Aiming for 100

Ever since I started seriously riding over 2 years ago I have talked about doing a 100km ride. Well, time to stop talking and start DOING! Before 2010 is out I will have ridden 100kms in 1 day. My PB to date is around 75kms and that was well over a year and a half ago. This weekend just gone I did 42kms. I figure if I add 5-10kms every couple of weeks, I will easily be there by the end of the year.

This Saturday is a ride day and I want to do at least 50kms.  I need to go to the Library and then I thought I would visit my Grandma in the Nursing Home.  My place, to the library, to Grandma's, to home is a little over 50kms I think.  I don't mind if it takes me all day.  I just want to rack up those kms.  Each day I do a big ride is one step close to the goal of 100.

Yesterday I finished working on my next Children's Picture Book story and was brave and sent it to a publisher.  I sent it to the same publisher that did not accept my first one.  It is very different to the first one though so I am hoping to get a better response.  The first one is currently with my second choice of publishers.  But while I am waiting the agonising 4 months to hear back from these places, I will start working on the next one.  I have a few in draft form, I just need to work out which one I will work on next.

Don't forget to check out the Give Away I am running for 3 free "Photo Cards by Kylie Ann".  Competition runs until Sunday night.

xox

Putting it Out There

Last night I gave my 2 posts from yesterday and the comments I received a lot of thought.  I know I am getting stuck 'in my head' which is usually when I collapse in a heap.  The result of discussions with the boy and deep thinking is that I will not be joining the gym - I can not afford it.  Also, I don't like gyms.  Never have.  So would I use it?  No, probably not.  I will save up and buy a treadmill when we are living somewhere more permanent again.

As for all the other accountability stuff, I know that the only person I am accountable to is me.  I know that I constantly let myself down.  And I know that if I don't find a way to fix this, I will never reach my goals.

A few weeks ago when I started my training programs I mentioned a large fitness goal I had in mind that I wasn't ready to share.  I am still not really ready to share it, but I am thinking maybe I should.  This is something I don't know if I will ever be able to do, but something I want to try.  And if you all know about it, it may be the mental kick I need to keep moving forward.

So here it is...

I want to run a Marathon before I am 40 (just under 3 years).

Am I insane?  Yes.  Considering I can currently only run for 1 minute and we are talking about running for 6 hours.  But there you go.  Now you all know so I have to get my butt into gear...

Thank you everyone for the comments yesterday.  I really did listen to what you were all saying and it really does mean a lot to me.

xox

10 For 10

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope everyone's New Years Celebrations were fun, and safe, and that you saw in the new year with those you loved.  We had a quiet one at home.  Just the 2 of us.  It was lovely. 

So, now that 2010 is upon us it is time for the goals for the year.  Ten Goals for 2010.  Before I started writing this goal list I decided to review my goals for 2009.  Of course, first I had to find them.  It took quite a while, but I did find them.  Did I achieve any of them?  No.  Why not?  Because after January 1 I never looked at them again. 

So this year I will be coming back to them each month to track my progress.  Because I plan on making 2010 not only happy, but successful as well.

So here it is.  My....
10 for 10

1) Run/walk the Mothers Day Classic in May
This is a 4km charity walk/run. I want to be able to run as much of it as possible.

2) Ride at least 3000kms
In 2009 I got to nearly 2000kms, and that was with several months of hardly any riding. So I am determined to get to the 3000 mark this year

3) Finish the knitted blankets
I started making knitted lap rugs for me and Ross when he got sick in May. I am only about half way through, but plan on getting them done in time to use this winter.  I need to knit 96 squares, then put them together.  So far I have done 44 squares.

4) Lose 30 kilos
This is around what I gained back this year. Thankfully it is not all that I lost, but it is way too much. By 2011 it needs to be gone.

5) Be in a financial position to sponsor a World Vision child
I have always wanted to do this. And this is the year I WILL be able to.

6) Send at least one childrens story to a publisher
I have a few, but none quite ready to go. This year, one will go, no matter how scary it is to put myself in a position where my work will be rejected…

7) Run/walk the 12 km at the City-Bay in September
But hopefully run most of it.

