Its Friday

Another cold night in the icebox (aka the house) followed by another morning at the gym. Below are some words I came across and they really struck a chord. Enjoy!

Now is the time

Whatever happened on the previous attempt doesn't matter anymore. What matters is what you do now.

Though you may have failed once, or numerous times, or a thousand times, that has no bearing on what you're able to do now. In fact, each failed attempt brings you closer to success.

By discovering what does not work, you have more information to help you know what does work. The more you have invested in the goal, the more motivated you are to make it succeed.

Effort is never wasted, even when it leads to disappointing results. For it always makes you stronger, more capable and more experienced.

Now is the time to make use of all that strength and experience. Now is the time to push forward with more commitment and effectiveness than ever before.

Take great satisfaction in where you have been and in how far you have come. Now is your opportunity to make it into real and lasting success. (Ralph Marston)

Have a good weekend everyone and if anyone is racing, enjoy, and here's to PBs all round!

Who turned the heater off?

It has been soooo cold here in Canberra lately – overnight temps have been sub zero; it was minus 7 the other day and about minus 4 this morning plus fog. The house we are currently renting – a lovely old double brick Turner house – is like an icebox in cold weather; it has such inadequate heating (and don’t get me started on the dodgy plumbing). The only positive I can see at the moment is that I must be burning more calories just trying to keep warm – all this without raising a sweat! I am so looking forward to getting back to our house with its ducted heating, double glazed windows and lots of insulation – hopefully next month. So another month of living in an icebox.

Another way of keeping warm in the icebox is doing bike intervals on the windtrainer indoors and that is exactly what I did last night. I have an updated exercise plan for the next 6 weeks and the cycle session was a change from the 10 x 2min intervals that I have been doing.

Cycle session:
5min wu
5min pick up the pace and maintain (light resistance)
Increase 3 gears for 3min
Drop back 2 gears for 2mins
Repeat twice
Increase 4 gears for 3min
Drop back 3 gears for 2min
5min CD

Increasing each time was hard work and I was grinding away by the end for the never-ending 3 mins but the amazing thing was when I dropped back the 2 gears it felt so much easier, and yet before, cycling at that level of resistance was really hard work (if that makes sense).

Yesterday morning
Gym session – legs/arms plus abs/core

I am up to pushing 82kg on the leg press (no need to smirk) and managing more reps on the dumbbell curls – I had so many problems with this particular exercise. However, I have a new resistance and abs/core program starting tomorrow so I’m looking forward to that. I like a variety of exercises. Tomorrow I will be focusing on back and biceps plus abs/core.

This morning
Swim session – 700m, about 15.30min

I must be stark raving mad even contemplating swimming in subzero temperatures. Its an indoor pool but there’s still the walk to and from the pool to endure. However the pool was really warm this morning and I managed 700m –I’m slowly on my way to reaching a km which I will then maintain. So next week I will aim for 800m. There were a couple of guys who got in my lane after me and hogged most of the lane when swimming. The first couple of times I would knock one of the guys with my arm as he was swimming toward me, and I was right over to my side of the lane almost hugging the lane rope. He must have got the hint to move eventually which was lucky for him because there was going to be a fist greeting him next time he swam into me – hehehe pool rage! :-) Following the swim I had brekkie with Strewth - I always look forward to this!

Have a great day everyone!

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Thought for the day: If you rest, you rust – Helen Hayes

Dumb, Dumber, Dumbest

Last night before I hit the gym for my cardio session I dumped my bags in the car and tossed my wallet onto the front seat, fully intending to take it with me. So what did I see when I got back to the car after my session, sitting in full view on the front seat? Yep, my wallet – with credit cards and cash (not a lot but still…). I cannot believe I did something so dumb (well, secretly I can but I have a public image to uphold!) though I have to admit as far as dumb things go, that was probably the dumbest act I’ve committed for a while. Anyone else got any dumb incidents to relate?

Operation Mayday, a 12 week program I started last month is in full swing. I am now in week 7 (not 12)*thanks Strewth, for pointing out the error!* and have lost a total of 2kg but centimetres off my waist, hips and thighs. Yay! Now if I could just budge that problematic ab fat I’d be an ecstatic CJ! I know there are awesome well defined abs underneath the fat somewhere!

