Boot Camp and a mangled hip

* I have had a couple of events since my last post: Brighton 10K, which I managed to finish in a little over 60 mins (and that includes a bathroom stop along the way); Maroubra 8K which was run at 9.30am in 29 degree heat...I finished in 52 minutes which is an apalling time but I was happy to finish in one piece as I became so hot I got goose bumbs all over and felt cold; Coolrunning 5K challenge which I finished in 28:15, an all-time PB for me.

* Not sure if I have mentioned the Striders 10K I did at Olympic Park where I came LAST!??!!! It was run on a wet morning which obviously kept the slower runners away and I finished in 62:55, which secured me the wooden spoon. This was the worst thing ever for my ego but, in all honesty, Striders was probably a bit out of my league. Despite this, I will run Striders again when I am sure I can do a sub-60.
* Due to my faster than usual pace at the Coolrunning 5K, I have now injured my hip. I think it must be the hip flexor or ITB?? The pain gets worse the more I exercise, which should tell me to rest it but I am scared to rest. I will see a physio about this one as I don't like the feeling of being injured at all.
* I did my 2nd session of Fitness First Boot Camp this morning.....in pouring rain mind you! I was so smothered in sand at the end that I had to shower at the beach in all my clothes to get the sand off before driving home in my undies! I am so glad I live on a main road....people must have thought I was crazy when I got out of the car to run inside. My sore hip made today pretty painful and I have gone from being one of the fitter people in Monday's session to one of the worst today. Boot Camp seems pretty good and was cheaper than I expected. I hate the early mornings but at least I get my exercise out of the way early.
* Weight is still OK - for me - and I will get it down a few more kgs before my holiday (or during as is usually the case with an Asian holiday).
* Counting down the days until Thailand/Singapore.....6 weeks to go.
* I am seeing "Spirit of the Marathon" in a couple of weeks time and I cannot wait! This will get me really pumped for next year! It's so funny how things can change....a few years back I would have died at the thought of watching a movie about running and now that's something I love.
* Here is a little piccie of the Noosa Half in August....



Over & Out

Miss Pinky

Just a quickie

* I am still alive.....just can't be bothered with this blog anymore. It feels more like a chore on my "To Do" list than anything else. I will keep it here for a while and see how I feel about it then.
* Blackmores half marathon was on Sunday. Such a hot day made it a hard slog and I came home about 4 mins over the time I was aiming for. At least I came home healthy because I saw many people passed out, on drips or covered in vomit along the course. The most carnage I have ever witnessed in a race. I had such a great time cheering with the Coolrunning cheersquad for about 4 hours after I finished my run. Those marathon finishers are legends!
* I also did the Noosa half marathon about 4 weeks ago. I got a half marathon PB of 2:07:XX, which I was ecstatic about. I think this result had given me a false sense of hope for the Blackmores. Oh well, you live and learn. The sunshine coast is such a beautiful place, especially Mooloolaba. I have a new-found love for this area of the world now. When I went there on my honeymoon about 4 and a half yaers ago I didn't enjoy it. If I had a job there, I would move tomorrow!
* J and I are considering entering the Melbourne half in 3 weeks time to redeem ourselves, as he was not happy with his result either. J will make a decision on that today, depending on what the financial "damage" of such a last minute weekend will be.
* It was my bday just over a week ago. It was not a great day. I had High Tea for lunch and it was so incredibly expensive and left me starving!!! I did get some good pressies though....a beautiful white gold bangle from J and some Gucci sunglasses from my Mum and sister (the money to buy them anyway!).
* Work is still very boring and does not mentally stimulate me at all. I will see how I feel when I get back from my month's leave in Dec and make a decision about whether I should look elsewhere. Perhaps I just need a good break! I am just really sick of being on-call 24 hrs a day seven days a week and having no proper back up for holidays, etc.
* Summer is coming....thank God! As soon as it begins to warm up I instantly become so much more positive. Daylight savings is only a few weeks away too...yay!

Over & Out
Miss Pinky

Jenny Update

Jenny Craig is going really well. I have lost 3.5kgs so far and that is after only 8 days on the program. I know most of this is just due to my body being “in shock” from the change in calories but I am happy nonetheless. It is really expensive though but I should only be on it for about another 2 months at the most, so in the meantime I will just grin and bear the extra cost. Most of the food is really nice, which makes it easier but I am getting a little sick of the salad and steamed vegies I have to add to both my lunch and dinner every day. I don’t know what I would do without balsamic vinegar!

Exercise is on track. I have discovered a new running route near my house so this has been good for breaking up the boredom. I am now officially in training for my half marathon in September and this means a long run once a week (14-18K), combined with 2-3 shorter runs (7-10K) and one Body Attack class (as a break from running). I would usually do the long run on the weekend but as I am going to Noosa this weekend, I wanted to do it during the week but “daylight hours” are an issue. I will work it out anyway.

I did a 14K run with J on Sunday and I found the “tank” was completely empty at around the 12K mark. I have never experienced this before as generally I am a big eater but my low calorie diet is obviously not doing me any favours where the long run is concerned. So, I have decided to add a bit to my menu on the days I run longer…..nothing major….maybe just an extra 200 calories to give me some extra fuel. I also ran the whole run on Sunday without music….which is amazing for me! At least I know I can do it if I need to.

I had a problem at work with a colleague who sat only about a metre away from my desk but is a heavy smoker and always smells like cigarettes (not sure if I mentioned it here??)…..anyway, I ended up saying something to my Boss because it all got too much and the smoker has now been moved to a different desk. It is such a relief to be able to breathe easily at work and not smell offensive things. Although a couple of people at my work (including the smoker) only talk to me now on a “need to” basis. They are in their 40’s…..so VERY mature of them! I don’t care anyway as I have done nothing wrong and they can gossip until they cough their little lungs out! Point is, I can now come to work without dreading sitting there all day. They had nothing of real value to talk about anyway so I don’t miss their conversations.

J got his tax refund yesterday and he is giving me a little “present”. I am trying to work out what to buy as my present and I am thinking of some sunglasses for running….Rudi Project ones seem excellent….around $300-$400 but they last forever. It’s funny how my “wish list” mainly consists of running gadgets these days!

City to Surf, Kitty Meet (meat) & Jenny Craig

Firstly, I would like to describe the excellent preparation I had for the City to Surf….I injured my neck on Wednesday and the pain was all the way down my left shoulder and half my back. I had to see a physio for the first time in my life and he helped to “ease the pain” a bit but I was still feeling slightly tender. For this reason, I missed my planned training from Wednesday and had to completely rest until race day. I just planned on doing the best I could and walking if I felt the need. What I didn’t plan on was heading out on Saturday night to meet Kitty and the other bloggers and drinking and getting to bed at about 3am! I also missed dinner here too. Thing is, I never drink but I decided to “take it up” the night before the race. About midnight I developed a migraine and, as such, I also had to take 2 panadeine forte on top of my alcohol. I woke up on Sunday after about 4 hours sleep feeling as seedy as anything! I also woke up too late for breakfast. I considered missing the race altogether but I decided I may as well give it a whirl.

Somehow, it all came together and I managed to cross the finish line in around 88 minutes. I was expecting about 95 so I was very happy with 88. I don’t feel like a fraud for having that green bib anymore! I was expecting to walk at least part of heartbreak hill but I ran the whole 14kms and I didn’t even feel the need to take any walking breaks. Now, that is one tough course! It is not so much heartbreak hill that is the killer but the whole course is hilly. Anyway, it’s all over now so that’s another one done and dusted. Gyspy…..thanks for checking how it all went! :-)

About the Kitty meet…..let me just say that “what you see is what you get”! Kitty is one cool chicky babe and a tiny little thing to boot! J most certainly enjoyed the lap dance he received from her! Tania was also there and so was Fanny and Katie. Really great girls and very down to earth and “real”. So different to most pretentious barbie dolls that I meet! I had a great night! Looking forward to meeting Kitty again.....meaow!

Today is my first day of Jenny Craig. I was feeling a little starving before lunch but now I feel OK. I was on this a few years ago and the food is OK…expensive but OK. Last time it would have been much harder because I was much bigger and came straight from a diet of pizza and cake. This time at least I am active and have a semi-healthy diet so it’s not such a “shock” to the system. It will be hard having my frozen dinner tonight though while J has his gourmet home cooked meal. J is a great cook! Anyway, in about 10 weeks I should be luscious so it will all be worth it…..I wish!

No exercise tonight and, for this week, I am only going to do 3-4 sessions to help me ease into my new eating plan.

Ciao for now!
Miss Pinky.

Sutherland to Surf and other stuff

I did very well in the Sutherland to Surf....I finished the 11K's in 64.18 minutes so, for the first time in my life, I averaged under 6 minute K's.....For this race I averaged 5.8 minutes K's......yay!!!! I am so happy with my result. It's funny because I really felt like I was running extra slow. During the first half of the race I felt like I might be sick and it was like I was dragging around 2 lumps of lead (legs) but during the second half I felt awesome and I did not even stop once on the hills. It was great weather for running....a fine day but cool. I had a good day!

