Went for another run today! This time is was intervals: walk 2 powerpoles, run 2 powerpoles. Doing it this way I managed to shave a whopping 4 minutes off my run time. Which leads me to believe that I will actually be able to do the 1.5km next run, which will be either tomorrow or Wednesday, depending on how I feel.

Here’s a picture of me after my run, with my afternoon snack:

I’m a bit pink in the face but it’s winter, so I cooled down quickly and am not nearly as red as I was when I first got in. The jumper is one that my Mum knitted for my Dad years and years ago.

Other awesome news is that I’m currently on track! Had a big bowl of cereal for breakfast, for lunch had vegemite and cheese on burgen bread, and dinner will be vegies and San Chow Boy (or is it San Choy Bow? I always get confused…). While I’ve been studying I’ve been snacking on fruit and sunflower seeds, and my drinks have included green tea, water and I’ll probably have a Berocca. And of course, at the same time I’m monitoring my fibre intake, which is also going well.

It’s funny how accountability really does change your mindset. My leader wants to see my tracker this week, so I am determined to do well. I want to loose weight, but I was praise, dammit! Apparently it’s to do with a ’social contract’ and we consider it a social obligation and don’t want to lose face.  But it works, doesn’t it?

Posted at 6:52 am | 1 Comment »

[image source]

Day 1 of the training program went really well! It’s essentially my own plan to get me to 9kms by the 19th September, when I’m going to do the 9km race. It’s based off what I learnt on the C25K and have read through other gradual programs.

But it isn’t the C25K, even though I fully believe that it can work for you. You might remember that I used to do the C25K, got up to week 5 - 6, then stopped because I went travelling for a month and a half. But I do think the C25K can work for a lot of people, but it doesn’t work for me. I have some problems with the program, for several reasons: 1) I am one of those people who just doesn’t own a watch, which makes timing the intervals really hard. 2) Even if I did own a watch, I am really unco and can’t run and check the watch at the same time. 3) Last time, I tried to use my iPod and the song times as my guide, and I ended up spraining my ankle….and couldn’t run for a good two months.

So, the C25K just didn’t work for me. But the running program I made up is based around the idea of progressively increasing what you can do. I can already run a km. Today I did 1.25km, which was hard (mostly because of a cough). I always have to focus on my breathing. I usually end up doing what I call a ‘double breath’ which seems to help. I breathe in, then force myself to breathe in further. It feels kind of like I’m stretching my lungs, for want of a better term. And that’s the only thing that seems to help. When I first started running, it was a novelty for me to have tired legs before I had tired lungs. Which meant that the first time my legs got tired, I just stopped. Now I’m beginning to learn how to manage my body, which is nice.

Tomorrow I’ll be out again, though normally I’ll be trying for every 2 days. The plan for tomorrow is powerpole runs, which can be harder on the knees but are great to use to build up distance, etc. If I run every second powerpole, I’ll do a total of 2km, which is kind of cool. Today, I made it exactly 1.25km (the furthest I’ve gotten) and not a step further. I walked the rest of the way. But I just love this sense of accomplishment, it’s amazing!

Posted at 5:04 am | No Comments »

Eating well is not cheap.

…If you shop at Woolies or Coles, at least. It costs way too much money for way too little food. Especially the fresh food section. If Woolies are the ‘fresh food people’, then why do they charge so damn much? I bought a capsicum the other day. Just one. (Red, if you’re interested.) It cost me 2.18. For a single Capsicum. How ridiculous is that?

Since then, I’ve discovered my local grocer. It’s a little Asian-owned fruit and veg store, but it’s wonderful. I bought my entire fruit and veg list (sans bananas, to be fair, because I take a while to eat those and they looked a little brown) for a week for $9.50. My entire list. This is including my attempt to eat 5 vegetable serves a day. $9.50! (Just had to repeat that, still couldn’t believe it.)

It costs much, much more to eat out. And there are still things I have to purchase from Woolies; deodorant and pasta, for example. It turns out that eating well and being healthy is better for you, tastes nicer, and is cheaper. Where is the downside to this?

. . .

The other thing is that I’ve decided I want motivating for my running. So that I’m not just running because I think it’d be a cool thing and that feeling just before I die hits: I’m not just running for fun, I want to run for training. God, I get a shiver every time I think about it. For training. I have never been the type to train for anything. Nothing. I don’t train. I don’t compete. And now, the idea of training for an event and then running in it is wonderful, and I want to do it so badly!

A couple of people suggested the Mother’s Day Classic, but it’s not very far away at all. I’m not confident that I could run all or even part of the way. The other problem is money related, as I’m waiting on a scholarship which comes in April, and until that point money is incredibly tight.

So instead, I’m going to sign up for the Sydney Running Festival Bridge Run. It’s 9km and it’s in September. This means that I a) have more time to sign up for the event, and thus find the $50 entrance fee, and b) have more time to train for the event.

