Exceptional

Well tonight is our last night in New York and we are currently sitting at the bar in Lincoln Center waiting for the NY Philharmonic concert (with a glass of Moët - of course!)

This morning was my last long run in my marathon training and over the past couple of runs something has happened. I started to believe in myself. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you believe in yourself.

Over the past year I have learnt not to define myself by what others think of me. I have an amazing support network of women who love and appreciate me for who I am and support my crazy ideas (like - 'I'm going to write a cookbook' or 'I'm going to run a marathon').

Even tonight as I was starting to let the doubts and anxiety over this marathon creep in I've had such amazing support (or just ass kicking) from these women reminding me that I can do this. I have put in the work and in 10 days I'll be running a marathon.

What I'm looking forward to about 2013 is letting go of the fear. Fear strips you of your confidence and stops you from experiencing life in all its awesomeness. Well I'm not going to live like that anymore!

2013 is going to be EXCEPTIONAL.

What will that mean? I don't really know yet. But I do know that in everything I do I'll be looking at how I can be the absolute best version of myself while doing it. I know that is going to mean some tough choices along the way and not just saying yes to something that sounds good at the time but will drain the life out of me along the way.

Tomorrow we head to Las Vegas and then San Diego before heading to Orlando next Thursday ahead of the marathon Sunday week.

So until next time...

What comes next - Part 1

Well 2012 was about STRENGTH.

I have been reflecting on what this word represented for me throughout the year. It was a very challenging year both personally and professionally. Injury, weight gain and anxiety added to the mix as well.

I came up with a goal for each letter in the word 'strength' that I was aiming to achieve to buy the letter for my pandora - so here's the run down.

S - (this one was a freebie)

T - Triathlon
Completed a six week training course for the Women's Triathlon in February and entered the event in the short course. My aim was under an hour and I completed the course in under 50 minutes.

R - Run 10km
This was a hard run. I'd originally planned on doing the bridges 10km but had a calf injury after the freeway bike hike. I did the Challenge fun run which was the morning after I arrived back from a school trip to Melbourne and I had a really bad cold. I completed the run in 79 minutes. The next official 10km event was in Margaret River where I came in at 70 minutes.

E - Endurance 70km cycle
The Freeway Bike hike is not an interesting ride, especially when doing it by yourself. I came in under 3 hours and was glad I made it and thankful for Perth crew friends at the end!

N - Never give up
Initially this was just about 12WBT and successfully completely at least one round. I think it is quite appropriate for how I have approached set backs throughout the year.

G - Goal weight
I didn't reach my goal weight this year but I have achieved all the fitness goals I set for myself which I think is amazing! I am now 2 weeks away from running my first marathon which is something I didn't think possible 12 months ago.

T - Tunnel run
HBF Run for a Reason was my first fun run in 2011 and for 2012 I decided to do the 14km run which includes running through the tunnel. Nat and I finished in 1:50.

H - Half marathon
Well I signed up for the city to surf half marathon training course through The Running Centre with Petina and neither of us ended up running the c2s! I did run the Perth Half Marathon though.

2013 is going to be fantastic. I have a few things in mind that will be revealed over the next week. But to leave you with a teaser...2013 is going to be...

Exceptional.

P.S. I ran 28km this morning. Just saying.

P.P.S To view a selection of photos from the year that was head to https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A85oqs3qcRoX7 

New York, New York

Well, I've been told off twice this morning for not updating my blog so I'd better get to it! At the moment, I'm on a train to Boston (first class, with free wifi and breakfast included) where we are going to spend the day. I've already eaten two meals worth of food in one sitting using the reasoning that I have a 28km run tomorrow (this is possibly why I only lost 200g this week lol!).

So, what has the last week or so included?

We said farewell to Chicago on Sunday afternoon. I got to explore a lot more of the city that last time as we had a few days there before the conference started. We got the news that my sister Emma had given birth to a baby girl, Elizabeth Grace on Friday 21 December and then spent an hour or so fiddling with FaceTime on Christmas Day trying to speak to everyone while our internet connection kept freezing!

We have discovered the joy of sharing photo streams - I started one of my photos for this trip and then Dad created one for Christmas and of Ellie.

Our first few days in Manhattan were spent strolling around the city. We have visited the Time Warner Mall at Columbus Circle, watched the New York String Orchestra (made up of players 15-22 years old) at Carnegie Hall, enjoyed High Tea at the Plaza Hotel, Saw the musical production of Elf, enjoyed Christmas lunch at the Russian Tea Rooms (where we were sitting next to a couple from Sydney who are both in the entertainment business. She is an agent or something like it with her own business and he is a dance teacher who worked in Bollywood for 10 years!), we visited the Christmas markets in Central Park and Bryant Park, the Asics store on 42nd st, Niketown and M and M's World.

As far as training goes, I had the most successful run I've had for a long time on Christmas morning. As Karin knows, I've been very cautious when it comes to hills because of my glutes. In each of our long runs I've walked up the slope to each bridge 'just in case'. Well, Central Park is full of hills. One section of my run (I think the 6-8km mark) was ALL hills! I made the decision to run and not stop running. So on Christmas morning, in sub zero conditions (although thankfully with sun) I ran non-stop for 18km. I did stop to fill up one of my water bottles at the 15km mark but that was it.

Tomorrow I have my 28km run which will be three laps of Central Park which means those hills three times! I know that it will be hard but I'm looking forward to the challenge. It will be interesting to see how different it is running in Vegas, San Diego and then Orlando with the warmer weather. One thing I never have to worry about here is my drink getting warm! It just gets colder and colder throughout the run!

