Thursday:
Did I mention that working from home has its distractions? Firstly, the Olympics. I was watching a close beach volleyball game while eating breakfast today, then tried to walk away from the television, then the bastards put on synchronised diving! Second is the internet, I can scroll through cute pictures of kittens all day without a boss looking over my shoulder. And thirdly my favourite computer game (actually the only one I play), World of Warcraft, is bringing out a new expansion in a few weeks and they have released some new content in the lead up to it so obviously I need to explore that... And of course lastly I am an avid reader and get lost in whatever I am reading... it's no wonder the house is a mess and I never get any writing done. This is why I sometimes try getting out of the house to write.
Friday:
Today I had lunch with my sister-in-law near her work, which was lovely. I've been to that café twice before, the food is nice but the servings are enormous! As usual, I ate less than half my meal. I did enjoy it though, and had a good chat with Ping. I walked around the big shopping centre and finally got my hands on the new Harry Potter book, then did the grocery shopping.
Showing posts with label olympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label olympics. Show all posts
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Sunday, August 7, 2016
Rio
Sunday:
Has anyone outside of Australia heard of Peter Allen? You might have, he married Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland's daughter. He was an ... exuberant ... singer. One of his biggest hits goes:
When my baby, when my baby smiles at me I go to Rio,
de Janeiro, my-oh me-oh...
Has anyone outside of Australia heard of Peter Allen? You might have, he married Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland's daughter. He was an ... exuberant ... singer. One of his biggest hits goes:
When my baby, when my baby smiles at me I go to Rio,
de Janeiro, my-oh me-oh...
He sang it while shaking maracas and wriggling his fluoro-ruffled hips. The Rio Olympics always makes me think of that. Since we are over the other side of the world, as usual most of the events are during our night-time but there is repeat coverage all day. I love the Olympics.
My blood sugar levels have been high all weekend, much higher than normal for what I was eating. I don't usually test myself very often but I could feel a wrongness yesterday after breakfast (two slices of low-GI toast with cheese) so I've been checking after each meal and they are unacceptably high. Jasmine has a cold, so I assume I'm fighting off germs and that is messing my blood sugar levels around. I'm not really worried, having had a glucose tolerance test recently which showed I'm still in the pre-diabetes range but improved from the time before. It's interesting that the current "official" advice even for diabetics is to still eat plenty of carbs (like the equivalent of four slices of toast at once) and just take insulin when the carbs make your blood sugar levels shoot up! Take the poison and the antidote at the same time and you'll be fine. Except that you won't be fine for long. You have to keep taking more and more antidote until even that no longer works and you go blind and have your feet amputated. But what can you do, right? It's not like they could recommend you eat less carbs...
I have a leg of lamb roasting in the oven for dinner. Mmmm, smells delicious. But I'll go easy on the roast potato.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Up early
Monday:
Getting up half an hour early wasn't too painful. I got dressed while still half asleep. I went out for a walk, which was lovely at first because it was still fresh and cool. By the end of 30 mins brisk walk I was hot and sweaty, but that is as it should be. Didn't like coming inside though - it felt about 10 degrees hotter in the house! It's just not cooling down much overnight.
After walking the kids to school (another 10 mins) I popped in to uni to buy my Biology textbook. It was (always is) a fair walk from the car into the "hub", call it another 20 mins including up and down four flights of stairs. So that is a total of an hour walking I did this morning! Not a bad start.
It looks like I might be doing all four subjects this term, a full time study load. They opened another Anatomy tutorial at a great time for me. I still can't attend the lecture but I will see how I go watching it online instead. Four subjects might be too much, I have until the end of week 4 to withdraw without penalty.
Next I did the grocery shopping, and I was so tired by then! Tired feet, tired body, sore hips (which hadn't been hurting me at all during the time I wasn't exercising, it feels like tight ligaments or something? Hopefully regular exercise will resolve it.). Had my banana and then went to five shops all over the centre with no success in finding the things I was looking for. Lots more walking. Finally the groceries. Lots of healthy things. You know those days when you are proud of your trolley and wouldn't mind if your doctor happened to walk past and glance in?
I had planned to cook myself a quick chicken and vegetable stir fry for lunch but I was much too tired for that; I had a cheese and salad sandwich with the beautiful fresh bread I had just bought. Then collapsed in front of the Olympics; figure skating and the luge. Wished something boring like hockey would come on so I could have a nap. It didn't, and despite the fact that figure skating is my absolute favourite, and also despite the fact I should have been studying, I fell asleep for an hour and a half. Much longer than my usual nana naps. Got the kids from school, watched some ski jumping with them, went up to the bedroom to fold four baskets of clean clothes ... and lay on the bed instead for another half an hour. Just so tired. My husband and I have both been sleeping really badly all summer.
We've moved Dungeons and Dragons to Mondays so I had to negotiate the supper table. I provided some mixed nuts so I had quite a few of those; high calorie but nutritious. I did well avoiding other stuff except for the chips. But I didn't have as many as usual, and over all I did much better than most weeks. About 500 calories total supper when often it can be over 1000. Hmm, I really need to start thinking in kilojoules instead of calories.