So I’ve been gymming, running, cycling (on the windtrainer – its too cold outdoors) and actually feel really good despite being surrounded by people coughing, sneezing, spluttering and making other awful phlegmy noises, yech.

This coming Sunday I am running in the 10km Terry Fox 10km fun run which is followed by pancakes with maple syrup – yum! If I can finish in the top 25 women I’ll be happy – the top 25 get their times recorded.

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"Your only limitations are those you set up in your mind, or permit others to set up for you." - Og Mandino

Suggestions welcome!

Had a few responses for the commandments of running but need more suggestions!

#1: Thou shalt not run so soon after eating

#2: Do not eat "banned substances" on the evening prior to a race ...Curry, Spicey Thai, etc (Iliketoast)

#3: Do not go out into the pouring rain for a run dressed like it is summer! (Kit)

#4: Do not run if you ate a hamburger 4 hours before... (Hilda)

#5: Do not run with children 7 years old... (Hilda)

#6: Thou shalt not run listening to music which is faster than your normal pace (or at least, you won't run for very long). (thanks Deege!)

#7: run while injured or sick (yay, v sensible Go Girl - and haven't we all done that!)

#8: run with very boring shoes on (Go Girl - v important and personally I like red shoes - they go faster)

#9: Fall into the habit of going for gentle jogs with the 4 yo on his bike, and then take his training wheels off - it becomes a speed session! (Tamyka)

#10: Thou shalt not do speed sessions over icy wooden bridges. (Aki)

#11: Thou shalt not run without gloves in minus 2 degrees (or minus anything for that matter! - Strewth)

#12: Thou shalt not run in the dark without a torch or headlamp off-road in the dark! (Strewth speaking from experience)

#13: Thou shalt not run on a Monday, the runner's day of rest (Tuggeranong Don)

#14: Never, ever run with twisted shoe laces! (Hmmm, something you've done Wobbly?)

#15: Thou shalt not forget to put copius amounts of bodyglide/vaseline on before long runs (I can so relate to that Hannah!)

#16: Thou shalt not attempt to engage in conversation with other runners while going up extremely large hills (Hannah)

#17: Do not run if you have an angry dog behind you (or run very very fast Stefano?!)

Well?!.....waiting......

Ten commandments of running

1st Commandment: Thou shalt not run so soon after eating

I broke this commandment yesterday afternoon and very nearly lived to regret it. I had an interval session to do after work so I scoffed down my afternoon tea about 3.15pm and then promptly forgot I had done this. At 3.45pm I was out the door starting my run and for the first 8 x 2min intervals, I felt fine. But then it hit – waves of nausea, indigestion and basically feeling like s**t. I was sooooo relieved when I finished my run and immediately started to feel better when my stomach contents weren't being jiggled. This is something I don’t normally do – generally I eat about an hour and a half before I run but yesterday I wasn’t thinking – probably had something to do with the amount of work I had and the thought that I had to fit in a run somewhere. Never again!

I have no idea what the other 9 commandments might be – suggestions welcome!

Monday morning

Session – gym – legs/arms plus abs/core exercises

Saturday

Session – long run

Distance – 14.7km
Time – 1hr 20.28min
Av pace – 5.27min/km
AHR – 152; MHR – 169

It was a really good run – it really was a ‘fun’ run – non-runners think I’m mad calling any run fun but this one was. It was a lovely morning and I ran around part of Lake Burley Griffin and then home. I’m so glad I decided to run first thing in the morning because the wind picked up later that morning and it ended up being a bitterly cold day.

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There is no telling how many miles you will have to run while chasing a dream ~ Author Unknown

Slo Mo Day

Ever have one of those days when no matter how hard you try you just can’t seem to go any faster or get away any sooner? I am having one of those days today. No matter that I got out of bed at 5.30am with the intention of getting to the gym by 6.15am – I didn’t even get out the door until after 6.30am – and I had packed all my bags the night before. Then at the gym I tried, really tried, to work through my reps and sets but it seemed to take forever and so any idea of getting to work by 8.15am flew out the window. In fact, it was probably 9am before I managed to make it to my desk.

