Chicken Ceaser Salad
During the week I bought a take away Chicken Ceaser Salad from a food hall. I watched how they made it quite closely and it looked so simple!
So I made it myself tonight and it was so yummy! Here's the recipe if anyone's interested.
Kos Lettuce, cut into large shreds
Cooked Chicken Breast cut into strips
Rindless bacon bits, cooked
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Ceaser Salad Dressing
1 Boiled Egg
I put it all into a bowl and mixed it up first, then scooped it out onto the plate. I then cut the egg in half and placed on the top. I used the carbwise ceaser salad dressing as it was quite low in fat and still tastes nice. I used a small amount of spary to cook the bacon bits, but I could have easily dry fried them. I couldn't find any light parmesan cheese already grated, but would have used that if I'd found it. I bought the rindless bacon bits from Safeway at the Deli, and I used George to cook the chicken!
Going to make this another one of my favourite weekly dishes.
Oh yeah, I forgot to add croutons, which would have been the Low Fat Ceaser Salad ones if I'd remembered to get them out of the cupboard!!
Saturday 29th October
Exercise: Personal Training Session
OMG!! I have been well and truly personal trained today! Before I started I had to stand on these scales that took all sorts of different measurements. The only ones I remember is what the scales said (hmmm!) and based on all the different results the scales threw out, how old my body thinks it is (35), compared to my real age (42), so not too bad really!
The Personal Trainer (Elaine) took me down to the circuit training room and worked my butt off. I didn't realise how out of condition cardiovascually (sp?) I was. I almost fainted a couple of times with how hard we were training!
She had me doing shuttle runs in between jumping on the tramp, using the small stepper, then the Stair Climber and then the wind machine thingy! Then, whilst still doing the circuit stuff, we changed to using the fit ball, bouncing it in front of me, beside me whilst still shuttling. And finally...yep still doing the circuit, we also did pushups and tricep dips. And when I thought it was all over we then used the medicine ball, lifting it up using biceps, then over our head to use the triceps, followed by having to bounce it as hard as possible, and then alternate by throwing it in air as high as possible!
I'm sweating just thinking about it all again!
Friday 28th October
Exercise: 70 Min Power Walk (Outside)
I have no idea how far I walked today, but I got to 35 minutes and turned around. Unfortunately my hip started to hurt at about that time, so I had to walk with it hurting. It felt better if I dug my fingers into the joint, but I don't think it really helped any! It's been hurting for most of the day too....not good!
I've been told to try a hot bath with Epsom Salts. I also put some tiger balm on after my shower this morning, so I went to work smelling "mentholy"
On a good note, I won a personal training session..yay! Can't remember which website it was - maybe HSBC - but anyway I got to choose, out of a big list of gyms australia wide, where I wanted to go. So I'm off there tomorrow for a freeby!
Thursday 27th October
Exercise: Day 3 Weights Program
My hip is now throbbing!! The deep tissue massage really hurt this time...yeow!! The needles I couldn't feel at all. Must be pretty similar to having accupuncture I suppose...never had it before though so it's hard to compare!
Not sure if it's any better or not though.
I'm a bit down at the moment as the Myotherapist told me that I've got to start running small distances - like 2km and then work up the mileage really slowly....2km!! That's going to take me like 10 minutes!! What do I do for the rest of the hour or so that I've got allocated before work to do my exercise?
I might try doing some power walking tomorrow and see how that goes. I have no pain when I walk, only when I run, and then only after about 30 minutes. Hmmm, maybe I'll do some alternate walking and running and see how that goes! There's a couple of really good hills nearby that I could tackle to get the heartrate going.
I've entered a 10km race on the 13th November (this was before I was told to reduce my mileage!) so I'm going to have to make sure that I'm back up to scratch before then. Might try the tiger balm again and see if that helps. I've also got another myotherapy appointment on Monday, so hopefully that'll also help.
