Motivation Monday !

Welcome Motivation Monday ! A little pep up to get you motivated to start the week with a BANG!

Im so proud to post some real life motivation today of 3 of my run group girls who participated in the Sir Chimnoy fun run @ Princess Park in Carlton yesterday morning.  Well done to you all, firstly for getting out of bed on a lazy Sunday morning, braving the cold and most importantly running to your own beat.  Enough said, I think thats motivation enough.

Well done ladies !  Im looking forward to seeing you all cross the finish line for the Mothers Day Classic !

Nothing says it better than an original (sic) motivational motto....JUST DO IT !!!

Lovely lunching !!

Greetings everyone !  I hope you have all had a good week.  Ive had a frantic week with so much on and  so have struggled to post since Motivation Monday, Sorry !!

After this mornings kids netball match,  we took a lovely drive up to Coldstream in the Yarra Valley for a long lazy lunch.  It was just so beautiful, and a perfect time to visit as this weekend is the food and wine festival.  We had a very indulgent lunch at the Barn @ the Stones winery.  The meal was delicious, although i was most impressed with the kids meal..(image to follow) handcut chips, eye fillet steak and salad...

The kids had a great time running around the grounds with my iPhone taking workout action shots...they thought it would be a good idea to get together some anywhere exercise shots.  I had to share as they had so much fun taking them...  

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy some beautiful pictures of the gorgeous grounds at Stones.  

Kids meal

Strong like his mum!

Diving in

Push ups

Star jump splits

A lovely couple we met and their weekender..Hi Carmel !

Chloe giving it a whirl

My baby girl and I

The gate to greenery...

A gorgeous entrance to the stables

Motivation Monday!

Hello Monday !  Hope you all had a great weekend filled with love. laughter, fun and fitness!  I thought the above would be a great Monday motivator.  Even I struggled this morning after a few wines last night celebrating my husband birthday, but I just had to find my motivators for todays LSR.  (Long slow run)

For the first time today, I ran with my phone - specifically with the intention of taking some photos of the beautiful area I run in, and showing you some of my motivators for getting out there and just doing it. (Very original)

The track at 8km mark

Doesn't this look like a painting? Amazing..

Respecting the ancestors and their land

The entire run I can smell eucalyptus, it is so calming

This very sad tribute to a little boy who drowned in the Yarra on a family picnic @ my 4km mark , I run for this little boy past this point

Today s run - 16km

So they were my motivators for todays long run, what motivates you? 

Friday fitness funnies!

Goodmorning, Welcome Friday ! Where did the week go? Is it really Friday already? Why do my legs hurt? Is it good to be able to walk down the stairs this morning?  I hope everyones week has been well.

I started my morning at 6 am with a hills run session.  It was still dark when we started and cold but nothing beats the pain of the crazy incline up and down 4 times.  Legs burning, chest pounding - I had to chant a little while running up, YOU CAN DO THIS !

It felt like I was running up a mountain.  It was tough but part of my weekly run schedule, with the aim of building leg strength and increasing run economy.  Glad it was over.

Rest of the morning client training and catching up on lots of chores before the kids finish school.  I thought I would start posting a Friday Funnies post to get you in the mood for the weekend and to jiggle that funny bone, laughter also a great calorie burner and core strengthener :)

Enjoy ! Click on the link for a funny video..

http://youtu.be/jE3KWhUCros

Have a great weekend!!

I needed water...

Somedays I try to pack it all in - work, my own training, cooking and all the other multitude of tasks us superwomen try to achieve in a single day - most of these between the hours of  9 - 3.

Today was one of those days. Phew!!!  Morning training sessions done, phone calls returned and I headed off for my LSR.  Only difference being I started it at 12.00.  Way too late for me to run in the beautiful warm weather. Not prepared at all, long black leggings - no water.  Todays run, 14kms.  It was hard,  my face looked like a beetroot, but I made it.

So running in the heat, with no water hard enough - and suddenly at 7kms my iPod froze.

Aghhh, shock horror!  I desperately willed it to work, pressed everything I could to get it started, halfway to go and NO music.  It made the journey back soooo much harder.  I hate running without music. I find the music helps propel me along, gives me motivation when my legs are getting tired, and depending on the song, gets me doing a little clap or fist punch in the air.  Don't me alarmed if you hear me singing along or having a little wiggle as I run - you do whatever you have to, to get you through. 

This afternoon I was feeling the effects of dehydration.  Headache, dizziness, nauseous - awful feeling.  Im usually very good with my hydration and being prepared for a run but I guess I just hadn't realised how warm it was.  It just shows how important adequate hydration is for wellbeing, especially when you are exercising in warmer conditions.  Im still feeling pretty average but I'm making sure I'm keeping up my fluid intake.

Next time I must remember if I go out for a long run in the heat later in the day...WATER ! WATER !

Although I'm sure I won't be looking like that when I'm guzzling the H20.

Motivation Monday !!

Good morning everyone....Happy Monday !!  I hope you all had a great weekend.  We had amazing weather in Melbourne so I hope you were all outdoors making the most of it.

My weekend was spent cleaning up builders mess as we have had the last of the touch ups done in the studio.  Very exciting !!!

As I posted yesterday on the Urbanfit Studio Facebook page my hubby was in Canberra running the marathon - with a fractured toe.  Unfortunately he wasn't able to complete it, he had to stop at the 37 km mark.  Needless to say he was and is, extremely disappointed.  So much training - physical and mental goes into training for any event that unavoidably it becomes a bitter pill to swallow when things don't go the way you want.  Half the battle with running a marathon is just getting to the start line without any injuries.

