The Tortoise and the Hare

Hi all.  Am TRYING to start running again.  

Yes, shame on me, the last time I ran ( my last blogpost ) was over 5 months ago.

I had been thinking about running since November.  Sadly, Christmas passed, New Year's Day passed, Australia Day passed, Valentine's Day passed.  The Lenten Season came and went.  Still running for me was still a thought, not a reality.

Finally I asked Ardi if he wanted to run with me.  He has actually been training for the City2Surf on 12 August.   He and some of his classmates go for a 3 km run as early as 7:30 in the morning twice a week at school.  

I told Ardi that I didn't know if I could run that far since I hadn't been exercising at all.  We had agreed that if we were awake by 7am, we would go for a run.

I woke up before seven and wondered whether Ardi would be up to it.  He was fast asleep.

At 7:05, I got up and moved in under the quilt with Ardi.  

He stirred.  "What time is it?"

"7:05.  Are we going?"

Ardi turns to give me a hug.

"We don't have to run," I told Ardi.  "Dad might get mad that I'm waking you up."

"No, Mom.  Let's just do it."

So we both got up and got dressed.  

After the requisite stretching, we set off.  He teased me about the complexity of the preparation needed for me to run -- change clothes, put on contact lenses, wear a cap, find my rosary bracelet and bring house keys.

We had decided to do the Coolong route primarily because I wasn't sure whether I could manage the run.  I told Ardi I normally brisked walked to warm up.  He said they would run forward and backward across the gym.   He said he knew we couldn't run backwards, so he bargained brisk walking up to the corner.  I agreed.

We brisk walked together.  When we crossed the street and reached the agreed corner, he and I started our run.  

It was more like, started our "run" or started "our" run.

Started our "run"?  I don't know about Ardi, but I don't really run.  I jog. 

Started "our" run?  The moment we shifted from walking to jogging, Ardi was three strides ahead of me.  His regular jog made me feel as if I was walking.  He definitely has longer legs than I have.  He was running, I was jogging. 

I only managed to bridge the gap a little when he stopped at the corner of Parsonage and the start of Coolong.  He stopped and walked to cross the street then resumed his run.  

At that  point I knew I couldn't catch up to him.

I ran past an elderly lady who Ardi had passed earlier.   I greeted her good morning and told her that I was trying to catch up with my son.  She smiled and said, "he's too fast for you?"  I laughed and replied, "Yup!"  

I couldn't see him anymore as I turned the bend.  I figured once I manage to hit end of Coolong, I was sure to see him since there would be a long stretch of road.  Little did I know that I would be seeing him much sooner than that.

As I approached the corner, I saw him.  There he was right at the corner, stooped forward and catching his breath.

He may have the speed, but he sure doesn't have the stamina.

I kept on going.

He resumed his jog and immediately caught up with me.  (I told you he has long legs.)

We briefly ran side by side until he slowed down again and resumed his walk.

"I'm out of breath, Mom.  I can't run anymore."

I kept my pace.  I knew that once I turned the corner, the road would be downhill and it would be an easier run.  

I was on the fourth mystery as I was jogging downhill.

Before I got to Parsonage, I decided to turn back towards Ardi instead of head home.  I figured it would be more fun to walk home together.

He smiled when he saw me running towards him.  

When we met up, I stopped to walk along side him.  I was proud to have managed to keep up with my fourteen year old.  

Actually, I had a secret weapon - my rosary.

We continued homeward walking side by side, praying the fifth mystery.

First Winter Run

I knew this would happen.  The winter cold is too good an excuse not to use for staying indoors.  But of course this excuse can only go so far.  I knew that I would eventually stop fooling myself and get myself back out there.

I haven't been exercising and I am actually scared to step on a scale.  My only consolation is that I can still zip up my pants, so I guess I'm still ok. 

