Special thought for the day

I wanted to share this wonderful passage that I just only read from a book of inspirational thoughts that was given to me by a dear friend Tracy during our 2009 Christmas party. The book is called "Keep believing in yourself and your dreams" edited by Patricia Wayant, Blue Mountains Press.

There's no challenge you can't face

Challenges make us stronger.

They push us to try harder.

They allow us to be brave.

They offer us courage.

They engender hope in us.

And sometimes we go farther

than we ever dreamed possible....

just by believing that we can.

"Ashley Rice"

Piecing it together, bit by bit.

Ok, so as you can tell I purchased myself a bike. Am I scared about riding it for the first time since I was like 12? "Damn right I am". Why I here you ask, well the potential for falling off was quite high. Needing the assistance of the rescue and recovery crew to recover me from the wreckage after I had come to a complete stop was even higher still. I hate not being in control and the thought of surrendering my whole being to this metal object with wheels was a touch scary. Don't get me wrong,I absolutely love my bike. It's black and slick looking, and has great racing wheels and I even have a helmut to match. Gotta look good even though you have no clue what your doing, Oh and it has gears - lots of them.

The guy at the bike shop said to me as I was leaving with my beautiful black bike, "increase your ride time slowly and try to ride atleast 3 times a week so your legs adjust". Ok, sounds easy enough. Hold that thought while I compose myself and stop laughing. EASY, not quite.

My first ride was merely a 5km flat surfaced ride for all bar two tiny bridges. Looked easy, I ran this in the fun run. The bike guy said to keep the left gear on 2 and the right gear on a 4 or 5. Which is what I did. I was a bit wobbly almost like watching a newborn giraffe trying to stand. I do think it would have been funny to watch, however I was so tense up there I don't think I really enjoyed that first ride.

Things to take note of for the next ride were:

• Relax hand grip, white knuckle grasp is not favourable for circulation in fingers.
• Relax shoulders and neck, very important for turning and seeing where you are going.
• Legs that are heavy like concrete yet wobble like jelly post cycle are the norm.
• Feeling like you have been on a horse ride for the last week post cycle is also the norm.

How did I used to ride my bike for hours on end as a child? I don't remember things hurting that bad, least of all my bottom. It felt battered and bruised and as a result of the pain it altered the way I walked. I thought I looked like a cowboy post rodeo ride....lol

So with my ego about as bruised as my behind, I made my way home. Two to three times a week, thats what the guy said. Stay focused!!!

Love the open water

The "Have a go swim" on the 28th of November 2009 was set to be another memorable day. It was about 40 degrees celsius with quite strong winds that came in waves over the course of the day. I was loving the idea that soon I would be in the water. There is no better place to be when the earth is at its scorching best.

Once again I had my own personal cheer squad (Stephen, kids and mum)there for support. I was going to have to start paying them shortly for their time and efforts...lol. What would I do without them. When I doubt myself or am just feeling the nerves of an event their words of encouragement spur me on like no other.I don't know why I get so nervous, I have just always been that way. My fiercest competitor in the water has always been me. I was never happy with anything less than my best. And that was probably true for other aspects in my life. Sometimes that was a good trait but other times it left me deflated because I never felt I could live up to the standards that I had set for myself.

In the water though it was a different story. I knew I could just always squeeze out hard work cause it felt so natural. I knew I could do this 500m with my eyes shut. The murkiness of the water meant that even with goggles on it felt like my eyes were shut....literally. I couldnt wait. I wanted to see how I would go in open water. My time in a pool for the 500m distance was 8min 15 sec. Following a black line makes life so much easier in comparison to murkiness and close to zero visibility. Oh well, life is a challenge and I was going to prove to myself that I could do this.

As the starters gun went off I just thought to myself, stick to the guy on your left hand side. Keep him within view and he will set the pace to follow. What I didn't bank on was that I felt great in the water and taking the lead felt good too.He did push me all the way though. The choppiness of the water did not bother me one bit, it felt quite natural actually and I quite enjoyed not having to stop and do a tumbleturn every 50m. But you do get fatigued alot quicker too.

I started to feel my lack of stamina with about 100m to go and even though I was slightly lifting my head to visualise the finishing line I was going all over the place and that was sapping the energy right out of me. Needless to say, when I crossed the line first i was extremely excited but very tired. I finished with a time of 8min 17 secs. Not bad for no black line and murky, unchlorinated water. WooHoo. Bring on the 1km for my next challenge.

And bring on a Triathlon. I want to do a triathlon. This is my future goal and I will do it.

Could this be it.

Many a time when I was training heavily for the Masters I wondered if there would come a time when my weightloss would begin to stagnate. I was aware that muscle mass weighed more than fat and I was also aware that if I had more lean muscle that I would continue to burn fat stores even at rest. So why is it I stopped losing weight so shortly after ceasing the intense training. I weighed myself morning, noon and night to see if there was some diurnal variations, I even resorted to weighing myself before I did a pee and after I did a pee. "Don't laugh, I know you have all done it". The only answer I came up with was that I had no answer. My body had just decided that it didn't want to lose anymore for the moment. And I just had to be happy with that.

