6 weeks in: still going strong. On my right side, anyway.

Hey hey hey!

Just dropping in to say hi, as I realised I've been a little blog quiet for 3 weeks!  Eeek!  As always I'm still over-sharing pretty much daily on my Instagram, but 3 weeks is a little too long

Hill walk/runs after boot camp. Getting it done.

between posts here, sorry!

Overall, I'm going well.  Operation Comeback is still in full swing.  It's been six weeks.  I don't believe I have ever, in my 18 years of weight issues, ever been this consistent.  There was one day I had a few unplanned chocolates.  And I'll talk about this weekend in another post.

But aside from that, I have not faltered.  As at last weigh in, I'd lost 7.4kg since I started on 1st January.  Pretty damn proud of myself.

I think there's two main things that have helped me not stray: My planned 'calorie free days'.  'Calorie free days' are the Kate version of treat meals...extended.  They did wonders for me a year ago when I was on an amazing little streak (I explain how they work briefly in this post). I've officially done the 'Cal free day' thing for the past year, but it hasn't done it's trick.  But this year, it's been working. 

The other thing that's working, is that I'm determined to get to goal weight.  That's all.  I want it so bad, that even though I sometimes do want to stray, I want to be at goal more, so I don't stray.

Sounds simple, but really I'm a consistent fail-er who's just finally, so far anyway, managed to get myself together to make this work.

Amidst my 6 weeks, I started the 12WBT February Round on the 2nd Feb, but I'm panicking a bit as I still haven't finished my Pre-season tasks!  I don't know what to do.  Well, actually, I do.  And that is to just bloody do them!  I'm a little behind in things at the moment. :(  I'll report back on that soon.

So, for the first 4 weeks of this year, I consistently ate within my calories, and trained every single day (apart from Rest Days).  Each day I've pretty much burnt 800 calories.

Fight Club (boot camp). That is all I'm allowed to say.

I have never done this before!  The food factor is one miracle, but the exercise side is a whole other.  It's another thing that I've never consistently mastered.  Ever.  Until 2015. :)

I think what's worked for me here so far, is that I just make sure I get it done.  Every day, no matter what, I just ensure I train to my 'calories burnt goal.'  One night I went for a run around the streets around my house at 11pm (I realised this was stupid ie. dangerous soon into the

It was my birthday and boot camp gave me these <3

run, and ran home to finish training indoors, but the intention was honourable).  There's been many days that I've been just so tired, but I've gotten up anyway.  One day it flooded, but I continued running through the water to get it done.  I had a 3 day work trip and traipsed around Sydney for hours, pounding the pavement in my minimal time on the ground.  

Stuff like that.  Nothing dramatic, but I've just adopted the 'no excuses' ideal and have been doing it (all), without thinking.  The habit formed over the first few weeks and just continues to get easier.

Note that I said I trained consistently for '4 weeks', not the 6 I've been on track for?

:(

That's because I have an injury.

And it sux.

I don't know exactly what's wrong yet but it's my knee.  My GP believes it's overuse, but I think there may be something more seriously wrong.  I wasn't entirely convinced when he

R.I.C.E.

gave me his verdict.  I decided to go with his advice, with plans to see my Osteo and/or a specialist if it didn't improve.  

I have now been on 'partial rest' or 'light exercise duties' for 2 weeks now.  The whole of this round: literally, I woke up on the morning of Day 1, Week 1, and that was the first day I couldn't train. :(  I spent the day elevating it and icing it, and went to my GP the next day when I got home (I was away for work when it started really playing up).

And it still hasn't gotten better.  The doc suggested a few days of minimal activity.  Two weeks later, I'm still waiting.  For 2 weeks, all I have done is boot camp 2-3 times a week, and have done very minimal stuff while there: basically only upper body.  We've had to modify a lot, and I just do what I can and haven't pushed myself at all.  Aside from that, I've done nothing.  I haven't walked, ran or done stairs for the whole 2 weeks.  It's really, really hard not having that exhausted and sweaty 'I pushed myself to my limit' feeling at the end of each session.  I'm burning decent calories still, and still doing something, but it's a little deflating not being able to do any more when I really want to.

