Hooray for holidays

We don't muck around here at Chez LBTEPA when it's school holiday time.
On Monday we got new shoes and took the train and the tram to the beach to paddle, eat icecream and make sandcastles. Yesterday we fulfilled Noddie's long-held ambition and rode on a purple train to Bendigo, to meet up with blogger Royalty - the magnificent Beckie! What pleasure to spend a day in the sunshine with her. Next time we will stay longer.

Tomorrow we are going to the Show. We love holidays.
This week I felt an unfamiliar and astonishing sensation - I had some perceptible energy. Energy! I tell you what, this stuff is ace! If this keeps up, next week I am going to start getting up early again. Maybe even think about some exercise! Oooooh!

More anon, gadabouts!

Lots of things

I can't really blog properly at the moment. My head is full of everything. It's bordering on overwhelming, yet far too boring to put out into the ether
Hope everyone is well. Take care and see you soon

Party time

J had the day off yesterday and Noddie was home sick with him so they spent the day getting ready for a party! Just a party because Noddie thought it would be a good idea. Great fun! They made a cake and fairy bread and blew up balloons; we ate cheese and biscuits, and dip, grilled prawns and chocolate fondue, all by candlelight - how cool! Then we sang along to daggy 80s music (from Mummy's ipod) and played Noddie's instruments and danced and generally had a lovely time. Noddie decided she was having an upsy-down sleep, requiring her pillow to be placed at the foot of the bed - most disconcerting when I went in there later to check on her.
My darling Doggies did the right thing last night - goodbye Swans, mwahahahaha! So what if we get a shellacking from the Cats next week, they have been lay-down misere favourites for the flag since round one. My boys played sensationally and that's enough for me. Anyway, we might win!Severely undermining my belief in the power of vitamin C, zinc and wishing things away, I have awoken this morning still coughing and achy all over. Enough is enough - enough worrying, enough feeling ashamed and a failure, enough scoffing ibuprofen to get through workouts, enough bleating. Enough bloody everything: I am Officially Out of the bay ride. I am more unbearably disappointed than I can express, but enough of that too.
Now we are off to Noddie's swimming lesson where she will show her teacher that she has mastered the freestyle arm stroke (although it was funny watching her doing it all backwards), and then to buy some Dora sandals. I don't remember promising these but apparently I did.

More anon, Springtime frolickers!

Fed to the back teeth

with
- this constant sinus headache
- my footy team
- feeling tired and off colour all the time. For two months. WTF?
- getting exhausted by stupidly small amounts of exercise ( a 5km walk? taking Noddie to the pool? F#$% that for a joke)
- Noddie's cheek and defiance. We're going to have to have another family meeting. Sigh.
- Noddie's incessant coughing (oh come on, you knew I was a bad mother)
- Lance Armstrong
- broken sleep from getting up to Noddie two or three times a night.
- Noddie coughing herself to vomiting point every night, poor little bugger
- changing sheets at 3 am
- feeling disappointed that My Year Off Uni (aka the Year I did All Sorts of Cool Things) has turned out like this
- worrying I won't be able to do the Bay Ride, and having to decide whether I'll do it by next Wednesday because that's the last day for refunds
- my flabby bloated waist
- 'resting' when it seems to be doing F#$% all good.
- feeling undisciplined and greedy and lazy
- my own tiresome whingeingThanks for listening and not sending me a big can of HTFU and a spoon (unless you think I need some. Then go right ahead). Think of it as giving the Spousal Unit a break.

The other day I heard Noddie tell her swimming teacher I can't do it, it's too hard. I was horrified - it's just Not the Sort of Thing We Say here at Schloss LBTEPA . Stop laughing! Afterward we had A Talk about what to do when something is difficult and you feel discouraged. She has been practising saying it's hard, but I'll keep trying.
Better set a good example, hadn't I?

On a brighter note, I like my new job so much I'd almost do it for free.

More anon, back-molar grinders

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my Dad, to Noddie's Dad, and to all the Dads out there. You do a great job and we love you all!A 5km charity walk when lots of Dads would be sleeping in. J, you and Noddie are champs.
Now go and get your prostate checked.
I know I said this last year. Have you done it yet?

More anon, fish-and-chip picnic lunchers!

