I deserve a little Ice Cream every now and then!

I have actually had an amazing day! It has gone so well, I’m feeling really happy and relaxed at the moment 🙂

It started well because I woke up at 7 to my alarm, after a very deep sleep. I was super happy because I haven’t slept well in days.
I was completely out to it last night. I was no use to anyone by 12.30 am. I had a friend over last night and they left then, and as soon as they were gone, I was out to it.

I woke up really well rested and refreshed 🙂 It was a nice feeling for a change.

It’s been such a beautiful day today! Gosh, there hasn’t been a single cloud in the sky, it’s such an amazing contrast to the last 3 weeks.

For breakfast I had the same as yesterday which I didn’t write– Porridge topped with a handful of granola, honey, ground cinnamon and chopped banana. YUMMY!!!

I had a 4 pieces of 85% cocoa Organic Dark Chocolate and a glass of Milk as my mid-morning snack before I went to the supermarket to buy frozen mixed berries to make a cranberry juice + mixed berries + banana smoothie. It would have been amazing if it hadn’t of been for the DISGUSTING artificial sweetener 😦 It was so sickly sweet, I felt sick. Never ever again am I opting for the low-fat, low-sugar option because it has less kilojoules. I must admit though, It had a tiny 83 Kilojoules per serving, compared to the 510 from regular. But still, I felt gross after.

I had that smoothie with homemade Granola from last night for lunch. It was lovely because I ate it outside in the beautiful sun whilst reading my book; “Short Fat Chick To Marathon Runner” by the NZ celebrity Kerre Woodham. It’s fantastic! It’s a great laugh and really inspirational at the same time 🙂

After lunch, I got a text from Dallas asking if I wanted to hang out, so he came round and took us to the heads to catch up with some friends.

Now… this was exciting because today, I DROVE A CAR FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!!!

I was so nervous I was shaking!! My heart was pounding and I was terrified of crashing Dallas’s car. But he was a good instructor and I just followed everything he told me to do. After a while I kinda got the hang of it.

I was still shaking by the time we swapped back seats!

He drove us back home and we spent a couple of hours working on his homework haha. I had to go all nazi on him to get him to actually do it 😛
But he did, so that’s really good.

Miles came round at 4.30 pm so he and I could play tennis! I was really looking forward to it because it was perfect weather for it, I hadn’t played tennis since January, he cracks me up and I was looking forward to a catch up.

We ended up playing for 2 and a half hours! It was sweet. Then we watched some hilarious youtube videos and he left. Then I had dinner which was DIVINE.

It was asian salad with lean beef, beetroot, broccoli, potatoes etc. I didn’t have very much, I’d had a handful of corn chips so my stomach was quite full.

After dinner, I treated myself to a small cup of Ice Cream 🙂 I really enjoyed it. I haven’t had Ice Cream in WEEKS, so it was a lovely little treat. I allowed myself to have some because I’m so disciplined, I really deserved it. And because I have reached my “happy weight”. I weighed myself today for the first time in almost a year, and I was so happy and surprised by the result, I am really content about it 🙂

ALSO! Tomorrow, I plan to attack the Rock Pitt steps. Anyone living in whakatane will know what I mean… Call me crazy, but tomorrow for my workout, I’m going to run up and down those dreaded steps for half and hour straight. It. Will. Kill. Me.

I hate stairs... I won’t lie. They are horrible. It hurts, and it’s hard , and it’s painful, but I just have to think about how it will get easier if I do that workout often.

And, I shall have legs like no other, I’ll burn tons of Kilojoules AND increase my fitness 🙂 Sounds worth it to me!

I had a fantastic workout at the gym yesterday. I woke up at 7 to get ready and went to the 8.30 am Body Pump class after 2 days of well deserved rest. My body was back in action and ready to go! I had stacks of energy and after, worked the treadmill at an average of 8 min/mile pace for 40 minutes, then burned some more fat on the stationary bike. I had a great workout 🙂 felt goooood.

SCHOOL TOMORROW! 😦 argh.

Anyone else dreading this??? I’m so depressed. Words cannot justify how much I HATE school. Truly. The day I graduate will be THE. GREATEST. DAY. OF. MY. LIFE.

Oh well… I’ll just think about my steps workout, hopefully that will help the day pass better since I’ll have something to look forward to.

Have and awesome day guys 🙂

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Trip to Hamilton Recap!

