Wednesday 28th September
Exercise: Back, Shoulders, Situps
I'm not sure what exercise I've done but I have very sore quads today. Don't think it was the running, so I can only assume it was the cross trainer. Haven't used it for a couple of weeks, so I guess this was the culprit.
Michelle is back from her holiday this weekend, so I'm off out for a long run on Saturday. Just hope, as usual, that it's not raining!!
I'm happy to report that I'm back under 65kg's again...phew!
Tuesday 27th September
Exercise: 70min Run (12km)
If you look back on my last few 12km runs you'll see that I'm gradually starting to get a bit faster each time I run it. I'm not sure if this is because I'm remembering to stop my watch while I wait for traffic lights to change, or whether I'm genuinely getting faster!!
I love getting up at 5.45am and seeing that it's already daylight. It really motivates me to get out there and do something. I'll love it even more when the sun is shining and it's warm.....roll on summer - please hurry up!
I got on the scales yesterday morning and I got a bit of a shock. I was over 65kg! Haven't been there for quite a while now. I think I started to get a bit blase about the whole weight thing, especially as I'm running 20km regularly, with some other running during the week.
Stupidly I thought that I could justify what I was eating with the amount of exercise I was doing - WRONG!!
I've now pulled my head in and have tried to control some of the cravings that I've been having. The only food in my drawer at work now are cup a soups,and there's some yoghurts and some little containers of fruit in juice in the fridge.
And I've been to the supermarket twice in two days and haven't even looked down the lolly or biscuit aisles!
Monday 26th September
Exercise: 30 Mins Crosstrainer (4.81km), Chest, Situps
I didn't do my long run yesterday....my daughter decided that 6.30am was a good time to wake us up and ask when she could wake her cousins up (they were sleeping over). Stupidly I told her to wait at least an hour....so at 7.30am there was lots of noise down the other end of the house, followed by the sound of a basketball being bounced, which reverberated throughout the house.....hence I was in no mood to go out and do a run.
I take my hat off to anyone who has more than one child. Where do you find the patience and the time???
I've decided to alternate my routine. I'm going to do a run one morning, followed by the gym the next morning. This gives me a bit of variety so I don't get too bored by running the same route every day, and means that I'm still getting my money's worth out of my gym membership. Let's see how that goes!!
Now in response to some of your comments (some from a while back):
AGR, how could not know that the Grand Final was on? It was on every radio channel and TV channel, the papers were full of it and everyone was talking about it!!
Kathryn, I did manage to see some of the Monster Trucks at the show and they were absolutely fantastic. The sound of those engines revving up was just awesome (yes I'm a bit of a petrol head!!).
AGR, I always eat Porridge with a chopped banana & golden syrup before a 1/2 marathon, or any race at all. I try to get up a bit earlier so that I have at least an hour from the time that I've finished eating to the time that the race starts. I've also become addicted to Red Bull (thanks to Michelle) and have one of these before a race, sugar free of course!
Suzy, when you join a gym they will create a program for you based on what your goals are, then they go through the program they've created for you and show you how to use all the machines.
I have a confession to make. I didn't put my name on the survey that I filled out for the gym, so nobody can point the finger at me when I walk in the door...pretty gutless I know, but I really just wanted them to listen!
Sorry that I haven't posted many comments on all your blogs but I've been really busy both at work and at home. Will catch up with everyone real soon.
Saturday 24th September
Exercise: 71 mins (12km)
I nearly didn't go for a run today. Got up early (6am) and ate a couple of pieces of toast, but....had to wait for certain things to happen before I could actually run...ahem!
So I eventually got out the door at about 9ish. I was going to do my long run today but we are babysitting my brother's kids as they were off to the grand final today and I didn't want to leave hubby alone too long, so I cut it short. Hopefully I'll do my long run tomorrow, depending on how I fare when I wake up in the morning!
Yes, I've enjoyed watching the grand final today, with some good company, a good BBQ and some great champagne. Must remember to drink a pint of berocca before I get into bed (great hangover cure).
