Getting into my Head!

I have been trying to blog this as a video for the past few days, I recorded the video whilst I was driving to a clients place the other afternoon. However the video is too big to transfer from my i-phone to my email without connecting to the computer, so I am sorry dear followers… but you have to read again!!

I wanted to do a piece about how we can let our heads control our bodies, or how we can over-think  pain or problems and loose control in an effort to remain in control. Our heads & brains are very sophistocated parts of machinery, they control our breathing, our limbs & allow us to do so much. But they can also work against us, limiting us, this I suppose goes back to my fear of failure that I mentioned in my previous blog entry.

This thought started when I had my mother visit over the weekend.

My Mum & I are both entered into the Pinkie Triathlon on the 16^th of October and we have been training for the event (mum more than me… I STILL can’t find a pool!)

When mum visited she mentioned that she wanted to do the Bike – Run leg like a biathlon (similar to what D & I did last week). I don’t know how many of you have tried it before, but it is seriously strange to jump off your bike & start running – your legs just don’t want to work properly!

So mum & set off on the bikes (Mum borrowed D’s because hers is in Sydney) we rode 10km and then started our run, my hip was quite sore so mum ran ahead of me before I started running. She was about 30m ahead of me when I started running & I had caught up to her at the 600m mark, (we were running out 1km and then turning back for a total of 2km).

My Mum is AWESOME she just runs, she paces along and she doesnt stop.. I don't know how she does it & I am rather embarassed to say that at 46 she is lighter than I am, she is fitter than I am and she has a better body than I do (but I am working on getting there!)

As soon as I had caught up with her I thought… can’t go on.. need to stop… so I stopped & walked… I was SOOO MAD at myself for walking, but then I looked at my HRM which was flashing out of control at 182bpm and I thought oh well done Sara… you did the right thing by walking… you are such a good person for listening to your body and walking…. (CRAP I know!) I then walked/ran the rest of the 2km… until the final 400m when I thought that I was being stupid & I just needed to continue running/shuffling/whatever it took but not walking to get to the end.

I was quite proud of myself for finishing the biathlon again, 480ish calories gone and 40 minutes of exercise, but I was disappointed that I had walked part of the 2km.. Surely I can run for 2km.. I am sure I have done it on the treadmill, but why couldn’t I do it outside?

I used my HRM as an excuse, my Head told me that I was doing the right thing by walking & reducing my heart rate down... but in reality I am a 27 year old woman, I am getting fitter by the day, and it wouldn't hurt me to push my heart rate every so often. Is my HRM doing more harm than good? Is is now the excuse that I have to stop pushing myself... what can I do to stop this happening?

This led me to my Commitment for the week…. I am going to run 2km on the treadmill at whatever pace it takes until I have ran the whole 2km…I will turn my HRM off (well put it onto the time mode, rather than the BPM mode)

I did it last night!

I am doing the C25K running program, and last night (Week6 Day3) was a 25minute run. I set off on my treadmill running at 10km/h. I told myself that I could drop down by 0.5km/h every 5mins but I couldn’t stop…. I ran & ran & ran. I did stop 3 times for only 30 seconds – left the treadmill running, I just jumped off, had a drink & jumped back on… but in total I ran for 4.6km!

I start Week 7 day 1 of C25K on Thursday – this week is 3x 25minute runs, with my first run being outside as part of the 4km fortnightly run I am doing…..

I am extending my commitment into the outside world – I will run at least 2km with out walking on Thursday, and my time for the whole 4km will be under 30minutes…

I end this blog with a quote from the esteemed Bear Grylls (from Man Vs Wild fame)

“Successful & unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential…..”

I DESIRE TO BE SUCCESSFUL!

Weigh in tomorrow for Week 2 of 12 WBT. The scales are now my friend.. I can’t WAIT!

Xx

S

Goals are funny things.....

