Tag: fifty plus

Need to get stretchy – Yoga or Pilates?

Tell me what you think – yoga, pilates or comment if you have a better idea!

Back pain!

Y’all know I’m into being really active. I run, swim, dance, hike and walk George (my therapy dog). And I’m all for “feelin’ the pain” (actually no, I’m not, but you know that thing – “no pain/no gain” 😛 ) But this is a whole other level of pain! Dislike!

It’s worse in the mornings and it truly is a comical sight watching me try to put my socks on so I can get my joggers on. Luckily, there’s (usually) only George and my cat Blossom around to snigger at my sad attempts at foot sockage.

Seriously, I can’t actually bend first thing in the morning without excruciating lower back pain, so putting on socks has become no small feat (hahahaha feat/feet). I usually put my foot up on my knee and try to lasso the sock over my toes!

Oh and to add injury to insult – here’s a pic of me at my last running event – The Perth Women’s Classic 10k fun run. I literally face planted on the finish line! Cut my chin open, but got free champagne and I still recorded a good time! (check the blood on my nice white event t-shirt! much ouch!)

Running pic
faceplant!

Research on back pain

I’ve done a bunch of research and discovered the following useful (useless?) facts:

  1. My doctor prescribed anti-inflammatories and said “arthritis, it’s your age, get used to it” (rude!!)
  2. Google told me I need a new mattress, preferably firm/medium (there’s actually a research study on it and it’s a thing y’all)
  3. Google also told me to do back stretches when I first wake up (didn’t help)
  4. Then Google told me my sleeping position sucks and I need to sleep with a pillow between my legs and sleep on my side (y’ha, I do that – helps a little bit, but not enough to get my socks on!!)
  5. My PT at the gym told me to give up running! (not gonna happen)
  6. My girlfriends tell me to take up yoga or pilates. Trouble is they are all devotees of one or the other, so I’m kinda stuck.

Need your help to make a decision – there’s a poll at the top of this post, so vote your fave stretchy exercise and help me make a decision. Not to bias the poll, but I’m thinking of doing a Yoga Challenge (don’t see the point in just plain ole go to the community hall and getting my stretch on).

This one looks cool Yoga Burn Challenge

 

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Running + Dating = Running/date is a thing y’all :D

Time for a run/date – how cool is that?

My ideal first date, go for a run and impress him with my sweaty awesomeness! And I got that opportunity on the weekend. I’d been messaging with a fellow I found on my dating site. A lot of his photos were of him at ParkRuns around the world and y’all know I love ParkRuns and travelling, so how could I not be impressed? Plus he’s good looking, came across as smart and genuine and obvs fit – can’t be doing all that running and be unfit, right?!

So, he kinda invited me on his local ParkRun on Sat morning and to go for a coffee after. Best first date offer ever!! Except I had to get him to come to my ParkRun as it was a special one for me, I was about to run my last timed run in my age category of 55-59 – I turned 60 on the 10 Sept! (more on that below). My ParkRun buddies were insisting I do a new PB on the day and go out with a bang! And that’s a challenge I just had to accept. So I invited my date to my run and coffee/breakie after and he said yes and came to my run 🙂 🙂

One of my running buddies offered to pace me 🙂 We’ll start off at a slow and steady pace for the first km or so he said.. mmhmm, his idea of slow and steady was my idea of ‘holy hell this is fast!’ He kept me at a steady rhythm with target goals along the way and a mantra to play out in my head. I noticed my date overtake us at some point and I was thinking – awesome, he’s faster than me! I spotted him as he was heading back after the turn around point and he stopped to take an action shot of me (there’s also a really nice shot of my date guy and I after the run – but I won’t post that just yet – early days people 🙂 ) Oh and I got that PB by 10 seconds!

running at ParkRun
My final 55-59 timed run and I got that PB and was first in my age category – thanks to my pacing buddy and everyone at my ParkRun cheering me on!

Then date guy and I went for coffee and breakfast afterwards. Really good conversation and he is lovely. We talked for ages, but I had to cut it short as it was my birthday party day and I had to get organised. He messaged me later in the day with photos and a thank you and on the mad spur of the moment I invited him to swing by my birthday party that evening. He said he’d love to and he did! He was totally at ease with my family and friends and they all loved him. So, how’s that for a first date? Running in the morning, celebrating my birthday in the evening AND running the gauntlet of my family and friends! What a guy, he’s a keeper – am I right?

