4 Days!

Yay!! I love work, but I also love having a break :) I can do heapsa training! And why is it that tha majority of people look at me like I'm a fruitcake when I do say that's all I have planned for the long weekend?! That's how I like to relax, not gorge myself on chocolate and vino!!! (although, that has been known to happen ;) )
I woke at 4.30am (maybe that part is worth the fruitcake look) to get out and about for a long run. 1hour and 30mins later I was done. I had a look at the run calendar, and realised our local half marathon is 1st June... and now it's end of March... so I better get moving on the longer distances! My legs are pretty tired now, but nothing that a good sleep tonite won't fix.
I also completed another of this weekend's goals - to clean and vacuum the inside of my car. Mission accomplished! And when it's so nice and clean I always promise myself I'll do it more often. Yea... right.
Being Good Friday, I've had a noice seafood day. Crab for lunch with salad, and tonite all us kidlets are going to mum and dads for dinner - salmon cakes and prawns are on the menu I think. How spoilt is that? I'm just lucky that my lil bro went crabbing to get all the goodies, we never normally indulge that much on Good Friday! Mental note to avoid any chocolate that may be spotted lying around............

Sugar & Spice and all Things Nice...

That's what little girls are made of. These little munchkins are who I spent last Sunday at the beach playground with as my belated birthday lunch - and their mummies of course, who both have another one on the way. We had lots of fun :)

Little Miss R - Peek-a-bo!!

Yummm.. chippeeez

Looking funky in Aunty Seen's hat!

Miss B - 'Seeee... I know how to smile big for a picture!'

Man, that was fun :)

I love my friends little girls. The big sister of Miss R had the day riding bike with her daddy, so I didn't get any hugs from her!!
I can't wait till my sis has kiddies, I will be the bestest aunty in the world!!!

These are the gorgeous colourful flowers that I got delivered to work from my OH for my birthday 2 weeks ago. A massive box of hand-made chocolates were also attached. :)

If I thought I had it bad in the legs yesterday, today's not much better. I did interval training yesterday, of varying times with varying rest periods, and the legs felt good with the blood pumping through. Not so good after I'd cooled down however!! DOMS is such and inconvenience as it interfers with all the other training! I'll just suck it up all the same.

Today I'm having my first IPL appointment. IPL stands for... something! I can't remember at the moment, but it's permanent hair reduction. And lucky me, as I'm a business contact with the girl that owns it, I get my treatments half price. I'll let you know how it goes, I'm looking forward to being zapped and on the road to a hair-free future! ;) More info is here.

OUCH!!!

It's one of those days when the legs are so sore! I trained them yesterday and after having 2 weeks off leg training (to rest for the tri and club championship race, of course!), I'm certainly paying for it. In a good way. My butt hurts to sit on the floor, and and I'm no state to be demonstrating leg exercises to clients. Although I have to still, but add "Just without that part, and make sure you don't do that". LOL!
I've come down off my Sunday nite high. It took me ages to go to sleep, I haven't been that pumped for a LONG time! It was better than all my birthdays and Christmases. I mean, my fastest time in THREE years. And I really really thought I was over the hill and my 'peak' days were behind me. If anyone ever doubts their own ability in whatever your chosen sport may be, never ever give up. If you want it bad enough and do the hard yards, you WILL get there!!
I'm so close to achieving another goal from my list posted up in January - which was to crack my PBs. I did note that the shorter distances might not be under threat, but wow, within 3 months, I certainly gave the 5km a shake-up!!!!!!!!!!
Oh and of course I overestimated OHs ability to wash my car the other day... When I peeked my head out he had started to hose it. But he suddenly appeared back inside the next minute... "It was too hot, and I didn't want to get burnt"...

OVER THE MOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (i think that's enough o's) EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just sitting here, freshly sweaty and wind-blown from my 5km Road Race Championship. I did it in my second fastest time in HISTORY!!!!!!!!!!! Only 10seconds of my best ever!!!
I cannot believe it!!! I hoped for, but didn't expect it, and tried not to do the self-inflicted pressure... I would have been content with anything under 25mins as that's been the elusive mark for about 18months, but I SMASHED IT to finish in 23mins 06sec.
I had many people asking what I ate for lunch ("Rocket salad?"), what secret training I've been doing, and asking for a not-so-random drug test. LOL! So I surprised not just myself but everyone else.
My trainer predicted it, I wasn't so sure of myself doing it, but man, he knows his stuff!!! I cannot wait to see what else I can achieve this year!!!

HARD WORK + PATIENCE = RESULTS!!!

Super Saturday!!!!!!!!!!

It's here again! I've had a busy one already,up early for a cycle with dad. I'm on a 'rest' day for running, as I have a 5km Club Championship race tomorrow afternoon, in which I'm hoping to pull out a really good time. My coach was really happy with my splits on the Wednesday training run, and if I can pull something similar out of the hat tomorrow, I should be on my way to my fastest time in over a season. No pressure though!!!!!!!!!! That's when I crash and burn, I put so much pressure on myself, no one else does, that I get so worked up and nervous, then run like crap. Tomorrow I just have to ENJOY it!

It's our local council elections today, and one of my great friends, who is also a mentor and loyal client is running to be re-elected, so I've been helping her on her campaign. So after breakfast I was down there handing out fliers. You know those annoying people who try to hand you a kazillion sheets of paper as you're going in to vote, well that's what I did! LOL! And now as I know what it's like to be on the other side, I will always look at them and smile, and politely decline if I'm not interested. Honestly, there's some RUDE people out there. Where's the love these days!! And also, if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all!! I heard alot of very rude comments like "Well I won't be voting for her/him". Honestly, your vote doesn't faze me!

Anyway, enough politics :) Tonite I'm a footy widow. It's OHs first game tonite and he told me, (note I didn't say, asked me), that he was going out with boys for a piss-up after the game. I did a littly oh-poor-me-what-am-i-going-to-do tanty, only to get "Well babe, get used to it, it's footy season!". PUH! We'll see about that!!

Tomorrow I'm going to the beach for my belated birthday lunch with my 2 pregnant best friends and between them, their 3 little girls. Weather is just gorgeous at the moment, so it should be a nice day!!

Righto, I'm going out to enjoy it!!

Oh and look at that, OH is washing my car!!!!!!!!!!! HA!!! He hasn't washed my car in the 3 years we've been together!! Reckon he's feeling guilty?!? ;)

The results are in...

For the mini tri on the weekend, and I'm a happy little chappy!!
Of 58 competitors, my time put me in 18th position!!!!!! I'm stoked!!! Had I not gone off on a tangent and ran an extra 500-600m, based on the times, I predict I would have come in round about 10th or 11th. :)))) How exciting!!! I have lots to work on before next year's event - learning to listen to directions, and learning to swim with some form of techinque! The winner did it in 18mins, 32secs. How fast is that!!!!!

In training news, I did the afore mentioned dreaded 1km efforts last nite. (In case you're really interested ;) it was 4 x 1km with 1min 30sec standing rest between, 2 x 500m with 1 min standing rest) I blew myself away with my results! All my training is finally coming together. Instead of running for my life like each effort was my last, I tried to pace myself, which worked like a charm. Funny that! I didn't quite feel like throwing up after each effort, which made it heaps more enjoyable (funny that -again!). So me thinks that next time I have a scheduled training session like that, I'll want to do it, to compare times! I'm learning how my brain works!

