Fit Mumma

Back to regular running...

with the F.I.T gals.

Who knew it could hurt so bad only an hour afterwards?

It was so awesome to be out early, and still near dark at 610am nowadays, running and enjoying the sunrise along side my running buddies.

We did hill sprints today, and a 4min sprint loop + repeat... going downhill still does not agree with my pelvic floor, bitch of a thing! I think I'll take my friend Julia's advice and not drink right before the run! Mmmm... now that I no longer need to take my thyroid meds half hour before food, I could just as easily take my supplements etc at a different time on running days.

Regardless of a crap PF, it was a fantastic workout... pumping your legs and arms to get up steep hills... feeling your lungs burning, and quads screaming - there really is nothing quite like it. I loved it and persevered as best I could for my first workout back into my passion of this running caper.

A post run shower and breakfast ... perfect start to the morning.

845am... I am walking down our front steps sideways to get my darling daughter to her first day of Grade 6 - they grow so quickly :(

It's been a while since I've hurt so quickly, and this badly after a workout.

So after getting my daughter settled at school... the boys and I headed to the gym, where I did a RIDE class and they had fun in the creche. Francine (our carer) is back and the boys are over the moon, giddy with joy.

I hobbled into the RIDE room, got on my bike and got into it. The lactic was right there, immediately. By the 3rd song I was ready to un-cleat and go home. Something in me* just would not allow that... and I did the whole class as best I could. And lots of post workout chat with Jodes about nutrition, gluten free, grain free, sugar free, dairy free... you get the picture.

* I think perhaps it was that little voice reminding me I have a big race to do in just a few short weeks, and I need to train WAY past the pain.

Home, hanging with the boys, cooking, school run, art journal with my daughter while boys rode their bikes with the neighbourhood kids. Mikki to swim training. Biggest loser and an early to bed for all!

I don't do it often, but I think a couple of voltaren are in order before bed. Legs are very ouchie now.

All in all, a very Happy Day! I hope yours' was sweet too :)

Oh and YES ... I am going to post ALL of my preseason tasks this weekend. Yikes!! 

Love out

Bx

Holidays are over & I am back...

woken by alarm at 503am this morning. hallelujah !!!

I have seriously missed getting my sweat ON. I have also missed my clean eating. Like crazy.

So now I am home and rearing to get back into my usual routine... lose these holiday kgs and enjoy this next round of 12WBT.

Things I am most excited about right now:

*    doing a RIDE class at 6am this morning while my whole family slept :)

*    Getting to see my most wonderful instructor Mel again... she's been away, then I've been on holidays, it's been near 3months since we've seen each other. Madness!

*    12WBT is cranking up to start in just 10 days or so ? whoot whooo!

*    I think about 22 of the FIT women are joining in this round. Super excited about that... see what lots of blabbing and raving about the 12WBT does... paying it forward some more. I think about 10 of my friends have joined because of my endless rambling about the program.

*    I am in operation revamp of my home... giving our kitchen dinning a grey/yellow colour scheme update... laundry a red/white theme... and kiddies bathroom is turquoise floors and a burst of green. I'll give some before and afters over here soon.

Oh... and this weeks 12WBT preseason task of cleaning out your pantry. DONE... oh yeah. BIG TIME... cleaned out the fridge and freezer too...

Ever gone on a 2 week holiday and come home to rotten meat due to a power outage?? Yeah, not nice. I was gagging... 2 hours, a whole lotta boiling water, eucalyptus and vanilla... the house still reaks!!

You know what tho?... I am so happy to be home.

Hugs

Bx

70.3 IronMan Canberra 2011...

I missed seeing Row by about 10 minutes at the start. I did see her start her race though.

I was disappointed to not see Row start, it totally sucked actually, and I had a bit of a teary... but REALLY, I was just grateful I made it in one piece... during the last 1hour, I had quite a few micro sleeps... I had to wind down the windows and blast the musak. Coffee, water. Rest stops all became necessary tools of survival. I get bored easily... I NEED someone sitting beside me babbling away and keeping me happy. Not so at 3am Sunday morning, no company... nothing but darkness...

AND a sign telling me that the M5 was closed. WTF??? 930pm-5am 10th-12th December. Yep right when I was driving. I decided to ignore the 17 BIG red flashing signs I encountered along the way... and push on. Thankfully I was able to get through without any drama. A diversion would have been more than a slight annoyance.

So back to the start of the race. I park my car, I grab my backpack and camera... I run as best I can to the start line. I don't see her. I call her hubs... I go stand with him for the start, and say a hello to their two eldest girls.

Almost to the end of the swim leg... it starts to rain. I get some photos of Row coming out of transition for her first lap (of three) on the bike leg:

By this stage it was pouring... I went in search of a latte, only to find I had no cash on me. Of course there are no ATM's. Damn. 

