Saturday, December 22, 2012

Lost posts, moving goals

By Virginia Winder
Somewhere along the way I lost some posts.
Honestly, I wrote them and then they disappeared. Baffled I am,but I think it comes down to failure of the i, not the I. We're talking technology, of course.
One I tapped on my iPhone while sitting in a window seat by the beach overlooking Mokau at Labour Weekend.
Another I started on September 15.
Talking of posts, injury has moved my goal posts.
I've got something wrong with my lower back, possibly a rotated disc. This means I've been standing, walking and running crooked. I don't know the names of all the muscle bits that are bothered, but my sciatic nerve causes pain and every now and then things seize up.
Also, I've had a hamstring injury from tripping and lunging.
It seems kind of trivial to write about these things when I have family members with much worse problems and in terrible pain. My brother with a broken hand and then nasty infection, my sister with stress fractures in her spine and my husband, Warren, with a ruptured achilles and in a moon boot (10 weeks tomorrow).
That's why I'm going to focus on what I am doing and where I'm going.
I am still walking and biking, but running's out for now.
My big thing is swimming and I'm doing the 2km swim section of the half ironman on January 5 at Mt Maunganui. Yes, that's the race I was aiming at doing, but as ironwoman and sports massage therapist Lauren Hann says: "It's all building blocks."
On December 1, I completed the sprint triathlon in the Tinman at Mt Maunganui. I did fine in the 750-metre swim, was pretty slow during the 20km bike ride, but enjoyed the view. The run was mostly a walk and I was in a lot of pain. Damn annoying actually.
But I did it and managed to jog the last kilometre of the 5.5km run.
I had no idea about pacing myself in this tri, so I held back in case I ran out of steam. I didn't, mainly because I walked instead of running and so I finished the race last (third in my age group, OK last) and not tired. How crazy is that?!
My friend Susan was tired because she put everything in to the race and she finished way ahead of me. Damn fine effort, I say!
I'm not going to hold back on January 5 - I will push myself as hard as I possibily can in the swim because I'm in a team with Coach Clint and his wife. Therefore, it doesn't matter if I'm completely knackered at the end of my swim; I can hand on the baton, so to speak.
Swam 2km tonight and the outdoor pool was ridiculously warm. I sweated!
Other watery plans are the 1.2km masters swim in the Flannagan Cup (Warren too) on February 6 and the 2km swim section of the Wells New Plymouth Half Ironman on February 9.
As usual, there are dozens of people who've been amazingly supportive. How lucky am I?
But I've been nagged (gently) to get on and write my blog!
So here it is!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Sucking it up

By Virginia Winder

This is a speed blog because bed beckons.
It might be wild out there, but inside I've been training - 1km in the pool, 1 hour on the bike and straight off, into running shoes, and a medium job around two blocks. Came home and did Pilates breathing, stomach exercises and stretching.
Dinner tonight was spaghetti bolognaise, but I left most of the pasta, ate the meat and gobbled down a fresh salad.
My Pilates teacher at Contours has taught useful tips, like use your bum muscles when you kick. Am also practising my gliding techniques (inspired by Olympic swimmers) and trying to keep my head still in between breaths.
On the bike, I'm concentrating on sucking in my stomach muscles and making sure the points under my feet are pressing evenly. Did the same with running to try changing my pronation. Every step I take, every breath I take is purposeful and goes back to mindfulness - focusing on this moment.
Had a good food day, but need to up my water intake.
This speed blog is through the finish line now.
Heading to bed to listen to some mindfulness meditations by Dr Russell Harris, who has written http://www.thehappinesstrap.com/. May peace be with you - a variation on "may the force be with you".

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Sometimes the Tui ads are wrong

By Virginia Winder
This is my text to my sports massage therapist.
I'm meant to send Lauren Hann a message every time I do a training session, but reckon 11.20pm is too late to bleep in her ear.
Coach Clint is also going to get an email or text every time I head out - and so will my friend Susan in Tauranga, who is going to do the Tinman with me.
This is it - accountability to my close support team, to Bryce Barnett, who believed in me 11 months ago, and to all those who have watched my journey from afar and given me loving encouragement. Wow, there are so many of you.
Tonight I spent one hour fast-pedalling on the wind trainer. I sweated my way through Private Practice and the start of Army Wives - don't you hate it when the recording stops on something you hadn't planned to watch, but get riveted by?
Yesterday I went for a check up at Contours gym, with Courtney, the young owner and a great personal trainer. She measured me and since March (yes, it's been some time) I have lost 6cm off each thigh, 2cm off each upper arm and more than 6cm around my stomach. All up, I've lost another 24cm, which is great, especially because I had such a bad June and a slow(ish) July.
But I have spent a lot of time on the wind trainer (thanks Mick McBeth) and been making a real effort with my running.
"You've been an athlete and your body will have the muscle memory," Lauren told me yesterday.
That made me grin, because there's a wonderful Tui sign up here in New Plymouth at the moment - as you can see.
But I really was a sprint champion! Honest.
Have been to Pilates four out of the past five weeks and am learning amazing things about balance, breathing and strengthening my stomach muscles. The stretching is good for my body too. But the highlight is the instructor, Brooke, a vivacious young woman with a great sense of humour. 
I even do the stomach pull-ins on the bike and tighten my glutimous maximus muscles when walking and running.
Food has been good this week too, although did have a chocolate croissant today and a piece of orange cake yesterday. I'm not craving carbohydrates, which I did for a few weeks, but have backed off again.
It may sound like an excuse, but one of the medications I'm on to help stabilise my moods is notorious for triggering carbo cravings and causing weight gain.
I did have a bit of a bread pig out last week, but luckily haven't put on a gram of weight. Exercise has kept that at bay and the fact the bread I did eat was packed with grain.
The best news of all is I feel normal.
When I announced this to my workmates yesterday, they looked at me with disbelief and quickly told me that I'm far from normal. Neither are they though, but in a good, quirky way.
But I feel clear-minded, focused and healthy in mind and body. It's a lovely peaceful feeling and I don't feel stressed by tight deadlines for work; I relish them.
Now I face four months of hard training to get ready for the Tinman and the Port of Tauranga Half.
Lauren says the big thing is to be fit enough to enjoy them.
And that's what Usain Bolt said too when interviewed by a Kiwi journalist after winning gold in the 100-metre sprint.
"It's got to be fun," he said.
Yes, I know what he means, although I'm no Olympic star. But I was a sprint champion at school!

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Let's get lyrical and physical

By VIRGINIA WINDER

It hit me like a flash flood and disappeared with the same speed.
Yep, got whacked by the flu or some other virus that had all the symptoms of influenza.
Not going to go into them all because I'll sound like an old moaner and anyway, I'm good now. Apart from a slow-drip nose.
Got back into the exercise last week with a Desperate Housewives bike ride. Watched the first half of the final-ever double episode on the wind trainer, sweating and crying (just a bit) at the same time.
Also went to Pilates again and discovered more of my inner core.
Mindfulness at the hospital went well too.
Strangely, I can now spend time without 1000 thoughts racing through my head like some action movie on fast forward. In fact, by focusing on my breath, I can think absolutely nothing. It's like having one of those thought bubbles in my head with nothing in it.
This whole peaceful way of being is an unfamiliar feeling for me. It's weird, but good, not seesawing through my days. I must admit I miss the euphoria but not the dungeons.
Feel like I've been given a fresh page to write on; one I can fill with whatever I want to, rather than a mad scribble of thoughts.
I choose to fill my daily diar ywith exercise, creative writing, art and and a whole lot more. For now, I'll just focus on fitness and creativity.
This week I plan to go to Pilates, go for three long walk-runs (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday), two bike rides (either inside or out) (Wednesday and Sunday) and two swims (Friday and Sunday).
Tuesday night is Waxing Lyrical on The Most 100.4FM. On my 7-8pm show, I play songs with great words. It's a wonderful time to get lost in music and hang out with the Kiwiana host. His show is straight after mine and, don't tell anyone, but I've got a bit of thing for him. He's just so handsome and hairy, lean and alluring.
Being alone in the darkened studio with him is one of the highlights of my week. Sigh.
Creative nights are planned for most other times - the art room beckons and so does my laptop. I prefer to write on a keyboard because I think through my fingers. Tap, tap, tap, like rain on the roof.
So, I've put it out there - the plan for this week.
If it's too dark or grotty to go running, I'll hit the treadmill at the gym.
Now I have to admit that my food intake hasn't been great. I've had this insatiable craving for boysenberry jam. No, I'm not pregnant!
Who knows why, but it's probably a sugar fix craving. From now on, we'll just leave jam off the shopping list and add frozen berries into the mix. They'll be defrosted, of course, and be tossed into my morning muesli.
There has to be some reason why I need boysenberries, so can't deprive myself totally. They are high in antioxidants, so that's got to be good.
So there it is - exercise, good berries and peace. Oh and that irresistable Kiwiana host.



