Advent Challenge: Day 12- 24

It feels like forever! Oh wait, it has been forever.

After finishing up work I was lucky enough to get down to Tassie last week to check out Bruny Island and MONA. Both highly recommended. Then it was all Christmas parties and birthdays and plenty of recovery time. It felt incredibly indulgent to take the week off from exercise, not exactly planned, but I tell you I caught up on sleep and was able to start this week full of beans. And man, those beans quickly ran out, because last night I was exhausted. Lucky I've got another week off ;).

Happy festive season to all!

Day 12. Monday
Beep test: Level 5.6. Not ideal. But I figure when I run it for real with people, I'm going to do better, plus I will take ventolin.

Day 13 - 18
Rest: 6 days of it. Oops. But it feels so good to be well rested.
Day 19. Monday
Vibram run: 10m | 1.69km | 5.56/km. Ugh, asthma put paid to this run.
Strength: 20 min. Bumped up the time due to the short run.

Day 20. Tuesday
Vibram run: 20:28 | 3.65km | 5:37/km. Finished off what I started yesterday.

Day 21. Wednesday
Beep test: Level 8.1. First fitness assessment, happy enough with this. Finished with something left in the tank, so there should be improvement next time.

Day 22-23
Rest.

Day 24. Saturday.
Ride: 1:15:30 | 33.16km | 26.35km/hr. Easy ride. No wind!

Advent Challenge: Day 10- 11

Day 10. Saturday
Rest: I shouldn't have, but I did. Lots of errands run. All in preparation for Sunday.

Day 11. Sunday
10km race: It was windy, but the rain held off. Waiting for official time, but it was sub 60m and I was happy enough. Raced home to host the girls for a gluten free pre-Christmas catch up breakfast. Corn fritters with avocado, feta & lemon, mini chili polenta-men, and spinach & ricotta brownies. Served with plenty of coffee and a Skype with one of our girls in San Fran.

Swim: 35m |1700m | 2:05/100m. Met J at the pool, who promised me his homemade lemon lollies as post swim treat. Mixed it up today and threw in some efforts. There was noticeable shortness of breath! Said lollies were pretty good.

Considering I did a double, I'm going to bag a rest day for later. Might be sneaky and try and do the same tomorrow!

Advent Challenge: Day 07 - 09

Day 07. Wednesday
Strength: 15m. I was so close to not doing this, we got home late after hanging out in the city, checking out the forest of Christmas trees in Fed Square and the light projections on St Paul.

Day 08. Thursday
Rest. Today was exhausting, of the emotional variety. I pretty much spent my last day at work in tears. Three days short of 11 years - my first real/professional job! While the work could be highly disturbing the people I worked with are freakin' awesome and I'm going to miss them dearly. But I am so excited for the next phase of my career.

Day 09. Friday
Bodyrock: This session was 7 mins of huffing, puffing and plank burn. I might do a beep test later if it cools down and bank a rest day! I can do that right? It's my challenge.

In other news I was pretty excited to step on the scale this morning and see a flat 60kg. My clothes fit better and I feel better. I've lost 4.5kgs since mid October, for some reason I find this time of year the easiest to lose weight. Really all I've changed is portion size and aiming for calorie deficit 5-6 days out of 7. It's working!

Advent Challenge: Day 05 and 06

It's handover week, essentially I'm at work just to answer any last minute questions and finish off some design work. I found myself with time to kill, so I went walking at lunchtime, in highly inappropriate footwear, but it was glorious.

We also finally got our Christmas lights up.

Day 05. Monday
Kickboxing: 45m. With 4x 100 skipping sets. Ahh my calves, ahh my heartrate!

Day 06. Tuesday
Vibram Run: 18:26 | 3km | 6:08/km. Not feeling the whole running thing today. Should have gone out at 6:30am rather than in the pm.

Advent Challenge: Day 02-Day 04

The proof is in my diary. And devastated that aviators will not be making an appearance in my new work wardrobe anytime soon. Unless they make them for people with teeny tiny faces.

