Moving House

I have decided to move house in order to combine my two blogs and to create a more special place to talk about life and family life alongside my fitness goals.

I hope you can come and join me in The Shed!

Down in the Shed

Layne Beachley on Success

There is a show on the Business Channel on Foxtel called Switzer which I don't really watch all that often - however, the other day I happened upon a really interesting interview with Layne Beachley on this program and it inspired me.

Essentially Layne was discussing her pathway to success in surfing and business.

I'd love to share a few of her quotes from the transcript with all of you:

Layne on Focus and Determination -

“When I turned 25 I was considered a veteran. But I didn’t win my first world title until I was 26. You know, as women, we do tend to get better with age.”
What took her so long?

“I wasn’t ready,” says Beachley. “I wasn’t ready to win. I was still very distracted. I didn’t give it 110 per cent. Once I started to really focus in on it and take all the other distractions out of my life and make that my number one priority then I won and I stayed there for as long as I did.”

This is something that I have found to be so important - when you want to achieve something you have to focus on it and it alone 100%. You can't be attempting to acieve 6 major goals at one time because you simply don't have the enery to give them all the attention they need. The other important point here is that you really really have to want to achieve the goal you are aiming for - you have to want it with all your heart - only then can you truly focus on you goals.

A friend was relaying a story to me last night about a guy he went on a work trip with who was a marathoner - he routinely declined invites out for post work drinks and that kind of thing because he valued his training so much that it was more important to him - he wanted to get up and go for his 20km in the morning and he wanted to be fresh when he did it. It was more important to him.
That is the mindset you need to achieve your goals.

More from Layne:

Beachley says her support networks have been crucial to her success.

“Even though I’ve been perceived as being an individualist, I’ve always had a team of people around me that have allowed me to maintain my focus and have pushed me in a different direction if it looked like I was falling off the rails; have been honest with me, have been trustworthy; people I’ve respected and also have experienced things that I never have so I could learn from them.”

This is another thing I have learnt along the way - it is absolutley crucial to have a team of people in your life who support you and your goals. They have to validate and believe in your approach as much as you do and not be the one who is derailing you. Does your partner constantly try to get you to eat junk with them or go drinking with them? It's not that they want you to fail - they just dont see how much you value your goals -it is so much easier to ahieve a goal when your support crew is behind you 100%.

She looked to those around her – including four times world champion Wendy Botha and Australian surfing legend and fellow world champion Pam Burridge – for advice.

“I basically became a sponge,” says Beachley. “Anyone I could see that had achieved what I really wanted, I asked for their guidance.

Another really great point - find someone you admire, someone who has achieved what you want to achieve and find out as much as you can about how they did it - then do it better!

Layne continues “If you want to stay ahead of your competition, you have to find ways to reinvent yourself; you have to be willing to improve and you have to be willing to learn and acknowledge that you don’t know it all. There’s always another way to do something.”

So, what is Beachley’s advice to women? What are the words they need?

“I’m worthy. I can, I am. It’s about, firstly, having a really positive attitude, having a goal that you can work towards. It’s really important that you have a goal. Write it down. I stuck it on my mirrors in my bedroom and just looked at that through the toughest times in my life. You’ve got a purpose to get yourself up in the morning, that will give you the motivation to overcome any obstacle you can ever encounter.”

Excerpts taken from Layne Beachley interview on Switzer.http://www.switzer.com.au/small-business/women-in-business/feature/behind-every-great-woman/

Full interview can be seen here.

What is a true treat?

Interestingly through the process of finding myself again in the haze of new motherhood I am discovereing interesting things about what I truly treasure.

I have found that time and how I use it has become increasingly important to me.

This is mainly because when I do get those precious few moments to myself each day I have to choose wisely how I spend it.

I find myself getting annoyed if Harris falls asleep while we are out because that means the quiet alone time that I get to spend doing things for me are stolen by being out driving or at the shops.

Sometimes I choose to spend the whole of the first hour that he sleeps in the day doing house work - because I know that means I will get the second sleep of the day all to myself and I can spend it looking at things on the internet, reading, sewing, studying or just watching TV.

If I do manage to get out of the house without Harris, I am usually in a rush to get back again (mother guilt!)

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to go out and do something completely indulgent with no agenda - that was to go and just sit at a coffee shop and have a coffee and read a magazine. To not be anxious that he might wake up at any second and spoil my relaxation time - or to simply not be in a rush to finish my coffee because he is squirming in the pram or yelling - was a true treat.

I was amazed that something so simple could fill me up to the brim of relaxation so easily. It made me realise that my prior thinking - of going out for a walk each day and "treating" myself to a coffee and a cake at a coffee shop- wasn't in reality a treat at all. It was more like something I was telling myself I deserved - but I wasn't really able to enjoy it.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I have learnt to savour those things that are truly treats and to give them the level of importance they deserve.

Recarging your batteries is so important when you have a baby - and ideally you would have a lovely husband who gives you the love and supoort you need to be able to achieve this. Luckily I do and I really don't know what I would do with out him!

I am learning every day!

Rumbling along...

It's funny you know....Shelly posted this post a few days ago and for all the world she could have been talking about me. for that is exactly how I feel. It doesn't really bother me though and that is half the problem. I seem to be happy just ambling along and doing what I can when I can. Although I haven't quite regained the lows of body fat percentage I had before I had Harris, my weight HAS even out back to approximately where it was before Harris and that makes it hard to be motivated. I really should get up and put my work skirt and pants on every day to remind myself that in 6 short weeks I have to wear these clothes again.
But then something stressful happens and its back to the old habits we go again.
I'm sure we will figure it out eventually.

