LIFESTYLE BALANCE........

When trying to design the lifestyle that suits us best with the resources we have/can obtain we have lots of decisions to make and lots of factors to consider.

As we know, we generally can't have our cake and eat it too, or so the saying goes.  We prioritise some things at the expense of others etc.

As for fitness, - once I get into a training zone I'm happy with, I love it.  Achieving better performances, feeling more 'zippy' throughout the day etc is very gratifying.  I have never had a huge training load compared to what I read others get through however at the moment I have minimum ideas of I like to obtain per week.

For me they are:
* Minimum of 20k running, (no walking included in the 20k) clocked up by Sunday night on the end of a Mon-Sun week.  In addition to that I don't like going 2 days without a run, 1 day is fine, (don't wanna risk losing momentum) for no good reason!  I like these to include a couple of longer runs outside, (road and gravel, - flat near where I live).  I like to include 2 torture incline treadmill sessions, - these are shorter runs generally but hard!  An uphill bush run or the like could be substituted for a treadmill run to break things up as long as I push it hard!  I have been very consistent with running training of late!  Obviously, if I have an injury etc, I need to take what I deem approriate action but don't wanna make feeble excuses.

*  I like to get a bikeride of at least 20km, varying terrain in per week pushing up a good sweat, (RPM class would suffice too)  OR a swim, at least 1k as fast as possible or even better BOTH.  Lately it's been more a case of 1 or other with the swimming or biking.

* I like to do resistance work, - bodyweight stuff such as plank, pushups, dips, stuff with dumbells such as lunges, shoulder work etc.  Am really happy if I get in 2 sessions per week of 20 mins of fairly consistent resistance work without too much bumming around between sets.  Occasionally, (when I feel like it), - about once a week I do agility work such as running up and down steps/quick feet as fast as I can for a bit.

Some weeks I may do a bit more, particularly if I feel I want to build for an event or push myself, other weeks I may have more on, - but need to keep to this level unless there is a proper reason.  I aim to better my run times outside, increase incline/speed on treadmill and lift more/manage more pushups etc resistance wise and love seeing improvement trends.

I am aware:, I have a job, I have study which needs to be seen to, (not in big cram session hits but consistent amounts regularly), I would like to be of help to family and I'm gonna be an Aunty in about 3 weeks which is exciting, I like to keep on top of housework/gardens and general stuff, I am working toward having a social life and do like chilling out!

Sometimes I get so passionate reading about how people keep fit, reading sporty biographies, blogs, magazines that it can consume lots of my mind, - not that I do LOTS of training myself and also the fact I'm NOT a professional athlete, (and will never be.....am realistic here haha).  I've also always admired figure competitors, love reading about their prep etc, (have done so far years) but.....don't know if I want to be committed enough to give it a go!  Part of me really does, the other part doesn't.

For example sis's hubby's brother was leaving today, (after staying with them/doing some work for a few weeks).  I asked lil sis if it would be suitable if I called around to see them and say goodbye yesterday evening.  She said, 'come round for tea, we are having nachos, the boys have been wanting them for a few days'.  I said to her.....um, I ate some dark chocolate and had some wine and cheese on Saturday night after the race, - it's a little soon for me to plan for another potentially 'off track' meal, I was planning on lean steak strips and stirfried veg with lemon juice haha!  She said......'don't you want a social meal with us'?  I said 'I would like a social meal, - could I have my nacho mince/beans on salad/no cheese, - or could I come after you have tea'?  Her reaction was like: 'harden up and stop making a fuss, I will make you a moderate plate of nachos, corn chips, nacho mince, moderate amount of cheese, (not loads) - put under grill for a couple of mins at end'.  I then agreed: - OK, see you then, - and did so and ate the plate full I was served!  I liked the mince/veg/bean mix, nice spice but ate the corn chips and bit of grilled cheese served with it!

I do know, clean nutrition does taste real good, and it's very easy to get absorbed with only wanting to eat that.  However it's easy to get very absorbed about it at the expense of other stuff.  I have always thought personally.....if I have to ring a restaurant to check what was on the menu before attending, I'm going too far!  The flip side to it......if I've had a food binge in the past for any reason, (often not always started cause of too much wine)......nachos is one of the foods along with many others that I'd want to 'cram in' before gathering up the momentum to 'get on track' again but if 'on track' I don't seem to crave the less healthy options.

In general I like to be a 'go with the flow' person mostly when it comes to getting along with others.  Not a 'princess' or 'potential pain' haha!  I know I can get quite absorbed/very structured in a topic I'm interested in at  sometimes the exclusion of other topics.  I do like building friendships/being social as well!

So it's 'go with the flow/moderation' at social activities, (making a good choice if I can easily)......and my general 'on track' ways otherwise.  It's just weird having a full average sized serving of nachos socially, then being back to 'on track ways'  straight afterward.  The urge to not train/binge was there after the nachos.  There was infact 60g dark chocolate left in my fridge which I did relent to after that! 

However it finished then, on track now, had my fastest run since August last night.  7.5k completed in 44.5 mins, covering both loose gravel and road.  What was really great was that my final km was on the bitchman road, and my fastest km of the run, about 5.02 mins for the km.

The lifestyle balance is a hard art to some degree! Sometimes I think it would be easier in some ways to shut out lots of my life and prepare hardcore for a bodybuilding comp.  But for me if I ever committed to that, I think that would be the total focus of my life almost.  I really admire those strong minded people who have competed/compete in bodybuilding comps with families, jobs, children etc but manage to keep on top.  With running or multisport and the like I feel I can be more flexible.  Even if I trained 30 hours a week I'm never going to reach anywhere near the top, (obviously lol)!  But I really enjoy running/multisport events, meeting others into events, how I feel after a good workout, like being fit and like keeping to standards I set myself.

Am definitely getting fitter which is great, can tell size 14's are starting to feel a little looser or fit properly.......bring on the 12's and 10's!  Although one pair of size 12 stretch shorts have recently just come 'wearable' again.  And the 2 XL largest womens colourful tee-shirts I could find that I liked in Thailand, (not many bigger nice clothes for women there) used to cling to too many back rolls and bust.  Now they don't cling and I'm wearing them. 

In general am achieving quite a bit across lots of different areas which I'm real happy with, - although talked at length about fitness today.  Am mastering the art of consistency/not perfection and not stop/start.