“IT IS A
SHAME FOR A MAN TO GROW OLD WITHOUT SEEING THE BEAUTY AND STRENGTH OF WHICH HIS
BODY IS CAPABLE.” –SOCRATES
Monday 24 February 2014
Monday motivation
Todays motivation is particularly in keeping with my current feeling of being older than I am, time to heed my own advice (well Socrates!)
Saturday 22 February 2014
Kombucha?.....you betcha
So i've written here before about my eagerness to reduce my alcohol intake and although i've been successfully having two days a week off the drink I am struggling a little with what to drink when I get home from work and eat my dinner, a beer or glass of wine just seems to go perfectly.
When my sister in law mentioned she started making kombucha and would often drink it in a wine glass as a wine replacement that sounded like a great idea.
Kombucha is a drink made from sweet tea that is fermented using a "scoby" to make a slightly vinegary, slightly fizzy probiotic drink.
In doing some research i've seen varying opinions of kombucha, some people thinks its amazing and super good for your stomach and intestines, others think it has no health benefits and can cause certain irritations. I've not read anybody having any serious effects from it but I suggest you do a little research for yourself if your thinking about starting to make it, especially if you are on any medication or hormone replacement therapy.
I let my sister in law do a few batches first to get the hang of it and then asked for some help.
Let me say that I haven't been to strict with my measurements, its a bit of a trial and error process but luckily I haven't had too many errors so far.
What you need:
A bowl for preparation
8 tea bags (black, white, green or rooibos - so far i've only tried black but i've read about some good results with the others)
3 litres of boiled filtered water
2 cups of muscovado sugar (so far i've used light, my current batch i'm experimenting with dark)(also i've read you can use other types of sugar but i've not tried it yet)
A large jar to ferment your kombucha in (see pic below, i like the ones with a tap at the bottom but I don't think thats essential), make sure it has no metal attachments that will touch the liquid.
A couple of bottles decant your kombucha into for the second fermenting stage
A nice scoby - donated by a friend, bought online, or it is possible to grow them from bottles of kombucha but I haven't tried that.
Instructions:
Day 1 - Put the tea bags and sugar into the bowl, poor in the boiling water and stir to dissolve the sugar.
You need to then leave the water to cool down, I often get inpatient at this stage and throw in a few ice cubes to help it along.
While it is cooling give your jar a good clean, make sure theres no soap left in it.
When the tea is cool, remove the tea bags and pour it into the jar.
With clean hands pick up the scoby and place it into the jar, you should have a little liquid that its been living in, pour that in too. They look really weird, they are meant to look like that! Lumps and bits hanging off are fine, if they are mouldy or have a strange smell thats bad, you should throw it away or you can just put them in your compost! I call mine Susie!
I like to cover the lid with a tea towel (not the lid that comes with the jar, your mixture needs to breath) and place it somewhere that it won't get bumped or moved. I believe it should be in a clean environment too so not near your rubbish bin or compost.
Day 8 - Most instructions say to leave your kombucha fermenting between 7 and 10 days. I usually get inpatient by day 8 but so far that seems to have given a good result.
A new scoby should have formed on the top, mine are always much bigger than the original and thinner. I think this is ok although I haven't used any of the new ones to make kombucha yet.
You can keep the new scobys in a jar in the fridge, when there is a few together its called a scoby hotel!!
I add a little liquid from the batch to the scoby hotel.
Then decant the liquid from your jar into the sealable bottles. You can flavour your kombucha at this stage, I like small pieces of chopped up ginger, i'm also keen to try some bluesberries and cinamon and my sister-in-law just used frozen raspberries with good results.
Put the lid on the bottle and store it for a few days to ferments. I think about three is best, I usually open one bottle after about a day. The longer you leave it the fizzier it gets, some people suggest using plastic bottles so you can feel when the bottle gets hard and you know the pressures built up. I'm not keen to use plastic as i'm worried about the carcinogens.
So far i'm really happy with the results, I usually manage to have one batch on the first fermenting stage, one on the second and a third that can be drunk. Is it making me reduce my alcohol intake? Not really! But I hopefully I am at least getting some health benefits.