8) Start my novel
I have done so much planning for the novel, so it is time to start the actual writing part.

9) Go on an overnight hike (first stage of Heyson if funds permit)
Ross & I really want to walk the Heyson Trail. We figure we can do it in stages of about 5-6 days and although it will take years to complete, one day we will have done the whole the thing. Hopefully this year we can do the first stage of Blinman to Hawker. If not, we will just do a one night hike somewhere local.

10) Keep in touch with my interstate friends in the old fashioned way - by writing actual letters with pen and paper.
I used to love writing letters. I had so many penpals. But electronic media has stopped this. This year I am going back to the pen and paper.  Why?  Because it is personal and because I can.

So there you have it.  My 10 for 10.  What are your goals for 2010???

xox

Week 1 Training Plans & More Cooking

Week 1 of my 8 week training plan is over.  I did okay.  I did all my walking sessions, although one was moved to a different day and slightly shorter than planned.  I did miss one cycling session.  It was 42 degrees so I figure that was okay.  The 2 sessions I did were great.  My AHR was high and I felt strong after.  One was in a wicked head wind, but it still felt good.  Today I do the first walk with jogging intervals.  I am extremely nervous about it.  I haven't decided if I will do it later this morning or wait until tonight.  Ross is going to come with me which will be nice.

Last night we had friends come over for dinner.  We always have a great time when R & M come over.  We pretty much just talk and talk and talk...  I tried a couple of new recipes as well.

I made Tomato Pasta Bake, which I thought was a little bit dry, but still yum.

I served it with a garden salad and warm Creamed Mushrooms, which I thought were delicious.

It is nearly the end of the year.  I am looking forward to this year finishing.  It has been a tough one.  I am in the process of setting my goals for the new year.  I don't do Resolutions as such, but I like to set some goals in place.  Since it is 2010 I am working on a list of 10 goals that I will share on January 1.

xox

Back to Training

A few weeks ago I attempted to start the training program from Nicole Cooke's Cycle for Life book.  Due to Xmas festivities and illness, that went kaplooey.  I had made a decision to restart come January 4 2010, and to also incorporate a program to start running, doing the cycling and running on alternate days.

As I was riding to work this morning - in the lovely rain that we so desperately need - I wondered why I was waiting two and a half weeks to start this, when I could start now.  I have no festivities after work at all next week, then I have a whole week off.  Let's get this show on the road!

So I have worked out a training plan (will post spreadsheets in the sidebar at some point) that gives me 2 clear goals.

Cycling
I want to be able to ride 50kms again.  I don't care how long it takes, I just want the endurance to do it.  I have based my training loosely around the one set out by Nicole Cooke, but modified it so I will get to where I want to be.  I am not starting from zero fitness level here.  I can comfortably do 10kms in half an hour.  I can still ride over 25 kms in a day.  So it is just a matter of building on that.  For the most part my cycling will be on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Running
I am using the word running instread of jogging (although it will probably be more of a shuffle) because running is what I want to ultimately do, so I am going to start using the word.  My first goal is to be able to run 1km without a break.  Yes, this may seem like a small goal, but I can not run at all right now, so I figure 8 weeks to get me there should be do-able.  I need to be careful.  I am still carrying SO much extra weight and I do not want to risk injuring myself, so I am starting small.  For the most part I will be walking/running on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. 

Fridays will be my day off.  I am also going to try and put some swimming and yoga DVD's in there as well, just to round out what I am doing. 

I do have a major fitness goal in mind that will take quite a long time to prepare for.  It is not something I am prepared to share right now.  But let's just say that this is the first step towards this larger goal.

xox

Fur-babies, Packing, and Weight Talk

Our poor fur-babies know something is up. They spent the weekend watching us packing things up and shipping them out. They have been alternating between ignoring us and being mad at us, and being overly smoochy and affectionate, which is the bit I love.

This is Shiva after a long day of watching us pack.




This is Starr. He hates me normally, but has actually been allowing me to look at him this last week, which is a real sign of affection for him.




