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!

Last Day Before Leave!

I struggled out of bed this morning, took Bella for her usual work, went to the gym and then rode to work- I also struggled up 10 flights of stairs at work to try to get the heart rate up one more time and it sure worked- I think if I am trying to max out the heart rate monitor then the stairs might be the answer- I wasn't even running and I got to 95%! I can't wait for leave- even though they are making me come in on Wednesday.

While on leave I hope to - maintain my weight, put in some serious kms around the lake, tan etc, and catch up with my gorgeous niece and nephew (harry and daisy) who fly in from Perth tonight. Harry keeps ringing me to tell me how many sleeps until they get here and that he can't wait to see Bella Dog.

As for the garden, no update as usual, his phone has been switched off for the last two days and now the message bank is full (not from abusive messages from me I promise).

I worked till late again last night so when I got in the car to go the tan this morning and it was pouring rain I decided to run at the gym instead- I was a bit worried about getting run down because of a few late nights and eating no real meals and I thought running in the rain might just not be a good idea. However I got to the gym and remembered why I don't run at the gym, not just because everyone puts the fans on full and it is unpleasant, but the whole treadmill thing is strange now. I didn't have my heart rate monitor on either so that ruined my exercise even further. So in the end I did as many weights as I could, all in a foul mood and went home.

The garden update is just as bleak- no sign of the gardener but the hole that Bella dug didn't appear to be too big- and she looked suitably guilty and sorry. I know she just digs when she is bored so I try not to get too angry.

No gardener

Well I was up early today and feeling the daylight savings pinch as well after four hours sleep thanks to some drama at work. I took Bella to the park and then raced to spin class before work.

As for the gardener- he sent me a text message today saying that he was turning up but when my sister went around to see Bella tonight at 4.30 pm there were no developments apart from a hole that Bella had dug. I feel bad that Bella was so bored she dug a hole but I don't feel bad about the nasty thoughts I am having about the gardener. I know I should stop writing about it but now I am obsessing about it.

I am hoping that a good hard run tomorrow morning will make me feel better about everything- that and some sleep should do the trick.

Feeling So Much Better

The gardener rang yesterday and promised he would turn up today and finish the garden- so naturally I wasn't surprised when he didn't show up today- but get this- he rang and said he would drop off some plants and then finish the yard tomorrow. I would love to believe him, but he said it was his back yesterday and then his daughter was sick today and tomorrow I am waiting for some other excuse/ tragedy from him.

Bella and I had a sleep in this morning- she doesn't know about daylight savings still so I reset the alarm and slept in because I was on arvo shift today. I didn't make it to the lake until 7.15 and had to pay for parking again. Bella and I did two laps of the lake with the usual pit stops (all Bella's) and other stops just to sniff things. I tried to put in some sprinty type efforts on the second lap but Bella thought it was a great game and would run in front of me trying to grab her lead in her mouth for a bit of tug of war and nearly cleaned me up a few times.

I spent this afternoon trying to fence off part of the yard in case the gardener does turn up with plants today while I am not home and Bella treats them as her toys.

I ran 128km this month, up to 855 km so far for the year (starting in April).

Good food+good wine+no running= relaxed but feeling heavy

Well I haven't been for a run for a while now- I was busy on the weekend and I had a fitness test this morning so I rested up.
Friday night I went to Restaurant 2 at Como with family for Prue's 30th and had a fantastic meal- I made an early decision that I wouldn't weigh in on Saturday morning so I would enjoy my Friday night dinner so much more. Everything about dinner was perfect (especially the part where Dad paid!) - possibly better than the Flower Drum (where we went for Dad's 60th this year and again Dad paid!).
Then I had a wedding on Saturday and had a great day- because I have lost 15kg recently I was feeling fairly good about myself in my new little dress. The church service was very relaxed - Catholic service but no communion and all over very quickly. The reception was at Ripponlea and I ate too much great food and discovered mojitos!