This Sunday is City to Surf. Once again, my training has been a bit of a "mixed bag". I have pretty much stuck to all planned sessions apart from a couple but the K's just haven't been there. I did a 14K last Sunday and it was very hard! I was home in exactly 90 minutes but I must bear in mind that heartbreak hill was not included so I am aiming for 95 minutes on Sunday. Fingers crossed! Part of me feels like just walking it but I am in the second start group which means nobody will be walking in my group and I must finish in under 100 minutes. I probably should never have got into that group. I do such stupid things sometimes!!!

I am on the hunt for a road bike at the moment. J bought himself an awesome bike last weekend, complete with all the snazzy gear for a pricely sum of $3000. It's a great bike and he really looks "the part". He is desperate for me to join him so, despite my lack of excitement for bike riding, I will get one. I have looked at a few but my issue is that I am so short so not many bikes are right for me. The only one I have found in my size is a pretty crappy bike. I will continue the search!!! At least bike riding is a low impact sport so it will complement my running quite nicely! If anybody knows a brand of road bike that does sizes suitable for a female about 5 foot 1-2 inches, please let me know!

This Saturday night I am meeting the famous "Kitty"!!! I have no idea how to create links or anything so my apologies! It should be fun!!! I won't be able to really "let down my hair" though because of the run the following day.....At least it will stop me "fretting" at home from my nervousness!

Diet has been pretty bad lately. Winter is just too hard and Miss Pinky just loves her chocolates way too much!!! Hopefully some warm weather (or some willpower) arrives soon! I was watching a documentary on SBS the other night.....It was following a group of people from being inactive to running a full marathon over the course of 40 weeks. It was an excellent program! A few of the participants were overweight and they did not lose much weight, despite running regularly and for long distances. The doctor was saying that for weight loss, diet is much more important than exercise. This is so true for me!!! Explains why I am a fat runner! I always think people must look at me and assume I am a lazy and inactive person.....They would never know I run regularly. I must get the food under control if I want to lose some weight!!! It would make running so much easier too and would improve my performance.

On a positive note, I booked a trip last week. In December, I am off to Phuket, Bangkok and Singapore for just over 3 weeks. I can't wait!!!! I love holidays.....sun, shopping, swimming, time not being important. An added bonus is that I find I tend to lose a bit of weight when I go to Asia. I think it is from all the walking and the fact that I generally only eat 2 meals a day. This is just an added bonus....the holiday in itself is pretty good too!

A new winter plan of action

I have started to be very slack again…..skipping planned training sessions, over-eating, eating crap I shouldn’t be. The fact that J has not been allowed to exercise for the past week because of his torn hammie has just added to my “badness”. Ordinarily I would feel guilty that he is out running all the time and I am doing nothing but this week I have felt “guilt free”…..until now!
I have worked out that I don’t cope with winter very well at all. I actually think I start to get a bit depressed with the cold and the lack of daylight hours. I skip many more training sessions in winter than in Summer and I just feel completely unmotivated. So, I have a plan…. I hate getting up early to run because it is dark and cold and I find that if I plan exercise for after work I will find an excuse not to go. This morning I went for a run just after 7am (instead of 6am) and came into work an hour later than usual. This means I will finish an hour later (or earlier if all the other jokers disappear) but it means I can run at a reasonable time and get it out of the way early in the day.

Ordinarily I love to leave work at 4pm to get to the dog park during daylight but this is not an issue anymore as my psycho dog can’t go to the park anyway. So, I can leave work at 5pm and walk my dogs after work. I was also finding that I was feeling uncomfortable leaving work at 4pm anyway because I felt as though people were thinking badly of me…..especially because some people knew I was arriving at 8.30 instead of 8am! This way, I won’t feel bad about the time I leave either. Only time will tell if my new plan works…
J’s hammie is doing well. He can walk properly now and has had a few physio sessions. Tonight he is allowed to do a 20 minute run at 6 min/km pace so he will have to see how it pulls up. He will be spewing he has to run at basically my pace! The main thing is to let the injury heal though. Also….my hand has healed after my dog bite. There is only a small cut left but I can now shower with 2 hands, which I am loving!! I am so lucky that no infection set in.

I got some new runners on the weekend….Asics GT2130’s.

I love Asics. They are the only shoe that is right for me. The most exciting thing about my purchase is that the colour scheme of the shoe perfectly matches a running outfit that I have. I love colour coordination!! The runners made their debut this morning and they performed well. What I love most about Asics is there is no “breaking in” because my feet are so used to them. I also ran at a slightly better pace than last week too so I am not complaining.

J bought the shoes for me for an Anniversary present and he also bought me a Nike sportsband so I can now calculate my pace, distance, etc while I am running. I don’t usually care about this sort of stuff during normal runs but it will be very handy for events and especially for half marathons so I can monitor what I am doing.

Funny thing is that I also bought J shoes for his present. I got him the “Gold Coast marathon” edition GT2130’s….They are cool….gold and blue….nice looking runners! Not that J will care about the “look”!!

I have the Sutherland to Surf this Sunday and I am thinking I will do about 70 minutes. I did 68 last year but my fitness is rather hideous at the moment. Then I have the City to Surf 2 weeks after that. I am actually freaking out about that one because of Heartbreak Hill and also because I always get nervous on new courses. I am in the 2nd starting group so at least I don’t have to battle with thousands and thousands of people but I do have to come in at under 100 minutes, otherwise I won’t be warranted being in that group at all. I used my SMH Half result to get into this group….even though I haven’t run the C2S before.

I am seeing The Dark Knight on Wednesday. J’s work has booked Gold Class tix for everbody so it should be good. It is getting awesome reviews….Heath Ledger is supposed to be excellent in this movie. Friday is J and I’s 3 year anniversary. I am not sure what we are doing yet. I was thinking of booking a hotel room for the night but, if not, we will just do dinner somewhere nice. I love anniversary time….It always reminds me of when we were first together and how EXCITING that time was for me. I never, ever thought that I would end up in a relationship with him but it has all turned out perfectly! Most of the time at least!!!

Race Result, Dog Bite and a Torn Hammie

So I completed the 10K Sri Chinmoy at Dolls Point on Sunday in 63:24. I am overly impressed by the time as I was expecting about 70 mins due to my bad form of late and I also "felt" like I was going very slowly on the day. Anyway....63:24 it is. It was great to meet a few CoolRunners....a bunch of lovely people who were really friendly and supportive.

The race was not without it's fair share of drama though.....J was doing the half and at about the 3K mark I saw him walking and he had torn his hammie. So he had to pull out. He was shattered! I tried to use this an excuse to pull out myself but after about a minute of trying to convince J I was more than happy to stop, he made me continue. Damn! I had a perfect excuse too!!!! J is now getting physio and undergoing an enforced break from running, which he isn't happy about.

My other "perfect excuse" for stopping was that I was bitten pretty badly by a dog the day before the run. To cut a long story short, I was bitten by a staffy at the dog park because my hand got in the way of him biting my dog. Many tears and a trip to the medical centre for treatment followed. The owner of the dog was a PIG!!! As soon as it happened I saw there were puncture wounds through my hand and I started bawling my eyes out. He just yelled at me for "making his dog look bad", etc and did not even offer any assistance. Everybody else in the park was having a go at him for not controlling his dog. This all happened because Max (my psycho mini foxie) was showing his teeth at the staffy because he wanted to fight him. So as soon as I put Max on the lead and went to drag him from the park the fight started but my hand was the only thing hurt. So, all in all, I am very silly for having Max at the park because he inititaes fights most of the time but the guy should have shown some concern once I was bitten at least! Needless to say, Max will never be at the park again. He obviously is not a social dog. My hand is healing very well. I am so lucky it didn't get infected. The wounds are nearly sealed and in a couple of days I will be able to shower with 2 hands...yay!!! Showering with one hand is hard work!

My food has still been good and I have even gone without dessert for about 2 weeks now. This is rather amazing for me as I have not gone without some sort of treat after dinner for about 6 years. The scales are going down and that is the main thing!

I have had to give Boxing a miss because of my hand so the weekly exercise plan looks like this:
MONDAY: Rest
TUESDAY: 8K run....done
WEDNESDAY: Body Attack
THURSDAY: 10K run plus Pilates class
FRIDAY: 10K run
SATURDAY: Spin class or Body Attack
SUNDAY: Rest

I am going to get some new runners this week. This time I will stick to my trusty ASICS. I think I will get some GT2130's. I have 1130's now and I love them but the 2130's come in a nicer colour so I want them...even though they cost quite a bit more. After all, the "look" is very important....ha ha ha!!!!

Work has been dreadfully quiet lately and each day just drags on forever! I can't help but "watch the clock" when it is like this. Winter is always quiet at my work. I guess it gives me a chance to "surf the net" but it can get rather annoying. I hate winter for so many reasons! I actually start to get a bit "down" in winter because I am cold and it gets dark so early. Exercise is much harder and I need to decide between taking my dogs out and exercising....which is always a tough decision. I prefer taking them out in daylight but if I exercise during daylight they get taken out when it is pitch black and cold. Summer is so much better! I can do everything in daylight.

Another run bites the dust!

I went out for another 7K this morning. Once again I struggled and still sitting at about a 7min/K pace. I find it hard to believe I ran a half marathon about 8 weeks ago. Having said this, it was slightly easier than last time. I can't wait to get some fitness back so this running business is not such hard work. I will NEVER have such a long break from running again!!!

I went to a Pilates class last night. It was very good and I enjoyed it. Perhaps I have finally found a physical activity that I am slightly "OK" at?? I think Pilates works well with running....gives me a good chance to relax a bit and do some stretching and strengthening. It is so nice to come out of the Gym "dry" and not have to peel my sweaty clothes off my body.

