Author: Pippa @ Pip in Motion

Well hello there , it’s been a hot minute, hasn’t it?!

It’s been almost 4 months since I last wrote and, to be completely honest, it’s really been playing on my mind. I love writing, and I love connecting with other people through my blog, so it’s been a real shame that I haven’t! Whilst we’re being honest, the reason for the total radio silence my part is that I’ve been really struggling with depression and anxiety over the past year, and so whenever I sit down at my laptop, ready to write, I just feel a complete sense of overwhelm and can’t bear trying to get something creative out of myself.

Nonetheless, writing is really important to me, and so I’m resolving to do better. I thought I’d check in with an update on how things are going with me, my life, my running…and everything else!

What’s been going on

Things have been hectic, to say the least. Work has been non-stop, and it’s been tricky to balance everything out. I quite often get to the end of the work day or work week and feel exhausted! Where I used to have energy to go running, blog, run my own side hustles; now I just flop on the sofa with the TV and the dog. (Did I mention the dog yet…?!)

Fitness

Since the end of 2017, I’ve been experimenting with HiiT workouts at my gym, and I really love them. In December/January, I started way too fast out the gate, doing hardcore HiiT workouts 5 nights a week, and then wondering why I was constantly sick, injured, hungry and  tired! I’ve since reeled it in, and I find a wide variety of ways to keep fit.

Be it yoga, weight training, gym cardio, HiiT, ballet or running, i’m always trying to keep active and moving. Some days I’m in it for my #abgoals, and other days I just really need to sweat out a bad day. There have been weekends recently when it takes a whole day to summon up the effort to get to the gym, but a half hour sweat session makes the world of difference. It sounds vapid and cliché, but it really is a good day if you worked out.

Running

News alert – I’m finally seeing a physio! I got my private healthcare sorted, and got my butt down to see a really lovely physiotherapist, who’s confident he can get me back on track. Right now there’s not a lot of news, but I’m doing my exercises, running a lot less than normal, and just trying to get it sorted once and for all!

Food and Diet

Things are still going well with food, diet and general eating habits. I’m feeling a  whole lot less restricted than this time a few years ago, although I still have a way to go. I’m eating a lot more “real” food and proper meals, as opposed to constantly snacking on diet foods. I’ve even found space in my diet for pizza every once in a while -something I could never have imagined back in the days of heavy restriction.

Everything Else

To be honest I’m still not in a great place mentally, but I’m getting there. Work is taking a lot out of me, and I’m doing my best to decompress at the end of each day. My family situation is still tricky, as it has been since my dad left at the start of last year. My therapist is even on leave at the moment, so I’m going to have to find some other way to keep myself ticking over until she’s back!

At the moment, weekends are just lazy, self-care time. I’m not about making huge plans or being super productive – like I said, some days the only “thing” I do is go to the gym, and I’m okay with that. And did I mention there’s a puppy around now?!

So that’s pretty much it for now. I’m using this blog as a way to keep me accountable – I do love writing, and even when it feels like a chore, I feel so much better at the end of it. Much like a run…huh?

So, time to catch up!  What’s been going on with you for the past few months?

Lots of love,

Pippa

Well hello there. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? For a wide variety of reasons, I haven’t had the time or mental energy to contribute to this blog for a very long time. One of those reasons is that I’ve been way off my running game, and struggling to find a groove with my fitness in general. Some weeks it goes well, some weeks I barely set foot in a gym, let alone go for a run.

Well, apparently I’ve had enough. Because on Tuesday I randomly, unexpectedly, and ill-advisedly signed up for a half marathon. My roommate Josh had found out from his training group that there were some entries going free, entirely free of charge. And apparently I was feeling in a bit of a fuck it mood. Lo and behold, I’m running a half marathon tomorrow morning.

Let me be very clear: I do not want to do this. My ankle hurts. My back hurts. It is hilly. It will be snowing. And I have not run more than 5 miles in the last year. However, I figure the worst that could happen is that I walk the whole thing. It would take me about 3 and a half hours, it wouldn’t be fun, but I’ll get it done. I’ve been running most nights this week, and whilst it’s started out painfully, it always ends well enough. Plus -I just know that if I take it super easy, I’ll be absolutely fine.

 

I think at the moment I have a really intense fear of running races, and that’s perhaps the reason I haven’t properly rehabbed my ankle – I’ve just been using it as an excuse not to try and race. I’ve built up this mental barrier,and I just want to prove to myself I can do this. I’ll take it super easy, I’ll stop to stretch when I need to, and it will all be fine.

So yes, it may be ill advised. But you know what? That’s okay.

Love,

Pippa x

 

One of my 2017 Goals was to read 52 books in a year, averaging 1 book a week. I’m pleased to say that I did it!  I’ll share the whole list shortly, but I plan on doing the same in 2018 and I’m really excited about it!

So my question is – what book would you recommend I read?

 

I’m looking for a variety of fiction and non-fiction; but ultimately I want books I can really lose myself in!

Lots of love,

Pippa

Well hello there! How’s 2018 treating everyone so far? Is it just me, or has January seemed like the longest month ever? It’s been bleak here in London, and it’s been a tough one for everyone. All that complaining aside, it’s time for a little update:

What’s been going on

Back to work! It’s been much less hectic at my office recently, which has meant that I’ve only been working late one night a week or so. In general I’ve had a better work-life balance, but that has been recently scuppered by a nasty virus that’s been going round the office. I’ve had a weekend in bed, with no exercise and nothing to do with myself – and honestly I’m climbing the walls!

