Ah, fresh starts. Aren’t they great?

Here are a few little habits I’d like to improve upon in the month of March.

01. Make the bed every morning
02. Put away my clothes once a day
03. Walk the dog 5 days/week
04. Stop eating as though it’s still Christmas
05. Go for a run twice/week
06. Write something in my journal every day
07. Focus on one room of my house at a time, and completely unpack it
08. Take some photos of my pretty new home
09. Make a nice, big dent in my 101 list
10. By the end of this month, cease being in my twenties

That last one isn’t exactly negotiable, but the others may take a little bit of concentration!

I must say, life is treating me well right now. Our new house is finally starting to feel like home, and we’re gradually finding solutions to all its little problems “quirks”. Like the fact that it has no pantry, and no cabinet in the bathroom, and…

… it turns out that it’s all fine, and nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a bit of clever shelving. Our new home has got so much style and charm, and although it has one less bedroom than the last place it manages to look very spacious. We have incredible sunset views every afternoon, a constant breeze and brand new paint and carpet. As much as I loved our previous house, it’s nice to not have cracks in the ceiling that actually let through sunlight!

On top of all of that, several people have answered my call for butt-kicking me into finishing my 101 Thing in 1001 Days list! My friend Sally deserves extra credit for planning a 10-day visit in which we’ll visit the Great Ocean Rd, do the Neighbours tour, see fairy penguins at Philip Island and maybe even fit in a ghost tour. She’s already orchestrated the Yarra river cruise and taught me sign language, and I owe her a great deal of credit for encouraging me throughout my silly self-imposed challenge.

And later this month I’ll be waving goodbye to my twenties. The big Three-Oh seems to big a big deal for some people, but for some reason I’m not all that excited about it! I’m not dreading it either, I guess I just don’t see it as much of a landmark occasion. My new “chapter” began when I moved to Melbourne I think, perhaps it’s just too soon for another one.

Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind about this during the next two weeks. My family has begun to make a bit of a fuss of me, so perhaps it will rub off!

So, there’s lots to look forward to in March, and beyond. My favourite seasons are approaching, my favourite boy is close enough to snuggle, and work has been very rewarding. Life feels so much better when you’re in the driver’s seat, zipping through the traffic and singing along to the radio!

Have a lovely March. I know I will!

Uh oh!

I’ve just realised that I have a little more than seven months in which to complete my 101 Things in 1001 Days list. Time to get serious.

Here are the things that I will cross off in March:

005: Learn 15 new vegetarian recipes (12/15)
- only three to go! I am so slack.

008: Learn to cook a recipe from 30 different countries (12/30)
- I’m going to learn 5 recipes next month.

011: Walk my dog 5 days/week for 1 month (0/20)
- I need to do this before the days get shorter again, so March it is!

012: Go for three 2-hour bike rides (2/3)
- one to go!

016: Write a budget; and
017: Set a savings target, meet it, and maintain it for 6 months.
- I was making progress, but then moving house came along and ruined everything…

020: See 25 movies of Tim’s choosing (18/25)
- NOTE TO TIM: March is Boy Movie Month. I need to see at least 4 of his movies in March.

023: Build a time capsule
- Another task that is almost done, just need to throw in the last few things

024: Read the dictionary from beginning to end (Now Reading: “M”)
- I’ll read up to “U” next month

038: Visit 10 local art galleries (4/10)
- Rather than just going to the same galleries, I’m going to 2 new ones next month.

040: Read 10 novels by Melbourne authors (7/10)
- March is the month that I will finish the crappy novel I’ve been stuck on for weeks on end. The final 2 books are sitting on my bookshelf, waiting for me!

043: Go on a ghost tour
- Tiiiiiii-iiiiiiim, c’moooon. For me?

084: Participate in 100 Snapshots (62/100)
I’m sort of loving this task. I have a bunch more photos to take, but I love it.