My food is still excellent.....although my calories may be on the low side so I need to watch that. I don't care much for food at all at the moment. I only know that lunch time has arrived because my stomach grumbles like crazy. This is a VERY weird feeling for me. Certainly makes it easier to control food intake when you have no appetite though! The scales are down 2 kilos from Monday, although I am fully aware this would not be a "real" loss...probably just water and the shock of doing exercise again!

I am feeling really tired today. I can't wait to leave work in half an hour. It feels as though everybody is staring at my PC today and I have spent too much time surfing the net because it is quiet. I hate nosey people!!!!

I am having sushi for dinner tonight. There is an awesome sushi place near where I live....I have become addicted! After sushi, I will just veg out on the couch and have an early night. Tomorrow I will try hard to sleep in and then probably take my dogs out and get some housework done. Sunday is the Sri Chinmoy 10K for me and a half for J.....With my lack of fitness I will probably feel more shattered than him afterwards!! I am guessing I will only have to "hang around" for about half an hour after my 10K for J to finish....Probably the only benefit of being so mismatched in running ability! So it is shaping up as a fairly boring weekend really....but anything is better than being at work.

Kitty....Looking forward to you coming to Sydney soon. I am looking forward to meeting you as I am equally entrigued and scared by you.....ha ha ha!!! Your posts provide me with so much entertainment every day!

Have a good weekend everybody.....

Miss Pinky

In point form

* Boxing last night was really good. I have so much fun in that class. I am glad I have found one form of exercise that does not feel like torture!

* Body Attack tonight and my legs are still killing from my run on Tuesday. I will just need to push through the pain.

* Tomorrow is a 6am Pilates class and an afternoon run....probably 7K's.

* Food has been excellent since yesterday morning.

* I am doing the Sri Chinmoy 10K run this Sunday at Dolls Point. With my disgusting form I will be lucky to finish in under 70 minutes but at least I am "back on the horse". J is doing the half marathon.....he is much tougher than I am!

* I am back on the Cool Running site....This is always a good sign that healthy living is becoming an interest again.

* Funny thing has been happening the last few days....I comment on a blog I have never commented on before and next thing I know the blog has become "private" or shuts down completely. This has happened a couple of times. Is this just a coincidence or reason for concern?? People's words are their own and they can do with them what they please so I won't take offence. I must admit that I don't think I have ever posted a rude, or even "controversial" comment on a blog. My apologies if you think I have!!

* Forgot to mention that I had a major hair chop last week.....It now sits just above my shoulders and is heavily layered. Prior to the chop it was just above waist length. At first I thought the haircut looked rather "rude" but now I like it. No more getting strangled by my hair at night and much quicker washing/drying time. I am no longer the "paddle pop lion" in the mornings. I will take a photo one day....

* In addition to the chop, I also had acrylic nails put back on. I love them! I feel much more "polished" with nice nails. They are currently painted bright red and, as somebody at work commented, "I look like a harlet".....Nice!!

* It is freezing in Sydney today....maximum temp of 14 degrees.....brrrrrrr.....It will be so nice walking my dogs this afternoon....Not!!! I absolutely hate cold weather! I have 3 heaters going in my house all winter and a heater under my desk at work. Not to mention the masses of coats, scarves, gloves, bed socks, flanelette PJ's AND a throw rug to put over myself at work. Bring on Summer!!!!!

Miss Pinky

Finally.....Some Running

Enough is enough!!! I can't keep on avoiding running and just sit on my lounge eating bad food. My clothes are tight and I feel yuck! It is about a 3 kilo gain on the scales but it feels like about a 10 kilo gain of fat. So......I ran. I ran 7K's last night and it was so painful and so hard! I couldn't breathe properly and I could feel every inch of the extra weight I am carrying. It was a very hard slog and I had to stop quite a few times. I can't even imagine how I ran a half marathon 7 weeks ago! I felt so terrible afterwards for letting myself get this unfit. Unfortunately there is no "easy option" when it comes to fitness so I just need to keep at it and never have a 7 week rest from running ever again.

Despite the fact that the last thing I felt like doing this morning was going for a run, I dragged my fat arse out of bed and went. 7K's again and a tiny bit easier than last night. My pace is 7 minute K's, which is simply disgusting! I am normally 6.2 minute K's. The extra weight is dragging me done literally!! I know I will get back to where I was at but I need to keep getting out there and doing the K's. It is so much harder at the moment due to my lack of fitness though.

I have Boxing tonight and, ordinarily, I would hate to do 2 sessions in one day but I need to lose some weight very urgently so I am going.

I did my Bikram yoga last Friday night. It is not for me. A bit too "trippy" for me. The actual yoga was OK and I quite enjoyed the heat but the odd breathing sounds and the "talk" of the teacher turned me off. I sort of felt like I was being indoctrinated into some sort of cult. No offence to people who do yoga....I just think this type of yoga is not for me.....or maybe it was just this certain school that was not right?? The "talk" of the teacher seemed to assume that anybody who is doing yoga is there because there is something "wrong" in their life. Besides the fact that I am not the luscious size 8 that I wish I was, there is nothing "wrong" with me. I was just trying yoga for the stretching and strengthening aspect. I will stick to the Pilates though because that was great.

As of today I have started to be strict with my food again. I can't keep stuffing cakes and chocolate into my mouth and wonder why my clothes don't fit. It is only me who can make the change so that is what I am going to do. I think I need to cut out carbs (bread, rice, pasta, etc) completely so I will slowly start omitting things....otherwise I will feel like I am starving and binge.

Work is crap! I am pretty sick of it. Sick of dealing with stupid, annoying people. I hope I start to feel better about it but at the moment I am certainly not enjoying it. I can't wait for December to take 4 weeks leave and go overseas!!!

Miss Pinky

Gymming and Stuff

So, what's been happening?? I have started back at the Gym, which is good news. The first week I only went a couple of times but this week I have been pretty good so far...2 Body Attacks, 1 Boxing class and 1 Pilates class under my ever-expanding belt. I did my first pilates class ever today. It was very, very good. Hard in a way that is very different for me. I am used to high intensity cardio where the difficulty lies in keeping up and breathing properly. The pilates class really worked my muscles and would be fantastic for strengthening I believe. I am also doing a Bikraam yoga class tomorrow for the first time. I have never done Yoga at all and this is done in a class heated to 38 degrees or something so it should be.....different! I love the idea of the heat and I love the idea of doing some low intensity stuff in place of my usual classes.

I have layed of the junk food considerably but I am still not being 100% strict with my food. I just need to gradually cut portions and cut things out or I will binge my head off!! The scales are showing a weight gain so I don't know what's going on there?? I have also started drinking more herbal teas and water. I feel much better though, even if the scales are not reflecting it. My skin is much clearer and I just feel "less full" and have more energy than a few weeks ago.

J and I have booked a weekend away to Noosa at the end of August. J is competing in the Noosa half marathon. The course is described as being "flat as a pancake". He is doing this in preparation for his full marathon in September. I am not sure if I will do Noosa yet. Considering the last time I ran was the 18th May, I may be a little "out of running shape", to say the very least!!!! I will start running again next week to get ready for my 11km run in a few weeks time. Not much training at all but the 11K is on a course that I run all the time and it's mostly downhill. I should be OK.

J and I are also looking at going to LA, Las Vegas and Mexico in December. The trip is going to be rather expensive though so we are still at the "investigation stage". Either way, I am taking 4 weeks annual leave in Dec and I will be going somewhere OS. I am very over work so I need a good break. My work is annoying me so much and I hate being on call 24hrs 7 days a week. If people cannot contact me IMMEDIATELY they don't even leave a message on my phone, they call my Boss. I don't think they realise I need to shower, go to the bathroom or do other stuff that I can't do with a phone. It is bad enough to always be on call, they should at least give me a few minutes to call them back!!!! GRRRRRRR!!!!!! This pisses me off so badly because I am actually very reliable and always call back within an hour. Now if only I could win Lotto.....

Well I am off to do some crappy paperwork and count down the hours until home time.

Miss Pinky

Hibernating

(Pic is of me at SMH Half 18th May 2008)

As is usually the case when I have an extended break from posting, I have been very BAD! Today is exactly one month since the half and I have done ZERO exercise since then. When I say zero, I mean ZERO!!! I need to motivate myself....I am so lazy and I have put on about 3 kilos too. Yuck!


I am alone this week because J had to go to New Zealand for work. I get a bit scared at night but I am keeping busy. I must get back to exercise next week!!!!

I went to the Gold Coast 2 weekends ago and had an awesome time. I love it there so much! It was raining most of the time but I still had fun. I drank heaps and usually I don't drink at all. J and I went to this amazing strip club. The girls were absolutely stunning!!! I couldn't believe how beautiful they were!! We always go to strip clubs when we go away. It's always my choice....not J's. I love looking at naked girls, although I am not a lesbian (not that there is anything wrong with that!). J and I got a private show....I got a bit jealous afterwards because the girl was PERFECT.....10/10.....great figure, gorgeous face. I normally don't get jealous but I did this time. Nothing too serious and it was all forgotten pretty quickly.

