TGIF

Mad, mad day at work today. Only one more hour to go, thank god.

Picked up my new orthotics last night - they're a lot higher in the arch than my old ones, and it feels like I have this huge plastic lump under my foot. Oh wait, I do! I've been wearing them all day, and actually, they're okay. Apart from the lump, they're pretty comfortable. I also notice that my feet pronate correctly with these ones, twisting from the outside to the inside the way they're meant to. So looking hopeful. I won't run in them this weekend (short run, maybe walk at Street-O on Saturday, and Puffing Billy on Sunday), but will wear them at work during the week.

Will wait a few weeks before buying a new pair of runners - the VISA needs recovery days too (car service, 4 new tyres, orthotics... all in the last week).

Diet-wise, I'm happy with the way I'm going too. For the last few days, I've been cooking my (homemade, high-gluten) muesli in the mornings, so it turns into a yummy crunchy porridge. I bought some rice porridge yesterday, which I tried this morning (tastes okay), and some plain rice flakes to add to the next batch that I make. Having the cooked porridge instead of the raw muesli seems to fill me up better too, so I'm less hungry during the morning. Lunch has been healthy leftovers, and herb teas and a banana for afternoon snacks. Dinner is never a problem... unless I go home via Red Rooster or the supermarket (chocolate bars in the checkout lane).

Street-O @ Smiths Dell

diet: that extra 1/2 kilo has gone, and taken some of its mates with it.

run: 7.6 kms (back 4 minutes early)

all is well in the world...

To detox, or not to detox?

Two things conspired against me over the weekend. The first was that I has a nagging headache all day Monday - as well as a complete lack of energy after working physically quite hard over the previous two days. Eating and sleeping was about all I was good for.

The second was that I bought a women's magazine - Madison - after I peeled myself off the couch and outside for some fresh air and a walk to the shops. One of the articles was on a 21-day detox where our heroine not only lost 5kg (nice to have!) but also had a lot more energy.

I've said before that my diet is crap, so I'm wondering if I should do something like this to solve: the energy problem, the headache (which I still have today), and the excess weight (5-10kgs) without which I'm sure I'd run a lot faster. :-)

I'm not going to spend $39.95 on buying the book, but there's enough information in the magazine to get started: stuff like cutting out gluten products, fruit (except bananas) because it's high in sugar, things from the nightshade family (which my Mum is allergic to - relevant perhaps?), red meat (which I don't eat much anyway), dairy (ditto), and all processed stuff (obviously). There's half a page of do's and dont's.

I made a start today by having a high-gluten breakfast (yeah, okay... okay) but without my usual OJ. Herb teas during the morning (more to try and kill the headache), and a rice dish for lunch. Shopping at lunchtime and bought some bananas for work, and some more herb tea. I completely bypassed the yummy cakes at work today - and now they've all gone, so my resolve is still good. Yoga tonight, with probably a protein shake when I get home. Or perhaps I should have coleslaw and leftover rice/lentils instead.

ANZAC weekend

Stripped wallpaper
Sanded walls
Pruned trees
Tidied up garden
Planted another tree

Bought a kick-arse ladder that folds up in 10 different ways - climbed up into the ceiling space and discovered some very weird comms wiring.

And on Monday, I rested. Now I know why weekends are only two days long - that's all I have energy for! Did go for a short run in the late afternoon though - 6 kms - and found some large blocks of land for sale. Hmmm, must investigate that a bit further.

Also managed to cook two healthy meals, with leftovers for lunches during the week.

Street-O @ Burwood East

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Cold, crisp, and a very good run. Knee was taped, and was comfortable until the 45-minute mark. Quick turnover on legs, everything felt really good. 8.65 kms.

Survey meeting afterwards: 2 slices of pizza, 4 bits of garlic bread, and a glass of orange "juice". Hmmm, that 1/2 kilo is still there this morning.

The scales from hell

TUESDAY: No junk food.

But had some seriously divine non-junky cheese and red wine after yoga class.

WEDNESDAY: arrrrgh, I've put on 1/2 a kilo! Christ... I didn't eat that much, did I.

Doing okay so far today, only 1 small cubic inch of cake thing (company/cupboard love).

Street-O run tonight. Knee is taped already.

Off the wagon...

... and into badness. After spending most of yesterday yawning, I remembered why I don't do morning runs. :-)

I didn't tape my knee either (didn't seem worth it for 1/2 hour), and now it hurts.

