First run in months!

I know people who constantly brag about their workouts online are annoying and shouldn't be allowed to have wifi, but I haven't been for a run in months, so I feel like I have an ever so tiny right to brag at the moment. It's 2.30 am and I just got in the  door, sweating and panting. I've been out for half an hour and my legs feel like they're made of led, but it's a good feeling. I mean, a 30 minute run at 2am is better than no run, right? I think so. I know 30 minutes isn't that long, but if I can get out and jog about 3 times a week, it should improve slowly but steadily. I also think that if I go all in and try to work out every single day, I'll get tired of it and quit. However, if I take it slowly, it'll become a habit and a lot easier to keep to. Everything in moderation, right!

Hopefully, I'll be able to work out at the gym where my mum works when I get home for easter and I'm thinking about getting a membership at my old gym for summer holiday. They do group workouts that are really good for your whole body and I kind of miss that! I honestly don't think I've ever been so out of shape as I am now, so it's really time to get my ass off the bed and start doing something. The ones who followed my blog at the beginning, will perhaps remember that I did a 30 day challenge. Well, that went south. I kept going until Kristine came to visit and then I forgot about the whole thing. Hopefully, I'll keep going the way I have for the past week with less sugar and soda, more water and a bit of exercise every now and again, and my summer body should be fit and trained for 2054 (not setting too high hopes for myself, haha)!

One reason why I'm looking forward to going home is that food is expensive. And I don't mean annoyingly expensive like diesel is, but fucking EXPENSIVE! I've always heard grown-ups complain about it (I don't count myself as one yet, no), but I would have never thought that food was this expensive until I actually moved out. However, what I'm really, really looking forward to is fish. My dad works at a fishing boat, as I'm sure I've mentioned before, and we get all the fish we need and more, for free and I can't wait to have a proper fish meal!

Maybe it's time to go to sleep now? Me and Liva are going into town tomorrow and then going to the library. Again. It'll be the 6th time in a row, but I think we're getting close to the end of our workload now. I have about 800 words left on the essay that I'm working on and then I have another one at 2000 words that seems like quite an easy one, and then it's easter! I don't know if I've mentioned this on the blog before, but I'm going to Spain with my mum and brother during easter, so I'll hopefully be nice and tan when I get back!

Definitely time to go to sleep now. Hoping I won't be too stiff and sore tomorrow!

Olympics day!

I was supposed to write this post yesterday but I fell asleep midway through it. I haven't really been sleeping much this weekend, so when I finally got home and went to bed, writing wasn't exactly my main concern.

Anyway! At the moment I'm sat with my computer watching the olympics in Sotchi. I had some issues getting the live streaming to work, but I figured it out just in time to watch Petter Northug in the quarter finals! Not that that was all that interesting, Northug really is dissapointing this year.. I mean, I know that he's been struggling with a virus, making him unable to train and stuff, but it's Northug. He's supposed to win, haha! Another thing that really surprised me was that Cologna AND Marit Bjørgen made the same mistake, causing them to fall and ruin their runs.. It was beginners mistakes as well! But I guess I shouldn't complain, since the womens sprint finals ended in a double Norwegian, gold and silver! Not to mention the gold medal Ola Hattestad took in the mens sprint final! Three norwegian medals in under half an hour is a good day, I'd say!

Anyway, enough sports. I don't really have any plans today. I have tuesdays and wednesdays off and since I've got a bit of a cough and a head ache, I'll probably stay in bed with a cup of tea, cookies and the Olympics.

