There has been an absence in posting here for a little while as I've had the last eight days at work. Unfortunately, that doesn't allow me a great deal of time for blogging purposes.

It has been a pretty good week overall.  I think I've finally worked out a training schedule that suits my roster and it does include rest days.  As long as I stay hydrated then I am able to balance the strength, endurance, karate, running and sleep so that I am able to maintain high levels of energy and consistently perform well.

The endurance stuff is work well.  I am really starting to feel the difference in training.

Speaking of training... found my kumite bouts from the last tournament on YouTube!  The owner actually highlighted the bit where I get smacked in the nose too.  Found that kinda funny. Things look different from the outside and the bouts are a lot shorter than they felt in action.  Good learning tools and a few things that I will need to change!




Realised yesterday that I am somewhere between six and eleven weeks away from a nidan grading...  Important for me to be training hard.  Important for me to be performing at karate...

Running has been going well!  Yesterday morning I did W5D2 which is eight minutes run, five minutes walk and eight minutes run.  Got up at 4:30am and experienced one of those exercise euphoria moments while darting into the darkness of a nature strip.

I ran the first eight minutes comfortably but not so nicely the second time through.  Next time round will be 20 minutes non-stop.  Although I am a little bit scared, I do think that I'll be alright.  I find it easier to keep going than stop.

I'm in awe of the fact that I can actually run for a bit now.  When I first started I'd end up doing crazy breathing and my legs would die... such a different feeling now. Mind you, I've also change my running technique again so that has also probably helped!

This week's plan has been a little bit disturbed because of family events so I was meant to train tonight. Awoke this morning feel both sore and tired and figure with gym and endurance tomorrow that it wouldn't be worth the pain.  Opted to take the time to go out with my man instead.

The work work has been good and largely productive. I can say that for the large part I enjoyed it and am really getting along well with the RBWH staff now.  There have been a few things go down over the weekend but nothing that I can't handle.  This week I am getting six days off.. yay!  Thursday and Friday will be accrued leave with nooone manning the fort.  It will be good to actually spend some time with my boy.

What an awesome day!!!!

Because I didn't work overly hard yesterday I figured I'd be right to run today.  So... go up early and away I went.  Kinda screwed up a bit.  Worked out that for every 5 minute run, walk was 2.5 minutes and for every 3 minute run, walk was 1.5mins.  Knew that I was meant to finish on a 5 minute run and knew that I had to do at least two 3 minute runs. But, thought I was starting on 5 minutes... why???  So got very confused when I worked out the total run time to be 29 minutes instead of 21 minutes, 30 seconds which would theoretically get me home exactly on the end of lap three.

Supposed to start on 3 minutes, alternate and finish on five minutes.  Oh well.  It was a challenge but managed to push myself quite hard and was proud of my efforts!  Going back to the proper way is going to seem comparatively easy.  Oh and so much yay for being able to run for five minutes consecutively!!

Tournament today! Thought I might have ended up coordinating a ring but not this time.  Had a really great day.  Ended up coming third in kata, despite having the shakes and a bit of an early kata wobble.  Thought I recoved well though.  First and second kick my ass though although second place getter was equally nervous just performing a kata that is far easier to work with when muscles are spasming like nuts.  Think I might have to re-evalute my tournament kata.

Highlight for the day would have to be taking out kumite though.  Got pulled for contact once, gave another a black eye but also wore one hell of a front kick in the chest and got bopped squarely on the nose.  Kinda tender to touch at the moment is quite swollen internally.

Got to finish the afternoon reffing kata for the male instructor division (good to see that my thoughts were generally in line with the other two RMs) and a bit of a chat with Sensei A.

Yeah, great way to end the holidays!

For my last week of holidays, I have been ridiculously busy.  So what's been happening?

