Monday 31st July
Exercise: Spin Class
I dragged myself out of bed this morning to do a spin class at the gym. I almost didn't get out of bed, but as I didn't actually feel too unwell, I talked myself into getting up and going.
And I'm so glad that I did. It was a really good class. I thought that perhaps it might cause me a bit of pain in my knees, but there was none at all. I think I'll make this a regular class. It was nice to keep the legs moving after a long run but without all the jarring that running brings to them.
Now for the whinge!! I'm sick. Went to work feeling a bit lightheaded and with a sore throat. By the time I sat at my desk my body had started to get the chills and aches. I had to clear up a few things before I could leave, so didn't actually get to sit down on my couch and feel sorry for myself until about 2pm. Then the aches really kicked in.
I took a couple of flu tablets later in the afternoon and miraculously the aches have now gone. It's just my throat that's giving me grief. Feels like someone has shoved a huge piece of sandpaper down there. Very hard to swallow. Have been sucking on Butter Menthols all afternoon (can't stomach anything stronger).
Luckily my boss is overseas until Wednesday so at least I don't have to worry that I'm not there for him. I'll probably take tomorrow off to try and rest but will have to go back in to work on Wednesday (that's when he's back). Just hope that I don't spread too many germs!!
Won't be playing Netball tonight and I'll miss my run with Michelle tomorrow morning too. Bummer.
On a good note, I haven't eaten any chocolate since Friday...YAY! But saying that, I don't feel like eating anything at all at the moment. The appetite definitely disappears when I'm feeling unwell. The only thing I want at the moment is Chocolate Milk.....Oh, does that count as eating Chocolate??
Alana's Quote: "You're such a smarty pants Dad!"
Sunday 30th July
Exercise: 20km Run - Dandy Creek Trail
Michelle didn't want to run early this morning so it was nice to get up a bit later. I still had to get up farily early so that I had enough time for my breakfast to settle.
The weather was really kind to us. It was a bit windy, but the sun stayed out pretty much most of the time we were out running. And there were so many people on the trail too. We ran towards The Basin, rather than over to Jells Park for a change. The scenery is absolutely beautiful. Running towards the hills, with the Dandenongs in full view is just amazing. Check it out below: (sorry, another crappy picture!)
This is where we ran:
I didn't run too well though. I have a sore lower back, which I've had for over a week now, my right calf if very tight and has been since last Sunday, and my ITB in my right knee is also playing up. I didn't wear my skins today as it was fairly warm, but I noticed pretty much straight away that my knee didn't feel supported at all. And of course I'm hobbling around like an old woman now!! Must call Corrie and arrange a massage. Hopefully she'll be able to fix me up.
I want to thank you all for your supportive comments. I don't feel so bad knowing that I'm not the only one who just can't say NO to chocolate. I'm happy to report that none has passed my lips today....hooray!! And what was it Stu said - oh yeah "Chocolate is yuk, chocolate is yuk!!"
I don't think I'm going to be able to beat this cold/flu thing. My throat is becoming progressively sorer and my nose is now starting to run quite a lot. I did everything in my power to keep the bugs at bay even resorting, as Rae also did, to following Hubby around with the Glen 20 and spraying everything that he touched and everywhere that he sat or laid. I probably needed to start doing this when Alana was sick rather than waiting until Hubby got the bug. Oh well, I'll just see how it all pans out.
Alana's Quote: "Dad how come you always whinge about it and I never do?" (talking about playing her PSP!!)
Saturday 29th July
Hi, my name is J and I'm an addict.
Yep, that's right, I have to admit that I am totally addicted to chocolate. I don't think there is a day goes by where I don't shove some form of chocolate into my big gob!!
I would also go so far as to say that I would be close to being called a binge eater of the stuff. I'm definitely not at the bulimic stage, but all the traits are there, and if I got that desparate, I wouldn't even think twice about puking!! (Gasp...I know, I know!!) Yesterday was a prime example. There were chocolate biscuits in the tin at work, so I grabbed a handful to have with my coffee in the morning. I then went home for lunch and ate normally (ham and cheese sandwich). I then made a beeline for the supermarket, which is located on the way back to work, and picked up a packet of chocolate bullets, a packet of smarties and a small packet of caramello chocettes.
