Two Weeks to get my act together

So for the next two weeks I am going to be focussed and pulled together and get into some good habits - all with the purpose of t rying to regain the mental state that I had prior to having a baby.

I was SOOOO into health and fitness back then - it took up all of my mind space. It's time to find that again - simly because I love being in that healthful place!

Why the next two weeks?

for two reasons:
1. Because I need something to focus on
2. Because Mark is going to whyalla in SA for two weeks with work and it will just be me and the little one at home.

What does that mean? It means that I don't have to worry about feeding Mark and I just have to look after myself.

I have made a deal with Mark that when he gets back I get three times per week where he looks after Harris and I get to go running. The key is thatthose are the times when I get to do my me activity - something purely indulgent and just for me.

That is the activity I choose to have for me.

So for the next 12 months I am going to choose events to focus my running towards and get back to the super state of fitness I had pre little one.

First event? 6km Womens and Girls Jogalong at Weston Park on the 6th of December.

Few and Far Between

It seems really few and far between posts for me at the moment - but the reality is the computer isn't really a big priority for me anymore and because Harris is into EVERYTHING it is difficult to get on here when he is awake.

I ran into someone from work the other day and she reminded me that it is only 10 weeks or so until I have to return to work. Then I remembered that I was meant to be doing daily exercise in order to improve my endurance for work....hmmmnnn that one got forgotten.

It can be a bit hard to find the balance between everything, going to the gym, keeping the house clean and doing things that enrich my life (not that the gym doesn't enrich my life) and then when we have a week where Harris isn't sleeping well or we go away somewhere (which invariably means Harris doesn't sleep well for the week following) then all of the other stuff tends to get a bit forgotten.

A few weeks back I managed to get the house really tidy and I felt like I was on top of everything but now it feels like it has slipped somewhat.

My goals for this week are:

* To get back on top of the home organisation and tidying.
* To drink 3 Lt of water daily.
* To do the tasks I set for myself each day

oh and I have 10 weeks till I go back to work and presently only one of my work pants fit me and none of my skirts - I need to get my butt into get and lose a few kilos!

I was helping mummy in the garden and....

 well I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Day 2 Very Tired

Broccoli from my Garden.

I am very tired today from my big baby weights training program walk (Read 8.5kg baby in a back carrier up a mountain with a dog) and a weights session at the gym.

I am already feeling the DOMS and I'm thinking I won't be able to lift Harris tomorrow.

We are having evaporative cooling installed tomorrow so no gym for me - but I am planning on doing some gardening and a session on the spin bike!

That's all I can write for now because I am soooo tired (and I have to tidy up before the contactors want to come into my house!)

Fitness Monday

The Michelle Bridges program is split into Fitness and Toning - alternating each day. Today was Fitness and me being my usual self couldn't help but add to it. I guess I am probably a little fitter than many who would do a program froma book (but probably not much!)

Today's fitness session was a circut of two rounds, consisting of the following - each being 20 reps.

* Fast low step running Rt Leg
* Fast low step running Lt Leg
* Push Ups on Knees
* Freestanding body weight squat (and I just realised I forgot to do this entirely!)
* Standing shoulder Press with light weights
* Static Lunge with support
* Standing biceps curl with light weight

Abs
* Crunches
* Crunch with Right twist
* Crunch with Left twist

I also did 25 minute on the treadmill - 20 mins at 6% incline walking at 6.5min/km and 5 mins or 1 km running.

The great thing about this program is that it is designed to be able to be done either at home or at the gym. So if for whatever reason I am unable to make it to the gym (and with limited Childcare hours that is often the case)I can still get it done at home.

I found out this morning that due to increased membership they are limiting the childcare to 20 places per session - with 2 sessions tunning each morning AND you have to book them in on the morning of the day you want to go. It does make it that little bit harder and if you ask me I think they should just extend the childcare to 2pm. The gym offers a reduced fee membership for "Off Peak" times which allows you to go between 9am and 2pm each weekday. Considering that Childcare is only available between 9am and 12pm it really limits when you are able to go.
Next year I am going to have to change to the more expensive membership so I can go in the morning before work or in the evening (not that that will probably happen because Harris is always mr Grumpy pants in the evening). I might change gyms though - I'll have to wait and see next year.

