Last run before the 5K

Tags

Running, Toilet, Yoga

What a disaster. The run part was awesome, my pace was slow but I kept moving for almost 30 mins. But disaster struck. Uh oh, where is a toilet????

Where were you????? Source

I won’t share all the details, but why, oh why? The path I run along has like a zillion people on it all the time, there are huge soccer playing fields next to it and a busway, BUT NOT ONE TOILET! I was about 15 mins from home which literally is the closest place I could think of. Husband was skateboarding and had his phone in the car so did not get my repeated missed calls to come and rescue me. Bleurgh. I made it home, just…… Yeah, I know its gross, but I comfort myself thinking this must happen to a lot of runners out there, hence I feel no shame for sharing this!

Anyway enough about that, lets focus on the run. My quads were screaming abuse at me after my awesome 25 min run on Tues. I stretched and did some Yoga but they were still sore. The run this morning purged all of the lactic acid out and now they are back to normal. I think it made me a bit slower today, but speed will come later, Im focusing at the moment on duration. I was feeling like I could run forever till the toilet debacle. So I am very confident I can smash 5K. I calculate it should take 40-45 mins based on todays pace. Slow, but it still is going to be 5K. I don’t care how slow I go, it will be my first ever 5K and that is all I want right now.

The socks I bought last week rock. No blisters 🙂 I got some gatorade to put in my water. I have constructed a hand holder out of elastic bands for my new water bottle so I don’t have to grip it so hard when I run. I AM READY!

This afternoon, Shoulders and Arms P90X, Tomorrow, Yoga. Saturday, Yoga. Sunday 5k.

OMG 25 Mins Non Stop!

Tags

Running

Allrrigghty! I’m still sweating and heaving a bit…….

Back it up a little…

Before I went on a run this afternoon, I read this post where I was was forwarded to Hey, Fat Girl, which is probably the most inspiring post for any one who is attempting running. Trust me you could replace the word FAT with any descriptor you cared to think of and it would still be inspiring. But as I am on a weight loss goal as much as a running goal, it really got to me, I admit, I even got a tad teary…. People who know me won’t think that is too hard though as I tear up at anything…

So let the bragging commence!

I ran non stop for 25 mins! And I covered 3.2km 🙂

I think I love running, sorry husband….

Yikes! It was tough, but I gotta tell ya, those words were running through my mind. I ran as tall as a 5foot 2inch person can, I smiled at people walking/skating/cycling/running past me! I lifted my head high when I felt like stopping and there were a few harsh encouraging words to myself like ‘keep fucking going’. AND I DID!

Runkeeper even sent me an email to congratulate me for my farthest distance, thanks Runkeeper, you rock! (ok they send them to everybody, but its still nice)

That 5km on Sunday better watch out, I’m so ready.

P90X – Bitches!

Tags

health, P90X, Running, Tony Horton

Tony Horton, I love you and I hate you…..

At the start of the year, I read in a women’s fashion magazine about this thing called P90X. Over here in Australia, we are not bombarded with P90X advertising day and night – in fact I had never heard about it! I was intrigued…. the magazine promised this program would transform your body… So we got P90X and started working out. The magazine I read about this in usually publishes rather flimsy exercises, and naturally, I was a bit skeptical about the hype of P90X. Till I tried it!

IT IS INTENSE!

Aaaah Tony, you drive me mad with your silly quotes, and I hate myself a little bit for knowing exactly what you are going to say next.

Its a special kind of love Source

But, I do love you Tony, as you have pushed me to my limits and made me stronger. When I first started doing this, I had never done a push up on my toes in my life! Appalling, I know, but never, ever, ever on my toes. Just those ones where you are on your knees, really just moving my upper body up and down. Lets face it, what I am saying here is not even stretched out on my knees 🙂

By the end of a few months, I was on my toes, not for all of them but for 5-10 at a time. A few times a session. Those of you who do P090X will know there are TONS of push up sessions in each workout. I have transformed my triceps. They are almost visible now, not to mention, so much stronger! It really does what it says it will do 🙂

Now the way I look at it, there is no use trimming fat off the body if the underlying muscle is poorly worked and lacking definition/strength. All that will happen is you will look skinny. I want to look and feel (I guess BE is the word here!) toned and fit. Its also a well known fact that better muscle definition aids in weight loss, protects bones and makes you look HOT!

