Just To See If I Could

So last night I figured I would head out for a run. The weather was nice and after yet another sick week housebound I was more than ready to get out of the house. I told my husband to watch the boys and that I would try to keep my run to an hour although I thought I'd probably be back in about a half hour.

I have just sorted out a route around my area that is about 5.6k. It is kind of an annoying route though as it is a lot of doubling back on yourself but I was really in desperate need of a 5k route at my doorstep and for now I know this would have to do. So last night I headed out with a mind to complete that route. After I had done the 5.6k I realised that I could carry on running, I actually felt good. I knew a little add on area which would make another 4k so I told myself to carry on to that route and just see how far I could go. No shame in stopping if I had to.

When I got home an hour and 4 minutes later I had completed 9.75k!!! Yay me!

This might be a bit silly, but I have this ridiculous claim to fame, well, something I always boast about- 'I ran a 10k once in under an hour!' But I'll tell you a little secret...that was when I was 17, still in high school and training about 3 hours a day for field hockey. I haven't run one since.

After having been running with the mums running club for awhile now and knowing I could easily run a 5k (much easier with other mums to run with though) I am thinking of setting a new goal. 10k here I come!

For the record, I felt really stiff this morning and one of my ankles is a bit tender so I probably was a little over-ambitious with my run yesterday. I think I should have tried a 7k but after a nice sweaty spin class this morning I am feeling more like my old self.

I can now say that I am looking forward to the day when I am able to run a 10k without feeling like I might need to be in a wheel chair the next day ;-)

Are you a 10k+ runner? How did you break into the longer distance runs?

Stress/Sick Diet

Hmm...sorry to be so predictable, but we are still a sick house over here. The two boys took a turn for the worse on the weekend and when we went to the doctor's they were diagnosed with chest infections and are now on antibiotics. They are both so sad, tired and feverish. It is really breaking my heart and I am definitely having mother's guilt that I didn't take them to the doctor's sooner. Although the doctor did say that if I had taken them last week she probably would have just sent us home assuming it was just a bad cold.

Unfortunately, I have also got my sinus infection back but on the opposite side! Just when I thought I was feeling well again. Boo! :-(

At any rate, I did have a different post planned but since we are still sick I thought I'd roll on with the theme!

As you may remember I am using the Weight Watchers ProPoints system to kind of keep in line and change my way of eating so it is a bit healthier. I'm not going to lie, I knew eating a whole roll of chocolate HobNobs was not healthy but I needed some guidelines to help me stay on track. Anyway, I have been doing relatively well staying within my points and slowly losing some of my baby weight (Yes, I still have baby weight even though my youngest is 19 months!) but it seems that when I am sick or stressed out (cause my little babies are sick) I tend to feel super hungry.

It's crazy I have been doing so well and then in the last couple of weeks I have felt like I could eat a bus load of chocolate, a gallon of coffee and a bucket load of chips (french fries). I know I shouldn't but I have given in because:

1. I know this is a one off 

2. my body must need extra calories to help me fight my infection/deal with the stress of two seriously ill babies

I read all  kinds of posts from other bloggies saying things like 'feeling sick, had a lovely green juice'. I really really would love to want a green juice but guess what, I don't, I'm me and I feel like a big old piece of chocolate cake and some coffee, maybe even a mocha!

Maybe someday I will think 'feeling sick, will have a green juice', but today I eat cake ;-)

Anyone else get really hungry or have cravings for junk food when they are under the weather?