I got chatting to a women named Cathy, who kindly offered me some shelter under her brolly. Turns out she was Matt Bailey's Mum... a very proud Mum too and rightly so!! Today marked almost a year to the day that Matt had major surgery on his hip... today's 2nd placing was a great celebration for more than just the place itself.

I called my hubs to drop off our brolly, which is massive and would be sure to keep my dry and warm. Row's hubs gave me a waterproof jacket... I had a change of clothes and after getting all warm... got back into position to get some more photos of Row:

By this stage I had to go down and join my FIT gals to volunteer at the finishers refreshments tents:

This may be the only IronMan shirt I ever get !!!

I was in prime position to see Row during her running leg of the race... 4 times we get to see them from this vantage point, which is awesome!

She finished strong and finished a great race, a PB and 6th place for her age division... 30th female overall, top 11% of females... top 24% overall. Fantastic results Rowie !!! I am super proud of you gutsy woman!!!

Now... we riding on Sunday, yeah?

Hugs

Bxo

Shoes for Oona...

One of my fantabulous FIT sistas wanted to see the shoes that we wore for finale.

These were mine:

I just fell in lust with them the moment I saw them... I knew they were the ones for me!

And the matching handbag:

I loved the pop of colour they provided... and the were all fluro at the party. Super cute.

I am not sure if I could wear them for much longer than a few hours tho. OUCHie ouchie!

My feet are accustomed to Chuckies, sneakers and ballet flats. High heels hurt me these days!

Love out
Bxo 

Holy Gorgeous Sunrise...

This morning was simply spectacular... the sunrise was splendid... and there were lots of hot air balloons out... just beautiful.

image from here.

A beautiful, sunny morning it was at 530am. IronMum and I went out for a 20km bike ride... she then ran off the bike about 4kms. She's getting ready for her big race this weekend. She's a machine.

Me... I'll be in Sydney with my FIT gals... at the 12WBT finale party, celebrating our achievments of the last 3 months. And catchin up with lots of cyber friends.

I felt good on the bike this morning... was nice to be out and enjoying the fresh air and sunrise.

Made me feel lucky to be alive.

Grateful to be out on my bike.

Happy Wednesday to you... tonight I am taking my Mum to see Stevie Nicks. All RIGHT !!!! 

Right now tho... it's out the door for PT with Slater.

Hugs

Bxo

Weigh in Week 12...

This morning, some of the FIT gals, who also did the 12WBT:

It's been a wonderful journey with these ladies... great support and encouragement.

WOWsers, still, I can't believe we are here already, at the end of  another 12WBT... Round 3 for 2011.

How did I go?

Well, my stats are not as good as they were at week 9, or week 10 for that matter.

They are what they are... I am up from my last weigh in... about 2.5 kgs up from my best during this round. 

I will continue to put these weekly posts up, which will keep me honest & focused. 

So how am I feeling about these stats?

Disappointed? A little, yes. 

However - I have to consider if my goal weight is really a weight that is good for me.

The weight I am today... I am a size 8-10, more 8 than 10... and I have a great deal of muscle, my scales say some crazy fat %... but an actal fat test at my gym says I am much leaner.

So my BMI is low.... my body fat % is almost at an athletic level... and I am a couple of kgs from my "ideal" weight...

With the extra kgs, my figure has not changed very much... I have gained cms in my hips... always the LAST place to go and first place to return. It took 6 weeks of super clean eating to lose a few kgs very slowly... then 4 days to put it (and more) on ... again, that is always the way. It is a struggle for me to get to the lower weight, and even harder for me to maintain it.

Though many argue I am already at a low, and ideal weight... and this is what I have to consider.

I have to ask myself if I am willing to be super strict with my nutrition... and get to the 57kgs... or be a bit more relaxed and be content at 60. For those of you who need all the figures {I know I am one of them}... my height is 167cm.

Right now, I really don't know.... I do know that I like being leaner. It's whether I want to work really hard every day at it?

I also have to factor into account my injury... which has pretty much kept me out of my "true" exercise equation for this entire round. I've not been able to work my lower body at all really :(

That's huge.

So I guess I remain a work in progress... you can be sure that I will be doing all three rounds in 2012. 

2012 is going to be even bigger than 2011 was, and that... was HUGE.

A year ago I never would have imagined all that I have accomplished and achieved this year in relation to my fitness... from Mumma with three little ones... to Fit Mumma carving it up most days, it really blows my mind at times.

Happy Days!

Bx

First Swim Squad Session, a Ride Class and PT in my backyard...

Last night I did something I'd promised myself I would do, weeks ago.

I got brave and joined a swim squad. It was hard... and I need hard in the pool. It's too easy to simply show up and mosey on doing my lap after lap. Also there are a few other FIT ladies who are training seriously for LONG & Olympic distance triathlons. So that made it easier.

Often I push myself hard, but there are days where I could use the forced lap timings etc. I also need a lot of work on my stroke, correction and strength. If I am going to ever be able to do a triathlon... my swimming needs a LOT of work!

