Week in review..

FIRST.. a huge congratulations to my buddy and training partner A who finished the Auckland marathon in 3:50. It's her first, has a hilly first half and the weather in Auckland today includes the huge gusts that have been all too common across the country.

I'm so proud and jealous. I wish I'd been there with her as we planned! I definitely know I'll be doing a full one day. It may not be able to be Rotorua, as I want to do my first Oly about a month before, and I may not do it til 2008, but I will do it!

On to me- this week in review:

Wednesday: So much for "no excuses." I slept in soo late! But then I did something right. I knew I couldn't work out at lunch time (too busy) and that I had to get to Dad's after work. Then it hit me! I worked out a route to Dad's (very hilly) and arranged to meet a friend to run part of the way with me. Then I begged my wonderful boy to carry my stuff to the car for me. Poor guy was completely laden! I did about 3 hilly miles before meeting C (some fabulous downhills as I was running late) and we then jogged (yup, definitely jogging..) about 4.5 miles to her place. Dad's is another 2.5(ish) miles from there, so I picked up the pace as much as I could. I was shattered by the end- so many hills and the last fifteen minutes or so was a long uphill slog. Anyway, felt great!

Thursday: Did an easy weights workout and some indoor cycling. Was taking it easy on the legs after the bigger than planned run on Weds. I had to work late, but knocked off at 8 so I could spend some time with P before he left. We got Nando's (yummy healthy chicken) and then went to Wendy's (not the burger place) for ice cream. I ordered green salad with my pita (though I didn't hold the mayo..) and got a small chocollo (89 cals) instead of a big yummy sundae. I feel like I am gradually starting to find my right mindset again (though the weekend puts paid to that...)

Fri- P left early on Friday morning, and when the alarm went off at 5:25, I rolled straight back over and went to sleep. Oops! I don't know why I have been so tired this week! I worked late (again), and then caught the train out to the Hutt valley where I was house (and cat) sitting over the weekend. The house is about a fifteen minute walk up the hill from the train station, so I hoped to be home by 10. Unfortunately, I completely missed their driveway and ended up adding an extra 40 minute loop. I was actually pretty exhausted by the time I got in! I played with the cats for a little while, read some of a trashy magazine, then marked a few exam papers before bed.

Saturday- alarm went off at 5:45 so I got up and got my swimming stuff on. I managed to do some more marking on the train, and while waiting for the bus and made it to my lesson a little over half an hour early, so did some easy laps to fill the time in. My lesson went well- my bilateral breathing is improving SO much, and I think my stroke is getting longer too! I am finding that breathing every stroke (I mean every) is a really helpful drill for me, even if it is incredibly dorky looking. I then came home (to my real home) to sort out the stuff I needed for the next day's du. I needed to get new screws for my cleats which of course no bike shops sell. So I had a cup of coffee, put some laundry on and looked up this hardware shop that would apparently have what I needed. I was thinking I'd finish marking one box of papers, then pick up the next bunch and head back to the Hutt. BUT the stupid hardware place closed at 1pm which wrecked that plan. So, put laundry out and stuck what I needed for the next day (clean sports bra etc!) in the drier, packed everything up and headed downtown where I got the screws, bought some hardware (!!), did some marking, popped into work and got some food for the evening. It doesn't sound like a busy day when I set it out, but it really was! I found it really hard to walk everywhere again, especially carrying probably 20lb worth of stuff! I've really been spoiled by P's car. I finally got back to the house at about 3:30, I think. I did some more marking, hung out with the cats, then went for a great little run before dinner. I wanted to explore the area as on my unplanned detour the night before I had seen heaps of trails coming off the road. I stopped and played in a playground for awhile, did some chin ups on the bars (I'm improving!!) and played on the swings. I love swings! I did a few pick-ups and fast hills and then raced up the driveway when I got back to the house (it's a real b*tch!). Was super excited to find Love Actually on TV, so kept it on in the background while I finished off this set of marking (I've done 120 of about 320). I made it to bed pretty early (10:30ish I think) and fell asleep not much later! It was a rough night, and I woke up quite a few times. Luckily one of those times I was able to wish A luck for the marathon! It did mean that I read some texts without digesting them including one from P telling me that he had won the auction on the bike he likes! It's the one that's better than mine but about the same colour, so we really will be twinnies! YAY! He got a great bargain too!

Sunday- I got up early to get ready for the du. My friend's mother came over at 7 to bring me home. I woke up feeling uncertain, and thought (not for the first time) about whether I should call to cancel my ride. A run around the Petone foreshore was sounding great! But I decided I should stick with it. Until I got home and in bucketed down. I was not excited about racing, when all I really wanted was a decent brick, but most of all, I was not excited about riding there and back! I am still nervy about the big downhills and I knew that riding back up in the rain after racing for 90 mins plus would not be fun. So I called Mum, got her to justify my behaviour and piked. It really made me aware of how reliant I am on P, both for motivation and for transport (again, it's time to drive). Also, it's reminding me how I need more tri friends! If I'd known people I knew would be at the race, I would have been more inclined to go. I really need to shift my attitude. But then again, this season is about fun! And I had LOTS of fun doing my own du. I ran into a woman from my club on the first run, so she kept the pace moving (although we were chatting). I then rode for an hour on the trainer (first time I've ever actually done an hour nonstop- usually get bored or have "core" stops), while watching the Lion King. I dashed out for the second run with just cycle shorts and a singlet. Rather cold, but enjoyed it.
I then caught up on some of my weekend chores, hung out with my sisters, and went into work where I found that SEVEN pages of a twelve page document I'd been drafting until 9:30 Friday night had disappeared!! We never got them back, so instead of doing what I intended to do on Sunday, I stayed until 11pm redoing it!

Monday- I decided to make this a week of evening workouts, as work will stay crazy- a couple of biggish cases at critical stages. If I can't get home til after 10 or 11, I'm not going to do what it takes to get ready for morning workouts away from home (breakfast, lunch, dinner, shower stuff, work clothes...generally half an hour to an hour of prep time all up), so it's better for me to take an hour out during the evening to do something. On Monday I went to the outdoor pool for a short swim. It was fantastic! I was only sharing the (33yd) lane with one other girl, and I just did one of their easy suggested workouts (mostly OK, apart from one armed freestyle.. how?) I went back to work with a real bounce back in my step. Had some delicious strawberries for dessert and got to look good when my boss came back in quite late to finish some things off. Left at 11, which meant I was only barely asleep when P got back from Melbourne.

Tues- finished work early and ran home with my friend, then back downtown where I met P. We had burgers and kumara chips by the beach (in the car as it was freezing)- a great welcome back date. Now I'm finishing this off and deciding what to do in the morning. I'm hankering for another run, but may cycle instead. We're picking up P's bike after work. Yay!

Speaking of the trainer, I'm thinking about getting a CTS dvd- not all of them are available here but should be able to find something online. Any suggestions?

Weight loss is going OK. My average weight has gone down over the past two weeks, and the downwards trend has been consistent. Lowest weight so far, 134.8! I'm getting used to counting cals- now the plan is to try to make those cals better ones!!

Anyway, better get to bed. I'm alive, and stressed but happy. I'm grateful to be able to fit even 30-40 minute workouts in!