The ultimate motivation, running catch ups and fuelling like a BOSS...

A few of you may have already seen this clip already but if you haven't, you NEED to check it out. Here is the ultimate motivational clip:

The last couple of weeks have been great for training. My speed sessions are getting better and better, I am feeling a lot fitter and am running my repeats at a faster speed, which I LOVE!

I have been quite slack with my cross training lately but have been running 4 times a week. It is hard to fit all the things in that I would like to with having a baby but I am really happy with everything that I am managing all the same. I have even been doing my core and some leg workouts in the evenings in front of the TV.

With it being Spring now I have also loved getting out on the road every chance I get to run in this beautiful weather. I have been taking Fletch for a few more buggy runs again now that it is warming up too. He loves it, I love it, we all win. I really love spring, it is such a beautiful season and it brings all the promises of summer ahead... YAY!

Last Saturday I did a 32km run and it was gorgeous but soooo HOT! I took it nice and slow but finished feeling good. I think it was because I fueled like a BOSS the night before that got me through it. My pizza and wine that I had the night before at my girls' dinner really did the trick... Perhaps i had better work on my nutrition if I want to be a better runner... Eek! (Please excuse my terrible phone photography):

This is a metre long pizza with three different toppings - my happy place!

Love running along the water front on a beautiful sunny day

 This is my next bit of fuel for tomorrow's long run... I know, I take this carb loading thing to a whole new level!

I'm going to need a REALLY big cup of tea to dunk this bad boy!

Although I am sure I will have a bite or two of this delicious morsel, I must add that I actually bought this for my hubs. The chunks in it are actually pineapple lumps which are his fave. And it was only $3... I still can't believe it. It would have been plain wrong to NOT have bought it.

Tomorrow I have a shorter long run planned of about 25ish kms (give or take - I am a bit more relaxed about this one as we will be away). The following week will be my last long run of about 34kms and then it is TAPER TIME!! Woah, the countdown really is on now! Less than a month to go!

P.S. If you are new to running (or not but still like a good read) then Amanda over at The Lady Okie Blog is doing a series called 'How to Start Running'. She has some awesome tips, advice and fun stories and I feature in her latest post, part two. Follow the link above and go check it out! YEOW!!

How do you fuel for your long runs?

Favourite cookie?

Mine would have to be a good old home made choc chunk and oat cookie

 

Favourite season to run?

Mine is def Spring as summer can just get a wee bit too hot

How to return to running after having a baby...

I am not even going to try and tell you that I know much about this just yet. Thus the reason for researching what to expect and some guidelines for getting back into it.

This will be my greatest motivation post baby - it's already happening!

Here is an excellent article from Runners World about how to return to running after pregnancy. It has great advice and takes you week by week through the guidelines for post partum exercise. It gives you guidelines for Pelvic Floor exercises, Cardio and Strength training right up to 8+ weeks post delivery.

*Please remember that these are just guidelines and will depend on each individual and their birth, as well as how active they were before and during pregnancy.

Following the birth of our wee bubba I will be trying to follow these guidelines and figuring out what works and what doesn't for my 'Great Return'. You will be able to follow my journey on here (the blog) and I hope that you will be encouraged, inspired and motivated by my journey. I also love to hear any advice from anyone who has been there, done that so feel free to drop me a comment if you have some tips or advice, or even just want to share your story of post-partum running.

Now here's some inspiration and motivation for us all - I will be coming back to all of this once I have begun the Great Return - I will need all the help and encouragement I can get, I am sure!!

Please remind me of this when I want to die or give up - it's so true!

Yip!

That's all for now folks, check out the article and watch this space for baby news... 8 days til due date... YEOW!! 

2013 Goal setting - have you done yours?

Workout today: Sanding (by hand) all the windows and skirting boards in our spare room, and painting them... In 27°C heat - which at 33 weeks pregnant feels more like 37°C... Fun!

So I didn't work out today but I really felt that that hard work was enough of a workout in itself. Plus I think I was still recovering from walking up Mount Parihaka yesterday which, for those who don't know, has about a gazillion steps (give or take), and it was hot.

So here it is... The post about...

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 I am not really one (anymore) to get to Jan 1st and think: 'I had better make some goals that will change my life', and then they only last the better part of a month... If that.

Not anymore...

Not that any of us have ever thought that, I just thought this was funny!

Instead, I like to look at all areas of my life and make practical and achievable goals relating to those areas. Actually, this is something that Tim and I do together, we make goals for each area of our lives together and have reviews throughout the year - sounds nerdy, I know, but it's such a great exercise to do as a couple.

