and I don't really get along. I tried an early morning run on Tuesday and felt like throwing up after not going very far. I think it's something to do with gastric juices bouncing around....or I'm just not used to running that early and maybe if I did it more often, my stomach would get used to the motion.
Meanwhile, my heart goes out to the Japanese and the people in Japan. I've been both saddened and also uplifted that in the face of all this sadness, there have been stories of selflessness and courage. I'll be keeping them in my prayers! I just want something to go right for Japan! They've had no good news at all in the last 6 days.
What I've done:
Last Thursday - 1hr Personal Training (mainly TRX)
Sunday
- Cycled less than 10k and got completely rained on
- Swam 1.2k
Monday
- 2k Run in 13:37 mins
- 1hr Personal Training (mainly circuit training)
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Quick Updates
Sorry, I have been lazy I know. But here are some quick-ish updates!
1. I did the Tri-Bob Aquathlon and I did not rock at it. In fact I sucked pretty bad. I was heading the wrong way constantly and by the time I was done with my swim I was out. Then I ran out and forgot my race-bib and had to run back in. Had a stitch a third way into my run, so walked the rest of it. It was torture. I would write more, but I’m really just too bummed with my crappy result. Nonetheless, I finished in 32:31 minutes. My swim leg took me 8:10 minutes (9th for my category) and my run leg took me 22:35 (a very sorry 30th for my category).
2. I also finished the 40k “challenge” (they claim not RACE even though they have prizes for winners) at the OCBC Cycle in 1 hr 51 minutes. It’s a crap time, but I freak easily and there were so many people so I just thought I’d toddle along at my own sad pace. I finished the “challenge” not crashing, so that’s an accomplishment for me.
3. I’ve started running again. Not my 2.5k runs which I convince myself are good enough, but real runs. I know I grumble about it all the time, but running really is like a friend I have this love-hate relationship with. And I’ve missed it a bit. So last week I decided to bite the bullet and run home. I also compiled an awesome playlist (I realize Blondie and Queen songs feature highly in that list), so the run home was a bit painful, but not all too bad. I got 8k (in 1 hr 12 mins) in before I bailed and took the bus home smelly and all. Last night I got 12k (1hr 30 mins) in and I felt pretty darn good after. My knee’s a little sore today, but it’ll go away I think.
4. I’ve signed up for a challenge (real challenge this time) with mapmyrun.com and I’m supposed to run 30 miles in 30 days. All this sounded rather easy – I mean, a mile a day, how hard is that? Until I realized it all added up when I took a few days off. So yesterday I had to make up for all the days I was lazing – hence the 12k run. I'm all caught up for now.
5. I’ve started drum classes again with my good friend and other than the fact that I realize again I’m completely uncoordinated, I am enjoying the lessons. I think it’s largely the company as well!
1. I did the Tri-Bob Aquathlon and I did not rock at it. In fact I sucked pretty bad. I was heading the wrong way constantly and by the time I was done with my swim I was out. Then I ran out and forgot my race-bib and had to run back in. Had a stitch a third way into my run, so walked the rest of it. It was torture. I would write more, but I’m really just too bummed with my crappy result. Nonetheless, I finished in 32:31 minutes. My swim leg took me 8:10 minutes (9th for my category) and my run leg took me 22:35 (a very sorry 30th for my category).
2. I also finished the 40k “challenge” (they claim not RACE even though they have prizes for winners) at the OCBC Cycle in 1 hr 51 minutes. It’s a crap time, but I freak easily and there were so many people so I just thought I’d toddle along at my own sad pace. I finished the “challenge” not crashing, so that’s an accomplishment for me.
3. I’ve started running again. Not my 2.5k runs which I convince myself are good enough, but real runs. I know I grumble about it all the time, but running really is like a friend I have this love-hate relationship with. And I’ve missed it a bit. So last week I decided to bite the bullet and run home. I also compiled an awesome playlist (I realize Blondie and Queen songs feature highly in that list), so the run home was a bit painful, but not all too bad. I got 8k (in 1 hr 12 mins) in before I bailed and took the bus home smelly and all. Last night I got 12k (1hr 30 mins) in and I felt pretty darn good after. My knee’s a little sore today, but it’ll go away I think.
4. I’ve signed up for a challenge (real challenge this time) with mapmyrun.com and I’m supposed to run 30 miles in 30 days. All this sounded rather easy – I mean, a mile a day, how hard is that? Until I realized it all added up when I took a few days off. So yesterday I had to make up for all the days I was lazing – hence the 12k run. I'm all caught up for now.
5. I’ve started drum classes again with my good friend and other than the fact that I realize again I’m completely uncoordinated, I am enjoying the lessons. I think it’s largely the company as well!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Back from the Cold!!!!
And I kind of miss it. I mean in Singapore all you get is freezing cold air-conditioning and bleeding hot temperatures outside. Not that I hate that or anything, but I do wish we had a couple of slopes nearby so I could go riding every other weekend. Ah, to have your cake and eat it!
I was up in San Francisco to see my bestie, Jenny and go snowboarding with her in Tahoe - our first trip ever together! It was a pain trying to book train tickets and shuttle bus stuff because US is so public-transport-unfriendly, but we made it up in one piece on the Amtrek in the end.
So the first two days on the slopes really sucked. I think I'm just naturally a whiner and I just want perfect snow. If I've travelled halfway across the world to ride the slopes (well to visit my bestie first and to ride second) it'd be nice if it had awesome snow, but no. It was icy and just not a whole lot of fun falling. Although I did pick up a bunch of really awesome bruises.
Here's how the streets of Squaw looked like - snowless and all (I shamelessly stole Jenny's photo):
After a lot of whinging (and I mean A LOT) we woke up the last day to a bee-yoo-tee-foo snowy morning! And of course Jenny and I are jumping around like mad fools because I mean, it's a snowboarding holiday for crying out loud! However, Squaw more than made up for it on our last day! Soft soft powder snow and a whole bunch of it!
See what a difference a day makes?
And what a wonderful wonderful ride it was. Okay, the green slopes were kind of crap and we ended up having unstrapping and walking with our boards, but that kind of gave us the courage to hit the blues and we did real good! Jenny in particular did fantastically. I was being all chicken-shit and going heel side down when the slope scared me, but Jenny was a hero trying her turns on every slope!
Proof that Jenny can link turns and check out the awesome snow!
In all, I heart Tahoe. And I think a lot of it was just because it snowed on the last day, but parts of it that helped a lot was the quaint little lodge we stayed at, the amazing food at the lodge restaurant, the delicious crepes we had for breakfast, the new friends we made....and for me most of all the company of my bestie!