While I was away, I watched a bit of the Gold Coast 100 race.....yes that is 100 KILOMETRES that they were running!!!! I could not believe what they were doing....what legends!!!! We watched from a fuel station at about the 75km mark and I was amazed how they just kept on going. I will never enter something like this.....I wouldn't physically be able to do it.....but it is great to see people really challenging themselves.

I also watched the MiniMos on Sunday. (Note to self: You should actually start entering rather than spectating!). J and 2 guys from his work went in it. It's supposed to be the hardest 10K course in Sydney. J finished in 47 mins but, of course, was unhappy with his time. I think he would only be happy if he came first! Speaking of first, Martin Dent won in 30.05, which matches last years record. What a gun runner he is!!!! It was the coldest day and really windy so it was such a good effort for everyone that was out there.

My next events are the Sutherland to Surf (11kms) in July, City to Surf (14kms) in August and the Blackmores half in September. I must start training for these! I really want to do 2hrs 10 mins for the Blackmores but this won't happen unless I get out there and do some running.

So what have I been up to if not exercising??? Shopping like a mad man!!!! I can't seem to stop buying clothes. It has been really cold in Sydney so my "excuse" is that I need warmer clothes. I am hoping J brings me back a pair of Gucci sunnies that I really want from Duty Free when he returns on Friday. Fingers crossed!!!! I have also been eating like a mad man....all bad stuff too. On Monday I will start....I promise!!!!



Miss Pinky

Quick Race Update

Just a very quick update on the race.....I finished in 2 hrs 12 mins 29 secs so that is a PB for me by 2.5 minutes....yay!!!!

The course was not as hard as I expected and I was in no danger of missing the cutoff at all!

I am so glad it is over and I will update more tomorrow as I am really busy at work today.

Miss Pinky

So here comes the rain

Sunday A few showers. Windy. City: Min: 10 Max: 16
West: Min: 8 Max: 15

mmmmm....nice weather forecast for Sunday.....NOT!!!
I don't really mind the cold. It will be much better than heat but if it rains that means I can't use my IPOD!!! I went for a 10K run last night without it and ran such a terrible time that I will miss the cutoff if I run that pace on Sunday!!! I am thinking I will just use my headphones and if they break, that is $129 I will have to dish out again. Maybe this is a better price to pay than failure???

So I am all booked into a hotel room for Saturday night. I do this to get a break from my dogs and housework before a race (dogs stay at my Mums). It gives me a chance to relax and prepare myself mentally. With the new running gear, entry fee, headphones, supplements, hotel cost, etc....this run has cost me about $1500 I reckon!! You would think I was an elite athlete or something!!!

**Update on the calf: It all seems OK after applying my blend of Voltaren Emulgel and Deep Heat for a few days. It is a little tender but nothing of any real concern.

All training is now complete and it is up to the "Gods" now what eventuates on Sunday. Today is my sister's 20th bday so I have dinner and drinks tonight. I don't drink so that is all OK. Only issue is that I MUST NOT wear high heels or I will hurt my calf again. A pretty dress looks silly with flat shoes when you are a midget like me so I think I will have to stick to jeans. Tomorrow morning I will rush around and take my dogs to the park and to the Vet for their vaccinations, then wash them and drop them at my Mum's. After this, it will be pure relaxation all afternoon and evening.....with a little carb loading on Saturday night.

This will be my last post before:
(a) Dying
(b) Failure or
(c) Personal Victory
Let's all pray for option "C"!!

I will post a race report after the race.

Have a great weekend all!!!!

4 more sleeps

Just a quick update.....4 more sleeps until the half. I am very scared now!!! I am especially worried because I hurt my calf on Saturday night through wearing high heels!!!! I was thinking I may have to pull out of Sunday altogether but it is much, much better today so I have no excuse now. Because of my calf injury, I missed my runs on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday so I am feeling a little "behind the 8 ball" to say the least!!! I now have to run tonight and tomorrow night to make up for the missed sessions (looking at 8-10K each run). This means my rest days will now be limited to Friday and Saturday. Oh well....nothing else I can do!

I bought some awesome Motorola wireless headphones the other day. They were a great investment and I love not having any cords to deal with when I am running. They "talk" to my IPOD via bluetooth.....very cool! I also went to the Nike factory outlet at Auburn on the weekend and picked up a heap of stuff at really cheap prices. I would recommend this store for anybody who runs as they have great running tops and shorts at cheap prices. I didn't look at the shoes at all because Nike runners don't suit my feet.

Work is still very busy and I still can't focus on it. I really feel the need for at least a few days break but I have nobody to cover for me. It is all really starting to get me down. I have become so sharp to people on the phone because I am sick of them calling me all the time. Hopefully my work attitude improves after Sunday when I am not distracted by the race.

Anyway....back to the grindstone.....

Miss Pinky

10 days until Half Marathon

So I think cancelling my trainer was the best thing to do. I have lost more weight in the past week than in 3 months seeing him! Running is definitely the best way for me to strip off the kilos. I am 64kgs today so I have cracked the 65kg plateau that my body loves.

I have 10 days until the half and my training is going to plan. I did a 19K run on Monday and, although I was close to tears for the last few K's (back pain), I finished and finished in a good time too. I would say I am on track for a 2 hour 15 minute finish next Sunday. This is my last long run before the race too. I will run a few 10K's and one 14K and I will have 3 days of complete rest starting next Thursday. I can't wait!!!! For the rest that is!!

I got my bib and chip in the mail yesterday so it is all very "real" now. The course looks a bit daunting to me. I hope I don't get lost and I hope it's not too hilly either. Unfortunately the course is 2 laps. This always plays with my mind...seeing the same things twice. Must think positive thoughts!!!!

So this weekend I have a friend's birthday on Saturday afternoon/night at a bar in the City. I am really feeling like a night out but unfortunately I won't be able to stay too late or I will mess up my training. I wish his birthday was after next weekend!! Sunday is Mother's Day so I am making the trek to my brother's house for lunch. That is over 2 hours in travelling time in itself!

Work has been terribly busy and I am just "burying my head in the sand" by trying to ignore the mountains of paperwork on my desk! I am going to be in a big mess by the end of the month. All I can think about is next Sunday....I can't focus on anything else.

Well it will all be over very soon....

Miss Pinky

Running & Stuff

Last night was my last session with my personal trainer. Yay!!! I feel so relieved! I guess I liked seeing him because it meant I had to go to the Gym at certain times and couldn’t pike out and we also did some different things but, in all honesty, I saw him for about 3 months 3 times a week and didn’t see any real results. I know it’s not his fault….It is mine for not being really strict with my food but I am happy I am not paying all that money for no results anymore. There is no point paying the money if I’m not strict with the food. He believes J and I will continue seeing him after the half marathon but I guess that was our “soft approach” to cancelling him. After the half, we will let him know we have decided to channel the $750 every 4 weeks into something else.

So now that I have no set training times, I can concentrate on the running. I did a 16.5K run on Monday night. It was absolutely FREEZING but I got through it pretty well. My speed averaged 6.4min K’s so I am still on track for that cutoff!!! Lower back pain really kicked in for the last few K’s but I just have to deal with that. I will take some nurofen before the race to try and prevent some of the pain and also to avoid any migraines coming along. I asked some questions about the lower back pain on long runs when I first started running the longer distances last year and I was told it was happening because my core strength was poor. I have done heaps of core work with my trainer the last few months so I really believe it is just my body not being used to continually moving in the same way for such a long time.

I am running 10K’s after work today….Lovely day here so I am lucky! I will do another 10K run over the weekend and Monday will be my last long run before the half……19K’s. I am confident I will make the distance now that I have added some long runs into my training.

Work has been so crap lately! It has been really, really busy and I have had to come in early to keep up with the workload. There are also people at work who are really annoying me at the moment…..adults acting like little kids! Anyway I will just soldier on…..no point complaining because nobody will listen.

I watched the Biggest Loser finale last night. Some of them had amazing results…..especially the finalists. They looked completely different. I haven’t talked much about my weight lately because I haven’t really been as focused on it as usual. I am still the same weight but I think I look slightly leaner. I have come to accept (I think) that I will always have bigger legs and I just have to be the best I can be. I am thinking I may do a low carb diet after the half but I will certainly wait until after that or I won’t finish!!

I am not sure what’s on the agenda for this weekend?? I have no plans as yet but I am very much looking forward to escaping from work for a couple of days……although my job requires me to be on call 24hrs 7 days a week so HOPEFULLY I don’t get any phone calls!!!!

Have a great weekend all!

Miss Pinky

I am one LAZY Blogger!!!

I have been sooooooo lazy with updating this Blog!!! I still check everyone's blog but I just could not be bothered to put an update on my own Blog....so here 'tis!

The half marathon is fast approaching.....Only 3 and a half weeks to go!!!! I am feeling rather scared but I feel confident that I should make the cutoff time (11kms in 75 mins) if all goes to plan. My issue is that it will take me about 4 minutes to get across the starting line because I am a slow runner who starts at the back. This means I have to make the 11kms in around 71 mins (The marshalls will not know how long it took me to cross the line). I need to sit at 6.45min K's or better.

