Monday Motivation… It’s not always that easy to find is it?
I’m currently looking out of the window at a beautiful sky, icy pavements and going through every reason not to run. I mean, Bambi on ice is not a great look and totally unavoidable when my physical balance is as great as my bank one!
Last week wasn’t great. After feeling generally NQR (not quite right) I succumbed to a stomach bug from hell (yes, other bugs do exist!). I didn’t eat for days and not only felt like I’d been hit by a bus, but then reversed over again! The joys of having an autoimmune condition. It took until Thursday evening before I felt remotely human. Then I started eating again, not in a good way. I picked on all the stuff I normally don’t, which has left me feeling sluggish and lazy.
We were away in the Lake District over the weekend. Storm Arwen left us hit by a massive power cut. In darkness with no power and no comms wasn’t ideal. I couldn’t get through to our boys back at home to check in with them. Not ideal. We had a gas fire in the living room of the caravan we were staying in, so with below freezing temperatures we spent two nights sleeping in front of it!

We did however, manage to get out for a short hike. Winds were still gusting around 35 mph, so having run the gauntlet of crawling under fallen power lines and scrambling over fallen trees, the climb up on slippery rock was a real slog. Neil was concerned about us getting back down before dark as my balance was well off, but we reached the summit, and having a phone signal managed to make calls home, and Neil to work where there were also storm related problems.

Whilst we were away and left with no power, our absence had been a blessing in disguise. We had lost a considerable number of roof tiles; had we been home, they would have landed on our car.
We continued our hike. The lee side of the fell was particularly icy in parts, again slowing me down more so than I’d have liked. I became increasingly aware just how quickly you cool down, particularly when you factor in the significant wind chill.

We eventually made it onto a lower level path, part of which I covered during an ultra marathon back in June and I was able to once again enjoy the scenery.

Being outdoors with my camera was a reminder of why I enjoy photography so much. Batteries were losing charge quickly due to the cold temperatures, but I managed to capture a couple of images that I’m particularly happy with, and that will likely be someone’s Christmas presents!

Back home (as we gave up waiting for the power to be restored!) I’m starting with a new week with a little more focus.
Am I motivated? Not really, but I know what I need to achieve and what I need to do to get there.
Whatever you’re planning this week, if you’re like me and not quite feeling motivated, stay focused and have faith that the rest will fall into place.