I took a break from it for a few weeks as I hurt my shoulder. This little injury was more annoying than anything else, as I am pretty sure I just pinched a nerve in my shoulder. But I was out as far as P90X was concerned. You all know I kept running. After all, it is my new favourite – that 5km is just around the corner….

Today I did “Chest and Back” “The mother of all workouts” as Tony says. OUCH! Pushups and Pulldowns. OUCH! Even husband was hurting and he did not take a few weeks off when I did!

Its nuts how fast I lost strength from taking those few weeks off! So its back to Tony. Back to P90X. Back to basics. OOOOOUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

I pumped out about 100 pushups this morning, all on my knees (but stretched out in plank so to speak), so don’t get too impressed….. AND, as we use those rubber resistance bands cos we rent our place and can’t install pull up bars, I did about 50 pull downs. It was a great session….Thursday is Shoulders and Arms, my favourite as I love working out my arms!

BRING IT! (Tony says that, not me!)…..

Preparation, AKA Shopping :)

Tags

Running

Now who does not like shopping for new things?

As I mentioned in my last post, I need new socks so that I don’t get blisters during next weeks runs.

Here they are!

These bad boys will keep my feet dry and blister free!

They were expensive, like $35 AUD each, but not going for a run for a week made it worthwhile. After all, if you don’t keep striving for your goal, you will never reach it. Im still waiting for the current blister to heal properly, its looking a lot better today, still a bit angry but I’m confident it will be healed enough to run on again by Tues.

I took a look online at some workout gear that I am going to reward myself with next Sunday afternoon. There are so many awesome clothes out there! I still love my 2XU sleeveless jacket so I am thinking of a bra-shelf top to wear under it and some new tights. I mostly run in full length compression tights but now its getting warmer, I might just use them for recovery and run in something shorter. Still not ready to bare too much leg, but capri length should be ok 🙂

Getting very excited about this run……So in the meantime, whilst I can’t run, Im smashing my thesis and dreaming of the perfect playlist for Sunday’s 5KM.

Any suggestions? Id love to hear what songs carry you through your runs!

Nine Days to Go…..

Tags

Running

Take a look to your right, scroll down a bit, yep…. can you see it now?? NINE DAYS TILL MY FIRST EVER 5KM RUN!

Uh oh……

Blister is still a bit angry……

Have not even run a full 25 min yet…..

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!

Man up, princess! Source

Ok, here’s the plan:

1. Buy some decent socks so the blister does not come back again.
2. Do NOT run again till the blister is healed. Like totally healed.
3. Run on Tuesday next week for 25 min.
4. Run again on Thursday for 27 min
5. Run again on Sunday for 5km.

Easy peasy. I will make this promise to myself now to push all negativity about not being able to do it out of my mind. I will focus instead on how great I will feel after running and best of all achieving this goal. Im really close, I can almost feel it now! One week and a bit till I get there.

I will also celebrate my milestone with a new running outfit.  The one I get around in now is so freaking ugly, its drab and does not fit well now that I have lost weight. So I will promise myself a treat! YAY!

Stay tuned dear readers, I will post my runs so we can all keep tabs on this plan 🙂

Weekly Weigh In

Tags

food, health, healthy-living, Running, Weigh In

Well, clean eating really paid off. I lost a gigantic 1.6 kg last week plus the 800g I gained the week before, which was a total of 2.4kg!!!!! I weigh 81.5kg, which is 7.3kg less than when I started this 8 weeks ago….. Happy!

Treats through the week included some delicious wine on Sat night when a friend was visiting, a florentine on Friday afternoon just cos I felt like it and heaps of yummy low fat low carb dinners.

Florentines are heavenly….. Source

Since cutting out lots of white carbs, like bread, rice and pasta, I feel way less bloated and heavy in my stomach. Its noticeable to me that these foods may not be so easy for me to digest, as I have had much better inner workings since I stopped eating them 🙂 Could be that I may not eat them much again, its such a dramatic difference!

Best part about losing weight – all those clothes that used to fit, are now back in rotation! Even my most favourite leather jacket that got so much wear a few years ago, and was so neglected when I was heavier fits now. Its a bit snug, but I will be wearing it in the next week or so. For me its better than shopping for new clothes because I feel like the old me is coming back, this time healthier and fitter than before.

