It seems like it has been a while since my last blog – probably because there has been a lot going on since I arrived back from Auckland in early January.
Soph was here visiting for two weeks prior to returning to Uni for the start of her third year. We managed to fit in a lot of exciting things whilst she was here including a day trip to by ferry to Batam, Indonesia for some amazing spa treatments – including an hours head massage where we lay outside under the trees (photo below) whilst having a lovely concoction massaged into our heads - very relaxing – ideally we should have stayed 24 hours at the spa/resort as the surroundings were gorgeous (if you have time google 'Tempat Senang Resort and Spa').
We also managed to get to the movies to see ‘The Book Thief’ which we both really enjoyed; ate in some lovely restaurants – one of Soph’s favourite was Hard Rock Café - and we managed to fit in some running at MacRitchie which is an 11km trail run and Mt Faber as well as some gym sessions together. Soph also had to do some study in readiness to sit two exams on her return to Uni having not been able to sit them in November due to her chickenpox incident during exam week (the good news is she just sat one of the exams and got 80%, so she must have managed to fit in more study that she thought). At the end of the two weeks it was tough waving her off but was made slightly easier knowing we will be at home together at Easter.
I also took some time to reflect on what I wanted to achieve for 2014. I have always wanted to become a counsellor so I finally signed up to complete a Diploma in Counselling which I will do part time whilst working full time. I can complete six months of the qualification whilst living overseas but will need to finish it on my return to NZ (not sure yet when this might be).
I signed up to the gym in January and have been getting there 5 mornings a week from 7am - 8.30am and doing a mixture of workouts either with a personal trainer which is exhausting and after the first session it took me four days until I could lift my arms up to wash my hair….and I also run on the treadmill for up to an hour (mostly doing interval training to speed my legs up a bit). Today I joined a friend from work, Caz, who is training for the Prague Marathon in May, for a 90 minute run and was surprised that I could run that far having not done a lot of outdoor running since I have been back - the heat here can be a real challenge. This morning though it was a fairly cool 26 degrees with a nice breeze - very nice running conditions. Its also really nice to run alongside someone who is training for a marathon rather than it being me who is training for one.
After getting so confused with the diet issue – dukan/ primal /paleo / low carb - high fat, I decided to return to 'normal' eating habits only to find I didn’t know what 'normal' meant anymore. Scary….for the first time in months I had a sandwich for lunch (smoked salmon and avocado) and really enjoyed it. Lets hope it doesn’t take me long to find my way back to normal eating (whatever that may be)! I think 'normal' for me just means eat healthy at least 80% of the time.
So for the next few months my plan is to study ; work out in the gym 3-5 times a week, run a few days a week and eat healthily. Sounds like a good plan to me – oh and fit in some great movie viewing – I just saw ‘Rush’ a true story about James Hunt and Nikki Lauda who were competitors in Formula 1 motor racing – really enjoyed it!
Until next time!
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