WELL, I have just had the greatest 2 days EVER! 😀

I woke up to my alarm at a shocking 7am yesterday morning, and I was feeling pretty excited, so I got cracking. I showered, breakfasted (a small bowl of canned peaches and a small handful of almonds), and packed my things.
It was beautiful and sunny when we left and I got more and more depressed as I saw us drive away from paradise and into hell 😦

We went via Rotorua, and it was AWFUL! It was raining and the roads were so windy I felt so sick.
But we made it in fairly good time, I just listened to my ipod and talked to mum about toxic vegetables and other nutrition-related topics lol.

We arrived at Penny’s (my sister) at about 11 am and it was SO GOOD to get out and stretch my legs. I was HUNGRY,  I sifted through my sisters cupboards, but saw no suitable snacks that would be of any real nutritional value lol. So I ate an apple and two oreo-type biscuits and decided to wait to get into town and eat something more substantial.

It was great to see my beautiful little Nephew— Te Mania again. He’s almost two now, I can’t believe how fast time flies.
I remember the night he was BORN…

Ok, so that’s the morning after, but still, you get the idea 🙂

He’s now big, running around and almost talking! He can’t speak full sentences, but he knows his manners 🙂 and he knows what things are called and he does what he’s told! If you tell him to put his stuff away, he will actually do it ^.^ He’s the sweetest thing.

Anyway, so we waited around at Penny’s for about half an hour for my other sister Bronwyn to arrive. It was FREEEZZZINNNGGG in Hamilton! When I left Whakatane I was wearing shorts, a long sleeve and a jersey, once I got there I changed into long pants and put on an extra thick jacket. COLD COLD COLD.

Once Bronwyn got there we had a good catch up 🙂 I haven’t seen her in MONTHS, so it was cool.

Then we all moseyed onwards to town… all seven of us lol. We did some shopping Kmart, then I started getting my bitch on coz I was so hungry (hey, it was 1.00pm and I hadn’t eaten since 7.30am and all I had was a small bowl of peach slices! lol), so we went to the food court…

Oh. My. God. I had the BEST feed of my life. I had a falafel Kebab. I got a mini-kebab and it was still stuffed full of yummy veges and two falafels and yum sauces 😀 I was the happiest camper alive.

Then I went to “Tank” for a smoothie. Bronwyn had one and the cup said “Guilt Free“, they’re supposed to be healthy juices, so I wandered on over to check out what they had to offer. I got a “Tankup” which was something like peaches, mango, banana, frozen yoghurt + a multivitamin shot. It was good, not great, but definitely the best healthy smoothie I’ve bought before. I was satisfied 🙂

We went to a few more shops after that. Mum and I went to check out a running shoes shop. I’ve heard good things about them because they fit the perfect shoe to your foot type/shape etc. They do a foot scan and then once they’ve found some shoes to accommodate your foot, they make you walk on a treadmill to see which way your foot goes. I was impressed. I think I’ll go there next time I need shoes.

Then mum and I went off on our own to the Body Shop so I could buy a present for somebody very special 🙂

After that, we all met up at the warehouse. I bought a Womans Health mag to keep me occupied whilst Mark and Mum went motorbike shopping. Learnt some interesting things actually.

When they were done, we popped round to my Nana and Poppas house to say hello because I haven’t seen them for MONTHS. It was really cool to see them.

Later, once we were home, Dad came over to take me out to dinner and a movie. He also brought along his best mate Collin, and that was ok with me because Collin turned out to be one of the funniest people I have ever met in my life.

The night was definitely a new experience for me lol… I have all new insight into the male mind… perhaps too much?? :S

I had a 6 inch Subway Sandwich for dinner and a 250ml bottle of Keri’s orange juice.

We went to see “500 Days Of Summer”, and I’m not gonna lie, it was quite disappointing. It was supposed to be a romance comedy, but at the end I was depressed as hell. It didn’t have a very happy ending. So I wasn’t all that satisfied with it.

I had a ratchet sleep. I was stuck with the stupid couch. I don’t actually think I slept or more than an hour to be honest. I was awake 96% of the night.

I was up at SEVEN again the next morning thanks to the children… I had to rush a little bit to shower, have breakfast and pack all my things so mum and I could be out the door at 8.45 to go meet up with Marissa. A long time family friend, who in fact was one of the first people to hold me when I was born.

