I thought it might be high time to update this little blog of mine - it's easily been over a month since I last posted - oops! So, back then I was talking about getting into the pool running and I had just bought a flotation device thingy - well unsurprisingly the pool running didn't last very long. I think I went 3 times one week, 2 the next and gave the whole thng up not long after that! I guess the pool and I just weren't destined to be such good friends afterall!
So, in the absence of pool running, I have found a new love - bike riding! After finally getting the all clear from the sports doc to take up riding again, I have found that I really love it! I had always been a keen bike rider, so it wasn't so hard to 'get back on the bike' as it were. I have now decided to ride into work - it's just over 10kms each way, so easily do-able! I had thought about doing it last year, but I always thought it was too far. I looked up the route on G-maps and worked out the best way to ride - it's really good as it's mainly all bike paths that run along the train lines. It's also mostly up hill on the way to work and mostly downhill on the way home - I can tell you that a couple of times I have been seriously unmotivated at 4.30pm to ride home, but once I get going I'm fine!
As for the shins.....welll.......I'm still undecided! I have had two massage treatments - after the first one I felt really good (ok, so it hurt like hell if I'm being honest, but it felt better a few days later!). Since the second one I have been getting pain again. I had another appointment for tomorrow booked, but I think I am going to cancel it. I have been riding and I have been doing some walking and the pain does feel like it's changing - I don't know how to describe it - before I could feel it with every step, now I only feel a light throb at night sometimes. Who the hell knows! I'm still not running and I won't until we get to the UK - I was checking out some UK based running group sites today and found a couple I would like to join. I guess I still want to prove to myself that I can become a runner. I had a message posted on my Facebook account yesterday from an old friend I haven't seen since high school - she said she was very surprised that I was now running! It made me feel really good to think how far I have come, but I also know I have a long way to go!
Til next month LOL
Monday, November 26, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
Pool Running!
5 min warmup/ cooldown
2 sets 1:30 hard, with 30sec easy
I actually did some running tonight - ok, so it was in the pool, but it still counts! Further to my complaining last week, I decided to hit the pool tonight and try to deep water run off some of this extra 'bubblewrap' that's sitting on my mid-regions.
I took the new aquatic belt with me tonight I bought from Rebel Sport.
It was a little awkward at first, but I soon got used to wearing it - I think I will need to buy a pair of one piece bathers, though, as it tends to ride up and cut into me a little, bu tI think I can get around that. I did a pretty good session tonight - a total of 36mins in the water! I managed to get my HRM up to 145, which is good! It's so much easier to run in the water with the belt - I can consistently get my HR up to a reasonable level, without swallowing too much water!
I'm even looking forward to tomorrow's session - I think it will be another evening one as the pool is so nice and quiet after 8pm!
2 sets 1:30 hard, with 30sec easy
I actually did some running tonight - ok, so it was in the pool, but it still counts! Further to my complaining last week, I decided to hit the pool tonight and try to deep water run off some of this extra 'bubblewrap' that's sitting on my mid-regions.
I took the new aquatic belt with me tonight I bought from Rebel Sport.
It was a little awkward at first, but I soon got used to wearing it - I think I will need to buy a pair of one piece bathers, though, as it tends to ride up and cut into me a little, bu tI think I can get around that. I did a pretty good session tonight - a total of 36mins in the water! I managed to get my HRM up to 145, which is good! It's so much easier to run in the water with the belt - I can consistently get my HR up to a reasonable level, without swallowing too much water!
I'm even looking forward to tomorrow's session - I think it will be another evening one as the pool is so nice and quiet after 8pm!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Injury is a real pain in the shin!
As the title suggests, this injury thing is really frustrating me again. I'm sick of complaining about it, but it's all I can think about at the moment.
I have had a pretty good week since Wednesday's blog - I have been watching what I eat a little more and I have been getting up a little earlier to do my Pilates DVD before work. Friday I called in sick - ok, so I wasn't technically sick, but I did go to work on Thursday when I was feeling really tired and crappy, so I figure I 'earnt' Friday off! LOL Anyway, I had good intentions of going to the pool (after I spent a few hours cleaning the house). I called the pool to ask if there would be school groups in and the girl told me there was one in there, but they still had two lanes open for use. I didn't like the idea of having to share the pool with a group of snotty kids, but I figured I had better try! So, I drove to the pool and when I got there I was very surprised to find that there was not one carpark left - at 10.30am on a Friday??? So, I bailed on the swimming plan and came home and did Pilates instead.
