I must confess I think I failed my challenge

A little over a week ago I started a squat and crunch challenge. It was organised by one of the few people from high school, that thanks to the wonders of Facebook I am still in contact with. Mind you she is all kinds of amazing, we were housemates for a while so maybe even without Facebook our paths would have crossed once again. But I am starting to digress.

Back in June this same wonderful lady hosted a thirty day squat challenge. Which was awesome. I had never been much of a squatter prior to the challenge but I was a quick convert. By the end of the month we were up to three hundred squats. I may not have got to the last two days in the month but I did manage to get to the target a few days later. I can't recall what excuse I had at the time, maybe we went camping or something but I am sure I have a totally valid reason for not making it on time.

Photo thanks to Tallia22

When the challenge was over I felt a little lost.

For some crazy bizaro reason, without the knowledge that twenty odd women would be squatting along with me via some virtual group I just stopped squatting. Just like that. After spending a whole month squeezing squats into my daily routine at the most random intervals I suddenly stopped. Which really took me by surprised.

I had thought that after doing something for a month it would have become ingrained in my daily pattern. But alas no, that was not the case.

Thankfully (well for me anyway) I wasn't alone. A few of the other ladies in the group were experiencing the same let down as I. Apparently there had been something about us all doing it together that kept us, you know, all actually doing it.

Now I suppose there was nothing stopping us from chatting amongst ourselves and agreeing to still do however many squats a day. But we didn't. Instead we whinged about how much we *missed* our squat challenge. Go us. (or not)

After a week or two of this incessant whinging my dear friend informed us that in the next week or two she would set up a crunch and plank challenge. The excitement was unbelievable. And the wait began.

What actually seemed more like a month finally passed and day one of the challenge was upon us.

I was so keen to get started and make a difference to this slightly flabby and non muscular body of mine that I decided to throw some squats in for good measure. Nothing like being committed and over enthusiastic now is there?

The initial few days I breezed through. The idea is to start small and then build up as the month goes along. This way your body is gaining strength as you go and each day you get to push yourself a little bit harder. There are rest days thrown in as well to give your muscles a chance to heal as they stretch and expand.

I am currently sitting on day 3 of the challenge. It was a rest day.

You see with the squats I could do them whenever I felt like it.

Standing outside the kids room as they went to sleep. Easy to pump out some squats.

About to jump in the shower. Perfect squatting time.

Waiting for children to (do anything). Do some squats.

If for some reason I got to bed time and hadn't squatted, well I could just do them before I climbed into bed.

Fitting in squats was easy. Fitting in crunches is not so easy.

To crunch you need a space large enough to lay down. You also need to not have eaten any time in the last few hours. Crunches on a full tummy are not fun. At all.

Are you seeing all the excuses I am thinking of making?

Well the excuses stop today.

The goals for today are 70 second plank, 50 reverse crunches and 50 ordinary crunches.

I want to scream kill me now but I am not going to because I want to be strong and muscly more so. Wish me luck.

Getting back into action

For the whole month of September I sat on the sidelines watching others participating in #OperationMOVE over at Kate Says Stuff. With the wedding and the road trip and all that I just knew there was no point setting myself ridiculous fitness goals while on holidays.

Having said that though I did take my runners with me and what's more I even used them. I then delighted in telling anyone who would listen that I was a runner. Not a very fast runner but a runner nonetheless and that as all that really matters. Sometimes I wonder how even I manage to fit in my own lunchbox

Needless to say I was over the moon when I saw that #OperationMOVE would be continued in October.

While the first week of the month is school holidays I am still going to commit to thirty minutes a day. Which equates to 900 minutes over the month. One of the things I loved most about this concept when Kate first posted about was the way she explained all the different types of movement you could include.

You know playing wiiFit with the kidlets or dancing to some tunes or a who,e range of other fun stuff. This kind of idea is perfect for a non committed easily distracted kind of gal like me.

So with that in mind here is how I have made up my minutes so far

Monday October 1 - 20 minute run with kids on bikes and scooters, 10 minute walk

Tuesday October 2 - 15 minute self guided water aerobics, 15 minutes Dance Party 3, sadly I am not really a co ordinated mover or groover.

