Running -  I ran three times this week and one of them was the West Run London 10k. My first run this week was Wednesday, it was supposed to be 3 miles and ended up being 2 with the dog and we just kept it at an easy pace(not that I could run very fast with the old girl anymore!).

I wasn't planning on running again until the race but I didn't go swimming a second time this week and decided to go for a 1 mile shakeout run. I wasn't entirely sure if it was going to affect anything for race day - but figured it wouldn't as it was only short - I dont think it did!
I will have a race recap for WestRun going up in a few days! :)

Swimming - Just the usual swimming lesson this week. It was pretty darn hard and I found myself getting quite emotional towards the end of the lesson. I feel as though I'm not progressing as much as others in the class and I'm kinda lacking behind at this point. I'm the slowest swimmer in the lesson from what I can tell and my stamina is whack compared to others in the class.

When we're told to do a 100m warm-up with Front Crawl, I struggle to even do one length without having to stop for a breather. I really need to get into the pool to focus on some Front Crawl rather than breast stroke - and hopefully slow down so I'm not just rushing to get to the other side of the pool.

I also need to remember not to give a damn about anyone else in the class. I'm doing this for me and it doesn't matter what everyone else is doing and how far they're progressing. It's not a competition and I just need to look back to where I was this time last year and see how far I've come.

Food has been OK this week, slightly more restricted than last week. The halloween treats have gone/been put away so there has been less temptation around. Phillip and I have started tracking our food again this week just to see how many calories that we've been consuming. Even with healthy choices, you can still end up racking a good few calories, as we've found out this week from tracking out intake.

I'm going trying to eat higher protein foods to keep me fuller for longer and to stop snacking so much. Even though I'm only having fruit or a bar of some sort for a snack - they can be quite calorie dense and when I'm not paying too much attention to portion sizes, it can get a bit out of control without even realising.

I  know that calorie counting can become a bit obsessive for me, so it's not something I will be doing long term but it will be for this week at least. I just want to see how many calories I'm taking in. Experiment with different foods to satisfy hunger and keep me fuller so I don't tend to want to snack as much if at all.

Once I've figured it out, I won't have to count again. Until then, it's the best thing for me and keeps me accountable for the food I'm putting in my mouth.

Plan For Next Week

I mentioned last week that I wanted to swim twice, it didn't happen, but I did replace that lost swim with a short run - so I suppose it's evened out.

Now that the race is over and done with, I can get back to focusing on the things that I want to do without having any negative consequences on training. So, I have a short list of things that I want to do.. they obviously don't all have to be done this week but I would like to start them at some point and get myself into a proper routine. So, without further ado..

- Keep up my routine of running 4 times a week - I'm actually considering starting half marathon training now(or soon atleast) as we are away for 2 weeks on holiday mid feb next year which is towards the end of our training, so I ideally want to be trained and be up in the high mileage for the half marathon before we go away.
- Swim twice a week - this should be totally doable. My swimming lesson covers one of these sessions during the week and I will either get in another swim on a weds or a fri - any other swimming sessions are a bonus.
- Start kettlebells/home workouts - I know I've been saying this for a long time, but if you read my post the other day on Getting Things Done.. then you'll know that I had some time to think about my goals, what I wanted and how I would need to achieve them and this is something I want to do.

- Get Up Earlier/Go to bed earlier - I've gotten a little lazy when it comes to getting out of bed in the morning. If I haven't planned anything that day, I stay in bed as late as possible, which is one of the reasons why I didnt start doing workouts sooner(as I couldn't fit them in). I've also been going to bed WAY too late, which is making me more tired in the morning and it's kinda like a viscious cycle.

Today proved that there is no reason I cannot get out of bed early in the mornings. I usually put it down to being too tired, but I went to bed late last night and had to get up at 4:20 am this morning to travel for the race and I just got up instantly. I knew if I messed around and tried to have a bit of extra shut eye, we'd be rushing. So I know that I can get up early, I just need to do it!

Like I said, these are things I don't expect to just happen instantly and I will need to get into a routine but I'm hoping it becomes just that. A routine for things to do in the morning as soon as I get up - get things out of the way and then I've got the rest of the day to do what I want.

I'm hoping it wont take too long for me to settle into one and of course I will be updating you next week on my progress.  It's about time I stopped p*ssing about and just got on with whatever needed to be done. So it may be that I just settle into a routine very quickly.. but we will see!

Here's a couple of my posts that have gone up in the last few weeks since I did my last Sum It Up.. Sunday, maybe you missed them:
WestRun London // Training Diary // Week 5 Recap
Om Yoga Magazine // Get Things Done

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Question: Are you in a routine? Do you get up/go to bed at a certain time, know what you're going to do that day and when?