Rest of February

10th February, 2013 Before and After the Albany Walk with Ronnie

A lot has happened in Fabulous February; some of it not so fabulous.

After not really doing any training since the first Albany Lakes Walk we did the second one on the 10^th February. I met the gorgeous Mel and we walked together. Fiona ran/walked and managed to do the 10km in 1 hour 30 minutes; awesome!

I caught up with the beautiful Ronnie again and missed the group MotivateMe NZ (MMNZ) photo….will definitely be in the next one!

What I did do was wear my MMNZ tank top and the support from the other members along the way was absolutely INCREDIBLE. Smiles, waves, and words of encouragement…these gals are incredible! However, it gets SO MUCH BETTER.

Makaia (started MMNZ) was approached by Joe from Ludus Magnus as he wanted to get the MMNZ women in for a session to show us what they do. I was initially nervous and to be honest I signed up and then a week or so later I checked out their website and then freaked out. I am going to liken the training style to cross fit as that seems the easiest comparison for the time being. About 15 of us went along on Sunday 24^th February and it was absolutely amazing! Joe was great and the training was both rewarding and hard; I had to modify quite a few moves but know that I can improve. Trying to explain to Mark and show him was hilarious! Oh and I did run a bit!

What I do want to say about the MMNZ gals is that they are absolutely incredible. They are so strong, so supportive and so driven. I feel privileged to be part of an amazing group of women who are all at different stages of their journeys. I feel motivated, supported and encouraged by them. These are things that I have rarely felt over the years, especially in team/group environments.

Words cannot express what these women and my own friends have given me over the last few years.

Then my cousin Letti sent an invite to a Bootcamp group which I joined. Letti is on her own amazing journey and is doing incredibly proud; she’s getting stronger, fitter by the day. As I was leaving Letti’s on Monday night after a great catch up I got a message from Kiri from MMNZ to say that they had convinced Delane (our Summer Shake Up trainer) to do another 3 weeks; starting the following morning. I thought “OMG I cannot do this” and then responded saying “yes, I will be there in the morning”.

I then realised my week was going to look something like this:

Sunday – Ludus Magnus

Monday – nothing

Tuesday – Shake Up (am) / Walk (pm)

Wednesday – Bootcamp (am)

Thursday – Shake Up (am)

Friday – Bootcamp (am)

Saturday – nothing at this stage

Sunday – Final 10km Albany Walk

I am a crazy person.

Tuesday’s Shake Up was intense with boxing, stairs, boxing, STAIRS, SQUATS….boxing. I honestly thought my arms would die during the boxing part; however I can still answer the phone today which is a bonus. Wow those gals can hit! Go Kiri, Liz and Steph. We were all sweating glowing in the moonlight…yes it was that early.

Wednesday’s Bootcamp was easier in some ways (no stairs) but really great. We were working on correct form for body weight exercises like Squats, Push-ups, lunges and planks. It can only get better right? Oh and I said “I will not run even if zombies with chainsaws are chasing me”….hopefully I will be able to run a bit when I get my weight down more.

All in all the training is keeping my mind off other things which is probably quite good. Now I just need to fix up the eating a bit more and I will be home and hosed.

March is a huge month for me in terms of events and I need to be really on form for The Dual in 4 weeks.

I am going to get one of the Bootcamp trainers to help me with a program for the gym as the thought of 45 minutes on the cross-trainer is boring me silly and putting me off going. I do love exercising in the fresh air and with other people. We train hard and have moments when we laugh. Last Tuesday I realised I was sweating so much it was rolling down my arms and dripping on the stairs. NICE. Oh wait…I was glowing!!!

If you want to know more about MotivateMe NZ or the other Bootcamp I am doing then please just ask :) 

February Weigh-in

Sign at Te Atatu Peninsula Pony Club

This morning I weighed before getting dressed and driving to Shake Up. So I am officially 144.9kg which means I have lost 2.1kg. I am pretty happy with that considering I did not do much exercise in January and my eating was bit haphazard.

I have not really been walking as I think I got bored with the route I was using. So yesterday I woke up early (typical public holiday…no sleep in) and was out on the road by 6.40am. I managed a 7.2km walk in just under an hour and a half. It was pretty good considering I was wearing my new shoes for the first time and I was meant to break them in more before the next Albany Lakes walk on Sunday 10^thFebruary.

I also stretched a little bit. I am pretty slack with stretching and really wish I had a minion that would stretch me out after I exercise. I have found that one leg is pretty sore down by my Achilles and also my calf and strangely my right glute muscle is really sore. I tried using our foam roller, but it was a bit hard to roll and support myself.