Day 02. Friday
Run: 1:10:27| 11km | 6:24/km. This was tough, but more so because I didn't take any ventolin prior to running and my chest felt tight. Still, I'm not expecting a PB at next weekend's 10km!

Day 03. Saturday
Rest: Miraculously, I didn't wake up with a hangover. I think I should have given we had a work Christmas lunch that involved plenty of Rose and a stop at Lord of the Fries on the way home. Hello, mini (vegetarian!) burger.

Day 04. Sunday
Strength: 15 min. The plan had been to swim, but the pool had fed the internets the wrong info, and we were well and truly misinformed, so there were only 3 lanes available inside. Ugh, inside! We walked the lake instead and then while I was waiting for dinner to cook I did my strength. Hips, hammies, core & shoulders.

Advent Challenge: Day 01

I was up early and took advantage, pumping out 15 mins of strength. I managed to source the Man's weights from the garage, because 2kg is not quite a challenge anymore, but 4kgs certainly is.

Strength: 15 min

Monthly totals: November 2011

Ride: 3:21:48 | 67.14 km
Run: 6:40:12 | 63.01 km
Swim: 15m | 600m
Walking: 12:50
Kickboxing: 3:00
Strength: 1:30
Adventure racing: 4:29:32
Dancing: 2:00

Weight: -1kg, down to 61kg (134lbs). I thought I'd done slightly better, that said, I'm down a total of 2.5kgs since mid October. I'm not complaining!

Disappointing bike effort, but my run total doubled from last month. I definitely spent more time moving in November, compared to October. So I'm happy.

November was all about the Adventure race! And making a slow comeback with regards to my ITB injury sustained in September. I feel as though I'm making ok progress on that front.

Advent Challenge

Hot potato Kate is running an Advent challenge. It's exactly what I need this silly season. I'm cheating a little, because I don't actually have an advent calender, instead I'm going to use the stickers + my diaries. I'll switch over to the new diary two weeks in.

Anyhoo, there's 25 stickers each with an exercise task, there are a couple of rest days, because hey, there are Christmas parties to attend, there's some light days, and there's certainly encouragement to get moving. Obviously I won't have the chocolate, but I thought for every sticker in my diary I'd put away $2 - and at the end I'll treat myself to a Women's Health magazine subscription. Or something like that.

I finish work at the end of next week, I'm looking at another Interstate mini break, I then enter the Academy the week before Christmas, for a week! The next three weeks are going to throw up their own set of challenges, so at least I'll have one focal point!

Interstate

I have just had the pleasure of two and a half gorgeous days in Sydney with one of my girlfriends. I've been going up around this time of year for the past three or so years to visit her, but never, never have I encountered such glorious weather.

The first day was all about ferries, Cockatoo Island, checking out some Banksy at Outpost, lunching at Aria; the quinoa crusted celeriac is still playing on my mind! There was strolling through the Botanical gardens, and catching Cate Blanchett in hands down the oddest play I've ever seen and I've seen a few.

Day two was all about walking and swimming. We warmed up by walking the Bondi to Bronte section of the coastal walk and upon returning swam at Icebergs. My first time swimming laps in an ocean pool. There were goosebumps towards the end of my short swim!

Sun, Mon, Tues; walking: 6 hours
Tues; swim: 15m | 600m. I had thought I'd have another chance to do another set, but it wasn't to be.

Santa Fun Run

It was that time of year again. Santa storms the docklands for 5km of running, walking or a little of both.

Sun; run: ~31m | 5km | 6:12/km. Annual Variety Santa Run. There's nothing quite like a sea of Santa. Ran with a friend, I felt as though I could have pushed the pace, but she wasn't really up for it.

We're going to be good friends

Running home and I are going through a difficult patch. However the Salomon XA 10 pack and I are getting on famously. Initially running with it during the adventure race was a touch awkward, I just wasn't used to it, but I love being able to run home with my stuff without the bounce. Anything moving while I'm running irritates me no end, I don't even like to carry anything in my hands. I also don't end up with sore shoulders which cannot be said for running with my regular backpack.

Now to find the hydration bladder that belongs in there. I hung it up in an ingenious place to dry out, whereabouts currently unremembered...