Half cut

No, I am not inebriated. I sent this email this morning
Dear
I am unable to participate in the half-marathon this year for medical reasons. Oh well, the MCG will still be standing next year!
Thanks again for organising such a great event
LBTEPA
Trying to build my running kms, and my bike kms, and not get injured, and get better from this Rotten Pig Bastard sinus infection was just doing my head in. Something had to give way; alas, it had to be my much-anticipated trot around the hallowed turf in 2008.
Speaking of the RPB sinus infection, I took Noddie to the doctor about her latest germ-o-rama and while I was there spoke to my doctor about how to manage this situation. He’s been away, and is a lot more sports-minded than the one who’s been looking after me in the interim. Following this visit, Secret Sara and my mum received the following sms
Crap crap crap dr says bay ride v unlikely. Going home now to cry, then work out a Plan to increase likelihood.
I did go home, but I didn’t cry. First I ate an entire box of those wonderful wonderful rice cracker thingos that taste exactly like salt-and-vinegar chips. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Then I put on some loud boppy music, did the dishes, vaccumed, put some washing on and cleaned the kitchen. Sara rang and was funny, supportive and gracious, coz that’s the kind of person she is - thanks mate!. Mum rang to tell me that the five times my Dad did the Bay ride, he never did further than 100km in training and I have the same endurance genes – thanks Mum!
I read some blogs and Commodore fired me up. I flicked onto an Age online article and was inspired. A Plan started to germinate. The Spousal Unit came home with a massive, unexpected pay rise. Yay for you, J! He liked the Plan.
Now the Plan is This: get to the start line.
Now now, don’t scoff. There’s genius in simplicity. I’m going to rest as directed and do what training I can after that, keep losing weight and staying off the grog, take my echinacea and zinc and vitamin C and eat my vegies. Subject to a fortnightly review, I’m going to believe I can get to the start line. If I can do that, I'll take the day as it comes.

This just started playing on the stereo. Time to put on my favourite t-shirt.More anon, possibly-deluded but cheerful!

Good signs

So far at least half a dozen people at my new work have told me you'll love it here, it's a great place to work.
Other good signs:
Freeway all the way so even though it's twice the distance it takes half the time.
Lots of windows
Nice (not grey) paint, lots of plants and paintings
Green tea, Earl Grey tea and capuccino machine supplied
Actual real meaningful work

Enough

Warning: this post contains even more self-absorbed navel-gazing than usual

Yesterday Noddie and I were at the finish of the Hill Ride O’Doom to cheer in Secret Sara when we ran into a fellow Cool Runner, the charming M, and his lovely girlfriend. I find M intimidating, which is stupid, and unfair since he has never been anything but encouraging to me - in fact, I wouldn’t have the running goals I do if he and his friends hadn’t been so nice to me when I started. When he remarked that he thought I was supposed to have been riding I didn’t know what to say. Sick again? Not in it because my doctor told me I wasn’t to? It all sounded so lame, so ‘excuses’, so again she’s not doing something she said she would because of some pathetic made-up reason. It sounded like that to me. I hated the words coming out of my mouth, and what these two people I admire must be thinking of me (of course, it's highly unlikely they were thinking anything of the kind!!) The feeling of wimping out, and in particular letting Sara down, had been plaguing me all day. My mind was going in circles.
I shouldn’t have got sick.
There must have been something I could have done that would have prevented it.
Maybe if I just do some little exercise thing each day this infection won’t be such a train crash
I could have had a crack at it.
I’m a piker. I don’t try hard enough. I let people down
I shouldn’t have got sick.
Please note that no-one other than myself said any of these things to me! Stop it, me!
By mid-afternoon, Sara safely cheered across the line – Sara my friend, you are a LEGEND!!!! – I was getting myself really worked up. Confused, tired, sorry for herself LBTEPA needed a good snuggle in the logic blanket to feel better.
Here’s the talk we had. I have left out the ‘yes, buts’ as they were many and I am sure you can imagine them.
FACT: a dodgy thyroid, however well-managed, and recovery from chronic fatigue syndrome, mean my immune system is not 100%. It may never be (although I'm working on it). This is not an ‘excuse’. It is reality. It needs to be managed.
FACT: Noddie started kinder this year and as children do, has brought home every germ going around. This is not an ‘excuse’. It is reality. It needs to be managed.
FACT: My doctor forbade me from training to target the Hill Ride of Doom. This is not an ‘excuse’. It is reality. The last time I disobeyed medical advice went badly. Lesson learnt.
FACT: My ‘A’ event for the winter is the Bay in a Day. Consistent training will get me around. Gung-ho heroics like attempting a gruelling 110km while on antibiotics are counterproductive. This is not an ‘excuse’. It is reality. Suck it up.
FACT: I feel as though I let Sara down. She doesn’t think so. Suck it up. Move on.
FACT: Blaming myself and feeling ashamed for getting sick is predicated on two faulty premises: I am completely in control of everything that happens to me; and everything is about me. ENOUGH. LET IT GO.
I found these conclusions comforting.