I have started my running training now and it is going OK. I was very worried last week when I did a 7K and a 5K and they both hurt like hell. I did 14K on Monday and was feeling much, much better. My speed averaged at 6.2min K's so I should be fine on the day. My plan is to do the following over the next few weeks:

Monday: 10K run
Tuesday: 20 mins treadmill at 10-12K/hr speed plus 30 mins personal training
Wednesday: 10K run
Thursday: 20 mins treadmill at 10-12K/hr speed plus 30 mins personal training
Friday: 20 mins treadmill at 10-12K/hr speed plus 30 mins personal training
Sat/Sun: Long run (this week 15K....next week 16K......week after 17K)

This plan will mean my longest run will be 17K and I will do this a week out from the half. If I can do 17.....I can do 21.1. After the 17K the weekend before the half, I will do a 5K on the Tuesday and the Thursday and nothing at all on Friday/Saturday as I need to do some form of tapering before the race. For the last half I did, I trained up to 21K and I just don't think it was really necessary. All it did was really hurt me and meant I had no energy for a few days afterwards.

Unfortunately the lower back pain is back (starts at about the 12K mark) despite doing heaps of core work with my trainer. I will need to take dencorub with me for the long runs now I think and I will have some nurofen before I run to try and help with it.

I went to 2 expos last week and they were both unreal!!! I went to the Runner's Expo on Wednesday night which was held by NRG (Northside Runners Group). It was very good and J even won a $75 voucher for a running store at Manly. They just had a number of stalls set up with products and information related to running. I got a massive stick of Body Glide for $15.....bargain!!!

On Sunday J and I went to the Fitness Expo at Darling Harbour. This was FANTASTIC!!!!! There was so much stuff there I was interested in. I ended up buying 2 Mizuno running outfits (tights and singlet) for $75 per outfit and then I could not help myself and bought the runners that completely matched one of the outfits. I probably look like a real freak in matching gear from head to toe but it is great quality stuff and I feel good in it. I still prefer my Asics GT's over the Mizunos but I will give them time and see how they go. At least I will look good as I get disqualified from the race for being too slow...ha ha ha!!!!

The Commando (from the Biggest Loser) was there and he runs a training Gym pretty close to where I live so J and I are considering doing some training with him. It would be absolutely full-on training but I think it would be really good to do. I feel that my trainer now is not pushing me hard enough in all sessions and I want to be pushed to the point where I feel I will be physically sick. This sounds sadistic but if I am paying....I want results! J has emailed the Commando and is waiting on a response re. fees, etc.

In "non exercise" news, life is ticking along nicely. Work is a little quiet at the moment and I have seen a very negative side to somebody who I work with that now means I must be on my guard at all times. I am looking forward to the long weekend to catch up on some rest and to just chill out! I hope everbody has a great weekend!!

Miss Pinky

Easter Update

So I am back at work after 5 days away. It was so nice to have some time off! Our drive to and from Melbourne took 11 hours each way. This included our regular stops at Yass and Albury. It wasn't too bad because the dogs were sedated. I wish I knew about this "sedative" business the last time we drove there!

The place we stayed in was very nice and modern and opened directly out into a massive dog park.....which was really convenient. The only issue was that the "landlady" was a mad psycho with a massive list of house rules, which she rattled off as soon as we stepped out of the car. She didn't want the dogs on the lounge, on the bed, in the garden, eating anything other than dry food....blah blah blah!!! Why rent the place out as "pet friendly" then???? Luckily she went away on Friday arvo until Sunday arvo so we had some peace and quiet.



As soon as she came back she started again....yelling out at us from the balcony above....telling us where to go in Melbourne, asking where the dogs were sleeping, etc. She yelled out that she had to come down and water the garden so we had to lock the dogs inside. Stupid cow!!!! To top it off she started calling Jason's mobile on Sunday night when we were at dinner to tell us the dogs were barking. The dogs were only barking because the "holiday villa" she was renting out was actually the lower level of her townhouse she had converted into a separate residence and, as such, the dogs could hear her stomping around above them and they must have thought she was trying to break in. We were gone for about an hour in total and she carried on so much when we returned. Lovely place but I will never stay there again. It felt like we were staying at a distant relatives house....no privacy at all!



Despite the stupid freak, we had a good time in Melbourne. We had some yummy food and even ventured out to a "night spot" on Saturday night. I had a few drinks, which is very unusual for me but I felt it the next day. Melbourne is starting to "grow" on me. They are much more welcoming of dogs there and there are so many more places to eat and things to do than in Sydney. If we had jobs there, I may even consider moving. The real estate is much cheaper than Sydney, that's for sure!



Much of the weekend was spent with me trying on jeans. I desperately want a pair but after trying on around 50 pairs (no joke) I realise they probably don't make jeans that look nice on girls with bigger legs/bum and smaller waist. Also, all the jeans seem to be really low cut and the higher waisted ones are all skinny jeans. Damn! I need jeans because J bought a really hot motorbike last week. He traded in the scooter for this puppy.....


Exept it is yellow, black and grey. It is one hot bike....let me tell you!!! So we bought some leather riding jackets in Melbourne....J's matches the bike perfectly and mine is white. I need some jeans to wear with it because leather pants don't work on me.

Exercise was non existent in Melbourne. All I did was eat.....but I enjoyed every minute of it! Back to the Gym this morning and it was amazing how easy running was after a few days rest and heaps of carbs! I even got up to 14km/hr on the treadmill which normally does not happen. On a bad note, my trainer did my body fat percentage on his scales this morning and it was 25%!!!! That means 1/4 of my body is pure lard!!! Yuck!!!! Oh well.....one day at a time....

Miss Pinky

Finding the Balance

Still doing really well with my exercise and sticking to the 5 sessions per week. I am not sure how much longer I will stick with the trainer.....it is getting rather expensive!! I am just worried if I stop seeing him I will stop going to the Gym because I have no "appointment" to attend. I guess I will have to start some serious running training very soon to be ready for this half marathon in May! I have been doing a little running but only up to 10km and I need to get to about 15/16km distances ASAP.

My food has been rather "mixed"......plenty of healthy stuff mixed in with treats when I feel like them. The treats have probably been a little too frequent but I actually feel "good" (gasp!) about myself. I did a Body Attack class last night and a couple of times I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirrors and I looked like a "normal" person....not an overweight person. This was a good feeling!!

I did some "exercise shopping" on the weekend. I got a matching Gym outfit (tights and singlet), some new weights gloves and some new boxing wraps. The cost of anything to do with being healthy (fruit, vegetables, meat, running shoes, exercise clothes, etc, etc) just makes me sick!!! We have such an issue with obesity in this country and the cost of healthy living just goes up all the time. If I want a complete meal, I can get this at Hungry Jacks (burger, chips, coke and icecream thing) for under $6......yet a chicken and salad roll costs more than that alone. Every week when I do the grocery shopping I try so hard to save money and I am finding it basically impossible. If I want to eat healthy, I need to pay the price. If I were content to live on 2 minute noodles, chips, chocolate, etc.....I could save plenty of money. This is my bitch for the day!

So J and I are off to Melbourne for the weekend. We are driving with the dogs....Such a long drive....Yuck!!! I am looking forward to some time off and just pottering around Melbourne. I am really looking forward to the cakes in St Kilda to be honest....ha ha ha!!!! Yummo!!!!

Well I best be off and do some work now....

Miss Pinky

Fat Day

Today I just feel so fat it is not funny!!!! The number on the scales was not even bad this morning but I feel absolutely enormous, for some reason?? Truth be told, I have been pretty bad the past few days. I eat to "plan" for most of the day but then go and buy cookies and chocolate after I finish work and eat it before J gets home. This "secret eating" is worrying me!! If I need to hide it, then obviously what I am doing is not good. Last night I had to buy some bread from Coles.....I just had to buy a 6 pack of Mars Bar cookies and I also bought a chocolate bar and threw the wrapper out before I jumped in the car so that J would never know I had it. What is WRONG with me?? I may think I can "con" everybody else but I can't con myself. As if the "hiding" of the food means the calories do not count!!!!!!! I have also started a nasty habit this week of having Dare coffee milk for breakfast.....how grose!

Still going to the Gym though so I guess that is something at least. I wonder why I am bothering to pay all this money for the trainer when I stuff it all up with bad eating anyway!! For some people exercise is more important than food for their weight loss. For me, food is MUCH more important than exercise. I could lose weight easily if my food was spot on and I did zero exercise. Unfortunately though, I just can't control myself. I love food.....bad food and lots of it!!!! Just for the record I don't exercise and get no results at all from it......What exercise does do is generally make me eat healthier or, at the very least, it keeps me away from the fridge for an hour!

I so wish I could just be happy with myself for being healthy and fit and not focus on my weight so much. I just can't let this obsession go though!!! I guess I will have bad times and good times and today is just a BAD DAY!

Miss Pinky

Half Marathon

I am not sure what has come over me but I have registered today for the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon on May 18th. I must be crazy! Already my palms feel sweaty and it is 2 and a half months away!!!! This may sound rather insane but I don't think I am going to train for this run. I will just stick to my usual fitness routine.....5 sessions per week, consisting of 3 personal training sessions (including 3.5kms running each session), 1 Body Attack class and one Boxing class or a 10km run. I am only planning on seeing the trainer for another month so, once the month is up, I will replace these training sessions with 10km runs. About 4-5 weeks out from the half, I will up some of the 10K's to about 15K's but that will be it. I am not running this to any particular time and I know I can do the distance.....so I will not be killing myself with the weekly long runs that smash me for a week. My fitness level is very good so I will be OK. This is what I am telling myself anyway!!!!