Yesterday's bit of the 30 day challenges were a real pain. The squats are getting harder and harder to complete and the abs workout is killing me already. However, I did finish it all, and this was yesterdays set:

Cardio
60 high knees
20 climbers
Abs
35 sit ups
15 crunches
15 leg raises
25 sec plank
Squats
75
Push ups
6

I'm already dreading tonights set, but at least tomorrow is another day off, so there's a light at the end of the tunnel! This is todays set:

Cardio
80 high knees
40 climbers
Abs
40 sit ups
20 crunches
20 leg raises
30 sec plank
Squats
80
Push ups
7

I'm really happy that I have tomorrow off from the work outs, because since I also don't have lectures, I'll really have a day off, just to relax and do nothing. Can't wait! Even though I kind of want to go swimming.. Oh well, I'll figure something out!

My days with mum! And some other stuff.

I know I haven't been blogging this weekend, but I really feel like I have a good excuse! As I said last time I posted on here, my mum's been visiting this weekend. We've had a lot of fun and I thought I'd tell you a bit about it!

Yesterday I met her at the trainstation at about 11. We went back to my flat, where I showed here around for a bit and then we went to County Arms to have lunch! That's just one great thing about having parents visit, you don't have to pay for food! I mean, the best part of her visiting is obviously that I get to see my mum and have her all to myself for a couple of days just to talk and catch up on everything that's been going on here and at home, but free food is definitely a great perk!

Anyway.. I showed her around basically everywhere. Campus, the neighborhood I'm moving to before 2nd year, city center and everything in between. It was nice telling stories and showing her a bit of "my world" (as cheesy as it sounds). We had dinner in town and then we went back to my flat where we just talked about everything that's been going on both here and at home to catch each other up on everything that's been going on since I went back to England a month ago.

Today, we did basically the same thing. Went to town, did some more shopping and then we went to see the Winchester Cathedral. I've never been inside before and I regret that! It's really beautiful and it's so rich in local and not-so-local history! Hoping to go back, preferrably with a camera, to check it out again!

When we came back from the cathedral, we sat in my room talking for a few hours before I was going to walk her to the B&B where she's staying. When we were almost there, we met about half of my friends and decided to go to the pub with them! It was a bit awkward but a lot of fun and I got to show my mum that I have friends, haha! She also got to meet some of the "originals" of Winchester, which I hope didn't scare her too much! Hopefully, she's had a good time here, even though the reason for her coming over weren't all that great.

My mum! :D

We ordered chocolate cake for dessert after dinner today 

and it was every bit as delicious as it looks! 

This is from yesterday! Cocoa and coffee at Costa in town :)

Over to something else, then! I just finished todays part of the 30 day challenge. Obviously, since I'm supposed to rest every four days, I didn't have a work out yesterday, but todays was a pain. The cardio and push ups are still fine, but the abs are getting harder to do and the squat challenge is a real pain! However, I can already feel a change in the muscles in my legs and (I might be imagining it) I think it's a bit easier to walk up the hill from campus to my flat, which is definitely a motivation! The progression in the programs are hard, but hopefully I'll be able to see it through! 

This was todays programme:

Cardio

60 high knees

40 climbers

Abs

30 sit ups

12 crunches

12 leg lifters

20 sec plank

Squats

70

Push ups

5

I was expecting to feel a difference when doing the work out programme now that I'm on beta blockers, but I didn't notice anything. I'm quite glad I didn't, because if they made it harder to work out, I would have to will my self that much more to do it.. Anyway, thought I'd try to explain how beta blockers work (as far as I've understoof). Since I'm going to be on them for a while, they'll probably be mentioned on here sometimes.

The hypothalamus in the brain sends signals to the thyroid to produce hormones. The hormones then gets released into your blood flow and attach themselves to receptors where they cause reactions. The beta-blockers take the hormones place on the receptors around the heart so that the hormones can't create a reaction. This way, since my condition is stress triggered, the hormones cause signs of stress in the rest of my body butu because the hormone receptors around the heart are unavailable, the heart won't react to the stress. Somewhere in there are also the explanation to why the beta blockers slow down the heart rythm, but I haven't quite figured out that bit yet, I just know how they stop the heart from speeding up due to stress, so I'll get back to you on that one. Anyway. I think the reason why I can't drink too much on these pills are because the heart rate isn't at it's normal speed. Since the heart isn't beating as fast as it usually does, the blood flow is slower and the cells get's less oxygen thereby slowing down metabolism. Since the uptake of alcohol in the digestive system is the same, I'll get drunk as fast but I'll get sober slower. Therefore, if I drink as much and at the same speed that I used to, I'll get drunker faster. However, I don't know if the beta blockers can cause me to have some sort of reaction if I drink too much, so I'm not planning on pushing the limits where my drinking is concerned. 

