Boot camp

Last night I showed up for Nordic Walking and got a bit of a surprise - no I wasn't wearing these shoes. The Run Inn, the crowd that co-ordinates all the marathon training clinics, for which the Nordic Walking group is a spin off, were putting on a "boot camp" session, and the Nordic Walkers were invited to join - we aren't usually, so this was why I was surprised.....NO WONDER so few people showed up last night.

Most of the people in my group moaned and groaned about the boot camp; grumbling that this was NOT what they had signed up for. I was open minded about the whole thing and happily joined in enthusiastically - how often does one get a free personal training session?

It was a warm night last night and the instructors worked us hard. First we had to run to the destination of our training, then the instructors had a bunch of "stations" set out and grouped us into our "speed level", and placing one group at each station to start. First we had to run as fast as we could while a partner pulled us back with a band - that was my favourite one. Next we had to do "t-push ups" for a minute, then sprints. The next station saw us jumping over low hurdles, then jumping onto a box with both feet up at the same time, then jumping in and out of tires placed on the ground. The next station we had to jump over and back over a rope for a minute, as hard as we could go, then do side push ups (which nearly killed me), then sprints toward an obstacle of cones with an abrupt stop at each cone. Then we had to jump in and out of the rungs of a ladder laying flat on the ground then....we had to do it all over again. After we went through the course twice, we all got together and did more sprints then slow jogged or Nordic walked back to the Run Inn.

I was completely exhausted by the end of it. I haven't sweated so much in my life - it was GREAT!!!! I wouldn't mind doing that type of workout once a week, if possible. Apparently there is such a session on Monday nights, which would fit in with my schedule. The boot camp goes for 6 weeks, but has already started, so I am not sure if I can still join in - we'll see.

Oh, and I am pretty sore today, but it is a good kind of sore, the kind that tells me that I did good work last night. Does anyone know it there are any running clinics in Adelaide, like the one I mentioned above. I believe there is a "Run Inn" in Queensland, but what about good ole SA?

Scotia Bank 5km....walk

Well, I have bitten the bullet (so to speak), and entered myself into the Scotia Bank 5km fun run/walk, which takes place on Sunday, June 24th, in Stanley Park, Vancouver.

I heard about this walk from a friend who is registered to do the half-marathon. Coyly, I asked if the event had a 10km walk, but she didn't know. So while they didn't have a 10 km walk, I am happy to start out with a 5km walk. If that goes well I will see about others, and the Terry Fox 10km in September, which I mentioned in an earlier post.

So there you go, I have had enough of my all talk no action, and have finally made a commitment. I disappointed myself by dilly dallying about the Vancouver Sun Run, which I missed in the end. It would have been a good experience. So procrastinate no more - lets get moving.

naive enthusiasm

I was feeling a bit cocky the other morning; a bit over confident, let me explain.

I had a particularly good session at the Nordic Walking group earlier in the week. I had practically run the course; leaving the rest of my group in my dust. At one point I looked back to ensure I was still heading the right way, and they appeared to me as mere dots in the distance, trailing behind me. For all I knew they were screaming for me to "turn left" or "come back, we are going THIS way", they were too far for me to hear a word they might have been saying.

Walking doesn't really puff me out. Sure, my shins are feeling like they are on fire and my face has turned a colour to match the soles of my inflamed feet. Oh and there is all that sweat pouring from my face; enough to fill a small lake, but otherwise you wouldn't know I had exercised; I have plenty of breath to spare.

So I was starting to think.... perhaps I should step it up a notch. Perhaps I should have a bit of a go at the ole running....now that I am super fit and all (HA HA HA HA).

So anyway, I got up Friday morning with the realistic notion of parking near Curves, so I could run back to the car after I was done.

I parked in a park nearby and walked the rest of the way, I was surprised how close that park actually was in the end, but reasoned that I would ace the run back and the ease of that experience would boost my confidence in a way that would encourage me to park further away next time, or even run ALL the way from my house.

So I did my usual work out, and after grabbing my keys from the basket on the front desk, I bounded out the door and sprang into an impressive gallop.

