The best laid plans

On Sunday I drew up a plan for the week that went like this:

Mon - am - 20km run
pm - weights session (lower body)

Tues - am - circuit plus intervals
pm - RPM class

Wed - am - 20km run
pm - weights session (lower body)

Thurs - am - fartlek run
pm - swim

Fri - am - circuit plus intervals

Sat - am - long run (Mt Rob Roy)

Sun - am - Stromlo Stomp

Then things went awry or as they say, the best laid plans......

What really happened:

Mon - dietary (gluten) issues meant there was no running, no anything that day.

Tues - Forgot that the Cross Country Summer Series was starting this week so that meant no RPM class, but I will do the 5km at Stromlo Park instead. Will move the RPM class to Wednesday evening and the weights session (upper body) to Thursday evening.

Wed - I did run about 19km but work issues meant that I didn't leave work until late and so I missed the RPM class. Will do RPM class Thursday evening and forget about a weights session this week.

Thurs - Still planning on doing a fartlek session before meeting Strewth and Mr B for breakfast. However forgot that I have an acupuncture appointment after work so that means no RPM class this week - will try again next week. Will do a weights session (mix of upper and lower body) instead. Will move the swim to the weekend.

Fri, Sat and Sun - still to plan.

And next week I have to factor in classes again as its the start of semester at CIT.

The cross country run on Tuesday was okay - the weather had cooled slightly so it wasn't really hot. The course is two loops of a grass track and the layout plays with your mind. The way it loops around makes you think you have almost finished the loop and then you discover that you actually still have quite a bit more of the loop to complete. Not a good way to be on a hot day. I ran the first loop comfortably which meant come the second loop I could increase my speed marginally and pass runners who had gone out too quickly and were now paying the price - there were a few of those. And normally I would be among them. I finished in 63rd place in a time of 23.29min.

This morning's run was about laps again - this time two laps within the Pinnacle nature park. Its a hilly course that meanders around the boundary of the nature park. It was a pleasant run and a good way to start the day.

We were discussing exercise at work this afternoon and a colleague said she was too tired at the end of the day to even think about going to the gym, or running, or even going for a walk. She couldn't understand how I could do these things. She also mentioned how stressed she was feeling at the moment with the amount of work we have and the numerous deadlines we have to meet. I said "precisely". She looked at me as if I had spoken in Martian or my head had spun around several times. I said "that is precisely why I exercise before and/or after work - especially when I am feeling tired or stressed due to work." On those days when work is hectic, the deadlines are looming and everyone expects just that little bit more, I find that going for a run, or swimming, or going to the gym helps to take my mind off work, allows me some breathing space and I always feel refreshed afterwards. Whereas if I don't exercise I find I get more stressed, more tired and finally I get sick. I think she understood what I was saying but I don't think she was totally convinced. In her mind, remaining stressed seemed an easier option.

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Ewen - you wouldn't wanted to have been within earshot the other day when I realised that my CIT classes clash with the summer series events!!!

Strewth - The thing about pride is it always comes before a fall and you know I'm trying to avoid that. And please note - I have got through January without doing a CJ! (the first time in 3 years, I might add).

Softshoeshuffle - thank you. I may not have been appreciative last Saturday but I am glad I did the last 13km though it damn near killed me. Now about this Saturday..........

Clairie - the saying "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger" kept running through my head last Saturday. It didn't kill me so I'm hoping it made me a little stronger! I've just read your entry for Saturday - we share the pain!

Iiketoast - you're right, it is a long way from a few months ago and I should remind myself of this when things get tough. I have improved.

twofruits - I do blame you!!!! But thank you all the same. This Saturday might be a different story.......

luckylegs - its all about the journey rather than the destination isn't it. Sometimes we get so focused on the end result that we miss so much along the way. I'm still learning this.

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"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say
to yourself, "I have lived through this horror. I can take the next
thing that comes along." . . . You must do the thing you think you
cannot do."
- Eleanor Roosevelt