Couch to 5k update

Hmmm, sore knees put an end to my C25K last week but I intend to get back into it again next week.  On the activity front I've been super busy around the house and garden. Today I managed to get in 14 567 steps or 8.29kms without leaving my yard.  I'm doing resistance work in the form of digging, weeding, carting tubs of garden waste, throwing or kicking balls for the dogs, raking etc.  I'm feeling pretty good and my body is coping well with all the activity. I'm careful to mix up the types of movement I'm doing to try and prevent aches and pains.  For the first time in years gardening isn't leaving me in quite horrible and often debilitating pain.  Woohooo!!  I'm so happy, excited and grateful for the health I have at present. I am so close to good health I can sniff it!

I made a big decision last week and cancelled my Weight Watchers subscription.  My weight loss has been so slow that I'm finding it hard to continue justifying the $50 per month fee.  I have been losing slowly whether I count propoints or not (have experimented) so have decided to take a break. I can rejoin if I even feel the need to but I can still count points if I want as I have all the books, knowledge, trackers etc.  I feel good about the decision, actually I feel relieved and interestingly have found it easier to eat well since cancelling. 

So, where do I go from here? 

I'm going to keep moving each day much as I am now. I either work in the house and garden and count my daily steps or I hit the treadmill, cycle or walking path for intentional exercise.  I also do some yoga most days.  I started yoga ....wow, 19 years ago. I was living in a remote community in far north Queensland's Cape York and my yoga teacher was an elderly French woman who had done her training in India many years previously.  Her classroom was a cement brick room in the rainforest, fully screened to keep the mossies out.  Now, my yoga practice relies heavily on the use of some wonderful DVD's I have by Louise Wiggins.  Her approach to yoga is lovely and the variety of her sequences  throughout her DVD's is really great.  Some are similar to Thai Chi and Chi Kung, others are more 'pure yoga' sequences.  Love them and love Louise.  I haven't been back to the pool due to ahem... a togs malfunction - pants fall down. Oops. Being winter togs are very hard to find so I'll wait until they hit the shops again and get back into it.  By then our pool here at home should be warm enough to use too.

As for my eating, I'm going to stop stressing about points (but use the knowledge they've given me about the cost of some foods). It feels rather unnatural to me.  I'm going to focus on planning my meals and eating instinctively and mindfully and see where that takes me over the next couple of months. I shall keep weighing myself regularly and if I start to move up the scale I'll kick my butt or head back to Weight Watchers.

All in all my life it in a pretty good place at the moment. I feel happier, stronger and more relaxed than I have in a long time.  I feel engaged in life outside the home as I've had the energy to go out to movies, to eat out etc with Jeff. I also LOVE my weekly art classes which are giving me so much.  Socialising with the other fantastic students. I am part of such a lovely group of people, it's really special.  I'm loving the 'doing' of art and am redeveloping so much confidence as I unfurl my talent to work with the skills I'm learning. I feel like my life is richer and has more of a purpose now other than just surviving and focussing everything within me on getting through my day and healing.  I'll keep you posted.

Wishing you all well.

Couch to 5k day 3

Wow!  I've completed week one of the couch to 5k. (Only 8 weeks to go.)  I don't really know how to feel about it....surprised, celebratory, relieved, shocked.  Really can't gather my thoughts and put a finger on exactly what I am feeling.  I procrastinated for 24 hours before getting on the treadmill for day 3 and although I stretched, my feet and shins still hurt a little. Not as much as last time though which is good.  I still struggled with the 1 minute run sections. Mentally and physically.  I can see improvement there definitely though as I recovered much, much better between running segments. I think I'm in for more character building than muscle building, fat stripping on this journey from couch to 5k.  As soon as I finished my little inner voice said "Wow! Done! Now next week I have to run for 90seconds each time. I'll NEVER be able to do that."  Such a seductive and convincing voice.  A week ago I would have said that I'd NEVER be able to run for one minute let alone complete a whole session which include 4 x1mins of running, then backed up and did it 2 more times.  So I'll have to keep this in mind next week when my self-doubt and lack of confidence start screaming at me again.  How much do we stop ourselves from doing in life because we listen to that voice?


Edited to add:  It's almost an hour and a half since I got off the treadmill and wrote the above post and I'm feeling really good.  Body feels ok and mood and general feeling of wellbeing have lifted to a lovely level.  I'll keep hoping the runners high hits me during the run instead of 90 minutes later!

Couch to 5k day 2

My body coped really well after my first Couch to 5k session.  No pain - my legs did feel a little 'used', but not sore. I experienced no fatigue either so that's a BIG relief and a big 'YES' to continuing.  So after a brief half hour of procrastination I got my butt on the treadmill and got to it. My feet and lower legs really stiffened up and felt sore during the run so I think I'll do some stretching prior to my warm up. The session looks like this....

• Warm up walk 5 mins (I do this at about 4.5km and speed it up closer to minute 6)
• Jog 1 minute (I'm doing my jogging/shuffling at 6km per hour)
• Walk 90 seconds (I'm doing 2 minutes between 4.7km and 5.2km)
• Jog 1 minute
• Walk 2 mins
• Jog 1 minute
• Walk 2 mins
• Jog 1 minute
• Cool down walk 5 minutes 

So I effectively run for 4 minutes all up.  Before becoming ill I used to have a lovely fluid running style and now I notice that I am doing that odd shuffle that you sometimes see runners do.  I can't seem to make myself run any differently and it feels odd.  I know, I know. I've just started. Just look at what I've overcome to get here. Give it time etc.