Let me say that I haven't been to strict with my measurements, its a bit of a trial and error process but luckily I haven't had too many errors so far.
What you need:
A bowl for preparation
8 tea bags (black, white, green or rooibos - so far i've only tried black but i've read about some good results with the others)
3 litres of boiled filtered water
2 cups of muscovado sugar (so far i've used light, my current batch i'm experimenting with dark)(also i've read you can use other types of sugar but i've not tried it yet)A large jar to ferment your kombucha in (see pic below, i like the ones with a tap at the bottom but I don't think thats essential), make sure it has no metal attachments that will touch the liquid.
A couple of bottles decant your kombucha into for the second fermenting stage
A nice scoby - donated by a friend, bought online, or it is possible to grow them from bottles of kombucha but I haven't tried that.
Instructions:
Day 1 - Put the tea bags and sugar into the bowl, poor in the boiling water and stir to dissolve the sugar.You need to then leave the water to cool down, I often get inpatient at this stage and throw in a few ice cubes to help it along.
While it is cooling give your jar a good clean, make sure theres no soap left in it.
When the tea is cool, remove the tea bags and pour it into the jar.
With clean hands pick up the scoby and place it into the jar, you should have a little liquid that its been living in, pour that in too. They look really weird, they are meant to look like that! Lumps and bits hanging off are fine, if they are mouldy or have a strange smell thats bad, you should throw it away or you can just put them in your compost! I call mine Susie!
I like to cover the lid with a tea towel (not the lid that comes with the jar, your mixture needs to breath) and place it somewhere that it won't get bumped or moved. I believe it should be in a clean environment too so not near your rubbish bin or compost.
Day 8 - Most instructions say to leave your kombucha fermenting between 7 and 10 days. I usually get inpatient by day 8 but so far that seems to have given a good result.
A new scoby should have formed on the top, mine are always much bigger than the original and thinner. I think this is ok although I haven't used any of the new ones to make kombucha yet.You can keep the new scobys in a jar in the fridge, when there is a few together its called a scoby hotel!!I add a little liquid from the batch to the scoby hotel.
Then decant the liquid from your jar into the sealable bottles. You can flavour your kombucha at this stage, I like small pieces of chopped up ginger, i'm also keen to try some bluesberries and cinamon and my sister-in-law just used frozen raspberries with good results.
Put the lid on the bottle and store it for a few days to ferments. I think about three is best, I usually open one bottle after about a day. The longer you leave it the fizzier it gets, some people suggest using plastic bottles so you can feel when the bottle gets hard and you know the pressures built up. I'm not keen to use plastic as i'm worried about the carcinogens.
So far i'm really happy with the results, I usually manage to have one batch on the first fermenting stage, one on the second and a third that can be drunk. Is it making me reduce my alcohol intake? Not really! But I hopefully I am at least getting some health benefits.
Thursday 20 February 2014
Feeling too old
Recently i've been feeling really old, especially first thing in the morning. I kinda hobble to the bathroom for my shower, I feel tired and I have to support myself to sit down.
I know i'm not getting any younger but i'm worried if I feel like this at 31 i'm going to be struggling to walk to the corner shop by the time i'm 51!
I'd always envisioned myself being one of those 80 year old marathon runners, with more time on my hands after retiring i'd be running and swimming and going to yoga.
So i've decided to try and address it. I figure there are five things that are causing this feeling:
I know i'm not getting any younger but i'm worried if I feel like this at 31 i'm going to be struggling to walk to the corner shop by the time i'm 51!
I'd always envisioned myself being one of those 80 year old marathon runners, with more time on my hands after retiring i'd be running and swimming and going to yoga.
So i've decided to try and address it. I figure there are five things that are causing this feeling:
- Poor diet - you probably realise that my diet is not particularly bad but there are definitely areas I could improve. For example I have a large coffee every morning when I get to work, I wonder if I didn't rely on coffee whether I would wake up more lively. I could also do with eating a little more green veggies and salad and less chocolate.
- Exercise - Its a common idea that the more exercise you do the more energy you have.
