HOLIDAY TIME

We leave for Queensland tomorrow morning. Gold Coast first for a friend's wedding then onto the Sunshine Coast. Yippee!!

I tried on some of my shorts tonight. Boohoo. Either too tight or just dont fit at all. (I'm not surprised). Packing was a challenge. Not happy Jan!!

Its late and time to get some sleep. We have an early start tomorrow.

Cheers all

Magda

SOME SMALL RELIEF

Today I could walk down stairs without grimacing in agony. Progress!!

I got up early to row BUT WH also got up earlier than usual so I had to cut my row short. Had I known he'd be up that early I wouldnt have made the effort for so little return. Grrrr!!

As I was walking to my car after work I started to think about getting BBQ chicken and chips for dinner. Our local chicken shop makes the BEST chips.... and their chicken is good too. WH was going to the soccer and there'd just be me and BS home tonight. I was starting to really crave it. I could almost taste it. Mentally I was licking my lips savouring how delicious I knew it would be.

Then I started to think about my next goal and how I've had a good week, eating wise. I thought about all the times where I'd convinced myself that the cheat meal/ junk food etc was justifiable. I thought about where that behaviour had gotten me and all of a sudden that chicken and chips didnt appeal so much.

So I compromised and decided to just get the chicken, take the skin off and have it with my already prepared green veges. Yep that was a good compromise.

So what did I actually do??

The traffic through the city was so slow that I ended up taking ages to get home. Mum and Dad were minding BS at our house so I felt obliged to get home asap and let them go home to have their dinner. Yes folks. I completely skipped the chicken and chips. I heated up my veges with a can of tuna with beans, added my freshly chopped continental parsley and voila!! a healthy meal that also felt like a bit of a treat (I love the Sole Mare tuna with beans - its so delicious!!).

There was a small treat that mum had made and brought over - but nothing as deadly as a killer serve of greasy, salty chips. Maybe there is hope for me yet??

Cheers all

Magda

DOMS IS STILL IN THE HOUSE

Day 2 post C2B and my legs are still really sore. One of my meetings today involved inspecting plant rooms, chillers and boilers which meant walking down steps, walking down more steps and then when I thought I couldnt walk down any more steps .... guess what?? I had to walk down more steps. My quads were screaming and I'm still wobbly overall after a period of sitting down.
I am suffering, I tell you.

So training of any form has been non-existent today. Mind you I walked heaps to various meetings and other stuff. I didnt feel idle at all. I have decided that I will row tomorrow morning. That shouldnt be too hard on my legs and my upper body could use the work. Plus a bit of cardio never goes astray in my opinion.

Once again food has been good. My vege intake is up as we are going on holidays soon and there were quite a few veges that needed finishing before we go. Seeing as I hate to throw good food out, I did a big stir fry in chicken stock and am well and truly seeing green for both lunch and dinner. I'm sure my system will thank me :-)

So I'm still considering some factors around my next goal. Last night I was thinking stuff through before I went to sleep. Now I have more info, I have more thinking. I'll just have to be careful that I dont lose too much precious sleep time.

Good night all

Magda

PS My official time (as printed in The Advertiser today) was 1:26:19. I was quicker than I thought!! LOL

CITY 2 BAY - THE DAY AFTER

I gave myself the morning off from training today. Anything involving lower body was not a good option and with less than a week til we go away for 10 or so days, there is no point in diving into an upper body weights routine. That can start after the holiday is over and I can train with some consistency.

So I had a small sleep in and was pleasantly surprised that I was moving ok when I got up. Lo and behold this did not last as by mid-late morning my legs were getting very sore and were seizing up badly after periods of sitting. In fact I ended up with one of the WORST cases of leg DOMS I can recall. At one stage I had to walk down 2 large flights of stairs after sitting in a meeting for 50 minutes and the pain in my legs was excruciating. I have been moving like a decrepit old person all day and will have tomorrow off from training as well.

Food has been good today as I wasnt even tempted to have wine with dinner (a bottle of Pepperjack Shiraz was open and needed finishing), leaving WH to be the hero in this respect. There was also some left-over Wildberry Baked Cheesecake from a belated WH birthday dinner and once again - NO TEMPTATION!! Now if I could just bottle this level of determination and draw on it at my weaker times .......... well if we could all do that there'd be no fat people in the world would there??

