I need a new challenge

The frequent follower of this blog might have noticed that I’m not really writing much lately. I wish I could say people have been complaining but besides my family no one really seems to care whether I’m blogging or not :-)

However, I really enjoy the writing and am quite keen to keep this blog going. I was just kind of lacking inspiration lately. I started this blog to write about my half-marathon experience and really enjoyed that. But now that is over and I don’t really have anything exciting to write about. Which is not good cause basically it means there is nothing exciting going on in my life. It’s pretty much work, eat sleep, gym, work, eat, sleep, gym,…. Not very exciting!

So, I need a new challenge! URGENTLY! It doesn’t have to be something as huge has a half marathon, just something to keep things interesting. Another long running event is not really an option right now. First I sprained my knee while still training for the marathon and then I apparently strained a vertebra as well sometime last year which then healed kind of wrong and caused some significant pain and some sleepless nights. I was having some back pain for a while but just didn’t really take it seriously. But a few weeks ago it got really bad. I would wake up around 4am every morning and could go back to sleep because my back was hurting so much. It was kind of productive for a while (you can get a lot done between 4-6am) but after a while it was just really annoying. So I went back to my favorite Physio Therapist and she told me I had sprained a Vertebra a while back and it healed kind of weird hence the pain. It’s actually not that bad though. When she said sprained vertebra I already saw myself sitting in a wheelchair but turns out a couple of massages and some stretching would fix me.

I’m still having some issues with my back but it’s getting better and I hope after a couple more physio sessions I will be back to normal. These types of injuries are apparently typical for runners, especially those that have a tendency to overdo it a little (like going from fat girl to marathon runner in 12 months). But the good news is, I don’t have to give up running altogether, I just should try to limit it a little and do some lower impact exercising as well. At the moment I’m just walking about 4-5km 3-4 times a week but once the back is alright again I will try to get back into running.

However, I also just bought a bike! Biking is much less stressful for joints etc. so for people who have injuries like sprained knees and vertebra it’s a good alternative to running. Growing up in Germany I always had a bike and used it a lot (before I had a driver’s license that is) and I kind of like the idea of being able to just bike somewhere on the weekend. The only problem is that Auckland is quite hilly (especially compared to the area of Germany where I grew up) so I’m not sure how the biking thing is really gonna work long-term. So I decided for now I’m just gonna buy a cheap used bike of Trademe (NZ’s answer to e-bay – for the none-Kiwis among you). Buying a bike over the internet is not quite that simple, especially getting the size right. And in fact, the bike I bought is a little bit small. But it will do for now and if I really do get into biking I can invest into a better, larger one.

So basically my workouts right now consist of gym session, some walking and now some biking. That’s all good, but also kind of boring. I need a challenge, some sort of goal to work towards.

Truth is, I already have a pretty good idea what that challenge could be. But I’m not gonna tell you yet ;-) Just building up some excitement. Maybe you want to guess….

I will write another post in the next few days to let you know I’m up to and why, but right now I’m running out of time (I’m still at the office and need to get ready for another meeting - and just in case your thinking ‘is she allowed to write blog posts during working hours’, let me just tell you that regular working hours ended about 20 minutes ago and I’m still here because I’ve got a late meeting with some people in India at 6.30). So, got to go now, but will fill you in on my new plans soon…

The ‘tooth brushing’ trick

Today I’m gonna share a funny little trick with you.

It falls more in the ‘diet’ category then in the ‘exercising’ category. See, one of my biggest problems when it comes to healthy eating is to be good in the evenings. Eating healthy during the day is usually relatively easy. I’m busy and have a certain routine. I eat my breakfast, go to work, eat the lunch I have prepared, have some fruit or veggies in the afternoon … I’m not even tempted by the cakes and stuff at the place where I usually go in the afternoons to get a coffee.
After I get home in the evenings, that is when the real challenge starts. That’s when I’m craving chocolate and other unhealthy stuff. I usually try to make a healthy dinner right after I get home, to make sure I’m eating something ‘good’ before my brain really has time to develop any cravings for something else. But that only works to some extent. I might not be hungry anymore after dinner but I still have cravings ;-)

And that is where the ‘tooth brushing’ trick comes into play. If I brush my teeth right after dinner (instead of right before I go to bed as I usually do) it somehow is easier to control the cravings. I think it’s partly due to the taste of tooth paste - which is not exactly suggesting chocolate (-: But I’m thinking it’s also sort of a psychological thing. Kind of like my brain unconsciously knows NO FOOD AFTER BRUSHING TEETH.

