Why do we have Toenails?

This morning at work I ran over my toe with the weights trolley.

Well, ran over is a bit of an exaggeration. I pulled the trolley up onto my toe and then very quickly pushed it back off the way it came, so ... never mind that's just silly semantics. I don't even think I got the whole wheel on the toe, just started to roll onto it and pinch it and very quickly shoved it back off! But those racks of Pump weights are heavy! And my toes are little!

We have two of these trolleys, and they are both full of weights!

At any rate, it was the toe next to my big toe on the right foot and the darn thing is purple and swollen and the nail is black! And it stings like all buggery! And throbs, too. I will save you from any photos of my terribly unattractive feet!

Anyway, a run was questionable (I could do it, but why when you know it's going to hurt?), and hooking my feet into the half-clips on my pedals just puts pressure right on that toe! But I walked 2km on the treadmill and rowed for 10 minutes today, just to do a little something, and will paddle again tonight.

I am sure after a few hours of elevation (read: propping my feet up on the coffee table while watching TV) the swelling will go down and the pain tolerable and I'll be back to business as usual. (Why do little things - like paper cuts - hurt so much anyway?)

I was going to lose that toenail anyway, and this might just expedite the process, which would suit me just fine. It's really annoying to have your toenails hang on, then get caught on stuff, or sting when they are pressed by even a tight sock or sliding your feet under the covers. Once they are gone and grow back, they just don't hurt any more!

Since I started this mad exercise thing, I have gotten very accustomed to losing toenails. I don't think I'd ever lost one prior to starting my Blackwood training, but apparently it's quite common in long distance runners. Does this mean I can call myself a long distance runner? hehe

Ever lose a toenail? Was it as a result of training, or an accident or something funny or silly? 


Any advice for preventing loss of toenails?

Balancing my Sunday

It seemed like it was going to be a lazy Sunday. I was tired and wanted to rest, but had a lot of work to do at home, and plenty I wanted to do fitness-wise. In the end, I could have done a lot more, but I think I achieved a nice balance of work and play and rest. I slept in until the part of me that was jittery and felt it needed to accomplish something before the day was completely wasted won out and I ended up doing heaps of stuff.

My Sunday consisted of:

• mowing the lawns
• going for two bike rides
• sweeping and vacuuming
• doing 5 loads of laundry
• baking 3 loaves of bread
• buying plastic crate boxes 
• sorting temporary fencing gear into one box
• sorting TKs vetting gear into the other box
• and lots of general sitting about, chilling out, visiting

Not too bad as I was taking it easy really. Nothing was too pressured, I just did what I wanted, when I wanted to.

The bike rides were challenging. The wind was strong. When I rode out to Woody I had a head/head-cross the whole way. The good news there is that I had a tail wind home, so though tired, I still kept a good average and worked at over 22kph, even with the hills for the whole ride.

The second ride was nice, a social ride, that was actually at a social pace! We had a tail wind out, so the ride in was a big challenge. I drafted in a nice pocket behind the three guys and did alright, but did drop off near the end. However, I still stayed over 22 for an average. My average used to be 20, so I am on the improve! And that's on already tired legs INTO the wind on the way back.

I am always torn between the desire to have a social ride and enjoy that time with friends, and my concern for holding them up. I am the weakest link in our little cycling group. I mean, they train 60km a day, I do that in a week if I'm having a good week, so I mean, it makes sense that I'm not as effective on the bike as they are. But I do okay, and I am getting stronger. 

It's funny too, I am feeling a little frustrated with myself these days because I know I've got the distance in me, I just don't have the speed to go with it. I find that is true of all my disciplines right now.  But I'm working on it!

After my adventures on TK on Saturday I found my neck, shoulders (traps mainly) and upper back really tight (from trying to pull him up) and my lower back was stiff for awhile when I got up, obviously from harder riding than I'm used to. I'm still wearing the shoulder tightness today. A little deep heat rub helped quite a bit, but I have been a bit worried about paddling. Perhaps I should just have a go - it might work out the kinks!

I also have another new plan: I am going to do a mini-blackwood each week to practice my transitions from one discipline to the next. You will be hearing all about these efforts soon!

Have a marvellous week!

I Stand Corrected...

I believed that TK was slow. Past behaviour tends to be the best predictor of future behaviour, and he has always been slow. And there was lots of green grass to eat, which seemed to be his primary interest for the day. So I expected to cruise along for about 2 hours. But he was also a racehorse once upon a time...

... and TK is FAST! Very VERY VERY fast!

Here's my story. It's a little long, but at least there's pictures!

After finally realising I wasn't going to get any more sleep I got up at 4am and got organised. We left home just before 5:30am and arrived at the Mayanup Camdraft grounds, where the endurance ride was to start, got ourselves organised, got registered, vetted in, and all that. I was so excited and nervous and stuff that I had TK saddled nearly 30 minutes earlier than I had to! Oops!

Anyway, we went to the start of this little parade. There were only 6 riders in the 20km ride, which I thought was great, it'd be real social and slow. Before you start there's all kinds of milling around.

And then there's a fairly anti-climactic start where every heads out at a walk, and then adds a bit of trot, and off we go!

