Flying moths and Week 19 done

Is it a bad thing that moths flew out of my swimming bag this week?  After considerable time off, the festive season blurring passed and being away last week in the southern states of Oz.  (A beautiful place where the humidity left the air and you could breathe again.)  I came back rested and ready to get cracking into 19 weeks left until the race.

trying to get off butt :)

After the initial get your butt out of bed and go to swimming session; first cab off the rank.  Fingers at the ready, I unzipped my swimming bag to check all was well.  It was well, alright, and I had additional friends to help me train.  A family of moths.  Let's just call them the Addams family.  I'm happy to report they have been since relocated and swim bag is free of moths.  Woot woo. :)

Saturday is our brick session day.  Now, if you are anything like me when I first started, I wondered what the hell was a brick session.  Did people throw bricks at one another, as strength training?  Did we each get a brick and carry under water like the chick in Blue Crush?  My mind did wonder as you can see.  In short, it means putting it all together (swim/bike/run or swim/bike bike/run etc) and practising those transitions and getting the jelly legs from bike to run (or in my case grandma shuffle) in motion.  Practice makes perfect, so I've been told. 

 

Never smile at crocodile...

My bike and I still haven't done road time yet so, instead of hitting road, did an extra swim session in the nets.  (It's Far North QLD, this time of year nets are in ocean to keep stingers away and I guess the crocs.)  And we would have got a lot of extra swimming in, until, coach thought she saw something surface and go back down in the net.  Hmmmm, let's just say after that we waiting until additional swimmers came down and did a couple of laps; they were all good so we went in after that.  That's how we roll in north! 

Despite the additional friends gathering, by Sunday I think I felt every muscle in my body.  Hello training.  It can only get better right.  Ha ha ha ha....

Train hard (or try your best, which is me)

Keep smiling

Shell xo :)

So it begins....Week 20

How can you not clear your mind looking at this....sunset Port Stephens NSW

The presses where running hot with training programmes spitting out from printers all over the world this week, or burning up the digital screen whatever shakes your boat.  20 Weeks until race day of Cairns 70.3 Ironman.  Am I worried, nawwwwwwwwwwwwwwh.  Am I concerned, nawwwwwwwwwwwh.  Has my brain left my head in a fit of shite scaredom, you bet ya. 

Strength training...Sydney

After having nearly 12 months off from, let's just say, exercise in general.  Well my mid life crisis body is really not at the point it was last year.  The base fitness I had, has left the building so to speak and let's just say an extra bloomin curve crept in there from emotional eating.  What me, emotional eat, never!

Climbing Tomaree Headland....Port Stephens

Anyways, it is time for the can of harden up to begin and start training.  

 So I did in my own way, and did the next best thing, ran away to Sydney town.  Now I know what you are thinking where is my commitment.  Trust me, I was committed to dancing with old friends, strength training through the Rocks watering holes, climbing mountains from my youth, walking the beaches and getting my mind in training mode.

Nothing like building up to it I say, I'm sure week 19 will be nothing like this week, back in Cairns so making the most of it.

Strength training is important, so is hydration. :)

Keep smiling

Shell xo :)

Opps I did it again.

So, the 70.3 Cairns Ironman and I has some unfinished business.  To say; to actually get to the start line this year will be a feat in itself.  But again my finger quivered over the final registration page on the Ironman rego page and hit enter for 2015, did I mention, AGAIN?

Yep, I know you'd think that mid-life crisis of doing the Point to Pinnacle (P2P) would have got all this out of the system.  But, alas, it has not.  Mind you it may have, for the P2P, I look at a wee hill now and I'm still scarred......

Now the training begins, got the all clear from physio to "go hard" with training.  It has all begun again.  I'm really hoping that I get past 14th February 2015 this year, and anything after that should be a bonus.

Woot woo :)

Here is to fun 20 weeks of training.   Oh man, did I just say fun....nuts, nuts is what I meant.

Safe training

Shell xo :)

Where did I go? Good question; I caught a train......

Yep, I know the idea of a blog is to write and keep it going on a regular basis.  As it appears, and to state the bloomin' obvious, I checked out for a while.  Sorry about that but I caught this bizarre train, and I know I should have probably documented every step of the 'journey' whilst on that train, but alas, I didn't.  So to get the express version I thought my pictures always explain things alot better than words sometimes, so check this one out.....