The smarties were eaten on the way back to work, followed by the chocettes once I'd got back to my desk. The bullets wern't far behind them. I felt a bit sick after I'd gorged myself, but within about an hour I considered getting more chocolate biscuits from the tin. The only reason I didn't was because I had to get up and walk into the meeting room, which I couldn't be bothered doing as I was so full and bloated!!
My hubby is the most supportive person I know, yet I am always too ashamed to admit to him what I've eaten, even though I know that he will never judge me. I do eventually tell him, but it's normally only after he's guessed that maybe I've eaten junk. And the only reason he can tell is because I'm normally too full to eat any dinner and end up eating nothing at all in the evening becuase I just cannot justify eating any more food.
I don't know what to do about this problem, and it really is a problem. I feel like such a fraud as I put on this huge front so people think that I'm this real healthy, fit person, whereas all I'm doing is trying to keep the fat off by exercising like crazy!!
My bingeing is strictly limited to work time. Once I get home there is far too much for me to do to even consider eating. Work is the problem. I am bored most of the time. I do not have enough work to keep me busy. I can count on two hands the amount of days that I've been busy all day. And on those days the thought of eating doesn't even enter my head. So I can pinpoint the bingeing to boredom. But how do I fill in that time? I can't really turn around and tell my boss that I'm bored!! And I do actually like my job so I wouldn't really consider looking for something else, but I need to fill in my time.
Hubby has suggested that maybe I could go back through some of my computing books to try and pick up Javascript and VB script again. I failed miserably at both of these languages previously. It's definitely something to think about. I could always get back into web site designing, something I really enjoyed during the course I did.
Anyone want a basic website built for them???
I want to learn to speak French. I have always had a yearning to learn French, but when I did take a language course it was in Japanese instead!! God only knows why I chose one of the hardest languages in the world to learn, but I did that for a year. Of course I can't remember any of it! So maybe I could find a website that offers free french lessons. I could sit at my desk with my headphones (when my boss isn't around of course!!) and chat to myself in French - Oui??
Okay, I've rambled for long enough. Thanks for listening!
Friday 28th July
Well everything has gone to pot!!
I wanted to do a body attack class last night as I really enjoyed it last week.
BUT....I got home to find a very sick hubby tucked up on the couch with a thick blanket and a hot water bottle, filling the house with flu germs!!
So of course I couldn't go and leave him could I?? Wouldn't have been very fair to dump Alana on him and swan off to do the class.
Instead I thought that I'd get up early and do a pump class this morning at the gym. I've had a bit of a niggle in my lower back since last week and it hasn't really gone away. Last night it really kicked in and now I have a very sore spot!! I didn't go. Woke up when the alarm went off and it was still quite painful so thought I'd better do the right thing and rest it.
Hubby and I were supposed to be going up to town for a night out (it was his birthday this week). We were going to stay at the Rialto on Collins. I've had to ring up this morning and cancel as there's no way that he's going to be well enough to do anything on the weekend.
This also means rescheduling my long run as I was going to run with Michelle tomorrow morning while Hubby took Alana to Gymnastics. I'll now take her, which means the long run is out. Will probably run with Michelle on Sunday now, if she can make it.
Alana was also looking forward to staying over at Michelle's house tomorrow night(babysitter) and I've had to let Alana know that she's not going now. She wasn't very happy about that, especially when she found out that they have Sing Star on PS2!!
So it looks like I'll be donning the nurses uniform for Hubby(ooh er!!), trying to keep Alana entertained, and avoiding germs at all costs!! I've got a little bit of a sore throat at the moment, but if I keep up the vitamins, exercise and total denial of getting flu/cold I should be right!!
And I will get around to reading everyone's blogs soon. Work has been absolutely manic this week!!
Alana's Quote: "Mum this is just so ridiculous!"
