Sport -

Your People

November 13, 2016
By: Melissa

On Friday afternoon I was asked to fill in for a touch team that night at 6.30pm.

I’d never played for this team before.

Didn’t really know who was in it.

Playing meant delaying Friday drinks. I say that like it’s an ‘occasion’ but it’s really Dave and I avoiding the children’s bedtime with a can in hand and pretending we’re loving life at the minute until we can’t stand the kids fighting a moment longer! So yes, playing meant delaying drinks for an hour or so as my mediocre skill level doesn’t really need alcohol impeding my performance anymore than natural selection already has.

However, playing meant leaving the house at 6pm and avoiding bedtime altogether.

Naturally I said yes.

So our touch rugby team plays at the club on Thursdays, it’s a busy night, lots of teams and lots of our friends. Friday touch is still at our local club, literally a stones throw from our house, but has a smaller league of teams and I had no idea who would be there.

I left the house in a usual ‘Mum-dithery-rush’ carrying nothing which was entirely refreshing as I’ve had to lower myself to using an Iphone 4s whilst my beautiful Samsung is getting a new screen installed. LIFE IS SO HARD RIGHT NOW, DAMN YOU TINY PHONE!

Needless to say the phone stayed at home and Dave ended up chasing after me with $20 in case I wanted to stay for a drink. Some people won $44 million in Lotto this week, we won $109!!! Cash rich yo.

The point to this schpiel is thus; you might have daughters, in which case, a place you might find yourself often could be a ballet studio, or slumped in the stands watching hours on end of gymnastics, or freezing your tits off alongside a netball court all winter. I have two boys and live one street over from a rugby club, ergo, we are there ALL the damn time. Wherever you find yourself because of your kids or your job or your husband, or your parents, make friends, make those people your people. Take the opportunity to get out of the house on a Friday night when the last thing you want to do is run around wondering if your muffin top is escaping the compression tights yet and throw a freaking ball!

Because the person catching it just might want to sit down afterwards and have a beer and talk about Donald Fucking Trump or tattoos, or kids – subjects you could go on about for hours.

Find your people wherever life has landed you. They are there, I guarantee it. They might not look like you or your preconceived notion of what your tribe should look like but they are there and they are quite possibly awesome.

Let me know when you find them xx

PS love you Old Spice, On Target and all you other westie randoms that make our club so rad x

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Things I’ve learned about Saturday Sport

October 5, 2016
By: Melissa

Our 5th season as rugby parents has just come to a close, and with that our washing machine, gumboots, weekday evenings and Saturday mornings breathe a collective sigh of relief!

Don’t get me wrong, we LOVE rugby, but it’s a big commitment at J1 level – and the commitment is required by the whole family, not just Ethan.

In terms of wins, it wasn’t the greatest season for the team. In terms of intangible personal growth and the cementing of lifelong friendships for both players and their parents (I hope!) – it was a cracker season.

That’s the beauty of sport. For boys Ethan’s age, (those navigating the notoriously up-and-down pre-teen Chasm of Angst) having an outlet that is theirs is a must. They need to be able to forget about who they are ‘supposed’ to be at school or at home, forget about the pressure of growing up while still feeling like a little boy at times and simply focus on a single ball – without the distractions of homework, chores and devices.

Sport can be an amazing respite for both growing minds and parents alike!

Things I’ve learnt about Saturday Sports

It doesn’t matter which sport it is, it’s ALL good. Sports code snobbery exists to some degree, other parents will tell you up and down that soccer/rugby/hockey is the absolute BEST sport for EVERY kid. Ignore. The best sport is the one your child enjoys! Ethan played 2 seasons of soccer before transitioning to rugby and enjoyed every second of it.
You can only be *THAT* parent for so long before your loud, bad attitude gets you kicked off the field and your kid is embarrassed by your sideline coaching/bullying. Just don’t go there guys!
Tired kids can’t hang. It’s so tempting to throw bedtimes out the door on Friday night, but it might pay to reconsider how late you let your little athlete stay up. Kids enjoy their activities so much more when they are full of energy and can give 100%.
You’re going to get cold and wet. Really wet. Always keep a large umbrella in your car and expect game time to be colder than you think.
Kids playing field sports will get muddier than you can possibly imagine. Keep a plastic bin in the car for muddy boots and gear and wrap kids up on old towels for the ride home.
Just like their mates Tired Kids, Hungry Kids struggle to get up and at ‘em on the sports field. Make time for breakfast before the game, even if it means cutting your Saturday sleep-in a bit short (I’ve heard sleeping in exists but it’s a total myth in my house lol). Also be prepared for ravenous kids after the match. Pack some easily portable, nutritious snacks such as nuts, fruit, vege sticks plus plenty of water. Pro-Tip: a warm thermos of MILO will do wonders for chilled hands and tummies plus has a 4.5 star health rating!