Have been pondering what my next fitness related/event goal will be. Have had some positive chats with WH but will explore further when we are holidaying. Watch this space!!

Cheers guys

Magda

CITY 2 BAY RUN AND DUSTED .....

.... in a whoppingly slow 1:26:41 (a little slower than what I anticipated.)

Yes folks I managed to "Cliff Young Shuffle" my way through 11kms of the run. Why 11? Because at 1 km out I decided that there was (just) enough left in the tank to pick my pace up to a 1/2 reasonable jog. That plus the crowds, plus the lure of the finish line and the emotion of realising another goal which I've had for ages. I "powered" to the end only to be left in that scary state where for a few breaths it feels like nothing is getting in.

Here are my race stats from my HRM AND I've realised that my weight is entered back around comp time last year so my cals burned would be much higher as I am SO much heavier now.

Total time: 1:26:41
Time in HR zone: :21 (yep folks 21 seconds only - no wonder it felt SO hard)
Average HR: 161 (eegads I'm 45 so this is quite high at 92% of my maximum heart rate)
Max HR: 183
Cals burned (underestimated!!): 851

So how do I feel? Physically I'm exhausted and would give anything to just call it a day and go back to sleep. My legs hurt and so does my lower back. All the physical signals are telling me "You idiot!! You're too old/unfit for this. You werent prepared well enough"

To which I say: "I'm not an idiot. I just go after my goals/dreams. I'm NEVER too old but I do concede that my fitness could have/should have been better - a few less kilos would have made the world of difference - and I prepared as I knew how. If I did it again I'd be better prepared".

Emotionally I feel good. I've wanted to do this for a long time but always doubted my ability. Today I proved that I could do it - even if I wasnt in the best shape or at my best level of fitness. At least if I ever decided to do it again, it wouldnt be hard to better my time. LOL

Thanks to EVERYONE you encouraged me, supported me and cheered me on (in spirit). I really appreciate it. And a big thank you to God/Mother Nature for blessing us with the most glorious spring weather. No wind. Sunshine. Cool-moderate temperature. Just perfect.

Cheers guys

:-) Magda

TIME FOR A NEW LOOK

Hi all,

on the eve of my attempt to achieve another of my lifetime goals, I've decided that my previous blog template was getting boring and its time for a new one. Do you like the new look? Be honest. I'd love a really funky individual template like some other bloggers have but where, oh where do you get them? They are not in the regular template options (which I'm finding a bit boring all round).

Anyway enough about aesthetics and lets get down to the serious business of blogging about where I am at 12 hours out from the 12km run, with the race number 1212. Does the number 12 have any significant or magical properties?? I have no idea but if you do, then please share.

Well this week I have been the ultimate anti-athlete. I've not eaten well partly because of nerves and partly because of some other self-defeating thoughts which I need to handle better in future. I did 2 runs instead of 3 this week but I dont think that missing the last run will be the make or break tomorrow. God has decided to smile down on me (I must have done something very good along the way and I'm being rewarded) with an amended forecast of 22 degrees and sunny. WH says it'll be cold overnight and fresh in the morning but fresh I can handle (I ran when it was .7 degrees one winter morning - now that was FRESH!!).

So this far-from-perfect week has me hoping that the pieces fall in place tomorrow and I run the 12kms and achieve my goal. WH and BS are then meeting me in Glenelg and we'll go out for breakfast to celebrate. In the afternoon I'm off to watch the lovely Miss Kerry compete in the WNBF South Australian State Championships. I cant wait to see her on stage after the blood, sweat and tears she has invested in her training this year. GO KERRY!!!!!!

I have so much more that I want to blog about but it'll have to wait as I need to sort some stuff out in my head. I'm having major problems with making decisions and then following through with actions. I change my mind over and over again and go around in circles.

Note to self: Find the straight and narrow Magda. Get on it. And stick to it.

Good night all

M

WIERD DREAMS

OK. Now I know I'm getting nervous about Sunday's run. I had the wierdest dream about it last night.

