highway to shell – a blog about running

Well, it’s been a while. In the time I’ve been away from the blog:

- I finished up at work the wed before last.Right now I’m really enjoying the time at home and don’t have any urgency to look for new work straight away.

- Over Cup Day weekend, me and the bf went to the Grampians for 4 days. We stayed in Pomonal. It was a great holiday. We got some good walks in to MacKenzie Falls, Broken Falls, Turret Falls – the Grampians have a lot of waterfalls! And we also did the trails to the Pinnacle, the Balconies and Reeds Lookout. The bf really enjoyed the walks and I think it’s sparked his interest in doing longer walks, which is great for me, esp with Trailwalker coming up!

- Decided to pull my finger out and run off the spare tire I’ve acquired! On wed, I did 4km hilly loop (27:36), on friday I did 8km local out and back (51:42) – which i did not plan well, as it was much hotter than i expected and i didn’t take water with me, and i got sunburnt. Oh well, I have learnt my lesson for next time!

Yesterday, which was Sunday 8th Nov, I did the Millgrove to Wesburn walk with JayKay and Cilla. Jay warned us it was the steepest part of the TW course, and indeed, it was the steepest walk – both incline and decline, that I’ve ever done. As we climbed up the side of hill, I imagined that is what it must be like to be a mountain goat, ha. The first incline was hard work and I was breathing hard and sweating heaps. Then we got to the nice flat bit where the fire track is and we had a chance to catch our breath, and drink/eat. It was followed by another incline (“Are we there yet?”), then a steep decline, which I had to zig zag down in order to not barrel down the hill! Parts were slippery and gravel-y and you had to be careful not to go arse end over, ha! Then we were met with our final incline, the steepest thing i’ve ever walked (“I can’t see the top!”) and I just had to go slow and watch where I was putting my feet. The dirt was soft clay turned up by truck wheels and gravel broken by dirt ’speed bumps’ that were a bit scary cos they required a little bit more momentum to get up and over – I zigzagged up ‘cos it felt safer! At the top it was one more decline, down scrubby grass to get to Wesburn oval. The grass was quite bushy and stopped your feet from slipping forward, so that was a good thing. Cilla patented a new move she called ’stampy’, which is a combination of a momentum fuelled run + a stamping of the feet, to get her down that last hill. Whatever works, I say! From there it was only a short walk to the car. After the walk, we stopped off at Millgrove bakery for some lunch. My massive cheesymite scroll and juice went down a treat. I felt really good after the walk and I’m pumped to get fitter, I want to get better at walking up those hills.

On the way home I stopped off at Rebel in Ringwood. I bought 2 caps, both the same, they’re adidas women’s running caps. They’re white and blue, in that quick dry material with a mesh vent in the top. They were in the clearance bin for $10 each. Bargain! (That’s why I got 2!) I hate wearing caps (I think I look dumb), but now it’s more of a necessity as the weather is getting super hot and the parts where I run/walk aren’t very shaded and I don’t want to get burnt again.

In the evening it was still hot, too hot to cook, so the bf and I went to Monk and Me in Camberwell for dinner, we had Kung Poh chicken and Butter Pepper beef with coconut rice. Yum!

***

Well, now it’s Monday and I don’t feel too sore at all. I can feel that my butt muscles have had a workout, but I’m pretty much good to go again.

This whole week is going to be hot, around the 30’s. Today is going to be 34!  It’s 8.25am and it’s already 22 degrees outside! I’m going to have to get my runs in early with this heat… got no choice as Great Australian Run is 3 weeks away! Cathy Freeman is running! I think that’s pretty exciting!

Saturday 17th October 2009

AM: St Andrew’s Market. First time I’ve been back to the market since the fires. It’s a different type of market, St Andrew’s, it’s a hippie market. I bought some soap and the bf and I had some hotdogs (sausages smell so good when they’re cooking!) and then we went to the bakery and got some pastries and a coffee.

PM: South Melbourne Market. Went to buy some Morton Bay Bugs, as my local seafood shops don’t sell them. This was the first time I had attempted Morton Bay Bugs. I chopped the heads off them, cut them down the middle, cleaned them and then grilled them with butter, lime juice + zest and garlic. I made an asiany-type salad too with spinach leaves, carrot, red capsicum, fresh chilli and finished it with a  fish sauce/soy/seasame oil/lime juice/ lemon juice/salt/pepper/sugar/chilli dressing!  