I decided that I would register for the Autumn Brush Up through MotivateMe NZ as I missed the summer one. However, Makaia suggested I try it this morning and if I liked it then I could do the last two weeks with the Waitakere group. So off I went this morning. I think I was a bit nervous and had this really scary dream about how it was going to be a crazy boot camp with people yelling etc. The Shake Up was not like that at all, but another team from a women’s only gym were…there was screaming. Can I say that screaming at 5.55am in the morning is not good?!

I enjoyed myself. Had a wee drama queen moment when I was trying to do the abdominal side of things. Honestly, I thought I was going to puke. I had to put my legs down in the middle of the cycling on my back. Means any glimmer of abdominal strength that I had as gone. Then the push ups! So the aim was to do as many full push ups as we could manage; even if only 1 per set. I managed two and then flopped down on the ground to throw a tantrum have a rest. I then put my head on the ground…must have smacked it as I have a wee mark. So I did the rest on my knees interspersed with drama queen moments.

Anyway, the really awesome thing was that I read on the group board this morning that one of the MotivateMe NZ girls had done 160 full push ups this morning as part of their group workout; so inspiring. I would be happy with just being able to do 20!

Fit and Fabulous February

So February…HELLO! Where did January go?

New shoes....do you see the Diva Pink?!

After the first Albany Lakes walk I went to Shoe Clinic in Newmarket and got some new shoes and socks. The staff were so helpful and INCREDIBLE!! If you want new sports shoes then I definitely recommend Shoe Clinic. Oh and the shoes are a women's size 12!!! This blew me away as I always have to wear men's shoes and HELLO they have pink on them. #HappyNess

I joined MotivateMe NZ which is very exciting and below is a post that I put up on the wall of their secret group the other day. 

Here’s my big confession. I was really meant to get back on the better eating and exercising train in January. It started well with lots of RPM and less junk…however it did not continue. As soon as I was back at work the exercise fell to the wayside and I wanted to eat ALL THE FOOD….I think I was having a few “treats” every day. You know how it goes need/want chocolate and then think about the pros cons; ignore the cons and go to the café and buy something amazing. I have been to the gym once since being back at work and for one walk because I had paid to do it.

I need to be accountable to myself but also to others (i.e. MotivateMe NZ) so that I stay on track and keep focused.

I am absolutely blown away by what you all have achieved and love seeing your stories, your journeys, your food photos, your exercise photos. It is so inspiring. I know that most of you have huge commitments in your life (work, family, food planning/preparation, exercise and children) and you seem to balance these without faltering. But if you do falter or struggle there is a whole crowd cheering you on and offering words of advice, support and suggestions about how to get through the next week, day, minute or second.  I also figure if all of you can balance everything then surely I can as well?

It is now February-Eve and I am deciding what I need to do to make February better and re-focus on what I want to achieve.
Clean(er) eating | replace “treats” with healthier options i.e. fruit or brain balls
Exercise | 3-4 walks per week and 3-4 gym work outs
Better meal planning/organisation
Probably no takeaways again

I realise that even though there are 24 hours in a day there just does not seem to be enough time to sort out everything that I want/need to do. I was trying to think of ways to get everything in to make time for exercise, food preparation, “me time” etc. So this is roughly what I came up with:

Weekdays 
4.45am-5.00am– get up and travel 
5.30am-7am– gym 
7.15-7.30am– get to work/breakfast 
7.30am-4.30pm– work 
5pm– home 
5.15pm-6.15pm– walk/Mark to ride 
6.30pm-7.30pm– dinner preparation/dinner/lunch for following day/kitchen clean up 
7.30pm-9.30pm– personal time i.e. watching TV 
9.30pm-10.00pm– reading 
10.00pm– lights out

I thought that if I prepared a lot of food for the week on one night when dinner is cooking then I could save a bit of time. I think that Sunday afternoons could be a great time to actually prep a lot of stuff for the week i.e. making brain balls, preparing chicken and vegetable kebabs etc.

** Last nights dinner (Stuffed Chicken, Cauli Rice and Fresh Tomatoes). Brain balls for the week to stop the cravings

First Event for 2013

Before Race. Tired and a bit puffy.

Sunday 20^thJanuary marked the start of my events for this year. I registered for the WestfieldAlbany Lakes Summer Series for the first time. I was really excited about getting a metal drink bottle for signing up for 3 events!

I actually did with two friends; one that runs half marathons and another that was going to walk with me.

To be honest I had not actually walked since the Sculpt 6k in November which is ridiculously slack as I do know better. However, I did go to the gym a bit over the festive season to do some RPM classes.

The best thing about yesterday is that I walked the 10km in my fastest time (1:47:33) which was actually unbelievable as I was walking very, very slow.

Fiona managed to come in with a time of 1:38 which means she was probably about 1km ahead of me in the end. I lost her around the 4km mark when she sped ahead. The point when it became quite hard for me was at the 6km mark when my feet started to really hurt and I realised that I was developing blisters. Unbelievably, I have not had blisters since I first started my walking journey which would have been well over 12 months ago. I was in lot of pain and I slowed down a bit and I was having a wee rant at myself for 1. Not getting new shoes and 2. Not keeping my walking up through Christmas etc.

