From scary movie runs to flying high (and everything in between)

Boot camp in the morning of Twilight

Hallo!

Time to update with some of the stuff I keep saying that I'll write about!

Firstly, probably the most full on event I have ever done so far - the Brisbane Twilight Run.  This was an event that had a 5km, 10km and half marathon and I signed up for the 10km.

Mish! <3

Before I go on I would like to pay my respects to the man who lost his life in this event.  My sincere thoughts are with him and his family.  I have no comment about what happened other than to pay my respects.  This blog post is about my personal experience in the run and nothing else.  But as a fellow runner, and a fellow human, my heart breaks for him and for the victims of the recent Boston tragedy.  I am only new to this running thing but I feel that unity thing already: whether we're marathon runners, learning to run, or somewhere in between.  My love goes out to them.  This story however is just from the point of view of some blonde chick in Brisbane who's trying to lose weight and train for a half marathon.  Absolutely no disrespect is intended.

So this was my 1st 10km run - I had done 11km in January but officially I hadn't done 10km.  And there was also that whole self belief thing going on - yeah I pulled it off in January, could I actually do it again?  Let's try it and see.

Fun with Courts x

During the day Court and I went to boot camp and to see an instore appearance of Mish and the Commando <3  It's hard to decide who I love more :P

And then it was a race to the start line.  The 5km event started and finished - it was sunny and basically sunscreen weather.  Mother Nature had other things instore though.  The 10km and half marathon runners lined up together, and we were off.  I ran alongside the amazing Nic.  Our goal was just to run the whole thing - I just wanted to not stop and feel good.  We kept a nice pace together and just ran comfortably - I was really enjoying it.

Nic and I gearing up!

Then - about 20min. into it, the weather suddenly changed and a storm started to loom.  And I mean it was sudden.  I had brought a plastic zip lock bag to protect my phone from sweat - I had time to put my phone and iPod into the bag, but I didn't even have enough time to zip the bag up, before the most torrential storm I have been in, started.

Before we knew it, Nic and I were in the middle of what felt like a scary movie.  It all happened so quickly.  One minute we were jogging in the sunlight, and within probably 5 minutes, we were suddenly thrust into this torrent.  The rain was manic - it was coming sideways.  The roads started to flood - I can't believe how quickly this happened.  The power must have gone out around the area because we had to wait for lightning bolts to be able to see where we were going.  It was black until lightning would happen and we could see again for a split second.  I guess it didn't matter that we couldn't really see though, as we were in flood water regardless.  People were calling out and there was screaming and yelling.  It was really scary.  I started running sideways so that I could breathe as the water was hitting my face - my mouth, nose, ears and eyes were taking a battering.

Nic and I afterwards

Nic and I kept going.  We had to.  We went from running 10km for fun to suddenly running to safety.  We were running through a flooded road - the fact that it was pitch black probably didn't matter because I couldn't see anyway from all of the rain.  I tried to wear my sunglasses to protect my eyes.  We had to get out of there.  As we got further on we saw heaps of trees down and the sounds of ambulances everywhere.  The scary movie feeling just got bigger and bigger.  We heard a rumour that they had cancelled the event midway through but didn't know for sure until we were about 8 or 9km in.  We had to get back to the start line anyway, so we just kept running.  I didn't realise how serious it was at this point and was determined to run our 10km, whether the finish banner was still up or not.

They kept it up - and we ran through it in our best time - and we got a medal.  We got to calm down at the finish line and the weather had subsided a lot by that stage.  I'm proud of us for continuing - not that we had much choice.  We could have knocked on some strangers door and asked for shelter, but retrospect is a great thing - I didn't think of this at the time.  At the time it was just a one track mind.  Get us out of here - and to do that we had to finish what we had started.  It was an experience alright - and not something any of us could have been prepared for.

My most deserved medal to date!

The gorgeous Tracey braved the elements to cheer us across the finish line!

Step 1, 2, 3...