Wednesday 26th October
Exercise: 35 Mins Treadmill (5.65km), 15 Mins Rowing Machine (3083km)
Damn my bloody hip. It started to hurt after 30 minutes of running and I had to stop at 35 minutes as the pain was becoming quite intense. Hopefully getting these needles jabbed into me tonight is going to help alleviate whatever is causing the pain...please!
I've found a new yummy food...well when I say yummy I mean bad yummy not good yummy. They are the Arnotts Snack Right Sultana & Chocolate Fruit Slice. I managed to eat a whole packet by myself yesterday afternoon - yep, all by myself!!
Monday 24th October
Exercise: Day 2 Weights Program
I was going to run this morning but for some reason I chickened out...god only knows why! So I'm going out tomorrow morning.
I wonder if maybe I'm a bit worried that my hip is still going to give me grief and I'll do more damage to it. I really want it to get better as I'd hate the thought that I couldn't run...gives me shivers just thinking about it!
Because there are no more 1/2 marathons until mid next year I'm going to start increasing my speed. There are plenty of 10km events coming up so I'll focus on getting under the 55 minute mark, and doing it regularly too.
I've also been told that to run a good 1/2 marathon we need to be doing about 25km on our long runs, not the lowly 19 or 20kms that we've been doing in the past. Oh well, what's another 5km between friends!!
Saturday 22nd October
Exercise: Day 1 Weights Program.
So back to day 1 again of the weights program. I changed the oblique situps today. This time I used the lat pull down machine, but used the tricep rope, turned around so that my back was to the machine and then pulled and twisted at the same time. This is a fantatic exercise for the obliques as you can put more weight on as the muscles becomes stronger. Alot of the women were looking at me doing it as it's not a normal exercise to do on this machine.
I also had my deep tissue massage on my hip this morning. It was a little bit painful as the woman really kneaded in deep, but it didn't compare to the pain of having a child or a tattoo!! And it was all over in half an hour!
I've got another appointment on Wednesday, but this time I'm going to try the myotherapy with needles....sounds painful!!
Friday 21st October
Exercise: 30 Mins Cross Trainer (4.53km), 15 Mins Treadmill - Run (2.54km)
Something is still a bit sore when I run. Not sure if it's just the after affects of the squats and lunges on my bum or if the pain was in my hip. Hoping it's the bum rather than the hip!
I haven't talked about my eating at all over the last few weeks. Now as you would probably guess I haven't always stayed on track, but I haven't beaten myself up about it either. I'm feeling much better about it all and the fact that I'm not writing it down anymore takes alot of stress away. I still get a bit angry at myself when I do eat the crap, but I'm not eating nearly as much as I was a couple of months ago. I've even cut down on the alcohol - miracles will never cease!
Thursday 20th October
Exercise: Day 3 Workout
So this was the program for my Day 3 weight session:
Dumbell Incline Press
Seated Row with Isometric Hold
Tricep Kickback
Bicep Preacher Curl
Lateral Dumbell Raise
Abdominals
And my legs are finally much better. I slathered on the Tiger Balm last night and I think it did the trick.
I've also booked to go and see a massage therapist who's going to do some deep tissue massage on my hip. Hope it works!
Tuesday 18th October
Exercise: 45 Mins Treadmill - walk/run (5.92km), Chest, Obliques, Lots of stretching
I thought I'd do some walking on the treadmill this morning as my legs just felt too tight and sore to run outside. So I got as far as 15 minutes before the urge to run took over. I stretched out the quads before I started to run, which helped alot, then did a bit of running followed by a bit of walking, with some more stretching in between.
I'd forgotten what it really felt like to have sore quads and glutes (bum). Now I remember. I'm finding it really hard to look like I'm walking normally. I can't believe that doing a few squats and lunges yesterday can put me in this much pain! But it has!
May have to have a day off tomorrow to recover a little....and they always say that the second day is worse than the first! Can't wait for that!
Monday 17th October
Exercise: Day 2 Weights
Well another day on the weights....
