Tuesday 28 October 2008

Weekly training20Oct-26Oct

Swim


Made a change this week. Decided I was getting a little bored so I decided to start my sessions by swimming with band on legs and fistgloves. Extreme technique practice (or that's what I tell myself). This is what I was planning to do at the end of the summer ready for next season. Because my shoulders were feeling very tired I only swam Thursday 10x100m.

Total1000m

Bike


2x 60min on turbo, 24 miles on the road : Raukawa Rd via Bridge Pa and had a heavy down pour at halfway. Kept cadence below 100rpm and was much better.

Total51.78

Run


1x6mile, 2x7mile : I very rarely have to run in the rain but did twice this week.

Total20miles

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Monday 27 October 2008

Labour and Hawkes Bay anniversary weekend

This will be mostly in pictures. We weeded, planted , mowed lots of grass and strimmed. Thr chilean guavas, blueberriess, raspberries (all 3 varities), strawberries and red currants are all showing fruit. Apple tree is in full swing as are all 6 citrus trees are flowering. But we know that from experience that it doesn't matter about flowers it only counts when you can actually eat the fruit, sometimes the wind blows the fruit off, birds can get at it.

Teresa has planted lots of seeds:- peas, rock melon, which in the photos are under upturned buckets and plant pots to protect them from marauding chickens - I was putting our amazing compost on the veg garden and I forgot the chickens love it because it so full of juicy worms and other creepy crawlies. They scratch in it and we didn't want them scratching up the seeds. We've planted radishes, beetroot and carrots and the same beans as last year.

I planted out some bought tomato plants, eggplants because ours grown from seed aren't ready yet. We also have some capsicum plants to be planted also because ours aren't ready. We are hoping to learn from last years mistakes and get more for efforts.

On top of all this we have lots of herbs and lettuce growing in planters especially our favourites rocket and basil.

I also repaired the Kindergarten's toy digger that Cameron is modelling.












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Trying new things - Kohlrabi

The photo is of a weird vegetable called a kohlrabi (tastes a bit like cabbage).

A post on the the kitchen gardeners website reminded me that this was one of the new things I tried this year. I try and do this , when I see something new at the farmers market. This week it is artichoke, I've had it marinated out of a jar but never cooked one myself.

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Tuesday 21 October 2008

Almost knocked over

I forgot to mention that last Thursday I almost got knocked over, not killed but legs would surely have been broken. I was returning home on my run at 6am with about 1.5 miles to go I was crosing a side street and this woman turned into the road at speed (probably half asleep) almost got me. It was so close I felt the moving air on my knees and was only really saved by my own reactions as I performed my best matador impression. The driver didn't even seem to see me just drove off at speed.

There were witnesses a man and woman out walking were crossing the same road but in the opposite direction.

I have always been very tolerant, I abhor racism, sexism, ageism any form of discrimination but I find myself becoming increasingly frustrated with people who just don't seem to care about other people or the planet. People who abuse other people, gorge themselves into obesity and diabetes and in turn abuse the planet.

As I was being verbally abused by a motorist on Tuesday I realised why he needed such a big SUV, it was carry his huge arse, stomach and head. He was verbally abusing me because I shook my head in disgust because as I rode my bike home from dropping Cameron off at Kindergarten, he drove his monstrosity at me. He was on the wrong side of the road. He was pulling away from a house after dropping something off. I think obsesity not only causes laziness, scruffiness, diabetes but I think fat also rots the brain and ruins the eyesight.

And for those people who think it is personal freedom to become overweight and die what about my freedom to live in on a clean planet and not have to pay, through increased health costs for other peoples lack of personal responsility.

I needed to get that off my chest.

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Monday 20 October 2008

Tired today and We have beans

I felt very tired all over this morning so I decided that after taking Cameron to kindergarten instead of cycling to the pool I would come home. Swimming is usually my only session on a Monday.

Also I made an exciting discovery in the garden this morning, the bean plants have loads of beans on them. This may seem like common sense but they are a new variety of green beans and the plants have been growing very well, plenty of flowers but when they withered away no beans. No beans that is until now there seems to be a delay which is different from the beans we grew last summer.

It is labour weekend combined with Hawkes Bay anniverary so a four day weekend this coming weekend, traditionally the time to plant summer crops (last of the frosts). So I am planning a garden post this weekend.

Now I'm off to shell walnuts.