Completely opposite to that event, last weekend I got the amazing opportunity to do some very cool stuff.  One thing was to go on a trapeze!  And to do floor acrobatics!  And weight lifting!  And eating fire!  And Parkour!  And I did cartwheels for the first time since I was a teenager!  I went through a phase as a young teenager where I used to do them more often than walking.  My Mum said she'd turn around and I'd be cartwheeling behind her instead of walking like a normal person.  I got scared as I got older.  But last week I did it again!  And heaps of boxing!  And I did my Round 2 Week 2 goal, mega early and went on the Wheel of Brisbane!  And I went on the back of a Harley!  All this stuff was amazing.  But the thing that got to me the most was the acrobatics.  I had to stand on another person.  Put all of my body weight on their knees.  When you

Step 4 and 5 and I'm up!

have been 141kg there is usually a certain fear factor surrounding doing this.  In the past I've had

people make me change which side of the car I am sitting on to even out tyre pressure.  So understandably I have a little bit of a reservation about putting my weight on a fellow human being!  But I did it. :)  And as far as I know, they survived it!  Trust is such a complex word....

Trust...

A little nervous

My cartwheel!

Braving my fear at the top of the wheel :)

Katie, Leisa and Court supporting me on the wheel :)

There's always time for playing-it-up selfies

ANZAC Day

This morning being ANZAC Day, some friends and I did the Kokoda Track and another track here in Brisbane.  At the top of the mountain we played the Last Post and all stood, silent, listening to it.  Even some other people who were exercising there at the time, stopped talking while we played it. :)  Lest We Forget.

Today

Oh and last weekend I did parkrun with a fellow 12WBT new friend, Bek.  This amazing girl was visiting Brisbane and we caught up so that we could meet and do a run

The awesome Bek

together.  She is the most beautiful person and I feel so thankful that I got the opportunity to meet her.  From reading each others blogs, to running a 9 seconds off a PB run together was really cool.  And then I was lucky to have dinner the next night with another lovely 12WBTer who was visiting Brisbane, Jodie.  I love when you meet some people and you feel like you've known them forever.  There's so much going on in life and I love being reminded so often at the moment that there are special people around me, and that I can push myself in ways I never dreamed possible.

Lotsa love, Coco Girl xxooo

Meeting the gorgeous Jodie

I fit into this red dress this week - have been trying to for years!

At Kokoda a few weeks ago

Kokoda a few weeks ago

I'm so strong!

Today at Kokoda :)

Kokoda today

See, the wheel is high!

There's something about Post-It notes

MY ROUND 2 GOALS

Work stuff inspires personal stuff

Sometimes very often I go off track.  What gets me pepped up and motivated to keep at what I am striving for, is to reassess my goals.  Make new ones, cross out old ones, celebrate done ones, dream of exciting ones.  It keeps me encouraged and motivated - two very important things to me to stay "on track".

I was in a work meeting yesterday - it was a brainstorming workshop.  It was essentially about something very boring - but as soon as I walked inside and saw these coloured Post-Its on the desk, I got excited.  Post-It's, stationary, colours, organisation - all of that stuff makes me go weak in the knees.  I love it.  So I got stuck into my own Post-It's at home, and I started planning out my next 12WBT round.

For a couple of rounds now, I have set weekly challenges for myself - they are listed here.  It's like Mish's 'Mini/Major Milestone' idea but weekly instead of monthly.  The first round that I did weekly ones, they were a mismatch of different things I had been wanting to achieve.  This current round they have mainly been running events.

But for Round 2 I wanted something a little different.  The running events will continue - that's a given and I have the whole rest of the year mapped out in the event world.  But for my weekly stuff, I tried to think a little deeper and a little more out of the box.  I decided to do stuff that means something to me.  Feel the fear and do it anyway type of things.  What have I held myself back from because of my weight?  What would make me smile?  What do I have trouble doing?

Home.  #whateverworks

That's the kind of stuff I wrote down.  And this is what I came up with:

Week 1: "Two Worlds Combine"
Shhhh, don't tell anyone, but I currently have 2 lives.  I have Coco Girl - who writes this blog, who posts on Instagram and Twitter, who is open about her weight, who bares her soul, who is on this weight loss journey.

And then there's Kate: the rest of me.

I completely separate Kate and Coco.  When I started 12WBT my profile picture was a picture of a butterfly.  The next photo was one of the top of my head.  There were no recognisable photos on this blog.  I didn't tell anyone I was doing 12WBT.  I would not allow any photos of me exercising or anything fitness related onto my personal Facebook.

Slowly I have loosened the reigns a bit.  I have been letting some photos of me at events appear on my Facebook.  In person, I discuss my weight, fitness, heaps of things with family, friends and a random guy I met at work last week (!)  I have done a 180.