Run: 52:08 | 7.85km | 6:38s/km. Ugh. Another attempt at running home, no better than last time. I'm questioning my fitness big time. It was warm, I probably could have done with some water but it seems 10km after work run is a struggle.

Hands free

While it was hands on in the kitchen last night (mango, avocado, chili, lime & coriander salsa), my workout was strictly hands free.

About a week ago I stumbled upon the Bodyrock.tv website. Initially it was all incredibly intimidating. People with abs I am unlikely to ever have (never say never!). To see hosts struggle through the sets made me wonder how I was ever going to manage. But tonight I gave it a try.
There were a few modifications made, but I did it nevertheless and I have to say, the 20 mins went pretty quickly.

The only equipment I used was a free interval timer app for the iPhone! 50 sec of work, 10 sec rest, 20 times over.

My stats:
Star jumps: 52, 53
Get ups (I sucked at these): 6, 4
Star jumps: 53, 51
One legged bridge (right leg extended): 18, 17 *oh the hamstring cramp*
One legged bridge (left leg extended): 21, 19
Star jumps: 53, 54
Jump lunge: 25, 29
Star jumps: 53, 54
Leg lift: 17, 14
Star jumps: 50, 53

Strength/intervals: 20 min

1766

I didn't feel so ravenously hungry today. I'm not sure if it was the additional protein in my breakfast (protein powder + overnight oats is a winner, providing you don't mind the taste of your powder!), the tuna at lunch, the appetite suppressant that can be running or the fact that we ate and drank very well over the weekend in celebration of a wedding.

I was however craving chocolate, obviously! As if the above wasn't enough my artificially sweetened/lo-cal hot choc wasn't photographed. Honestly I try to avoid that stuff, the asapartame usually upsets my stomach, but I couldn't help myself.

Oh, and this recipe is a keeper. I subbed green beans instead of asparagus.

Kickboxing: 45m. Played with the kettlebells. How's the fatigue!

Run: 49:16 | 8km | 6:10/km. Speed session. Warm up: 15 min. Main set: 3x 800m effort (4:15, 4:10, 4:24 - they were meant to be at 4:06) 400m rest mostly jogging, some walking. Cool down: 12 min. I always wonder why I don't do more speed work, until I get out there and do it. It's hard. I find it incredibly uncomfortable and really tough. But if you don't train to run fast, I guess you can't expect to run fast.

Observations

It was all about a river run this morning, it's been a while since I've been down there and there was some new (to me) graffiti art. Small ceramic dog plaques. I love that the path is ever evolving!

I've also been keenly recording what I've been eating and noticed a fairly significant mistake in the recording of my breakfast. So I haven't quite been hitting the deficit like I thought. Which makes sense because my weightloss has stagnated at the -2-2.5kg/4.4-5.5lbs mark. Next week I'm going to switch back to overnight oats but experiment with adding protein powder. To see if it can help with the satiety. In fact I'm going to try and have some protein with every meal.

I'm getting increasingly interested in adding some intensity to my my work outs soon, to mix things up and get the calorie burn going. Watch this space!

Run: 1:05 |10km | 6:30/km. Long run for the week. In tough conditions, hot and windy. I swear I've run 30kms that have felt easier than this.

Just compensation?

I am suffering the effects of hay fever. It keeps me awake at night, at least the streaming eyes and nose do. I am exhausted. The past couple of days have been rough with little sleep.

The redeeming quality to this time of year is that it's mango season. I'm loving them sprinkled with a little bit of hot chili powder. I'm so looking forward to nectarines and peaches! As someone who cant tolerate too many apples & pears, the new summer fruits are a welcome addition to my diet.

Walk: 40m. I nearly fell over when the Man walked in the door just after 6pm. Usually it's just after 8:30. So we had time tonight for a neighbourhood walk. I wasn't up for much else.

Tues; run: 52m | 8km | 6:30/km. Garmin played up so distance/time an estimate. I attempted to run home. I didn't make it all the way. This run was broken into two. Mentally I was pumped to tackle the 10km, physically I didn't have it together. My calves were still sore/tired from the Vibram run. I was exhausted, it was warm, somewhat windy and I felt as though I was lacking energy even though I had some chews before running. All in all, disappointing.