I have been thinking a lot about whether I want to continue to blog because I find it quite a drain on my prescious time alone.

However just this week I have been coming across things here and there and I think to myself - I would like to write a blog about that! and so I think I will try to start blogging again more frequently.

So hopefully you will see me around again a little more often!

Just this past week I commenced a Certificate IV in Breastfeeding Education - the course that you need to complete to become qualified as a breastfeeding counsellor.
At the moment I am really motivated and happy to be learning again. Not studying something seems to leave a bit of a void in my life. I have an incessant need to learn. I am putting the wheels in motion to make a career change in the next few years and I am really excited about it. Unfortunately it will be a slow process, but it does involve lots of study and I am a bit excited about the process as much as I am about the end result. Hopefully - this path will take me to where I have wanted to be all along.

I'll be back soon with more!!!

Two Weeks to get my act together

So for the next two weeks I am going to be focussed and pulled together and get into some good habits - all with the purpose of t rying to regain the mental state that I had prior to having a baby.

I was SOOOO into health and fitness back then - it took up all of my mind space. It's time to find that again - simly because I love being in that healthful place!

Why the next two weeks?

for two reasons:
1. Because I need something to focus on
2. Because Mark is going to whyalla in SA for two weeks with work and it will just be me and the little one at home.

What does that mean? It means that I don't have to worry about feeding Mark and I just have to look after myself.

I have made a deal with Mark that when he gets back I get three times per week where he looks after Harris and I get to go running. The key is thatthose are the times when I get to do my me activity - something purely indulgent and just for me.

That is the activity I choose to have for me.

So for the next 12 months I am going to choose events to focus my running towards and get back to the super state of fitness I had pre little one.

First event? 6km Womens and Girls Jogalong at Weston Park on the 6th of December.

Few and Far Between

It seems really few and far between posts for me at the moment - but the reality is the computer isn't really a big priority for me anymore and because Harris is into EVERYTHING it is difficult to get on here when he is awake.

I ran into someone from work the other day and she reminded me that it is only 10 weeks or so until I have to return to work. Then I remembered that I was meant to be doing daily exercise in order to improve my endurance for work....hmmmnnn that one got forgotten.

It can be a bit hard to find the balance between everything, going to the gym, keeping the house clean and doing things that enrich my life (not that the gym doesn't enrich my life) and then when we have a week where Harris isn't sleeping well or we go away somewhere (which invariably means Harris doesn't sleep well for the week following) then all of the other stuff tends to get a bit forgotten.

A few weeks back I managed to get the house really tidy and I felt like I was on top of everything but now it feels like it has slipped somewhat.

My goals for this week are:

* To get back on top of the home organisation and tidying.
* To drink 3 Lt of water daily.
* To do the tasks I set for myself each day

oh and I have 10 weeks till I go back to work and presently only one of my work pants fit me and none of my skirts - I need to get my butt into get and lose a few kilos!

I was helping mummy in the garden and....

 well I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Day 2 Very Tired

Broccoli from my Garden.

I am very tired today from my big baby weights training program walk (Read 8.5kg baby in a back carrier up a mountain with a dog) and a weights session at the gym.

I am already feeling the DOMS and I'm thinking I won't be able to lift Harris tomorrow.

We are having evaporative cooling installed tomorrow so no gym for me - but I am planning on doing some gardening and a session on the spin bike!

That's all I can write for now because I am soooo tired (and I have to tidy up before the contactors want to come into my house!)

Fitness Monday

The Michelle Bridges program is split into Fitness and Toning - alternating each day. Today was Fitness and me being my usual self couldn't help but add to it. I guess I am probably a little fitter than many who would do a program froma book (but probably not much!)

Today's fitness session was a circut of two rounds, consisting of the following - each being 20 reps.

* Fast low step running Rt Leg
* Fast low step running Lt Leg
* Push Ups on Knees
* Freestanding body weight squat (and I just realised I forgot to do this entirely!)
* Standing shoulder Press with light weights
* Static Lunge with support
* Standing biceps curl with light weight

Abs
* Crunches
* Crunch with Right twist
* Crunch with Left twist

I also did 25 minute on the treadmill - 20 mins at 6% incline walking at 6.5min/km and 5 mins or 1 km running.

The great thing about this program is that it is designed to be able to be done either at home or at the gym. So if for whatever reason I am unable to make it to the gym (and with limited Childcare hours that is often the case)I can still get it done at home.

I found out this morning that due to increased membership they are limiting the childcare to 20 places per session - with 2 sessions tunning each morning AND you have to book them in on the morning of the day you want to go. It does make it that little bit harder and if you ask me I think they should just extend the childcare to 2pm. The gym offers a reduced fee membership for "Off Peak" times which allows you to go between 9am and 2pm each weekday. Considering that Childcare is only available between 9am and 12pm it really limits when you are able to go.
Next year I am going to have to change to the more expensive membership so I can go in the morning before work or in the evening (not that that will probably happen because Harris is always mr Grumpy pants in the evening). I might change gyms though - I'll have to wait and see next year.

