..well, I did win Lotto!!! I won $13.05 which was just a smidgen less than the $3,424.99 or whatever it was to place the damn thing in the first place. Back to the drawing board re: The Commute.
So, where were we before I had dreams of spending Australias chilly winters in Grand Cayman? Ah yes, training. This week has been really good and really different, which is always good to keep the interest factor there. Saturday morning up early to run with Simon, who brought his new friend along. So whilst we ran at an ok pace, we did stop a few times for walk breaks for her, so when we finished, I felt really good and fresh and went for another lap on my own. The achilles pretty much behaved, which made my little heart SOAR!!! So around 14km which is my longest run for quite some time.
Sunday, Monica and I decided to ride to Windsor and back from her place. Never go anywhere with Monica unless you have done your own homework. She will tell you it is only 20km and you end up running 35, panting, out of breath, underprepared and mentally scarred for life. I know, I ended up with heatstroke one day but that is another story. Anyway Westmead to Windsor was SUPPOSED to be 50km but ended up being 62km. 12km on the bike is not that far except when you are a novice, have never been in the saddle for that long, your forgot your knicks and are an old, unfit, fart. Like me. However, it was bloody brilliant. Loved it. Except maybe one hill. Where I cursed a lot. We got home smiling, rosy cheeked, and quite proud of ourselves for surviving. Pair of fecking eejits.
Anyway this girl from the PT class is training for a half ironman and put the call out for people to join her doing hill repeats on the bike, and running. So I said I'd go along. Well for all these years I thought I had been "training" until I go along with her. The "run easy 30 mins" was fine, but on the hill repeats (and it was a bloody big steep hill) she just galloped up doing this high knee thing. I shuffled up the hill with my marvellous hunched over form, trying everything possible to propel myself up that hill but feeling like I was going backwards meanwhile someone was holding a oxy welding torch to my lungs. I might add that I feel I deserve additional points for going out on the years coldest night, when it snowed further up the mountain. Just saying like. So, anyway, I survived that, and plunged my protesting achilles into my new purchased bright red bucket of icy water - to save on water bills from filling the bath after every run.
Anyway tonight was hill repeats on a bike. Fark. After Sunday I was love love loving the bike. I still do. I went out today and purchased a helmet that (I think) looks slightly less retarded than my old one. Although I do not think there is a helmet in existence that is not absolutely ridiculous. But I do treasure my head, and it's contents and this one FITS well, for the first time in living history. And do you know what? I have an alarmingly big head!!! My helmet is size XL. Ner ner ner ner ner. I have something big (beside my rather impressive chest, even if I do say so myself). But me, five foot 2 inches of me has an EXTRA LARGE head. (Quietly wonders to self if it was childrens helmet???) - maybe I have an extra small head. I dunno. Anyway the point is, it is white (to match bike) feels snug and comfy (and not like it would fly off in case of me going over handlebars) and looks slightly less dicky than the previous one which came from the sports section of Target. Enough said.
So - hill repeats on a bike. Well I was reading about TABATA training, basically you flog yourself for a while, then you have a wee rest, and then you flog yourself again. Well this is what we did tonight. Except the "have a wee rest" bit involved cycling down a very steep hill, keeping the brakes on, yet HAVING to move the legs because they were so sore from the climb up. At one stage I was pedalling backwards just to get them moving and stop ACHING. I think I said to Sarah afterward that it was the hardest, yet shortest (40 mins) workout I had done in a long time. Strangely satisfying afterwards but damn hard work at the time. Panting like a person in labour. Cursing mentally because I didnt have the energy to actually say it out loud. But being absolutely determined to keep pedalling and pushing and reminding myself it is just up and down, up and down. Bloody hell. How do people do this competitively? Seriously, my thighs feel like they have grown to about three times the size and are bulging like a Romanian Weightlifters. Of course, they are not, but man, they are twitching right now. And foolishly I have tomorrow off and have organised biking followed by "Teaching Very Fit Friend to Tread Water". How the hell I will do that, I have no idea. So Parramatta Pool after Parramatta Park - heck with all this new found leg strength I might have a run in the morning - a mini triathlon day!!!
