Running Mothers

There is lots of stuff about mothers running.  It is a sport that particularly well suits mothers.  It gives you awesome fitness levels needed for keeping up with (especially young) children.  It gives you time out needed to recharge.  It gives you a nice figure so that you don't feel quite so turned inside out by what pregnancy does to your body.  It makes you feel powerful.  A nice counterweight to the feeling of powerlessness that is often the accompaniment to parenting.  Particularly when parenting young children where life seems to careen so quickly from chaos into totally out of control.  When you run you feel powerful, strong, in control and so so good about yourself and your life.  Exercise of course also increases your energy level (something I admit to not really understanding - how does burning energy make you more energetic?).  All things that immensely help a mother cope with life. At least this mother who juggles quite a few balls at once.  It is also excellent as a de-stresser and can justify lovely luxuries like massage.

It is also so easy to take up.  You just need good shoes, clothes that are comfortable to run in, and a really really good sports bra (motherhood often blesses you with great breasts but they need support or they become great coin-filled socks attached to your chest).  A few things are helpful but not critical are a music system like a MP3 player with headphones (buy the ones that have a bit that curls behind the ears to hold them in place); runners clothes (as opposed to just clothes that you can run in) and dare I say it, a treadmill. Although the latter is expensive and takes up a lot of room for something used only a couple of hours a week it really really is a worthwhile investment for mothers who run.  I can run in the evening (or morning but I hate mornings) when either my kids have gone to bed or my husband is at least home and not fear for my life or worry that I will step in a crack and break my mother back.    I can run on hot days in the relative coolness of my garage (I have a fan too) and I can run in winter and rain (probably snow and sleet but that doesn't happen where I live.  So my routine is not messed up by stupid weather conditions.  And now for the total utter luxury that a treadmill gives you - I set up a TV with DVD player in front of my treadmill.  Sometimes my husband gets on his bike trainer and I get on my treadmill and we ride/run and watch a TV show together.  Quite companionable.  In an average TV show I can burn on average 350-400 calories.  That is equivalent to a light meal.  I also watch my own TV shows that my husband isn't that interested in (on DVD in case you are wondering).  So it really is me time in the best sense.

Now if someone could just explain to me why exercising and watching what you eat makes you feel better than sitting around eating chocolate and drinking wine I would be very grateful.  And I would be even more grateful if the Universe would reverse that reality... actually on second thoughts I don't.  I love running and I love how it makes me feel.

Got to keep on moving!

How to Lose Weight in 6 months

I lost 8 kilos in 6 months!  Let me tell you how!  I just did 2 things that anyone can do.

1) I restricted my calories to 1200 calories a day .  I didn't particularly obsess about what into making those calories.  Although I have to say the less processed the food the less calories there were and the longer I felt full so I naturally drifted towards cooking at home, taking along my own lunch (and snacks!) and generally eating less processed food.  But this way there was no good or bad foods.  I ate icecream most days (bless Bulla chocolate coated icecreams) and usually a glass of white wine too.

I kept track of calories using www.myfitnesspal.com which made it relatively simple.
Importantly I don't fret if I go over but I try not to go over by more than 10% more than 3 times a week.

2) I moved more.  I started the C25K (couch to five km) program on my i-phone - it is also available in other formats try here as a starting point http://www.c25k.com/  It took me 11 weeks to complete the 9 week program. (Life interruptus in the beginning)

As I logged the kms running I switched to Runkeeper which enables me to track my overall kms, times, location of runs etc etc.  I love a good record.  It tells me since I made the switch in January that I have run 24 times, logging 120kms and burnt over 7,000 calories.

The more I did of 2) the more calories I burnt which then enabled me to eat more while still losing weight! Now if I know I am going out to dinner or lunch I go for a run to burn some calories so I can eat and drink (within reason) without "dieting".

I run mostly in the evenings but increasingly whenever I can grab a chance.  I run to stay fit, I run to burn calories and I run because I now love it.  But the love affair with running is a whole other entry.

My goal is to hit 54 kilos - a clean 10 kg loss from my starting weight.  And before you start screaming about me being too thin I am only 153 cm tall and fairly light framed.

Anyone can do it.  There is no magic just control consumption and exert energy.  Physics will do the rest!

Project Restart

So I thought I would start blogging again.
Checked my life goals from December 2009 for things to achieve in 2010.
Things I achieved in 2010 and into beginning of 2011 (since we are now in March)
1)lost 8 kilograms (yup 8!)
2) can run 8 kms (takes me a whole hour obviously not olympic standards)
3) published a peer reviewed article in a law journal - from my thesis
4) still married (and actually back in a warm fuzzy happy place with my marriage)
5) completed an internal training course which is 1/8 of a diploma in higher education
6) started my PhD at Sydney
7) Presented at 2 conferences - one in NZ and one in Melbourne - both went very well.  Latter extremely well received.

So all in all not too bad a year.  Hopefully things will continue on this upward trajectory.

Employed!

Ok so I ended up getting the job and a nice salary package too.  Pretty cool huh.  So next year I have to:
a) work full time
b) start a PhD
c)publish some papers
d) update my three textbook chapters
e) start an internal education course.
f) raise two boys
g) manage a house
h) maintain a marriage
i) lose 5 kilos.

Hmmm that seems a wee bit of lots on my plate.
Ah well I will survive.

Universe DOES hate me

Just discovered my PhD topic has been granted an ARC to SOMEONE else.  So essentially I have to figure out a new research topic.
And my son's preferred Kindy teacher is NOT going to be there next year.
Life is a big piece of excrement some days.

Interviews

Interviews are such a waste of time.  The interviewers probably already know who they are going to hire.  The interviewee wastes time preparing for it and in my case traveling too.  Travelled over 200 km for my interview. I am glad I don't believe the Universe acts against people though.  Travelled through 40 plus degrees C, a dust storm, a bush fire smoke out, a hail storm and the car next to me crashing into a wall.  Amazingly I survived and gave a poor interview.  Oh well.  If I don't get the job/s then frankly I will work locally and have fun with my youngest child.  Starting to like that idea.  And pick up my eldest from school.  Like other local mummies.
The worst part is not knowing if I will get the job until after Christmas.

December already?

OMG.  Where did the time go?  Time is speeding up!

Did not get local full time permanent job- it went to my boss.  Am applying for a full time version of my own job slightly less locally.  I know they have a short list but I am hearing nothing.  Very depressing.
I am thinking I might take up a whole new job.  A proper itty bitty stay at home mummy job.  No idea what though.
Better get on with things.