Bella and Harvey

This is Bella and her friend Harvey who were cooling off in between chasing each other around the garden when it was just too hot to move.

I will stop posting photos in an attempt to distract you from the fact that I have really dropped off the exercise.

Plans for tomorrow

I confess that I haven't exercised today apart from a stroll with Bella, I further confess that last night was our Christmas party and I ate too much (fantastic) Greek food and drank to excess. So my post today is to record for the ages that I promise to run very far tomorrow- I am thinking of 2 laps of the Tan and then 2 laps of the Yarra/ Fed square loop so it should be about 15ish km.

I am just two km from making 1000km for the year- I was hoping to finish the year under 70kg but that is getting harder and harder (see above re:Greek food).

This is a painting I did to put some colour in the loungeroom- I did 2 very similar and hung them side by side- I was happy at the time but now I am bored with them. Gotta be happy with cheap canvas and paint!

I did the run after all that complaining, and it wasn't too bad- I did a time of 27:25 but I don't have a real 5km time to compare that to- it works out to be 5.29 m/k which is okay- I love anything under six minutes! I had enough in the tank to really power through the last km when people were starting to drop off. I was pretty exhausted afterwards. I realise that $30 is a lot to pay for- the showbag was obviously why- hat, bottle, keyring and socks - not that I will use most of it, I don't know if I will happily fork that out for a non-charity run again. Anyway, 10km to go before I break 1000km for the year (missed out on January) so I will have to come up with a suitable goal for next year- maybe 1500? I had ankle dramas for a large part of the early year so that might be very possible.

Nervous about STF Xmas Run

I am still at work just waiting to go and get changed then toddle off to the STF Christmas run around Albert Park- but the thing is I am really nervous, and I don't know why. I should be very excited about getting out and running again instead of turning back into a fat lump again. It is so smoky that I am sure that no-one will see me, let alone notice my shuffly 5km run. This is a bad picture taken out of the office window, but normally the city is as clear as day behind the shrine.

I have fitted the new camera onto my ipod arm band (yes it will overload one arm so I may have to keep swapping it for every run!) so I should be able to get some photos as I run, unless I chicken out.
I seriously have a proper nervous tummy, it is only 5km, lucky I am not doing the 10km or I would be in tears!
I will stop being such a baby and get into my running gear. Stand by for the update.......

New camera (sorry no photos yet)

I got my exciting new camera today- and a 1 gig card so I have been taking photos all morning and as a result didn't do anything other than have a big walk at the park with Bella- it was a fair old power walk with Jane and her dog Wilbur though and I have to say I struggle to keep up with Jane's pace. So I will be a very rested runner tomorrow night for the Christmas run at Albert Park- I think I will just do the 5km so that I have a chance to catch up with Steve at the end rather than finishing in the dark by myself!
I was supposed to go to spin this morning, but woke up with the chest pains that I get occasionally (have had it all checked out and there is no problems with my ticker!). Last Saturday morning I went to the gym at 7.30 a.m. when it was due to open, but unfortunately it was the staff Christmas party the night before and a very flustered staff member showed up to open the doors at 8.15 a.m. and was greeted by a lynch mob! I was jogging up and down the street waiting so I wasn't too upset but I did have a very quick work out.

Missing my holidays all ready

Back at work this morning and I wish I was still at home. I have signed up for internet access at home but it won't be activated until the 20th of December- so back to posting at work again.

Garden
I finally rang another gardener and asked him to come around and finish my yard- the rest is that it looks fantastic and I love to sit and read the paper, eat dinner etc. outside now. I contacted the person who recommended the previous gardener and got very angry down the phone! He told me that Dave the gardener has a large gambling problem and is now being sued by him for causing damage to some properties he was supposed to be landscaping! Thanks so much for recommending him to me was the next thing I shouted down the phone. That is when I decided to cut my losses and get someone else to finish it all off or I would just see the unfinished yard and get angry every day instead of looking at it with love. I will post a picture when I get a bit more organised.

Exercise
I have been pretty good with the running etc- I did three laps of the lake the other day (without Bella) and it was great- the best thing was that I ran in the morning at about 11am- normally I think that I can only run very early in the morning but I was a bit disorganised and discovered that my legs still work when the sun is up!
My knees have been fine but my ankles have been quite sore recently so I will go back to ice etc.

I have stopped losing weight but that is largely to me eating and drinking too much while I am on leave so I am hoping to drop a bit more before I say I am finished with the dieting thing. I am about 71kg and I would love to be in the sixties permenantly- that may be a new years resolution!

Bella
My naughty little dog has been making a huge mess of my yard but I will be putting in some more temporary fencing very soon to thwart her attempts to destroy all the hard work.