Fri night I caught up with some friends and headed into the city for a night of fun. During the week I was unsure how it would go as I really only knew one person that was going and everyone there was single. In the end I had a great night - I drank a bit too much which resulted in me chatting to strange men and dancing til 3am! LOL The girls asked how I managed to get out on my own that night - to which I replied that my husband had written me a leave pass! LOL The funniest part was being hit on by a 21 year old guy - I thought that was nearly as good as being asked for ID! I also got chatting to a group of guys down from Wagga - in my single days I would never have talked to anyone, but Fri night I didn't care - I guess the pressure was off because I didn't feel like I had to impress them. When they got too close I flashed the wedding ring and it was all good. Country boys know how to behave! I have to say that I am glad not to be single anymore - I do miss the going out part, but I don't miss the trying to pick people up part! The other problem that I had forgotten about til Fri night was how short most people are - I'm tall, but at 5'11" I would still think there should be taller men out there - I towered over most of the crowd. I had forgotten about that from my single days!
Sat morning Bec picked me up early and we headed into the city to meet Julz & Jodes. My shin was hurting from all the dancing and walking around on Fri night, but I still hobbled around the Queen Vic market with my friends - we even walked from the market to the National Gallery to check out the 80's fashion display. I knew I shouldn't have been walking around, but my friend was over from Hobart and wanted to go to the market and the gallery and I thought it would be ok. I was very wrong about that!!!
Today I feel like I am back to square one with this injury - my shin hurts to walk on today and it now throbs when I sit down. It's sooooooo frustrating - I am used to walking everywhere and being little miss active, I really don't know how to do this 'resting' thing. Now I have realised that I am not doing myself any favours, so tomorrow I will book an appointment to see the sports doc and I will ask for a referral to have the bone scan done. I am sure I have a stress fracture now - it's been almost a month - this is ridiculous! I'm fairly sure that I will need to be put on crutches too, which doesn't sound like too much fun. The hard part will be at work - the carpark is a long way from the entrance and the building is very long too - I can't help but have to walk around - bugger!!
Anyway, I'm off to the pool tomorrow morning - must go pack my things now!
I have had a pretty good week since Wednesday's blog - I have been watching what I eat a little more and I have been getting up a little earlier to do my Pilates DVD before work. Friday I called in sick - ok, so I wasn't technically sick, but I did go to work on Thursday when I was feeling really tired and crappy, so I figure I 'earnt' Friday off! LOL Anyway, I had good intentions of going to the pool (after I spent a few hours cleaning the house). I called the pool to ask if there would be school groups in and the girl told me there was one in there, but they still had two lanes open for use. I didn't like the idea of having to share the pool with a group of snotty kids, but I figured I had better try! So, I drove to the pool and when I got there I was very surprised to find that there was not one carpark left - at 10.30am on a Friday??? So, I bailed on the swimming plan and came home and did Pilates instead.
Fri night I caught up with some friends and headed into the city for a night of fun. During the week I was unsure how it would go as I really only knew one person that was going and everyone there was single. In the end I had a great night - I drank a bit too much which resulted in me chatting to strange men and dancing til 3am! LOL The girls asked how I managed to get out on my own that night - to which I replied that my husband had written me a leave pass! LOL The funniest part was being hit on by a 21 year old guy - I thought that was nearly as good as being asked for ID! I also got chatting to a group of guys down from Wagga - in my single days I would never have talked to anyone, but Fri night I didn't care - I guess the pressure was off because I didn't feel like I had to impress them. When they got too close I flashed the wedding ring and it was all good. Country boys know how to behave! I have to say that I am glad not to be single anymore - I do miss the going out part, but I don't miss the trying to pick people up part! The other problem that I had forgotten about til Fri night was how short most people are - I'm tall, but at 5'11" I would still think there should be taller men out there - I towered over most of the crowd. I had forgotten about that from my single days!
