Good running, sore legs

This week all happened the way it was meant to training wise, with the small hiccup of Anzac Day.  The training went something like this:

Sunday 8km run with Simon
Monday 6km morning run around the harbour (yes, Sydney Harbour!!! Was AWESOME!!)
Tuesday 6km morning run - again around the harbour, and again, was awesome.
Wednesday 8km walk.  Ok ok it was a pub crawl around Balmain.  But there was lots of walking.  And hills.  And beer.
Thursday.  Licking pub crawl wounds, feeling slightly sorry for self.  No training.
Friday.  Matthew the mad personal trainer weights session plus 20 mins intervals on the tready
Saturday.  20km in the National Park with Becky.

Plus every day 20 mins walking up Blues Point Road and 20 mins walking down.  Succumed to doing it in my gymshoes with my suit once only, decided I looked like a twat and surrendered to my bunions on the second day.  Or my potential bunions.  Or corns.  Or whatever they are called. 

So all in all pretty happy with how this week has panned out. 

I'm loving the PT sessions and have booked a second one for each week.  I'm embracing all the stairs and hills in my local area, although my legs are feeling very very sorry and sore today, as they are no longer used to this kind of palaver.  Stood in the icy water in the causeway after today which was fine until I went into the butchers in Glenbrook leaving a trail of dripping water on his clean floor. 

Tomorrow is an evening run with Simon then up bright and early to the city on Monday with a plan to drive in running gear, dump car, do run, then have shower etc and walk up big hill to work.  Should all work out ok if I leave at 5am.  Getting into the swing of a routine now, which feels good.  Also getting through some of the study, which also feels good.  On track!!

Farrrrrrrrkkkk

So.  I moved into my little city apartment.  God it was good going home on the first night, I was able to finish a late meeting, still go back to the office and check my emails, get my eyebrows waxed, go to the supermarket, go to Aldi (more about that later) and the newsagents and still get home before 7pm with the added benefit of a 20 minute cardio session (and a fecking resistance session after I hawked my dirty gym clothes, my shopping, my bottle of Grey Goose Vodka, my laptop and my handbag, full of newly purchased shampoo) down the hill. 

Then I got all the stuff organised in my new little home and moved things and then got tired of doing stuff and sat down and read the Who Horrorscope. Which says something nostalgic will happen this week and it will be nice.  So that's good then.

Training.  Well.  Am I feeling smug or what?  Three runs this week - all with Simon - 2 x 8km and 1 x 5km.  One spin class.  One PT session with the humble yet bloody awesome Matthew and lots of walking up and down Blues Point Road in high heels.  Which doesn't really count.  So my legs have that "sore but happy" feeling and I am not sure there is any better feeling when you start to feel your fitness coming back and you are plotting how to get your next run in.  And you know it is serious when you dust off the garmin that has sat idle for about six months, and find the charger under a pile of fake hairpieces you last wore in 1972 and you ACTUALLY CHARGE THE DAMN THING.  That's how you know you are starting to take it seriously again.  Next thing I will be entering stupid races.....  Anyway the plan was to stay home tonight and drive to the city in the morning, but that means no run in the morning, and I am keen to discover the foreshore in the early morning, so I will slip off tonight with my cushions and my lamps and my $12.99 coffee percolator ($12.99!!  can you believe that??) and my faux fur throw....you get the idea.  I have been picking up cute little inexpensive things to make it look warm and appealing and MINE. 

But now, I have to get my mosh on.  Curts band are playing a gig in the salubrious suburb of Blacktown later, so I have the black eyeliner on, an outfit that would be deemed appropriate for the moshpit, and EARPLUGS.

Oh and bought tickets for The Darkness!!!  As my good friend Pauly said "cock rock at its best..."

Put your arms around me....your dinner lady arms.....

Stuff

Starting to panic about changing my life so radically.  Get the keys Thursday.  Farrrk!  But really excited too.  In the sunshine the harbour is a fab place to be.  Today it poured and you couldn't even see the Bridge for the drizzle.  A cold, lonely flat on such a night maybe is not such a great prospect....

