Mental Shift

I've just finished watching the weekly mindset lesson for the challenge and in the peace and quite I've realised that I've already had a mental shift about exercise.  I guess on of the keys to my success in this program has been unlocked.

Now I don't think its come about just because of this program (sorry Mish) but its definitely helped hasten up its arrival.  As I've said before I started running in earnest back in February.  I immensely disliked (not quite hated) every single step I took but I kept going.   If I woke up and it was raining or I just didn't really feel like going or if the kids had had a bad night, I'd climb back under the covers.

Come to tonight and my brain was trying to work out when I'm going to go for my long run on the weekend.  What shuffling of kids needs to be done to work around DH's fishing trip. I then skipped forward until Monday trying to work our when I'll do my session as I've got an extra day of work and DH and I will be going our for dinner for our anniversary.  What a change.

Some strange part of me is also enjoying the stiffness I'm feeling in my shoulders after my Pump class.  Its letting me know that I gave the session are really good go.  I even realised that at the end of my session that the gap between my fingers and toes is already starting to decrease.  Little changes that are there to spur me on.

Then to top it all off DH even commented that my legs are looking slimmer!  All of the kilometer's are paying off.

Talking about kilometers run reminds me of this months log.  I keep track of my running on www.mapmyrun.com using the data from my running watch.  Since the beginning off this month I've run 70km and burnt 6,460cals.   Compare this to March where I notched up a grand total of 25.3km and I've still got another 2 runs totalling over 15km to go this month! 

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Pleasantly Surprised

Our household has been blessed with one very good eater in the form of DD2.  She will try almost anything, including a half squashed bug on the floor, and its not very often that she won't eat a meal that's served up for her.  The amount she can put away for breakfast alone is staggering.  Its not rare for her to eat 2 hi-bran weetbix, followed by a piece of toast and a small glass of milk and then tuck into my porridge too.  For the record this little machine will only be 18 months at the end of the month.

On the other hand we also have the other end of the spectrum with DD1 (3.5).  If it is white, full of sugar or can't be recognised in its natural state then she'll eat it.  Try and serve up something fresh and wholesome and more likely than not her nose will turn up and then a defiant "I don't like it" will shoot from her mouth.

With this being the case I was expecting DD1 to be going to bed rather hungry during the 12wbt.  The rule in our house is that if you don't eat dinner there's no desert (if its on offer) and there is no more snacking.  To my surprise on Monday afternoon as I was preparing the kids afternoon tea DD1 requested an apple.  I think my jaw nearly hit the ground.  I quite happily grab and slice up an apple and grin from ear to ear as she sits down and munches away.  Score 1 to good eating.

The first night of the dinner plan was a salmon stir-fry but as DH isn't keen on salmon I changed it over to chicken.  DD1 helps a little in the preparation, but I'm not hopeful of her eating anything as she turns her nose up at the capsicum and Asian greens.  Dinner is on the table and surprise, surprise DD1 sits down and announces "I don't like it".  After a little bit of reassurance that the meat is chicken she tentatively takes a lick.  She stops, looks at the piece of chicken and then bites it.  All of a sudden a very excited "I like it!" erupts from her.  Low and behold every bit of chicken is eaten off her plate.  Score 2 to good eating. If only I could get her to eat the vegies and it would be another point to good eating.

On a side note I can also let you know that our dog also enjoyed this meal.  My poor DH had to grab a steak on the way home as while I was getting the girls ready for bed Jessy decided to steal is dinner off the bench.  It looks like it was a meal the whole family can enjoy.

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It's All in the Mind

You've probably heard it before but today I proved to myself that running is all in the mind.  Today everything seemed to be conspiring against me getting up and doing my run.  My internal battles and mind games started at 5:15am when DD2 came toddling up the hallway.  Being a Sunday it was too early to expect DH to put her back to bed so I scooped her up into our bed and got her back to sleep at around 6.  I had been planning to get up then but everytime I moved she stirred and with an eventful morning planned I didn't want a grumpy bubby on my hands.

Event 2 - Its been raining and my gear is still wet at 7.  We need to leave by 9 and my long run takes 1.5hrs so I decided not to wait for the dryer and do it this afternoon.

Event 3 - DH has to stop by work on the way home from our morning activities so running while the girls sleep goes out the window.