Thursday 22nd September
Exercise: 73min Run (12km)
I got up a bit earlier this morning so that I could fit in a longer run. It felt great. It was pleasantly warm, so I didn't need to put on 4 layers of clothing, it was dry, so I didn't have to worry about getting wet, and it was so quiet. Just loved it. Must try and do it more often. The only problem was that I didn't put any bodyglide on the tops of my legs, and because I was wearing a tatty old pair of pants they rubbed, so I'm now walking a bit strangely!!
I've had the day off today to take my daugher to the Melbourne Show. So much for the warm sunny 23 degrees!! I should know by now that Melbourne can change at the drop of a hat, but all I heard was warm and 23 degrees, so of course I didn't take a jacket with me. I was cold all day (apart from when I had to try and push my way through the crowds to buy showbags). It even started to rain just as we were leaving. But at least I got another good workout with all the walking I did.
I would have loved to go on some of the rides, but I couldn't leave Alana on her own, and I didn't want to go on them by myself anyway.....that's no fun!!
Looks like the gym for me in the morning as they're predicting showers!!
Tuesday 20th September
Exercise: 30 Mins Treadmill (5.24km), Arms, Situps
I have a sore throat this morning....not good. Still managed to get up and go to the gym. I was going to run outside but the sky looked ominous and I really didn't want to get caught in the rain again, so drove to the gym instead.
I received a survey in the mail yesterday from the gym. It asked a few basic questions about the place, so I answered the questions and then added an A4 sheet of paper describing exactly how I feel about the gym.
I spend $20 a week to attend the gym and it is such a lifeless place. For the amount of time that I've been going there only 1 Receptionist knows my name. None of the instructors are very friendly and there is just no vibe when you walk in the door. So I told them all this in my letter. Wonder what they'll make of it!!
Saturday 17th September
Exercise: 70 Min Run Outside (11km)
Okay who mentioned rain? Oh yeah, that was me!!
It was dry when I walked out the door this morning to meet Michelle. Drove up the road a little bit and it started to spit...but not too much that I was worrying.
It was dry where I meet Michelle and park the car....all going well so far. We start off and it's beginning to look a bit bleak. We both realise about 5 mins into the run that we both need to go to the loo, but as there are toilets at Jells Park (which is where we're running to) we're happy to keep going.
Not long after this it starts to rain - great!! Not too much at first, but within about 10 minutes it's raining quite heavily. We both agreed that if it got too bad then we'd turn around and go back. It got bad!! But of course we kept going. Well we were already wet and we both felt fine, so why bother turning around.
At about the 8km mark I suddenly realised that I could not hold on until we got to the toilets at Jells Park, so I had to make a pit stop - enough said!! (hopefully none of the golfers saw me squatting!!).
It's now absolutely pouring, with really strong winds. We were both absolutely drowned. What I thought may have been an almost waterproof jacket that I was wearing, I now realised was only shower proof!!
So we get to Jells Park and then the hail arrived. We're now being absolutely pelted on by both driving rain and hail - we wern't having fun any more!! Jells Park is almost totally under water, so our feet are now absolutely water logged and I feel like I'm squelching in my trainers. And as we have to run up a big hill to get to the toilets, all the water is rushing down the hill, so we have to just run through it all.
Finally we make it to the toilets, and of course I have no need for them now (see above). We both look like drowned rats now that we're out of the rain. I felt like I'd just jumped out of a swimming pool, that's how wet we were! Have you ever tried to pull down soaking wet pants and then pull them back up again - imagine wet bathers but 10 times worse - yuck!
Now we have to make a decision. Do we run back to the cars or do we bottle it and ring one of the hubby's to pick us up and drive us back to our cars? You guessed it!! While waiting for Michelle's hubby to pick us up we walk over to the carpark. And what a sight for sore eyes. There's a kiosk open (well it's the Teahouse actually) and they sell Hot Chocolate - yippee!! So we're now snuggled under a very large patio heater (which got cranked up to full blast by yours truly) with a lovely cup of hot chocolate in our hands waiting for our lift.
Of course by the time I got home the rain had stopped and the sun even had the cheek to appear for an hour or so!