I know it sounds silly but you should try it sometime. It doesn’t always work but most of the time it does ;-)

Struggling to get back on track

We’re already almost a whole week into 2011! Unbelievable how fast time is going by. For so long I was looking forward to my Christmas break, to going home to Germany to see my family and to spending New Year’s Eve at the Coromandel with my friends. And now it’s already all over and I’m back in the office, back in ‘real’ life.

But I’m struggling to get back into my routine. Last year I had this really good eating healthy and exercising regularly rhythm. Getting up at 6am 3 times a week to go to the gym before work and then cooking healthy food (or reheating yesterday’s healthy leftovers) in the evenings. It was kind of just routine and I didn’t think much about it, I just did it. Now I have to get back into that routine but that is easier said than done.

I have done so well last year that I decided to reward myself and take it easy over the holidays. Going to Germany for Christmas I knew there would be no way that I can stick to that healthy lifestyle. German food (especially the likes of chocolate and cakes) are just too good and are just everywhere around this time of the year. And right after my return to NZ I went camping with friends for a few days and that also included some chips, drinks and generally not exactly super healthy food. So I never planned to lose any weight during this period. The plan was to maintain but the realist in me already planned for a 1-2 kg weight gain. And that’s about what it ended up being.

Now I have to get rid of those extra 2 kg again as well as another 10-12kg. And as with so many things, getting started is the hardest and I’m really struggling with it right now.

Today is my 5th day back in Auckland and my 3rd day back at work but I still haven’t been back to the gym once. I just can’t get out of bed in the morning. And in the evenings after work it’s just too hot. I’ve been going for walks in the evenings, telling myself that I’m slowly easing back into my workout routine but sooner or later I will just have to get serious about it and get my butt back to the gym.

And the healthy eating thing is also only slowing getting back on track. It’s actually kind of scary how quickly I fall back into old habits. Mainly a habit of eating when I’m not hungry just cause the food is there. And a habit of telling myself that I will start eating healthy again ‘tomorrow’. I’m scarily good at convincing myself that one more day of crappy eating doesn’t make a difference and that I will be ‘good’ again tomorrow. And then tomorrow comes and I tell myself the same thing. For a smart girl it is amazing how stupid I can be sometimes :-).

I think one of the most important things for me in these situations in to keep hopping on the scales every morning and recording the weight. If I stop doing that it gets so much easier to lie to myself and ignore the truth. I also have to drag myself back to my weekly weight watchers meeting next week. I skipped this week but as of next week I will be back, no matter what the scales say.

I’ve come so far last year and I’m sure as hell not gonna give up now. I just need to give myself a bit of a kick in the ass and tackle those remaining 12-14kg.

Still no running ....

It’s been 2 ½ weeks since my half marathon and I’m still not back to running. Why? Well, because me knee is still hurting every now and then and the Physio said I should wait until I have been without pain for at least 5 days before I start running again. She said these kinds of injuries are tricky because once you have them they are really hard to get rid of permanently. And starting training too early after an injury is pretty much the safest way to ensure you will never fully recover ;-)

So right now I’m going to the gym 3 times a week in the mornings. I do strength training (taking it easy with the workouts that put stress on my knee) and I do some cardio on the bike. Apparently riding the bike is good when you have knee injuries because it trains the muscles but because you’re sitting it’s low impact – unlike running! I also try to go for walks at least 2 or 3 times a week which is actually really nice because we have been having absolutely beautiful spring weather and I walk either in One Tree Hill which is a park just a few minutes from where I live or I go somewhere to the waterfront, like Mission Bay, and walk there. So in a way I’m enjoying taking it a bit easier after all the full on marathon training. But at the same time I’m getting a little impatient and nervous.

