Dry Country

Well I thought that it was about time that I did a update, seen as I haven't really done one for a long time now.

Well a lot has gone on since I last did a update but I will just talk about the last two weeks.

In the last two weeks I've been getting into my running because the Amsterdam Half Marathon is getting closer and closer each day and I'm still unfit. I'm wondering if I left it a little late to start my training but there is nothing I can do now other than work hard.
I've been running around 4 times a week and last Sunday I had a running breakthrough. I was basically able to run double the distance and have less recovery time which is amazing. I can probably run for around 30-40 seconds without having to stop whereas before I was lucky to even reach 20 seconds and that was on a good day. My recovery time is also a lot less than it used to be so it seems there is some progress in my running but of course not as much as I would like there to have been. It was amazing realizing how well I was doing, it was a boost for me and I couldn't wait for my next run although I struggled on that run and didn't run as much as I did the time before and had a hard time getting started. It was a tough session and I almost gave up on running altogether but then I realised that everyone has a bad day now and then and I shouldn't give up on something that I want so bad.
From tomorrow I am hoping to run 4-5 times a week, twice on one of the days because I'd still like a full day where I do absolutely nothing as it gives my body a good rest.

Yesterday I went out on my bike and it almost killed me. I haven't been on it since I bought it in April and before that I'd not been on a bike for years although I used to love riding bikes. Anyway I was meant to be running yesterday but it didn't happen because I have slight injury's because my muscles are being used heavily and aren't used to anything so they are sore. I have a elastic bandage for my main problem area but my knee on that leg and my ankle on the other decided to be injured and I had nothing to put on them until later in the day when I could buy some.
So I ended up going out on my bike. My dad was going on his so I decided to go with him and I am sure he is trying to kill me ;o) The hills and slight uphill slopes were the killer!! I did push myself though and some I got half way up and others only a third but I really did push myself and even was going so slow people could overtake me running but the main point was I was pushing myself and making myself peddle until basically I couldn't do it anymore and I would get off and walk until I was able to ride again. I think if I was out alone then I may not have pushed myself as much as I did and would of been more lazy and walked more than I did but being with my dad gave me a push to really push myself. He took me on a 5 mile route which isn't far, not on a bike, but it was tough on me as Blackburn certainly isn't flat!! There are hills all over the places and it's hard to even walk most of them so being on a bike ain't no fun when you are unfit like I seem to be. I loved the downhill parts especially the long downhill parts as I'd sit there and let the bike pull me down at very fast speeds. My bike seems to be faster than my dads so when he was leading I had to brake a few times because I couldn't get past him especially on the busy roads. Yeah I rode on the rode, first proper time for me and I wasn't scared. I think the fast I was working so hard made me concentrate on that and not what the cars were doing. The only time I did go on the paths was on the long last hill coming home because I knew I'd have to stop and get off and walk about half of it and I didn't want to have to stop on the road on that hill because it was very busy at that time in the morning.
I can tell you I was so happy to get home, I was sweating and totally knackered. I had to sit down for half an hour before I could even go and have a shower, that's how worn out I was.
When I was struggling on that bike I decided that I am going to ride my bike daily during the week to help get my fitness levels up because I am unfit and have around 6 weeks to get myself ready for the half marathon and I know by getting myself fit on the bike it will also make me fitter for running too and I should (hopefully) be ready for the half marathon. If it's raining I'm not going to go out on the bike but will make sure I go on my exercise bike at home. It's going to be tough and I'm going to be tired but I am running out of time and I need to do whatever it takes to get myself fitter.

