Who knew the queue to change a daycare session could be so long? Mihir just isn't happy to be upstairs while Murali is down on the court playing. It doesn't matter how much he likes the person looking after him as he's Daddy's boy. At long last Murali rang me with the news that the child care situation is sorted and booked me in for squash on Thursday for the next twelve months. Murali is as keen to play as I am!
I was so excited that I left my racquet out with my house keys so that I wouldn't forget it. I normally don't get my stuff ready the night before but squash is different. There was a moment when I was thinking "should I do this with my knee?" but then I thought "this is squash, the pain will be worth it". (JoJo, I so understand why you want to be back out there playing.) We even had a hot day in Canberra yesterday, which meant that the courts were going to be stinking hot. Just our luck but it wasn't going to deter us either.
Of course, neither of us has practised during our break, so we had the usual complete misses, shots off the wood, returns that managed to hit three walls out of court, balls bouncing off the lights etc. There was plenty of opportunity to giggle. At one stage Murali managed to hit himself with his racquet. I apologised for laughing when he'd hurt himself but then told him quite seriously that I had to laugh because it was so funny. He stopped laughing long enough to accept my apology. At least neither of us managed to clobber the other. We also didn't crash into each other, mainly because neither of us was match fit enough to run after the ball with that level of commitment.
We managed to play four games before completely expiring. I am so looking forward to next week's game. Oh, and my knee is fine. I wore the support bandage, which was meant to remind me to be careful. I'm not sure that it succeeded, but I didn't manage to twist it or do anything silly like that.
I skipped the other exercise for the day as I figured I'd burn enough calories playing squash. (I'd forgotten how much it makes you sweat!) I'm having to keep an eye on my calorie intake as I didn't eat enough on Tuesday. How's that? Amazing! I was so busy and I didn't write down my food intake on the day. It wasn't until I filled it in on Thursday that I realised. No wonder I was obsessing about food! It always catches up with you.
On the weight loss front, I've lost a kg. Yay me! Only 25 to go. I won't update my ticker until I weigh myself in Melbourne, as the scales there is my gospel scales.
Today I'm having a rest day and I'm running on Saturday and Sunday. I'll try to get to the pool and find an exercise bike. Hmm, I think Fernwood in Altona have both. There's a plan.
I found out yesterday that the Women and Girl's triathlon course has changed and that the short option is now 200m swim / 9km ride / 2 km run instead of the 400/14/4 I was expecting. I feel a lot more confident about getting through the swim leg without drowning. That's got to be good.
Well, I'd better head off to work now. I keep missing the morning bus lately so I want to actually catch one this week!
Friday, 11 January 2008
Wednesday, 9 January 2008
Running, swimming, PT and more running
I've been a little busy with my social life, which has got to be a good thing, especially as it's fitting in around my exercise. It is interfering with my blogging time but that's not exactly something I think I should complain about. Mind you, I did have a quiet chuckle when I showed up for drinks, complete with home made ice pack yesterday. Yes, I've got class.
I didn't make it out of bed in the morning on Tuesday, but I did get to the gym for my run and Yoga. I didn't quite have an hour for the run, so I figured I'd warm up for 15 mins instead of 3 kms. Mind you, I realised that 15 mins IS 3 mins for many runners. I then did five lots of 400 m pace intervals before running out of time. I ended up running a total of 50 mins and covering 6 km. I did the warm up and cooldown at 8 km/h and followed a 9 / 6 split on the pace intervals. I decided that as I was going to increase the number of intervals I'd slow down on the recovery jog. I was still coping well on the fifth interval so I think it was a good idea.
I was still a bit hyped when I got to Yoga. Our usual teacher was still away on holiday and the music the replacement teacher was using seemed a bit odd. She eventually announced we were doing a Balance class. I don't know why they didn't put up a notice at reception (well, I do, as we would all have gone home, or, in my case, kept running). We have lots of new instructors at the gym since the new owners started. This one didn't ask about injuries, which always bugs me, even when I don't have one. I thought, oh well, I'll just be careful, but the start of the class involved way too many knee bends so I ended up packing up my stuff and leaving.
One good thing about it, I was able to bring drinks forward an hour, along with applying the home made ice pack. Icing my knee definitely made a difference. It didn't feel sore until late today and it was a lot less sore than usual. Oh, I called into the chemist this evening and bought a couple of hot/cold packs and a knee support bandage. I figured that bringing frozen carrots along the next time I go out for drinks may mean I don't get asked again. (Before you ask, I have received a repeat invitation so the carrots weren't a deal breaker this time.)
This morning I did manage to drag myself out of bed and get to the pool. It was quite busy so I had to join a lane with five other swimmers. I don't mind sharing the lane but I'm convinced that I'm the slowest thing ever and that the others will mind sharing with me. In the end it wasn't at all traumatic. I didn't crash into anyone and I didn't have people hustling me along. I had a brief chat with one of the swimmers after I finished and she told me that we'd had a good bunch today. I hope I'm always so lucky.
I had my PT session with Krissi this morning (Yay!) so I had to hustle at the pool. I only did 8 laps. I aimed to have shorter rests between laps. I cut them down to about 15 seconds today, and managed fine, although I did notice that I slowed down quite a bit on the last two laps as tiredness caught up with me.