On Sunday I was a little slow to get moving but just had a relaxing day coming to terms with daylight saving- it is now possible that Bella will get three walks a day because I cannot sit around after dinner and watch tv so I am sure we could get another walk in then.

The fitness test today was a grudge "match" between my co-worker Brad and I. We have a fitness test at work every two years or so and it is usually just blood pressure, skinfolds and the 12 minute bike test. With all the results in, the fitness co-ordinator has declared it a draw with body fat percentage (she said we were both 15%), I was devastated that I was only "good" when it came to cardiovascular fitness, though my score was 47.96 ml/kg/min and the cut off for "excellent" was 48! I was 50.04 in 2004.
I was pretty happy despite not beating Brad as convincingly as I had hoped, though he has dropped massive amounts of weight and improved his fitness dramatically since his last test so I guess he is the winner today. I had dropped a bit of cardiovascular fitness but nothing that I am too worried about.

Now I must pay close attention to the diet and exercise this week- a week off might not sound like a lot but it gets harder and harder to lose weight now.

I am living in hope that the gardener turns up today- even though it is raining now, but I should know better.
I went to spin this morning then rode to work- I tried out the gym at work but it was really disappointing. I need a plan for when my gym membership expires on 8-Dec-06 and I can't afford to renew. I got a super deal - half price- last year but the gym has been bought and changed for the worse by Fitness First who seem very capable of taking the fun out of everything. I am not keen on renewing regardless of the price and will have to hunt around for a deal. I should look at it realistically, I go to spin 2-3 times a week and I just do weights 2-3 times a week, gone are the days when I would be at step, pump, attack, tae box etc every morning (thanks to the dodgy ankle). So I could just pay casually and go to spin, and learn to use the gym at work for the weights. The gym at work is pretty ordinary and some muscle man has loaded up every machine I would use with massive plates I can barely lift off- so rude.

Still Mediocre- But Getting Better

I rode into work this morning then headed to the Tan for the 8.8km trip that includes my flat out timed lap- last week I think I did it in 24:15 mins- this morning I was making excuses for myself before I had even started- I was thinking I rode in so my legs aren't as fresh as last week, I didn't get much sleep because we worked arvo shift yesterday etc- but I decided to give it a crack anyway. I took off 1:50 from my last weeks time! That means I have gone into the whole new world of running UNDER SIX MINUTE KMS!(though only for that section, I averaged 6:20 m/k for the whole trip because I was pretty knackered for the rest of the run.
I was so excited when I was heading towards the finish post (like Tawqeet, struggling to get a clear run) and I checked my watch and realised I had done a lot better than last week. Some how I think it may take a lot longer to get another 1:50 mins off my time, but this morning I am happy with myself.

Garden= Mess, Ankle= Sore,

Well the gardener rang this morning and promised that he would be around on Wednesday and do everything except pavers and then when the pavers arrived he would finish it off at once. Do I believe him? Yes. Am I am idiot? Probably.

I did my long run this morning instead of over the weekend- Sunday morning I was recovering from one dodgy prawn in my otherwise fantastic Japanese meal. I had a small win on the Caulfield Cup (thanks to the boss giving me a tip) of $150 so went out to dinner with Shane and Leslie and boyfriend to a local Japanese restaurant. It was a great dinner but as I bit into that prawn I knew it was bad, but I didn't think it would be that bad. Anyway I was a bit exhausted in a throat burning, blood shot eyes sort of way so I didn't run on Sunday. I did make it to the Flemington Market with my sister and got some Christmas shopping done (and replenished my stomach with far too much good food).

I did 3 laps the Tan this morning- I started off very slow and was convincing myself to run but after half a lap I was into it and really enjoyed the run. Because I was there a bit later than normal I was hoping to see the same man I saw a few weeks ago: about 55-60 years old, white hair, wearing a proper suit and black shiny shoes with leather driving gloves and riding a Razor scooter down the Anderson Street hill! It made me smile the whole way around last time, but I haven't seen him since.

I went to the gym as well and did some weights.

I had fat club on the weekend and have lost another 0.7kg which means 15.4kg so far!!