How I became overweight & how I've turned it around & become truly happy!

This post is very personal to me but I feel it's time to let go of the past for good......I'm sorry if it's a bit erratic/all over the place!

To most of you I'm a very happy person. That is very true these days!
What most of you won't know about me is I used to be a disgraceful eater & dislike myself immensely!
I used to be very happy with my figure & myself, I used to wear short skirts - I still have my favourite one - it is a size 10. I showed it to my sister the other week & we both looked at it and went "wow" look how small I used to be!

When I was around 30 (back in 2006), my second engagement fell to pieces. I went off the rails (no pun intended for those who call me Raels) & went out drinking frequently (not water either!). This then turned into eating crap food on the way home from a night out with girlfriends, crap food to help the hangover the next day - OH and crap food for the rest of the week as I'd blown my diet anyway so who cares! And repeat. Again and again. I was eating take away almost every night of the week and not to mention chocolate or chips - whatever I could get my hands on really! My mentality was "Well I'm single now and have no one to answer to/cook for/watch my weight for" etc etc
I would wake up the next morning promising myself that today I'd be better, today I'd eat healthy, then the demons would take over & I'd be at the take out shop near work buying a fried spring roll & chips for lunch! I was in a very dark place for a couple of years & the subsequent years that followed found me trying to lose the weight but only to end up back where I started. I also had a couple more really crappy relationships during that time as well - I was a walking doormat - all too eager for anyone to stomp all over me.

I began to punish myself internally:

"I'm not good enough"
"No one wants to be with me"
"No one loves me so who cares if I put on weight"
"Even if I am being treated poorly, I'm still getting attention" etc etc I really could go on and on and on. Very low self worth back then.

I had huge support from family however it never felt like "enough" to stop me being out of control with my food or my feelings, thoughts and actions. I stayed home a lot as I didn't want people to see that I'd put on 15 or so kilos in 2 years. I felt so alone. I remember feeling so low one night & calling my sister who lives an hour away & having a big teary on the phone with her (best sister ever) and then her husband (best brother in law in the world) and I remember them telling me that they loved me & to just be patient and the right man would come along-back then it was all about being single. I put so much value on being in a relationship that when I became single, I didn't really know who I was anymore, which is the main reason I ended the second engagement anyway. I thought being in any kind of relationship would "fix" me.

I tried everything, self help books, cd's and counselling - the counselling did help immensely but I thought I could go it alone.....

In 2007 I got a puppy - Titch - and for the first time in ages I felt the stirrings of happiness, I had a little furkid who needed me - not as much as I needed him that's for sure. I look back & know that Titch was sent to me to "save me" as such - I wasn't even looking for an animal the day I found him & I wouldn't change a thing about the day that I brought him home without any preparation whatsoever - ebter emergency trip to pet shop for furkid accessories!

Roll on 2011 (and another dog later (Tara) from 2010 - Titchy needed a playmate lol) & my sister asks me if I want to be a trainer at a football club that she's head trainer at - sure - heaps of fun & I get to spend more time with some of my family every week. Not to mention there are men at football clubs wooh hoo. We had to wear all white - pants & polo top - not the best look when your butt has become the size of a baby elephants butt let me tell you. As for running on to the field to do first aid or run water - gee there were some mini earthquakes happening on a Saturday! I'd come home absolutely stuffed from being a trainer for 8 hours and the 2 hour return trip so I'd just have take away AGAIN-I'm not cooking when I've been working hard all day! I was getting exercise during the day but eating way more than what I'd burnt off - silly me! Enter shitty fling with hot football player that was pretty much over before it began-I was a trainer for 2 years & finished up at the end of 2012.

In May 2012 I hit rock bottom - I hadn't weighed myself in such a long time, but had been buying new bigger clothes, always with the view that "I won't need these for long, just until I lose some weight".  I'd been drinking a bit more again. I was lethargic all the time.

I jumped on the scales one morning to find an 8 in front of a 4 = WHAT????? 84.1kgs??? I've never been 80 anything in my life! I rang my sister & burst into tears and just spilled my guts. I knew I had to do something, I knew I had to change, but at the same time, I had no control, I wasn't strong enough to avoid crappy food or alcohol. I still remember that conversation - my wake up call - And then I came across the 12WBT. I signed up for Round 3 2012 & got all motivated again. I actually started cooking every night & exercising almost every day, losing 7.5kgs that round and making some wonderful new friends who are still in my life this day.