Wednesday October 3 - Rode bike 4.5km to park, walked around park and enjoyed free activities for the kids provided by the local council. Rode home via the supermarket (3.7km but not sure how that works dodgy Runkeeper). I did try and time myself but forgot to check my timer upon arrival. Pretty sure we were longer than 30 minutes but that is all I a going to claim. I also tried my little water aerobics routine as well.

Thursday October 4 - 15 minutes running in pool (water between chest to waist), further 20 minutes playing in pool with kidlets, this included a few championship races iykwim

Not a bad overall I guess but I had hoped for a bit more bike riding or running proper in there. With the onset of school next week, combined with the crack of dawn seeming somewhat earlier, I am hoping to introduce some early morning runs. The sudden increase in the day time temperature is also causing me to rethink when I run.

Above all else though I am excited to have cause to again keep fitness in the forefront of my mind. Till next week folks stay happy and healthy!

Signing up for

Team Friday - Getting back into it

It's been a while since I have made the time to share how I have been making exercise matter.  While I have not been neglecting my exercise as much as I have been my blogging about it, I still haven't been reaching the goals that I had hoped for.

When I started running back in February the plan was to be able to run for thirty minutes.  Which also is meant to equate to 5km.  At this point in time I can run just about for thirty minutes.  By that I mean run for ten to fifteen minutes walk for 30 seconds to sometimes a minute and do it all again.  Actually I can run for four ten minute blocks with no more than a minute between runs.  

I can also run for 5km.  Actually I can run for up to 7km.  What I can not do though is get that 5km out in thirty minutes.  Luckily though I don't beat myself up about it, well not too much anyway.

When I completed the C25K program a few months ago I decided that the next logical step was to try the Bridge to 10K program.  Even though I can't get 5km out in 30 minutes I wanted to run for longer.  Sadly I am still on week one of that program.  Turns out I didn't have as much in me after 5km as what I thought I did.  

Despite the 10km feeling a little out of my league I have not given up.

The school holidays made it a little trickier than I would have liked to maintain my three times a week runs.  Though really I am just making weak excuses.  I did manage to get a few in here and there and had I really wanted to I am sure I could have gotten a few more in.  It was just easier to say having the kids around made it harder.

Not going three times a week really made it harder for the times I did get out there.  To save my morale from completely diminishing I decided to head back to the C25K and do runs that I already knew I could.  Best. Idea. Ever.

You see going back to runs that I once struggled with, that I now almost breezed through felt amazing.  I felt stronger and more empowered than ever before.  Running through stages that I had previously had to walk through let me see just how far I have actually come.

For two weeks I retraced my C25K steps.  Yesterday I redid a week one run from Bridge to 10km.  It was harder than the C25K but no where near as hard as when I first started.  In fact at the end of it, despite being a little disappointed with my distance, I was over the moon with the amount of time I was actually running.

From here I plan to keep on going with the 10km program.  Finding nearly an hour to run rather than thirty minutes is a little trickier than I expected but oh so worth it.  All the running events for this area are all over for the year but I am certainly looking forward to being able to enter some next year.

Joining in with Get On With it Already for

as well as With Some Grace for

The Things I Know About Running

I know that running has been a great way for me to get myself active and on the path to a fitter and healthier me.

I know that after the first few weeks of making time to go for a run, it actually turned out to be a lot easier than what I expected.  That is not to say it has all been easy but it most certainly has been rewarding and something I want to do for the rest of my life.

I know that until recently I have never really though of myself as a runner as such.  And while I will not ever be likely to run quite as well as these guys

Source

I know that is ok.  I can proudly say I can manage to slowly run for thirty minutes.  In fact thirty minutes is no longer enough.  Since completing my couch to 5km training a few weeks ago I have been feeling the urge to do a bit more.