But truthfully?  There is still a devide.  I have never done a status update about my weight.  Coco and Kate simply do not mix.  No-one outside of 12WBT and a very small handful of friends have read this blog.  Even on Instragram, I usually don't post photos that aren't 100% fitness related.  Because Coco is about weight stuff!  I realised though, that I need to stop separating them so much.  And I no longer mind.  I don't care.  Kate is Coco Girl and Coco Girl is Kate.  People who lose weight are human!  And random chicks like me on Facebook, we can have a weight issue!  No more alter egos.

When I have allowed fitness photos onto my personal Facebook, the response I have gotten from family and friends has been nothing short of overwhelming support.  And if a friend talks publicly about their weight loss, I am so inspired by and proud of them.  So I don't know why I'm scared about being generally open that I am losing weight.  They all know it!  They can see it in photos.  I just haven't verbally confirmed it.  So much so, I have never 'Liked' anything on the 12WBT Facebook page, in case my friends see this and realise that I am doing 12WBT!  I'm not hiding 12WBT, I'm hiding the fact that I'm losing weight.  Coz they don't know, you see? ;)

Time to not be so secretive.   And as a wise friend said to me once: "The truth will set you free."  Time for my two worlds to combine and become one. :)

Week 2: "Relax, Submerge, Survive"
This weeks challenge for myself is to go swimming.  Like swimming swimming.  Head under

Pick the girl who won't put her head underwater

water, submerge myself in a pool and relax.  This adult breathing anxiety thing that I have developed is frustrating and I want to fix it.  I was a water kid - I was always in the pool.  I don't know what happened for me to now be so scared about putting my head underwater.  But I need to relax and spend some time re-acquainting myself with submerging.

Week 3: "Eye Am Ok"
In Brisbane we have a ferris wheel called the  Wheel of Brisbane, or Brisbane Eye.  It's a landmark and it's got really pretty views.  Apparently - I wouldn't know, because I've

been too scared to go on it because I believe that I'm too heavy.  Friends told me recently that each carriage can fit a few people in it, like their whole family.  6 adults and 2 kids: I looked it up.  Yet on the inside I still don't feel comfortable, believing I am too heavy, and I have been too scared to do it.  Week 3 I will bite the bullet and go for a ride.  I am not heavier than a whole family, despite what my head says! :)

Week 4: "Start The Crazy"
At Sydney Round 3 2012 finale, a certain spectacular friend and I made a pinky promise

Starting small: I did the mini fitness challenge at Brisbane finale!

that we would do the finale fitness challenge at the end of round finale of Round 3, 2013.  I'm still holding us to that!  The fitness challange is insane.  And I have about 6 months to make it happen.  So I need to start training.  So Week 4 I will attempt the challenge for the first time.  Just at home, with probably shocking technique, taking as long as it takes.  It's a crazy challenge- if I start practising now I might hold some hope of being good enough just to enter it come the end of Round 3! :)

Week 5: "Girls On Glass Mountains"
I want to climb one of the Glasshouse Mountains here in South East Queensland.  For no reason other than a year ago I wouldn't have thought of doing this.  And this year I did think of doing this.  So I will do this. :)

Week 6: "Kate Jordan"
My favourite challenge from this list.  Playing basketball!  I LOVE basketball!  I have never played it in a team.  But my grandfather used to teach me how to aim to shoot baskets when I was a little kid.  And

My beloved basketball afternoon days

years ago when I was working overseas, I had this really cool ritual.  My workmates and I would get dropped home after work.  My flatmate would go upstairs and have a nap.  And I would rush across the road to a compound and play a fun game of basketball with the guys I worked with and some locals.  I loved it.  Each afternoon we would do the same thing.  We'd then go and buy heaps of beer, order McDonalds or KFC home delivery, get drunk and have a party each night.  Healthy lifestyle, huh!  But the basketball - this was a highlight of my day and is probably the only time in my life, apart from this year, where I have chosen to do any form of exercise for fun.  I want to revisit that!

Week 7: "Breathe...And Repeat"
I can't relax.  Like, ever.  I just can't.  Well, I should say, I don't know how to.  I can not just settle down and truly relax.  So my challenge this week is to make this happen.  I don't know how, but I will figure out a way and do it.

Week 8: "The Most Amazing Thing I Have Ever Done"
This week is my goal of all goals: it is my first half marathon.  I decided last year to do it and have had everything focussed on it ever since I made that decision.  It is my huge thing, my really special personal goal.  I have been training for it and visualise it each and every day.  This will be the most amazing thing I have ever done (yet!)