Anyway - I have decided to sort out my makeup and make two identical piles, one for home, one for the city.  Major Project.  I need a project manager, a Gantt Chart and a process map.  Next I plan to decide on which dresses to take.  Life can get so complicated.  And I've realised I cannot live without a blender or a percolator.  So there are more purchases to be had.  And do I carry all my perfume around in a basket in my car, because there is no knowing what smell I might want to be from one day to the next. 

So I googled "living in two houses" which were all along the lines of divorced dads and letting the kids have their favourite toys at one home.  It's kinda the same but not quite.  One website nattily suggested I take my entire spice rack and decant each jar into two jars.  Hello?  As if. 

Luckily John mentioned dresses and knickers, because I was so fixated on makeup, toiletries and makeup removal items I would have been likely to rock up on Thursday night with no clean undies and nothing to wear the next day.  Which would have been a terrible disaster, only ameliorated by an impromptu shopping session.  And I don't think they sell my particular brand of knickers in North Sydney. 

And I have been stressing about where I will get my Voodoo "Moondance" stockings in the big smoke.  I know EXACTLY where they reside in the Penrith Branch of Myer, but I've no idea about the city.  This is all going to be one big adventure. 

I checked out the veggie shop below our building today in more detail.  The problem is all the fancy, exciting things they sell, unlike Woolies Penrith Plaza that do your bog standard coffee, tea, nuts and bread.  This place has things I've never heard of, all kinds of exotic looking packages and boxes and thank god I will have to carry them all down the hill or else I"ll be spending a fortune and turn into a big fat cow.  And the idea is to use the extra 17 and a half hours exercising, sleeping or studying and not scoffing my face with international delicacies. 

On the fitness front I have run two nights in a row again with Simon, which has been great.  He is great company so we will have to keep making time to run together when I am here.  I like how we are running together now but soon he will be too fit again, and I will be too slow, so I guess it is good whilst it lasts.  I have a pump session planned tomorrow at North Sydney gym and then Friday with Matthew the personal trainer.  So a good week of exercise this week.  The only problem today has been I could have eaten a small dog and for the last six or eight weeks I have really managed my hunger and haven't craved food at all....except today.  I was just hungry all day and I suspect the 8km last night was to blame.  So tonights run we pulled it back a bit to about five km and then did some weights.  I need to find a distance that works but doesn't make me want to eat my own armpit.

It's never simple, is it?

Change!!!

Yesterday I finally got to use one of the personal training sessions I got when I joined the gym.  Matey has been ringing me for about six weeks now trying to pin me down to booking a session.  Every time he's rung I've either been drunk, asleep or in a meeting (or all three) so finally he pinned me down  Over the last two weeks I have been running with Simon again.  I love running with him because he keeps me honest and pushes me in a way that is very subtle - and of course we are busy chatting and giggling and so if it is a bit uncomfortable, I don't really notice that much because we are outside and in the fresh air and having a laugh.  The other good thing is that his fitness is shite too at the moment, so we are both in the "getting back into it" stage, rather than the "totally fit and could run for miles" stage.  Who am I kidding, I have never been at the I could run for miles stage...but you get the idea.  Anyway, running is fab, and the idea of a PT session was a bit ho hum - I wasn't all that enthusiastic, and just getting the time out from work can be stressful in itself.