I know I really enjoyed completing Day 2 Week 1 of my new running app.  Bridge to 10k.  I wasn't joking when I said that the 5km was no longer enough.  This week consists of four ten minute runs with a one minute break in between.  Including the five minute warm up and cool down I am active for around fifty minutes and traveling around 6.5km.  I know I feel like a super star!

I know that if I go too long between runs I get grouchy and grumpy.  Little things that shouldn't bother me do start to do so.  Which then of course leads to big things that tend to get blown up even bigger and before you know it there has been an explosion of epic proportions leaving us all worse for wear.

I know that I kinda like saying I am addicted to running, since you know it is so healthy and all, but I feel a little pretentious doing so.  After all I am still such a newbie that sometimes I wonder if I really should even call what I do running.  (If anyone knows of the speed that signifies the start of running rather than jogging or even walking, please let me know)

I know that being able to notice a difference in my appearance has made me want to run more.  It has also made me just a little more conscious about how I fuel my body and what I put into it.  All of which can only lead to more good.

And the final thing I know this week is that I love being able to link this post up to so many fabulous link ups

@ Bbeingcool

@ Singular Insanity
@ With Some Grace

What Matters? - Open and Honest Communication

It goes without saying really that open and honest communication is not only the best form but should also be the only way we communicate with each other.  Sadly though this is not always the case.  Sometimes due to fear, shame  people do not alway openly communicate.  Sometimes this is through no fault of there own and sometimes with a bit of bravery and understanding it can be worked through.

As much as possible I like to think that I am an open communicator.  Both in the real world and here in the blogosphere.  There is never any doubt about the honesty aspect but there are at times instances when I know I am not as open as I could be.  This is particularly true in real life.  If anything I am probably more open about things on the blogs than I am in person.

For example, the other week I won a prize from a Facebook page.  The prize was a lady cup.  Which I am pretty excited about because I have been eyeing these off for a while but resisted buying one in case I didn't like it or it didn't work or whatever.

Even though I am sharing knowledge of my win here, there is only one person in the real world that I would discuss this with.  She has one already and is one of the most open and honest communicators about women stuff I have ever come across.  There is no taboo or off topic when it comes to the female body with this chick.  Which I love.  I know that there is no way me talking about the lady cup with her would make her feel uncomfortable.  You see when discussing such issues it is not only my comfort I consider but also how the other party to the conversation may be feeling.

As a rule I am not particularly comfortable discussing delicate women things.  I am of the belief that those personal monthly moments are just that, personal and therefore not necessary to discuss publicly.  Why I am so tight lipped on this I am not sure because I am far from prudish, but I have just never had a group of women I could sit down and chat about such things.  I can't help but wonder if I never found these women because I was never brave enough to broach the subject.

Up until now though it has never been an issue and I have given it little to no thought.  Now however I am the mother of three girls.  One of whom is 11.  Which is kinda code hurry up and find a way to start talking about all this secret women's business.

The thing is I don't want my girls growing up not feeling comfortable with their bodily processes.  I want them to embrace it and feel at one with their body.  Which I am sure is quite doable with open and honest communication about the changes they will one day go through.  Sounds so easy when said like that doesn't it?

Now ideally I should be able to go to my mother and as for some guidance on the matter, only that just won't work on this one.  Obviously mum had a go at explaining the birds and the bees and all that to me when I hit puberty.  Let's just say I was not exactly impressed with how she went around it.  If the truth be told she is partially responsible for my inability to discuss all of this.  You see I figure if she had of handled it all differently I wouldn't be struggling with what to say now.

I don't want my daughters going through life feeling embarrassed or shame by something that happens each and every month to just about each and every woman.  Yet I can't find a way to introduce the topic.  Then to make things even worse I start some self beating about the relationship I have with them because surely if it was a fantastic as I think it is in my head I wouldn't feel at such a loss on how to go about all of this.

All I know is I need to work something out.  And quickly.  Every passing day is one day closer till I have no choice but to discuss it.  I remember my first period.  Having no idea why I was bleeding from there.  Mum had a best friend over.  A woman I had known all my life and loved almost as much as my own mother.  I still couldn't go out and tell them.  I thought something was wrong.  I hoped that if I just changed my knickers it would stop and go away.  If only it were that easy.

