2010, A Year That Was.....................

2010 proved to be a mixed year for me. I could have trained harder, I could have had bigger goals and I could have done better times! Time to turn over a new leaf and become more committed then ever, and make 2011 a year to remember. I have signed on for some big races, and I want to do well in all of them! I am going to kick start 2011 with Syl's Challenge, and train 5 days a week for a month! Something that I am looking forward to, and something that is much overdue! So Saturday marks a new beginning for me, and also a new training schedule! My boyfriend has jumped on board, and will be running his first marathon ever in May (the longest distance to date that he has run that I know of is 10km's). We begin "official training" on Tuesday with our first 3 mile run! Over the weekend, I will post January's training schedule, so if you see me slacking off, you can give me an ear bashing (or support, what ever you think is neccessary!).

Highlights of 2010:

* Running the Rock n Roll Seattle Marathon & Nike Women's Marathon
* Running the BMO Vancouver 1/2 Marathon (did it in a slow time but, it was fun :))
* Seeing my Uncle and Aunt, first time I had seen any sort of family in over a year and a half!
* One of my good friends Winnie got engaged on a mountain!
* Going Scuba Diving (in a pool!)
* Doing the Vancouver Mitsubishi Chase (hurt more then a marathon!)
* Having random weekends away, to Whistler & Bellingham!
* Spending a week in San Francisco (I can't wait to go back next year!!!)

What I look forward to in 2011:

*Training for a few marathons, and half marathons (BMO Vancouver Half, Fargo Full, Nike Womens Full - just to name a few)!
*Going to Fargo (crazy as it sounds, I think that I will have fun)
* Seeing my parents in June, first time I have seen immediate family in over 2 and a half years! (and make sure that I am a bit slimmer then I was before I came over, so that I can "knock" their socks off!)
* The possibility of going to Hawaii for Christmas!
* A super duper birthday weekend in Victoria in 2 weeks time :)
* Learning a new area at work =)

Hope that you all have an awesome NYE! And that in 2011 you achieve all your dreams! Here's cheers to the new Year!

Post Christmas Blues

It's sad to admit that I am suffering the blues, after a nice relaxing Christmas weekend! It is hard to get back to work, and back into normal routine, even though it was only three days. I had a great Christmas. On Friday night, a small group consisting of the BF, his sister and our friend Dee, had a roast dinner, and spent the night watching movies. On Christmas day I went back home to my housemates, where we exchanged gifts and then had a roast dinner (again, it was yummy and completely different foods). I then went back to the BF's house and exchanged gifts! I love all the gifts that I received, and felt very spoilt! A big thank you to my Blogger Secret Santa! I adored the reflective leg bands and the gift voucher to Forerunners! It was greatly appreciated, I can't wait to try out my things, and go shopping :) Hope that you all had a great Christmas, and that you are making big plans for the New Year!! (I didn't take any photos over Christmas, but will make sure to take New Years Photo's instead!!!)

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone. I love my Canadian Christmas's as much as I do my Australian. The past 2 have been a blast, and I can't wait to see what my third Canadian Christmas has to offer! Hope that everyone cherishes the time that the have with their family, and I look forward to reading everyone's holiday blogs!!! Merry Christmas!

An Australian Christmas

Let me tell you what a typical Australian Christmas is like. It is hot, and sweaty but a lot of fun. When I was younger my family used to have Roast Dinner in the middle of day after a morning of ripping open presents, and sending Christmas Cheer. As we all grew older the Roast dinners slowly disappeared and the traditional Aussie Barbie became our main meal. There was always an abundance of fresh fruit and veggies, and lots of sweets. What I love most about the family time is that it was the one time of year that we all came together in one location, and we gossiped about the year that was. It is harder now, since all my siblings have families and the get togethers are little more sporadic, and it is especially harder for myself and one of my siblings who is residing abroad.

"My Country" a poem by Dorothea Mackeller, epitomizes what I love about my home country. I do miss Australia especially at this time of year. Not being around my immediate family, and joining in on their festivities, is a reality of chasing my dream, of living in a different country.

I do love my adopted country and the people that I have met over the past 2 and a half years.  I hope that next Christmas, I can once again join in the family tradition,  and my bf can experience Christmas Aussie Style!

Tomorrow I will post about my Canadian Christmas experiences, but I first I want to leave you with an Australian Christmas song "Aussie Jingle Bells"

Who Inspires Me and Who I Aspire to Be

My athletic journey started at a young age. My parents encouraged me to try all sports, at a young age I started playing netball with my sister (like basketball but without moving my feet), and that grew into a wide range of sporting fields including floor hockey, cricket, volleyball, little athletics, basketball, tennis, golf, swimming and eventually cross country running. The thing about my past is that as soon as I reach a truly competitive level I tend to give up, or get overly self conscious and tell myself that I am unable to compete at such a high level.

My inspirations are my parents, my boyfriend and my good friend Winnie.