Choosing wellness for ourselves and our families is something that we all consider (and are reminded of constantly!) but honestly, sometimes it becomes difficult to prioritize and can seem really overwhelming, especially when you’re doing the parenting juggling act!

Implementing one small change at a time can help make lasting differences. For example, using the points above, focus on earlier bedtimes for the whole family (Mum and Dad included!) one week, try working on better – more relaxed/more nutritious/less stressy breakfasts the following week.

For more inspiration and lots of tips to help you make small, positive changes in your life take the Nestlé Choose Wellness Quiz here.

Win with Nestle!

If you would like to win an amazing Nestlé Prize Pack valued at $150, share a small change you’d like to make in the comments below. NZ residents only, competition closes 15/10/16. For a second chance to enter visit click here > Winter Rugby – Our Kiwi Saturday Morning Ritual

Please see full competition Terms & Conditions below.

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My Mum Body

September 23, 2016
By: Melissa

Like many (MANY) Mondays, I woke this week determined to pay for the excesses of the weekend.

Tell me I’m not the only repeat offender who does this?

There was a bit of carb-fest on Sunday as we hibernated, watched a movie and lazed around with the kids after a fairly epic Saturday night farewelling the 2016 rugby season with Dave’s team formal at the club.

So, in full My-Body-is-my-Temple-mode, I punched out a steady 5.5km run on Monday with Dave pushing Nixie in the stroller. I’m always about 15 paces behind Dave and was harassed by a retired gentleman who noted that it looked like Dave was doing all the hard work! Bastard! I tried to think of a snappy retort but let’s face it, even if inspiration had struck it wasn’t like I had any puff in me to yell it over my shoulder at him.

He’ll keep.

It wasn’t the fastest run, I did get a little distracted by Pokemon along the way, but I did it. And I felt quite good! Knowing that I’d be writing a blog post for Berlei this week – you’re reading it now fyi – I thought, this is the perfect time to get an authentic, subtle, Mummy-appropriate snap of one of my new Berlei sports bras.

Instead, and all my self-conscious sensibilities are screaming at me NOT to post this image on the internet, I got this picture;

Nixon, having a fan-freaking-tastic time (I mean LITERALLY almost in tears he was giggling so much!) investigating the momentous squishiness of Mummy’s Big Boom-Boom Tummy – his words NOT mine! I’m a toddler stress ball I guess. I would add that to my Linkedin profile if I actually thought anyone looked at minor Mummy Blogger profiles!

So, here’s the truth, I HATE that belly, I despise my thighs and I really, really dislike the bingo-wings that have shown up recently.

I have a Mum Bod. And, it’s not one of the Beautiful Mum Bods either. But it’s mine and it still likes, and is able to run and play touch rugby and surf and dance on a Saturday night every now and then.

Mums and their Mum Bod’s need sports bras too. There’s a lot of wobbling that goes on when I decide to work-out and this makes me feel even more self-conscious. The secret to minimising my wobbles and therefore maximising my exercise motivation is twofold; compression tights and a really, really amazing sports bra. Which is where Berlei come in, I mean if they’re the only bras Serena Williams trusts then who am I to argue?

By removing some/all of the factors that can cause you to be self-conscious you can focus your mental energy on the task at hand – actually completing your goal distance, making it to the next lamppost before you stop running, getting out there day after day in the pursuit of health. Not a thigh-gap, or abs, but simple health.

If my boobs are protected and aren’t bouncing and my thighs aren’t rubbing together and eating a pair of too short running shorts, then I feel comfortable and that means that I’ll get back out there the next day, and hopefully, the next day after that. That’s a Mum win right?

