Fit Mumma

20km run today (& pity party)...

and this is where I'm at right now...

Finding it quite hard to get past the tough parts of my run... and feeling burnt out, run down and generally a bit crap-ola. It's all head stuff... and I am working through it, one run at a time...

Thank GOD for gorgeous super supportive friends (Kristanne you are an angel :))... and a fabulous husband who knows me so well.

I'll get past this hurdle. I know I will.

I know this is a bit of a pity party... but please do not be judgmental or critical... just know that this is my place right now and this is my vulnerable side of training for a marathon!

Please share your hurdles and wisdom, how do you train your mind for a marathon {or other most significant event/occasion}? What have you overcome to get to the "finish line"?

Bxo

I *heart* LuluLemon...

Yes I do.

It's no secret... most my stuff is Lulu.

And you know what?... we don't have a LuluLemon store in my town. Nope.

There is one {some} in Sydney, and Adelaide where we visit every so often during the year.

Then I get my fix.

This time I got this stuff:

Run: Turbo Crop ; Run: Swiftly Tech short sleeve tee and a bra top (with padding!!!!)

There is also the online shopping option, which I have done once before. If you know your sizes than it's easy.

I actually wanted to get some DASH tights, but they had sold out of the smaller sizes :( hopefully they have them in Sydney when I am up there in a few weeks.

Joy to the LuluLemon gear.

Say it with me: pig.in.mud.happy!

Love out.

Bxo 

My boobs are GONE >>> south and attached themselves to my BUTT...

*** Warning: if you are not a Mumma, with years of breastfeeding boobies, or a runner... you need not read this post. However, if you have a desire to do so... do so at your own peril!! LOL***

Like I NEED that!

Those that know me well, know I have a rather ehem, large?... well, yes, large butt.

Since Master 2 has stopped having the BOOB. stop.the.press!! YES, I did it... WE did it, he is off of my boobies... however he is now quite fond of fondling my nipple (which I might add... is all that is left of them)... as he falls asleep. I hope this habit does not last long because it is really quite "needle in the eye - equse!" Pre-kidlets Ms Rebecca would think it quite odd that a woman would "let" her children do that... post kidlets Mrs Rebecca knows that a bit of nipple fondling is preferable to any kind of toddler wailing!!! They wail all day!

Anyways, I digress (unusual)... as I said, whatever was of my boobs... has gone down to my butt.

Curiously, I am pretty sure my boobs did not weigh 2kgs each, as they do now, on my butt! Now they are a bit more like this deflated balloon. a.lot.like really! 

THis running thing that I've been doing for the past 7 months or thereabouts ... has made my butt BIGGER.

WHAT???

Yes, that is right. BIGGER BUM today, than a year ago!

If I flex those huge gluteus maximus of mine... I am quite sure I could rest a cup atop the mass that juts out back there.

And I am not sure what that would be good for... 

It really is quite firm tho! And hubs seems quite (very) fond of it.

Mostly I am happy that it seems my GM's are now engaging nicely when I run... instead of being lazy BUMS and letting my quads do all the work. Still the excess layer (of which is substantial) indicates it's still a bit lazy!!

Run on I say... and maybe (just maybe) clean up the diet somewhat!

Ah the glamours life of a runner post 3 kidlets. Sigh. Bliss!!!

Bxo

My baby has her bib too...

Oiwww.... okay, she's not much of a baby anymore, and it's a RACE Bib... her second, her first was here !!!

 

The apple of my eye!

My little Miss Mikaela could not be more excited. She won't be running with me {this time*}. She's walking with her Auntie Katie... well walk/run she assures me! 

I am so happy for her.

Happy that she has so many sporting opportunities, and that sport is such an important and integrated part of her life. It's natural for her. She is a natural... as most children are... at one sport or another they are naturals.

Mikaela is a child athlete... and that is awesome! She thrives on it and loves it. I am so happy that she is able to pursue so many activities that she is passionate about and so very good at.

Go Mikki Moo!

* One day she will & then I'll watch her speed off streams ahead of me :) Awesome!

Bx

In Deep...

Again this morning.

I must say a deep water running session is exactly what my body needs after a long run. Exactly.

Loved it!

I am feeling excited about this week of training, even tho we are travelling... hubs has promised to do a {short, 5km} run with me... nice!

Happy Days...

Hugs

Bxo

30kms DONE and dusted...

Yah ***Boooowwwhhhh-yaaarrrrrhhh* and it feels awesome right about now.

Now that I have had a shower, got some more fluids and a protein bar into me... and rugged up some.

This is the route I did:

These are my splits up until my iphone charge DIED... {so sick of that happening}... my stats should be about 40kms more than they are :(

So I only got 17kms due to technology malfunction!!

I know that at KMs 12/13 I had a toilet stop and didnt pause the Nike+... I always forget to play again. Then at KM 16 would have been where we stopped to chat with K's family.

I look at those splits and I think, I can go faster than that, they are nowhere near my 5km PB, or 10km PB, or 15km PB.... but here's the thing:

Long runs are not meant to be run fast ... this is my long run pace!!! and it's right on for where I am at in my training and experience as a runner. I know I'll get better.

I found this quote today:

"Ask yourself: 'Can I give more?'. The answer is usually: 'Yes'." 
-Paul Tergat, Kenyan professional marathoner

And I have to say... I did walk some today, and I took some stops for refueling and toilet breaks... but overall... I would ask myself "can you give more" and when the answer was "yes"... I kept cranking {not sure my slow poke pace could ever be referred to as cranking, but anyways!)...

I am super grateful and appreciative of my wonderful friend Kristanne who rode along beside me, and gave me water and Gu's whenever I needed them... she was gentle in her encouragement. Thanks Kristanne. She wants to keep riding along side me and IronMumma as we count down to our big day. Awesome!

