(no subject)

[ysabet_the_red]

So. Mondayitis.

The weekend was good. Steve and I tried to go jogging on Saturday, but I discovered my sports bra wasn't suitable. So I got a new one, for 30% off. yay me.

I spent most of the rest of saturday throwing out clothes. I now have (approximately) 160 litres of clothes to donate. Measured in litres because it's in two different-sized garbage bags, and I really wasn't keeping a record of exactly what went into them. Now, it is possible to put all my clothes away. Every last item. And I will be able to buy my own clothes this coming winter! I will have a reason to buy my own clothes for a change, due to not having enough. This is rather major for me.

That took up most of Saturday. So then it was Sunday.

Sunday we slept in a bit. Once we got up, I pottered around the house, cleaning up a bit. Our new landlord was going to coe visit, have a chat, that sort of thing, so I was trying to get at least some of the public areas in reasonable condition. After a while of that, I got bored, and with stephen's help, decided to make a cake.

We went down to the shops and tried to buy ingredients. According to the woolworths employee in the fruit section, we're out of lemons. This sucked, as I wanted to make a lemon cake. After some thought, it was decided to make an orange poppyseed cake instead, since I've done that one often enough to remember most of the ingredients.

..Most of them.

We got home, I looked up the recipe, and lo and behold, I'd forgotten a couple of things. Steve mowed the lawn and then had a shower before being a darling and ducking out to get what I forgot. During this, I cleaned out my pantry, fridge, bakingware and plastics cubpoards, throwing stuff out and tidying stuff up. I also got all the ingredients ready to go, so that when steve got back home (incidentally just after it started bucketing down), it was all ready to go. I creamed, mixed and combined, and popped the cake in the oven a few minutes before the landlord arrived. We had a nice chat.

A bit later on, the cake was cooked, and we'd recieved a dinner invitation. Once the cake was topped and cooling, steve and I went to park road for a coffee and then dinner with some lovely company (hi sarah!).

Then we went home, and had an early night's sleep. Which brings me to today.

My mood is very mixed at the moment.

Steve and I went jogging this morning, with new equipment. We're trying this: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml which is a program for easing into running. I was proud of myself for getting though the first workout. Hey, you never know, I may as yet get fit.

Right now, however, I feel kind of stressed. Work is a bit nuts at the moment (why, I don't know) and I'm going away next week to talk at OSDC, a talk which is as yet unwritten.

There's this grid stuff to do, a talk to write, and a few miscellaneous problems hither and yon to fix. I am a little tense, in much the same way as sunshine at midday in summer can be a little warm.

To top it all off, UQ stuffed up my reimbursment for my trip to Perth, so I'm quite a few hundred dollars short at a time when the car rego and insurance is due. We'll squeak by, and by the time the money comes in it will be a nice christmas present, but it's just another little thing I didn't want to have to deal with.

*sigh*

I've got Yoga tommorrow. And orange poppyseed cake. Life can't be that bad.

Comments

[puzzlement.livejournal.com]

I will be interested to hear how the couch-to-5K plan goes. It's probably pretty realistic, the 0 to a mile in 6 weeks (swimming) program worked well for me, and I believe that converting swimming distance to jogging distance in terms of energy requirements and fitness requirements roughly means multiplying by 4.

[aiofe.livejournal.com]

I'm interested in the outcome also. Whilst I have previously been able to swim 3k or so without undue distress, I've never been able to run/jog/move above a walk for more than 800 metres at a stretch at my fittest. Of course, I never actually trained to jog more than about 50 metres at a time, either, unlike swimming.

I can't say as I got an exercise buzz this morning, but it did feel good to know that I am not utterly unfit.

[puzzlement.livejournal.com]

I don't run much either, although as a teenager I could jog about 4k more or less through sheer force of will. I have some symptoms that suggest I have mild exercise induced asthma which have always made it hurt to run. I find cycling to be not quite as bad for some reason although I haven't cycled much further than 30k at a time.

[aiofe.livejournal.com]

I considered cycling; the only problem is that as a form of exercise, it's boring - you can't talk to someone like you can when you're jogging, and Brisbane's (lack of) bikeways make it a challenge in terms of life and limb. As a mode fo transport, it's okay in some areas, though.

However, on the asthma: my brother, who has asthma, has postulated that it's all the jiggling about in addition to the exertion(sp?) that aggravates it. Swimming and cycling he's never had a problem with, but running has always been out of the question, no matter how fit he is.

I would love to do swimming, I find it relaxing and meditative - at least when it's not in direct sunlight. Unfortunately, Steve sinks like a stone and doesn't enjoy it at all. That, combined with the only indoor olympic pool I know of in brisbane being a fair drive away limits it as anything other than an occasional recreation. Pity. Maybe some day when we live near(er) to there and I can just go off by myself without worrying that I've stranded steve without transportI'll take up swimming as a form of exercise.

[puzzlement.livejournal.com]

I like to combine some forms of meditation and concentration with exercise anyway, so not being able to talk to people doesn't concern me. Sydney is also notoriously bad for cycling though: in addition to not having many bikeways it is notoriously hilly.

I'm told (by the scuba community), although have no first hand evidence, that sinky people are helped by going to adult swim lessons of the "stroke correction" (or "intermediate") rather than "learn to swim" kind. Being able to float allows you to swim with a bad stroke, being sinky requires that your stroke is correct. There must be something to this, after all, most competitive swimmers are very low body fat and I imagine they must therefore be sinky too: even many unfit men in particular don't float. Andrew doesn't float even in salt water, but he's not quite a stone, he can stay afloat if he's moving. It makes breaststroke really difficult for him though, whereas I've always floated reasonably well and quite like breaststroke.

I swim outdoors in Sydney, it seems OK and they're open all year round.

[puzzlement.livejournal.com]

Oh and re sunlight I generally swim at dusk. The pool has a convieniently placed set of seats that blocks the sun for the last hour or so every day. I don't mind sunlight too much though.

[aiofe.livejournal.com]

I can float on my back with my hands behind my head and my ankles crossed without much effort.

Sunlight (especially combined with water) is not really something I cope well with. I generally prefer to swim in the early morning/on weekends, which introduces transport issues. Ah well, it'll sort itself out or it won't. Also, a lot of pools close over the winter.

On stroke correction: I did classes like that for many, many years. I don't believe steve has done more than 'learn to swim' although I could be wrong.

Cycling is terrible - Brisbane is also hilly, so you have to concentrate really hard on what you're doing, you can't just zone out and think.

[puzzlement.livejournal.com]

We're really lucky to have a pool within a short walk: I wouldn't go out of my way for one either, probably.

[z-evil1.livejournal.com]

Here to Macgregor and back for a friend's B'day (a little over a week ago).

17km round trip, uphill most of the way there. Booyah!

No-one could believe I had biked the whole way. Lucky for me there was a bikeway 90% of the way :D

If you desire someone to go biking with, my bike works. Offer's still open.