Tuesday, December 31, 2013

On the seventh day of Christmas....

I headed out for a run at 5.30am.  I ran from my place to Urunga Cemetery hill.  Then I ran up and down the hill 3 times (I was aiming for 4 times but had to meet other runners at the soccer field at 6am), I met the other runners and ran with them for 45 minutes, then continued on my own.  I ran for almost 2 hours (1:56:51 to be exact) and ran a total of 18.18km.  The longest time and distance I have run this year since starting in July.  And to total it all up, I have run a total of 770.2km since July.  Not bad for someone who hated running!

I had hydrated with Endura prior to my run, and had Endura during my run and had some after my run but because it has been so humid, it really takes ages to not feel thirsty after a long run.  And I had sore legs from yesterday's bootcamp session - no one to blame but myself.  So it took a while to get active again and take Miss A down the park - yep the trend continues!

We ran into some of her school friends on the way back and they invited her over after lunch - yay a few hours of couple time for me and hubby.  We don't get much time together alone, so we made the most of it by watching trashy tv - as you do!

I did a short walk this afternoon but honestly I am stuffed!  The run really took it out of me and now I'm afraid that I over did it before my fun run tomorrow.  The run tomorrow is only 5.25km (I should never put only in front of a run because it depends on the terrain, temperature and many other things as to how hard or easy a run is - I've never had a easy run).  But there is a big hill at the beginning and I have no idea where we are to park or where I am to go once we get there, having never done this run before and never spoken to anyone who has done this run about it before.  So it's all a bit unknown.

The other worrying thing for me is it doesn't start till 9am.  I am used to running on an empty stomach so I'm not sure what to eat when I get up.  I am also used to running in the early morning, so running at 9am in summer is sure to be hot.  So I am a little anxious but it will be good prep for my half marathon in Port Macquarie in March.

I will be retiring early tonight due to my run tomorrow and my exhaustion from my run today so no seeing in the New Year for me.  I hope those that are seeing in the New Year have a great time!

I will report on the run tomorrow and the start of Run Down Under!

Monday, December 30, 2013

On the sixth day of Christmas....

A shortnpost tonight as I'm watching the tennis.

I started the day with amature bootcamp, after awaking from an awful dream where I was running late and couldn't find my gear etc.  I've been having running late dreams a lot since being on holidays.  Not sure where that is coming from.

Miss A had a friend over so we went to the park. Then I did some marking (my other job) and finished the day with a walk.

Now I'm watching the tennis.  Gee my holidays are not very exciting, are they?

I am avoiding going anywhere due to the horrendous traffic and I'm tossing up if I buy a Garmin GPS running watch or new shoes or both.  The problem being is that they are wants not needs.  So I'll keep having an internal debate.

Counting down to the start of Run Down Under and my first fun run of 2014 at Sawtell on Wednesday.  Maybe I'll stop having "running late" dreams after that.

Sunday, December 29, 2013

On the fifth day of Christmas....

I had a rest day so no running or bootcamp.  I slept in till 8am, well it was actually 7am but I spent an hour lying there trying to ignore the fact I was busting for the toilet.  After breakfast I took Miss A to the park that had been taken over by a particular group of holiday makers that I will discuss further later in the post.  We then headed down to the beach for a splash and made it just before the Southerly change came through and started blowing sand and causing exfoliation where we didn't need it.  An afternoon walk finished off the day and I settled back to watch Ghost Adventurers with hubby.

Now back to the "particular group of holiday makers" that come to our town every year and basically take over.  There are about 20 tents of them including 2 large army sized tents.  When we got to the park they had set up their equipment including face painting benches, coffee making machines, bbq's, blow up water slides, plastic water slides (the one that go on hills), and various other activities.  They also had two big speakers blaring out loud music.

I come to the park to allow Miss A to play and for me to enjoy the peace (it's not always quiet) of nature and to observe the people enjoying the sun, water and boardwalk.  Not to have to sit in a park and listen to music so loud that if there was someone to talk to, I wouldn't be able to hear them properly.

I also had an issue with the fact that we are on water restrictions and this group was using the water consistently to run their water slides.

Ok, so they do offer some free activities for kids and they can be a lot of fun.  But I don't understand how they can get away with using water like that under water restrictions and playing loud music.  If I was to do that, I would be reported and the camping ground managers would put a stop to it straight away.  So how do they get away with it?  Is it because they invest a lot of money into the town while they are here?  Is it because they offer free activities?

