General Update: all good!
I've been to Regular Job's offices exactly twice in the last six weeks, but have had some extra work I can do from home, so am not going too far backwards.
Prompted by the fact that for the last few months I've been carrying an extra 2kg that means I can't fit into most of my jeans and pants, and after spending the first two weeks of my time off hardly exercising at all for no good reason, I did some thinking and decided there's ample evidence that my "try to run 3 times a week" plan of the last nine years doesn't work. Unless I'm training for something specific, it's all too easy to let it slide. In 2006 and 2009 I was running half marathons, but in between and since then most of that fitness has disappeared. I decided that instead I'd try running a really short distance (currently just 2kms) every single day. I know there are good reasons not to run every day, since it may increase the chance of injury, but I go really, really slowly if I feel like I could use a rest day, and I think the mental benefits for me will outweigh the possible drawbacks. During the first week it seemed a bit of a chore, but four weeks in I'm really starting to reap the benefits, psychologically if not physically! I'm starting to feel fit and active and reasonably bouncy again, even if 2kms isn't enough to actually build up much fitness. I do better with hard and fast rules like "YOU WILL DO THIS EVERY DAY" than general guidelines. If all goes well, I'll build up the distance on some days and keep 2kms as my minimum on the others, and do my club's Road Running Championship (a series of 10km, 15km and 25km races) again next year.
Looking up opinions on running every day on the internet led me to the United States Running Streak Association. One person, Mark Covert, has run every day since 1968, averaging almost 10 miles a day!
My Masters Athletics annual handbook arrived in the mail this week. The 10km and half marathon world records for women aged 75-79 (50 mins and 1 hour 54 mins) are better than my times. There's a gorgeous picture of a 100-year-old Queensland woman, Ruth Frith, competing in the hammer throw in shorts and a singlet. Here's an interview with some footage from last year's World Masters Games. Interestingly, she hasn't eaten vegetables since she was a child!
I confess to having read more than a few articles on the royal engagement. I think I'm more interested because I just read the Merlin AU "The Student Prince" set at St Andrew's University. I got as far as looking up Kate Middleton's parents' party supplies business and considering ordering some serving plates and fancy muffin pan liners before coming to my senses.
Prompted by the fact that for the last few months I've been carrying an extra 2kg that means I can't fit into most of my jeans and pants, and after spending the first two weeks of my time off hardly exercising at all for no good reason, I did some thinking and decided there's ample evidence that my "try to run 3 times a week" plan of the last nine years doesn't work. Unless I'm training for something specific, it's all too easy to let it slide. In 2006 and 2009 I was running half marathons, but in between and since then most of that fitness has disappeared. I decided that instead I'd try running a really short distance (currently just 2kms) every single day. I know there are good reasons not to run every day, since it may increase the chance of injury, but I go really, really slowly if I feel like I could use a rest day, and I think the mental benefits for me will outweigh the possible drawbacks. During the first week it seemed a bit of a chore, but four weeks in I'm really starting to reap the benefits, psychologically if not physically! I'm starting to feel fit and active and reasonably bouncy again, even if 2kms isn't enough to actually build up much fitness. I do better with hard and fast rules like "YOU WILL DO THIS EVERY DAY" than general guidelines. If all goes well, I'll build up the distance on some days and keep 2kms as my minimum on the others, and do my club's Road Running Championship (a series of 10km, 15km and 25km races) again next year.
Looking up opinions on running every day on the internet led me to the United States Running Streak Association. One person, Mark Covert, has run every day since 1968, averaging almost 10 miles a day!
My Masters Athletics annual handbook arrived in the mail this week. The 10km and half marathon world records for women aged 75-79 (50 mins and 1 hour 54 mins) are better than my times. There's a gorgeous picture of a 100-year-old Queensland woman, Ruth Frith, competing in the hammer throw in shorts and a singlet. Here's an interview with some footage from last year's World Masters Games. Interestingly, she hasn't eaten vegetables since she was a child!
I confess to having read more than a few articles on the royal engagement. I think I'm more interested because I just read the Merlin AU "The Student Prince" set at St Andrew's University. I got as far as looking up Kate Middleton's parents' party supplies business and considering ordering some serving plates and fancy muffin pan liners before coming to my senses.