C25K Day #1

A friend recently owned up to having started on the Couch-to-5K running program, commonly known as C25K. He was a fair few weeks ahead of me in the program and seemed pretty positive about it. This got me thinking, and today I finally stopped procrastinating and started the program myself. I purchased one of the myriad C25K applications for my iPod Touch, put the Bluetooth headphones[1] on and jumped on the treadmill.

It wasn't as challenging as I expected, but it wasn't exactly easy either, and I'm sure it'll get much harder as the weeks go by. I guess the other cardio work I've done most weeks (bike, elliptical and rower) in the gym at work helped prepare me a bit. Felt pretty good afterwards. Main lesson learned was to double-knot shoelaces. At about the 20-minute mark one shoe untied itself, spoiling my rhythm.

[1] Formerly Jaycar part AR-1857. They don't seem to stock them anymore. Pity :-( as they are quite good for the price --- about $50 if I remember correctly

Lovely rain

2009/10/25, originally uploaded by indigoid.

There was rain forecast for late Friday and yesterday. but it didn't seem to happen. Certainly is raining now, though.

Unfortunately it seems that you can't permalink to a BOM radar image at a specific date/time. Oh well :-( It certainly did look impressive.

A different lifestyle

2009/10/24, originally uploaded by indigoid.

Adapting to working in (most of the time) Sydney has been interesting. One of the first changes was that our Matraville facility has its own gym, locker room and shower facilities. Being able to grab my kit and go straight up to the gym after work is great. I tend to be up there every working day now, whereas when in Canberra I often struggle to find the motivation to make the separate trip.

The other nice thing is the great little eateries everywhere you go. Yum-Yum Thai in Maroubra is one of my favourites. Cheap but great food. I quite like the Pad Prik Sod (beef), and their spring rolls are among the best I've ever had, anywhere.

Midland BT2

Midland BT2, originally uploaded by indigoid.

I ordered a pair of Midland BT2 Bluetooth helmet headsets from a USA-based eBay reseller. Total cost $418, shipped. A headset was easy enough to fit to my Shoei XR1000 helmet. I was concerned that there might not be enough room around the ears, but it seems OK so far. I have successfully paired it with an iPod Touch for music but haven't been able to get it to pair with my Garmin Zumo 550 GPS. Will keep trying.

Having music in the helmet is wonderful. Being able to listen to the encapsulating sounds of Dark Side of the Moog while wafting down the highway sounds like fun... As long as it doesn't negatively affect concentration / alertness.

Last Day Of Mo

Last Day Of Mo, originally uploaded by indigoid.

It is gone.

I miss it. Movember isn't far away, thankfully. I never quite achieved the Merv Hughes look that I was aiming for, but I did try, and on one lunchtime occasion as I walked out of the tradesman-dominated Matraville Hotel with some colleagues, I heard several calls of MERV! MERV! Quite satisfying.

Big thanks to Anna for taking the photo for me, and wheedling/cajoling to get an interesting facial expression.

Now to choose another style for Movember 2009...