The rest
I had to go to Bendigo for a wedding on the weekend (boyfriends uncle) and as usual I complain and hate it- but the only good thing about going to Bendigo is stopping in Harcourt for apples, cherries and pears, then in Malmsbury for pies! (Actually this time I got quiches, apple pies and vanilla slice!)
Two more weeks at work and then another week off - it is ridiculous but I haven't been able to organise my leave into more reasonable blocks- we get 9 weeks a year and I took a month at the start of the year for my trek across the Nullabor in the campervan with a friend but haven't had any more big holidays since then.

Back at work in the middle of my leave again!

Back at work today- briefly I hope! I got up at 5 and took Bella to the Tan for two laps and she was surprisingly good this morning. I have trouble keeping at a good pace because I lose concentration and then all of a sudden I am plodding again- I don't have any fitness problems running a lot faster than I do, but I just find myself gradually slowing down.
I am making a concerted effort to lose weight this week after again gaining on the weekend- so I am trying to be very strict with the diet and exercise. I would love to blame the fact that I have really ramped up the Pump classes and done a stack more weights than I would usually do. On the trailer for the new Rocky movie Sly describes "building some hurtin' bombs" and I have been concentrating on the arms a lot as I have been getting out in tank tops for the first time in ages- but I don't know if they are "hurtin' bombs" yet!
My knees felt a lot better this morning than they did around the lake on Sunday so it must have just been a failure to stretch properly that I have fallen victim to before.

I have decided that the reason I keep putting on weight at fat club is that I have become complacent because it all came off too easily. I have also scaled back the running- my long run has become non-existent and my shorter runs are too slow because I have been taking Bella. So this morning I did my early morning run - only 9.6km because strangely my knees were giving me pain, but I made sure I did it at a reasonable pace. It was a beautiful morning for a run- I started at 6am and there were hardly any other people around the Lake- I am enjoying running around there while there is no Grand Prix construction but I don't think it will be like that for much longer. I took Bella for a short run beforehand and then left her behind and she wasn't happy but she didn't dig a hole.

I then took Bella over to say goodbye to my niece and nephew who have returned to Perth today after a tumultuous month here. Daisy (2yrs) is either very very good or very very bad - she was put in the "naughty corner" so she took her nappy off and peed on the carpet - and not just once! But she loves "Bella Dog" and ever chance she gets, she tries to climb on board for a horsey ride. Harry (4yrs) is just delightful always. I wish they weren't so far away, it was great to have them here.

I have just come from pump class and doing squats really hurt my knees as well so I might ice them tonight- my ankle is thankfully pain free.

I have this next week off as well (but have to work Tuesday which is annoying) and I can feel my leave just disappearing in a blur of eating too much and then frantically trying to exercise it all away! I have all my Christmas shopping too- the plan to send presents back with my brother and his wife didn't really eventuate- yesterday it was either shopping or the Werribee Zoo and of course my sister and I were too keen to build up aunty brownie points with the kids to waste any time shopping.

I have been on leave- hence no posts because we don't have the internet at home (yet). I have been pretty good with my exercise until this morning- but that was mainly due to having some mates around for dinner and eating too much and drinking too much so by the time I surfaced this morning it was past my ideal running hour. I did make up for it by cycling the Capital City Trail which was 30km and most of it was hard. Having said that, my pulse rate averaged 130 but I burnt 1017 calories- but it did take me forever. When I started out it was raining, but when I finished, it was easily 32 degrees that had been forecast.
I have been going to spin etc and lots of pump classes while I am on leave, but the big test will be on Saturday when I head back to fat club- last week I went even though I knew I was going to gain weight- but I decided that I should go anyway, last time I did this whole weight loss thing, I knew I was going to gain weight one week so I didn't go, but then I never went back and my journey from 67kg to 87kg started! So on Saturday morning I went to fat club, I only gained .5kg and the world didnt end.

I had yesterday off work sick and I have come back feeling a lot better. Wednesday night I went to bed at 5pm and got up at 7am still exhausted- I was trying to do chores around the house but I kept falling asleep- in the middle of the bed while I was trying to put clean sheets on, on the couch while I was supposed to be dusting. I didn't do any exercise Wed or Thurs apart from walk the dog (even though she was naughty and dug more holes). So today I sort of made up for it- I took Bella for a massive walk and run around the local park then went to pump class then RPM. RPM is the Les Mills version of spin and it is really awful- I prefer my cycle classes to be taken by an actual cyclist- not an aerobics instructor who keeps shouting "Woo hoo, lets go South Yarra"- choreographed cycle class- it is a bad idea.
I think I will try two laps of the lake tomorrow but not quick ones, I am still a little snotty and chesty.
The best news of all (no my garden is not finished) is that my insurance company will put the cost of repairs towards a new digital camera for me- and they get them a lot cheaper than I would- of course I am getting the shock proof Olympus one I have been eyeing off since my old one hit the footpath again.

