London Triathlon - been there done that

So Monday was the last day to enter into the London Triathlon.


and I'm not on that list.

I'm a little sad about it, it's something I wanted to do every since I moved to the UK, and I've done it two years in a row (remember?)

I just honestly don't have the time or engery to put in the effort I would expect of myself.  In fact, I don't think I'll be entering any races this year.  Maybe 2012?  Right now, my goal is just to make it to the gym, or go for a run, once or twice a week.  I think once the weather improves, and the days are lighter longer, this will be easier to achieve.

But I have made it to the gym the past 2 Sundays for 2 hours each!  I walk R to the train station then head down, do 45 minutes on the cross trainer, 30 minutes doing weights, 20 minutes swimming and then relax in the hot tub/steam room.  It's a good routine to get in, and I hope to carry on with it.

I'll also make it to the gym tomorrow after work, and will hopefuly schedule in a run next Thursday when I work from home (weather permitting, of course!)

How are your 2011 fitness resolutions coming along?

My running future

I haven't even done the triathlon yet, and I'm already onto my next big project - the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon on 10/10/10!

I had been contemplating a half marathon for awhile now, and wanted something to dive right into after the triathlon.  I've already pushed myself to 8 miles, so I feel like I could join into a 16 week plan at the half way point.  I looked at the Run to the Beat race, but it's the weekend before my *gasp* 26th birthday and I'd really rather relax that weekend :)  Then on Twitter, Zest Magazine tweeted that the Breast Cancer Campaign had two places left for the Royal Parks Foundation HM, so I got in contact with the BCC and two days later....Bob's your uncle!  With the triathlon on the 8th, and say 2 days off for good behaviour, that gives me officially 2 months (8 weeks and bit) to get myself into half-marathoning shape.  I'll scope out a few training plans, but I already have a workout strategy in mind to be honest.  I'd like to start doing yoga a bit more, and try to fit in some strength training.  My tentative post triathlon workout schedule looks a bit like this:

Mondays
Gym - 30-60 minutes on the cross trainer with 30-45 minutes weight training

Tuesdays
Run - 30-60 minutes, either intervals or hill runs

Wednesdays
Yoga - my gym has a class from 5-6, plus some jacuzzi action afterwards

Thursdays
Run - 30-60 minutes, either intervals or hill runs

Fridays
Gym - 30-60 minutes on the cross trainer with 30-45 minutes weight training

Saturdays
Run - long easy runs, working on increasing mileage

Sundays
Rest!

Most HM training plans have you do 3 mid-week runs, plus the longer Saturday runs.  However, I want to take that down to 2 mid-week runs, so I can give my legs a chance to recover and do some cross training as well.  And I've already managed to increase my distance to 8 miles with only 1-2 runs a week. 

I've finally reached the point where I (kinda, sorta, maybe) ... enjoy running.  I'm not sure how that happened, but I slowly started noticing things like, perferring a run to a bike ride, or pushing R to go out for a run (and not vice versa).  And then one Saturday morning, I said to R, 'I'm going to go a bit longer today, I'll meet you at home.'  I was actually enjoying myself and wanted to push myself further.  Well, K, you've got over 13 miles to push yourself, that's definitely further than you've done before!

sum sum summer time

I've been having a really awesome summer so far!  We've been really good about going out and seeing friends, soaking up the sun and doing fun outdoor activities.  And even better, we've had decent weather (sorry England, you never have better than 'decent' weather!)

 golfing!

kite flying!

 jumping!

aunting!

eating!

puppy watching!

flopping!

wading!