In reality, I think I have accepted that I won’t finish all 101 Things on my list by September 28. In fact, there are two items on my list that I can’t possibly complete in the time that I have left, if I am to be faithful to the criteria that I set for myself. I’m reluctant to re-write the requirements just to get that magical “101″, when I haven’t truly achieved it.

So instead I am looking at it this way: by the time September rolls around I’ll have definitely done 80+ things on my list. 90+ is extremely possible. I might even reach 99 Things! That’s not too bad, right? I consider each of those tasks as things that I may not have gotten around to doing without my trusty list, so there’s still plenty to be proud of.

Even if I stopped today with 60 items complete I’ve achieved so much. I love my little so much that I’ve already jotted down some ideas for my next one.

Can I have some volunteers to kick my butt through March and make all this happen?

I’m in so much denial about this 2010 thing that everybody is talking about. I mean, can’t we all just calm down about 2010 and wait until Christmas has passed?

Hang on a minute…
Is that why people kept giving me presents last week?

I think I’d better accept that this year will be over in about six hours and say my goodbyes!

2009 was pretty good to Tim and I.  Our little house was full of friends and family, but there was also plenty of space for the two of us to just be together.  Both of us have had periods of stress in our jobs because of downsizing, but for the most part our work lives have been pretty fulfilling.  We’ve lived well, loved well, and we seem to have achieved some wisdom about what matters most.  It doesn’t get much better than that, does it?

Many of my friends, coworkers and fellow bloggers seem to want this year to be done.  So, for their sake, I’m okay with the clean slate that a new year will bring!

Here are my resolutions for 2010 (and beyond):

1. Continue to plug away at my 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge. With 42 items on my list still remaining, and a finish date of 28 September 2010, I have a lot of work to do! There are a lot of “works in progress” in that total, so it’s still an achievable goal. And hey, if I fall short by a few it’s still a monumental achievement.

2. Write a grown-up budget. Not that there’s anything wrong with spending all my pay each month, and then living out the final 10 days on instant noodles… but I would like to buy a house someday…

3. Move house. We absolutely adore our enormous 3-bedroom, inner-Melbourne house and our huge backyard… but it’s time to start putting our money to better use. We have no regrets about the time we’ve spent here, but it’s time to move on.

4. Continue to improve my health. I’m an idiot for not writing about this already, but I finished Couch to 5K almost a month ago and lost a buttload of weight in the process! I’ve been given a glimpse into a life where I feel fit and healthy, and I want more. In the short term this will mean:

- Making running a few times per week a part of my routine
- Heading back to the gym and swimming lots of laps
- Fresh food that focuses on vegetables, fruit, wholegrains, fish, lean meat and tons of water. No fads!

5. Reconnect with that which is most important. I plan to set aside time each day to clear my brain of work, TV and Internet… and just focus on getting back to “me”. My plan is to rediscover my passion for my paper journal, and playing music again. I’m just not me without them.

Five resolutions is plenty for somebody who doesn’t normally make NY resolutions!

It’s exciting to have some clear goals in mind, and to imagine life at the end of next year if I have been able to improve each of these areas of my life.

Something tells me that 2010 is going to be great for me, and hope it’s great for you too.

Are you setting any resolutions for yourself this year?

Part of my 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge.

My Mum and Dad gave us a little trip to the Sunshine Coast for an early Christmas present this year, up near Noosa. We stayed in a beautiful resort for 4 nights, slept in late each morning and had long, luxurious breakfasts beside the pool. It was nice to live the life of the rich & famous for a little while!

There was a tour desk in the foyer of the resort, and on our second day I had a browse through the racks of brochures on the walls. For some reason I was really looking forward to seeing the Sunny Coast through the eyes of a tourist rather than going to my usual haunts. I picked up a bunch of great brochures, including two for horseriding.

One of the two offered beach rides, and I was hooked! We were off to the Noosa North Shore that same afternoon, which involved taking our car across the river by ferry.

