Dirt Bulbs & Ginger...

A new appliance has just taken up residence on the kitchen bench. It has pride of place in all it's shiny newness. And the rest of the bench is taken up with an abundance of fruit which will need to be bought in great quantities in order to keep this beast fed.

It's a new juicer, bigger and better than the sad pathetic plastic creation it is replacing. It has jaws of steel and was bought not just to consume fruit in large quantities... but more importantly, to be able to squeeze the innards out of the humble dirt bulb... the beetroot.

This keen interest in juicing was brought on by a recent holiday where the local cafe served the most delicious freshly juiced juices I've had in a long time. My favourite was the Veggie Delight - beetroot, apple, celery, carrot and ginger.

Chosen each morning as my juice of choice as I had recently read that beetroot was one of the 'super foods' and a great addition to an athletes diet. While I don't consider myself a serious athlete I thought it might be good for my return to running as it reportedly helps athletes perform for longer, helps with inflammation, is a good anti-oxident, is full of iron (among other things) and helps lower blood pressure (not that the last one is a problem for me).

So far the beast has produced a simple fresh apple juice on day 1, and a zesty apple, orange, lime and ginger delight on day 2.

And the best thing of all - it's pretty easy to clean and it extracts so much juice from the fruit that the pulp left over is almost dry so there's hardly any mess to remove.

Tomorrow I look forward to a concoction of veggies... including dirt bulbs and ginger.

Join the Tribe

Last week I stumbled across a website called Tribesport. It was advertised down the right side of my Facebook page. Being in advertising myself and having created a few hundred Facebook ads in my time I often disregard the advertising... especially as the hot favourite targetting me seems to be about body fat at the moment. I am incensed!

But the Tribesport ad was funky and begged me to click on it. So I did and ended up at the most incredible website. It's a community for like-minded people wanting to be and get fit. There's a lot of hard core fitness people on there and where once that would have been intimidating for me I am finding it inspirational. Especially since everyone there is positive and encouraging.

So, I have now signed up for five challenges - the easier one's while I am still nursing injuries. But they're a start - beginning with squats, crunches and improved balance (which my physio will approve of!). I'll let you know how I go. Wish me luck!

Just one more thing...

So last night it was mentioned again that I have a curve in my spine. Not from the side which is normal, but from the back. I knew about it but it keeps getting mentioned and came up recently in an MRI as well. But I don't know what to do about it, or even if it's worth worrying about. So I did the only sensible thing and Googled it. Of course. But after looking at numerous medical sites and reading pages of information about it I decided to stop as I was being advised that it could mean as little as nothing to extensive degenerative issues. Plus there are really gross pictures of pus and parasites on medical sites. So it was best I stop. And continue to ponder what this means.

So, with a slipped disk which is on the mend, I think. An ankle sprain, which isn't improving, and may involve another MRI. A dodgy curve in my back. And the inability to run anytime soon, my happiness levels have declined drastically. Even new running pants from Lululemon (awaiting my return to running) last week didn't improve my happiness levels.

There is only one thing for it... retail therapy at lunchtime!

X Trainer

Tonight when I got home it was too dark and wet to go running on my own, since my JP was off to a work Christmas dinner (already, and it's still only Nov!). I was disappointed at the thought of not getting out to run since we haven't been out since Sunday so I geared up and got on the cross trainer. After all I love my cross trainer... it has all the stats I need - speed, distance, calories, time; heart rate monitor (which doesn't work so well so I have to wear my wrist one anyway), a 3 speed fan, and best of all... and ipod dock with speakers!

BUT...

As I worked through the half hour I remembered why I can always find excuses to not use it. It's B O R I N G. I watched the screen to monitor my stats, I checked my heart rate monitor, I found 3 cobwebs on the ceiling, I studied the new cooling vent in the roof above me, I ran without my arms on the bars, I put the fan on, I increased the incline, I decreased the incline, I sped up the fan, rinse repeat. I eventually found myself gazing at the golden circle of reflected light in the wardrobe door. I contemplated what it would be like if I had a special talent whereby I could run super fast and wondered how quickly I could then run a kilometer in. I tried to lift my feet off the foot pads and wondered if I could actually fall off but decided my big wide shoe soles, made specially for flat footed duck feet such as I have, would probably prevent me from falling and injuring myself so I kept it up for another minute.

25 minutes to go. Oh boy this is going to need super powers of willpower to get through the tedium.

Now I understand part of the attraction of running outdoors. There's more to look at. There's more to puff about. The hills make it challenging - even despite the sweat I worked up as I notched up the incline on the trainer it just wasn't the same. And my feet. They hurt. I don't know if it was the new socks or the fact that your feet don't actually lift off the pads on a cross trainer (except for the above three minutes).

