Interstate

I have just had the pleasure of two and a half gorgeous days in Sydney with one of my girlfriends. I've been going up around this time of year for the past three or so years to visit her, but never, never have I encountered such glorious weather.

The first day was all about ferries, Cockatoo Island, checking out some Banksy at Outpost, lunching at Aria; the quinoa crusted celeriac is still playing on my mind! There was strolling through the Botanical gardens, and catching Cate Blanchett in hands down the oddest play I've ever seen and I've seen a few.

Day two was all about walking and swimming. We warmed up by walking the Bondi to Bronte section of the coastal walk and upon returning swam at Icebergs. My first time swimming laps in an ocean pool. There were goosebumps towards the end of my short swim!

Sun, Mon, Tues; walking: 6 hours
Tues; swim: 15m | 600m. I had thought I'd have another chance to do another set, but it wasn't to be.

Santa Fun Run

It was that time of year again. Santa storms the docklands for 5km of running, walking or a little of both.

Sun; run: ~31m | 5km | 6:12/km. Annual Variety Santa Run. There's nothing quite like a sea of Santa. Ran with a friend, I felt as though I could have pushed the pace, but she wasn't really up for it.

We're going to be good friends

Running home and I are going through a difficult patch. However the Salomon XA 10 pack and I are getting on famously. Initially running with it during the adventure race was a touch awkward, I just wasn't used to it, but I love being able to run home with my stuff without the bounce. Anything moving while I'm running irritates me no end, I don't even like to carry anything in my hands. I also don't end up with sore shoulders which cannot be said for running with my regular backpack.

Now to find the hydration bladder that belongs in there. I hung it up in an ingenious place to dry out, whereabouts currently unremembered...

Run: 52:08 | 7.85km | 6:38s/km. Ugh. Another attempt at running home, no better than last time. I'm questioning my fitness big time. It was warm, I probably could have done with some water but it seems 10km after work run is a struggle.

Hands free

While it was hands on in the kitchen last night (mango, avocado, chili, lime & coriander salsa), my workout was strictly hands free.

About a week ago I stumbled upon the Bodyrock.tv website. Initially it was all incredibly intimidating. People with abs I am unlikely to ever have (never say never!). To see hosts struggle through the sets made me wonder how I was ever going to manage. But tonight I gave it a try.
There were a few modifications made, but I did it nevertheless and I have to say, the 20 mins went pretty quickly.

The only equipment I used was a free interval timer app for the iPhone! 50 sec of work, 10 sec rest, 20 times over.

My stats:
Star jumps: 52, 53
Get ups (I sucked at these): 6, 4
Star jumps: 53, 51
One legged bridge (right leg extended): 18, 17 *oh the hamstring cramp*
One legged bridge (left leg extended): 21, 19
Star jumps: 53, 54
Jump lunge: 25, 29
Star jumps: 53, 54
Leg lift: 17, 14
Star jumps: 50, 53

Strength/intervals: 20 min

1766

I didn't feel so ravenously hungry today. I'm not sure if it was the additional protein in my breakfast (protein powder + overnight oats is a winner, providing you don't mind the taste of your powder!), the tuna at lunch, the appetite suppressant that can be running or the fact that we ate and drank very well over the weekend in celebration of a wedding.

I was however craving chocolate, obviously! As if the above wasn't enough my artificially sweetened/lo-cal hot choc wasn't photographed. Honestly I try to avoid that stuff, the asapartame usually upsets my stomach, but I couldn't help myself.

Oh, and this recipe is a keeper. I subbed green beans instead of asparagus.

Kickboxing: 45m. Played with the kettlebells. How's the fatigue!

Run: 49:16 | 8km | 6:10/km. Speed session. Warm up: 15 min. Main set: 3x 800m effort (4:15, 4:10, 4:24 - they were meant to be at 4:06) 400m rest mostly jogging, some walking. Cool down: 12 min. I always wonder why I don't do more speed work, until I get out there and do it. It's hard. I find it incredibly uncomfortable and really tough. But if you don't train to run fast, I guess you can't expect to run fast.

Observations

It was all about a river run this morning, it's been a while since I've been down there and there was some new (to me) graffiti art. Small ceramic dog plaques. I love that the path is ever evolving!

I've also been keenly recording what I've been eating and noticed a fairly significant mistake in the recording of my breakfast. So I haven't quite been hitting the deficit like I thought. Which makes sense because my weightloss has stagnated at the -2-2.5kg/4.4-5.5lbs mark. Next week I'm going to switch back to overnight oats but experiment with adding protein powder. To see if it can help with the satiety. In fact I'm going to try and have some protein with every meal.

I'm getting increasingly interested in adding some intensity to my my work outs soon, to mix things up and get the calorie burn going. Watch this space!

Run: 1:05 |10km | 6:30/km. Long run for the week. In tough conditions, hot and windy. I swear I've run 30kms that have felt easier than this.

Just compensation?

I am suffering the effects of hay fever. It keeps me awake at night, at least the streaming eyes and nose do. I am exhausted. The past couple of days have been rough with little sleep.

The redeeming quality to this time of year is that it's mango season. I'm loving them sprinkled with a little bit of hot chili powder. I'm so looking forward to nectarines and peaches! As someone who cant tolerate too many apples & pears, the new summer fruits are a welcome addition to my diet.

Walk: 40m. I nearly fell over when the Man walked in the door just after 6pm. Usually it's just after 8:30. So we had time tonight for a neighbourhood walk. I wasn't up for much else.

Tues; run: 52m | 8km | 6:30/km. Garmin played up so distance/time an estimate. I attempted to run home. I didn't make it all the way. This run was broken into two. Mentally I was pumped to tackle the 10km, physically I didn't have it together. My calves were still sore/tired from the Vibram run. I was exhausted, it was warm, somewhat windy and I felt as though I was lacking energy even though I had some chews before running. All in all, disappointing.

Mon; kickboxing: 45m. I'm still sore from this. So many push ups.

Mon; commute: 1:10 | 20.6km |17.66km. So windy on the way home. There was one stage I swear I was being blown backwards, I had to get off my bike and walk.