Not much else has been happening. Still plodding along trying to lose some weight. I am not the "angel" I was a few weeks ago. I still stick to my exercise but have had the odd day here and there of bad eating. My clothes still fit luckily so I need to try and restrict the bad stuff a little more. I know it will be much easier running the half with a few less kilos to lug around!!

Jack does not need an operation ($300 X-Ray later). They think he has soft tissue damage or perhaps early onset arthritis. He is having a course of injections and glucosamine/chondroitin supplements and we will see how he goes. Hopefully it improves but there is a chance he will need injections on and off for the rest of his life. At least he won't be all stressed out and hurt from an operation.

Work has been very, very hectic. I can't believe how busy it has been!!! I can't spend my usual time reading Blogs!! At least the days go pretty quickly. I get paid my bonus next month and I can't wait! Although I am yet to decide what I will do with the money. I should really put it in savings but I would love to buy something exciting....

Here are a couple of pics from the wedding we went to last week. I just LOVE this dress. It is my sister's....so pretty and so comfortable!

Over and Out

Miss Pinky

1 Wedding and an Operation

Today I have a bad case of Mondayitis. J and I went to a wedding last night and didn’t get to sleep until about 1am….This is very late for me, especially on a “school night”. The wedding was really lovely. It was a Greek wedding and everything was done correctly and certainly not “on the cheap”…..basically all Greek weddings are quite extravagant though. Much of the service and the reception was in Greek so I am not really sure of too much that went on. I think J and I were the only non-Greeks there!! I think the main reason I had a good time is that I was wearing the most beautiful dress with the most beautiful heels and for the first time in a long time I felt “attractive”.

I have been really good with my “healthy living” so I am feeling good about myself. I swear that going off the pill has had such an awesome impact on my appetite….I am so much less hungry than before. I used to watch the clock and count down the minutes until each meal and now I find that my stomach starts grumbling before I realise it is lunch time. Another positive from going off the pill (or at least I think it is because of this) is my insatiable sexual appetite. I want sex every night now and before I used to do it probably once a week but that seemed too much for me. J must be loving this new state of affairs. Problem is that now we must use condoms and they are the grossest things! I am always paranoid he will “get too close” during the foreplay and I will get pregnant. If we ever get around to actually having a baby, J can get “the snip” afterwards. This will make life much easier!

I am still frequenting the Gym and I am still seeing my trainer. I am so dedicated at the moment that I even went for a run yesterday because I knew I would feel too tired today after my late night yesterday. I feel so much stronger and so much more confident. The next time I slip into my bad old patterns I need to remember how good “being healthy” feels. I am enjoying not hating myself at the moment.

My food has been pretty much perfect. I stick to between 1200-1500 calories a day. In 3 weeks, I have had 2 days of very bad eating and the rest has been right on track. I am still sitting at the same weight (65 kilos….Just over 3 kilos down from when I started) but I think I look so much better. I don’t really buy into the “muscle weighs more than fat” thing but I do think I look as though I have lost more than 3 kilos.

Things with J are so awesome at the moment…..Probably due to the massive increase in sexual frequency…ha ha ha!!!!!! It feels like when we were first together. We are really close and cuddle all the time and are much nicer to each other too. I can’t believe how much our relationship has turned around since November last year. It is amazing! I never thought we would get back to this place again. J’s friend is getting married in London in September so we are thinking of going to that and using it as an excuse to go to Paris and Rome. Man….I will eat my head off in those countries!!!! I will need to get to at least 5 kilos below where I want to be to give myself some “eating room”.

So my exercise plan for this week is as follows:
Mon: Rest Day (ran Sunday instead)
Tues: 20 mins run plus 30 mins trainer
Weds: 1 hour Body Attack
Thurs: 20 mins run plus 30 mins trainer
Fri: 20 mins run plus 30 mins trainer
Sat: 1 hour Boxing
Sun: Rest Day

On a sad note, it looks as though my dog, Jack, will be needing an operation. A few weeks ago he started to limp on his back leg for no reason. He will be having an X-Ray this week and the Vet thinks he has torn a knee ligament. If this is the case, the operation will be about $1200 and there is no guarantee it will stop him limping. He is only 2 years old though and loves running so much….so I need to at least give the operation a go. This will be his 2nd operation in 2 years. Dogs can be so expensive….You just never know what can go wrong. Despite the expense, I hate seeing him all sad and in pain after operations and I just hate leaving him at the Vet all day. I love my dogs to bits!

Miss Pinky.

Still Here.....

Usually when I have such a long absence from posting, it means I have gone off the rails with my food and exercise……Well not this time!!!!! I feel very proud of my efforts over the past couple of weeks. I have “nearly” been an angel I tell you!!! My food during the week has been spot on (between 1200-1400 calories a day) and there have only been a few small deviations on the weekends. My training has been excellent and I now do 5 sessions a week. My general routine is as follows:

Mon: 1 hour running or 1 hour Body Attack class
Tuesday: 20 minutes running on treadmill plus 30 minutes personal trainer
Wednesday: 1 hour Body Attack class
Thursday: 20 – 30 minutes running on treadmill plus 30 minutes personal trainer
Friday: 20 minutes running on treadmill plus 30 minutes personal trainer
Sat & Sun: Days Off

I am happy with this routine……In all honesty I would be happier with the “eating snacks on the couch while watching TV” routine but I just can’t do that unfortunately. 5 sessions a week should be enough to get some results without overdoing it and becoming bored and bitter!! I treat the Body Attack classes as “dance classes” instead of exercise so I don’t feel so angry about having to go. There is a small amount of choreography there but certainly not enough to qualify as dancing….Just makes me feel better though! My fitness has improved already and I have lost a few kilos also. I am feeling much better about myself. It is nice to fit into clothes instead of stuffing myself into them! I still have quite a bit to go but I am heading in the right direction!!!

Work has been very boring and quiet and the days have just been dragging on. Even with the boredom I have not succumbed to mindless snacking, which is good. I only take the food to work that I want to eat (healthy) and there aren’t any shops near my work so I can’t get anything else. There is a snack machine but it’s been broken lately. Since I went off the pill a few weeks ago I haven’t been craving chocolate though. Weird thing is that I have not been as hungry since going off the pill. I wonder if something has really changed physically or it is all in my head??? Either way, I am not complaining!

After my boring week of work I have a busy weekend coming up. I am going to my brother’s house for his birthday BBQ on Saturday and then on Sunday we have a Christening. Both of these events will have bad foods present so I need to stay STRONG!!! It will be hard though because I generally see weekends as my escape from the dieting and exercise regime.

J and I went to the Blue Mountains 2 weekends ago. We stayed in a lovely cottage in Katoomba and we took the dogs as the place was dog friendly. It was such a nice place…..log fire, clawfoot bath, beautiful gardens. It was nice to get away and just relax. It was raining most of the time so we just pottered around, went for lunch, played board games, etc. Our next little trip away will be to Melbourne at Easter. I am not sure if we will drive with the dogs and get dog friendly accommodation or if we will fly and leave the dogs with my Mum. I hate leaving the dogs but I hate the thought of 2 12 hour trips in the car…..Yuck!!!! The good thing about going to Melbourne this time will be that I dare say J will not be interested in seeing his Mum….after her rudeness at Christmas. So it will just be us doing our own thing. I am hoping I will have lost a further 6 kilos by Easter and be at my original “goal weight”. Then I can treat myself a little. I will keep up this effort and I guess only time will tell…

Miss Pinky

Positive Post at Long Last!!

I am feeling REALLY happy with myself today! For the past 2 days I have eaten "perfectly".....no naughty snacks at all.....and I have been very good with my exercise. I now see the trainer on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and I do a "Body Attack" class on Wednesdays. If I like, I can do no exercise Sat, Sun and Mon as 4 sessions is still good. Or I can add in an extra one during those 3 days. My arms and my bum are aching today from doing back-to-back sessions with him last night and this morning.

He also recommended that I go off the pill as he thinks this could be causing me to hold weight. I have been on the pill since I was about 16 (14 years at least) so I really don't know what my "natural" adult body looks like....That is, without the hormones. So, I have "kicked" the pill and J and I will now resort to condoms I guess. Gees I hate them but I am willing to give anything a try to get good results. At the moment I only get my periods 3-4 times a year because I keep cycling the active pills so I am NOT looking forward to regular periods at all. After 14 years I dare say they won't be too regular anyway! I am not meant to be on the pill anyway because I suffer from "visual aura migraines" (migraines that affect my vision) and taking the combined pill when you suffer from these increases your risk of stroke. The trainer didn't tell me this....I already knew this.

I can notice a small difference in my stomach. I think it has deflated a bit, which is awesome! Much more deflation is required though!!! A funny thing is that when I am being healthy J and I get on much better. Probably the exercise increases my "happy chemicals" or something! There is no doubt about it, exercise IS a great thing even though it is such a bitch to do most of the time!

My dog, Jack, is sick again! This time I believe he has "Kennel cough" which is a really bad thing. He has been vaccinated for this so he won't get really sick like non-vaccinated dogs do but I feel really sorry for the poor thing. He is so sad and walks around with his tail between his legs. I got woken up at 3am today by him coughing really hard. It sounds as though he is trying really hard to cough up phlegm or something and his whole chest area contracts while he does it. I will take him to the vet tonight to make sure he will be OK. It is my silly fault he has this....The dog park we always go to has had a sign up on the gate the last few days warning that Kennel Cough is present. I stupidly thought "How can it possibly just hang around in a park? He will be OK". I am a bad dog mother. Once again, Max is fine. I think his fat protects him from everything and he will live to 100!! I really worry about Jack and get petrified he will die young. I would need to go into a psychiatric hospital if he died....I could not cope!