Mon; kickboxing: 45m. I'm still sore from this. So many push ups.

Mon; commute: 1:10 | 20.6km |17.66km. So windy on the way home. There was one stage I swear I was being blown backwards, I had to get off my bike and walk.

No socks required

I am loving the warm weather.
Warm toes on the bike? Yes, please!
Dry feet when running on grass? Yes, please!

Run: 21:11 | 3.56km | 5:57/km. First Vibram run in a very long time. I wanted to take it easy on distance for the sake of my feet, but gosh, I do enjoy running in them. Tried to stick to the nature strip, then in the park did three loops of the gravel trail.

Sat; ride: 1:01:48 | 25.9km | 25.18km/hr. Warm & windy. The Williamstown ride has enough bends in it that the wind isn't at you 100% of the time. I likey.

Weekend; strength: 25m. 2kg weights and a whole mix of things.

Big and little

Little activity. Big news!
There may have been a champagne or two to celebrate.

I resigned yesterday. I will finish up three days short of 11 years. 11 years! It blows my tiny mind. I've documented more injury and disease (and absence of injury!) than I ever thought possible. I've loved my time in forensics, but it's time to move somewhat sideways. I've sat numeracy & literacy tests, been deemed medically, physically and psychologically fit, sat a panel interview and finally after many months of obsessively checking the mail, been accepted as a new recruit to enter the police force. I am so very ready for a new challenge. I am so excited to have a huge opportunity before me.

I said I'd make a career move this year. And finally it's done!

Run: 54:30 | 8.6km | 6:20/km. Ran sans Garmin. No feedback at all. I battled a little. Dehydration is the most likely contributor. Nice along the foreshore without the wind.

All week; strength: 10m. Just punishing my triceps with dumbbell kickbacks.
Mon; kickboxing: 45m. Another hard session, this one involving kettlebells.
Mon; commute: 1:10 | 20.6km | 17.66km. Heh, I wore my HRM. I wanted a rough estimate of calorie burnt. About 220 cal each way. Riding the Gazelle is a mix of strength & cardio. To say it's not light is an understatement.

Kathmandu Adventure Race - Lysterfield Lake

L: Fresh. R: Not so fresh at #12

Time: 4:29:32 | No idea of distance covered!

Pre-race:
This race had been on my radar since doing the trail running. I'd shared the idea with my Bro who was keen, but also the Man, who astoundingly also put his hand up. It was touch and go whether the Man would be able to compete given he dislocated his shoulder last weekend, but he had a good week with the shoulder and was able to forge ahead. Which was fortuitous because my Bro ended up going to Sydney for the weekend for work.

Anyway... we had our (borrowed) mountain bikes loaded on the car the night before. All our gear was laid out and we knew exactly what we'd be wearing.

Ate a light breakfast, had coffee and left slightly later than anticipated. Which is usually the case with the Man in tow! Drove out the 45min or so to Lysterfield Lake Park

Event warmup:
There's an hour or so after race registration, whereby we were given our maps and directions and set about marking up the maps, making note of which trails we'd be running or cycling. While the Man was in charge of the navigation, I was responsible for the timing chip at each checkpoint.

We also racked our bikes in transition and had a look at where we'd be kayaking. Making note of where we would be heading to.

The smart move would have been to find the map board at the park and make note of the trail numbers or names. Traps for young players?!

I ate my second breakfast of a jam sandwich.

Race comments:
Checkpoint 1-5 Run
After an initial hands up that 60% of competitors had never done an Adventure Race before, we felt a little less intimidated.

And then we were off. As to be expected it was pretty crowded for the first two checkpoints. By #3 the crowd had thinned out. The aim for the day was to run all the flat/downhill sections and walk the hills. For the most part this section was run. It was a little awkward initially running with my hydration pack. In hindsight I should have done a run or two while wearing it, but considering I picked it up the day before I didn't have the luxury.

