Monday, September 15, 2014

That was fast

It could just be the (virtual) company I keep, but every second person on my Facebook newsfeed is talking about the 5:2 fasting story aired last night.

There's discussions about the validity of a single day fast, longer spans without food and taking fluids only, and balancing opinions as to why this diet or that diet is better / worse / stupid.  And that's the thing about nutrition and diets; everyone has a different opinion, and it seems that research can prove or disprove pretty much every theory you can poke a fork at.

Now, Mr. Husband, who always swore to be a meat-and-three-veg kinda guy has changed his food intake a LOT.  There's still some sharpening up to do, but for a man who used to only eat white bread, meat, potatoes, chicken maryland and gravy, to now willingly choose brown rice, lean meats, fish and loads of veg is a bit of a miracle.

Today, he decided to try a fasting day.  Breakfast, no lunch and no dinner.  Even his beloved cups of tea became black with no sugar.

Who IS this man?

I may have to get up early and cook him bacon and eggs for breakfast in the morning because I'm predicting he'll be eyeing off the dog and picturing her covered in gravy by the morning!

As this unfolds I'll watch with equal parts of interest and suspicion.  It can't be all bad, can it?

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Con artist

Have we all been conned?

This idea of life that we've been conditioned to accept...is this all there is?

We strive to snare a bigger job, to make a bigger income, to buy bigger stuff, that we need a bigger house to contain, with a bigger mortgage, that we need to have a bigger job to pay for, and so the circle goes.

What if we just didn't?

When I list the things that make me happy; wind in my hair, salt on my skin, sun in the air, to love and feel love, to feel free... how does the way I live now support these?  The question is rhetorical by the way!

Nowhere on my list is a home theatre room, or even a TV, his and hers vanities, a powder room, business cards, a fancy title, 600 thread count sheets, 2XU compression pants.

Nowhere on my list have I included sitting at a desk with no natural light for 9 hours a day, shuffling meaningless papers, cleansing an email inbox, commuting for 3 hours each day and listening to people re-cycle business jargon.

I want to create art.  
Not gallery hanging, brush created stuff.  
The kind of art that changes things.  
Changes people.  
A health sculptor.

There.  That's what I will be when I grow up.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

In the zone

Do you ever have one of those days when your inbox makes you do a double take?

Not your work inbox - yucckkkkkk.  The one where all of those opt-in emails you have to sign up for to get some ebook or free offer go to.  I'm a sucker for those things.

Yesterday was one of those days.

Exhibit a)

The Divine Writer;
Opt in:  5 fail-safe tips for starting your book.
Status:  book not started.

I rarely read these emails.  In fact, this may be the first one I've clicked through for more.  And it's not as thought the title grabbed me, either.  "My favourite books: The Big Leap"

It was actually about self-sabotage and intentionally living under your potential.  The article then went on to talk about "your zone of genius", and this is where things got REALLY interesting (for me!).

So, they described four zones;
Zone of incompetence - things you know you're crap at and should out-source.
Zone of competence - stuff you CAN do, don't really like to do, and others can do just as well.
Zone of excellence - you're good here.  Comfortable.  Maybe even accomplished.  But you're not lit up or excited, even if you do make a living from operating in this zone.

And then came the really good stuff...
Zone of genius - the thing you were born to do.  Your divine calling. Things that draw on your special gifts and talents.

The article goes on to say that unfortunately, most of us play it safe and stay in our zone of excellence, or even worse, our zone of competence. The flow on effects are that around the time we hit 40, or midlife, or whatever you want to call it, we've been so used to ignoring our genius that beats louder and louder as the years progress, that not listening manifests in any number of nasties.  Depression, illness, relationship conflict.  Alarms going off, but still we don't listen.

THIS IS HOW I FEEL!!!!!

There's something bigger in me than meetings and taking minutes and conforming to the norm of the corporate world.  I just don't fit there.  And I'm getting restless.  I've been restless for years.  It's not going away, even when I press mute.  
It's getting louder, louder, louder!



Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Sunday runny Sunday

What a way to farewell a Melbourne Winter!

Sunday was a simply perfect day for a long run.  Spring was teasing us; sunny with a kick of heat, and like the perfect curry, it warmed our bones from outside in.  The sea air left a tinge of saltiness.  The paths were well worn with eager joggers making the most of this spectacular day.

Starting at Mt Martha shops, we headed out at a speedy warm-up walk as far South as the path would take us, before turning into the breeze and taking off.

Less than 2km in, we hit the first of many hills.  Long and slow, we powered up to the 4km point before the path flattened and we found our pace and settled into the run.  Spectacular scenery, friendly locals, great company - what more do you need?


We tried to simulate race-feel and dropped to a walk for our own drink stop every 4 or so kilometres, so by the time we reached our turn-around point at the top of Bellura Hill, we were feeling pretty fresh and confident we had the return trip in our legs, lungs and minds.



Today was about so much more than distance.  Sure, our aim was to hit the magical 18km mark. New territory and all that.  Everything we've read about half-marathon preparation says that this is the longest distance you need to do to be ready.




Do we feel ready?  You betcha!

We took the legs for a cool down in the ocean.  Despite appearances...definitely still Winter.  Brrrrrrrrr



Many more experiences to add to the tool kit though.

Fuel 
Pre-run:
Katrina went for a strong breakfast of oats.  I scoffed down 2 pieces of grainy toast with peanut butter and honey about an hour before running.

Run:
I packed a Gu (my first experience) in my singlet pocket and took a small amount at 7km with 1/4 of my water bottle to test how it settled.  All good, so took another slurp at about 12km.
Katrina didn't bring anything along this time as she'd had such a great breakfast.  At about 14km she was really feeling depleted and finished off my Gu to bring her home.

I hadn't read anything about Gu before I went out.  Had no idea that the packet doesn't open fully and kind of seals back over itself.  Handy for my pocket.  And that you have to kind of bite down and force the contents up towards the top.  Doesn't taste too bad but it's VERY sweet if you're not used to eating sugar.

Post-run:
This is our specialty...


Smashed avocado on sourdough with bacon and a poached egg.  And a very tall skinny cap of course!  All washed down with a heck of a lot of water.

Feet
Blisters
I'm prone to blisters, but came away from this run with no new additions to my collection, thanks to vaseline on my toes.  Top, bottom, in between.  You'd think it would squish around, but it's nothing other than glorious.

Socks
Katrina wore uncomfy socks last week, but swapped them out this time and all was good. I wore my ever reliable Thorlo Pads.  I could try others, but why mess with something so good?

Stats
So we've got a permanent record of our achievement *puffs chest out proudly*

No, we didn't run the WHOLE way.  We had roads to cross, a bathroom break, fuel stops, and most importantly FUN, without leaving ourselves completely wiped out for a week!





Time to start getting excited about next Sunday's run...