Lazy or Tired?

Or a little of both?

It's true, I gave myself a mental time-out from exercise following the Blackwood. I promised myself an "off-to-light" couple of months, nothing serious to train for, just the classes I have to teach, so I can recoup and focus on other things.


Afterall, it's Silly Season. Christmas is nearing. Work is insane. We are short staffed, we're all working overtime. There are parties and functions to organise, plus I am teaching three extra classes a week. I'm not *completely* resting on my laurels. I also promised I would put more focus and effort into work. And I am doing that, too.

But since I'm not training about 10-12 hours a week anymore, I'm feeling an odd kind of guilt. Because I have a lot of time on my hands that used to be spent training, I'm finding that I'm fluffing through my empty time and not really being purposeful about spending it. So, it'll take all morning to do dishes, cuz it can, rather than hurrying the process to get out and doing something else right away. This makes me feel lazy. But I also feel tired. And sometimes I'm not sure about which one it really is that I'm experiencing at any given time. Some of the things I'm experiencing:

• I am sleeping in later - but I'm staying up later, too. I don't have to be up any more. And I'm watching more pointless television. I'm wanting or having more naps.
• I'm drinking more tea again - this usually means I'm looking for a pick-me-up, which means I'm tired, but also I learned that artificially boosting my energy with caffiene (even as little as is available in a cup of black tea) does turn out to be an energy drain in the long run, so this is a viscious cycle I'd be better off dropping (again).
• I am skipping workouts without really worrying about making them up. E* couldn't make it in for our workout this morning, so I just didn't do mine. Generally I don't rely on other people to get me to exercise. I mean, they help - big time - but I've been (reasonably) self-motivated the last 12 months, so to skip out on a 15 minute workout seems like a silly lazy cheat.
• I don't have a big goal in mind, so as a result, I am 'floating', so-to-speak. Motivationally, I do far better having a big fat hairy audacious goal to strive towards. Without that, I'm just going through the motions.

How do you know if it's time to push through (cuz you're just feeling lazy) or rest (because you truly are tired)?

Quick Weekend Recap

I've been away, so no post for awhile. To briefly summarise the last few days:

Friday morning I did the next workout, Expert exercises for 10 minutes. I wasn't at my best, feeling rather lethargic, however, I did get a good workout from the extra intensity added for this level:

• Pushups with a 3 second hold and then explosive jump
• Lunges with a 3 second hold and double arm overhead press (I was actually tempted to lower my weight, it got so challenging)
• Incline rows with elevated feet and a 3 second hold at the top. (I had to lower my feet!)
• Goblet squats with a 3 second hold. (I could probably increase this weight)

It was screaming hot on Friday. I taught Aqua and really had to take it easy. 36 degrees and rising! And then worked as a guard until 6pm. It was a long day, but a really good one.

The best thing about the day was that when I got home, Mat was doing the dishes, our bags were packed and we were leaving!! By his logic we would just sit watching tv until 10:30, so we might as well just sit in the car until then!

So we made it to Margaret River and did mostly nothing for all of Saturday and Sunday. Visiting, snacking, I dived into the ocean fully dressed (AWESOME) and went for a very short walk.

And we napped a LOT! I feel very rested!

Now we are home and I am off to teach Aqua Gold in the rain.

I will do my measurements on Tuesday morning and do the next workout on Wednesday (Expert for 15 minutes).

Resting on my Laurels

I've had a week off. It's been nice, but a bit too easy to get used to sitting around and just doing 'whatever'. Whatever often includes eating something, watching tv and sitting on facebook. Not really quality use of my time.

Now, I grant you, I needed that. I wanted to catch up on things. I wanted to rest.

Afterall, I really didn't have my whole body working for me until Wednesday, I had Aqua Gold and Aqua Intense choreography to sort out, I worked all day Saturday. I did some scrapbooking, bought much-needed groceries, cooked meals, did housework. So I had plenty of good reasons for sitting on my proverbial. I wasn't completely idle, but ... well...

