Week 9, Days 6, 7 and Week 10 Day 1

Last week was a write off; only tennis twice (Days 2 and 7) and no running at all.

Week 10!!

Where did it all go? Today, off to a better start. Went to the beach to run. Was swarming with troops marching on the path nearer to the beach and road paving machines closer to the expressway. In the end I ran between both ie. on the cycling path. Was horrible, smelling fumes of tar and asphalt. Kaf kaf... Laying off for one week didn't help either, though I felt leaner without all the constant muscle-building. Thinner calves, woohoo!

Don't foresee doing any other meaningful exercise this week, with a public holiday smack in the middle of it.

NAPFA test

Remember NAPFA? National something Physical Fitness .. assessment... something. Our physical fitness test. I found these figures off some poly website.

Females 20-24 yrs
2.4km
A = <15:01
B = 15:01 - 15:30
C = 15:31 - 16:00
D = 16:01 - 16:30
E = 16:31 - 17:00

i know we're not 20-24 years old, but i'm just saying...

i think i never passed this damn thing ever. Or at least never got above a D for my 2.4

And now i'm even older... and slower.. sob. ha ha

Week 9: Day 6

Worked all day and had no time to run!! Boo. :( I guess there's still time to run tonight, but really... who are we kidding?

Week 9: Day 5

Ran my roughly 2.8k route today. Did a bit better - and I think it was thanks to the much cooler and much more pleasant weather. It makes SUCH a difference! But, still, 2.8... i'm running out of time!! How am i ever going to make it to 5??

Week 9, Days 4-5

Been busy, making a costume for Jared's school celebrations next week. It's a fairy tale themed thingy, so some discussion (he refused to be a pirate or prince, and Darth Vader isn't a real fairy tale character) we settled on Pied Piper of Hamelin. I think the rats sealed the deal. 

Plus, it was pouring this morning. So no tennis.

As such, no exercise to report.

Belgian chocolate ice cream - not seashells!

Week 9, Days 2-3

Day 2

Tennis! In the morning. Was it hot!! Think I am permanently belgian chocolate-coloured :(  :(  :(

Day 3

Rest day, had kueh pie tee. Mmmmm.

Week 9: Day 3

Rest!!! Tired!

(p.s. this blog is getting really boring. I pity our legions of poor readers.)

Week 9: Day 2

itch itch itch. Ran the almost 3k route today. Not so good. Now ex HAUSted.

Week 9: Whaat??

I think the heat is giving me itching and all kinds of eczema. Nasty. I hate heat. I have to get outta here.

(Whoa. At the exact moment that I typed the last sentence, my itunes played a song with the lyrics "I gotta get outta here...". For real.)

Ran today, about 2.8k or so. Kinda so-so. Am tired. Itchy.

Week 8, Days 6-7, Week 9 Day 1

The weeks are just flying by. 

Week 8, Days 6 & 7

Car boot sale. Sweating must surely indicate some kind of physical exertion! Toiled in the sun for a few hours at a stretch over 2 days. Plus, on Sunday Opus and I played tennis. Am so miserable from the sun burn and lack of improvement in tennis. 

Dejected. 

Discouraged. 

Dismayed. 

Also very very tired!

Week 9, Day 1

WEEK 9!

Ran errands today, really too hot to be outside doing anything, really. Have received all sorts of comments on the sunburn. Angry red skin AND bulging calf muscles, definitely a not a good look. 

Week 8: Days 5-7

I've completely thrown out our training plan!! Ack. I can't do it. I'm floundering. I have no strength.

Day 5: Ran about 2.6k or so and tried to run "faster" but it was pathetic. I almost didn't make it.

Day 6: Did interval running on the treadmill and then some weights. I was wheezing and panting SO LOUDLY during the run that it was a darn good thing no one else was in the gym!

Day 7: Tennis with runningstitch! We get "better" after about 45 mins of "warm up". It was so inhumanly hot that I just wanted to die. In a puddle. A puddle of ice cold water. Mmmmmm. Ice. Cold.

Week 8, Days 4 & 5

Can't believe this week is almost over.

Day 4: Ran 3.6km. Not sure how much to run anymore, just run what I remember running the last time. If I could I'd give myself a prize too.... was already half-dying, shortly into the 1st km or so, when this man stepped onto the treadmill next to mine and his cologne wafted over. It was truly suffocating. I cleared my throat repeated and coughed but he was totally oblivious and then he started to sing along to whatever it was playing on his iPod. ACK!!