Monday, July 16, 2012

The truth is out there

By Virginia Winder
We are not alone.
They walk among us.
OK, so I’m an alien movie and X File fan, but when I say “they”, I mean “we” and “us” changes to “you”.
Because the truth is we are out there – everywhere.  
Most people in society are touched by mental illness in some way.
Since last week’s blog, dozens of amazing people have contacted me to share their own experiences. Others have sent messages about having people close to them who have been unwell or still are.
Even more have given me thoughtful and compassionate feedback. I truly believe that people the world over are inherently kind and accepting, and that’s especially so here in Taranaki.
Those who talked of illnesses mostly mentioned depression, anxiety and that yo-yo inner world of bipolar. But there are people in this community who are living with schizophrenia and also thriving.
Oh but the things we learn on the way.
I’m fortunate enough to be enrolled in a mindfulness class through the Taranaki District Health Board.
Mindfulness is about living in the moment. It’s also about accepting people and situations without judgement and with an open mind.
Mindfulness is the “it just is” way of thinking without attaching good or bad thoughts to it.
In fact, it teaches us to think of the mind as a guest house where everyone is welcome. So, when bad thoughts appear in your mind, you invite them in and then let them go. Or you can imagine they are clouds and let them float by, along with the good thoughts.
You see, thoughts are just thoughts; they aren’t truth.
One of the best things about mindfulness is that it’s about focusing on right now and doing that to the best of your ability – like reading this! Or when you’re working, being absolutely intent on that and nothing else.
So if you’re working on a report or story, turn off your emails, switch your cellphone on to silent or aeroplane mode and give all your attention to writing.
It’s incredibly rewarding and work days just fly by.
Try doing it when you have coffee with a friend – focus solely on them and what they are saying. It’s an amazing experience living mindfully.
You can do that with exercise too by focusing on your breathing, your strides, your strokes and your pedal pushing. Break it right down to that smallest movement and try to do each one to the best of your ability.
I know that on midwinter days it’s so easy to curl up at home, pull the blinds and hide away from the world and the weather. I did that yesterday when it never stopped raining – I had a PJ day. It was lovely too.
But it’s not great training strategy, so I’m going to listen to Coach Clint who has shared the “rocks in the jar” concept.
The rocks have to go in first, then you can fit in the pebbles, then fill the gaps up with sand.
You can’t put the rocks in last because they simply won’t fit.
What he means is that you have to focus on running, biking and swimming first – they are the rocks. The pebbles are Pilates and gym work for core strength. The sand is stretching and yoga.
My sports massage therapist, Lauren Hann (an ironwoman herself), says consistency is the key. She says that for now, when it’s so horrible out there, just do a little often.
Get on the wind trainer for half an hour, or head to the gym for a short workout. Go for a short run in your wet weather gear.
Do these things every day to keep your fitness levels up, your muscles working and your mind alert.
Honestly, one of the best things in the world for mental health is exercise.
Lauren has given me my pep talk. Clint has given me rocks.
Now it’s time to forget PJ days and continue training, without fail.
It’s all down to me now.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Midwinter lost in polar madness

By Virginia Winder

I lost June.
It disappeared inside a gothic dungeon, one with endless dark corridors that echoed, on and on, inside my head.
The outside world disappeared and after a desperate session with a pyschiatrist, I was put on stress leave for two weeks.
But I couldn't stop; there were still stories to finish, deadlines to meet and I was desperate to get everything done; to be reliable so I could finally rest. I was also determined I wouldn't let my mind conquer me.
It didn't work.
One day, after swimming lengths at the aquatic centre, I came home and collapsed, mentally and physically.
That Thursday night a month ago, I called the mental health crisis team and was admitted to hospital with deep depression, plus I was no longer in touch with reality.
I stayed two weeks in Te Puna Waiora, the acute inpatient adult mental health unit at Taranaki Base Hospital. I slept and slept.
Slowly, my cracked mind began to heal.
"Depression is like cancer of the mind," the head psychiatrist said.
But I don't just have the downs. I also have huge highs; times of great euphoria, when I can take on the world and do.
I used to say "yes, I'll do that", "sure thing, I'll join your committee", "yes, I can do that job", "I can do that course". Yes, yes, yes.
Then I would crash and burn. I call it the drop zone.
You see, I have bipolar, a mood disorder that seesaws between manic highs and deep depression.
I was inititally diagnosed in 2006, after my first major mental crash.
But I promptly dismissed it and even convinced a pyschiatrist that I didn't need medication because the first one gave me jaw-clenching spasms. Then I went into complete denial and conveniently forgot the diagnosis.
Through the power of my own mind, I banished it, completely.
I bumbled along through the next few years, flying high and then nosediving. Up down, up down. I felt like I was going crazy - and I was.
In November last year, I was so desperate I asked to be referred back to mental health. The bipolar diagnosis was re-confirmed and I found myself on new medication. Inititally it worked. Then the seesawing of moods began again.
Exercise helped stabilise me. A brisk walk, a slow run, a long bike ride or lengths in the outside pool drenched with sun - these all lifted my spirits or burnt up the raging energy inside me.
Exercise was my saving grace during this tumultuous time.
Because, despite having a mental illness, I refuse, point blank, to let it stop me living life to the full.
However, it did stop me in June.
In May I became so manic that I didn't have a day off work. I worked for 31 days - at least - without a break.
Not surprisingly, my concentration began to fail and my mind turned into a giant jumble, then bang, I found myself in the gothic castle.
Imagine your mind so far gone that the outside world feels unreal and the "real world" is a dark dungeon, complete with corridors of ancient stone dripping with moisture. Adding to my internal misery, these corridors are a maze - there is no way out.
Looking back, I realise now that I was suffering from psychosis. Yes, I was psychotic. I have had one other episode, back in the 1990s, when I thought the BBC World News was put on just for my benefit and the news readers were talking directly to me, but this was the first time my mind landscape was utterly different from what I could see with my eyes.
It took about a week in hospital before the gothic castle receded totally and I was back in the here and now.
I got angry with everybody and everything, then slowly I calmed down and began to feel level again.
Only then could I start to absorb the literature given to me about bipolar and begin to understand why life has been so difficult for so many years.
And yes, I have finally embraced my diagnosis, because I know if I don't, I can't put tools in place to stay well. Denial is a disaster.
The hospital staff were amazing. The nurses were all caring, and one in particular taught me a simple to way to gauge my mood every day.
Look at a door, now imagine that the bottom is zero and the top is 100. What is your natural mood?
Because I am an outgoing person, naturally vivacious and colourful, my good place is between 60 and 70.
Anything above that and I am getting elevated and heading into the danger zone of mania.
On the down side, the lowest I can safely go is 40. Anything beneath that and I am heading towards depression.
As well as writing about exercise and my goal to complete a half-ironman in January next year (just six months away), I will be passing on tips about leading a balanced life. I won't be dwelling on my illness, but I won't ignore it either. Instead, I aim to be focused on wellness.
The strategies that work for me will, hopefully, resonate with healthy-minded people as much as those of us with a mental illness or experiencing a period of depression. Because I will tell you there is always hope and light to being well. Your depression won't last forever and on the way you will learn a great deal about yourself and come out stronger and wiser.
You can reach out and ask for help. People will listen and care. True friends won't judge you and those who do aren't bad; they just don't understand or are fearful of what they don't know.
It's here that I have to say that I don't feel anger or regret for having bipolar. It simply is.
Strangely, I also see it as a gift; one that allows me to feel life intensely - both the periods of despair and great joy. I could do without psychosis though, and I may never have another episode. But then again, I could.
British actor and writer Stephen Fry, who has bipolar, made a documentary about the illness and asked fellow sufferers if they wished they didn't have manic depression. Only one woman said she didn't want to have it. The rest would never give it up, simply because the elevated periods can be so amazing, the possibilities and ideas so incredible.
These periods can also be terribly destructive, but in today's blog post, I will stay as positive as possible.
I truly believe that although I have this mood disorder, it's not who I am. It's an illness and I am not my illness.
I am me. A mother, a wife, a friend, a citizen passionate about communties, sustainability, the environment, art, music and writing.
While I have my ups and downs, I have continued to work, to write story after story to the best of my ability. To teach, to mentor, to freelance and tackle many, many tasks. That will continue because, thankfully, I am high-functioning and know that even when times get tough, I still manage to produce work.
Also, I do my absolute best to be a good mother and loving wife. It's here that I have to say that having my husband, Warren, as my "safe place" and rock is a great help.
Still, it's bloody tough sometimes, but I refuse, point blank, to ever give up.
Plus I am an athlete in the making.
My journey to Mt Maunganui on 5 January 2012 is still on.
It's likely I might be fast walking the Taranaki Daily News Half Marathon in October, but yes, the Port of Tauranga Half is still a realistic goal, as is the Tinman (Olympic-length triathlon) in December.
Now it's time to get back on track because I've just got to do it!
P.S. Now you all know why Sir John Kirwan is one of my greatest heroes. He's also the inspiration for me "coming out" about having bipolar. Mental illness needs to be demystified and the stigmas have to go.
People needing help with depression can go on to JK's practical, inspiring and useful website, which includes a programme to join for direct daily help.
Other helpful links are:
Aware
Headspace
Mental Health NZ
Balance NZ
Samaritans NZ