The other day I was looking at what OU courses I should do next year because I'd basically changed my mind about the subject I want to do. So I was looking online to see what I'd like to do and I came across one I've wanted to do for years but wasn't going to do it for another two years. There is a new presentation of it coming out next year so that's the one I was going to do but when I was looking online I decided to do the final presentation of the course as it is now so I have signed up for it and it starts on the 29th of this month.
Then I was looking for the one I was going to start at the beginning of next year and found two courses, one in Art History and the other in Creative Writing, and I was leaning more towards the Art History one because it's a subject I did a little of a few years ago and the course starts next year. The creative arts course starts at the end of this month (on the 29th) and it's a subject that I have never studied before so I didn't know if I should do it. It would be a challenge to me because it's not something I've done before. I then was able to look at this years essay questions and hear about it from some former students and even though it sounds like a lot of work is involved and it also sounds challenging I have decided to go for it.
So I will be starting two new courses on the 29th and I still have my two short courses to do (one on planets and the other on mammals) so I need to have them done by the end of this month because I just won't have time do to them otherwise. They are due to be finished by the third week of October anyway so will be finished three weeks early which isn't bad I guess except I'm just not going to have time for anything else on top of everything else I'm doing at the moment. I plan just to rush through them as fast as I can, maybe a week on the Planets course (there is ten weeks approx. in each course) and two weeks on the Mammals one because that has ten times the amount of course work to do as well as a thick book to read and DVDs to watch.
So as you may guess they will keep me busy most nights during the next week weeks, most nights I will be studying these before bed instead of watching DVDs and then I will also be studying them during the day for a few hours to make sure they are done and out of the way.

On top of that work is getting busy and I'm doing so much. There was a period where I did next to no work for a few months but I was just being lazy and having too many late nights but I need the money and I need a normal routine in my life so I started work again properly. I never thought I'd want to work proper work hours but I'm getting back into a work routine and I am enjoying it. I am enjoying having something t do and using my mind to work other than sitting at the computer and chatting, I think I got bored with it as I have no desire at the moment to sit on MSN for hours and chat. I was like that at the beginning of the year also because I stayed off MSN for 4 months, I think it's just I get bored of it if I spend too much time on it.
Anyway so I won't have time for MSN which isn't a bad thing as I need a break from there anyway so I don't feel so bored with it.

I have been buying lots of DVDs lately and having a new one on every night which is great but with less time on my hands for a while I won't have time for a DVD every night which is a good job seen as I just ran out of DVDs I've not seen before but I will be changing that on Wednesday when I'm paid. As soon as I am paid I will be on Play.com to order myself some more DVDs that will keep me going for a few weeks, maybe 12 DVDs which will keep me going for a month if I watch 3 a week.

I'm so tired night now, I was meant to be going for a run but I am so tired, I feel like I've been awake for about three days as I'm still tried from yesterday as I don't think I got enough sleep. It's a early night for me tonight anyway as I plan on being up around 7am in the morning. 7am starts mean I will be in bed by 10pm but that's cool because I'll get my 8 hours seep and some nights I will get 9 hours because some nights I will be so tired that I am sure I will be asleep pretty fast.

I finally sent off for a passport last week. It will be my first ever passport and they tell you to send it off and allow six weeks for a first passport and three weeks for subsequent passports. So it has been gone for a week and should be here within the next five weeks. I wasn't 100% happy with the pictures but I didn't want to bother going to get some more because I am sure I would find something wrong with every single one I did so I just left them as they were. I do plan on getting another one done next year after I have lost some weight so this passport is only for now in a way so it doesn't matter if the pictures aren't 100% to my liking.
I will be using it in six weeks time and again when I go to Denmark. I will be using it again next October when I go on my dream holiday to New York and I also hope to go to Ireland, Spain and Italy next year also so it's going to be a fun and busy time for me and my passport over the next 12 months, I am looking forward to it all.

Well I think I shall end this here because I am so tired. I need to go and sort some dinner out and go and watch a film in bed. I don't have a clue what film I am going to watch yet as I've run out of new ones so maybe I will just watch TV instead.
It's a long and busy day tomorrow with working, bike ride, course work/study, housework, cooking and walking to dog so I need as much sleep as possible.