Food & Fitness Plan

Ah, a crazy weekend in this house. My husband has been out on a cycling trip with some friends and so it has just been me and the boys. Dylan is still pretty sick and I think Francis is getting better but he has been a little bit naughty. I think he might be trying is luck with the terrible two thing for the last two weeks of being two. The potty training has also had a bit of a regression, so I have been struggling a bit this weekend. I could have done with another set of hands but the cycling had been planned for awhile and next week I have two spa trips planned so I should be a whole new woman by next Sunday (fingers crossed) ;-)

Food:
Monday- Salmon with Quinoa
Tuesday- Lentils with Chorizo
Wednesday- Sesame Honey Chicken with rice
Thursday- Stuffed Pepper Creation (still have a lot of stuffing from the time I made stuffed peppers in the freezer, must come up with a creation to get it used, any ideas?)
Friday- Take Away
Saturday- Cheesy Baked Pumpkin Pasta (from SkinnyTaste)
Sunday- Roast or Beef Stew (cooked by my husband)

Fitness:
Monday- Run 5k (I hope!)
Tuesday- Swim
Wednesday- Rest
Thursday- Spinning (no running club out to the spa for a friends birthday)
Friday- Rest
Saturday- Run 5k
Sunday- Pilates

I hope everyone has a great start to the week.
PS only one month until my Sports Relief 5k Race!!
PPS Thank you so very much for all those who have nominated me for Best New Blog MAD Blog Award! I am so excited :-)

Friday Fitness Faves (MNBChallenge)

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you have all had a good week. This week for my Friday Faves I thought I'd do two things: 1- Recap my Move Nourish Believe February Blogger Challenge which I started this week (Yes, I know totally late to the party. The challenge actually started the 3rd of Feb and officially ends today, but that is to win a prize and I'm cool with just doing the challenge!) and 2- Talk about 5 of my fitness faves at the moment.

First of all for those of you who don't know the MNBChallenge was created by Lorna Jane and Fit Approach to keep the #sweatpink community and late to the party peeps like me on track and motivated after the January resolution fever cools down.

Don't mind the bags under my eyes it was an early run!

Week 1's challenges were to help get you moving see below:
Monday: Sweat-it-out! I did a 4.2k run on Monday morning all up hill (not on purpose!). It felt good ;-)
Tuesday: Change it up! I was going to go for a swim but I had a sick boy up in the night and didn't get much sleep so I am changing it up tonight with a zumba video
Wednesday: Let's get planking! I did five one minute planks. It hurt!
Thursday: Buddy up! This was easy for me as I have my usual mum's running club on Thursday nights. I ran a 5.3k. It was a good run with nice girls :-)
Friday: Fave Friday! For this one I have to show my fitness favourites and that was the plan for today anyway, so here we go...

Five Fitness Faves

1: RunKeeper App- I just discovered this app a few weeks back and really love it. Admittedly it can be a bit tricky if you don't have a good gps signal but I have been able to track all of my outdoor runs recently and I really like being able to look back and see how I've done.

2: Pilates- I had to take a week off of pilates when I was sick last week but now I'm back, I realize how much I really enjoy that class and how much of a difference it has made with my Diastasis Recti (slowly but surely it is closing up see previous post)

3: Sigg water bottle- I used to have one of these when I lived in the States and now that I am back into fitness again it was one of the first things I bought. It is a 1L sized gold bottle and it keeps me thoroughly hydrated during all my workouts.

4: Play list- I really struggle with running if I don't have a good play list. Recently I have found it really tricky to get a good compilation of up beat, new music together. I finally have a decent play list and am not bored of it yet (fingers crossed)!

5: Sweaty Betty workout kit- Just bought a few new pieces of workout gear from Sweaty Betty. The material is wicking and so soft. I find that working out is a bit more fun if you have some nice gear to work out in :-)

Some stuff out there I really want to try but haven't yet:
Twist (coffee protein drink), Fitbit (to track my fitness and sleep), Strider's Edge leggings, All weather running hoodie/jacket like this one (NIKE element running jacket) and Yurbuds earphones.

What are your Fitness Faves?

Baby Bag & Prams

So far it has been another week of being sick in our house. I am finally on the mend but my oldest still has a cold and my youngest is just really unwell (but mainly grumpy!). Oh and my husband, as always is healthy as ever.

So today I thought I would write about my baby bag and the prams we use because these are things that most Mums have and need (although one of my mum friends who has three little angels never used a pram!).