What I didn't have a good excuse for was this Sunday morning.

My plan was to ride my bike to the pool at 6, have a little swim, head out for a little while on the bike, then open the Centre at 8am for the cleanup crew. I was thinking that I'd take TK for a walk today, too. He's got a nasty bite mark from Nero on his back, and can't put a saddle on him right now, but I thought a little time socialising with him would be a great idea.

Instead I slept in until 7am, went to work to open for the cleanup crew at 8am, then came home and started to clean my kitchen.

Okay, the kitchen REALLY REALLY needed a deep clean. It's probably been since this time last year that I washed the curtains and windows. It was time to de-web the house. And the mouse tracks were beyond disgusting. All the mice have moved indoors to hide from the big ass snake hunting in the hay shed. In truth, I've been putting cleaning the kitchen off for too long, and it is a huge job that I haven't managed to finish yet, even with most of the day spent on it. But at least most of the cupboards now smell 'lemon fresh bleach' clean!

But then, where was the swim, ride, walk? Have I already fallen that far off the wagon? "Yeah, I'm an Iron Woman, so I don't have to exercise." Uh, no, that doesn't seem right at all!!

Luckily, Helen asked me if I was coming on the 4:00 social ride today. I almost turned her down, but decided to put down my kitchen sponge and go for a ride!!

This coming week will see me pick up the number of active classes I teach from two to five, and there are pleny of opportunities to stay active thanks to work. But there's plenty more I need to do. If I don't run soon, I'll be back to square one. I want to try these exercise claims out. I need to set some goals. I need to get locked in to something great! I need to set a new workout schedule.

I don't seem to be able to exercise 'out of habit.' I know plenty of people who just get up and workout and that's that. I still have to make a conscious effort to strap on the shoes and head out. And this after a full year of high volume training, and knowing how great I feel when I workout.

Do you think this is strange? Or are you a regular exerciser who has to work at it too?

Tuesday - 12th October - 18 days to go

Not done the day yet, but probably not doing a whole lot more with my day.

I was meant to bike ride after work today, but will go with Helen at 6am tomorrow instead. I am tired and I am tapering, afterall. I need to focus on feeling 'fresh' for these next two weeks.

I look at that 13km run on Monday as my last big run. Yes, I do have a 10km run coming up, but will be sticking to 5s and 7s for maintenance over the next two weeks. I know I have the run in me, and have been thinking of training for a half-marathon! So there I go, looking out for a new big crazy goal again! But I am enjoying running so much. I think because I had to work so much harder at this than anything else. I fought with my body, coaxed it, and eventually we came to this agreement. And I feel so very proud that I can run now! It has taken so long. Mostly I am proud that I stuck it out and I got here! Wow!

I am also feeling really confident with my swimming, considering that I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to do it at all a few weeks ago. As I suspected when working out my plan, I felt that I would be fit enough to handle the swim, and would just need to do a few sessions to ensure I had the breathing right. Freestyle would have been far more challenging, and I probably wouldn't have knocked off 1200m in my second swim, but freestyle's never been my forte anyway! :) At any rate, I am glad I was able to predict and interpret my body's reaction to the work! YAY!

Will try to keep TK intersted and happy going out these next few weeks, but as with me, all we can hope for now is maintenance, there really isn't any room for improvement left. Hopefully I can squeeze in a few more social rides with people from town to keep TK more enthused about riding out. He was so happy to see another horse when we finally met up with Mel on Chloe. We went from a snails pace to a big trot, with his expression saying "Oh thank goodness I'm not alone out here!!" Both horses were stoked to have another horse out there, though interestingly enough, neither seems to have any affinity for the other. TK can easily walk away from Chloe, but is much harder to separate from Sparky or Dee, for example. I also find he doesn't feed off her energy levels. Dee was calm and relaxed and that translated to a calm TK, but Chloe was virtually asleep on our ride, and TK was silly half the way. Interesting, eh?