I guess there were some use in taking biology after all, haha! 

Before going to bed, I want to say one more thing. Today, actually for 56 whole minutes this far, it's my best friends birthday! She turns 20 and are now allowed to buy alcohol above 22% in Norway! So, happy birthday to the most awesome girl in the world, I love and miss you like crazy! 

She's coming to visit in just over a week, so I have a feeling her picture will be on here sooner or later, but here she is anyway, the birthday girl! 

I love you, hope you have a fantastic day! <3

My mum is in England!

Tomorrow (technically today) at 11.05 my mum is going to be at Winchester train station! I haven't thought about how much I miss my family, since it's only been four weeks and I know I won't get to see them for another 8, but now that there's only 8 hours left until I get to spend an entire weekend with my mum, I'm buzzing with excitement! I'm not too happy about the fact that she wouldn't be coming if it wasn't for the fact that you're not allowed to send medication in the mail, but I'll take what I can get.

I can't wait to show her around in Winchester. Last time we were here together was the first time I had ever been here, and to think that we walked past so many places that day that I have come to love so much is nothing but surreal. Like when we walked down the high street, past all the shops and pubs that I've spent so much time in since I moved here! Or the fact that we had dinner at County Arms, not knowing how many hours I would spend there, starting just a few months later! I'm really looking forward to going to all of those places again and being able to tell her stories and show her what my life is like here. I'm also hoping she'll be able to meet all my friends so that she can see that I'm doing okay, that I have people around me that love me and that I love. Not that she thinks I'm a loner, but introducing her to all the great people I've met here will be really fun!

My mum! 

Today I haven't really been up to much. I had a lecture at 3pm so I got to sleep late and then I went home to change, because I had a date! But then it turned out that someone had jumped in front of a train so all the trains were cancelled, so we had to reschedule. Not that that's the saddest thing about that whole situation, I mean, someone took their own life just a few minutes walk from where I live, but there's nothing I can do about it, so I wasn't planning on thinking too much about that, however harsh that might seem.

Right now I've just finished doing the last bit of cleaning before tomorrow. My mum is coming by the flat, so I thought it might be nice if she didn't have to think that her daughter lives in a pig sty! Anyway. Before cleaning, I did todays part of the 30 day challenge. I think it's going well, but I'm definitely a bit sore from yesterday! Weirdly, tho, I'm not sore where I thought I would be. My arms, abs and legs are fine, but my back is killing me! However, that means that I'm strenghtening the muscles in my back, so I'm not too worried about that.

Todays set looked like this:

Cardio
20 high knees
60 climbers
Abs
25 sit ups
10 crunches
10 leg raises
15 sec plank
Squats
60
Push ups
5

The squats were really hard today. As I said, my back is really sore from yesterday already so I'm really glad I have tomorrow off! The push ups weren't too bad, but I expect that will change in a while. The abs work out are definitely getting worse, tho. Leg raises has never been my favourite exersise, and I really felt the 10 I had to do today, but I'm trying to think positive and came to the conclusion that even though they feel horrible now, and even though they probably will throughout this whole challenge, at least I'm doing them and at least I'm giving it my best!

Right, it's half four and I'm still wide awake. Getting up at 10, so I guess I should go to bed!

It's raining, did you know?