I got thinking while I was at the gym that perhaps I needed some new gym clothes - my two pairs of leggings were a little threadbare and prone to falling down. I also decided that I needed a new pair of running shoes. When parts of the shoe are falling off it is probably time! So after I was finished at the gym thats what I did!

Now I just have to make sure I keep using it!

And So...

I come to the sombre realisation that in Two and  a half short months I have to return to work...BooHoo...

I am 100% positive that this is going to hit me like a steam roller even though I know it is coming.

So I am begrudgingly going to attempt to be all  grown up like and start being super organised and doing things properly and such so that it doesn't come as SUCH a massive shock to me and I lose the plot entirely.

Last week we were confirmed a place at the child care centre which is located on the hospital campus. I cannot tell you what a relief and weight off my shoulders that was! I was secretly stressing about it I am sure. Having Harris at this childcare centre will make it so much easier for both of us.

Once I get back into the swing of it all and Harris is a teensy bit bigger I am hoping to ride my bike to work at least twice per week.  We only live 5km from the hospital and I'm hoping to pack us both up and ride up there each day - that may be wishful thinking but I will at least give it a go. Mark can collect harris at 4pm on those days because he finishes work an hour or so earlier than I do. 

I am going back to work 3 days per week and I think I will stick to working that until we have finished having kids and they are at school. I think it is a nice balance.

What I want to do before we get to that point though is try and increase my stamina again and start going back to the gym properly. I am going to start scheduling it into my diary and making it part of our day and working the other things that need doing in around that and the general household organisational things. As boring as it may seem, I think it is important that I stop living in the little fairyland of coffee mornings and shopping and start living to somwhat of a schedule again. After all it will be enforced once I head back to work.

Its probably going to be hard and I'm probably not going to like it - but hey thats what life if like sometimes!

A while back I bought the Michelle Bridges book - "Crunch Time"  - I'm going to try and follow the training plan in there for the time between now and going back to work - just to increase my fitness and help me to not be so tired at the end of the day.

Having a baby is fun and I love playing with him all day but I think it is time to get down to business again.
My leg is still a little twingy but I'm hoping that some stretching each day will help it along.

So I'll hopefully be updating here a bit more in the coming weeks!

Hints and tips

Not much of anything except babycare going on in my world at the moment. As it creeps closer to the time I am planning on returning to work I find myself wanting to spend more time with Harris. I have had a sore leg for the past few weeks which has hampered my desire to get back to running

I thought I would do a post on the things I could and couldn't live without when I first had Harris. I didn't really overbuy but there were things I barely used.

Must have's
-sling/baby carrier - I have a baby bjorn and a baba sling but I could easily have bought a hug-a-bub and used it just as much. (And I just bought and Ergo baby carrier - but they are better for when the baby is bigger)
-Stretchy escape proof wraps- the baby may be small but they are certainly a good escape artist
-reusable cloth breast pads - these were much more comfortable than the disposable ones
-a baby bag that is comfortable, not too heavy when packed and that you love-I have two; a fancy Oroton one that I hardly use and a smaller lighter one that I love!(mine is from H is for Handbag)
- cloth flat nappies for wiping up after baby (Didn't think I would actually use these and they have been invaluable)
- a car seat/capsule
- my walking pram

What I didn't use all that much

- baby oils, powders, shampoos and washes. Babies don't really get dirty and usually have very dry skin, the only products have really used is Weleda nappy rash cream and moogoo moisturizer
- port a cot - we were given one and I haven't used it yet
- snuggle bed


other things
- I did't use our highchair until Harris was 6 months old and am glad I did' t buy one before hten. Hairchairs are possibly the most annoying creation on the planet. They get filthy, snap your fingers off when you are trying to clip them up and are brilliant food hiders - if you can borrow one to figure out what you need in a high chair then do that!)
- I didn't buy Harris a play mat with dangly toys until he was 2 months old and then by the time he was 6 months, he was destroying it so much that I had to pack it away. I would buy second hand You can pick up some great bargains on ebay!).
- cloth nappies would have been difficult for me to manage when Harris was a newborn but now I love using them. Green kids pocket nappies are great as are baby bee hinds.
- don't buy too many newborn nappies in bulk -we had three boxes of 108 and he was out of them before we could use them up.
- don't buy an expensive baby bath - ours from ikea was perfect for 14.95!




That all I can think of for now!

Thinking about running

I've been doing a lot of thinking the past few weeks - about running and fitness and exactly what I want to do with that aspect of my life - now that it is not my priority.

I think that I do want to continue to have running as part of my life and that I need to work on making it part of my routine again.

I realise that I am going to have to make a concerted effort to get back to the mindset of regular training.

I need some points in the future to work towards and measure progress against.

Every month here in Canberra there is an organised run called the Women's and girls Jogalong. It is 6km and run through a big park kind of near my place. I was thinking of making this run a little goal to complete each month - to measure my progress against.

I do need a bigger goal at some point in the future but I also think that to get to where I want to be - I need to take small steps.

It is very appealing - now I just need to do something about it!

Harris on the box

Funny!

Centered and Grounded

Hello ! I'm back - for how long - who know's! But anyway...

Yesterday I did the Canberra Times Fun Run, which is a 10km course down one of the main roads through Canberra, past parliament house and finishing up in the park that runs alongside Lake Burleigh Griffin.

For the first time ever I really wasn't in it to race myself or anyone else or the clock. I probably walked at least a 1/3 rd of the course. But - I hadn't trained and I knew I wasn't fit enough to run 10km.