Event 4 - I've lost my favourite running shirt.  I've turned the house inside out and upside down and I can't find it.  I'm hoping its in the lost property (if they even have one) at the gym and will find out tomorrow.  OK so this one is just another internal excuse - but I grabbed some other gear to wear.

Event 5 - I discover my iPod is flat.  Stick it on the computer for enough charge to get me through my session.

Event 6 - 5 minutes before DH gets home from work DD2 decides to pee all over me.  OK yes it was my fault for not watching for her cues a little more closely while she was in undies but now my favourite running pants are soaked.  I pull out a pair of all pants that are more suited to yoga than running but its all that I have left that's dry.

Event 7 - The stupid blister block won't stay one my blisters properly.   They get reinforced with bandaids and I'm nearly ready to go.

So at 3:55 I finally get on my way and I just know that this isn't going to be easy.  I try to run through things to relax.  I try to focus on my breathing but nothing seems to work.  The first 700m passes relatively pain free and then the hill starts.  From somewhere I manage to run the entire length of Jackson Road without walking (even if my run was more of a waddle) and round the corner.

After a short respite on a down hill section the climb starts again.  I don't stop, I keep moving, I don't walk and sweat is running down my face.  Every muscle in my body wants to stop, my knees are starting to hurt (which is probably due to the 1km sprint yesterday) and I start remember a design of a T-shirt an online friend designed - "Sweat is fat cells crying" and I keep going.

Ming's Shirt - If you like it please vote for her here

I round the next corner and I want to stop but I keep going.  I can feel a blister on the un-taped up foot starting but now I'm about half way so I'll just finish what I started.  I'm feeling a little down about it all as by this stage last week I had hit "The Zone" and today I just can't get there.

I make it over the railway bridge without stopping even if I slow and round the next bend and start the next small climb.  I make it over the crest and pick up speed on the down hill run.  I pass the train station and the voice in my head is saying just stop, go over the train bridge and you'll be home in 3 minutes.  The other voice in my head (I can have a few going at anyone time!) is saying come on its ONLY another 2.5km.  Thankfully good prevails and I keep going.

I make it to the level crossing and the sun is starting to dip early today.  The sky has a slightly beautiful colour to it but I'm really not in the mood to admire it.  Everything is hurting, my breathing is rather laboured but I'm nearly home.  I round the second last bend, and I know my energy is nearly spent, I round the last bend and have 100m left and I can't pick up speed as usual but I make it to my driveway and hit the stop button and sigh with relief.

Now this is where it shows how much of running is mind set.  I found this run so frigging hard and I was sure it was really slow but it turns out it was only 10s slower than last week which over 10.29km is nothing.  My brain had set me up for it to be hard.  I then thought I'd look at my heart rate stats.

• Last week - Max HR 179, Avg 170
• This week - Max HR 174, Avg 164

So in the space of a week my fitness has improved a little and I've proven to myself that yes running IS all in the mind.

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Getting Excited

On Thursday the links on the 12wbt opened up to display our nutrition, menu and torture that we are to undertake starting from Monday.  The menu looks surprisingly tasty and I even think that my husband will happily eat most of the main meals.

I set myself up to do my online shopping only to discover that my trusty online shop, Food Direct, had closed down after around 11 years of service.  I was bummed to say the least.  I loved Food Direct for the freshness of the produce.  Sure their meat was usually more expensive but it was A1 quality and their other fresh produce got hand selected from the markets every morning.  Anyway I did my shop with Coles and was surprised to get a total including delivery of under $200 and that included some extras for the girls.

Friday night was my second attempt at Pump and at least today I do have some stiffness from it.  It looks like I have to get my bar positioning worked our for the squat track as I'm finding my arms are getting sore and I have trouble removing the bar at the end of the track but my legs need more weight.  So instead of having a wine on Friday night I killed another 400 calories.

When I got home I decided to do my fitness test, all apart from the 1km run.  Probably not the best idea after a pump class with fatigued muscles but I did it and will just have to try and replicated this next time.  My not so great results and initial weight is here. 

Today I had planned on doing my 10km run but as my husband returned a little too late to get in the hour and a half I decided to do my 1km time trial instead.  I'm rather pleased to say that I smashed it and there is no way I could have gone any harder as I ended up dry reaching at the end.  I ended up with a not so shabby time of 5:32.  It then took 1km of walking to recover from the loading I'd experienced myself too before I went for another 1.5km jog to get home.