Rear Squats (with bar)
Reverse Hyper Extensions
Good Mornings (with bar)
Lunges (with Dumbells)
Leg Raises
Fit Ball Crunches
All lower body work today. And alot of people must have had a giggle at my expense. Those Reverse Hyper Extensions are a bugger to get right. Imagine me lying over a fit ball (on my stomach) which is on top of a bench, trying to raise my legs in the air whilst balancing precariously on the ball and hanging on dearly to the bench. It was not a pretty sight.
I think my bum's going to be sore tomorrow!
Sunday 16th October
Exercise: 8km Run - Spring into Shape
What a perfect day for running. The sun was out, there was a great crowd of people and a perfect venue to run.
Ran the 8km in about 47 minutes, which is okay....not great, but okay. My hip started to play up at about the 6km marker but I managed to plod through to the finish.
I'm definitely going to see someone who does deep tissue massage this week to see if I can some relief. I've also got some stretches that help too. Luckily the next race isn't until mid November so I've got a month to heal. Also Michelle had some surgery last week and can't run for about a month either so at least I don't feel like I'm abandoning her!
Off to the gym in the morning to do Day 2 of my weights program!
And did I mention what a perfect day it was in Melbourne today?? Not too hot, not too cold - just pleasant!
Saturday 15th October
Exercise: Weight Program Day 1
I did my first day of the new program Mr Body Builder has set me. As I told him that I would do 3 days at the gym, he's given me a different routine to do each day.
So here's Day 1
Bench Press
Military Press with Dumbells
Lateral PUll Down
French Press
Rotator Cuff with Dumbells
Oblique Crunches
Fit Ball Crunches
When he first wrote the program I had no idea what half of the moves were and he had to stand in my office and demonstrate them. Luckily my boss was not in his office otherwise he might have raised his eyebrows at the sight!
I'm off to do the 8km Spring into Shape run tomorrow.
Good luck to all the Bloggers in Joggers who are participating in the Walk to Cure Diabetes!
Jumping on the Bandwagon
As everyone else has done one of these, thought I'd do it too (thanks Suzy). Mine's not serious at all, but I'm not very good at dealing with serious things and always have to make light of it!
I am eager to... Give up work.
I doubt myself when... I still can't finish a Sudoku puzzle.
I feel powerful when... I've just lifted a really heavy weight at the gym.
I'm proud of myself because... I can reverse a car into any parking space.
My 10 favourite things are... Champagne, Good friends, Champagne, MP3 Player, Champagne, Hubby, Champagne, Daughter, Champagne....did I mention Champagne!
I am most grateful for... Mobile Phones (where would we be without them!)
I can simplify my life by living without... Chocolate
I feel my mission in life is to... Live it to the max!
In my wildest dreams, I... have won lotto!
I believe in myself because... My Hubby does too!
Friday 14th October
I didn't get to the gym this morning as I woke up with quite a bad headache, so decided to go back to sleep to see if I could get rid of it with a bit of extra kip - and it worked too!
I have to tell you about some pills that I've bought (on the recommendation of Mr Body Builder at work). I ordered them from the U.S.A and they were not cheap, but hopefully they will be worth the money! Got them from this site.
I thought I'd try them today to give me a feel for what they do.....and boy do they do something!! I'm buzzing still. Took them at 8.00am and I'm still flying! Has anyone ever taken Actifed with Advil tablets together? Well it's a real feel good feeling that overcomes you.
Here's a link to the AMP tablets. And here's the link to the Green Tea tablets that I'm taking.
They are going to be used as an aid to my fitness, my weight loss and my body toning. Once again, I'll keep you informed!
Thursday 13th October
Exercise: 51 Mins Run (8km)
Ran outside this morning and I think I've aggravated the hip again. It started to hurt quite badly after about 6km. Not sure what to do now. Might have to go and see a Physio. Funny thing is that the pain runs down from my lower hip right through to my knee. Doesn't actually hurt inbetween the hip and the knee, but I can feel that the pain is attached...weird huh!
I've had a new gym routine written up for me by a guy at work who is a serious body builder. He asked me what I wanted to achieve, where my problem areas were etc, and then wrote me a program based on me going to the gym 3 days per week. Hopefully the fact that he's taken time out to do this for me will give me the incentive to do it properly!