Monday, May 28, 2012

Pedalling movies way to go

By Virginia Winder
Just biked through my first movie on a wind trainer.
My normal bike was set up in the lounge on a secure gadget that allows me to cycle normally, without moving. So I sat there watching Source Code, a 93-minute sci-fi thriller reminiscent of Ground Hog Day without the humour.
What a great way to train! I can choose whatever I want to watch because none of the family will want to be in there with me because of the noise.
Once again, it's the generosity of the extended Barnett family that's allowing me to do this. Bryce's son-in-law, Mick McBeth, has lent the wind trainer to me.
He gave me a free osteopath treatment last week too, before heading to the Olympics to look after the NZ triathlon team. I know it sounds like name dropping, but honestly, I'm still gobsmacked at the luck I've had on the way.
But it's all hard work from this end from now on.
Coach Clint has given me my training schedule and it is daunting, but doable, especially with the wind trainer and Contours gym at hand.
It's the dark, not the bad weather that's the problem. Biking is a bit scary because cars might not see me and I'm a bit paranoid about turning an ankle in a pothole or on a stone.
"Why don't you get night vision goggles, Mum?" suggested my helpful son. It's a thought. They wouldn't look any more ridiculous than the Batwoman sunglasses.
People are so helpful on this journey.
"You didn't mention sports bras for women in your story about running gear for half marathons," said Kelvin from Frontrunner on the phone. "We sell the best in the world."
Then he asked about my shoes. I mentioned about having plantar fasciitis and he said: "Bring in your old shoes and your new shoes, and we'll have a look."
He also said he'd look at my running style too.
Today I went to Lauren Hann for a sports massage and she was so inspiring. Not only is she a great therapist, she is also an ironwoman, who had so much advice to share.
We have already met actually and I mentioned her in an earlier blog. We chatted at the pool and I found her so encouraging, but I didn't know who she was then.
Lauren's advice today was that to reach a goal like a half ironman you have to be consistent with training and just keep going, steadily, regularly, day after day.
So I am.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Saturday night dreaming

By Virginia Winder

The aquatic centre is a fine place for dreaming on Saturday nights.
While people are getting ready for social events, the lanes are relatively free you see.
I have no idea how many lengths I did tonight because I was in dream mode. That's when I go to a far away place, well only to the Bay of Plenty, and imagine what could be.
While I was swimming, I was actually racing in the Tinman. In my head, I was running around the Mount, and heading for the finish line. I was striding out, feeling fantastic and even smiling.
When I'm swimming, I often do this because there's nothing else to look at.
I also focus on style and tonight I had a bit of a chat with a South African bloke, a '63 baby like me, about remembering to bend arms and try different strokes. He also recommended looking up Total Immersion swimming on the internet for some good tips.
All up, I swam for about 65 minutes and felt fantastic.
Now, for those who don't know, I didn't do the TriWoman's race at Pt Chevalier last month. Unfortunately, I ended up with vertigo, which is a horrible illness that affects balance, so swimming or riding a bike was out. Am fine now.
In fact, I'm great. Have eaten exceptionally well today too, fruit (yes, those feijoas again), sugar-free bircher muesli, poached eggs on one slice of grainy toast with no butter, three coffees (barely any sugar now), baked salmon, brown rice salad and broccoli.
All so virtuous, but when it comes down to it, I won't be remembered for eating well. Or for being slim or even larger than life as I was before.
I hope that my legacy will be about showing that personal change is possible and living it. For having a goal and going for it. For speaking out about what matters and not staying quiet when that would be so easy to do...
Who knows, I won't be writing my own eulogy!
Went to a funeral this afternoon, which was a wonderful celebration of a man's life. It began with a clip from the Topp Twins TV series featuring this man of the land and it ended with his family honouring him and Frank Sinatra singing My Way.
It got me thinking of course, as funerals do, about legacies, love and life.
What if I could be a ghost and could pass on just three pieces of advice to people at my own funeral, what would I say?
It might sound macabre, but it's actually quite uplifting.
Today, these are mine:
Be kind to everyone, always...
Be open-minded about everything, so you keep learning, listening, growing, always...
Keep adding to your bucket list... don't ever get to the stage you've done everything, because you need to have the next goal, the next dream, always...
What would yours be?

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Queen of Shorts gets smaller, busier

By Virginia Winder
My daughter in Wellington and her friend in Auckland have been missing my blogs.
"Why don't you just write something short, Mum, like 'I went for a run and ate a carrot'. They don't all have to be masterpieces," Clementine said on the phone tonight.
"I suppose you're right," I said wondering, who would want to read about carrots, but it did get me thinking about briefs.
Not the type you wear, but snippets.
I could be the mistress of them - the Queen of Shorts.
"I'm under 90kg now," I said.
"Really?"
"Yes, I'm in the 80s, I've made it! I'm actually 88kg."
It happened so fast.
I can thank those egg-shaped green fruit - feijoas - cutting out alcohol and added sugar. I no longer have it in flat whites!
Alas, I haven't been balanced in the world of work, so aim to do better in regards to efficiency, focus and self-discipline.
Same goes for training.
It's high-endurance, no-excuses, this-is-it time. It's about long bike rides, pounding roads, length after length in the pool.
Races have been entered and paid for by Bryce Barnett and his wonderful team at KCL Properties - I am entered in the Tinman on December 2 this year and the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman on January 5, 2013.
Coach Clint sat me down and said I should stick to my original aim, so I am. But also plan to do the Wells half-ironman six weeks later in Taranaki.
Before that is the Taranaki Daily News half marathon on October 7 - just five months away! The Tinman is seven months away, the half-ironman eight months.
Training is everything.
Life? This is my life!
See why blogs need to be short?!
Thanks wise child.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Sobering thoughts on weighty matters

By Virginia Winder
Easter was hard.
I blame the chocolate and with that came the blue cheese and brie we offered guests. I couldn't help myself. On top of that was Alan Scott pinot gris and apple cider.
Perhaps it was frustration over my bike, which kept having chain problems, or the chocolates stacked up everywhere, but to be honest I think it was the hotcross buns, which are my absolute downfall.
Whatever happened at Easter, the scales showed the damage.
So, instead of shedding the extra 1-2kg I was needing to sneak under the 90kg mark into the wonderful 80s, I actually put that amount on!
That was despite running, swimming and trying to bike (it's fixed now).
It's time to follow my own wise advice and not beat myself up for my first failure in seven months and, instead, realise I am only human. It's time to think ahead, regroup, train harder and fit everything in.
Went for my first walking lunch with fellow garden writer Sarah Foy and it was brilliant.
We chatted, brainstormed ideas, snooped on a tropical inner-city garden and felt good about working up a sweat. You see I've been researching information about how getting moving helps our brains work better, so have decided to put it into practice.
Even wrote an entire feature on it in my weekly sustainably column, Your World, which appears in the Taranaki Daily News each Tuesday.
This week, I've focused on the power of water for performance. Did you know a lack of water is the No 1 trigger for daytime fatigue? Check out: Drink lots to stay above water for more H20 info.
So now I'm drinking more water in earnest, trying to move more each day inbetween writing to prevent computer-related problems and doing my best to keep my brain in order.
As for the food, I have replaced chocolate eggs with feijoas. Yum!
I have decided that my absolute favourite meal of all, even above chicken mole, is bircher muesli soaked overnight in water, topped with freshly scooped-out feijoas, a handful of fresh walnuts and Biofarm bush honey yoghurt. 
Sorry whanau in Aussie, who may now be craving feijoas, but they are oh so delicious. Especially from the farmers market and grown by Marion and Gavin Struthers! Mmmm.
Other new things... have been training quite hard for my second Contact Tri Women's race, which is on this weekend in Auckland. Feel quite confident that I'll be able to run rather than walk this time!
Also, have decided to give up alcohol for good. Yes, forever.
You're probably wondering why.
Well, it's to do with sleep mostly. I'm not a big drinker at all, but when I do have a glass or two of wine or cider, I suffer terrible insomnia. In fact, the more I drink, the less sleep I get. So, if I have a glass of wine or even two a couple of nights in a row, that's it, I may as well not bother heading to bed. Annoyingly, I can't concentrate on anything either, so am unable to write, read, watch a movie or do art. It's just nightmarish.
Even though I do love a glass of wine, a cider or margarita, it's just not worth it any more and seems to be getting worse with age. So, from now on, my lovely husband has a permanent sober driver.
For life.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

