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These are Monday's eats.

Instead of moaning about my weight gain (I'm up a kilo or two) it was time to do something about it. Everyone knows what they need to do, it's just a matter of knuckling down and for me; eating less. 1500 is my target range.

Breakfast: coffee and a huge piece of toast with jam and cottage cheese.

I was on an afternoon shift, so I had my 'cooked' meal at lunch: salmon with dukkah, steamed veggies with a horseradish/mayo dressing and baked sweet potato chips. Protein at lunch works so well for me.
Dinner: I opted for a wrap so I could essentially eat on the run.

Snacks: gluten free bar, popcorn, tea and an almond milk hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Mon; run: 36:59 | 6.02km | 6.08m/km. It was cold and windy, but satisfying nevertheless.

Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail

5:00:00 | ~78kms | 15.6km/hr

Somehow I missed the fact that this trail was somewhere between 38-40kms ONE way...

I digress.

Last Wednesday I had the whole day to entertain myself, my one day without any plans/appointments/catch-ups. So I decided to head out to Lilydale station, the start of the rail trail. It's well signposted, but for those that need to know, the trail starts at the end of the station car park.

The trail is pretty flat and for the most part, gravel. Not really suited to road bikes. I took the (new to me) Giant Yukon MTB. I passed through forest, farmland and via the old original platform stations which were pretty cool.

There's a couple of toilet stops along the way, as well as places to fill up with water. There's also a couple of cafes on the track, but they're only open Thurs-Sun and I went along on a Wednesday. Super disappointed! I would have happily stopped for a coffee. Multiple times over.

The trail is set up quite well for road crossings, there's only a couple of places that didn't have pedestrian lights.

I didn't love the section from Yarra Junction to Warburton. Partially because I was battling at this stage and partly because you're riding parallel to the Warburton Highway, so it's not quite as peaceful as the rest of the ride.

It was a fairly big relief to reach Warburton. I'd thought about turning back earlier, but then questioned when I'd have time to tackle the ride again, so I persisted.

I was pretty underdone on nutrition. I'd eaten two trail bars in 2.5 hours of riding. Not quite enough for me. I smashed a cauliflower and broccoli pie, a vanilla slice and half a bag of mint leaves at the Warburton bakery and felt a little better.

The ride home took a whole lot of mental energy. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, I was dehydrated. By no means was it a hot day, but I'd failed to drink enough. I took my hydration pack so there was no excuse. On the road bike I'm used to sipping on water every 10 mins. But I forgot to do it during this ride. I need to install an odometer, that will act as a visual cue for me.

I also started to get quite uncomfortable, 4+ hours is a long time to be on a bike that you've only ridden a handful of times! I missed the luxury of tri bars and a different hand position.

But I made it and I'd do it all over again knowing that I need to fuel and hydrate a whole lot better than I did.

Tues; run: 50:10 | 8km | 6:15m/km. I'm not quite as exhausted from work as I usually am. Took the opportunity to run, but gave myself permission to go as slow as I needed to, to get the job done. In the end not unhappy with the pace given I've not been running much.
Strength: 25m.

Thurs; personal training/strength: 1:00:00. Focus on good form for upper body/back workouts. Squeeze the scapula!

Lazy ass

One of the first things I organised for my week off was a personal training session. Increased time in the gym has showcased my lack of knowledge when it comes to lifting. I want to learn good form so that I don't injure myself.


Apart from work's gym, I've not stepped inside a gym for years. Mainly because I prefer the outdoors, and partially because I hurt myself many years ago on the rowing machine which took a hell of a lot of rehab. My physio suggested instead of the gym I take up running. Which I did.

 But I tell you what, during winter, training indoors is rather appealing the older I get!

I didn't get a huge training effect from the first session I did, but I was keen to give it another go and booked another session later in the week. The PT I worked with has a strength and conditioning background and the two sessions focused heavily on engaging my glutes - which are super lazy. Some of the exercises also showcased the weakness in my hips, so it's back to these exercises.


By the end of the second session I was barbell box squatting and doing rack deadlifts. I was pretty happy about it. I'm looking forward to the time that I have another opportunity to book a session.

Strength: 35m. A mix of upper body, lower body and abs. Motivation levels were a touch low, but I'm glad I did something.

Time off

I've just had a week off work and this is the first time I've made it to the computer.
I've been out and about and doing stuff, oh yes I have! More about that through the week.

But today I baked ANZAC biscuits for my workmates and made a pretty tasty rice pilaf for dinner - I used dried ginger and dried chili instead of fresh and added green beans at the same time as the prawns - turned out just fine. Other than my glorious run this morning, I took it pretty easy today.

Run; 37:33 | 6km | 6:15m/km. First run in forever! Or about 2-3 weeks. I thought it was going to hurt. It didn't and I really enjoyed it.

Monthly totals: May 2012

Bike: 3:35:08 | 82.25 km

Run: 3:12 | 32.18 km

Swim: 1:01:30 | 3000m

Agility: 25m

Strength: 9:55

Bike trainer: 4:27

Boxing: 30m

Weight: -0.3kg. 61.7kg. I've been tracking my intake on Fitday again. It helps me to be accountable. To question whether I am really hungry. Some days are good, some days are not. I log and I move on. I'm doing my best not to induce guilt. The episodes of binging are decreasing. That's a win.

So the more observant may have noticed that I considerably upped my strength work in May. Since I started the new job I've had access to an amazing (new and free) gym that I've not really used. For the most ridiculous reason; fear. Of what people will think, of not knowing what to do, of looking like a fool doing so. Lamest excuses ever! I so thought I was over that and old enough to know better. Apparently not.

I took aside one of my workmates one day and asked her to run through the equipment with me. She was so very happy to do so. As a result of her patience and my incessant you-tubing of how to perform certain exercises I can happily report I'm a semi-regular gym user!

People still pick me up on my form and I'm totally ok with that. I've booked a Personal Trainer session during my upcoming leave where I hope to learn even better form.