I've got the London Triathlon coming up this weekend, on Sunday, and my support team (R and Leashie) are getting ready!  I feel really good about my training this year, so I'm hoping to shave off quite a bit of time this year.  I've also given up The Booze since the end of June (with a few lapses, including a glass of champagne, and a half glass of Pimm's!), and have also lost 7lbs, too!  My outdoor runs and cycles have also helped me develop my tan (funny lines included).  And!  On Saturday, R and I went out for his boss' birthday and I fit into my skinny jeans.  I haven't been able to wear them since I first bought them in 2006, BEFORE I met R!  Woot woot to exercise, healthy eating and no booze :)

The weekend after the triathlon, we're hoping to do a little mini camping break, and then we're off to France on the 19th, yippee!  It's R's dad's 70th birthday, so all the kiddos, plus partners, plus babies, are heading off to France for the week.  I'm looking forward to red wine, tennis and swimming!  After we're back in the UK, we're off to Edinburgh for a wedding.  August is going to be amazing!

Do you have any fun plans in the works for August?

2010 so far...

2010 so far has been pretty frikkin good, I have to say.

* R and I have given up all alcohol this month (well, a slight cheat being the lovely Irish Cream chocolates my grandmother sent over from Trader Joe's - at 3.5% they're still pretty pokey!).  It's definitely pretty tough on the weekends, but I feel good and my wallet feels even better.

* I've been a monster about the gym! It's been great (especially going on Friday after work when everyone else is heading to the pub).  I've made the effort to go at least 3 times a week with either a run or looooong walk on the weekend.

* I've also tried to change my eating habits slightly - well, at least not eating crap during the week, and then whatever I want on weekends.  This has been working out really good, as I've cut out all the biscuits, etc, at work, but can still enjoy a burger/shake/chips, etc, on the weekends in town.

* As of last Saturday, according to my weekly measurements/weigh-ins, I've lost 7 lbs since New Year's! My goal was to lose a stone (14 lbs) by the time we go to LA in April, but at this rate I'll completely shatter my goal (of course, this may come to a screeching halt come 1 Feb when my no-booze ban is broken).

* Speaking of LA, we've booked our flights, for April, from 6-20.  We were hooing and hahing about booking with BA for those dates, hooed and hahed too long, and the prices went up, so we went with Virgin.  Good thing, as it now seems like BA may strike over that period.

* My 365 project has been going fab, too!  Often times, I forget until about 9pm, but I've had a few moments of sheer brilliance that just would have been missed if I wasn't doing it.

* I found out we're getting our bonus from work next month! Woot woot!  Such a relief to come after Christmas, etc.  This is really the boost I need to help get my finances back in order.  I've also opened up a new bank acocunt (bye-bye Halifax), and I'm going to finally get started on a proper savings account.

* Probably the most exciting thing is that R and I have been discussing our 2-4 year plans, and we've settled on a rough course we'd like to follow.  For ages, I've felt like I've been floating along aimlessly, doing my job, but not sure what direction I wanted to go in.  I kept referring to 'when R finishes his PhD...', thinking we'd come with ideas when that happened.  But we've realised we need to starting making plans NOW for what we want to do when that happens, rather than just drifting along.  That's how we'd end up stuck in the South East of England forever, even though that's something we both DON'T want.  We have to take the initiate to move forward with what we want to do.  And more and more for me, that's been to move back to Los Angeles.  Not forever, mind you, but I really want to be close to my family for a bit, and see how that works for us.  Once we live there, we can decide whether that's the right place for us.  So at the moment, we have decided that 'when R finishes his PhD...' we're going to up sticks and move to Los Angeles.  It's the perfect break in his career to make the move, before we become bogged down with other things (!). As of now, that looks like another two years from now (plus this current semester).  So we're looking at 2012.  That works perfectly for us!  It just gives me the sense of direction and drive I've been missing, and gives me something to work towards.  All in all, I'm pretty happy :)

The first 3 weeks of 2010 have been pretty good, and I feel like I'm really on course to have a fantastic year!  How are your resolutions, goals, etc, been going?

Me, wanting to dive into the beautiful blue Pacific Ocean! how I miss you!

