You are currently browsing the monthly archive for February, 2007.
Exercise: 9.6km Run - MMCT (Sweat Run) (7’sYellow)
Michelle and I have decided to call our interval runs “sweat runs” as they really make us sweat. We upped the distance of the 8 second hard run with 12 second recovery up to about 3km this morning. As I said in last week’s post, I’d love to get to the point where we can do this continuously for 20 minutes.
We’re going to have to start wearing our cap lights as it’s now very dark when we start out and there was a couple of incidents this morning where we could have easily run into people if we hadn’t heard them coming. Because we wern’t wearing the lights they certainly couldn’t see us - they probably heard us though due to all the exertion of the sweat run!!
We actually ran a full minute faster than our sweat run last week. It’s amazing how a little bit more effort shows a big improvement very quickly.
Michelle and I have decided to do a March challenge. No chocolate for the whole month and some form of exercise every day…..GULP!!
Exercise: Netball Game
We finally won a game of Netball tongiht. Okay the other team had 2 players who I don’t think had played very much (if at all!!) but I don’t care. A win is a win!! It was stinking hot again and I sweated buckets even though I didn’t really get much of a run around. Doesn’t bother me as long as it shows on the scales.
Now can somebody please answer this puzzling question. Why would 2 women walk on the road when there is a perfectly good pavement right next to said road? I was happily driving along a service road near my house when I had to move out into the centre of the road to avoid these stupid women who were doing their walk on the road….just can’t understand why they didn’t use the footpath. It was quite dangerous in fact when I think about it!!
Now to answer a couple of questions.
JH - Yes Michelle did run 36km’s yesterday. She is just awesome. She’s training for the Great Ocean Road Marathon, followed by the Gold Coast Marathon.
Vicky - No half marathons on the horizon. I’m contemplating doing the 14km Great Ocean Road run on the Saturday of the weekend of the GOR Marathon (which is on the Sunday). I’ll be going down there anyway to support Michelle and it means that I get a run in too.
I got a little bit disheartened with the half marathon runs. I just felt like I wasn’t enjoying the competitiveness of them any more and was much happier just running the distance in my own time without the added pressure of always trying to beat my PB….just made me not want to race at all.
Sara - I haven’t looked at any of my diet books for quite a long time now, they have just been sitting on a shelf in the spare bedroom. The only reason they were on the table is because we are clearing the room out so that we can bring all the weight training equipment inside from the garage.
And I don’t want to talk about the footy 
Alana’s Quote: “It was very nervousing!” (she meant nerve wracking)
Exercise: 21km Run - Warby Trail (6’s)
Michelle and I had decided to run to Warburton this morning along the Warby Trail. Marty (Michelle’s hubby) was going to pick us up at the end of the trail.
I met Michelle at Killara. Michelle had already done 15km due to her starting at Lilydale. I have to say that doing a point to point run is so much easier than an out and back course, plus the fact that I haven’t run any further than Yarra Junction along the trail. It was all new territory to me, and the scenery was just so gorgeous.
We were very lucky that it was fairly overcast for most of the run, but was still warm with no rain (yay!!). The trail was quite busy this morning with lots of walkers and bike riders. Only saw one other runner. We stopped at Yarra Junction for a loo break and a bit of a stretch and then continued on to Warburton. The time seemed to fly this morning for some reason.
It was great to see Marty at the end. We had a quick stretch and then jumped into the car as Michelle had to get to work. Marty dropped me off at my car and I had a nice leisurely drive home. Hopped into an ice bath again. It worked wonders last week on my legs and I had absolutely no aches and pains.
Here’s a piccie of me and Michelle after our run.
Alana’s Quote: “Are you two having sex?” (Me and hubby were just having a cuddle!!)
SAUCONY HURRICANE GRIDS
Left to Right
6’s, 7’s (Spring Release), 7’s (Autumn Release), 8’s
My wonderful Hubby went and picked up the 8’s that I had rung and asked to be put under the counter at Converse in Smith Street.