Berlei is the #1 sports bra brand in New Zealand and their new range is both totally gorgeous and serious about reducing breast bounce, up to 60%! I breast-fed two kids and am now a c-cup so I’m pretty keen to minimise the trauma my boobs have to go through on a day-to-day basis – Mums need support too!

These are my two faves from the new range and the bras I’ll be wearing this season for touch rugby and running; (L) Shift Contour Bra (those straps are SO wide and comfy!) and (R) the Electrify Underwire Bra. Both have convertible straps which is awesome for those hot summer touch rugby games and killer runs where you have to wear a tank top or pass out from heat exhaustion!

Both are available now from Farmers in store and online.

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Parenting – The Jump Off

June 30, 2016
By: Melissa

The past month, our first with our treasured Springfree Trampoline, has flown by with a blur of little noses pressed to the windows, assessing the rain, the temperature, the amount of towels left in the linen cupboard to dry off the tramp’s mat for the 4th time in a day………….(OMG rain!).

#tgomalife is real guys and my boys have caught the bug HARD.

And when I say my boys, I really mean the whole family. We are some jumping fools/beans.

When you initially look at the tgoma technology, it’s really easy to get caught up and distracted by the gaming aspect of it. Yes, this is a super cool and pretty revolutionary gaming platform, but, to me the real value of tgoma lies in the activity tracking benefits.

The ability to track jumps, jump time, energy burnt and height jumped, PLUS create custom goals for each user is invaluable to me.

I’m a very quantitative person – numbers, measurement and statistics just speak to me lol! If I’m able to measure my own exercise whilst engaging with my kids as we take turns battling fruity mutants on the tramp, then I’m going to spend more time outside playing with the boys. Some parents find ‘playtime’ difficult, I’m not scared to admit I’m one of them, but I now find that I’m the instigator of more and more trampoline time because our Springfree is just about our favourite thing ever!

Secondly, we have big boys, not huge by any means, but bigger than average, and destined for the forward pack where Ethan currently plays prop. Dave and I are alway trying to keep them active and we’re loving being able to set goals for E to achieve before he embarks upon more ‘sedentary’ leisure activities. 20 minutes, 300 jumps, kilojoules burned, the choice is yours, it’s all measured and tracked.

To have a little fun this week I challenged Dave and Ethan to a Family Jump Off. We were to use the tgoma to track our individual jumps over 5 days, with the goal of being the Jack Family Jump Off Champ!

Of course winter sickness and rain hampered our efforts but we pressed on – take a look at the video to see how the Jump Off panned out and who logged the most jumps!

Win an iPad Mini with tgoma Springfree! CLOSED

Congratulations Kelly Blackie!

This prize is ahhh-mazing so you’re going to have to work for it! – 10 jumps on the spot NOW!

Just joking.

What you DO have to do, is head to the Springfree website > click here, read all about tgoma, then come back and comment below with one of the many features of the tgoma app. Easy right?

You can enter as many times as you like in separate comments. For an extra chance to win you can also comment on the first tgoma blog post here AND triple your chances by heading to Facebook and commenting on the tgoma post here.

Competition closes 10/7/16 @ 10pm. NZ residents only.

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Run Fail

February 15, 2016
By: Melissa

I’ve sitting down thinking hard about the run I just returned from.

It was supposed to be 6km. It was 4km.

It was supposed to be fast. It was slow.

I imagined it to be moderate. It absolutely nailed me.

I quit after 4km and walked home.

Run Fail.

But it’s not really is it? 4km is a damn sight better than 0km, reality just failed to live up to my expectations this morning. And that’s life I suppose. Goals are not always met on the first attempt and though I wasn’t running to further my distance or better a time this morning I was expecting to be able to hit 5km at least!

Running has been by far the most difficult activity I’ve ever engaged in. More so than surfing even. For me it’s a constant struggle of mind vs body, will vs won’t, love it hate it. That’s what I never expected when I laced up my sneaks and started running a year ago. I thought it would get easier, that I’d get to a certain point and it would be all onwards and upwards. Instead, I feel like I begin every run not knowing whether I’ll be able to complete it or not. What I do know is that without Dave’s help and motivation I would have packed it in a long time ago.

SO, that’s the only advice I can give you if you’re thinking about starting to run – find someone to share the journey with. I’m sure everyone has their off days and having someone to lean on a little when you really, really can’t be assed makes getting out of the door a teensy bit easier.