Mazda London Triathlon 2009 race report

First, the stats:

Swim: 29:39

I felt pretty good for the swim, but the wetsuit made a big difference, methinks. I used my brother-in-laws surfie hand-me-down and it just didn't fit properly. There was A LOT of water getting caught in the arms, and it had a big effect on my pull. But I felt fine in the open water - the docklands were pretty good because although it has the mad rush of an open water swim, it's effective a giant swimming pool, so there wasn't too much impact from currents, etc. I finished about 20-30 in my wave out of over 200 so not too bad!

T1: 7:24

I couldn't get my wetsuit off! It was actually a bit comical. I was yanking on the strap but nothing was happening. The actual transition was pretty on par with the rest of the ladies. I could have been a bit faster wheeling my bike, but overall, it went okay.

Bike: 1:39:27

My big downfall. I felt pretty strong on the ride, to be fair, but I just didn't have the speed I needed. Considering I was hoping to go around 1:20, this is obviously where the majority of my added time came from. I wasn't prepared for the hills, drinking from my bottle, racing with others, etc. This was the leg I was least prepared for and it really showed. However, that also means it's the leg I can make big improvements on and really drop some time! Both my laps were pretty much evenly split, as well, so I kept it consistent.

T2: 5:18

I was just so knackered at this point, I really felt like I couldn't have run with my bike. This was much slower than most people, and I could feel it at the time. Hopefully, as I get better on my bike, I won't be so tired for the transistions.

Run: 1:07:20

I was hoping to run around 10 minute miles, so this wasn't too bad (considering I was absolutely dead coming out of the transition!). I averaged just over an 11 minute mile, so I know I can bring this down a good 10 minutes or so. I also walked (much more than I should have!), so that's another area I can shave time. It was two 5km laps, so I just kept imagining I was running to the King Alfred Centre and back, which really helped. As did seeing my cheer squad! I still managed a sprint at the end, too.

Total: 3:29:07

My goal had been to beat 3 hours and I was obviously no where near that. I also knew during the race that I was going much slower than I should have. I kept thinking, as long as I finish, that's okay. And I felt like that afterwards for a bit. But I just couldn't help but be disappointed.

A few days on, I think I'm feeling a bit better.

On the actual day, I was amazed how tough it was, and how much my body just couldn't cope. At the time, I thought, oh my gosh, I'm never doing this again! The days following (Monday, Tuesday), I was really upset about my time, and lack of strength, and really felt like I hadn't put in the effort I should have. But in hind-sight, I realised a few things.

1. Being sick took a major toll on me. In fact, I don't think I was fully recovered, because following the Triathlon, it's come back with a vengence. I also only trained about 3 times in the 2 weeks leading up to the race.

2. I really need to get a swimming wetsuit! While I did fine on the swim, carrying the extra water in my suit really dragged me down, and knackered my arms. I was surprisingly tired after the swim, and that shouldn't have happened.

3. Waiting until less than a month before the race to get a bike, and then only doing 1 proper run on it = super bad idea. It was the cycle that killed me, for sure. I just kept getting passed, first by my wave, and then by the wave of big blokes that started 30 mins after us!!!

So I'm feeling better about myself, and I'm looking foward to getting stuck into the next one.

Here's my glorious (stolen - but will purchase soon) picture following the race:

new bits of reading material

I picked up a couple of books from Borders today that I'm pretty excited about!

The first was on sale, and I thought too good of an investment to skip. While we don't plan on having babies for awhile, lots of our friends (and family, soon!) are well on their way to increasing their family, so I thought it would be a good idea to have a crafts book for baby pressies.

find it on Amazon here

It has some super cute things in it, like hooded towels and mobiles. I can't wait to get started on things other than crocheted blankets. Don't get me wrong, I love the crochet hook, but I need some new projects!

The other book will help fill my time now that triathlon training is almost finished (one more swim tomorrow, and that's me until Sunday!!!)

find it on Amazon here

I want to focus on getting my body into tip top shape, so I'm going to start a new exercise regime that centers around units (30 mins), trying to fit in 10-15 a week (closer to 15), and doing at least 3 weights-based workouts a week. This book has a lot of good tips and exercises for ladies, so I'll definitely be getting a bit of use out of it.