We were lucky enough to be riding with only one other couple, plus the two riding instructors, and it meant that we were all able to chat during our two-hour ride. The company was great and the views spectacular – particularly as a storm was beginning to brew in the distance.

My little fella was called “Chappy”, and he was the most docile horse I’ve ever ridden. In fact, that was my only real disappointment – I could have let go of the reins for most of those two hours and he’d have just followed his pals. Monkey see, monkey do… one foot in front of the other.

It was clear right from the start that I wouldn’t be able to go ahead of the group and have a little trot or canter. The other girl in the group had done lots of riding as a kid, but the guys didn’t have any experience. It was very obvious that if one horse was to pick up speed, the others would have bolted too.

It’s only a small disappointment really, as the whole experience was still wonderful. It was beautiful to watch the waves crashing against the sand, and wade through the shallows with Chappy. The wetlands that grew beside the beach was home to lots of black cockatoos, and we saw a couple of wedge-tail eagles hovering overhead as well.

From the far end of the beach we could see Hastings St clearly, and when we caught the ferry back to the mainland we decided to head there for dinner. There was just enough light when we arrived that we could see the beach we’d ridden along just an hour earlier.

Noosa was lit up beautifully for Christmas, including this fairy-light tree in the main roundabout on Hastings St. We found a great seafood restaurant to sit and eat, while complaining about our sore saddle bums!

I managed to cross a few items off my list during my QLD vacation, but this was one of my favourites!

Cute cartoon from Everyday People Cartoons.

I’ve really slacked off in the running department during the past fortnight. Most of it can be attributed to Life, and it’s uncanny ability to get in the way of Stuff I Should Do, but there have been a few missed opportunities because I’ve just been feeling blah about it all.

It’s all a bit stupid, considering that I only have a few more runs to go before I can cross another thingo off my list. So what’s wrong with me?

You might remember my ridiculously dramatic post last week, where I compared my post-run state to that of a dying fly. Today’s run was almost as bad, and I’m sick of feeling so crap when I’m actually really enjoying the act of running itself!

The problem seems to be stitches. It’s strange that I am suddenly developing such horrible cramps when I run, as it’s something I didn’t experience at all until just a couple of weeks ago. Today’s was so bad that it felt like a broken rib was digging into my stomach every time I took a step. Even running up and down a low traffic island was excruciating, to the point where I had trouble breathing for 15 seconds afterwards. It’s like a horrible bruise that’s getting pounded with a stick every time I move. Unsurprisingly, it is most unenjoyable.

The most frustrating part is that I didn’t feel physically tired, but had to “protect” my stupid injury by reducing my pace and pushing through it. I felt like I otherwise had the strength and stamina to run really well today. The will was there, but my diaphragm didn’t get the memo.

Has anyone beaten the battle against these cramps? I’ve read plenty of theories about what causes them, and the most likely scenario in my case is that my asthma is causing me to breathe unnaturally. I’ve been conscious of all the flowering stuff in my neighbourhood during the past few weeks, and the unavoidable way in which I suck in all their lovely pollen as I run past. I’m sure this isn’t helping my lung capacity when I need it most.

I’ve heard other theories too, such as too much salt (or too little salt), or too much water (or too little water). With advice like this is it any wonder I’m confused?

Please discuss any theories, advice, experiences or laments in the comments. I’m off for some recovery sleep!

It’s safe to say that tonight’s run was not one of my best.

Last week I only ran once, and it really sucked to lose the rhythm that I’ve kept up since I began Couch to 5K at the end of September. I blame the loss of momentum on a few things, but mainly it was my weekend away and having part of my arm butchered. Both of them were pretty good excuses, but the setback was frustrating.

I’ve been feeling blah all day, but really needed to get back in the saddle and go for a run. Perhaps my blahness was a sign of things to come though, as tonight’s run was probably the worst one I’ve ever done!

Here are a few reasons why it sucked:

•  I got a crippling stitch in my diaphragm, which lasted for 22 minutes of my 28-minute session.