The goals for this year that I am going to put on here are actually my own, individual goals, not mine and Tim's. But these are just as important, having your own goals, as well as 'couple goals'. I think a great thing with goals, too, is to set small, achievable ones that you can measure throughout the year, not just at the end. This is probably why a lot of people don't achieve theirs because the end of the year is always 'so far away'. So anyway, enough of that, here are my 2013 goals...

1. Continue to stay as active as possible up until the birth of our baby.

2. Be a good Mum

3. Be a good wife and help and encourage Tim to achieve his goals

4. Be more committed to things at Church - help out more, and if I say I will help then do a good job! Same goes for helping friends and family.

5. Get back into running and training, as soon as my body will let me, post baby

6. Run the Auckland Marathon - the first weekend of November - possibly in 4 hours if I can get my body up to scratch. This was my goal for the Auckland marathon 2012 but then I found out I was pregnant so goal was deferred.

7. Be a good money saver/non-spender!

8. Get back to my pre baby weight by the time of the marathon - 8 or so months (hopefully this will be easy with marathon training thrown in there.)

9. Run a half marathon as part of my marathon training and to help gauge my progress towards the marathon

10. Blog regularly and improve my blogging

11. Be generous with my time, giftings and life!

Each month I will break these goals down to make a part of them achievable. For example, with the marathon training goal I will set monthly mileage goals to keep me on track and to make it easy to measure. For the weight loss, I will set small goals each month based on weight, food and exercise - small changes that can be measured. And maybe there might even be the odd reward in there for months where I have been successful!

 Are you a goal setter? I definitely am, as you have already seen - I have to have goals otherwise I am just useless!

Have you set your goals for 2013? If so, how do you do it? 

What is the goal you think will be your most difficult for this year? Mine would definitely have to be the 4 hour marathon and getting my body in shape for it... And possibly being a good Mum - eek!

Food for thought...

Lately I have been super busy with school work as well as still trying to have a life, and get lots of bits and pieces done around our house before wee one joins us. My priority is my teaching job and doing the best job I possibly can before I go off to have this baby. I am absolutely loving my job and my students - I teach 9 and 10 year olds - and my school is totally the best!

The only problem is, this job is very tiring, not to mention growing a wee baby... Which means that there is less energy for workouts. I have still been pumping up the jam (doing pump class) 1-2 times a week at the gym but my running has turned to run/walks, and inconsistent. I don't mind this but I do need to do better with my consistency.

Ever find this a struggle? Starting an exercise regime/plan and struggling to stay consistent?

This evening I went for about a 6km walk. It was only ever going to be a walk as I really just did not feel like wearing my support belt today, and I just get a wee bit too much discomfort if I try and run without it. I loved the walk but really felt like running the second half especially. Was quite a nice change though to just walk.

If you are a newby to exercise or are really just trying to create some great habits and consistency in your workouts, this website here  has some excellent tips...

"Once you have decided on the type of exercise you want to engage in, creating consistency means being realistic about how much time you need to devote to your regular exercise regimen. Create a workout schedule that involves at least a few minutes a day for a warm up, 20 minutes for a cardio activity and additional time for strength training and a cool down. You might write down your schedule to solidify your commitment to your exercise plan."

Great advice to people starting out, or you can take some gems from that if you are a bit like me at the moment and struggling to fit everything in.

Tim is away tonight on a Managers retreat thingee so I came home and had a nice dinner of fish and veges... So good! After that, however, I decided that I was allowed to indulge in some fruit salad with ice cream and caramel sauce. YUM!

Treat city!!

Don't get me wrong, I am trying to eat really well during my pregnancy and I am not buying into everyone's comments that 'It's ok, you're eating for two so you can eat whatever you want'. This is somewhat true, I am eating for two, however the second person is only teeny weeny and only requires an extra 300 calories from my behalf, so the 'eat-what-you-want-because-you-are-pregnant' excuse doesn't really cut it. I am a bit more partial to indulging in treats a little more often than I used to though. I think I could actually live off ice cream!

Now that I have had that little burst of thought, here's a preggy pic update to keep you happy... Or unhappy if you're not into that stuff??

6 months preggers and check out the bump!

As I mentioned, Tim's away, thus the reason for the cheesy selfie! And thus the reason for eating treats on the couch whilst (supposed to be doing school work but am blogging) watching this victorious victory speech live from Barack Obama...