Today Minerva and I went out for a bit of a spin that turned into a brain-shaking slog-fest straight into a howling headwind. Think 17km/hr in the small ring on the downhills. Ack. After 25km – about 20km after it first crossed my mind to pack it in, by the way - I cracked like a nut and took the first right-hand turn just to get away from the wind noise. The new road was nice, rolling uphills and zoomy curving downhills, but by the time I got to Whittlesea I was tired and it was starting to spit. You will be so proud of me: I thought, I could ride home, but I’ve done enough for today. I want to run tomorrow. That’s enough.
I found a warm coffee shop with nice magazines and rang the Spousal Unit to pick me up - right in the middle of prayers at church (ooops). He and Noddie drove out to meet me and we had a nice lunch together.

My friend Mary is doing her second Ironman as we speak, and I start my new job, my new career tomorrow.

More anon, strivers

You're joking

Another sinus infection, with an extra helping of bronchitis-if-I'm-not-careful? More antibiotics? More "resting"? This is starting to become depressing.
*Insert litany of whingeing and lengthy wallow in self-pity pool here*
Now the Plan is this: take antibiotics. Continue eating lots o'veggies, sleeping, drinking green tea, and scoffing echinacea and vitamin C (fat lot of good it's doing, mutters bitter twisted LBTEPA, before being escorted out by the CheerTFU police). Swim ride and run like it's 2047. Eighty years old and still going strong.
Feel frightened about lack of fitness and upcoming events. Say nothing. Keep plugging away.
More anon, faux-phlegmatic friends.
Faux-phlegmatic friends....That's fun to say.....

Catch up

Long time, no post, eh?
To the woman who let her 3yo cry and beg for Mummy all the way through the 30min swimming class, who when I mentioned this to her answered, “I know, I’m happy with that”: well (as I said to you) Way to get your kid keen on swimming.
To the pool management who said it was policy that they couldn’t overrule the parents: your policy is wrong and you should be ashamed.

To the supermarket people: Thanks for finally giving me the $50 I got out on eftpos but the cashier forgot to give me as I was rushing Noddie away from the lollies. They weren't arguing about it or anything; it's a very small market that sometimes resembles a sheltered workshop and it took them five days to check the video footage.
Thanks a MILLION times to them as well for looking after Noddie's Teddy. We were all devastated when we couldn’t find him. At one stage Noddie told me she missed Teddy, and I said, when that bear comes back I’ll tell him he's a naughty bear for making us so worried. She answered, I won’t be mad at him, I’ll cuddle him and tell him I’m glad he’s back. We were so happy when he was waiting for us by the cash register four days later when we went in to buy some bread!

I was absolutely worried sick about the weekend’s long bike ride. You know how you get stuck on those righto-it’s-crunch-time-you-slackarse thought loops? I ‘knew’ it was now or never – if I didn’t do close to 100km, at least 4.5 hours, the Bay in a Day was just doomed. So melodramatic! I’d planned to ride with Secret Sara, aka suck her wheel the whole way as she’s been training so consistently, but she had to change from Saturday to Sunday morning and I had church. So Sunday afternoon it was. I was up a bit late watching the diving – congratulations Matthew Mitcham! and had had a few sherbets as it was J’s and my tenth anniversary and we had a big fight about how his habit of leaving everything to the last minute (in this case, arranging babysitting, the ONLY thing he’d been asked to do, not that I was ropeable about it no no no no no) meant that we were not, as planned, in a swish hotel with a spa, but at home eating takeaway chinese, which subsequently gave me food poisoning. Fun fun fun.
I had an absolutely Brilliant Plan for the oh-crap-I-have-to-do-this-hard-thing-and -I'm-scared ride. I expected it to be thoroughly horrid and that I would hate it! Then when it was horrid I said to myself, well, you knew it was going to be like this, so just calm down. It worked a treat! I have to say though, most of the time it was pretty nice. I mostly rode through paddocks and along country roads. It was nicely overcast and there was hardly any wind, and although there was one mofo steep hill that I had to walk the second half, the other side was so steep I hit 62km/hr! Wheeeeeeeeeee! I ended up doing 95km in 4 hours 12 minutes. A huge mental barrier has been smashed. As I smsd to Sara, with 8 weeks to go, I think I will be able to whinge my way around the bay now after all.