Maybe it’s the weather (its still very wet, grey and miserable), maybe its because it’s the end of the working week or maybe its just because my batteries are running low. Or maybe, its sabotage…..all day yesterday I resisted those yummy Haighs choc coated caramel balls sitting on the table behind me at work but by 5pm when I was here by myself, those damn balls began talking to me. I swear they were whispering “eat me, eat me” behind my back and whatever willpower I had left just crumbled. Ok I‘ll have just one, that will do, well maybe two. But then that would leave 2 left and I will only eat them tomorrow so I may as well eat them now – so I did. When will I ever learn that I will never be happy with just one chocolate, unless its one packet or one bar! So maybe it’s the chocolate that’s slowing me down!

I was planning on running at lunchtime but judging by the gloom outside my window I don’t think that will be happening. This means that I’ll be running both Saturday and Sunday. Oh well, at least I can manage a sleep-in on both those days and still run.

As for the house renovations – I will post some photos as soon as I get organised. Promise!
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Today's Affirmation: I have made a choice to be happy. :-)

Jelly legs

I was particularly hard on my legs yesterday. First I had the weights session in the morning, which focused on legs, and followed this with 20mins on the stepper. Then after work it was on my bike on the windtrainer for the mother of all interval sessions – 10 x 2min efforts with 1 min RI.

Time on bike – 40min, inc 5min WU and 5min CD.
AHR – 132
MHR – 163

Compared to last week, my AHR was about the same but my MHR was a little higher so I must have been working harder! It certainly felt like it. If I don’t lose those lumpy bumpy thighs over the next 7 weeks then nothing will shift them (the lumps and bumps, that is, not my thighs!). I always feel like I’ve put in a hard session after being on my bike.

Wet, wet, wet

Its raining today – something we haven’t seen here for a long while. And I also went swimming and then had brekkie with Strewth and Mr B.

Session – swim
Distance – 600m
Time – 13.09min

A much better swim than last week but I still felt a little uncoordinated – its scary how much fitness and technique I seem to lose after a couple of months of no swimming.

Island problems and other house things

Well, our kitchen has arrived and is being installed – in fact, it should probably be about finished by now. Up until now we have had a relatively problem-free renovation but yesterday that was about to change. I showed up for the site meeting after work to see the architect, the builder, the installer and Mr CJ standing around several cupboard modules, all with extremely worried looks on their faces. Not good, not good. It seems that the island was way too big for the kitchen and looked out of place so they were trying various configurations – it was like moving large lego blocks around. Several hours later the installer (Harry – lovely guy), Mr CJ and I finally came up with a smaller configuration that we can live with – and we only lose one small cupboard. So *fingers crossed* the rest of the installation has gone well. No doubt I will hear from Mr CJ later this afternoon when he goes around to have a look.

The bathroom has been waterproofed, now if they can just find our custom built vanities which seem to have gone missing (from the factory), our bathroom should be completed next week. The tiles will be delivered tomorrow/Monday.

The front door is up (its so cool – I love it) but will get a 2 pack polyurethane coating in black once the house has been completed. The painters will start in a couple of weeks, we just have to decide on colours (more decisions). They will start on the decks soon, and the completion date looks to be the end of June. It’s all looking good (except for the kitchen island issue and hopefully that’s been resolved).

"Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional" - Roger Crawford

Tell me why.......

One thing has got me fascinated when at the gym and its those people who sit on the exercise bikes with a magazine and look like they are going for a gentle cycle. So, what exactly are they achieving by doing what appears to me to be a pointless exercise as they are hardly raising a sweat and I doubt their heart rate gets about their resting rate? As for me, there is no doubts about what I’ve been doing – working my butt off as the sweat is pouring off me – not pretty but effective. I just can’t see the point of going to the gym to read a magazine – there are a lot more comfortable places to do that and sitting on an exercise bike is not one of them…or the stepper for that matter.

This morning’s session – gym – legs/arms + abs/core

The biceps curl exercise is coming along slowly – I am managing to do a couple of extra reps on the 2nd and 3rd sets. I’m still lifting girlie weights but its such hard work. The ab exercise using the 3kg medicine ball ain’t a lot of fun either – buts again, its effective. I think of all the people that annoy me as I’m sitting and twisting (with feet off the floor and sitting leaning back) and lugging the medicine ball from side to side – seems to help!