The best part is, if I add all my times together, I would SMASH my PB over the 5kms! Yay for me, just need to work on stringing them altogether without hitting the wall :) Slowly but surely I'm getting there!! And I'm EXCITED!!!!!!!!!

A bad case of the..

Couldn't-Be's... Couldn't-Be-(insert word of choice) doing anything requiring effort. Yesterday was one of those days. The plan was 4 x 1km, 2 x 500m timed runs, and that just seemed too daunting. So after evil me and angelic me had our arguments, I compromised and went out for a 40min walk. Not even a run, a walk. I haven't walked in years, and it was a nice change in pace, no pun intended. Except I had too much time to think. Ideas came from all angles, I was getting so excited I had to tell my mother; she had that 'mmmm-hmmmm, yea-that'll-happen' kinda look on her face.
I went to bed exhausted last nite. So tired from all that thinking!! That'll be the last time I walk instead of doing my intervals!! There's no time to think with intervals!! ;)
And I'm thinking that's the last day I can use the excuse "oh but, I did a triathlon AND a 5km race on the weekend..."
The bad news is, that training session is now waiting for me tonight!

I DID IT!!

I did it, I did it, I did it! I've officially completed a life goal to compete in a triathlon. Tick that one off the list :) Of course it wasn't without drama... as usual for me! If you're not interested in triathlon stuff, you definitely won't be interested in reading further! :)

THE SWIM
Well what can I say - I sucked! It was in the pool for the 100m (don't laugh), and 50 of us were in the first race. (Too many people, had to be done in 2 waves). I was speaking to other gals before the swim and they were saying they hadn't swum in years, "I'm gonna be so bad" etc etc etc. But I just KNEW I would be bad - and I've trained 2x week since Christmas! To my horror, just before I jumped in the pool, I saw my client, dammit she did come to watch! So off we swam. I did the first 50m OK, then I hit the wall at about 75m again... I stopped to catch air because, as usual I had the breathing fit. It was very disheartening to see more than half the girls already out of the water and running off to the bike transition. I got to the end as fast as I could and beat a few people out, only because they had trouble lifting themselves out of the pool. At last my arms were good for something!! I swear I was second-last of 50 people out of the pool. I overtook a few running to the bike area though...

THE BIKE
3 lots of a 2km loop. I seemed to take forever putting my shoes on and organising myself. The more I hurried, the worse it was! Once I was off, the bike was ALLL MINE!! I overtook about 10 people the first loop, probably about 20-25 in total. (Yeeehaaa... made up a few places from that horrendous swim leg!!). I did feel bad though, flying past them on my road bike, the poor girls struggling on their heavy mountain bikes. Well, OK, not that bad ;). The cycle leg felt fantastic!!

THE RUN
2kms. Walk in the park... right? Well Miss Smarty-Pants here didn't do enough transition training from bike to run... My legs were sooo unbelievably heavy - kinda like running through mud in steel cap boots. A few cyclists I passed got their revenge. I just couldn't lift my legs, it was the most horrible feeling! About a km into it, I felt better and made up ground and overtook a few people and kept following the ones ahead... I was in heads down, bums up mode, just powering along, as I mentioned following the ones ahead... (so like, it's totally not my fault ;) )...who missed the turn-off!!!!!!! So we kept running till we realised... ahh I don't think it's this far along. Soooooo we ran an extra 500-600metres which is quite alot more considering it was only a 2km run!!!!!!!! But I got to the end in one piece, sooo mad at myself for not taking more notice of the course, but I finished it all the same.

Final time was 24mins 12secs. I'm really happy with that. I had no idea what time to expect as I've never raced a bike, or swum in a similar situation since grade 3, let alone put three disciplines together. I plucked 25mins out of the air and goaled to get under that, so was stoked with 24min 12secs considering I did an extra few minutes on the run leg!

I saw my client after it and the conversation went a little like this:

Me: So did you see me get out of the pool about second last??

Her: No, there were about 5 or 6 after you!

Me: Really? So I was about 44th or 45th then??

Her: Yes, that's about right!!

WILL I DO IT AGAIN?
Hell yes!! I hated most of it, that pain of really pushing yourself, but I love the satisfaction of completing it!! I'm feeling awesome today, on such a high from the whole experience. I knew I sucked at swimming, but I didn't realise I sucked that BAD! I've already asked around for info about adult learn-to-swim classes, I'd really like to get my stroke corrected, so may consider doing that soon. I don't particularly like swimming, but I don't particularly like being that bad at it either!! LOL! I thought I was a runner, but I really enjoyed the bike, and my 'big' legs were such an advantage. It's opened up so many choices!

I'm checking the website every 10 minutes to see if the results are up yet. They're not! I'm just interested to see where that time placed me in the field :) Will keep you posted!!!

The day wasn't over after that though, yesterday afternoon I backed up for a 5km road run. Conditions were really really windy, so bad the road through the harbour was closed as it's too dangerous for cars. I somehow pulled out the second fastest time I've done in over a year. Go figure - whole body, legs especially were tired from the triathlon, wind resistance was insane - I thought I was going to be blown off the road to the rocks below! - but pulled that out. I'll take it!

YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEE GOAL ACCOMPLISHED!!

Only one more sleep!!

The long-awaited mini triathlon is on tomorrow morning. Bring it on!! I am looking forward to giving it a good shot. I cannot wait to get the swim over and done with, I am absolutely petrified of doing those laps. This past week in training, I've gotten to about 70mtrs before I've had a breathing fit. I'm really struggling with it!! I'm fine if I've done 100s of metres warm-up with fins, but get me straight in without them and I'm a lost cause! Just can't seem to get into a rhythm. What's making me even more anxious is the fact that I've got some clients coming down to watch... ARGH!!! When I say I cannot swim, I'm not being modest or down-playing my ability, I seriously cannot co-ordinate it all!!! I'll be so embarassed. I hope they realise their trainer is only human too ;) Bring on the bike and the run - I love my comfort zone ;)

I'm not going into this in the best shape though... My foot dramas aren't over yet! My Massage Therapist thinks I've pulled the tendons in my foot! LOL! How funny is that for a nite of wearing high-heels! It's obviously not real bad, it just aches after being on it for a while. At least the run is only short tomorrow, it'll be over in a flash. Just gotta suck it up till then.

And mysteriously this morning I've woken up with a stiff neck. Can't turn it to the right side - OUCH! It's gotta be from my swim yesterday - I must have been trying too hard. That's gonna be fun tomorrow if I can't move it much still! I honestly think I'll be faster deep-water running it than actually swimming!!

Now there's a thought...

Everyone have an awesome weekend!! I hope to catch up on blogs tomorrow when I won't be capable of much else ;)

My Back

Doesn't it look pretty today!!! I had a massage session with a bit of cupping yesterday. I love cupping, so thought I'd show off the evidence, just like Hils did not long ago :)

They are darker than in the pic, the lighting just doesn't do it justice! ;) Now lets hope the scars go before the weekend, as I may not be allowed in the pool for the mini triathlon for fear of spreading some bizarre disease...

High Heels a Health Hazard??