It all seems like a dream now....just hope the sun is shining tomorrow as I've got to go and do my long run again!!.
Friday 16th September
Exercise: 1 Hr Run Outside (9.5km)
Well it's starting to get a bit easier this getting outside for a run thing. My only concern is that I'm not using my gym membership as much, and at $20 per week, that's costly! (tight a*&e in motion again!!)
I'm hoping that once we get into daylight savings that I can maybe do a run outside in the morning and then go to the gym and do some weights in the evening, even if it's just 20 minutes or so to work on a specific muscle group.
More rain forecast tomorrow. I'm meeting Michelle and we're doing our normal long run....have I told you all how much I hate running in the rain? Just the thought of it really demotivates me. But because I've arranged to meet her, I would never pull out. Of course if it was just me going for the run, I would not even get out of bed!!
Please don't rain, please don't rain!
Wednesday 14th September
Exercise: 1 Hr Run (Outside) 9.5km
Well I finally did it. I got up and went for a run outside this morning. And there was no rain either. In fact the sun was just coming out when I got home.
I feel really exhilarated. So much so, that I'm going for another run outside tomorrow morning. And I might get up just a smidgen earlier so that I can run a bit further.
There weren't many people around, but I felt okay as it was fairly light and there was traffic passing by, so if I'd got mugged at least someone would have seen me (okay maybe just a bit OTT thinking there!!).
I'm gradually starting to eat less crap at work. I'm bringing in my lunch at the moment so I have no temptation to buy junky food. I made a ton of Chicken Fried Rice on the weekend with loads of veggies in it, and I bring that in each day.
The Spring Into Shape series starts this weekend, but for some reason I'm just not interested in entering these, even though Michelle is doing them. Not sure what the real reason is. Could be that they're only 8km runs and I don?t feel like I'm really getting my money's worth!! Tight cow that I am!
I downloaded the free add on to Word so that you can publish from Word, but the stupid thing's not working. I get an error message. I've emailed Blogger and am waiting for a response!
Tuesday 13th September
Exercise: 30 Mins Treadmill (5.16km), Shoulders, Situps
Yes I got out of bed and went to the gym this morning, even though my legs were still quite sore. I really think it makes a difference to how quickly my legs recover if I get back on that treadmill soon after doing a long run. Still hurts like hell, but they do feel a lot better now.
I've decided that if I'm going to do weights then I'm going to conentrate on my arms and shoulders. My legs are quite well defined due to the amount of running I do, but my arms and shoulders are not toned at all, so I'm going to make it my goal to firm these bits up and make them look good!
I've been really busy at work today but have still managed to shove a whole lot of food into my mouth!
Has everyone else had all this torrential rain over the last couple of days? We had 30mm in a 24 hour period where I live. Just rained and rained and rained. Can't say that we don't need it though.
Monday 12th September
Sunday: 21.2km Run (Warburton Trail)
I'm missing you all already so I've decided to change the way that I blog, rather than not blog at all.
I've decided not to write my food intake down at the moment. I think that may have been part of the problem, because then I felt like I had to justify what I ate. Instead I'll just mention whether it was a good or bad day food wise and then not refer to it again.
And I may not write every day either. It'll probably depend on whether I really have something to say. If I do, then I'll blog, if not then I'll just read everyone else's blog.
Sorted!
I did a really long run yesterday with Michelle. Normally we run about 19km on the weekends that we aren't running in 1/2 marathons. Yesterday we ran along the Warburton Trail from Wandin to Woori Yallock and then back. We managed to avoid the rain and the hail and the sun even came out for a little while. Hadn't realised on the run out to Woori Yallock that it was a very gentle decline, and it only dawned on us as we turned and headed back to Wandin. It was a very steady incline for virtually all of the way back. My legs ran out of steam over the last couple of kilometres and we had to walk. Made me realise that I need to do more hill work!!