Lunch was a chicken pie (is it bad if it's "homemade" from a really yummy bakery?), and a fruit slice thing. Skipped the Spin class, and picked up a Red Rooster Tropical Pack on the way home (hey, this was the "healthy choice" - it could have been KFC!)



Today will be a "good" day.

Going nowhere fast

FRIDAY: Treadmill for 20 minutes - 2.6 kms, and Pump class.
Junkfood: one blackberry pie and some biscuits.

SATURDAY: haircut, and removed all fixtures in the master bedroom ready for stripping and sanding.
Junkfood: none! It's always easier over the weekend.

SUNDAY: 2-hour MetrO event @ Bellbird Dell (Vermont South). A3 map (1:10,000), 40 controls, 120 minutes. Warm day, and moderately hilly. Ran okay, not too many walking breaks (I thought). Got back with 5 minutes to spare, and tallied up 100 points (out of a possible 140). Got second female! (by one point!!). Beat Peter! and Steve!! Happy.

Got home and measured out my distance - 15.5 kms. Not happy. I did this exact same distance at the last MetrO event in August. Eight months, and no improvement. Arrgh...

Spent the afternoon recovering, before stripping off one wall's worth of wallpaper (outer layer only - will leave the wet stuff for next time).
Junkfood: one small caramel fudge bar (shhh), and fish'n'chips for tea.

MONDAY: decided yesterday that I needed to run more often, so out the door at 6:30am for a short run around Seville. 4.85 kms. Must choose a less-hilly route next time. Spin class tonight, maybe.

Podiatrist visit #2

THURSDAY: no exercise apart from a walk to the shopping centre and back (~2 kms), but I'm feeling VERY PROUD OF MYSELF. Not a single piece of junkfood passed my lips yesterday. Nothing, nada, zilch.

Second visit to the podiatrist last night. A bit more poking and measuring; pen lines, and "connect the dots" drawn on my feet and lower legs; and some lovely warm mud-like plaster-of-paris tape wrapped around my feet to make two little casts. Orthotics ready in 2 weeks.

I've been more conscious of my foot motion over the last week - curious to see what my feet actually do. My heel strike is okay (slightly pronated), but I don't roll down and off the big toe the way you're supposed to. I stay on the outside of the foot and roll off from just below the little toe. Why? I'm sure I never used to. Perhaps it's to "protect" my metatarsils - I'm prone to bruising and minor stress 'fractures' across there - by staying off them. Perhaps my shoes provide too much motion control and don't let me twist across the instep. Curious.

Street-O @ Boronia

WEDNESDAY: Nice warm evening, nice run. Trying not to slack off (too much!) between controls. 8.45 kms.

Commitment

TUESDAY: yoga class.

Still chuckling over Colac's rant which seemed to be (unintentionally?) directed at me after my tongue-in-cheek post. Got home, and dug out my Anthony Robbins book (I can't believe I just admitted that), and started browsing through it. One comment stood out - "a true decision ... is cutting off any other posibility."

If you "decide" to do something (like go to yoga once a week), then piking out because you "don't feel like it" isn't an option. If you think you'd quite like to lose a kilo or two, then that leaves the option open to have that piece of chocolate, or grab KFC on the way home. It's not really a "decision". If you decide to lose weight, then there is no option other than to eat healthy food. A sugar fix is not an option.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not concerned about my weight. My diet, however, could be better.

And to translate it to running - and someone's comment about "running is 90% above the shoulders". If I "decide" (as opposed to "would quite like") to increase my endurance, then slacking off between controls is not an option.

All spun out

MONDAY: Spin class. Whoa! if you ever wanted to lose a few kilos in fluids in less than an hour, then this is the class for you! Very hot sweaty class, but kinda fun though as we grin (grimace?) at each other in exhaustion. Talking to the instructor afterwards, she said that this class was for very fit people which is why she didn't give us any rest breaks - gotta keep the heart rate up. Bum a bit sore after Saturday's effort, and feet and knee achy on the high resistance bits.

Goals

Gotta have goals, right, otherwise you don't know how you're tracking. SMART goals - Simple, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Something like that anyway - my previous manager (complete cow) was a great fan of SMART goals.

Goal #1: develop cycle strength. Be able to competitively complete a MTB-O course 2 (Women's A) by the end of the season.