Well for me I think they are! I'm only in flat comfy blacks for work, or trainers for everything else!! I picked up some cute heels in Brisbane and they are sooo comfy on. Thank god the big cities actually stock my size! I can't get anything in a size 5 here, so whenever I'm in Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane it's not unusual for me to take home a few shoe boxes!

Anyway I wore the heels out on Saturday nite - I went out with my sis and a few friends I haven't caught up with in years to have a few birthday drinks. It was only 8 hours I would have been in them, alot of that time sitting down. Well the next day I felt like I'd done a massive leg work-out! My quaddies were aching! But worst were my feet. Yeeeouch! The balls of them felt bruised, and still today my right one is a bit tingly and hurts to crouch on it. I swear I've pulled some lil muscles in there or something! And in case anyone asks - no, it definitely wasn't from doing any fancy moves on the dancefloor! :) The things we girl put ourselves through...

Here's a pic from the nite, with the offenders ;)

More Water...

When I left last Thursday, it was sunny. When I jumped off the plane on Wednesday, it was sunny and really hot. It's hard to believe any of the rain ever happened. All the water is dried up, all that's left are damaged homes. Here's more pics...

A drowned car.
Soccer Fields. The tin tops that you can see are the tops of the shelter sheds where you sit to watch soccer.
A shipping container that was washed away from somewhere. It's lodged up against a footbridge which is around the gooseponds - under there somewhere is a road with the traffic lights out of order, and a walking track. The scary thing is, the gooseponds is home to lots of turtles, ducks and even the occassional crocodile...
There was a story in the paper of a lady outside her house attempting to salvage some belongings which were floating away and she came across the bubbles of a croc... Just when you think things can't get any worse.

DEVASTATION...

Here's some pics of the floods that swept the region on Friday. I was away in Brisbane at the time, on an intense course which was held in the mountains with no phone reception or any contact with the outside world. Kek - that's why you couldn't get me on mobile!! (more about the course in another post). I had absolutely no idea of what was happening in Mackay, which was probably for the best or I would have been stressing, but what could I do from down there, especially when flights in and out were cancelled? My family's and OH's houses were not affected, as they are in a higher-set suburb. Relatives houses in more up-market estates are just ruined, along with all the contents and cars. It's so so sad. Everyone has a tale to tell, and I could go on forever, but I'll just post some of the many pics which are being emailed from various sources. And thanks to all the well-wishes from you guys :)

This business is just 50m from my business. I was soo soo lucky mine wasn't affected.

Another pic of the street my business intersects. I am just across from the red brick building up the road a bit.
A two-storey house gone under.
Harvey Norman along with AMart Furniture and Sports and many other huge stores all have damaged stock, some having to close for up to 6 weeks.

One of the bridges that went under. Yes, there is a bridge under there somewhere. This bridge has gone under before in bad weather with high tides, but this in just unbelievable. The 40km sign is almost under. The post with the thingys hanging off it is the marker to notify larger trucks of the maximum clearance, so you can imagine how far below that the actual bridge is.

I'm Outtie!!

Off to Brisbane tomorrow for a course! Can't wait!
But I can't wait even more till my boy joins me on Monday and we have our little holiday. I'm calling it our belated Valentine's Day!
Which reminds me...
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ALL!!!

Wet Wet Wet!!

It has been raining heaps here. Heaps and heaps. There's lots of flooding road closures.
We had an amazing storm at 3am this morning. The thunder was so so loud it woke me from my comatose sleep. Plus there was a disco outside my window with all the lightning! Today is supposed to be very windy.

I hope things settle down by Thursday. I've got a flight to catch to Brisbane!

To Flip or Not to Flip

That is the question!
I just found out that the triathlon I'm entering, does allow the use of flippers. It is a "come and tri"so they're encouraging people of all abilities to give it a go.
I'm a hopeless swimmer but I've been training pretty hard to just survive the swim and for bonus points - I'm actually starting to enjoy swimming (shhh don't tell anyone!).
Knowing I can comfortably swim the distance in flippers is very tempting.... think how much further up in the field I'd exit the pool...
BUT on the other hand, I'd feel like I cheated somehow, although they're legal. I'd rather come bottom field having given my best with no aids, than do a better time and come higher in the field having used something to assist me.
Considering the struggles I have with swimming, doing it all of my own self will be a much bigger accomplishment me thinks!!
I think I've just answered my own question! :)

I have the bestest boy in the world!!

My poor boy had to travel out west for work on Thursday night, after he finished his day in the office. He had to cover for a superviser out there - he usually works in town. The job was only supposed to be for Friday, but 4.30pm Friday afternoon he called me with the bad news, because of the rain, the job was held up and he had to work Saturday as well. He was able to stay out there, at their expense overnight, but he said he missed me too much and would drive home to see me. As much as I wanted him too, I knew he would be exhausted from the long day. But he did it anyway :) 14 hours after starting work, he was home.

Poor boy was up at 5am with me - which is normally unheard of! - this morning and had to drive all the way back there. Fingers crossed the job should be finished and he'll be home safe and sound again tonight.

I can guarantee we're gonna be party poopers tonight! He'll be exhausted, and I'm failing slowly! LoL. I did a 11km run this morning, had breakfast and was straight to the pool when it opened at 8am to swim a kilometre. This triathlon training will be the death of me! However, I think it was the 4 hours of browsing through the shops that has really worn me out... ;)

Stuff...

Pics from my brother-in-laws 30th Birthday 2 weeks ago. In case you couldn't tell, it was Hawaiian theme. ;)
My sister, mwa, my bestie with her daughter and my god-daughter, Jade-Lyn.

Us + JL's little sister. That's my boy on the couch, beer in hand. Of course.

OK , Let me Rephrase That...

Man did my last post come out wrong. And thanks Kek for your comment... you know how to make a girl feel like a doofus! ;)


I'm trying to get my BF% down is what I meant. I'm not a scales nut, I jump when I remember... hence jumping on yesterday - I mean, who checks in on a Thursday?! HA! As I have a lil muffin top, along with a little jiggly belly, my goal is to reduce body fat and get everything tightened again. And weighing what I did, that's more than likely going to knock me down into the 40s... :) That's what I was trying to say :) This pic is from when I did my first 12 week program, this was weighing in at 46kgs. Yes I had been on a depletion week, but was holding steady around 48kgs for a few weeks prior.

So that's where I plucked the 40s from. But what I really want is to get rid of the wobblies whilst continuing to build strong musckles, whether the scales see it or not! ;)

Right, I'm glad I cleared that up! ;)

Operation 49...

Since just mid December I weighed in at 50.6kgs. This has held ever since, except for a slight fluctuation over Christmas, which then dropped back to 50.6.
Today I was 50.6. Maybe my scales are broken and don't budge from that?? :) I'm not complaining, it's my lowest I've been in a while.
However, I want to crack the 40s again!! It's been TWO whole years since I've seen the 40s on the scales. I know I can do it, it's just so close!!
Exercise has been more than enough, but along with that comes more hunger!! Time to keep an extra eye on portion sizes to see if I can budge a little fat!
GOAL - To be there by my birthday in a month! Watch me go!! ;)

Good Joke I got via Email and had to share! No offence to my blonde friends out there!! ;)

BLONDES AND SHOES

A blonde was on holiday and driving through Darwin. She desperately wanted to take home a pair of genuine crocodile shoes but was very reluctant to pay the high prices the local vendors were asking.