It was great to see Krissi. I enjoyed hearing all about her holiday over in WA and the photos were amazing. I was able to see them because Krissi was measuring me today. I'd asked her to do this as I'm going to do the Runner's World challenge. She repeated the measurements that she did at the start of our PT sessions. The results weren't too bad, which was a relief after the holiday season. This afternoon I got myself weighed by another friend who is a weight loss consultant, but I didn't get the photos done. I'll have to organise some tomorrow or I guess the weight measurement will be invalid. If I can't get my act into gear, I'll get it done on the weekend in Melbourne, which is the other place I weigh myself. I deliberately don't have a scales at home or I'd be on them every ten minutes.
After we did the measurements, I warmed up on the bike. That was such hard work! I am going to have to build up my cycling fitness as well as my swimming fitness. I've been a little slack about that. Krissi stretched me, which was heaven on earth. While she was doing that she mentioned my new shoes and elastic laces. Yes, she'd caught up on my blog. I told her that I'm going to have to write a section especially for her to read, where I write up the exercise session I imagine I'm going to have. Everything will be done perfectly, at the right level of intensity. Then I'll write the real blog with a "Krissi, don't read this bit" instruction. I'm sure she'll pay attention!
This evening I had to run between 3 and 8 kilometres. I decided to run at the gym and work on my cadence. I also decided that shorter was better than longer, given that I did have a little pain. I put the knee bandage on, and it seemed to help. I iced my knee again this evening. It's taking a bit of self-discipline but I'm sure it will benefit me in the long run. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.
Today I played with the speeds on the treadmill. I started at 6 and went up by 0.5 km/h every minute until I reached 9 then I went backwards to 7.5, forwards to 9, etc, ending up on 6 before a 5 minute machine managed cooldown. By the end of the half hour I'd covered 3.6 km.
Tomorrow I have squash with Murali, which I'm really looking forward to. I have my squash racquet out, ready to go. I'm not sure whether I'll run or swim tomorrow. I'll see how I feel in the morning.
I didn't make it out of bed in the morning on Tuesday, but I did get to the gym for my run and Yoga. I didn't quite have an hour for the run, so I figured I'd warm up for 15 mins instead of 3 kms. Mind you, I realised that 15 mins IS 3 mins for many runners. I then did five lots of 400 m pace intervals before running out of time. I ended up running a total of 50 mins and covering 6 km. I did the warm up and cooldown at 8 km/h and followed a 9 / 6 split on the pace intervals. I decided that as I was going to increase the number of intervals I'd slow down on the recovery jog. I was still coping well on the fifth interval so I think it was a good idea.
I was still a bit hyped when I got to Yoga. Our usual teacher was still away on holiday and the music the replacement teacher was using seemed a bit odd. She eventually announced we were doing a Balance class. I don't know why they didn't put up a notice at reception (well, I do, as we would all have gone home, or, in my case, kept running). We have lots of new instructors at the gym since the new owners started. This one didn't ask about injuries, which always bugs me, even when I don't have one. I thought, oh well, I'll just be careful, but the start of the class involved way too many knee bends so I ended up packing up my stuff and leaving.
One good thing about it, I was able to bring drinks forward an hour, along with applying the home made ice pack. Icing my knee definitely made a difference. It didn't feel sore until late today and it was a lot less sore than usual. Oh, I called into the chemist this evening and bought a couple of hot/cold packs and a knee support bandage. I figured that bringing frozen carrots along the next time I go out for drinks may mean I don't get asked again. (Before you ask, I have received a repeat invitation so the carrots weren't a deal breaker this time.)
This morning I did manage to drag myself out of bed and get to the pool. It was quite busy so I had to join a lane with five other swimmers. I don't mind sharing the lane but I'm convinced that I'm the slowest thing ever and that the others will mind sharing with me. In the end it wasn't at all traumatic. I didn't crash into anyone and I didn't have people hustling me along. I had a brief chat with one of the swimmers after I finished and she told me that we'd had a good bunch today. I hope I'm always so lucky.
I had my PT session with Krissi this morning (Yay!) so I had to hustle at the pool. I only did 8 laps. I aimed to have shorter rests between laps. I cut them down to about 15 seconds today, and managed fine, although I did notice that I slowed down quite a bit on the last two laps as tiredness caught up with me.
It was great to see Krissi. I enjoyed hearing all about her holiday over in WA and the photos were amazing. I was able to see them because Krissi was measuring me today. I'd asked her to do this as I'm going to do the Runner's World challenge. She repeated the measurements that she did at the start of our PT sessions. The results weren't too bad, which was a relief after the holiday season. This afternoon I got myself weighed by another friend who is a weight loss consultant, but I didn't get the photos done. I'll have to organise some tomorrow or I guess the weight measurement will be invalid. If I can't get my act into gear, I'll get it done on the weekend in Melbourne, which is the other place I weigh myself. I deliberately don't have a scales at home or I'd be on them every ten minutes.
After we did the measurements, I warmed up on the bike. That was such hard work! I am going to have to build up my cycling fitness as well as my swimming fitness. I've been a little slack about that. Krissi stretched me, which was heaven on earth. While she was doing that she mentioned my new shoes and elastic laces. Yes, she'd caught up on my blog. I told her that I'm going to have to write a section especially for her to read, where I write up the exercise session I imagine I'm going to have. Everything will be done perfectly, at the right level of intensity. Then I'll write the real blog with a "Krissi, don't read this bit" instruction. I'm sure she'll pay attention!
This evening I had to run between 3 and 8 kilometres. I decided to run at the gym and work on my cadence. I also decided that shorter was better than longer, given that I did have a little pain. I put the knee bandage on, and it seemed to help. I iced my knee again this evening. It's taking a bit of self-discipline but I'm sure it will benefit me in the long run. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.