However - Yesterday was 7months to the day that Harris wass born.

I spent a good portion of the run congratulating myself for even entering and for being able to run the parts that I did run. Afterall - it has been about 18 months since I have run much more than 5km.

I think yesterday was good for me because it was a bit of a turning point for me - doing the fun run yesterday made me realise that I have done what I didn't think I would be able to do. I had a baby and came out the otherside unscathed. I can still do the things I did before I had the baby. Sure - Harris makes my wants come second because he is my priority - but slowly but surely I have learnt to fit in what I want to do around him.

My whole focus on life has changed and the things that used to take up so much of my mental energy are not so important to me anymore.

He has made me centered and grounded - having hime has shown me what is truly important in life - having him has taught me to have much more respect for what my body is capable of - and to have more respect for how I look. In all honesty - I simply cannot believe that I ever criticised my body before.

I realised doing the run yesterday that before now I really wasn't ready to get back into running - to begin to do something that is purley for me. I did enjoy running yesterday and I remembered that I do enjoy running as an activity. It is empowering and makes you feel free.

so - here's to getting back into running aver the next year or so. I can't wait to be running fit again and to actually enjoy being out there!

Blog Fatigue

I think I have blog fatigue....I'm sure it's a diagnosable condition by now.

Symptoms as follows:

- Lack of desire to blog
- Lack of desire to read other blogs
- Blogging leaves you feeling drained


I'm sure it will pass.

Until then..,... I'm having a Break.


(ahhhhaahah...it DOES exist see link)

A bit downhill

After my big gung ho start to the week, Harris decided that this week he was going to turn into a crying all night baby again - so the early part of this week really suffered.

Sleep deprivation certainly does make like more difficult. Looking at the baby in the picture above - you wouldn't know it. He looks like an angel!

It is his 6 month "half-birthday" today! Can you believe he is six months old already?

So last night was the first night this week that was back to normal (Normal is to only get woken up twice in the night -as compared to 5 times).

I missed my walk on Tuesday - mainly because I was tired I suppose - both from lack of sleep and from the gym session I did on Monday.

But I walked to mothers group yesterday and then went for an 8km walk today with a couple of the girls who also have heavy duty walking prams.

This week when it has been tough, I have had to remind myself that I didn't set out on this challenge to completely regain my fitness to the point where I was running half marathons again by the end - but simply to refocus my mind towards living an active lifestyle again and choosing the active approach rather than being a lazy bones.

It is important to remind yourself on a weekly (or even more frequently) basis about the WHY - What is your original purpose?
What made you set on this path in the first place?
Review of our goals is an important part of staying committed - so too is measuring how you are travelling along your path and ensuring that you are aligned with your original purpose.
Drifting too far in either direction (Where you are either not meeting your original goal pathway OR you are exceeding what you set out to do and in turn pushing yourself too hard and risking burnout) - is a surefire way to the beginnings of self doubt and possible failure!

Monday Monday

I have started off the week on a good foot with a really nice session at the gym this morning.

I was only going to warm up on the treadmill and then go and do some back strength work, but there was some good music on the ipod so I pumped up the incline on the treadmill and walked for 30 mins and then I did 10 mins on the elliptical.

Then I did some back strength work.

I have decided that I really love feeling the pump from a good workout. The past few weeks have been really good for me in terms of the way I approach exercise mentally.

I used to be quite all or nothing - if I wasn't going to give it 100% with nutrition and 100% with the gym then I wasn't interested in going at all. I had it in my head that it wasn't worth making the effort at all if I wasn't going to give it my all.

Doing this 100 day challenge - and probably more so - setting myself the challenge of completing 500km over the course of the next 80 something days - has been great for helping me to break this thinking pattern. I realised that I was exercising for the purpose of regaining my fitness and feeling generally good - rather than for the purpose of losing weight. Any weight lost is a bonus!

This was the way I approached the half marathon training last year as well and it worked for me that time as well. I think that this is probably the best way for me to approach something like this because I don't value weight loss enough for it to be my primary goal. I think I valuethe challenge of something that is within reach but has an element of difficulty attached to it - so that I feel like I am accomplishing something of value in the process.

I think the trick to achieving a goal (and having the motivation to keep hacking away at it) is to find something that is important to you and that YOU value - rather than what you think you value. Sure I like being smaller than I am right now - but it is not something that I can conrol or that is tangible to me - so it's not very motivating.

It's simple really - find what works for you and make it something that will continue motivating you through the times when you feel like it's not worth it and 'what's the point anyway'.

There is my wisdom for the day!

Once Harris wakes up - I have adog to walk so I can make up my missing 2.5km for this week.

Phew! What a weekend!

It just seems to have flown by at warp speed!

Just got back from a 4km walk with harris in the pram and this morning I took my niece to an ice skating birthday party and had a bit of a skate myself.

For those who don't know, I did figure skating when I was younger and it is nice to have a skate every now and again to prove to yourself that you haven't forgotten how.


All I could think was that I must have had very strong legs when I was younger because it is hard work!

So I think that counts for at least 1km!

I am really looking forward to getting to the gym in the morning and doing a bit of a weights session! I think that this week I am going to try and do weights before cardio just to change things around a bit.

As for the 100 day challenge - I am still 100% on board and so far I have managed to not relinquish any of my bones. I do need to keep reminding myself of my original goal though of simply being active each day - and not trying to push myself too hard. I need to be able to be active and do something each day without getting too overly tired and grumpy.

