Monday, July 31, 2006

hmm, what was i on earlier?!

think maybe i was tired..... tired and rambling.... yeah, thats my excuse. tired!

anyhow, made it to the gym, was so tempted not to go cos it was windy and raining (hate riding in the rain!) but still went..... hurrah for me!

stuck to my 5.8mph, ran 1.50 miles, then used the cross-trainer (35mins) before doing my sit-up routine, what a show that is! pah! Think i will stick with 5.8mph till i hit 20 mins, then up it to 6mph again. i'll see how it goes, eh?!

going to the gym early tomorrow while *E* goes to the hairdressers..... then we're going out for lunch with the hope of attracting some male attention........ hmm. its really time we made more effort!

off to bed now, night night!

TaTa *H*

Stocktake: Part Deux!

So today i was up with the birdies again..... stocktake for a different brand of the company i work for... doing them a serious favour!

Couldn't run in (see monday24th july's entry) because i had nowhere to wash/change (and figured noone would want to spend time in a stockroom with me after a run.... i can barely stand it myself!) so i rode my trusty bike.

2 minutes to leaving the house and the heavens opened..... with some crazy rain... so quick as anything i stuffed jeans into a bag, found my coat and left....

to say i was resembling a drowned rat when i turned up at work would have been being kind. bleugh!

this time the HHT data was right, and all was done by 10.20am, hurrah!

right, now its 1pm, and i'm off for a nap before the gym this afternoon,

TaTa *H*

Friday, July 28, 2006

All is not lost! hurrah!

hey, just a quick update on the running situation.... the wanting to be quicker.... but getting stuck with the distance......

well, i dropped back to 5.8mph (yeah, i know.... what difference does 0.2mph make?! eh?! , well, quite a lot psychologically apparently!)

well. at 5.8mph i managed to run for a 1.5 miles (15.51 minutes), which i think is better than 1.0miles at 6mph (10.00 minutes) because not only did i not have to stop for water/cos it was 1mile/cos it was ten minutes/whatever..... but it was also a really comfortable run

yeah i wanted to go faster....

but i talked myself out of it for the sake of having a good running day.... then i did the crosstrainer too.... focusing on quadraceps! hurrah.... and it was 3 degrees C cooler today than it was yesterday, so that mighta helped!

but yay!

TaTa *H*

Fraud Landis?

Hmm, sounds like dodgy news for the new Tour de France champ.... lets hope it is an anomaly that is explainable by the biochemistry of trained sports people....

During the first semester of last year at uni we covered sport fraud as part of "forensic biology". It was amazing to me how many ways of upping performance in non-legitimate ways exist.... as fast as methods are established for testing, new methods are created and used by people wanting to "achieve" in sports by gleaning an unfair advantage. Not only this, but ways of avoiding being detected too.... some are just plain disgusting, some are physically dangerous.

It is frustrating to find that a person admired has cheated.... not only for other athletes competing, but for the supporters who watch from the sidelines, and perhaps aspire to achieve too. It is also a wonder that sports people who spend sooo long training are willing to potentially damage their bodies by using artificial "boosters".

guess we'll have to wait for the "B" test results, and hope for an explanation.


in other news! after my awful day at the gym on Wednesday i tried to take it easy on Thursday, perhaps I've been pushing myself too hard, or too often, while its so (relatively!) hot. It was annoying, i sooooooo want to be better, but i seem to get stuck at a certain stage for ages before improving. For example, running at 5.5mph (seems so slow to me now!) i couldn't break 10 minutes for weeks, then one day, i ran for 15 minutes without trying... the following couple of weeks i continued to improve and i was easily running 20+ minutes at that speed.

Thats when i decided to improve my speed.....

i figured it'd just be a case of running the same distance at a faster pace, but... at the faster pace i can't seem to do the same distance without needing to walk a bit/drink some water half way through, which seems to cut my motivation somehow.

so today i'm gonna drop back to a 5.8mph pace, and see how it goes from there.... have a nasty feeling i'll want to speed up.

dammit, i will get better!

TaTa, *H*

Thursday, July 27, 2006

hmph, not to plan!

so, went to gym with *E* last night after work....

got on treadmill, and just couldn't work up any enthusiasm..... grr!