Yesterday afternoon – cardio session, elliptical trainer

Duration – 20mins
MHR – 167

I was meant to do 40mins: 20mins on the elliptical trainer followed by 20mins on the stepper but after waiting around for what seemed like ages for someone to finish on the stepper machine I decided to cut my losses and do the session the next morning after my weights session (which I did). It was one of those hot and sweaty sessions!

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If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it.
(Jesse Jackson, American civil-rights leader, baptist minister and politician)

Runners aren’t obsessed…..are we?!

The reason I say/ask this is because last night at speedygeoff’s interval session at Parliament House it was hilarious listening to people’s comments/questions re the distance we were running around the various tracks. There was checking and double checking people’s times against estimated distances and then comparing these against distances tracked by Garmins. Nah, we’re not obsessed, its called ‘attention to detail’!

Anyway it was quite a fun session, even if I say so myself. Many of us were prepared for night-time running this week and had torches or headlights for the dark stretches of the runs. The short intervals were just as hard as the longer ones because these included a nasty little hill near the finish. In all, we ran 3 longer intervals (approx. 800m) and 3 shorter ones (approx. 400m) and in total we probably ran about 8km, including the warm up and cool down.

Last Friday 26 May

Session – Gym – legs/arms plus core/abs

I think it well – seems so long ago now!

Saturday

Session – Moderate run

Distance – 9.5km
Time – 50.21min
Av pace – 5.15min/km
AHR – 152; MHR – 168

This was left later in the day because I desperately wanted to sleep-in and then we had to go shopping and before I knew it, several coffees and lunch later, it was getting late in the afternoon and I still hadn’t run. Hmmm. The glute was ever so sore which is really frustrating because I have cut back on my running and I am stretching all the rest. Anyway it was a reasonable run.

Sunday

Session – Vets’ monthly run – Oakey Hill

Distance – 7.5km
Time – 38.12min
Av pace – 5.06min/km
AHR – 167; MHR – 180
Started in Group 25
Place – 85, I think

It was a very undulating run but a lot of it I was familiar with, from running the Barbecue Stakes – parts of this course was similar to that run. I ran it very conservatively mainly because my glute was sore and it didn’t like hilly courses. This meant that I was passed by a lot, if not all, the back markers – they all hurtled past at some point, huffing, puffing, and generally making a lot of noise. At one point, when crossing a wooden style-type thing, I looked behind only to see a group of very fast, very focussed men charging towards me – I moved very quickly to avoid being run over! All in all, it was a comfortable run, though definitely not one of my fastest.

Monday 29 May

Our kitchen arrived today – though you would be hard pressed to know it was a kitchen – it looked like a lot of lengths of wood of varying lengths.

Session – gym – back/chest/shoulder plus abs/core

Increased the weights on my most of my exercises knowing that I was going to pay the price the following day.

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"Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself."
Harvey Fierstein

Q. How long is 2 minutes?

A. An excruciatingly long time when I am doing intervals on my bike!

Last night I was scheduled to do an interval session on my bike, on the windtrainer – 10 x 2min intervals with 1min RI. However, after getting home from our site meeting with the builder and architects I was thinking that maybe I could re-schedule this session to another day. However I had apparently mentioned that I should get on my bike and so Mr CJ had very obligingly set up my bike and windtrainer in the spare room, as it was very cold outside. What could I do? Looks like I was doing the bike session after all!

The last time I got on my bike was 10 December last year! I felt very rusty when I first started and my legs felt very heavy and slow. Not only that, I was experiencing the muscle burn and I had only just started! I would start the 2min interval, pedal madly, feel my heart rate rise rapidly (though it only maxed out at 157), think 'I must've done about a minute by now', look at my watch, nup, still another 1min 20sec to go, and so it would go with me checking my watch about every 20sec!

Time: 40min inc 5min WU; 10 X 2min intervals (1min RI); 5min CD
AHR: 132; MHR: 157

By the time I had finished I had jelly legs, sweat pouring off me (again) and I was definitely not cold! However it was another night of falling asleep in the lounge, under the pretence of watching TV!