So, after a year, I’m still not ‘there’, wherever ‘there’ is. I still don’t feel like I can call myself a runner, I sure as hell don’t feel or look like a runner and to be honest, those 5kgs I started running to lose haven’t budged one inch.

Shit.

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Set a Goal – 5 Reasons to Enter a Fitness Event……NOW!

November 18, 2015
By: Melissa

On Sunday I finished my first ever, road running event.

This was my second fitness event – I ran the Mud Run back in winter. So a lifetime total of TWO events! In one year!

I actually can’t believe it!

The Skechers Women’s 6k was a game changer for me. After a cracking summer of running and a great autumn, winter became the massive mental hurdle I had dreaded. Entering my first road run 5 weeks out gave me the motivation to kick my ass back into gear and start taking my running seriously again.

The event itself was amazing. The Cloud played host to thousands of women and their families so well. There was ample room for everyone, a great warmup, plenty of accessible toilets and vendors providing drinks and food, JJ Harvey was a fantastic MC and the vibe was just SO good! Women as far as the eye could see, endorphin pumped ladies ready to run, run/walk or just walk the flat 6km course that is perfect for any level of fitness. I entered with three goals in mind and managed to smash 2 of them (I ran 6km in 32.32!!! My fastest pace ever!). Other women I know entered simply to see if they could complete the 6km. They did and they felt fabulous for doing so let me tell you!

Let’s talk about the course. I’m sure it was gorgeous – I mean waterfront Auckland is hard to beat, but the truth is, I didn’t look at the water once. Not. One. Peek. So you’ll just have to enter next year and check it out for yourself lol. The Skecher’s course is definitely a runners dream, wide pavement on one side plus an open lane on the road. Makes for a fast course if that’s your jam. Not entirely flat, there is an incline at about the 2 and 4 km marks which you can definitely feel when you’re running, it’s little but it nailed me!

The logistics of getting to The Cloud and ready to run by 8am were such a non-event. I was thinking about bussing but decided to drive and I’m so glad I did. For the first time in my life I got a park on the ground floor(!) of my fave Victoria St carpark and enjoyed a casual stroll though a very peaceful Auckland City on a Sunday at 7.15 am. Another first! Total parking cost $6.

So. Do it friends! Set a goal and make some positive changes. Having an event on a particular date to work towards definitely helps keep you motivated and on track, it’s also a little bit addictive – I’m already thinking about entering another event plus I know I’ll be back next year to run the Skecher’s again!

5 Reasons to Enter a Fitness Event……NOW!

Trying new things is fun and super important. We are creatures of habit and I’m sure you’ve got a few habits that could use replacing just like I do right? Switch them out for some new, healthful habits and start a chain-reaction of positivity in your life.
Giving yourself opportunities to make YOURSELF proud is a rare thing as an adult. Completing a physical challenge or distance for the first time is a sure-fire way to get you feeling good about being you!
Your fitness and physical health is a great reason in itself to enter an event! It doesn’t matter who you are or what body you’re in, DOING MORE STUFF is always good for you!
Find your tribe. Committing to an event is a great way to find and meet likeminded people all working towards the same goal. Friends are cool and working out together makes sweating and turning red and stinky a little more enjoyable!
Goody bags! If nothing else so far has you convinced, remember; there are always goody bags full of awesome products to take home and try (or scoff in the car after you have finished the run like me lol!)

Here’s a pretty version for pinning or sharing to Facebook!

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The Running Gear that Gets Me Moving

November 12, 2015
By: Melissa

The Skecher’s Women’s 6k is now only 4 days away! I’ve upped my training over the past few weeks with Coach (hubby lol) and I’m feeling pretty good about it – excited even! I rarely get to run such a straight, flat course so I can’t wait, my usual routes around our neighbourhood are short straights with twists and turns onto little road after little road. It drives me crazy!

I’m such a routine based runner, that my gear, and the habitual use of it every time I run is really important to me. My head still beats me on many days, I can be turned off going for a run by a flat battery in one of my gadgets, the slightest sprinkle of rain or legs that are a touch sore from the day before. Terrible I know!