Thursday 27th July
Exercise: 10.2km Run - Croydon Hills
Had to change our run to an early morning one as Michelle had a lunch time appointment today. We decided to run some hills, even though both of us were whining and moaning about it before we even started running!! Michelle met me at my place and we set out in the gloom and fog!!
Our first hill was probably the steepest. Great start there. Both of us were totally out of breath and gasping for air, calves screaming, within about 10 minutes of the run.
The rest of the run was a doddle in comparison, with alot of rolling hills. We waved as we ran past Beki's place!
And of course we had to run back up the last hill that we'd barrelled down at the start of the run, so a good hill to end the run also.
Funny, but I really enjoyed it. Was great to run somewhere different, even if it was all pavement. There were quite a few people about running or walking their dogs and loads of cars on the roads, so it felt quite safe too. Will definitely do that run again.
Here's a map of whre we ran:
You can see a few inconsistencies where the GPS was out.
Alana's Quote: "Geez Dad are you trying to annoy me?"
Tuesday 25th July
Exercise: 10km Run - Mullum Mullum Creek Trail
The fog this morning really kept the temperatures down so it was a pretty nippy 10km run Michelle and I had. And out my way the fog didn't actually lift till about 2pm!!
I picked up my new trainers last week (can't remember if I told you all the saga!) anyway they are not the yellow and white ones that I currently have and was expecting as they are exactly the same shoe that I ordered last time. The new ones I got are blue and white. Now being the girly girl that I am, I much prefer the yellow and white ones and wrote back to the people that I bought them from explaining this and asking what the difference was.
The people responded by saying they were happy to change them for the yellow and white ones, but of course it means that I have to send them back to Scotland which is going to cost me about $30, in which case I could have easily picked them up here for the extra cost.
I got another email back explaining that the reason they are a different colour is because they brought out a spring/summer one (the yellow and white) and an autumn/winter one (blue and white) so in effect I have the newer version. I have decided to live with them as I couldn't justify spending an extra $30 just because of the colour!!
Alana's Quote: "Oh no, Dad's got the sniffers!" (she meant sniffles).
Monday 24th July
Exercise: Netball Game
Calves are still quite sore, so I was hobbling around a little bit today. Luckily all seems fine with my knee, which was also quite tender after the 1/2 yesterday.
It's my lower back which is probably the sorest (is that a word??). I made the most of the good weather on the weekend and did alot of gardening, mostly weeding where I was bent over. The back now hurts too. At least the quads aren't sore!!
It was our first Netball game of the season....and we won!! I really didn't want to play tonight as I hadn't had a very good day at work, I'd had a pretty crappy night's sleep as my daughter is not very well and I had to get up to her a couple of times, so by the time I got home the last thing I wanted to do was get changed and walk back out the door to play Netball. A nice glass of champers and some junk food was more what I had in mind!!
Glad to say that I'm feeling much better now. It's amazing how doing exercise can really wipe out all those crappy, pityful, woe is me type thoughts!!
Okay, off to bed as I've got to get up early to meet Michelle in the morning!!
Sunday 23rd July
Exercise: Sri Chinmoy Princes Park 1/2 Marathon
When I went to bed last night I had to put some Tiger Balm on my calves as they were still very sore from doing both the Body Attack class on Thursday night and the Body Pump class on Friday morning. I really wanted to wake up and not have sore calves.
Woke up this morning with sore calves (sigh!). Knowing that Michelle and I were only going to be running at 6.15 pace gave me some encouragement that I would probably get through it without too much pain.
Met up with all the usual suspects once we got to Princes Park. It had rained a little bit on the way there and I was praying that it would stop once we got there....which it did!!
Michelle was actually doing the 30km event today, and as I was only running the 1/2 marathon, she had to do a 1.1km dog leg with me at the start of the race so that we could continue to run together, so she actually ran 31.1km!!
Started off well, trying to keep to our pace. The only downside of today's run was the other dog leg which was a nice incline down the hill, followed by a short, but very sharp rise up a hill, followed by a nice downhill bit again, then the turnaround, which meant that we had to run back up the hill that we'd just come down, back down a short, but sharp, hill and then back up onto the main track again....after the first time all I could think about was that I was going to have to do that another 3 times!!!