I had a quick work trip out to the bush, was uneventful but its grand to be home! Last night my sister and husband and I went to our favourite restaurant Azafran. Three courses of truly amazing, local, fresh, in-season food. I love that place so much!

I went for a run on Sunday, but had to stop at the 18 min mark as the blister I got on my last run was hurting like a bitch. It has become rather nasty, I will spare the gory details but running is a no go at the moment till it heals. Wearing steel cap work boots did not help matters at all…… Busting to get back out there, time is ticking for my goal of 5km on Sun 2 Sept….

In other news, swimming will be making a comeback. Its starting to warm up here, so the pool beckons. I love swimming, maybe even more than running, so I plan to alternate swimming and running soon.  Watch this space……

All in all, a fantastic week and lots of busy fun planned for this week. Deets soon!

 

Why I Love Archaeology

Tags

Archaeology, British Museum, Doctor of Philosophy

When I was living in Japan, I got to see some truly amazing exhibitions. Its common for a floor or space within large shopping complexes to be given over as a semi public space, and these spaces often show exhibitions of art and antiquities. During my 18 months there, I saw paintings from Monet, antiquities from Egypt and Ancient Greece, Samurai exhibitions and many other delights for the eyes.

I was transitioning in my career path. I had literally fled my former life and was searching for a new career. In the meantime I was teaching English to Japanese people and weighing things up in my mind……

During one of my solo visits to an exhibition, it dawned on me. These things that delighted me so much did not just turn up in these places, someone had to organise them. Who was that someone? Could I be that someone? My imagination immediately took hold of me and I envisaged myself working at the British Museum, well paid and immaculately dressed, organising wondrous items and their travels around the world. THIS IS IT! I thought. Im going to be a museum curator…..

So upon my return to Oz, I enrolled in a preparatory course held at our tertiary counterpart to university, TAFE. This was because, although I knew I could handle uni, I was wary of going in without a little practice so to speak. I did very well at this course and so during the last semester of prep, I enrolled in uni as an external student for a semester to get a feel of what it was like. I did a course that had two components, one was museums and the other was archaeology.

Long story short, I HATED THE MUSEUM PART!! Like hated it. It seemed so so so so so boring and the complete opposite of my highly paid, well dressed, imaginary job. BUT I LOVED LOVED LOVED THE ARCHAEOLOGY! It was so exciting! I had always been a bit of a geek about Ancient History, I loved it at high school and would make time to watch documentaries on tv whenever I could. I had a very solid interest in Egypt, like so many people, but had never entertained that my love of history could be a career. And here it was, being handed out to me. A career in archaeology……. I was hooked. And I have never looked back.

I have been studying archaeology now for almost 9 years. I have a bit of writing to finish up my PhD and then Im done. With studying formally that is 🙂 I have been gainfully employed as an archaeologist for about 5 of those years. Its never been boring for me and I look forward to each job I do, as its a little bit more of the human story that I get to interact with.

The biggest kick I get out of being an archaeologist is the tangible connection that we can experience with the past. In my research, I have held in my very own hand objects over 2 million years old! Thats freaky deaky old my dear reader! Its not even made by us (Anatomically Modern Humans are a bit younger than that). But we can observe so much from these objects. Its like a virtual time machine

It continually blows my mind that we, as modern humans, can interact with objects made by people like or a little bit like us, but who lived a life so dramatically different to the one we live today. Archaeology has provided me with an intellectual love affair with the past that generates so much happiness in my life. I love interacting with the objects of the past, talking to other archeologists about the past and thinking (and daydreaming) about the past. Its such a massive contrast to the iPhones, twitter, Facebook, uni, tv, movies, restaurants, cars, houses and other things that crowd our lives today.

Archaeology is the best career choice I could have made, although its definitely not as well dressed as my imaginary job.  I wear a lot of ugly clothing, and often look terrible at work as its always outdoors and here in Australia, usually hot. But fashion aside, it sustains me in a way that no other job has. And best of all, all my mates are archaeologists as well. Its like a tribe, we all get it. And we can get rowdy, very rowdy indeed, its true………

So thats why I Love Archaeology!

