Sharla's Log

[Sharla]

I didn't finish in time to go to the pool!

I got out at 8:15 which would not allow me quite enough time to get home, get my swimming stuff and have an hour at the pool ...............but I came up with an alternative plan

I walked home so I've walked more than 24 kms today. I didn't really feel it after the first walk (except for the blister) but now I've gotten home i feel it!

Mostly in my upper hip flexor area, more the right side than the left.

To finish off I finally had a go at my attempt at mimicing of a titilating system

My alternative equipment comprised a pair of strap on weights and a fit ball. The fitball part didn't really work so it was probably less supported than it is meant to be. The ball still served as a reference though.

I was aiming for 10 mins straight but I ended up needing 2 thirty second breaks in that time. It burrrrrrned!

It's amazing how much better i feel with the stress of finding a job off my mind. Theoretically I should have been more into exercise because it could have been a stress relief in itself but it didn't work out that way.

I think it's important not to let things just drop when overwhelmed. I had a coach in Japan who was coach by Floyd Patterson. He said the reason Floyd Patterson and his son made it and he didn't was that when things went wrong they just kept training.

They were able to focus on it just as if nothing had happened even if a family member had just passed away or something horrific like that. They just went on but he couldn't - things brought him down.

Obviously i do expect to have a break down if I loose a loved one. I doubt I'll ever be immune to something like that but i think stress over job hunting etc shouldn't be allowed to inhibit my ability to move forward with other things as best as possible.

I think part of it might be having more relevant visualization practices. If i have an event to train for I'm always motivated. I love feeling a fitness benefit from my training. Still the idrea of training purely for fitness doesn't inspire me as much. Fitness has been something I enjoy as a co-incidence when I have been driven by competitive goals.

Really having maximal quality of life and fitness and health should really be motivation enough. There will always be times when a competitive goal is not realistic because you're circumstances are changing or you are injury rehab etc etc but you need to apply yourself anyway.

I think it's because I don't visualize it properly and I can improve on that. I just don't imagine it the same way I might imagine a particularly satisfying boxing session or run against an opponent. I'm going to give that some thought and practice over the next few months and I'll be interested in any input other people have.

[Sharla]

Saturday

cycled to the city (not far), did pilates class, cycled to uni (12 to 14 kms roughly).

Then did about four hours work before heading out for a run.

Walked to a nearby oval, did a few jogging laps and some dynamic stretching to warm up.

What I call dynamic stretches (whether that's what it is or not) was:

6 lunges, 6 controlled knee raises, 25 long strides, 25 but kicks, 25 strides jogging with knees as high as possible - all that X 3

Then 8 X 400 m intervals with walk recovery of 200 to 300 m.

Still found this hard but a bit better than last time. I think a better warm up helped and perhaps even having done some cycling helped.

Walked back to uni and meant to stretch a bit while I worked but I had a lot to do and wanted to finish so I kinda forgot! Opps!

Finished after 10 pm and cycled home. It's an easy cycle home mostly down hill. Pity I couldn't get home earlier though. I'd like to be able to get back into early mornings again but it's difficult when I finish late at uni.


Still loooooving the pilates! I've been told by one person already pilates is a girls thing but believe it or not it was developed by a male boxer!

It's makes it sooo much easier to feel when and which muscles are tight and to understand what pelvic stability is and how to maintain it. I'm a HUGE fan already!

[Sharla]

Sunday I got a lift to uni and intended to run home but didn't finish until 12:30 am Monday.

It's summer here and still light until about 8:45 pm which makes an early evening run or walk ok but it was pitch black and I was tired so I caught a taxi home.

Had to be at uni at 9 am to collect some gel solutions out of the autocalve before they cooled and set so with the late night on Sunday I didn't train this morning.

I did cycle to uni today and had to cycle at lunch time to drop off a form (my last unemployment form for at least 12 months - yay!) but that's it so far today.

Looks like I might have another late one tonight but I am soooooo over being here!

I don't know how it's going to work with me attempting to finish my PhD part time while I work.

I was hoping to go back to judo (now it's obvious that boxing in Adelaide is out) but I don't want to go if I can't honestly commit to showing up 3 times a week.

Fing PhDs! I dont' recommend them - they don't even make you more employable because you become specialized in some obscure little field and have to beg for employment competing with people who have half your education!

ok rant over - back to my Fing wheat root assays!

[sourpuss]

Hang in there!

[Sharla]

Hang in there!

Thanks mate!