And to make it even worse, every time we ran past the start/finish line we could smell the pancakes they were cooking for everyone who had finished....aagghhh!!
My calves started to give out on the last lap, and I did have to have a little walk on one of the uphill bits on the dog leg.
I passed Gav over to Michelle just before I finshed so that she could keep herself on track and could see what her pace was. Oops - Michelle now wants a Garmin!!
Finished in 2.08, which was just fine with me, especially as we wern't racing, and also taking into account the 2 minute toilet break during the run!! I was very disappointed to see that they were nearly out of pancake mixture, so I was rationed to only 1 pancake!! And after all the effort I'd taken to bring my lemon and sugar too!!
Waited for everyone to finish the 30km's. Michelle did really well, and ran the last 10km in about 54 minutes!!
A huge congratulations to Emma, who had a fantastic run today in the 5km event - Way to go Em!!
Here are some photos from today. Click the thumbnails to enlarge!!
Alana's Quote: "Mum, you're not stupid!!"
Friday 21st July
Exercise: Body Pump Class - Gym
Oh how my calves screamed at me this morning when doing lunges!! Because the Body Attack class I did last night is pretty much jumping up and down the whole time, the poor old calves really copped a pounding!
I added a bit more weight this morning and it felt fine. I'm feeling a little bit achy right now, but that could be a combination of the weights and also the arm movements from last night, as we had our arms punching in the air or out front for the majority of the time!!
On the weather front...WTF!!!
Check out the temperature when when I put my little tooties out of the bed this morning (5.30am)!
Got sent an email yesterday which had loads of different slogans that had been seen on t-shirts. Reminds me of the black t-shirt I've got in my drawer that was given to me as a christmas present one year. It says:
"Oi, stop staring at my tits!!"
The writing is quite small so you have to be quite close to read it. You can probably understand why I don't wear it out too often!!
Am toying with the idea of playing a game of Squash tonight, but don't want to totally kill myself when I know that I've got a 1/2 Marathon on Sunday. I suppose I could use tomorrow as a rest day....hmmm!!
Thursday 20th July (Part 2)
Exercise: Body Attack Class - Gym
OMFG!!! I've just come back from this class. It's the first time that I've been to one of these classes as they haven't had them at my gym before now. What can I say - it was so awesome. I absolutely loved it.
If you want a continuous high impact, sweat inducing, heart rate raising workout, then this is the one for you. The girl who took the class said that you can burn off 1000 calories doing this class....I'm there every week if that's the case!!
I felt a little bit of pulling in my knee on a couple of moves, and I realised that my ankles have very little strength in them as we did this shuffling sideways move (fast shuffling), and this killed!! Must try and do some skiing moves to strengthen them a bit.
The only down side to this class is that it's at 6.30pm so hubby is going to have to get home by 6pm for me to get there. I wonder if I ask them nicely enough, they might consider putting this class on a Monday morning, early, as there's nothing going on then. Can only try!!
Thursday 20th July
Exercise: 10km Run - Lunchtime - North Croydon
How fantastic was the weather today!! Beautiful clear blue skies, hardly any wind.....perfect!! You wouldn't have believed it at 8.00 this morning though. Fog, and I mean thick fog, right through the valley. It was only when you got up a bit higher that it cleared.
Anway it was a lovely run in the sunshine (it had cleared by midday) and makes me long even more for summer.
I have a goal. I want to run the Paris Marathon in 2008. I've got no idea where this goal came from, but it just came to me yesterday. It is run the week before the London Marathon, so I can do Paris, then jet over to the UK to watch the London Marathon, catch up with all my family and friends while I'm there and have a great shopping trip while in London. I've also asked Michelle if she wants to come with me. I think she fell off her chair! It shouldn't cost more than about $2,500 as we won't have to pay for accommodation in the UK, and if we make Paris a quick stop that shouldn't cost too much for accommodation either. Better start saving my pennies!!