So when I turned up to meet Matthew, my new trainer, I was in my stubborn little "we'll do this my way" mindset.  Hahahahaha.  So he tells me to hop on the treadmill and we can chat about "what I want to achieve" and so I let him have it.  No, we are not going to sit down and talk about my goals, no, I don't want you to try and sell me more sessions, no, you don't have to do an assessment to see how well I can do a clean and press and by the way matey, we are not here for a chat, I want to walk away feeling like I have worked out.  So lets get on with it.  Matthew had a little chuckle and asked if it would be ok in that case to just do some high intensity interval training.  I was over the moon at that suggestion and said, yes please.  So we did 20 minutes of alternating between sprints and walking on the treadmill.  So far so good.  He turned it up so fast I thought I was going to come flying off the back of it, but once I got into the rhythm it was really good.  Then he said we would do a weights circuit and so we did around ten exercises without a break, about seven times.  Which was all fine until I got the headspins and my eyes went funny and I went crosseyed and I thought I was going to pass out.  By this stage we were talking and laughing and were best friends, which is just as well because after my hoity toity start with Matthew it could have gone horribly wrong.  Anyway, I really didn't want to say anything because I asked for a tough session, but when my vision started to go funny and I really thought I was going to faint,  I had to ask him for permission to sit down and collect myself.  Which was rather embarrassing.  He was very nice about it and didn't bring up my earlier attitude but I did tell him "you win". ...  To which he laughed heartily.  Within about two minutes I was fine and we had a nice cool down on the tready and I have already signed up for next weeks session.  And yes, I really did feel like I'd done a good workout.  I have a new best friend.

The other really good news is I have now got myself a place in North Sydney to live during the week.  (And judging by the location, I suspect at the weekend as well....).  I've been grumbling about the commute for ages now....it can take up to four hours a day on trains, and to be honest, I get tired.  In the summer it really isn't that bad, but last winter was quite horrible, cold, windy train stations at very early hours, numb feet, smelly sardine eating commuters, you name it, it's happened.  It's fair to say that commuting in the winter sucks.   So - I asked my lovely employers for a pay rise - enough to cover a nice flat in the city.  And guess what?  They gave me it!  And so I have found a little apartment in McMahons Point (right on the harbour, with views of the Harbour Bridge and Luna Park from the windows) and I sign the lease next Friday!  I can't wait!!!  Walking up Blues Point Road from the harbour after I had viewed the property was what sold it.  It is right in the middle of a big busy city but it is so peaceful and quiet and the birds were singing and it just felt right.  So now I will have a ten minute walk to work and I can run in the mornings and go to the gym after work, and get about on ferries and catch taxis and go to supermarkets without trolleys and car parks and see what it is like to live in the middle of a big city as opposed to suburbia.  Can't wait!!!

Twice is not a habit but it's getting there....

Two morning runs in a row with Simon.  Two fantastic mornings.

Truly the best way to start the day, the best beauty treatment you can get and the best cure for anything is running along, nattering, enjoying the morning smells, sights and sounds and then going to work with that fabulous feeling of having done something for yourself before the madness starts.

I truly believe that vaseline and a run are the best (and cheapest) beauty treatments around, my face just seems to have everything in the right place after a run, my cheeks are red and my skin just looks more alive.  Must be all that huffing and puffing I do....

Anyway, apart from that Simon and I are both unfit and gasping for air up the hills and remembering when we were fitter and could zoom up those hills (well, he was remembering that, I was thinking to myself, I freaking hate hills).  We promised ourselves a stop and a stretch at the top of the hill, at the 4km mark, then we'd turn round and run home.  Bloody hell, that was a challenge, then at the top of the hill was a man who must have been in his eighties, walking stick in hand, back curved with age, posture stooping over.  But there he was out for his morning walk, laughing at the pair of us gasping for air whilst we pretended to stretch against a lamppost.  Which reminded me how lucky we are to have our (relative) youth and fitness and the ability to just get out there and do it. 

Acceptance

Do you encourage someone who wants to motivate you?

Do you dump someone who wants you to be perfect?

How much is enough?

Where is the line between your motivation and their own motivation?

Or do you just  hang out with people who accept you as you are and love you for it?

Contemplation

I've been doing lots of contemplation of late, the meaning of life, is there life after death, was the universe created or was there a big bang, and will anyone ever forgive me for vomiting up red wine on that white carpet at Vegan camp two years ago and being so drunk I went to bed and forgot about it?

Blaxland to Springwood to Winmalee and back via pushbike!

Another weekend sort of zoomed on past without as much as a bye your bye.  Or whatever the saying is.  Bloody hell, I will be seventy five before I know it.....life is just getting busier and time is just flying past.


