marathon in the making

So I’ve tested out my legs twice now in a marathon and so far I’ve been pretty stoked with my results. Running has always been my jam, way back when in year 3 I was oh so excited to be asked to represent our school in the year 4 category in cross country, and even more so when I placed 7^th. I would have loved to see my splits for that.

 living the dream in year 3... that ain't no lululemon top.

Now it’s time for me to ditch the 7hrs of exercise, yep that’s right the only marathons I have raced have been at the tail end of an Ironman, and see what I can do in 42.2kms. With Melbourne Ironman being my first marathon, I had only ever ran 36km in training and managed to whip out a 3:27hr and in Hawaii after an epic 7hrs on the bike alone I ran a 3:47hr.

No surprises here, I’m setting myself a challenge. I want to bring this soul marathon in under 3hrs, and because what you say you create, my goal time is 2:55hr. I’ve literally just done the math for the first time and that’s looking like 4:14min/km, haha love it! I’ve totally got my work set out for me.

I’ve picked the Traralgon marathon on the 21^st of June as my mission. Keeping it country and humble. I’ve heard it’s a decent course and not too busy, and I like the sound of that. I’m 3 weeks into a 16 week program and already, just from consistency and a gradual build, I can feel my body regaining that fitness and the speed I had a fair few months back. Just as if you were building up from 0-5km, it is in small increments that you see the improvement and benefits; one giant quantum leap would only leave you in a lot of pain and hating it completely. I’ve learnt to be patient and trust in the process.

Whilst I do love running I feel, that on it's own 4-5 times a week, it’s too much impact on the body. So even though triathlon isn’t in the forefront of my mind I'm enjoying the fact that I am cross training, mixing it up with a ride and a swim once or 2 a week; keeping it nicely balanced.

Alrighty, so 2:55hr is it … wow, baby steps (a lot of them) consistency and keeping it fun is what’s going to get me there.

live into that greatness

It’s uncanny, yet I’m not surprised that it’s been a year, nearly to the date, that I was getting prepped and psyched for the biggest day of my life to date, Ironman Melbourne 2014.  

Since that day life has continued been a non–stop journey of ups and down, and as per usual I keep finding that next challenge to elevate me and to take life to the next level.

For a good 4 months after racing Kona, I was done, mentally and physically. I didn’t want to look at my bike, the idea of a 30min run was hard work in itself and I found myself finding it hard to comprehend what I had achieved not too long ago on that deceivingly blissful, tropical island.

From 2 years of vigorous training, my body had built up imbalances in my muscles that left me with an out of aligned pelvis which my osteo so beautifully summed up when asking ‘when did you have a fall?!’ leaving me in pain on the shortest of runs.

So whilst it may have looked like I had retired from my athletic career, which at times, I myself, even thought I may have done, I was truly listening to my body. Feeding it with things that it needed and things that were right for me at that time.  Yoga, pilates, meditation, cooking classes and not living by a regimented training schedule.

So here I am a year on. I’ve gone to France to follow the Tour de Frace, to Kona to compete, or should I say survive, with the best and now I’m stepping up and building my career at lululemon, and I’m even more grateful for the life I lead than I was last year. Better yet, through all of this I have been going through the process of finding balance in life and doing things that have made me feel alive.

Just as yoga is an on going practice that never strives for perfection, I’ll always be learning and practising the divine art of drawing life toward me, always discovering those things, people and opportunities that light me up and that call me into action. This year I am up to big things; aiming to run my first marathon sub 3hr (2:55), to be the best version of myself at work and to continue to creating amazing relationship with the people who me the most to me.

For that reason I have found myself a mentor. Someone that I admire and who I know sees the greatness in me, creating a space for me to live into that greatness. That’s a powerful thing, having someone cheering for you when you yourself are finding it hard to stay focused and motivated. Just as I have a coach to elevate my training and race performance, I figured why not do the same for other areas of my life that are important to me.

Thankyou Emma for your generosity and skills to see straight into my soul, I’m so excited about what I will create this year working with you.

I learnt last year how fragile, short and fleeting life can be so why not set yourself up the best way you can to create a life you love?!