Day 5: Was really looking forward to tennis but rained out. Stayed home instead. Insanely hot today. Does shifting stuff around count as exercise?

Week 8: Days 2-4

Another week is flying by and i'm getting more discouraged by the minute.

Day 2: Didn't run cos I spent 3 hours making a lasagne! And it wasn't very good. No, I don't want to talk about it.

Day 3: Worked an 11-hour day and had no time to run. Boo.

Day 4: Played tennis but the heat and humidity were pure misery. I was way tired and sluggish. I feel like I have no strength left. Physical or mental.

Week 8, Day 3

This week has been exhausting. Think I've been doing too much. And yet there's so much more to do!

Rest day. Aaaahhhhhh.

Week 8, Day 2

Tennis in the morning, played badly :(  Hot mornings are back!

Week 8: Day 1

Ran a shorter distance today (about 2.2k?) and tried to run faster. Ugh. How does runningstitch do it? Gaaah.

Week 8, Day 1

Week 8! It's almost here!

Great start to the week, was raining but cleared up in time to go for run at the beach. Tried to run faster to get home sooner..... find that I always lose steam on the return stretch. Tried fartleks (who invented this word?!) using the big feet painted on the ground as visual markers, and managed to do 3 sets of "sprints" followed by slower jog to catch breath. Hard work! Felt as if I was going to get a stitch but slowed down without stopping this time, and the feeling went away. Yay!

Week 7, Days 6 & 7

Day 6

Went to watch Wall.E. Cute! Only Pixar could make a cockroach remotely endearing. Then lanterns at night, plus lots of mooncake and pomelo.

Day 7

Tennis with Opus. We are getting better, yay. Must try to not to hit so many balls over fence next time.

Week 7: Day 6

Worked today and didn't have time to run... Did I mention this week was a washout? Sigh.

Week 7: Day 5

Finally ran this week! And I managed to run during a decent daytime hour, so I could run on the road instead of the treadmill - yippee. I ran almost 4k (my approximation) - I couldn't be bothered to measure out 3.6k so i just ran two rounds of my approximately 2k route. I ran at SPP and with SPS (Small Plodding Steps). Stopped a few times - a couple of times to catch my breath, and a couple of times due to mental weakness.

The ipod helped a ton, though! But between the embarrassing sweat stains and the earphone cord flopping about, I'm sure I looked like a dork...

AND I hurt my big toe. :( I have been running badly. Remember my previous post about running on the balls of my feet? Complete rubbish. You're not supposed to. Heel, toe, heel, toe. I've been landing on the balls of my feet too much, especially during the uphills, and the area behind the ball of my big toe (i.e. where the big toe meets the foot) now hurts. It's the sort of pain that's like a pinch nerve. I think I have to cushion it and start running better in order for it to heal.

Week 7, Day 5

Tennis lesson today - as usual, shared time slot with kids. Plenty of ball-picking and some hitting. Still waiting for guts to break. It'll be the first time for me! Need to learn to hit harder....

Week 7...

Days 1-4:

This week's been a washout for me!! I've been working long hours and been way too tired and busy to run. :( Poor me. I'm really going to suffer next week.

Today, finally, I had a tennis lesson. Yay for tennis!!! Coach put me through drills and it was great. Is like sprints, really. I probably was slow and wheezy but it felt great nonetheless. I have to do something about this out-of-control sweating though. Egads.

Coach let me try this new Wilson K blade tennis racket (similar to Venus William's racket, you know) and it was great! Tempted to buy new racket now...

Week 7, Day 4

Tried out another prospective-treadmill-buy today at the gym, nice! No fan but nice clear LCD display and well-cushioned run. Ran 3.6km.

And suddenly it seems that every other person I know runs! Met someone at the gym who is now 4 months preggers and she is "taking it easy for now" and she let on that she used to be a national runner! And another lady in the tennis group was previously a marathoner and ex-PE teacher! Ooo-er.

Week 7, day 3

My calves are getting huge! Not a good look on me. :(

Rest day. I am resting. And eating ice cream. 

Week 7, days 1 & 2

Week 7 indeedy!!

Did housework yesterday, backbreaking. House hasn't been so clean in a while. Then everyone else came home. SIGH.