So, here’s a roundup of the gear I’m loving, and the gear that’s keeping me on track and accountable;

My No-Fail Running Kit

Skechers Go Run Ride 4

My first pair of Skechers and I’m running a 6k in them! The Ride 4’s are a much more low-profile shoe than the NB pronators I usually run in so I was a bit scared to be honest! I needn’t have been as these are some good, great, really good runners. They’re lightweight, snug around the heel and achilles, fitting through the arch but with lots of freedom in the toe area. Did I mention they’re light? Because they are really, really light. And flexible, much more so than any other shoe I’ve ever worn.

A great choice for those who err towards minimalist shoes, there’s lots of tech here but it’s cleverly integrated into a feather-weight formula that’s lovely to run in.

I can’t find these on the Skechers NZ website, but was fitted in-store by Summer, store manager at Skechers Albany. She was super helpful, listened to my preferences and brought me an awesome range of shoes to try on and work through. I’d highly recommend taking the time to get fitted!

Triumph Triaction Sports Bras

I actually just want to rave about these bras, seriously. I’ve been wearing Triaction wired bras to play touch in for the past 3 years after always wearing crops for sport. There is NO comparison, especially if you are a C+ cup. I will never, ever go back to wearing a crop style top. I’ve mentioned before that I’m totally not a Boob Girl. When I’m running or playing touch the thought of the girls wobbling around makes me want to stay in bed. Things need to be locked up tight, I’ve got enough loose parts without feeling self-conscious and uncomfortable about my boobs.

The two bras I’ve been training in are the Endurance and Performance. I love them equally (with ALL the heart-eye emojis!). You can cross the straps at the back for added support, but seriously, NO BOUNCE. At all. Please try one of these bras on, you will not look back!

Available at quite a few places but def try Rebel Sport, Bras ‘n Things and Farmers.

Lululemon Active Wear

Ahhhh lord I love my active wear. It’s a fact. And most of all, I love Lululemon active wear. I’ve always loved running in compression tights, it’s just my thing. When I wear shorts I find I’m forever fussing with them and pulling down the hem……plus, much like the bra situation above, compression fabric means no wobbles. Win.

So, my training gear has included the Tight Stuff 7/8 Tights ($165) which are described as ‘moderate compression’. I would rate these higher than that, they are freaking awesome! Technically top level with tonnes of value adds, such as reflective detailing, stash pockets and the amaze sweat wicking Luxtreme fabric. Described as high rise, I find they are not, or at least not on me. Which is unfortunate as I feel like they are falling down the whole time I’m running. They’re not of course, they are just sitting in a low-rise position, leaving mum-tum free to roam, groan. That’s my only complaint, what’s not to love about tiny scalloped detailing on the hem?!

On the top half, it was love at first sight when I laid eyes on the Vent it Out Singlet ($79). The fishtail detail on the open back is sublime and the Swift Ultra-Light fabric is nothing short of joyous to wear. I’m not exaggerating I promise! The fall is perfection and non clingy. You cannot go past this tank in terms of looks and comfort.

Fitbit Surge™ Fitness Super Watch

I’m a total gadget geek. I’m also a completely quantitative, competitive soul. Needless to say, I need to know my pace and distance at all times throughout a run…….I’ll totally sprint the last km if it means I’ll make a timing goal. I’ve been using a Garmin 220, and just switched camps to the Fitbit Surge ™ over the past week. There really isn’t too much in common with these two, totally different creatures. The Surge™ combines elements of a smart watch with the functionality of a pretty comprehensive sports tracker. It relies a lot more on integration with the app on my Note 4 than the 220. For example, I can’t seem to review prior activity on the tracker itself, I need to go into the app to do that. The touch screen is kind of amazing, I love it and the UI is relatively simple to get your head around.

It’s a big device. I don’t mind that as I like chunky, heavy watches and jewellery, but the size may be too much for some women. I feel like I’ve only scraped the surface of what this watch can do so I’m excited to find out more when I reconnect with the team from Fitbit this week.

I’m loving the social features the app provides! Within hours of setting it up I had found my friends and been invited to participate in a Weekday Challenge to get my step-count up. This makes working out fun!

Honorable Mentions

My BFF’s, Plantronics Backbeat FIT wireless headphones have quite simply changed running for me, cable-free music is liberating! These guys pair easily via bluetooth plus are sweat proof, flexible and super comfortable. So good I bought a second pair for Dave.

