Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Looking back; looking forward....

But first, today's activities.

Morning - easy medium long run
Distance - 14km
Time taken - 1hr 15.45min
Av pace - 5.24min/km
AHR - 144; MHR - 162
Calories - 777

Very sluggish this morning; so much so that Garmin Girl was ahead of me for the first 3 kilometres, I was struggling. So I decided to have a GU at this point rather than wait until I had run 10km. This seemed to help as I picked up the pace and gradually moved ahead of garmin girl. It was overcast and coolish this morning - such a change from earlier in the week, when it was soooo hot. It seemed like everyone was out walking their dog this morning - such an assortment of breeds and sizes from those the size of an overgrown rat to pony size, from the over-friendly to the snapping and snarling (and fortunately on their leash), from pedigrees to scruffy bitzas. Tomorrow is a 10km run with some hill repeats - hmm, wonder what the glute is going to think of that.

Had a lovely lunch (Greek salad) with MrB and then it was off for my nail appointment. I have to confess that this was a first for me - my nails have been very neglected over the years so I finally decided to treat myself to gel nails in a french polish. They look so good!

Then it was off to the gym.....
for a lower body weights session (stability) and abs workout.
There were a lot more people in the gym this afternoon, probably because I had gone later in the day. I had initially arrived in the carpark, got out to swipe my membership card to get my free parking voucher and then realised that my membership card was in the other bag, at home. !@#$% - got back into the car and headed off home to get my card and then back to the gym. It was really humid in the gym - sweat was dripping off me, especially during the abs workout. But I'm glad I went because earlier in the day I had made up my mind just to run and not go to the gym.

Looking back....2005
It was a mixed bag last year.
* My dad passed away suddenly from a heart infection in March - he was 63. I miss him terribly.
* Started Iyengar yoga and loved it.
* #3 son completed his IT diploma and started work for the first time.
* After a lot of hesitation started blogging - probably one of the best decisions I made as I've met, either virtually or in person, some really lovely people :-)
* Bought a Garmin - a wonderful gadget that has made a difference to my training.
* PB at Sydney marathon - woohoo!!!! Totally unexpected but oh so good!!!
* Injury-wise, the first part of the year I was coming back from surgery; rolled my ankle in September; R glute has been causing a bit of grief for the last few months. Grrr!
* Got to Lindt cafe - coffee and chocolate, bliss!
* Son #3 graduated in November, also turned 21, accepted into an IBM traineeship and started uni...all in the space of a couple of weeks, whew!
* Placed 1st veteran (ie old) woman in the Belconnen Community fun run - received a 1 month gym/pool membership (which I'm currently using)
* Lost 5kg and kept it off!
* House plans approved and building contract signed...scarey!
* Despite being careful with my diet I managed to get iron deficiency anaemia...back to the drawing board.

Looking ahead....2006
* The year of the house - building starts in February...omigod, that's next month!
* More 'me' time - I don't do enough of that.
* Stretch, stretch, stretch and continue with yoga.
* Enjoy my running.
* Healthy diet, with the occasional chocolate, rather than the other way around!
* Its our 25th wedding anniversary this year - definitely something worth celebrating!
* A PB in the Canberra marathon.
* Work on stability/strength issues with the goal of being injury-free.
* Try not to stress out too much.
* Will keep in touch regularly with friends and family, here and far away.
* To laugh more and grumble less.
* Christmas at Surfers!!!
I'm sure there are others that I haven't thought of but this is a good start.

Here's to a wonderful 2006!

12 comments:

strewth said...

2006 is looking good for you! Great that you're back blogging - far too big a gap and no excuse while you're not at work! Wasn't it just so nice being so much cooler today. I could even cope with running in the evening.
Glad you are happy with your nails. Did Jenny or Kate do them?

CJ said...

Jenny did my nails - who does yours? I have an appointment in a fortnight's time. Do you have to keep going back every 2 weeks?

By the way, are you swimming Friday morning? If so, i'll join you for brekkie.

strewth said...

Jenny does my nails too. She went to school with Mandy. I go every 3 or 4 weeks and have an appointment Sat morning. They need desperate attention right now! Not sure about Friday swim yet - depends if I can contact Kirsty tomorrow re dinner in which case I'll let you know so you can join us. If I can't run tomorrow night I'll have to run Friday morning. Also depends on whether my feet are strapped at the physio tomorrow and if that happens I'll want to keep them dry but we could still meet for brekkie anyway?

CJ said...

Happy just to do brekkie!

BuckeyeRunner said...

Happy New Year, CJ! So sorry to hear about your dad. I can't imagine the loss of someone that close to you. I hope that 2006 is a great year for you.

Hilda said...

Great post cj!! Happy New year!!

I've been wondering about the nails too, mine are awful, let me know how they feel while running if you can, ok?

I can see how strong you are after the surgery and also about your father.

It is great that you are about to spend those days at the coast!! Happy holidays!!

E-Speed said...

Happy New Year!

Looks like you have some good plans in place.

Building your own house! How awesome!!!

Lulu said...

Look like you have some good goals for 2006. Having you nails done is a good start to having more time for you so that's a good start.

We went out for dinner on NYE and then watched the fireworks from Dover Heights, on a park that we run past in the C2S. I enjoyed the view more on NYE, probably beacuse I wasn't out of breath!

I hope 2006 is a great year for you, and all your boys.

Katie said...

Laugh more and grumble less... that going to be my motto! What an eventful year! Lots of ups and downs. I bet your Dad is looking down very proud of all that bling you aquried over the year!!

D said...

I'm so sorry about your dad. I can see why 2005 was a mixed bag. You had a strong running year, that is for sure! Here's to a strong 2006 filled with Happiness and PBs!!

Tesso said...

Gee, what a year of ups and downs 2005 was for you CJ. Good to see you've emerged from it with some some great goals.

Rae said...

So sorry to hear of your dad, I'm sure he's looking down and helping carry you through each of your amazing races and tris. I hope 2006 is fantastic for you, you have a great list of goals to accomplish.

Nothing beats a good massage followed by a manicure!! I love getting my nails done!