Goals are funny things…. When we set them we subconsciously think to ourselves, l really want to achieve this; I will be very disappointed if I don’t hit the mark. I often wonder if in our subconscious thoughts we set goals that are too achievable, for fear of losing our motivation, for fear of failure.

The fear of failure is one of the greatest fears that people have, it leads to a fear of criticism and fear of rejection. I believe that successful people overcome their fear of failure. Fear incapacitates unsuccessful people and causes them to self-limit themselves. I believe that most people do not achieve a fraction of what they are capable of achieving because they are afraid to try because they are afraid they will fail.

12WBT is a prime example of this, Mish tackled it in the excuses preseason task, and again in the goal setting task. We were told to write down our excuses, and what we are going to do about them, and then to set what we what to achieve, our goals for the next 12 weeks.

We were told make our goals SMART – (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely) so I thought I did… but one thing they don’t tell us to do is to make them STRETCH…

I honestly believe that we need to learn to set a goal and the add say 5% to it, make it just a little bit less attainable… make it something that you have to WORK for.

I have revised my goals (AGAIN –and we are only 4 days into the 12WBT!) The original ones are below, and any change I have made to them is in purple…

I think I am seriously going mad! But I am SO keen to SMASH this extra 12 kgs (well 10kgs after last weeks weigh-in) so I am willing to work my butt off & stretch  my goals and expectations.

1 month goal

• 
  
  Increase fitness until I can run for 20 minutes without stopping (I can currently run for 8 minutes at 8km/hr, 3-5% incline on treadmill)
• 
  
  To run outside at least once per week. –New goal – Once a week do a bike ride immediately followed by a run - biathlon style
• 
  
  Lose 4kgs (that’s 500g per week & will bring me into the 70’s)
• 
  
  Do 20 push ups on knees (I can only do 10 now) – Fitness test proved I can actually do 28 so new goal – 40
• 
  
  NEW Goal – To bring 1km time trial result down by 39s to under 6 minutes
• 
  
  To hold a proper plank position for 1 minute – I did this at the gym on Wednesday so new goal – 2 minutes
• 
  
  To make eating healthy a NORMAL activity, every meal.

 3 month goals

• 
  
  Lose an additional 8 kgs (on top of the 3 I will lose in the first month). This will bring me into the 60’s – for the first time in 3 years since I stopped training.
• 
  
  Increase fitness until I can run 5kms in 30 mins.
• 
  
  Run the Blue Lake Fun Run on the 21st of November – 6km of hills
• 
  
  Do 50 push ups on knees, and 10 on toes
• 
  
  To hold a proper plank position for 2 minutes. – moved up to 1 month goals, so new 3 month goal will be to hold a  side plank for 1 minute (each side)
• 
  
  To purchase a bikini that makes me look smoken’ hot!

 On another note - I was doing a lot of reading about goals over the past few days writing the blog, so if I have inadvertantly copied someones words I am sorry!

Day 1 of 12WBT Round 3 - THE CHALLENGE BEGINS!

Well day 1 of round 3 went by with a BANG! Nutrition was perfect; I didn’t feel the need to have any snacks (apart from my 2 skinny lattes, no sugar in the morning)

I ate my lunch wrap in the car whilst I was travelling to a clients sale, and it was a good thing I did, because on the way to the sale I got BOGGED “EEK”. I was trying to cut down a back track, and before I knew it I had gone too far to turn around, and I was stuck….. what followed was slightly amusing (well for me anyway)

I tried calling the nearby farmers, however none of them were answering, so off I walked. I only put Runkeeper on after I had walked halfway – so from halfway to when I was able to flag down a bloke in a tractor I walked 1.8kms. The bloke who helped me was really good… he drove me back to the car & pulled me out, only minor damage to the car (and minor damage to my ego!)