I got thinking while I was at the gym that perhaps I needed some new gym clothes - my two pairs of leggings were a little threadbare and prone to falling down. I also decided that I needed a new pair of running shoes. When parts of the shoe are falling off it is probably time! So after I was finished at the gym thats what I did!

Now I just have to make sure I keep using it!

And So...

I come to the sombre realisation that in Two and  a half short months I have to return to work...BooHoo...

I am 100% positive that this is going to hit me like a steam roller even though I know it is coming.

So I am begrudgingly going to attempt to be all  grown up like and start being super organised and doing things properly and such so that it doesn't come as SUCH a massive shock to me and I lose the plot entirely.

Last week we were confirmed a place at the child care centre which is located on the hospital campus. I cannot tell you what a relief and weight off my shoulders that was! I was secretly stressing about it I am sure. Having Harris at this childcare centre will make it so much easier for both of us.

Once I get back into the swing of it all and Harris is a teensy bit bigger I am hoping to ride my bike to work at least twice per week.  We only live 5km from the hospital and I'm hoping to pack us both up and ride up there each day - that may be wishful thinking but I will at least give it a go. Mark can collect harris at 4pm on those days because he finishes work an hour or so earlier than I do. 

I am going back to work 3 days per week and I think I will stick to working that until we have finished having kids and they are at school. I think it is a nice balance.

What I want to do before we get to that point though is try and increase my stamina again and start going back to the gym properly. I am going to start scheduling it into my diary and making it part of our day and working the other things that need doing in around that and the general household organisational things. As boring as it may seem, I think it is important that I stop living in the little fairyland of coffee mornings and shopping and start living to somwhat of a schedule again. After all it will be enforced once I head back to work.

Its probably going to be hard and I'm probably not going to like it - but hey thats what life if like sometimes!

A while back I bought the Michelle Bridges book - "Crunch Time"  - I'm going to try and follow the training plan in there for the time between now and going back to work - just to increase my fitness and help me to not be so tired at the end of the day.

Having a baby is fun and I love playing with him all day but I think it is time to get down to business again.
My leg is still a little twingy but I'm hoping that some stretching each day will help it along.

So I'll hopefully be updating here a bit more in the coming weeks!

Hints and tips

Not much of anything except babycare going on in my world at the moment. As it creeps closer to the time I am planning on returning to work I find myself wanting to spend more time with Harris. I have had a sore leg for the past few weeks which has hampered my desire to get back to running

I thought I would do a post on the things I could and couldn't live without when I first had Harris. I didn't really overbuy but there were things I barely used.

Must have's
-sling/baby carrier - I have a baby bjorn and a baba sling but I could easily have bought a hug-a-bub and used it just as much. (And I just bought and Ergo baby carrier - but they are better for when the baby is bigger)
-Stretchy escape proof wraps- the baby may be small but they are certainly a good escape artist
-reusable cloth breast pads - these were much more comfortable than the disposable ones
-a baby bag that is comfortable, not too heavy when packed and that you love-I have two; a fancy Oroton one that I hardly use and a smaller lighter one that I love!(mine is from H is for Handbag)
- cloth flat nappies for wiping up after baby (Didn't think I would actually use these and they have been invaluable)
- a car seat/capsule
- my walking pram

What I didn't use all that much

- baby oils, powders, shampoos and washes. Babies don't really get dirty and usually have very dry skin, the only products have really used is Weleda nappy rash cream and moogoo moisturizer
- port a cot - we were given one and I haven't used it yet
- snuggle bed


other things
- I did't use our highchair until Harris was 6 months old and am glad I did' t buy one before hten. Hairchairs are possibly the most annoying creation on the planet. They get filthy, snap your fingers off when you are trying to clip them up and are brilliant food hiders - if you can borrow one to figure out what you need in a high chair then do that!)
- I didn't buy Harris a play mat with dangly toys until he was 2 months old and then by the time he was 6 months, he was destroying it so much that I had to pack it away. I would buy second hand You can pick up some great bargains on ebay!).
- cloth nappies would have been difficult for me to manage when Harris was a newborn but now I love using them. Green kids pocket nappies are great as are baby bee hinds.
- don't buy too many newborn nappies in bulk -we had three boxes of 108 and he was out of them before we could use them up.
- don't buy an expensive baby bath - ours from ikea was perfect for 14.95!