I feel like a bit of a knob writing a lot about not being able to train or not focussed in my training lately though!

I find it a bit embarassing. When you know what you should be doing and how to get from a to b and what b you are aiming for i think a little embarassment kicks you up the but and helps to keep you focussed.

lately though it just makes me feel a bit useless.

For that reason I'm giving my log a miss for a little while. Not ages hopefully jst until I know how much time i have to train and what kind of goals are realistic.

At the moment I'm steering towards aiming for another marathon but I've checked out the Aussie marathon calendar and nothing really sticks out around 4 or 5 months when i'd aim to run. Still have to think about it!

I'm also curious about tennis since a lot of things I like about boxing movement which are missing from Judo seem to be in tennis. I've never played though so I don't think i have a really education opinion just yet.

If i did enjoy it i guess it would be missing a lof of the problems which are annoying in boxing - lack of matches, coaches, mentors etc etc.

At the moment we are in the middle of a record breaking heat wave so I'm probably only managing to get a brief workout in 3 out of 4 days and not with any great structure. Running is hard and maybe dangerous but the pools are full especially at night so it requires a bit or organization.

This week was the first week of my new job so i've been spending ages getting ready in the mornings to give a professional first impression, organizing orientation etc so i haven't had my act together for training but I aim to work it out over the next few weeks.

[Sharla]

Ummm yeah - not heaps to report.

I'm getting into the pilates - fully converted actually. Really enjoying it. It's like I knew for ages I had weaknesses somewhere but I really struggled to understand them and work out what to do about them but pilates just seems to have the answer to everything.

Of course other things like PNF stretching etc all contribute but this has been the last piece of the puzzle. I think part of it is in trying to perfect my technique I became fixed in particular patterns of movement in boxing and it made my other hinges rusty basically.

Perhaps there were a few slight errors in what I thought was perfect technique but because that was all I was taught or understood at the time I probably deliberately practiced incorrect technique which would not have helped.

As for boxing i think i am really finished. I think it comes with a culture here and while I've gotten a lot out of and met a lot of wonderful people, learnt a lot about myself etc but I'm onto other things now and happy for it.

I have considered going back to Judo but now I feel I want to get into pilates properly until I have a more stable base. I have been doing cheap mat pilates classes with a really good instructor and she has been awesome! It's given me a really good understanding of how to engage the deep core muscles to make movements safe for the spine and only go as far as you can safely.

In great contrast to her I did a 'pilates class' as a free trail at an expensive gym with reformers and I could tell straight away the instructor was not pilates certified at all. He just got us to use the reformer for something like a hard pulley weights workout in which either your core is good enough or you strain your back - no in betweens.

I was ok because I'd learnt my limits with the other instructor but a girl in the class complained of pain in her lower back and he just explained it away as if it was just a normal part of pilates! He has no idea! Frigging con-artisit wanted to charge either $30 per 45 min group class session or $90 a week too! Screw that! I'm sticking with my $8 per 2hr mat pilates lessons!

Apart from that I'm gradually getting back into the running but I have no exciting goals at the moment. I want to bring some resistance training back into it but I want to integrate it with pilates form perhaps with some band resistance set up to make the resistance less the further my arms or legs are from my core but I have to suss out where I can tie bands in my little unit first.

New job is fantastic and I'm still plugging away with the PhD part time so I think with those and learning pilates I have enough technical things to learn without a martial art at the moment.

I'm not online a lot anymore since i'm in the lab away from the computer more in my new job and there are strict it security rules which won't allow me to get onto non-work email accounts or forums etc so for now the log stops here. I'm going to check in occasionally to see how everyone else is going though so good luck with everything.

[Sharla]

OK i know I said the training log is finished and I guess i really don't have time to keep updaily reports because I'm not on the net much anymore but I have to commit to my newest goal here so I can't wimp out.

I've already told my mum the plan who was already planning to walk it but the more anti-wimping out insurance I have the better.

This is what i plan to do - 56 km hilly but beautiful terrain. It'll hard but local so not expensive and fairly casual. So basically no one will care what my time is nor will they care what proportion i actually manage to run versus walk.

It's a personal challenge and demands fitness without ultr-competitiveness etc so i think it'll be fun!

This is it:

South Australian Road Runners Club | Yurrebilla Trail Ultra

I'm probably not going to keep a daily log but I may continue to use you poor Saddo members as anti-wimping out insurance every now and again. From this point on this is mainly a running and core training log so it'll probably bore you senseless though sorry!