Groove to the Music

Ha!  Nothing could be further from the truth for me.  I am just a wee bit un-co.

It amazed me last week at the Surf T Surf just how many people run wearing headphones.  When I queried our 12wbt ladies that were running with headphones I got an astounding yes! that running to music really helps.    Hmmmm.

Now I do have an ipod but more often than not I'm listening to a talking book or crafty podcast when driving in my car, but I do have a few odd pieces of music on my ipod, so tonight at the gym I decided to give it a go.

Usually I get to the gym, hop up on the treadmill and pound it out watching the efforts of Ridge and Brooke and the Forrester clan, yes I know, pathetic huh?  But tonight after work they didn't get a look in.  I popped in the earphones, found my music and off I went.  Well I kept running but needed to switch to the next piece, hmmm too slow, okay try the next one, nope that's not suitable either.  I realised tonight that I have a taste in slow music, not at all foot-tapping-run-inducing music.

Then all of a sudden a piece came on ... and I really can't believe I am going to admit this here, but Glen Miller and his Swing Band.  Yeah yeah, shoot me will ya, I have him on my ipod.  And all of a sudden I ran to the beat, and it was great.  Every down beat my left foot hit the treadmill and it was so rhythmic, I loved it.    And it worked.

Until the next piece came on and then I realised it's really REALLY hard to run to a syncopated swing piece, all of a sudden I found myself almost skipping and tripping trying to find the down beat and my run was all off.  I dread to think that I must have looked like, as if I was having a fit trying to find the beat.  Oh well, if they check out the CTV I'll give them a laugh at their staff Christmas party!

Soooooo, mission this weekend, find some good running music and make a mix up on my ipod.  Any suggestions?

All was not lost, I did another PB at the gym, ran 4 kilometres non stop in 35 minutes.  Okay so I'm not cracking any land speed records, but it was non-stop!!!!!  I even had to reset the treadmill when it went into auto cool down at the 30 minute mark, and pump it back up again.  I was a lather of sweat, even my shoulders and arms were drenched.  But boy!  I felt alive.

Just quietly - I think I've turned a corner.

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to doing a Stand Your Ground workshop with Emazon.  Remember the scary lady from The Biggest Loser?  The one in the caged boxing ring?  Well I'm going to her session tomorrow to assist me in transforming my life for health, weight loss, self image, confidence, self authority and to resolve destructive behaviour.  Sounds pretty full on.  Can't wait.

Check it out here to learn more:

Love that it is about mind, body, spirit - that's what I'm on about with this journey.   :-)

Mish the relationship counsellor

12wbt is a program like no other.  It works on the food, it works on the health, it works on the fitness, it works on the body, it works on the mind.  Such an all round program.  But I wonder if Mish realises how far reaching the program is, it is working on family relationships too.

It's no secret to my close friends the at times tumultuous relationship I have had with my mother in recent years.  Don't get me wrong, I love her, but there were a lot of things said and done a number of years ago and things have never quite been the same with us since.

I didn't realise way back then that dad was the glue that held our family together until one day he was not with us. I guess added to the emotional turmoil was not just that dad had passed away, but that he passed away on Christmas Day.  So every year when Christmas came around, emotions were heightened anyway, and every year then when mum pushed us, or more particularly me, away, it hurt.  You hurt the ones you love?  Isn't that what they say.

A wise friend once said to me ... yes you Kylie and I hold these words very close to me ... that I can't change my mum's behaviour, I can only change my reaction to it.  I can't tell you how many times I've said that over and over to myself over the years, in fact I believe I still have that phone text on my phone to remind me.

I won't go into the whole sorry year that we were at odds, but over the last few years we have both been trying.  I wonder sometimes if we will ever get back to the way we were.  We used to talk on the phone every day, sometimes a couple of times a day.  But now it may be the duty call once a week, even sometimes more than a week goes past.   We used to see each other often, despite that I lived 2 hours away.  Now I see her when there is a reason, and there have been times I've popped down there, did what I needed to do in Geelong and then came home without even telling her I've been in town.  You kind of get my drift.

