My Journey to Better Health

Barbies and Meatheads

2012-03-10T21:12:00.000+10:00

Source: facebook.com via Kym on Pinterest

I'm in the minority of minorities when it comes to my training. There aren't many females that enter the free weight floor at the gym, let alone pregnant ones. I must be strange but I actually enjoy weight training. I'm not the type to turn to crossfit or body building, I just like the feeling of empowerment it gives you, plus the added bonus of some added definition and toning.

Now that we're entering the middle third of March the gym is slowly starting to empty out of all of the good intention January gym joiners. The cardio floor is still quite busy but apart from a quick warm up I don't touch that area so it doesn't bother me. On the other hand the weight's floor has dropped off to to leave mainly the "regulars".

The are two distinct groups of regulars that I come across and it seems to almost fall into the time of day that I attend - either the mid mornings or evenings.

The mid morning regulars are generally older or mums. They get in and get their work out done. Sure we have the occasional quick chat and idol pleasantries but on the whole they don't sit around hogging the equipment while we act like we're super-setting. The weights they lift aren't huge and its not very often that a spotter is need to avoid a serious injury. There's no strutting, posing or dropping of enormous weights to the floor making the whole area shake and everyone look in that direction.

The majority of the evening regulars are either young males (25 or under) or guys that think they are young and appear to be going through a mid life crises. The easiest way to describe them is meatheads. Every gym has a couple. They have a tendency to hog equipment while they are super-setting but in reality they are wasting time as I don't know the last time that a superset involved a 5 minute recovery between the alternating exercises. They require someone to spot them as if do manage to push to failure the weight will crush them as they don't set up the safety bars properly, and in a lot of cases remove them all together. They grunt and grown and drop weights on the floor to get everyone to look at them.

Source: liveinterrogative.tumblr.com via Kym on Pinterest

So yes the above is a very broad generalisation. There is also some normal guys that attend in the evenings but I am normally the ONLY female on the floor. I don't let them intimidate me and will quite often approach them during their time wasting and ask to "work in" with them during their recovery so I don't have stand around twiddling my thumbs. Surprisingly enough I've actually gained a fair amount of respect on the floor over the last few months - especially now that its actually obvious that I'm pregnant and not just getting fat again!

Well a couple of Friday's ago a group of three young women decided to enter the weights floor. As I'm dragging myself up on the assisted chin-up machine I could see the head twitches of the meatheads indicating to the other meatheads where to look.

Source: aliciacrossfit.blogspot.com.au via Kym on Pinterest

The young women, were in my opinion, wasting their time even being in the gym. What's the point in turning up to the gym if you're not increasing your heart rate. These Barbies (OK kill me now for putting down some females) were perfectly groomed, make up, hair, nails - the works. The took it in turns to uses the pinned machines and in reality the weights they were pushing (even on the leg press) wouldn't have increased their heart rate much above their resting rate. I'm still trying to determine if they were there just to get noticed or to actually exercise.

After the ladies had left the floor the comments were flowing. Other than the obvious comments males make in relation to how the girls looked there were also the comments relating to the amount of time the "girls" were wasting. How ironic - don't they realise that the majority of them are doing the exact same thing. The way I look at it is if you're still on the weights floor after an hour your most likely wasting time. I did also leave with the biggest grin on my face after over hearing a compliment of sorts about how the pregnant chick gets in there, gets her thing done and leaves without a fuss while still pushing big weights for a girl!

Walkies

2012-03-01T16:30:00.000+10:00

This morning when my alarm went off and I rolled out of bed I realised that my body was just not up for a run. I'd had one of "those" nights with the girls and in the last couple of day's I seem to have exploded a little more. Instead of throwing the sheets back on and going back to sleep I decided to go for a walk instead. Due to the slower pace I decided to take Jessy with me.

She appeared to hear her leash before I even touched it and started jumping around like a puppy and not like the nearly 9 year old dog (who had a VERY tough start) that she is. I'd decided after our last attempted run that ended up with me literally throwing Jessy in a creek to cool down that her running days were over but a surely a 5km walk couldn't be that bad and she'd surely be able to keep up with my 27 plus week waddle.

As we walked down the street, me waddling, her wagging, she dashed all over the place in the still dewy grass. 500m down and it was time for the lead to go on as we approach a couple of other four legged walkers. There was no way at this stage that Jessy was interested in healing. Another 500m down the road and the bounce in her had diminished and she was ready to heal and walk beside me without any tension on the leash. Across the train line we go and I notice that our pace as slowed and needs to be picked up again.

Past the train station and about 2km from home but home is visible and Jessy wants to cross back over the line. I don't pay any attention that she has now dropped off my shoulder and is trailing behind me. We follow the train line towards the next station, which is all up hill and by the 3.5km mark I'm almost pulling her along and I've had to slow down to less than 5km/hr. She's not limping or anything like that, she's just buggered but at least its (mainly) downhill.

Down the hill we go, which when I first started running made me grind to a halt, and Jess picks up a little pace. Back onto the main road and the truck that goes past seems to give Jessy a second wind but we've still got 1km to get home. If anyone was around they would have thought I was nuts as I was talking to a dog about being nearly home now. I dared not mention the last little hill to her.

Up the last hill I dragged her and past the train station once again. It's all down hill now and no more roads to cross, and no pedestrians or dogs in sight so off comes the leash. One last little spurt of energy comes through for all of 10m. We round the corner and home is only 100m away. I'm sick of urging her on by this stage and leave her to follow after me. Even my DH comments on how buggered she looks as I walk up the driveway while she's still another good 25m away. It taken us 55 minutes to walk a tad over 5km.

Jess walks (actually more likes drags herself) in the front door and heads out the back for a well deserved drink. I start doing the morning chores while the girls drag themselves out of bed and sit at their table for breakfast. Its then that I realise that Jessy isn't near the table watching for dropped food. I call her and there's no sound. I walk back towards the kitchen and spot her, spread out on the floor with a look of "I'm not moving another inch" on her face. Her wag has even slowed - I've got one tired puppy on my hands.

Somehow I think someone may have slept rather soundly in her kennel today.

Running (not so) Free

2012-02-25T14:20:00.002+10:00

Today like all Saturday's I attend my local parkrun. Unlike most other Saturday morning recently the sky's around Brisbane were looking just a tad wet. It had been raining most of Friday and when I woke up I was surprised to see that there was a break in the weather. I was actually hoping that there would still be some rain falling. Call me crazy if you like but I love to run in the rain. My thoughts then turned to my friend Helen who would be running while pushing her twins in the pram and then I changed my mind on the idea of rain as she then wouldn't be able to run.

Even though I was up earlier than required today and I had attempted to gather most of my gear together in a neat pile on the floor the night before disorganisation was going to get the best of me. It had all started with my leaving my phone behind at work on Friday afternoon. This meant that I had to cancel my carpooling plans with Helen in case she was unable to make it as I wouldn't get her text to say grab your own car today.

After I managed to get my youngest back to sleep there was no point going back to bed myself. I got dresssed, grabbed my gear and headed out the door. The plan was to go via work and pick up my phone, more to stop me worrying that maybe, just maybe it had fallen out of my bag at the gym on Friday night.

Just around the corner from work it dawned on me that I hadn't packed my cap. How does one run without something on their head? I came accustomed to wearing a cap last winter as I found that it stopped my ears aching painful in our (not so cold) winter mornings. As I pulled into the driveway at work I looked over into the back of the ute and low and behold in all of the miscellaneous stuff my husband keeps back there, there was a cap at the top of it all. Problem solved. Into work I hopped and grabbed my phone before heading towards to the city.

