A New Look & a Virtual 5k

It appears that it's that time again ~ time for a change, time for a new look.  Every time I feel as though I am starting a new chapter in my life, my blog also gets a makeover.  

I have changed my blog name (again) cause I don't feel that my old title fits me anymore.  Although I am still very much on my journey to shed the fat suit, see, here I am inside it......

.....the title just doesn't feel right anymore.  I still love attempting to run running, but swimming has also become a huge part of my life.  I have learned a lot over the past year, I am a little more accepting of myself and I even like myself a little now.  Anyway, I just felt the need for a blog makeover, something that was a better fit to how I am feeling now.

Yesterday I completed my 5k Virtual Jelly Bean run that was put on by Jess from runwithjess.com  I haven't run since January so I only chose to do the 5k - there was also a 10k, half marathon or a 21 km bike ride.  I will definitely join in again next year and am aiming to do the 10k, the bike ride and maybe, just maybe the half.  You can chose as many or as little of the events to compete in during the week it is held.  This year the Jelly Bean virtual was held from the 1st - 8th of April.

My 5k was very slow, but my goal yesterday was simply to complete the run.  It was hard, but I just kept going even though I wanted to give up a few times along the way.  After the first 1k I was thinking "this isn't so bad, only 4 more to go", after 2.5 kms I was thinking "great half way", after 3 kms I was thinking "I don't think I can keep going" and all the way to 4 kms I was thinking "just finish the rest tomorrow", but when I got to the 4 km mark I told myself "only 1 to go, I can do this - easy" and I put the speed up to 12 and ran at that speed for as long as I could (which wasn't very long).  I desperately wanted to finish the run under 50 mins and to my surprise I ended up hitting the 5 km mark at exactly 49 mins and 30 seconds - yay!

Even though I struggled through most of the race, I felt so good when I finished because I had finished it.  I pushed myself to keep going and that is all I really wanted to achieve.  I am so glad I took part in the race cause it's what I needed to give me that running kick start again.

I could really feel the run in my back afterwards and of course hubby said "your back's sore because you don't workout enough" I replied with "it's sore because it's always sore" stupid man!  My heart rate also soared towards the end of the race yesterday.  I paused everything (treadmill & HRM) and had to just stop and breathe till my heart rate came back down.  My HRM said my maximum heart rate was 235, but I think that's because it's the highest it goes, I honestly think it went higher than that.  I could feel my heart beating in my head, I had pain in my face and I just felt like poo.  After my little break I felt much better so I finished it.  I'm still here so all is good, but I think a trip back to the doctor may be a good idea.  

*HRM Stats*  For total session including cool down

• Duration : 1 hour 25 seconds
• Calories : 522
• Average HR : 146
• Maximum HR : 235
• In Zone : 30.12 mins
• Distance : 5.6 kms

Virtual events, what do you think about them.......

• Do you ever compete in virtual events?
• What's your favourite event (virtual or not) to compete in?
• Have you or would you ever hold a virtual event?

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

*The Good*

 My treadmill is back and ready for use - very happy :)

I woke up to a wonderful surprise yesterday, hubby had opened the treadmill for me and cleaned the motor out.  There were pens, pegs, bits of paper, corn chips and some dried apple although it wasn't dried when I gave it to the kids.

I know I could have opened it and done it myself, but if I had of broken it in some way I would never have heard the end of it so if hubby broke it instead, nothing would have ever been said about it which is best for everyone.

I decided not to do any intervals yesterday and opted for a TV Workout.  I chose one of my many recorded programs (I get last dibs on the foxtel) to watch and started "wogging."  I have come across this term on Daily Mile, it's a combination of walking and jogging - I walked during the show and then ran during the ads.  My speed varied from 6.5 - 10 depending on how I was feeling at that particular moment.  I ended up doing 6.5 kms in 60 mins.

There were many times I just wanted to stop, but I was watching the US Biggest Loser and I just pretended that my best mate Jill (you can see a picture of us together here) was yelling at me.

*The Bad*

My HRM died yesterday, well the battery anyway and of course it's an unusual size and the 3 different stores I went to yesterday didn't carry it.  I later checked the internet and found that I can get a "pack" of batteries for $6.95, but they are currently out of stock.

