Boxing Day - A good time to relax and update my blog!

After an exhausting but lovely Christmas I will briefly update my blog since last Tuesday. I keep nibbling at all those yummy leftovers. As usual I over-catered and although there were ten of us for dinner last night I had enough food to feed twenty! At least I won't have to do much food shopping for a while. As we're off to Double Bay in Sydney for a few days tomorrow (woo hoo - that sounds so fancy but we found a good deal - it will be so lovely) I expect I will be freezing lots of meat for our return.

Tuesday - North Lyneham
Activity: North Lyneham run with speedygeoff's group
Distance: 9.35km
Calories: 520
AHR: 159bpm
MHR: 207bpm

Comments: Hot, dusty, hilly, ouch! I arrived late so only managed 1.19km for the warm-up before meeting the others on the uphill. Our main set was 6 x 800m with 80secs sprints at the start of each hilly loop. This was on 5 minutes including rest which meant I could make it (just) before starting the next loop and it gave the others a decent rest! We ran the warm down (definitely NOT cool-down) of 3.19km at the end.

Friday
Activity: Run at 6am
Distance: 10:70km
Time: 61:31
Average pace per km: 5:44
AHR: 162bpm
MHR: 226bpm
Fastest km: 5:30
Calories: 653

Ran a 10mins warm up then 3 x 30secs sprints followed by 3 x 60 secs sprints with 1 min rest between each. I had my feet strapped again on Tuesday and they were a bit sore at the start but improved. Mr B accompanied me although he didn't do the sprints. We managed to lose each other as I went back a slightly longer way which meant we were a little late for brekkie with CJ.

I finished work at 12noon and after that I hit the shops and spent 8 hours shopping organising last minute bits and pieces. I was so tired. Dave had a 2 hour sleep while I went to Belconnen. We were supposed to go to friends for a party/drinks but had to opt out. I couldn't keep my eyes open. Instead Dave went back to do the food shopping from midnight and arrived home at 2.30am! Tomorrow he'll go the fruit and vege market while I go for my long run.

Saturday - Christmas Eve
Activity: Very slow long Run
Distance: 24.28km
Average pace per km: 6:19 (oh dear)
AHR: 153bpm
MHR: 226bpm
Calories: 1499

Comments: Oh dear, how bad did I feel. I had to drag myself out of bed in plenty of time to be out the door before 7am. My strapped feet felt numb. My legs felt slow and I was running very tired. I even contemplated giving up at the 10km mark but I knew I would be cross with myself if I did that and besides Jon was meeting me at 9am to run the last part of the run round the lake with me. It was a very slow sojourn out towards Gungahlin and back for 10km then on past the shops and down to Lake G. I was in plenty of time to meet Jon and we continued round the lake and on for another kilometre just to make up the distance. At least it felt better for that last 8km having some company as my ipod needs revamping and I had to run the long part soundless apart from my breathing. CJ will update it for me while I'm away and I'm hoping that will make me forget each step which I certainly felt on this run! If I am going to run the Ultra in April I had better persevere and up the pace a bit but today I was just all worn out from the hectic build-up to Christmas.

Speaking of - I do hope everyone out there had a wonderful Christmas day and that you were thoroughly spoilt (like me). Stay safe and healthy and fit. I am packing my running gear and swimmers. Aaah, I can smell the sea already!

Right now, I think I may go for a bike ride and work off some off this excess food!!

Later - Yes, I went for that bike ride as follows:

Activity: Cycle 6pm

Distance: 17.86km

Time: 53mins

Location: To and round Lake G and home via Kaleen shops

Av speed: 20kph

Max speed: 32kph

Calories: 319

Comments: It was still hot in the early evening tho there was a bit of a headwind as we approached the lake. I'm still tired but at least we burnt a few calories although tonight there were lots of leftovers to eat and while there's all this yummy food in the fridge, including chocolate, I'm likely to eat too much of it! It's a good thing we're leaving our house (and our fridge) for a few days tomorrow!

Blog Update (again!)

Why is life so hectic at this time of year? It becomes impossible to keep up-to-date with everyday life when work and Christmas deadlines take over. However I will now attempt to update my blog yet again at least to bring me briefly up-to-date from last Tuesday when I last did an entry here.

Wednesday - Final Yoga session for the year

It was a great session - such good sessions, shoulder stands, new techniques of stretching. Now we have to wait until February before regular classes resume. I do enjoy this type of Yoga - Yoga Mandir - Iyengar Yoga. I believe it helps me learn to stretch and relax more even for only a couple of hours a week.

Friday - a short brief swim

Activity: Short swim

Distance: 800metres!

Comments: I started late and only managed 800m in the time frame but I guess a little exercise is better than no exercise.

