November: day 15

More poppies flowering out the front 

This is crazy, but I went to the gym today. Again! On a Sunday! I even left the house before midday! It's rare these days for me to even be out of bed by noon on a Sunday. Utter madness.  

I'm very pleased with my discipline, of course (I just wish it wasn't a constant struggle to maintain). I did 30 minutes of moderate cardio  - including a few stints of jogging - and felt energised when I left. 

I'm pleasantly surprised at how much better I feel following a fairly modest increase in physical activity. In the past week I walked to work twice (40 mins each time), did an hour of clinical pilates, visited the gym twice, walked more than 10,000 steps most days (19,400 today!) and did stretching at home. I feel less physically worn out, and not as stiff and sore. 

It feels good to be doing something to make myself feel better instead of just flopping on the couch feeling sorry for myself. 

***

I did a little laneway wandering on my way home from the gym. Here are some photos.  (I'm on Instagram now if you want to see more of my photos there. My username is frisky_librarian.)

 AC/DC Lane

 AC/DC Lane

 Just off Degraves Street

 Centre Place 

 Centre Place 

 Centre Place 

 Presgrave Place

Presgrave Place 

Day 5: Mindfulness through photography

I had a "me too!" moment yesterday when I read an ABC News story about a new book on mindfulness through photography. Capturing Mindfulness is written by Sydney author, illustrator and public speaker Matthew Johnstone, who says buying a camera helped him to overcome years of depression. 

I went out and bought a camera, and in many ways I believe this camera saved my bacon. It was through this camera that I realised the whole concept and idea of being in the moment...Photography at the end of the day is really about stopping, it's really about seeing what's in front of us, it's really about stopping and focusing and it's about capturing that moment.

Me too! Well, in a way...Photography hasn't saved me from depression, but it has had the pleasing side effect of taking photos is that I take more notice of my surroundings. I see more. I actively look for things. My experience of my world is richer and I feel more connected to it. It gets me out of my head and into the world. Writing Gleeful contributes to this too, of course, since I need to take notice of life's little pleasures. 

Matthew Johnstone is also gets excited about being in industrial areas where there are rusty pipes and peeling paint, so we have that photographic obsession in common as well.  

I was meant to have them

I've had my eye on a pair of boots in an online shop and every now and then I check to see if they are on sale. This afternoon they were still at full price, significantly more than I would usually spend on shoes. Then five minutes after I checked, the store tweeted about their 20% off sale (I don't even follow them - it was a promoted tweet). I couldn't resist. Now they are mine. Hopefully we get a little more mild weather so I can wear them before autumn!

I'm 34

I was quite pleased today to learn that my fitness age is younger than my actual age - 34, rather than 41. That was my result when I said I exercise two to three times a week and go "all out", which I do at the gym. When I put in that I exercise at a lower level of intensity nearly every day, as I do when I walk to work, my fitness age is 38. Either way, younger than 41.    

Fit, Queen Vic, frisbee fun

Street art in a city alley

I was expecting a dreary, wet day when I got up today, but it was another perfect winter's day. It was clear and sunny, but very chilly, as cloudless winter days often are. 

I had a fitness assessment at my gym this morning. I was hoping I would fall somewhere in the average range given my gym attendance has been sporadic over the years, but I'm more active than the average office worker. I was pleasantly surprised with my results -  my fitness is excellent compared to other women my age. EXCELLENT! EX. ELL. ENT!!! 

I'm kinda wishing now that I'd had an assessment when I first went back to the gym so I could see how much I've improved in the past six weeks. I'll definitely be booking them in at regular intervals from now on.  

To celebrate, I bought some new jogging shoes (which I needed). They're very bouncey. Boing! Boing! I'm looking forward to taking them for a run. 

Vic Market (the bit without food)

After the gym, Luke and I went to the nearby Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne's foremost fresh produce market, to buy our meat, fruit and vegetables. It's quite an experience - so much activity and noise and colour. And the deli hall... The bread! The cheese! The antipasto! It's a  droolworthy feast for the senses.  *drools*  

The meat is definitely WAY cheaper. We got lamb backstrap for $22 a kilo - it's $40 a kilo at the supermarket, which makes it a special treat, rather than a staple. 

We also got a 600g punnet of strawberries for $4. That's a LOT of strawberries. I'm going to freeze some so they won't spoil before we can eat them. 

And look at these teeny tiny bananas! 

The lemon and lime are average sized. Apparently they are called señorita or monkey bananas. There's certainly a lot more variety of fruit and vegetables at the market. I don't think we'll go weekly, but I'd like to go more often. 

In the afternoon we went over to Gosch's Paddock (the sports grounds next to AAMI Park) to throw the frisbee. Luke bought it last year, but it only made its maiden flight today. I was pretty rusty to begin with since I haven't thrown a frisbee in a long time, but I soon got into the swing of it. There were a few running, leaping catches. Definitely a fun way to get some  exercise. 

We could see very dark clouds coming towards the city as we played, and eventually it started to rain so we headed for home. The frisbee doubled as a (rather small) umbrella. I put it on my head and pretended I was at finishing school learning how to walk with good posture. 

Forty schmorty

White egret spotted on the way home tonight

 under  the Swan Street Bridge

This is my third week back at the gym. Yep, I'm still going. Wooh! This morning my muscles were still feeling sore from Tuesday's workout so I wasn't sure if I'd be up to doing my usual routine. But I felt OK by the time I left work, so I did my usual resistance workout, with an increase in reps on one exercise. I've altered the intervals of my cardio routine to jogging for a minute and walking for a minute, but still running for a minute more than last time...or maybe more than a minute - I keep losing track of how many minutes I'm up to so I err on the side of doing more, rather than less. And when I thought I had exhausted my lungs and energy supply near the end of my workout, I made myself sprint the last minute. 

Have I mentioned that I'm turning 40 in just under a month? That's not the reason I started back at the gym, but it is helping to keep me motivated. I've been fitter in my 30s than I was in my 20s (not necessarily super fit, but fitter), and I see no reason why I can't be  super fit in my 40s. 

It's Friday tomorrow already. Love a four day working week.