Sunday 18th October 2009

10am: 4km run, Tempy (26:59) – can only be described as “like the Tan but with 7 Anderson St hills”. Hill 3 was the toughest, but surprisingly felt good at hill 7 and powered up it without stopping, ran my last 100m so hard I almost hurled when I stopped. Had to sit down on a rock outside my house and suck air back into my lungs. After that I was fine.  

2 – 3.30pm: Lysterfield Lake walk with the bf - Lake Circuit Track > Casuarina Track > Snipe Track > Back to the Horswood Rd carpark, approx. 9km (1.5hrs easy pace).

I hadn’t eaten breakfast, so by the time we got to the park, I was hungry. The Trail Mix Cafe was not easy to find! The first sign into the park indicates the cafe is on the right, after a few minutes of walking and not finding anything much, we tracked back to the information sign and found the cafe is actually on the left! Stupid sign! But we laughed about it anyway. We ended up having Boscastle pies and a couple of scones (berry/choc chip) and coffees before our walk.

Never been to Lysterfield Lake before. Loved it, perfect weather for a walk, quiet, uncrowded, a few groups of walkers and runners, lots of cyclists. The view from the dam wall is really nice and we saw about a dozen kangaroos on the first part of the track! The track is very easy going, mostly flat except for one hill.

We then went to Binh Minh on Victoria St, Abbotsford for dinner, we had pork spring rolls, Salt & Pepper Squid with coconut rice.

***

What did I learn this weekend? Go to bed earlier on Sat night so you can get up earlier on Sunday morning. I had stayed up to watch Rock of Love ( i love trashy tv!) and only made it to bed at 1.30am. When my alarm went off at 8am, getting up was just not going to happen! Only dragged my butt out of bed at 9.30am to manage a short run. Next weekend I’m going to have to wake up earlier if I want to run longer.

Also want to do more trail walks in parks I haven’t been to before. Think I will take the bf to Churchill National Park when it’s my weekend to pick in a couple of weeks. It’s nice to get outside, enjoy the nice scenery and walk and talk for a couple of hours.

***

The scales: are telling me anywhere between 64.5 and 65.1kg. This is not great, but one of the problems I have with my weight, is even though I can tell the number has gone up on the scales, I do not feel fat. My skinny jeans still fit me, so I still feel like my old 61.8kg self. I can’t let myself get too comfortable cos I swore black and blue I would not get back to the 68.6kgs I was at my heaviest, yet I’m heading that way and rapidly. I’m ready to reign it in though and with my impending unemployment (yay!) will mean that I can get back on track and lose everything that I’ve gained. Didn’t even buy any biscuits at the shops tonight, cos I’m ready to get back into healthy eating Mon-Fri and guilt-free weekends. I can’t even tell you how pumped I am that soon I will be able to run and swim during the daytime. I’ve been successful with eating right and exercising before, there is no reason why I can’t do it again. I think I need to start my food diary again, even though it is time consuming.

Not really into motorcycles, but this Yamaha video spoofing “The Office”  is funny. Love Valentino Rossi as the receptionist and Jorge Lorenzo as the janitor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6KuGYF55p4

Sunday 11 Oct, 2009.

Woke up at 5.30am. Got dressed, was in the car by 6.15am. Had intended to park at the Arts Centre carpark, but it was all blocked off. Decided to dump the car at Crown. Took a pee at Crown and walked 3kms to the clothing drop-off point at the MCG. Went for another pee at the portaloos outside the MCG and made it to the startline at exactly 8am.

Funny difference: At GC half, people ran from the back of the pack to the starting line. At MM half, everyone just walked to the starting line and only started running when they hit the starting mat. 

Did the first km in 6:48, but then the 2nd km was 8:30-ish and I know that wasn’t right, the 2nd marker was too far out, but at 3km it’d rectified itself again.

So we started at Batman Ave, worked our way up to St Kilda Rd and ran that long straight til Fitzroy St and then around Albert Park Lake. I was noticeably sweating down St Kilda rd, so I drank at every water station.  I tried to keep 7 minute kilometres and I was doing this well until 14kms when my legs started to slow down a little.

