Wiaw #5 + kickboxing + survey!

Breakfast: Chocolate Protein Powder, frozen raspberries, strawberries, soy milk and oats. Chocoberry.. mmm.

Three of these - coffee

apple!

Two lots of the above for lunch... which I still feel full from at 5.45pm :( Must have put too much almond butter on... or bread overload... but that bread is amazing... four seeds - poppyseed, sesame seed, linseed and I dunno what the fourth is, but it's yummy.

I also had one of these pumpkin muffins.

Today I spent most of the day trying to study but failing miserably because the whole house smells like paint, and every time I tried to escape the painter he'd come in and paint a door or windowsill in that room, and my head hurt!! So I went out like three times... shopping, the gym, and then back to my old kickboxing gym - who had a "50% off for old members" deal!! SOOO... I signed up! Kickboxing was my first passion... I've had to leave several times.. 1st time moved house... second time.. I was in the depths of the ED and I just couldn't do it. It's a pretty high intensity sport and I was failing abysmally at keeping up, and it looked like I wasn't putting any effort in.. but honestly I just had no energy! Plus with all the fibre I was eating from copious amounts of vegetables - had a baaaaad gas situation and it was embarrassing.

Here is a picture of me in the last tournament I participated in before leaving. I really struggled with this one, I felt so weak, and all I could think about the whole time was how much calories I was burning. I no longer enjoyed the sport in the same way and was thinking about the calories. It totally killed it!

So I'm pretty excited to be going back :) I don't know how I'm going to manage with two passions - running & kickboxing, but I'm sure it will work out! haha. Plus who can pass up 50% off?!?!

What I worked: 30 mins elliptical, 10 min treadmill (just a walk, I'm sore from yesterday!) so I probably won't kickbox tonight 'coz of that... as much as I want to... or will I... arrgh.

And... here's a survey just to fill out the entry with some goodness.

1: What’s your favorite type of running shoe?

I stuck with Asics for a while, but have since moved to Nike Lunarglide +2 (bought them just before +3 came out, bummer!!) and they are fantastic, so I may be a convert...

2: Do you run to music? If yes, what’s you’re favorite song to run to?

It depends on the situation... most of the time I have my iPod app Runkeeper logging the run as I go, so I put music on with it... I'm pretty happy running without though. Favourite songs?? Prodigy - Breathe, Voodoo People, Out of Space, Pendulum - Watercolour, Witchcraft, The Island, Propane Nightmares and Plasticworld. Ok - let's just say most Prodigy or Pendulum. They're so upbeat and really get me going when I struggle!! 

3: Do you run in a gym or outdoors?

Waaaay prefer outdoors, I even love running in the rain - but I like doing intervals on the treadmill because outdoors I always go way too hard and am sore for days! Easier to regulate myself on the tready...

4: Do you bring a sports drink or water out with you when you run?

No, but I never really go for too much longer than an hour... if I did I would consider it. I drink a lot of water during the day so it's not usually an issue.

5: How many miles can you run without breaking?

Probably not a lot. I did a 14k at the start of the year without break, although at some points my running was almost walking speed ;)

6: Do you prefer long, mid or short distance running?

The longest I've done is 14k and really enjoyed it, but I do really enjoy a quick, short run around the block if I'm short for time... I still have yet to decide this!

7: How long have you been running?

Pretty much May 2010 was when I got "serious". Where has it been all my life????!

8: What do you think about when you run?

I don't really know... if I'm trying to improve my pacing I say "1,2,1,2,1,2" in my head... but mostly just random stuff, I guess... what I'm going to do later, how I'm feeling, blah blah...

9: Do you run when you’re emotional?

Absolutely, it's a great pick me up!

10: Have you noticed any changes in your life since you started running?

Everything... I'm happier, healthier, more confident, I now think about food as "how can it fuel my running" and every other exercise I do "how can this help my running"... even when I take the stairs instead of the escalator (which I've always done anyway) I think about how it's helping my running! :)

11: Do you stretch?

I'm trying to get better at this.... but sometimes I forget!

12: Do you plan your day around your run or your run around your day?