Spotify Premium – Dave and I are both addicted to this amaze service (neither of us can run without music) which allows you to make your playlists available offline, so you’re not slogging through your data whilst running. An essential service IMO.

There you have it! My running go-to-gears, all of which I’ll be sporting on Sunday at the Skechers Women’s 6k, entries don’t close until midnight on the 13th so there’s still time to get in on this awesome event. Read more about my running journey here. Hope to see you on Sunday!

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Tough Gal 2015. I did it, in body if not mind

June 29, 2015
By: Melissa

The irony of completing this years Tough Gal challenge to close out one of the most difficult weeks I’ve had in recent memory is not lost on me I assure you. The poignancy of it, the lovely group of women I did the event with and, let’s be honest, the fact that I fucking killed it with no training (!) has helped strengthen my resolve this week and get my head back in the game. At the very least I am aiming not to cry for the next seven days!

The past week was a nightmare of scheduling, events, appointments, meetings, sports, kindy visits, play dates, volunteer obligations, a tragic funeral and a running race. Combine that with a toddler who is transitioning out of his daily nap and the resulting sleep schedule has seen me up in the middle of the night multiple evenings or just sleeping beside Nixie’s cot on the floor, passed out from sheer exhaustion.

Let’s throw in a little bit of blog drama shall we? I learnt a lesson this week (I actually learnt it twice fml!) and it’s one that any aspiring blogger needs to learn quick and fast; nothing online belongs to you. Your ideas, your posts, your creative vision, something you’ve worked so hard on for months……it can all be taken, tweaked, a new label put on it and it’s gone. Anything you post online is fair game and there’s nothing you can do about it. Don’t be fooled, the blogging game in New Zealand is small. Yes, it’s growing everyday and there are beautiful friendships and support networks that have blossomed as a result, but don’t let anyone tell you it’s not competitive because it damn sure is. Everyone wants a piece of the pie and if you thought a particular pie was yours then you better think again sister.

At the end of the day it doesn’t matter too much. It hurts but it doesn’t matter. Like anything, concerning yourself excessively with what others are doing is only a disservice to yourself. Bringing the focus back inward has helped me just ‘survive’ the week and move on.

But the Tough Gal event was all kinds of amaze!

I was so nervous, I almost threw up. I overcame this by saying to my new-found friend Rebecca, “let’s do this, let’s go right to the front of the starting tunnel, charge it and get it done – fast!”. The end result wasn’t exactly fast in my opinion, 47 minutes for the 6km course, but I was pretty happy with my placing of 31st/316 in the Under 39 Female division and 158/742 finishers. Hell yes!

I have never been so dirty in my entire life. I’m pretty good at just embracing whatever environment I’m in. I don’t stress about sand at the beach (I mean, how can you? You’re at the BEACH!), and I literally just dived into the mud run and got on with it. Crawling over the mud was way faster in most instances then trying to wade through it, next year I’ll wear some rugby boots because lack of traction on the slopes is where valuable time is lost. The second half was the best. The very large mud obstacles were behind me and there was a long flat stretch where I could stretch my legs and just run, until hitting one of the man-made obstacles of course! These were cake though compared to the mud in the first half. The last 3 km’s go so much faster than the first 3 thank god, but finishing with a mudslide into an icy pool was a bit rough!

The day was gorgeously sunny and *almost* warm-ish. I can’t imagine how much more difficult this event would be in the rain, which you pretty much have to bank on seeing as it’s held in winter! I consider myself very lucky to have gotten my first mud event under my belt in dry conditions.

Thanks so much to Rosie, from Fit Mama for organizing her team and letting me be a part of it. It was beyond awesome to meet you amazing ladies and knock the bastard off yesterday – in more ways then one!

Have a great week everyone xx

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“I don’t know how you do it Mum”.

February 23, 2015
By: Melissa

Ethan said this to me about 4kms into my run yesterday. We preempted a bit of a lazy day for him and insisted he accompany me on his bike. He usually just “gaps it” – his words – completes the distance as quickly as possible and I see him back at the house. Yesterday he stuck with me over the course as my Support Person, was very sweet. He hadn’t come with me in a while, so maybe he was a little surprised at my progress? More likely was that he had been watching me stumble along for 4 kilometres and was genuinely amazed that someone who looked so ungainly and dead on their feet was actually still managing to put one foot in front of the other!