Then again, as one of J’s friends remarked when J told him what I was doing for the afternoon, that’s what cars were invented for. Note to self: investigate chamois butter
That's enough about me – pop straight over to SB’s blog and congratulate him on completing a ONE HUNDRED MILE RUN!!!! And also to Benson’s page to tell him very well done on his second Ironman. Don’t mention the platinum togs though

More anon, wearers of padded pants :P

I needed that

Left Friday 05.00, got home Monday 23.55. Hammered it - out every day by 8.30am, never home before 8.30pm. Mucho champagne. Tired. Content.
Ann and I have known each other since we were 18. So good to be just me for four days. Snigger. We went here twice. Gorgeous river views. Excellent salt and pepper squid.
Second-last stop on the 8-hour winery cruise. Fremantle maritime museum from the Rottnest Island Ferry. Rottnest IslandWesternmost point of Rottnest. Another beautiful beach. A quokka. Rottnest Island pub and the view from our table. Perth Carillon. You're not the only one concerned at its phallic symbolismCelebrity blogger meetup - the lovely Hannelie! What a pleasure.
Don't make me go home.............

More anon, not-all-that-enthused-about-unpacking types
Next: a Plan to get back into things. I can feel some stickers coming on

Respect the distance

I've been a total crock the last couple of days. I had a migrainy-thingy yesterday. J got home late and I hadn't organised things well enough to fit in a run. I had an allergic reaction to something last night so I am weary and dopey from the drugs. The Olympics are on TV and although it's sunny, it's chilly and a bit windy. I have to pick Noddie up from kinder at 2pm. I'm going away for four days on Friday.
210km is a long way. I.Will. Ride. Today. Sometimes it's just about getting out the door.
LATER
Done. Home. Warm again.
:)

WWSD

Text to Secret Sara (my riding buddy and a complete legend)
Had 2 much wine + 4 hrs sleep, thought What Would Sara Do? so rode to Whittlesea.

OMG how great was the opening ceremony???? I was glued to every second of it! It was so nice sitting there with the the heater on, watching the grand spectacle with the rug over my knees and J snoring in the recliner by my side. It was wonderful - the 'dream rings'! the unrolling scroll! the magic carpet dancer! the admiral's journeys!the tai chi dancers! the low incidence of cute children! You rarely see such good goose-stepping these days, either, and when the middle-aged gold-medal gymnast with the torch just flew into the air to light the torch it was just breathtaking!
My favourite is always the the athletes' parade, although it went so fast, it was hard to find all the tiny countries in my atlas, and there was a disturbing tendency toward beige uniforms - I know ours were rather, er...shiny, but the colour was lovely.

Four hours' sleep was worth it, although I did have to channel the mighty Sara to get on my bike for my long ride. The wonderful Spousal Unit took Noddie and a picnic to Whittlesea, my planned turnaround point, so I couldn't wimp out even if I wanted to. Which I did. Crikey it was hard. I struggled to maintain 20km/hr. Had I really had that many sherbets to celebrate 08/08/08? No, as it turned out - the stupendous headwind that I was too busy blaming myself to notice on the way there was a glorious tailwind on the return journey! Bliss! Topped off with a dozy afternoon watching the olympics it made a Very Good Day.

This morning I was running in the heavy cold stupid rain. Although I was soaked, I was sort of enjoying myself in a cold wet way. It was good to be out there moving strongly. All of a sudden I noticed the first pink plum blossoms with their promise of Spring. Born to be alive came on the ipod, and I thought to myself, Yes. Yes, I am.

More anon, blessing counters

As you were

Blogger mates are the BEST. Thanks so much for your thoughts and concern ((hugs)).

When my future employers emailed yesterday to tell me that they are placing me in the job I applied for (depression support) after all, my response was 30% disappointment and 70% relief. If I had ended up working on the suicide line I would have made sure I did a good job, and I do plan to work on a higher-demand phone service in another six months or so...... but it would have been a very intense introduction to my new career. This will be much more manageable. Twenty-four more sleeps until "I'm going to" (be a psychologist) becomes "I am". I can hardly believe it. No more sleeps until the Olympic opening ceremony!! I have watched every opening ceremony since 1976 in real time. Three a.m, schmee a.m., if that's when it's on, that's when I watch it. My getting up for the Athens opening ceremony was a bit of a suprise to the Spousal Unit, since the Sydney Olympics were in our time zone and everyone watched them, but he's got the idea now. I'll get at least one sleeve of Noddie's new cardie knitted tonight. Last time I was embroidering her christening dress - ah, memories..... I'm tipping plenty of martial arts and possibly some fireworks, waddya reckon? Then it's a 24/7 sportfest for the next two weeks at casa del LBTEPA. By the end I will want to strangle the stupid parochial channel 7 announcers -I am interested in sports even if there are no Aussies in them! I don't wanna see the ones we do well at more than, say, twenty times!! Grrrrrr!* -and will have sworn off all products from any of the major sponsors. It's the price I pay. There's always SBS.
Iron Wil's HTFU and get your lardy arse out of bed mantra -
Get up. It sucks. Then it doesn't. Go and Train. It sucks. Then it doesn't. In that order. Always
- was the only thing that, well, H'd me TFU and got my lardy arse out of bed and into the freezing starry morning for a run. It was the first time since I've started again that I didn't feel like Dumbo minus the avian capabilities. I wished I'd gone the long tights instead of the shorts though, brrrrr.