So today in the mail I was surprised to receive a card from my mum.   I was wondering what the occasion was until I opened it and read the words, which I want to share with you here.

In case you can't read it, it says:  

"Dear Carol.  

You should be so proud of yourself to where you have reached.  

I am very proud of what you have achieved 

and you have made some wonderful life long friends on your journey.  

Keep up the good work.  

Lots of love, Mum xxxx"

Now I know there's been a bit of work in both our camps, mum and I over the years, but this, this unexpected card full of love and pride, just wow.

12WBT, the World's Best Ever !

Anyone get the Woman's Day this week?  What a thrill to open the little booklet that was attached which held the World's Best Ever Diets and see Michelle Bridges 12WBT there on page 8.

The photograph also of Angela Wallace, I remember way back when, on those fateful three days that I heard the term "12wbt" by three separate people and went about and visited my friend Mr. Google, and it was Angela Wallace's site that was one of the first sites that came up, and set me on this path I am on.  Inspiring!

So go Mish !!!   We already knew this was one of the world's best ... no hang it ... THE WORLD'S BEST LIFESTYLE.  

So anyway I was reading the little booklet  and there were pages on the different types of exercise and I was reading out the Overview of Running, in particular the sentence:

"Running is also good for our mental health, as it helps release mood-boosting endorphins."

Without missing a beat Mike answered "Well you got an overload of those endorphins on Sunday, you never stopped talking the whole way home". 

Hmmmm.  I must admit, it did take me a while to come down off of whatever I was on.

Surf T Surf ... I did it !

So today was it, the Warrnambool Surf T Surf and I woke up nervous, tried to get my number straight on my shirt about five times, couldn't get the timing chip to thread through my laces without going through the netting on my runners, arrrgh!  We left just after 7am to ensure we would get there, find a park and get to the Race Brief by 8am.  Walking down the Flagstaff Hill roundabout to Lake Pertobe a sense of foreboding came over me.  This was a freaking big hill and was one we would have to run up in the first minutes of the run.  I despaired.  Sense of bravado in this photo though!

Met up with some of our awesome Warrnambool & Surrounds 12wbt crew, everyone was pumped, excited, nerves setting in.  Mike was chief photographer for us, snapping photos of our group.  He just kept taking photos of anyone I was yakking to!  Looking pretty fresh here, before the race.

Trish, Lisa, Jane and I.

The amazing inspirational Debbie with me

I'm beginning to see a pattern emerging - what's with my hands on hips look?!!

Soon enough it was time for the 10K to start and a number of our group were off.  15 mins later the 6K were called to line up.  I was nearly jumping out of my skin by this stage.  A quick hug to my friend Jane who was running with her entire family and we were off.  There I am in the throng of runners.

Chugging up that first hill was a real effort.  A number of runners had started walking almost straight away, but I kept plugging at it breathing heavily, and got to the top still at a slow run, around Canon Hill to the dirty angel, still running, not fast, but running.  Got past the PAC and a bit down Liebig Street and my legs were screaming.  Walked about 20 paces and set off running again.  That was the theme to my run.  Ran as much as I could then walked 20-30 paces then set off again.  The hills nearly did me in but I knew if I could make it to the tops I was able to run down.

At the stage at about the 3K mark where the route turned and met up with the 10K runners who had done another 4K out to Hopkins River, I was passed by a few of my workmates who were running the 10.  Calls of encouragement to me were just what I needed, and at one stage when I started walking up a bit of a hill at Timor Street, I will never forget a big booming voice coming up behind me ordering me ... "COME ON CAROL PICK UP THOSE LEGS, GET YOURSELF RUNNING, SCALE THAT HILL, YOU CAN DO IT!!"  It was one of the fellas from my work who is also in the Army, who was barking out orders to me like a drill Sergeant and got me up and over the hill.

It was so encouraging to see people had set up chairs on their nature strips and were calling out and clapping too.  If there is a power of people willing each other to keep going this was it.