At the moment I have to plan my run around my day... my schedule changes a lot due to uni, work and that kind of thing so I usually make a plan at the start of the week and then change it throughout or even daily... I wish I could find a way to be more consistent!!

13: Do you run with someone else?

Pretty much always alone... I can't keep up with most people! Although I'm thinking of giving it a go in the future...

14: What motivates you to run?

Fitness, fun, the feeling afterwards, being outdoors, being healthy, losing weight, to beat previous times, getting my vitamin D, getting away from the house, stress relief, mood improvement... you name it, it's a reason :)

15: Are you surprised with how well you run?

Haha. I wish! I'm more often disappointed with how I go...

16: Do you run marathons/races/both?

I've been doing City 2 Surf for three years now, which is a 12 k race, but I mostly have done it in the past to "participate" and be part of it because it was fun being out there with so many people... hopefully soon I'll actually race it properly. Just gotta work on the speed... also planning half marathon next year, and maybe some 5ks!

17: What’s your best mile time?

I've only ever run 1 mile exactly once (since we mostly use km's in Australia) and my time was 9.15... that was at the start of boot camp! So pretty slow ;)

18: Do you run to keep fit or keep fit to run?

Both... I love keeping fit but at the same time all the other exercise I do is to benefit my running.

19: Do you prefer to run in heat or in cold?

The cold, but in fairness, it never really gets that cold where I live. Even on the coldest mornings, you could still get away with shorts and a t-shirt and be warm enough once you get going.

20: Is it hard for you to get out of the house to run?

No, I find it way easier to just grab some shoes and leave than to drive off to the gym (where there's never any parking) and do other workouts!!!

21: Do you ever regret not running?

I wish I'd started many years earlier...

22: Do you keep a record of your running times?

Yep, I use Runkeeper to log my runs, and also keep a note in my 'little black book'. Just ordered a Runner's World one off Amazon though... although it's taking forever to get here...

23: Do you have a running idol?

Sweet Tooth Runner & XCFoodie make me jealous with their speed, and I love their passion for it!!!

24: Does anyone else in your family run?

My brother did couch to 5k and then stopped running (not sure why? think he prefers cycling...), otherwise nobody else!!

25: Are you currently trying to become a better runner?

Always!

26: Do you run when you have nothing else to do?

I never have nothing else to do! But occasionally I go on an impromptu run...

27: How often do you run?

3 days a week at the moment, slowly increasing.

28: What is your biggest running-related dream?

I'm just looking short-term at the moment since I'm still really a beginner... I haven't been consistent enough for long enough. So my first goal is to do a 5km run in 25 minutes or less. Then we'll see how I go... half-marathon is in there too though.

29: Will you run for the rest of your life or just until you become what you want?

Hopefully the rest of my life!

30: What are your favorite exercises to team with running?

Swimming!

Finally getting motivated!

So I kinda made the banana bread pancakes again mentioned in the previous post... they were so good, what can I say? This time I put almond spread on each pancake before making it into a pile. They were way better this time because they didn't stick to the pan and get all messy :) So I had to get another photo... 

Today was great. I finally got some of my exercise motivation mojo back, and headed off to the gym for a BodyPump sesh. I even upped the ante, putting my weights up on the hamstring, squats & back track, which I don't usually... so I'm expecting some DOMS tomorrow! Then I went for a fairly slow 20 min jog on the treadmill... it was boring, but today it poured with heavy, windy rain all day so... yeah.

Here's a pic of my shoulder. It seems disturbingly muscly considering how little weights I do and how much fat is actually on it haha. This isn't even flexing... what's going on there?! Oh well, can't complain... now if only my calves could have that much definition...

Well, not too much else to say! I just thought I'd post a pic of those delicious pancakes again... I might try apple & cinnamon ones next...

Beat the 30 minute mark! YAY!

So today began not so great, but I turned it around!

I slept in... and missed my race. Everyone's nightmare, right?

So I made some pancakes to make myself feel better from this recipe: Banana Bread Protein Pancakes by Peanut Butter Fingers.