Today I played with the speeds on the treadmill. I started at 6 and went up by 0.5 km/h every minute until I reached 9 then I went backwards to 7.5, forwards to 9, etc, ending up on 6 before a 5 minute machine managed cooldown. By the end of the half hour I'd covered 3.6 km.
Tomorrow I have squash with Murali, which I'm really looking forward to. I have my squash racquet out, ready to go. I'm not sure whether I'll run or swim tomorrow. I'll see how I feel in the morning.
Monday, 7 January 2008
Weights session
Tonight I went to the gym after work. It's the first time I've exercised since swimming on Saturday. I decided to rest my knee on Sunday, but I just didn't feel like getting up this morning.
I wanted to do a weights session today as it's been a while. I warmed up with a 10 minute walk on the treadmill, and then dug my program out of the filing cabinet. I modified it as per the doctor's instructions but I'm going to have to get some advice from Krissi to get some additional leg exercises.
I started off on the leg press machine, planning to keep the motion within the 30 degrees the doctor recommended. I could feel my knee straining, and realised I was doing the wrong half of the motion. I swapped over to the other half and it felt fine. I did some thinking and realised that if I had the seat further back I would only be able to do the right range of motion, so I wouldn't be able to accidentally do the wrong half next time. I jumped on and off the machine a few times to get it set up properly. I wrote it down on the card, but I probably won't be able to read the squiggle next time or remember what I was trying to communicate to myself. I did 3 sets of 15 at 60 kg. It didn't seem at all hard, so I might have to increase the weight while I am doing the reduced presses.
After the leg press I did the hamstring curls on the fitball. I could really feel them and my balance was shot to hell, but I managed to get through two sets of 15 reps. When I went to use the Smith machine most of the weights were missing. I've no idea where they have all disappeared to, but I managed to scrounge some up weights. I did one set of 15 reps at 10 kg to warm up, tossing the bar at the top of the motion, and then I did 15 fitball pushups on my knees. I am not really sure whether I'm in the right position for them (I suspect I'm not) but I could feel them in my arms so at least I was getting a workout. I then did 10 reps at 15 kg, one more set of fitball pushups and then 5 reps at 15 kg.
I then did biceps curls and triceps pulldowns and then finished off with some abs work. I did the plank (45 sec, 40 sec) then two sets of 20 crunches. I was sweating away by the end of it, but I think that was more because the gym was hot.
I wouldn't say my knee feels sore but it's tired. I'm icing it at the moment, which seems a little excessive for tiredness. I figure I'll give it a go anyway as the swelling is showing up a day or two later. I guess I have to get used to having a prevention mindset.
Tomorrow is Yoga night. I plan to swim in the morning and run on the treadmill before Yoga. Hopefully I'll make it out of bed.
I wanted to do a weights session today as it's been a while. I warmed up with a 10 minute walk on the treadmill, and then dug my program out of the filing cabinet. I modified it as per the doctor's instructions but I'm going to have to get some advice from Krissi to get some additional leg exercises.
I started off on the leg press machine, planning to keep the motion within the 30 degrees the doctor recommended. I could feel my knee straining, and realised I was doing the wrong half of the motion. I swapped over to the other half and it felt fine. I did some thinking and realised that if I had the seat further back I would only be able to do the right range of motion, so I wouldn't be able to accidentally do the wrong half next time. I jumped on and off the machine a few times to get it set up properly. I wrote it down on the card, but I probably won't be able to read the squiggle next time or remember what I was trying to communicate to myself. I did 3 sets of 15 at 60 kg. It didn't seem at all hard, so I might have to increase the weight while I am doing the reduced presses.
After the leg press I did the hamstring curls on the fitball. I could really feel them and my balance was shot to hell, but I managed to get through two sets of 15 reps. When I went to use the Smith machine most of the weights were missing. I've no idea where they have all disappeared to, but I managed to scrounge some up weights. I did one set of 15 reps at 10 kg to warm up, tossing the bar at the top of the motion, and then I did 15 fitball pushups on my knees. I am not really sure whether I'm in the right position for them (I suspect I'm not) but I could feel them in my arms so at least I was getting a workout. I then did 10 reps at 15 kg, one more set of fitball pushups and then 5 reps at 15 kg.
I then did biceps curls and triceps pulldowns and then finished off with some abs work. I did the plank (45 sec, 40 sec) then two sets of 20 crunches. I was sweating away by the end of it, but I think that was more because the gym was hot.
I wouldn't say my knee feels sore but it's tired. I'm icing it at the moment, which seems a little excessive for tiredness. I figure I'll give it a go anyway as the swelling is showing up a day or two later. I guess I have to get used to having a prevention mindset.
Tomorrow is Yoga night. I plan to swim in the morning and run on the treadmill before Yoga. Hopefully I'll make it out of bed.
Saturday, 5 January 2008
Swimming
I went swimming this morning. It was a bit of an effort to get myself there. I was in that "it's Saturday morning and I don't have to be anywhere" frame of mind, where staying in bed with a book was much more attractive than going to the pool or out for a run. After I convinced myself that it would be way too busy at the pool later in the day, I managed to put the book away and leave the house.
