Cardio hours: Ouch!

On my program that I signed up to on Tuesday, I was given a weekly goal for Cardio hours.  I have to do about 6 hours a week. Which at first I thought was fine, an hour a day except Sundays off.  Even with the kids in school it is a bit difficult to achieve. I have a lot to catch up on on the home front.
Yesterday I only managed the half hour swimming, so today I was feeling like I really need to get a bit more done.  What I planned to be an hours walk with the dog turned into an hour and a half. And I'm not talking about a leisurely stroll.  I walked 6 kms and arrived home sweaty, thirsty and tired and the dog was not much better.

I have worn my FitBit Ultra all day, which is like a regular pedometer but on steroids and synchs wirelessly with your computer or iPhone. The normal step goal when wearing a pedometer is 10,000. Today so far I have done over 17000. Woo hoo! After my walk the fitbit recorded that I had walked up 42 flight of stairs!  Check it here: www.FitBit.com

In addition to that I turned on Runtastic, which is an app on your phone that tracks, distance travelled, speed, elevation and shows you a cute map of where you went, which is funny when you can see how my dog dragged me around and about as he followed his nose and I let him do a couple of laps around the off leash dog park.

Tomorrow (Friday) I have a one hour training session with some of the mum's from school and later in the morning I have a one hour session with my new PT at the gym. I fully expect to not be able to walk sometime afterward.

You know what will make me feel better about the coming pain? Some retail therapy! Ouch. But I really did need a mat and a mat strap, so while I was there (see photo).

And no, I still haven't had the fallen tree removed yet or even heard from one or both of the insurance assessors that the neighbour and I have been told to expect a call from.

Getting back in the swim

Like most Aussie kids of my generation, I was taught to swim when I was in the first couple of years of school.  I never thought of myself as being particularly gifted.  My performance at subsequent swimming carnivals during my school years, was at best average and at worst pretty pathetic. My greatest swimming achievement is not drowning as a child despite having a backyard pool and a nasty big brother, swimming in huge surf, dirty dams and local rivers.

Not too long after leaving the school yard, medical practitioners started telling me that swimming was a good activity for me as it was perfect for my dodgy back (I blame genetics and horse riding).  To which I uniformly replied "I don't like swimming".  Simple.  Flash forward 20 or so years, after about a 12km walk with my girlfriends around the local environs, I became crippled by Plantar Fasciitis.  Long story short (if its not long enough already) I got treated, was given orthotics for my trainers and told to swim instead of walk.

So, I found that my Gym employed a fit young man who used to swim for South Africa at the highest levels and trained at the Australian Institute of Sport.  I signed up for three swimming lessons focused on freestyle and away I went!  And guess what?  I LOVE swimming now.  I find just being in the water relaxing.  I find doing laps meditative.  I love the effect that it has on my physique - when I do enough of it.  I still hate all the rigmarole with getting changed and showering and washing and drying my hair after.  But all in all I am a convert.

Having said that, it has been a while since I swam laps due to a minor operation on my shoulder at the end of last year combined with School Holidays and the pesky requirement to supervise my children while at a pool.  BUT today I went to the same swim centre that I have been going to for years with my kids, bought a pass that entitles me to 10 sessions in the pool and jumped in and swam 750m quite happily and I feel FANTASTIC about it.

What is the secret to my success you may ask (besides the aforementioned young South African man).  It is (training aids - which he and my chiropractor recommended).

And following on from yesterday's post, I did get around to ringing my insurer about the large Eucalyptus tree that is lying prone across my fence and yard and was told, among many other interesting tidbits, that if I claim for my destroyed 6 year old $200 trampoline that my premium will go up $110 per year ... fancy that!

Day One of my new lifestyle

On this day my three children got dressed in their School Uniforms and went to school.  Why is this signficant I hear you ask.  Well, my eldest son (DS1) has recently turned 10, my second son (DS2) started Year 3 and my 4 year old daughter (DD1) started school for the first time!  Ergo ... Now is MY time.  This is the year that I intend to make myself a priority - not to the detriment of my husband (DH) and children, but definitely in such a way that my quality of life is enriched.

So what did I do differently?  Firstly I made some time to meditate after I woke - despite all that needed to be done to get the three of them out the door.  And secondly I went to a local Personal Training gym and signed up for 6mths and thirdly I started this blog!

Not everything has gone to plan though.  My house is a mess for a start, but more importantly, a HUGE tree of my next door neighbours, blew down and crashed over the fence and into my yard last night and it turns out I should probably have contacted our insurer today - oh well.