Now, there was this other horse and rider combo, bib 86, and she was out front. And for some reason, TK wanted to take this horse, wanted to race this horse! I tried turning around and joining the rear group and a lovely lady said "I'm just here for fun so ride with me if you like" but very quickly things got wildly out of hand. And not just a little bit!

Suddenly TK was at a flat out gallop, thundering along an unknown track of unknown length with unknown obstacles, fences, holes. And he was past 86 and every other horse and was not slowing down. I tried to pull him up, but his racehorse training had clicked back in and a pull meant faster. I tried to sit back and loosen up the reins and talk calmly to him but a wailing "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO DEAR GOD NO!" was coming out instead of "Woah buddy, that's aaaallllright, waaaalllking" Funny that. Runaway horse, runaway calm voice... and sitting back on a galloping horse is harder than it sounds. I was so unseated, so unstable... I was freaking out.

I was running through a million thoughts: How long is this track? What's over this next hill? Is there a turn? Is there a fence? Will I die if I go head over turkey if he trips in this creek bed? If there's a fence ahead will he stop? Will I fall off sideways as he dodges around these trees? How will I ever hold on? If I survive this, will I get off and walk back to the start? Am I crying or is that just the wind stinging my eyes? When is this damn horse EVER going to stop running!?!?!??!

Up a big hill and it slows him to a fast trot. He's still moving, still riled up, but more worn out, and it occurs to me that since we didn't crash and die we should just see what happens next. And we were well ahead of the pack, and if we kept it there, he seemed perfectly content.

19 minutes into the ride and I have my horse back. He's sweating like a pig, and trotting along happily, slowing to a walk when I ask, trotting when I ask. Easy.

A gentleman riding behind me catches up and we ride together for awhile, his horse and mine are both competitive, and he's telling me "no, your horse isn't naughty or doing anything unusual, you should see my other horse" and so apparently this isn't anything odd. First times always come with a story. TK and his horse take turns leading, trotting hard and fast, but still more manageable than before. He's in front, he's happy!

The rest of the group caught up with us just as we got to the 7km checkpoint. There's water, apples, carrots, molasses, and even treats for the humans. TK ate some of both treats with the whole group, calm as a cucumber, though wouldn't touch the water. And since there was no hold time, and everyone seemed content to strap (cool off their horses) I decided I would head out early and get a lead on everyone so I don't have to deal with a silly horse again.

We walked and trotted awhile, and then two kangaroos crossed our path. TK was awesome, just watched them and was completely calm, but then one of them started to crash through the bush off to our left, and as suddenly as before, we were galloping again! He was racing the kangaroo! This time I was a lot calmer about it. He was tired, we were going uphill, I knew I could turn him, I could see the direction of the track. I kept the reins loose and eventually the kangaroo lost interest or TK lost steam and we were trotting again.

We come back in on the track we headed out on, and I had a big plan to ride that galloping track hard, push him into a strong canter so he knows I'm in charge of the speed here, mister. But as we're returning home 86 catches up and passes us. Damn! Now he's chomping at the big again, and she's asking "do you want to pass?" and I said no. Change of strategy: I wasn't actually trying to go fast, I wasn't trying to win. He needs to cool down a bit, and I need to keep him behind her, I thought. We are already making good time, there was no rush. And it was a beautiful day. But 86 was ahead of us. And the rest of the group was coming up behind us.

As we turned onto the track where we had our runaway, I was really at a loss of what to do. 86 was ahead of us, but a nice lady was riding next to me (Kelly, I think was her name), and I had him mostly under control. But he was fighting, so I called out to 86 that I was passing, passed at a trot and then put him into a canter. Got him working up the hill until he was stuffed. Down to a trot. Yes, that's good! Kelly pulls up beside me on her off-track thoroughbred and she was a great riding companion for the last little bit in. She went through so much of the same thing with her horses and offered me lots of good advice.

As the gentleman mentioned, first times always come with a story, and Kelly had a runaway too, her first time, and actually got off and walked back in on her first 20km ride. She only got 5km into it. It turns out I did alright.

We pulled in, in 1:46 and cooled our horses. TK vetted through just fine. Vets were happy with him, and he was content. Especially since it meant that he could now eat without interruption!

There were a lot of things learned today. Maybe some of the smaller lessons on detail and strategy will be shared in a separate post. But here's the most important thing that happened today:

The fear didn't stick.

Yeah, he ran away with me. Yup, I was completely unprepared for that. But it ended beautifully. The day was gorgeous (I'd take a photo of my sunburn to prove it, but ... anyway), the ride was lovely, the people were nice and TK did well. He's strong, he's fit, and he's fast! I have a few things to work on now. This was meant to be a learning experience and it was. And it was wonderful. Well worth the $35 and and 4am start! Every penny and then some!

Prepping for the Weekend

Well, quickly before I go on about getting ready for the ride, I want to take a short moment to brag about my Thursday.

Thursday:
Thursday morning I taught Balance, which I put a bit of extra effort into, and then after work I ran on the treadmill for 80 minutes! I travelled for 12km including warmup, and then cooled down for about 5 minutes, which I didn't count in my distances or time, then had a quick bite to eat and a fruit juice to revive myself, threw a Berocca tablet into my water bottle and went to Body Attack!