Friday 9th September
Exercise: NO
Food Intake:
Breakfast: 4 Litebix with Skinny Milk & Splenda
Morning Tea: Cheery Low Fat Yoghurt
Lunch: 1/2 Chicken, 2 Steamed Dim Sims, 1 Large Grain Roll
Afternoon Tea: 2 Boxes Mentos, 1 Box Sohos
Dinner: 2 Slices Cheese on Toast
I've decided to take a little break from blogging. Even though I need to write down everything that I eat, at the moment all I seem to be writing about is how crappy my eating is and how bad I feel about it.
I have nothing light and fluffy to write about. I never seem to sound happy about anything, so on that note I think I should just give it a miss until I get back on track with my eating and feel better about myself in general.
I will still read all your blogs and I'll definitely still comment on them if I have anything worthwhile to add, but I need a bit of time to do some thinking.
See ya....
Thursday 8th September
Exercise: NO
Food Intake:
Breakfast: 4 Weetbix with skinny Milk & Splenda
Morning Tea: 3 Tim Tams, 2 Small Pkts Nobbys Peanuts, 1 Large Date Scone
Lunch: Special Fried Rice, Mongolian Beef, Strawberries, 2 Low Fat Choc Mousses
Afternoon Tea: Orange
Dinner: Tuna Mayo, Cous Cous
Went to get out of bed this morning and I couldn't move my neck properly. This is not good! The question is, why does my neck hurt. I'm pretty sure it's stress related, but I haven't had much time to put any thought into it. All I know is that it hurts and it's stopping me from running. And because I'm not doing alot of exercise, and I'm eating tons and tons of food, I'm now putting weight back on, which is also stressing me out.
And because I've had to make a few decisions on my boss's behalf while he's been overseas, this has also stressed me out. And because I'm not too busy while he's away I've had lots of time to spare, so I've been eating tons, which is also stressing me out.
Can you see the viscious circle here?? Can't seem to get off it either. Someone grab me and yank me off this thing will ya...it's giving me a headache (and a sore neck!!)
Wednesday 7th September
Exercise: 30 Mins Treadmill (5.05km), 20 Mins Crosstrainer (3.18km)
Food Intake:
Breakfast: Porridge with banana & golden syrup
Morning Tea: Anzac Biscuits
Lunch: Tuna Mayo on Grain Bread
Afternoon Tea: Anzac Biscuits
Dinner: Singapore Noodles, Chicken, Stir Fry Veggies, Thia Sweet Chilli Sauce
It was a hard run this morning. My legs are taking longer to get back to normal than they have in the past. They still hurt. I even considered getting off the treadmill after 10 minutes as they hurt that bad. I may have to consider getting a massage for the legs to see if they improve at all.
Those Anzac biscuits were not a very good buy! There were way too many of them, but I managed to finish them today. So two days to eat 24 biscuits....not bad!
I can feel a tightening of my clothes this week......not sure how that makes me feel, but it certainly hasn't put me off eating junky food, that's for sure.
Tuesday 6th September
Exercise: NO
Food Intake:
Breakfast: Porridge with banana & golden syrup
Morning Tea: Anzac Biscuits
Lunch: Tuna Mayo on White Roll, Yoghurt with Apple Muesli
Afternoon Tea: Anzac Biscuits
Dinner: WW Hawaiian Pizza
I really wanted to go for a run outside this morning, but when I tried to stand up, as I got out of bed I realized that my legs were still way too sore to be doing a 10km run (probably couldn't have even done a 5km run). So I happily jumped back into bed again!
I bought one of those big boxes of Anzac biscuits from the supermarket yesterday, you know the ones that are lovely and chewy, and I've been munching on them over the course of the day. I realized that I have eaten 10 of them without even thinking about it. It's just so easy to get carried away with eating. Sigh!
Clothes on and Clothes off
I was having a conversation with my running buddy Michelle last weekend and we were discussing the fact that summer was fast approaching and how we felt about it.
It made me realize that I have a really weird thought process when it comes to wearing and not wearing clothes. Okay I'll try to explain a bit better.
I have always found that I'm very critical of myself in clothes and I try and cover up any parts of me that I'm not happy with, so I buy bigger tops which don't accentuate my boobs. I've always had an issue with them. If I wear a fitted top men stare at them (well that's how I see it anyway) and I don't want people staring at me, especially men. I do not have massive boobs, but I have large ones, which I developed early in life, so I've always covered up on top. I have a sticky out tummy too, so most tops cover my stomach.