Alana's Quote: "Mum this is the best thing you've ever bought me!" (it was a dressing gown!!)
Wednesday 19th July
Exercise: 5km Run - Treadmill, 30 Mins Cross Trainer
Hubby made it really easy for me to get out of bed this morning to go down to the gym. He said that if I went to the gym he'd get up early and get Alana ready for school...works for me!!
Had an easy 5km run on the treadmill. The time seemed to go by very quickly for some reason. Still wouldn't say that the run was enjoyable, but I felt like I worked hard at it, especially if the amount of sweat surrounding me is anything to go by!!
Just can't seem to work out this weather at the moment. There was ice on the car windows this morning, yet by 8.30am the sun is shining and it's a beautiful winters day!! I heard that it's going to be 40 degrees in the UK today. Can you imagine all the whinging going on over there about the heat!! I'm not sure how they're going to cope with it as so many places, whether it be house, shop, pub, school, work etc don't have air conditioning and are just not set up to deal with the heat. It'll be sticky, that's for sure!
I've come to the conclusion that I have become a very impatient person. Am I the only person who gets stuck behind the driver who does 10km under the speed limit, or ends up in the queue at the supermarket that has the slowest checkout person serving, or drives up to the petrol station and ends up behind the person who is the slowest EVER putting petrol in their car...aaaghhhh!!!
Alana's Quote: "It's okay Mum, we'll just buy some more!" (said after losing her school shoes at After School Care.)
Tuesday 18th July
Exercise: 10km Run - Mullum Mullum Creek Trail
What a difference in temperature this morning to the last week. It was so mild I didn't even consider putting my gloves on. Still had my jacket on but took it off about halfway into the run. And it's getting lighter too - Woohoo!!
I love daylight savings. I would have it all year round if I could, but I do understand that for some people that just wouldn't work (e.g. farmers!!). I'm so looking forward to the long warm evenings again. It was so enjoyable meeting up with the Ausrun crew for an evening run around the lake (when I made the effort to get off my fat ass and get down there!!).
My new trainers have arrived. Got a docket in the post last night to say they were at the post office ready for a pick up (they need a signature) so I'm going to try and pop in at lunch time to get them. I'll probably retire the current Hurricane 6's in favour of the new 7's as they are just so much more comfortable to run in and my toe doesn't hurt at all. This can't be a bad thing now can it!!
My girlfriend in the UK had a little baby boy, Jamie Jack. I got to talk to her last night and she just sounded on top of the world....tired, but on top of the world. I've been buying bits and pieces for her since I found out that she was going to have a boy, but didn't want to send anything until I knew for sure, so there's a big box of stuff heading her way today (didn't realise how much I'd actually bought her!!).
Alana's Quote: "Dad we need to have a pep talk!"
Sunday 16th July
Exercise: 10km Run - Yarra Trail
As a few other Ausrunners have commented, the trail that we ran last week is one of the nicer ones that I've run along, so Michelle and I decided to do a short run there. I wasn't going to run today, but after a few glasses of champers last night, I got a case of the guilts so rang Michelle to see if she was up for it. Luckily she'd had a few glasses too and agreed that it was a great idea!!
We were both adament that we didn't want to run early as a sleep in was definitely the order of the day - 8am is now a sleep in for me!! Unfortunately we missed the early morning group run, which is always fun.
I was planning on a 15km run, but due to unforseen circumstance, we cut it down to 10km. We were very lucky with the weather. No rain at all - we even thought the sun was going to appear at one stage. And a lovely Kangaroo came down to the trail to say hello, and even joined us for a little while, before bounding off into one of the paddocks.
Yesterday was a complete writeoff. I was sore from doing the pump class and then running at lunchtime on Friday so decided to have a day to recuperate. The weather also made my decision not to run even easier. How crappy was it. Just seemed to rain all day long, and on days like these I just hibernate inside and do nothing other than veg on the couch with a hot cup of coffee and a good movie or 10 to watch.
I've also had a text message to say that my girlfriend in the UK has gone into labour, so I'm anxiously waiting to hear how she went....exciting or what!!