On a positive note, I'm proud that I've been taking care of my injury.  I've been taking anti-inflammatories and resting it and trying to be patient.  I had an interesting couple of days

Hotel room pre-workout mirror selfies

with my knee this weekend: I had registered for the 5km Brooks Fun Run at Triathlon Pink Brisbane, that was on today.

On Friday I knew I had to make a decision: could I even run it?  I hadn't been able to walk (any decent distance I mean - I've been getting around fine) for 2 weeks; was my knee going to hold up to a 5km run?

On Friday morning I went for a walk.  It was probably only 200m max.  I also ran part of the way to test how that felt.  I knew straight away that I shouldn't do it.  I was pretty (very) disappointed - long term / regular readers will know how determined I am and that I don't let ANYTHING stand in my way when it comes to completing events.

But I sometimes try the 'being smart' thing, and so resigned myself immediately to the fact that I would be walking it.

However, Friday night and all day yesterday (Saturday), my knee was aching.  I think it was probably from me testing it out...and exacerbated by me (as carefully as I could), chasing my 2 year old niece <3 around an indoor playground.  I had to walk for 1km (to get to my car) on Saturday morning, and that was also a test: that was the longest I had walked in 2 weeks.  I

Before injury struck a couple of weeks ago

coped, but it wasn't good timing to have to do that after it had been aching the night before.

Augh.

I didn't want to do more damage or prolong whatever's wrong even more, so I spent a lot of time trying to work out an alternative for today.  Obviously, I could have simply just not done it.

But you know me, there's often a way around things and I at least need to try.  I don't give in that easy.  I was annoyed at myself for being so pig headed about it: I don't know why I wanted to do this event so much.  My friend suggested it's because there were BIG PINK medals at the finish line, and yeah, that's pretty much it. ;)  I was chatting to another friend today though and I realised that it was also something else: This day last year was my crazy day where I did a 5km fun run and 2 triathlons in the same day.  I don't do tri's anymore, and I very happily made that decision for myself, so it's fine.  But today, 1 year later, I was choosing to only do the 5km run: and now I maybe couldn't even do that??  I think I was doing a bit of comparing of myself, to me last year.  Ok, I wasn't doing 3 events or anything crazy, this was just one 5km run.  But not being able to even do that, was hard to deal with.

Also 14 of my friends were doing their first triathlons today (so amazing!) and I think that probably added to my little determination to get my BIG PINK medal in the one event I was

What keeps me going

going to do this time?

Soul searching aside, I started to get creative with my ideas.  I chatted to my mum and I asked her advice.  I thought of using crutches, but I thought that would look pretty bad and I'd get a lot of hate mail so quickly scrapped that idea!  My mum didn't want me to do it at all, but I pressed her for creative alternatives, and the best she could come up with after a skateboard idea, was to borrow someone's scooter, and use my good leg to push me along....

Apart from the fact I don't know if that would have even be allowed on course, I decided that it just wouldn't be a good look, and the mere fact I was considering these things was becoming sign enough that I really shouldn't compete at all.

But I'm so damn determined, I wanted that BIG PINK medal, and there had to be another way!  One of my favourite quotes is Martin Luther King's:

And I've had those words going through my head constantly.  I would have literally crawled the course if crawling didn't involve knee pressure!  When I got to my roly poly'ing (body rolling) the course option, I realised I had to stop thinking of crazy ideas and be, umm, normal.  So here's what I said to myself that I was going to do:

I had to fake jump for today's photo :)

-There was a 2.5km option, as well as the 5km.  I was going to downgrade to that event.
-I was going to turn up today.
-If I felt ok I was going to go over the Start line.
-I was going to walk: very slowly.
-And if it hurt at all, even the slightest twinge, then I was going to stop immediately.

It's a fine line between dog determination and wanting big pink medals; and being smart about my body.  This was my compromise.

