Decide on your goals for the year
The start of the year is a great time to reflect on the past year and look to the coming year and what you want to achieve. When deciding on a goals for the year I break it up into categories such as: Health/Fitness, Career, Family/Relationships, Finance and Personal.
Under each heading I list what I want to achieve. Under some headings I might have more than one goal and others just one but it’s a good idea to keep it to no more than 10. Then I apply the SMART principle which you all know I am sure stands for
Specific – be specific in your goal. For example, if your goal is weight loss, don’t just say “I want to lose weight”. State how much weight you want to lose.
Measurable – Establish how to measure your progress with your goal. For example weigh yourself to find your starting point and then again at the end.
Achievable – Ensure your goal is actually achievable for you. If you weigh 68kg a weight loss goal of 20kg is probably not an achievable (or sensible) goal but if you weigh 100kg then 20kg is certainly achievable.
Realistic – Make sure your goal is realistic. For example wanting to become a surgeon when you have a blood phobia probably isn’t a realistic goal.
Timed – Put a timeframe on when you want to achieve your goal. Say, for example, you want to achieve your goal by the end of this year. Set yourself regular check in periods to monitor your progress. It’s a good idea every three months to revisit your goals and look at your progress and see if you are still on track.
So many people set goals or make resolutions but after a few weeks of being super vigilant they kind of forget about them and at the end of the year nothing has been achieved.
Why do you want to achieve those goals?
Once you have worked out what you want to achieve think about your reasons why you to achieve them. The “Why” is the most critical aspect to nail. If you don’t know the “Why”, your motivation will wane and your chances of succeeding fall. The “why” is the motivation behind achieving the goal set.
Motivation can be extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from external factors such as wanting to lose weight because your spouse wants you to, or losing weight to gain fame and recognition for winning a weight loss competition. Extrinsic motivation is not enough to get you to your goal. Intrinsic motivation on the other hand is motivation that comes from within for example the sense of pride and achievement you will feel when you achieve your goal. Intrinsic motivation is much more powerful and will ultimately keep you going until you reach your goal. Write down all the reasons you can think of for wanting to achieve your goal. Go through your list and take out all the reasons that involve other people. Then go through your list and replace all the “I should” and “I must” statements with “I want”.
How to achieve your goal

The “How” is the strategies you will employ to achieve your goal. For example if your goal is “I want to lose 5kg” your strategies should include a healthy eating plan and exercising 4 or 5 times per week. One of the important aspects of the “How” is identifying the barriers to success. Identify the things that might derail you over the time period you have chosen, it could be a holiday coming up or visitors staying with you. It could be something that has happened to you before when you have tried to go on a diet or menu plan. Once you have identified potential pitfalls think of ways to combat them. Remember, the odd slip up does not need to herald the end of all your efforts, just dust those cookie crumbs off and get back on track.
Vision Boards
Now is the fun part, making your vision board. A visual reminder of what you want, why you want it and how you are going to get will keep you on track. Have fun with it, pick images, pictures, words etc that really mean something to you. Choose stuff you want to look at every day. Photos, quotes, sayings, images of places you want to go, reminders of events, places, or people, postcards from friends and just about anything that will inspire you.
A vision board shouldn’t be just a shopping list of what you want, it should reflect the emotions behind why you want it. Put it somewhere where you will see it every day. Remember, you get what you focus on!! Good luck!



 

What you should know before you start running
 
Always warm up

• Slow jog
  
• Dynamic stretching including hamstring sweep, walking lunges, hip flexor hold and walk
• Drills including: high knees, butt kicks, sides to sides and grapevine

Employ Good Running Technique

• Head neutral, looking forward
• Shoulders relaxed
• Elbows at 90 degrees moving forwards and back not across the mid line
• Ankles, hips and shoulders in line
• Core engaged
• Pelvis neutral
• Tilt from the ankles and let gravity pull you forward
• Land on forefoot not heel
• Feet underneath you not in front
• Increase cadence before increasing stride length to increase speed. (Aim for a cadence of 180 steps per minute)

Strengthening exercises for runners

• Lunges and squats should be part of every strength routine and strength should be done twice per week.
• Core exercises are essential for runners. After every run do a 20 Big Scissors, 10 sit ups and 40 bicycle legs times 3 sets.

Stretches
Static stretches are only done at the end of the run. Stretch all major muscles groups including, hip flexors, quads, hamstrings and calf muscles.
.Follow the link for some really good tips on correct running technique https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCVSv7UxB2E

Well, I did it! I ran a marathon. Never thought I would say I am a marathoner and in the last 14 weeks there were times I thought it would never happen but it’s done!