If anyone else out there is an archaeologist, I would love to hear how you got into it and what you love about it……. Don’t be shy!

Yummy eats

Tags

food, healthy-living

Today, I had to improvise, and boy was it yummy.

Ive blogged before about my obsession with Pear and Walnut Salad. Well today we only had one pear, and we need two to make it for both of us. So we used an apple as well…

I love it when a plan gets improvised!

Yummy…. The original is still the best but this is a great alternative and may be better for those out there without such a sweet tooth!

Also, I pulled another carrot out of my garden and its no freaking longer than the other one!

I left it a few weeks and its way bushier on top than the first one. The circumference of the top bit poking out of the soil made me think it was ready, but look, its stunted!

poor little guy, but still small and tasty

Oh well, I guess I did not make the soil loose enough when I planted the seeds…. There is still a stack of them in the soil so I will give it a few more weeks and see if that little tendril of carrot can turn into a proper carrot! Otherwise we will have to have an uber chic dinner party with ‘baby carrots’ to use them all up 🙂

Any clues/tips would be very appreciated!

 

 

Uh, Oh, Spagettio

Tags

Running, shin splints

Well, this is embarrassing. A rookie mistake was made today.

My natural tendencies when things are going well is to go harder/do more/be better. Basically, I tend to charge headfirst into things and suffer.

You may recall my elation in smashing 20 mins of non stop running two days ago.

Well, today I thought to myself, ‘If you can do 20, you can so do 30′. I know, I know, increase by 10% at a time….Who in their right mind would attempt a 50% increase??????? A crazy person, that’s who. Me.

Such a sad tale, it started off well, a few niggles that got ironed out within the first 2-3 mins. Got to 15 mins (my god I was so happy to hear that voice prompt!!), turned around and told husband I needed a break. Walked for about 2 mins, started running again and thats when it fell to pieces. EVERYTHING HURT! Like everything. The old shin splints felt like they were back with a vengeance. I got a blister. I felt like vomiting at one stage (Ill be honest here, it was not from overexertion, but my water tasted manky in the plastic bottle it was in….). My legs felt like lead. I got a stitch. Whinge whinge whinge…..Bleh

I alternated through the next agonising ten minutes with running and walking, more walking and then my bf called! Joy and relief filled my body. I felt like I’d been given a ‘get out of jail free’ card. I took the call and walked the rest of the way back to our starting point where husband was waiting patiently for me.

Lessons Learnt:

1. Before my miracle 20 min run, I drank about 750mls water, this morning a mere gulp whilst swanning confidently out the door. Drink more before the run.
2. Its a tad ambitious to go for 30 when I just completed 20. Slow down sister, small increments will get me there faster than big leaps.
3. I really really need to stretch my calves more, yesterday I did them only once. This is the first time I have had to ice my legs after a run in ages. Boo.
4. Change my water bottle so the water does not taste platicy and manky.

This is my after run treat, its so creamy and smells freaking amazing. Source

I bought a special body wash a few weeks ago that I promised I would only use when I went for a run. I felt guilty using it this morning…..

So all in all it was not great. I still got about 20-22mins out but it was not continuous and I felt like it was hard work. I now have a blister plaster on the wound and will take it easy and go for the original plan of 21 mins for my next run. Sheesh, what a crap way to learn a lesson 🙂

 

Sneaky weigh in…..

Tags

healthy-living, Weigh In, weight-loss

I forgot to mention that last Monday, when we weighed in, we had both gained weight! GASP! I know why, basically we misbehaved big time on Saturday night, loads of booze and no dinner, and we really paid for it on Sunday. I felt rubbish for most of the day. So not surprisingly, I gained 800g, which brought me up to 83.9kg again. Booooooooo.

What a difference a few days make! I have eaten clean since then and have been out for a run. I have drunk buckets of water and had no naughty treats (well ok, one hot chocolate, but it is winter!)

And today, even though it’s not a weigh in day, I stepped on the scales. 82.4kg. Yep minus 1.5kg:)

I know fully well that the weight gain was literally just temporary, but I am still thrilled to bits that the gain of last week and some more extra weight is off. I think this week will be a cracker! I can literally see that I have lost weight so I am very excited!

Stay tuned for the real weigh in results on Monday…………..