So my trainer Andy told me to write these affirmations down before the race on saturday:
* Hard work gets results
* If i put in the effort I can reap the rewards
* I can do whatever it is i put my mind to
* Positive thinking leads to positive outcomes
and one that i cant even think about without saying it like I am He-Man
* I have the power
So you all know that i had 4 goals when i started this new part of my life.
1. Run 10km
2. Get my weight down to 100kg
3. Get some strength in my arms
4. Trek Kokoda
Well its official. I have run 10km. On wednesday i was out with Andy (my trainer) only going to run 9k as part of my training for the GC Marathon. We got to the turn point for 9k and Andy says to me “what time do you start work?, lets keep going and do 10k” I was so fired up I just kept going. It was a little dumb considering it started raining on the way back but I sucked it up.
I managed to do the 10k in 1 hour 20 mins. Now I still need to run the 10k at the GC Marathon and that will still be my official completion of the goal in my head (cause thats always what i wanted to do) but its good to know that I can at least keep at this.
The biggest thing that has been helping me other than Andy is what i have been listening to during the run. I have a small ipod shuffle with just one type of music on it called “Cadence” It really helped keep me at a certain pace for the whole run and kept me going. I just hope that i can get away with using it at the Gold Coast. Might have to sneak it into my stuff 😉
So here is hoping. This time next week I will be coming to the end of my run!
Saturday night made me think a little. After getting a late notice invite to come out and then crashing someone elses drinks for the hell of it. It was good. I proved to myself i can go out, not drink and still have a good time (been a long time). But I have noticed that the Bar Culture in Brisbane is slowly evolving.
I mean when I first started going out way back in the days of the dinosaurs, it was all big ass pubs like The Victory etc. Now on Saturday night I headed out to the valley. And look at all the new bars etc there. I mean yeah you do have the Mega Clubs/Venues like Family & Cloudland but then you have tiny itty bitty bars like Mana.
Mana is like my favourite place. It may be tiny, but its awesome. Where else can you play video games on a night out with a drink in your hand. AWESOME. And you don’t have to hide being a geek. Even Better!
Then if like me, you dont mind a good well made cocktail, then somewhere like Bowery would be the place. A very small bar, long and thin, you could walk past it and not even know it was there. The windows are covered with curtins so you cant really see it from outside, but once your in. You don’t want to leave. A good well made cocktail, made with passion and finesse is a wonderful thing. The kind of thing your not really worried about paying $15 or so for.
But now I have a problem. I need to go out with my friends and scout out where to have my birthday this year. I want somewhere good that I can go and enjoy myself thats not some more than usual blah blah pub.
any ideas?
So 6 months ago i made the first post about how my life was going to change. And change it has. I will run through some stats in a bit but my life has really changed. I feel better. Even though I always feel tired, i know that i can accomplish more than what I did when i started. I feel better in the morning after a work out and the same in the evening. I can walk & run however I want and i dont have a problem (although we wont go into hills right now) with feeling like I am going to die after the first 10 seconds.
Don’t get me wrong, this has not been an easy 6 months. I started this journey with a Groin Injury, and I have had niggles in my legs and knees and joints ever since. But I continue to follow the motto that keeps me going. I am pretty sure I have posted it here before, but when Navy Seals go through their training they are told time and time again. “The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday.” It pretty much means that yesterday was only easy because it is over. Each and every Day is a new challenge that I need to work through and get past so that I can continue on in life.
I have met some amazing new people who I never thought I would meat. They help me every day in getting through all of this and I have to thank them as without their help, I wouldn’t be here. I know a lot of people come up to me every day and say how good I look, and it is reassuring to know that all of this hard work I am putting in is working.
But day in and day out, I just have to keep myself going. I test myself all the time with little things to keep myself going (and this is apparently a good thing). But as this weight loss challenge starts to come towards its end, a new challenge begins. And thats keeping it off. Its going to be a whole new challenge with a whole new way of thinking. I need to be able to manage it all, I am sure I can do it, I know you will all be there to help me to.
Now for some stats.