Only 2 more sleeps to go until kick off and I can't wait!

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The Zone

As part of the 12wbt I've decided that on either Saturday or Sunday my cardio workout is going to be a long run.  While the challenge hasn't kicked off yet I decided that since I wasn't sore from my first pump class on Friday night that I'd attempt 10km today.

I'm proud to say that I managed more than attempting it - I did it and I think I could have done more.  The route I decided to go started with a nice and easy 1km run from our house to the bottom of a large (in my books anyway) hill.  I have walked this hill a few times in the past and that used to be enough to have me out of breath.  The worst part of this hill was 1.2km section that rose almost 25m.  I wasn't able to run the whole thing but I gave it a bloody good attempt.   The incline then decreased, but rose about another 28m until the 4.2km mark.  Strangely enough by the time I'd reached the summit (OK a bit of poetic licence) I was felling rather good.

After another hundred meters or so I entered the much talked about "Zone".  Its hard to explain, put somehow running seemed to be almost effortless.  The background music on my iPod was almost non-existent, my pace was consistent and even when I started to hit the smaller inclines I was able to keep going without slowing.  My mind was almost blank, I didn't even have to concentrate on my breathing, everything just flowed.  It was like a perfect mind/body connection.

I did discover that traffic signal and other intersection did somewhat disrupt the flow but within a hundred meters of the hiccup I was back.  I only wish that running was always so easy.

I finished my 10.29km (and yes the 0.29 is important) in 1:26:07.  I'm am now ready to sign up for the Gold Coast Marathon 10km event.  I had be reluctant to do it due to the 1.5hr cut-off and automatic removal from the course but that's all in the past now.

As I sit here typing this my muscles are starting to feel rather tight and I'm starting to dread the stiffness that I know will come in the morning.  With that thought I bid you good night and good luck with finding "The Zone".

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Testing My Commitment

The 12wbt hasn't even officially kicked off and I've already had my first test of my commitment to my goals. I'm happy to say I won with flying colours.

Last night was one of THOSE nights. Everyone reading this that has kids will know what I mean. The night started off well with DD2 falling asleep in the car on the way home from dinner at my Mother In-law's house. When I got home I set up Play School for DD1 and proceeded to put DD2 to bed. Play School finished and other than a few delaying attempts DD1 was asleep not long after 8pm. At 10pm DH and I head off to bed.

Just after 11 the baby monitor livens up with a little bit of noise and then the movement monitor goes off. DD2 has fallen out of bed (she's only been in the toddler bed for around 1 week) and is attempting to wake up her sister. I put her back in bed and lie down on the mattress on the floor and promptly fall asleep myself. I wake up just past 12 feeling a little stiff, and go back to my own bed.

1am and the sensor light goes on in the hallway and then the monitor goes off again. DD2 has left her room and is looking for me. She's wide awake so I take her back to her room and lie down on the king single bed with her and we both go back to sleep.

2am - DD1 wakes up to go to the toilet. She's wearing an all in one type of PJ's and needs help getting them undone in the dark. She waddles off and comes back complaining about the cold. I help her get dressed and she hops back into bed. Within a couple of minutes she has a coughing fit that ends in her vomiting all over the bed.

So DD1 gets taken off for a shower, while I semi strip her bed. Thankfully most of the vomit is over the connie sheet and a couple of toys so the clean up is easy. DD1 returns to bed, I tuck her in and then get back into bed with DD2.

3am - another coughing fit and another vomit. This one requires all of the sheets to be removed and another shower. This time DD1 goes to bed with DH.

5:30 - DD2 wakes up and I crawl out of bed. DH gets up and runs away to work.
6 - DD1 gets up.

Somehow after all of this I managed to get everyone up, dressed and make it to the gym for my circuit class followed by a little cardio. I felt so much more alive after it too.

All was looking good until the car ride home ..... Both girls have fallen asleep in the back of the car and its peaceful, until another coughing fit starts! All I can say is removing 2 car seats from a ute to clean up vomit is nearly as exhausting as a circuit class.

Both girls were asleep by 7, which is unheard of around here so fingers crossed tonight is more peaceful. No matter what happens tonight I WILL go for my run in the morning.

