Finishing up for 2007

Ryan & Corrin my two children Ryan is 22 and Corrin is 17.

Christmas Day -Corrin with Bailey- Ryan's dog.


Have spent the last 2 days finishing off some files before I leave on Monday. Have quite enjoyed working at my "home office" and achieved quite a bit. I did however have a break today for my training session at 10.30 which I don't normally do.

We have been concentrating on upper body and totally pushed my arms today and I certainly knew all about it by the end of my session. Mind you I also spent nearly an hour yesterday doing Jav training so that didn't help. Sometimes I am surprised at how quickly my arms recover. I always feel that I should be able to do better at Javelin so I will just keep persisting with it. I really do need a proper throws coach but can't have everything at the moment.

I have just arranged with a couple of my running friends to meet for a track training session on Sunday morning as I won't have the opportunity for one whilst I am away. I will be competing in State Pentathlon on the 26th Jan so have to take every opportunity.

Family time

Christmas was a very quiet day this year but we had a traditional Chrissy lunch with all the trimmings. Today we had a seafood BBQ which was most enjoyable with our family again.

Today was the only day I didn't do any training at all and even though I didn't overeat all that much I still feel as though I don't need anything to eat for a week!


Back into training tomorrow well at least until Monday when I will be heading to Sydney for 5 days. Will be spending New Years Eve on Sydney Harbour with friends and I think the plan is to sleep over on their boat so I am really looking forward to that. Five days is actually a long time to be away as I have set myself some big challenges this year and I really want to get started. More about that soon!
Donna

Another Friday update

I have actually had a very productive week just past. Working from home most of the week but it was all good and it was all productive work which is even better.
Have not been near the shops too much this week except for a short period with my daughter to pick up a couple of small presents for her.

She received final school results also with an OP of 11 . She has applied for Griffith Uni to do Primary teaching so hopefully she will get in. Uni placings are out in January.
Have been training and eating well this week which always helps. Have been thinking about actually competing in a body comp next year. Just a thought at this stage. My athletics season finishes end of March and there is a comp here on the Gold Coast in October so may be able to fit in. My PT & his partner are competing in a comp in May but that is not enough time for me to prepare.

I was looking forward to my girlfriend & her husband coming up from Sydney for the weekend last week but I couldn't believe it they missed the plane. She was getting over the death of her Mother this year and hadn't been coping very well and has put a lot of weight on etc . We finally managed to organise a weekend and actually get her motivated to get away and they missed the plane. I was so looking forward to her visit as she is my one dear friend that I have had since high school. (over 30 years ago!!) Anyway she rang today and wants me to go down to Sydeny for New Year. I wasn't planning on going because of the cost but I think I will try and get down there.

I actually felt like having acouple of wines tonight and even went out and bought a few bottles for Xmas. Decided to go for a run instead and didn't end up having anything to drink. Felt pretty good too.

Must go as I have been on this computer all week and was planning to read tonight.

Friday update

Totally non eventful week has just passed me by. Even my training has been nothing to write home about. I have been going through the motions but thats about it. At least I am still getting up and doing something but it just doesn't seem right.
Never mind, let's see what will be next week.

MIA

I don't know whether I should be mia or just missing out on all the action. I am trying so hard to make everything work at the moment but it is really stressing me.
Having organised the finance for my son to buy his home is really fantastic, however he is also relying on me to help him with everything else that is required and unfortunately that means some money. Of course he hopes to repay it back but it is just at such a bad time with me not having too much income while I get this business up and running.
The constant money thoughts are just making me feel sick in the stomach at the moment.
This is really the first time I have actually thought maybe I have done the wrong thing. I guess i could just admit defeat and go back to my old job.
This makes me feel like I have let my family down. I have been supporting everyone for so long it would be nice to have a bit of support back.

I haven't given up just yet but I am having some negative thoughts about where we are headed anad I don't like it.

Would you believe this. I was reading about a BMW Z4 the other day and thinking about driving around in one. Well I go to this networking group on Monday called Abundant Babes. Really inspiring n& motivating group of women. On the way home I followed a Z4 right up to my street.. I had never really taken any notice of them before and then here it was right in front of me. Must have been an omen I think!
Then yesterday exactly the same thing happened. Another one driving in front of me right up past my street. In actual fact I desparately need a new car but that is a long long way down the list. Crazy!