I'll let you know how I go!
Wednesday 12th October
Exercise: 30 Mins Treadmill - Walk (3.52km), Chest, Situps
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!
I made it to the gym again this morning. Still got a little niggle in my hip and I don't want to aggravate it any more so have given myself another day to get over it before I do any running. How mature of me!!
I've also decided to run in the Spring into Shape Fun Run on Sunday. Michelle has kindly given me her number as she's going to walk with her daughter instead...isn't she lovely! I'll probably just do a nice leisurely run as I don't want to do any more damage than I've already done. I may consider doing a longer run on Saturday, but it just depends how I feel.
Monday 10th October
Exercise: Back, Biceps, Triceps, Situps
Oh I'm aching so much. My hip and my knee are really sore. Have had to rub in lots of Nurofen Gel to ease the pain. I have a feeling that the culprit is actually my lower back. I woke up yesterday morning and it was sore. Must have slept on it badly. All thoughts of it went out of my head once I'd started running. However once I'd finished the soreness was back.
Hopefully I'll feel better over the next couple of days.
I did make it to the gym though, which was a miracle!
Melbourne 1/2 Marathon
Cold, very windy, with the occasional speck of rain....does this sound like ideal conditions to run a 1/2 marathon? I think not!! But this was what we awoke to this morning!
Hubby picked up Michelle and drove us down to Beaumaris, which is where the 1/2 marathon started. (Thanks babe for getting up at 5.30am!!). There were thousands of people there (3,500 I'm told!) and that wind was bitterly cold as it blew off the ocean. My complaining started immediately!
Of course there was a queue for the ladies toilets. The women were even queuing to use the mens! We were told of some public toilets about 300 metres down the road, so we jogged down there, which was great anyway as it warmed us up, and there were no queues. We then headed for the start line... which there didn't appear to actually be one. I think we started the stopwatch at the right spot, but can't be sure of that.
Anyway there was this sea of people jogging up the first hill and it was an awesome sight. So many people, all different ages and sizes. I think the people who lived on Beach Road must have had a bit of a shock when they opened up their curtains this morning!
Felt good running today. We even managed to pick up the pace around the 12km mark as it was really flat and we both had quite a bit of energy to burn. Michelle had brought along some Jelly Beans to give us a bit of extra energy, but I managed to choke on the first mouthful of them! That'll teach me not to put so many in my mouth at once!
At about the 15km mark I started to feel a bit of pain in my hip. Not bad pain, but I knew it was there. By the 20km mark I was almost out of energy and the pain in my hip was becoming worse. We eventually saw the Spire of the Art Centre and raced toward the finish line. Unfortunately the finish line was a bit further than we thought, so we ended up dragging our heels over the line as we were both spent.
We did 2hr 2 minutes, which we were both very happy with, especially with the conditions today. And getting a medal when we crossed the line was a great feeling too.
We were pointed in the general direction of where the pick up was for our bags, only to realise after about 300 metres that we had gone the wrong way....aaaghhh! So we retraced our footsteps and found the sign (very badly signed!) only to be met with a sea of people all holding up their race numbers so that the volunteers could find their bag. The queue was about 6 deep, so if you're short like Michelle & I, no chance at all of anyone seeing your number. We had to push to the front of the queue for anyone to see us. It was all a total shambles. Very badly organised that bit!
Once we'd got our bags we went to get a massage, but there was a long queue, so we gave that a miss. Went to find a good place to watch the marathon runners coming home. Yelled and cheered as our Aus Run friends went by, then wandered up to the Transport Bar, which is where everyone was meeting up after the race.
All in all, it was a good race. Felt fantastic to run with so many other people, and if the weather had been a little bit better, it would have capped it off perfectly. Will definitely do this race again!
Friday 7th October
Exercise: 73 Mins Run (12km)
I can't understand why I don't just get out of bed every morning and go for a run. Today was perfect. Not too cold, not raining, hardly anyone around. It's such an easy thing to do - just put on some clothes, plug in the mp3 player and out the door we go....so why don't I do it more regularly? Something I can't answer right now!!
