Striving for Progress

"Strive for Progress, not perfection"

Thank you 12wbt for tweeting this in the last couple of days. I could really relate to it and hence have decided to make it my motto! 

After my efforts on Saturday, I've taken the first step and made a couple of inquiries about hiring a running coach. I really believe it will help me overcome my mental barriers and improve my speed and technique. Also, it's another motivation and someone to meet for a workout. I seem to train so much better with other people and enjoy it so much more.

My Run Tonight

The good news is I kicked butt again with my running group tonight. 8km in 54 mins...  Still need to work on pace, but like I said, Progress is my new best friend, not perfection.. I will get there.

The girls I run with suggested trying the radio to help with distraction instead of music. Will definitely have to give this a go on Saturday when I next tackle the lap on my own. Great idea! 

Oh yeah and on the food front I was little bit excited when i re-created a yummy breakfast dad and I ordered at one of my favourite cafe's not to long ago. It was a Tuscan style scrambled eggs with scrambled eggs. I simply just scrambled eggs as normal, tossed through some diced sundried tomato then added some Tuscan seasoning mix and wallah! So yummy and still under 300 calories per serve. 

My Awesome Tuscan Scrambled Eggs

I'm so looking forward to Round 4 starting next week and getting a whole new bunch of recipes, but In true Sarah style, here's a few foodie pics of some of my fav's I've been re-visiting over the week!

One of my fav 12wbt lunches - the Ploughman's Lunch

Naughty But Nice Nachos is always a repeat - so quick and so yum

Another Favourite - Thai Kangaroo Larb - but with Beef instead of Kangaroo!

Night all,
(that is if I can get of this couch!)

Pain and Mind Games

Yesterday's run didn't quite go to plan. I was ready and raring to go after my 8km run on Wednesday night and also brought new runners on Friday night. I so dearly wanted to tackle the 8km lap again on my own, but broke down around 4km.

My new runners felt awesome,  but I struggled with stitches and have never know the best way to battle through them. It was then I decided to do interval training for the remaining km's instead. 

It was still a good run, but it was a struggle.

My Hot New Runners

Why do I find running on my own so mentally exhausting? I know I can do it, and have proven it with my running groups. It's so frustrating. What I need to do is upgrade my heart rate monitor so I can see my pace, because as you can see with my splits, I come out all guns blazing then tire really quickly. I'm just not good at judging it by myself and really need to work at this.

My Bad Splits

Everything hurt, my shin splints which have been so good lately, came back to bite me as well. But it's the stitches that seem to be my greatest concern and it's for this reason, I'm looking into getting a running coach. I'm hoping they'll be able help my with my technique and give me tips as to how best battle through!

I thought I was doing really well, but clearly, on my own is a much bigger challenge and I've got a long way to go if I'm ever going to get to half marathon.

Hot and Buggered.

Here's hoping for a better run next weekend.
Night all xo

Jumping on the Half Mara' Bandwagon

I'm Ba-ack...  As most of you know, I recently came back from conquering the mighty Inca Trail in Peru. It was challenging both physically and mentally and the whole reason I joined 12 wbt. Since coming home from my amazing holiday I've been worried about slipping back into bad habits and have been on the hunt for a new goal and something to focus on to keep myself motivated...

So ladies and gentleman - drum roll please.... 

With a little encouragement from running pals, I have registered for my first ever 10km fun run in December! And with any sort of the luck, if that all goes well, I hope to go onto a half marathon in July and compete in the Australian Outback Marathon around Ayres Rock. If not, then there's always a Half in Paris in October. The possibilities are endless.  But then again, if my bank balance doesn't allow this to happen I'll happily settle for the Run Melbourne or Melbourne Marathon as well. (I'd be interested to hear what your favourite fun runs are too).

My 8km run last night 23 Oct '13

Crazy you might say, I know, but I'm excited.. I've even started a running group and also going to Luluemon's free running group on Saturday mornings. For each run I do, I intend on taking a photo of my GPS / HR monitor to track my progress and report back. I think it's the best way to make me accountable and see where I can improve.

So starting with my PB 8km run last night...  Still a long way to go and need to work on the pace, if I'm gonna crack the hour time for my 10k.

And of course my blog wouldn't be a blog without my foodie pics, so here a few of my latest.. I've been re-visiting some of my 12wbt fav's...

Vegetarian Taco's

Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni

French Toast

Bimbap Meal

Baked Beans on Toast

Rocket Pocket Breakky

Enjoy and nigh night xo