Moving on

I am really startingto think that maybe it is me that has a problem. But I know this isn't true. I am sick & tired of being used. I have decided I am going to look out for myself from now on. That means I don't have to make any excuses for anyone else. I can reach for as high as I want and that is what I intend to do.
I love just reading eveyones blog- each has there own little problems but there is just so much support out there.
I can see how easy it is to turn back to food, and I do this on and off but luckily I have never lost sight of where and what I want. Unfortunately I do not have too much of a support network from my family so its all up to me and of course my fantastic trainer.
I have just tonight decided I do not particularly like drinking anymore.Had a couple of glasses tonight and didn't do anything for me at all.
I was planning on not going to training tomorrow morning but I havechanged my mind and will go. I have nothing much else happening at the moment so will do the one thing I enjoy.

Work problems

More work problems. I really can't understand people who say one thing and do another. I am totally over it. The lady who I have been trying to work with (in her business) is just so focussed on herself and how much money she is making I am sure she has forgotten the reason why she asked me to join her in the first place. Initially she had so much work and was making enough money and didn't need to make any more, so if I joined her I could take some of her referrals etc. Well I have not had one referral and all she keeps doing is complaining about howmuch work she has, how many hours she has to do (mind you she has kept everyone of the referrals to herself). I have decided today that I am going to go out on my own. I don't need this crap anymore. I will struggle on by myself.
Enough of that. Exercise has been going OK as has the diet. Well sort of on and off. Haven't put any weight back on but I really want to get back into it and see what I can really do. Have a comp on in Brisbane tomorrow so looking forward to that.
I can't believe I have just spent an hour catching up on blogs etc. I was going to do some research for work but I guess one night off that won't hurt.

Weekends!

Just love Saturdays when I don't have to rush anywhere. Although I still wake up at the usual time I really just like to catch up on everything I have put off during the week.
Have been busy organising finance for my son Ryan this week. He has a contract on a property but there are always so many hurdles with buying a house. I think he now realises what I have been trying to tell him about finance for years. He is 22 but I'm sure he thinks I know nothing until he needs help with something. Anyway fingers crossed that everything goes to plan.

My daughter Corrin has 2 more Year 12 exams this week and school is all over for her. Then we have the week at Schoolies to worry about. I really believe it is such a waste of money (her money), but they all have to do it. Surfers is just one place to stay right away from once they start.

Work has been taken over recently but I have to persist or I will be back working for someone else. I try to keep up my training as much as possible because that is my bit of a lifeline, always has been and always will be.

First comp today

My first comp day for the season today at Griffith track.It was soo hot but I always seem to perform better in the heat. Although at the end of the sessions I was pretty well drained of energy. Did jav, discus, shot, long jump & 400M. Throws were pretty average as expected due to non training and a PB in the 400. I am actually getting to like the 400. Overall I was more than happy with my times. Just gives me abit more motivation to do better.
The last couple of nights I haven't had to do anything associated with work so it was good to use the computer for myself and catch up with everyones blog.

My son has been looking to buy a home and has just rung to say he found something today.I am in the process of organising finance for him but everything seems to sell so quickly at the moment I don't know waht his chances are of securing it.

We have no training on tomorrow morning so planning to go down to North Burleigh surf club for brekky & a walk along the beach after.

1 Goal achieved

Just a quick one today as I have so much to catch up on at home. Away at a conference for 3 days last week didn't help. Too much eating & drinking & sitting around. I was really glad to get back home.
My News: I won the monthly WH & F comp for my 12 week challenge. It ended up being quite a shock, I entered because I find that to achieve I need that specific goal. I had a start/finish date & that was what I worked around. However towards the end it didn't matter that I had a finish date because I had the results I wanted and I just felt that I could have continued on.
The downside was that I did finish on the date and I have been having a bit of a holiday since.

I do have some goals with my athletics so I think I really need to concentrate on them and get back into training. I have also let work take over a bit too much so need to look at that also.

Tommy's farewell from training

Training was sort of weird today without our coach. Just doesn't seem right. We all split up into 3 groups and did our own thing. The sprinters did short fast. I did pyramid training- 200, 250, 300 and back down 300, 250, 200. Ended up being quite a good session.
Did a few throws after that. Nothing to get excited about, hovering around that 25m mark when I want to be at 30m. Maybe I will have to go back and start concentrating on my throws a bit more.
I am only training with Ashley once a week now. We are concentrating on my strength/power so sessions have been pretty tuff. Thats the way I like them to be because I know I am not going to get to the level I want unless I really start pushing a bit harder.