- Stiffness - I've dabbled in yoga before but never down it properly. While I can't currently afford to pay for lessons a few times a week I'm going to try and do it at home on youtube at least twice a week. I'd like to feel looser and more supple, i'm hoping this will help.
- Stress - I like to think of myself as a fairly chilled out person but I think in reality I tend to stress a fair bit but not show it. This is no doubt a factor in my issue. Of course upping my exercise should help this and also doing yoga. I think it would be helpful to incorporate some sort of meditation in with the yoga. Plus I have a number of things in my life, my career being one of them, that I need to sort out but of course its easier said than done
- Health issue - there could be a under lying problem that I don't know about. Once I've implemented the others I should have a better idea of whether its something I should see a doctor about.
Wow I have lots of work to be doing!! Step one I think is going to have to be limiting my beloved coffee. Of course it could all just be a sign of getting older and something i'll have to deal with.
CK.x
Wednesday 19 February 2014
Belated motivation
Can you believe I didn't have the motivation to do my Monday motivation post this week! Oh boy times are tough.... well not really, i'm just being lazy and feeling like an old lady.
I need to work on the feeling like an old lady part, maybe more stretching and yoga (more than none!!) and being stricter with my diet but in the mean time here is this weeks motivation.
I'm not going to lie, I think it was the colours that attracted me to this.
They say it takes roughly 21 days to form a habit and thats what I need to concentrate on. I need to get up at the same time every day, if its a rest day I can get up and meditate or relax with a green tea. I need to have my exercise gear ready the night before and I just need to leave the house.
Of course this is much easier to talk about at 3pm at my desk than 5:30am when i'm tucked up in bed.
I need to work on the feeling like an old lady part, maybe more stretching and yoga (more than none!!) and being stricter with my diet but in the mean time here is this weeks motivation.
I'm not going to lie, I think it was the colours that attracted me to this.
They say it takes roughly 21 days to form a habit and thats what I need to concentrate on. I need to get up at the same time every day, if its a rest day I can get up and meditate or relax with a green tea. I need to have my exercise gear ready the night before and I just need to leave the house.
Of course this is much easier to talk about at 3pm at my desk than 5:30am when i'm tucked up in bed.
 |
| http://motiveweight.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/get-dressed-for-your-workout-as-soon-as.html#.UwQqcEKSzKc |
Friday 14 February 2014
Oh so off topic
Ok this post has nothing to do with triathlon or healthy living but hell i'm gonna share it anyway.
Living in Sydney we are blessed with beautiful weather a large portion of the time but it was given me an appreciation of a stormy, grey, wild environment that I under appreciated when I was in England.
It has also given me romanticised idea of snow when before it just meant messing around and if I was lucky a day off school (rarely off work!).
I also now have a strange fondness off dressing up warm and wearing hats, gloves and scarves especially while exercising in the cold (see I wrangled triathlon in!)
I came across this picture when I was browsing my other love of diy and crafts. I love the idea of snow falling on a beach, maybe its the juxtaposition of my life in Sydney with my life in England? Or maybe its just wild and romantic!!
Living in Sydney we are blessed with beautiful weather a large portion of the time but it was given me an appreciation of a stormy, grey, wild environment that I under appreciated when I was in England.
It has also given me romanticised idea of snow when before it just meant messing around and if I was lucky a day off school (rarely off work!).
I also now have a strange fondness off dressing up warm and wearing hats, gloves and scarves especially while exercising in the cold (see I wrangled triathlon in!)
I came across this picture when I was browsing my other love of diy and crafts. I love the idea of snow falling on a beach, maybe its the juxtaposition of my life in Sydney with my life in England? Or maybe its just wild and romantic!!
 |
| http://alisaburke.blogspot.com.au/ |
Wednesday 12 February 2014
Volos
There are a few reasons to volunteer at events I think. The first being if you haven't done the race before its a good chance to suss everything out, get an idea of the course, the other competitors and the general vibe.
Last Sunday I volunteered at the Triathlon NSW Sprint series in Kurnell for this very reason. I've mentioned before that its a race I'm tempted to do but was nervous about the calibre of other athletes and whether my gear would be a laughing stock.
