Tuesday 28th February
Exercise: 9.6km Run (Mullum Mullum Creek Trail)
The legs are a bit sore today, but that's only to be expected given that I hadn't played Netball for a long time, and I knew that I'd be using muscles that I don't use when running.
At least running this morning has loosened them up a little bit. I'm supposed to be doing a speed session tomorrow night with the ESRG, but I don't know how speedy my legs are going to be!!
The scales showed me back down to 10stone this morning. I've been lower but only after a long run (or a good puke after grape grazing....sorry, probably too much info there!!). I'm happy to be where I am at the moment, and am aiming to keep at this weight until Saturday. Then I'll be looking to lose another kilo by the following Saturday and maintain that for a week and so on and so on.
Where I'm going to be staying in Sydney there's a huge park directly over the road, so there'll be no excuse not to do any training while I'm away. There's also a gym in the place too, so I just can't see myself not doing some kind of exercise while I'm away. We're going to drive up so I can take quite a bit of stuff with me, which is great. When I say stuff, I mean clothing of course!!
I've got to go and queue tonight to get my daughter enrolled for vacation care. I want to be at the front of the queue so that I get home in time to see Biggest Loser. Unfortunately I only got to see half of it last night. Hubby, bless him, taped it for me but didn't realise that Monday nights are an hour long rather than just half an hour, so he turned the tape off after half an hour. So I got to see who was voted off but didn't get to see what she looked like at the end. I'm hoping they'll replay a bit of it tonight (they usually do).
Monday 27th February
Exercise: Weights, Situps/Netball
There was this girl at the gym this morning who stood in front of a person using a machine, just waiting. The fact that she could have used 10 other machines that were free didn't seem to enter her brain. If somebody does this to me I usually take even longer to use the machine (that evil streak comes out in me). And she didn't do it just once, but I saw her do it at least twice. Okay, rant over!!
I'm now playing Netball....yep that's right, Netball! I've played Netball since I was about 10 years old, even getting picked for the area team once (this was when I was much younger). I used to play 3 times a week and train twice a week...I loved playing Netball. I stopped playing when I was about 22 due to alot of relationship turmoil at the time. Then when I went to the UK I found a team to play with. Only played one season as it was outside and it was always raining!!
I've now been asked to play in a team with Michelle (my running buddy). Of course I jumped at the chance, not even considering the fact that I haven't played for 12 years, I'd have to cut my nails, and it's also in the evening (and I'm never motivated to do anything in the evening).
I went to buy a skirt to play in....what a hassle!! KMart, BigW, Target - none of them sell adult Netball skirts. I went to Rebel and they had them there, but not in my size. And while we're talking about sizing, I can fit comfortably into most size 10 pants. However with a netball skirt I am struggling to fit into a size 16 comfortably! What's with the sizes of the skirts????
Anyway I eventually found a girl's size 16 skirt in BigW. To say that it is a little snug is an understatement! At least it gives me some motivation to lose a bit more weight so that it fits comfortably. My muffin top currently sits proudly over the top of the skirt!!
Oh yeah, we lost our game! 27 to 18 :0(
Saturday 25th February
Exercise: 22km Run (Dandy Creek Trail)
It was raining when I got up this morning....not a good start! Anyone who knows me, knows that I hate running in the rain. It's very demotivating for me!
Anyway by the time I get to the carpark where I meet Michelle it has stopped. But it's very overcast and poor Gav is having a hard time getting a GPS signal. Our run to Jells Park was really strong and I felt great until I got to the slight incline before we stop for a 2 minute loo break!
Once we'd stopped I felt really weak and thought that I might even puke. I can only think that the AMP tablets I took this morning are not agreeing with me. I turn Gav off and then back on again to see if I can get a GPS signal now....BINGO! He finds one! So we head off back the way we came.
About 3km into it I have to stop. I have no energy left in my legs at all. Michelle has a spare Gel so I take half of that to see if I can get some energy back into me. Another couple of km's on and I have to stop again. So from there until the Car Park I'm running part way and then have to power walk some.