Got to say, although I am not American and can't vote so it doesn't really even matter, I am a bit of an Obama fan (sorry to all the Romney fans out there). So good on you Obama, and great victory speech. Yip, NZ might be small and totally a gazillion miles away from any other country but we do get some of the world news over here you know :)

American readers (and anyone else) - What do you think about Obama's success in this election? 

I don't really know too much about politics, but I do enjoy hearing people's opinions on the matter and sometimes even share my own... Would you believe I share my opinions?? 

That's about all for now but please, keep watching this space for my guest posts and my giveaway coming up, as promised!  

Running with a bun...

And by this I don't mean running while eating some bread, which I know some of you are dreaming of, but running with a bun in the oven!! Yup.

I know some of you out there might be thinking 'how risky' or 'is it worth it' or 'why do that to yourself and your baby???' I know those are all valid things to be thinking or asking and trust me, I have done my research. In my research I couldn't even find any negative effects of running during pregnancy even when that's all I tried to look for. As long as it is something you have done before you are pregnant... That is the only thing you need to remember. DO NOT DECIDE TO START RUNNING FOR THE FIRST TIME AFTER FINDING OUT YOU ARE PREGNANT! Otherwise, go for it!

Here's a tiny snippet of what I did manage to find out in my research...

The Complete Book of Running for Women, written by Claire kowalchik, has a really big section on running and pregnancy. It has awesome info.

My favourite quote from the book: "Not only is running during pregnancy safe for you and your baby, but it can also offer several health benefits..." Claire also goes on to talk about how "...many women are discovering that running during pregnancy is a positive and healthful experience for themselves and their babies. Experts now agree not only that running during pregnancy is safe for mom and baby but that it can actually enhance your well-being and and maybe even that of your child."

How awesome is that!?! Claire also talks all about the physical rewards, oxygen, aerobic advantages, well-being, running programmes, cross-training for pregnancy, stretches and exercises, and SOOOO much more! It is great, if you are wanting to know all about it I suggest you read this book, or one similar that has lots of info in it.

In short, if you are a runner, running during pregnancy is just fine or both of you, unless you have been told otherwise from a doctor.

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There are also some amazing women whose blogs I follow who have ran or been very physical throughout their pregnancies. If you are a pregnant runner then you should totally follow them. You can find them all here...

Janae at this wonderful blog here, is an amazing runner who ran the whole way through her pregnancy and now has a gorgeous 6 wk old baby girl. She is a huge inspiration!

Hanna, who you can check out at her blog here, is just a week behind me in her 3rd pregnancy and has an amazing and inspirational story to share about her running and weight loss journey.

Katy, who has this fab blog, has a whole bunch of awesome workouts that can be done at home or the gym, all through pregnancy. She also has a whole bunch of great workouts for non-preggers chicks too.

There are sooo many other great blogs where you can get great inspiration, advice and workouts for pregnancy but I definitely recommend you check out these ones. I follow them daily and they are some of my faves. Thanks wonderful girls! x

Week's 4 and 5 and why I love this training plan... PLUS... Some Monday motivation...

Hello hello!! I have been having a bit of a blog holiday (well actually just been sooooo busy that I haven't had time to blog) so here's the latest installment on the 16 week FIRST training plan...
Weeks 4 and 5.. YAAAY!! But just before I get into that I want to tell you a little about why I love this plan so much and think it's great...

Firstly, it only requires three running sessions a week and I love that because although I am a runner, sometimes I can be a bit of a lazy one. I know that doesn't really make sense, I do love running, promise, but sometimes I just struggle with the motivation. So, for someone like me who gets overwhelmed when I know I'm going to be having a busy week, knowing that I only have to do three run sessions is calming and it just sounds easier. You do also have to fit in two cross training sessions, but I find that quite fun.

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Secondly, I love this plan because it has variety. It does not just say you need to get out there and run everyday for and hour but it includes speed work - track runs, tempo runs, and a nice long slow run day. Also having the two cross training sessions are great too as they allow your body and mind to have a break form all the running.

The third reason I love this training plan is because it was made by people who do this sort of thing for a living, it has been tried and tested and has had some great results. I also found, even just from following it for 9 weeks for my last marathon, that I cut off half an hour from my previous time - I put that down to this plan! Awesome!

So here are your 4th and 5th weeks (sorry I am a bit slow with this week's - wk 4)...