One thing I do want to work on with TK in the long term is balancing his training output with his event output. And the other thing I want to work on is my confidence in my ability to ride him when his energy is high. I want him to go faster, but for us both to feel relaxed and in control. Most often when he's finally going at a speed that is where I want him to be, he feels frantic or overexcited, and he's working his mouth and neck in that weird racehorse way. He's still in my control, but he's just hovering there at the very edge of it, and it's an uneasy place for me. I either have to grasp that feeling with both hands and just go with it, or I am going to have to figure out how to keep him further from the edge.

I am steeling myself for the fact that we are probably going to have a hell of a start at Blackwood, but know that he'll run it out, calm down and we'll finish fine. The hill's'll knock some sense into him anyway! He was sure feeling them after the Manji ride, but handled them alright.

Bad news, though. Strapper number two is also unavaialable for the Blackwood weekend. And in fact, it's looking very much like Mat and I and T&E are going to be the main attendees. I hate to put any pressure on T&E, especially with T's back so crook, but they want to help, so I am going to accept it! I am just hoping to have a strapper that is a bit (dare I say it?) younger. T&E are in their 70s, and though they can accomplish some amazing things, I would hate to be the person that had a crazy horse wrench an arm or a heavy saddle do a back.

I hope to get out and paddle on Saturday afternoon. I work Saturday morning till 1, and I have my pool lifeguard requalification all day Sunday. The following weekend is the show and the fun run. Then the Blackwood. If I can't go tomorrow morning (and I haven't got a kayak yet, though I have been told to just call to say when I am coming to pick it up) then Saturday afternoon will be my last opportunity.

And then there is the cycle. Why couldn't the horse ride have been last? Seriously! Anyway, I will just keep going, just keep spinning (like Dory from Finding Nemo) and I will make it in the end.

Check out my last two posts which are links to the Map My Run maps for the courses. The distances aren't a perfect match, but the 'Climbs' speaks volumes. Time to move to somewhere with HILLS, TREES, and WATER!

Monday - 11th October - 19 days to go

Oh geez, I'm in the teens!

But I had a good Monday. Monday's are usually a good workout day. It's the start of my week and I approach it with much vigour. Today was no exception.

I started with a 13km run, which I did I a good time. My fastest outdoor run of that distance so far, especially if I were to knock of the four minutes of farting around I did in the middle of the run.

It was a two loop trek of just over 6.5k, and so when I came in to the start/finish the first time at 39 minutes, I decided to give myself a full minute to rehydrate, and restart my run at 40 minutes, since that was my target time. And then I thought I better text G and tell him that I am going to be a little later to the pool, since I started my run a bit later than expected. Then I took off, and he replied, so I checked that, and then I saw my horses both laying down having a little nap, and they were SO CUTE I simply had to stop and take a photo. Of course, it's a new phone, and I was having a little trouble with it all... so at 43 minutes I actually started to run again!

80 minutes was my total target time for the 13km run, and I checked my watch at one point in the second lap and thought that from that point in the first lap I took 15 minutes to get to the start/stop point, so I better hurry, because I've only got 12 minutes!!  And so I started to push it! And push it hard! I was cruising! I betcha I was actually doing the otherwise unachievable 12km/hr at that point. And I ran like that for 9 minutes (!!) before I had to slow up a bit, but by that time, I was really on the home stretch and I came in in 78 minutes! Yes, that's right, you heard me correctly! I kicked ASS!  Now, granted, a 4 minute rest certainly helped, but maybe I should take a little lesson from that:

rests and breaks are your friend!

Then I zipped down to the pool on my bike and had a great little swim. The water was a balmy 22 degrees, just right for laps and I was doing 100 metres in about 2.5minutes pretty consistently. I did 1200m in about 30 minutes and was pretty pleased with that! The only complaint I really had was that my calves cramped up in the last few hundred metres. Ouchies!