Fitness

Recent illness aside, things have been going well, fitness-wise. I’ve been switching it up recently, and have been doing 2-4 HiiT workouts a week, combined with 1-2 gentle runs. I have to say they’ve been kicking my butt, and I can definitely feel a difference in my overall fitness and muscles – after only a few weeks. I can’t wait to see how I get on for the next few months!

 

Running

Like I said, I’ve been running 1-2 times a week – normally once, commuting home from work, and a second time, on a Saturday morning with my friend Ashley and her dog, Otto. Although I never want to actually drag myself out of bed on a Saturday, it’s great to start the weekend off well.

Food

My main focus at the moment is still to eat a vegan diet – but given the amount of exercise I’m currently doing, I’m being especially careful about my protein intake.  I’m using a variety of different protein shakes, in addition to my usual diet of legumes and veggies. My two favourites right now are My Protein Superfood in Strawberry, and Prana Protein in Chocolate.

Everything else

I’ve been trying to focus – as always – on maintaining balance in my life. I’m still seeing my therapist, and I’m really trying to focus on putting all the pieces back together. I bought a yoga membership, with the hopes of actually making it to a class every once in a while! The ultimate goal is to get in good enough physical shape to be back into running; but for now, I have to find other forms of therapy.

So what about you – how do you strike balance in life? 

Lots of love,

Pippa

 

Well hello there. Remember me?

It’s been a helluva long time since I posted last. To be honest, the past few months have been really tricky, with work, fitness and my family situation. I’ve been experiencing an ongoing procrastination about opening up again on the blog, and it’s only gotten worse with time. But something has changed. I don’t know what exactly, but I feel ready to write again. I thought I’d start things out gently with the latest edition of the Comeback Chronicles.

For anyone who’s missed it, the Comeback Chronicles was a series dedicated to my recovery and comeback to fitness, after breaking my ankle very badly in December 2016. Part of the reason I stopped blogging was that my comeback has stalled quite considerably. But all that aside, let’s jump in!

 

What’s been going on 

As I mentioned, things have been pretty hectic around these parts. I’ve been snowed under at work, and it’s been pretty all-consuming. I haven’t had as much time or headspace as I’d like for all the other things in my life.

As a side note, the holiday season has been pretty intense too, with work parties, drinks with friends, Christmas dinners and all the rest. Now that that’s all subsided, I can hopefully carve out a little more space in the day for myself.

Fitness

My fitness routine lately has been pretty haphazard. Some weeks it seems impossible to fit a workout in, in between working late at the office, and actually having time to take care of myself (read: eat and sleep). Other weeks, I manage to kill it with my workouts, and feel full to the brim with motivation. It’s a tricky one. The key for me in 2018 will be to even out these peaks and troughs in my life, and find a routine that works for me.

I’m trying to be more consistent when it comes to strength training, which means (for me) 3 x strength-based workouts a week: lower body, abs, and upper body.  The thing is, when I’m tired and have no headspace, I find it so much easier to zone out and do an hour of cardio than actually concentrate on lifting heavy things. Ultimately though, I know that strength training is going to get me the results I want; and so I have to persist.

 

Running

Running has unfortunately been my downfall the past few months. I’ve gone through phases of running home from work every other night, to being so injured and in pain that I can’t actually walk. (I wish that was an exaggeration – it’s been a year since my injury, and I still can’t walk down stairs. No lie). I’ve been provisionally diagnosed with burstitis or achilles tendonitis, but I’m awaiting an official diagnosis once I’m referred to a physio. At the moment, I’m running purely for mental health purposes; that means if I’ve had a really terrible day at the office, or things are too much in my personal life, I break the “injury” rule and allow myself to run, even when it’s painful. I know it sounds ridiculous, but sometimes it’s the only thing that will clear my head, and for me it’s worth the trade-off of some pain.

Food

Wow, that got a little intense back there, didn’t it? Well, the good news is that I’m still predominantly plant-based, and my relationship with food is getting somewhat better. It’s hard to turn off the calorie-counting in my head, but I do try my best to ignore it and get on with my day. My focus for 2018 will be to try to focus on filling my body with nutrients, as opposed to tracking every calorie down to the letter.

 

Everything else

If you’ve made it this far, you might have guessed that I’m not having the best time, when it comes to my emotional and mental health. The first Christmas without my Dad was always going to be a difficult time, and to be honest work stress hasn’t made it any easier. I’m not coping as well as I could be (and part of that, I have to admit, is the fact that I can’t just take off on a 10 mile run whenever I feel like it) – but I’m trying to take positive steps.

Recently I moved in with two of my best friends, and that’s really helped me emotionally, in that I can always talk to them if I’ve had a shit day. Additionally, I’ve started seeing my therapist again, and whilst it’s slow progress, it’s progress nonetheless. (Side note – quitting therapy two months into your parent’s divorce because “the storm’s over now” is not a good tactic).

All in all, although this year has been a total shit storm, one thing I’ve really improved on is listening to my body and taking care of myself. I take sick days when I’m sick, I don’t run when I’m feeling under the weather, and I don’t drag my butt to the gym after a 14 hour work day, just because I have to. It might not seem like balance – in fact, it seems like a total mess – but I’m gradually carving out space for myself.

 

 

All in all, this year’s been a bit of a hot mess. But that’s okay. Life never goes to plan, and sometimes all you have to do is weather the storm.

How are you? How are you celebrating the festive season?

 

Lots of love,

 

Pippa