Having said that - I am going to try and focus on the diet a bit this week - mainly because we have had a weekend of indulgence and I feel the need to have that nice feeling you get from having a few days of clean eating.

The scales are still annoying me because they are refusing to budge - but on a positive note I am looking to other guides - like what I see in the mirror and how my clothes are fitting me. That and the BF% on my scales is moving downwards - so that makes me happy enough.

I'm looking forward to a week of feeling pumped about weights!

The value of a training partner

This morning I was meant to go to RPM with Amanda - but we got there and the Canberra powerlifting titles were on at Elite Physique and the groups fitness classes were cancelled. So we did a weights session instead.

Having never really had a training partner as such, it was really nice to be able to have a chat as you were working out and I can really see how it could be very motivating to have someone to train with on a regular basis.

As tehre was no cardio involved - a dog walk is on the cards this afternoon in order to get in the 5km. I will count the weight session towards the couple of Km I need to make up for this week.

Busy Bee

I've got so much on today that this is just going to be a quick post.

Walk - done! I walked my running route with the GPS tracker to see how far it was - 5.4 km.

The whole drinking 3 Lt of water thing is quite difficult - I didn't manage it yesterday.

Right best be off - we have a craft fair to go to, then some house tidying to do, then cousins coming over, then friends coming over for dinner.

Phew!

Recipe Twist

A few nights ago I gave Kek's Warm Pumpkin and Green bean salad a go - and I must say - it was pretty nice! (All picture credits to Kek!)


I had some leftover in the fridge and when I went to make my lunch today - it was the easiest quickest thing that stood out to me. I was steaming some zucchini for baby food purposes so I thought I would add that in as well.
Now for some protein and a can of tuna seemed to magically jump into my hand.

I have to say it was a mighty tasty lunch!

So:

1 Serve of Warm Pumpkin and Green Bean salad
1 small tin of tuna in springwater (or some honey soy marinated chicken...)
As much Zucchini as you like (Broccoli would also work well I think)
a dash of Tobasco sauce

Mix all together and serve warm!

There you have one figure friendly lunch!

Now I'm sure you don't want to hear about the blended peaches and rice cereal I made for Harris - but that was tasty too.

Now I must go and attend to drinking 3 lt of water.....

Awake so early

The little one woke us up quite early today and now he has gone back to bed so I have scoffed down some Oats and sultanas for breakfast and now am doing a blog post so I can get on with getting this house clean later in the day.

Planning a walk today - 5km Bridge to Bridge around Lake Burleigh Griffin. I also want to go to have a look at the National Portrait Gallery for a bit of a look see. ( I didn't manage the walk - it was too cold near the lake and i didn't pack warm enough clothes for Harris)

Later this afternoon I am going to take the dog for a run because I have to get a run in on a Thursday. (Tick!)

I can't go to the gym today because the little one is a bit snuffly and I don't want him to pass it on to any of the other kids at the gym childcare.

I got the new Oxygen magazine yesterday and while I do love Oxygen and think it is probably the best fitness magazine on the market - I also have problems with the fact that the editorial team make absolutely no effort to de-americanize the articles (sorry for any american readers).

I realize that some of the articles used in the Australian version of Oxygen are from the US magazine and understand the rationale behind this - but would it be so difficult to correct the references from Pounds into Kilos - I can convert pound to kilos in my head - but not everyone can do this and I just feel like it marginalises the Australian audience to some degree and comes across as a little lazy.

Just my thoughts...

Have a great day!

Well today has just been a tough slog mentally from beginning to end. Harris had a rough night and Wednesday is Mothers group day so I can't go to the gym.

Whether I have a good, motivated day or not really seems to be dependant on whether or not I can get some exercise in fairly early on in the day or not.

I had planned on walking to mothers group but it was freezing and after almost getting frostbite in my fingers yesterday, I didn't feel like doing that again today.

I made the fatal error of going to the shops and giving in to a craving for a bought breakfast.

I am glad that my goals for this 100 day challenge aren't about food - but perhaps they should be!

So a good start to the day in the way of food as well as exercise is the key to me having a good day on a whole. I also didn't have much water today. I can really feel the difference. Good thing the Phase 2 mini challenge starts tomorrow!

Exercise for today was an hour on the spin bike - but it was quite interrupted - I was off the bike for probably 2 minutes out of every 10 - so I am only giving myself 3.5km today.

John Brack Tickets Giveaway

24 April – 9 August 2009
Open daily 10am–5pm and until 9pm every Thursday
The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
Galleries 17 – 20, Level 3
Admission fees apply

I have 2 tickets to the John Brack exhibition at the Ian Potter Centre - National Gallery of Victoria to giveaway, so if you are in Melbourne this weekend and looking for something to do this might be for you!


The exhibition closes on Sunday (This coming Sunday!) soI need to finalise this before tomorrow so I can get them in the post - so I will choose a winner at random if you leave a comment on this post by midnight tonight.


Good Luck!

Good Morning!

Well Good Morning!

I just feel like today is going to be one of those lovely days. Harris gave me 6 hours uninterupted sleep last night and it is amazing the difference that it makes to how you feel.

I tried to do a 'weigh in' today but it is difficult because my scales are really erratic - they can range over 2kg when you stand on the three times in a row so I don't take them too seriously. But this mornings number was looking promising - so I will take it more seriously if I get a repeated number over the course of the week.

