Thursday's Run

Couldn't sleep last night - or early this morning, I suppose - and so I got up at 6am and, after blogging, I paddled for 20 minutes.

Then I did all those morning things one must do to get to work.

I taught Balance at work, which was lovely, and after work I went for a 12km run.

Once again, I tried to talk myself out of it, but couldn't, so off I went! :) I'm going to have to get over that habit, since it only seems to result in wasting time!

I walked much of the first two kilometres, because I was just so tight, and was really worried about my ability to finish. And yet, in I came, in two minutes less than the last 12km run I did (which was when?  AGES ago), and in the end, with less trouble, pain, and tightness. I came in like Hop-Along Cassidy last time due to serious knee pain. No knee pain here today! Woohoo!

In fact, although I didn't go to Attack afterwards, I think if I had prepared better food and recovery drinks following the run, I would have actually been able to do Attack. Not well or anything! But still, I think I could have done it!  As it was I devoured a chocolate bar when I got in because I was just so aching for sugar!  It had been a few hours since I had last eaten, so I think the delay was the culprit.

My hamstrings and glutes are really tight - and that's not in the bragging way (ooh, look at her tight butt) :P - they are really short and sore!  And a few more stretches and a nice warm bed will do the trick I am sure!

One thing I think I have learned is that I need a much longer warm up for my runs, and will start experimenting with different warm up routines, because as I am going out now, the first two kilometres are really painful, and then I loosen up and get moving well ... and I really don't want to spend that long aching on each run!

Any suggestions for good warm up routines to get the glutes and hamstrings loosened up?

Tomorrow we are having dinner at T&Es and at some point I am going to do a long paddle.  I will just see how long the body allows me to go for! Should be fun!!  I sure hope there's something good on TV!

Fabulous Friday

Fridays are always fabulous, assuming you don't have to work on Saturday, and I don't!  I love Friday!!

Today I did a good workout in Circuit, which is great cross training for all my other sports.  Two minutes on a cardio machine, 2 x 1 minute weight exercises, repeat, repeat, repeat!  I got a good workout in, but it wasn't one of those "I feel great!!" workouts.  It was more of a "Thank goodness, I really needed to do this today" kind of workout.  Everything felt heavy and hard and difficult.  And I think that had a lot to do with my diet.

Yesterday was Canada Day, and I ate Nanaimo Bar and lots of other little treats.  And I had a very naughty toasty for breakfast.  I haven't had enough vegetables - in fact, I don't think I've had a single serve of vegetables all day today, and probably had no more than 2 serves on any day over the last week.  I've had too many cups of tea, with a teaspoon of sugar each, and have been drinking it instead of water because I'm always so cold. I tried to eat a banana, but it was grossly under-ripe and I couldn't finish it, so I haven't had fruit for two days, and haven't been eating my two fruit consistently for weeks now!  I haven't had any good light dairy, except a splash of milk in a cup of tea, for a week.  I haven't eaten meat, red or otherwise, for over a week, maybe two (I honestly can't recall the last time I ate meat), and it's been at least a week as well since I had fish.  I have eaten several convenience meals.  I'm pretty sure there's nothing good to be had in anything that can be microwaved in under 2 minutes (never mind the fact that I have looked at the nutrition label of a Spinach and Ricotta Roll and the healthiest thing about them is the name!)  And oh so many other 'failings' too numerous to mention!

In other words, I have failed to fuel my body correctly.

And I am paying for it.  I'm tired. I'm sluggish.  My efforts are noticeably slower, lighter, less effective.  My energy is down and that kills my motivation.  I lack focus. I almost feel depressed!

And I wonder how I slipped off the good nutrition wagon!?

And I wonder how I am going to avoid falling off like this again.

Back on the wagon now, starting with a nice hearty stew and a side of wholegrain crackers, light philly cheese and chunky salsa on top for my evening meal.  I need to ensure I'm fuelled up and paying attention to what I eat.  I am considering keeping a food diary to see if that will raise awareness for me. I kind of object to this at a deep down level, because I find it odd to have to think about food so much, but I think it will be an enlightening exercise for me. Unfortunately, although I enjoy good food, my eating habit is to fill the hole rather than fuel the machine.

If I am hungry I will eat whatever is nearby, and sometimes that hunger is crazy voracious and insatiable!  I must eat NOW!  But, if I'm not hungry, I'm just not thinking about food, so I don't plan ahead and I forget to bring a good lunch, or enough snacks.  So although I've bought all the right stuff and have it at home, it doesn't make it to work with me.  And there aren't a lot of healthy treats available at our canteen.

Whenever I fall off the food wagon I go back to doing a meal plan and follow recipes and do really good. And then I get complacent, I get careless, then start to feel blah and wonder what's going on.  Time to beat that cycle.

My nutritional goals:
- 2 fruit daily
- 5 serves veg daily
- 1 serve fish weekly
- 1 serve other meat weekly
- other non-animal proteins daily (mostly through beans... I love beans!)
- 3 serves of dairy daily (can also count as my protein source for the day)
- no more than 2 cups of tea daily (not including tisanes and herbals (decaffeinated & unsweetened) which I will use as an alternative warm beverage)
- only one processed/pre-packaged "treat" per week (chocolate, pie, whatever)

I also think that I need to do an affirmation every day:

The better I eat, the better I feel.

Simple, but true! And as I've been learning more about positive thinking, I feel this might help me too.