Week Four:
Key run #1:
5 x 1000m sprints with 400m RI

Key run #2:
1.5 km easy (1 mi)
6.5km at mid-tempo (4 mi)
1.5 km easy (1 mi)

Key run #3:
32 km at MP + 37seconds
(20 mi at MP + 60)

Week Five:
Key Run #1:
3 x 1600m sprints with 400 m RI     

Key Run #2: 
3 km easy (2 mi)
5 km at short tempo (3 mi)
1.5 km easy (1 mi)
 
Key Run #3:  
29 km at MP + 28
(18 mi at MP + 45)

Happy training. Here's some Monday motivation to get you through this week's training...

I'm loving the Olympics at the moment and I can't stop thinking everytime i watch and event what determination and effort it must have taken to get that far. This is the epitome of motivation if you ask me!

Doh!

This is awesome!

Watch the marathoners in the Olympics - that is major motivation!

Wonderful Wednesday...

Needing some inspiration? As you all know I love me some good ol' running quotes and inspiration. So here's a few to cheer up your Wednesday... 

This actually says it all... Brilliant!

 

As you all know, I'm no Usain Bolt so I def love this and totally agree!

Happy hump day!

Hey self control... How you dooooin??

So yesterday I did this post about how I was going to be focussing on nutrition as well as training for my next marathon. After I wrote this post, I (not on purpose) went to test my self-control by making these goods of undeniable deliciousness, also known as manna from heaven...

Yes these are that good that you will think they were made by God (so I've heard..)!

Why oh why, when I have decided to start really focussing on eating good things, did I go and make these gems? Anyway, it is a good self-control tester to have these lying around, but I kid not when I say the first person to turn up at my house can have the whole lot of them! Otherwise they will get some much needed freezer time until a worthy guest comes to visit.

How's your self control and what are your weaknesses? 

I am a major sweet tooth!

If you have ongoing head to head battles with your self control like I do then here are some gems (better than the ones above - or maybe not) to help you along the way...

I pretty much look just like this chick... In my mind!

 How to you exercise self control when temptation is put in front of you?

But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and SELF CONTROL.

Galations 5: 22-23

  

 

 

Passionate Passion Party

One of my favourite quotes but I had temporarily forgotten it....

The last few weeks I have felt a bit nonchalant about the whole running business. Coming into winter I often find it's not the most inspiring time to be running, as well as getting a lot more work (which is so awesome, but sometimes tiring). However, today I had an unofficial job interview in which I got asked what my passions were and what I did outside of school and teaching.

This got me thinking and got me talking about running. For any of you who know me, you will know that once you get me started on something I love and am passionate about, it's VERY hard to shut me up again. I thought I managed to be quite contained in this situation though - my husband would be so proud! So once I got talking about how passionate I am about running, why I run, why I love it and what my goals are, it made me really feel passionate again. Yay!

Last week I officially registered for this marathon again, which I was hoping would give me the burst of inspiration and enthusiasm I needed. Alas, I found that it didn't really help, but am letting YOU all know that if it is motivation and inspiration you need, talking about your passions REALLY does help and give you the boost you need. Or kick up the butt in my case. I really can't afford to keep sitting on the couch and just blogging about it all day, I actually have to do something at some point right!?!

So just some encouragement to you, if you are feeling a little nonchalant like i was, try to remember and maybe even talk about your passion, why you love it, why you do it and what it brings to your life, and maybe even others'.

What are your passions? What helps to inspire or motivate you when you are not feeling the passion?

And I'll just leave you with this one last reminder - Whatever you are doing...

Find Your Strong

I was reading a blog post on one of my fave regular blog reads here and found a link to this website here by Saucony. 

Saucony have a Project called:

 
 'Find Your Strong' is a project in which they want to know what ways you find your strong? You've got to check out the site because they have some seriously encouraging, motivating, and inspiring quotes, people and video clips on there that will really push your buttons, tug at your heart strings and any other cheesy sayings you can think of! 

It also really made me think about how I 'find my strong'.

I guess I find my strong through having people around me that support and motivate me, such as my amazing husband, family and friends. Not to mention, my lovely readers and followers on here who are constantly giving me positive feedback which encourages me to push myself to keep going. Running really helps me to find my strong as, out there on the road (cue the theme song from Remember the Titans here and get your tissues - or not), it's just you and your mind and all that physical training that you do is only small compared to the mental training that goes on whilst running.

OK, I promise all the soppy stuff is out now, but I do want to ask you this:

How do you 'find your strong' and what keeps you going?