Anyway, it was the birthday of Poppop's brother yesterday and he'd sent us a message saying since we were all invited to his birthday dinner.  Menu consisted of an entree of oignon de frit, our choice of mains (beef or pork medley), char-grilled chicken, beef and greens), siding of pomme frites, and dessert of chilled vanilla bean creme with choice of swirl.     In other words, dinner was at Hungry Jack's and we could have onion rings and french fries, a choice of the burger, bacon deluxe or chicken meal, plus our choice of sundae.

Without dinner to worry about (and the thought of burger and fries for dinner), I decided it was about time I went out again and braved the cold.

Off I went in my running shoes and shorts.  (Even I surprised myself.  Me in shorts?  And in the winter no less!  Don't worry, I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and a cap, too.)  As I was leaving the house, Gino commented that my legs might get cold.  I told him that I was hoping the run would warm me up.  

It was almost 5 pm so the sun had almost set.  As I started my run, I could feel my body taking its time to warm up.  In fact, the thoughts that crossed my mind involved 'sebo' (grease) and blubber. 

Gosh, it has been a long time since I have gone outside to run.

I didn't want to overdo it because it HAS been a long time.  

I decided to run the length of Parsonage instead of going through my Coolong loops or Old Northern Road stretch.  I went up Parsonage all the way to Windsor Road, then headed back.  

I did a solid twenty-minute run, which I thought was pretty good considering when I first started this journey in February, the 20-minute run was my initial goal.  

I brisk walked the rest of the way home.  

I honestly don't know if I'll be able to manage a second winter run.  It is way too cold in the mornings and by the time I get home, it is dark.  But I figure, at least I was able to go out this once.

One Run, Two Run

I haven't been running as much lately.  If it is not raining, it is cold.  Either way, autumn is not the best time for running early in the morning.  I can only imagine what will happen in winter.  I don't think I will have the courage to go out in the cold.

I ran along Old Northern Road the other weekend.  Ardi had pointed out that the Stockland run was 5k and not 5.4k as previously stated.  He had clicked on google maps and seen that although the route was 2.7k by car, it was 2.5k walking. 

There were a lot of things on my mind that day.  I was unable to run the whole length of my usual route.  I walked part of the way. 

For that particular run, I concluded that "TIRED CAN ALSO BE A STATE OF MIND."

If you tell yourself that you are tired and you can't do things, you will convince yourself that you are tired and that you can't do things.  Corollary to that, if you tell yourself that you CAN do things, you will convince yourself that you CAN and you WILL.  

Personally, I like the corollary better.

Last Saturday, after a long  break from running, I decided to 'just do it.'  I was going to put my corollary to the test.  I opted to run along Old Northern Road although I wasn't sure at which point I would turn back.   I pushed myself to get all the way to Olive Street because that would be the 2.5k mark.  

Going back, I just kept plodding on -- one foot in front of the other, one landmark after another.  The house is four bus stops after Tafe.  When I reached Tafe, I contemplated walking but then told myself that I wanted to be able to say that I had ran 5k again.  So I jogged along slowly; one bus stop after another, until I reached home.

I made it.  (Of course my legs were sore until yesterday.)

Busted!

I am trying to keep a low profile in terms of my exercise routine.  I started this blog as a means to keep up the momentum and monitor my progress, and possibly to write down my thoughts in a free-flowing kind of way.  It  has primarily focused on running and exercise but who knows, one day there could be swimming, sewing and cooking in this blog as well. 

I know that writing things down in a blog is not exactly keeping things to myself and is subject to public discover and scrutiny.  And I suppose it was only a matter of time before non-family members found their way here.

True enough, my main inspiration for running has found me out.  Nikki surprised me with a message a couple of weeks back saying that Armand had found the blog.  (I'd clicked on the link to his blog to see what they'd been up to, so that must have triggered something in the cyber world.)   We exchanged a couple of messages on the matter.

She was proud of me for embarking on this journey and reminded me to celebrate my achievements (big AND small).  My first blog post said that she had ran a 16K marathon.  She clarified that she has ran in 3K, 5K, and 10K races.  She hasn't quite taken on a marathon, which by definition covers a distance of 42K, but she has successfully completed a 16K race.  