Yesterday I went to the physio and he has told me what I already suspected. I have Bilateral plantar fasciitis. I have had pains in the bottoms of my feet for a few months and it's most noticeable early in the mornings or in normal shoes (not running shoes). Sometimes it can be quite painful. The physio, Graeme, who is a triathlete and really nice too, strapped both my feet tightly and gave me some exercises and an appointment for next Tuesday. I have to run my long run with my feet strapped to test it. He also recommended I change my running shoes - something else I suspected might be the cause. I love my bright coloured Foster tri shoes but they don't have the support of the Asics shoes I was wearing previously. Rats! They are such pretty shoes too!!

Saturday - Long Run

Distance: 22.59km

Location: Towards Gungahlin along cycle track then back to Kaleen and down to Lake G

AHR: 156bpm

MHR: 209bpm

Best km: 5:28

Average km pace: 5:48

Calories: 1350

Comments:

Met up with Jon at Lake G to run the last 7.6km with him round the lake. I left home at 7am, met up with Jon at 8.30am and we met up with CJ and our other halves for coffee at Black Pepper at 9.30am after we finished our respective 22km runs. It was a good run and felt reasonably comfortable even with my feet strapped. I ran in my Asics Gels 2100 which I used to wear prior to my Foster tri shoes. They have only had a couple of months wear so will last a few more weeks. Gee I was tired later after spending the rest of the day shopping, tidying and starting Christmas cards. That night we went to H & T's Christmas bash and I drank far too many banana daquiris - very yummy at the time but a bit sad and sorry next morning!

Sunday - no exercise unless you count several hours spent walking round the shops Christmas shopping! A little slow in the morning but managed to write out all my very late Christmas cards and sort out all the pressies, calendars etc for very late posting!

Monday -

Morning activity: Swim

Distance: 1km

Time: 27:30

Location: Civic Pool

Comments: Met up with CJ at RBB for brekkie. She has this week off work and I was first on her long list for today. I wish I didn't have to work this week. I whizzed out during the morning to line up in the PO for well over an hour but I was lucky as another girl in my office had just reached the start of the queue in her lunch break when the PO was evacuated as there was a suspicious looking parcel discovered. It was closed for the rest of the day!

Evening activity: Run

Locality: Parliament House

Distance: 8.77km

AHR: 157bpm

MHR: 214bpm

Calories: 481

Comments: There was quite a big turn out at speedygeoff's group tonight. Mr B cycled from work to join us too. We had the usual warm-up loop then ran a trial 720m loop to show the route to those who hadn't run it before. This particular course includes one short steep grassy hill and another long steep grassy hill which just seems to go on forever. Just after the first hill we stopped at the fitness track and did 3 push-ups on the bars before facing the second hill. Yes, it's tough. We had to then run it as fast as possible for 5 more repeats on 5 minutes. This created a decent rest for most of the group but for the slower runners (ie me) the break was pretty short! However I managed all the repeats and then we ran a cool-down loop (I never quite understand why it's called a cool down, I always feel quite hot at the end until we have stood round for a while stretching).

So Monday has ended and a new week has begun - countdown to Christmas = 6 days!

Another scorcher!
Morning activity: Cycle
Distance: 17:85
Time: 49mins
Location: Home to and round Lake Ginninderra
Calories: 300 at least cos forgot to turn Gandalf on for first 9mins
AHR: 125bpm
MHR: 228bpm
Av sp: 21.7kph
Max speed: 35kph

Comments: Just a gentle cycle from home and round the lake on a lovely morning. A little cool early but soon warmed up. There were lots of people out there walking with babies and dogs and running round the lake. It was very pleasant.

Evening Activity: Run with speedygeoff's group
Location: North Lyneham hills
Distance: 9:09km
Time running: 52mins
Calories: 558
AHR: 151bpm
MHR: 217bpm

Comments: Arrived 5 mins late but met up with Sarah and we ran for 2km until we met up with the rest of our group running in the opposite direction. We then did 5 x 80sec sprints on 4 mins which means we jogged back to the start after 80secs then took off again, at least Sarah and I ran back to the start after the 80secs sprints but the others managed an 800m loop in that time. Sarah and I completed the 800m loop on the last lap before doing a warm down of the 3.1km hilly loop. It was hot, dusty and exhausting but a good session with just Colin, speedygeoff, Jenny, Sarah, Maria and me. We came across a large group of young netballers who were training on one of the killer hills - lots of repeats. They looked jolly hot! The time of year is catching up with me - I am so tired. One good thing that happened today is that I was emailed the yummy mushroom pate recipe from Sat's bbq - it was so delicious and looks very easy - will be good for Chrissie!

On left is Miners Run in the Half Ironman run leg.

Strewth, CJ and our friend Kerry from Alice with a broken collar bone after a fall from her bike 3 weeks ago training for the Half Ironman.

What a weekend!
Friday
Activity: Swim followed by brekkie with CJ
Distance: 1km
Time: 27:03
Location: Civic Pool

Comments: The pool wasn't too busy this morning but there was no slow lane so I swam on the outside lane and had to avoid a few breast strokers who swam even slower than me!

