Monday, September 18, 2006

Torrid bike fantasies...

P and I spent Friday and Saturday visiting his family in Cambridge, a smallish town a bit more than half way up the island. It's a sporty town- the equestrian centre of the country (P's parents own a stud, and he's the only non-horsey one in the family), and home to a fair few NZ Olympians/World champs (rowing, cycling…) One of the streets has plaques (a la walk of fame) for each champion. Quite cool! There are also mosaics of the most successful racehorses on the footpath. I fell in love with the area, and unsurprisingly, spent the whole time wishing I had my bike. It's mostly rolling country roads- the uphills looked hardish but mostly short, and the downhills looked so fun! I'm hoping that we'll drive up there after Xmas so I'll be able to bring the (still unnamed) bike with me. I am so terrible with my exercise fantasies! Every place I visit I spend half the time planning imaginary routes to bike or run. If only I spent some of that time actually working out!

We spent Friday pretty much just hanging out- shopping in Hamilton (nearby city), checking out Lake Karapiro (the world rowing champs will be held there in 2010 or something), eating gelato… On Saturday, we decided to tackle the walk we'd looked at the day before (I say tackle.. I mean amble.. It was never going to be a big deal!) The weather wasn't ideal, but the walk was a lot of fun. A group is working on predator-proofing a big area of bush at the top of a hill (our main natives are birds and they are threatened by lots of introduced pests) and although we didn't see that many birds there (there were more at P's parents') the bush was absolutely alive (oh cripes, Julie Andrews moment...) We did a bit of running over the 90 minutes or so we were out- the fabulous undulations just aren't that common in Wellington and I love running down and up the other side. We also ran around the training track at P's parents', which wasn't too bad, if a bit sandy.

We got back early on Sunday and had a nice day mucking around with my sisters. Had a picnic, played games in the playground then went to the tennis courts (P is teaching me to play).

Sunday swimming was great (though I am feeling it today!) Two of my "swimmer" friends came along. I'm basing my workout around 300s at the moment (sometimes 3 x 100, sometimes 300, sometimes 6 x 50) and I got a good, varied workout in with some speed, some drills, some pulling and kicking. My swimmer friend taught me how to tumble turn so I practiced that on a few laps. I can tumble and turn now, and I love the seamless feeling between laps, but unfortunately, I can't kick off very well, so there is much work to be done!

On a random note, I was thinking about the number of people in the tri/running world who are worried about weight at the moment (it definitely seems more prevalent recently anyway). It's sad that this is the way we are. Our BMIs are healthy (and also likely to be an unreliable indicator of fat because of the muscle we carry). We are fit, fast, strong (maybe not as much as we would like to be, but compared to the average, even moderately active person…) We can finish sprints and 10ks, oly tris and half marathons, marathons, century rides, double centuries, half ironmen (even ironmen). We exercise daily (or nearly), doing strength, endurance, speedwork. We can run and bike up hills others struggle to walk up and we've often done a week's worth of workouts before breakfast! We eat well- our diets may not be perfect, but we're not living on fast food and cola like most of the Western world (and like many of us once did). Our quads, calves and shoulders are toned and our stomachs, while maybe not flat (I know mine isn't!) are defined. Yet we're unhappy. We want be leaner and stronger- so we can be faster, but we all know we want to look better in jeans too. It's sad. Now, don't get me wrong. I have to say that I think *we* are healthier in this respect than many of our peers- and, more importantly, that we are healthier than *we* used to be. I know I am. I'm just sad that it's still the case. My little sister's a recovering anorexic, and I want to be a good role model to her, but how can I, when I'm a size 6 (I think- not so hot on US sizes) and I'm scared to run in a bra top, or lounge in a bikini (though I'm getting better). I can't solve this, though I wish I could- at least for myself. [update- just came across a great post on Rachel's blog which says this oh so well.]

I was bad today and counted. I wanted to see what my new bircher breakie looked like and I got carried away. Having said that, I am pleased that I did it just this once. I feel like I am making the right decisions. Today felt like a good day, and the numbers support this: (as of 5pm)

Total: 1045 Fat: 31 275 28% Carbs: 132 444 45% Protein: 70 278 28%

Dinner should take me up to 1700 or so cals (schnitzel, roast veges, peas and beans). I rode for 35-40 mins this am, and am just planning pilates (if I get time- I'm so behind on housework) this evening, so I'm happy with that.

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