Now I sound like I'm whinging but I am really only concerned about the use of water and the loud music.  The offering of free activities and fun stuff for kids is great.  The investment of money into the town - although I would argue that they most likely bring a lot of their food with them due to the sheer numbers of them and the whole set up of their camp.

While it is wonderful living in a tourist destination, sometimes the tourist side of things can be a little annoying!

I will now hop of my soap box and continue to enjoy my night!

How did you spend the 5th day of Christmas?

Saturday, December 28, 2013

On the fourth day of Christmas....

I ran 14.66km; did the grocery shopping (I know, I know, I should be doing it online); went for a swim at the beach; and watched trashy TV (yep a trend is developing).

As part of my training for the half marathon I am doing in March 2014 at the Port Macquarie Running Festival, I am to do hill repeats.  For non-runners, this means you run (with effort) up a hill, walk back down, turn around and run back up the hill, walk back down and so on until you fall over in a heap - well no I believe my training program does suggest doing this a certain number of times.

Through discussions with those that have trained before, the best hill to do this on in my area is the hill road leading to the Urunga Cemetery.  Now those that you are my FB friends will note my post yesterday about my concerns of running this road on my own.  I mentioned my fear of stray spirits/ghosts.  Well, you will be happy to note that I ran this hill today and as soon as the headstones were in my line of sight, I quickly turned around and ran back down the hill.  I had planned on doing the hill again but was just not quite ready.  I noted that even the cicadas stop making noise the closer you get to the headstones - what's with that?!?!

Grocery shopping - the love/hate relationship I have with thee!  A number of people have suggested to me that I convert to online shopping.  Now I really need to see things on a shelf - not sure why but online shopping has not grabbed me.  I need to see all the different brands/prices/specials lined up together in order to make a good purchase decision.  So no online grocery shopping at this stage.  Instead I braved the congested Pacific Hwy and hit the energy zapping shops.  However, all was not lost as the checkout lady made my day by just happening to be free so I didn't even have to wait!!  This never happens!!

Beach - how I love thee!!  After lunch - well really it was around 3pm, we headed down to the beach for a swim.  The beach we go to is just 5 minutes drive from home.  We splashed around for a bit and then Miss A wanted to climb the dunes, which then turned into running up the dunes and down the dunes.  Much to my husbands disgust, I mentioned that this is a good form of training for running.  He muttered something under his breath about training and shook his head.

Trashy TV - yes you are trashy but I watch you anyway!  We (ok my husband who can not say no) recently signed up for pay TV - this time with Foxtel.  Last time it was with Austar.  They are all the same to me.  I was a bit peeved as it is not a luxury we can afford but he managed to get a good deal.  We made some changes to our package yesterday and opted out of the movies and opted in for the documentaries and adventure.  Now it's all Man vs Food and Dirty Jobs Down Under.  Not to mention the Location, Location, Location Australia marathon I watched the other day.  My husband is a night owl so he loves it.  Especially shows like Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventurers - hence my fear of the Urunga Cemetery!

Tomorrow we are in for hot, hot, hot weather and apparently a day of interesting (there is a word the weather guy uses but it escapes me for now) weather.  Apparently, North and South winds will meet and cause instability which may lead to storms - here's hoping!

What did you do on the fourth day of Christmas?

Friday, December 27, 2013

On the third day of Christmas....

I did amateur bootcamp with a fellow bootcamp attendee in the absence of our "real" bootcamp leader and learnt a bit of yoga in the process; did two loads of washing; took Miss A to the park (you see a trend here); watched some trashy TV; went for an afternoon walk and caught up with a friend; and am now typing this post.

A month ago, I attended the SWITCH Public Libraries NSW Metropolitan conference in Sydney.  As usual, it was a very good conference with lots of interesting things shared and ideas gained.

The focus on the conference was community and partnerships.  Thank you to Robert Leckie for capturing the tweets from the conference via storify.

There were two main things that I took back from the conference.  The first was from Steve Coffman - Library Systems & Services, USA.  Steven spoke about reinventing libraries.  He mentioned that there are moves towards a bookless library but thought this was a bit pointless because if a person wants a book, they can now access it from home via Amazon and the likes. But he questions, if we move away from physical books, what makes us different?

Steven encourages a focus on printed books, as the leverage for clients.  We should focus on books as it is our brand. As libraries try to reinvent we need to be aware of what makes us special, print books, the demand is still high.  We need to celebrate what we do and what we are. Stop apologising for what we do.  We should focus on discovery.   If they can't find the book they need in the library we need to let them know there are other ways they can access it.  We need to be good at readers advisory.