• Completed the full endurance circuit successfully and have learned that the 4 limb run is actually just another way of describing the bear crawl.
• Enjoyed a roast dinner cooked by my sister's hubby and reaped the benefits of family time!
• Cancelled my podiatrist appointment on account of my foot feeling 95% better on the morning of the appointment.
• Spent the night over at a mate's place talking, watching movies and eating icecream  until stupid o'clock in the morning.
• Devoted almost two days to writing an application just to get my name in the relief pool for Acting OIC.

Yesterday was a very full and rewarding day! 

Started the morning with the first of the week three runs.  Did a bit of a warm up and then headed outdoors.

Week three consists of 90 seconds run, 90 seconds walk, 3 minutes run, 3 minutes walk and repeat x2 (supposedly).

After a niggling foot pain from Saturday, I opted to start out nice and slow, kicking back to granny shuffle pace. The first run was enough to get me warmed up and from there it was all ok.  I'd wondered if I was going to be able to run three minutes continuously and was surprised when I was easily able to achieve it, landing myself ahead of the usual landmarks at the end of the first lap.  3 minutes of walking feels like an absolute eternity.  I'd say that week three was actually easier than the first two weeks.

Cycled through 2.75 times to get my usual three laps of the local neighbourhood completed.  Pushed the pace for the last run as usual but didn't go as hard as I could so that I wouldn't do any worse to my foot.

3.45 km in 21 minutes and 59 seconds making the average speed 9.41km/hr

The second task for the day was to get the crack in my windscreen repaired.  O'Brien did their best to repair it but the bugger was too big so the whole windscreen got done.  One and a half hours later I had a pretty new windscreen.  Not only did they manage to reattached my mirror, govia tag and rego sticker nicely, they vacuumed out the driver and passenger seats and cleaned the dash and surrounds!  Top score to these guys!   They were very friendly, efficient and informative.  My new windscreen also comes with a lifetime guarantee.

While I was working my way through trashy magazines in the waiting room, the "strawberry man" came and I bought two 1kg boxes of delicious strawberries.  Thought they would be good for Mum so went for a drive up to see her (and Dad as he also happened to be home!).

Although I hadn't quite intended it to be this way, I found myself engaged for quite a number of hours playing Spore.  What a thoroughly addictive game!  Not surprising for me given that I have also had quite an affinity for games such as SimCity 2000 , Sims 2 , the Petz series, Creatures and Theme Hospital.  So I am now master of the Zlorbs in Zlorbopia...  It would almost make it worth getting a new computer just to be able to play spore and revive my Sims again.

Headed home temporarily after this...  only to discover that the pain in my foot and also developed a bubble wrap or fluid kind of feeling.  Uhoh!  So, I'm booked in for a few rounds with a podiatrist at the Intraining Injury Clinic on Thursday.  It is an odd pain because I can only feel it when weight bearing and doing certain movements.  Producing the same actions in the air does not create pain, although the strange slippery bubble wrap feeling is there.  There is also no pain on palpation.  Ruling out plantar fasciitis for the time being. I just hope that they don't turn around and declare that I need to stop all training for a month.  I can't really afford to stop at this stage.  The grading could be in as little as two months.  Time off would be disastrous for my goals at this stage.

Last night was a Fasta Pasta night with two mates from school.  Late high school was alright.  I didn't fit into the upper class ways of the school very well but I didn't suffer the same behaviours that the "uncool" experienced at my junior high school.  If there is one thing that I am thankful for it would be these friends and they would be amongst the very few that I could ever call true friends.  It doesn't seem to matter how much time goes by between visits, it is like we just pick up where we left off.  I love it and I miss the days when we were all in the same city. We're meeting up again on Wednesday night.

On a bit of a roll so might as well keep going...

Back to the strength component of my program this morning.  I was in a significantly better frame of mind and my performance was a lot stronger.  Still having all sorts of difficulties when it comes to the single legged squat.  I'll be impressed the day I can achieve that entirely off my own steam...better yet, complete a couple reps!  The rest was fine though.