Weight:
6 Months ago i weighed 172kg. On Monday at the last weigh in, I weighed 117.5kg Thats around a 55kg loss in 6 months. Thats a LOT. There is a backpack at the gym that is full of weights, it couldnt fit anymore at 45kg. Probably need another one to get the rest of it in. I still have that remaining 17.5kg to lose but thats a challenge I know i can do. I have had my ups and I have had my downs. Ive had weeks of 3kgs of loss and I have had a week of a 300g gain and that really affected me. I have had to try and get my mind around not getting on the scales every day and then beating myself up over every little thing. Its all in your head!
Fitness:
6 months ago when I first started. My trainers took me on a 2k walk and timed it to see how long it would take. Took me about 30 minutes. Thats pretty slow. These days, my 2k PB is 15m 30s This is still not as fast as people I know but this is a good improvement for me. 6 months ive knocked that time in half. I couldnt walk that far when I started. 2k was killing me, I have more and more gone up and up in my distances. I started doing 2k on the treadmill every evening. then up to 2.5k, then 3k, then 3.5k. Its now up to 4k in around 43mins. I have started to walk longer distances, Around christmas time I did a 5k walk in the morning and it took about an hour. I didnt even realise I had walked that far it was my trainers way of introducing me to distances. Then I started walking 7.5ks, then 10ks, then 11k, then 12.5k and I have done one 15k walk. I am now on average walking 10k in around 1hr 34min. I have walked on my own a lot but a few people have come with me and I really thank them for this. You guys know who you are and when you walk with me, it takes my mind off the usual things I do when i walk and thats beat myself up over everything.
Eating & Drinking:
Last year when I was in the USA you would of seen some of the foods I had eaten. Loco Moco, Mixed Plate, Giant Cheeseburgers, Pancakes the size of dinner plates or man hole covers. I have had to move away from those foods. The foods I love. Because they would put me in a grave earlier. But eating healtheir doesn’t mean that I have had to give everything up. I can still eat (hell I feel like i eat more these days then I did before) but I have had to adjust these eating habits and just replace things. Getting hungry, have a snack of some fruit. Need something sweet after dinner, some diet jelly should do it (ps i am addicted to it now, Aeroplane Diet Jelly ftmfw). Adjusting recipes so that I can try and still have those things I love while still being healthy. I have almost given up alcohol (1 drink in 5 and a half months) and I don’t really miss it. Don’t get me wrong, there is no way I would go fully sober. But i think I will need to go back to the way I used to drink years and years ago. And that is drink for the taste, not for the alcohol. No more binge drinking. This means the return of the high end booze for me really. The more exxy the booze the less of it I am going to drink. Seems good on my brain but not good on the wallet unfortunately. But then i would only be having one or two drinks.
So there you have it guys. 6 months down and many more months to go. Thank you all for your support, god knows I have needed it!
Its been a little bit since I updated but i should really give an update. Ive been working hard at the gym and after some time where I would rather not be in my head to much I have managed to get through a 5k run. That felt really good to be able to get through that since like 6 months ago I couldnt even run 100m. Its been an experince almost every day.
In the coming weeks though things are gonna have to knuckle down and keep at it. I have to increase the run by 1k every week as on July 3rd I have to run 10k at the Gold Coast Marathon. and when I say have to i mean i really have to. Ive paid my entry fee already. So if your not doing anything that saturday morning I would really love to have everyone’s support. If you can be there I would love it even more.
So i just got back on Saturday from a week away in Port Douglas. I went away with my friend Ashina and it was a great time. It was so good to get away from work and just really in eseence do nothing. Managed to read 4 books during the week away and just generally have a good time.
We stayed the first two nights at the Treetops Port Douglas which had an awesome pool area (which i spent a solid day sitting by it reading on the lounges). Then we headed north to a favourite of mine. Silky Oaks Lodge. Located about 10 mins from Mossman the place was fantastic!!! I got to spend 2 days relaxing in the rainforest. I found that the chairs in the room were the most comfiest I have ever sat in. So thats what i did most of the time. It was FANTASTIC! We also had a day tour included up to Cape Tribulation and that was such a good day. Silky Oaks Lodge has a very good Day Spa called the Healing Waters Spa. They do some very good treatments which a lot of ladies love but we had 2 treatments for free. So rather than having a massage, which I don’t normally like cause I always end up feeling worse than when I started i decided to try something different. I went for a “Man Maintenance Facial” It was a very different experience. I had never done something like that before and it was totally unfamiliar.