The only difference? I forgot to oil the pan so mine stuck to the bottom... but then I got to slough off all the delicious crispy bits and add to the top ;) I also served mine with cocoa powder instead of maple syrup, because cocoa powder is amazing... and so were the pancakes. I was sooo full afterwards!

But... I was still determined to do my 5k. Even though I had missed the event, I decided I'd go and run a 5k around my house at "race pace". I totally gave it my all and now I'm knackered! But... I beat 30 mins :) I did it in 28.52! Was so stoked, my usual 5k time is something like 32 minutes. Probably wasn't the best doing it only an hour after the pancake consumption though, I could feel the pancakes moving around in my stomach! Oh well!

After that, I got stuck into some uni work and managed to knock out an assignment due on Friday, so I'm feeling pretty good now, definitely turned what could have been a bad day into a good one.

I also ate half the kitchen during my study, and it was delicious...

Losing weight again

So I've been thinking again... I want to lose this weight I've gained. It's only about 5-8 kg to get back down to what I was not so long ago, but it's driving me batty. 

[DISCLAIMER: I am actually bordering on overweight, so although I've had an ED, I'm trying to lose healthy now...]

So I've rethought a few things, and instead of trying to eat intuitively and making myself eat fear foods - I think I'm getting better at that - it's back to trying to lose the weight, since I now have a healthier relationship with food. I've been thinking about different ways of doing this and I've come up with (believe it or not) less exercise to start with - slowly increasing it as I go.

My favourite lunch at uni... usually includes a range of this selection: falafel balls, egg,
tuna, carrot, sprouts, olives, chick peas, mixed nuts, dried fruit, baby spinach,
beetroot, couscous salad, pasta salad etc.

I think I've gone about exercise the wrong way a lot of the time, going all out and overdoing it, burning myself out, injuring myself, that kind of thing. So this week all I have done is gone on two short runs and two short walks, tomorrow I'm doing a 5km run. So three runs, two walks. Feels pretty lazy at the moment but I'm going to slowly work it up. As for the food side of it, I'm not "restricting" as such, but changing the macros - instead of what I've currently been having (roughly 35% fat, 45% carbs and 20% protein), I'll be trying to switch it to 20% fat, 50% carbs and 30% protein. Hoping the extra protein will keep me fuller so I'll eat less - only reducing by 100-200 calories a day. So far today was difficult (mainly keeping the fat down - I love my fats!) but I managed it, with the help of my friend protein powder. Speaking of... 

Found this today, YAY SOY, means I can actually have some without belly issues :D Plus it's chocolate flavour, I was a bit over that vanilla flavour I had.

My delicious breakfast, which was a melted banana mixed in with oats, coconut vanilla butter, raisins, chia seeds and cinnamon.

Lunch - Two pieces sprouted grain bread spread with a small amount of basil pesto, 1 egg, some baby spinach and mushrooms lightly fried with cajun seasoning.

* Just so you know, that isn't all I ate today - just didn't take pics of anything else ;)

I also found these at the supermarket yesterday, and they are SO DELICIOUS. Poppyseed and orange is always a good combination - and the bar is just fruit with poppyseeds :) Yay!

This was also a new product I found, banana and honey soy milk in tetra packs :D Should come in handy...

Oh and I bought this singlet from Cotton On Body, ha, I thought it was such a great play on words... don't get me wrong, I do love the treadmill occasionally, but you aren't actually going anywhere when you're on one ;) I thought it would be fun to wear when I actually go on the treadmill... OK, call me lame :P

Tomorrow I'm doing by first 5 km race... I know, weird, because I've done 3 12kms, 1 10km and two 14 km, but I've never done a 5k! I really want to actually get to the 30 minute mark, that shall be my goal, but of course any quicker would be nice... not expecting to break any records but my own! Looking forward to it!

WIAW #4 & some bushwalking pics

Thanks Peas & Crayons for hosting the party again :D

I had one of those insatiable appetites today, and apart from that pictured, I also had handfuls of nuts, dried blueberries, a bowl of yoghurt, a few pieces of Lindt 85% chocolate, three hot chocolates... oh dear haha. There's something about studying that just makes me eat and eat and eat! I haven't even worked out yet today.

