We did it !!!!!

First off I want to thank A and K for their encouragement and support during the ride and the training - it was a great family effort and I think we all did really well.

We were up just after 4am - got the drinks and last few things packed and we were on our way. Arrived in Brisbane with plenty of time to spare and managed to get a parking right across from the park where we needed to be. Thankfully it wasn't as cold as we thought it could have been although it was a little chilly out of the car.

I guess next year we will tackle the start of the race a little differently - we went close to the back so that we were out of the way of the pack but then everyone started joining from the side so, even though we were there and waiting from about 6.15am - we didn't actually get to leave until just after 7.30 - a long time to be waiting around for something to happen.

Anyway, got onto the course and, as my friend said, before I knew it 9.5km were gone and I hadn't even realised it. The hills were as bad as I remembered them and in most instances I just fixed my gaze 2m in front of my bike and just kept pedalling. What I had forgotten was that the majority of the hills were in the second 25kms !!! But that became apparent when we got to the compulsory half way stop and we still had some horrible hills to go. But, it was all good. We had a banana, some trail mix and some energade and then took off again. I was having a lot of pain in my right kidney but that seems to have gone now so that is good.

A and I used our camelpaks but they were leaking and we found ourselves with wet pants and then wet shirts as we were trying to feed the tube around so that it didn't drip - will have to see about replacing some of the parts - maybe they have perished from not being used !!!! I only dry heaved once which was great - normally that happens at the top of most hills !!!! Sometimes I was at the back going up the hills and sometimes I was in the front - and sometimes I was even in the middle. We weren't sure how we were going to be able to stay in contact with each other and said we would catch up at the halfway mark if we lost contact but it was relatively easy once we were away from the crowd.

The second half I think was definitely harder than the first half and I kept on getting cramp in my toes. A said that his toes were really cold and suggested that maybe we shouldn't have laughed at the guy all kitted out with the cycling gear who had socks over his shoes !!! It was quite funny at stages - people all kitted out in, what looked like the most flash outfits and shoes etc etc, walking up the hills. Thankfully I managed to keep my bum on the saddle the whole way - no walking for me !!! I was very proud of that although if things had got to tough I would have walked if I had to.

Our average speed for the 50kms was 20kph which wasn't bad given that I was going up some hills at 8kph !!!! I also reached a personal best - fastest time of 47.78kph - obviously on a downhill !

K slept on the way up and the way down. My legs were really sore and stiff on the way down and, although I was going to sell tickets to see us getting out the car when we finally got home - it probably wasn't as funny as it could have been as I was busting to go to the toilet and so the minute the car stopped and the garage door was open, I was out the car and into the house without thinking too much about how much my legs hurt ! After unpacking the car we showered and then spent the afternoon in front of the TV - dozing, watching TV, reading and knitting.

What a great way to spend a Sunday - can't wait to do it again next year and now the Brisbane to Gold Coast isn't as frightening as it was before this morning - bring it on !!!!!!

Have a fantastic week, take care and go safely !

Weight down, mood down

My weight was down 0.4kg this morning – I was hoping for 0.5 but it wasn’t to be – and that is OK because it is what it is. That takes my total to 21.9kg in 23 weeks.

My motivation today is lacking – even my FOCUS post-it on my computer didn’t do it for me. I don’t know if it is the weather that made me just want to eat whatever I could lay my hands on but I don’t like it. I feel like I am out of control with my food and I don’t like feeling like that – I don’t want to think that the food is controlling me. I NEED to be in control of what I eat – that is how I have got as far as I have. I don’t want to undo the good that I have done so far, but I am going to have to find something from somewhere to turn this feeling around. It was only a few weeks ago that I was really happy with life – granted there is something happening that it probably the cause of this, but, until decisions are made, I can’t change what is going to happen and I just have to accept it. Easier said than done, I know.

Maybe it is the lack of exercise that is also contributing to making me feel down – those endorphins haven’t had much chance lately to get pumped around. While I understand that it is OK to exercise when the weather is cold, I think it probably isn’t a good idea to exercise in the cold when I have a cold which is why I haven’t had as much exercise lately as I would have liked. I don’t know if the race on Sunday is playing on my mind as well – I know that we can cycle the 50kms and finish (we don’t have any times in mind for how long we are going to take), but I am still nervous about either stacking it myself or someone else stacking it and causing me grief. The fact that the roads are not being closed is of concern as well – knowing that many motorists have such little regard for cyclists.

Yoga was good although my right thigh is feeling a little tender now after some of the poses that we did. We worked on pigeon pose and other variations which were good - these poses always get me in the glutes. We did a really slow, contemplative salute to the sun which I really enjoyed and, of course, the meditation which is always the best way to finish the class. Somehow the energy there is so much better than when I try to meditate on my own at home.

This is a bit disjointed – sorry my mind is all over the place tonight. So much so I am using my TFTD from work here as well !!!!!! Yes, I know that I need to read this particular TFTD and take it on board because it speaks directly to how I feel right now.