Musings on turning 60

Turning 60 is awesome, I love milestone birthdays, it’s always an excuse to celebrate, throw a party and have everyone pamper you – what’s not to love? What’s even better is that at my party some of my friends gave me cards to celebrate my 50th and one thought it was my 40th (bless!!). I guess all that exercise and healthy eating and keeping a positive mind-set (and for sure I know that is not always easy, I speak from personal experience) has stood me in good stead for where I am at right here and right now.

There were some beautiful and thoughtful gifts, my daughter bought me a Kobo (an eReader). I’d previously not been keen as I love ‘real’ books – however I have literally run out of bookshelves and the books piling up everywhere looks a bit like I should open a second hand bookstore before I (and the mutts) disappear under the pile 😛

So here are a couple of party pics for y’all – take care, look after each other and if you’re approaching a milestone birthday – enjoy and eat that cake!! xoxo

I’m the one on the left with long hair – I’m harder to recognise when I’m not in my activewear!
Eat that cake!!

 

It’s the New Year! Time to get healthy y’all

Health and Illness

It’s been a while since my last post and here we are one week into 2017!! How is that even possible? It’s been a roller coaster ride in life for me since I last talked with y’all. Being all super healthy and fit I found it really challenging coz I kept getting sick last winter (June/July/Aug over here in Oz).

I hardly ever get sick and I am nowhere near stoic or able to deal… I am more the whiny, miserable sort. Which was pretty pointless as there’s only really George to listen to me moan and complain – mind you, he is a pretty awesome listener and he’d just snuggle up with me when I couldn’t even get my head off the pillow.

George the Therapy Dog
George and Me – click here to follow George  You can follow George on his Facebook page

Lurve Update y’all…

Sad to say my relationship went belly up last year too and not just once – it turned into that horrible relationship game that some folk play – pull me/push me! He’d get real close and I’d be all like “naaaw… this is so lovely – he loooves me!!” then Bam! He’d end it without warning and I was left reeling. And like I just said, not just the once!

D’oh, you’d think I’d learn the first time – you know the saying “once bitten – run the hell away and don’t look back” well that’s not exactly the right saying, but it sure as hell should be!! 

broken heart
ouch – so much ouch!!

So what’s next?

But hey!! I gotta keep moving, running, hiking, swimming, working (gotta earn George’s dog bix), loving – yeah that too, I am truly the eternal optimist! I’m back to dating, no-one special yet, but I’ll keep y’all posted on that later on (going on a date this afternoon – so hey, maybe, possibly and if nothing else a coffee and conversation with a nice guy).. umm back from that one and uhh, hmmm – nope!

Running, just keep running

Still running and loving it and my running buddy Kerry and I did our first stint as Event Traffic Controllers this summer for our running club and had fun keeping the runners from getting squished by impatient, jerky drivers who just have to drive right through a running event – ha!! Not on our watch buddy!

 

 

 

if you can just change that one thing…

I was talking with my friend Katie at work the other day and she was commenting on how lucky I am because I look fit and healthy. I often get told that or that my metabolism must be really fast, well hell no, my metabolism is the same as any woman aged in her 50s. I work at staying fit and healthy – sometimes it’s easy and sometimes not so much…

Anyway, back to Katie. She was saying that she felt unhealthy, overweight and tired all the time. She said that she often was too tired to cook a meal after work and would swing by the local take-out on the way home.

no junk foodShe also said she didn’t have much time for exercise (so many people tell me that – but really it’s how you choose to prioritize your time – we all have the exact same amount of time in a day, I have another friend, Emma, who is a single mom and she throws the baby in the buggy and goes for a jog with her every morning. Me – I used to enroll my daughter in swim class and then go do laps). swimming laps

 

 

 

 

Katie also told me that she has a 500ml (roughly a pint) of flavored choc milk every day around mid morning to get her through to lunch time. She said she felt almost addicted to it, wanted to cut it out, but felt unable to do that and wanted to know if I could give her some tips on how to stop.

My response was – well don’t. She looked really astonished at that and I said, clearly you have a bit of an addiction to the sugar and chemical additives in the milk, so if you just stop you will end up craving it,  buying it and feel like you have been defeated. I suggested she try to go one day without it – not change anything else, just try for one day. Then I said if that works then try every other day to cut it back and see how you go. I also threw in that if she could work in a walk at lunchtime or after work, that would also be good.

inspiration

Three weeks later Katie came looking for me and said, hey you know what? that actually worked… she managed one day, realized that it was doable and then she cut back to every second or third day. Then she grinned at me and said – I’ve cut it out altogether – I don’t need it and I could quit it! She had also lost a little weight and felt better about herself because she proved to herself she could make that one single change. And she had taken up going for a regular walk at lunchtime AND after work! 🙂 🙂 🙂