One of the many snacks...

A delicious coffee...

One of two apples eaten today...

Finished the last of my 99% :(

Had another one of these oat bar things today...

Breakfast: oats with soy milk, raw cacao nibs, dried blueberries, cocoa powder, raisins, black chia seeds. Slight variation on my usual :)

Lunch was this pizza, which so did not photograph well! Wholegrain pita bread with basil pesto, mushrooms, baby spinach and parmesan cheese. Didn't have much other vegies so it was just mushrooms and spinach! Oh well, it tasted good!

A picture of the bushwalk down south. So stunning.

A sunset by the atlantic ocean...

My blisters are making it difficult to work out. Wearing shoes hurts, so that rules out the gym and running... I did manage to run anyway yesterday, although it wasn't fun!!! I think I'll have to go off an do a bit of a "home" strength workout in my room later on, all this food and sitting around studying all day is making me feel yuck!

Blisters and Natural beauty?

I'm baaaack...
I had a fantastic time bushwalking through the south west of Australia, it is such an amazingly beautiful part of the world and such untouched beauty!
The four of us got along really well and we had a great time.
In the end, we managed this:
Day 1: 31.2 km (~ 7 hrs)
Day 2: 26.1 km (~ 7 hrs)
Day 3: 22.7 km (9 + hrs)
Day 4: 10 km  (5-6 hrs)
Total: 90 km.
The reasons for the progressively slower timings?? Bad planning... Me and the other girl on the trip had horrendous blisters by the end of day 1, which just slowly got worse. One of the other guys stuffed up his knees. So the three of us pretty much limped about 60 km of that entire walk. It is the furtherest I have ever pushed my body beyond pain. We were seriously walking less than 2 km an hour by the last day, and it was really, really slow going. I am really pleased with the fact that even with painful blisters and really tight calves, we still pushed our bodies, still kept going and it was really amazing how much your body will put up with!
I also saw my first snake in the wild and didn't totally lose it, although I did scream one night on a trip to the long-drop toilet when I heard a noise as I opened the door.
The terrain was constantly changing - beginning with tall trees and fallen leaves underfoot, changing to beach flora and fauna and constant undulating terrain - enough to drive you batty. Seriously, the day of 22.7 km (day 3) was so painful. There was about 3+ hours of non-stop up-down-up-down-up-down the sand dunes, and one GIGANTIC mountain of a sand dune which was like, 1 km long and took us about an hour!! It is seriously hard work climbing those dunes!
I was planning to upload some pictures but I'm short for time. So this will do for now.
Oh, and despite over 30 hours of exercise in one week, I lost only 1 kilogram. I'd like to hope that means that I ate well enough to support all the exercise, but I know that I actually didn't eat enough... so what is going on there, I don't know, but I feel better about myself anyway and lots of cardiovascular fitness likely gained from the endless hills!

Ahh, and for this week?
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Yoga & 3 km easy run (not sure how this will go due to one blister on my big toe being infected and extremely large...?)
Wednesday: BodyPump
Thursday: Hill run 3km
Friday: cross/trainer & BodyPump
Saturday: swimming 30 mins
Sunday: 5km race

Turtle slowly catching up to the hare!

This week I didn't keep a very good log of what I did, as I got a bit lazy with everything except running!
But in saying that...
Monday: rest
Tuesday: 3km run, 3km walk
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: rest
Friday: rest
Saturday 3km run, 3km walk
Sunday 3km run, 3km walk

So 3 runs and 3 walks, I don't mind being lazy this week since next week I'll be doing 110 km of walking with a big pack on my back :)

Yesterday's and today's runs were awesome. I felt way faster than usual and it showed in my timings. I tried a few things on each run, such as counting in my head "1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2" which actually worked, trying to keep a better posture, and also splitting my "outing" up with a 10 min walk, then the 3km run, then the 10 km walk, so "warmup" and "cooldown". I think the combination of these things all helped, and I feel sooo good! Yay!!!!