A group of us from Life Fit and other friends went down to Canberra last Friday. Some of our runners were running in the 10km event on the Saturday morning and it was great to watch them achieve amazingly fast times and the elation on their faces when they finished was priceless! It was good for all the runners running the next day in the half and full marathons to see the set-up of the race, where the start and finish lines were etc. It was also nerve wracking though, knowing that it would be us the next day waiting for the gun to go off and just wishing we too were finished and could go out and celebrate.

The next morning we were up at 4.30 am going through our pre run regime that has become second nature to us. I stuck with what I have been doing throughout our training. Had my porridge and chia seed drink and made sure the vasoline was applied to… well everywhere. I had laid out all my clothes the night before with the race bib attached, my gels were packed, music, headphones, I was all set.

Our start time was 6.25am and it was a lovely crisp morning in Canberra, perfect running conditions. My plan was to start off at my comfortable pace, not too slow but not too fast, I really had no expectations of time. My good goal was just to finish, my great goal was to finish without hitting the wall and my amazing goal was to finish in under 4 hours. As I was running I realised I had fallen in with the 3.45 pacer. They were running at my pace so I thought I would stick with them as long as I could and if I fell back I might still be able to get in under 4 hours. In the past I have tortured myself trying to monitor my pace and worrying if I was falling behind but having a pacer took away all that stress, it felt like our little bunch of runners were carrying each other along.

The Canberra course is actually really scenic which was a welcome distraction and parts of the course doubled back on itself which was great because I got to see my running pals and give each other encouragement as we passed one another. The best part of the run though was when we saw our support crew who scattered themselves along the course to cheer us on. I don’t think they have any idea how important their role was. The lift it gives you to see a friendly face willing you to go on is absolutely unbelievable and I can’t thank them enough.

I counted down the first 10 kms, then the second but I was dreading reaching the 30 km mark as everything I had read said the real race starts at 30kms. That is where I knew I would be in no mans land. After 33km I had never run farther than that in my life and I just didn’t know what would happen. I was aware of the pain in my knee from the 15km mark, I could feel blisters on my feet and could feel the squelch of blood in my shoes from bloody bruised toes but I was okay.

With 5km to go the pacer advised us we were on our own till the end as he had to fall back to help some other runners, I felt panicked that he wasn’t with us any longer but straight away one of the runners in the group fell into step with me. We matched stride for stride the whole way to the finish. We didn’t speak but we knew we were there for each other. When I saw the finish line and saw all our support crew of family and friends cheering me on I felt like I was in the Olympics! It was such a good feeling. Me and the random runner with me crossed the line together! We high fived each other with huge smiles on our faces.  We were done. We ran a marathon in 3 hours and 43 minutes.

All of the Life Fit runners and friends who competed on Sunday, did themselves proud. Was it worth it? A resounding YES!! Not one of us regrets doing it and the clairvoyant was right, the Life Fit runners are already talking about the next one!!!

Would I do it again??? It would be nice to beat my time……

Finally we have reached the last week of training! We started way back on 5th January 2015 and since then we have run a total of 529km! I can’t say it has been a completely enjoyable experience, in fact, I would say it has been really hard both physically and mentally but I feel proud that we have all gotten this far and can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

My life has been totally consumed with marathon training over the last 13 weeks not only the physical time training but the amount of time reading and researching different aspects to running a successful marathon. I would estimate I probably have spent about 12 hours a week especially during the weeks we were doing our long runs. I am quite looking forward to reclaiming back that time, I could take on a part time job or go to Uni or something with all that extra time!

So, one week to go before D day. Here is my plan:

1.     Stick to the Plan – No matter whether I feel like doing more or less I am going to stick to my taper plan. Everything I have read says to taper for three weeks before (which we have been doing) and don’t deviate from the plan. So don’t take up a new form of exercise, don’t start eating stuff you don’t normally eat. – Stick to the plan.

2.     Stay hydrated – Again what I have read says to stay well hydrated the week before the marathon. Keep checking your urine and if it isn’t nearly clear coloured, up your fluids.

3.     Increase carbohydrates - Three days before the race start to increase carbohydrate intake. It doesn’t have to be a massive bowl of pasta if that’s not what you normally eat but just alter your ratios of protein to carbohydrate so you eat more carbs than normal.

4.     Make a check list - Make a list of what I need to bring so things like; what I will wear on the day , race bib, safety pins, energy gels, Vaseline, band aids, fuel belt, music, ear phones, chargers etc. I am also going to bring my normal snacks and breakfast etc that I will eat on the morning of the race. Because we are staying at a hotel a few days before the race it’s important to have your own food and snacks with you so that you aren’t running around trying to find a seven eleven the night before the race.