The last 2km’s were walked with one of the lovely race marshals who are there for support. She was lovely and really got me to the finish as she told me about living on their family farm in Gisborne and what she wanted to do once she had finished her PT training in Auckland. I just want to say to “Kate, thank you so much for motivating me through the last few kilometres”.

I also had a real fangirl moment when I saw another woman who was wearing a MotivateMe NZshirt. I said to her “OMG I have just ‘liked’ them on Facebook and they are awesome” and she explained that she had just joined as a member and what her goals were. She started with her PT today I think.

Where do I go from here:

• Get new shoes ASAP
• Get new socks
• Start walking at again as the next race is in 3 weeks
• Become a member of MotivateMe NZ ~ Done
• Improve my 10km time…even if it is just by 5 minutes

You can see a full list of my 2012 vs. 2013 events here. 

Also, at the end of the day I hobbled around Wenderholm for a photo walk with blistered feet. Possibly not the best plan, but it was so beautiful at the beach.

Independent Woman

Second Birthday ~ July 1977

Over the last few months I have had a chance to really think about the things that make me “me”. Quite a few of these things are what I have learned (or inherited) from my parents.

I have realised that I am so like my mum and so like my dad and because my parents are quite different to each other (in so many ways); in certain situations I often find myself split.

I am so like my mum. From time to time I need my space and need quiet time to process things. Basically, there are times when I just want to be left alone to think. It is not a personal reflection on anyone around me i.e. family, friends etc. it is just that I need space. There are days when I wish I could be stronger and more tenacious like my mum. I love deeply like my mum. I adore animals. Oh and I proof-read like my mum used to proof-read all my work; much to Mark’s horror!

Mark, mum and I were having coffee one day and mum said “I brought Vanessa up to a be a strong, independent young woman because I did not know if she would ever meet her birth family and I wanted her to be strong in case anything happened to us”. Mark’s response was “did you have to make her so independent?” It was then that I realised that I can be independent to the point of wilfulness in some situations.

It was through my mum’s tenacity and strength that we met my birth family.

I am so like my father. I love being the centre of attention. I love to talk and have lots of people around me. I love to tell my stories over and over again. This is probably why I have an online blog. I love huge celebrations with family and friends and I adore good food and wine. Actually, it is all about me! I do appreciate music and often get emotional listening to particular songs. I am compassionate like my dad.

Once I asked my dad if he regretted never having (biological) children of his own and his words will stay with me until I die. He said “you are my daughter”. I was enough for him and I filled his heart with joy.

So you can see why I am sometimes conflicted...mum sometimes wants space vs. dad loving people around etc.

 

Like both of my parents I pretty much trust with all my heart and have an amazing amount of admiration for them both.

Then I also share traits with my birth mum and biological sisters. A few months’ ago my sister Bec said “oh my goodness that expression is so mum!” So it really speaks volumes about nature vs. nurture.

I was adopted out at birth and from an early age my parents told me that I was adopted and when I was a bit older I knew the circumstances of my adoption. I grew up as an only child within a loving family; I was cherished. Did I feel like there was a piece missing; yes. There were times when I would wonder about people walking down the street and whether they were my biological family. There was a time when I meet a woman at the local beach who constructed a huge lie about knowing my birth mother etc. and I believed her. My mum was absolutely heart-broken for me.

I can clearly remember really wanting a sibling to play with and I did ask if we could adopt another child or even provide a home for one of the children from the permanent placement articles. Mum just told me the other day that I would be gutted when my friends (or cousin) went home after staying the night or the weekend. I also got used to playing on my own and also let my imagination run wild within the realm of books.

I guess what I am really trying to say is that I honestly do not think that you can understand growing up as an only child if you grew up with siblings in your physical space.

When I was about 13 my cousin came to live with us. We shared a room. We shared physical space. We laughed, we fought, we cried. Finally, I had a friend and confidant…a sibling. We have so many shared memories. What I cannot remember, she can fill in the blanks. Seriously, we could write a book with our teenage experiences. I was trying to sum up my life between the age of about 6 through to 18 and I realised that a 20 minute car ride is no way near sufficient time.

I met my birth family at 14 years of age and found that I had 3 biological sisters. Suddenly, I had sisters in addition to my cousin. My teenage years were pretty tumultuous (you will have to read the book) and it took time to develop and nurture relationships with my sisters and birth family. 23 years later we have a pretty incredible bond.

I still keep things to myself and do not share a lot of my very deepest feelings with anyone, not even Mark.  I believe that this comes from being an only child for the first part of my life and I guess in essence I learned to self-soothe and be strong. As an adult, it is probably unlikely to change.