I managed to arrive rather early and strolled on down to the gathering spot to get ready. For some unknown reason I hadn't put my HR strap and watch on before leaving home and this was the real start to my undoing. I fumbled with my strap, and flashed my pregnant belly while talking to Roba and her daughter. I carefully threaded my ear piece down my back and under my arm and into my cleavage as I try and avoid having my iPod in my spibelt now as since I no longer have a waist it has a tendency to end up under my boobs. Next its time for the watch. I look for it and can't find it. I empty my bag and still no luck. I check the time on my phone and its about 10 minutes to we start so I head back to the car to find my watch.

I pass Helen on the way to the car as she walks down with her girls and say I'll make it back while handing her a belated birthday present. Back at the ute I scramble looking for the watch - no luck. Oh well I'll be running without knowing my pace or heart rate. This is brand new territory for me. Back to the starting line now as everyone finishes their warm up.

I meet up with Helen again who has decided to start from the back of the pack due to her "handicap" today. As the other 122 runners (a far cry from 226 a couple of weeks ago) come and join us at the start area I feel strangely naked. I know people run without a GPS watch or even a HR monitor all the time but this feels worse to me than not having my music playing! Its not like I continuely check it, its just having that extra bit of back up to know how I'm travelling, that I'm not pushing too hard, how far I've come and more importantly how far is left to go. The starter does their duties and we're all off and I'm running "free".

I won't bore you with the details of the whole 5km but what I can say is I found it so hard. I'm guessing most of it was a mental mind set thing due to not having my watch on but there was the other part of watching my footing due to the slippery pavements and the humidity. No kidding, it must have be 98% out there today - how I wanted it to rain just to cool me down but I know those two little girls sitting in Helen's pram would not have been impressed if it did rain. My official time was 36:18, 2:22 slower than last week. Next week I will have my watch with me as I'm not a fan of this free running stuff!

The biggest hat's off today has to go to Helen who ran a unbelievable 38:23 while pushing the girls in a non-running pram into a head wind for about 2km. Now that's a Super Mum!

Running for Two

2012-02-22T13:54:00.001+10:00

I've been really quiet on here and I can't believe its been nearly 3 months since I've done a blog post. Time really flies when you're juggling numerous balls.

25+ weeks

I'm now over 26 weeks pregnant and approaching the final trimester of my pregnancy. My belly has started to look pregnant instead of fat. What seems to amaze people is that I'm still doing weight training 2 - 3 days a week and I'm running between 15 and 19km on top of that. I've had so many people urge me to stop training and even more that are concerned about my running. I've got the full support of my doctor to keep going and his advice is that I will just know when enough is enough.

Now I'm no expert, I'm not medically trained so don't take anything here as gospel and definitely do your own research and tall to your own doctors if you want to run while pregnant. For most women that have been running before falling pregnant there are no reason why you should stop once you conceive. Obviously if you weren't a runner before hand its not the time to take it up but if you have a low-risk pregnancy you shouldn't have to dramatically change your exercise routine.

If found that during my first trimester that going for a run (and to a lesser extent doing my strength training) helped to keep my morning sickness at bay. Looking back now I think it was more that the running gave me something else to think about and took my mind off that awful "I think I'm going to hurt" feeling in my stomach. Fatigue also rears its head during the stage but once again the endorphins from the exercise helped to rise above it. During this first 13 weeks my training barely changed. I was more conscience about my heart rate and over heating but my mileage and pace stayed fairly constant.

Almost 22 weeks

Almost 24 weeks

From 14 to 22 weeks I started to slow things down a bit. Both my mileage and pace dropped off. Some of this was due to my belly starting to swell but the main reason was due to the heat of summer. My weights during my strength sessions have basically been the same from this point forward too. I'm actually not wanting to increase any of them even if I'm feeling ready to as the increase in relaxin can make your muscles, joints and ligaments more unstable.

Almost 26 weeks

About 3 weeks ago I thought that my running days were about to be replaced by shuffles. My Saturday 5km run times were increasing in time, which is to be expected. Well I'm still not sure what has happened but just over 2 weeks ago I record a PB at parkrun and then 1 week ago I equalled it. Now this is not a true 5km PB as I have gone faster but its the fastest I've done since starting this course on New Year's Eve.

I'm no where near the fastest that runs each Saturday but I'm having a giggle at the pseudo celebrity that my belly has become. It also gives me a little bit of a lift when the volunteers on the day call out things like "your stowaway is the fastest runner in her age group".

I'm hoping that I can keep running up until the weekend before baby number three arrives, but with my past history if I'm still running at 30 weeks I'll be happy. Any activity after that will be a bonus, be it a shuffle a run or a session at the gym. To date I've put on a total of 5kg since falling pregnant. I'm not trying to not put on weight and to be honest my diet has be far from perfect recently but when I compare it to my previous pregnancies there is no comparison to be made. If you tried to tell me that I'd be running at 26 weeks pregnant this time last year I would have laughed in your face and today if you told me to stop I would not so politely tell you where to go.

I get it now

2011-12-05T13:06:00.001+10:00

Losing weight is a funny thing. You're body changes in many ways. It shrinks, it gets stronger, fitter, faster. Some bits get firmer while others get wobblier. Friends and family start to comment on how good your looking but your brain is struggling to comprehend it all.

After talking to a few others ladies that have lost significant amounts of weight I can see I'm not alone. My brain still "sees" me as fat. I still walk into a clothes store an head for the large or plus size clothes. I shake my head if someone picks up a size 12 as I don't think it will go anywhere near me, even though they now do.

Trying to re-teach the brain is going to take time. You become conditioned to being a number and it gets ingrained into who you are and it weighs you down. I'm still working on not thinking about the numbers but to be honest it's not easy.

Its only now when I see a recent photo of myself that I realise how far I've come. It doesn't really make sense but I still see a much larger person when I see myself in the mirror but if I see a picture it hits home. I saw a couple of pictures of me taken on the weekend during a workout and it took me a while to actually comprehend that the legs I were looking at were mine and even when I look in the mirror today I have trouble believing that they are one and the same. Sound's strange doesn't it?

I could never understand when watching something like Bronte's Story how someone that was so thin could actually see themselves as fat. It's only from starting to comprehend what's going on in my own brain that I now actually have some understanding of what's going on in the mind of someone with an eating disorder like anorexia. While I'll never truly understand it I can start to sympathise with the internal battle that our brain gives us.

The Mousdash

2011-11-24T19:10:00.000+10:00

What could be seen as being any crazier that doing your first triathlon when about 9 weeks pregnant? I've got a great answer - doing The Mousdash when you're almost 12 weeks pregnant!

So what's Mousdash I hear you ask. The Mousdash is a run held by Nova in Brisbane during Movember to help in the fight against men's health issues, with the main targets being prostate cancer and depression. Two events are held. The 5.5km stroll or walk and the 10.5km stride or run. The 5.5km event is a walk from the planetarium to the Mt Coot-Tha Summit restaurant roundabout and return. While the 10.5km event is a run up and around the whole summit road of Mt Coot-Tha.

My DH and I signed up for this race before becoming pregnant and even at that time I knew it was going to be a very hard run. All you have to do is look at the long section of the run by clicking on the view elevation button in the picture below to get an idea of the hell it puts you though.

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I set my HR monitor to beep at me on this one each time I hit 165. The plan, which I did stick to, was to walk until my heart rate dropped below 155 before starting running again so as you could imagine there was A LOT of walking involved during the run. I actually found this run physically tougher than the half marathon. Maybe its because I have a great distaste for hills.