Saturday
Activity: Mini Triathlon - Swim, Cycle, Run
Distance: Swim 300m, Cycle 8km, Run 2km
Location: Ferry Terminal, Lake Burley Griffin
Time: 42:12mins (including very slow transitions!!)
Comments: Bleak looking day and the wind had picked up by the afternoon. Our race was not until 3pm and I was a tad nervous, as always, not helped by the fact that I was in the third wave which was the first female wave and all the over 50 females were put in the same wave as all females under 24 - scary! However the swim leg wasn't too bad apart from the choppiness on the return towards the shore and the fact that I swam into someone swimming in the opposite direction going out to the first buoy. As I ran out from the swim I completely lost the spot for my bike and ran right past it before realising I had gone too far. Back I went, collected my bike and ran to the mounting area - a bad start but the cycle was ok and relatively flat although there was quite a wind especially crossing the bridges when the cars whizzed past closely and the bike wavered a bit with the wind plus the force of the vehicles. After dismounting I ran to my supposed spot to rack my bike and couldn't find the spot again - oh dear, make mental note to tie a bright coloured tag round the bar next to my bike as a marker next time. Up and down with my bike until suddenly I realised I was in the wrong row - damn, I think I lost at least 2 minutes in transition. At last I could rack my bike and take off on the run but I had lost a lot of time. I came 2nd in my age group but I'm sure I could have done a better time if I had checked my bike spot properly at the start. Never mind, we learn by our mistakes - next time!!
The official results say I took 9:11 in the swim, 23:20 on the bike and 9:41 on the run. I'm sure that cycle included both transitions!!
That evening I went to a lovely Christmas BBQ with speedygeoff's training group at Maria's house - a lovely setting on a gorgeous deck with great company including Aki, speedygeoff and PRB among others - quite a turnout in fact. We arrived late and left by 10pm as we had a very early start next morning.

Sunday - Half Ironman day, a long run and celebrations!
Today was perfect weather-wise. Unlike yesterday the lake was calm and there was not a breath of wind. The setting in Commonwealth Park by the lake was just beautiful. The atmosphere was amazing. Mr B was on duty as a technical official so left home at 5.30am. CJ collected Kerry, who was here from Alice Springs, then collected me at 6am so that we could be there at the start to cheer on the entrants including Miners Run who had an excellent race. Wow, what talent - some very spunky bodies indeed - well worth the early start to see such hunks! It was incredible to watch and the water looked almost inviting as it was so picturesque out there, although those few brave souls who ventured in without wetsuits definitely were shivering at the start! When we had watched the competitors take off on their bike leg CJ and I went out for a long run. We ran the first 2km together then ran at our separate paces for a 20km distance round the entire lake. My stats, according to Gandalf, were as follows:

Activity: Run
Distance: 20:44
Time: 1hour 58mins 55secs (Goal - 1hr 56mins 40secs)
Calories: 1230 (woo hoo)
AHR: 159bpm
MHR: 206bpm
Average pace per km: 5:57
Fastest km: 5:21
Comments: CJ set Gandalf to be my running buddy at 5:50 pace but he raced me by about 200m . As I haven't yet calculated my long distance pace I guess it was just an estimate but I certainly felt like I had a good run.

After the run I met up with CJ and Kerry and we watched the runners come in on their run leg. Aki joined us and later we met up with speedygeoff and PRB. It was lots of fun making as much noise as possible and extra exciting when we spotted coolrunners. We met Highwayman, Born2slow (who was definitely not slow), Queenbee, Ironbee, Evie and several others. It's fun to put faces to CR names. It was really a great day, the atmosphere, the company and the general feeling of being a part of such a great event.
Later in the afternoon I took two close friends out to Federation Square for cake and coffee and later to the pub for a drink as we were celebrating a friend's birthday. In the evening all the family came over for dinner to celebrate my daughter's boyfriend's 21st. It was quite a weekend!! I need another one to recover from it!

Hill Repeats
Activity: Cycle 6am
Distance: 19:42km
Location: Ginninderra Drive
Time: 59mins
AHR: 124bpm
MHR: 155bpm
Caloris: 367
Max pace: 45kph

Comments: A pleasant morning although a bit cool on the arms to start and there was a headwind on the downhills. I rode 5 x hill repeats on Ginninderra Drive but next week when I practise that course I will aim to leave home 15minutes earlier and fit in 6 repeats before the traffic makes it difficult to cross the road for the downhill returns. The day turned out to be lovely and sunny later. I'm sitting here nodding off while my Christmas cake is cooking. Mr B is already asleep in the beanbag watching telly! How on earth will I stay awake till midnight when the cake is cooked. Oh dear!

Tuesday
Morning Activity: Cycle
Distance: 17:79
Time: 49mins
Max pace: 35kph
AHR: 123bpm
MHR: 148bpm
Calories: 335

Comments: Quite slow but pleasant ride. Tonight was our Christmas client party at The Deck (FlashDuck's favourite venue) and we were lucky that, although a storm swept through briefly, by the time most of the guests arrived there was no wind, the rain stopped and we could mingle outside on the deck. It really was very pleasant.