I admit when we got to Commonwealth bridge, I said to her... we have two options #1 keep going, #2 start home. She asked how I would feel if I didn't do the planned 30km run? ahhhhh, yes, we kept going.

THEN... her hubs and two boys were in the car near Grevillea Park.... oh man!!! Nooooo... we stopped and chatted, it took every ounce of me to not beg a lift home... I still had another 13kms to run. Before my brain got to thinking about that too much, I took off again.

I think I did the 30kms in about 3:20. 

I feel better than my last long run, and I am happy with my run today. Better in that I can tell my body is getting conditioned. Still I missed my IronMumma! running buddy, now with Kristanne by our side, we are going to go even stronger... mind you I will be chasing IronMumma most the way!

Get your shoes on, lace 'em up and do your best.

Love it!

Bx

Awesome Boxing session + sinus infection...

YAH, great combo hey!

Finally the lurgy that has been plaguing my kidlets, has caught hold of me.

I was quite sure it wouldn't... as it rarely does, but I'm afraid it has... full on GROSS.

Still I am trying to keep on keeping on as best I can.

So today I opted out of my 530am start for a RIDE class with Tina {which I was SO looking forward to}... I did however, keep my PT session of boxing and general physio...

I LOVE myself some boxing... such fun :)

We did quite a bit of cardio boxing (and upper body workout)... plus some physio exercises to support my running demands.

Seems that I will be making friends with this {instrument of mass pain} over the next 3 months, and more:

I think I'll need to get my own.

Now, excuse me... while I go blow my nose again!

Argh!

Bx

7km Run + a RIDE {spin} class...

Yes I got up this morning to brave the cold and darkness...

We did a 2km warm up.

5 x 800mtr full effort.

2km warm down.

So it was probably more like 8kms, but my Nike+ and I are having some issues of late. I keep forgetting to turn it on, pause it, unpause etc etc.

Oh well.

The first 3 x 800mtr runs were GOOD, and the felt really good.

Last two, not so much :)

It was beautiful to watch the orange glow across the lake as the sun rose, and the black silhouettes of my running buddies as we came up over a small hill. It was perfect!

Then I hit the gym, which I've not been to in ages.

And, yes, again... another photo of my super slim and attractive butt {in my DREAMS!}

I did a RIDE class and I gotta say.... happy happy is how I felt afterwards.

Not so much during, I had blanked from my mind just how damn challenging those classes are.

LOVED it so much, think I'll be back for a 6am class in the morning.

Joys!

Bx

 

Water Running Session...

Phew, what a workout my core got this morning!

Seriously punishing.

And that is exactly what my core needs, big time!

So I am really excited to add this session to my training schedule.

Yes, yes... that IS me and my skinny bum! NOT :)

Getting organised for my week of training looks like this:

Minestrone soup for lunches. We even had this delivered today. I am looking forward to making lots more bulk recipes to keep me well fueled over these last few weeks of my training regime. 

And this:

My week looks like this:

Monday:        630am Deep Water Running & Core/Physio + Body Rock TV or Nike Training session.

Tuesday:        FIT Interval training + RIDE class at the gym + Core/Physio

Wednesday:    6am 8km run + BOXING PT session at gym + Core/Physio

Thursday:        6am FIT run (add on for 12km total) + Core/Physio

Friday:              6am Yoga + Core/Physio (active rest day)

Saturday:        LONG RUN = 30km + Core/Physio {pre-run}

Sunday:             REST day.

This will be my first of many challenging weeks now... as the serious count down begins.

Hugs

Bxo

27kms today...

And I did okay.

I am really happy that I did the distance, even though I felt really rough at quite a few stages.

At the 12km mark I sat on a coppers log and cried some, I felt it was so hard, I felt like this was a crazy thing I am attempting to do, run a marathon in just another 10 weeks.

Iron Mumma persaded me to push on, that we were running a great pace. ** which we weren't... but I love how she will always say that to me, it works at getting me going again... then she amps up the speed over the next few kms!!! ha!

I forgot to turn my Nike+ back on for about 2km at that point. Damn!

Hey, you know Nike+ now provide splits for each km... save me some bucks getting my wish item of a Garmin I guess.

At 17km the split is around 10mins as {had to stop for the loo} I forgot to pause the Nike+... annoying. Really, at that point, it was the least of my concerns, believe me!

When I got out and filled up my water bottles, had some Gu... my legs were SO heavy and I really felt I was not moving at all. My pace had dropped to not much more than a shuffle and that really disheartened me...

But I kept going.

I had an awesome audio book to listen to, The Long Run: A New York City Firefighter's Triumphant Comeback from Crash Victim to Elite Athlete by Matt Long. It was awesome to listen to his story as I ran. Such an inspiration. I think I have another 10km run left to listen to {55mins or so}. I'll definitely have more to say on this amazing man and his story!

I feel bad somedays that I slow IronMumma down... but she is such a great athlete, and person... she is encouraging and just has such faith in me. More faith than I have in myself sometimes... and there in lies the problem.

Honestly, I am trying so hard to give my everything... to be tough and just keep on keeping on, not show that I am weak.

Here's the truth of the matter... I am weak, as a runner, I've only been doing this consistently for about 7 months. I am a "baby runner" still. I am giving my everything in these runs.

When I got home today and started stretching, my legs were shaking. I left it all out there on the road, that's for sure.

Next long run there will be less walking in the last 8kms... more running at a good pace and then add some more kms too.

27kms is my longest run so far, Lance Armstrong even congratulated me (love that little Nike+ feature, so cute!) and I've gotta be happy with that! Onwards and upwards every run!

I will get there. I know I will.

Bxo