Kimba decided we weren’t allowed to take her photo this weekend….



Saturday was ‘packing up the craft room day’. I got nearly all of it done. Throughout the process I was ruthless with my de-cluttering. I filled one wheelie bin and then filled another 4 bin liners with things that I really truly just don’t need. I have 3 crates of fabric to go to Mum’s, who is SO excited to be adding to her quilting stash. The beauty of it going there is if I ever need any fabric I can just go to her place and go through her stash! I also have several items going to my MIL. The rest got taken to my friend E’s house on Sunday to be stored. There are a few things coming with me, but not a lot.

I was so exhausted in Saturday night. And my legs were absolutely killing me from squatting and standing all day. But we decided the best cure for the sore legs was to go for a walk. We haven’t been walking together for ages, and it was really nice. Although we were both quite sore so it was a fairly gentle paced walk…

It got me thinking though. My health, which 12 months ago had gotten so great, was up the crapola again. Going for a 2.5km walk took over half an hour. I can feel that I am gaining weight at a rate of knots. I have been dealing with the recent extra stresses in my life the way I have always dealt with things, but stuffing copious amounts of food down my gob.

These last few weeks I have been so tired and drained. I have started feeling like the old Kylie, who let’s face it, I hated. But I also know I am not in the right place in my head to be counting calories again. I also don’t want to go back to OA as I found the meetings quite depressing and also felt like the constant talking about food and food issues was fuelling my obsession with it.

This morning I got on the scales to assess the recent damage. Actually not as bad as I expected, but also not good. Not good at all. I jumped on the bike to ride to work this morning for the first time in 2 weeks, and I felt it. 2 weeks of no exercise and lots of food does a LOT of damage to your health and fitness level. I spent the ride thinking about my goals.

Last year when I was actively losing weight I was obsessive. Scary obsessive. It was all I thought about, all I talked about, all I dreamed about. I don’t want to go back there. But I do want to get back to where I was physically and even beyond. So I am doing this slowly. My first goal is to lose 12.4kgs (because I like to be at round numbers). The weight is not important so I will not record it, I just want to lose that amount first up. I also want to get my cycling fitness back so I can easily do a 20km ride again (I can still do it, just not easily). And I want to start jogging,

They are my goals. Timeframe is 3-4 months – no set date as that just freaks me out. Once I get there – and I WILL get there – I will re-assess.

One step closer

Well, I am one step closer to starting to jog again. I bought my new sneakers tonight. :o) I went there planning on getting a pair of Nikes. I have always had Nike jogging shoes (although never used them for running or jogging) and I have always loved them.

But the several pairs I tried on didn't fit my right foot very well. The arch sat just behind my actual arch and felt very uncomfortable. Although the left foot felt wonderful. So the lady in Rebel Sport - who was wonderfully patient and helpful - convinced me try venture out and try other brands.

My cross trainers (which I was wearing) are New Balance so she suggested a pair of them. Well, they felt great. :o) So I was sold.

Tomorrow I am catching the tram to work which involves 3kms of walking between home and the tram then the tram and work, so I will test them out. My fitness is shocking at the moment, so no jogging just yet, but I am ready to start working on it again.

I am feeling good.

Thinking About Tri-ing

The Tri Pink was meant to be in Adelaide at the end of November. Due to the venue receiving a government grant to do a major refurbishment, it had to be cancelled.

I was reminded today (thanks Mel) about it. When it was first cancelled I was relieved. I have done no training whatsoever and am completely unfit again. But I decided at the time to try and work towards the Melbourne one and fly or drive over for the weekend.

Since then of course, ‘life’ has confused matters and we are now about to move and are back to a one income household. This makes the option of going to Melbourne near on impossible.

But…

She has a thought…

Maybe I can do the Melbourne Tri Pink in absentia. I can do it here, on my own, on January 31. Yes, it won’t be the same as doing the actual event, however it gives me something short term to work towards that won’t cost me any money and that I can actually achieve. It also means I don’t need to wait until November next year to do my first Tri.

So, Smudge has made a decision. She is going to Try to Tri on Jan 31 2010.

HELP! LOL