...and breathe two, three....

Great news!! I have just achieved my Cert III in fitness training. I passed my exams, practical assessments, assignments and all the stuff students have to pass and I am now a qualified Group Fitness Instructor!!! I can now officially run group fitness sessions....I can see Boot Camps on the horizon!

The next step is to work on my Cert IV and that will enable me to be a personal trainer.

Everything seems to be falling into place since I returned home and it hasn't even been a year yet! Whoever is responsible.......thank you.

putting down roots....

Been busy spending some money lately!

It started with my beautiful Bertha then I thought 'why stop there', so I put an offer on a house. Its a lovely house with a nice big backyard with a load of fruit trees and 3 garages....yep, 3 garages! one for the car, one for Bertha and one for the pool table! The house is 7 kms from the rolling surf of Maroochydore beach and about 1 km from the Maroochydore river, its in a nice spot.

The house came up good at the building and pest inspection, no major problems there. The contract will become unconditional on May 20th then it will settle on June 28th, looking forward to moving in and playing house.

There isnt much to do to the house except personalise it, it can do with a bit of updating but that will come over time.

I guess this means I have made a commitment to stay in one place.......that makes me nervous and I have had a few anxious moments over it! Once I move in I am sure I will settle down.

I will post pics when I take some. Bertha introduced herself to the neighborhood the other day and I think she will like her new home!

Progress

Heres one for the books....I went riding on Bertha for 3 hours with a 30 minute water stop! The ride felt comfortable once I had settled into the saddle for the 'long haul'. I felt myself a bit tense at times and had to do a total body check to remind myself to relax, once I was relaxed Bertha and I just flowed together as one.....aahhh. The more I spend time on her the better it will become.

I have a friend who comes up from Brisbane for the weekend and we spend some time on our bikes....she has a sportster by the name of Harlot! So Harlot and Bertha are friends! She is good for me because she pushes me to go just that little bit further, I would have been quite happy to stop after an hour but she kept going and I'm glad I did.

I dont think you can really get the feel of a bike unless you spend a long time on it....the short rides are good but its the long rides that tell if the bike fits! Advice from my dear friend BHD!

I am still having trouble with the tight turns...terrified of dropping her! At one point I was going around this really small roundabout and couldnt get the turn in so ended up 'lugging' her around, there was no one else around thank god!

I don't want to rely on my friend coming up from Brisbane to ride, I am going to join a riders group up here on the Sunshine Coast so that I can get out every weekend even if it is just for an hour or so.

I will keep you all posted on my progress....little by little.

Big Bertha

Well "Big Bertha" has been in my life for a few weeks now (my Harley!) and every day our relationship is growing.

Today I took her out with a friend of mine who has had her Harley ("Harlot") for 8 months, we rode along the ocean road and took the girls out on the freeway. We all had a great time and my confidence with Bertha is improving. The more saddle time I get the better I feel handling her, my biggest issue is her weight, she's a big girl....hence the name! Once we are on the road her weight isn't an issue, its just when I move her around the driveway or garage.

My friend BHD who is a long time Harley rider and rides a gorgeous Road King, has given me some great advice and reassurance since I got Bertha, his latest piece of advice is to spend time just moving Bertha around, sit on her and move her around! This isn't as silly as this sounds, it actually works, it is giving me confidence moving her around. I was sort of doing that but only did it for a few minutes at a time, now I will make a point of doing it for longer and make sure I do it everyday!!

I was having reservations about bringing Bertha into my life, but its like any new relationship, bit nervous and curious at the same time! After today's ride I am feeling I have certainly made the right decision, I ask myself this question 'are the physical symptoms I am feeling when I approach her...racing heart, slight breathlessness, little shakes...fear or excitement?' and my answer is 'its whatever I want to interpret them as', I can choose fear or I can choose excitement, the symptoms are the same.....and it is excitement all the way!!

Back in the saddle!

Yup, I'm back in the saddle and it feels great. Been out a couple of times since I got my new bike, just small little rides just to get used to everything. I need to get used to her weight, how she handles, gears etc and I want to be comfortable with all these things before I venture out on a big ride on a big road with my big bike!! LOL.

I feel very nervous on the bike right now and the guy at the Harley place said "don't be frightened of her, respect her and she'll be good to you", thats good advice for anything female really!

Anyway, I wont be able to ride her until next Sunday as I am away for work all week, she'll be tucked up in her garage until then getting used to her new home.

Here she is!

Here she is....the new girl in my life....yes, I got myself a Harley!!! It's a 2010 Dyna Street Bob in vivid black.....brand spanking new! It was a long time coming but I found her and we will be out on the road, in the sun enjoying everything riding has to offer. I am excited and nervous at the same time.

I can't wait to personalise her with little bits of bling and a few modifications....the first thing I am getting done, and that will be done before I get her on Friday, is the forward pegs to accommodate my long legs, the guys are also going to put some Vance & Hines pipes on her.

I promised myself I would get myself a Harley before I was 50 and guess what.......I'm 50 in 2 weeks so I just made it!

It's going to be so good to be riding again...just in time for International Female Ride Day on May 7th!