Today, I need to clean up.  After that, I'll head out and have my second attempt at endurance before a quick shower and off to my sister's place for dinner! Here's to getting through the whole lot this time!!!

The rest of yesterday was pretty good.

Spent some time over at my parent's place with my sister and niece.  My niece is six...although I still keep thinking she is five.  She's gorgeous though and growing up ever so quickly.  I have always been impressed with just how intelligent this little one is and I suspect she will outdo us all as she continues to grow up.

We spent a while playing ball and constructing masterpieces from Geomag bits.  I wish that stuff had been around when I was kid.  Think I could sit there and play with it for hours. Out of curiosity, I went on Google and found some really awesome constructions. Creativity doesn't even begin to describe some of the things which people have created but have a look at this Sulieman the Magnificent Mosque and tell me that is not totally amazing??  I think the stats were equally impressive though: 13390 pieces: 3315 balls, 7938 rods, 20 pentagons, 2077 squares, 40 rhombuses (69.72 kg). 69.72 kg???  I'm only 62kg!  That is insane!!!

Anyhow, a great afternoon and I particularly enjoyed feasting on the product of my sister's cake making skills!

Last night we set off to see Riverfire.  Now this was also a fantastic experience.  Getting through traffic around SouthBank was a little tough and then the people traffic was equally unbelievable.  However, the show  made every bit worthwhile.  I hadn't been prepared for the entrance of the F111s and it was LOUD.  The sound reminded me of that which the Tower of Terror makes but it was the volume as if standing right underneath as it shoots up towards the sky.  I felt my grip tighten around B, followed by an adrenaline rush.

The fireworks display was impressive.  There was a nice balance between the different types with appropriate pauses.  B liked the ones that exploded into smiley faces and we both liked the type that seemed to shoot off in crazy directions a few times before disappearing.  We were back a bit from the river on South Bank because there were so many people but through the lower trees we could see a red glow just as the fireworks seemed to finish.  There was a silence and then the F111s roared back over the sky again with the orange glow behind.  Everyone just let out howls of excitement and the sky exploded into fireworks again!  Sends shivers down my spine just thinking about it!

30 minutes of pure entertainment.  I am glad that we went to see the last flyover.  I guess I'm just a little bit sad that my own children will never get to see it... but at the same time I guess there were things that my parents would have seen that I never will either.  A memory to savour!

Ambos get TVs, not life-saving equipment

There is a lot which I can let wash over me but the recent efforts by the Courier Mail to get society stabbing QAS with their pitch forks has found me feeling increasingly frustrated.  This one, so far, takes the cake.

What the heck is it with media who take a picture and systematically photoshop out all the important contributing factors to create their own little piece of controversy? What is it that these people think they are achieving by bagging the day lights out of the only ambulance service in Queensland??  I see this and all I feel is anger!

The pitchforks are being pointed in the wrong direction.  The QAS is a government owned and operated organisation which means they are subject to government policies... that includes budget.  Government policy when it comes to budget is ludicrous. The budget obviously has various divisions devoted to all kinds of expenses.  However, once funds have been allocated, they are fixed within that division.  Consequently, if for example, funds for patient care supplies are depleted but funds for general station needs e.g. furniture, is relatively untouched, the excess cannot be diverted to patient care supplies. Ever wondered why the Australian government can afford to fund millions for Olympic fireworks and yet the old age pension is pittance??  Same policies...

The next issue is that if the funds are not depleted by the end of the financial year then the budget for that area gets cut.  Of course that is no guarantee that those funds will be redirected instead of being withheld and claimed as a saving on expenditure either...  So... yes... a few stations went nuts towards the end of the last financial year in order to keep the budget.  But there is not keeping people happy is there?  Paramedics get paid less than nurses, wardies, security guards and just about every other professional in the health system but it is frowned upon when QAS managers actually utilise an opportunity to give a little extra in looking after the staff at station. Heaven forbid we should not be forced to sleep (rare) on dilapidated old furniture and perhaps actually enjoy the work environment, boost morale with a little music and a TV that hasn't fallen out of the 80s!