In a bid to try and get my head around some of this I have turned to Google.  Apparently one way to go about it is with a first period party.  Complete with girl to womanhood cups and plates

Possibly a little over the top?

The outside of the card doesn't do much for me but the words inside are a bit nice

I keep telling myself that when the time is right I will know just what to say.  I hope this is the case.

What about you?  Do you already know how you will deal with this?

Joining in over at Diary of a SAHM for

 

I did it!

Yep that's right ladies and gentlemen I did it.  Not once but twice as well.  Go me right?

What's that? You have no idea what I am going on about?  Oh sorry let me stop and explain, in my excitement I might have got a little carried away.

As some of you may be aware over the last ten weeks or so I have been taking part in my own personal Ease into 5km program via an awesome little app by Blue Fin that I got for my phone.  The long and short of it is that it is an interval training program that is designed to get you running 5km in eight short weeks.

When I started going faster than a walk for more than 30 seconds seemed impossible.  I seriously question how on god's green earth I was going to be able to jog let alone run for a whole thirty minutes.  (Which is apparently how long 5km should take you.)

It has been a long tough slog.  One that has seen me repeat days on more than one occasion.  In fact there was one particular day that saw me repeat it three times before I felt I could honestly say I completed it.

Despite what ever doubts I may have had at the start I can now say that if you stick with it this kind of training really does pay off.  Just yesterday I went 5.15km in around 39 minutes.  Twenty nine of those minutes were jogging with the other ten consisting of a five minute warm up and the same again cooling down.  This follows a 5km run in around the same time last Friday.

Technically I am not sure what I am doing is really running.  If it is, it is a slow run, not that it really matters because at least I am moving more than what I was three months ago.  Which is all that matters.

Of course what matters even more is that I now actually feel fitter.  In fact I am quite proud of the fact that I can go at above walking pace for quite some time.  After the first ten to fifteen minutes I struggle a little and may or may not reduce my pace to walking for no more than thirty seconds mind you.  I am confident though that in another week or so it will be more like twenty minutes before I need a little breather.

Oh and did I mention how some of my shorts are now a little baggier than they once were?

There is still one more run before I officially graduate from the program which I am quite looking forward to.  Only then I need to work out what will be next.  I am torn between starting the Bridge to 10km or just focusing on improving my 5km time.  Really though all that matters is I keep going.

One thing that I have noticed about all this activity though is that I really am starting to feel quite great about myself.  The days that I run I feel happier and less stressed.  Mind you I only really noticed how good it made me feel when there was a week that saw no running.  By the end of the week I was grouchy and easily irritated.  A couple of runs though and all of that is gone and I am left feeling strong and awesome.

Joining in

Running Thanks to Twitter

While I was scrolling through Twitter this morning.  You know, as you do to prolong the moment when you actually have to swing your feet over the edge of the bed, when I came across this tweet from Nee.

For a very long time I didn't get the whole exercise thing either.  I played lots of sports as a early teen and then led a rather active life in later youth.  After all dancing on tables all night long is no easy feat, even when it is alcohol fuelled.  Along came children and breastfeeding and the dancing stopped as did lots of other activities.  It didn't bother me too much though because for the most part my body seemed to take care of itself and I never felt fat.

Eventually that changed though and I was suddenly hiding from cameras and cringing if I saw myself in a photo.  There was a part of me still trying to convince me I wasn't fat but a louder part cried even if you are not fat you sure have some excess weight and are really unfit.

The real clincher for me was the Wii Fit.  Apparently that stupid little machine thinks I am obese.  I am 165cm tall and weigh a comfortable 76kg.  Is that really obese?  Regardless of whether it is or not it was enough to see me start thinking about doing something.

October year before last, saw me pay for a gym membership.  I went for the first two months.  Well I went a couple of times in the first two months.  I was supposed to get a free session with a personal trainer.  They could never find one that had time for me.  I took that as a sign I wasn't meant to be there.  I then made up a thousand other excuses why I couldn't go.