I'm pleased to say it was a good day despite having to get up at 4:45am!! I was due to be at the volunteers tent at 5:20am but luckily it was just a short drive from my house.
My role was registration and also finishing chute, I kind of knew what to expect with registration but had no idea about finishing shoot.
At around 5:45am we giving our instruction and each picked a box which had the different wave start rego packs in. I was Male aged 45-49. It was a simple and quite fun job, the guys would come up to me and tell me their name, I searched through till I found their pack, handed it over along with a free water bottle and a running wrist pouch a bit like this (only it was a little smaller and couldn't hold cards), and wish them luck.
Most the guys were friendly and it all went very smoothly. I think I got off quite lightly, some of the other waves such as Males 25-30 were much larger and their volunteer had a bit more work to do!
I then had some spare time so I went and got my free coffee and muffin and listened to the race briefing. This helped with my understanding of the vibe and competitive nation of the race and i'm pleased to say although there were some really great athletes there was also a large emphasis on first timers and supporting them.
After the briefing I headed over to the swim start with every one else and watched that. I must say the 750m swim looked verrrrrry long!
As I had to wear a hi vis jacket I had a few people coming up to me asking the time and wanting help with their wetsuits, nothing more complicated though.
Last Sunday I volunteered at the Triathlon NSW Sprint series in Kurnell for this very reason. I've mentioned before that its a race I'm tempted to do but was nervous about the calibre of other athletes and whether my gear would be a laughing stock.
I'm pleased to say it was a good day despite having to get up at 4:45am!! I was due to be at the volunteers tent at 5:20am but luckily it was just a short drive from my house.
My role was registration and also finishing chute, I kind of knew what to expect with registration but had no idea about finishing shoot.
At around 5:45am we giving our instruction and each picked a box which had the different wave start rego packs in. I was Male aged 45-49. It was a simple and quite fun job, the guys would come up to me and tell me their name, I searched through till I found their pack, handed it over along with a free water bottle and a running wrist pouch a bit like this (only it was a little smaller and couldn't hold cards), and wish them luck.
Most the guys were friendly and it all went very smoothly. I think I got off quite lightly, some of the other waves such as Males 25-30 were much larger and their volunteer had a bit more work to do!
I then had some spare time so I went and got my free coffee and muffin and listened to the race briefing. This helped with my understanding of the vibe and competitive nation of the race and i'm pleased to say although there were some really great athletes there was also a large emphasis on first timers and supporting them.
After the briefing I headed over to the swim start with every one else and watched that. I must say the 750m swim looked verrrrrry long!
 |
| Competitors waiting for the swim start |
As I had to wear a hi vis jacket I had a few people coming up to me asking the time and wanting help with their wetsuits, nothing more complicated though.
I watched a few wave starts and then it was time to head to the finish chute. When I got their I understood what my role would be, filling up hundreds, if not thousands of plastic cups with water and sports drink.
This role wasn't as interesting as the rego but obviously a very important one, the people crossing the line are really tired and desperate for a drink, plus it was beginning to heat up. We started with three tables full of cups which was fine at the beginning but as people started crossing the line thicker and faster to got a bit hectic! and we struggled to keep up with demand.
This brings me to the second reason that I think volunteer is worth doing. It makes you realise that these volunteers have given up their Sunday morning to help out, its likely they haven't done it before and might not know the answer to your question. They won't have the fore knowledge of knowing how quickly the drinks go at aid stations or why more toilets were not organised or why someones rego pack has ended up in the males instead of females.
I did come across a couple of people who were a little grumpy but I am pleased to say that in all most people were really friendly and a number came up and thanked us for helping out.
The third reason that volunteering is great is that events like these couldn't happen without volunteers, or if they did the entry fee would be a lot more. So if you compete in lots of events I say its good to volunteer at a couple and you'd probably have a better race experience next time because of it.
And I'm sure you are busting to know.......I do plan on entering the next event! I have 6 weeks to train.