He is very concerned for our bank balance if I ever get the chance to shop there 
Both the 6’s and the Yellow 7’s are about 2/3 through their usage so I made sure that I have another two pairs in the wings ready and waiting.
Exercise: 10km Run - Local Hills (7’s Yellow)
The temptation NOT to run hills was great this morning. But I thought that if I don’t get enough hill running in them I’m going to be very under prepared for the Puffing Billy Run in May.
So hills it was. Michelle and I were both suffering from lack of sleep so the run was VERY slow. But we did the 10km circuit without stopping once. And it was singlet and Running Skirt weather this morning - very warm and humid.
When I received my new fuel belt last week, I immediately washed the water bottles out. Unfortunately one of them had a split in the bottom and was leaking. I rang on Monday to see if I could get a replacement, which came in the mail on Wednesday. I also ordered a couple of the bigger bottles at the same time. I just hope it’s not too heavy now to carry whilst I’m running.
This cartoon made me laugh 
Alana’s Quote: “I wish God had given us 3 sets of teeth!”
Yes it’s Shrove Tuesday and what else is there to do on Shrove Tuesday but to eat Pancakes!! Alana and I had them for Dinner - and they were so nice….thanks Nigella
Exercise: 9.6km Run - MMCT
Perfect weather for running at 6am. It was 19 degrees, which was warm enough for me to wear shorts and singlet. It’s the first time this summer that I’ve worn a singlet for my early run. Have I told you all how much I feel the cold 
Michelle and I had been discussing the 8 second fast run followed by 12 second recovery run on our long run so we decided to try it out this morning. We did this along 4 sections of the trail. I have to say that it felt really good. The 8 second sprint was enough to get the heart rate up but not far enough to have no energy for the next sprint, and the 12 second recovery was just enough time to get your breath back ready for the next sprint. We’re going to increase each section gradually until we are doing it for a straight 20 minutes - which might take a few months but we’ll get there in the end!!
Thought this might amuse some of you - a photo of SOME of my weight loss and diet books (there are more!!)
This THING appeared in front of me last night. I was merrily doing my own thing in the kitchen and suddenly there it was!! I started to stand on it (like any sane person does) but it didn’t feel right when I put my foot on it so I just squashed it a little bit, then screamed at Hubby to come and see what it was!! Brave wasn’t I
I think it’s one of these things. I’ve no idea what it was doing in the house, but I’m more worried about the fact that there may be more of them hidden somewhere! I’m not really a squirmy person when it comes to bugs and things, but this cricket was just a bit too big for my liking!
Exercise: Netball Game
Well for everyone who asked, I had a fabulous time at Grape Grazing yesterday. Yes I had a few glasses of vino but I didn’t go overboard and was still able to talk coherently at the end of the day.
Wilbur Wilde was so cool. Him and his band had everyone up dancing on the lawn. It was a really warm day (38 degrees) but there were plenty of marquees to lounge under. One of the group that I was with brought a blanket with them otherwise we would have had wet bums at the end of the day!! The only downside to the day was that there was no Champagne I had a choice of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, or a couple of red wines - the Sauv Blanc won out!!
Netball was a bit disappointing. We lost by quite a lot. Their goalers were very tall and very good shots - but we had a really good run around and I sweated heaps, which is always a good thing in my books!!
Have just finished watching Biggest Loser. I think that the person who got voted out of the Blue team was definitely the right person to leave. Even though she had lost the most weight % wise, it really looked like she was not doing the team morale any favours with all her bitching and her pushy attitude. But good on her for losing as much weight as she’s lost since leaving the house. Shows that she has the determination to do it.
Exercise: 20km Run - Warby Trail (7’s Yellow)
HOT, HOT, HOT - that’s how I felt when I’d finished the run. Michelle parked her car at Seville and ran the 7.5km to meet me at Woori Yallock, which is where I parked. It was already up to 25 degrees at 8.30 and getting hotter by the minute. Of course the sun came out as soon as we started to run - it had been cloudy up until then!!