Wednesday morning – gym session

Now this was a morning that I would have stayed in bed if I had known what was ahead of me. I arrived at the gym for my back/chest/shoulders session plus abs, loaded with my work gear and showering stuff, only to be told that there was no water and it wouldn’t be back on until about 10am due to a burst water main. Great! This probably meant there would be no water at work either – my other option for a shower. So I did my session and then drove home for a shower – the traffic was a bit heavier now so it took a bit longer. Then I drove back to work in Canberra peak-hour traffic only to spend the next 20mins looking for a car park. Once I found one it was a great hike to my office lugging all my bags containing all very necessary stuff. Grrrr.....

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Apparently, what you think about most moulds your attitude.
So today's affirmation: My thoughts are positive and self-empowering. :-)

Sweat baby sweat

Because of the cold and inclement weather yesterday afternoon I decided to forgo the run outdoors and do my 40min cardio session at the gym. I lugged my backpack (containing my running clothes), my ‘Shop til you drop’ tote bag containing stuff I need during the day at work such as food containers, organiser, work shoes (I wear joggers to the car) etc, my green shopping bag containing food items I had bought at the supermarket during my lunchbreak, and my shoulder bag to the car – it was a weight training session in itself.

Once changed and with my trusty ipod strapped on I hit the elliptical trainer for 20mins getting faster and increasing the resistance the longer I was on there. The sweat was pouring off me – looked pretty gross. Then I followed this up with 20mins on the stepper, again increasing the intensity. It looked pretty funny when I increased the resistance for the final hard 5min session – I could barely push the pedals down! And then when I reduced the resistance I nearly drove the pedal through the floor! By the end I was hot, sweaty and feeling pretty chuffed with myself for completing a hard cardio session.

After dinner, dishes and making my lunch for the next day I lay on the carpet in the lounge to watch TV, in front of the heater, and promptly fell asleep.

Tuesday morning

Session – SWIM
Distance – 500m (!)
Time – 11.29min

The 5th of January was the last time I went swimming and on that day I swam 1km. Tuesday morning I swam 500m and I felt every metre of that 500m! Well, actually, the first 50m was great – no worries, this will be a breeze. The 2nd 50m was a bit more difficult and by the 3rd 50m I was finding it hard work. How on earth did I manage to synchronise breathing with moving arms and legs and actually moving down the pool? I thought these processes were imprinted in my muscle memory – I guess my muscles were having a senior’s moment ie short-term memory loss! However by the 450m I was beginning to improve but that may be because I could see the end in sight. Next week I have set myself the challenge of swimming 600m. The best thing about swimming in the morning is the breakfast afterwards with Strewth and Mr B. It was at Sabayon and I had a cappuccino and french toast with berries and maple syrup – yummo.

Fun, fun, fun

Gosh I can’t remember the last time I’ve had so much fun running hills as I did at last night’s session at Parliament House. It was a crisp night (read – bloody freezing cold) but the company and the actual session soon warmed me up. (How’s that Geoff – have I gushed sufficiently?!)

Seriously I’m glad I showed up for speedygeoff’s session last night. I think I need some company when running at the moment – takes my mind off all my niggles and provides motivation that is sadly lacking.

The session involved intervals of about 600m on 5mins and this included 3 times up the hill for each interval. It was hard work but I felt myself improving with each one. However my glute complained bitterly about the hills and in fact is still complaining this morning.

Monday morning – gym session
Lower body weights plus arms session plus core stability and strength exercises.

More fun than I can handle on a Monday morning! Did my leg press, leg extension, swiss ball squat with weights, biceps curl and overhead triceps extension, concentrating on form. My biceps curl is pretty sad – I start well with 12 reps in the first set but by the third set all I can manage is about 3 reps.

Sunday – rest day – this involved sleeping in and retail therapy later in the day!

Saturday – long run
Distance – 12km
Time – 1hr 08.51min
Av pace – 5.45min/km
AHR – 144; MHR – 192

A pleasant run that I did early in the morning. I ran down to Lake Burley Griffin and then anti-clockwise, stopping at the top of the hill going down to Scrivener Dam, and then retraced my steps. I didn’t look at my watch while running – preferring just to run comfortably and if that was at a slow pace, so be it.