•  Blisters. Blisters that made me feel as though my feet were bleeding.

•  Did I mention that Melbourne has commenced fly plague season?

•  ASTHMA. In retrospect, the asthma was probably responsible for my stitch as I was breathing unnaturally the entire time.

•  As a result, I needed my inhaler much more than normal. And this may have had something to do with my overwhelming urge to vomit towards the end of my run.

• I found myself 15 minutes from home, and so irritated by all of the above that I actually ripped my headphones out of my ears because my music was annoying me. It was as though my brain couldn’t take any more information than what it already had to deal with. Weird.

• Getting home aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand… headspins. That’s the part where I sat on the front porch for a few minutes, because walking through the front door no longer featured in my short-term plans.

By the time I had recovered enough to actually come in from the street, I just walked straight out to my back deck and stretched out – face down – in order to relieve the horrible cramp in my abdomen. I was sweaty and gross and wheezing and picturing the weepy guests at my funeral, when I was overcome with the sudden urge to turn my head to the other side.

And then, I saw it. Right beside my head was a little message from the Universe; a metaphor that would equip me with the tools to whine on my blog like I have never whined on my blog before.

I called Tim and asked him to bring me the camera.

A couple of hours has passed, and I feel only marginally better than this fly. In fact, last time I checked the little dude was still wriggling around a bit… so I guess he’s in for a painful death like the one I’m experiencing.

The good news? I finished. One more 28-minute run later this week, and then I can finish up with three 30-minute runs. I’m pretty sure I’m not even going to notice that extra two minutes…

What happened to that euphoria I wrote about in Week 4?

Click to see the full-size chart.

Today I began Week 8 of Couch to 5K! I ran my longest time and distance yet – 4.6km (2.9 miles) in 28 minutes. It’s hardly a record-breaking pace, but I did it.

And I only have five runs to go before I can cross this one off my list!

Today I chose a new route, and seriously overestimated the time I expected the course to take. I found myself very close to home with 13 minutes still to run – it was devastating! Digging up the motivation to keep running for that long was really difficult because I’d already fallen into “home stretch” headspace.

I dealt with it by setting small short-term goals, and used a long uphill stretch of road to take my mind off the clock. I discovered that lungburn will take your mind off almost any problem.

It was a beautiful afternoon to be out running; the sun was out, and there was a beautiful cool breeze. There were a lot of other runners on the road, and I couldn’t help but make some observations. First of all, drivers will almost always wave you across the road if you run “on the spot” at an intersection. The sight of an impending cardiac arrest seems to bring out the charitable side of most people! Secondly, most other runners will acknowledge you with a nod or a smile as you pass. It’s like a secret club.

(Thirdly, those runners who choose to ignore your very existance are always – without exception – women. Women who suddenly run taller and faster until they’re out of your line of sight!)

My iphone buzzed in my hand about 800m from home to let me know that my 28 minutes was up. Despite the fact that I felt physically spent, I decided to see how long I could sprint at full pace. I was amazed to discover that I was able to sprint an entire block, more than 60 seconds, after my 28 minute run! It really blows my mind that I have come so far, given that 60 seconds of jogging was the absolute limit of my stamina in Week 1.

There’s really no denying that interval training programs such as C25K can produce incredible, measurable results.

It’s hard to believe that this time next week I will be running my last week of the program. I’d better hurry up and figure out what I’m going to do once it’s finished – you can bet that I won’t be undoing any of my hard work!

Couch to 5K is part of my 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge.

I have a confession to make.

Today I really did not want to go for a run. I was feeling dehydrated (thanks for the heatwave, Melbourne!), and the sudden explosion of pollen in the air had transformed me into a walking snot factory for the day. To say that I was feeling unmotivated is an understatement.

Thank God for new shoes, and my inability to resist them!

