I learned an important lesson today - don't eat too much chilli before an important run. I got up this morning, feeling the after effects of last night's dinner, which was delicious by the way. I was hoping that I'd be ok for my run, but I ended up having to miss it. I was dressed and about to ride off on my bike when I had to head back to the bathroom.
Unfortunately, that means I missed the time trial and I also didn't manage to run three times in a week. I was telling myself that if I ran this evening I'd make that goal, but that didn't motivate me to get out there. Instead, I chose to go to Yoga.
We did Power Yoga today, which was just as well as the room was freezing. Tonight's moves were dynamic and we were mainly on our feet. To my surprise, part of the way through I was seriously considering stopping to take off my warm top. I was too caught up in the moves to take the time to stop. It was really cool to be moving from one thing to the next and keeping up for a change. I do like the slower pace of Yoga.
The other thing that is surprising me is how quickly I'm progressing with the various moves. My balance is heaps better and my flexibility is increasing by leaps and bounds (or twists and stretches). Fortunately, before I start thinking I'm an expert, we did a seated stretch today that reminded me just how far I have to go. I wasn't able to do it at all. The stretch started off in a half lotus, and involved leaning forward with a straight back. All these people could lean right down over their legs. Not me. My tummy was in the way, my back was tight, and my legs were saying 'that's far enough'. Another move that completely defeated me involved stretching one leg up when seated. Apparently there's a two legged version that's called the hairpin. I was thinking that I probably didn't need that level of detail yet.
Anyway, I was going to do my weights program tomorrow morning, but I might go running instead. That leaves weights as an option for Thursday's pt session.
Oh, I have signed up for a dragon boat race in October. The gym is putting a team in to a fundraising event of some kind. There'll be two training sessions and then the race. It should be a lot of fun. The team is going to be half staff and half members, and some of the Team Black Women have already entered. Thank goodness for the power of email!
Tuesday, 14 August 2007
Monday, 13 August 2007
Weights program
It was good to get to the gym tonight. I got stuck at work and so was running behind time. Mind you, being there later meant that the gym wasn't as busy, so there was an upside.
I worked my way through my program, but I did check whether or not I could do the lunges without weights first. I was due to put the weight up, so I did, but I really felt it in my quads when I did the leg press, so I ended up dropping the weight on that one. I did a lot of stretching during the program and after it. I even did the downward dog a couple of times to stretch out my calves and hamstrings.
I was checking out the dates on my program. It's almost two months since I started this one. It doesn't seem that long. One of the goals for the program was to manage five fitball pushups on my toes, so I gave it a go tonight. I was able to get into position, but I wasn't doing the pushups properly. It's still progress, as I wasn't able to balance on the ball in pushup position at all. I'll have to keep trying with that one.
I've been watching the personal trainers while I've been exercising. They all seem fine. I'll talk to Krissi first as I'm hoping that she will be able to fit me into her schedule. If she can't, then I'll have to book some sessions with a new trainer as August is nearly over. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I won't have to travel for work for the next couple of weeks, so that I don't miss any more of my time with Leanne.
Thanks for the kind comments on yesterday's post. Your support is really appreciated.
I worked my way through my program, but I did check whether or not I could do the lunges without weights first. I was due to put the weight up, so I did, but I really felt it in my quads when I did the leg press, so I ended up dropping the weight on that one. I did a lot of stretching during the program and after it. I even did the downward dog a couple of times to stretch out my calves and hamstrings.
I was checking out the dates on my program. It's almost two months since I started this one. It doesn't seem that long. One of the goals for the program was to manage five fitball pushups on my toes, so I gave it a go tonight. I was able to get into position, but I wasn't doing the pushups properly. It's still progress, as I wasn't able to balance on the ball in pushup position at all. I'll have to keep trying with that one.
I've been watching the personal trainers while I've been exercising. They all seem fine. I'll talk to Krissi first as I'm hoping that she will be able to fit me into her schedule. If she can't, then I'll have to book some sessions with a new trainer as August is nearly over. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I won't have to travel for work for the next couple of weeks, so that I don't miss any more of my time with Leanne.