For four long gruelling weeks my weight increased by 200gms and decreased by 200gms. I sat at 72kgs. Not my goal weight, but what could I do. I was still eating the same healthy food and consuming the same 1500 cals. The only thing that was keeping me on target were my measurements, they were changing - and for the better. I was losing centimetres from every where, even from my neck which was the part I was wanting to lose it from the most. I know, sounds weird, but when I was on Prednisone I ended up with a hump on my back close to my neck which I can only compare to "Quasimoto". I was not an animal or a Brahman bull I was me, Barbara Hughes.

I realised that the less emphasis I placed on my weight loss the happier I was. I was still exercising and still accomplishing things. The weightloss was a bonus not the sole driving force. I was just a happier, healthier more rounded individual. Everything else would fall into place, I was certain of it.

What's next?

The exhilaration and astonishment from the past fortnight's events had only just begun to subside and I was already looking for something else to quench my desire to compete. Not because I wanted to try and win anything else, but rather I just wanted to feel those emotions attached to accomplishing something you thought you could never do.

Friends of mine at bootcamp were going to compete in a 5km Fun Run at the Regatta Centre. I wanted so badly to do it but I had not run that sort of distance since I had competed in the 14km City to Surf as a teenager. But what the heck. I never thought I could lose 20kgs and I did, this was just another thing I thought I couldnt do and I was going to prove myself wrong.

My twin son Kurtis also wanted to do the run with me. I think he had felt a sense of pride watching me overcome obstacles and wanted to do the same. I was so proud of him. We started together but within a kilometre I had to tell him to run like the wind. He was chomping at the bit to get going but Im sure he felt an obligation to stay with me. I was happy for him to enjoy his run and see how he would go.

I was struggling. Every fibre of my being wanted to stop and just turn around and go back after 1.5km. My lungs were burning and every stride I took felt like I had those 16kgs (weight to date lost) back on my shoulders. One of my friends Kim stayed with me for a while and kept giving me motivation to continue. I honestly thought I was able to motivate myself but it was quite clear that when things got a bit unfamiliar and tough my brain would try to revert back to its original way of thinking. Was I going to let it, NO WAY.

I decided to walk for a bit. This was the best decision I had ever made. Not only did it give my legs and lungs a much needed reprieve, but I was also able to focus on the fact that I now only had about 2.5kms left. I could do this. So up went the tempo from a walk to a slow run and I just stayed focused on my breathing. In, Out, In, Out. And with every step, I was a little closer to the finishing line. So much so I caught up with Kurtis who was trying to recover from a stitch.

After a couple of minutes walking we picked up our pace and caught up with Kim who had slowed down her pace to wait for me. The remainder of the run went by quite painfully I must admit. Even though my pace had not slowed any further, my calves felt as though every pint of blood in my body had settled into them and they felt heavy. Very heavy!

Kurtis once again took off and finished the race with a good sprint to the finish, and Kim and I gave it all we had right towards the end. I was so happy I finished it. I don't know my exact time but I think it was 31 minutes something. It doesnt matter really, I finished and that was all there was to it. I could tick off another accomplishment. I was on a roll.

Headlines.

My husband is a cheeky man. He is also very proud of me and always wants nothing but the best for the children and I. As he was driving home from the Sydney Aquatic Centre he rang the local newspaper and spoke to the head editor and told them about what I had achieved. I guess they must have thought it was a bit of interesting news because 2 days later I had a phone interview and made the back page with other competitors from the area.

How cool did I feel? About as cool as a cucumber. I didnt want this year to end. This feeling far outweighed all the hard training sessions and the times I doubted myself.

Everytime my husband Stephen holds my silver medal, all he says is "This is the closest I am going to get to a silver medal". But he has already won a gold medal, its the love I hold for him in my heart.

I am having trouble downloading the article so I have cut and paste it instead, here it is:

60 PENRITH WEEKENDER, October 23, 2009

4722 6693
WWW.WESTERNWEEKENSport T H E W E S T E R N
PENRITH VALLEY
WEEK-ENDER
FROM Prince Frederik of Denmark
capsizing in the harbour to 100-
year-old grandmother Ruby Frith
breaking the record in shot put, the 2009
World Masters Games were arguably the
most exciting yet, with over 28,000 people
competing across Sydney last week.
With baseball, canoeing, kayaking and
touch football all held in the Penrith area,
local residents got their fair share of the
action.
Local touch football team, the Penrith
Over 50s, scored silver in the Games, and
player Charlie Chrisostomos said the whole
team was pleased with the fi nal result.
“We made the fi nals so that was a good
effort for us,” he said.
“This was our fi rst time competing in
the Games and because it was being played
locally, that made it very easy for us so we
were pretty happy with how we went.”
Locals who competed outside of the area
include Luddenham competitor, Barbara
Hughes, who scored a silver medal in the
50-metre backstroke for swimming.
“It was the most exhilarating experience
to be involved in the event, you just feel on
top of the world and to get a silver medal
Story Stacey Hicks
was just the icing on the cake for me,” the
35-year-old said.
Other successes included a local hockey
team achieving gold and a Penrith netball
team achieving bronze.
“We had absolutely no idea that we
would do any good and thought we would
get smashed in all the games,” said netballer
Carolyn Morley. “But with determination
and team building, we surprised ourselves.”
The Games were marred, however, by
the unexpected death of an international
canoeist, aged in his 40s, who suffered from
a heart attack on the Nepean River during
the 21km canoe marathon last Wednesday.
World Masters Games Chief Medical
Offi cer, Jenny Saunders, said the organising
staff were saddened by the man’s death, but
all necessary precautions and actions were
taken to try to revive the man.