After becoming very frustrated with the "no haggle on prices" attitude of one of the shopkeepers, the blonde shouted, "Well then, maybe I'll just go out and catch my own crocodile, so I can get a pair of shoes for free."

The shopkeeper said with a sly, knowing smile, "Little lady, just go and give it a try!" The blonde headed out toward the river, determined to catch a crocodile!

Later in the day, as the shopkeeper is driving home, he pulls over to the side of the bank where he spots the same young woman standing waist deep in the murky water, shotgun in hand. Just then, he spots a huge 3 metre croc swimming rapidly toward her. With lightning speed, she takes aim, kills the creature and hauls it onto the slimy banks of the river. Lying nearby were 7 more of the dead creatures, all lying on their backs.

The shopkeeper stood on the bank, watching in silent amazement. The blonde struggled and flipped the Croc onto its back. Rolling her eyes heavenward and screaming in great frustration, she shouts out....... " SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, THIS ONE'S BAREFOOT, TOO"!

I Survived Sunday's Session!

4km run, 1km swim, 4 km run.
It was really hot so the first 4kms was a bit uncomfortable. It was a welcome relief to jump in the pool though!! We (well me) only had time for a 500m swim, as the pool was closing, but some people did fit in the 1km. The second 4km run was a bit wobbly to start, but then I felt great and motored on to finish in the same time as the first 4km! Very happy with that :)

I've been so busy at work this week, I'm heaps tired and it's only Wednesday!! The fact that I've been up watching The Biggest Loser and So You Think You Can Dance hasn't helped my sleeping patterns.. :)

My boy has to go away this weekend to play footy :( I plan to make the most of my alone time and get some stuff done. I have to pack for my week away in Brisbane on the weekend. I fly out Thursday - no Valentine's Day for me! - and won't get a chance before then...

For Lyndsay :)

Wish I could say that's me in the pic, but it ain't :)

My sis and her hubby in Tahiti for their honeymoon.

Hope it brings back memories for you too!!!

Yipee for the weekend!!

One of my fave pics from my sis' wedding :)

I can catch up and take some breathing time :) For that reason there's not alot planned, but that's how I like it! I woke at 5am this morning to meet a friend for an easy 1hour run. The days are getting shorter already, it wasn't light till about 5.30am, usually the sun is beaming at 5am.
:( Anywho, it was all done and dusted by 6.30am. I showered and crawled back into bed for half hour or so :)

I'm at work now playing catch-up. I never seem to win this game though ;)

The only other highlight for this weekend is group training tomorrow afternoon. 4km run, 1km swim, 4km run. I hope there's other road runners joining in tomorrow that can swim as bad as me!!! LOL!

Is it a week already??

Man time flies - I can't believe it's the 31st of January already!! This date last month I was getting ready to go out for cocktails... ;)

Life is just great at the moment!! I had a great long weekend spent watching DVDs, swimming, BBQing, and a few cocktails slipped in there too. I have a problem with cocktails at the moment.... it's not good!!! ;) The main thing was just chilling with my boy and my family - the special people in my life.

I've been hitting the pool for my lappys a few times each week. Now, I am the furtherest(?) thing from a swimmer. The last time I swam a 'proper' lap was in 8th grade on the first PE lesson of the year. Thought I'd better, and just maybe over the holidays I may have improved. Nope! Actually I don't think I ever made a whole 50m lap, ever. No kidding! After that first PE lesson, I had a year-long period (male teacher never questioned it!! HA!) PLUS a permanent ear-ache. Didn't I have it tough ;) About 2 years ago I did go through a phase, but only ever swam with aids in the form of flippers and kickboard. Till now. I have to be tough.

I've been swimming 22 laps - 1.1kms - why 22 I don't know... I just can't settle with 20. Just like I can never set my alarm clock ending with a :_0 or a :_5. But that's another story. So the first time I did 25m without flippers. I only stopped coz I was gagging for air. The next time I did 4x 50m laps flipper-less, then 6x laps now I'm up to 8x laps! Does it matter that I have to have a 10second-1min rest at each end?!?! The rest are done with the saviours called flippers. I AM FACING MY FEARS AND WINNING!! Next... to perfect the not-having-a-rest-between-laps then god forbid... a tumble turn!

200!

This is my 200th post. It surely took a long time coming... 2 years in fact!

I'm back at work this week after 4 weeks off over Christmas. It was very tough getting up at 4.30am Monday morning. My body doesn't know what's going on! The first 2 weeks the ol' clock ticked in and I was up early. Not so productive the second 2 weeks!! I didn't think it was possible to stay in till 7.30am!! Anyway, won't take long to get back into normal routine.

My year so far has been great. I've sorted out alot of personal issues and I've never been happier for it. Work is going well. I'm not tooo busy this week, which I was stressing over, but within the next 2 weeks things will go bananas again, and I hope to be back up to 90% booked out :) At least I can ease in gently for now ;P

I'm looking forward to the long weekend (you'd think I never did any work!). The painter is finally coming to finish off the studios on Sunday (poor bugger - his suggestion, not mine though!), so then I can put up all my new posters and pretty the place up! I've still got to assemble a Smith Machine which is in a kazillion little pieces - just seeing all the different screws and thingys was enough to scare me off doing it. That will be Monday's job, along with re-arranging everything to make it all pwetty :)

I'm off to Brisbane in 3 weeks for a course that I'm really really looking forward to doing. I finish the course on a Sunday, the 'graduation' is on the Tuesday nite. My OH is coming down so we can spend 2 days together. I cannot wait. We're living it up, as I always seem to do with him! - staying at the Hilton on Queen Street Mall. I just LOVE it there. Although the idea of funding those Hilton sisters doesn't make it as appealing... ;)

Hi Guys...

It's been awhile since my last post. I've got a bit going on at the moment, and I'm still on holidays so I'm not on the computer daily. It's been good having a break from it.
I have typed up many entries that I just posted today with the relevant dates. I'll be back again soon :)

Saturday 5th January 2008

2008 GOALS

Professional:
To take the studios to a new level.
To cut back my hours – realistically I cannot work 14hour days forever.
To take more time out.
To implement some different training sessions I’ve been working on.

Personal:
-See all those run times to the right, they’re all gonna get smashed!!! ;) I’m working with a trainer who is KILLING me in training. My times aren’t breaking any records at the moment, but consistency and the WANT will get me there. Realistically – the longer distance times can improve, but the shorter ones may just hold their place on the blog board for a little longer!
- To do my first triathlon!! It’s coming, in March!
- To get my shoulder sorted out for good. Currently in progress!
- To respect my body, feed it nutritious fuel, and it will perform better and stronger
- To be a more giving, loving and understanding partner, daughter, sister, friend and trainer.

- To not sweat the small stuff and count my blessings, every day :)

Friday 4th January 2008

2007 Wrap-up

Wowsers, it really was a massive year for me. I learnt a lot about myself and what makes me happy/stressed/depressed.

Highlights:

After a very trying 2006, I became HAPPY again!! Everything just fell into place after 9 months of wondering when I was going to love life again and get out of the big dark depressive hole I was in for most of 2006. (Due to work)

My best friend had her second little girl :)

I made the annual trek to Sydney in April for the FILEX convention and had my annual catch-up with Kek and Jay. We met Lindy Olsen and got pics with lots of muscle bound, half naked men. And can’t forget all the free samples. What a dream holiday!