Two nights out in a row normally mean absolutely no training for me, but this morning got up and did lots of garden work and then a fantastic bike ride.  It is funny how friends show you things.  I believe every single one of my friends is here to teach me something or show me something.  Some more than others.  Some very deep and important lessons, some lighter and more fun, but I believe that is why people come into your life.  And deep down, we are all here to learn and grow and help others learn and grow.  That's just how it is.  Or should be.

So Karon, god bless her, who is terrified of freeways, showed me the back way to Springwood last week when we drove up there to have lunch.  And as we are driving, I was thinking.....SUPERB BLOODY BIKE TRACK - with a few hills, I'll be in that.  I dunno about you, but riding round and round the same track is as boring as sin, but it is SAFE.  (Actually, when was sin boring?).  And going on the roads on my bike scares the living shite out of me.  But this was quite a good "beginners" ride, with enough need to signal, stop, etc to be good, but so little traffic to be a little bit safer.

Anyway, it is all uphill so the gradual climb was bloody excellent, and all those spin classes must have helped.  I am still chicken with the speeding downhill, but tried to keep my hands off the brake and just coast, at times I managed it, at times I nearly shit myself, but that is ok. 

So up to Springwood, and along Richmond Road to Winmalee is a terrific little ride - so when I am pushed for time and can't afford to get to the M7 or Homebush or The Lakes, there it is.  I had no car today on account of that eejit and my tyres incident so had to improvise. 


The achilles is still sore despite no running since last week - so I just thought I would let that one go.  My zen moment in the bush last week was great, but I fancied something different today.  Amazing what you see from a bike that you would never notice from a car, and I loved the journey today.  Perfect day.

Rocking Tuesdays

I know everyone else hates Mondays, (especially Bob Geldof) - but I love them.  I am not always keen to get out of bed to greet them, but once up, out there and embracing all that a Monday has to offer, it is really quite good.  First of all there is coffee. Ok, it is a bit of an addiction, but I just love my first coffee of the day and enjoying innocent pleasures is one of my favourite passtimes.  Enjoying naughty ones is another but that doesn't always fit with Monday mornings (although has been known to happen.....).  I have Spin class with Tony at 12, so I only really have to shuffle stuff around on my desk for three hours, talk to people and ask them about their weekend for a while until I get there.  The expenditure of all that energy seems to vitalise, no matter what I've been up to at the weekend, and then I get to have a nice shower and fix myself up and spend the afternoon planning and strategising with my favourite colleagues.  I do love them, they make me laugh, they show me exciting stuff and we have a giggle about stupid things, and I always come away feeling good.  Yes, I love Mondays and Bob Geldof was wrong. Maybe playing in a band made Mondays crap because they didn't have a gig?

Tuesdays, on the other hand, don't always have the same appeal.  Firstly, we have a boring meeting at 12 which means I cannot get to the gym.  But mainly because we have a boring meeting and we have been having the same meeting for a year and it makes it feel like Groundhog Day and it never changes and afterwards we all talk about it being a reality show and we are the cast and we just don't know it.  Think - The Truman Show.   Did I mention it affects my ability to get to the gym?  But today I challenged boring Tuesdays by wearing the most colourful red dress, red suede knee high stilletoe boots and a very big cheeky grin.  By the end of the day I was feeling cheeky and grinny and the sun came out and it is the last day where day is longer than night and it made me feel good.  And I wore my super mood enhancing body lotion and all was ok when I got a whiff of myself.   And the man in the hairdressers said my boots were the perfect antidote to boring Tuesdays and I think he was right.  People were especially nice to me today.  Could they tell I needed a lift?  Or was it just the boots?  Or am I imagining things and people are always nice? 

Anyway, that little secret place in my heart that has the joy and the sadness and the pain and the calmness and the peace was tickled today.  Always a good way to live.  A little bit of joy, a little bit of sadness and a lot of strength and more than anything, a lot of hope. 