I'm all packed and ready to go for tomorrow morning, it's a 5 hour drive and then we're chilling out in a hostel for the night before starting up the first day with a fairly easy 17 or 19 km walk (forget which?)

The weather looks like it might rain... every day... but at least that means it will be warmer at night. I've got the beanies and thermals packed anyway, especially as my sleeping bag SUCKS and I could not afford a new one.

Oh, and fitness plan for this week?

Monday: rest OR yoga
Tuesday: 17.5km bushwalk
Wednesday: 39.8 km bushwalk
Thursday: 22.7 km bushwalk
Friday: 19.9 km bushwalk
Saturday: 21.1 km bushwalk
Sunday: rest OR yoga

Hoping to come back feeling nice and fit!!

Ahh and slight confession... I also ate this today:

It was one of my favourites from back in the day, but had since been banned due to its sugar / fat content. Well, let's just say today I thoroughly enjoyed it and did not punish myself for it, or go on an all out binge after eating it :) So proud! (And soooo tasty...)

September Goals

September Goals

Hey so I'm only 10 days late... so we'll call this challenge a 3 week one - no, two, because next week I'm away all week bushwalking.

1. In my never-ending journey to eat like a normal person, I shall eat something which offers little to no nutritional value once a week (Thursday at uni, most likely), just because it looks nice and tastes good - so that's two times this month. Preferably something I used to enjoy pre-ED.

2. I will complete 2 strength workouts a week - (minus the week away)

3. I will actually follow the 100 pushup plan!

4. I will clean my car... been putting this one off too long :)

That should be enough. Anymore and it will just add to my never-ending uni stress. Today I spent roughly seven hours... yep... smashing out some work. On the plus side, I got heaps done. 

Also managed a really enjoyable 3km run this morning, it was such a beautiful day! Thinking of another one tomorrow... then Monday heading off!

Some things I ate today:

One of these oat - almond meal - banana bars, microwaved for 30 seconds till it goes mushy...

And a pumpkin - almond - brazil nut - cashew muffin... 

Yes... I eat way too many nut products in my day, but theyaresodelicious!

WIGTOW? (What I'm going to eat Wednesday)

Woo, time for some more What I Ate Wednesday shenanigans thanks to Peas & Crayons.So I didn't have much that was of interest today, apart from a bit too much of this (recycled pictures...)

Three coffees.... and one tea.

Peanut butter and apricot jam open sandwiches

And I had OIAJ again...

So... today's entry will be What I'm going to eat next Wednesday :) Next Wednesday I will be doing a hike of about 40 km (this will be the longest day of a five day hike), so I've planned quite a few yummy things to eat, although I suspect I may be too exhausted to eat at the end of it :P

Here's some of the things I've thought of so far:

A few nut bars

A big pack of dried fruit - includes prunes, apricots, apples, pears and peaches. I think I might pick up some cranberries and goji berries too, and some seeds and nuts and mix it all in together. Maybe some dark choc chips too??

A couple of RAW energy bars - I have a few of these stashed away, the top one I think has spirulina and stuff in it, so that's one way to get your greens without a fridge!!

A pack of couscous, mum bought this for me... I was planning on going all raw and natural foods so that I feel good (+ added bonus of not having to carry a stove or matches) but this might be nice one night when we're at a proper camp...

Rice cakes!! Planning on covering them with PB...

This awesome looking raw muesli I found in the health food store the other day. It has sprouted grains and stuff and is made locally. Yum.

The all important ingredient... one with a plastic container. And of course I've already started eating some to "lighten" the container for next week ;)

I may or may not take these... they tend to be on the heavier side, so if I do take some I will eat on the first few days. 

I'm also thinking the first morning when I'm at home I'll have for breakfast: avocado on toast with vegemite, and a berry/spinach smoothie... to try and get some good nutrients in me before we begin :D

So if you're reading this... do you have any other suggestions for deliciously healthy food that can be taken on the trail, and doesn't weigh much?

On another note... I'm struggling a lot with my motivation lately. I was going to join a local running group today, but then I psyched myself out by the fact that "everyone will be way better / faster than me and look at me like, 'what is she doing here?' and didn't go. I then didn't have any motivation for anything else either. 