In the mean time, I have a few crochet projects sitting around, waiting to be finished, including two bags for friends and a shawl project for my mom (I found the most delish merlot coloured cotton yarn in DK weight, can't wait to get it started!)

Only 3 more sleeps until the Triathlon!

cross training: pros & cons

Part of the reason I decided to train for the London triathlon was to start doing a bit of cross-training for my workouts. Well, maybe just to start working out. Same difference. Anyhow, cross-training seemed like a good idea for fitness and weight loss. But overall, I'm not sure if it's the way forward for me. Like any good libra, I've decided to weigh up the pros and cons of multi-faceted training.

Pros:
-Enjoying a little bit of everything: it's great to have variety in my workouts
-Less wear and tear as you use different muscles
-When I feel like blowing off a run, that's okay! I can swim or cycle instead!
-When I feel like blowing off a run, that's okay! (I think this point needs to be stated again, as it's a biggie)
-I've enjoyed cycling, and I wouldn't have gotten into it at all if I didn't have the triathlon as an excuse

Cons:
-Limited weight loss: running is really what I need to be doing to lose pounds, and as good as swimming and cycling are, they just don't cut it
-I feel like I'm not able to focus on anything. By swimming once or twice a week, I feel like I'm just maintaining my fitness, rather than improving it. The same goes for running - I don't feel like I'm improving as I can't focus on it.
-Sometimes, I just want to do something different, like the cross trainer or the rower, but I feel like I'm spreading things too far anyway, and there is no benefit to it if it won't improve my triathlon training

Overall, this has been a really good experience, and it's pushed me to exercise 4-5 times a week. I'll have a better impression once I've completed it, but as things stand, I'm pretty sure I'll continue to try and do more triathlons. I'm really looking forward to doing a sprint event, too. But I have to admit, it will be good not having to stick to a precise schedule, and have a bit more freedom with my fitness.

Training's going well

I had a good gym sesh today. I'm 8 weeks into my 20 week plan (culminating, of course, with the Olympic distance triathlon on 2nd August - you can sponsor me here), so I thought I'd try a mini triathlon this fine Friday evening.

I did 40 minutes on the bike, which came to 17.5km and burned 360 cals (you gotta take those with a pinch of salt!)
I then ran 20 minutes on the treadmill at 10min/mile pace, which came to 3.3km (or 2 miles) and burned 275 calories.
Then I hopped in the pool and did 900metres straight, in about 15 minutes. I took it nice and slow, trying to stretch out my arms. I like doing 50 or 100 laps without stopping, just cruising, but I also know I need to work on my speed. Anyway, that came to just under half the distance of the tri, and I was fine for that, so I know August will be no problem! I did this in 1.5 hours, so I should be course for my 2.45 tri time *fingers crossed*

I also managed to put together a photo montage of our wedding - only took me 51 weeks! Well, just in time for our one year anniversary. We hadn't used our vouchers for Habitat yet, but I finally decided to get the 55cmx55cm black frame with a multi-photo mount. I got some photos printed today at the local print shop and they look great! I'm inspired to prance around in my wedding dress on the 18th!

Hopefully we'll get some sunny weather this weekend, as Ronan and I are planning on doing a pub walking tour in Sussex. Walking and pubs, two of my favourite things! All in all, I'm getting super excited about summer and can't wait for it to be here so we can do more outdoors activities. A year ago exactly, Lauren was here in Brighton and it was absolutely sweltering! Here's to hoping for a bit more of that kind of weather soon!

wooo it's been awhile

I have to throw my hands up and admit I'm pretty lame when it comes to keeping up with my blog. I keep thinking, 'oh gosh, I'll wait until something a bit more interesting happens' and then when it does, I'm too busy doing interesting things to blog!