1.89 miles in 22.00 minutes.... rubbish! couldn't get into a comfortable running pace, and i have no idea why?!? grr!

went on the crosstrainer for 40 mins to make up the calories burned, did mainly quadracep work. by the time i got off of it my legs felt like jelly! much shakiness!

hehe, funny thing tho.... took a while to click! i went to donate blood a few weeks ago, and found that my iron level was too low to donate, which has also happened once before (last summer). Normally its fine. buuuuut, i was thinking this weekend, and thought, hmm, iron is important for haemoglobin.... which is important for transporting oxygen..... and muscles need oxygen.... hmmm! click! (d'oh, i'm a biologist for crying out loud!)

so instead of doing the eating apricots and cornflakes thing (the blood donor nurse suggested red wine and dark chocolate!) to bring my iron levels back up i decided to start with some iron supplements....(don't worry, it was suggested by the nurse too, but i normally prefer to do things like this more naturally)..... just to help increase my iron a bit quicker.....

i'll give an update of if i feel it has helped in a coupla weeks..... i'm hoping my legs will feel less tired!

TaTa *H*

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

6.75 minutes does not a workout make!

hey! i had a fab day at the gym, yeah it was hot, yeah it was tiring, but i now feel fab!

did 2 miles in 22.35... woulda been quicker if i could run straight thru, but needed to break for water.... must learn how to drink and run!

then did the crosstrainer for 35 mins.... was really easy, time flew by, thanks to the music channel playing some good beat filled music.... particularly liking "Man-eater" by Nelly Fertado and "Voodoo Child" by The Rogue Traders. There is nothing more annoying than when the music channel plays some dire ballard that has no pace to it.... grr!

then went back on the treadmill for my cool-down... (which generally isn't much of a cool down as i'm still in the mood to work, but it was too hot today)... so i'm walking at 4mph on incline 7.... and a woman who had just arrived started running on the treadmill next to me... for 1 minute, 35 seconds.... then she got off.

odd, i thought

then she went on the crosstrainer

ahh, maybe she was doing a mega-speedy warm up, thinks me

5 minutes, 14 seconds later.... she stops... and leaves!?!

very confused! (was i!)

so she put in 6minutes, 49 seconds of effort! wow!

there seems to be a craze at my gym for this kinda "workout".... i've seen several woman arrive and leave in the space of 10-15 minutes.... is this a new way to exercise?!? i'm confused.... would there be any benefit to "exercising" like that?!

i don't get it!

TaTa *H*

Monday, July 24, 2006

5.30am? Does this make me a hardcore runner?!

Okays.... so... got up at 5.30am..... had orange juice, brushed teeth, put on running clothes. Sorted! (whose bright idea was this?! oh yeah! mine...... grr!)

left house at 5.55am.... jogged thru the park (slightly up-hill) as a warm up.... then erm, walked past some houses... (got embarrassed in case anyone saw me... although it was before 6am, but still!)

Ran along the promenade bit by the waterfront, then did some quick-quick running thru the building site. Walked over the bridge, had some water, then ran down the VERY long, VERY straight, VERY boring road that leads to town... hurrah!

Once past the main road we ran till we arrived at work.... sweaty and panting! At 6.30ish, we think.... Once again forgot to time our run (dammit, dammit, dammit)

thank god noone else was there! Had time to cool down and stretch, wash and change before either boss arrived, so that was a bonus!

so, 7am came, and the stocktake was due to begin.... with brand new HHT zappy things.... but....

none of the barcodes could be recognized! HQ said new computer package couldn't be sent till someone arrived at HQ (9am).

9am came..... nothing..... bloomin' technology!

9.20 came....... nothing..... hmm....

9.40 came....... you've guessed it.... nothing.....

9.50 came.... confirmation that stocktake is cancelled, rescheduled for 5 weeks time at least....

10am, store opens (1hr late!)

so, that's 3 hrs pay for three people, no work done.....
2hrs extra pay for 4 people......
and the two stock-controllers need paying too! haha, i don't see the area manager being happy about that!

but, the upside was testing the run to work.... (we ran the long way, btw!) i guess in five weeks time we get to do an action replay (this time with a damn watch!)


Tata *H*

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Tomorrow's Friday?! Already?!

Yikes! Scary to think tomorrow is Friday.... days have gone by without me noticing! eek!

well, Tuesday i went to the gym after work with *E* and did some more quadracep work.... also did some running.... but blimey the quadracep thing is magic! haven't noticed much difference with running yet, but it sure makes riding my bike easier! wow!

also rode out to the beach on Tuesday as it was such loverly weather! Hurrah, i like where i live when its good weather.... its just boring when its bad weather... saw some runners moving their stuff along the waterfront.... rather them than me, think i woulda burnt to a crisp in minutes thanks to my stoopid pale skin! grr!

