Notes by Nectar

I had my usual Sunday morning session with Randy. I told him I wanted to run a 10k race in January – he suggested I see a doctor about my knees before signing up to do anything.

I did my 5-minute warm-up on the cross-trainer, and then started the first circuit. It went like this:

• Single leg balance and touch (with 10-lb weight) x 10 on each side
• Alternating knee-ins/push-up combination x 10
• Single leg hip lifts x 10 on each side
• V-sit x 30 seconds

I did that three times with a break in between each set. I did another 3 minutes on the cross-trainer and then did the second set:

• Single arm deadlift/shoulder press combination x 10 on each side
• Lateral pull-down x 20
• Reverse crunches x 20
• Tricep extensions x 20

Randy then stretched me out and I was done.

That afternoon I met up with a friend who was in town for the day on his way back to Lagos. We met at the mall and he wanted to get a milkshake. We went to Millions of Milkshakes – he decided on the Oreo milkshake but I really couldn’t decide what to have. Everything sounded so… unhealthy! I decided to go for a small mixed berry milkshake – which seemed a better choice than one of the chocolate flavoured ones!

My body was aching by Sunday night, especially my hamstrings.

I had my yoga class on Monday morning.

I went to see the doctor about my knees on Monday afternoon – They’ve been OK recently but if I’m intending to take part in a 10k race in January I want to make sure I don’t do any (more) damage to them. I told the doctor I wanted to train for a 10k race and we talked about my weight loss over the last 2 years. After doing a couple of range-of-motion tests she suggested I have an X-ray and she prescribed me some glucosamine tablets (SynoShield Forte). She also said I could do with losing another 5 kg – like I didn’t know that!

I was tired on Tuesday – I didn’t sleep well on Sunday or Monday – but I went to the gym. My hamstrings were still aching after my Sunday session with Randy and I thought some cardio might help. I started with a 3-minute plank and then got on the treadmill. I did 3 km on the treadmill (26:12). I tried to alternate walking and running but ended up walking for most of the third kilometre. I felt a little disappointed about not improving my time from Saturday but I figured there will be plenty of time to do that. I also realised that training for a 10 km race is going to be bloody hard work – especially as I need a whole minute to recover after a minute of running. How am I going to do this?

The doctor called on Wednesday morning with my X-ray results – all clear. She told me to continue taking the glucosamine and let her know how I felt in another week. Randy postponed our Wednesday session to Thursday so I decided to take it easy – after all, I had worked out 3 days in a row. He said he had a personal matter to sort out.

While I was out for drinks on Wednesday night I got an email from Randy’s employer saying that with immediate effect he was no longer employed by the company. His clients were welcome to continue using him but needed to be aware that he was no longer working for a licensed company. When I got home I texted Randy to find out if we were still training on Thursday. He asked me if I’d received an email from Kelvin – I told him I had and asked what was going on? He told me that his employer wanted to keep his passport (a common practice here in Dubai, I believe, but illegal) and he refused to give it to them. So they fired him. Randy told me we wouldn’t be able to have our session on Thursday as he had things to sort out at the labour office.

I went to the gym on Thursday – I did 3 km (26:48). I walked most of it. I alternated running and walking in the first kilometre but really didn’t feel like doing anything at all. So I decided to walk. I considered stopping at 2 km, and then again at 2.5 km, and then told myself to stop being so pathetic and do the whole 3 km.

That afternoon I was looking for something to nibble on while I was working and found a couple of Galaxy bars on top of the fridge (Mum’s not-so-secret stash). I hadn’t had one in ages. Damn, it was good.

I didn’t work out on Friday – I woke up later than expected and was meeting friends at the Radisson Royal for a spa/pool day.

On Saturday I went to the gym and did 5 km on the treadmill (43:17). I started and told myself that if I could walk/run the first 3 km then it would be OK if I walked the last 2 km. I got to 3 km at 25:22 and then walked for most of the last 2 km. I told myself that I just had to finish in under 45 minutes.

Low point of the week? I’m not feeling as fit as I should. I think I was fitter in September/October last year when I was training with Rama. I just feel that I should be able to run for more than 1 minute without thinking I’m dying. I guess I’ll need to build up my stamina. A friend of mine thinks it’s all in my head – perhaps she’s right…

High point of the week? Working out five times in the week – I haven’t done that in ages. I also think the glucosamine is helping a lot. I don’t think my knees would have been able to handle all the walking/running I’ve done this week without it.

Weight loss? I hit 72 kg again on Monday (must have been that damn milkshake) but was back down to 70 kg by Saturday.

Read more updates here.