That all I can think of for now!

Thinking about running

I've been doing a lot of thinking the past few weeks - about running and fitness and exactly what I want to do with that aspect of my life - now that it is not my priority.

I think that I do want to continue to have running as part of my life and that I need to work on making it part of my routine again.

I realise that I am going to have to make a concerted effort to get back to the mindset of regular training.

I need some points in the future to work towards and measure progress against.

Every month here in Canberra there is an organised run called the Women's and girls Jogalong. It is 6km and run through a big park kind of near my place. I was thinking of making this run a little goal to complete each month - to measure my progress against.

I do need a bigger goal at some point in the future but I also think that to get to where I want to be - I need to take small steps.

It is very appealing - now I just need to do something about it!

Harris on the box

Funny!

Centered and Grounded

Hello ! I'm back - for how long - who know's! But anyway...

Yesterday I did the Canberra Times Fun Run, which is a 10km course down one of the main roads through Canberra, past parliament house and finishing up in the park that runs alongside Lake Burleigh Griffin.

For the first time ever I really wasn't in it to race myself or anyone else or the clock. I probably walked at least a 1/3 rd of the course. But - I hadn't trained and I knew I wasn't fit enough to run 10km.

However - Yesterday was 7months to the day that Harris wass born.

I spent a good portion of the run congratulating myself for even entering and for being able to run the parts that I did run. Afterall - it has been about 18 months since I have run much more than 5km.

I think yesterday was good for me because it was a bit of a turning point for me - doing the fun run yesterday made me realise that I have done what I didn't think I would be able to do. I had a baby and came out the otherside unscathed. I can still do the things I did before I had the baby. Sure - Harris makes my wants come second because he is my priority - but slowly but surely I have learnt to fit in what I want to do around him.

My whole focus on life has changed and the things that used to take up so much of my mental energy are not so important to me anymore.

He has made me centered and grounded - having hime has shown me what is truly important in life - having him has taught me to have much more respect for what my body is capable of - and to have more respect for how I look. In all honesty - I simply cannot believe that I ever criticised my body before.

I realised doing the run yesterday that before now I really wasn't ready to get back into running - to begin to do something that is purley for me. I did enjoy running yesterday and I remembered that I do enjoy running as an activity. It is empowering and makes you feel free.

so - here's to getting back into running aver the next year or so. I can't wait to be running fit again and to actually enjoy being out there!

Blog Fatigue

I think I have blog fatigue....I'm sure it's a diagnosable condition by now.

Symptoms as follows:

- Lack of desire to blog
- Lack of desire to read other blogs
- Blogging leaves you feeling drained


I'm sure it will pass.

Until then..,... I'm having a Break.


(ahhhhaahah...it DOES exist see link)

A bit downhill

After my big gung ho start to the week, Harris decided that this week he was going to turn into a crying all night baby again - so the early part of this week really suffered.

Sleep deprivation certainly does make like more difficult. Looking at the baby in the picture above - you wouldn't know it. He looks like an angel!

It is his 6 month "half-birthday" today! Can you believe he is six months old already?

So last night was the first night this week that was back to normal (Normal is to only get woken up twice in the night -as compared to 5 times).

I missed my walk on Tuesday - mainly because I was tired I suppose - both from lack of sleep and from the gym session I did on Monday.

But I walked to mothers group yesterday and then went for an 8km walk today with a couple of the girls who also have heavy duty walking prams.

This week when it has been tough, I have had to remind myself that I didn't set out on this challenge to completely regain my fitness to the point where I was running half marathons again by the end - but simply to refocus my mind towards living an active lifestyle again and choosing the active approach rather than being a lazy bones.