Sat morning Bec picked me up early and we headed into the city to meet Julz & Jodes. My shin was hurting from all the dancing and walking around on Fri night, but I still hobbled around the Queen Vic market with my friends - we even walked from the market to the National Gallery to check out the 80's fashion display. I knew I shouldn't have been walking around, but my friend was over from Hobart and wanted to go to the market and the gallery and I thought it would be ok. I was very wrong about that!!!
Today I feel like I am back to square one with this injury - my shin hurts to walk on today and it now throbs when I sit down. It's sooooooo frustrating - I am used to walking everywhere and being little miss active, I really don't know how to do this 'resting' thing. Now I have realised that I am not doing myself any favours, so tomorrow I will book an appointment to see the sports doc and I will ask for a referral to have the bone scan done. I am sure I have a stress fracture now - it's been almost a month - this is ridiculous! I'm fairly sure that I will need to be put on crutches too, which doesn't sound like too much fun. The hard part will be at work - the carpark is a long way from the entrance and the building is very long too - I can't help but have to walk around - bugger!!
Anyway, I'm off to the pool tomorrow morning - must go pack my things now!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Breaking the blogging hiatus
Oops - time to break the blogging hiatus! I forget to blog when I don't have anything particularly interesting to write about (who am I kidding, I am always dribbling crap here anyway! LOL). I need to get back into it - I find it soothes the soul a little to get it all out there!
The low down of the last couple of weeks is still my frustration at not being able to do much cardio - I had a crap session at the pool last Monday and I seemed to use that as an excuse all week not to go! Good one Shell! I was silly and swam laps - the swimming was fine, it was me using my legs to turn around on the wall at each end of the pool. My shins were killing me the next day - oops! They seemed to have settled down now, though and I am back to wearing normal shoes to work (as much as the runners were mega comfy, I did feel like a bit of a tool wearing them with my black pants).
Still feeling a bit disillusioned about it all - I just want to get back to normal and be able to do the things I love. The shin has been feeling ok, so I probably could get out on the bike, but I have decided to be stubborn about this resting thing - as much as I am not really enjoying it, I know that I just need to do it. I'll be running and exercising again in no time - this rest period will do me good.
The only thing that isn't good at the moment is my ever increasing girth. Seriously I know I am hard on myself, but I have put on a good 6kgs since June! Pants that were once loose are now quite tight and I no longer fit into my jeans without them looking like they were painted on - yuck!!
So, I need to give myself a kick (well I would if I could! :)) The countdown is on until we leave for the UK next Feb - I have 17 weeks. In that time I need to get my fitness up so that I can easily get through the 21 day trek we have planned in Nepal. I really need some new goals - I'm not sure whether to set running ones as I'm still a bit scared about my come back, or if I should just make some fitness goals instead. I'm really debating whether I make a return to running before we go away, or if I just leave it until we arrive in London. I really do want to continue to run over there and I am in two minds - if I stop all together now, then how long will it take me to get back into good form again over there. I guess I am still worried about hurting myself again and having to pull out of the Nepal trek. One the same hand, though, playing it too safe will only see me gaining more kgs and losing more fitness, which is equally as bad!
I think I just need to stop looking at the bigger picture (which I have a bad habit of doing) and just focus one week at a time.......
The low down of the last couple of weeks is still my frustration at not being able to do much cardio - I had a crap session at the pool last Monday and I seemed to use that as an excuse all week not to go! Good one Shell! I was silly and swam laps - the swimming was fine, it was me using my legs to turn around on the wall at each end of the pool. My shins were killing me the next day - oops! They seemed to have settled down now, though and I am back to wearing normal shoes to work (as much as the runners were mega comfy, I did feel like a bit of a tool wearing them with my black pants).
Still feeling a bit disillusioned about it all - I just want to get back to normal and be able to do the things I love. The shin has been feeling ok, so I probably could get out on the bike, but I have decided to be stubborn about this resting thing - as much as I am not really enjoying it, I know that I just need to do it. I'll be running and exercising again in no time - this rest period will do me good.
The only thing that isn't good at the moment is my ever increasing girth. Seriously I know I am hard on myself, but I have put on a good 6kgs since June! Pants that were once loose are now quite tight and I no longer fit into my jeans without them looking like they were painted on - yuck!!
