She Runs Unleashed! She Runs 10K! She can't believe she can run!!!

Last Saturday night I gathered with 11 other women from my gym and my sister to run in my first event since I was a teenager.  Back in my teenage years, I could indeed run.  I used to  be a Cross Country runner, running 5kms in under 19 minutes to stay on the school's team.  In year 10 - when I was 15 our team won the NSW State Championships in fact.

But that was a long long long time ago!  So when I registered for the Nike She Runs The Night, Sydney!, I was only really motivated by the chance to be with friends and have a night in town :-)
http://nikesydney.com/nike-she-runs-2013/

I fully expected to run a bit and walk a bit and maybe or maybe not run some more and have a bit of a giggle.  Actually, at one point I must have thought that I would in fact train for the run, but the reality turned out to be quite different.  Prior to the event I had only run/walked 5km's max, just a couple of times, and with School Holidays and long visits from the Parent-in-law, even that kind of activity went out the window in the weeks before the event.

So you may be able to imagine my surprise and in fact euphoria that I felt at actually running the full 10kms, without walking at all!  My time was 66mins.

I sprinted the last few hundred metres and crossed the line as if I had won the whole event and would be winging my way to San Fransisco (that was the prize).  More than one week later I am still astounded.  Actually I ran 1km this morning to the Cafe for my large soy flat white with an extra shot and wondered how I had run an extra 9kms just a few days before.  This photo is me on the left, shortly after the end of the race with my BFF who ran in 9mins faster than me.

I can only explain it as the culmination of an interesting set of circumstances! Which I will list in some kind of meaningful order below:

1. Running with my sister:  16 years younger than me and I wanted to not come over like a middle aged lady in front of her :-)  I wanted us to have a great time that night - something to really remember.  I certainly did not want to be asking her to stop running and walk with me.

2. Great atmosphere:  98% women, at night, lights, music, good cheer!

3. Improved fitness:  While my cardio has not had a great deal of attention,  the combination of weight loss, diet and strenghthening through weights, can only have made my result more probable.

4. Even after all these years, I think that the running experience that I had in school, may have at least given me some good memories of running good distances - about getting my breathing right, and pushing through the tough bit and waiting for the 2nd wind to come along.

Anyway, I think that my next event will be the Colour Run which is also at Centennial Park, but this time only 5kms. http://thecolorrun.com/australia/sydney/ And that I will definitely do the Nike She Runs again next year!

Sisters Be Fit!

Willpower is key

Before I started this this fitness kick, I was well  aware that self-control was the issue.  Afterall the problem is 70% food and only 30% exercise. I was angry that even though I knew this it did not make it any easier to exercise any - self control that is.

I read a great book called "We have met the enemy - self control in an Age of Excess" by Daniel Akst.  I enjoyed reading it, it was enlightening and yet I finished it and felt stronger for a little while, before I fell back into old ways.

On signing up to my program, I was angry that I had not been able to kick these few kilograms myself.  Now, I am supposed to have support around me, family friends, trainers.  Pressure that has been brought to bear by me telling everyone that I have set my goal.  But at the end of the day you only have yourself don't you?

That is what I have felt today.  I really had to use my will power to go swim laps.  It would be easier if the lanes were open right after school drop off, but they are not.  I had plenty of things I could have done instead of going but I didn't.  It meant I missed lunch and went from laps to helping my daughter's class cook pancakes for Shrove Tuesday.  My pancake partner was a qualified chef and he made some beautiful batter with the kids using Butter Milk and everything.  I helped the kids pour them into the pan.  I helped them flip them.  I put the their lemon and sugar or maple syrup on them and served them to the kids.  All without taking a bite - and there were plenty left over too.  That's self control.

Now I find that although I have reached all of my Macro Nutrient Targets for the day, I have stayed up too late and I am hungry and it is going to take a lot more self control not to eat anything else before bed.  A big drink of sparkling water and some vitamins [sigh]

Tomorrow is another day, a weigh in day in fact.  The day I see my PT for an hour, the day I see if my first weeks great result can be followed up by another successful week.  I think so.