Nice easy day today

I cruised on down to the gym today, and walked on the treadmill for half an hour at 6 km/h. I'd thought about doing some running on the way down to the gym, but my legs felt heavy. It's handy having that 10 minute walk as a warm up - it gives me a good idea of how I'm feeling before I actually arrive at the gym. It also wakes me up, as there are people blowing rubbish off the paths with leaf blowers. They are a double edged sword. I love the clean pavements, but hate the horrendous noise.

I got myself to work nice and early, to find I'd somehow lost my pedometer. This is the best pedometer I've ever had and I seem to be determined to lose it at the moment. Last time I lost it, it turned up a couple of days later. I'd dropped it when running for the bus at work, and some kind soul handed it in to the security guard. This time, I left it behind after my shower at the gym. To my relief, it was waiting safely for me when I arrived there this evening.

What's so good about this pedometer? For a start, it just counts steps. There's less to go wrong. It's really sturdy. I've worn it for months, dropped it countless times, and it's still going strong. It's slim and light and it stays attached to my clothes reasonably well, although as I change shape it is sometimes challenged by my new curves. I got it as part of my entry pack for the Global Corporate Challenge last year. I'm looking forward to getting this year's pedometer to see if it's any better.

This evening at the gym I was going to do interval running, but my pants fell down twice. Rather than scare all the ladies at the gym, I decided to save my running for a different pair of pants. I'm going to have to mark these pants somehow so that I know not to run in them. Apart from their pesky habit of falling down when I'm running, they are really comfy, so they'll be fine for weights. I have two pairs that are meant to be exactly the same size, and one pair is fine.

Tomorrow I have squash, which should be a lot of fun. I think I'll do the split weights session again across my two gym visits, as I haven't done my program since last Wednesday. At least that way, I'll fit it in. With Easter this weekend, the gym I'll be going to in Melbourne will be operating reduced hours. Still, their hours are better than the gym here in Canberra, so I'm actually better off.

Many of the people who leave comments mention the amount of exercise that I'm doing. It's really not that much - it just sounds like a lot because I talk a lot! I do about half an hour in the morning, and anything from twenty minutes to an hour and a half in the evenings. It really depends on the amount of time I have available. I make sure I have "recovery" days as well as hard workout days, because I don't want an injury to get in the way of my journey to becoming a fitter and healthier person.

I had an overwhelming urge to leave a comment on deege's blog today. I wrote it at lunchtime today and posted it from my workplace, which is really unusual for me, but it bothered me that she was disappointed in her efforts in R4K, particularly as I was so impressed by what she had achieved. Celeste has been saying much the same thing about feeling frustrated by other people walking faster than she runs.

Anyway, it's really got me thinking about my own running goals. I had started to think about them because of the Chi Running book I've been reading, but deege and Celeste have helped me to realise that it's important for me to actually set them. I have a tendency to cruise along, which means it takes me ages to do what some people seem to do in no time. For example, it's taken me over two and a half years to lose 40 kg. Expect to see some documented goals soon. I should really put a date on that promise, but this structured goal setting is new territory for me.

Oh, and Sara, thanks for the support regarding the demoralising weight counselling I received yesterday. I didn't mention the other thing the counsellor thoughtfully said to me, but it's been irritating me all day, so here it is. She asked me if I wore makeup. She then leaned forward and said, oh so kindly, "you'd be really pretty if you wore some makeup". Can you believe it? Of course you can. I had to explain that I wasn't interested in makeup and I turned down her offer to give me a list of products a number of times. I almost felt like promising to wear lipstick, just to get out of the conversation. Fortunately, I didn't completely crumble.