After Tahoe, Jenny and I headed back to the Bay Area and I dragged my aching self out the morning after we got back to go for a bike tour of San Francisco. I think I'd have loved it a wee bit more if I wasn't so sleepy, cold and achy, but even then, I really enjoyed the tour and I think I'd like to do it properly the next time! Post-bike tour I walked and walked and walked. I wanted to get some ski pants for my sister at REI which was not convenient if you were car-less. Then I kept getting lost. When I finally made it back to Jenny's place, I was too pooped to go out again so Jenny and I had a nice good catch-up over dinner at hers.
After SF, it was off to the land of the rising sun to meet my folks for Chinese New Year. First stop Tokyo! We were there for a night and then the family trooped off to Nagano the next day. I thought Nagano was fantastic. We stayed in a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) in Shibu Onsen which is a half hour bus ride to the Shiga Kogen ski slopes. The ryokan we stayed in was called Kokuya and it was 400 years old. It had 8 baths and orgasmic kaiseki sets (Japanese degustation menu). Big stamp of approval from me and the rest of the family!
My sister and I only had a day to hit the mountains and by the time we got down to figuring out where to go and what we had to do (with a lot of sign language and gesticulation) half the day had gone by and we were tired of not being able to speak Japanese. I think if it hadn't snowed the last day at Squaw, I might have liked Shiga Kogen a lot more. But because the memory or powder snow was still fresh in my memory, the snow at Shiga Kogen was kind of blah. Not lousy, but not great either. Plus the huge language gap got a bit frustrating after a while. I'd go back again to Nagano, just because Shibu Onsen was really nice but it definitely is a better ride on Niseko than Shiga Kogen. That being said, Shiga Kogen is a whole lot more convenient to get to than Niseko, so I guess that will always be an option!
We were back in Tokyo after and I got a chance to meet up with a couple of my friends - Fumiko and Danielle who I haven't seen in ages! Had a great catch-up and I got to meet Danielle's sweet little lady. Tokyo food was...well....you can never get enough of the food in Tokyo. I love love love Japanese food! Just in case none of you already know that.
So now I'm back and missing the slopes and my friends. One more year of thumb twiddling till I get back on the slopes again!
What I've done since I've been back:
last Wednesday: Ran 2k, 50 push-ups, 50 sit-ups
last Thursday: Swim Training
last Friday: 1hr Personal Training
Saturday: 20k bike ride
Tuesday: Swim Training
I was up in San Francisco to see my bestie, Jenny and go snowboarding with her in Tahoe - our first trip ever together! It was a pain trying to book train tickets and shuttle bus stuff because US is so public-transport-unfriendly, but we made it up in one piece on the Amtrek in the end.
So the first two days on the slopes really sucked. I think I'm just naturally a whiner and I just want perfect snow. If I've travelled halfway across the world to ride the slopes (well to visit my bestie first and to ride second) it'd be nice if it had awesome snow, but no. It was icy and just not a whole lot of fun falling. Although I did pick up a bunch of really awesome bruises.
Here's how the streets of Squaw looked like - snowless and all (I shamelessly stole Jenny's photo):
After a lot of whinging (and I mean A LOT) we woke up the last day to a bee-yoo-tee-foo snowy morning! And of course Jenny and I are jumping around like mad fools because I mean, it's a snowboarding holiday for crying out loud! However, Squaw more than made up for it on our last day! Soft soft powder snow and a whole bunch of it!
See what a difference a day makes?
And what a wonderful wonderful ride it was. Okay, the green slopes were kind of crap and we ended up having unstrapping and walking with our boards, but that kind of gave us the courage to hit the blues and we did real good! Jenny in particular did fantastically. I was being all chicken-shit and going heel side down when the slope scared me, but Jenny was a hero trying her turns on every slope!
Proof that Jenny can link turns and check out the awesome snow!
In all, I heart Tahoe. And I think a lot of it was just because it snowed on the last day, but parts of it that helped a lot was the quaint little lodge we stayed at, the amazing food at the lodge restaurant, the delicious crepes we had for breakfast, the new friends we made....and for me most of all the company of my bestie!
After Tahoe, Jenny and I headed back to the Bay Area and I dragged my aching self out the morning after we got back to go for a bike tour of San Francisco. I think I'd have loved it a wee bit more if I wasn't so sleepy, cold and achy, but even then, I really enjoyed the tour and I think I'd like to do it properly the next time! Post-bike tour I walked and walked and walked. I wanted to get some ski pants for my sister at REI which was not convenient if you were car-less. Then I kept getting lost. When I finally made it back to Jenny's place, I was too pooped to go out again so Jenny and I had a nice good catch-up over dinner at hers.
After SF, it was off to the land of the rising sun to meet my folks for Chinese New Year. First stop Tokyo! We were there for a night and then the family trooped off to Nagano the next day. I thought Nagano was fantastic. We stayed in a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) in Shibu Onsen which is a half hour bus ride to the Shiga Kogen ski slopes. The ryokan we stayed in was called Kokuya and it was 400 years old. It had 8 baths and orgasmic kaiseki sets (Japanese degustation menu). Big stamp of approval from me and the rest of the family!
My sister and I only had a day to hit the mountains and by the time we got down to figuring out where to go and what we had to do (with a lot of sign language and gesticulation) half the day had gone by and we were tired of not being able to speak Japanese. I think if it hadn't snowed the last day at Squaw, I might have liked Shiga Kogen a lot more. But because the memory or powder snow was still fresh in my memory, the snow at Shiga Kogen was kind of blah. Not lousy, but not great either. Plus the huge language gap got a bit frustrating after a while. I'd go back again to Nagano, just because Shibu Onsen was really nice but it definitely is a better ride on Niseko than Shiga Kogen. That being said, Shiga Kogen is a whole lot more convenient to get to than Niseko, so I guess that will always be an option!
We were back in Tokyo after and I got a chance to meet up with a couple of my friends - Fumiko and Danielle who I haven't seen in ages! Had a great catch-up and I got to meet Danielle's sweet little lady. Tokyo food was...well....you can never get enough of the food in Tokyo. I love love love Japanese food! Just in case none of you already know that.
So now I'm back and missing the slopes and my friends. One more year of thumb twiddling till I get back on the slopes again!
What I've done since I've been back:
last Wednesday: Ran 2k, 50 push-ups, 50 sit-ups
last Thursday: Swim Training
last Friday: 1hr Personal Training
Saturday: 20k bike ride
Tuesday: Swim Training
Monday, January 24, 2011
SAFRA AvVentura 2011 Race Report
We finished this year! We also cheated by doing the Sprint category so instead of a 50 over km adventure race, this year it was a more 'manageable' 35km. We still had our asses kicked despite that.