On course for Taranaki

By Virginia Winder
There's been a change of venue for my half-ironman dream next year.
It's home and hills I want - so I will be tackling the Wells New Plymouth half-ironman in February. Can't yet find the date online, but will be writing it down in ink and telling you all when it's announced.
The other day I had lunch with Irena Brooks, who's done the Mt Maunganui race (my original aim), and she said riding 90km on a straight flat course meant no respite for the leg muscles.
My favourite parts of any biking course are the hills and, believe it or not, the ups. I just love the hard work, the gutsy power of it, the digging deep and the achievement when you get to the top. It's beyond these mantras I tell you about; it just taps into the core of my being.
Now I'll be able to constantly train in reality - not a distant place and a distant dream.This is solid ground stuff. I have to bike 90km, so now I can map out the course and aim to do 30km of it, then 40km, then 50km, then 60km - you get the idea.
Also love the idea of training at Ngamotu Beach from spring through to tri-time in the place I'll be racing.
In between all that, I'll be training for the Taranaki Daily News half-marathon.
Idelle Hiestand is one of my main inspirations for doing the home-grown race because she talked to me about supporting local. She also did the race and did it well, so I know it's possible for me.
Had lunch with my sponsor and co-conspirator Bryce Barnett yesterday and he's all for the switch in venue, so am feeling buoyed about it now and can put plans into action.
Yahoo!
However, I am heading away for an event soon - the last Tri-Woman race of the season. That will be at Pt Chevalier on April 22 and I'll be heading there with my niece Rebecca and daughter Clementine, who will be a team. I'll be doing the whole thing again, but this time I'll be running, not walking!
Back to Irena - she put me on the spot about my weight, asking why I haven't updated my blog for months. That's because I've been hovering between 90kg and 91kg and I wanted to write that I'd made it to 80-something and make a big splash.
She reminded me that back when I was teering on the edge of 100kg, she said I just had to relax and let go and the weight dropped and it did.
So this is it, I'm saying out loud, well in writing, "I'm letting go!"
Let's see if that works.
Other changes - I won't be having cafe lunch dates with friends during the week.
Don't be annoyed or sad. You can still see me - at the weekends or come for a "walking meeting" with me. I'll still have time for a coffee on a Monday too, but other times I need to have shortened lunch breaks to finish work early to get to training, or meet on the move with you, which will produce energetic, creative thoughts and great conversations. Naturally, I'll make exceptions for injuries or if it's snowing.
Yes, I'm starting to sound rather militaristic. These new moves are for me because I need discipline to achieve what I aim to do, because these are big goals.
Because, as you know, I've just got 2 do it!

Monday, March 26, 2012

Losing and laughter - the skirt fiasco

By Virginia Winder
The evolution continues.
"Hello person who doesn't look like you any more," a woman I know quips as we cross paths.
"I still feel the same - just fitter, healthier," I yell over my shoulder.
But things have changed.
No 1 problem is that my clothes are getting too big. Way too big.
I know some of you may think this is a great thing, but there are two downsides to downsizing.
1. I love the clothes I had and they were chosen with love and care.
2. When clothes get too big it can be downright embarrassing.
Let me paint you a scenario of a hapless, hurrying woman on her way to a meeting last Wednesday morning...
The lift doors open and I rush out, pen and folder in hand heading for a gathering on the top floor of Puke Ariki. I am a few minutes late, so I break into a light jog.
If this was a movie, that jog would turn into a slow-motion scene so you, the audience, know something disastrous is about to happen.
Hold that thought... me jogging in slow-mo strides, and there you can start to see what's happening, see the slip of the material, see my eyes open wide... switch to the woman manager in the glass office, see her look up from her desk in astonishment, then there's a shot of a woman in the lift putting hand over mouth in gleeful horror, and then back to me...standing there in a puddle of black cloth.
Yes, my skirt fell off, straight down, on the floor, leaving me stranded in my black underpants! This is the stuff of nightmares.
I whipped it back on and headed to my meeting, hot-faced and guffawing inwardly at the absurdity of my life and terribly thankful the boss wasn't having a high-powered meeting in her office.
"That's one of the funniest things I've seen in years," the woman in the lift told me later.
We laughed together.
So, yes, I've still been training, especially biking and running.
I've also been eating well - mostly. But when I'm busy, and overworking, I crave carbohydrates and sugars, especially chocolate. That's when I try to have unroasted nuts on hand because protein staves off those cravings.
Drinking water still isn't easy. I forget. My husband, Warren has even taken to texting me "drink water" messages, which works. It's all about reprogramming.
It's amazing what the mind can do, what changes can take place, one step at a time.
Just remember to laugh at yourself on the way, because if you don't, everyone else will.
Live lightly if you can.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Womad wildest workout of all

Dobet Gnahore
By Virginia Winder
Dancing at Womad has to count as a major workout.
All up, there was probably about eight hours of up-the-front wildness over three days and lots of chilling out with friends in between.
Add walking around the site, including hill climbs and Womad adds up to a lot of exercise.
Best of all no ACC claim this year. Oh the weird ones I've had.
Last year, I raced off in the middle of the Topp Twins to use the loo in the VIP area, went over in pothole and fell, saving myself by grabbing on to the front of a young security guard's belt. I was mortified, he looked terrified. My ankle was badly sprained, my embarrassment even worse.
At an earlier Womad a friend wrenched my shoulder while we danced to Hava Nagila and at another festival I hurt my left Achilles jumping to Blue King Brown.
Tonight I was desperate to get back out on my beloved bike, but the wind ruined that.
Biking is now officially my favourite of the three triathlon sports, running is second and swimming third. Do you hear that - running!
This life of fitness is wonderful, especially because it means I'm getting out there in nature. The other day I biked along the coastal walkway to Hickford Park at Bell Block and then back the other way and up to Paritutu and home.
So when the wind gets up, I not think about all the people who have orchards or those who might lose a roof or fences, but I also selfishly think, "blow it, no biking for me".
What I have been doing too much of lately though is working - way too many hours.
That's taken its toll on ... this blog, but not my body.
Now it's time for sleep and to recover from Womad.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

'Love this life!' yells the crazy woman

By Virginia Winder
My blogging may have gone off the boil, but my training hasn't.
Went biking for more than an hour yesterday, the day before I went for an even longer walk and ended up running and on wild-wind Saturday did a gym workout.
Have decided that I need an indoor alternative when it's just too nasty out there. Also bought some long lycra tights that will help when winter sets in, because I refuse to be a fair-weather athlete. Wind, however, does put cycling off the schedule for safety reasons.
I have been clocking up the hours and the kilometres on our roads, parks and streets, have been walking to work and have added a sign by the lift on my stairs. It reads: "No Virginia, use the stairs."
Why? Because I need to reprogramme myself. "I'm not going to use the lift today," I announced to my floor at Puke Ariki.
Thirty seconds later, I pushed the button and was rising mechanically to the next floor like an automaton. The sign changed that.
Today, I noticed I've slipped again so the sign will have to go back up again tomorrow, much to the amusement of my work colleagues.
You see, I'm trying to be extremly active in my daily life and have been trying even harder on the food front.
Every now and then I find myself slipping into bad habits, like buying iced coffee. No, not the stuffed with cream and icecream kind, but the type you get from the dairy in a plastic bottle. Not a sensible choice.
Better to make a cup of tea and have some fresh fruit and nuts, to sustain me through an afternoon.
Have been doing some research on low-carbohydrate diets and while they work for losing weights, you do have to be careful what protein you eat. Check out this story, I wrote using research from Harvard University.
Now, here's another confession - I haven't got the work-life balance thing going so well.
Have had some days where I have been back to my old appalling habits of working 13 hours.
Don't for a second think that's a good thing.
It's not admirable. It's obsessive, self-centred and unhealthy on all fronts.
I've still managed to fit in training sessions on those days, but nothing else. I've been exhausted and it's my poor family that misses out.
So from this moment on that stops.
Oh, I sound so serious, so earnest!
It's all so much fun though, this exercise journey. The joy of it! The freedom of biking, the flying of running, the meditation of swimming...
Last night, I was biking along the walkway, the rolling Tasman Sea on my right and the snow-dusted Mt Taranaki on my left and, like a crazy woman, I yelled at the top of my voice: "I love this life!"