Since then I have half heartily tried to get out there and be active.  For the most part it was all hit and miss and made no difference to my lifestyle at all.  Then about three months ago something happened.

Once again I was trawling through tweets and killing time while I waited for the housework to take care of itself (which by the way it didn't) when I came across conversations between some fellow bloggers and their adventures with a fitness app.  They would post their times on Twitter after a workout and I suddenly found myself thinking I wonder if I could do that.  Before long I had the app and was on my way.

The first few weeks were hard but rewarding.  Oh so rewarding.  I could literally feel myself getting stronger and fitter and even faster each and every time I got out there.  I loved it.  For the first time in my life I could see why so many people made time to go running.  I felt rather special to be joining the club.  I had always looked at runners with some form of admiration.  Being rather uncoordinated it was rather exciting to think that with a bit more time I too could be running.

Running along here is one of my favourite routes
I live in a capital city and I love the fact I can still run alongside a creek

Today I completed Day 3 of Week 7 of my running program.  Even though it says week 7 I probably started more like 10 weeks ago.  I had a week off when I was sick and then repeated week 6 for a while because I was starting to really struggle with completing each workout.

As I type there is a part of me that still doubts whether I will ever really be a 'runner' as such.  Next week is the last week of the program.  Which means in three runs time I should be able to run for 5kms.  Or for 30 minutes straight.  To be quite honest I am not sure I will do either.

Today was a 27 minute run.  Or rather it was supposed to be.  After about 12 minutes I wanted to stop.  I just wasn't feeling it.  At all.  I kept going though.  Albeit very very slowly.  That is what the last week and a half has been like.  Super slow going.  In 38 minutes I traveled around 4.5km.  Ten minutes of this is for warming up/cooling down with the left meant for running.  Today I ran as much as I could then walked for 20 seconds or so to catch my breath and start again.

I should feel proud of that effort, but I don't really.  I know that twelve weeks ago there is no way I would have been able to do that, however for some reason there is a part of me that feels like a failure.  Which is just plain stupid.

You see the problem is it is getting harder to actually see any difference.   I was never really doing this for the weight.  I really just wanted to be fitter.  I wanted to be able to run.  The first month however saw kilos fall and muscles tighten.  This motivated me to keep on going.

Now however the weight seems to be floating around the same numbers and whatever muscle tone I thought I had gained seems to have disappeared.  This is by no means motivating.  Today I went the same distance as last time I ran only this time I know I walked more than I did the time before.  I keep trying to tell myself that all that means is when I did run I was running faster but it is a hard one to buy.

So where to from here?

Well I am going to keep on going I guess.  I need to remind myself that this is something that I want to do.  And it is.

I WANT TO BE FIT.

As nice and encouraging as numbers and stats are they are not the be all and end all.  The fact that I am out in the fresh air three times a week, being active and pushing my body, needs to be reward enough.  I am sure that if I just keep going it won't be too much longer till the feeling of being a running fraud (based on how slow I am) gets left behind and I start to feeling like a running champion.

One step at a time.

Joining in with Fitness Friday over at Kate Says Stuff and Team Friday at BBeingCool

What Matters When You Are Sick?

Restlessly rolling in bed unable to get comfortable I can't even be bothered to change the channel on the television. It is really only on as a background noise so it doesn't really matter. I have never really been much of a TV fan at the best of times, day time reruns are certainly not even close to the best of times.

So what brings me to having both the time and opportunity to roll restlessly around on my bed well after 9am?

A blocked nose and a bit of a head cold. Possibly a bit of hay fever brought about by the change in season. I am not really too sure. I do know it is nothing too serious I just needed a day in bed.

Yesterday would have been better for a day of rest but since it was Miss Eleven's birthday I soldiered on. Today though it feels like I have been hit with a bad case of man flu.  Man Flu (which you are probably all ready aware of) is much worse than an ordinary flu that mums normally get.  Man Flu leaves renders you useless and restricts you to the confines of your bed where you can do nothing.  Absolutely nothing.