5.     Run the day before - Rest two days before the event (in our case we are racing on Sunday so rest on Friday) but on Saturday go for a 15 min jog. It won’t make you tired it will actually prevent your legs from feeling heavy and sluggish the next day.

6.     Don’t forget to warm up - On the morning do your usual warm up. Your body is used to it so don’t abandon it on the day. Again, your warm up won’t make you tired it will prepare you for the run ahead.

7.     Don’t stress - Don’t eat sleep and drink the marathon the week before. If you start getting stressed take some deep breaths and repeat a mantra such as “I have done the work, just enjoy the run.”

8.     Stay positive – don’t let negative self-talk derail all your training. You have done the training now is the time to shine! Visualise yourself crossing the finish line and feeling proud of all you have achieved. Jeff Gaudette who is a great running coach recommends setting yourself three goals: a good goal, a great goal and an awesome goal. Your good goal is something you know you can easily achieve for example not starting out too fast. The great goal could be finishing the race without hitting the wall and the awesome goal could be the PB time you have always dreamed of. No matter how you run on the day you will still achieve your good goal.

So two weeks out from doing the marathon and I have been diagnosed with ITB friction syndrome. This is a really common overuse injury in runners. It typically presents as pain on the lateral or outside of the knee while running, this is the spot where the ITB rubs alongside the lateral femoral condyle causing inflammation.

Common causes are:

·        Muscle imbalances

·        Weak gluts

·        Worn out shoes that are not supportive enough

·        Running on an angle (or running a track in the same direction all the time)

·        Running downhill

·        Just doing a lot of kilometres

My physio has prescribed RICE for the inflammation, foam rolling and stretches and to not run for at least a week…… Not really what I wanted to hear but if I don’t get on top of it my chances of finishing the marathon are slim. My physio made the comment that it is very rarely lack of fitness that stops a runner from completing a marathon, it’s pain. I think that is so true because to even contemplate running a marathon you need to have done the training and be pretty fit, you also tend to be mentally strong so it would take more than fatigue or muscle burn to cause you to stop.

So I have been on my bike, well actually not my bike, it’s my 11 year old daughter, Lily’s, bike. I took my bike out of the dark hole it had been hiding in for the past five years and washed it down, got rid of all the cobwebs, pumped up the tyres and took it for a spin. By the time I got back the tyres were flat. Pumped them up again and again they deflated, obviously a puncture but as I have absolutely no idea how to fix a puncture the only other choice is Lily’s bike. Her bike is a pale blue push bike with a nice little brown basket in the front, it has no gears and is more pretty than functional, but a bike’s a bike….

I have to say riding alongside the Life Fit runners has been a real eye opener for me. The first thing I noticed was they all run pretty fast! I thought I would have to ride really slowly to ride alongside them but I actually had to put a bit of effort in! When it came to hills the runners took off ahead of me whereas I was out of my seat huffing and puffing to get the bike up the hill! I was pulling so hard on the handle bars I felt the bike was going to flip backwards and I had to get off and walk!

It was at this stage that a little old woman (who must have been about 70 if she was a day) flew past me on her skinny wheeled super duper, 24 speed bike. She hardly even looked puffed, and not a grey hair out of place under her bright red helmet. I am not used to being over taken by wee old women so I got back on and started pedalling hard to catch up to her. We were neck and neck at the crest of the hill and then there was a steep descent on the other side.

I had already discovered by this point that the brakes on Lily’s bike where very ineffective (in fact the first time I was free wheeling down a hill I had to jump off at the bottom to stop myself from crashing into a hedge!) So with that knowledge I knew I had to engage the brakes early on so I wouldn’t go too fast but surely fast enough to beat granny?! But Noooo…. Granny took off! She must have been doing 50km per hour and had absolutely no fear, she might as well have turned around and given me the bird. Touche old woman!

So I am relegated to bike riding (which I do poorly obviously) but it should give me the necessary rest I need then I can start back next week for the last week of training! Wish me luck!!

Last week was week 11 of our 14 week marathon training schedule. During my long runs I have had ongoing issues with both my Achilles but in my last long run of 33km I started to develop knee pain. I used to suffer with knee pain a lot when I ran but since I incorporated strength training into my schedule a few years ago it had all but disappeared. I don’t think it is unusual however for old aches and pains to resurface when you are doing the sort of kilometres we are doing but by the end of the run the pain in my knee was intense. But 33km done! I did it and was happy to have our longest run done and confident I could do more come marathon day.