Well, when I started this blog, crossing the street was enough to get me huffing and puffing.  Sixteen kilometers was equivalent to a marathon to me.  Of course, I know a bit better now.

She is currently training for her 2nd 16K race on 22May (good luck, Niks!) and is contemplating a half-marathon (21K) in CamSur in September (go for it!). 

Me?  I am happy if I am able to get up in the morning and brave the cold.  I decide whether I am turning right towards Coolong or left to Old Northern Road.  My watch has a battery again so I have the option of checking the time if I wanted to.  

The Easter Bunny

Easter morning.

After making breakfast, I hid some chocolate eggs (given by my officemates) for the kids to look for.  

It was still early enough so I decided to go for a run,   

My watch has ran out of battery so I just had to make sure that I had enough time to go around my Coolong loop and be back in time to wake everyone up for breakfast so we could catch the 10:30 am Easter mass.

I greeted everyone I met along the way.  

Jog ... jog ... jog ... "Happy Easter!"  ... (huff and puff) ... jog ... jog ... jog ...

I felt like the Easter Bunny hopping around from one spot to another.  

(An image of Snoopy running around comes to mind, actually.)

Keep on Going

It is getting cold outside but at least it wasn't raining today.

Off I went along Old Northern Road.  

As usual, I was happy to see familiar landmarks which serve as mini-milestones for me --  St. Gabriel's (the school for the deaf), the child care centre, Tafe, Cross Street.

Shall I turn back after the third mystery?  Nah!  Just keep on going, I told myself.

I finished the fourth mystery and I was near the spot I was last Monday.  Not bad.   If I turned back now that mean I'd have run at least 2.7 km.  

I wondered what time it was.  How long have I been running?  Don't look at your watch.  

When I was on the bus to work the other day, I had seen that it was only a short distance to the mall from my 2.7 km mark.  Just keep going.  The corner is not too far away.

I ran up to the corner of the road to the mall.  I made it!

Fifth mystery.  I went around the stop sign then turned around.  I finished the 5th mystery on my way back.

I knew that I had ran a decent distance.  I wondered how I was doing in terms of time.  But I resisted the temptation to check my watch.  I knew that getting a reading of how long I'd run would affect me.  My mind would tell my body that I'd been running for such a long time and decide for itself that it was time to rest.  No, don't check the time.   You can do this.

I saw the landmarks one by one again.  This time the last one came first -- the red flowers on the sidewalk, Cross St., Tafe.    Four stops till our street.  Keep on going.

I made it back without stopping.  

That was a good run.

I don't think I will go much farther next time.   I'm quite happy to get there and back.  It doesn't matter that Google maps says it takes 3 minutes to cover the 2.7 km by car.  I ran it in two rosaries.  So there!

Moving the Goal Post

Last Saturday, instead of doing the Coolong loops then dashing off to mass, I decided to head towards St. Bernadette's at the onset.  I figured that way, I wouldn't have to be in such a mad rush to get to church since I would already be in the vicinity.

I must say, that route is more difficult that my usual Coolong and Old Northern Road routes.  The roads were mostly uphill on that side of Old Northern Road towards the church.  Although I know that the return trip would entail a downhill run, that didn't stop the uphills from being TIRING.

On Monday morning, I managed to get myself out of bed without much ado and go for my run.  I decided it was early enough to run along Old Northern Road and back.    I told myself that I would go a little farther this time.   Instead of turning around after the third mystery, which is my normal half-way marker, I proceeded to finish the fourth mystery before turning back. 

A google maps check that evening showed that the extra mystery translated to about half a kilometer one way.  Not bad.  More or less, I have managed to run over 4.5 km that morning.

I hope to be able to sustain the morning runs as autumn turns into winter.  I must say that cold chilly winds are not as inviting as warm cozy beds.

