I. Was. Running.

I hate running. Actually, I think it’s that continuous jog kind of run that I hate. When you are trying to keep the same pace for a decent amount of time. Let’s be real, I’ve never been a ‘jogger’, I don’t mind the odd sprint though. A powering up of the legs for a short and sharp burst to spike the heart rate.  You see, according to my FitBit, my heart rate hasn’t been hitting it’s peak during my workouts lately. When I asked Jim my trainer, why not, he said I needed to push myself harder now that I’m obviously much fitter than I was a year ago. So I thought the way to get in the peak zone was to try and jog, since when I do I’m gasping for air and putting my arms behind my head to get as much air into my lungs as possible, by the end of it. So on Sunday afternoon, I made myself go for a ‘walk’ around the freeway bridges where we live.

It was quite a hot sunny day and I had good intentions to jog a pretty good part of it. I started to power walk, I could feel my heart rate increase. So when I got over the first bridge, I thought, right, now is the time. I picked up the pace. I set myself targets to jog to, ‘right if I can just make it to that lamp post, then I’ll stop and walk for a bit’ I said to myself. Then if I make it to the sign, I’ll stop again. Then it was ‘I’m going to sprint as fast as I can the whole length of that limestone wall down there’ and you know what, I did it! While I may not be a jogger AT ALL, by breaking it down into small increments, I found I could actually handle it. I had a fist pump moment when I reached the end of the freeway and the line from my favourite movie of all time, Forrest Gump, came into my head, you know the bit where Forrest breaks free of his leg braces and learns he can run. Yeah, it was totally like that. ‘I. WAS. RUN-NINNNNG!!’ I even did a few laps of some stairs just to keep the heart rate in the ol’ peak zone for a bit longer.

When I got home, beetroot red and legs on fire, I checked in with Madamme FitBit. 44 minutes peak!! YESSSSS! Not sure I’ve felt that stoked with a workout in a while. I always feel like I’m giving my all when I box and do bootcamp etc but to have Madamme FitBit actually TELL me I had, was truly something else. I don’t think this means I’ll be jogging it all any time soon, in fact I’m supposed to be doing the HBF Run for a Reason in May, but I really don’t feel like doing it. I probably will, I’ll get talked into it and I’ll be glad I did when it’s done. But just because something’s good for you, doesn’t mean you have to like it!

Image result for forrest gump running

Chazzy

 

A rant to kick things off

Rant time. I’m kicking off this blog because I’m annoyed. And I needed to vent. It’s Friday. We’ve just had a Community bake-off at work. I chose not to participate as Thursday night’s are too crazy to do my best for a baking comp. I work until 6, then by the time I get home, cook and eat tea, it’s 7.30pm and by then it’s way too late to begin to clear away dinner dishes and then start baking. Anyway, that’s besides the point I’m making. The point is, just because I choose not to eat the cakes, pastries and savouries, doesn’t mean you have to feel sorry for me. A colleague said to me ‘there’s probably nothing you can eat but it’s all over there if you want anything’. My reply was ‘thanks, although I can eat what I like, I just choose not to’. I choose not to indulge in sugary treats at work because a) I’m trying to lose weight and get fit and b) because I choose to save my calories for weekends where I might be socialising with friends and enjoy a few glasses of champers. I’ve always used the word ‘diet’ but actually, my way of thinking has changed. Diet to me, sounds like yeah I’ll stop eating crap for a few weeks, lose some weight and then continue to eat healthy for a few more weeks and then progressively eat crap again until I’m back to square one. I’ve done it many, many times. This time though, it’s different. I’m choosing to make better decisions EVERY day. EVERY week. EVERY month. It’s been a year now. And it’s been tough. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE the sweet stuff. LOVE chocolate and I’m more than partial to a few cheeses with crackers over some bubbles! But when I do indulge in those things, I just jump straight back into my normal lifestyle food choices. I want to be leaner. I want to be fitter. I want to not be the fat girl. Or the girl that would be ‘pretty if she lost weight’. So last year, I went about changing me. Granted, the fact that my brother started his fitness business helped immensely. I was given a free pass to classes and personal training. It was bloody hard work. I hurt every day. Actually, a year on, I still hurt every bloody day! But I’m used to it. It makes me realise I’ve worked hard. Anyway, the more classes I did, the fitter I became and the more weight I lost. Obvs. And here I am. 18kgs lighter with that elusive 20kgs milestone around the corner. I must admit, I thought I’d be there by now. I’m up and down like a yoyo every week. It’s so annoying. Anyway my point, is/was that this is my choice. As it is yours to eat whatever you like too. And you shouldn’t look at me with sorrow in your eyes when I say no to your sweet treats. It’s all good. In fact, it’s more than good. Life tastes pretty darn sweet right about now.
Chazzy.