I think I was perhaps 45 seconds into the run when I began to dread the whole awful idea, and I remembered, all of a sudden, why I joined the Nordic Walk group and not any of the running options "the clinic" had to offer.

I think I made it back to the car in just over two minutes; heaving, nearly dying and vowing never to contemplate such a stupid idea EVER AGAIN.

Conclusion: I am terrible at running and.... quite hate it really.

Future research: Still considering a 10 km walk, weighing the options and assessing which might be right for me - will keep you posted.

Not enough hours...

Where have I been all week? I don't really know. I have been so busy that I have hardly had the time to think, let alone write, which is a bit of a shame really. It seems there really aren't quite enough hours in the day at present.

This exercise thing has really given me an injection of something. I don't really know what, but I am feeling soOOoo much better. I almost feel like I have been in a cocoon for the last little while, and now I am breaking out. I have even had the nutty inclination to undertake a Nordic Walk, or even a regular walk, if that is not possible, in a more official capacity....say like a 10km walk or half marathon! Even saying that out loud seems a bit far fetched and ridiculous, but why not? The Terry Fox Run is coming up in September, maybe I should aim to do the walk in that. Or maybe I could actually take a serious look and see that there is a run/walk opportunity every weekend - yikes! No, I am not that keen, but it would be good to have something to aim for and train for. I haven't had goals for a long while, setting some out, is definitely well over due, and since I have finally set foot upon the fitness road, that seems to be a good place to start.



So what else has been going on? Well we are currently attempting to co-ordinate our return to Australia. I have contacted a realtor to sell the house; gotten a quote for an international removalist; started the ball rolling with the quarantine requirements for the dogs; looked into flights back; researched schools for Mister when we return, not to mention housing. There is so much to do, and yet nothing much to do, as it is too early; everything is in the research phase right now, but on top of all that, I still have the everyday stuff to contend with, and now the sun is out, the garden is growing wild. I am relieved about that. the garden wasn't looking too good, not so long ago.

While I am really busy right now, I have to say - I love it. I tend to get depressed when I can't find anything to do. I am not really one for sitting around, which is a statement that actually flies in its own face, because lately, I have been doing a fair amount of sitting around, much to my own disgust. Oh, and I did manage to take that swim I alluded to last week. I went on Sunday morning, and this time I managed to swim for 30 minutes...without passing out. Gee, I must be getting fitter.

Fitness Update

Since I made the grand announcement, the other week, about getting fit and joining Curves, I have been rather secretive and silent about the whole thing...that would normally indicate I had done bugger all about it, and was hoping you might all forget that I ever mentioned it...yeah.

Considering the low opinion I have of myself, that is exactly why I didn't mention it before now, but surprise, surprise, I have actually kept up my deal with the devil (the devil being me) and have attended Curves regularly and diligently over the past two weeks.

The first week, I attended four times in a week. The second week, I attended three times and added a Nordic Walk venture to the mix, since it was the first week of the Spring sessions.

And you know, I am starting to feel the benefits. I can feel that this exercise thing is doing me some good - not Lycra good (we may never get to that point), but good all the same. The exercise is even helping my mood. I feel like I am kind of clawing my way out of the dark and dreary doldrums. There is even a spring in my step, and an absence of "the snarly grump" (also me).

Imagine if I saw this thing through until November and even beyon. How much better perpared might I feel, when the dark abyss of winter begins to cast is gloomy shadow over the landscape? O-Oh, I can feel some hopes getting up a little too high, some unrealistic expectations creeping in ...I better get back into my box now and pretend I haven't noticed the changes...

I will present another update in two weeks.

Foot in Mouth

Sometimes we say and do things that just make us cringe with the after-thought....I should know.

A few years ago, for example, we invited my brother and his new girlfriend over for dinner. We had met her before, but this was the first time we had invited her into our home.

A few weeks earlier, the said girlfriend had invited us to her 21st birthday party, but since we didn't really know her, we figured her invitation was extended more so out of politeness, than genuine want for us to be there, so we spared her the torture of having some distant acquaintances dampen her partying mood, and politely declined - she wasn't heart broken.