I have managed to bring my Mum's cold with me when I came back to Melbourne so I got up when the alarm went off at 5am but I just blew my nose some more and then went back to bed. Bella still got her walk (but spent most of it on the leash after chasing a small dog- and quite possibly trying to kill it) and I am planning on making it to spin and then pump tonight. I am on a mad attempt to lose weight before this weekends weigh in, but I realise it is quite futile now and for the first time I will gain weight- I am just trying to minimise how much. It was always going to be a battle in November- I think I have lost the November battle- but I may still win the fat war!

Hot and bothered

I tried to run this morning- the plan was two laps of the lake with Bella at 5am, that became 6.30 am because I was still tired from the weekend. I thought the lake would be a good idea because there are more drink opportunities for Bella and it was starting to get warm. I managed one lap but then the hayfever set in, along with the flies and the heat so I stopped after one lap. Bella was pretty happy to climb back into the car and hog the air vents.
I did go to the gym for a quick work out on my weights program but I still felt like I was a quitter.
I am just feeling this way because I had the last three days off. I did spin Friday morning then headed home to Mum and Dad's where I ate everything and drank too much. I managed to get a spot of gastro (I assume from the kids) on Sunday night which has left me feeling a bit washed out. I drove back to Melbourne via Avalon because my brother was returning to Perth and I was in bed at 7.30! I was supposed to get back into the exercise in a serious way today, but that will have to wait- maybe more pump classes this week as well as the usual cardio.
I did have a great weekend, but I seriously ate way too much good food- I had to have a bit of everything; tarts, quiches, biscuits, cakes, cream puffs(!), chicken sandwiches with whole egg mayo, turkish delight and chocolate slices, not to mention the red wine, beer and "cocktails"- some friends set up a bar in the orchard and mixed yummy drinks for us all before dinner on Saturday night- they were free and easy with the measurements and the recipes!
Bella should be feeling the same because she was given all the steak left overs from dinner as well as all the snacks that everyone fed her all weekend.

Getting quicker (slowly)

I ran around the tan this morning twice starting near the shrine and recording my time from the start marker to the start marker (hope that makes sense) and my time has improved- from 22:25 to 21:47. Still nothing to be proud of but closer to my goal of getting around in under twenty minutes- a bit embarassing considering I am aiming to run around in twice the time it takes Craig Mottram- I think he did it in 10:12. Anyway I felt really good afterwards and I would have chucked another lap but it was freezing and raining- maybe that is why I found the extra speed- fear of hail.

I have been madly packing, cooking, cleaning etc to prepare for the races at home this weekend. Thousands of people descend on the little town where I grew up and Mum and Dad still live, and sometimes it feels like most of them stay at our place! It is bigger than Christmas for our family because there are so many people who come every year without fail and bring so much food and always have a merry time. Friday night is the calcutta at the local pub and then prawns at our place, Saturday is the races and dinner at our place and Sunday is bocce in our orchard then lunch and dinner at our place (my niece is getting christened Sunday this year). I cannot wait- especially because now that we have all left home, Mum and Dad added on another room and I don't have to sleep in the lounge room this year!

I am secretly hoping that while I am away this weekend, the gardener will call by and finish what he started 6 weeks ago- I think that is why I get so disappointed because I can't help but build up my hopes.

It must be Melbourne in November

It was so cold riding to work this morning that I was putting one hand in my arm pit as I rode along. The head wind was nasty and my ears were like blocks of ice but the city always feels cleaner when it is cold so I am appreciating the view from my office.
I did spin class this morning and had my usual 5am walk with Leslie, Lucy and Arnie. I am not going to be able to weigh in this week again- so it will be three weeks before I can get onto the scales and be officially recorded as under 70kg (that is the plan anyway). BF is studying at the moment so I have been very good about letting him eat what he wants and trying not to rock the boat (no nagging- it is killing me!) and the bad news is that last night he wanted fish and chips- I can't knock it back- that glorious batter, fat etc, I just love it. The good news is that it hardly registered at all when I climbed on the scales at the gym- but I am going to be watching those carbs this week just to make sure.

Little sleep little run

Despite working until 11 last night, Bella and I were at the Tan this morning at 5:15 (it takes me about 15 mins to get dressed and drive there). I wanted to do two laps but because I had to be at work at 7 this morning I only had time for one and a bit - in the end I did a lap plus two ks so 6.83 km in all- I originally thought it was only 5.83 km but then when I looked at my pace -nearly 8 mins per km I thought something was wrong with my adding up! In the end the pace was 6.47 mins per km which is good considering I had sniffy Bella with me, though she was really good this morning and did drag me along occasionally when she could see another dog she really wanted to sniff. When I started running I felt like I had a massive stitch in my side but because I only really get a stitch when I had been drinking too much before a run I was perplexed- then I realised it was just muscle pain from finally doing some sit ups during pump class the other day. I am hoping to go to pump tonight even though I still have some pain in my muscles- it is the good "I have been working hard" pain not the "oh no I think I have really hurt myself" pain.