TFTD : Whatever we are waiting for – peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance – it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart - Sarah Ban Breathnach

Last week

My weigh on Thursday saw a loss of 1.4kg taking my total loss to 21.5kg in 22 weeks which I am very happy with. I am feeling so much better in myself – not surprising with that amount of weight gone. Now if I could just get rid of this head cold that I have it would be great ! What I am worried about is not being able to exercise – (a) because it is too cold and (b) because I feel cr*p but I don’t want to get out of the habit of exercising. I get cranky when I don’t exercise – my family don’t like it !!!! (And neither do I actually !)

K has been battling a head cold for a few days now and has been taking some OTC stuff to try to help with a blocked nose and sore throat. That finished yesterday and I stopped at the chemist on the way home from work to get some more stuff for her and I – at the moment no point in going to the dr because there is no infection or anything like that.

We decided to give yoga a last week – couldn’t imagine doing downward dog or salute to the sun with a head that feels like this!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately - things just seem to be so hectic at the moment although I am not sure why because with us being sick, we haven't exercised as much as we normally do or as much as I would like. I guess this past week has made me realise that, while exercise is good for me, I also need to listen to my body when it is not feeling 100%. I have been looking at my charms a lot lately - my runner keeps reminding me of how much fitter I am now than I used to be and my yinyang charm reminds me to keep the balance and if that means not exercising because I am not well, then that is what I need to do, no matter how much my head is saying "Get out there and exercise !!!!"

TFTD : If you are too careful, you are so occupied in being careful that you are sure to stumble over something – Gertrude Stein

I did it !!!!

Today A and I went up to Brisbane to cycle 'the hill' before the race on 27th June. We did it - twice ! Man it feels good. What I did notice was that, you know how sometimes things seem to be much bigger issues in your head than they actually are - well that is what it was like with the hill - some of the hills that we did a few weeks ago when all three of us were cycling were WORSE than 'the hill' today !!!! Clearly 'the hill' had grown in stature in my head but now that I know that I have conquered it twice, it doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore. I am REALLY glad that we did the other hills so that I know what to expect when we get to them on 27th !!!

I wonder how often in life I have imagined something was going to be worse than what it turned out to be - how many times I have worried about issues that never happened, or wasted energy on something that never materialised ? Today was such a great example of how powerful your mind is - in my head, this hill was maybe going to be impossible for me to get to the top of but in reality, it wasn't anything like that - I made it up there twice in the space of about an hour. I really would like to keep this incident alive to remind myself that often the reality is not as bad as the imaginary !!!!

I had to laugh at A - when we were on our way back to turn around and do the hill the second time, I overtook him and was riding ahead of him and as we turned I asked if we could stop and make some adjustments to my bike. Anyway, before we pulled out again he said that I should ride ahead of him because he could see how much weight I had lost and how sexy my butt looked ! It made me feel really good to know that he had noticed it and that he cared enough to comment on it. I am always the one cycling at the back - whether there are two of us or three of us. A was an international athlete, K probably had the potential to compete at a really high level of whatever sport she chose had she chosen one, but me, I will always be the fat girl who lost weight and just likes to exercise - I will always be the one at the back of the pack but that is OK. I bet that even though K has done less training than me, she will beat the pants off me come the day and that is fine she is 27yrs younger and about 13kgs lighter than me so she probably should beat the pants off me.

I am off to shower and then attack some chores that very kindly waited for me to finish cycling and get home so that I could get them done.

TFTD : Every huge success starts out as one simple thought.

Staying focussed

Today has probably been the hardest day for me to stay focussed on what I want to achieve – mainly because I was busy with the most mind numbing data capture work. Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy the fact that I get paid as a management accountant to do a data processing job but that doesn’t stop the boredom from hitting or make it easier to stay focussed on what I want to achieve. I have come so close, so many times today, to just eating for the sake of it, but so far I have managed to resist – long may it last because my unofficial weight loss this morning is over 20kgs !!!! Have to stay focussed enough so that I can see that number (or less) on the scales on Thursday morning when I weigh-in.

FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS – that is the key for me at the moment.

Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Rest day or lazy day ?

This weekend I did not exercise at all – nothing, zip, zero, zilch, no walks, no cycles, no jogs. I had lots of good intentions but they just didn’t happen for lots of reasons. But, am I using the excuse of a rest day as a way of justifying what I didn’t do ? A keeps telling me how important rest days are when you are training but I am not sure if it is just a way to justify the times when you don’t train.

At 9pm last night I felt really guilty when I realised that we hadn’t done any exercise the whole weekend but not guilty enough to get out from under the blanket and go and do something about it !!!!

I did work packing shelves for 3 hrs on Saturday night at Coles so I did sort of do something but it may be a stretch to call it exercise.

My food intake this weekend was really good given the circumstances – I had good breakfasts both days. Made good choices for lunch when we were out. I had about 6-8 chips with lunch on Saturday and paid the price with an unsettled stomach the rest of the day so said to Al that, in future, please remind me about the fact that, while I love hot chips, my body doesn’t like them anymore and it isn’t worth the discomfort to have them. So yesterday when we were sitting down to have something to eat he reminded me and said he didn’t mind if I had them (as I would have had some of his !!) but that I had asked him to remind me not to have them. I didn’t have any and felt so much better for not having had them.