I got back together with my boyf after a 6month split, due to my issues in 2006. We’ve been together 3 years now (well, less the 6 months).

I had a fly-by trip to Brisbane with my sister in May to see P!NK! She ROCKS!!

I did my first ½ marathon in June!! Came in under my goal time which was an extra bonus!

Also in June, did the annual King of the Mountain Run and came second female overall – my best ever result!

I had a fly-by trip to Melbourne in July to see my first ever bodybuilding comp, the All Females. Got to meet lots of people in person! Kek put me up when I was there and I became her 4th child – the girl she always wanted, hey Kek!! ;) – and managed to stir The Baby just a tad more than he stirred me ;)

Late 2007, I was FINALLY able to renovate my studios, and upgrade some of my equipment. Finishing touches still in progress.

And gained two new staff members, who are excellent trainers.

The lowlights:

That it took me too long to realise that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.

I went through a winter depression… a reeeeaaalllly bad one where I needed to just hibernate for the winter. No enthusiasm for life, no motivation for exercise, and gained 3kgs.

I lost two long-serving staff members to follow their dreams :)

All in all, not a bad year :)

What I learnt:

That I don’t HAVE to do everything and the world won’t end if it doesn’t go as planned. If a staff member was ill, I used to have major anxiety attacks thinking how am I going to train all those clients as well as mine. Guess what? They weren’t cranky that their session had to be re-scheduled (in fact, most probably loved putting it off!!), getting ill sometimes is a part of life. Or on the other hand, if I’m sick or injured, I don’t HAVE to be training people when on my deathbed. My body is telling me something, maybe I should listen! Why make them sick too?

That I can handle stress if I just calm down and think rationally. The worst things that could happen rarely do… take each moment as it happens.

That it’s not a crime to take time out. I have always felt guilty if there’s work to be done and I’m not doing it. There always will be work to do, I need to work on looking after my mental state as well.

To love my legs!! I’ve always HATED my legs. I’ve always had muscular legs without doing a skerrick of gym work. Confession: I only started adding leg training to my regime when my trainer at the time made me. That was 2 years ago. I’ve always called them my fat legs. BUT, they help me run up hills!! (I do a lot better in hilly/trail run courses, than flat ones). They help me run fast. They are strong!

To accept my body. I’m 51kgs. I am NOT fat. I would still love to drop some body fat but then I’ll change the goalposts again. I have never been happy with my body, however, I accept it. I am fit, healthy, well, I have nothing to complain about! I will strive towards my goals, but not hating myself along the way.

To not “Sweat the Small Stuff and Just count your Blessings!!”

Phew what a year!!!

Friday 28th December 2007

Christmas 2007 all Over

After my big countdown it was over in a flash!! I got up at 5am and went with dad for a bikeride. It was very quiet. All the kiddies were supposed to be out with their new toys! These days, I guess it’s all indoor gadgets – playstations and other gizmos.
I probably looked like the excited kid out on her new bike :P I did get very spoilt though!!
My whole immediate family was together this year – which is nice – seeing as we all have partners with families who we have to share time with.
If was pouring down all day, nice heavy rain. It was a welcome change from the steaming Christmases we usually have. We drank cocktails – some very interesting concoctions came out. We played volleyball in the pool in the rain. It was just a great day, and my nan especially had a wonderful time just watching us in playing in the pool. Can’t beat Christmas with family :)

Friday 28th December 2007

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and Just Count Your Blessings

Just before Christmas, the death of my mum’s friend from cancer really shook us around a bit. To be so young, so healthy, and to be told you wouldn’t see Christmas when Christmas was only 5 months away… how can anyone accept that? How can a family accept that? There was not one dry eye at the church for the funeral. The minister told her whole life story as written by her husband and three children. We laughed, we were shocked and we cried. Her children – 21, 19 & 16 and her husband slept in the lounge room by her side when they knew it was coming to the end… they said their good-byes, put on her favourite music and held her hands and feet…
The last time I saw Helen was her daughter’s 21st birthday in November. She was good that day. It was also the last day she was able to eat. The tumors which had spread to her stomache didn’t allow her to even eat a mouthful of food without being sick after it. She passed away weighing 29kgs.
Why am I writing all these sad details??
Because she's taught me something. Although her illness was terminal, she never gave up. She researched and did everything she could to give herself the best chance. She used the quote “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and Just Count Your Blessings” all the time. Any crises that I thought was the end of the world was nothing compared to what her and her family were going through. Helen couldn’t even eat, and here I am whinging about losing some fat, or complaining how gross this or that food was, or on the other hand, complaining about eating too much.
In memory of Helen, at the funeral service we were all given bookmarks with her picture and her quote. I use it and see it every time I open up my book and it makes me grateful! I hope many others at the funeral took something positive away as well.

“Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and Just Count Your Blessings”.

I hope you all have a healthy, happy and safe day and spend lots of valuable time with your loved ones.

Selina

It's been 5 years...

Since my white Christmas in Canada. I was fortunate to spend it with my two bestest friends in the whole wide world. One I was travelling with, the other was on her honeymoon and we met up in Whistler in BC to spend Christmas together. This is us on Christmas Eve wondering through Whistler Village. It was magical!

This is the view from our room when we woke on Christmas morning. The Christmas trees were covered in newly fallen snow!

This is our snowman "Rudolph". He was alot harder to build then we thought!!

Memories, memories. I would love to experience another one, but only if my whole family comes next time. :)

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I'm loving being on holidays :) Alot of my clients said "you must be looking forward to sleeping in and just relaxing and doing nothing", my response was quite the opposite "no way, I can't wait to get out and train and train and train as much as I'd like to every day!!" They look at me like I'm sick.

I went for a cycle with dad yesterday morning for 70mins, then tried a transition change and went straight into a 40minute run. Gawd, that's a lot harder than the pros make it look! ;) My legs were wobbly for the first 20mins, I probably looked a little tipsy!! Today it's off to the gym to smash the legs and do shoulder rehab.

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Tonite is Christmas mass and then our traditional party at my nan's house. It's such a special part of Christmas for us, and it means alot to her as well. One more sleep!!

In the Spirit...

I JUST LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

I've been doing the countdown for about 10 weeks now, and now there's only THREE sleeps to go!! We had our Christmas Cardio Circuit at work today (yes I know I'm supposed to be on holidays, but I had to come in today!!), and everyone just had a great time. We advertised that there was going to be a special guest, so the trainer who took the circuit dressed up as Santa! I was dressed in red and had my reindeer antlers on, and some of the clients had Christmas accessories on as well. To my disappointment, they drew the line at having Christmas music on to do the circuit to! It was a fun, festive environment! We finished off with a little party and drew random prizes for the attendees. :)

Now I'm entertaining myself as I'm banned from the shopping centre as my OH is there buying my Christmas gift!!!! I've been bugging him for weeks "what are you getting me, what are you getting me", "have you got my present yet, have you got my present yet". I'm a big kid when there's gifts around... if there's something with my name on it under the tree, I have to look, touch, feel and try to peek to see what it is... I have no patience... only three sleeps!!

Bliss...