I rode my bike to the pool and had intended to do PP Road and head home, but guess what!? I forgot to put on my helmet! Are you serious? How stupid is that?! So I rode home to get my helmet and then kinda just stayed there and had a REALLY long hot shower. I was SO cold! The wind was nasty once again. Will have to consider how to get and keep warm if it's a cool day on the BIG DAY!

On the gear front I have had a success!! I found an old K-Mart/Wal-Mart special in a bag that I probably have never worn before. You can tell it's cheap because there's a label inside with bright red writing:

DO NOT WEAR NEAR FIRE

Wow, no marshmallow roasts for me!

But on the up-side, it doesn't chafe! It's not the most supportive little thing in the world, but luckily (I guess) I wasn't built with much bounce, if you know what I mean, so I was still comfortable on the run, and it was fine in the swim. I also ran and swam in my bike shorts, and although there's nothing attractive about wearing a full chamois bottom pair of shorts, I was comfortable enough.

So, still a few things to get taken care of, a few purchases to make, but getting there!

Balance was a welcome treat. I really needed Balance. The stretching and relaxation were just what my body needed.

Also, booked my recovery massage for the Monday following the Blackwood. That'll be nice! Something great to look forward to! :)

Saturday - 9th October - 21 days to go

Up at 4am.

Feed horses, make feeds, cook for humans, pack ute, hook up float, load horse....

Try again... load horse....

Erg! Arg! Call for calm!

Load horse...

We meant to be on the road by 5:00. 5:45am we hit the road.

We got about 60km away, started to do the maths and realised we were not going to make it in time. Briefing is at 7:45am, ride starts at 8:30am. I need to vet him in at some point before 8:30 and he needs time to settle after a 2.5 hour drive.

Guess what time we're going to show up?

8:30am

hmm... I know that if you don't leave the start area by 8:45 you are disqualified from the ride. I don't know if you're allowed to ride the trail if you've been disqualified. We decide that it's an awfully long drive for an incredibly uncertain result, so we turn around.

I will ride down Police Pools with Mel and a few other tomorrow, so will still get some distance in.

The horses spent the majority of the day grazing in the back yard - there's nothing alive in the paddocks anymore, and it's not even summer yet. It is promising to be a VERY hard summer. We will buy a large square bale to let them have free access to roughage, and keep the back lawn alive and let the horses graze as regularly as we feel the lawn can handle.

When we got home Mat had a nap. He really needed the day off anyway, so I guess it's a good result for him. I took the opportunity to do things like wash my car and do ... I don't know, completely random stuff.

Later, we drove out to Lake Ewlyamartup to see if it will be a suitable training area for the kayak. I suppose if I don't mind paddling on water that smells like dead animals, yeah, it'd do. Iew! And it's only about half a metre deep at the middle. We agreed that a trip to Dumbleyung, though further, might be a better location. Dumbleyung is deeper, so even though it's also very low this year, we are hoping it won't smell quite so bad.

And then I had a nap. And Mat had another nap.

It was really hot and there was a viscious dry wind today. Although we spent most of the morning outside, after lunch when that wind picked up and the heat got over 30 we hid inside.

I guess I have another challenge with the weather now. As it is warming up, and far more quickly than typical, I will have to adjust to doing all this good stuff in the heat. That means more hydration challenges. I've bought a few different hydration mixes to experiment with over the next few days. I noticed on Thursday night that I felt really 'sloshy' and uncomfortable when I rehydrated after the run and during Attack. I've got a mix that says it has a 'buffering system to prevent cramping'. Guess we'll see.

And I'm having trouble with the clothing issue! My crop tri top chafes like a bugger. I went to SportsPower, our only sporting goods store, and they only have the exact same crop top like I already have. Even going up to a size 14 it still fit wrong. The cut is just too close under the armpit. My best fitting shirt that I could also swim in is way too hot to wear in this weather. Though it's wicking, it's a full torso top and it's far too thermal! Don't know what I'm going to do there. Trip to Albany? Yeah, but when!?
 