On Wednesday, temperatures reached a record high for July, yep it sure was warm, i was glad to get to work where there is air-con! such a luxury! The staff room was still boiling, what with its mainly glass structure (i know what you're thinking... is every building in England made from glass?!?!.... erm, no) but it was great going from cool to warm to cool again! Gave the gym a miss tho (regretted it later, boo hiss)

Today i was up and at the gym for a morning session, which is almost unheard of (usually because of work or uni- my gym doesn't open till 8.30am!) but it was great! i made sure i had a smaller breakfast so that i wouldn't get a stitch while running, and that and the cooler air made it fabulous! did 20 mins on the treadmill... i forgot what distance i did (damn annoying, i like to keep track) then 35 mins on the stepper doing quadraceps, then ten minutes walking on incline 7 to cool down. i was home by lunchtime, feeling very much alive. I did my stretches and sit-ups at home while waiting for my dad to pop round. time efficient!

*E* and I have something exciting planned for Monday.... we need to be at work for 7am, so we've decided it would be fun if..... we..... ran there! we'll leave at 6am(ish) so hopefully not that many people will see us! That should give us time to have a wash, rehydrate and eat some brekkie! hopefully.....

you never know...... it might become a regular thing!

if only we worked somewhere that had showers (and a gym! wow! that'd be fab!)

one day... when i get my degree... maybe!

Tata *H*

Monday, July 17, 2006

weekend fun! soooo bad!

Hey, hey! such a fun weekend, tho calorie counting went a bit out the window, boo hiss! but it was fun!

friday: went to my gym, a bit late (an hour before closing) and got the evil eye from the staff who i assume wanted to go home early. (working in retail i completely understand... people who shop 5 minutes before we close annoy me sooooo much, especially when its been quiet all day!)

but, i needed to get my quadracep work in, which i did, but after some running (2miles, 22:23). the stepper machine has a setting for quadracep, which you do backwards (retro-stepping! hehe!) I stepped for 30mins, and really felt it too! On saturday i was riding my bike and my legs felt so weak! eek! i guess its recovery time!

Anyway, saturday i went out for a birthday celebration (not mine!)..... mainly sitting in beer-gardens in a town quite close to me... on the seafront. The town is so pretty, with parks and planted areas, i guess i should have taken some photos to post! It was a pub crawl so i there was some (limited) exercise to be had... and i had cycled there. I mainly stuck to bacardi and diet coke (52 cals/per shot) but also had three pints of cider and black (250cals/pint) and a sambuca (no idea!/per shot) The evening was rounded off by some dancing in my second favourite club... an alternative/rocky place. It was an excellent night, and gave me the chance to catch up with friends, hurrah!

Sunday: got up earlyish, wandered to Starbucks for lunch (a bit of a Sunday ritual for *E* and I), then walked along the seafront, was such a beautiful day again, very warm, sooo sunny! it was great! I think *E* and I must of walked for a good 5 hours. We were definately exhausted when we got home again! So i'm hoping that made up for Saturday night a bit! *crosses fingers*

Its another hot day today.... so will either go to the gym later today, or this evening if its cooler, or go for a run outdoors, not sure yet!

Tata, Have fun! *H*

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Much variableness....

Ok, so i'm sure that's not a word, but ya get what i mean?

so, Tuesday, i did my allotted time on the runner... then some extra work, stepper and more running, and all was good, right?

hmm, Wednesday was not such a triumph......

i went to the gym with *E* after work, and something just wasn't...... happening. Grrr!

it was hot.... and i kinda knew this, the weather report said it would get hotter in the evening (not that i believed that!) and i was on the treadmill closest to the open door (my favourite, dunno why, but routine counts me thinks!).

There was noooooo breeze at all, not one puff of cool air at all......... weird, cos my gym is virtually on the shore... always breezy!

so i got hot! very hot! and it wasn't comfortable, so it didn't happen.

i ran 10 mins at 6.5mph, but then was toooooo hot!

so i walked for a bit, ran a bit more, but couldn't get a comfy pace, so i steppered on the stepper machine (cross trainer whatname) for 30mins... hmph!

but today.... yay! go me!

i ran my 12 mins at 6.2mph, walked for 4 mins on incline 7 at 4.0mph, then ran another 7 mins at 5.9mph.... then steppered some serious steps for 30 mins........ then walked another 10 mins at incline 7, and 4mph as my cool down-ish.

pretty good considering it was still hot (how dumb is it to have a gym in a conservatory?!?)

think tomorrow i'll do some quadracep work, give my lower legs a break! they say a good way to improve quadracep strength is retro running... hmm.... odd!

on a musical note.. (hehe!) the new muse album is fab.... the new snow patrol album is fab and i'm thinking the new soul asylum album is pretty good too....