There were plenty of people on the trail, mainly walkers and cyclists, probably trying to beat the heat of the day. We started really well and were doing under 6 min k’s (maybe not a good thing!!). We turned around at the 10km mark, which was just a bit further than Yarra Junction, and ran back to the toilets at Yarra Junction to have a loo break, fill up water bottles and have a bit of a stretch.
We were both wearing our coolties, which were absolutely fantastic. They really helped keep the body temperature down, even though it was so bloody hot.
I did start to struggle a little bit at the 15km mark. Had a stretch and a drink then carried on. Had to have another stop with about a km to go. That last km was definitely the hardest, especially as the trail is in full sun and you can see where the carpark is. I just had to keep my head down and keep plodding along.
Finally made it back to the car. What a huge relief that was. Refilled Michelles water bottles and sent her on her way. She still had to run another 7.5km back to her car. I didn’t envy her!! But what a star - she ran 35km today - how amazing is that!! And the temp had risen to 30 degrees by the time I finished - way too hot to be out running!
On the way back home I saw the convoy of buses and mini-buses all heading to the wineries for Grape Grazing. I’m going tomorrow - yippee!! Seems that one of my girlfriend’s son’s friends’ parents (get all that??) owns one of the wineries that are doing the grape grazing, so we’re off there. Wilbur Wilde is going to be there, so that should be fun! I just need to remember to drink water in between glasses of wine. Maybe I should text my boss to say that I might be late in on Monday
I got home and decided to see what all this sitting in a cold bath thing is all about. I filled the bath with cold water, got in and then chucked a couple of trays of ice cubes in. Wasn’t too bad actually. Sat there for about 15 minutes and then jumped into a cool shower. The legs don’t feel too sore, just a little bit tired.
Right, I’m off to sit under the cooling duct!
*Edit* - I emptied the bath water onto the plants tonight and I must have lugged at least 10 five litre buckets outside - I’d only filled up the bath so that my legs were immersed!!
Exercise: 12km Run - Local Streets (including hills) (6’s)
OOOwwwwww!!! That’s how my legs are feeling. Can’t believe how much pain I’m still in after playing Netball on Monday night. When Michelle showed up at my place this morning I begged her not to run hills, which she kindly agreed to. So we set off on a relatively flat run.
However things changed when she realised at about the 1km mark that she’d dropped her key pod from her shoe so we had to retrace our steps until we found it, which we did, about 500metres from my house. So we changed course and ran a different way. I’d forgotten to start Gav, so had to rely on Michelle to let me know how far we’d run. As we’d only done 5km when I enquired how far we’d run, I thought we might detour and run down a street which I know has a nice hill (what was I thinking!!). The legs coped, but they did complain alot when I was stretching as it hurt so much.
All up a very SLOW run, but longer than I originally planned. It was very warm out at 6am and it didn’t take very long to get a good sweat going - YUK!!
I wanted to do my Yassos last night but the thought of running on that treadmill at 12kph just filled me with dread. I knew it was going to hurt…ALOT! I may try to do them tomorrow instead.
This is the vew from my window at work. I sit staring outside alot!
Alana’s Quote: “Mum can I drive the car?”
Exercise: 9.6km Run - MMCT (7’s Yellow)
Yep, I was right, the old legs took a bit of a battering last night and wern’t very happy about having to run this morning. They seem to be tightening up as the day goes by. I did have a good stretch when we finished running but will probably need to have another stretch when I get home otherwise I can see myself walking around like a cripple tomorrow!
After doing my long run on Sunday, playing Netball last night and running this morning the scales have been very nice to me Just hope they stay that way for my weigh in on Saturday.
Nothing really to say today other than Yay for the rain that’s fallen. Means I don’t have to go out and water tonight. And why are the prices of Bananas going up again???
Exercise: Netball Game
I think I’m going to be sore tomorrow. Netball is such a start/stop game and my legs (especially my knees) haven’t had that kind of jolting action since December when the last season finished. I know it won’t take long for them to get back into the swing of playing, but the thought that it’s going to hurt tomorrow is filling me with dread!