5am in the morning, I was awake and raring to go. Picked Rich up and raced down to SAFRA Yishun to make the 6.30am registration deadline. Of course the recommended car park is completely packed and after circling it twice we decided to park slightly further out and leg it to the registration desk.
After registration, I spent the next hour before the actual race start peeing a lot. Just because I had absolutely no intention of having to find a spot in the jungle to 'go'. Some half-hearted stretches and then a lot of sitting around. I have no idea why I thought that just because I signed up for the Sprint that it'd be a piece of cake and I'd breeze through it. Famous last words they were.
So the race starts off with us running off. I don't like running that much, but same as last year, running with a backpack stuffed with your harness, a bunch of slings, carabiners, a figure of 8 and 2 litres of water is very much worse. The water sloshing around in the bladder and just the sheer weight of the entire backpack just slows you down so much. Not that I was all that speedy to begin with.
The run surprisingly didn't last as long as I expected it to be and pretty soon we were on our bikes. Correction, one of us was on a bike and the other would be on foot. Of all the things I can't stand, I would say the team biathlon is the most annoying. That being said, Rich and I were better at it than we were last year, considering I did all the biking and he did all the running last year (poor thing!). This year at least Rich had some time on his bike.
So the bulk of the race was a biathlon. The other bulk was just cycling around from one checkpoint to another. The 'mystery' test in between involved getting 2 chopsticks into a mineral water bottle - we got one chopstick in each, thank you very much. Somewhere mid-way Rich and I lost our way and had to back track. I want to say that's why we didn't win, but really I think we sucked because we were so darn unfit.
There was a lot of lugging the mountain bike up and down slippery slopes and after falling into mud, slipping and sliding into streams, I was just covered in mud and looked like a walking disaster. Side note - I've no idea how I always end up being the dirtiest person in a race. Rich claims it's because everyone gets dirty up to their knees, but because I'm a shortie, I'm pretty much covered everywhere else. Geeez, thanks. Can't say too many bad things about Rich though because he was a real sweetie and did a lot of the bike hoisting for moi. I always think I'm a bit hard, but really, I'm just weak when it comes to bikes and slippery slopes. I can only deal with one at a time!
Whilst we were in the army camp (these adventure races organised by SAFRA usually take place within an army camp) the water skills leg was donning a life vest and swimming in the sea. Rich was not pleased although he did pretty well for someone who really didn't like swimming. I was fine with the swimming, only I'd have preferred doing it without a life vest and without all my clothes and shoes on! The good part about this was I looked considerably cleaner after the swim. The bad was the squidgy-wet-shoe feeling and the knowledge that I'd have to spend the rest of the race with these shoes on.
After cycling around for a bit, by which point I was pretty much over the whole race, we dumped our bikes and it was time to run back to SAFRA Yishun for the climb skills leg. Because Rich is essentially twice my weight, there was no way I was every going to belay him, which meant I had to do everything. First I climbed the wall, which wasn't too bad except for some guy who decided to climb out of his lane into mine and seemed to be aiming to stick his head up my ass (pleasant picture, huh?); and the wall having some overhang. Not some massive overhang, but enough to cause that burn in my forearms. Which is all fine and grand if that was the only 'test' in the climb skills but no, the sadists followed that up with a 25m rope ladder climb from hell. So first off I've never climbed a rope ladder so I was at a loss to start. Finally, after I got started I realised it was just going to go downhill from then on. My arms by then were burning up about a tenth way through and I just wanted the race to end. After what felt like a never-ending climb (I did beat a guy who started before me - woo hoo, small victories!), I was done.
Somehow Rich decided it was a good idea to finish strong and run to the end, which I quite stubbornly refused. Not because I didn't want to, but because my legs had by then just stopped working. So we finished the race strong-ish, me with some weird half-run/walk and Rich running through.
After washing the mud off me yesterday I realised that I have more bruises that I've ever had in my life and strange scratches all down my leg. Sexy. Everything that could ache, aches and I think my feet are just swollen from all the mucking around. I am, however, happy that we finished! 3rd last and all!
5am in the morning, I was awake and raring to go. Picked Rich up and raced down to SAFRA Yishun to make the 6.30am registration deadline. Of course the recommended car park is completely packed and after circling it twice we decided to park slightly further out and leg it to the registration desk.
After registration, I spent the next hour before the actual race start peeing a lot. Just because I had absolutely no intention of having to find a spot in the jungle to 'go'. Some half-hearted stretches and then a lot of sitting around. I have no idea why I thought that just because I signed up for the Sprint that it'd be a piece of cake and I'd breeze through it. Famous last words they were.
So the race starts off with us running off. I don't like running that much, but same as last year, running with a backpack stuffed with your harness, a bunch of slings, carabiners, a figure of 8 and 2 litres of water is very much worse. The water sloshing around in the bladder and just the sheer weight of the entire backpack just slows you down so much. Not that I was all that speedy to begin with.
The run surprisingly didn't last as long as I expected it to be and pretty soon we were on our bikes. Correction, one of us was on a bike and the other would be on foot. Of all the things I can't stand, I would say the team biathlon is the most annoying. That being said, Rich and I were better at it than we were last year, considering I did all the biking and he did all the running last year (poor thing!). This year at least Rich had some time on his bike.
So the bulk of the race was a biathlon. The other bulk was just cycling around from one checkpoint to another. The 'mystery' test in between involved getting 2 chopsticks into a mineral water bottle - we got one chopstick in each, thank you very much. Somewhere mid-way Rich and I lost our way and had to back track. I want to say that's why we didn't win, but really I think we sucked because we were so darn unfit.
There was a lot of lugging the mountain bike up and down slippery slopes and after falling into mud, slipping and sliding into streams, I was just covered in mud and looked like a walking disaster. Side note - I've no idea how I always end up being the dirtiest person in a race. Rich claims it's because everyone gets dirty up to their knees, but because I'm a shortie, I'm pretty much covered everywhere else. Geeez, thanks. Can't say too many bad things about Rich though because he was a real sweetie and did a lot of the bike hoisting for moi. I always think I'm a bit hard, but really, I'm just weak when it comes to bikes and slippery slopes. I can only deal with one at a time!