  

To See is to Believe

Yesterday morning, I decided to turn left towards Old Northern Road instead of right towards Coolong.  I ran along Old Northern Road passing places I normally see while on the bus to and from work.   When I got to my logical half-way mark (after the third Joyful Mystery), I turned back and headed home.

I looked across the road at the street sign.  

'Cook St.' I said to myself, 'I should ask Ardi to check how far that is from our place so I have an idea of how far I ran today.'

Later in the day, I mentioned to the kids that I didn't go my usual route and that I had ran all the way up to Cook St.  

Ardi was his usual teasing self.  "Where is that, Mom?  I don't know a Cook St.  The only Cook St. I know is in Sydney.  You ran to Sydney, Mom?"

"It is after Tafe but before Stockland," I said, trying to provide some sort of bearing on its location.  "Just check the map, Ardi.  I can show it to you."  But we never did get to check the map.

This morning, we went to mass at Our Lady of Lourdes.  So instead of turning left at Old Northern Road, we turned right towards Baulkham Hills.  As we were driving, I announced, "This is where I ran yesterday ... up to Cook St."

They were 'amazed.'   

I was looking for the street sign.

"I ran up to here,"  I added as we passed Cross St., still looking for the street sign saying Cook St.

As the car continued along the road, we reached Stockland and I still hadn't seen the street sign saying Cook St.

"Oh, I ran up to Cross St. not Cook St."  I admitted.  "Cook St. is farther down towards M2.  I see it on my way to office.  SORRY,  I didn't have my glasses.  I don't wear my glasses when I run."

Poppop couldn't resist but tease me.  "Oh, you ran up to Cross, huh?  Kerrs pala."

"Oh that is SO MEAN. Dad"

Everyone in the car laughed.  

If you check out the map below, Kerrs Road is the first corner after Church Street, very near the starting point marked "A."

Based on this google map snapshot, my (2 minute by car) route is about 1.9 km one way.  Not too bad for a newbie runner like me.

Rain, The Great Motivator

It is First Saturday today.  I put on a decent shirt and jogging pants then wore my new running shoes.  I brisk walked  to church to catch the 8:00 AM mass.  (The brisk walking was driven more by necessity than by the desire to get exercise.  I was running late  because I decided to start a load of laundry before leaving.)

The weather was nice and cool although it was somewhat cloudy.

After the mass, I was excited to start running.  I left the church compound and headed for the main road.  By the time I got to the sidewalk, it started to drizzle!

That set me off.  I needed to run home because I didn't have an umbrella on me.  All I had were my house keys and my rosary bracelet.

Let me tell you, I got home in record time.

The Price of Inexperience

Today marks my one month of running. 

All this running has taken its toll on my beloved Merrell shoes.  

I never imagined that I could wear out this pair like this.  (Sadness.)

So I told myself, I have to get running shoes.

Rina recommended getting a pair of Asics.  She said her pair has lasted her twenty years.  (Yes, we are that old and I know I should have decided to exercise sooner.) Poppop recommended going to one of the shoe stores that have this gadget that checks your foot pattern.

Off to the mall I went last weekend.  First stop was the shoe store with the foot pattern gadget. I browsed around for a while then marched myself out of the store. All the shoes were way over my budget.   

I went to a sports shop that had a decent selection of rubber shoes.  I looked around  the racks labelled women's running.  If it weren't for the signs, I could have been on the women's walking aisle and not even realise it.  

Honestly, after a while all the shoes looked the same.  Maybe one day my shoe shopping will be more design and comfort based rather than price-based; but at the moment, reality and economics dictate differently.

So there I was trying shoes out in the aisles.  I dislike tight shoes.  As with tight clothes, I feel like I can't breathe when I'm in them.  I like to have room to move.  I need the room to grow.  I am a size 8 1/2 but for some brands I seemed more comfortable in size 9.  (I told you I don't like tight shoes.)