I can only think that the AMP tablets have dehydrated me. And also looking back on yesterday's food intake, I didn't eat properly so this might have hindered me too.
I've got to remember to think about what I eat and drink the day before a long run. It really does make a difference!
We now have a weight bench and lat pull down bar to add to our "garage gym". I think we've got pretty much most equipment now, apart from the treadmill, bike and cross trainer. Unfortunately these are the most expensive things and will have to wait for a while!
Friday 24th February
Exercise: Weights, Situps
Haven't been to the gym in over a week so getting back into it this morning was hard work. I've become a little bit unfocused on where I want to be (didn't take long did it!), so deciding what to do once I'd got to the gym was a bit frustrating.
I've eaten quite badly this afternoon. Probably because I'm bored, in fact I know it's because I'm bored. My boss has gone overseas for a week so I'm going to be twiddling my thumbs. I need to find something that I can do at my computer that will keep me entertained and absorbed.....any ideas?
Thursday 23rd February
Exercise: 9.6km (Mullum Mullum Creek Trail)
I wish Gav would make up his mind how far the trail is that we run. Today he said it was 9.6km!!
I've had a bit of a problem with my knee. I'm not exactly sure what it is as it doesn't hurt when I run, but if I get up after I've been sitting down, and put weight on it, I sometimes get a sharp pain on the inside of my knee. Very strange as it doesn't happen all the time either.
I was supposed to meet the ESRG last night but I was a bit worried about my knee so I pulled out. Then I thought that I really need to know if I can run on it or not, so Michelle and I met up this morning for an early morning run.
I've done a bit of comfort eating over the last couple of days. I've been quite tense and snap really easily at anything that annoys me (which includes child and husband....sorry bubbys!!), so I had a think yesterday (and a good chat to hubby) about what's going on.
Basically I'm ready for a holiday! I've run out of motivation to do anything at the moment and am pretty much running on empty. I don't even have the energy or the inclination to do real basic stuff like cleaning!! Saying that I did manage to get out and mow the lawn last night.
I'm now counting down the days until we leave for Sydney, then I'm going to really kick back and just take each day as it comes!!
Tuesday 21st February
Exercise: 9.3km Run(Mullum Mullum Creek Trail)
I've used Gav over the last couple of weeks now and each time I've run Mullum Mullum Creek Trail he's told me that it's only 9.3km instead of the 10km that I'd always thought it was. So now I've got to come clean and change all my figures for total km's run each month....bummer!
Another great morning to run. It's definitely taking longer to get light now so we're going to have to consider changing to the footpath, which I'm not that happy about as it's not good for my hip.
Some good news...when I upload the info from Gav into Motionbased or Sport Tracks, sometimes it recalculates the distance from the GPS info it generates and our long run on Sunday was actually 22.95km, not 22.45 - OMG, we nearly ran 23km!!
Now about the Grape Grazing. We had the best time. We went to Rochford Wines, and the free meal was excellent (Chicken in Mustard, Jacket Potato, salad with Olives and Feta Cheese) but we were very surprised by the price of the Champagne. At $30 per bottle we thought it was a little steep, especially as it didn't taste THAT nice! We only downed 3 bottles between the both of us.
We ended up dancing on the lawn in front of the stage and singing at the top of our voices (like you do!!). The weather was great, sunny and warm. We had much better weather on the Saturday than the Sunday, which was overcast and drizzly for some of the day.
I went downhill rapidly once Hubby had picked us up and I did spend the rest of the evening in bed (no more needs to be said!).
Saturday 18th February
Exercise: 22.45km Run
Michelle and I were planning on doing a 20km run this morning, but we got a little bit lost around Jells Park and ended up doing a bit extra. It's great to know that we can run this distance and it's the furthest that we've ever run in one go.
The best thing was that we got to the last km and we actually sped up....which proved to us that we still had some energy in the tank.
I'm grape grazing this afternoon with Michelle (my faithful partner in crime). Probably going to consume a bit of alcohol, have a bit of a dance and a good laugh. We're going to Rochford Winery. Hubby is happy to drop us off and pick us back up when it finishes, so we don't have to worry about driving anywhere.