More anon, sportsfans!
*always good to practice ranting in advance

Oooh

When I got my letter of offer for my New Job (did I mention I have a new job?) it wasn't for the one I'd been interviewed for!!
*Short pause whilst the grammar police take LBTEPA away for a beating*
Naturellement I went into a flat spin, immediately assuming they'd mistaken me for the chickybabe in the interview group with the sheaf of extra-specific hard-core fab-o certifications - and I'd resigned my old job and told everyone and it was all going to go horribly wrong. That's normal, no? After repeated frantic phone calls I was on first name terms with their receptionist, a kind person who reassured me that she would, she really would pass on my messages as soon as the HR person got in (now go away and stop ringing please).
I'm wavering between being flattered and terrified at being told what happened: the interviewers sit down with the HR people and work out who they think would be best on which phone service, and they decided that I would be best placed on their suicide help line! Am I up for it? They think so, and by crikey I will do my level best to be.
You know what? Three weeks off running is like starting again! Ow ow ow. My calves and my foam roller are back hating each other, my balance feels off and I am frantically re-reading Chi Running to try and recapture the magic hahahahahaha. Breathes in, breathes out. Patience, grasshopper. This too will pass.....
We've just had the morning pack the bag with lunch/homework/show and tell/face washer/drink/money for 'incursion' (= visitor (with dress ups this time) - don't ask, just do not get me started on what a complete (starts with W rhymes with plank) Noddie's kinder is, just don't get me started) frenzy. Noddie and the Spousal Unit have set off together hand in hand up the hill. Awwwww.
The washing is folded, the dishes are done, the beds are made. Minerva and I are out of here!

More anon, fanciers of fluffy green cocktails!*
*grasshoppers LOL I am so funny

Overnight sensation

Well boys and girls thank you so much for your kind comments on my New Job. It is likely that there will be Numerous Gratuitous Capitals in this post as I am officialy Over Excited. After almost ten years (it doesn’t sound so bad if you say it fast) of on-and-off part-time study, taking breaks to have Noddie etc etc, I will finally be working as a psychologist, for a depression support phone service. After three months I can start to work in the other types of services provided by this agency, such as drug & alcohol work, suicide helpline etc etc. As well as allowing me to actually earn a living at something I'm trained to do and fairly good at *does happy dance* , I'm hoping that having this job will make it easier to get into the Master's program I am aiming for next year.
I couldn’t be more flabbergasted. You see, most people – even my dear Spousal Unit – have this image of LBTEPA as effortlessly goal-oriented. I think of something I want to do, I set a goal, I make a plan and I go for it. True. But I never really believe things will work out the way I want them to. Why should they? The world doesn't revolve around me. So every single time I manage to pull something off, every single time a plan comes together ( *puffs on imaginary cigar* cause I love it when a plan comes together) I am astonished, delighted and extremely relieved. I got away with it again!
I have three more weeks in my old job - give or take a long weekend in Perth visiting my very best friend, hurrah! – an excellent send-off lunch, a week off to finish our tax, burn down the house, oops I mean clean out the study and the sleep-out, and then my new working life will begin. The weekend I finish work is also the tenth anniversary of that memorable evening when J and I got together (let this be a warning to you: drunken one-night stands can go horribly wrong) so we are off to a posh hotel in Bendigo for some (ahem) “couple time”.
Yesterday Secret Sara and I rode to Whittlesea together. She did 20km extra at each end, making a round 100km! Go Century Sara!! You are a legend!
Here's another entry for Captain Obvious 2008: riding with someone like Sara is So Much Fun! Conversation topics included clothes, weight loss strategies, dogs, bike saddles, gatorade, psychotic killers, Fear Of Hills, and training with hangovers not that either of us would ever do such a thing no no no no. I felt very heartened that I could manage 60km fairly easily after three weeks off. The possibility of actually doing the Hills O’Doom ride is still hovering in the back of my mind. I’ll decide closer to the time so the Spousal Unit and my doctor don’t have me committed.
Today will be my very first run since the Gold Coast Half. I wonder if I can remember how?