My parents inspire me on a whole different level. When I give up on myself, they are there to pick me back up and tell me to continue on. A few years ago I was on the road to self destruction, they noticed that I was eating myself to death, becoming obese, and they knew desperately that I needed help. They offered to come pick me up from University and take me to be back home with them. Under my parents guidance I was able to lose the weight that I gained by (at the time) "dragging" out for early morning walks with them, and learning to eat healthy. My parents were there for me, when I shut everyone else in the world out of my life. They have made me stronger and more determined then ever before, they helped me reorganize my life so that I could move on with it, and live my dreams.

My boyfriend Michael is my second inspiration. He is one of the most kind hearted and loving people that I have ever met. He encourages me with my crazy running goals, and trains with me to keep me on schedule. When I announced that I was going to run a marathon, he brought me a gym membership to "sponsor" me so that I could achieve my goals. He also travels with me to races to keep me company. He has not complained once, he gets up early with me on race day, and drives me to the location, and then continues to drive around to different points of the course, to cheer me on, and to keep me motivated to complete the runs. I don't know if I would have ever been able to complete my two marathons if it wasn't for him, as I had mini goals during the race to keep on going. He has never laughed at me when I mention my next goals, he has even signed up for his first marathon, so that we can train and race together. I hope that I can inspire him, like he has inspired me.

My third inspiration is Winnie. We first met while training for the Vancouver Half Marathon via Team in Training. While at first we didn't really get to know each other, we did soon afterwards by registering for the Disney Half Marathon and we travelled as a group. Winnie inspires me to train harder and be a better person. I aspire to be like her with my training and with my health. She has never given up, and she always reacts positively to whatever gets thrown at her. She is another reason why I finished the Nike Marathon. We ran together for the first half with Winnie running back to check on me, when she had got to far ahead. I feel guilty at the same time, because I am sure that she would have done a great time if she had of run on without me. Thank you Winnie :) I hope that one day I am half the person that you are!

I hope that I can inspire people to run. In the Summer I was lucky enough to be able to Mentor with Team in Training a group of people, to train for their first Marathon the Rock n Roll Seattle Marathon. I helped them with their fundraising goals, whilst training.  I hope that I was a positive influence on them. My goals for 2011 is to inspire more people to run and to also become a better person with my eating habits. And also to be more blogging more, I need people to kick my butt if they find that I am lagging behind in my training. I may not be the fastest runner, but in 2011 I will be the most dedicated runner!

I will be more dedicated in 2011 in my races. I am going to train harder and fiercer then I ever have before and hope that I inspire people along the way. My long term goal after I sort out my training, is to become a run coach, and hope to one day encourage young athletes to achieve their dreams. I also hope to branch out into other sports (as a very long term goal) at compete in triathlons. My first step into this, is that I have become a Volunteer with the 2011 Triathlon Series in Vancouver, and I hope that I can draw the courage to compete with them in the years to come.

I think that I would be a good ambassador for the Team 4all Roster, because I am dedicated and will always try my hardest, no matter what the situation. I hope 2011 allows me to transform myself from a "Lazy Athlete" to a hard working athlete.

Thank You!

I just wanted to say a big thank you to my Christmas Card Exchange buddies and my blogland Secret Santa!! They have truly made my Christmas season a wonderful one! What did I get from my Secret Santa?
You will have to wait for my post on Thursday :)

Gone Gluten Free

After days, months perhaps even a year, after I first promised myself I will treat myself properly and eliminate the foods that make me feel unwell, last Friday I leaped into the Gluten Free band wagon again. It is hard especially at this time of year, with all the treats and Christmas Cheer, but I am determined to get better and fit before I kick back into full time training come January 1, 2011. I have had excruciating headaches over the past few days, as well as a lot of confusion (but this may also be because of the lack of sleep I have been getting), but hopefully I will be able to benefit from the positive foods I am putting into my body very shortly. It also doesn't help that I still haven't gone for a decent run in a while, so the first chance I get to complete this will be Saturday, and this is when I plan to do my favorite Trout Lake Route with the BF. Other goals I am trying to achieve this week is to get final plans for the Christmas Dinner that I will be preparing on Friday Night (aka Christmas Eve).

Does anyone have any good Gluten Free recipes for the Christmas Season, or know of any good Gluten Free websites??

Back in the Run

I have assessed my attitude and motivation when it comes to diet and fitness, and to be honest I was not happy with what I saw. Since the Nike Womens Marathon a little over a month and a half ago, I managed to gain 10 pounds, mainly due to me eating crappy and my couch potato behaviour. What many people don't know about me is that I had a bad virus a few years back, which has limited my ability to eat wheat, gluten, sugar and lactose, as my body has trouble processessing it and well I have been ignoring the "eat clean" way of life, and after months of frustration, I will be going back to the clean eating way. It will be hard to say goodbye to my favourite foods again, but I know that I will be healthier for it, and that it will be much relief to MJ, so that he can see a happier version of myself. 

Last Saturday was my first active weekend, in a long while. Went to the gym and ran on the treadmill and did 4 miles on the bike. I will be going for a run tonight as well, weather permitting, and then this weekend, it is the start of pre-training for the next 1/2 and full marathon both in May. The bonus with this is, that I will have a dedicated training partner, who will kick my ass out of bed, with MJ being motivated to train with me, and perhaps one day, achieve Marathoner status :)

Have a happy hump day :)