To all my fellow riders....hey I'm back in the saddle....woo hoo! (Well I will be Friday!)

We did it!

Yep, I finished what I set out to do...I finished the cycle leg of the Mooloolaba Triathlon in under 2 hours which was my goal, infact my time was 1 hr 48 mins! I am pleased with that.

The morning started at 05.30, I had to get into the transition area and orientate the swimmer to where the bike was so she could run to it after her 1.5 km swim. We watched all the other age groups set off and we were getting more nervous by the minute. Eventually it was Jen's turn to head off to the start line for her swim, she's a great swimmer and we had every confidence in her, she finished her leg in 30 mins. As I saw her run into the transition area heading for me I knew there was no turning back for me, we transferred the timing chip to my leg, I got on my bike and I was off.

It was a real test of endurance for me, I found it hard and most times challenging. The weather was the worst during the cycle leg than it was for the whole day! The wind whipped up so we had a head wind going out, the rain set in and it was a torrential downpour, I couldn't see and I was totally soaked, this lasted for about 20 mins. Then the sun came out for a while and then the wind changed and the rain came again and the conditions were the same for the return leg. So many times I just wanted to get off the bike and wait to be picked up by the crew but something inside stopped me from doing that, every time I said to myself I can't do this and thought of stopping something spurred me on.

4 km from the end I got a terrible cramp in my leg and I couldn't push on, I stopped to massage my calf and promptly fell off the bike as I had no strength in my leg to hold it up, I fell to the roadside and just lay there with this awful cramp and a feeling of just wanting to give up. I couldn't believe there was no one around at this time, I was totally alone. I tried to walk with the bike but my leg was so painful that I had to stop again, I kept massaging it and managed to get back on the bike. I had to peddle slowly as I felt the cramp coming back, eventually the feeling subsided and I was able to pick up the pace again, as I turned the corner there was the last big hill I just told myself to do it slowly and get up that hill and finish the race. I managed to get up the hill and down the other side to the waiting crowd. The cheers and atmosphere helped me to dig deep within myself to make it to the end of the race...a total of 41.25 km!

I had no idea I was capable of such a feat, I got into the transition area and the runner took over, my part was over. Claire took off like grease lightening for her 10 km run, she had been raring to go since 05.30!

I took my shoes off and emptied out the water and rung my socks out, the extra water from the rain must have been an extra 1 kg I had to carry!!!! I went off to the first aid tent to get my graze cleaned up, I felt a bit of a fraud as the tent was full of severely dehydrated people receiving intravenous fluids and having broken bones set!

Claire came through the finish line with a big smile on her face and we were all so happy we had achieved something we set out to do.

The human body and the human mind are such incredible things that we seem to abuse and take for granted. Our bodies are capable of almost anything we put our minds to, we need to cherish and respect ourselves and others as we truly are a wonderful species!!

Mooloolaba Triathlon, Mens Elite

Today was the Mens Elite race at the Mooloolaba Triathlon. Participants from all over the world competed in this prestigious event. They had to swim 1.5kms in the ocean, bike 40kms and run 10kms. Those guys were unbelievable, the level of fitness was incredible, most of them completed the WHOLE thing in under 2 hours!!

Tomorrow its my turn.....to cycle the 40kms, I hoping I do that in 2 hours. Watching the men today inspired me as well as made me a bit nervous, I will think of those men tomorrow when I am struggling to complete my leg, it will inspire me to keep going.

The conditions today for the mens race were perfect, a very light breeze and the ocean was a nice temperature, their race started at 3pm so it was getting a little cooler from the 29 degrees it was earlier in the day. I hope we have similar conditions tomorrow.

Mooloolaba Triathlon

The butterflies have set in!!!

I took a walk up to the esplanade this afternoon for a bit of exercise and a look at the surf. Preparations are underway for the triathlon, the grandstand is going up and there are a lot of international athletes wandering around, the place has a buzz about it. The Chinese team were wandering on the beach, the Italian team were doing a bit of window shopping, the Japanese team were taking photos of everything...the place has a very international feel to it!

I am starting to get nervous and pumped at the same time, its a very exciting time for me as I have never competed in a triathlon before!

The big question is.....will I finish it.....or will it finish me??????

Live Strong!

Alright, so here's an update on the training for the triathlon. Phew, 40kms is a long way especially when the course is described as undulating....those little hills seem like mountains, with tired legs!

I haven't been training as much as I should have, I have just 10 days to go but I am not going to panic and I am going to keep my training sessions constant and not push to be quicker. I just want to finish the distance and be proud of what I achieve....maybe next year I will push my time!!

I am settling in very well on the Sunshine Coast and it is certainly agreeing with my physical health and state of mind! It is a healthy place to live, everyone is health conscious and enjoy the outdoors, especially the beach. I have found myself among a great community of people who I enjoy being with, we work hard and play hard.....a healthy balance.

As I think of my life I remember some of the fantastic people who have come into my life. I am so appreciative of their friendship over the years whether they were in my life for a short time, long time or are still in my life. I hope I have been the friend you have all been to me.