So being sensible to a degree, that's what I did.  I was part of an inspiring group of 12WBT women, who we called ourselves 'Tri Royalty', and one of the girls in that, Nikita, offered to walk with me. <3  So Nikita, her fiance and myself, set off, Bambi-fragile-Kate setting the pace.

And I made it. :)  I got the whole way (33:01 for 2.5km) with absolutely no pain.  I was so envious seeing everyone else with those glistening post-run eyes :(  but I still ended up actually being so proud of myself.  This is the 3rd year in a row that I've done one of the Pinkie Tri events in Brisbane.  Every year has been different.  

My little cheersquad <3

-2013's event was an incredible day where it was my 3rd tri, and I finally did one that didn't involve hysterical tearful breakdowns, because I did it in a group of supportive women who didn't leave my side.

-2014's events were the ones I mentioned above, where I really pushed myself and I felt like Superwoman earning 3 medals before lunch.

-And now the 2015 event, I realised, was something I should have been just as proud of.  Ok, barely hobbling 2.5km at a snails pace pales in significance to the other 2 years, but I achieved something.  I worked with what I had, and did what I could do, under the circumstances.  Yes, I seem to get worse with things rather than improve :/  but hey, non-perfect one, that is ok.  We do what we can.  I'm so proud of myself, the Tri Royalty gang and my other friends who were competing today: everyone did so, so well.  I teared up so many times today seeing people's faces as they pushed themselves, and watching them realise what they could achieve. <3

I'm seeing my Osteo this week and will hopefully get an X-ray or something, as something is

Tri Royalty!

not right.  I'm trying not to scare myself or jump to conclusions, but I'm quietly terrified that it could mean the 'S' word: surgery.  Apparently my grandfather, mum and brother have all had knee surgery for what sounds very much like I have. :(  I'll keep you updated.  My 2015 running dreams haven't been smashed just yet :(

It's been hard not exercising so much every day when I had finally gotten on a roll: but I know that this is me managing an injury, and certainly not me just being slack and going off track.  I've done that so many times in the past, that I worry that my brain will get the two mixed up.  I just have to keep reminding myself that this partial down time is different to previous down times.  I am not off track ....it just feels the same.

On a brighter note, one cool thing to happen a few weeks ago was that I got to spend the day at 12WBT HQ with the team!  It was the most incredible day and it made my whole

Me with Gorgeous Gabi

month.  This is the program that got me out of where I was at, and continues to do so.  I have so much love for the program, so to spend the day with the team made me feel like I was going backstage at my favourite bands concert. ;)  Julie, Gabi and the team looked after me so, so well and made me feel so welcome.  I even got to go to one of Gabi's yoga classes while I was there!  She is amazing and she made me realise that a good instructor is worth their weight in gold and can make your session.  Any 12WBT'ers reading this, I'm sure you already know, but trust me that the team behind your program do care: they have hearts of gold.

On another bright note, guess who became a Garmin girl last week??  My beloved Polar has finally had it's last day, so after a couple of months of really wanting a Garmin, a couple of weeks of doing my research, a bit of birthday

My 1st Garmin workout :)

money and ringing 24 (!) stores around Brisbane before I could find someone who had it in stock, I went and got it.  Because of the rest factor, I haven't really used it too much yet, but I am sure I will be sharing more purple watch face photos very soon.  (It is awesome). :)

In other Kate / weight news, there's one major thing that's happened over the past 2 weeks that has had a huge impact on my weight loss journey, but I'm not ready to blog about it yet.  (I want to, I just don't know how to articulate what I want to say just yet).  So expect a post on that soon....

Anyway, for a 'quick' update, this is actually quite long.  Like there is a real surprise there.... But I will sign off now.  I'll be back in the next few days and report back in about the next step in my injury; how I actually tackle the pre-season tasks; tell you something else about this weekend; and let it all out about the major thing I just mentioned...

Elevator selfie series...

Hope you've had / are having an awesome weekend.  6 weeks into 2015 and 2 weeks into the February round for those doing it...hope you're all going well, and simply working with what you have.  That's all we can do.  Love Coco Girl xoxo 

The BIG PINK medal :)