Week 9: "1, 2, 3, 4, Do It Just A Little More" 
This one is just coz I love it: each round I have to have some sort of Mt Coot-tha event. :)  There’s

Post-It

a track on this mountain that I just love: the Kokoda track.  It was a huge deal when I did it the first time and I’ve done it a few times since.  Last round I accomplished a goal of doing it twice in a row.  So this next round I plan to double that and do 4 loops in a row!  It's 5km per loop and part of the way feels practically vertical - it's used for real Kokoda training.  Bring on the 4!

Week 10: "Fly Like A Bird And Glide Like A Swan"
This is a tough challenge.  Years ago I went to a theme park.  They had this water ride - where two people sat in a big plastic 'swan' boat, and paddled it around a 'lake'.  I went to hop on the ride with a friend, and our swan tipped to the side - my side.  We were a little confused at first.  And

This was the ride

when my side started filling up with water, this feeling of terror started to sweep over me.  Always the optimist (?), I swapped sides of the swan with my friend, at the ride operators request, to see if that would fix it.  The opposite side, my side again, tipped and started to fill with water - I was flooding the ride.  The ride operator started to laugh.  I don't believe he was trying to be cruel, but his intentions weren't exactly the point.  He laughed, and in front of a whole line of people waiting to get onto the ride, he said that I was too heavy for the swan and I had to get off and walk away.  Mortifying is an understatement.  No words come close.  Soon after this incident, at another theme park, I was so heavy that I rode a mini rollercoaster off its tracks.  I have had a fear of theme park rides ever since.  I can't do them.
So - in Week 10, I will go on a ride - a rollercoaster or something, and find a water ride and go on it and not flood the ride.

Week 11: "For: Me"
This week I plan on doing something for myself.  I don't know what it is yet, but I want it to be meaningful and just awesome.  I want to be able to sit back and take stock of where I have come from and where I am at this point.  I'll work out how to do this closer to the time. :)

Week 12: "The Ultimate Goal"
This is the week that I plan to get to my goal weight and everything associated with it. :)  This is a huge undertaking - I have a big task ahead of me.  But the way to get there is pretty simple.  A friend was talking about weight loss etc. last week and she just shrugged her shoulders and said "you just have to do it it."  She was flippant in speech but it's the truest thing that she said.  It reminded me of how you do this thing.  The secret, the key to success.

If you want to do it, all you have to do is do it.

Ok, then.

Sometimes you just gotta Tri 3 times

Tri # 1, Tri #2, Tri #3.  Finally got it right.  No more tear stained faces.

 
Any long time readers of my blog would know something of my first 2 triathlon experiences.  Those with any care factor of me would probably be inclined, if they had the opportunity, to kindly suggest that I don't put myself through that torture again.  The first 2 didn't go so well.

I came very last in both Triathlon #1 and Triathlon #2.  That didn't matter as much as the mortifying feelings I felt and the support that I didn't feel.  Both were fairly horrific.

Packed, snacks ready and early night the night before :)

So, as I do, I signed up for a third one. 

I know - I do these things to myself!

My one and only goal for the day?  Was to get through it without having a crying breakdown.  Happy tears were ok, but sobbing and shivering and rocking and hysteria were not.  I'm not as silly as I sound.  This time, I had a hunch that I'd be ok because of a certain pact that I made.

See the first two triathlons I did alone.  Aside from friends I knew at T#1 and lovely people I had just met at T#2 calling out words of encouragement, I was by myself.  A wise friend said to me after T#2: "you don't need to do these alone."

And she was right.  Call it determination, call it stupidity, call it Ever Try Ever Fail, but I decided to try just one more time to get it right.  See the reason I do these tri's is not about being fast, it's about challenging myself.  The mere fact that I, ex-morbidly obese Kate, talk about 'triathlons', mini

Fun run done, now for a tri!

or not, in plural, is pretty insane enough.  I learnt a few things from my first 2: I need a better bike, I shouldn't put my head under water in the swim, and I need more support.  I knew what to expect, what to wear, what to pack, I just needed to make it through...with a little help from my friends.

