Fitness... & Alcohol

I'm debating taking a blogging break, even though I only started a couple of months ago. I'm just in a funk a lot and negativity is no fun. But before that, I'm going to blog a bit of a fitness survey and then rant about alcohol. 

Five Fitness Things I can’t Live Without:

• My Nike Lunarglide +2, they are the comfiest running shoes I've ever had, they have great support and fit my feet so well, plus they are pretty haha.
• My iPhone - so I can use Runkeeper and log my runs and see where I'm struggling, where I'm doing well, etc... gives pacing, km's, calories, speed, etc.
• Decent running shorts. I've got two pairs of Nike tempo and a couple of Running Bare shorts that are fantastic. Definitely a good pair is underestimated, as if you're not wearing them... shorts ride up, get sweaty, all that kind of thing... a worthy investment methinks.
• I'm actually struggling to think of five. OK, hair ties. I can't stand my hair flying all over the place.
• Good sports bra for support, even though I don't need much ;P

Most Embarrassing Song I Listen to While Working Out:

• Hm, Pitbull - Shut it Down... lol... it played a lot in BodyPump for a while I think and I started to like it. Same with "Ravers in the UK". 

Favorite Pre-Workout Snack or Meal:

• It changes, I don't have a go-to... sometimes I'll have a banana, sometimes jam on bread, it depends on what I'm doing. Most of the time I'll go before breakfast though or a couple of hours after breakfast, so it's not an issue.

On My Fitness Bucket List:

• Run a half-marathon
• Run a full marathon
• Join a running club (There's a huge lack where I live, though, so will be a 30 min + drive...)
• Do well in the kickboxing tournament
• Try all the classes at the gym I haven't tried yet
• (There is LOADS more on my fitness bucket list...)

Must-Have Tech Tools:

• See above, the iPhone! or if I didn't have that, I'd probably get a Garmin.

Top Exercise Gear:

• This is pretty much the same as my gear I can't live without...

Motivational Mantras:

• I don't have any - maybe I should get some!!

Next Big Exercise Goal:

• At the moment just increasing my mileage up to the point where I can run 30+ km a week, but doing it as slowly as possible without making myself crazy ;)

Favorite Cardio Exercise:

• running, kickboxing... they kinda tie.

Favorite Strength Move:

• pushups, funnily enough.

ALCOHOL

I so had all these ideas to say about alcohol this morning while sitting on the train, and should have blogged then. OK, so basically I used to drink when I was 20-21 ish. Not a lot, but whenever I would go to parties it would ease my anxiety, and I was able to interact with people in a way I definitely couldn't before. Instead of being the shy girl that never talked, I turned into a crazy, fun, hyperactive person who would talk to ANYBODY and everyone thought I was funny and entertaining. That could have been something which turned into an addiction for me as I have an addictive personality, but it ended up just being left like that... something I did at the occasional party.

As my social anxiety started to get better and I started to talk to people on my own without alcohol, I started to dislike alcohol more and more, and wonder why people even drink, especially if they don't have social anxiety issues? I tried to quit, but gave into peer pressure most of the time, and ended up acting stupid a lot and regretting it.

Then the eating disorder came, and all of a sudden I had so many great excuses not to drink, not to go to parties, not to see my friends... so I stopped.

Anyway fast forward to now... I drink probably 1 or 2 times a year, feel intense guilt each time and tend to restrict the next day. I also get disgustingly, intensely ill from even the smallest amount of alcohol. You could say that's just what happens when you get older, but I mean it's ridiculous. So I went to see my friends on Saturday night, and it was like impossible not to drink. It's so ingrained in Australian culture, and all the things I do - skydivers are pretty much alcoholics, and they've known me to be a drinker in the past. So how could I not accept their "gifts" of beers, which they paid for, as a "welcome back" sort of gift? Wow I'm good at getting off drift... I'll come back to that though.

Anyway so Saturday night I had a grand total of three beers. I had a meal of roast beef with potatoes, peas, beans and pumpkin. I drank water before my first beer, after my first beer, and after my second beer. I then took a 600mL bottle to bed with me and sculled it. I did ALL THE RIGHT THINGS. I was not drunk, was barely even tipsy.

Sunday night I wake up with a horrendous headache, throbbing like a heartbeat. I feel sick to the stomach as if I've been up all night downing vodka or something deadly, and I spend the entire day lying on the couch with an icepack on my head groaning. It was ridiculous! All that from three beers. So henceforth I am completely and utterly off the booze. If it can make your body react like that from only three drinks, how can one drink supposedly be good for you?

So back to the culture thing. I hate that Australian culture is so, so, so RUN around the culture of drinking. Every weekend... have a barbecue - with drinks. Go to the beach - with drinks. Have a party - with drinks. Catch up with mates - over a drink. Go to a mate's house for the night - have drinks. Watch the footy - have drinks. Australia Day - let's get drunk. Christmas - drinks at the beach. You get the idea. Every event quickly turns into an excuse to drink. It's not healthy and something needs to be done about it.

Skydiving is similar - you do something for the first time, you owe a "carton" of beer to your friends. It's good in a way, in that it encourages you to get to know people and celebrates something new, all that kind of thing. But why with booze? Why does everything centre around booze?

This is one of the reasons why I am studying Health Promotion. There needs to be more done to reduce the prevalence of it, or perhaps encourage more activity without alcohol - like ads on TV or something, "Go for a jog with a friend" instead of "catch up for drinks" on the weekend. That kind of thing...

WOW, seriously gone on a rant now... and there's more I could say too... in fact I could probably go on for ages ;P

In other news - today I had my first exam and am confident of passing. One down, two to go...

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!