I have so much to do to get the house ready for Mama Solis (Desperate Housewives reference) who arrives tomorrow.  Most of the house is done, but I still have heaps to do - must get moving.

*The Ugly*

I gained 1.4 kg this week!  I don't know what I did so bad that caused the gain.  I did some exercise, clearly not enough, but I was careful with my food.  I didn't track though, which I am certain is my downfall.  I probably ate stuff I wasn't aware of because I wasn't writing it down and I am pretty sure I didn't drink enough water.  Never mind, just a small set back, but it's enough to get me right back on track.

What are your weight loss tips.......

• Do you need to track EVERYTHING?
• Does the amount of water you drink effect your weight loss?
• How much exercise do you need to do to see results?

"Find Your Strong!"

This is a good motto for me today because I think I actually did it.  I think I just might have found my inner strength.  When my alarm went off this morning and instead of hitting snooze (10 times) I told myself that "no one else to going to run the fat off" and I got up and did a workout.  I started with workout #2 and then finished with #3.  I felt really good during #2 and it seemed to fly by, but I think that was more due to the fact that during the walking / catch my breath part I was searching Foxtel for shows to record and boy did I find a blast from the past.........

The treadmill isn't the only thing that causes me to catch my breath :)

After finding my 21 Jump Street gem to record I finally found what I was actually looking for - The Biggest Loser on channel 10, USA series and not sure what season, but I haven't seen it yet.  It was on a few weeks ago on a Sunday, but the past few weeks something else like the racing has been on and those things take allllllll day.  Anyhooo, I have found it again and am excited - easy to please I guess.

The second half of my workout didn't seem to go as fast, but at least I made it and without any changes so I was really happy with that.  I was about ready to fall off the treadmill at the end, but noticed that I wasn't far off the 6 kms so I just kept going till I got there.  I felt good after my workout this morning.  I wish I could capture the feeling in a jar and sprinkle some on me every morning I didn't feel like working out, I would be out of bed in a flash! 

*HRM Stats* 

• Duration : 1 hour 10.04 mins
• Calories : 765
• Average HR : 159
• Maximum HR : 180
• In Zone : 16.44 mins
• Distance : 6 kms

Not much else to report except that my computer died from old age and I was devastated because I have 15 months worth of photos on that computer waiting to go onto disc.  Luckily the hubster works with a computer wizz who is going to take the hard drive and burn everything off it for us - all I want is those photos!!!

I am using my son's laptop at the moment luckily he has a spare one, what, doesn't everyone?  His aunt (my sister) got him a laptop for Christmas last year for high school, but the school actually provided him with one as well so now he has 2

*Weigh-in*

I lost 1.8 kilos (3.9 lb) this week which I think was due to me actually tracking for a whole week.  I didn't miss a single item that went into my mouth including that delicious white chocolate Magnum ice-cream I had on movie night.  I find the counting calories so much easier than the points, yes, I have left Weight Watchers again and am back to counting the calories.  

The calories just make more sense to me - I know how many I am eating and I know how many I am burning.  It was a good first week of counting calories and I know I can keep it up.  I did it for a week so why can't I do it until I need to????  There is no reason why I can't continue counting and tracking for as long as I need to.  It's not even hard, I just made it a priority.

A Pack of Wild Animals

Ava, Christian & Holly

My kids have been like wild animals all day today!  I wonder if there is a zoo close by that will take them?  I'll wait till Hayden comes home from school and he can go with them :)

Ever since they woke up this morning, they have been screaming, fighting and attacking each other with kitchen tongs.  The second I turn my back, they are off.  Does anyone else have kids who think it's a fantastic idea to rip apart a toilet roll (or 2) and soak it in the toilet to make huge 'spit balls' which then end up stuck on the walls and windows?  I can't go to the bathroom without something being destroyed!  It must be so much fun to open a box of Jatz and then ride your bike over them and add water to create some sort of biscuit paste!  Maybe I could use it as a pie base??

Anyhoooo, these are the days that I love to be able to get on the treadmill and shuffle my cares away. Today was NOT that day!!!!