Now, it wasn't a pretty Attack. No impressive high knees or butt kicks, but I did do the high options throughout, and although I felt like it might a few times, it didn't kill me! YAY! The very hardest thing last night was the ab track. My abs were trashed and this is the only track where I really had to back off. I simply didn't have enough control to do the "full" exercise properly. Low options abounded here! However, I made it through 140 minutes of near continuous exercise last night!

I actually recon that's going to be close to how I'll feel going from the run to the paddle, and that's a bit of a wake up call too! So much more work to do to keep the body going, especially if I want to be remotely competitive!

Did I mention that I'm competitive?

I got home and ate and showered and was in bed by 8:30pm. And then I slept through a bike ride with Helen this morning. I was meant to get up at 6, but didn't see light of day until very near to 7. I really needed the recovery time, and am feeling pretty alright today! I need to do a big bike ride on Sunday. I have tenative plans to ride with Kirsty, but will go even if she can't. Was hoping to do 80km this week, but looks like only 50ish for me this week.

Friday:
If I get everything listed below here done and feel up to it, I will paddle for up to 60 minutes tonight, but am not expecting to get to that, as I have plenty to do! I need to pack for the horse, pack for the humans and prepare our food.

Prepare the horse:

• saddle, bridle, blanket, saddle pad, halter, lead rope
• hoof pick, stethoscope, brushes, thermometer
• feeds (3 - one for the morning, and one for afterwards, and one for Nero), and feed bucket
• water and water bucket
• electric fence unit, electric tape roll, star pickets, post driver, insulators
• trim TKs front hoof which has a funny crack that needs attention
• TKs papers

Prepare for the humans:

• helmet, jodphurs, a few different shirt and jacket options depending on weather conditions
• chairs for the sitting around bits
• food and water
• money for entry, insurance, and hay or other eventualities if required

For meals I plan to prepare:

• Breakfast: boiled egg and boston baked beans wrap
• Snack: on the go fruit crumble and sustagen drink
• Lunch: Tuna and spinach wraps
• Snack: museli bars and fruit and/or polenta veggie muffins if I manage to make them

Because it's only 20km and therefore only about 2 hours ride, I won't worry about bringing a water bottle or hydration pack with me on the ride. However, I did have a water bottle holder for my saddle once upon a time, and they are very handy to have, and I want another one! Don't know how I lost the first one anyway. I'd like a carrier that spans the front of the saddle, and on one side has a water bottle holder with a bit of insulation to keep the water from boiling, and the other side to be just a velcro pocket for slipping in a few jelly beans or something similar, and space for a camera! I haven't seen one like this yet. I wonder if I can get one custom made? That'd be kinda cool!

We need to be at the ride at the latest 7:30am to vet in. It's going to be a near 2 hour drive, so we need to leave at 5:30am. That means I'll probably need to be up at 4:45am so I can feed the horses, feed ourselves, load TK, and get off in good time. It will be dark when we load, but should have light by just after 6am.

So I better get started!!
Wish us luck! I am hoping for a great day!

Reasons To Run

A long time ago I had a post about reasons to run, or cycle, or anything for that matter, but here's a great little article from Women's Health Magazine about why to run. Although it covers more of the physical reasons than the 'feel good' reasons, I still think it's a good little article.

In short:

Reasons To Run
1. It's So Easy
2. Yet So Hard
3. Your Knees Will Thank You (yes, they do!!)
4. You'll Stress Less
5. It Can Prevent Disease
6. You'll Probably Live Longer

Intensity

Intensity was the “thought word” for the day I was looking at IL times and having a small fear/freak out moment. I was wondering how I’d ever keep up, and if I was going to make a fool of myself.

And of course, I knew the answer to “have I bitten off more than I can chew?”

No, in fact, I wasn’t quite biting off enough!

I need to up my intensity.

Essentially with 66 days left to go, I don’t have time to just plod along and dilly dally! I should not be working at a pace that I feel I can do all day! I need to get the speeds up, the distances up and FAST! I need to work hard and get working at race pace!

This week I did two workouts of higher intensity and really felt the benefits.

First was a row on the machine to act as my swim. I rowed Monday for only 14 minutes (I was aiming at 15, but just couldn’t do it) and I pushed to get out 1km in that time, and keep my stroke rate over 33, preferably up around 37. Normally I sit on a 27ish stroke rate, and am singing along to whatever song is playing. But not so on Monday! I was *grunting* to push out the last three minutes! I was working *hard* and it felt good!

And today, after a great 1 hour horse ride (where TK was actually *almost* fast!), I went for a 5km run and I pushed myself hard with intervals. I tried to run faster than I normally do and then at every 5 minute mark I sprinted for 30 seconds.

And the result was a Personal Best! Almost a full 2 minutes faster than my previous personal best!

Now I may not go out and try these intervals with my 12km run just yet, but I hope it will help me improve my speed over the whole distance! I might just learn to be a faster runner!

If I do at least one session of each discipline each week with the intensity cranked I think I’ll be ready to take this race on at a pace that I can be proud of!

Trying to Decide...

I'm considering my gear for the event again. And I am debating a full length compression tight or a 3/4 length triathlon pant. Unfortunately, it's proving hard to find 3/4 tri pants (with minimal chamois lining, they all seem to have full cycling padding), and I might have to go with an above the knee cut.

