Insomnia

I am happy again. Mum bought me Insomnia by Stephen King for Christmas. So my nose is buried in that rather than all the other chores - including a somewhat urgent tax return - that I should be doing. And of course, no matter how late I go to bed, I shall read a little. Ironic, huh? Or just a very apt title? ;-)

BTW, I was intrigued by the references to it in TDT, and didn't think I had read it... I have a sneaking suspicion I might have done (though years and years ago and I am not remembering the plot) - though in the knowledge that SK weaves multifarious threads of common story elements through so many of his books (some characters pop up in the strangest of places), I cannot be sure at all. But I have forgotten (and could not find when I was at mums at the weekend - she has the SK library, you understand) what the references were to Insomnia in TDT. I have a vague notion; but I suppose I shall just have to wait and see / work it out as I get through it.

An Ode to Tim

Ok, it is a long time since I posted and I also promised Tim a testimonial, so here it is (though I don't suspect for a minute he expected me to blog it; but hey, if a thing's worth talking about...)

I also cannot remember the settings I set up on this, so I will doubt spend endless hours going back and forth getting the spacing right. One day I will actually read all the instructions properly and write down such salient points, but for now such aspirations do, as ever, elude me.

So, let me first set some context...

Andrew and I go to the Lake District every year, usually in Spring; and walk our butts off for a week in the good clean air of Cumbria. Such exploits have in the past largely been shared with our dearest friends Tom and Jane (and Olls of course, and even the dogs sometimes, depending on the property we hired): more recently Jamie and Freya have joined us, and Katie and Vince (most fortunate to LIVE in the Duddon Valley!) come over for dinner.

It had been impressed most decidedly on my mind over the last few years that, though my stamina remained a force to be reckoned with, my actual fitness levels were getting lower and lower with each passing year, such that, though I still got up and down every hill or mountain we set our caps at, they took me a damn sight longer and seemed a bloody sight harder than before. My inner voice - that most dratted of truth-sayers! - most annoyingly kept reminding me that I had managed Helvellyn (>900m) when I was still on chemotherapy better than I was managing 4-600m these days.

Enter Tim Hagon

Tim is - was - a colleague from my days in the digital side of newspapers, and we'd always rubbed along pretty well. Indeed, the last year or so I was with Newsquest /Fish4 I think we did some of our best work ever. The fact that still so little changed, is probably one of the reasons neither of us are still in that particular game any more.

Anyway, Tim left the corporate game to start his own business about six months or so after I left. I heard he was starting as a Personal Trainer, and it seemed a no-brainer: I needed some serious attention to fitness levels, and here was someone I trusted who could help. Game on.

We started working together again - in a very different way! (he was most definitely in charge this time) in late January 2008. Frankly, I have never looked back.

Getting started is always the hardest thing, so once that was done, frankly, its been uphill all the way (that's a pun you understand?!:-)). We met for coffee - I had a Grande Latte, he had a water - be warned, he starts as he means to go on - and had a great kick-off conversation which in and of itself left me energised and with loads of tips for healthier eating (out with the croissants, in with the breakfast cereal with fruit or bacon sandwiches, for starters).

I shall not document the hours and months that followed, but here are a few things that surprised the pants off me (not literally, you understand, in Tim's company anyway!)...

1. Six weeks after a standing start with Tim (ie; he was working with virgin" material!) I was almost haring up every vertical incline the Lakes had to offer. The first outing was the real teller - we went up a real steep killer of a start to Sheffield Pike, and I completely outpaced my (normally much fitter ex-sportsman) husband. He got his own back the next day (I swore he read my diary, but maybe not) but I hung onto my ability to compete on equal terms - and boy did I feel great about that!!!!

2. I came back from the Lakes wanting more. I had envisioned maybe three-six months of engagement, but all of a sudden that seemed ridiculous. And right now, even with "credit crunch" stuff going on left right and centre, I will fight to the death to keep my sessions with Tim. They are not just good for me physically, they help me keep my mental balance. I am still learning the psychological dicipline necessary to make permanent and irrevocable lifestyle changes to the way I live. I [I have just tried several stabs at the next sentence and am now cutting the bullshit] am a work-nut who thinks nothing of putting in 12-18 hour days, so learning to quit to keep to Tim's schedule a couple of times a week was, and still is, a challenge for me. But one I am very happy and comfortable to be working on, and believe me, I am a lot better for it. Though old habits die hard :-)

3. I learnt to love running. For someone that has had a lifelong hatred of it since school, that is, I can assure you, a most particularly remarkable position to find myself in.

So, a year later, and I cannot imagine being without Tim. I love our chats during our sessions. Times in Regents Park when I was trying to do a certain exercise and kept laughing so hard I fell over are probably not in Tim's book of must-have's, but they are most definitely in mine. The Garmin training watch thingy he recommended has made a real difference to my "just me" sessions, and his little bits of adhoc advice have helped me make a real difference to my life.

And here's a final thing for all you weight-worriers: Tim said right from the start something like "don't think about weight, just think about what you are eating and doing, and the rest will take care of itself". And gave me some tips. Well, for the first few months it didn't, but hell - keep the faith! because you know what? It DOES take care of itself. I have dropped half a stone and now happily sit around 9st no matter what, which is the right level for my body shape and mass - and my eating and drinking habits have actually benefitted!

So, my first public endorsement: if you want to change your lifestyle, engage a professional - it seems like a lot of money to start with, but believe me, it is not. And if you live in the environs of Teddington / south London / selected areas in north London - Tim Hagon is most definitely your man. A nicer (but firm) and more effective person you could not possibly, ever, hope to meet.