Its a Paleo kinda day or 30 DAYS!

I have been taking lots of advice about food, and as I've said before I've been in a quandary about what the next step to take should be.  Apparently if you wait, the answer will come hunt you out and tell you where you are next heading without needing to do anything!  My dear friend and running mentor Caryn spent time chatting with her Nutritionist Mikki Williden last week and has been convinced to do a Paleo Diet for 30 days, more commonly referred to as Whole30.  I emailed her back to see if she wanted some company on this journey and as we both like doing things with others, she of course said yes!  So today I organised myself into a Paleo lifestyle!

Paleo is all about whole foods and no gluten, sugar, dairy, potatoes, legumes, grains, and cereals. This is a way of eating that loves unprocessed foods which are mainly protein rich with plenty of nourishment from vegetables as long as they aren't starchy.  There is also no allowance for caffeine or alcohol!  For me Paleo seems like the next logical step in refining my eating habits so they are healthy and wholesome 95% of the time.  Since being gluten and dairy free I have had a reliance on sugar ... especially where my coffees are concerned!  Going from milk laden lattes to long blacks was a step too far without adding in a sugar ... the sugar was the saving grace for my long blacks and now I'm addicted to the sugar in my coffee :o)

Many of you know there are few things I do in life without consulting Pinterest, so to get over the initial fear at what I had signed up to for the next 30 days I began my Pinterest research!  I gathered so much information and so many recipe ideas my new Paleo board started filling up quickly!  There was so much information, the recipes all looked awesome, and I moved from fear to excitement ... thank you Pinterest.

I have a goal to lose 10kgs by Christmas, ambitious yes, doable certainly!  So I have weighed myself and put it into a tracker.  Caryn then informed me once I had weighed myself I wasn't allowed to weigh myself again until the 30 days were up ... ok, a little fear again but I am game and it is only for 30 days.   I will be letting you know how I am going with this and you will see some recipes sourced from Pinterest appearing on this blog over the next month that are all Paleo certified!

I am REALLY hopping this change in diet helps with the running because it was insanely hard today ... I got through the session, but only just.  I think week four will have to be redone before I will head to week fives sessions.

At least the sun was out!

Fitness Apps

As promised I have been busy organising some apps for toning over the last day and have found some good ones.  I have been spurred on to put some toning into the daily fitness regime by a friend of mine but it actually started at a get together at our house last weekend.  I was busy trying to recruit runners for the 5K on the first of December.  Some bright spark (Alana Mill you are trouble!) decided we needed to do some exercise right then  ... there is nothing like peer pressure so five females took to the floor to tone our abs and butts while waiting for Otane takeaways to make it home!!  

As is the way nowadays, two minutes after the idea was mooted an app had been downloaded and we were into our first five minute butt toning exercise session.  Two days later the pain set in and it became apparent some toning should be continued ;0)   I am all in favour of doing things with others so when one of my dear friends thought we should Skype each other six evenings to continue on, I was all for it!  I figured it was pointless having a gorgeous J Lo butt in the future if other parts of me weren't also toned, especially as I need a well toned core for my running endeavours.  After some app research I have downloaded ab and arms workouts to go with the butt one.  All of them have varying degrees of difficulty and last between five and ten minutes so they are perfect for slotting into the day without impacting on your time too much ... And BONUS they were all free too!!

So this week the anti has been upped and toning will hopefully be taking place all over the body!  Tomorrow I will be posting on a new diet I am undertaking for the next 30 days starting tomorrow ... yikes, the body won't know what's hit it!!

Three Weeks of Running Done and Dusted!

It was COLD ... Spring has temporarily disappeared!

BUT today it was forced ... really forced!  It was freezing outside and inside the fire was going and I have a thousand jobs I want to get done, as you do when you move into a new home.  The morning passed by and I did not feel the need to venture outside, I was having way too much fun helping my girl peep sort out play with her Lego.

I eventually got out the door and started my last session for week three when it started to rain :0(  It was a big change from the 30+ temperatures I have been used to in Singapore.  I must have looked hilarious, I had BRIGHT pink shorts on and I had completely red legs from the single digit temperature mixed with pouring rain and wind chill :0D ... mmmm, probably not my best look of the week!  I got home and felt pretty proud I had continued and done the run even in those conditions.

Three weeks done and I am starting to think about additional ways of increasing my fitness so the running becomes easier.  The legs don't want to give out on the runs but the breathing could be a whole lot better.  For me that means incorporating some walking into the off days, along with some toning exercises and a strengthening of my non-existent core.  When I started Caryn advised me that running requires a strong core as it makes it easier and more comfortable.  I know as a result of back surgery last year I don't have a particularly strong core.  If I had bothered to use my core muscles over the last thirty years I probably wouldn't have had any lower back issues ;o)  I have made progress in this area, I now know where it is and can turn it off and on ... and that's pretty much where my core excitement stops!  My goal over the next couple of days is to find a beginners guide to developing core strength and incorporate that in as a daily habit.  

Tomorrow I'll let you know what the toning and core activities are going to entail and we may also have a change in the diet coming up .... xx

Still Running, The Posting Just Went Wayward

Beautiful Spring day for running

Ok, I have now changed countries and while I have made sure the running hasn't stopped, the posting did for the last several days as I am shattered.  I have been away from home in Otane for seven weeks and during that time I don't think I stopped ... too much fun and way to many things to do and enjoy.  I even came home to a small party to thank our builder, plasterer, kitchen maestro, and the lovely Vanessa from Mitre 10. Today I sat down and stopped and in doing so I became really really tired!