Thanks for all the encouraging comments I received following my whinge. I’ve decided to just run for fun and pleasure at the moment and not train for anything until the glute and foot settle down again. I’m looking to running the Vet’s half marathon in late August with several runs before including Terry Fox 10km next month, Bush Capital 25km in late July and City to Surf in August. While I’ll hope to run a decent half marathon time, I’m not planning on great times for the other races.

Meanwhile I’ll enjoy being a gym junkie for a few months!

I am so over running

*Warning – a whinge coming up*

I know, I never thought I would utter those words so I should wash my mouth out with soap – oh such blasphemy. But honestly, I’m sick of the little niggles I have that just won’t go away, like my glute problem and the new problem with my left foot – I seem to have irritated a nerve (I have the tendency to do that!) under the ball of my foot and when I run I get a burning pins and needles sensation – not pleasant. And lately when I run, its more like plodding. Its such hard work.

Ok, enough of the whingeing. I’m sure I’ll get over it. I think its lack of chocolate that’s making me grumpy. However, the fact that I also helped another runner to a PB at the half marathon last Sunday (yay Liza!) has cheered me up a little.

This morning at the bright and early hour of 6.30am I was back in the gym doing an upper body session followed by core stability and strength exercises (yes Ewen, I’m not solely focusing on my abs!). Observed a touch of gym rage, if you could call it that, when an older woman and a young one argued over the length of time the younger one was on the cross-trainer. Thought it might come to fisticuffs but then the older woman huffed and puffed and plonked herself on the bike and waited, looking at her watch every now and then just to make a point!

Yesterday:
Moderate run

Distance: 8.6km
Time: 49.10min
Av pace: 5.42min/km
AHR: 140; MHR: 161

Felt like I had lead weights tied to my legs – it was miserable. I have never felt so slow and awkward as I did when running yesterday. I think my average pace says it all.

Wednesday

Morning session: gym – lower body weights plus core stability and strength exercises

Lunchtime session: run inc 7 x 2min intervals (1min RI)
Distance: 6.6km
Time: 34.14min
Av pace: 5.09min/km

It was actually not too bad a run. I think I prefer running in the middle of the day as opposed to the end of the day, after work. Hungry all afternoon though and felt like a nana nap.

Desperately seeking abs

If I take a deep breath, suck in my stomach, squint my eyes, breathe in a little deeper, turn sideways to the mirror, squint some more, suck the stomach in even harder until I’m blue in the face and in danger of passing out, I can just glimpse an ab muscle there. Trouble is I can’t walk around like that – apart from suffering from extreme oxygen deprivation, I’d look a little strange.

So I was back in the gym at lunchtime lifting weights, then getting all hot and sweaty on the elliptical trainer and stepper, and finally finishing off with the all-important ab exercises. I’ll find those ab muscles or die trying!

I went for a run yesterday afternoon, after work. Now I’m a hardcore morning runner so running after work was a major challenge for me but I did it (the many excuses I had just didn’t stand up to logical analysis!). The bizarre thing was that I felt really slow but in actual fact, my pace was no slower than the other days when I do this session before work. Hmmm, strange.

Distance: 5.7km inc 7 x 2min intervals (1min RI)
Time: 29.29min
Av pace: 5.10min/km
AHR: 150; MHR: 167

Ps: Just to set the record straight, in case anyone thought I was having a right old whinge about Sunday’s run –I was happy with my time, it was just the way I felt – like crap! But I’m glad I played a part in Aki getting a PB. Can’t ask for more than that!

Not pretty

Run: Canberra half marathon, 21.1km
Time taken: 1hr 44.44min
Av pace: 4.55min/km
AHR: 172; MHR: 224

I’ve decided that sometimes its probably better to listen to your body. On Sunday morning it was telling me that it really didn’t want to run a half marathon. Seeing as it was Mother’s Day all it really wanted to do was sleep in and get breakfast in bed. However I ignored the nagging little voice in my head (bad move) and reluctantly got up to have breakfast and get ready for the run. I certainly wasn’t going to be firing on all cylinders today…….