I’m so excited, and it’s still months away. But I just want to compete in this race, to be a runner, to be a competitor.

Posted at 3:37 am | 1 Comment »

Not the best start to the New Year. Went to bed last night at 4-ish, though it was just a quiet one with my family. We went outside and watched the moon for a while — it was gorgeous.

Then this morning I got up, downloaded the Skinny Train challenge and decided to go for a run. iPod on, in the mood. Ready for the New Year Push! I’m running along, on my second or third lap of running, when I check my iPod and then wham! I’m on the ground. I groan and look around me. There was a pothole in the middle of the track. I check my left ankle. Can’t stand on it yet, but it’s not that bad. I’ve grazed my hand and my right knee. I sigh, sit there for another minute or so, then get up and start to walk home.

As I walk, the ache starts to dissipate. I walk faster. If I’m going to only do half a workout, I might as well make it count. Another few minutes of walking and I think it’s almost perfect. I make the mistake of trying to run. Immediately pain shoots up the back of my ankle. Possibly not the best idea. With a sigh, I walk off home, a little forlorn that this wasn’t the start I expected. And then my resolve kicks in. So what? I think. So you take a couple days without running. Such is life. This year is designed for your determination, not to give up on the first day. So I limp home, feeling hopeful, knowing I’m not going to give up just because I had a setback.

Posted at 3:34 am | No Comments »

Oh, wow. How did the time go so quickly? The events following Glasgow went like this: London for my ‘photoshoot’ (will attach an album later, am having trouble with my software at the moment), Northallerton to stay with my sister’s parents-in-law, where I saw Romeo and Juliet in the park, then to my sister’s for my 21st birthday, where my Mum surprised me by flying over from Australia. Then to Paris for 2 days, Nice for about a week, Lyon for 2 days and then Paris again for 10 days. And now I’m back at my sister’s until I leave for Australia. Crazy, hey?

France was amazing, truly just wonderful. I stayed with a family in Paris and they were the most hospitable people I’ve ever met. We ate amazingly — yes, I tried snails. I also tried: Moussaka, Macaroons, Banana and Chocolate Tart, Lemon Tart, Salmon with Creme Fresh Sauce, Goat’s Cheese Lasagne, Pineapple Gelato….the list is almost endless. It was amazing, really. Really fantastic. I loved all the food, it was all lovely. I had difficulty with the snails, though not because of the taste but the psychology behind eating something out of its shell. I truly felt like I was murdering an innocent creature and then picking it out of its final resting place and eating it. I could only handle eating two.

My favourite part of the trip was this:

Mathilde’s mother turns to me and says, Kat, Est-ce que tu manges les aubergines? (Do you eat Eggplant?)
To which Mathilde replies: Elle aime tous les legumes. Tous. (She likes all vegetables. All of them.)

I could help but smile. A year, two years ago, I would not have eaten a single vegetable without some sort of bribery. Now I have no problem with all but two* vegetables, I like all sorts of food, I’m game to try things I never would have…and people describe me as eating anything. I can’t remember all the times that people looked at me as if I were just an annoying fusspot because I didn’t like so many foods, because what I liked was so limited. And now it’s the opposite!

But I’m back now. And Andee, from the WW boards — all the girls, really — were such an inspiration that I actually got off my arse and went for a run today. I’m not going to lie: it. hurt. Just over halfway through, I thought all the organs under my ribcage had imploded, the stitch was that bad. I had to stop running, and just when I would have started up again, my iPod broke, so I settled for wallowing in my self-pity until I got back to my house.

It was to be expected, really, since I haven’t been running properly in, what, 2 months? And my lungs still aren’t right, the wheeze is still there, which is horrible. I can’t figure out what’s wrong with me. Still, according to my running log, I got through 345 calories today, which feels nice. It’s certainly not an exact estimate, but it’ll do.

So, I’m back on the right track. I’m feeling all right with myself, yeah. In fact, I’m going to go and grab a hot shower, then move a bed (you read that correctly, yes) from one room to another, and then sort out some washing. Isn’t it crazy how, even when you’re halfway around the world and sounding so interesting, life can be so boring?

(Also, 30 Days of Love is on hold. I’m going to delete the first entries until I’ve got the others worked out, and then I’ll repost them. I should have realised how difficult it would be to travel and update consistantly. Oops.)

* Cucumber and cherry tomatoes, for the curious ones. I cannot stand the former, and I’m not a huge fan of the latter unless they’re cooked.

Posted at 1:30 pm | No Comments »

So baby steps, yes? Finally went for a walk/run today. Went out my street and kept going until I found water, then turned down another street and came home. Worked out my route using running ahead afterwards, and I went 4.41km today. Which is 2.7 miles and doesn’t sound nearly as impressive. But it is more than I would do at home. And I wore a scarf which helped a lot with fixing my lung-issue. I have to pull it over my mouth and nose, and I must look like an idiot running like that, but it’s so worth it. Now, I want to find a 3km run so that I can work on being able to run all of it, and then I will increase to the 5 and then to the 10. Woot. I think my baby steps will have me doing at least the 3km each day, since it’s basically just around the block. And I’ll try to do my exercise DVD, etc. too.