So, I need to give myself a kick (well I would if I could! :)) The countdown is on until we leave for the UK next Feb - I have 17 weeks. In that time I need to get my fitness up so that I can easily get through the 21 day trek we have planned in Nepal. I really need some new goals - I'm not sure whether to set running ones as I'm still a bit scared about my come back, or if I should just make some fitness goals instead. I'm really debating whether I make a return to running before we go away, or if I just leave it until we arrive in London. I really do want to continue to run over there and I am in two minds - if I stop all together now, then how long will it take me to get back into good form again over there. I guess I am still worried about hurting myself again and having to pull out of the Nepal trek. One the same hand, though, playing it too safe will only see me gaining more kgs and losing more fitness, which is equally as bad!
I think I just need to stop looking at the bigger picture (which I have a bad habit of doing) and just focus one week at a time.......
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
More pool running
Well it's been a couple of days since the marathon and I can now report that Simon is definately on the mend - he spent a couple of days walking around like a penguin, unable to bend his knees, but now he seems to be much better. He had some work done on his hips during the week, and that seemed to really help to unlock his knees too.
I've been to the pool twice this week already. Tuesday night I did 6 sets of 1:30 min, plus a five min warm up and cool down. Then last night I did 30mins steady, again, with a 5 min warm up and cool down. It seems to be getting a little more enjoyable, but I must admit that I would have struggled last night if S wasn't there with me. Who would have thought that I would ever enjoy the pool! I'm even ok with the whole bathers thing, which really surprises me. I'm about 5kgs heavier than I was in June, but I think I actually look ok (ok, so my problem area is really the back of my legs and I can't see them, so I'm happy - out of sight, out of mind! LOL).
My eating is out of control at the moment - two morning teas in two days for staff that are leaving has seen me eat soooooooo much choccie and biscuits and cake. Yesterday I was quite controlled, but today it was a free for all. I also met a friend for lunch today, so more eating involved. All up, though, it's been fun! LOL
Tonight there is no swimming on my program, but I will get out the yoga DVD's and do an hour workout when I get home. It feels so good to be able to do exercise again!!
I've been to the pool twice this week already. Tuesday night I did 6 sets of 1:30 min, plus a five min warm up and cool down. Then last night I did 30mins steady, again, with a 5 min warm up and cool down. It seems to be getting a little more enjoyable, but I must admit that I would have struggled last night if S wasn't there with me. Who would have thought that I would ever enjoy the pool! I'm even ok with the whole bathers thing, which really surprises me. I'm about 5kgs heavier than I was in June, but I think I actually look ok (ok, so my problem area is really the back of my legs and I can't see them, so I'm happy - out of sight, out of mind! LOL).
My eating is out of control at the moment - two morning teas in two days for staff that are leaving has seen me eat soooooooo much choccie and biscuits and cake. Yesterday I was quite controlled, but today it was a free for all. I also met a friend for lunch today, so more eating involved. All up, though, it's been fun! LOL
Tonight there is no swimming on my program, but I will get out the yoga DVD's and do an hour workout when I get home. It feels so good to be able to do exercise again!!
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Melbourne Marathon
So today was the great day - the day of the great Melbourne Marathon...and what a great day it was - a nice cool 17 degrees out on the course, but filled with beautiful bright sunshine and no wind - a PERFECT day to run.
Unfortunately I was one of the non-starters for this event, as we all know, but I still wanted to go down and cheer on my mates Alison & Lynelle in the half and also my husband, Simon, in his first ever marathon. After a bit of a disaster trying to reach the G (we heard later there was a 4 car pile up just outside the only gate into the parking lot!), I ditched Simon near the ground, then circled around the side streets near Fitzroy gardens looking for a parking space. Luckily all parking in this area was free today - yay!! I arranged to meet Simon near gate 4, so off I walked to the ground. On the way I bumped into a girl from running camp, which was great - after a bit of a chat and a goodluck to her I set off to find Simon. I was torn between trying to find the girls or hubby.....I looked everywhere.....I bumped into more people from camp (seems everyone was out running today!!). I finally spotted my hubby standing with his training buddies, then I spotted Al and Lynelle standing about a metre from them! LOL Problem solved!