The first couple of kilometers from the planetarium to the Summit Restaurant Roundabout were just plain nasty. There may have been a short section that was relatively gradient free but in all honest I can't remember where it was as things just seemed to keep going up and up and up. I've driven up that road numerous times before but I've never realised just how steep it is. According to my map there was an average grade of 5% for 4km. All I can say is that the first kilometre was a lot harder and steeper than the gateway bridge!

After passing the roundabout there were a few undulating sections of road but they were never enough to really suck in some decent air before the climb started again. Then you were also taunted by the distance markers with their little comments on then. I could have yelled at the 5km one telling me I was half way there, if only I had enough lung capacity left! Not long after passing the 5km marker I spotted the St John's ambulance and thought what a mind game play by setting up and halfway. Unfortunately it wasn't set up for that reason - it was treating some poor guy that had been beaten by the mountain outside of the gates to Channel 9.

After rounding Channel 9 the next kilometre wasn't too bad and then I got to hit my stride on the downhill chaser! 3km of downhill running and I loved every step. I actually felt like my form was good. I wasn't over striding but I wasn't breaking too much either. To top it all off I was running averaging about 12kph for that section and flying past a whole heap of people. The at 9km someone decided to add it a section of up hill again - where the hell did that come from? It was absolute torture for about 500m before the downhill decent started again. Then some sadist of a person decided that the finishing shoot had to be uphill too - bastards! At least it wasn't too long.

All in all I conquered the mountain in 1:18:24.4 I was aiming at under 1:20:00 so I was rather happy with the effort. I was even happier to see that the fastest female took 42:16.5 which going by my previous results in relation to the fastest female made my day. What was even more surprising is there was over a 10 percent DNF rate!

To top it all off I finally had a look at some of the pictures that were taken on the day and I can say that I think I finally look like a runner!

Why I've been quiet ....

2011-11-23T21:13:00.001+10:00

This round I've been rather quiet with my posting. I didn't post what my goals were and for those with a keen eye my weight stats also haven't been changed in a fair while. Well I do have a good reason for it. For the last 11 or so weeks my DH and I have been keeping a little bit of a secret ....

We're expecting a third addition to our family in late May.

Before I get you worried that I'm over doing it - I'm not. I've had clearance to continue what I've been doing from my doctors as long as I don't go and run any more half marathons in the near future. I'm watching that I don't overheat and I'm staying hydrated. I even set my HR monitor to beep at me during a recent run (which I'll get around to blogging about later) so I did a lot of walking as opposed to running the whole thing.

I've been getting the comments about cutting back what I'm doing, not lifting my arms above my head, don't lift weights, stop running, you name it from people who think they know best (no doctors in this bunch either). But you know what, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing and I'll cut back or stop when my body tells me to.

I know that I'll be heading for surgery again to have this bub. So my plan of attack is that I AM going to be in the best possible shape when I get there as I know the recovery from such a major operation with 3 kids to look after isn't going to be a walk in the park.

The first trimester may be over but the morning sickness and fatigue are still lingering but this journey has a long way to go yet.

Another First

2011-10-24T13:45:00.000+10:00

Over the last few months I've accomplished a few "firsts". I ran my first 10km event and a half marathon. I started taking time out for me and putting my health first too. On Sunday I added another first to the list - I completed a triathlon.

I signed up for Triathlon Pink at the beginning of Round 3 of the 12wbt as a new challenge for myself. The course I selected was the "long course" consisting of a 300m swim, 9km ride and 3km run. The swim didn't have me concerned at all. I'm an ex swimmer from way back and I knew that even without training I'd be able to swim it somewhere between 6 and 7 minutes. The run didn't have me worried either - 3km these days is just a walk in the park. My worry was the ride but I knew I could complete it, it was just about how fast.

Before I knew it race day was less than 24 hours away. I'd only gone for one swim to make sure that my new goggles worked and that my bike pants didn't fall down. I'd been running 3 times a week still so no problems there but the bike hadn't made it out of the garage. DH dragged it out on Saturday afternoon and lubed her up with some WD-40. I took it for a bit of a test spin on Saturday afternoon to check the seat height and the age of the bike was a little telling from all the growning of the gears but it make the 3km around the block and I didn't have a back up plan.

Sunday morning we arrive down at the Runaway Bay Sports Center and go through registration. I'm number 54 and am thinking this isn't too bad, I won't be first in the pool so I'll have people to follow but it won't be too choppy either. I head over to rack my bike and prepare my transition area. All of a sudden it dawns on me that only 5 bikes down from mine are all the kids bikes and the kids race is first. That means that I'll be only the 5th person in the pool!

After a bit of milling around I bumped into a couple of the other 12WBT girls doing the medium course prior to heading over to the pool to watch the kids start. The speed of some of the kids in the water was amazing! Their bikes came in all shapes and sizes, from KMart $50 bikes to full on professional looking racers. Before the majority of the kids finished I got the marshalling call.

The call for "Long Course Athletes" had me giggling as I don't consider myself an athlete at all. As they went through the briefing the nerves were increasing, even though we kept getting told its just for fun. Then it was time to go to the pool deck. It was almost like we were on parade as we had to walk around the entire pool to spread everyone out.

It seemed to take forever for them to get us ready to start and then it was all systems go. It had been that long since I'd been in a pool without swimming in my own lane that I'd forgotten what the churn of others drafting off the side of you was like. A couple of kicks to the lower body as I turned to the first can reminded me of playing water polo at high school. I become extremely happy to be one of the first in the pool!

Before I knew it the swim was over and it was off to my very first transition. According to Steven I was too slow during transition! I kept getting the rubber from the fake grass stuck to my feet and I was worried about blisters and getting socks on with wet feet isn't the easiest thing to do when in a rush. Then I was off for my first real ride on the old clunker.

I pedalled for all my worth. According to my watch I maxed out at just over 27km/hr which I think is a pretty good effort on an old and rusty mountain bike! I've got to admit that it was rather disheartening to have the bike in top gear and getting passed by all the girls on the fully decked out road and hybrid bikes but you've got to start somewhere! Just under 20 minutes later and I've finished my 9km and heading back into the transition area to start the run.

I was expecting my legs to be really heavy after getting off the bike but the pushing of the bike through the transition area must have loosened things up - either than or I didn't ride hard enough!

The run was a little bit of a different challenge for me and it wasn't due to fatigue. It was because I didn't have my iPod. All MP3 devices were banned at the event, and after some of the craziness I saw out on the course I could understand it. I just never realised how much I actually managed to zone out with those little buds in my ears. After just over 20 minutes, and numerous time of evil Kym telling me to walk and not giving in I managed to cross the finish line.

Today I found my official times. My splits were:
Swim - 5:34
Ride - 19:59
Run - 20:47

Giving a total of 46:22. I'm still in total shock about my swim time. I never expected to get into the mid 5's, especially without training - maybe its time to take swimming back up ....

It's now official I can add another "title" to my list now. I am a Triathlete and even though I might not do another triathlon for a while I WILL do another one as I absolutely loved every minutes of it and I want more!

Blog Challenge #4 - Motivation and Habit

2011-10-10T13:31:00.000+10:00

Blogging challenge number 4 from Kath is on. Its the start of week 5 and by now a lot of the hype about the 12wbt has worn off and so too has the motivation that hangs off that hype. So this week we're reflecting on who we were and who we now are.

1. Describe in 25 works or less the you that you were before 12wbt.
I was overweight (who am I kidding - obese), tired, grumpy and not the person that I wanted to be or a good role model for my kids.