On a more positive note, I am hanging out for this long weekend. I am not doing much at all but just looking forward to an extra day of not being at work. It has been pretty quiet at work and it has been so hard to try and stay busy....or at least "look" like I am busy! I hope I can stay pretty much on track with my eating over the weekend. I should plan some BBQ dinners or something (meat and salad) so I know what is on the menu. Tonight I am having homemade sushi for dinner and I can't wait....It is sooooooo yum and homemade means there is no mayonnaise in the rolls. I hate when sushi places put mayo in there.....It is so disgusting!!!

My thought of the day is: "You are not doing this to look slim....You are doing this because none of your winter clothes fit you. For this reason, you must succeed within the next few months".
This is the truth. My summer clothes are pretty much OK because they are all dresses and flowy skirts but my winter pants, jeans and coats do not fit and I really like my clothes so I don't want to buy new stuff.

Have a great long weekend everybody and "Happy Australia Day"!!

Miss Pinky

Tuesday TidBit

Well I personally thought that my last post was really funny! I thought people would get a good laugh out of it. I guess I won't be giving up my day job to be a comedian any time soon!!! Thanks for all your comments on my last post....I know that self-hating is terrible and just encourages bad things to come into my life. I need to stop putting myself down all the time!!!

I have always wondered if I would feel better about myself if I had a partner that I felt completely loved me, no matter what I looked like. I have always felt that J feels disgusted by me and wishes so badly that I was slim. I think the reason for this is that J always goes to the Gym and looks after his body whereas I treat mine more like a "temple of doom" than a temple! Funny thing is that J sent me this email after reading my last blog post.....

What is wrong with you???
You are turning into a psycho. You are putting unnecessary pressure on your self and turning something that could be easy for you into something horrible.
So what you eat some bad things, that is the reason you are doing exercise so you can eat some bad stuff and not worry about it. Focus not on what you eat but on burning it off. Big deal we had pizza last night pizza surprisingly is not that bad, it had minimal cheese on it and meat...
I am beginning to think you need more then a PT you might need a doctor to deal with you mental issues..
Stop placing unnecessary pressure on your self and try and assert some self control with out being a Nazi about it. If you want bad things look for bad things that are good . Its not that hard... STOP BEING SILLY THINGS ARE NOT THAT BAD.

This made me really think for the first time "perhaps he is not as obsessed with my weight as I am". I actually felt really liberated by this email....even if he was calling me a psycho!!!! I realised that how I see myself may not be reality. Perhaps every person is NOT staring at me when I walk down the street thinking "You fatty". Perhaps I do not stand out as "the fat person". Perhaps nobody is looking at me when I eat in a food court. (I will leave the examples here or you will see I am truly a psycho....ha ha ha!!!)

So now I shall post some good things I have been doing.....All part of my "stop self-hating" plan...
I have now had 3 personal training sessions. The first two were not really hard but this morning my trainer absolutely CANED me!!! I was swearing and everything!! I am feeling OK now though. I have decided to "up" my sessions from 2 per week to 3 per week. This will force me to do at least 3 exercise sessions a week and this will be sufficient even if I don't manage to do anything else. I would love to do 5 exercise sessions a week but 3 is better than none. I am only planning on seeing him for about 3 months so I need to do all I can to get results!!!

Food is better than it has been but still not great. For breakfast I have been having a mango, a tub of yoghurt and 1/2 cup skim milk blended with heaps of ice....really yummy. Lunch the last 2 days has been turkish bread toasted with ham, swiss cheese, tomato and avocado. If I swap the turkish for a brown roll and swap the cheese for weight watchers cheese this will then be OK. Still having a few biscuits after work, which I need to stop and still having icecream after dinner but only a small bowl now. Dinner is always pretty good. A few minor changes to the food and I should be OK. I could never go on really low calorie diets or no carb diets as I would last about 5 minutes.

My weight is up to it's highest point but I am trying to focus on the positives....That I have the trainer now and I work very hard when I am with him. I am trying to believe that it will all be OK. A small bit of afternoon/evening willpower over the food and I will get there!

On a non-diet related matter, I have been invited to a Cypriot (hope the spelling is right) wedding at the end of Feb. This is a guy who lives down the road from us but we are not really close to. I have never even met his fiance as J and I were "having a break" when the engagement party was on so I didn't go. Anyway, I have also received an invitation to her "Bridal Shower" a few weeks before the wedding. I don't want to go as I SERIOUSLY will not know one person!! I have met the groom's mother once but that is it!! My question is, do I still buy her a gift for her bridal shower even if I don't go? I am not too "up to speed" with these type of things. I know for an Aussie wedding you would get a gift if you were good friends with them, even if you didn't go but I don't know this girl at all! I am not a tightarse....Just want to make sure I do the right thing. I no longer go to things I don't want to......I decided this about a year ago as I used to spend all my time trying to get out of things so now I just say "no" upfront. I will attend the wedding though because J will be there.

Till Next time....
Miss Pinky

Fat, fat, fat!!!!!!

After my semi-bagging of the personal trainer that he didn’t work me hard enough, etc…..I received my “karma” yesterday in the form of an aching body that felt like I had been hit by a train. Every part of me ached, even my armpits!!! Today I am feeling a bit better but still a little tender. I have another session with him tonight and I should be OK. Even if I am not I will still try my hardest because I hate showing any signs of weakness!!! J is considering joining me on my PT sessions and I have spoken to my PT about this. He thinks that this might not work because J wants to build muscle and I want to lose fat. Maybe J will just agree to do whatever I am doing, although with heavier weights, etc. We will sort this out in the next few days. It is not that much more money for J to be there too, so this isn’t really an issue.

My food has been bad, bad, bad and I am in severe self-hating mode. Yesterday I had McDonald’s for lunch, half a bag of fantail lollies for a “snack” and pizza, garlic bread and an Oreo McFlurry for dinner!!!!! I absolutely disgust myself but can’t seem to stop this self-sabotage!!! I am an animal!!! (No…..this is slack to animals).

Speaking of animals, my dog, Jack, was really sick on Tuesday night, throwing up everywhere. I didn’t get any sleep at all. Thank God he is better now. I was so worried about him but I wanted to wait and see how he was by last night before taking him to the Vet. By about 4pm he was much, much better. I am not sure why he was sick but I assume he ate something dodgy in the backyard. The other dog, Max, was fine.

So I came to some realisations yesterday, which I would like to share. This section will be entitled “You know things have gotten out of hand when”…..
(1) You do not consume one bit of water in a full day. This was me yesterday. First time in about 3 years with ZERO water. I replaced healthy water with chemically laden Coke Zero and fat, fat, Dare coffee milk.
(2) You have to go home from work at lunch time because the pants you wore to work are too tight and you need to change into a loose skirt that does not hug your fat. Once again, this was me yesterday.
(3) You have to go to a different store in the afternoon to get your bag of FAT lollies, even though there is another store that is more convenient. Reason is that you are ashamed to go to your usual store because the lady would remember you getting your FAT Dare coffee milk that very morning. Yep….me again!
(4) You smuggle your bag of lollies into the office so nobody can see how FAT you are and you then carefully eat them all afternoon, hoping nobody can see you or hear the wrappers being opened. Hippo me once more.
(5) You put your McDonald’s bag from lunch into the outside bin so your boyfriend does not know how FAT you are. Funny thing is, he is not blind so I think he knows I am FAT anyway!!! (Note: He found it anyway when he took the garbage out!)
(6) You have to put talcum powder in between your thighs when you wear a skirt on a hot day to stop the “fat man rash” from coming. Yes, I make me sick!!!
(7) You are sitting in front of the TV in the afternoon with a full packet of water crackers and a jar of jam and you dip the whole packet of crackers into the jam and then eat it. Note to self: Jam IS NOT a dip Fatso!!!!!
(8) You hang around the house covered in a sarong because nothing else fits you that is comfortable anymore.
(9) When you shower you try not to look down because the sight of your lard will scare you and make you sick. It is rather difficult to shower without looking down!
(10) You pretend you feel sick so you can convince your boyfriend to have takeaway for dinner. You are not sick at all, you just want the FAT food rather than healthy steak and salad. Boyfriend must think “I would feel sick too if I ate what you did!”. He doesn’t say this out loud though because Fatso may sit on him and he will die.

Reading this back, it is rather funny but I am laughing AT me, not WITH me. This is a hard reality check for you, you absolute pig! Things MUST change and they must change NOW!!!!!!
Well, at least after we have cake at work this afternoon for someone’s birthday!!! Some pigs just never change!! J

(I am aware this is a really negative post towards myself but this is the way I need to be to generate some much needed change)

Miss Pinky

Bored To Bits!

(Once again I can't work out how to put words near the pics! Dog on floor is Max and dog on bed is Jack)

Far out…..I am soooooo bored at work it is just killing me!!! I have to wait for this guy at my work to do something before I am able to complete my work and he hasn’t done his “thing” so far this week so I am just sitting here trying to look busy while the paperwork piles up on my desk!!! This means that I am bored now and later in the week I will be really busy….Thanks heaps work guy!!! I can’t actually say anything because he is just covering the person’s job who normally does it for a couple of days.

