What's with this weather. Australia, namely Queensland and Victoria has been battered with the worst weather ever recorded. After all the flooding Queensland has now been hit with Cyclone Yasi. A Category 5 cyclone ripped through Northern Queensland with wind speeds of close to 300km/hr causing widespread damage to many towns (Mission Beach, Tully, Innisfail, Cardwell) through the night. Many people moved to safe evacuation centres or moved away when news arose of the impending arrival of Cyclone Yasi - whilst others bunkered down in their homes riding out the ferocious winds and rain. The nerves, stress, emotional trauma these poor people have gone through overnight will take I am sure months to try and overcome. My heart goes out to them all. Poor Banana plantation and Sugar Cane owners have had their crops decimated overnight. It will be years before they can get it up and running again and their projected 2011 income has gone.
Planning around this impending disaster was absolutely amazing. Anna Bligh with all other authorities have been on the ball since all of these problems started in Queensland and I take my hat off to them.
To date there has been no report of lives lost - thank goodness but there has been a report of birth in a Cairns evacuation centre and guess what she will not be called YASI. I always think it's amazing how in such times of devastation there is always a rainbow to brighten up the situation.
Cyclone Yasi has now been downgraded to a Category 2 with winds of 125km+/hr and is now about 400km inland - still a dangerous storm so everyone still has all of Queensland in their prayers especially with more flooding on the way due to all the rains.
Move south here in NSW and we have had nothing but complete heatwave for the last 3 days with temps being above 38 degrees celsius with horrendous humidity. At night it is hard to sleep as the temps have sat in the mid 20's inside the house. I have packed in the kids lunches a barrage of frozen drink bottles, poppers, freezer packs so their lunches stay cool, however they still come home very tired, hot and bothered from a day of school in this heatwave.
Training has been interesting in this heat - both windtrainer and track were cancelled due to the intense heat thank goodness. So I have missed out on a couple of sessions but I have managed to get back into my routine with the pool now that the kids are back at school. Feeling good in the water - especially in this heat. My local pool is now closed from 9am-3pm for the whole month of Feb due to school swim carnivals so I now have to travel to another pool and swim indoors - blah as their outdoor pool is booked for carnivals as well - annoying, don't they know there are a bunch of us who are training for something huge.
Anyway, today is my day off and my aim is to do absolutely nothing, nada, zilch apart from a massage. I have been given strict orders from friends that I am not to run, swim, bike, or do housework for all of today and I promise I won't. I will however do my stretches and roll out my ITB - I don't have a foam roller but I do have a rolling pin and it is working a treat.
I shall enjoy today because tomorrow it's back on.
"To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure
is the most perfect refreshment"
Jane Austen 1775-1817