As today is the second last day of Phase 1 I was thinking yesterday about my measly water intake. I have been trying to carry a water bottle with me at all times but I'm stll not extremely good at remembering to drink the water.
So for Phase 2 I am going to set myself a mini goal of drinking 3 litres of water a day. Not for the entire 100 days - just for the 10 days of phase two. Hopefully that will geet me in enough of a habit to remember to drink at least 2 lt after that.

The plan for today is to go to the gym for 40 mins cardio and some chest and biceps strength work. That should cover my 5km for today.

OK - I have to go and rescue the baby from the floor play mat because he keeps tippit over on top of himself.

ifitness for iphone

I went searching the itues application store the other day for something I could use to track the weights etc that I do in the gym that might be an alternative to carrying around a notebook and pen. Happily - I found just the thing in the ifitness.

This is a neat little application that not only allows you to easily enter the amount of weight and reps for each exercise, BUT it allows you to create a customisable daily workout schedule, giving you a demonstration of the intended exercise as well as a comprehensive database of exercises to choose to add to your personal workout regimen.

There is also a nifty little countdown feature so you can countdown 60seconds until your next set is due.

It also has the ability to track statistics on a week to week basis.

I think the ifitness application for iphone is great and it was so much easier than toting around a pen and paper - it was all right there as part of the device I use to listen to music at the gym anyway.

92...

So after me saying that it was way too cold outside today to go walking - it has turned into a stunning day here in Canberra and I WANT to go walking!

Though I have been to the gym today - did 30 mins on the treadmill. Mixed it up with some intervals, some hill walking and some steady state running - did about 3.5km all up and followed it up with some legs.

I think that I have managed to overcome my guilt of leaving Harris in the childcare at the gym. He really likes it there so I needen't be worried.

I think that I will go for a walk with mark and the dog this afternoon to get my weekly total up to 35km.

Right now I have to tear myself away from the blog and go and do some housework while the baby is asleep! *Trudges off to do housework...*

Testing the new Signature.

No...I haven't fallen off the face of the earth

But I guess when you are online so often and then you aren't for a few days it can certainly seem like that.

We went away to our house at the south coast for the weekend and I thought I would have coverage on my mobile - but apparently Vodafone's 3G network isn't all that great.

Never fear - I stuck to the 100 day challenge brief and we went for a big walk on both days.

On saturday we walked around the coast and along the rocks. At one point we passed an older lady who stopped and said to us:
" Do you guys know anything about seals?"

Of course we sad no.

Then she says: " Well there is a seal just around that corner up ahead"

We were like - Okay...didn't really think that seals ventured into Bateman's Bay too frequently.

So we walked around that corner, and the next one, and the next one....there was no seal. I think she might have found some nice mushrooms or something...but no seals.

On Sunday we ventured out for a bush walk - because Mark's mum told us that she had found a Sea eagle's next at one point and that she wanted her ashes scattered there near the nest. Problem was that none of us actually knew where the sea eagles next was. So we ventured out to find it. Happly - we did find what we think is a Sea Eagle nest - so that is one job done. Now we just have to make a time to go down and do the ashes thing.

On the goals front - I really don't understand my body at the moment and I think that it has everything to do with breastfeeding. I haven't lost any weight at all - even though I have gone from doing no activity whatsoever to exercise of some description daily. I think that perhaps I will have to ignore that fact and just keep on doing what I'm doing and hope for the best.

The plan for today is to go to the gym for some Cardio and legs. It's way too cold outside today for walking.

Ahh Friday.....

Although you would think that most days feel like a Friday to me. Not the case - the simple fact that I have Mark around on the weekends makes such a big difference!

Today I am going to head to the gym for a circut class - normally I would do this class on a Saturday but we are heading to the Coast this weekend for a little dose of warmth.

I honestly don't think this winter has been all that bad so far - it is the next couple of months that really get me down because I don't like wind and August and September are bitterly windy here in Canberra.

I realised after my run yesterday that there is great value in doing exercise that is slightly higher in intensity a few days per week rather than just walking. It was almost as if I could feel the afterburn from going for a run yesterday. That is what revs me up and keeps me motivated - that little afterburn. Today - instead of dreading doing something - I am actually looking forward to it. Not to mention the fact that I am more inclined to eat better when I feel that little afterburn effect.

I measured yesterdays run on google Earth and it turns out it was close to 5km - which I found surprisingly easy. I was umming and ahhing about actually doing the Canberra times fun run - but I am going to go and put my entry in today - that way there is no umming and ahhing anymore.

I am biting the bullet and getting it done.

Didn't want to but I did

I find that if I dont exercise in the morning that I generally don't feel all that much like exercising at all.

That is what happened today - mainly because it was a disgusting day here in Canberra today and it was just too cold and awful to go outside.

I wanted to take Harris to story time at the Library but I also wanted to go the gym but they kind of clash with each other - so I thought (with excellent intentions) that I would just get on the spin bike when I got home. But I ended up having coffee with a friend and then Harris was asleep and I didn't want to wake him by putting him in the car so I stayed out a lot longer than I expected to.

So by the time I got home I had pretty much talked myself into having the day off - even though I know that is not the pont of the 100 day challenge exercise. Believe me - I was having a big internal fight with myself.

So I offered to walk the dog - knowing that I had really wanted to get a run in at some point today.