The most interesting thing I've done since my last post is seeing Waiting for Godot with Ronan, Jon and Kate at the Brighton Theatre Royal last weekend. We were lucky enough to see the production with Gandalf and Capt. Picard, er, I mean Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart!

What a fantastic performance! I saw a production of Waiting for Godot back in LA when I was in high school, and I was really struck by the despair and hopelessness of it. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to see a production that was a bit more lighthearted throughout, and really concentrated on the bond between Didi and Gogo, because it made the final scenes so much more effective. All in all a wonderful day at the theatre!

This weekend was also really enjoyable. We planned on doing some spring cleaning before we leave for LA so we can come home to a clean house, but got slightly distracted and ended up at the movie theater to see Monsters vs. Aliens, in 3D! We even got Buddy Holly specs to wear! It was great hearing all the kids go, 'wooooah!' when things would pop out, watching all the little hands grab at the screen :) And it was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. Afterwards, we had the chance to meet up with Janine and Steve who were in Brighton celebrating their one year wedding anniversary (guess who else's is coming up soon? wink wink). Sunday was lovely and slovenly, and we had a yummy fry up in town and watched Chicago and The Wire (double dose of McNulty, score!)

Now we're getting prepared for LA, and I'm so excited about heading home on Friday! It feels really strange going back so soon - we'll have seen my parents twice before we've seen Ronan's parents, and they live a one hour flight away! But it's going to be a great trip, and I can't wait for my cousin's wedding.

On the triathlon front, training has been going okay. I haven't been great about sticking to my plan, but I definitely feel like I'm getting in proper training sessions, which is good. My swims are feeling strong, and my cycles are definitely improving. I feel strong and steady through them. Runs have been a bit more difficult - I'm getting better at the the distance, and can now run the full 6 miles, but I'm starting to get twinges which aren't good and are most likely a result of an uneven gait. Normally after about 1-2 miles, I get twinge below my left knee, and I've had a constant bruised feeling on the ball of my right foot for several weeks now. When I say constant, I do really mean ALL OF THE TIME, even just walking around in chucks or boots. It's really frustrating, but I'm going to take a week or two off from running and see if that helps at all. Luckily, I've given myself enough time that two weeks now won't seriously effect my training, and as long as I keep up the swims and bike rides, I should be fine! *fingers crossed*

20 week plan, 1 week in

I have to admit, I'm not off to the most brilliant of starts for my 20 week triathlon plan. There was the unfortunately coincidence of St. Paddy's day falling on day 2. Whoops. Cue 2 day recovery, which of course equates to zero exercise.

I think I'm off to a bit of a better start for week 2. Ronan and I went for a 40 minute run on Saturday, felt okay, but I keep getting pain in my left foot, around the arch, as well as my left knee. As I'm not a runner, it's hard to tell what's a 'normal' running pain, and what I need to watch out for.

I did a 52 minute bike ride yesterday at the gym, that felt pretty good, and I got in some crunches and weights. Unfortunately, my double workouts are on Mondays, but it's impossible to get a swim in. I'll have to start going for a swim before work, but this week, I'll just make it up on my 'off day'.

So, what do we have left for the week? I've got a 26 minute run today, I'll do my 26 minute swim tomorrow, the horrific 88 minute bike ride on Thursday, and get in a nice long 44 minute swim for Friday. I'll go off track on Saturday, and try to get in a nice long run with Ronan, I'll be aiming for 6.5 miles. Whew, Sunday will be a well deserved rest day!

On a side note, I'm looking to get my hair cut before I go to LA, hopefully early April. I'll definitely being going blonde blonde blonde for the summer, and I think I'll just go for a nice short bob, with a short fringe, something easy to straighten and easy to muss up with some wax. Perhaps a bit 'Katie':

but without Mr Cruise

get your cycling butt into gear!