So to sum up, I wear clothes to cover up my yukky bits rather than show off any good bits.
BUT when it comes to stripping off for the beach, or to lay out in the sun and get a tan I'm there at the front of the queue. I have absolutely no qualms about wearing bathers on the beach, in the back yard, even when other people are around.
I think it comes down to the fact that I love the sun and I love getting a tan. I do not feel self conscious at all when I'm at the beach, even in my little 2 piece bikini. Whenever the sun is out and I'm at home, the bathers go on and the clothes come off.
I'm also very lucky as I don't have cellulite or stretch marks. Would this make a difference I wonder? Would I still put myself on show if I felt that people were looking at me for this reason?
Monday 5th september
Exercise: Weights, Situps
Food Intake:
Breakfast: Porridge with banana & golden syrup
Morning Tea: Pkt. Werthers Toffees, Chicken & Noodle Cup a Soup
Lunch: Tuna Mayo, Cous Cous, Coleslaw, Pkt Raspberry Bullets, Box Mentos
Afternoon Tea: Strawberries, Low Fat Choc Mousse
Dinner: Chicken Pasta with Stir In Sauce
Shakes head in disgust...went to the supermarket again at lunchtime....see above!!
Legs hurt a lot. Wanted to do a light run on the treadmill but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Thought I might do more damage than good. Tomorrow's looking good.
I leave for the gym at about 5.50am, so it's always dark when I walk out the door, but on Sunday morning I left to go and pick Michelle up at about 6.20am and it was totally light, so I may consider running outside in the mornings (once the legs feel a bit better) rather than running on the treadmill at the gym. Tomorrow's definitely looking good!!
Sunday 4th September
Exercise: 21.1km Run (1/2 Marathon)
Food Intake:
Breakfast: Porridge with banana & golden syrup
Morning Tea: Banana
Lunch: Grain Roll with Tuna Mayo, Grain Roll with margerine
Dinner: Chicken Kebab Skewers, Cous Cous, Coleslaw, Lite Apple Pie, Lite Vanilla Ice Cream, 3 1/2 Glasses Champagne
Legs are very tired. Back is quite sore...remind me again why I do all this running? Oh yeah...because it's fun!!
I did a huge pile of ironing this afternoon, which didn't help my sore back, but at least we have ironed clothes to wear now!! There's still another basket load to do, but that can wait.
Burnley 1/2 Marathon
I'm going to learn one day that if I eat and drink properly the day before a 1/2 marathon, I'll probably stand a much better chance of completing a run without feeling like I'm about to die!!....anyway on to the day!
Of course it was cold this morning...think I'm getting used to it now - either that or I'm just complaining less!! Anyway it was foggy and cold when we got to Burnley. Managed to find a parking spot (thank goodness for Michelle's 4WD). As usual we got there at least 1/2 hour early so we sat in the car and kept warm. We got out of the car as late as possible, went and registered and had the obligatory wee before the race. It was nice to see the blokes queuing for the loos for a change!!
We caught up with Tiger Boy and chatted to him. Also met Jegster and Slim from the Aus Run forum (hello guys!) Nice to put faces to names. We wandered over to what we thought was the start line only to turn around and see that everyone else was starting the other way, in which case we were about 20 metres or so in front of everyone....so we wandered back down to the back of the pack! Sorry Eat Em but I had to start with my jacket and gloves on, it was just too damn cold not to! Of course by the 3km mark the sun had come out and I was way too hot, so both Michelle and I dropped the jackets by a tree near the finish line. I also had to get rid of my water bottle (which goes around my middle) as it wasn't sitting very well and kept riding up.
