Give me a T! Give me an H! E! N! A! What's that spell?! ATHENA!!!
Whew! Well, I've always had a HUGE amount of admiration for all you Athenas out there, but now that I'm in the club, even if I'm barely there, all I can say is WOW. It's a crap load harder to haul 150+lb around the hills than it was to haul 130!
Operation "Hand Back the Athena Card" is going OK. I can say that today. Yesterday wasn't such a great one. But I am counting calories, working out, creating decent but not OTT deficits and slooowly losing. It's hard in summer- there's always a bbq somewhere, and it doesn't take long for bbq food, even the healthy stuff, to add up.
Bootcamp started this week, and so far I likie. My insecurity got the better of me on Monday, testing day. I was the second longest prone-holder, but the girl who beat me was miles better, and the second overall female beep tester, but the girl who beat me was miles better (same girl). How is coming "second" in what's NOT A COMPETITION a bad thing?? I think the constant sight of my red-faced sweaty self in my too small gym gear in the humungous mirror was a bit too much for me.
Wednesday was better. No mirrors, and running a hilly circuit round the top of Mt Vic. I was happy to be clearly in the "fit group", and my endurance was paying off by the time we got to circuit 4. I pushed a little too hard on the way back to the carpark and learned my lesson when we were treated to some hella hill reps.
Am really looking forward to this weekend! I'm runnning with Scottish on Saturday morning, hitting the trails for 90ish minutes around Kaukau/Northern Burbs, then going to my baby sister's 21st out in Kaitoke. We're camping out, and then going to the Blueberry Farm/Mexican Cafe for MY birthday (26-argh). Neither blueberry pancakes nor mexican food are conducive to weight loss, so I'm going to make my way to the farm on foot, over the Kaitoke ridge track. I can't wait!!!
Oh- and one more thing- Happy Negative Oneth Anniversary to me!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Phew!
What a weekend!
Nothing like a 3-day weekend to reinvigorate a stufy-headed, sleepy brained, tired-bodied lawyer after her first week back (which was OK, but busier than I have planned and, coupled with a calorie "controlled" diet, wore me out a bit).
We spent a "day" out in the Wairarapa, with a short, flat ride in Featherston. My head was congested, and I just wanted some saddle time without upping the HR too much. The road was pretty poor, and the headwind was a touch frustrating, but with no ego to worry about, I was happy to get my hour in, and to pop into lovely Greytown for a hearty bowl of lentil soup. Yum!
Sunday was quiet, a real "weekend" day. We got up late, pottered around, made desserts (ambrosia and fruit salad) for a BBQ, then P went into town to go to a movie with a friend, and I set the trainer up in the sun to work on some skills. The ride on Saturday had showed me that I really will need trainer time as well as road time to get in shape for Rotorua. My cadence was shot! Plus, as I mentioned to Pip, riding down a steep hill to turn right onto a busy highway is not my ideal start to an outdoor ride...I suffered through half an hour on the bike, then put a top on and headed out for what I expected to be a short run-off. Uphill for 10 minutes, then down through the bush, back up a different bush path (a lot of walking/climbing here...), then took a wrong turn and had to go up about half the first hill again. I ended up spending about an hour out, but with the walking and climbing only probably covered about 8km. We went to the BBQ out in Tawa, which was lovely, but I just couldn't eat the way I used to. Has my tum shrunk already?!
Today (Wgtn anniversary day, wahoo!), I did the Haywards/Korokoro (or Puke Ariki) traverse, a 22km hike that takes in almost all of Belmont Park. I've loving being so close to these awesome trails, and can't wait to run some more of them! Due to an unplanned detour early on, we ended up doing the Waterfall track as well, which added about 45 minutes, and an equal number of stream crossings, to our journey. I'm pretty beat now, which is hardly surprising as we spent 7 hours in total walking today (including the walk back home from the Cornish Ave exit), a good bit of that was in the sun, and it included around 2500ft of ascent..
So, all in all, a good weekend. I wish I could say I'm raring to go back to work tomorrow, but I'm not quite switched on to this year yet. I am looking forward to paying my deposit for Bootcamp tomorrow though!
