The Week that Was – short and sweet

So to follow on from a fairly good week of exercise last week and with the interruption of Christmas and Boxing Day eat-a-thons, here is my week in short.

Monday – did a little swim in the lake, practicing open water techniques, for which I have no idea, in the afternoon I got back on my bike with cleats and had a much more confident 17k cycle.

Tuesday – Christmas Day – eat drink and be Merry

Wednesday – Boxing Day – eat drink and be more Merry

Thursday – rolled out of bed whinging about how bloated I felt, then when I stopped feeling bloated I ate some more.

Friday – back on the exercise wagon, short cycle to Ocean pool to meet up with a training buddy and my Personal trainer, 400m swim, 3k run (with hills), 400m swim, skim chai latte and short cycle home. Felt great to get such an awesome workout in before work.

Saturday – no exercise.

Sunday – 3x 500m in the ocean pool, came home and ate some more.

Can anyone see a pattern here? Although I managed a few good workouts, I am pretty sure they were voided by the eating. Evil chocolates are taunting me. I am hoping that with the New Year I will click back into being good. I am on the downhill countdown to the BIG 4 0 with about 6 weeks to go and although I am confident I am fitter and will complete my fitness goals (slowly but surely) I really want to see double digits on the scales – 99kgs here I come.

TheThe Week that Was – Finally kicking it up a notch

So finally I got off to a great start this week.

Monday, I did a morning swim, 1500m including drills. Afternoon I did a mixed cardio and strength session with my PT.

Tuesday a hectic morning/day, took Miss 3 to her swimming lesson and then headed to post office and gym, so picture an armful of different bags, parcels, her swimming bag, my gym stuff and her snack bag and my handbag, (I looked like a pack horse when I left the house). Did a good 30 minute cardio including 15 mins interval running on the treadmill which up until 2 weeks ago I vowed I would never do. With a bit of persistence from my trainer at the Gym she said just do 5 minutes, which I have now built up to 15 minutes and I have to eat my words because I am enjoying it.
I headed home for a quick shower and then drove an hour to visit my nephew for his 13th birthday and took him and his bro (9) and sis (14) along with Miss 3 out for McDonalds and then to the park for a play. I love that these kids are so energetic and a little bit competitive. I was telling them about the Mud Run and convincing them to do at least the kids run next year and they wanted me to time them doing obstacles around the playground, over the logs, across the monkey bars, up the ramp, down the slippery dip and running around the swings and up an over picnic chairs. It was a stinking hot day and we were the only group at the playground, they had so much fun and Miss 3 was following them around like a mad girl. The funny thing was every time they went to go down the slide they got a static electric shock off the metal, I told them to toughen up. Then they did running races with Miss 3 and pretended to fall over so she could win. Such a fun day, I wish I saw them more.

Wednesday after work I headed out to Wollongong Harbour where the local Tri club was doing a training session for the upcoming Aquathon, a swim/run event. So the full training was a 500m swim and 5k run. I asked hubby if he would like to come and bring Miss 3 to the playground nearby and take her for Fish and Chips.
The swim was in the harbour but there was a wicked wind blowing and there was a pretty good swell. I can’t remember the last time I SWAM (properly) in anything other than a pool, so this was a struggle. I managed to do about 350m, I probably could have done the whole thing but I was conscious of my family waiting for me and that I would be the last 1 in the water if I didn’t cut my 2nd lap short, something that was not appealing to me right on dusk. Then I headed out for the run, I could see Miss 3 was really whingy and tired so I made the decision to cut this short as well and probably did about 3k, again I struggled, a few little hills really got me and I tried to go a bit faster than normal so got puffed and had to do a few walks throughout the run. But it is all training so glad I did it.

Thursday I headed to the gym for a weights and abs session and then took Miss 3 to the local pool for a swim and catch-up with some of my Mothers Group friends. Myself and another mother did some swapping babysitting and she headed off to do some laps and then I did the same, such a great way to train when 2 people have like-minded goals. I just did a quick 500m.

Friday I allowed myself a day of rest.

Sat and Sunday, no workouts but a massive amount of cleaning and incidental moving, getting the house ready for Christmas. In honour of my family descending up on us on Boxing Day I wrote a poem in appreciation of those who host Christmas each year especially my mum and MIL, both amazing ladies.

