Track pt3: Lots of 200m repeats

I was too late on Thursday to make it to track. This was probably a good thing because my calves were getting stiff after the Wednesday night step aerobics class. I've been stepping fairly consistently - at least once a week - for the better part of 16-years. The dance classes I started attending in May last year clashed with step, so I traded. Anyway, I had a gap on Wednesday and the gym was packed, so step was a good option. The class was good and I made it through without falling off - it's like riding a bicycle. By Friday I could feel my calves everytime I stood up after sitting for a while.

Back to the track thing... Alex sms'd the track session on Thursday and I'm going to be doing it at lunchtime on Monday. Alex and Sarah claim the session to be "good fun". It is 20 x 200m repeats with 30-seconds rest (standing still).

Remember to warm up and cool down with easy jogging of 800m to 1km. Enjoy.

POST SCRIPT: I received a sweet email from a good friend this morning. In it he says, "You do realise I have been running track again because of your most intriguing blogs? I am actually going to try and run 1500m on the track this coming week." That's the spirit! Go, go, go.

I do hope some other readers are at least thinking about trying the track thing. It really is fun.

Track pt2: Burning rubber!

Track session part 2 took place tonight. Alex Pope, accompanied by sister Sarah - also an accomplished orienteer, came through to the grassy school track too. Well,tonight's session was a tough-tough-tough one, with 600m and 400m repeats. I'm gonna feel this one tomorrow.

If you'd like to give it a try...

Warm-up by jogging easy around the track twice. Then do 4 x 100m strides, running at a good pace and focusing on stretching out your legs. Then the fun starts...

The session involves 600m, 1:30 rest, then 400m. That's one set. Do four setswith 2:30 rest between sets. But, there's a catch. The third set... instead of a rest between the 600m and 400m, erase the rest and run 1000m straight. The last set will have the 1:30 rest between 600m and 400m. Nasty - but you feel good for it afterwards, not during.

The one really nice thing about track is that even if you're not as fast as the others, like me, you still just do your own thing according to your watch (it does help to have a watch that takes splits). You see the other people on the track and if they're in a rest session and you're running, they shout words of encouragement, which is really sweet.

The guys were talking tonight about a wicked session that includes wicked repeats (more on this when we do it). Arthur and the others were relating tales of suffering rather gleefully. Mmmm... I can see track is going to be an adventure. I look forward to getting my revenge when I can rope them into attending a local orienteering event. Hahahaha

The Best Job in the World

The BBC posted an article, on Monday, about a position that is being "billed as 'the best job in the world'". All you have to do is be the "caretaker" of Hamilton Island, Queensland, in the Great Barrier Reef, for six-months. It is beautiful (see the video); and it comes with a pay-packet of AUD150,000 "and a rent-free three-bedroom villa, complete with pool".

That's a whopping R997,235.13 (very close to ONE MILLION RAND) at today's exchange rate. This effectively erases the stress of "What am I going to do to earn a living after the 6-months is up?"

So what do are you expected to do? Well first you have to apply - by sending in a 60-second video selling yourself for the job. Then, if you get it, you head over to Hamilton in July and spend the 6-months "exploring the idyllic surroundings, filing weekly blog, photo diary and video updates and conducting ongoing media interviews".

Yes, this is a true job, not a joke. Queensland Tourism have put this concept together - a fabulous PR exercise for the region. The job is being advertised in 18 countries and competition is sure to be tough. Applications close 22 Feb.

There is a town on the island, with a population of 5,000 people - and an airstrip. So you're not alone.

I can just see days filled with exploring, learning about the fauna, flora and marine life, hours of snorkeling and paddling. And I'd hone my orienteering mapping skills, which are currently negligible because I've barely had a free weekend to practise, by mapping the island for an O event. What fun!

Gee-whizz, this has my name written all over it! Which probably explains why my friend in the UK sent the link to me.

Nice, nice, nice.

The website is www.islandreefjob.com, but I can't get on to it. As you would expect, it has received massive attention and the website hasn't been able to handle the traffic. 200,000 prospective applicants visited the website in the first 24-hours following the announcement of the competition! Tourism Queensland's website is www.tq.com.au.

Cleanse that clutter

I've always been a "thrower-outer"; I'd rather live in a mostly empty room (bed, fridge, couch) than a rabbit-warren cluttered with furniture and ornaments. I'm not that sentimental about possessions or clothing either - no matter who gave it to me; if I haven't used it or worn it in a year, it goes bye-bye.

Sure, there are a few exceptions, like my books. And also had some other odds that lived in a drawer and were kept because they couldn't really be gotten rid of (where? to whom?). Well, most were stolen (very little financial value) when my home was broken into in November - and I didn't completely mind because they were unnecessary luggage that I should have / could have passed on years ago. The thieves cleansed clutter I didn't need.

The theft aside, I've always enjoyed a good environment cleanse; the satisfaction of getting rid of stuff I don't need is energising. I remember doing major clean-outs before starting to study for exams and these days I can't resist the urge to declutter before writing major articles or any other thought-consuming tasks.

I was recently introduced to Tim Ferriss' blog - www.fourhourworkweek.com. And through Tim's blog I've just discovered Leo Babauta (www.zenhabits.net; "The Power of Less"; he went from 1 reader to being one of the Technorati Top-100 blogs in the world in less than 12 months) and Merlin Mann (www.43folders.com; "Inbox Zero" concept).

Leo is fabulous and a number of the entries in his posting summaring The Essential Zen Habits of 2008 are inspiring. There's no esoteric weirdness; just common sense.

The remaining months of last year were tough for me; I reached my limit where I was juggling too much stuff - and it broke me. Learning from this, I've been cleansing committments and responsibilities to whittle my activities and surroundings down to things I want and need to do. Work in progress.

Leo has some great comments on The Four Laws of Simplicity and How to Apply Them to Life and 21 Easy Hacks to Simplify Your Life. In dealing with physical things in your home, read Zen mind: How to declutter for inspiration.

Life is simple; we clutter it with unnecessaries. You're guaranteed to find at least two points in there that you should be implementing.

My key word for this month is "Simplify"; and it should establish a good base for the rest of the year.