Saturday, February 18, 2012

To the zoo and back with Heather

By Virginia Winder
Poor Heather.
She's my friend with a road bike who agreed to go out for a ride with me today. It was an uphill climb and she was way ahead of me all the way.
At times she had to wait for me and she greeted me with kind words.
"You're doing great," she said when I caught up to her.
Despite my slow speed, I loved it. The burning thighs, the pounding heart, the sweat, the countryside...
Downhill was even better.
We cranked up our gears and sprinted. "Thanks for letting me bike in your slipstream," she yelled, directing me when to change gears.
Once, we got up to 40km/h, but now I want to go faster. Much faster.
Definitely, I want to go faster uphill, but reckon I need to do a bit of practice working those gears. And yes, I'm going to have to get those biking shoes back on.
This evening I swam 30 lengths in the outdoor pool and my shoulder felt OK.
Swimming is all about cruising for me at the moment until I feel good again. Need to go back to my wonderful physio Jacinta Harrison who has made me a gym programme. She, by the way, won a trip to a Tahiti at the Wells Taranaki Ironman last weekend. Fantastic stuff!
Met with Coach Clint this week and am now going to focus on long, slow bike rides and long, slow walk/runs. Still going through the transition phase, but definitely picking up the running.
If you've been wondering why I've been so useless at my blog writing, it's because:
A: Family has come first lately - and I wouldn't have it any other way. We've had my sister and brother-inlaw here for just 10 days, had my father-in-law's 80th birthday and our daughter Clementine's 18th birthday and party (including a visit from noise control at 10.22pm!).
B: I had too much work, but have now cut back to a normal workload and have a wonderful position doing marketing and communications at Puke Ariki. I love it! Yes, I'm still doing my freelancing feature stories, but finally I'm getting some balance.
C: I have been focusing on illness not wellness. After getting sick with that sore throat, which lingered and lingered, I decided I was not well enough to train. It's probably true to be honest, but my energy has returned now and I'm back in to it.
Life is good, the weather is fine, training is great and I have a patient friend called Heather.

Today, I:
Biked about 20km
Swam 1.5km
Ate 3 fantastically nutritious meals
Drank lots of water
Drank 2 coffees
Drank 1 protein shake with a banana
Worked for 2.5 hours
Slept for 9 hours (deep wonderful sleep!)

Monday, February 6, 2012

On to the next goals... Pt Chev here we come

By Virginia Winder
It's a new week and a fresh focus.
Oh and the things I have learnt on the way...
No 1: It's not a great idea to train or compete if you aren't feeling well. It took me four days in bed to recover from that nasty sore throat and it's still lingering. When you are pushing your body to the limit you have to be kind to yourself. Listen to those symptoms - don't be so focused on the end result that you have a hideous journey. That "no pain, no gain" saying doesn't work when the body needs time to recover.
No 2: Be kind to others - always. This has nothing to do with exercising, but everything to do with life balance and not judging others. Here's an example. You might get a check-out operator in a supermarket who's not so friendly to you, but there may be a reason - they have just been dumped by a boyfriend, found out their mother has cancer, or lost a loved one. Or a grumpy customer might be stressed about something in their life and preoccupied by their own thoughts. Think about that for a moment and then let it go. Treat those under stress with great kindness and warmth - there's always a reason they are like that.
No 3: Say thanks with grace - then change the subject. When you lose weight people constantly tell you how amazing you look. Thanks so much for the kind words! However, I'm beginning to think I must have looked hideous before. But I didn't feel ugly and that's the truth. I love the compliments, honestly I do, but I'm still just me.
No 4: Always have a goal. Once, when I interviewed Sir Edmund Hillary I asked him what he was thinking when he stood on the summit of Mt Everest. His reply was something like: "I looked around and thought what mountain am I going to climb next." OK, so my tri wasn't Mt Everest, but Sir Ed was right about always having something to aim for. 
No 5: Always remember how far you have come. Pollyanna, one of my childhood role models, used to play The Glad Game by counting all the things she was glad about. Do that in your life, especially if you are on a path to health and fitness.
No 6: Have a fan club. They are your close friends who text you (thanks Spike, Callie and Susan), others who turn up and cheer for you (Cheryl and Irena) and, of course, your family members, who back you all the way and boy, do I have a heap of them - they stretch from here to Wellington and across to Perth in Australia. And then there are all my mates on FB, like Kim in Sydney, my namesake in Kansas and the dozens of people who tick the "like" box and make comments. Those uplifting comments are as good as endorphins.
So, on to the next four fitness goals.
No 1: Go to Auckland to compete in the Contact TriWoman race at Pt Chevalier in Auckland on April 22. (My daughter and niece are in the draw for a car, so we have to go!)
No 2: To be able to run properly for that race.
No 3: To be down to 80kg for that Auckland race.
No 3: To start a serious cycling regime.
No 4: Get back into full pool training.
No 5: Do gym work to strengthen me for pool work. This is recommended by my BounceBack Physiotherapist and swimmer Jacinta Harrison.

Today, I:

Went for a 25-minute walk/run in Pukekura Park
Went to the movies
Worked for 5 hours
Slept well for 6 hours
Ate two great meals (breakfast and dinner), but had some popcorn and jaffas and had spaghetti on toast for lunch with grated cheese on top (need to take care not to fall into old ways)
Drank 2 coffees (now for those people thinking I am cutting down - a big coffee day for me has always been 3, so trust me, I'm not trying to cut down my coffee)
Drank a moderate amount of water

Yesterday, I:
Ate two great meals (but missed lunch, so not good)
Worked for 6.5 hours
Went for a long brisk walk
Slept badly, for hardly any hours
Drank 2 cups of coffee
Drank some water

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Uplifting cheers from friends and whanau worth gold

The Crew: Daughter Clementine (left), me (VW) and Rebekah
wearing our pretty pink triathlon medals. Photo: Warren Smart
By Virginia Winder
First goal ticked off.
Completed the Contact TriWoman New Plymouth Triathlon this morning and the pink medal is now hanging beside my desk.
I didn't do brilliantly, mainly because of my slow running, but I did what I said I was going to do.
My swim time says 12 minutes something, but actually, I was eighth out of the water.
But 37 women passed me in the transition from beach to bike.
Never mind, because I succeeded in my goal to stay on my trusty red steed going up the hills into a westerly wind. I passed a few women pushing bikes up those steep rises, but there was no way I was going to allow myself to walk. No reflection on those other women, honestly, I don't blame them at all, but my personal goal was to ride all the way.
So I gritted my teeth and began self talk: "I love hills, I love head winds, I am strong and powerful."
There was one part there, I was dry retching but I pushed through it.
Then came the run/walk.
I mostly walked, but did a bit of jogging, just like in my Pukekura Park training.
Yes, the inner runner in me was frustrated, but the word "restraint" screamed in my head every time I thought about pushing it. I'm not ready to do that yet, am still too heavy to stride out like in the old days and don't want to end up snapping an Achilles tendon.
So I got through the triathlon uninjured, but not unscathed.
"You didn't do yourself any favours by doing it," the doctor at Phoenix told me after looking down my throat. 
"So working and training last week wouldn't have helped much either?" I said meekly.
 He agreed.
"Drink lots of fluid and get lots of rest," he said kindly, but sternly, handing me a certificate for two days off work and a script for antibiotics for a nasty throat infection.
But I had to quickly write this before heading to bed (for two days) because I want to say a big "wow" to some of the amazing women in the race.
There were others who managed greater feats than mine, who reached personal goals, who gutsed it out on those gruelling hills up Centennial Drive past Paritutu and down and up past the tank farm and towards Omata and back again.
One of those was my daughter, Clementine, who did the bike section in a team with my niece Rebekah, who did an amazing swim time and great run. Clementine just kept going and going, despite having a bike that wasn't built for racing. She showed true determination.
Another was the woman who was last to cross the line after finishing her duathlon. We go to Contours gym together and she is the most upbeat, energetic and supportive person imaginable.  
It was also great to have people cheer me on, say "well done" and "keep going" and to be uplifted by my personal champions, husband Warren, French daughter Camille, the wonderful Irena Brooks (this is sounding like an Oscar speech now isn't it?), dear friend Cheryl with Sam and Evie, Clementine and Rebekah and Coach Clint holding son Finn.  
When I finished, I felt like I'd just won a gold medal.
It's so important to celebrate and think, "Yeah, I did it."
Now it's time to rest - and drink lots of fluid.

