Ch-ch-ch-changes

I’ll admit it, I was scared. Not just scared – I actually got butterflies.

On Tuesday, all day all I could think of was the cricket season was over and so I had to change to my winter fitness routine.

The good news is that, without training on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I don’t need to go to the gym on Fridays any more.

The scary news is that, to make up for missing two days of training, I’m running on Tuesday nights. And the run, which I did for the first time this Tuesday, is 10km. That’s further than I’ve ever run in my life (err, in one go). I was a bit intimidated about moving into double figures. In fact I could think of little else on Tuesday while at work. Isn’t it good to know your tax dollars are well used?

And I can’t say that those fears are entirely unfounded. I’m still sore, on Thursday afternoon, from the run and also the gym last night. And I have the gym tonight again also.

So that will be my regime from now on:

Run Tuesdays

Gym Wednesdays and Thursdays

(although I can’t go for a run this Tuesday coming or to the gym next Thursday, so I’m already making excuses)

Other than that big change, it’s been a funny week, as I played cricket on the Saturday and Sunday this week, and actually batted for a while (thereby expending some energy). I did also have a few drinks on Sunday night but overall the weekend alcohol intake was relatively light on.

The upshot of it all? Well my weight as of tonight is 90kg. I’m on the verge of a significant milestone.

Une Semaine Merde

I’ve had a shit week. For reasons I won’t go into, on Monday in particular I came home from work very angry. Usually when I come home angry I try to convert this anger into something positive by exercising. Running, in particular. By the end of it I’m either too tired to worry about it or happy with myself for turning a negative into a positive.

But on Mondays I have French. I found myself sitting in class, looking outside as the evening got darker and darker, and wondering now about auxiliary verbs for the passé composé tense of motion verbs (as you might expect) but whether I could go for a run when I got home from the lass at about twenty past nine. My brain was the equivalent of a big cat pacing up and down in a cage at the zoo, anxious to get out there and run off some excess energy.

But of course I got home and had to hang up the washing and do the ironing, so it wasn’t possible to go for a run after all. I was again constrained, this time by domestic duties. But I think that concept of turning a negative of aggressive and angry energy to good use (i.e. exercise) is a really important concept and will be very useful as I try to change my lifestyle a bit.

Tuesday I was cut short at cricket training but last night I managed to have a decent workout in the gym. I don’t even try to do the full workout anymore – there’s no point when it’s almost three hours and you only have two hours before the gym closes. But the exercise I did was useful and I came away feeling much better (probably because, as my housemate pointed out, I really didn’t feel like going to the gym yesterday: the euphoria of actually completing a task you know you should seems to be inversely proportional to your enthusiasm before the fact – it must be an endorphins thing).

Unfortunately that was the only trip to the gym in the past week, as a few things conspired to keep me away last Friday. Filling in my card at the gym (with my workout on it, and a calendar), I felt very guilty about missing the session, and also remembered promising myself to swim or run on the weekend as a result of missing it. But obviously I forgot that promise.

More changes are coming soon, as I’ve put my re-appraisal out to competitive tender, shall we say. As mentioned last week, today I provided interested parties with the information they require to craft a workout for me (and anything else they deem necessary). I ended up providing quite a bit of information, including my analysis of the second half of the workout which I haven't posted yet.

I am really looking forward to seeing what they come up with. In the meantime I’ll have to stick with my normal routine, which I have to admit has served me well so far.

No change to my weight in the meantime. I'm steady on 91kg.

The start of an experiment

I have an idea for an experiment within this little project of mine.

It involves reviewing my workout. It’s been borne out of a couple of issues. Firstly, when the cricket season winds up in two weeks my routine will change. As a consequence I’ll have a spare day at least during the week, and be able to take Friday off (and drink, come to think of it). Secondly, it’s clear that I need to change my current routine because of its length and its lack of focus on my priorities. Thirdly, I’d almost forgot the number of Human Movement grads I know.

So this is the plan: I’m gonna give a few of my Human Movement mates some key information about my current regime, my aims and goals, etc. And I’m asking them to come up with a new regime for me. I’ll compare them, and probably ask them why they do certain things (if they’re different from the other routines proposed), and then find a good mix.

You won’t see the results for a couple of weeks – I won’t send out that information until next week as it is – but it might make for some interesting results.

Also this week, I finally got around to measuring the run I do every time I start cricket training. We have three ovals, and while others run once around one, I’ve taken to running twice around all three. Turns out its an even 3km run to warm me up. Sweet.

Speaking of runs, I’ve also started mapping a longer run than the one I do locally (which is 6.6km). I’ve mapped a 10km run, which should take me about 50 minutes so will be a good workout. I’m doing this for a couple of reasons I’ll reveal in a couple of weeks.

And finally, it seems I’m really starting to shed some kilos. I’m down to 91kg, which is well ahead of the curve (see attached nerdy graph, below).

OK, it’s not really a curve, but this map helps me to think of this whole project as like a one-day cricket run-chase, with run-rates required, par scores etc.

Sorry I’m late this week by the way.

So Many Excuses to Put On Weight

Last night was my first night back in the gym after feeling crook. I couldve gone last Friday but I had an engagement party - not the sort of thing you want to turn up late to and simply say "sorry I was at the gym." Instead, I ran for half an hour around my old course through Shenton Park and Subiaco (about 6.6km).

So yesterday was my first opportunity to test myself. And to be honest, I woke up today feeling bloody fantastic. I didn't sleep all that much last night (about six hours, which is my absolute minimum), but I woke up and felt really refreshed and had a spring in my step. There's no mistaking it: it's down to the gym workout.

Before I go on though, I should make an admission. I couldn't do the full work out - yet again - because I had to head to my folks' afterwards. I pushed my luck by saying I'd be there at eight (way later than they normally eat), and was about ten minutes late nonetheless. It was strange how long it took me to finish up last night. And getting changed after my abridged cool-down swim was even stranger.

One thing I really fins awkward about Beatty Park is the change rooms. They're big, and very open. There are no real nooks and crannies where you could discreetly get changed. There is, unfortunately, nowhere to hide. What's more, the showers are open and right next to the urinal. Frankly it's very awkward being in there at all.

What makes it worse is that last night, I swear I saw the same guy in there, slowly getting changed, on a couple of separate occasions. Prett much in a permanent state of undress. Frankly that's a little scary. Not for me, as I suspect I'm a bit old for him. But it is quite uncomfortable.

Nonetheless, I got through my workout (well, 90 mins of 165 mins total), focussing on cardio rather than weights, but still doing some weights (especially core strength).

After all that, and a pretty poor diet last weekend, and coming back from sickness where I expected to gain the weight I lost, I weighed myself tonight.

I'm dead even at 92kg.

I think the spare tyre has sprung a leak, and is slowly deflating.

I don't deserve this.

And I don't have gastro, as far as I know.