I managed to enjoy myself up there, the food was great and I managed to keep myself on track as well. Once we left Silky Oaks we headed back down to Port Douglas and stayed at a hotel on macrossan st. Spent a day in Cairns doing a bit of shopping and doing general stuff. The rest of the time was spent just walking the streets of Port Douglas or reading. What more can you want from a Holiday.. relaxation and recreation.
Now its back to work, apparently i might make top 10 this year if i work a bit harder. I will have to crack down and really get into it! But otherwise its 6 weeks till the Gold Coast Marathon and the 10k run which I have entered. Lets see how it goes!
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| Port Douglas 2010 |
So ive been thinking about this for a while, this isnt a big list, and there is a lot of travelling stuff on here. I am happy to add things if people have suggestions.
If you are to lazy to use this link or the link at the top right of the page then here is my list.
* Fly Around the world in Business Class
* Fly Around the world in First Class
* Sit in the Nose of a Boeing 747-400 (Completed 2007)
* Fly a Plane
* Fly a Plane Simulator
* Try to get over my fear of boats
* Shoot an Automatic Weapon (Completed 2009)
* Do something stupid and embarrasing (Completed several times)
* Kiss the most beautiful girl in the world
* See a truly breathtaking sight
* Have a Meal in a 3 Star Michelen Restaurant
* Stay a night at the Waldorf Astoria hotel
* Get a flight in a War Bird – Double points if its a B17
* Trek Kokoda
* Visit Galipoli
* Stay a night on a private island
* Try to get a photo of every airline that flies to Australia
* Fly on every airline in Australia
* Visit Every State & Territory in Australia
* Run 10km (planned for July this year)
* Get Married & Begin a family
* Cook a Meal for the people in my life who i cherish the most
* Spend a day with the people I cherish the most
* Visit all contients
* Find the joy in life
* See the Big 4 Game Animals on Safari
* Help someone in need
* Taste the most amazing thing on earth
* Visit the highest building on earth
* Take a friend on an amazingly, memorable holiday
* Buy someone a gift they will cherish forever
* Be the #1 Consultant at work
So one of my favourite shows on TV has a big presence on Twitter. Attack of the Show (AOTS) is good for those of us in the world like me, Geeks and Nerds. They do follow a lot of trends etc and they like to think they start some trends. So this month its not Parched March or anything like that. Its EpicApril! So everyone is tweeting #EpicApril. Its a good way.
So I started to think, this month is pretty Epic. I will break the 40kg loss barrier hopefully, I will also manage to get in a lot of travelling this month. I am off to Norfolk Island tommorrow (don’t worry a trip report to come) and then I am home for a few days. Will be checking out my first Roller Derby Bout (and get some photos), Will be heading to Peppers at Salt Beach for a nice few days off midweek thanks to winning an incentive. Then I am home for just one night and flying to Sydney for the usual Anzac Day pilgramage. But while I am there I will also be getting in some plane spotting, cruising sydney harbour and just having a generally good long weekend.
What more can you want really from a month! It will really be Epic April!!
so im sure your all dieing to know how everything is going. (/sarcasm). Training is doing well. The intensity is going up and up, its getting harder and harder to do things but I am getting through it. I know that I need to hunker down and keep at it.
Well in regards to the first two goals
1. Wigh 100kg
2. Run 10km
I am doing well with these two. I have lost 36kg (started at 172kg) so am now at the half way mark to this goal. But here is where it is getting hard. The weight is starting to plateau. This sounds like a fantastic effort for me but, its hard. My head is the hardest problem at the moment. I have to not think about somethings but I have to concentrate on other things. Like food. I have to think about what I eat, how much etc, but then I can’t think about the scales otherwise my head just does me over.
The 2nd goal though. Thats where I am really happy with my progress. When I first started. I could not even run at all. I couldnt even walk 2k Then I started smashing back the times. Walking further and further, 10km walk now…. pffft easy! Then i started running. 100m… buggered… 200m hell no… then I ran my first 250m, then 500m, then a full 1k. Im getting closer and closer to that 10k distance. I know its still a bit far off being July for the race but the more and more I run the better I feel 😀
The other goals though… still working on it!