Along the way I tried to pick out people that I would stick with, then there was a man who had a compression support for his knee. We kept on passing each other cos he would stop to walk then speed up, while I kept a constant pace. At the halfway mark at Canterbury Rd, he stopped for water and I decided I was not going to stop and I was going to speed up and overtake him (heehee!) and I did, I took a gel, made a little surge and in my head I was saying, you won’t catch up now, knee man! (how ridiculous and weak of me - competing with a man with a knee injury!) Once I had passed him there, I was too far out in front and he couldn’t catch me, so I picked out a new person, a short stocky woman of determined disposition, who I dubbed ‘my little mate’ (heehee!) and she was a go-er. But when we came up to the top of Fitzroy St again, I lost her when the full marathoners came surging past us, I thought to myself, where did my little mate go? But she was gone.

Coming up to St Kilda Rd again, I saw the back of Tiger Boy. He was doing great. He was too far ahead for me to catch him though. From 14 – 17kms I didn’t see any kilometre markers, they were just triangle things on the ground, most of the time I had a lot of people around me, so maybe I just missed them. At 18kms, I knew there wasn’t much left to go, so I took another gel at the 2 hour mark and made another little surge.

Going around the NGV, I was in a sea of red bibs, I kept looking back, cos I thought I had made a wrong turn. I hadn’t but not having run the course before, I wasn’t sure. The last thing I wanted to do was run longer than I had to!

The last 4 kms, I was thinking, I’m really enjoying this, I don’t want it to be over in half an hour. Then coming up Flinders St, I could see the G, so I knew the finish line was close. Coming down Brunton Ave, I knew there was only about 1.2kms to go, so I was just trying to go a little faster, running past all the spectators,  I remember I was running with a smile on my face. I really felt like I was earning my medal and I felt really proud of myself, even though I knew my time wasn’t going to be as good as GCAM. I had asked my body to do 21.1km without proper training, and it got me through, without injury or complaint, I was very happy.

(*Before GCAM, I had run 8 x half mara’s in training. Before MM I had only run up to 15km. This has taught me how important proper preparation is! Next year I will get my long runs in!)

Then going into the G, that was a great experience. I looked up into the stands and felt so small. I felt like a footballer. It felt special, I couldn’t believe I was running on the G, I remember looking at the grass and it was perfect. When there was about 50 or so metres to go, I really sped up and put a kick in my finish. I always like to save a bit so I can hammer it to the end.

I stopped my watch at 2:35:15, which I knew would be pretty accurate. My official time on the website is 2:35:12.

At the end, I waited a little while to see if Sassy and JayKay were going to come through, but then it was almost 11am and I knew it wouldn’t have taken that long for them to do 5km, so I grabbed a couple of apples, took a voltaren and collected my medal and bag.

Just as I was walking out of the G, a guy was proposing to his girlfriend who was running, he had a big sign up that said ‘Dee, will you marry me?’ and the TV camera’s were on him. I wonder if she knew? She didn’t look surprised, she just laughed. She said yes and kept running to the finish!

As I was making my way out of the race precinct, who do I bump into, but JayKay and Sassy (and Mr Sassy)! So we all walked to Transport and met another Ausrunner AJH (Andrew) there for a post-race beverage. AJH and JayKay both had their Garmin’s on and measured the 5km course to be closer to 4! If it were me, not having a Garmin, I would’ve thought I had just ran a PB and would’ve been pleased as punch with myself! Whoops! I was hoping to see Cool Runner Bernie come through as she finished the full marathon (bloody excellent way to go, Mrs Wombat!) but had to leave before I saw her come past. 

I walked back to Crown, almost got lost trying to find my car and saw a woman giving a gobby to a man in the carpark!  Thanks guys, but I don’t need to see that! Crown is a filthy place! That is why I much prefer to park at the Arts Centre!   

I drove home, had a shower, went out for lunch at Apte and had a Open lamb sandwhich with roasted red capsicum, rocket and fetta. It was yum. I polished it off with a hot chocolate and a raspberry and coconut slice. I had just run a half mara! I deserved it! Or at least that’s what I tell myself ;D

After Apte, I went to show my grandparents my medal. They always think I win. I don’t tell them otherwise. heehee!

I was dead tired at 5pm, so I had a snooze from 5-8pm, then the bf made lamb + pea salad for dinner. We watched a little Border Security, The Force, a tape of Rock of Love and then it was the end of a big day for me.