I decided to walk down there and go shopping on the way home. It was quiet when I got there, although there seemed to be a swimming lesson happening in the non-labelled lane I usually swim in. I ventured down to the "real" lap lanes. The person in the slow lane looked really slow and was swimming in the middle of the lane, but I've no idea how slow I look, so I figured I would join him and hope that he'd stay to the left once I was there. I was tempted to swim in the non-labelled lane beside it, but the lady there was swimming along with her head out of the water and her arms flailing everywhere. I figured she might be a good person to avoid. I let Mr Slow get a good head start and then took off.
I wasn't quite as exhausted at the end of the first 50 m. It took me approx 90 seconds to get there and I rested for 30 secs before heading off again. I managed to keep up that pattern the whole way through my session, and I never caught up with Mr Slow so I didn't have to decide whether or not to pass him.
I managed my 8 laps and thought I'd do 2 more. I did have crazy thoughts of doing another 10, but I realised I was starting to lose my form. Swimming 10 laps badly isn't going to do me any good in the long run. I also remembered how sore my back had felt on Thursday night. I figured that beginning swimming was like beginning running and that I should slowly build up my distance. I swam two more laps so I did a total of 600 m in roughly 24 minutes. I don't think they'll be calling on me for the Olympic squad any time soon. :-)
I went shopping on the way home. I'd been a bit disappointed in the post-Christmas sales however today I managed to find myself a couple of dresses at Events for half price. I grabbed my current size in one and a size down in the other. To my surprise and pleasure, the size down one looks great on me now. I looked for the size down in the other dress but they didn't have it, so I wasn't able to see if it would have fitted me too. Still, the current one looked good. This whole sizing thing is so confusing! Still, I was very happy that I was able to buy a size 14 dress that fit me.
I called into Athlete's Foot and bought another pair of runners and some cute red elastic laces. After that I went to Noni B, and checked out the sale racks. I found two tops I liked at half price. I bought one in my current size and the other in the next size down. I have this theory that I will be at least one size smaller in three months time.
I had meant to go for a run or a cycle this afternoon, but instead I ended up eating really badly. Still, those biscuits are gone forever, and so is that cheese. I thought I'd be able to resist the cheese, but I didn't. I'll have to put a ban on buying any for a while.
I'm not sure what exercise I'll do tomorrow. My knee is a little swollen after Thursday's run. I have planned to do the jogalong, which involves me cycling to get there and back, and then go for a swim on the way home, but I think I'll wait until the morning to decide. I'm not sure what I should be doing about my knee. Maybe I should be strapping it or icing it after every run. I might give the icing a go and see if that stops the swelling.
Oh, on Friday I didn't swim in the morning because I woke up tired. I did pack my gym gear so that I could do a weights session on the way home, but the gym was closed! It's closed all weekend as well. I think I must go to the Fernwood with the worst opening hours in the world! Grrr.
I decided to walk down there and go shopping on the way home. It was quiet when I got there, although there seemed to be a swimming lesson happening in the non-labelled lane I usually swim in. I ventured down to the "real" lap lanes. The person in the slow lane looked really slow and was swimming in the middle of the lane, but I've no idea how slow I look, so I figured I would join him and hope that he'd stay to the left once I was there. I was tempted to swim in the non-labelled lane beside it, but the lady there was swimming along with her head out of the water and her arms flailing everywhere. I figured she might be a good person to avoid. I let Mr Slow get a good head start and then took off.
I wasn't quite as exhausted at the end of the first 50 m. It took me approx 90 seconds to get there and I rested for 30 secs before heading off again. I managed to keep up that pattern the whole way through my session, and I never caught up with Mr Slow so I didn't have to decide whether or not to pass him.
I managed my 8 laps and thought I'd do 2 more. I did have crazy thoughts of doing another 10, but I realised I was starting to lose my form. Swimming 10 laps badly isn't going to do me any good in the long run. I also remembered how sore my back had felt on Thursday night. I figured that beginning swimming was like beginning running and that I should slowly build up my distance. I swam two more laps so I did a total of 600 m in roughly 24 minutes. I don't think they'll be calling on me for the Olympic squad any time soon. :-)
I went shopping on the way home. I'd been a bit disappointed in the post-Christmas sales however today I managed to find myself a couple of dresses at Events for half price. I grabbed my current size in one and a size down in the other. To my surprise and pleasure, the size down one looks great on me now. I looked for the size down in the other dress but they didn't have it, so I wasn't able to see if it would have fitted me too. Still, the current one looked good. This whole sizing thing is so confusing! Still, I was very happy that I was able to buy a size 14 dress that fit me.
I called into Athlete's Foot and bought another pair of runners and some cute red elastic laces. After that I went to Noni B, and checked out the sale racks. I found two tops I liked at half price. I bought one in my current size and the other in the next size down. I have this theory that I will be at least one size smaller in three months time.
I had meant to go for a run or a cycle this afternoon, but instead I ended up eating really badly. Still, those biscuits are gone forever, and so is that cheese. I thought I'd be able to resist the cheese, but I didn't. I'll have to put a ban on buying any for a while.
I'm not sure what exercise I'll do tomorrow. My knee is a little swollen after Thursday's run. I have planned to do the jogalong, which involves me cycling to get there and back, and then go for a swim on the way home, but I think I'll wait until the morning to decide. I'm not sure what I should be doing about my knee. Maybe I should be strapping it or icing it after every run. I might give the icing a go and see if that stops the swelling.
Oh, on Friday I didn't swim in the morning because I woke up tired. I did pack my gym gear so that I could do a weights session on the way home, but the gym was closed! It's closed all weekend as well. I think I must go to the Fernwood with the worst opening hours in the world! Grrr.