The big pro of the full length tight is that I can wear them for all events, including the horse ride. The negative is that it has no padding, so not so crash hot for the cycle. I can cycle without the padding, but would definitely prefer not to.

The big pro of the tri pant is that it has the padding, though just the barest minimum (or the swim and run would be quite uncomfortable). The con is that I'll have to put on a pair of pants as I come out of the water and head to the horse. And we all know how hard it is to put anything on when you're wet.

Mat has suggested that changing gives rest time, and I argue that I'll already be slow enough!

If only I could find full length triathlon tights! That'd be perfect! But since that seems completely out of the question, what would you choose? I'm taking votes :)

Iron Ladies are Getting Faster!

When I first set out on this silly goal, it was actually to complete in 2008. I took the averages of Iron Ladies in 2006 to set a gauge of my speeds and am surprised to find that the averages have dropped quite a bit in each category. So, listed below are 2006 Iron Ladies (IL) and 2009 Iron Ladies (IL), plus the (W) Women's Team category results and the Ladies Veterans (LV) which is team of women over the age of 35. I fit well into that category and am probably working at their speeds more so than the W or IL. However, overall, the women in this competition are doing paces listed in the last column.

Leg	Dist	2006 IL	2009 IL	2009 W	2009 LV	Average	M	S	PACE (kph)
Run	12	00:55:34	00:54:42	00:58:54	01:06:38	00:58:57	58	57	12.21
Canoe	8.5	01:12:01	01:10:43	01:14:58	01:06:28	01:11:03	71	3	7.18
Swim	1	00:16:00	00:14:56	00:15:29	00:16:35	00:15:45	15	45	3.81
Horse	16	00:39:16	00:34:18	00:47:16	00:46:21	00:41:48	41	48	22.97
Cycle	20	00:48:20	00:47:06	00:52:55	01:00:56	00:52:19	52	19	22.94
Total	57.5	03:51:13	03:20:30	04:09:33	04:16:59	03:54:34	234	34	14.71

I feel like I'm not even close! My overall run average is 9.7kph! My horse is slow as molasses! My cycle is 20kph if all conditions are right!

What am I going to do!?

Oh my God! Have I bitten off more than I can chew!?

The Sunday After

It's the Sunday after three weeks full of work challenges, it's the Sunday after it all finally gets back to normal!

Last night I slept. And today I slept in! And rested! Oh, how I needed a rest! I am actually glad I didn't try to push the workouts this last week. The crazy shifts at work, a staff member moving on to other opportunities, staff being away sick, and just so many events back-to-back meant that I wasn't getting the recovery time I needed, mentally, at the very least. I wasn't sleeping well, and was up early every day, and coming home spent!

I did six workouts this past week, all fitness classes, and all were great for maintenance, but even there, I was feeling a bit of lethargy. In Attack Kirsty wondered if I had run prior to class. I hadn't, I was just that low on energy.

It also didn't help that I wasn't on top of my diet. Nutrition, as we have established, plays such a critical role in my general well being and energy levels. This week started well, but fell to pieces as the week got more hectic. I ended up eating many super-sugary pre-packaged high-fat low-value meals this week. When I eat like this I feel hungry all the time, as none of this food satisfies in the long-term, so I ate a lot more than I needed too. Normally I don't pay attention to my weight and it holds relatively steady, but this week there was a noticeable weight gain.

Again, I found circumstances ruling, somehow I wasn't in charge of my own food once again (up too early, home too late, missed the shops, no time to prepare anything). This is a real problem for me, especially as I am now working my way through what might be food intolerances, or what might just be a symptom of over training. Either way, not eating right means I'm pretty sure to be feeling a bit ick in the tummy, which sure doesn't help!

So, although today could have been spent doing a few workouts (which I surely needed) I instead spent it doing a few things that I think were more in line with improving my energy levels. Doing things like laundry, mopping the floors (not done in three weeks!), and preparing a few big meals ahead have made me feel back in control while not trying to push myself today, when I'm still low.

I also took the time to review the priorities I set at the beginning of the month. Holding these priorities in mind really kept me on top of my training schedule and I always felt like I was moving forward and accomplishing the important things first! So, I have added a new first priority - me eating well!

1. Nutrition - continue striving to eat nutritious, balanced meals that keep me feeling energised, healthy and ready for each challenge.
2. Horse - min 4 sessions per week - he is an athlete and needs to be trained like one.
3. Run - min 3 sessions per week - running a minimum of three times per week is the only way to maintain my knee strength. Run my race distance consistently!
4. Cycle - min 3 sessions per week - This will be my weakest link and needs to be strong.  I will have to do 20km of hills in varying terrain after having done a previous 4ish hours of exercise!
5. Paddling - can get squeezed in anywhere and I will only need 2 or 3 sessions a week.
6. Rowing - I will use the rowing machine once a week as a tool to work on swimming fitness. The pool will be opened to a few people doing specialised training at the beginning of October. I will have almost a month to get this discipline up to par.

So, with a few bulk meals getting finished up, and my priorities reviewed, I feel ready to face the week and expect to see many successes! I hope to push out a few personal bests this week!

Have a great day, and keep well!