A few years back I had a pretty small baby bag (Peter Rabbit themed made by my lovely Aunt) stocked with a couple nappies/diapers, wipes, talc, cream, a change of clothes, changing pad, some snacks, a drink, some small toys, my wallet, sun glasses, hand sanitizer and some lip balm.

We had one pram, the Baby Jogger City Mini.

When Dylan was born I got a bigger baby bag (Vera Bradley, a gift from my parents) with double the above and the addition of bibs, muslin clothes, and chewy toys. We also bought a double pram, the Graco Stadium Duo.

Fast forward to last week and I realized my baby bag needed an overhaul and because Francis is a big boy now we don't use the double pram so much any more.

Now when we are out and about we are using the Baby Jogger City Mini again (for Dylan) and Francis either walks on his own or jumps on his 'skate board' the Mother Care Hop-On Stroller Platform. So far so good except when F is feeling a bit naughty in shops and runs off! That however, might be a whole different blog post ;-)

Our baby bag has just been upgraded (we no longer need double the nappy/diaper stuff!!), but it is a lot more full. Today's baby bag includes the following:
nappies/diapers, wipes, talc, cream, two spare changes of clothes, changing pad, 2 spare sets of big boy undies, 2 spare sets of socks, an extra pair of trousers, some snacks, some sweets (for any potty successes), books, my wallet, sun glasses, hand sanitizer, lip balm, pens, tissues (lots), zip lock bags and a carrier bag (to seal up any accident clothes). Ohhh and at the moment the potty has been making an appearance in the pram's basket...just in case!

So there you have it. Just when I thought I might be back into carrying a hand bag (albeit an oversized one) I'm still in with the big baby bag (mind you mine's a rather nice one!).

What does your baby bag look like these days? Any thing unusual in it?

Anniversary!

Just a quick post today as it my husband and my 8 year wedding anniversary. It really doesn't seem that long ago, but well, I guess we are getting old ;-)

My husband and I met 15 years ago in Spain when we were both studying at university there. We got along really well and I think we both thought that it would be a nice romance abroad and then it would probably end, but it didn't. We did the whole long distance thing for a few years and then when I had graduated university and I realised that my first job in finance wasn't all it was cracked up to be, I moved to London to study for my MBA We finally got the chance to date like a real couple (well, a couple in the same city anyway)! After 7 years of dating both long distance and close, he finally popped the question!

We got married in the UK in February (Yes, we are crazy!!) and a lot of my family and friends flew over for our big day. It was the most fantastic day ever!

Happy Anniversary my sweet! :-) 

PS. My husband has since cut his long curly locks ;-)

My Weekly Food & Fitness Plan

Hello! Well, fingers crossed I am on the mend! I felt really really rotten every single day last week and ended up on antibiotics, which to be honest didn't seem to help at all but I was desperate. It seemed to be an illness that would not let go: 2 weeks of the cold with slight fever, then a week of a serious sinus infection and feeling totally exhausted. Today is the first day that I can say I am feeling better.

With that said, I did not follow last week's fitness plan at all. In fact, I did not do any form of working out, unless of course you count getting out of bed and chasing the boys around the house! ;-)
I did more or less stick with last week's food plan though. I don't know about you but for some reason, unless I have the stomach bug, when I am sick I seem to be hungrier than ever. I had so many snacks last week it was a little worrying. I guess my body just needed the extra calories to fight the infection.

Today I managed to get to my Pilates class and let me tell you it felt great!! The instructor told me that I have come a long way since I started in December and I should  not consider myself a beginner any more but one of the regulars (to the class). This is great news but also it means I will be working on more advanced options during the class which are tough. I think I am looking forward to the challenge!

Food
Sunday: Pizza with Salad
Monday: Crock Pot Chicken with noodles
Tuesday: Out
Wednesday: Pasta Bake with Salad
Thursday: Shrimp Stir-Fry with Rice
Friday: Taco Salad
Saturday: Salmon with Couscous

Fitness
Sunday: Pilates
Monday: Run 3.5k
Tuesday: Swim
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Spinning and Running Club (5k)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Run 3+k (depends on how I feel)

Hope you all have a good start to the week!
xx