Alana's Quote: " Dad you're ruining my life"
Friday 14th July (Part 2)
Exercise: 10km Run - North Croydon (Lunchtime)
As yesterday's run with Michelle was postponed, we ran today. I wasn't sure how I was going to go as my legs were a little tired from this morning's pump class. I also had a little niggle in my knee, probably from the lunges.
We set off really slowly and my knee was giving me a little bit of trouble, but after about 10 minutes it seemed to disappear and was fine after that. We ran "the hill" today as I always tend to avoid them if I can. I want to try and get out of that habit as I think that hills are great training for speed and strength. So I'm going to actively go looking for them on my shorter runs now.
When I was in the UK I worked for Surrey Police and their head office was on top of a hill, so if I went for a run at lunchtime I always had to run up this huge bloody hill to get back to work. I got good at running up hills!!
I signed up for the Sri Chinmoy Princes Park 1/2 Marathon this week. Michelle is going to do the 30km run so I'll run with her for 3/4 of the race and then she'll run the last bit whilst I get the pancakes organised!! I'm going to take lemon juice and sugar with me as they only have honey there and I don't like honey (fussy cow that I am!). Will be nice to catch up with the Ausrun crew as many of them will be in attendance.
Alana's Quote: "Mum you're killing me!" (I gave her vegetables covered in Cheese Sauce for dinner)
Friday 14th July
Exercise: Body Pump Class
I knew it was cold this morning when I heard the heating turn on at 5.30am. This means that it went down past the minimum temp for the house at night, which I think is 12 degrees. Whenever the heating comes on before it's supposed to, I know it's cold!!
But saying that, I had a fantastic night's sleep. I seem to sleep much better when it's cold. I'm starting to get really warm during the night and most nights I wake up in a sweat, so maybe I'm on the edge of that thing older women go through!!
The pump class was great this morning. I put some heavier weights on today and I really felt like I worked my muscles. Might be in a bit of pain tomorrow!
Did anyone see the show "Honey we're killing the kids"? Hmmmm. Must get more fruit and veggies into Alana!!
Alana's Quote: "Don't lie to me Daddy!"
Thursday 13th July
Exercise: 35 mins Cross Trainer (Gym)
Michelle couldn't meet me for our lunchtime run today, due to unforseen circumstances, so I was in two minds about what to do. I didn't want to go for a run on my own, especially because I didn't have my MP3 player with me.
I had it in my mind not to bother doing anything and then maybe go to the gym after work for a run on the treadmill. I knew at the back of my mind that this probably wasn't going to happen.
So I chuffed off to the gym at lunchtime, with a bit of a push from Michelle, and jumped on the cross trainer. Pushed myself pretty hard as well so I was well and truly sweating by the time I finished. The only downside of doing exercise at lunchtime is that it ruins my nicely straightened hair!
Michelle and I are going to run tomorrow lunch time instead.....and I'm doing a pump class tomorrow morning. Going to up the weights a bit and see how I go!!
I bought another pair of Saucony Hurricane Grid 7's on Ebay the other day, from the same place that I got the last pair. Couldn't resist it, they were such a good price. I'll need to chuck out the old pair of Hurricane 6's though to make room for the new ones! They served me well - over 850km running distance.
And my new running skirts arrived in the mail today. Looking forward to the warmer weather so that I can try them out (if I dare!!).
Alana's Quote: "So where does the shell go?" (I was explaining how babies are made!)
Tuesday 11th July
Exercise: 10km Run - Mullum Mullum Creek Trail
How windy was it last night!! There were quite a few big branches across the trail this morning. Luckily the moon was out so it wasn't too hard to see them.
A nice easy 10km.
Very busy at work today so can't really chat!
Alana's Quote: "Did you just call me a bitch?" (she overheard a conversation I was having with Hubby about someone!!)
Sunday 9th July
Exercise: 17km Run - Yarra Trail
A really good turnout this morning for our long run. Think there were 11 of us - let me see.....Me, Michelle, Beki, EJM, Eat Em, PetalJuice, Joffa, Nimrod, TigerBoy, Ron and Bernie - Yep that makes 11!!