It can also make you prone to endless complaining, whinging and whining about how terrible you feel.  Since I am on the verge of losing my voice though I will probably not get into that too much.  Plus I am not really sure anyone would really listen to me.

Mind you I am so thankful that Mr Awesome was able to come home for the day to take care of me I don't really feel like it would be fair for me to complain too much. You see it is not just myself who is feeling less than human. Miss Not Quite Six is also home from school and appears to be heading down a similar road to myself.  Only she has wisely opted for movie watching rather than leaving herself open to the perils of day time drama.  The baby also appears to have green stuff pouring out of her left nostril.

Anyway as I lay here, eyes burning from trying to stare at the tiny screen on my phone so I can at least whinge here and save what is left of my voice I can't help but think of all the things that are meant to matter to me during the week.

You know things like doing the umpteen loads of washing that are inevitably laying around and only growing bigger because they are being ignored for the day.  The leaning towers of dishes that will be multiplying around the kitchen sink.  The thousand other little jobs that need doing to keep a family home in tip top shape.

In order for me to lay here and rest I have to keep telling myself that none of that really matters.  Today is my only chance to rest and do absolutely nothing.  Tomorrow Mr Awesome won't be able to have the day off and take care of things.  In fact I was surprised he was able to do so today.  When I called him this morning to have a quick whine about how crap I was felling I nearly fell over when his first response was to offer to come home.  It warms my heart to know he knows what matters.

Of course in many ways it is in his best interest to let me rest now rather than struggle through for a few more days and then need even more rest later.  But what really matters is that he gave me the chance to rest now.

With all this resting time though my mind can't help but wander, which is what brought me here.  (After all what else does a blogger do when faced with a day in bed?)

If sickness was a part of our everyday life, what would matter then?  Sure all the jobs still need to be done but would they matter more or less than what they do now?  I had actually planned on some thought provoking post on what would matter if sickness was a part of our everyday life.  My addled Man Flu brain didn't quite come to the party though.  I am so eternally grateful though that to date it has not been a curve ball thrown at us.  I hope it never is and my heart goes out to the many who do juggle with it.

-fairy wishes and butterfly kisses

Getting Back in the Groove

Last week when I joined in Kate's Fitness Friday, I spoke of how I thought I had learnt the importance of making regular matter.  After the build up to Easter, birthday parties and putting children on a plane. exercising, which at the moment is running, had failed to place on the things that gone done list.  When I finally got round to it, it hurt.

Like really hurt.

Thankfully I had the good sense to push through and am now happy to say that my lost week has been recovered.  Sadly it was not replaced by fitter and faster but at least I am now feel at the level I was before I stupidly stopped making time to run.

You see when that happens it is not just my fitness levels that suffer.  Everything about everything seemed to make me feel crappy.  I felt like I was stuck in funk.  I was moody and grumpy and easily irritated.  The children drove me up the wall and I had the patience of lion with a sore paw.  The worst part was I didn't even know why.

One of the things I have discovered while running is that I really enjoy it.  Even though it is hard and takes a lot of effort, I still love it.  To the point that if I don't run I start to miss it.

The reason why I think I enjoy it is because it makes me feel so good about myself, and in so many different ways.
It makes me stronger and fitter, which then makes me feel like I am able to take on so much more.  
I feel a new confidence in my appearance .  For the first time in I don't know how long I actually looked at a photo of myself without cringing.

Not only that but I have also found one I like to look at.

Ok so maybe I cringe a little be at the winking eye...but only a little ;)

It is not just a confidence in my appearance that has grown either.  When I think about what I have achieved in these few short weeks I have the confidence to think I can take on a whole range of new challenges.  I know that it won't be long till I know I'll be able to successfully tackle the BootCamp App I got a while back.

I also love that it gets me out in the fresh air.  I love being out in the fresh air.  Feeling the wind on my face reminds me that I am alive.  Feeling the sweat drip down and sting my eyes reminds me that I am alive and living somewhere hot and sticky.  I like that.  It makes the running even tougher.  Which it turn makes me tougher for pushing through it and getting out there.