So of course when I got off I Googled cross trainers versus treadmills. We don't have a treadmill but maybe I should get one if the evidence suggests it is better. Surely it's more interesting than a cross trainer. Reports though are positive for both, with special emphasis on the non-impact nature of the trainer. I think it's back to outdoors for the next run and the beast that is the cross trainer can slumber till the next dark, rainy night.

Stats tonight: heart rate 165av, 187max, 332kcal, 30min. Red face factor: 8/10.

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Relay for Life - Take 2

Last Saturday night, well, Sunday morning, my JP and I headed over to Croydon athletics track at 2.30am to participate in the Relay for Life. We were invited to keep my bro and sis-in-law company because, strangely, the team didn't have anyone to fill the 3-5.30am shift on the relay.

The relay went for 18 hours - from 6pm Sat to 10am Sun - and when we agreed to participate we thought it would be a doddle. But it wasn't. Alright, it wasn't like running a marathon but walking around and around and around a track in the middle of the night after only 2.5 hours sleep was harder than it looked. Simply because of lack of energy. Even a hot chocolate at the 4am mark didn't make that much difference to how I felt.

It's not like I went home with muscle strain but it was hard on my feet and calves. And when I thought at 5am that since we've started running now I would be able to handle a few or half dozen laps running, it turned out I lasted only two laps before my body protested. I guess since it's not natural to be up at that time of night isn't going to readily agree to running. Although the boys from the East Ringwood Footy Club didn't seem to have a problem as they sprinted past lap after lap. Then again they were about 20 years younger than me!

Surprisingly it was actually quite nice being up at that time of night. If only my body agreed. But it was a great experience and one that I would participate in again. Being part, even a tiny part, of a $92,000 fund raising effort felt pretty special.

Lead Legs

Tonight I did it tough. My legs felt like lead even though I had done a stretching and strengthening session two nights ago for the first time in a couple of months. Maybe that was why though - my legs still had some muscle soreness. It was a case tonight of putting one foot in front of the other and getting into a rhythm, and not looking to the top of the next hill. I kept my eyes down and I was able to get to the top by simply not knowing how much further rather than any real mental fortitude tonight. It was also cold like it hasn't been in weeks and I had to put on a sleeveless hoodie stockpiled with tissues because I just knew the cold would make my nose run.

That's the thing - okay, one of the things - I'm finding about running... every little thing affects my rhythm. I need to blow my nose, I get an itch, I get another itch, I scratch, I blow my nose, I adjust my heart rate monitor band, I get another itch. I'm out of rhythm every 30 seconds or so which has an impact, especially for a duck-footed, lead-legged runner like me.

I've also discovered that smells cause my nose to run more. I thought now that winter is over that the smoke smells from open fireplaces would cease, and although they've diminished, some people are still lighting up their fires. I know it's cosy, especially out here in the hills... but don't they know it's bad for the environment. And bad for me as I puff along gasping in lungfuls of cold smoky, smelly air. But now that it's officially Spring I've also got to contend with the smells of wattle, and jasmine, and clover grass (I really don't know what it is but it's a smell I've disliked since childhood and have always blamed meadow clover). And then my nose runs more from hayfever. Oh the joys of outdoor sporting pursuits.

When I'm not running the flower smells are wonderful. But I wish I could switch them off on those nights that I am pounding the pavement and gasping for breath.

Stats tonight: heart rate - 167av, 187max, 328kcal, 29min. Red face factor: 9/10.

On the Road

I started a new blog rather than fill my day-to-day blog with my running adventures, and so as not to bore those who just aren't interested in whether I run, walk or gad about in hob-nailed boots.

We - that is my jogging partner (JP) and I - started running about three months ago. I prefer to say 12 weeks as it sounds shorter to my ears and therefore justifies my lack of progress. Of course it depends how you define progress. I am better at running than when I started. But I haven't managed to run a marathon yet. I haven't even managed a 4km fun run without slowing to a walk. But I am getting ahead of myself. My plan is to run the 5km fun run in April next year for the Children's Hospital Appeal... without stopping. That is my definition of improvement. Do I walk, or not. Once I've mastered that I guess I'll start doing all that other stuff that helps me actually determine my progress such as distance and time.

So tonight our run involved running the 'nature' course up through Hodkins Ridge Reserve. My JP finds this course easier than our regular route and I find it harder. It was the scene of my first 'spit'. And again the scene of my second 'spit'... tonight. An infestation of lacewing bugs in the warm evening air and open mouthed breathing (gasping) don't mix. But I found my teeth were a good filter, as well as the choking mechanism.

So stats tonight: heart rate = 171av, 190max, 367kcal, 31min. Red face factor: 10/10.