Either way it was just nice that he noticed something unrelated to himself. Selflessness is an important quality to cultivate, yet it seems to be a touch slow in blooming and living with a big-little person consumed by their own agenda is exhausting! He is such a lovely, lovely boy but we are butting heads continuously right now!

He made me think about why I am running though. I hurt right now. I have some painful runners condition that starts with P affecting my heel/arch in my right foot causing me to hobble around like an old women for the first 10 minutes of my day, every day. Google suggests this is a result of a change in exercise frequency and intensity – yes, hill running – yes, excessive jandal wearing – guilty.

The reason I’m running isn’t actually getting measured on the scales, though I wish it were! See I haven’t lost any weight at all over the past two months. My clothes are fitting so much better so I’m finding consolation in that and in how much better I feel playing touch rugby. Being so much fitter than I was at the start of the season has improved my confidence so much that now I feel like I’m totally ‘in’ the game rather than just one of the token 3 girls on the field. Small things right? Often they can be the biggest motivators.

Dave and I refreshed our runners this weekend so hopefully the pain comes to end after a few km’s in these loud and proud NB sneaks. As a child of the eighties it blows my mind to see these fluoro hues come blasting back for another go-around. The last thing I remember wearing that was this blinding was a multicoloured rah-rah skirt and matching scissor-clip circa F2 disco. Good times!

Have a wonderful week everyone, make yourself proud x

Running Mummy Blog NZ

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Parenting Fail #611 | The Fake Injury

August 6, 2013
By: Melissa

E has been limping around the house, limping around the rugby field and walking on his tip-toes for about 6 weeks now.

As he has some pretty brilliant melodramatic tendencies we just assumed his complaints were to be taken with a grain of salt. That his odd gait was something that had become a bad habit needing to be broken. The arrival of Nixon pushed the issue a little further from my “immediate action” radar and so we did nothing.

Until last week when he asked me every day when he was going to the foot doctor. Physio confirmed there was a problem with the growth plates in his heel causing him so much pain that he had been compensating by walking on the edge of his foot and on his toes, resulting in a secondary tendon injury.

Can anyone measure how shit I feel right now? Poor guy. He has thrashed his little body this winter, rugby training twice a week, game on Saturday, swimming lessons, barefoot rugby every day at school {I am sure this has done it’s fair share of damage}, plus rugby in the yard every fine afternoon after school. He is now not just filthy, but filthy and injured and unable to play in the Reps rugby tournament he had been selected for. He attests that the worst part is he has to wear shoes now. Oh the inhumanity!

I have fully learned my lesson. E has always been such a bullet-proof kid but I can’t take that for granted anymore; when you’re built like a WWF wrestler you play hard, fall hard and are hard on your body. Injuries are going to happen and Dave and I need to be sure we give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to aches and plains.

Have you ever disregarded one of your kids myriad niggles? Never again I say!

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Win with Nestle!

Win an iPad Mini with tgoma Springfree! CLOSED

5 Reasons to Enter a Fitness Event……NOW!

Trying new things is fun and super important. We are creatures of habit and I’m sure you’ve got a few habits that could use replacing just like I do right? Switch them out for some new, healthful habits and start a chain-reaction of positivity in your life.

Giving yourself opportunities to make YOURSELF proud is a rare thing as an adult. Completing a physical challenge or distance for the first time is a sure-fire way to get you feeling good about being you!

Your fitness and physical health is a great reason in itself to enter an event! It doesn’t matter who you are or what body you’re in, DOING MORE STUFF is always good for you!

Find your tribe. Committing to an event is a great way to find and meet likeminded people all working towards the same goal. Friends are cool and working out together makes sweating and turning red and stinky a little more enjoyable!

Goody bags! If nothing else so far has you convinced, remember; there are always goody bags full of awesome products to take home and try (or scoff in the car after you have finished the run like me lol!)

My No-Fail Running Kit

Skechers Go Run Ride 4

Triumph Triaction Sports Bras

Lululemon Active Wear

Fitbit Surge™ Fitness Super Watch

Honorable Mentions

There you have it! My running go-to-gears, all of which I’ll be sporting on Sunday at the Skechers Women’s 6k, entries don’t close until midnight on the 13th so there’s still time to get in on this awesome event. Read more about my running journey here. Hope to see you on Sunday!

Have a great week everyone xx