I also tend to avoid sales ladies that like to hover around you when you need space and are never around when you need them.

I didn't find a suitable pair in that second store but I can tell you that I did try on more shoes in that forty-five minutes than I have in the past two years.  

Why is that? 

Let me see.  Yes, now I know why. It's because my current pair came from Z.  And before that, I think my rubber shoes came from an officemate who had given them to me when she passed on Don Bosco uniforms for the boys.  (In between somewhere we took up badminton and I managed to get myself a decent pair of Nikes without much ado because they were pink and they were on sale.  I still have those but they are not suitable for running since they are court shoes, and they are not suitable in rainy weather now that they are pretty worn out.)

I sent Poppop a text message saying that I would be on my way home soon albeit empty-handed.  However I passed a sports shop right before I left the mall and they had Asics shoes on sale within my price range.

Having tried on so many other pairs of shoes in the other store and being pressed for time, I opted to give the shoes on sale a try in size 9.   I asked the guy for shoes a half size larger than the ones I had tried on because the size 9 ones weren't as wide as I wanted them, and I had read somewhere that feet tend to swell when you run.  When the guy said there were none, I settled for the size 9 ones.

I should have known I was in trouble by just looking at the shoes.  They seemed bigger than life.  They certainly were bigger than my current pair.   What really got me worried was when I put them side by side with Poppop's shoes, they were almost the same size!

Yes, in my quest to have comfortably wide shoes, I had forgotten that shoes should not be too long.  Surely my feet have stopped growing.  No matter how many years I waited, I would not have been able to grow into the pair I just bought.

If one's shoes are too big, you end up like Ronald McDonald and are liable to trip over yourself.  True enough, when I tried them out for a run, I worried that I would fall.  

Oh, dear!  How stupid was I to buy a pair of running shoes that didn't fit properly?

I wondered if I would be able to get this pair exchanged.  

I tried to research whether the sport shop had a Return and Exchange policy.  I couldn't find any on their website so I tried other shoe stores.  Sadly all the ones I checked indicated that their policy requires that the shoes be unused and unworn.

Oh, my, if they didn't allow me to swap these shoes, I would have worn the most expensive pair of shoes I have ever purchased for a whole of thirty minutes.

On Thursday, when shops close at a later time than the rest of the week, I went out after dinner to get my shoes returned and exchanged.   All the way there, I was praying that they would take the shoes back without any problem.  I didn't want to pretend that I hadn't worn the shoes because I HAD worn them, but I did want to get a pair of shoes that I COULD use.  

Think positive.  Think positive.

When I arrived at the store, there were several customers.  I had to call the attention of a saleslady on a ladder who was fixing some shirts at the far end of the store.  The transaction was quite straightforward.  I told her that I thought the shoes were too big.  She handed me a pair in 8 1/2 to try on.  (My first instincts were that they were TIGHT and if I didn't know any better, I would get one a half size bigger.)  But I stuck to my guns.  I went for the 8 1/2.  She rung up the exchange.  I walked out of the store with a new pair of shoes.

On the way home, I said prayers of thanksgiving.   Thanks that the store's exchange policy was that the items be in good working order and in a state which could be re-sold.   Thanks that I now had a pair of shoes that with a little luck (and a lot of shoe lace loosening) would enable me to run.   Thanks that the price of inexperience was not equivalent to the cost of a new waffle maker.

Uphill, Downhill

To make up for my 'two steps back' yesterday, I made sure to go out this morning even if it was COLD.  I am sticking to my two rounds of the Parsonage - Coolong - Parsonage loops just so that I have a semblance of consistency in my route.  

I think I have figured out why I seemed to have gotten around the loops much faster the other day as compared to the first time I did a 25-minute jog.  When I went out the first time, aside from taking the Southleigh loop, I also used the pedestrian path on the side of the park which sort of winds up and down.  This made it a longer route than if I had ran (jogged) along the road.