After waving them off, I headed into the ground to find a good vantage point - the members section was pretty empty, so I got a good spot at the front. I opened up my book and waited for the action to start. Luckily I didn't have to wait too long - the first half marathoners entered the stadium around the 1hr mark. From that point on, I watched everyone finish. I saw Al finish and was sooo happy for her - her first ever half and she had completed it (and she still looked good after it!!). She also beat in the first of the marathoners, which is a great achievement.
I then met up with a couple of our friends and also Simon's parents who had come down to watch him finish - we waited for him just outside the MCC gate on the outside of the ground. I was getting a bit worried after they called the 5hr cut-off time as we had both expected him to complete in about 4.5hrs. Then we spotted him and our little cheer squad went nuts - he was walking and looked in a lot of pain, but he was still going! It was so exciting and even a little bit emotional to see him - we all gave him high fives, then dashed into the ground again to see him officially finish. Inside we found his training buddies and together we all waited for him to cross that line. I still can't believe he did it - I'm soooooooo proud of him! He said his dodgy knee went at about the 7km mark, but he kept pushing through until 25kms - after that he walked much of the way back never thinking that he should throw it in. Such an amazing achievement - I knew he had this dodgy knee and I tried to talk him out of running, but he was determined! He is sore tonight, but I'm hopeful that he'll recover pretty quickly.
It was such an exciting day - even though I wasn't running, I was just glad to be a part of the day. Our friends aren't runners, but they really enjoyed cheering people on at the end. Watching all of the various types of runners out there doing the marathon really makes me want to try for one myself someday. At this stage I have to concentrate on just running 1km again, let alone 42.2, but anyway!
The one downer to the day is my left shin - it is aching tonight after all that walking around and standing up pretty much all morning. It's a bit of a worry that it's still so tender, but I guess it's part of the healing process - I probably did too much today which has agravated it again. It's hard, on one hand I am dying to compete in races again, but on the other this injury has taught me that I need to be very careful with my training. We have booked a 21day trek in Nepal next Feb and I really need to be fit again for that. I think races will take a back seat until next year and I will just run short distances until we land in the UK. Looking at the other competitors today I realised that I am still young - I have plenty of time to run my first marathon!
I read that the Boston marathon is on tonight - now wouldn't that be cool to say I had completed that one!!
Unfortunately I was one of the non-starters for this event, as we all know, but I still wanted to go down and cheer on my mates Alison & Lynelle in the half and also my husband, Simon, in his first ever marathon. After a bit of a disaster trying to reach the G (we heard later there was a 4 car pile up just outside the only gate into the parking lot!), I ditched Simon near the ground, then circled around the side streets near Fitzroy gardens looking for a parking space. Luckily all parking in this area was free today - yay!! I arranged to meet Simon near gate 4, so off I walked to the ground. On the way I bumped into a girl from running camp, which was great - after a bit of a chat and a goodluck to her I set off to find Simon. I was torn between trying to find the girls or hubby.....I looked everywhere.....I bumped into more people from camp (seems everyone was out running today!!). I finally spotted my hubby standing with his training buddies, then I spotted Al and Lynelle standing about a metre from them! LOL Problem solved!
After waving them off, I headed into the ground to find a good vantage point - the members section was pretty empty, so I got a good spot at the front. I opened up my book and waited for the action to start. Luckily I didn't have to wait too long - the first half marathoners entered the stadium around the 1hr mark. From that point on, I watched everyone finish. I saw Al finish and was sooo happy for her - her first ever half and she had completed it (and she still looked good after it!!). She also beat in the first of the marathoners, which is a great achievement.
I then met up with a couple of our friends and also Simon's parents who had come down to watch him finish - we waited for him just outside the MCC gate on the outside of the ground. I was getting a bit worried after they called the 5hr cut-off time as we had both expected him to complete in about 4.5hrs. Then we spotted him and our little cheer squad went nuts - he was walking and looked in a lot of pain, but he was still going! It was so exciting and even a little bit emotional to see him - we all gave him high fives, then dashed into the ground again to see him officially finish. Inside we found his training buddies and together we all waited for him to cross that line. I still can't believe he did it - I'm soooooooo proud of him! He said his dodgy knee went at about the 7km mark, but he kept pushing through until 25kms - after that he walked much of the way back never thinking that he should throw it in. Such an amazing achievement - I knew he had this dodgy knee and I tried to talk him out of running, but he was determined! He is sore tonight, but I'm hopeful that he'll recover pretty quickly.