Wednesday - Work off that champagne!
Morning Activity: Run 6am
Location: Kaleen block
Distance: 6km
Time: 34:40
AHR: 162bpm
MHR: 230bpm
Calories: 346

Comments: Oh boy that was a tough run. My legs felt like lead and I felt just a tad blah - may have been those three glasses of champagne last night mixed with junk food extremus! Mmmm, I definitely needed to run it off and felt marginally better for having done so! Mr B and I drove in to RBB to meet CJ for brekkie after her swim! However, the swim didn't happen as she slept an extra hour but we had an enjoyable brekkie anyway with a few extra friends who I had forgotten I had already arranged to meet! The more the merrier and it was a good start to mid-week madness!

Evening Activity - Yoga

Comments: Aaaah yoga. The best part is that last ten minutes - the relaxation bit. It is seriously heaven. The stretches hurt but it was good pain and we learnt a few new ones. I stayed up in my shoulder stand for longer than I have in the past. We only have one week to the end of the term. I'll be booking in for next year into Beginners 2 - progressing one level. Our teacher, Polly, has suggested that two terms of Beginners 2 is a good idea before progressing to CJ's level 1 class. Sounds good to me!

Start of a new week and the sun is shining!

Woo hoo - my header has worked - thank you Susan. It's really cool!! At first nothing seemed to happen but as I was editing my previous post it suddenly appeared. How exciting. I want to keep looking at it!

Morining Activity: Swim
Distance: 1.1km
Location: Civic Pool

Comments: The pool was really busy this morning. I practised breathing both sides for the last 100metres in the cool down. I'm not exactly speedy but it always feels good to start the week with a swim.

Evening Activity: Run with speedygeoff's training group
Location: Parliament House
Distance: approx 9.3km
Time: Approx 50mins
AHR: 155bpm
MHR: 231bpm!

Comments: This was one tough training session! After the warm up (a loop and a half with a bit of a maze in between) I stopped Gandalf and forgot to restart him on the next loop. I think I missed approximately 2km before I remembered to press "start" again. We ran a hilly loop to practise it then repeated it 8 more times - boy it was tough. The first part of the loop was a nice downhill slope but then came the killer grassy hill or hills really as it went up and up with a little break for a path inbetween. Ouch - it was hard. Then we ran a 1.6km warm down. It was very hot running tonight. The temps have risen and today was 27deg. Tomorrow the forecast is for 31deg - summer has arrived and the sky is finally blue! My intention is to go for a cycle in the morning. I have a client Christmas party at 5.30pm so won't be able to train at North Lyneham tomorrow night, probably just as well cos it will be very hot indeed and loads more hills!

Back to Tuesday
Activity: Run
Distance: 6:06km
Time: 34:27
Location: Kaleen block
AHR: 157bpm
MHR: 168bpm
Calories: 342

Comments: A bit slow today. It was a cool grey morning and my average pace was only 5:40 per km. In the evening we went to our AGM Board Dinner (the actual AGM has been postponed for a couple of weeks - phew) at the Federal Golf Club in Red Hill - very nice setting and meal and I did relax with a few glasses of champagne and put this dreadful working week to the back of my mind so that I could enjoy the evening.

Wednesday
Morning Activity: Swim
Distance: 1km
Comments: Oh dear this swim was indeed slow!

Evening Activity: Yoga

I worked until 11.30pm tonight but I took an hour and a half break to go to yoga - no way was I going to give that up for anything!! I had great success with my shoulder stand and we practised some very tricky stretches and some really good calf stretches - ouch, but good pain! I was so glad I went as it helped me face the workload back in the office later.

Thursday and Friday were spent at work without a break - midnight Thursday and started at 7.30am Friday but we delivered that tender with two hours to spare! I was so exhausted on Friday evening that by the time I arrived home after a couple of glasses of wine and a large piece of cake to farewell our work experience student, I was completely exhausted. No way was I moving. The whole family deserted me for the weekend - Mr B to a squash tournament and the girls to the coast so I totally vegged out! I have seriously eaten too much junk food this week. I finished a box of chocs ( a pressie from the work experience student) tonight and a tim tam AND a mug of hot chocolate - I needed those endorphins!

Saturday 3 December
Activity: Run
Distance: 17.20km
Time: 1hour 42mins
Calories: 1087 (that burnt off the choccie)
AHR: 154bpm
MHR: 212bpm
Average pace per km: 5.57

This was the epitome of long slow distance! I didn't leave the house until 11am and I was caught in a head wind heading out to Gungahlin then on the way back I was caught in the rain - it only lasted five minutes but enough to drench me. I listened to my ipod on the way and at about the 12km mark I was suffering from incredible stitch just as Maroon 5 sang "it's getting harder and harder to breathe" - oh boy, I agreed with every word at that stage! Yes, it hurt but I had to run off all those cobwebs and bad eating habits from the past week. I felt better for having done it but my legs were burning and I tried speedygeoff's trick of icy cold water on my calves in the shower. I think it helped. I felt really tired though as I trudged around the shops trying to concentrate on the thought that Christmas is not far away.The mall was very very busy. Tonight I decorated our Christmas tree. The silly season is upon us!

