Its all in the timing

This morning's Berwick Springs parkrun ritual (and how I love parkrun) was focused on consistent pace.  Aiming for somewhere in the range of 5:40 and 6:00 per km, the amazingly amazing Judy powered strongly through all 5 kilometres, which looked a bit like this;

1km    5:47

2km    5:35    11:22

3km    5:43    17:04

4km    5:42    22:46

5km    5:50    28:36

A much more solid and consistent effort than the previous week;

1km    5:41

2km    5:45    11:26

3km    6:02    17:27

4km    6:06    23:34

5km    5:32    29:06

I will add though - last week we ran through heavy rain and hail + managed another 2km in sopping wet clothes, socks, shoes afterwards.

And to throw in a third set of figures, the week before that, at Albert park run sat somewhere between the two for overall time, but the improvement in km consistency is great.

1km    5:59

2km    5:31    11:30

3km    5:38    17:08

4km    5:59    23:06

5km    5:50    28:56

Here's a new PB measure - smallest gap between km pace.

15 vs 26 vs 28.

Goal: single figure variance.

Half as good

In 176 days, I am going to run a half marathon.

There are butterflies in my stomach.

I'm nervous.

Scared.

Terrified.

What if I get injured?

What if my legs cave in just near the finish line and I can't finish?

What if I run out of energy mid-distance?

What if I don't sleep the night before?

What if I sleep through my alarm and miss the start?

What if I get giant blisters and I can't walk for days?

What if I haven't trained enough before hand?

What if I've overtrained?

What should I eat the night before?

What should I eat for breakfast pre-run?

What should I wear?

What if I come last?

What if I just CAN'T DO IT?

Work and Life and Balance

and Training.

How difficult is it to fit half marathon training into a full-time work schedule with a monster 3 hour commute?

Last week I was all over it.  Daily gym. Calm and centred mindset.  This week - or to be specific, the last 2 days have been on the verge of OOC - my old friend Out Of Control.  I don't like OOC.  I like balance.  It's nice there.

So what's different?

My ridiculous need for validation / praise / perfectionism / professional worth has interfered with promises I'd made to myself.

And it appeared again yesterday.

An urgent work request just as I was about to pick up my bag an exit for Pilates had me majorly pissed.  I spoke up and asked if there was someone else who could do it as I was about to go to gym.  Apparently not, so through gritted teeth I stayed at my desk.  Worked through lunch.  Went straight to an offsite high level meeting. Finished late completely buggered and still seething.

Today I had to leave early to accommodate a husband appointment.  No gym.

Tomorrow I already have two conflicting places to be at lunchtime, and neither of them are gym.  There's no room for this in the plan.  I'm training to run a half marathon.  So this week will have consisted of only two runs; 1 x 3.5km and 1 x 4km.

How and where do I find the time to meet my goal?  Where does the balance come from?

46+1/52

It's a well documented fact that a 'diet' must start on a Monday.  (although I dislike the word diet, it does serve a purpose)

But when your birthday happens to fall on a Monday, and you're in reflection, soul-seeking, searching, unsettled mode, that's got to be a good thing, right?  A supercharged Monday.

Birthday's, in my opinion, are the best time to take a pulse check.  So many people do it at New Years.  Write resolutions, set goals, vow that this will be the year that they....... insert whatever you suck at here.  But you share it with everyone.  Within each circle, it's rare to come across someone who shares your date, so mostly its unique to you.

Last year, as I transitioned from 40+GST to 45, I decided to take a photo each most days to reflect what I was predicting would be an awesome year.  And it was.  Adventures were had. New things were tried. Comfort zones were completely left behind. Awesome year.  Forty six is, so far at least, looking like a contender in the best year ever stakes and we're only a week in.

My six habits; chocolate portion, caffeine cut back, muffin stop, sleep time, water & park run will get another outing this week.  Why?  Well I'm out of creativity to come up with another 6, but I won't tell anyone that.  "I'm bedding down my good habits by focusing on them for another week".  Sounds feasible, yeah?

Here's an idea; 'something old, something new'.  Not a daily challenge, but spread over the week, I'll try something I've never done / tasted / experienced before and will rekindle an old like as well.  This week is already a tick.  Today I made myself a pot of detox tea (that I'm quietly sipping on as I write) which I used to drink religiously before coffee took hold.  And I shared an awesome experience with my bestie - a turkish steam room - at Peninsula Hot Springs, which I have definitely never done before but REALLY enjoyed.

Next week I'd like to try a new recipe.  We've become very set with our weekly food plan, which is great, in that it's easy to shop, prepare and cook.  But we've become very set with our weekly food plan, which is bad because it's easy to shop, prepare and cook.  Routine is good.  Comfort is good.  Ease is good.  Boredom is not so good.