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Weekly training13Oct-19Oct

Swim

5550m highlight was 4x200m with band on legs in Thursday's swim

Bike

49.38 miles - 22miles on Sunday, took it really easy, too easy 100+ cadence on flats. Going to keep it between 88 and 100 this coming Sunday. Signifcantly I'm not using heart monitor on Sunday rides, it was much less stressful and I enjoyed it without the constant beeping. Which will make it more likely to keep it going.

Run

19 miles

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Sunday 19 October 2008

Hawaii Ironman and other stories

Every year I watch this and it never ceases to motivate me. This time I got really excited and had a problem sleeping for a few days after. I also get grumpy a few days before, the same thing happens a few days before Ironman New Zealand which takes place only a couple of hours from here. My own personal countdown to my participation in 2011. After I finished Lanzarote in 1994 I had the feeling that I could conquer anything, I've achieved a huge amount since then. I wonder what I'll feel next time round.

Other news


Emily's first ballet recital is fast approaching. She had to miss her first swim lesson of the new term (advanced breathing class).

Cameron (not yet four) had his first swim lesson. All this took place on Saturday and it was one of those few days where a second car would have been useful but we survived.


Cameron



Emily



What chickens do - the Dust bath


Ethel lying in dust bath under lemon tree.

Ethel leaving dust bath.

What chickens do - Nest


Bertha getting ready to lay. She is sitting on one of the browns hen's egg.


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Monday 13 October 2008

Weekly training 6Oct-12Oct

Swim

5400m

Bike

46.21 Miles

Run

18miles

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Tuesday 7 October 2008

I'm delaying work this morning.

Up at 5am ot the door for 5.35 run 6miles just under 48min and the whole family still asleep, bliss! Breakfast treat a couple of lightly boiled eggs. We have four from yesterday, so 2 for me I know that Cameron and Emily will be up any moment one each for them and Teresa (a creature of habit) will only want the homemade muesli. I want a breal from the museli because I also have it after training but also I got fed up paying NZ$3 for a litre of rice milk (I prefer rice milk to soy because it doesn't have sugar in it) so I'm experimenting with making my own and it is very much a work in progress. It seems okay in coffee but it has a hint of banana in it, because it has banana in it. Back to the drawing board.

I've just been doing my morning ritual after breakfast I go and find any eggs, check on fruit crops and the raspberries to see if they are being eaten again. Then it is on to a quick scan of blogs I read, checked on my own and this is what stopped me from my work and the real reason for this post.

I think somebody or something maybe, possibly reading my blog...other than me that is. This suspiscion has arisen because twice now after a post my counter figures have leapt up. Normally it goes up 1 a day and I know who that is , its me. The idea that somebody else may or may not be reading this is kind of creepy and very unexpected because if you are reading this you will know that is purely drivel and I encourage to not read it.

Just as a side note: we are getting a new woodburner installed on Thursday. The good people at Metro fires are replacing the whole thing because og the split in the top and the fire is about 4 years old. Now that is what I call customer service would I recommend this company, without a doubt.

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Monday 6 October 2008

Weekly training 29Sep-5Oct

Took time to watch the bees do their thing with the apple blossom.

SWIM


5250m - still doing lots of fistgloves with legs together, band on legs no fistgloves and regular swimming with fistgloves. Because I go to a pool which is used by the public not swimmers per se I am faster than most of them wearing fistgloves and holding my legs together.

BIKE

38.28miles - this coming Sunday I'll be stopping my turbo session which I normally do after the farmers market to my on road ride because the farmers Market moves outside for summer and I like to get my ride (which will go from 20 up to 50miles by the end of December) out of the way. So I will be heading out about 7am.

RUN

17miles - 3runs - 2x6 and 1x5 at my 'I am enjoying running again' pace.

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Spring is exciting

All the fruit trees are starting to flower, seeds in trays are sprouting. We are doing tomatoes(yellow and red cherries,beefsteakand heritage all started from seeds collected last summer) lettuces, herbs (rocket and basil are favourites), we have started peppers(I usually remember these too late) and aubergines. Strawberries in hanging baskets are going well, raspberries are really going well even the black ones that have never fruited before. I realised I pruned them in their first year when I wasn't supposed to. The red ones were being eaten but spraying with gatlic spray and checking daily seemed to have sorted that out. We just hope that the wind doesn't blow off lots of young fruit like it did last year.

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Chicken Cam

Featuring Ethel, Daisy and Choc Choc (Bertha is a bit of a loner sometimes). Daisy hadn't laid an egg for the last 3 days we were starting to get concerned especially as she seemed to have a limp. She is back in the groove today I will be observing her for any sign of limping.

We're actually trying to keep them off the deck because they poo on it.




Natural egg laying.




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