Breakfast was a bowl of fruit: two sliced up baby bananas, 1 sliced apple, sprinkled with walnuts.
FAILED to keep me full. I was hungry within half an hour and within an hour I was STARVING!!!

We looked around town for a while and then went to meet up with Marissa at Cafe Strata. It was so cool to see her, I didn’t even really recognize her. I haven’t seen her since Mum and Marks wedding 11 years ago.

I ordered a filo pastry with spinich and feta cheese. It came with a salad and dipping, I scrapped off the dipping and ate all the salad and ate 3/4 of the filo pastry.

After a couple more hours of exploring shops, mum and I went off to Tauranga. (The rest of the family had already left).

I was in a bit of a bad mood on the way there because I was sad to leave Dad once again and I’m starting to feel the stress of looming exams…
So I found a Michael Jackson CD and BLASTED it all the way there 😀 I was soon cheered up. My favourite on the disc was definitely “Earth Song“, I played it on repeat like, 4 times! 🙂

It’s brilliant. Check it out:

Once we got there, we were having lunch at this amazingly beautiful house outside of Tauranga in Pahoia. It was AMAZINGG!!! We’re talking MILLION dollar house here.

A delicious lunch was ready and waiting, it was Quiche, Chicken, Salad, Bread, Olives and fruit. SO GOOD! I had a fairly big serving. Grandma Penny talked me into it 😉

We got home at around 5.30 pm from Tauranga. I fell asleep on the way home so the trip seemed really short. We unpacked, I caught up with a really close friend (who I bought the body shop product for. They LOVED it by the way).

I had another piece of Quiche once we got home (I’m a sucker for pastry, it’s shocking), so I was full and didn’t really need dinner. I just had a small cup of Granola and a glass of milk. I was satisfied 🙂 I had an early night, though I still didn’t sleep very well 😦 Oh well. I had an early start, so at least I got a little bit.

That’s all for now lovelies!

Have a fantastic last day and a quarter of the holidays 🙂

First time going to the gym + “October Challenge” Day 1.

Oh. My. GOD. I have had such an insanely busy day. It’s 11.25pm and this is the only time I’ve had all day to sit here and tell you what I’ve been up to!

It’s been busy, but very fun and productive 🙂 It started out like this….

I woke up at 8am, thanks to my alarm, had a cup of coffee at 10 past, checked the latest blog posts of the blogs I follow, then at 8.30 I had breaky. It was two pieces of wholemeal toast with Peanut Butter and Tomato on top. So yummy!

Peanut butter is officially my all time favourite food product. It’s so versatile! You can pretty much use it for/with anything. It’s really good for pre-work out fuel and snacks afterwards. Definitely an essential item in my humble opinion.

After breakfast I sorted out a little bag of almonds + a water bottle with 500mls of home-mixed powerade, because I was off to the gym for the first time in my LIFE to take a body pump class 😀 “Bodypump: is the original barbell class that strengthens your entire body. This 60 minute workout challenges all your major muscle groups by using the best weight-room exercises like squats, presses, lifts and curls”.

The class started at 9.30am so I arrived there at 20 past. Well.. It was not off to a great start. Within 5 minutes of being there I had tripped over and gotten nasty carpet burn on my knee… YAY. But it wasn’t so bad because all the other woman there were so kind and friendly! One woman in particular who I believe was Canadian, was unbelievably kind. She got me ice for my knee (thank god), a towel for my bench (which you’re sposed to pay $2 to hire), and set up my bar, my dumbbells, and my bench! Also, whilst we were doing the workout she gave me little tips here and there to make it easier + more effective.

I had wanted to thank her at the end of the class but she disappeared before I got the chance 😦

Anyway, I had an absolute BLAST during the Bodypump class! It was SO SO much fun, perfect level of difficulty for me, had an AWESOME instructor called Robin, (who I later went and spoke to to thank her for being so awesome lol) and I loved it because I’ve never done strength training before and it’s so drastically different from the exercise I’m use to, being running.

I felt great to change things up a bit.

I have developed a new love for that class and I shall definitely be returning. This Saturday as a matter of fact, for the 8.30am session. I loved lifting weights, I felt so strong and confident. It was an excellent confidence booster 🙂

After the class ended, I walked home and got back at around 5 to 11 because I spent ten extra minutes at the gym putting away my gear and chatting to the instructor.
I sat down, Iced my knee for another 15 minutes, and then mum announced that we were all going for a bush walk and I was coming too. Yay. I protested ever so slightly because my poor Quads were still quivering from all the lunges haha. But nevertheless, I came anyway.