And it’s not just my legs, I know that my shoulder and arm are also going to hurt from throwing the ball. I’m already in the wars! Got knocked on the nose accidently by one of my team mates as we both ran for the ball. It hurts to touch too! And I tried to reach a pass but the ball just hit the tips of my fingers and now my middle one is really sore….hope this is not the start of things to come this season
I was really happy to see that they showed the elimination on The Biggest Loser early on in the show tonight. I had to leave for Netball at 7.45pm so it was great to actually see who got kicked out. And it seems that my Mum saw Alex at the Croydon Leisure Centre last week. Seems that he lives locally in Ringwood and is the Chef at the Chinese Restaurant at Burnt Bridge Shopping Centre…..might have to go down there just to do some celeb spotting!! Oh yeah, my Mum said he had lost loads of weight too
Exercise: 16km Run - MMCT (6’s)
Michelle was at my door at 8.30am….I was ready to go! Whereas last week runing up the hill that takes us up to Yarra Road was very very hard, today it just didn’t seem that difficult or steep - no idea why, just wasn’t so hard on the legs!
The run was slow, very slow - but very comfortable and enjoyable. I would like to have run further today but unfortunately time was not on my side as I had to be at Healesville at 12pm and it takes at least 30 minutes to get there, so had to be ready to leave home at 11.30 - no mean feat when you’ve only got 40 minutes to get ready.
Here’s a piccie of MMCT this morning - beautiful as ever
Lunch was very nice. Went for a Smorgersboard at the Healesville RACV Country Club (very posh what!!). And I’m happy to report that I didn’t overeat, although I did visit the dessert table twice!
Netball starts tomorrow night - should be interesting 
Alana’s Quote: “Wow look at those old fashioned cars!” (an old LE Monaro and an old GT Ford)
Exercise: 7km Run - Treadmill (7’s Yellow)
I wanted to do a 10km run this morning but it was a bit drizzly outside and there was this stirring inside me that I sometimes get before a run which indicates that I may need to make a toilet stop (TMI??). So the treadmill it was instead.
I honestly had to get off after 7km. I just couldn’t do any more, no matter how much I changed the speed, the incline, even my thought process. It was just so BORING!! So I picked up the weights (that sit right next to the treadmill) and did a few tricep and bicep curls. Also got on the floor once I’d got back inside the house and have done some crunches (finally).
I’ve created a new page with my running playlist that’s currently on my MP3. Go check it out if you get a sec!
And I’m not very happy at the moment. Have had a message from the person I bought my new Hurricane Grid 8’s from on Ebay to say that they didn’t actually have any in stock and couldn’t get any either - WTF….why advertise that you’ve got them if you haven’t!!!! So I’ve sent an email asking if they happen to have any Grid Omni 5’s in my size instead. Am waiting for a response with baited breath!
Alana’s Quote: “Mum you won’t whip me if I misbehave will you?” (she’d been listening to the song Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake)
Exercise: 9.6km Run - MMCT (6’s)
The legs were not happy this morning. After doing my yasso’s last night they were definitely a bit lethargic during the run this morning. However I’m more than happy that I could still get through the run without THAT MUCH discomfort. Yes it was a little bit slower than what we’ve done recently but still a fairly good pace (well it felt like it anyway).
I seriously need to start doing some weights and core work. I keep saying that I’m going to start doing it and just haven’t got around to it yet. Why is this? No idea - just laziness I guess. And yet laziness doesn’t get me better running times, doesn’t strengthen my legs and doesn’t make me feel good! Note to self: PULL FINGER OUT!.
I rang Fuel Belt yesterday and advised them that I could not find their equipment at Anaconda. The guy was very surpised as he was positive that they stocked it. I’ve ordered one direct and it’s in the post.
I got one of these ones. It’s called the Trail Runner Belt.
It’s got lots of little pockets for everything that I need to carry. Can’t wait for it to arrive now. I may order the bigger 10oz bottles though. They still fit in the elastic thingys that hold them in place and it means I can carry more water.
Alana’s Quote: “Mum can you please make my breakfast as my hands are tied up!” (she was playing her PSP!)