Thanks for the kind comments on yesterday's post. Your support is really appreciated.
Sunday, 12 August 2007
Going backwards with my weight loss
I only weigh myself when I'm home in Melbourne, so it's generally two to three weeks between weigh ins. Unfortunately, the last few times I've weighed myself I've been putting weight on. My eating has been a strange mix of '80% in control' and '20% way out of control' lately. I've been thinking about what I need to do to get back on track and I've come to the conclusion that I need to stop obsessing about it. Of course, that's easier said than done.
I've decided to set myself health goals rather than weightloss goals. I just have to work them out. I like the philosophy in the Chi Running book, where you aim to enjoy the process, so I'm thinking of the following:
I will make healthy lifestyle choices. (eat properly, get enough sleep, etc)
I will treat my body with respect. (good quality food, minimise stress)
I will maintain my current level of activity. (running, gym, walking)
I'm hoping that having broad goals like this will stop me from beating up on myself over small failures. For example, healthy lifestyle choices includes things like eating sensibly sized portions and not drinking too much champagne.
I want to set myself some more specific goals too, but I'm resisting the impulse at the moment because I've gotten myself into a bit of a state about my eating. I remember I did a similar thing with my running recently. I ended up so anxious that I didn't think I could run. Easing up on myself seemed to get me over that, and I'm enjoying running again.
Funnily enough, people are telling me that I'm looking really well. I think that's down to the exercise I'm doing. I'm continuing to tone even though I'm gaining back some of the weight I've lost. I think my skin has been tightening up too, which is a bonus. I certainly feel as though I'm stronger and fitter.
On the running front, I made it out for a short run today. I headed off around the creek. I was hardly out the door when it started raining, but I kept going. It was only light rain and it made it really pleasant to run. There were a few hardly souls out walking their dogs but they nearly all disappeared when the rain started.
To my relief, my calf was fine while I was running, but my hamstring was still tight. Not too tight for me to run though. I kept the pace steady, and aimed to relax as I ran. I also tried to keep my arms from crossing my body too much. I hadn't realised I was doing it, but I'm really noticing it now that Krissi has pointed it out. Running does seem easier when I try not to do that, so it's worth keeping an eye on.
When I got home I made sure I took my time stretching. My leg has been feeling a lot better today, so it was definitely worth the effort.
I felt as though getting out for a run was a real achievement today. I could easily have given it a miss, using my tight muscles as an excuse for resting. One of my running goals is to run three times a week, and I don't think I've actually made it yet. I ran Thursday and Sunday, and I'm due to run on Tuesday, so it looks like I'm going to achieve that goal this week. :-)
On Tuesday, we're going to be doing a 1 km time trial for the end of the running course. I'll be interested to see how I do. I've decided that the aim for me is to run for the whole distance and not worry about the time. When we did the first run, I ended up having to drop back to a walk twice to catch my breath. This time, I might need to slow down, but I want to keep running when that happens. If it's faster, that's great, but if it isn't that's fine too.
I'm not sure how I hurt my leg in the first place. It might have been Body Attack, so I'm going to give that a miss this Monday night. I don't want anything to get in the way of my run on Tuesday. I'll give the class another go on Thursday.
This week's exercise plan is:
Monday - weights
Tuesday - morning run and bike ride, evening Yoga
Wednesday - morning weights
Thursday - morning personal training, evening Body Attack
Friday - morning run, evening Body Balance
Saturday - bike ride, weights
Sunday - morning run and Body Balance
I've decided to set myself health goals rather than weightloss goals. I just have to work them out. I like the philosophy in the Chi Running book, where you aim to enjoy the process, so I'm thinking of the following:
I will make healthy lifestyle choices. (eat properly, get enough sleep, etc)
I will treat my body with respect. (good quality food, minimise stress)
I will maintain my current level of activity. (running, gym, walking)
I'm hoping that having broad goals like this will stop me from beating up on myself over small failures. For example, healthy lifestyle choices includes things like eating sensibly sized portions and not drinking too much champagne.