I got my weight down to 69.5kgs in May this year thanks to 2 more rounds of 12WBT (enter more wonderful new friends), and life was great again, I didn't care that I was still single, I was getting out and about again & enjoying life!
I didn't participate for another round as I was going overseas to Dallas, Texas for work. Big trouble over there - fatty food everywhere & even their "healthy" options weren't too good. I struggled to get fruit some days! I came home for 3 weeks before leaving for the second trip & it was much the same again, except I found my workplace had organised a whole heap more fruit & veg for us that time. My colleague who is quite thin also managed to put on weight! By the time I was finished with the work trips - I'd banged on 4.6kgs over the space of 8 weeks! Back to 74.1kgs - my goodness!!!!! That was mid August. Another work conference in September with the most delicious gourmet food & wine - of course I was going to enjoy it! A little too much perhaps....12 W B - what's it called? LOL

In the last 2 months, I have not been perfect. I signed up to Round 4 12WBT which started the week I was on holidays, then I came back & was unwell for a week & this week has been an "off" week as well. There have been times where I've had take away for dinner, chocolate in the evening. I've been very good with very limited alcohol though-apart from my holiday where I had a couple of cocktails each night. Yes, I completed my first half marathon & other fabulous events in October & November, but I still feel that if I don't get these feelings out of me, they will always be lurking, ready to pounce the next time I'm pondering KFC for dinner versus a Mishy 12WBT meal.

A lot of my issues with food & comfort eating used to stem from the fact that I have now been single for 4 years. I even had my Aunty ring me up one day & ask if I've met anyone yet and then said to me (& I quote) "You're best to set yourself up for a life alone by the looks of it". That comment absolutely ripped me to pieces - was I not worth anything unless I was in a relationship?! And from a family member - gee what must my friends who are in relationships think of me then?!

Bad times, very bad places mentally for around 5 years from 2006 to 2011.

For the most part of the last 18 months I value myself more than I ever have in my whole life. I am a good person. I try to be a good friend. I care about the people around me & enjoy seeing that they're happy. I'm thoughtful. I can be a total nutbag. I'm honest. I can laugh at myself without the feelings of self doubt afterwards. I love my life. I love that my calendar already has quite a few entries in it for 2014! I love that I can now look forward to the mystery man appearing - near future would be nice - but I have learnt that I need to love & respect myself (not being a "love me do" here) before I can expect to be in a relationship with someone who treats me the same way. I'm getting closer as I'm getting rid of the bad guys a lot quicker these days - one didn't even make it through a whole coffee date! I'm willing to compromise on small irrelevant things but not the things that are important to me. I love that the people around me support me & don't judge me or use me as a doormat - not that I would allow that behaviour these days! I have said goodbye to a few friends over the past 18 months as I realised that it was all about them & not mutually respectful friendships. I'm in a happy place.

My goal is to be back to 69.9kgs at least - by New Years Eve - I can do it, I've done it before. I'm over my cold bug so it's back to it - bring it on! I still have 9 weeks of the 12WBT left & I intend on smashing them to pieces!

Thanks for reading this - I already feel so much better for sharing the short version of my journey so far.

The Aftermath & DOMS - AND the City2Sea/Eureka double!

When we finally left camp on Sunday afternoon, we realised how sore we were. Getting out of Sally's car was a surprise, that's for sure. By the time Tracy arrived home, Sharon & I realised that we couldn't lift our arms above our shoulders & we were doing "The Waddle". Tracy kicked us both off for showers & all I can say is - after washing my hair 3 times, there was still dirt & muck in there! It felt so much better though - actually being able to shower!

Tracy then kicked us out by the pool - gee this is going to be even tougher than Commando camp!

We had a yummy dinner of chicken, roast veggies & some yummy potatoes & some wine which went straight to my head! I fought to stay awake, but by 9pm it was all over - off to bed I went. I woke up during the night - I rarely sleep right through ever - and attempted to roll over - nope - no can do - THAT'S how sore I was! My arms just didn't have it in them.

The next morning, after I "slid" off the bed & showered, I had to get Sharon to tie my hair up as I couldn't reach!
Sharon & I had a lovely brunch with one of her nurse friends at Hilarys Harbour, then we went for our hot stone massages & facials - all I can say is - WOW - if you're ever in Perth, head on down to Revive Day Spa in Mt Hawthorne. Feeling much better after that, we then went out for dinner with Tracy & her family.