It is important to remind yourself on a weekly (or even more frequently) basis about the WHY - What is your original purpose?
What made you set on this path in the first place?
Review of our goals is an important part of staying committed - so too is measuring how you are travelling along your path and ensuring that you are aligned with your original purpose.
Drifting too far in either direction (Where you are either not meeting your original goal pathway OR you are exceeding what you set out to do and in turn pushing yourself too hard and risking burnout) - is a surefire way to the beginnings of self doubt and possible failure!

Monday Monday

I have started off the week on a good foot with a really nice session at the gym this morning.

I was only going to warm up on the treadmill and then go and do some back strength work, but there was some good music on the ipod so I pumped up the incline on the treadmill and walked for 30 mins and then I did 10 mins on the elliptical.

Then I did some back strength work.

I have decided that I really love feeling the pump from a good workout. The past few weeks have been really good for me in terms of the way I approach exercise mentally.

I used to be quite all or nothing - if I wasn't going to give it 100% with nutrition and 100% with the gym then I wasn't interested in going at all. I had it in my head that it wasn't worth making the effort at all if I wasn't going to give it my all.

Doing this 100 day challenge - and probably more so - setting myself the challenge of completing 500km over the course of the next 80 something days - has been great for helping me to break this thinking pattern. I realised that I was exercising for the purpose of regaining my fitness and feeling generally good - rather than for the purpose of losing weight. Any weight lost is a bonus!

This was the way I approached the half marathon training last year as well and it worked for me that time as well. I think that this is probably the best way for me to approach something like this because I don't value weight loss enough for it to be my primary goal. I think I valuethe challenge of something that is within reach but has an element of difficulty attached to it - so that I feel like I am accomplishing something of value in the process.

I think the trick to achieving a goal (and having the motivation to keep hacking away at it) is to find something that is important to you and that YOU value - rather than what you think you value. Sure I like being smaller than I am right now - but it is not something that I can conrol or that is tangible to me - so it's not very motivating.

It's simple really - find what works for you and make it something that will continue motivating you through the times when you feel like it's not worth it and 'what's the point anyway'.

There is my wisdom for the day!

Once Harris wakes up - I have adog to walk so I can make up my missing 2.5km for this week.

Phew! What a weekend!

It just seems to have flown by at warp speed!

Just got back from a 4km walk with harris in the pram and this morning I took my niece to an ice skating birthday party and had a bit of a skate myself.

For those who don't know, I did figure skating when I was younger and it is nice to have a skate every now and again to prove to yourself that you haven't forgotten how.


All I could think was that I must have had very strong legs when I was younger because it is hard work!

So I think that counts for at least 1km!

I am really looking forward to getting to the gym in the morning and doing a bit of a weights session! I think that this week I am going to try and do weights before cardio just to change things around a bit.

As for the 100 day challenge - I am still 100% on board and so far I have managed to not relinquish any of my bones. I do need to keep reminding myself of my original goal though of simply being active each day - and not trying to push myself too hard. I need to be able to be active and do something each day without getting too overly tired and grumpy.

Having said that - I am going to try and focus on the diet a bit this week - mainly because we have had a weekend of indulgence and I feel the need to have that nice feeling you get from having a few days of clean eating.

The scales are still annoying me because they are refusing to budge - but on a positive note I am looking to other guides - like what I see in the mirror and how my clothes are fitting me. That and the BF% on my scales is moving downwards - so that makes me happy enough.

I'm looking forward to a week of feeling pumped about weights!

The value of a training partner

This morning I was meant to go to RPM with Amanda - but we got there and the Canberra powerlifting titles were on at Elite Physique and the groups fitness classes were cancelled. So we did a weights session instead.

Having never really had a training partner as such, it was really nice to be able to have a chat as you were working out and I can really see how it could be very motivating to have someone to train with on a regular basis.

As tehre was no cardio involved - a dog walk is on the cards this afternoon in order to get in the 5km. I will count the weight session towards the couple of Km I need to make up for this week.