I dreamt that I accidentally lined up with the fast runners near the start line. And I got my photo taken with them.

During the run I was in a pack and we all stopped at a holiday house and everybody wanted to kick back and have fun. I was confused and declared that my goal was to run the race without having a break so off I set on my own.

I finished the run and was milling around the finish line for a few minutes when I suddenly remembered to check my race time on my watch. I read 80 minutes (which is sort of the time I'm expecting to do it in) and then realised I had done it in less than that as I had delayed checking my time.

I think I just need to rest up and relax as I have a funny niggle around my right hip. There is one more (easy) training run scheduled but I'm in 2 minds about doing it. I AM a bit nervous again about not making it.

BTW the weather forecast is for windy with showers on the weekend. Showers I'm ok with but wind GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR I HATE RUNNING IN THE WIND!!!!!!!!!!!

So now I've got that off my chest I shall read some emails and pray for some divine intervention.

:-) Magda

RIDING THE MERRY-GO-ROUND OF LIFE

You know what I mean ... up, down, up, down etc

On the work front things are ramping up. I have times when I feel my head will explode. There is information overload to process and I just know I wont remember it all when I need to. I confided to my WH today that I was scared that when Miss R was away (she hasnt started maternity leave yet) , I wouldnt know what to do. He laughed at me and said MOST people dont know what to do in their jobs and that I'd just have to make a calculated guess. Gee that was comforting ..... NOT!!

So what am I up about right now? Hmmmm let me think ........ ok let me see ...... well there's ...... or there's ........ Hmm maybe nothing.

Time to sign off I think and post again when I'm in a better head space.

G'night all

Magda

SINCE MY LAST POST I HAVE .....

.......

1. Had a great Friday at work. The weather was glorious here in Adelaide. My pregnant friend and I had to meet with some colleagues so we headed to a lovely cafe close to work, ordered some cappuccinos (I tell you , the white wine was VERY tempting!!) and sat out in the sun and talked business.

2. Had a Haemaview Consult with a Naturopath. She took a couple of blood (drop) samples and examined them under a microscope and then told me some interesting things about my blood and my health. I may continue to work with her in future.

3. Registered for the City 2 Bay. Look out for 1212 (what a great number!!) ..... faster than a speeding bullet, quicker than a ???? ... geez I've got a crappy memory. How did that go??

4. Been out to dinner at http://www.wineunderground.com.au/ (The Wine Underground) for WH's birthday. Fantastic night!!

5. Celebrated WH's birthday on Sunday. We had a late breakfast out and then he lazed around while I did the domestic chores. BS and I told him he was "boss of the world" and was not allowed to do any work. He thought that was particularly good :-)

6. Wrapped up Sunday with dinner at my Mum and Dad's. Once again, beautiful food, nice wine and celebrating with the family ... what more could you want??? Oh and WH did get some great pressies too.

7. Not done any more running. Saturday was a rest day. Sunday I had a shocking headache (did NOT stick to my 3 drink limit on the night before). This morning it was very stormy with gale force winds howling. I turned my alarm off and slept :-).

8. Survived a very cold and windy day here in Adelaide today. Quite frankly, I'm over the crappy cold weather now. BRING ON SPRING!!!

Hope your weekend was great too.

:-) M

AND I've just made my 500th post in my blog. Is that reason enough to break out the bubbles and celebrate???

DEDICATION AND NEW GOALS

Today's run was intervals of 1 minute fast then 1 minute recovery (slow jog), for 20 repeats. The first 3 repeats were hard and my fast runs felt slow. The next 12 repeats were pretty good. Reasonably fast and very slow jog recoveries. But the last 5 were really tough. My legs were tired and I was uncomfortably hot as it was quite a mild morning and I had rugged up expecting it to be colder. I was really happy when that run was over.

One thing that I've noticed with my training is that when I set a (meaningful) goal for myself, I actually dedicate myself to the required training. For example: I've completed every run session as outlined in my program (except one where I had to make an urgent dash to the toilet and therefore cut it short by about 7 minutes). There have been runs where I really wanted to cut them short (coz it was cold/windy/drizzling or I was tired/miserable/just over it) but I didnt give in. I finished them irrespective of all the negative factors/emotions. Having an extra week up my sleeve gave me a bit of flexibility when life got busier in the last couple of weeks so I was able to stay on track. Bring on that taper next week though!!