The next day, it was time to fly to Monkey Mia, where we stayed until Saturday morning. We swam, did a sunset cruise, camel rides, wildlife ocean cruise, went to shell beach & the stromatolites, saw dolphins everyday, oh & did 50 burpees each morning in the sand thanks to a challenge set by one of our fellow camp mates - to do 500 burpees by 22nd November! Apart from the burpees, it was a very relaxing holiday & by the end of it, we were both starting to feel quite relaxed & content.

 

Sunrise at Monkey Mia

Time to head back home - landed at 11pm on the Saturday night, then up at 5am the next morning to go & do the 14km City to Sea run AND the 88 floor Eureka Stair climb - yes, slightly crazy, BUT life is to be lived! The City2Sea was tough on my foot & I was worried towards the end how I'd go in the stair climb but I did both! Thanks to Sharon & Alana who sang happy birthday to me up countless flights of stairs & roped some of the volunteer water staff in as well! Hahaha

 

After City to Sea

At the top of the Eureka tower!

 

Enjoyed a lovely dinner with some very wonderful ladies on the Sunday night-each one of these women have either inspired me, taught me something or supported me in the last 12 months & my life would not be the same without them. They are a fantastic bunch & I'm both lucky & thankful to call each one of them a friend. You guys all rock!

 

 

The rest of this week has found me battling a cold since Tuesday, I thought it was hay fever, but on Wednesday it was a full blown head cold! I ended up missing my Hertz relay run on Wednesday night, but my 17 y/o nephew stepped in for me & proceeded to run the 5kms in 20 minutes!

 

My diet has not been the best this week as I've had very low energy or motivation, however when I'm normally sick, I opt for take aways like KFC to "make me feel better", this time I've been having soups & raisin toast & 2 minute noodles - not ideal - but it could be much worse. My calories have been at just under 1200 each day, not "quality" calories I know, but I'll tackle that once I'm on top of this cold. To top that off - I pulled a muscle in my neck last night! Maybe my body is punishing me for "stopping" for a holiday??

 

Where will I go to next?!

 

Commando Camp - Final Day - Fears conquered - well partially anyway!

In my last blog - part 2 - I omitted that we also had to do 40 burpees in the scorching heat on Saturday afternoon - one of the trainers picked someone from the group and asked her to pick a number. She picked number 4 so Nick said 4 x 10 = 40 burpees off our debt. Poor Kirstan had to stand there and count them out for us while we did them, she didn't enjoy that at all, you could see it on her face. Bruised knees & hot hands would be an understatement!

On Sunday morning I woke up feeling much better, we were up before our 6am wake up call as well! Off we went for some more technique work, this time it was clean and press! I tell you what - that Commando Steve can certainly move his body well - WOW! Once he was happy with everyones technique, it was then time for another team challenge - suicide runs with paired clean & press. 2 people would run while 2 would do the press & another 2 resting with the spare person filling in for any team member as required. Sally & I didn't stop - we just kept going the whole time-I've never done so many presses in my life - 40kg at that! We smashed it - AND our team didn't come last this time YAY!

Time for breakfast & the unnerving worry of our still remaining 100+ burpee debt.....after brekkie, it was time for ABSEILING! We were split into 2 groups - team 1 & 4 and team 2 & 3. My group went to gear up for the abseiling task first whilst the other team went to do the leap of faith.

Team #4 all geared up to abseil!

Everyone knew that my last attempt to abseil didn't go off as planned - I failed to do it, so I was quite nervous & my sister was in the other group so I was on my own with my new Commando team mates and trainer Nick. I was the 5th person to do it, I was so nervous.
Nick was fantastic, he just kept telling me "just listen to my voice and do as I tell you, I promise you won't get hurt, you're 100% safe" - I'm thinking he must have hypnotised me while I was up there LOL I leant back and took my first step down & everyone was cheering for me & I was even cheering out loud for myself too! I was so happy - AND THEN the cliff face totally disappeared - there was a huge indent & nowhere for my feet to go! I panicked big time, but managed to calm down and reach the ground. Morgan (my Friday night burpee buddy) was at the bottom & she gave me a big hug - more tears - at least not painful ones! I walked back up to the group as we all had to repel twice - except there was a catch for the 2nd time - whilst leaning back at the top, we had to touch our heads - yes that's right - not holding on to the rope - putting our trust in the brake person at the bottom of the cliff and also Nick. I freaked out more the second time than the first, but again Nick got me through! I flew down the second time - it was so much fun! Check out the middle right photo of me touching my head! Scary stuff!