Thursday, 3 January 2008
Swimming and running
What on earth was I thinking when I decided to do a triathlon? I must be crazy. That's what I was thinking after I swam 50 m this morning. I was dying quietly at the other end of the pool, looking back over the 50 m I had just swum, wondering how on earth I was ever going to manage to swim 400 m in the Lake.
I swam the second 50 m and then managed the third and fourth. I was thinking I'd have to stop after 200 m, but I still seemed to have some energy so I decided that I'd get out of the pool once I'd covered 400 m. I have no idea how long it took me. I can't read the clock without my glasses, and I'd forgotten to wear my HRM. I was out of the house for an hour, but that included my bike ride to the pool and back, my struggle with the cable lock and changing before and after the swim.
Obviously I'm going to have to do a lot more swimming between now and 3rd February. I guess I'll have plenty of opportunities to work out how long a lap takes me.
Apart from getting myself to the pool to practise my swimming, which was a minor victory in itself, I also was out and about on my bike for the first time since I came off it. I still have to practise riding with cleats, but at least I was riding.
This evening I went to the gym to run. The plan called for a hill run, but I'm not running hills at the moment. Based on the instructions for the hill run I figured that I should run 7 km today, however, as I missed doing the interval session on Tuesday because of the heat, I decided to give it a go instead. I also decided to go back to the interval session from the first week, as it seemed a bit easier. The plan was for me to run a 3 km warmup and then do 4 sets of 400 m pace intervals before cooling down for 3 km. All up 8.8 km.
I did some calculations beforehand so that I'd know what pace I should be running the intervals at. I realised that I was feeling a bit apprehensive about the session, so I decided to drop the speed a little. Instead of running the intervals at 9.7 km/h I ran them at 9 km/h. I hadn't really thought about the recovery speed, but I ended up doing the first 100 m at 6 km/h and the next 300 m at 7.5 km/h. One of the reasons for the 6 and 9 is that the new treadmills have quick start buttons for those speeds. I did the warm up and cool down at 7.5 km/h, which is a pretty comfortable running pace for me (8 min/km).
It was different being on the treadmill as the machine took care of the pace for me so I didn't have to think about it. Also, there was a tv set there to distract me. I was pleased to be able to run for more than 3 km, although I wasn't sure if I was going to manage the intervals. I had a backup plan where I'd do 200 m intervals if I couldn't last for 400 m. I managed the 4 x 400 m though, although my legs were really feeling it. I didn't have time for the 3 km cool down though, so I decided that I'd run for the hour, which ended up being a total distance of 7.6 km. It's quite a while since I ran for an hour without stopping, so I felt as though it was quite an achievement.
I'm going to have to make the effort to go back to the pool tomorrow morning. It's a rest day from running, so cycling was on my plan but I think the swimming fitness is more important at this stage. Besides, I still have to work up the courage to try the cleats again, and that might be easier over the weekend.
Thanks for all the positive comments to my last post. I was at work today wishing I hadn't posted it. I realise that I kept it pretty high level, but I feel a lot of the old emotions and remember the heartbreaking moments when I read it, so it seems a bit too personal for this blog to me. Mind you, it did me the world of good to look back over that time and remember how far I've come. I find diet blogs a mixture of painful emotions and amazing achievements, which can make them difficult to read regularly. While I might give you the odd progress update here, I promise to keep the angst over at Calorie King. ;-)
Thanks again.
I swam the second 50 m and then managed the third and fourth. I was thinking I'd have to stop after 200 m, but I still seemed to have some energy so I decided that I'd get out of the pool once I'd covered 400 m. I have no idea how long it took me. I can't read the clock without my glasses, and I'd forgotten to wear my HRM. I was out of the house for an hour, but that included my bike ride to the pool and back, my struggle with the cable lock and changing before and after the swim.
Obviously I'm going to have to do a lot more swimming between now and 3rd February. I guess I'll have plenty of opportunities to work out how long a lap takes me.
Apart from getting myself to the pool to practise my swimming, which was a minor victory in itself, I also was out and about on my bike for the first time since I came off it. I still have to practise riding with cleats, but at least I was riding.
This evening I went to the gym to run. The plan called for a hill run, but I'm not running hills at the moment. Based on the instructions for the hill run I figured that I should run 7 km today, however, as I missed doing the interval session on Tuesday because of the heat, I decided to give it a go instead. I also decided to go back to the interval session from the first week, as it seemed a bit easier. The plan was for me to run a 3 km warmup and then do 4 sets of 400 m pace intervals before cooling down for 3 km. All up 8.8 km.
I did some calculations beforehand so that I'd know what pace I should be running the intervals at. I realised that I was feeling a bit apprehensive about the session, so I decided to drop the speed a little. Instead of running the intervals at 9.7 km/h I ran them at 9 km/h. I hadn't really thought about the recovery speed, but I ended up doing the first 100 m at 6 km/h and the next 300 m at 7.5 km/h. One of the reasons for the 6 and 9 is that the new treadmills have quick start buttons for those speeds. I did the warm up and cool down at 7.5 km/h, which is a pretty comfortable running pace for me (8 min/km).