Point your pitchforks at something worthwhile. Your crusade fails to be productive in the places where help is actually required and is based entirely on deliberate ignorance.  QAS is not at fault here...Anna Bligh...

 Ok - done now.

W2D3 down this morning.  It seems making the effort to stretch out has been paying off because I wasn't sore except for my glutes. My lowers legs were fatigued though and quickly made that clear.  I made a gradual effort to increase my speed as I went along.

Something is askew because my guts were playing up when it got hard again. By the end I was working hard not to allow a nasty case of diarrhoea.  I figure it is either one of three things.  Nutmeat, milk or hormones.  I am primarily suspicious of the nutmeat cause I generally feel a little gluggy after eating it. Only re-introduced that this week because of holidays but happy to cut it out.

Anyhow, put down a record time this morning despite all the fatigue.  Did cheat a little bit by only walking 90 seconds for the last interval and sprinting the rest of the way home.

I have decided that tomorrow will DEFINITELY be a full rest day.  Rehydrate and relax before my first shot at week three on Monday.

Stats for W2D3:

3.45km in 21 minutes and 22 seconds with an average speed of 9.69km/hr

I think I've been slapped with a good dose of PMT.   As a teenager this would mean that the mere sound of my parents eating food provided enough provocation to send me off in a completely irrational rage. Nowadays, I am disabled by an inability to think rationally because clearly, the world is falling to pieces.

Today, I started the endurance, machine generating program.  Based on "Strength Conditioning for Fighters" plan by Chad Waterbury. Of course, I had this wonderful notion that I should just be perfect at it all straight away, despite the fact it was written for the elite in the world of MMA.  So, I was upset and angry that I couldn't do a full single legged squat and my head wasn't quite getting its way around all the muscles I needed to active to convert a Romanian deadlift to snatch-grip... and that wasn't even off the 4" box...

That was the morning session entitled "Absolute/Explosive Strength Training".  The boy wasn't up for a run this afternoon so I decided to fill in with the "Endurance Strength Training".  Farmer's walk, in the bag.  Sandbag runs were not quite so easy. I didn't have a sandbag so stuffed a couple towels around an 8kg kettlebell in a backpack and ran with that instead.  Boy that was hard work.  Managed to ignore the jeers from the clueless neighbours too.  Got to half way through my second set of burpees and once again my world collapsed.

I let it beat me...

Nothing more pathetic than lying on the ground crying  mentally declaring that I'm not anywhere near fit enough and useless etc.

If I'd just pushed out the last set then I would have reached the overhead medicine ball throw (kettlebell substitute)... it would have been hard and I would have done it.  Then I would have even coped with looking completely crazy doing a 4 limb run!

So very disappointed in myself...

I'll hit it again soon.  I got beaten by my brain this time.

Hopefully, if not too sore, will go for a run in the morning.

Was going to write a little bit more about other things but Chrome is being ridiculously glitchy this evening and my computer is not coping with that failure and running MBAM at the same time.  Had enough negativity for one day.

I am not even going to talk about rest days anymore.   All I am going to do is play it by ear and listen to what my body is telling me.

Today, despite waking up pain free, I waited until the afternoon to run with my boy.  I was feeling tired and had a power nap which helped to recharge and after a warmup treadmill walk and some stretching, I seemed good to go.

My man is able to run non-stop so we decided to go our separate ways and meet back at our place in ~20 minutes.

Although my legs were not sore, my muscles did feel fatigued and after the first minute, didn't feel anywhere near as good as previous days.  It wasn't anything I couldn't handle but I quickly abandoned being fast and focused on getting through the session.