Needless to say I was running rather late by then, so missed my clients sale! That reminds me I have to call him to apologise! (adds to my to-do list)

Last night I went for a run on the treadmill, Hubby was ultra cute, he knows that I love watching trashy TV whilst I am in pain, but he hates the E Network. He put the TV onto “Kendra” and left me to my running…. Get Running App Week 6 Day 1 done! Just over 4kms in 32mins. I was ultra happy with that, approximate cals burned was 300 (my HRM has a flat battery – another thing onto the to-do list)

I then thought I should tackle my fitness test… well this was a laugh too, hubby decided to come at do it with me, so needless to say it got a little competitive!

Exercise	Sara	D (Hubby)
Part 2 – The Push Up Test	28 (Intermediate)	40 (Advanced)
Part 3 – Abdominal Strength	Level 3 (Intermediate)	Level 3 (Intermediate)
Part 4 – Wall Sit	2.07mins (Advanced)	1.01mins (Intermediate)
Part 5 – Sit & Reach	+13 (Advanced)	+15 (Advanced

So we were even-stevens going into the …..

FINAL CHALLENGE….. the 1km Time Trial

we decided for the benefit of fairness (after all I had already ran 4km that night) that we would pause the challenge until the morning….

The sun rose at 5.30 this morning, and in the fog, drizzle & mist D (Hubby) & I set off on our 1km walk to warm up – the theory being that we would walk to the 1km point, and then turn and run back (the run being our time trial).

Which we did….. unfortunately for me sprinting is D’s strong point (put him over 4kms though and he is stuffed!) I was happy with my result, I had to walk some parts (due to running 3days in a row, and my shin splits starting to scream at me) but on the whole it was a good morning.

Exercise	Sara	D (Hubby)
Part 1 – 1km time trial	6.39min (Intermediate)	5.09mins (Advanced)

That brings to final tally to

Sara – Intermediate level, D (Hubby) – Advanced level.

Now the challenge begins – we have to work hard so we improve in 4 weeks time!

Measure Up! The COLD HARD NUMBERS:

The last Pre-Season task for Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation is by far the hardest... but I have to admit; it was the one I was most looking forward to: The MEASURE UP!

Most people have been posting on the forums that they are scared of this one, that they haven't looked at themselves in the mirror for years, let alone taken a photo. For me this was the beginning of the end. The start of the NEW WAH, and the start of something wonderful.

I am so looking forward to being the hot & sexy girl that I can be before Christmas. Hubby saw Mish's new pic on the 12WBT site (12WBT.com.au for anyone interested) and he made the comment that she was incredibly sexy!

SO I want to be like Mish

(not Mike!)

As a little extra incentive (as if I needed any more) I have sent my photos to the Woman's Health & Fitness 12 week Body Blitz.... I have entered before and not won (there are no 2nd places in this comp) but this time I am giving it 100%.... and I hope that with 12WBT on my team it might be the icing on the cake & I might have a transformation worth writing about... (just think of the FREE publicity 12WBT might get then!)

The Measure Up!

I measured up Saturday afternoon, after my big bike ride, Hubby took my photos, and he said all the right things, (which helped so much!)

Here are the COLD HARD NUMBERS:

 Age: 27
Height:174cm
Weight: 81.5kg (Goal is 68kgs)
Chest: 102cm
Waist: 103cms
Hips: 115cms
Thighs (R) 65cms (L) 64cms (33cm distance from knee)
Calve: (R) 40cms (L)41cms

This is the beginning of the NEW WAH…. just wait universe in 12 weeks time I will be a smaller, better, healthier person



xx
S

The eve of the 12WBT

Hi all, me again (who else were you expecting... the blog is ALL about the WAH!)

I thought that considering it is the eve of the start of the 12WBT I should make a few notes about the past few days & the next 90 days!

Hubby & I went to Adelaide on Thursday night for the Powderfinger concert, it was BRILLIANT! Jet did a great job as the support act, and the Powderfinger boys did a superb job!