*Workout*

My workout (#8) consisted of  speed intervals.  After about 4 mins I just wanted to cry, I didn't want to be there, it was too hard, blah, blah, blah.  All the usual excuses came out so I decided to look at Pinterest for an hour a minute looking for a mantra that would give me the kick I needed. Heading to my motivation board, I found exactly what I was looking for.......

pretty good advice

I felt this mantra was specific to how I was feeling today so I used it.  I scribbled it onto a piece of paper and stuck in on the Treadmill right in front of my face.  It seemed to help and I pushed myself to finish the workout which took me to 30 mins.  I was happy just to make the 30 mins today, but while trudging along in my cool down I checked my HRM and wasn't happy so I decided to keep going until I burned at least 300 calories.

By the time my 300 calories came round, I was close to 5 kms so I kept going.  Once at the 5km mark I thought well, I'm not far off 60 mins and I kept going.  I do have to confess that I hated every single second of the last 7 mins, but I was so close to 1 hour that I wasn't going to give up.  I refused to give up today and I really pushed myself.  It was more of a mental challenge than a physical one, but that didn't stop my legs from burning.

I felt blah about the workout today, but I am glad that I didn't just give up.  It feels really good to push yourself to achieve something and I burned off another 3 donuts!  Gotta be happy with that :)

*HRM Stats* 

• Duration : 1 hour 4.57 mins
• Calories : 572
• Average HR : 150
• Maximum HR : 193
• In Zone : 24.42 mins
• Distance : 6.1 kms

*Diet Coke Mentality*

It's been 126 days since I have had any diet coke or other type of soft drink which is a huge deal for me.  Diet coke played a big part in my previous diet and it has been fairly easy to do without it.  Some days it's not so easy and I just want to grab a 2 litre bottle and drink it in one go and then do a great big burp like Buddy the Elf and considering my husband is never without his coke, this would be pretty easy for me. 

Every time I get one of those urges to just drink it, I remind myself of how long I have gone without and that I don't want to start at day 1 ever, ever again.  I'm not saying that I will never have a glass of soft drink ever again, but at the moment, it's just not part of my lifestyle.  This is the mentality I want to bring to my fitness / workouts.  

After not doing any exercise for so many weeks, I am struggling with the workouts I had written for the treadmill which shows me that when I wrote them, I had been making progress in the fitness department.  This mornings workout was awful, but I think another reason (apart from my mantra), that I forced myself to keep going was because I feel like I am starting at day 1 again.  Each day I give up and do nothing is just another day of my old fatty-boom-bah lifestyle where the scales don't shift, but if I continue to push myself to keep going and don't look back, in time, it will get easier again and the scales will start moving again.

Good-bye to Day 1's forever :)

The Pungent Odour

My heading sounds so enticing doesn't it?  I will get to that a little later.  First up I lost 600 grams this week so I am pretty happy with that, the scales were my friend this morning and there were no tears in sight.

*Workout*

This mornings workout consisted of not 1, but 2 treadmill workouts! I know, shocking.

I shocked myself

I stared off with workout #2 cause it's a favourite of mine and although it takes 30 mins, it only feels like 5 mins, well not really, but the time does seem to fly on this one.  At the end of the workout I was thinking thank goodness it's over, but during the cool down I realised I wasn't feeling too bad so I decided to flip the card over and do workout #1.  I don't know why I though this was a good idea, but I managed to get it done (just).

This was me this morning -

run piggy run

I was sweating like a little big, fat, piggy, but I am proud to say that I definitely didn't throw that towel in this morning, I used it to wipe the sweat from my face.  I figured that if I did this today, there is no reason why I can't do this everyday and soon, very soon in the distant future I should look like this instead -

"Ewwww, I don't sweat, I glisten"

*HRM Stats* 

• Duration : 1 hour 10.24 mins
• Calories : 650
• Average HR : 156
• Maximum HR :212
• In Zone : 15.58 mins
• Distance : 6.6 kms

*Breakfast*

This mornings breakfast was very fast to prepare and very yummy to eat :

*French Toast Roll*

• 1 bread roll
• 2 eggs
• 20 ml sugar free Maple Syrup - optional (thanks Sammy)

1. Beat eggs together
2. Cut roll in half and dip in eggs
3. Cook in non-stick pan
4. Cook left over egg (if any)
5. Drizzle with syrup

without syrup

with syrup - just call me Buddy

Buddy has syrup too!