I could have sworn I was behind but when I was reaching the end, I realised I was actually ahead of what I managed yesterday!  Knowing this, I stepped up the pace and got myself focused to finish hard.  Just as I was finishing off my walk interval, I saw my man round the corner heading up the T junction I was walking across.  This gave me an even bigger boost and the moment my watch hit 21minutes I jumped on the gas and sprinted all the way home, shaving an entire minute off my previous time!

The sprint was great.  Legs and arm were in harmony, breathing was good and barely lost speed.  Damn good!

I think there were was a lot of psychology in the play today.  Not only for the strong finish but before I started when I was thinking about the run ahead and wondering if it all had been a fluke!

See what happens tomorrow.  Got a demon PT session tomorrow... been promised emesis.  Might knock me out for the next couple of days depending on the soreness.  Play it all by ear!

Stats for W2D2:

3.45km in 21 minutes and 47 seconds with an average speed of 9.5km/hr

Probably a bit skewed with the last sprint but that's ok...  Still a good performance!

Tuesday night I hopped it off to training.

I have to say that I had a really good night. Things are generally going well and I feel like I've come the full circle to end up in the same place I first started.  It just feels like home.  Half the night was kata which was interrupted by Sensei A having a Red Bull moment and deciding we'd all practice knuckle pushups and core strength while he walked on our stomachs. It sounds cruel but we actually had a whole lot of fun.  The rest of the night was kumite.  I got spar with Sensei. A. first up and even though I would have preferred to go the second round, I was happy that I got the opportunity.  For the rest, I noticed my endurance had definately increased, my legs speed was faster (landed quite a few head height round house kicks), my focus was sharper and my techniques were stronger.  I also got to size up my potential opponents for the tournament.

Yesterday, I had a morning secret session.  Only the medicine ball core exercise was repeated and that was definitely easier. Think I did the rest pretty well although hating that for this type of training I am back to baby weights all over again!

In terms of C25K, I had planned on yesterday being a rest day.  But after I got back from secret training I felt that I'd be able to hit it again and planned an afternoon session.  This planned was quickly discarded at the opportunity for another Geocache run. (Yes, the passionfruit forest is evil and you definitely deserve the dental floss for that!).   We did three... one difficult one, one dead easy and one somewhere in between.

It was late afternoon when we did return and heading into darkness but a heated disagreement left me feeling very hot headed and suddenly I found myself lacing up my running shoes...

Week 2 is 90 seconds run followed by 2 minutes (eternity) of walking.  For the first half I wasn't really paying great attention to what was going on while I sorted my emotional baggage.  However, my anger soon calmed and started to focus on the run.  I knew I was a little bit behind this time.  Two minutes seemed far too long for resting.  This time I noticed something new again.  After the breathing pattern kicked in it was as if the cardio settled into a rhythm.  There'd be a few seconds of pain but then it would settle and I honestly felt as I could just keep on running.  It was much like what I used to experience when I was kid doing long distance swims as part of training.  Phase one was easy, phase two a pattern, phase three a little pain, phase four synchronisation.  It was obviously a good pace.

Towards the end, I knew I'd hit home before the 20 minute mark again so opted to complete the third circuit. I waited until 21 minutes and then decided that I was going to run the rest of the way home, regardless of how long it did take.  It was a little longer this time, but I was behind the eight ball.  So, my last run interval ended up being 101 minutes instead.  Again, breathing was good , form was good and able to push that bit harder towards the end.

Stats for W2D1:

3.45 km in 22 minutes and 41 seconds, averaging 9.12km/hr.

Yep, the average speed was slower.  Just above that of W1D1 but my performance was better... not to mention an end of day run and being distracted!  I'm not worried... I'm proud!

This morning I've awoken without any soreness. No calf, achilles or shin pain... in fact.. not even pain from yesterday's secret training.   Darn this running thing is good for me!  Feeling physically and mentally good...and watching the fat rapidly melt again!   These are going to be the best holidays!

I'm in a really good place right now! 