Saosin - I wanna hear another fast song [instrumental]

Back

I am doing the best that I can right now, and I think I am doing a great job.  But I have lost something that was incredibly important to me, and I cannot share that with anyone at all. 

My attempts to meditate continue to frustrate me yet encourage me.  If that is possible.  It gets a little easier and yet I know I haven't nailed it yet.  I guess it is a bit like running.

So - running.  Three runs last week.  Then a break and a spin class and a pump class.  Lots of physical activity happening, lots of nice endorphins flowing.  Planning on going to the Circa run on Sunday with Steve, Janis, Ray and Co, and looking forward to seeing everyone again.  It is a bit like a long lost family, and a culture and community that I was once part of, but moved away from.  I guess now is the time to reclaim it. 

Met some old friends tonight, god it feels like I have been on Saturn for the last six months.  I have forgotten everyone I loved and cherished.

Life moves in the most mysterious ways, but sometimes we know.  We just know what is coming, and maybe it is not that great but we prepare ourselves and we adjust and we overcome and we look back and we think "it is ok".  Because it really is ok.

I've run three days in a row and then done a spin class today.  The running has been brilliant.  Friday I ran alone.  Saturday morning I met up with about ten other kindred spirits to test out the new Sydney Marathon Clinic course.  It is great and it was a fantabulous morning.  The sky was blue, the air was crisp and there was still a pale full moon in the sky.  The running was superb, the company excellent and nothing could have gotten me back into the running vibe better.  Loved it.  Loved it.  Did I say I loved it??

Sunday ran with Kelly.  It was a bit more subdued due to a late night dancing on the grass and drinking vodka and generally being childish but having fun with old friends.  Running in the midday sun after a big night isn't such a great idea. 

Today, a spin class with Tony - which was excellent.  Life is good.  Life is good. 

Eleven kinds of Awesomeness...

I ran! I ran! I ran!!!

Right, this is starting to sound like A Flock of Seagulls tribute blog.

But - I did!  I ran!!  And it was AWESOME!!!

I think it was a text message from my old running partner that made me think about it.  He got me thinking about our winter early morning runs and our summer hill repeats and the fun we used to have.  And how I missed it.

And I have been wearing sensible shoes to and from the station and stretching my calves every night and I was pottering about today and I realised - no achilles pain for quite a few days.  And I HAD been waking up with pain after absolutely no activity at all (except maybe heels) so things must be working.

I have been doing my calf lifts too.

So the run was only short - because the last two attempts to get back into it, I have gone from nothing to 10km which, in retrospect, is fucking daft.

So today I did about 4km, no garmin, and I walked the last 750m or so because it was uphill and the ankle started to niggle.  I can build on that.

I thought the Spin classes would have kept me fit.  But noooooo.....embarrassed to say I was all red faced, sweaty and uncomfortable.  But those videos of Cox's river that some eejit posted on Facebook this week made me YEARN - yes - YEARN for the trails and a chilly Saturday morning out on the trails cannot be beaten.  I cannot think of anything I would rather be at.

So the gradual build up to normal running again resumes.  I might even get my old running partner back to play which would be just fabularse.  And suddenly all my gorgeous running friends have come out of what appears to be woodwork, but maybe I have just not noticed they were always there.  It feels nice.

Radiohead

This is my life.

Important things come to light at 6am when I log onto my computer.  I hide them at the back of my brain.

I intend to release them later in the day.

I forget.

I get caught up in the day to day.

I come home and log on to my computer and realise I HAVE MISSED MY ONLY OPPORTUNITY TO GET RADIOHEAD TICKETS IN THE REST OF MY ADULT LIFE BECAUSE SURELY THOM YORKE WILL BE TOO FUCKING OLD TO TOUR AUSTRALIA AGAIN. 

Feck.

Double Feck.

Anyway.  There is no point me keeping a blog about running, because I haven't run since god knows when.  I am really over fighting with my achilles and my work schedule.  I am what I would call "burnt out" at this point.  Four hour daily commute has dampened my will to live pretty much.

Cycle - NOT Spin....

And don't get the two mixed up peoples...

