Came across this quote today. LOVE IT!

"It was being a runner that mattered, not how fast or how far I could run. The joy was in the act of running and in the journey, not in the destination. We have a better chance of seeing where we are when we stop trying to get somewhere else. We can enjoy every moment of movement, as long as where we are is as good as where we'd like to be. That's not to say that you need to be satisfied forever with where you are today. But you need to honor what you've accomplished, rather than thinking of what's left to be done (p. 159)."
— John Bingham (No Need for Speed: A Beginner's Guide to the Joy of Running)

Distractions and Busy Life

When I signed up to Round 2 of 12wbt, I thought it was the perfect time to do it.  Life was settled and I had a discussion with my husband about the need to really commit to this round and go hard.  He was so supportive and assured me that he was on board to let me focus on it.  So, sign up I did and got started.

THEN, along comes the flu, sick kids and a new job offer at work.  All within the first week!  Last round I ended up with a chest infection for a few weeks and had a cold for 8 of the 12 weeks!  I really don't want that to happen this time!  Fortunately the flu didn't stick around too long and the kids got better quickly too.  But the work side of life is out of control.  I am in meetings all day every day and that means no time to get any work done so I'm having to do that late at night.  I feel like life's gone nuts.

BUT, somehow, this has spurred me on even more.  I lost 1.7kg this week!  All my exercising was done late at night.  I even ran along the road at 9pm with a head torch. Something I never thought I could do.  I went to Zumba and it was a really disappointing energy level night, so I went for a run afterwards!  Then came home and worked. 

Somehow being so busy has put me in the right space to continue exercising.  And you know what,  it makes me feel so much better and I feel more awake and alive that I am actually more effective at work.

I guess the old addage that if you want something done, give it to a busy person, is right :-)

Transforming the mind and the body

So, I'm in a bit of a weird place at the mo.  At a whim, decided to join up to the Michelle Bridges 12 week Body Transformation about 14 weeks ago. It's just finished and I lost 15.3kg in the 12 weeks.  What the?!  I'm pretty proud of myself for how disciplined I was on the program and how I made what I thought was an unrealistic goal.  Including some challenges like chest infections and 2 weeks camping in the outback. But, I did it.  I'm not good at blowing my own trumpet.  Especially when it comes to weight loss.  I consider it quite a personal thing.  I don't like to bang on about it.  I just like to get on and do it.

So, the big finale was on the weekend.  Myself and 699 of my closest friends hung out for a workout on Saturday and a party on Saturday night.  There was a lot of positive energy around and I had good fun.  Prior to Saturday, I was willing to leave my 12wbt experience at 1 round. But, then I got to thinking. What if I signed up again and lost another 15kg.  A tough ask. But if I apply myself to the exercises this time rather than just the food, then maybe.....just maybe.  I've spent 2 sleepless nights thinking about it and planning all my mini challenges and things.  And I've bloody well just signed up again! 

The time is right.  I'm going to kick some arse.  I'm going to be a size 16 by my birthday!  ARGH!

Let's start again!

So a year after my first post, I'm starting again. The rules are the same, the mindset is different.  This time I'm not so determined which is scary.  I hope that changes.  This time it seems so much harder but I'm starting at a slightly lower base.  This time, I'm following someone else's program not my own.
So let's see how it goes!

The road to 24 hours begins

Shit!  What have I done?!  I've signed up to the Coburg 24 hour track championships in April.  After having completed the 6 hour version in March this year and declaring I would never do anything so stupid as walk around a track for 6 hours ever again, I've gone and signed up for 4 times the length! 

IDIOT!

But, it's given me something to aim for and as soon as christmas is over, training must begin in earnest.   Right now I'm scared shitless at the prospect, but man I need something to get this butt moving!

