your head and power you forward. I saw my family at 12 miles and hit the half marathon marker at 1 hr 39 minutes. Miles 14 to 20 disappeared as I trotted around the isle of dogs and Canary wharf dodging the water bottles and empty cartons on the road.

When I hit the final five miles disaster struck, I started to cough and my lungs decided that they had had enough. I lost my pace and had to stop, St Johns ambulance smothered me with kindness and offered me O2 but the race official at the roadside explained that if I needed oxygen then I would be out of the race. After a short quick walk away from both men, I cleared my chest out and started to run again, sounding like an old knackered car as I went. The next 5 miles took me 67 minutes of breathless coughing and spluttering to get down to Buckingham Palace and the finish! My overall time was a disappointing (for me) 3hrs 51 minutes. I finished 8840 out of 51000 who started the race.

What next……………………? Another course of anti-biotics, then back to training and who knows! I might do Berlin, Boston and Chicago to complete the marathon major series or  I might just stick to walking the dog in the park...

As our lifestyles are continually becoming more hectic, through a combination of work commitments, social calendars, parenthood etc it can be difficult to take time to look after ourselves. However, it is crucial to look after ourselves in order to perform well in our daily activities. If we fail to do this, our overall performances as a human being will undoubtedly become detrimental and we become stuck in a rut that can be really difficult to get out of. In relation to a healthy lifestyle, it’s critically important to get the balance of exercise, nutrition, hydration and rest right, in order to achieve the desired goal. But, it’s very rare that we concentrate on all 4 components and instead focus on only 1 if any. We are aware of the importance of exercise, but few people consider that exercise needs to be controlled and in moderation as we can easily over do it, injure ourselves and become fatigued.  Equally important is nutrition, ensuring that we get the nutrients our body needs at the right times. The way to look at nutrition is that food is fuel, and the wrong fuel can have a detrimental effect just as the wrong exercise can.  Water intake is vital to the human body. A 1% decrease in hydration can lead to a 10% decrease in performance. Sadly overlooked by many, drinking water boosts your metabolism, helps with weight loss/gain, increases energy and alertness and can positively affect everything you do. Finally rest. The importance of rest and recovery is overlooked and massively underestimated as a vital role in achieving a healthy lifestyle. In terms of exercise and performance our body builds and repairs during rest enabling us to become fitter/stronger and achieve our goals more effectively. Ensuring we get good night’s sleep and having regular relaxing periods throughout the week will recharge the body and mind and make our lifestyle much more effective and balanced.

During the winter months, most of us notice that the pounds pile on.  We eat more food, especially more stodgy higher fat foods.  Our bodies seem more laboured.  Getting up is hard enough with the dark mornings but it’s even harder with achy joints and less flexibility in the limbs.  Don’t worry everyone, this is completely natural!!!  It’s programmed into us to ‘store’ calories during the cold months….Survival instinct!!!  The athletes you see on TV are just normal people and they go through peaks and troughs with body fat just like the rest of us.  Well, the days are getting brighter and so the warmer months are fast approaching.

Our bodies are more limber during the sunny seasons and there is more sunlight which improves our mood and also gives us vital nutrients via the skin so overall health generally improves.  In the summer, our metabolism increases and we don’t need to eat as much food to sustain ourselves.  Take advantage of spring and kick start your metabolism sooner by exercising more.  Getting out in the sun and going for walks will do wonders for your health and vitality.  Many of us spend most of the day cooped up in offices and then straight into the car and then home.  How much time do you really spend in the daylight? Just try and get into the daylight at least an hour a day.  Leave the car at home when popping out for a bit.

Exercise also improves in the warmer climate.  Less time is needed to warm up and range of movement increases, making more efficient use of the muscles so progression is faster.  Be active as much as possible because things like computer games and TV programmes come and go.  Your life is what enables you to do these things.  Respect your body!

Low carb diets have been popular for the last 10 to 20 years or more, however they may not be all that safe. Reducing carbohydrates have been a huge weight loss fad for the last few years, but some things should be considered before starting on them. Low carbohydrate, or ketogenic diets, deplete your body of its natural storage of glycogen. Glycogen is a polysaccharide that is stored in the liver and muscles to be used as energy. It is the sugars in carbohydrates such as pasta that provide an energy boost, so that is why marathon runners 'carbo-load' before a race.

When you deplete the amount of glycogen in the body, you are dehydrating it, which causes the scale to drop significantly in the first stages of a low carb diet. While the dieter thinks they are losing weight, what they are actually doing is dehydrating their body and depleting it of muscle mass. This quick loss is what makes it so popular, but the results are actually deceptive.

As a result of lowered glycogen in the body, the dieter may feel fatigued, and may actually be uncomfortable when exercising. This further confuses them because the dieter, who is possibly increasing their activity through cardio-vascular exercise, figures the fatigue is as a result of the exercise, but what they are actually feeling is the loss of glycogen to the body.

When losing weight and doing cardiovascular exercise, your energy should be increased rather than depleted. When the dieter feels fatigued they are likely to quit exercise, which is counterproductive to their weight loss. This can also affect the dieter’s metabolism which actually is counterproductive to dieting.

If the body suffers too much glycogen depletion it may go into atrophy. Atrophy is the result of lost muscle glycogen and is the shrinking or reduction of muscle mass. This further causes less drive to exercise, and can lead to the inability to maintain muscle tone. Obviously, if you are trying to improve your physical condition and appearance, the last thing you want to do is reduce your muscle tone.

