Thursday 14 April 2011

Not so Sunny, but Rewarding

This is yesterday's weather situation 8pm in Vienna (if you click on the photo you can actually see the rain pouring down):
I got home from work at 8pm.
I did not stay at home, but put changed my gear and went running/walking. I had to alter my running/walking gear to a kind of combat-style:
The soaking wet jacket dripping dry in the bath after the 3rd Couch25k workout.
(Not pictured: the water proof hiking pants, also soaking wet)

My glasses show the results better than the drops on the black textile.

Speaking of results, two weeks ago I got these wonderful markers at IKEA. I don't own an Iphone where I could track down the Couch25k results, but I can do it the analogue way.
At the end of the month the sheet will be crowded with flowers, butterflies and hearts.


This tracking-sheet is helping my mental hygiene. Without the stamps I might feel like I have only lived for the office and the couch. Well, the sheet tells another story! The stamping is also a deep rooted rewarding-method, dating back from ground school days.
SSG, did I promise too much girly, now you see my stamped calender-sheets?

This saturday Friend B invited us to join her birthday-hike. Last year we had a good time, blue skies, no noise or pollution by aircrafts thanks to the volcano. Aready a year. Feels like 5.

*I started those exercises in january. They are crucial when you run.

10 comments:

  1. Paula, going out in that weather, you are a super star!!!!

    Love the stamps idea - so pretty! I recorded my sessions in my diary but mine is boring pen scribble.

    Keep up the good work, I am impressed!!!

    xx

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  2. Paula --

    I am terribly behind on commenting here (have been saving that for the weekend) but you are killing me with the girly stamps...you are such a fun mix of methodical and whimsical!

    Congrats on the training, by the way. I think you've taken on 10 new challenges this year and I've taken on watching you take on 10 new challenges.

    I hope to be back soon to catch up more thoroughly!

    Signed, fellow Gemini who dearly needs some Virgo mixed in

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  3. I really like your tracking method. I just cannot get myself out to run in soggy weather, which is why I am not a runner living in the Pacific Northwest and have to rely on the gym. I admire your fortitude.
    Also, I absolutely love the sunglass picture - truly - what a great story it shows!

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  4. Paula,

    I think it's amazing you got that soaked yet you still have the motivation to continue with it. I'm not a runner, but I do love to exercise and I think your diary of stamps is a great way to be motivated along with the sense of accomplishment and just the overall feeling great that exercise gives you.

    So, does this mean I can send you some treats to balance out the running? LOL

    Jen

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  5. SSG, thank you thank you! together we form a perfect team! You motivate me and I stay on track. :-) Can you imagine, I even stretch afterwards!!

    Vix, please please please, don't feel obliged to comment, as far as I can tell from reading between the lines of your postings, you are probably busy these days. Not to mention closet audits.
    "mix of methodical and whimsical" Thank you for this picture! This is exactly what came to life the moment the one sperm intruded the ovula, when Mr. Methodical met Ms Whimsical. :-) The balancing act keeps me busy. Right now I am experiencing my 11 new challenge: feeling good without Mr Paula, he's on vacation without me and those days used to be a pain in the a**. This time I picked up running.

    sparrowsandsparkles, I forgot to add the picture I linked you was taken on mother's day 2010. A gym is perfect. Are they expensive in your city? In Vienna a decent gym costs 120 EUR /month plus membership.

    Jen, no kidding: this is exactly what I have been thinking of today: now that I started running/walking, I can add chocolate to my nutrition schedule without feeling guilty. I am lucky I found this light waterproof breathable jacket. I would never want to get wet. Without the experiences I made during those ski mountaineering weekends during this winter, I would not have the motivation neither the strength to go for it. Having mastered some adverse conditions, I know the rain, wind and temperature - it's a bite.

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  6. Oh I hate getting rain on my glasses! It always brings out my huffy side.

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  7. Paula: I work part time, more and more sporadically. I write an opinion column, medical features and I write about celebrities' interiors - hence Monaco- racing driver's pad

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  8. paula i am in awe of your running/walking regime. in the rain no less. bravo for you. i'm an early morning walker who is starting to put running back in. don't you just love the way you feel? have a wonderful weekend and i will channel your committment on my walk this morning.

    xo
    janet

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  9. Hey Paula,
    I really like the rainy photos.
    Will have to go back through your blog and find out what theCouch 25k thing is.

    Wonder if it's good for back recovery. Might have to investigate.

    I could get a book and give myself stamps for doing my exercises, which are teensy weeny at the moment. I'm strengthening the Transverse Abdominus -it's a tiny core muscle you have to exercise it while they hold an ultrasound wand over it so you can see it. Really tricky.

    Lou
    xxx

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  10. Go you! If I were in your situation, I'd turn the rain into an excuse not to exercise. Oh, do you use a reflective vest when running at night?

    I remember enjoying stickers and stamps as rewards even up to my middle school days. As I went to an all girl's school, we still had point systems based on accumulating the most stars and hearts even though we were almost teenagers, and should've been too cool for something so childish. Silly as it was, it was incredibly motivating at least for me. (I wonder what boys use instead of flowers and hearts and stars?)

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