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The Day After

I'm a little surprised about my recovery from the Mother's Day Classic. Be it luck or good planning (definitely not skill) I managed to get out of bed with no more stiffness than after going for my normal run. Maybe it was the slow walk around the block with the family after dinner or the lovely epson salt bath once the kids were in bed. It definitely wasn't the stretching after the event as somehow I forgot about that part.

My 12wbt is becoming more or a reality. I had my program written up for me today at the gym after I did about 30 minutes of light cardio. I haven't set foot on a weights floor for about about 10 years but surprising enough I remember most of the torture machines that lay in wait. My trainer did however introduce me to two more evil exercises in an attempt to help strengthen my core and reduce the spare tyre.

The first being The Captain's Deck Chair. Now while I do have a little bit of core strength its not great and one look at this was enough to send me in a sweat. I have no idea how I'm meant to get to a minimum of 3 sets of 20 when I was flat out getting to 14 today but I suppose practice makes perfect.


I then was shown the inclined reverse crunch and I was starting to think that my trainer is trying to turn me into Super Women. Give me plain old crunches any day!

In the end I ended up having a bit of a laugh as I nearly slid off the bench. Apparently my trainer's pre-opening job had been to "Armor All" the benches. Oh well in just over 12 weeks time it looks like there could be abs of steel starting to appear.

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Happy Mother's Day

First and foremost Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there and I hope you got spoilt.

Now my Mother's Day didn't start with a sleep in or breakfast in bed.  It started at 6:30am by jumping out of bed, getting dressed in my running gear and heading off to South Bank for the Mother's Day Classic to participate in the 8km run.  My support crew (aka DH, DD1 and DD2) were meant to be dropping me off at the event but DD2 was ill last night and we thought that we should let her sleep, so I had to venture out on my own.

I'm rather proud of myself, and from today I can officially call myself a runner.  I ran all 8km (or according to my watch 8.2) of the course.  I stuck to my game plan and didn't bolt and the starting line and it paid off.  By the 4km mark I start reeling in all (well ok some) of the bolters that could run up the hill to Oriel Park.  At the 5km mark I looked down at my watch and it was 37min 35s.  I'd just smashed my BP for 5km by 3 minutes and I still had more left in the tank.

I nearly had a spill at around the 6.5km mark when another runner decided to change course rather quickly to grab a drink without thinking to check her shoulder first.  I'm now set out getting a new pair of trainers as I think that next to no grip can't be a good thing when running (or in my case slogging, also known as slow jogging) through the drinks station.

At the 7km mark there was a fellow runner who'd completed his run spurring us on with a big grin and words of encouragement.  Coming through the final 200m or so the 4.5km walkers had started and were all cheering for us as we came up to the finish line.  I thought I'd have enough in the tank to sprint the last bit but not this time around.  My unofficial time was 63minutes but I think it may be a tiny bit quicker.  At the end of it my average heart rate was 172 and I'd burnt 730 calories - not to bad.

To date I have currently raised just over $250 but if you do feel inclined to help out a great cause and help in finding a cure for Breast Cancer you can click here to go to my sponsorship page.  I can also receive cash donations too but these will take a little longer to process.  Just remember that every dollar gets us closer to beating breast cancer.

On a slight aside I am not going to go and get myself a new sports watch so DH can regain his.  I decided that if I ran the 8km in under 70 minutes that I would treat myself.  I'm going to get myself the Polar RS300X Black G1

Its got all the functionallity of DH current running watch apart from knowing the altitude (I think) but on the plus side it will calculate my calories burnt based on my heart rate, not distance travelled, and will work inside as just a HRM and timer.

I've also got a slight problem, those that read a previous blog about My Goals may realise that I just smashed one of my 1month in goals by running 5km in under 40minutes so now I'll have come up with a new one!

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Gear Up

Up until this morning I wasn't going to bother writing about this pre-season task.   I've discovered that over the next couple of months I'm going to be doing 3 days of fitness, 2 days of toning and 1 day of light fitness, core and stretch.

My plan of attack is:
Monday - pilates at the gym
Tuesday - run (outside around my area but off to the gym if it rains.  If for some reason I can't get to the gym I've got a spin bike that's being used as a clothes rack too)
Wednesday - circuit class at the gym or weights session
Thursday - run
Friday - Pump at the gym
Saturday - run

I've also got a home gym here so there's no excuse for not doing something if I can't get to the gym.  I've got my iPod to keep me company and I've got my (or actually my husband's) GPS running watch to track my distance, heart rate etc.  My running shoes are on their last legs but will do for a few more weeks yet and my gym clothes while not trendy get the job done.