More anon, excessively cheerful types!

I got the job

How to have fun

Complete all Sunday duties/chores/obligations/naps by 5pm
Put on
- explorer socks
- bike shoes
- leg warmers
- knicks
- hr monitor strap
- sports bra
- singlet
- new thick jersey
- rain jacket
- riding gloves
- winter gloves
- hr monitor watch
- wrist ID
- helmet
- glasses
Go out on Minerva for the first time in four weeks
Grin like an idiot
Maintain normal heart rate
See an amazing stormy sunset from the bike path
Get caught in soaking rain three minutes from home
Smile

We have both kinds of music

Don't get me wrong - I'm not running for Mrs Dismal 2008, or in anything resembling dire straits! My life is chock full o' the blessings of family, friends and material things. I just like this song :P

If you're going through hell, keep going Rodney Atkins
Well you know those times
When you feel like there's a sign there on your back
Says I don't mind if ya kick me
Seems like everybody has
Things go from bad to worse
You'd think they can't get worse than that
And then they do

You step off the straight and narrow
And you don't know where you are
Use the needle of your compass
To sew up your broken heart
Ask directions from a genie
In a bottle of Jim Beam
And she lies to you
That's when you learn the truth

If you're going through hell
Keep on going, don't slow down
If you're scared, don't show it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there

Well I been deep down in that darkness
I been down to my last match
Felt a hundred different demons
Breathing fire down my back
And I knew that if I stumbled
I'd fall right into the trap that they were laying, yeah

But the good news
Is there's angels everywhere out on the street
Holding out a hand to pull you back up on your feet
The ones that you've been dragging for so long
You're on your knees
You might as well be praying
Guess what I'm saying

If your going through hell
Keep on going, don't slow down
If you're scared don't show it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there

Yeah, If you're going through hell
Keep on moving, face that fire
Walk right through it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there

If you're going through hell
Keep on going, don't slow down
If you're scared don't show it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there

Yeah, If you're going through hell
Keep on moving, face that fire
Walk right through it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there
Yeah, you might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there.

Not that I support the gun lobby in any way, but as the mother of a daughter who will one day be a teenager, I've become quite partial to this one as well LOL
Can you tell I'm looking for distractions while I wait for those pesky job people to get back to me?

More anon, out of the closet C&W fans!

then again

I got a bit of a shock yesterday when I went for a walk at lunchtime. Just a twenty minute amble in the sunshine, chatting away with my friend, then up the stairs again to my office on the second floor. Nothing.

Mate. Maaaaate. Ever had those swimmy black not-enough-oxygen thingys in front of your eyes? They went away quickly; it was just scary to be so weak. But I'm getting better. Another stroll today, then a Very Short swim tomorrow. I really really need to get in the water. Mmmmmmmmmmm water.............

At this rate my Exciting Summer Plan (I'd tell you but I'd have to kill you) is looking unlikely. Sigh.

Then again, the people I had the interview with emailed to tell me that they will be contacting my referees on Monday! Ooooh! This isn't the job of my dreams, but it's a (biggish, sideways) jump into the right sector. It will be a huge change. Fingers crossed for me please!

More anon, oarsmen!

Waiting, waiting, waiting

Facebook conversation, or why I *heart* Sara
Between (Secret Sara) and (LBTEPA)
LBTEPA
HI Sara
I went back to the Dr yesterday and have been given the big DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT for the Whittlesea ride.
I'm so sorry.
I hope I can still train with you at some stage, it's just that my immune system has taken such a beating I have to get back into things really gently.
They refunded my entry fee though, nice of them
Sorry again :(

SECRET SARA
The most important thing is to get better- I am fine about going by myself- remember last year when my friend backed out on the City to Surf in Sydney- I went anyway. Hope you are doing the chicken soup thing or whatever works.
How did the job interview go? I hope you were DAZZLING. Rest up and I will see you on the road in the cold when you are well!
sara
I think she is front runner for "the nicest person evah" award.