Nothing like a 3-day weekend to reinvigorate a stufy-headed, sleepy brained, tired-bodied lawyer after her first week back (which was OK, but busier than I have planned and, coupled with a calorie "controlled" diet, wore me out a bit).
We spent a "day" out in the Wairarapa, with a short, flat ride in Featherston. My head was congested, and I just wanted some saddle time without upping the HR too much. The road was pretty poor, and the headwind was a touch frustrating, but with no ego to worry about, I was happy to get my hour in, and to pop into lovely Greytown for a hearty bowl of lentil soup. Yum!
Sunday was quiet, a real "weekend" day. We got up late, pottered around, made desserts (ambrosia and fruit salad) for a BBQ, then P went into town to go to a movie with a friend, and I set the trainer up in the sun to work on some skills. The ride on Saturday had showed me that I really will need trainer time as well as road time to get in shape for Rotorua. My cadence was shot! Plus, as I mentioned to Pip, riding down a steep hill to turn right onto a busy highway is not my ideal start to an outdoor ride...I suffered through half an hour on the bike, then put a top on and headed out for what I expected to be a short run-off. Uphill for 10 minutes, then down through the bush, back up a different bush path (a lot of walking/climbing here...), then took a wrong turn and had to go up about half the first hill again. I ended up spending about an hour out, but with the walking and climbing only probably covered about 8km. We went to the BBQ out in Tawa, which was lovely, but I just couldn't eat the way I used to. Has my tum shrunk already?!
Today (Wgtn anniversary day, wahoo!), I did the Haywards/Korokoro (or Puke Ariki) traverse, a 22km hike that takes in almost all of Belmont Park. I've loving being so close to these awesome trails, and can't wait to run some more of them! Due to an unplanned detour early on, we ended up doing the Waterfall track as well, which added about 45 minutes, and an equal number of stream crossings, to our journey. I'm pretty beat now, which is hardly surprising as we spent 7 hours in total walking today (including the walk back home from the Cornish Ave exit), a good bit of that was in the sun, and it included around 2500ft of ascent..
So, all in all, a good weekend. I wish I could say I'm raring to go back to work tomorrow, but I'm not quite switched on to this year yet. I am looking forward to paying my deposit for Bootcamp tomorrow though!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Team Rotorua...
My online-shopping-nerd fiance has found a site where we can custom make tri-gear at reasonable rates. All we need is 5 people. Any takers?
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
To 2008 and beyond...
On one of my last posts, Mike asked about my race plans for 2008.
Originally my plans for 2008 involved focussing on tone, shape and size rather than endurance or even "fun" racing. The weight I've gained and the fitness I've lost has put me right off running a BQ, and, frankly, I've got another 9 years or so before my qualifying time goes up, so I don't need to do that now. But something about just going to the gym, pumping weights, run commuting and the odd spin wasn't quite doing it for me, especially when I hit the pool yesterday and thought about how well I might be able to crank through 2100 yards if I got to working on swimming again.
The exciting thing was, P is keen to expand his endurance horizons and to start swimming, so we've decided to train together (/alongside each other...) for our first Half Ironman! Tauranga is out, as it's likely to be my hen's weekend (which wouldn't, in itself disqualify it, except that my hen's weekend will be a joint one with my best friend who's wedding is two weeks before ours), but Rotorua 08 and Auckland 09 are both possibilities. We're both inclined to the prettier, but harder, Rotorua course, but it's also earlier, which is a bit frightening!
So, here's to hitting the weights room, moving semi-permanently onto my bike, cranking out the 100s, and, most importantly, training with my Husband to Be!!
Originally my plans for 2008 involved focussing on tone, shape and size rather than endurance or even "fun" racing. The weight I've gained and the fitness I've lost has put me right off running a BQ, and, frankly, I've got another 9 years or so before my qualifying time goes up, so I don't need to do that now. But something about just going to the gym, pumping weights, run commuting and the odd spin wasn't quite doing it for me, especially when I hit the pool yesterday and thought about how well I might be able to crank through 2100 yards if I got to working on swimming again.