Over 10000 steps today!
Getting up half an hour early wasn't too painful. I got dressed while still half asleep. I went out for a walk, which was lovely at first because it was still fresh and cool. By the end of 30 mins brisk walk I was hot and sweaty, but that is as it should be. Didn't like coming inside though - it felt about 10 degrees hotter in the house! It's just not cooling down much overnight.
After walking the kids to school (another 10 mins) I popped in to uni to buy my Biology textbook. It was (always is) a fair walk from the car into the "hub", call it another 20 mins including up and down four flights of stairs. So that is a total of an hour walking I did this morning! Not a bad start.
It looks like I might be doing all four subjects this term, a full time study load. They opened another Anatomy tutorial at a great time for me. I still can't attend the lecture but I will see how I go watching it online instead. Four subjects might be too much, I have until the end of week 4 to withdraw without penalty.
Next I did the grocery shopping, and I was so tired by then! Tired feet, tired body, sore hips (which hadn't been hurting me at all during the time I wasn't exercising, it feels like tight ligaments or something? Hopefully regular exercise will resolve it.). Had my banana and then went to five shops all over the centre with no success in finding the things I was looking for. Lots more walking. Finally the groceries. Lots of healthy things. You know those days when you are proud of your trolley and wouldn't mind if your doctor happened to walk past and glance in?
I had planned to cook myself a quick chicken and vegetable stir fry for lunch but I was much too tired for that; I had a cheese and salad sandwich with the beautiful fresh bread I had just bought. Then collapsed in front of the Olympics; figure skating and the luge. Wished something boring like hockey would come on so I could have a nap. It didn't, and despite the fact that figure skating is my absolute favourite, and also despite the fact I should have been studying, I fell asleep for an hour and a half. Much longer than my usual nana naps. Got the kids from school, watched some ski jumping with them, went up to the bedroom to fold four baskets of clean clothes ... and lay on the bed instead for another half an hour. Just so tired. My husband and I have both been sleeping really badly all summer.
We've moved Dungeons and Dragons to Mondays so I had to negotiate the supper table. I provided some mixed nuts so I had quite a few of those; high calorie but nutritious. I did well avoiding other stuff except for the chips. But I didn't have as many as usual, and over all I did much better than most weeks. About 500 calories total supper when often it can be over 1000. Hmm, I really need to start thinking in kilojoules instead of calories.
Over 10000 steps today!
Monday, August 6, 2012
Long and faster
Monday:
Today I did 24 mins on the rowing machine again, but with the much improved distance of 3.56 km. I may not be losing any weight (yesterday I was back up to 78.5 kg) but my body seems to be liking my relaxed approach to exercise -- my rowing is improving by leaps and bounds.
I'm afraid I did very little else today; watched the Olympic highlights and did the grocery shopping. I have a new, very short, editing job to do. I read it through today and will edit tomorrow. I like to think about things a bit. Let concepts and problems percolate. For instance, I've realised that this author really needs to think about who his audience is so he doesn't alienate the very people he is trying to convince.
Today I did 24 mins on the rowing machine again, but with the much improved distance of 3.56 km. I may not be losing any weight (yesterday I was back up to 78.5 kg) but my body seems to be liking my relaxed approach to exercise -- my rowing is improving by leaps and bounds.
I'm afraid I did very little else today; watched the Olympic highlights and did the grocery shopping. I have a new, very short, editing job to do. I read it through today and will edit tomorrow. I like to think about things a bit. Let concepts and problems percolate. For instance, I've realised that this author really needs to think about who his audience is so he doesn't alienate the very people he is trying to convince.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Long and slow
Sunday:
On Thursday I did a longer slower row, 24 mins -- twice as long as usual -- but only about 3/4 of my best speed. A little over 3 km.
Today I went to a writing workshop where I nutted out the details of a novel I want to write. I already have a WIP (work in progress) but I have agonised over it so long and written so little that I have decided to set it aside for a while and start a new project. I will come back to that one later.
So much Olympics to watch!
On Thursday I did a longer slower row, 24 mins -- twice as long as usual -- but only about 3/4 of my best speed. A little over 3 km.
Today I went to a writing workshop where I nutted out the details of a novel I want to write. I already have a WIP (work in progress) but I have agonised over it so long and written so little that I have decided to set it aside for a while and start a new project. I will come back to that one later.
So much Olympics to watch!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Personal Best
Wednesday:
A PB on the rowing machine today -- 2.035 km in my 12 mins! Yay, I did it! I had to go a bit harder right from the beginning, and I was buggered by the end. Did it though.
Then I got on the treadmill and watched the Olympics.
A PB on the rowing machine today -- 2.035 km in my 12 mins! Yay, I did it! I had to go a bit harder right from the beginning, and I was buggered by the end. Did it though.