I borrowed my friends magical bike (thanks Sarah!), got really prepared the night before, and even had an early night.  But the best thing I did to get ready for this day, was to meet some amazing girls who wanted to do this together.  There were 5 of us doing this event.  5 from a larger group of amazing 12WBT SE QLD 30+ women we call The Striders who have a common goal: to support each other in events like this.  Perfect!  The 5 of us: Lyndall, Courtney, Ange, Tracey and myself, made an absolute pact that we would not leave each others sides through this tri.  We would start together and finish together.  No

Ready!

matter what.  Together with our amazing cheerleaders who jumped up and down for us all day: Paisley, Sharon, Joe, Luke, Charlotte and Oliver, we really had it made from the start :)

Because I'm a weirdo of sorts, I decided to fit in the Pink 5km Fun Run in the morning, before the tri.  It was great!  It felt like a warm up - (another thing I never thought I would be saying about a 5km run!)  I had slight breathing anxiety again but I pretended I was running with my friend Nic

Us before the tri started.  L-R: Tracey, me, Ange, Court & Lyndall

who ran the Brisbane Twilight Run with me (another story yet to tell) - and this helped me along - thanks Nic!  And the cheers from my friends as I neared the finish line were just amazing and I strided through that banner!  One medal down, one to go!

I had Nikko'd my arms, sunscreened my face, pink swimming capped my head, photographed with the girls, racked my bike, prepared my shoes in the transition area and done all of the prep work...and suddenly I was lining up for the swim leg.  And that's when I had a little flashback.  The stress and anxiety of T#1 and T#2 came rushing back to me.  All of the girls were surrounding me

I was scared!

and pepping me up for the leg that holds the biggest fear factor for me and I almost broke into tears.  I held it together though and managed to get through it.  It's just an adult developed breathing anxiety thing that I hold.  I didn't have this issue when I came 3rd in my Year 7 swimming carnival freestyle relay! ;)

The beautiful Lyndall stuck by my side throughout the whole thing and kept me going.  It was such

There's always time for a group shot mid-tri!

a relief to have her by my side.  Physically she kept me encouraged but mentally it was just so nice knowing that even if I was the last one in the pool this time, she would be next to me and I wouldn't be alone.  We weren't the last by any means - and the other girls and our cheersquad were amazing when we got to the end. :)

We transitioned and then it was onto the bikes.  So a few posts ago I wrote about how I hate cycling...well I have now changed my tune.  I only hate cycling when I am slow on my bike!  I love cycling on Sarah's bike!  My bike holds great sentimental value - but in all honesty it is a slow bike and as much as I would like to think otherwise, sentiment doesn't hold up in triathlons, I'm afraid.  Cycling on a road bike was just the hugest difference.  I was flying on Sarah's bike and I loved it.  That is why I used to like cycling!

My like of cycling was rekindled

Unfortunately though, poor Courtney had done a late night bike swap with me the night before - hers had an issue so she grabbed mine in the darkness of the night.  And the tyres were flat. :(  My fault and I felt so bad.  They weren't punctured, I would have known that, but they were pretty flat!  I remember saying "this is why I struggled at my last tri!"  I just didn't realise how flat they were.  We needed help to get them pumped up and aside from that, it is a really difficult bike to ride.  But Court was a champion and just powered through.  I know how hard that bike is to ride in a triathlon - it's best suited to other cycling - but she didn't complain, she just gritted her teeth and kept going.  Tracey and Ange waited for us to return to transition and then we were all in the run together.  

And we did it.  As if there was ever any doubt.

The most amazing feeling

But what was cool was at the end.  We had all waited for each other after each leg.  Some of us could have blitzed through the tri a lot quicker.  Some panic while swimming (!)  Some had tyre issues.  Some it was their first tri.  Some had sore legs when it came to the run.  We are all different speeds in each leg.  We are all at varying fitness levels.  We each had our own fears of the event.  Some had only just met in person that day!  But we all had one thing in common and that was understanding the importance of mateship.  We had made a promise not to leave each others side on this day.  And those who couldn't join us made sure we were supported by the sidelines all day.  We each realised the value of team work and support over getting a good 'time'.  When I was last in my first 2 tri's, it felt like I was last and I still talk about it when discussing them.  This tri though, yep, physically we were last - even the short course tri (the entire tri) overtook us.  But it didn't feel like we were.  That doesn't even come into the equation.  We linked arms and ran through that banner, all together and each of us grinning from ear to ear. :)

You can't be last when your arms are linked with people by your side.

I tri'd once, twice, and on my third go I finally got it. :)

There comes a point when you realise what is important.

That's what it was all about.  Thank you Striders.

xo

I learnt from last time to bring an extra safety pin so I wouldn't lose my timing strap!

Supporting my trainer

Ange and I

My bike and stuff ready in transition

All done!

Happy face post tri this time!

Note left on my windscreen from lovely girls I met in the carpark!

Two medals today!  We love events with medals ;)

Teamwork