2. Now - who are you now?
I've turned into an exercise junkie. I've got more energy and I'm showing my kids that an actively lifestyle can be fun. I'm a half-marathon runner and soon to be triathlete.

3. What has been the hardest thing to make habit THIS ROUND?
This is a hard one, and I can't think of an answer. Maybe its because its my second round and I've been doing this for long enough for it to have sunk in but not long enough for me to have become complacent. Ask me next round and I can guarantee you that my answer will be different.

4. What has been easier to make habit than you thought it would be?
In one word - exercise. Its become a lifestyle not a chore.

5. How has your body changed THIS ROUND? I'm starting to see muscle definition.
My weight loss has slowed (as expected) but my measurements are still decreasing and more and more muscle is making itself seen.

6. How has your mindset changed this round?
I'm no longer focused on the numbers of the scales. I don't care if I don't get to my "goal" weight. I just want to be fit and healthy and my lifestyle choices will reflect this.

7. Finish this sentence "I now know I am strong because ..."
I now know I am strong because

8. Finish this sentence "I am proudest of ..."
I am proudest of the fact that I have stuck to the program, I've seen the results, I've felt the change and I'm not going back.

9. Finish this sentence "In 8 more weeks you will see me ..."
In 8 more weeks you will see me kicking my heels up and glowing, while enjoying all that summer has to offer.

10. What word applies to you now - that you never would have used before 12wbt?
Fit.

The Dreadmill

2011-10-07T21:42:00.000+10:00

If it wasn't already official, it now is - I loathe the treadmill for steady state runs. Yes the tready serves it's purpose for rainy days or some no thought required interval training but I've got no idea how people only train on it. The image below almost perfectly sums up my feelings on it.

Source: google.com.au via Kym on Pinterest

Treadmills have an evil reputation. They like to spit people off the back of them if they lose their attention for more than a split session. In general they can't do a negative incline (I only discovered tonight that my DH's gym has one that goes to -3%). Add to that the aided motion that they give you when running and its just not for me. On the other hand in a home situation they quite often find a new work purpose.

Source: google.com.au via Kym on Pinterest

I've had two days in a row that I've had to resort to the dreadmill. Thursday it was raining when I woke so it was either run in the rain, which wasn't very appealing, or go and do a full on interval session at the gym. I think I had a few people concerned with my running that morning. I was sprinting for 30 seconds and then resting on the runners for 30 seconds. I also discovered that the treadmill sounds like it might take to the air at 16km/hr! I was worried the whole workout that I was going to be one of the statistics of the person getting thrown off the end, and I even had the kill switch attached to me.

Source: google.com.au via Kym on Pinterest

Tonight I was catching up on my Tuesday cardio session that I missed as my body decided it needed to rest. I decided to attack a fair portion of the Mini Milestone Challenge. It consisted of an 8km run, 20km bike ride and 2km row. For some reason the gym was uncharacteristically busy for a Friday night and all the cardio equipment was in use. I decided that so I wouldn't be an equipment hog that I'd break up my session. I started with a 4km run, using the random program. Big mistake! When running 4km outside it is fairly easy for me, even with hills involved. I realised the main difference, outside I get some "recovery" due to the downhill parts. Add to that no fresh breeze and an unchanging view and I loathed every second of the run.

Jumping on the rower for the 2km was a welcome change until my forearms started to kill me. 11 minutes after starting and it was off to the bike. While I'm complaining about cardio equipment I'll add my gym's bikes to the list. I avoid the recumbent ones so I can't comment on them but the upright stationary bikes just don't work well for me either. I don't know if my upper body is just too short or if the design is wrong but I keep sliding off the saddle. 23 minutes later and 10km down and its time to jump back on the dreadmill ...

Now I understand the terminology about "brick session" when it comes to triathlons. My legs felt so heavy for the first 1.5km after getting off the bike. I was at the point of almost walking at one stage and then all of a sudden things improved, as much as possible on the treadmill, and the heaviness was gone.

After I'd finished the last 4km I decided to skip the last 10km. I'd been going for 1.5hours and burnt 700 calories. No guilt here about not completing it either as this isn't my Mini Milestone Challenge, that's on Sunday. I'm tackling Mt Gravatt again ....

Find the Joy

2011-10-03T13:39:00.000+10:00

For our third blogging challenge Kath has set us a more light hearted topic - FIND YOUR JOY!

Make me a list.

Or as my Gran used to say - count your blessings - every one.

Make me a list of all the NON FOOD self nurturing things that bring you joy. Count your blessings.

For some reason the first thing that popped into my head when I read the topic was Happy Gilmore.

"Think of a place that's really perfect. Your own happy place. Go there and all your anger will disappear."

So why not try and use that same sort of idea to stop you're self reverting back to the old habits of eating for comfort when things aren't going the way you'd hoped. Who would have thought that I'd be relating Happy Gilmore to health, well being and fitness! Anyway here's some of the things that make me happy:
1. Spending quality time with my husband.
2. Being a SAHM for my girls. I'm not a home full time and cherish the time I have with them - even if some days they can drive me a little nuts.
3. RUNNING! Some of you may not get it yet but if you keep with it, you will find your happy place out on the pavement. Just don't look for it on the treadmill.
4. The first smell of rain on bitumen. It reminds me of primary school - more specifically Grade 3, sitting near the window. The years when you didn't have a care in the world.
5. Watching my girls sleep. They look so angelic and peaceful, once again without a care in the world.
6. The buzz you get after a workout. Knowing that you smashed it and you'll be sore tomorrow but it's worth it.
7. Getting a sleep in! I can't remember the last time I had one of those.
8. Holiday's with my family.
9. Sitting outside in the sunshine, just watching the clouds float by.
10. Spending time with friends.
11. Music. It doesn't matter what sort - rock, classical, folk you name it. OK I do draw the line with some of the pop stuff. I could just listen, sing along in the car or dance around with the girls. One of my favourite quotes is on the wall on a collage in front of me.

"Music ... I love it for what it makes me remember and for what it makes me forget" Anon

My list could go on and on but I'll pull it up there. Thank you so much Kath for making me think about my own happy place.

What's on the horizon?

2011-09-30T22:15:00.001+10:00

I've been asked by a couple of people what my next event or challenge is going to be. Between now and Christmas I've got a few things planned and hopefully along the way I might fit in a couple more.

The next 12wbt related challenge is the first Mini Milestone for the round. I've set up a walk/run through Toohey Forest Park for next Sunday. At the moment it looks like the majority of those coming will be walking but I'm hoping to get someone to come who wants to run with me. The route of mapped out is around 8km return but if I can find someone else crazy enough to join me I've got about another 2.5 - 3km I can add onto it. I have also decided on a back up plan if I can't get someone else to run with me.

The plan is that I run for about 500m or so and then either back track until I find the walkers and turn around and repeat until the end. Alternatively I do a similar thing by running a distance or for a set time and then do some strength exercises on the side of the path until the walkers catch up to me and then take off again. Whatever happens it will be something different from my usually weekend long runs.

After I've recovered from the Mini Milestone challenge I'll then be competing in my very first triathlon on the 23 October. The Triathlon Pink helps raise funds for The National Breast Cancer Foundation and is a female only event. I'll be doing the long course which is a 300m swim, 9km ride and 3km run. The swim and run don't worry me at all. The bike has me a little bit concerned but I know I'll make it, I just may be a little slow on the old rusty bike. That reminds me, I should take it out for a spin soon and make sure its road worthy still!

