THE EVE OF MY 10KM RUN

At the end of Day 4 I'm pleased to say that all has been going well and I'm feeling SO much better than I did on Days 1 and 2. Its amazing what a difference it makes when you eat mainly good healthy food and get some training in every day.

Although I had prepared a rough eating plan for myself before I started the turnaround, I've sort of disregarded it and am just trusting myself to choose foods that will make me feel good and to not over-eat. Its been easy so far and I'm liking the feelings of genuine hunger that come from not overeating and actually being hungry for a meal. I'm also working on drinking less wine and Peter has agreed to do the same so we are in unison on that one :-)

Being on holidays has afforded me the luxury of Friday training (normally my rest day) as well as training at a civil hour - like 8.30am. It is truly bliss to not be up at crack-of-arse (stolen from Liz's blog) to train. I'm well on schedule to complete my planned training sessions this week having nailed my 2 weight sessions yesterday and today. Both were rounded off with a short burst of cardio on the exercise bike and step-ups done on the retaining wall in my back yard.

My headspace has been calm, positive and I have a good feeling about things overall. Now to bottle this so I can draw on it when back at work and facing some very busy times. I've been meaning to do a daily note of affirmations and mini journalling but never actually started it. Perhaps now would be a good time ....

Finally, tonight is the eve of the Greenbelt and I'll be running the 10kms tomorrow. I'm about as well prepared as I could be and I'm not nervous about the race. Having done very close to 100% of the training for the half marathon, what is there to worry about for 10kms (unless I lose my way or have a toilet problem LOL). I will admit here though that I am a little disappointed that I'm not doing the HM because deep down I know that being able to do it was pretty much within my control. But whats done is done and moving forward is the only option.

Please come back tomorrow for my race wrap up.

Good night all

M

DAY TWO AND AN 'AHA' MOMENT

Sometimes I think that writing my blog and reading others is just a bit of indulgent time wasting. I mean, I could be studying (probably should be LOL), I could be cleaning my oven, I could be preparing in advance tomorrow night's dinner or I could be watching TV with my husband (boooooring - thats just not me).

But every now and then I read something that REALLY hits home. That I may have read in some other form somewhere else but reading something that has made a big difference to a real person sort of has a LOT more impact. Ladies and gentlemen I refer to this awesome post from the equally awesome KatieP. In particular this paragraph:

"I have formulated rules for my life. Yes, I did say rules. In the same way that killing or hurting another human being is a rule, not a guideline, I do have rules. I will no longer engage in self-abuse or self-hatred. Eating until I am bloated and nauseous is breaking that rule. I can not binge because for me it is morally wrong. I cannot eat in secret and hide the evidence because it is lying to myself and violating my moral code of authenticity. I cannot count calories because it disregards my commitment to trusting my body."

It made me wonder if I could make a similar commitment to myself. Why havent I done this already? Or rather, when I (sort of) did, why didnt I honour it? To a chronic binger, the answer may not be so simple but what would I lose by trying again? Binging is the ONE eating behaviour that is dragging me down physically, mentally and I guess morally (I'm not sure about spiritually as I'm a bit void on that.) It is THE one thing I'd really like to change about myself so whats stopping me? (Again the answer to that might not be a one-liner). A voice inside me says "Make the change. Make the commitment to yourself. You have nothing to lose by adopting this different mind-set."

Thank you Katie.

Now onto the less deep and meaningful which is my quick round up of Day 2.

I ran for 40 minutes again and felt the same as yesterday (not good.) Now its got me thinking, toasted and buttered hot cross buns may taste great for those brief moments in your mouth but eating as many as I did has left me feeling heavy and sluggish. Running is a chore when your joints hurt and you feel pathetic shuffling along.

Today I managed a little bonus incidental exercise when I took my boy ice skating. Sadly it was very crowded being school holidays, but I managed a few laps without the support frame so I was happy with that.

I'm enjoying being back eating some of my old favourites - like seed and grain toast with scambled eggs / egg whites and mushrooms; my favourite green veges with left over BBQ chicken and leftover lasagne meat and skim cappuccinos (hold the cake LOL). A few more days of this and I should have my pep back. Oh and I must have a little brag - I've scored another alcohol free day today (gasp).

Finally I also did all my rehabs and stretches after neglecting them a bit over Easter.

So another good day and some thinking about how I want to live my life from here on.

:-) Magda

GO!!