Today, went to the beach to run. Was looking forward to it until I got there. It was hot, at 1230pm. Ran my "usual" route but got a stitch just at the halfway, going to turn back mark. Slowed down but it didn't go away so I caved and walked. It's kinda nice to finish up not-so-sweaty and out of breath but I really wanted to not stop! 

But - I googled it and learnt something! 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/health_and_fitness/4275830.stm

Must warm up more, what a bother~

Week 7: Day 1

Week 7!!!!!

I didn't run today. I worked all day and then my ipod came in the mail!! yayyyy



I can't wait to run with it. So instead of running, I spent time loading it up with songs. Of course, that is also a crucial, essential part of running. So, one might even argue that was "exercise". I'm just saying.

The photo's blurry but the engraving says (cleverly): "left foot, right foot, repeat".

Week 6, Days 4-7

Sorry to all my fans out there, I've been swamped!

Day 4

Oops, I just realised that I had run the 3.2 km today, and not yesterday. I rested yesterday. Serious runners must not take lightly their rest schedules. 

So yeah, today was run. Did think about playing tennis too but had headache in the end and napped instead.

Day 5

Tennis washed out. Again. Did the logical thing and took kids out for prata lunch.

Day 6

Thought of going running today but had to rush something out and worked all of last night and the morning to try to finish it. Tried to compensate by eating less (it's all relative).

Day 7

Opus and I played tennis. Neither of us really got into the zone today. :(

This is week has been a total washout for me. Must do better next week!

Week 6: Day 6

I had mooncake today!! Finally. With egg AND melon seeds. Yum.

Oh, and I ran 3.2k. I'm much less excited about that. It was painfully dull.

Week 6: Days 4 & 5

I don't know how you run so fast runningstitch! Even with all that mooncake in you... (I haven't had a single mooncake this year yet! Not from a lack of wanting a mooncake, though...)

Day 4:
Ran just 2k on the treadmill but tried to run it a little faster. A LITTLE. And already it was killing me. Then, did some weight training. I guess it sort of worked if my muscles were achy the next day. But who knows if they were the correct muscles? Ha.

Day 5:
Rest! Sentosa!

Week 6, Day 3

Have this irritating throat discomfort for the past week or so, and it doesn't help in the should-i-run-or-shouldn't-i debate I constantly have with myself.  In the end, ran on treadmill for the first time I finished 3.2km! Woo hoo!! Broke out mooncake to celebrate. 

Good news - could run for the whole duration, and burnt almost 200 calories!

Bad news - had headache for the rest of the day, and mooncake probably set me back by 300 calories. Or more. Also, weighing machine showed that I'd put on 1.3kilos just over the weekend. Feeling more jiggly too, in the middle. How annoying.

Opus- is it still 3.2km next week? I've lost the schedule....

Week 6: Days 1-3

Oops, getting really tardy on my posts.

Days 1 & 2: Ran 3.2km each! And I had to run them really late at night because I had no time during the day. What I'm learning now is that the mental challenge of staying focussed is toughest for me. Running 3.2 has been a REAL CHALLENGE cos I get bored and deflated very quickly.

So on Day 2 I finally succumbed and ran with an ipod. I never liked running with one because I don't like to feel... *fettered*... yeah, I'm probably being irrational. Cos in the end, the music REALLY HELPED to keep me focussed. I could run the whole 3.2 at a decent pace (though still no where near running stitch's pace!) and didn't stop once. Yaayy.

Gonna buy me an ipod shuffle now, so i don't have to run with a honking big ipod.

Day 3: Rest!!

Week 6, Day 2

Urgh... only 1 thing to say - I'm glad we put down a comfortable estimate to finish the 10k run!

Week 5, Days 5-7 and Week 6 Day 1

Week 5 Day 5

My memory fails me.... Oh wait, there was tennis but got rained out about 15 minutes into session. For the first time ever I had a solo lesson! Was panting and trying to maintain dignity while returning the balls. But I bet it didn't look pretty. On the bright side the coach said I play like Henin - possibly selective listening since I could only hear my heart pounding and I'm sure Henin's coach never asked her to bring home a modified fishing rod to practice forearm top-spins.

Week 5 Days 6 & 7 and Week 6 Day 1

Week 6!! Not long now!

Did nothing the past 3 days even remotely related to exercise. Unless you count 3 days of nonstop eating (only interrupted by sleep and toilet breaks) it as "muscle building". Helped build sand structures, and play a round of Happy Family though.

Must get back on track!