Only having said that today was a running day and I didn't run.  I slept in and then decided the afternoon was too hot!  Weak excuse I know.  Deep down though I think my body will be more thankful for the extra rest day this time round.  I will make up for it tomorrow though, I promise.  

Which sort of works out quite well because then my next running day will be Wednesday.  If I had of run today my next running day would have been Tuesday which just would not have worked as Miss Soon to be Eleven will actually be eleven.

With the return of school I would like to think we might be able to not need to rely on the car to get about all the time.  School is anywhere from 3.6 - 4.2km's away (depending on the route), which is roughly only a 35 min journey at my current fitness levels.  I haven't actually run that far yet, but that is not to say I haven't done the distance.  I just haven't run the entire way.  I am thinking of this option more in terms of bike riding on one of my non running days.  Ideally though one day I would love to run while they ride!

There is only one problem to all of this though.  Miss Nearly Six is still on training wheels.  Prior experience has taught me such distances are no good with training wheels.

While Miss Nearly Six has scooted such distances before I am not sure that doing this with her school bag is really such a great idea.  Especially on the way home.  School wears her out as it is.  Chucking the two little ones in the bike trailer is always an option I guess but that is a fair bit of weight for me to drag around (all the more workout I guess).

As soon as Miss Nearly Six can conquer the two wheeler (which is any day now I hope) she should be right to pedal her way which is my preferred option  Children are never to young to learn how great it feels to be fit.  It is all on bike paths and very safe.  There are a few large roads but they are generally not too much of an issue.  The girls know where to stop and wait if they are in the lead.  This way it provides a nice drinks break as well.

All in good time though.

Now I know once again it is not Friday any more but I am still going to be joining in Fitness Friday Blog Hop over at Kate Says Stuff, who just happens to be giving away some very cool Blackmores Packs.  All the more reason to check her out.

Why Regular Matters

You may have heard me mention once or twice that running is one of my main things to make matter at the moment. Well at least it was until about five days ago.

Up until then I had been rather proud of the fact that I could say I went for some sort of a run every other day. In fact on some levels it may even have been possible to say that I was even bragging about my new found ability to run.  After hitting the month mark and fast approaching the end of month number two I am sad to say I fear I may have let myself get just a little too over confident.

Thinking I had it all in the bag and this running thing was a sure thing I started to let it not matter quite some much.  Where once I was not letting excuses be an option, they now seem to have somehow crept in and I am not sure how to get them to leave.  There is a very slight chance that some of these excuses are in fact valid reasons but I just don't want to let either of them in.  I have no room for excuses or weak reasons.

People who make excuses get no where.  Fast.  Real fast. 

I have spent too many years of my life making excuses as opposed to making the time.  From here on in all I want to be doing is making the time to make things matter.  Things like running, that are good for me, in oh so many ways, they need to matter.  I need to make the time to make it matter.  On a regular (like every other day regular) basis.

Today was the day I once again stopped making excuses and instead made some time.  Today I paid a price and learnt a lesson.  Thankfully neither of which have been too high, but instead just enough to wake me up.

When I started this program way back on the 18th of February, I was short on breath and struggled to complete the thirty second running intervals.  I only managed to go 2.96 km at a pace of 10:07/km.  Since then however I have managed to get to as far as 4.47km wish a pace as fast as 7:20/km.  I have even managed to do a whole kilometer in a little over six and a half minutes.

Today was the first day I have not been able to complete a session.  I guess technically I did complete the session in that I was active for the full thirty minutes but I was by no means running anywhere near as much as I was meant to be.  I still told my little program that I had done it because that was the only way I could work out how to save the time so I could beat it tomorrow.

Today was the first day (since the actual first day) that I really struggled.  And when I say struggled I mean nearly broke me and hurt like hell.

The one that woke me up

Today felt like the very first day all over again.  Only this time much worse.

When I did the first day all those weeks ago I had no idea what I was capable of.  In fact back then I would scroll forward through the weeks and cringe at what was still to come.  I wondered how I would ever get through it all.  I stopped wondering though and just got one with it.