Another Week Begins
Activity: Swim
Distance: 1km - 100m warm-up, 600m then 300m warm down
Comments: Very tired and it was a cold morning. Fortunately the water was quite warm so I was comfortable swimming. I practised breathing to both sides and sighting.

Had a dreadful day at work - far too much to do and the deadline for our tender is drawing closer. We have until 4pm Friday and there's still heaps to do. I couldn't manage to leave in time for training in speedygeoff's group tonight. I didn't leave the office until 7pm and sadly I won't make it tomorrow night either as we have our AGM dinner. It's like winter here at the moment - really cold and wet - not very pleasant weather at all. Where has that lovely spring weather gone?

It was very exciting to find lots of comments on my blog tonight - a nice surprise when I went in for an update. Thank you everyone.

WAG Triathlon


Activities - swim 400m, cycle 14km,
run 4km

Yes, after a terrible night's sleep waking hourly to hear the rain and the thunder I rose at 6.30am to peer out the window at a dismal looking Sunday knowing there was no way I could chicken out now! Today was my first triathlon for the season and it felt like a winter's day. It definitely called for a wetsuit for the swim leg. As I was securing my bike to the rack on the back of Mr B's car an hour later my neighbour came over for a chat. At that stage I was feeling decidedly negative about the weather and the event. I am not a confident swimmer but I'm an even less confident cyclist if the roads are wet and I had a dreadful feeling in the pit of my stomach. However determination took over and we made it to the start in spite of the churning stomach. The water felt cold but the wetsuit was a godsend.

Swim leg - 400m

Now 400m may not sound far but believe me it usually feels like 2km in the open water of the lake with several other bodies kicking and flailing arms whacking you in the face. However with a wetsuit I felt amazingly buoyant and could have swum it twice. Yes, I was still hit on the head, and pushed and shoved but I just kicked harder and kept swimming. I felt confident and non-drownable. I didn't panic once. I wish I could swim in a wetsuit for every triathlon I ever enter. It made all the difference to how I felt. For one thing I actually passed people, I even passed people in the wave ahead of me. My wave was the last to leave and I was in fear of being last out of the water and therefore last in the entire event but it didn't happen. I was well in with the bunch and with such a good start felt really good throughout the entire event.

Cycle leg - 14km

I spent far too long in transition. I put on a bike jacket cos it was pretty cold, dried my feet before putting on my shoes, had a drink, put on my number belt, my helmet and my sunnies (even though the weather was decidedly bleak) and ran out to mount my bike. It was a good ride. The road remained dry and the rain held off. I didn't become too hot even with a jacket on but I didn't freeze either. At times the head wind made it a bit of a battle and there was a scary moment crossing a bridge when a bus drove past and my bike wavered a bit but on the whole the cycle leg was pretty comfortable and there were lots of different sorts of bikes out there.

Run leg - 4km
Again I definitely am out of practice with transition. I even stopped to tighten my laces and then I lost my bearings for a moment and stood there trying to figure out where the run leg started! However I set off at last to find my feet felt like solid blocks and didn't want to run properly. It took me more than a km to get into my stride and the turnaround point felt a long way. However, after the halfway point I began to enjoy myself and ran much more comfortably. I even managed a sprint down the finishing chute and finished with a smile on my face. Yes, I had finished the first triathlon of the season and actually enjoyed myself. Now that's a first!

CJ and I hung round for a while waiting for the barrel draws and the results to be announced. CJ won first in her age group and I came second in mine so we both received awards which was pretty exciting. CJ did a great time of 58minutes. My time was nearer 70minutes but one of the joys of being in my age group is that there's not too many competitors after a certain age. The winner in my age group is an Australian champion so pretty much unbeatable but I was very happy to be second even if there may have only been two in my age group!!

We decided to use the run leg of our tri as the run for Rae's Turkey Run in the US so we wore the Turkey Numbers which I had printed off and these photos are taken with our trophies after the tri was over so that we could wear Rae's numbers. See CJ's blog (froggie61) for more reports on the WAG Tri.

Last Day of the Working Week!

Activity: Swim
Distance: 1.2km
Comments: 2 x 400m and 1 x 300m

Still extremely tired and very stressed. Couldn't get motivated to go to the lake after a very full-on day at work. Besides the weather was not warm and didn't encourage me to attempt that lake. It will be a busy weekend and at registration tomorrow arvo at the lake CJ and I plan to try out the water probably in wetsuits by the look of the expected temperatures! I think we are running first thing in the morning in the Turkey Run organised by Rae to celebrate thanksgiving in the US via her blog.

All Worn Out!

I had all these plans to go to the lake after work and go for a practice swim and a run but it was a bleak cool day and very windy near the lake and it didn't take a lot for Mr B to convince me that it wasn't such a good plan. I didn't want to drown on my own so came home after work instead and as I keep nodding off in front of the computer it was probably a good idea not to attempt a lake swim today! We have one week tomorrow to complete our tender at work - could be a few late nights next week.