Holidays are underway so I am not stressed with work.  I can sleep in every morning and exercise every day!  I'm feeling happy and motivated and consequently I am not feeling overrun with desire to binge. Perhaps I am just designed to be a house wife??

I woke up this morning and flexed a few leg muscles in bed... I wasn't super sore like I had expected.  I got out of bed and my calves cramped but eased almost immediately to nothing. My shin muscles were still a little sore but significantly improved compared to the previous two days. I felt energetic and decided... bugger it... I am going for a run!

Downed to glasses of water and put on my shiney new shoes! Love them!  They are comfy and springy. It is almost like they mould to my feet and I barely notice they are there at the same time. Kind of a cool feeling knowing there is $220 worth of equipment on my feet... but the difference is worth every cent. After a bit of a stretch I whacked on my new SPIBELT, hooked up to my IPOD shuffle and away I went.

The shoes were wonderful...couched and no landing in funny positions.

Running with my IPOD was also a bit different.  After nearly kamikaze-ing into two cars that came up behind me, I decided that even in my quiet neighbourhood it would probably be a good idea to run against traffic.  Problem solved.

Everything felt good.  It was a longer time before a breathing pattern needed to kick in.  I wasn't aiming higher today... just the same.  But I found myself gradually winding up and soon knew that I was ahead of the game again.  For the last running interval, I did 90 seconds again and decided to go as fast and as hard as I could.  I wanted to make it back to the start point.  I pushed it and pushed it hard. My legs very sooo incredibly heavy. As much as I tried, in that last 15 seconds, I could not will them to move any faster... I was a few steps away when the clocked ticked over 90 seconds.  But, I am not unhappy!  While the body was giving up, my form was good the whole time and despite the exhaustion, no...crazy...breathing!  So with an extra seven seconds of walk I actually felt elated! 

Stats for today:

3.45km in 21 minutes and 37 seconds, making an average run speed of 9.57km/hr!  Yeah!

At this point I should also mention that the SPIBELT is brilliant!   It is discreet, didn't slip or slide at all and was so comfortable that it was after quite some time at home that I realised I was still wearing it!

So... I've done week 1 in three days.  That wasn't exactly my intention but I feel like the addiction centre of my brain has found something new to play with! Tomorrow, I should probably rest and then on Thursday I will pick up on W2D1.

OMG, what a mammoth day!

I got up this morning and couldn't help myself... had to go and hit the road again.  This time I made a concerted effort to stretch out and although it didn't fix my shin muscles, the calves were cured, qauds and hamstrings good.

I knew by the end of the first lap that I was ahead of the game this time. After a fair bit of research, I concentrated moving horizontally, minimising bouncing or any unnecessary movement.  It all felt better today and I was a lot more in touch with my body.  I also noticed that after a few running intervals I had started to get into a breathing rythm rather than crazy, rasping death rattles which would immediately precede lead legs.  Knowing that I was going to hit home under the 20 minute mark I decided to slog it out and complete the third full lap and running 90seconds for the last interval.

3.45km in 22 minutes and 26 seconds with an average speed of 9.22km/hr - yay for going faster!

Bam! There is was, euphoric high!  Yeah, have to say that running leaves me in the most awesome head space compared with any other activity!

So, after a warm down stretch I chugged a pre-work out drink and headed off to the gym.  Seriously, that funky happy feeling is the only way to train.  It was the final arms session and my total lack of progress just proves just how pathetic they are!   Oh and should I mention that my IPOD shuffle decided, without warning, that the battery was dead and refused to work.... But it wasn't all bad!  I wasn't able to bump up the weights but my performance was more consistent and my tricep based activties were definately stronger.  I suspect that has a lot to do with my "other" training.

So, two session down for the day, grocery shopping in the mix and then headed off to Intraining Running Centre to get some new running shoes!