Hubby went into town today and picked up mine and Michelle's race kits for the 1/2 marathon on Sunday. He rang me afterwards and told me that he'd had to wait in a queue for 1 1/2 hours....oops!! Sorry honey, but thanks tons for doing it anyway. Isn't he great!
Just checked out the weather for Sunday and it's definitely going to be cold and rainy!! Just my luck. Have I told you how much I hate running in the cold and rain?
Can you tell I'm starting to get a bit excited about Sunday?
Thursday 6th October
As I haven't done any exercise since Monday, I haven't done a blog post since then either.
I can't believe that I've got my 1/2 marathon on Sunday and I've done absolutely no exercise at all to keep me going this week. What is wrong with me!! I should be out there doing some shorter runs, but still running, not lazing around in bed, turning the alarm off and going back to sleep in the morning!! I really need to get a grip on my lack of motivation this week as it's just not going to put me in good stead for running on Sunday.
Okay, tomorrow and Saturday I'm out there!
And I've checked out the weather for Sunday, and you got it, it's going to be showery and cool! Couldn't we just have a little bit of sun....please!!!
On a totally different note, I'm addicted! I love doing these puzzles. The fact that I haven't been able to complete one yet without cheating by looking at the answers probably means that I'm not very good, but I'm going to keep trying. One day I will complete one without having to look!
Monday 3rd October
Exercise: 15 Mins Crosstrainer (2.06km), Chest, Legs, Situps
I went to bed really late last night and I still managed to get up and go to the gym this morning....wonders will never cease!!
I've realised what it was that gave me sore quads last week. I used the leg extension machine, but had totally forgotten. I used it again this morning and it hurt in the same spot as last week!!
Now are you all sitting down - I didn't drink any alcohol at all over the weekend! Can you believe it??? I want to at least try and keep myself in check over this coming week so that I'm in a decent condition to do my next 1/2 marathon on Sunday. Of course once it's finished there'll be lots of celebrating to do!!
We enjoyed the Chicken Parmigiana so much on Saturday night that we had it again last night, and this time I remembered to put all the ingredients in (forgot to add the parmesan cheese to the breadcrumbs last time - DOH!). You know when you find the perfect recipe and you do it again and again - well I think this is going to be one of them! Another big thanks to Karen for the recipe.
Saturday 1st October
Exercise: 2 Hr Run (19km)
Yay, the sun was out today. It was so much nicer than running in the cold and the rain. Just having a little bit of trouble with my quads. They seemed to lose energy after about 15km and I had to walk for 1 minute or so over the last 4km. Might have to get a massage to see if it eases the tightness.
I've also got a little niggle in my left knee. I'll put some Nurofen Gel on it overnight and see if it improves. Will hopefully make it out the door for a 5km slow jog to keep the legs moving otherwise I know that I'm going to get stiff and sore.
I realised that I hadn't done a long run for 3 weeks, so I'm in line for a bit of soreness and need to keep stretching to counteract any pain!!
The Melbourne Marathon is next Sunday. Michelle and I are doing the 1/2 marathon,which starts at Beaumauris and ends up at the Art Centre on St Kilda Road. So if you live along the beach road at all, come and give us a cheer!!
Hubby is going to drive us down to the start line, so we'll have to leave at about 6.15 in the morning. I'm used to getting up at this time, but I'm going to have to have a big mug of coffee ready for him so that he can get going.
He is such a great person, offering to drive us. He is really supportive of my running and I know that he looks forward to me walking in the door all happy and smiley after a run or a race.
I got on the scales after my run today and I'm back under 64kg now (63.4) so I'm more than happy with that.
And I want to tell you all about a great recipe that I did tonight.
Chicken Parmagiana (sp?). Got it from Karen . It was absolutely delicious. Am going to make it a very regular weekly dinner - simple, quick and very filling. I had mine with a salad. Thank you Karen.