Both Mat and I can't wait until the Blackwood is over. I may be training for an IronWoman event, but this is certainly not an individual effort. Without the support of Mat, especially, and my friends, family and co-workers, I would not be where I am or as close as I am. I owe so much to Mat... I am so grateful for his support.

Self-Doubt or Realistic Appraisal?

So, the last few days I've been really struggling with how well I am actually going to be able to do the Blackwood.

If you've been following me for any amount of time, you know that every few weeks or so I have a mini-meltdown, worry about being able to do it all, and then get back up and go out and train some more.

This doesn't feel the same. I feel genuinely concerned about my ability to complete the training and finish the whole Blackwood this year.

Several weeks ago I established that I was less than halfway there with more than half the disciplines. See my post here. Now let's re-evaluate. I have two concerns: preparedness and fatigue.

Discipline Preparedness:

1. Run 12km - yes I can do this, and should be able to maintain/improve the distance and time over the next few weeks. Confidence 100%
2. Paddle 8.5km - I don't know, I still haven't done this on water! Confidence: 50% (I can probably make it, it'll probably just hurt like hell! Or I might get wet!) 
3. Swim 1km - I still haven't had a swim since March! I know that was sort of part of the plan, but it's a bit nerve racking, and it's based on best-case-scenario: that they will open the pool early this year, and there is absolutely no guarantee of that. Confidence: 25% (I don't' think a 1km swim is very realistic with no training)
4. Horse 16km - I am sure we can make the distance. What I am not confident about is my ability to ride a potential lunatic horse. Confidence: 75% (just a bit of fear taking the top off this one)
5. Bike 20km - yes I can do this. It will be hard, I will be slow, but I can do it. I will probably not be satisfied with it, but am sure I can complete it. Confidence: 90% (It's going to be so tough, I am just not sure if I'll still be pedalling across the finish line!)

So I am better than half way there with more than half the disciplines. Though the water ones are a real problem in this bald prairie with no water to speak of.

If I were able to remove my competitive nature and say I am going to take as much time as I need to complete each leg, then, yes, I will be able to complete the full Blackwood Marathon. But I am so not a person who will just go and dotter along for the day. I want to know that I've done everything to my absolute best, which is why the confidence is low, even on items I know I can complete.

Fatigue and Tapering:

Then there is the fact that there are only 40 days to go! Just over a month, and I will need to start tapering soon.

The problem I am facing here (and this is where this lack of confidence is really coming from) is that my body is demanding in no uncertain terms that it wants to taper NOW! I am tired all the time and sleeping like I haven't slept in years! I don't know if this has anything to do with the medical problems my doctor and I are investigating - but my doctor says that my gal bladder shouldn't be affecting my energy levels, just my digestive issues, and these seem to be resolving themselves right now...

So maybe the fatigue is just that I have tried to do too much, that I have actually reached my genetic ceiling? I actually doubt that. I think I have more in the tank, I just don't know how to get it out!

This being tired makes me feel like I might destroy myself on the Blackwood; that I won't be able to continue training in these last weeks prior to the race, and therefore not be able to complete on the day.

My basic logic has been to listen to my body - sleep when I need to, eat when I'm hungry, and train only as much as absolutely necessary to maintain my levels. However, often I have been doing less than necessary, eating more than I need and sleeping ... well that just seems like something I could do all day and all night!

What are your thoughts? Is this just another case of self-doubt winning over reason? Any suggestions for improving my energy, and still training hard while trying to allow sufficient recovery? How do I squeeze more out of my tank?

Really looking forward to your input! :)

To Bed to Bed Sleepy Head!