I made it to twenty-five minutes again today.  There were times when I tried to increase my stride a bit so that I could progress from a jogger to a runner.  This is a result of my watching a TV ad showing a runner bump into unlisted home (if you are not listed, you are invisible -- it was an ad for home rentals).  The guy was seriously running.  Each step got him quite a distance from his initial position.  I said to myself, "now THAT is what I call running."   Well, as mentioned, I tried to RUN rather than JOG but ... it was tiring!  So I would eventually revert to my steady (short distance) jog.

After my first round, I was already huffing and puffing.  I considered stopping and walking but then decided that the downhill stretch towards Parsonage would provide some rest so I persevered.  True enough, the downhill was a good breather.  If I had stopped when I first wanted to, I wouldn't have made it to twenty-five minutes.

So by and large, I enjoy running my chosen route.  There is a bit of an uphill at the onset along Parsonage then as one approaches Coolong the road is flat.  There is another uphill stretch as one turns into Coolong then when the road curves turning towards Parsonage, one finds the (long awaited) long downhill.

When I am along the road going uphill and I see someone running in the opposite direction, in between huffs and puffs I envy the guy since he is running downhill.  But then I think, hey, I'll get a downhill run too, and when that happens, the other guy will be going uphill instead.

So it is all good.

Minor Setback

We all know that in order to lose weight one has to exercise and diet.  Well, I think I have taken two steps back because (1) I didn't get up to run this morning and (2) I had two servings from the lunch buffet.

I don't think yesterday's fire drill walk from the 24th to ground nor my after dinner walk to return books to the library tonight can offset the lasagna, prawns, fish, pork belly, ham, pizza, chicken curry, etc., etc., etc. that I had.

It is 10 p.m. and I still feel stuffed.  I dare not see the impact of that lunch in pounds, kilos or stones.

Gotta Keep Going

So this morning, after two days of inactivity, I dragged my body out of bed when the alarm rang.  I wore leggings and long-sleeves because it looked chilly outside.  (Yesterday it was raining so I decided against going outside.)

Off I went at 6:25am.  

I realised how short the Southleigh Avenue loop was after I got a bird's eye view of the area so I decided to run around the Parsonage - Coolong loop twice instead.   Somehow, I seemed to have reached the corner of Parsonage and Coolong near Windsor much faster than before because when I checked my watch, I was only on my twenty-minute mark.  (Maybe that short Southleigh loop is worth the extra metres.)  

I pushed myself to reach 25 minutes then brisk walked the rest of the way home passing through Kerrs Road.

Not bad.  

We'll see what the rest of the week brings.

Time is Relative

Five minutes running takes much longer than five minutes walking.

The corollary to that is -- Five minutes walking goes much faster than five minutes running.

I Did It!

I managed to reach my goal of running for at least twenty minutes this morning.  In fact, I made it to twenty-five minutes.

OK, I jogged for 25 minutes.  Does that count?

It does for me.

Mai was already awake as I was about to leave the house.  I asked her if she wanted to make her anything for breakfast.  When she said no, I took that as a GO-signal for my morning run.

It being a Saturday meant I didn't have to rush back.

Last time I ran, I made it to my fifteen-minute mark.  Today, I didn't feel as tired as before and figured I could make it to my twenty minute goal.   I opted to take a logical break after I had gone around my usual Parsonage Rd -- Coolong St -- Southleigh Ave -- Coolong St -- Parsonage Rd -- Coolong St loop.  By the time I checked my watch and reverted to walking from jogging, it was 25 minutes.

I did it!

Now, if I could only do this three or four times a week.

Fifteen Minute Run

I wasn't able to go off yesterday (Sunday) so I decided that regardless of the weather, I would go out this morning.  

Rina and I have been corresponding and I mentioned to her that we live in the hills area.  She said that I would learn to love the hills for my runs.  My experience with uphills have been a lot of huffing and puffing, so I had my doubts. 