 

 

Leap of Faith was a different story - I attempted it 3 times, getting further up the pole each time, but I just couldn't do it! My body felt so weak from soreness that I was shaking, my palms were sweating & I just couldn't keep climbing up on the small pegs :-(  Trainer Dan really tried to get me through as did another team mate - Clive, he actually inspired me to try for the 3rd and final time & wanted to climb up behind me but for safety reasons of course, he wasn't allowed. On my 3rd attempt, I'd gotten about 3/4 of the way up & then I did a sideways jump off the log so I still had the suspended feeling.....although I then came back towards the log and had to put my foot out to stop myself from crashing into it and then I did a bit of a penguin slide in the bark LOL I can laugh now! It's on my list to conquer, but I was happy that I'd conquered the abseiling.

 

Before my 3rd attempt - I was so nervous!

 

 

7 metres high & only a small plank to stand on before the jump off!

 

Getting there, sweating bullets!

 

C'mon Raels, you CAN do it - Clive tried so hard - he's a great guy!

 

 

My graceful face plant in the bark!

 

Time for our last lunch.....all still wondering "what about the burpees".......in comes Nick & announces that if our strongest 4 burpee people can do 50 chest to ground, hand release burpees in a row to a strict 5 second count, our remaining debt of 137 would be wiped, but if they failed, we would ALL have to do the 137 burpees anyway. Up stood Clive, Morgan, Tracey & Kirstan - absolute powerhouses! We all walked down to the matted area feeling guilty, hopeful, happy, nervous.

 

THEY SMASHED IT! Celebrations - burpee debt wiped by 4 amazing people! We all couldn't thank them enough AND it was 37 degrees!!!

 

Commando Steve did his wrap up chat, presented each of us with our Commando Steve t-shirts, took photos with all of the trainers and then had him sign a photo - Sharon had found a photo of him looking more like a supermodel than the Commando on the internet & it made him crack up laughing when he saw it!

 

 

Troy, Dan, Commando Steve & Nick

Sharon & I with Nick & Dan

 

Cheeky Commando 

 

 

So - what did I gain from this camp?

1.New friendships with some amazing people - we are still in daily contact already! AND we are doing a 50 burpees a day challenge - yes we are MAD!

2.I experienced this with my amazing sister Sharon, who inspires me everyday with all of her achievements, not just the fitness ones-she really is the best sister & friend that a girl could ever hope for.

3.I learnt that it's ok to fail at something as long as you try your best (Leap of Faith)

4.I conquered my fear of abseiling & now want to go back to that Brisbane cliff & be rid of that demon forever & maybe even try a bigger one!

5.I pushed myself way outside of my comfort zone on little sleep, hard training & exhaustion!

6.I was completely NOT in control of my life for the whole weekend - we never knew what we were in for from one minute to the next

7.I learnt a lot about form & technique & will never squat or deadlift the same way again!

8.Nick & Dan are just as, if not more inspiring than Commando Steve - yes, that's right! Don't get me wrong, CS was amazing at camp & is amazing at what he does in his career BUT Nick & Dan were always in the thick of it with you egging you on. And Nick guided me to abseil so he's my favourite hahahaha

9.I learnt what it's like to have to carry a 1.5 metre pole around with me ALL day! Once we left camp, Sharon actually looked for hers - that's how used to them we were by Sunday afternoon.

10.I did more burpees over that weekend than I have in probably my whole life!

11.My mind does give in before my body most of the time BUT on Sunday during the Leap of Faith - my body was done - listen to your body when it's telling you enough is enough, but don't use it as an excuse when you're feeling ok.

12.It's ok not to have a shower for 2 days due to time constraints as long as you are with people just as sweaty as you are! Hahahahahahaha

 

I could go on and on & I'm still processing a lot of the things we went through so I'll keep you posted on any further ephiphanies as they arise!