Am I enjoying it? Not really. :)  I feel good when I've done it - more mentally than physically. I've battled mental demons - who screamed and yelled at me yesterday - and it always feels good to overcome those nasty little voices in your head.  "I can't. I don't want to. Only do half a workout etc" Became "No choice. Just do it. You CAN do this. Only x seconds to go before you walk again. Good girl. etc"  I even woke this morning thinking about going for it again, but I'll follow the programme properly and walk today then get back to the jogging tomorrow.  I'm starting to feel a small glimmer of excitement that it may be possible for me to write here one day soon "I've just run my first 5k".  Putting the cart before the horse but I have to have something to dream of and aim for!  Stay well everybody and keep taking those little steps daily to improve your health and your life.

I did something crazy today...

I started doing the Couch to 5k running programme. It's something I've wanted to do for a very long time but my health has definitely held me back. I'm feeling stronger and the moment so decided to give it a whirl.  My intention is to complete the programme - I will however listen to my body and if it says that it's not coping and heading backwards then I'll kick back or stop.  My body and health come first before my willfull determination to achieve wonderful feats of fitness.  I've been so very busy with my art and then keeping up with everyday life that I've been restless to move. My walks just didn't seem enough anymore so I figured that was another reason to give it a go. 

I'm doing my version of the C5k on the treadmill.  There are a few reasons for this. I thought it would involve less impact on my joints than the hard surface of the path outdoors. (No sore knees after my first run so all good so far with joint impact.) It is much easier to track times and distances when they are right there on the screen in front of me.  The treadmill is 3 rooms away from Jeff's office and has an emergency pull thingy so if I get into trouble help is very close by. I think I'd feel a bit self-conscious running with all my wobbly bits out in public so this is a more emotionally safe place to start.  Let's hope my body can keep up with the grand visions of health and fitness in my mind....   :)

A change is as good as a holiday

My trusty little feet took me on an adventure today....  After weight watchers (where I lost 300grams), I headed to the pool that I mentioned in my previous post. 

Out came my trusty goggles and cap. I'm sure they were quite excited to be liberated from my linen closet and finally out having fun and getting WET.  Then I dove in and got moving. Only for 15 minutes mind, but it was a start and I so enjoyed it. I managed 6 laps = 300m. The pool was very quiet and I was the only one in the 50m. There were some cherubs having a lesson in the 25m pool at the other end of the building but I was left undisturbed.

Here it the pool building in all it's glory! Not very well lit and my camera really overemphasised the dimness but oh glorious to be in the pool and not be thinking about the sun.  Splendid, splendid day.  I will definitely be going back. Swimming gets my heart rate up in a way that walking just doesn't. I'd have to jog to get similar cardio results and I don't want to consider jogging until I've lost at least another 10kgs. I felt fantastic for the first hour or so after being in the pool. Now, 3 hours later I am starting to get quite sore across the shoulders and in my back. No doubt my muscles are in shock at the new use I put them to.

Sitting on my bum

Although I've been doing between 10000 and 14000 steps per day I seem to be spending a HUGE amount of time sitting on my bum doing this and this.  Drinking far too much tea too.....  Goal for the week is to make sure I get out for my walk every day. If it rains I'll use a brolly or get on the treadmill.

Today, while out at an appointment, I decided to pop in and check out an aquatic centre that was on my way home. It was AMAZING. I love swimming but have done very little since developing a number of skin cancers, including melanoma.  This centre has a fully covered and enclosed  50m pool and a 25m pool.  Warm in winter and SHADED all year round!  The only catch is it's about 40kms away which is really only half an hours drive but that's far enough to be unrealistic or a reason not to go some days.  I'm down near the pool once per week so am considering going on the day that I'm close by anyway.  Hmmm, will have to see if my togs still fit....I suspect not.

I hope you enjoy having a peek at what's been keeping  me sitting on my bum for hours on end...

What's on the menu

Since coming home from hospital I've lost 2.2kgs and I think I have menu planning to thank for it. In part anyway.  Out menu or meals for last week can be found here if you are interested.  I simply do up six or seven meals and have the ingredients on hand from the beginning of the week. I then make the meals each night from the menu plan that suit our needs and preferences . 

Below you'll see the baked dill salmon, smashed potato and mixed steamed veggies that we had for a main recently.  The meal looks large but the plate is quite small, entree size really.The potato is a chat (baby) so that may give you some idea as to size.  When I was making this I was feeling quite hungry and decided that it wouldn't be enough so I made a dessert that I'd seen in my Weight Watchers cookbook.

 I present to you these beautiful spiced apples.  This dessert was light, delicious and very easy to make. Brilliantly it was worth only 2 propoints too!!  Take one apple per person and cut into 3 width ways (I didn't core).  You end up with rings as you see.  I then juiced 2 oranges from my tree and into this juice I stirred a shake of nutmeg and 2 teaspoons of dark brown sugar.  I arrange the apple slices in a single layer in a lasagne dish and poured the juice mix over them.  Bake this in the oven on 180'C for around 20 minutes or until the apple is tender but not mushy.  I served these sprinkled with cinnamon, a few pistachios and some greek yoghurt. Try it, it's a winner.