Chubby Katie.x
This brings me to the second reason that I think volunteer is worth doing. It makes you realise that these volunteers have given up their Sunday morning to help out, its likely they haven't done it before and might not know the answer to your question. They won't have the fore knowledge of knowing how quickly the drinks go at aid stations or why more toilets were not organised or why someones rego pack has ended up in the males instead of females.
I did come across a couple of people who were a little grumpy but I am pleased to say that in all most people were really friendly and a number came up and thanked us for helping out.
The third reason that volunteering is great is that events like these couldn't happen without volunteers, or if they did the entry fee would be a lot more. So if you compete in lots of events I say its good to volunteer at a couple and you'd probably have a better race experience next time because of it.
And I'm sure you are busting to know.......I do plan on entering the next event! I have 6 weeks to train.
Chubby Katie.x
Tuesday 11 February 2014
Monday motivation....a little late
I actually managed to get up and exercise this morning. I am quite proud of myself :) I got an early night and in the morning had a little mental battle and ended up having to tell my body to ignore my stupid brain.
I spotted this today and it summed up how I felt when i'd finished.
I spotted this today and it summed up how I felt when i'd finished.
 |
| http://drjanet.tv/mind/rise-up/ |
Monday 3 February 2014
Motivation Monday
I was searching around for a motivation Monday image and happened upon this one. Given my last post was about the troubles in my career and the struggle I am currently facing with it I thought this was perfect (oh and I do love a moving gif):
 |
| http://motiveweight.blogspot.com.au/ |
A crossroads
I feel like i've come to a bit of a crossroads in my life. I found out the other day I am being made redundant. Its no secret (probably even to my boss) that I haven't been happy in my job for a while but this redundancy makes me feel like i've had the rug pulled out from under my feet.
If I wanted to stay in the industry I am in I don't think I would feel so panicked, I would just ask around, let people know I was looking and I think something would turn up.
But I want a complete change and the problem is I don't know what to!!
I'd love a job that gives Michael Clease and I more work life balance. At the moment we both leave the house at 7:45am don't get home much before 7:45pm. If I could get a job where I can be home a little more it would be less pressure on Michael Clease, he wouldn't have to do some many chores when he got home and we could enjoy our evenings together a little more. Don't get me wrong, i'm not saying I want to become a house wife but if one of us is going to be doing 12hr days I think the other one needs to not do them.
Of course there is my triathlon "career" to think of! I'd love to be able to dedicate a little more time to training and not feel like its such a struggle. And i'd love to have time for other extra curricular activities.
But hey I guess thats what most people want, a job were they don't have to work so much!
If I wanted to stay in the industry I am in I don't think I would feel so panicked, I would just ask around, let people know I was looking and I think something would turn up.
But I want a complete change and the problem is I don't know what to!!
I'd love a job that gives Michael Clease and I more work life balance. At the moment we both leave the house at 7:45am don't get home much before 7:45pm. If I could get a job where I can be home a little more it would be less pressure on Michael Clease, he wouldn't have to do some many chores when he got home and we could enjoy our evenings together a little more. Don't get me wrong, i'm not saying I want to become a house wife but if one of us is going to be doing 12hr days I think the other one needs to not do them.
Of course there is my triathlon "career" to think of! I'd love to be able to dedicate a little more time to training and not feel like its such a struggle. And i'd love to have time for other extra curricular activities.
But hey I guess thats what most people want, a job were they don't have to work so much!
Monday 20 January 2014
Monday motivation
Right its monday afternoon, its just started raining and I'm meant to be going for a run, so this Monday motivation is mainly for my benefit.
Its actually one of my favourite running quotes, I believe its an old african saying of unknown origin but was quoted by Roger Bannister (the first man to break 4 minute mile) and then again in the book Born to Run:
Its actually one of my favourite running quotes, I believe its an old african saying of unknown origin but was quoted by Roger Bannister (the first man to break 4 minute mile) and then again in the book Born to Run:
Tuesday 14 January 2014
Interesting little read
Heres an interesting little read from a blog I follow called Oceanswims, about the changes in ocean swims, the price increases, the shorter distances being introduced and the marketing more at the beginner. http://oceanswims.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/making-swims-special-again.html
As a fairly new comer to the sport I'm undecided as to whether this is a good thing or bad, i'm sure there is plenty of room for debate on the subject.