 

 

 





My next blog will be - The Aftermath & DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) from the camp - ie.how I couldn't lift my arms or roll over in bed for 2 days! LOL

The Commando Camp - Part 2

We are woken at 6am on Saturday morning & told we have 15 minutes to be outside. Awesome, just enough time to get dressed & have a quick wash & maybe even brush my teeth.....NEXT MINUTE - we have FIVE minutes to be outside! Rather comical seeing 11 women in one dorm frantically trying to get ready so we're not fined more burpees!

We get outside & Sharon & I aren't wearing our white t-shirts with our names on them, we are told to go & get them. We madly scramble back up to the dorm to put them & come back, only to realise that we didn't take our dowels with us so 10 more burpees each added to the burpee debt - 2 others did the same so 40 burpees added to the camps burpee debt in the space of 2 minutes - this was not going to be a good day.

We were taken through our paces by Commando with some burpees, planks, push ups & other "fun" things in the grass that was filled with bindis & prickly dry grass but you just had to suck it up & get it done!

Breakfast followed which relaxed everyone as we guessed that we wouldn't be made to workout straight after eating - but we weren't allowed to get too carried away, as we had only a few minutes to spare after brekkie to get back to the meeting room for a mindset chat with Commando Steve. All I wanted to do was brush my teeth, fill my water bottle & maybe a quick spot of deodorant - and even then it was rushed....the mindset session was good, we had a few moments in between so I went & got my first pic with Commando and then Nick & Dan - who told me that they were worried whether I was going to turn up to the morning workout after my tears the night before, they were very supportive & Shaz & I were starting to think that maybe, just maybe we could get through this camp alive!

Nick & Dan

 

After the mindset lesson, we were given 5-10 minutes to be on the basketball court. A quick sunscreen dash etc & then Commando took us through our paces on squat technique & deadlift technique using our dowels & then we tried a 40kg deadlift - which I did 5 reps of. All teams then added 20kg more & whilst I only managed 1 rep - I've never ever deadlifted 60kgs in my life!

 

We then had a team challenge with rowing & deadlifts & that was actually fun - yes, you heard it here - something "fun" at the Commando camp. My team came last but we didn't care - we all worked our hardest.

 

It was then time for lunch cold meats, raw veggies, salads & fruit - wooh hoo - more rest time afterwards! After lunch, we had a nutrition session. Commando Steve is a big advocate of the Paleo way of eating & it was a really good session. It was quite hot though as it was approx 36 degrees that day & sdome of us were really tired from the heat & the morning sessions.

 

After lunch - back on the basketball court! Actually, that's a lie, we firstly had to move all of the equipment from Friday night down to the basketball courts - nothing like a mini warm up Commando Style in 36 degree heat! Commando then checked our squat technique & push press technique, all I was thinking was - oh no, what's in store after this!!

 

We were told to get into pairs, so Sharon & I paired up of course - we hadn't worked much together that day as we were in different teams all morning. We had to pick one team member to go first - 5 exercises - step ups on the tyres, push press with 10kg or 20kg weight, rowing machine, squats & kettlebell pulls - you had to do 1 minute rounds with 10 seconds rest in between & record the number of reps at each station 3 times through - it was a hard 17 or so minutes! I was so glad I had Sharon there egging me on - your partner was there to count & record your reps & encourage you - we then swapped over & it was Sharon's turn. All of the trainers were checking your technique on everything as well so there was no slacking off! Afterwards, we were exhausted, it was so hot outside & we'd all worked really hard.

 

Nick & Dan then took a recovery session & we got to play with our foam rollers - no such thing as an afternoon tea break on the Commando camp!

Me doing the Scorpion - it felt so good!!

 

 

After the recovery session, it was then time for an outdoor yoga session - they had 2 yoga instructors come to the camp which was a nice change of pace, except lots of groans from most of us trying to get into all the different positions with muscle soreness from the days activities & the smashing from the night before. We were lying there all relaxed when poor Sharon cried out - she'd been stung by a bee! Oh no! She's never been stung by a bee before so we were worried whether she was allergic to them etc. One of the instructors scraped it out - after trying to take it out with tweezers - which Sharon told her was a big no no! Poor Shaz :-( Luckily, she wasn't allergic.

