Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Run, run, as fast as you can

I am aiming to complete the 12km City to Bay this year, having run all 12ks without having to stop for a walking break.

There. Now it's out there in the universe, and on the afternoon of September 15th, you can check up on whether I managed to meet that goal.

Today I ran for thirty-five minutes all in a row. Now, per the official training program, all I have to do is add on five minutes every week until the race and I should be good to go. Except I just realised that that takes me up to 50 minutes, which HA. That is not 12 of my ks.

I think I will make the final long run whatever time I think the race will take me, because I am not good at the mental stuff. I need to be able to point to that final long run and tell myself (over and over for twelve kilometers), "It's fine. You just did this the other day. You can do it." And hopefully I will listen.

If by chance you want to encourage me in this endeavour, we are raising money for the Little Heroes Foundation. Our fundraising page is here, including some info about why we chose this charity to support. I plan to have the names of donatees on my shirt - somewhere I can see them during the race. Hopefully this peer pressure will get me across the line!


Monday, July 22, 2013

Would you like some cheese with your whine?

My birthday is coming up in about two weeks. I am pretty sure we have covered the fact that I love my birthday. But this year it is driving me nuts.

I decided to book a mini-bus and take a bunch of people for a wine tour in the Barossa Valley. I have a bunch of friends who moved here from overseas, so it seemed like the perfect trip all round.

Problem #1: 5/6 of the overseas people can't make it. Ok, less of a problem than a reason to go again. But seriously, I am not organising this again.

Problem #2: Trying to design a trip where all the wineries have times available when you want them to, to ensure no back-tracking. Which leads to...

Problem #3: I had to book the last winery later than I'd planned originally, which means we are hiring the bus for longer, which means it costs more per person than the original $15 I'd said on the invites. And because I am an idiot, I kept it at that amount when telling everyone the final, overall price, because I didn't want them to think I had been lying to them before, but really they never would have known what percentage was bus and what was tasting fees and lunch, so really Problem #3 is that I am an idiot and deserve to have to pay extra out of my own money.

The mini-bus I'd planned on holds 21 people. You can also get a 13-seat one.

Problem #4: The terrible time I had trying to convince wineries to book in a group of that size.

Problem #5: Trying to get those 21 people to RSVP on time.

Problem #6: Having to offer second-round picks when the first-round people can't make it. At what point do I stop inviting people and book the 13-seater bus? Refer to Problem #3 regarding "people these days don't know how to plan their lives" - if all the already-invited people are in, definitely invite one or two more. If all the current maybes are nos, stop inviting people! Abort! and switch to the smaller one.

Not a problem #1: Having vegan and gluten-free people on the tour. Restaurants are very happy to cater for this these days. So that was nice.

Now, I know that this will be an awesome day, filled with wine and fun, and surrounded by my friends. But I SWEAR I am NEVER planning one of these EVER AGAIN.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

My Library Qualifications

Last we spoke, I was probably still at uni. I now hold a Master of Library and Information Management.

I even work in a school library now.

But the most essential requirement for me to be able to call myself a real library person came after a solid week of headaches and one "I'm sure this isn't the reason, but I might as well get checked out" trip to the optometrist.


Considering that absolutely everyone in my family wears glasses - and my brother had to get them in primary school - I think I did pretty well to go nearly 28 years without needing them. They're only for reading right now, but I am pretty sure it is a slippery slope to full-time looking like a dork. Luckily, it's kind of expected if I want to work in a library.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Taking a break

It has been almost a year since I last posted. I blame Facebook.

Anyway, I just came on to let you know that I'm taking a bit of a break from frisbee. I mean, I'll still play Social every week. And I'm already signed up for one fun tournament next month, and there may be more. But I'm not playing League, and I'm not going to Mixed Nats, and I was recently voted off the Board so I have nothing to organise anymore.

It seems like a good time - I would much rather miss Mixed League than Womens, I have played pretty much non-stop since 2009, and I did spend the last year trying to organise womens events so probably I am due for a break.

It will be weird. I think it is probably an ok-to-good decision, given my current lack of confidence in anything related to frisbee (getting picked last in a tournament and being voted out of office will do that to you, apparently). Social will keep me in the loop and allow me to stay in touch with friends. I will have to make sure I concentrate on my running so I don't get unfit and depressed, and am ready to come back strong for the womens Nationals season.

In the meantime, I would like to make a hat, although if the last half-hour I spent on YouTube trying to master the art of crocheting in a circle - and the resulting untangleable knot of wool - is any indication, I might need to look for a new form of distraction.
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