For the second time in my adult life, I looked at the barely-out-of-school chick behind the counter and wondered where the experienced guy was hiding...  With a few moments to kill while another customer was served, I decided that I was being judgemental and that her age was really no indication of her running experience and would probably wipe my ass on the road.

As it turned out, she did know what she was talking about and I suspect if we knew each other outside of professional circumstances, we would have gotten on like a house on fire.  Had to admit though, I felt a little silly running around the outside of the shop, trying to get a feel for the shoes.  I didn't have a whole of choice as my size seems to be the most popular but as it was I had two pairs I couldn't decide between. But at some point I forgot I was still wearing an Adidas Adistar Ride W and figured this was the way to go.

While I was paying, something else caught my eye.  Something called a SPIBELT i.e. Small Personal Items Belt.  It is essentially the ultramodern version of a bumbag made for runners. I was assured by the sales chick that it didn't slip or bounce around and figured that it had to better than tucking my house key into the shoe laces! So, I now also own a slim black one with a red zip.

My final task for the day was to get through karate. I didn't do a whole lot in the first class but got into some impromptu teaching... wow how rusty am I at teaching "advanced" blocks and strikes.  Oh well.  Second class was pretty good.  Thought that I would be tired from having run and been to gym without a whole lot of rest but actually found myself flying through!  I think that can be partly attributed to holidays.  We focused on some more tournament based activities towards the end. Still not sure why I entered.  The same biases are still going to exist and I don't trust myself to perform well when nervous.  But hey... might as well give it a go. Besides, if I can't do it there, how on Earth am I going to go at grading?  There is a possibility that I'll be the only one heading for nidan and then I'll be expected to perform alone, in front the RMs, Sensei Gavin, the rest of the cohort and bystanders.   I shall consider it practise!

Anyhow, that component also went well and felt that I managed to stick together in a reasonable manner under a little bit of stress.  Sometimes it is hard to break the old habits under those circumstances.  Just keep plugging away I guess...

While pottering around the world of Map My Run, I found a link to a newbie running plan called Couch-to-5K. Theoretically, folks who follow the plan step by step should be able to run a continuous 5K in just over two months!  It follows a similar format to what I used to (blindly) employ as a method of increasing speed and decreasing rest phases when doing the HIIT on the treadmill. So... I got something right. 

So, after reading through a few different forums and finding a high success rate, I have decided to embark on this journey and hopefully, be a lot better off for it!

This morning I set out for the very first time and decided to follow the advice given, starting at the beginning and pacing myself.  Week one looked pretty easy and I can say that I felt pretty comfortable the whole way through. I didn't really need 90 seconds for recovery each time but made sure I did anyway.  All in all, 3.05km in 20 minutes and 18 seconds, averaging ~9 km/hr (not bad considering all the walking I had to do in there).  So, my goal next time is to work a little harder on each run segment so that I get a little further by the end.
It is a really, really basic start but I feel wonderful and I like having a sense of direction with progression.  The fact that many people have had success is encouraging and helps me to believe that I will actually be able to get to the end.

Tomorrow will probably have to be a rest day as I've got my finally arms session on the strength program in the morning followed by training in the afternoon.  I'll see how my legs are feeling.  Don't want to burn out at this early stage either!

I had search a little while to find that smiley... because that truely represents how I presently feel!  Yes, at long last, I am on holidays!!!!

Today marks the start of two weeks two myself and the start of a new training program and a new eating plan!

How much am I going to enjoy sleeping in and leaving the political work world behind... for now.

Before I launch off into my successes from my four week strength program, I would like to throw out my latest discovery.  Map My Run  I can't take full credit for this.  It was tucked away in one of the more recent issues of Australian Women's Health.  I usually prefer the guys version but it did list this link.  Anyway, basically it utilises Google Maps to allow you to plot out the path of your run on a map and calculates the total distance as well as relevant inclines and declines.  Plug in a few stats and it will also calculate your calorie expenditure and average speed too. Not to mention allowing you to keep a log of your runs and times etc.  There is actually quite an expanse to the site but I've stuck to what I've wanted.