So on Sunday 21st September I WILL achieve my goal of running the City 2 Bay. My time wont be fantastic but that isnt my goal. I will run 12kms and prove to myself that I could do it.

And then it'll be time for a new goal .............

Good night all

Magda

MID WEEK CATCH UP

Hooray for hump day and getting past the first half of the week.

So how am I going?

Running training has been ON FIRE!! I set my alarm for 4.50am on Monday and set out to do a long run (even though I knew that I didnt really have to increase my distance). On Sunday I measured out a 3.5km circuit through my suburb but didnt mentally commit to completing it 3 times. I set out thinking to myself "I'll see how I go". So off I went at 5am at my "comfy long run pace" and did it once, did it twice and then set out on the 3rd lap knowing that I could cut it short, if need be. Not once did I check the time (this is GOOD!!) and half way through the last lap I was getting pretty tired but I pushed on just talking myself through each stretch from corner to corner. Knowing I had less than a kilometre to go I decided to go the distance and took it home for the full 10.5kms. I cant brag about my time (I was fairly slow) but I can brag that this is the longest I have EVER run. My legs were pretty tired for the rest of the day and I did everything to avoid walking to the 2nd floor of my work building where I constantly go for meetings.

I am training weights for chest, shoulders, back and abs and have some good DOMS in my chest and even a little through my abs. I never seem to get it in my shoulders and as for back ... well with only a barbell and dumbbells (no rack or bar) its hard to give your back a good workout. I will need to ramp this up in future but am deferring til after the City 2 Bay and our holiday in Queensland.

Eats??!!
Monday: Great
Tuesday: Great
Today: Hmmm could have been better. (Training course food. I took some of my own but the carrot cake at afternoon tea made its way past my lips GRRRRR) Tomorrow I'm taking all my food and plan to stay away from the crappy stuff thats provided.

So thats it in a nutshell. I'm tracking OK againt my 5 daily goals although not perfect. The main one of not binging is the most important to me and on that one I've done really well. So a pat on my back is deserved. Now to just gain control over some of my other not-so-good habits.

Cheers all

Magda

HAPPY FATHERS DAY

I was awake early today - not by choice - but by a pesky little boy who couldnt sleep. GRRRRR!! Bet he'll want to sleep in tomorrow. Then it'll be time for revenge :-)

So we spoilt WH with cards (one bought and one made at school) + a small gift. We also went out for breakfast which was lovely (as The Store always is). Then I spent the day pottering around and preparing dinner for both Dads (WH + my Dad).

I didnt run today due to a few factors but am planning on doing a longer run tomorrow morning. Sometimes the weekends are just too busy AND I refuse to set my alarm to run early. I figure a sleep-in is just as, if not more important as I do get pretty tired from early starts all week. So no exercise today (tsk tsk) but will make it up tomorrow so I dont feel slack or guilty.

The other thing that I'm going to focus on this week is just tightening my diet up a bit. My skin condition has flared up again so I'll be laying off the white flour, red meat, dairy and alcohol (which I've kept in moderation all weekend, I'm very proud to say!!). This isnt phasing me as there is still so much yummy and healthy food to enjoy without feeling deprived. And its not permanent - just til the itching eases off.

Well its late so I'll bid you all good night and hit the sack. I have an early start tomorrow.

Cheers all

Magda

LIFE AT A FAST PACE - TAKE 2

Well Friday passed in a blur. I had a nice breakfast on the way to work and then bumped into Cheryl and spent about 1/2 an hour chatting to her ... oops gotta get to work!!

Last night we went to SIL + BIL's for drinks and dinner. Friends and family were visiting from Sydney and it was a fun night. Miss S is my SIL's bestie. Miss S is a marathon runner so we had a very interesting chat about my City 2 Bay training and up-coming race. Miss S assured me that if I can run 8 or 9kms now (which I can) then I will make the 12kms on race day. She even said that doing 10kms before race day is not necessary. I'm rethinking my training for the next week.