So, Sunday was a total bust, as mentioned, except in the field of cooking and baking. I made vegetarian sausage rolls, lasagne and three loaves of bread. I didn't exercise. I was tired, and bummed out by the weather and Mat had to take off to Perth, so plans crushed. However, the house did get a nice once-over, which is always needed, so that made me feel good.

Monday morning, despite plans to do a horse ride and a cycle as well, I only ran. I was tired and finding it hard to get started. I knew if I got going I'd be fine, but was struggling to get off the blocks. Finally, after 10:00am I finally did an outdoor 13km hill run in 1 hour 19 minutes, and was REALLY pleased with that time. It was all hills and seemed much more uphill on the way back than the way out. I was just over 38 minutes to the turn around, so only took 41 minutes to come back. That's pretty good considering that when you turn around you've got 1.5km of hill to get up, and also that I was wearing out and my last kilometre took nearly 10 minutes! I had slowed down a lot! Did I mention it was mostly uphill? :)

I worked that afternoon and felt thick and groggy most of the day, and taught Balance that night, where I did a sneak-peak at some of the new tracks that I will be teaching at the launch on Wednesday, and then home to bed.

I was SO SO TIRED all day. And can honestly say that I have been really really tired lately. Like sleepy tired, not sore or worn out tired. I may have even mentioned this complaint in passing recently. I put it down to not feeling well (I might have something going on with my gal bladder) and to training while not 100%.

So, this morning at Circuit I spoke to Mia, who is a kick butt runner. She is fast, efficient, and super fit. She recently did a half-marathon in 1 hour 44 minutes, and held back so her husband could keep up! That's an average of 12.12kph over 21km! Oh yeah, that's fit! Anyway, I asked her if when she started running if she felt tired and sleepy. And she said, "Oh yeah! Even when I started upping my distances to run the half-marathon, I had to make sure I took a nap after a run. You feel kinda crappy when you wake up, but you feel so much better the next day!"

Oh what a relief! I thought I was losing my mind, that I wasn't tough enough that I was doing something wrong! Well, yes, I guess I was! I was denying my body the extra rest it needed after doing endurance exercise and should have not been resisting my desire to sleep. She recommends a 30 minute nap the day of your big exercise.

After Circuit Kirsty and I did some Attack and Balance training for the launch. That was heaps of fun. Man, I felt uncoordinated, but Kirst was able to see the foot strike I was missing in the warm up combo and we nailed that muther! Awesome! Only took 15 or so tries! hehe I did not too bad in Balance. It's great to be able to discuss some cueing options with another instructor. "That seemed to work well, but what about..." it's so nice to be able to bounce ideas off one another! I think we'll have a great launch!

So, after that training, I had lunch and then taught my Seniors Gym class. Really, I don't teach anything, I just visit and supervise. They're all really capable and have been doing the class for so long, I feel like I'm more of a token element. But it's a nice class!

After work I came home and had a nap! When the cat woke me up, like the efficient alarm clock that he is, I did feel a little groggy and 'ugh, really do I have to?' but now, a few hours later, I feel so much better! Oh my goodness, I am such a dork! It's okay, I can take it, you can tell me!

Seriously, why did I think I needed to stay awake when I felt sleepy? I go to bed early, sleep in late, I'm obviously tired! So, why, when I could fit it in, haven't I listened to my body!? Oh dear, when will I learn?

Tomorrow will be a great day, and I will include a horse ride and a bike ride and a nap!

Of Best Laid Plans

So, we had a plan. A good plan! It even got better and better as the week progressed!

Plan A: On Sunday, borrow Carl's double kayak, drive 2 hours to Jay's Bridge, paddle up and down the Blackwood River for awhile. Picnic, and drive home.

It eventually morphed into Plan B: leaving directly after work on Saturday and driving 3 hours to Bunbury and visiting my cousin overnight and borrowing his two kayaks and paddling up and down the Collie River for awhile on Sunday. Returning home either Sunday night or early Monday morning.