There were lots of people milling around the start near the yacht club when we arrived. It actually wasn’t as cold as I imagined it would be so it wasn’t too hard removing my jacket: 5*c instead of minus 5*c! There was the usual jostling for places, banter about times people were hoping to run and then we were off – for me it was to the Korn song “Twisted Transistor”.

Aki ran alongside me, just ahead or just behind me for most of the way. Liza, who I hadn’t seen since the half marathon in August last year, ran past me near Scrivener Dam. She did say something to me but I couldn’t hear because of the music playing so she said she would see me at the end. She was running really well and looked very comfortable. I, in the meantime, was feeling like crap and probably looking it and everything hurt – my feet, my hamstring and my ever-present companion, the niggly glute. At the 15km mark I would’ve been quite happy to finish – I really wasn’t interested. Aki was storming ahead and looking so good – that girl has improved out of sight over the past year. Mr B passed me not long past the turnaround near the Carillon. In fact, it felt like everyone was passing me.

After what seemed like an eternity pounding the pavement it was wonderful to see the finish shute. It’s hard to believe that a little over a month ago I ran twice the distance faster and a whole lot better than I ran this race. Spoke to a jubilant Liza who had run a great race and a PB. Also spoke to Mr B who had run about 1hr 42min for his first half marathon. Whereas Strewth and I looked like we were over the whole running thing!

Something I did learn: Lots of gym work, no taper, a high protein/mod carb diet and half marathons don’t go together! C’est la vie....and back to the gym tomorrow.

Dead legs

Session: 7 x 2min intervals (1min RI)
Distance: 6km
Time taken: 31.40min
Av pace: 5.17min/km (it felt faster than this!)
AHR: 154; MHR: 191

This morning’s interval session was bloody hard work after the lower body weights session yesterday. However I worked my arse off during the 7 x 2min fast intervals and mentally ticked them off as I completed each one. Some days are like this – I persevere and push through the tiredness, the heaviness and slowness and yet on other days I just completely wimp out. So a good short session this morning.

Tomorrow: Rest day though will do ab/core stability and strength exercises

Sunday – Canberra half marathon & Mothers Day. So happy mothers day to all the mothers out there!

Gym junkie or gym monkey?

I fear its probably the latter – I’m still familiarising myself with the large assortment of equipment in the upstairs gym (it’s a lot bigger than the women’s gym and contains bigger, scarier and heavier equipment), let alone trying to work out how to use what looks like torture equipment. Also, I’m so uncoordinated when it comes to some of the cardio equipment – especially the elliptical trainer. If I don’t think about what I’m doing I’m okay – my arms and legs know what to do. Bust as soon as I start thinking about what I am doing or even look at what I’m doing my arms and legs refuse to work together. One day I’ll manage to wrap myself around the bloody machine!

Anyways…this morning’s workout – Gym

Lower body and arms weights session:
·Leg press
·Leg extension
·DB squat with swiss ball
·DB biceps curl
·DB overhead triceps extension

This was followed by ab/core strength and stability exercises:
·Back extension with swiss ball
·V-sit – twisting with medicine ball (character building)
·Bicycle crunches
·Modified plank – 3 x 40sec

Tonight: yoga

Tomorrow: 30min interval run

A balmy morning

Dream on.....but it was a lot warmer than yesterday. This morning at 6am it was 10*c. I had a great sleep last night thanks to flogging myself at some ungodly hour at the gym yesterday morning.

A conversation between Mr CJ and myself at night, in front of the TV, usually goes something like this:
Me: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Mr CJ: snore, snort, mumble, snore, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Oh yes, we lead interesting lives!

This morning’s run:

Distance: 9km
Time taken: 49.14min
Av pace: 5.26min/km
AHR: 150; MHR: 173

I ran down to Lake Burley Griffin, taking the cycle path alongside Clunies Ross Rd. Once at the lake I headed toward Regatta Point before turning and heading back the same way. This route takes me over several hills and I’ve come to realise that I am very much out of practice. Honestly I sounded like a chain smoker the way I was huffing and puffing and wheezing up the hills – almost had to stop for a breather at the top!

No after effects from my gym workout yesterday – unlike last week when even getting dressed the following day posed a challenge because my arms, back and shoulders were soooooo sore.

