Life this week, and a goal for October!

*sniffles*

Bah humbug: I’m sick! 😦 I have a scratchy throat and stuffed up nose, sad times! But it feels like my immune system is kicking some ass, so hopefully this is the first and last you’ll hear of that! *blows a raspberry at illness* 😛

• It occurred to me that it’s been a while since I’ve updated on my actual day-to-day life. Since I’ve be taking time off school, I’ve had a lot of time on my hands – or so you’d think, right? It’s incredible how stuff just works it’s way into the week and suddenly there are things going on everyday!

I’ve been seeing a psychiatrist for my depression, and am in the process of finding a therapist (apparently shopping around is recommended!?). I’ve also had to see my GP, so the main time-stealing culprit seems to be appointments! I also had an interview for a part time retail assistant position at Fat Face. I thought it went well but I know they had a lot of applicants. Apparently I should hear by tomorrow… got my fingers crossed.

Of course there have been some fun things sneaking their way in; lots of socialising as my friend Helen came down to visit from Bristol, and dinner with Ant last week. It was also Allin’s birthday last week, so fun all round. I’ve been to see Tron and Black Swan at the movies – have you watched either? What did you think?

I was pleasantly surprised by Tron (A’s birthday choice) and really enjoyed the soundtrack – I get really into the energy of Daft Punk’s music. I listened to it non-stop at the gym yesterday.

WOAH, hold up! The gym?

Yup, you read it right. I’m beginning to take this exercise malarky more seriously! My (hypermobile and therefore painful) joints have calmed down recently and I’ve been finding it easier to exercise. I’ve been doing spin classes & cardio at the gym and yoga at home. Spinning kicks my butt and hopefully I’ll enjoy it more as I get fitter. I was pleased with my cardio stuff yesterday – 10km/25min on the stationary bike, 15 mins interval training on the elliptical, 5km/14mins on the recombinant bike and 2km on the treadmill (there was a reason for the treadmill – see below!)

source.

Goal for 2011:

Yes, it’s running-oriented — I’ve signed up to run a 10k race in October!! SQUEE! 😀

My Dad used to be quite a hardcore runner, but since a foot injury and change of job, he has slipped into couch-potato ways. I was nagging him a bit about this, and he pointed out I’m not exactly a glowing example! So we’re running the Southend 10k Classic together. I’m quite excited about this because much as I love the *idea* of being a runner, making that a reality has never really happened. I’ve always relied on the fact that I was quite good at running cross country in school, so I shouldn’t have any problem starting running and building up. But… when my joints are bad I can’t even walk 5k without quite nasty pain, and this has stopped me in my tracks more times than I care to remember. Strengthening my muscles with exercise helps compensate for the joint instability but it’s a catch 22 when exercise starts out painful.

The good news is that every now and then I have good spells where the pain naturally decreases, and as this is the case right now, I intend to make use of it! It’s so great to have a goal and something that my Dad and I can bond over. 🙂 I’ve also decided to count it as one of my goals for 2011 – to complete the 10k in under 1hr 15mins.  I would really love if you can share any tips for beginners?

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In other news, I’ve had a lot of time to play with Bailey! It’s been a while since I mentioned the critter, hasn’t it? He’s romping around on my bed as I’m typing this. Hang on, let’s see if he’ll pose for a photo.

I resorted to using the last bit of juice my D-SLR had in it and then had to bribe him with a treat to stay still!

Yesterday he had a bath. He’s not impressed by water but I think he’s learning each time and kicks up less of a fuss. He came out so fluffy and white! I tried to take a photo then, but he wasn’t having any of it.

And finally, Almost finally, I’ve been slack on daily eats without my camera, but I decided yesterday that these poor quality phone photos are better than nothing:

Breakfast: green monster (banana, papaya, blueberry, mango, apple juice & protein powder) & blueberry pancakes with agave nectar.

Lunch-on-the-go: Reduced sushi (score!) and raw mangetout, green beans & broccoli

Snack: Mixed raisins! These Asda ones always have nice plump juicy varieties.

Post-work out dinner: 2x toasted oat & seed pita breads, cucumber sticks, yellow pepper strips, and more green beans & broccoli from lunch… avec organic hummus!

I couldn’t snap my post-work out snack as I ate it walking home in the dark! It was a Seed Stacked Flapjack, which I’d recently seen reviewed by Becky. I spotted them when I was grocery shopping and decided they’d be a worth a try. I had the original flavour since Becky had said it was her favourite, and it was pretty good, definitely living up to it’s name of ‘seed stacked’. If someone gave me one without telling me what it was I probably wouldn’t have described it as a flapjack, as the oats weren’t that noticeable, but the texture is quite similar to commercially produced flapjacks so I’ll forgive them! 😛 I’ve also just discovered that if you subscribe to Seed Stacked’s newsletter/product updates, they send you a free bar in the flavour of your choice! (UK residents only)

And finally, a most important question – if you had loads of time on your hands, how would you spend it?