I ended up run/walking about 5km which was great.

It so much easier without a pram!

After I was done I felt great and I was glad I had done it. (Which as we all know to be true 99.9% of the time)

98...

Well I stayed up too late last night fiddling with my blog and now I am all tired and paying for it.

Thus the reason I am blogging in the morning today - I'm getting it out of the way in case I feel the need to have an early night tonight.

We are having a quiet day today. Going to mothers group and then coming home again.

It's at a girls house who lives in the next suburb so I am planning on walking. I'll map it on my phone so I know how far it is - probably about 3km I think.

I'll probably do half an hour on the spin bike today as well while Harris is asleep.

So that equates to 5.5km for the whole day.

Have a nice day all!

If I could walk 500 miles.....

I have decided to add on to my goals for this 100 day challenge - still keeping it simple - I thought that I did need to make it a little more challenging.

The goal is to "Travel" 500 Kilometers by the end of the 100 days.

That equates to 35 kilometers per week and 5 km per day.

As I don't always walk/run I figured that I need to allocate an arbitrary number to the days that I do cardio that does not translate to a distance or I am unable to measure the distance.

So:

1 Hour of Cardio activity = 5km distance travelled

so for example - a cardio class at the gym is equal to 5km OR 30 mins on the bike or elliptical is equal to 2.5km.

I realised that some days I might physically do more than 5km - especially if I am walking - so I am not limited to only 35 km per week, I am able to bank kilometers - as long as the tally at the end is equal to 500 - thats is all that matters!

I thought of this today while I was out walking - last year when I was training for the half marathon I used to tally the number of kilometers I had run and rode each week and it was like a little game to see if I could better it each week. I thought it might be nice to add a little fun challenge into the mix.

99 bottles of...

water....days to go... definitely not bottles of beer.

Not that I'm really counting down because I don't necessarily want the 99 days to be over.

Today we walked again. We parked at the AIS rowing shed at the Yarralumla stretch of the lake and walked towards the zoo. My ipod died around the halfway point - I had been out for just over 30 mins so I decided to turn around at that point. I think it was about 6km. I have a GPS tracker on my phone but the phone is the ipod is the phone so they were all dead.

It felt like we were in and out of the car all day tday and it made it a very long day.

Tuesday is swimming day for me and Harris - so right now I am very tired. I take Harris to Aquatots and so far I think it is really great - I can see us going to swimming there for a long time. Its really about water awareness than swimming at this stage. Harris is in the 'Periwinkles' group and they do little songs and activities each week. It is very cute.
Poor little boy - I think he likes swimming but half an hour is a long time for a 5 month old baby in the pool.

So there was a few things I wanted to do on the net tonight but they will have to wait I think because I need an early night! Planning on a more quiet couple of days coming up - I think I am turing into a real homebody - never thought that would happen!

100 day challenge - I'm in

So that means that it's day 100 right?

I plan to approach this using the K.I.S.S. approach!

I was already committed to 10 weeks - and I still plan to work towards that goal of 0.5kg per week for the next ten weeks.

My goal for the 100 day challenge is simple - be active everyday and blog about it.

So that means go to the gym, do a crcut at home, get on the spin bike, walk the dog, go for a walk to the shops rather than driving etc etc.

I have become lazy by being a stay at home mum and often I find it easier just to sit at home rather than get off my butt and do something.

My focus for the next 100 days is about being active and mindful about my health.

That translates to what I'm eating and drinking as well (.e I need to drink more water each day). But I will stick to the main goal of increased activity for this purpose.

It seems simple I know - but simple is what I need right now.

So what is on the cards for today? I need to go into the Canberra centre to get a few things. I'm going to park at the Museum and walk in rather than park in the city and pay. It's 2.7km each way - so that is a decent walk!


I don't know why that is such a rubbish picture - but you get the idea!

So While Harris has been asleep for the past 45 minutes I have been doing some internet chores, paying bills, ebay purchases etc now he is waking up! Better go!

and now I'm paying

for the torture I submitted myself to yesterday. I swear that every muscle in my body is hurting right now.

It hurts to pick Harris up!

I think this is one of the reasons I was scared to get back to the gym.

BUT it has to be done if I want to achieve this goal!

I feel so unfit!

I went to the gym this morning for the first time in ages! I was trying really hard to focus on my self talk being positive - which was a good thing because had I not I may well have walked out!
I did a circut class by oh my goodness did t make me feel unfit! Simple things that before I could do so easily are now really quite difficult!
It made me realise that rebuilding my fitness is something that I really need to do.

Cardio wise I'm not too bad - it's the strength department where I am really lacking.

I should have guessed this because the past few weeks the scale number has been consistently dropping but the % Body Fat figure is not dropping very much at all - which essentially means I am losing muscle to some degree.

So yesterday I dug my spin bike out of the back room so that it now confronts me in my study daily.

I have set myself a goal to attempt to lose just 0.5kg each week for the next ten weeks. I am hoping that I can come a cross a charity ball or some event such as this towards the end of this time so that I have a nice event to look forward to looking great at! The reason I chose 10 weeks is because Harris's swimming term goes for ten weeks - so by the end of that time I hope to be feeling a little leaner in my swimmers than I do now!

I feel like 0.5kg is a really achieveable goal point for me, it's something that I feel like I can tangibly grasp and doesn't feel too difficult in my mind.