Last weekend was great to get away from everything all and just relax. Saturday afternoon was spent in the pool drinking cocktails. We enjoyed a lovely seafood dinner on Saturday evening.

This was the view standing from the doorway in our room :) Pic taken at 5am on Sunday - body clock ticked in as normal :)


This pic I took while lying in the hammock outside our room. I spent an hour in there just enjoying the scenery after waking up at 5am. Plus, breakfast wasn't ready till later!!

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I've got to attend a funeral today. My friend's mother past away last weekend from pancreatic cancer. She was only 48. She was only diagnosed in September with cancer. It's just so so sad. The youngest child is only 16. Their father this year has lost his mother, his father and his wife. I've got a lot to be thankful for.

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Today is my last day of work for F.O.U.R weeks!! This time of year is slow so it's my only opportunity to take real holidays. It's been 2 years since I've had time off that isn't a rushed weekend, or something to do with work, so as you can imagine, I'm hanging out big time!! Lots to do today to get everything organised at work while I'm MIA :)

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I saw a sports medicine doctor yesterday for my shoulder. He pointed out that although the ultrasound showed nothing, it's only covering some bits, not getting it all. I've got to go back to rehab again - so no upper training for another 6-8 weeks except for strengthening exercises. I'll be a good patient and see what I can do. The sooner it's all working properly again, the better.

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ENJOY THE WEEKEND!!! ONLY 4 SLEEPS!!

What I cut my island weekend short for...

Came home early NOT hungover ;) to get into work to assemble the following...


There are bits and pieces pieces of what are going to be, 3 nice big sturdy machines. Right now, the boys are hard at work. I'm not required coz I have no idea how to do what they're doing :) I'm just site supervisor :P

Best Piece of Advice I've Ever Received

NOT! Let me start at the beginning... grab a pillow this is gonna be a long ride ;)
After having frequent pain in my left shoulder for about 12 months - I have mentioned (maybe I should say, whined) about it many times in this blog, I got a referral for an ultrasound. I've had fortnightly massages, had my chiro play around, done zero boxing with clients - much to their disappointment, had various months off upper body training, only to go to baby weights and it flares again, changed my computer to help my posture... etc etc etc. So after having the last 5 weeks off any upper body training, lefty was going great! So well, I thought it was better. Soooo I train upper, and helloooo here we go again. Usually only chest exercises irritated it, now it's all upper training. CRAP. So I'd had jack of it, tried everything else recommended, so made the doc's appt, and paid a fortune for a lil slip of paper to say I need an ultrasound.

So off I went today. Got naked almost and let them rub a cold thingy-me-jiggy over my arm whilst I performed various movements. It was quite interesting to see it all on screen, reality TV at it's best. ;) Anyway, mr radiologist #1 got mr radiologist #2 to come in and ask me further questions. I explained what hurt etc. He said "Well the ultrasound shows up nothing there". My face falls - I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP! I tell him what movements I can't perform (ie I can't undo my bra clip with my left arm, I can't do tricep dips let alone real dips as it 'catches' in that position) and he comes out with "Just avoid anything that aggravates it". Like what... anything to do with my upper body?? I almost laughed, and then smacked him. Then I almost cried.

What do I do now?!?

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Santa came early today. Santa in the form of a Qld Rail employee.... with... *wait for it*................. ALL MY NEW EQUIPMENT!!!!!!!!!
So there's 3 new machines in a kazillion pieces on the studio floor at the moment, with............... NO instructions. So I call the supplier who says "That's because there are no instructions. It's all self-explanatory". HELLO?!?!? Self explanatory for who?? You who puts them together all day, or me, who has zero patience, and can hardly do a puzzle, let alone BIG 3D ones?!?!

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On a better note, I'm getting away for the weekend. Going to an island for my OH's Christmas party. Best part, is it's all paid for. I don't even have to take my wallet. Except I probably should for ID purposes incase I'm found passed out in a garden from drinking too much free alcohol.
I'm kidding about that part :P Serious :) I've got to come into work on Sunday to assemble the self explanatory machines...

Meet my new best friend...

We spent 1hr and 50mins of quality time together this morning. I just love this time of year, there's so much sun, and thanks to my reliable body clock I start becoming conscious about 5am and spring out of bed not long after. :))

My ankle is doing good, ice, compression, small doses of elevation and anti-inflammatories did the trick. Still sore to move, but can walk normal. Should be right to run in the next few days :)

I joined the club today!!! I fell off my bike!! LoL *(see previous bike posts if that makes no sense)* The fact that I don't even wear the 'proper' shoes and clippy thingy yets makes it not quite legitimate though!!
Imagine: Girl feeling like an elite athlete on new bike, flying round corners, on the same bikepath as ankle incident yesterday (I think I need to get off that path!), debris still everywhere, mis-negotiates a turn on the path, ends up with tyre wedged between path and soft dirt, runs into tree and headbutts a branch (incident #2 where I owe my life to my helmet!), screams and falls into the dirt, taking the tree branch with her. Couldn't get up as was cracking up laughing!! Little Miss Klutz is at it again! Worst injury was to the bike with the chain coming off, but easy fixed.
No better way to start Sunday!?!

LUNCH!!

Tuna, Cottage Cheese and Pineapple Lettuce Wraps

The tuna has cucumber and red capsicum mixed through it and placed on top of a pineapple slice (which you can't see). Topped with cottage cheese and tomato. YUM!!
Eating it isn't all that graceful but worth it all the same!
I like have lots of time to prepare yummy lunches!!

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We had a whopper of a storm last nite here, it was an open-air disco, all nite. We lost power at 12.00am, it didn't come back on till 5am. Not fun trying to sleep with no air-con or fan, and having to close all windows from the strong, horizontal rain! Of course at 5am when I just got comfy again my alarm went off for a run.

...which was very eventful. I came across street signs that had been knocked down in the storm, there was debris over the road everywhere including lots of dead toads...

The birds were out, so this time I armed myself with a stick. Luckily (for them!) today I didn't need it. Should of held onto it thought - a rather large dog scared the bejeezus out of me - decided it would be funny to come charging at me from it's hiding spot down a secluded pathway (don't know where it came from, but wasn't impressed with the owners not keeping it in the yard). I screamed, and probably woke a few people up. I'm terrified of big dogs. I just don't like them. It liked me though and I couldn't get rid of it. Until I had to out-smart it by running round a shop - when it got excited and took off, I quickly did a U-turn and got outta there and down the next street. Nothing like a little bit of sprint training :P

At exactly 59mins and 45secs into the run disaster struck. The path I was on was covered in pine needles and pine cones, all blown off in the storm. The path was hardly visible. Of course, Miss Klutz had to step right on top of a pine cone, rolling her ankle. Man it hurt. I limped back home which took 20 mins. Lucky it was on the way back through at the end of the run and not the beginning. It's big and fat and sore, but I'm tough.

Tomorrow will be a bike ride and maybe even a swim :) I love weekends!!!

I can waffle better than I thought!!

