Catch Up

Finally a moment to stop by! I’ve been running around and around the past few days so much that when I’ve stopped my head’s still spinning, it’s been too late or I’m too tired to stop by. I don’t know how some bloggers manage to post everyday, some times twice a day whether they work or not. They must have Brownies running around doing the cleaning, vacuuming floors, laundry, grocery shopping, fixing computers, chauffeur to appointments, food prep which is meant to make life easier, but you have to carve out time to prep it, but I like having a big batch of quinoa in the fridge. And I’ve been cheating on here with Instagram this week. Naughty.

Yep a weekend catch up on a Thursday. I don’t have brownies but I can give you the highlights.

Friday

After running errands, I headed back via Parc Ciutadella. I think everybody was at the beach as I came across a quiet corner that had that hot hazy afternoon feel. That park is crazy. One corner can be noisy, turn the next, a giant woolly mammoth stature, another a bandstand, the next guys practicing African drums. Cold and damp in the winter, it’s warm and cool thanks to the trees in the summer, though I try to avoid at the weekends on nice days. It can get a little bit new agey for me.

Saturday

I wasn’t in the mood of one of my workouts. Instead I tried out Tone It Up Beach Babe 3 Caribbean Kettlebell and I enjoyed it! It wasn’t hard hard, but challenging enough for me to go, oh, I underestimated this one. They’ve upped their game with this DVD! Afterwards some TRX work, plank sandbag drags and full burpees. I can now manage 20 in a row! They’re not so pretty toward the end, but 30 burpees are Spartan Race obstacle no go forfeits. I have to be prepared!

A quick stop by the beach in the afternoon and my first dip of the year. Ice cold water which was more than welcome as it was hot! Now I’m trying to work out how to squeeze in a daily dip until the end of the beach season. Failing so far! After inhaling lunch on the balcony and watching the local kestral fly by it was off to the Apple Store. The rio Besos park was open so I was able to cycle along side the river and had a good ride in. Cycling back, the park was closed, but there’s path along that runs parallel along the top of the bank. Barca was playing their final Champions League match against Juventus so it’s was near enough empty, just me, the bats and the frogs. Every time they scored, fireworks and horns! I arrived back just as it finished to fireworks, horns bleeping, cheering: Barca had won the Champions League and are once more the kings of the Champions league, The Copa de Rey and the Liga BBVA! I’ve never known a city love their football team so much! As for my mac. They wiped it clean thanks to a network corruption issue and more or less have a new mac. In theory.

Sunday

I followed the instructions given to restore back up files from the time machine, but it’s not doing what it’s meant to do. My photos are still on the old iphoto system. When I updated to the new iphotos there wasn’t enough space to transfer thanks to the network corruption system. Now I can’t access those photos as I don’t have the old programme! I’m waiting for P to get back to help. I could take the time machine in, but I don’t know how to rewire it. P’s not due back for weeks being the chef sailor he is. What I thought would take 30 minutes took 2 hours so when I did get to run, I only had time for 12km. That’s okay as it was hot! I abandoned anymore attempts at restoring files for odd jobs that had been bugging me and a trip to the zoo. Now it’s getting hotter, less people visit as they’re at the beach so it feels like I’m transported to a tropical paradise, with just a handful of people.

Run view

Monday

Up bright and early for a training session with a new client in the park. Except they were a no show. I was a little annoyed, but there’s nothing I can do. I took advantage of a near empty park and played tourist for the next hour, exploring, being snap happy. Sometimes I see the city through new eyes. A different time of the day can make the same place completely different.

Great workout with skipping drills. Cycling is my freedom, but if I had to choose between running and skipping, I may choose skipping as my preferred cardio. It works everything, arms, legs, core, heart and is great for speed drills.

Thanks to the early start, I got to the beach a little earlier than usual and I’ve no idea how I didn’t burn. It was hot, so hot the sand was on fire! Okay, not quite but everybody was limping, exclaiming ‘The sand, it’s burning my feet!’ and running to the sea with every step ouch, ouch, ouch! For some reason after a dip, the sand wasn’t so hot, even walking back from the showers.

Tuesday

Chores, setting up mac again how I like it, gym (TRX pikes work everything!) and a sprint race to the dermatologist. Google maps said it’ll take 24 minutes by car. I didn’t leave at the time I intended to, but made it there in 35 minutes, including traffic lights and was on time, minus finding somewhere to lock my bike. Maybe I should start entering cycling races! Good news at the dermatologist. I don’t like going. I had and still get cyst spots. Thanks to not being in a good place a few years ago and a bad run of them, I have a lot of large deep scars. I’m not proud of them and they serve as a constant reminder. I didn’t see anyone about them as I was too embarrassed. I don’t like it when strangers ask ‘what’s up with your face’. I’m still battling them and the no touch. I don’t like talking about them and aside from laser surgery, I have to live with them. There that’s out and that’s why I don’t like close up photos. Anyways, all moles okay and vitiligo okay.

Wednesday

Mac back to old tricks of internet connection (it’s meant to be a ‘new’ mac!). I don’t want to ‘loose’ anymore photos, so I backed up photos I’d imported the day before. It took 3 hours! Only 1500 photos, months worth as I couldn’t import due to space and I didn’t restore any documents Sunday. I don’t understand! It still overheats. I always feel useless when it comes to computers. Things don’t go as they’re meant to! While it backed up I went for a run and decided to try Fartlek running in the sand. Can someone please explain why it was easier and I had more balance to run faster in the sand than my usual pace? It’s meant to be hard running in the sand. It still wasn’t easy running fast, I stuck to the more compacted sand, but I didn’t sink as much. I stopped a few more times, but hey, I’ve been lazy the past few months and haven’t incorporated any speed work. It’s a necessity if I want to get my pace up and it’s going to take a while to get used to again! That’s if you ever get used to speed work.

Cycling back later, Mountain Dew’s that’s launching Spain soon was handing out free sports drinks by one of the skate parks. They were there last week with their American style pick up truck but ran out when I cycled past. I’ll admit I was more intrigued by the colour and only wanted one to check out if it’s the colour of the bottle or the drink itself that’s fluorescent yellow! It’s full of crap and I’ve still to try it, but I wonder if it makes your pee the same colour?

Dusk cycling back Wednesday 

 Do you get your moles checked out once a year? Do you have trouble with Apple Mac up dates? I still can’t drag across photos to WordPress and now I can’t access them through Finder. I’m still using my phone to add photos!