 

After the yoga session, it was then dinner time - the afternoon had been jam packed - dinner was roast beef & veggies or garlic & chilli chicken. I started eating my dinner & it really wasn't going down that well, I actually started feeling sick, so I went to our dorm & threw up :-( I felt terrible by this time & I think it was due to the heat as I hadn't drank enough water to compensate for being outside most of the day training...I went to lay down, then Sharon came in & wasn't well either. I threw up 2 more times after that. Nick came in to check on us, then Dan. Part of my brain was hoping that Commando wasn't going to come in & make me get up as I was all clammy & yucky. Dan was really nice though, as he said, it had been a huge day & we both only had around 4 hours sleep the night before. I didn't go to the Saturday night session - and it wasn't even training - it was a team building session which a few of the girls filled me in on the next day.

 

The trainers did make the others do 50 burpees off our debt - poor buggers. And we still had almost 200 to go even after that!

 

Another night of broken sleep followed, those beds were really not comfortable at all!

 

The next post will be the 3rd & final installment from the Commando camp where I abseiled for the first time ever thanks to Nick! 

 

The Commando Camp - Tears, Torture & Treasured moments - Part 1

As most of you know, I went to the Commando Camp last weekend with my sister Sharon. We awoke at 5am on the Friday & boarded our flight to Perth, arriving at 8am Perth time. We had a lovely latte & hot choc whilst waiting for my friend Sal to come & pick us up - she was doing the camp as well. We spent the day in Freo at the markets & went for lunch at an amazing place - The Raw Kitchen - the food was delicious!

 

We then went to Sal's place to "prepare" for our trip to the camp, all three of us were getting butterflies about what was in store for the weekend.

We arrived at camp just before 7pm, found our dorm & got changed into our workout gear. We met wqith Nick & Dan - the other 2 trainers on camp - & were given a fluoro vest & a dowel which we had to keep with us at all times unless instructed otherwise.

 



Sharon with "Anthony" & me with "Lyndon" - yes, we were still smiling at that point!

We were "pumped" - how hard could this be??????

 

We went into the meeting room with Dan - one of the trainers & had a motivational session - awesome - this camp is going to be fun! The calm before the storm we now call that time!

 

Time for our fitness tests so that we could be split into our levels of fitness - 2 minutes each of maximum push ups, sit ups & shuttle runs - from memory I got 54, 35 & 13. That put me in group 4 which was the bottom group, but I had told them about my foot injury so I wasn't too fussed with that.

 

All was going well, we were having fun! This camp was going to rock!

 

AND THEN we got taken to this (note that we took these photos the next day) -

 

 

 

 

 

Nick advises us that all this stuff needs to get moved "down the road" & we were split into 2 teams of 14 - groups 1 & 2 and groups 3 & 4. At that point, we were still feeling ok, until we realised that the jerry cans were full of water & weighed a lot & the kettlebells weren't those 8-12kg ones either. We each grabbed an item & stumbled along the dirt track, in the dark with our headlamps on - oh and we still had to cary our dowels at the same time! We had no idea of where the end point was, or which way the road went up or down or when it curved etc it was madness!

 

IT WAS TOUGH! After a while, it didn't matter what you carried - we were swapping items over to share the load - everything was so heavy! At one point I had the rope wrapped around me - just little old me - and I thought I was going to fall over as it had all looped to the front of my body - hard to see when it's dark. The logs were painful & heavy, the tyres were a pain in the butt, the jerry cans were hell, the kettlebells were evil - OH and yes - we PAID FOR THIS! Our group stopped to take stock & have a breather, swap items over etc, we ended up sticking our dowels down our tops at the back so at least we then had 2 hands....little did we know that we'd pay for that later on as it was a "safety breach"!

 

At this point, I noticed that Commando Steve had joined us - I didn't like him very much at that point & we were only 30 minutes in!

 

50 minute mark is announced & we're thinking - awesome, now all we'll have to do is load all this stuff on to the 4 wheel drive that's been up our backsides the whole time, surely they won't expect us to carry it all back hey?!

 

WRONG! This IS Commando camp after all. We had 45 minutes to get all the gear back, working as one whole team together. That's right - 5 minutes less to get it all back & we were all smashed & exhausted already. Punishment for being late back was 5 burpees for every 30 seconds for the whole team! We did the math & worked out that even at the same pace on the way up that would be 100 burpees!

 

On the way back, I took the rope but then had to stop to wait for the rest of the group, Commando tells me to put the rope down & go back & help? I'm thinking no way am I unravelling this heavy rope just to go and put it back on again so I told him no - you had to be there, I laugh about it now, but I'm surprised he didn't make me do 10 burpees on the spot there and then for snapping back at him!