<p>&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/48365226"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;The Mousdash&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/?location=QLD, Australia"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Runs in QLD, Australia&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

What I believe will be my biggest challenge since the half marathon will be The Mousdash. The Mousdash is a 10km run on the road up and around Mt Coo-tha. Definitely not for the faint hearted - feel free to have a look at the elevation profile if you clink on the route! This event will be run on the 13th of November as part of fundraising for "Movember". For those that don't already know Movember's aim is to raise funds and awareness for Men's Health and in particular prostate cancer and depression. On the first of November men are clean shaven and throughout the month groom themselves' to form the perfect moustache.

At the end of November come another event that I may partake in. At the moment this one is still up in the air as it looks like we will have our work Christmas party the afternoon/evening before. The Variety Santa Fun Run is a 5km run which will be done just for fun. What could be better than running along first thing in the morning in a Santa suit while raising funds for Variety and then spending the rest of the morning with the kids in the park enjoying Christmas activities?

Guess what - I'm not finished yet! The 10th December will mark the official end of Round 3 party for the 12WBT. I'm planning on heading down to Sydney to celebrate with some of the other participant but more importantly I'll be going to do the end of season work out to show myself how far I've come in such a short period of time. I've also got my fingers crossed that I'll be able to partake in an unofficial 12WBT fun run down there too.

So as you can see I've got a fairly busy couple of months ahead of me and I'm sure there will be a couple of other 12WBT events to pop up in the very near future.

A Picture of Health

2011-09-28T13:05:00.001+10:00

As part of Kath's unofficical 12WBT blogging Challenge she's asked two questions for week 2 post:

What is (to you) a picture of health?
What is health?

There's not a straight forward answer for this one. Being healthy and fit comes in all different shapes and sizes. Just because someone has a BMI of 20 doesn't mean that they are fit and healthy. They might be what I've come to refer as "skinny fat", or having a low lean muscle percentage and eat crap all the time. Sure they might look fairly good but unless they're one of the lucky few it will catch up with them.

I had a search of the net for the pictures below. I saw these, and some others a couple of years ago and I find that they are a fantastic visual representation of health, body image and our differences. All the women in the pictures below are/were olympic athletes. Their heights, weights and build all vary and as they are at the top of their field you can only assume they are in top physical condition and health.

Source: amazingasset.com via

Source: amazingasset.com via Kym on Pinterest

Source: theskinnytimes.tumblr.com via Kym on Pinterest

So what is health to me? To narrow it down for me it is my body and my mind being in sync. It is me being free to do whatever I want to do, to not be restricted by weight, emotional or physical baggage. Yes it is possible to tick all the boxes in relation to your PHYSCIAL health and fitness but if you aren't able to do the same emotionally and mentally then something is out of balance.

Source: getfitorbust.tumblr.com via Kym on Pinterest

You don't have to have the resting heart rate of an Olympic long distance runner, the body fat percentage of a gymnast or the strength of a weightlifter to be healthy. Being healthy aids in your body being able to repair itself and to handle the stresses that we throw at it everyday. Being a picture of health helps you stay in a happy place and lets you be free.

Three Questions

2011-09-26T12:51:00.002+10:00

I had a friend ask me a question the other day. Well actually it was three.

What for you was the turning point to getting fit?
What made this time different from other attempts in the past?
What has changed in you?

To be honest I'd never actually really sat down and thought about them before but I told her I'd do a blog on it as they were very thought provoking for me. So here I go.

What was the turning point to getting fit?
To be honest I don't think there was one point. I had decided around Christmas last year that I was going to start running come the new year. I don't know why I decided to do that but I guess somewhere deep inside of me I wasn't happy with what I'd become. I started doing interval running on the first of January but went a little bit to hard and fast and injured my foot. I started using my spin bike and the pool to keep me moving until my foot recovered and by the middle of February I was out pounding the pavement again.

Somewhere between February and March something clicked and a worked out that I actually liked running. I even took my gear with me on a holiday out to Uluru. It was around this time that my husband suggested that I an the Gold Coast 10km. By now I'd started looking at doing the Mother's Day Classic 8km and told him that I'd do the 10 if I survived the 8km and the rest is history.

As the months went by I got fitter a could run longer and further but I still wasn't losing weight and wasn't happy about how I felt. It was late in April when I asked an online friend about the Michelle Bridge's 12 Week Body Transformation and I thought that I had nothing to lose and it could only help.

What made this time different from other attempts in the past?
The main difference from any other attempt to get fit, lose weight etc was that I wasn't doing it for an event, I wasn't doing it for someone else, I was doing it for me. I started fairly slowly and by the time I'd come across the 12WBT I was ready for a real change and wake. Realistically I could have done it all by myself. I know the calories in, calories out stuff but having the plan written out it front of you made it easier. The food is also REAL. I'm not eating chemical laden crap. Don't get me wrong I still indulge but nowhere near as much as I once did.

The other thing that helped me a lot was going to my first Stand Your Ground Workshop. In the words of Emma, it helped "get my shit together". Once again I knew everything she "taught" me but it just needed to be uncovered again.

Another thing that has made things different is that IT HAS WORKED! I've lost about 16kg since the beginning of May. I'm now at that point where by body is saying its happy and I've found a happy plateau and I'm happy staying at 65/66 for a while.

What has changed in you?
The biggest change I've noticed myself is that I love to exercise now. I used to play a fair amount of sport back in high school and up until I left uni. I used to enjoy it but I wasn't as addicted to it as I am now. I guess back then it was more of a social thing too but at the same time it also managed to keep my weight under control without me having to watch things to carefully.
I've also now learnt that I have to find time for me. I can't be the person I want and need to be if I don't nurture myself first and exercising is part of that. I now look at exercise and eating as a way of life not as a short term solution.

Source: happilymaintaining.tumblr.com via Kym on Pinterest

Stand Your Ground 2

2011-09-19T14:36:00.002+10:00

The bruises on and around my knees are starting to turn to lovely shade of yellow-green, the bruises on my knuckles have disappeared but the scabs remain and are healing and the marks on my shoulders are also fading. To look at the marks on my limbs it looks like I've been in a bit of a fight, and to some extents its true.

On Saturday I attended Stand Your Ground Workshop 2. These workshops are run by Emma from Emazon Chronicles. Some of you may remember me writing this blog post back in July about Stand Your Ground. At the time I didn't even know there was a second workshop and even if I did it wouldn't have mattered. Even up until attending the second session bits and pieces of information from that session continued to make themselves clear. I've been asked numerous times about what the workshops do, or what do you learn and its different for everyone and something that can't really be explained. The best explanation is that these workshops help you understand your mind, and get "your shit together" by using fight training as the catalyst.

I still can't explain Saturday's session to someone that didn't attend it, and even to the other seven women that attended it may not understand my own explanation of the session. The way I felt after SYG 1 and 2 were almost polar opposites. After 1 I didn't really want to talk to anyone, I had to let things sit and absorb what I had learnt. I started to understand why I had fallen in love with running. Light bulbs were going off but I was silent.

In contrast as I walked out of SYG2 my hands were still shaking, most likely from the adrenaline still running through my veins. Even as the darkness of the night took over, my heart felt light, I felt like singing from the top of the tallest building. During the evening I came across this quote by Marianne Williamson which struck a chord with me:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

By morning I no longer felt like singing or dancing on the roof tops but I felt a strange sense of peace. I'd come to a place of better knowing and understanding and I felt strong.

My Refresher Course

2011-09-16T22:25:00.000+10:00

Just a little bit of a refresher for myself before Emazon tomorrow.

