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.