But Saturday night, when I got back from work, I was done! Wrecked! Exhausted! But I can sleep in the car (I always do), but unfortunately, Mat was also feeling rather destroyed. So, we decided to sleep on it, and get up and head to Bunbury Sunday morning. However, through the night we had very high winds and very heavy rains. And they carried on through the morning. We could wait and see if the weather would fine up and then revert to Plan A again, if we could still borrow Carl's kayak. But it just didn't seem worthwhile driving all the way to Bunbury with this weather all across the south-west.

But then Mat got a call from the guy in Perth who has a welder for sale that Mat's interested in, and the guy is available after 11am today and so there goes the ute (truck) and Mat for the whole day.

Things definitely change!

So Plan C (or D, or E??) is to paddle in the lounge room, practice Balance routine, do laundry, make a lasagne, and relax a little! Relaxing is going to be high on the list! It's been an interesting week... more about that later.

All's Quiet on the Western Front

Just a quick note to say I'm not dead, just not accomplishing a lot. Not on the top of my game, been to the doctors, awaiting some blood results. Probably just run down and nothing seriously wrong, but taking this week easy.

TK's sore and only went for one short ride this week. He's been getting massage and has had one hand walk, and will take him out again tonight to see if he can get loosened up. If not, will call the chiropractor for him to get him crunched.

So, hopefully we'll both be feeling better soon and will be back into accomplishing some more of those personal bests!

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!

How good was this week?

I had a great week!

I did everything (yes everything) I said I was going to do, and have really found my new priorities to be really working for me.

This Saturday and Sunday will be the first two days that I will not be able to accomplish everything (yes, truly, everything!) I set out to, because I have to work today and tomorrow.  People are falling down sick all over the place and we have some massive events this month. Also, my bike is in Albany getting serviced, so I can't even spin today.  These are all great reasons for having a break!

So today will be a rest day, and tomorrow will be a compressed workout following work (I should be done by 12... 1 at the latest), and then back on track with my workouts on Monday. And since I have the whole day off Monday except to teach my class, I can make up for my missed workouts. And get some more gardening done too, I hope!

I will also make bread today.  Mmmm... Loving fresh home made bread!

I am so happy to be eating well, feeling energised, and working through everything on my list. Even the dishes are getting done!

Plus, Dana sent me a link for an idea called "mobilisations" to see if it will help with my tight glutes and hamstrings, and I tried a few different things at work today during a few lulls. And I feel GREAT! The simple point that resonated with me is that purposeful repeated movement that feels good will help stretch, heal, and relieve! And it does! So no more just whining, doing a small stretch, and then carrying on with sore muscles. It can be worked out gently and progressively!

Thanks so much Dana! Great link!

The Rest of Sunday

I did end up napping Sunday afternoon.  I really needed a nap!  Only had a half-hour lay-down, but it sure helped!

I did lots of housework, at least 5 loads of laundry (where does it all come from!?), and scrubbed my much neglected bathroom.

And I did TKs lessons, and he was so good!  He really absorbed Chris' lessons and responded well, and didn't challenge me like he had done during our lesson.  Now to just keep it up!

I also spoke to Lauren, who was still in Perth and is going to pick up a crop for me.  She'll be back on Monday evening.  I did speak to her about riding TK, but it doesn't sound like she's going to have time to help with TK, so I might just start putting it out there to other riders and see if there's anyone looking for a horse to ride.  The unfortunate truth about horses, though, is that there are far more horses looking for riders than riders looking for horses.

We went to T&Es for dinner and it was really lovely, though both Mat and I were exhausted from our days' work, and probably really poor company. Mat worked all weekend - again - and came home and had a nap also before we headed out.  We had a nice meal, very basic, and sometimes that's the best! Beef, gravy and beans with mashed potato and pumpkin and some boiled peas.  Strawberries and ice cream for dessert.  By 8:30 I was starting to really fade and by 9:00 we were heading home.