Source: google.com.au via Kym on Pinterest

A working Mum's Morning

2011-09-15T19:02:00.000+10:00

For some reason today I thought I’d put together a little piece on a typical morning at my place when I’m going to work. I'm lucky firstly because I only work part-time, usually 2 or 3 days a week. Added to this is the fact that my husband is also my employer so on the mornings that the shit hits the fan with girls he is usually also pretty understanding of me being late. Another bonus is that he is supporting my exercising and will go to work later himself on the mornings that I’m out pounding the pavement.

5:30am – the alarm goes off and I roll over and hit the snooze button.

5:37am – the alarm goes off again. I hit the button again but this time I’m hearing noise from the girls room. Victoria is about to get out of bed.

5:40am – Victoria is standing beside me waving and saying mummy. Time to get up and get ready to run. Victoria is now in the bed or causing chaos in our room. I turn on the TV and she settles enough to let DH to keep resting while I get dressed.

5:50am – I’m looking for some part of my running gear. Be it the iPod, my HRM strap, the watch or the GPS attachments. It never seems to matter if I get ready the night before as something always disappears – most likely due to Victoria picking it up as she comes to greet us good morning.

6:00am – Out the door. This is my time.

7ish am – Return home as DH jumps in the car to leave – its hand over time. On a good morning he’s started the kids breakfast, on a bad one Victoria’s trashed the joint and may have even been put in the shower to clean up the mess.

7:30am – Breakfast are complete and it’s time for a shower. I can no longer enjoy a shower alone in the mornings as Victoria always joins me and Elizabeth comes in about half of the time. If they’re both in there fights over the bottles or toys will no doubt start.

8:00am – I’m dressed but chasing two naked kids around the house. Elizabeth protests that she can’t find the right outfit to wear and Victoria just flat out refuses to help while I’m trying to get her dressed.

8:10am (but usually turns into 8:30 in the mayhem) out the door. Elizabeth will be complaining that her seatbelt is too tight and Victoria will be removing her shoes.

8:30ish – Daycare drop off. Elizabeth happily goes to her room and finds her friends. I find one of Victoria’s careers so she gets a cuddle so I can leave without tears.

8:50ish – At my desk. The mayhem has ended for another morning.

So it may seem a little crazy and I haven’t even started on the late afternoon/early evening shift. A day at work is so much more relaxing than my days at home with the girls. That being said I cherish those days too.

Round three bloggers challenge - All about me

2011-09-13T14:48:00.001+10:00

Kath, aka Shrinking Kath, aka The Courage to Start has kindly set up a weekly blogging challenge as part of round 3 of the 12WBT.

The first topic is "Introduce Yourself", so here I go .....

1. Describe yourself in 25 words or less
I'm a work in progress. Wife and mum to two beautiful girls. I'm not the life of the party but I'm not sitting in the corner either. Watch out because I say what I think and sometimes it does sting a little (I need to work tact a little!).

2. What brings you to 12wbt?
I start 12WBT in Round 2 of 2011. I'd started running at the beginning of the year and I thought my diet was going ok but I just couldn't shift the weight. I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I wanted to feel better about myself and bring back the person that I know I can be.

3. Why do you blog?
I blog more for selfish reasons. I find it to be a perfect forum for dumping how I'm feeling and what I'm going though on my journey. As a positive note if it helps inspire someone or makes someone realise that they are not alone then it's even better.

4. Who is your biggest inspiration in life and why?
Now you've thrown in a tough one. I'll go with my Grandma. She was always smiling and joyful and nothing seemed to get her down. Even during her last few days she found the strength to put on a cheerful voice while wishing me happy birthday. She was always so organised and never forgot dates or events. She loved life and those around her with all her heart. Most of all she had no regrets.

5. What things in life bring you the most joy?
My family. I don't know what I'd do without my husband and kids. After that comes the freedom of running.

6. What do you think your greatest challenge is going to be this round?
To stay really focused on my diet. I've been able to be a little more relaxed last round with portion sizes as I was a lot bigger at the beginning but that's all changed now.

7. What are you most excited about 12wbt?
To get down to my goal weight of 63kg. I can't remember being that weight since high school at the end of year 12. I'm in those last 5kg area so I know its not going to be easy.

8. And what scares the pants off you?
Believing any excuses I make up that cause me to stray and not make my goal.

9. Tell me - right now - today - how you feel about exercise in no more than 10 words.
Its my sacred place, enjoyment and time just for me.

10. Complete this sentence - in 12 weeks time - on the last day of 12wbt I am going to be feeling ...
on top of the world for being the best version of myself.

Please jump over to Kath's blog for a link to others that are also participating in this challenge.

Bridge to Brisbane

2011-09-13T14:11:00.000+10:00

So on Sunday I conquered another milestone by running the Bridge to Brisbane. The 10km distance wasn't the issue at all, obviously after completing a half marathon, it was the mental side of getting up the bridge.

B2B 2011 - care of The Courier Mail

A little bit of background on the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges (previously known as the Gateway Bridge when there was only one bridge). The bridge/s pass over the only access point to Brisbane for large vessels and the site was chosen due to its proximity to the port, industrial areas and the airport. These factors gave the bridge its unique shape. The bridge had to have a clearance from the high water mark of 55m for shipping navigation but less than 80m (including light poles and signs) for aviation navigation. Added to these requirements was that the maximum grade on the bridge for vehicle traffic requirements was 5.27% and you've got a limited window on which to design your structure. In the end at their highest point the bridges are 64.5m above the Brisbane River and span approximately 1.63km.

The start of the race was at 6:10 which meant that DH and I had a fairly early start. Our alarm went of at about 4am and then we got up and got ourselves ready. At about 4:30am Heidi (a fellow 12WBTer) arrive for our car pooling journey to the race. A bit more scratching around, putting on catering bracelets, race bibs and other stuff and we were off.

Thankfully we left with plenty of time to spare as getting the car park proved to take a while. After finally getting the car parked we had the 800m walk to the starting area. The hill up from the railway station was just what we needed to start to warm us up and get the blood pumping. As we made it to the starting area I heard the 6:00am start for the wheelies and then the Marshall started calling the red and blue runners into place. Not long after greens were being called. Even though we all had yellow bibs we squished in towards the end of the greens.

After what seemed like an eternity we slowly progressed to the starting line. Over the mats, push the buttons on the watch and off we go. Steven and Heidi took off up the slope at a pretty good speed, but I decided I needed to keep my own pace on that upward slope as it was still playing with my mind. I ended up surprising myself as I made it to the top of the bridge and hit the 1km mark in 7:00.6 minutes. Then came the fun down hill run. I managed to position myself behind two mums with running prams and had my first clear run with any dodging and weaving, until their pace got too much for me around the 2.5km mark

As we continued on to Kingsford Smith Drive the running became easier. I was doing less dodging of walkers that shouldn't have even been in the running pack (vent number 1) but then I managed to roll my ankle on the train track. Around the same time I also saw a couple of other runner trip on the roadside barriers and some of those falls must have really hurt. As I continued on towards the 5km (vent number 2 coming) I started to get frustrated by interval runners. I know that some people can't keep a steady pace and need to use intervals, but FFS not go from an all out run/spring to almost a dead halt. It makes it very hard for the person behind you to get out of the way and not slam into you! At least with the straight walkers you could pick your line and weave around them.