Our walk lasted about 45 minutes all up and was COMPLETELY up hill the entire way there. I’m not even kidding. Not even one little bit of downhill, completely uphill with quite a few stairs. It felt good to keep moving and prevent me from getting stiff and sore, but I still wasn’t 100% because I was also STARVING!!! I’d had the almonds I packed once I got home and after we came back from our walk we didn’t get home till 1.30pm, so naturally, after all that exercise, I was absolutely ravenous.

The walk was totally worth it. We walked up to Kohi Point which is where I’ve been quite a few times before with a very very close friend of mine, so that lookout is very dear to my heart and it was cool to walk there.

Once we got back, I wolfed down lunch, which was a wholegrain bread sandwich with cottage cheese with chives, shredded chicken, tomato and mayonnaise + a pear. After that I showered, it felt SOOO good. I was finally clean and smelling like roses again!!

Once I got out of the shower I contacted Karla and arranged to go over to her house for a couple of hours. At about 20 past 2 I biked over to her place which takes about 10-15 minutes each way since we live on completely opposite sides of town. I was feeling a bit sore but pretty much fine. I got to hers and we had a fantastic catch up. I love having great catch ups with friends where you just sit, talk and listen to good music 🙂 I hadn’t really stopped all day so It was nice to just chillax for a bit.

I biked back home at 4.50pm because I knew I had to clean my room, it was looking disgusting and I had big plans for clearing it out.

I got home and cleaned my room for about an hour, then we had dinner, which was so delicious, it was Mum’s fantastic Asian Salad, but this time she added a few bit of beef into it. YUMMA!  Then my friend came over and we arranged to go to the hot pools together with my mum and brother later.

I stripped all the sheets off my bed and then off we went to the hot pools! (It was 8.00pm by now). My friend agreed to meet us out there and they did. We chilled for about 30-60 minutes before coming home at 10 coz they close.

I got home, snacked on some leftover salad, had a glass of milk and resumed cleaning my bedroom.
I am happy to report that bedroom is now spick and span!!! Thank GOD lol. It’s been a while 🙂

NOW. Back to my “October Ab Challenge”. Today for Making Abs Fun, I worked those babies in BodyPump 🙂 We did crunches, bicycle crunches, push ups and a few more exercises which I thought were excellent. I will be in some serious amounts of pain in the morning, but it’s totally worth it 🙂

Stay tuned for more Ab workouts tomorrow!

I have a Duathalon style workout planned for tomorrow 😉 so I’ll hit you up with that. It’ll be exciting and intense. I love changes up my workouts. I’ve decided not to set my alarm tomorrow morning, I shall wake up when my body feels ready and well rested 🙂

Have a fantabulous evening!

Do you have any tips on “working those abs”? What is your favourite form of exercise?

Hardest 10k I’ll probably ever have done.

Ugh, well, this morning’s 10k was not very enjoyable at ALL. The only way I managed to complete it was by pushing myself mentally, and using good, positive mantras. Also, I was contemplating finishing at 5k instead because I was so worn out and run down, but when I got to the 5k point I said I’d do 7, what’s two more k’s? Then once I got to seven I said I’d go on to do 10 coz it was only 3 more k’s. And thank god I looked at it like that, or else I don’t think i’d have made it.

I took a water bottle with me today for the first time, I filled it up with Powerade instead though for fast hydration when I needed it. It was good to have drinks there, but it was annoying to have to hold it the whole way. I’ll use a camelbak next time.

I ran very very slow today because I was not feeling well and I was lacking motivation, I completed the 10k in 1hr, 20mins. That’s not to crash hot… But I’m not bothered because at least I managed to finish. That’s all that matters is that I motivated myself enough to run the full distance.

I HATED the new running shorts I bought the other day. God they were terrible and I plan to take them back tonight. I shouldn’t have run in them, it added to my bad mood and lack of motivation because they were uncomfortable and ill-fitting. Bloody awful to be honest and I will never use them again.

I was so relieved to get back home and I couldn’t really believe I had managed to finish the full 10 Kilometers. I had a fantastic stretch and then an AMAZING shower that I didn’t want to get out of. Felt so good to relax, wash off the sweat and just chill.

