Swandives

Disgruntlement city!

I’ve been bustin’ my gut (or trying to, at least) in an effort to train for the City to Surf and Bridge Run. In the past eight days I’ve run 60 kms. Over the weekend I ran 29 km.

So why am I getting slower, not faster? And why am I putting on weight, not losing it?

It’s all very disheartening. My head knows that I’m running slower because I’m in hard training, and my body is tired, and after a bit of rest I’ll probably run faster. My head knows that the weight is probably just water retention, or muscle mass.

My heart thinks it’s all a load of bollocks and I should just live with the fact that I suck at this running malarky.

I am running horribly late for work and shouldn’t be sitting around posting, but I just had to add a few things to my brief rant about Big Brother.

I mentioned that the people I like most never win. And, despite my prediction, I don’t think my fave housemate will win this year either. Coz it’s not Aleisha - it’s Zach. I love somebody who’s flamboyant and able to articulate what I dislike most about Big Brother - that the voting public is so darned conservative! So, while I’d be happy enough is Aleisha wins, I’d be happy as if Zach did!

In other news, I couldn’t sleep last night coz I watched Torchwood and it gave me the heabie jeebies! Yikes! I don’t do horror, for obvious reasons, and it was just darn creepy! Also didn’t help that I was switching between that and Criminal Minds. So I cowered in bed last night, cuddled up to the beloved, with the blanket over my head!

OK. Now I’m really late. Must go to work.

You know, I just tried three different titles for this post before I came up with the very original ‘running update’. I’ve run out of inspiration. I think it’s because I’m a wee bit snuffly and overtired. I ran a total of 24 km on the weekend - 14 km on Saturday and 10 km on Sunday. And over the past five days (not counting today, which was a rest day) I’ve done 38 km and a cycle class. Training, as they say, is in full swing. I tell you what, I better bloody well get my sorry bum over the 14 km of the City to Surf this year or I am going to lay down and weep as the world’s most useless jogger ever.

Now I didn’t really mean to go harping on about running in this post. It’s just that it seems all I do these days is work and run. I’m a bit bored with myself, to tell the truth. I know, I know…it’s temporary and once the running season is over I’m going to let my hair down. And in true girlie style I’m having an attack of the miserables right now. But I just wish I had a bit more to offer the world beyond running updates.

So in true, style, let’s talk Big Brother. Who do you reckon’s going to win? I think I’ll go out on a limb here and say Aleisha. I’d like a girl to win this year. Mind you, I have a simply awful track record with this show - not for picking a winner mind (it’s pretty good in that regard)…no, I mean, the people I really like never win. I wanted Chrissie to win the year Reggie won - I think that girl is tops, and it was only later I found out her surname is Swan, which made me even happier. Then I wanted Bree Amer to win - so there’s two runner ups. Bree’s fab and at least she has a gig on Friday Night Live. Then I wanted Vesna to win, and she came third. Last year it was Camilla but the poor girl never stood a chance with that bloody political football of a turkey slap thing.

Now Aleisha wasn’t my first pick for a winner - Travis was - but I think she’s got a good chance. So we’ll see.

Did I mention I’m going to see Bob Dylan? Yes, well, I’m off to be indoctrinated into the Cult of Bob. The beloved is very excited. I only hope I get it, else it’ll be a rather short marriage, I suspect. At the moment I think the best thing about going to see Bob is the support - The Frames. One of my fave bands. And the latest album is incredible. As I knew it would be.

Now the lead singer from the Frames, Glen Hansard, is in this amazing movie that was recently shown at the Sydney Film Festival called Once. The beloved spoke to him about it in Februrary, and will be revisiting it all with him again in another interview this Friday. Here’s the link to the article from the last interview:

http://www.geemuses.com/?p=24

And, here’s a lovely live performance of a song from Once, from the LA meet the press junket. Bewdiful.

Argh. I don’t normally watch It takes two on Channel Seven. I know: I’m as surprised as you are. A singing show that I don’t watch. But I was just flicking around and caught the following throwaway line:

“Histrionic rock is my least favourite genre.”

In relation to Queen and the legendary Freddie Mercury. How can you not love Queen? I’m upset by a throwaway line on the tele! I obviously need more of a life.

Update: Now that I think about it, I definitely need more of a life. Spend Sunday making furniture. We now have two bookshelves and two CD towers. Happy days. Bit of a muddle up when we disovered we’d buggered it and bought the wrong item - indead of a nice big bookshelf we accidentally bought a smaller one that doesn’t fit everything. Sigh. But hey, a smaller bookshelf is better than no bookshelf. Even tho not all our books fit in it. Sigh. I feel a book cull coming on.

Great. As a self-confessed stress-head, this is just what I did NOT need. An article from the SMH, that says Aussie, US and Slovakian scientists have discovered chronic stress triggers the body’s fat cells to grow and multiply.

Yikes!

I ran 12 km yesterday. Slowly, mind - averaged about 7min45sec per kilometre. But I’m getting there. The trouble was, with all the recent rain, our running course has become more of a lake. It’s a pedestrian/cycle path, but at the moment it’s more like a mini river. Which makes it wet and a bit slower. And early on in the run, I had to run through all this water on the track - and a family of cyclists (mum, dad and kids) were coming the other way. So I was keeping over to the side of the track but, because of all the water, I couldn’t see the great big hole in the track and went over on my ankle. Great. Just what I need. Another ankle injury.

It was OK at the time because all my muscles were warm from running, but by yesterday arvo I was in pain. So I took lots of drugs and strapped it up and it’s OK today. I can walk on it. Could prolly even run on it, as long as no twisting motion is involved. But I hate it. Darned dodgy ankles.

So today I’m building the IKEA furniture that has been sitting in our living room in flat packs for the past five days. Normally, this is something I enjoy, but I’m not looking forward to it this time. I think I need another holiday.