On Friday we went for a big walk around the city Rundall Mall for shopping, caught up with a girlfriend for lunch, and then walked to buy my birthday present. I had the choice of a bike, new snorkel, fins etc, or a string of pearls.... I have to admit it was not an easy choice, the bike & pearls were hard to divide! But in the end Mish Bridges and the WWMD mentality kicked in, and I decided on a new Bike. (It will come in handy for my upcoming triathlons’ (yes there is a “s” at the end of the word Triathlon... but that is another story!))

So we went to JT Cycles in Adelaide and brought a hybrid Mountain/Road bike, it is silver, so I brought a matching white/silver helmet. We then went to the Central Market and stocked up big time on fresh fruit & veggies per the week 1 shopping list, this was followed by the 3hour drive home!

As soon as we got home, hubby had to bring some lambs into the yards to be sent to Coles first thing Sunday morning, so he was gone & I decided to test ride the new bike........ I have to admit; that it HURT, and for the first 4km I wondered what I had gotten myself into, but after the first 4km I thought well this is actually ok... so I continued for another 8. I did 12.37kms yesterday.

When I got back from my ride I saw that Hubby had his bike in the drive, he was working on it, new oil, patching a puncture etc... He then suggested that we do a Biathlon on Sunday, just the Bike & Run part of my upcoming triathlon!

So today (after a bit of home chores & coffee with a friend), we together set off on a 6km bike ride & 2km run... I had SO much fun.. I kicked Dunc’s butt on the bike leg & then shuffled to finish not far behind him in the run leg (we started together on both legs). The total exercise was about 36minutes, and this was 23mins to ride 7.82km, and then 13.23 mins to run 2km.

So friends that was the past few days for me.... new post coming .... it will be the COLD HARD NUMBERS......

xx
S

Mini Milestones.... LOCK IT IN MISH!!

I decided to attack Pre-Season Task 7 head on, so I listened to Mish, I looked at my online diary (work related mainly) and I honestly thought, well no need to write it down, which has time for an extra diary anyway, and really writing down shopping trips CRAZY!

So I didn't do anything. I didn't get it..... and I really didn't care. CRAZY CRAZY THINKING FROM THE WAH!

Then I jumped onto the forums....... and started reading about the mini-milestones, and major milestones that people were planning... I thought WHAT, what are all these people doing? I then realised that I needed to go back and listen to Mish again!

This time is sunk in! I got it! I understand where she is coming from and why.

I still haven't had a chance to actually write out a diary (but I will!) but I have started to consider my mini & major milestones.... I have offered to help a new 12WBT friend with her milestone but I wanted my own too!

On twitter this morning another new 12WBT friend @patricia250862 made mention that she was doing a triathlon leading me to think, well maybe I can do that...but every triathlon I have seen is HUGE!

So I started to do some googling (as one does in these situations!) and I found the Pinkies Triathlon in Sydney on the 16th of October, the distances are very achievable..100m swim, 6.5km bike & 1km run... SO I emailed Mum and asked if she would be keen to do it with me...

She quickly replied that she is already registered to do it - but she is doing the 300m swim, 9km bike & 3km run option......

Well that now leaves no choice I HAVE to do it for my mini milestone!

LOCK IT IN MISH!!

I think I will stick to my little Mini Triathlon to begin with (I do have 4 weeks to change my mind & upgrade though) as it will be my first triathlon and I have a minor hurdle to overcome.....

THERE IS NO POOL IN THIS TOWN!!!!

The last time I swam laps was 5 or more years ago. I am confident that I could survive 100m and have enough energy to jump on a bike & then run... but swimming EEK! (BTW I LOVE swimming, I used to be on swim squad etc when I was a kid... but seriously... a triathlon with ZERO swim training before hand!

Oh well I guess I will have to ask myself WWMB (What Would Mish Do!?!) I think Mish would just suck it up and JFDI!

So that is EXACTLY what I am going to do!

