Fitness test and Yoga

At this morning's Group Outdoor Fitness Challenge we started off with a fitness test. It consisted of a beep test, an agility test, pushups in a minute and a 1 km time trial.

I got to level 3-3 in the beep test. Back in May I started at 3-2 and finished at 4-1. It will be interesting to see if I make a similar improvement this time. We didn't do a warm up run first. The beep test has its own built in warm up, but I think I might have needed a longer one. I was quite sore when we started today, from Body Attack last night. I've made a mental note - don't overdo it before the fitness test on the last day!

For the agility test I managed 21.9 seconds. Last time I did it in 23.4, so that's a definite improvement over the past few months. I was really pleased about that. I did fewer pushups than last time but they are much better quality now. I managed 22 in the minute.

The time trial was interesting. I missed the one at the end of the running course. I'd decided for that one that I didn't care about the time. I just wanted to run for the whole kilometre. I was the first runner, and the others followed in 30 second intervals.

I took off a little too fast I think. After about three minutes I had to stop to throw up. I'm not sure how much time I lost - maybe 15 seconds. I got myself running again, but at a much slower pace. I was struggling, but I decided I was going to run the rest of the way.

When I was within sight of the end Krissi was encouraging me to run faster, but I didn't have it in me. There were two runners right behind me, but I managed to get across the line first. I immediately threw up again, which was a little embarrassing. It felt so good when I stopped. ;-)

Anyway, I ran the kilometer in 5:55. I did it in 5:48 during the running course. I think if I hadn't thrown up on the way I would have done better than that. I just have to figure out how to pace myself better. What I am pleased about is that I ran the whole distance. I had to take two walking breaks during the first time trial back in early June.

This evening I headed off to Yoga. As ever, I enjoyed it. We started off on the floor, with a lovely relaxing meditation. I was encased in a blue ball of light that gradually turned to white light. I kept thinking about work stuff and kept having to clear my mind again. It's quite a challenge to stop thinking.

I keep feeling as though I'm improving and then doing something that just goes to show how far I still have to go just to manage the beginners' poses. We did something called the rabbit, which had me falling over onto my forehead. Fortunately, not very far but I felt like such a klutz. I'm in awe of the more advanced moves.

There was a hilarious section where Michelle just sat up and watched us for the second rep. We were lying on the floor with our hands stretched out and palm to palm, and our feet also stretched. We were supposed to roll ourselves completely over and back by using our abs. It sounds a lot easier than it is. It was fun trying though.

I'm going to keep going to this class though as I feel great after I'm finished - really relaxed and mellow. My flexibility is improving too.

Enell bra update

My goodness it's a strange looking contraption. I don't know what I'd expected. I'd seen photos of the bra on a model but it looks a lot different in real life. I wore it this morning to the GOFC. After I tried it on, I did a little jogging on the spot and thought, "Hmmm, this isn't going to work. I'm glad I only bought one." I figured I must have ordered the wrong size, as so many people swear by the bra.

The leaflet that came with the bra suggested that I should build up to using it, so I figured the GOFC would be a gentle introduction - not full on running, but a bit of effort. I meant to pay close attention to how it felt whenever we were running, but I completely forgot. In fact, I didn't even notice, which I think has to be a good sign.

When I got home, I was delighted to see that I didn't have the usual red marks from tight straps. Without having done a proper run, I am pretty sure that this bra is a winner.

Edit

I forgot to mention my bike ride this morning. I rode to and from the GOFC. It's getting light so much earlier. I made it up all the hills, and I rode down the scary hill as well. Even better than that, on the way home I saw a pair of black swans with their grey fluffy cygnets. They were right beside the bike path so I got an excellent view. I was wishing I had my camera with me.