Morning Activity: Cycle
Distance: 16.24km
Time: 48:33
Location: Ginninderra Drive hill repeats
Calories: 312
AHR: 129bpm
MHR: 192bpm
Max speed: 42kph
Av speed: 20kph

Comments: Cycled to Ginninderra Drive where I rode 4 x hill repeats along Ginninderra Drive to the AIS and back to Ellenborough Street against a head wind. On the last repeat I kept cycling and cycled home via the cycle track past the AIS and Kaleen. The hills were hard work - just a steady incline but felt it. There were lots of cyclists out there and I do prefer road cycling to cycle tracks providing there's a shoulder on the road. It was a pretty cold morning but I warmed up pretty quickly. Three sleeps to the WAG Tri - scary! Hope I can try a swim in the lake on Saturday.

Wednesday looks both ways to Sunday!

Why oh why did I enter the Women's and Girls' Triathlon on Sunday? I don't feel at all prepared! I will probably drown!

Morning activity: Killer abs and weights at home

Evening activity: Yoga

Comments: After another stressful day at work (it'll be like this for another two weeks!) it was great to go to yoga. We had a relief teacher tonight and she was excellent, different from our Polly but it was good to do some things a slightly different way. Some of the stretches hurt, especially the calf stretches after the hill runs I've had lately but it's a good sort of pain! At the end of the session we had a good ten minutes of relaxation. I even heard someone snore! We had to lie there and blank the mind and concentrate only on our breathing. Every time the mind wanders we have to concentrate on bringing it back to our breathing - difficult at times because my mind definitely tends to wander - to things I need to do at work, to the triathlon on Sunday, back to work, to what to have for dinner, back to work - ahhhhh - just breathe, in, out, in, out - eventually it almost worked. I almost blanked my mind. I just needed another ten minutes. The hardest part is being told to slowly open the eyes and gently wake up - damn. I just wanted to stay there on my back. That end bit is the best - the stress just floats away, even temporarily is good. We only have three more sessions this year - that's so sad.

Tuesday Trials

Firstly I have an addendum to Monday's training session at Parliament House as speedygeoff reminded me tonight. How could I possibly forget this bit? After our warm-up lap we had to do as many sit-ups as we could do in 90secs by speedygeoff's watch. I managed 56 and was quite proud of that. Somebody managed 20, someone else 70 so there definitely is a variance there. It was certainly a different way to start the hard stuff!

Tuesday Morning Activity: Cycle 6am
Distance: 18km
Time: 50mins
Location: Cycle track from home to Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club and return
AHR: 120bpm
MHR: 148bpm
Calories: 334
Av speed: 21.3kph
Max sp: 32kph

Comments: Definitely a slow ride. Parts of me were hurting and I discovered later that I had a large red bruise on my inner thigh probably caused by hitting the bike seat when I stopped suddenly on Saturday.

Evening Activity: Run with speedygeoff's group
Location: North Lyneham
Distance: 10:02km
Time: About an hour (with breaks)
AHR: 144bpm
MHR: 218bpm (and I believe that this time!)
Best km: 5:38kph
Calories: 630

Comments: Phew! There I was at North Lyneham with speedygeoff's fast runners - Maria, Griffin, Tony, Colin and speedygeoff of course! Oh boy I knew I could never keep up with them but I also know that if I don't challenge myself I will never improve so here goes nothing! We started with a warm-up lap of that challenging hilly circuit and it was HOT! Then we ran 1500m in a route that included what I call the "killer" hill - worse than last night's hills in my opinion - longer and steeper. Then we ran 1500m again faster. They all waited at the top for me and clapped as I arrived at the end. They're such a great group of runners - all very talented and also very tolerant of this slow coach! I had a great chat to griffin. So many runners have such interesting stories to tell. Griffin - you need a blog! We next ran 4 x 30sec sprints on 90secs which translated means we ran fast for 30secs then jogged back to the start and did it again 3 more times. Gee, that 90secs came round very fast. We finished with the full loop of the course again (3.1km of dusty hills) and this time ran it quite gently and at chatting pace. I ran with speedygeoff who is quite a movie buff and told me about the last three movies he has watched - they sound good too.

So there we have it, two tough running sessions in a row. I came home, ate, showered and changed colour from brown to skin colour again (yes, that course was definitely dusty) and now I'm ready for bed. Work is so stressful at the moment and the run was tough but I am always glad I make the effort. It makes me feel human in spite of myself - an exhausted human I might add!

Just another Manic Monday!

Activity: Swim 6.45am
Location: Civic Pool
Distance: 1km
Time: 27:23

Comments: Just a short swim. There was no slow lane so I just swam in a lap swimming lane and there were only two of us in it so it was great. It was a stunning day weather-wise and I think more people chose to swim outdoors which suited me fine. I also started a wee bit later as I knew I wouldn't be sharing breakfast this morning as CJ is swimming with Bilby's on Monday evenings instead so I took cereal from home and just bought a coffee to take with me to work. At least I had an early start in the office. It was a full-on day and looks like being awfully busy for the next couple of weeks. Inbetween interviewing and selecting staff we are writing a tender for our contract for the next three years - very intensive stuff and mentally exhausting.