I've had such an amazing weekend! As per usual, we did fuck all on Friday night (well, I was frantically sewing away in order to finish Claudia's bag before she arrived), but I still love doing fuck all on a Friday. It's lovely. Anyway, we went for our run as usual, this time 5 miles (5.5 including the walk back from Tesco!) and saw Woodie's diner which I really want to explore now. I love American diners in Britain. They're never remotely authentic, but brilliant in their own kitsch way. We also had my amazing strawberry, banana and organe juice smoothies!

But we got to chill with Claudia this weekend, which I've been looking forward to for so long. It all goes so quickly! I can't wait for her to get her butt down souf.

Then I got to see Claire on Sunday, who's just returned from her around the world travels. Also really good to see her, she looks fantastic. Maybe I need a trip, too....hmmm.

Did my measurements again, 2 weeks on:

Chest: 41.5" -0.5"
Waist: 34" -1"
Hips: 40.5" -.05"
Thigh: 27.5" +0.5" :(
Arm: 14" same

It's good to see some inches coming off the waist and hips, but damn my quads! Well, I'm heading the right direction, so I need to stop skiving the gym when the weather gets a bit wet. Because lets face, I live in the fucking rainiest fucking country in the world, so I better get used to it!

BTW! Looks like good things come in twos.
Shady Ninja and I both got our visas returned to us last Friday! Lets celebrate! Only took the bastards 4 months!

Tuesday's swim

After work, I headed over to the gym (and their 18m pool - who makes a pool that's 18m???), and decided to do 10x10laps. It was great because the pool was almost totally empty, only 3 people, so we each had our own lane. After 5 sets, it got a bit busier, so I moved from the slow lane (which had been empty!) to the fast lane, and did 4 more sets. Just as I was finishing the 9th set, a big bloke waited until I was 2 feet from the wall to jump in the water ON MY BLOODY HEAD! What is wrong with people??? This is the second time this has happened at this pool (and I've only swum there 3 times!).

Even worse, the guy, because he's a guy, decides he's a 'fast' swimmer, even though he is quite obviously not. And rather than letting me go in front of him, he likes to wait until I'm just about to flipturn to jump out in front of me, swimming 0.03miles an hour. Dear lordy. I don't understand why boys feel so threatened by girls who are faster/better/quicker than them. Get over it! Although I did notice later, from the hot tub vantage point, that he did eventually move to the 'slow' lane (a bit too late for my liking!).

My stupid goggles broke on lap 99 so I took it as a sign from the gods above that my swimming set was over and hopped into the hot tub. Yum. So 17820m swim in about 20-25 minutes, felt pretty good, definitely going to try to work on speed sets (note - buy yourself a watch, kira!). Also had yummy fishcakes for dinner, and used up all our leftover greens (runner beans, green beans and asparagus), and made a delish lemon butter sauce with rosemary to top it off! *smacks lips at deliciousness*

On a side note, I've noticed quite a few of the men (and women) in the gym have tattoos. This was also the case at the King Alfred center. Like way more than I see in LA...but then maybe I just don't normally see people in LA in swimming gear? But then I was a swimmer for years and years! But then that was when I was like 16, and people don't have tattoos at 16 (well they shouldn't really, should they?). But then actually quite a lot of my friends have tattoos, too, so maybe I'm just making this all up in my head.

Anyway, I want another tattoo, but I should probably wait until a) I have money and b) I'm not training for a triathlon where I need to swim several times a week!

Triathlon Training Part 1 (of many, hopefully)

Although it hasn't been 'officially' signed up for (I'm still waiting to hear from the Terrence Higgins Trust), I've decided to do the London Triathlon come August. I've wanted to do a triathlon for awhile now - I guess it comes from being a retired swimmer, looking for a new challenge. And I figure if I'm going to do it, I might as well go big, so I'm starting off with an Olympic length tri. That's a 1.5km swim (open water), a 40km bike and ending it all off with a 10km run (dear god). I know that I can finish it, and with proper training, I could even have a good time. That depends, of course, on my ability to stare my nemesis down, and conquer her once and for all. Yes, nemesis, your name is running. The bane of my existence.