Whilst we were in the army camp (these adventure races organised by SAFRA usually take place within an army camp) the water skills leg was donning a life vest and swimming in the sea. Rich was not pleased although he did pretty well for someone who really didn't like swimming. I was fine with the swimming, only I'd have preferred doing it without a life vest and without all my clothes and shoes on! The good part about this was I looked considerably cleaner after the swim. The bad was the squidgy-wet-shoe feeling and the knowledge that I'd have to spend the rest of the race with these shoes on.
After cycling around for a bit, by which point I was pretty much over the whole race, we dumped our bikes and it was time to run back to SAFRA Yishun for the climb skills leg. Because Rich is essentially twice my weight, there was no way I was every going to belay him, which meant I had to do everything. First I climbed the wall, which wasn't too bad except for some guy who decided to climb out of his lane into mine and seemed to be aiming to stick his head up my ass (pleasant picture, huh?); and the wall having some overhang. Not some massive overhang, but enough to cause that burn in my forearms. Which is all fine and grand if that was the only 'test' in the climb skills but no, the sadists followed that up with a 25m rope ladder climb from hell. So first off I've never climbed a rope ladder so I was at a loss to start. Finally, after I got started I realised it was just going to go downhill from then on. My arms by then were burning up about a tenth way through and I just wanted the race to end. After what felt like a never-ending climb (I did beat a guy who started before me - woo hoo, small victories!), I was done.
Somehow Rich decided it was a good idea to finish strong and run to the end, which I quite stubbornly refused. Not because I didn't want to, but because my legs had by then just stopped working. So we finished the race strong-ish, me with some weird half-run/walk and Rich running through.
After washing the mud off me yesterday I realised that I have more bruises that I've ever had in my life and strange scratches all down my leg. Sexy. Everything that could ache, aches and I think my feet are just swollen from all the mucking around. I am, however, happy that we finished! 3rd last and all!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
There is the Plan
And there is actually doing it.
I tend to fall short on the delivery mostly. Always always there is the 'plan' - be it the plan to run, to go for swim training, to attend spin classes so on and so forth. If anything I'm dedicated to the very hard task of planning and boy am I skilled at that. I am, however, very unrealistic mostly and never factor in laziness and aching muscles.
This week was supposed to be the last week where I crammed all the last minute training for the adventure race into 7 days. That was the plan. Yesterday was when it fell apart. I was supposed to go for spin classes but after my personal training on Tuesday I was aching and I was just feeling lazy. So about halfway through my short walk to the gym, I turned back and walked to the office. A day of nothing. This is all followed of course by a company dinner and drinkies till 2am. Which makes today another big fat nothing although I've convinced myself that because I'm still aching from my personal training on Tuesday I need time to rest up further.
Of course all this means that I'm likely to die at the adventure race this Sunday.
What I've done:
Last Tuesday - Swim training
Last Friday - 15 minutes on the treadmill and some bunch of sit-ups before rushing off to catch the Rocky Horror Picture Show
Last Saturday - 1.5 hrs Rockclimbing
Last Sunday - Cycled 16K
Monday - Ran 4k in 27 mins
Tuesday - 1 hr Personal Training
I tend to fall short on the delivery mostly. Always always there is the 'plan' - be it the plan to run, to go for swim training, to attend spin classes so on and so forth. If anything I'm dedicated to the very hard task of planning and boy am I skilled at that. I am, however, very unrealistic mostly and never factor in laziness and aching muscles.
This week was supposed to be the last week where I crammed all the last minute training for the adventure race into 7 days. That was the plan. Yesterday was when it fell apart. I was supposed to go for spin classes but after my personal training on Tuesday I was aching and I was just feeling lazy. So about halfway through my short walk to the gym, I turned back and walked to the office. A day of nothing. This is all followed of course by a company dinner and drinkies till 2am. Which makes today another big fat nothing although I've convinced myself that because I'm still aching from my personal training on Tuesday I need time to rest up further.
Of course all this means that I'm likely to die at the adventure race this Sunday.
What I've done:
Last Tuesday - Swim training
Last Friday - 15 minutes on the treadmill and some bunch of sit-ups before rushing off to catch the Rocky Horror Picture Show
Last Saturday - 1.5 hrs Rockclimbing
Last Sunday - Cycled 16K
Monday - Ran 4k in 27 mins
Tuesday - 1 hr Personal Training
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Rain 1 Tennis 0
Once again, my tennis plans have been thwarted by the rain. It's just been raining so dang much. Of course a lot of it is just also my plain bad luck - it'd be bright and sunny all day till the time my courts are booked. Bah.
I've been on a mission to get to bed early and get out of it just as early. Over the weekend, I managed an early climb on Saturday and an early bike ride on Sunday. By early I mean my standards of early - pretty much anything before noon! The climb on Saturday wasn't great because I'd gone out for drinks with Merle the night before and I was so completely dehydrated after the climb that my pee was neon yellow. Probably not good for the poor kidneys.
My bike ride was a bit of a disaster as well. I pumped up the tyres before I left home, but thanks to what must have been a slow puncture, when I was 7km into the ride and finding it harder and harder to cycle, I looked down and saw my flat tyres. Had to turn back and ride my baby all the way back to the car. Not very fun.
Swim training starts tonight again!
What I've done:
Saturday - 2hr climbing
Sunday - 14k bike ride and 6 sets of 10 crunches
Yesterday - 1hr personal training
I've been on a mission to get to bed early and get out of it just as early. Over the weekend, I managed an early climb on Saturday and an early bike ride on Sunday. By early I mean my standards of early - pretty much anything before noon! The climb on Saturday wasn't great because I'd gone out for drinks with Merle the night before and I was so completely dehydrated after the climb that my pee was neon yellow. Probably not good for the poor kidneys.
My bike ride was a bit of a disaster as well. I pumped up the tyres before I left home, but thanks to what must have been a slow puncture, when I was 7km into the ride and finding it harder and harder to cycle, I looked down and saw my flat tyres. Had to turn back and ride my baby all the way back to the car. Not very fun.
Swim training starts tonight again!
What I've done:
Saturday - 2hr climbing
Sunday - 14k bike ride and 6 sets of 10 crunches
Yesterday - 1hr personal training
Friday, January 7, 2011
A Week into 2011
What I've Done:
1st Jan (Saturday) - Climbed 2 hours
4th Jan (Tuesday) - 3.5k run
5th Jan (Wednesday) - 1 hr Personal Training
6th Jan (Thursday) - 600m swim
So far....so good...probably need to ramp up the distance on the runs!