The Dr has prescribed no exercise until at least this coming weekend (three whole weeks off!!$%#&??!!), and then to start very slowly, maybe (and I quote) with 'some gentle walking'
Resulting inner monologue:
Walking? Walking?!!??!!??!!
Walking isn't exercise, it's how you get your lunch!
followed by
Don't be such a prat, Mrs Tickets-on-yourself
and then
Maybe I've been sicker than I thought....I'll wait until the weekend. And then walk.
If you have any thoughts on immune-system boosters - superfoods, supplements, anything - tell me! This winter has been Utterly Tiresome to say the least.
My interview went much better than I expected. I was nearly sick with fear and had to overcome an all-but overwhelming urge to run away, but apart from that the old skills came back pretty easily and I am very hopeful. We should hear by mid next week.
Waiting, waiting, waiting....

Bits and pieces

I’ve started drinking green tea. I quite like it, possibly because of my blocked nose.
As you know, I was unhappy with my Gold Coast Half Marathon time at first. A lot of it was *activate whining voice* but I worked so haaaaaaaard, and I reaaaaaalllly wanted it, and it’s not faaaaaaair. Don’t frown disapprovingly like that. You’ve been there. You know you have. Except possibly Benson, who I am sure is actually a superhero in disguise (how can I not look up to a man who uses the phrase ‘pegging out the fun-meter’?). Or Nancy. Or Katy. Or Brian. Ok, ok, it was a lame-arse dummy-spit. I’m over it now. It did give rise to some brain-numbing cogitations - to the poor Spousal-Unit's brain at any rate, as he was obliged to listen while I faffed on. My goal was to beat 2.30. For a half-marathon. That’s slow. Some people run full marathons in that time. I wrestled with this.
Argument 1. what right have you got to be so upset? Would have running 2.29 for a half got you a slot on the team for Beijing, a BQ or a Six Foot Track spot? Who other than you gives a rodent’s rear end? Get over yourself, Mrs Self-aggrandisement 2008!
Argument 2. No no no no no! (I have a lot of conversations with myself, we get quite vehement) Just because I’m slow doesn’t mean my goals aren’t important. I’m entitled to be disappointed when I don’t reach them. It’s about the process, not the outcome. I did the work and I’m allowed to be proud, and disappointed. Another champagne? Ta! As time has passed argument 2 has cemented itself as the Official Opinion. That’s good: the Spousal Unit can stop feigning interest/comprehension now.
Sh*t! Better turn off whining voice now. Meant to do it ages ago. Sorry
My brain has turned to mush. Evidence: Nell Campbell was on Spicks and Specks the other day. This is a top show - last week I had the great pleasure of hearing not one but two Irishmen uttering the phrase "budgie smugglers". But I digress. I could not remember the name of Nell Campbell's character in the Rocky Horror Picture Show. My friends, my friends - I watch that movie at least twice a year. I’ve danced on the stage at the Valhalla. I am not in any of those photos. Luckily my brother and sister answered my sms sos so I could sleep easily.
I had a startling realisation this week. I don’t NEED to have large scary goals ALL the time. This is unexpected, but explains why I’m not worrying about being able to do the Hills ‘o Doom bike ride next month. I’ll decide later.The sky won’t fall if I DNS*
My job interview is next Tuesday. If this pans out I could be working in the field I’ve been studying, rather than getting-paid-for-showing-up-to-answer-the-phone-(should-it-happen-to-ring). That would be good.
I have just discovered that there is an Olga Berg outlet around the corner from where I work. Next to an I *heart* Billy shoe outlet. Which are open on Fridays. Which is a day that I work. Is it so wrong to walk around a warehouse crooning and patting things? **

More anon, appreciators of life's pleasures!

*Victoria Police forensic graphology experts have established that, despite appearances, this section of the post WAS written by LBTEPA and NOT some other, sensible, person. LBTEPA is yet to make a statement.
**Yes I bought some shoes. And a bag. You knew that.

What we did on our holidays

So many souvenirs! Noddie brought home a race number, hat and medal, a stuffed koala and a toy seal, a taste for daredevil rollercoaster rides after we got lost and went into the teen area of Dreamworld by mistake, and slap cheek
The Spousal Unit brought home the contentment that comes from having cable TV and driving a fun hire car for a week, and bacterial gastrenteritic colitis (I wrote it down)
I brought home a good run, a medal, time with good friends old and new,the deep satisfaction of rollercoaster riding and severe acute bronchitis. No exercise at all for a week, then start back slowly. Sheesh. We are the most crap advertisement ever for the Healthy Lifestyle. I have a job interview this week too, not sure when, but that's what codral is for. It's a very good thing that Team LBTEPA always has a a good time.

More anon, thrill seekers!