Twas the weekend before Christmas
and all through the house
nobody was relaxing….
We were cleaning the house

The cooking and baking
created a mess
So we clean again?
Again, I said “Yes”

We normally go
to somebody’s house
And this year they say
We’ll come, it’ll be grouse

I clean out the shed
For somewhere to dine
Our house is too small
The shed will be fine

Plotting and planning
How many to seat
To make it look pretty
I’m gonna be beat

The toilets are scrubbed
I’ve added blu-loo
And we’ve cleaned the spiders
Off the furniture too.

“Don’t do that
stop making mess
Mummy get cranky
And have a big stress”

So thanks to our mums
Who do it each year
To keep us all fed
And we say “Were Here”

To finish off my Weekly Wrap I managed to get Miss 3 to visit Santa and convince my friend Cindy to bring her son Brae for our 2nd annual Christmas snap with Santa, it’s not getting any better, but it’s still funny, hopefully next year……..

Is it sad when the mum's are having more fun than the kids?

Is it sad when the mum’s are having more fun than the kids?

The Right Stuff – Heart Rate Monitor

This is the first post of many discussing the gear you should/could or want to have when embarking on particular types of exercise. Now please be aware all opinions expressed here are my own and, are just that, experiences. Either that or I find “Stuff” on the internet and link it here too.

For the last 6 years I have almost always used a Heart Rate (HR) monitor when exercising on dry land.

My first was an Oregon (model not important now as it is obsolete) but I found this really good and it was compatible with Polar straps which came with my Concept 2 Rowing machine and therefore it detected my HR and displayed it on the screen. This lasted for about 3 good years before it failed, to be honest it probably just needed a battery replaced but I never bothered.

The next 1 I bought whilst contemplating getting the other 1 fixed was a $20 Crane brand from Aldi, I found that it was good for a while but eventually it seemed to show my heart rate skyrocketing and therefore burning an excessive amount of calories.

About a year ago I mentioned to hubby to have a look whilst in Singapore at the price of a new HR Monitor and surprise surprise he came home with an adorable white Polar FT40. Some of the basic features that I love about this watch are; this model is water resistant to 30m, simple to set up and operate, 24 hour time and it is also compatible with Concept 2 Rowing machine.

Now my adorable looking Polar watch has not been without its problems. A few months ago it started to do weird things, increased heart rate ie over 200 just standing still. It would also drop in and out and beep and carry on, it was driving me mad. I made some enquiries to send it away and after a few emails back and forth I was sending it off the Authorised Polar repair centre for Australia. I was amazed at the speed it got returned within a week, they replaced the battery (at my cost) but I was disappointed that it still did not seem to be working properly. I trialled it a few more times before I sent it back again, this time they replaced the soft strap that holds the transmitter, however I had already purchased a new 1 off Ebay (from the Polar shop) a few weeks before I sent it back the first time (trouble shooting) and it appeared this was not a fix to the problem.

Some of the crazy stuff my HR monitor was doing before it was finally fixed.

Some of the crazy stuff my HR monitor was doing before it was finally fixed.

I was getting really frustrated and pissed off I just wanted a device to work and was about to start the process of researching other brands of HR monitors. As a semi-last resort I became “one of those people” to post a negative comment on the Polar Australia Facebook page. Well the power of social media has yet again astounded me, within half an hour of putting the comment up I had a phone call from the Polar service company and they offered to send me a new Transmitter (last option from their end I think). It arrived within 2 days and hurray we have action, all my numbers seem to be within normal ranges for the workouts I am doing and I am now confident I am getting an accurate calorie count. So even though I have had problems with my Polar I feel confident that the service that was provided (after a little extra nudge) was good and they were excellent at communicating via email and phone so I would consider a Polar again.

Finally fixed and we have a calorie count for a workout.

Finally fixed and we have a calorie count for a workout.

For a more technical review of Heart Rate monitors check out the Results of Choice test of 18 HR Monitors.

Have a happy week of workouts.

Fun fun fun on the Mud Run

When I started this Blog I set myself some goals and 1 of them was to complete the Mud Run. Now at the time it all seemed like a whole lot of “as if that is really gonna happen”. Just over a month ago the alarm went off in my Outlook Calendar to tell me that it was time to registered to get the slightly cheaper rate, nothing like saving $5-10 to stop you from “NEVER EVER” doing it.

I must say that this last month went Super fast and the last week, like a rocket. Before I knew it today was the day. Now it was a bit of a weird day because normally with an event you are out the door early ready for a 9am start. Today was different because our start time was 2pm, so fluffing around the (air-conditioned) house waiting to leave was a weird feeling and I may have been in La La Land and not really comprehending what was ahead of me.