Four sleeps to the Canberra half marathon. And I've entered the Terry Fox 10km run which will be on Sunday June 18.

Its unnatural……..

…to be at the gym at 6.30am doing a weights session but that’s where I found myself this morning, bleary eyed and definitely not bushy tailed. The 6.30am slot was the only one I could get with a trainer (funny that), though the trainer Nicole insisted that there were always people queuing outside the doors at 5am waiting to get in. Sick!

This morning it was an upper body weights session consisting of:
·Lat pulldown to front
·Cable seated row
·Machine bench press
·Pec deck fly (mean machine - its so cool)
·Seated dumbbell press (these are so hard!)
·Barbell upright row

This was followed by ab/core strength and stability exercises:

·Back extension with swiss ball
·Swimming
·V-sit – twisting with a medicine ball (character building to say the least)
·Reverse crunch

And then this was followed by:
·10min on stepper (increasing resistance)
·20min on elliptical trainer (increasing resistance)
·10min stepper (again increasing then decreasing resistance)

And all this before 8am! The downside is that by 3pm I’m in dire need of a nana nap.

Yesterday (Monday)
Run including 7 x 2min intervals (1min RI)

Distance: 6.3km
Time taken: 33.26min
Av pace: 5.17min/km
AHR: 154; MHR: 208

Chilly, chilly, chilly. Gloves, headbands, and tights weather - okay I'm a wuss! But it was about minus 1 at 6am. Not too many people about at that time – even the cyclists seem to have given away their riding until later in the morning. Just as long as any weirdos also find it too cold to be roaming about as well. A good run and nothing out of the unusual happened (eg no alien abductions).

What are my plans? Hmmmm…… I am running in the Canberra half marathon this coming Sunday. I’m still weighing up my options with the Gold Coast marathon. At the moment I’m just enjoying running relatively injury-free (which I’m sad to say appears to put me in the minority at the moment). So everyone out there (Tesso, Jen, Lulu, Kit, Cirque, Hilda, and anyone else I have forgotten) with injuries, whether niggly or major, I sincerely hope it gets better and you can get back to running. Hang in there guys - positive vibes coming your way! ;-)

Earth to CJ........

No, I have not been sucked up by any spaceships for testing by aliens; I have not fallen off the face of the earth; I have not given up all of my earthly possession and sworn a vow of poverty; I have not gone into self-imposed exile due to over consumption of chocolate; but I have been very very busy! And not having internet access at home also makes it difficult to update my blog.

So rather than bore you to tears with what I have been up to since god knows when, here is a brief update of the life of CJ:

April
Friday 28 – 6km run; 33.06min; av pace – 4.46min/km

Saturday 29 – 16km run; 1hr 27.23min; av pace – 5.28min/km

Sunday 30 – monthly vets run at Majura nature park, 10km hilly course
Went off in Group 25; Finished in 36th place
Time – 47.43min; Av pace – 4.46min/km

May
Monday 1 – Operation May Day begins
This means cleaning up my diet; and increasing my exercise because I have put on 3kg and feel like a fat and lazy blob. So for 12 weeks I will clean up my act.
pm – did ab exercises

Tuesday 2 – 25th wedding anniversary!!!!!!!
Interval run including 7 x 2min hard (1min easier)
6.3km; 32.54min; Av pace – 5.09min/km
Noon – Gym – did upper body weights plus abs

Went out for dinner so put diet on hold for one night!!!!

Wednesday 3 –
8.9km run; 49.14min; Av pace – 5.31min/km
pm – ab exercises

Thursday 4 –
Noon – Gym – lower body weights session followed by 20mins on elliptical trainer, 10mins on rower and 10mins on stepper. I was knackered when finished!
Pm – yoga

Friday 5 –
Interval run including 7 x 2min hard (1min easier)
6.4km; 33.31min; Av pace – 5.13min/km
pm – ab exercises

Saturday 6 –
Long run – 20km; 1hr 50.08min; Av pace – 5.30min/km

Sunday 7 – Rest day (and I hab a cold...sniff)

So I have been busy – at work and outside of work. But I will try and keep my blog up-to-date and not get so far behind in future.

In short – I’M BACK!