As a secondary advantage to this - it means that by the end of the ten weeks I will have lost 5 kg - which will put me around the 69kg point - only 1 kg off my pre pregnancy weight and 1kg off the point I wanted to be at before I went back to work.

I have been reading a lot of motivational blogging over the past week - so keep it up !

Destruc-a-baby strikes...

Today...my new Real Living magazine arrived in the mail...

Just now I walked back into the lounge to find this:

and what do those innocent eyes say? "What...isn't that why you left it out for me?"

and he can't even crawl yet...eek!

Struggling with selfishness

I admit it - I am having a hard time getting back into training - but not for the reasons I thought I would (i.e. lack of motivation) - it is because I feel selfish for dumping Harris in the childcare at the gym and not spending time with him.

Initially I was trying to get him back into a solid routine and I didn't want to go out when I knew it would mess his routine up for sleeping - now I know that I can work around that - especially if I walk to the gym with the pram.

But I just feel so selfish for leaving him there. I don't know where this has come from really because before I got sick last month I had no problem leaving him at the gym creche.

What got me thinking about it really was listening the the wonderful Lia interview both Rae and Michelle Nazaroff for Lindy Olsen at the All Female competition. ( you did a great job Lia).
Listening to Michell Nazaroff talk about managing her baby as well as training got me thinking about it all.

I need to feel OK about giving time to get myself back to where I was before. It is OK to leave him with a carer for a few hours so I can be the best I can be. It is OK for me to want to be the best I can be.

I guess I haven't really done a lot of navel gazing lately - but perhaps I should start again.

Lately I have had a very much "this is good enough" attitude. There has been lots of excuse making going on. Lots of "it doesn't really matter because I actually look OK. I haven't really been feeling bad about the way my body looks but perhaps I have a bit of a hazy view - perhaps I'm not really looking hard and being critical of myself anymore - perhaps that is a good thing?

On a side note I was reading in a parenting magazine about a woman who organises runners to participate in half marathons; fundraising for premature babies and equipment for hospitals etc. I think that this might be something that I would like to participate in. Since having Harris my heart goes out to anyone with a sick baby or child and the doctors who work the miracles to save them. I can't even watch stories about sick cchildren on RPA and shows like that anymore without tearing up. It is something that I have come to feel very strongly about. I need to do some more research though - so watch this space!

the power of banana!

We recently started giving Harris one meal a day of real food in addition to what he gets from Breast milk.

It has been a funny experience and frustrating at times but at the same time it is fascinating to watch my small boy figure out what he does and doesn't like and introduce him to the world of food.

It's also very interesting to watch his reactions to different food.

Now it is all very bland and simple at the moment - he just has single foods - like mashed pumpkin, or sweet potato, rice cereal, mashed pear, mashed apple, banana and avocado.

I guess it is like the opposite of an elimination diet because you can tell when something has affected him differently.

He's not too picky but he definitely doesn't think too highly of apple!

He likes all the veges though - and loves the rice cereal.

I made an interesting observation about the energy inducing effects of banana - we don't actually give him banana at night any more because it gives him a huge energy zing - whereas on the nights he has the nice low GI carb sources - placid happy baby!

It's fun and I am enjoying it!

Now I just have to start setting him a better example with the food choices I make!

September 13th Here I come

Fittingly September 13th is Harris's 7month birthday - an appropriate date to recommence my running passion I think.

Mark and Harris will be cheering me on from the sidelines - my simple goal is to complete this even and do it in under 1 hour.

The sub goal is to find that bug that I was talking about in my last post again!

I'm sure it won't be too hard once I get started.

So the plan for this week is simply to run three times!

3km twice
and 5 km once - probably on Sunday.

It sound so small and measly compared to what I was doing before but hey - things aren't the same as they were before and I have to change my thinking to reflect that change.

I also have decided to work on getting the cale weight down to 71kg as well.

There is a bg list of things that I really want to achieve before I go back to work and as each day ticks by the date when I am going back to work gets closer and closer. One of those things was to lose all of the weight I put on while I was pregnant. It is coming off slowly without me trying too hard but I think I may be losing muscle because my body fat percentage isn't really getting any lower.

So while my end goal weight is around 67 kg, for now I am going to focus on 71 and if I want to have a little break once I get to 71 I will. I really need to be back at aroun 25% BF as well but I'm not too worried about that - it will come in time.

It could be the few glass of red wine I have had speaking but I'm excited!

The Bug

I was out walking today with Harris asleep in the pram and the music from the ipod blaring in my ears - I am positive that is when I accomplish my best thinking.

I was thinking about how motivated I was to train when I was training for the half marathon and what the factors were that contributed to that motivation and I decided that it's "The Bug" that contributes a lot for me.

So what exactly is "the bug" - it's that unexplanable drive and motivation you get when you immerse yourself into a project and you just can't get enough of it - when you are realy looking forward to the outcome or the upcoming event. One of my favourite things in the world is looking forward to an upcoming event and having the excitement build.

In the terms of an athletic event part of that involves the build up events and actions that remind you of the nervous tension and excitement and the reason why you are there doing it in the first place. Those little events that keep the fire alive in side the bug (Perhaps we should call it the firefly).

So I've lost my bug! I realised that this was what I was missing - all those little things that keep me immersed. The gym alone isn't enough.

But when I go out for walks and get these tidbits of inspiation I feel like the bug is there floating around the edges of me.

So I have my event and it's time to try and reignite the bug.