The exciting thing was, P is keen to expand his endurance horizons and to start swimming, so we've decided to train together (/alongside each other...) for our first Half Ironman! Tauranga is out, as it's likely to be my hen's weekend (which wouldn't, in itself disqualify it, except that my hen's weekend will be a joint one with my best friend who's wedding is two weeks before ours), but Rotorua 08 and Auckland 09 are both possibilities. We're both inclined to the prettier, but harder, Rotorua course, but it's also earlier, which is a bit frightening!
So, here's to hitting the weights room, moving semi-permanently onto my bike, cranking out the 100s, and, most importantly, training with my Husband to Be!!
Monday, January 07, 2008
Cleansing swim
I went back to the pool today in a bit of a funk. After a holiday that, while wonderful, generally did not go as planned (from not being able to take our bikes, to spending only 3 days on the road, and waaay too much time in malls), we spent three days of glorious sunshine running errands and trying to finally finish moving, taking solace from the fact that we had seven more days of holiday to enjoy each other, our bikes and our new home turf.
Today was the first day of our "second" holiday and it dawned grey. P woke up with a scratchy throat and a bad mood. I woke up to a trapped bird, a messy house, ten kilos gained, and a big heap of grouchy self pity. A "new" Jodi Piccoult to read didn't help, and doing some housework (grudgingly) wasn't at all satisfying. I finally decided to hit the pool (nowhere near as easy from here as it was from our old place), and arranged to kill two birds with one stone by meeting a friend for coffee at the same time.
It took 100 yards to wash away the funk. It helped that that first 100 was a 1:37, which is probably one of my better efforts (I'm used to meters, so it's hard to say). Or that the water is so forgiving. Running on vacation involved heavy legs, chaffed thights and the disconcerting feeling of 20lb of extra belly fat jiggling. Cycling meant hauling my heavy ass up little rises in my granny chain ring, too tight shorts, and a jersey that rode up, exposing my back to the high-UV Kiwi sun. But in the pool it didn't matter if my suit was a little snugger than it was 12 months ago, or that I haven't swum regularly in months. I churned out 2100 yards without feeling waterlogged, bored, or sore.
Now, after failing to realise that my train was an express that didn't stop until three stops after my stop and having to cab it home from the station because it was raining and our car battery had gone flat, the funk has returned a little. But I am already looking forward to swimming, baking and a matinee movie tomorrow if the weather stays like this, and to a swim, a long ride and a big fruity frozen yoghurt if summer returns!!
Today was the first day of our "second" holiday and it dawned grey. P woke up with a scratchy throat and a bad mood. I woke up to a trapped bird, a messy house, ten kilos gained, and a big heap of grouchy self pity. A "new" Jodi Piccoult to read didn't help, and doing some housework (grudgingly) wasn't at all satisfying. I finally decided to hit the pool (nowhere near as easy from here as it was from our old place), and arranged to kill two birds with one stone by meeting a friend for coffee at the same time.
It took 100 yards to wash away the funk. It helped that that first 100 was a 1:37, which is probably one of my better efforts (I'm used to meters, so it's hard to say). Or that the water is so forgiving. Running on vacation involved heavy legs, chaffed thights and the disconcerting feeling of 20lb of extra belly fat jiggling. Cycling meant hauling my heavy ass up little rises in my granny chain ring, too tight shorts, and a jersey that rode up, exposing my back to the high-UV Kiwi sun. But in the pool it didn't matter if my suit was a little snugger than it was 12 months ago, or that I haven't swum regularly in months. I churned out 2100 yards without feeling waterlogged, bored, or sore.
Now, after failing to realise that my train was an express that didn't stop until three stops after my stop and having to cab it home from the station because it was raining and our car battery had gone flat, the funk has returned a little. But I am already looking forward to swimming, baking and a matinee movie tomorrow if the weather stays like this, and to a swim, a long ride and a big fruity frozen yoghurt if summer returns!!
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