Very Busy With Work

I haven't posted much this week, and I haven't done much exercise this week either (only 5 sessions to date, although Attack is on tonight!), but we've had a tough two weeks at work, and this third week just sort of put the nail in the coffin, if you know what I mean. Saturday should be the last of these hard yards, and then I shall be back at it.

I feel bad that I wasn't able to maintain my training this week, but really haven't felt capable! I am sure there are plenty who find time, no matter what, to get that workout in, and perhaps I allowed my priorities to be shifted, and should have maintained more focus?

When the going gets tough, how do you fit in a workout? What other jobs, chores, or priorities do you shuffle, if any, to get the workout in? Or like me, when it comes to the crunch, does the workout suffer?

Worried About Strangles

Strangles is a contagious disease that affects horses. It's really unpleasant. A quick glance at a few photos here and I am sure it won't take much imagination to see what an uncomfortable and horrible disease it is! It can result in death, though treatment is usually effective, but it's not something you'd want any animal to have to go through.

So, when I heard that there had been a few cases in WA recently, I thought I had better look into this. I am about to take TK out into a social environment and this increases his risk of getting the disease. However, it would seem that the original reports have been greatly exaggerated, as detailed in this article by the ABC (a far more reliable source of information. You can trust the ABC, like you can trust CBC or PBS).

I contacted the local vet and the WA Endurance Riders Association and no rides are cancelled and there are no bio-hazard policies in place. If you want to get your horse vaccinated, that's a great idea, and always better to be safe than sorry. But basically the WAERA are asking people to use common sense and not bring a sick horse to a ride.

Great advice!

So, I probably will organise to have TK and Nero vaccinated, but am not going to freak out about it. It will cost me $75 per horse, and I still haven't made much of a dent in the existing vet bill, so might wait until I have a little more available cash, and not make that debt to them any bigger than it already is.

Further to the topic of horses, I have contacted and left a message for the Registrar of Racehorses to find out how to transfer ownership of TK to me. Right now, according to his RISA records, he has 5 owners! Presumably he was purchased as a 'pooled investment' and failed miserably. I have his Thoroughbred Identification Card, but no transfer papers. It's really neat to look at these records: TK's real name is Party Flight, and he's trialled (run a race) twice and came in last in each race. Then his record ends. In other words, TK is SLOW! hehehe I guess I'm not the only one who complained about this problem of his!

Also, had the farrier out here this weekend to do the boys' feet and had a little chat. TK's got some funny movement in his hind legs, he really rolls on the outside of each hoof and twists his hind legs at a walk. The farrier is sure he'll be fine and sound for pleasure, but won't pull up sound in endurance. Basically, his unusual action in the hind leg will either cause him pain over the long haul and therefore he won't come through sound, or just the odd action will cause the vets to pull him when he does his trot out. Since I am going to an endurance ride in 12 days time, and only doing the social ride, it will be a good opportunity to discuss this potential problem with the enduro vet.

I'm not phased if he doesn't turn out to be an endurance horse. I'm mostly after a pleasure horse and all-rounder, but of course, one that will also be able to complete the Blackwood Marathon this year!

So, I guess the information I've gathered today answers a few of my worries, but I still have a few more things to work through to ensure he'll be - and stay - healthy and strong.

P.S. Sorry I went a little crazy with the links today! I guess that's what happens when you get off work early but are trapped in the house due to the rain. It's meant to be my hills day, but that certainly wasn't on the cards in this weather! Don't you just love spring? One minute it's the sunniest nicest day you can imagine, the next you're soaked to the bone!

Quick Sunday Recap

Today I planned a 14km run, but walked the first and last km so only did 12.2km total, but a good time, 1:15:35, only one minute longer than last 12km, but this one included some killer hills in the first 5km.

Below are some stats, if you're so inclined. The first set are distance between landmarks and the average over that distance, then the second set is the average over the cumulative distance. The worst of the hills end at Climie (5.4km) and the rest is relatively undulating and primarily downhill, so I was rather pleased that I still had a consistent average over that first 5km!

12km loop
Landmark	Distance	Time	M	S	PACE (kph)	Cum Dist	Cum Time	M	S	Pace (kph)
vet	1.7	00:09:53	9	53	10.32	1.7	00:09:53	9	53	10.32
trimmer	1.5	00:09:33	9	33	9.42	3.2	00:19:26	19	26	9.88
gates	1	00:06:23	6	23	9.4	4.2	00:25:49	25	49	9.76
climie	1.2	00:07:15	7	15	9.93	5.4	00:33:04	33	4	9.8
forrest hills	1.1	00:06:50	6	50	9.66	6.5	00:39:54	39	54	9.77
golf course	1.3	00:07:45	7	45	10.06	7.8	00:47:39	47	39	9.82
baker	1.8	00:10:30	10	30	10.29	9.6	00:58:09	58	9	9.91
corner	1.3	00:08:29	8	29	9.19	10.9	01:06:38	66	38	9.81
rec centre	0.7	00:04:44	4	44	8.87	11.6	01:11:22	71	22	9.75
end	0.6	00:04:13	4	13	8.54	12.2	01:15:35	75	35	9.68
		Average:			9.57

Later in the afternoon I took TK for a run around our more familiar track, but extended it a bit. Ended up doing about 9.3km in 1:11:14, much better than our last trek up the railway, and we got up a nice sweat, lots of trotting, a bit of canter. He's got a lovely slow canter. Other than a few spooks and a few times when he thought we were on the track home and started to get strong, he was really moving nicely and the weather was lovely. Very nice ride.