Checkpoint 6-12 Mountain bike
Got in and transitioned ok. Or so I thought. I ended up waiting for the Man, which indicated that there was a problem. In the sun, the hydraulic brake fluid had expanded essentially forcing the back brakes on. The wheel was turning, but not freely.

We opted not to doing anything to it, the risk of not having back brakes wasn't worth it so he rode on. We reached #6 and #7 without problem. But leaving #7 we opted for a different route than we had marked on the map and as a result missed checkpoint #8. Our game plan was to get all the checkpoints regardless of how long it took us. So as we were halfway to #9 we had to double back and get #8. This was a pretty big set back as the trail we'd opted to take was quite technical for a novice like myself!

After #10 we stopped for water and a quick snack. At this stage I couldn't believe we hadn't come halfway! We then hit the Commonwealth games track picked up #11 and headed for the bike drop at #12.

Checkpoint 12-16 Run
And this is where it got hard. Hills and hot hot heat. Next to no shade at all. Oh and there was next to no running - there was even stopping for some shot blocks, it wasn't until we got to #15 and knew that that road back to #16 was flat that I could comprehend jogging.

Checkpoint 16-24 Mountain bike
I never thought I'd be so happy to be back on a mountain bike. It would give my HR had a chance to recover. We descended to #17 (lucky another team was in front of us because I fear I would have missed this checkpoint). Across to #18 was a little painful, mtbs are really not so awesome on the flat! We took a wrong turn to #19 but quickly righted ourselves and made up time. Regrouping with a bunch for #20-#24 even having enough time to sit and chow a bar down.

Checkpoint 24-27 Kayak
A bit of a scramble to get the life jackets on and get paddling. The wind wasn't really our friend, the boats were heavy and our control of the vessel was questionable. Add a very sore shoulder, two tired racers, screaming hip flexors and cramping legs.

The good bit? The water was refreshing because it was freakin' hot.

We kept our lead on the couple behind us and had the wind at our backs on the way back in. Getting out of the boat was a disaster. My right quad and something leading up into my groin cramped, I couldn't even help pull the boat out of the water. I could hardly garner the focus to take off my life jacket.

The sprint to the finish was more jog. The couple we'd managed to hold off passed us. But in the end, we finished, and the Man ranks it as the second hardest thing he's done behind the Tour Down Under stage.

There's no way I could have done this race by myself. My map reading skills leave a lot to be desired. The Man was awesome, he's much faster & fitter than I (without any training!) and he was super patient. We might even live to run another adventure race together!

What would you do differently?
• Attempt to mark up the track numbers/names.
• Neither of our bikes had a odometer - which may have been useful to estimate distances between checkpoints.
• Hill & mtb train
• Drink more! Yikes, I drank 2x 750mL water bottles plus roughly 1L from my hydration pack, plus 2 cups of water at the finish and I still couldn't keep the dehydration at bay.

Warm down:
We finished about an hour and a half behind the winners and there was still plenty of lunch to go around. Even vegie burgers! No electrolyte fluid though, which was a touch disappointing.

We found a shady patch and ate our lunch while listening to the presentations.

In the end we were winners! Of a spot prize! We scored $100 worth of Kathmandu vouchers. And they gave away event t-shirts too. Double score!

What limited your ability to perform faster:
The heat was a factor - our first 30C (86F) day of the season, it was draining and given the event didn't start until just before 10am we were out there for a whole lot of the heat.

I also seem to have an inherent fear of logs. And mountain biking in general. Definitely cautious out there.

Something borrowed, something blue

So much stuff! Some of which I'll be wearing, some of which I'll be carrying. I spent the day sourcing gear and borrowing bikes from family & friends.

Run: 37:07 | 6km | 6:11/km. I drove down to the Beach last night so I could pick up a bike. Did a foreshore run, didn't feel great and some hip pain arose (opposite side to ITB!) I think my compression tights are aggravating it somewhat. I'll wear my usual capris tomorrow and monitor.

Off the beaten path

This is what we're doing on Saturday. Part nervous, part super excited.

Race Day...of the horse variety...