We were both very comfortable for the first 15km or so, with Tiger Boy and Slim calling out as they passed us on the other side of the road each time around the circuit. After that Michelle's knees were starting to feel the pain of running on the road and I was just starting to flag overall, probably due to the crap food that I'd eaten yesterday. The last 4km were definitely the hardest, especially the incline as we passed the start finish line. Over the last 3km we both slowed down to catch our breath and get up enough energy to get over the line. What a joy it was to see that big finish sign as we came round the last bend. And it was lovely to see half of our usual cheer squad cheering us on as we crossed the line.
The time....2.00.30.....woohoo!! A new PB for both of us. We probably could have done it in just under the 2 hours if we hadn't slowed over the last 3km, but I don't care. We still beat our last 1/2 marathon time and that's good enough for me.
I want to say what a fabulous lot of people the AV crew are. All of the marshalls cheered us on and encouraged us at every turn and every timing point, and even as we were plodding around for the last time, alot of the runners who had already finished and were heading back to their cars also encouraged us as we ran past them.
A great race, and a wonderful place to run...may even consider it again next year!
Saturday 3rd September
Exercise: NO
Food Intake:
Breakfast: 2 Slices Grain Toast with margerine
Lunch: Ham & Cheese Grain Roll, Caramel Popcorn
Afternoon Tea: Box of Mentos, 6 Chocolate Digestive Biscuits
Dinner: Packet Mint Slice Chocettes, 1 Glass Champagne
I so didn't want to get out of bed this morning, but unfortunately I had to go pick up my Daughter from my Mum's house to take her to swimming lessons. I didn't actually have a hangover as I was drinking Bourban last night, but I definitely felt very lethargic and sluggish.....that'll teach me for being a dirty stop out last night!
I've got another 1/2 marathon tomorrow and I've eaten really badly considering! Definitely haven't drunk enough water today to hydrate me for tomorrow either. Probably not going to run very well...my own fault of course!
This morning I weighed in at 63.0kg on the scales...not bad!
ME!
Okay, here's a recent photo of me...taken on Friday night! Haven't had my photo taken for ages and I felt really uncomfortable having it taken. Didn't know how to stand to get my best angle either!!
Friday 2nd September
Exercise: 30 Mins Cross Trainer (4.79km), 25 Mins Treadmill (3.71km)
Food Intake:
Breakfast: Porridge with banana & golden syrup
Morning Tea: Giant Cherry Ripe, 2 Small Mandarines
Lunch: Apple, Pumpkin Soup, 2 Slices Grain Toast, Low Fat Choc Mousse
Afternoon Tea: Handful of Twisties, Cheezels, Potato Chips, 1 Bacardi Breezer
Dinner: WW Spaghetti Fettucine, 2 Glasses Champagne, 4 Bourbon & Diet Coke
I had to turn the word verification thingy on as I was getting some spam comments. Hopefully it won't stop any of you posting comments here :o)
We have drinks and nibbles after work on Fridays and normally I can't stay for them as I have to pick my daughter up from After School Care, but tonight she was staying at Grandma's house, so it was lovely to put my feet up and soclialise with some of my work colleagues. I only had a handful on munchies - controlled or what!!
And I went out to see The Angels tonight with some of the girls from work. My throat is now very hoarse, my clothes and hair absolutely reek of smoke and I'm so so tired - but I had a fantastic time singing along to all the old songs!!
Thursday 1st September
Exercise: 1 Hr Treadmill (10.63km)
Food Intake:
Breakfast: Porridge with golden syrup
Morning Tea: 9 WW Choc Chip Cookies, Pear
Lunch: Ham & Cheese on Grain Roll, Strawberries & Low Fat Choc Mousse
Afternoon Tea: Rest of Packet of WW Cookies, Boysenberry Strips
Dinner: 4 Litebix with Skinny Milk & Splenda, 2 Slices Grain Toast with margerine
I went to bed at 8.30pm last night because I didn't want to give myself the opportunity of eating any more food. When hubby came home (he had a late meeting) he knew something was wrong straight away, and he knew it had to do with food...so once again I spilled my guts to him, and he listened and was really supportive as always.
I love the feeling when my legs feel really strong and I can run for ever. Got that feeling this morning on the treadmill. Could have carried on running for ages but I only had an hour. Wonder when I'll get that feeling again.....soon I hope!