You see Iworked out not long ago that I started my training a week early. I actually have an extra week up my sleeve. This is really good as last week I only ran 3 times and not 4. So I have an extra week to get 4 runs in and then taper. Sounds good to me so I must stay healthy now ... oh and I must register for the race.

We took BS to the Royal Adelaide Show today. OMG what crowds!! Secretly, I loved it though. Without any guilt whatsoever, I enjoyed 2 hot cinnamon donuts (sitting down) but had no other junk for the day. PROGRESS!! I was, however, blown away by the incredible consumption of junk food by the majority of people there. It was quite amazing really. No wonder we are progressing in leaps and bounds as a nation of overweight - obese people.

But I'm plugging away at my daily targets and am happy to report that I'm doing well. Keeping alcohol consumption to 3 drinks or less at any one time, not eating when standing up, getting my water in and moving for at least 30 minutes every day.

Looking forward to Father's Day tomorrow. It'll be a busy day. I hope to blog again tomorrow night.

Cheers all

Magda

LIFE AT A FASTER PACE

One thing I've noticed since starting in my new job is the faster pace of my life. I have rarely eaten both a morning AND afternoon snack since I've changed jobs. I'm just too busy with meetings and work to be stopping to feed my face all the time. I do try hard to eat every 4 or so hours at the least so I dont get famished, as we all know how disastrous that can be.

I've also allowed myself the luxury of stopping for a cappuccino on the way to work on most mornings. I luuuurve my cappuccinos. They are such a treat. On really hectic mornings if I havent eaten breakfast at home I'll have some fruit toast too. This is another treat which I really enjoy. But I do try to eat breakfast at home as a general rule.

This is how my morning went today:

5: 15 alarm goes off
5:20 hot lemon drink + small protein shake
5:30 back training
6:00 protein shake + pear (eaten standing up tsk tsk) AND at the same time roll out cheese scone dough (made last night), cut, brush and place in oven to bake
6: 15 make BS's breakfast (he's woken up early today), pack his lunchbox, get school clothes ready (including ironing)
6:30 shower, wash hair
6: 50 make-up + dress for function after work and pack bag of extras
7:00 help BS dress himself, pack all requirements for a Father/Son after-school function (including cheese scones)
7:10 brush teeth, dry hair
7:15 change my mind about attending the function after work, get changed, pack food and run around doing last minute stuff
7: 30 leave for work ... will have breakfast in a cafe with 10-15 minutes of "quiet-me-time" :-)

Today was not a typical morning but its not unusual to have days like this. In the end, life is what you make it. If I stressed about every non-routine day, I'd be a basket-case. So now I go with the flow and do my best with eating and training. After all, adding up a lot of small stuff eventually means achieving the big stuff.

Cheers all

Magda

TICKING THE BOXES

Funny how things change so drastically from day to day. This morning I was crabby (well I am a Cancerian), grumpy and NOT in good spirits. The usual things annoyed the cr*p out of me and I was pretty short on patience. Not sure why but I think there's some deep stuff that surfaces every now and then.



This same deep stuff often drives me to "self-medicate" with food. Because, after all, food solves everything ... what, you disagree?? Well at least it makes you feel better for 5 or 10 minutes and often I havent thought beyond that. I'll take that 5 or 10 minutes of pleasure and bugger the consequence.



However today I didnt entertain these thoughts. Didnt even stop to consider them. They were banished from my mind.



I did my running training. Tick for 30 minutes of exercise.

I drank enough water / herbal tea. Another tick.

I had no alcohol. Thats a BIG tick :-)

I ate all my food sitting down. Yep another tick.

And as for binging .... no way jose!!

My weight has dropped by 2.6kgs which is just water / bloat but its something. I have actually been craving lots of veges, fruit and vegetarian meals, instead of the chicken and other meat that I usually eat. Monday and Tuesday were vegetarian days but today I had chicken again as I'm not set up to eat a proper balanced vegetarian diet. Feeling good about my food choices nevertheless.

Well I'm off to bed to read a lengthy report (lucky me!!). Alarm is set for 5.15 to fit in that mandatory 30 minutes of exercise. Good night all.