Xx

S

p.s Week 1 programs, meals & shopping lists are out tomorrow..... I am SOOOO EXCITED!

p.p.s Tomorrow is another Running day! 4km outside in the morning sunshine, this is one might be a little more challenging, as it is the first run of the Active Community Team Challenge that I am doing... but once I convince myself that everyone will NOT be looking at my wobbling tummy, or red face, or big bum I will be fine!

p.p.p.s I AM GOING TO BE A TRI-ATHLETE!!!

Treadmill vs Nature

So traditionally I am a treadmill runner, Hubby brought me a treadmill about 12 months ago when I moved back to the farm, because running outside in winter with no lights is NOT fun, and our farm roads can get a little slippery.


So since then I have ran on the treadmill. I am up to week 5 of the C25K using the Get Running i-Phone application, I generally put the treadmill on 3-5% incline, or random hills for variety and off I go, 3 times per week, walking at 6km/hr, and running at 8-10km/h. I use the speed to help me set my pace, and it is easy to find a rythum, and force yourself to keep on going when you are on the treadmill.

On Sunday it was a BEAUTIFUL sun shining day, so I decided to take it outside for the first time in over 9 months. I admitt it..... It HURT!! A LOT!! I struggled with the unevenness of the roads, with finding a steady pace, and with the self motivation it took to keep on running just until the lovely lady said to "walk now". I found my self talking to demand her to talk....just tell me 2mins to go I said to myself!

But although my pace was slower, the feeling of the sun on my back, the fresh air on my face and teh sense of achievement when I realised how far I had run under my own steam was fantastic. I ran just under 4 kms in 32 minutes.

My goal is that I will be able to run 5km in 30mins by my birthday (19th Oct) and I have signed up for a 6km fun run in Mt Gambier on the 21st of November. ALSO in my town they are running an “Active Community Team Challenge” which consists of a 4km walk/run ever fortnight. The aim is to improve your time each week, so that will help me with the outside running.

I am tonight sitting in a hotel room after an unexepected, unplanned & unwanted work function, tomorrow is run day, and there is no treadmill in sight, so for the second time in memory I am going to lace up my runners and take to the road again....

I am not ready to give up my treadmill, there is something to be said for being able to turn off and watch the beautiful people on E News or the contestants on Biggest Loser whilst I am running, but I think after Sundays experience I will venture into Nature a little more often!

Xx

S

P.S Only a few days until Round 3 KICKS OFF with a BANG!!

Pre-Season Task 5 - SHOUT IT OUT LOUD!!

When I signed up for 12WBT Mish Bridges said that there would be a number of "Pre-Season" tasks for us to complete - I thought yeah ok.... I will have a look they will be easy and whats the point anyway -the real challenge will start on the 20th of September.
Well I have to admit I have found the tasks a little more confronting than I was expecting.
Task 1 was easy - Introduce yourself to the forums... I wrote something similar to the first post of this blog for that one.
Task 2 a little harder - Get Real - No More Excuses.. this was a little difficult, I realised that my biggest excuse was my self and my laziness. I decided to take control of that and put in place positive self messages - so that instead of running on the treadmill thinking my butt is wobbling or my belly is wobbling think of how good I will feel after the run. This is working already!
Task 3 again an easy one - Goal Setting.... I jumped right in and wrote goals such as I will run for 20 minutes in the first month, and then I will have lost 5kgs at the end of the 12 weeks..... I won't go into too much detail with these here, but needless to say they were fairly low end goals.
Task 4 Gear Up - Easy again.... I have a treadmill at home, and some exercise DVD's already I will aim to go to the gym when I can, but with a 80km drive there it could be hard (I will aim to go at least once a week after work, but I wont stress if I cant make it there)
Task 5 SAY IT OUT LOUD.... this was by FAR the hardest so far.... It took me a LONG time to get my head around what I wanted to say to my friends family & the universe, I found the exercise so empowering and although it took me a few days – I went back and revisited my goals from task 3. After looking at them again and again, I think I have short changed myself. I think that I was so scared of not achieving the goal, that I have set them WAY too low… with this in mind I am upping the anti – I have taken my task 3 goals and injected them with steroids. I am ready to turn them from personal goals to commitments.

