This past year .....

Ive run three running events, two half marathons and a 10k.....

Mahana Half Marathon

St Clair half Marathon

Kaiteriteri 10k

I've spent a lot of time here ....

 

Had an amazing summer with family, friends and lots of sun!

 

 

Had some crafty time, though didn't take a lot of pics :(

Cute high waisty!

merino shorts

yearly milo

Wow there you have it in a nut shell! I feel like these photo's are but the tip of the iceberg, but what can you do when you ignore your blog for almost a whole year!!
There has been a change in my life, coinciding I guess with the boys getting older.  I'm finding myself with a lot more 'me' time, and have really been enjoying trying out new things. These things tend to be more away from the home, and sporty in nature (i know right). The blog may have a a bit of a different emphasis, as I find myself more passionate about yoga and running, then baking and sewing. This does not however mean that I don't do the latter, just not as much as I used to!
Well if anyone is reading, thank you for sticking around! Hopefully I will as well :)

 

Intervals .....

When I first started running a friend of mine asked if I wanted to go and do some sprint training with her (intervals). We ran up to the track, stopped at the bottom of  the hill, this is where she told me we would be sprinting up the hill to the tree stump 8 times!  The idea is your sprint up the hill (maximum effort), then you walk back to where you started (recovery). We were sprinting about 50 metres. The first time I did it was hell on earth! This type of exercise uses completely different muscles, and I couldn't walk for a couple of days. I now incorporate a sprint training run in to my weekly training programme.





The hill we sprint up!



           

 

My training programme looks a bit like this:

- 5k quick run (try and run at a faster pace)

- 7-8 k hilly run

- 10- 12k long run

- sprint  training run.

I'm not actually training for anything particular at the moment, but I like to have a bit of structure, and diversity when I'm running. I run every second day, so on average about for times a week. On the days I don't run, I do 40 mins circuit training. I have one rest day a week.

 

 

    Yes there are even donkeys that watch!!


Anyhow back to  the matter at hand, interval training is a really valuable part of your training programme. Now I'm no health or sport professional, but what Ive learnt is that interval training is great to build up your speed and endurance. It boosts your metabolism, and aids weight loss. It also gives your muscles a bit of a break from the repetitive nature of running. Sounds pretty good right? I can vouch that it has done wonders for me. I always have the best runs after a sprint session, and I am slowly getting stronger and faster. I do have a tendency to try and avoid these sprint sessions (funny that), but really notice it after a couple of weeks and get back in to it.
The great thing about intervals is that you can do them anywhere, and at what ever level you are at. No matter what you do as long as you are doing short bursts of high intensity, and then a bit of recovery, you will be making a difference.

The last couple of weeks I've had some fairly heavy eating days, with birthdays, dinners out, glasses of wine, you know all the fun stuff! So to compensate I've eaten really clean this week and stuck to a strict calorie count. I find if I do this every so often it balances things out. I have to try extra hard this week as I have a Indian dinner to go to this weekend, and another birthday!!! Basically if you like food as much as I do, but want to be thin, exercise is your friend! Happy running xx

13.7 km's ..............

Yesterday Andy and I ran from our place to his mum's place in Richmond. It took us 1hour and 40 mins, 1.7 km's. It was the longest run I've ever done, and just quietly I was pretty proud of myself! You see, I have only been running for just under 6 months, I started because I could burn twice the amount of calories in half the time. This appealed immensely to my lazy nature, and my want of needing to get exercise done as quick as possible! Little did I know that I would end up really liking it, and even dare I say it, get addicted to it!! Well it has happened and I'm embracing it!

The start....

The end YAY!!!

Well earned coffee.

So ive set myself running goals:

- Run up the centre of NZ
- Run to Richmond
- Run a 5k race
- Run a 10k race
- Run a half marathon (in nov)
- Run a 22 k trail race (april next year)

I'm happy to say that I have crossed off the first two, and the 5k race is booked for May. I still can not believe that I can go out and run without stopping, for hours sometimes! I have never been a runner, even when I was playing loads of sport in my younger days, I didn't run. I guess I just want to put it out there, that anyone can run, if you want to!!

The rest of the day was pretty chill. My brother came over and we went for a stroll around some beautiful historic homes in our neighbourhood.

I baked a Spiced Apple Cake for book club. This is a delicious cake, I found the recipe on Melissa's blog, a while back and have made it many times.

Just enjoyed these last few warm days. Hope you all had a lovely weekend xx