In a way it is totally stupid. I’m still working out 3 times a week and I’m doing active stuff on weekends like walking so compared to what I used to do most of the past 26 years it’s pretty damn good. And the weight loose has continued to go well, too. I was a bit concerned that when I started reducing the amount of work outs the weight loose would slow down or I would have to change my eating habits but it all worked out really well. I’m eating a little less carbs then I did in the last weeks of marathon training but besides that my diet is still the same and I’m still losing weight at about the same rate than before. So technically it is all going well and there really is no reason to stress or be in a rush to get back to running.

But for some reason I’m very anxious about not running. It’s kind of like I’m scared to fall back into old habits. I had this really good rhythm before the half marathon, it was like a routine I didn’t have to think about. I had my running days and my gym days and a plan for how much I would do each day and all I had to do was follow that plan. Now all the sudden there is so much more flexibility and it’s so easy to trick myself into thinking it doesn’t matter if I don’t work out today, I can just do it tomorrow and what difference makes a day. You’re probably thinking I’m totally overreacting and you’re probably right ;-) I should just relax and take it easy for a while until the knee has recovered and then start running again slowly. Too bad patience is not exactly my strong suit ;-)

so, what's next?

That's the question!

As far as running is concerned I already know what the next challenge will be: Round the Bays 2011. Round the Bays is a 8km fun run that takes place every year in March here in Auckland. You run from the city centre along the water front all the way to St Heliers.
Now you probably think, 8km???? Wait a second, didn't she just do 21km? How can 8km be the next Challenge?
Well, the challenge will be to run the complete 8km. Because, even though I can do a half marathon, I still can't actually RUN more then 2-3 km before I have to walk for a bit. So the next goal is to run more and walk less. And in March I want to run 8km without walking along the way. I know, it's not a huge challenge like a half marathon but I think it is perfect. It means I keep challenging myself to get better but at the same time to training will be less time intensive than training for the half. And given that summer is right around the corner it might actually be nice to have time for some other stuff.

The other challenge for 2011 will be to reach goal weight. I'm still about 15kg way from what I've set as my personal goal so I definitely want to reach that in 2011. I know from many others who have been through the weight loss experience that the last 5-10kg are often the hardest and take a bit longer. So I will try to be patient and set my expectations right but I should definitely be able to get rid of those 15kg sometime during 2011.

The title of this blog is "It's all about the (half marathon) challenge". And there is a reason why 'half marathon' is in brackets. This was never meant to be just a blog about running or exercising , let along weight loss. It was simply about challenging myself and writing about it. Right now I kind of enjoy the feeling of just having successfully complete the half marathon challenge and I feel like I'm taking a well deserved little break from challenging myself. But sooner or later I'm gonna pick a new challenge. And that could really be anything. Maybe it will be another physical challenge, but it could also be something completely different like learning another language. I have a few ideas but kind of need to sort that out with myself before I blog about it.

Right now the challenge is to make it through the next 5 weeks ;-) Everything has been so busy lately and I'm tired and exhausted. I'm really in desperate need of a good break. Just to get away from everything (work mainly) and just relax for a little bit. Luckily I will have exactly that in 5 weeks. Today in 5 weeks I'm flying to Germany so spend Christmas with my family. I so cannot wait, I'm counting the days! It's gonna be a very short trip this time, only 12 days in Germany ;-( But it's better than nothing.

Whatever I end up doing in the end, I'm pretty sure I will keep blogging about it. Maybe not quite as much as in the last months though. It really depends on how much I feel like I have to say, so I guess will just have to wait and see ;-)

just a few more pictures

It's been a long and very busy week which is why I haven't had the time to upload some pictures from my half. But now it's Sunday evening and I already know it's gonna be another long and busy week so I thought I might better get this done.
These are some of the official race photos. There where event photographers at a few points along the course so they took these pictures. You better enjoy them, they were about the most expensive pictures of me you have ever seen ;-) Unbelievable how much they charge for a few photos. First I wanted to boycott is just because the prices seem so unreasonable but then I thought I only get to do one 'first' half marathon and in a few years, when the memories of this day start to get a little fuzzy, I will hopefully be really glad that I did spend this much money for these pictures so they remind me.

