The Second Run

Buoyed by success of running for 40 seconds I thought I would tackle the 60 second running of the couch to 5k program week 1 day 1.  I was surprised that the running portion was actually ok(ish)!  I didn't feel like I was dying or struggling to breathe so that is a form of success, yippee!  The walking portion was a little shorter that what I had done before so I really felt that I could have used a little longer.  Overall though, I was happy to have managed it and felt slightly challenged but achievable. 

I'm determined not to get injured so the plan for the next run is to do the same one again and see if it still feels ok.  I'm running on the treadmill at the gym because, despite it being hot in there, it's much cooler that the heat and humidity outside even at night and I appreciate the cushioned surface of the treadmill while I'm carrying so much excess weight.  It's also easier to monitor and adjust my run/walk speed and time to keep me honest haha!

I'm really happy and excited to be running again and I'm hopeful that I can keep this feeling going at least until I make it habit and not give up in week 3 like in the past!

Running – Starting From Scratch

So it’s time to get my health back (and get rid of some of this 91kgs), and my friends must have been thinking about their fitness goals for next year too when the email about entries opening for the Auckland Half Marathon popped into our inboxes.  So we’ve all decided to go for it and tackle the 21.1km in October 2018!  Now I can’t run the length of myself right now, so the idea of doing a half marathon is a big stretch but I am optimistic that over the next 46 weeks I will be able to make it to the start line prepared, ready for the distance, and uninjured.

The Kit:

I got a nice new pair of Nike Pegasus to see me through the start of my new running regime.  Once I’m further down the track I’ll take a trip to a local running store to get my running analysed again to see if there is another shoe that will be better for the longer training runs.

I then went into the Warehouse and bought a whole bunch of cheap singlets and t-shirts.  I also got some cheap sports bras from K Mart, but these are super unsupportive (i.e. painful!) for running so I’m just squeezing into the trusty shockabsorber and hope they start fitting better in a few weeks!  I’ve already got some lululemon tights and a bunch of sports socks to complete the outfit.  And let’s not forget my Nike Apple Watch that I got for my birthday.

The First Run:

The couch to 5k programs generally have you running for 60 seconds and I just don’t think I can even do that so I found an entry level program that has you running 100 metres then walking 300 metres and repeating this 4 times to make a total of 1600 metres (just shy of a mile).  I was pleasantly surprised to find I could run for 40 seconds and feel pretty good.  I finished my run sweaty and feeling really pleased about it.  I then went to stretch out my legs which always feel incredibly tight.  I really don’t want to get injured so building up slowly and paying attention to stretching is very important to me.  I’m strangely looking forward to my next run.

Winter is Coming .. better get out the blankets

First of all I am super excited about the new Game of Thrones season coming in July!  But I am not as excited about actual winter coming this week. 

In New Zealand winter officially starts on the 1st June, but many places in the country has already had a bit of snow and few cold snaps.  In Auckland we don't get snow but we still complain about the cold which leads the rest of the country to the south, to call us "soft" and make fun of us, as in this article from our national newpapers website:

//From NZ Herald

When I was in Scotland last year I really wanted to get a wool blanket in the Dress Stewart tartan.  I had seen this picture (below) when I was looking for inspiration for decorating the bedroom and I just love it.

So I set out scouring the streets of Edinburgh.  I had expected the high end shops like Romanes and Paterson or Hector Russell would have what I was looking for, but alas they had any blanket I could have wanted except Dress Stewart.  I started to feel like I wasn't going to get what I wanted, so when I found a blue version in the Edinburgh Woolen Mill shop I decided to get it.  Later, while trawling through all the tartan and Scottish shops on the Royal Mile, I came across the tartan blanket I wanted, but it was in a super soft lambswool and not the slightly rougher texture I was looking for.  I bought it anyway.

It wasn't until I was at the airport ready to head back to New Zealand that I finally found the blanket I was looking for!  So yes, I now have 3 tartan blankets!  That should keep me toasty warm this winter!

//My 3 blankets

Do you have a favourite blanket or comfort item?  Tell me in the comments!

Coming Back From Burnout

I got burned out.