I found out this morning that running (jogging) uphill is not as bad as it has been the previous days.  I run a different route now which involves going uphill along Parsonage to hit Coolong Road.  That stretch was about fifteen minutes and I wasn't huffing and puffing as badly as before.  The only reason I stopped was because as I was going through Coolong, I decided against going over the hump and passed the side of the road ... and got hit by a mass of spiderweb between the bushes and the road.  (Ugghh!!!)

So I walked for a bit and tried to get the spiderweb out of my face.  I checked my watch and figured if I ran, instead of walked, I could get extra running minutes before going home and still have enough time to shower and catch my bus.

Fifteen minutes of running.  Not bad, I say.  It is a definite improvement from huffing and puffing after crossing the street.

Jeff Galloway's 15 Week Program

Goodness, week 1 has running for 10-15 minutes already. 

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/5k.html
I'm getting tired just thinking about it.

Gotta Run

08 February 2011

I woke up before my cellphone alarm rang.   Weather was pretty cool.   Off I went at 6:15 am in my (formerly one of my brothers') long sleeved Fred Flintstone t-shirt and shorts. 

Squeak .. squeak... squeak went my sneakers as I brisk walked towards Coolong Park.  (Something is wrong with my right shoe.  It squeaks.) 

Squeak-squeak-squeak went my sneakers as I started to run when I crossed the street. 

I am sticking with walk-run combination for the moment, just to get the blood pumping.  My legs aren't ready for long runs yet.  Maybe in a couple of days.

I got home before 7am with enough time to shower and still catch the 7:20 bus to the City.  Problem was I had drank two big glasses of water after my run.  In spite two trips to the bathroom before leaving the house, I was busting by the time the bus got to Sydney (about one hour from our place). 

I knew I wouldn't make it to the office.  I felt as if my bladder was going to burst.   So I made a bee-line to the Ladies Room at the Queen Victoria Building. 

Maybe next time I should just drink one glass instead of two.

Good Morning, Australia

It was nice and chilly when I got up this morning, sort of like a taste of autumn.  It was definitely better than the summer heat we've been having for the past week.

Knowing how life goes, I opted not to dilly dally nor to over-think whether I would go out or not.

I simply wore a long sleeved shirt and leggings instead of my usual t-shirt and shorts, then off I went.

On my way to the park, I met an elderly woman.  She was in short sleeves and shorts!

There were a number of people at the park today.  Several people were walking their dogs.
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I aimed to get three sets of short period runs today.  My first two were for 3 minutes each while the last one, on my home stretch, was 5 minutes.

Small victories.

It is the last day of my two-week leave.  I go back to work tomorrow.  Hopefully I am able to wake up early and run before I go off to work.

We'll see.

Weekend Wobble

How wrong was I to think that it would be easier to find the time to run on weekends?

I woke up at 6am on Saturday.  However, having read that it is actually better to run in the afternoon, I opted to get additional shut-eye.  By the time I decided to get up, I had to make sure the kids had breakfast.  So instead of heading for the park, I headed for the kitchen.  I had promised Mai we would make French Toast to use up the remnants of condensed milk from the brazo de mercedes we made some time back.  I checked our bread and milk supply.  There was enough milk but if I used the bread we had on hand, there would be no bread left for snacks or sandwiches.

I decided that since it was First Saturday, I would instead go to mass then pass by the grocery on the way back.

So my walk to church, to the grocery and back was about all the exercise I got for Saturday.

How about Sunday?  

By this time, I had figured that it would be better to do a morning run than not to do any running at all.  The problem was that by the time I woke up, I had to do breakfast again.  We had Chinese fried rice if you are interested to know.  

I whipped up the Chinese fried rice in a jiffy.  If we ate fast enough and had woken up Gino, we would have made it to the 10:30am mass.  

Alas, it was not to be.  

Ardi said he wanted to eat his Chinese fried rice leisurely.  Poppop said he didn't want to wake Gino up.  

That meant that we would be catching the 6pm mass.  Consequently, it was declared a 'rest' day.