Here's to thighs!!!
So, where were we before I had dreams of spending Australias chilly winters in Grand Cayman? Ah yes, training. This week has been really good and really different, which is always good to keep the interest factor there. Saturday morning up early to run with Simon, who brought his new friend along. So whilst we ran at an ok pace, we did stop a few times for walk breaks for her, so when we finished, I felt really good and fresh and went for another lap on my own. The achilles pretty much behaved, which made my little heart SOAR!!! So around 14km which is my longest run for quite some time.
Sunday, Monica and I decided to ride to Windsor and back from her place. Never go anywhere with Monica unless you have done your own homework. She will tell you it is only 20km and you end up running 35, panting, out of breath, underprepared and mentally scarred for life. I know, I ended up with heatstroke one day but that is another story. Anyway Westmead to Windsor was SUPPOSED to be 50km but ended up being 62km. 12km on the bike is not that far except when you are a novice, have never been in the saddle for that long, your forgot your knicks and are an old, unfit, fart. Like me. However, it was bloody brilliant. Loved it. Except maybe one hill. Where I cursed a lot. We got home smiling, rosy cheeked, and quite proud of ourselves for surviving. Pair of fecking eejits.
Anyway this girl from the PT class is training for a half ironman and put the call out for people to join her doing hill repeats on the bike, and running. So I said I'd go along. Well for all these years I thought I had been "training" until I go along with her. The "run easy 30 mins" was fine, but on the hill repeats (and it was a bloody big steep hill) she just galloped up doing this high knee thing. I shuffled up the hill with my marvellous hunched over form, trying everything possible to propel myself up that hill but feeling like I was going backwards meanwhile someone was holding a oxy welding torch to my lungs. I might add that I feel I deserve additional points for going out on the years coldest night, when it snowed further up the mountain. Just saying like. So, anyway, I survived that, and plunged my protesting achilles into my new purchased bright red bucket of icy water - to save on water bills from filling the bath after every run.
Anyway tonight was hill repeats on a bike. Fark. After Sunday I was love love loving the bike. I still do. I went out today and purchased a helmet that (I think) looks slightly less retarded than my old one. Although I do not think there is a helmet in existence that is not absolutely ridiculous. But I do treasure my head, and it's contents and this one FITS well, for the first time in living history. And do you know what? I have an alarmingly big head!!! My helmet is size XL. Ner ner ner ner ner. I have something big (beside my rather impressive chest, even if I do say so myself). But me, five foot 2 inches of me has an EXTRA LARGE head. (Quietly wonders to self if it was childrens helmet???) - maybe I have an extra small head. I dunno. Anyway the point is, it is white (to match bike) feels snug and comfy (and not like it would fly off in case of me going over handlebars) and looks slightly less dicky than the previous one which came from the sports section of Target. Enough said.
So - hill repeats on a bike. Well I was reading about TABATA training, basically you flog yourself for a while, then you have a wee rest, and then you flog yourself again. Well this is what we did tonight. Except the "have a wee rest" bit involved cycling down a very steep hill, keeping the brakes on, yet HAVING to move the legs because they were so sore from the climb up. At one stage I was pedalling backwards just to get them moving and stop ACHING. I think I said to Sarah afterward that it was the hardest, yet shortest (40 mins) workout I had done in a long time. Strangely satisfying afterwards but damn hard work at the time. Panting like a person in labour. Cursing mentally because I didnt have the energy to actually say it out loud. But being absolutely determined to keep pedalling and pushing and reminding myself it is just up and down, up and down. Bloody hell. How do people do this competitively? Seriously, my thighs feel like they have grown to about three times the size and are bulging like a Romanian Weightlifters. Of course, they are not, but man, they are twitching right now. And foolishly I have tomorrow off and have organised biking followed by "Teaching Very Fit Friend to Tread Water". How the hell I will do that, I have no idea. So Parramatta Pool after Parramatta Park - heck with all this new found leg strength I might have a run in the morning - a mini triathlon day!!!
Here's to thighs!!!
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