Lying in my hospital bed at the start of the year recovering from Pancreatitis I knew that I was broken.  I had just come back from a wonderful Christmas vacation in Tahiti but that wasn't enough to fix me.

Hospital Selfie

The year before, my office got word that we were closing down and would all be out of jobs.  Some people were laid off just after Christmas and the rest left in dribs and drabs over the course of the year.  The environment, the atmosphere, was very different as people openly expressed their fears, their anger, their hopelessness.  I had almost a whole year in that environment before my termination date and I thought I was doing a good job at staying positive.  In hindsight, I think it would have done me better to have negotiated to leave earlier.

I was also preparing for a big vacation to Scotland to visit my parents, sisters, family and friends that I hadn't seen in 5½ years.  I had a lot of anxiety around this trip but I had started seeing a therapist and this helped me develop coping strategies.  Now I'm out the other side of that I see that those mountains were definitely mole hills but they didn't feel like it at the time!

I stopped all my extra activities because I felt too stressed by their demands,  This included running, yoga, ice skating and choir.  I pretty much stopped seeing friends too.  It all felt like a chore.

Choir waiting to go on stage

So then I started my own contracting business.

Redundancy, reunions, starting a business and then health issues?  My answer was to take 3 months off.  I finished up the contract and focused on getting healthy.  Being a driven, perfectionist, control freak led me to burnout, but still here I was, scheduling in daily runs and yoga, planning my wardrobe decluttering project.  After 2 weeks of not living up to the schedule and constant berating by the inner critic, I realised that the only way to begin to recover is let go of the self-imposed demands and live schedule-free, for a little while at least.

My 3 months are almost up.  I sleep all the way through the night now, I don't need any prescription meds, I have started socialising and talking to people again and I have an exciting new job lined up.  I'm keen to start adding stuff back into my life, but I know I need to be slow and deliberate about it, so the next step for me, once I've had a week or two to settle into the new job, is to begin exercising but without any pressure to perform (and no signing up for races!).

April: Meals. Miles, Books and Looks

Looking back through my photos for April, I can't believe the Pumpkin Carnival was at the start of the month as it feels like it was such a long time ago now.  We also celebrated a friends 60th birthday, helped with the running of our big Lions Club fundraiser, attended a city bike ride workshop (in the rain!) and finished up the month with a great day of running and yoga at Wanderlust 108.

Meals

Meals took a bit of a nose dive this month and there were a little too many purchased meals and take outs.  There were a few home cooked meals in there though and here are some of them:



// Meals

1) Vegan pancakes with slices plum, cooked sliced apple, and maple syrup.
2) Vegan lentil and barley stew - I made a big batch and froze the leftovers.
3) This is supposed to be enchiladas.  I wrapped vege chilli in tortillas and covered with enchilada sauce and smoked cheese - it was really tasty anyway :)
4) Smoked fish pie with parsnip, carrot and kumara.

// Ginger loaf and pumpkin muffin mix

For the Lions Club fundraiser I made the pumpkin chocolate chip muffins again and I also made a banana loaf with some of the bananas I had frozen.  Both Kane and I love home baking so to soften the blow of giving all these tasty treats away, I made our favourite ginger loaf.  It's very much like the McVities Jamaica Ginger Loaf that is popular back in the old country.

Miles: 22.6km

Running has felt a little uninspired this month and most of my runs have been about 4km and half-hearted.  I'm feeling the motivation creeping back in though and I'm looking forward to a nice morning run tomorrow.

I went to 2 yoga classes and I've started doing sun salutations in the mornings.  I also did 6 strength training sessions and I really noticed the difference in my yoga.

Books

I read two books this month as well the non-fiction book The Truth About Style by Stacy London.

I finished Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell at the start of the month and I really loved this book, and it got me interested in the music that it references.  I found a couple of Spotify playlists and I made one of my own from these.

Towards the end of the month I finished Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.  The story itself is fine and it was a quick read but I found myself thinking about some of the ideas it brings up, especially the unplugged back to nature versus high tech urban life, long after the book was finished.