Then I got on the treadmill and watched the Olympics.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Rowing like an Olympian
I did BodyPump yesterday and increased my weight for the squats and the back track. Then in the afternoon during Club Gecko I got on the rowing machine again. I realised just as we got to the gym that I could watch the Olympic highlights on the 4pm repeat show if I walked on the treadmill, but after a brief struggle with myself I rowed first -- where I couldn't plug into TV sound and I couldn't see the TV on the Olympic channel except on the back stretch of my row if I leaned back a bit. I did 12 minutes again and improved my distance to 1.97 km (so close to my goal of 2 km! I really sprinted at the end) before jumping on the treadmill for a slow 15 min walk and some Olympic viewing.
Australians have been doing really well in the rowing so there has been a lot of coverage, and this morning I did some research. By coincidence, all races are 2 km; about the same distance I am doing at the moment. I had no idea that was the case, and I've even been a bit frustrated that they never announce before a race how long it will be; it is easier to get excited when you know the finish line is coming up. But they are all a standard 2000 meters these days.
The single women's sculls, the most comparable to me on my machine, were being won in a bit under 8 mins. The losers go over that, of course. I am going to call it 8 mins for convenience; that is a speed of 15 kmph. It takes me 12 mins to go (very close to) the same distance at my speed of (nearly) 10 kmph. I am 2/3 the speed of an Olympian! I think that is awesome! Especially considering I have only been doing this for a week. There are not many sports I could claim to be 2/3 as good as an Olympian. If I moved to a country with no history of rowing maybe I could make the team, like that swimmer a couple of Olympics ago who could barely swim the whole distance and came in a couple of minutes after the rest of the competitors.
Oh, and I heard a commentator say that the rowers (in this case I think it was 4 men) were doing 35 strokes per minute, which is the same as I do on the machine when I am sprinting. So I have that at Olympic standard too. Sort of. For about 30 seconds.
Of course I have no idea, despite my attempts at research, how a rowing machine compares to being in a real boat. I have the resistance set to 5 out of 10, but I read that the drag on a real boat is proportional to your weight so I don't know what 5 out of 10 means in real terms.
Anyway, all this so cool.
No gym today, as Tim has the car; and also my dad is visiting.
photo by Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Sunday weigh-in; 77.9 kg, down 0.6 kg
Sunday:
I've made my new home weigh-in Sunday, partly because it seems like a logical kind of day and partly because last Sunday was my highest weight (78.5) in recent months so it seemed like a good place to work my way down from. I've had a week of plenty of exercise but also far too much unhealthy food; luckily the exercise seems to have won and I'm down more than half a kg to 77.9.
I haven't been to the gym since Thursday, on Friday my body was really tired and I just wanted to rest it, yesterday I was suffering from both the physical and the emotional issues of PMS. Although in my case is it more "during" rather than "pre-" MS. I had a very greasy salty dinner and felt much better.
The Olympics have started and I've been watching avidly. Of course we're on the other side of the world, here, so the events are going all night Australia-time; but we watch live coverage in the evening and then see highlights on the following day. One channel has almost 24 hour Olympics, a 3 hour break in the middle of the day and half an hour of news in the evening -- although of course the news is also quite Olympic-centric. Edit: turns out this was wrong, we have 6.30pm-9.00am live coverage but then only a 2 hour highlight show during the day - they just repeat it morning and afternoon which fooled me.
I noticed yesterday evening that I'd only had two cups of tea and no other liquid all day. I still need to work on that! I just don't feel thirsty or think of drinking, but as soon as I start drinking I realise how thirsty I actually am. Maybe I need to set up a reminder on my phone or something. Sirri, help me!
I've made my new home weigh-in Sunday, partly because it seems like a logical kind of day and partly because last Sunday was my highest weight (78.5) in recent months so it seemed like a good place to work my way down from. I've had a week of plenty of exercise but also far too much unhealthy food; luckily the exercise seems to have won and I'm down more than half a kg to 77.9.
I haven't been to the gym since Thursday, on Friday my body was really tired and I just wanted to rest it, yesterday I was suffering from both the physical and the emotional issues of PMS. Although in my case is it more "during" rather than "pre-" MS. I had a very greasy salty dinner and felt much better.
The Olympics have started and I've been watching avidly. Of course we're on the other side of the world, here, so the events are going all night Australia-time; but we watch live coverage in the evening and then see highlights on the following day. One channel has almost 24 hour Olympics, a 3 hour break in the middle of the day and half an hour of news in the evening -- although of course the news is also quite Olympic-centric. Edit: turns out this was wrong, we have 6.30pm-9.00am live coverage but then only a 2 hour highlight show during the day - they just repeat it morning and afternoon which fooled me.
I noticed yesterday evening that I'd only had two cups of tea and no other liquid all day. I still need to work on that! I just don't feel thirsty or think of drinking, but as soon as I start drinking I realise how thirsty I actually am. Maybe I need to set up a reminder on my phone or something. Sirri, help me!
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