Photo shows me with Mr B after the Canberra Marathon in April. Next year I hope it will be after the Ultra!!

Activity: Run with speedygeoff's group 5.30pm
Location: Parliament House
Distance: 7:06km
Time: 41:54 approximately
Calories: 421
AHR: 138bpm
MHR: 204bpm
Fastest km: 5:13
Pace: 5:56kph

Comments: Very hot and sunny. Warm up lap of Parliament House in and out the little tracks then one hill loop to show us the course of our hill sprints. We ran 4 x 700m hill sprints with a stop for 3 pushups on the route - did each of these on 5 minutes including a rest then we did a warm down lap of Parliament House and attempted some chin-ups. Some people can do these, some people struggle - I am definitely in the latter category! It was a good session and my calfs were a bit tight walking back down the steps to the car. North Lyneham tomorrow could be interesting! I have to say that running is a good stress release when work threatens to overwhelm me!

Catch up time
Dear me, where does the time go? It's the end of the weekend already!

Back to Thursday
Activity: Cycle
Distance: 11km
Location: Past Lake G and home via Giralang
Comments: Av sp: 21.6kph
Max sp: 36kph
Calories: 210
AHR: 120bpm
MHR: 137bpm
Comments: Just a short cycle as I didn't have much time

Activity: Dancing

Comments: Last dancing session for the season and it was 2 hours with a very short break for supper. We tried every dance we had learnt in the 7 weeks plus more. The intermediate and advanced class joined us. I don't think these dancing lessons were a good way to spend quality time together - they caused tension and sore feet instead! I don't think we will continue them next year somehow!

Friday
Activity: Swim
Distance: 1km
Time: 27mins
Comments: Could only squeeze in the basic km as had to conduct an interview in the office at 8.30am so had to be through brekkie by 8.15am. We managed it comfortably. That night I attended an awards night for apprentices in the building and construction trade. It was a very enjoyable 3 course meal in a lovely venue but was somewhat spoilt by the lack of manners of the young apprentices who managed to talk loudly right through the presentations even after being remonstrated by the compere several times!

Saturday - Battling the elements!
Activity: Cycle
Distance: 18:67km
Location: To and round Lake Ginninderra
Calories: 353
AHR: 127bpm
MHR: 151bpm
Av sp: 21.3kph
Max sp: 35kph
Comments: Rode out against a strong head wind and had to really push hard to make any leeway. On the return trip the wind eased a bit and I detoured to a friend's house for a while as I was lending her visiting daughter a couple of our bikes. By the time we left for our house to collect them it had started to pour with rain and as we were pumping up the tyres in our garage down came the hail and the thunder roared. It only lasted about 15mins but wow, it was sudden and very heavy. However when they left with the bikes the sun had returned - a very strange day weather-wise. The wind stopped and late afternoon was calm and sunny. In the evening I went out for dinner with a friend.

Sunday
Activity: Run 8.25am
Distance: 13.87km
Location: From home to and round Lake G
AHR: 161bpm
MHR: 201bpm
Average pace: 5:46kph
Best km: 5:30kph
Calories: 824
Comments: Ran from home and met up with JD at Black Pepper where we continued running round the lake at a comfortable pace. It was a stunning day today - a little cloudy initially but it turned out to be a warm, sunny, gorgeous day. Afterwards we had a fantastic coffee at Black Pepper - perfect froth and a great taste - so good I had two and the second was as good as the first which is unusual. Maybe they have a new barrista - I'm impressed! JD dropped me off home and later I visited the Kingston Markets where I picked up the Italian print I had framed there. I'm delighted with it. I also went to Belconnen Mall - lots of shopping to do including the supermarket shopping (oh joy) before driving home just before my son and family arrived for dinner. I can't believe how quickly this weekend disappeared! And I still have the ironing to do!!

Tomorrow is swimming and running with speedygeoff's group at Parliament House. It's also decision time for the people we interviewed on Friday and more 'tender' application writing - another fun day in the office!

Middle of the Week Already!

Gosh, it's Wednesday already and I'm three days behind with my blog!

Monday
Activity: Swim at Civic Pool
Distance: 1.3km

Comments: 2 x 500m then 300m cool down followed by brekkie with CJ & Mr B and a mediocre coffee!

Tonight I had complimentary tickets to a special screening of Flight Plan with Jodie Foster so I had to miss speedygeoff's training session at Parliament House. It was a very exciting movie - I was on the edge of my seat!