Unfortunately for hubby the last few weeks have been tough with foot injuries, culminating in the ugly fractured toe.  It could have been so much easier for him to not fly up to Canberra and not even start but he so desperately wanted to follow through.

I think 37 kms is quite an effort, so well done babe!  But despite the disappointment, and subsequent pain, on reflection this experience had made him more determined to train harder, listen to his body and do it all again in July at the Gold Coast Marathon.  Just got to pick yourself up and keep going.  What a great attitude !

I though I would share with you this morning a great inspirational video, please watch it and Im sure you'll go away thinking you can do anything you want to do... Enjoy and have a great day.........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=s0Vt6W5VIzc

Exercise

This mornings run

aint nothing cute here...just a hot sweaty red face = hard work

This mornings run was a long slow run.  I do one of these a week when I'm starting my training for a half, increasing my kilometres each week to get to 21kms.  It has to be a gradual increase in order to help protect the body from injuries.  As a runner you tend to more often than not have an injury at any one point in time.  I tend to suffer from a lot of ITB problems (not irritable bowel :)

Iliotibial band Syndrome.  In simple terms a superficial thickening of tissue on the outside of the thigh which runs over the outside of pelvis, over the hip and ending at the knee.  This band tightens as it rubs against bone and becomes inflamed.  Lots of stretching and warm ups needed. At the moment its feeling good so i need to be careful with my increase in running as it tends to flare up by too quick too soon.



So feeling good after todays run and ready to face the day.  Fresh and revitalised....of course after a long hot shower.

12.2kms

Its cold outside...

It seems like Melbourne is experiencing quite a cold snap at the moment. Brrrrrrr !!!  What better way to warm up than cooking up a healthy lentil stew.  This recipe is on my weekly repertoire of meals come winter, although I've had to lug out the le creuset a lot sooner than expected.

Its so easy to make and is delicious served with some warm crusty wholemeal bread.  Mmmmm !!


The ingredients :

2 cups lentils
4 garlic cloves
handful bay leaves
2 carrots diced
4-5 chat potatoes chopped
1 onion sliced
1tbs coconut oil /  or olive oil
1tbs vegetta
4 cups boiling water

Make sure you rinse out the lentils before you place them in your pot, place all ingredients in pot together, bring to the boil slightly cover and reduce heat and allow to reduce.  Keep tasting to ensure lentils are cooked through.  If you need to add more water do so and allow to reduce.  Cook for 45 minutes or until lentils tender.  Add seasoning and serve.  Yum!!!

My new PB...

Happy Monday !! Hope you all had a great Easter.  We have been away visiting family for a few days.  The kids have really enjoyed seeing their grandparents and spending time with cousins.

We spent yesterday enjoying a lovely long lunch and a few glasses of red.  Yum!!

Every time I go away I always pack my runners and workout gear with the intention of working out.  More often than not they do get used, unless I'm having a very lazy kind of break.  So after a long and beautiful Saturday night dinner I put out my gear so it was ready for me as I rolled out of bed Sunday morning.

Happy Easter !!! Gear on and out for a run, love not knowing where I'm going just running...great way to explore - and run I did.  I set myself a new PB !!

My fastest and best time 5km.  WOW!!   22m:46 , avg pace 4.33..

Needless to say I am VERY happy about that.  I love setting goals and working towards reaching them.  So the rest of the day was spent indulging....I figured I earn it.

So now my next goal is to try and replicate that run and maybe even try and break it.  It was hard though so it might take a while, in any case a goal is a goal so Ill keep at it and see how I go...

I hope you all had a great Easter break and enjoyed some quality family time.  Enjoy the rest of the week and keep working on those goals.....Keep at them, be determined, committed and you will reach them..

It's a beautiful day !!

Goodmorning everyone !! What a great way to start this gorgeous day in Melbourne.  Client training session at 6 am, followed by a 12.7km run down on the track.  Thank you Mem !

Its so good getting out there early in the morning, all done for the day.  A great feeling of health and wellbeing.  Hope you all enjoy this beautiful day, a perfect day for a new beginning !!

Run for the Kids 2012

Happy Monday everyone !!  I trust you all had a wonderful weekend.  We had great weather here in Melbourne perfect for a weekend filled with sporting events.

Yesterday was the annual Run for the Kids event and Im proud to say that some members of my running group took part in the 5.2 km event.  They all finished the race in great time averaging around 35 mins.  What a massive achievement!!!  Unfortunately some of the group runners missed out on getting a spot as the entries sold out so they weren't able to run, but another 5km fun run is on the cards for them in the very near future.

So my 9week C25K run program has gone very well.  Its amazing the progress these ladies have made since week 1, with all this effort put in over the weeks finishing as 5 km runners.  Well Done to them and all their hard work and determination.  Im sure they've all got the running bug now, so I guess its whats next for them....Nothing beats the runners high....and that feeling of accomplishment when you've crossed the finish line at a fun run.  The atmosphere is electric.  What a great feeling being surrounded by healthy, vibrant, happy active people.

I paced the girls out initially and then left them and met them at the finish line with my makeshift signs, hoping not to miss them come tearing in towards the end.  I was so excited for them nearing the finish line, watching that digital clock ticking over, wondering when they would run in.  It was so hard being so close to the run but not actually running in it - hard for a runner to watch from the sidelines.

A great run for a great cause, to surely spur you on when the legs are feeling tired.  Great job guys and I'm sure this was just a taste of the many fun runs you will no doubt take part in and blaze through in the future.

Some pictures from the day..

After the race..Happiness !