I haven't had a pizza for ages and last night I felt like one. Did not enjoy it one bit. Maybe it was because it wasn't a good pizza but it has certainly turned me off pizza. I felt so bad this morning. Not because I had eaten pizza but because of the effect it had on my body.
Lesson learned. Back to the clean eating for me.

Have a great week.

Has been an up and down week. Not exactly what I had planned, but still thinking positive. Things have to really start happening work wise and I just have to get out there and put my thoughts into action. Not as easy as it sounds though.
Had a couple of days off training this week and I don't like the way I feel when I don't do anything. My legs stiffen up very quickly(tight hamys). I just can't get into sprinting when they are like that. Takes me forever to warm up.
Really bad news about my sprint coach. He had a stroke and died last week. his funeral was on Thursday. He was in his 80's, so he had a good long life and was very active..He was such a dedicated person to our training. Always there for us, rain hail or shine, 3 mornings a week and Sunday as well. After he finished our training he would always do his own bit of training. I miss him already. He was one for always saying what he thought. When I first joined the group he said to me " you would actually run a lot better if you lost a stone in weight". Well I did lose that stone and I did run better. I never took offence at what he said and he always said to me that I had a big heart. Meaning that I may be one of the slower runners but I always have a go at everything and never give up. He was always full of encouragement. I guess I will always now run with him in mind.

I have to keep reminding myself to plan, plan, plan and do as I say. Yes!!!

Whats next

Well one week has passed and I am looking for new challenges. I had some mixed feelings during the week. I sort of felt 'what now' what am I going to do now. But that has now passed and I am moving on to my next goal.

I started back training because I want to and I like the way it makes me look and feel.

I am now going to concentrate on my business and at least now I feel able to cope with just about whatever comes my way. My vision is up on my wall just have to fill in the blanks. (that is dollars)

Not too proud of my before, but hey that was me then. I will never let myself get back to that stage again.

12 weeks over

What a fantastic day it has been. Have just had my final photos taken and what a shock that was. It was so much fun and I am soo happy with the photos. Can't wait to get them. I will definitely be sending them in to WH &F.
After being out all morning I was absolutely starving when I got home. I had a salad & cheese sandwich and how good was that.

I will report full details in later. Ash has given me the day off training today if I want, but I am feeling pretty darn good at the moment so will decide later.

Last 2 days

How good do I feel at the moment. My 12 weeks is 2 days out. Photos on Monday to finish off. It has been full on the last couple of weeks but really worth the effort. I can,t believe my weight has actually dropped down to 57, but it is the body fat weight that has always been my goal and I will have that measured on Monday. I really do feel I have acccomplished something this time.I can't wait to start my next training programme. This will now focus on my power and strength. I have now realised how little strength I had before.
Overall I feel great and I believe I can now continue on without having to continually worry about my back. I now it is still a weak area, but nothing like it was. It can only get better as i continue to improve my strength in all areas.

I'll be back On Monday with the final figures.

Just finished another cardio session. It is so full on at the moment and as much as I love cardio I really have to stay focussed as I only have the treadmill. Although I must admit the night sessions (40 mins) really go by quite quickly.
Sometimes I wonder about people. I know I'm 50 but so what, this is something I want to do and I enjoy doing. What I'm on about is some of the negative comments I get ..your looking too scrawny, your losing too much weight! Hey if I was grossly overweight and unhealthy I'm sure they would find something negative to say about that.
I do get some positive comments also and that makes up for it.
Lucky I don't take offence easily.

Final 3 weeks

This week has just flown by, maybe because I am feeling great, training well and eating well.
My final 3 weeks of my challenge. I'm happy with where I am at the moment but I just keep thinking that I have an almost impossible task ahead to finish where I really want to be. I keep reminding myself that if I keep thinking this way then thats where I will head. So I really have to focus on believing in myself and the fact that I am putting the effort in for a reason.
I also love the fact that I have so much energy. Looking forward to track session tomorrow. That is where I am really noticing the results. Looking for some more PBS.
Gotta go, almost time for the athletics to start. I am not a TV person but I have certainly spent a few hours in front of it this last week.