I'm planning on having tomorrow as a rest day! (might need it).
Thursday 16th February
Exercise: 1000 Steps (twice)
Ooh that hurt. I had it in my head that it'd be a piece of cake getting up those steps. Nobody told me that it was HARD!!
Only me, Michelle and Tony tonight (everyone else had more sense!!). We started at a slow jog up the slight incline, which became a huge incline and a slow walk!!
I was already exhausted and I hadn't even hit the steps yet! Michelle started in front and was doing a nice little jog up the steps but I had to walk them as my breath was coming in huge gasps....not a very nice sound I might add!
We eventually made it up to the top. Tony being the fit person that he is ran most of the way up so he'd had a nice little rest while waiting for us to get there. We then had to make a decision on whether to run back down the steps or run down the trail near the steps that led back to the bottom. We decided on the trail....hmmm...the trail was very steep and we ran flat out for 10 minutes. It was really hard to slow down and my back really felt it as I had to keep leaning right back to slow down. I had Tony and Michelle in front of me so at least if I couldn't stop I had some cushioning..ha!
The trail led back to the start of the 1000 steps again. Decision made to do the steps again (what were we thinking!). It was actually easier the second time as we paced ourselves a bit better. We ran back down the steps this time (well we walked actually) which was really hard work, trying to keep your footing, and there were other people walking up the steps too so it was a tight fit trying to pass them.
All in all it was great training and I definitely want to do it again.
Sunset Super Series 8km Run
Exercise: 8km Run
As I hadn't registered online for this event I had to make sure that I got to Princes Park before 6.30pm so I made sure that I got to Michelle's place early. Luckily my boss had let me go an hour early so that I could get to the race in time.
Of course we got there with plenty of time to spare (phew!). Even managed to get a park just near the start/finish line so not far to walk back to the car afterwards. We met up with all the crew from the Ausrunners (TigerBoy, Chilliman, Pepster and Eat Em) Got a free t-shirt once I'd registered (woohoo!!) so I'll add it to my pile of freebie t-shirts.
Michelle and I had decided to use Gav as a pacer tonight. We wanted to see what pace we had to run to get a sub 44min time. Unfortunately Michelle's Thumps gave out just before the start of the race so in sympathy I took off my MP3 player too.
We certainly went out fast in the first couple of km's and was in front of Gav by about 150 metres. This didn't last long though as we tired quite quickly. By the end of the first 4km we were about 50 metres behind him and couldn't sustain the pace!
We ended up coming home in 44.06 which was a PB for me (Yey!!) but Gav beat us by about 65 metres. Free Sausage Sizzle afterwards filled my tummy up. Michelle won a spot prize which was a pair of Nike Runners (jammy or what!!).
Tomorrow night we're running up the 1000 steps at Ferntree Gully National Park. What have I let myself in for???
Wednesday 15th February
Exercise: Weights, Situps
Gym was good. Did machines again this morning but also included some hand weights. I was watcing the low impact aerobics class whilst doing my weights and there's a new girl in there teaching and the class looked a whole lot more energetic than the last person who took it, so I may wander into the class next week. Can't remember the last time I did an aerobics class??
I'm off to do an 8km race tonight for the Sunset Series at Princes Park. Might get to perve on a few of the Carlton footy club boys as I'm running past Optus Oval....
Tuesday 14th February
Exercise: 10km Run (Mullum Mullum Creek Trail)
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY TO ALL....Hope some of you got chocolates, flowers, gifts, you know, all the good things that we should get every day, not just today!!
Was up early this morning to meet Michelle for our run. Each week I can see that it's getting lighter later so we may have to start running up on the highway under the street lights shortly. We can then run back down the trail from the top of it. At least that way we're only running on concrete for half of the time. I felt great running too. We upped the pace and knocked off about 4 minutes from our run last week.....must be all the mountain climbing from Sunday's session taking effect!!