I got a phone call yesterday from a local coffee table type publication asking me to write an article for an upcoming edition. Yep, no worries, I've done it before, I thought. Great, she says, I'll need it by 1.00pm Thursday. EXCUSE ME?!?!?! Like I have nothing else to do at the moment!!! So I've been putting it off and honestly I didn't know where to start!! Just an article - no topic to go by, just a 400-500 word article. Last nite I could have done it, nah, put it onWednesday's To Do List. I've procrastinated all day, done every other little insignificant job (like cleaning out a drawer!!) then that was the only one left. This will be a late night, I thought at 3.00pm when I started it. You know, just like when school assignments were due 8.30am Monday morning , and you were up till midnight getting them done?!?! Well I'm pleased to announce that by 3.30pm I had finished!! So now later on I'll be off for a run and then you guessed it - a bike ride!!! ;) Must remember to never under-estimate my powers of waffling!!!

Could I be addicted??

I love my bike, I love my bike, I love my bike!! Sore bits or not I was on it again on the weekend. Saturday morning was an early 1hr 10min run, then straight onto the bike. I had to do it in that order, coz if I started with bike, I wouldn't have gotten off it :P All done and dusted before 7.30am :) There were 3 separate near misses with attacking birds, thank goodness for helmets, I hope the sucker has a dent in his beak :P

Just like Riding a Bike huh?

That's what I thought well, riding a bike might be like... my mistake!! I finally got out on my new lil demon the other nite, I hope the neighbours were entertained! I haven't ridden a bike since about 2001 as my goregeous lil brother decided he'd ride big sis' bike to school and not lock it up therefore leaving a temptation too good to refuse to the theives of the world, but that's another story...
Back then it was a mountain bike. Not a light skinny road bike that even I can pick up with one hand.
I was wobbly, I was freaking out, I was very tentative turning corners!!
Now I'm bruised in that part, but I can't wait to do it again!
The best part - I still belong in the group of people who are about to fall off their bike!!! :P

Can she do it, can she do it... YES SHE CAN!!!

Each day is one step at a time. 5 weeks to go, breathe... hang in there 5 weeks till Christmas girl!! I've been sooo flamin' unbelievably busy!!!!!!!! I haven't had a chance to grab some air for weeks. The two trainers previously mentioned have both finished up now :( was sad, but a new era begins!! The two newies are doing really well, which I'm stoked about. At this stage they don't know the fiddly admin bits, so that's put heaps more pressure on me, but we'll get there. I was so used to having staff who knew how to run the business, I forgot how much extra work it is!! Must remember to not take that for granted.
I'm pretty weary from lack of sleep, surviving on 5-6 hours sleep and doing up to 14 hour days (but whatelse is new!!). I just need to keep my head above water till Christmas then I can relax. The renovations aren't quite finished, but the rest of the equipment should be in next weekend, then I'll spend the whole weekend trying to put it together. Help anyone?! ;) Putting together big puzzles is certainly not my strong point!!

I've been managing to squeeze in my planned running sessions all outdoors, I'm having sooo much fun with this program. Last weeks goal session was 4 x 1km efforts, with 1min 30sec standing recovery in betweet. Goal time was to be under 4mins 20secs. Pleased to say my fastest was 4min 11secs, slowest was 4mins 23 secs :) Not bad considering I'm struggling to hold together 5min kms during a 5km run!! Nothing like a challenge to get me moving.

I've also got a new road bike!!! I bought if off my trainer who left to travel, it's a DiamondBack Racer... I don't know alot about bikes yet, but it's sposed to be a good one :) Unfortunately I haven't even ridden it yet!!!! ARGH!!! I won't be touching the little thingies that lock your feet in just yet, that's just an accident waiting to happen!! I've been told there's 2 types of cyclists, those who have fallen off, and those who are about to!!! HA!

Last weekend I did a Punchfit Punch Pad course - so now I have a pretty little certificate saying I'm qualified. My body was so sore!! I was hurting in places I've never hurt before!! It was heaps of fun!!

Another thing I'm keeping busy with at work...

Breast Cancer Foundation Fundraiser

From October 29th – December 5th, 2007, I have taken up the challenge of entering a local ‘Pink Ribbon Hero Quest’. This quest is an important mission to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Why I have decided to do this

We all know someone who has been touched by some form of cancer. I have decided to help fundraise for Breast Cancer Foundation as my sister has a good friend who has been through it all. At 26 years of age, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and started chemotherapy and radiation therapy at 27. She was in remission for 2 years until earlier this year at age 29, she found another lump which had spread. My sister was with her while she had one of her second lots of chemotherapy, and the processes she explained to me brought tears to my eyes. The friend, only 2 weeks ago had her first mastectomy – in 6 months time will have the second after completing radiation therapy. At the young age of 30, she has been through breast cancer twice, which is why this cause touches a chord with me.

My Goal

My goal is to raise a minimum of $1,000. My competitive streak is coming out, as there is a bit of a contest as to who can be the highest fundraiser. It is my personal goal to be the winner for this cause.

How You Can Help

Donations - To donate to the ‘Pink Ribbon Hero Quest’, you can simply make a donation – every cent goes towards making a huge difference. Donations over $2 will be issued a receipt and are fully tax deductible. Direct credit into our bank account can be accepted, as well as a credit card deduction (+ 1.5% credit card charge fee).

And for our training clients and locals...

Sweet jar – Guess the number of sweets in the jar. $1 per guess – winner takes it all (great to give away as a Christmas gift!!)

Men – wear a pink shirt to your training session and we’ll donate $2 per session! Tip – the brighter the better!!! (And we have to take a picture for our board of fame!)

Water & Towels - All proceeds from water sold for cardio sessions and towels hired between now and December 5th, will be donated to the foundation.

I thank you in advance for supporting this worthy cause. I am fortunate as no one in my immediate family has been affected by breast cancer. Every cent - large or small goes towards making a difference to those who have been.

“You can move mountains by
removing one rock at a time”

Ohh Eee Yee--ouch

One of the other trainers here and I trained each other today... holy crap I'm not gonna be able to walk tomorrow. We all train ourselves, but I forgot how much harder you can be pushed by a trainer. It felt great, and I was a painful client as I complained!! Hee hee, BUT I did it anyway ;) I was smart and went first though, *evil giggle* coz then it was my turn to dish it back!! She said the only other time she felt so close to death was after her first Olympic distance triathlon. I'm taking that as a compliment. She a tough little cookie, we had some huge weights and her form is impeccable. Strongest female I've ever had the pleasure of putting through a session. It's something we're all going to do more often, it's just so hard to find a time when one of us can train when the other isn't working! Having said that, I hope we're both capable of working tomorrow...!!! :)

It's All Happening!!

I feel like I haven't had a chance to breathe for weeks! As well as getting all in order for the new staff, after waiting since April, yes that long, to get approval to do renovations to my studios, it finally happened last week!!! Everything at once, so I've been busy busy busy!! But it's sooo exciting; I can finally get all the new equipment I ordered and paid for way back in June, up here!! I can't wait to see the finished product, and nor can the clients. The builder has done his job, the plasterer has now finished, it's just the painter to make it look alll pretty and me to put all my flash new motivational posters and prints on the wall and rearranging the furniture and YEEHAAAA we're done!! I love new things, best of all a new playground!!
Will post some pics in the next few weeks when it's done!!!

TIME FLIES!!!

Well it's now seven weeks today till Christmas!! Which means it's been two weeks since I contributed anything to my blog...(thanks for the push Hils!)

