Six months on...and look at the difference!

So, you have probably realised by now that I'm a very visual person!

I take photos each and every Wednesday of me standing on my scales. I love nothing more than to compare photos, to see the change that has occured during my journey.

On Sunday we attended our cousin's wedding. I loved the dress I had bought and couldn't wait to wear it! It's completely different to anything I usually wear. I have always steered away from short, tight fitting dresses. Never wore them and never had the confidence to wear them.

Well, that has all changed! I'm so proud of all that I have achieved this year.

I have:
- shed close to 15kg
- competed in 2 triathlons
- re-discovered swimming
- been thinking more positively
- started to like what I see in the mirror.

Hubby took a photo of me in the dress and I immediately compared it to two photos...the first taken at a Kitchen Tea in June (at the start of my journey) and the second taken at a Wedding in August (after shedding 7kg)...now almost 15kg down and what a difference!

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!

My Triathlon Pink results...

I'm still on a high after competing in my first triathlon on Saturday and still can't believe I actually did it!

Considering I didn't have a lot of preparation, I'm very happy with my overall time and splits. Definitely need to work on my running and have put together a new training program...in preparation for my next event!

Here are my results from Saturday...

Swim - 5:33 mins
Cycle - 17:57 mins
Run - 6:48 mins
TOTAL TIME: 30:18 mins

My swimming is definitely my strongest leg and I'm ecstatic to have placed 29th (out of 146) overall in the swim leg! I placed 58th overall, which is great for my first triathlon! It was an amazing experience and I look forward to my next event!

Triathlon Pink - Saturday 6th October 2012

Today I competed in my first ever triathlon! I loved every minute of it!

I created a video of my amazing day...I hope you enjoy it!

One more sleep...

One more sleep until I compete in my first ever triathlon!

I'm nervous and excited, especially because I've had less than 2 weeks of preparation for the event.

I had decided I wasn't going to take part in the triathlon, rather sign up for the Pink Fun Run instead...that was until some dear friends encouraged me to still enter and give it a go ;)

So, Triathlon Pink short course, here I come!

Some of us ladies in the SWSyd Crew are going to wear our team shirts, pink hats and tutus!

My girls wanted to dress up too...so here they are ready to cheer for mummy and the SWSyd Crew tomorrow!

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!!