What an end to a marathon dream. I didn’t end up making it to the full, like I wanted to on New Year’s Day. Oh well, when the time came around, I really wasn’t ready. I hadn’t put in the long runs that you need to, so I did the half instead. I knew that it would be a case of having a good half or a possible DNF in the full. And I’m not into destroying myself, so the half it was. Maybe the full next year? Maybe the full just once in my lifetime? Well, they’re not going to stop running the Marathon, so I’ll just do it when I’m ready. I think that’s the sensible thing to do. For now, I’m happy with my 3 half marathons.

***

Now Sassy and JayKay are pumped for the Great Australian Run (GAR) 15km and I am too, I just registered this morning. Last year I did this in 98 minutes. But this year I’m going to run 15kms every weekend and I’m going to aim for closer to 90. GAR will be the last race of the year for me. 6 weeks to go until race day… GAR here I come!

well first things first:

Tuesday 6th Oct - swim 1km at Aquarena. Got rained on in the outside pool. Was nice.

Wednesday 7th Oct - Resigned. Here’s the email I got from the MD that made me resign on the spot:

Sent: Tuesday, 6 October 2009 7:57 PM
Subject: URGENT!! – Melbourne Server
Importance: High

1) A simple phone call to say, “what’s going on with the server?” would’ve been a more professional approach than this email.

2) He was well aware that I am dealing with external suppliers – Telstra, ISP’s and the timelines of what was happening when, so this email is completely offensive and unreasonable.

3) I am doing everything I humanly can to get the server connected here, so there is nothing I could have possibly done to ‘connect it immediately’. Sorry, but I don’t control the waiting times of Telstra or the ISP.

4) Nowhere on my resume does it say that I am qualified to provide IT support. Neither does it say that anywhere on my job description. Considering I am organising something out of the scope of my role, he should be grateful I am doing it at all.

5) “Disappointing and far from adequate support of the business”. I am working as hard and as fast as I can. If he thinks that is “far from adequate support of the business” then I cannot work for him anymore as he is clearly too blind to see I’m working my ass off. I worked a 14 hour day the other day and haven’t had a lunch break in over a month. If that is not enough, I don’t know what is.

6) Plug in a server with no internet connection? Sure, why don’t I just click my heels, Toto.

7) This email was wrong on a number of levels. It was ill-informed, it was unprofessional, it was disrespectful, the tone in it is unacceptable. I may be the most junior level person in the company, but I am not going to be walked all over.

8 ) I resigned on the spot, gave in my notice. I don’t have to take sh*t from anyone. Least of all an imbecile like this.

9) When he phoned me on Wed afternoon, he flippantly tried to say it was a misunderstanding and then had the nerve to say I was overeacting. He apologised for sending the email too quickly, but did not apologise for it’s contents. I can’t work for someone who can’t take responsibility for their own actions. 

10) The last thing petty thing he said to me on that phonecall was, “If you want your resignation to be processed you need to submit it in writing” (I had sent it in an email). I said, ”It will be in tonight’s post.” And that’s how our conversation ended.

***

I’m thinking of starting a blog called “Bosses Behaving Badly” it will be a worldwide internet success, I will get a book deal out of it and I will get rich and move to the bahamas. That’s my plan b. What do you think? Hahahaha!

Sunday 4 October

First TW training walk with the girls. We walked from Jells Park to (almost) Checkpoint 1 near Churchill National Park. We did 11.6km in about 2 hours 10 mins. On the drive down there was a little rain, but it subsided right in time for our walk It’s good having JayKay on the course showing us where to go. I think I’d get lost on the trails if I tried to figure out the course on my own. Along the way we got yelled at by a psychotic cyclist to keep left. Really, come on. It’s a Sunday morning, you’re not racing for a gold medal, you’re not Lance Armstrong, you don’t have a bell and you don’t say passing…What do you expect? Some people are idiots. I’m glad he got his knickers in a twist. Sucked in!

Right near the Churchill Nat Park, we walked through some parts where the bushfires had come through. It was eerie. The grass had grown back, but the trees were blackened sticks. I’ve never seen anything like it.  Alot of the times when I’m walking or running, I see things and be like, the bf would really dig this. I’m going to take the bf through there so he can see it too.

I like walking, it’s mentally less daunting than running. Can I walk 10okms? Yes. Could I run it? No. When I’m walking I feel like, okay, I’m just going to keep walking til somebody tells me to stop.

The aftermath: The last 2 days my butt hurts. heehee! You know, the muscles right in the side of your butt, the place you can’t reach yourself, but someone else could if they dug their elbow in?! That’s where it hurts.