Then I did the wrong thing: I plonked onto the couch and couldn't get up to go to bed until just after 10.  I was SO tired... you know when you're too tired to even reach for the remote?  You know you should go to bed, but you just can't get enough strength together to stand up?  yeah...

So this morning I didn't get up when my alarm went off.  In fact, I was barely awake at 8:00am! I am feeling so tired and lethargic.  I have been moving so slowly this morning, I am really paying for my big weekend.  It's like an exercise hangover!! :)

I did do 16 minutes of paddling this morning, and am building up to about 120 minutes (yep, two hours!) so I really hope to get myself to water a few times to really get a feel for it, and also so I'm not just sitting in the lounge room paddling the air going nowhere.

I teach Balance tonight, so that will take the sting out of my legs and will really enjoy having a rest day today, and have a big day planned for tomorrow.

Tuesday, I work 8:30-3:30, so will run at 3:30 for about 1 hour or approx 10-12km (and might do my loop outside if the weather is nice), then play with TK for about 30 minutes (5:00-5:30pm), then make some dinner and relax then 50 minutes on the rowing machine from about 7:00 onwards, as there is nothing on TV on Tuesday nights.

Wednesday & Thursday

Wednesday was a big day.

It was a lovely morning (12 degrees and sunny!), so I ran 5.6km outside. I was aiming for 6, but my knee played up again and I chose to call it quits early.  I think that's just because I was running on the road again, not on the soft, supportive running belt of a treadmill, so it was just responding to the extra impact.  It was painful enough to force me to walk on two occasions.

On one hand, I always feel like I've failed if I walk during a run, but on the other hand, I feel better and can carry on faster and more comfortably after a short walk, so it's well worth taking the 30-60 second break and allowing the knee to realign or whatever it is that's going on inside there.

I'm also looking back and thinking, I haven't been over 7km in quite a few weeks and really need to get back on the distance building program.

As already posted, I also took TK to the vet, so that took up a large portion of my morning, so I didn't get the shopping done or make lasagne, but still had plenty of goodies to eat.  Having a good stock of muesli (granola) bars and individual serves of yoghurt, fromage frais, and fruits on hand makes ensuring I eat enough of the right things first before I consider eating any of the tempting junk at work.  I have cut down my extras by a huge amount just by having snacks and a real lunch on hand this week.

I taught Balance Wednesday night, and although I intended to 'spin' when I got home, I was really tired.  Not just bored or lethargic, but falling-asleep-on-the-couch-tired.  So I didn't do anything extra after work.

Thursday I turned out to be just as tired! Time to take a serious overdose of Vitamin Bs and Ds!  My body is feeling strong, but my mind is as fuzzy as a wool sweater!  So I am declaring Thursday a rest day, and have rented a movie and will just enjoy a quiet night with Mat.

TGIF

Friday is a rest day. I like rest days. And to make the day better, I got off work around 3pm again, so again with the daylight! And I went for coffee with a friend, a sure fire indication I don't get out enough when I can't recall the last time I went for coffee with a friend...

After coffee I fed and rugged the boys, and then came in and played on the computer and found this great new blog (well, new to me, she's been at it for some time!) http://bootsandsaddles4mel.blogspot.com/

Now there's an inspiration, she works 50+ hours a week and still rides two horses and runs! So, hey, I can definitely do this thing, I only work about 40 hours a week. I just need to apply a little time management skills and commitment.

And I like her idea of going for a run with the horse in hand. Then the horses gets some exercise and so do you. I'm a little unsure about running down the highway with him, but there's plenty of gravel roads and quiet back roads around... oh, now I'm going to hop on my bike and calculate some distances! That's my cycle for tomorrow planned!

Plan for tomorrow: run easy 4km, bike 20-40km, ride horse approximately 1 hour at walk and trot. And get groceries and new windscreen wiper blades!