The funniest spook was when he didn't notice a horse in a paddock and when she started coming towards us he was completely startled. It was hilarious! "Dude! It's a horse!"

We will do the track work tomorrow morning.

Was looking at my stats for this week and I have done everything except rowing on the rowing machine. And I only cycled twice and paddled twice. But how great to have done 14 sessions this week. Very happy!

Every week seems to be an improvement, and I feel stronger and healthier!

Getting Rid of Athlete's Foot

Iew, really, a post about Athlete's Foot? Yeah, well, not so nice, but a really common problem, particularly if you use a pool or public showers at the gym. And then once you've got the infection, you bring it home, infect everyone in your house and it just goes around in a cycle. I used to get lots of infections, but now hardly any at all.  So here's my three-pronged system for getting rid of Athlete's Foot!

First, gather your supplies:

• foot powder for treating tinea infections
• anti-bacterial/anti-fungal foot spray (if you want something natural, try Bosisto's Tea Tree Spray)
• a good laundry powder (again, I like Bosisto's EucoFresh laundry concentrate. It's natural and it's antiseptic.)
• bleach
• a spray bottle with diluted bleach (approximately 1 part bleach to 2 parts water)
• anti-bacterial/anti-fungal body soap/wash (for something natural, try a soap with Sandalwood oil)

Next, banish the infection from your environment! (Get ready for it, you're about to do a lot of laundry.)

• First, scrub your shower and bathroom floor with bleach. I find letting the area soak for at least an hour before rinsing makes it even more effective. In fact, wash any floors that you track along barefoot. Usually the path from the bathroom to the bedroom. If it'll take bleach, you might as well do it! I understand that won't work so well for carpets... steam mops are handy here if you're really worried about the infection or have a fully carpeted home.
• While waiting for the bleach to work its magic in the bathroom, put all your bath mats and towels through the wash. Use the good laundry detergent, and use bleach or another antiseptic cleanser if your detergent isn't clearly labelled for the job.
• Use your foot powder and treat every single item of footwear in your house. Slippers, sandals, flip flops, your stuff, and everyone else's. Even if you haven't worn the shoes in ages, or don't think you will for ages, just do it, why risk it? And everything will smell a lot better next time you do wear it!

Finally, kill the infection and prevent re-infection:

• When you shower, use that anti-bacterial soap and wash thoroughly in between your toes. Don't just assume that the soapy water rinsing off your body will actually be effective. Get in there and wash your feet properly.
• After you shower, use a separate towel to dry your feet, and dry thoroughly in between your toes. This is really important. Don't let them air dry, or use the carpet as a towel.
• Throw this foot towel in the wash immediately, don't reuse it (remember, you're going to be doing a lot of laundry!)
• Wash your bath mat as often as you are willing to. Daily is ideal, but often unrealistic. Every couple of days is great.
• Spray your feet with your foot spray and put on clean, dry socks
• Use that other spray cleaning bottle to spray the bottom of your shower with diluted bleach, and then just leave it. Encourage everyone in your home to do this, as they will probably have already caught the infection before you knew you had it. In other words, you usually have it before you notice it.
• Powder the shoes you are going to wear before each use
• If you do use public showers, try to remember to bring a pair of clean flip flops and shower in them. Have them as your dedicated 'shower shoes' and rinse them with diluted bleach when you get home.

Be prepared to continue doing this for about 3 to 5 days after the infection appears to have been cleared up. Often there will be a flash re-occurrence, and it usually really stings! This silly little fungus likes to go down fighting!

I hope you find this guide practical and helpful, should you ever suffer from the problem!

My Brain is Mush

I woke up early this morning, stressing about work, and since I couldn't sleep and couldn't think about anything else, I went in early and got lots done. Glad I went in early, because people started showing up about an hour early! ACK! Luckily we were almost ready for them.

The day was busy, and everything went really well. There were 42 teams, lots and lots of people, and food food food! Oh my goodness, if I never see another hot chip again.... *sigh*

Anyway, days like this are tough. There's so much to do the whole day, and you just don't take care of yourself, there simply isn't time to do more that grab a bite of something, serve someone, put another bite in, run and fix something... I don't even plan on bringing anything in to work on a day like this. It's just pointless. I didn't drink enough water at all, and I ate a spinach and ricotta roll (which was shoved in my pocket and eaten in mouthfulls between this's and thats's) and stole a few chips (french fries) when I had the chance. I snatched a few lollies from time to time, and afterwards we enjoyed an afternoon tea with the organisers, and I had a few delightful sandwiches and these adorable super-mini chocolate muffins. YUM!

And then, due to the fact that there was so much cleaning to do, so much money to organise, and a sick staff member, Kirsty and I worked at least an extra hour after it was all said and done so the place would be sort of ready for rollerblading.

And then, when I stopped, I just went plop! Oh my! Suddenly I feel awful! My neck aches, my feet ache, and my tummy is overfull of nothing good. I have eaten so many kj/cal today with so little nutrition, that I feel I should eat in order to put something of worth into me, but at the same time feel that I shouldn't eat, because I've eaten about a weeks worth of sugar and saturated fat and definitely am not hungry.