Today, I:
Completed the Contact TriWoman New Plymouth Triathlon

Friday, January 27, 2012

Hit by that nagging feeling of guilt and tiredness

By Virginia Winder
Early morning: Long Bay on the North Shore with Rangitoto in
the distance. Photo: Warren Smart
Yes, it's been too long and I've had people nagging me to write.
Fair enough, but wait, I do have an excuse.
I have started a new/old job at Puke Ariki, been training and battling tiredness and a sore throat.
Come blog-writing time, I've turned tail and headed to bed.
Yes, I've been absolutely sapped of energy.
Let me tell you though, the final Big Day Out was a great workout. Got up a sweat dancing, jumping, arm punching and running up and down steps from stage to stage.
It wasn't a terrific nutrient day though, mainly because I had way too many coffees and, dare I admit it, energy drinks. My actually food choices were good and I didn't have any alcohol, but I didn't get any sleep because of caffeine overload.
I mean none.
Not surprisingly, the hint of a sore throat appeared the next day.
It was a full day too, one that began with a visit to Otara Market (a great place for lycra bike shorts).
Later on we went swimming in a tiny bay off Jervois Rd near where my brother used to live in Auckland before he moved to the heat of Perth.
The following day, I did a two-hour workout at Long Bay Beach, where I went for a walk-run and a swim.
We had a great time staying with long-time friends and came home on Monday feeling replenished, but yes, with a nagging feeling of unwellness.
Back in New Plymouth, I went for a walk-run after my radio show on the Most FM and on Wednesday easily managed 20 lengths of the outdoor pool with only a slight niggle in my left shoulder.
Oh this getting older thing is a pain!
I do my best to ignore the fact I'm just shy of 50 and am reintroducing my body to hard training after nearly two decades of physical slumber (does serious concert-going count as hard exercise?), but those strange twinges still keep happening.
Anyway, nothing is going to stop me.
Well nearly nothing.
Yesterday, I came home from work at Puke Ariki and went straight to bed and slept.
Last night we got bad news, which I won't go into here, but I didn't sleep well after that. Just lay there thinking about life and families and how precious people are.
I've also been thinking about our health and how we work so hard at our careers, but not at keeping well. That was me. I got my priorities all mixed up and now my own health comes first.
None of us are any good for anything if we're sick, are we?
So it all comes back to balance and already those demands of life and work are coming at me.
Incredibly I said no to a job this week because I couldn't fit it in.
Elton John sang "sorry" is the hardest word. I reckon it's "no".
Now, the big news is that on Sunday I'll be doing my first triathlon.
It's just a wee one and I hope I'm going to be able to manage it.
I'll make a judgement call when I wake up tomorrow, but am pretty positive all will be well!
I will, I will!
Fingers crossed this throat will be better and my energy will be back.
Can feel the healing powers of sleep calling.
So, hi ho, hi ho, off to bed I go...

Today, I:
Worked for 8 hours
Did no exercise
Have felt unwell
Ate three nutritious meals
Had 1 cup of coffee
Had 1 chai latte
Drank a few glasses of water
Slept about 12 hours (but 8 fitfully)

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

El Camino and the lost child

By Virginia Winder
I defy you to listen to The Black Keys' album El Camino and not want to dance.
Put it on the stereo - up loud - and get grooving.
Dance. Go on, let yourself go.
Now, if you have an iPod, an MP3 player or any other portable device that plays music and you've been lacking motivation to get moving, El Camino will do it. So put those headphones on and head into the great outdoors with a beat in your step.
Inside your head you'll be a cool cat, so when those teens look at you with haughty scorn, you can give a sneer back, because, hey, you're listening to The Black Keys. OK, so they've probably never heard of them and are more than likely still in Bieberty, but street cred is all in your own mind anyway.
Remember, I also play Spongebob Squarepants... "It's the best day ever..."
Music, as I have mentioned many times before and will again, is my great motivator.
I would even say it's my Muse.
That works for both writing and exercise. It's my way of tapping into the great beyond, so to speak.
So, if you see me before a sports event, warming up with earphones in, barely acknowledging anybody, don't be offended, I'm just doing my Jonah Lomu thing.
OK, so I'm not comparing myself to the rugby-playing great, however, I will be gathering myself in the same kind of way. Hyping myself up, focusing, visualising and all that.
One of my greatest sporting heroes used to do that. Her name is Sheryl George and no, she's not the New Plymouth District Council member, but one of the most amazing sportswomen I've ever seen in action.
She was a New Zealand champion surf lifesaver at beach sprinting, ironwoman, tube rescue, board - she was the ultimate all-rounder in the water and on the sand. But she was also a Silver Fern and a Tall Fern, which is amazing in itself.
Before racing on the beach, Sheryl would go inside her head. Simply withdraw.
I was the nervous people pleaser and it's only now, looking back over the years, that I understand what my rival was doing and why she was a champion.
Sheryl was focused, visualising her efforts and already winning that race.
So it's taken me a bit longer to learn all this and probably way too late to take any major titles, but I'll still do my best.
Don't worry, I haven't turned into a sports snob or anything - I'll be as friendly as anything after a race, but not before. I will be inward, thinking about transitions and what I have to do.
That happened at the Sunday Farmer's Market the other day.
I was on a mission to get something before it closed and I only had a few minutes to go. A lovely woman stopped me and I was caught, mid-stride, and know I was extremely vacant.
Poor woman. She probably thought I was unfriendly and a bit rude, but I realise that's what I'm like on task, on deadline; I kind of blank everything else out.
It comes from 29 years of this journalism gig, I guess.
So apologies to anyone, especially those who phone me during pressure times.
Or those who want to chat while I'm out training.
I won't be stopping, sorry, but I will wave, smile and call out "gidday".
When I'm out walk-running it's all go, but sometimes I do chat at the end of the pool while swim training. On the bike, you can talk with the person you're riding with - if my husband can keep up - hah!
Have been for some great walk-runs, some long walks and some testing bike rides.
Am sitting here in my new Sarah Ulmer Brand (SUB) bike pants that I got for my birthday and eating my breakfast as I write. Love those summer nectarines. Mmmm.
On the food front, I've just been enjoying everything that summer has to offer. Salads, barbecues, watermelon, corn on the cob, roast garlic, basil, tomatoes and avocados. The latter are eaten at nearly every meal in our household because they contain everything damn fine - good oils, vitamins, mineral and protein. They are, in short, the perfect food and yet people still shy away from them and think they are fattening.
They aren't!
I am living proof of this.
Yes, I have lost more weight.
The other day I was at the beach and a friend got me to pick up her daughter.
She felt heavy and even hurt my ailing shoulder (which is now getting better). She weighed 26kg, which is how much I have now lost.
My eyes filled with tears, my throat clogged up.
"I was carrying you around all the time," I said to the bewildered 11-year-old.
Then I beamed.
"But not any more... not any more!"