I rounded the corner back to the dirty angel at a pace and needed to walk a bit back at Canon Hill when I saw my friend Esther from Bendigo snapping photos which got me running again.  She had been camping at Port Fairy and came to see the spectacle.

Back down that blasted first hill back to Lake Pertobe, oh the joy of running down hill, and then I could hear the loudspeaker and see the flags and all the people cheering as the runners got to the last 100 meters.  I ran through that finish line red faced and could feel the tears prick.   I had done it.  I'd estimate I ran 3/4 of the event and walked only about 1/4;  and did the 6K in 45 mins 8 seconds.  I was aiming to do it under 60mins so was thrilled with the result.  I came 400th in a field of 424 finishers in the 6K run.  Something to work on.

I really need to work on my goofy faces - me at the finish line

Legs were wobbly and I could see Mike grinning madly snapping the camera.  And soon enough we were celebrating with our fabulous 12wbt girls, hugs and squeals that we all had faced our own particular challenges and demons, all accomplished.

RED FACED AFTER THE RACE!!

with the most supportive group of ladies I could ever hope to meet

so lucky I am a part of Warrnambool & Surrounds !

What a high I was on.  Have never felt quite like it.  And quite frankly I want more, I feel like this is just the beginning!  And the thrill for me to end the day was meeting the great Steve Moneghetti.

And having said of all this and regaled you with the story of the day, the one person I couldn't have done this without his support or belief in me on my weight loss journey and my fitness goals and running dreams, is Mike. My husband has been my own personal cheer squad  and has encouraged me every step of the way.  Tonight he said  "I'm so proud of you, you've come such a long way and turned a real corner today, you can do it, nothing is impossible."

Thank you honey.  :-)

Week 8 Mini Milestone Challenge

It's that time for another mini milestone challenge.  Other challenges I've done have been group challenges, I've paired up with some other 12wbt'ers and we've climbed mountains, scaled volcano craters, completed PT sessions and done some pretty amazing tasks.  This one I'm doing solo.  Well kind of, but not, I guess.  There are quite a number of the Warrnambool & Surrounds 12wbt crew doing it also, I think at last count about 12 all on their own journeys.  But for me this journey is a solo task, one that I said well and truly way back at the start, way back in May last year, that I wanted to run the Surf T Surf.

I remember being at a PT session with my friend Anna, she was striding out on the treadmill and I was gasping for breath on the next treadmill, thinking I wouldn't even make it to 100 metres.  I remember pie in the sky stuff saying "hey, I want to do the Surf T Surf next January".  Mind you, that was 8 months away, real pie in the sky stuff.

If I remember back then, the look of horror on my husband's face when I boldly announced it to him too.  YOU?  Run?  And yet here I am 8 months later, running!

So for me tomorrow I am entered into the 6K Surf T Surf fun run, perhaps not a huge distance for some, but for me it may as well be a marathon.  I've never run 6K in my life.  I have no doubt there will be a fair bit of shuffling involved, particularly when I've taken note of all the hills I'm going to have to run.  But as one of the group says, it's just one foot in front of the other, oooookay.   For me tomorrow is all about finishing and ticking that task/goal/job/promise to myself, whatever I want to call it off my list.

• Running gear all freshly laundered - check.
• Favourite socks sitting tucked into my runners - check.
• Sports bra at the ready - check.
• Bib and timing chip ready to attach - check.
• Petrol in the car to get there (petrol station won't be open on a Sunday that early) - check.
• Non-wedgy-knickers (most important!!) - check.

And now after that bold announcement 8 months ago, my husband is my biggest cheer squad and keeps squashing any doubts that I have that arise from time to time.  He will be there watching me take off and still waiting there cheering me when I get back.

Wish me luck that I don't go and burst a foofer valve  :-)

Let's hope this is me tomorrow   :-)

Then and now

A bit of a shock to the system tonight.  I've been going through the photos from New Years Eve and popping them on a memory stick for my step-daughter, and I was reminiscing that her engagement party was at the same venue as her 21st birthday party back in May.  And then it hit me that that was when pre-season of Round 2 of 2012 was in full swing, I had just started 12wbt and I was at the point of changing habits.  So I delved back in the computer for those 21st birthday photographs and talk about being slapped in the face.