I went to The Cup, I saw horses (unusual for those in the Nursery car park), there was tippling and tottering. But my head and feet pulled up so well I got a run in today. That makes up for the loss I had in Race 9!

Run: 38m | 6km | 6:20/km. A little procrastinating this morning. Pretty happy I didn't leave it any longer, because the rain did indeed fall. My Garmin was out of battery so I ran to feeling rather than being guided by pace. To be honest I'm just happy I ran.

Kickboxing: 45m. A tough one tonight, but really I much prefer the harder sessions.

Monthly totals: October 2011

Ride: 9:17:00 | 196.4km
Run: 3:18:58 | 33.9km
Swim: 1:15 | 3400m
Walking: 3:40
Kickboxing: 1:30
Strength: 10m

I spent the start of October primarily focused on the beep test. I was nervous prior, but on testing day I felt strong and that I could have advanced past 6.10.

I also got my bike on! Making the commitment to commute a few days a week and adding cycling back into my weekend saw my totals soar. It's not huge volumes by any means, but its a start to being bike fit again.

With regards to running, well I had a couple of weeks break and am slowly slowly making a comeback. My sights are on a 10km in early December.

1426

I think nerves accounted for my lack of appetite today. I had my panel interview. I'm not sure how well I actually interviewed, the feedback being that I need to believe in my own skills a little more. However I also had some really positive feedback, so let's just wait for the official letter first before celebrations occur!

How I felt? I was a little hungry after my interview, I try to carry a bar around so I have a healthy option. It did the trick. Not pictured were the couple of rice cakes, few jellybeans and satay sauce that went with the rolls. They were accounted for though. Since I've been back on Fitday I've lost somewhere between 0.5-1kg. This is the desired effect!

What I'd do differently? Not much today. Lunch was seriously awesome as was dinner. I think the double dose of protein (smoked salmon & a boiled egg) at lunch helped. And all the veggies in the rice paper rolls were really filling.

Run: 36:25 | 6km | 6:04/km. Slower than anticipated, but again a "long run". No ITB issues, just an incredibly strong headwind for 3km.

Weekly goals revisited

1. 12,000 steps per day
The average over the week sees me hitting the target. Getting back into some longer rides helps!

2. Two kickboxing sessions (I haven't been in weeks)
Went Mon & Sat. Just have to get to Wed session.

3. Three runs
Yes. Or maybe 2 1/2? Does a small run off the bike count?

4. One bicycle commute
Two bicycle commutes. And two long rides. Bonus!

5. Five days of calorie deficit.
This was easily the toughest. Thursday I missed the mark, and I came pretty close yesterday to going over. The caramel slice was not a wise choice. But you've got to live a little, right? I usually wouldn't track weekends, but I think that's been detrimental in the past.

An hours ride does wonders for the calorie burned values. Riding to work on the fast bike is looking more enticing all the time.

Ride: 1:20 | 35.7km |26.7km/hr. Glorious day for riding. Found some additional road in which to take on a few extra km on my usual Williamstown ride.

Run: 11m | 2km | 5:50/km. Run off the bike. I forgot how much this hurts.

Swim: 39m | 1700m | 2:17/100m. I am ever thankful to J who agrees to meet me at the pool most Sundays. I'm not sure I'd have the motivation to go if it wasn't for him. 3x 500m. 2x 100 kick.

Sat: kickboxing: 45m. Seriously awesome class. One of the guys who trains with us during the week took the class. He's a machine and pulled out the moves on Sat morning. Best workout in a while. More Saturday classes, yes please!

1741

Today was far better than yesterday. A stint of casework in the morning saw me not eat or drink for five hours and left me with a debilitating headache and a feeling of faintness that I couldn't shake all day. Plus I was hungry. HUNGRY! Nothing seemed to satiate me. And thus I exceeded my calories burned.

I just had to jump back on the deficit bandwagon today. Coffee to start, followed by an egg scrambled with cottage cheese on a bed of spinach, with a toasted english muffin.
Homemade almond milk hot chocolate and cranberries. Moroccan Soup (whereby I omitted the raisins, but used a whole can of chickpeas = 215 cals per serve) with additional spinach. Sour cream & chive rice crackers - 2 serves, these could well be my downfall. Miso soup (it was cold here today!) and Vanilla tofu pudding (170 cals). Oh and tea, a few cups of tea.