It was such an exciting day - even though I wasn't running, I was just glad to be a part of the day. Our friends aren't runners, but they really enjoyed cheering people on at the end. Watching all of the various types of runners out there doing the marathon really makes me want to try for one myself someday. At this stage I have to concentrate on just running 1km again, let alone 42.2, but anyway!
The one downer to the day is my left shin - it is aching tonight after all that walking around and standing up pretty much all morning. It's a bit of a worry that it's still so tender, but I guess it's part of the healing process - I probably did too much today which has agravated it again. It's hard, on one hand I am dying to compete in races again, but on the other this injury has taught me that I need to be very careful with my training. We have booked a 21day trek in Nepal next Feb and I really need to be fit again for that. I think races will take a back seat until next year and I will just run short distances until we land in the UK. Looking at the other competitors today I realised that I am still young - I have plenty of time to run my first marathon!
I read that the Boston marathon is on tonight - now wouldn't that be cool to say I had completed that one!!
Friday, October 5, 2007
Pool running?????
Hmmm - I can't believe my last pool session was Monday - oops! All that enthusiasm - where did it go? It's crazy, I get all excited about it, but the thought of really going to the pool and getting all wet really just doesn't do it for me at all. It's just an excuse, though, just like all the others. There is no physical reason why I haven't been - I can drive myself there, I can walk into the centre and I can get in the pool, but still something stops me from actually doing it. This week it was the thought of all those kids on school holidays (even though there were only about 15 people (most of those adults doing laps) in the pool on Monday night. My fears are totally irrational and I just need to get over myself, get out there and just do it!
I feel revolting at the moment - I seem to be eating worse than normal, coupled by the fact that I can't really do any type of exercise other than swimming (and we all know I'm not in the pool!) - it's really not good! I'm scared to jump on the scales - I think that 5kg gain will very easily turn into a 10kg gain if I don't watch it.
The other thing at the moment is that hubby is 'carbo loading' this week in preparation for the marathon - he's eating healthy food, but still has the occassional choccie bar or icecream to round him off. Sure, he needs it for Sunday, but I can't help eating with him and we all know I won't be out there on Sunday (or anytime in the next six weeks). It's kinda depressing, but really I am just being the good wife and supporting my husband, right?? (see I can justify just about anything! LOL). Today was a perfect example - we had a work lunch at the pub for a girl who is going on maternity leave - I could have ordered something light, but instead I went for the chicken parma option - yeah, so I ordered veggies, but come on!
On another note I have decided to home colour my hair tonight - something I have never done before. I called my friend who is an at home colourer for her opinion on which one to get. So tonight I picked up a Garnier Colour Nutrisse pack from Safeway - I'm just waiting now for it to develop. I opted for chestnut brown, which is pretty close to my natural colour, so here's hoping it turns out ok - I guess I can wear a hat for a few days if it's a total disaster until I can get to see my hairdresser!
I feel revolting at the moment - I seem to be eating worse than normal, coupled by the fact that I can't really do any type of exercise other than swimming (and we all know I'm not in the pool!) - it's really not good! I'm scared to jump on the scales - I think that 5kg gain will very easily turn into a 10kg gain if I don't watch it.
The other thing at the moment is that hubby is 'carbo loading' this week in preparation for the marathon - he's eating healthy food, but still has the occassional choccie bar or icecream to round him off. Sure, he needs it for Sunday, but I can't help eating with him and we all know I won't be out there on Sunday (or anytime in the next six weeks). It's kinda depressing, but really I am just being the good wife and supporting my husband, right?? (see I can justify just about anything! LOL). Today was a perfect example - we had a work lunch at the pub for a girl who is going on maternity leave - I could have ordered something light, but instead I went for the chicken parma option - yeah, so I ordered veggies, but come on!
On another note I have decided to home colour my hair tonight - something I have never done before. I called my friend who is an at home colourer for her opinion on which one to get. So tonight I picked up a Garnier Colour Nutrisse pack from Safeway - I'm just waiting now for it to develop. I opted for chestnut brown, which is pretty close to my natural colour, so here's hoping it turns out ok - I guess I can wear a hat for a few days if it's a total disaster until I can get to see my hairdresser!
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