Tuesday
Activity: Run
Location: Kaleen block
Distance: 6km
Time: 33:42
AHR: 157bpm
MHR: 170bpm
Average pace per km: 5:36

Comments: I had to run this morning as again I missed speedygeoff's training group, this time at North Lyneham, as I took Mr B to see Joe Cocker in concert. It was a great night. I preferred the second half of his program as we knew all the songs. He had three encores and the Llewellyn Hall was packed. The average age of the audience was "old" to say the least - a bit different from when we went to see Jewel some years ago when we would have been the oldest by about 20 years! This time we fitted right in - similar to when we went to Neil Diamond - even saw people we knew. Mr B kept bumping into friends of his age group from work and squash during the interval - a sad reflection on our choice of music. I'll rephrase that. I bought the tickets as a surprise for Mr B as he really likes Joe Cocker - I certainly enjoy some of his music and he was a great performer last night with a very responsive audience.

Wednesday - Success with the shoulder stand!

Early this morning I struggled through all CJ's killer abs but I had to stop between each set - no way can I manage all five sets without a break. It kills! I also lifted a few weights. Tonight I went to yoga and we finally did our shoulder stand - woo hoo. It was a great feeling lifting those legs above my head. It was a great session. Tonight was our sixth session and we have ten in this series. I will be really sad when we finish and will definitely sign up for Beginners 2 next year.

CJ & FlashDuck studying gadgets!











CJ, Flashduck, Strewth, Mrs Hare (behind) & H








Tour de Femme

Activity: Cycle
Distance: 20km
Time: 48:17
Average sp: 26:30kph
Max sp: 45kph
Calories: 477
Forgot to wear heart rate monitor

Comments: Lovely sunny day. After a wobbly start, when I had trouble finding the pedals, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride with more than 500 women of all shapes, sizes and abilities. It was quite inspirational seeing so many women out there giving it a go. I felt comfortable and didn't even struggle up Hopetoun Circuit today. I just stood up on the pedals and found the hill relatively easy. After the ride I met up with Mr B, CJ, H, The Hare & Mrs Hare, Flashduck & later Flashdrake and we sat on H's picnic rug, drank coffee and waited for the barrel draws and results. It was a lot of fun and very relaxing in the sunshine.

Later in the day Mr B & I went to the Kingston Markets then on to Manuka for a great coffee before coming home to sit in the sun where I spent an hour going through job applications and I even managed to short list them for interview. It was that sort of day - beautiful!

Belconnen Community Festival Run

Activity: Run
Distance: 6km (6:05 according to Gandalf)
Location: From CISAC round Lake Ginninderra
Time: 32:23
AHR: 167bpm
MHR: 206bpm
Calories: 358
Average Pace per km: 5:20
Fastest km: 5:02

Comments: Start was at 10am for a 6km run/walk round Lake Ginninderra finishing opposite Benjamin Way. This run was held in memory of Ben Donohoe who was only 9 when he died of a brain tumour. There were 1,300 competitors and over $7,500 was raised for paediatric brain tumour research. It was a sunny day and a pleasant run. CJ won the female veterans' category and Flash Duck came 2nd - wow - a medal each! Mr B ran it in 27:17 which was a great time. Aki finished in under 30mins which was also fantastic. I think I need to work on my time! Later FD, PRB, CJ & Mr CJ, Aki, Mr B & I had lunch at Musica e. It was very pleasant and great company but sorry FD, I don't agree with you about the coffee - it tasted bitter! The company and the food more than made up for the coffee however!
Later in the afternoon I went to collect my number for the Tour de Femme tomorrow. The "show bag" included a t-shirt, which is very comfortable, a drink bottle and a wrist timing strip which is a bit upmarket! Hmmm, it's all a bit scary!

Friday
Activity: Swim with CJ 6.30am
Distance: 1.2km
Location: Civic Pool
Time for 1km: 27:20

Comments: The pool was really busy this morning and there wasn't a "slow" lane so I had to share a side lane with a number of swimmers with interesting styles and a number of breast strokers. However the brekkie later was yummy and Mr B came into town to join us.

One more day to Friday

Activity: Cycle 6.15am
Distance: 11km
Time: 32mins
Location: Past Lake G and home via Giralang & Kaleen
Average Speed: 20.3kph
Max speed: 35kph
Calories: 200
AHR: 113bpm
MHR: 218bpm

Comments: Gentle ride to keep my legs moving. Slower than the other day but had to push against a head wind. Started too late to fit in much distance. Flash Duck has suggested we wear our CR cycling top at the Tour de Femme Sunday - great idea. I had been trying to decide which Italian top to wear so if I wear the CR one I won't have to make that decision and we'll be able to find each other afterwards! Mind you, CJ, FD, H & N will have to wait patiently for me after they finish!! Wonder if CJ and FD plan to wear the CR singlet at the fun run on Saturday? Will check!

Activity: Dancing 7.30pm
Location: Danceway Belconnen

Comments: Tonight we spent a lot of the evening going over the Tangoette - so many steps in that but going over it several times is certainly a help. We also danced the Rumba and learnt the Jive which we haven't done before. Next week we have a two hour session and we go over every dance we have learnt - now that could be interesting! I have to say the feet certainly have a good workout on the dance floor!
Tomorrow morning I meet CJ for a swim and then that lovely muesli brekkie! Aaaaah - Friday is nearly here.