*The Pungent Odour*

I was woken at 3am by a smell!  My question is, how does a smell wake someone up?  It's a smell.  It's not a slap in the face or a bucket of cold water, it's - a - smell!!!!!

The source of the smell was coming from beside my bed, it was Holly (poor little thing).  My next question is, how do you get poo from your toes, up the back of your legs and all the way up your back to your neck?  She was fully clothed and wearing a nappy!  How does this happen????  Guess what I was doing at 3am :)

Big Plans, Little Motivation

**WARNING**  This post is a little gross, but if you have ever had sick kids you should be OK!

I had big exercise plans for this week.  I sat down last week and planned what I would be doing on the treadmill for the upcoming week.  It looked like this :

Sunday 9 October 2011 - Saturday 15 October 2011

• Sunday : incline
• Monday : incline & speed
• Tuesday : speed
• Wednesday : incline & speed
• Thursday : incline
• Friday : speed
• Saturday : speed

Looks simple enough?  Well so far, this has occurred..................

 This sums up exactly how I have been feeling :(

 

It's not because I don't want to do it, but I am just soooooo tired.  The kids have been sick since last Thursday.  I can't even remember how many pairs of underpants Christian went through!  Then Ava woke up at 2am vomiting and I was up with her till 5ish.  Every 20 mins she would wake and puke.  I had that special mummy alarm and every single time she moved I would jump up and grab that bucket whether she needed it or not resulting in no sleep for me.  

This has been going on since last Thursday with Holly and Hayden joining in as well.  I think I went without sleep from midnight till about 5 am Thursday through to Monday.   It was like a production line.  Clean up vomit, clean up poo, move onto the next kid and repeat.  The kids all seemed better yesterday and slept through the night, but I didn't, I am now the one who is up all night in the bathroom with a bucket.  I love how the kids just sleep through it and how none of them get up to help me.  Luckily though, I make it to the bathroom in time and none of my sheets need changing :) 

The kids are still not 100%, the vomit has stopped, but other end just keeps on going with them and it is driving me crazy.  Poor Hayden ended up with a face full of vomit the other night.  Christian leaned over the edge of his bed (bunks) to vomit and it landed on Hayden's head.  I was already up with Ava and her bucket when I heard something coming from the boys room.  The next minute Hayden walks in with vomit dripping from his hair into his face.  He was close to tears when me mumbled "Christian vomited on me", I couldn't help but laugh.  Unfortunately, Hayden didn't see the funny side at the time, but at least he laughed about it later - after his shower.

The worst thing about all of this is the lack of sleep = lack of motivation = lack of desire to eat well and all I want to eat is....

......this

Today I had the biggest urge to just guzzle 5 litres of coke, but I resisted and had water instead.  Also, I have no desire to cook anything healthy for myself, but I forced the issue cause I knew that with my lack of exercise, the last thing I couldn't afford to do was to binge on all things sugar.  I steamed up a pile of veggies the other day and they have been a quick and easy go to dinner.  I just re-heat and eat.  I have discovered that the veggies are delicious with a sprinkling of shredded cheese (melted on top) and a drizzling of Ranch dressing.

I am also lacking any desire to jump onto the treadmill at the moment.  I think I just need a good night or two of sleep and everything will be back to normal - I hope!

My motto for this week is :

Please Sir, I want some more - Sleep!

I wish I could sleep like this!

I have been having so much trouble sleeping lately it is really starting to bug me.  There were a few good nights this week where I actually felt tired and wanted to go to sleep, but unfortunately for everyone in my family it didn't last.  I love my sleep and when I don't get enough I can be really bitchy cranky.

With a good night sleep, I can handle all the things thrown at me (including the toys) during the day, but when my sleep is lacking, so is my mood.  I have been overdosing on tea because it is usually one thing that helps me relax, but the last couple of days it just isn't doing it's job (stupid tea), but I know that's only because of my lack of sleep.  I have been doing my workouts despite my best attempts of trying to talk myself out of them because I don't really feel like it and I am tired.  Luckily for me, my mind surprisingly says "NO, you are going to do it, you will feel better for it" and I do.  