 

 I am committing to myself, my friends, my 12WBT team mates and to the universe that in order to reach my goals I will do the following:

• To cook healthy, clean meals for EVERY meal (not just dinner like now) 
• To reduce the amount of alcohol I drink, having at LEAST 2 alcohol free days per week.
• To work out 6 days per week, either inside, outside or at the gym – WHERE EVER I AM!
• To push myself each & every exercise session by “just a little bit more” be it 1 more push up, 1 more crunch or what ever it takes so that I can record a PB every time.
• To not take things too seriously, to respect others opinions, and not to get upset when people ask questions of me (like – why are you eating carrots, or why wont you drink …..are you pregnant ?)
• To keep a journal online, keeping myself accountable..

 To everyone who reads this, especially my 12WBT family I will need your help and support. I hope I can rely on you all to kick me in the bum if I slacken off, and to give me the time I need each day for myself to reach my goals.

  

1 month goal

• Increase fitness until I can run for 20 minutes without stopping (I can currently run for 8 minutes at 8km/hr, 3-5% incline on treadmill)
• To run outside at least once per week.
• Lose 4kgs (that’s 500g per week & will bring me into the 70’s)
• Do 20 push ups on knees (I can only do 10 now)
• To hold a proper plank position for 1 minute
• To make eating healthy a NORMAL activity, every meal.

 3 month goals

• Lose an additional 8 kgs (on top of the 3 I will lose in the first month). This will bring me into the 60’s – for the first time in 3 years since I stopped training.
• Increase fitness until I can run 5kms in 30 mins.
• Run the Blue Lake Fun Run on the 21st of November – 6km of hills
• Do 50 push ups on knees, and 10 on toes
• To hold a proper plank position for 2 minutes.
• To purchase a bikini that makes me look smoken’ hot!

So there it all is, the round 2 peoples are currently in Sydney partying it up with Mish Bridges at the end of Round 2 party... that will be my reward in December, and I will go knowing that I have done my best and attacked this challenge 100% full on!

I will develop an attitude that will let setbacks move me forward, that will turn my weaknesses into strengths and mistakes into wisdom for the future!

 

So I have jumped on board the 12WBT train

I have been thinking of starting a new journal for the past few weeks (ever since I signed up for Round 3 of Mish Bridges 12 week body transformation - www.12wbt.com.au)

This is the first chance I have had to actually get set up and start typing.

I hope that I will keep this journal to keep myself accountable, I may use it to duplicate what I have written on twitter, or on the 12WBT forums, so I apologise in advance if you read the same thing in different places, this will be my way of keeping track of it all.

A little about me:

I am Sara - I live in country SA I work for a major corporation in a rural town. My work hours are long, and I often don't get home until after normal dinner times. My reason for joining 12WBT is I am looking to loose about 10kgs to bring me down to 70kgs and back in my target BMI. I hope to gain energy, and a thirst for life from the journey.

About 3 years ago I was training for my first body building comp - Figure division - I weighed 60kgs & was full of muscle, however 2 weeks from show time I hurt my calf muscle and so was told to REST! This ruined me - I lost motivation, and the kgs started packing back on. My now husband, was kinda happy that I had hurt myself as this meant that my focus changed from 100% on me - back to the loving person I was before competition prep.

My goal to loose weight is an important one - however I need to learn to do this whilst maintaining balance, my relationship & my work…... I want it all!!

I look forward to meeting other people through this blog, 12WBT and Twitter, and also in about 13 weeks time at the Round 3 training session & party!!

The thought of all those hot smokin' guys & gals at the wrap party excites me!!

xx

S

find me on twitter - @Sar_Wah