When I told people back home that I was moving to England, almost everyone said "are you mental, rain is all you get over there!" When I went back for christmas, I told them that they were wrong, that England isn't half as bad as they said it was, because last semester the weather over here was really nice! Now on the other hand, I'm starting to think that there's a reason why people say taht it rains a lot in England. It's raining all day every day, it's really windy, it's freezing cold and all my converse has holes in them.. I know that doesn't technically have anything to do with the weather, even though my feet does get soaking wet every time I leave the house at this point, but I thought since I was already moaning, I might as well mention the thing that's annoying me the most!

The slightly depressing view from my room! 

That was really English of me, wasn't it? Both moaning and talking about the weather at the same time, I think I'm getting the hang of this! 

Anyway, I've just finished the second day in the 30 day challenges, and I think it's going well, so far! Todays sets looked like this:

Cardio

60 high knees

40 climbers

Abs

20 sit ups

8 crunches

8 leg raises

15 sec plank

Squats

55 

Push ups

4

I definitely think the squats were the hardest today. Yesterday I divided the set of 50 reps into 2x25 and that was no problem, but today I followed the rules and did 55 concecutive reps and my legs are killing me. However, all in all it is going great and I actually think I can do this! 

Quadruple 30 day challenge!

I might be in over my head on this one, but I'm going to give it a shot! Today I start my quadruple 30 day challenge. There are two rules where these challenges are concerned:

1. The reps are to be done continously without brakes. (I started the squat challenge with a brake in the middle of the set to get an easy start, but counting tomorrow, I'm following the rules)
2. Rest every 4 days.

I'm doing cardio, squats, abs and push ups (for beginners, haha)! The reason is that by doing squats, abs and pushups I'll work on the biggest muscle groups and thereby get a lot higher metabolism. Cardio is also a great way to burn calories, in addition to the fact that I have the lung capasity of a four year old and really need to do something about it! 

// Made with Photo Grid for Android //

This is some of what I have to look forward to for the next 30 days! 

The great thing about doing more than one challenge at a time is that you essentially end up with a full work out, pre planned for 30 days. If you're then able to stick to the plan you'll get in shape quickly, especially if you haven't been working out a lot previous to the challenge and that makes it easier to keep going after the first 30 days are up! 

Today's workout wasn't all that big, but that'll change quickly enough! 

Cardio

40 high knees

20 climbers

Abs

15 sit ups

5 crunches

5 leg raises

10 sec plank

Squats

50

I did 2x25 to get an easy start

Push ups

3 push ups

The total work out took me all of 15 minutes and I think that's another thing that's so great about these challenges, that you get a small work out (a little is a lot better than nothing) that's easy to fit into a busy schedule. Obviously, as the days progress the workout gets bigger and takes up more time, but since the first few days are so small, it's easy to get a good start, and as soon as the first week is over, it shouldn't be that hard to keep going (I hope)! By the way, don't judge me based on how very few push ups I'm able to do, it'll get better! 

I really hope that I'll be able to finish this, and to help me keep going when it gets tough, I've decided that I'm not allowed to get another piercing until I've completed this. Those who know me, or follow me on instagram or twitter knows that piercings are a big thing in my life. I have 20 at the moment and I have a few more planned, but for the next 30 days, my skin stays needle free! Also, I have 30 days to save up the money for it, because last semester I got 6 new piercings and that was a big reason why I had to go through 10 days where I didn't have enough money to eat properly. In other words, a win-win situation! 

Now I'm going to have a shower before my whole flat comes home from BOP, a weekly party at the Student Scene. Love being home alone, because that means I can listen to music as loud as I want while showering, without annoying Sharleen (who lives in the next room) to death! I was supposed to go to pre drinks and BOP with the criminology class, but I'm tired and I've been out a lot lately, so I dropped it. Kind of wish I hadn't, because I want to get to know my class better, but hopefully there'll be another chance some other time! And we're going to study together for 2,5 more years, so I somehow have a feeling that we'll get to know each other some where along the way.