So what's the problem for gearing up you may ask.  Well I discovered this morning that my trusted sports bra does not like the dryer!  I don't even know how it got in there but alas it as shrunk.  I can only just do it up at the back and I've also got muffin top boobs.  I don't know if I did it subconsciously as last night I was surfing the web for bras and found an interesting one.

Berlei's Ultimate Performance comes complete with built in heart monitor holder and MP3 player pocket. 

Berlie Ultimate Performance

The reviews have me interested and I now have a good excuse to go for a proper fitting which is something I should have done a while ago.

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Task 3 - My Goals

Strangely enough I've found setting my goals quite difficult.  I normally don't set goals and I've worked out why.  If I don't set a goal then I can't fail to meet it.  I suppose it makes sense in some way but at the same time I also setting myself up for failure.  OK so that might not quite make sense and is a little circular but I hope you get the idea.

So here goes nothing ....

1 month
I will lose 3kg
I will run 5km in 40min

I will do this by following the 12wbt program, and running 3 times per week.

3 months
I will lose 9kg
I will run 10km in under 80 minutes

I will do this by following the 12wbt program, and running 3 times per week.  I will sign up for the 10km run at the Gold Coast Marathon.

6 months
I will lose 18kg
I will still be running.

I will do this by continue to follow the principles that I've learnt through the 12wbt and continuing to run 3 times per week.


12 months
I will maintain my 18kg weight loss
I will still be running.

I will do this by continue to follow the principles that I've learnt through the 12wbt and continuing to run 3 times per week.  I will sign up for fun runs ranging from 5 - 15km.

Rewards
I'm yet to think up rewards for myself but things along the lines of a massage or facial sound like a great way to relax and pamper myself without feeling guilty.  I will also treat myself to shopping sprees to renew my wardrobe as I start to shrink.

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My Excuses

All my good intentions seem to fall on deaf ears. Or is it because the constant Jekyll and Hyde arguments in my head are always won by the bad gum. This time it WILL be different. I've signed up for the 12 Week Body Transformation run by Michelle Bridges (think The Biggest Loser) and I'm going to give it my all.

The official kick off date is 23 May but I'm currently undertaking the pre-season task. The second task is titled "Get Real - No More Excuses". As part of this Mish has asked us to reflect on our self sabotaging habits and excuses that we've been using. It took me a while to do it but it is sinking in - I'm already recognising my internal excuses and chatter in my head trying to justify eatting that piece of cake or not doing my exercise.

So now it's time for me to take responsibility for myself. No one else has forced me to eat, no one else has force me to not exercise. I want to become lighter, fitter and healthier and only I can make it happen.

So let's start at the beginning:

My internal excuses (those excuses that I have control over):

• I have tried and failed so many times before - But I've never done anything like this before. I've never set up my mind to suceed so this time WILL be different
  
• I don’t have the willpower - Who needs willpower - just don't eat it
  
• It’s the weekend - Now that's a poor excuse - now you've got more spare time to exercise!
• I can’t be bothered - To bad princess, get it over and done with and you WILL feel better.
  
• I’ve already done 'x' exercise this week - Great work but doing a little bit more and not reaching for the chocolate will help speed things up even more
  
• I've already eatten 'x' so why stop now - Just because I've tripped up a little doesn't mean I've got to ruin all my hard work.
  
• I can't waste this food - Yes I can because otherwise I'm wasting all of my hard work.
  
• Its just too hard to workout today - Not every workout has to be full on. Its better to do something than nothing.
  

My external excuse that I have partial control over:

• I'm too tired - Well go to bed earlier. If the girls have a bad night its better to do a light session than nothing at all and once you start you might actually enjoy it.
  
• Its too dark/cold - You've got a gym membership too so use it
  
• Its raining - Go to the gym or use the equipment at home at night once the girls are asleep.
  
• I'm too busy/I don't have time - Make time. My health is a priority
• I'm injured - Train a different section of my body

My external excuses that I don't have control over:

• Family emergency (eg someone is sick)
• Work emergency (eg tight work deadline)

For external excuses I'll need to really evaluate if they are truely external and out of my control or just another excuse. If they keep popping up that I know I'm just trying to sidestep my responsiblity to myself.

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