1st Jan (Saturday) - Climbed 2 hours
4th Jan (Tuesday) - 3.5k run
5th Jan (Wednesday) - 1 hr Personal Training
6th Jan (Thursday) - 600m swim
So far....so good...probably need to ramp up the distance on the runs!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
My 2010 recap
The Good:
1. I did my first triathlon ever and then some - even if they were only minis
2. Got 2nd in a swim race - yes, out of 5 but well I'll take anything
3. Met up with some awesome friends and my cousins I haven't seen in ages!
4. Got me a sweet Bike who as yet remains nameless
5. Went on a bunch of holidays with awesome travel buddies
6. My foot didn't give me that much problems - could be because I hardly ran
7. Read some really really good books - If This Were a Man, Anne Frank, The Cider House Rules to name a few
8. Got re-inspired (though short-lived, laziness trumped inspiration) by the Youth Olympics and Steve Stenzel
9. Made some really good friends (at a bar, no less)
10. Started playing a wee bit of tennis again
11. FINALLY lost all the beer weight - beer is bad, kids!
The Bad:
1. Talked more (about training) than actually doing any
2. Pretty much wussed out of all my running races
3. Stopped muay thai and windsurfing because I just got lazy
4. Had a whole bunch of pooping related issues which someday I shall regale the world with someday
5. Found out my bike needed to be treated like a lady instead of being the hard core macho bike I thought it was
6. Spent too much time focusing on lame issues and neglecting the important stuff
7. Wasted much too much time feeling sorry for myself
8. Jenny, my bestie, went overseas for a whole year!
And how was YOUR 2010? Happy New Year guys!
1. I did my first triathlon ever and then some - even if they were only minis
2. Got 2nd in a swim race - yes, out of 5 but well I'll take anything
3. Met up with some awesome friends and my cousins I haven't seen in ages!
4. Got me a sweet Bike who as yet remains nameless
5. Went on a bunch of holidays with awesome travel buddies
6. My foot didn't give me that much problems - could be because I hardly ran
7. Read some really really good books - If This Were a Man, Anne Frank, The Cider House Rules to name a few
8. Got re-inspired (though short-lived, laziness trumped inspiration) by the Youth Olympics and Steve Stenzel
9. Made some really good friends (at a bar, no less)
10. Started playing a wee bit of tennis again
11. FINALLY lost all the beer weight - beer is bad, kids!
The Bad:
1. Talked more (about training) than actually doing any
2. Pretty much wussed out of all my running races
3. Stopped muay thai and windsurfing because I just got lazy
4. Had a whole bunch of pooping related issues which someday I shall regale the world with someday
5. Found out my bike needed to be treated like a lady instead of being the hard core macho bike I thought it was
6. Spent too much time focusing on lame issues and neglecting the important stuff
7. Wasted much too much time feeling sorry for myself
8. Jenny, my bestie, went overseas for a whole year!
And how was YOUR 2010? Happy New Year guys!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
It's Been A While
And since then I've been on a build with Habitat for Humanity. Or shall we call it a full day workout? I was aching more than a real workout at the gym, what with hauling around buckets of cement, straightening wires...but all for a good cause, so it's all good!
Despite waking up with my trepezius (I only know this because my personal trainer felt the need to enlighten me as I kept calling them 'wings' which of course is totally wrong) and biceps aching, I hauled my ass out for a short 2.5k run in the evening followed by a bunch of crunches before meeting the two sisters who introduced me to alcohol back in the days of university. Obviously we met for vino and obviously we hung out till 2am despite it being a school day the next day. Somehow I got through Monday without feeling like I needed to die. I even managed to go for personal training! Even if no one is impressed with this, I am pretty much impressed with myself!
Following that I've done a big fat nothing. I've made plans to wake up at 6am every morning to hit the pool but I don't even know why I bother. To date I've succeeded only as far as waking up to turn off the alarm. Still I always believe in living in hope...someday, somehow I will wake up and feel bright and chirpy and head off for an early morning swim!
What I've done:
Sunday: 2.5k run + a bunch of crunches
Monday: 1 hr Personal Training
Despite waking up with my trepezius (I only know this because my personal trainer felt the need to enlighten me as I kept calling them 'wings' which of course is totally wrong) and biceps aching, I hauled my ass out for a short 2.5k run in the evening followed by a bunch of crunches before meeting the two sisters who introduced me to alcohol back in the days of university. Obviously we met for vino and obviously we hung out till 2am despite it being a school day the next day. Somehow I got through Monday without feeling like I needed to die. I even managed to go for personal training! Even if no one is impressed with this, I am pretty much impressed with myself!
Following that I've done a big fat nothing. I've made plans to wake up at 6am every morning to hit the pool but I don't even know why I bother. To date I've succeeded only as far as waking up to turn off the alarm. Still I always believe in living in hope...someday, somehow I will wake up and feel bright and chirpy and head off for an early morning swim!
What I've done:
Sunday: 2.5k run + a bunch of crunches
Monday: 1 hr Personal Training
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Updates
I haven't really done much since last week. Thursday was spent sleepy, but I still felt the need to go out and play with Rich till way too late. It started off sensible (as it always does) with a pantomime - Cinderel-lah - and ended off at my new favourite bar, Sabroso, with more or less 2 bottles of vino between us.
I felt lousy on Friday but because it was my friend Ed's 40th and we felt we should do something for him, we ended up at Ink Bar for the jazz where I took it easy and had only 2 Jim Beam cokes (with a lot of coke). Then I went home to crash. I was in bed by 11pm on a Friday night. That's how tired I was that day.
Soooo, the weekend wasn't a total blow-out because I got enough sleep for it. Of course I ruined it all by meeting Rai for dinner on Sunday and then going for 'one drink'. Obviously I only left when Rai'd finished all his 3 sets and by then I had ingested close to 4 glasses of wine. Lovely.
What I did:
Saturday:
Ran 1.2k, walked 1.2k in the AM (yeah, apparently I hadn't fully recovered from Thursday's madness)
Climbed for 2 hours in the PM
Sunday:
Cycled on the spinner at home for 3 x 15min sets because it was just too boring (and tiring...mainly tiring) to go for any longer
Monday:
Personal Training x 1hr
Tuesday:
Dinner + Drinks with Rich before his flight back to UK
I felt lousy on Friday but because it was my friend Ed's 40th and we felt we should do something for him, we ended up at Ink Bar for the jazz where I took it easy and had only 2 Jim Beam cokes (with a lot of coke). Then I went home to crash. I was in bed by 11pm on a Friday night. That's how tired I was that day.
Soooo, the weekend wasn't a total blow-out because I got enough sleep for it. Of course I ruined it all by meeting Rai for dinner on Sunday and then going for 'one drink'. Obviously I only left when Rai'd finished all his 3 sets and by then I had ingested close to 4 glasses of wine. Lovely.