It was different being on the treadmill as the machine took care of the pace for me so I didn't have to think about it. Also, there was a tv set there to distract me. I was pleased to be able to run for more than 3 km, although I wasn't sure if I was going to manage the intervals. I had a backup plan where I'd do 200 m intervals if I couldn't last for 400 m. I managed the 4 x 400 m though, although my legs were really feeling it. I didn't have time for the 3 km cool down though, so I decided that I'd run for the hour, which ended up being a total distance of 7.6 km. It's quite a while since I ran for an hour without stopping, so I felt as though it was quite an achievement.
I'm going to have to make the effort to go back to the pool tomorrow morning. It's a rest day from running, so cycling was on my plan but I think the swimming fitness is more important at this stage. Besides, I still have to work up the courage to try the cleats again, and that might be easier over the weekend.
Thanks for all the positive comments to my last post. I was at work today wishing I hadn't posted it. I realise that I kept it pretty high level, but I feel a lot of the old emotions and remember the heartbreaking moments when I read it, so it seems a bit too personal for this blog to me. Mind you, it did me the world of good to look back over that time and remember how far I've come. I find diet blogs a mixture of painful emotions and amazing achievements, which can make them difficult to read regularly. While I might give you the odd progress update here, I promise to keep the angst over at Calorie King. ;-)
Thanks again.
Wednesday, 2 January 2008
Reflections
While I was writing today's post I was thinking about my weight loss journey and I've decided to summarise it here. I've been reading so many blogs where people have been reflecting on 2007 and I guess that's inspired me to take the time to write this down. I've also found myself wanting to offer help to people who are struggling with losing weight but then hesitating in case they think I'm offering platitudes rather than real understanding.
One thing I have known for the past six months is that I have been really happy with my weight loss achievements and that I just wasn't interested in losing more weight during that time. I wanted to work on my fitness, which I have done, and I wanted to give my body some time to adjust to the new me. For example, my skin has tightened up, which is great. Not as much as I would like, but it's definitely less expensive than plastic surgery. I did realise that I was getting too relaxed about my eating, but I just couldn't get the momentum up to get started on the weight loss trail again. I kept hoping that the time would come when I'd be in the right frame of mind to lose weight again and it looks like my hopes have been answered.
I am absolutely completely confident that I'll lose weight this year.
When you're reading this it's important to realise that this is a summary. There was a lot more to it than this. If you're interested in knowing more, please feel free to contact me via hotmail. I think I'll blog about my new weight loss journey, but I'll probably do that on Calorie King. I'm not sure yet.
My journey so far (2004 - 2007)
I was seriously thinking about gastric banding in 2004 as a friend of mine found it incredibly successful. Mind you, he was seriously ill and needed to lose weight to save his life. I had been told that the doctor he'd recommended would want to know that I'd given dieting a serious try, and so I signed up for Lite'N'Easy in August 2004. I had to tell them my weight when I signed up. I was horrified to discover that I weighed 118 kgs. I had been working from home for the past 12 months and I hadn't realised that I'd gained so much weight.
Now I'm not a tall person. At 118 kg I was a size 24 and a half. I was starting to need to buy size 26 clothes, but I wouldn't admit to myself that I had moved into that size category.
I'd decided to give Lite'N'Easy a serious try and I managed to lose 12 kgs. I got a new job in Canberra in late October but none of my old business clothes fitted me. I needed a complete new wardrobe. I was travelling from Melbourne weekly and I didn't have a car in Canberra so I became a public transport user. I was really unfit and dreaded the thought of walking any distance in the summer heat. Over the Christmas period I managed to regain 7 of the 12 kgs I'd lost and I was bursting out of my new clothes. I found myself puffing and panting on the walk from the bus stop to my office. I was afraid I was going to die but I didn't know what to do about it. Obviously I was a complete failure at losing weight. The situation came to a head in February, when I realised that I was starting to buy Macca's on the way home from work.
I have no idea what I weighed when I walked into the gym in February 2005. I was so convinced that I couldn't lose weight that I decided that I was just there to get fitter. I didn't even bother to weigh myself as I knew I wouldn't like the answer. (I regret that now, just as I regret that there are hardly any photos of me from 2004 - 2006.) Over the next nine months I managed to lose two and a half dress sizes. I don't know for sure how much weight I lost during that time but I was 107 kg when I decided that it was time for me to give weight loss another try. I did so badly that I weighed 110 kg after Christmas.
Even though I was feeling fitter and healthier than I had done in years I was still miserable about my weight. I was looking everywhere for an answer. In January 2006 I found one. A whole lot of things seemed to come together for me and I started losing weight steadily. It kept coming off. As 118 kg was my highest known weight I used it as my starting point. By October 2006 I'd lost 38 kgs. I managed to avoid putting on any weight over Christmas, which was great, however I was disappointed that I wasn't able to get to the 40 kg mark.
I'd done a lot of walking in 2006, but it was getting harder and harder to get my heart rate up. I realised that I was going to have to up the ante. With the encouragement of my personal trainer I began running in September 2006. I was doing well until I went home to Melbourne for a holiday. It was a bad bushfire season and there was smoke everywhere. I didn't run because of the smoke and quickly got out of the habit. I had to start my running all over again when I got back to Canberra. Fortunately I had told people that I was going to run my laps of the Relay for Life in March, so I had to work hard to be able to make good on my promise.
I signed up for the Biggest Loser Challenge at Fernwood and started blogging. I found that really helped to motivate me. I also managed to lose another 5 kgs, bringing my total weight loss to 43 kg. In April 2006 I was lighter than I'd been in 10 years.