So I rounded up the troops, picked up a few gal pals and hit the road. We ended up with a team of 8 and were called Southern Commercial “Mud” Divers due to a bit of sponsorship from my wonderful employer who is also my MIL and FIL.  They provided our fantastic singlets for the event.

The team showing off our Shirts.

We arrived in the 40 degree heat (Celsius) at the Mud Run venue and headed straight to the registration tents and grabbed our number bib, pitched ourselves a sun shade and I tried to chill out and relax before our time slot.

It was not long before it was time to head down to the starting line. With a 2pm starting time they were letting groups go at 5 minute intervals, we were out of the blocks at 2.05pm.

The mob ready for the 2pm start time.

Of course you have barrels of energy at the starting line and we powered off over the first obstacle which was hay bale steps and then up and over a brick wall. Then it just seemed like an endless mirage of hills with not a drink station in sight. I think the first run/walk and hurdling over a few obstacles to the first drink station was the hardest, it was sooo hot and dry. I am not going to sugar coat this for you it was hard and hot and I must say I walked ¾ of the course. I was the slowest in our team and really felt like I was holding everyone back.

The team ready to start the event.

I’m going to head off on a tangent at this point and give you some background info on what has happened this week. Monday morning I woke up and my world was spinning, literally. My head had not even come off the pillow and I felt dizzy. When I tried to walk I was bouncing off the walls like a pinball in a pinball machine. I have had this problem before and it was diagnosed as low blood pressure and mild ear infection (among other things). Before I lifted my head off the pillow I got on the phone to my Medical Centre to hook up an appointment ASAP. So the doc checked me over and my ears and blood pressure were fine, she sent me for blood and urine tests and after some other testing suggested that it could be Vertigo. She also said that my neck and head were very tense and that I should see an Osteopath, usually when I feel this tight I see a Chiropractor, she said Chiro was not a good idea. Long story short, I managed to get myself a late appointment on Monday to see Osteo and by Wed I was starting to feel slightly better, Thursday I got my blood results and nothing was out of the ordinary, I also managed a cardio workout and by Friday I almost felt normal.

So back to Mud Run I was a little reluctant to push myself tooooo hard and took it easier than I might have, if I hadn’t had the medical issues of earlier in the week.

My goal for the Mud Run was to finish, have fun and have a go at each obstacle.

I lost count of how many obstacles were on the course but some of the memorable one’s were; the first water/mud pit where my friend Colleen jumped in with a giant splash; the big pipes called Birds Nest which had wasp and other critters nested all over them.

My friend “Claustraphobia” and I could not start nor complete an obstacle which was a water filled trench with black plastic over the top where you could not see daylight at the other end, my issues with this was if it was a black tunnel with no water I may have considered, but the combination of water and enclosed space was not on my fun list. The only other obstacle I did not attempt was a balance beam which was barely 2 inches wide and if you fell off it was into a dry pit which looked like a 6ft drop. I didn’t think it was a good idea after having dizzy spells earlier in the week.

Some of my accomplishments were the cargo net, wobbly as hell, higher than I thought but once I was on the downward side I was relieved and satisfied that I completed it. My favourite was the Commando crawl through a watery mud pit which had low flying bunting hanging over it, second fave was the giant Slip ‘n’ slide, there are some benefits to being heavier, you get way more speed on the slide and I managed a graceful or disgraceful tuck ‘n’ roll at the end as I was still travelling at a great speed when the slide ended. I also enjoyed the giant inflated pillows near the end, bouncing over and the horrible last obstacle that was a wooden ramp with a rope to pull yourself up and over. My upper arm strength was just not good enough to get me over it, so after splattering and sliding back down the ramp I walked around. I didn’t want to bruise and batter myself on the last obstacle.

So all in all, out of the 20 or so obstackes, I didn’t attempt 2 and was unable to complete 1. Everyone on the team had fun, I was the slowest of our team but didn’t care too much because of the week I had and the heat I wanted to finish, not collapse. I consider this type of event a “Fun Run” and loved getting down and dirty in the mud. I will be booking into doing something similar again soon.

PS: I hope to get some action shots on here when the Event Photographer’s release them.

I finished, still smiling but a little bit tired.

Here we are crossing the finish line. This picture certify’s that it actually happened.