:-) Magda

MORE ON MY MOJO

Now that I'm feeling well again - no more annoying headcold or thumping headache - I've done a weights session as well tonight. I did chest and shoulders and am already feeling very tired and heavy through these areas. I will have chest DOMS (I always do) :-)

My future trainer has suggested that I just maintain work on my chest, back and shoulders to keep the muscles stimulated. I will do abs too but no leg work. The running is tiring enough and I could think of nothing worse (or more counter-productive for my current goal) than pounding out a killer leg session and then expecting to run distances too. If its not a running day then legs need to rest!!

Of course I will expect to lose some body fat over the next month but I'm not setting any ambitious targets as I know that birthday celebrations and holidays will make it quite challenging. I want to focus more on positive behaviours and I believe the results will follow. And finally, I realise that success in achieving the fat loss will be determined to a huge extent by how my mind is working. If I can get that right AND KEEP IT RIGHT then the journey will be so much easier.

Good night all

Magda

HELLO MOJO - WELCOME BACK

Today I woke up with my mojo well and truly back. No thumping headache. No feelings of dreading my running training. No wallowing in my “I feel so fat and frumpy” misery. Here’s my take on things today and its good to have the “old Magda” back:

My alarm went off at 4.50am as I hadn’t done my weekly long run. I lay in bed for about 30 seconds to assess whether I still had my headache. All clear so up and at it. I ran for one hour and it felt good. I didn’t even check the time til after the 46-minute mark. So it was like the home stretch after that. Only disadvantage is that I cant measure the distance as it was weaving through and around my suburb. No big deal. I’m now back in a positive mindset where I believe that I will complete the City 2 Bay without having to walk it. Less than 3 weeks now. Bring it on.

I knew I would eat well today and I did. Even though I was on a training course and there were some very yummy looking (free!!) cakes provided for morning tea (you know the ones you've just GOTTA have coz they're complimentary), I raided the fruit bowl and had a delicious apple instead. Good choice Magda … now just repeat these good behaviours over and over and I will be heading in the right direction.

As I was getting ready for work I thought about my weight and how I look and feel. But instead of just wallowing in self-pity and misery I acknowledged that yes I am too heavy but that changing this is all within my control. It is all up to me. Life deals some very raw deals that we have no control over but this is NOT one of them. Perspective Magda, perspective.

Since my mini meltdown last week when the blackest cloud came over me and I was in a bad place, I have drawn so much inspiration from other people's blogs. Little snippets of advice, observations, perspectives etc have got me thinking right again. I wont name individuals but I will just say that there are some very wise and inspirational bloggers out there and I thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and experiences. Reading about others' struggles, challenges and then achievements restores my faith and belief that indeed I CAN do it too.

Here is a mini plan that I have for the month of September. Its a brief set of daily non-negotiable behaviours that are in place to keep me on track with healthy eating and regular exercise. I will be endeavouring to practice these behaviours EVERY day - even when its WH's birthday on the 14th, when we attend our friend's wedding on the Gold Coast on the 27th and for the holiday we'll have on the Sunshine Coast after that.

1. I will exercise for a minium of 30 minutes every day.
2. I will limit myself to a maximum of 3 alcoholic drinks on any one occassion. (This is an improvement and its achievable even though its still not ideal).
3. I will drink at least 2 litres of water or herbal tea.
4. I will only eat when sitting down.
5. I will continue to improve in avoiding binge eating (build on the success I've already had).

Thats it. Its short. Its simple. And thats all I'm prepared to commit to right now. No point imposing lots and lots of rules that are just waiting to be broken and then be beating myself up over it.

Bring on a great month where I will progress towards the person I want to be.

Cheers all

Magda

FEELING UNDER THE WEATHER

Hi all,

I'm feeling a bit under the weather with a shocker of a headache that has lasted 2 days. I wonder what is in store for me healthwise as I never get headaches for no reason. I skipped my run yesterday and today as well as I just havent been feeling "right" and am mindful of pushing through not being well and ending up needing time off from my new job. I also had a headcold last week but managed to get all my running training in. Its just now I'm a bit behind.

I have lots to post but it'll have to wait as I'm heading off for an early night. Hope I wake up feeling fantastic again.

Cheers

Magda