Matt from work said he was greatly enjoying the Cycle Class at his local gym in St Leonards, and asked me to come up and do a workout with him.  Well, people, do NOT get Spin and Cycle mixed up,  because Spin has nice pumped up music, pretend hills and a lot of getting your arse off out of the seat the pretending you are working hard, and Cycle on the other hand is just pure 45 minutes of fucking torture.  30 seconds of sprints sounds ok.  Except when you join lots of thirty seconds of sprints together.  And you have a butch looking muscly bird GLARING at you if your legs aren't going fast enough and you are not crying and hanging on to the handlebars and calling for your mother. 

False advertising people.  30 seconds x 6 = 3 minutes.  It is not a thirty second sprint.  I was waiting for the euphoric feeling of pushing up the resistance, getting out of the seat and going for it but oh no.  It is all about sitting down, pushing up the resistance and KEEPING THE FARKING SPEED UP.

Actually, after the class I was loving the thought of it.  And very glad that Matt made us go up the front so that the muscly lady could see whether I was working hard or not, so my ego was involved as well as my pride. 

It wasn't as euphoric as the Spin class at the time but man it was a damn good feeling afterwards.  Given that I'd cycled Sat and Sun and Sunday I found all the hills I could locally (with my new found bike setup, I reckoned I was ready to take them all on) - so the thighs were already destroyed, but god it felt good and honest and nice afterwards.  I will be back but I will be back with a knowledge of what to expect and hopefully fresher legs!!!!

I might add that Matt used to Cycle for a living and when she yelled out SPRINT!!! he went for it like a demon, and one, I was shamed into trying to keep up and two, I freaked out and tried to keep up.  Going along to such a class with someone who is totally mad and wants to up the ante every time is fun and a little scary.  But mostly fun.  No, scary.  

Mosquitoes....

The interest in Lady Gaga music continues.  You know she's not bad......!!!

This weeks training has been really enjoyable - but perhaps not terribly fruitful....

Sunday - Free weights with Yvonne (she smashed me, I smashed me!!!)
Monday - Spin Class
Tuesday - 7km walk
Wednesday - Spin Class
Friday - Pump class
Saturday - Ride (a bit social, not really a workout) around Homebush, 10km run / walk.  Ran first 5km, walked last 5km (to ensure Achilles not angered)

Is my arse smaller?  Is my stomach flat?  NO!!!  It is not!!

Todays run was lovely.  The plan was to do the half and half - half run half walk.  This was my first run for two weeks due to achilles problems.  So with all this rain, I knew the little creek at the bottom of Lovers Walk would be full.  So the plan was to sit there, bathe the angry ankle in the cool water with the added advantage of time to myself to think with no distractions.  The creek was perfect.. Bubbling and busy as only small creeks can be after a lot of rain.  I was planning a good sit down and a damn good think there.  That was until a mosquito the size of an eagle (ok. slight exaggeration) bit me on the arse.  Through my skins and through my knickers.  I jumped up from my contemplation quick smart.  Which was probably not a bad idea, given that eagle sized mosquitos probably harbour unwanted viruses.  Anyway, what started off as a beautifully warm almost sunny day started to get dark, overcast, rumbly and finally thunder, lightning, raindrops the size of golfballs (again, another huge exaggeration) and so the last half hour I was power walking up Mitchells Pass in the pouring rain, day dreaming about a nice glass of Sancerre and a dry towel. 

Pretty happy with this weeks training, even  if it doesn't seem to have made any massive difference to my arse, it has to my head.  I am loving being back at the gym, god knows why.  I loved the bike ride today and the run and the walk and being caught in the rain, and still loving Lady Gaga....!!

Side Effects....

Ok, so the side effects of running a lot (for me) are sheer exhaustion, sore hips, ankles and thighs.

The side effects of going to the gym are a real decline in your taste in music and a strange desire to download Lady Gaga songs.  And sing along to them.

There is nothing I HATE MORE than that shitty ner ner ner ner ner trancey shitty crappy dance music.  But turn off the lights, give me a spin bike and I am TOTALLY LOVING some remix of a 1990's "dance anthem"....