The last few days, I have really been struggling on the treadmill.  The first 20 mins doing my DVD is going well and the burn is practically non-existent now (time for level 2), but I am really feeling it in my treadmill workouts.  On Monday I really had to force myself to keep going.  I really, really wanted to stop at minute 17, but I made myself finish it because it was only a 30 min workout and I knew I would feel as though I had let myself down by not finishing it.  Today's workout felt much the same, but again I pushed myself to finish and I'm glad I did. 

Today's workout consisted of day 10 of the 30 Day Shred DVD.  As I said before, the burn in this is very minimal now so I am definitely ready for level 2 and I  have no doubt, no doubt whatsoever that the burn will return 3 fold.  I am actually looking forward to the next level as I am starting to get a little bored with the same routine over and over.  I came across another Jillian Michaels DVD today, something about trouble zones, it goes for 50 mins.  I don't think I am quite ready for 50 mins of Jillian just yet, but I am going to make it a goal of mine to be able to complete it.

Anyhooo, back to today - I completed the DVD then completed another 30 mins on the treadmill.  Just like Monday, I really wasn't feeling it and really wanted to stop after about 6 mins into it.  Not wanting to feel like a complete loser I just told myself to shut up and get on with it.  I was going to do Day 2 of my 200 squats, but my legs just couldn't handle it, I was already struggling with my running intervals so I decided to try again with the squats tomorrow.  

*HRM Stats*

 

I realised this afternoon just how tired I am when I handed Miss 3 some toilet paper  (I have to hide the toilet paper otherwise the whole role ends up in the bowl) and told her to "just drink that."  All I need is a good nights sleep and a better sleeping routine and I will be able to focus much better.  I suppose it doesn't really help when I get woken at 3 am by a child screaming "I have sprinkles in my eye" - no more fairy bread for you! 

The Best Week Ever

First up this week, I lost weight, it wasn't a huge number but I am really pleased with it. I lost 800 grams - all smiles here today!

Secondly - It's here, it's here!!! It has finally arrived. Yes, my treadmill arrived this morning. I was told between 9 and 12 pm and of course I was expecting closer to 12 so you can imagine my surprise and delight when the truck pulled up at 9.15am. Saying I was excited is very understated. "The man" as the kids called him brought it inside and assembled it for me. The only bummer this morning was that the vibration platform didn't arrive. There was some sort of mix up between the equipment company and the delivery company, but I know it will get sorted out so I am not too concerned. (The pic isn't my exact treadmill, but it is similar)

Also in some other exciting news this week my Spirooli arrived. A Spirooli is a little machine that turns vegetables and fruit (pototato, sweet potato, zucchini, carrots and apples just to name a few) into noodles. I was very impressed with the company I bought this from called RAW. I ordered it last week over the internet and it arrived early this week - very prompt service with no hassles what so ever. I have used it a couple of times since Monday, but haven't taken any pics yet, but I can show you what it looks like from a pic on the website.

It comes with 3 different blades - thin noodles, thick noodles and then strips. Plus, if you cut the vege a certain way you can make chips. It is fantastic and I love it. I will put some pics up as soon as I take them. Each time I have used it I have been so excited that I have forgotten to take any photos, plus the kids eat the carrots and apples as I do them so there are never any left. I think sweet potato noodles in a stir fry sounds pretty good at the moment - I wonder what's for dinner??

I need Aromatherapy

I can not wait till Thursday!!!!! Why???? Because that is the day that my treadmill is supposed to arrive. I haven't had a decent workout for nearly 2 weeks and I am slowly going insane with the kids at the steering wheel. Normally the stuff they do doesn't really bother me to the point of explosion, but this last week every little thing they do is really getting to me and sending me over the edge.

I was doing the washing downstairs and I could hear a commotion upstairs. After a few minutes of being ignored when I told them to come down stairs I went up only to find my room completely trashed. It is amazing what they can do in 3 minutes. My wardrobe was open and any shoes they could get their little hands on were thrown around the floor. This is just part of the mess!