However, I am still interested in the journey of some libraries that have made the move to offering things like maker spaces, and as such, will be following Shewgirl's progress with her upcoming conference paper on maker spaces/hacker spaces.

For me, it all comes back to what your community wants/needs.  But on the other hand, they may not know they want/need it until it is offered!!

The other thing that I took with me is something most of us are aware of - Achievement and success depends a lot on who you know.  But Meredith Wallace from Rockdale City Council also had some great ideas of how libraries can get in the face of their council colleague and why it is important that we do so.

Look at your council plans and find the bits where you can use your skills and expertise can be used beyond your library.  Be visible in your organisation beyond the walls of the library.  Step outside of the stereotype. Go beyond offering a venue. Celebrate more than what's on the library calendar.  Get on tender panels- shows consideration for hard financial issues faced by Council. Be seen within your organisation. Think what you can present to senior managers and Council. Persevere, look for angles.

So what ideas do you have for being visible in your organisation?  I posted a bit about Embedded Librarianship back in #blogJune.  And must admit that I haven't got any further.  I'm open to ideas.

And finally, I have to share this wonderful and inspirational presentation by Paula Pfoeffer from City of Canterbury Libraries about what they have done working with the youth of Lakemba.  Make sure you check out this clip.

What did you do on the third day of Christmas?

Thursday, December 26, 2013

On the second day of Christmas....

I completed a 16.72km run (longest yet), solved a Furby Boom crisis when Miss A's Furby decided to take on a male voice with a distinctive English accent, watched most of the Location, Location, Location Australia marathon (it continues tonight), took Miss A to the park, went for a walk which turned into a run due to a incoming storm, and completed numerous laps of the hallway (plus push ups, squats and star jumps) to keep Miss A moving instead of becoming a square eyed computer nerd.

Back to the Furby Boom.  Miss A got a Furby Boom from Santa.  These creatures are quite amazing, especially coupled with the app that Miss A has installed on her/my tablet.

They apparently develop a personality based on how they are treated.  I was a little confused as to why Miss A's decided to take a on English accented male this morning.  It did a little crazy thing and yelled out "I'm changing" and boom there it is!!  So Miss A was in tears begging me to get her Furby back to the cute baby voice - apparently Princess/Cute - original personality.

Thank goodness I'm a librarian and have research skills - actually all I did was a google search on Furby's changing voice and boom there it is!!  Play some calming music and stroke your Furby to get it back to "nice."  Problem solved!

Really I have to wonder, what did we do for entertainment as kids?!?  Now they have these interactive toys that take on personalities!

Moving along... Miss A has been doing a lot of sit down activities since the holidays started - e.g. watching YouTube videos about Minecraft, playing Minecraft on both PC and tablet, and now playing with Furby.  So as I have embarked on a fitness phase (ok I'm not going to think of it as a phase - it is permanent lifestyle change), I needed to set some rules.  After finishing each activity, Miss A has to run up and down the hallway 5 times (up and back count as 1).

As I was watching so much TV, I thought I would join in and up the challenge each time by adding some extra exercises.  We are now doing 5 laps of the hallway, 5 push ups, 5 squats and 5 star jumps).  She is really enjoying it.

So what did you do on the second day of Christmas?

PS.  I have a blog correction to make from my last post: Librarian in the Mirror is now posting as Rach Wray, and Polyxena and Shewgirl are also joining in the fun.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

On the first day of Christmas...

I watched Miss A unwrap her presents this morning, went for a walk along the beach, and relaxed watching trashy TV.

So here we are another year gone and back to #blog12daysxmas.  For those that haven't been here before, the rules are you have to do a blog post for 12 days from Christmas.  There are a few fellow #blog12daysxmas participants including Bun-toting Librarian and Librarian in the Mirror.  I'm sure there will be more and I'll post them on my posts as I come across them.

You can write a post about anything really.  Mine usually sway between librarianship and semi-personal things.  But this time it will most likely focus a fair bit on running and fitness - just because I'm in the phase at the moment.

Reflecting on the past year (and I'll probably do more of this in a New Year's Day post), the big things that stand out for me are:
  • starting bootcamp
  • losing over 10kg
  • running two 10km fun runs
You can now understand how this blog may sway towards the fitness side of things during #blog12daysxmas

So what have been your big achievements for this year? 

It would be good if a few new faces joined in #blog12daysxmas.  Don't be shy - join in the fun!  There may even be blog challenges along the way!!  Bun-toting librarian often does a musical challenge.  And then there are the blog meme's that help on those days where you are suffering writers block.