Hello,
Well, have made it to day 21, the end of another training week, onto 'week 4' tomorrow! Still on track, still going strong, and am still impressed with my efforts in training.
Firstly I will list training efforts of the past week:
Saturday: - 10.1km run, quite a few hills to go up and down en-route! Quite a slow time today of 1 hour 7 mins, lots of hills but and getting the mental inclination to get outside between rain showers was tough! Evening I did a 20 min or so circuit of Bootcamp type training repeated twice, (some of it 3 times) on the tiles, - including ski jumps, pushups, knee ups, crunches, plank, lunges, sit against wall thing with thighs and calves at a 90 degree angle, tricep dips.
Sunday: - ended up being a naughty unplanned day off intense exercise although I got quite a bit of walking in.
Monday: 11 mins rower, (hit over 2.5k), 30 mins running on treadmill fast as poss, (just over 5.7k), 4 sets of 12 on the assisted chin up machine, - holding it in slightly different places over the sets. Also targeted back pulley machine, and about 3 other weights machines, (can't remember exactly) plus ab work. I did rower first up, then weights, then treadmill, then abs.
Tuesday: Started off with 30 mins treadmill as fast as poss, (think I did 5.78k) before cooldown. Then 1/2 hour training session with mate including circuit of stair runs, push ups, squatting then throwing medicine ball against wall on way up, lunges. Then headed off to work shoulders and triceps. Then visited the leg press for a few weeks, then abs.
Wednesday: 'Bridges' outdoor run. The route has changed slightly as alterations are being made to footpath. My Garmin measured my run at 9.37km, I completed it in 55 mins, 12 sec. There are a couple of lots of stairs to go up and down enroute to make it interesting but otherwise it's rather flat! That's my quickest time for that run in a couple of months, was pleased to get first 5k done in 28:47. Not fantastic by any means but not bad for just under 80kg. I'm still working an outdoor sub 25 min 5k as something to cross off the 'to do' list, think I have come close when at my fitness peaks but haven't quite crossed it off!
Thursday: Tired, big day at work, REALLY couldn't be bothered with visiting the gym LOL! But started off with 12 mins on rower, lvl 10, about 2.75k I think. I did get 'into' the session. Then tricep dip machine, leg extension, leg curl, stretching, abs, then another 30 min blast on treadmill. Hit 5.68km, was struggling a bit and as I made it to the gym I didn't increase speed for last 2 mins to point of almost puking lol! So prob hit a 9/10 effort instead of a 10/10. Happy with that though!
Wow: about 36.5km running clocked up for the week :-) 5.2k on rower, all at pretty intense speeds! Busy active work week too, on go, always take stairs instead of lifts/escalators and there are lots of stairs in my day!
I will give up blogging my training soon, - just finding it interesting during this challenge.
As for all else:
No bingeing = tick! Relatively easy, most challenging part described in last post after lunch with my mate and also the first couple of days of this challenge.
No diet or normal softdrinks = tick! Sometimes I feel a bit like a coke zero, nothing too major and haven't relented!
Sugarfree = tick! Am not really missing or craving sugar at all. If they do their 'coffee' muffin at work, resisting that is a bit of a challenge but nothing overly major.
Alcohol Free = tick! By FAR the toughest challenge, will explain next paragraph!
Deep Fried Food/Pastry Free = tick! There was the bit of pie I had last Sunday as I was invited to a friends for lunch and she served pie with pastry. I am fine with that though so this gets a tick, the above were more of a priority to abstain from than pastry.
Awww yeah alcohol/wine in particular! I haven't relented! But I do miss it! In reality ideally I would prefer not to give it up for good, (as I love it) but I was unhappy about how much I was drinking. If I'm 'aceing' it in training somewhat and eating 'cleaner', the thing that gave was 'wine' and it's consumption went up. It's a beaut sunny Friday arvo here in Perth today, I have completed what I feel was a productive tough week. I am lucky to be able to train, I have lots to be grateful for, although tired from early mornings, being busy, training hard, I am in a relatively good mood. For some reason I am hankering to cap it off with a few relaxing wines, (pleasure/enjoyment). I can't decide if I want sauvignon blanc, or dry sparkling so the temptation is to get a bottle of both, (good specials are on including bottles of my fav wines) have a glass of each, (maybe just slightly more), and drink it over dinner, while watching the footy and the Olympics on TV tonight! What is left over from tonight would be there for tomorrow! I can do without it, but just would really enjoy it. In all honesty I feel like wine every evening, (am embarrassed to admit I could easily drink it 24/7 haha). But I feel like it most on a Friday and Saturday, maybe followed up by a Sunday.
'Thoughts', (perhaps somewhat 'lower brain' thoughts) have circulated such as 'I wish I announced this as a 20 day instead of 29 day challenge'!, (it would be completed now). 'You have been so focussed/you don't want to give wine up for good/ just decrease intake so.....have some and don't tell anyone'.
BUT, - I am still reading Michael Hill's book, 'Toughen Up', he and all inspirational people talk about 'not being a quitter'. 'Follow through on what you say you are going to do' la-de-da'! So if I caved into a drink before the 29 days were up, particularly for no other reason other than me wanting one I would feel some disappointment, then would feel re-affirmed that I don't follow through on what I say I will etc.
WHY DID I CHOOSE 29 DAYS AGAIN?
I did Febfast this year, (a month off the booze, joined by a big fundraising group worldwide). It was a leap year this year so Feb was 29 days. I completed it successfully, - but substituted alcohol enjoyment for coke zero/sugar/cheese/binge urges. I could string a few 'on track' days together with no other baddies except perhaps coke zero, but then had an unfocussed bingey week or two, repeat! Think I weighed very similar at the start of Feb to what I was at the end. The idea of this challenge was to practice ideal habits all round for 29 days, not substitute one less desirable for another and do it for the whole 29 days.
After the 29 days I plan to stay binge free, committed to training. I intend to keep up similar sugarfree standards I currently have in place, (so indulgence is only very occasionally in small/moderate portions). I intend to stick to an alcohol 'budget' of sorts.
So there has it! Another note was I jumped on scales at gym yesterday when I should not have. No change since Monday. Just down 2.2kg in 20 days. Not terribly bad or anything, but when younger, and with the amount of effort I'm putting in I would have smashed off a significant amount more. I'm looking forward to leaning down now ;-)
Sorry this dragged on a bit, - will talk soon!
Pip :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment