Still here

Sorry for lack of posting. So much going on at the moment. I had my 6 month review at work this week and it didn't go as well as I would have liked. Some things are definitely fair enough, but I didn't get any credit for the things I do well. My boss had 2 weeks off so I was looking after ALL our clients. I had one job that didn't get delivered on time - even though I checked with the printer in the morning and it was all fine. So anyway, I am still sulking over that.

I want some of this...

Love hate relationships

I am back on the running band wagon at the moment. Last night I went to see this with Rusty. It was so inspirational! For those who can't be bothered reading about it, it is a doco that follows marathon runners - from the first time runner, the 65 yr old and the elite as they train for the Boston marathon. Very very good.

I went to bed last night feeling motivated to get back into running. I completely identified with the people in the movie, but for me doing City2Surf was my marathon. It gave me the same overwhelming feel at the start of training, and the same feeling of accomplishment at the end.

Did some 500m runs at the gym this morning... on 10.5! I have been doing 400s on 10, so I am happy with this mornings effort. I nearly fell off the back of the tready on the last one and had to drop pace, but still better than I have ever done before.

I don't feel like eating

This is a foreign concept for me - I don't feel like eating anything. There has been chocolate in the fridge at work for a week - I had one yesterday but don't feel the need to go back. Breakfast is my fav meal of the day - this morning I had to force myself to eat my weetbix, and I didn't enjoy it at all.

I am eating my meals cause I have to... and because I am hungry. My tummy is rumblng... but there isn't anything I feel like eating. Yesterday I had half a toasted sandwich for lunch. Clearly not enough, and clearly why at 4pm I was starvin marvin and couldn't concentrate on anything.

Weird weird weird. But I am going to make the most of it and make healthy choices, eat what I need to and not overinduldge. Where has that sugar fairy gone? It is kind of lonely!!!

Making progress

I went to see my osteo last night. I decided to take his advice and see him every couple of months for a check up in the hope of avoiding injury. I am just making it a regular part of my training.

And the verdict was all good! I haven't had any hamstring pain for weeks, I'm back running and increasing my pace and fitness slowly. My hips have alot more movement than they did previously (my hips were the cause of my hamstring strain). He bent me and stretched me in all sorts of ways and gave me alot more movement in my lower back and neck - nothing seriously wrong, I am just a bit tight from all the training I do. His advice is to keep doing what I am doing. I like it.

My osteo is also a PT and a lecturer at the FIA - he has a list of qualifications as long as your arm. It is good to see someone who knows what you put your body through and doesn't look at you like you are strange when you say you train 6 days a week. We also had a good chat about running, how hard it is on your body, but that it is a means to an end (ie. fat loss) as part of my training. Nice to get some confirmation from someone other than my own PT (and I guess the scales).

I haven't been weighing myself much lately and it seems to be working. I am losing approx. 0.5kg a week and dropping the centimeters. I haven't measured either, but I have a pair of jeans that need to be retired as they are very baggy in the bum and legs - I feel skinny in them, but they don't look so hot! I feel like my head is in a good space right now... for the first time in ages.

What a weekend

Forgive me bloggers, for I have not trained in 2 days! A Saturday afternoon run with a girlfriend somehow turned into a cup of tea and gossip on the couch which led to dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant, then the pub, then a bar in Kings Cross til 2.30am with copious amounts of vodka & soda... not sure how that happened. To show for it I had a hangover and a purse full of Tim Tams. The Tim Tams are still in tact and will be disposed of to a flatmate or two this evening for safety reasons. I was the only person who did not devour a pie or hotdog at Wooloomolloo on our food stop. Not even tempted.

Was back at the gym this morning for a spin class. It was only a 40 min class so was very happy with 607 calories burned. Max HR 84%. Average HR 75%

Running

Have I mentioned how much I hate running? Probably a million times. I just can't seem to get to the point where I enjoy it - I keep thinking that I will, but it doesn't happen. I do love the sense of achievement and the old 'runners high' afterwards, but I loathe and detest every second that I am actually running.

This morning I thought I was doing 400m on level 10. Achievable. But when I got there, Rusty made me keep going to 800m... without dropping the pace. My head was at 400m, definitely not at 800m and all I wanted to do was get off the treadmill. I honestly thought I couldn't do it, and there was very nearly tears. He stood beside me and talked to me while I ran. All along the lines of 'you need to push through the pain... I know it hurts, but it is what you need to do to get faster and to get the results you want... you can do this, it is all in your head, your body is capable'. I think that is where the tears were (nearly) about to come from. He believes in me more than I believe in me.