Last weekend I did Women's B, which was 16 kms. The Women's A course is around 20 kms, so not a big jump. How to get in the miles though, to build up strength. Maybe Spin classes at the gym? Never done one before.

Goal #2: improve endurance. Be able to run most (if not all) of a W35A orienteering course. By the end of the season.

Now this is a big ask! But it would get my times down - things happen so much faster when you run (funny that). I think the legs are strong enough to run cross-country (because they don't ache, either at the time or afterwards). And I don't gasp for breath, so I think the lungs are okay. So that leaves the ticker. How do you improve the heart muscle? Would spin class do double-duty? Guess I'll have to try it, and see.

Goal #3: eat better. Limit junk food (chips, mass-produced crap, etc) to once a week.

Another big ask. :-) Body won't run well on low-quality fuel. Don't touch the "breakfast" that work provides (fairy cakes for breakfast? yeah... you heard it here - our company loves us). I'm never home to cook, so this one's always hard - but with winter coming on, I can throw stuff in the crockpot which'll be ready at 8 or 9pm when I get home.

Orienteering weekend

Well, it's Sunday night. I've been "up north" all weekend at a couple of orienteering events.

FRIDAY: Pump class. No shoulder raises (yay), no sore shoulders afterwards.

SATURDAY: travel up to Beechworth for a MTB-O event at Stanley. Boring terrain - mostly open (felled) pine plantations, and the best route was always along the forestry tracks, rather than single trail though the bush. HOT out in the open. Out of sheer stubborness, I took the longer more scenic route on a couple of occasions. Starting to feel fatigue in the legs on the homeard run, but happy enough, as this is a longer course than I've done before. 16.35 kms in 1:20.

SUNDAY: stayed overnight in Chiltern, so only a short drive to the Bush event just outside the town. Temperature starting to heat up, even early in the morning. Running W35A, course 4. Apart from a dodgy route choice to the first control, I NAILED them... bang! bang! bang! Feeling very pleased with myself... until control #7.

I landed in the correct gully, found the watercourse junction... but where is the pit? Walked up and down the watercourse - yes, I'm definitely in the right gully, but no pit. Walked out to the road, took a bearing, yep - DEFINITELY the right place. But no bloody pit. Arrrrgh. And no one else in sight either. After attacking this from three different angles, I walked up to a different track with the intention of giving up. Passed a mine shaft - marked on the map. Dammit, I am going to GET this control. Took a bearing, and walked from tree to tree, taking a bearing each time. Finally found the bastard.

Walked back up to the track, and decided I was too pissed off to continue. HOT, frustrated, annoyed, and - to quote a friend - cracked the shits. Walked to the finish. 41 minutes on that blasted control - it should have taken 5. Probably about 10 kms.

Still pissed off.

Podatrist visit #1

Not quite sure what to make of this. He poked and prodded and measured, and had me walk up and down the corridor a few times, but didn't really seem interested in the running side of it. There was no treadmill in his office (even the Physio had a treadie), and as we all know, running is a very different movement to walking. And he took very little interest in the collection of shoes I brought along to demonstrate wear patterns (again, even the Physio was more interested in my shoes).

I wanted advice on what shoes to buy, and he basically told me what I knew already (stability, motion control, etc) but I've just been through that exercise, and stability shoes throw my feet off the edge of the shoe.

I was a bit disappointed, but will follow through with new orthotics - plaster cast and "full assessment" (whatever that means) next Thursday. Once I've got them, I think it'll be a trip in to Active Feet or somewhere - a shop with running podiatrists in stock.

Mid-week report

MONDAY: full of good intentions - I packed running gear and gym gear. Got to work, and the toilets had flooded over the weekend. The whole downstairs plumbing was out of action (including the shower). So no lunchtime run... okay, I figured, I'd go to the gym after work, do the 30-minute "runners workout" in the latest RW mag, hop on the treadmill for half an hour, then finish off with a Body Balance class.

Hah.

Six o'clock rolls around and I'm dead. Head for home with a stop at Red Rooster on the way.

Should really do something about my junk-food diet.

TUESDAY: Tuesday is usually lethargy day, but I had that on Monday and I can't do two in a row! So headed to the gym after work and did a yoga class. I was pleasantly surprised at how bendy I still am, considering I haven't done a class for 7 weeks. Must do this more often.