I remember it was some kind of themed party - mad hatters, or something... Anyway, the girlfriend brought the party photos to show us over dinner.

The photos mostly involved group shots of people I didn't know, and the occasional funny one of my brother being a fool, but then I came upon a photo of this guy - obviously drunk - standing with his tongue hanging out, knees bent and pelvis thrust - it was a most unfortunate shot and really quite unattractive, so naturally (as you do) I blurted out, pointing and laughing at the poor intoxicated devil in the picture, "Who is that dickhead!" To which, the girlfriend quietly replied, "my Dad".

Absolutely mortified by the utterances of my big fat mouth, I spluttered some cringe-worthy back-pedalling nicety to cover up my very obvious and totally insensitive remark; a reaction my brother, who was unsuccessfully stifling his hysterics, decided to draw attention to.

But I think my largest moment of shame came when I was seventeen. I had a bad attitude - worse than I do now (ha ha). I was from the country and had just moved to the city, where I knew no one and no one knew me.

I was in a shopping centre car park when a car load of people passed by, gawking. Ashley, my then boyfriend of 8 months, was fossicking around in the car while I stood waiting. I didn't appreciate the car load of unfamiliar starers; people who had even turned in their seats for an longer more scrutinising look, as they passed me by. So I decided to give them the royal salute or as it is more commonly known - the finger. That'll teach 'em.

I can tell you I was more than horrified to have that car load of people walk up to us only minutes later, and having Ashley introduce me to his Aunt, Uncle and four cousins - HORRIFIED, I tell you! They are the nicest people, so nice that none of them has ever mentioned my disgraceful behaviour, and I have known them 16 years. I felt so bad about it that I confessed to Ashley a couple days later - he wasn't all that impressed.

So why am I confessing some of my less glittering moments? Well today at Nordic Walking, the boot was on the other foot, although no where near as awful as my previous conduct, but still, I could feel for those involved ;)

I was talking with this guy, and he was making a joke about some clients of his, who are called Sheila and Bruce - the joke being that all Aussies are reputedly named either Sheila or Bruce - and so he figured that this couple must have been Australian, they weren't, but it was a joke. Anyway....

At the end of the walk, the guy I was speaking to earlier, myself and another woman, were first to finish, and we got to talking while stretching. After a few moments of talking the woman says to me, in all seriousness - "your name is Sheila, isn't it"? The guy cracked up laughing and I informed the woman that she was incorrect.

Ignoring the guy to her right, the woman asked herself - out loud, why she thought my name was Sheila. With mirth, I volunteered that it might be because I am Australian. She looked a bit embarrassed, but said that she "didn't get it". So I explained that Sheila is a derogatory term in Australia, meaning woman.

Then another woman joined the conversation,
"What is?" she wanted to know.
So I explained, "Sheila and bloke are words that refer to woman and man, in Australia".
Another woman entered the conversation.
"What was that?" she asked.
So I started, "Sheila and bloke..."
"Are they the names of your kids?" someone else innocently interrupted.
By this time those who are up to speed, are in fits of laughter.

After all that, the original woman to muddle up my name, begins to walk back with me, and awkwardly strikes up a little chat along the way, I get a sense she is trying to make up for the Sheila thing - though it honestly didn't worry me. Anyway, she lets me know she thinks I am doing well in the group. I am "like an aardvark (!?)", she announced.

With an air of confused surprise, I smiled and replied "Okay".
Sensing my confusion the woman added "Yes! Like an.... Australian rodent/aardvark".

"Right" I said, highly amused. I think this is getting worse; time to change the subject.....

We don't actually have aardvarks in Australia. Are these animals notably swift?...What are aardvarks noted for anyway? And "rodent", what was she really trying to say? A rodent strikes me as a disease-ridden animal that everyone hates.

Jokes aside, I think she was trying to compliment me, but as I am fully aware and adequately experienced to note, sometimes you just can't dig yourself out of a hole, so it is perhaps best, if we avoid trying.