Am going to relax for awhile, and then try to row or paddle or just a little something at a low intensity to work the kinks out, maybe do a few Balance tracks to ease everything back into place. Yes, that Balance idea sounds like the best plan of the lot!

Due to sick staff member, I will be going to work tomorrow, from 7:30am to 1:00pm. I will take TK for a ride after work, and then the farrier is coming. A run after the farrier will be great if the weather is nice.

Sunday is a social bike ride with all the Katanning riders with their new jumpers. We all have new Katanning Kruisers cycling shirts and we are going to be getting our photo in the paper. A long paddle is also on the cards for Sunday, and I think I should ride TK again, as we only have two more weeks to prepare for the endurance ride. I'm thinking of just doing conditioning laps around the track. 1 lap walk, 1 trot, 1 walk, 1 canter, repeat. If we need to do 20 km and the track is 1.8km long, that's ... (oh damn, math) ... 11ish laps. Probably should do 12. Boring, but I'll bet we'll get more out of it than our little forays down the rail line? I'll call it a conditioning ride, and the rail rides a training ride. :)

I love semantics.

Hope you out there have a marvellous weekend!

Attack, Runs, TV, and Rain

Wow! The rain... let me tell you! The rain has not let up for 18 hours! It just keeps coming down and down and down! It is so wet out there! An outside run was out of the question today. And I decided I would rather not plod on the treadmill for 12km. It just seemed too boring.

But an hour of Attack! That seemed like fun! And it'd still be awesome for my fitness. It's so much more fun to have a bunch of sweaty people bouncing around and a cheery instructor shouting encouragement. That keeps me going!

So I came home from work and made chocolate chip cookies!

Then I knew there was no way I was missing Attack! I am sure there's twice the calories in cookie dough... and I ate about 6 cookies worth! Ugh! What a mistake! hahaha  I love the taste so much, and yet I know it's going to make me feel ill. Weird how we do these things to ourselves!

Anyway, show up for Attack, and it was just the instructors at first - Kirsty (Attack instructor), Amanda (Pump) and myself (Balance). Then Kez (PT) showed, that's another instructor, and finally Robyn, an actual participant/fitness enthusiast! That makes a whole 4 participants. Not enough for a class. Pooh. Where are all the participants? Probably stuck in the mud out there somewhere!

So after some deliberation, we decided to go for a play in the gym. I set about my run, and did 6km in 41 minutes flat, including warm up. So nowhere near my intended 12km, and much slower than my usual average (but I took a nice long warm up), but still a workout, and it was fun, because we all just had a nice chat while working out. We tried working out a few ideas to increase the numbers to Attack, including moving the time and the room so it's less intimidating to people.

It's really unfortunate that people are scared of Attack, at least that's what we are guessing is keeping them away. People have heard that it's hard. And then they just don't come and don't just try. We just aren't sure how to make the class seem more accessible to people. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, I'd love to hear about it! :)

So, looks like I'll be well rested for work on Friday, and will be doing a spin and paddle Friday after work if I'm not too mentally fried. Maybe I can paddle while Better Homes and Gardens is on. I really like that show! It's one of the few I watch regularly, and even know that it's on Friday nights. All the other shows are like a lottery or surprise to me. "Oh really, is that on tonight?" I never know! I think that's kind of a good thing. TV isn't all that important and there's not that much I can't miss!

Seeking Opinions

So, tomorrow is Thursday. I am scheduled to do a small morning paddle, and after work I am planning a 12km run and/or Attack.

Last Thursday I actually thought I could probably get away with doing both the run and Attack, so was thinking I'd plan for that for this week, and prepare better recovery food and drink to follow the run, stretch out for longer and then head to Attack. I really want to support Attack. The numbers are a bit down (due mainly to the weather) and Kirsty is instructing on a painful knee and it seems like a bit of cheerleading for her might be a good thing.

But Friday is going to be a monster work day with another 500 or more people to feed as we host another major sporting carnival.

This means two things:
I am likely to be tired after two plus hours of high intensity exercise and may not be at my best on a very busy work day. Maybe?
But it also means that I am unlikely to work out after work on Friday, so could probably use the extra training on Thursday. After days like that, I tend to just want to plonk down and rest. It's mainly a brain thing.

Friday may be a big day, but surely the push of the day, and just meeting the demands of the moment will keep me going until it's all over, and I can be exhausted at 4pm on Friday and rest then?

What would you do?

Today's Horse Ride

Just came in from my ride. It was a little frustrating.  Except the last 20 minutes, I guess.

We went out at a walk-trot, with lots of trot right up to the point we turned around Monday. Then walked for another 11 minutes (32 minutes out) to a new distinguishable marker.  Turned around and walked back that same distance in 35 minutes. 1 hour 7 minutes return, approximate distance 7km. Or put another way:

SLOW!

On the way out we were moving well until we crossed the highway and got onto the railway line. Then he started to weave all over the trail, head held high, looking at everything, acting totally stupid. His walk and trot were pathetic, and then at one point, he decided that the cars, the cows, the birds, pretty much everything, was out to get him, and he put on a nice little show of bucking and weaving. Oh I was angry and a little worried, but pressed on, pushing and pushing and working us all the way to that marker. I was weaving through trees, stepping over logs, trying to keep his focus on me and not on all the other things in the world that seemed to be worrying him.