Today, I:
Biked for 14km (lots of uphill)
Swam 10 lengths of a 50 metre pool (first swim back after shoulder injury)
Drank lots of water
Ate 3 fantastic nutritious meals
Drank heaps of water
Had 2 cups of coffee
Had 1 cup of peppermint tea
Worked for 6 hours
Slept for 7 hours
Had a leg massage

Yesterday, I:
Walked for 45 minutes
Swam in the sea for 30 minutes
Drank lots of water
Worked for 6 hours
Had 3 cups of coffee
Slept for 7 hours
Went to physio for shoulder

Monday, I:
Worked for 13 hours (bad, bad, bad)
It was a rest day for exercise
Ate pretty well, but did clean up all the chocolate macadamia spread in the house
Drank lots of water
Had 3 cups of coffee
Slept for 6 hours

Sunday, I:
Went for a 60-minute walk (endurance!)
Ate three nutritious meals
Didn't drink enough water
Had 2 cups of coffee
Worked for 2 hours
Slept for 8 hours

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Pip and Rebecca get me back on track

By Virginia Winder
Met an amazing woman in Centre City yesterday.
I was waiting to have lunch with daughter Clementine, a couple of Tank salads before me, when I got chatting to a woman beside me.
Right this minute, Pip from Waitara is biking around Mt Taranaki - 150km.
She's been doing 40km training sessions four times a week and a longer one at the weekends, but today she is out there, head down, biking in a fierce and changeable southwesterly wind.  
At times there have been showers, but not many on the northern side of the mountain.
I thought of this 40-something woman at first light because this, she said, is the biggest thing she's ever attempted.
She was determined yesterday and I know she will be today.
People like her make me feel incredibly humble and inspired.
In the short time I chatted with her, I recognised an indomitable spirit; gutsy, vivacious and just a little bit naughty. Yeah, a kindred spirit.  
As I'm writing this in the comfort of my warm home, I am mentally pushing her along, gritting my teeth for her and sending her strength, telepathically. I have no doubt she'll make it, but on a wild day like this it won't be easy.
"Go Pip!"
There's another woman I want to tell you about.
Her name is Rebecca and she has also succeeded in returning to place of health and fitness.
But she admits that it takes ongoing discipline and hard work.
Her three key words to success are: Structure, discipline and endurance.  
Rebecca’s yoga teacher says it is easy to improve but difficult to maintain exercise.
“I’ve noticed this because currently I no longer have a goal and have become lazy again. Previously, I was learning how to run and then running a half marathon.”
Now, she is focused on another project that is not exercise based and says her life is out of balance. “I have a natural inclination to focus on one project at a time. Some may call it having an addictive nature.”
Aware of this, she is now back those three key words:

  • I STRUCTURE my days so I can have it all. Delete the frills and focus on the big picture.
  • DISCIPLINE. My alarm is set for 6am. If I don’t exercise in the morning it never gets done. Also I feel better during the day, especially if I’ve gone for my walk, run, swim or cycle meditation.  Some like to sit – I like to physically flow while I’m meditating. Discipline leads to routine, which leads to habit.
  • ENDURE. I just have to keep going and ignore my body saying no and the mind saying I should sleep in and all the interruptions that can easily lead me astray.
Thanks Rebecca, I needed all this myself because I have got myself out of sorts because I am missing ROUTINE, which you have called STRUCTURE.
With everybody on holiday, the strange weather and odd, intermittent working hours I’m keeping, my training has been up and down too. I think I’ll go for a bike ride and then a raging storm will happen. I plan a walk-run and a thunderstorm rumbles in and as for swimming, well my physio has strapped up my shoulder and strictly banned me from the pool for now.
With that my food intake has gone to pieces a wee bit too.
Just a wee bit though and it’s not showing on the scales – no increases at least and down 1kg, so that’s not so bad.
So thanks Rebecca, I will be adding all these things in to my programme, putting up big words by my desk and starting over today, with Pip from Waitara fresh in my mind.
Go Pip!

Today, I:

Refocused myself completely!
Went for a 40-minute walk-run
Went for a 40-minute bike ride
Drank 3 coffees
Drank heaps of water
Worked for 5 hours
Ate three incredibly healthy meals!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Inspired by real thing at the Mount

By Virginia Winder
Haven't had a great food day and it's made me grumpy.
Had nachos for lunch because everyone else was having it and I was hungry. Not a great excuse, I know, but there it is.
As for dinner, I had a Thai takeaway and it was delicious, but once again I didn't choose the healthiest option from the board.
I'm not perfect, but because I have made such great choices lately I do feel a bit disappointed with myself.
Oh well, tomorrow is a new day.
I begin each morning with untoasted muesli soaked overnight and then throw in blueberries and whatever in-season fruit there is available. At the moment it's strawberries. Then I add yoghurt and some walnuts and get munching.
It's such a great start to the day - natural grains for slow-release energy and blueberries and walnuts for brain food.
On the exercise front, I have been greatly inspired.
At the weekend, Warren and I went to Mt Maunganui to watch the half-ironman.
When we first got there I was completely overwhelmed by all the bikes set up in the transition area. But where were all the athletes?
In the water!
They were already in Pilot Bay, where the men were wearing blue swimming caps; the women wearing pink. A friend says they look like lollies bobbing about and they do.
We watched all the changeovers, saw how people got on and off bikes, put their gear on, how long they took, found out about all the tricks of the triathlon transitions and soaked it all in.
I stood on the sidelines encouraging strangers and telling them how good they looked. "Don't feel it," or "You're lying," were some of the replies.
But they did look great, especially those who had been out there for more than five hours and still had a spring in their steps.
Instead of being put off by watching the race, which I'll be doing next year, I felt buoyed. "I can do this," I said quite often to my sidekick, who is also getting keen on triathlons himself.
There's nothing like watching the real thing to get inspired.
We stayed with our mates Susan and Glenn, who are also tri-hards. That sounds mean, but yes, they too are going through their own midlife exercise, let's-do-it-all phase. I won't call it a crisis like mine because they have always been lean.
My own exercise is going just fine.
Have been walk-running, doing a bit of body-surfing and went for a glorious bike ride today.
Reckon I'll be back in the pool tomorrow, at least doing kick work and drills with my good arm. My left shoulder is coming along, after all I did catch a couple of waves tonight. 
Another great thing has happened, I have stumbled upon an excellent masseur - a Czech man called Jan. I had my first massage on Monday and after he left my feet felt so good it was like walking on cushions.
So, apart from one not so great day of food, this health and fitness quest of mine is going extremely well.
Now I have a confession about the bike. When I went out today, I didn't wear my cleats. I went out wearing running shoes so I wasn't stuck to my bike and I felt much braver and more confident.
Think it will be awhile yet before I venture out clipped on to my bike.
One step at a time, eh? One step at a time...

Today, I:
Slept for 9 hours
Biked for 40 minutes (including a big hill)
Went bodysurfing at Oakura (big waves)
Worked for 2 hours
Drank 2 cups of coffee
Drank some water (but needed more)

Friday, January 6, 2012

Learning to run in Pukekura Park

Leafy laps: There are beautiful walking and running tracks
around the lakes throughout Pukekura Park in New Plymouth.
By Virginia Winder
The walking phase is over.
I have officially moved on to walk-running. It's a slow transition, because I'm being careful.
Went to Pukekura Park where the tracks are tidy, but not too jarring and came face to face with my future and my past.
As I got to the bottom lake, I got a "hi Virginia," and it was a triathlon friend with a group of fit athletes doing speed work.
"This will be you next year," he said.
I grinned. "Yes it will be," I thought with glee.
There was definitely a spring in my step (after they past) when I continued by jog a few trees, walk a few more, as recommended by Coach Clint and by that master marathon runner Gerald Dravitzki.
I did that for my entire circuit, except I only walked up the steps to the Puriri tree, but after that I didn't stop and started jogging straight away.
In Goodwin Dell I got hugs from Howie and Aroaro Tamati and they said one of their daughters was with a group training on the terraces above the cricket ground.
"I used to do that for sprint training. I loved it! Up and down those steps," I said.
"See it's still in you," Howie said.
I grinned. "Yeah, it is," I thought.
Then headed off, past the terraces and saw the young people tearing up and down and remembered.
At this stage, that old song, Turning Japanese by The Vapors, had come on my Sony Walkman. I love the timeliness of things - it came out in 1980 and that's when I was training on those terraces and, of course, it was this part of Pukekura Park that scenes of The Last Samurai were shot.
Was pounding my way towards Fitzroy Beach and a swim in the sea when a red car pulled up.
"Want a ride?" a girl with long hair, holding a tantalisingly cool water bottle asked out an open window.
"Why not?" I said, grabbing the bottle and gulping greedily.
My run-walking is only happening in the park, so I don't injure myself. Therefore, the ride from my whanau was as timely as that one-hit wonder song and that swim in the sea. Oh, those waves.
Life is mostly good, but feel like I'm sitting on one of those annoying weight plateaus again.
But my eating is going brilliantly.
It's here that I have to say that I am one of the lucky people in life because my husband, Warren, is the most amazing cook. He's got his own recipe page on this blog (which he puts up himself) and he's just posted a cool video on making fajitas.
Last night, he made a gorgeous fish curry with tamarind, vinegar and poppy seeds. Mmmm.
Must admit I am missing my swimming, plus my fear of biking is growing (mantra to self, suggested/enforced by husband: I am brave, I am fearless).
Yes, there are some big hurdles coming up.
And I will leap them, I will!!!