By the next day however I couldn’t bend or straighten my left leg, the pain was centred around the back of my knee, probably a hamstring strain I thought and it will just go away. It did go away, after three days of doing NO training. I hate having to rest but was relieved the pain had gone away.

Wednesday night we ran 17km in really hot and humid conditions, it was horrible. We looked like drowned rats at the end from sweating so much. But every run counts and that was another one under our belts. Went home quite proud of myself until….. I started vomiting…. Vomiting isn’t nice for the person who is doing the vomiting but one of my twins (Daisy) has an absolute phobia about vomiting. She takes it as a personal affront to her sensibilities if she finds out anyone has vomited within a 10km radius of her. She was disgusted with me! She shouted at dear hubby demanding WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER??? WHY IS SHE DOING THAT?? Dear hubby explained it was probably not a stomach bug (Daisy’s greatest fear because she would obviously be at risk of catching it) but that I was dehydrated from training in the heat. Dear hubby and Daisy have both told me I am never to train for another marathon ever ever again.  Promise me mum!

Still nauseated and weak from being sick all night I got up the next morning to go for a short little 6.5km run with the Life Fit runners. By 5km the pain at the back of my knee started and I had to stop.

So here we are three weeks away from the marathon and I can’t run, what do you do? Here’s my action plan:

1.     Ice, ice and more ice to decrease pain and inflammation

2.     Anti inflammatories – strongest you can take and take them religiously every 8 hours or whatever it says on the pack

3.     Acupuncture – I still have a few needles lying around from my acupuncture days so I whacked a few of them into my knee.

4.     Massage – Went to the local chinese guy $25 for 20 minutes and he did a great job and, finally,

5.     Go to your clairvoyant – What? You don’t do that? But how do you know what’s going to happen?

 

Well if you don’t believe then I won’t bother telling you what she said……..

 

Oh, okay then, she said

“Overall the marathon experience will be a positive one for all the runners in the group who do it, in fact, at the end of the race everyone will be saying

 “WHEN’S THE NEXT ONE!!””

(Don’t worry Daisy I won’t be saying that!)

As I was running my second 33km in a week I wonder to myself, why am I doing this? Seriously! It’s definitely not enjoyable and it’s certainly not fun, so why do marathoners do it? And, by and large, they do it more than once! (Not me by the way but other lunatics).

I started thinking about what or who motivates me. It isn’t famous runners or brilliant athletes, it’s my fellow runners. My running group is made up of people from all ages and all walks of life but we all have a common goal and that it to cross that finish line proud of ourselves and each other for having done what we thought we couldn’t.

When I am running and my Achilles tendons are screaming at me to stop, I know my running pals are suffering just as much and if they aren’t going to stop neither am I. Occasionally though the “I can’t do this” voices win and you will only run 20km instead of the scheduled 30.  But when did 20km become only 20km? 20km is a long way! Drive it in your car and even then it’s a long way!

When the “I can’t do this voice” starts telling me “This is beyond you, just stop, turn around now, no one will know…” I have a few mantras I repeat to myself. My main one is “Never give up.” This was first coined by Winston Churchill (not Lorna Jane although I love her too) but Churchill is one of my all time heroes.

I love the story about Churchill where he was asked to give a speech in 1941 at his old school, Harrow School. The boys there were in total awe of him, quite rightly as they were obviously in the middle of the second world war and they were being addressed by their prime minister. The famous quote from that speech is:

“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in.”

One of my other heroes is Nelson Mandela and my favourite quote from him is

“It always seems impossible, until it’s done”

I love motivational quotes and so do lots of other people if facebook, pinterest and tumblr are anything to go by. Here are some of my favs

“I run like a girl, try and keep up”

“Whether it’s hard or whether it’s easy, it won’t last”

“Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.”
― Dean Karnazes

“The real purpose of running isn’t to win a race, it’s to test the limits of the human heart” Bill Bowerman

“There will be a day when I can no longer run…. Today is not that day”

“Run like Ryan Gosling is waiting at the finish line for you with a puppy”

Week 9 of training done and dusted. Four more weeks to go! Can’t believe we have gotten this far. We did our longest training run yesterday which was 33km. This is the farthest we will run on our training program and it gives me a huge sense of achievement that we have done it and more importantly felt that we could have kept going.

My running group and I are suffering though… we all have niggly aches and pains that, at this stage, we have to manage if we want to keep going. Out of my running buddies Geoff is doing pretty well in spite of bleeding nipples and a feet full of blisters, Ros has runners knee and pain on the top of her foot and my Achilles tendonitis on my right ankle is now also on my left. We are doing everything we are told by our physios and massage therapists to manage our aches and pains and I think everything we are feeling is probably pretty normal at this stage of our training.