How I felt? So much better than yesterday in terms of being satisfied. I am absolutely loving the lack of bloating. I even bought a new bikini today!

What I'd do differently? I could have had less for lunch and saved one of the pita pieces until later. I was pretty full after the bowl of soup.

Run: 21:21 | 3.8km | 5:36/km. There was a whole lot of procrastinating going on prior to this run. It was cold and a little bleak out. But I knew I'd feel better afterward. And yes, another run I live not to regret!

One year on

Today I celebrated with a choc mint berry smoothie.
Why? It's my one year blogiversary!

200mL homemade almond milk
100g frozen berries
1 tbs drinking chocolate
Handful mint leaves.
(213 cals)

A year on and I'm still as excited as ever to get outside and get moving. I love this time of year as it gets warmer and there's more time between rainy days. At the moment I'm putting more emphasis on my food choices, so expect that to filter through here over the next month or so.

Lunchtime activity

I'm a bandit for not leaving my desk at lunch, I usually work through. So I was pretty happy to sign up for a run at lunch time with my workmates as part of the 10000 step challenge. It was hot, windy and hard work up the Anderson St hill, but so very worth it.

Run: 22:22 | 3.8km | 5:53/km. About 2 mins off my PB for the track, but considering it was so hot and I felt like I was running backwards for the last 1.8km, I'm ok with the time.

Commute: 1:15. Seriously questioned the wisdom of taking the slow bike out on a day blowing a hot northerly headwind. Going in was awesome, coming home not so much.

1800 cals

This is what Monday looked like. Plus an additional coffee. And three clif shot blocks, not just the one. And yes, lunch was a protein smoothie, which isn't ideal, but I was time poor. I love sneaking "healthy/diet" food into the Man's day, even better when he enjoys the meal.

I rode & I kickboxed, I totally hit calorie deficit!

How I felt: Stomach wasn't overly pleased with a smoothie for lunch. I added more protein than usual and think it may have contributed to a stomach ache, but thankfully no bloating. It dissipated by late afternoon.

What I'd do differently: Add more veggies to my day. Lunch, I'm looking at you.

Tues; commute: 1:15 on the slow bike.

Mon; ride: 1:18 | 33km | 25km/hr. I rode with my Mum and the group of ladies she's joined. A bunch of really nice women. Took it easy to Patterson Lakes with the group and then pushed it back to Blackrock into a headwind by myself.

Mon; kickboxing: 45m. I was dreading going back to class. Yes, I've lost fitness, but it's more incentive to go, right? PS. Skipping is hard. So is 10 x 10 sets of push ups with boxing between each set!

10000 steps

This is what I'll be wearing for the next however many weeks. It's 10,000 step challenge time at work again and there's already some smack talk being bantered around. No one wants to be the person on the team who didn't record their 10,000 for the day. And as a team captain, I'm aiming to go higher.

Getting through yesterday's fitness test has taken a weight off my shoulders. I feel as though I'm ready to get back into an exercise routine, rather than having a fear of aggravating my ITB.

Goals this week:
1. 12,000 steps per day
2. Two kickboxing sessions (I haven't been in weeks)
3. Three runs
4. One bicycle commute
5. Five days of calorie deficit.

Applicant 22

...you have passed the fitness test. Thumbs up and happy faces here. 6.10 on the beep test. Hell yes! So much easier running it in a group. I even think I could have kept going and I'm sure all my nervous energy would have contributed to a good result.

I'm off to have my first coffee for the day, the lack of caffeine has left me with a punching headache.

1500 cals

I've got to get back on the Fitday bandwagon. I've watched my weight creep ever so slightly up to my uncomfortable point. I couldn't even begin to estimate what I've been eating per day at a guess between 1800-2000 cals. Which would be fine, if I was actually exercising. But I'm kind of not at the moment.