Yesterday, I:
Walk/ran through Pukekura Park
Drank heaps of water
Slept badly for few hours because of huge fight going on in neighbourhood (see Taranaki Daily News front page)
Ate 3 excellent meals, but need to have those fuel snacks
Had 3 cups of coffee
Had 1 hot chocolate
Had 1 chai
Had 1 swim in sea
Worked for 3 hours

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Wow - people are amazing

By Virginia Winder
When you're a kid, you have no idea about the road rules.
So the poor boy racing around the corner towards me on his scooter had no idea why a crazy lady on a red bike was screaming: "Go left, go left."
I was committed, you see and knew I'd hit him if he didn't move.
He didn't, so I slammed on my brakes and fell. Again.
I didn't hit him - the mother in me just couldn't do that.
Luckily, this part of the walkway has just been resealed so I fell on smooth concrete. No grazes, just bruises this time.
Why didn't I go right? Because it was a tight turn by the Fitzroy camp ground and while I could see Scooterboy in the mirror that has been so artfully placed to show oncoming traffic, the truth is I panicked. These clip-in bike shoes have got me a bit spooked. OK, I'm terrified.
"You can't keep saying that," my husband Warren says.
So, about three minutes before, I'd been biking along yell-singing out: "I'm brave, I'm fearless."
Don't worry, nobody else was around.
It was bravado of course and then bang, Scooterboy loomed.
He endured a gentle lecture about keeping left, but just stood there looking a bit baffled, probably wondering why the silly lady had fallen anyway. 
After he scooted off, my tough, mean husband made me get back on my bike and keep going.
I was all for going home.
But I got back on my undamaged (yes, pouting again) and oh what a glorious ride it was too!
There were so many people out on the coastal walkway on Tuesday morning - parents and kids on bikes, on tandem bikes, people of all ages wandering, power-walking, running, some with dogs and others pushing mountain buggies. My favourite was a guy on a skateboard with surfboard under his arm.
Last night I went for a fast walk home from The Most (100.4FM) after doing my radio show, Waxing Lyrical, and felt great. Even did a circuitous route via the walkway, energised by my latest favourite exercising song - Lonely Boy by The Black Keys.
The good news is my foot problem has improved greatly and I can walk without pain.
The bad news is that when I went to physio this morning, I immediately switched to shoulder treatment. My first fall before New Year appears to have strained my left rotator cuff because that's the side I fell on.
Annoyingly, that means swimming is out for a wee while, but I'm certain I'll recover incredibly quickly.
I love my swimming, especially with my niece Rebekah!
So that means I just have to focus on my biking and my walking.
That's the beauty of triathlon training; there are options.
Tonight, I walk/ran to Fitzroy Beach along the walkway. I didn't plan to run, but went with Camille, my French daughter, and she has such a fast stride I had to keep running to catch up and then of course I kept running to pass her. Then she'd run to pass me, so then I'd have to catch her up.
"Restraint," I could hear Coach Clint yelling in my head, even louder than The Black Keys, so I let her go in the end. Oh, OK, she cleaned me up!
Now, many of you will know there have been a couple of stories about KCL Property owner Bryce Barnett and myself in the Taranaki Daily News this week. The front page story is about our joint quest to fight obesity in Taranaki by leading from the front.
Since publishing on Tuesday, the response from people has been overwhelmingly supportive.
I have had phonecalls, emails, texts, Facebook messages and posts, comments on this blog and been stopped on the beach and in street.
People are amazing.
Wow.
As this journey progresses, I will do my best to research the answers to all your questions, go to the experts and find out even more information.
So feel free to contact me, ask more questions, tell me about your own journeys and share ideas about people who are doing amazing things.
Then I'll write about as many as I can.
Because, while my personal mission is to become a fit, healthy, athlete, I am firstly a writer, so that will be my gift to you all - my words.

Yesterday, I:
Biked about 15km
Walked about 6.5km
Drank 2 cups of coffee
Drank heaps of water
Worked for 1 hour
Ate 3 nutritious meals
Went for 2 swims in the sea (but didn't put any pressure on shoulder!)
Spent time with good friends
Slept, badly, for about 7 hours

Today, I:

Walked for about 30 minutes
Drank 1 cup of coffee
Drank some water (not enough!)
Worked for 3 hours
Ate 3 healthy meals
Went for 1 swim in the sea
Slept well for 8 hours

Sunday, January 1, 2012

If you had one shot... the 12-step resolution

By Virginia Winder
Today is the first day of a new year.
Or a new life.
The other day a good friend asked for advice about how to get started on a mission to lose weight and getfit.
Here is my 12-step guide to starting and continuing a New Year's resolution:
1. Start dreaming. What do you want to do? Is there a goal you want to achieve? Think of the biggest, boldest dream you could imagine. What is it? Do you want to climb Mt Taranaki? Do the Otago rail trail? The Abel Tasman walkway? Is it a sporting aim or do you want do look great for an upcoming occasion? Or is it a health issue you want to keep at bay for the rest of your life? Beat diabetes? Lower that blood pressure or cholesterol? This is your dream and your goal - you call the shots.
2. Get going. It's holiday time now, so start walking or swimming or biking or running - whatever it is you want to do. Start with 10 or 15 minutes or 10 lengths. But do something today or tomorrow and again, and again...
3. Make it fun. Get an iPod or MP3 player and listen to music or a talking book. Make it a social outing so do it with a friend, but if they can't make it, go it alone. You'll love the time out and be revived and refreshed by it.
4. Be prepared. Have a bag for swimming all ready to go. Have your biking gear or your walking or running gear at hand, plus a drink bottle ready to grab. Make it easy, so you just get up and go.
5. Start again. If you have a day when you feel flat or life gets in the way of exercise, don't beat yourself up about it. Let it go and start again the next day. This is meant to be fun, not another reason to feel guilty. Lighten up!
6. Forget diets forever. Research shows they are not sustainable and don't work. Ever. That's because you go off diets and go back to bad habits. And what happens? Yes, you've got it - the weight goes back on. How many times have you been on a diet and thought about nothing else but the food you're not allowed? Instead, be mindful about what you eat. "Mindfulness" is a whole subject on its own.
7. Food education is No 1. Find out what foods work for you and what don't. The big revelation for me has been about carbohydrates - rice, bread, potatoes and pasta are the major reasons why I put on weight and couldn't take it off. I have virtually (but not entirely) eliminated them from my diet. If it's too hard to cut your carbs completely, halve them. Have open sandwiches, cut your rice portions in half and the same with potatoes and pasta.
8. Eat more protein. Fish (especially salmon), low-fat meat, parmesan, nuts, avocado, feta and protein (whey powder) shakes help with energy levels in training.
I have cut out most cheeses, plus butter, bacon (which I don't like much anyway) and all other high-fat foods. Not only do I no longer crave them, when I have them, they make me feel ill. 
9. Make sure you have plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, grains, legumes and unprocessed foods. 
10. Love those treats. I have dark chocolate most days because I love it and it's a fine antioxidant. But I only have one or 2 squares. Coffee is the same for me - I have no more than 3 cups a day, but I won't go without it because that wouldn't be fair on my family.  You might not like either of these and may opt for something else completely different that I have no idea about, but it's OK to have a wee treat.  
11. Banish guilt for all time. Forget the whole idea of failure and guilt. If you have a bad day, so be it. Don't hate yourself for it. You're only human. I'm not perfect - I snuck out to the pantry just before and had a teaspoon of macadamia chocolate spread! Mmmm. Do I feel guilty? Yes, a little, because it's not mine (it's either my French daughter's or my son's - so don't tell). Seriously though, just start thinking about what you're eating, why you're eating it and whether it's going to make you feel better. Consider your answers.
12. Lose Yourself. I love exercising with a passion and when you get going, you will too. Your joy might be surfing, tramping through the bush, sunset strolls on the seafront, bodysurfing with your family at twilight, or doing yoga in a park.
For me it's a combination of sports. Swimming is meditation and fun; invigorating and edgy (read scary); and when I'm out walking, I feel like anything is possible. And for those who don't know, I normally start my walk with that Eminem song, Lose Yourself...
"Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?"
Happy days everyone - 2012 is yours for the taking.

Today, I:
Walked for 50 minutes
Swam in the sea (in the rain - glorious)
Ate three nutritious meals
Drank lots of water
Had 1 cup of coffee
Slept terribly (playing mother/nurse to young over-imbibers)
Worked for 2 hours