Seems like Oxfam are going for the big $$$’s this year, with the first round of registrations on Oct 1st pledging to raise $5000, the Oct 15 reg’s $3000 and the last 25% of places on Oct 30 at $1000. For fear of it selling out we’re going to go with the $3K option. Fingers crossed we get a place!

What else?

I didn’t weigh myself on Sunday, but I know I’ve gained about 4kgs in the last month.

I really want to get down to what I was. I don’t like myself like this. I feel pudgy around the middle. I can see the tone has gone from my arms. So this week I’m trying to eat better. And once this office move is done, I’ll be able to run and work out at lunchtime again.

What’s my problem? Well, at the moment calories in are more than calories out, so that’s my main problem.

I started with the almonds again on monday, but didn’t stop at 10, I almost ate a half a (small) bag. Which is about 1500kj’s just in almonds. Which is not what I was after! I’m going to have to be more dilligent and portion my almonds out so I can’t over eat them.

Afters. An English girl, a roommate of my bf, many years ago referred to things you have after dinner, as ‘afters’, and ever since it’s stuck. But my afters are out of control. With my cup of tea at about 9pm every night, I like to have something sweet. At the height of my weight loss I didn’t have anything. But now that I’ve lapsed, I will have a biscuit or… heaven help me… last night i had 2 mini croissants with butter and cinnamon sugar! I have got to get back into the habit of having a biscuit once in a while or only on weekends, cos I’m overdoing it big time right now.

The lack of exercise. I’m really busy at work at the moment. I know that sounds like an excuse. I haven’t had a lunchbreak in about a month, so, my runs went out the window. I am going swimming tonight though, and am trying to make it a regular tuesday/thursday thing.

I have however, been walking/running all over town and carrying/lifting/moving heavy boxes all week. So it’s a been a workout of sorts, but not a fun one. My body is sore all over, my back, lower back and butt hurt the most. I’ve been having Radox Muscle Soak baths, but I can’t really say they’ve made much of a difference. They smell nice though.

2 or so weeks on Chia. Well, I can’t say I’m bursting with energy! I think that bit is wishful thinking. I do like drinking it though. And have found it to be good for the fibre. I like it better than metamucil which is a bit of a chore to drink. Will need to get my blood tested soon as i’m interested in what my cholesterol and iron levels are like now that i’m off the oratane.

Oratane - I’ve been off it for months now. lips aren’t dry anymore and my hair is oilier but not as oily as when I first started. Got a few little pimples around the office move, but I think that was due to stress more than being off the oratane.

Well, that was one biiiiiiig update!

Saturday 26 September 09

Met up with the TW team (JayKay (and her daughter Alana), Michelle and Sassy), or should I say… the “supersheila’s”! We had a nice lunch out at Warran Glen Cafe and decided on our team name and had a look see at the course maps. Our first training walk is next weekend, starting at Jells Park, from Checkpoint 1 – 2 (12.5km). I’m pumped!

In the arvo, the bf and I went and picked up his living room rug and then went to look at some furniture joints around Richmond. Then went home and watched the last 15 minutes of the Grand Final. Ooh, that was an exciting 15 minutes, only 1 point separated them! I was going for Geelong as the group of girls I hang around are all from there. G-banger ended up taking it by 12 points. Sucked in St Kilda! Go Lingy!

We went to North Melbourne Auction Rooms in the early evening and had a really nice dinner. He had a Lamb shank ragout with parpadelle and I had a crispy skin blue eye with rosemary roast potatoes and celeriac mayo. It was all very civilised and delicious. For dessert, he had an almond croissant and I had the “banana and chocolate spring rolls with vanilla bean labna”… omg. so wrong and so delicious. warm banana with oozy chocolate in spring roll pastry! talk about guilty pleasure! Coffees were good too. A quiet night in the restaurant, especially for a Saturday, a pity cos the food is good. Maybe quiet because of the Grand Final?

After dinner we went to see Arj Barker’s show Keeper or Crapper at the Fringe Festival at the Lithuanian Town Hall. It was all new material and a more relaxed atmosphere than at the comedy festival. There was one boy a couple of rows in front of us and he was killing himself at every joke, he was having a bang up good time – in the end i was laughing at him laughing. Arj was super funny as usual, I’m a bit of an Arj fan, I see him every year, if not a couple times a year.