I want to set myself some more specific goals too, but I'm resisting the impulse at the moment because I've gotten myself into a bit of a state about my eating. I remember I did a similar thing with my running recently. I ended up so anxious that I didn't think I could run. Easing up on myself seemed to get me over that, and I'm enjoying running again.
Funnily enough, people are telling me that I'm looking really well. I think that's down to the exercise I'm doing. I'm continuing to tone even though I'm gaining back some of the weight I've lost. I think my skin has been tightening up too, which is a bonus. I certainly feel as though I'm stronger and fitter.
On the running front, I made it out for a short run today. I headed off around the creek. I was hardly out the door when it started raining, but I kept going. It was only light rain and it made it really pleasant to run. There were a few hardly souls out walking their dogs but they nearly all disappeared when the rain started.
To my relief, my calf was fine while I was running, but my hamstring was still tight. Not too tight for me to run though. I kept the pace steady, and aimed to relax as I ran. I also tried to keep my arms from crossing my body too much. I hadn't realised I was doing it, but I'm really noticing it now that Krissi has pointed it out. Running does seem easier when I try not to do that, so it's worth keeping an eye on.
When I got home I made sure I took my time stretching. My leg has been feeling a lot better today, so it was definitely worth the effort.
I felt as though getting out for a run was a real achievement today. I could easily have given it a miss, using my tight muscles as an excuse for resting. One of my running goals is to run three times a week, and I don't think I've actually made it yet. I ran Thursday and Sunday, and I'm due to run on Tuesday, so it looks like I'm going to achieve that goal this week. :-)
On Tuesday, we're going to be doing a 1 km time trial for the end of the running course. I'll be interested to see how I do. I've decided that the aim for me is to run for the whole distance and not worry about the time. When we did the first run, I ended up having to drop back to a walk twice to catch my breath. This time, I might need to slow down, but I want to keep running when that happens. If it's faster, that's great, but if it isn't that's fine too.
I'm not sure how I hurt my leg in the first place. It might have been Body Attack, so I'm going to give that a miss this Monday night. I don't want anything to get in the way of my run on Tuesday. I'll give the class another go on Thursday.
This week's exercise plan is:
Monday - weights
Tuesday - morning run and bike ride, evening Yoga
Wednesday - morning weights
Thursday - morning personal training, evening Body Attack
Friday - morning run, evening Body Balance
Saturday - bike ride, weights
Sunday - morning run and Body Balance
Saturday, 11 August 2007
Body Balance
On Friday morning I headed off to the gym. I had a tight calf and hamstring so I tested them out with a lunge without weights. It was painful, so I skipped my weights program and concentrated on stretching instead. It certainly helped, so I felt fine about heading back to the gym after work for Body Balance.
I was keen to do BB as I'd been reading an article about Yoga for runners which said that the downward dog is a great stretch for runners. It works the calves, the hamstrings and the glutes. As we'd done this move in BB before I was sure that I'd get a good workout for my sore leg. As expected, we moved through the downward dog a few times. In Body Balance the moves are much quicker than in Yoga. I struggle with getting through the sequences, for example, fold over, hands on the floor, move your leg back into a lunge, move your other leg back, do the downward dog, glide down through a plank into a cobra, back into downward dog, foot forward, other foot forward, unfold and salute the sun. All this in next to no time! By the time I got myself down into the downward dog it was time to do the next move.
All was not wasted however, as towards the end of the session we did some serious stretching. This included a variation of the downward dog that involved lifting one leg into the air. Well, that really did stretch out my calf and hamstring. I'm a convert!
Today has been a rest day. My calf is still a little sore. I'll see how it goes when I run tomrorow.
I was keen to do BB as I'd been reading an article about Yoga for runners which said that the downward dog is a great stretch for runners. It works the calves, the hamstrings and the glutes. As we'd done this move in BB before I was sure that I'd get a good workout for my sore leg. As expected, we moved through the downward dog a few times. In Body Balance the moves are much quicker than in Yoga. I struggle with getting through the sequences, for example, fold over, hands on the floor, move your leg back into a lunge, move your other leg back, do the downward dog, glide down through a plank into a cobra, back into downward dog, foot forward, other foot forward, unfold and salute the sun. All this in next to no time! By the time I got myself down into the downward dog it was time to do the next move.