I also managed to stay focussed enough to not have a muffin or an ice-cream that they had over the weekend. I did have one Ferrero Rocher chocolate but figure that wasn’t going to break my motivation or send me off the rails – I could have eaten a whole heap more but managed to say only one, only one !!!!!!

My unofficial weight loss was just under 20kgs this morning – oh how I wish the 20kg mark would arrive – I am hanging out to get my yinyang Pandora charm !!!!! Someone said to me today that I should just go and buy it but I said that didn’t feel right – if it was to acknowledge my 20kg loss, how could I justify buying it if I hadn’t lost the 20kgs yet ?

I am focussed on doing some exercise tonight – will be going home and making sure that, come rain, hail or snow (OK that isn’t likely on the Gold Coast), I WILL be exercising tonight. Not so much because I have to, but because I missed not exercising on the weekend. Our plans to cycle the horrible hill in Brisbane went south when all arrangements changed on Saturday but, you get that some days and sometimes it is about being able to adapt and adjust to the current situation.

TFTD : If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things that are missing. If you don’t have love in your life, no matter what else there is, it’s not enough – Ann Landers

Another great day !

Well day three of doing exactly what I need to do is just about over - so completely happy with that. Unofficially, total loss of 19kg this morning but it doesn't count until I am that weight on a Thursday morning weigh-in.

There were times today when I was so tempted to have something from the vending machine and I looked up and saw my FOCUS post-it note and had a drink of water instead - I LOVE IT WHEN I AM SO MOTIVATED AND HAVE THE WILLPOWER TO RESIST EATING WHAT I SHOULDN'T - can you tell I am happy ??????

Have a great weekend everyone and take care !

Just for today

Just for today ...... I ate what I was supposed to
Just for today ...... I drank my water
Just for today ...... I did my exercise
Just for today ...... I went to yoga and thoroughly enjoyed it
Just for today ...... I did all of the above because I wanted to and not because I had to, and I enjoyed them
Just for tomorrow ...... I am going to do them all over again (except for the yoga which is only on a Thurday night !!!)

Have a great Friday and an even better weekend !

TFTD : There are three kinds of people: 1. Innovators. 2. Imitators. 3. Idiots - Warren Buffett

FOCUS

This is what the post-it note that is stuck to the top of my computer says. I am hoping that it will help me to remember what it is that I am working to achieve – a healthy lifestyle as well as some weight loss. This is to help me think about what I am putting into my mouth BEFORE I put it into my mouth rather than sit regretting it after I have eaten it.

My weight has been creeping up this week which is not the way I want it to go but it is because I have not been as focussed as I was a few weeks ago. I have found excuses for why I should have the extras and felt that it would all be good – but it isn’t and I need to get it all back to being good quickly !!!!

Kathy also suggested that maybe just walking isn’t enough to burn off the excess calories now that we are so much fitter than we used to be. We did the 4th in the 5 race Corporate Challenge Series on Sunday and knocked another 1 mins 50 secs off our time. This means that over the course of the three races we have taken part in (there was one race on while we were away) we have knocked 3 mins 50 secs off the time we did in the first race – that has to mean that we are getting fitter but I think it also means that I have to work harder to burn the excess off. Kathy also said that with the time limits that she has she is trying to work harder for the same period of time rather than just for a longer period of time. So tonight we jogged for sections of the walk along the side streets – sometimes it is a little difficult with the dogs – if I run with Alfie, he almost pulls me along whereas sometimes with Rosie she tends to dawdle and doesn’t keep up with me !!!!! Will try this for the next week to see what sort of results I get – OK, I probably need to try it for more than a week but you know what I mean. My legs didn’t feel heavy at all which was great.

I am tossing up the idea of going to a personal trainer for 30 mins a week – don’t think I could do more than a 30 min session. I asked Al if he would come with me and he said a flat out no thanks. I asked him if he would like to think about it and he said no thanks, he did two years conscription in the navy and said that he doesn’t want someone telling him what to do !!!! I asked if he could think of it as them training him but he isn’t keen. K said she would come with me so need to seriously think about whether this is what I want or not. It will tie up more of my time but I think if I could use him (one of my client’s husband) to tone up my arms, legs, tummy and butt, it would serve a purpose. Will let you know what I decide. Of course, if you have any stories about what to look out for with a personal trainer, I would love to hear from you.

I am going to try to have an early night tonight. Despite my history of sleeping better when I exercise, this is not happening. I wake up at least once or twice, sometimes even three times, an hour and I am soooooooo tired. I don’t understand how I can be so tired but not be able to sleep – it just doesn’t make sense.

I am not looking forward to my weigh in tomorrow – I am expecting a gain but that is totally my own fault. I have not been nearly careful enough with what I have been eating but today, the first day of the rest of my life, I have had a good day. I haven’t eaten anything I am not supposed to eat, I have exercised (including some running) and I have remained focussed on my goal of losing some more weight.

TFTD : Self-worth makes you extremely attractive.