Bootcamp, PT, cycling, walking and hockey

It's been a busy week. I started beginner's bootcamp on Monday with TB. We're going twice a week, at 5pm Mondays and Thursdays. Monday's session was the fitness assessment. I really needed to go to the toilet before the beep test, but it was on the far side of the War Memorial and I knew I wouldn't be back in time. I made it to level 3-6, which wasn't too bad considering the state of my bladder. Mind you, when Brad asked me what level I got to I practically threw up, so maybe I was trying harder than I thought. I headed off to the public toilets while TB continued with the beep test. He was the last to finish (it is a beginner's bootcamp) so he decided to stop when he got to level 6-0 rather than keep everyone else waiting. He used to run a lot when he was younger so running is just something he does. He really doesn't get the whole 'run for fun' idea though.

By the time I got back (it was a long way and uphill .. ok, it was about 800 m away and I got to run downhill all the way back) they had done the agility test and were on to the abdominal strength tests. After doing pushups (20 on toes, 18 on knees) and situps (20) I did the agility test. It was a little slower (23.3) than in the past. My theory is that I was being more careful because it was dark. TB did the fastest time (18.5), which he was pretty chuffed about.

We finished off with the plank. I did a really good time on this one, mainly because my backside was well in the air. I didn't realise at first, but I was soon aware of it once I passed the 90 second mark. I was going to try and lower my butt however my abs started to tremble so I figured I'd stay where I was. For some reason nobody chipped me on my fantastic bridge position. I realised they weren't going to and bailed out at 3:15. At least it will give me a hard target to aim at for the next fitness test. At the moment I'm doing two sets of 1 minute with a minute's rest easily with Krissi, and I managed two sets of 1:30 the other day with her. You never know, I might make it to 2 minutes with proper form next time.

On Tuesday I had PT with Julia. It was a good workout, as ever, but I find I'm much preferring the one hour sessions now. I might have to organise for the remainder of my Fernwood PT sessions to go for the hour.

On Wednesday I had a rest day. It was an eye opener for me. I'm back to wearing my pedometer because of the walking challenge that I'm doing. It hadn't occurred to me how little I was walking nowadays. In fact, I've been assuming that I've kept up at least half the amount of incidental exercise I was doing when I was living in Braddon. I knew that I wasn't getting the same amount of exercise walking to the bus, but I underestimated the effect that was having on the number of steps I was walking. No wonder my weight is staying constant even though I'm doing lots of exercise. Anyway, no more complete rest days for me while I'm doing the challenge! At the very least I'll be out for a lunchtime walk.

Thursday was meant to be bootcamp but Brad had to move it to Friday. TB and I went for an evening walk. I am really enjoying those walks. As well as the obvious health benefit we get to talk to each other without the distractions of television, housework and phone calls.

On Friday I cycled to Krissi's for PT. There had been fog all week, which kept me from cycling to work, but it was a lovely morning on Friday. I have been joking with TB and with the guys at work that I can benchpress 30 kg (twice) and I managed it four times without assistance on the first set. I was telling Krissi about the joke, the 'benchpress 30 kg' said in a menacing tone, and then the 'twice' said even more menacingly, so she challenged me to get to five on the second set. Well, I got to seven. I was stoked. My sets are getting longer too. I got to 11 the first set and 10 the second set. I love seeing the improvement.

We had work drinks on Friday afternoon, conveniently at Olim's Hotel, which is just past the War Memorial. I parked my bike in the beer garden, had a drink (soda water) with the team, then met TB on his way to bootcamp. We congregated near an outdoor Airforce memorial then proceeded to do a boxing session. There were still sightseers going past. In my mind I was imagining them being impressed that we were out exercising on a Friday afternoon in such a wonderful location, but they were probably glad it was us and not them.

TB and I rode home after bootcamp. I figured out that I'd managed to do 3 hrs and 20 mins exercise for the day. I was a little sore on Saturday morning and completely did not want to go to hockey. TB guilted me into going by reminding me that there were only 12 people on the list, so I walked across to the hockey centre. It's about 1 km from my place to the grass fields, so it was a good warm up. I played left half, which is not my usual position. Now that there's no offside rule you really have to keep an eye on your winger. I did a fair bit of running, which I was pleased about. I played ok too. My skills are so rusty and I don't train, so ok is about as good as it gets.

By the time I got home I was stiff and sore. I was all set to have a bath and then settle in for the night but TB talked me into going for a walk to the supermarket with him. My Garmin got completely confused in the two supermarkets we visited, which makes for an entertaining map. It claimed 7.2 km for the trip but my step count was about 8000, which means it was closer to 4.5 km than 7. My bath felt soooo good.

This morning we've been for another walk. I think TB is getting into this walking challenge more than I am! Still, it will be good for both of us. We have another walk planned for this evening, if he's able to get me away from the heater and the tv. I have Season 3 of Dr Who to watch, so it could be a battle.