The solution? When trying to lose weight, eat a healthy balanced diet, which includes complex carbohydrates such as wholewheat pasta or rice, not white bread and cakes. Carbs should account for no more than 60% of your daily intake.

As information has begun to trickle through that Greg took an early victory at the Helsby four villages the odds have changed. We now have a race on our hands.

Both men very aware of the training still required but also aware of the old saying:

‘It is better to lose the battle yet win the war!’

An insider from Tim’s training camp commented that Tim was unaware that Greg was at the event as Tim was concentrating on keeping his heart rate below 100bpm for the entire run!

Team Pyeman came straight back and pointed out that although Greg looks like he will need CPR at the end of a run he still has a bit left in reserve just in case.

Both Men have been said to be studying their training heroes in theses last 12 weeks; Tim has been watching Marathon Race meets Iron Man winners and understanding the mental focus of the great Lance Armstrong. Greg has been watching Eddie Izzard DVDs because apparently he did a few runs lately. He has also been studying the movements of Big Bird from seseame street who has the same size legs as him.

Sunday saw the body solutions runners take the Helsby Half Marathon by storm!

Helsby four villages as it is known is a cheeky little number with twists and turns and just when you don’t need it, a roller coaster of hills in the last 3 miles. But this didn’t stop the team battering the lanes, dodging the ice and finishing heads held high to receive the free bottle of beer at the end, my kind of race!

With only 13 weeks (unlucky for some!) to go until the London Marathon, both Tim and Greg are stuck into their training. Chomping away at the miles, it has been estimated that by the time the guys set off at the start of the Marathon they will have already run over 1200miles each that is the same as running from Lands End to John O Groats and then back to Liverpool again!

If you want to get behind the Lads and support them in their training please feel free to donate either personally or corporately at:

www.virginmoneygiving.com/pyeman

www.justgiving.com/tim-barrett

Here is an uncomfortable fact. 63% of men and 53% of women are now overweight or obese. That is half the nation. Worrying isn’t it? Even more worrying than that, is the fact that the fastest growing groups of obese people are children and women in their thirties. Children no longer eat healthily or keep active. The 'play station generation' are caught up in lazy parenting, junk food diets, lack of PE in schools and the plain acceptance that it’s 'normal' to have their belly hanging over their trousers and stretch marks like a pregnant mother of twins. Anyone reading this may think I am being a bit harsh, but the harsh reality is that we are setting up an entire generation of kids with serious health problems in the future. Cancer, diabetes, heart disease and infertility to name but a few conditions. And yet the solutions are really quite simple. Eat good food, enjoy food, just don’t eat too much of the wrong stuff. Limit fast food. Move more, get out with your kids, take them swimming or for a simple walk in the park. If your kids don’t enjoy the usual sports (football, rugby, ballet, swimming), find something that they do enjoy. It might be a martial art (great for confidence), cricket (very English!), mountain biking or skateboarding or even something unusual like fencing or trampolining. Whatever they choose, go with it.

I once trained a young girl who weighed more than my husband (14 stone). She was barely in high school. Despite every attempt to improve her lifestyle, I only saw her for 2 hours per week. Desperately, I tried to work with the parents, looking at diet, fitness testing, getting them on board in every way. Yet because they were paying me to get her fit, I think they just relinquished all responsibility for her health. Since becoming the mother of two myself, I know that I would do everything and anything in my power to keep my kids happy and healthy.

Finally, children DO NOT need sports/energy drinks in their packed lunches or after school unless they are actually going to do some real activity. Otherwise, we are just loading them up with calories. However, children do need to be kept well hydrated and eat little and often.

So, what will you do to ensure that the next generation live long healthy lives?

Back to work and back to training. Although those of us who have entered races in the early part of this year have had no time off!

With the london Marathon only 15 weeks away Both Tim and Greg have been battling the bad weather to keep up with their strict training programes. The boys have been so licra clad in the snow and ice, that at times they have been mistaken for spiderman and the silver surfer! Still, the very thought of not getting the times that they have set themselves for the big race has helped to focus their minds and made them push on.

The next few months are very busy with the Helsby Running Club 4 village race on Sunday the 17^th of January and then the first ever UK Kilomathon, that’s 26.2 kilometers (16.3 miles, the perfect race distance for the human body) between Nottingham and Derby on Sunday the 17^th of March, this is 7 weeks prior to the race.

We will keep you posted for information on how to get involved with sponsorship and tickets for the Winners Dinner to help celebrate after the marathon, Body Solutions style!!!

In 17 weeks time the Ironman takes on the Commander in Body Solutions' first head to head marathon! Two men one, one goal; to beat eachother in a race of 26 miles across London.

Each week insiders from each camps will keep you posted on each mans progressas their training is ramped up a gear, in this race there is only one title... the winner!

Keep following the blogs as we count down what will prove to be an exciting start to the year. Look out for your chance to get involved, corporate sponsorship, free virgin marathon wear and the 'Winners Dinner' all to come!

Stand By!!

It's that time of year again, mince pies, tinsel, mistletoe and hours spent rushing around shops desperately trying to find inspiration to save your loved one the ordeal of opening up yet another packet of socks! Fret no more, for Body Solutions is here to save the day! Check out our Christmas offer here.