After that, I cooked myself the yummiest lunch and I’m so proud of it! I’m starting to just improvise with recipes these days, and today I decided I wanted vegetables because I never have cooked veges for lunch. I chopped up some carrots and fried them in a pan with a splash of Canola oil, some Moroccan Seasoning and Lemon Pepper seasoning. GOD it was good! It was so yum, I’m cooking it for everyone tonight for dinner 🙂
Aswell as the carrots, I made an omelette with cheese and milk and had a small tub of yoghurt.

Was definitely a good lunch and has kept me sufficiently full till now 🙂 it’s 10 past two in the afternoon and I had lunch at 11.30am, so that’s pretty good!

I just had one of those amazing, melt-in-your-mouth Banana and Peanut Butter smoothies. I’m so addicted to those right now. Who new Peanut Butter could be used for so many things??

After lunch I had my Dentist appointment 😦 I hate going to the dentist. I walked into town and posted two Operation Beautiful notes on the way 🙂 A little pick-me-up for me and whoever reads them.

It was so dumb, my dentist appointment lasted a full total of like 2 minutes. No kidding. There was absolutely nothing wrong with my teeth and she sent me along on my way with a tube of toothpaste and a tooth  brush lol. YAY.

I really hate Dentists. It so icky to have someone you barely know, all up in your personal space, their face ten centimeters away from yours with their hands all in your mouth with their creepy tools, scraping away at your teeth with that weird hook thing. YUCK YUCK YUCK. I don’t like it at all.

Good thing I don’t have to go again for another year unless my teeth start having problems! (Which they won’t, I have brilliant dental hygiene).

After  my yucky encounter with the dentist, I moseyed on over to Kope. Had a wander through the video shop and decided to come back later to rent some since it’s $2 Tuesday.
Then I went to visit Mum at work because the hospital is seriously like 400 meters from the video shop. She gave me a banana and a nice cold glass of water (banana which I used for my KILLER smoothie), we had a little chat for a bit and then I decided to head off.

It’s been such a beautiful day thankfully and I feel like I’ve been good and productive 🙂 Yesterday was amazing too and I’m looking forward to tomorrow because I’m hanging out with Robert and Emma again. My family have decided to go to Hamilton NEXT thursday because this one wasn’t working for all parties involved in the little excursion. I can’t wait. I have a friend coming and I’m counting my lucky stars that he’ll be able to make it.

Tomorrow I’m going to run an easy 5k. I don’t wanna push myself too hard, especially not after today. Gotta take it easy on my poor little leggies. Tomorrow expect a blog post on Body Confidence. I’ve been inspired by a few other healthy bloggers 🙂

Right now I have to go study, clean my room and read tonnes of books I have piled up

As for you? Have a great day.

AMAZING day :)

Ok, so I’ve pretty much had an AWESOME day. It couldn’t have started and finished better. The only downer was the weather 😦 It’s pretty much been pouring on and off all day, which is unfortunate since we walked everywhere today.

But anyway, back to the beginning…

My day started fantastic with a wonderful run this AM. I broke my PR which left me feeling elated! (and sore! lol). I was so happy, and I had a great shower once I got back, a nice stretch and a yummy lunch of Granola and yoghurt. I was nicely refueled thanks to Powerade Isotonic, which really helped me feel energetic and lively.

Oh, and earlier this morning I forgot to mention my totally KICK ASS work out playlist!
I had put it together last night, and seriously? It was so good. I made sure it had lots of really powerful songs to keep me going and inspire me.

the songs I had were these:
1. All I Ever Wanted- Basshunter
2. Don’t Phunk With My Heart- Black Eyed Peas
3. Bombs Over Baghdad- Outkast
4. Don’t Stop Me Now- Queen (personal favourite)
5. I Gotta Feeling- Black Eyed Peas
6. My Humps- Black Eyed Peas
7. F.I.N.E- Aerosmith
8. Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)- Beyonce

My favourites were definitely “Bombs Over Baghdad” by Outkast and “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen. They gave me such a kick! I felt so inspired to run as fast as I could to prove to myself that I could do it. Just goes to show how influential my Ipod is on me 🙂

Anyway, once all that was done I got a text from Robert saying he was free today after all and he and Emma (walker) were just chillaxin’ and I was free to join them 🙂 So he phoned me and we organised to meet at Ground Zero in town. I got my ass into gear and boosted as fast as I could (I was walking which was slightly painful due to stiff muscles from the run, but the fast walk was actually helpful to loosen me up a bit). I got there about 20 minutes later and ordered a “Health Smoothie” which was Mixed berries with Bee Pollen and a shot of Vanilla protein shake. I was pretty average to be honest. I had high expectations and this just didn’t cut it I’m afraid.