Holes in my lovely lawn

Working afternoon shift today so I had a good morning- took Bella for a big walk because there is a creepy guy at the park who follows me around a bit so we went to another park so we could wander around without him following us. Then I went to spin class and really worked up a sweat (burnt 360 calories and averaged 146 bpm). I was starting to feel the burn from pump class last night so I didn't do any weights afterwards. I went home and took Bella for another walk- trying to wear her out so she doesnt dig holes while I am at work. I haven't updated the photo of my yard because I dropped my camera last week and broke it- only five months after getting it back from the repairer because I had dropped it another time (well I went over on the ice at MtBuller and the camera hit the deck beside me). I took it into the repairer but it looks like being a much bigger job than last time- I have started researching shock proof cameras- I have the rubber Nokia phone for the same reason.
Anyway I have just been informed that the walks had no effect on Bella and she has dug another hole in the turf. Grrrrrr.

I must apologise for the crack about Bert, but the tired innuendo, the dodgy facelift, the bad toupee.....it all adds up to a bad joke and I am not sure if Bert realises that we are not laughing with him, we are just cringeing.

The good news is that the gardener has turned up several times- the bad news is that he now has another full time job working on Eastlink and I still have pavers stacked in piles and a new sand pit. The other good news is that my niece and nephew played nicely and slept very well- though the boyfriend is now put off children for life. The dog ended up covered with farmyard stickers but she coped very well- not happy about the tail pulling but she was good.

As for exercising and eating well- I have been very slack- I have still made it to the usual spin classes and I did my timed 10 km run around the lake on Thursday- 1:01:52- the splits were fairly dismal too- I busted my gut in the first lap then had nowhere to go for the second so I had to make a conscious effort to keep the pace up because I kept slacking off without realising. (My last time was 1:05 so I was just happy to beat that.)

I went to the races yesterday so I am recovering from the effects of a full bar today- though I did try my hardest to get my moneys worth (we were in a marquee that cost $190) but I think I must have eaten too many pear tarts which diluted the effect of a lot of vodka lime and sodas. Time to get back to thinking about what I eat instead of just smiling and shovelling in canapes.

Power of Negative Thinking

I didn't really exercise properly this morning at all- I went for a run with Bella to get my car from my sisters house (I can assure you I didn't leave it there because I was too intoxicated to drive). It wasn't very far but enough to get the heart rate going for about 15 mins. Then I went to spin and this is where I amazed myself about the power of negative thinking. I was early to spin so I set up the bike (away from those annoying fans and other people with their heart rate monitors that interact with mine) and I was thinking about how much I am starting to dislike my Wed spin class and how much I wish the instructor didn't show up. Ten minutes later the receptionist came into the room and said the instructor wasn't coming and the class was cancelled. I went home and took Bella for another run around the park.
I am now going to use my powers for good not evil- so I will be wishing for :
1. world peace
2. some rain
3. Bert Newton to retire now
4. my niece and nephew to sleep quietly tonight (they are staying with me tonight!)
5. no more logging of old growth forest
6. motor sports to be banned
the list goes on....

3 Laps of the Tan

Had a run with Bella this morning- 3 laps of the tan and I think that might be the furthest Bella has come with me. I won't post the time because there were plenty of pit stops for Bella and I forgot to turn off my heart rate monitor, but it wouldn't have been very flash. I put a bowl of water by the car so that every time we went past Bella could have a drink because she is on some tablets for her ears and they make her a bit dehydrated. I saw the sign for the Royal Botannical Garden Saturday markets which are starting again this weekend- my crafty friend Leslie is probably having her stall there again so I will have to go and have a look (before I put on my frock and head to the races!).
My ankle gave me quite a bit of grief which was annoying because I had been resting it since last Thursday. I will try to get back in the habit of icing it after running because I have been slack lately.
My diet has been terrible for the past few days so I will be making a bit effort there too- as soon as I go on leave all my good intentions disappear. I have to go to work tomorrow so maybe that will get me back on track.

You will never believe it...

The gardener turned up- I couldn't believe it- he didn't do the paving but he took away the giant piles of rubbish so it doesn't look like I am preparing for a guy fawkes bonfire night. He put in the japanese maples and prepared the paving area. I don't think he expected me to come home and find him there but I snuck away from work early and got a massive surprise when I got off the tram and found him there. He swears he will finish by next week! Thanks for all the reassuring comments Spark Driver.

I lost another .7kg at fat club- only .7kg to go and I will be happy- I could keep trying to lose weight but it becomes a struggle and I don't enjoy it and I stress about food too much. I haven't exercised since Friday so tomorrow I am planning a long run around the lake. I had a wedding last night so I am a little fragile today!