Sunday 27 September 09

Woke up at 9am to howling winds. Checked the BOM – 54km winds to be exact. No way in hell was I going to run in that, I’m no sucker Then it started drizzling intermittently and I decided the weather was a little too hairy for my liking, but that I was still going to put in the time, cos it’s only 2 weeks away from Melbourne Marathon half. I intended to run 18kms today, so instead I calculated 18kms x 7 mins/km = 2hrs 06mins. So I put in my 2 hours and 6 mins in my garage; 30 mins elliptical + 30 mins bike + 1hr 6 mins elliptical. The first 2 hours I felt good, the last 6 minutes was challenging, but I wasn’t going to give up. Video Hits were playing a Madonna special, so that helped me along. Straight after exercising, I was famished, so I downed a bowl of cereal in about 2 seconds flat.

Scales after exercising/cereal: 64.3kg – nooooooo!

Sunday arvo went to the Green Grocer in North Fitzroy for a great late breakfast (pretty much everything is organic) and then to a nursery to get my grandpa some “Poss-Off” as the possums keep eating the heads of his roses.

Tonight I’m off to a Chinese restaurant, cos it’s my Grandma’s birthday. Better stop writing as I only have 15 minutes to get ready…

Tuesday 22 Sep 09

First swim back since winter started. Went to the Fitzroy pools after work. I was pooped after my first 2 laps! I wanted to get out of the cold wind so fast I just popped my goggles on and went – too fast for my unfit state! Then I calmed down, I got used to the water temp and I did a slow 14 laps. It wasn’t as bad as what I thought it would be. I thought I would be alot more ‘unco’, ha. Anyway, so I’m glad I’m back in the pool and hope to make it a regular Tuesday/Thursday thing from now on.

* Also gave away 2 garbage bags full o’ clothes to the Sacret Heart Mission on Brunswick St. It was kind of liberating. I need to have a second look at what I can give away, cos I still have more clothes than I have wardrobe space.

* Got my Melbourne Marathon t-shirt in the mail. Woohoo! It’s a nice thin cotton lycra, but there’s a lot of print on it. Don’t know how breatheable it will be if you are a bit of a sweater (like me – only when i work out, not all the time!)!

* Got tickets to Them Crooked Vultures. It’s a new band supergroup with Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Dave Grohl (Nirvana/Foo Fighters) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin!) in it! Concert is on Jan 22 next year at Festival Hall – I am so pumped! I got seats though, that’s not very rock ‘n’ roll, but I’m too old and short to stand in the pit these days.

Sunday, 20 Sep 09: 14km run, local streets. 1:41:28. Comfortable, easy pace. Man was I hungry when I finished this run. Ravenous even. Went down to the Acorn Nursery (Canterbury Rd, Surrey Hills) and had a lamb & vegetable pie w/salad and big hot chocolate (with marshmallows) and half a slice of passionfruit sponge

Scales on Sunday: 63.3kg! boohoo! i feel chubby!

* Got new runners at Active Feet, same as my current ones Brooks Adrenaline GTS 9 in the mens. Hope they don’t change this shoe! That’s always the danger, isn’t it? You find your perfect shoe and then they go and change it in the new model… or discontinue it altogether! Maybe I should stock up?!

* Continuing the clean out at my house. Have got one and a quarter garbage bags of clothes I’m giving to the Sacred Heart Mission. This is only the start, I’ve got too much stuff, I really need to give away more. Have got that dilemma of, I haven’t worn this in 3 years, but it’s still good! Just need to shut my eyes and give it away, I think.  Read the same Mia Freedman article as Sassy, about living in the present. Need to apply it to my clean out. Deep down I know exactly what clothes I wear currently… so why am I hanging on to relics of the past?

* Went to the Melbourne Show on the weekend. Loved the Weimaraners, the Byron Bay donuts, the Arts/Crafts/Baking competitions, the racing and diving pigs and the Woodchop! I got a Kit Kat showbag, luckily the bf will eat most of it! 

* Went to Mornington on Sat for a late breakky, as I wanted to go somewhere beachy, even though the weather turned rainy! Went to Cafe one five one, had bacon and eggs on toast. Then had coffee and a shared frangipani tart at Coffee Traders with the bf. Went and looked in some nice furniture shops. I like the French Provincial look… though my wallet does not… Saw a cushion for $545… hello?! it’s a cushion!! a single cushion!!!