Exercise: 6km Run - Treadmill (4 x 800m @12kph) (7’s Yellow)
I had decided that today I was going to start doing Yassos. For anyone who doesn’t know what Yassos are click here for info. I have to admit that I had no idea what they were until Michelle started training for her debut Marathon last year.
It took me a little while to work out how fast I needed to go on the treadmill to achieve 800 metres in 4 minutes. The brain just wouldn’t compute. Hubby worked it out for me in the end (thanks to Marty as well for letting me know whilst I was in the middle of my first Yasso!!).
OMG - It was hard. I couldn’t breathe properly after the first one. Had to bring the treadmill right down to walking pace so that I could recover. And the thought of doing another 3 filled me with dread. I wasn’t sure that I was going to be able to do another one let alone another 3 of them. I finally got my breath back, just in time to start my next yasso. This one felt a little bit easier, but I was still gasping for breath after 4 minutes. Once again I had to bring the treadmill back down to walking speed so that I could recover.
The last 2 were easier I have to say. I still struggled but found that I could breathe a bit easier. All I kept doing was counting down in my head, telling myself it was only another 2 minutes, only another minute and a half, only one more minute. That’s what got me through them. And just to round off the session, I jogged on the treadmill to make it up to 6km. The jogging at 10kph was a doddle!!
I know that Yassos are predominantly a training tool for marathons but I’ve also read that they help with speed as well and I’d like to bring my 10km time down a little bit, so I will persevere with them. My goal is to get to 10 reps….just might take a little bit of time to get there!
I was at the supermarket at lunch time, just buying some essentials and the check out woman was chatting away to her colleague, totally ignorant of me standing there. Anyway she was so totally involved in her conversation that she charged me twice for my potatoes and I had to actually stop her conversation to tell her of her error. Well, the look that she gave me was just unbelievable. Anyone would have thought that I’d done something wrong, not her. She shut up after that but still totally ignored me. I just shook my head when I walked away after paying!!
Alana’s Quote: “Dad now that I’m 8 years old I have to know everything!”
Exercise: 10km Run - Local Streets (6’s)
Got up as per normal to meet Michelle at MMCT. I knew something was wrong when she hadn’t shown up by 6am. I got a frantic phone call at 6.05am to say that she’d slept in. It would have taken her 25 - 30 minutes to get dressed and get down to MMCT so there really wasn’t enough time to get a decent run in. We decided instead for Michelle to meet me at my work at lunch time for a run.
So I drove home with every intention of changing my trainers and going for a power walk instead. But once inside the door, the lure of my bed called and I ended up jumping back in. Unfortunately I couldn’t get back to sleep and when the alarm went off to get up I felt really crap. Wish I’d just stayed up now, even if it was to go out and water the plants and put some washing out on the line!!
Anyway Michelle drove up to my work and we headed out for a run at about 2.30pm. Just as we got going the sun decided to come out. I was of the impression that it was going to be pretty overcast today so took my 3/4 pants to run in. Stupid move! I was so bloody hot! Of course we get back from the run and the sun disappears again!
We both just wanted a nice flat run today so I took Michelle along the highway, which I thought was going to be fairly flat - WRONG!! Why does it always feel so easy do a certain route at 6am, whereas at 2.30pm it feels like we’re climbing Mt Everest??? Needless to say we’ve crossed our hill training off the list this week as being done!!
My front doorbell rang at 7.45am this morning. I opened the door to be met by the postman bearing packages…….one from my girlfriend in the UK. It was a birthday pressie. And what a great pressie. I now own a running book - but not just any running book. Its this one. And it’s the new third edition that’s just been released. I’m very excited and can’t wait to start reading it. Unfortunately I left it at work today so will have to wait until tomorrow to start!
The other package was my new Enell Bra. This time I bought a pink one. I now have 4 of these bras and highly recommend them to anyone who has trouble finding a good supportive bra for women who are well endowed. One tip though, buy them from the US rather than Australia as they cost at least $20 less, and that’s including postage. I get mine from Ladies Only Sports. Cannot fault their service.