On another note, I did a 30 min run outside last night. My HR got to 201... 107% of my max. WTF!!! Clearly the old 220-your age calculation is not very accurate.... or I am superwoman :) I am happy that I managed to push myself to that point though... Rusty wasn't even there!

What Moves You?

The fabulous Liz has me thinking again. Yes I pay a personal trainer to motivate me and make me turn up to the gym, but that kind of external motivation is not enough. That only counts for 3 hours of my week... what happens in the other 165 hours of my week is up to me.

My motivators for doing what I do:
• I want more than anything to have a breast reduction. I could do it now, but if I lose more weight after they won't look as good. I need to lose the weight first, as if I am paying $10K for boobs I am going to have good ones :P
• I start my PT course in April next year, and I am not going to be a fat personal trainer. I will be my own advertising - who is going to want to train with me if I can't talk the talk AND walk the walk.
• I feel better about myself when I eat well and exercise
• I live near the beach and love the water. If I felt comfortable with my body I would be at the beach alot - I need to improve my own body image before that will happen.

I am sure there are more... I may need to come back to this.

Day 2 with the HRM

Calories: 833
Max heart rate: 181 (96%)
Av heart rate: 134 (71%)

I felt really tired this morning, and had a good dose of DOMS in my quads and abs from yesterday - tomorrow is not going to be pretty. I am proud of myself just for going - I had 2 glasses of champas at work yesterday (for the Cup) and could have easily kicked on to the pub for more... but I thought about training and decided I wanted that more. Yay for me.

I have a bit of a penalty system going with Rusty - if I stand around doing nothing in between sets (usually I am just trying to breathe), or finish a set quicker than I should, I have to run the stairs - to the level of his choice. Usually level 5 or 6. This morning I finished my upright row a bit quick so he said "Level 5", and without even thinking I answered "no" and got on with what I had to do next. I didn't think about it at all - it just came out! I think he was too busy laughing at me to care. I was buggered.

I have noticed my fitness improving lately. My rowing is getting faster and so is my running. I had almost 2 months with no rowing and very little running when I did my hammy, and that affected my running fitness alot. I was finding 400m and 800m on level 9 pretty tough when I first started running again. Now I am back to doing them on level 10 - I even did the last minute on 11.5, and to be honest probably could have done 12. The improvement has come purely from doing intervals on the treadmill and spin classes, as I haven't done much running outside at all as hills still cause me a bit of pain.

And this is why I have a personal trainer

Results from this morning's PT session:

Calories burnt: 921
Max heart rate: 180 (95%)
Average heart rate: 141 (75%)

My other weekend purchase

I bought a new pair of running tights yesterday - they are "light" compression, and have zips with reflective markings on the back for running at night (not that I do that very often). Tested them out yesterday and they are very comfortable... except they are a bit shiny and remind me of this:


All I need is the heels!!! Oh yeah... and the legs LOL

I am ELITE

Well after about half a day of feeling like I had been hit by a truck after my massage, I began to feel a whole lot better. I had movement in my upper body, the headachey tired feeling was gone and I began to feel more normal. Of course the glass of red wine I had with my Thai takeaway (no spring rolls, yay me!) might have had something to do with it. Back to training on Friday, and although I didn't have alot of energy I pushed through.

Santa came on Friday. Santa doesn't know it yet, but he always gives me money... I just spent it ahead of time :) This is what I got... (the red one, cause red goes faster)



I have been thinking about getting a heart rate monitor for ages, but couldn't decide if it would keep me motivated for 5 minutes before the novelty wore off. I decided then, to get one of the running versions so that I can use it to track my progress long term, as well as ensure that I am training at the right intensity. I find it hard to maintain intensity outside when you don't have a treadmill that "makes" you train at a certain pace for a certain time.

I did the fitness test (which is really just your resting heart rate) and came out as "ELITE" Woohoooo!!!! I am elite!!!! Yesterday I took my HRM out for its first run and did some 400s and 100s at North Sydney oval. I was interested to see where my HR is when I start to get that "no I'm not having an asthma attack, I just sound like this when I run" sound to my breathing. Answer: about 80-85% of my max HR. It is about the 200m mark in my 400m sprints... and it gets higher from there. PT tomorrow so I'll be really interested to see how high it gets and how many calories I burn.