Women's Triathlon Festival

Today I competed in my second ever triathlon...Women's Triathlon Festival at the Penrith International Regatta Centre.

I have been down all week and was not in the mood to attend. It wasn't until this morning, after having a pep talk from my hubby, that I decided to suck it up and just fricken do it! I've been training with a friend for the last few months and did't want to pull out and let her down, or myself down for that matter.

It was HOT out at Penrith...and our race didn't start until 11:30am...yep, we were racing during the hottest part of the day.

The thought of swimming in the lake had really been freaking me out...but was a welcome relief from the hot sun. We were swimming against the current and I was a little panicked when I realised I couldn't see past my nose. I'm used to swimming in the clean pool, where I can see the floor. Today all I could see was green...YUK!

My transitions were slow...

Loved the cycling track...didn't love that I was riding in 36 degree heat...with no water to drink. My mouth was so dry by the time I entered the transition area. I had a big swig of Powerade and water, waited for my friend to catch up, then left on the run.

Let's be honest...it wasn't a run...it was a power walk and jog...it was soooooo bloody HOT. I raced today a lot slower than I had hoped, but with the heat...I just wanted to finish alive! I walked most of the first kilometre, interval jogged the second kilometre and sprinted home. I was so relieved to have my finishers medal given to me...I'm beginning to have quite a collection...and I love it!

My goal was to complete the course (250m swim, 10km cycle, 2km run) in an hour...

My official time...59.18mins

Swim = 11.30min
Cycle = 33.29min
Run = 14.18

Transitions really slowed down my times...but I have to be happy with the fact that I actually turned up for the event, swam in a lake for the first time, cycled 10km for the first time...and I did all this in the scorching heat!

Running Clinic

Last Sunday I attended a running clinic presented by Kaz Muddell from Mind Body Motion.

The clinic ran for two hours. It was a great session, whereby she gave us a lot of information about how to keep ourselves safe while running, how to avoid injury, the correct running technique, as well as other tips and tricks.

The last half-an-hour was a practical session. We had to run for a minute whilst counting the number of times our right leg struck the ground (to assess our cadence) and then we each had a turn at running so Kaz and the group could critique our running style (she also videoed us).

As soon as I ran, I realised my arms were swinging across my body...I need to learn to keep them at my sides.

I enjoyed the session and learnt a few tricks I'll put into action. It was also great to complete the clinic with friends.

My new toy...

I was a very spoilt girl this year and received a spin bike from my family for my birthday! My brother is manager at WorkoutWorld Penrith and I have purchased a lot of equipment from him over the years!

He's helped me set up an awesome home gym and I love my new bike...I look forward to having my first workout on her on Monday!

The last piece of equipment I'd like to purchase is a full rack of free weights (1kg - 10kg). I'm saving up and hopefully soon my gym will be complete!

I love working out at home! I've got some awesome equipment and enjoy getting up early and working out before the kids wake up. It's my me time and I now get cranky when I miss a workout....(come to think of it, that would explain the foul mood I'm in at the moment!!!)

Missed a few workouts this week, so look forward to getting back into routine on Monday and smashing it in my gym!

Just keep swimming...

Image via HERE.

I've been back in the pool again for just going on two weeks and I love it!

I was never a 'sporty' kid, but mum put me into swimming as a child to help with my asthma. My brother and sister are both natural sportspeople...but I just never 'had it'. I was always big as a kid because of all the steroids I was on to manage my asthma. I could never run, I never played sports...I danced (for a few years) and I swam.

I swam until high school and then that stopped too.

But just like you can never forget how to ride a bike, I never forgot how to swim.

I love swimming and absolutely adore summer as it means I can get back into the water.

When I'm in the water, I'm transported back to my childhood. I'm a kid again and enjoy swimming lap after lap. I feel confident in the water and feel that I'm good at something. I may not be good at any other sport...but swimming feels like home. I'm relaxed in the water and all worries or stresses in my life disappear while I'm there.

At the moment I'm swimming two sessions a week and today I swam 1km! My brother has written a swimming program for me to follow and I'm loving it! He's got a mix of flippers / kick-board / pool bouy work, shorter distances, longer distances and sprints. It's a good workout and the time flies!

Now that I've rediscovered swimming, I don't think I'll be able to give it up again. I was chatting to two other swimmers this morning...the women I was speaking to swims 100 laps each morning (2.5km) and the man I spoke to swims 80 laps in the morning and 100 at night (total of 4.5km daily). He's lost a total of 75kg to date and is inspirational!

My daughters both do swimming lessons and I'm so proud of them. My eldest daughter cried for over 2 years and now swims beautifully. Her freestyle and backstroke are fantastic and she's just started learning how to breaststroke. My younger daughter is a little fish and looks forward to her lesson each week. I love that we are a family of water babies! My girls were so excited to see mummy compete in the triathlon on Saturday and enjoyed watching me swim...I love being a good role model for my beautiful daughters :)

What a view!

This morning hubby and I went on a 6km bike ride. We're loving our time down the coast and the view this morning was amazing!

We're heading home this afternoon :(

I've had a great time away. While we've been here I've eaten really well and stuck to my daily PP allowance. I've gone for a swim, a run and a bike ride. Have gone for beautiful walks and accumulated more then 13,000 steps daily. I wore a costume on the beach and felt more confident in my own skin.

I've still got another 12kg to shed, but I'm concentrating on how far I've come...9.2kg down, fitness has improved immensely and I'm starting to run! I love my new lifestyle and I love the changes that have already occurred.

I have enjoyed our 'time-out' down the coast and it's given me even more determination to keep travelling on my journey and achieve my goals.

I've signed up for the Triathlon Pink event!

Yesterday I finally got together with some ladies from our SWSyd Crew for a 6km power-walk around Mt Annan Botanical gardens and then a swim session last night.

The walk was fantastic, with the real champions of the day being the kids. It was great to finally participate in a group event and my girls loved being with the other kids. It's great that we have a Crew where even the little ones can get involved.

Last night a few of us hit the pool for a swimming session. It's been a long time since I've been in the water, and I realised last night just how much I've missed it. I loved doing laps up and down the pool, with freestyle and backstroke being my strongest strokes. I'm going to make swimming part of my weekly exercise routine from now on.

At the beginning of the week, I had decided that I'd do the Pink Fun Run instead of the Triathlon Pink event due to lack of preparation...but last night Geanina and Rachel encouraged me to compete in the triathlon...and I did the craziest thing by accepting the challenge! 

We've decided to do the Triathlon Pink short course 100m swim/3km cycle/1km run. I think it's a good distance for our first ever triathlon and if I do well, my aim is to compete in the Women's Triathlon Festival at the Sydney International Regatta Centre, Penrith on the 25th November. The distance is longer for this event with a 250m swim/10km cycle/2km run. A distance that will definitely be a challenge.

I'm excited about next Saturday and can't wait to get in there and have a go. It's something I've always wanted to do and I'm finally going to try and tri!! I told my daughter that I'm racing for her next week. As many of you know, she suffers from General Anxiety Disorder. I told her that mummy is racing for her to show her that it's fun to try new things and the most important thing is to give it a go, have fun and smile. She promised she'll cheer me on the whole way!

I would love to crack the 70s and be in the 60s by next weekend for the event, so I'm determined to shed the 1.6kg to get me there...I've increased my workouts so fingers crossed the scales go in a downwards direction!!

My exercise buddy!

Michelle Bridges and 12WBT is helping our entire family get healthy! Today I am joined by my little exercise buddy!

Is your family getting in on the 12WBT action?