qotd - an open door

Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing, that we see too late the one that is open.

- Alexander Graham Bell

qotd - effort

character

Character isn't built during the easy times. It isn't built during the hard times. It is built when you least expect it. It is built when you naturally do something others would not...
We could all learn a lot from this performance.

#HTFU

great walk re-opens!



this is the MAINTAINED trail?! - yeah, really!

a GREAT easter run today ...
discovered the great walk was re-opened on the 21st .. so decided to head in and do it :)
the goal? to run under four hours ...

went to the gym, did pump and balance first, lined up with kerrin to give me a lift back to pick up my car at brandy creek after i had completed it in the afternoon, then, headed home to spend a little time with storm before she went to work ...

aspartame causing severe depression

The National Institutes of Health characterise aspartame as an artificial sweetener that’s 220 times sweeter than sugar.
It’s a combination of phenylalanine and aspartic acid. Both of these ingredients are considered amino acids, which can make them sound somewhat healthy in nature.

However, there are links between the consumption of aspartame and depression.

qotd - be your best

I don't believe you have to be better than everybody else. I believe you have to be better than you ever thought YOU could be.

Ken Venturi

tuesday, termination

up early to get a run in before heading to the airport.
ran with bernie along 'the bay' ... its always interesting to see other peoples 'regular runs' and having the opportunity to be a part of them.. i remember doing rays back in december after c2k and his 'bay' was a different one :D
this morning, it was great to witness night turning to day as we ran along the coastline
bd was gonna join us on his bike but stayed in bed instead when the cold dark morning greeted us :D haha. SOFT!! :P

magical monday

oh what a day!
glorious glorious glorious - beginning to end! after a couple of days of cold rain, even the weather was simply perfect

headed with kerrin and kylah to breakfast, we got a little lost along the way, reward though - the yummiest fruit salad ...
then into virgin, kerrin and michelle doing the vipR course there - kylah and i hung around, checking it out :)
MASSIVE! too massive for me, but, amazing to see such a huge gym. they had a kick machine i could use very easily every day and not get bored of!! oh. and a sleep area :D now surely that could come in handy!
had to race fast back to the hotel as i had overstayed timewise, on the way stopped quickly at an eftpos to grab some cash, and the machine ate my card. BAD timing! would love to say haha! but boy did i  panic, fortunately, it was attached to a bank around the corner so i ran in, the front end guy, kept trying to calm me, sad to say he wasn't having much luck, now that IS a haha! :) he eventually retrieved my card but i must say i wasn't so calm till he did then it was like a huge relief ... had to race even faster then to the hotel to beat bluedogs arrival... made it with narry a moment to spare

sensational sunday

this final day came quickly ...
with the past few being so hectic i tried to take the time to actually relax a little more and absorb the absolute buzz of it all. finality.
no physical sessions today, so quite a brain burn - will make up for it tomorrow somehow!
my lack of running and/or exercise has been duly noted, commented upon and questioned :) haha! more than once. :D
i have no answer to that, i have been rather lazy i guess compared to normal, though to be fair, i HAVE had a couple of tough physical sessions so i haven't been completely idle ...
but, re my lack of exercise regime .... i have found the whole experience exhausting, specially from a 'being around people' pov, also. there are no 'time out' moments, no *my own space* moments ... it's just rush go rush go rush
not being able to sleep early so therefore not getting up as early as the others did, hasn't helped from a time management side ... its simply up, throw some grapes into my mouth, and off to the first session, just making it! besides, if it is such an issue, someone could have woken me and said oi, up lazybum and run!!!!!! :P~~

supersized saturday

misty tripoli - loved the vitality!

another fantastic day ...