I had my first personal training session this morning. It went OK I guess but I can’t feel anything in my muscles and the stuff we did was a bit basic I think. I ran for 20 minutes on the treadmill before having my 30 minute session so, all up, I did 50 minutes of exercise. Better than laying in bed I think! I am wondering if half an hour sessions are too short?? It seemed that as soon as it had started the half hour was up. I should really give it a few sessions before I pass judgement…..picky old cow that I am! The honest truth is probably that I don’t want to have to exercise….ha ha ha!!!

Food-wise I have been a little all over the shop…..Some things good, some not so good. I have to remain positive that one day I will strike some sort of balance between being healthy and treating myself.

I am going to the movies tonight. I never, ever go out anywhere during the week and I made a sort of “resolution” this year to try and do small things during the week to make the working week less painful for me. J and I are having some sushi for dinner and then watching I Am Legend. I don’t know what it is like but tickets are cheap on Tuesdays and at least it will get me out of the house. I hope my dogs don’t get upset when we are gone….Yes, this is how obsessed I am with my dogs!!! I hate leaving them alone at any time during the night but especially on week days when they have been alone all day anyway. My dogs are way too spoilt! I even slept top-to-tail in the bed with J last night (wrong way around) so a dog could have my pillow to sleep on at the top of the bed. Typing these words I realise I have mental issues!!!

I am trying to work out what to get J for Valentine’s day?? I know it is a month away but I get paid on the 15th of each month so I need to get his present with this pay. I was going to get him some new runners but he went into a running shop on the weekend and told me he is buying himself a new pair this week. It is so funny because every time I decide to buy him something, he buys it…..or I buy him something and then he tells me he wants to buy it and I have to tell him I already have it and ruin the surprise!! He really has everything so I find it very hard to buy for him. I think we have decided to go to the “Meat and Wine Co” in Darling Harbour for dinner on Valentine’s night. It is a really yummy restaurant….Probably not one for vegetarians!!

Miss Pinky….aka Miss “Piggy”!!!!!

Back to the Grind

Monday again.....Yuck! I really miss the RDO's I used to get at my old work. It meant that I had something small to look forward to each month. Now it is simply 5 days each week, without a break. I guess I need to stop complaining because I have at least 30 years till retirement so I better get used to it. 30 years......330 months of working......7200 days.......57600 hours......I bet any 30-somethings reading this are in a really good frame of mind now!!! Sorry!!!

Anyway, my weekend was pretty good. On Saturday I went and got my glasses adjusted because they kept falling down my nose and were driving me crazy. Now they sit properly but my neck still aches when I wear them. I hope I can get used to them soon. I haven't had my usual afternoon headache so that is all good. Then I went and signed up for "3" wireless internet. It is really awesome....very quick to download.....and only costs $14.50 per month for 1GB. I am really happy with it and now I don't have cords all over the house! I spent the rest of Saturday sunbaking in the backyard, grocery shopping, etc.

Yesterday I went to the beach for a while and then had some lunch in the Mall and looked around the shops. I bought the same dress J got me for Xmas but in a different colour for less than half the price he paid....He is spewing!!! I always tend to buy the same things in different colours if I like them.

I did no exercise over the weekend because I woke up pretty late both days and, also, I had already completed 5 sessions during the week, which I thought would be sufficient. I will do some aerobics this afternoon and tomorrow morning I have my first personal training session. To be totally honest, I wish I hadn't organised this now because I don't want to pay the $425 but I feel obliged because I have booked it. If I cancelled, I would never go back to the Gym again just in case I saw the PT. This is just the way I am....rather weak and petrified of confrontation or people thinking badly of me. I guess any normal person would just cancel and not give it a second thought but I am far from "normal"! Perhaps this will force me to be more healthy as I know I am paying money to get results. Maybe it is just the lazy part of me that wants to cancel!

Food-wise I did OK over the weekend....Mostly I ate fairly healthily but I did have Thai food on Saturday night and I had an icecream and some lollies yesterday. All in all it is better than I would usually do on a weekend. I weigh about 1.2kgs less than last Monday, so at least somehing is shifting.....even if I am not being perfect.

I watched this TV show last night about celebrities getting their "body back" after having babies. Man....I can't believe the lengths these people go to to lose weight! Although I think the extreme measures are really bad for you (soup diets, etc) I am envious of their willpower and dedication. They are just so tiny!!!!

Anyway, back to the "grind" for me.....

Miss Pinky

Friday....and loving it!!!

I can't seem to write what these pics are near the pics so they are: my sister and I, J and I and my new hair

End of the week and still going pretty good. I have exercised 5 days so far this week….3 aerobics classes (video), 1 run on the treadmill and a 10km outdoor run this morning. What this week has shown me is how hideously unfit and overweight I am. My run this morning absolutely killed me and I was really slow too. When I finally made it home I was all shaky and did not feel well at all. I even considered calling an ambulance to haul my fat arse off to hospital (only kidding)!! So, I now have decided to join the “personal trainer” bandwagon and I have booked in to start with one on Tuesday. I will see him 2 times per week for about 3 months and hopefully he can help me out. It will cost me a bit of money but I honestly can’t put a price on what I would pay to not look and feel this way, so it will all be worth it.

Food-wise I have pretty much been “spot on” and I don’t feel as hungry as I usually do when I try to be “good”. Still craving biscuits and cake but I guess I won’t be able to kick the “carb monster” that easily!! All in all I am feeling rather proud of my efforts this week and I already feel less lethargic, which is always good!!
I am hoping I can control myself over the weekend

I picked up my glasses last night so today is their “debut” or “first outing”. They feel rather strange and my neck is sore. I am probably just not used to them yet but I must say that the world is less “hazy” than it has been!

My vegie garden is doing great at the moment and has sprouted it’s first tomato….although it’s about the size of a 5 cent piece! At least things are growing in there anyway!! I also have a possum that is visiting my backyard every night and I have been leaving fruit out for it to eat. J tells me that now it won’t remember how to find it’s own food. This is probably true but I now feel obliged to feed it. It’s very cute. Although one of my dogs spends all his time outside at night barking at it, so we have to try and limit his backyard access at night. If the possum decides to attack him, it will really do damage to him. I have heard they are very vicious.

My weekend plans do not consist of much at all….which I love! I can just spend the 2 days taking my dogs to the dog park, catching up on some housework and resting.

Have a great weekend guys!!

Miss Pinky

Welcome 2008

Today is my first day back from my holidays and I am suffering from Mondayitis so I will provide this update in point form….

MELBOURNE – The 4 days went very quickly. The weather was nice apart from Christmas Eve, which was very cold and rainy. The weather was between 24 and 27 degrees, which was lovely. We managed to get out of there just before the 43 degree days hit, thankfully! Xmas Day was OK apart from the fact that J’s mother said about three sentences to J and I all day. I swear she loves her dog more than him and pays it more attention too. Needless to say, he was very upset and angry afterwards. She didn’t even ask him about his new job and she didn’t even say “thankyou” to us when she opened her present. J had to ask her if she liked it. Her rudeness makes me not give a sh*t that we have been to Melbourne a few times and not stayed with her.

J spent Boxing Day with his son, go-karting and shopping. He said they had a good day together. I hung around at the hotel and got some lunch at St Kilda. J’s Mum was meant to pick the son up afterwards and take him with her for a few weeks but when J called her to organise this she had gone home to the country instead. So J just dropped him back to Ballarat.

Melbourne held many culinary delights for myself, which I was happy about but the scales were not!

NEW YEARS – The quietest one I have ever had. J and I stayed home and had my Mum over for dinner and that was it!! We watched the fireworks on TV and ended up staying up until 4am watching silly game shows on TV. At least we didn’t have to try and find public transport in the City! Next year I will be sure to organise something more exciting in advance!

J – Things have been going really well. It was so nice to have some time to spend together during our leave. We didn’t do anything major…..Just went out for lunches and pottered around the house but it was nice. I need to make sure that I don’t get caught up in the “routine” now that I am back to work and forget to simply enjoy the simple moments. I must make an effort to do stuff during the week, like going to the movies or getting an ice cream after dinner. Small things like these will make the working week more bearable.

HEALTH – The results are in and the cause of my constant headaches is most probably due to the fact that I need glasses! I went for an eye test a week ago and it appears I have a stigmatism which means my eyes need to work hard all the time to focus. Hopefully once I pick up my glasses, my headaches will stop. It is amazing the difference it made when the optometrist put the prescription lenses on my eyes. I didn’t realise just how blind I was!!

FAT – The results are in and YES I am enormous! I ate like an elephant all holidays and did zero exercise so I deserve the massive number that greeted me on the scales this morning. As of this morning I have been good. I did an hour aerobics video this morning before work and so far I have eaten healthily today. I will do the video until I have built up a little bit of fitness and then I will tackle some running. I have a goal to lose at least 5kgs but hopefully closer to 10kgs in 3 months. 5kgs will have me looking “normal” again but 10kgs would be even better! I cannot get any bigger or I will die! Enough is enough!!!!

I hope everybody had a great break over Xmas and I hope we can all work hard to achieve our goals for 2008….Whatever they may be…..

Miss Pinky