What we probably haven’t embraced enough though is our post run recovery regime. Post run it is imperative that we:

1.     Hydrate – water, water, water and/or electrolyte drinks. Even though our long run starts at 6am we are running for 3 to 4 hours and we are seriously dripping with sweat by the end of it. You lose so much fluid and salts in sweat and it is so important to replace these fluids after your run.

2.     Carbs and protein – my buddy Jamie swears by chocolate milk post run as the best recovery drink and it really does tick all the boxes. Your body needs carbs and protein in a ratio of 4:1 and chocolate milk delivers as does banana and peanut butter on toast or natural yoghurt with granola and berries. The important thing is to have your carbs and protein within 30 minutes of finishing your run.

3.     Stretch – not just go through the motions but really stretch each muscle group including quads, calves and hamstrings holding each stretch for approx. 30 seconds. If you have a roller, get it out and use it. Concentrate on ITB, quads and gluts, your body will thank you (not at the time but later!!)

4.     Have a proper healthy meal within 1 to 1.5 hours post run

5.     Ice bath ?????? – seriously? I could not make myself do this but swimming at the Rock pool in Kiama after, that is a possibility. The cold water helps to ease aching muscles and increases the repair process.

6.     Have a nap! I have to have a nap after a long run, not only for recovery but to stop me from being an absolute b**tch to dear hubby and the kids!!

Eight weeks ago when I started training for a marathon I asked,

“How hard can it be?”

In this day and age running a marathon is not considered that big a deal. People do so much more than just run 42.2km. Look at people who run ultra marathons or marathoners who run 50 marathons in 50 days, or the 7x7x7 event where runners run 7 marathons on 7 different continents in 7 days.

But you know what it is a big deal and it is much harder than I thought it would be. I have learnt so much during the last 8 weeks, including:

1.     Nutrition is important

I have learnt it is important to get the nutrition right. If, like me, you suffer from IBS or just a dodgy tum this can take a bit of trial and error but it needs to be sorted or you are in a world of trouble (see my previous blog “The case of the exploding bum and other stories”).

 

A training buddy of mine lent me the book “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall. The author goes on a quest to find the Tarahumara tribe who live in the Copper Canyons of Mexico and are rumoured to be the greatest runners of all time. In the book it briefly mentions a chia seed drink that the tribe take before they run. So googling Tarahumara and chia seeds (as you do) led me to a great blog called The No Meat Athlete. The No Meat Athlete has read the same book and made up his version of the drink. http://www.nomeatathlete.com/tarahumara-pinole-chia-recipes/

 

So I tried it before my long run and seriously it really worked! It may be placebo but I don’t care, it feels like it gives me a boost of energy, it’s all healthy ingredients and it doesn’t mess with your digestion. Win win! Try it and then let me know if you felt any different on your run.

 

2.     Marathon training is as much a mental test as a physical one.

If you are getting the kms in and doing the right amount of training runs you would think that would give you the strength and endurance to do a marathon, right? Turns out though, you need to be as strong mentally as physically. If you pit two runners against each other who are physically the same and have done the same amount of training, the one who believes in their ability and doesn’t doubt themselves will undoubtedly do better. The negative head chatter can really mess you up if you don’t have the ability to shut it up!

 

3.     Time is all relative

For the first time in my life I really don’t care about the time I do a race in. I just want to finish the race feeling like I had a good race and didn’t hit the dreaded wall. Unless you are an elite athlete it’s not like you are trying to win the race. Most people just want to do a good time for them. What might be a good time for me might be really slow for others or vice versa. But you know? No-one really cares. Everyone wants everyone else to do their own best time.

 

4.     Running with a group is a tremendous bonding experience.

I have talked before about the joy of running with my running buddies and catching up on each other’s lives. In our time poor world it is great to be able to catch up with friends and train at the same time.

In my long run this week my running group and I ran 28kms, the furthest most of us have ever run. We had all ran the same route (except for Linda who frequently gets lost and ends up running 5 kms more than she should have) and probably all had the same thoughts, head chatter, doubts, fears etc (except Geoff who is a little bit odd and really God knows what goes on in his head!)

It felt like a real shared experience for me, like we had all been through the same battle and lived to tell the tale.

 

I really admire people who can train on their own for a marathon but for me one of the greatest joys has been the shared experience with my running group. We have supported and helped each other and will continue to do so until race day and that alone is making the whole thing worth it. (I have to add the caveat though, I am never doing this again!!!)