anywho, tata, *H*

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Hurrah! Cycle is broken!

erm, that's the vicious cycle of being sad, not working out, being down cos of not working out, therefore not wanting to work out.... and so on.....

not my lovely mountain bike which gets me to the place of working out! that would be a disaster.... it would take me sooooo much longer to get everywhere!

anyway.... i ran my 12 minutes at 6mph.... then i did some speedwork, alternating 5.5 and 6.5 mph each minute for ten minutes. then i did the groovy stepper machine thing for 30 mins and then did another 15 mins of alternating 5.5 and 6.5mph.

was a good, good day at they gym! Loved every minute! ....then had a glorious bike ride home in the sunshine. A Red Admiral butterfly landed on my treadmill machine today... right over the time counter, resting out of the sun, then it fluttered away back outside.

anywho... running at 6.5mph is magic, sooo can't keep it up for long, but it feels far more natural than 5.5 now.... but i hope overall it will let me run normally at 6.0mph soon.... get my lung capacity up a bit!

Oooh, and Paula Radcliff announced her pregnancy today, and that she'd continue competing (really?!?) and in her media release said she's very happy and finds it easier to run when she's happy... so i guess mood effects performance even when you are a world champion runner. eek!

I'm toying with the idea of trying out a 5km race soonish (well, this year at least!) but dunno if i can overcome my terror of organised sport (ie, PE at school!). I think so long as i don't come last it will be fine.... tho i'd probably just be happy with finishing!

On a uni note.... my project supervisor has emailed to say i didn't get the project i wanted (with a company, boo hiss!) but i could do the same project title at uni, which is good, given that i've started researching and all....

Can't give away too many secrets, cos the company might "purchase" my research later on (plus, y'know, a Nobel would be nice....), but i can say it involves bacteria (yay!) and packaged food.

how nerdy am i?! hehe!

tata *H*

Monday, July 10, 2006

Quiet House

Hmmm, my house is so quiet now.... guess you don't realise how much noise a cat makes until they are no longer there. No cat bell ringing, no plodding as she trots down the stairs when the fridge is opened, no miaowing to have the door opened, no purring to wake you up. i miss her.

I have not been running since wednesday, mainly cos i have been too sad. I know this sounds like an excuse, but my mood really effects how my workouts go. If i am happy: workouts are far easier, angry: i work harder, stressed: running lets me think things through. But sad, just makes it all seem so hard. I wonder if this is the same for everyone?

And, of course, this is part of the problem, because i know if i work-out, put in that bit of effort, reach a target, i will feel better. Its proven.... exercise makes you feel better!

Vicious Cycle!!!

So, i am going to the gym tomorrow morning.... and i'm gonna run, run, run.

My aim is to run 12 mins at 6mph, then see how it goes from there. I can run longer at a slower speed, but i wanna up my overall speed so i'm going to do some speedwork training and see how it goes.

My theory is "Think positive: act positive: be positive!" .... erm, maybe....

Tata *H*

Thursday, July 06, 2006

A sad, sad day

Today has been rubbish as far as days go....

This morning, my cat was ill, all sleepy and depressed, so i took her to the vet... literally, i got up, saw her, put her in a cat-box and left for the vet... She was that ill looking.

Thankfully, the vet saw her within 5 minutes of me arriving....

She suspected a tumor and whisked her off to the vet hospital for blood tests and x-rays....

about an hour later i got a phone call to say she was anemic and had a tumor in her intestine... an inoperable tumor..... the vet had called to say the kindest thing to do would be to put her to sleep.

I managed to grab a lift and got there to see my cat in a very sorry state.... so poorly

it was particularly worrying as two days ago, she was fine.... so the vet did what she had to do, and my cat had a very peaceful ending....

Thank god we can do for pets what we cannot do for humans..... give them a dignified and peaceful end to their lives when it becomes clear there is no future other than continual suffering and pain.

Tata *H*

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

The "Bodies" Exhibition

Hehe, i know i said i'd post yesterday, but by the time i'd got home, i was too tired. Oops, sorry!

Also, i shoulda put a *warning* by the link on Monday.... if you find bodies (dead) in any way distressing, or the thought of them being displayed, then PLEASE don't click the link!

Actually, even as a biologist i had reservations about viewing the exhibit, not for the "eugh, it's weird" thing, but for the feeling that people deserve to be treated with respect when they die.

I have to say i was pleasantly surprised with the exhibit, not only the standard of the specimens, but with the scientific and dignified way they have been presented. Basic scientific facts, written in a clear and understandable way are given with each display.