What I did:
Saturday:
Ran 1.2k, walked 1.2k in the AM (yeah, apparently I hadn't fully recovered from Thursday's madness)
Climbed for 2 hours in the PM
Sunday:
Cycled on the spinner at home for 3 x 15min sets because it was just too boring (and tiring...mainly tiring) to go for any longer
Monday:
Personal Training x 1hr
Tuesday:
Dinner + Drinks with Rich before his flight back to UK
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Back in Singapore
And lazy as hell! Just canceled my Personal Training session today because I was just feeling tired and well....lazy. Tomorrow...tomorrow I shall run. It shall all start again tomorrow.
What I did:
Sunday - 15min run, 45 mins arm and core work
Monday - Swam 20 laps
Tuesday - 2.5k run, 30 lunges and squats and a bunch of core work
And nothing since!
What I did:
Sunday - 15min run, 45 mins arm and core work
Monday - Swam 20 laps
Tuesday - 2.5k run, 30 lunges and squats and a bunch of core work
And nothing since!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Hong Kong Update
I got to Hong Kong yesterday, well technically the day before since it's 2am on a Sunday. So far I've managed a swim in the bleeding cold...well, cold by Singapore standards. It took me 5 minutes standing waist deep in the pool before I got the nerve to start swimming. Back home, I used to think swimming in the rain in Singapore was pretty hard core, but I've realized now, that's nothing! All the same, I did 10 laps in a 10m pool (I think it was 10m at least) and the did another 5 laps 'fartlek' (ie 5 lengths mad swim with a length easy swim in between). I also felt like dying at the end, but that's pretty normal. Of course I managed to negate all this work-out with a very filling lunch and a dinner with 3 very unhealthy, but yummy hairy crabs. Aiming for a gym session at the hotel tomorrow, but it's almost 3 now and I'm probably going to be uber sleepy in the morning.
What I've done:
Thursday - 1hr personal training which is why my back and arms hurt now
Saturday - (assuming the pool's 10m in length) 10 laps easy, 5 laps 'fartlek'
What I've done:
Thursday - 1hr personal training which is why my back and arms hurt now
Saturday - (assuming the pool's 10m in length) 10 laps easy, 5 laps 'fartlek'
Monday, November 29, 2010
My Middle Name is 'Bruise'
This weekend was not spent as fruitfully as I would have liked it to be. Saturday was pretty much a lost cause since I spent almost all of it feeling crazy tired and slightly hungover from playing till too late on Friday. Sunday was my saving grace because I hauled my aching ass and legs (from my PT class on Friday) over to East Coast (by that I mean, I drove down there) and did a short bike ride. All of 14km (ooooh!). Met some of the windsurfing folk, who gave me a hard time for giving up the sport...which I haven't! I just hate my sail. And now I've gotten rid of that, I might just go back to renting equipment...but that's another story.
Now after my crazy night on Friday, I found a nice big bump on my shin. Probably from kicking myself unknowingly or something. I tend to do that after having some vino...I suspect I have some masochistic streak in me! Then I found 4 more shiners this morning after my bike ride. I have no idea how I'm riding the darn bike that I would get 4 weird bruises in completely random places. I don't think I've ever been bruise-free in my life, come to think of it! Firstly I bruise easily and secondly I'm clumsy as hell. It'd actually be amazing if I were ever bruise-free!
What I did:
Friday: 1 hr of leg/core work - torture getting in and out of my chair now!
Sunday: 14k bike ride in I don't know how long, but my legs were jelly after. Weak, I know!
Now after my crazy night on Friday, I found a nice big bump on my shin. Probably from kicking myself unknowingly or something. I tend to do that after having some vino...I suspect I have some masochistic streak in me! Then I found 4 more shiners this morning after my bike ride. I have no idea how I'm riding the darn bike that I would get 4 weird bruises in completely random places. I don't think I've ever been bruise-free in my life, come to think of it! Firstly I bruise easily and secondly I'm clumsy as hell. It'd actually be amazing if I were ever bruise-free!
What I did:
Friday: 1 hr of leg/core work - torture getting in and out of my chair now!
Sunday: 14k bike ride in I don't know how long, but my legs were jelly after. Weak, I know!
Friday, November 26, 2010
Friends Once More
Rain and I kissed and made up last night, and I had one of my most enjoyable runs in a long time. The light drizzle coupled by the coolness (which in Singapore is very, very, very rare!) made everything so comfortable and well...pleasant. I had a bit of a stitch, but the weather was just too good to stop. It was just one of those nights where everything in the run fit from the moment I stepped out of the house till the moment I got back in.
And Jim Croce - you're my man. I tend to run listening to this upbeat playlist of random songs I like, but last night I took a break from that and put on the Jim-man. And he did a good...no great job. Like I said, everything fit last night and I can say (at least, just for last night) I do actually love running!
Rain + Gerry + running = BFFs
What I did
Ran 3K
And Jim Croce - you're my man. I tend to run listening to this upbeat playlist of random songs I like, but last night I took a break from that and put on the Jim-man. And he did a good...no great job. Like I said, everything fit last night and I can say (at least, just for last night) I do actually love running!
Rain + Gerry + running = BFFs
What I did
Ran 3K
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Rain Makes Me Fat
Sharon and I had a tennis session all set up yesterday and (story of my life) it starts pissing down - the heavy, I'm-not-going-to-let-up kind of rain. Darn. So we decided to meet for drinks instead. We're just terrible influence on each other. I, however, felt bad enough that I did a 600m swim before. Ooof, having not put in any swimming in the past weeks, my arms were ready to pop out of their sockets after the swim! Then I met Sharon for dinner and vino. Lots of vino! My left deltoid aches today! Poor weak arm!
What I did last night:
Swam 10 x 60m
What I did last night:
Swam 10 x 60m
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
A Date with the Sports Doctor
So early this year at the adventure race I fell and hurt my little toe. After a couple of months of it hurting I went to see the sports doctor about it and on doing an ultrasound on the toe to check that no tendons(?) were torn, established there was nothing wrong it. Still it continued to hurt if I put any weight on it.
Early this month, being the total klutz that I am, when I entered CMPB to get a couple of drinks I tripped over a step and made a very unglamorous entrance. And OBVIOUSLY I would land on the very same toe that has been hurting all this while. So after a couple of weeks, and in the course of them I've squeezed my toe into heels twice (I had to attend fancy dinners! They required heels!), my toe still ached if I moved it back which meant another trip back to the sports doctor. I'm not complaining, the guy's great eye-candy so I'm happy to stare at him all day; but I felt so stupid. It's the last toe, and really in my day-to-day activities, it hardly affects my life, but it's still annoying and I'm a little bit of a hypochondriac - so really, half of me wants to get something sorted and the other half is just going 'this is sooooo lame!'