Today is "GO" day. The start of my turnaround to get leaner, fitter and injury free. Apologies in advance if this turns into a bit of a ramble but here's the good, the bad and the stuff in between.

First up a meeting with the Metal Monster. As I fully expected, the number was back in the 70s (I had sort of hoped that I wouldnt get back there again - but hey I was pretty close before Easter so what chance did I stand after my 5 day feast on hot cross buns and other goodies??!!) At least the line has been drawn in the sand and I can set some realistic goals to work towards. First one being the sub 70 which I'm confident I'll achieve by the end of the first week. And yes my weeks will run from Wednesday to Tuesday - for now anyway. I took measurements last night as I knew I'd be pushed for time in the morning. No pics though as I didnt really have an opportunity to do any.

I went for a 40 minute run today and felt like crap, loping along like a baby elephant. I know this will improve as I start feeling a bit lighter over the coming days. Hopefully by Sunday I've got my running groove back for the Greenbelt. After one more run tomorrow, I'm resting until the race on Sunday.

My training goals this week are:

4 x runs (including the Greenbelt 10kms on Sunday)
2 x upper body weights followed by 20 mins cardio of my choice (intervals / HIIT or similar)
2 x walks of at least 40 minutes each
Rehab and stretches daily

Food was good today but a bit "untraditional" in that I didnt eat until I was hungry so first "meal" was a large skim cappuccino around 10am. This kept me going until I was quite hungry at 1pm when I was out with Peter and I had a lamb salad. Yummo. It was delicious and I ate what felt comfortable AND LEFT THE REST. (I'm not good at this, especially when the food tastes really good.) I also managed to drink 1 litre of sparkling water as I'm very dehydrated. Peter was surprised that I didnt have wine with lunch.

So here are the goals that I'm shooting for over this 10 weeks:

WEIGHT: Lose 8 kilos in total. First mini goal is sub 70. Second is sub 67. Then sub 65 and an 8 kilo loss will have me in the low 63s. (Not quite at 62 but pretty damn close).

CENTIMETRES: Ideally I'd like to shave a nice 10cms off each of my torso measurements(bust, waist and hips) and 5 off each thigh. Thats all I measure as arms and calves take care of themselves and I dont worry about those.

FITNESS: Assuming I can reduce or eliminate the effects of my injury, my goal is to run 10kms in the time I ran it when training for the HM last year. This year I was 6 minutes slower at my time trial a few weeks ago so thats a sizeable goal. I'm also aiming to do 10 push ups from my toes. Right now I can do a big fat ZERO :-(

INJURY FREE: This is my ideal but I need to consult back with my physio before I can make any educated statements and set realistic goals.

So there you have it. The changes I'm making this week are to cut right back on the alcohol and sugar. This in itself will get things moving in the right direction, I know.

Day One over and out.

:-) Magda

READY, SET .....

Today is officially my "ready, set ..." day - you know, what comes directly before "GO". Sort of like the eve of the turnaround. Sounds important and significant, doesnt it? Well it is. I cant continue on as I have been doing over the last 5 days, last 5 weeks and probably even longer than that. I dont feel good physically. I dont feel good mentally and I know its time to take back my control, take ownership of my choices and decisions and commit to some positive new behaviours.

I'm not a fan of Pauline Nordin and I dont aspire to look as lean, muscly and shredded as she does but this post from her blog today really hit home for me. Its so true that getting started can be really hard. Take me for instance, I know I should have started my turnaround on Friday or even earlier but I just couldnt be arsed. My heart wasnt in it, nor was my head and as for my stomach .. all I heard was "yes please, I'll have toasted and buttered hot cross buns for breakfast ... EVERY DAY."

Pauline says "Many times we get stronger from being weak. Even though you might believe you lost your dedication and determination, maybe losing them a bit is needed to get that edge back."

I've saved this post in my favourites so that I can refer to it when I want to throw in the towel, when again I cant be arsed and when I get those familiar thoughts of "oh just this once wont matter." I know those times will come and I'll have the choice to either make a difference or take the easy option.

So this is the last night that I talk about it. Tomorrow is "GO" day and time to "DO." There will be a weigh and measure and maybe some "before pics" (not in bikinis though - I just dont do that BS now.) My simple nutrition plan for the first 3 week block has been worked out and I have a training plan also outlined. My blog is my accountability record and I will NOT pull the plug half way, this time.