And whilst on the subject of new stuff, I’ve also bought a new pair of Hurricane Grids. Bought the 8’s this time to see if there’s much difference between those and the 7’s that I’m currently using. Got them at a great price on Ebay in the US. You can never have too many pairs of trainers! 
Alana’s Quote: Me: “Alana why aren’t you wearing any underpants?” (underneath her school uniform)
Alana: “You didn’t tell me to put any on!” (luckily it was at home before school started!!)
Exercise: 18.3km Run - Home to MMCT to Home
Michelle met me at my place this morning (after running from her car which she parked at MMCT) and we ran back up to the furthest end of MMCT and back again. I parted ways with Michelle at the 16km mark (her 23.5km mark) and ran home. This is the furthest I’ve run for a long time and it felt really comfortable.
I have a little niggle in my right knee. I’ve now stretched it and iced it and will do some trigger point massage on it a little later. It’s not really “sore” but just a little achy.
The weather was perfect for running. I got back home and the sun was just starting to heat up, so we definitely went out at the right time. Any warmer and I don’t think it would have been good to run in.
Well that’s my exercise for the day done and dusted….the rest of my day is filled with hairdressing appointments, visiting friends and chilling out tonight!
Enjoy the warm weather everyone!
Exercise: 10km Run - Local Streets (6’s)
Michelle met me at my place this morning as we were going to run some hills. Unfortunately I drank a couple of cans of the new Cougar Zero last night and also had a bag of White Choc Raspberry Bullets and they really didn’t agree with me and I felt quite nauseus sick this morning.
So we decided to run a flatter course around the local streets. I have struggled in the past with the course that we ran as there are a couple of inclines that tend to sap the energy quite quickly but this morning I sailed up them, even with my dodgy tum! I’m sure it’s because I’m so involved with my chatting to Michelle that I just don’t notice where I am and what’s ahead of me!
Both Michelle and I use the little key holder that hooks onto your trainers. It was free in Special K packs a while ago. Anyway on our way back to my place Michelle spots hers on the ground. It had fallen off on the way out and neither of us noticed it. It was only on the way back that Michelle saw it. Just as well I didn’t choose to run a different way home! Can’t believe that nobody else picked it up. Very lucky!!
Alana’s Quote: “Mum can Kerry do my hair the same as the White Witch?”
Me: “You’ll have to ask her when we see her next” (Kerry is my hairdresser)
Alana: “I’m sure she can do it as she’s a hair artist!”
Exercise: 31.5km Bike Ride - Warby Trail
I had the day off today for two reasons. The first being that it was Alanas first day back at school and both Hubby and I wanted to walk in with her and make sure she was comfortable in her new class. No problems there, all went really well!
Second reason, and much more important, it’s my birthday…Hooray!! I had two options. I could lounge around doing nothing, go out for lunch and pig out, drink lots of alcohol, or I could get out on the bike for a ride, then stop at a cafe and have something light to eat with a couple of glasses of bubbly to celebrate. So I chose option 2.
We had a fantastic ride. It was perfect weather, there was hardly anyone on the trail and the company was wonderful. We started at Mt Evelyn and rode down to Woori Yallock, had a bit of a rest, watched all the other riders go by, then hopped back on the bikes and headed back up to Mt Evelyn.
I wore my Running Skirt and it was just so comfortable. One of the best buys I’ve made.
As I said, when we got back to Mt Evelyn we stopped at the cafe next to the trail and had some wedges and a couple of glasses of bubbly. This is the view we had. from our table.
Now I have a complaint to make. One of my birthday presents was going to be a new Fuelbelt. Looking at the Fuel belt website it states that I can buy a Fuel belt at Anaconda in Bayswater. So once we’d dropped Alana off at school, we drove down there. Wandered round the shop for a while trying to locate said Fuelbelt, but couldn’t see it anywhere. We asked a sales person if they sell them only to be told that they don’t stock them. Now what is the point of advertising that something is available somewhere when it isn’t???
Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me!!