Sorry the photos are all over the place - the formatting looked perfect on the previews!

No Photos = Did Not Happen

Team LBTEPA had a very nice time indeed on the Gold Coast, despite the weather (and after all, a rainy day at a theme park = MORE RIDES, does it not?) and assorted lingering lurgi. We got home last night and nothing is unpacked. Not. A. Thing. It's about midday, Noddie is asleep on the couch in front of Playschool, the Spousal Unit is playing V8 Supercars on his PS2 and I'm faffing around in my pjs and dressing gown editing photos, putting them on Facebook and reading Coolrunning race reports. Aren't you proud of me for being so cruisy?
It seems that I am to reap the consequences of running in the rain a couple of weeks ago instead of resting and taking care of myself properly - my new nicknames could be any or all of 'phlegm-chest', 'razor throat' or 'fearsome bark that makes me think my head will come off' although that last one seems a bit wordy to me. Thank you for not saying I told you so. This bodes ill for a quick return to any focused training, but I'm not thinking about that until Monday when I confab with my dr about how to sort this out Once and For All.
If no photos = did not happen, then here for your viewing pleasure is what did.See that big building? We were staying there and I didn't even notice we ran past it. Only about 500m to go at this point, THANK GOODNESS.
More bling for Noddie
and there's no time like the present for a boogie to the band!

LBTEPA's brush with greatness - Katy the Greaty!

So secure she's taken off her medal (I wore mine until Wednesday)
Discussing the importance of post-race hydration with Mrs Wombat.
Now if you're very good I might post some more photos next time. There's an incentive if ever you had one.
More anon, lotus-eaters!

Happy(ish)

2:31:35
So many ways it could have been different. Noddie could have slept more than 90 minutes at a time without waking up;J could have gone to the doctor on Wednesday (as I Told Him to) and not passed his gastro on; it could have not rained (sideways - ah,the irony of my last post!) so hard my shoes got soaked and the laces stretched so I had to re-tie them twice. It is what it is. I learned a lot. I knew by about 11km that a PB would take something surprising, especially since I couldn't get my HR under 155. 5km to go I turned my watch around so I couldn't see it and just went for it. I just ran and ran and ran as hard and as long as I could. I actually said to myself, if you vomit then you vomit, I didn't come all this way to not throw everything at a PB. I passed 65 people in the last 1.5km. It just wasn't my day. I've run the gamut of (not necessarily appropriate or sensible) emotions from rage at Noddie's and the Spousal Unit's "thoughtlessness" (YES I am a bad mother, but you knew that) to gutted at how close I went (66 seconds) to self-blame (I just didn't work hard enough) to self-pity (why do I bother?) to thrilled at having been part of such a great day - although that took a few post-race rehydration units with some sterling new friends. Let me salute you all, my friends! Mrs Wombat for her first half-marathon, Emma for a new PB, Katy for her first hm since breaking her femur, Jaykay and Plodbod for their first marathons and Michelle for her overall awesomeness. I have a fuzzy recollection of agreeing to target Melbourne 2009 as my first full marathon but what happens on the Gold Coast stays on the Gold Coast, I reckon.
I'm going to run out of coins for the internet before I work out how to upload photos onto this machine tonight, so

-more anon, philosphers!

Pleased, Happy or Thrilled?

So:
4 more sleeps until my "A race" - coo er gosh doesn't that sound all serious and keen? But this has been my focus for several months now, and it will be the best prepared I've ever been for a half certainly compared to the last one ahem hem with five runs over 16km on the tally.
Now all the big kids have A, B and C goals, so if I'm to maintain the ruse that I am Serious About This then I'd better get some too. However, I will eschew alphabetical classifications and use Pleased, Happy and Thrilled.
Pleased: finish strongly and have fun.
Happy: 2:30- 2:35 (my PB is 2:30)
Thrilled: anything under 2:30.
Wishy-washy? Perhaps. I just don't know what to expect so I'm setting it up to be failure-proof.

It's all been a bit mad here this week as J and Noddie slowly come good from the gastro and I try and look after them, keep up with the washing, start to pack and clean the house since we leave at 6am on Saturday, and do my last taper runs. Oh, and go to work. Things have been so topsy-turvy that I hit the 5kg-of-lard-off mark this morning *does happy dance* and I almost forgot to be thrilled about it! Being a bit flustered has had one benefit - I've also had no time to panic about this. In seven weeks. Eek.

3 more sleeps and we'll be somewhere it's not cold and raining horizontally.....
More anon, loungers-by-the-pool!