Anyhow, seeing that we've moved on the next phase which is all about speed, endurance and core strength, I thought it was time to actually learn how to run outdoors.  While I can jump on a treadmill, increase the incline and do 30second on and off at 16km/hr for 20 minutes.... epic fail comes to mind when attempting to actually run on the road for any length of time.
So, at least until work starts up, I am going to make an effort to include a daily run in my routine. I thought I'd start easy and work my way up.  My fun little tool told me that if I did the biggest loop around the neighbourhood, I would cover 1.15km and it would be pretty flat all the way.  Smartly, after coming home from a good legs session, I decided to give it a go.

It was a nice try...  To get around once... which was all that I managed before dying on the ground...it did take me six minutes and 24 seconds.  I converted to a walk twice during that time but only for 30 seconds on each occasion. Apparently, that meant I ran at an average of 10.78km/hr and burned a poxy 72cal. I have a LOT of work to do...

So, I've set myself a few targets about distances and stop points and will see where things go.  Apparently, there are a lot of people out there who manage to make themselves into long distance runners so surely now that I am lighter and fitter than my first attempt (2004) I will make progress???

....Moving on, I might hold off posting the outcomes of my strength rotation until after I've kicked out the final arm session on Monday.

Tried the vanilla flavour of Reflex Instant Whey this morning and can say that I am impressed.  I'd avoided the vanilla as I was suspicious it would be boring or weak.  It is neither.  Mixes with yoghurt like a dream and seems to go alright in porridge.  Will have to try the latter again seeing I overcooked it a bit today but reckon it will even be better as a half serve.  Sick to death of banana and can't wait for it to be finished off!

Going to leave it there and actually change out of these smelly, sweaty clothes!

Bring on Spring Holidays!!!

A good friend of mine recently came into possession of an iPhone... something that has increased my total curiosity for this highly popular little device. Anyhow, one application became of particular interest late yesterday afternoon: Groundspeak's Geocaching Iphone Application  Such was our introduction to what we decided was almost an underground sport... geocaching.

What is it?  Essentially, people all over the world have made it their mission to hide suspect packages in unusual places for other people to find by using GPS co-ordinates.  Sometimes the packages have special items from which you can take but you also have to contribute.  The are also log books that you can sign to say that you have found the mystery package.

Late yesterday afternoon we decided to have a go at this activity and picked a series that would require us to be creative and work out how to open a box within the outer box in order to sign the log book.  Our location of choice was Toohey Forest.

Firstly, can I just say that Toohey Forest is a lot bigger than I realised with a few different complicated paths...some of which were rather steep and tricky to get up.  Although, we must suck at the bushwalking thing given that we were overtaken by a cyclist who was nowhere to be seen when we first started out.
The first part did take a long time. Primarily because we did choose the wrong path at the beginning and essentially meandered around in random circles before finally stumbling across roughly where we needed to be...  We then had the task of making sense of the location hints and found ourselves forcing our way through scrub, trying not fall and break bones.  But there finally was glory! Short lived when we realised that in order to open the inner box, we were going to have to go all the way back to my car to retrieve a certain item.  *Insert images of me crashing through leaves, rocks, spiders webs and branches like a mountain goat, off to the car*.

Yup!  We did it!  In fact... twice!  (The second time was much easier knowing how it all worked).  It is quite an exciting and accomplished feeling, finding these things which have been hidden so the general public doesn't stumble across them.  Very underground and kicks arse over any scavenger hunt I've ever been on!


Today, I am feeling tired... again.  Not really all too sure why.  Not really feeling like being back at work again tomorrow but at least I only have two more days and then life will be good again.  I need to get a few things done e.g. replying to emails, preparing lunch for the next two days, more laundry etc.  Think I'd rather go back to bed!