As a fairly new comer to the sport I'm undecided as to whether this is a good thing or bad, i'm sure there is plenty of room for debate on the subject.
Monday 13 January 2014
Monday motivation.....or thoughts
One of my Facebook friends posted this and it really made me think. For a while now (since my sister in law got a job in a health food store) I have been thinking more about where food comes from and the importance of organic food.
This link is full of little thoughts that really make you think!
Heres an example:
This link is full of little thoughts that really make you think!
Heres an example:
Saturday 11 January 2014
Smoothie moothie
My smoothy interest was originally piked by this website greenmonstermovement.com/ and recently I've really been embracing green smoothies.
Much to Michael Cleases irritation I have been making one a day for him and myself. He has his with breakfast and I take mine to work in a plastic bottle for a mid morning snack.
Many people like to make fresh juices in the morning and, as much as I love a carrot, apple and ginger one, I cannot bear to throw away all the pulp thats left! Think of all that great fibre you are missing out on.
We already have a banana with our brekkie so I make mine a little different to how Angela at Green Monster Movement makes hers.
Serves two:
Three spinach leaves or two handfuls of baby spinach (i'm lucky that I have spinach growing in my garden at the moment so I can just run out and grab a few leaves)
Teaspoon of chia seeds
One apple or pear, cored and quartered
One cup (or so) of liquid, I quite like coconut water but apple juice or regular water are great too
A couple of dates if needed for sweetness
I find if I use an apple and water its not sweet enough so I add the dates, pear and apple juice are sweet enough.
Blitz it all up in a blender, often I add extra water at the end if its a little thick.
This morning as it was the weekend I decide to make a slightly more filling one for breakfast. This one had:
Spinach
Banana
Ground chia and flax seeds
A couple of spoonfuls of yoghurt
One teaspoon blackstrap molasses
One teaspoon coconut oil
One teaspoon honey
A sprinkle of cinnamon
And a pinch of salt
I had it after my run and it was pretty tasty, I could taste the coconut quite strongly so next time I might not use quite so much. As you can see it made a large glassful and filled me up well.
Much to Michael Cleases irritation I have been making one a day for him and myself. He has his with breakfast and I take mine to work in a plastic bottle for a mid morning snack.
Many people like to make fresh juices in the morning and, as much as I love a carrot, apple and ginger one, I cannot bear to throw away all the pulp thats left! Think of all that great fibre you are missing out on.
We already have a banana with our brekkie so I make mine a little different to how Angela at Green Monster Movement makes hers.
Serves two:
Three spinach leaves or two handfuls of baby spinach (i'm lucky that I have spinach growing in my garden at the moment so I can just run out and grab a few leaves)
Teaspoon of chia seeds
One apple or pear, cored and quartered
One cup (or so) of liquid, I quite like coconut water but apple juice or regular water are great too
A couple of dates if needed for sweetness
I find if I use an apple and water its not sweet enough so I add the dates, pear and apple juice are sweet enough.
Blitz it all up in a blender, often I add extra water at the end if its a little thick.
Spinach
Banana
Ground chia and flax seeds
A couple of spoonfuls of yoghurt
One teaspoon blackstrap molasses
One teaspoon coconut oil
One teaspoon honey
A sprinkle of cinnamon
And a pinch of salt
I had it after my run and it was pretty tasty, I could taste the coconut quite strongly so next time I might not use quite so much. As you can see it made a large glassful and filled me up well.
Go go turbo trainer
I ordered it online not really knowing what to expect. Although i've read a little about them online i've never chatted to anyone about them, how they work, how to set them up and whether they are worth it.
As I said in my last post I bought a cheap one, about $70 I think this was including postage. I did expect it to be smaller, possibly when you pay more you get a more compact unit??
Its also heavy!! About 8kg I think it said on the box which made it tough getting it from work to the station and station to home! But I decided to put a positive spin on that about the arm workout I was getting.