I mean I know I've changed, of course I do, but this is the same face that looks back at me from the mirror each and every day when I'm brushing my teeth or putting some make up on.  You kind of just see it evolve over time.  But to have a then and now laid bare in front of you it's a bit of a shock to the system.

I showed Mike when I had them both up on the screen in front of me and in his typical male fashion he dived in with both size 9's and ended up with a serious case of foot in mouth.

"Oh wow honey, you were so much fatter in the face back then".

Err wrong answer buster.  The correct ding-ding-ding-you-win-the-prize answer would have been "Oh wow honey, you are so much thinner now."

He has much to learn.

A very special night

Last night was not just New Years Eve, the celebration of winding up 2012 and heading into a brand new future in 2013, but it was also my step-daughter's engagement party, a masquerade one at that!

I'm a bit sad to see 2012 finish, it was the year where I started to rediscover myself.  I weighed in on Monday so I could know exactly how much weight I had lost last year.  26.1 kilograms gone.

That's 26.1 kilograms of frustration, sadness, embarrassment, pain, and a whole lot of heartache.  And funnily enough I don't want to forget any of it.  I want to remember it so I know that I have a bright and shining future full of health and vitality and I never have to go back to those feelings due to my weight.  They are there, they represent my past, and are something I do want to remember so I can compare it to how amazingly good I feel right now.

And yet I am excited to find out what 2013 will bring.  Mish asked us to name our top five goals for 2013, and they didn't have to be weight related.  I thought long and hard about them, and this is what I came up with.


MY TOP FIVE GOALS FOR 2013:

1. Get more organised, sometimes I think I'm flying by on a wing and a prayer, I'm organised in some facets of my life, but not others, so I want to be all round organised.

2. More outdoor activities enjoying our beautiful area - hiking, bushwalking, etc.

3. Achieve my goal weight, whatever that may be.

4. Strange one but wear more dresses. I've always been a trousers/jeans/pants girl and I think I wore a dress twice last year (once to my stepson's 18th recently, and once to the finale party). So I'm going to make a considered effort to buy and wear more dresses.

5. Love the person that I am becoming, she's pretty okay!


So right, they are out there into the great universe.  I now have to set about and make them happen.

I mentioned that New Years Eve was not just a celebration of the New Year, but also my step-daughter's engagement party.  We are usually boring on NYE, stay home, maybe see some friends, watch the fireworks on telly.  Not yesterday.  We had a fine time, dressing up, dining out, and afterwards watching the fireworks in town.  And well I certainly set about to ensure number 4 had a good start on it made.

I had planned to wear the dress I wore to finale to Miss T's engagement party, and yet, it was a tad too big.  I delved into my wardrobe and still on the hanger, still with tags, was a beautiful red dress I bought absolutely YEARS ago.  It never fitted.  It was one of those dresses that was a classic and I hoped that one day I would fit.  Yesterday was the day.  It fitted perfectly.   A quick pic in the front yard before we left.

I FELT A MILLION DOLLARS !!!!!!!!!!!!

A couple of other favourite photos of the night.  When you hand your "big girl" camera over to someone else to take a photo you don't know what you're going to come away with, this was the only one that really turned out of all four of us.  

Oh did I mention, it was a masquerade party!!  Funny thing was we didn't know the colour scheme of what they were wearing, and we matched perfectly.

At midnight we went to watch the fireworks, it wasn't a long show of them, perhaps 4 to 5 minutes. I've never photographed fireworks before and I had done my homework and was thrilled with this shot.  

It was the perfect end to the most magical night of the perfect year.  All thanks to Mish and 12wbt for giving me the tools, the courage and the belief in myself that I can do it.  And continue on doing it.  Words cannot even express my gratitude.

Happy New Year everyone.