So, I will start each day with that affirmation, and keep a food diary with planned and actual columns, as well as check boxes for each time I eat my fruit, vegetables, or dairy.

Fingers crossed!

My Bike!

Mat and I went to Bunbury for the weekend to visit family; we haven't caught up since January or February!  Far too long!  And we did a little shopping too - I had a $500 voucher I won at the Women's Only Triathlon in November last year, so it was time to spend it!

I bought:

• A mag trainer (there's a difference between a mag and a wind trainer, who knew?)
• Lights
• A helmet (that was really expensive, so thank goodness it wasn't "real" money I was spending!)
• Pedals
• Bearing packing grease

And it cost $515!  Sheesh, it doesn't go far!

We arrived home Monday morning, and had to head to work. Got home at just about 9:00pm and started setting up the trainer.  It took us until 10:30pm to get it done, so I haven't had a 'real' spin on it yet, but I sure will tonight!

It's set up right next to the lounge, so the plan is that any time I'm watching TV, I'll be turning the old legs over!  It sounds like a deceptively simple plan!  I think it will work!

YAY!

When I Grow Up I Want to be Like My Mother

My Mom is one of those effective people. Constantly doing something productive. My Mom, it has always seemed to me, is always on the go, has always been able to make a list and get through it.  She has always seemed capable of developing a new habit simply by force of will - she seems to simply need to decide to accomplish something and she will.  She may not be rich or famous, or someone they write about in the Seven Habits type books, but surely she has most of those habits or characteristics.

I wonder how she does it.  Because I am currently working on accomplishing so much more than usual, I have thought to get some advice from my mother. I have even thought that I should interview her.

But what questions would I ask her? Here's a few that pop into mind (keeping in mind I'm not much of a reporter!):

• have you always been highly productive or have you taught yourself skills to be more efficient and productive?
• what drives you to keep going?
• do you feel you balance productivity with relaxation and time for yourself?
• how do you manage your daily list of tasks?
• when you plan your list, how do you manage the time? ie: are you very certain on the time-line or required time for the task, or do you over-allocate time to complete the task?
• do you ever have tasks you fail to accomplish on your list? How do you cope/feel about not accomplishing tasks?
• how do you cope with changes to your plans, or interference from outside forces?
• how much of your daily routine is simply "habit"? Do you do many tasks simply as a matter of course in your day?
• what habits have been most difficult to integrate or develop?  Which were easiest?
• how do you stay motivated? Do you ever have feelings of lethargy, or days where you feel you won't be able to do the things you planned?
• is your day more about "have to's" or "want to's"?
• what is your "system" for organising or accomplishing things?
• how do you rate the importance of each task?  Do you weight the tasks so you can change or delegate activities?
• do you reward yourself when you accomplish certain tasks?  What would be a reward to you? And under what circumstances would you feel you "deserve" a reward?

What might you ask a person who has traits you seek to emulate? What other questions could I ask to get more in-depth or revealing replies?

Rainy Days and Good Habits

It's Saturday morning, I work this afternoon, and I was going to go for a 12km run this morning before work, however it is raining ... and not just a light misting rain, but a deep long soaking rain that we need so bad. I don't mind being locked in the house on this occasion. The earth needs rain more than I need a run! So, I've spent the morning doing dishes and other boring things, and have been reading blogs and books and magazines. It is a wonder how much information is out there, and how willing people are to share. What a wonderful treat to get to enjoy their experiences and learn with them and from them.

Another thing I did this morning, and a bit of yesterday too, was to write up a list of habits I'd like to form. Perhaps in the future I'll be able to come back and tick a few things off the list!

Nutrition

• eat 2 fruit daily (I currently eat one consistently, and two occasionally, but usually need to think more about that second piece of fruit.)
• eat 5 veg daily (I thought I was eating a lot more vegetables than I am. But doing a quick survey of my usual meals and it's evident that I am getting 2-3 on a regular basis only. That doesn't add up to adequate nutrition, especially with high workout demands.)
• reduce portion sizes, particularly of sweet foods (I won't give up sweet things completely, that's daft!)
• plan to eat treats, snacks or 'junk' only once a week
• meal plan (working on it!) and
• get meals prepared ahead of time, when I have time, so I'm not short of time and choose convenience foods or the good old peanut butter sandwich for dinner
• have lunches and dinners prepared for work
• organise and prepare foods for when travelling
• reduce fat intake, which should be much easier when eliminating convenience foods (eaten at lunch at work and when travelling especially)
• learn effective pre- and post- workout fuelling techniques for me
• slow down when I eat! No need to choke it down! Geez!

Exercise

• ride bike three times per week for total of 4 hours or minimum of 80km
• run minimum of three times per week building to 24km in single run effort
• ride horse minimum three times per week, preferably four
• become more focused in arena work
• build distances and time in endurance work up to 3 hours riding in next three months (August 2010)
• spend more time building bond with TK, especially through grooming sessions. Plan to spend one session per week just grooming and massaging
• row once per week for 1 to 2 hours
• swim three times per week for up to one hour per session, once pool opens

Wellness

• get a massage once per month
• establish regular sleep and wake times, even on weekends
• have more effective time management with household chores
• nurture friendships by calling, emailing, and visiting with people just because they are nice to be around! Don't wait for a special occasions! And don't wait for them to always invite you! Invite them! This will probably be my biggest challenge, and will probably also be the most rewarding.

Anyway, that's all for now. I have a few other post ideas, but I think I'll make some Mexican chicken lasagna, since I have time while it rains.