Our time there was great though, we spent two hours sitting on the couches and talking. I love that I can talk about literally ANYTHING to Emma and Robert. I feel so comfortable and relaxed with them, it’s such a great feeling. After two hours there (and NO waitresses clearing away our dishes, thanks guys! awesome customer service!), we decided we were actually hungry so we walked to the Sushi Bar, I ordered three pieces, I got Teriyaki Tofu, Inari and just a regular Sushi Roll. God it was good. I LOVE sushi, truly! Emma ordered a huge plate for her and Robert and then got some free Green Tea for me and her which looked like it had brown rice floating in the top…

We spent about another half hour chatting there and then decided we were going to check out Hair Dye for Emma in the Warehouse which was directly next door to the sushi shop. After that we went to Robert’s Doctor Appointment and Emma and I roamed Kope for a bit. Then we all headed back to her place where we sat and discussed our plans for the rest of the afternoon. The original plan was to go to the hot pools, but they were both sick and didn’t wanna go and have the scody water make them sicker, so instead we got a ride back in to town and went to a restaurant called Roquette and ordered “Orgasm Chips”, which are actually called French fries with Aioli sauce lol. Robert and Emma nicknamed them orgasm chips because they’re so damn good! Very salty, but oh well. Once again we stayed for about an hour and talked. After there we went on hunt for a cafe that was still open to get some coffee and tea, but nothing was open 😦 Instead we opted for the Supermarket to buy a massive block of chocolate. I had about one row which is around 10-15 squares.

I really don’t worry about Kilojoule counting because my exercise basically erases any extra food I eat.

After that we walked back to Robert’s house where we sat and talked for ANOTHER half hour, eating more chocolate (I didn’t have anymore). Then we decided to go watch some FUNNY ASS SHIT on Youtube 😀 Here are just a few of the HILARIOUS videos we watched:

GOD It’s brilliant 😀
Especially the Family Guy one lol. I laughed for ages at that.

So yeah, after our video watching, Emma’s dad came and picked us up and took me home. I had the nicest toasted sandwich for dinner which had cheese, salami, spaghetti and tomato, and now here I am! 🙂

I have had a rather splendid day. Have a fantastic night everybody and I’ll be back here tomorrow with an update on my 10k I have planned. Pray for good weather!!!

Do you like to run in the rain? Or do you prefer sunshine and clear skies? 🙂

New 5k PR! :)

I’m really excited because today I broke my 5k PR (Personal Record)! Only by a minute, but everything counts. I don’t believe in minimizing achievements. My old PR was 34 minutes, something, and my new one was 33:10:7 (I timed it properly this time). I was pretty darn happy to get back. I was SO exhausted by the end because I made the mistake of starting out too fast because I was so enthusiastic about breaking my PR, and so as a result I started to burn out around the 3rd K. Seriously, all I wanted to do was stop and walk, but I HATE stopping to walk. I feel like I’ve let myself down and completely failed if I start to walk when I’m out running, so I just pushed through as best I could. I was red faced, sweaty, stiff and sore by time I got back. I’ve never been so grateful to get home and be able to stretch it out!

Next time when I do it I’ll start out slower and then completely let loose about 2K’s in, that way hopefully I should be able to cut another minute off my time.

Today I tried out Powerade Isotonic powder for the first time. Before my run I mixed one scoop of the powder with 250ml of water (as advised). I wanted to try it so I could feel reassured that I was adequately hydrated. I am SO glad I did this. I don’t think I would have been able to push through the last 2Ks of my run if I hadn’t had this before I left. I definitely think it gave me an energy boost, and for the first time EVER when I’ve been out running, I didn’t feel like I was starting to get dehydrated. I had another glass when I got back for quick rehydration because I have a bad habit of forgetting to rehydrate properly. It’s awesome stuff! I feel heaps better now after my run than I usually do. It truly is incredibly important to make sure you stay well-hydrated. I’ve also stopped drinking two cups of coffee a day. That stuff just wasn’t working for me

Tomorrow I think I’ll run a 10k again. The weather really is not on my side these days! This last WEEK when I have been running, it’s been pouring, but I went anyway. I don’t actually mind running in the rain, I think it tends to make me run faster for some reason and I don’t get overheated, so it’s alright. My biggest concern is actually my Ipod, I don’t want it to get damaged. But Caitlin at healthytippingpoint.com gave me a suggestion to put it in a Ziploc bag to keep it dry, so I think I’ll give that a shot. Yesterday the weather was beautiful!! But go figure it was on my REST day 😦 Today it rained again. Just my luck. Oh well, a little rain never hurt anyone I guess.