So today I wanted to be more mindful. I indulged over breakfast, coffee, french toast with raisin bread, stewed apples, strawberries & maple syrup (468). Lunch was a slightly less calorific affair, stir fry broccoli, fresh corn and home grown carrot, with chili, soy, lime sauce (143). A huge bowl of canteloupe, with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkle of almonds (184) followed not long after. Afternoon snacks included and orange and a piece of bread with almond butter (178). Dinner was tacos, with refried beans, avocado, low fat cheese, tomato & lettuce (520).

How I felt: There was no denying I felt hungry. Which makes me feel uncomfortable. But I didn't feel bloated either, which is awesome. I drank far more water than I usually would, and far less coffee.

What would I do differently?: Opt for a smaller breakfast. Add more protein. Particularly at lunch.

Resuming normal programming

Today was a good one and I felt like me.
I was able to let go of the anxiousness that Sunday's fitness test is causing me. What will be, will be.

Started the day with a commute on the Gazelle. There is no speed option but slow, whereby you just have to enjoy being on a bike. Do I ever. Then at lunchtime there was time to abandon my desk for a river run. It was an effort, but so very worthwhile. After the work day was done I walked into the city, encountered some huge sculptures, striking against the Town Hall and Cathedral (as part of the Melbourne Festival) and ate dumplings with a friend. Finishing the day off a ride home against the backdrop of a glorious sunset in time to view The Slap. Today bought me joy.

Ride: 1:15 | 20.3km | 16.24km. It's near on impossible to be fast, but still quicker than catching the train!

Run: 21:38 | 4km | 5:25/km. Longest run post ITB injury. Added an extra km and suffered not pain. It was windy and warm out, but seriously, I think this is a PB for 4km :).

Ride to Work Day

I'm work's Ride to Work Day ambassador. I have been for years. I felt a little sham-like this year because it's been ages since I've spun the legs into work. But last night I packed my clothes, pumped up my tires and laid out my gear in anticipation for this morning, so all I had to do when I got up at ridiculous o'clock was get dressed and jump on the bike.

And you know what? It was bliss. Being so early meant fewer cars, trucks and cyclists to contend with. Plus I didn't have to sit idle for 10 mins as seems to be the norm on the train these days.

We had a great response at work with a total of 10 bikes racked. I organised a healthy breakfast, complete with bananas as a special treat for riders, which were well received.

I'm tempted to ride in again tomorrow!

Ride: 52m | 20.6km | 23.7km/hr. I had the path to myself this morning, but found this afternoon to be a little congested and as a result had to take it easy in parts.

Beep test: Level 7. Yesterday wasn't an anomaly.

Tues; beep test: Level 7. I freakin' made it, finally. It wasn't easy, but I got there. I know I am physically capable, I just have to believe it on the day.

Melbourne Marathon

I didn't get to run, my ITB injury put paid to that idea. Instead it was all about supporting. I rode to the start line and then around the course with M, to support P. A few people had the same idea, and good to see that the Melbourne bike share got a fair bit of use.

For the most part the weather behaved, I was a little worried for the runners when woken at 5:30am by belting rain but it passed over and apart from a light sprinkle it was clear, if not a little windy.

Our plan of attack was to ride to certain sections of the course to cheer. We had a trusty cow bell that actually garnered many cheers and thanks from the runners. A couple of times P spotted us first because we were making a small racket. Incidentally I overheard a runner remarking that Melbournians don't know how to cheer a marathon, but I can tell you there was a small group of supporters giving it their all at Domain interchange (where the barricades are in the top photo).

Sadly the finish line was a disappointment. At the same time the sub 3 hour marathoners were finishing, so were the sub 2 hour half marathoners. Because of the volume of people we missed P cross the line for 2:53:30*. This is where Gold Coast gets it really right. The 21km starts an hour before the 42km, so there's almost no overlap. Something to think about for MM 2012?

*That's an instant qualifying time for the NYC marathon. So excited for him!!

Sun; swim: 36m | 1700m | 2:07/100m. I was tired after the early start. There's no way I would have swum if it wasn't for the fact that I'd arranged to meet J at the pool. Not an awesome swim, but I'll take it.