On the run again - yahoo!

It's happened.
Yesterday I ran and oh, how good it felt.
We were on the Te Henui walkway and heading back down a gentle slope, when I felt the urge to stride out a little.
"I'll run to that seat," I said out loud to Warren, my husband.
But it was so easy I kept going.
And going.
I ran for about five minutes, which may not seem a lot, but it's just the start.
In fact, that's how everything starts - just one step, one stride, one rotation, one stroke at a time.
If I do five minutes of running during each long walk this week, I can up it to 10 next week, then 15, 20, 25, 30... you get the idea.
However, I won't be pounding the walkway because that's concrete, so it'll be streets and Pukekura Park. Even writing this, I feel the desire to get out there again.
When I was younger, running and skateboarding were the two activities that made me feel like I was flying.
For years now I have had vivid dreams of skateboarding and flying.
I also had these nightmares about not being able to run away from something or someone chasing me. My legs simply wouldn't work.
Other times I'd have horrible dreams about being in a race on sand and not being able to lift my feet.
It's only five minutes, I know, but my living nightmare is over.
A few hours later I went for a swim, but only managed 30 lengths. Not because I was tired, but because I ran out of time!
Several years ago a dear friend died of breast cancer and this weekend would have been her 50th birthday. We had dinner with her parents and friends, lit 50 candles all over the garden and remembered this beautiful woman with love and tears.
She's one of the reasons why I've got a fundraising page for breast cancer research as part of my misison to complete the Tri-Woman race on January 29.
I always wanted to be running that race and now I think I will be. My aim was to be down to 100kg by the end of November and I'm on target. I also wanted to be running by then and I am - just.
As this journey has continued I have realised that more and more, my aim is to be an athlete again.
Another friend of mine says she's having a midlife crisis, so has returned to her love of speed - the fast pace not the drug.
When I was young, sport was everything.
So yes, triathlon training is the result of my own midlife crisis.
One that also aims for balance in work and life.
On Friday and Saturday I was totally out of balance.
After a lovely lunch with a friend (a healthy salad), I felt out of kilter and realised it was my ears.
When I got home, I put my head down and the world tilted - confirmation that swimming without earplugs for a week, days of walking in strong winds and nights of being plugged into audio books had affected my inner ear. I've had it before you see.
That's why Friday and Saturday ended up as rest days - hence no blogs.
My big aim this week is to get on my bike!

Yesterday, I:
Walked for 1 hour 40
Ran for 5 minutes
Swam 30 lengths of 50m pool
This wasn't a wonderful food day - I grazed, mostly wisely, and then ate home-made sponge with cream at a potluck dinner. Mmm it was good though.
Drank lots of water
Drank 3 cups of coffee
Drank 1 cup of tea

Lane rage and raising funds

By Virginia Winder
You've heard of road rage, well tonight I seethed with the aquatic equivalent.
Let's call it lane rage.
There's an unspoken swimming pool etiquette, similar to the good manners that should be shown on road passing lanes.
Well, I was swimming quite happily at my own pace, when a new woman joined my lane.
Good on her for getting out and exercising - always great to see - but please learn the rules.
She was slower than me, which meant that I lapped her and needed to pass. But when we got to the end of the pool, she didn't stop to let me go in front; she just pushed on.
That meant I had to do a dangerous pass, which could have caused a head-on collision with another swimmer if one joined our lane unnoticed.
Not good for any poor unsuspecting freestyler and certainly not good for me, especially because I have a precarious neck problem that could be seriously damaged through impact.
This failure to giveway happened a few times, until she switched lanes.
I never said anything to her about etiquette, mainly because I didn't want to be aggressive or scare her off from swimming. Perhaps I should have, so she'd understand why I was gently tickling her toes.
Let's get this straight here - I am no speedster. The blokes in the next lane were zipping past me like sharks chasing prey. I'm just a plodder who needs a style overhaul.
Great thing was a good mate joined my lane and I asked her to chase me in sprints. She certainly tickled my toes! We swapped places and I didn't reach her feet. There's always next time...
As a rule, I'm a bit of solo trainer and always have been. I love geting lost in my own thoughts, or better still, emptying my mind.
But I enjoyed doing a spot of training with my fit young friend tonight and last night, it was great walking with a friend and chatting.
In fact, I love the idea of this whole team thing for both training and competing.
So if anyone wants to join my team, JustGot2DoIt, for the January 29 triathlon here in New Plymouth, New Zealand - just do it!
I've registered my team as a fundraiser for breast cancer research too.
You can register of the event by going to Contact TriWoman Series.
Hey, I'm going to get cerise T-shirts printed for people too, but you will have to buy them.

These shirts will be cheap though, cos I only want to cover my costs!

Best of all, my daughter, Clementine, will be creating a beautiful design for the team shirts.
I suppose I'd better tell/ask her...

Today, I:
Ate 3 healthy meals, but it was a bit tough at a barbecue tonight
Swam 62 lengths
Slept 6 hours
Worked for 12 hours
Didn't drink enough water