It was ~AMAZING~

The detail visible, provided by special scientific techniques was, at some times, literally breathtaking. The section on veins, arteries and circulation was incredible.

It has been said that this kind of information is not needed by the general public, and for interested people there is a wide selection of medical texts that present detailed diagrams. I held this view until i saw the exhibit.

I have definitely changed my view.... The exhibit has enhanced my knowledge, and the comments book at the end of the display showed others also felt this way... although there were negative views of the exhibit too, which is fair enough... dead bodies aren't everyone's cup of tea!

But the point is, it is a choice to view.... nobody can force you to go!

i was initially hesitant, and i have completely changed my mind.... maybe you would too.

I defo recommend going if you get the opportunity, and if you wish too, of course! It will defo make you think in a different way about your body.

I cannot post photos (and nor would i!) because cameras aren't allowed. So if you do wanna see, you'll have to go yourself.... there are several exhibits dotted around the world!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On a completely different note...... for the journey home yesterday i bought a copy of "Runner's World". It is the first running magazine i have bought, and was mostly pleased, except some of it seems a bit "elitist" and some articles and letters gave the view of looking down on beginners.... i really hope this is not the overall view! otherwise i'm screwed!

But it did give good advice on how to up my game when running.... Apparently i need to be faster!

So today at the gym i tried a 6.0 mph pace, instead of my normal 5.4mph. It was FUN! i made a mile in a mere 10 minutes (obviously!) and didn't feel much worse for it (except for the heat in the gym..... it was 30ish degrees C again today, so in the gym was Very Warm!) It was FUN!. So after a rather measly ONE mile i needed to stop, drink and wipe my face with a towel (blegh!). But it was FUN! And i carried on.....

I'm gonna try again tomorrow...... i like this going further quicker.... magic!

Monday, July 03, 2006

Beautiful Day!

Today is gorgeous!

The temperature is gonna rise to about 30 degrees, which is pretty good going for England, hurrah!

I love the summer, i'm definitely more of a warm weather person, the only downside is that my gym is in a building made of glass, so its a bit like working out in a greenhouse! i try to avoid mid-day obviously, but it is still harder work in the heat.

So, last night i went for a run with *E* around a fort. It was scary running outdoors... Well, i have run outdoors before.... but this was in daylight!!! Eek! People could see me!

Before the run i had that horrible feeling of "school sport's day"... eugh! (ok, i'll admit now, sports was my least favourite part of school, except netball, which was ok). it's weird that i still get this feeling, because its been 11 years since i left school!

anyway, this run was different to previous outdoor runs.... which have been on the pavement... because this was on a trail which runs around the perimeter of the fort.... so not flat, and not free from obstacles. A kinda scary hazard is that fishermen use the moat, and their pontoons are accessed from steep steps, which aren't visible until you're next to them. All i can say is thank god we chose to run in daylight hours, otherwise we'd have been swimming the route! All we'd need is a bike ride, and tri-here-we-come!

I can't give any times or distances, because i forgot to time properly, and the distance i haven't worked out yet. so more of a fun run than a training run, but good none-the-less.

Tomorrow i'm off to the "bodies" exhibition in London (http://www.trendandculture.com/bodies/). I'll post about it when i get back!

Ta ta, *H*

Saturday, July 01, 2006

My Blogging Debut!

Hmm, how to begin?!

hmm, well, first of all, i'll talk about why i've started a blog. It's actually a surprise i've made it this far seeing as i'm rubbish with all- things- computer.

anywho, i've recently been reading some blogs, which have got me hooked. This may be related to my diversion tactics from revising for my recently taken exams, or it's because these people blog about stuff i'm interested in, as well as their everyday life occurrences. I'll talk a bit about these other blogs in future posts, and maybe you'll visit them and get hooked too!

And, so..... i decided to start this, to join the lil blogging community, y'know, get with the tech-age, and see what happens. Maybe nobody will read, and that's fine. Maybe someone will stumble across it and read a while, and somebody may regularly read and leave comments (ooh, the possibilities!)

So what is my blog gonna be about? Erm, well, i'm a (mature?!? their label, not mine!) undergrad biology student and i have a bit of a thing for running (even tho i'm not that good at it, i really love it!) so it's a fair bet i'll chit chat about that (i'll try not to blog about actual biology stuff tho!), as well as the more general everyday stuff.

My blog is called Patchwork Life because i kinda feel that's how life is for me, and for most people, a life made up of many different parts, some aspects may not be relevant at all times, but still exist, and more parts can be added along the way. (It's nowt to do with quilts!)

So, i'm gonna aim to post once a week, at least, tho i expect it'll be more.

Ta Ta, *H*