*It’s Chia time! First week on chia:

1) I do not have boundless energy, as some people reportedly feel on Chia.

2) My sugar and bad food cravings have lessened.

3) Not backed up anymore. (Sorry, too much information!) Chia is very good for keeping you regular. Why drink metamucil, if you can drink 2 glasses of Chia and get all the other nutrients as well? 

Last night, I decided to clean out my ’smalls’ drawers (ie. 3 tubs + 2 bedside drawers worth), as it was getting out of control.

What I discovered is that I have got enough pairs of undies to last me probably 5 years. I have got more undies with the tags on them, than without (!), meaning I buy them and then don’t wear them.

Right here, right now, I have to promise that “I will not buy any more undies for a whole year”.

I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I just can’t seem to pass up an undies sale!

Okay, I’ve been reading Born to Run by Chris McDougall. This is a borrowed paragraph about chia -

“Months later, I’d learn that iskiate is otherwise known as chia fresca – “chilly chia.” It’s brewed up by dissolving chia seeds in water with a little sugar and a squirt of lime. In terms of nutritional content, a tablespoon of chia is like a smoothie made from salmon, spinach, and human growth hormone. As tiny as those seeds are, they’re superpacked with omega-3s, omega-6s, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, fiber and antioxidants. If you had to pick just one desert-island food, you couldn’t do much better than chia, at least if you were interested in building muscle, lowering cholesterol, and reducing your risk of heart disease; after a few months on the chia diet, you could probably swim home. Chia was once so treasured, the Aztecs used to deliver it to their king in homage. Aztec runners used to chomp chia seeds as they went into battle, and the Hopis fueled themselves on chia during their epic runs from Arizona to the Pacific Ocean…”

So, like practically everyone else who’s read the book, it’s intrigued me to try it. I went and bought 300g of Chia seeds from Evelyn Faye Nutrition – one pouch of black seeds and one pouch of white seeds, each pouch is $6.50 for 150g, the brand I got is Chiatah – they’re Australian grown Chia seeds. The nutritional benefits of one colour over the other are minimal. I just wanted both colours so I could mix them together for a speckled effect.

So 300g gives you 20 serves. One serve is 15g – equivalent to a level tablespoon. It is 288kj per serve. (About 500kj for a 250 ml serve of iskiate, with one teaspoon of honey and a bit of lime juice).

You can use them dry, sprinkled in your muesli or salad - they’re sort of like sesame seeds this way. similar taste and texture. You can bake them into cakes, breads and cookies. You can eat the seeds on their own. You can put the seeds in anything.

When mixed with water, the shell of the seed turns into a gel, sort of like the texture of passionfruit, but instead of a pip, it’s more like a sesame seed. When mixing with water, the ratio is a level tablespoon with one cup (250ml) of water.

Last night I tried to make my own Iskiate – I boiled some water, disolved a teaspoon of honey, added a squirt of lime juice and added my Chia seeds. It does very much look like fish eggs, as described in the book! When I drank mine, it tasted good, I didn’t mind the texture, but can tell the texture might put a few people off, and since it was still warm from the boiled water, it was kind of like a tea. I can’t say I was bouncing off the walls with energy after it, but I did feel more alert than usual for a few hours after. Can’t say whether that was attributed to the Chia or not. Time will tell.

I’m going to try it for a month, see how I feel, if anything. I like trying new things and I’m all up for lowering my cholesterol, building muscle and reducing my risk of heart disease! There’s something appealing to me about eating superfoods, just in the same way I like eating oats, broccoli, yoghurt, tomatos, salmon, avocados, almonds, blueberries, etc. I hope it gives me heaps of energy so I can climb canyons and run all day and all night like those Tarahumara Indians… heehee, joking. If it makes me feel more full between breakfast and lunch and eases the 3.30pm slump, that’d be enough for me!

This morning I sprinkled it dry on my muesli for breakfast and at about noon I had some chilled iskiate with my lunch, but I used lemon juice instead of lime. It is really filling. It can soak up 9 times it’s weight in water, so it’s no wonder I feel pretty full. Hmm, I don’t have my usual after lunch sugar craving… Is it because of the Chia? It’s too hard to say!

Anyway, from my research on the interweb, it says that the recommended dose is 2 tablespoons of chia a day, which means I’ve reached my limit for today.

The experiment continues…