As far as my weight loss has gone throughout this trip, and the current round of 12WBT here is a summary:

Starting weight: 87.6kg; BMI 33
Current weight: 84.8kg; BMI 31.9

My next weight related goal is to get below 80kg which will take my total weight loss to 20kg and my BMI to under 30 which is out of the obese range. Considering at the moment I am really just relying on the amount of running I am doing to drop the weight (don't always have the best options and am letting myself enjoy the holiday as well) I think this is really achievable by my birthday in March.

Coming up next - my word for 2013 and some new goals to work towards!

A younger me?

So I've been to the USA three times and have had very different experiences each time.

Visit 1: 2006 age 25
Visit 2: 2009 age 28
Visit 3: 2012 age 31

Apparently I've been losing years because I've been asked for ID nearly every day! I should take it as a compliment really but the only thing that's changed over the years (apart from hairstyles) is my weight.

Photos at the bottom are from each visit in order...

So what else has been happening? Well I was a wuss this morning and didn't want to run in the rain so I went and did my tempo run on the running track in the gym. I had to adjust the targets on my garmin from pace to heart rate, and was glad I know my approximate HR for different pace. It was a good session and I was really glad that there was a foam roller in the gym! What was even better was that my glutes and hips weren't too tight.

Another big win today was that I could weigh myself. Now it wasn't the usual 'wake up wee Wednesday' (for starters it was Thursday!) because I had my training gear on (no shoes). Since last Wednesday I've lost 600g which is awesome. The extra walking certainly helps!

Last day of the conference for me tomorrow - I got to hear a tuba concerto today which was an unexpected surprise. Tomorrow I've got a mix of clinics and concerts to go to which should be good.

Hope all my Perth friends are enjoying the hot weather!

The Windy City

Well thankfully Chicago didn't live up to its nickname on my run this morning because the wind combined with the cold would have done me in!

So far we have shopped along the magnificent mile, found a little jazz restaurant and did the 'Stopher Walking Tour' of Chicago (which basically means mum researched where we'd walked yesterday and then realised what we hadn't seen!).

Recommendations: eat at Bandera's. this was upstairs above a bank and we just happened across it. It was a really nice meal with a good atmosphere. They have live jazz on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Getting up to run this morning was a little weird as it was my first run over 12km without Karin. It was also still dark when my alarm went off at 6:30am! I discovered that bagels are an awesome pre-run meal (finally an excuse to eat bagels!) and that layers are no help at all in the cold!

Thanks to my 800 down Lululemon pullover my arms and torso were toasty warm once I got going. My ears were protected nicely by my head band but even with two layers (full length compressions and non-fleecy track pants) my legs were like frozen blocks of ice for most of the run! Anyone who says its only cold if you are standing still is lying! So see those who say the cold makes you go faster - it doesn't. It was a beautiful run despite the cold, and I'm glad I got out and did it. Running an extra 10km on Saturday will be interesting but the sun is supposed to be out!

The conference starts tomorrow which means no more sleep ins until New York next week! Looking forward to catching up with some friends from Uni who will be at the conference as they are studying in the US.

Waiting for news of my baby niece or nephew which should come any day now!

And we're off!

Well, 1 flight down and 2 to go!

A very early start this morning after only a few hours sleep meant I slept for most of the flight to Sydney. Now we're in the Qantas Lounge in Sydney having some lunch before our looooooong flight to Dallas this afternoon.

Highlight of the trip so far - the automatic pancake machine in Qantas Club Perth! What a great way to start the day. Now I'm relaxing with a glass of wine (so thankful to be off the antibiotics) and contemplating what to choose for lunch.

Looking forward to getting to Chicago and kinda looking forward to running in cooler weather - I just hope the 'windy city' doesn't live up to its name! Lots of posts coming in the next few weeks so I hope you enjoy!

Photos are:
1. Being being the 'embarrassing child' wearing my panda hat in QC Perth
2. Pancakes. Enough said.
3. Lunch in QC Sydney

Lesson 2

Considering I'm heading to Disney World for a marathon I think this is a pretty good quote! The next lesson I've learned is about the people who will come alongside you when you have a dream.

Lesson No. 2: Surround yourself with people who have your back. Remove yourself from those who don't.

I have an amazing group of friends, some closer than others but within the Perth Crew especially there are some phenomenal women who I'm so grateful to have had in my life over the past six months.

Natalie Campbell - my running partner since November 2011.
Nat and I have run a number of events together this year and while we always start together, the only event we finished together was the City to surf (which was spent on a golf cart!). When Petina got injured and had to pull out of the half marathon training course, Natalie just started doing my long runs with me!

Petina Weggelaar - my city to surf training partner
Petina and I signed up for the Half Marathon Training course run by The Running Centre and were so nervous before our first session! Our last long run together during the course (before I went to Greece and Petina got injured) was 10km which we managed to do while keeping up a nice conversation.

Karin Smith - there are no words...
Karin has been an AMAZING support for me, both in managing anxiety and just being there for my long runs. She will run at my pace and keep talking at me so that I keep running. I know that I will be able to re-run conversations in my head during my training sessions in the USA.

There are a number of other women who are just amazing but I can't mention them all in fear of forgetting someone!

But what about those who threaten to burst your bubble???

 

Source: sunshineandpearls.tumblr.com via Olivia on Pinterest

I believe that it is important to listen to the experts (such as my physio and coach at The Running Centre) but the people who are just negative about goals or dreams are not good people to spend time with. They drain your energy, motivation and willpower.

And finally,

Source: meggielynne.tumblr.com via Kristen on Pinterest