Since then I've been really relaxed about weight loss. I was so happy with how I looked and felt that it didn't seem important to lose any more weight. I focussed on my fitness and enjoyed being able to run. I was aware that my weight was starting to creep back up and I occasionally had a bit of a panic about it, but I think my body needed the break. I've toned up and still fit into the clothes I bought when I was at my lowest weight, although they are starting to get a bit tight now. It's definitely time to get back onto the straight and narrow.
As at today, I'm 33 kg lighter than my original starting weight of 118 kg. I've got a definite goal weight in mind. I'd really like to be half my size. I've checked, and 59 kg is near the top end of my healthy BMI range. In fact, I'm going to aim for 58 kg as saying "I lost 60 kg" sounds more impressive than "I lost 59 kg". Of course, I won't know until I get there if it's a healthy weight for me, but it's a line in the sand for me.
I know how to consistently lose half a kilo to a kilo a week, so I should be able to get there before the end of the year. They say that a goal isn't a real goal unless it has a timeframe, so my timeframe is to be at my goal weight by 1 January, 2009.
I'm going to enlist help from people this time. I did it pretty much on my own the last time, although I did receive encouragement and support from family, friends and work colleagues.
One thing I have known for the past six months is that I have been really happy with my weight loss achievements and that I just wasn't interested in losing more weight during that time. I wanted to work on my fitness, which I have done, and I wanted to give my body some time to adjust to the new me. For example, my skin has tightened up, which is great. Not as much as I would like, but it's definitely less expensive than plastic surgery. I did realise that I was getting too relaxed about my eating, but I just couldn't get the momentum up to get started on the weight loss trail again. I kept hoping that the time would come when I'd be in the right frame of mind to lose weight again and it looks like my hopes have been answered.
I am absolutely completely confident that I'll lose weight this year.
When you're reading this it's important to realise that this is a summary. There was a lot more to it than this. If you're interested in knowing more, please feel free to contact me via hotmail. I think I'll blog about my new weight loss journey, but I'll probably do that on Calorie King. I'm not sure yet.
My journey so far (2004 - 2007)
I was seriously thinking about gastric banding in 2004 as a friend of mine found it incredibly successful. Mind you, he was seriously ill and needed to lose weight to save his life. I had been told that the doctor he'd recommended would want to know that I'd given dieting a serious try, and so I signed up for Lite'N'Easy in August 2004. I had to tell them my weight when I signed up. I was horrified to discover that I weighed 118 kgs. I had been working from home for the past 12 months and I hadn't realised that I'd gained so much weight.
Now I'm not a tall person. At 118 kg I was a size 24 and a half. I was starting to need to buy size 26 clothes, but I wouldn't admit to myself that I had moved into that size category.
I'd decided to give Lite'N'Easy a serious try and I managed to lose 12 kgs. I got a new job in Canberra in late October but none of my old business clothes fitted me. I needed a complete new wardrobe. I was travelling from Melbourne weekly and I didn't have a car in Canberra so I became a public transport user. I was really unfit and dreaded the thought of walking any distance in the summer heat. Over the Christmas period I managed to regain 7 of the 12 kgs I'd lost and I was bursting out of my new clothes. I found myself puffing and panting on the walk from the bus stop to my office. I was afraid I was going to die but I didn't know what to do about it. Obviously I was a complete failure at losing weight. The situation came to a head in February, when I realised that I was starting to buy Macca's on the way home from work.
I have no idea what I weighed when I walked into the gym in February 2005. I was so convinced that I couldn't lose weight that I decided that I was just there to get fitter. I didn't even bother to weigh myself as I knew I wouldn't like the answer. (I regret that now, just as I regret that there are hardly any photos of me from 2004 - 2006.) Over the next nine months I managed to lose two and a half dress sizes. I don't know for sure how much weight I lost during that time but I was 107 kg when I decided that it was time for me to give weight loss another try. I did so badly that I weighed 110 kg after Christmas.
Even though I was feeling fitter and healthier than I had done in years I was still miserable about my weight. I was looking everywhere for an answer. In January 2006 I found one. A whole lot of things seemed to come together for me and I started losing weight steadily. It kept coming off. As 118 kg was my highest known weight I used it as my starting point. By October 2006 I'd lost 38 kgs. I managed to avoid putting on any weight over Christmas, which was great, however I was disappointed that I wasn't able to get to the 40 kg mark.
I'd done a lot of walking in 2006, but it was getting harder and harder to get my heart rate up. I realised that I was going to have to up the ante. With the encouragement of my personal trainer I began running in September 2006. I was doing well until I went home to Melbourne for a holiday. It was a bad bushfire season and there was smoke everywhere. I didn't run because of the smoke and quickly got out of the habit. I had to start my running all over again when I got back to Canberra. Fortunately I had told people that I was going to run my laps of the Relay for Life in March, so I had to work hard to be able to make good on my promise.
I signed up for the Biggest Loser Challenge at Fernwood and started blogging. I found that really helped to motivate me. I also managed to lose another 5 kgs, bringing my total weight loss to 43 kg. In April 2006 I was lighter than I'd been in 10 years.
Since then I've been really relaxed about weight loss. I was so happy with how I looked and felt that it didn't seem important to lose any more weight. I focussed on my fitness and enjoyed being able to run. I was aware that my weight was starting to creep back up and I occasionally had a bit of a panic about it, but I think my body needed the break. I've toned up and still fit into the clothes I bought when I was at my lowest weight, although they are starting to get a bit tight now. It's definitely time to get back onto the straight and narrow.