See, I'm a water creature at heart. I remember my mom telling me, age 10, how it was amazing how graceful I looked in the water, since I could barely walk without tripping over my own feet. My high school basketball coach went as far as to call me 'waterlogged'. I suppose there are worse things to be called as a gangly, spotty 14 year old.

I tried getting into running a couple summers ago, and I was doing okay with it, but it just sort of fizzled out (which happens when you dont set goals). So this time, I have a goal. Several, actually, to help me reach the ultimate goal of doing an Olympic length triathlon. First one is to build up my fitness level to even begin contemplating doing actual training for this bloody thing. I have a nifty 20 weeks programme to help me (focusing on running, I'm such a masochist). To help keep me motivated, I'm going to keep track of my training. Any advice or insight anyone can provide will always be greatly appreciated!

I joined LA Fitness early this month (I get 1/2 membership with my job, woot woot), so have been doing some random cardio/weights/crunches for a couple weeks. Here's a recap of the week:

Saturday (17/1)
Ronan and I went for a 4 mile run up to Brighton Pier and back. I feel alright getting there, but always enjoy our little 'halfway walking break'. I should definitely try to start breaking myself of the habit, but I think if it helps me increase distance in the meantime, without tiring or demotivating myself, than it can't be too bad.

Sunday - Tuesday (18-20/1)
Not much happened - I was pretty achy from the run (I don't think I'm stretching properly after my runs, boo), and I had an inauguration to prepare for!

Wednesday (21/1)
Dear god, I had my 1-on-1 induction with LA Fitness. Not only was I measured, weighed, and BMI calculated (as per standard induction procedure), but I was fat percentaged (too high), muscle percentaged (too low) and 'metabolically rated' (how many calories I need a day - 1520 if you're curious). The results were disasterous. Actually, that's not true, because my running book tells me to think 'Okay this is the fattest mcfat face I will ever be because there's no where to go but down, baby!!!' (or somewhere along those lines). Anyway, we set up a basic treadmill/spinning cardio workout for me to improve fitness, as well as some strength training and swimming when I feel like it. All in all, a pretty helpful (if not terrifying) day.

Thursday (22/1)
My gym work is supposed to be M-W-F (2xbike, 1xrun), but I've decided to come in and do some cardio work, so I do 20 mins on the treadmill and 20 mins on the cross-trainer, with 200 crunches.

Friday (23/1)
I set out to try the cycle programme the trainer suggested (basically 5x1 minutes, increasing either level or cadence, 8 times) but I really struggled on it. I managed 20 minutes before I scurried to the easy comfort of the cross-trainer. I'm going to need to buckle down next week and just try to get the 40 minutes down, no matter how crap it is. I definitely need to get used to cycling as it has been years since I've done it. Boo. I thought running was supposed to be my nemesis? I can't hate 2/3 events of a triathlon!

Saturday (24/1)
Ronan and I have decided to do runs every Saturday mornings, trying to increase our distance every week, so I can work on distance on the weekends, and intensity and speed during the week. We went about 4.25 miles today, again, I felt pretty good on the way out, but struggled at about 2 miles. Coming back felt pretty good, but then I got a godawful blister (thanks new running shoes) so I'm currently packaged up in pirate bandaids on my feet.

I've also decided to do 'bikini shots' (I need before and after pics!!!) to help keep me motivated, so we'll be taking them every fortnight. I also took my measurements:
chest - 42"
waist - 35"
hips - 41" (that's what I call an hourglass!)
thigh - 27" (yikes, that's what I call a fatty!)
arm - 14"

All in all, I'm feeling pretty motivated. I'm working on portion control and keeping my meat intake to a minimum. I've definitely been sleeping better, and I realised how much I miss the feeling of being sore after a good workout. The world sure does look good from the moral high ground!