PT breakfast <- wow, what a mixup! it was on my schedule they sent me. all good. paid for. done and dusted. then. it wasn't!!?!! i questioned it yesterday and got nowhere, they had booked me into a session i had no interest in, so, rather than enter into an argument when i was feeling so happy, i simply changed instead, to head to one of misty's 'groove' workshops. she inspired me more yesterday than michelle bridges ever has anyway.
OMG!!!!!!! that was the craziest, weirdest hour and a half of exercise i have done in the last five years of exercising!

if there had been anyone i knew in that room i would never have been able to do it without being super conscious :) however, by mid way through, i did actually start to 'feel it' ... and. i dripped sweat. from my eyelashes even! it is indeed a great workout if you can lose your inhibitions and simply.... move. but like yesterday, i found misty, truly inspirational ...

why people don't join gyms? <- one of my most interesting, eye opening sessions ... and one i had been looking forward to, hoping for that 'magic answer' ! well. no magic answer came. sat next to a really arrogant personal trainer though, he was 'f this' 'f that' at the people on the panel constantly and kept muttering what a waste of time it was and he should have gone to another session - well mate. theres the door!!
i think, i learned HEAPS. i loved it. if we cant look at other peoples view points about gyms, those that would never even consider one, then we have no hope of ever inspiring them to join, or even to take exercise seriously ... i think we were lucky, to have the opportunity for such an insight.

fabulous friday!

with misty tripoli - WOW! gorgeous (odd) woman!

adrenalin pumped!  :) it's been a blast so far.
hilarious keynote opening, two great sessions, one dud of a session, a FANTASTIC kickboxing workshop (oh i will be OUCH and bruised tomorrow) glorious fun, delicious lunch with sara (albeit quick), a rapid look around at the fitness convention stands,  a beer (haha fitness convention?!) and a wine! lovely dinner out, and sooooooooooo NOT sleepy right now, everyone else already snoring away ... :D yay for beautiful days! albeit. hectic, as all hell

michelle dean in the sh'bam opening - oh DROOL!!! :) the rest of it, interesting.

keynote: amanda gore - just HILARIOUS! sandwiched between michelle and mark, some  of the things we had to do, made me feel awkward, but hey, thats what its about! *always look on the bright side of life!*

planes, trains and .... odors!

a great day :D
had a wonderful morning at the gym, great people, a few enquiries, and just on an adrenalin buzz anyway, ready to head off ... plane trip. was a plane trip! ugh! prossy to brissy not so bad, other than, crammed into a plane is noones idea of fun and tough on my back, but brisbane to sydney was worse. squashed between a guy who i dont think had showered in months, and had sprayed himself, possibly in an attempt to conceal the fact he hadnt showered in months, in a throat choking, eye watering deodorant, and to my right, a large lady who's body rolled into my seat as well ... was grateful to arrive and get off the plane.

filex excitement

only a day until filex starts ... :D just been and dropped kerrin off at the airport and now, it is very real! anticipation, much!?! her excitement as leaving, fuelled a little extra i think cos she is the ONLY passenger on the plane (how cool!), has fed me!

finish at prossy gym early afternoon and head straight to the airport, sydney bound, where by then, everyone else will have arrived, be settled in, and have a day of seminars already under their belts :)

booked into some great sessions. i am told once there i may decide to change some of these - perhaps attaching myself to a particular speaker and wanting to hear more by them, but, at the moment, i am very happy with the choices i have made. i know i dont have many 'physical' workshops, only kickboxing (w00t!) and functional training, and therefore may border on brain dead by each days end! :) but, there are too many options for each session time ... choice. is SO difficult - for most sessions there was easily two or three things i would have *loved* to have taken part in...
so i turned my focus to what was the most important for *me* that is of the biggest value - its mainly the obesity and body dysmorphia info i am after, that i really need to understand and comprehend about, from a more technical/professional point of view rather than a naive, personalised pov ... so i guess i concentrated on them as choice.

for someone who has everything

now i have seen it all! an alarm clock, to encourage 'activity' ... we have the answers to the worldwide weight problem! :D

Shape Up Dumbbell Alarm Clock - won't shut off until you do 30 bicep curls!

well, considering the bicep track in pump class is my least favourite - ( love when we don't do it :D oh i have such WEAK biceps!) - maybe i should invest in this little gadget :) and i will have strong bulging biceps before i know it! unfortunately, i dont use an alarm clock, otherwise... hmmmmmmmmm it's just sooo tempting eh!
i can only imagine it's annoyance when you go from beautiful dreams to arm bending, to turn off some wretched screeching noise! haha