I've never been on this trail before and it was absolutely gorgeous. We ended up at Westerfolds Park and did a lap of that before heading back. Michelle went off with the "Marathon Group" at that point to get some more mileage in, while I ran with Bernie and Ron. It was like running with Laurel and Hardy, they had me in stitches the whole time.
On the way back we saw some wild kangaroos just hanging out in a paddock. How cool is that!!
It was a really comfortable run this morning and I felt like I could have done some extra mileage but was happy with the distance that I did run as I have to take into consideration that I also ran yesterday, which I don't normally do!
Waited for Michelle and that lot to get back, but was really cold by then and Eat Em commented that I had blue lips. I know that it took me ages to get my fingers warm again. They were still tingling when I got into the shower!!
This is a trail that I'd love to run again, as it's not too hilly (sorry Joffa) and there is plenty of trail to run!
My apologies for the crappy photos. Not sure why my phone doesn't take better photos!!
Saturday 8th July
Exercise: 7km - Croydon
I felt like I was flying this morning.....well for me I was flying. Did 7km in just over 37 minutes. Couldn't believe it when I stopped Gav and checked the stats!! That's the fastest I've run for a long time!!
My bum is a bit sore from the pump class yesterday. I knew the squats were going to do this to me, so last night I really thought that I'd got away without any pain as I wasn't hurting at all!! Unfortunately I woke this morinig with bum pain!!
Saw my Mum this morning as well. She was just coming out of her circuit class at the Leisure Centre, which is where Alana does her gymnastics. I love that my Mum is into her exercise. Gives me a good feeling to know that she's keeping herself well!
Alana's Quote: "Mum, when am I going to get big boobies?"
Friday 7th July
Exercise: Body Pump Class
Having never done this class before I was unsure what to expect. The instructor was lovely and when I told her that I hadn't done a pump class before she took the time to show me what I needed and how the class worked....okay, great so far!!
I put 1kg weights on each end of the bar. Looking around the room, everyone, and I mean everyone, had heavier weights than me and I was so tempted to put heavier ones on, but my voice of reason grabbed me by the hair and reminded me that I would regret it dearly if I even stepped over towards where the weights were stored.
To cut a long story short, I really enjoyed the class. I know that I could have done the whole class with heavier weights and got through it okay, but it was good to concentrate on the techniques involved rather than the weights I was lifting.
The only downside (if there was one) were the squats and lunges that we did as I've got a long run on Sunday and the instructor did say that I would probably hurt a bit for the next couple of days. Just hope it doesn't infringe too much on my running, otherwise I'll be looking for a piggyback from one of the guys on the way back to the car!!
I am definitely going to do the class again next Friday, but this time will experiment with the weights and what I'm comfortable lifting. And the good thing about doing a 6.15am class is that it wasn't busy. There were probably between 15 and 20 women so there was plenty of room to spread out.
Still haven't heard back from the organisers of the Melbourne Marathon. Might give them a call this afternoon (yes I'm an impatient cow sometimes!!).
Alana has rejoined gymnastics on a Saturday morning so I have the perfect opportunity to go for a 7 or 8km run. Just drop her off at the door and pick her up when she's finished!! Just have to decide where I want to run. It'll mostly be on concrete as there's not any trails locally...oh well, just have to take what I can get!
Alana's Quote: " I don't want to hear it!"
Thursday 6th July
Exercise: 5km Run/Walk - Local Streets
The alarm scared the pants off me when it went off this morning. And I was in the middle of having a really fantastic dream!
It's such a nice feeling to help someone else get started doing something. I met Michelle (another one!) at the end of the road and we headed out into the darkness with the horse/dog leading the way! We ended up doing 1 minute of running with 3 minutes of walking. It worked quite well as she was still able to talk even when running. I dropped her off as we walked past her house and then ran home, which was about a kilometre.