Didn't tape my knee - it gets really itchy under the tape, and you can't scratch it! So thought I'd have a day off, even though the Physio wants me to tape it every day for two weeks.

Dinner of strawberries, plums, and yoghurt, followed by a chunk of Toblerone. It's balanced, right?!

WEDNESDAY: Street-O run at Watsonia. Hilly area, but knee (and the rest of me) performed well. Knee was taped.. yes, and itchy. Kept leapfrogging Peter, who would walk up hilly bits while I would run them, then overtake me when I'd walk to read the map. Felt strong. 7.9 kms.

THURSDAY: Tape-free day for the knee. Off to the Podiatrist tonight...

Gym Report

I'm getting a bit disgruntled with my gym, so I'm shopping around for a new one. Thought I'd record my experiences here, for the WWW (whole wide world) to see.

FERNWOOD (Chirnside): where I am currently. Cost is $18/week on direct debit (the cheapest membership, and sole payment option). The only group classes that I'm interested in are Body Pump on Fridays 6:30pm, and Yoga on Tuesdays 6:30pm. They used to have a Monday night Pump, but dropped it in favour of a Body Step - which I'm not interested in. The cardio area is pretty good with lots of treadmills, cycles, rowers, etc. No complaints there. The weights area is pathetic - I guess because this is a women's gym, and women don't do weights? The pin-machines are on either side of the corridor leading to the changing rooms, and where people wait for the group classes. So there's a lot of traffic, and it's a bit unpleasant. The free weights are in a tiny area along with the fitballs and stretching mats, so you're jostling for space all the time. There's more personal space in a Pump class, so that's where all my weight training is done at the moment. Aerobics room and spin room are good.

My logic (and this is female logic - you have been warned) for wanting somewhere else is that I'm tired and ready to go home at 6 o'clock when I finish work. And because Fernwoods is only 5 minutes up the road, I'm still tired and ready to go home when I drive past it. So it's easy to keep going. In contrast, when I go to Street-O, it's normally a 30+ minute drive, and I'm nicely refreshed by the time I get there. So if I can find a gym that's a bit further away, I might be more inclined to call in? Will ponder this for a few weeks while I check out some other gyms in the area.

GENESIS (Ringwood): called in at 1pm Wed 6/4/05, and got the guided tour from a young male consultant (manager?). I know about 1/2 dozen people who use this gym, so it must be okay. Cost is $17/wk on direct debit, or just over $12/wk on a 12-month membership. Plus a $165 joining fee. I told my tour guide I was interested in weights and yoga; so I was shown the swimming pool (where women like to do aqua aerobics), the women-only area (fair enough, I guess), the main weights area (mostly pin-machines), and the cardio, spin and group exercise rooms. When I commented that I didn't see any free-weights, he said, Oh, I didn't think you were interested. So we went to see some dumbbells. He waved his hand in the general direction of a weights room where I glimpsed a couple of benches, and said that that's where the serious weight trainers hung out, and that it was mostly blokes, and any women in there were usually pretty scary-looking. Gee, as a (I hope) non-scary-looking babe, I wouldn't be interested in all that stuff.

GENESIS (Bayswater)

LILYDALE FITNESS CENTRE (Lilydale)

SPARTANS (Kilsyth)

CROYDON FITNESS CENTRE (Croydon)

I am sooo sore!

FRIDAY: Pump class. Those front shoulder raises are a killer. I suppose I could drop the weights, but it seems like a bit of a cop out, seeing I can do all the other shoulder work with the same weight. Rubbed in some heat rub before bed.

SATURDAY: Dug out a massive Agapanthus. Took pretty much all morning, and I filled 2 jumbo-sized garden rubbish bags with roots and bulbs so the sucker doesn't reproduce anywhere. Started digging what will become the Bottom Garden (perhaps that should be "Lower" Garden).

Blister on left hand; right hand is so sore I can barely open and close my fist.

Didn't go to the first Saturday Street-O of the year - too hot, too far. My temperature gauge read 35 degrees, and <20% humidity.

SUNDAY: Sore hand, sore shoulders, sore back, sore legs. Exhausted. Tried to lift the rubbish bags into the wheelbarrow, and failed miserably. Rolled them into a corner to deal with later. Only just managed to dig two small holes to plant a couple of trees.

Applied retail therapy. :-)