The 5km mark saw the start of the protest line. At first I thought it was an anti-carbon tax demonstration. The first sign had something about the majority of our greenhouse gases come from cattle - at this stage I must have missed the vegan slogan at the end. Then came people dressed in animal suits with signs about becoming vegan to reduce your carbon footprint by up to 95%. On the plus side it gave me something to take my mind off things as I continued to dodge people and I also got a giggle at one of the running mascots tackling one of the demonstration animals.

Not to long later and the Inner City ByPass comes into sight. Down the on ramp we go and then the up hill slog starts. I'm not a person to stop for water breaks on a 10km run but while concentrating on the hill I was a little slow to realise the was one coming up and it was time to head away from the mayhem and head to the right. All of a sudden I get water in my eye from a hose that's been put on spray over the track - not happy Jan. Apart from not expecting it, it just added to the slipperiness around the drinks station. OK vent number 3 over.

Up the hill I continued and it was at the top of the hill that I saw a young boy, probably only 8 or 9 running along with another adult male. The guy wasn't his dad but he was helping and encouraging him all the way even though his own face was red and his was obviously hurting big time. I threw out some words of encouragement from the heart as I couldn't even imagine running all that way at such a young age.

My watch said I'd completed the race in 1:05:07 (and run an extra 270m) and my official time was 1:04:50. I was aiming for 1:07 so I was over the moon. I'd run the GC 10km in 1:10:28 and that was flat. What an improvement!

After a quick phone call I located Heidi but Steven was lost in the crowd. The two of us walked around towards the Athlete's Foot stand where I organised to have Steven to ring me when he turned up and the next thing you know we've bumped into a couple of other 12WBTer's. After all of that effort it was time for a chin wag, a coffee and breakfast.

The 12WBT Crew - Me, Kath, Sharon and Heidi

I finally found Steven to discover that he'd managed to get under the 60 minute mark. I think his official time was 59:00 so he is a very happy camper. Heidi also smashed it by running 59:52. Kath ran what I believe to be a BP too of 1:01:03 and her husband Paul annihilated it in 41 minutes! All in all the perfect way to start out round 3 of the 12WBT.

The count down is on

2011-09-09T22:49:00.000+10:00

The count down is on and I couldn't think of a better way to help kick off Round 3 of 12WBT. Sunday starts the ball rolling with the Bridge to Brisbane. My goal is to run a sub 67min, or around 9km/hr. My training has me on track to do this, with one slight exception - that bloody big bridge at the beginning. 5.27% for 800m has me a little concerned. To start with it was only the "upside" of the bridge that had me worried but after talking to a few previous B2B runners I should be equally concerned about going down too. Apparently there is usually quite a few trips and falls from runners losing control on the downwards slope and taking others out with them.

My training diary is filled out and planned for the week ahead. I'm yet to work out which hill I want to tackle as part of my 20 minute hill run intervals. My dilemma is that the hill with the better incline just isn't going to cut it on the length side of things whereas the longer hill's incline may not be hard enough. I guess it just means I have to run up the longer hill faster!

I've finished my shop and will be picking it all up after my weights session on Monday morning. Mish your menu look DIVINE this week. I'm already hanging out for the lasagna and I'll be putting extra in the freezer for my post Friday night workouts.
Thanks to a FB shout out by Shrinking Kath the end half of kick off week will also be a blast. I'm off to Stand Your Ground 2 Workshop. I attended SYGW during round 2 this year and the clarity and insight that it gave me shocked me (and still does). My post on that workshop gives you a little bit of understanding of how I started to process it.

As part of my excitement from booking the course I started trolling Emma's Facebook page and came across her notes page on the topic of "The Brain V's the Mind". So much came flying back at me from that 3 hours almost 2 months ago.

The bit that resonated so forcefully with me tonight was:

"GET OUT OF YOUR HEADS (the bit that already knows how to stand at the cupboard and fridge wondering what can I eat? when I’m not hungry) and get into your mind. Learn the difference. Empower yourself with knowledge so you are not trapped in a jail of just will power."

My bet is that everyone at some point has stood in front of the fridge or cupboard looking for something to eat out of habit, boredom, frustration or some other emotion and in the majority of cases grabbed something that their body didn't need. The trick is being able to identify it, listen to your body and determine if eating whatever it is in front of you is going to serve you.

It's confession time.

2011-09-09T13:50:00.000+10:00

It’s time to come clean. My weight loss has come to a grinding halt in the last couple of weeks and I have no one to blame but myself. The last couple of weeks has seen me eating out a little more than usual with a couple of celebrations and dinners with friends and family and even though my choices in general have been clean my portion control hasn’t been that good. I’ve also indulged in a couple too many pieces of birthday cake.

At the time I knew I should have said no but I didn’t. I kidded myself that I’d only have a small portion of the slice dished up to me and next thing you know it’s all gone. By the time I’d get home I’d feel sick from the over indulgence and swear that I’d behave better next time. Next time came and I did it AGAIN. Then the vicious cycle the next day starts. Sugar cravings taught me. Thankfully I don’t keep any crap in the house that is tempting to me otherwise I would have eaten it.

A week after the end of round 2 I decided that I was going to see how much I’ve actually retained on the nutrition side. As part of this I decided to follow my own meal plans and not Mish’s. For some strange reason I also decided that I WASN’T going to record everything. This was what I believe to be my biggest undoing. In general I believe I had a fair idea of the calorie content of what I was eating but because I wasn’t writing it down I’d forget I’d eaten something or I’d estimate something’s weight. All of these little bits obviously added up.

I have still been training and I still love it. I’m loving seeing my running times get faster. My BP’s on different routes I haven’t run for a while are crumbling all over the place. I’m really enjoying the swap I’ve made to the free weights area of the gym. I’m guessing there is a slight possibility that this may have helped me build little bit of muscle over the last month as well. Even though the scales aren’t really moving I’ve lost another 3cm of my bust and 1cm off my waist.

OK confession over. I’m ready and can’t wait to get started on the next 12 weeks. I can only gain as much from it that I’m willing to put in.

I'm still here.

2011-09-06T21:02:00.001+10:00

I've been a little slack since my last post and I can't believe that over two weeks has flown by. Don't worry I'm still training like a women possessed. If anything my training has gone up a notch since the finale.

I made the decision to give Advanced Lean and Fit a good crack on my second round of 12WBT. Pre-season is almost over and I'm doing well with last season's exercise plan. I've made the swap from circuit and pump classes for my strength session to the weights floor. At first it was a little bit daunting but now I'm just one of the regulars.

I'm a little surprised at how much I'm enjoying the free weights. I guess it gives me a sense of accomplishment that there is no machine helping me out at all. Another bonus about the weights floor is that I'm not as limited on my squat weight anymore. In the classes I couldn't squat more than 20kg unless the instructor was able to help me as I couldn't lift anymore weight above my head. Now I can load up the olympic bar, position my shoulders under it and lift - so much easier.

I've just found my current limit for leg presses. At 90kg I can start to feel the muscle weakness from my old water skiing injury. I'd actually forgotten that I even had any weakness there at all as running hadn't seemed to bother it. Over the last few weeks all of my weights have been slowly increasing but I'll admit that I've got weak arms and my back muscles aren't much chop either. Reverse pull ups look easier but I can't lift myself anywhere near the bar, and don't even ask about chin ups! Even with the assist machine I've got a lot of work to do.

My focus is going to shift a little this round. I am still aiming to lose some more weight but I'm just going to see how I feel once I get to 63kg before deciding on what I'm going to do. This shift away from a weight loss goal as had me a little lost on what to do for my goals this round. I've decided to go for more fitness related goals this time.

So here's my goals for this round:
1month:

18 full push ups
Do 2 ascents of Mt Gravatt.