For dinner last night I was very impressed with myself — I made a pasta with tomato, zucchini, mushroom and capsicum sauce. Today I think I’ll do roasted cherry tomatoes and spinach with cheese (and maybe some muchroom, since I need to use it up.) The french girls are making dinner, which is nice of them. I don’t want to think about the amount of calories in their cheese, though. So I’ll just ignore it.

Posted at 11:49 am | No Comments »

I think that, come tomorrow, I will be officially settled enough to get back on track — properly. I’m still sick, but at least now I can bound up the stairs rather than drag myself up them, and the breathing thing does seem to be happening a little easier. I’m still tired but that should hopefully be fixed by going to bed early — again.

And I’m tired of excuses. You know you’ve gone on too long with them when you’re the one who is tired. There’s this saying “Excuses are lies you tell yourself.” Which is cool. Although I like to think illness is a reasonably valid one, particularly since I’m a bit of a wimp when I’m sick. And now I’m set; I have a place to live, I have groceries, I know my area reasonably well. Tomorrow (around noon) I will buy a scarf to wear when running. And perhaps a long-sleeved shirt or three. This exercise thing is important and it’s important to me to get on top of it.

So I’m hitting the sack in about 15 minutes. Even though that means I’ll have spent a large portion of my day sleeping. (In fact, I was awake from 8am to 2pm, then again from 6:30 to now. So about 9 hours, which just seems a little sad.) I do feel a little better, though. And tomorrow morning, just after dawn (which sounds so much more committed that ‘around 9:30am’), I’ll go for a run. A nice run. A polite one, which is not too hard. And all will be well.

Posted at 8:03 am | No Comments »

C25K! Week 3, Day 1 today. I was so very reluctant to go into it because I was convinced in my mind that I couldn’t do it. 3 minutes? My mind would say. You’ve never stuck to strenuous exercise for 3 minutes in your life! You get winded at 1 minute!

My alarm went of at 4:55 this morning and I lay there for 10 minutes, partly trying to go back to sleep, and partly trying to think of what the best excuse to use on my Mum would be today. I didn’t get much sleep, I thought. And I’m not going to be able to have a nap today. Really, it’s better for me to go back to sleep. That’s totally reasonable. And then my Mum bursts in. “Come on!” She says. She’s got her ‘no excuses’ voice on. It’s the one thing that will never stop fitting her. It’ll never be too big or too small. She wears it far too well. “It’s time to go! Hurry up!” I groan and roll over. Benefit of a small room: I don’t have to get out of bed to go to my clothes dresser.

The thing I always find amazing is that it takes me 7 minutes to get ready for the gym at college. I know this because I have my sleeping timed down to a T, to maximise the happy-place. But at home, regardless of how organised I am the night before, it will always take me 15 minutes to get ready. At least. Always.

So the end result is: We ran. And for the first time in my life, I ran for 3 minutes straight. I was supposed to do it twice, but that dreaded stitch happened halfway through the second time. I can outrun a stitch for 30 seconds or so, but not for a minute and a half. It just hurts. But each time I go, it takes longer for me to get it, so by the end of this week I should be able to do it.

And, I think my sentiments to my Mum at the end of the run stand true: “Mum,” I say, “I just ran for 3 minutes. I am obviously the most awesome person on earth. I mean, who else can run for three. whole. minutes?!”

She just grins at me. “Yes dear,” she says, “You’re the most awesome person on earth.”

Gosh, I love mothers.

C25K
Day 1, Week 3
Distance: 3km
Time: 23min
Average: 7:40/km

Posted at 7:42 am | No Comments »

My alarm clock breaks into it’s soulful rendition of You Could Be Happy and I roll out of bed with a groan. I search blearily for my clothes and it’s only when the sports bra sits securely on my chest that I begin to feel like doing what I planned.

Mum’s already waiting for me and we head off. I react to viciously early wake up calls and punish the world by being obnoxiously perky at obscene hours. It’s just who I am. “Good morning sunshine!”

She grunts.

We start the interval training and by the third running session I’m there. I smile, let myself get into it, rather than pace alongside Mum, let my legs get into it. It’s amazing. I love that my body can do this, that I can feel so basic and so wonderfully complex. I can feel my legs stretching and my lungs working and in that instant, I feel like I could do it forever.

Five seconds later, I get a stitch and have to stop running for the next few intervals. But that feeling just beforehand — that was awesome.

C25K
Day 3, Week 1
Distance: 3km
Time: 29min
Average: 9:40/km

Posted at 8:23 am | No Comments »