Motivation and Goals

A lot of people have asked me lately how I manage to do so many things and be motivated to fit so much into my day to day life.  The answer is goals.  I have a set of goals whether they be exercise related or cleaning related or activity related.  And usually, if I really want to achieve them, I will put them out there, make them public, say it out loud.  Then I have to answer to that declaration.  If I don't, I disappoint myself!  It might be a bit harsh on myself, but I tend to get success that way and I think from a lot of reading I've done, a lot of other people work this way as well!
One such goal that was met today was the Couch to 5K program.  I declared to all and sundry and whoever wanted to listen at the start of the year that I was going to do it and I should still be doing it.  Today was supposed to be Week 8 Day 1.  However, I started out for the morning jog and felt great.  I knew that I could push past the 28mins I was supposed to run and ended up surpassing all my expectations and running 6kms this morning!  I even went past the 5kms I was aiming for.  The immense satisfaction I got from doing that has kept me buzzing all day!  I wanted to wear a sign on my head that everyone could see that said "I ran 6kms today" but as if anyone would really care!  Thankfully my husband was supportive and hasn't shown any signs of tiring from my incessant "I ran 6kms this morning" rants and raves that have continued all day!
So, what on earth is to be my next goal?  Well this weekend is the Coburg 6 hour and I have an aim to walk at least 36kms.  I'd love to get to 40kms, but I'm not really confident on that.  This is one goal, I'm kind of setting low in the overall scheme of things.  Just completing it will be good as it's given me something to train towards this year and has helped me stay on track and lose 6kgs so far.  Just another 7kgs to go to meet my weight loss goal for the year.  There, it's out there.  Got to do it now!!

The social side of exercise

It's fair to say that I've a lot of kilometers under my feet over the past 6 months or so and during a recent walk with my husband at the "1000 steps" in the Dandenongs, I got to thinking about the social side of exercise.

We were on the downhill return choosing to follow the path rather than the steps as we could actually walk next to each other and enjoy the experience.  There was a woman trudging up the hill towards us and made eye contact a few times, however with a couple of metres to go, she put her head down and walked right on past.  My smile and "hi" went unacknowledged.  Now, I get it that it was probably tough going.  God knows I was happy we weren't walking up that section, but I just don't get it when people don't acknowledge other like minded people when out and about exercising.

I sometimes go for a walk around Albert Park lake on the way into work.  I am doing this to improve my walking pace, so I'm going pretty hard and concentrating on keeping up the speed.  But I still think it's important to look around and enjoy the experience.  My experiment has shown there aint a lot of people who'll return a smile at this location.

So, then there's the Tan.  I sometimes do the Tan at lunch time from work.  Again, I'm trying to do it pretty quickly and will often throw in some jogging along the way.  Most people are pretty focused during the lunch sessions so I tend not to get much of a response and to be honest, I don't dish them out as willingly!

I've been having to ramp up some distance walks on the weekends as part of my training for Coburg so this usually takes me through the streets and I really don't expect much in the way of smiles from people just out doing their daily thing, but more often than not, I'll get my smile returned.  I recently walked 30kms along the beach from Chelsea to St Kilda and noticed a marked difference in the location and the "response rate".  It was 5am when I left home and up until the Mentone section of the beach, it was still what I would call "bloody early"! And of course, at this time EVERYONE says hi because we're all nuts.  But as I got closer and closer into the city, there were more and more sour faces and markedly less smiles.  Incidentally, there was also a LOT more dog poo covering the path and people walking poodles.  Perhaps the 2 are linked?

But I digress.    

To me exercise is so satisfying and rewarding that it makes me really happy.  Even when I am hating it and not wanting to do it and wondering how I am going to put one foot in front of the other.  I get people not returning a smile when you're out on the streets but out in the bush or on a casual path, I think a smile can brighten someone else's day.

On the personal front, I am stoked with the way my running training is coming along.  I am into week 6 of couch to 5k without having to repeat any days or weeks which I never thought would happen.  We even went for a run together on the weekend which is the first time in 15 years of being together that we've ever done that.  It was a great feeling and I look forward to more of it.