Midweek update

Short update. Everything going to plan this week and the days have just flown by. I really love the extra cardio as they are short and fast. I worry sometimes my treadmill is going to pack it in with 3 of us using it. This morning I finished off my cardio session with a run outside - I usually follow the same path so I really noticed improvement in my endurance as I hadn't done it for a while. It was also a bit of a hazard. Damm magpies are back again. Mind you this is 6 in the morning, blowing a gale and I also have to dodge the magpies. think I will just stay inside tomorrow.!!
Almost forgot I have a work PD day tomorrow. Not looking forward to that and I am not sure what I am going to eat either. Guess I will work that out tomorrow. Better go and get myself organised.
Bye Donna

5 weeks to go and counting.

I can't believe how tired I am feeling today, particularly my legs. I am not going to think or worry too much about it as I have just this instant decided that I will feel better tomorrow. Just get over it and move on.
Sprint training was full on today. 800 x 1, 300 x 1, 150 x 3, hills & oval. All within targets so I am definitely progressing. That was our last Sunday on the grass track. Next week we move back to training on the tartan track. Now that really sorts your legs out!

My challenge is on target. Monday is the start of my final 5 weeks. I know I done this before and the big changes don't happen for me until around the 10 week mark, but I still have a lot of fat to remove from my stomach/buttt/thighs. This has always been my problem area and although Ashley is confident that I will lose it, I still continue to worry because I know how hard it is to shift that area.
It doesn't help when I get comments like..your losing too much weight, your too skinny. Believe me I am not skinny. My body fat according to my scales was in the high 30's when I started, now at least I am down to the low 30's. (Don't know how accurate the scales are) It's just that I tend to lose the weight from my arms and top half first and unfortunately this is not where I need to lose it.
I do my cardio at home on a treadmill. 45 min early morning- 5 days, 30 min night 4 days, 1 day outdoors sprint training and 1 rest day(Sat). My rest day means no cardio or weight training but I also fit my field events training in on this day. Yesterday I spent an hour or so down at the park for some discus work. This is just something I like to do as there is no-one else around, just me and my dog.
Looking forward to another busy week on both the personal and business front.

6 Weeks to go

Just finished a fantastic weekend. I really didn't do anything special but the weather was fantastic and that always helps the moods.
Well today we changed my diet and upped the cardio. Morning and night session for cardio and an ever so clean diet. Glad I like chicken and rice... I am happy with the progress I have made so far, so with this extra effort I really want to make it this time. I know I will make it, but I just want to push a bit further and really end up where I have been trying to be for such a long time.

I am really happy about where this has taken me with my overall fitness. I actually feel that I now have the strength to really give some of my PB's a shake up. The Pentathlon is my event and I have just moved up into the '50' age group so it is just like starting again with some new goals.

My arms are really fatigued from my training session tonight so I think I will get off this computer and do some reading. I am researching information for a newsletter I am putting together for my business.
We are almost ready to start operating from our new premises. Well its not really new, just an old house that we have given a bit of a makeover. Then its full on for us 4 'girls' from Care Finance.
Till next time

Alls well

Another week almost gone and have had a good one so far both with work and my challenge. I am feeling really good about my exercise and diet at the moment. Everything on plan. I had 2 sessions with my trainer this week and I really noticed such an improvement in the way I felt and the amount I could lift. Next week we really bump up the cardio and change my diet again.
I am totally determined to come out of this one on top. I usually don't have any free days but it is my daughters 17th birthday tomorrow so i will relax a little. I just won't go overboard.

Sunday's Track day

3rd in Shot(something I don't train for) National Championships 2006 Canberra. (thats me on the right)


Sunday's are just the best days. It is the one day I try to catch up on my reading. Sunday's are also my track training day. Every Sunday 7am it is training with our little group of 'Masters Athletes' Its not all about the training its just that they are a fantastic bunch of people and even if its cold, windy and the grass is wet I'm still glad that I made the effort to get out of bed and be there. This morning we did a 400, 200 x 2 and 150 and then over to the 'hills' (tough). I managed to smash all my targets today so felt pretty good about that.
After training we always have morning tea. I usually pass on the food and drink water until I get home, then enjoy my coffee and whatever in the sun out the back.
Even though I work hard on a Sunday I don't really feel that it is something I have to do... it is something I do because I enjoy it. Sometimes I think of it as a free day... just a 'walk' around the park.
Looking forward to another great week.

Way to go

Saturday 4 August 2007
Today I start becoming accountable to myself. I have 2 projects on the go at the moment. 1. My 12 week body challenge and 2. My new business challenge. I am half way through my 12 weeks and have just upped my commitment another notch. Everything is in place for my new business.. now just have to get that up and running.