Before I sat down and stopped I took the peeps up to Hawkes Bay Sports Park for a run.  What a beautiful place, nobody was there when we arrived and it made me think back to the atmosphere at the cca in Bukit Timah and miss it greatly.  However, the scenery was beautiful, the track was premo, and the sky was brilliant blue.  Halfway through our session we were joined by a cross fit group and some runners who looked like they needed a break from their day jobs!!

I have now completed W3D2 and its fair to say the running is becoming more prevalent in each session and I have also realised I don't work well with two days rest so I am going to run every second day.  It will make my weeks six day weeks but two days rest isn't currently working in my favour as the legs seem to cease up.  If it works out to be too much this way, I may look at going back to a seven day week and adding in a walk to the week instead but I'll try the six day week first.

My next post will be a little more enthusiast but for now that's about all I can muster!  Singapore I MISS you, New Zealand it is NICE to be home :0)
 



This is why I need more muscles, too much shopping!

 

Day 11: Running ... in the morning again!

Yes indeedy folks, I went to bed so early last night I woke up really early and didn't know what to do with myself.  In the end I decided there was only one thing to do and that was to get the peeps out of bed and go for todays run ... fair to say I had to bribe the kids, lucky Tiong Bahru Bakery for breakfast is a family favourite!

Given the peeps were running their own 5K apps (see this post if you want to check out the apps they are using) with me today I decided doing a circuit around the local park was the best idea.  We all run at different speeds and crossing multiple roads probably wasn't the best idea if I wanted to be able to run without worrying about their safety.  The local park is a block on its own so its long enough not to be boring while we are still running short distances. 

Ready for her run!

I was so busy listening to music today that Ned told me I was halfway before I even realised how far I had gone.  It made me realise how much music and running go hand-in-hand for me and I am so pleased I am over my mental block about using headphones while running!  I am sure most people have their favourite songs that make you feel happy, alive, or have great memories attached to them that make you wanna get up and get jiggy ... I know I do and lots of them are on my running playlist!  For me music plays a crucial role in making me feel good while I'm out exercising and I think its the distraction of upbeat music that makes the cycles go so fast.

Until I reach a level of fitness where running becomes enjoyable on its own merit, music is going to be my savior from being tormented by Ned when I really can't be bothered "... picking up the pace to a run ..."  So I thought I would embarrass myself a little further and give you some of my favourite running tracks ;o) 

Bob Sinclair - Love Generation
Creed - Higher, With Arms Wide Open, One Last Breath
Kelly Clarkson - People Like Us
Bon Jovi - Its My Life, Because We Can, Livin on a Prayer
John Parr - St Elmo's Fire
P!ink - Just Give Me a Reason, Try
Black Eyed Peas - Where is the Love, I Gotta Feeling
Rhianna - Where Have you Been, Diamonds
Mumford and Sons - I Will Wait
F.U.N - We Are Young
Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire
Jennifer Lopez (feat Pitbull) - Dance Again

Yeah ... that's probably enough embarrassment for one day ... :o)  See you all tomorrow for another run!




 

 

Day 9 and 10: I think Ned will be HAPPY

This is my niece Isla and I, we both enjoy the relaxing rides at theme parks!

Well for the last two days no running has been on the agenda but I think Ned will still be happy with me.  I spend the ninth day walking around Universal Studios, drinking plenty of water, and only eating gluten free, dairy free food.  Not bad for a day off and I am sure I walked off most of the calories I consumed and then sweated out the rest thanks to the soaring humidity and nervous energy from the mildly nauseating rides I went on late in the day thanks to the egging on of two eight year olds and my sister!


It was a great day, and extremely hot!

Today I spent much of my day relaxing knowing Ned and I have a date tomorrow and it involves a significant amount of running.  Not sure I will have earned any brownie points from Ned from my activities today but I did say no to the waiter when he asked about ice creams, but yes to the lime juice that was way too tempting in 32 degrees ... and it was TOTALLY worth it :o)

To be fair it was the perfect spot to relax ;o)

See you all tomorrow, when Ned and I will determine whether a day relaxing by the pool is really a good idea prior to a run day or whether today was just a day of pure luxury and laziness!

 

 

Day 8: The Start of Week Two

My 5K running app started its second week today and, as such, so did I.  Best not to get on the wrong side of Ned just yet!  The running intervals got LONGER ... yikes.  I did head off early by my standards but probably not for anyone else, it was just after 9am when my shoes felt the pavements of Tiong Bahru.  It was fairly hot by then (~30 degrees) and there was plenty of traffic on the roads as I hit the concrete jungle today.

Hello Great World City ... no shopping today sadly, just
passing by!

 My late start made for some interesting (precarious) road crossings as I tried to negotiate my way towards Great World City without stopping at the many, many traffic lights.  I am pretty certain this is the downside of not having any clue where you are going and no road plan handy.  It also made my run times longer as I had to run almost every road I crossed (these are not narrow roads people, far from it ... imagine 4 lanes each lane side) and they occurred mostly through my walking cycles as no luck would have it!  I did manage to run every cycle and probably had only one more run in me when I was asked to warm down by Ned ... perfect timing as I think the next cycle would have had a lot of clock watching in it otherwise ;o)

Best part of my running session today was rounding the corner for home having cooled down and seeing these two handsome chaps about to cross the road ... low and behold, they had my coffee, hot drinks for everyone else AND morning tea for the tribe from Tiong Bahru Bakery!  Outstanding timing boys, I owe you one.

Such a good sight to see!

So good so far but I am sure there will be hard weeks ahead where I have to revisit the week before moving on ... but as far as I'm concerned any progress is good progress and I am currently lapping those still on the couch!

first day I have had sounds in both ears ...
momentous occasion for me, first time in
eight years I have run with music ... yay, me!