Bike ride, Group Fitness, Style Consultation and Body Attack

This morning I headed out to the Outdoor Group Fitness session on my bike. I was looking forward to the ride, hoping to see the swans again, and generally at peace with the world. Then I got outside. It was raining. Lightly, but definitely raining. I seriously considered turning around and calling someone for a ride but I talked myself into riding in the rain as it wasn't too heavy.

It seemed like a sensible idea for all of five minutes. I cruised along, feeling proud of myself for not letting the elements defeat me, until I realised the rain was getting heavier. And heavier. Now, it's an outdoor fitness challenge I'm doing, so the course isn't cancelled for inclement weather. I realised I'd better keep on going and hope that the rain didn't get any worse. Eventually, I was riding along thinking, "I'll get there so Krissi knows I was going to come, and then I'll ride home again straight away. I can't do this. I can't exercise when I'm all wet." I was nearly at the park when the rain stopped. Thank goodness!

We did boxercise this morning. It's one of my favourites. We started out with a warm up that involved jogging and punching. It was fun once I got into it. We kept changing what we were doing. For example, we'd go clockwise in a circle, punching forwards or sideways or up in the air, then we'd change direction, then we'd touch the ground with our left hand, and so on. We then played a numbers game which was amusing. When a number was called out we had to clump into groups that size. If you didn't get into a group you ended up doing pushups. I managed to get in a group each time, which was good except I missed out on doing the pushups. It's weird how the pushups seemed like winning in reverse.

The boxercise session was the usual punching and then doing some other exercise. We did pushups with jabs, squats with hooks, lunges with uppercuts, and short sprints with combos. Then we played ambush, which is also fun. One person is punching and the others in the group tap them on the shoulder from behind, run away, then turn around and put their hands in position for a particular type of punch. It's quite amusing, especially when someone my height is trying to indicate high punches for someone much taller.

It started raining during the session, but fortunately it stopped before I had to ride home. On the way I kept my eye out for the swan family I saw on Tuesday. They were out and about, and the five cygnets were still fluffy balls of grey. It was terrific to see them again.

I had the morning off work today for the shopping expedition part of the Style Consultation. It was so much fun. My credit card is now a little melted, but it wasn't as expensive a trip as I'd expected. SC and I shopped solidly for three hours. We worked from a list SC prepared when she went through my wardrobe. We started off in a lingerie shop, where I was introduced to a contraption that gives me a much firmer waist. I also bought a pretty bra - nothing like the Enell but probably an engineering wonder all the same. We then headed off looking for some clothes, which was fun. I bought a few different outfits, in some great colours. I also ended up with two pairs of shoes, a pair of jeans, some costume jewellery and makeup. Now all I have to do is manage to put all this together with some semblance of style.

Oh, we managed to buy everything on the list, except for a pair of trousers and a casual jacket. We substituted a couple of skirts for the trousers and we decided to give the jacket a miss for now. I'm really looking forward to wearing my new clothes and mixing and matching them with my existing wardrobe.

This evening I headed off to Body Attack. The instructor for tonight's class is terrific and it's always good fun. I was feeling tired but I decided to give it a go anyway. I'm glad that I did, because I managed to get through it, even though I found it a little hard. I figure that by the end of the GOFC I'll be fit enough to handle the two sessions on the one day without feeling exhausted.

After class I decided to tell the instructor how much I enjoyed her classes. I'm sorry I didn't do it before today as she was so pleased. At least I did it today.

As for tomorrow, I have personal training in the morning with Krissi, and Body Balance in the evening. On Saturday some of the girls are going for a run. I might join them. I haven't managed to get out for a run this week. It's still been a great exercise week, and there's been a little running in the GOFC, so I'm not fretting about it.