Sometimes the shops just call your name. They say, Kathryn come to us. We have things you need...

It started when I grabbed the Big W catalogue out of the letter box to read on the way to work. They had some spunky red and white striped sandals that would go perfectly with my red and white polka dot dress. And cheap tracky pants. And a spiffy red cardi. So I left work early to go have a look.

The shoes rocked and were only $16. They had some cheap canvas ballet flats too but only had navy ones left. I hate navy.

I got some black trackies with a red stripe (to make me go faster) and some running tights - only gosh, darn it, I got a 14 and they are NOT tights, they are baggies. I have to take them back and get a smaller size. Man, I *hate* that! I also got a t-shirt, because I'd been planning to come home then go to the gym but, since my gym is upstairs from Big W, thought I may as well go straight there. Plus I got a pair of pjs for $10 that come with both shorts and long bottoms. And some $5 knickers. How's all that for under $100?

Since I skipped out of work early to go shopping, I ended up being half an hour early for the cycle class so I decided not to wait. Instead I did a killer circuit - my weights program is divided into 4 sets of 2 exercises (eg. lat pulldown, leg press, lat pulldown, leg press) so I did a burst of high intensity cardio between each set. I started with 5 mins of rowing - I never used to use the rowing machine until my trainer set me a challenge: 1000 metres in 5 minutes. I haven't made it yet but I'm getting there - then my first set o' exercises. Handy hint: don't follow rowing with lat pulldowns if you value your arms. I did 10 minutes of cross trainer, 15 minutes running and 10 minutes of bike so lots of cardio plus all my weights too. Woohoo!

I think it's hella important to have gym clothes that fit properly instead of daggy stuff - I could a glimpse of myself in the mirror and thought - that's one spunky chick - then realised it was me. I also found out that when the girl in the shop promised my hair dye wouldn't run when I sweat, she lied (oh yeah, I dyed my hair red last night).

On the way home, I read the K-Mart catalogue and they had proper running tights on sale. Proper running tights are the ones that are made from fancy, technologically-smart fabric that keep the sweat away from your skin and keep you warm in winter but cool in summer and have a pocket for your housekey so you don't have to tie it to your shoe lace. They are like the smartest pants ever. And all for $20 (as opposed to $9999 at nike or somewhere like that).

I got home and did a fashion parade for my sister then we headed to K-Mart.

Tomorrow I will test the running tights.


Just as a side note: a few people asked if I could share the spare room/s with my sister. That's kind of hard at the moment. Since moving to Melbourne, she worked for about a month then got sick - glandular fever and other stuff - and now the doctor thinks it's developed into chronic fatigue. She's been given the all clear to return to work part time but her work won't let her know if she can (she's been ringing them every day for over a week). Since she's only been there for a short time and it's only a casual job, she thinks they don't want her back. She's getting sickness benefits but is having a real struggle with money and, if I do anything, I'd rather arrange it on my own than have money issues develop later.

I want to do experiments on her to cure it. So far it hasn't worked but I'm sure eventually I'll find the answer.


Sunday I'm running in the Queen of the Lake. Because I entered early, I scored a Lorna Jane t-shirt which I get on the day. Woohoo! I'm also doing the Spring into Shape series.


I'm getting very excited about Sydney. Just over a week and I'll be there. I can't wait to see my (other) sister so I can beat her mercilessly - a while back she phoned me to see if I wanted to go to Bali for a holiday. I got all excited then didn't hear any more about it. Well now her boyfriend has moved in with her and they are going to Bali together. She is so dead over that. Sisters before misters!

The blogger's dinner should be a hoot and the race, well I'm sure I'll survive it. I hope the weather is nice in Sydney so I can wear my new sandals otherwise I'll have to wait months or risk frostbitten toes!