 

We finally get all the gear back to camp & find out about our "burpee debt". We did burpees in the dirt - proper chest to ground burpees, hard burpees, we get to 13 & someone's chest hadn't hit the ground so we had to start again! I think we got to 30 or so in the dirt, then had to do another 50+ on paving, by this time, I was a wreck, I was tired, exhausted, absolutely smashed physically, mentally, emotionally & every other way that you can imagine. I was crying my eyes out with each burpee as my hands & knees smashed in to the hard ground, knowing that if I did them wrong that we would all suffer. Sharon then got upset as I was upset & then a girl from team 1 - Morgan - came over & did the remaining burpees next to me to get me through.

 

Burpees by night!

 

 

Once we were finished, I burst into tears & had a big hug session with Sharon. Nick came over & said "you got through, well done". Little did he know, in my mind I was ready to pull the pin & leave. Commando Steve then appeared and said for me not to overthink it & get some sleep as I'd need it. I still didn't like him very much at this point - he was such a big meanie! Sharon & I were both terrified of what was in store for the rest of the weekend!

 

By that stage it was past midnight & we'd been up for around 23 hours. We stumbled to our dorm, had a quick shower & went to sleep exhausted, emotional & bruised.

 

 

More to follow - that was just Friday night!

 

 

 







Hot chocolates & omelettes! Oh - and did someone say stairs?!?!

It's been a few days since my last post......I have been following my physios training plan & ramping up my training - on Wednesday I ran for 10 minutes, followed by 8 minutes of stairs - I ended up with 20 flights up & back in total of a 19 step staircase, then I did 20 minutes on the bike. My foot was feeling great on Wednesday afternoon, so on Thursday I ramped it up again - a 12 minute run, followed by 10 minutes of stairs - and I smashed 27 flights up and back in that time so I was quicker than the day prior (insert YAY! here), then I did 20 minutes on the bike.

I had my physio appointment on Thursday afternoon & told him everything that I'd done - UH-OH - I was meant to have rested on Thursday - OOPS! He told me that I had to rest on Friday which suited me fine....then proceeded to treat my foot which was still sore but less sore than previously.....note to self - don't tell physio that it's not hurting as much as he'll just dig in deeper! He has given me my training plan for the next 2 weeks so I should be ok to do the double events that I've been looking forward to for months - City to Sea run & Eureka stair climb.

On Friday, my foot was very sore - so I rested and attributed the soreness to the treatment the day prior. I was worried that my foot would be sore the next day & I was going to be at the races for Derby Day so I was a little worried but I woke up on Saturday morning & my foot felt fine - BIG relief!

Time to get hair & makeup done & then meet up with the ladies! We had a great day, apart from one of the gals being unwell due to a virus - she stuck it out for a few hours but had to leave early :-(
The weather was perfect & all up it was a brilliant day! I had 3 vodkas, a cajun chicken wrap & a connoisseur cookies & cream ice cream - they were handing them out - I LOVE cookies & cream - so I coudn't resist - besides, I'd walked ALL that way to the track from Epsom Road right? Hee hee! The old me would have consumed a bottle or 3 of wine or champers or whatever was the drink of choice for that day & eaten very fatty food such as hot chips, hot dog etc so I think I chose well - oh I did pinch 2 hot chips from one of my friends - I can't lie or hide it! Oh & a glass of champers at Sezzy's before we left! Hmmm, did I forget anything else?!

It's been a great weekend & today I finished it off today with 2 catch ups - firstly with an old friend who is currently going through a rough patch - a yummy breakfast in South Melbourne & then later on with a new work acquaintance who was down in Melbourne from Brisbane for Derby Day - we didn't manage to catch up yesterday so we met for a cuppa (best hot chocolate ever) & I then dropped her to the airport. Both of these people are very supportive & even though I've only known Kate for a brief time, she told me today that I've inspired her to start running & she's now registered for her first 5km run in January - that's a great feeling to think that my running, also known as "waddling" is having a positive effect on people.

 My delicious omelette from South Melbourne

today - YUM! (I didn't eat it all)

There is now only 5 more sleeps until I get to the Commando camp in W.A - I'm so excited! I have my packing list ready to go & I really can't wait - my sister Sharon & I are bursting with excitement - imagine what we'll be like on Friday morning!

Hope you all had a great weekend :-)