They had also gotten my husband's football flag out and used it to knock down things they can't reach like my face cream which was smeared into their hair. This was the commotion I could hear. I just looked at them as they scattered in 3 different directions - 1 under the bed, 1 into the wardrobe and the other in to the bathroom. I just wanted to cry.

Finally my older boy arrived home from school and played with the 3 monsters while I cleaned up. It wasn't a huge mess, but it was just another thing for me to do. I am just glad that the cream wasn't smeared into the carpet and my shoes as well as their hair.

I have a thing about shoes and I look after them pretty well so that was just another thing to really bug me! I'm not sure whether it's just another OCD that I have or if it's inherited. My Grandmother did the same thing with her shoes.

I took some pics of some of my more worn shoes. I love these little slip-ons. They are very plain, but I just loved the buckle on them so that's why I bought these, but also because they go with absolutely everything.

I also love these simple black slip-ons, again, they go with almost everything and I just loved the little detail in them - a little something to spice up the old favourite black.

Getting ready to go back to bed.








Back safe and sound.

I know it doesn't sound like much - they made a mess in my room, big whoop, but it is constantly like this everyday all day. The minute I turn my back something is destroyed. Normally when I am exercising regularly I can handle it. I find that the exercise really puts me in a good mood, it calms me down and I can clear my mind of all things negative and bothersome. I also sleep better when exercising.

I just can't wait till Thursday - 2 more sleeps - till my treadmill arrives. I know I could go outside and run, but the only time I can go is when it's dark when the kids are still sleeping and my husband won't let me cause "it's too dangerous". Also, mentally speaking, I don't think I am quite there yet with running the distance I need to outside. I will get there, I know I will, I just need a little more time.

Bring on Thursday - I will be jumping for JOY!!!!

In the meantime I think I should book in for some relaxing aromatherapy.

Losing Again

Today I lost 300 grams :) I don't care that it is ONLY 300 grams because it is a loss and a needed one at that. I am soooo happy that I lost this week cause I don't think I would have handled another gain very well. Yay!!!!! Hopefully things are starting to go down permanently.

Even though I am over the moon today with a weight loss, I am a little sad as well because the excitement of my greatly anticipated treadmill ended with a really disappointing fizzle. My treadmill didn't arrive yesterday like it should have.

4 Sleeps to go Woooo Hoooo

I am really excited at the moment cause my treadmill arrives on Wednesday - that's 4 sleeps away. I have been wanting a treadmill for ages cause I am finding it more and more difficult to get to the gym.

If I try to go in the morning the tiniest bit of noise wakes someone up and when one kiddie is awake it's only seconds before the others are awake as well "I want to get changed", "I want toast", "I want cereal", "I want milk" and it goes on and on and the next thing I know it's time to take child #1 to school and then husband needs the car for work and that's my morning gone.

When I go at night time I have to wait till husband is home from work so I can have the car and so he can watch the kids, but there is a lot of restructuring going on at his work and all the hours are changing which means he is finishing work later and later which means I can't get to the gym until 8 pm and it closes at 8.30pm. So, I decided to cancel my gym membership, which is upsetting cause I do love going when I can get there but I have replaced it with a treadmill :)

I have also got some exercise DVD's (and videos) at home that I can do so I won't miss out on my step class. I think the only thing that I will really miss from the gym is my weights and pump classes. Hubby has told me that he will show me a lot strength exercises I can do just using my own body weight and at the moment, that is a lot of weight so I should still be nice and toned ready for when the fat suit finally comes off.

Remember these old aerobic outfits? The high bikini or the g-string bikini with the skirt over the top? Well that's what they are wearing in my old (just like me) Step VIDEO - niiiiice.

I have also canceled my WW membership as I only check in once a week to weigh in and that is the only time I use it. I have the ProPoints calculator and I know how the program works and I know what I should and shouldn't be eating so I am going to see how I go over the next month or two. I can always go back if things start to go horribly wrong (like they aren't already) I should probably say get worse than they are now. The thing I will miss the most about WW is the people on the boards - they are all great and full or support when you need it, but like I said, I can always go back.