Turning it around

A week ago I was a mix of sad and disgusted at how I felt, what I saw on the scales and how I'd allowed crappy habits to sneak back in.  The challenge I set for myself this week was 6 small things, but they've had a HUGE effect on my outlook.

Every day except Friday, I ticked off my habit changer.  Chocolate and coffee scaled back. Muffins deleted. Sleep happened earlier, and park run went down in the rain AND hail this morning.  I fell half a bottle of water short on Friday.

Really, none of it was hard.  None of it required a great degree of willpower or thought.  I'd already set my rules for the week.  It was just a matter of keeping my own promises to myself.  Of being true to my word.  Of respecting my body enough to deliver.

Not surprisingly, today's run was sensational.  Although it was incredibly cold and wet, there was no second guessing.  No thoughts of staying in bed.  And the path rose to meet me.  My lungs and legs felt at ease.  I was calm, centred and fully in the moment.  Especially as the rain pelted down.

Being in control and turning crappy habits around feels good.  Really good.

How are we tracking?

It's early days, but so far so good.

I was going to make the stars gold, but thats probably going a bit far.

Date	portion	caffeine	snackage	sleep	water	run	invest
7/7
8/7
9/7
10/7
11/7
12/7
13/7

Portion:
It hasn't been difficult at all to cut my dark chocolate down by half.  The two squares still give the taste without the guilt. This one is completely under control.

Caffeine:
This HAS been difficult.  REALLY difficult.

I've noticed two very different effects.
My morning, 10am coffee always came with food of some sort.  Without the coffee, I'm not looking for the nibble.
The 3 - 3.30pm coffee is being missed.  Without that pick-me-up, my eyes are heavy and concentration is low.  And today (Wednesday) I've been STARVING.  But this could be a case of...

Snackage:
I subbed in an orange for my muffin.  It's probably only 20% of the calories, and coming off a simple mug of pumpkin soup for lunch, my belly was growling - audibly.  Although I feel good to be reigning these crappy habits in, the tiredness and lack of energy is a challenge.


Just to add to the self-imposed structure/pressure, to coincide with the diet cleanse, I've also kicked off on a half marathon training program from 'Womens Running Australia' magazine.

Monday:  Rest Day
Tuesday: Treadmill intervals (2 mins @ 11.2kph, 1 min rest x 5 repeats)
Wednesday: Pilates - which I LoVeD - it's a post in itself.

Tomorrow is 2 mins @ 10km race pace, 1 min recovery jog x 10 repeats, which will be coming straight on the back of a strength PT session.  I really want this.

45 - over and blown out

Today;
 is the last day of my 45th year.

Today;
 I gingerly tiptoed onto the scales.

Today;
 the measurement in front of my eyes has confirmed why my energy levels are low, why I'm feeling less confident in my clothes, why the Saturday ritual of park run seems harder than it did a few months ago.

Today;
I weigh 71.4kg


Oh there's reasons.  And excuses.  Mostly excuses.  All excuses.

Job, blah blah
Time, blah blah
Life, blah blah

In 600g more grams, my BMI will take me from the healthy range to OVERWEIGHT.

I knew it was coming.  Last week I joined a gym near work.  Isn't that always the immediate response?  Exercise more.  Push more.  Punish more.

This was never about just being 'thin' for me.  Health was the key motivator. And having it questioned was finally the catalyst. Funnily (or not so funny really), I've been having back problems again.  The warning signs are there that I'm making choices unsupportive of my health.

So for the next week - just one week - I'm going to choose differently:

Monday : portions.
Those 2 squares of 70% cocoa dark chocolate that snuck up to being 4, will go back to 2.
Tuesday : caffeine.
Reduce to 2 coffees per day rather than, oh, 5, sometimes more.  1 instant when I get to work & 1 lovingly husband-made Nespresso after dinner (with my 2 squares!).
Wednesday: snackage.
Farewell afternoon snuck muffin & hello carrot and celery sticks.  If I don't want them then I'm clearly not hungry, am I?
Thursday : sleep.
Be in bed, ready to sleep by no later than 10pm for 8 hours of delicious slumber.
Friday : water.
My fav drink bottle holds 700ml (I just measured). I will drink 3 today, 1 by 11am, 1 by 3pm, 1 by 8pm.
Saturday : run.
Park run is not negotiable - do you hear that pillow?  You won't win!
Sunday : invest.
Coffee x 2 @ $3.50 x 4 days = $28. Add muffins x 3 @ $3.50 = a total 'saved' this week of $38.50 which will be transferred into an RDF (Raelene Development Fund).

Monday to Friday will compound, so that by Saturday morning, all of those unhealthy habits will be on their way to the archives.

Date	portion	caffeine	snackage	sleep	water	run	invest
7/7
8/7
9/7
10/7
11/7
12/7
13/7

I'll track and measure here each day and share the little victories (and challenges) along the way.