// Images from Good Reads

Looks

I have one "look" and the rest are life snapshots :)  My look are these red pants I got from Esprit last month! I am getting braver :)

Life looks are: Kane and I at the start of the 5k at Wanderlust 108 - that was such a good day; Me playing in the crunchy leaves I swept up on the driveway; Kane and I looking a bit soggy after biking in the rain during the city ride workshop - quick drying pants and a rain coat might have been better than jeans and a hoodie though!

// Life

Home-made Mayonnaise and Coleslaw Recipes

Last week while I was sick and home alone, I went to make a sandwich only to discover that we were out of salad cream and mayonnaise so I set about making my own.  I'm pretty sure the last time I made mayonnaise from scratch was when I was 11 and in the Brownies, but this is a very easy recipe and came out really well.

* * * *

Whole-Egg Mayonnaise Recipe

Ingredients:
* 2 Eggs
* 2 tbsp White Vinegar
* 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
* 1/4 tsp Salt
* 500 ml Vegetable Oil

Method:
1. Using a food processor, crack in eggs, add mustard, salt and vinegar and turn to a medium speed.
2. Very slowly drizzle in the oil in a small steady stream.

You can then put in a container and store for 2 weeks in the fridge.

 * * * *

Yesterday evening I decided that I would use up the leftover quarter cabbage and mayonnaise by making a coleslaw.  Again, another easy recipe with all the hard work taken out if you have a food processor!

* * * *

Coleslaw Recipe



Ingredients:
* 1/4 Cabbage
* 4 Carrots
* 6 tbsp Mayonnaise (more or less as desired)
* 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
* Pepper to taste

Method:
1. Shred the cabbage and then shred the carrots.
2. Stir in the mayonnaise and mustard and mix well.  Adjust amounts to taste and add pepper.

* * * *

// Home made coleslaw 

However, as I began to shred the cabbage my food processor made a horrible clacking noise and I checked to find that the shredding attachment hadn't seated itself properly and was catching on the lid.  I adjusted it and continued on shredding the cabbage and the carrots.  I then proceeded on with my recipe and then decided to experiment a bit more adding in chipotle tabasco sauce and cayenne pepper when suddenly I bit down on something hard and spat out a small shard of plastic.  I looked at the lid I had put in the sink and yes, it was quite broken.

There was just too much broken away that there was no way we could have eaten the coleslaw safely.  I wasn't very happy - the coleslaw was really tasty!

// Broken Food Processor Lid

Thankfully, I found a replacement lid on a website called NeedAPart.co.nz and I have bought from them before so hopefully that will arrive soon and I can use my food processor again!

Currently In ... April

Oops I completely missed out a Currently In March post!

Reading: Nothing at the moment, I'm in between books.  I've finished Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell and I'm about to start reading Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.

// Image from Goodreads

Watching: Being Erica, it's about a 30 something women whose therapist lets her time travel to fix regrets she has from her past.  I've binge watched season 1 and 2 and I'm starting on Season 3.

Feeling: Stressed and pulled in too many directions!  I know I do this to myself - I've just taken on the role of my Lions club president too!

Thinking: about doing some baking for the Lions event this weekend and also for my own freezer.  I would love some ginger cake right now!

Anticipating: Wanderlust 108 at the end of the month.  Looking forward to a day of running and yoga.

// Image from Wanderlust Eventbrite Site

Listening to: Spotify playlists.  I found a couple of good ones while reading Eleanor & Park so I was listening to the Smiths, Joy Division, U2 and the Cure.

Planning: A cinema trip since I just won a survival tool and free tickets to see 10 Cloverfield Lane.

Working: on a community cookbook as a fundraiser.  We've had one very productive meeting so far and it's set to be a really fun and tasty project.

Grateful: To the City Riding Workshop leaders on Sunday for a great introduction to cycling in the city.  It was a fun day, even though most of it was done in the rain, and we learned some invaluable skills.

// Cleverhood Electric Houndstooth Rain Cape

Wanting: A fancy rain cape like one of the ride instructors had.  It looked like a Sherlock Holmes style cape with part of the check pattern being reflective in the right light.

Needing: To lay off the junk food.  My diet was going so well but I've just been stress eating for too long now.

Loving: Apples and all things apple related!

Wishing: My friends all the best with their new baby!