Well this morning after my run (not park run unfortunately as my training schedule has down but a run none the less) I put it together and went for a spin.
As I missed my weekly 30min bike ride on Wednesday I decided I should do 30mins today. Its a hot day and I found it tough and worked up quite the sweat. It will be interesting to see how I go on a cooler day, whether the tough was due to the weather at all or just that its harder to ride on than the rode, a little of both I suspect. Still I'm happy for this to be a tougher workout, my reasoning is always that if I train in tougher conditions it can only benefit be in a race.
That cable you can see in the bottom image goes to a gear control that you fix to the handle bars, you are meant to be able to up the resistance. I tried it from 1 to 7 and I didn't notice a whole lot of difference but I'll keep playing around with it.
Tomorrow I have my Sunday long ride. It's meant to be one hour and I think i'll still do it outside. I'm keen to keep up my road riding and just keep this for bad weather or when I'm feeling lazy and need the promise of tv to motivate me.
Thursday 9 January 2014
A mid week update
So I am four days into my new training programme and things are going ok, there is good and bad news. The bad news is I have successfully gotten out of bed early to train zero times!
The good news is so far I have exercised Monday and Tuesday evening instead. Of course this is allowed in my training schedule but it doesn't bode well for the days that I am meant to train morning and evening.
On Sunday (although my training hadn't officially started) I cycled for an hour and then went for a (very tough due to heat and wind) 50min run.
On Monday evening I went for a 30min swim with Michael Clease in our local ocean pool, it was really nice apart from the casual swimmers getting in our way!
On Tuesday evening I did a 30min run.
Yesterday I decided to take as my rest day but that means Friday won't be. Today I once again failed to get up to do my bike ride so I will have to do that tonight.
Exciting news is though that I've bought a turbo trainer! Its a machine that you can hook up to your bike and allows you to get some kms in inside.
I've just bought a cheap one for now, i'm not really sure what the deal is with them and whether i'll keep using it but i'm keen to give it a try.
My thinking is that on days when I have to do 2+hours of cycling I can do an hour outside and an hour inside or for when the weather is bad. I must be careful though to still get outside and rack up the kms.
In my view race day is a cross between indoor and outdoor cycling. Of course its the same weather conditions, similar undulations and road quality but most races won't have the traffic complications (the main factor that makes me less confident cycling outside).
When it arrives I'll do a little post on it.
CK.x
The good news is so far I have exercised Monday and Tuesday evening instead. Of course this is allowed in my training schedule but it doesn't bode well for the days that I am meant to train morning and evening.
On Sunday (although my training hadn't officially started) I cycled for an hour and then went for a (very tough due to heat and wind) 50min run.
On Monday evening I went for a 30min swim with Michael Clease in our local ocean pool, it was really nice apart from the casual swimmers getting in our way!
On Tuesday evening I did a 30min run.
Yesterday I decided to take as my rest day but that means Friday won't be. Today I once again failed to get up to do my bike ride so I will have to do that tonight.
Exciting news is though that I've bought a turbo trainer! Its a machine that you can hook up to your bike and allows you to get some kms in inside.
I've just bought a cheap one for now, i'm not really sure what the deal is with them and whether i'll keep using it but i'm keen to give it a try.
My thinking is that on days when I have to do 2+hours of cycling I can do an hour outside and an hour inside or for when the weather is bad. I must be careful though to still get outside and rack up the kms.
In my view race day is a cross between indoor and outdoor cycling. Of course its the same weather conditions, similar undulations and road quality but most races won't have the traffic complications (the main factor that makes me less confident cycling outside).
When it arrives I'll do a little post on it.
CK.x
Monday 6 January 2014
Upping my training
As I mentioned in my new year resolutions I am going to start training for an Ironman triathlon. I'm still not sure which one I am going to be able to do, there are a few factors to consider:
Money to enter
Money for new bike, wetsuit, new triathlon suitable cycling shoes
Location for flight costs
Location for days off work (I am running out already!)