Yes.  I plucked up the courage to do a spin class today at the North Sydney gym.  Oh man.  That was fucking AWESOME and I came back to work with wild hair, red cheeks and feeling a lot bloody calmer thank you very much.  I was a bit worried, because the first time I did Spin I wanted to spew afterwards, but I guess having a real bike helps, and that ability to control the effort is great.  Until I started worrying about having a heart attack (because I am not young).  But I was having too much fun and I swear that dial could not have gone any further on the last track.  I will be BACK!!!!   Loved it!

So, now I have Pump, Spin and walking on my agenda.  It is not running, but it is releasing that much needed stuff into my brain to bring me back to normal.  It should also have some effect on my arse, which will be an added bonus. I still don't have the courage to go back to the pool after that damn Giardia episode.  It needs to be a much more distant memory than it currently is.  Anyway, I have something to keep me out of mischief, give me pimples and keep me fit.  So that will do for now.

Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah! Roma-roma-mamaa! Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!

You get the idea.....

The Gym

Out of sheer frustration, and necessity, I have re-joined the gym.  And I am LOVING it!!  I have to admit to being a bit terrified of my first pump class in 700 years - especially as it was at North Sydney gym.  But North Sydney gym is no different from any other gym, so that was ok.  I don't know what I was expecting.  Anyway, I still haven't worked up the courage to do a spin class but have done two pump classes this week and a free weights work out with Yvonne. 
After the pump class my hand was shaking so much that I couldn't actually control the movement of my hand and had to put my makeup on in a sort of stabbing motion, which left me with very odd looking lipstick.  But I didnt really care because the excitement of doing something with my body again was just fantastic.  Today my tummy muscles are tight (who doesn't LOVE that feeling?) and my legs are a bit stiff, but I am feeling great.  Maybe when I get up out of this seat on the train, I will re-consider that statement! 

So whilst the Sydney summer is having an identity crisis, I will be indoors pumping iron, or out on the bike working on getting a more rounded bottom. 

I tried to run on the treadmill at the gym.  I had my bondi b's on, and that coupled with the bouncy treadmill surface felt very soft indeed.  I power walked for about ten minutes on an incline but then decided to test out the achilles.  Felt ok whilst I was doing it, not sooooo good afterwards.  I did stretch and nurture my ankles and calves last night, just to remind them I do love them and to come back to normal soon.  I've been told haemaroid cream is good for blood flow to that area, so might give that a go too.  I'll try anything!!!

 

Summertime, me and running just don't mix.  They never have.  After two weeks of keeping off my Achilles, I decided to have an easy run.  First 5km was either flat, or downhill.  Next 2km of bush steps and trail. Ok the bush steps are steep but not "achilles-busting steep" like a hill would be.  Final 3kms home gentle incline.  And by the final 3kms my achilles was WAILING again.  So. Fucking. Frustrating. 

Good things about the run were the feeling of freedom running downhill, the feel good stuff released into my brain at the start, the bubbling brook that is usually dry and the smell of the trails after the rain. 

However, I am just going to have to keep busy with "other things".  Last week was a 40km ride which was actually really good.  During the week I've been walking, which is ok, but it takes forever to do my "normal" run!!   This afternoon I am going somewhere I thought I would NEVER revisit - the gym!!!  After 15 years of gym junkyhood, I gave it all away when I started running.  So this afternoon me with my dicky achilles and Yvonne with her torn calf are going to hobble up the stairs and do some weights.  I've always viewed weights as an "easy" workout, and always considered cardio to be king.  Cardio, however has not been kind to me, so for now, weights it is. 

I am also toying with the idea of Daniel the Personal Trainer who comes to you.  He does the HIIT stuff.  On one hand I think it would be a challenge and fun, and on the other I don't want to take it up when I am not able to do it properly with the ankle behaving as it is. 

So, here is me learning the art of patience AGAIN.  A recurrent theme in my life.....and not one I have yet mastered.....!!