3 months:

50 full push ups
Run 5km in 30 minutes of less

I've also signed myself up to do my first triathlon. Its not a big one. 300m swim, 9km ride and 3km run. The swim and the run don't worry me at all, its the bike that will be the challenge on my old rusty mountain bike.

My other event for the 12 weeks is the Mousdash. This event is going to be one hell of a challenge while raising money for charity. I'm still thinking I'm a little nuts for doing this as I really don't like hills and they don't get much bigger around Brisbane that Mt Cooth-tha. Mind you in a couple of weeks I'll be going up and down Mt Gravatt a couple of times and that little number has an average grade of 10% on the walking tracks.

The finale - Part 1

2011-08-23T21:02:00.000+10:00

All good things must come to and end but what a way to officially end my first round of the 12wbt. I joined about 800 other people on the training oval at Ballymore for the end of round workout. I was slightly nervous of what was going to happen after hearing some stories about the intensity of the session in the rain and mud in Melboure last round.

The starting time was a little odd. Who organises to start exercising for an hour at Midday? I decide that I had to be organised. I was leaving home too early for morning tea or lunch so I packed some snacks, plus some extras for my car companions. I forgot the sunscreen but thankfully the organiser's had that on hand.

Helen, Belinda and Gillian

When we arrived the crowd was only small. Not long after collecting our registration kits our little posse was approached by a woman wearing a 12WBT t-shirt. I thought she was just being friendly and next thing you know I was meant to be doing an interview WITH MICHELLE. With some for warning about the questions that were going to be asked my nerves weren't taking over but the butterflies were still there. A couple of interviews were done and then all of a sudden Michelle was running out of time so Tracey and I missed out. With a bit of quick thinking Tracey managed to get a photo with Mish organised.

About 15 minutes later and the action started with a group warm up in front of the stage with Mish leading. I then started wishing I hadn't done weights the night before that focused on my upper body. My arms and chest were already sore before the push ups started! Then it was off to our fitness level groups for 3 x 15 minute sessions.

I'd convinced myself with a little push from Kath last weekend to do the Advanced training session and now my heart rate was increasing with fear. The first activity for us was boxing. I ended up with the pads, Belinda was punching at me without gloves, we lost Gil to another group and Helen was smiling thinking she got a little bit of a break. That was until the words run and burpee came out. After a few more instructions we started our 3.5 minute round. Half way into the first round Mish turns up and starts yelling at us. Belinda is punching and kicking like a mad women and Mish yells out something along the lines of "way to go women in purple". We're then all called off our stations for a mini session with Mish - our own little torture chamber. Less that a minute later that's over, we finish the first round and rotate.

I'm running and burpee-ing, Helen's punching and kicking while Belinda stands there and takes it, deserving every second of that rest. Round 2 over and we rotate again. I've got to say I'm so glad Helen could count because I couldn't manage to keep track of kick, lunge, punch, squat or whatever was going on. The loud speaker sounds and it time to go to the 2nd 15 minute round ... Cross Training.

First we did 3 x 200m sprints in 1:05. You started on your back, got up when the whistle blew and ran and were meant to lay down again at the end. Each time I made it back with literally seconds to spare so I just kept running. Next we were lined up in the sand doing push-ups. We then had to wait until the person in front of us got up and started running around the group until we could get up and follow them before coming back to our spot and starting push ups again. We then moved on to pushing the tackling machine around. Unfortunately there were a few too many people in the group so it wasn't that effective.

Onto Round 3 - The Viper Room. This one had us confused. There weren't enough vipers (a weighted tube with cut outs to handle it) for the number of participants and when you missed most of the briefing while trying to workout where to go it got even more confusing. All I know is that if it was being done properly then it must have been hard work as Ange looked absolutely stuffed from helping run the section for the morning. In the end it meant, more push ups, skiing and other exercises before the final speaker sounded for our cool down.

Opps, did I say cool down? There's no cool down until the final blast with Mish! Some more running, jumping, burpees and push ups before we finally start to cool down. In the end I ended up burning 587 calories and gained a tan line.

Lean and Fit Here I Come

2011-08-17T07:15:00.000+10:00

After finishing my first round of the 12wbt I decided to jump back on the train for my second round straight away. There's no point in having an "off-season" and undo the good work I've done. Bad habits are so hard to break but are so easy to re-establish so I don't want them to come creeping back in the door.

After attending my first group session on Sunday as mini milestone in addition to my major milestone I decided that I am fit enough to give Lean and Fit a good run for its' money. I know its not going to be easy but I need to step up to the challenge. There's no point in staying in my comfort zone.

I can now do some full push ups. OK so the forms not perfect but you've got to start somewhere. I'm also starting to get some more strength in my arms. Lifting sandbags over and over and over again proved that!

I've now completed my first two L&F workouts. I did the week one cardio from last round two nights ago and killed a huge 630 calories in just over an hour! I also know where most of them died - it was on the dreadmill doing rolling intervals. I was able to do the speed interval at moderate joggers pace (9 - 12kph) but on the hill I couldn't get above 8 even though I could hit the 9% at that speed. After the first interval I then dropped back to the beginner jogger pace to finish off the intervals. I was absolutely knackered!

Today I'm planning my attack on my first strength session. I know all of the exercises so that's not a problem, it the increase in weight and reps that are going to test me. Add to that the fact that I've got DOMS in my abs. Mind you I'm still shocked that there is some muscle down there to have any pain.

Now I've got to starting thinking about my goals for this round ....

Reflections on Round 2

2011-08-13T14:20:00.000+10:00

Our last official weigh in and fitness test results occurred on Wednesday and as of tomorrow Round 2 comes to its official close. So its time to reflect on what I've learnt and how far I've come.

Just over 15 weeks ago I was 81.0kg, today I'm 67.5kg. An amazing loss of 13.5kg or 16.7%. I've lost a total of 58cm off my body over five locations.

	Week 1	Week 12	Total loss (cm)
Chest	109	99	10
Waist (at belly button)	116	95	21
Hips	123	109	14
Right Thigh	56	50.5	5.5
Left Thigh	58	50.5	7.5

My fitness stats have surprised me.

	Week 1	Week 12	Improvement
Time Trial (900m)	5 min 32s	4 min 50s	42s
Push ups (on knees)	22	55	33
Wall sit	1min 0s	2min 14s	1min 14s
Ab Stage	2	2	-
Sit and Reach	-4.5	+0.5	5cm

To check off my goals that I set for myself back in May

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

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

So not only did I achieve my goals, I smashed them.

So what have I learnt? Its hard to put into words. I've come to trust in myself. I know what my body needs and what it doesn't. I'm learning to listen to myself and not to doubt my choices. I'm learning to say no. I've got work to do there but I am improving. I now know that I love running, I crave the freedom and get out of sorts when I can't hit the road. My training space is scared. It my time to connect with my inner-self again, so please excuse me if I ignore you at the gym or as I'm out running.

There is a lot more that I still need to get my head around so I've decided that I will be returning to do Round 3. I'm not expecting my results to be anywhere near as dramatic. How could I expect that when my BMI has dropped from 29.75 to 24.79.

I'm attempting to not focus on the number as much in the next round. My original goal weight was 63kg but that isn't what I'm truly aiming for. I'm aiming to feel good in my own skin. Before I started Round 2 I felt fairly good about myself due to my running, as I finish Round 2 I feel great and at the end of Round 3 I will feel even greater. I will be mirroring my LJ tee that says "Good, Great, Greater".

This round my be over but my journey is still continuing.