Last night did not disappoint, and I was able to push out about 2km of swimming. 

This morning, this was my view as I drove to the gym for my 6am RIDE class:

And you know the saying "red sky in the morning - sheppards warning"... true to that, it is now overcast and bleak looking outside, ready to give us a serious downpour any minute.

So it was just in the nick of time that my PT {Paul Slater} came over to give me a training session in my backyard, great guy he is. Since Mikaela is sick, it was workout in my backyard, or no workout at all... we took the backyard option. Thanks Paul :)

Happy Hump Day !!

Bx

Tour de Femme, Canberra 2011...

My first time in this race. One word: LOVE !!!

These are a few snaps I took before the start with my iphone:

I'm pretty sure that little one was just a visitor... but she could have passed me :)

Me and Margot, a fellow FIT chick (and 12WBTer). Thank god for Margot forcing me further up front. Determined woman is she!

 I'm not sure if IronMum is giving me a wave or a "like a tiger" signage... mmmm? She was there for me at the start AND the finish... thanks love :) 

Unfortunately my {real} camera battery was out of charge (doh!!), so even tho hubs got some prime positions for some fabulous photos... there are none :( Oh well.

Hubs was there at the start, first major turn... near Government House turn off (where they were all hanging out the car window screaming & made me cry!!), along Adelaide Avenue and at the finish. Thanks honey... you the best BEST.

Lack of pics doesn't detract from the fact that it was such a wonderful day... and I had a fantastic time.

I was quite nervous at the starting line. Almost to the point of tears, what if I crash into someone else, what if I cant' take the corners and slide out, and my face hits the bitumen ?

However, once we got going and I was cleated in... all nerves faded & I just rode.

This was the (new) course:

I finished in 36:55:03... which I am very happy with, far exceeded my expectations.

I came 80th out of 459 finished riders, and top 20 for my age group. For my first race, and only been cycling for about (less than) a month... with a sinus infection and on antibiotics... that's a result I could never have foreseen, or hoped for.  So I'm quite a bit suprised too.

The pro's finished in 28 mins, and Nath tells me that were a very impressive sight, as you can imagine. 

Yes, I have the cycle bug too now. And given I still can not run more than 200mtrs at a time, I'll take whatever sweat inducing workout I can take. Cycling does nicely. Very nicely indeed :)

Afterwards my boys ate enough watermelon for about 7 people and then we took off-skee, to check on my poor bubba girl who is sick :( and I mean S.I.C.K.L.Y - she is a tough nut my first born!

Love Out.

Bx

7th November - 13th November...

This week was a week where the evil Mish also challenged us to burn 1000 calorie + THREE times this week. Mean isnt she!

Monday:               PT with Fiona = 500

Tuesday:               6am road ride {518cals} + 930 ride class (532 cals) = 1050 

Wednesday:        6am ride class [427 cals] + PT with Slater (300 cals) = 727

Thursday:            6am ride class (494) + 930 ride class (561 cals) = 1055 

Friday:                   6am road ride = 525 

Saturday:               6am road ride, 30 mins = 300 

Sunday:                20km road ride race = 537 - now, I could try for another 500+ workout here, instead I opt for a picnic in the park with the family & my husband not being pissed off with me!

I've felt this week, that's for sure. I feel a bit run down actually... & trying hard to give my body what it needs. A little rest & recovery time.

Would nice to be here doing so:

So I only made 2 outta 3 of Mish's 3 x 1000+cal workout challenge. I'm cool with that, I had a pretty good week, and happy with my Sunday road ride race with Tour de Femme.

Love out

Bxo

A Road Race & Art Journal Page...

This Sunday, is what is making me a little nervous today. That and I missed my training group, so I just grapped another... rode up behind 3 ladies crossing the bridge this morning, they were happy to have me tag along. I was not after about 10mins >> they were speedy-mysters!

Oh well... I am going to go out and do the course again in the morning... just to make sure I got it in my head about corners and gear changes... tho it will likely be totally different on the day. That's cool.

A little sharsie here. With my recent decent into the 50's... ie. by just a few hundred grams, I was inspired to mark my achievment with this page:

It's really nice to be able to follow up with this page, from the last one I did... which was sad and feeling all discouraged, but positive and hopeful at the same time... perserverence and consistency got me past that... and onto much bigger and better things... oh and a bit of faith in myself :)

As of this morning, I have 2.5kg to go... and by my progress so far this week {compared to last week}... it's gonna be a tough few weeks ahead. My body doesnt want to give it up!!!

Also has a lot to do with the increased calorie expenditure this week. Mish set us a challenge to burn 1000cals three times this week. So far I've managed two days. One more required, it will have to be tomorrow.

So this week my body is in panic mode... next week it will hopefully relax and let go a bit of weight? Will see.

Happy Friday lovelies :)

Bx