Well its been quite a week. I’ve recently switched my HRT (medicine for Menopause symptoms) to the continuous patches. Asides the fun of getting them to stay on when you are a sweaty sporty person, I’ve noticed they have yet to fully abate some of my recent menopause systems. The main one is anger. It can build up in you over the teeniest stupid thing and its hard to know where to go with it. It’s very similar to PMT only can pop up at any time of the month. Even not being able to find a sock can make me mad 😂.

It’s not to say that the thing making you mad wouldn’t normally irritate you. It’s more that your emotional resilience is significantly reduced or even absent. Thus you can feel instantly angry over something that would normally make you think ‘hmph’ but 5 minutes later you’d of forgotten about it. Especially if you’ve been given a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit. Come to think of it, that could work….hun….pleaseeee😁.

It’s all taking some getting used to and I’m not there yet but exercise does help – as it seems to with everything for me.

This last week I’ve done a fair amount of sporty stuff. 11 hours of it in fact. Most of this was on the weekend but I try to fit in what I can during the week.

This last week I had a rest day on Monday, went out hill running on Tuesday after work and got back home to do a short gym session with my husband. The run home was faster than I’d intended but I’d forgotten to take a head torch and was running on trails, through fields and the light was starting to fade. I didn’t have a phone with me either so 1/10 for safety efforts there. I will make sure to take all the relevant stuff next time.

On Wednesday I cycled to my Personal Trainer’s house after work, did a workout with her and then cycled home. It was a lovely ride down the canal and I really enjoyed it. Again the light was fading on the way home but this time I had lights and its kind of fun cycling when its getting dark. I like spooky!

Thursday was an easy day. I did a short recovery run after work but otherwise was more inclined to enjoy a gin and tonic in the evening and chill out.

On Friday I went out on my road bike – woohoo! I cant tell you how nervous I was. The last time I was on a road bike, I was returning it to the rental place in Mallorca a few days early because I’d experienced so much anxiety and panic whilst out on it. All of this came flooding back as I set out on Friday morning and I really doubted myself.

I did feel slightly uncomfortable on the first few roads as they were busy and I could feel the traffic going past me. Especially when the lorries go past, I’m not sure thats something you ever really get used to.

After that I was on lovely quiet country lanes and I started to really enjoy myself. In fact my main difficulty proved to be going uphill. I’d lost some of my cycling strength (to my surprise) and I was looking for a lower gear to get into (which didn’t exist! 🤔). I had to push hard in the lowest gear I had available to get up the hill. There is a hilly road we often go to called the Brickworks. It’s not crazy steep. I would say its a beginners hill but difficult for beginners maybe. I wasn’t expecting therefore, to struggle! Surely all my running would translate over?….

Still I pushed on and got to the top with my heart rate higher than I would of liked, but you have to start somewhere. I carried on and did a few more hills and started to feel better and find my rhythm. I even enjoyed some steep downhills I’d previously found scary. Funny how things can change. I was pleased to do 46km. It’s not a long ride for a club cyclist but it will more than do for me. I will need to be able to do 120km for the coast to coast challenge (in one go) but having done more than a third in a few hours, I feel more confident I can get there.

On Saturday I ran 16km at a much faster pace than I would normally do my long run. I don’t know why, but I just felt good and went with it. It’s nice to change things up now and again.

Finally, today I took a train out a few stops and hiked home, covering 13km. All the sport caught up with me and I found myself eating a banana, a snack bar and a large tea cake in a matter of a few hours – then coming home for lunch!

I’m really looking forward to my next road bike outing now. I know I have some way to go to build more confidence and strength but I know now I can get there. Perhaps I should use my inner meno anger to get me up those hills!