GOFC fitness test

Today was the final session of this Group Outdoor Fitness Challenge. The time has just flown. It's hard to believe that four weeks have gone by already. It was a beautiful day for it - 7.5 degrees, blue skies, sunshine. It was so warm I didn't wear my ecofleece. Mind you, I packed it 'just in case'. I packed my summer bike gloves for the ride home too, as I was really hot on the way home on Tuesday.

We had the fitness test today. We were going to start off with the beep test but there was an equipment malfunction, so we did pushups instead. Four weeks ago I managed 22 in the minute. Today I did 34. Woohoo! The work Krissi did with me to improve my form certainly has helped. I didn't get any lower back pain until I hit the 28 mark, and I managed to squeeze out a few more pushups after that. Don't worry. I rested and reset before I kept going.

The equipment malfunction didn't go away, but there was a CD player in the car which did the job. I had really wanted to get to last time's level of 4-1 and I made it. I was really pleased by this, especially as last time I was a lot fitter, having come off the Biggest Loser Challenge before the GOFC. I also weighed 5.6 kgs less than I do now.

The agility test was a little disappointing as I thought I'd done quite well. My time was 22.8 today, which is slower than the 21.9 four weeks ago. Mind you, Krissi told us that we were almost all 0.5 to 1 second slower today. The grass was slippery, which may have made the difference.

We had the 1 km time trial. Last time it took me 5:55 secs. I took off too fast and threw up part of the way round, but I ran the whole way. My aim this time was to avoid throwing up and to still have something left at the end to surge. When I started I tried to contain my pace but I lost control of my breathing after about a minute and a half and had to stop to walk. I didn't seem able to get my breathing back under control walking either, so I think I was just too anxious about the time trial. I made an effort to relax and started running again, but I was starting to think I'd have to pull out. I gave myself a serious talking to and decided I was going to run the km and not worry about the time.

I ended up having to take two more walking breaks but I did manage to surge at the end. I was pretty cranky with myself for having to take walk breaks, but I ended up with a time of 5:41, which was an improvement on the last time. When I thought about it later I realised that once I (a) relax about the whole thing so that I breathe properly and (b) lose that 5.5 kgs again I should find it easier to run faster.

All in all I was pretty delighted with the fitness test results. The ride home was great. I made it in 16 minutes, which is faster than usual. I noticed that, even though I had tired legs after the session, I was handling the hills better than usual. I'm going to have to make sure I get out on the bike a few times before the next GOFC so that I don't lose this bike fitness I seem to be developing.

I have been feeling a bit sore today and I've pulled something in my right leg. The pain is kind of deep in my thigh, so I'm not really sure what it is yet. I had been going to do Body Attack tonight, but I decided it would be safer to give my leg some rest. Instead, I went out a bit earlier for drinks with the running girls. One of the girls was celebrating her birthday. It was great to see all those women in their work clothes. They looked terrific. I'm used to seeing them in their running gear so it was a bit of an eye opener to see them looking so business like and respectable.

On the way to drinks I stopped off to say hello to one of the old gym staff, who is now working in a chemist, as a Kate Morgan weight loss consultant. I've been feeling a bit desperate about my eating lately. I haven't been able to get back on track, so I signed up for the program today. I've no idea how it will go, but it's something different and I feel that I need to take some definite action. It's a couple of shakes a day, along with various real food snacks and dinner. I'll keep an eye on my calorie consumption, as I want to have enough energy to do my usual exercise.

Oh, I'm going to be raiding Em's site for pool running info. One of the running girls has shin splints, and we're going to give pool running a go. I'm trying it because I want to get over my dread of being seen in a swim suit and I'm more likely to go to the pool if I've arranged to meet someone. Eventually I want to get into proper swimming, as I have this crazy idea that I'd like to do a baby tri. I might even buy cleats for my bike. I'm going to try on some shoes over the weekend to get my size, as there's a great special for a shoe/pedal combination but I don't know what size shoes to buy. I had no idea that getting fit would cost me so much money!