I've been so busy and had many stressful moments over the past month, but at the end of the day, I'm still alive and kicking!! Kicking hard at that :P

One of my two main trainers finished up last Tuesday so that was sad to say buh-bye. He's off venturing around the world, and I don't blame him one bit!! His replacement is going well as she has been working with us all year, she's just picked up more shifts.

My other trainer, who is also a really good friend, finishes next week. That will be said to see her go, she too is fulfulling her travelling dreams. To save stress I started recruiting for staff 2 months ago... I had a fantastic replacement, she was so keen to start, the current trainer was happy to finish up next week (instead of holding out till the end of the year as originally planned). About 4 weeks ago the new girl pulled the pin before she even started, so that left us up the creek without a... trainer! The current one already has flights booked or she told me she definitely would have stayed there was someone else. Another trainer came along and she told me the job was hers (ie - very keen too!!!), but last week also pulled the pin without even starting... I'm starting to get a complex here - come on, I'm not that hard to work for!!! Although these two things have brought on mini stress attacks - hence the few senseless stress posts previously, I'm coping 100% better to what I was a year ago, when I had a mini breakdown! I've come to realise that we can only do what we can do, and the world isn't going to end if things don't go quite to plan :)

It'll be sad to have no one to share training stories with - the only person in my current world who understands what if feels like to train with passion!! To run so hard you nearly throw up, to have DOMS so unbelievely bad that walking into work is a chore, and to sacrifice nites out just to get up early and train. See why I love my blogging buddies so much!!! :)

I'm buying her road racing bike off her, which is a damn good one at that which I'm SOOOO excited about!! My christmas has come early!! I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!

In other training news - I've got an awesome running program I'm smashing myself with, I'm hoping to get a little speed in the off season, to come back faster and stronger next year!! Todays efforts were just that - a huge effort, with the serious leg DOMS I'm carrying. All I was thinking was "if you can do it with sore legs, it's gonna be 10x easier with fresh legs, so JUST DO IT!!" By the end I was a poster girl for the Nike 'run ugly' campaign!!

Hope everyone had a win today!! In all honesty, I didn't even hear the race on the radio... so who won?!?! ;)

NINE WEEKS TILL SANTA COMES!!!

Can I wait?? Hell NO!!!!!!!

Sooky??

Cripes I'm in a lotta pain!! DOMS DOMS DOMS. I used to love the feeling, but lately it's just a pain in the butt (scuse the pun)!! My chest is so sore to even place a finger on, and that's from Monday. I can feel every single individual muscle in my legs from Tuesdays training, and that's not fun! Every time I train one part or the other, I get such bad DOMS, so bad it hinders everything else!! I have to alter work - from the warm ups (boxing HURTS a sore chest!!), to loading up the machines, to stretching - what, you want me to squat down and assist you?!?
Then there's my own training, cardio hardly exists with my legs in this state. A 5min warm-up is a huge struggle, never mind interval training! :(
I lurve, and will always weight train, the DOMS factor is just really annoying!! Does anyone else get it reaaally unbearably bad every single session, or do I just need to toughen up princess?!?!? LOL ;P

Happy Birthday!

It's my little brother's birthday today. He's a big 21 years old!! I remember when I used to pick him up and carry him around. These days he can pick me up and throw me across the room!! It's a big weekend in store - I have my work social function which is a farewell party for two of the staff, then Saturday nite is his 21st party, as well as my Road Runners presentation dinner, which looks like I will have to miss out on. Normally I'm lucky to have one event on in a weekend, let alone three this weekend! So of course I had to buy a new outfit for the occassion.... any excuse!!

More Shopping!!

OH and I went shopping on Sunday for me to look at laptops. I walked away with nothing, he left with a $9000 hole in his pocket!! The joys of getting all the fun bits into a brand new house!
Hopefully not long now till he can move in :) We need somewhere to store all the electrical goods!

"Pressure creates diamonds..."
That's what a wise man once told me!!
I still have a small crisis on my hands but we can only do what we can do. I handle bad news alot better these days then a year ago. That's what experience does!
I'm totally buggered today, I've managed to fit in a big week of training so far and I'm not letting anything stop me!
Gotta bolt..............................

Don't stress over things you have no control over...

Sounds easy, harder to do. I just got some effin shitty news... Here comes another sleepless nite. Things have been going so smooth for me, knew it would be too good to be true.
ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!! When when when will my life become balanced and not 90% work 10% me?!?!?!?
Be back... :)

AHHHHH-HA!

It only took me a year to realise what was contributing to my persistent shoulder pain... my computer! DUH!! My desk is a little squishy and I had a box monitor from when the place opened (hey, dark ages I know, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it!). This meant typed on a slight angle with my left arm having to lean further than it should have... welll ta-daaaa. After a heuwge day at the puter I had the dull aches and finally realised this would be part of the prob. So I went shopping and got a brand new flat screen. As well as feeling like I'm part of the current century now, my posture is a lot better thanks :)

Everything has decided to kark it lately, so it was a great spree. My i-river copped a bit of water damage. Well I think that's what killed it. I went on a 15km run and of course the furtherest bit from home it started to rain. Ok, make that pour. Enough said. The same weekend my trusty old DVD-VCR decided to chew up my tape. Yes, a tape. And then die, keeping my tape in its final resting place. So I missed out on two weeks of my fave show. :(

The electrical goods salesman got a great deal out of me that day - hope he works on commission! A flat screen monitor, a DVD-VCR and a new MP3. This time I went with an i-pod shuffle. A bright pink one. It's so small! Now I just have to work out how to use i-tunes. :)

Ho Hum...

I can't believe it's Wednesday already! I didn't really even have a weekend, it was go go go, so I'm looking forward to this one!! I spent Friday nite at OH's farm, and a little foal was born in the early hours of the morning while we were there!!! He is soooooo cute! (and I'm not an animal lover). The little horses are so gangly and awkward when they're new-born. Very, very cute!After cooing and babying it, we came back into town in enough time to get a work-out in before the gym shut. How romantic, right! Sad thing is that during the week, that's usually the only time we see each if we plan it right!!

I had a 10km road-run on Sunday, and as it's magpie season, this year I was smart enough to run with a big stick, occassionally swinging it round my head in warning... unlike the last time we ran this course, I wasn't going to get caught this time!! The run ended up on the beach so it was a nice start to the morning. An article submitted to the newspaper said that I "had a welcome return to running after a few weeks of unorthodox training regimes". Sounds good huh, like I was doing something really elite, like high-altitude training or something... It was in fact referring to my partying and staying out all nite, therefore being absent for the weekly run... LOL!

I've been really focused this week, doing everything to plan, and NOT letting work get in the way. My back is hurting like hell from Monday, and I hit my leggies hard today, so tomorrow should be interesting!! I also hit PBs on 2 shoulder exercises!!! I chucked the big plates on and thought 'holy crap, that looks massive, I can't do that', when usually I have a heap of little ones which almost make up the same weight anyway... mind over matter, and mind won!! YEHAA!!!

Work is busy busy for me, being end of quarter, but I'm coping, and it really is because I'm giving myself time-out to ensure I get to the gym when I plan to, not just hope to get there at some stage. In the next 6 weeks, both of the long-term trainers are finishing up, but I've filled the positions early and just a matter of training them up ready to take over. It's such a relief to have good back-up staff :)

Waffle over, enjoy the rest of the week all!!