Acres of Diamonds

" Your diamonds are not in far distant mountains or in yonder seas;
they are in your own backyard, if you but dig for them"
Russell H, Conwell.

The Black Line.

Never thought I would be so happy to see it again. The black line that used to be the thorn in my side as a child was now my best friend. I found comfort and respite from all my negative thoughts. The weightlessness I experienced in the water took me back to the days when I felt on top of the world. I was able to just be me in the water. I didn't have to pretend to be happy or put on a brave front, when at times all I wanted to do was crawl into ball and hide somewhere. This long lost friend of mine was giving me back what I thought I had lost. "ME".

The following 9 weeks would see me accomplish things I never thought possible at the beginning of my journey. I went from training 2 days a week to 3 and 4. Before I knew it I was training 6 days a week. I was swimming 3 times a week, doing 2 bootcamp sessions with Barry and I continued with my personal training sessions.

The weight was shifting, slowly but surely. All the clothes I had bought because I was larger were now not fitting. Thank goodness I spent alot of time in tights and sweat shirts. I really began to notice it in my swimmers. What were once tight and pulling were now getting so loose I could have used it as a drag net at the beach. Time for a new cossie. My reward. YAY!!!

When my best friend and I would compare notes about training sessions she would always say to me "I have worked so hard I was nearly vomiting". I thought it must have been because she was doing heaps of reps on the track, that would make me tired. But I always wondered why I never felt that way. Clearly I wasnt pushing myself hard enough. Time to up the anti.

Oh boy.

What had I done. The World Masters Championships sounded like a great idea up in my head and in conversations with my best friend - who had also signed up. But what was I thinking. I had really only been to the pool in the last 18 months about 5 times. Did i really think I would measure up or atleast put up a little challenge to others in my swim heat. These where questions that had no answers yet, but I was going to try damn hard to put up atleast a little bit of a challenge when the time came to compete.

My personal training sessions with Barry continued only this time they were kicked up a notch. Sessions intensified as my stamina and strength improved. But I liked it. I used to finish my sessions feeling totally overwhelmed by how tired I was. It would take me atleast 15-20 minutes to recover after each session and be able to talk without panting. I clearly remember after one session returning home feeling tired only to wake up the next morning being unable to put on my bra because my arms felt as though they belonged to someone else. As the next couple of days passed, that feeling progressed everywhere else, oh well NO PAIN NO GAIN.

I was going to be one lean mean fighting machine.

Photo of me in June at the beginning.