I think I'm just really overworked from uni that I just want to sit and do absolutely nothing once I'm done. I spend so many hours studying that when I actually get a chance to do something else, it's like, I don't want to. The lack of parking at the gym lately is making it difficult too. As Nike says though, I should JUST DO IT. I guess today I might just give up on it and have a rest day, relax, watch some TV and then begin again tomorrow.

Sticking with the plan.

I made up a fitness plan for myself after the City2Surf finished, but I'm finding it hard to follow. Every time I've put down to do weights, I end up going for a run instead. It's just so much easier to put on some sneakers and get out there, than to drive to the gym and need to remember water bottle, towel, keys, wallet etc... but I really need to do some strength work!
I've never liked strength work. I just find it boring. I like to be huffing and puffing and "feeling it". I did like BodyPump for a while but it's so same-same. Anyway. Today I actually drove to the gym all ready to do BodyPump, and then I couldn't find a car park. I drove around and around, but nothing. This is a growing problem with my local gym and it's really frustrating me. So I drove down to the local park which is about 500 metres away from the gym, and went for a run again.
This time though, it was a nice change. I usually just run around home and the route gets a bit boring, but it was really pretty around the park, and all flat for a change... since my home is around a hilly area. Plus it was a beautiful day.

Canola flowers starting to bloom... I totally took this mid-run.

Close up of canolas and some other blue flower...

The lake, and there's some white birds in the pic too but iPhones don't have a zoom, that I'm aware of!!

So after that I didn't feel so bad about having to change the plan again. I'd like to think I'll be able to wake up at 5.30 am tomorrow for BodyPump (since I can actually get parking at that time), but the reality is, I have work tonight and it may finish as late as 2 or 3am (I have to run the bar).
In other news... my brother got me the best 3-months-late birthday present EVER.... 100% chocolate!!! And I thought the 99% was good. I haven't trialed it yet, but he got it in a little bag with all sorts of really good quality chocolate, and I tried the 72% mexican one, and it was divine.

 Ingredients: 100% cocoa mass from Dominican Republic. oOOh yeah.

Yum, even wrapped in gold wrapping...

So... what's the best way to stick with your plan?? Start early in the morning I suppose, when people aren't at work yet and hogging all the car parking spots!! As for motivation, that's another story :)

I do try to stick with Jillian Michael's thing of "Just go for 10 minutes, and if you don't feel like it, come back...", but you can't really leave in the middle of a BodyPump class ;P

Trying some new foods...

So today I was a little more adventurous with my food intake, taking note of a few blogging favourites out there and giving them a go!!! I love blogging because of that, I've discovered so many new things to eat and ways to make things :)

Breakfast was pumpkin oats, with a spoonful of ABC spread on top. I wasn't hugely fond... it was nice, and healthy, but it really wasn't something I would rave about and eat over and over... especially with the fact I had to actually cut up, cook and blend a pumpkin to make it! (Although this was made with leftovers from yesterday's muffin mix)

For a snack I tried this one, which I think I found from .running with spoons.'s blog - crumbling up a muffin and mixing with yoghurt. This is one of my pumpkin muffins from yesterday's post, with a bit of strawberry jam, some greek yoghurt and cinnamon. Pretty good combination, will definitely have it again! Especially if I have dry or overcooked muffins, as the yoghurt makes it nice and mooshy.

Then I tried this kombucha stuff. This was "original recipe". I have to admit... I'm not a fan. The first mouthful tasted like vinegar, the second sort of reminded me of beer, or cider that was kind of off. I'm not overly convinced of the health benefits either as there is conflicting information out there about it. I gave it a good go though, drinking about half of the bottle. I tried diluting it with water, but I was not won over!! Yeeuck! Maybe it's better if it's flavoured or something? I dunno, but it was gross.

Workout today: went for a short 3.7km run, took it slow as for some reason my knees are now playing up. Sigh. I tried to get the motivation to go to a BodyPump class but it just wasn't happening, my body seriously wanted to just get out there for a run, so I listened to it.