New Goals, Fresh Motivation

I bit the bullet last week and decided it was really time to crack down on myself and lose a few kilos I've been trying to shift since the marathon.  I signed up to the current round of the Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation and I've loved getting back into it over the last week!  It's been almost 2 years since I did my first round, and I'm really appreciating the accountability and discipline of the program.

Jed helping me with an at-home workout!

Basically, I'm eating well, counting calories and taking my exercise up a notch - 6 workouts a week.  I'm on the advanced running program, which gives me a variety of runs each week - things like intervals, hill sprints, tempo runs and long runs.  It's not unlike what I've been doing myself over the past few months, but I just love having something to stick to.  I actually really like being told what to do, so I'm enjoying the routine of the set workouts.  It also involves strength, core and stretching - all of which I know I need to to do, but haven't had the motivation to complete by myself, so I love that too.

It's not hard getting back to calorie counting - but it's only been one week, so hopefully that continues!  One of my goals for when I get to the end of the program is to have my 5km time down to 22:30 without the pram and 23:30 with the pram.

I made a good step towards that on Saturday.  We spent the weekend at Noosa, so made the trek to the closest parkrun on Saturday morning, which is Kawana.  It's a beautiful, beachfront track and it was great to have a few familiar Sandgate faces there too!  We were very impressed by one of the regular runners there, Norm, who turned 90 during the week.  90!!!  And he's a regular park runner!  Amazing!

The beautiful course at Kawana parkrun (the ocean is just beyond the trees!

I desperately wanted to get under 25 minutes, something I've been trying to do since coming back from injury.  Nearly all of my parkruns have been with the pram lately, so the 25 has been slipping through my fingers.  But I had no pram this time and felt set for a fast one!  Despite a bit of incline along the way, I enjoyed the course and felt great, coming in at 24:02!  I was thrilled to finally be back under 25, for the first time in months.

parkrun support crew!

Saturday also marked my 52nd consecutive Saturday morning at parkrun.  Next week we celebrate our first birthday at Sandgate!  I have been at a parkrun somewhere every week since (somewhere around 18 runs and the rest volunteering) - and Kawana was my 8th different course.  It's so addictive, I can't stop!

Sandgate parkrunners flying the flag at Kawana

So, I'm feeling great for having new accountability and something to stick to (which will be especially useful for me over Christmas - a time I really struggle with self control!)  I'm excited to improve my running over the next few months and to have focus and commitment.  And of course, to celebrate the birthday of what feels like my third child sometimes - Sandgate parkrun!  If you're in the area, come along on Saturday morning, it'll be a wonderful celebration of a fabulous year :-)

Oh and I almost forgot - I'm now a published running writer!  And I don't mean I've perfected my cursive :-)  I have an article in the December 13 issue of Runner's World magazine about the Gold Coast Marathon.  I was approached a couple of months back to write up my experience, which I was more than happy to do.  I'd almost forgotten about it when the issue came out & I realised I was in there!  So grab a copy and check it out!