I had imagined that my new running shoes might transform my running experience into something angelic and cloud-like, perhaps increasing my stride threefold with their trampolinesque properties. I mean, they can’t charge a couple of hundred dollars for shoes that don’t possess superpowers, right?

Right!

So I threw on some lycra, laced up my new shoes, and blew my nose a few hundred times. Despite the heat, and despite the severe respiratory distress, I was determined to glide through the streets of Melbourne with the finesse of a seasoned runner. A seasoned runner, that is, with new shoes.

Maybe I should have bought the $300 shoes.

I mean, all things considered I did pretty well. To have run 25 minutes (again!) without walking, and while I was feeling less than physically fantastic, is a pretty huge sign that I am improving. Remember when all C25K asked of me was 60 second bursts of jogging? Those 60 second runs represented the absolute limit of my capabilities six weeks ago, so to be running for 25 minutes is nothing less than incredible. I think it’s important to look at the big picture occasionally, because it provides much-needed perspective.

Having said that, last week’s 25-minute run felt so much better than today’s. I felt more fatigued this time, lost a lot more sweat, and yet felt as though I was travelling so much slower. I still managed to cover 4km in that time, so I think I’m on track to achieve 5km in Week 9 without too much trouble.

While running this afternoon I thought back over some of the little lessons I’ve learned since beginning this thing. I know I wrote some of these down in the past, but here are some new tips that might help other runners at this stage of the program:

• My Couch to 5K iphone app continues to be a major motivator when I run. However, here’s a new tip! When you reach the end of Week 6, and you’re down to single running sessions, switch your phone to mute. Your music will continue to play, and the app will buzz in your hand when it is time to start and time to stop. Muting the phone prevents the audio prompt from telling you when you hit the halfway point, which is a major advantage in my case! There’s nothing worse than thinking that you’re on the home stretch, only to find out that you have another 12 minutes to go.
• Belly breathing is something that I have always done naturally, perhaps because of my background as a singer. It is the opposite of shallow breathing, and necessitates the use of your diaphragm. Last week I had some excrutiating stitches that I now attribute directly to my breathing. I think I was trying to improve my posture by keeping my belly in, and it resulted in spasms in my diaphragm. Google it, it’s apparently a common rookie mistake!
• Don’t forget: the first half is ALWAYS so much worse than the second half of any run. Get into a good rhythm, breathe, and remind yourself that the rhythm will come and the discomfort will lessen. And at the end of it all, you’ll be one session closer to Week 9!

Is anyone else out there still doing this thing? Tell me how you’re going!

Last time I wrote about Couch to 5k was about a week ago, and I had just completed Week 5 with a bang. That post was written after my first 20-min run which, despite my concerns, was not a fatal experience.

And then I had to go and jinx myself with the final sentence:

“My greatest hope is that my body remains injury-free, and continues to adapt to this foreign sensation!”

Well… way to go, me! I’m sure you can guess what happened next.

Last Monday I began Week 6 feeling fantastic. I was looking forward to a much easier session than the one before it, with three runs (5, 8 and 5 minutes) and two 3-minute walks in between them. It should have been an easy 25 minutes, but a few minutes in I was feeling terrible. I suddenly felt lethargic, my legs felt like lead and I had to concentrate really hard on putting one foot in front of the other.

I finished the session, but by the time I got home I was miserable. My neck felt a little out, and I was dripping with sweat for the first time since beginning the program. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me, but rather than let it psych me out I decided to put it behind me and just get a good night’s rest.

The next morning I couldn’t turn my head to the left. Like Zoolander, I had ceased to be an ambi-turner.

In hindsight, I’m pretty sure that I came down with some sort of bug last week. I felt a bit “off” for a few days, slept really hard every night, and woke up each morning not feeling refreshed. My theory is that I held my body differently during my run to compensate for the sudden fatigue, which led to some sort of pinched nerve in my neck. I kept it in check with anti-inflammatories and a wheat pack for about 5 days until it was mostly back to normal.