Then when we turned around.

And he was the opposite horse, of course.

I was working hard to hold him back. Now I was fighting the opposite battle, hanging on his mouth, his head still up in the air, ears pricked for every sound in the wind.  Luckily this battle didn't last that long, maybe 10 minutes and then as we got closer to home, into more familiar territory, he dropped his head, relaxed and walked quite calmly all the way home.

TK's side of the story:
Weather: Now, I realise that there was weather coming and wind and rain can make some horses silly - I was actually afraid we might get dumped on - but he lives in the weather, so why can't he live with it if I'm riding him?
Cows: I knew he was afraid of sheep, and now it seems he's also afraid of cows. I might ask a friend if I can just put him in with her cows for a few days to kill this problem, because seriously, what horse worth his salt is afraid of cows?!
Vulnerability: Horses are herd animals and take strength in numbers, and here he is out alone in an "unknown" place... he is completely vulnerable to wolves and lions. Hard to convince a horse that there are no wolves or lions in Australia. But disappointing that he doesn't see me or MD (My Dog) as enough of his herd to feel safe. He just wanted to get back to his safe place and herd mate.

My response, of course, was "I'm willing to be patient to an extent, but I still expect you to do what I say."

I'm glad I set this horse thing as a priority, because there's no way we'd be successful without going through all this junk now, when we have time to still work on it!

Anyway, off to the gym for a run on the treadmill. That weather looks nasty!

Massive Monday

I had the day off work on Monday because I worked Saturday and Sunday, so I took the time to make up for a few missed workouts.

I went for a ride on TK and it was PAINFULLY slow! Oh my goodness! We went somewhere new! The shock of it all nearly did his little walnut brain in!

We went out at a walk and a trot (thank goodness I'm carrying a crop now!) along the railway line for over 30 minutes, until I could stand it no longer!  We turned around and walked home. Of course, pointed in the direction of home, he was Mister Speedy Gonzales, and we got back, at a walk only, in less time than it took to get out there.

His hesitation at going somewhere new was a bit of a surprise. I can ride him out alone with no problems, but have been riding similar trails each time - we have a nice 7km loop we do regularly - and he goes along very well.  We've also ridden unknown trails with a friend, and had no problems. Even if he wasn't familiar with the other horse, he was happy to have a buddy and carry along at a nice pace.

So, I didn't realise he would be so silly out in a new place alone. He might not be a very good endurance horse after all!

But presumably if we trek down the same road each time he'll get comfortable with it and we'll be able to pick up the pace and increase the distance. That particular bit of track is a pretty nice 20 km with a few wet spots, but not too bad overall.

After I got him home and undressed, I headed to the shops and bought a few things, including a thermometer. Poor TK. To be vetted through an endurance ride, he needs to have his vitals taken. That's pulse and temperature. Wait, POOR ME!! I have to teach him to accept a rectal thermometer!

Anywho! That afternoon I went for a bike ride with Helen and Nic down Police Pools. I am still a lot slower than them, even with my tuned up bike, but I was doing much better than usual. My average was 24.7km/hr and this includes the warm up 3 km that I do at maybe 18km.

When I got home, I paddled for 45 minutes. I am really glad I am doing this practice. As ridiculous as paddling the air in the lounge room might seem, it is developing my arm and shoulder strength. Without this bit of a base of strength, I'd never have a chance of making it through the race. Paddling for that long is tough!

I was going to do a run and then go to Balance, but then thought that I should help Amanda with the stereo settings before Pump (the stereo is often out of whack after events), and I might as well stay for Pump and then do Balance. As it turns out Pump was a bit of a bad idea. I really made my shoulder ache, and it's been pretty good and getting stronger. I avoided the exercises that I knew would hurt, but was really surprised when my arm started to ache when I was holding my bar on my back for squats. Really unfortunate about the shoulder, because it was otherwise such a fun and challenging workout!!

My legs were still shaking in Balance after the killer lunge track! It's the first time in a long time that I've sweated through the whole class!

I crashed and burned that night, and did not get up in enough time to run before work on Tuesday. I could barely open my eyes!

Note to self: five hours of exercise, even with breaks in between, is still a LOT of exercise!

So today, Tuesday, I've done an hour of spinning, but that's it.

Tomorrow, back on track with a horse ride and a run - aiming for 10km.

So, it would seem that this week I am not quite doing as much "everything" as last week, but I haven't gotten too far behind at all, and am still feeling really great! I was tired early in the day on Tuesday, but perked up, and ended strong.

I was afraid of over-training, but right now I seem to be 100% on top of things! Woohoo!

Oh, hey, if you've never cooked with fennel, do try braised fennel. I made some the other day and what a yummy simple light dish. Delicious! It's essentially diced fennel bulb and a small amount of the fronds, onion, garlic, rosemary and chopped tomatoes. Heat it all up till the fennel is soft and then dress up the fennel sauce anyway you like, such as baked with breadcrumb and parmesan cheese topping. Lovely!

Hope to post an update tomorrow after my ride and run!