Now however I know what I am capable of.  I know that I can do this.  Even if it means doing a few days more than once and taking a little longer than originally planned.  I know I can do this.  I just need to make sure I keep making the time to make it matter.

One of the things I have loved most about training to run is the way I have felt stronger.  Each and every time I get out there I feel stronger than the time before.   I know that I can go just a little bit harder and faster than before.  Today was the complete opposite of that and I hated it.

When the friendly voice chimed into to say 'you are half way done' I just wanted to scream halfway done?!?!? I am more than halfway done buddy I am well and truly done and dusted call the ambulance to take me home.  Instead I tried to remind myself that it was the middle of the afternoon of a rather hot day and even though I was adequately fueled from brunch and chocolate maybe today wasn't the best day to try a full nine minute run.

For now though it looks like I will return to the previous week so that I can ease myself back into the rhythm of it all.  After all there is no deadline I just need to keep at it.  Hopefully before long this will all have been seamlessly integrated into my lifestyle and I will proudly be able to call myself a regular runner.

I have decided to join this post in with the blog hop hosted by the lovely Kate Says Stuff and Mummy Smiles  Check some of the other great fitness posts for this week

One Step At A Time

That is what I keep saying to myself when I run.  One step at a time.  Left foot.  Right foot.  Left foot.  Right... I am sure you get the picture.

Source
Yeah sorta like that but not really as fast

Running has never been something I have excelled at.  Which with a desire to be an attacker in sports such as hockey and soccer never really worked in my favour.  Even now I can clearly recall chilly Saturday mornings gasping for breath as I chased after some silly ball trying to get it between the posts and in the nets.  As much as I loved playing and scoring I couldn't quite get my head around all the running that it entailed.

Soon after that I discovered that sleeping in on a Saturday was also a bit fun and not nearly as much hard work.  It also came with the added bonus of blankets which in the middle of our tropical winter was still more appealing than actually running in the cold morning air.

Over the years however I have always been slightly envious of those crazy people that seem to enjoy running along the beautiful foreshores that I live near.  I would sit on the bench and watch them stream by.  One step at a time, pounding along the pavement as they went.

Watching the beads of perspiration gather and run down their hot red faces there was a part of me that wished I too could run but alas there was always a reason for it not to be the case.  Then I started to hear of ways in which any Tom, Dick or Harry could become a runner.  In fact there was a whole program specifically geared at getting people off the couch and out for a run.

When I first looked into it, well over twelve months ago now, I felt inspired and certain I was up for the challenge.  After seeing the first week only involved the odd 30 second run here and there I was such failure was not an option.  After all running, or even jogging, for 30 seconds couldn't be that hard could it?

Ah yep.

It was.

I didn't even finish the first week.  The whole timing how long I walk/run was not easy and worsened by the fact I was unable to source any motivation or inspiration to drive me.  Perhaps running wasn't for me after all and I would just have to find another way to get fit.  Apparently just purchasing a gym membership isn't the right way to go about it either.

Fast forward to six weeks ago.

I am now the proud owner of a magic iDevice which enables me to download a beaut little app that will apparently ease me into 5km.  While I may not have actually made the magic 5km mark yet I no longer doubt whether I will.  I now know that it will only be a matter of time before I can proudly say I can run for a full 5km or at least thirty minutes.  Though by all accounts the two should be nearly one and the same.

At this stage I am halfway through week five.  There are a total of eight weeks in the program.  It takes a commitment of thirty minutes three times a week.  I am trying to get out there every other day.  For the most part I have managed this though due to the trials and tribulations that is children there have been a few times when it has been two or three days between runs.  One step at a time and all in good time.

Already I am feeling stronger and fitter each time I get out there.  I am genuinely excited to think in around a month I should be able to run for a full thirty minutes.  Sure there have been times when I have been left gasping for breath and wondering why I am putting myself through this but then a little voice calls out mum and I quickly remember.

I want to be a fit and healthy role model for three very special girls.  It is with that in mind that I will keep making the time to make running matter