I made sure that I'd done everything that I needed to do before 7pm last night so that I was not interrupted whilst watching The Biggest Loser. I didn't realise that it was on for an hour (bonus!!). I found it amazing that for everyone on the show who had a husband, wife or partner, they were all of a normal size, not overweight like the contestants. It's made me think about why this is??
My favourite person is probably the plus size model (Tracy?). And I love the fact that she wants to fit into a 2 piece bikini and run along the beach with her girlfriends!
I'm already planning what food I can cook quickly for dinner tonight so that I can sit down in time to watch tonight's episode!!
Me, addicted.....never!!
Sunday 12th February
Exercise: 18.2km Run (Sherbrooke Forest)
Michelle and I were going to run along the Dandy Creek Trail again but we found out that a large group were going to meet up at Sherbrooke Forest and run around there. Much more fun to run in a group so we ended up there at 8am this morning.
A lovely morning, although a bit nippy at first. Didn't take long to warm up though. I was going to wear my 3/4 length pants but was glad that I'd worn the shorts instead.
We ran with a couple of girls who we'd run with the last time we'd been up at Sherbrooke Forest. As we didn't really know the forest very well we ended up on some new tracks which were quite challenging and we ended up having to walk up one of the hills. It was just too steep and too rocky to run up it!!
Unfortunately Gav dediced that he didn't want to do any work this morning (couldn't pick up a GPS signal) so I only used him for my heartrate monitoring. And I'd got one of my preferences wrong on him so the timer kept stopping. I think I've got it sussed out now!!
And who did we see running around the tracks....none other thanSonia O'Sullivan
Saturday 11th February
Exercise: Weights, Situps
I was up early this morning so that I could eat some breakfast before I went to the gym. I was going to run on the treadmill but as I've got a 20km run tomorrow I thought that I'd give my legs a break and do weights instead.
The gym was busy. But hardly anyone was using the weight machines so instead of using the hand weights, which is where everyone else was, I used some machines today. Haven't used most of them for ages so it was nice to do something different. I even used the situp machine which I found difficult to get comfortable on. I've either got short legs or short arms (or both) as I couldn't reach the floor with my feet and my arms wouldn't go around the bit that they were supposed to go around properly.
Now I hope this doesn't offend any smokers out there but I have to tell you what I saw when I walked out of the gym after my workout. There were two young women chatting to each other. They had both just finished at the gym and they were having a natter whilst puffing on a cigarette. I just stared at them....I mean how can you put in all that effort trying to get fit and healthy and then just destroy it all by filling your lungs full of crap. And right out the front of the gym no less!!
Now I used to be a smoker, so I understand the addiction and all that, but I would have waited until I was either in the car or I'd got home.
Okay, rant over!
Thursday 9th February
Exercise: Weights, Situps
It was a real half hearted attempt at the gym this morning. I did get up so I suppose that's something, but I just didn't have much energy so I only did half of the reps that I should have done. Doing Good Mornings just didn't come easy this morning!
I gave in to the chocolate tonight. I was given a box of Lindt Balls last night (late birthday pressie) and they've been sitting in the fridge all day getting cold. I have no willpower (hangs head) but if I have to find something good about it (other than the fact that they're absolutely gorgeous) is that Hubby ate half the box so at least I only ate half of them. I could have easily sat and ate the whole box all by myself!
I WILL be at the gym tomorrow morning doing 10km on the treadmill...pennance me thinks!!
Yummmm, Chocolate!
Copied from Beki's blog!
| You are Dark Chocolate |
You live your life with intensity, always going full force.
You push yourself (and others) to the limit... you want more than you can handle.
An extreme person, you challenge and inspire the world! |
Wednesday 8th February
Exercise 7.5km Run (including Sprints)
OMG....I had to run flat out tonight.....6 times!! 2 x 500 metres and 4 x 250 metres. I thought I was going to pass out on the last one! And we were pushed to go faster each time we did it....thanks Tony & Mick for your encouragement and push. I probably would have slowed down way before the end of each one if you guys hadn't been there (slacker that I am!!).