All was not wasted however, as towards the end of the session we did some serious stretching. This included a variation of the downward dog that involved lifting one leg into the air. Well, that really did stretch out my calf and hamstring. I'm a convert!
Today has been a rest day. My calf is still a little sore. I'll see how it goes when I run tomrorow.
Thursday, 9 August 2007
Shopping for exercise, morning run
After a day spent in a meeting on Wednesday, it was good to get to the hotel and check in. I went up to the hotel gym, which had a few pieces of cardio equipment and a handful of weight machines. Nothing flash, but perfectly respectable. As I was meeting up with my work colleague for dinner in Chinatown at 6 pm, I decided that I'd save the gym for later in the evening and headed off to go for a walk after parking the car.
On the way to the car park I realised I was right beside the new DFO, so I decided to do my walking there instead of down by the river. It was interesting to see what shops were there, and I was able to combine two of my hobbies, shopping and exercise. I had about an hour there, before walking across the city to Chinatown. I got there too early, so I detoured through Myers and then spent some time browsing in the Adidas store. It's good to check out the styles and prices as it makes it easier to work out if the deals on eBay are any good.
I was wishing I had a camera when my dinner arrived. I ordered sliced pork with chilli. The dish was made of beans, bamboo shoots, pork and chilli. It looked like a Christmas decoration with the green beans and the red chillis all over the plate. It was slathered in chilli seeds. I love hot food but I was awfully worried that I had made a huge mistake ordering this meal. I decided to give it a go, and I fished out a piece of something I didn't recognise. It was pork fat. You guessed it. As well as containing more chilli than I'd ever seen on a single plate before, the sliced pork was mainly fat not meat.
While it was an absolute diet disaster it was incredibly tasty. I was glad we were sharing our dishes, as the other dish, duck and bean shoots, was quite bland and balanced the burn out nicely. I was a little worried that I'd be ill later that evening from all the fat, but my cast iron stomach kicked in and I didn't suffer any unpleasant after effects.
After dinner, my workmate wanted to go to the Casino, so I walked there with them and then headed back to the hotel. I didn't head up to the gym when I got back, as I figured the shopping and walking counted as a relaxed workout. I also wasn't sure what the effect of exercising on top of that meal would be, so I decided discretion was the better part of valour.
This morning I managed to make it out of bed to go running. Hearing that it was 13 degrees outside at 6:30 am certainly helped. I headed out toward the docklands. I expected to see a few people out and about running along the waterfront, but I only passed one other runner. There were quite a few people going to work though, particularly when I ran past the railway station.
It was a great run. I really enjoyed myself, especially down at New Quay. I just relaxed into it and let my feet carry me along as I enjoyed the scenery. The lights on the Bolte Bridge looked great as I ran towards them. When I got to Telstra Dome I ran up the stairs, slowly, but I was running. I felt a bit selfconscious in my running gear when I got near the station. It's not exactly flattering and I felt 'fat'. I gave myself a stern talking to, telling myself that the people I was running past really didn't care what I looked like, and I really didn't care what they thought. Unfortunately, I forgot to tell myself what great legs I have. My butt is showing the benefit of all those squats and lunges too. I'm sure remembering that would have helped to cancel out the 'Oh my God, I hope nobody's actually looking at me' feelings I was experiencing as I negotiated my way through the crush of people who'd just poured across Spencer Street to Collins Street.
I'm so glad I went running. We were stuck in another meeting all day today, and two days of sitting has me feeling stiff and sore. We also had a bumpy flight back, which had me thinking of Em! Fortunately it doesn't happen all that often.
Tomorrow morning I'm planning to head to the gym to do my weights program and I hope to get there after work to do Body Balance. I aim to do a long run over the weekend too, probably a few laps of the creek. It's a while since I've run that, so it will be a good measure of my progress.
Oh, I'm sure I'm going to sleep well tonight! It will be so good to be in my own bed.