Had my massage last night. My legs definitely didn't feel so tight and knotty like they did last time, although I have a bit of a problem with my right hamstring. No sooner had CV managed to loosen and relax it, it tightened up again. Hopefully it will learn to loosen and stay loose with time and more manipulation. And the legs did feel good this morning when I ran home.
Looking forward to doing the pump class tomorrow morning.....must keep remembering "light weights, light weights!!"
Alana's Quote: Me: "Come on Alana, it's time to get out of bed"
Alana: "Can you help me, it's too hard!"
Wednesday 5th July
Exercise: Weights, Situps
I knew that I had to go to the gym this morning but just didn't know exactly what I wanted to do when I got there!! I looked at the treadmill and shook my head, jumped on the cross trainer, which lasted for all of 5 minutes, so decided that the only thing left was to do some weights, which was still not something that excited me!! But at least I got my a*se out of bed and did something. So I'm happy with that.
What I really wanted to do was go for a run outside. But 6am is just too early to run on my own, I just wouldn't feel safe. Can't wait for the mornings to get lighter....sigh!
I've actually conned one of the girls I work with to come out with me tomorrow morning (early). She lives in the next street up from me and wants to start running so I have offered to walk/run with her once a week. We should be quite safe as she will have her massive 65kg dog/horse with her.
And I'm going to do my first Body Pump class on Friday morning at the gym. The above mentioned girl has just joined the gym that I go to and wants to try Body Pump, so I offered to join her! Must remember - light weights to start!!
I sent an email to the Melbourne Marathon organisers asking if I could pay for a 1/2 marathon entry and then wait at the 1/2 marathon start for Michelle and join her then. Am waiting for a response....(taps fingers impatiently).
Off to see CV again tonight for another massage. I'm really looking forward to it, even though I know it's going to be, shall we say, "uncomfortable". Just love how my muscles feel so loose and flexible afterwards. I would say that it could possibly become addictive!
Alana's Quote:"I'm trying to concentrate here!"
Tuesday 4th July
Exercise: 10km Run - Mullum Mullum Creek Trail
Don't you just hate it when you wake up about 30 minutes before the alarm goes off feeling totally wide awake and ready to go, then fall back asleep again and wake up totally yuck when the alarm goes off!! Should have got up the first time I woke up!!
I was fully layered up this morning for the cold weather, but once I'd been running for about 10 minutes, realised that it was actually not as cold as I'd thought it was going to be. The gloves came off pretty quickly, as did the jacket.
I'm so loving my new Hurricane 7's. May have to buy another pair to replace my current 6's as they're much better to run in. The 6's feel very heavy and I really don't run very well in them. They've only done about 240km but they feel tired and worn out already!
I've decided that I'm not going to enter the Melbourne Marathon in October doing the 1/2 or the 10km. I'm going to meet Michelle at the start of the 1/2 and run it with her as she passes by (as a non participant). Hopefully it'll help her get through her first marathon without too much difficulty. This way there is no pressure on me to do good times or finish, just to keep Michelle moving!
Alana's Quote: "Mum what did you do THAT for?" (Questioning my driving again!!)
Saturday 1st July
Exercise: 20km Run - Dandy Creek Trail
I met Michelle at Jells Park this morning. She ran from Boronia Road, so had already run 11km before she met up with me. The weather was looking a bit dodgy with the possibility of rain so we started out pretty much as soon as Michelle arrived.
The wind was quite strong so we got buffeted around a bit, but still managed a good pace, even though Gav kept telling us to slow down!! The turnaround at the 10km mark came up pretty quickly (which made a change!!). Running back we ran most of the way into a headwind. This really seemed to knock alot of energy out of us, but the thought of getting rained on kept me running!
I had the day off yesterday and even though I really wanted to go for a run, there were so many other things on my list of things to do that I didn't actually get the chance to go. However I did manage to get 4 loads of washing done and most of it dried outside (so nice not to have washing all over the house drying!).
I'm going to a Champagne breakfast house warming tomorrow morning, so I'm hoping to get up early to go for a quick 5km run....as long as I get up early enough!
Alana's Quote: "Go on Mum, you know you should say yes to me!"