Michelle and I discussed afterwards why we actually want to do the speed work and it's not really to run faster, but more to become stronger so that we still have a bit of energy in our legs near the end of our runs. This is much more important to us than actually getting a faster time (but that would be nice too!).
I had Gav on tonight but I did a stupid thing before I left home. I was playing around with the settings (like you do!) and I turned off the lap timer thingy so I don't have all the separate data from each time we ran flat out....I've turned it back on now, but do you think I could find the place where it was located so that I could turn it back on before we started doing the sprints.....and I forgot to start Gav on one of the sprints as well, so I'm 500 metres short on all data. Oh well, practice makes perfect!
Tuesday 7th February
Exercise: 10km Run (Mullum Mullum Creek Trail)
The pain was just starting to ease in the legs and now I'm back to hobbling around like a 90 year old!
Met up with Michelle for a 6am run. It's funny that I probably wouldn't have got out of bed to go to the gym this morning, but as long as I know that someone is relying on me, I'll be there no matter what! It was much cooler this morning and I actually wore a long sleeved top! The kookaburras were laughing at me!
I had one of those moments yesterday at work where I was craving chocolate so badly. Normally I'd just give in to it and go grab something from the machine, but instead I rang Hubby and he talked me through the craving (phew!). Instead I had one of those lovely Jarrah Chocolatte drinks as there was a jar of it in my drawer, but I was this close to getting the chocolate out of the machine....don't you just love a supportive husband!!
I'm doing speedwork tomorrow evening with the running group. I can't remember the last time I actually ran really fast. Michelle and I normally run at a steady pace so that we make it to the finish line without feeling like we're about to die. We normally do a little sprint right at the end, which makes us feel like we're about to die though!! So I'm going to be entering a bit of a dark zone. Will let you know how I go.
Sunday 5th February
Exercise: 18.5km (Dandy Creek Trail)
I wasn't intending on doing as many kilometres as we ran today, but nature called and the toilets were at Jells Park, so we ran there. I haven't run this far for such a long time, but it just goes to show that I'm not as unfit as I thought....that's good in my book!
I took Gav (Garmin 301) out today for his inaugral run (sp?). And he did me proud. I'd set it so that he beeped every kilometre, which he did. He also told me at what pace I was running, and even told me to slow down when I was running too fast (like that's ever really going to happen!!). I must have set it wrong for him to keep telling me that. I also had the heart rate monitor on so I knew my heart rate at a glance. Must remember to put some bodyglide underneath it as it did rub a little bit (painful when I got in the shower that's for sure!).
Then after the run he also told me how many calories I'd burned and what my average pace was. I haven't actually downloaded the info onto the Training Centre software yet. This gives me alot more stats to play around with.
My legs are a bit tired now, but as long as I give them a really good stretch tomorrow and maybe a bit of tiger balm, I'm hoping that they will come good quickly.
Thankyou to everyone for your kind birthday wishes. It was a lovely day. We ended up going to a place called Bar Bosh, which is over at Knox City. Has a kind of turkish theme. Very nice food. And I seem to have lost the use of my new mobile phone as my daughter has discovered that there are games on it, Sonic The Hedgehog being one, so she seems to be in possession of it the majority of the time. All I seem to do is keep charging it back up!
Wednesday 1st February
Exercise: 10km Run (Mullum Mullum Creek Trail)
For all you people who don't get out of bed early, it's now back to being dark at 6am. It was a bit weird running in the dark, but at least there was me and Michelle. I wouldn't have done it on my own that's for sure!
It was a really easy run, which was fine by me. I can't believe how hard it was on Sunday compared to this morning's run. Wish I'd felt as good on Sunday. I am so going to have to work on my hills and inclines as this really seems to zap any kind of energy I might have on a run. Ferny Creek is looking good again.
Well I'm off out for a nice feed and some lovely bubbly!!
Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me!!
Oh yeah, I got a new Panasonic VS3 Mobile Phone and a Garmin Forerunner 301 as pressies!! How lucky am I!!