On the way to the car park I realised I was right beside the new DFO, so I decided to do my walking there instead of down by the river. It was interesting to see what shops were there, and I was able to combine two of my hobbies, shopping and exercise. I had about an hour there, before walking across the city to Chinatown. I got there too early, so I detoured through Myers and then spent some time browsing in the Adidas store. It's good to check out the styles and prices as it makes it easier to work out if the deals on eBay are any good.
I was wishing I had a camera when my dinner arrived. I ordered sliced pork with chilli. The dish was made of beans, bamboo shoots, pork and chilli. It looked like a Christmas decoration with the green beans and the red chillis all over the plate. It was slathered in chilli seeds. I love hot food but I was awfully worried that I had made a huge mistake ordering this meal. I decided to give it a go, and I fished out a piece of something I didn't recognise. It was pork fat. You guessed it. As well as containing more chilli than I'd ever seen on a single plate before, the sliced pork was mainly fat not meat.
While it was an absolute diet disaster it was incredibly tasty. I was glad we were sharing our dishes, as the other dish, duck and bean shoots, was quite bland and balanced the burn out nicely. I was a little worried that I'd be ill later that evening from all the fat, but my cast iron stomach kicked in and I didn't suffer any unpleasant after effects.
After dinner, my workmate wanted to go to the Casino, so I walked there with them and then headed back to the hotel. I didn't head up to the gym when I got back, as I figured the shopping and walking counted as a relaxed workout. I also wasn't sure what the effect of exercising on top of that meal would be, so I decided discretion was the better part of valour.
This morning I managed to make it out of bed to go running. Hearing that it was 13 degrees outside at 6:30 am certainly helped. I headed out toward the docklands. I expected to see a few people out and about running along the waterfront, but I only passed one other runner. There were quite a few people going to work though, particularly when I ran past the railway station.
It was a great run. I really enjoyed myself, especially down at New Quay. I just relaxed into it and let my feet carry me along as I enjoyed the scenery. The lights on the Bolte Bridge looked great as I ran towards them. When I got to Telstra Dome I ran up the stairs, slowly, but I was running. I felt a bit selfconscious in my running gear when I got near the station. It's not exactly flattering and I felt 'fat'. I gave myself a stern talking to, telling myself that the people I was running past really didn't care what I looked like, and I really didn't care what they thought. Unfortunately, I forgot to tell myself what great legs I have. My butt is showing the benefit of all those squats and lunges too. I'm sure remembering that would have helped to cancel out the 'Oh my God, I hope nobody's actually looking at me' feelings I was experiencing as I negotiated my way through the crush of people who'd just poured across Spencer Street to Collins Street.
I'm so glad I went running. We were stuck in another meeting all day today, and two days of sitting has me feeling stiff and sore. We also had a bumpy flight back, which had me thinking of Em! Fortunately it doesn't happen all that often.
Tomorrow morning I'm planning to head to the gym to do my weights program and I hope to get there after work to do Body Balance. I aim to do a long run over the weekend too, probably a few laps of the creek. It's a while since I've run that, so it will be a good measure of my progress.
Oh, I'm sure I'm going to sleep well tonight! It will be so good to be in my own bed.
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
Weights training
On Friday morning I discovered I had a sore neck. It's fine now, thank goodness, but I took it easy for a few days to give it a chance to heal. It felt as though I'd strained it but I don't know exactly how or when it would have happened.
As ever, when you take a few days off it's hard to get started again. Over the weekend I did some gentle walking, but I really didn't get back into serious exercise until this evening.
I headed off for Yoga, which seemed just the right pace for me. Unfortunately the class was cancelled. Instead of turning around to go home, tempting as that seemed, I decided to stay and do my weights program. It was busier than usual in the gym. I guess some of the other yoga people also stayed around to work out.
Even though I wasn't all that keen on doing anything strenuous I really enjoyed myself this evening. I'm at that stage of the program where I have the exercises under control and I'm ready to start increasing the weights. It's a good feeling, knowing that you can do the sets properly.