So, here I am just on the middle of the Harbor Bridge:

On top of the world, eh Bridge (felt the same in that moment) (-:

Here is me on the last 2km, you can see the bridge in the background. I was pretty much just walking at this stage and as you can see, so was everyone else. You might also notice that I look pretty tired ;-)

This is about 100meters before the finish line. I used the last few energy resources I had at this stage to run the last few 100meters and run across the finish line


And here is me right before the finish line - almost done ;-)

And last but not least, here is my official certificate!

just some reflection...

It’s Wednesday today, 3 days after the half marathon and I’m happy to report that I’m walking normal again ;-) The muscle soreness is mostly gone and I’m feeling much better. I still feel a bit of pain in my right knee and my left ankle but besides that I’m almost back to old strength. I’ve been to the gym this morning and had a good workout. They say that a short recovery time in a sign that training has been good and well balanced so I guess I can give myself a pat on the back :-)

The only thing is, I’m sooooooooooo tired. I slept almost 9 hours last night but felt really tired and exhausted all day. And now it’s just 8.30pm and I could go to sleep (probably will as soon as I’m done writing). I guess it will take some time for my body to really recover. I think I haven’t looked forward to a weekend this much in a while ;-)

Despite all the exhaustion, pain and soreness, Sunday was one of the best days in my life. And who would have ever thought I would say that about a day where I had to get up at 4am and run/walk 21km? But that is exactly what makes it so great. I did something that no one would have ever expected me to do, least of all myself. I’m so not the Athletic type and I have never been good at any sport. Actually, I have never really done any sport or exercising despite horse riding. But now I’ve done a half marathon.

I don’t really believe in things like “you can do anything you want if you try hard enough”. It sounds nice and all but let’s face it, there are some limitations to what we can do. I will never be a famous singer, no matter how much I would want to, I simply don’t have the voice (and yes I know, neither have the likes of Britney Spears but trust me, compare to me Britney has the voice of the century). So I don’t think all the sudden I can do anything I want just because I finished a half marathon. But what I do believe is that I can do a lot more than I often think I can. And I think that is something I share with most people. It’s about comfort zones and getting out of them. It’s about challenging yourself to try something new. Some of the greatest things I’ve done and experienced are things I never thought I would do, like moving to the other side of the world or doing a half marathon. It is a very exciting feeling to achieve something you didn’t even think you could do and often didn’t even consider doing.

You often hear people say something like “the best things in life are for free”. I think it’s more like “the best things in life are the ones you’ve worked for the hardest”. I’ve done and achieved other great things before, like graduating from School and University among the top 10%, being exceptionally good as the Marketing Lead for Spark, being fluent in two languages, travelling to foreign countries all by myself and many other things. But it often felt like these things came natural. Not saying I didn’t work hard to achieve them or make them happen but they are kind of ‘typical Lisa things’. Or I guess you can say they were within my comfort zone :-) Doing a half marathon is definitely not typical and far outside my comfort zone. And that is what makes it so great.

Where am I going with this? Not really sure, just wanted to share some of the things I’ve been thinking about. I don’t really want to give advice on how to live their lives to anyone, I think I’m in no position to do so. I think that everyone needs to figure things out on their own and something that works for one person might not work at all for someone else. But there is one piece of advice I have that I think works for everyone: DO SOMETHING! Just do something, anything. Something you always wanted to do. And it can be anything. It doesn’t have to be a half marathon, it doesn’t have to be any things active at all. Maybe there is a challenging book you want to read, a country you want to visit or something you want to learn.
I’ve been involved in the entrepreneurial community here in Auckland for a few years now and I have heard from a lot of different successful and very inspiring entrepreneurs. They all have different stories and are successful for different reason. But there is one thing a lot of them seem to have in common and I think they also share this with others (non-entrepreneurs) that are successful in life. They have found something they are passionate about and gave it/are giving it their all!

That is what I want! I want to love what I’m doing and really care about it. And for the last 6 months the half marathon has been that something for me. Now I have to find something new and I’m sure I will, sooner or later.

So if I have one piece of advice for other people this is it: Do something! Just get started. Just pick a project and get started. And yes, maybe you’re gonna fail a few times, but trust me, the feeling of achieving something you never thought you could do will be worth the failures in the end!