The hardest part was accepting that I would have to take some time off running. Obviously it would have been pretty stupid to compound the problem by pushing through it, so I decided to take a week off.

Today I re-started Week 6. Once again, I found this particular session pretty difficult, but that can almost definitely be attributed to the fact that I took a break. It was nowhere near as hard as it was a week ago, which sort of confirms my theory that I was fighting off some sort of bug last week.

I guess the most interesting part of this experience was the way I coped with not running. It’s become such a big part of my life now, even though I’m still a beginner, that it was noticeably absent from my routine last week. There was a small degree of anxiety over how well I would pick it up again this week, but mostly I just missed hitting the streets and feeling healthy. I really look forward to the stage where I can run for 20 minutes without any apprehension, just for that feeling, a few times a week. That’s freedom right there – using your own body to cover a stack of ground, and feeling even better on the other side of it.

My medium-term goal is to reach that place. In the short-term I still have a month of C25K to finish, but if all goes well I can wrap this baby up by the end of November!

(That wasn’t an invitation, jinx gods.)

Yesterday I finished Week 5 of the Couch to 5K (C25K) – a nine week interval training program that promises to have you running for 30 minutes, or 5k, by the end.

Last week’s program had me pretty worried, so I thought it might be worthwhile writing something short about the way it turned out for me. There must be other people out there who are googling the hell out of C25K to see how others are handling it – so here is another person’s account!

Week 5 is traditionally the week when most people drop out of C25K, for reasons I completely understand. On paper it looks unachievable to the beginning runner, as it sets a goal that is far beyond anything we’ve had to achieve up until that point. Here’s what I mean:

Week 5, Day 1: Three 5-minute runs, with 3-minute walks in between.
Week 5, Day 2: Two 8-minute runs, with one 5-minute walk in the middle.
Week 5, Day 3: Run for 20 minutes with no walking.

At this stage in the program the longest interval we’ve ever had to run without walking is 8 minutes. How was I ever going to run for more than double this time?

I didn’t actually believe that I could do the 20-minute run. In truth, I never feel completely physically spent after each running segment in my sessions, but I have come to rely on those short “rest” periods of walking to prepare my lungs for the next burst of punishment. The prospect of cutting out the walks completely scared the crap out of me!

All I can say is that I attempted it with the best possible attitude I could muster. I assured myself that if I didn’t make it this time, it was okay to try it again until I met the goal. I reminded myself that plenty of other people repeat entire weeks until they are ready to move on with the program, and that it was okay to be one of them.

I fired up the music, started my C25K app, and turned the screen of my iphone off. I decided to forget about the clock, and just run.

20 minutes later I stopped!

I won’t lie – there were times when I wanted to walk. I didn’t get any of that euphoria that I wrote about on Monday, and that made every step a little bit harder. However, I don’t think that it was any more difficult than the first time I ran for 5 minutes, or 8 minutes – or even the first time I ran for 90 seconds! I remain amazed at the way that my body continually adapts to the new challenges I put in front of it.

The key, I guess, is making sure that you pace yourself. I kept a good steady pace throughout the entire 20 minutes, but this time I didn’t go out of my way to choose lots of hilly streets or force myself to extend my stride. The challenge of running for 20 minutes was enough, I saw no need to overachieve.

I covered 3.2km yesterday, which included a 4-minute cool-down walk. Tim commented that I didn’t seem out of breath when I got home, and it’s true – my recovery time was pretty much contained to those 4 minutes. My biggest challenge during the run was to manage my asthma, as I have become quite reliant on my inhaler halfway through my sessions. I couldn’t have used my inhaler without stopping momentarily yesterday, so I managed it with my pace instead.

So – with Week 5 out of the way I have one month of running to go. I am bracing myself for some fairly big challenges over the coming week, including four 25-minute runs, three 28-minute runs, and finally three 30-minute runs. My greatest hope is that my body remains injury-free, and continues to adapt to this foreign sensation!