Cheers all

Magda

NEW BLOG TITLE - NEW FOCUS

I went to bed earlier than usual last night and typically it took me hours to get to sleep. But it gave me time to think about what I want to achieve in the short term - eg 10 weeks. I also wanted to change the look feel of my blog so that it clearly focussed on what I have described as my mini mission.

This morning I've been planning my approach and thinking about some simple, basic changes that will be implemented from Wednesday. The beauty of that is that I'm on holidays for the rest of the week so I dont need to train at 5am. Getting my food back to normal should be a little easier too (as there are no work pressures to battle with).

I'm excited about whats ahead of me. I'm looking forward in a positive way with confidence that I'll achieve my goals - or come bloody close to it in the least. And yes I'm getting a bit "focussed" about this as previous "oh I'll just go with the flow" efforts havent produced any noteworthy results. Time for a different plan of attack me thinks.

More in my next post as I have to rush and take my boy to the movies.

Cheers all

Magda

EXCELLENT EASTER

Well the reality is that I wont be reducing my weight over this Easter break. But you know what, I'm ok with that. I've really enjoyed having a toasted hot cross bun with real butter for breakfast on most days, coupled with scrambled egg whites with spinach and mushrooms. Perhaps the fat and calories of the former are balanced by the leanness of the latter LOL. There have also been some pretty wicked desserts as we are always finding some cause for a celebratory dinner with my Mother-in-law staying with us. Oh not to mention a glass of wine .... or several.

I have trained every day though, alternating between running and weight training. Yesterday I did a pretty impressive back / shoulders and tris session which left my upper body a bit numb :-) I'm due to weight train again tomorrow but after a bit of an indulgent Easter Sunday dinner at my parents place tonight, I might swap the weights for another run.

So all of my goals are on the back burner for a couple more days and then its down to serious business ... (yeah I know I've said that a 1000 times before yadda yadda yadda). But honestly after so much indulging, I start to really crave the simple lean and clean stuff, as I know others do too.

Its been a fantastic Easter and its not over yet. Loving the relaxed pace and spending time with family.

:-) M

THE EVE OF 10 DAYS OFF

I'm writing this post on the eve of what will be 10 days off work for me. Yes I have a few extra days off after Easter/ Anzac Day and then another weekend and it'll be May when I return. In that time I'll also run the Greenbelt 10kms.

I'm not quite sure what, but I want to achieve something over this 10 days. There is inspiration and an itching to make a change bubbling away at a deeper level but it hasnt come to the surface. Its hard to put into words. I think its driven by the break in routine and the subsequent "doing different". Maybe this could trigger the change I feel coming on.

One of the things foremost in mind lately is getting my stupid back / lower body injury under control again. Whilst I struggle to run long distances now, I'd like to think that this situation is only temporary. So as this is my number one goal over the coming weeks / months, here is a snapshot of my 3 pronged plan of attack.

1. Reduce my body weight to 62 kgs (which will give me a BMI of 20.5). Its not rocket science figuring out that running with extra weight places extra stress on your joints, muscles etc. When those joints, muscles are not working properly to start with, the extra weight just makes the problem worse. I have cold, hard evidence of this from how I was pulling up after some of my long runs. Walking like a cripple that can barely stand or move is NOT how one should function. I've discussed this with my physio and she wholeheartedly agrees that in my case, with my injury, less weight is better.

2. Significantly reduce my sugar intake and moderate my alcohol intake. The added benefit of this is that it helps me to achieve the first point. But its not for that reason alone. Sugar is an inflamatory and consuming it regularly in moderate to large quantities will not allow my body to do its own healing of my painful areas. I still remember vividly how great I felt when I was suagr free for several weeks last year. The first few days were tough but once the cravings passed I was managing my injury well and felt quite invincible. As for the alcohol, although my body does process and eliminate it quickly and efficiently, it is a toxin and the less of it there is in my system, the better off I am.  I'm not going tee-total but there is certainly scope to cut back.

3. Check back with my physio for more / updated rehab. I have an appointment in the week after the race and I'll be quite firm about wanting to "fix this" and not just fluff around with exercises that are showing no obvious benefits or change. Having said that I know that I have to take care of points 1 and 2.

So maybe I've just defined the change I want to make and backed it up with a bloody good reason why. I guess on that note I'll go and sleep on it and when I wake up tomorrow the journey will begin.

Happy Easter to all of my readers. I hope to blog a fair bit over this break.

XX M