After looking at the X-ray of my toe and finding out nothing was wrong again, he said the joint might be a bit sore and if it was really troubling me, I could get a cortisone jab. Now I have no problem with taking jabs, but frankly if it's not absolutely compulsory I have one, then I'd rather just lay off the jab. So the plan B is icing the crap out of my toe and going on a week of anti-inflammatories. Hopefully that'll wipe out all the pain on the toe and I can go back to....well, it's not like I stopped my life because of the toe! I guess the upside of all this is I got another look at the doctor, I just wish I didn't come across like a complete klutz!
Early this month, being the total klutz that I am, when I entered CMPB to get a couple of drinks I tripped over a step and made a very unglamorous entrance. And OBVIOUSLY I would land on the very same toe that has been hurting all this while. So after a couple of weeks, and in the course of them I've squeezed my toe into heels twice (I had to attend fancy dinners! They required heels!), my toe still ached if I moved it back which meant another trip back to the sports doctor. I'm not complaining, the guy's great eye-candy so I'm happy to stare at him all day; but I felt so stupid. It's the last toe, and really in my day-to-day activities, it hardly affects my life, but it's still annoying and I'm a little bit of a hypochondriac - so really, half of me wants to get something sorted and the other half is just going 'this is sooooo lame!'
After looking at the X-ray of my toe and finding out nothing was wrong again, he said the joint might be a bit sore and if it was really troubling me, I could get a cortisone jab. Now I have no problem with taking jabs, but frankly if it's not absolutely compulsory I have one, then I'd rather just lay off the jab. So the plan B is icing the crap out of my toe and going on a week of anti-inflammatories. Hopefully that'll wipe out all the pain on the toe and I can go back to....well, it's not like I stopped my life because of the toe! I guess the upside of all this is I got another look at the doctor, I just wish I didn't come across like a complete klutz!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Another Weekend Another Run
Well, a teeny tiny run. A little 2.5k run. A run up and down a 'hill'...or rather a bunch of slopes. That makes it a 10k run, no?
Ever since my training session last Thursday (and that includes today even), I've been aching madly. Deciding to do the run on that 'hilly' (I'm going to keep using 'hilly' because it makes me sound hard-core) road was probably not the brightest idea since I haven't run in ages and since I was already aching. Obviously Sunday wasn't so great for me. Oh hang on, I forgot to add that after my run, I went off to meet Merle and Sam in the evening for drinks and Rai for further drinks at stupid-o-clock. Very very stupid. I actually managed to get a headache mid-way through drinks with Rai and I woke up the next day aching even more than ever. Way to rest up those muscles.
My dad decided he wanted to do a walk on Sunday, so that meant dragging my poor achy legs to Botanic Gardens with both my dad and mum doing a fast-paced walk for a good 1/2 hour. My butt ached after. Well to be specific my right butt cheek ached after. I'm not sure why but I'm putting it down to just pure unfitness.
Today it was back to the gym with my sadist of a trainer again. I said my arms ached, so we did boxing. Make sense to you? Sure didn't to me. I essentially spent an hour whining away to him. I also convinced him to get me on core work. And of course I proceeded to regret that since my core is the only part not aching. I guess....achy abs tomorrow then! Gah....can't feel my arms now!
What I've done:
Saturday - 2.5k at grandma speed
Sunday - 1/2 hour walk
Today - Personal Training: 1/2 hour boxing, 1/2 hour core work
Tired!!!!!
Ever since my training session last Thursday (and that includes today even), I've been aching madly. Deciding to do the run on that 'hilly' (I'm going to keep using 'hilly' because it makes me sound hard-core) road was probably not the brightest idea since I haven't run in ages and since I was already aching. Obviously Sunday wasn't so great for me. Oh hang on, I forgot to add that after my run, I went off to meet Merle and Sam in the evening for drinks and Rai for further drinks at stupid-o-clock. Very very stupid. I actually managed to get a headache mid-way through drinks with Rai and I woke up the next day aching even more than ever. Way to rest up those muscles.
My dad decided he wanted to do a walk on Sunday, so that meant dragging my poor achy legs to Botanic Gardens with both my dad and mum doing a fast-paced walk for a good 1/2 hour. My butt ached after. Well to be specific my right butt cheek ached after. I'm not sure why but I'm putting it down to just pure unfitness.
Today it was back to the gym with my sadist of a trainer again. I said my arms ached, so we did boxing. Make sense to you? Sure didn't to me. I essentially spent an hour whining away to him. I also convinced him to get me on core work. And of course I proceeded to regret that since my core is the only part not aching. I guess....achy abs tomorrow then! Gah....can't feel my arms now!
What I've done:
Saturday - 2.5k at grandma speed
Sunday - 1/2 hour walk
Today - Personal Training: 1/2 hour boxing, 1/2 hour core work
Tired!!!!!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Yowza!
After taking all the time off the past weeks and doing nothing very much but put my liver to the test, my trainer finally bugged me enough for me to show up for training yesterday. He said it'd be an easy session. He lied. Did a whole bunch of inner thigh/outer thigh, shoulder blades, back, arm work etc etc etc. Guess who's aching today. Well, aching and sleepy...namely because I played till 4am last night. And I wonder why I fall sick so easily! Must be ALL that sleep and rest I'm getting!
Hopefully, this training session kicks me back to a more normal human sleep cycle, or at least one where I get a nice 7 hours of sleep. I was supposed to go for the Choo Choo Trek tomorrow, but it got canceled, so I may at least be able to sleep in! Maybe I'll be able to fit in a bike ride/rock climbing/swimming/golf over the weekend! Although it seems highly likely I may just wind up doing nothing in the end.
What I did yesterday:
1 hr personal training
Hopefully, this training session kicks me back to a more normal human sleep cycle, or at least one where I get a nice 7 hours of sleep. I was supposed to go for the Choo Choo Trek tomorrow, but it got canceled, so I may at least be able to sleep in! Maybe I'll be able to fit in a bike ride/rock climbing/swimming/golf over the weekend! Although it seems highly likely I may just wind up doing nothing in the end.
What I did yesterday:
1 hr personal training
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Sleepy but Happy
Because I'm still not fully well, my solution has been to hang out with friends till late lately. It's been really good fun in a whole chill-out, no-fuss way. Minus the complete lack of sleep because we're yabbering till early morn, I actually love the camaraderie, the vino and the mad conversations. To all my friends out there I love, here's sending good thoughts your ways! I'm really glad I've got you all!