The weekend was a lot of fun. My friend, Erika, came to stay. As predicted, she was very kind, putting up with the Kathy's Running Highlights tour of Canberra. Mind you, it was easy to organise. All I had to do was think up legitimate reasons to go past the various locations. For example, we went up to the Red Hill Lookout to see Canberra. The fact that we had to drive along the road I ran up the other day provided me with the opportunity to enthrall Erika with tales of my running exploits.
I've had to cancel my personal training this week, as I'm travelling to Melbourne for work on Wednesday and Thursday. We're staying in the CBD. I just checked the hotel details online, and it looks like it has a gymnasium. We're also near Fernwood, so I'm going to check out the timetable. It looks like I'll have to call them as their website isn't working. Staying in a hotel in my own city is going to feel strange, but I figure I may as well enjoy it.
As ever, when you take a few days off it's hard to get started again. Over the weekend I did some gentle walking, but I really didn't get back into serious exercise until this evening.
I headed off for Yoga, which seemed just the right pace for me. Unfortunately the class was cancelled. Instead of turning around to go home, tempting as that seemed, I decided to stay and do my weights program. It was busier than usual in the gym. I guess some of the other yoga people also stayed around to work out.
Even though I wasn't all that keen on doing anything strenuous I really enjoyed myself this evening. I'm at that stage of the program where I have the exercises under control and I'm ready to start increasing the weights. It's a good feeling, knowing that you can do the sets properly.
The weekend was a lot of fun. My friend, Erika, came to stay. As predicted, she was very kind, putting up with the Kathy's Running Highlights tour of Canberra. Mind you, it was easy to organise. All I had to do was think up legitimate reasons to go past the various locations. For example, we went up to the Red Hill Lookout to see Canberra. The fact that we had to drive along the road I ran up the other day provided me with the opportunity to enthrall Erika with tales of my running exploits.
I've had to cancel my personal training this week, as I'm travelling to Melbourne for work on Wednesday and Thursday. We're staying in the CBD. I just checked the hotel details online, and it looks like it has a gymnasium. We're also near Fernwood, so I'm going to check out the timetable. It looks like I'll have to call them as their website isn't working. Staying in a hotel in my own city is going to feel strange, but I figure I may as well enjoy it.
Thursday, 2 August 2007
Personal Training and Body Attack
This morning I had my personal training session. It was much warmer out and about this morning. It was 6 degrees when I left home and it only got down to 5. I wore a whole layer less of clothes so I didn't feel quite so much like the Michelin man on my way down the street. As the weather improves I can see that I'll become less obsessed with the recorded min or the "feels like" temperature. I have the Canberra weather page from The Age newspaper bookmarked in my favourites and I check it each night so that I know what to expect in the morning.
Mind you, I love my pt sessions, so it's never hard to get myself out of bed for them. I'm treating all my personal training sessions as doubly precious at the moment, as Leanne is leaving the gym at the end of August. That's not far away. I'm going to really miss working with her. It's been a terrific experience.
Now I have to think about establishing a relationship with a new trainer. While I know it will work out fine I can't help feeling a little nervous about it. There's the whole "Will they think I'm hopeless and wish they were working with someone else?" fear to deal with, as well as the usual "Will I like them? Will they like me? Will we work well together?" questions. I'd seen Leanne at work in the gym before she became my trainer, and I had all the same worries then. The reality has been so wonderful that now I have a new worry to add to the list. "What if my new trainer isn't half as good as Leanne?"
One of the things that I love about my pt sessions is that I end up laughing. I have a lot of fun with Leanne. This morning she had me doing a series of fitball exercises. It's amazing how much harder it is to do them when you're trying to balance. I would have been giggling if I hadn't been working so hard. Half way through the session Leanne asked me to guess what she'd been reading the night before - yes, a fitball exercise book. I'm thinking of getting her a book on siestas before my next session.
Over the past twelve months Leanne has been having various health problems. As she's very fit and works hard I think it's taken them a while to figure out what's wrong with her. Today she told me that she's been diagnosed with Crohn's disease. As she said, it's a better diagnosis than Bowel Cancer, which is what they were worried about when they did the tests. From what I've read, people can lead a normal life with medication, and are in good health when they aren't having a flare up. I don't know how much of a comfort that would be, as the symptoms don't sound like much fun. I hope she manages it well.