So, this train trip had many stations and still continues to do so; determination, pity, frustration, with a side trip to un-motivation town; repeat.  Eight months to the day today (14 October 2014)  I've been riding this train.  Going up, down and around in circles.  But there be light at the end of the tunnel and after a crazy ride the pity has left the building a long time ago.  Frustration town still creeps in, and visits to un-motivation town still continue to haunt me.  The flip side is there is more time between physio visits and now doing Ballet Bare, Pilates, swimming with a wee kick, and running (cliffy shuffle) at intervals woot woo.  So whilst my curves have increased through emotional eating and lack of moving (that is a whole different story), it is time to move forward and be grateful for the things I can do.  Because that is alot more than I could eight months ago.

So here is getting closer to motivation town and far away from frustration town (I'm only allowed to visit you on the odd occasion, being realistic here).   

Have a fun Tuesday and catch you down the road of motivation....

Shell xo :)

PS:  I promise will write soon.... :)

Waiting...mind games...waiting...hmmm

Two weeks of being puss in boot (plus the week before without) it is amazing how doing no training, sitting on ones butt can send the mind into overdrive.

Dream a little distant at moment :(

Two weeks 'immobilised' to start with were docs orders for my fabulous boot.  Together with a "if you must" you can swim with a pool buoy.  But I've done the 'listening' to my body this week and so far the aching ankle/leg has won out, no swimming either.  At the end of the day I figure it is better to get this thing fixed well and truly.  So down the track don't have further problems to put me out permanently.

BUT there in enters the waiting game....as she taps her fingers up and down on the desk.  In the past week, I've scanned the internet and truly if you took on board everything you read happening in the world, you'd be in the corner rocking backwards and forwards.  (I was seriously trying to avoid that before reading all the doom and gloom.)  Holy dooly people what is going on? 

By far the most disturbing for me was attack in China, in beautiful city of Kunming (Spring city).  I've

Bird and flower market of Kunming.

been there several times with charity that does summer camps for orphans.   I've danced with elderly in the People's park, doing their daily exercise with smiles.   Have friends live there.  Caught buses outside the very train station where 160 people were stabbed in cold blooded attacks by northern militant group (30 are now dead).  It is so sad that our tolerance for each other's beliefs, idealism, and need to use brutal violence is apparently only way (for some in their eyes) to be heard and point put across.  Or just do random things for no apparent reason.  It's that split second moment that changes hundreds of people's lives forever. 

With what positive thoughts I've been struggling to hold on to these past couple of weeks I send it to the families that have lost loved ones there.  It puts things into perspective and I know things are all relative. 

I may be injured, however, I still have my life, beautiful hubby, family, friends, house, food etc.  So I figure might be out six weeks maybe longer of my training schedule, next week I'll have more of an idea.  At the end of the day it's a dream, goal and my chasing a rainbow, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.  I do know there is one determined little vegemite keen to get back to training and make that finish line happen.

Which is funny because I used to be the chickeebabe that could sit for hours and watch tv, movies one after the other, stuff my face with food and thought, wow, isn't this cool.  Now (and I really don't know where this other chick has been hiding)  I see the sunshine or the rain outside and think where can I chase my rainbow today. Plus I'm looking at options of where else I can travel and do 70.3's if I can't do Cairns this year (and I haven't even completed one full one yet...totally nutter). 

When I train it makes me happy and also makes me feel great, even if get smashed during the session.  (yep, again with the nutter and OMG I think I've turned to the dark side of wanting to be all fitter and healthy because it is a great feeling..hee hee) I really miss that at the moment.   (I know, lay off the pain meds ha ha).

That old brain and I have been having a roller coaster over the past couple of weeks.  Frustration,

Flower from Hubby, called cat whiskers :)

happy, sad, etc.   Then this morning my amazing hubby leaves a beautiful flower for me on kitchen bench.    Everything turns to rainbows again.  Although, when you have idle time, that brain goes into overdrive..  Man, it is one powerful organ in the body ticking away there.  That if you don't get a control over it instead of chasing rainbows, dark clouds can hover and consume.  I might be hovering in-between some days at the moment but I'm really trying to aim for the rainbows.  Maybe this is the part where I mental prepare for my 70.3 ahead.  Maybe....

Aiming for happy days..and searching for good news stories. :)

Shell xoxo