Feeling pretty good today!

Had a bit of a downer in the morning yesterday but was on track by the end of the day. I did eventually gain a little perspective on the runs.  I seem to remember writing in this blog about my epic fail attempt at running the day before I started C25K.  I'd estimate only getting 500m before having to stop and walk.  Considering this, my development has been pretty damned impressive.  Suppose I wasn't exactly unfit before I started though.  Guess all that resides is the apprehension for next time.  When I get to W6D3 it will be 25 minutes continuously and all walk breaks are banished forever more!  Cross that bridge when I get there...

Secret squirrel training went well in the afternoon.  Ended up largely repeating what I'd done last time and I can see definitively that I was stronger, faster and more efficient.  I can also say that after increasing pyramid style through lizard walking, crab walking, lunges, duck waddles, wheel barrow walks, jumping, hopping and sprinting laps back to back without rest, holding a bridge position with a 5kg plate on the back for a minute...is challenging.  Then I got to throw some bicep curls on the end after that....

The face pull, bench jump, pushup, leg raise combo after that also went reasonably well.  It is after the second set that I usually start feeling decidedly sick.  I think I am beating the bench jumps though.

Had a reasonably reflective evening after catching up with the old A team after the boy trained last night.  I've been working hard to get better and am looking forward to my big day. My current program is working wonders for me and I hope that I can perform at my own expected standard.  Found myself thinking about how things were when I started, the present and the future. Maybe something to elaborate on elsewhere...  

Just lost the blogging drive so going to call it quits for today.  Think the body is back on track... I'm sore but better than expected.  Going for a run again tomorrow... start of week 5.

Sooooo... W5D3....  I'd like to say that it was just simply so awesome but I'm not really that happy with it. 

Although significantly improved, I was still sore this morning and my warm up produced a few aches and my L) hamstring cramped.  I knew it wasn't going to be my best run and that it certainly was not.

I couldn't get my technique on properly and my hamstrings and calves were playing up and by the seven minute mark I was feeling uncomfortable.  I was disappointed at that point because my last run I'd hit eight minutes and was cruising. Wasn't going to give up though and kept going.  The uphill sections were hard and I was worried that I wouldn't make it to the end... still kept going through.  My legs were the big issue, the cardio was coping just fine.  Having said that, the second half was very slow and I was reasonably certain I could have walked faster.  Eventually my brain locked into karate mode and I absent-mindedly stared ahead.  The very last stretch was largely down hill. I wanted to pick up the pace to end but there wasn't very much left.  I pushed but not a great deal.  Completed my 3.5km in 20 minutes and seven seconds averaging 10.44 km/hr.

Disappointed.  Yep.

I know that my body hasn't been doing well these last few days.  I know that I was sore but I still was hoping for a lot better.  I suppose I am on track to get my 5km in the 30 minutes...  Still...

Unhappy calves, achilles and R) ITB.

Secret session this afternoon... should be looking forward to it... not right now.

It's hard to avoid the negative self talk that rattles around telling me that I was never meant to be a runner etc...   Transient.  W6D1 next time.

Today I am feeling sore.  Yesterday I was also feeling sore...from karate?!    This is not normal...  I become suspicious when I don't make a recovery from normal exercise.  Last time that happened I got savaged by a illness pre-wedding.

Yesterday's sessions went pretty well.  After declaring I couldn't possibly do clapping pushups I was told to just do it and sure enough... by set five I was managing to complete my three reps of clapping pushups - on my toes! Nice!  Apart from that, my box jumps went up a stack and managed to do my snatch grip deadlifts off the platform and increase the weight.

The afternoon's endurance also saw some improvements.  Think I'll be ready to hit the 20kg mark for the farmer's walk next time. Ran a little further on my first two sets of the sandbag run. Increased the number of burpees I was able to do before my legs would only allow me to stand rather than jump from the squat. I went for the 6kg plate to replace the medicine ball throw down but it was also too easy. 10kg next time I do it from home.  The bear walk was a lot stronger and more coordinated this time but I was shattered by the end so it was tough to maintain.

Tomorrow morning I am going to do W5D3.   I am looking forward to it!  Going to get up super early and just run!  20 minutes non-stop!  I'm feeling confident and excited.  The program starts to track rapidly upwards from here but I can say that as long as I can get through this then the rest should be more than manageable.

Picked up my new ID card from work yesterday!  The difference between late 2007 and now is quite remarkable. My face and neck are have lost a noticeable amount of girth.  It will be good to have an ID that says my married name and also describes me as qualified rather than student paramedic.

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.