Last night we had an awesome BBQ up at Granddad’s, because we had some Scottish relatives fly over to visit. I hadn’t met them before so it was cool to have a catch up. Mum made this AMAZING Asian Salad which I filled half my plate with. I made some Kumara and Potato fries with an improvised recipe. I was quite proud because they turned out really good 🙂

I had Salad, my Fries and some Venison, but I only had two bites of the meat, I just ate the salad and chips 😀

I’m going to go ring Karla now and see if she wants to watch some movies. I swear she has a bigger DVD collection than the DVD shop lol. It seems like the kinda day for DVD’s 🙂

Have a wonderful Monday!

Conformist Society.

I’m going to warn you in advance, in this particular blog post there is content that may offend some readers.
Please take that into consideration before continuing to read.

God, there’s something that’s always kinda bothered me, and every now and then I’ll speak out on it, but usually it’s something I just kinda take on the chin and shut up about.

But today it’s really starting to piss me off.

It’s how much of a “Conformist Society” we live in today. It’s so tragic. I’ve never been one to conform to the “ways of society”, and as a result I’ve felt very isolated which has been a huge contributing factor to my massive dislike of High School, but as I’ve always said, I would rather be a complete loner and be staying true to myself than following the latest trend just so I can “fit in”.

I’m writing a blog post about this because there’s a new trend arising in the small town I live in, and I’m not going to say what that trend is, but the saddest thing I’ve heard in ages was this, I was reading about it and one girl I know had literally written: “Well it seems like everyone else is doing it so now I’m doing it too”.

That’s so shit on so many levels.

I actually wanted to throw something at her, but being the internet an’ all that would’ve been a bit hard lol.

Whatever happened to embracing your own interests and hobbies rather than having Society decide what they are for you??
Jeez people! Have a little originality!

A prime example of how I’m isolated as  result of refusing to conform, is that every weekend + holidays or whatever, the girls my age go out and get totally wasted. Hit the booze… and then the floor. Seriously, that’s what some of them do every single weekend.

Now I’m sorry, but that type of lifestyle just isn’t going to work for me, whichever way you slice it.
For me, instead of going out and getting pissed, I go out and run for an hour or so. I plan meals, I blog about it, I hang out with my friends WITHOUT booze. I am perfectly capable of having a fantastic time without getting drunk.

It’s pathetic how many people truly can’t understand how I’m able to enjoy myself without booze.

It’s also pathetic how many people are reliant on alcohol to have a good time.

I’m grateful to have found a group of amazing individuals that have become really good friends of mine. We share common interests and values and we have the best of times without alcohol.

It drives me crazy how freaking MAINSTREAM high school is. Grr, and it’s EVERYWHERE you go too! It’s not like you can move cities and you’ll be free of it. This disgusting conformist attitude exists everywhere on the planet. You just have to learn how to put up with it and avoid giving in.
That’s what I do.

Anyway, after that little rant, onto more positive things 🙂

Such as the fact that Robert is coming to WHK today! I haven’t seen him in months so I’m really excited to go for coffee and a catch up with him. Also I plan to ring Karla today and make some plans. I think I’ll wait till around 11 though… Not sure what time she’ll surface hahaha.

Man, today is supposed to be my running “rest day”, but I’m finding it really difficult not to lace up my shoes and get out there, because I’ve been reading all these wonderful and motivating Race Recaps on other healthy living blogs and because it’s such a beautiful day!! It’s been a long time coming, it’s been pouring for the last WEEK.

I just have to remember that if I rest properly like I should, then on Tuesday I’ll be able to totally SMASH my 5k PR 🙂 I can’t wait!

We’re going to Hamilton on Thursday which I’m really excited about. I love traveling.
I really need to focus on getting some study done though…

Anyways, that’s enough from me for now. Have a LOVELY Sunday, dear readers 🙂