a little stop gap

I have a few blog posts in draft stages I promise! Just have a few camera issues at the moment.
In the mean time I found this online, it seems to sum up my life over the last few weeks. Too much

indulgence and not enough exercise and healthy eating. The weather is warming up in Sydney so I have no excuse not to get out and run and eat salads.

Have you heard of Droptober? Its along the lines of dry July. You commit to drop weight and improving your lifestyle, I think the suggested amount is 2kilos (obviously depending on your current size).
There is a website and you are meant to sign up and people can sponsor you for charity http://droptober.com/

With a few parties and weddings coming up soon I think I could do with dropping a few kilos. I don't think I will sign up to the website, quite frankly I don't think anyone will be willing to sponsor me! But I will use October as a month to get in shape and work on some goals i.e less red wine and chocolate.

Chubby (for now) Katie.x

Another half - Sydney half marathon race report

I went into this run not expecting much and planning to treat it more as a training run than anything else. Having done hardly any proper training over the last month I was just keeping my fingers crossed that i'd finish. Of course as often happens with me I got to the start and decided a sub 2hr was in my reach.

The race started at 6:15am and so my alarm was set for a punishing 4:00am. Michael Clease and I collected another sleepy runner on the way and we headed off to the start.
The pre race email recommends getting to the start an hour before the gun goes off. Being seasoned runners and not wanting to get up at 3:10am we decided to give ourselves about 15mins till start time!

The toilet queue was huge! There was no way we were going to get through it in 15mins. Luckily (and because we were late signing up) we were in group C and that started about 10mins after group A.

We were a trusty bunch of four, as another one of Michael Cleases friends joined us. I always love the start, up and over the harbour bridge, its a real buzz, although one that would probably be more beneficial at the end rather than 2km in, We stuck together for around 6km but some were a little quicker than others and pushed on ahead. As usually happens Michael Clease cannot help himself from striding off into the lead, and I suspect could actually go even quicker!

It was quite an uneventful run, I felt better than I probably should have but at around the 13km mark it headed out towards Pyrmont. I knew from doing the marathon the year before that this gets pretty boring, you can see people coming the other way which adds a bit of interest but makes you realise that you've still got a long way to go!
I'm pleased to say I didn't need to walk at all, except for a few steps during the drinks stations and crossed the line in 2:04. Its not the target I was aiming for but giving my preparation in the lead up I am happy! Michael Clease finished in 2:01, i'm sure he could have got under 2 if he'd tried.

No photos yet I'm afraid, they're out on Wednesday.
Chubby Katie.x

A little update

Hi! I've been absent for a while haven't I! Partly due to blogging lazyness and partly due to 10 days in beautiful New Zealand.

The water is really that blue and there is a cute little
church called "the church of the good shephard"
Source www.backpack-newzealand.com

Firstly I should tell you that Chubby Katie and Michael Clease are engaged!!! Michael Clease proposed on the shore of the beautiful lake Takapo and of course I said yes.

It was also my birthday while we were there (double celebration!) and I got a number of exercise related things including some new trainers! (although they haven't arrived :( ), swimming hand paddles, a inov8 wrag and elastic laces for my trainers. I've hardly had a chance to test any of these out yet so I shall have to wait to do my reviews.

We are meant to be running the Sydney half marathon on Sunday. I have done hardly any training! We only managed one 5km run while we were away, opps!

Two days before we were due to come home we did the Tongariro Alpine crossing. Its a 19km walk over some active volcanoes in the Lake Taupo region of the north island. I am hoping that this long walk will have kept up some of my fitness and I won't be a complete mess on Sunday.

It was pretty high and as it was only just the beginning of spring there was still a LOT of snow which made it even tougher on the legs.
I'm hoping there might have been a little toning for the stomach muscles every time I slipped on ice! Of course that is no doubt hidden under the layer of chubbyness caused by too many beers and tasty food :)