Aside: I find the Better Health Channel a great source of information for things like this. Our taxpayer dollars at work on something useful.
This evening I went back to Body Attack. I'd taken my gym gear to work, on the off-chance that I'd feel up to it, but I wasn't actually committed to doing it until I got to the gym. I was smarter this time. I had a bra with cross-over straps with me. As I was getting changed I remembered JoJo mentioning that she wore two bras, so I put my other sports bra back on with the straps in the regular position. I was so well strapped in, that the bouncing wasn't half the problem today. There were a lot of star jumps and I was glad I'd gone to the extra trouble.
I found it much easier today, as we did the same program that we did on Monday. I was able to put more effort into the various moves, and burned more calories as a result. My abs were sore. I've given them a good workout lately.
I've a busy weekend coming up. A very dear friend of mine is coming to vist me from Tasmania. We'll be doing a lot of sightseeing. I'm hoping she doesn't mind being taken around to all the highlights of my running career. I was thinking that it would be great to show her the Mother's Day Classic route, Red Hill, Lennox Gardens and so on. As she's a true friend, I'm sure she'll pretend to enjoy herself.
Mind you, I love my pt sessions, so it's never hard to get myself out of bed for them. I'm treating all my personal training sessions as doubly precious at the moment, as Leanne is leaving the gym at the end of August. That's not far away. I'm going to really miss working with her. It's been a terrific experience.
Now I have to think about establishing a relationship with a new trainer. While I know it will work out fine I can't help feeling a little nervous about it. There's the whole "Will they think I'm hopeless and wish they were working with someone else?" fear to deal with, as well as the usual "Will I like them? Will they like me? Will we work well together?" questions. I'd seen Leanne at work in the gym before she became my trainer, and I had all the same worries then. The reality has been so wonderful that now I have a new worry to add to the list. "What if my new trainer isn't half as good as Leanne?"
One of the things that I love about my pt sessions is that I end up laughing. I have a lot of fun with Leanne. This morning she had me doing a series of fitball exercises. It's amazing how much harder it is to do them when you're trying to balance. I would have been giggling if I hadn't been working so hard. Half way through the session Leanne asked me to guess what she'd been reading the night before - yes, a fitball exercise book. I'm thinking of getting her a book on siestas before my next session.
Over the past twelve months Leanne has been having various health problems. As she's very fit and works hard I think it's taken them a while to figure out what's wrong with her. Today she told me that she's been diagnosed with Crohn's disease. As she said, it's a better diagnosis than Bowel Cancer, which is what they were worried about when they did the tests. From what I've read, people can lead a normal life with medication, and are in good health when they aren't having a flare up. I don't know how much of a comfort that would be, as the symptoms don't sound like much fun. I hope she manages it well.
Aside: I find the Better Health Channel a great source of information for things like this. Our taxpayer dollars at work on something useful.
This evening I went back to Body Attack. I'd taken my gym gear to work, on the off-chance that I'd feel up to it, but I wasn't actually committed to doing it until I got to the gym. I was smarter this time. I had a bra with cross-over straps with me. As I was getting changed I remembered JoJo mentioning that she wore two bras, so I put my other sports bra back on with the straps in the regular position. I was so well strapped in, that the bouncing wasn't half the problem today. There were a lot of star jumps and I was glad I'd gone to the extra trouble.
I found it much easier today, as we did the same program that we did on Monday. I was able to put more effort into the various moves, and burned more calories as a result. My abs were sore. I've given them a good workout lately.
I've a busy weekend coming up. A very dear friend of mine is coming to vist me from Tasmania. We'll be doing a lot of sightseeing. I'm hoping she doesn't mind being taken around to all the highlights of my running career. I was thinking that it would be great to show her the Mother's Day Classic route, Red Hill, Lennox Gardens and so on. As she's a true friend, I'm sure she'll pretend to enjoy herself.
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