Upcoming events (hard to train with upcoming out of town weddings plus my own)
But in the mean time I am just going to train like I am doing one, I figure at the worst I'll be thinner, healthier and fitter with a good base when I do manage to lock one in ;)
So I have set about making a training schedule. I've used this one as a basis and modified it to fit my needs. This is what I have so far:
The header is a little reminder of the distances when I start questioning if this is really all necessary.
Michael Clease is keen to join me on Monday and Thursday mornings (he surfs on the other mornings) so I would switch some days round so he has variety.
As part of Jantastic I have committed to 3 runs a week, I've added the 2km runs on Monday and Thursday to up my running weekly total, plus the pool is about 1km away!
This morning was tough, it was the first day back at work, I wasn't looking forward to it, I slept badly and ended up not doing my swim. The good thing is I will swim this evening, the schedule starts off slowly to get me used to 6 days of exercise, if I fail to get up in the morning I still have lunchtime and evening to complete it.
I have mocked up the next couple of months, I'll see how I go with these first before I show you.
Money to enter
Money for new bike, wetsuit, new triathlon suitable cycling shoes
Location for flight costs
Location for days off work (I am running out already!)
Upcoming events (hard to train with upcoming out of town weddings plus my own)
But in the mean time I am just going to train like I am doing one, I figure at the worst I'll be thinner, healthier and fitter with a good base when I do manage to lock one in ;)
So I have set about making a training schedule. I've used this one as a basis and modified it to fit my needs. This is what I have so far:
The header is a little reminder of the distances when I start questioning if this is really all necessary.
Michael Clease is keen to join me on Monday and Thursday mornings (he surfs on the other mornings) so I would switch some days round so he has variety.
As part of Jantastic I have committed to 3 runs a week, I've added the 2km runs on Monday and Thursday to up my running weekly total, plus the pool is about 1km away!
This morning was tough, it was the first day back at work, I wasn't looking forward to it, I slept badly and ended up not doing my swim. The good thing is I will swim this evening, the schedule starts off slowly to get me used to 6 days of exercise, if I fail to get up in the morning I still have lunchtime and evening to complete it.
I have mocked up the next couple of months, I'll see how I go with these first before I show you.
Sunday 5 January 2014
Monday motivation
I saw this the other day and man it really struck a cord with me. As someone who suffers with anxiety I know the effects exercise can have on your mood and well being.
Thursday 2 January 2014
New years resolutions
I'm excited for 2014, as I said in the last post I am excited to grab it by the horns and jump right in. I've been thinking about my resolutions and I have soooooo many!! No doubt I won't fulfill them all but I do plan to take a stab at least.
Exercise
Okey dokey, I have those down and out in the open. This weekend I intend to adjust things so that I can jump right in on 6th Jan (especially training for Cairns Ironman and getting a grip of my diet). I'd ask you to wish me luck but I know it is will power not luck I need.
Happy New Year.
Chubby Katie.x
Exercise
- Complete Jantastic
- Aim for Park run every week (unless valid reason to not)
- Train for Ironman Cairns - entering and completing will be budget dependent but I figure there is no harm in training anyway!
- Make motivation wall
Diet
- Take diet in hand - reduce alcohol intake, plan meals more effectively, eat more fruit veg and raw food
- Drink less coffee - I know this isn't just a stop coffee kinda thing, I plan to reduce my coffee intake over a few weeks and then switch to a green smoothie as a kind of substitute drink
Life
- Work towards better career - have action plan and choose course by end of January
- Get married - put together plan so I know what needs to be done each month
- Do things I have been putting off - book in doctors, dentists and financial matters
- Be more tolerant and kind to others and work on being friendlier - I was looking for a great quote i've seen before but in the end this seemed to sum up my thoughts well “Don't fucking make judgments about something you know nothing about.”
― Cecily von Ziegesar, Because I'm Worth It The other quote I had planned said we shouldn't judge people for the glimpse of their life that we see, we do not now what came before or after, which kind of means the same thing.
Okey dokey, I have those down and out in the open. This weekend I intend to adjust things so that I can jump right in on 6th Jan (especially training for Cairns Ironman and getting a grip of my diet). I'd ask you to wish me luck but I know it is will power not luck I need.
Happy New Year.
Chubby Katie.x
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