As at today, I'm 33 kg lighter than my original starting weight of 118 kg. I've got a definite goal weight in mind. I'd really like to be half my size. I've checked, and 59 kg is near the top end of my healthy BMI range. In fact, I'm going to aim for 58 kg as saying "I lost 60 kg" sounds more impressive than "I lost 59 kg". Of course, I won't know until I get there if it's a healthy weight for me, but it's a line in the sand for me.
I know how to consistently lose half a kilo to a kilo a week, so I should be able to get there before the end of the year. They say that a goal isn't a real goal unless it has a timeframe, so my timeframe is to be at my goal weight by 1 January, 2009.
I'm going to enlist help from people this time. I did it pretty much on my own the last time, although I did receive encouragement and support from family, friends and work colleagues.
Morning run
I so didn't want to get out of bed this morning. The plan was for a run somewhere between three and eight kilometres. I told myself that all I had to do was 3 km. With that promise I managed to get myself up and out of the building. Once I was dressed it didn't seem too impossible, but it took me ages to get out the door.
It was lovely outside, but I was in that "I don't want to be running" frame of mind, which meant that I didn't appreciate it. I managed to run a whole 500 metres before deciding that walking was a good idea. I got myself running again by setting myself targets to reach before I was allowed to walk. I did find that I was able to run further when there was a walker on the path. Isn't vanity a powerful motivator?
After about 2 kms I found myself coughing away and realised that I was probably so reluctant about running because I'm still not over the sinus infection I had last week. I felt a lot better about the whole expedition after that. I gave myself a mini goal of running home from the turnaround point and I managed to run most of the way, apart from the coughing fit. I was out for just over 25 minutes.
I've made a decision to start losing weight again. Being an advanced dieter (thanks Kathryn for the phrase) I know exactly what I need to do for me to regularly lose half a kilo a week. All I have to do is keep on doing it. I made a good start today. I've written down everything I've eaten, I've made my calorie and exercise targets for the day, I've drunk plenty of water and I've bought lots of healthy food for the next few days.
The last few times I've decided to lose weight I've been half-hearted about the effort, and I've managed to sabotage myself almost before I've started. This time I'm feeling really positive about my decision. I've decided to enlist help from people, which is new for me. Hopefully it will make a difference. I've really noticed that exercising with people makes it easier, so I'm hoping that losing weight with people will also make it easier. I've decided to set myself some mini goals and rewards, as this was really effective when I lost weight before. I just have to work out what the rewards are. Instead of starting over Christmas and setting myself up for failure, I deliberately waited until after the holidays. It's much easier for me to manage my eating when I'm away from home.
I had planned to go for a swim today. I was going to swim and run this morning, but when I was so reluctant to get out of bed I decided that I'd just run and that I'd swim this evening. Then I realised it was very hot and it's school holidays. I just couldn't face a crowded swimming pool this evening, so I went for a walk instead. When I lost most of my weight previously I was doing a lot of walking so I am going to try to keep up my step count. Mind you, I wasn't organised enough to take the pedometer out of the aggravating plastic packet today, so I have no idea how many steps I took. I walked down to the swimming pool then to the supermarket and home. I was out for a little over an hour.
Tomorrow the plan is for a swim and a run. Hopefully I'll manage both.
It was lovely outside, but I was in that "I don't want to be running" frame of mind, which meant that I didn't appreciate it. I managed to run a whole 500 metres before deciding that walking was a good idea. I got myself running again by setting myself targets to reach before I was allowed to walk. I did find that I was able to run further when there was a walker on the path. Isn't vanity a powerful motivator?
After about 2 kms I found myself coughing away and realised that I was probably so reluctant about running because I'm still not over the sinus infection I had last week. I felt a lot better about the whole expedition after that. I gave myself a mini goal of running home from the turnaround point and I managed to run most of the way, apart from the coughing fit. I was out for just over 25 minutes.
I've made a decision to start losing weight again. Being an advanced dieter (thanks Kathryn for the phrase) I know exactly what I need to do for me to regularly lose half a kilo a week. All I have to do is keep on doing it. I made a good start today. I've written down everything I've eaten, I've made my calorie and exercise targets for the day, I've drunk plenty of water and I've bought lots of healthy food for the next few days.
The last few times I've decided to lose weight I've been half-hearted about the effort, and I've managed to sabotage myself almost before I've started. This time I'm feeling really positive about my decision. I've decided to enlist help from people, which is new for me. Hopefully it will make a difference. I've really noticed that exercising with people makes it easier, so I'm hoping that losing weight with people will also make it easier. I've decided to set myself some mini goals and rewards, as this was really effective when I lost weight before. I just have to work out what the rewards are. Instead of starting over Christmas and setting myself up for failure, I deliberately waited until after the holidays. It's much easier for me to manage my eating when I'm away from home.
I had planned to go for a swim today. I was going to swim and run this morning, but when I was so reluctant to get out of bed I decided that I'd just run and that I'd swim this evening. Then I realised it was very hot and it's school holidays. I just couldn't face a crowded swimming pool this evening, so I went for a walk instead. When I lost most of my weight previously I was doing a lot of walking so I am going to try to keep up my step count. Mind you, I wasn't organised enough to take the pedometer out of the aggravating plastic packet today, so I have no idea how many steps I took. I walked down to the swimming pool then to the supermarket and home. I was out for a little over an hour.
Tomorrow the plan is for a swim and a run. Hopefully I'll manage both.
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