Yes and all these emotional flighty updates are purely because I haven't done much training....hang on...I actually do have something more meaty to put in here...
So I met Sharon at a bar. As one does when they want to make new friends - they go to a bar and pick up random strangers (kidding!). Anyway, Sharon and I realised we were super alike and somehow became really good friends...at least I take her as my really good friend, she may not....Last week Sharon and I decided to be good and do some sport so I had my first game of tennis in ages! And we went for a walk over the weekend. It was a load of laughs...and chatter. This weekend, I join the British Club for their Choo Choo Trek. I shall see if I can get some pictures of that trek!
What I did last week:
Wednesday - Tennis (1 hour)
Saturday
- Walked (Jln Kampong Chantek - Bkt Timah Nature Reserve - Rifle Range Road: 2 hours)
Yes and all these emotional flighty updates are purely because I haven't done much training....hang on...I actually do have something more meaty to put in here...
So I met Sharon at a bar. As one does when they want to make new friends - they go to a bar and pick up random strangers (kidding!). Anyway, Sharon and I realised we were super alike and somehow became really good friends...at least I take her as my really good friend, she may not....Last week Sharon and I decided to be good and do some sport so I had my first game of tennis in ages! And we went for a walk over the weekend. It was a load of laughs...and chatter. This weekend, I join the British Club for their Choo Choo Trek. I shall see if I can get some pictures of that trek!
What I did last week:
Wednesday - Tennis (1 hour)
Saturday
- Walked (Jln Kampong Chantek - Bkt Timah Nature Reserve - Rifle Range Road: 2 hours)
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Crosswords, Vino, an Old Friend and the Arts
**Warning!!! slightly emo post!!**
Since I've been unable to do anything too strenuous lately and since I've had my heartbreak a couple of months ago, I've been trying to fill my time with things I've always wanted to do but didn't because I had no one to go with me or because I was too busy training (or at least thinking about training, not doing it and then feeling guilty about it). So in a whole bid to seek this independence that I seem to have lost over the years, I went off and got myself a ticket for Jeremy Monteiro (one of Singapore's more famous local Jazz talents) to see his solo piano recital. Right after I did that though, a friend, Ed, and his wife decided to join me - okay, so I didn't go solo in the end, but the thought was there! The three of us also got tickets to watch Natalie Cole at the Sun Festival and did that just last Sunday.
I have to say, I've really been enjoying these recitals/concerts . Previously I would kind of wait around for my man (now, ex) before I could do anything...not because I really needed to have him around, but just as a whole 'if I enjoyed the moment, I would really want to share that moment with the person I loved'. So I would always wait for my man to be free and he wasn't free a lot for me somehow, which meant I didn't end up doing a lot of things I wanted to. I guess it is a blessing in disguise that I now have the opportunity to do all these things now. I've been reading a lot, going for blue-sky holidays and attending more jazz concerts - things I could never seem to make time for. Also tonight I'm off to watch Jose Carreras in concert - I'm not sure I'll fully enjoy it, but who knows? Mainly I'm once more starting to get out there and be curious about the world again.
Along with this life change, an old friend has also reappeared in my life. A very good friend and a friend who I've shared certain important moments in my life with. It's been weird because in the last week I've seen more of him than I have in the last 2 years. For 2 years, we've had, at most, a handful of half-hearted calls; if we met up, it was because we ran into each other and nothing more - then all of a sudden he rings up one day, we meet up and magically we're the best of friends again. And it is nice. And I realise I do actually miss our little chats and that bizarre chemistry we share as friends. We've met up about a good 4 times last week - as if to cram in 2 years worth of yapping - and we'll play crosswords over a glass/bottle of vino till late into the night. Did I mention I've become a huge crossword buff as well lately? Really really love doing them! So, a good friend, some vino and crosswords - what more could one ask for?
Side note - I've not been doing much by way of exercise. I did 10 lunges on each side on Sunday and my hamstrings were aching the next day (I'm totally in fighting shape). Also did a 3k walk with my folks and a bunch of crunches. I think I need to watch an episode of Tomb Raider for inspiration again!
Since I've been unable to do anything too strenuous lately and since I've had my heartbreak a couple of months ago, I've been trying to fill my time with things I've always wanted to do but didn't because I had no one to go with me or because I was too busy training (or at least thinking about training, not doing it and then feeling guilty about it). So in a whole bid to seek this independence that I seem to have lost over the years, I went off and got myself a ticket for Jeremy Monteiro (one of Singapore's more famous local Jazz talents) to see his solo piano recital. Right after I did that though, a friend, Ed, and his wife decided to join me - okay, so I didn't go solo in the end, but the thought was there! The three of us also got tickets to watch Natalie Cole at the Sun Festival and did that just last Sunday.
I have to say, I've really been enjoying these recitals/concerts . Previously I would kind of wait around for my man (now, ex) before I could do anything...not because I really needed to have him around, but just as a whole 'if I enjoyed the moment, I would really want to share that moment with the person I loved'. So I would always wait for my man to be free and he wasn't free a lot for me somehow, which meant I didn't end up doing a lot of things I wanted to. I guess it is a blessing in disguise that I now have the opportunity to do all these things now. I've been reading a lot, going for blue-sky holidays and attending more jazz concerts - things I could never seem to make time for. Also tonight I'm off to watch Jose Carreras in concert - I'm not sure I'll fully enjoy it, but who knows? Mainly I'm once more starting to get out there and be curious about the world again.
Along with this life change, an old friend has also reappeared in my life. A very good friend and a friend who I've shared certain important moments in my life with. It's been weird because in the last week I've seen more of him than I have in the last 2 years. For 2 years, we've had, at most, a handful of half-hearted calls; if we met up, it was because we ran into each other and nothing more - then all of a sudden he rings up one day, we meet up and magically we're the best of friends again. And it is nice. And I realise I do actually miss our little chats and that bizarre chemistry we share as friends. We've met up about a good 4 times last week - as if to cram in 2 years worth of yapping - and we'll play crosswords over a glass/bottle of vino till late into the night. Did I mention I've become a huge crossword buff as well lately? Really really love doing them! So, a good friend, some vino and crosswords - what more could one ask for?
Side note - I've not been doing much by way of exercise. I did 10 lunges on each side on Sunday and my hamstrings were aching the next day (I'm totally in fighting shape). Also did a 3k walk with my folks and a bunch of crunches. I think I need to watch an episode of Tomb Raider for inspiration again!
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